This paper examines the technological capability of Indonesian industry.

Theoretical and empirical analyses of People's Republic of China's infrastructure and rural development.

This study finds contract farming in Lao PDR to be effective in raising incomes of small farmers, thus reducing poverty.

This paper examines enterprise performance in the North-East region of the People's Republic of China.

Regional disparities within and among Chinese provinces have declined, but are still a serious problem.

South Asian private sector participation in infrastructure development is examined, and recommendations are made for future development.

Sri Lanka's post-tsunami reconstruction experience provides lessons for future major disasters, particularly for realistic needs assessment.

This paper analyses economic and social indicators across provinces in the People's Republic of China.

Twenty-two people drowned, while one person was saved on Tuesday after a bus carrying them plunged into a river in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Diamer district on Tuesday, according to rescue officials.

“Sixteen dead bodies have been recovered from the river, while the search for the remaining persons continues,” Senior Superintendent of Police Diamer, Sher Khan, told Dawn.com.

He added that a woman, who was a bride, had sustained injuries and was receiving treatment at a hospital.

Sharing details of the accident earlier, Rescue 1122 spokesperson Shaukat Riaz told Dawn.com that a bus coming from Astore fell into the Indus River from Telchi bridge in the limits of Diamer district in Gilgit-Baltistan on Tuesday afternoon.

“The vehicle was part of a wedding procession heading towards Punjab’s Chakwal district,” he said.

He added the passengers who were onboard the bus had been identified and women were among the drowned.

“Nineteen of them belonged to Astore while four were from the Chakwal district of Punjab,” he said.

The district administration officials were also present on the spot and supervised the search operation in the river, Riaz added.

President Asif Ali Zardari expressed his grief and conveyed his condolences to the victims’ relatives.

Road accidents are frequent in KP and GB, exacerbated by harsh weather, rugged terrain, poorly maintained roads, overloaded vehicles, and minimal traffic regulations.

The narrow, winding routes and driver fatigue further elevate risk, making these regions especially accident-prone.

In October, two people were killed and 36 others were injured when a Rawalpindi-bound passenger bus fell into a ravine in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Upper Kohistan area.

The government of Punjab on Tuesday — expanding on its previous order — closed all the educational institutions up to the higher secondary level in the province from tomorrow until the end of the week, shifting them to an online mode, as the province tackles the hazardous smog situation prevalent for the past few weeks.

The recent smog situation was declared a “calamity” in Punjab last month. Schools have been closed in the province’s main divisions — Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Multan — until November 17 in a bid to lower children’s exposure to pollution.

Separately, the public has been barred from entering public parks, zoos, playgrounds, and museums until November 17 to reduce public exposure to smog.

A day ago, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) representative in Pakistan called for urgent and greater efforts to reduce air pollution, noting that over 11 million children under five years of age were exposed to smog in the worst affected districts of Punjab.

The province’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said in a notification issued today, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com that “All the educational institutions […] up to higher secondary level shall remain closed and will shift to online mode with effect from Nov 13 within […] DG Khan, Bahawalpur, Sahiwal, Sargodha and Rawalpindi divisions […] till Nov 17.”

Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat also announced the closure of schools during a press conference today, saying that the “decision was made in light of the complaints received from the district.”

“This drastic decision had to be taken to protect children from the deadly effects,” he said, “There is a sense of educational loss, but the decision to close educational institutions is being taken out of compulsion.

“In view of the difficulties in online teaching, an alternative strategy is being quickly brought in,” the minister added.

He also appealed to the public to cooperate and do what was in their capacity to help the government deal with this issue.

50pc of govt offices to work online

Separately, all government offices were ordered to shift half of their workforce to online mode to reduce traffic load on roads to prevent the worsening of the smog situation due to vehicular emissions.

“The physical presence of human resource(s) of offices in your jurisdiction may kindly be reduced to 50pc by shifting them to online mode/work from home,” the EPA said in a separate notification issued today.

