FARUKH SHEHZAD

• KCFR hosted exclusive panel discussion on Financial Inclusion at WEF

ISLAMABAD, JUN 5: Banking the unbanked population through digitized financial inclusion may bring positive change in the lives of the underprivileged populations and the national economy. This was stated by banking leaders and financial experts while sharing their views during a panel discussion “Digital Affairs: Financial Inclusion in Pakistan” hosted by Karachi Council on Foreign Relations (KCFR) in association with Swiss Asian Chamber of Commerce at Pakistan’s Pavilion on the sidelines of World Economic Forum Davos last week.

The panel comprised of lead bankers including the keynote speaker Zafar Masood, President Bank of Punjab (BoP), Shazad Dada, President United Bank Ltd (UBL), Kabir Naqvi, President U Microfinance Bank (UBank), Salman Ali, CEO VRG, Aftab Rizvi, Risk Associates, and Imad Chishti, CEO Futafut. The discussion was moderated by Ali Shah, CEO iPath while a large number of potential investors and economic experts were present in the audience.  

Ikram Sehgal, Chairman Karachi Council on Foreign Relations (KCFR) & Pathfinder Group of Companies welcomed the guests and briefed the audience regarding the efforts being made by his team to build a positive image of Pakistan globally. Sehgal extended his gratitude to the people who stood beside his team in making such patriotic efforts. While sharing his viewpoint on the panel discussion topic, KCFR Chairman said “banking the unbanked is a huge challenge but it may lead us to the glory of economic stability and national growth”. Bringing the poorest members of the society into the mainstream of banking is the most important achievement and it seems to be possible through financial inclusion equipped with digital facilities, he added.

Delivering his keynote address, BOP President Zafar Masood shared an overview of the banking sector in Pakistan and mentioned that despite massive challenges, Pakistan went way ahead of many other countries in terms of economic success. BOP President said that Pakistan has been committed to development goals and huge strides were being taken by the country in terms of national and international development goals including UN’s sustainable development goals. Masood also pointed out major hurdles which were being faced by Pakistan’s financial sector in banking the unbanked. While mentioning different proportions of Pakistan’s population, he said that Pakistan’s 61 percent population is between the 15-54 age group which would be most suitable for using the banking services while 35 percent of the Pakistani population is below 15 years of age and they would be ready for tomorrow’s banking. Terming financial inclusion as a heart-touching subject, BOP President said “true financial inclusion without functional deployment of a digital solution is almost impossible”. Zafar Masood stated that Punjab Bank is taking various revolutionary measures to bring non-banking customers into the national mainstream banking. Expressing his concerns BOP President said that despite being 51 percent of the total population, only 17 percent of women are using banking services. He said that such a large and significant section of the population could be included in the banking circle only through digitized financial inclusion and several steps were being taken in this regard. Masood also acknowledged KCFR Chairman Ikram Sehgal and his team for their patriotic efforts in making such events a massive success around the globe.

UBL President Shazad Dada, while sharing his views said that Pakistan is one of the fastest-growing countries and the conditions are very conducive to investment. Discussing the importance of financial inclusion in Pakistan, he said that there are many reasons for the decline in the use of traditional banking services, the most important of which is accessibility as most of the country's population lives in rural areas. He said that there are only 10 branches for 100,000 people in Pakistan whereas in Asia this rate is close to 16. In such a situation, financial inclusion can be very useful, especially when the proper use of digital resources is ensured.

While responding to a question on the importance of digital services in financial inclusion, Kabir Naqvi, President UBank shared some valid facts and ground realities with the audience. According to him, understanding the customer and their requirements would be the most important factor in terms of an effective financial inclusion setup. He elaborated the efforts being made by UBank to reach the unbanked rural population through establishing far-flung branches where UBank officials provide direct trainings and awareness to the customers on financial inclusion and usage of digital resources. 

