E-Paper PDF 14th February 2020 (KHI)

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Friday, 14 February, 2020 I 19 Jamadi-ul-Sani, 1441 I Rs 17.00 I Vol X No 226 I 16 Pages I Karachi Edition

Pakistan looks to involve turkey in CPeC as erdogan arrives g

PreMIer PerSoNALLy drIveS TUrkISH PreSIdeNT, fIrST LAdy froM AIrPorT To PM HoUSe

ISLAMABAD staff report

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N a bid to strengthen bilateral strategic partnership, Turkish President recep Tayyip erdogan and first Lady emine erdoğan arrived in Pakistan on Thursday on a two-day visit and were received by Prime Minister Imran khan at the Nur khan Airbase.

The premier personally drove the special foreign guests from the airport to the Prime Minister House, where the Turkish president was presented a guard of honour by a smartly turned-out contingent of armed forces in the presence of senior cabinet members and government officials.

ALVI HOSTS RECEPTION: Later in the evening, President erdogan called on President Arif Alvi at President’s House where the latter hosted a reception in his honour. during a meeting between the two, Alvi and erdogan affirmed that Pakistan and Turkey would continue to extend mutual support on issues of each other’s core national interest.

They also underscored the importance

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ALvI HoSTS reCePTIoN for erdoGAN, BoTH LeAderS vow To STreNGTHeN PAk-TUrk TIeS

of fully realizing the immense potential of relationship between the two countries and transforming it into a strong and dynamic trade and economic partnership.

President Alvi said that the 6th Session of High Level Strategic Cooperation Council would further strengthen and broaden the fraternal relations between Pakistan and Turkey.

According to the foreign office (fo), the Turkish president is visiting Pakistan for underscoring “traditional solidarity and affinity” between the two countries and further “deepening and broadening of the flourishing Pakistan-Turkey strategic partnership”. erdogan, who is accompanied on the trip by his cabinet members, senior government officials and leading Turkish business figures, would co-chair with Prime Minister Imran the 6th session of the Pakistan-Turkey High Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC), address a joint session of parliament on friday for the record fourth time and speak at the Pakistan-Turkey Business and Investment forum.

Talking to Anadolu Agency, Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan Mustafa yurdakul said

that President erdogan’s visit to Islamabad is a historic event and “a major step towards exemplary bilateral ties between the two countries”.

Prime Minister Imran is expected to invite Turkey to join the China-Pakistan economic Corridor (CPeC). In an interview with a Turkish newswire, he had said, “we hope to involve them in using CPeC for further connectivity, and we hope to involve Turkey in this [CPeC]”.

The Turkish ambassador said that CPeC is nearly completed and that Turkey is interested in becoming a part of special economic zones which will be established under the project.

The prime minister wants Turkish businesses to invest in Pakistan’s mining sector and engage in technology transfer projects.

About the proposals for promoting economic ties, the fo said, “Both sides place a strong emphasis on forging a robust economic relationship.”

“Pakistan and Turkey have a unique and abiding relationship characterised by mutual support and exceptional mutual trust and understanding. The two brotherly countries have always been each other’s steadfast partners. Turkey supports the cause of self-determination for the people of Indian occupied kashmir (Iok). Pakistan stands by Turkey on the question of Cyprus,” the fo added.

Turkey and Pakistan are expected to sign a number of important agreements/memorandums of understanding to formalise some of the understandings that would be reached during the HLSCC meeting.

Govt defends curbs on social media for sake of ‘national security’ STORY ON PAGE 03

Bilawal slams lopsided accountability after NAB appearance STORY ON PAGE 03

MQM-P’s Siddiqui meets PM, sticks to resignation decision STORY ON PAGE 02

Families of APS martyrs ask CJP to probe Ehsanullah Ehsan’s ‘escape’ STORY ON PAGE 03

Pakistani businessmen sign joint ventures with Turkish counterparts STORY ON PAGE 11

Is PTI’s LNG deal similar to Abbasi’s, IHC questions NAB STORY ON PAGE 02

US hails Hafiz Saeed’s conviction as ‘step forward’ for Pakistan

Government subsidy helps USC earn Rs7bn in sales STORY ON PAGE 12

SBP reserves up $157m to $18.7bn

STORIES ON BACK PAGE STORY ON PAGE 12

CMYK

US, Taliban agree to seven-day truce

Friday, 14 February, 2020

02 NEWS

Is PTI's LNG deaL sImILar To abbasI's, IHC quesTIoNs Nab ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

two-member bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday asked the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to inform the court whether the current government’s LNG deal was similar to the one signed by former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi during his stint as the petroleum minister.

A two-member bench comprising Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Lubna Saleem Pervez was hearing the case.

During the hearing, Abbasi’s counsel lamented his client’s situation in jail.

To which, Justice Minallah inquired why the ex-pm was in a death cell. “He is imprisoned in the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi,” replied NAB additional prosecutor Jahanzeib Bharwana. “He is not under our custody.”

During the hearing, NAB opposed the bail petition filed by the ex-PM, saying that a reference against Abbasi has already been filed in the accountability court. The bureau further requested to reject the bail plea of PML-N leader and submitted a reply comprising 24 pages in the court.

To this, Abbasi’s counsel Barrister

Zafarullah contended that these transactions were related to the personal business of his client. He said that NAB should inform the court if these transactions were made with any private company related to LNG terminal.

The chief justice asked the prosecutor to present the questionnaire which had been shared with Abbasi to which

the NAB investigation officer said that the former prime minister had not given satisfactory answers. The chief justice taunted that whether it would be satisfactory for anti graft body if the accused confessed the crime.

“Who would be responsible if someone was disrespected with the arrest of NAB,” he asked and said that whether the corruption would be eliminated with the arrest of people.

Barrister Zafarullah said that his client was running his own business and was the fifth biggest tax payer of the country. He said that Abbasi was in custody for last 205 days in this case while the other accused including former finance minister Miftah Ismail and Imran Sheikh had been granted bails in the same reference. On September 10, 2018, the apex court had directed the NAB to complete inquiry against Abbasi and others for the alleged corruption in the LNG contract.

Ahsan Iqbal slams govt for 'destroying economy' KHUSRO BAKHTIAR URGES PARLIAMENT TO DRAW UP A NATIONAL ECONOMIC CHARTER INSTEAD OF DOING POLITICS OVER ECONOMY ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) leader Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday vehemently criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, saying it believes that the “200 million population of Pakistan lives in a village and can be fed through a couple of langars and tandoors”.

The former minister was responding to Adviser to the PM on Finance Abdul Hafeez Sheikh’s speech in National Assembly a day earlier wherein he talked about the ailing state of the economy and responded to opposition’s criticism on it.

In his speech, Shaikh had said that those who had themselves approached the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should not be criticising the government for doing the same, in an apparent reference to the PML-N. Iqbal, when given the NA floor on Thursday, said: “These people kept criticising us at every step of the way, now they are asking us not to criticise them for taking the same measures. If these measures were so bad, why are they car-

rying them out today?

“They have brought a bad name to national institutions. These institutions did not tell them to give such a budget, these institutions did not tell them to bring inflation. They need to stop hiding behind national institutions and saying that the institutions are faulty.

“They keep crying about current account deficit, they did not understand that the current account deficit had shot up because of the large amount of investment we had put into development projects, especially in the energy sector.

“What they failed to understand is that once these projects were completed, the deficit would also have come down and rationalised,” Iqbal said.

‘THINK ACROSS PARTY LINES’: Minister for National Food Security Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, who took the floor after Iqbal, lamented that the government was facing troubles due to low revenue. He said that currently, there were five million bank accounts in the country but only 0.5m were within the tax net. “We need to take a moment and think across party lines on how we will run this country when the

volume of debt is at 78 percent. We will have to pay interest and a principal amount on it.

“How will this country be run, even if we earn 5 trillion with a 12pc GDP tax ratio, then the federal government then has to give around 3 trillion to the provinces. So the federal government already starts at a deficit.” He insisted that every government will face the same challenges as the incumbent one. The federal minister said the share of investment by the private sector in Pakistan’s economy was a mere 9pc because banks do not have the money to provide loans.

“We need to develop a mindset in this country that investors need to be respected,” he said. “The tragedy of this country is that we keep changing policies,” he lamented. “First we [imple-

mented a] nationalisation policy, then [later] we privatised all the banks.

“What are the banks doing? Right now, banks are providing money to the government, or to the main sectors like fertiliser, sugar, cement, on the most favorable interest rates. But the small sector, that of small-medium enterprises (SME), are merely getting 6pc of credit — in 2000, they would get 17-18pc of total credit. “So we will have to think that when we develop a national development finance institution, the money will flow into SMEs and new sectors.”

He also directed the House’s attention towards the developing economies of neighbouring countries China and India, adding that by the time Pakistan turns 100, the country will have to feed 400 million people from existing resources.

MQM-P's Siddiqui meets PM, sticks to resignation decision ISLAMABAD: STAFF REPORT

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday reviewed the progress made on development projects pertaining to Sindh, especially Karachi, in a meeting attended by Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui among others.

The presence of the MQM-P chief was the highlight of the meeting, as the lawmaker had refused to meet PM Imran despite multiple invites after his resignation from the federal cabinet. The MQM-P has been demanding that the government establish a university in Hyderabad; development budget for Hyderabad; implementation of a package of Rs162 billion for Karachi; and opening of MQM’s closed offices that

were shut down after its founder Altaf Hussain’s infamous speech. Sources said that the PM and Siddiqui discussed matters pertaining to the Information Technology Ministry which he had quit citing the federal government’s lack of interest in the development of Karachi. The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar, MQM-P leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and concerned secretaries.

Police clueless about whereabouts of missing SSP, lawyer LAHORE

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FAISAL ALI GHUMMAN

olice are still clueless about the whereabouts of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mufakhar Adeel who went ‘missing’ from the Johar Town area of the provincial capital on Tuesday evening.

The policeman disappeared exactly a week after the kidnapping of his close friend, former assistant advocate general Shahbaz Ahmad Tatla, who went missing from the jurisdiction of Naseerabad police station and is still untraceable.

SSP Adeel, who is currently posted in the Punjab Constabulary (PC), Lahore, left his home on his official vehicle on Tuesday evening after telling his wife that he was going somewhere. Later, when his wife found a cell phone to be constantly powered off, she informed the police that her husband had gone missing.

A senior police officer in the investigation wing informed this scribe that upon receiving an emergency phone call, the police started searching the entire city and found SSP Adeel’s vehicle abandoned outside a renowned shopping mall in Johar

Town on Tuesday night. He said that the policeman’s wife had lodged a missing person report instead of an FIR [First Information Report].

He further said that the policeman’s phone was still powered off and despite questioning all his friends and family members, they still had no clue about his whereabouts. He added that the police were scrutinising SSP Adeel’s call records for any information that could help them locate him.

A source privy to the investigation said that SSP Adeel had joined the police investigation into the kidnapping of Tatla a couple of days ago.

The source also said that before join-

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ing the Punjab Police, the SSP was surrendered from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to the Establishment Division. The source added that while at FIA, he had travelled to India twice to attend official meetings.

The source further said that SSP Adeel, who previously served Lahore Police as SP investigation civil lines and SP operations city, had faced multiple departmental inquiries. Police were investigating him in connection with different cases, including his return from India and his affiliation with the abducted lawyer, the source concluded.

IHC questions circumstances under which Iqbal was arrested ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday questioned circumstances under which the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman issued arrest warrants for former planning minister Ahsan Iqbal. A two-member bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Lubna Saleem Pervez resumed hearing of Iqbal’s post-arrest bail plea today and deliberated over violation of an accused’s fundamental rights. The IHC will be issuing a separate order on NAB’s powers to arrest suspects. When Additional Prosecutor NAB Jahanzaib Bharwana informed the bench that the inquiry against Iqbal was in the preliminary stage, Justice Minallah asked what extraordinary circumstances compelled the bureau chairman to issue arrest warrants. “Was the suspect trying to escape?” he asked and directed NAB prosecutor to satisfy court on why Iqbal couldn’t be probed without being detained. The judge remarked that every suspect was innocent until proven guilty.

“Is the investigation officer incapable of proving white-collar crimes without making an arrest?” he questioned. Bharwana said the anti-graft watchdog was apprehensive Iqbal would tamper records and witness statements. The IO suspected Iqbal would use his influence as he did in 2009 but the IHC chief justice observed that the PML-N leader was no longer a minister. The prosecutor further informed court of suspicions that Iqbal would flee the country. The PML-N leader’s counsel dismissed the claim, pointing out that Iqbal had appeared in every call to notice. The counsel also maintained that the bureau had not proven any bribe or other allegations against his client.

During the hearing, a copy of the NAB (Amendment) Ordinance was produced before the bench. Justice Minallah remarked that the ordinance seemed to be unnecessary since the top court had issued judgments in matters pertaining to the anticorruption law. The case has been adjourned till February 20.

Punjab govt decides to increase allowance for sewer workers LAHORE APP

The Punjab government has decided to increase the allowance of sewer men by Rs5,000, besides allocation of health cards, provision of safety kits and equipment to protect them from diseases caused by unhygienic conditions. Additionally, a rescue 1122 type services to resolve the sewerage issues is also on the cards along with provision of modern equipped vans for digging the holes and access to the deep sewerage. The decision was made in a cabinet standing committee for finance, which was chaired by Punjab Finance Minister Hashim Jawan Bakht. Punjab Industry Minister Mian Aslam Iqbal and officials concerned were also present.

Bakht observed that the staff doing cleanliness was equally respectful like any other government official. However, no one ever raised voice for them in the system while the current government priority was mainly uplifting the people living below the poverty lines, he added. He said the government would give marriage grants for the water and sanitation workers and also jobs to the children of workers who have died during duty.

Friday, 14 February, 2020

NEWS

Govt dEFEndS CurbS on SoCiAl mEdiA For SAkE oF 'nAtionAl SECurity' FIRDOUS SAYS NEW RULES WILL ENABLE GOVT TO IDENTIFY ‘PAKISTAN’S OPPONENTS AND STOP EXTREMISTS’ ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

RIME Minister’s Special Assistant on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan on Thursday defended the Citizens Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules 2020 amid criticism from all quarters and said that the rules were “necessary to stop online propaganda”.

Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament House, she said, “There was no mechanism that protected our

citizens’ interests [… or] our national integrity,” and added that with the implementation of these rules social media companies would be mindful of hurting Pakistan’s national interests.

The new policy was approved on Wednesday by the federal cabinet imposed strict conditions on digital media companies in a bid to regulate social media. Social media companies, including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, will have to register with the government within three months of the coming into force of the new rules, the

document stated.

The PM’s aide claimed previously, the government “did not know who was creating fake pages and harming socio-cultural and religious values”, but now new rules would enable the

government to identify “Pakistan’s opponents and stop extremists who spread hate on the basis of religion and race”.

She claimed that social media was spreading disorder in society by prop-

Bilawal slams lopsided accountability after NAB appearance SHEHZAD AKBAR SAYS NOBODY IS UNTOUCHABLE IN NAYA PAKISTAN ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Thursday appeared before the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) Rawalpindi chapter, after being summoned thrice, to record his statement in a case pertaining to Opal-255 – a joint venture of the Zardari Group – which is said to be an offshoot of the fake bank accounts case.

The anti-graft watchdog has accused Bilawal of owning a 25 percent stake in the firm. According to reports, the PPP leader was handed over a set of questions pertaining to the joint venture of the Zardari Group and Bahria Town.

The latest NAB notice, which was sent to Bilawal on February 7, stated: “You are hereby again called upon to appear before Combined Investigation

Team4 of NAB (Rawalpindi) along with the following record for clarifications and recording your plea on 13-2-2020 at 1100hours without failure.”

Prior to this, he was sent two notices in December last year but had termed the call-up notice served to him by the anti-corruption watchdog as “unconstitutional and illegal”.

Bilawal said that over a year ago, the then chief justice of Pakistan had stated that he was not guilty, adding that he had presented himself before the authorities three times and had also answered the bureau’s questions.

In January 2019, the Supreme Court while hearing the fake accounts case had ordered that the names of Bilawal and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Shah be removed from both the exit control list and the joint investigation team’s report on a probe into the case.

The court had also ordered that the

case be forwarded to NAB and directed the anti-corruption watchdog to wrap up its investigation within two months.

Addressing the press conference today Bilawal, the last questionnaire was issued in May of last year.

“They had no objections […] all of a sudden what happened in December when the first notice was issued?”

Bilawal alleged that he was issued another notice right after PPP announced a campaign against the current PTI government.

He said that he had a detailed talk with the NAB team and they had issued him a questionnaire today. According to reports, the PPP chairperson’s statement was recorded and he was issued a written questionnaire, adding that he has been given 10 days to submit his response.

“If I wasn’t even a public office holder at the time, what sense does it make that NAB summon me?” he asked.

‘ARE YOU UNTOUCHABLE?’ Later, the premier’s special assistant Akbar held a press conference in response to the PPP chairperson’s queries about why he was asked to appear before NAB.

Akbar said that Bilawal had been summoned with regards to the JV-Opal joint venture Opal-225 in which NAB is conducting an investigation. He explained that the case was part of an investigation which was referred to NAB by the Supreme Court’s Joint Investigation Team (JIT).

He said that in the JV-225 case the Zardari Group is accused of money laundering from the company’s accounts. Akbar added that they were accused of building properties from the money taken from these accounts.

“Unlike Bilawal, I will not lie to you, it is an allegation right now, it has to be proven and go before courts. But before that, you have to appear before investigative agencies.”

“Are you so untouchable that you can’t be called by any institution for questioning?” Akbar asked.

Responding to Bilawal’s remarks that a case was made against him despite the fact that he was a seven-yearold when he became a shareholder of the company under question, Akbar said: “Bachay (child) this property was purchased between 2011-2014 when your abba jan (father) was the president.”