In the order issued on Tuesday, which is seen by Dawn.com, the Punjab EPA directed all the administrative secretaries, as well as heads of attached departments and semi-government/autonomous bodies, to reduce the physical presence of human resources by 50 per cent.

According to the notification, the situation was likely to prevail for a few weeks, adding that local pollution contributing factors, especially vehicular emissions, may further exacerbate the conditions.

“Hence, the situation warrants to specify safeguards to reduce the number of vehicles on roads in order to control air pollution, through preparation and implementation of contingency plans,” the notification said.

The EPA also called for inter-departmental meetings to be convened in an online mode unless the physical presence of participants was “extremely necessary”.

Bad-quality air aggravating pulmonary diseases: doctor

Speaking to Dawn.com, a pulmonologist at Multan’s Nishtar Hospital, Dr Nasir Javed, said that asthmatic patients, who were earlier stable, are now facing chronic health conditions due to the smog.

“[Due to the smog], asthma patients would start feeling inflation in their airways and it would become difficult for them to breathe smoothly,” he said. “Even medicines have stopped working properly to cure the problem.”

He further added that asthmatics and chronic smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were at greater risk and were visiting the hospitals with exacerbation of their diseases.

“Air-Quality Index is directly proportional to the symptoms/ severity which one can suffer,” he said.

“Limited outdoor activity and hydration are the mainstays to avoiding respiratory issues as antibiotics were of no use.”

Smog to persist in major cities as weather conditions worsen: NDMA

Meanwhile, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), in an advisory issued today, said that the smog situation was expected to persist across the urban centres in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa throughout November and December due to high humidity, low wind speeds, and upper atmospheric pressure.

According to the advisory, as reported by the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) the cities most likely to be affected by the worsening smog situation include Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Bahawalpur, Peshawar, Mardan, and Nowshera.

“The advisory highlights the rising smog levels in the affected areas, driven by the current weather conditions, and advises residents to avoid prolonged outdoor exposure and adopt protective measures to safeguard their health,” the *APP report said.

“[…] The National Emergency Operation Centre has been monitoring the current smog situation in Pakistan and surrounding regions.

According to the advisory, the team has access to advanced ground-based and space-based monitoring tools, enabling the analysis and projection of pollution emissions from various sources, including industry, transportation, and agriculture.

Precautionary measures

The NDMA advisory recommended the public adopt several measures to mitigate the effects of smog, such as avoiding unnecessary outdoor exposure during peak smog hours, especially in the morning, and wearing masks during outdoor activities, according to the APP.

“Staying hydrated, using dehumidifiers and air purifiers to improve indoor air quality, and adopting efficient transportation methods—like carpooling and eco-friendly driving, along with using COx and NOx filters—are also advised,” it said.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Tuesday it has asked the sport’s governing body to explain India’s refusal to send a team to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy next year.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) informed the PCB last week that India would not tour Pakistan for the eight-team tournament, leaving the fate of the event hanging in the balance.

Pakistan had previously rejected the option of a hybrid arrangement that would allow India to play their matches at neutral venues, for example in the United Arab Emirates.

“The PCB has responded to last week’s ICC letter seeking clarifications for the Indian Board’s decision not to travel to Pakistan for next year’s Champions Trophy,” Sami-Ul-Hasan told AFP.

Deteriorating political ties have meant the bitter rivals have not played a bilateral cricket series for over a decade — squaring off only in ICC multi-nation events.

Pakistani media reported on Tuesday that the PCB would be unwilling to accept security reasons for India’s refusal to visit.

New Zealand have toured Pakistan three times in the past two years, with England visiting twice and Australia once in the same period.

Pakistan also visited India for last year’s ODI World Cup and the PCB had expected the gesture to be reciprocated for the Champions Trophy.

The Champions Trophy is slated to be played across three venues — Lahore, Rawalpindi and Karachi — from February 19 to March 9 next year.