Salman Ali, CEO VRG offered a very different perspective on financial inclusion. He told the audience that 192 million people in Pakistan use mobile phones and 41 percent of them have smartphones while the rest use simple feature phones. Salman said that the majority of people using feature phones is actually unbanked due to certain reasons while the financial inclusion can prove to be of utmost importance for them. VRG is working in this regard providing the customers a many-to-many business solution which enables them to open an account in any major bank by using a USSD code on their feature phone without internet. 

Aftab Rizvi of Risk Associates, CEO FutaFut Imad Chishti, and Asif Riaz, Member Bank of Punjab also expressed their views on the occasion.

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BRUSSELS: EU countries and lawmakers are set to agree on a common charging port for mobile phones, tablets and headphones on June 7 when they meet to discuss a proposal that has been fiercely criticised by Apple, people familiar with the matter said.

The proposal for a single mobile charging port was first broached by the EC more than a decade ago after iPhone and Android users complained about having to use different chargers for their phones. The former is charged from a Lightning cable while Android-based devices are powered using USB-C connectors.

The trilogue next Tuesday will be the second and likely the final one between EU countries and EU lawmakers on the topic, an indication of a strong push to get a deal done, the people said.

The EU lawmakers also want to include wireless charging systems to be harmonised by 2025, while the EU countries and the Commission want a longer lead-in period for technical reasons. Apple was not immediately available for comment. It has previously said the inappropriate use of dated international standards stifles innovation and that forcing users to change to new chargers could create a mountain of electronic waste.

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Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2022

KARACHI: The people in this country are on edge following the recent rise in the cost of fuel. And amid fears of further rise in fuel prices they are looking at all kinds of transportation alternatives. With a shortage of CNG anyway, the only option left for those wanting to own their own cars is the electric vehicle or EV.

EV sales are picking up all over the world now, and with several charging stations coming up at the petrol and CNG stations in Pakistan, too, the trend seems to be picking up here as well. But most electric vehicles, such as the Tesla, Audi, MG, BMW, etc, are high end or very expensive.

Still good things also come in small sizes. There is also the little Rinco Aria. A small car imported and distributed in Pakistan by Nayyer Motor Company. Available here for Rs2.4 million, the car is designed and engineered in the USA but assembled for Asia in China.

On the surface, the Rinco Aria looks like any other small ordinary sedan. It is a little bigger than the Suzuki Alto but around the same size as the Cultus or the Wagon R, which it can be better compared with because of its higher roof and nice roomy interior. Like any other regular car, it has the big halogen lights, 13-inch alloy rim tyres, power steering, parking sensors, rear camera, power windows, seatbelts and central locking. But you are in for a jolt when you open its hood or bonnet. Where is the engine?

PM urged to waive 10pc import duty to lower cost of cars

Well, this is not your usual car. The Rinco Aria has a lithium iron phosphate battery that is fixed under the car. When fully charged it does 200km in the economy or ‘eco mode’ where it won’t move at over 60km an hour, which is ideal for our city roads, and around 130km in the ‘sports mode’ at a higher speed.

The electronic display shows a battery just like the one in your smartphone display, telling you how much battery you have used and when to plug in the car for charging. You may plug it into a 2,300 unit outlet to charge it in five to six hours. And the pickup and acceleration of the Rinco Aria matches any 1,800CC car.

Of course, nothing lasts forever. The lithium iron phosphate battery has an approximate eight years of battery life. A new battery’s current cost is around US$1,600. But when compared to a normal car’s monthly fuel cost, which may be around Rs3,500 to 40,000 including oil change and filter change costs of Rs5,000 to Rs7,000, this car runs on Rs2 or 3 per km.

It has no such engine maintenance, no gears, too. Like all EVs, this car, too, has an automatic transmission system. You may only need to service its air conditioner filter once a year. There is a three-year warranty for all its parts and electricals, which will also remain available with its importers Nayyer Motor Company.

A lover, collector and restorer of vintage and classic cars, the importer of Rinco Aria, Razi Nayyer told Dawn that he had initially imported 20 vehicles to test the market here. Now with all those having been sold rather quickly, he has ordered 80 more. It is available in seven colours along with the dual tone options of another colour roof and pillars.

