E paper pdf 21th september (khi)

CMYK

thursday, 21 September, 2017 I Zilhaj 29, 1438 I Rs 17.00 I Vol VIII No 83 I 16 Pages I Karachi Edition

Once upOn a Dar g

Finance Minister ishaq Dar set to lose oFFice as naB Freezes Bank accounts, property in illegal assets reFerence

ch nisar condemns govt’s silence over kurrum drone attack

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ishaq Dar’s fall from grace STORY ON PAGE 03

sources say Dar lost nawaz shariF’s trust aFter trying to cut covert Deal with Military estaBlishMent

NAB asks FO to ensure serving of summons to Sharifs

STORY ON PAGE 03

STORY ON PAGE 03

kristalina calls on pM aBBasi

Pakistan seeks World Bank support for Diamer Bhasha Dam

pakistan no longer a dangerous country: interior minister STORY ON PAGE 02

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NEPRA refuses to incorporate circular debt in power tariff

ForMer interior Minister criticises priMe Minister aBBasi For Making ‘courtesy call’ on us vice presiDent Mike pence

pakistan to host saarc summit at earliest: FM

STORY ON PAGE 04

STORY ON PAGE 02

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ceo says worlD Bank now FinDing a way to Move ForwarD in inDus water treaty

STORY ON PAGE 04

STORY ON PAGE 04

IHC rejects ECP’s arrest warrants against Imran Khan in contempt case STORY ON PAGE 04

pakistan fined $1.6bn as turkish rpp firm wins arbitration case STORY ON PAGE 04

NAB FIlES APPEAl IN SC AGAINSt lHC DECISION IN HUDAIBIyA CASE

Pakistan, US agree to do more for regional peace

STORY ON PAGE 03

Ghani at UN urges dialogue with Pakistan pakistan, iran say no military solution to afghan conflict g

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us Delegation to visit pakistan in octoBer For Bilateral Dialogue STORY ON PAGE 03

aBBasi, rouhani suggest politicallynegotiateD settleMent For lasting peace in aFghanistan

afghan envoy calls on gen Bajwa, discusses regional security

STORIES ON PAGE 02

02 NEWS

Thursday, 21 September, 2017

ghANI At uN uRgeS dIAlogue wIth PAkIStAN UNITED NATIONS

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AGENCIES

FGHAN President Ashraf Ghani appealed to Pakistan to work together to curb extremists, seeing an opportunity as the United States sends in more troops.

Addressing the UN General Assembly, he said that US President Donald Trump´s new Afghan strategy sent a signal to Taliban guerrillas that they cannot win on the field and must negotiate peace. “We welcome this strategy, which has now set us on a pathway to certainty. The Afghan people have looked to the United States for this type of resolve for years,” Ghani said.

Trump last month announced an Afghanistan strategy that reversed his previous calls to wind down America´s longest war, which was launched after the September 11, 2001 attacks. He instead has sent thousands more troops to Afghanistan and pledged a tougher line on Pakistan. “We now also have an opportunity for a dialogue with our neighbours on how we can work together earnestly to eliminate terrorism and contain extremism,” Ghani said.

“I call upon Pakistan to engage with us on a comprehensive state to state dialogue on peace, security and regional cooperation leading to prosperity,” he said. Pakistan has responded coolly to Trump´s criticism, with many Pakistanis noting that they themselves have been a major victim of at-

Pakistan to host SAARC Summit at earliest: FM ASIF SAYS PAKISTAN FOLLOWS POLICY TO MAINTAIN CORDIAL RELATIONS WITH NEIGHBOURS, MEMBER COUNTRIES

PAkIStAN, IRAN SAy No MIlItARy SolutIoN to AFghAN CoNFlICt ABBASI, ROUHANI SUGGEST POLITICALLY-NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT FOR LASTING PEACE IN AFGHANISTAN NEW YORK: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Iranian President Muhammad Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday agreed that there was no military solution to the Afghan conflict and a politically negotiated settlement was vital for lasting peace in Afghanistan. The two leaders met on the sidelines of the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Underscoring that Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries were seriously affected by the growing instability in the war-ravaged country, the two leaders emphasised the need to adopt a regional approach to bringing an end to the prolonged Afghan conflict. According to Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Rouhani also said that Iran attaches great importance to the expansion of relations with Pakistan. In return, PM Abbasi assured the Iranian president that Pakistan has a strong commitment — rooted in common history, culture and people to people ties — towards strengthening relations with Iran. President Rouhani was said to have emphasised that the two countries should work together closely in deepening mutual cooperation in the areas of border management, trade and investment. Touching upon the potential for expanding mutual cooperation, Rouhani voiced the Iranian side’s readiness to supply energy to Pakistan. He said that Tehran had fulfilled its commitments regarding the gas project and was willing to complete the venture, IRNA reported. According to IRNA, the Iranian president also invited Pakistani businessmen to invest in the neighbouring country. According to IRNA, while commenting on the security condition of the Pak-Iran common border area, President Rouhani urged Pakistani officials to identify culprits of attacks on Iran that were carried out from Pakistani soil. The prime minister later thanked Rouhani for the country’s consistent support to the legitimate struggle of the people of India-held Kashmir towards their right to self-determination. The prime minister and the Iranian president also expressed deep concern over the atrocities being committed against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and urged the international community to take urgent measures to alleviate the suffering of the persecuted people. APP

AFghAN eNvoy CAllS oN geN BAjwA, dISCuSSeS RegIoNAl SeCuRIty RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa met with Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Pakistan Omar Zakhilwal on Wednesday. The meeting was held at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. A number of issues, including steps for peace and stability in the two countries, were discussed in the meeting. In an earlier meeting held on August 2, the two brought under discussion matters pertaining to mutual interest, especially border management in the wake of Herat mosque bombing in Afghanistan. STAFF REPORT tacks since their government sided with the United States following September 11.

Fractious Pakistan-US relations got further strained last month when President Trump unveiled his administration’s policy on Afghanistan and South Asia.

The policy lays special emphasis on kinetic operations to subdue Taliban mili-

sacrifices in the fight against terrorism, and indifferent to Islamabad’s security concerns, prompted a re-assessment of ties at the highest level. The process is yet to complete, but indications from different levels of government point towards an existing consensus that there is no other option, but to stay engaged with US.

Despite challenges in their relationship, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US have launched a new trilateral mechanism to counter Daesh threat. A meeting of the trilateral process was hosted by Afghanistan last week where the three pledged to continue the fight against the common threat of terrorism.

Pakistan no longer a dangerous country: interior minister

Pakistan expresses grief over loss of life in Mexico earthquake

CHARSADDA

ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

ISLAMABAD

Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal said that Pakistan is no longer considered a dangerous country because of the improved law and order situation and reduced terrorism-related incidents.

While addressing a Frontier Constabulary passing-out parade in Shabqadar on Wednesday, he said, “No one can dare term Pakistan a dangerous country now.”

Praising security forces for their sacrifices for the country, the interior minister said that peace and political stability wouldn’t be possible with-

STAFF REPORT

National Assembly was on Wednesday apprised that Pakistan is in close contact with South Asian countries in connection with hosting the 19th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit as soon as possible. This was stated by Foreign Affairs Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif in a written statement to the National Assembly. He said that the postponement of the SAARC Summit, which was scheduled to take place in Islamabad in November 2015, was not only disappointing for Pakistan but also dealt a blow to the collective development of the region. He said that Pakistan remains steadfast in its commitment to regional cooperation and connectivity for promoting peace and accelerating the pace of economic development in the region. Asif said that Pakistan has been following a policy of maintaining cordial relations with the member countries of the SAARC forum. Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions Abdul Qadir Baloch told the House that the international community needs to create a conducive environment in Afghanistan for repatriation of Afghan refugees to their homeland. He said that the process of Afghans’ repatriation has decelerated and only seventy thousand refugees have returned this year.

NA ADOPTS RESOLUTION: The National Assembly adopted a resolution to condemn the violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. Moved by the law and justice minister, the House adopted the resolution condemning the violence against the minorities in Myanmar. The House held the discussion on a motion under Rule 259 regarding the atrocities being committed against the Rohingya Muslims. The House took up two calling attention notices regarding the display of anti-Pakistan posters in Geneva, Switzerland, and pictorial meter reading and overbilling in parts of Peshawar.

tancy in Afghanistan, envisions greater role for India in Afghanistan and the overall regional security, and has been particularly hawkish on Pakistan accusing it of being an insincere partner in the fight against terrorism.

The new policy, which was seen here as humiliating, disrespectful to Pakistani

out these sacrifices.

Development projects will be completed within the stipulated time because of the improved conditions, he added.

Earlier, on Sunday, Iqbal while speaking to media lauded the government for making country peaceful and added that Pakistan made exceptional gains during the past four years.

While discussing the gains the country made during the past years, the interior minister said that the backbone of terrorism has been broken, except one or two incidents that happen from across the border.

Imran still believes Zardari, Nawaz responsible for adverse situation KARACHI STAFF REPORT

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Wednesday said that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Cochairman Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif are responsible for the country’s adverse situation.

While speaking to journalists here, Khan criticised the PML-N and PPP, saying both parties looted the nation. “The [2006] Charter of Democracy was an underhand deal between them. The entire country is in debt but they have become billionaires,” he said.

“Look at the children of Ishaq Dar, Nawaz Sharif and Zardari – they are all billionaires,” he added. Announcing his visit to various districts of Sindh after Muharram, he said that his focus is now on Sindh. “In December, we will organise a huge public gathering at Mazar-e-Quaid,” he vowed. Khan lashed out at PPP for corruption in Sindh and said that corruption is rampant in the province than any other province of the country. “There is a commission on every project in Sindh and the money is being laundered to Dubai by [Zardari’s sister] Faryal Talpur,” he alleged.

Citing the need of a “genuine opposition leader” to

APP

Pakistan has expressed grief and sorrow over the heavy loss of life and destruction caused by the earthquake in Mexico.

Government and people of Pakistan express their solidarity and stand by the government and people of Mexico at this difficult time period, said a statement issued by Foreign Office (FO) on Wednesday. “We believe that the resilience of Mexican people will help them in facing the challenges posed by this calamity with courage and strength,” it said, and added, “We offer our profound condolences to the bereaved families and pray for the early recovery of those injured in this disaster.” At least 224 people died when a powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.1 struck central Mexico on Tuesday, toppling buildings in the heavily populated capital where rescuers scoured frantically under the rubble of ruins for survivors.

Incompetent rulers have deceived nation: Bilawal SAHIWAL AGENCIES

keep a check on government, the PTI chief accused the federal government of giving massive development funds to Opposition Leader Khursheed Shah. Nawaz destroyed every institution of the country by placing his friends as their head in view of protecting his corruption, he said.

While accusing the government of maligning the army as well, he said, “It is the first time that the army chief is repeatedly saying that ‘we won’t impose martial law’, ‘we stand with democracy’, but they have issues because the army has not become Punjab Police and the judges today are not Justice Qayyum who used to write decisions on their telephone calls.”

Ch NISAR IS loyAl to NAwAz ShARIF, SAyS MuShAhIdullAh KARACHI: Federal Minister for Climate Change Mushahidullah Khan on Wednesday denied rumours of a rift within the party, adding that former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan is part of the party and is loyal to Nawaz Sharif. Speaking in a TV programme, he said that in the past political parties have been led from London, referring to Muttahida Qaumi Movement-London chief Altaf Hussain. “The parties have been led for more than 20 years from London, with advanced technology now at hand it is not an issue anymore,” he said, indicating that other parties could also do the same. The PML-N leader maintained that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif will soon return to Pakistan, saying that Nawaz has an experience of facing such political situations. “It is not something new. We have seen jail, political exiles, we have experienced all these things and can face it again,” he added. INP

CMYK

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto on Wednesday said that incompetent rulers have deceived the nation time and again. Addressing a political rally in Sahiwal’s Zafar Ali Stadium, he lashed out at the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif, saying that ‘they only care about their own businesses’ and not about the poor nation. “Our relation is based on [the party’s] struggle and similar ideology,” he said in his address. Bilawal said that his party gave a voice to the underprivileged class. “PPP has always fought for the rights of the farmers,” he said, promising that the PPP will implement a Kisan Support System to facilitate farmers. “The programme will allow farmers to get interest-free loans.” He added that salaries and pensions will be increased, and the Benazir Income Support will be expanded. The political rally comes at a time when the domestic political scenario is fast-changing. On Wednesday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan came down hard on the PPP and PML-N leaders, saying that Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari were responsible for the country’s adverse situation.

Thursday, 21 September, 2017

oNCe uPoN A dAR SARTAJ AZIZ, AHSAN IQBAL, PERVAIZ MALIK AND MIFTAH ISMAIL IN THE RUN FOR TOP SLOT AT FINANCE MINISTRY ISLAMABAD

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MIAN ABRAR

NCE considered the most powerful minister in ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s cabinet due to his close family ties with the premier, Federal Minister for Finance Senator Ishaq Dar is likely to lose the coveted position after having lost the confidence of the former premier, Pakistan Today has learnt reliably.

The development comes as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) issued orders to all concerned departments and banks on Wednesday to freeze the finance minister’s accounts and property after an accountability court hearing corruption references against the Sharif family and Ishaq Dar issued bailable arrest warrants for the finance minister when he failed to show up at the hearing earlier in the day.

Informed sources told Pakistan Today that Dar, who virtually acted as the deputy prime minister and headed over 45 government committees, had lost Sharif’s trust during the Panama Papers investigation as the former premier was informed that the finance minister was trying to cut a deal with the military establishment and might turn into an approver, as he had done in 2000 in the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case.

“Nawaz Sharif trusted Ishaq Dar completely which is why summaries sent by the finance minister to the Prime Minister’s Office were cleared instantly. Dar was also entrusted with supervision of the legal team defending the Sharif family in the Panamagate case and for bridging differences with the military establishment. However, Sharif

started doubting Dar’s loyalty towards him when he was informed that the latter had covertly tried to strike a deal for himself with the army’s General Headquarters,” said the sources.

Soon after Shahid Khaqan Abbasi assumed the Prime Minister’s Office, Dar saw his influence in the government erode rapidly as the new premier “cut him to size”, ostensibly on the orders of Nawaz Sharif, the sources claimed.

Abbasi first removed Dar from chairmanship of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet, and a few days later removed him from the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCOP) as well.

The finance minister’s removal from the CCOP raised many an eyebrow because Dar had played a key role in finalising the sale price of public-sector entities. He had remained an integral part of the CCOP since the introduction of the PML-N’s privatisation policy in the early 1990s. Another source privy to the developments said that Ishaq Dar had also drawn ire of the military leadership when he flatly refused a request during a national security council committee for allocation of funds for the purchase of crucial military hardware.

“The military leadership wanted funds to help meet the increasing needs of the armed forces but Senator Dar told them that the country’s economic conditions did not allow cutting off funds from other heads to fulfill the military needs. This assertion did not go down well with the military leadership who argued that the government had been claiming that Pak-

LAHORE Ishaq Dar— one of the most influential men in Nawaz-led cabinet and even before being part of the previous cabinet — has hit a roadblock, as his career as a politician has presumably come to an end, according to speculations in media that he might lose his post of finance minister. Dar remained closed to Nawaz since the late 80s but following the Panama Papers case, his popularity with the Sharifs has come to an end, which could potentially cost him his political career as well. Reportedly, Dar acted as a de-facto deputy prime minister under the Nawaz-led cabinet and had held the chairmanship of dozens of committees.

Dar’s rise from an accountant to the country’s finance minister LATE 1980s: Dar starts his political career by joining Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz’s (PML-N) central executive committee as a member 1992-1993: Dar holds first public office as chief executive of the Pakistan Board of Investment with the status of the state minister till the PML-N government was

dismissed 1993: Dar becomes the president of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry 1993: Dar runs for NA-95 by-election and wins with 62 per cent votes. The seat was vacated by Nawaz Sharif 1996: Dar’s tenure comes to an end as Benazir’s government is dismissed 1997: Dar runs for NA-97 and gets elected. This is the first time PML-N wins clear majority in the assembly and Dar is inducted into Nawaz Sharif’s cabinet as a federal minister for commerce 1998: Amid sanctions following Pakistan’s nuclear test, Dar is given an additional portfolio of finance minister 1998: Dar negotiates an IMF rescue package to meet the economic crisis triggered by sanctions 1999 COUP: Nawaz Sharif government is dismissed and Dar goes to jail under Musharraf regime for two years 2003: Dar returns to Pakistan after few months’ stay and runs for Senate elections.

Subsequently, he becomes senator for a three-year term and also serves PML-N parliamentary leader in the Senate 2006: Dar becomes senator again but for

a six-year term this time 2008: Dar joins Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani-led cabinet as the finance minister in March but PML-N-PPP coalition flops which ends his brief tenure 2011: Dar is awarded Nishan-e-Imtiaz for his parliamentary services; however, he refuses to receive it from then president Asif Zardari MARCH 2012: Dar becomes Senate’s leader of opposition until May 2013 2012: Dar gets re-elected to Senate in 2012 elections for another six years. He serves as a member of the Special Committee of the Parliament of Pakistan on Constitutional Reforms, and co-prepares and passes the 18th, the 19th, and the 20th amendments 2013 gENERAL ELECTIONS: Dar becomes part of PML-N central parliamentary board, tasked with selecting candidates for the election 2013: Dar becomes a finance minister for the third time following the PML-N victory in the elections 2014: Nawaz Sharif appoints Dar as the chairman of the Special Parliamentary Committee on Election Reforms and the Economic Coordination Committee

ISLAMAbAD: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has written a letter to the Foreign Office asking it to ensure the serving of the summons to the Sharif family

by September 22—Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, Hussain, Hassan and Capt (retd) Safdar. Sources in NAB, on anonymity, informed that the bureau has become active to summon the Sharif family after rebukes from the accountability court. They said NAB’s International Coordination Wing has asked the FO to get the service of summons done by September 22, 2017. After the summons is served to the Sharifs in person and still they do not appear before the accountability court on September 26, then bailable arrest warrants will be issued, sources said. As the Sharif family is in London currently so the summons was forwarded to NAB’s International Coordination Wing. It is also learnt that NAB has no address to get the service of summons done from Hassan and Hussain Nawaz. However, NAB will present a report about the service of summons before the accountability court on September 26. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has decided to face the corruption references by appearing before the court and he has also informed the Sharif family about his decision. It is worth mentioning that Shahbaz Sharif and some close friends of Sharif family have been trying to convince Nawaz Sharif to appear before the court while Maryam Nawaz and her aides are against it. AHMAD AHMADANI anti-graft watchdog’s Lahore office ordered all concerned departments and banks to freeze Dar’s accounts as well as any moveable or immovable assets that he owns in Pakistan. Sources in NAB told Pakistan Today’s Raja Faisal that a team from its Lahore office raided Dar’s residence in Islamabad’s Ministers Enclave on Wednesday evening and interrogated his domestic servants. However, NAB denied these reports, saying they had only gone to the minister’s house to deliver the court’s notice.

The officials had the employees sign a receiving of the arrest orders and compliance summons, and then searched the house to make sure Dar was not present there.

Earlier on Wednesday, Islamabad Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Bashir heard the reference filed by NAB regarding the finance minister’s assets.

