Government wants upcoming Senate polls by open ballot: Foreign Minister

In order to ensure transparency and end horse-trading, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday said that the government wants that the upcoming Senate polls should be held through open ballot instead of the secret ballot.

Talking to journalists, FM Qureshi said that they wanted that horse-trading, corrupt practices, trade of loyalty amid Senate elections should be ended.

There was a clear contradiction between the words and deeds of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), he added.

The foreign minister said that PML-N and PPP had sighed the charter of democracy but now both the parties have backtracked from the contract.

Earlier today, the government had gotten the approval from the federal cabinet regarding the ordinance to legalise the organisation of Senate elections through the open ballot.

Sources had told ARY News that the federal cabinet approved the ordinance through a circulation summary which paved the way for the promulgation of the law before the release of the election schedule.

It may be noted here that the presidential reference was also being heard by the Supreme Court (SC) pertains to the organisation of Senate polls through an open vote.

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PM Khan, Abu Dhabi crown prince discuss matters of mutual interest on Phone Call

Prime Minister Imran Khan held a telephonic conversation with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

According to details, the two leaders reaffirmed the existing close fraternal relations between Pakistan and the UAE and reiterated the resolve to further strengthen the multifaceted bilateral relationship.

They also exchanged views on the COVID-19 pandemic, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

The prime minister and Abu Dhabi crown prince agreed to continue working closely to enhance bilateral ties as well as cooperation in multilateral organizations.

The prime minister also informed him about the latest situation of coronavirus in Pakistan and the steps taken by the government to contain the epidemic.

Last year in May, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had agreed to work closely for effective containment of the coronavirus outbreak.

The resolve came during a telephone call made by Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan to Prime Minister Imran Khan in May 2020.

Thanking the Crown Prince for pardoning Pakistani prisoners and timely repatriation of Pakistani citizens from UAE, the prime minister had lauded the steps taken by the UAE authorities to curtail the spread of the pandemic.

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First Muslim President in 134-year history of Harvard Law Review

The Harvard Law Review has named a Los Angeles-born Egyptian-American as what it believes is its first Muslim president in its 134-year history, elevating him to the top of one of the most prestigious US law journals.

Harvard Law School student Hassaan Shahawy said he hoped his election represented “legal academia’s growing recognition of the importance of diversity, and perhaps its growing respect for other legal traditions.”

Among the legal and political luminaries who have worked at the Harvard Law Review was former U.S. President Barack Obama, named the journal’s first Black president in 1990. Three serving members of the U.S. Supreme Court were editors of the Harvard Law Review, as were the late Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia.

“Coming from a community routinely demonized in American public discourse, I hope this represents some progress, even if small and symbolic,” Shahawy, 26, told Reuters in an email.

Law reviews are staffed by the top students at US law schools, who are often recruited for judicial clerkships and other prestigious jobs in the profession.

The review’s first female president, Susan Estrich, was elected in 1977. Other presidents have been Latino and openly gay. The first Black woman was elected president in 2017.

Shahawy graduated Harvard as an undergraduate in 2016 with a degree in History and Near Eastern Studies. He then attended the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar to pursue a doctorate in Oriental Studies and studied Islamic law.

Shahawy said he has been active working with refugee populations and on criminal justice reform. His future plans are unclear, though he cited the possibility of becoming a public interest lawyer or working in academia.

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PLL gets lowest bid from Vitol Bahrain for April delivery

As the international market continued its downward journey, state-run Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) has received cheaper bids for two cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for deliveries in April.

The PLL on Friday said Vitol Bahrain offered the lowest bids of 1.0522 per cent and 10.88933pc of Brent Crude Price for April 5-6 and April 19-20 delivery windows, respectively.

This is the lowest bid PLL has secured from the spot market since Sept 22-23, 2020. The LNG prices had since been on a steady increase.

The PLL bid results showed, three companies had bid for April 5-6 cargo with a price range of 11.05pc to 12.18pc of Brent. For the second cargo on April 19-20, the PLL received four bids ranging between 10.8933pc and 12.50pc of Brent. Vitol Bahrain won both bids.