“There is a huge need for electric vehicles now,” said Nayyer. “The skyrocketing of fuel prices was always expected and not just here but all over the world. That is why there has been much research carried out for alternatives in the West, especially in the US. My objective, my drive, to introduce this little family car in Pakistan was not to make money but to serve the people of this country,” he said.

He added that the vehicle costs Rs2,400,000 at the moment because of the 10 per cent import duty of Rs455,000 slapped on it by the previous government.

“I appeal to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to waive this duty as it will automatically lower the cost of the car to make it more affordable for the masses. Also, since it is not a luxury car but just four wheels for the common man, please also allow its import into Pakistan. It will only help the economy because we are spending so much of our foreign exchange on fuel,” he pointed out.

He added: “The fuel you may run out of, sooner or later, but electricity you will always have because if nothing else there is the bright sun shining over your head to ensure that. There is also wind and water to generate electricity from so the future is electric and the future is here.”

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Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2022 

Dir, JUN 4: Former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Saturday asked the “neutrals” why they did not defend the country against the “conspiracy” to oust his government and reiterated that fair and transparent elections were the “only way out” of the crises the country was facing.

Addressing a huge rally in Dir, he said, “We ask the neutrals … when your work is to defend the country and it was discovered that this cipher had come and [US Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asia] Donald Lu told our ambassador to oust Imran Khan … when the National Security Committee (NSC) said interference happened and issued a demarche to the US, was it not the work of those whose job it is to defend the country to stop this conspiracy instead of being neutral?”

Imran has claimed that a US-backed regime change was the reason his government was ousted. He has called for sacking Lu, who he accuses of telling Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US, Asad Majeed, that a failure to remove the PTI government through a no-confidence vote would herald “consequences” for Pakistan.

During his address today, the PTI chairman also lashed out at incumbent Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and asked him why he had “participated” in the conspiracy if he could not govern.

At the start of his speech, Imran appreciated the crowd’s enthusiasm, telling them he had decided to start the rally early when he came to know the ground had been filled by 2:30pm.

He claimed that the US, Israel and India were involved in the conspiracy to oust his government and “impose” Shehbaz on the country not because the incumbent prime minister had “any capabilities but because he would obey all orders from his masters”.

Shehbaz had taken the first order from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by raising the prices of fuel and electricity, he said, alleging that the US was behind the move.

“He (Shehbaz) increased inflation so much. No one who has any humanity could do this. He increased the prices of petrol … by Rs60.”

Imran alleged that the IMF had also pressured his government to increase fuel and electricity prices by Rs10 but he had instead decreased them by Rs10 per litre and Rs4 per unit, respectively. “Imran will live and die in Pakistan. He does not bow before anyone.”

The PTI government wanted to protect the people from the impact of global inflation, he said.

“When prices are raised, salaried people cannot afford monthly expenses. Everything becomes expensive such as transport and school fees. That is why we had [maintained fuel prices] to protect people.”

Govt ousted to ‘impose US puppets’

Highlighting his government’s performance, Imran said that during his tenure, tax collection reached a record level, two crops saw record yields for two years, average income increased from Rs16,180 to Rs26,300, and health insurance and Ehsaas social security programmes were introduced.

“Imran Khan’s wealth and businesses are not abroad. He will live and die in Pakistan but the imported government leaders, Asif Ali Zardari, Shehbaz Sharif and Nawaz Sharif’s wealth is outside the country. Their looted money is abroad.”

He added that previous governments of the PPP and the PML-N were ousted because of corruption but his government was removed on the pretext of inflation. However, the real reason for the PTI government’s removal was so “US puppets” could be imposed, he claimed.

The PTI chairman then criticised Shehbaz, amid loud cheers and slogans of thief, saying that the incumbent premier looked “worried and afraid” nowadays.

“I want to ask you, Shehbaz Sharif, if you could not govern, why did you do this conspiracy?” he questioned. “They (the coalition government) are saying everything happened because of Imran Khan. Then you should have let Imran Khan remain in power.”

