E-Paper PDF 10th January 2020 (KHI)

CMYK

Friday, 10 January, 2020 I 13 Jamadi-ul-Awwal, 1441 I Rs 17.00 I Vol X No 191 I 16 Pages I Karachi Edition

Birds of a feather to amend laws together g

govt AgreeS to withdrAw Six ordinAnceS, AccommodAte ProPoSAlS of Pml-n, PPP in two billS, including key nAb lAw AmendmentS

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MIAN ABRAR

HE momentum and the environment of mutual understanding created by the smooth sailing of the services chiefs’ tenure bills in parliament seems to be carrying on as the government and the opposition have ironed out their differences over the amendments to the country’s accountability law among other legislation.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government on Thursday agreed to withdraw six ordinances/bills promulgated on November 7, 2019, and accommodate the amendments presented by the opposition into the important bills, including the key National Accountability (Amendment) Bill, 2019, after mutual agreement.

An informed source told Pakistan Today that the opposition has assured support for nine government bills to be presented on Friday while in return the government would accommodate some of the opposition’s amendments in the two

remaining bills that would be passed once the agreement is made next week.

The development came after detailed talks during the proceedings of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on Law where the treasury and the opposition members agreed to move ahead. The government was represented

by Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Senator Azam Swati and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Khan. Former NA speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Rana Tanveer Hussain represented the PML-N while Syed Naveed Qamar represented the PPP in the talks.

According to the source, the two sides agreed to accommodate each other’s views in the legislation and the federal government agreed to withdraw the six bills and ordinances after assurance from the opposition for support on the amended bills. In a quid-pro-quo, the federal government agreed to accommodate some proposals from the PML-N in the NAB amendment ordinance while the talks on PPP’s proposals

oPP to SuPPort govt on 9 billS which will be PreSented in houSe todAy

would be negotiated further.

According to the source, the government would withdraw The Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates Bill, 2019 (Ordinance No XVI of 2019); The Legal Aid and Justice Authority Bill, 2019 (Ordinance No XVIII of 2019); The Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights Bill, 2019 (Ordinance No XVII of 2019); The Superior Courts (Court Dress and Mode of Address) Order (Repeal) Bill, 2019 (Ordinance No XIX of 2019); The Benami Transaction (Prohibition) (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (Ordinance No XX of 2019); and The National Accountability (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (Ordinance No XXI of 2019).

According to the source, the federal government would move nine new bills in the House on Friday as talks would continue so as the legislation could be made unanimously.

The source said that the opposition had proposed that the federal government should not amend the NAB Ordinance for involvement in minimal financial irregularities. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Khan would move following four bills: The Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates Bill, 2019; The Legal Aid and Justice Authority Bill, 2019; The Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights Bill, 2019; The Superior Courts (Court Dress and Mode of Address) Order (Repeal) Bill, 2019.

It merits mention here that the government had made drastic changes in the country’s accountability law — the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999 — through a presidential ordinance promulgated last month that would benefit not only politicians from across the aisle but also bureaucrats as well as the business community.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 02

military secures legal cover for tenure extensions g

PreSident Alvi APProveS All three AmendmentS to Army Act After their Smooth PASSAge from nA, SenAte STORY ON PAGE 03

‘Proclamation of emergency is not treason’, LHC told in Musharraf case STORY ON PAGE 03

british parliament approves boris Johnson’s brexit deal STORY ON BACK PAGE more inside

CII terms certain sections of NAB law ‘un-Islamic’ STORY ON PAGE 03

Sindh refuses to buy expensive gas STORY ON PAGE 11

Imran launches Rs30bn Hunarmand Jawan programme STORY ON PAGE 02

CMYK Friday, 10 January, 2020

02 NEWS

imran launcheS rS30bn hunarmand Jawan programme FOUR-YEAR PROGRAMME WILL PROVIDE EASY LOANS, CAPACITY BUILDING AND INTERNSHIPS FOR YOUTH ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

RIME Minister Imran Khan on Thursday inaugurated Pakistan’s largest skills development programme titled ‘Hunarmand Jawan’ aimed at the economic emancipation of youth by providing them quality professional training.

“I need you all to understand that there is no such thing as ‘happily ever after’, that only exists in fairy tales. In real life, there are ups and downs and smart people make sure that they use the time when they are in difficulty to propel themselves towards success later,” Prime Minister Imran said while addressing the launch ceremony of the programme.

The four-year programme will cost approximately Rs30 billion and will provide easy loans, capacity building and internships for the youth.

In the first phase of the programme, 170,000 young Pakistanis will receive skills-based training; 50,000 of these in-

dividuals will receive training in advanced areas of technology, including artificial intelligence, robotics and cloud computing.

Another 50,000 of the total will be trained by the Technical Education and Vocational Authority in areas such as plumbing and mechanics, while the remaining 20,000 will be given apprenticeships. Additionally, 75 smart classrooms will be established to ensure easy access to education as well as providing training at 70 madrassas. In addition, five “Centres of Excellence” will be set up in collaboration with friendly countries.

Addressing the event, PM Imran said,” I believe barkat has not come to this country because a small number of people kept becoming richer while everyone else suffered. This is not how enlightened societies work. In such societies equal opportunities are given to everyone.

What is the American dream model? It ensures that anyone who works hard will be able to lift themselves up and create a better future for themselves.”

Six new polio caSeS reported acroSS country Six new polio-virus cases have emerged from different parts of Pakistan, increasing the overall tally for 2019 to 134.

According to statistics shared by the Regional Reference Laboratory (RRL) for polio eradication, two cases have emerged from Dera Ghazi Khan and one each from Lakki Marwat, Dera Ismail Khan, Jamshoro and Kambar.

The two cases found in Dera Ghazi Khan include female infants, aged six months and 12 months. In Dera Ismail Khan, the virus was detected in a two-year-old boy; in Lakki Marwat, a ninemonth-old female tested positive. In Kambar, a three-year-old boy, while in Jamshoro a 12-year-old boy was infected.

These cases fall in last year’s tally based on the date of detection of the virus in the children.

Pakistan is one of only three countries where the crippling virus is endemic. The other two countries are Nigeria and Afghanistan.

The government has repeatedly said that polio eradication is one of its top priorities. On January 7, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza said that the government will place more focus on 40 super high-risk polioendemic union councils and is currently planning an integrated package of anti-polio services to them.

“Out of the 40 high-risk union councils, 18 are in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 14 in Balochistan and eight in Karachi,” Dr Mirza had pointed out.

Last year, the government formed the National Strategic Advisory Group (NSAG) to tackle polio eradication. The NSGA has representatives from leading political parties who have worked on polio eradication programs in previous governments. The broadbased body was constituted in consultation with Prime Minister Imran Khan and is led by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza. NEWS DESK

PM SAYS FIRST 70 SKILL CENTRES WILL BE CREATED IN MADRASSAS TO PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH SKILLS-BASED TRAINING

Describing the Hunarmand Programme, the prime minister said that his government is actively working to revive dormant industries and to provide youth with modern skills.

“Under this programme, we initially aim to train 500,000 youth. One thing that I am very proud of is that the first 70 skill centres we create will be in madrassas, so that the children who have always been neglected are able to acquire skills that will help them step up in the real world. I am proud of my government for being the first to work for these youth, no one has ever done that before.

“In the next phase, 300 smart training centres will be created, where our students will have access to international teachers so that our country can achieve global standards. Thirdly, all of these skill centres will have national accreditation, to ensure that there is healthy competition between them and they all strive to better themselves.”

The prime minister also said that more money will be allocated for this pro-

Birds of a feather to amend laws together ContInueD froM pAge 01 The new ordinance has made the NAB a ‘toothless’ body since now it can only take up cases involving corruption or corrupt practices exceeding an amount of Rs500 million.

The amendments have hit the core of the accountability law that was first promulgated by then military ruler General (r) Pervez Musharraf soon after ousting then prime minister Nawaz Sharif in a coup in 1999.

The powers of NAB have been curtailed keeping in view frequent complaints of the bureaucracy and the business community. The two groups had complained that due to NAB’s actions, bureaucrats, businessmen and industrialists had suffered a lot, with the result that officials had become reluctant to sign files and businessmen were unwilling to make any investment or take new initiatives.

gramme in the future and it will be ensured that Pakistan’s youth has the skills required to work hard and secure their better future. He also congratulated Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood on coming up with an extensive skills programme for the country.

Earlier, the prime minister explained how his government has been trying to eliminate poverty in the country and raise peoples’ standard of living.

“We have decided to make sure that this country functions on principles that elevate the standard of living of our underprivileged population. We have started the Ehsas programme, under which we have allocated Rs7 billion for the Utility Store Network, to ensure that people are given quality rations in affordable prices.

We have also started to develop a network of langars (soup kitchens) to ensure that no one in this country goes hungry.

The network is still being developed and more and more areas in the country will soon be covered.

PM to visit Malaysia next month, Qureshi tells NA body ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Prime Minister Imran Khan will visit Malaysia in February, his second trip to the country since assuming office, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told a National Assembly panel on Thursday.

Qureshi, who was briefing the NA Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, also disclosed that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Pakistan next month. Erdogan was scheduled to visit Islamabad last year in October but the visit was postponed, with the FO not citing a reason for it.

Prime Minister Imran’s visit to Malaysia comes after he decided to skip the Kuala Lumpur summit of some 20 Muslim countries last month, reportedly due to pressure exerted by Saudi Arabia, which had extended a helping hand to the Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf government during its early days to stave off an economic crisis.

Foreign Minister Qureshi had confirmed

that Riyadh and the UAE had concerns about the summit, saying the two countries were worried that the event could cause “division in Ummah” and lead to setting up of an organisation parallel to the existing Saudidominated Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

Turkish media later quoted Erdogan as saying that Prime Minister Imran had decided against attending the Malaysia summit because of Saudi Arabia’s threats of economic sanctions, which allegedly included withdrawing money the kingdom has deposited in the State Bank of Pakistan and replacing Pakistani labour in Saudi Arabia with Bangladeshis.

The Saudi embassy in Islamabad had denied “information and fake news” that Riyadh had “pressurised and threatened” Pakistan to refrain from participating in the Kuala Lumpur summit, saying “the relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Islamic Republic of Pakistan are superior to the language of threat.”

ECP summons Bilawal on Jan 14 to clarify tax details ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has summoned Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to appear before it and clarify an ambiguity over the value of his assets and tax returns.

The commission has directed Bilawal to appear either personally or through his counsel to explain why he did not submit ‘correct details’ of his income tax returns.

The commission had earlier written a number of letters to Bilawal but he did not pay heed towards the notices.

Under Section 137 of the Elections Act, 2017, it is mandatory for the parliamentarians to submit yearly statements of the assets owned by them, their spouse and

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“Other than that, we have the Panagah programme, under which we started forming shelters last year to ensure that people do not have to brave extreme weathers and live on the street. Today, in the kind of cold we are experiencing, police have been instructed to patrol the streets and bring homeless people to these shelters,” said the PM. “With the Sehat Insaf Card, families now have medical insurance. Earlier, if a single member of any family had to go through cancer, it caused financial instability for everyone in the family. The family had to sell everything to ensure that that one member could have treatment. It caused financial devastation. Lastly, under the Apna Ghar programme, we are providing the common man the opportunity to own a house. This has never been done in this country before. Only the rich could afford to do it before. There is a case pending in court regarding land leases and as soon as that case is resolved, we will start work on building houses on that land.”

dependent children.

According to ECP, the supreme electoral body of the country, on the first day of January each year, publishes the names of those members who failed to submit the requisite statement of assets within the period specified under sub-section-1.

The ECP keeps the right to suspend the membership of the lawmakers who failed to submit the details of their assets till the deadline.

Back in January 2019, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had suspended the membership of 332 parliamentarians over failing to submit details of their assets.

The electoral body had also penned letters to the chairman Senate, Speaker National Assembly and the speakers of the Provincial Assemblies in this regard.

CMYK Friday, 10 January, 2020

NEWS LHC tells Defence Ministry to release 'illegally detained' lawyer rAWALpInDI STAFF REPORT

The Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday termed the detention of Advocate Lt Col (r) Inamur Rahim — who is a petitioner in multiple cases of allegedly missing persons — against the law. Presiding over the proceedings, Justice Mirza Waqas Rauf termed the lawyer’s detention illegal and directed authorities to set him free. Rahim was picked up from his residence by law enforcement officials in December last year. Subsequently, on Jan 2, the Defence Ministry informed the LHC that Rahim was in the custody of its subordinate agency and that he was being probed for allegedly violating the Official Secrets Act, 1923 — the anti-espionage law. The revelation was made only after the court sought a reply on a petition filed by the defence and interior ministries. However, a representative of the Defence Ministry did not specify exactly what violations had been committed by the detained lawyer. Rahim had previously filed numerous petitions for the recovery of missing persons and against administrative orders of the armed forces. Moreover, he was the counsel in petitions filed against high-profile court-martial proceedings about the GHQ attack and conviction of naval officers among others.

PIA CEO moves apex court against high court’s verdict KArACHI STAFF REPORT

Suspended PIA chief executive officer (CEO) Air Marshal Arshad Malik on Thursday approached the Supreme Court (SC) against the Sindh High Court’s (SHC) verdict which had removed him from his role. Malik filed a petition in the apex court against the high court’s interim orders, making the federal government, Cabinet Division, and the relevant ministry respondents in the case. He contended that he was appointed as the CEO of the national flag carrier for reducing its deficits but the high court stopped him from performing his duties without any legal authority. He argued that the high court’s decision had paralysed the affairs of the national airline and requested the court to declare its verdict null and void.

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military SecureS legal cover for tenure extenSionS ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

RESIDENT Arif Alvi on Thursday approved all the amendments made to the Army Act which covers all three military forces — Army, Navy and Air Force — of Pakistan, officially making them law with effect from Nov 27, 2019.

The federal government will soon submit a report on the legislation to the Supreme Court. After receiving green signal from the National Assembly and Senate, the amendment bills — the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill 2020, the Pakistan Air Force (Amendment) Bill 2020 and the Pakistan Navy (Amendment) Bill 2020 — pertaining to the extension in the tenure of the services chiefs were forwarded to President Alvi for final approval.

The legislation has fixed 64 years as the maximum age limit of the three services chiefs — chief of army staff, chief of air staff and chief of naval staff — and the chairman of the joint chief of staff committee. The prime minister will have the prerogative to give an extension to any of them in the future after completion of their normal tenure at the

PRESIDENT ALVI APPROVES ALL THREE AMENDMENTS TO ARMY ACT AFTER THEIR SMOOTH PASSAGE FROM NA, SENATE age of 60 years and the president will give the final nod on the PM’s advice.

Earlier on Wednesday, the bills were moved for voting by Defence Minister Pervez Khattak. Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani then put up these bills for a voice vote, with a majority of members voting in favour of the bill.

The session, which lasted for only 20 minutes, was adjourned immediately after the passage of the bills till Friday.

Sanjrani had referred the bills to the Senate Standing Committee on Defence on Tuesday –after their approval from the National Assembly– which held an emergency meeting within minutes after adjournment of the Senate session and passed them unanimously.

NA ACCORDS APPROVAL TO BILLS: The National Assembly had approved all the three bills on Tuesday with little opposition.

The only voice votes against the bills initially had come from the two independent MNAs from the tribal areas – Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir – who

remained in the House for some time and later left the house after tearing up the copies of the assembly agenda to join the members of the JUI-F and the JI, who had walked out from the House as soon as the assembly started the process of the bills’ passage.

The PPP that had suggested recommendations regarding amendments to the bills also took back the proposed revisions after the request by the government. “This will create unity in the House and will create a better situation,” said the defence minister.

Taking the floor, PPP MNA Naveed Qamar took back his party’s recommendations regarding all three bills.

“Keeping in mind the situation in the country and the new situation in the region and after consulting with the rest of the opposition, […] in order to send a unified message, we (PPP) have decided not to press these amendments,” he said. Speaker Asad Qaiser conducted a clause by clause reading of each bill, one after the other, putting

them up for a voice vote.

A day earlier, the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Defence unanimously approved the bills during an in-camera session, an indication that the government and opposition had reached an accord on the passage of the bill.

EXTENSION CONUNDRUM: Prime Minister Imran Khan had previously extended Gen Bajwa’s tenure through a notification in August 2019, but the top court suspended it on Nov 26, 2019, due to irregularities in the manner of extension.

After three days of heightened uncertainty, the apex court, through a short order on Nov 28, 2019, had announced that Gen Bajwa would remain the COAS for another six months during which the parliament would legislate on the army chief’s extension/reappointment.

In its detailed verdict released on Dec 16, 2019, the top court had emphasised that it was up to the parliament to carry out legislation that would provide “certainty and predictability” to the post of the COAS for all times to come.

In the wake of the apex court’s order, the government had introduced the three bills regarding the services chiefs’ tenures in the National Assembly on Friday.

'Proclamation of emergency is not treason', LHC told in Musharraf case COURT DECLARES FORMER PRESIDENT’S PLEA AGAINST SPECIAL COURT ‘MAINTAINABLE’ LAHore STAFF REPORT

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday admitted for hearing a petition filed by former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf challenging the formation of a special court that heard and convicted him in a high treason case.

The court set aside the objection of the Registrar Office and declared the petition as maintainable for hearing.

A three-member bench of the high court headed by Justice Mazahir Ali Akbar Naqvi heard the case. Justice Ameer Bhatti and Justice Chaudhry

Masood Jahangir were the other two judges of the bench.

The federal government and others have been made parties in the petition.

“You have not even challenged the law under which legal proceedings were held against Musharraf,” the bench told the former president’s counsel at the outset of the hearing.

“It is an extremely serious matter you should come to court with full preparation,” the court said.

“The special court has already announced the verdict, tell the court how a decision of the high court will affect that judgement,” the bench said.

“You should also tell how the petition is maintainable for hearing,” the bench questioned. “First you prove your case, the court decision will come after it,” the court said.

The bench called Barrister Ali Zafar, who was present in the courtroom, to the rostrum and questioned,

” Can proclamation of emergency be called high treason?” to which the jurist said that as per his information, imposition of emergency could not be termed as treason.

The court then asked how proceedings were initiated in the case if imposition of emergency could not be treated as treason.

“Under which law the special court framed charges,” the bench asked the Additional Attorney General.

The AAG, reading from the indictment, said the charges were framed under the High Treason Punishment Act. The court asked the AAG about the stance taken by the court in the Abdul Hameed Dogar case to which the AAG responded that the proclamation of emergency was declared unconstitutional in the Justice Dogar case but the judges had not declared emergency as high treason in their verdict.

He added that the court didn’t order any criminal proceedings over the matter of proclamation of emergency.

After hearing the AAG’s arguments, the court admitted the petition for regular hearing and adjourned the case.

Musharraf’s petition claims that the constitution of a special court to hear the high treason case was unconstitutional.

“Approval was not sought from the federal cabinet for initiating the case against Musharraf,” the petition goes on to claim.

It added that then prime minister Nawaz Sharif constituted the special court on his discretion and relevant laws were not followed in appointment of the prosecutor and other matters related to the special court.

The petition seeks the high court to declare the constitution and proceedings of the special court as unlawful.