IHC bans corporal punishment in schools IHC CJ DIRECTS INTERIOR MINISTRY TO SAFEGUARD RIGHTS OF CHILDREN ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday suspended till further notice a section of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) that allows for the use of corporal punishment by parents, guardians and teachers “in good faith for the benefit”.

A petition in the IHC, submitted by singer-turned-rights activist Shehzad Roy, called for a ban on the use of violence as a means to discipline children in school.

In his petition, Roy argued that Section 89 of the PPC allows for use of violence and force against children.

“Last year, a child passed away because of the use of corporal punishment

in a school in Lahore,” Roy’s lawyer told the court while adding that the matter of abolishing the use of corporal punishment was of public interest. The lawyer, while explaining the reason for Roy’s interest in the matter, said that the singer-turned-activist has established an organisation for educational reforms.

“The parliament also passed some bill on the matter as well,” IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, who was hearing the case, recalled.

“We want that the use of corporal punishment is banned while the parliament goes about making laws on the mat-

ter,” the lawyer responded while adding that corporal punishment has extremely adverse effects on children’s mental and physical health.

Hearing this, Justice Minallah suspended section 89 of the Pakistan Penal Code which says: “Nothing which is done in good faith for the benefit of a person under twelve years of age […] by or by consent of the guardian or other person having lawful charge of that person, is an offense by reason of any harm which it may cause.”

The court said that the interior ministry should safeguard the rights of chil-

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agating pornography, sexual abuse, child abuse, hate speech and sectarian material. “[About] 73 per cent of Pakistanis are internet users. Social media users are increasing, especially among the youth. We will not take any step that is against the interests of these users,” she assured.

She said that because these companies have no offices or focal persons in Pakistan, whenever the government asked them to remove harmful material, the decision depended on the companies’ disposition. Under the new law, the companies would have to establish their offices in the country within three months which will bring them in the ambit of the Pakistani legal system, the premier’s aide explained.

The social media companies will also be required to share their databank with the government as per the law.

“The companies will have the right to challenge the authority’s decision if they think it will harm their interests,” Firdous said, adding that the forum for appeal will be the high courts.

Earlier, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry also denied perceptions that the new rules made to regulate social media content in the country were aimed at political control. The new rules were made to regulate advertisements and harmful content on social media, he claimed.

Families of APS martyrs ask CJP to probe Ehsanullah Ehsan's 'escape' NEWS DESK Families of the students martyred during the Army Public School (APS) massacre on Thursday approached Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed over the reported escape of former Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan. The aggrieved families, in an application to the CJP, said: “We the families of Shuhada-e-APS are under severe shock and completely traumatised after hearing of the said news of release/fleeing of the known terrorist and spokesperson of TTP from the custody of the army along with his family after spending three years with them.

The cruel terrorist has already confessed [to] the gruesome attack on [APS], killing 147 students and staff and many more terrorist incidents in the country.” In the application, the parents questioned how the former militant was able to leave the country. “How could he flee from custody or whether he is released with some conditions,” the application read, adding that “what kind of agreement was made with [Ehsan] to keep him alive for three years despite his confessional statement for being involved in many killings of students and staff of APS.”

dren, while also asking for a reply on the matter from the federal government by March 5.

Speaking to the media outside IHC, Roy said: “When a child is born, parents hit him, when he goes to school, teachers hit him when he grows older and goes out in the society, police hits him to make him a better person. Contrarily, research shows that the use of violence only increases violence.”

Later, taking to Twitter, he expressed his gratitude, saying: “I am grateful that the operation of brutal, inhuman & unconstitutional colonial-era law section 89 has been suspended/stopped by Chief Justice Athar Minallah on @ZindagiTrust petition in all the federal jurisdiction & Islamabad. Congrats to all my dear children of Islamabad & Pakistan.”

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Friday, 14 February 2020

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Court admonishes iGP for delayinG dna ProCess in raPe Cases KARACHI STAFF REPORT

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HE Sindh High Court (SHC) has expressed its dismay over the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sindh Dr Kaleem Imam on Thursday over delaying the DNA test process during the probe of rape cases province-wide.

Hearing a petition into a case regarding strict punishment for accused involved in sexual abuse of women, the court summoned the IGP Sindh and secretary home to appear in person at the proceedings.

SHC Justice Mohammad Ali

Mazhar asked them as to why reforms were not made and delay is being made in registration of rape victims’ cases.

During the proceedings, a victim’s counsel claimed that the police was charging amount for handing over the DNA test reports.

To this, the judge asked the secretary home if there is an issue of funds. He said that although may laws were made from the provincial authorities, however, still there is a severe lacuna in their implementation process. “Even the witnesses are yet to get protection.”

Saying that there is no screen-

ing process in the rape cases, the judge asked about the remedy in a case if an investigation officer refuses to conduct a DNA test.

To this, the IGP Sindh said the DNAs were performed in several rape cases and they are acting upon the laid down standard operating procedures (SOPs). Kaleem Imam said that Karachi and Jamshoro varsities are conducting the DNAs from their own funds and he was completely following the 760 rape cases registered across the province.

The court while referring to a particular case said that the IO did not conduct a DNA in the case for

SHC issues notices on plea seeking Faisal Vawda’s disqualification KARACHI STAFF REPORT

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday heard a petition seeking disqualification of Federal Water Resources Minister Faisal Vawda over allegedly concealing his dual nationality before the election.

The high court bench issued notices to Faisal Vawda, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and others and summoned their reply on the matter by March 12. The matter will be decided after hearing the parties, the bench observed.

Advocate Qadir Khan Mandokhel in his petition said that the minister concealed his dual citizenship at the time of filing nomination papers from the election commission before the general election of 2018. “When the matter was taken in the court, Faisal Vawda quietly applied to surrender his US nationality,” the petitioner claimed.

“The evidence suggests that Mr. Vawda was holding dual citizenship at the time of the polls”, petitioner said. “Thus he should be disqualified and be ordered to return all perks and privileges”. The high court admitted petition for hearing.

Earlier, a petition was also filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking disqualification of Faisal Vawda.

Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani hearing the petition sought reply from Vawda

till February 24 in dual nationality case.

Vawda was a dual national at the time of filing nomination papers for general elections in 2018 and he concealed his American citizenship by falsely declaring on oath to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that he didn’t have any foreign nationality, the petition said. The IHC had also served notices to the cabinet, law and justice ministry, the ECP and the Secretary National Assembly.

Supreme Court of Pakistan in its judgment over the issue had categorically directed that the candidates who previously held dual nationality shall have the renunciation certificate at the time of filing of nomination papers, the plea said.

Moreover, the election commission also hearing a petition seeking disqualification of the Water Resources Minister over allegedly concealing his dual citizenship. The election commission had issued notices to the parties for hearing of the petition regarding submission of false affidavit. Chairman Aman Taraki Party, Faiq Shah in his plea said that Vawda concealed his dual nationality and submitted a false affidavit in the election commission with his nomination papers.

The plea seeks Vawda’s removal from the public office under clause 62-1 (F) of the constitution. Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution pertains to the qualification of members of the Parliament.

Wardens move court for regularisation of service, payment of salaries KARACHI STAFF REPORT

A division bench of Sindh High Court (SHC) on a petition filed by city wardens asked the government to file their comments by next hearing; otherwise, the court would commence the proceedings ex parte.

Some forty city wardens had filed a constitutional petition in Sindh High Court (SHC) here Thursday praying for getting their services regularized and paying them their salaries, dues and arrears.

During the last hearing the SHC had directed the government to file their answer, but they failed to do so. The petitioners had filed their petition with legal support of Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) through its lawyer Advocate Khuram Lakhani. Making.

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six months despite a particular timeframe for it to determine the victim’s claim. “Under these procedures, it looks that you people are damaging the cases and then people will blame the courts for letting the criminals go,” the judge said.

The court admonished the police authorities for their non-serious behaviour saying as to how a conviction could be made in such cases if there is a delay of two years in DNA reports. The IGP Sindh offered the court to submit a detailed report regarding progress in all rape cases registered in the province within a week.

Friday, 14 February, 2020

NEWS

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US-India defence ties threat to regional stability, says Pakistan ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday said Pakistan is hopeful with regard to the forthcoming meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which will review measures taken by Islamabad to combat money laundering – a potential source of terror financing.

In her weekly briefing, FO Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui stressed that “our international partners are standing with us”.

The remarks came a day after proscribed Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed and his aide, Malik Zafar Iqbal, were sentenced to five-and-a-half-year imprisonment by a Lahore anti-terrorism court in connection with two terror-financing cases.

The next meeting of the FATF Ple-

nary and Working Group, which is scheduled to held in Paris between Feb 16 and 21, will decide whether Pakistan will be removed from or remain on its grey list.

In the last meeting in January this year, key FATF players including the US, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, France in addition to Islamabad’s allweather ally China gave Pakistan the much-needed pass to avoid being blacklisted. The meeting had observed that Pakistan was compliant on the 22point agenda it was given to improve its performance for combating money laundering.

The spokesperson also commented on US President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to India. She said the US decision to sell an integrated air-defence system to India as “disturbing” and said such a move would further destabilise an already volatile region.

Abdul Ghani Majeed granted bail in fake accounts cases

and would call upon Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Arif Alvi during his visit.

Farooqui also touched upon reports

of the alleged presence of Ehsanullah Ehsan in Turkey and told reporters that the Ministry of Interior is currently monitoring reports.

NAB to challenge Zardari's bail in SC

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STAFF REPORT

STAFF REPORT

The Islamabad High Court has approved the bail of Omni Group Director Abdul Ghani Majeed in three fake accounts cases. Majeed, the son of Anwar Majeed, had been arrested in three cases; money laundering, Thatta water supply, and Park Lane. He has been instructed to submit Rs100 million surety bonds. Majeed had told the court that he hasn’t been feeling well and wants to be treated at a hospital. His plea was approved and the court ordered him to appear in court for all the hearings.

She said the sale of such “sophisticated weapons to India will disturb the strategic balance in South Asia with security implications for Pakistan and the region”. “The defence relations between the US and India are contributing to the destabilisation of peace and security in South Asia.”

“It is time that these offers take on a material shape,” she said while speaking about Kashmir. “We are expecting he [Trump] will take up the matter with Narendra Modi during his visit.”

PAK-TURKEY RELATIONS: Talking about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s two-day visit to the country, Farooqui said relations between the two countries are “not only close and friendly but are based on brotherhood”.

She further added that the Turkish president is accompanied by parliamentarians and investors from his country

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has decided to approach the Supreme Court (SC) for the cancellation of the post-arrest bail granted to former president Asif Ali Zardari in the Park Lane Estate Company and the money laundering through fake bank accounts cases.

NAB Rawalpindi has prepared an application that will be filed in the apex court after approval of the bureau’s prosecutor general. The application maintains that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had granted bail to Zardari while ignoring previous judicial decisions.

On December 12, 2019, the PPP co-chairman was released from custody at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) which was declared a sub-jail on the orders of the IHC on medical grounds. The bail was granted on December 11 against surety bonds of Rs20 million after staying under NAB’s detention for six months.

The court had noted that the pe-

Dr Mirza says Pakistani students affected by coronavirus have 'fully recovered' ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

State Minister of Health Dr Zafar Mirza on Thursday confirmed that four Pakistani students who had contracted coronavirus – officially named COVID-19 – have fully recovered. The minister added that the students have been discharged from medical facilities. Referring to steps taken to safeguard Pakistan, he said medical experts are present at airports to screen passengers from China and no cases have yet been detected. On Wednesday, the Chinese Embassy said three Pakistani nationals who had contracted the coronavirus in China had been cured. In a tweet, the mission said: “We are pleased to learn that 3 Pakistani citizens affected by Coronavirus in China have been cured and discharged from hospitals in Guangzhou and Shenzhen of Guangdong Province. All the best to them! Thank you, medical team in China!” Last month, Dr Mirza confirmed that four Pakistani students in China have tested positive for the coronavirus – COVID-19.

titioner, who is one of the accused in a reference pending before an accountability court, “has not been convicted and, therefore, he is to be treated as innocent unless proven guilty”. On November 12, 2019, an accountability court in Islamabad had rejected Zardari’s application for transferring him to Karachi for his ongoing medical treatment.

On July 29, 2019, an accountability court issued copies of the Park Lane reference against Zardari which stated that the former president had taken Rs1.5 billion loan from the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) in the name of fake company Parthenon.

On July 1, 2019, NAB had arrested Zardari in the Park Lane case while he was already in custody with the bureau’s Rawalpindi directorate in connection with the fake accounts case. On June 26, 2019, the PPP cochairman had withdrawn his bail applications in three cases saying he knew why he was suffering and “does not want to embarrass anyone”.

He withdrew his applications seeking bail in Park Lane, Tosha

Khana luxury vehicles and bulletproof vehicles references filed against him by NAB. On June 10, 2019, Zardari had surrendered himself to a team of NAB after the IHC rejected his and his sister Faryal Talpur’s pre-arrest bail plea in the money laundering case. The accountability watchdog had arrested him in June after the cancellation of his pre-arrest bail by the IHC in the fake bank accounts case.

At that time, the NAB had stated that it was proved during the inves-

tigation of the case that PPP leader had done corruption and money laundering with the help of his close aides. NAB had further stated the loans were taken by showing fake documents and those loans were then used for personal gains.

According to the reference, Rs1.5 billion were taken in 2009 and Rs800 million were withdrawn in 2012. It had added that the NBP suffered a loss of Rs3.77 billion due to this fraud. It had further mentioned that Zardari, as the president, had forged documents to comply with the loan policy and coaxed the NBP into loan approval.

Zardari was a 25 per cent share holder in the Park Lane Estate Company and he is accused of making a fake company, Parthenon, in the name of his employees. Besides, a property was also bought in the IBC Centre where the bureau has sealed eight floors.

As per the prosecution, the Park Lane case is being investigated under different sections of National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999, and Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010, for Zardari’s alleged involvement “in extending loan and its misappropriation by M/S Parthenon Private Limited, M/S Park Lane Estate Private Limited and others”.

Friday, 14 February, 2020

06 WORLD VIEW

Media darling Pete Buttigieg was in unit that worked with the Cia in afghanistan GrAyzone Alex RubinStein

a

FTer The Grayzone published an article about Pete Buttigieg’s roster of endorsements from CiA veterans and coup plotters, and another about his mysterious trip to somaliland alongside a friend who now works for a Us government regime-change agency, Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign issued a public statement denying that he ever worked for the CiA. “We hate to break the news to Twitter, but no, Pete was not in the CiA,” Buttigieg’s national press secretary Chris Meagher derisively told The daily Beast, which directly referenced both Grayzone reports. “As for the somaliland trip, it was not related to his work anywhere.”

The daily Beast article appeared in response not only to factual reporting by The Grayzone, but to a wave of allegations spread online through hashtags like #CiAPete which accused Buttigieg of being a CiA asset.

Following the fiasco in iowa, in which voting results were blocked thanks to faulty technology produced by a dark money outfit linked to Buttigieg – and Mayor Pete inexplicably took to himself the victor – the hashtag trended nationally. neither article published by The Grayzone accused Buttigieg of working for the CiA. However, according to mili-

tary documents that have gone mostly under the media’s radar, it does appear that the former mayor worked alongside the CiA while serving as a high-ranking naval intelligence officer during his short stint in Afghanistan. Moreover, the unit Buttigieg supervised was a subset of the drug enforcement Administration, the Us agency responsible for the disastrous war on drugs that has spawned humanitarian catastrophes throughout Latin America and much of the world. early on in his military career, Pete Buttigieg worked as an intelligence analyst at Us european Command, where he “conduct[ed] research and analysis of information to create accurate, timely intelligence products in support of UseUCoM theater operations,” according to mostly redacted military records released under the Freedom of information Act. Under a section labelled “command employment and command achievements,” Buttigieg’s papers indicate that intelligence was provided to “UseUCoM, nATo, deployed Units and other commands, including operations in Africa and the former Yugoslavia.” Buttigieg would eventually return to eUCoM, where he was promoted to team leader, supervising one officer and four intelligence analysts.

Two years into Buttigieg’s time as mayor, in 2014, he was called for duty again, this time to serve with the Us navy in Afghanistan.

Contrary to Buttigieg’s portrayal of himself as a gun-toting, freedom-fighting soldier, he enjoyed an immediate high rank during deployment. Just into his first term as mayor, Buttigieg “made sure my chain

of command knew that i would rather go sooner than later, and would rather go to Afghanistan than anywhere else,” he wrote in his book. Buttigieg was apparently shuttled over quickly, and left soon after.

He spent his six months in Afghanistan in 2014 with a little-known unit that operated under the watch of the drug enforcement Administration. it was the Afghanistan Threat Finance Cell (ATFC), according to his appointment papers. The job description in his discharge papers is blank.

Founded by Us Central Command leader-turned-CiA chief General david Patreaus, this unit was credited with the destruction of Kabul Bank, the first private bank founded in Afghanistan after the Us invas i o n .

ATFC reportedly exposed the financial institution as a giant “ponzi scheme.”

Mayor Pete would join this now illustrious outfit as an “officer in Charge.” in a 2016 interview with the Harvard Crimson, Buttigieg de-

scribed himself as an ATFC Liaison officer to the Combined Joint interagency Task Force.

ATFC’s primary task was to bust up the Taliban drug trade with the help of law enforcement and intelligence agencies. in Buttigieg’s papers, the ATFC is said to “identify and disrupt Taliban, AlQaeda and other insurgent financial/material support networks in Afghanistan by bringing to bear on these groups the full spectrum of interagency and government tools and authorities.”

While official records linking the ATFC to the CiA do not appear widely in available government documents, their collaboration is an open secret. one early report by the Association of Form e r intelligence officers, an advocacy or-

ganization for the Us intelligence community, noted “the cell has about two-dozen members drawn from the drug enforcement Administration, Us Central Command, the Treasury department and the CiA. The

FBi is expected to join soon.”