At the hearing, instead of Dar, his protocol officer Fazal Daad made an appearance and informed the court that Dar couldn’t attend the hearing because he was on a private visit to London.

JULY 2016: NAB closes $130billion corruption case against Dar, which it considered as one of 179 mega-scam corruption cases since 2001. NAB was under pressure to close case “despite the fact that enough material was available against Dar”, reports Pakistan Today then OCTObER 2016: Emerging Markets newspaper, reportedly published by the International Monetary Fund/World Bank, declares Dar as ‘Finance Minister of the year 2016 for South Asia’. However, the IMF says newspaper is an independent publication JULY 2017: Supreme Court convicts Ishaq Dar in Panamagate judgment. Following the verdict, the Nawaz-led cabinet is dissolved and Dar’s tenure ends. References to be filed against the Sharifs and Dar in this regard AUgUST 2017: Dar once again becomes the finance minister, this time in the cabinet of PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

Abbasi takes steps to curb Dar’s influence: on Aug 11, Dar is removed as chairman of Economic Coordination Committee; on August 20, he is removed from the chairmanship of some 35 National Assembly committees SEPTEMbER 2017: Accountability court issues bailable arrest warrants against Dar and the NAB freezes his assets and bank accounts.

Pakistan, US agree to do more for regional peace NEW YORK APP

Pakistan and the United States have agreed to work together to achieve shared objectives of peace, stability and economic prosperity in the region, and carry forward the relationship that has been on a downward trajectory since the announcement of the US policy for Afghanistan and South Asia.

The consensus was reached during a meeting between Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and US Vice President Mike Pence on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York on Wednesday. Abbasi was assisted by Minister for Foreign Affairs Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Aizaz Chaudhry and

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations Dr Maleeha Lodhi. Abbasi’s meeting with Pence is the first highlevel contact between the two countries, after the announcement of the new US strategy by President Donald Trump on Afghanistan and South Asia, that carried a series of allegations against Pakistan for not doing enough in its fight against terrorism. A handout issued by the Pakistani Foreign Office said the meeting on the sidelines of the 72nd UNGA session in New York was held in a cordial atmosphere.

“Prime Minister [Abbasi] shared Pakistan’s concerns and views with regard to the US strategy for South Asia,” it said, adding that Abbasi and Pence agreed to work together to carry forward the bilateral relationship and discussed matters relating to peace and stability in

Afghanistan and the region.

“It was agreed that the two countries would stay engaged with a constructive approach to achieve shared objectives of peace, stability and economic prosperity in the region,” the FO statement said.

In his opening remarks, the US vice president greeted Abbasi on behalf of President Donald Trump. He recalled the strategy articulated by Trump on South Asia and said the US valued its relationship with Pakistan, a long-term partnership for security in the region.

“We look forward to exploring ways so that we can work even more closely with Pakistan and with your government to advance security throughout the region,” he told Abbasi. In response, Abbasi said Pakistan intends to continue efforts to eliminate terrorism in the area.

“We have made our contributions,

CMYK

03

NAB ASkS Fo to eNSuRe SeRvINg oF SuMMoNS to ShARIFS

istan’s economy was improving and the country would soon become an ‘Asian Tiger,’” the source said.

The source said that Dar blamed the Panama Papers case for Pakistan’s falling economy to which the military leadership responded that prudent policies and their continuity, and not political stability, provide the backbone for a strong economy.

“The military officers also commented on the low tax-to-GDP ratio and inefficient revenue collection system implemented by Dar which had failed to meet even 10 percent of the revenue target,” the source said. The source claimed that Dar had foiled several efforts of the Sharifs to improve the economy.

“Nawaz Sharif wanted to appoint prominent banker and former minister Shaukat Tareen as an adviser on financial affairs but Dar opposed the idea tooth and nail, telling the premier that he would step down from the finance ministry in case Tareen was brought in,” said the source.

POSSIbLE REPLACEMENTS: PMLN insiders say that Sartaj Aziz is being tipped as the most probable replacement for Dar but another name being seriously considered for the most important ministry after the PM’s Office is of Federal Minister for Interior Ahsan Iqbal who has been in charge of the Planning Ministry and has experience in executing development projects.

“Since it’s election year, Nawaz Sharif would want a trusted aide to head the Finance Ministry. Although the names of Pervaiz Malik and Miftah Ismail are also being considered, it is likely that the coveted position would either go to Sartaj Aziz or Ahsan Iqbal,” said the sources, adding that a final decision in this regard would be taken after the return of Prime Minister Abbasi from the US. NAb FREEZES DAR’S ACCOUNTS: To add to the finance minister’s woes, the

Ishaq Dar’s fall from grace STAFF REPORT

NEWS

we fought a very difficult war, we suffered casualties and have suffered economic losses and that is the message that we bring to the world,” he said. “We are partners in the war against terrorism.”

“It was a good meeting,” Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua told reporters after the 45-minute meeting that the US had requested. Responding to questions, she termed the progress made at the meeting as an “ice-breaker”, adding that a US delegation will visit Pakistan next month to continue the process of bilateral dialogue. She said the premier elaborated the points raised by the National Security Committee in which Pakistan categorically rejected allegations contained in President Trump’s speech, saying “scapegoating Pakistan will not help bring stability to Afghanistan”.

The NAB prosecutor pleaded that since Dar had failed to show up despite being issued summons, an arrest warrant should be issued for him.

Heeding his request, the court issued a bailable arrest warrant for Dar against a surety of Rs1 million and set the next hearing for September 25.

The Supreme Court (SC), in its Panama Papers case verdict, had ordered NAB to investigate the accused named in the report filed by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT). The JIT had pointed out an exorbitant increase in Dar’s assets from 2008 to 2009. NAB authorities summoned Dar but he did not appear for investigation, arguing that NAB could not summon him as he had filed a review petition in the apex court. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has reportedly submitted Dar’s tax return data from the last 20 years to NAB. The SECP has also handed over the records of seven companies owned by Dar and his family members to the anti-corruption watchdog.

NAB files appeal in SC against lhC decision in hudaibiya case ISLAMABAD RAjA FAISAl

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed on Wednesday an appeal in the Supreme Court against the decision of the Lahore High Court (LHC) quashing the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case against the Sharif family.

The petition names former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his brother and Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Shehbaz’s son and MNA Hamza Shehbaz, among other family members, as respondents. The NAB has pleaded the SC to dismiss the LHC’s decision to quash the case and order a reinvestigation into the scam as per the new evidence which surfaced in the Panama case Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report. On Friday, NAB assured the apex court that it will be filing the appeal in the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case. The assurance was made by the NAB prosecutor general during the hearing of Awami Muslim League (AML) leader Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed’s petition in the court seeking re-opening of the case. The matter was heard by a five-judge bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa that was hearing review petitions against the court’s July 28 judgement in the Panama Papers case. Earlier, Rasheed, one of three petitioners in the Panama Papers case, had moved the SC against NAB, accusing the anti-graft watchdog of failing to file an appeal in the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case in accordance with the SC’s Panama Papers verdict. The Joint Investigating Team (JIT) formed to probe allegations against the Sharif family in the Panama Papers case had recommended the reopening of the Hudaibiya Paper Mills reference. In its July 28 verdict in the Panama Papers case, the SC asked NAB to reopen the case as it filed other corruption references against the Sharif family and Ishaq Dar. The apex court had also criticised NAB for not challenging the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) decision to quash the case. NAB had last month approved the filing of four references in line with the SC order, but it decided not to take any action regarding Hudaibiya Paper Mills on the grounds that the LHC had already decided the case.

04 NEWS

Thursday, 21 September, 2017

PAKISTAn SEEKS WoRld BAnK’S SuPPoRT FoR dIAMER BHASHA dAM kriStalina SayS wOrld bank nOw Finding a way tO mOVe FOrward in induS pact NEW YORK

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STAFF REPORT

RIME Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Wednesday sought support of the World Bank for Diamer Bhasha Dam and said it was a critical project for the water security needs of the South Asian country.

“We are prepared to work on some innovative solutions like separating water and power components of the project,” he said while talking to World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva, who called on him here at his hotel. Prime

Minister Abbasi is in New York for the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly.

Kristalina expressed commitment to continue to work with Pakistan and appreciated the progress made by the country in stabilising the macroeconomic framework. She said that the World Bank would continue to support economic reforms in Pakistan.

Prime Minister Abbasi thanked CEO Kristalina for World

IHC rejects ECP’s arrest warrants against Imran Khan in contempt case ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday rejected the bailable arrest warrants issued against Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). A three-judge bench headed by Justice Aamer Farooq, however, directed Imran Khan to reply to the ECP’s show-cause notice. During the hearing, the PTI chairman’s counsel Babar Awan said it seems that only one party is on trial in the ECP. He assured the court that his client would reply to the ECP’s show-cause notice with regards to contempt proceedings against him. The IHC then adjourned the hearing till Sept 26. The ECP had last week issued bailable arrest warrants for Imran after he failed to appear before it in the contempt of court case. The Commission also ordered the PTI chief to submit a surety bond of Rs 100,000 till Sept 25 and to ensure his presence on that day. Earlier, during the hearing of contempt proceedings, Advocate Babar Awan argued before the ECP that proceedings against his client should be postponed until the matter is decided by the high court. The five-judge ECP bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Justice (r) Sardar Raza Khan had summoned Imran Khan in person on Thursday but he failed to do so. The ECP had issued the contempt notice to Khan on January 24 over his scandalous remarks about the Commission. Akbar Babar, the petitioner who had filed the foreign funding case against the PTI leadership, had informed the ECP that the PTI chief had accused it of being biased in the foreign funding case following which his counsel tendered an apology with the commission. STAFF REPORT

Govt to accelerate registration process of new voters in FATA ISLAMABAD: The federal government has accelerated the process of registering new voters in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) for the upcoming general elections. An Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) spokesman said that more than ninety-three thousand new voters have been registered for the two National Assembly constituencies NA-43 and NA-44 in Bajaur Agency. The spokesman said 138 registration centres will soon be set up for final round of voters’ registration in the agency. INP

pm abbaSi SayS pakiStan haS nO ambiguity On termS OF hiStOric water treaty Bank's support in Tarbela-4, Tarbela5 and Dasu Hydropower projects. The two sides also agreed to continue engagements and cooperation.

Kristalina termed Pakistan's role in Indus Water Treaty as positive and constructive, and said the World Bank was now finding a way to move forward in the treaty.

Prime Minister Abbasi said that Pakistan has no ambiguity on the terms of the treaty. “We also want to remain en-

gaged with the World Bank to find a mutually negotiated solution,” he said.

The World Bank had announced a pause in arbitration between Islamabad and New Delhi following their dispute on the construction of two dams by India and urged both the countries to consider alternative ways to resolve their disagreements.

India is constructing two hydropower projects on the Chenab River; the 850 MegaWatt Ratle and 330MW Kishanganga hydropower projects. Pakistan objected to their construction saying these would have adverse impact on the flow of the Chenab and Neelum rivers.

nepra refuses to incorporate circular debt in power tariff ISLAMABAD AHMAD AHMADANI

Power sector regulatory authority while setting aside the government plea to allow collection of Rs 235 billion from the power consumers under head hike in electricity bills, has finally declined to make the heavy circular debt as part of the power tariff.

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) in its decision, has finally refused to further burden the power consumers with Rs 235 billion, and include billions rupees worth circular debt as part of power tariff. According to the decision of the power sector authority (NEPRA), it has allowed 48 paise per unit increase in the new annual tariff, out of which 14 paise/unit is given

under the head T&D (transmission and distribution) losses while remaining 34 paise/unit is permitted on account of permanent defaulters.

Moreover, if the power distributing companies (DISCOs) do not take corrective measures, as per procedure, then 34 paisa increase will be adjusted in the next year tariff and power division will issue notification of annual tariff determined by the regulatory authority. Similarly, NEPRA has allowed making pending Rs 24 billion of permanent defaulters as part of the tariff, said NEPRA. It is important to note that NEPRA has taken one and half year to decide the tariff as the federal government had challenged NEPRA’s decision of February 29, 2016, regarding power prices and obtained a

stay order from Islamabad High Court (IHC). It is also learnt that federal government had earlier requested the authority to allow collection of Rs 235 billion from the electricity consumers which was consisted of late payment charges, recoveries, T&D loss, previous year’s adjustments, and actual loss as part of the tariff.

The government’s request was made ostensibly to create new sources to control the growing the menace of circular debt of country’s power sector. Documents available with scribe show that as on June 30, 2017, the power sector circular debt was at Rs 379 billion. It is worth mentioning that currently, the power sector circular debt has gone beyond Rs 400 billion.

Pakistan fined $1.6bn as Turkish RPP firm wins arbitration case ISLAMABAD: The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), an arm of the World Bank which offers arbitration and conciliation services for governments and private foreign investors’ disputes, has given its decision in favour of Turkish firm Karkey Karadeniz Elektrik Uretim and imposed a fine of $1.6 billion on Pakistan, Geo News reported on Wednesday. Karkey had registered a claim with the ICSID against Pakistan in 2013 for violation of their contract of as many as $564.6 million for a period of five years, for building rental power plants in Karachi.

The contract was struck down in the Supreme Court decision by then Cheif Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry in 2012 on a petition by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Khawaja Asif and Faisal Saleh Hayat, which called for shutting down all rental power projects in the country. In March 2017, Pakistan offered to give compensation of Rs700 million to Karkey through the Turkish government. Both the respective governments are in negotiations with the company, the TV channel reported. AGENCIES

Summary for appointment of new naval chief sent to PM ISLAMABAD: Defence Ministry has moved a summary containing names of four senior officers of Pakistan Navy (PN) for the appointment of the new naval chief. The incumbent Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Zakaullah is going to retire on October 8, 2017. Sources said that the names of Vice Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, Vice Admiral Syed Arifullah Hussaini, Vice Admiral Shah Sohail Masood and Vice Admiral Waseem Karam were under consideration for the top post. Defence Minister Khurram Dastagir confirmed sending a summary to prime minister (PM) for the appointment of the new chief of naval forces. “I can only tell that a summary containing names of senior-most officers of Navy has been sent to the prime minister,” said the defence minister, adding that the president on the recommendation of the PM will appoint the new boss of PN. INP

Nisar condemns govt’s silence over Kurrum drone attack FOrmer interiOr miniSter criticiSeS prime miniSter abbaSi FOr making ‘cOurteSy call’ On uS Vice preSident mike pence ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

In a strongly worded speech in the National Assembly on Wednesday, former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan criticised Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi for making a “courtesy call” on US Vice President Mike Pence in wake of the recent drone strike in Kurrum Agency.

Continuing his recent criticism of the federal government’s relationship with the US, Nisar said: “There is no need for us to be paying courtesy calls to the US; in fact, after the latest drone strike, there should be a strong condemnation sent their way.”

He said it is surprising that Pakistan did not even issue a formal condemnation against the US drone attack in Kurram on September 15 in which three suspected militants were killed and two others were injured.

“The PM met with the US ambas-

sador on the day of the drone attack and it was surprising to see that he did not issue a statement against it,” the disgruntled leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) said, adding that drone attacks are a challenge to Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“I am telling the world to respect Pakistan,” he said.

The former interior minister said that he would not have raised the issue in parliament had he had a chance to speak directly to the prime minister regarding the matter, but since PM Abbasi has been unavailable, he was forced to do so.

Criticising the Foreign Office, Nisar said that the recent BRICS resolution was against Pakistan due to India’s successful diplomatic effort.

“A resolution against Pakistan was passed in the latest BRICS conference held in China — Pakistan’s greatest friend. This shows the amount of con-

CMYK

SlamS FO FOr nOt being able tO diplOmatically thwart bricS reSOlutiOn

vincing [by Pakistan’s detractors] that went into getting that resolution passed,” he continued.

“I call it a resolution against Pakistan because the organisations that have been named in it have existed in Pakistan,” Nisar said, adding that India had tried to pass a similar resolution in the previous BRICS conference, “but after failing to do so last year, India spent its time lobbying and managed to get the resolution passed in the latest conference.”

“My question is, when India was lobbying for the resolution, why was Pakistan not making contact with friendly members of BRICS — like Brazil, Russia and China — to make sure that the resolution was blocked again?”

Nisar added that diplomacy is not an “on and off game between two meetings,” rather it is a fulltime job to keep a country in touch with its allies at all times.

Speaking on the plight of the Ro-

hingya Muslims, Nisar said that the exodus of 450,000 Rohingya Muslims from their homes in Myanmar and statesponsored persecution against them is a matter of shame for humanity.

“Human rights organisations raise a hullabaloo when even a dog is killed but here Muslims are being killed and they are silent,” he said, adding that Pakistan should call a special meeting on Rohingya Muslims in the OIC and also initiate a fund for the community.

He observed that the ill-treatment of Rohingya Muslims, especially children and pregnant women, at the hands of Myanmar Army and Buddhist monks cannot be tolerated. Nisar also proposed the speaker to write an appreciation letter as a goodwill gesture, on behalf of the government and opposition, for British politician and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for standing by Pakistan on the issue of Rohingyan Muslims.

In the prevailing situation, his statement has great importance, he said.

Thursday, 21 September, 2017

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SGCH to Be Made ‘Model HealtH faCility’ KARACHI

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PPI

ORTH Karachi Sindh Government Children Hospital (SGCH) would be made a ‘model health facility’ in terms of provision of pediatric medical facilities, and a comprehensive plan has been devised to upgrade all departments of the hospital.

The SGCH was renovated by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 2015 and its bed capacity was increased from 50 to 220.

The hospital was handed over to the Poverty Eradication Initiative (PEI) by the Sindh government under its Public

Private Partnership (PPP) initiative at the end of 2016.

Poverty Eradication Initiative Health Director Dr Imam Yar Baig, while talking to PPI, said that a plan had been made to make SGCH a model health facility in terms of pediatric care as hundreds of people from all across Karachi, and other far-flung areas, were bringing their children to this health facility for better treatment.

He said that OPD, pediatric intensive care unit, neonatal intensive care unit, pathology laboratory, and radiology and surgery departments would be further upgraded under a proper plan.

He also said that the number of visiting patients and admissions had signif-

icantly increased since last nine months.

He added that surgeons were now hired to perform major and minor surgeries as this surgery facility was not available earlier. He further informed that cleft lip and palate surgeries were also started for newborn children with these defects.

To a question about the shortage of drugs, Dr Baig explained that under an agreement, the administration was authorised to purchase medicines from the Sindh government approved companies, but these companies failed to provide all the required drugs on time which had caused problems for patients. But now the situation had improved a lot, he added.

He said that with the approval of Sindh government, the hospital would

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be made an institution after the coming budget. He added that the administration will try to get registration from Pakistan Medical Dental Council (PMDC) and Pakistan College of Physicians and Surgeons (PCPS).

He informed that a nursing school, hostel and a maternity home would be built after the release of the budget for next fiscal year, adding that the CME programme would also be introduced very soon for capacity building of nurses. The director also said that the increments of lower staff and doctors had been raised by 30 and 25 per cent respectively. He added that up-gradation of pharmacy and store was also under way on modern lines.