But a final schedule due to be announced this week has been postponed over the stand-off — which PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi termed disappointing.

“Almost every country wants the tournament to be played in Pakistan and it will be disappointing if they don’t come,” Naqvi, who is also the interior minister, said last week.

“I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter. We’ll give every team as many facilities as we can.” Naqvi said Pakistan would consider pulling out of events in India as a response.

“Pakistan has shown great gestures to India in the past, and we’d like to say clearly India shouldn’t expect such friendly gestures from us every time”.

India is due to host the women’s ODI World Cup and Asia Cup next year and will co-host the Twenty20 World Cup with Sri Lanka in 2026.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said that debt cannot become the “acceptable new normal” in climate financing, as he addressed the challenges faced by developing countries within the global climate finance framework.

His statement came during a Climate Finance Round Table Conference organised by Pakistan on the sidelines of the two-day World Leaders Climate Action Summit, also known as COP29, currently being held in Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku.

“We stand at a crucial threshold where global climate finance framework must be redefined to effectively meet the needs of vulnerable nations,” PM Shehbaz said.

He explained that financing in the form of loans increases the debt of developing nations and pushes them towards “mounting debt traps” which he referred to as “death traps”.

He added, “Debt cannot become the acceptable new normal in climate financing which is why we must resume focus on non-debt financing solutions enabling countries to fund climate initiatives.”

“Despite years of promises and commitments, the gaps are growing, leading to aggregate barriers in achieving objectives of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).”

PM Shehbaz called climate financing an “urgent need of the hour”, stating that developing countries need to deliver Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and “need an estimated $6.8 trillion by 2030 to implement less than half of their current NDCs.”

The prime minister further urged donor countries to “fulfil their commitment” which is 4.7 per cent of their gross national product (GNP) and capitalise on existing climate funds.

“One such commitment is a $100bn annual climate pledge established a decade ago at COP15 [which] is now reported by OECD to have reached only $160bn,” he said.

PM Shehbaz said that Pakistan can relate to the “agony and pain of other vulnerable countries”, highlighting how the country faced two devastating floods.

“In 2022, one-third of Pakistan was under water and the country had to repurpose all development and climate funds for financing basic relief and humanitarian efforts,” he said.

Pakistan is ranked among the top 10 most climate-vulnerable countries, according to the Global Climate Risk Index 2021. It has faced increasingly frequent and severe weather events, such as unprecedented floods, intense monsoon rains, devastating heat waves, rapid glacial melting and glacial lake outburst floods.

Pakistan witnessed devastating floods during the 2022 monsoon season, induced by climate change, resulting in the loss of at least 1,700 lives.

With 33 million people affected and swathes of agricultural land washed away, the damage incurred losses worth $30 billion, according to government estimates.

In June 2024, a heat wave brought record-high temperatures, severely impacting public health and agriculture.

While emphasising transparency and coordination in financial commitments made to developing countries, he stated that Pakistan alongside other developing countries, calls for stronger more equitable climate finance mechanisms under the UNFCCC.

He reiterated the pertinent need for reform of international financial architecture saying that “now is the time to build up on the momentum for international financial reforms” so that no nation is left behind in the global response to climate change.

PM to highlight ‘balanced and ambitious’ climate action

According to the Foreign Office, several high-level events and roundtable discussions hosted by Pakistan will also take place at the Pakistan Pavilion during COP29.

It added that at COP29, Pakistan will call for “balanced and ambitious progress on all issues such as loss and damage, adaptation, mitigation and means of implementation”.

“It will seek predictable financing to address developing countries’ climate goals. Pakistan will also underscore the historical responsibility and the principle of Equity and Common but Differentiated Responsibility and call on developed nations to undertake deeper emission cuts.”

PM Shehbaz was warmly received by Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and UN Secretary-General António Guterres upon his arrival at the summit venue today, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

The first day of the Climate Action Summit will feature statements from various heads of states, beginning from 3pm Pakistan time.