CII terms certain sections of NAB law 'un-Islamic' CII CHIEF SAYS SECTIONS 14D, 15-A AND 26 OF LAW ARE IN CONFLICT WITH SHARIAH ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) on Thursday termed some sections of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999, as “un-Islamic”.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, CII Chairman Dr Qibla Ayaz said the council held a two-day-long meeting on the NAO, following which it concluded that sections 14-D, 15-A and 26 of the law were going against the

Shariah. Section 14 of the NAO pertains to the presumption against accused accepting illegal gratification, Section 15 pertains to disqualification to contest elections or to hold public office and Section 26 pertains to the tender of pardon.

Ayaz said that according to the council, handcuffing suspects and airing footage of the arrest on media is un-Islamic. The council had said the same in April last year when it criticised National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and law enforcement agencies for “insulting suspects on the media before the conviction”, saying it violates human dignity.

Additionally, the council said that it was not the suspects’ responsibility to prove their guilt and keeping a suspect in custody for long periods without a case also went against Islamic principles of jurisprudence. It added that plea bargains

and turning of suspects into approvers is also against the Shariah.

It merits a mention here that according to the constitution, the CII should only offer its legal advice when sought.

However, as per the constitution, the government can make a law before advice is furnished by the council. Ayaz further said that with the introduction of National Accountability (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019, the accountability law will become further discriminatory.

“NAB law is not compatible with Islamic laws on crime and punishment,” Dr Ayaz said, adding that the council will also review proposed amendments to the law.

Last month, through a presidential ordinance, the government made drastic changes in the country’s accountability law.

After smooth sailing of the three key bills on the tenure of the services chiefs

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through the parliament, the government and the opposition on Wednesday agreed to discuss and build consensus for legislation on other important matters including the powers of NAB. As a first step to shun their differences causing delays in the legislation process, teams of the government and main opposition sat together for the first time in the chamber of National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaisar in the parliament house to forge consensus on five different bills including the National Accountability [second amendment] Ordinance, 2019.

In addition to discussing the NAB law, the CII during its two-day meeting also presented its recommendations for the prevention of sexual violence against children. The CII suggested that a special court be formed to look at such incidents.

The CII also termed forced conver-

sions as un-Islamic and unconstitutional.

FAWAD SUGGESTS TO REMOULD CII: Shortly after Dr Ayaz’s presser, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry took to Twitter to express “serious questions” about the council’s performance. “Till today the religious segments [of the country] have not received any guidance from the ideological council,” he said, adding that he could not understand the logic behind spending millions of rupees on such an institution.

In response to the federal minister’s remarks, Dr Ayaz said Chaudhry’s tweet was beyond his comprehension, adding that the government, Supreme Court and a high court had all expressed dissatisfaction with the NAB law.

“We have reviewed the NAB law from the perspective of the Shariah,” he added.

04 KARACHI

Friday, 10 January 2020

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Appointments of AdviseRs: sHC oRdeRs petitioneR to pRovide notifiCAtions KARACHI

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STAFF REPORT

Sindh Minister for Information and Labor Saeed Ghani has said that the Sindh government was striving to make readily available the state-ofthe-art medical facilities in all the hospitals belonging to the Sindh Employees Social Security Institute.

The government wants these hospitals to have all the latest medical facilities available to the patients who are undergoing treatment in these hospitals as well as the patients attending the OPDs, he said while making a surprise visit to a hospital of Sindh Employees Social Security

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Unemployed father of four dies after self-immolation

5 dead as bus rams into vehicle The petitioner stated Murtaza Wahab was dismissed from the position on court orders but later he was brought back.

The court asked petitioner that where was a copy of the court order which was issued against Murtaza Wahab. The court directed him to attach

copy of the court order with his petition.

The court also directed him to provide appointment notifications of all advisors and special assistants.

The court, later, adjourned the hearing till January 22.

Info minister makes surprise visit to hospital, checks food quality KARACHI

MONDAY

KARACHI: A day after setting himself on fire to end his life, an unemployed man succumbed to his burn wounds at the Civil Hospital Karachi on Thursday. Mir Hassan was brought to the burns ward of the medical facility in critical condition as 60 per cent of his body had been burnt. He succumbed to his burn injuries on Thursday. Unable to provide for his four children who had asked him for warm clothes to stave off the cold wave, the disillusioned father had set himself on fire yesterday. In another incident on Jan 8, Rani, 22, had attempted to end her life by shooting herself with a pistol at her house in Baldia Town. She was taken to the Civil Hospital for medical treatment. The woman attempted to commit suicide over a domestuc dispute, according to the police. They said they were investigating the case from different angles. STAFF REPORT

STAFF REPORT

HE Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday ordered a citizen, who has challenged the appointments of advisers and special assistants to Chief Minister Sindh, to submit appointments notifications of advisors and special assistants.

A SHC bench comprising justice Abdul Malik heard the petition filed by a citizen, Mehmood Akhtar Naqvi, challenging the appointment of advisers and special assistants.

At the outset of hearing, Naqvi, who appeared before bench in personal capacity, stated that advisors and special assistants of Chief Minister of Sindh have been using powers of the elected members of provincial assembly.

He stated that advisors and special assistants were getting portfolio of ministers. He informed the court that Murtaza Wahab has been given a bullet-proof vehicle by Sindh government.

He said Murtaza Wahab has been appointed as spokesperson of Sindh government, advisor for law, besides environment ministry.

He pleaded the court that appointments of advisors and special assistants might be declared as null and void.

The petitioner also informed the court there were others like Murtaza Wahab who have been appointed as advisors and special assistants.

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Institute situated in Landhi.

Besides hospital's Intensive Care Unit, Ghani inspected the Medical and the Surgical Wards of the hospitals during his surprise visit. The provincial minister also inspected the hospital's OPD, ENT and EYE departments. He also sought information about the treatment and medicines being provided to patients visiting or admitted to these departments.

During his meeting with patients admitted to the hospital, Ghani not only inquired about their well-being, but also asked them to inform him if they had any complaint against the hospital staff or the treatment facilities.

He also visited the kitchen where the

food was being prepared for the admitted patients. He ate the food made for the patients to check its quality.

The information minister directed that no deficiency or compromise should be made on the quality of food being provided to the patients. Ghani also visited the counter from where medicines were being provided to patients, while he also visited the storeroom where these medicines were stocked, so as to inspect the quality of the medicines.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister said that the quality of the medicines was good, and as compared to the past, there was no medicine in the storeroom which was of

an unregistered company. "It's a welcome thing," he said.

Ghani directed that the quality of the medicines which were being provided to patients be further improved. The minister said that the steps were being taken in accordance with the rules and regulations to do away with the dearth of doctors especially medical specialists or consultant at the hospital. He instructed doctors and paramedical staff that they should have only one moto that the patients visiting the hospitals as well as those who had been admitted did not have to face any kind of difficulty, besides providing them with all necessary timely treatment.

NAUSHERO FEROZE: A passenger bus rammed into a stationary vehicle near Kandiaro Toll plaza in Naushero Feroz late Thursday night, killing five persons while injuring 10. Those killed included an employee of toll plaza and four people of the vehicle while injured include 10 persons which were traveling in the bus. Injured and bodies were shifted to Taluqa Hospital Kandiaro. The people of the stationary car were paying tool tax at the toll plaza when the accident happened. Both the car and bus were traveling to Sukkur. INP

'Resurrected' Karachi woman dies again A woman who had been 'resurrected' after being declared dead by doctors on Wednesday passed away on Thursday. Earlier on Wednesday, 50-year-old Rasheeda Bibi had woken up when her body was being bathed for burial rites at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH). She had been brought to the hospital for treatment where doctors declared her dead and even issued her death certificate.

The hospital administration said Rasheeda had been kept in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) as she was suffering from paralysis. Assuming her to be dead, the hospital administration had placed her in the morgue for 45 minutes for the final bath where she suddenly woke up.

The mortuary attendants and some female relatives of the women panicked and fled from the room. NEwS DESk

SHC asks govt, OGRA to explain fuel price hike KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday served notices to the federal government, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) and the federal law and justice ministry to submit their response on a petition challenging the recent hike in prices of petroleum products.

An SHC bench directed the official respondents – the Ministry of Finance, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) chairman and others – to submit their reply to the petition. The petitioner contended before the court that the federal government has added to the misery of the masses by jacking up the prices of petroleum products.

“The incumbent government increased prices of the petroleum products for 16 times and decreased only twice,” he said.

The petitioner further said in his plea that the government is charging Rs65 per litre on the petroleum products in terms of tax.

The court after issuing notices to the aforesaid authorities adjourned further hearing of the case till Jan 14.

The federal government had increased the price of petrol by up to Rs2.61 per litre for the month of January 2020, according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Finance.

According to a notification, the price of petrol was increased by Rs2.61 per litre, while the price of high-speed diesel has been increased by Rs2.25.

Similarly, the price of light diesel had been decreased by Rs2.08 and that of kerosene by Rs3.10 per litre. STAFF REPORT

Infant dies as incubator catches fire at children’s hospital KARACHI: A newborn girl died when an incubator caught fire at the National Institute of Child Health — the largest children’s hospital in Sindh — early on Thursday morning.

According to a preliminary probe, the fire was caused by a short-circuit in the incubator, located on the second floor of the hospital’s surgical ward.

The victim’s family took away the body, without letting the police complete medico-legal formalities.

NICH Executive Director Dr Jamal Raza said that “malfunction of equipment possibly led to an incident of fire in the surgical ward”.

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Dr Raza added that “the fire was controlled swiftly with an extinguisher and patients were evacuated. However, the baby in the incubator could not survive.”

Later in the day, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah took notice of the incident and sought a report from the facility’s executive director.

Shah also expressed regret over the infant’s death and directed the hospital administration to take necessary measures to avoid such incidents in the future, the chief minister’s spokesperson said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Sindh health department has constituted an inquiry committee to probe the incident. STAFF REPORT

Friday, 10 January, 2020

NEWS

ECP seeks Firdous’ reply in contempt case ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The Election Commissioner of Pakistan (ECP) has sought a reply from Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan in the contempt case. A two-member commission headed by the acting chief election commissioner (CEC) resumed the hearing of a complaint against the contemptuous statement by Firdous.

The complainant Khalid Mehmood also appeared before the commission, however, no representative shown up from the Awan’s side. Khalid Mehmood said all evidences have been submitted to the ECP office.

ECP member from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Justice (r) Irshad Qaiser said the stance was adopted that the statement was a deliberate act. He added that she had also delivered negative statements against the chief justice as the high court had also confirmed her statement as contemptuous in its written verdict. Acting CEC Justice (r) Altaf Ibrahim Qureshi remarked that all people are well-aware of statements by the political leaders against the institutions from 2013. He added that attempts were being made to declare the institutions controversial.

PAkistAN to PlAy due Role FoR PeAce, stABility iN RegioN, sAys Fo ISLAMABAD

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Staff RepoRt

AKISTAN on Thursday reiterated that it did not want tensions to escalate in the Middle East and will continue to play its role to establish peace and stability in the region.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui, in the weekly press briefing, said that Pakistan has decided to launch a diplomatic initiative as part of its efforts to seek de-escalation in tensions in the Middle East after the assassination of top Iranian military commander and subsequent retaliation by Iran targeting the US military bases in Iraq.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Imran Khan made it abundantly clear that Pakistan would not become a party to any war; he offered Pakistan’s good offices to all the players for defusing the brewing tensions in the region.

PM Imran had directed Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to undertake visits to Iran, Saudi Arabia and United States and at the same time asked Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa to reach out to

Pakistan won't be party to any new war, says PM's aide ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to PM on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan on Thursday said Pakistan is the torchbearer of peace in the region and Prime Minister Imran Khan has clarified that Pakistan would never become part of any new war. In a tweet, Awan said war is not in the interest of the region and the world, adding that peace in the Middle East would pave way for stability in the region and the entire world. Pakistan would continue to play its role in the promotion of peace in the interest of the Islamic nation and the world, she remarked. Dr Firdous said that PM Imran Khan’s directive to Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to visit Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United States and meet his counterparts is the manifestation of Pakistan being a responsible democracy and its pro-active diplomacy for promotion of peace and deescalation of tensions in the region. The reaction came after Prime Minister Imran said that he had asked Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa “to contact relevant military leaders to convey a clear message that Pakistan is ready to play its role for peace but it can never again be part of any war.” Staff RepoRt

relevant military authorities.

The spokesperson said that Pakistan enjoys cordial relations with all the countries including Iran and

Over 0.2m Pakistanis have whitened black money through amnesty schemes ISLAMABAD SHaHZaD paRaCHa

At least 215,317 wealthy Pakistanis have availed five amnesty schemes during the past five years to whiten their black money which was parked abroad in offshore accounts.

Documents revealed that more people availed the amnesty scheme announced by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government than the four amnesty schemes announced by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government.

During the PML-N’s tenure, around 90,370 persons availed the amnesty schemes whereas around

Judge video scandal case transferred to ATC ISLaMaBaD: The cyber crimes court on Thursday transferred the judge video scandal case to the anti-terrorism court (ATC). Special judge of the cyber crimes court Tahir Mehmood Khan announced the verdict. The case has been transferred to the ATC on the request of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

“Now the case will be heard by the ATC,” the verdict of the court read. The pleas of the accused for acquittal from the case will now to be taken up by the ATC. Two accused, including nephew of Nasir Butt, main character behind the judge video scandal, are in Adiala jail on judicial remand. Earlier the court had rejected FIA’s plea to transfer the case to ATC and had directed to submit complete challan against the accused. Staff RepoRt

Bad weather affects flights LAHORE Staff RepoRt

A number of flights were either delayed or canceled due to bad weather on Monday. A spokesman for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) said PK-8451 and PK-8452 were canceled due to bad weather in Skardu while PIA flights from Madina to Multan, Lahore, Faisalabad, Karachi and Islamabad were delayed due to the dense fog in central Punjab. The flight from Madina to Multan (PK-716) faced a delay of 11 hours while PK-718 from Madina to Faisalabad was delayed for 12 hours. Another flight from Madina to Lahore (PK-748) was delayed for nine hours. The spokesman further said PK744 from Madina to Karachi was delayed for 12 hours and PK-714 from Madina to Islamabad for eight hours.

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123,587 persons have availed the amnesty scheme announced by the PTI in the past year alone.

7,575 persons benefitted from VTCS announced in 2015 and 6,197 persons whitened their black money through the foreign assets declaration scheme announced in 2018. In addition to this, 76,958 persons benefitted from the Voluntary Household Assets Declaration Act announced in 2018. Moreover, 124,587 persons benefitted from the Assets Declaration Ordinance 2019.

It is worth mentioning here that the incumbent government cannot announce any more amnesty schemes as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has barred them from doing so.

Afghanistan.

Farooqui also stressed that Pakistan rejects any Indian propaganda adding that the opening of Kartarpur

Corridor reflects PM Imran’s vision of having cordial relation with the neighbouring country.

Earlier on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Qureshi said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is using different tactics to carry out a false flag operation and divert attention from the gross human rights violation in the region.

“We believe the use of force can only make matters worse,” he said.

The FM urged United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the international community to play their role and reduce tensions between Washington and Tehran, following Iran’s missile attack at US-led forces in Iraq in retaliation for the US drone strike on an Iranian commander whose killing last week stoked fears of a new Middle East war.

The foreign minister appealed to the US and Iran to demonstrate patience as the region cannot tolerate tension, adding that “war is not in the interest of anyone”.

In a statement regarding the heightened tensions in Iran, Qureshi urged the UNSC and international community to play their role to stabilise the situation.

World to witness first lunar eclipse of 2020 on Jan 10 ISLAMABAD app

The first lunar eclipse of the year 2020 will be witnessed during the night between January 10 and 11, according to the Institute of Space and Planetary Astrophysics (ISPA).

According to details, lunar eclipse, also known as the Wolf moon eclipse, is a celestial event that occurs when the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon, which results in obstructing some or all of the Sun’s light from reaching the Moon.

The eclipse (Penumbral Lunar Eclipse) will be visible in Pakistan and various other countries. The lunar eclipse is expected to take place from around 10.00 pm to 2.00 am Pakistan Standard Time (PST). The ISPA official said that weather will be partly cloudy on the night between 10 and 11 January, private news channels reported. During the eclipse, 90 per cent of the moon’s surface will partially be covered by the Earth with only the outer part of the shadow appearing.

It will be a penumbral lunar eclipse which will be visible in

Pakistan as well as in different cities of Asia, Europe, Australia and Africa. This is a penumbral lunar eclipse, and the Moon does not turn totally dark or go red in such eclipses. It will not be visible in the United States, central Canada and a majority of South America.

In total, four such penumbral lunar eclipses are expected to take place in 2020 with the first one on January 10, 2020. In simple terms, a lunar eclipse takes place on a full moon when the Earth’s satellite passes through the planet’s shadow.

ATC summons Hafiz Saeed for closing statements in two terror financing cases LAHORE Staff RepoRt

An anti-terrorism court has summoned Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) leader Hafiz Saeed to record his closing statement on Friday after it wrapped up the trial of two terror financing cases against him.

Trials of both the cases against the JuD leader wrapped up on Thursday.

The cases, heard by ATC judge Malik Arshad Bhutt, were registered by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) over charges of accumulating illegal funding.

Deputy Prosecutor General Abdul

Rauf Wattu represented the state in the case where statements of 23 witnesses were recorded.

On December 11, 2019, Saeed and four other JuD leaders were indicted by the court, six months after they were booked for offences pertaining to terror financing.

The JuD leaders denied the allegations against them as being baseless and a result of international pressure on the Pakistan government. They claimed that they have been charged in the cases by wrongly attributing them as leaders of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

They pleaded that it was an admitted fact, supported by the superior

courts’ decisions, that they had already quit the LeT before the organisation was proscribed in 2002. They argued that the cases against them had been registered on the basis of a link to the defunct Al-Nifal Trust which, they claim, was formed to construct mosques in the country. They said the CTD registered cases without any substantive evidence.

On July 3, 2019, the top 13 leaders of the JuD were booked in nearly two dozen cases pertaining to terror financing and money laundering under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997.

The CTD, which registered the cases in five cities of Punjab, declared

NAB summoNs RANA sANA oN FeBRuARy 3 iN Assets cAse Lahore: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore has summoned Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Punjab President Rana Sanaullah in connection with its probe into his assets on Feb 3.

The anti-graft watchdog had previously asked him to turn up before it later this month with a reply to a questionnaire handed to him during his appearance on Jan 2. However, it has now rescheduled his appearance for Feb 3.

According to sources, the questionnaire handed to him comprises 14 questions.

The questions related to the assets the PMLN MNA and his family members acquired over the past two decades, they said.

He has been asked to provide the money trail behind his residential and commercial plots in Lahore and Faislabad and shares in the Bank of Punjab. He has been further instructed to explain how his assets multiplied exponentially over the past 18 years.

Earlier, on Jan 2, Rana Sanaullah had appeared before the NAB Lahore and was handed a questionnaire about the investigation into his assets. He was also quizzed about his income and assets.

Speaking to reporters after the investigation session, he had said his assets were the same he had already declared before the Election Commission of Pakistan. Staff RepoRt

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that the JuD was financing terrorism from the massive funds collected through non-profit organisations and trusts, including Al-Anfaal Trust, Dawatul Irshad Trust, Muaz Bin Jabal Trust, etc.

These non-profit organisations were banned in April as the CTD, during detailed investigations, found that they had links with the JuD and its top leadership.

Subsequently, on July 17, 2019, Saeed was arrested from Gujranwala on charges of terror financing by the Punjab CTD. He was sent to prison on judicial remand after the CTD presented him before a Gujranwala ATC.

