E-Paper PDF 20th November (ISB)

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Wednesday, 20 November, 2019 I 22 Rabi-ul-Awwal, 1441 I Rs 19.00 I Vol X No 140 I 16 Pages I Islamabad Edition

‘CritiCally ill’ Nawaz off to loNdoN g

ShehBaz SharIf, PerSoNal PhySIcIaN Dr aDNaN accoMPaNy forMer PM IN hIS ‘hIGh-eND aIr aMBulaNce’

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Nawaz wIll Go to BoStoN for treatMeNt after DetaIleD checK-uP IN loNDoN

Govt to accept LHC verdict on Nawaz

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AGENCIES

orMer prime minister Nawaz Sharif on tuesday left for medical treatment in london in a “high-end air ambulance” which is equipped with an intensive care unit and an operation theatre a day after his name was removed from the no-fly list on the orders of the lahore high court.

Nawaz is accompanied by Pakistan Muslim league-Nawaz (PMl-N) President Shehbaz Sharif and personal physician Dr adnan Khan. a team of doctors and paramedics are also on board to cope with any emergency situation. the ex-PM will be travelling to Boston for further treatment, confirmed his senior aide.

“Nawaz Sharif will go to Boston after going through a detailed checkup in london. During his travel, he will stay in Doha for two hours,” Pervaiz rashid told reuters.

Meanwhile, PMl-N Spokesperson Marriyum aurangzeb said doctors had conducted a medical test in the morning and took measures to keep his condition stable during the journey.

“If Nawaz Sharif had left 15 days earlier, then his treatment would have already started by now,” aurangzeb said, confirming that the PMl-N supreme leader will be taken to the uS for treatment. Marriyum further said that in the absence of Nawaz and Shehbaz, party affairs will be handled by the senior leadership of the PMl-N through an advisory board. the development comes a day after the Ministry of Interior issued a notification to formally allow the former prime minister to travel abroad for medical treatment, stating that the decision has been taken as an “interim arrangement” in light of the lhc order in this regard.

In its notification, the ministry reproduced the undertakings provided by Shehbaz and Nawaz to the lhc in which the terms of their travel and return have been laid out. the undertaking provided by Shehbaz includes a clause that states that the Pakistan high commission will have the right to meet Nawaz’s doctors to “verify or confirm about his health”.

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PM, ISI DG discuss national security

Verdict in Musharraf treason case on Nov 26

STORY ON PAGE 02

Afghanistan claims victory over IS

STORY ON BACK PAGE

atc verdict on PM’s acquittal plea in 2014 sit-in case on Dec 5

STORY ON BACK PAGE

‘Kashmir shutdown caused losses of more than $1bn’ STORY ON BACK PAGE

STORY ON PAGE 02

TEHRAN: Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa meets Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. INP

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Sweden drops rape probe against Julian Assange STORY ON BACK PAGE

CMYK Wednesday, 20 November, 2019

02 ISLAMABAD

GovT To ACCePT LHC verDiCT oN NAwAz iSLamaBad

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STAFF REPORT

He government has decided not to move the Supreme Court against a Lahore High Court (LHC) verdict that had allowed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to leave Pakistan for medical treatment without any conditions.

According to reports, the prime minister said that the government was not in favour of challenging the high court’s verdict as his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), believed in respecting the decisions of courts. The LHC on Saturday allowed the former premier to travel abroad for four weeks without having to sign the Rs7 billion

indemnity bond suggested by the federal government, saying the duration could be extended on doctors’ recommendation. Subsequently, the PM directed the legal team to review the court’s decision in this matter and present a report to him in the cabinet meeting.

‘SENTENCE ONLY SUSPENDED’: Meanwhile, addressing the press conference following the cabinet meeting, Federal Minister for Law Barrister Farogh Naseem said that former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif’s sentence has only been suspended. Speaking to reporters along with Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Naseem said

‘Critically ill’ Nawaz off to London continued from page 01 Until recently, Nawaz has consistently said he had no wish to leave the country, preferring to stay and fight for his political survival. Nawaz’s third term as prime minister ran from 2013 to 2017, when he was removed by the Supreme Court amid revelations over his personal wealth. Subsequently convicted of corruption, Nawaz has consistently denied the accusations,

that asking for indemnity bonds from the former prime minister was cabinet’s decision. However, Leader of Opposition and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif accepted to give an undertaking to the court instead of submission of the indemnity bonds, he added.

Naseem claimed that the indemnity bond wasn’t a surety bond, adding that the PML-N president’s lawyers were asked to submit “indemnity bond or affidavit”. “Shehbaz Sharif could face contempt of court if PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif failed to return,” he added. “Prime Minister Imran Khan had given me the task of Criminal Justice System and work is underway for its betterment,” he said, referring to judicial reforms. Speaking on the occasion,

claiming they were politically motivated and blaming the country’s generals for directing the judges to bring him down. The military denies interfering in politics.On Oct. 25, Nawaz was granted bail and he obtained court clearance to leave the country for medical treatment. Prime Minister Imran Khan, who enjoys military backing, came to power promising an anti-graft campaign and to bring back billions of dollars allegedly squirreled abroad by corrupt politicians. The PM has said he was ready to let Nawaz seek treatment on humanitarian grounds. But the court rejected Imran Khan’s demand that Nawaz provide an indemnity bond to give surety that he will return to continue his jail term.

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Firdous Ashiq Awan said that Prime Minister Imran Khan, while chairing the cabinet meeting, expressed the determination to pass on the fruits of improving the economy to the people.

She said that the prime minister updated the cabinet on improving economic indicators of the country. “For the first time, the current account deficit has decreased in the country due to measures taken by the economic team,” Firdous quoted the PM as saying.

“The prime minister directed all ministries and departments to accelerate efforts in implementation of people friendly policies of the government,” she said, adding the PM directed that each ministry should assess its performance on a monthly basis.

PM Imran, ISI DG discuss national security ISLAMABAD: Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General (DG) Lt Gen Faiz Hammed called on Prime Minister Imran Khan at the PM office on Tuesday. A statement issued by the PM office said that issues of national security were discussed during the meeting. The meeting was held amid reports that the civil-military relationship is under strain. On last Friday, Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa had met the prime minister and discussed the security situation within the country along with the situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir and the PakAfghan border. On Monday, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations Asim Ghafoor said that the government and the army are on the same page and that meetings between the prime minister and the army chief are as per routine. Talking to a private news channel, the ISPR chief claimed that there were no differences between the PTI government and the army. STAFF REPORT

ATC verdict on PM’s acquittal plea in 2014 sit-in case on Dec 5 ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on an application seeking the acquittal of Prime Minister Imran Khan in a case related to attacks on Parliament House and Pakistan Television (PTV) during the 126-day long sit-in by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in 2014. Chaudhry Shafqaat, who was representing the government, did not object to the acquittal of the premier in the case, saying the cases were made on a political basis. “Nothing will come of these cases, only the court’s time will be wasted,” he apprised the bench. PM’s counsel Babar Awan presented arguments in favour of the application and said that terrorism provisions could not be added for a speech made during the sit-in or for opposing Section 144 of the criminal procedure code (CrPC). Previously, various PTI leaders including Prime Minister Imran, President Arif Alvi, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and others were exempted from personal attendance in case proceedings. On Aug 31, 2014, PTI and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) workers marched towards the Parliament House and Prime Minister House and clashed with police deployed at Constitution Avenue.

Police invoked the anti-terrorism act against then PTI chief Imran and party leaders including President Alvi, Asad Umar, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Shafqat Mehmood and Raja Khurram Nawaz for inciting violence during the 2014 sit-in. As per the prosecution, three people were killed and 26 others were injured while 60 individuals were arrested. The prosecution had submitted 65 photos, sticks, cutters and other objects to the court as evidence to establish its case.

The prosecution had said the protest was not peaceful and the PTI leaders sought bail after three years. After hearing the arguments of the parties in the case today, the court reserved its verdict on the application seeking the acquittal of Prime Minister Imran. The verdict will be announced on Dec 5. STAFF REPORT

CMYK Wednesday, 20 November, 2019

JoINT oPP KILLS HIGHwAyS BLoCKADe PLAN; APC SooN ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

HE joint opposition committee has put an end to Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s plan of blockading highways across the country and called an all-party conference to discuss the future antigovernment strategy. The announcement was made by Rehbar Committee head and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Akram Durrani after a meeting of the opposition leaders.

“The committee has decided to allow normal flow of traffic across the country by deciding to do away with the Plan B,” said Durrani, adding the opposition will still hold regular anti-government demonstrations at a district level.

“Maulana Fazlur Rehman will hold talks with leaders of other opposition parties

to decide the date of the conference,” he said. He said that the government had gotten nervous after the Azadi March and the protests that followed. He said that no one was ready to take up the mantle of the prime minister in case this government was sent packing. “No one is ready to become the prime minister in case Imran Khan goes home,” he said.

Durrani acknowledged that there were differences among the Rahbar Committee on certain issues. “The Rahbar Committee is made up of nine political parties,” he said. “There was difference of opinion on certain issues.”

Earlier, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman lambasted Prime Minister Imran Khan-led government for pushing the country towards an economic disaster, saying the rulers were either “incompetent or they were working under an agenda of destroying the coun-

LHC dismisses ANF’s plea challenging trial court's order in Rana Sana case LAHorE APP

A Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench on Tuesday disposed of a petition, filed by Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) challenging trial court’s orders of summoning video record of the Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) and the Call Data Record (CDR) of investigating officer in a narcotics case against PML-N Punjab President Rana Sanaullah Khan. The bench disposed of the matter after a prosecutor, on behalf of the bureau, sought permission to withdraw the case, during proceedings. The bench comprising Justice Aalia Neelum and Justice Sardar Muhammad Safraz Dogar heard the plea. ANF had submitted, through the petition, that a duty judge could only decide the matters of urgent nature only but the duty judge of a special court for Control of Narcotics Substance (CNS) allowed two applications of defence and summoned record from the PSCA and a mobile phone company while hearing the case of Rana Sanaullah. He contended that the step of accepting the defence’s applications before indictment of the accused was not in accordance with the law. He requested the court to set aside orders as applications allowed by the duty judge were not of an urgent nature.

try through destroying its economy”.

Addressing the participants of a sit-in at Bannu, the JUI-F chief said Imran’s days were numbered and compared him to former Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev, who was heading the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic when the USSR imploded. In a warning to the PM, Fazl said: “Your roots have been cut, you have been shaken, now count your days.” Talking about the Azadi March, which had culminated in Islamabad, he said that the JUI-F didn’t go to the capital without any purpose, neither did it return without any purpose.

The JUI-F leader further said that the prime minister accused everyone of theft but offered NRO [a reference to Pervez Musharraf’s National Reconciliation Ordinance under which cases against political leaders and workers were quashed] to his sister. Rehman al-

leged that the PTI took funds from abroad. The founding members of the party had lodged a case in this regard against the leadership but for the last five years, the case has been pending, he added.

He said that the PTI submitted around 60 pleas against hearing of the case. “You are the one who took money from Israel and India,” he accused the prime minister, while referring to the foreign funding case.

“I challenge you, in my personnel capacity, to come and compare my character with yours, and the characters of our forefathers,” he said, adding that the entire PTI was corrupt.

The JUI-F chief also defended the participation of seminary students in the protest drive, saying that they have the right to cast their vote and to question the theft of their votes.

There will be no let-up in anti-graft drive: NAB ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Javed Iqbal on Tuesday said there would be no letup in the drive against corruption as he ruled out any sort of compromises with the elements involved in corrupt practices.

Speaking at an event in Islamabad, the anti-corruption chief categorically stated that no compromise would be made over the accountability process – which has witnessed top opposition leaders going behind bars in the past year.

Justice Iqbal reiterated that “NAB is associated with the people of Pakistan and not with any political party or group”.

During his address, Iqbal said that he was not complaining about the criticism leveled against NAB. He, however, urged the citizenry not to look at NAB’s actions from the perspective of those who are on the accountability watchdog’s radar and facing NAB cases.

The watchdog, particularly over the last year, has come under criticism by the opposition parties for indulging in ‘selected accountability’ of their leadership in connivance

with the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) government.

“Almost every person, who is on NAB’s radar, against whom there is a reference in court, against whom inquiries have been started [..] or investigations have been started, won’t say good things about NAB,” he said. The NAB chief said that while multiple people were sharing a single hospital bed in the country, there were others who were going abroad — “London or US” — for treatment “if they get a cold”.

“Are the rest not humans […]

God has created everyone equal,” he questioned. While Justice Iqbal did not refer to anyone in particular but his remarks come only hours after former prime minister Nawaz Sharif departed from Lahore to London for medical treatment.

The PML-N supremo, who has been diagnosed with an immune system disorder, was transported in an air ambulance that arrived at Lahore airport’s Haj Terminal early morning from Doha. Nawaz is convicted in two corruption cases. In another apparent criticism of opposition political parties, Iqbal said that it was unfortunate that a child had died in his mother’s lap due to the unavailability of the rabies vaccine in hos-

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JUI-F chief was ‘given lollipop’ upon his return from Islamabad, says Firdous NEWS DESK Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said on Tuesday that Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman was given lollipop upon his return from Islamabad. She further said that all allied parties are standing with PM Imran but they also have their own point of view regarding certain issues. “Every party contested elections on its own manifesto and follow a different approach concerning different issues. If all were same, then there won’t be any need of a separate manifesto for every party,” she said. Maulana Fazlur Rehman suffers from severe mental trauma and instead of being embarrassed, he is making false statements,, she said. “He only sees darkness ahead,” she stated.

“Unfortunately, the JUI-F chief uses religion as a weapon and he is giving false hopes to his party workers,” Firdous added.

Khusro Bakhtiar reluctant to take charge of food ministry ISLAMABAD

pitals. He was referring to a video that went viral on social media in September. It showed a horrific incident in Shikarpur where an 11-yearold child died of rabies in his mother’s lap.

The NAB chairman said that while the child was unable to get the vaccine on time, the budget for the [concerned] government was valued at millions of rupees.

“One province uses its card, the other uses its card. Believe me, this will not have an effect on NAB. NAB has to continue its work,” he said. The NAB chief appeared to be referring to the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government in Sindh where multiple cases of death due to dog bites have been reported recently along with reports of a shortage of the rabies vaccine.

STAFF REPORT

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday reshuffled the portfolios of Planning Minister Khusro Bakhtiar and Shahibzada Mehboob Sultan, appointing them the federal ministers for National Food Security and Research and States and Frontier Regions, respectively. The planning ministry portfolio was allocated to former finance minister Asad Umar, who was reportedly removed from the cabinet earlier this year.

However, the change of charge didn’t go down well with Bakhtiar, who refused to take charge of the ministry, sources closed to the development said. They said that the minister complained to the prime minister for changing his portfolio. Meanwhile, President Arif Alvi on Tuesday approved the appointment of MNA Asad Umar as the federal minister for planning, development and reform in exercise of powers conferred on him by Article 92 of the constitution.

Balochistan University scandal underlines marginalisation of province LAHorE K K SHAHID

On October 14, a harassment scandal surfaced in Balochistan University in Quetta, when the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested security and surveillance officers for blackmailing students. The FIA had been asked by the Balochistan High Court (BHC) to look into the reports of harassment at the university, which were being increasingly reported.

In a highly conservative area, the security officers used ‘immodest’ footage from hidden cameras to especially target the female students. With some of the staff from the vice chancellor’s office also found to be involved in the blackmailing, the scope of the investigation eventually encompassed hundreds of staff members of the university. A week after the scandal was first reported, Balochistan University Vice Chancellor Dr Javed Iqbal stepped down in order to allow the FIA to complete its probe into the blackmailing scandal.

Protests against the scandal gradually began taking place in Quetta. Students of

the Balochistan University took to the streets as well, revealing that the blackmailing had been going on for many years.

The Balochistan Assembly formed a committee to investigate the harassment scandal. The committee was to file a report by the end of last month. The Balochistan Students Organisations (BSO) demanded a judicial commission to ensure that an impartial investigation takes place. On October 25, students of the university participated in a meeting of the Senate’s Human Rights Committee, detailing the extent of harassment and blackmailing under the then vice chancellor’s watch. The student protests continued and by the end of last month their list of demands included the removal of Frontier Corps (FC) posts at the university.

Even so, their loudest demand was the sacking and arrest of Dr Javed Iqbal for spearheading the harassment scandal.

“Action against the vice chancellor alone will not address the problem, because much of the university staff is involved in the scandal, which saw harassment of blackmailing of students,

especially the female students,” says National Party General Secretary Jan Mohammad Buledi. On October 30, the FIA submitted its sealed report on the scandal to the BHC, with the court adjourning the hearing of the case till November 14.

Meanwhile, the continued inaction over any tangible steps to address the scandal irked the students and those rights activists that had taken up the issue. Another growing concern among the participating activists and protestors was with regards to the issue not receiving proportionate media coverage given the extent of the breach.

Many felt that a scandal of similar proportions taken place in Islamabad, Lahore or Karachi, the uproar and reaction would have been swifter and at a much higher scale. “The problem lies in the crux of how we see and depict Balochistan in general. It is an outright kept aside region, despite being one of the biggest provinces of the country it is one of the poorest,” says Maleeha Mengal, a journalist hailing from Balochistan, currently working with Shirkat Gah, a women’s

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rights NGO. “The harassment scandal made less impression on news and on social media simply because people are now selective on what they want to talk about and what they would preferably omit. Very few human rights defenders took serious stance on speaking to the students; the sad part is it will remain unnoticed and will disperse like other issues that emerged from Balochistan,” she adds. For many, the inaction over the scandal is reflective of the province’s deprivation, which includes marginalisation in the education sector as well. According to Pakistan Education Statistic 2016-17, 70 per cent children in Balochistan are out of school, a vast majority of these being girls.

With the administration of the Balochistan University announcing a uniform for students in a November 11 notice, the officials’ strategy to curb harassment underlines how those in charge of education themselves require training in many aspects of the sector.

But perhaps the greatest concern for many in the aftermath of the scandal is

with regards to the continued security arrangements in Balochistan, which can result in a disregard for human rights in the province. “People are afraid to talk about the scandal because the FC and security agencies are involved. The cameras were hidden inside the campus, which is a complete breach of privacy and code of conduct,” says lawyer and human rights activist Jalila Haider, a former student of the Balochistan University.

“Surveillance can be done as per security requirements, but it needs to be done ethically, with the citizens being informed. This is a university, not the cantonment or the enemy front. These measures are just a part of the power structure, which needs the locals to be intimidated,” she adds.

During the November 14 hearing of the case, the focus of the proceedings centered around how the university had been ‘hijacked’ by protestors and activists and why the parliamentary committee directly wrote to the vice chancellor without the authority to do so. The hearing was further adjourned till December 2.