Global news wire Agency FrancePresse characterized ATFC as “a multiagency organization currently comprising about 30 specialists on loan from the department of drug enforcement, department of the Treasury, department of Justice, department of defense’s CenTCoM, the CiA and the FBi.” At the ATFC, Buttigieg “oversaw the analysis and operations conducted from ATFC Kabul HQ.” He also “coordinated intelligence sharing and targeting deconfliction with multiple organizations and represented ATFC at high level briefings.” in a 2019 interview with newsweek, Buttigieg said “we were working with everybody across the civilian spectrum in the intelligence community.” newsweek listed those agencies as the CiA, the nsA, and defense intelligence Agency.

The program was not exactly a smashing success, however. during the year of Buttigieg’s deployment in Afghanistan, the United nations found that opium production skyrocketed and that “Afghanistan produces some 90 percent of the world’s illicit opiates.” While Mayor Pete Buttigieg waxes humble about his Midwestern upbringing and touts his outsider story, his work alongside the CiA and deA halfway around the world was a highly unusual task that helped set the stage for his rise to national prominence.

Alexander Rubinstein has covered foreign policy, police, prisons, and protests for a variety of publications including The Grayzone and Mint Press News.

Revisiting the avaricious, lustful, greedy, fat King Farouk ♦♦♦

AmericAn conservAtive

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R J Stove

onsider a Middle eastern country. its most powerful man is a firm patriot exceedingly popular with the masses, profoundly skeptical of communism, and entirely capable of befriending America if only his better instincts can be appealed to. Treated by Washington with some sort of respect, he could be a useful national rallying point against the soviet hazard. But such far-sightedness is altogether too much for mischief-making spooks to contemplate. Within months he has been hurled from power, leaving a legacy of detestation for America and all its works that endures almost 70 years on.

Which Middle eastern country and which ruler are we talking about? The iran that Mohammad Mossadeq governed until 1953? no: the egypt that King Farouk governed until 1952.

An ex-officio tragedy clings to the last member of any monarchical house (in Farouk’s case, the last adult member, since his infant son Fuad theoretically reigned for a year after Farouk had fled).

Yet Farouk’s undoing—hastened by the CiA program crudely known as “operation Fat F**ker”—has an especial significance, not least for the shadows that it would cast on the Cold War’s future. Had Farouk stayed in control, it is impossible to imagine Gamal Abdel nasser bringing the world to Armageddon’s brink in the suez War of 1956. Accordingly, Farouk’s disgrace and exile are no mere cause for moist ruritanian compunction, legitimate though that feeling probably is. rather, they continue to help determine the front pages of our newspapers. Farouk, on the 100th anniversary of his birth, remains a figure at once sad, exasperating, and humbling to contemplate. We should ask ourselves how we would have fared in his position (alternately choking on the incense of outlandish flattery and quailing at the dangers of conspiratorial spite) before we rush to deride him.

Two long out-of-print volumes do Farouk something like justice: A King Betrayed (1989), by the monarch’s cousin A.M. sabit, written with first-hand experience of Farouk’s doings; and Too rich: The High Life and Tragic death of King Farouk (1991), by journalist William stadiem. Both are worth seeking out, the former for its unpretentious veracity, the latter for its unshockable prose style, which suggests an improbably productive pact between Taki Theodoracopulos and Hunter s. Thompson.

Farouk, despite his birth in Cairo on February 11, 1920, had more Albanian and Turkish than egyptian ancestry. His father, Fuad i, had not even bothered to make himself fluent in Arabic. Farouk, by contrast, displayed even as a child a natural competence in languages. He would master Arabic, French, english, and italian with equal ease.

Linguistic flair often cohabits with laziness in every other aspect of intellectual or cultural life, and such laziness, it must be admitted, was Farouk’s default mode. Like most young males in every age, he exerted himself only in subjects that appealed to him, eschewing disinterested mental effort. (His closest approach to philosophical discourse consisted of throwing bread at passers-by, in the heroic tradition of Bertie Wooster and Bingo Little at the drones Club.) if Farouk ever read a book from cover to cover, history has not recorded the feat. A subsequent mistress, irene Guinle, astringently commented: “He had three telephones by his bed…[and would] ring up his so-called friends at three in the morning and invite them to come over to his palace to play cards.” still, even she credited him with “impeccable manners.”

This was more than could be said for the six-feet-five-inches sir Miles Lampson, who held most of the real power in Cairo once Farouk (in 1936) had succeeded Fuad i on the throne. Theoretically no more than British high commissioner to egypt, Lampson acted with a Cromwellian brand of tyrannical egotism.

The fact that he habitually and openly referred to Farouk as “Boy” says it all.

Lampson’s boorishness (predictably he never mastered Arabic) might have had some vague justification if the British empire in 1936 had been anything more than the wreckage of a nice idea. no such luck. Any chance of continued imperial

vigor had been eliminated through the 1914-1918 mass-suicide by which Britain got as much as possible of its ruling class—and thus its empire-administering class—exterminated on the Western Front. Moreover, Lampson labored under the delusion that if only he could humiliate Farouk enough, then an appreciative Whitehall administration would give him the job that he really craved: the viceroyalty of india. He affected stunned surprise when “Boy” Farouk, full of hormones and self-confidence, seethed under such disdainful treatment.

The year of Farouk’s accession being also the year of Mussolini’s Abyssinian triumph, Lampson dreaded the potential influence of Farouk’s italian-dominated camarilla. Unfortunately for Lampson’s chauvinistic posturing, he himself had a roman-born wife. Which inconvenient truth gave Farouk the pretext for one of his better jokes: “i’ll get rid of my italians,” he told the disgusted Lampson, “when you get rid of yours.” ♦♦♦ Farouk’s slothful good nature, taste for millionaires’ company, and fundamental philosemitism (his favorite mistresses were Jewish) militated against his admiring the Third reich. on the other hand, Farouk happily enough used Hitler as a bogeyman with which to alarm Britain. At a meeting with Churchill in 1942, Farouk— in a gesture worthy of reverence by paleocons everywhere—surreptitiously pilfered the British prime minister’s watch. A local robber, grateful for a royal pardon, had taught him the requisite conjuring trick.

Abstracting timepieces from exposed wrists assumes a steady nerve, which Farouk indubitably still had. He needed it.

The victims of Muslim Brotherhood assassins between 1945 and 1949 included not only Cairo police chief selim Zaki Pasha, but also two egyptian prime ministers: Ahmed Maher and Mahmoud el nokrashy. nevertheless, the monarch himself looked safe. While ordinary egyptians in the street might have loathed most politicians, they continued to cheer Farouk.

Besides, Lampson made the mistake that almost everyone else in the Western world made during 1945: assuming that Churchill would coast to victory in the first postwar British election. After voters cheerfully forsook Churchill in favor of Clement Attlee, Farouk took great pleas-

ure in appealing to Foreign secretary ernest Bevin over Lampson’s head. The maneuver worked. Attlee wanted to dissolve the British empire as soon as possible—in 1946-1947, he had irgun terrorists as well as Congress Party separatists to contend against—and under no circumstances would he let Lampson rule any imperial domain. Perforce, a furiously disillusioned Lampson (by this time ennobled as Baron Killearn) handed over his ambassadorial office to Attlee’s preferred candidate, sir ronald ian Campbell. ♦♦♦ The Arab-israeli War of 1948 hurt Farouk’s cause badly. ignoring all recent lessons about the rapid movement of armored divisions, the egyptian army’s strategists sent in (sabit’s own words) “teams of infantry with fixed bayonets— these then being mown down by well-entrenched Jewish settlers armed with heavy-duty machine-guns.”

Historians continue to debate the extent to which nasser, his front man Muhammad neguib, and the other leaders of the Free officers’ Movement acted consciously on CiA orders to force Farouk out. But it is certain that without the CiA, they would hardly have dared act at all. even when they did act, it was the damnedest close-run thing. To quote afresh from sabit, who witnessed many of the relevant events: “if Farouk had, that first morning of the coup d’état [July 23, 1952], taken his car and driven straight to the Alexandria Garrison Headquarters at Mustapha Pasha Barracks, he would have been able to assume command of a substantial military force which considerably outnumbered the Cairo rebels. …But he preferred to remain inactive.”

Politically inactive, yes; but not personally so. in extremis, Farouk demonstrated the raw physical courage that many voluptuaries amaze their foes by exhibiting. With his own hunting rifle, he killed no fewer than four enemy soldiers before being persuaded that his surrender alone could prevent further bloodshed.

He earned many epithets, but “coward” was not among them. nor was “ingrate.” in 1946, Farouk had offered sanctuary to the italian exkings Victor emmanuel iii and Humbert ii. now italy provided Farouk with asylum. in naples and—above all—rome, his generosity to any crook, freeloader,

and fantasist who crossed his path continued to get the better of him. so did his ravenous appetite. Already plump as a youngster, he grew almost spherical after abandoning egypt. The dolce vita grew ever less dolce, ever more deathly. on March 18, 1965, the 45-year-old Farouk breathed his last in a rome hospital, having suffered a massive seizure a few hours beforehand at the nearby Île de France restaurant. Perhaps simple obesity, chain-smoking, and excessive consumption of carbohydrates finished him off, but many egyptians believed, and some continue to believe, that nasser had had the ex-monarch poisoned. ♦♦♦ Upon Farouk’s death, The new York Times (forever willing to subsidize stalinist mythomaniacs like Walter duranty, Castroite mythomaniacs like Herbert Matthews, and race-hustling mythomaniacs like Jayson Blair) officially pronounced the deceased sovereign beyond the moral pale: “one could pile up pejorative adjectives like sybaritic, avaricious, lustful, greedy, to reach a contemptible total.

Farouk ended up in luxurious exile, caring nothing for egypt or the impoverished egyptian people. The epitaph for King Farouk has to be bitter and contemptuous.”

Truth to tell, Farouk engaged in sexual vices no more and no less outrageous than those which successive Kennedys have practiced without thus incurring the smallest new York Times censure. stadiem’s conclusion that Farouk sinned chiefly by being fat and bald—instead of lean, ivy Leagueschooled, immaculately coiffed, and resplendently toothed—is hard to dispute. even harder to dispute is stadiem’s other conclusion: that the modern Pentagon mania for misinterpreting every Middle eastern conflict in terms of 1776 brings disaster wherever it has been attempted. daniel Larison has repeatedly demonstrated how in reality, this hubris (which this magazine was founded specifically to combat) typifies Trump no less than his predecessors. For so long as it lasts, America’s policymakers will continue deserving the bitter aphorism that ngo dinh diem’s sister-in-law hurled at them: “Whoever has the Americans as allies does not need enemies.”

R.J. Stove, based in Melbourne, has been a contributing editor at TAC since 2004.

Friday, 14 February, 2020

NEWS

PaRLiaMenT noT Taken inTo ConfidenCe foR GidC iMPoSiTion, CouRT ToLd ISLAMABAD

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APP

HE Supreme Court (SC) was informed on Thursday that the parliament was not taken into confidence when the Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) was imposed on industries.

A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Mushir Alam and comprising Justice Faisal Arab and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, heard the case.

During the course of proceedings, the officers of the Finance Division and the Accountant General’s Office appeared before the court.

The court expressed annoyance over accountant general and officers of the Finance Division for not submitting replies over judicial queries.

Justice Faisal Arab asked how much did it cost to build a gas pipeline.

Justice Mushir Alam asked how much cost occurred on the project till now. The joint secretary finance responded that only a small amount had been spent on the projects so far.

Justice Mushir Alam asked how GIDCs’ money was included in tax collection. The joint secretary replied that the GIDC amount was wrongly included in the tax collection and investigation was continuing in this regard.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah asked if the officers did not know the details then why they appeared before the

Court orders Malik Riaz to ensure presence on Mar 2 ISLAMABAD: An accountability court on Thursday again served notices to Bahria Town Chairman Malik Riaz and other accused in a case pertaining to Bahria Icon Tower in Karachi. AC-I Judge Muhammad Bashir summoned Malik Riaz and other accused on March 2, to answer in the above graft case connected with the fake accounts scam. The court directed all accused to ensure their attendance on the next date of hearing. The others summoned included former senator Yousaf Baloch, Dr Dinshaw Anklesaria, Liaquat Qaimkhani, Waqas Raffat, Ghulam Arif, Khawaja Shafique, Abdul Subhan Memon, Jamil Baloch, Afzal Aziz, Syed Mohammad Shah, Khurram Arif, Abdul Karim Paleejo and Khawaja Badeeuz Zaman. As per the reference, the accused persons caused over Rs100 billion loss to the national exchequer through illegal allotment of an amenity plot related to Bagh Ibne Qasim where Bahria Town constructed the tower. STAFF REPORT

SC directs LHC to conclude Model Town case in three months ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Lahore High Court (LHC) to announce verdict in petitions against the formation of new joint investigation team (JIT) in Model Town case, in three months. A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed and comprising Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, heard the case. During the course of proceedings, the Chief Justice directed the Registrar, Lahore High Court to submit this order of the Supreme Court before the Chief Justice LHC. The top court also directed the Chief Justice LHC to form a bench in light of this order. The chief justice said that many people were killed and injured in Model Town tragedy many years ago. Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan said that the Punjab government had promised to form a new JIT. The victims approached the Supreme Court for the new JIT as the old JIT did not record the victims’ statements, he added. He said that some people approached the Lahore High Court against the new JIT. After getting stay order from the Lahore High Court, delaying tactics were used to prolong the case, he added. He asked how the three-judge bench of the high court could suspend the decision of a five-member Supreme Court bench. He asked why not the apex court suspend the interim order of the Lahore High Court. APP

court. The routine replies were being provided on the court inquiry, he added.

Justice Faisal Arab said that budget deficit occurred due to these reasons.

The shopkeeper also knew what to take and what to give, he added.

During the proceedings, the court also hinted to stop recovery of further cess amount.

Justice Mushir Alam said that if all

applicants were willing, the court would stop the cess collection.

The government could collect more funds after the initiation of projects.

The counsels for the industries agreed to stop further collection of cess amount.

The additional attorney general said that the government would object to halting of collection of money as most industries had received this money from consumers.

Advocate Makhdoom Ali Khan said that the government did not take parliament into confidence over the use of the GIDC amount for the last nine years. Following the court order, details of cess money were now being provided in Parliament, he added.

He said that according to his information on the TAPI project, India, Turkmenistan and Iran did not take any money from the people.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah asked if the project did not start in 10 years, would the money remain the same. No one knew when the project would begin, he added.

Petroleum Division asked to change oil and gas pricing formula for production companies ISLAMABAD: The Finance Ministry, apparently to ensure reduction in the prices of local oil and gas, has advised the Petroleum Division to change the pricing formula of oil and gas production companies by delinking the price with dollar, Pakistan Today has learned.

According to sources, the Finance Ministry wanted to reduce the prices of local oil and gas by linking the price of local oil and gas production with Pakistani rupees.

They said the proposed change in oil and gas production policy would cause adverse effecton the production of local oil and gas as local production would be reduced while consumption of imported oil and gas would be enhanced. Foreign and local exploration and production (E&P) companies including the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) might face serious losses if prices were delinked with dollar, sources added.

They said changes in the pricing policy for E&P companies were under consideration to ensure cheap oil and gas in the country. Sources added the foreign and local companies would stop production by delinking the prices of local oil and gas with dollar.

They further said the payments of imported oil and gas are at present being made in dollars while payments of local oil and gas are currently being made in Pakistani currency. A former PGRA official, on condition of

anonymity, said by separating the pricing with dollar would discourage the foreign E&P companies and no company would dare to invest in the country in future.

He said the Petroleum Division would have to convince the E&P companies prior to introducing any change in the pricing formula while price stability was part of the agreement which the Directorate General of Petroleum Concession (DGPC) signs with the E&P companies before initiation of any agreement for local oil and gas production. The former official said delinking of local oil and gas prices would eventually result in increased dependence of imported fuels,causing billion of rupees loss to national exchequer. Sources further said due to discouraging local oil and gas exploration and production in the past, gas shortfall had increased and dependence on imported fuel had risen as currently Pakistan has been importing around $2 billion worth expansive Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) annually to meet gas demands.

They said the payments of imported fuels are made in dollars and it is benefiting the foreign commodity dealers/importers, adding with local oil and gas production, Pakistan earns heavy benefits in the form of royalty, taxes, corporate social responsibility and employment besides availability of cheap sources of energy. AHMAD AHMADANI

PIA CEO being paid Rs959,468, SC told NEWS DESK Defending the appointment of Air Marshal Arshad Malik as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pakistan International Airlines Corporation (PIAC), the company’s board has told the Supreme Court that, “owing to chronic mismanagement contributing to colossal losses running into billions, it was deemed appropriate and necessary that personnel from the armed forces, especially the Air Force, be given the opportunity to

apply for the position of PIAC CEO”.

PIAC’s Board has also submitted a concise statement through its counsel, Salman Akram Raja, in the apex court regarding the alleged illegal appointment of the PIA CEO. The statement shares complete details of eight Pakistan Air Force (PAF) officers who are working on deputation in the department. The statement says that the PIA CEO was being paid Rs959,468 in gross salary; Air Commodore Aamer Altaf, the Chief Human Resources (HR) Officer.

07

Court stops defamation suit proceedings against ali Zafar LAHORE APP

A sessions court on Thursday stopped proceedings on a Rs2 billion damages suit filed by singer Meesha Shafi against singer and actor Ali Zafar.Additional District and Sessions Judge Amjad Ali Shah passed the orders while allowing an application, filed

by Ali Zafar, who had pleaded with the court to stop proceedings on defamation suit against him till the final verdict in his defamation suit.Meanwhile, the court adjourned hearing of the defamation suit filed

by Ali Zafar against Meesha Shafi till Feb 18. The court summoned Meesha's witnesses for recording their statements on the next date of hearing. Ali Zafar had filed Rs1bn defamation case under the Defamation Ordinance 2002, after being accused of harassment. He denied all allegations leveled against him in a tweet by Meesha Shafi.In April 2018, Meesha Shafi had accused Zafar of harassing her on 'more than one occasions'.