Speakers include the United Kingdom’s PM Keir Starmer, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Among those scheduled to address the high-level meeting tomorrow, besides PM Shehbaz, are Bangladesh leader Muhammad Yunus and Russia’s PM Mikhail Mishustin.

PM Shehbaz is listed as the 37th speaker out of 47 leaders during the session scheduled from 10am to 6pm (Pakistan time).

The prime minister will also participate in a high-level event ‘Glaciers 2025: Actions for Glaciers’ organised by Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon on the protection of glaciers.

PM Shehbaz will also hold separate meetings with the prime ministers of Denmark and the Czech Republic, who are also attending COP-29, Radio Pakistan stated.

PM meets world leaders

On the sidelines of COP29, PM Shehbaz interacted with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and discussed cooperation on climate change and matters of mutual interest, Radio Pakistan reported.

The premier also met with PM Starmer, where the two discussed enhancing Pakistan-UK cooperation.

He also met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine Erdogan, where they discussed environmental pollution as well as matters of mutual interest between the two friendly nations, the report added.

In his interactions with Nepal’s President Ramchandra Paudel and Bangladesh’s Yunus, PM Shehbaz discussed growing temperatures, the threat of rising sea levels, and forest conservation in South Asia.

Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and PM Shehbaz explored strengthening bilateral relations as well as expanding regional connectivity.

In his meetings with Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Tajikistan’s Rahmon, the leaders spoke about the conservation of glaciers and water resources in Central Asian countries and Pakistan.

They also exchanged views on expanding communication links among Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, Radio Pakistan highlighted.

World leaders meet for climate talks, but big names missing

Dozens of world leaders convene in Azerbaijan for COP29 but many big names are skipping the UN climate talks where the impact of Donald Trump’s election victory is keenly felt.

UK’s Starmer will unveil an “ambitious” update to the UK’s climate goals later today, and said he wanted his country “to show leadership on the climate challenge.”

Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi and Emmanuel Macron are among G20 leaders missing the event, where uncertainty over future US unity on climate action hung over the opening day.

“It’s not an ideal situation,” acknowledged Steven Guilbeault, Canada’s environment minister. “But in 30 years of COP, it’s not the first time that we’ve faced obstacles,” he told AFP.

“Certainly, everything is still possible.”

Washington’s top climate envoy John Podesta is seeking to reassure countries in Baku that Trump’s re-election will not end US efforts on global warming, even if the issue will be “on the back burner”.

But despite calls for global cooperation, the opening day got off to a rocky start, with feuds over the official agenda delaying by hours the start of formal proceedings in the stadium venue near the Caspian Sea.

“This will be a tough COP,” said Fernanda Carvalho, global climate and energy policy lead at WWF.

“Countries are divided. There is a lack of trust,” she told AFP, and divisions over climate finance “will be reflected in every room of those negotiations.”

As climate change threatens the cryosphere — the frozen parts of the Earth — at an alarming rate putting almost a quarter of humanity at risk, Pakistan has advocated for coordinated regional efforts and international support to save the eco-system and build climate resilience, particularly across the Hindu Kush and Himalaya region.

The study ‘The State of the Cryosphere 2024’, released on Tuesday on the sidelines of COP29 in Baku, urged urgent action to control emissions to save glaciers, which are melting at a rapid pace due to global warming.

“Under a high emissions scenario…Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), may experience up to 80% of ice loss. With very low emissions however, up to 40% of glacier ice in the HKH region could be preserved,” it said, adding that projections in a few glacier regions even show slow re-growth beginning between 2100 and 2300, but only with very low emissions and essentially carbon neutrality by 2050.

Against this backdrop, the environment ministers from the HKH met on Tuesday at the Baku Olympics Stadium to come together to save the “third pole” and to keep global temperatures below 1.5 Celsius.

This gathering aimed to discuss the rapidly increasing climate risks and vulnerabilities in the region and beyond, while identifying areas for urgent collective actions, inevitable to addressing the pressing challenges and fulfilling the hopes of the quarter of humanity impacted by these changes, said a statement.