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Wednesday, 20 November, 2019

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PuNjAB goverNor suPPorts returN of ALL MissioNAry eduCAtioNAL iNstitutes to ChurCh LAHORE

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STAFF REPORT

UNjAB Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar on Tuesday assured religious leaders of the Christian community that he will use his influence to restore the control of all missionary-founded educational institutes to the church.

The governor gave the assurance during a meeting with the Anglican Archbishop

of North America Most Reverend Dr Foley Beach and National Council of Churches in Pakistan President Bishop Dr Azad Marshall at the Governor’s House. Governor Sarwar acknowledged the services of the Christian community in promoting education in Pakistan and said he believed that the colleges and schools founded by foreign missionaries would serve the nation better if the community runs the institutes themselves. He said the PTI govt was committed to protecting the rights of reli-

gious minorities in Pakistan and the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor for the Sikh pilgrims was a testament of its efforts.

Archbishop Dr Foley and Bishop Azad lauded the government’s efforts and said they expected that the State would also recognize the contributions made by the Pakistani Christians and help them in promoting education in the community. They said that the main challenge facing the marginalized community was addressing poverty and unemployment for which provision of quality

Punjab CM orders effective measures for price control

IGP orders action against kite-flyers, manufacturers

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on Tuesday expressed outrage over the concerned authorities for failing to act against rising inflation.

He ordered authorities during a high-level meeting to immediately take strict action by implementing effective measures against profiteers and hoarders across the province for getting control over rising prices of daily use commodities. He directed to implement the strategy for price control, whereas, the chief minister has also questioned for rate lists of commodities from concerned divisions through a video link conference. He said that it is the government’s responsibility to provide maximum relief to its people and efforts need to be made and sped up on conundrum. The Chief Minister said that excuses will no longer be tolerated, “I demand results,” said Buzdar. Lashing out at the concerned departments, the Chief Minister said that the designated authorities needed a rude awakening and would be held accountable if visible measures are not undertaken to provide relief to the general public.

“Go out in the field and take note of the prices of commodities rather than sitting in the offices all day,” added Buzdar. The Chief Minister also added that strict action should be taken against those responsible for creating artificial inflation. STAFF REPORT

dealers of kites and kites-flying metallic thread and materials. The IGP said any persons directly involved in kite-flying, manufacturing of kites and metallic thread, its usage and sale/purchase, etc., should be arrested immediately. The top cop directed CCPO Lahore for launching a weekly campaign to control crimes in the city and intelligence-based operations should be conducted to arrest A-category criminals.

He said a special report should be prepared against those dacoits and robbers, who were acquitted by courts during the last 10 months. He said it should be probed whether the investigation officers presented the cases in courts in a proper way. He said there should be no delay in taking legal and departmental action against those SHOs who had private gunmen.

He said that circle officers, in-charge investigation and SHOs should prepare themselves for action against them who failed in arresting the proclaimed offenders. He said senior officers should spend maximum time in field, especially CCPO Lahore, DIG Operations and DIG Investigation should check the officers deputed on patrolling, whereas patrolling plan and beat system of Dolphin force should be reorganised to improve their performance. CCPO Lahore BA Nasir, DIG Operations Lahore Ashfaq Ahmad Khan senior police officers were also present.

LAHORE APP

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab Capt (retd) Arif Nawaz Khan has said that a comprehensive and effective strategy should be made to check kite-flying and arrest kite-flyers in all districts across Punjab.

He issued these directions while reviewing the crime situation at Central Police Office here on Tuesday. He said that there should be no delay in taking action against those circle officers and station house officers (SHOs) who failed in implementing the kite flying laws in their respective areas. He said there should be no discrimination in taking action against

education was necessary. “Forman Christian College University (FCCU) is a shining example of quality education. We hope to put all missionary-founded educational institutes on their feet just like FCCU so that more Christian students belonging to poor families may also get an opportunity for a better future,” said Dr Azad. The governor asked the visiting church leaders to formulate a working paper on the basis of which the government could extend its cooperation in all issues related to the Christian community.

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NAB arrests senior bureaucrat Waseem Ajmal in LWMC embezzlement case LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday arrested senior bureaucrat Waseem Ajmal for embezzlement in Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC). According to details, the anti-corruption watchdog carried out a raid and detained the bureaucrat. Earlier, Lahore High Court (LHC) had granted interim bail to Waseem Ajmal in connection with Rawalpindi Waste Management Company (RWMC) corruption and Saaf Pani Company cases. The division bench conducted hearing on Ajmal’s pre-arrest bail petition and directed him to submit two surety bonds of Rs 500,000. STAFF REPORT

ADB’s workshop highlights importance of technical vocational education LAHORE PRESS RELEASE

Participants at the mid-term review workshop for the Improving Workforce Readiness in Punjab Project (IWRPP) noted that the technical vocational education and training (TVET) sector need to perform significantly better in order to support the economy’s competitiveness and inclusive economic growth through the supply of skilled workers. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is in the process of preparing a $100 million loan, which aims to help the Government of Punjab to achieve Punjab Growth Strategy 2023 objectives by supporting the strengthening of the TVET sector. The proposed Improving Workforce Readiness in Punjab Project (IWRPP) is being prepared with the help of an $800,000 Asian Development Bank’s technical assistance (TA). On November 18th, 2019 the ADB in conjunction with the Industries, Commerce, Investment and Skills Development Department (ICI&SDD), Government of the Punjab held a workshop in Pearl Continental Hotel, Lahore in order to (i) review progress in implementing the project preparation TA, (ii) present the ADB team’s preliminary findings, and (iii) outline and discuss a draft design for the IWRPP. Participants were invited from both the government and private sector to discuss the proposed design and provide constructive feedback.

The team presented findings from the field as well as a shortlist of priority sectors and institutes. In line with the Punjab Growth Strategy 2023, Punjab Skills Development Sector Plan 2018, and Punjab Spatial Strategy 2019, five vertical sectors of tourism and hospitality, automobile and motorbike

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assembly, construction, textiles and garments, and food processing were proposed.

Cross-cutting sectors such as light engineering and information communication technology were also highlighted.

The importance of private sector engagements was stressed. The design proposes to develop new or strengthen existing Sector Skills Councils in the areas identified under the project. Dr. Fatima Khushnud presented on the Renewable Energy Sector Skills Council and Mr. Sohail Shaikh updated the participants on the Textiles Sector Skills Council. Government representatives including Director General Punjab National Vocational and Technical Training Commission, Mr. Rana Afzal, stressed the need for learning from past initiatives and working with other development partners to prevent duplication of work. Mr. Manzarjaved Ali, Project Director of the Project Implementation Unit, Punjab Skills Development Project, Industries, Commerce, Investment & Skills Department (ICI&SDD), Government of the Punjab noted the need for continuing work on the TVET sector institutional framework to prevent duplication of functions amongst existing government agencies.

Wednesday, 20 November, 2019

nawaz's departure delayed by 15 days due to delaying tactics: ahsan iqbal LAHORE: PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal on Tuesday said that the departure of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to London for medical treatment was delayed by 15 days. In a statement, the former minister said that Nawaz left in an air ambulance instead of a commercial flight due to the delaying tactics of the government. On Tuesday, Nawaz Sharif departed for England in an air ambulance from Lahore airport via Doha, accompanied by his brother Shehbaz Sharif and personal physician Dr Adnan Khan. “Politicking by the prime minister and other people over the illness of Nawaz Sharif is a black chapter of politics,” Iqbal said. He said, Maryam Nawaz’s staying with her grandmother will be a cause of contentment for her father. “A government which claims that the price of one kilogram of tomatoes is 17 rupees when its real value is 300 per KG, means the sun of its rule is going to set soon,” PML-N leader claimed. Only a fresh election is solution of the problems of the country, he said. INP

Five dead, over 40 injured in kasur passenger buses collision KASUR: At least five people died and more than 40 others, some critically injured in collision between two passenger buses here on Tuesday.

According to details, two Lahore bound passenger buses collided near Bhalo Stop at Ferozpur Road in Kasur. Five people including Tariq, Irfan, Wajid and two others died on the spot in the accident while more than 40 others sustained injuries. The police and rescue teams rushed the scene of the accident, shifted the bodies and injured to District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital where condition of some wounded people was stated to be critical. STAFF REPORT

ihc clubs nasir Butt's ica with nawaz's appeal in al-azizia reference ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday clubbed the petition of Nasir Butt, an accused in the “judge video scandal,” with the main appeal of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, challenging the Al-Azizia Steel Mills verdict. Nasir Butt had filed an intra-court appeal regarding verification of documents from the Pakistan High Commission, London which was heard by a division bench comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhter Kiyani. Earlier, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah had dismissed this petition while mentioning some flaws in the case. The ICA prayed the bench to turn down the judgment of the single-member bench and sought orders for Pakistan High Commission London to verify the documents of Nasir Butt which contained audio and video record of former judge Arshad Malik. The court served notices to the federation and adjourned hearing of the case till November 25. APP

London fLats in use of Justice isa’s wife, sc toLd ISLAMABAD

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APP

HE Supreme Court Tuesday adjourned the hearing of Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s petition challenging the presidential reference filed against him over alleged non-disclosure of assets in his wealth statement till Wednesday.

A ten-member larger bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial, heard the case regarding proceedings of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) against Justice Qazi Faez Isa. The reference filed against Justice Qazi Faez Isa alleges that he acquired three properties in London on lease in the name of his wife and children between 2011 and 2015, but did not disclose them in wealth returns.

During the course of proceedings, Advocate Babar Sattar counsel for Justice Qazi Faez Isa said Prime Minister Imran Khan addressing the incumbent

chief justice of Pakistan and chief justice-in-waiting during a gathering the other day said there was a double standard of law for the haves and have nots.

He had pleaded them to bring reforms in judicial system in a bid to provide justice to all on equality basis, the counsel added.

Justice Umar Ata Bandial asked the counsel not to use this forum for such political talks as no institution was perfect. “Every organization has the potential for improvement,” he added. Justice Sajjad Ali Shah said Justice Qazi Faez Isa did not give any gifts to his wife and children while the counsel was still giving arguments regarding gifts.

Advocate Sattar said the reference had not mentioned why Justice Qazi Faez Isa did not disclose assets? He said Justice Qazi Faez Isa as a lawyer also paid taxes. It was not alleged that he was not able to buy the London flats, he added.

He said if his client had the intention of hiding London flats, he could have

made offshore companies. Justice Umar Ata Bandial said Justice Faez Isa was not accused of corruption as a judge.

Advocate Sattar said there was no proof any clue that the London assets were owned by Justice Faez Isa. Justice Yahya Afridi asked the counsel whether the children of Justice Qazi Faez Isa hold the official passport.

Munir A Malik said both children had Spanish passports. Adv Sattar said according to official documents, the London flats were in use of Justice Isa’s wife.

Referring to the Panama case, the counsel said according to the Panama decision, Maryam Nawaz was not dependent on his father. Nawaz Sharif was not obliged to disclose Maryam’s assets as she was not her dependent, he added.

He said Justice Qazi Faez was not seeking protection under Article 209. He said his client wanted tax authorities to inquire into allegations. Justice Umar Ata Bandial said Article 209 was not only a protection but also a privilege.

love binds all, america’s senior bishop says in first visit to Pakistan Dr Foley Beach says he’s encourageD to see Pakistani islamic scholars aDvocating neeD For interFaith Dialogue LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Anglican Archbishop of North America Most Reverend Dr Foley Beach on Tuesday emphasised the importance of love and tolerance to overcome the challenges of extremism and discrimination that plague the world.

He was speaking at a reception hosted in his honour by the National Council of Churches in Pakistan President and Bishop of Raiwind Dr Azad Marshall at the Saint Peter’s School hall here.

The event was attended by Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi, Badshahi Masjid Khateeb Dr Abdul Khabeer Azad, Jamia Naeemia patron Dr Ragheb Naeemi, Pir Ziaul Haq Naqshbandi Qadri, Maulana Asim Makhdoom and Bishop of Multan Leo Roderick Paul among others. At the start of the event, the moderator Pastor Emmanuel Khokhar welcomed the archbishop to Pakistan and hoped his stay would be a pleasant one and full of love.

Addressing the gathering Bishop Dr Azad called for peaceful coexistence of all religious and ethnic groups living in Pakistan. He said that both Christianity

and Islam preached peace and brotherhood and called for promoting tolerance in Pakistani society.

PUC chief Ashrafi highlighted the services of the PUC and other Islamic outfits for the minority communities of the country, saying he was always there whenever a need arose. He also rejected the impression of a divide between the minority and majority communities, saying everyone was an “equal citizen” under the constitution of Pakistan.

Clerics Khabeer and Naqshbandi said Pakistan was a diverse society and people belonging to all religions live in harmony and stick together through thick and thin.

Thanking the hosts, Archbishop Dr Beach said he was glad to see the Islamic scholars propagating the need for interfaith dialogue.

In a response to a question, he said the people in the United States have mixed views about Pakistan; however,

hitherto he has found nothing but goodwill and love wherever he has gone during his two-day-old stay.

He said every society has its fair share of problems, but every religion preaches love and tolerance. And to overcome the ills of extremism and fundamentalism, there was a need to promote ideas of peace, love and tolerance.

Answering a reporter’s question, Bishop Dr Azad expressed his concern over the population census conducted in 2018 wherein the Hindu community has emerged as the largest minority group in the country.

“We have our reservations on the conduct of the census. You will find Christians living in Karachi till Peshawar whereas the Hindu community is primarily settled in Sindh. Christians’ contribution to Pakistani society is well documented and we expect the Pakistani state to own its Christian citizens just as it is embracing Sikhs and Hindus,” he said.

NEWS

05

Court extends Abbasi, Ismail’s judicial remand till December 3 NEWS DESK An accountability court in Islamabad has extended judicial remand of former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former finance minister Miftah Ismail and former managing-director of Pakistan State Oil (PSO) Sheikh Imranul Haq till December 3 in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal case.

The accountability court continued the hearing of LNG terminal case as Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Miftah Ismail and Imranul Haq were produced.

National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) legal counsel told the court that the institution’s head approved a corruption reference to be filed against the accused.

While, on the other hand, defence counsel told the court that they have objections on the custody protocol being followed by the NAB. Abbasi requested the court to look into the nature of case under investigation.

He further said that all the criticism on him regarding the provision of expensive LNG is baseless, in fact, he signed the deal at the lowest rate as compared to India and Bangladesh.

He criticised NAB authorities, saying that the anti-corruption watchdog should show some courage to tell the court for the LNG rates.

NAB lawyer informed the court that LNG reference is ready to be filed as it gets approval from the regional bureau. The corruption reference will be filed within 14 days after its final approval from the NAB headquarters.

While answering to the objections of Abbasi’s lawyer, the NAB prosecutor replied that the charges which the former premier is facing would be given in the corruption reference.

He said that the accused persons have the right to apply for bail on the concerned forum if they are having any complaint about imprisonment.

He also told the court that the suspects have not moved to any concerned forum to get bail, and also, judicial remand should be extended.

Defence lawyers pleaded the accountability court’s judge to permit joint sitting of all accused persons for preparations of the next hearing. To this, the judge remarked that the defence side could finalise preparations inside the court’s room.

He directed authorities to allow Abbasi to meet his legal team.

Later, the court extended judicial remand of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Miftah Ismail and Sheikh Imranul Haq till December 3 and adjourned the hearing till then.

Global warming, smog declared big problems of coming future during moot Preventive measures imPortant iF citizens intenD to save their chilDren’s lives LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Global warming is a big issue due to which environmental pollution and smog are increasing day by day whereas the stakeholders of this crisis have to prepare themselves to face the challenges of the near future, speakers and public health experts of an awareness seminar on smog held at Institute of

Public Health (IPH) on Tuesday warned.

The speakers included IPH Board of Management (BOM) Chairman Lt Gen (r) Khalid Maqbool, P&D Department Health and Nutrition member Dr Suhail Saqlain, IPH Dean Prof Dr Zarfishan Tahir and other public health experts from the environment department. P&D Task Force Chairman Sardar Awais Dreshak, P&D Chief Health Salim Masih, officers from the Punjab Information Technology

Board (PITB), health department, and other concerned departments were also present on the occasion.

They were of the view that society must be developed on a scientific basis instead of traditions so that people understand issues concerning their health.

“The industrial revolution, smoke from brick kilns, burning of crops, as well as solid waste and smoke produced by vehicles on the roads, are the basic cause of producing smog, which is now as a bigger issue than dengue,” they said.

The IPH BOM chairman said that poor and developing countries do not have enough resources and technology

to fight against issues produced by global warming therefore all the stakeholders including the IPH should prepare themselves and come up with long term strategy/policy to overcome these challenges.

“We need alternative sources of energy like solar energy and tree plantation at mass level to save our environment for a safe future of our children,” he added.

Dr Suhail Saqlain stressed on the fact that smog not only affects human health but also reduce our abilities. He also emphasised that prevention work must be carried out for creating a healthy environ-

ment in which people are conscious about their health.

Dr Zarfishan Tahir urged that every individual should play his or her role to control smog. She said that people should not burn solid waste, avoid barbecues, and check vehicles before coming on roads to reduce smoke that is produced.

Further, public health experts also urged the public to wear a mask while going outside, avoid unnecessary travelling, and drink extra water to protect themselves. “Do not use air fresheners as they also pollute the environment,” they concluded.

Wednesday, 20 November, 2019

06 WORLD VIEW

Iran petrol protests: Why War could be the only Way out of us sanctIons spIral THE DOLLAR'S DOMINANCE OF WORLD TRADE HAS MADE SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN ALL THE MORE LETHAL, LEADING TO ECONOMIC PAIN AND A HUGE BUDGET DEFICIT

MIDDLe eAst eye

a

ShahirShahidSaleSS

N abrupt decision by the Iranian authorities to hike petrol prices as part of efforts to confront the effects of crippling US sanctions sparked demonstrations in cities and towns across the country. According to Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), “the degree of destructions was more extensive than during the 2017-2018 protests.”

At least 12 people have been killed so far - and, according to Fars News Agency, 100 banks have been set on fire and more than 1000 protestors arrested.

In the last three days, the country’s internet shutdown has disconnected Iran from the rest of the world.

The crackdown has been harsh. The country’s economic downturn threatens not just the administration but the establishment as a whole. Now, the question becomes: which direction will Iran take?

ECONOMIC DOMINANCE: A year ago, on the orders of President Donald Trump, the US reimposed all sanctions that had been lifted “under the disastrous Iran nuclear deal”.

European nations rushed to provide Tehran with a lifeline to circumvent US sanctions. Surprisingly, European governments did not appear to have a clear vision of the dynamics of world capitalism.

