LAHORE: The Federal Finance Minister, Dr Mubashir Hasan, has assured that the Gov­ernment has no intention whatsoever of acq­uiring gold, demonetising currency notes, freezing lockers or disturbing bank deposits. The assurance was held out by him at his meeting with the delegations of Lahore and Karachi stock exchanges … today [Oct 4]. …

This categorical declaration by the ... Minister was made in reply to a query by Mian Tajammul Hussain, President, Lahore Stock Exchange. Dr. Mubashir Hasan said some anti-social elements kept spreading rumours. He categorically refuted these rumours and explicitly wanted this to be known to the public. … The delegations … expressed their satisfaction over this clarification. — News agencies

[Meanwhile, as reported by news agencies from the UN,] United Nations General Asse­m­bly today [Oct 4] suspended its general debate at the request of African countries to prevent South African Foreign Minister Dr Hilgard Muller from speaking. The Africans asked the Credentials Committee to decide whether his delegation represented the people of South Africa. The suspension was approved.

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2023