SC directs govt to pay back Rs172bn to workers’ welfare fund ISLAMABAD APP

The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the federal government to pay back Rs 172 billion in the Workers Welfare Fund. A threemember bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed and comprising Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, heard the case. During the course of proceedings, the court asked the government to spend the Federation fund’s Rs172bn on workers’ welfare. Additional Advocate General Sindh Barrister Shabbir Shah said that the Sindh government had submitted two reports. He said that 18 companies had given Rs 12 billion while 222 companies were on stay order and they did not deposit funds. Out of four years, funds of one year were deposited, he added. Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan said that if there was some money left over after the scheme, then funds be deposited in the national exchequer. The Additional Advocate General Sindh said that companies deposit five percent of their deposit in the Workers Welfare Fund which was spent on worker welfare. Justice Sajjad Ali Shah asked what action was taken against companies that were not depositing funds. The Additional Advocate General Sindh said that companies filed new applications every year.

FBR paid Rs29bn in tax refunds, NA told ISLAMABAD SHAHZAD PARACHA

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has paid Rs29 billion in sales tax refunds to the export sector under the fast track system, Inland Revenue-Policy Member Dr Hamid Attique told the National Assembly’s Finance Committee on Thursday.

According to the FBR official, the board received sales tax refund claims to tune of Rs37bn through Annexure-H (sales tax return form), out of which the government paid after Rs29bn to the exporters after processing the claims of Rs32bn.

The FBR member said the delay in the payment to the exporters was due to errors in data processing by the sector; however, the FBR has identified focal persons in major cities to help them with the refund claims. He said the

board was now in the process of clearing the claims for December 2019.

NA committee Chairman Faizullah Kamoka disagreed and said exporters had expressed concerns over the sluggish pace of payments of the claims.

Speaking about the CNIC condition for the purchases above Rs50,000, he said the FBR won’t be able to broaden the tax base if the condition was withdrawn. He said the businesses were on decline after the implementation of the CNIC condition as per the FBR data.

The committee directed FBR to issue instructions to the distribution companies to stop the deduction of sales tax in the electricity bills of the five export-oriented sectors.

After a detailed discussion, the committee formed a three-member subcommittee with Aisha Ghaus Pasha, Nafeesa Shah and Ramesh Kumar on

the issues highlighted by the textile industry.

‘RS2,379BN IN TAXES TILL JAN’: The committee also discussed the status of Federal Transfers to Provinces during Financial Year 2019-20 from July 1, 2019, to Dec 31, 2020 under the NFC Award. The additional secretary of the Finance Ministry briefed the committee about the disbursement under divisible pool to provinces. The committee members expressed their concerns about the utilisation of funds in PSDP. According to the Finance Division, the tax collection till January 31, 2020 stood at Rs2,397bn.

Out of the total amount, Rs1,501 billion have been transferred to the provinces, with Rs746bn to Punjab; Rs354bn to Sindh; Rs236bn to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP); and Rs164bn to Balochistan, the officials informed the committee.

The federal government also transferred Rs4.6bn to Punjab; Rs34.2bn to Sindh; Rs16.9bn to KP; and Rs8.7bn to Balochistan.

The finance secretaries of Punjab, Sindh and KP special secretary were present in the meeting; however, due to shortage of time, the committee decided to reconsider the subject agenda in its meeting. The committee also deferred remaining agenda pertaining to PSDP of Financial Year 2020-21.

Friday, 14 February, 2020

08 COMMENT Acquitted, yes, but exonerated?

Hooking Leviathan No iron curtains in 2020

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he Bible puts the relevant question graphically.

“Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook or tie down its tongue with a rope?” The PTI government wants to muzzle the social media in the wake of a steady drumbeat of bad headlines regarding the government’s performance. Among other things the government wants the social media companies to divulge the identity of its detractors so that they can be sorted out in night raids.

Social media companies will also have to disclose any information or data to a designated investigation agency, when sought, and failure to abide by any of the provision will entail a fine of up to Rs500 million. european Union countries and Australia have fined social media companies heavily for breaking clearly defined laws. The digital companies are required to protect users from content involving things like terrorism, cyber-bullying, child abuse and online hate speech. But in Pakistan the idea is to punish the dissidents by putting pressure on social media companies which are being required to register with the government, establish a permanent registered office in Pakistan with a physical address, appoint a focal person based in Pakistan for coordination with the National Coordinator and the concerned authority and establish database servers in Pakistan to record and store data and online content.

Instead of bringing the issue before Parliament, the cabinet has approved the rules to control the social media.

This creates problems. For instance, the media companies are required to disable access to material that violates the religious, cultural, ethnic, or national security sensitivities of Pakistan. But who will define these sensitivities? how can the Media Coordinator or a government committee issue a ruling over contentious matters?

Will the government ban the media companies if they refuse to accept the rules? If so, it will have to renounce its much trumpeted goal of a digital Pakistan. The government will cause losses to the emerging digital economy if the operations of Twitter or Facebook are terminated. The Chinese can dispense with both as they have created replacements like Weibo, Baidu and WeChat.

What has the PTI government in hand? Deprived of their twitter handles, the PM and the DG ISPR will find it hard to respond to emerging developments.

Hafiz Saeed sentenced The crackdown should extend to other untouchables as well

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he timing of Jama’at-ud-Da’wah chief hafiz Saeed Ahmed’s conviction for money-laundering appears a little suspicious, taking place about a month before the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)’s meeting in Paris next month. hafiz Saeed has been often enough picked up, mostly because the government wishes to burnish its anti-terrorism credentials, but this is the first time he has actually been convicted and sentenced.

Many would feel that this is not suspicious, but overdue. hafiz Saeed’s activities have been used by India to paint him as some sort of terrorist mastermind. Whatever damage has been done to hafiz Saeed’s reputation, much more has been done to the country, with him being quoted as the leading example, whenever Pakistan’s enemies try to paint it, as a haven for terrorism.

It is to be hoped that the conviction is not just meant to convince the FATF that Pakistan is taking action against money-laundering, and that he will be released at the appellate stage. Like any other convict, hafiz Saeed has every right to appeal his sentence to the high court and then the Supreme Court. however, this should not be used as a means of getting him out, but the prosecution must pursue the case with proper vigour and penetration, to satisfy the course of justice, not any foreign observer.

One reason why foreign interlocutors have expressed jubilation at the conviction is the perception that he enjoyed some kind of immunity against the laws of the state. That has been shown not to be the case. It is also time to show that there are other supposed ‘untouchables’ who can be brought within the ambit of the law. One example, the haqqani Network, actually comprises foreign nationals, whose nationality combined with their activities, feed the narrative of Pakistan as a terrorist haven. Rather than face foreign pressure to follow our own laws, it would be much more in the national interest to ensure that the laws of the land were followed by all. If the laws are defective, let them be changed, rather than force the nation to go down the path of any winking at illegality. At the same time, there must be no assumptions about any individual or institution being in any way above the law.

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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An acquittal setting a lot of unfortunate precedents At Penpoint

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M.A. NIAZI

he acquittal of President Donald Trump by the US Senate in his impeachment trial has a number of implications for the USA, not the least of them that no President should ever lose a majority in the Senate. It also means that there is now no sanction against what Trump’s own quondam National Security Adviser, John Bolton, is said to have described as a ‘drug deal.’

Trump will try to use this acquittal to rally his base in his race this year for re-election, as proof that the charges laid against him were merely another action in the constant Democrat effort to upset the result of the 2016 presidential election.

It was also very interesting to hear the law professors to appear before the house Intelligence Committee, who emphasized, among other things, that impeachment was supposed to act as a check on the President, but not a partisan exercise. It has never come down to impeachment, but in Pakistan it would be a partisan exercise. Impeachment is the method by which a President is to be removed in Pakistan, but it has only been contemplated twice, once against President Ghulam Ishaq Khan in 1993, after the National Assembly which he dissolved had been restored, and then against Pervez Musharraf in 2013, when the party he had supported, the PML(Q), was trounced in the elections that year. In neither case did the move reach the floor of Parliament, and while Ishaq completed his term, Musharraf resigned.

The provisions for an impeachment of a US President are different for an Indian or a Pakistani President, for they are heads of state, not heads of government. As they are bound by the advice of the Prime Minister in all their actions, it is to be assumed that they would only be impeached if they did something in their private capacities, like murder, assault or theft, not violate the advice tendered to them. The PM who gave bad advice could be removed from office by the National Assembly, without assigning any reason, though it must name a successor in the motion of no-confidence. The US President, however, is free in all his actions. Therefore, when Donald Trump was accused of having pressured Ukraine to announce an investigation into Joe and hunter Biden, by the carrot of offering Ukrainian President

Volodymyr Zelensky a White house meeting and the stick of holding back of $321 million in military aid, he was accused of abusing his power, by asking a foreign power to intervene in a presidential election. he was also accused of obstructing Congress in its investigation.

Trump was going to be acquitted, not so much because he was innocent, as because the Democrats only had 49 Senators, and thus would need 17 Republican Senators to vote for his removal. As it was, of the 51 Republican Senators, only Mitt Romney voted for removal. In private, it is reported, Senators expressed disturbance, but in public none except Romney was willing to break ranks.

Democrats took the high horse, but the real motive was to unseat Trump. With him unseated, and disqualified from holding office again, the Republican Party would have had a hard time finding a substitute to contest the Presidency in this year’s election. The real fight would have been that for the Democratic nomination. As it is, the Democrats have hurt the President badly, for though acquitted, he has been impeached. The acquittal may rally the base of his voters, but the election is to be decided by the undecided and independent voters, who might well feel that the Senate had to acquit, and it was their duty to vote against him.

Presidents usually win a second term, especially one under whom the economy is doing well. While the US economy has been performing well under Tump, the trade war with China has been followed by the coronavirus epidemic, which might lead to an economic weakening that might lead to his defeat. A Trump win cannot be guaranteed, however, since 1976, three of eight sitting Presidents to contest have been defeated.

Before that, there was only one defeat of a sitting President, in 1932, at the height of the Great Depression. It could be said that a sitting President was due to lose, but Trump supporters could say that unenviable fate could overtake whoever was elected in 2024, not their man.

Ironically, the man Trump was accused of targeting, Obama’s Vice President Joe Biden, may not be the candidate Trump ultimately faces.

Though the Iowa caucuses do not determine the nomination, they do provide an indication about which direction a party’s voters are inclined. Perhaps more important, performance in Iowa affects how well candidates will be at raising funds for the rest of their campaign. The second primary has taken place in New hampshire, another key state for any candidate. Biden came in fourth in

Where tradition meets climate change Farmers are finding ways to get by NIcolAs PANtelIck

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WO weeks ago, I set out with three of my colleagues from the high Atlas Foundation (hAF) to the village of Gourrama in the Moroccan Middle Atlas Mountains. Our journey, from sunrise to sunset, took us across rugged terrains and through communities of all sizes. I revelled in the beauty, both natural and created, that flashed by my window as we drove. each of the passing images aroused in me the innocent excitement one feels at seeing a place for the first time, if even just for a moment.

Solitary concrete buildings partitioned the flowing green fields we slipped through. Washed in fading emeralds, reds, pinks, and oranges, in profile, they appeared as stooped faces, their heavy-set brows animated by the soulful eyes of lit windows.

They, witnesses to the passing lives and journeys of all, were solemn and resolute in their observation. Other constructions lay further back from the road, their glossy tin roofs peeking out from the verdant seas beside which they stood. The space between these oases of life and colour did not feel hollow or maligned. It existed alongside the same expansiveness with which the blue sky above stretched up, out, and around us, without limit.

Upon arrival in Gourrama, we met with local representatives to drop off several hundred walnut and almond saplings at surrounding agricultural associations. These were only a fraction of the thousands of fruit trees we had carried with us, tightly packed in the back of our vehicle beside our luggage. One such representative, Tarik Sadki, head of the local association, gave us a tour of the property where we would be staying. Among the many buildings of mud brick and reinforced straw we walked through, one room, in particular, was a source of pride for Tarik. here, he had curated a museum space over the past 20 years, dedicated to the preservation of the region’s history dating back a millennium, containing dozens of Amazigh, Arab, and French artifacts, from ancient tools and

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weapons to contemporary pieces of artwork.

This first morning in Gourrama, we distributed trees to 32 local farming families. Men, old and young alike, arrived wearing customary earthtoned djellabas to stave off the morning’s chill and protect their eyes from the rising sun. excitedly, they hoisted their sapling bundles onto the backs of waiting donkeys, with visible pride and purpose.

In the late morning, we drove to a nearby town for further tree dissemination. There, I asked a handful of farmers about the effects of climate change on their livelihoods. In response, one man named Mustafa said that he has noticed a precipitous drop in rainfall, leading to reduced land quality. This dearth of rain, he revealed, has also impeded communal efforts to expand cultivation range, stabilize income fluctuations, and sustain local apiaries and flocks. One solution that he and others have found for this issue has been to build dams and canals to divert water from rivers to their fields. Moreover, during a dry year, he explained, farmers must plant more drought-resistant staples of barley and corn, even when these crops do not provide enough self-sustaining income.

Similarly, another farmer named hasan recounted that, since a 2008 flood, all of the almond trees have been dying in the region. Because of this difficult reality, farmers seek more environmentally resilient varieties of trees that will flower later in the season, during a time of greater rainfall. Unrelated to climate change, hasan expressed that a lack of fundamental agricultural training has also been responsible for diminishing yields. he believes that these farming practices, wherein people plant their trees and leave them without care, are a consequence of this deficient education.

At midday, after all farmers had received their trees, we led a discussion on communal wants and needs for the future. Through this conversation, we learned that rural Moroccan farmers often struggle to find the “right” domestic market for their products, toiling to make enough money, even in plentiful years. The majority of their crops are exported raw to european countries, to be processed and sold at high prices for the benefit of large corporations, instead of for their original growers. Moroccans want to access the international organic market, but rarely can because they lack adequate resources to

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Iowa and fifth in New hampshire, so Democrats may have to forgo the vindication inherent in Biden beating Trump. however, there are no allegations of Trump trying to get any dirt on, or in any way, prosecute, Mayor Peter Buttgieg, or Senators elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders, who led Biden in Iowa and New hampshire.

There have only been three impeachment trials, all ending in acquittal. But counting the Nixon case, when he resigned after the house voted his impeachment, and it became clear that Senate would vote to remove him, the frequency has been increasing. Between 1783 and 1973, the house only voted articles of impeachment once, against Andrew Johnson, who had become President after Abe Lincoln was assassinated, after being a Democrat elected on a ‘unity’ ticket. The Republican house majority voted Articles of impeachment, but lacked the two-thirds majority in the Senate. The impeachment of President Clinton in 1999 followed the same pattern, only in reverse: a Republican majority in the house voted to impeach a Democrat President, but a Democrat majority in the Senate voted to acquit him.

The Republicans had got Clinton dead to rights. he had not just behaved improperly with an intern, but had tried to shut her up with a government job. But he got off. So this time, when the Democrats had caught Trump with his hand in the proverbial till, the house voted the impeachment, but the Senate let him off.

The result of this partisan feeling is that impeachment, once a dread, rare sanction, is for Presidents becoming one of the ricks of the job, unless he belongs to the same party as both of the houses. It is no longer enough to win; one must be sure that one controls both the house that votes on impeachment, and the one that tries it.

More worrying, especially for proponents of the presidential system, is that this might mark the first step towards the USA moving away from democracy. There is already some talk of Ivanka Trump taking on her father’s legacy. There has already been the son of one President succeeding his father, and the wife of another running for the office. It took a long time for the Roman Republic to become an empire. But like the USA, it was a democracy which acquired an empire first.

There is one important difference in the route being travelled. The Roman Republic made a military commander its emperor. Its highest elected officials, the two consuls, became nonentities. The USA seems destined to make its highest elected official the head of its empire. That the empire is presently informal is not unprecedented, but it does mean that there are more developments to come.

M.A. Niazi is a member of the staff

effectively plant, grow, harvest, process, and distribute their produce. Some farmers have taken this challenge head-on, successfully managing the “seed to sale” value chain themselves. In this regard, a few in Gourrama have made moderate gains processing local olives into olive oil.

Beyond this, the group discussion brought forth two final issues: the inadequacy of young children’s school facilities and sweeping rural joblessness. employment outside the field of agriculture is difficult to come by in this area, and the only occasional jobs available are in animal husbandry and beekeeping. Subsequently, we emphasized that hAF will remain a part of their entire development process, from the distribution of seeds to the certification, processing, and sale of produce, assisted by the USAID Farmer-to-Farmer program. To conclude, we completed a ceremonial tree planting, fertilizing the saplings, freshly laid to rest, with the traditional practice of spreading ash on the topsoil to deliver vital nutrients to the tree roots.

Following a typical late Moroccan lunch, we travelled to a 20-hectare communal farm on an immense plain bordered by low, rolling mountains.

It seemed an impossibility, with the wind whipping through our scant jackets and clawing roughly against our flushed cheeks, that anything could flourish amongst such tumult. Yet, we learned, adversity and perseverance, like that which we had seen throughout our visit, was acutely woven into the very essence of the place we stood. This project was created by the local agricultural cooperative with a government land grant, providing jobs for unemployed individuals lacking viable professional prospects, and keeping them from succumbing to the tide of rural emigration.

Ingenuity in the face of hardship is commonplace within this community and the thousands of others in the high and Middle Atlas Mountains.

Climate change is just the latest challenge they face. Oftentimes, people find themselves returning to tradition when they encounter problems of modern creation. On our last day in Gourrama, we came upon a small stand-alone corn processing facility where hydropower is used to churn grain into flour. This generational self-sustaining practice has yielded years of profit for the community. Its industrious design and the myriad of aforementioned examples serve as remembrances that, despite an ever-changing world, those who work in symbiosis with their environment will have their dedication reflected and returned.