In free market economies, governments are not in a position to dictate to the private

sector to trade with a country, in this case Iran, especially when private companies are threatened with penalties for doing so.

Trump had previously tweeted: “Anyone doing business with Iran will NOT be doing business with the United States.”

The US uses the weight of its economy and its currency, the de facto global currency, to dictate its foreign policy. As of the first quarter of 2019, the US dollar made up almost two-thirds of all central bank foreign exchange reserves.

According to the World Bank, of the $86 trillion of the world’s GDP in 2018, $20 trillion belonged to the US against $19 trillion for the whole EU. The US dollar is on one side of almost 90 percent of foreign exchange transactions around the world and accounts for two-thirds of international debt.

With such dominance, it was unlikely that European governments could convince their banks, financial institutions, oil companies, trading houses and manufacturers to work with Iran. Iranian Oil Minister BijanZangeneh has said that the US “reached diabolical maturity with regards to smart sanctions”. The EU efforts were doomed to fail.

NUCLEAR DEAL COLLAPSE: In a glaring example of the reach of US power, a deal for Iran to buy Russianbuilt Sukhoi passenger jets collapsed because more than 10 percent of the parts were sourced from the US, meaning the deal would need consent from an arm of the US Treasury.

So far, the US has been able to nullify the collective efforts of EU members to provide Tehran with an instrument to bypass US sanctions. The US success has in part been thanks to Reza Zarrab, the Iranian-Turkish gold trader who, during his trial last year, revealed in mind-boggling

fashion how he orchestrated the largest sanctions-evasion scheme in modern history which let Iran bypass US sanctions.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad JavadZarif said in 2018 that with the arrest of Zarrab, America “has identified our respiratory tract”.

In response, Iran has been gradually stepping away from the landmark nuclear pact, while adopting a controlled regional destabilisation policy, aiming to force the international community to step in and put pressure on the US. The Iranian government aims to make the US understand that imposing sanctions comes with a cost. The Iranians have downed a US drone and are accused of complicity in the recent missile attacks targeting Saudi airports and oil facilities.

Iran, according to Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri, has been providing “advisory and intellectual assistance” to Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who are at war with a Saudi-led coalition. The US aimed to control Iran’s “destabilising” behaviour, but the region is now significantly less stable.

LOOMING US ELECTION: The US has miscalculated the situation. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in November 2018 that he was “confident” Iran would not opt to restart its nuclear programme.

Yet, Tehran has resumed uranium enrichment at its underground Fordow plant, which under the nuclear deal, was to start no earlier than 2031.

A Democratic president could reverse Trump’s decisions. His potential impeachment is also looming, although it seems unlikely that it will lead to his removal from office.It is not likely that Trump will be able to force Iran to retreat and return to the negotiating table, especially with the 2020 presidential election

just around the corner.

While polls pull us in different directions, for incumbent presidents, the economy has historically been the key driver of election wins. Moody’s Analytics suggests that Trump will win reelection easily in 2020 if the economy holds up. “The modeling has been highly accurate going back to the 1980 election, missing only once,” according to CNBC. If Trump is re-elected, what will Iran do? One theory is that the Iranian government, despite its radical and revolutionary rhetoric, has repeatedly shown that it compromises under pressure. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, in response to Trump demanding negotiations, has repeatedly said: “Negotiations with sanctions doesn’t make sense.”

But let us not forget that Iran heavily negotiated under sanctions with the US administration during President Barack Obama’s tenure, leading to the historic nuclear deal. The final version of that deal violated almost all the red lines drawn by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In the most recent obvious retreat, Iran did not leave the nuclear deal in reaction to Trump’s move, although Khamenei had threatened that “if they tear [the deal] up, we will set it on fire”.

IS A WAR ON THE HORIZON?: Other observers argue that during negotiations with the Obama administration, the Iranian government, in exchange for temporary limitations on its nuclear programme, gained what the country had sought for a decade: the right to uranium enrichment at an industrial level.

Proponents of this theory maintain that Iran will under no circumstances accept a merely decorative nuclear programme, and if Trump is re-elected and

pressure keeps mounting, Iran will abandon the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, or NPT, altogether.

Meanwhile, the Iranian government will continue to destabilise the region through its proxies, with a recent report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies noting that Tehran “has tipped the balance of effective force in the Middle East in its favour by countering superior conventional forces with influence operations and use of third-party forces”.

Meanwhile, the country cannot tolerate endless sanctions. Iran’s reaction to the US "maximum pressure" policy largely depends on the depth of the economic crisis which it faces. Until 12 November, that was open to guesses and speculations.

On that day, Rouhani made a statement unprecedented from a high-ranking official in Iran. He said “the country is not in normal conditions". He added that “for running the country” the government needs 450,000 billion tomans [Iranian currency, or $106bn] next year. “The highest amount that we forecast we can collect in taxes is 150 thousand billion. Where can we get the 300 thousand billion from? The main revenue that runs the country is oil.”

This explains why the government made the risky decision of raising gas prices.

Iran does not want a large-scale conflict. That said, a limited war that could create an international crisis and raise tensions in the region - driving oil prices very high - could be the only solution as long as Trump is in office.

Iranians know how important low oil prices are to the US and its allies. Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, the supreme leader’s military adviser, has said: “The first bullet fired in the Persian Gulf will push oil prices above $100. This would be unbearable to America, Europe and the US allies like Japan and South Korea.”

ShahirShahidsaless is an IranianCanadian political analyst and freelance journalist writing about Iranian domestic and foreign affairs, the Middle East, and the US foreign policy in the region.

Did the Prince Andrew interview do serious damage to the royal brand?

ANDREW’S NEWSNIGHT INTERVIEW WAS A DISASTER FOR HIM PERSONALLY, AND FOR THE CAUSES THAT STILL WANT HIM AS PATRON

Age Nick Miller

The Windsors do not operate in the modern 24/7 news environment; they stage big events, then leave weeks or months for everyone to debrief.

With the contemporary crop of weddings and babies more or less finishing up, this series of The Crown appears to be all about jaw-dropping interviews.

Last month, Harry and Meghan declared war on the tabloids.

Now a nation must come to terms with Prince Andrew sitting in a chair in Buckingham Palace for a 45-minute demonstration of exactly how not to excuse your relationship with a convicted sex offender.

The BBC’s Emily Maitlis forensically chased Andrew through his excuses for his long friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, and allegations involving the abuse and exploitation of young women and girls.

Some highlights.

Interviewer: “In 2008 [Epstein] was convicted of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution, he was jailed, this was your friend, how did you feel about it?”

Andrew: “It was one of those things that somebody’s going through that sort of thing well I’m terribly sorry I can’t be ... see you.”

Interviewer: “[In] December of 2010 you went to stay with him at his New York mansion, why?”

Andrew: “I went there with the sole purpose of saying to him that because he had been convicted, it was inappropriate for us to be seen together… and I felt that doing it over the telephone was the chicken’s way of doing it.”

Interviewer: “Yet you stayed at that New York mansion several days.”

Andrew: “It was a convenient place

to stay.”

Interviewer: “Do you regret the whole friendship with Epstein?”

Andrew: “Now, still not and the reason being is that the people that I met and the opportunities that I was given to learn ... I could easily have gone and stayed somewhere else but sheer convenience of being able to get a hold of the man.”

Interviewer: “One of the Epstein’s accusers, Virginia Roberts, says she [had] sex with you in a house in Belgravia.”

Andrew: “I was with the children and I’d taken Beatrice to a Pizza Express in Woking… going to Pizza Express in Woking is an unusual thing for me to do.”

He deployed as alibis the claims he does not sweat or “hug”. Then the kicker: Andrew: “Do I regret the fact that [Epstein] has quite obviously conducted himself in a manner unbecoming? Yes.” Interviewer: “Unbecoming? He was a sex offender.”

Andrew: ‘Yeah, I’m sorry, I’m being polite.’

But most damning, for most, was what the prince didn’t say – any unqualified statement of remorse and sympathy for Epstein’s victims.

The response has been universally damning: disgust, mockery and withering criticism.

Former Buckingham Palace press officer Dickie Arbiter predicted damage to the Duke of York’s relationships with various charities – his work concentrates on entrepreneurship and education and he has more than 200 patronages.

The episode was also a case study in royalty’s worst personality traits: the sense of entitlement and amused detachment from responsibility. It impacts more than just Andrew's reputation.

There are reports the Queen gave the prince approval to do the interview – a theory backed up by the use of the palace as the backdrop.

Others say it was Andrew’s bullheaded insistence that made it happen; the Queen was “aware” of the interview but had not approved

it. Jason Stein, the Duke’s press secretary, left the Palace by mutual agreement last month, reportedly after disagreements over the handling of the Epstein allegations.

Certainly the interview broke the cardinal rule of crisis PR: if you have nothing to say, don’t say it. And it’s hard to find a useful message for Andrew in this 45 minutes apart from a few firm denials (which had already been done by press release).

It is likely to encourage, rather than discourage, calls for him to give evidence to the ongoing investigation in the US. On the other hand the bland PR-speak of modern public life is a blight on society and a barrier to transparency. If Andrew is to be praised for anything, it’s making himself available and answering questions instead of engaging lawyers, let alone his brain.

In the end, what you think of the interview and the implications depends almost entirely on what you think the royal family is for.

As recent events in the UK have shown, the constitutional role of the Queen is now just a cipher for government’s executive power.

And Prince Andrew has never been essential or even incidental to the monarchy’s official job. He’s rapidly receding down the line of succession beyond the stage of being useful even if a sudden plague wiped out a handful of royals (he currently sits in eighth place, just after Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor).

The royals are a focus for patriotism, a tourist attraction and a celebrity soap opera.

Their stars slot neatly into (indeed, played their part in creating) the modern celebrity template of gossip, scandal, publicity, patronage, charity promotion and national spectacle. You might as well criticise a Kardashian.

Andrew’s Newsnight interview was a disaster for him personally, and for the causes that still want him as patron. But no mud will stick to the royals where it matters, at least no more than was already around in plentiful handfuls.

Britannia still stands. The Queen still rules the waves, while her family waive the rules.

Nick Miller is Europe correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Ayodhya: Supreme Court review advisable THE COURT ACCEPTS THE BABRI MASJID STOOD FOR 464 YEARS UNTIL ITS 1992 DEMOLITION BY LAWLESS MOBS LED BY TOP BJP AND VHP LEADERS DeCCAN CHRONICLe At least one party to the Ayodhya dispute, in which the mosque side lost the title suit when the Supreme Court delivered its verdict on November 9, has announced its decision to seek a review of the judgment. The courts are known not to easily grant a relook, but in this case, arguably the most complex title dispute in Independent India, the Supreme Court would be wise to accept that there might be room for modification.

The Ayodhya judgment seems full of glaring self-contradictions. After accepting practically everything the mosque side argued, it has given the title to the temple side in an unbelievable reversal of logic.

The court accepts the Babri Masjid stood for 464 years until its 1992 demolition by lawless mobs led by top BJP and VHP leaders. It also accepts that archaeological evidence doesn’t support the

motivated propaganda that the mosque was built on the remains of a destroyed Hindu temple. And yet the court awarded the title to the Ram Lalla deity.

While doing so, it didn’t bother questioning that the deity’s “next” friend (speaking for the deity) was related to the VHP, which was instrumental in the “criminal” act of the mosque’s destruction.

Under our constitutional system, while all Indians are bound to accept a Supreme Court judgment, even when it appears strange, the court should be ready to admit it may have been in error, at least in part, if not wholly.

Pro-mosque entities, even if they accept the November 9 verdict without demur while being deeply disappointed, are unhappy about accepting as “restitution” five acres of land to build another mosque. Accepting the verdict must not entail accepting the restitution, no matter how well-intentioned.

Wednesday, 20 November, 2019

FOREIGN NEWS 07

irAN dOwNplAys, demONises prOTesTs Amid iNTerNeT shuTdOwN DUBAI

i

AGENCIES

RAN on Monday alternatively downplayed and demonized ongoing protests across the country that have killed at least five people and renewed pressure on the government as the country struggles under the weight of U.S. economic sanctions.

The full scale of the protests, which began shortly after a 50% increase in gas prices took effect early Friday, was unknown after Tehran shut down the internet over the weekend, blocking Iranians from sharing videos and information with the outside world. Before the shutdown, late Saturday, some of the protest videos circulating online included the sound of gunfire and appeared to show gravely wounded people.

State media and authorities have released little information and a government spokesman predicted during a news conference that the unrest would be over in two days. But the spokesman, Ali Rabiei, also said demonstrators had taken police officers and security forces hostage. He did not release any details.

The protests were prompted by widespread anger among the Iranian people, who have seen their savings evaporate amid scarce jobs and the collapse of the national currency, the rial,

since President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the nuclear deal over a year ago and imposed sanctions. The rial now trades at over 123,000 to $1, compared to 32,000 to $1 at the time the deal took effect.

Tehran’s streets were emptier than usual Monday in what is a generally busy capital on a cold and rainy November day. Shops saw few customers as uniformed police and plainclothes security forces walked the streets. The all-volunteer force of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, known as Basij, said it was helping maintain security.

Speaking to journalists, Rabiei said

mask-wearing protesters were “exercising very high levels of violence very professionally,” but insisted the protests would soon end. “Today the situation was calmer — more than 80% compared to yesterday,” the spokesman said. “Only some minor problems remain, and by tomorrow and the day after, there will remain no special riots.”

The head of the Basij, Gen. Gholamreza Soleimani, said protest leaders had been arrested, but he did not elaborate. “The security forces have dealt with the protesters by practising restraint and patience,” the general said.

“Destruction and disturbances have

been done by rioters that we refer to as thugs and hoodlums.”

Iran has sought to blame violence on those linked to Iran’s late shah, ousted 40 years ago, and an exile group called the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq. The MEK calls for the overthrow of Iran’s government and has the support of Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. President Hassan Rouhani, who pushed for the hike in gas prices as part of a promise to increase payments to Iran’s poor, warned that authorities could track protesters by their license plates. During the unrest, demonstrators abandoned their cars on major highways, blocking traffic.

In a meeting with his Cabinet, Rouhani linked the gas hike to Iran’s inability to export its crude oil abroad, according to a statement on the presidency’s website.

“We have no other choice but to either raise taxes and make payments … or we must export more oil,” he said.

Meanwhile, the official death toll rose to five Monday as the state-run IRNA news agency reported that the violence has resulted in two more deaths in a Tehran suburb. Previously, officials acknowledged the death of a police officer in the city of Kermanshah, one killed in another suburb of Tehran and another in Sirjan, a city some 800 kilometers (500 miles) southeast of the capital.

Yemen's Houthis seize two South Korean, one Saudi vessel Turkey issues warrants for 133 officers over coup links ANKARA: Turkey’s state-run news agency says prosecutors have issued warrants for the detention of 133 military officers over suspected links to the U.S.-based Muslim cleric who is blamed by Ankara for a failed coup attempt in 2016. Anadolu Agency said Tuesday that 101 of the suspects were detained in simultaneous raids in 45 provinces for alleged links to Fethullah Gulen’s network. Police were searching for 32 other suspects. The agency says 82 of the suspects targeted by the warrants are officers currently serving in the military. They include three colonels, five majors and five lieutenants.

Some 77,000 people have been arrested and around 130,000 others, including military personnel, have been dismissed from state jobs in a govt crackdown on Gulen’s network since the coup. AGENCIES

15 killed iN NOrTh ChiNA miNe blAsT BEIJING: A coal mine explosion killed 15 people in north China’s Shanxi province, state media reported on Tuesday.

Nine other people were injured by the gas explosion on Monday afternoon, which took place in a mine owned by Shanxi Pingyao Fengyan Coal & Coke Group Co, according to official news agency Xinhua.

Xinhua reported that 35 miners were working underground when the blast happened, but 11 miners were able to escape. The injured miners were in a stable condition, Xinhua said. Shen Xuping, an official at the Shanxi Administration of Coal Mine Safety, said on Tuesday that the accident revealed a “lack of awareness of the rule of law and chaotic management” by the company involved, local media reported. Shen said the accident was caused by activity that “broke the law and regulations,” although authorities are still investigating the exact cause. Deadly mining accidents are common in China, where the industry has a poor safety record. At a meeting last week, the State Council — China’s cabinet — ordered a “special crackdown on production-related safety issues” to “further improve workplace safety”, Xinhua reported. In December 2018, seven miners were killed in southwestern Chongqing municipality after the connecting segment of a mining skip broke and fell down a mine shaft. In October the same year, 21 miners died in eastern Shandong province after pressure inside a mine caused rocks to fracture and break, blocking the tunnel and trapping the workers. Only one miner was rescued alive. AGENCIES

SEOUL

NATO chief to meet French leader as tensions mount

AGENCIES

Two out of three vessels seized by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on the weekend are South Korean, Seoul officials said Tuesday, as are two out of 16 people captured.

The vessels — a South Korean dredger being towed by one South Korean and one Saudi-flagged tug — were seized by the Houthis at the southern end of the Red Sea on Sunday, according to Seoul’s foreign ministry.

The incident follows a lull in Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia as one Riyadh official said the kingdom had established an “open channel” with the Iran-backed rebels. A total of 16 crew members, two of them South Koreans, were taken to the port of Salif port where they were being held by the Houthis, the ministry added.

“All of our citizens […] are healthy and safe,” officials said in a statement.

Seoul has sent the South’s navy ship Cheonghae, which had been on anti-piracy standby off the coast of Oman, to waters near where the accident took place.

“We are doing our very best for the early release of our citizens,” the statement added.

The head of the rebels’ Supreme Revolutionary Committee, Mohammed al-Houthi, acknowledged the Houthis had seized a vessel in what he called a “suspicious case” off the Yemeni coast.

“The Yemeni coast guard is doing its job to determine whether it […] belongs to the aggressors or to South Korea,” he said on Twitter.

“If it is for South Korea, they will be released after legal procedures […] we assure everyone not to worry about the crew.”

A year after the Iran-backed Houthis seized Sanaa, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and their allies intervened in the conflict in support of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

Since 2015, tens of thousands of people — most of them civilians — have been killed in a conflict that has triggered what the United Nations has described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

BRUSSELS: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says he will travel to Paris next week for talks with President Emmanuel Macron after the French leader lamented the “brain death” of the military alliance.

Macron’s public criticism of NATO has shaken the alliance. His remarks were rejected

by German Chancellor Angela Merkel the day after they were published in The Economist.

Senior U.S. and European officials have joined the chorus. Stoltenberg says the best way to resolve differences “is to sit down and to discuss them and to fully understand the messages and the motivations.” He says the world needs “strong, multilateral institutions like NATO and therefore we should strengthen NATO, not weaken NATO.” Stoltenberg warned that “if we distance Europe from North America, we weaken NATO, but we also divide Europe.” AGENCIES

Sri Lanka’s new president may struggle to form government COLOMBO AGENCIES

Sri Lanka’s newly elected president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, may struggle to consolidate his victory. With many executive powers clipped and the opposition in control of a powerful Parliament, the former defence official who inspires respect but also fear may have difficulty assembling a government.