At current Brent price of about $58 per barrel, both cargoes worked out at about $6.3 to $6.4 per million British thermal unit (mmBtu). The bids were invited through open tender on Dec 30, 2020.

Earlier, the PLL had received the lowest bid of 13.62pc of Brent for cargo delivery in second week of March from ENI of Italy under an urgent tendering process. The lowest bid for the 4th week of March also through urgent tender had secured 12.73pc of Brent from Qatar Petroleum.

This indicated that prices were easing out in the spot market as demand dropped over the past couple of weeks.

After many months, the spot prices are now available to Pakistan at lower than long term contract of Qatar Petro­leum at 13.37pc of Brent. All spot cargos usually contain about 140,000 cubic meters of LNG or 3.2 mmBtu.

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PSO is expecting his first LNG cargo delivery in recent three years

Pakistan State Oil (PSO) is seeking a liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo for delivery in April through a tender after a five-year contract with commodity trader Gunvor expired in December, three industry sources told Reuters.

If awarded, this will be the state-owned company’s first spot purchase in about three years, two of the sources said.

PSO last sought spot cargoes in October, for delivery over November to January, but did not award the tender as demand had dropped amid the coronavirus pandemic and a surge in hydropower generation, one of the sources said.

“With summer approaching, which is when power generation demand usually increases, PSO will likely need more LNG,” the source said, adding that the company will probably regularly issue tenders seeking one to three LNG cargoes a month going forward.

Five-year pact with Gunvor expired in Dec 2020

The company has no immediate plans to sign another mid-term contract though there are discussions in place with potential suppliers, and plans to focus on the spot market instead, the source said.

“There’s been a lot of turbulence in (prices) recently, so PSO is a bit cautious of signing longer-term deals,” the source added.

Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices fell for a third week as a warmer season approaches in the northern hemisphere, reducing the heating demand that sent prices to a historic high last month.

The average LNG price for March delivery into Northeast Asia was estimated at around $7.20 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), traders said. That’s 80 cents lower than the previous week.

Cargos for April delivery were estimated at $6.60 per mmBtu. That’s about five times lower than the record high of $32.50/mmBtu on Jan 13.

In the latest tender, PSO is seeking the LNG cargo for delivery over April 15 to 16, according to a document seen by Reuters. The tender closes on March 2.

After five-year contract with Gunvor expired in December, PSO received extra volumes from its long-term supplier Qatar Petroleum for delivery over January to March, two sources said.

Gunvor declined to comment, while PSO did not immediately reply to an email requesting comment.

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COVID-19: 1,286 new cases, 28 deaths reported within 24 hours

Pakistan has recorded 28 more coronavirus-related deaths in past 24 hours, surging the overall death toll to 11,914, reported on Saturday.

According to the latest statistics of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the COVID-19 has claimed 28 more lives and 1,286 fresh infections were reported.

In the past 24 hours, as many as 1,198 patients have recovered from the virus in a day and 1,908 patients are still in critical condition.

The total count of active cases is 32,514 and positivity rate stands at 3.85 per cent.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), with fresh inclusion of the infections in the country the national tally of cases now currently stands at 553,128.

A total of 33,319 tests were conducted across the country during this period. Overall 508,700 people have recovered from the deadly disease so far while 8,155,766 samples have been tested thus far.

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COVID-19: 1,286 new cases, 28 deaths reported within 24 hours

Pakistan has recorded 28 more coronavirus-related deaths in past 24 hours, surging the overall death toll to 11,914, reported on Saturday.

According to the latest statistics of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the COVID-19 has claimed 28 more lives and 1,286 fresh infections were reported.

In the past 24 hours, as many as 1,198 patients have recovered from the virus in a day and 1,908 patients are still in critical condition.

The total count of active cases is 32,514 and positivity rate stands at 3.85 per cent.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), with fresh inclusion of the infections in the country the national tally of cases now currently stands at 553,128.

A total of 33,319 tests were conducted across the country during this period. Overall 508,700 people have recovered from the deadly disease so far while 8,155,766 samples have been tested thus far.

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