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Friday, 14 February, 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

Whither humanity ?

The tragedy of Afzal Guru A cynical sacrifice for a false-flag operation

sultAN M HAlI

S

eVeN years ago, Muhammad Afzal Guru was executed in secrecy, without being allowed to meet his loved ones and buried quietly in Delhi’s Tihar jail, on 9 February 2013. he had been accused of aiding and abetting the attack on the Indian Parliament on December 13.

Afzal Guru was born in Sopore in the Baramulla district of Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) in 1969. As a medical student at Jhelum Valley Medical College, Srinagar, Guru was motivated by a friend to join the Kashmir liberation jihad. he later surrendered to security forces and after graduation, took up a job with a pharmaceutical firm in New Delhi and became its area manager.

On 13 December 2001, a deadly attack took place on the Indian Parliament building in New Delhi. 14 people were killed and at least 22 were injured. Afzal Guru was blamed for the attack and with investigators quoting leads relating to the car used and cellphone records, he was arrested from Srinagar, his cousin Shaukat husain Guru, Shaukat’s wife Afsan Guru and S A R Gilani, a lecturer of Arabic at Delhi University, were also arrested.

The two most incriminating pieces of evidence presented against Guru were a cellular phone and a laptop confiscated at the time of arrest. They were not sealed, as evidence is required to be, but were accepted as proof of his guilt. During the trial it emerged that the hard disk of the laptop had been accessed after the arrest. It only contained the fake home ministry passes and the fake identity cards that the ‘terrorists’ used to enter the Parliament— and a Zee TV video clip of parliament house. According to the police, Guru had deleted all the information except the most incriminating bits. The police witness said he sold the crucial SIM card that connected all the accused in the case to one another to Guru on 4 December 2001. But the prosecution’s own call records showed the SIM was actually operational from 6 November 2001.

In the ensuing aftermath, India blamed Pakistan for sponsoring the attack and amassed its

troops on the Pakistani border. Swift deploy- Roy, in her opinion piece on the subject titled ment of a counter-offensive by ground, sea and ‘The hanging of Afzal Guru is a stain on India’s air forces by Pakistan deterred the bellicose In- democracy’ published in The Guardian on 10 dians from attacking. The two forces remained February 2013, two days after Afzal Guru was in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation for 10 furtively sent to the gallows, writes that the Inmonths. even a tiny spark could have pushed dian Supreme Court judgment acknowledged the evidence was circumthe two nuclear-armed stantial: ‘As is the case nations into mutually aswith most conspiracies, sured destruction. India is and could be no blinked first since the The more one studies it, the there evidence amounting to mobilization was costing criminal conspiracy.’ But it more than it had anticimore the attack on the then, shockingly, it went pated and decided to Indian Parliament seems on to say: ‘The incident, withdraw. which resulted in heavy Indian Journalist like an Indian false-flag casualties, had shaken the Vinod K. Jose claimed that in an interview in operation to justify punitive entire nation, and the collective conscience of so2006, Guru had confided action against Pakistan. ciety will only be that he had been subjected to extreme torture Following the 9/11 attacks, satisfied if capital punishment is awarded to the ofwhich included electric India was certain that fender.’ shocks in his private parts The more one studies and being beaten up for Pakistan would also be it, the more the attack on hours, along with threats the Indian Parliament regarding his family after targeted by the USA and seems like an Indian his arrest. In the interNATO for supporting false-flag operation to view, Guru confirmed justify punitive action that he was tasked by terrorism. Pakistan against Pakistan. FollowDSP Davinder Singh to thwarted the move by ing the 9/11 attacks, India take ‘someone’ to Delhi. was certain that Pakistan Afzal was to find a rented allying itself to the USA. would also be targeted by house for him in Delhi.

This ‘someone’ was idenBelieving that the USA was the USA and NATO for supporting terrorism. tified as one of the five preoccupied with its Pakistan thwarted the gunmen who attacked move by allying itself to Parliament. During the military operations in the USA. Believing that stay, the would-be asAfghanistan, India thought the USA was preoccupied sailant was in constant with its military operatouch with DSP Davinder it could get away with a tions in Afghanistan, Singh. Afzal Guru’s role ended here yet he was swift assault on Pakistan, India thought it could get with a swift assault named as the mastermind so it conjured up an excuse away on Pakistan, so it conof the deadly assault.

The quartet was tried to do so. It was Pakistan’s jured up an excuse to do so. It was Pakistan’s swift under charges of waging swift military maneuvering military maneuvering and war, conspiracy, murder, of its forces attempt to murder etc. and positioning of its forces positioning that foiled the Indian plot. with the provisions of the Afzal Guru was a Prevention of Terrorism that foiled the Indian plot. prisoner of conscience.

Act, 2002 being added to Afzal Guru was a prisoner After having surrendered the original charges.

On 18 December of conscience. After having to security forces in 1993, he was constantly being 2002, relying on the cirsurrendered to security harassed by security cumstantial evidence, the agencies and tortured special court awarded forces in 1993, he was every time an attack took capital punishment to Guru, Shaukat and Geeconstantly being harassed place.

Internalani. Shaukat’s wife by security agencies and tionalAmnesty questioned his senAfsan was found guilty tence, stating that he did of concealing the plot and tortured every time an not receive adequate legal sentenced to five years in attack took place representation and that jail. The prison took steps his execution was carried to execute Guru in seout in secrecy. This was crecy. The execution was indeed a human tragedy. carried out without the family’s knowledge or Sultan M Hali is a retired Group Captain any form of public announcement. Guru’s body was buried on prison grounds to prevent a pub- and author of the book Defence & Diplomacy.

Currently he is a columnist, analyst and TV lic funeral.

Renowned human rights activist Arundhati talk show host.

We live in a police state. Cases of Naqeeb Ullah Mehsud, Professor Arman Luni, Sahiwal killings and Salahudin are exceptional only in terms of the publicity they manage to generate. Otherwise, fear, humiliation, torture and corruption remain the norm in citizen-police encounters, signaling the grip of coercive apparatuses on everyday life in Pakistan.

Torture in particular is a unique mode of policing. Its purpose is not to serve justice adequate to a particular crime.

Instead, it aims to annul citizenship out of the victims body through the use of excessive pain. Tortured bodies are the stamps carrying dirty secrets of the state to remind the public that beyond all rhetoric of rights and responsibilities, there remains the sovereign’s primordial right to kill. It melts away any remnants of dignity in people’s live and elevates the anxiety of death as the supreme emotion in society.

What is worse is that the state now has mechanism to deal with the periodic rage that spills out. In moments of public outpouring of anger, even ministers will join the chorus to condemn a particular act. The aim is always to ensure that the rage is contained within the parameters defined by the state.

But the moment a campaign develops to challenge the underlying logic of systemic violence, the state will allege treason and use the same police to fix those who cross the line.

PTI governments, much like previous governments, appears helpless in front of the system that reduces citizens to inexistence. This is the third major incident of police violence in Punjab since CM Buzdar took over. Few months ago, we worked with families of Sahiwal incident and observed how bribes and threats were all that the government could offer to protect ‘state institutions’ from any serious accountability.

Walter Benjamin taught us that despite all obfuscations by government officials, rage continues to store in the collective unconscious of the masses. There are then moments in which this accumulated rage bursts into the open to impose divine justice. The suffering of victims has been repressed but has not disappeared. Their limits are being tested. Despite the long night of tyranny, we may not be too far from a sudden eruption of anger that will paralyze the violent apparatuses. When enough of us will muster the courage to declare that the emperor is naked, we will begin to dismantle the police state that has turned our entire society into a death zone. Just heard of another case of police violence. This time in Peshawar. An alleged thief died in police custody. There was foam coming out of his mouth. In fact, virulent victims of people in Pakistan has become routine of times. Government is sleeping. every passing day, comes with heartwarming dilemma. Government should leave deep slumber and provide justice to people who are dying by powerful.

NAVEED AbbAS MAiTLo islamabad

A talented boy I would like to draw the attention of our politicians towards a talented boy of Lyari (Karachi). When last night I was watching one of the news channels so one of the anchors reported that a 17 years old boy invented a motorcycle which could be started by finger sensor system. Addingly, the boy just bought some old materials from some kabadies (old materials shops) and got his motorcycle invented. When the boy was asked that how much he spent to invent the motorcycle! he said that he had just spent 17000 thousands.

Further, the boy mentioned that if he is given help by government so he could develop such motorcycles which could run by water rather than petrol. I see no doubts that if our youth is given a little attention so our youth can do much for the country. Our youth is not less than anyone. I request the accountable authorities to give a little attention to our youth.

There is no denying the fact that our youth has the potential to do anything because of being multiple talented.

RiAz AHMED QuRAiSH AHMED bolani

Misbah— Waqar duo AFTeR revamping, reinventing and restructuring Pakistan’s rotten Domestic System with ambitious one, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has also announced the name of Misbah-ul haq for the earlier vacant posts of the Chief Selector and head coach. In addition, Waqar Younis has also been finalized as the bowling coach, replacing f Azhar Mehmood.

So far, the reaction of the Cricket fraternity to the decision has been mixed. Some welcome the decision in the context that Misbah-ul- haq has remained one of the most successful Test Captains of Pakistan Cricket Team. It was his tenure, when Pakistan stood 1ST in ICC Test Ranking. Apart from this, Misbah-ul- haq sensibly understands Pakistan’s domestic as well as Pakistan’s international cricket very well. With this, it is bore in the mind that Misbah has also the qualities of leadership with great determination. Observing all these traits, Misbah remained the final choice of the five- member panel committee, throwing weight behind Misbah for the all important slots of Chief Selector and head Coach. however, people also criticize the choice of the PCB as Misbah has no experience of the coaching and Waqar, who earlier remained the head Coach of the tram, has been one of the most controversial coaches of Pakistan, has also been recalled as bowling coach without considering his previous record.

To cap this up, the decision by PCB is brave and innovative. By now, the whole responsibility will lie on Misbah with dual all important positions. Time will also test Misbah—Waqar duo’s progress in multifaceted ways in time to come. So far, it is all good.

AAMiR KHAN WAGAN Larkana

Friday, 14 February, 2020

10 FOREIGN NEWS

VIetNAm qUARANtINeS AReA wIth 10,000 ReSIdeNtS oVeR coRoNAVIRUS HANOI

m

AGENCIES

ORE than 10,000 people in villages near Vietnam’s capital were placed under quarantine Thursday after six cases of the deadly new coronavirus were discovered there, authorities said.

In the first mass quarantine outside of China since the virus emerged there in late December, the Son Loi farming region about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Hanoi will be locked down for 20 days, the health ministry said.

Checkpoints have been set up around the six villages that make up Son Loi, said an AFP team on the outskirts of the area in Binh Xuyen district.

Health officials wearing protective suits sprayed disinfectant on vehicles.

Police warned people wanting to enter the quarantined area that while they would be allowed in, they would not be able to leave.

The order comes after the health ministry reported that five people have

been infected with the virus. It later announced a sixth case.

They all originated from a female worker who was sent to Wuhan in central China — where the virus originated — for training.

The disease then spread to her family and her neighbours, including a three-month-old baby.

So far, only the female worker has fully recovered and been discharged from the hospital, according to updates from the ministry, while the others remain in a “stable” condition.

UN identifies 112 firms linked to Israeli settlements NEW YORK AGENCIES

‘CANNOT GET OUT’: The Son Loi area of roughly 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) is made up of farmland. Many of the 10,600 residents also commute to nearby factories for short-term labour jobs.

Villager Tran Van Minh told AFP that authorities had already advised them to avoid large gatherings, though the cluster of infections in his village likely began due to Tet lunar new year celebrations last week.

“The woman infected her family and neighbours after Tet visits,” he said,

adding that he and his family remain in good health.

But “life has been badly affected,” he told AFP by phone, adding that much of the labour force is reliant on jobs in construction and house painting.

“Now we cannot get out and even if we do, clients don’t welcome us that much as before.”

Authorities in Son Loi began handing out face masks after the Tet holiday ended on January 30. Since then children and elderly have largely been confined to their homes.

Minh said he was not worried about running out of food, but he hoped “the epidemic will end soon”.

More than 1,350 people have died in China from the virus, and nearly 60,000 others have been infected, since it was first detected in Hubei province in December.

While thousands have recovered, scientists and pharmaceutical companies are racing to test a vaccine and treatment to better target the virus — though health experts say it could be months before it is readily available.

Japanese woman with coronavirus dies as cruise ship cases soar TOKYO AGENCIES

The UN has released a list of 112 companies with activities in Israeli settlements, which are considered illegal under international law, including Airbnb, Expedia and TripAdvisor. The move was cheered by the Palestinians but slammed as “shameful” by Israel, where officials fear the list could be used to boycott firms with ties to the settlements. The UN report comes in response to a 2016 UN Human Rights Council resolution calling for a “database for all businesses engaged in specific activities related to Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory”. The UN rights office said that listing companies in the database was “not, and does not purport to be, a judicial or quasi-judicial process”. Among the businesses on the list are a range of large international companies, including Airbnb, Alstom, Booking.com and Motorola Solutions. “I am conscious this issue has been, and will continue to be, highly contentious,” UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said. But she added that the findings had been subject to an “extensive and meticulous review process” and the report “reflects the serious consideration that has been given to this unprecedented and highly complex mandate”.

CONTEMPTIBLE EFFORT: Israel, which routinely accuses the UN and especially the Human Rights Council of bias against it was quick to slam Wednesday’s publication. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted at retaliation. “Whoever boycotts us will be boycotted,” a statement from his office quoted him as saying. “We strongly reject this contemptible effort.”

Foreign Minister Israel Katz labelled the move “a shameful surrender to pressure from countries and organisations who want to harm Israel.” His Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Malki meanwhile described the publication as “a victory for international law and diplomatic efforts.” The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which advocates a wide-ranging embargo of Israel over its treatment of the Palestinians, welcomed the list. The database was scheduled to be released three years ago, but has repeatedly been delayed.

The rights office initially evaluated more than 300 companies. But the final report published Wednesday cited 112 business entities that the office had “reasonable grounds to conclude have been involved in one or more of the specific activities referenced” in the 2016 resolution. It said 94 of the listed companies had their headquarters in Israel, while 18 others were spread across six other countries. The UN agency said compiling the database had been a “complex process” involving “widespread discussions” with states, think tanks, academics and the companies themselves.

Japan on Thursday reported the first death of a person infected with novel coronavirus, as the number of cases on a quarantined cruise ship offshore soared over 200.

The woman in her 80s was tested for the virus after being hospitalised, and was confirmed positive after her death, Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told a news briefing. However, it was not clear if the virus or other complications had caused her death, Kato warned.

“The relationship between the new coronavirus and the death of the person is still unclear,” he said.

The death came as three additional new infections were confirmed in Japan, including a taxi driver in Tokyo. They bring the number of cases in the country to 32, excluding those on the ship and a quarantine officer.

The Diamond Princess cruise ship off Yokohama has become the single largest cluster of cases outside China, with 218 testing positive for the COVID-19 virus and taken to medical facilities.

Earlier Thursday, Japan announced elderly passengers would be allowed off the ship if they test negative.

They will be given the option of

moving to government facilities to wait out a quarantine that is set to last until February 19.

In a statement, operator Princess Cruises said it had been told the government-appointed lodgings would offer individual rooms and bathrooms, with access to medication, but no on-site medical care.

“The food available will not accommodate dietary preferences but will accommodate certain medical conditions. The meals provided will be Japanese bento-style boxes. No Western meals will be available.

WORKING ROUND THE CLOCK: Thousands of passengers and crew on board were facing nearly a week more of isolation, with many expressing frustration and fear.

While passengers are struggling

with cabin fever, crew members are working around the clock and worried that they are exposed to the greatest risk of infection.

“The situation on board is getting worse day by day,” 24-year-old ship security officer Sonali Thakkar told AFP. “This morning they told us that 44 people have been infected and everyone is really scared and wanting to get off as soon as possible,” she added. “All we want is tests to be done and to be separated from those who are positive. We don’t want to stay on board.” With passengers mostly confined to their cabins, crew members have to go door-to-door to deliver food and other supplies, and some fear this has reduced the effectiveness of the quarantine.

Russia alarmed by US Air Force visit to Norwegian island MOSCOW/OSLO: Russia said on Thursday it was alarmed by a trip to a Norwegian outpost in the Arctic by a U.S. Air Force unit and urged Oslo to refrain from what it said were de-stabilizing moves in the strategic region. A squadron of US Air Force staff visited Norway’s air base on the island of Jan Mayen in the North Atlantic in November to test the airfield and to see whether US C-130J Super Hercules military transport planes can land there. Tensions have been rising in the energy-producing Arctic as climate change has opened up the region, and Russia has built up its own military presence there and touted the potential of the Northern Sea Route across its northern flank. AGENCIES

Azerbaijan’s ruling party claims win in parliamentary elections ISLAMABAD: The ruling party in Azerbaijan regained its power by winning 2/3 majority in the election 2020 whereas a number of independent candidates also won their seats possibly strengthening President Ilham Aliyev’s position. Based on the results from the 125 constituencies, the ruling party (New) Azerbaijan Party (YAP) won 72 seats in the Milli Majlis, their National Assembly, while independent candidates won 44 seats and the remaining 11 seats were secured by the other parties. To ensure free and fair elections, dozens of foreign observers and journalists were invited to monitor the polls including Germany, Britain, French, Danish, Bosnian, Ukrainian, Canadian, EU, and many more. A majority of well- known observers have endorsed the electoral process as ‘free, transparent and fair’. Head of Islamabadbased think tank Center for Global & Strategic Studies (CGSS) Khalid Taimur, who was also invited as an observer, said the polls were ‘fair and well-organised’.

Talking to the media representative in Baku, Taimur expressed his satisfaction over the election highlighting that the international standards were followed. The election results will help the Aliyev government work for the betterment of the people of Azerbaijan. Many others from the world also hailed the electoral process. Azerbaijan’s snap elections were held on February 9, in which 19 political parties took part.