Rajapaksa, who is credited with helping end the country’s long civil war, comfortably won Saturday’s presidential election with about 52% of the ballots.

But minorities largely voted for his opponent, fearing his return to power because of allegations of wartime human rights violations against him.

When Rajapaksa was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s seventh president on Monday, he said he would form his own government.

“I am the executive president of this country. I will not hesitate to use my executive power for the benefit of the country,” Rajapaksa said. “I will form a new govern-

ment that can implement my policies.” But that depends on whether Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe loses a no-confidence vote or resigns, allowing Parliament to choose a new prime minister.

Rajapaksa faces legal barriers in appointing a government because of a 2015 constitutional amendment that curtails the powers of the presidency that followed an unsuccessful bid for reelection by his brother, ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The president can appoint or fire ministers only on the advice of the prime minister — whom the president has no power to remove — and can’t hold any ministry portfolios. Rajapaksa can legally dissolve Parliament only next March, six months before its term ends.

Wickremesinghe’s party is in discussions on its future course and says it recognizes the mandate Rajapaksa received, but that it has not yet decided whether to clear the way. “The mandate is so overwhelming that it is difficult for the Ranil Wickremesinghe government to survive anymore,” said analyst and independent

journalist Kusal Perera. Several Cabinet ministers have already resigned after the governing party’s defeat.

The parliamentary speaker’s office said in a statement that party leaders and lawmakers are discussing different options including a voluntary dissolution of Parliament with the support of two-thirds of its members or allowing Rajapaksa to appoint a caretaker government to function until March.

Rajapaksa will also need a national budget for 2020 by April with the current government has only approved an interim budget for the first three months of the year because of the impending election.

He is inheriting an economy wounded by last April’s Easter Sunday bomb attacks that killed 269 people. The suicide bombings blamed on local Muslim groups were carried out at three churches and three tourist hotels. Tourists fled the country soon after the attacks, hurting hotels and tourism-dependent businesses.

The economy is expected to grow about 3% this year, according to the cen-

tral bank, way below the 6%-plus average of recent years and possibly the lowest level in nearly 20 years. Rajapaksa must find the wherewithal to make repayments on foreign debt totalling nearly $6 billion.

It also falls on Rajapaksa to handle any international repercussions if he goes

ahead with a campaign promise to withdraw from a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution to investigate alleged wartime abuses during the 26 years of armed conflict between separatist Tamil Tiger rebels from the island nation’s Tamil community and government forces.

As his brother’s defence chief, Rajapaksa oversaw a decisive but brutal monthslong siege of the Tamil Tigers at the war’s end.

Both government forces and Tamil rebels were accused of serious human rights violations. A U.N. report said some 40,000 Tamil civilians may have died in the final months of the fighting in 2009.

Rajapaksa himself is accused of overseeing abduction squads, rape and extrajudicial executions. Last Saturday’s presidential election showed continued ethnic divisions and minority fears, with Tamils and Muslims voting overwhelmingly against Rajapaksa, who during the campaign appealed largely to majority Sinhala Buddhists deeply shaken by the Easter attacks that broke a decade of peace.

Wednesday, 20 November, 2019

08 COMMENT Risks of playing hardball with opposition PM needs to walk a fine line

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Ne had hoped that a 48-hour respite from a strenuous schedule would cool down the strungup Prime Minister, leading him to build upon the recent positive developments in Parliament. the Pti had reached a rare understanding with the opposition on bringing back 11 ordinances for debate in the National Assembly. the PM had also constituted a committee of the ruling party’s parliamentarians to pass laws through consensus with the opposition. the outburst against the leadership of three opposition parties combined with a message to the judiciary to restore public confidence in the institution was therefore unexpected. that courts have recently delivered verdicts that were not to his liking should have led the PM to undertake introspection instead of giving an angry response Former PM Nawaz sharif has left Pakistan. the LHC had removed the conditions put by the Pti government.

Henceforth it is a matter between Mr Nawaz sharif and the court. the best way for the PM now is to concentrate on the serious issues that trouble the common man. His performance will not be judged from cases registered against political opponents, but from his ability to deliver on the promises made to the electorate. Unless there is an is an end to political uncertainty, there is little likelihood of investment and job creation. the anti-corruption campaign should have been conducted firmly but without creating the perception of a witch hunt with a political bias. When everybody from the PM and cabinet members down to party’s social media trolls get involved in the campaign with frenzy, they are bound to generate panic in society. With NAB, FiA and the FBr in full cry, the demoralised bureaucracy is reluctant to sign papers and the business community is hesitant to invest. it is time for Mr imran Khan to stop playing Messiah and let the system work. No single party, let alone a single individual, can resolve the complex issues facing the country. What is required instead is collective wisdom.

For this the Prime Minister has to help make Parliament functional by seeking the opposition’s support instead of hurling challenges and mimicking his opponents.

Is the economy recovering?

Depends on how you look at things

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riMe Minister imran Khan on a regular basis insists that the economy is heading in the right direction and that the worst is over. His chief economic advisor concurs as does the sBP governor. the same narrative has been disseminated throughout the Pti government with everyone who matters peddling the same ‘economy is in recovery mode’ mantra. this optimism is primarily based on rupee value stabilisation and a rapidly shrinking current account deficit, with the month of october showing a $99 million surplus for the first time in four years. this is predominantly on the back of a fall in imports (a result of a higher exchange rate and the government’s restrictions) while exports have shown very nominal improvement, increasing to $8.22 billion as compared to $7.9 billion last fiscal year. the government will of course not shed as much light on or completely ignore the other indicators that aren’t so positive. the tax revenue target for the second quarter of this year is expected to be missed and this coupled with the missed target last quarter has reportedly compelled the FBr to seek a downward revision of rs233 billion in the mammoth rs5.5 trillion annual target, a plea the iMF has flat out rejected. inflation, albeit temporary until monetary policy tightening is tapered off by the central bank, has right now made even basic necessities like vegetables unaffordable. Where exactly PM’s Finance Adviser Hafeez sheikh has been purchasing tomatoes for rs17 a kilo, only he knows. Unemployment is steadily rising with the latest figures from Punjab painting a chilling picture of what is to come as in the past year close to 200,000 people have been laid off from the industrial sector. With the economy not expected to grow at more than 2.4% in the near future, this figure is only going to increase.

As the government chooses to cherrypick the macroeconomic indicators and misrepresent them, as some of its ministers have, by conveniently comparing them to only those past numbers that make theirs look better, the on-ground situation continues to deteriorate. the low revenue collection is a serious problem as is high unemployment. ignoring them will only make the situation worse. the populace needs to be informed about why these problems exist and what the government is doing to fix them.

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

Umar Aziz

Asher John

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Deputy Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

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Kafiristan’s ‘Muslims’ Their tale of communal love, harmony and peace

hassnain malik

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e used to go to whichever village in Chitral, made a list of the earthquake victims, and then visited their homes and examined them, most of which ha0d become piles of rubble.

We also had limited funds and medicines, so we thought we would give money to 30 people and give medicines to 300 persons so that we could go to more villages and work according to our capacity. We visited every village’s Nazim, the local councillor, or a nearby police station, or an employee of that outpost. they helped us to make a list of 20 or 30 people, and after we had met and scrutinised them all, we gave them an equal amount of money, set up medical camps and headed to the next village. Most of the people live near the river so that they can get water and do farming easily. some people build houses over the mountains so that they are protected from floods. such people have to come down from the mountain to collect wood and water near the river, and lift them on their heads and go back to their houses over the mountain. From the front of the river, descending from such a mountain, there appeared an Amma Gee who would have been at least 60. she carried a large burden on her head that seemed to be too large than her age or health. i told my friend who knew the language to ask her why is she carrying so much wood. they were too much for a week, and then wasn’t it easier to take enough for two or three days.

Amma gee gaspingly replied as she was walking on her way that some girls in the village have little children, so she thought if she took wood for them too, they wouldn’t have to leave those children to come. the Qur’an whispered in my ear “Help the people.” one of my fellow social workers used to help women in their homes, especially women who did not have a family. she went inside a house while we were waiting outside. When she returned, there was a pearl garland in her neck that the women of Kailash usually are seen wearing. she said that, “When i gave the money to the lady of the house, she was so happy that she took this garland off and placed it around my neck.” inside Kailash, there was a shop on Chitral road, where samples of local artifacts, pearls, jewellery, and embroidery were available. We stopped there; i saw a pearl garland of the same kind. i asked its price from the shopkeeper. it was twice the money than we gave that woman for help.

Ayat 92 of surah Al-imran came in front of me and shone: “By no means shall you attain to righteousness until you spend out of what you love.”

in the middle of a village in Kafiristan, we set up a medical camp. We also had some common medicines that are useful for fever, sore throat, allergies, or coughs.

We thought these medicines should be distributed to all the people so that they could use them later. A sweet little girl came and stood by me. i asked her if she knew Urdu, to which she answered she did, and that she went to school. i made her sit beside me and told her that this medicine should take for fever, and the second one for a sore throat, and so on. the girl whose name was Gul Faria said she was not sick. i said “maybe someone in your home is not fine; take it for him or her.” she said everyone was fine at home. i said, “Keep them, if you ever get sick, then they will heal you.” then she gave her final decision. “When i get sick, Dezau will make me recover.”

When i got back to Chitral, Google told me that Dezau was her god’s name, and the girl was pretty sure that he would heal her when she gets sick. it seemed like Gul Faria taught me to believe in this Ayat: “And when i am ill, He heals me” (Ashshu’araa’) there i saw a board written in english outside the house, ‘english Language Academy.’ i was curious that there is also an english Academy in such a deprived or marginalised area. i got to know that a local man who is now quite old had been working in Karachi for some time, where he learned to speak and read some basic english.

When i met him, he said that he did not understand anything else he could share with his villagers. so, he thought he should teach english to everyone as it was the only thing, he had that other villagers did not have. so, he had been

doing this free for the last 20 years. ‘surah al-Baqarah’ explained: “if you disclose your donations, it is well; but if you conceal them and give them to the poor, that is better for you.”

An employee of the police station in Kailash accompanied with us from the beginning. i asked him one, “What kind of problems do you have the most?”

His response exploded like an atom bomb, the effects of which i still feel four years later: “there is nothing to do all day. since Pakistan was created, no Fir has been registered. Here no one occupies the property of the other. Neither they do not fight among themselves, nor do they commit robbery.

Many police officers consider it a punishment to come here because there is no ‘earning’. in extreme cases, someone’s animal is lost who would either find it the next day or it would come back on his own.” somewhere, Al-Baqara sounded up again: “o Believers: Do not devour one another’s possessions.” one day we arrived in another village in Kalash.

We met a local Kalashi employee there and asked him to make a list of 20 people.

He wrote something on a paper for a long time and then came and said, “sir! there are only 19 homes in our village that need financing, and everything else is fine.” A colleague of mine who was with us from Chitral took me aside and said, “this is a strange man. “every village we went to, if we asked for 30 homes, they made list of 30 homes, and if we said 20, they made a list of 20. this is the first one who could include any person to complete 20 persons, and the whole village is poor, but he is saying there are only 19 houses deserving. the verse of the Qur’an came from somewhere: ‘speak the truth’. it seems only Muslims are living in the entire Kafiristan.

“Since Pakistan was created, no FIR has been registered. Here no one occupies the property of the other.

Neither they do not fight among themselves, nor do they commit robbery. Many police officers consider it a punishment to come here because there is no ‘earning’. In extreme cases, someone’s animal is lost who would either find it the next day or it would come back on his own.”

Another machination of India Doing it now with maps

Rameez mahesaR

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istory shows that india has always been flaunting its malevolent behaviour towards Pakistan. Until now, it has left no stone unturned in showing it is inimical to Pakistan. Although a couple of wars have been waged between the two countries. india has always taken negative steps due to which it never gets ahead. Also, it has given invariably full vent to other countries besides Pakistan. recently a new treachery of india involving maps has come in the open. india’s home ministry has issued new maps displaying the disKarachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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puted Jammu and Kashmir and certain areas of Gilgit-Baltistan as indian territories. What a fanciful move of india is this! india-occupied Kashmir (ioK) was internationalised by india per se when it went to the UN in 1948 and since then the Modi government has been claiming that the issue of Kashmir is internal. Why does india forget the issue was resolved by UN in favour of the Kashmiri people? the grave issue the indian home ministry is responsible for is that it has violated the relevant United Nations security Council resolution. the government of Pakistan has rejected the maps recently, denouncing them as incorrect, void and legally on shaky ground. including Pakistan, the rest of the world recognises Kashmir as a disputed issue. in simple terms, it is really a big slap in the face of the indian home ministry. to me, the garbled practice of developing a new map is inexplicable, and there seems no reason why india does this kind of heinous malpractice. But the statement made by the Foreign office’s spokesperson has laid bare this conspiracy. it without saying india can never change the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir as decided by

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

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the United Nations security Council. the statement deciphers the malevolent behaviour of india to take some aforesaid territories under its possession, but its idle plots are in vain. the people of indian-held Jammu and Kashmir are exercising their due rights under the UN resolutions and Pakistan would always support their legitimate efforts, said Fo spokesperson. this is what rubs the salt over what india does behind the scene. on the other hand, Kashmir Committee Chairman syed Fakhar imam has come down on indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi like a ton of bricks pointing out that Modi was going against india’s own Constitution on the Kashmir issue by depriving the territories of their special status. the Jammu and Kashmir territory was disputed some 72 years ago and india is yet trying to take it under its own possession.

However, Pakistan will always be poised to support incessantly the people of Kashmir till they attain the right to self-determination. the Kashmiri people have lost a lot at the hands of the indian forces. over 100,000 Kashmiris have breathed their last in making each and every possible endeavour for their independence. Also, the

Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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indian forces have so far made away with over 1.3 million youth in held Kashmir and where they are kept hidden is unknown so far. thus, Kashmiris have been fighting for their right to self-determination, which is exemplary, and Pakistan is supporting them in achieving their goals. indeed, but with this kind of machination india is palpably coming out in the open to disperse the hatred which is coming out against them. it seems, the drama is actually being played by them, and which is being watched widely all around the world. Kashmir is the jugular vein of Pakistan and all and sundry know what the Quaid-eAzam had said regarding Kashmir and Pakistan, that Pakistan is incomplete without Kashmir, Modi has several times threatened Pakistan not to provide Pakistan with water any more. to Pakistan is a big threat. And indubitably Pakistan has to be cautious. india can never rupture the country of Pakistan if it works seriously on its weaknesses, to overcome them. Whatever the tactics india adopts to threat Pakistan necessarily be contended with by all means.

Rameez Mahesar can be contacted at rameezalimahesar@gmail.com

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Wednesday, 20 November, 2019

COMMENT 09 Editor’s mail

Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan.

E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan today exclusively

Umrah banned in ‘State of Madina’?

Myth of normalcy in IOK The agony of the Valley continues

malik muhammad ashRaf

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otWitHstANDiNG the fact that the world at large has not endorsed the indian action regarding indian-occupied Kashmir, expressed growing concern over the humanitarian crisis building up in the Valley and continued reports in the international media about human rights violations and killing spree by the indian forces, india is claiming return of normalcy in the state. one is really amazed at the audacity of the indian leadership in making such absurd claims to hoodwink the world; not realising that in this age of revolution in the modes of communication and media scrutiny made possible by the latest technological advancement, it was not possible to camouflage the ground realities. reportedly indian external Affairs Minister s Jaishankar, in an interview with a French daily Le Monde and interaction with other media outlets claimed that the situation in ioK was returning to normal. He also repeated the indian mantra of Pakistan sponsoring terrorism. the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan in a statement has rightly asked the question whether the situation in ioK was normal then why it was not visible to world? the statement also regretted that indian leaders continued to concoct stories with regard to the issue of terrorism and the situation in ioK notwithstanding the fact that convicted spy Kulbhushan Jadhav was the face of indian export of terrorism to Pakistan. the reality is that indian has not been able to sell such stories to the world as the international media continues to unravel the situation in ioK in a way that nullifies the indian stance on the situation. the Valley is still under curfew and the siege of 80 million people continues without any let-up. A recent report in the New York Times by its south Asian Bureau Chief Jeffrey Gettleman, based in New Delhi, revealed “With soldiers and militants claiming the streets, and most schools simply shuttered, education has been on hold through months of crisis in Kashmir. At least 1.5 million Kashmiri students remain out of school.

Virtually all private schools are closed, and most government schools are shut— one of the clearest signs of the fear that has gripped Kashmir since the indian government locked down the disputed

territory. Parents in the Kashmir Valley say they are terrified of sending their children out with troops everywhere and separatist militants on the prowl for trouble. this generation of Kashmiri children has been among the hardest hit. they have known nothing but conflict. For the past 10 years, huge protests and clashes keep erupting.

Many young people have seen friends killed, maimed or hauled off by security forces. their schools are constantly closing, sometimes for months at a time.” the report effectively explodes the myth of normalcy claimed by the indian foreign minister. india stands exposed before the world, and it is another matter that those who really can help in the resolution of the Kashmir dispute which has waited to be resolved for well over 72 years in conformity with the UN resolutions and can dissuade india from her inhuman pursuits, are maintaining a criminal indifference. their selective humanitarianism and strategic and commercial interests take precedence over the sufferings of the people of Kashmir. Unfortunately, the UN is also helpless because of the big powers which have the veto power and the capacity to manoeuvre issues to their liking. their world view, conditioned by their strategic and commercial interests, is in fact the rootcause of all the conflicts around the world.

But history bears an irrefutable testimony to the fact that movements for independence cannot be muzzled through brutal military force and they ultimately triumph, no matter what the cost. those who support and encourage india in continuing with its oppression of the people of Kashmir and to pursue a supremacist ideology of Hindutva fail to see the consequences of their actions. they might be able to reap ephemeral benefit from the developing situation, but in the long run it will proved fatal for their interests in the region as well as in india. the people of Kashmir are fighting for their inalienable right of self-determination and they have proved beyond any iota of doubt that even the killing of more than 1,000 Kashmiris has not been able to dent their resolve for winning their freedom. the indian leadership and the

world community needs to remove the blinkers from their eyes and see the ground realities. it is in the best interest of india not to behave like a war-like state and take the path of bonhomie with its neighbours, particularly with Pakistan. the two nuclear states are standing face to face with each other and any miscalculation from either side can lead to disastrous consequences for the region and the world at large. the world has seen the consequences of the pursuance of a supremacist ideology by Hitler and cannot afford yet another catastrophe is in the making. it is therefore incumbent upon the world community, especially the big powers, to intervene before it is too late, realising that their own strategic and commercial interests would be best served if there was peace in the region.