NAB wants Maryam’s name on ECL in Ramzan Sugar Mills case LAHORE Staff RepoRt

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore on Thursday recommended putting Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz’s name on the Exit Control List (ECL). The recommendation was made in a letter penned by NAB Lahore to the Interior Ministry. Maryam Nawaz’s name is already placed on the ECL in Al Azizia reference, which she has challenged in the LHC. The high court is set to hear her plea seeking removal of her name from the no-fly list on January 15. On December 24, the federal cabinet had decided not to remove Maryam’s name from ECL.

Friday, 10 January, 2020

06 WORLD VIEW

Iran may stand down, as trump says, but cyber and terror attacks are the real threat Usa Today

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bRIan katulIs and PeteR Juul

RESIDENT Donald Trump says Iran appears to be standing down after retaliating in a limited way to last week’s U.S. strike killing Iran’s top military commander, Qasem Soleimani. We will see whether that’s true, at least from an overt military perspective.

But we should not relax our vigilance when it comes to other types of threats to Americans and U.S. regional security partners.

Iran’s capacity to conduct asymmetrical warfare, such as terrorist acts, targeted assassinations and cyberattacks, is far greater than its conventional military capabilities. That’s where Iran is most likely to focus any additional retaliation.

Making contingency plans and bolstering our defenses against this type of retaliation will require the concerted effort of the U.S. intelligence, law enforcement and homeland security communities, and not just a resort to military tools and troop deployments. The nature of this work also requires deft diplomacy and close cooperation with a wide range of allies and security partners in the region and across the globe in the hopes of deterring further escalation of the conflict.

The United States first designated Iran a state sponsor of terrorism in 1984. In the decades since, Iran has cultivated a network of terrorist organizations, proxies and criminal organizations stretching from Afghanistan to West Africa and including the

Western Hemisphere. This gives Iran a wide range of options in responding to Soleimani’s death.

Nevertheless, Iran’s primary strategic focus has been in its neighborhood — and it intensified efforts to build networks after U.S.-led wars removed two of Iran’s chief rivals, the Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

One of Iran’s key partners is Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shiite organization founded with Iran’s support in 1982 during Israel’s invasion of Lebanon.

Hezbollah has served as a force multiplier for Iran in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, as both military advisers to other Iranian proxy groups and as combatants in their own right.

U.S. officials have also linked Hezbollah to criminal enterprises like money laundering, human trafficking, drug smuggling and counterfeiting operations in the Western Hemisphere — including in the United States.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah just threatened the United States, saying America will pay a price for killing Soleimani. Though Hezbollah has never directly attacked the U.S. homeland, there is some evidence of attempts to position sleeper cells and develop operational capabilities in America. In June 2017, for instance, an individual was arrested in New York and charged with casing John F. Kennedy International Airport for a possible Hezbollah attack.

Iran's Quds Force, a special unit in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has demonstrated its capability to use this network to carry out attacks both

in the region and far from Iran, including in Europe, South America and South Asia. It even planned an attack against Saudi Arabia’s ambassador in Washington, D.C., in 2011. More recently, France accused Iran of plotting a major terrorist attack in 2018.

Beyond the asymmetric threats Iran poses through its terrorist network, Tehran also presents one of the most aggressive and innovative threats in the cyber realm. Iran will not seek to confront America directly and will look to take advantage of the asymmetric benefits that a cyberattack offers, so this threat will prove significant. The most likely targets will be closely associated with the U.S. government and possibly the U.S. financial sector, which Iran has previously attacked.

On both terrorism and cybersecurity, the United States will need to work closely with regional security partners and global allies to counter Iran. America has not suffered another devastating terrorist attack on the homeland since 9/11, and this is in large part due to the strong investments we’ve made to build the capacities and enhance the coordination of U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

These institutions must advance with an evolving threat environment.

The United States should look for ways to use existing mechanisms and relationships, such as the Middle East Strategic Alliance and the 81-member Global Coalition against the Islamic State, to defend against terrorism and cyberattacks by Iran and to prevent further escalation.

TO STAY SAFE, WE NEED ALLIES, UNITY AT HOME AND FAITH IN US INSTITUTIONS. TRUMP'S TRACK RECORD OF BLUSTER AND INQUISITIONS DOES NOT INSPIRE CONFIDENCE We need to coordinate with our allies on intelligence collection, terror finance and targeted actions to keep Americans safe. We need to keep a close watch on Iran’s propaganda efforts and find ways to build greater unity at home.

And we need a more balanced and steady approach on Iran than we’ve seen in the past three years. We must restore trust and confidence in America’s own intelligence and law enforcement institutions, not launch corrosive political inquisitions against them. We must work with our allies and partners around the world to defend against terrorism and cyberattacks, not undermine our credibility through social media bluster we’re unwilling to back up.

The Trump administration’s track record does not inspire confidence that it is either willing or able to take these steps. But to protect America, it must.

Brian Katulis, a senior fellow for national security at the Center for American Progress and co-author of the 2008 book “The Prosperity Agenda: What the World Wants from America — and What We Need in Return,” is a Middle East expert who served in the Clinton White House, State Department and Defense Department. Peter Juul is a senior policy analyst at CAP specializing in the Middle East, military affairs and national security.

The only winner of the US-Iran showdown is Russia Is US attempting to play an Israeli strategy out against Iran?

IT SEEMS AS IF TRUMP IS TRYING TO DRAW THE COUNTRY INTO ANOTHER PROLONGED QUAGMIRE—WHETHER AS A DISTRACTION FROM IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS OR TO FORCE IRAN TO THE NEGOTIATING TABLE, IT IS TOO EARLY TO TELL slaTe MaGGIe tennIs and stRobe talbott

Hours before Iran launched a missile attack on U.S. troops in Iraq, Vladimir Putin visited Syria to huddle with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad over the mounting U.S.-Iran crisis.

Russia has repeatedly condemned the U.S. airstrikes that killed Iranian Major Gen. Qassem Soleimani. It’s fair to assume that leaders in Moscow are seeking to turn the situation to their advantage.

Relations between Washington and Tehran have deteriorated since the onset of the Syrian conflict and even more so since President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal. At the same time, Russia and Iran have grown closer through military cooperation in Syria.

Moscow’s expanding influence in Syria suggests that a conflict between the United States and Iran could advance Russia’s power and reputation in the region. At the very least, Russia will be able to paint the United States as an erratic aggressor, leading regional actors and international allies to question cooperation with Washington.

Russia has helped the Assad regime maintain control in Syria, even as the U.S. and its NATO allies demanded Assad’s ouster. As the U.S. pulls back from Syria, Assad and Russia remain in control. Russia’s backing of Assad began as a quest to undermine U.S. interests and gain influence in the Middle East. More than four years later, Russia’s triumphs from that conflict include drawing Turkey away from its NATO allies, building a reputation as a valuable foreign backer, and emerging as a kingmaker—all at the expense of the United States.

Poorly reasoned U.S. foreign policy decisions, such as, most recently, abandoning Kurdish partners in Syria, helped create a power vacuum that Russia has stepped in to fill. Friday’s strikes—and every Trump administration action taken since—will likely improve Russia’s position in Syria and the broader region. Iraq’s government is outraged by what it views as a U.S. violation of its sovereignty, with the Iraqi prime minister calling the strike a “flagrant violation of the conditions authorizing the presence of U.S.

troops.” Iraq could soon expel U.S. forces from the country in response.

With no troops in Iraq, the United States will find it hard to sustain a presence in Syria. That void would create more maneuverability for Moscow in the region—essentially, cementing its position as a regional power broker.

Beyond strengthening Russia’s position, the Soleimani strike contributes to Russia’s goals of driving a wedge between Washington and its partners and advancing global perceptions of the United States as volatile and belligerent. Moscow has already succeeded in undermining U.S. relations with Middle Eastern allies. The prime example is Turkey: Although Russia and Turkey were on opposite sides of the conflict in Syria, they now jointly control operations in the north of the country after a remarkable Oct. 22 agreement between Washington and Ankara to establish a “Syria Safe Zone” and the withdrawal of U.S. troops. In reaction to Soleimani’s death, Turkey released a statement that it opposes “foreign interventions, assassinations and sectarian conflicts in the region.”

Moscow could also benefit if the U.S. strikes create more disunity between Washington and its European allies. Numerous U.S. decisions in the Middle East have frustrated allies, particularly its withdrawal from the nuclear deal. Reports suggest that the Trump administration even failed to warn Britain and other allies ahead of the strikes on Soleimani. If Washington does not heed its allies’ calls for immediate de-escalation, the United States could find itself further isolated on the world stage.

Washington could incur additional damage to its relationships with European allies if Iran now hastens its pursuit of a nuclear weapon as a result of the strikes. Iran announced Sunday it would stop obeying all restrictions imposed by the Iran deal on its nuclear activities. Russia has been a vocal critic of the U.S. decision to withdraw from the deal and instead mount a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran. In fact, Moscow’s position has placed it on the same side as European powers like France and Germany opposing the U.S. decision to reimpose sanctions. Russia has

worked with France and Germany to sidestep U.S. sanctions to keep Iran in the deal. Consequently, Russia is ideally situated to emphasize its efforts to maintain the agreement and blame Washington for pushing Iran toward a nuclear bomb.

Of course, there are major downsides for Russia from a U.S.-Iran conflict in the Middle East. A proxy conflict could stress Russian forces in Syria, especially if Israel escalates its strikes against Iranian-backed groups like Hezbollah, which vowed to revenge Soleimani’s death. Furthermore, any Iranian progress toward nuclear breakout surely would destabilize the region, complicating Russia’s ability to control the situation in Syria. Finally, if Russia cooperates too closely with Iran, it will attract criticism from other Middle Eastern partners.

For a while it seemed that Trump was trying to fulfill his campaign promise of a reduced U.S. presence in the Middle East. Now, it seems as if he’s trying to draw the country into another prolonged quagmire— whether as a distraction from impeachment proceedings or to force Iran to the negotiating table, it is too early to tell.

Russia, on the other hand, is left with the enviable position of capitalizing on the turbulent behavior of the United States in the Middle East, regardless of whether the United States and Iran go to war. Ultimately, U.S. actions will strengthen Russian leadership: first, by removing American competition, and second, by turning regional and global sentiment against the United States. Provided Moscow continues cooperating with all regional states and maintains stability in Syrian territory where Russian forces are present, Russia stands a good chance of supplanting U.S. influence in the Middle East—no matter what happens next.

Strobe Talbott is a distinguished scholar at the Brookings Institution and a former deputy secretary of state.

Maggie Tennis has worked at D.C. think tanks on U.S.-Russia policy and was previously a 2018 CSIS Nuclear Scholar and a 2017 Herbert Scoville Jr. Fellow. She is pursuing a graduate degree in international relations at Princeton University.

Press TV RobeRt Inlakesh

With the recent response coming from the IRGC to the US’s illegal assassination of General Qassem Soleimani, it is becoming more clear that the Trump administration may be playing at one of two possible objectives.

The first possible strategy that is being carried out on the part of the United States, is one in which they seek to pursue a devastating regional war, in which they will attempt regime change in Iran. This will become clear if Trump chooses to respond with harsh airstrikes against Iranian territory.

The second possible strategy is one which sees its origins in Israel. This is a strategy which aims to drive a rift between Iran and its regional allies.

Last November, the Israeli regime launched a targeted assassination strike in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the murder of the resistance group Islamic Jihad’s top commander, Baha Abu Atta. When this strike was ordered, killing Abu Atta and several other civilians, along with an attempted assassination in Damascus, many expected there to be a war between Gaza and Israel. To the Palestinians of Gaza, Abu Atta had the status of General Qassem Soleimani, he was loved and was a respected leader of the resistance against Israel. However, following his assassination by Israel, there was only a limited battle between Islamic Jihad and Israel. Islamic Jihad fired rockets hitting Tel Aviv and beyond and destroyed many Israeli structures, but it ended there with Israel having killed roughly 30 Palestinians - mostly civilians - and there being no confirmed Israeli casualties. Hamas also did not participate in the round of hostilities.

Earlier last year, Israel also repeatedly attacked Syria, targeting primarily its air defense radars and the SAA (Syrian Arab Army). Israel launched tens of attacks, in which many Syrian civilians and soldiers were killed, yet Syria did not respond by striking Israel in kind. This policy of not responding to Israel paved the way for more bold and deadly illegal strikes.

Israel even violated the sovereignty of Lebanon with loitering munitions (suicide drones), in last August of 2019, which led to

a response from Lebanese Hezbollah. Israel suffered an embarrassing blow at the hands of Hezbollah as Hezbollah forces struck a military vehicle inside of Israeli territory, with anti-tank missiles. Despite what was an obvious direct strike, Israel managed to convince its population that none of its soldiers had been killed, by the end of the escalation.

Israel was careful not to further inflame tensions, showing its people that it responded with incendiary munitions inside of South Lebanon. The munition fired into south Lebanon, close to the Lebanon-Israel border, were in fact only fired to provide cover to evacuate injured and wounded soldiers and is a well-known military procedure.

With the three examples noted above, occurring between Israel and Syria, Lebanon and Gaza, it was demonstrated by the Israeli regime that they could indeed carry out acts of aggression against the Axis of Resistance in the region, without suffering too harshly and sometimes even - using lies - could gain politically from such illegal acts of aggression. This is very possibly what has provided the US with the framework with which to approach Iran.

The United States may have planned the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani as a way of attempting to both keep US President Donald Trump in power by making him appear strong and also driving a wedge between the regional resistance axis, led by Iran.

If the US continually claims that none of its soldiers have been killed or injured, continues to downplay the Iranian response, decides not to escalate and pulls his troops out of Iraq, we will know that this was perhaps their strategy from the beginning. Trump would then appear - due to US media manipulation - as a strong president, to his own people, also being a president who has followed up on his promise to get out of Iraq.

This may be a strategy that is employed, but perhaps this strategy will backfire very badly if they miscalculate in any areas. If the US acts aggressively, it could start a Middle East war.

Of course there will still be a response from the PMU/Hash al-Shaabi in Iraq and also possible responses from other regional allies of Iran, despite the USA's next move, so from here the US and Israel will have to back off in fear as they are currently doing.

This strategy, if proven to be true, will show that the US understands it cannot win a war with Iran and that it is desperate to inflict any kind of blow it possibly can.

Robert Inlakesh is a journalist, writer and political analyst, who has lived in and reported from the occupied Palestinian West Bank. He has written for publications such as Mint Press, Mondoweiss, MEMO, and various other outlets. He specializes in analysis of the Middle East, in particular Palestine-Israel. He also works for Press TV as a European correspondent.

Friday, 10 January, 2020

FOREIGN NEWS 07

Mcconnell, Pelosi stand firM as iMPeachMent reMains frozen WASHINGTON

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AGENCIES

HE standoff over United States President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial deepened after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said there will be no haggling with Democrats as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi demands more details and witnesses.

McConnell’s Senate majority has the leverage Republicans need to launch Trump’s trial toward swift acquittal of the charges, but Pelosi’s reluctance to transmit the articles of impeachment leaves the proceedings at a standstill. What started as a seemingly minor delay over process and procedures is now a high-stakes showdown between two skilled leaders facing off over the rare impeachment trial, only the third in the nation’s history.

“There will be no haggling with the House over Senate procedure,” McConnell, R-Ky. said on Wednesday before meeting with Trump at the White House.

“We will not cede our authority to try this impeachment.

The House Democrats’ turn is over.”

“Pelosi doesn’t want to hand over The Articles of Impeachment, which were fraudulently produced by corrupt politicians like Shifty Schiff in the first place, because after all of these years of investigations and persecution, they show no crimes and are a joke and a scam!” Trump tweeted on Thursday.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., led the House impeachment inquiry.

Three weeks have passed since the House impeached Trump on the charge that he abused the power of his office by pressuring Ukraine’s new leader to investigate Democrats, using as leverage $400 million in military assistance for the US ally as it counters Russia at its border.

Trump insists he did nothing wrong, but his defiance of the House Democrats’ investigation led to an additional charge of obstruction of Congress.

Senators from both sides are eager to serve as jurors for Trump’s day in court.

The trial will be conducted in the Senate, where Republicans have a thin majority.

But even as McConnell spoke from the Senate floor, Pelosi, D-Calif., was giving no indication of her willingness to agree to his terms. In a closed-door meeting with the House Democratic caucus, she spoke instead about the crisis in the Middle East, with Iran’s retaliatory ballistic missile attacks on US bases in Iraq, according to several Democrats in the room. The impeachment timeline is complicating the political calendar, with the weekslong trial now expected to bump into presidential primaries. Several Democratic senators are running for the party nomination. Returning to Washington from the campaign trail, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., told reporters she was confident in Pelosi’s plan.

“I have no doubt that she will get this right,” Warren said. “Some things are more important than politics, and the impeachment of a president is certainly one of those. No one is above the law, not even the president.”

Another 2020 hopeful, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said: “Those articles will come over here for a vote in due time.”

The showdown is expected to be resolved this week, lawmakers said.

Pelosi wants McConnell to immediately make public the details of his trial proposal, according to a letter to colleagues. She wants to know how much time will be devoted to the trial and other details about the “arena” before announcing her choice of House managers to try the case in the Senate, according to Democrats familiar with the situation and granted anonymity to discuss it.

Sadly, Leader McConnell has made clear that his loyalty is to the President and not the Constitution, Pelosi wrote to

China believes new virus behind mystery pneumonia outbreak

BEIJING AGENCIES

China believes a mysterious pneumonia outbreak that struck 59 people is caused by a new strain of virus from the same family as SARS, which killed hundreds of people more than a decade ago.

Lead scientist Xu Jianguo told the official Xinhua news agency that experts had “preliminarily determined” a new type of coronavirus was behind the outbreak, first confirmed on December 31 in Wuhan, a central Chinese city with a population of over 11 million.

It initially sparked fears of a resurgence of highly contagious Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome, and prompted authorities in Hong Kong — badly hit by SARS in 2002-2003 — to take precautions, including stepping up the disinfection of trains and aeroplanes, and checks of passengers.

China has since ruled out a fresh outbreak of SARS, which killed 349 people in mainland China and another 299 in Hong Kong.

“A total of 15 positive results of the new type of coronavirus had been detected” in the lab, through tests on infected blood samples and throat swabs, Xu said. The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the preliminary discovery of a new coronavirus in a statement.

“Further investigations are also required to determine the source, modes of transmission, extent of infection and countermeasures implemented,” said Gauden Galea, the WHO Representative to China.

Wuhan’s health commission said on Sunday seven of the 59 patients were seriously ill, but none had died.

All received treatment in quarantine.

Eight patients have recovered and were discharged from hospital on Wednesday, according to Xinhua.

The commission said the infection broke out between December 12 and 29, with some of the patients employed at a city seafood market since closed for disinfection.

No obvious evidence of humanto-human transmission has been reported so far. Footage from January 1 by state broadcaster CCTV showed an official notice at the market saying it had been closed in light of the “current pneumonia situation in our city”, without providing a date for reopening. The outbreak comes just a few weeks before China’s busiest annual travel period, when millions of people take buses, trains and planes for Lunar New Year.

A Chinese transport ministry official said at a briefing that arrangements were made for “disinfection, monitoring and prevention” focusing on areas with large numbers of passengers, including stations and cargo hubs.

Civil aviation and national railway authorities said they had not received any reports of affected patients taking flights or trains, and that they were closely watching the situation. Wan Xiangdong, chief flight officer of China’s Civil Aviation Administration, said all planes were equipped with emergency medical kits.