Only one political party boycotted the elections. The official statistics said that 6,189 new voters voted for the first time among 5.3 million total voters. SHAMIM MEHMOOD

Iran starts election campaign with thousands barred from standing DUBAI AGENCIES

Iran’s week-long parliamentary election campaign started on Thursday, state TV reported, a vote seen as a popularity test for the clerical establishment at a time when relations with Washington are at their worst since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

The Guardian Council, which must approve candidates, has rejected around 6,850 moderate or conservative hopefuls in favor of hardliners from among the 14,000 applicants seeking to contest the Feb. 21 vote.

About a third of lawmakers have also been barred from standing again.

“The 7,150 candidates who are running for parliamentary elections have started campaigning on Thurs-

day,” state TV reported.

Pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani has criticized the disqualifications, but like supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei he has called for a high turnout as the country faces challenges over its disputed nuclear program.

Khamenei, the final authority in Iran’s complex system of clerical rule and limited democracy, backed the Guardian Council, saying the next parliament was no place for those scared of speaking out against foreign enemies. Tensions with the United States have spiked since 2018, when President Donald Trump withdrew from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with major powers and reimposed crippling sanctions.

The crisis worsened when Iran’s

most prominent military commander, Qassem Soleimani, was killed by a U.S. drone in Baghdad in Jan. 3, which led to Iran retaliating against U.S. targets in Iraq on Jan. 8.

The vote will have no major influence on foreign affairs or Iran’s nuclear policy, which is determined

by Khamenei. With the disqualification of moderate and leading conservative figures, hardline loyalists of Khamenei are likely to dominate the parliament.

Pro-reform politicians said in January that they had no candidates to stand for 230 of the 290 seats in parliament, saying Iranians’ demands for a “free and fair” election were not met because of the large numbers disqualified.

The Council has cited various

grounds for the rejections, such as “corruption and being unfaithful to Islam”. Some 58 million Iranians out of 83 million are eligible to vote.

While supporters of the establishment will vote for hardline candidates, moderates are struggling to mobilize their supporters, who are disappointed with Rouhani’s failure to ease social and political restrictions.

Leading pro-reform parties have been either dismantled or banned since a presidential vote in 2009, in which hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected. His rivals alleged the vote was rigged. In Tehran, which accounts for 30 seats in the assembly, hardline candidates are headed by Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a former mayor of the capital who once commanded the elite Revolutionary Guards.

Friday, 14 February, 2020

Business 11

PAkiStAni BuSineSSmen Sign joint ventureS with turkiSh counterPArtS

CORPORATE CORNER

ISLAMABAD

KARACHI: Access Group and Verifone organised a ‘Payments Around the World Conference’ that focused on widening digital payment acceptance in Pakistan. pRESS RElEASE

KARACHI: L’Oréal Professionnel, world’s leading professional hair brand, has commenced the first and biggest hair fashion tour in Pakistan. p R E S S R E l E A S E

As others thrive, Soneri Bank posts meagre profits KARACHI ARIBA SHAHID

The Board of Directors of Soneri Bank Limited on Thursday approved the annual audited accounts for the year ended 31 December 2019. The board recommended a final cash dividend of 10pc which is the equivalent of Re1 per share for the financial year ended. Soneri Bank Limited posted a profit before tax (PBT) of Rs3.246 billion and profit after tax (PAT) of Rs1.906 billion for the half-year ended 31st December 2019, as compared to Rs2.904 billion and Rs1.783 billion, respectively, in the same period last year. This marks a 11.78pc increase in PBT and 6.86pc increase in PAT. The EPS for the period clocked in at Rs1.7289 as opposed to Rs1.6179 over the same period last year. If compared to other banks, Soneri’s performance has been underwhelming. Despite EPS increasing by 6.86pc, other banks have fared better with Askari Bank, Faysal Bank, and Meezan Bank providing an EPS of Rs5.58, Rs3.96, and Rs12 respectively. Faizan Kamran, an investment analyst at Arif Habib Limited, said, “While earnings have clocked in approximately 7pc higher YoY, the bank has seen underperformance relative to the industry as a whole. Himalayan cost/income levels (71pc for CY19 compared to 55pc for the industry) have been the major culprit behind the stressed performance of the bank.” He added, “High cost of funds due to low exposure to current accounts has also limited the bank’s expansion in net interest margins.”

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GHUlAM ABBAS

N the first day of a Turkish business delegation’s visit to the country, a number of memorandums of understanding (MoUs), agreements and joint ventures were signed between the businessmen of the two countries.

Witnessing the signing ceremony on Thursday, Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood said that a few of these would be materialised in the near future.

The adviser, who witnessed business-tobusiness (B2B) meetings between various sectors of the two counties, said that Pakistani software development house Locopixel has successfully closed a deal to develop an agriculture technology solution for Turkish vegetable seed breeder Manier Seeds.

"Hititi Computer Service of Turkey, which provides aviation IT services to at least 30 international airlines and is the biggest partner of the Pakistan International Airline (PIA) for Passenger Services System (PSS) and catering, has finalised a contract with the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) to open an incubation centre in the first science and technol-

ogy park to be developed in Pakistan," the adviser said in a tweet.

According to officials, the Joint Working Group of Pakistan and Turkey on Trade and Investment was held between the delegations of the two sides. The delegation of both countries explored various opportunities for trade and investment between both countries. The joint working group also finalised two MoUs, including an agreement on trade facilitation and customs cooperation and cooperation for Halal accreditation and conformity assessment. These MoUs would be signed in the preliminary session.

“It was a pleasure meeting with the Turkish businessmen at the B2B session which was organized by the Ministry of Commerce and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP). I am very happy to announce that a few of Joint Ventures will materialize in the near future,” Razak Dawood said in another tweet.

The B2B meeting was organized at a local hotel in Islamabad on the occasion of the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

According to officials of the Ministry of Commerce, the objective of this initiative was to bring businessmen from Pakistan and Turkey under one roof to explore ways to enhance trade and investment.

The Turkish business delegation comprised leading business representatives from sectors, including engineering, energy, tourism, construction, defence, automotive, chemicals and IT. More than 200 prominent businessmen from Pakistani counterpart sectors, leading trade bodies like FPCCI, SCCI, ICCI, PBC, etc. and government organisations, including PBIT, TDCP, PTDC from the Pakistan side and TUMSAID, DIEK, Pakistan-Turkey Friendship Association, etc. from Turkish side were present on the occasion.

The event was formally inaugurated by Secretary Commerce Sardar Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera followed by addresses from FPCCI president and Pakistan-Turkey Business Council chairman.

The advisor visited the networking event and emphasised the importance of cooperation in enhancing trade and investment. He also met with different Turkish delegates, chambers and associations and discussed the possible ways to increase bilateral trade and investment.

All the speakers expressed great enthusiasm regarding the enhancement of trade and economic relations between the two nations and the visit of the delegation was generally remarked upon as a milestone for the opening of best possible avenues of cooperation in trade and investment ties between Pakistan and Turkey.

Govt urged to formulate policy for engineering exports ISLAMABAD AHMAD AHMADANI

Dawlance Pakistan Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Umar Ahsan Khan has suggested the government to announce a five-year export policy for the country’s engineering sector and offer incentives to increase the exports of non-traditional engineering goods.

Pakistan at present has a policy to deal only with the exports of textile and surgical goods.

“The government should introduce a five-year export policy to enhance the export volume of the country’s non-traditional engineering goods worth $10 to $12 bil-

lion,” Khan said during a press talk on Thursday.

He said that Dawlance Pakistan had exported 5,000 units of water dispensers to European Union (EU) and had rigorously competed with the products of China and other regional competitors. However, he lamented, there was no policy in place for this sector and to tap the full potential of exports.

“If the government announces incentives in the new policy, we are hopeful to witness a major increase in exports of water dispensers,” he maintained.

The Dawlance chief urged the government to ensure a level-play-

ing field and offer a businessfriendly environment to the investors so as to attract investment in the country. “Although the corporate tax is 29pc, the total tax on the sector is more than 40pc in Pakistan…this has made the country’s exports uncompetitive in the region — China, Thailand, India and Bangladesh.”

He said prior to investing, the investors always study the tax environment of the place they intended to invest, adding “we have reservations on tax credit.”

Urging from the government to follow the ‘Turkish model’ to improve the quality of products, the Dawlance CEO said that the

exports of Turkey were equal to Pakistani exports 20 years ago “but it improved the quality of products by implementing various programmes”.

“I will raise this matter in the business summit on Friday (tomorrow) that Pakistan should implement THE Turkish model to improve the quality of ITS products,” Khan stated.

Regarding the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Turkey, he said negotiations in this regard were underway for a long time and if the government signs FTA with Turkey, then it should ensure benefits to all sectors of the economy.

Meezan Bank registers 70pc growth in profit The Board of Directors of Meezan Bank Limited have approved the audited unconsolidated financial statements of the bank and its consolidated financial statements for the year ended on December 31, 2019. The meeting was presided by Board Chairman Riyadh SAA Edrees and Vice Chairman Faisal AAA Al-Nassar. The bank’s profit after tax increased to Rs15.23 billion compared to Rs8.96 billion last year, reflecting an impressive growth of 70pc while EPS on enhanced capital increased to Rs11.84 per share from Rs6.97 per share in 2018. The return on average equity (including surplus on assets) increased to 30.66pc as compared to 23.77pc in 2018. The board approved 20pc final cash dividend (Rs2.00 per share) for the year 2019, bringing the total dividend payout for the year to Rs5.00 per share (50pc) as Rs3.00 per share i.e. 30pc interim cash dividend was paid and issuance of 10pc bonus shares during the year. BUSINESS DESK

Atif Bajwa to join Bank Alfalah as president KARACHI MEIRYUM AlI

Atif Bajwa has been finalised by the Abu Dhabi Group as Bank Alfalah’s president and CEO, and is expected to join them soon, Profit has learnt.

In January 2020, Bajwa was appointed as the president and CEO of The Bank of Punjab, but he had excused himself from the position citing personal reasons.

Bajwa had earlier served as the president at Bank Alfalah for over five years, before resigning in June 2017, also for personal reasons.

He is a veteran banker with a professional career spanning three decades.

Bajwa was previously the president and CEO of MCB Bank Ltd, president and CEO of Soneri Bank Ltd, and country manager for ABN AMRO Bank.

He has also served as chairman of the Pakistan Business Council and as president of the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

BUT WHAT ABOUT BOP?: Previously, Atif Bajwa's name had been approved for the slot of the President of The Bank of Punjab during a meeting of the Punjab cabinet in Lahore on January 7, 2020. That meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Usman Buzdar. Among the 19-point agenda, the appointment of The Bank of

PUNJAB GOVT TO NOMINATE A NEW PRESIDENT FOR BANK OF PUNJAB AFTER ATIF BAJWA EXCUSES HIMSELF FROM THE POSITION CITING PERSONAL REASONS Punjab's president was also discussed.

Other names in the running included Zafar Masud, the former head of the Central Directorate National Savings, and who currently serves on the Board of Directors of National Bank of Pakistan.

However, despite the finalization of the name, there was still some confusion about whether Bajwa was actually going to join, or whether there was still additional processing regarding the role.

It has now been learnt that while he was officially selected, Bajwa decided not to take up the offer due to personal reasons.

This latest news affects BOP that is once again left with a vacant post. For all of 2019, the bank was embroiled in controversy regarding its top position.

After the relatively peaceful end of President Naeemuddin Khan’s tenure in December 2018, Khalid Siddiq Tirmizey, the Deputy CEO of the Bank of Punjab, was made the acting president of the bank.

In April 2019, the Punjab government-appointed Talib Rizvi as the BOP president. However, soon after in June

2019, in a reply to the bank’s request dated April 26, 2019, for the ‘Fit and Proper Test’ clearance, the State Bank of Pakistan refused to clear Talib Rizvi for the position, stating his lack of ‘diversified experience’ as the core reason.

The SBP letter read, “In this regard, your request for FPT clearance of Syed Muhammad Talib Rizvi for his proposed appointment as President/CEO of BOP has been considered. However, we regret to inform that at this point in time we are unable to clear his FPT for the position of President/CEO of BOP as he lacks diversified experience and skill set required for this position.”

This controversial move surprised many in the banking industry. There were even questions about political pressure to remove Rizvi, despite him being considered a favourite of the ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf.

Tirmizey then returned as the Acting President. Rizvi, meanwhile, joined Apna Microfinance Bank Limited (AMBL) as Special Advisor to the chairman of the in-

stitution in February 2020.

According to sources, for now, Zafar Masud’s name is still in the running, now that Bajwa is no longer available.

RETURN TO BANK ALFALAH: This marks the second time Atif Bajwa returns to Bank Alfalah, which is owned by the Abu Dhabi Group.

The Dhabi Group is owned by Sheikh Nahyan Mubarak al-Nahyan, and has major investments not just in Pakistan, but also in the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and the United States.

Within Pakistan, it not only owns Bank Alfalah, but also the telecom company Wateen, and has minority stakes in Jazz and United Bank Ltd, and also real estate projects worth several hundred million dollars.

Bajwa had previously served as the President and CEO of Bank Alfalah in November 2011 for a five-year contract.

Yet despite his contract having been extended for another five years, Atif Bajwa surprisingly resigned in June 2017, citing personal reasons. Instead, the former CEO of Faysal Bank, Nauman Ansari, was appointed as his successor.

At the time, Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, the chairman of the board, said, “I would like to express my appreciation to Atif for his valuable contribution to the Bank, and I am happy to announce

the appointment of Nauman Ansari as the new President & CEO of Bank Alfalah.

He will provide strong and effective leadership to meet the Bank’s strategic objectives and build the franchise further. We wish him success in his new role.”

This move was all the more surprising because under Bajwa, Bank Alfalah had grown rapidly. Previously, industry insiders had told Profit that Atif Bajwa did not get along with Adeel Bajwa, then CEO of the Abu-Dhabi group.

Adeel Bajwa had been made the CEO of the Abu Dhabi Group in 2016, based off of his success in improving and then selling Warid Telecom, which was owned by the group, to Mobilink (now Jazz). Adeel Bajwa had also been associated with the Dhabi group for more than a decade, and helped with mergers and acquisitions for the group in South Asia and Africa.

Reportedly, Adeel Bajwa had told Atif Bajwa that Bank Alfalah was spending too much money. The Sheikh sided with Adeel Bajwa, due to his long history with the firm.

However, Adeel Bajwa himself resigned and left the Dhabi group in March 2019. While neither the Group nor Adeel Bajwa officially commented on the reason for the departure, there have been rumours of the Sheikh alleging Adeel Bajwa of corruption.

Friday, 14 February, 2020

12 Business SBP reserves up $157m to $18.7bn KARACHI STAFF REpORT

The total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $18,735.4 million on February 7, 2020, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday. Foreign reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $12,430.8 million, while net foreign reserves held by commercial banks were recorded at $6,304.6 million. During the week ending February 7, SBP’s reserves increased by $157 million to $12,430.8 million. The central bank did not cite any reason for the increase in reserves. The total foreign reserves have consistently been on the rise for the past seven months.

The reserves initially crossed the $15 billion mark in July 2019, crossed the $16 billion mark in November 2019, and finally crossed the $18 billion mark in January 2020. Much of the rise can be attributed to a reduction in the current account deficit.

MaRket Daily

kSe-100 finishes in red, retreats 75 points

govt SuBSidy helPS uSc eArn rS7Bn in SAleS LAHORE

S

SHAHAB OMER

ALES of the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) surged to around Rs7 billion in January 2020, from the sales of around Rs1 billion in December 2019. According to documents available with this scribe, sales in the provincial capital also increased from Rs120 million in December last year to Rs900 million in January this year.

USC Zonal Manager Faizan Hameed claimed that their national sales had witnessed a 600pc surge in January and if this trend continued, the corporation would overcome its deficit very soon.

Hameed informed that in December 2019, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) had approved a Rs6-billion subsidy to USC for the procurement of essential commodities, including flour, sugar, ghee, oil, pulses and rice.

Owing to the subsidy, the corporation had managed to maintain its stocks and receive more customers at its outlets, he added.

When asked about inflation and less number of stores, Hameed said that the corporation had stores in almost every major and small area of the country.

"All these stores, including 50 in Lahore, are functional. We are trying to control inflation by selling domestic and necessary products on subsidized rates."

Hameed said under the Prime Minister's Kamyab Jawan Programme, 2,000 youth stores would also be opened in collaboration with the USC to meet the growing needs of consumers.

He claimed that under the PM's relief package, the USC would also receive Rs2 billion subsidy on essential food items for the next five months which would further improve the corporation's performance.

"The year 2020 is proving lucky for the corporation as masses have again started buying groceries from the stores," he added.

Another USC official, seeking anonymity, said the country's population had increased manifold, whereas the corporation had fewer stores to meet this need.

He claimed that during 2013-18, almost 1,500 stores remained closed in Pakistan, while only in Lahore, almost 20 stores remained nonoperational during the period.

"The existing number of stores cannot cater to the needs of the population and the government need to reopen the closed stores. These should also be opened at UC level as without adopting such parameters, the corporation will be unable to provide relief to the people," the official added.

USC Union Joint Secretary Muhammad Ilyas informed this scribe that the corporation faced Rs22 billion deficit in 2019, but recent increase in sales would help it overcome the deficit in the next six months.

"The rise in sales will also increase the government revenue in the form of taxes as sales and purchases from the stores are receipt based. We previously had more than 5,000 stores in Pakistan which were reduced to 4,000 later."

He said the corporation has 14,000 employees, adding that growth in business would also create employment opportunities.