When the previous PML-N government completed its tenure in 2018, fiscal deficit and circular debt were at a record high but the PTI government lifted the country out of difficult situations, the ex-premier said.

“Do not run away or go to Turkey. Work here,” he said, while addressing Shehbaz. “Does Shehbaz go to office at 7am to carry out the economic murder of the masses? Shehbaz’s work [as chief minister] was done only through advertisements.”

He claimed that the then-opposition had come to power only to save themselves. He welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to take suo motu notice of perceived interference in criminal proceedings and said the entire country was waiting to see if only petty thieves were sent to prison or “big dacoits” also went to jail.

“They were brought to power because corrupt people cannot take a stand for national interests,” he alleged.

‘Country in danger’

Imran said the country had been on a downwards trajectory since the PML-N-led coalition government came to power and noted that while inflation had risen, the rupee and foreign exchange reserves had fallen.

The country was in danger, he warned and added that as per the National Security Policy that was unveiled during the PTI government, the army alone could not protect the country unless its economy was also strong.

“The Soviet Union was a power that rivalled the US but when its economy went down, it broke into pieces. If leaders like me do not tell [the nation] where the country is going, we will make a mistake.”

The incumbent government had crushed the people in a month, he said, reiterating his demand for early elections.

“There is only way out — fair and transparent elections. Entire Pakistan is ready for elections and wants this imported government [to go] … Pakistan’s people should be allowed to decide the government they want. The US, Israel and India should not make this decision.”

The PTI chairman also accused the incumbent government of “colluding” with the Election Commission of Pakistan to “steal the elections”.

He urged the youth to stand up against the “American puppets”, saying history would not forgive them if they failed to do so.

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COURTESY DAWN NEWS

Dir Bala, JUN 4: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan on Saturday challenged the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to ‘fix’ the country now after coming into power through ‘conspiracy’.

He addressed a public gathering in Dir Bala in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

Imran Khan said his government was not toppled because of inflation, but it was to impose the ‘US puppets’ in the government.

“The past PML-N and PPP governments were ousted due to corruption but I ask why our government was toppled although Pakistan was going in the right trajectory.”

Imran Khan said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif looks perplexed and says he did not know that the landmines were laid.

I ask you a question Shehbaz Sharif, “Why did you hatch a conspiracy when you could not run the government?” adding, “You blame me for the current situation of the country. . then you would have left me in power.”

“After polishing boot[s] and so good that you can see your face in it, take the responsibility now.”

“I challenge you [Shehbaz Sharif] to fix the country now,” the former premier said.

PTI chairman said the imported government should not seek help from other countries and should fix the mess itself now after coming into power through a conspiracy.

“We used to hear that Shehbaz Sharif does a lot of work.. but it is now evident that his work was only in the advertisements.”

He claimed that the PTI government ‘fixed’ a collapsing economy but the ‘imported government’ has brought it again to that point with depleting foreign reserves and a rising dollar rate.

He said that they had planned to arrive in Dir Bala at 4:30pm but they got to know that the stadium was filled to the brim at 2:30pm which indicates that the people do not approve of the ‘imported government’.

Imran Khan said he wants the youth to stand for the country and never embrace the slavery of a foreign power.

He reiterated India, Israel, and US hatched a conspiracy to topple his government and imposed their subservient so that all their orders are followed without resistance.

PTI chairman said the massive hike in fuel prices could never be done by a person who cares about the people.

Imran Khan said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had also pressurized them but he did not accept the harsh demands, adding that the PTI government reduced Rs10 on petrol and Rs4 on power tariff instead.

He said the PTI government utilized other resources but did not transfer the burden of global oil prices on the people to prevent an inflation storm.

He said per capita income in Pakistan increased by 62% during 3.5 years tenure of PTI along with the introduction of health card and record employment creation in the subcontinent. This happened because I have a stake in Pakistan as I live here and die here too unlike the rulers in the ‘imported government’ whose wealth and assets are parked offshore, he added.

PTI chairman said the government has also increased gas prices after petrol and electricity which would consequently make everything expensive.