He further stated that management and clinical committees were also formed to improve working relationships with the management and clinical staff. Dr Baig added that the environmental, security, senatorial, infection control and quality control standard operating procedure (SOPs) had already been introduced to provide quality care and infection-free atmosphere to every visiting patient in the health facility.

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Karachi Police arrest 52 suspects, including five women, during search operations KARACHI: The law enforcement agencies’ (LEAs) personnel arrested 52 suspected criminals, including five women, during search operations in different parts of the metropolis in the wee hours of Wednesday. Rangers and police conducted a search operation in Nazimabad and Razia Society and arrested eight alleged criminals. The LEAs also recovered four hand grenades, four TT pistols and bullets from their possession and shifted them to an undisclosed location for further investigation. Meanwhile, Garden police’s team arrested six criminals and recovered weapons, stolen motorbikes, mobile phones and drugs from them. Separately, a police party conducted a search operation in Ittehad Town’s Muhammad Khan Colony and detained 28 suspects, including two street criminals. On a tip-off, Soldier Bazaar police carried out a targeted raid in Aziz Bahtti area and arrested 10 accused, including five women. Drugs and wine were also recovered from them. The police have registered cases against the detainees and started further investigation. PPI

death toll in Sukkur cement factory blast mounts to six

KARACHI: Rescue teams busy in relief work at site of fire in cosmetics factory, located near Nursery Bus Stop on Shahrah-e-Faisal, following a blast. ONLINE

Blast at cosmetics factory leaves one dead KARACHI: One person was killed on Wednesday in a blast that occurred at a cosmetics factory located near a school at Shahrah-e-Faisal in Nursery area of Karachi. The deceased’s body was successfully recovered from the wreck. As per reports, a fire broke out in the factory after the explosion was heard. Police, Rangers and rescue teams reached the site of the incident promptly to help evacuate the victims from the site of the incident and to overcome the blaze. As many as three fire tenders helped to douse the flames.

More than a dozen people were reported to be inside the factory when the incident took place. People came out of their homes and offices in horror, and the nearby school was evacuated. The children told that they were in their classes when the explosion happened. In addition, the bomb disposal squad was called to the site of the incident to ascertain the nature of the explosion. INP

Man hurt in armed attack KARACHI: A man was shot at and injured by unidentified armed men in Korangi area of the city on Wednesday. According to rescue sources, an unknown armed men riding a motorbike opened fire on a 25-yearold man, Fakhurdin, in Korangi area. As a result, he sustained severe bullet injuries.

YoutH KIlled In RoAd ACCIdent: A youth was killed in a road accident in Mauripur area of the metropolis in the wee hours of Wednesday. According to rescue sources, a 26-year-old unknown youth was hit by a speeding truck in Mauripur area. As a result, he suffered severe injuries and died on the spot. The body was shifted to Civil Hospital Karachi for an autopsy. INP

Chandio lashes out at Imran, says Shaukat Khanum his only feat HYDERABAD INP

Senior Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Maula Bux Chandio on Wednesday lashed out at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan for “hurling abuses and personal attacks” on PPP leaders during his address in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

Addressing a press conference here, Chandio said that Imran is trying to hide his disappointment by criticising PPP leaders, including Asif Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari

and Faryal Talpur.

“We don’t insult people, don’t hurl personal attacks. Shameful that Imran would do this despite being a party chief,” he said.

The PPP leader said that Imran

can boast of no feat other than Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital, saying the entire country can’t be run with one hospital.

“Everywhere he goes he talks about his only one feat,” Chandio said. Responding to Imran’s accusations of corruption against party supremo Zardari, Chandio said that Imran himself has been proven a thief and is trying to get everyone proved one. “Why doesn’t Imran submit his asset details in the court,” the PPP leader asked, referring to the PTI foreign funding case in the Supreme Court.

SuKKuR: SUKKUR: The death toll in Sukkur cement factory blast has mounted to six as the injured Inspector Tahir Awan succumbed to his wounds here on Wednesday. At least five people including two members of the Bomb Disposal Squad, a Rangers official and a labourer embraced martyrdom while defusing explosives at the factory on Tuesday. The deceased were in the middle of defusing explosives at the site when the explosion occurred, critically injuring six other Rangers personnel, the factory manager and a labourer. Following the incident, heavy contingents of police arrived at the venue. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Tuesday demanded a detailed report about the incident, including where and how the explosives were placed inside the factory and who brought them there. INP

40 held with arms, grenades and looted valuables KARACHI: The law enforcement agencies (LEAs) arrested 40 outlaws and recovered arms, hand grenades, stolen valuables and snatched bikes from their possession. The police during crackdowns in Ittehad Town, Muhammad Khan Colony and surrounding localities held 26 with arms, looted valuables and stolen bikes. Citizens also caught a robber red-handed during a robbery attempt in Liaquatabad area. He was handed over to police after a sound thrashing. SSP (Central) Irfan Baloch said that the police and Rangers during a joint operation in Nazimabad and Rizvia colony areas detained eight suspects. Four pistols and four hand grenades were recovered from the possession of the detainees. INP

'Goal setting in professional life key for doctors' KARACHI PPI

Dow University of Health Sciences’ (DUHS) National Institute of Diabetes and Endocrinology on Wednesday organised a seminar on “Value of wellbeing and goal setting in a professional's life” at DUHS Ojha Campus.

Renowned writer Qasim Ali Shah was invited as guest speaker to the seminar. Vice Chancellor (VC) Professor Mohammad Saeed Qureshi, Pro-VC Professor Khawar Saeed Jamali, ProVC Professor Mohammad Masroor, NIDE Director Professor Akhtar

Baloch and other senior faculty members and students attended the seminar.

Qasim Shah informed that he had already given 1,400 lectures to doctors on this topic. Most of the doctors do not have known about any other thing except their profession, he said, adding we have time for everything in life except our own self.

“We have got much success in our life while we are still unhappy and trying to get it. There are many people in the world who always worry about future and all the time thinking about it,” he said, and added that “if you need to identify problems of other peoples of

society, you would be grateful and your behaviour would be your gratitude.”

“You have to love people around you, forgive their mistakes, learn knowledge about rather than your profession, help others in terms of professional and as well as other scenarios, do not backbite, perform your responsibility with honesty and dedication, do not practice ego even if you are guilty and accept your mistake,” he said, further advising to avoid useless things in mind.

“This will really help you to get peace and happiness in your life. You need people to celebrate your success and happiness, so you should make

some friends as well,” said the motivational speaker.

He also stated that a person should provide services to other people to help them, irrespective of the fact that these services were professional or not. “Perform your responsibilities with dedication and honesty,” he said, adding that doctors should spend time with family and friends and should spare more time for themselves. Later, DUHS VC Professor Saeed Qureshi thanked the speaker for sharing his personal experience and precious time for the university. In the end, he presented certificate and bouquet to the guest speaker.

06 FOREIGN NEWS

Thursday, 21 September, 2017

More Than 200 killed in Mexico afTer 7.1 MagniTude quake MEXICO CITY

a

AGENCIES

ROUND 250 people died when a powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.1 struck central Mexico on Tuesday, toppling buildings in the heavily populated capital where rescuers scoured frantically under the rubble of ruins for survivors.

Thousands ran into the streets in panic, and millions lost electricity when the quake struck around lunchtime.

Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said 44 buildings were severely damaged or destroyed. Several major gas leaks and fires occurred.

Interior Secretary Miguel Angel Osorio Chong told local television rescue teams were working painstakingly with picks and shovels. The United Nations expressed condolences and said it was ready to assist.

“We have some buildings where we have reports that there could be people inside. They are doing it with lots of caution,” the interior secretary said, adding that more rescue personnel would be needed.

Ambulances and fire engines confronted gridlock on Mexico City’s streets as millions of workers tried to go home.

The temblor occurred on the 32nd anniversary of a devastating quake that

killed thousands in Mexico City in 1985. Many Mexicans had taken part in earthquake drills on Tuesday as is customary every Sept. 19.

A powerful quake in southern Mexico on Sept. 7 killed at least 98 people.

Among buildings that collapsed in the capital on Tuesday were apartment blocks, a school, a factory and a supermarket. The fashionable Roma district was hard hit, and a six-story apartment building was among several collapses reported.

Hundreds of volunteers and rescue workers dug through the rubble with picks, shovels and their bare hands.

“My wife is there. I haven’t been able to communicate with her. She is not answering, and now they are telling us we have to turn off our cellphones because there is a gas leak,” said Juan Jesus Garcia, 33, choking back tears.

On Twitter, relatives posted pleas for news of family members, including 8year-old Alexis Vargas Macias who was at Enrique Rebsamen school when the quake hit. The school collapsed, television images showed, and according to local media and family members on social media, several children were killed.

Earthquakes of magnitude 7 or above are regarded as major and are capable of causing widespread heavy damage.

The highest death toll was in Morelos State, just south of Mexico City,

Torrential rains wreak havoc on Mumbai, paralyse traffic MUMBAI AGENCIES

Torrential rains lashed India’s financial hub Mumbai for the second time in weeks on Tuesday, flooding low-lying areas and paralysing traffic at the country’s second busiest airport after a plane overshot the runway. Low visibility, strong winds, and slippery conditions caused the SpiceJet flight to overshoot while landing on Tuesday night and skid onto the grass. The airline said all 183 passengers on the flight from the northern city of Varanasi were safe, but the incident led to widespread disruptions. India’s largest carrier Indigo and rivals Jet Airways and Vistara issued advisories saying they had halted all flights to and from Mumbai due to unavailability of runways and bad weather conditions.

The airport was earlier shut down for 30 minutes while the downpour hampered visibility. A deluge in Mumbai last month killed 14 people, wrecked homes and caused chaos in the city of 20 million people. Tuesday’s rain-delayed services on the heavily used local train network, a rail official said, while road traffic was heavily disrupted by flooding. The state of Maharashtra’s Education Minister Vinod Tawde in a tweet advised all schools and colleges in the city to remain closed on Wednesday when the weather department forecasting that heavy rains would continue. On Wednesday, NDTV reported that flight operations are still affected at Mumbai airport, with a total of 56 flights having been diverted as the main runway is yet to become operational. The media outlet stated that Mumbai recorded 210mm rainfall and its suburb 303mm in the last 24 hours until 8:30 am today. “The iconic ‘dabbawalas’ of Mumbai have canceled their delivery of over two lakh tiffins to office goers in the city. ‘The over 5,000 ‘dabbawalas’ who deliver around two lakh ‘dabbas’ (tiffins) a day won’t be able to do so today as they returned only this morning after being stranded at railway stations,’ Subhash Talekar, spokesperson of the Mumbai Dabbawala Association said,” NDTV reported.

where 64 deaths were reported, said Luis Felipe Puente, head of the nation’s civil protection agency. In Mexico City, at least 36 people were killed, he said.

In the neighbouring state of Mexico, at least nine people were killed.

Twenty-nine deaths were reported in the central state of Puebla, to the south, Puente said.

The epicentre of Tuesday’s quake was in Puebla, the US Geological Survey said, and 41 deaths were reported there earlier. There was no explanation for the disparity with the figure Puente cited.

One death was also reported in the state of Guerrero, in southwestern Mexico, which Puente did not include in his count.

‘FEAR AND PANIC’ Power was cut to 3.8 million customers, national electricity company CFE said.

In Puebla, university student Jevon Minto, 24, said he had just arrived at class when he felt the shaking. “We were seated when the place started shaking real, real hard … You can literally feel the fear and the panic in this city.” ”You can see people … (are) scared, their eyes are red from crying.”

US President Donald Trump said on Twitter: “God bless the people of Mexico City. We are with you and will be there for you.” Mexico City, one of the world’s most populous cities, and the surrounding area are home to about

20 million people.

In the capital, at least one survivor was pulled from a collapsed building in the busy Condesa neighbourhood, and another was rescued from a six-story apartment building nearby.

Banker Jesus Gonzalez Hernandez, 55, said office lamps and furniture swayed when the tremor began. He and colleagues rushed to evacuate. ”But while exiting down the stairs, the walls were coming apart,” said Gonzalez Hernandez, who fractured his ankle in the melee.

In Cuernavaca, a city in Morelos popular as a destination for weekend visitors from Mexico City, there were reports on local radio of people trapped beneath collapsed buildings.

Mexican TV and social media showed cars crushed by debris.

“We got out really fast, leaving everything as it was and just left,” said Rosaura Suarez, as she stood with a crowd in Mexico City.

Mexican stocks and the peso currency dropped on news of the earthquake and Mexico’s stock exchange suspended trading.

At the same time as the earthquake, Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano had a small eruption. In Atzitzihuacan on the slopes of the volcano, a church collapsed during mass, killing 15 people, Puebla Governor Jose Antonio Gali said.

Bangladesh PM says Myanmar must take back Rohingya DHAKA AGENCIES

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has issued a new call for Myanmar to take back some 420,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled violence in the Buddhistdominated country.

Hasina, speaking to Bangladeshi activists in New York where she is attending the UN General Assembly, also called for greater international pressure on Myanmar over the new crisis which has unfolded in the past three weeks, media reports said.

“We have told Myanmar, they are your citizens, you must take them back, keep them safe, give them shelter, there should not be any oppression and torture,” she told a meeting late on Tuesday in New York.

The prime minister said Bangladesh was making diplomatic efforts to persuade Myanmar to take

back the refugees. “But the Myanmar government is not responding to the calls. Rather, Myanmar is laying landmines along the border to stop the return of Rohingyas to their homeland,” she said.

Myanmar’s de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi said in a speech hours earlier that the country would take back verified refugees. Myanmar considers the Rohingya illegal migrants from Bangladesh and refuses them citizenship, even though many have lived there for decades.

At a meeting of Islamic nations on the sidelines of the UN assembly, Hasina said Yangon was spearheading a state-sponsored propaganda campaign to call the Rohingya ‘Bengalis’, adding that they must be given Myanmar citizenship.

Hasina sought “urgent humanitarian assistance” from Muslim nations to cope with the influx of Rohingya Muslims who have fled

what she called “ethnic cleansing”, the state BSS news agency reported.

“It is an unbearable human catastrophe. I have visited them and listened to the stories of their grave sufferings, particularly of women and children,” she said. “I would like you all to come to Bangladesh and hear from them about the atrocities in Myanmar.” The majority of the refugees are women and children.

While Bangladesh has earned international praise for opening its doors to the Rohingyas, aid agencies have warned of a growing humanitarian crisis as authorities struggle to provide even basic facilities for the new arrivals.

The 420,000 now in makeshift shelters around the border town of Cox’s Bazar have added to about 300,000 Rohingya who moved into camps in the region following earlier waves of violence in Myanmar.

‘Karwan-e-Mohabbat’ travels through India to spread its message of peace MUMBAI AGENCIES

An Indian caravan – called the Karwan-eMohabbat, or “Caravan of Love”– is traversing seven Indian states in two weeks with a “call to conscience” for India’s Hindu majority, according to The Guardian.

Led by veteran activist Harsh Mander, the caravan is escorted by police which has now become a government requirement for Mander’s stops – each one with the family of a victim killed in violence motivated by caste or religious difference. “We have to understand times of hatred are spreading like a contagion, and remaining silent amounts to condoning or actually supporting that violence tacitly,” says Mander. The journey started on September 4 in Nagaon, in India’s north-eastern state of Assam. There they visited the families of two teenage cousins who had been lynched on the suspicion that they were cow thieves. It will come to the end of its main journey this week in Godhra, in the western state of Gujarat, where riots between Hindus and Muslims in 2002 killed more than 1,000 people and led to the state’s then-chief minister – now prime minister – Narendra Modi being barred entry to the United States and the UK. Hate crimes, especially on religious grounds, have become increasingly prominent since Modi’s Hindu nationalist government was elected in 2014. Statistics show some have increased in recent years. More than 70 instances of violence in the name of cows, an animal revered by most Hindus, have been recorded in the past seven years – the vast majority since Modi was elected.

Invariably, the victims are Muslims or lowcaste Hindus. Last week, against the advice of police – and threats from local Hindu extremist groups – the caravan visited the spot in Rajasthan where, in April, a 55year-old dairy farmer was beaten to death by a mob of self-styled “cow protectors”.

Mander has gathered a group of dedicated volunteers who helped to crowdfund the entire trip. They are an eclectic mix – lifelong activists, including a mother and son, along with photographers and seven young priests-in-training from a seminary in Delhi. The caravan keeps a rigorous schedule, visiting two families each day: one in the morning and another in the evening. As they go from state to state, they pick up local activists who work in the areas the group visits. “We want to create a network of peace communities in every district,” said Suroor Mander, one of the organisers. The mood turned serious when they arrived in the town of Vadavali in Patan district. In March, higher-caste men from nearby villages had clashed with the Muslim men of the town, burning down several houses, injuring many and killing one person. It was less of a clash and more of an attack, said Salim Khan, a resident whose uncle was the sole fatality of the riots. “There were five of us and 5,000 of them.” Police have filed charges against the two sides, according to Ahmedabad-based lawyer Shamshad Pathan, who represents the family of the man killed.

Obama takes lucrative turn as Wall Street speaker NEW YORK AGENCIES

Barack Obama has begun cashing in on his time in the White House with paid Wall Street speeches less than a year after leaving office, a practice which drew stinging rebukes for Hillary Clinton during last year’s presidential campaign.

The former US president will appear Monday before a who’s who of the US healthcare industry at a conference to be held next week by the New York trading firm Cantor Fitzgerald, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter.

He will deliver remarks before answering questions from the audience, they said on condition of anonymity.

Obama will discuss his signature 2010 health care reform legislation, known as Obamacare, which Republican lawmakers are still working to dismantle after several failed attempts.

According to a person briefed on Obama’s planned appearance, he will be paid about $400,000.

In August, Obama addressed a New

York gathering held by the Chicago private banking and wealth management firm Northern Trust.

Panelists at that event, according to the firm’s website, included billionaire former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, chief Microsoft cybersecurity advisor Jonathan Trull and IBM general manager for “blockchain” technology Marie Wieck.

‘True to his values’ Obama received $400,000 for his Northern Trust appearance, according to Bloomberg News, which also reported Monday that the former president had made a similar appearance this month at the private equity behemoth Carlyle Group.

Carlye Group and Northern Trust both declined to comment when contacted by media agencies. A spokeswoman for Cantor Fitzgerald confirmed that Obama would attend next week’s event but offered no additional details.

The speeches are the first Obama has given to Wall Street since leaving the Oval Office on January 20. Since

May, Obama has made paid appearances in Italy, Germany, Scotland, Canada, Indonesia and South Korea.

He is also due to make an appearance later this month in Toronto and to appear at a New York synagogue in January.

“Since leaving office, President Obama has spent his time doing public and private events, both paid and unpaid, that are true to his values and his record,” Kevin Lewis, an Obama spokesman, told media agencies.

“Consistent with that, his paid speeches in part have allowed president Obama to contribute $2 million to Chicago programs offering job training and employment opportunities to lowincome youth.”

The appearances nevertheless risk drawing the same criticism that bedevilled Clinton during last year’s White House campaign, exposing Obama to barbs from the left of the Democratic Party, which currently has no clear standard-bearer.

Clinton has since written she now

regrets delivering paid remarks to the investment bank Goldman Sachs and others because it created the impression that she was in their pockets.