Pakistan has made several peace overtures towards india and shown remarkable restraint in the face of indian provocation in the backdrop of the Pulwama incident. it is fully capable of giving a befitting response to the indian aggressive moves as was proven on 27 February when the intruding indian planes were hit, and an indian pilot was captured and released as a goodwill gesture with a view to avoid any escalation. regional peace and security unfortunately is hostage to the indian hostile designs. it is also adversely impacting the potential for the shared regional economic prosperity. indian leaders need to understand that the continuation of conflict and non-resolution of the Kashmir issue will also have a debilitating effect on the indian efforts to change the economic situation of its teeming millions. Prime Minister imran Khan had rightly told indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that climate change and poverty were the two biggest challenges confronting both the countries and they should focus on them by resolving the contentious issues between them, including the core issue of Kashmir. Closing eyes to the irrefutable realities will ultimately prove disastrous for the entire region, including india.

Prime Minister Imran Khan had rightly told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that climate change and poverty were the two biggest challenges confronting both the countries and they should focus on them by resolving the contentious issues between them, including the core issue of Kashmir. Closing eyes to the irrefutable realities will ultimately prove disastrous for the entire region, including India

Malik Muhammad Ashraf is an academic.

He can be contacted at: ashpak10@gmail.com

tHroUGH the pages of your prestigious newspaper, i want to draw the attention of higher authorities towards the unjustified and illegal ban imposed on federal government teachers who intend to perform Umrah. Federal Directorate of education (FDe) is responsible for supervision of nearly 422 educational institutes in Federal Capital and works under the aegis of Federal of Ministry of education and Professional training. this week, my sister, who is a teacher in one of the institutions under FDe, applied for a No objection Certificate (NoC), which is a pre-requisite for all government servants travelling abroad. the family is travelling in the form of a group and all members, including my sister, have got visas stamped and tickets confirmed. yet she got the surprise of her life when staff of Director General (DG) FDe office informed her that a ban has been imposed on all teachers for performing Umrah throughout the year except summer vacation period. the Director Hr, also confirmed that the DG, who is himself on a foreign visit, has issued strict instructions not to entertain any request from Federal Government teachers for issuance of NoC for performing Umrah. the move seems to be motivated by Punjab government’s recent decision to bar all teaching and non-teaching staff of public schools across the province from undertaking foreign trips. A circular by the schools education secretary irum Bukhari issued on october 20 was sent to heads of educational institutions in all 36 districts of the province. However, it clarified that teaching and non-teaching staff would be granted an exemption if the foreign travel involves performing pilgrimage such as Umrah, Hajj, etc or if it was to seek medical treatment. the DG FDe seems to have read the news and decided to blindly follow suit but instead went a step further and banned Umrah also. Performing Hajj and Umrah is the greatest wish of every Muslim and there is no precedence in the country’s history that any department or ministry in the islamic republic of Pakistan has ever thought of banning the religious obligation under any pretext whatsoever. rather many departments in both public and private sector hold a lucky draw annually to send the deserving employees on Umrah and Hajj.

FDe is known for its poor administration and such illogical and unconstitutional orders as allowing Umrah only in summer vacation speak volumes about the mindset of those running the helm of affairs. Moreover, during previous summer vacation period, teachers were not allowed to leave stations and proceed to home towns under the pretext that FDe had arranged teacher-training programmes, and the coming years would be no exemption. the honourable President, Prime Minister of Pakistan, and Federal Minister of education and Professional training are requested to intervene and save my sister and dozens of others belonging to teaching fraternity who may be facing imminent danger of incurring monetary loss besides receiving a serious blow to their basic human and fundamental constitutional right i.e. right to exercise religion. in the context of Prime Minister’s recent statements of his vision to transform Pakistan into the ideological role model of the state of Madina, banning the holy journey to sacred cities of Makkah and Madina is strange. While the big-hearted move of incumbent government to facilitate sikhs by opening the Kartarpur Corridor deserves appreciation, road to Makkah for Muslims should not closed. – A concerned brother.

M A ALAM Islamabad

Honey please!

KHAirPUr Mirs is well-known for its pulchritudinous and paramount architecture. it is only city of sindh where there is production Date Palm fruits. the orchards of Date Palm trees are habitats of many living organisms. such as, squirrels, Crows, Honey Bees, Parrots and Mynas. the honey bee is only, which is on the verge of extinction because of the use of pesticides on Date palm fruits. there are two types of honey bees in Khairpur Mirs. 1, Apis florea which is commonly known by the name, Nandhi Makhi (dwarf honey bee) or ‘Desi Makhi’ by the laymen of these areas people. 2, Apis dorsata which is commonly known by name Wadi Makhi( giant honey bee) or ‘Angrezi Makhi’. Apis florea and Apis dorsata are distinct in characteristics. Apis florea formed their colonies in Data palm trees, Azadirachta indica (Neem tree), and Mangoes orchards. Whereas, Apis dorsata makes their colonies in Mangoes orchards, Azadirachta indica (Neem tree) and have rarely been seen their hives in Data Palm trees due to their giant beehive and sometimes on buildings as well.

Apis florea is good pollinator and its honey is delicious in taste as compare to Apis dorsata. As eye witness, i have seen Apis dorsata sitting in man feces and filthy water. i am not entomologist but i need suitable justification regarding this statement from entomologists? According to research, “Pollinators affect 35 per cent of global agricultural land, supporting the production of 87 of the leading food crops worldwide.” As prominent scientist Albert einstein states, “if the bee disappear from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live.” in fact, seventy to ninety per cent eatable plant is rely on pollinators. Definitely if there would be no bee then there will be no food, if no food, there will be no life.

All types of bees are essential for our ecosystem, but the Apis florea is on verge of extinction. to save the honey bees from extinction all the relevant organisations such as, Pakistan Agriculture research Council, should promote awareness among people against the use of pesticide and DDt on Data palm trees and agriculture fields to protect and enhance honeybees and their habitats, as well as, to improve their abundance and diversity, and support the sustainable development of beekeeping.

NAIMATuLLAH GAdHI Khairpur Mirs

Wednesday, 20 November, 2019

10 FOREIGN NEWS

US angerS PaleStInIanS wIth reverSal on ISraelI SettlementS WASHINGTON

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AGENCIES

HE Trump administration on Monday said it no longer considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be a violation of international law, reversing four decades of American policy and further undermining the Palestinians’ effort to gain statehood.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the U.S. is repudiating the 1978 State Department legal opinion that held that civilian settlements in the occupied territories are “inconsistent with international law.” Israeli leaders welcomed the decision

while Palestinians and other nations warned that it undercut any chance of a broader peace deal.

Pompeo told reporters at the State Department that the Trump administration believes any legal questions about settlements should be resolved by Israeli courts and that declaring them a violation of international law distracts from larger efforts to negotiate a peace deal.

“Calling the establishment of civilian settlements inconsistent with international law has not advanced the cause of peace,” Pompeo said. “The hard truth is that there will never be a judicial resolution to the conflict, and arguments about who is right and who is wrong as a matter of international law will not

bring peace.”

The change reflects the administration’s embrace of a hard-line Israeli view at the expense of the Palestinian quest for statehood. Similar actions have included President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the movement of the U.S. Embassy to that city and the closure of the Palestinian diplomatic office in Washington.

“The U.S. administration has lost its credibility to play any future role in the peace process,” said Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The European Union warned of the potential repercussions in a statement following the announce-

ment that did not mention the U.S. “All settlement activity is illegal under international law and it erodes the viability of the two-state solution and the prospects for lasting peace,” said the statement from the 28-nation bloc. “The EU calls on Israel to end all settlement activity, in line with its obligations as an occupying power.”

Even though the decision is largely symbolic, it could give a boost to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is fighting for his political survival after failing to form a coalition government following recent elections.

US, South Korea cut short meeting over sharing defence costs SEOUL AGENCIES

US and South Korean officials on Tuesday publicly acknowledged the allies remain far apart in negotiations for increasing South Korea’s contributions to the costs for maintaining the American military presence on its soil.

U.S. negotiator James DeHart said the U.S. side decided to cut short a meeting that lasted less than two hours because Seoul’s proposals “were not responsive to our request for fair and equitable burden-sharing.”

Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said

Washington has been calling for a “drastic increase” in South Korea’s contributions which the country finds unacceptable. The turbulent negotiations come at a delicate time for the allies, which face a growing North Korean threat and have squabbled over Seoul’s declaration to terminate a 2016 military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan amid a bilateral row.

“We look forward to resuming our negotiations when the Korean side is ready to work on the basis of partnership and the basis of mutual trust,” DeHart said, reading out a prepared statement in front of cameras in Seoul.

He did not take questions from reporters. Jeong Eun Bo, a South Korean negotiator, told reporters that the countries have scheduled their next round of talks, but didn’t specify when.

Jeong refused to say how much the

Americans were asking for. But he said Washington has demanded Seoul cover a broader range of costs than what it has been providing, which includes the wages of South Korean employees at U.S. bases and costs for facility construction and logistics support.

“It is true that there is a considerable difference between the proposals by the U.S. and the principles we are putting forward,” Jeong said. “We will continue to make efforts with patience so that we reach a mutually acceptable agreement.” Despite their differences over how much South Korea should pay, the allies have not discussed the possibility of reducing the U.S. military presence in the country, Jeong said. The United States stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea, mainly to deter aggression from the North.

Washington and Seoul in February

signed a new cost-sharing deal for 2019 that required South Korea to pay about 1.04 trillion won ($890 million), shortly before a summit in Vietnam between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that collapsed over disagreements in exchanging sanctions relief and disarmament. South Korea in 2018 provided about $830 million, covering roughly 40 per cent of the cost of the U.S. troop deployment that year. The Trump administration has been pushing for South Korea to pay more.

During a visit to South Korea last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper pressed Washington’s case that South Korea must pay a bigger share of the costs for maintaining U.S. troops in the country. “This is a very strong alliance we have, but Korea is a wealthy country and could and should pay more to help offset the cost of defence,” he said.

Trump under pressure in 2nd week of impeachment hearings WASHINGTON AGENCIES

UK leaders to square off in first debate of election campaign LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn prepared to square off Tuesday in the first televised debate of this year’s election campaign. The hour-long encounter offers Corbyn a chance to make up ground in opinion polls, which show his Labour Party trailing Johnson’s Conservatives ahead of the Dec. 12 election. The debate will feature only two candidates after the High Court in London rejected a legal challenge from two smaller anti-Brexit parties, the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party, over ITV’s decision to exclude their leaders from the debate. The court decided it was a matter of “editorial judgment’’ to limit the format to the leaders of Britain’s two biggest parties.

Britain’s stalled departure from the European Union is the overriding issue in the election. Johnson pushed for the vote more than two years ahead of schedule in an effort to win a majority in the House of Commons that would pass his Brexit divorce deal with the European Union.

More than three years after the U.K. voted to leave the 28-nation bloc, the terms of the country’s departure and the nature of its future relationship with the EU remain unclear. Britain is now scheduled to leave the EU on Jan. 31, but British lawmakers have not yet passed Johnson’s deal. The election pits Johnson’s Conservatives — with their promise to “get Brexit done” — against the Labour Party, which says it will hold a new referendum on whether to remain in the EU or leave the bloc. AGENCIES

US President Donald Trump faces more potentially damning testimony in the Ukraine scandal as a critical week of public impeachment hearings opens Tuesday in the House of Representatives.

Trump’s suggestion that he might himself testify in the investigation which threatens his presidency had no impact on the House Intelligence Committee’s plans to interview nine witnesses this week.

Most significantly, they include Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the European Union, who allegedly transmitted to the Ukraine government Trump’s demands for help in finding dirt on his Democratic rivals ahead of next year’s presidential election.

The hearings also include diplomats who have already testified privately that Trump and Sondland repeatedly pushed Kiev to open investigations into Democrat Joe Biden — Trump’s potential 2020 reelection challenger — and withheld nearly $400 million in aid and a White House meeting requested by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky as pressure. House leader Nancy Pelosi said Monday in a letter to fellow Democrats that Trump engaged in “extortion and bribery.”

“The facts are uncontested: that the president abused his power for his own personal, political benefit, at the expense of our national security interests,” she said.

TRUMP COULD TESTIFY IN WRITING: Trump, who faces becoming only the third president in US history to be impeached, tweeted early Monday that he is “strongly” considering testifying to defend

himself against allegations that he abused his powers in seeking foreign help for the 2020 election.

He tweeted that Pelosi suggested, “that I testify about the phony Impeachment Witch Hunt.”

“She also said I could do it in writing,” he said.

“Even though I did nothing wrong, and don’t like giving credibility to this No Due Process Hoax, I like the idea & will, in order to get Congress focused again, strongly consider it!” Pundits were skeptical and said the likelihood of Trump following through was low, but there were no other signals one way or another from the White House and Congress.

In Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether Trump’s 2016 campaign colluded with Russia, Trump hinted early on that he would testify and then stalled for months before answering written questions. Even so, his lawyers negotiated strict limits on what kind of questions could be put, and in dozens of instances, Trump said he could not “recall” the facts.

RISING IMPEACHMENT SUPPORT: Democrats signaled they would plow ahead with the inquiry,

CMYK

scheduling nine witnesses this week.

On Tuesday morning the Intelligence Committee will hear from Jennifer Williams, an advisor to Vice President Mike Pence, and Alexander Vindman, a Ukraine expert on the National Security Council.

Both listened in on Trump’s key July 25 phone call with Zelensky, in which the US leader pressured his counterpart to launch investigations into Biden and a wholly unsupported theory that Kiev aided Democrats in the 2016 race.

In the afternoon Kurt Volker, the former special US envoy to Ukraine, and National Security Council official Timothy Morrison will testify.

Conceivably this week could wrap up the Democrats’ investigation and see them prepare the evidence collected to send to the House Judiciary Committee to draw up articles of impeachment.

Democrats have also demanded testimony from several senior White House and State Department officials, especially Trump’s chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, who personally discussed Ukraine policy with Trump, and have also subpoenaed internal records.

But so far the White House has refused to let them testify and release the records.

Rather than engaging in a long court battle to force the testimony, Democrats have suggested they will simply consider adding obstruction of the investigation to the charges against Trump and push ahead toward a vote on impeachment by the full House.

That would likely pass the Democrat-controlled House, to place Trump on trial in the Senate, where a Republican majority could protect him from removal.

Israeli military says 4 rockets fired from Syria intercepted JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said it intercepted four incoming rockets from Syria on Tuesday and explosions were heard shortly after that in Damascus, a week after another Israeli strike targeted a top Palestinian militant in the Syrian capital. Israeli air defence systems captured the projectiles, the military said, and no harm was caused to Israeli communities in the Golan Heights after warning sirens awoke residents there early in the morning. There was no immediate official comment from Syria but the SANA state news agency reported explosions were heard near Damascus International Airport, indicating a potential Israeli retaliatory strike. The Israeli military would not comment on the explosions in Syria, but Defense Minister Naftali Bennett was convening the top military brass in Tel Aviv to discuss the latest developments.

Speaking on Israel Army Radio, Foreign Minister Israel Katz was equally vague, saying only that “Israel will act in the way it sees fit.” The rare rocket fire comes a week after an Israeli airstrike against a top Palestinian militant based in Syria. Akram al-Ajouri, a member of the leadership of the militant Islamic Jihad group who is living in exile, survived the attack but his son and granddaughter were killed. Israel frequently strikes Iranian interests in Syria.

But last week’s airstrike appeared to be a rare assassination attempt of a Palestinian militant in the Syrian capital. It came the same day as another Israeli airstrike killed a senior Islamic Jihad commander in Gaza, settling off the fiercest round of fighting there in years. It all comes amid heightened tensions between Israel and Iranian proxies along its borders. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has issued a series of warnings recently about Iranian aggression throughout the Middle East. Iran has forces based in Syria, Israel’s northern neighbour, and supports Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. In Gaza, it supplies Islamic Jihad with cash, weapons and expertise. Netanyahu also has claimed Iran is using Iraq and far-off Yemen, where Tehran supports Shiite Houthi rebels at war with a Saudi-led coalition backing the government, to plan attacks against Israel.

Hamas also receives some support from Iran. At the same time, Iran’s regional influence is being challenged by unprecedented, economically-driven mass protests in Iraq and Lebanon — two countries where Tehran wields major influence. The protests are creating unrest that Tehran fears would spark a backlash against Iran-backed proxy militias in those countries. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has accused the U.S. and its regional allies of fomenting the Iraq and Lebanon unrest. AGENCIES

Wednesday, 20 November, 2019

BUSINESS 11 CORPORATE CORNER

ISLAMABAD: Greenovation, a startup by Islamabadbased Saad Bin Azam, has taken home one of the 2019 Shell LiveWIRE Top Ten Innovators Awards, a global competition which highlights and rewards businesses that demonstrate excellence in innovation as well as giving entrepreneurs a chance to shine on a global platform. PR

LAHORE: Descon Engineering conducts nationwide recruitment campaign to mobilise manpower for Qatar Gas Shutdown. PR

ISLAMABAD

P

SHAHZAD PARACHA

AkISTAn has proposed China to consider the financing of Main Line-I (ML-I), a rail project worth over $9 billion, in Renminbi (RMB).

According to sources, Pakistan made this proposal during the recently concluded meeting of the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Sources said the Pakistani side had informed the meeting that it has already established the ML-1 InterDepartmental Financing Committee. The Chinese side also agreed to constitute a high-level financing committee to negotiate in this regard. In addition to this, the Pakistani side informed that the umbrella PC-1 of the project has been submitted to the Planning Commission and would be approved expeditiously. It was further added that the bidding documents were under process and would be fi-

Pakistan wants China to finanCe ML-1 ProjeCt in rMB nalised by Dec 15. The JCC expressed satisfaction on the review of the preliminary design (Phase I) for ML-1 and agreed to expedite the preliminary design and review of the remaining subprojects.

Meanwhile, the JCC also reviewed the progress made on the Lahore Orange Line Metro Train project. The Chinese side was apprised that the issues pertaining to power and water supply and drainage have been resolved to a greater extent. “The bidding process for the issuance of operations and maintenance (O&M) contract will be completed by nov 30.”

Moreover, the committee expressed satisfaction over the progress of East Bay Expressway.

The Chinese side was informed that the exemption of sales tax was in

process and it would be resolved within two months by Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) and the Balochistan government.

“The GPA shall resolve the land issues within one month.” The Pakistani side informed that the inclusion of three bridges on the East Bay Expressway was approved by the Executive Committee of the national Economic Council (ECnEC) on Oct 2. The JCC also lauded progress made on the new Gwadar International Airport.