The former prime minister said the maiden national security policy determined that not just the armed forces but a stable economy was inevitable for the national security.

He said military leadership endorsed through the National Security Council (NSC) that the US threat was blatant interference but why didn’t they take the action as the repercussion of not foiling the conspiracy is being faced by Pakistan.

“I ask the neutrals, isn’t protecting the country your responsibility?”

He demanded immediate elections in the country for pulling it out of the prevailing crises.

He also quoted the global agencies according to which Pakistan’s economy is taking a nosedive.

He thanked the Supreme Court for taking notice of the government’s interference in corruption cases and said anybody other than Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz would have been in jail if such charges were on anyone.

He reiterated that the incumbent rulers are involved in pre-poll rigging with the connivance of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

He urged the people to come out with him against the ‘imported government’ on his call for country’s future.

The former prime minister is holding public rallies in KP after the first phase of the Haqiqi Azadi March on Islamabad on May 25-26.

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Courtesy Samaa news

By: Iain Morris, Int'l Editor, Light Reading

Like belching at a child's piano recital, insulting open RAN is not considered seemly for a member of the telecom establishment. The industry has more or less decided the young technology will be a hit, almost regardless of its merits. For all they could lose, Ericsson and Nokia typically want to be seen as receptive, even as dutiful mentors. Criticize or heckle and they risk upsetting the audience.

All of which makes Tommi Uitto's airing of doubts look brave. Nokia has previously given open RAN a much warmer reception than either Ericsson (friendly while cautious) or Huawei (downright aloof). But the head of its mobile business does not sound entirely impressed. Open RAN stands little chance of boosting competition or lowering costs, and working with other suppliers on multivendor deployments remains too difficult, he told Light Reading during a meeting in central London. Uitto must know that open RAN's enthusiasts will parade his criticisms as evidence of Nokia backsliding.

Often conflated with virtualization, open RAN is basically about unlocking some of the interface gates between different parts of the radio access network so operators can welcome in a mix of suppliers. In its absence, telcos have tended to rely on one big supplier to provide everything. If they could make one vendor's radios operate with another's IT resources, they could work with specialists and spur competition in a market still dominated by Ericsson, Huawei and Nokia - or so they believe.

Uitto is not convinced. "There is an assumption that more suppliers is more competition and prices come down, which I am not sure will happen," he said. "Is the cake big enough for ten different suppliers? There used to be ten different basestation suppliers, but we have gravitated to a smaller number."

The Finnish vendor itself comprises six-and-a-half basestation suppliers after multiple rounds of consolidation, according to the Nokia executive. Besides its own historical business, those now include Alcatel, Lucent, Motorola, Nortel, Panasonic and Nortel's W-CDMA business. "They all disappeared because they could not make it – there was not enough scale and volume to survive," said Uitto.

Uitto is equally dismissive of claims that open RAN networks will have cost advantages over the traditional variety. "Sometimes people think open RAN will be cheap. No, it's not. There's nothing that would make it inherently cheap because it is 3GPP-compliant basestations, but additionally it has the particular software-made open interfaces," he said. "Actually, in some early versions from the open RAN challengers, they even had to use FPGAs to make those open interfaces, just as we did in our first 5G products, and that certainly does not make your product cheap."

Chipmakers targeting the open RAN market have clearly been adapting their products. An original belief that baseband processing could be done effectively on general purpose processors (a market in which Intel is dominant) has been abandoned, according to Uitto. "The first thing the industry learned was that it results in a very expensive product, because these are not especially good in baseband," he said. After experimenting with FPGAs, chip developers are now working on different types of hardware accelerators based on more customized silicon.

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Gorakh Hills station to be linked with Karachi through bullet train

KARACHI, JUN 2: Murad Ali Shah Chief Minister Sindh urged the investors to explore Sindh’s historic and compelling beauty by investing in the tourism sites across the province. CM presented the investment profile of the province at the “Investment in Sindh” session, held on the sidelines of World Economic Forum last week at Davos.  