Since her defeat, Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who are fiercely critical of the financial industry, have taken on more prominent roles in the party.

Hardly the first “Given that (Obama) is probably not going to run for office again, being paid to give speeches by Wall Street firms will not compromise any policy decisions now or in the future,” said Randy Albelda, an economist at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

“Still, these type of appearances (and being paid well for them) may tarnish his reputation among a liberal base and bolster the perception that Democrats are the party of the elite.”

Wall Street has viewed Obama with some caution. As president, he denounced the financial industry’s “reckless practices” while pushing for stricter government oversight.

FOREIGN NEWS 07

Thursday, 21 September, 2017

Two More arresTs in wales over london underground boMbing LONDON

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The men, aged 48 and 30, were arrested under anti-terrorism legislation in Newport in Wales, police said in a statement, after a 25-year-old man was arrested in the same city on Tuesday.

“This continues to be a fast-moving investigation,” Dean Haydon, head of counter-terrorism at London´s Metropolitan Police, said in the statement.

“We now have five men in custody

AGENCIES

WO men were arrested on Wednesday over last week´s London Underground terror attack in which 30 people were injured, bringing the total number of people in custody to five, police said.

Netanyahu hails Trump’s ‘courageous’ UN speech blasting Iran NEW YORK AGENCIES

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised US President Donald Trump’s speech at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, in which the American blasted Iran and North Korea, calling it the most “courageous speech” he had ever heard at the world body. “In over 30 years of my experience with the UN, I never heard a bolder or more courageous speech,” Netanyahu said in a statement after the speech. “President Trump spoke the truth about the great dangers facing our world, and issued a powerful call to confront them in order to ensure the future of humanity.”

Netanyahu, who, in attendance at Trump’s speech along with his wife Sara, applauded enthusiastically at turns. He is set to speak at the UN later Tuesday in an address expected to include a scathing rebuke of the Iran nuclear deal and Tehran’s support for terror groups. In a video filmed at the UN ahead of his speech and posted on social media, Netanyahu said his speech would not be one the Iranians will soon forget. “Today I will say things that I believe the ruler of Iran and also the people in Iran will remember forever,” he said in Hebrew. “I think they will also remember what President Trump said here.” While refraining from calling to rip up 2015 agreement, which placed limits on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief and which Trump said Monday that the US may scrap, the US president said, “We cannot abide by an agreement if it provides cover for the eventual construction of a nuclear program.” “The Iran deal is one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the US has ever entered into. Frankly, that deal was an embarrassment to the US,” he added, echoing previous criticism of the deal. Netanyahu, who has called for Iran deal to be amended or scrapped, said he presented Trump with a detailed plan on how to “fix” the nuclear agreement with Iran during a meeting Monday.

and searches are continuing at four addresses,” he said.

“We anticipate that the searches will take some days to complete and may cause further disruption”.

Friday´s attack on a train at Parsons Green station in west London was claimed by the Daesh group.

A bomb hidden in a large white bucket apparently failed to detonate fully

when it went off during morning rush hour but instead released what witnesses described as a “fireball” into the air.

Some commuters suffered burns, while others were injured in the stampede to the exit that ensued.

The bombing was the fifth terror attack in Britain in six months, which combined have claimed 35 lives.

The terror alert in Britain was raised

Hurricane Maria makes landfall in Puerto Rico SAN JUAN AGENCIES

Hurricane Maria has made landfall near Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Wednesday.

The hurricane is about 35 miles (55 km) southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico with maximum sustained winds of 155 miles per hour (250 km per hour), the NHC said, adding that it is moving in a northwesterly direction at 10 mph (17 km/h).

Hurricane Maria, the second maximum-strength storm to hit the

Caribbean this month, killed at least one person in Guadeloupe after devastating the tiny island nation of Dominica.

Maria, a rare Category 5 storm at the top end of the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, churned in the eastern Caribbean about 80 miles (130 km) southeast of St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands, US forecasters said.

The storm plowed into Dominica, a mountainous country of 72,000 people, late on Monday causing what Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit called “mind-boggling” destruction.

“The winds have swept away the roofs of almost every person I have spoken to or otherwise made contact with,” Skerrit said on Facebook, noting that his own residence had been hit too. He added that his focus was now on rescuing people who might be trapped, and getting medical help for the injured.

North of Dominica, the French overseas territory of Guadeloupe appeared to have been hit hard. The Guadeloupe prefecture said one person was killed by a falling tree and at least two people were missing in a shipwreck.

US deputy attorney general interviewed over FBI ex-director’s firing WASHINGTON AGENCIES

Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office has interviewed US Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein about President Donald Trump’s firing of former FBI Director James Comey, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

Citing unnamed people familiar with the investigation, the Journal said the interview occurred in June or July. Mueller is looking into allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 elections, possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, and whether Trump may have obstructed justice by firing Comey in May. Mueller, himself a former FBI director, ultimately reports to Rosenstein because Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recused himself from the probe.

The Journal said the handling of the interview “could be a sign that Mr. Mueller’s team doesn’t view Mr. Rosenstein as a central witness in its probe, as the deputy attorney general hasn’t withdrawn himself from overseeing it since that interview.”

The paper quoted Ian Prior, a Justice Department spokesman, as saying: “As the deputy attorney general has said numerous times, if there comes a time when he needs to recuse, he will. However, nothing has changed.”

A Justice Department spokeswoman and a representative for the special counsel both declined to comment to Reuters.

The Russian government denies any attempt to influence the election, and the Republican president has repeatedly denied any collusion, calling the investigation a “witch hunt.”

Magnitude 6.1 earthquake strikes south of New Zealand: USGS SYDNEY: An undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 magnitude struck in the remote Southern Ocean south of New Zealand on Wednesday, the US Geological Survey said. The quake, at a shallow depth of 10 km (6 miles), was recorded 211 km (140 miles) west of the sub-Antarctic Auckland Island, off New Zealand’s South Island, the USGS said. There were no tsunami warnings issued immediately after the quake. AGENCIES

Trump’s UN speech shows nationalist instincts firmly intact NEW YORK AGENCIES

Chalk one up for the nationalists.

Among the many signals that Donald Trump sent in his speech to the United Nations on Tuesday, one was especially clear: former chief strategist Steve Bannon’s White House departure has not muted the president’s “America First” foreign policy instincts.

Trump’s eight months in office have been characterised by a sometimes dramatic tug-of-war between ‘globalists’ and ‘nationalist’ advisers who have sought to move the president in myriad ways on issues both domestic and international. Bannon’s exit last month caused some of the former New York businessman’s core supporters to fret that the more multilateral-leaning group inside the administration had gained ground. Not on foreign policy, at least not on Tuesday.

Trump’s strident defense of national sovereignty during his debut at the annual UN General Assembly showed his

campaign-honed policy inclinations very much intact and presented a Trump Doctrine to the world that focused unabashedly on the US homeland.

“The chief nationalist in this administration is Donald J Trump. And he knows what he’s trying to say,” said Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the US House of Representatives and a Trump supporter. He said the speech showed that Trump had a doctrine that was defined by more than tweets, with roots in the conservative philosophies of former US President Ronald Reagan, France’s Charles de Gaulle, and Britain’s Margaret Thatcher.

“It’s not a one-sided American nationalism, it’s a re-centering on sovereignty that’s really, really important,” Gingrich said. The speech, in which Trump threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea if attacked, divided Trump’s supporters and opponents.

Ben Rhodes, an adviser to former Democratic President Barack Obama, said Trump was upending international

order with threats of war and attacks on diplomacy. It did not divide Trump’s often warring advisers, however, an administration official said.

“It was the most collaborative speech among the senior people in the national security cabinet that the president has given to date,” the official said.

He said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stood up after Trump’s speech and shook chief speechwriter Stephen Miller’s hand and said: “you did a great job.” Miller is considered a nationalist and an ally of Bannon, while Tillerson is more globally minded.

“This was more… Trump just being Trump,” said Sam Nunberg, a former Trump campaign adviser, adding he thought the nationalist versus globalist tension in the administration played itself out more on domestic policy issues such as immigration policy.

The administration has given mixed signals on foreign policy, too. Gary Cohn, the president’s top economic adviser and a member of the so-called globalist wing, had to clarify with US

CMYK

allies this week that Trump still intended to pull the United States out of the Paris climate change agreement unless there was a renegotiation to make it more favorable for US interests. But Trump seemed to stun some people in the United Nations hall, despite his well-known penchant for blunt talk.

His speech included a condemnation of the Iran nuclear agreement reached with US allies under Obama and an observation that some portions of the world were “going to hell”. Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East negotiator for Democratic and Republican administrations, said allies would interpret the speech as a sign that Trump was wary of undertaking major commitments around the world.

“Neither of the biggest problems, North Korea and Iran, can be solved by an America First, Lone Ranger policy,” he said, adding the speech showed that globalists within his administrations were “throwaways” and that Trump was still driven by nationalism.

to its maximum “critical” level on Friday, meaning another attack was believed to be imminent. It was lowered back to “severe” on Sunday.

An 18-year-old man, reportedly an Iraqi refugee, was arrested in the ferry departure terminal of the port of Dover on Saturday and a 21-year-old man was detained later the same day in west London.

The 21-year-old was named by British media, who said he was originally from Syria and had been working at a fast food chicken restaurant.

The police investigation has focused on a foster home in Sunbury-on-Thames, a suburb of London where the 18-yearold is believed to have lived.

Police said searches were also continuing at another address near London and two properties in Newport.

Trump administration prepares to ease export rules for US guns WASHINGTON AGENCIES

The Trump administration is preparing to make it easier for American gun makers to sell small arms, including assault rifles and ammunition, to foreign buyers, according to senior US officials. Aides to President Donald Trump are completing a plan to shift oversight of international non-military firearms sales from the State Department to the Commerce Department, four officials told media agencies. While the State Department is primarily concerned about international threats to stability and maintains tight restrictions on weapons deals, the Commerce Department typically focuses more on facilitating trade. The officials from multiple agencies, speaking on condition of anonymity, say the new rules will cut government red tape and regulatory costs, boosting US exports of small arms and creating jobs at home.

“There will be more leeway to do arms sales,” one senior administration official said. “You could really turn the spigot on if you do it the right way.” The push fits both Trump’s support for the gun lobby espoused on the campaign trail and his “Buy American” agenda. But critics, including some lawmakers and arms control advocates, have expressed concern that any easing of export rules could make powerful weapons of the type often used in U.S. mass shootings more accessible to criminal gangs and militant groups that Trump has vowed to fight. The administration has all but finalized a draft of the new rules, which could be sent to the White House budget office for review within days, one US official said. The changes – which can be enacted without congressional approval – could be made public this fall, followed by a period of public comment, with implementation as early as the first half of next year, the officials said. The officials stressed, however, that the proposed shift in oversight was not a blanket deregulation of firearms. “The NSC is working through the interagency process with the State Department and the Department of Commerce to ensure that US industries have every advantage in the global marketplace, while at the same time ensuring the responsible export of arms,” said an official with the White House National Security Council.

SLACK US SALES The move, part of a broader Trump administration overhaul of weapons export policy that the officials say is also nearing completion, comes at a time when U.S. gun makers could use the help. Domestic gun sales have fallen significantly after soaring under President Barack Obama, when gun enthusiasts stockpiled weapons and ammunition out of fear that the government would tighten gun laws. Since Trump was elected in November, the share price for Smith & Wesson owner American Outdoor Brands Corp (AOBC.O) is down 50 percent and Sturm Ruger (RGR.N) has fallen 26 percent. On Tuesday, following media agency report on the administration’s plans, the share prices of Sturm Ruger and American Outdoor surged as much as 18 percent. Both stand to benefit from easier export protocols, alongside Vista Outdoor (VSTO.N) and the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, which owns Bushmaster, a brand of AR-15 assault rifle.

08 COMMENT

Thursday, 21 September, 2017

Ch Nisar’s responsibility PML-N’s self-inflicted wounds

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HILE PML-N has a strategy, however controversial, to contain the Panama case fallout, there’s no telling how much round after round of self-inflicted damage will hurt the party in the run-up to next year’s election. Ch Nisar’s surely not doing his party’s new government, or the former prime minister for that matter, any good with his outbursts.

The timing, as usual, is telling. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has been doing just fine as PM so far. Defying expectations, there’s also been the odd hint of independence in policy making – taking fata reforms out of the cold storage just after Nawaz Sharif put them there, for example.

There’s also a full-time foreign minister, meaning a far more proactive foreign ministry than Nawaz’s four years. Also, the PM and FM have handled the standoff with the Trump administration, and implications of the recent BRICS summit, well enough to win visible press and public appreciation. But Nisar was not among those cheering; not when the cabinet was formed and certainly not as it got about doing its business. However, it was Kh Asif’s admission following the BRICS shock announcement – about the need to “put our house in order” – that seems to have really put Nisar off.

That following back-and-forth revealed deep-rooted issues between the PML-N top brass. It turns out that most of the senior minister’s in Nawaz’s cabinet were not even on talking terms. And while there are differences aplenty, Nisar never went along too well with anyone except Shahbaz Sharif and, to an extent, Nawaz. Now, he has issues with practically every ministry just when the government is engineering a crucial foreign and security policy overhaul. The initiative about banned outfits has been received well at home and abroad.

Nisar’s criticism, in fact, seemed more in cue with arguments of “enemies of Pakistan” he is always so concerned about. Or perhaps he’s uneasy because a reset would radically depart from his own policy of accommodating, even hosting, some of the banned outfits?

And the mysterious threat to the country that only four people know about should be, like the present interior minister said in the House, explained before parliament.

Ch Nisar has had his say. Now he must take responsibility and walk the talk or stop attacking the government.

Dr Strangelove II? Trump’s UN speech sends shivers down listeners’ spines

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HE maiden speech of the weird White House occupant in the United Nations General Assembly left many among his shaken listeners wishing he had rather held his peace. By chillingly and nonchalantly threatening to ‘totally destroy’ North Korea, no doubt with its 25 million people, and risking retaliatory strikes that might vacuum-clean millions more, the president came across as a Dr Strangelove, the former Nazi scientist in the 1964 (prophetic?) political satire, ‘Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb’, a Cold War fantasy of an impetuous hand on the US nuclear trigger. The aptly named Air Force General Jack D. Ripper wants obliteration of the USSR to avert a communist conspiracy that seeks to pollute the ‘precious bodily fluids’ of the American people!

President Trump’s reasons behind his fire-spitting UN rhetoric against the equally brash North Korean leader are indeed based on more credible grounds. ‘The Rocket Man on a Suicide Mission’ seems hell-bent on his aggressive nuclear programme, alarming South Korea and Japan, as also the US, which has thousands of troops stationed in the region. He stands in reckless defiance of UNSC resolutions against atomic weapons and missile tests, and crippling sanctions have augmented the misery of his famine-stricken but strictly regimented people. Trump also threatened to unravel the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran calling it ‘a rogue nation’ and ‘corrupt dictatorship’, which brought smiles to the faces of Israeli delegates, and railed against socialist Venezuela’s ‘corrupt’ regime and tiny Cuba’s ‘corrupt and destabilising’ one.

Such amateurish gunslinger talk was unsuited to a platform dedicated to world peace and avoidance of future wars. Being couched in an undiplomatic crusading spirit, with its harping on the ‘righteous many’ and the ’wicked few’ gave it a bigoted slant, reminiscent of George Bush’s 2002 ‘axis of evil’ speech, but on steroids. ‘America first’ and national sovereignty hold little meaning against such blunt language and arbitrary tendencies. Pakistan needs to tread cautiously with this powerful but unpredictable man who doesn’t always ‘means what he says or says what he means’.

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor

Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad Joint Editor Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

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Iranian hypocrisy: Solidarity with Rohingya, support for Assad It would be funny if it wasn’t so tragically real MuhaMMad ahMed Zeeshan

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HE idiom “pot calling the kettle black” was perfectly illustrated by Iran when the country’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif spoke against the ongoing crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and urged the international community and the United Nations, in particular, to take swift action to end the crisis.

Despite the horrific and detestable treatment meted out to Rohingya Muslims by the Buddhist community in Myanmar, it was laughable to listen to Iran’s hypocritical selfrighteousness in response.

While the foreign minister of Iran spoke against the oppression in Rohingya, he forgot to mention his country’s involvement in the genocide of Syrians. The Syrian Revolution against the Assad regime began in March 2011 and since then Iran has been at the fore front of supporting the Syrian dictator.

The country has continuously provided significant support to the Syrian regime, as it sees the survival of Bashar al-Assad as being crucial to its regional interests. Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, has always openly announced the country’s support for Assad regime, and there is documented proof that the Iranian security and intelligence services are continuously advising and assisting the Syrian military in order to preserve Assad’s hold on power. They have helped the regime by providing expeditionary training

missions using Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) forces, Quds Force, intelligence services, and law enforcement forces.

Other than that, Iran has also been providing essential military supplies to Assad, both by air and through shipments. Iran is also responsible for supporting the pro-government ‘Shabiha’ militias, as these militias are highly dependent on Tehran.

Moreover, the Lebanese terrorist organisation Hezbollah, too, with the backing of Iran, has been involved in the Syrian conflict since 2012.

The involvement of Hezbollah in the conflict perfectly aligns with Iranian strategic interests as Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah himself has acknowledged that many times.

Interestingly, Iran has also recruited soldiers from Pakistan, especially from the Parachinar region.

The presence of Iraqi Shi‘a militants also became overt in 2012, with the formation of the Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas Brigade, a pro-government militia that is a conglomerate of Syrian and foreign Shi‘a fighters, including members of Lebanese Hezbollah and Iraq-based Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq and Kata’ib Hezbollah. Like other proAssad forces operating in Syria, these militant organisations also have the support of Iran in their crimes in Syria that include killing, raping and torturing Syrians.

Iran’s hypocrisy became all the more apparent when the country declared support for the uprisings in Egypt, Libya and Bahrain when the Arab Spring began in 2011. But not for Syria,

though. Over half a million people have been killed and millions displaced in Syria, yet Iran continues to openly support Assad.

Vice President of Iran for Women and Family Affairs Masoumeh Ebtekar was quoted as saying: “People of Syria have the right to decide”; however, this too was another hypocritical statement, coming from a leader of a country that has continuously interfered to protect the brutal dictator that the Syrians wanted to get rid of.

The conflict in Syria has, so far, caused the deaths of more than half a million people, displaced 6.6 million within Syria and forced 4.8 million to seek refuge abroad. Syrian regime backed by Iran-allied forces, including Lebanese Hizbollah and other non-Syrian armed groups and militias, control much of western Syria and have made advances in other contested areas.

They have been supported by Iran in killing and injuring thousands of civilians, according to human rights organisations.

Iran’s foreign minister, instead of trying to hide the country’s crimes by talking about the plight of the Rohingya people, should reconsider the country’s policies with regards to the Syrian conflict.

The Burmese government is—without a doubt—oppressing the Rohingyas in Myanmar.

However, their crimes pale in comparison to those of Iran, Assad, and Russia.

Muhammad Ahmed Zeeshan is a freelance columnist and an avid reader of Middle East affairs.