Regarding the three mass transit projects in karachi, Quetta and Peshawar, both sides agreed to move forward based on the readiness of each project. For the karachi Circular Railway project, the Pakistani side would soon submit a financing request to the Chinese side. Regard-

SBP governor lauds banks for ‘record financing to agri sector’ ‘IT IS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN PAKISTAN’S HISTORY THAT CREDIT TO AGRI SECTOR HAS SURPASSED RS1TR’ KARACHI PPI

ISLAMABAD: Khushhali Microfinance Bank Limited (KMBL) President Ghalib Nishtar and International Finance Corporation (IFC) Regional Manager (Advisory Services) Qamar Saleem sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a digital project to facilitate rural customers. PR

KARACHI: Scoopy celebrates the launch of its first outlet in the thickly populated area of North Karachi. PR

State Bank of Pakistan Governor Dr Reza Baqir has appreciated the banks for increasing the credit to the agriculture sector, which reached its historical high by end of FY19.

“It is for the first time in Pakistan’s history that credit to the agriculture sector has surpassed Rs1 trillion,” said the governor while chairing the annual meeting of the Agricultural Credit Advisory Committee (ACAC) in Peshawar. Dr Baqir, however, urged the banks to enhance their efforts to achieve qualitative aspects of the assigned targets, in line with the strategic shift and key policy actions taken by SBP regarding agricultural financing.

He highlighted that most of the banks met their assigned targets except for some, including Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), Punjab Provincial Cooperative Bank Limited PPCBL, few domestic private banks and Islamic banks.

The province-wise agriculture credit disbursement witnessed double-digit growth

across all regions; however, the banks struggled to achieve their assigned targets in the underserved regions.

Dr Baqir urged the agriculture lending banks and institutions to scale up their efforts and commitment to ensure achievement of agriculture credit target in the underserved provinces and regions.

The governor apprised the committee that SBP was considering three policy actions to further promote financial inclusion in the agriculture sector.

“First, enhancing transparency through disclosure of bank-wise performance statistics on a monthly basis covering agriculture credit disbursement, geographic distribution, outstanding amount, number of borrowers, and agriculture credit infrastructure.

“Second, introducing a comprehensive scoring model for ranking of banks against key agriculture credit indicators and targets. Third, introducing incentives and penalties based on performance scores of banks.” Dr Baqir’s address was followed by a presentation wherein the performance of banks on agricultural financing

was reviewed against their targets during FY19. While assigning the agriculture credit target for FY20, it was shared that the overall disbursement target of Rs1,350 billion has been assigned to banks which was 89pc of the total estimated agriculture credit requirement of Rs1,518 billion. The province-wise and sector-wise distribution of the target was adopted while considering the provincial agricultural credit requirements, banks’ overall lending capacity and their business expansion plans.

It was highlighted that Islamic banks and Islamic branches of commercial banks have been assigned disbursement target of Rs110 billion in line with the previous year to help realize the potential of Islamic agriculture financing.

Further, the overall target of outstanding borrowers has been enhanced to 4.67 million with the addition of 650,000 new borrowers. In the end, Dr Reza Baqir encouraged all stakeholders to collaborate and enhance formal credit to agriculture. He urged the banks to enhance their efforts to achieve the regional targets assigned for the year.

Huawei plays down impact of new US licence extension WASHINGTON AGENCIES KARACHI: Hamdard Pakistan Chairperson Mrs Sadia Rashid receives FPCCI Export Award 2018-19 from President Dr Arif Alvi. PR

KARACHI: Pak-Qatar General Takaful Limited recently signed an agreement with Emaan Islamic Bank to offer Personal Accident Takaful and ATM Cash Withdrawal Takaful to the customers of the bank. PR

Huawei Technologies has dismissed a new 90day extension by the Trump administration allowing US firms to continue doing business with the Chinese company as making little difference, repeating that it was being unfairly treated.

US regulators are crafting rules on telecommunications firms that pose national security risks. But after adding Huawei to an economic blacklist in May, the US Commerce Department has allowed it to purchase some American-made goods. Its 90-day license extensions aim to minimize disruption for its customers, many of which operate networks in rural America.

Huawei said on Monday that the latest extension would not “have a substantial impact on Huawei’s business either way”. “This decision does not change the fact that Huawei continues to be treated unfairly either,” the Chinese firm said. The extension comes as the United States and China try to resolve a trade war that has lasted for more than a year, with Huawei one of its most visible targets. Beijing reiterated on Tuesday that

it hopes Chinese companies will be treated fairly.

“We urge the US to stop abusing export controls to discriminate against the firms of another country in the name of national security, and to stop politicizing a trade problem,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Tuesday.

Reuters on Sunday reported the 90-day extension after the administration of President Donald Trump had initially planned a two-week reprieve, but ran into bureaucratic issues. “The Temporary General License extension will allow carriers to continue to service customers in some of the most remote areas of the United States who would otherwise be left in the dark,” US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said. “The Department will continue to rigorously monitor sensitive technology exports to ensure that our innovations are not harnessed by those who would threaten our national security,” Ross said in a statement on Monday. The US Commerce Department added Huawei to its “Entity List” in May, concluding it was engaged in activities “contrary to US national security or foreign policy interests.” Huawei said the decision to add it to the list had caused more harm to the US than to Huawei.

ing Quetta Mass Transit and Greater Peshawar Mass Transit, both sides agreed to consider the projects in next the Joint Working Group meeting after approval of the PC-I. Both sides agreed that DI khan– Zhob highway project would be placed in the priority list. The Pakistani side requested the Chinese side to consider signing a framework agreement for the commencement of this project in 2020. The Chinese side agreed to hold internal consultations before moving ahead on the issue.

The Pakistani side also proposed to constitute a joint technical working group at a government-to-government level to prepare a proposal for the realignment of Thakot–Raikot section of karakorum Highway. The Chinese side agreed to consider it in the next JWG meeting.

Local industry irked as tyre smuggling continues unabated ISLAMABAD GHULAM ABBAS

The local tyre industry has expressed concern over a slowdown in the government's crackdown against the menace of smuggling.

The industry insiders have observed that it had earlier hailed the government's willingness to curb smuggling, recalling that the basic purpose of the crackdown was to ensure availability of relevant import documents at shops/sites. Two months ago, FBR had announced that it had started a phased programme to document the economy, which included verification of foreign goods (import documents) available in the markets.

According to industry sources, under the Customs Act, 1969, FBR has special powers to demand documents for the imported goods available for sale to consumers from the person dealing in such goods. The revenue board had announced that FBR's special joint teams may visit major shopping areas, especially large retailers in major cities, to check the import documents. However, unfortunately, no effort was made in this regard. In addition, Member Customs (Operations) and Member (IR-Operations) were asked to supervise the activity and provide complete assistance to the joint teams wherever required. The teams were also directed to ensure compliance of laws and discourage the sale of smuggled goods. As per the documents, the tyre industry faced a loss of approximately Rs30 billion ($210 million) in the fiscal year 2017-18 due to the unfavourable duty structure and smuggling.

Sources said currently, only 20pc of the total demand was being met by local tyre manufacturers while the rest was being satisfied either through legal imports or undocumented/smuggling channels. "Pakistan does not charge any duty on the import of tyres from China, so there should be no smuggling of Chinese radial tyres. But this is not the case. Majority of the smuggled radial tyres (trucks and buses) come from China," insiders said. "Illicit trade is the reason why many local industries are moving out."

Exports surge 9.6pc in Oct, PM’s aide says Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said on Tuesday the country’s exports registered a 9.6 per cent increase in October. “Exports of Goods & Services increased by 9.6pc in Oct 2019,” he said in a tweet. “To provide easy working capital & funds for expansion, Govt & SBP will give additional Rs 300B[illion] in subsidised financing to exporters & Rs 30B will be given in cash instead of promissory notes issued against tax refunds,” he added. A day earlier, Dr Shaikh had said the current account deficit shrank by a massive 63.1 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.

Talking to anchorpersons in Islamabad, Hafeez Sheikh had said that trade deficit fell by 33.5 per cent during the first quarter of FY20. He also noted that exports increased by 3.8 per cent during the period.

“The government has taken concrete measures to eliminate circular debt by December 2020.” BUSINESS DESK

Wednesday, 20 November, 2019

12 BUSINESS

CaBinet aPProves first-ever nationaL tariff PoLiCy PM SAYS ECONOMIC POLICY PARADIGM IS NOW BEING REALIGNED TO LEVERAGE TARIFFS FOR INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT NTP WILL BE IMPLEMENTED THROUGH A TARIFF POLICY BOARD HEADED BY THE COMMERCE ADVISER ISLAMABAD

t

GHULAM ABBAS

HE federal cabinet on Tuesday approved the first-ever national Tariff Policy (nTP) with an aim to institutionalise the entire tariff structure of the country.

"Although the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had earlier expressed concerns over the tariff policy drafted by the Ministry of Commerce, it did not object the draft during the cabinet meeting on Tuesday," said an official, adding that the board was only concerned about revenue, especially on the import side.

"Since Prime Minister Imran khan was already briefed in this regard, the FBR officials could not resist the tariff policy," he added, terming it a big achievement of the commerce ministry.

According to the official, the tariff policy would help improve export competitiveness, increase employment opportunities, and ensure a

transparent and predictable tariff regime. Prime Minister Imran khan, while approving the first-ever nTP, said that the import tariffs were traditionally employed as a revenue generation tool, which was why reliance on import tariffs for revenue collection had increased.

“In accordance with the reform agenda of the government, the economic policy paradigm is now being realigned to leverage tariffs for industrial development,” he added.

According to details, the national Tariff Policy aims to remove all anomalies in the tariff structure and make it a reflection of trade policy priorities. It focuses on enhancement of competitiveness through duty-free access to imported raw materials and promotion of investment into efficient industries through a predictable tariff structure, decided through an institutional mechanism.

The nTP is based on the principles of (i) employing tariffs as an in-

strument of trade policy rather than revenue generation, (ii) maintaining vertical consistency through cascading tariff structures (increasing tariff with stages of processing of a product), (iii) providing time-bound ‘strategic protection’ to the domestic industry during the infancy phase, and (iv) promoting competitive import substitution through time-bound protection, which will be phased out to make the industry eventually competitive for export-oriented production.

The policy guidelines contained in the nTP, as approved by the cabinet, provide that the tariff slabs would be simplified based on the principle of cascading; tariffs on raw materials, intermediate and capital goods will be gradually reduced; the additional customs duty and regulatory duties will be gradually reduced; the difference in the rates of tariff for the commercial importers and industrial users of raw materials, intermediate and capital goods will be eliminated to provide a level-

playing field to the SMEs through competitive access to essential raw materials; the nascent industry will be provided time-bound protection, which will cover the payback period.

The policy will be implemented through a Tariff Policy Board (TPB) chaired by the commerce minister/adviser, with minister for industries & production, finance secretary, revenue secretary, FBR chairman, commerce secretary, Board of Investment secretary, and nTC chairman as its members. A Tariff Policy Centre shall be created in the Ministry of Commerce, which will serve as the Secretariat of the TPB. Speaking on the occasion, PM’s Commerce Adviser Abdul Razak Dawood stated that the nTP marks a watershed in the country’s economic policymaking since it would energize export growth, lead to rapid industrialization, and import substitution through predictability in tariff framework.

Danish envoy pledges support to renewable energy projects in Pakistan BUSINESS DESK Ambassador of Denmark to Pakistan Rolf Holmboe called on Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Petroleum nadeem Babar on Tuesday to discuss matters pertaining to renewable energy projects in Pakistan. The ambassador appreciated the reforms being undertaken in the energy sector of the country.

He lauded the government's resolve to focus on renewable energy and its achievements in this regard.

Rolf Holmboe offered Denmark's unstinted

support and cooperation to Pakistan for the successful execution of renewable energy projects, with a focus on hybrid solar and wind power plants, in Pakistan. He also shared proposals for the provision of micropower plant technologies. "Denmark is a world leader in renewable energy and is eyeing the Pakistani market with active interest.

The country’s interest in Pakistan has been made possible by the present government's emphasis on strict implementation of its renewable energy policy," he stated. nadeem Babar on the occasion

thanked the Danish envoy for his country's offer to assist Pakistan in the renewable energy sector. He noted with appreciation Denmark's interest in Pakistan's energy sector and welcomed any possible investments in this regard.

The SAPM said Pakistan would also like to collaborate in exploring avenues of transfer of technology in the renewable energy sector. He said the incumbent government is striving to ensure tangible in Pakistan's renewable energy production over the next 20 years.

MARKET DAILY

KSE-100 rises 152 points in volatile session KARACHI STAFF REPORT

The Pakistan Stock Exchanged witnessed a positive start to the trading session on Tuesday, thanks to inertia from the previous session. However, the initial excitement fizzled out soon and the kSE-100 Index eventually paired intraday gains amid profittaking in selected names.

On the political front, former prime minister nawaz Sharif left for London on Tuesday, 20 days after he was released on bail.

Meanwhile, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has declared that the "government's days are numbered" and that the JUI-F's drive had "successfully mobilised masses" to remove the ruling regime.

On the economic front, Pakistan's current ac-

count surprisingly turned positive after a gap of four years as the inflow of foreign currencies surpassed the outflow by $99 million in October due to a notable reduction in imports and firm worker remittances. The current account balance was last seen in surplus in September 2015.

Cumulatively, in the first four months (Jul-Oct) of the current fiscal year, the current account recorded a deficit of $1.47 billion. It was, however, 73.5pc lower than the deficit of $5.56 billion in the same period of the previous year. The massive drop came due to a significant contraction of the trade deficit in Jul-Oct FY20.

The kSE-100 recorded an intraday high at 38,911.46 after gaining 500 points earlier in the day. However, the rally was short-lived, with the index registering its day's low at 38,393.61. It ended higher by 152 points at 38,564.37. The kM-

30 Index gained 87 points to close at 17,831.68, whereas the kSE All Share Index finished lower by 21 points at 27,226.93. Out of the total traded scripts, 173 advanced, 178 declined while the value of 26 remained unchanged.

Investor participation in terms of volume was recorded at 385 million, down 17.3pc DoD. The traded value was also down by 9.3pc at Rs14.06 billion. k-Electric Limited (kEL), The Bank of Punjab (BOP) and Dost Steels Limited (DSL) led the volume chart, cumulatively exchanging 47 million shares.

Hub Power Company Limited (HUBC +94 points), Pakistan State Oil Limited (PSO +33 points), Dawood Hercules Corporation Limited (DAWH +27 points) and Sui northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SnGPL +23 points) remained top contributors to the index.

traders willing to help govt reduce prices of edible items ISLAMABAD: The All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajran (APAT) on Tuesday linked the recent hike in the price of edible items with the increase in the cost of manufacturing and transportation, saying that the trade body was ready to help the government resolve this issue. In a press conference at the national Press Club, APAT President Muhammad Ajmal Baloch maintained that due to an increase in the prices of electricity, gas and petroleum products, manufacturing and transportation cost of edible items had increased. He urged the government to remove Section 144 imposed on traders, as the traders were not involved in increasing the prices of edible items. He said that the price of tomato had increased due to climate change; tomato production in Sindh was badly affected. "Due to the government's import restrictions, timely import of tomato could not be ensured," he added. Meanwhile, Fruit Association Sabzi Mandi President Tahir Ayub said that Prime Minister Imran khan was working hard to control the prices of edible items. "Earlier in the year, the production of wheat and cotton had suffered badly owing to climate change," he recalled. "Due to shortages of onions in Bangladesh, its price had reached to Rs500 per kg, after which the country had to import onions on an emergency basis to control its price." He said that the prices of fertiliser and insecticides had also increased due to which the production cost of the crops had gone up. APP

seCP warns public against investing in Ponzi schemes The Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has issued a warning to the general public regarding investing in fake investment companies and Ponzi schemes. The Twitter page of SECP, on Tuesday, posted that the general public should be aware of investing with companies offering attractive and unreal profits. “SECP has become aware that some companies, including B H Online job (SMC private) Limited, Corporate Automobiles (Private) Limited, and Best Day Innovative Solution (Private) Limited, are involved in illegal and suspicious business activities,” said the tweet, adding that these companies are offering people to invest in cars, motorcycles and leasing/financing schemes of housing. “It should be noted that such activities from these companies are illegal and prohibited.

SECP has begun legal proceedings to shut down these three companies,” said the Twitter page of SECP. BUSINESS DESK

PM hails narrowing of current account deficit ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran khan on Tuesday expressed satisfaction that Pakistan’s economy was finally heading towards the “right direction” as economic reforms have begun bearing fruit. In a tweet shared on his official handle, the premier stated that Pakistan’s current account turned positive [into surplus] in October 2019, for the first time after a gap of four years. “Current account balance was +$99 million in Oct 2019 [as] compared to -$284 million in Sept 2019 [and] -$1,280 million in Oct 2018,” he stated. In another tweet, he informed that for the first four months (Jul-Oct) of the current fiscal year, the current account deficit has fallen by 73.5pc as compared to the same period of previous year. “Our exports of goods & services in Oct 2019 rose 20pc over previous month and 9.6pc over Oct 2018. I congratulate our exporters & encourage them to do more,” added the premier. The latest data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed the government has succeeded in bringing down the current account deficit. The data for October showed the current account was positive 99 million against a net deficit of $1.28 billion in the same month of the previous fiscal year. INP

Airlift to introduce battery powered buses in Pakistan ISLAMABAD SYEDA MASOOMA

Airlift, a ride-hailing app service for mass transport, on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the federal government to become pioneers of 'battery buses' in Pakistan's public transport system. Speaking on the occasion at the Ministry of Science and Technology, Airlift Executive Director Syed Mehr Haider maintained that “every Airlift bus on the road is a replacement for ten regular cars”.

He told the attendees about the $12 million funding that Airlift had raised in its Series A financing. It is the largest funding ever for a Pakistani startup and so far, one of the largest raised by any startup within the South Asian region.

For his part, S&T Minister Fawad Chaudhry spoke a lot more about former prime minister nawaz Sharif's departure than about the MoU in question. However, the little that he did say on the subject included several targets for the government's science and technology sector, and how companies like Airlift can help the

ministry achieve its targets. He said that the government hopes to produce 30pc of total electricity through green sources.

"These youngsters have pursued this entrepreneurship idea and have managed to raise funding for it. I always tell young people to focus more on entrepreneurship than seeking jobs," he said. The minister informed that the federal government's MoU with the Punjab government for an IT park, as well as the promotion of herbal medicine, is in final stages. "Our target is that 4pc of our GDP should come from biotechnological products."