KARACHI STAFF REpORT

Investors of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a jittery session on Thursday, as the indices kept changing directions throughout the day before closing slightly negative. Foreign investors closed the preceding session (Wednesday) as net sellers, with a net outflow of $4.92 million. Major selling was witnessed in the banking ($1.47 million) and oil & gas exploration ($1.95 million) sectors. On the economic front, remittances sent home by overseas Pakistanis surged by 9pc in January 2019 to $1,907 million as compared to the same period last year. Country-wise data showed that highest amounts were remitted from Saudi Arabia ($433 million), UAE ($395 million), USA ($335 million), UK ($299 million) and Malaysia ($124 million). On a cumulative basis, $13,302 million were remitted in the first seven months of FY20 as compared to $12,774 million in the last fiscal. The benchmark KSE-100 Index, which opened at 40,629.00, jumped to its intraday high at 40,787.09 after gaining 255.96 points. It then slipped to its day's low at 40,323.42 after shedding 207.71 points. The index finally settled lower by 75.69 points at 40,455.44. Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index dropped by 322.96 points to close at 64,631.93, while the KSE All Share Index lost 53.26 points, ending at 28,256.09. Out of the total traded scripts, 124 advanced whereas 165 declined. Sectors that pulled the KSE-100 Index lower included oil & gas exploration sector (-51.66 points), oil & gas marketing (-24.13 points) and power generation & distribution sector (-23.92 points). Among the companies, Pak Petroleum Limited (PPL -21.42 points), Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK -20.65 points) and Hub Power Company Limited (HUBC -14.04 points) dented the index the most. The overall market volumes inched up by 9.48pc from the previous session and were recorded at 197.44 million. Unity Foods Limited (UNITY +5.81pc), D G Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC +4.52pc) and The Bank of Punjab (BOP -0.91pc) remained the volume leaders of the day. The scripts had exchanged 22.38 million, 18.25 million and 13.82 million shares, respectively. On the market front, D G Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC +4.52pc) announced earnings per share of Rs1.33 for the second quarter of FY20 as compared to Rs3.02 last year.

Meanwhile, Askari Bank Limited (AKBL +3.63pc) declared an EPS of Rs5.57 for FY19 (Rs3.52 in FY18).

The company also declared a final cash dividend of Rs1.50. Also, Nishat Power Limited (NPL +1.10pc) announced its financial performance for 2QFY19. The company reported an EPS of Rs3.27 as compared to Rs2.58 in 2QFY18. An interim cash dividend of Rs1.00 was also declared by NPL.

AIIB expresses keen interest to finance NTDC projects BUSINESS DESK In line with the government's endeavours, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has expressed its keen interest to finance the development projects of National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC).

An AIIB delegation, led by its Director General Supee Teravaninthorn, visited NTDC office on Thursday to meet its general managers and chief engineers under the convenorship of NTDC Managing Director Wajahat Saeed Rana.

Teravaninthorn said the AIIB

was providing its support for policy reforms and project financing in the key priority areas such as energy, road, social sector, water and irrigation and urban services. He reiterated his bank's commitment to further strengthening and expanding its partnership with Pakistan.

During the meeting, the NTDC management gave a detailed presentation on the company's projects. The delegation expressed its interest in 235kmlong 500 kV double circuit transmission line from Maira Switching Station (Kallar Syedan) to 500 kV North Lahore

grid station as well as 20km-long 500 kV double Circuit Transmission Line from Karot HPP to Maira Switching Station.

The NTDC officials also informed the delegations about the current status of these projects.

The Power System Planning Department also shared a list of future NTDC projects for AIIB's consideration. To have better coordination and future deliberations, an NTDC chief engineer was nominated as the focal person.

Later, the AIIB delegation also met with Energy Minister Mr Omar Ayub Khan and Power Division Secretary Irfan Ali.

Faysal Bank profits jump 24pc to Rs6bn KARACHI MEIRYUM AlI

The Board of Directors of Faysal Bank met on Thursday to review the bank’s performance and announce its financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019.

According to the financials, the bank reported a profit after tax of Rs6.004 billion for the year ending December 31, 2019, as compared to Rs4.828 billion for the corresponding period last year, showing a growth of 24.37pc. The directors did not release a dividend for this year.

The bank's earnings per share (EPS) clocked in at Rs3.96, which is a modest increase from Rs3.18 during the same period last year.

The bank's profit before tax was Rs10.158 billion, an increase of 23.7pc over the last financial year. Its profit before provisions increased 41pc to Rs11 billion, whereas the bank's net interest in-

come stood at Rs21.126 billion (+29.8pc YoY).

According to Faizan Kamran, an analyst at brokerage firm Arif Habib Ltd, the earnings were primarily driven by the 29.8pc increase in the net interest income. "The bank benefited from higher net interest margins accredited to higher interest rates," he said. "However, earnings faced some stress owing to a provisional charge of Rs842 million."

According to him, this was due to a surge in non-performing loans, which were up 13pc in the first ninth months of the calendar year 2019.

The bank’s fee and commission income, which is earned mainly through trade business and general banking services, stood at Rs4.28 billion, showing an increase of 9.01pc over the corresponding period of last year. The bank’s foreign exchange income increased from Rs1.97 billion in the last period to Rs2.833 billion in this period (+43.77pc).

Its dividend income for the year ended December 31, 2019, was recorded at Rs428 million.

Pakistan’s deficit in services trade narrows 17pc in six months ISLAMABAD App

Pakistan's services trade deficit witnessed a decline of 17.46pc during the first six months of the current financial year (2019-20) as compared to the corresponding period of last year (2018-19). During the period under review, the country's services' exports grew by 6.11pc, whereas imports reduced by 4.67pc, according to the data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). During the JulyDecember 2019-20 period, services' exports were recorded at $2.738 billion as against the exports of $2.580 billion in the same period of last year. On the other hand, services' imports into the country were recorded at $4.533 billion as against the imports of $4.755 billion last year. On a year-on-year basis, the services trade deficit narrowed by 45.85pc to $239.23 million in December 2019 as compared to the deficit of $441.82 million in December 2018. During the month under review, the exports increased by 10.38pc, from $477.24 million last year to $526.78 million, whereas imports declined from $919.05 million to $766.01 million.

Meanwhile, on a month-on-month basis, the exports increased by 26.33pc in December 2019 when compared with the exports of $416.99 million in November 2019. The imports during the month under review also increased by 13.33pc in December 2019 when compared to the imports of $675.90 million in November 2019.

Knitwear industry mulls nationwide protests over ‘unjust’ power tariff LAHORE STAFF REpORT

The value-added knitwear industry on Thursday warned the federal government of launching countrywide protests from next week if it (government) fails to fulfil the commitment of providing electricity to the export sector at the regionally competitive rate of 7.5 cents/KWh by February 17 (Monday).

The executive body of the Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMA), which met under the chair of its vice-chairman Shafiq Butt, assured its leadership that the entire export industry was ready to take to the streets if

the surcharges and extra levies on power tariff were not withdrawn immediately.

Some members urged their leadership to even consider options like road blockades or closure of mills to further pressurise the government into fulfilling its commitment. According to them, higher power tariff would not only hit Pakistan’s exports badly but would also discourage investments in the country.

Speaking on the occasion, Shafiq Butt said the PHMA's next meeting, which would be held on Feb 18, would decide about further strategy in this regard.

Expressing grave concerns over the imposition of surcharges, taxes and fuel adjustment charges by the Power Divi-

sion, he said if extra charges were not withdrawn, Pakistan's exports could fall significantly and that could spark a crisis in the textile industry.

The top PHMA official recalled that in January 2019, the government had announced an all-inclusive tariff of 7.5 cents per kilowatt-hour for the export-oriented sector to reduce the production cost and secure a competitive edge in the international market.

"The ECC's decision also clarified that all elements like financial cost surcharge, Neelum-Jhelum surcharge, taxes, fixed charges, quarterly tariff adjustment and fuel price adjustment would not be charged to the zero-rated sectors," Butt added.

He said the move had resulted in a substantial quantitative increase in exports but the Ministry of Energy, in violation of the ECC’s decision, had now instructed the power distribution companies (DISCOs) to charge add-ons and surcharges that had raised the aggregate cost to 13 cents per unit.

"How can our industry make exportworthy products at 13 cents/KWh electricity cost when the same was available at 7-9 cents/KWh in India and Bangladesh and at 7.5 cents/KWh in China. How can the exporters pay the differential in tariff?" the PHMA leader questioned.

Butt demanded the government to fulfil its commitment by setting region-

ally competitive energy of 7.5 cents/KWh all-inclusive and withdraw the decision of imposition of surcharges, taxes and fuel adjustment on power supply to export sectors as it would reverse the growth in exports.

He lamented that surcharges were being applied retrospectively as a result of the Power Division’s letter to the DISCOs; charges were being levied backdated from January 2019.

"If the PM's commitment is not honoured, the value-added textile industry will not be able to survive," Butt warned, adding that the exports could not improve unless energy sector inefficiencies were not rectified.

5 Ways to spend your Valentine’s day!!!!

Its Friday and we are getting weekend vibes already but this day is more special because of the lovey-dovey vibes attached to it. Although we recommend celebrating love everyday, but we believe in making Valentine’s Day a little more special from the rest of the days. Here are 5 things you can do regardless of your relationship status. By Rohama Riaz

PLAN A ROAD TRIP

DINNER DATE

Bonanza Satrangi Welcomes Summer with their Summer Collection Volume I

If you don’t know, most of the trips leave on Friday night. So, if you do not get a Friday off, you are lucky to still go on a short road trip to celebrate this weekend while traveling with your special someone. Here, your special someone can be a family member, significant other or a friend. So, go right now and check for the trips that leave tonight.

While winter is still here, plan a date night at some open air restaurant having a romantic ambience and surprise your loved ones with a scrumptious dinner if they are a big time foodie or just love outdoor sittings.

THROW A CRAZY PARTY

SPA DAY

Karachi: Bonanza Satrangi, the leading fast-fashion brand in the country, has launched their all-new summer collection volume I for 2020, available online and in stores nationwide. The festive and colorful collection features an array of elegant one-piece and three-piece dresses designed with exquisite designs perfectly befitting the spring-summer season. Starting from just Rs 980 for one-piece and Rs 2,280 for three-piece, the volume features light and soothing colors, exotic designs, soft pastels, and serene prints.

Bonanza is renowned for its eclectic and up-to-date style, dressy casual wear, elegant eveningwear, and fast fashion trends, and has been delivering aesthetically pleasing and quality design to its consumers. The new collection marks the beginning of the spring, summer season and offers something for everyone. PR

Rabya Kulsoom Back on Our Screens with A Negative Role in Shehr-e-Malal If you are too lazy to do all this, it’s time for some self-pampering. Whether If you are single and can’t find a partner you do it alone or with a partner, it is to crash a party, arrange one with your going to be a great experience eventufriends. Loud music, a lot of food and ally. Book your spa date now at any of some drinks can definitely make your your favourite salons and feel pretty night flashy and flamboyant. this Valentine’s Day.

MOVIE NIGHT

HOLLYWOOD BOLLYWOOD

You can never go wrong with a perfectly planned movie night. We give you some cues to make it a worthy evening while sitting at home. Set up a projector in your garden area, put on the fairy lights, grab some popcorns, hot chocolate and a large pizza because, at the end, only the quality time matters more.

Jim Carrey slammed on Twitter for making sexist remark at journalist Hollywood actor Jim Carrey recently came under a barrage of criticism after he passed a supposedly sexist and sleazy remark on a female journalist. According to Fox News, Carrey said what he ideally shouldn't have in an interview with Charlotte Long, a senior entertainment reporter with Heat Magazine.

In the interview, that Long posted on her official Twitter, she asked the Sonic the Hedgehog star that "in the film, Sonic has a bucket list, I was wondering, after all, you've done in your career and in your life, is there anything still left on your bucket list," to which Carrey replied- "Just you, that's it, it's all done now."

The interviewer took the unsolicited comment like a trooper and laughed it off by saying "I don't know what to say to that." However, the 58-year-old actor went on further and said: "Just own it".

Carrey's controversial move didn't go unnoticed by the Twitteratti who went all-guns-blazing on him, reported Fox News.

One user expressed his disappointment and wrote: "Unfortunately it turns out Jim Carrey is a massive sleazebag."

JELLYFISH, OR JELLIES AS SCIENTISTS CALL THEM, ARE NOT FISH. THEY HAVE NO BRAIN, NO HEART, AND NO BONES.

The budding young actress Rabya Kulsoom is coming back on our screens once again, this time in a negative role in the new drama Shehr-e-Malal. Shehr-e-Malal is a story of love and revenge starring Maria Wasti, Shahood Alvi, Hajra Yamin, Ali Abbas, Rabya Kulsoom, Srha Asgar, and others.

Featuring in a negative role, Rabya Kulsoom stars as Maria, a headstrong girl who dreams of marrying her wealthy cousin so she can achieve the status, money, and power that she craves. The drama is produced by Zeeshan Khan (TNIPProductions), directed by Furqan Adam, and written

by Sadia Akhter. Talking about this new role, the excited actress said, “This has been an entirely new and different experience for me, and I can’t wait for everyone to watch Shehr-e-Malal. Playing a negative character with so many layers was really interesting, and I really enjoyed performing this role.” Shehr-e-Malal is all set to go on air from the 13th of February on Express Entertainment. Rabya Kulsoom is not a new name in the showbiz industry, having made a name for herself in a short period of time with her diverse portfolio and acting skills.

THE CHINESE GIANT SALAMANDER CAN GROW TO BE 6 FEET (1.8 M) LONG, MAKING IT THE LARGEST SALAMANDER IN THE WORLD.

PEOPLE REPORTEDLY PREFER BLUE TOOTHBRUSHES OVER RED ONES.

Fans to Irrfan Khan after Angrezi Medium trailer: ‘Inside I am very emotional, outside I am very happy’

Akshay Kumar is the master of disguise in this triple role, fans say ‘please breathe’

Irrfan Khan is back with the trailer of Angrezi Medium and his fans did not miss the opportunity of giving him a meme welcome on social media. The actor, who plays a sweets shop owner, returns with the sequel of his film, Hindi Medium and this time he is on a quest to send his onscreen daughter (played by Radhika Madan) to an international university.

The impressive trailer also introduces Kareena Kapoor as a British cop, Deepak Dobriyal as Irrfan’s family member besides Dimple Kapadia, Kiku Sharda and Ranvir Shorey and Pankaj Tripathi. While Irrfan plays a doting dad who would even sell his blood to send his daughter to a London university, others seem to have a crucial parts in his heartwarming journey.

From Kareena’s teary-eyed look to Irrfan’s dialogue “Bas itni hi angrezi aawe hai humein (I only know this much English),” the viewers loved several moments in the trailer and turned it into a meme.

Akshay Kumar has shared a new picture that shows him in three different avatars. In the picture, the actor is seen as a young man on the left, a jolly middle-aged man with a moustache at the centre and as a balding old man on the right.

Akshay shared the picture, presumably from an upcoming television commercial, on Instagram with the caption, “Ek se bhale do, do se bhale teen…Baap Re Baap, A Masaledaar entertainer coming your way soon. Watch out ! #BaapReBaap (Two is better than one, three is better than two).”

The fans of the actor were happy to see him in such diverse avatars. A fan reacted, “Triple role sir ji.” Another asked, “Aur ek nayi movie (one more new movie?)” One more fan commented to the picture, “bhaisaab saas to l lia kro itti movies ek saath (Brother, catch your breath, so many movies at the same time).” A similar comment read, “shaans to lo bhai (brother, please breathe).”

CMYK

Friday, 14 February, 2020

14 SPORTS

Men's teAM blAsts Us soCCer, bACks woMen's eqUAl PAy fIGht new york Agencies

t

he US men's national team blasted the US Soccer Federation on Wednesday in support of the equal pay fight by the American women's squad, the reigning World Cup champions.

In a blistering statement released on the website of the US National Soccer Team Players Association, the US men's national team union, the squad backed their female counterparts in their ongoing fight for equal money and support from US Soccer.

"The Federation has been working very hard to sell a false narrative to the public and even to members of Congress," the statement said.

"They have been using this false narrative as a weapon against current and former members of the United States Women's National Team (USWNT)." A group of 28 players from the US women's national team has filed a class-action gender discrimination lawsuit against US Soccer with a trial expected to begin in May. "The Federation continues to discriminate against the women in their wages and working conditions," the statement said.

"They're trying to protect their monopoly, their massive revenue streams, and their continued ability to exploit US national team players. It's time for this to stop."

Near the message's end, the US men declared: "Soccer is perhaps the most corrupt sport in the World. We do

Ighalo kept away from United ground due to virus quarantine Manchester Agencies

not want a US Soccer Federation that behaves like FIFA." Male players attacked US Soccer's complete control over who can play on national teams as a way to support unequal treatment and blunt critics.

"Historically, the federation has used that monopoly power as a weapon against the players," the statement said.

"For many years they refused to pay players at all. The federation benefitted from ticket sales, sponsorship, and merchandising while paying players as little as possible. "At the same

time, every training session and game carries the risk of injury." The men cited the troubled labor history between US players and the federation, noting players have had to threaten and sometimes employ walkouts to gain pay hikes and benefit increases.

"The federation has justified its unreasonable proposals by claiming its financial future was uncertain," the US players said. "The federation still claims it cannot afford to pay the players a fair share of the federation's revenue from selling the efforts of those players to fans, sponsors, and televi-

sion." US men signed a 2011-2018 deal for a 25% pay hike but claimed "it never came close to a fair percentage of the federation's national team revenues."

They demand the US women receive much more than the federation has spent on them.

"For more than 20 years, the federation has resisted any concept of equal pay or basic economic fairness for the USWNT players (and) also refused to include... the same provisions as the men's with respect to air travel, hotels, etc.

Tokyo Olympics boss blasts 'irresponsible rumours' over virus shutdown tokyo Agencies

Tokyo Olympic organisers stressed Thursday they are not considering scrapping the Games due to the coronavirus and blasted "irresponsible rumours" to the contrary.