It stated that over the past decade, the rate of glacier melting in the HKH has accelerated by 65 per cent compared to the previous decade (2000-2010) and the trend is projected to continue.

“Over the last decade, the rate of glacier melting in the HKH has accelerated by 65% compared to the previous decade (2000- 2010), and the trend is projected to continue.”

Speaking at the event, Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay said this was an opportune time for the region to unite to push for a new collective quantified role that would directly address the need of the countries which were most vulnerable to climate change.

Pakistan Prime Minister Adviser on Climate Change Romina Khurshid Alam said no country across the HKH region could tackle the climate crisis in isolation and besides regional unity, international response was essential.

She said Pakistan stood for regional partnership aiming to save the ecosystem and species, and build climate resilience. She argued for easy access to climate finance to ensure these countries could erect safeguards to protect themselves from climate change.

She said Pakistan was experiencing first-hand the impacts of climate change, increasing the risk of natural disasters in the form of GLOFs and threatening water security and agriculture as well as biodiversity.

Other speakers included delegates from China, Bangladesh, India, and Nepal. The event was organised by the Kingdom of Bhutan and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development.

Bleak state of Cryosphere

According to the State of Cryosphere 2024 report, if the current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are met, global temperatures will likely reach 2.3°C by 2100, leading to irreversible ice loss, significant sea-level rise, and severe impacts on coastal regions, mountain communities, and polar ecosystems.

In case of a high emissions scenario, the temperature may rise to 3-3.5°C, which will cause extreme damage, including rapid ice sheet loss, the disappearance of glaciers, and widespread permafrost thaw.

However, the 1.5°C temperature in line with the Paris Agreement can help stabilise the cryosphere and preserve part of glaciers but that cannot happen unless there is a drastic cut in emissions.

“This requires urgent action, however, with emergency-scale tightening of mitigation commitments and fossil fuel emissions declining 40% by 2030,” the report added.

In case there is no action to stop the melting of glaciers, “severe and potentially permanent changes to the water cycle, due to loss of snowpack and ice run-off during the warm summer growing season, will impact food, energy and water security.”

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.

Header image: View of the landscape from Langtang, Nepal can be seen in this undated handout image. — Tika Gurung via Reuters

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2024

The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday announced that the recently established constitutional bench will start hearing cases on November 14 and 15.

Earlier, the SC constituted a three-judge committee to fix cases, issue court rosters, form benches, and decide weekly caseload for its recently established constitutional bench.

The committee held a meeting today which was chaired by Justice Aminud Din Khan (head of the constitutional bench) and attended by Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, who participated through a telephone call from Karachi.

The SC said in a press release, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss matters for the formation of the constitutional bench.

During the meeting, the committee was briefed by the court’s registrar’s office regarding the pending constitutional cases, the statement said adding, “[The] committee resolved that priority shall be accorded to the oldest cases.”

On Nov 5, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), in its maiden session, had picked Justice Amin as head of the constitutional bench by a seven-to-five majority.

Chaired by Chief Jus­tice of Pakistan (CJP) Jus­tice Yahya Afridi, the reconstituted JCP for­m­ed a seven-member con­stitutional bench, inc­­luding Justices Ami­nud Din Khan, Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muha­m­mad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha A. Malik, Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Musarrat Hilali and Naeem Akhtar Afghan.

Today’s press release mentioned that Justice Ayesha Malik will not be available on Nov 14 and 15 and “a bench comprising all available Judges shall be constituted to proceed with cases on these dates.”

The SC Registrar Muh­ammad Salim Khan released the court roster of a six-member constitutional bench which will begin hearing cases at 9:30am on Nov 14.

The bench will include Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan.

The SC directed the Registrar to schedule cases for hearing before the bench.

The next meeting of the committee will be held on Nov 13 at 12:30pm after Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar arrives in Islamabad.