He said that the government wants to produce agricultural drones as well, which would also be used as ambulances. "For that we also plan to take on board Pakistan Air Force and other services so that Mian nawaz Sharif does not have to call an air ambulance from Qatar." He said that in the current budget, the S&T ministry funding was increased 600pc, while he hopes it will be enhanced to 1,500pc in the next budget. Airlift is spearheading the third wave of ride-sharing, in which higher capacity vehicles are playing an increasing role in enabling urban commute. With its

newfound financing, Airlift is looking to invest in technology and operations to scale its vision for a decentralized mass transit system, initially focusing on the developing world.

At the time of the Series A funding, Airlift’s Co-Founder and CEO Usman Gul had said, "In the future, mass transit systems will be dynamic in nature, catering and adapting to the changing needs of the urban population. Our vision for a decentralized mass transit system is a new concept, one that will fundamentally redefine how people commute in urban centers."

MAHVISH AKHTAR IS A WOMAN WITH A MISSION

lahORe: From Karachi to Lahore: Allure by MHT, Farnaz Mustafa & Sana Salman hosted a winter trunk show at Nishat Hotel in Gulberg where they showcased jewelry & clothes for the winter season.

as a journalist/blogger with more than 20 years of experience under her belt, she has now embarked on what is the most important mission of all: representing the problems, issues and stories of mothers. in this exclusive with daily Paperazzi she talks about her upcoming projects and plans for the future.

1

What is Femme‫?گنر‬ It’s an online magazine for women.

2

What inspired you to start Femme‫?گنر‬ There are very few media outlets in Pakistan that show, and tell women the truth about their lives. In most of the magazines especially life is glamorized and the problems are glossed over with shiny solutions that are not available to everyone. I want to help present real solutions.

3

Do you feel like there’s a lack of support for mothers in Pakistan?

Women go from being daughters to being wives to being invisible after having children in Pakistan.

Complaining about it is considered close to a sin. This is one of the main issues we are trying to target and discuss in our magazine and our regular events called ‫لاح‬Sesh(haalsesh).

4

HOLLYWOOD BOLLYWOOD

Why do you think issues like postpartum depression are taboo in Pakistan?

I think we are dealing with two different stigmas here so it’s a double whammy. First, a woman not showing happiness over her child is just not okay. A woman HAS to want a child and HAS to be thrilled about it. Because babies are supposed to be our ONLY goal in life, right? And second is the stigma around mental illness itself. So, if you accept them both then you have to take care of the caretaker, and who wants to do that? Women are always supposed to be doing their job happily with a smile. Never complaining, Swallow your tears, that’s not what postpartum depression is about.

5

Do you feel postpartum is the white elephant in the lives of most ammis?

Absolutely, something that’s weighing on you but you can’t talk about it because it’s not appropriate or acceptable behavior. What’s more white elephantish than that? What’s more, we ourselves have started to believe that its just a phase and we will get over it. I think it’s mostly because in many cases we don’t have any other options.

aamiR & naila iShtiaq

alia & SaRah

aiSha imRan

amina, tehmina & Shaheen

KheRzan & maha haSSan

amna mOnnOO

maiRa & Salina Khan

maShaal & Rubina azmat

Chanda WaSim Khan

nazneen & SaiRa OmeR

Sana, mehReen & FaRnaz

Rima FaRid & meg

6

Do you believe it takes up a village to bring up a child?

I believe it takes up a village to bring up a mother. A mother can take care of her child just fine if she has enough love and support. For example, I don’t need more parents for my children, however, I do need more friends, family, and companions to help me through my good days, bad days, eh days, work problems, kids,’ homework issues. So I guess the answer is… you get it?

7

Most Ammis complain about other moms being judgmental?

Don’t. Even. Get. Me. started. No one causes more harm to women than women. I firmly believe that. We judge each other and pull each other down. Oh, the judging, so much judging. I think it comes from the fact that we have been pitted against each other for as long as we have existed. That’s been a technique of the patriarchy to keep us under the thumb. If we are too busy pulling each other’s leg we won’t have time to band together and stand up to the man. You don’t see men acting this way.

Some of it, lets face it is human nature. But we need to rise above it. We really should know better by now. We are not only protecting ourselves from the outside forces. We have a lot to fix from within as well.

Kylie Jenner Sells $600 Million Stake in Beauty Line to Coty

John Mayer Raves Over Taylor Swift’sNew Music 10 Years After Split: I ‘Love’ It

Laal Singh Chaddha: Aamir Khan drops the film's first poster

Coty Inc. agreed to pay $600 million in cash for a majority stake in Kylie Jenner’s cosmetics line, the latest move by a major beauty company to acquire trendy brands that appeal to a younger clientele.

The makeup and fragrance giant will have overall responsibility for the portfolio, while Jenner, part of the Kardashian clan, will lead creative efforts and communications, the companies said Monday. The deal values Kylie Cosmetics, which Jenner, 22, started in 2015 as a line of lip kits when she was still a teenager, at about $1.2 billion.

The biggest beauty companies have been on an acquisition spree in recent years as they hope to court younger shoppers with upstart brands. Estee Lauder Cos. bought its remaining twothirds stake in Korean skin-care company Have & Be Co. for around $1.1 billion on Monday and Japan’s Shiseido spent $845 million to buy clean beauty brand Drunk Elephant in October.

Coty shares rose as much as 4.9% to $12.49 in New York Monday. They had already soared 82% this year through Friday.

John Mayer and Shawn Mendes hung out together on Nov. 17, and it resulted in an Instagram Live to be remembered! The pair broadcasted live to fans from their meet-up, and during the discussion, they talked about Shawn’s recent collaboration with John’s ex, Taylor Swift, on a remix of her song “Lover.” John admitted that he “loves the song,” but did poke some fun at some of the lyrics in the first verse. “I get a little chuckle because she says, ‘We can keep the Christmas lights up until January,’ and I go…you’re insane. Everyone keeps their Christmas lights up until January!”

However, he reiterated afterward that he “loves the song” and “loves [Shawn]’s work on it,” as well. At the end of the video, he also made up some of his own lyrics to the track about Christmas lights. “We can keep the Christmas lights up until January,” he sings, to the tune of “Lover.” “And then about January 5, we’ll take the lights down, and we’ll put ’em in a box and we’ll label that box Christmas lights, and we’ll put ’em in the attic until next December! Boy, that’s a crazy love, I’ll tell ya!”

We all know of Aamir Khan's incredible ability to get into the shoes of his characters perfectly. His previous films are all witness to his transformations. Ever since Laal Singh Chaddha was announced, we were eagerly waiting to find out more of Aamir as the protagonist. After a couple of leaked pictures from the sets, here's the first official poster of the film, featuring the actor in the titular character.

In the poster shared by himself, Aamir is dressed in a pink and blue check shirt and a pink turban, sporting long beard.

'Sat Sri Akaal ji, myself Laal...Laal Singh Chaddha,' he wrote.

An official Hindi remake of Tom Hank's cult Hollywood flick Forrest Gump, Laal Singh Chaddha was announced on Aamir's 54th birthday. We will get to see quite a transformation here as well, since Aamir was required to lose about 20 kg to play the younger version of his character and opted for a protein-heavy vegetarian diet for the same, under medical supervision. Playing his love interest in the film will be Kareena Kapoor Khan, who is presently shooting in Chandigarh.

CMYK

Wednesday, 20 November, 2019

14 SPORTS

ruSSia Beat reiGninG cHaMpionS croatia in daviS cup opener MADRID

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AGENCIES

AREN Khachanov and Andrey Rublev helped Russia open the inaugural Davis Cup Finals with a 3-0 victory over defending champions Croatia in Madrid on Monday.

World number 17 Khachanov clinched the point for Russia by fighting back to beat Croatian number one Borna Coric 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-4, after Rublev had earlier seen off Borna Gojo 6-3, 6-3. "When you're playing not only for yourself, but for your country, you have to fight harder," said Khachanov.

Russia, who are without US Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev due to exhaustion, can wrap up a place in the quarter-finals with victory over Rafael Nadal's Spain in their second Group B tie on Tuesday. The 18 nations have been split into six groups of three at the Caja Magica, with the pool winners and two best runners-up to play in the last eight of the first edition of the revamped tournament.

The teams face off in two best-ofthree-set singles matches and one doubles rubber in each tie.

Khachanov and Rublev completed the clean sweep later on Monday with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 doubles win over Ivan Dodig and Nikola Mektic.

CANADA DOWN ITALY: Canada claimed a 2-1 victory over well-fancied Italy to strike first in Group F. World number 12 Fabio Fognini slumped to a 7-6 (7/5), 7-5 defeat by Vasek Pospisil, ranked 150th, before rising star Denis Shapovalov edged out Matteo Berrettini 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (3/7), 7-

6 (7/5). "I'm really happy to get the win against a player like Matteo who has had such a good season," said Shapovalov.

"I always love representing my country... It's not often you get to play as a team, so it's amazing."

Italy, who won their only Davis Cup title in 1976, were the favourites in

Group F with Fognini and Berrettini both having enjoyed excellent seasons.

The 20-year-old Shapovalov saved three set points before snatching the first set in a tie-break, only for Berrettini to level the match in a second-set breaker. A clash without a single break of serve, was decided by another tiebreak, with Shapovalov reeling off the last three points to win after two hours and 52 minutes on court.

Berrettini and Fognini boosted Italy's hopes of making the quarters with a hard-fought doubles success over Shapovalov and Pospisil, winning 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

Canada take on the United States on Tuesday, with Italy facing the Americans the following day. Belgium made a victorious start in Group D with backto-back singles wins against Colombia.

The South Americans are playing at the top level of Davis Cup tennis for the first time, having never played in the old World Group. Steve Darcis saw off Santiago Giraldo 6-3, 6-2, before world number 11 David Goffin had to battle back from a set down to avoid a shock against 194th-ranked Daniel Elahi Galan Riveros, winning 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. But the world number one doubles pairing of Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah grabbed a historic win for Colombia by battling past Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 7-6 (7/3).

Danes, Swiss through to Euro 2020 as rampant Italy hit nine PARIS AGENCIES

Denmark and Switzerland secured spots at Euro 2020 at the expense of the Republic of Ireland on Monday as Roberto Mancini's Italy completed a perfect qualifying campaign by scoring nine.

Ireland needed to beat Denmark in Dublin to clinch qualification for next year's 24-team European Championship finals, but Matt Doherty's late header was only enough to earn Mick McCarthy's men a 1-1 draw at the Aviva Stadium. A closely-fought contest, low on technical quality, swung the visitors' way when the unmarked Martin Braithwaite stuck out a boot to divert a Henrik Dalsgaard cross into the net on 73 minutes.

However, Ireland scored a late equaliser to draw 1-1 in Copenhagen in June and they repeated the feat here as Wolverhampton Wanderers right-back Doherty headed in an Enda Stevens cross with five minutes left. Needing to win, the home side then threw everything at their opponents in the dying moments, but Denmark held on to clinch second place in Group D behind Switzerland. "We had opportunities but I am not going to criticise the lads," McCarthy told Sky Sports. "They have been brilliant. We lost one game out of eight. I am very proud of them. We can beat anyone in the play-offs." The Danes, European champions in 1992, can now look forward to playing at home during the finals, with Copenhagen one of the 12 host cities chosen for the tournament.

Switzerland secured top spot with a 6-1 away win against minnows Gibraltar as Cedric Itten scored twice. Skipper and Arsenal outcast Granit Xhaka netted their final goal. Italy had already wrapped up qual-

Guardiola'S aGent ruleS out a return to Bayern MunicH Pep Guardiola's agent has ruled out a return to Bayern Munich at least until the Spaniard's contract expires at Manchester City in 2021, according to reports. The German champions are currently looking for a new head coach following the sacking of Niko Kovac after a 5-1 thrashing at Eintracht Frankfurt at the start of the month. Caretaker boss Hansi Flick will remain in charge at least until Christmas when the Bundesliga goes into recess but the Germans are already on the lookout for a possible high profile replacement. "Pep is content and very happy in Manchester. His contract is until June 2021," Guardiola's agent Josep Maria Orobitg told German daily Bild on Wednesday, having also been quoted by websites SPOX and Goal. "Guardiola always fulfils his contracts. "I haven't spoken with anyone in Germany about him - neither with intermediaries nor club bosses. "Pep has good memories of Munich and still has friends there, but at the moment he has shown no interest in returning to Germany as a coach. "That is something that is just as impossible at the moment as it was last summer with Juventus. "I deny all rumours." Guardiola won the German league and cup double in his final season at Bayern in 2016 having lifted the Bundesliga title in each of his three seasons at the Munich club, who he joined in 2013. AGENCIES

Shahadat Hossain suspended for five years for assaulting teammate

ification from Group J but they saved their best for last, making it 10 wins from 10 by hammering Armenia 9-1 in Palermo with seven different scorers.

Serie A top scorer Ciro Immobile and Nicolo Zaniolo both scored braces, while Nicolo Barella and Alessio Romagnoli found the net before Chelsea midfielder Jorginho converted a penalty.

Riccardo Orsolini came off the bench to score on his Italy debut and Federico Chiesa finished off the scoring after Edgar Babayan had pulled one back for Armenia. It was an 11th straight win in all for Mancini's side, with Italy scoring nine times in a game

for the first time since beating the USA 9-0 at the London Olympics in 1948. "We had the right approach to the game and you don't score nine goals by chance," Mancini purred. "We need to improve various aspects of the game but for me it will be really difficult to leave some people at home when I select the squad for the finals. They would all deserve to be there."

Having wrapped up a historic first qualification for a major tournament three days earlier, Finland lost 2-1 to Greece in Athens despite Norwich City striker Teemu Pukki giving them a first-half lead with his 10th goal in eight international games.

DHAKA: Shahadat Hossain, the Bangladesh fast bowler, has been banned for five years, with two years suspended, following an incident during a National Cricket League game in Khulna when he physically assaulted team-mate Arafat Sunny Jr on the field. The 33year-old Dhaka Division player was withdrawn from the game against Khulna Division after allegedly hitting Sunny, apparently following an argument about shining the ball. Those who saw the incident said it needed the Dhaka players' intervention to restrain Hossain. His actions amounted to a Level 4 offence and he was handed a fine of BDT 1 lakh (USD 1200 approx.) by the Bangladesh Cricket Board on Tuesday. Hossain, who turned out in 38 Tests, 51 ODIs and six T20Is between 2005 and 2015, hasn't been a part of the national frame since he was arrested in 2015 for beating up his domestic help, which led to a temporary suspension. AGENCIES

Spain coach Moreno's future in doubt ahead of Euro 2020 AGENCIES Spain are set for another change of coach ahead of Euro 2020 after Robert Moreno's position was thrown into doubt on Monday, despite his team closing their qualifying campaign with a 5-0 thrashing of Romania.

Moreno chose to skip all his press duties following the victory at the Wanda Metropolitano, after reports had emerged before kick-off that he will not lead the team at next year's finals.

The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) would not clarify Moreno's position on Monday but announced a press conference for Tuesday afternoon, where it is expected his removal will be confirmed.

Luis Enrique, who resigned in June for personal reasons, could return and it remains to be seen if Moreno would consider resuming his previous role of assistant. It would mean Spain making their fourth coaching change in only two years and the clumsy manner in which it has been handled carries echoes of Julen Lopetegui's sacking on the eve of the 2018 World Cup.

Fernando Hierro took charge for the duration of that tournament and then his replacement, Luis Enrique, stood down in June to take care of his daughter, with Moreno promoted in his place.

During his tenure, Spain have been comfortable if not entirely convincing qualifiers from Group F but few would argue Moreno did not deserve a better send-off. With automatic qualification sealed and first place guaranteed after their 7-0 demolition of Malta on Saturday, Spain had just secured a top seeding by beating Romania in Madrid, where Villarreal striker Gerard Moreno scored twice.

They are unbeaten in their 10 games, registering eight wins and 31 goals along the way, even if a kind group offers little certainty they will fare as well against stronger opposition in seven months time.

SPAIN SCORE FOUR FIRST-HALF GOALS: Sweden had already qualified in second, while Romania knew they and Norway were destined for the play-offs, which perhaps contributed to a ragged display from the visitors that saw them trail by four goals at the interval.

If Luis Enrique is to return, he will inherit a

Spain squad high on confidence but low on continuity or cohesion, with several key positions and partnerships still to be established.

Moreno experimented all the way through. His most recent 23-man squad included players from 17 different clubs and this starting line-up against Romania featured seven changes from the thumping win over Malta.

Chelsea's Kepa Arrizabalaga and Manchester United's David de Gea are still scrapping to be firstchoice goalkeeper. The former was preferred here, while Inigo Martinez was the latest trialist alongside Sergio Ramos in central defence.

Fabian Ruiz of Napoli came into central midfield. He, as well as Santi Cazorla and Gerard, perhaps furthered their claims the most. Against poor opposition, Alvaro Morata will have been disappointed to end a run of goals in seven consecutive matches. After a brilliant Cazorla dummy, Jose Gaya created the opener as he nutmegged Romario Benzar and Fabian applied a smart finish from close range.

Gerard then headed in Cazorla's whipped cross before poking home Gaya's delivery after Romania

CMYK

failed to clear. Morata might have scored the fourth had Adrian Rus not turned in Gerard's cutback for an own goal. Spain had chances to add a fifth in the second half, but had to wait until the 91st minute. Mikel Oyarzabal, on as a substitute, twisted and drove into the corner to complete an emphatic win.

Wednesday, 20 November, 2019

SPORTS 15

teenaGe quicKS: younG paKiStan Square up to SMitH and Warner PARIS

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AGENCIES

AKISTAN head into the opening Test in Brisbane on Thursday seeking a rare win on Australian soil, and could unleash a 16-year-old debutant in a teenage pace attack against seasoned stars Steve Smith and David Warner.

Pakistan have drawn a series in Australia, but have never won one, and last tasted a Test victory at Sydney in 1995.

A handful of players, including new skipper Azhar Ali, Babar Azam and the in-form Asad Shafiq, were part of their last tour in 2016/17 when they crashed 30, but are better for it, said then-captain and now head coach Misbah-ul-Haq..

"Our previous record in Australia won't put us under pressure," he said.

"If anything, it'll be an opportunity and motivation to win because whatever

we couldn't achieve in the past, we can do now. "It's a young and hungry team and it means business," he added. "This team wants to take the challenge. We want to give our best, play good cricket and think about winning." They will be relying heavily on Azam and Shafiq, who scored a century in Brisbane three years ago and has had a perfect lead-up this time, hitting an unbeaten 119 against Australia A then 101 not out against a Cricket Australia XI. Australia, though, are on a roll. They retained the Ashes with a 2-2 draw in England in September and beat Pakistan 2-0 in their recent Twenty20 series. How the bowlers fare will be key on a Gabba wicket traditionally seen as a paceman's paradise.