WHO representative Galea said “people with symptoms of pneumonia and reported travel history to Wuhan have been identified at international airports”.

The organisation has not recommended any travel restrictions on China. In Hong Kong, hospitals have raised their alert level to “serious” and stepped up detection measures — including temperature checkpoints for inbound travellers.

Authorities in the financial hub say 48 people have been hospitalised in recent days after returning from Wuhan and displaying flu-like illnesses, but none were confirmed to have contracted the mystery virus.

Twenty-five of the patients have been discharged, Hong Kong authorities said Thursday.

City residents worried about the outbreak have rushed to buy face masks from local pharmacies, with many selling out earlier this week.

Inbound trains and flights from the mainland are undergoing extra cleaning and disinfection, authorities said. Additional thermal imaging systems have been set up at the city’s airport, while inbound high-speed rail passengers from the mainland face checks by hand-held infrared thermometers.

The coming holiday has prompted concerns in Taiwan, where top officials urged the island’s health and welfare ministry to strengthen quarantine controls at airports.

On Monday, the country’s centre for disease control also advised residents planning to travel to or near Wuhan to wear masks and avoid contact with wild animals.

colleagues late on Tuesday. She said the process he is outlining is unfair.

The confrontation over a Senate trial had been building for weeks. But McConnell gained ground when he announced on Tuesday that he has support from the majority of senators to start a trial structured like the last one, against President Bill Clinton in 1999. Those proceedings also began without an agreement on witnesses.

“We have the votes,” McConnell told reporters. It takes 51 votes for agreement on the trial proceedings, and with Republicans holding a 53-47 Senate majority McConnell has a slight advantage if he can hold GOP senators together. Democrats are trying to peel off support from a

few Republicans to support their demands. McConnell, who has resisted calling new witnesses, expects a speedy trial that will end with Trump acquitted of the charges. He complained about Pelosi’s “endless appetite for these cynical games” and said it will be up to senators to decide if they want more testimony.

On the Senate floor on Wednesday, Democratic leader Chuck Schumer promised he would force votes on witnesses, requiring senators to choose whether they want to hear from Trump former national security adviser John Bolton and others.

“When the Senate has votes on witnesses and documents, my Republican colleagues will have to answer to not just the president,” Schumer said. “The American people do not want a cover-up.”

Some Senate Democrats have said the time has come for Pelosi to send the articles so the trial can begin. Pelosi has yet to choose House impeachment managers for the trial, a politically sensitive next step with many lawmakers vying to be candidates. But aides downplayed any rift between the leaders, saying senators are simply eager to have their say on Trump’s impeachment.

Schumer, who talks daily with Pelosi, said the speaker is doing “a very good job and she is seeking to maximise our ability to get facts and evidence”.

Pelosi told House leaders in a private meeting on Tuesday that she believed the decision to delay the articles was working as a strategy to apply pressure on the Senate for a more fulsome trial, according to those in that meeting.

“People are united,” said Democratic Rep. Mike Thompson of California about the mood in the House caucus.

Republicans countered that Democrats rushed to impeach and then delayed the process. At their own lunch on Wednesday, Republican senators were privately split over next steps, with some seeking ways to compel Pelosi to act while others were content to let impeachment slip.

Extreme weather leaves Congo capital residents underwater

KINSHASA AGENCIES

Paulin Bolumbu thought his family lived a safe distance from the Congo River, but in November the water overran its banks by more than half a kilometer, inundating his corrugated iron house.

“The river often bursts its banks but it never came up to this level,” said Bolumbu, clambering across wooden planks he had installed to create a makeshift floor above the floodwater for the family’s beds and clothing.

A television and radio were stacked higher still atop a wooden cabinet.

Democratic Republic of Congo is one of several central African countries to be hit by severe flooding in recent months, which researchers have attributed to increasingly intense and unpredictable weather linked to global warming.

Flooding in November in the capital Kinshasa led to landslides that killed 39 people.

The rains can be deadly in other ways, too.

Henry Bofason said two of his children died of typhoid on Dec. 29 and Jan. 2 because of unsanitary conditions in the church where they and more than 700 others had taken shelter. “The children are always sick here because the environment is not healthy,” Bofason told Reuters while seated next to his son’s coffin alongside his wife and his remain-

ing five children.

In the Manzenze and Ngewele neighborhoods, residents say the flooding is the worst in at least 15 years, keeping dozens of city blocks underwater for the last two months.

Hundreds of residents have abandoned their homes altogether. Paulin, a motorcycle taxi driver who didn’t give his last name, now ferries clients by canoe around canals choked with leaves and plastic bottles.

John Waku, the operations manger for Congo’s national meteorology agency, said the floods were the result of climate change coupled with poor drainage and other infrastructure in Kinshasa, a city of more than 12 million people. Heavy rainfall in Congo’s northern rainforest swelled the Ubangi River, a tributary of the Congo, in October and November, sending unusually high volumes of water rushing toward Kinshasa.

“Climate change can manifest itself in an increase in the frequency or the intensity of meteorological phenomena. There are those two elements here,” Waku said.

Several of Congo’s neighbors have also seen flooding. Torrential rains in Central African Republic in October destroyed 10,000 houses and forced 100,000 people from their homes, the United Nations said.

South Sudan declared a national emergency in October after 420,000 people fled from floods. Researchers tied the heavy rains to warmer-than-usual waters in the western In-

Friday, 10 January, 2020

08 COMMENT

The Sarajevo moment

The lull in the Middle East Does Pakistan have a mediatory role in region?

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hARPLY rising tensions in the Middle east deescalated, at least for the time being, after President Trump blinked first during the ongoing eyeball to eyeball confrontation with Iran. The President backed away from further escalating the military conflict by limiting the US to imposing more sanctions on Tehran and vowing not to allow it to become a nuclear power. Irrespective of the contradictory claims about American casualties, It should be a matter of satisfaction for Iran that it attacked the military cantonments of the superpower, hit targets with precision and faced no reprisals. The subsequent deescalation by Trump deserves welcome as it relieves concerns about world peace.

American travails in the Middle east are unlikely to end as long it maintains its military presence in the region.

The Iraqi Parliament has demanded the evacuation of US and allied troops from its soil. The killing of the Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis alongside Iranian Gen Soleimani has added to the violent instability that will put more pressure on the US to evacuate or face unending public protests as well as attacks by Iraqi militant networks. On Wednesday two rockets hit near the US embassy in Baghdad’s Green Zone.

Israel and most of the Gulf kingdoms had expected that the US would come down hard on Iran for the rocket attacks. The failure on the US’ part to flex muscles is likely to cause dismay among its Arab allies and Israel. This might persuade some of the Gulf kingdoms to open dialogue with the Iranian leadership for peace instead of depending on the US for their security.

Pakistan rightly concluded that an escalation will have serious implications for Pakistan. Islamabad can at best convey its concerns to both the Gulf Arab regimes and Iran. Attempts to act as arbitrator by former PM Nawaz Sharif and successor Imran Khan were rejected out of hand. Any running around for the same purpose would be seen as nothing more than a gesture for domestic consumption. Unless Pakistan sets its house in order, develops an industrial base and has a financial clout, it would be futile on its part to seek the role of an arbitrator.

World Bank report

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The downward growth estimate revision reflects hard times ahead

N its ‘2020 Global economic Prospects’ of the World Bank, it postulates 2.4 percent GDP growth for FY2020 for Pakistan. This is 0.3 percent lower than its estimate in June 2019. The fact that the revision is downward reflects a problem of macroeconomic management rather than anything else. More precisely, the revised estimate is the result of monetary tightening, which has been imposed because of IMF conditionalities, and which are estimated by the World Bank to continue to persist for at least two years more.

It should be noted that the June estimate of 2.7 percent was anaemic. Pakistan has a high population growth rate. That means that any growth figure must have two percent (the population growth revealed in the 2017 census) subtracted. That means that a growth rate which would be respectable in an industrialised european country, should be cause for consternation in Pakistan. Among other things, it means that the Pakistan Tehreek- e-Insaaf (PTI) government will come nowhere near fulfilling the boasts that 2020 will be a year of carrying out its promises. Just to take one benchmark, there will be none of the massive job creation that is needed to provide employment to the youth bulge as it enters the job market. This is a serious issue for this government, for the PTI targeted precisely this youth bulge in the 2018 election campaign which brought it to power. Anaemic growth also means that defence spending cannot grow except at the expense of social-sector spending. At a time when the regional challenges are so pressing, it would be difficult to rein defence spending.

The Prime Minister’s initial reluctance to obtain an IMF package now stands justified. That package was predicted widely to be unconcerned with growth, and its conditionalities designed to make it easier to service foreign debt. Interest rates are going to remain high, and growth low, for the near future, and the ordinary man will not see any relief for the next couple of years. he may not even then, but the strict following of the IMF conditionalities guarantees it for at least two or three fiscal years more.

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

Umar Aziz

Asher John

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Deputy Editor

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No one wants a fight at Penpoint M.a. niaZi

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he killing of Iranian commander of the Iranian Guard Corps’ Quds Force, Maj Gen Qasem Soleimani, by a US drone strike, along with the commander of the Khataib hezbollah militia and deputy chief of the Popular Mobilisation Forces, Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, may prove the world’s Sarajevo moment, as Iran seeks to decide whether or not to go to war, while the USA seeks to decide whether it should meet the Iranian response with the sort of aggression it has shown so far.

In Sarajevo, back in 1914, the events leading up to World War I started with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and the Archduchess Sophie by Gavrilo Princep, a Bosnian Serb separatist. One of the big differences between now and then was that the Great Powers had been preparing themselves for a war for many years, and there had been a succession of war scares in the Balkans. The assassination was treated as just another Balkan war scare, and it took the latter part of the summer of 1914 for europe to go to war.

One of the major factors was that there were great powers ranged on both sides: Austro-hungary was itself a great power, and it was allied to Germany; while Serbia was not a great power, France and Russia were, and the UK was linked to France. Turkey came in against Serbia, and on the side of Germany.

This time around, it seems the USA itself is unable to weave together the ‘coalition of the willing’ with which it invaded Iraq twice, and Afghanistan. At the same time, Iran has not been able to mobilise even its neighbours, nor has it been able to turn this into a ‘Muslim cause.’ One of the problems it faces is symbolised by the dilemma Pakistan is supposed to face.

Pakistan is going to stand aloof because it contains a large Shia minority, and it is assumed the killing of General Soleimani would affect it. Already, Pakistanis have seen the government caving in on one occasion to Saudi Arabia, and there is a fear that it might do so again, though at the moment, Saudi Arabia, though certainly a perennial opponent of Iran, has not taken a position against it. however, so close is its relation to the USA that the presumption is that it will be on US side. Saudi Arabia should be, perhaps, for the Arab-Ajami (Iranian) division in Islam dates back to the Arab

conquest of Iran in the 7th century. The latest manifestation was the clash between the Ottoman and Safavid empires. While the Ottomans were Turkish, the empire consisted of Arab lands. When the Ottomans fell, Iraq was the successor state.

Under the USA, Iraq became part of the Iranian sphere of influence, because its prime ministers all came from Shia parties. Thus the killing is being seen by Iraq as an attack on its sovereignty.

Iran had been advancing its footprint in the Middle east, with its backing for hezbollah in Lebanon, the Assad regime in Syria, and the houthi rebels in Yemen. It was also the region’s strongest opponent of Israel, and its strongest opponents in the USA were linked to the Zionist lobby.

In all of these interventions, the Iranians found themselves coming up against the Saudis, and behind the USA. The chief Iranian official in all of these was General Soleimani. he has been eliminated. The USA seems to be putting forth a new doctrine, that military commanders thought hostile can be eliminated. The next step would be assassinating ministers and heads of government or state in their capitals.

Perhaps more illustrative of the Trump Doctrine than the US position is that no retaliation should take place. That might explain why the initial Iranian response, on US air bases inside Iraq, seemed designed to cause no casualties or collateral damage. While Iran may have to explain to a highly charged home audience why there were no casualties, it does let it claim that honour is satisfied, and the episode should be put behind both countries.

The main problem with this is that there is a significant Iranian capacity to strike at interests through proxies. US military planners will be unable to relax their guard so long as they remain available. It is also worth noting that General Soleimani prepared them, and the reason being given for killing him is that he was behind an attack that was imminent. his death will have left the capacity to attack in place, for though General Soleimani was a hero of the Iran-Iraq War, that was three decades in the past, and he was not valued for his operational role.

General Soleimani’s killing should send a strong signal to all who think that being on the US side in any conflict is any protection against being attacked by it. General Soleimani spearheaded the fight against ISIS, and played a major role in both Syria and Iraq in fighting it.

There is a view that he played a more important role in Syria, where he mobilised forces to protect the Assad regime at the time it was about to cave in. Though he was instrumental in this

fight, which put him on the US side, it did not stop them from killing him.

The USA perhaps rightly recognised that his opposition to ISIL was not so much because he opposed terrorism, as because as a Shia he opposed the Caliphate it declared. The Shia opposition to a caliphate does not just go back to the Persian struggle with the Ottoman Caliph, but to the opposition to the Abbasid Caliphate, which was based in Baghdad until its 1257 fall to the Mongols. Thus, only a single-minded devotion to the USA will act as protection. That might explain why the USA still pursues the case of Dr Shakeel Afridi, who helped it kill Osama bin Laden. he has been imprisoned for spying, which illustrates how the national interest constitutes a red line.

Dr Afridi would be the least of Pakistan’s problems. While it is not inclined to join this fight, it cannot very well stay out. Both sides have a strong hold on it, though the US hold seems stronger. The USA has more than enough leverage at the IMF to get it to cancel its current programme, which would cause the knock-on effect of ending the World Bank and ADB indulgence to Pakistan. Then there is the aid it should give at the Financial Action Task Force. If in the middle of the crisis, the FATF was to blacklist Pakistan, the fat would really be in the fire. Then there are the packages given by Saudi Arabia and the UAe. They include deposits with the State Bank, and oil on deferred payment. A withdrawal of those deposits, and a demand for cash for oil shipments, would sink the Pakistani economy.

On the other hand, does Pakistan want to help in a conflict with the country that helped it in its wars with India? Iran has spent ensuing decades growing closer to India, and its port of Chahbahar rivalling Gwadar may well be trotted out as an argument against it. This assassination came at a time when the Islamic world is disunited. Again, the lines are drawn up on ArabAjami lines, only this time Turkey, in Ottoman times the standard-bearer of the Arabs, is now in the Ajami camp. even if the peace is preserved this time, how many times will it be possible? Though the Iranian attack on US bases may have not caused any damage, President Trump may feel that something must be done. At a time when he is facing an impeachment and a re-election, he cannot afford to appear weak. The problem is, neither can Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei or President hasan Rouhani. The rest of the world can only watch, with bated breath.

M.A. Niazi is a member of the staff.

Citizenship Amendment Act: India’s farewell to Secularism The CAA fits in with the BJP’s Hindutva ideology Mohsin saleeM ullah

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he Muslims in Kashmir weren’t yet over with the Bhartiya Janata Party’s (BJP) abrupt abrogation in August of Article 370-a provision in the Indian Constitution that had granted Indianoccupied Kashmir a special status. Since then all the Indian laws are applicable in the disputed region, and it has further validated purchasing property by the outsiders, which was prohibited earlier. This was done on the pretext of promoting the economic development in the state, but the truth is much more bitter.

Parliaments’ rancorous debates and bloody protests on road failed to prevent Indian Muslims from being struck with yet another blow by the BJP’s move of passing a controversial Citizenship Amendment Act. It is limited to granting Indian citizenship only to non-Muslim immigrants, including hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Sikhs, fleeing from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, which highlights the –exclusion of Muslims and its minorities such as Rohingya– who are on the verge of being kicked out from the Indian territory. Though the Act’s defenders have argued that their move will help shelter the minorities fleeing religious persecution from the said countries, they would have to have resided in India for six years and additionally entered before 31 December 2014 to become eligible for citizenship. This provision also explicitly calls on cancelling a right to live to the non-minority Muslims in now a non-secular India. however, among the BJP’s series of notorious agendas, critics believes that this amendment

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has been brought to marginalize Muslims and violates the sanctity of their own most trumped principle of “Secularism” enshrined in their Constitution. More specifically, the new law has violated Article 14 of the Indian constitution, which promises equality before law as the fundamental right. It’s not new of the staunch Indian parliament to continue enact legislation to fan Muslim hindu hatred, despite the Indian Supreme Court having established in earlier cases that parliamentary amendments shall not breach any fundamental rights.

As of now, it’s pretty straightforward to perceive the BJP’s efforts in promoting its ideological agenda of hindutva since its election days when smearing campaigns against Muslim’s cattle for slaughter were a usual affair and proposals of rampant discrimination against Muslims were included in their party’s manifesto. The BJP, a right-wing hindu nationalist party with a sweeping parliamentary majority, is evolving from a conservative, religiously and socially orthodox, party to into a radical political entity which is geared towards transforming the ideological fundamentals of the Indian state. hindu nationalism has given blanket cover to the BJP and other radical Indian entities to continue their malpractices, which have jeopardised Muslim minorities’ existence in Gandhi’s country. The ecent riots in Assam and other Indian states to prevent the passing of this legislation, revive the memory of hindu fanatics who attacked and destroyed a mosque in December 1992 that they believed had been built on the place of a hindu temple in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Back in February 2002, violent hindu mobs had rampaged through the state of Gujarat on the pretext of an attack alleged to be by Mus-

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lims on a train carrying hindu pilgrims. These courses of action happened during the reign of the current Indian prime minister, Narender Modi, who then served as the chief minister of the state. Modi’s relentless support of his stalwarts had earned him wrath both at home and abroad on his failure to contain the hindu mobs.

Besides this, there have been several questionable decisions in the past that help explain the Modi government’s current moment. To suppress liberal and secular voices from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, known for its humanities and social sciences, the government has hounded students and faculty members to force them to their knees. These hostilities towards the university aren’t new, but date back to the RSS, a hindu nationalist organization involvement, and are a tool used by the BJP to clamp down free speeches made by the future leaders-to-be of India. It is an irony though, in India the press is usually swayed by the will of the establishment, which manages to take a variety of measures to tame progressive voices in the Indian media.

A country with nearly 81 percent hindus, is in the hands of the wrong leadership, which has tapped into the deep-rooted anxieties of its nationalist, hatred and radical mindset against Muslims. Defining the new perimeters of citizenship in India will not help redress the long-standing grievances of the religious minorities in the neighbouring countries. But the widespread antiMuslim sentiment that the BJP has nurtured and promoted through the government’s latest legislative action will bolster its position amongst the Indian electorate. Sadly, its repercussion includes the death of India’s secularism.

Mohsin Saleem Ullah reports for Fox News in Pakistan and is a freelance columnist. He tweets at @MohsinSaleemU

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Friday, 10 January, 2020

COMMENT 09 Editor’s mail

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

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

National holidays in Pakistan eVeRY country has some worthy dates for celebration every year which are known to every person in the country.

Pakistan also has some special dates like 5 February, 23 March, 14 August, 9 November, and 25 December. These dates are very special for us because something special occurred on these dates. But, unfortunately, many of us do not know about the importance of these dates. The reason is that our teachers instead of lecturing the students on these days, are off on a holiday.

I request the teachers and headmasters of schools to not give holidays on such days. Instead, a lecture about the significance of that day should be arranged. By this, our youth will know something about that day.