Sind Investment Session was organized by the Pathfinder Group of Companies. The conference was attended by Chairman Pathfinder Group Ikram Sehgal, Co-Chairman Pathfinder Group Zarrar Sehgal, Special Assistant to CM Sindh on Investment Qasim Naveed Qamar and DG Private Public Partnership Assad Zamin, while a large number of potential investors and government officials were also present. Ikram Sehgal delivered a welcome note and introduced the Chief Minister. 

The Chief Minister addressing the conference highlighted some major steps taken by Sindh government to ease international investors. CM assured the investors of fair policies, transparency and attractive economic returns. We are working hard to make the province investment-friendly to improve provincial economy by creating employment and opportunities, he said. 

A detailed presentation was shared with the audience offering them different potential sectors for investment. Eco-friendly Tourism, Water & Environment, Trade & Development, Education & Technology, Urban ecosystem and food security. Around 90 percent of these projects would be completed under Private Public Partnership while few of them would be completed in the traditional way. According to provincial government, an investment of approximately USD 6 billion would be utilized. 

By taking the advantage of Sindh’s rich tourism profile, provincial government has decided to invite local & international investments for a variety of tourism projects including up gradation of Gorkh Hills Station site, KMC Beachfront project, Thar Tourism Project and Keenjhar Lake Project. All these tourism projects would cost around USD 680 Million. A bullet train is being planned to ease the commute of 400 kilometers between Karachi and the inviting Gorakh Hills.   

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Shangla, JUN 2: PTI Chairman Imran Khan announced on Thursday that he would unveil his plan of action for his party’s next march at a rally in Dir “two days from now” on Saturday.

“I have a rally in Dir where I will present my next plan of action. We are studying the Supreme Court’s decision,” he said while speaking at a rally in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Shangla district.

The PTI is looking towards the apex court to provide his party “protection” ahead of another planned march towards Islamabad, which would follow his ‘Azadi March’ late last month where PTI workers and supporters had faced intense police action. The purpose of the marches is to pressure the government into calling immediate elections.

The party’s petition in this regard, however, was returned by the SC registrar today, saying that it had already decided on an “almost similar issue”.

Imran, in his speech today, said he would stay in KP for two more days to prepare his organisations. “I am planning to continue our campaign for freedom until the government conducts fair and transparent elections.”

Turning his guns towards the coalition government for their alleged torture on the protestors of his May 25 march, he said that staging a peaceful protest was a citizen’s democratic right, adding that “brutalising” protesters was not allowed under the constitution of any country.

“They can’t win the election. They can’t mingle with the people because they get heckled with chants of chor (thief) and gaddar (traitor).”

He claimed that the government was trying to “rig the polls” in connivance with the Election Commission of Pakistan. “A conspiracy is being carried out to destroy Pakistan’s democracy.”

Imran said that the government was harming all the country’s institutions by having its leaders’ corruption cases swept under the rug and by clipping the wings of the anti-graft watchdog.

Imran warns neutrals

Addressing the establishment, the PTI chairman said that their neutrality could have consequences for the country.

“Those on top now want to destroy the country. People fear that the country will go bankrupt,” he said, pointing to the rise in inflation and debt.

“If the situation is not steadied and it goes bankrupt, then I have a message for the establishment. The United States and Soviet Union were the world’s biggest powers. But when the Soviet Union’s economy tanked, it broke apart and even its strong army could not keep it together.”

Imran said that even though the establishment said it was neutral, the people would still be looking in its direction as they knew where the “power” lies.

“History will not be forgiving if the nation descends into chaos and you keep on saying that you are neutral,” he said.

The PTI chairman alleged that the government, brought into power through a US conspiracy, would end up bankrupting the country.

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Courtesy Dawn News

Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian during a raid in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, the third Palestinian killed in the occupied territory in 24 hours, the health ministry said.

The violence erupted in the Dheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem, a ministry statement said, identifying the dead man as Ayman Muhaisen, 29.

He was the third Palestinian killed in 24 hours after a woman allegedly approaching soldiers with a knife was shot early on Wednesday, and a man was killed in an Israeli raid in the northern West Bank later that day.