SMELLING BLOOD: Australia boast the experienced Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazelwood, however James Pattinson will be missing after being suspended this week for player abuse. Pakistan may unveil teenage quick

Naseem Shah, 16, for his debut as part of a young attack boasting 19-year-olds Shaheen Afridi and Musa Khan, alongside the impressive Muhammad Abbas and veteran Imran Khan senior.

Their credentials were on show in the build-up against an Australian A team in Perth featuring Test players Joe Burns, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft, dismissing them for 122. But removing Smith and Warner -- in their first home Test since their ball-tampering bans -- will likely be a different proposition.

Skipper Tim Paine said the Australia A game was irrelevant. "I saw that Pakistan are smelling blood in the water or whatever they said," he told reporters.

"What happened in Perth has got nothing to do with what is going to happen at the Gabba."

While Warner had a miserable Ashes, scoring just 95 runs at an average of 9.5,

he has since bounced back into form.

Smith, meanwhile, is still revelling in his remarkable series in England, where he scored 774 runs in just seven innings and played a pivotal role in his side's two victories. Ominously for Pakistan, he hit a century when they last played in Brisbane in late 2016.

Despite his poor Ashes run, Warner's spot at the top of the order was never in doubt, but Australia have struggled to find a suitable partner. Burns, who scored a century in his last Test against Sri Lanka in February, is set to assume the job in Brisbane ahead of Bancroft. Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head and Matthew Wade round out the middle order.

The second and final Test, a day-night affair, is in Adelaide later this month.

AUSTRALIA SqUAD: Tim Paine (capt), Cameron Bancroft, Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon,

Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner PAKISTAN SqUAD: Azhar Ali (capt), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Khan senior, Iftikhar Ahmed, Kashid Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan, Nusa Khan, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Yasir Shah.

New Zealand and England put cricket rivalry to the Test

BRISBANE AGENCIES

New Zealand and England will take their cricketing rivalry into the Test arena Thursday after finding themselves evenly matched in recent limited-overs thrillers. England have bragging rights after winning a rollercoaster World Cup final in July, then edging the Black Caps 3-2 in a desperately close Twenty20 series completed earlier this month.

Both the one-day decider and T20 series needed tie-breakers to find a winner and there will be no shortage of mutual respect when the rivals face off

again Thursday in the First Test at Mount Maunganui.

On paper, there again appears to be little to separate the teams, with New Zealand second in the Test rankings and England third.

But England skipper Joe Root is painfully aware that his team underperformed when it lost a two-Test series in New Zealand last year after underestimating the Black Caps' bowlers on their home turf.

Pacemen Trent Boult and Tim Southee bundled the tourists out for 58 in the first innings of the opening Test as England tried to play what Root described as "fast forward" cricket.

England's skipper said his team would be taking a more measured approach this time, with batsmen placing an emphasis on protecting their wickets.

"We have to be prepared to play some attritional cricket at times," he said.

"We have to try to bat longer... it would be nice to get used to batting for 120 overs more regularly, especially in the first innings."

EXTREME TALENT: The series will not count towards the World Test Championship, giving new England coach Chris Silverwood room to experiment in his first Test series in charge.

He is expected to hand opening batsman Dom Sibley his debut, partnering Rory Burns, with Root moving down to fourth in the order. New Zealand will take the opportunity to blood speedster Lockie Fergu-

son, who has already excelled in limited overs internationals and was described as "an extreme talent" by short-ball specialist Neil Wagner.

"I know he's raring to go. If he gets the opportunity he'll make the most of it," Wagner said.

New Zealand will also be bolstered by the return of captain Kane Williamson, who sat out the T20 series with a nagging hip injury.

It will be the first Test match ever staged at Mount Maunganui's Bay Oval, which has been hosting limited-overs internationals since 2014.

The beachside venue is Wagner's home ground and he said the wicket could take time to get used to.

"It's been a pretty good wicket that's tended to be on the flatter side but there's always pace and bounce that you can work with," he said.

"It's also got it's own unique challenges with wind that swirls around a bit."

New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (capt), Todd Astle, Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Jeet Raval, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling England squad: Joe Root (capt), Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Dominic Sibley, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes

Sri Lanka bus attack survivor Simon Taufel hopes International cricket returns to Pakistan NEW DELHI AGENCIES

Former ICC umpire Simon Taufel, who was on the illfated bus that was attacked by terrorists in Lahore, hopes that international cricket returns to Pakistan.

Taufel, while talking to AFP, mentioned his most vivid memory which is a moment that shook the cricketing world in 2009, when he was on a bus in Lahore that was attacked by extremists targeting the Sri Lanka team. But he hopes cricket makes a full return to Pakistan, which has largely been shunned by touring teams since the attack but which is awaiting a twoTest tour of Sri Lanka in December.

"Never say never. Things change. There is no country in the world that is immune to bad things happening," said Taufel, who was born in the Sydney suburb of St Leonards. "I do hope that cricket spreads to more parts of the world and even though it was a traumatic experience in Pakistan, I sincerely hope that we see international cricket played there again."

Umpiring cricket matches has become increasingly difficult because of the technology now monitoring play, Taufel said. With dozens of cameras and other technology ready to expose mistakes, the pressure is on the officials who make the crucial calls, said the 48-year-old Australian.

"It can be extremely challenging obviously, if it would be easy everyone would be doing it. It's all about learning through mistakes," Taufel said.

Players can challenge umpires' calls using the Decision Review System, which employs slow-motion replays, ball-tracking technology, audio sensors — the

'Snickometer' — and even heat-sensing, known as Hot Spot, to check whether the ball hit the bat.

Cricket's embrace of technology has been echoed by other sports including tennis, rugby and football, where match officials have also found themselves under growing scrutiny.

"When you compete with those 30-odd cameras, the ball-tracker, Snicko, Hot Spot, the three experts in the commentary position, there are times when you don't deliver perfection," said Taufel, who stood in his first Test when he was only 29.

"But that's part of life. Roger Federer loses the odd match, Tiger Woods misses the odd fairway, these things do happen but if you have paid the price you might as well get the learning and benefit out of it."

Known for his accuracy and extreme fitness, Taufel maintained immense respect from players up to his retirement from the international game in 2012.

He was named umpire of the year for five straight seasons between 2004 to 2008 by the International Cricket Council. Taufel become an umpire performance and training manager with the ICC at the age of 41 and has recently authored a book, "Finding the Gaps". "I ask people to focus on the process, don't go for the outcome other people are looking for. People are going to judge you anyway, so give them 'you'," he said.

PERFECTION DOESN'T EXIST: Taufel made headlines after the World Cup final in July, when he pointed out that England should have been awarded five runs and not six from a freak deflection in their last regulation over -- an umpiring mistake which otherwise went unnoticed. The hosts went on to win by

the barest of margins, on overall boundaries scored, after they were level with New Zealand after 50 overs and an extra 'super over'.

Among other innovations in cricket, India is set to experiment with a separate no-ball umpire in the Indian Premier League after some controversial incidents in this year's edition of the Twenty20 tournament. Taufel said he is in favour of experiments in the game but warned the authorities against making hasty changes. "I would encourage people to not necessarily make emotional reactions because of one or two incidents," said Taufel.

"And make sure that we are making change that is adding value rather than searching for perfection that we really know doesn't exist."

CMYK

australian captain paine says pakistan test series may be his last ADELAIDE: Australia’s Tim Paine has said the upcoming Test series against Pakistan and New Zealand may be the last time he captains the side at home as he enters the twilight of his career. Paine, who turns 35 next month, was named captain after former skipper Steve Smith was handed a one-year ban in March 2018 for ball tampering and the wicketkeeper became the first Australian captain after Steve Waugh to retain the Ashes. Smith’s explosive return to the Test side, where he scored 774 runs in the Ashes, triggered calls to restore him as captain and Paine said talk about who eventually takes over was bound to happen, especially considering his age.

“It might be (my last summer), I’m not too sure,” Paine told reporters. “But... I’m enjoying doing it. I feel good physically (and) mentally. So while that continues, I’m scoring enough runs and keeping well enough then I’d like to continue. “I know when you get to my age that can change really quickly. I’m really looking forward to this summer, beyond that I haven’t looked too far. I know what I want to do and what I want to achieve. “I think when you’re the Australian captain and the Australian keeper, they’re two of the most critiqued roles in Australian sport and at the moment I have to hold them both. I know I’m going to be in the crosshairs for people all the time.”

Paine said Australia’s top priority now was to return to the top of the Test rankings and win the World Test Championship (WTC).

Australia are ranked fifth in the world and trail leaders India by 244 points in the WTC standings. “Our goal is to get back to that number one ranking and we want to win that Test Championship,” he added. “To do that we’re going to have to be good enough to win in India and we’re going to have to be good enough to beat everyone, everywhere. “It’s the only way we’re going to get to where we want to get to. It’s an exciting period and I’m looking forward to being part of the start of that and there is no end point at the moment.” Australia play Pakistan in the first of two Tests that begins on Thursday in Brisbane. AGENCIES

Wednesday, 20 November, 2019

NEWS BJP leader expelled by security for heckling during Suri's speech on IOK Security at the Asian Pacific Summit, 2019 escorted out Indian politician Vijay Jolly after he angrily tried to disrupt the speech by National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri. Suri was speaking about Kashmiris’ right to self-determination at the summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia when an enraged Jolly — a leader of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — got up from his seat and walked in front of the hall saying, “I want to protest.” In a video clip, he was seen pointing and yelling at the summit’s participants sitting in the front row, when security guards came and took him outside the hall. Suri continued to speak despite the commotion. The deputy speaker, in his speech, said: “I want to direct your attention towards the human rights violations in Indian-occupied Kashmir. Almost 100,000 Kashmiris have been martyred and thousands are missing. “More than 11,000 women have been raped. More than 8,000 unmarked graves have been found [of people] affected by Indian atrocities.” He added that the occupied territory is under a strict curfew and a communications blackout has been in place for the past 106 days. He also pointed out that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has recorded usage of pellet guns, extrajudicial killings and torture of civilians by the Indian forces. N E W S D E S K

Sweden drops rape investigation against Julian Assange STOCKHOLM: Prosecutors in Sweden have dropped an investigation into a rape allegation made against Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange in 2010. Assange, who denies the accusation, has avoided extradition to Sweden for seven years after seeking refuge at the Ecuadorean embassy in London in 2012. He is currently being held at Belmarsh prison in London.

The Swedish Prosecution Authority said in a statement: “Deputy Director of Public Prosecution EvaMarie Persson has today decided to discontinue the investigation regarding Julian Assange. “The reason for this decision is that the evidence has weakened considerably due to the long period of time that has elapsed since the events in question.” The prosecutors said the decision had been taken after seven witnesses in the case had been interviewed. Two months earlier, the WikiLeaks founder was evicted from the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he had been living since 2012. He was immediately arrested and is serving a 50-week sentence in Belmarsh prison in southeast London for breaching bail conditions. He is also fighting extradition to the US, which accuses him of publishing secret documents. AGENCIES

VerdiCt in MusHArrAf treAsOn CAse On nOV 26 ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

special court in Islamabad on Tuesday reserved its verdict in a high treason case against former president Pervez Musharraf for abrogating and subverting the constitution by proclaiming emergency in Nov 2007.

As a three-member bench led

by Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth resumed the hearing, the court was told that the former president’s lawyer was absent on account of Umrah.

Following this, Justice Seth said that the former president’s lawyer had been given a third chance to submit his arguments, but still he chose to skip the court.

However, the court took a short break and later announced that a verdict in the case has been reserved and

will be announced on Tuesday, Nov 26. Additionally, the court said that Musharraf’s counsel could submit written arguments by Nov 26. The interior secretary was also presented in the court after he was summoned by the court in its last hearing.

Addressing the secretary, Justice Seth whether the court’s per-

mission had been sought before removing the prosecution team. To which, Deputy Attorney General Sajid Ilyas Bhatti said that head of the prosecution Akram Sheikh had tendered his resignation following the change in government.

However, the bench admonished the deputy attorney general

Afghanistan's president claims victory over Islamic State JALALABAD AGENCIES

Security forces have “obliterated” Islamic State (IS) militants in Afghanistan, President Ashraf Ghani said on Tuesday, hours after a prisoner swap with Taliban insurgents raised hopes of a lull in violence in the country.

More than 600 fighters from IS, locally known as Daesh, have surrendered with their families to the Afghan government in past weeks. Officials say airstrikes by Afghan and coalition forces, lack of funds and low morale have forced the group to give up.

“No one believed one year ago that we would stand up and today be saying

we have obliterated Daesh,” Ghani told a gathering of elders and officials in Jalalabad, the main city of eastern Nangarhar province that saw a wave of suicide attacks in past years claimed by the jihadists. “Now that Daesh militants have surrendered, I ask authorities to treat their families humanely,” Ghani added.

The government says among fighters in its custody are foreign nationals from Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and the Maldives. However, the Afghan Taliban, which has been battling IS and the government for control of the country disputed that. Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s official spokesman, described Ghani’s announcement as “absurd”.

Three Taliban commanders in Qatar for prisoner swap DOHA AGENCIES

Three Taliban commanders released by the Kabul government have been flown to Qatar for an expected swap for an American and an Australian hostage held by the insurgents since their abduction in 2016, Taliban officials said Tuesday.

The whereabouts of the two hostages — American Kevin King and Australian Timothy Weeks — was not immediately known.

The Taliban officials told The

Associated Press that the exchange would likely take place on Tuesday.

They said the three of their members arrived in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar on Monday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

The three include Anas Haqqani, the younger brother of the Taliban’s deputy, Sirajuddin Haqqani, who also heads the fearsome Haqqani network.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani a week ago announced the condi-

tional release of the Taliban figures, saying at a press event broadcast live on state television that it was a very hard decision he felt he had to make in the interest of the Afghan people.

King and Weeks, the two captives held by the Taliban were abducted in 2016 outside the American University in Kabul where they both work as teachers.

The following year, the Taliban released two videos showing the captives. A January 2017 video showed them appearing pale and

gaunt. In the later video, King and Weeks looked healthier and said a deadline for their release was set for June 16 that year.

Both said they are being treated well by the Taliban but that they remain prisoners and appealed to their governments to help set them free.

It was impossible to know whether they were forced to speak.

Subsequently, United States officials said that American forces had launched a rescue mission to free the two, but the captives were not found at the raided location.

and said the question was directed at the interior secretary and that the prosecution had nothing to do with the case.

The bench then removed the deputy attorney general from the rostrum. Justice Seth said that the prosecution team had submitted their written arguments which were enough for the court.

On October 24, the court was informed that the government had sacked the entire prosecution team engaged by the previous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government to prosecute the high treason case against Musharraf.

Musharraf was indicted on March 31, 2014, and the prosecution had tabled the entire evidence before the special court in September the same year. However, due to litigation at appellate forums, the trial of the former military dictator lingered on and he left Pakistan in March 2016 and has been an ab-

Only we can rule on Hong Kong constitution: China BEIJING AGENCIES

China insisted on Tuesday it alone held the authority to rule on constitutional matters in Hong Kong, as it condemned a decision by the city’s high court to overturn a ban on face masks worn by pro-democracy protesters. The statement raised hackles among activists in Hong Kong after months of violent protests over concerns that Beijing is chipping away at the autonomy of the financial hub. The ban on face-covering came into force in October, when the city’s unelected pro-Beijing leader invoked colonial-era legislation for the first time in more than 50 years. The move was seen as a watershed legal moment for the city since its 1997 return by Britain to China — but has been largely symbolic.

The city’s high court ruled on Monday that the government ban on face masks was unconstitutional. But Beijing said the judicial branch of the special administrative region had overreached. Zang Tiewei, a spokesman of the National People’s Congress, said only the legislature had the right to rule on whether a law is in accordance with the Basic Law — the city’s mini-constitution. “No other institution has the right to make judgements or decisions,” Zang said, according to a state media report posted on the NPC’s website. He said the ruling had “severely weakened the governance” of Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam and the city government. Zang also indicated that the legislature might take some form of action. “We are considering the relevant opinions and suggestions put forward by some NPC deputies,” he said, without elaborating. Protests started in June as a peaceful condemnation of a now-shelved China extradition bill, but have morphed into a battle to defend unique freedoms unseen on the mainland, which include freedom of speech and an independent judiciary. Dennis Kwok, a prodemocracy lawmaker, warned that taking away the power of the courts in Hong Kong “will be the end of one country, two systems” — the policy that governs the city.

Kashmir shutdown caused losses of more than $1bn, trade body says SRINAGAR AGENCIES

Economic losses in Indian-Occupied Kashmir (IOK) have run well over a billion dollars since India revoked its autonomy and statehood in August, the main trade body in the Himalayan region said, adding that it planned to sue the government for damages.

India turned its erstwhile state of the occupied valley into a federally-controlled territory, tightening control in a shock move it said would rein in militancy in the region also claimed by neighbouring Pakistan, and promote its development.

But the IOK Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) said development was elusive, thanks to a protracted shutdown after people closed markets and businesses as a mark of protest, and for fear of reprisals from insurgents.

It estimated economic losses ran into

least 100 billion rupees ($1.40 billion) by September, but now exceeded that, said Nasir Khan, its senior vice president.

“We’ll ask the court to appoint an ex-

ternal agency to assess the losses, because it is beyond us,” said Khan, adding that India’s telecoms blackout in the region meant the body could not reach business

owners by telephone to prepare estimates.

Instead, it had to send staff to meet them and gather details.

India’s home ministry and local government officials did not respond to detailed requests for comment.

Besides severing telecoms links ahead of its decision, India imposed curbs on travel and sent thousands of troops to the heavily-militarised region, citing security concerns.

Some curbs have since been eased, but access to the internet remains largely blocked.

India and Pakistan have tussled over IOK since independence from Britain in 1947, with each claiming the region in full but ruling it only in part.

For decades, India has battled insurgency in the portion it controls. It blames Pakistan for fuelling the strife, but Pakistan denies this, saying it gives only moral support to non-violent separatists.

The clampdown has hit tourism as

Published by Arif Nizami at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad. Ph: 051-2204545. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk

CMYK

well as farming, horticulture and the arts and crafts that contribute the most to its export-oriented economy.

“I don’t see any stability for many months here,” said Vivek Wazir, who runs a hotel in Kashmir’s main city of Srinagar. “There’s too much uncertainty.”

Although a few years ago he planned to expand his business in Kashmir, Wazir said the hotel was now barely breaking even, and he was instead considering opening one in the neighbouring Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.

India cancelled an investor summit it had planned in the occupied region in October, and most tourists have stayed away after a spate of attacks on non-locals in recent weeks, which police blamed on militants backed by Pakistan.

“I’d be surprised if any genuine investors came,” said Khan, adding that KCCI had received no inquiries from potential investors since August.