SAMEEr MAyAr UMrANi Karachi

Merging levies force

How PAF enabled Quaid to see the first Independence Day A little known page of history State Bank of Pakistan, emphasized: “As you Brigadier Noor described that in the first week have observed, Mr Governor, in undivided of August 1948, the doctors prescribed a certain India banking was kept a close preserve of non- injection, which would prolong his life by two Muslims and their migration from Western Pak- weeks or so. he traveled from Ziarat to Quetta istan has caused a good deal of dislocation in to look for the injection but did not find it with the economic life of our young State. In order any chemist. he was advised that it may be that the wheels of commerce and industry available at Karachi. Brigadier Noor informed Colonel Geoffrey should run smoothly, it is Knowles, the Military Secimperative that the vacuum retary to the Governorcaused by the exodus of General, who made non-Muslims should be arrangements for the injecfilled without delay.”

The visibility was tion to be purchased from Whosoever heard him so bad that Brigadier Karachi. Now there was on this occasion, realized the question of transportthe Quaid was in bad Noor could see nothing. ing the injection to Quetta. health, his voice scarcely Even the ground staff had Colonel Knowles spoke to audible, pausing, coughing, Air Vice Marshal Perry as he proceeded with the text of his speech. he packed up. After a while he Keene, the first Comsultan MehMood hali looked so pale and anemic, heard the Dakota make a mander in Chief of the Pakistan Air Force. The Air but within that emaciated eCeMBeR 25 was the Quaid-e- body there burnt the daz- landing. The aircraft came headquarters then was at Karachi. he in turn asked Azam’s birth anniversary. Numerous zling flame of genius. The to a halt and Squadron the PAF’s air transport articles were written about him. here Quaid’s prescience inLeader Baig jumped out, command to do the honis one important but less known fact. voked him to state: “I shall The officer in charge Few people are aware that the watch with keenness the came to Brigadier Noor ours. of air transport was then founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muham- work of your Research OrSquadron Leader Abdullah mad Ali Jinnah, was so ill that he would not ganization in evolving and handed him the Baig, who readily agreed. have lived to see Pakistan’s first Independence banking practices compatipacket of injections Unfortunately, Quetta’s Day, but he was enabled to do so by a brave and ble with Islamic ideas of Samungli airfield state was daring feat by Pakistan Air Force. The follow- social and economic life. declared “Red” by the Meing was narrated to me by Brigadier Noor A. The economic system of teorological Department husain (Retd.), the last Army ADC of the Quaid the West has created almost in a TV programme hosted by me titled: “The insoluble problems for humanity and to many of because of poor visibility, making it unsafe for Quaid’s last 100 Days”. The Brigadier, in his us it appears that only a miracle can save it from landing or take off. Abdullah Baig asked for volinimitable style and with his distinct memory, disaster that is not facing the world. It has failed unteers for the daring mission. every aircrew stated that the Quaid’s last public appearance to do justice between man and man and to erad- stood up to help save the Quaid’s life. Squadronwas on 1st July 1948 to inaugurate the State icate friction from the international field. On the Leader Baig declared that the mission was so Bank of Pakistan. Despite instructions from his contrary, it was largely responsible for the two dangerous and suicidal that he would dare it doctors not to leave Ziarat, where he was recu- world wars in the last half century. The Western alone and set off in the PAF Dakota for Quetta. world, in spite of its advan- Brigadier Noor, continuing his narration, states perating, he made the fatetages, of mechanization that he took a thermos of coffee and went and ful trip to Karachi and and industrial efficiency is stood at the tarmac to wait for the arrival of the back. The Quaid was espetoday in a worse mess than PAF Dakota. he says that the visibility was so cially keen to inaugurate ever before in history. The bad that he could see nothing. even the ground the State Bank, since he Whosoever heard adoption of Western eco- staff had packed up. After a while he heard the considered it a great him on this occasion, nomic theory and practice Dakota make a landing. The aircraft came to a achievement. The hindus not help us in achiev- halt and Squadron Leader Baig jumped out, believed that monetary realized the Quaid was in will ing our goal of creating a came to Brigadier Noor and handing him the policies and fiscal underhappy and contended peo- packet of injections, stated: “here you are old standing was not the forte bad health, his voice ple. We must work our des- chap; got to hurry, I have left the engines runof Muslims and Pakistan, scarcely audible, tiny in our own way and ning since I could not risk bringing any technidespite its creation, would collapse and the Muslims pausing, coughing, as he present to the world an cians with me.” Brigadier Noor offered him a economic system based on cup of coffee, which he gratefully accepted and of Pakistan would beg the proceeded with the true Islamic concept of whistling loudly departed, without a care in the hindus to take them back equality of manhood and world, as if he had done nothing extraordinary. in the Indian fold. The text of his speech. He social justice. We will The injection not only prolonged the Quaid’s life Quaid was very proud that Pakistan had not only been looked so pale and anemic, thereby be fulfilling our to see the first Independence Day but also eidas Muslims and ul-Fitr, which fell on 27 August 1948, enabling created but had also estabbut within that emaciated mission giving to humanity the the Quaid to address the nation for the last time lished its own State Bank. message of peace which through a recorded speech via radio. he Initially it was considered body there burnt the alone can save it and se- breathed his last on 11 September 1948; leaving that the State Bank of India dazzling flame of genius. cure the welfare, happiness the fledgling nation orphaned. But the resolute should regulate the curand prosperity of PAF had helped prolong his life by a few weeks. rency and banking systems mankind.” of Pakistan, but the Quaid Sultan Mehmood Hali is a retired Group The trip to Karachi and wanted to break from the shackles of India. In his speech, delivered de- back took its toll and the Quaid became so ill Captain and author of the book Defence & spite his frail condition, the Quaid, addressing that there was little chance of his survival to wit- Diplomacy. Currently he is a columnist, Mr. Zahid hussain, the first Governor of the ness the first birthday of his creation: Pakistan. analyst and TV talk show host.

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BALOChISTAN levies are paramilitary gendarmerie in the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It operates as one of two basic law enforcement agencies tasked with maintaining law and order in the province.The levies force has jurisdiction in most districts of Balochistan. It has its own origins back in the days of British Raj. Moreover, areas which are manned by and are under the control of the levies are called ‘’B-Areas’’ which constitute around 90% of the total area of Balochistan. even Though, Balochistan levies had been disbanded and merged into the provincial police force the regime of Parveez Mushraf in 2002.

After that, it was restored in 2010 by Balochistan’s C M Aslim Rasani. But once again the propagandas are proceeding to disband Balochistan levies force. When the levies change into police once again terrorism gets birth in Balochistan. Because levise is the single patriotic and civial force whose focus is on controling the terrorism, drug seller, etc. It is highly requested by the Balochistan leaders to break the merging levies force.

ASEEL BoHAir Karki

Voice of BMC students STUDeNTS, especially doctors are the future of the country.

They are portrayed as the backbone of the country, but unfortunately the students of Balochistan are the victim of ignorance which may be the main cause of backwardness of Balochistan in this developed era.

Recently, the fee issue was raised in Bolan University of Medical and Science in Balochistan which is, unfortunately, one and only medical university of Balochistan in today’s progressive day and age. Students, in this cold winter and snowy season in Quetta, have camped outside BUhMS and university has been closed for three weeks. And the voice chauncler (VC) is ignoring the students’ sitting empty handed. It should come to the notice of everyone that Balochistan is the least developed province of Pakistan where poverty is touching the peak of sky. So, how can poor pay such high ranks of 94,000 thousand each year?

Looking at the circumstances of the habitat of Balochistan especially the students, it is a humble request to the CM Jaam Kamal and head of education department especially (heC) to lower the amount of fee in BUhMS. Due to this, the students may start their study happily and bring Balochistan to the same status as other provinces are.

ANiLA GM Turbat

Islamic banking?

TheRe is a lot of debate on Islamic Banking being Shariah compliant itself, I have been using the services of different Islamic banks only because the concept has been cleared approved and managed by religious scholars. The point that worries me in this regard is that in some forms the conventional banking still exists, for example penalty on late payments. In addition to that on my recent out of country trip I noticed that on usage of debit card abroad a fix fee is being charged of upto Rs 50 varying as per banks. Now this fee cannot be Islamic, I am sure.

USAMA GHULAM rASooL Lahore

Drug addiction IT is tragic to know that many teenagers in Pakistan are becoming addicted to drugs, heroin, tobacco and alcohol. harmful effects of these things compel them to lead humdrum life. There are several reasons for taking drugs; when parents of teenagers don’t meet their demands or expectations they begin to take drugs with the help of bad friends. Secondly, parents don’t give them much time and remain unacquainted with their activities and this creates a sense of inferiority complex so children fall into the hands of bad company. This matter is of the paramount importance and parents must remain in touch with them. It has been reported that girls in the university hostels have been taking drugs. Drug abuse has become common in educational institutes in Pakistan. There are several families who have been suffering from this abuse and their breadwinners are the drug addicted. Whoever takes the drug, their self-esteem goes into pieces, and they become compulsive drug addicted.It seems that the government has failed to control the drug selling,and drug dealers. Therefore, I request here, the government must go to great pains to control the illegal drug supply, and take substantive measures in order to get the children rid of the drug, Because teenagers are assets of tomorrow so their future must be saved.

KHALEEL JAToi Mehar

Friday, 10 January, 2020

10 FOREIGN NEWS

iran says Ukrainian Plane tUrned back before crashing TEHRAN

i

AGENCIES

RANIAN authorities have said a Ukrainian airliner, which crashed outside Tehran with the loss of all 176 people on board, had turned back after suffering a problem, as Ukrainian experts joined the investigation Thursday.

Both Canada and the United States called for a full investigation to determine the cause of Wednesday’s crash, which came shortly after Tehran launched missiles at US forces in Iraq in response to the killing of a top Iranian general in a US drone strike in Baghdad. There was no immediate indication that foul play may have caused the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) plane to go down soon after take-off, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned against speculating on the crash causes.

“The plane, which was initially headed west to leave the airport zone, turned right following a problem and was headed back to the airport at the moment of the crash,” the Iranian Civil Aviation

Organisation said on its website late Wednesday. “The plane disappeared from radar screens the moment it reached 8,000 feet (2,400 metres). The pilot sent no radio message about the unusual circumstances.

“According to eyewitnesses, a fire was seen on board the plane which grew in intensity,” the organisation added, reporting the first findings of its investigation into the crash. The organisation said it had questioned witnesses both on the ground and on board a second aircraft which was flying above the Ukrainian Boeing 737 as the disaster unfolded.

SANTA DOLL IN WRECKAGE : Heartbreaking details started emerging about the victims, most of them from Iran and Canada. Body bags were lined up on the ground, and the passengers’ personal items — including luggage, clothes, a Santa Claus doll and a boxing glove — were scattered in the debris.

According to Ukraine, 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three Britons were on board, as well as 11 Ukrainians — including nine crew.

About 30 came from the Iranian community around Edmonton, capital of Alberta province in western Canada, where resident Payman Parseyan described the tragedy as “devastating”. “Every one of our community members was touched in one way or another,” Parseyan told Canada’s national broadcaster CBC. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei offered his “sincere condolences” to the bereaved families.

NO COOPERATION WITH US” Some 45 Ukrainian aviation experts and security officials flew to Tehran early Thursday to participate in the investigation, including “deciphering the black boxes” discovered by Iranian authorities at the crash site, Ukraine’s President Zelensky said.

They will also seek to identify the remains of Ukrainian victims with a view to repatriating them. Iran’s civil aviation chief, Ali Abedzadeh, said Iran would cooperate with Ukraine, but not send the black boxes to the United States, with which it has had no diplomatic relations for four decades.

Without naming Iran directly, US Sec-

Don't read too much into election results, Taiwan tells China before vote TAIPEI AGENCIES

Beijing should not see Taiwan’s elections as representing a win or loss for China, Taiwan’s foreign minister said on Thursday, days ahead of a vote overshadowed

by Chinese efforts to get the island to accept its rule.

Taiwan holds presidential and parliamentary elections on Saturday. Its elections are always closely watched by China, which claims the island as its territory. Taiwan says it is an independent country called the Republic of China, its formal name, and the government has warned of Beijing’s efforts to sway the vote in favour of the opposition.

“I just don’t think China should read Taiwan’s election as its own victory or defeat,” Foreign Minister Joseph Wu told reporters in Taipei.

“If China reads too much into our election … there might be a likely scenario that China will engage in military intimidation or diplomatic isolation or using economic measures as punishment against Taiwan.”

President Tsai Ing-wen, who is seeking re-election, has repeatedly warned Taiwan’s people to be wary of Chinese attempts to sway the election through disinformation or military intimidation, an accusation China denies.

Wu drew attention to China’s sailing of its new

retary of State Mike Pompeo issued a statement calling for “complete cooperation with any investigation into the cause of the crash”. According to aviation experts, only a handful of countries are capable of analysing black boxes — notably Britain, France, Germany and the United States.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government would ensure a “thorough investigation” and that “Canadians’ questions are answered”.

Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne spoke by telephone on Thursday with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif, Tehran said.

UKRAINE IN MOURNING: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky an-

aircraft carrier into the sensitive Taiwan Strait late last year, calling the voyage “clear” evidence of Beijing’s attempts to intimidate voters.

“This is our own election. This is not China’s election. It is Taiwanese people who go to the voting booth to make a judgment on which candidate or political party is better for them,” Wu said. “If China wants to play with democracies in other countries so much, maybe they can try with their own elections at some point.”

The issue of China has taken center stage in the campaign, especially after its president, Xi Jinping, warned last year it could attack Taiwan, though said he’d prefer a peaceful “one country, two systems” formula to rule the island.

Taiwan-China ties have soured since Tsai took office in 2016, with China cutting off formal dialogue, flying bomber patrols around Taiwan, and whittling away at its diplomatic allies.

China suspects Tsai of pushing for the island’s formal independence, a red line for Beijing. Tsai says she will maintain the status quo but will defend Taiwan’s democracy and way of life.

Climate change threatens Afghanistan's crumbling heritage WARAS AGENCIES

Us congressional study urges sanctions on china over 'crimes against humanity' WASHINGTON: A US congressional report called for sanctions against China over human rights abuses, and for US officials to keep rights concerns in mind during dealings with Beijing, including trade negotiations. The annual human rights report from the Congressional-Executive Commission on China said human rights and rule of law conditions worsened in China from August 2018 to August 2019, the period studied. The report detailed what is said was China’s crackdown on religious minorities, labor activists and the press, and focused extensively on treatment of the minority Muslim Uighur population in Xinjiang, “where the Commission believes Chinese authorities may be committing crimes against humanity.” “In addition, the Administration should develop talking points for US Government officials – including those engaged in trade negotiations – that consistently link freedoms of press, speech, and association to US and Chinese interests,” the report released on Wednesday said. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the report was neither objective nor credible. The United States should reflect on its own human rights situation and stop smearing China, he said at a daily briefing on Thursday in Beijing. It was the latest salvo from Washington over China’s human rights record, particularly the treatment of Uighur Muslims in the northwestern Xinjiang region, where at least a million people have been detained in what is seen by many in the West as a grave abuse of human rights and religious freedom. AGENCIES

After bearing the brunt of jihadist dynamite and looting by thieves, the archaeological treasures of Afghanistan’s Bamiyan province are facing a new and possibly more daunting threat: climate change.

Nestled in the heart of the Hindu Kush mountains, the Bamiyan valley’s picturesque cliffs — where centuries-old Buddha statues were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001 — still contain a network of caves housing temples, monasteries, and Buddhist paintings. The valley is also home to the silk-road era Shahr-e Gholghola fortress and the Shar-e Zohak citadel to the east.

Experts say that a pattern of dry spells followed by heavy rain, and larger than usual spring snowmelts is putting this historic art and architecture at risk of destruction. Afghan officials warned in a 2016 United Nations report that the structures “may collapse and suffer from severe erosion”due to conditions directly linked to climate change.

“The erosion processes are much faster, the rains more devastating and the wind erosion stronger, which has an extremely harsh impact on the sites,” Philippe Marquis, the director of the French Archaeological Delegation in Afghanistan, told AFP. Marquis — who has explored and worked in the region for decades — explains that Afghanistan “is very fragile geologically, especially as vegetation cover has greatly diminished” due to deforestation.

French imaging company Iconem concurred, saying Shar-e Zohak is “very fragile” due to erosion that has increased considerably over the last 30 years. For Baqe Ghulami, 21, who hails from Saikhand district in northern Bamiyan, climate change has long been a reality residents have had to confront. “The weather is changing, now summers are warmer and winters colder,” he says, while overlooking the empty spaces where the two towering Buddha statues once stood. Many of the artefacts pre-date the arrival of Islam to the region but despite the fact they come from another religion, the resi-

dents who spoke with AFP proudly defended the area’s history as their own.

EROSION IS INCREASING: From the empty caves, visitors can see the Cultural Center, which began construction in 2015 but has yet to be completed. It aims to educate visitors about the urgent need to preserve the area’s heritage.

“There is no benefit if people just see (the sites) without information,” says Ali Reza Mushfiq, 26, director of the Department of Archeology at Bamiyan University, complaining that a dearth of funding has left many in the dark — including his own students who lack access to books.

The archaeologist readily admits that “erosion is increasing”, but believes the real danger comes from “human influence at the site”, including looters, who are rampant in Afghanistan.

The Shar-e-Gholghola Fortress and other key sites are now guarded to protect against such issues.

The removal of landmines from the area has seen thousands visit in recent years, but the influx of recent visitors has done little to change the reality on the ground. “We must start training… (the) local people to teach them how not to destroy the site,” says Mushfiq, adding that some residents continue to store feed and house livestock in the historic sites.

A stone’s throw from the cave of the great Buddha, Ammanullah, 37, says he and his family have moved into one of the caves, building a home inside made of odds and ends with plastic sheets for windows.

nounced a day of national mourning Thursday, promising to find the “truth” about the crash.

“January 9 has been decreed a day of national mourning,” the Ukrainian leader said in a video address posted on his official Facebook account. Zelensky on Wednesday cut short a trip to Oman and flew back to Ukraine after the Boeing 737 flying from Tehran to Kiev crashed shortly after takeoff. It was the first fatal crash of the country’s largest carrier, Ukraine International Airlines.

“Ukraine’s priority is to establish the causes of the catastrophe. We are undoubtedly going to get to the truth,” Zelensky said.

french unions return to streets in make-orbreak pension protest PARIS: French trade unions disrupted rail services, shut schools and brought demonstrators onto the streets in cities across France on Thursday in a make-orbreak push to force President Emmanuel Macron to abandon his planned pension reform. The country’s hard-left unions rallied supporters hoping to regain momentum at a time participation in a 36day long public sector strike wanes and opinion polls show public backing for the industrial action dropping. Police fired teargas at protesters in Nantes in a brief skirmish while in Bordeaux, Marseille and Toulouse, workers waved union flags and trailed smoke flares as they protested peacefully ahead of a demonstration in Paris later in the day. “You stop a protest movement when workers feel their demands are on the table,” hardline CGT union boss Philippe Martinez told Europe 1 radio.