The Israeli security forces have stepped up their operations in the West Bank in recent months, carrying out almost daily raids to arrest suspects after a spate of deadly attacks inside Israel.

The army said troops had entered Dheisheh to arrest a Palestinian “suspected of terrorist activities” and were met with volleys of petrol bombs and cement blocks. They responded with live rounds.

Late on Wednesday, Israeli troops mounted an incursion into the village of Yabad outside Jenin to demolish the home of an alleged assailant in a March attack that killed five people in the Tel Aviv suburb of Bnei Brak.

The health ministry said after that raid, a Palestinian man died in a hospital in Jenin. He had been admitted in critical condition, having been “shot by live bullets in the chest and thigh”.

Palestinian news agency Wafa said that six Palestinians were wounded in the Israeli raid.

The army said it had also arrested the “terrorist’s father”. It said it had informed the family of the alleged shooter, Diaa Hamarsha, on April 17 of the demolition order against the family home.

Israel regularly destroys the homes of individuals it blames for attacks on Israelis.

The practice, which often fuels tensions, has been condemned by critics as a form of collective punishment. Israel insists it deters attacks.

On Wednesday morning, Israeli soldiers in the southern West Bank shot dead Ghofran Warasnah, 31, near Hebron after she “advanced” towards soldiers with a knife, the army said.

Nineteen people — including 18 inside Israel and a Jewish settler — have been killed in attacks, allegedly by Palestinians and Israeli Arabs, since late March.

Israeli security forces have responded with raids inside Israel and the West Bank, particularly in the flashpoint northern district of Jenin. Three alleged Israeli Arab attackers and a police commando have died.

Thirty-eight Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, including an Al Jazeera journalist who was covering a raid in Jenin and bystanders.

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COURTESY DAWN NEWS

• Gorakh hill station to be linked with Karachi through fast track train setup

KARACHI, JUN 2: Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah has urged the investors to explore Sindh’s historic and compelling beauty by investing in uplifting the tourism sites across the province. CM presents Sind investment portfolio at Sindh Investment Conference which was held in sideline of World Economic Forum last week at Davos.  

Sind Investment Conference was organized by Pathfinder group of Companies in collaboration with Martin Dow Group. The conference was attended by Chairman Pathfinder Group Ikram Sehgal, Special Assistant to CM Sindh on investment Syed Qasim Naveed Qamar and co-founder Pathfinder Group Zarrar Sehgal while a large number of potential investors and government officials were present on this occasion as well.

The Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah addressing the conference highlighted some major steps taken by Sindh provincial government to ease international investors. CM ensured the investors for fair policies, transparency and attractive economic returns if they decide to enter different sectors in Sindh. We are working hard to make the province investment-friendly to invite the investors playing their role to improve provincial economy by creating employment and opportunities, Chief Minister added. 

During the conference, a detailed presentation was shared with the audience offering them different potential sectors for investment including Eco-friendly Tourism, Water & Environment, Trade & Development, Education & Technology, Urban ecosystem and food security. A large number of these projects like 90 percent would be completed under private public partnership while only few would be completed in traditional way. According to provincial government, an investment of approximately USD 6 billion would be utilized. 

Along with other sectors, government of Sindh believes that Tourism industry may play a pivotal role in uplifting the provincial economy by creating new jobs and development. By taking the advantage of Sindh’s rich tourism profile, provincial government has decided to invite local & international investments for a variety of tourism projects including up gradation of Gorkh Hill Station site, KMC Beachfront project, Thar Tourism Project and Keenjhar Lake Project. All these tourism projects would be casting around USD 680 Million. A fast track train route is being planned to ease the commute of 400 kilometers between Karachi and Gorakh Hill, a highest tourism site in the province.   

Earlier, Chairman Pathfinder Group of Companies Ikram Sehgal delivered a welcome note and introduce the Chief Minister. Chief Minister’s Special Assistant on investment Qasim Naveed Qamar briefed the participants on the efforts of Sindh government to enhance investment potential in the province. 

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