Senator McCain, Afghanistan is also Vietnam Waqar Masood Khan

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few days ago, at the advance screening of Ken Burns’ forthcoming 18-hour long documentary on the Vietnam War, at the Kennedy Centre in Washington, three distinguished war veterans Senators John McCain, John Kerry and Chuck Hegel were in attendance. They also participated in a follow-up discussion, reflecting on the lessons they learned from their experiences of Vietnam.

It is very instructive to examine the key aspects of their discourse.

Senator Mccain Made the following reMarkS: “There has to be a period of time after a conflict where the passion cools... Maybe we can look back at the Vietnam conflict and make sure we don’t make the same mistakes that we did before. Watching “the magnificent work” [documentary] reminded just how young so many of the Americans were who died… the 18-, 19-, 20-year-old kids who had no idea what they were getting into. Their leaders didn’t lead, whether they were military or civilian, by telling the American people one thing, which was not true, about the progress in the war and the body counts, it caused a wave of pessimism to go across this country, which bolstered the anti-war movement. We can learn lessons today because the world is in such turmoil: Tell the American people the truth! ..... I try to go very early in the morning or when it’s near sunset [to the Vietnams Veterans Memorial]. It’s really an incredibly emotional experience. … These young men died because of inadequate or corrupt leadership. Whenever troops go into combat, it is essential that the country decides ‘what victory means’ and, then, ‘do not forget it’. We need to be able to have leaders who will lead and who will be able to give (the troops) a path to victory so that we will not sacrifice them ever again in a lost cause.” [Emphasis in Italics added] Senator John kerry Made the following reMarkS: “Vietnam has always stood out to me a stunning failure of leadership……

We were betrayed by “the best and the brightest” we looked up to in the American government…. All the way up the chain of command, people were just putting in gobbledygook information, and lives were being lost based on those lies and those distortions.

Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9 Fax: 021-35381208

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mal life. I have nearly completed my professional career but the flames of war in Afghanistan and its consequent effects on Pakistan, are burning as freshly as in 1979.

Senator McCain, you mourn the failure and corruption of your leaders who sent you to Vietnam without purpose. But now you are the leader and yet most likely committing the same mistakes. You say: We need to be able to have leaders Senator chuck hagel reMarked: who will lead and who will be able to give (the We say, ‘Well, we’re going to send six or seven troops) a path to victory so that we will not sacdivisions or three battalions or squadrons of rifice them ever again in a lost cause. When you planes.’ But what does that mean to the men and pressed the Trump administration for troop enwomen who are fighting and dying? … As sec- hancement, after return from Pakistan and retary of defence, I saw that from many years of Afghanistan, you alone pronounced that America war in Afghanistan and Iraq. The same was true would win in Afghanistan. There would hardly be a reasonable mind who would nurture such ilfor Vietnam.” lusion. You have supported this war through three nothing can expreSS our feelingS presidents but none has told the American people on thiS diScourSe better than why America is in Afghanistan. As Ambassador Munir Akram recently remarked “the war has what ghalib Said: metastasised from ‘war of revenge’ (2001-2004); Watch the taste of the speech, what he said ‘nation building’ (2005-2009) and Obama’s varI thought as if, this is ious combinations of a also in my heart, ‘fight, talk, pacify and Of the three Senators, withdraw’ policy. Trump’s John McCain has the opnew policy can be deportunity to correct Amerscribed as ‘stay and fight’”. ican course in The Afghanistan war One may add ‘find minerAfghanistan, being the als to fund the war’ to this Chairman of the Senate’s has gone well beyond the list.

Armed Forces Committee follies committed in Vietnam.

Senator McCain, if and someone who parayou have any doubt doxically, and despite the The difference is that not whether you are facing the above remarks, continues many Americans have died same situation in to believe American forAfghanistan as in Vieteign interventions are jussince the brunt of deaths is nam, read Andrew Bacetified. The Afghanistan vitch (a Vietnam veteran war has gone well beyond borne by Afghan Army, and someone who sacrithe follies committed in Taliban, Afghan civilians ficed his only son in Iraq) Vietnam. The difference is recent article (Washington that not many Americans and Pakistani soldiers Post) titled “Yes Conhave died since the brunt and civilians. gress, Afghanistan is Your of deaths is borne by Vietnam”. He concludes: Afghan Army, Taliban, Of course, the Afghan civilians and PakAfghanistan War (ostensiistani soldiers and civilbly part of a Global War ians. This count is now close to 200,000 deaths. Undoubtedly, this is on Terrorism) differs from the Vietnam War (ossignificantly less than the death toll in Vietnam tensibly part of the Cold War) in myriad ways.

War, but the havoc that has been wrought in Yet it resembles Vietnam in three crucial respects. First, it drags on with no end in sight. these two countries is unprecedented.

Afghanistan and Pakistan have suffered the Second, no evidence exists to suggest that mere consequences of the superpowers’ wars in persistence will produce a positive outcome.

Afghanistan now for nearly four decades. The Third, those charged with managing the war two countries share a 2500 km porous border. At have long since run out of ideas about how to numerous points on that border, tribes on both turn things around.

If you follow in the footsteps of the leaders sides have straddled their lives – ethnically, culturally and religiously – since ancient times. you are despising today, 40 years down the road, What crime these hapless peoples have commit- Afghan war veterans would question the wisdom, ted to earn the bile of Soviet Union, first, and sagacity and motives of those who were responthen the United States. In December 1979, I had sible for the follies committed in Afghanistan. just joined Boston University as a doctoral stuWaqar Masood Khan is a retired federal dent when Soviets invaded Kabul. Since then neither Afghanistan nor Pakistan has seen a nor- secretary.

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

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Thursday, 21 September, 2017

COMMENT 09 Editor’s mail

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

Fax: +92-42-32535230 E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively

Bonded labour in Pakistan: a humanitarian crisis

PML-N: Unscathed after all? and after nearly 20 month of tenuous and pro- of vulnerabilities of the politicians which could tracted hearings and investigations, the five be exploited by the anti-democracy forces. Tomember bench of the Supreme Court through a morrow they could also be the victim of this deunanimous decision disqualified Nawaz Sharif velopment. Imran Khan and Jehangir Tareen under article 62 (1f) for failing to declare his as- might also face the same fate whose similar sets besides ordering NAB to file references cases are being heard by the Supreme Court.

But one thing is certain that the decision of against him other family members and finance the SC would have very seminister Ishaq Dar in the rious political repercusEhtsab Court. The SC insions. The judiciary is voking its jurisdiction considered as the most under article 184(3) heard sanctimonious pillar of the the case as under normal I am afraid even the SC might state and its decisions in circumstances it is a court of appeal. not find it convenient to come cases of national importance do have long lasting The writ filed by Imran up with a comprehensive MaliK MuhaMMad ashraf effects, like the ones valiKhan and other political dating martial laws and auparties in the SC seeking definition of ‘sadiq and thorising the dictators to disqualification of the ameen’. It is simply out of HE military dictators, particularly Gen- Prime Minister Nawaz amend the constitution. The eral Zia ul Haq will always be cursed by Sharif under article 62 and judges were right to say question to find any the people of Pakistan for the harm that 62 of the constitution unthat the decision in the he inflicted on Pakistan and its political doubtedly was a politically Panama case would be reindividual or a group of landscape through amendments in the motivated attempt to exmembered for centuries. It individuals who can be constitution with the complicity of the pliable ploit the infamous proviwould indeed be rememjudges. God knows how long those aberrations sions of the constitution. characterised as sadiq and bered though for not so ausintroduced in the constitution would haunt the na- One thing which baffles the picious reasons. It surely amen as envisaged in these would have debilitating imtion and continue to cast a debilitating impact on mind is that the SC verdict democracy, stability and security of the country was not based on the pact on the political future articles, including judges, which is threatened by the Jihadi culture and sec- prayers made by the petiof the country and the tarianism that he gifted to the land of the pure. prospects of democracy tioners, rather the court generals and politicians.

Article 58(2b) that conferred the powers on the found a reason on its own ever taking roots.

President to dissolve the assemblies and send the to disqualify the Prime In fact by accepting elected governments packing, has been used once Minister. It is this aspect the political case like by the dictator himself and thrice by the civilian which continues to draw Panama and then giving its Presidents to dismiss the elected governments, flak from the legal and constitutional experts as verdict on it under article 62 and 63 the Supreme consigning the country to an unending political in- well as the masses and the permeating perception Court has opened a Pandora box. We might see stability and scuttling the chances of democracy is that the judiciary by delivering this controver- the SC struggling to cope with references that taking roots in the country. Though the article has sial verdict has not added to its prestige. would be filed by political leaders and parties been removed from the constitution, its ill-effects Nevertheless, the PML-N has emerged un- against their opponents invoking these articles as continue to torment the nation. The frequent mar- scathed from the SC verdict in Panama case, well as by citizens against anybody whom they tial laws also created an imcontrary to the expecta- thought was not ‘ sadiq and ameen’ in terms of balance in the civil-military tions of political opponents those provisions of the constitution. relations with the latter havI am afraid even the SC might not find it conof the party and certain ing ascendency. The Khakis sections of the media es- venient to come up with a comprehensive definieven when they were not in hostile to it, as ir- tion of ‘sadiq and ameen’. My considered view Today they might be rejoicing sentially power have been calling the refutably established by after reading these articles is that as per their spirit shots from behind the the result of NA-120 by- only the prophets and angles could come up to the their victory over a political scenes, orchestrating regime election. In fact the out- standards enunciated in them. It is simply out of opponent whom they could changes and even blocking come is a great snub to the question to find any individual or a group of indithe access of certain politidetractors of the PML-N, viduals who can be characterised as sadiq and not defeat through the ballot cal parties to the corridors of which honestly speaking is amen as envisaged in these articles, including box and the decision might power through clandestine still the strongest political judges, generals and politicians. Can any one of means. These are proven in the country, partic- the Judges of the honourable Supreme Court and assuage their wishes but what force and recorded facts. ularly Punjab. I was in La- those who adjudicated this case stand up and say Articles 62 and 63 they fail to understand is that hore on the polling day and under oath that they were sadiq and ameen as desince their inception have visited a number of places fined in article 62 and 63? And do the judges bethe verdict has added to the where one can feel the lieve that those who filed petitions themselves remained dormant until the PTI headed by Imran litany of vulnerabilities of the pulse of the masses. Ninety qualified to be sadiq and amen? It is pertinent to Khan, Jamat Islami and per cent of the people point out that in Ishaq Khan case (PLD) 2015 SC politicians which could be Awami League invoked whom I met derided the 275) while dismissing the appeal seeking disqualthem in their petitions beification of Nawaz Sharif, Justice Khosa added an SC decision. exploited by the antifore the apex court to seek The politicians as a additional note reiterating that many provisions of disqualification of Nawaz class have actually axed Article 62 were not amenable to legally enforcedemocracy forces.

Sharif citing contradictions their own feet by invoking able standards. Referring to Article 62(1) (f) he in his statements in the Naarticles 62 and 63. Today opined “It is proverbial that Devil himself knoweth tional Assembly and outthey might be rejoicing not the intention of man. So why to have such reside the parliament in their victory over a politi- quirements in the law, nay the constitution, which regards to off-shore companies owned by his sib- cal opponent whom they could not defeat cannot even be defined, not to talk of proof”. lings as revealed in the Panama Leaks. They also through the ballot box and the decision might asaccused him of money laundering and tax eva- suage their wishes but what they fail to underMalik Muhammad Ashraf is an academic. sion. The petitions were filed in October 2016 stand is that the verdict has added to the litany He can be contacted at: ashpak10@gmail.com

T

BONDED labour is a special type of forced labour, exists only in Asian and agricultural societies. According to ILO, forced labour is any type of work or kind of service in which someone engages involuntary and under some implied coercion manifest threat of a penalty or oppressive measure.

This type of labour mostly crops up in cases where monetary/financial deals occur such as loans, which if the debtor is unable to pay, one has to serve the creditor for some specified term. Bonded labour has been outlawed in Pakistan and most other affected countries in line with UN conventions on human right. However, according to the 2014 Global Slavery Index, 2,058,200 people are enslave din Pakistan. The WFF Index places Pakistan at third position in a list of 167 countries where the problem of human slavery is most severe. The provinces of Punjab and Sindh are hotspots of bonded labour, which is mainly found in the brick making, agriculture and carpet weaving industries, fisheries, stone brick crushing, shoe making and power looms. The bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act of 1992 was introduce with the avowed purpose of abolishing the bonded labour system, with the view of preventing the economic and physical exploitation of the labour class in the country and for the matters connected to it.

The problem in our country is that there are laws for everything, but there is no implementation of these laws, which leads to poor supremacy. This act should be applied and amended further to penalise land lords maintaining bonded labour. Without birth certificates, their children cannot go to schools because they have no complete admission documents, and when they grow up, they cannot get identity cards because, to get one, they need birth certificates. Therefore, the cycle continues. It is necessary and a responsibility of government to take this matter seriously, also to take corrective measure to eradicate bonded labour from the country.

KIRAN FATIMA Islamabad

Setting house in order PRIME MINISTER Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had quite rightly stressed the dire need for in housing cleaning terming this a must. In saying so in an interview with a private TV channel, as reported in the newspapers, the prime minister has endorsed the point of view of newly-inducted Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif that Pakistan needs to set its own house in order first in the war against terrorism.

The new Foreign Minister’s remarks in this regard were criticised by now former Interior from Taxila Ch Nisar Ali Khan who was reported to have said that the authorities should first fix the matters of their own “house”.

Carrying dirty washing of linen in public further in a rather deplorable manner, the former Interior Minister has said that nobody has stopped the prime minister from cleaning the house. As if this was not enough, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal has also jumped in the fray saying a country facing chaos does not need an enemy, house must be put in order and that internal security needs improvement.

Before going any further, one may ask the present and former federal minister whether they realised by making such uncalled for statements in the media, they have exposed their internal weaknesses and also exposed the ruling party’s widening internal rifts thus strengthened the hands of the enemies as well as militants, extremists and terrorists telling them come and strike us we are very weak internally and the much hyped National Action Plan (NAP) has been thrown in the air for long.

Undoubtedly, there is dire need for setting the house in order on top priority basis to thwart external threats and challenges. But for the kind information of the prime minister, sitting and former federal ministers this is our own house and we ourselves have to set it in order. The prime minister and the federal ministers are supposedly fully empowered to take all necessary action speedily and effectively for setting the house in order.

M.ZAHID RIFAT Lahore

Int’l cricket has come BY coming here and playing three matches in less than a week time at the encouragement of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the international cricketers from South Africa, England, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, West Indies, New Zealand and Australia have given a very positive and welcome message to the world at large that Pakistan is safe and secure and quite friendly for playing international cricket. They had spoken well about the much improved security situation while here and hopefully they will be telling the same to their fellow cricketers and countrymen in their respective countries also.

All those who ensured successful holding of the matches in very organised and smooth manner for the Independence Cup 2017 through improved security situation, maintaining strict vigilance round the clock and keeping the overall law and order situation under check and control deserve pats on their backs from the people of Pakistan who are grateful to them as well as the international cricketers for paving the home coming of international cricket in Pakistan. Now that the international cricket has returned to Pakistan with the continued blessings of Almighty Allah and prayers of the cricket enthusiasts, the people will be seeing cricketers from Sri Lanka and West Indies in action during next two months.

TANVIR ZAHID Lahore

10 BUSINESS

Thursday, 21 September, 2017

MaRket daily

PSX retainS inveStor intereSt aFter tumultuouS trading BENCHMARK KSE-100 RAISES BY 93PTS

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BUSINESS DESK

HE Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) attracted investors’ attention on Wednesday as volumes crawled up further. The benchmark KSE 100 index touched a peak of 43,435.92 with a 182.66 points gain and a trough of 43,145.83 down 107.43 points.

It settled 93.77 points higher at 43,347.03.

The KMI 30 index gathered 86.74 points while the KSE All Share Index swelled 57.08 points.

The market volumes inched up to 222.99 million from yesterday’s 218.57 million. Mid-tier stocks led the volume charts with Worldcall Telecom (WTL 10.13 per cent) was top traded, volume 26.47 million, followed by TRG Pakistan Limited (TRG +0.52 per cent),

volume 24.39 million. Handsome volumes were observed in Dost Steels Limited (DSL -4.16 per cent) after the company notified the exchange on status of the energization process of the plant. The management expects commercial operations to begin by end of November 2017.

Fauji Cement Company Limited (FCCL +1.24 per cent) could rise sales

by a minor 2 per cent with declining exports. Gross margins saw a massive fall from 46 per cent to 22 per cent depicting a rise in the cost of sales. Operating profit margins came down from 42 per cent to 19 per cent. The company reported insurance claims worth Rs 3.06 million. Net profits took a 51 per cent hit to Rs 2.61 billion from Rs 5.37 billion and converted

into earnings per share of Rs 1.89. A cash dividend of Rs 0.90 per share accompanied the financials.

Ghandhara Nissan Limited (GHNL -4.90 per cent) announced a 3 per cent drop in sales for FY17 bring gross profit margins to 19 per cent from 22 per cent. Operating profit margin for the year was 15 per cent lower from 17 per cent in FY16. Net profit declining 25 per cent to Rs 4.10 million from Rs 5.46 million. Earnings per share clocked at Rs 9.11 with a cash dividend of Rs 5.00 per share.

Ghandhara Industries Limited (GHNI -2.78 per cent) managed an 84 per cent surge in sales to Rs 10.74 billion but gross profit margins deteriorated. Gross profit margin was lower from 27 per cent to 21 per cent and increased distribution cost brought operating profit margins down to 16 per cent. Net profits rose only 7 per cent to Rs 7.96 million and converted into per share earnings of Rs 37.36. The board also approved a cash dividend of Rs 15 per share.

Senate body reviews proposed amendments in Finance Bill ISLAMABAD APP

Senate Standing Committee on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs reviewed the implementation of amendments in Finance Bill 2017 proposed by the committee. The committee reviewed the bill, clause by clause, and found that the FBR had accepted around 80 per cent of its recommendations for amendments. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Senator Mandviwala and was attended

by Senators Mohsin Aziz, Nasreen Jalil, Fateh Muhammad Hasani, Saud Majeed, and high officials of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). During the meeting, the committee was informed that FBR was engaged with the provincial revenue authorities to reach an agreement on mutually sharing data. Senator Saud Majeed said with such agreement, the number of taxpayers would be increased considerably across the country.

Furthermore, the committee expressed dissatisfaction over the partial acceptance of its recommendation of increasing tax for the purchase of the leased vehicle by the non-tax filers from existing 3 per cent to 5 per cent. Member Inland Revenue Policy FBR, Dr Muhammad Iqbal said the tax was increased to 4 per cent this year, however, he hoped that this ratio could be increased to 5 per cent in next budget.

Senator Saleem Mandviwala claimed that the government had made some additional changes in the Finance Bill 2017 without informing the committee. However, Iqbal said that FBR would provide a complete list of all changes made in the Finance Bill in next meeting.