“We’ve had no response from the government.” Former investment banker Macron wants to streamline France’s unwieldy pension system and incentivise the French to stay in work longer to pay for some of the most generous retirement benefits in the industrialized world. The proposed reform would be the biggest overhaul of the system since World War Two and is central to the president’s drive to make the French labour force more flexible and more competitive globally. AGENCIES

Weinstein lawyers ask judge to recuse himself over 'biased' rebuke NEW YORK: Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers accused the judge presiding over the disgraced movie producer’s sex crimes trial of bias Wednesday and asked him to recuse himself from the high-profile case. The astonishing request came a day after Justice James Burke threatened Weinstein, 67, with prison for apparently using his mobile phone in court. Defense attorney Arthur Aidala said in a letter filed to the New York state court that Burke’s sharp rebuke had been “inflammatory, biased and prejudicial.”

“These comments reflect the court’s animus towards the defendant and have created a situation in which the court’s ‘impartiality might reasonably be questioned,'” Aidala wrote. Burke scolded Weinstein during Tuesday’s morning session for having his phone out in the Manhattan courtroom. “Is this really the way you want to land in jail for the rest of your life, by texting in violation of a court order?” the judge asked the defendant. Weinstein shook his head and denied that he had used his phone. The reprimand dominated the coverage of day two of Weinstein’s muchanticipated rape trial, which is expected to run until March 6. AGENCIES

Friday, 10 January, 2020

BUSINESS 11

SinDh refuSeS to buy exPenSive gAS

CORPORATE CORNER

ISLAMABAD

t LAHORE: The managements of McDonald’s Pakistan and Peshawar Zalmi recently signed an agreement to continue their partnership for the much-awaited PSL Season 5. This is the third consecutive year that McDonald’s and Zalmi have partnered. p R E S S R E L E A S E

ISLAMABAD: Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Chief Adviser Engr Noboru Kakisu, along with the representatives of TEVTA, poses for a group photo during his visit to Descon Technical Institute. p R E S S R E L E A S E

AHAMAD AHMADANI

HE Sindh government has refused to purchase expensive gas from the centre and has told Prime Minister Imran Khan that the province has been receiving less gas in comparison to its production.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, in a letter to the prime minister dated January 8, has requested that Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Petroleum Nadeem Babar should be stopped from any attempt to include ReGasified Natural Gas (RLNG) into existing Weighted Average Cost of Gas (WACOG) formula for indigenous natural gas for tariff determination and to ensure supply of locally-produced natural gas to consumers in Sindh as per demand and as per their constitutional right. He said that Sindh has been producing more gas than what it has been receiving as a share while as per the Constitution, it has the first right to use that gas which it has been producing. Moreover, it is beyond common sense that Sindh should buy expensive gas when it has been producing cheaper gas, he added.

MurAd ASkS IMrAn To dIrecT PeTroleuM dIvISIon To deSIST FroM IncludIng rlng InTo eXISTIng WAcog ForMulA “Your personal attention to this matter of national importance shall be highly appreciated,” the chief minister said.

CM Murad also apprised the premier that province has been producing between 2,500-2,600 MMCFD [million cubic feet per day] natural gas and the quota of Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) for its franchised province i.e. Sindh and Balochistan varies between 1,200-1,300 MMCFD. He said that Sindh has currently been receiving on an average 900-1,000 MMCFD natural gas against its constitutional right of 2,500-2,600 MMCFD. He also said that it defies even common sense that the people of Sindh, on the one hand, are deprived of its constitutional share of 2,600 MMCFD at Rs520.54 per MMBTU while on the other hand, are also being asked to buy it at Rs1,690 per Million British Thermal Unit (MMBTU).

The chief minister also raised

serious objections on Babar’s claim that he has agreed to the inclusion of RLNG in the WACOG formula of local natural gas in the last meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI). He said that this claim was very disturbing and had created unrest amongst the people of Sindh as this news was carried in the national press.

“The special assistant to prime minister, Ministry of Energy (Power Division) may be directed to immediately issue a clarification in the press accordingly,” CM Murad’s letter read.

CM Murad also said that the federal government has time and again assured the provincial government that import of RLNG would solely be for Tier-II category of natural gas consumers under ring-fenced tariff arrangements and existing Tier-I consumer of natural gas, under WACOG-based tariff, shall not bear the burden of the high cost of imported RLNG. Any

federal government attempt to work out natural gas tariff by including RLNG into existing WACOG of indigenously produced natural gas is a gravely disturbing, upsetting and illegal proposal, he added. He further said that Sindh is the largest producer of natural gas in the country and its consumers shall not be burdened with the high cost of RLNG. Perturbed with Babar’s claim with respect to analogising wheat production of Punjab with oil and gas production, the chief minister said this is a “ridiculous, highly incorrect, misleading and irresponsible” claim, which is contrary to the facts and misinformation for citizens of Pakistan. He said that the distribution of natural gas has been governed by Article 158 of the Constitution. This is analogous to grant of hydel profits to the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab based on Article 161 (2) of the Constitution, he added.

It is pertinent to mention here that the notified price of RLNG for the month of December 2019, was $10.8349 per MMBTU i.e. Rs1,690 per MMBTU against the WACOG of Rs520.54 per MMBTU for indigenous gas.

PSX kicks off mock trading competition for students ‘PM to inaugurate

LAHORE: Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre’s Department of Clinical and Radiation Oncology was recently upgraded with fifth innovative radiotherapy machine in addition to four already installed linear accelerators. p R E S S R E L E A S E

LAHORE: Airlink, the official distribution partner of Samsung, Huawei, Tecno and Itel mobile phones in Pakistan, has announced its partnership with Peshawar Zalmi. pRESS RELEASE

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange Ltd (PSX) held an opening ceremony for the ‘PSX Stock Challenge’ on Thursday at the exchange's main trading hall.

The mock trading competition is being held in collaboration with the Tabani’s School of Accountancy (TSA), a private higher education institute in Karachi, but is open to students from all educational institutes of Karachi. More than 1,000 students have registered.

The trading hall was overpacked, with around 150 accounting and business students from universities in Karachi, such as TSA, the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) and Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST).

After Thursday’s opening ceremony, students will be able to trade on the PSX Virtual Trading app for the next two weeks. Students will be given 1 million in virtual money, and will trade based on the love stock market. After the two weeks, students with the highest capital gain and best performing portfolio will receive prizes. Participants will also receive a participation certificate.

Much of the opening ceremony was spent on not just on acquainting students with the PSX, but emphasizing the idea that people should invest and that students should inform their friends and family to also invest in the PSX. Managing Director Muhammad Rafique Umer said that the basic objective of events like

this is to create awarenss about about how to invest in the stock market. “You have to create a culture of saving, and a culture of investing in Pakistan,” he said, adding that students can also make their parents aware of the PSX. Similarly, Raeda Latif, Head of Marketing & Business Development, highlighted three problems with Pakistanis: that as a country we spend more and save less, we do not use documented channels if investing, and we forget to invest to invest our returns.

The speeches and tone were part of PSX’s recent outreach goal to increase awareness of investing among the average Pakistani. As some speakers pointed out, very few Pakistani adults actually invest in the exchange, with many more preferring to invest in other asset classes, like gold or real estate. The objective of events like these are to inform and train the next generation to be more open to investing in the exchange.

Safia, a CMA (certified management accountant) student at TSA, said she was excited to actually start using the trading app.

“This is a great opportunity to practise for the future,” said Laviza, a foundation year student at TSA. TSA had previously held a ‘Tabani’s - Stock Exchange' (T-SX-1) mock stock exchange simulation in 2018. This year’s second iteration (TSX-2) was held in collaboration with the actual PSX. MEIRYUM ALI

Pakistan despatches compliance report on money laundering to FATF

LAHORE: 10-year-old Muahmmad Azam and 15-year-old Mustafa Ahmad underwent successful liver transplant surgeries at the Bahria Town Children Hospital and Organ Transplant Centre. pRES S R E L E A S E

Pakistan on Wednesday night dispatched its detailed reply comprising about 120 pages along with annexure details of 500 pages to the Joint Group of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for sharing progress on 22 points in a bid to come out of the grey list. According to a private media outlet, the joint FATF group would now scrutinise Pakistan’s compliance/per-

formance report in its scheduled meeting at Beijing (China) from January 21 to 24, 2020, where the Pakistani delegation will be given the opportunity to defend each and every point written in its progress report.

The plenary meeting of FATF for deciding the fate of the county is expected to take place in Paris by midFebruary 2020 in which

Pakistan’s progress report on 22 point action plan will be gauged with possibility of three scenarios, including graduating from grey list to white list, keeping the country on grey list for another extended period of three to six months and thirdly putting the country on undesirable blacklist.

Earlier, the FATF in the last plenary meeting had shown satisfaction over 5-point action plan out of total 27 and kept the country on the grey list for extended period up to February 2020. BUSINESS DESK

Azakhel Dry Port today’

BUSINESS DESK Prime Minister Imran Khan would visit Nowshera today (Friday) to inaugurate a newly established dry port in Azakhel, said Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed while talking to journalists in Peshawar.

Asn per the sources, the Azakhel Pirpiai Dry Port will be the largest such facility in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the second largest in the country. Defence Minister Pervez Khattak and Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad would also accompany the prime minister for the inauguration ceremony. Meanwhile, Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed said on Thursday that after Gwadar, Peshawar would become the centre for national railways. "We have reduced the train fares for half for our Pashtun brothers for the next 65 years, besides offering free travelling facilities for the elderly citizens aged 75 and above." He said that it was in the interest of the world to start trading from Jalalabad route. "I am promising here that I will give a new train to Peshawar in 2020. ML-1 project will give employment to 100,000 youth. The series of mainline projects are actually the part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)." On a question, Sheikh Rasheed said a positive environment has now been created as all opposition parties have supported the three-year extension of the army chief. The minister said he had already predicted that Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) would give votes in favour of the COAS extension. "A new political process is going to be started soon and PM Khan will complete his fiveyear tenure," he claimed. The minister said that the accountability process was the agenda of Imran Khan which would be continued at any cost.

Oil slips as focus shifts from Iran tensions to US crude stocks LONDON AGENCIES

Oil prices retreated further on Thursday after sharp losses in the previous session, as the market shifted its focused towards rising US crude stocks and away from fears of an imminent escalation of conflict between the United States and Iran.

Broadly, prices were moving back towards where they stood before the Jan 3 US drone strike that killed a top Iranian general, prompting an Iranian rocket at-

tack on Iraqi airbases hosting US forces.

These events had pushed crude to its highest in four months.

After a 4.1pc fall on Wednesday, Brent crude futures were down 39 cents at $65.05 a barrel at 1447 GMT, with the downward move accelerating once U.S. markets woke up. West Texas Intermediate was down 37 cents at $59.24 after sliding nearly 5pc the previous day.

During European trading hours Iranian media carried reports of military commanders speaking of further action aimed

at expelling US troops from the region.

US President Donald Trump had eased tensions by stepping back from further military action, depressing oil prices and diverting attention back to a surprise build in US crude stockpiles last week.

Crude oil stocks were up 1.2 million barrels in the week ended Jan. 3 at 431.1 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Analysts in a Reuters poll had expected a drop of 3.6 million barrels.

JPMorgan analysts maintained their forecast for Brent to average $64.50 a barrel this year.

Top oil producers led by Saudi Arabia have agreed to reduce output by as much as 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd) through the first quarter of 2020.

“As geopolitical tensions appear to enter a new equilibrium ... the overall supply conditions in the market tend to favour oil reverting lower,” Harry Tchilinguirian, oil strategist at BNP Paribas in London, told the Reuters

Global Oil Forum.

“US crude oil production remains at a record 12.9 million bpd ... it is not evident in our opinion that OPEC and its non-OPEC allies will fully implement the incremental supply cuts.”

Meanwhile, oil and gas ship owners are bracing to pay a price for US-Iranian tensions in the form of higher insurance bills, which could add hundreds of thousands of dollars to shipping costs that would ultimately be passed on to fuel buyers, mostly in Asia.

Friday, 10 January, 2020

12 BUSINESS MARKET DAILY

KSe-100 surges 1,165 points as geopolitical tensions ease KARACHI

econoMic recovery exPecteD by enD fy20: Mof ISLAMABAD

STAFF REpORT

It was a day of relief for investors at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as the indices recovered losses accumulated in the previous session, helping the KSE-100 index surge by over 1,100 points. According to analysts, the market staged a strong rally on Thursday on back of de-escalation in geopolitical tensions, which helped improve investor confidence. On the economic front, the World Bank, in its recent report, has slightly lowered Pakistan’s growth rate projections for the current fiscal year as well as the next two years owing to the continuation of tight monetary policy, fiscal consolidation and external factors. “Pakistan’s current year growth rate has been forecasted at 2.4pc, about 0.3pc lower than its estimates of June 2019 — before touching 3pc in the next fiscal year and 3.9pc in FY2022,” the report stated.

The KSE-100 Index recorded its intraday high at 42,556.01 after accumulating 1,198.45 points. It settled higher by 1,165.51 points at 42,523.07. The KMI-30 Index swelled by 1,939.92 points to settle at 69,486.33, while the KSE All Share Index gathered 643.81 points, ending at 29,654.66.

Sectors that painted the KSE-100 Index green included banking (+335.29 points), oil and gas exploration (+135.15 points) and fertiliser (+129.42 points). Among the companies, Habib Bank Limited (HBL +122.83 points), Hub Power Company Limited (HUBC +79.08 points) and Pak Petroleum Limited (PPL +73.72 points) contributed maximum points to the index. The overall trading volumes improved from 280.07 million in the preceding session to 362.49 million. The Bank of Punjab (BOP +6.44pc) led the volume chart, followed by K-Electric Limited (KEL +6.77pc) and Unity Foods Limited (UNITY +6.25pc). The scripts had exchanged 53.07 million, 33.46 million and 24.31 million shares, respectively. The cement sector accumulated 4.34pc in its total market capitalisation. D G Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC +5.00pc), Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK +4.49pc), Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF +4.99pc) and Bestway Cement Limited (BWCL +2.87pc) ended with decent gains.

‘govt committed to facilitating AJK development projects’

t

STAFF REpORT

HE Ministry of Finance has said that the government's extensive measures have helped the economy move progressively along the adjustment path and stabilization process, adding that economic recovery was expected by the end of FY20.

"The government is focused on bringing improvements in the real sector through inclusive growth in agriculture, industrial and services sectors," said a statement issued by the Finance Division with reference to a World Bank report on '2020 Global Economic Prospects'.

The World Bank had slightly lowered Pakistan's growth rate projections for the current fiscal year and next two years owing to the continuation of tight monetary policy and fiscal consolidation coupled with external factors.

"The government is cognizant of the challenges and is stringently focused on reducing inflation, creating job opportunities and achieving a higher growth rate. Keeping in view the positive developments on major economic indicators, we expect that the economy will likely to achieve better growth prospects as against the projections of the World Bank," the finance ministry stated.

The WB had forecasted Pakistan's current year growth rate at 2.4pc, before touching 3pc next year and 3.9pc in FY2022. The bank had also mentioned that growth had decelerated an estimated 3.3pc in FY2018-19, reflecting a broad-based weakening in domestic demand.

"It may be pointed out that during FY2019, the slowdown in the economy was largely attributed to various policy measures to manage the twin deficit crisis. Consequently, these measures helped contain demand pressures and contributed to import compression. However, the outcomes of these measures were realised in the industrial sector, particularly the largescale manufacturing sector, which witnessed negative growth.

"At the same time, high input costs along with water shortages weakened agriculture sector's output and hence, the drag in the commodity-producing segments spilt over to the services sector as well. Resultantly, the real GDP growth recorded at 3.3pc."

For growth in the agriculture sector, the target production of wheat is 27 million tonnes given by FCA in last meeting held in October. In addition to uplift agriculture sector, a ‘National Agriculture Emergency Programme’ has been introduced while 13 mega projects at a cost of Rs287 billion have been approved. Agriculture credit disbursement target for CFY20 has been set at Rs1,350 billion.

"In order to boost the industrial sector, the government is providing a series of subsidies and

incentives to the sector. These include subsidies to industry for electricity and gas, export development package and continue to provide LongTerm Trade Financing (LTFF) and Export-Refinancing Scheme (ERS) at a subsidized rate," the statement read.

“Similarly, PSDP release process is simplified and up to 3rd January 2020, Rs301.4 billion have been released to encourage construction-related industries, especially cement abd steel. In addition, cement dispatches registered a growth of 6.55pc (24.8 million) during July-Dec FY20 as against 23.2 million last year. This development would likely stimulate the growth in LSM in the coming months.”

To control expenditures, the MoF said, the government is following austerity measures with a complete restriction on supplementary grants.

For export promotion, several initiatives have been announced such as support duty structure on raw materials and intermediate goods, improved mechanism for tax refunds, electricity and gas at a competitive cost, and making Pakistan part of the global value chain.

According to the statement, "The government's various measures to stabilize the economy have already started to reap benefits in the form of sustained adjustment in current account deficit (CAD) and continued fiscal prudence. CAD reduced by 72.9pc, fiscal deficit was contained at 1.6pc of GDP (Rs686 billion), primary balance posted a surplus of Rs117 billion (0.3pc of GDP) and FBR revenues rose to Rs2,08 trillion (+16.4pc) during July-December, FY20.

Tractor sales drop 40pc in first half of Fy20 'govT MuST ProvIde SoMe relIeF And breAThIng SPAce To The InduSTry For ITS PArTIAl revIvAl' ISLAMABAD

ISLAMABAD

STAFF REpORT

STAFF REpORT

Slowdown in the tractor industry continues as sales declined to just over 15,000 units during the first half of the current fiscal, a significant drop of 40pc when compared with the same period of last fiscal.

According to data released by the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA), the tractor sales had already declined from 70,887 units in FY18 to 50,405 units in FY19 while the situation has further worsened in the first six months of FY20.

"The downturn in the tractor industry is becoming alarming as we enter the new decade," said AlGhazi Tractors Ltd CEO Mohammad Shahid Hussain. "The sales of Al-Ghazi Tractors have gone down from 17,993 units in the first six months of FY19 to only 5,881 units in the period review."

Hussain said that numerous factors have contributed to the massive slowdown, including the current state of the economy, farmer's yield and crop prices, inflation and high borrowing rates etc.

January 9, 2020: Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar has assured the Prime Minister Azad Jammu and Kashmir Raja Farooq Haider Khan that the Federal government would provide full support to the development efforts of the government of AJK. During a meeting with the Prime Minister of AJ&K, the Minister for Planning said that the pace of work on ongoing projects under Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) is also being accelerated. Senior officials of Ministry of Planning and Government of AJK also participated in the meeting. Prime Minister AJK stated that the financial position of AJK had greatly improved in the recent past. He appreciated the support extended by the Federal government for the development of AJK and stressed on the need for improving the road links. He said that improvement of the major road links apart from benefiting the local population would also help in realizing the immense tourism potential of the region. The Mansehra-Muzaffarad-Mirpur Expressway, Lower Topa Kohala Road, Athmuqam- Taobat Road and several other projects came under discussion. The Minister for Planning said that Tourism is a high priority area for the government and Pakistan was being now being ranked among the top tourism destinations. It was therefore imperative to further enhance the tourism facilities. He said that the government would provide full support to the improvement of tourism related infrastructure. The Minister also assured the Prime Minister of AJK of his full cooperation for the development of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

‘govT eXPecTS To AchIeve hIgher groWTh rATe ThAn World bAnk ProjecTIonS’

"The backbone of the tractor industry is its 200+ vendors who employ over 10,000 skilled and unskilled workforce. In this situation, they are about to collapse owing to either no or extremely low orders from the tractor industry, and we are in no position to provide them with any hope of short-term improvements owing to uncertainties," he stated.