• Holds introductory meeting with finance minister
• Govt pledges to end gas supply to captive power plants by Jan
• Lender’s team to hold joint session with power and petroleum divisions today

ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has sought a detailed, output-based update on Pakistan’s digitalisation plans for its revenue system, including the use of artificial intelligence to expand the tax base and increase collections.

On the energy side, the country has pledged to halt gas supply to captive power plants (CPPs) by January 2025, redirecting them to the national grid despite a strong pushback from influential rent-seeking industrialists. The IMF has firmly rejected any amendments to this programme benchmark.

The visiting IMF team, led by Pakistan’s mission chief Nathan Porter, held an introductory meeting on Tuesday with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb. Minister of State for Revenue Ali Pervez Malik, State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmad and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Rashid Mehmood Langrial were also present.

The mission is also holding separate technical sessions with all the stakeholders, including the FBR, power and petroleum divisions and the energy sector regulatory authorities. In all these engagements, the mission appeared to have not expressed its mind so far, except from raising exploratory questions, participants told Dawn.

It is not yet clear if the dialogue would lead to policy-level discussions that had been a critical part of IMF programmes’ quarterly reviews.

The current $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF), however, has been designed in a manner that the IMF and Pakistan authorities should hold biannual review meetings for the disbursement of about $1bn instalments during each cycle.

The first formal review has to take place based on the end-December performance for Pakistan to qualify for disbursement for a second instalment of over $1bn by March 15, 2025.

Officials said the IMF mission has called for detailed explanations on the digitalisation of FBR’s processes for revenue collection, application of artificial intelligence for identifying and tracing tax evaders and their taxable incomes and businesses and involvement of specialised expert firms. They have also sought a complete update on the track-and-trace system.

In initial meetings, the FBR attributed recent revenue shortfalls — particularly in the first month of the second quarter — to the declining inflation.

The power sector’s performance appears to be within agreed limits concerning circular debt and current revenues.

Circular debt rose by about Rs70bn, below earlier estimates of Rs240-250bn. A circular debt management plan was approved only last week by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), led by the finance minister.

Sources said the government had been going back and forth over the disconnection of gas supply to inefficient captive power plants, belonging mostly to the textile sector, to utilise surplus capacity in the national power grid.

The industrialists have, however, now mustered support from gas companies. Some stakeholders are now pushing for the supply of imported LNG to CPPs at a weighted average cost of local and imported molecules on the premise that electricity connections were not available or were insufficient in certain areas.

The IMF mission is scheduled to have a joint session with the power and petroleum divisions on Wednesday (today) to discuss their interrelated issues, including circular debt, planned tariff adjustments, loss reduction programmes and recoveries.

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2024

• Omar Ayub, Shibli Faraz, Asad Qaiser among those detained, then released
• Party slams govt over detention of senior leaders who sought to meet Imran in prison
• Police cite Section 144 violations as basis for action

ISLAMABAD: Several PTI leaders were briefly detained on Tuesday outside Adiala Jail while attempting to meet the party’s incarcerated chairman, Imran Khan, sparking condemnation from the party.

Opposition leaders in the National Assembly and Senate, Omar Ayub Khan and Shibli Faraz, former National Asse­mbly speaker Asad Qaiser, Opposition Leader in the Pun­jab Assembly Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar, and Sunni Itte­had Council (SIC) Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza were among those arrested.

The police claimed that the party leaders were arrested under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) but were later released with a warning.

Mr Qaiser told Dawn that PTI had approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) after being denied access to meet Imran Khan. “The court summoned the jail superintendent, who assured us that we could meet Khan Sahib. On Tuesday, we arrived around 2pm with the court order in hand, but the jail authorities still barred our entry,” he said.

“It feels like there’s a law of the jungle in Pakistan. We were taken to a nearby police post and, after contacting others through our mobile phones, the media arrived, and we were eventually allowed to leave,” he said.