QUETTA: Vendors selling brooms, waiting for customers at Bacha Khan Chowk. ONLINE

govt taking measures to boost agriculture-led exports: minister ISLAMABAD APP

Federal Minister for Commerce and Textile Muhammad Pervaiz Malik on Wednesday said that Pakistan has huge potential in Agriculture trade and local farmers would be fully facilitated for increasing yield of crops. “We are committed to providing modern technology and introducing the best international practices for enhancing the Agri-trade with regional countries and connect them with international markets, Muhammad Pervaiz Malik told APP after the dates’ festival organised by Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) here. He said priority of the government was to bring reforms in agricultural trade and it was also focusing on exploring the new markets in the region and across the globe. Pervaiz Malik said the government was prioritising to facilitate the trade of different fruits, vegetables, dates and other agro items and value addition in the sector.

The minister said Pakistan was the fourth largest grower of date in the world and value addition was must for enhancing export of the product. Replying to a question, he said that value addition and Infrastructure development in dates growing areas would increase the employment opportunities and support for poverty alleviation in Sindh, South Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan. “We can attract the foreign investment through value addition in agriculture, which also increases the country’s foreign reserves,” Malik said.

He said the government had planned to form evolving comprehensive strategy for providing the research facility and introduce the modern technology for enhancing the yield of dates and agricultural exports.

Replying to another question, he said that media and academia would give awareness to the farmers for increasing the production and export of the country.

FBR seeks banks’ support to boost filing of income tax returns ISLAMABAD GHULAM ABBAS

Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has started contacting country's banks and financial institutions as part of an outreach programme to boost the filing of income tax returns.

As part of the initiative, a team of FBR's Facilitation and Taxpayers Education (FATE) Wing led by Member FATE,

FBR, Nausheen Javaid Amjad held an extensive meeting with Bank of Punjab (BoP) President Naeemuddin Khan for seeking his assistance in sensitising the BoP officers and staff with taxable income on filing of income tax returns.

Nausheen told the BoP's president that FBR had decided to work closely with the large multinationals and corporations of the country to build a friendly interface with them and provide them

with all assistance and facilitation in all areas of taxation. She said the large organisations had done exceedingly well in reporting the salaries paid and the taxes deducted at source from their employees, and an equal degree of attention was required from them to motivate their employees with taxable income to file their tax returns and fulfil an important national obligation.

Amjad also briefed the BoP Presi-

dent on the range of benefits and advantages which the bank employees could reap after becoming filers, by paying significantly lower rate of taxes on multiple business and bank transactions She also offered FBR's help and resources for conducting in-house facilitative training sessions and workshops in e-filing for the officers and staff of Bank of Punjab.

Naeemuddin Khan appreciated FBR's initiative of walking up to the corporate world in what he described as an "appreciable display of empathy and responsiveness" towards the taxpayers. He also welcomed FBR's technical support and facilitation in filing for his bank's employees and assured full cooperation in ensuring maximum compliance and filing of tax returns by them.

PIAS invites aspiring auditors to ponder over challenges, way forward in auditing ‘RISK-BASED, OBJECTIVEFOCUSED AUDITING MUST BE NEW NORMAL FOR AUDITING’ LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Pakistan Internal Audit Summit 2017 took place at a local hotel here, on Wednesday. The event featured presentations and panel discussions by industry

experts, industry leaders, and Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) officials.

Eithad Airways (UAE) Head of Business Transformation M. Ali Dada, in his presentation insisted that auditors are not only supposed to diagnose the problems in a company’s operations, but also to suggest practical and tangible remedies to those problems. Gulf Drilling International (Qatar) Chief Internal Auditor Syed Imran Zia made ‘relationship between the auditors and the companies’ the premise for his presentation. He said that in a jungle it doesn’t matter if you are a gazelle or a lion because when you wake up you

have to run faster than the other to survive.

“It’s the same in the world of auditing. By 2020, 94pc of auditors’ work will be doable by robots. So auditors need to improve their nature of work if they want to survive. The industry in Pakistan itself has to innovate and adapt if we don’t want to be left far behind rest of the world.”

AF Ferguson & Co Pakistan Partner Tahir Sharif, Ittehad Chemicals Group Director Operations Abdul Hai Khatri, and Shakarganj Limited CEO Ali Altaf Saleem shared their experiences with internal auditing in a panel discussion. Khatri accentuated the value of communication between the auditors and

the management, and said that internal auditors prepare lengthy reports to show they have worked hard but in reality their effectiveness can fall behind if they only mention problems. Ali noted that auditors are sometimes considered as outsiders by the other employees of the company, therefore it is imperative that a mechanism is put in place for smooth flow of information from management to auditors if a company is to be truly evaluated.

Tahir added that his company practices two-fold assurance of auditors work.

“There is a board and audit committee to ensure that the audit has been thorough and then there is a second quality assurance re-

view of the whole company which also includes internal auditors’ performance.”

The event included elaborate discussions on forensic auditing and its challenges, cyber security issues, and data analytics and robotics press automation.

Shields were also distributed among speakers and panel members. Training Resource and Conference Producer Company, TerraBiz organised the conference which will be followed by two master classes on Thursday, by KPMG Taseer Hadi & co. Partner and Head of Forensics Muhammad Talha, and BDO Lahore Partner Muhammad Imran and BDO Ebrahim & Co. Partner Zulfiqar Kauser.

BUSINESS 11

Thursday, 21 September, 2017

CORPORATE CORNER Blue Band, Special olympics Pakistan come together for more inclusive Pakistan LAHORE: Blue Band launched its campaign ‘Acchai Barhnay Do’ this year with the aim to create a more inclusive environment for kids all over Pakistan. Blue Band is Pakistan’s leading spreads brand enjoyed all over Pakistan for over 25 years. It is a daily source of essential fats and vitamins that help children to grow, develop and thrive. The brand has long been an advocate of children’s growth and development. Society puts a lot of focus on child’s health and wellbeing which is imperative, however, often the most important lessons of empathy and acceptance that are essential for character building are missed. Blue Band aims to reinforce the importance of social inclusion for parents/guardians to teach kids the idea removing barriers for differently-abled kids through this initiative. Blue Band has not only started the conversation around inclusion, but is making an effort to further the discussion by joining hands with Special Olympics Pakistan to organise the ‘Both Buddy & Me’ race. The race will be conducted at Pakistan’s largest inflatable race course where kids will be paired up in a buddy system with differently abled kids to finish the obstacle course together as a team. This will help bring the kids closer, whilst reducing barriers for differently abled kids through an opportunity to showcase their skills in sports and games. PRESS RELEASE

JS Bank declared ‘Best environmental, Social and governance Bank’ at PBa 2017

KARACHI: JS Bank proudly collected the award for the category of “Best Environmental, Social and Governance Bank” at the prestigious Pakistan Banking Awards 2017 that were held on September 19, 2017. The Banking Awards ceremony was jointly organised by the Institute of Bankers Pakistan, A.F. Ferguson & Co. (a member firm of the PwC network) and Dawn Media Group.

The award recognises the overall environmental, social and governance (ESG) impact that JS Bank initiatives have had in the areas such as health, education, and sustainable development and relief efforts across the country. PRESS RELEASE

hardee’s opens branch in Peshawar

Bank alFalah BagS ‘BeSt Bank award’ at low-key 2nd PBa

UNCERTAINTY PREVAILED AS THE EVENT DATE WAS ‘BANKING INDUSTRY PLAYING ROLE IN JOB NOT DISCLOSED TO MASS MEDIA BEFOREHAND OPPORTUNITIES, STRENGTHENING ECONOMY’ KARACHI

a

STAFF REPORT

T the second Pakistan Banking Awards (PBA) Tuesday, the prestigious ‘Best Bank Award’ was bagged by Bank Alfalah. At the inaugural PBA last year, United Bank Limited (UBL) had earned the distinction.

The second Pakistan Banking Awards (PBA) remained a muted affair, as the organisers – the Institute of Bankers, A.F. Ferguson and Company and Dawn Media Group – were singularly unable to give it the kind of hype that such an event deserved.

Compared to the last year’s inaugural edition, this year’s ceremony was low-key and subdued, with not a single promotional endeavor being made in terms of marketing and advertising etc. and largely owing to this lethargic indifference of the organisers, the event failed to create any buzz in the print and electronic media. It is pertinent to mention that Bank Alfalah also bagged the award in the category of Best Bank for Customer Franchise, which was bestowed on account of its expanding Islamic banking section and increasing public awareness.

Telenor Microfinance Bank (TMB) walked away with two awards. First, as the Best Bank in the unbanked category – for improving and expanding its financial inclusion via outreach in rural and low-income areas among all types of account holders.

Second, TMB was also declared the best bank in category of microfinance banking, for raising its outreach and penetration in the low-income segment throughout Pakistan.

UBL was declared the best bank in category of Corporate Finance and Capital Market Development for capital market development and providing advisory services for optimal usage of industrial and commercial assets.

In category of Best Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Bank Award, the award went to JS Bank for conducting its operations responsibly.

Meezan Bank was declared as the best Islamic bank franchise.

Habib Bank was awarded as the best bank in category of Small Business and Agriculture for its outstanding performance and agriculture lending throughout Pakistan.

Though it was scheduled for September,

and eventually held in the third week of the month, in this day and age when digital, print and electronic mediums are freely available, astonishingly, no updates about when this event of national importance was to be held, were made public. As a consequence, it was only sporadically covered.

The only saving grace for this year’s ceremony was that several industry officials, including governor State Bank of Pakistan Tariq Bajwa, attended it.

In contrast, the first Banking awards in 2016 had been held with great pomp – raising questions as to what may have transpired behind the scenes to make it as insipid as it was.

Last year, the ceremony had been attended by sponsors, including the Dawn CEO, Hameed Haroon and its Chairperson Amber Haroon Saigal. On the contrary, the awards this year were distributed by Dawn Media Group’s, head of marketing.

In another twist, conspicuous by his absence was Bank Alfalah president Nauman Ansari. The Bank was represented by its Chief Risk Officer, Suhail Yaqoob Khan.

Another point sticking out like a sore thumb is that apparently PBA seemed to be lacking specific criteria for selection of banks for awards. With no criteria shared with public and media, is it that any bank can land awards for best-this and best-that without appropriate analysis, one asks.

The panel of adjudicators comprised of former SBP governor Salim Raza, alongside senior bankers Azhar Hameed, Shahzad Naqvi, Feroze Rizvi and Zeelaf Munir.

“The banking sector in Pakistan has played a pivotal role in determining the overall economic growth and development and is constantly engaged in creating new opportunities while becoming one of the most

sought-after careers in Pakistan,” said State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Tariq Bajwa. While addressing the PBA, the governor SBP urged banks to focus on agricultural and SMEs financing to for the long-term and for higher economic growth.

He further said the State Bank has set a target for this year of Rs 1.001 trillion in agricultural lending to support agriculture, which is one of the largest sectors of the economy. The agricultural sector "contributes some 27 per cent in GDP growth, however bank's lending to this sector is about 4.5 per cent," he said.

He said that after a long gap the country's economy is on the right path, adding that last year Pakistan achieved 5.3 per cent growth and this year the growth will be an estimated 6 per cent. Previously, economic growth was lower than inflation, however now the growth is higher than inflation, he added.

The governor said that the financial sector, particularly the banking sector, plays a pivotal role in determining the overall economic growth and development of the nation. The efforts and achievements of the institutions contributing to this sector in Pakistan should be recognised and acknowledged, he added.

“Banking industry is playing an instrumental role when it comes to inclusion- approximately 800 new branches are opened every year in urban and rural areas; products like SMS banking, mobile banking, internet banking are playing a critical role to make inclusion possible,” Bajwa said.

Appreciating the event he added, “I commend and appreciate the time and efforts of these organisers and congratulate them for their collaboration to ensure that these Awards become a success at all levels.”

k-electric posts Rs32.75 billion profit KARACHI STAFF REPORT

PESHAWAR: Hardee’s recently opened its new outlet for the first time in the city of Peshawar at 1-A Khyber Road, Peshawar Cantt.

The opening day showcased a huge launch event. The event started with the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony of the outlet by Major General Salim Raza. Retired brigadiers and colonels were also present at the launch. Hardee’s management team welcomed a number of food lovers to enjoy the most fulfilling, juicy, meaty and great tasting burgers that Hardee’s is known for. Much excitement was seen on the occasion as the people of Peshawar were pleased to see Hardee’s opening its doors to them. Hardee’s in an international fast-food chain and has been present in Pakistan since 2009 in multiple cities such as Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan and Karachi. This is going to be the 13th outlet of Hardee’s to be opened in Pakistan. PRESS RELEASE

Ce-CPeC, Ciet organise workshop on social audit methods ISLAMABAD: A two days’ workshop on social audit methods and electronic data gathering was organised at Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) Islamabad by the Center of Excellence China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CE-CPEC) in collaboration with CIET international (www.ciet.org) on Tuesday and Wednesday, September 12, and 13, 2017. It was the first initiative of its kind that was designed to provide basic information about social audit methods of data collection and electronic data gathering to the participants from academia, ministry of planning, development and reforms, civil society, and think tanks. PRESS RELEASE

K-Electric (KE) held its 106th Annual General Meeting (AGM) for the FY 2016, chaired by Independent Director Khalid Rafi, in the presence of CEO Tayyab Tareen, CFO Moonis Alvi, Company Secretary Rizwan Dalia and other members of KE leadership.

On this occasion, the management of KE apprised the shareholders about the development of $ 1 billion 900 MW Bin Qasim Power Station III Project and the progress of $ 440 million TP-1000 (Transmission En-

hancement Plan) project. KE has further intensified its drive against power theft and illegal abstraction.

"Installation of Aerial Bundled Cables (ABC), which is an innovative concept for power distribution guaranteeing both safety and higher system efficiencies, is also part of our vision to further enhance the reliability of power supply across KE's network,” it was told.

The power utility declared profits of Rs 32.75 billion including deferred tax of Rs 7.95 billion during FY 2016 as compared to Rs 28.32 billion during the same period of FY 2015 - reporting a growth of 15.6 per

cent. The company's earnings per share (EPS) also increased to 1.19 rupees per share as compared to 1.03 rupees. Moreover, reduction in T&D losses, which decreased to 22.2 per cent compared to 23.7 per cent last year, showing a reduction of 1.5 per cent, together with the gains resulting from higher electricity units sent out (FY 2016: 16,545 GWh; FY 2015: 16,111 GWh), have led to an improvement in EBITDA of 28.1 per cent.

The management also shared the power utility's robust business plan backed by an investment of over Rs 254 million in view of the growing power demands and to strengthen the city's power infrastructure.

"In consideration of the power demandsupply gap of the megacity, there is a need to upgrade the power infrastructure through additional investment. However, it is not financially viable unless the review petition on MYT pending with NEPRA is decided with a view to undertaking the sustainability of KE's future cash flows to undertake largescale projects in a realistic manner," KE management highlighted.

The shareholders were briefed about the power utility's CSR initiatives which benefit around 3.9 million lives annually with initiatives like provision of free or subsidized electricity to key healthcare and welfare organisations.

It is pertinent to note that KE has to date not paid out any dividend and the profits declared in annual audited accounts have been re-invested into the business. This, in turn, has benefited customers through improvement in supply and quality of service.

12 WORLD VIEW

Thursday, 21 September, 2017

‘The US haS leverage wiTh PakiSTan, bUT noT wiThoUT riSkS’ INDIANS HAVE BEEN OVERCONFIDENT ABOUT WHAT THE SURGICAL STRIKES ACCOMPLISHED AND ABOUT INDIA’S ABILITY TO DO THEM AGAIN Hindu Varghese K george

How is President Trump’s regional strategy for South Asia different from President Obama’s?

In sustaining the US troops, he did the right and sensible thing. Obama White House examined the risk of drawdown and the outcomes looked ugly. Withdrawal would have been unwise. Significant scaling up would also have been unwise. That is the lesson from the surge (in the number of U.S troops earlier). We could not have fundamentally changed the balance of power without a large number of forces there forever. No timeline is a wise strategy. Increased pressure is likely to push Pakistan into a corner, unlikely to deliver results in terms of cooperation on critical security issues, and it will make Pakistan feel vulnerable and cornered. I don’t have high hopes, though I give them credit for the rhetorical clarity. I am also not sure that if Pakistan did most or all what we want them to do, in terms of dismantling safe havens of the Haqqani network, facilitating talks with the Taliban, that it would make a meaningful change in the balance in Afghanistan. The insurgence in Afghanistan is organic, largely organically funded. The safe havens help the Taliban, but I don’t think, they are vital to the Taliban. So even if, unexpectedly the pressure on Pakistan produces results, I don’t think its impact on the situation in Afghanistan will be significant.

The president’s focus on India and the Indian role in Afghanistan was curious.

My sense is that the White House is sending a broader signal about India’s role in the region. That is good. India has stakes, in Afghanistan. In my view, India’s reluctance in providing security assistance in overt and meaningful ways, is, at least since 2012 not a product of the U.S pressuring India to be restrained. It is a product of India’s own self-restraint. There is a view that the U.S has been heavyhanded in preventing India from having a more robust role in security affairs of Afghanistan. That may be true for a reason but since 2012, the US has been much more open and the it has been the Indian government - I think for some very good reason - somewhat reticent in taking a bigger role in Afghanistan, which may have meant an even greater Pakistani reaction.

The reticence was mutually agreed?

Prior to about 2012 or 2013 there were ways in which the US signalled to India that greater engagement on security issues

could be problematic. After 2012-13, the U.S sent signals that India should make its own choices in this regard. I think New Delhi recognized economic assistance and political engagement was highly productive, and security assistance only limited to providing some equipment and training in India, was reasonable. I think New Delhi has been anxious and unwilling to go beyond that. It has not been because the US strong-armed India not to do it.

But there appeared to be some enthusiasm in about the larger role being proposed by President Trump. Do you think India is giving up its reticence?

Economic assistance and meaningful political engagement will be the best way forward. I don’t get the sense that New Delhi is under pressure from Washington to contribute in a dramatic way into Afghanistan.

This is called a “regional” strategy.

What is Trump administration approach in dealing with other countries in the region?

Every administration says it has a regional strategy. The goals of regional engagement change over time. During periods in the Obama administration there was a regional strategy designed to ensure that countries in the region would not spoil efforts to reach out to Taliban. There were structures to do that. In this administration we have not seen much attention to much of the regional players. It is understandable. For instance, it is very difficult to engage Russia on Afghanistan….

But you (the Obama administration) did engage Russia on Syria, on Iran….

Yes, it is absolutely possible. In fact it is necessary. We engaged Iran on issues related to Afghanistan. This administration is reluctant to do so. And it not clear that they see the value. Obama administration was focused on ensuring that countries in the region come to common view on the value of engaging the Taliban. Trump administration’s view on engaging the Taliban is somewhat hazy.

Secretary Tillerson has spoken about the need for engaging the Taliban, but that message has not come out strongly from the White House. There is clearly some confusion. India has been an important part of the conversation always, and it is good that the Trump administration is involving India, but I must make it clear that from 2012-13, the US has continuously engaged India on the status of Afghanistan. We sent senior military officers to Delhi, providing regular brief-

ings, and holding consultations.

When we speak of a regional strategy now, countries like Iran and Russia are not part of it now.

I don’t think we have a regional strategy now. A regional strategy must have an objective. It is not apparent that there is regional objective that is outlined for Afghanistan’s future.

So the regional strategy is scaring Pakistan with the prospect of more Indian role in Afghanistan?