Therefore, he continued, there was a dire need for the government to take note of the situation and provide some relief

and breathing space to the industry for its partial revival.

"But in a situation where the industry's profitability has shrunk visibly, coupled with the depressed affordability of the farmers (end users), the government in July 2019 introduced an additional sales tax and enhanced customs duty on the imports of CKD components being imported by auto manufacturers, including the tractor assemblers," Hussain lamented.

He said the government should consider that tractor sales were primarily agro-based and should not be treated or clubbed together with any other segment other than agriculture.

As deadlock persists, transporters’ strike enters 4th day BUSINESS DESK The cargo transporters’ strike entered its fourth day on Thursday, affecting about 60pc of the exports.

Cargo vehicles have been parked on roads, resulting in suspension of shipment of consignments from the Port Qasim and Karachi Port.

Supplies of vegetables, fruit and medicines to various parts of the country has been badly affected.

The talks between Sindh Governor Imran Ismail and representatives of transporters had ended in a deadlock. Following the unsuccessful meeting, the United Goods Transport Alliance had announced to continue strike till acceptance of demands. The transporters said that they would stop loading and unloading activities till further orders. They have established a protest camp at Kathore near Karachi where over 7,500 heavy vehicles involved in goods transport have been parked.

According to transporters, the Islamabad High Court decision with regard to axle load management should be implemented and that the Motorway Police should follow the Axle Load SRO 2000.

Shahid Salim Khan takes charge as OGDCL managing director ISLAMABAD AHMAD AHMADANI

The federal government has appointed Shahid Salim Khan as the managing director/chief executive officer (MD/CEO) of the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL).

According to a notification issued by the Establishment Division on Thursday, "The federal government is pleased to appoint Mr Shahid Salim Khan as MD/CEO of OGDCL under the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) for a period of three years with immediate effect and until further orders."

Shahid Salim Khan is a petroleum engineer having completed his master’s de-

The STATe-oWned oIl & gAS gIAnT WAS beIng run by AcTIng And cAreTAker heAdS For The lAST SIX yeArS gree in petroleum engineering from the University of Southern California, LA, USA. He has more than 35 years of diversified working experience in various disciplines of exploration and production (E&P) and industry development.

Besides having engineering and management skills, he has also worked with Pakistan Petroleum Exploration and Production Companies Association (PPEPCA) as their senior vice chairman; Society of Petroleum Engineer (SPE) in

various capacities, including chairman (Pakistan Chapter); and as chairman of the Annual Technical Conference, which is organized every year. It is pertinent to mention that prior to Shahid Salim Khan’s appointment, the state-owned oil and gas giant had been run by acting and caretaker heads for the past six years.

According to documents available with this scribe, the position of OGDCL managing director was advertised in both local and international newspapers in

February 2018. The initially shortlisted candidates included Shehryar Lodhi, Shahid Salim Khan, Ahsan Khan, and Irteza Ali Qureshi.

The names of these four candidates were shared with the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for necessary due diligence. Both the agencies raised concerns about the suitability and reputation of Shehryar Lodhi and Irteza Qureshi, However, the names of Shahid Salim Khan and Ahsan Khan were cleared by both agencies.

Following the clearance from IB and ISI, the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) solicited approval of the prime minister whether the nomination of two cleared candidates may be sent to the cab-

inet for consideration or the process for an appointment may be started afresh.

The Prime Minister’s Office then directed that the names of Shahid Salim Khan and Ahsan Khan may be placed before the cabinet for giving its concurrence to select one of them as the new managing director.

As per Rule 592 of the Public Sector Companies Corporate Governance Rules 2013, as amended up to 2017, the board shall evaluate candidates based on fit and proper criteria and guidelines specified by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) for the appointment of the chief executive and recommend at least three candidates to the federal government for its concurrence.

From TeleviSionS ScreenS To FaShion rampS, Saboor aly iS Killing iT!

S

By Rohama Riaz

aboor aly is a refined actress whose journey in the Entertainment industry is marked with a long list of accomplishments. Her name is associated with many dramas starting back from 2011, such as Choti Si Kahani, Mehmoodabad Ki Malkain and Kitni Girhain baqi Hain.

Though these were just the supporting roles, her talent soon got the attention of the industry. Starring in the movie “actor in Law” alongside Fahad Mustafa, Mehwish Hayat and om Puri has to be an honor for any young star, and Saboor aly got that chance.

The year 2019 became one of the best years for Saboor aly as she gave phenomenal acting performances in some of the best dramas, including bhool, Gul o Gulzar, and Naqab Zan. This actress is highly talented, but what gives her even more spotlight in the industry is her sense of fashion and choice of attire. While many actresses have to make efforts to look good on the screens, Saboor aly is one of those

actresses who can pull off any look.

For what it’s worth, Saboor aly’s simplicity is her best asset in fashion.

She has a shocking 1.5 million followers on Instagram, and all her posts are an insight into a fantastic fashion world. Her candid photos in just about the most straightforward dresses make her look pretty spectacular.

Saboor aly walked down the ramps of Fashion Pakistan Week-Winter Festival, 2019, she wore a traditional red ensemble Gharara that had a blend of chunri and floral design. She supported a simple teeka and jhumkay for her jewelry with a minimal makeup look. She looked terrific as she confidently wowed the audience with her beauty.

Her presentable charm, appealing personality, and natural beauty is a rare combination of perfection.

From wearing traditional shalwar kameez, bridal shararas for photoshoots, and churidars to wearing simple western attire, Saboor aly looks exceptional in all.

Her iconic pose with a killer smile nailed it on the cover page of FHM Pakistan fashion magazine, and it proves that she is a fashion icon in the entertainment industry.

Before Google launched Gmail, m "G-Mail" was the name m of a free email m service offered by Garfield's website.

Before the Nazis invaded Paris, H.A. and Margret Rey fled on bicycles. They were carrying the manuscript for Curious George.

HOLLYWOOD BOLLYWOOD

In colonial America, m lobster wasn't exactly a delicacy. It was so cheap and plentiful it was often served to prisoners.

'Godzilla vs Kong' Final Battle Spoilers Aquaman 2 'Off The Hook' Says Jason Momoa Sara Ali Khan shocked as man tries to kiss Leak Online her hand, security swings in immediately aquaman 2 will be "off the hook" says Jason Momoa in the Following the toy images, now potential Godzilla vs Kong final battle spoilers have leaked online, which are meant to alleviate fans' fears about the earlier villain leaks.

The Godzilla vs Kong toy images reveal that the flick will feature two new Titans: Mechagodzilla and a new unnamed Titan, with me theorizing it's a kaiju created by man.

Similar to myself, a lot of fans are guessing that Godzilla battles Kong and then they simply team up to battle Mechagodzilla and the new Titan.

Well, some fans aren't too happy with that as they feel there isn't any payoff.

The redditor further claims that the source of this information comes from the same person who leaked the new baddie last year and hopes "this eases some concerns if there were any." regarding the Godzilla vs Kong final battle taking place in Hong Kong, director adam Wingard did tease filming in Kong Kong on Instagram back in april of last year.

following video with news that he has a teamed with MMa trainer Yoko Hamamura for the sequel.

The video shows Jason Momoa confirming Yoko Hamamura for aquaman 2; Hamamura also performed stunts on birds of Prey and the Magnum P.I. TV series.

"Understand, aquaman 2 is going to be off the hook," Momoa says. "Tell them. Tell them, right now."

"It's going to be off the hook, JoJo," Hamamura says.

"That's right. JoJo, you don't need that no more. You are going to come more big-time with MoMo. Don't need that JoJo. You need MoMo," Momoa laughs.

Momoa was also asked if the sequel will be about a big battle with black Manta, but Momoa teased more.

"I think there is a lot more in store. There's so many more levels," Momoa said.

When asked if his brother, Patrick Wilson's orm, is still locked up, Momoa teased even bigger things.

"There's going to be a lot. There's going to be a lot," Momoa said. "Way bigger."

CMYK

actor Sara ali Khan is regularly clicked by the paparazzi post her gym outings and she often greets the photographers with a namaste. after one such workout session, the actor was left shocked when a fan went on to kiss her hand when she extended it for a handshake. a video of Sara making an exit after her Pilates class has appeared online. She is seen in a white crop top and shorts and greeted media with a “hello”. When a photographer asks her how is she, she replies, “bas, aap kaise ho? (How are you?).” as she headed towards her car, the photographers request her to pose for a few pictures and she obliged them politely. She then posed for a few selfies with some fans and extended her hand for a handshake. However, as a fan bended to kiss it, she immediately pulled it back in shock. a security man scolded the fan for his gesture and made a slap gesture.

Not just Sara, even her fans were surprised by the fan’s reaction. a fan wrote, “Sara is so sweet... one shouldn’t cross their limits...ridiculous behavior by the fan.”

Friday, 10 January, 2020

14 SPORTS

BCB to respond to pCB’s proposal for hosting two tests in January DhaKa

t

AGENCIES

HE Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will decide if it will take up the PCB's revised offer of playing two Tests in Pakistan later this month. ESPNcricinfo understands that the prospect of playing just a T20I series at the moment is off the table.

The BCB had earlier proposed to tour for the T20Is first, and decide on the Tests based on players' feedback about security and other aspects of touring.

The BCB's primary issue was their inability to stay for an extended tour stretching beyond three weeks. But the PCB has now proposed to play two Tests, which will be part of the World Test Championship, and the T20Is closer to the T20 World Cup later this year.

Nazmul Hassan, the BCB president, called for an impromptu board meeting in Dhaka on Wednesday, to speak with the stakeholders.

"We have very little time in hand so we must decide by Thursday," Hassan said. "We have to consider the consequences of not touring, which is what we discussed with everyone. We are not worried about the bilateral T20I series, but we are unclear about the World Test Championship. "We said we want to play only T20Is, but they wanted us to play the Tests. We will play the T20Is bilaterally before the [T20] World Cup. This was PCB's proposal today, but we haven't decided yet. We will on Thursday."

In an altered stance from earlier, the BCB appears to be willing to play a one-off Test only from a security standpoint, but the PCB isn't keen on the

James Anderson ruled out of SA tour after suffering rib injury CaPe ToWN AGENCIES

James Anderson has been ruled out of the remainder of the tour of South Africa due to a left rib injury.

Anderson, the leading wicket-taker among fast bowlers in Test history, sustained the injury on the final day of the Cape Town Test. With England pressing for victory, he continued to bowl despite the pain and despite the knowledge that, by doing so, he risked exacerbating the problem.

He underwent a scan in Cape Town on Wednesday which confirmed the issue was bone-related rather than a soft-tissue injury. Such setbacks typically take between six to eight weeks to heal.

Anderson will return to England in the next few days for rest and rehab, with Craig Overton, the Somerset seamer, staying on with the squad as cover.

The new injury is a cruel setback for Anderson. The Cape Town Test was just his second since returning from a calf injury that limited him to only four overs in the entire Ashes campaign. The prospect of several more weeks of rehab

may well prove disheartening, although he signalled his desire to battle back in an upbeat tweet shortly after the news was confirmed.

"Frustrating to be missing the rest of this series with a broken rib but hopefully will be healed in a few weeks!" Anderson wrote. "Will be supporting the boys from home."

Anderson bowled immaculately in Cape Town, even though he was limited to eight overs on the final day after reporting tightness and discomfort at the end of the morning session. He became the oldest England seamer to claim a five-wicket haul in Test cricket since Freddie Brown in 1951 in the first innings while his overall match figures were seven for 63 from 37 overs.

Such figures may convince him that, once recovered, he can still play a role at Test level. He had previously suggested he may like to sit out England's tour of Sri Lanka in March - he argued the pitches will render him largely redundant in any case - with a view to returning to the side for the home season. England's first Test of the home summer, against West Indies, starts on June 4.

Javed Miandad heaps praise on PCB for moving entire PSL to Pakistan Lahore APP

Batting legend Javed Miandad has heaped praise on Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for its decision to hold the entire fifth edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL) in the country, saying that the tournament would prove to be beneficial in preparation for the upcoming International Cricket Council (ICC) men’s Twenty20 World Cup. “The staging of the entire PSL in Pakistan and to witness the games at home is [a] dream come true for the Pakistan cricket fraternity.

"It is a major achievement of PCB," said Miandad. "Our players will definitely benefit by playing at home against foreign players,” he added.

Miandad, who represented Pakistan

in Tests and ODIs between 1975 and 1996, said the PSL would bring young talent to the fore.

“To keep the tournament more transparent, PCB should also keep a strict eye on PSL to keep it free from any fixing related issues,” he said.

Speaking about the revival of Pakistan-India cricketing ties, Miandad — who scored 5,062 runs in 78 Tests — said that both neighbours should sort out ways and make the bilateral series happen, as the world of cricket was incomplete without Indo-Pak games.

“A full-fledged Pakistan-India bilateral series would help in improving relations between both the countries, and will also benefit financially," Miandad said.

He was of the view that "the world wants to see Pakistan and India playing cricket and the bilateral series."

Would love to carry on as long as possible: Chris Gayle

proposal. As such, a one-off Test can't be accommodated to be part of the World Test Championship.

"If you consider, it takes lesser time to play one Test than three T20Is. We will reach there the day before, and play five days," Hassan explained. "It may take seven or eight days to play the T20I series. We never said we wouldn't play in Pakistan. We are worried about duration. Everyone is a little nervous staying there for a longer period."

Mushfiqur Rahim is unlikely to tour, while a number of other players want to stay only for a "shorter" period. However, the PCB wasn't entirely convinced with the reasoning, citing that as many as 23 Bangladesh players had registered for the PSL draft fully knowing the tournament was to take place entirely in Pakistan this time.

"Mushfiqur never showed any interest to go to Pakistan," Hassan said. "The others are more interested in a short tour. We informed the PCB about this but they responded by saying if our players had agreed to play PSL for 35 days in different parts of Pakistan, why couldn't they play with the national team for a lesser duration. Most of our coaching staff is not willing to go. Our head coach said he will go for the T20Is. All the players want a short stay."

Hassan also defended the players for entering the PSL draft, saying merely registering for it didn't guarantee selection. "We can't really draw a conclusion from what they have said," Hassan reasoned.

"They said that they won't be selected in the draft just because they sent their names. Then they would need an NOC from the BCB, so they tried to say that they gave their names for the sake of it."

Subplots galore as India, Sri Lanka meet for final T20I in Pune

TrINIDaD AGENCIES

Chris Gayle's love for cricket is still going strong. Having taken a break from the game towards the end of 2019, he's back in action with the Chattogram Challengers in the BPL, and he says he will continue playing T20s for a while yet.

"A lot of people still want see Chris Gayle out there in the middle," Gayle said during a media interaction in Dhaka. "I still have that love for the game and that passion for the game as well. And I would love to carry on as long as possible.

"Even in franchise cricket I am still playing a few games here and there around the globe because I still feel I have a lot to offer. The body is feeling good.

And I am sure I am getting younger as days go on."

As to how long he might want to carry on, Gayle, who turned 40 in September, joked that he could keep going for five more years. "Forty-five is a good number. Yeah, we can target 45. Let's target 45, that's a good number."

Gayle hasn't played a Test match since 2014, and in August he played what seemed to be - though it might not have been - his farewell ODI in Portof-Spain. He wasn't part of West Indies' recent tour of India and isn't playing the ongoing home series against Ireland, but he remains part of their T20I plans in a T20 World Cup year.

He faces competition from the young faces that have recently come into the team, but he hopes he will still be part of the T20 World Cup in Australia at the end of the year.

"It'd be nice. It's open, the door's open for a chance," Gayle said. "We'll see what happens. We have some bright youngsters ahead of you as well. I will leave the options open to hear back from [the selectors]."

CMYK

CoLoMBo AGENCIES

The only match of the T20I series so far has taught us a few things. The first is that India have their seam-bowling back-ups for the T20 World Cup fairly sorted. With Jasprit Bumrah not picking up a wicket until his penultimate over in Indore, it was Navdeep Saini at the top and Shardul Thakur at the death who provided the breakthroughs that stopped Sri Lanka from changing gears at crucial points. There was also the birth of the idea that Virat Kohli, perhaps, could take the No. 4 spot at the tournament in October, after India promoted Shreyas Iyer to No. 3.

At the other end of the spectrum are Sri Lanka's batting woes, even on friendly surfaces. Barring Kusal Perera, their batsmen have not come through consistently enough. They struggled against 140kph deliveries, they couldn't get on top of the spin bowlers, and the frustration was visible on captain Lasith Malinga's face when the cameras panned to the Sri Lanka dugout after Dhananjaya de Silva's dismissal. The harsh reality for Sri Lanka is that they are not automatic qualifiers for the T20 World Cup, and in order to not trip up at the qualifying rounds, they need to develop a clearer batting plan.

The gulf between the sides may appear wide, but there are plenty of subplots to look ahead to in Pune. Who will win round two of the Shikhar Dhawan-KL Rahul audition to be Rohit Sharma's partner in October?

Will Manish Pandey, Yuzvendra Chahal and

Sanju Samson continue to warm the bench?

Will India bat first if they win the toss? And if none of that excites you, remember, this series is still undecided. India have lost a game in each of their last three home T20I series, and that should keep Sri Lanka motivated for the the final T20I. Angelo Mathews could play his first T20I since August 2018. He was one of the first to bat in the nets during practice on the eve of the match. He bowled as well. With Isuru Udana injured, Mathews is a strong contender to return to the side. In his last four white-ball internationals, he scored 113, 48, 52* and 87. When he does bowl, he offers control with the new ball, allowing Malinga to bowl more at the death. His captain still calls him the team's "best finisher".

Shikhar Dhawan says he's a carefree man. But it doesn't always show in his batting. His strike rate hovered around 110 in Indore while the rest of his team-mates played far more attractive cricket. The pressure to remain one of India's first-choice T20I openers is building on the left-hander given Rahul's steady rise as an aggressive batsman in the Powerplay. He has another opportunity to reinstate his worth.

Oshada Fernando suffered a blow to his hand in the nets but does not seem to be in doubt for tomorrow's game. Udana, meanwhile, has been ruled out, and will most likely be replaced by Mathews.

PITCH AND CONDITIONS: Expect an even contest between bat and ball. Conditions are expected to be cool with clear skies, although dew may play a factor in the second innings.

Friday, 10 January, 2020

SPORTS 15

psg overrun saint-etienne to reaCh league Cup semi-finals ParIS

m

AGENCIES

AURO Icardi scored a hattrick as Paris Saint-Germain demolished a depleted SaintEtienne 6-1 on Wednesday to power into the semi-finals of the French League Cup. Icardi struck the opening goal inside two minutes at the Parc des Princes before teenage Saint-Etienne defender Wesley Fofana was dismissed for a second booking on the half-hour.

PSG ruthlessly capitalised on their man advantage as coach Thomas Tuchel elected to field all four members of his fearsome attacking quartet -- Icardi, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Angel Di Maria -- against a side decimated by injury and illness.

"I am convinced that Icardi and Mbappe love to play together," said Tuchel.

"We talk about the four attackers but we are a team with 11 players. Neymar, for example, helps Juan Bernat.

"That's the sort of spirit which we need to be dangerous. We have the best players but we also have the best team."

Neymar doubled the lead with a nonchalant chipped finish over goalkeeper Jessy Moulin, who scored a comical own goal on the stroke of half-time.

Di Maria's low cross was hacked by

Timothee Kolodziejczak into the legs of team-mate Loic Perrin, the ball rolling back off the post before hitting Moulin and trickling over the line.