“We have decided to lodge an FIR, submit a privilege motion and raise the matter in sta­nding committees,” he added, denou­ncing the act as a violation of basic human rights and contempt of the IHC’s directive.

The PTI leaders also accused Prime Minister Shehbaz Sha­rif, Punjab Chief Minister Mar­yam Nawaz and Inspector Gen­e­ral of Police in Punjab Dr Usman Anwar for issuing ord­ers of their illegal detention.

A police official told Dawn that the PTI leaders were taken to a police post after they ignored warnings about the prohibition of gatherings due to Section 144. However, they were soon freed after being issued a warning. “If they had refused to leave, the police would have taken legal action against them,” a senior police official said.

‘Absolutely shameful’

The PTI also condemned the incident on social media.

“Absolutely shameful! Omar Ayub Khan, Shibli Faraz, Asad Qaiser, Ahmed Bhachar and Sahibzada Hamid Raza have been arrested outside Adiala Jail for simply exercising their right to meet with Imran Khan, as permitted by law. This should alarm anyone who values the rule of law, as it shows how basic freedoms are being trampled upon,” the party said on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

A video posted online by the party showed Omar Ayub in a vehicle with police officers nearby, and Hamid Raza being pulled aside by uniformed personnel. A police van was also visible in the video.

Later, at a press conference, Mr Faraz decried the police action, calling it a breach of constitutional rights. He said the party leaders who went to meet Imran Khan were arrested even though they did not hold any rallies or public meetings or show any aggression.

In a statement, PTI’s Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram denounced the government’s actions as a violation of democratic freedoms and called for legal consequences for those responsible.

He denounced the government’s “disregard for the judiciary” and for allegedly committing contempt of court, urging the court to take stern measures against those responsible for violating the law.

Mr Akram said that the senior PTI leaders waited until 3pm outside Adiala Jail but were not allowed to meet Imran Khan. However, when they attempted to leave, they were taken into custody.

He said the government was “crossing all limits of barbarism and brutalities” as the PTI leaders, workers and supporters were being detained and harassed in total disregard for the law.

Maryam’s trip

Separately, the PTI lashed out at the Sharif family over Maryam Nawaz’s visit to Geneva for what the party called a “minor medical procedure”.

The party’s spokesperson accused Ms Nawaz of abandoning the residents of Punjab, who are facing severe smog, inflation and rising crime, while she seeks treatment abroad at public expense.

Mohammad Asghar in Rawalpindi also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2024

• At COP29 leaders’ summit, Shehbaz Sharif reminds West of broken promises, calls for overhaul of global climate financing framework
• Links humanity’s survival with health of glaciers, says Pakistan ready to work with world for their protection
• Meets British, Danish, Turkish, Central Asian leaders among others on sidelines of climate summit

BAKU: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tues­day said that debt cannot become the “acceptable new normal” in climate financing, as he addressed the challenges faced by developing countries within the global climate finance framework.

“We stand at a crucial threshold where global climate finance framework must be redefined to effectively meet the needs of vulnerable nations,” he told a Climate Finance Round Table Conference organised by Pakistan on the sidelines of the two-day World Leaders Climate Action Summit.

He explained that finan­c­ing in the form of loans increases the debt of developing nations and pushes them towards “mounting debt traps” which he ref­erred to as “death traps”.

“Debt cannot become the acceptable new normal in climate financing which is why we must resume focus on non-debt financing solutions enabling countries to fund climate initiatives,” the PM said.

“Despite years of promises and commitments, the gaps are growing, leading to aggregate barriers in achieving objectives of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).”

Pakistan is ranked among the top 10 most climate-vulnerable countr­ies, according to the Glo­bal Climate Risk Index 2021. It has faced increasingly frequent and severe weather events, such as unprecedented floods, int­ense monsoon rains, devastating heat waves, rapid glacial melting and glacial lake outburst floods.

Calling climate financing an “urgent need of the hour”, PM Shehbaz said that developing countries need to deliver Nationally Determined Contribu­ti­ons (NDCs) and “need an estimated $6.8 trillion by 2030 to implement less than half of their current NDCs”.