In my view, there is value in signaling that the US sees India as a critical partner for Afghanistan. But there is also a risk because, feeding Pakistan’s anxiety about Indian influence in Afghanistan is not necessarily helpful to either Washington or New Delhi.

Obama administration occasionally sought to link the Kashmir issue with the situation in Afghanistan. But Trump administration has no such plans, it appears….

The Obama administration was careful to take a line that Kashmir is a dispute to be resolved between Indian and Pakistan. There was always one view in the Obama administration for closer interlinking between the Kashmir problem and the problem in Afghanistan arguing that if Pakistan feels more secure in its dealing with India, it will behave more responsibly. That was not a dominant view. And I see this administration taking a similar line. We have seen that the Trump administration has spoken more clearly and more directly, about safe havens, not only for Afghan focused groups, but also for Indian focused groups. But again, near the end of the Obama administration there were some strong statements and acknowledgement on that issue. So I see continuity. There is no sea change in that approach.

During the nuclear security summit in 2016, Obama spoke about South Asia being a nuclear flashpoint. This administration appears to share that view. Do you agree?

Yes, this administration recognizes the nuclear risk. No US administration speaks voluminously about this, but I sense this administration also considers Pakistan’s vertical proliferation -its development of new delivery systems, war heads, intentional efforts to lower the threshold and create ambiguity around that use, has introduced safety and security risks. That is not to say that India has

Joshua T White is Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. As Senior Advisor & Director for South Asian Affairs at the National Security Council in Barack Obama White House, he was involved with the full range of South Asia policy issues pertaining to India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

He played a key role in advancing the US-India relationship and was instrumental in shaping Mr Obama’s policy on Afghanistan and Pakistan as well.

nothing to contribute to this risk. That was the view earlier, that is the view of this administration. Conversations on nuclear issues have been constant part of US engagement with Pakistan, and many of those conversations are not in public domain for understandable reasons. This administration recognises that risk.

Secretary Tillerson has said India should also contribute to changing Pakistan’s behaviour. What would such a proposal entail?

Secretary Tillerson was rather cryptic.

There are always things that India can do even in the realm of diplomatic process. I think India will do well to establish multiple levels of dialogue, lower diplomatic to highest diplomatic levels, and sustain them even when there are tensions. Perhaps Secretary was referring to the necessity of sustained dialogue, there are ways to talk about CBMs between the two countries; there are particular disputes such as about water. There are ways in which both sides could step up engagement. I don’t think the Secretary sought to put the onus on India. It was about engaging Pakistan constructively even when India and the US are disappointed with certain aspects of Pakistan’s behaviour.

India believes that surgical strike could be one way to change Pakistan’s behaviour…

I think, some of my Indian friends have been overconfident about what the surgical strikes accomplished and about India’s ability to do them again. I worry that India has over-interpreted its success, it is not evident that those actions change Pakistan’s behavior and if India does that again, Pakistan may not respond the same way again.

From an Indian perspective, the Obama administration’s policies in AfPak were not sensitive to Indian concerns while both countries had greater convergence in Asia-Pacific.

What is your perspective?

I actually thought we had a good dialogue on Afghanistan. We didn’t always see eye to eye, we appreciated our Indian counterparts’ anxieties about engaging with the Taliban, anxieties about the future of Afghanistan and what it would mean for India. We had candid conversations on that. Our dialogue on Pakistan was more definitely more stilted - India came to expect that whatever the US said about Pakistan probably would make a difference in Pakistan’s behaviour. Within the US government also there was a reluctance to talk to India about Pakistan. So those conversations were somewhat less productive.

But every country has its own individual

perspective and I am proud that we were able to deepen the relationship with India, and had candid conversations on all Indian concerns and openly talked about our disagreements and moved the relationship forward. In South east Asia there is convergence not only in strategic objectives but also of tactics, whereas Pakistan was a topic of more complicated conversations.

For decades, America has tried to pay Pakistan for good behaviour but that has not happened. One could argue that Trump’s warning may work better - a sledgehammer may work better than bribes?

Pakistan has in a number important respects, been a meaningful counterterrorism partner of the US, for years. It was a partner in decimating Al Qaida’s presence, it has been a partner in dealing with a number of security threats. You can argue whether the amount of money that US paid to Pakistan provided value to the U.S, but it in some respects it remains a meaningful partnership. And I am not sure that my Indian colleagues always appreciate that dimension - what Pakistan has meant for the US in dealing with important terrorism threats. Sledgehammer approach to Pakistan comes with some very significant risks to the US. But do you think, the President has a sledgehammer approach to Pakistan?

We don’t know that. The president’s language on Pakistan prefigured tough measures. But he didn’t announce them.

It may simply be an effort to pressure Pakistan. We don’t yet know whether the administration is willing to follow through on these tough measures. Some tough measures can have greater effects than others. There have been reports about sanctioning Pakistani officials or government organizations. That may get the attention of Pakistani government but that may also invite retaliation. The U.S still depends on communication through Pakistan for operations in Afghanistan.

Are you saying that the U.S has no leverage at all with Pakistan?

No. The U.S has leverage with Pakistan, but these are leverages that come with risks. U.S has influence over international financial assistance to Pakistan from WB, IMF etc, and it has to weigh the benefits of using that leverage against the risks of potentially politicizing those institutions, and further deterioration of Pakistan’s economic health. Similarly there are risks to counterterrorism action; there are risks to publicly shaming Pakistan for its misbehavior. The US has leverage, but it comes with risks.

Israeli website claims ISIS commander revealed as Mossad agent MintPress news Whitney Webb

There has long been speculation regarding ties between the Israeli government and the terror group Daesh, otherwise known as the Islamic State. Such speculation has been fueled by Israel’s reference to Daesh as a “useful tool” and its acknowledgment that it views a Syria under complete Daesh control as preferable to the continuation of the current Syrian government. It is supported as well by the extensive aid and even medical treatments that Daesh militants have received from Israel. However, allegations have recently emerged that could suggest that the connection is even deeper than previously believed.

According to a report from the Israeli website Inian Merkazi and Abna news agency, Libyan security forces arrested a Daesh commander in the city of Benghazi — only to find out soon after that the man they had captured, Ephraim Benjamin, was also an agent of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service. Benjamin, who was known in Libya as Abu Hafs, had begun work in

Libya after the 2011 NATO-led invasion of Libya that ousted former leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Middle East Monitor reported that Hafs/Benjamin was said to have become a prominent imam in a Benghazi mosque, before becoming a Daesh leader who commanded more than 200 fighters. Middle East Monitor has since removed the report from its site.

Libyan authorities have allegedly accused Benjamin of gathering intelligence information on Daesh for Mossad and Middle East Monitor noted that some Libyan news outlets took to calling him the “Mossad shiekh.” Inian Merkazi suggested that Benjamin’s arrest showed that Mossad was influential in the rise of Daesh in the region, given that Benjamin began work in Libya in 2011 while Daesh did not begin operation in Libya until 2015.

However, MintPress News was unable to independently verify the claims of Inian Merkaz linking the Daesh commander to the Israeli Mossad.

Other regional media outlets, such as Masr Alarabia, have described Benjamin as being one of Mossad’s “Arabists” — Mossad agents with Arab

features who fluently speak Arabic and use local dialects. Such “Arabists” have gained a reputation for infiltrating Palestinian protests and activist organizations, as well as assassinating prominent Palestinians who are vocally against the Israeli occupation.

However, now it appears that Mossad “Arabists” may be involved in more than the suppressing Palestinian dissent. Given that Israel has repeatedly stated it does not want Daesh to be defeated, it is clear that Benjamin, who allegedly commanded hundreds of men in Daesh, was not “gathering intelligence” in order to defeat Daesh but rather to strengthen it.

Given the reports of Benjamin’s arrest, last year’s strange-seeming statement by Israel’s military intelligence chief, Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevy, makes more sense. Halevy had stated that Israel does not want to see Daesh defeated and also had expressed concern about the recent offensives against Daesh territory, lamenting the “most difficult” situation the group had found itself in at the time. He further added that Israel would do “all we can so as to not find ourselves in such a situation” where Daesh faces defeat.

In light of Benjamin’s arrest, part of Halevy’s concern for Daesh may have been born out of the fear that a Daesh defeat could put the lives of Mossad agents, as well as years of their work within Daesh, at risk.

Daesh has long been regarded by Israeli think tanks and politicians as a “strategic tool” for furthering Western and Israeli goals in the region. In the case of Syria, Daesh was seen as a covert means of overthrowing Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, an event that Israeli intelligence believed would result in Iran’s loss of “its only ally” in the region.

On a larger scale, however, Daesh ultimately serves to help divide whole nations — like Iraq, Syria and others — into pieces. This is a key component of the Israeli strategic plan, otherwise known as the Yinon plan, to dominate the Middle East by dividing and then conquering its neighbors.

With allegations of Israel’s direct involvement in facilitating the terror group’s activities continuing to grow, it’s become increasingly difficult to defend the long-standing assertion that Israel has been a “neutral” figure in the Syrian conflict and the rise of Daesh.

Thursday, 21 September, 2017

ARTS

Avril Lavigne, Bruno Mars 'most dangerous' to search for online LOS ANGELES AGENCIES

Pop singers Avril Lavigne and Bruno Mars topped a list of celebrities on Tuesday ranked the most dangerous to search for online because of results that could expose fans to malicious websites. Cybersecurity company McAfee said singers Carly Rae Jepsen, Zayn Malik and Celine Dion were also in the top five of their annual list because searches for their names can lead fans to click on suspicious links that expose them to malware. It said that searching for “Avril Lavigne free mp3” results in a 22 percent chance of landing on a malicious website. Lavigne, 32, who found fame in 2002 with the hit single “Complicated,” has been off the celebrity scene for a number of years because of Lyme disease which she has said left her bedridden.

However, she said in 2016 that she is planning to release a new album in 2017 — her first in four years — apparently leading to increased searches for news about her music. The 2017 McAfee study was dominated by musicians but actors who made the top 25 list included “Pitch Perfect” star Anna Kendrick, Jennifer Lopez and rising star Hailee Steinfeld. “In today’s digital world, we want the latest hit albums, videos, movies and more immediately available on our devices,” Gary Davis, McAfee’s vice president of global consumer marketing, said in a statement. He said consumers should slow down and consider the risks. “Thinking before clicking goes a long way to stay safe online,” he said.

13

Renowned PAkIstAnI PAInteR tAssAduq soHAIL HosPItALIsed 'It' scares up box office glory for two weeks

KARACHI

P

AGENCIES

AKISTANI artist Tassaduq Sohail was admitted to Civil Hospital, Karachi in a critical condition and was shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on Tuesday.

He was brought from Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad, to Karachi today, according to details. However, he does not have any family members attending on him at the hospital and hence the doctors do not have access to his medical history.

Born in Jalandhar in 1930, Tassaduq Sohail went on to study at London-based Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.

He spent 40 years in London and eventually shifted to Karachi. Being a short-story writer, a striking feature of his works is the titles of his paintings. They seem to have a profound connection with the

LOS ANGELES AGENCIES

images, depicting the cynicism and the scorn of the artist.

A remarkable feature is his ability to say a lot in very limited space. His work is almost in miniature style, painting fetching details on minute canvases.

He once claimed that the best of his works stemmed from bouts of depression.

His work is primarily famous for being narrative and is laden with symbols. Trees, caves, old castles, fish, mermaids, and nudes often appear in his paintings and he has been said to have taken inspiration from Picasso, van Goth, Ustad Allah Buksh, Colin David, Amrita Shergill and Sadequain.

Noor ends marriage with singer Wali Hamid

Jamie Lee Curtis reprises famous horror role in 2018's 'Halloween' LAHORE AGENCIES

A family court accepted Pakistani film actress Noor’s petition to part ways with her fourth husband Wali Hamid Ali Khan on Wednesday.

Noor, who married for the fourth time in 2013, approached the court seeking Khula (cancellation of marriage).

Khan opposed the petition but the actress remained firm that she wanted to dissolve her marriage contract, following which Family Court Judge Faisal Naseem Mir approved her petition.

The couple had been living separately after they developed differences.

The film actress turned television host first got married to a Dubai-based Hindu businessman in 2003. She parted ways with him in 2008, after he refused to convert to Islam.

In 2010, she married Pakistani film producer Farooq Mengal but the marriage was dissolved soon after.

Following her separation from Mengal, Noor married Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member Aun Chaudhry and gave birth to a boy but the relationship was dissolved.

Record-setting horror film "It" dominated the North American box office for the second consecutive weekend, accounting for nearly three times the combined ticket sales of the next two films, final figures showed Monday. The Warner Bros. film, based on a Stephen King novel and starring Bill Skarsgard as a creepy clown who terrorizes a sleepy Maine town, earned an estimated $60.1 million for the threeday weekend, bringing its domestic total to $218.8 million in only two weeks, according to industry tracker Exhibitor Relations. Trailing far behind were two new releases, "American Assassin" from CBS Films/Lionsgate, at $14.8 million, and "mother!" which took in just $7.5 million in ticket sales despite the star power of Jennifer Lawrence. "Assassin" stars Dylan O'Brien as a CIA "black ops" recruit who teams up with crusty veteran agent Michael Keaton to try to prevent terrorists from starting a war.

Paramount's "mother!" earned a dubious distinction: the lowest opening gross for a Lawrence film in wide release. A psychological thriller from Darren Aronofsky, it likely suffered from going head-to-head against "It." In the film, Lawrence and her husband, played

by Javier Bardem, see their tranquil lives upended when strangers (Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer) show up at their country home. The movie drew a rare "F" from the ComScore website, despite a relatively strong 69 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Aronofsky earned critical acclaim for earlier films, including "Black Swan" (2010), "The Wrestler" (2008), "Requiem for a Dream" (2000) and "Pi" (1998). In fourth place was "Home Again" from Open Road Films, with a take of $5.2 million. The romantic comedy stars Reese Witherspoon as a recently separated woman whose life changes when she lets three young men move in. And in fifth was "The Hitman's Bodyguard," at $3.6 million. The action comedy stars Ryan Reynolds as a bodyguard hired to protect a notorious hitman played by Samuel L. Jackson. Rounding out the top 10 were: "Annabelle: Creation" ($2.4 million) "Wind River" ($2.6 million) "Leap!" ($2.2 million) "Spider-Man: Homecoming" ($1.9 million) "Dunkirk" ($1.3 million)

New talent to light up Milan Fashion Week MILAN AGENCIES

LOS ANGELES AGENCIES

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis will reprise her role as the resilient protagonist in 2018’s “Halloween,” Universal Pictures said on Friday, 40 years after she made her movie debut in the original horror movie of the same name and became Hollywood’s “scream queen.” Curtis, 58, will once again play Laurie Strode, the babysitter who faced the deadly masked serial killer Michael Myers in John Carpenter’s 1978 horror “Halloween.” The 2018 film will see Curtis’ Strode face “her final confrontation” with Myers, Comcast Corpowned Universal said. Carpenter will return to executive produce and consult on the new film.

“Halloween” has become one of Hollywood’s most famous slasher film franchises, with nine sequels and reboots over the years, the last being Rob Zombie’s 2009 “Halloween II.” Curtis’ last appearance in the franchise was in 2002’s “Halloween: Resurrection,” in which her character was killed. Universal said the 2018 film “carves a new path from the events in the landmark 1978 film,” suggesting that it will ignore the events in the 2002 film.

Fashion week roars into Milan on Wednesday with hotly anticipated shows from fresh talent as well as from luxury titans including Moschino and Armani, who are battling for their share of a rebounding market.

Gucci kicks off the six days of catwalk strutting with mighty momentum at its Italy-based house, which is booming under mastermind Alessandro Michele and the geek chic aesthetic he has established since taking the reins in 2015.

The Spring/Summer 2018 collection starring in its Wednesday show is also Gucci's first since French parent company Kering announced a pledge earlier this month to ban ultra-thin models from their brands' advertising and runways.

Luxury group LVMH, which counts heavyweight Fendi among its labels, has signed on as well to the ban that comes after repeated scandals in the fashion industry about anorexia and the mistreatment of models.

For the dozens of collections that will be hitting the Milan catwalks, expect a riot of every colour of the rain-

bow. The 1990s are also back with low-slung trousers, cut-out bodysuits and boxy jackets.

Vertical stripes, traditionally the preserve of old-fashioned pajamas, will be there too.

Expectations are building for British talent Paul Surridge, who will on Friday show off his maiden collection since being named creative director in May of Roberto Cavalli, known for its sexy rock'n'roll attitude.

Husband-and-wife team Luke and Lucie Meier are presenting their first

CMYK

designs on Saturday since being tapped in April as creative leads of minimalist stalwart Jil Sander.

The Meiers, a rare married duo of co-directors, come from Dior for her and Paris-based menswear brand OAMC via iconic streetwear label Supreme for him.

- Very good times, for some "Lucie and I work together very naturally," Canadian Luke Meier told Vogue in June of his Swiss-born wife.

"We have had an open dialogue about the approach to design for over 15

years and have often spoken of working together one day."

Newcomers to the Milan calendar also include the-Sirius, a young Seoulbased label known for futuristic designs, which will indulge its ultramodern urge with a Thursday show on the campus of Milan's Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology.

But it would not be fashion week in Italy's capital of clothes and accessories without the kings and queens of the multi-billion euro luxury goods industry like Fendi, Ferragamo, Versace, Moschino, and Prada.

These European behemoths -- or some of them, anyway -- are seeing sales jump after years troubled by the triple whammy of a slowdown in Asia, currency volatility and customers staying at home after a string of terror attacks in Europe.

"While in the past good meant good for everyone... now the situation is very good for some and very bad for others," said Stefania Saviolo, a fashion and luxury expert at Milan's Bocconi University.

"It depends on the category, the brand, it depends on many things," she told AFP.

14 LEISURE

Thursday, 21 September, 2017

HAGAR tHE HoRRIbLE

aries

taurus

gemini

You could inadvertently become emotionally hooked by someone else's agenda today. However, participating in an unnecessary melodrama makes it tough to get your own work done.

Thankfully, it shouldn't take.

Nothing is gained by escalating a disagreement because conflict won't likely lead to a positive resolution today.

Nevertheless, there are no valid reasons to be afraid of standing up for your convictions,

You might feel as if you're being ignored today, but making a scene to attract attention is a waste of precious energy. Just let events unfold naturally because your efforts will be taken more seriously.

cancer

leo

virgo

You may attempt to sidestep a challenging issue today, especially if you and a loved one have conflicting opinions on the subject. But even if you think you can successfully hide your feelings, you won't.

You are taking your responsibilities so seriously today that it's tricky to find time for a bit of welldeserved fun. You might have the urge to cut loose for a while but you could end up returning to.

Staying on track at work is nearly impossible today because you are aware of so many exciting possibilities ahead.

However, you may scare yourself with such a vast array of choices, prompting you to do.

libra

scorpio

sagittarius

You cannot avoid your domestic responsibilities today, especially if you made promises that you must keep. Thankfully, your commitment to following through with your obligations doesn't have to prevent.

Your fiscal condition may be on the upswing, but don't let this good fortune be an excuse to spend money before it's in your bank account. You still have a fair amount of work to finish now before you.