The hosts bagged a fourth when

Mbappe rounded Moulin and cut back for Icardi to add to his tally, and he completed his hat-trick when the former raced clear before selflessly presenting the Argentine with a tap-in.

The pair reversed roles for the sixth goal, Icardi controlling superbly and sliding across goal for a lunging Mbappe to turn home from close range.

Former PSG midfielder Yohan Cabaye hit a consolation goal for SaintEtienne when he headed in the rebound after his second-half penalty was saved

by Sergio Rico.

PSG have now scored at least four goals in their past six matches. The record eight-time champions will discover their semi-final opponents when the draw is made on Thursday.

Lyon battled into the last four with a 31 victory at home to Brest.

Moussa Dembele broke the deadlock on 19 minutes and Houssem Aouar added a second shortly after half-time for Rudi Garcia's side.

Samuel Grandsir gave Brest hope with a tidy finish five minutes from time but Jean Lucas made sure of the win with a firm 20-yard drive in stoppage time.

Luiz Araujo and Victor Osimhen were on target as Lille overcame Amiens 2-0.

Reims eliminated holders Strasbourg on Tuesday after winning 4-2 on penalties following a goalless draw.

The competition, which includes all the clubs from France's top two divisions and a handful of teams from the third tier, will be suspended indefinitely at the end of this season.

Serena drops set before reaching Auckland quarters

Australia edge Britain in epic ATP Cup quarter-final clash BrISBaNe

aUCKLaND

AGENCIES

AGENCIES

A dynamic Nick Kyrgios and dogged Alex de Minaur powered Australia into the ATP Cup semi-finals Thursday with an epic 2-1 win over the Tim Henman-led Britain. The home team clinched the tie after an 18-16 third-set tiebreaker in the doubles to set up a potential blockbuster last-four clash against Rafael Nadal's Davis Cup-winning Spain who face Belgium on Friday. Kyrgios crushed Cameron Norrie in the opening singles 6-2, 6-2 before Dan Evans came through a memorable showdown against De Minaur 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 7-6 (7/2) to set up the decisive, winnertakes-all, doubles. Australian captain Lleyton Hewitt took a huge gamble by dropping regular doubles pair John Peers and Chris Guccione in favour of Kyrgios and de Minaur and it looked a poor decision when they lost the first set 6-3. But spurred by Kyrgios' booming serve they took the next 6-3 before a nailbiting tiebreaker that lasted more than half-an-hour. Jamie Murray and Joe Salisbury had four match points, which were all saved, with Australia finally converting on their fifth match point, sparking jubilant scenes.

Serena Williams rallied from a set down to beat journeywoman Christina McHale at the WTA Auckland Classic on Thursday, and said it was just the workout she needed.

With her focus on winning a 24th Grand Slam at the Australian Open, Williams said she needs all the court time she can get after a long off-season since losing September's US Open final.

It took the top seed two hours to put away the 27-year-old McHale and advance to a quarter-final with Germany's Laura Siegemund, who ousted teen prodigy Coco Gauff in the second round. Williams was broken three times before losing the first set 3-6 but recovered to take the next two sets 6-2, 6-3 in the all-American affair.

"I really need to play matches like that to get to my goals," said Williams, who is determined to equal the record of 24 Grand Slams held by Australian great Margaret Court.

"Tournament time is super-important, match time is good. After losing that first set I'm just glad to be still in the event."

McHale used her speed around the court in extended rallies which often produced unforced errors from the 38-year-old Williams in the early stages. But just as it looked as if Williams was in a slump at 1-4 down after five games, the world number 10 got to grips with the blustery conditions and McHale's agility and began to take control.

I'M STILL LEARNING: It was the reverse from Gauff, seen as one of the rising stars of tennis, who started strongly against Siegemund but faded as the match wore on.

The 31-year-old Siegemund, who played her first WTA qualifier in 2003 before Gauff was born, was up 5-4 and serving when the American teen broke twice to take the first set.

But from there, she used her considerable experience to ruffle the 15year-old, forcing her behind the baseline and then drawing her forward with deft drop shots.

"In the first set I had my chances but let it go. So I just tried to keep my level and she started to miss a little bit more, and I guess I just got better and better," Siegemund said. As Gauff showed signs of being rattled, she lost the steeliness she showed when she burst into the limelight last year with a win over Venus Williams on her way to Wimbledon's fourth round as a qualifier.

Against Siegemund, she finished with seven double faults and 49 unforced errors, which she put down to youth and inexperience.

"I'm still learning and that's the problem that I have," Gauff said.

"I didn't play the right way and if I lost playing the right way it would have been fine, but I don't think I was playing the right way."

Defending champion Julia Goerges cruised through to the final eight with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Jil Teichmann.

The German's quarter-final on Friday is against Caroline Wozniacki who survived two service breaks in the final set to overcome 2017 Auckland champion Lauren Davis 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

Barty not concerned despite first up loss BrISBaNe AGENCIES

World number one Ashleigh Barty remains upbeat about her Australian Open preparations despite losing her opening match of the season at the Brisbane International on Thursday. American qualifier Jennifer Brady notched up her first ever win over a top 10 player when she beat Barty 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) on Pat Rafter Arena. It was Barty’s first match on home soil since becoming world number one, and came at the venue she trains at and in front of thousands of her adoring home fans. Barty conceded afterwards she had simply been outplayed by Brady, who also beat former world number one Maria Sharapova in the first round.

"Jen was in control of the match -- she was in the centre of the court being the aggressor and I think you have to give credit where credit's due,” Barty, who practised with Brady early this week, said. "She came through qualifying, but she's got a ranking that's kind of well below what a lot of people give her credit for. "She's playing some exceptional tennis, so I certainly can't take that away from her. She played a great match today and deserved to win." Barty grew up in Ipswich on Brisbane's western outskirts and has had hundreds of fans packing outside courts to watch her practice this week.

But when she was asked whether she felt any pressure because of the attention she insisted she didn’t feel any different. "I think that's (the pressure) all come you from you guys, if I'm being completely honest," she said. "It doesn't change the way that I practice. It doesn't change the way that my team and I prepare.

Dakar's women drivers helping their Saudi sisters rIYYaDh AGENCIES

They may be few in number but the women who have come to Saudi Arabia to race their vehicles across the sands in this year's Dakar Rally are making their voices heard.

They believe their presence in the ultra-conservative kingdom, which is accused of violating human rights and repressing feminist activists, can help the cause of Saudi women.

Many of the 13 women, from Europe, South Africa and South America, who started the race in Jeddah on Sunday feel the need to speak out for their Saudi sisters.

"I am sure it is positive to show everyone here that women can be competitive and strong and I am happy to represent women here," said 34-year-old Spanish biker Laia Sanz, who is taking

part in the rally for the 10th time.

The organisers sparked controversy by switching the race from South America to Saudi, which is regularly accused of human rights abuses and the suppression of dissenting voices, including feminist activists.

"It was surprising but I think it's a good thing that we are here in the end," said Sanz. Saudi Arabia has started a program of economic and social reform, at the instigation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

These include easing the restrictions against women, such as allowing them driving licenses and the possibility of obtaining a passport without the approval of a male guardian.

Saudi women, however, remain largely subject to male guardianship, and the government has stepped up repression of dissidents and feminist activists, some of whom are imprisoned and, in some

cases, subjected to torture according to their families and NGOs. Dakar organisers and drivers "should speak out against the Saudi government's

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mistreatment of women's rights activists for advocating for the right to drive," said Minky Worden of Human Rights Watch in a statement.

MAN'S WORLD: Italian driver Camelia Liparoti, who is taking part in her 12th Dakar, agrees with Sanz.

"We are fortunate to be female athletes coming (to Saudi Arabia) to compete and able to demonstrate that there are women who do things in a man's world," the 51-year-old with the pink Side-bySide Vehicle told AFP. Just three years ago, the country's religious police placed strict controls on men and women, reprimanding anyone who mixed with the opposite sex.

In a change perceived as a new diplomatic strategy designed to change the image of the country on the international stage, Saudi authorities have indicated their desire to open up society by investing massively in staging sporting, cultural and entertainment events.

In recent months, concerts and sports competitions in front of mixed audiences have multiplied in Riyadh and Jeddah.

Friday, 10 January, 2020

NEWS

BritiSh parliament approveS BoriS JohnSon'S Brexit deal LONDON

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AGENCIES

HE United Kingdom now has one foot out of the European Union’s door after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit Bill was endorsed by the House of Commons on Thursday.

Succeeding where his beleaguered predecessor, Theresa May, had repeatedly failed, the Conservative Party leader saw his EU-agreed framework for leaving the European body backed by 330 members of parliament with 231 opposed, paving the way for the country’s official departure on January 31.

Speaking before the vote, Labour’s Paul Blomfield, opposition shadow minister for exiting the EU, lamented the bill’s inevitable passage, and particularly the Conservative government’s refusal on Wednesday to restore child refugee protection rights into the Brexit agreement. In what he described as a “heartless move”, Blomfield said guarantees over the rights of unaccompanied child refugees to be reunited with family residing in the UK would not be included in the legislation.

Following his comprehensive general election victory last month, Johnson’s EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill faced little Commons opposition as it sidestepped the parliamentary impasse that had so dogged May’s administration.

“Johnson has taken a party and a government that was on the edge of a nervous breakdown in the summer of 2019 to an overall majority in a legislature than now stands little chance of stopping it doing

UK PRIME MINISTER SUCCEEDS WHERE HIS PREDECESSOR REPEATEDLY FAILED; GETTING BREXIT LEGISLATION THROUGH COMMONS

pretty much whatever it wants,” said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London.

Ever since the 2016 in/out EU referendum saw the majority “leave” votes in England and Wales negate the “remain” majorities in Scotland and Northern Ireland, the four-nation British union has been caught in a political storm, as many EU advocates attempted to challenge the 52-48 percent UK-wide vote.

After May’s resignation in July last year, Johnson found himself chastised by a dramatic UK Supreme Court ruling in September that decreed the new Conservative chief acted unlawfully when he suspended Parliament, following accusations he had done so in order to

force through a “disastrous” no-deal exit from the world’s largest trading bloc.

But Thursday’s vote was music to the ears of committed Brexiteers, who took delight in Johnson’s success.

“Brexit should have been done already,” Leave advocate Iain McGill, who has stood multiple times for the Conservative Party in various elections, told Al Jazeera. “But now we’ve got it and the future is bright and we are certainly upbeat, optimistic and positive.”

Yet while Britain’s millions of proEuropeans lament the Brexit Bill’s passage through the Commons, Scotland remains a tricky proposition for Johnson.

The UK constituent nation voted by 62-38 percent to remain in the EU, and

then voted the pro-independence and European-minded Scottish National Party (SNP) into 48 out of 59 Scottish seats in December’s election – but the British premier continues to reject SNP calls for a second poll on Scottish statehood.

“The most obvious effect [of the Bill] is that it removes any doubt over whether Brexit will actually happen, and therefore ensures that the ‘casus belli’ for a second independence referendum will remain in place,” prominent Scottish independence-supporting blogger James Kelly, of the Scot Goes Pop! blog, told Al Jazeera.

Despite his Commons triumph, however, potential Brexit troubles remain for Johnson as he looks ahead to January 31 and beyond.

“The big challenge for the PM is the fact that there are still a bunch of Conservative MPs who would like to see what they call ‘a clean break’ from the EU, rather than a comprehensive freetrade deal which maintains a degree of alignment with [the EU],” Bale said.

The academic, also deputy director of the UK in a Changing Europe thinktank, added: “If they don’t like whatever deal Johnson comes up with – or they object to an attempt on his part to renege on his promise not to ask for an extension to trade talks – they could effectively force the UK into some kind of minimalist ‘World Trade Organisation Brexit’ that might seriously damage the economy, and, with it, Johnson’s electoral coalition.” The bill will now go to the UK legislature’s upper chamber – the House of Lords – for further examination next week.

US says ready to hold negotiations with Iran 'without preconditions' WASHINGTON AGENCIES

While justifying the killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani by the United States as an act of self-defence, US ambassador to the United Nations said that Washington was prepared to hold negotiations with Iran “without preconditions”.

In a letter to the UN Security Council, US ambassador Kelly Craft said that the US stands “ready to engage without preconditions in serious negotiations with Iran, with the goal of preventing further endangerment of international peace and security or escalation by the Iranian regime”.

Washington also vowed to take additional action “as necessary” in the Middle East to protect US personnel and interests.

Iran had retaliated on Wednesday for Soleimani’s death by firing missiles at military facilities housing US troops in Iraq. US President Donald Trump said no Americans were hurt, soothing

fears that Soleimani’s death and the Iranian response could spark a wider conflict in the Middle East.

The killing of Soleimani in Baghdad on Friday was justified under Article 51 of the UN Charter, wrote Craft in the letter seen by Reuters and added: “The United States is prepared to take additional actions in the region as necessary to continue to protect US personnel and interests.”

Under Article 51, countries are required to “immediately report” to the 15-member Security Council any measures taken in exercising the right of self-defence. The US used Article 51 to justify taking action in Syria against Islamic State militants in 2014.

Craft said Soleimani’s death and US airstrikes in Iraq and Syria on December 29 against an Iran-backed militia group were “in response to an escalating series of armed attacks in recent months by the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iran-supported militias on US forces and interests in the Middle East”. She said the aim was to deter

Iran from conducting or supporting attacks and degrade its ability to conduct attacks. Iran also justified its action under Article 51 of the UN Charter in a letter to the UN Security Council on Wednesday. The US letter to the UN Security Council arrived after Iran’s letter, diplomats said.

Iran’s UN Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi wrote that Tehran “does not seek escalation or war” after exercising its right to self-defence by taking a “measured and proportionate military response targeting an American airbase in Iraq”. “The operation was precise and targeted military objectives thus leaving no collateral damage to civilians and civilian assets in the area,” Ravanchi wrote.

“Seriously warning about any further military adventurism against it, Iran declares that it is determined to continue to, vigorously and in accordance with applicable international law, defend its people, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity against any aggression,” he said.

EU diplomats reject Indian invitation of 'guided tour' to held Kashmir BRUSSELS AGENCIES

Ambassadors from European countries have rejected India’s invitation for a two-day visit to occupied Kashmir, seeking instead the “freedom to meet the people unescorted”, several Indian media outlets reported on Wednesday.

According to Associated Press, envoys from 15 countries including the United States are visiting occupied Kashmir starting from Thursday for two days, the first by New Delhi-based diplomats since India revoked the special status of the region and imposed a harsh crackdown in August 2019.

The diplomats are expected to meet civil society members and government officials during their visit to Srinagar and Jammu, officials said. Details are not immediately available, but they are expected to receive a briefing on the security situation from various agencies. The Press Trust of India news agency said diplomats representing Bangladesh, Vietnam, Norway, the Maldives, South Korea, Morocco and

Nigeria will be part of the delegation.

According to NDTV, European diplomats said they didn’t want a “guided tour” of the occupied territory and “would visit later and meet the people they want to meet”. Quoting diplomatic sources, The Hindu reported that diplomats from the EU had decided not to accept the invitation and asked for “more freedom to travel and meet people unescorted”.

Consequently, the Indian government has decided to organise a separate visit for the European envoys at a later date, the report added. The report says Australia, Afghanistan and the Gulf countries were also invited for the visit but declined due to “other commitments”. “While many ambassadors are still on winter vacations and have not returned to Delhi, some are dealing with the fallout of US-Iran tensions on the region,” the report said, quoting diplomats.

“When asked, government sources denied any suggestion that EU envoys had pulled out due to restrictions in the program, saying the government was unable to accommodate all 28 countries on this trip,” The Hindu said.

two rocketS hit diplomatic enclave in iraq capital BAGHDAD AGENCIES

Two rockets crashed late on Wednesday into the Iraqi capital’s Green Zone, the high-security enclave where foreign embassies including the US mission are based, security sources told AFP. Just before midnight, AFP correspondents in Baghdad heard two loud blasts followed by the wailing security sirens of the Green Zone. The attack came nearly 24 hours after Tehran launched ballistic missiles at Iraqi bases housing American and other coalition forces, which did not cause casualties. The strikes were in retaliation for a US drone strike that killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis last week. Muhandis had been the deputy head of the Hashed al-Shaabi, a web of armed groups incorporated into the Iraqi state but which also have close ties to Tehran. The United States had accused Hashed groups of being behind a string of rocket attacks on the US embassy in Baghdad and bases hosting American troops across the country. On Wednesday, the Hashed’s hardline factions vowed they, too, would take revenge for the US raid.

Paramilitary chief Qais al-Khazali — blacklisted as a “terrorist” by the US — said Iraq’s response to the US “will be no less than the size of the Iranian response”.

Harakat al-Nujaba, a hardline Hashed faction, vowed to avenge Muhandis. “To American soldiers: Do not close your eyes.

Revenge for the martyr Muhandis is coming at the hands of Iraqis — until the last soldier among you leaves,” it said.

US lawmakerS to vote on reStraining trUmp'S actionS againSt iran WASHINGTON: Trump administration officials failed to convince many US lawmakers on Wednesday that an imminent threat had justified the killing of a top Iranian military commander, and congressional Democrats scheduled a vote on legislation to rein in the president’s ability to wage war. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Defence Mark Esper, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley and CIA Director Gina Haspel held classified briefings for all 535 members of Congress to discuss President Donald Trump’s decision to order a drone strike that killed elite Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani in Iraq last week. The House will vote Thursday on a measure limiting Trump’s ability to take military action against Iran as Democratic criticism of the US killing of the top Iranian general intensified. Following the sessions, Democrats and a few Republicans said the officials had not provided evidence to back up assertions by Trump and military commanders that Soleimani had posed an “imminent threat” to the United States, and they disputed the administration’s argument that the killing of a foreign leader in a third country was legally justified. “The basic theme of it was the administration essentially saying: Trust us. And that’s really what it all boils down to. I’m not sure who I trust or what I trust when it comes to these issues because we’ve been told so many different things that really just bother me,” Representative Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told reporters. US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said shortly afterward that the Democratic-controlled chamber would vote on a war powers resolution as soon as Thursday. AGENCIES

Police violently end student protest in central New Delhi NEW DELHI APP

Police chased and stuck protesting students with batons after they marched through India’s capital on Thursday to demand the resignation of a university official following an attack at their school by masked assailants.

About 1,000 students and faculty from Jawarhalal Nehru University marched to a government office to demand the resignation of the school’s vice chancellor, who some accuse of allowing the assailants armed with hammers, shovels and other weapons to ransack a university dorm and beat up students on Sunday. Dorm residents said the attack lasted two hours, and that neither the guards who live in the building nor any other security came to their aid. More than 20 people were injured.

After reaching the government office on Thursday, a splinter group of several dozen students decided to continue marching toward the president of India’s official residence. The students were met

with a bus full of baton-wielding police.

Utkarsh, a JNU student, said an officer struck him in the head with his baton and attacked others.

He gave only his first name, fearing police reprisal.

Footage captured by The Associated Press showed one officer repeatedly hitting a female protester in the back of her legs while other protesters fled. Police then forced the students onto a bus, where one person could be seen bleeding from his head. It was not immediately clear where the students were being taken.

Calls to police officials were not immediately answered. Opposition parties and injured students blamed Sunday’s university attack on Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, a student organization linked to Prime Minister Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party.

They say the attack was meant to stop a monthslong protest against a tuition increase that went into effect in November. Communist-linked student organisations say the fee hike makes education too expensive for many.

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