He further urged donor countries to “fulfil their commitment”, which is 4.7 per cent of their gross nat­io­nal product and capitalise on existing climate funds.

The PM said that Pakis­tan can relate to the “agony and pain of other vulnerable countries”, highlighting how the country faced two devastating floods.

While emphasising tra­n­sparency and coordination in financial commitments made to developing countries, he stated that Pakistan alongside other developing countries, calls for stronger more equitable climate finance mechanisms under the UNFCCC.

He reiterated the pertinent need for reform of international financial architecture saying that “now is the time to build up on the momentum for international financial reforms” so that no nation is left behind in the global response to climate change.

Call to protect glaciers

In remarks delivered later at an event on glaciers, the PM linked the survival of mankind with the health of glaciers, adding that Pakistan, as one of the most affected country, was ready to work with the international community to protect these valuable natural resources.

Addressing Glaciers 2025; Actions for Glaciers, hosted by Tajik President Emamoli Rahmon, the prime minister called upon all the countries to unite in the efforts of protecting glaciers from pollution and snow melt by taking concrete and decisive actions to secure the future of glaciers as well as protect the mankind.

He said Pakistan was home to 7,000 glaciers which provided an approximately 60 to 70 per cent water for the Indus River flow, supporting 90pc of agriculture and serving its 200 million people.

However, the glaciers that provide water for this river have been shrinking over a period of time and at an alarming time, which is estimated at about 23pc decrease since 1960, he added.

The prime minister said this retreat was driven by rising temperatures and the consequences of these changes were glaringly visible.

He shared that accelerated glacial melt had led to the formation of more than 3,000 glacial lakes in the northern areas of Pakistan which were posing great threat. Out of these, he said, about 33 lakes were estimated at the risk of outburst flooding, putting lives of over 7 million people in danger.

Meetings with world leaders

On the sidelines of COP29, PM Shehbaz interacted with UAE President Sheikh Moha­m­med bin Zayed Al Nahyan and discussed cooperation on climate change.

Mr Sharif also met with UK PM Sir Keir Starmer, where the two leaders discussed enhan­c­­i­ng bilateral ties.

He also met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine Erdogan, where they discussed environmental pollution as well as matters of mutual interest between the two friendly nations, the report added.

PM Shehbaz also met with the Czech PM Petr Fiala and Danish PM Mette Frederiksen and stressed the need to enhance bilateral cooperation as well as build global consensus on the key climate change priorities.

In his interactions with Nepal’s President Ramchandra Paudel and Bangladesh’s Muhammad Yunus, PM Shehbaz discussed growing temperatures, the threat of rising sea levels, and forest conservation in South Asia.

Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and PM Shehbaz explored strengthening bilateral relations. In his meetings with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Tajikistan’s Rahmon, the leaders spoke about the conservation of glaciers and water resources in Central Asian countries and Pakistan.

With input from APP

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2024

4500 printer manual pdf

6213 multifunction printers accessory owners manual

12c operators manual platinum

bluetooth keyboard manual

1573d laptops owners manual

10s scientific calculator manual

color laserjet 3550 manual

10bii business calculator user guide

color laserjet 4600 service repair manual

to write a rhetorical analysis paper on an article

3050a j611 manual

71b manual pdf

8750 printer manual

manual lift maintenance check list

920 fax machine manual

7410 service manual

clj 2550 service manual

5wv373 desktops owners manual

6560b service manual

business e231 monitors owners manual

5743 printers accessory owners manual

to write an autobiographical essay for a scholarship

b1282 laptops owners manual

a4313 desktops owners manual

c577 laptops owners manual

to write journals examples

joinery kitchen installation manual

8600 manual paper feed

37717c quick manual start guide user guide

32s owners manual

4200tn printers accessory owners manual

to write a chiller thriller sally spedding

br389aa storage owners manual