You receive a cosmic boost of energy when the evocative Moon bounces into your fiery sign this afternoon, lifting your spirits and reconnecting you with your heart. Nevertheless, this isn't a smart time.

capricorn

aQuarius

pisces

You're a study in paradox today because you can be wildly optimistic and extremely pessimistic at the very same time.

Normally, these opposing viewpoints would cancel each other out, leaving you somewhere.

You realize how much you can accomplish if you join forces with others who share your beliefs.

Fortunately, your spiritual approach to life combines well with your desire to connect with like-minded individuals.

Maintaining a healthy balance between your professional and personal worlds is less complicated today if you honor the feelings of your friends and family. In fact, it's nearly impossible to keep emotions.

cRosswoRD

GARFIELD

sUDokU

woRD sEARcH

ACROSS

bRIDGE

How to pLAy fill in all the squares in the grid so that each row, column and each of the squares contains all the digits. the object is to insert the numbers in the boxes to satisfy only one condition: each row, column and 3x3 box must contain the digits 1 through 9 exactly once.

lead lenient meekly moon offices peace profound reckon regret salary sleep sneezed stress swift table tare thine tree wander

Today’s soluTions

ovERbERRIED

cHEss white tO PLAY AND MAte iN twO MOVes 8

crossword solution

7 6 5 4 3 2

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

chess solution

A

1.Nxf5 exf5 [1...Rg8 2.Nd6 Rg7 3.Qf4] 2.bxf5 *

1

sudoku solution

1 manual dexterity in conjuring (7,2,4) 8 positive phases of the cycle (3) 9 spectacles with a handle (9) 10 carthaginian general, d.182 bc (8) 11 gaffer (4) 13 without warmth (6) 14 seafood (6) 16 kansas senator and 1996 presidential candidate, bob (4) 17 grand (8) 20 began (9) 21 hostelry (3) 22 person qualified to be a ship's captain (6,7) DOwn 1 sentimental drivel (5) 2 materials used in aromatherapy (9,4) 3 easily taken in (8) 4 front part of the neck (6) 5 acquisition (4) 6 oppressively strict (13) 7 wear one's best (5,2) 12 Joint — ours held (anag) (8) 13 silvery-white metal, cd (7) 15 tempo (6) 18 currency unit of algeria, libya etc (5) 19 conflagration (4)

affable atonement audible bean beet blame breath butter curl dense dram dream elect elementary evening factory figure fumble hens hire

SPORTS 15

Thursday, 21 September, 2017

KhalId latIf baNNed foR fIve yeaRS IN PSl SPot-fIXINg caSe LAHORE

t

FIFA bans Caribbean FA chief for six years SPORTS DESK FIFA suspended Caribbean Football Union president Gordon Derrick from the sport for six years on Tuesday after he was found guilty of several ethics violations.

Derrick becomes the latest in a long line of football executives sanctioned by FIFA's ethics committee, which has thrown dozens of people out of the sport over graft.

In a statement, FIFA said the case centred on "alleged conflicts of interest, offering and accepting gifts and other

benefits, mismanagement of funds, abuse of position and disloyalty".

A native of Antigua and Barbuda, Derrick was also fined 30,000 Swiss francs ($31,154).

Derrick had last year sought to take charge of the governing body for football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF) -- after the two previous chiefs were brought down by their own corruption scandals.

But Derrick was barred from running in the CONCACAF vote after failing a background check by FIFA's compliance committee.

Magical Messi hits four as Barcelona thrash Eibar MADRID AGENCIES

Lionel Messi struck four goals as Barcelona romped past Eibar 6-1 on Tuesday to extend their lead at the top of La Liga and maintain their 100 percent record.

The Argentine was at his brilliant best as he lethally picked off the demoralised Basques, opening the scoring from the penalty spot in the 21st minute after Nelson Semedo was brought down by Alex

hE Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) anti-corruption tribunal on Wednesday imposed a fiveyear ban on batsman Khalid Latif has been for his involvement in a spot-fixing scandal in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

In its verdict against the suspended opener, the tribunal also imposed a fine of Rs1 million on the cricketer.

The 31-year-old, who represented Pakistan and PSL franchise Islamabad United, was found guilty of all six charges including that of persuading a few other cricketers including teammates Mohammad Irfan and Sharjeel Khan to get involved in spot-fixing, which marred the opening day of the PSL second edition held in Dubai earlier this year.

The board said that Sharjeel and Latif met an alleged bookie and struck a deal. Based on the plan, Sharjeel -- an aggressive batsman who scores quickly -- agreed to play two dot balls after the first over in the match.

Although Latif did not play in that game, he was later charged with luring Sharjeel into the deal and not reporting the matter to the PCB anti-corruption unit.

Spot-fixing involves bets on the outcome of a particular passage of play, unlike match-fixing in which

AGENCIES

A cricket match will be held between Pakistan XI and UK Media XI in Miranshah, a town in the North Waziristan Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, on Thursday, September

there is an attempt to pre-arrange the result of the match.

Latif and Sharjeel were provisionally suspended and sent home from the T20 competition in February, after an investigation by the board’s anti-corruption unit.

In August, Sharjeel was banned for five years for his role in the spot-fixing scandal. he will not be able to play domestic or international cricket for half the sentence and will be kept under observation for its duration.

The minimum punishment for the charges which Latif faced was a sixmonth suspension with a maximum of a life ban.

Galvez. With Barcelona leading 3-1, Messi struck three more times to help the Catalans move up to 15 points from five games, five clear of second-placed Sevilla, having played one match more.

Paulinho had headed home from a corner to score Barcelona’s second before halftime.

It was his second goal in the last two games, a feat matched by Denis Suarez who increased Barcelona’s lead to 3-0, before Sergi Enrich pulled one back for Eibar.

21, Inter-Services Public Relations director general said. In a tweet posted Wednesday, DG Major General Asif Ghafoor said the match will be telecast live from Miranshah. Of the 18 members of the squad, 14 are players, one is an umpire while the rest, including two women, are the organisers.

Under the PCB code, players can appeal rulings before an independent arbitrator within 14 days of the decision.

Four other players -- Mohammad Irfan, Shahzaib hasan, Nasir Jamshed and Mohammad Nawaz -- were also included in the investigation on multiple charges.

Irfan and Nawaz admitted not reporting the bookie´s offer. Irfan was banned for one year with six months suspended and fined one million rupees.

Nawaz was banned for two months, with one suspended, and fined 200,000 rupees. Both are now free to play, while the cases against hasan and Jamshed are continuing.

Liverpool knocked out of League Cup by Leicester

Pakistan XI play UK Media XI in N Waziristan today: ISPR RAWALPINDI

AGENCIES

LONDON AGENCIES

Leicester City grabbed second-half goals through Shinji Okazaki and record signing Islam Slimani to earn a 2-0 victory over Liverpool in the League Cup third round on Tuesday.

A night of wholesale team changes for the 11 Premier League clubs in action produced two notable upsets with

Championship (second-tier) Leeds United beating Premier League Burnley 5-3 on penalties after a thrilling tie ended 2-2 after extra time.

Mark hughes’s Stoke City were the other top-flight victims, going down 20 at second-tier Bristol City.

Former England manager Roy hodgson enjoyed his first victory in charge of Crystal Palace as the Premier League’s bottom club defeated hudder-

sfield Town 1-0 at Selhurst Park.

Tottenham hotspur were frustrated for 65 minutes at Wembley by secondtier Barnsley before Dele Alli secured a 1-0 win and a first domestic victory of the season at their temporary home.

West ham United beat Championship side Bolton Wanderers 3-0 at the London Stadium while Swansea City dispatched Reading 2-0.

Liverpool’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was given his first start by manager Juergen Klopp following his move from Arsenal, while Phillipe Coutinho was also in the lineup at the King Power Stadium where the visitors dominated play before the interval.

PENALTY SHOOTOUT For excitement, Burnley’s Turf Moor was the place to be.

Leeds went ahead in the 80th through hadi Sacko but Burnley got a lifeline with an 89th-minute penalty by Chris Wood. Leeds looked to have won when Pablo hernandez also scored a penalty in the fourth minute of added time but Robbie Brady’s free kick levelled it up with the last kick of normal time.

The visitors were perfect in the shootout, however, while James Tarkowski missed for Burnley.

Bayern's Neuer out until January after foot operation MUNICH AGENCIES

Bayern Munich have confirmed their Germany goalkeeper and captain Manuel Neuer will be out until January having undergone another operation on Tuesday after again fracturing his left foot.

The 31-year-old had only returned at the end of August after fracturing the same foot in April. he suffered the fresh injury in training on Monday as Bayern prepared for Tuesday's Bundesliga match at Schalke.

"The fact that Manuel Neuer has suffered a new injury means we are all very sorry for him", said Bayern chairman Karl-heinz Rummenigge. "The operation went optimally and that is the most important thing now. "Manuel will be available for us again, back at his old strength, in January." This is Neuer's third operation on the same foot in six months after minor surgery for a toe injury in March and then again in April after initially fracturing his foot.

Neuer's latest injury blow sparks concerns about Germany's skipper nine months before the World Cup kicks off. he last played for Germany in a World Cup qualifier in October 2016.

Neuer will miss Germany's key qualifier against Northern Ireland in Belfast on October 5, where a draw will book the holders' place at Russia 2018.

With Neuer out, Barcelona's Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who deputised when Germany won the Confed-

erations Cup in July, is set to fill in for the world champions. "I'm so sorry for Manuel, of course that is a setback for him," said Germany's head coach Joachim Loew. "Manuel has the personality, the discipline and the will -- he will do everything to come

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back just as strong. "Medically, he is in the best hands and he knows that he will get as much support from us as he will from Bayern Munich."

Sven Ulreich will stand in for Neuer at Bayern until the winter break at the end of December.

Neuer will miss Bayern's remaining Champions League group stage games, including their key away match at Paris Saint-Germain on September 27. he will also miss their league and cup doubleheader against RB Leipzig at the end of October and away Bundesliga match at current leaders Borussia Dortmund in early November. Neuer's Bayern and Germany team-mates quickly rallied around.

"You will come back stronger, my friend," wrote Bayern winger Franck Ribery on Twitter, while Thomas Mueller, Jerome Boateng and Robert Lewandowski offered a "get well soon".

Germany star Toni Kroos offered: "You'll be fit again soon".

Bayern confirmed Neuer underwent the operation at a clinic in Tuebingen, south-west Germany, by head surgeon Ulrich Stoeckle, who has inserted a plate in his foot. Stoeckle has previously treated stars Bastian Schweinsteiger, Franck Ribery and David Alaba.

SPORTS Thursday, 21 September, 2017

Windies loss sees sri lanka into World Cup LONDON

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Agencies

RI Lanka captain Upul Tharanga backed his side to uphold the island’s proud World Cup record after their automatic qualification for the 2019 edition in Britain was assured by West Indies’ seven-wicket loss to England on Tuesday.

With September 30 set as the cut-off date for automatic qualification for the International Cricket Council’s showpiece 50-over tournament, two-time champions West Indies (78 points) now cannot move ahead of Sri Lanka (86 points) in the ODI team rankings regardless of other results in the remainder of their five-match series in England.

As a result, 1996 World Cup winners Sri Lanka — also the losing finalists in 2007 and 2011 — have become the eighth and last team to qualify directly, joining Australia, Bangladesh, England, India,

New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa.

The confirmation that Sri Lanka had gained direct entry to the next World Cup came after their recent hammering at home to India in all three formats, the visitors winning Test and one-day series 3-0 and 5-0 respectively before triumphing by seven wickets in a lone Twenty20 international earlier this month.

“It’s no secret that we have been going through a tough time,” said relieved Sri Lanka ODI skipper Tharanga in an ICC statement released shortly after England’s win in a day/night clash in Manchester.

‘Magic’ “But I want to say a big, big thank you to our fans who’ve kept faith with us when things looked bleak.”

He added: “ICC events have always brought out the magic in Sri Lanka cricket, and I look forward to proving that once again.

“We have a clear plan toward the World Cup, and we will work hard at

achieving each step.

“I know you will see Sri Lanka’s special brand of cricket out there once again soon.”

Only a 5-0 series win or 4-0 with a tie or no-result against England would have seen West Indies pip Sri Lanka before the cut-off point.

But having failed to qualify for the elite Champions Trophy tournament in Britain earlier this year, West Indies suffered a 13th defeat in their last 14 completed ODIs against England in the series opener at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

‘Tough ask’ “We knew it was always going to be a tough ask,” said West Indies batting coach Toby Radford after a convincing loss.

“But we are very positive as a group and we are trying to develop in all our formats of cricket, so every game that comes now we will be positive and if that means qualifiers next year, it’s qualifiers next year and we’ll build our way back up.”

West Indies, who won the first two World Cups — both staged in England — in 1975 and 1979, could still take part in the main 10-team 2019 tournament if they are one of the top two sides in next year’s qualifying competition.

That event, also featuring 10 teams, will see West Indies joined by the bottom

three sides in the ODI rankings — Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Ireland — as well as the top four sides from the ICC World Cricket League and the top two from Division Two of the WCL. The next World Cup, the fifth to be staged in Britain, takes place from May 30-July 15 2019.

‘Sick’ Klopp blasts defensive Mathews ruled out of first Test against Pakistan performance after EFL Cup exit LONDON

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Agencies

Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews has been ruled out of the first Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi later this month with a calf strain. He had sustained the injury during training on Tuesday, before undergoing scans on Wednesday. SLC cricket manager Asanka Gurusinha confirmed Mathews’ unavailability.

This is the latest in a long history of leg injuries for Mathews - the last 12 months having been particularly problematic. He had suffered a torn hamstring during Sri Lanka’s tour of South Africa in January, and did not play international cricket again until June. He had also missed a tri-series in Zimbabwe late last year due to “multiple injuries” in his legs.

Given the recurrence of these injuries, Mathews’ workload has been closely managed over the last few months. In fact, he was only required to deliver a few overs per game in the ODIs against India, and did not bowl at all in the Tests. Nevertheless, he finds himself unable to play again, just as Sri Lanka attempt to put the torrid series against India behind them.

Mathews had been excellent during Sri Lanka’s last Test series the UAE, in 2013-14, hitting 412 runs at an average of 103. Sri Lanka’s twoTest series against Pakistan begins on September 28 in Abu Dhabi. The second match will be a day-night Test, in Dubai.

Benzema to remain in Madrid till 2021 SPORTS DESK: Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has signed a four-year contract extension that ties him to the club until 2021. The 29-year-old has scored 181 goals in 371 appearances since joining from French side Lyon in 2009. He becomes the fourth Real player, after right-back Dani Carvajal, leftback Marcelo and midfielder Isco, to agree a new deal this week. Manager Zinedine Zidane has also signed a new contract with last season’s Champions League and La Liga winners. Benzema has won 14 trophies at Real, including three Champions League titles and La Liga twice. The France forward has won 81 caps but has not played for his country since he was placed under formal investigation in 2015 over an alleged bid to blackmail one-time international team-mate Mathieu Valbuena.

Sara, Ushna ousted in Asian Indoor & Martial Games ASHGABAT Agencies

Pakistan’s Sara Khan and Ushna Suhail were ousted in the first round of the women singles tennis event, part of the ongoing 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games being played at ITF Tennis Club Courts in Turkmenistan’s city Ashgabat.

Sara did some resistance but Caruthers Steffi of Somoa won the battle 4-6, 6-2, 61. Sara Khan played in the first set, hitting some beautiful baseline shorts and smashes but when Caruthers Steffi settled down she did not give Sara much time to make a

comeback.

In the second singles another Pakistani tasted defeat at the hands of Wang Chao Yi of Chinese Taipei. The two players were stretched to 8-10 (6-6) in the first set but soon after Wang Cho Yi controlled the whole trend and dictated a good lesson of tennis to Ushna Suhail. The score of the other two set was 6-2 and 6-0. Ushna did not respond well in the third and last set.

In the September 20 matches Ahmad Choudhary of Pakistan will face Wang Chun Hum of Hong Kong in the second round while Ushna Suhail and Heera Ashiq will clash against Fitridi and Haliza of Indonesia.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said he was “sick of conceding goals” after his side’s defensive problems returned to haunt them in a 2-0 League Cup defeat by Leicester City on Tuesday.

Klopp’s side enjoyed 70 % of the ball in the third round tie and had 21 shots compared to Leicester’s eight, but failure to cope with basic defensive tasks cost them.

Liverpool have kept two clean sheets in nine matches so far this season and are winless in four games in all competitions.

Leicester substitute Shinji Okazaki took advantage in the 65th minute when Liverpool failed to clear a corner and the Japan forward’s deflected shot crept into the net.

Liverpool’s defence was also culpable in the 78th minute, switching off from a throw-in, although Islam Slimani’s left-footed finish into the top corner was sublime.

“We played really good football in the first half, we should have decided the game early. We had big chances, strange situations but it’s football, it’s at least a 90-minute game,” said Klopp. “It’s second ball

after a corner, I think, and a throw-in again. I’m sick of goals like this to be honest. You cannot play football and do that. I can say it one time or 1,000 times or whatever — it’s not nice to have to concede these goals.”

The former Dortmund manager also reveals that he believes Foxes clinched the knock-out tie because his team was not clinical. “Leicester somehow survived in the game because we are not clinical enough,” he said. “That’s sometimes okay but then you need to stay concentrated until the end and at least you don’t allow them to score… and

yeah, they scored too easy.”

Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho was substituted at halftime, but Klopp said it was not through injury. “It was clear that 45 is the limit, we need to make him fit but we cannot push him through. That’s all,” he said.

Liverpool visit Leicester’s King Power Stadium again on Saturday in the Premier League, hoping to get back on track. “Will I still feel sick when I come back here on Saturday? I lost more games in my life unfortunately and, believe me or not, tomorrow morning I am fine,” he said.

Absence of Giggs, Scholes leaves Indian fans fuming NEW DELHI Agencies

Manchester United legends Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes have angered Indian fans by failing to turn out for a futsal tournament in which they billed as the star attractions.

The Hindu newspaper said the pair were “understood to be ‘tired’ ” on their arrival in Bangalore for the event on Tuesday.

Scholes, 42, is meant to be captain of the Bangalore team and Giggs, 43, for Mumbai in the Premier Futsal tournament.

Scholes did participate in the Mumbai leg of the tournament on Saturday.

But the pair were not even on the bench for the first game in Bangalore and fans were not impressed.

With the tickets priced as high as $156, including a “meet and greet session with the legends”, disgruntled fans were quick to dismiss the event as a money-making exercise.

“The tickets I bought were for 2,000 rupees ($31) a day.

I am not wasting any more of my time here,” one disappointed fan was quoted as saying.

“They don’t even have the courtesy to announce that the two aren’t playing.”

Spokespersons for the event confirmed the absence of the former Manchester United greats, but made no further immediate comment.

The futsal tournament, now into its second edition, has six teams with five players each locking horns in an indoor version of football.

Former stars Ronaldinho of Brazil and Argentina’s Her-

Published by Arif Nizami at Plot No 79, Sector 24, Korangi Industrial Area Karachi.

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nan Crespo are also part of the event which will move to Dubai next week.

Giggs enjoyed a remarkable career with Manchester United between 1990 and 2014, netting 168 goals in 963 appearances.