With only 162 days to go until the opening ceremony, concerns have been raised about Japan's hosting of the Games with the virus spreading throughout Asia. But Tokyo 2020 CEO Yoshiro Mori slapped down such concerns at a meeting with top International Olympic Committee officials.

"With regards to the coronavirus... there are many irresponsible rumours but I would like to make it clear again that we are not considering postponing or cancelling the Games," he said.

"We would like to coordinate with the national government and act in a calm manner," he stressed.

The virus has already forced the rescheduling of a swathe of sporting events in Asia, including Olympic qualification competitions for boxing and

basketball -- both in China.

Formula One's Shanghai Grand Prix has been postponed from mid-April, with the inaugural Vietnamese Grand Prix also under threat as well as the Hong Kong Sevens. Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike has promised to implement "thorough measures" to protect people from the coronavirus in the run-up to the Olympics. Japan has not seen any deaths from COVID-19 but has 28 cases on its soil, with four in

serious condition in hospital. Another 174 people, including a quarantine officer, have been infected on a cruise ship floating off the Japanese coast -- the outbreak's largest single cluster. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government has come under fire for its handling of the infection, especially quarantine measures seen as too lax in the early stages of the epidemic.

"These struggles in turn have sparked concerns about the forthcoming Tokyo Olympics, as Japan prepares for the arrival of millions of international visitors over the summer," said Tobias Harris from Teneo Consultancy.

The mayor of the Olympic Village, Saburo Kawabuchi, told the meeting there was "still no clue as to when the virus will be resolved" and appeared to pin hopes on increased humidity to kill off the disease. "We have the rainy season that could defeat the virus," he said.

In China on Thursday, hard-hit Hubei province where the virus emerged announced 242 more deaths and nearly 15,000 extra patients as authorities changed their threshold for diagnosis.

Odion Ighalo, Manchester United's January signing from China, has been training away from the club's facilities as a precaution due to the coronavirus outbreak, British media reported on Thursday. The 30-year-old Nigerian international striker joined United on loan until the end of the season on January 31 -transfer deadline day -- from Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua. He is due to meet with his United team-mates for the first time this weekend ahead of Monday's clash with Chelsea as they have been away at a training camp in Spain -- Ighalo did not travel because of fears he might have problems re-entering the United Kingdom. Both The Times and The Daily Mirror reported Ighalo had been told to stay away from the club's Carrington training centre -where hundreds of staff work -- as he went through a 14-day quarantine period. The former Watford star -- who has not played a competitive match since December 6 -- has instead been put through his paces by a personal trainer at the GB Taekwondo Headquarters in Manchester, not far from rivals Manchester City's ground. The British government called the novel coronavirus a "serious and imminent threat", and said anyone with the disease can now be forcibly quarantined if they are deemed a threat to public health.

Chinese Grand Prix adds to Asia's sports calendar chaos Beijing Agencies

The deadly COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak is causing chaos across Asia's sporting calendar.

Some of the continent's most prestigious sports events, including Formula One's Chinese Grand Prix and the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens have been postponed although Tokyo has pledged that this year's 2020 Olympics, due to begin on July 24, will go ahead as planned. The Grand Prix in Shanghai on April 19 was postponed on Wednesday after the governing body FIA took advice from its partners in China "to ensure the health and safety of the travelling staff, championship participants and fans". Nothing has been announced regarding the inaugural Vietnamese Grand Prix, scheduled for April 5 on a Hanoi street circuit -- around 135 kilometres (80 miles) from the Chinese border. It may be noted here that the Chinese Formula E Grand Prix on the southern island of Hainan on March 21 has been scrapped.

Oxford Dictionary updates 'Yid' definition to include Tottenham fans London

ment added. "We will ensure the context for this connection is very clear in both definitions."

The words derive from the Yiddish term for Jew but are thought to have been taken up as an insult during the 20th Century.

Chants of "Yids", "Yid Army" and "yiddos" are frequently heard in the home stands at Tottenham games, with some Spurs fans justifying their use by saying they have "reclaimed" the words.

But other Tottenham supporters, in addition to Jewish groups, have said all football fans should not use terms of abuse, whatever their reasoning. "As a club we have never accommodated the use of the 'Y word' on any club channels or in club stores and have always been clear that our fans (both Jewish and gentile) have never used the term with any intent to cause offence," a Tottenham spokesman said Wednesday.

"We find the Oxford English Dictionary's definition of the word misleading given it fails to distinguish context and welcome their clarification."

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Community Security Trust, a charity working to protect British Jews from anti-Semitic attacks, said: "The OED have introduced several Jewish-related terms, so it is important that those which are anti-Semitic or otherwise offensive are clearly marked as such.

Agencies

The Oxford English Dictionary has updated its definition of the word "Yid" to include "a supporter of or player for Tottenham Hotspur Football Club", publishers announced Wednesday.

The word has often been deployed as a term of abuse against Jews but a section of Spurs' support has taken to using it in terrace chants.

North London club Tottenham have traditionally drawn a significant number of fans from the area's local Jewish community and this has led to anti-Semitic abuse from rival teams.

The OED, regarded as the leading dictionary of British English, has also added the closely related word "Yiddo" among a number of changes and new entries made in January.

The dictionary's publisher, the Oxford University Press (OUP), said in a statement issued Wednesday the word is labelled as "offensive and derogatory".

"As we state at the closely related word YID...

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club is traditionally associated with the Jewish community in north and east London, and the term is sometimes used as a selfdesignation by some Tottenham fans," the OUP state-

CMYK

Friday, 14 February, 2020

PCb MUlls loGIstICs As soUth AfrICA brACe for PAkIstAn toUr Lahore

s

Agencies

outh Africa's tour to Pakistan in March will come with logistical challenges for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). South Africa end their tour to India on March 18 and PCB intend to make them stay in Dubai - until the Pakistan Super League (PSL) ends on March 22 - and then fly them directly to Islamabad for a three-match T20 series in Rawalpindi.

Cricket South Africa (CSA), meanwhile, is set to send a security delegation headed by security expert Rory Steyn to Pakistan next month during the PSL, to assess the security arrangements. The reconnaissance, ESPNcricinfo understands, comes because CSA is intent to go through a process of physically checking security before formally approving the tour. It is a players association requirement as well.

"The tour of South Africa is very much a waiting game now and by the end of the month we should

have a clear position," Wasim Khan, PCB's CEO, said. "Their head of security is expected in Pakistan during the initial games of the Pakistan Super League. He has all the security plans for each of the different venues.

"He and the board of South Africa are very comfortable with touring. We have to make it work logistically as South Africa finish the tour of India on 18 March and

we don't finish the PSL till March 22. For them to go back and come again won't be possible so we will have to see whether we can have them sit in the UAE [...] and provide them the support and practice facilities, or we fly them straight in here and provide all that here."

South Africa last toured Pakistan in 2007 and have since have played Pakistan twice in bilateral series, in 2010 and 2013, in the UAE.

The next full tour Pakistan is scheduled to host is next year, in JanuaryFebruary, with two ICC Test championship games alongside five ODI and three T20s. The March T20s are extra fixtures that the PCB has arranged as a part of their ongoing drive to bring as many teams as possible to the country to normalise international cricket again.

Lahore and Karachi have been actively hosting international cricket since 2017 and PCB is gradually expanding to more venues in the country. Cricket South Africa's assessment across all available venues is pending, though PCB suggested Rawalpindi for the fixtures.

"Lahore and Karachi venues have been diluted because we have been playing our entire cricket here and because of that the wickets here are also suffering," said Khan.

"We now have Rawalpindi as a venue available. For me, it makes sense to go there and play the three matches. I have suggested Rawalpindi as a venue to South Africa and they are comfortable with the suggestion."

Alleged bookie Sanjeev Chawla extradited from UK London Agencies

Sanjeev Chawla, an alleged bookie, was extradited from the UK on Thursday. He is one of the primary accused in the 2000 match-fixing scandal that involved former South African captain Hansie Cronje.

Chawla's extradition was sought by the Delhi police, who had filed a chargesheet in 2013, naming him along with five others including the late Cronje, for conspiracy to cheat, a criminal offence under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code.

Apart from Chawla and Cronje, the other accused were: Rajesh Kalra, Krishan Kumar, Sunil Dara - all three based in India - and Manmohan Khattar, who is believed to be living overseas. In the chargesheet, the Delhi police said Chawla and the other five accused were charged with IPC 420 (cheating) and 120B (criminal conspiracy).

The chargesheet cited 65 witnesses and ran over 2500 pages, but the operative portion was only

80 pages.

The Delhi police had sought Chawla's extradition because of his alleged involvement in the match-fixing controversy which eventually implicated Cronje, who confessed during the King Commission inquiry to accepting money from bookies to fix matches during South Africa's ODI series in India in 2000.

Chawla's extradition was approved by the UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid in February last year under the India-UK Extradition Treaty 1992. On June 14, 2016, Chawla was arrested in the UK after the Indian government sought his extradition in February that year but was let out on bail. In January 2019, the Westminster Magistrates' Court, which had blocked the extradition in 2017 on human interest grounds, eventually asked Javid's office to take the final decision.

In January this year, Chawla contested the extradition on humanitarian grounds in the Royal Courts of Justice, London, but lost the appeal. In a last-ditch attempt, Chawla then approached the European Court of Human Rights, which is

based in Strasbourg (France), to block the extradition. In his appeal, Chawla cited his rights under the European Convention on Human Rights, to which the UK is a signatory. On February 6, they rejected his plea.

On Thursday, Chawla landed in Delhi accompanied by the team of the Delhi police's crime branch. He will be housed in Delhi's Tihar jail ahead of his trial. Chawla's acquisition is a major shot in the arm for the cops and has reopened the investigation that shook cricket at the turn of the millennium. Cronje's links to the bookies were unearthed by an investigating officer Ishwar Singh, who was probing an unrelated extortion case in early 2000.

Upon further investigations, the Delhi Police found that Cronje had persuaded some of his team-mates to agree to underperform in an ODI in 2000 during the India tour. Subsequently, batsman Herschelle Gibbs and bowler Henry Williams were banned for six months each and fined by South African authorities for their part in the scandal.

SPORTS 15

Mohammad hafeez cleared to bowl again after passing assessment test Lahore Agencies

Mohammad Hafeez is free to bowl again after his bowling action passed an assessment test. The Pakistan allrounder, who has faced troubles with the legality of his bowling action throughout his career, was reported in a Vitality Blast game in August last year. An assessment at Loughborough University then concluded the bowler's elbow extended beyond the permitted 15-degree threshold, and he was banned from bowling in the ECB competitions. However, after undergoing testing at LUMS university - also an ICC-accredited testing centre - in Lahore, an independent panel concluded his elbow did not exceed the maximum 15-degree mark, and therefore, the suspension was lifted.

The ruling comes at a particularly beneficial time for Hafeez, with the PSL just around the corner. Due to agreements between international cricketing boards, the ECB ban meant he was prohibited from bowling in international games as well as competitions organised by other boards around the world, including at the PSL. Hafeez has been reported, suspended and subsequently cleared a number of times in the past six years when the ICC began to crack down on illegal bowling actions with greater frequency. But Hafeez's problems with his bowling action go back a long way. He was first reported over 15 years ago during an ODI tri-series in Australia in 2005. In 2014, his action was reported during the Champions League T20, and then again following a Test match against New Zealand later that year. Having twice been found over the legal limit for elbow extension, Hafeez was banned from bowling for 12 months. After his ban ended, he returned to bowling after clearing a bowling test in 2016 but the issue arose again in October 2017, when he was reported during an ODI against Sri Lanka.

Newlands scandal born of leadership gulf - Ricky Ponting MeLBourne Agencies

Akmal's misbehaviour 'due to a misunderstanding': PCB Lahore Agencies

Umar Akmal's alleged misbehaviour with a staff member after a failed fitness test at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore was the result of a "misunderstanding", the PCB said after concluding its inquiry into the incident.

Akmal will face no sanction, only a reminder of his responsibilities. A board statement on Wednesday said that Umar had "offered his regrets" to the PCB for his action, and he was in turn reprimanded and "reminded him of his responsibilities as a senior cricketer". The two-day inquiry looked into an incident in which Umar had misbehaved during a fitness test, where, when the skin-fold test was being conducted, he is believed to have exposed himself in front of the trainer and alleged to have asked: "Where is the fat?" The misunderstanding line was one Umar's elder brother Kamran Akmal - who has also failed his fitness tests - had put forward after the incident. The shortcomings of the Akmal brothers around their fitness regimes has been a talking point for several years now, with Umar last falling foul of the PCB management on this count under former head coach Mickey Arthur; he was sent home on the eve of the Champions Trophy in 2017 after a failed test.

Ricky Ponting has revealed his belief that the road leading Australia to the Newlands scandal had started years before when he became fearful of a decline in the level of senior experience around the national team to adequately mentor younger players as to how to conduct themselves.

Speaking to a fundraising dinner of almost 500 guests for the Chappell Foundation at the SCG on Tuesday night, Ponting said that he could see a link between the anxiety about leadership in the Australian team, that saw him play on for several years after he might easily have retired, and the eventual crisis in South Africa that saw Steven Smith and David Warner banned for a year while stripped of their leadership roles. Cameron Bancroft, a more junior member of the side, was suspended for nine months.

Put simply, Ponting said, all well-rounded teams needed senior figures around them who have the ability to "say no" when questions of character, ethics or sharp practice are raised. This was conspicuously absent at the height of the Newlands scandal.

"I was a bit worried that with a lot of the experience going out of our team at the same time, that there would be a bit of a void left with experienced players to be able

to say 'no' basically," Ponting said.

"If I look at where things got at Cape Town I just don't think there were enough people around that team to say 'no' to some of those guys. Things got completely out of control. That's very much an outsider's view on it. I had nothing to do with the team really until the last couple of years around some Twenty20 cricket and the World Cup last year.

"I probably should have retired three or four years earlier than I did but I was really worried about where the direction of the Australian cricket team was going if I wasn't around.

And I wanted to be around to help Warner and Smith and Nathan Lyon and Peter Siddle and Mitchell John-

CMYK

son. I wanted to help them through that initial phase of their international careers because I knew it wasn't going to be easy for them."

Had Ponting retired at the conclusion of the 2010-11 season when he gave up the captaincy to Michael Clarke, he would have finished with 152 Tests, 12,363 runs and an average of 53.51, with 39 centuries. As it was, he stayed on until midway through the Test summer of 2012-13, adding two more hundreds and another nine Test match victories to take his career tally beyond 100.

However, at the same time Ponting's average was steadily eroded to 51.85 by the time of his last match in Perth against South Africa.

"I was just a little bit worried

with the void that was left on the experience side," Ponting said. "Every great team that I played in, whether it be a club team or an Australian cricket team or a state team, there was always a lot of old hard heads around just to make sure when the younger guys came in that they understood what it meant to be playing for each of those teams. And if I had have retired ... I was worried there wasn't going to be enough people to point them in the right direction."

Working primarily as a commentator, Ponting kept a professional distance from the Australian side until he began to become involved in some T20 coaching from 2017 onwards, but his closeness to the set-up was greatly increased once his close friend Justin Langer became the senior coach in the wake of the Newlands scandal in 2018.

"Having Justin around the national team now, I think we've already seen a bit of a change in behaviour and I think we've seen the public are really starting to enjoy and embrace the Australian cricket team again," Ponting told the gathering.

"Even looking at [Monday night], the way that David Warner spoke at the Australian Cricket Awards ... wind the clock back 12 or 18 months, that wasn't possible for him to do. I think he did a terrific job.

And I think he's slowly starting to gain a lot of the respect of the Australian public back again."

Friday, 1 February, 2020

NEWS

US hAilS hAfiz SAeed'S convicTion AS 'STeP forwArd' for PAkiSTAn ALICE WELLS SAYS LET FOUNDER’S ARREST WILL HELP PAKISTAN IN MEETING ITS ‘INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENTS’ TO COMBAT TERROR FINANCING ISLAMABAD

U

STAFF REPORT

nited States’ Acting Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Alice Wells on Thursday hailed the conviction of Jamatud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed and his aide Malik Zafar Iqbal as a “step forward” for Pakistan.

A day earlier, an anti-terrorism court in Lahore convicted the two JuD leaders to five-and-a-half-years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) in two cases relating to terror financing. The verdict came days ahead of the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) meeting in Paris to decide Pakistan’s grey list fate.

In a series of tweets, Wells said that the conviction was a step forward,

“both toward holding the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) accountable for its crimes and for Pakistan in meeting its international commitments to combat terrorist financing”.

In another tweet, she noted that “as Prime Minister Imran Khan has said, it is in the interest of Pakistan’s future that it not allow non-state actors to operate from its soil”.

SAEED JAILED FOR TERROR FINANCING: ATC Judge Arshad Hussain Bhatta found Saeed guilty in two terror-financing cases under Section 11-N of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, and handed him five and a half years and a fine of Rs15,000 in each case.

The ATC judge observed that in addition to the evidence presented by the prosecution, both accused also admitted the ownership of the property by Tanzeem Markaz Dawatul Irshad, a proscribed organisation.

“Careful scanning of Section 11-F (1) of ATA 1997 reflects that a person is guilty of an offense if he belongs to a proscribed organisation and it is not mentioned in the said section that the said membership is post-proscription or pre-proscription and in this case … it is established by the prosecution that accused Hafiz Mohammad Saeed and Malik Zafar Iqbal belong to proscribed organisation[s] Jamaatud Dawa and Tanzeem Markaz Dawatul Irshad,” observed the judge.

Virus death toll soars to 1,350 as China changes counting methods BEIJING AGENCIES

China’s official death toll and infection numbers from a new coronavirus spiked dramatically on Thursday after authorities changed their counting methods, fuelling concern the epidemic is far worse than being reported.

Two top-ranking politicians overseeing the epicentre of the outbreak were also sacked, adding to questions over China’s handling of the crisis, just hours after President Xi Jinping claimed “positive results” in battling the outbreak.

The World Health Organisation also quickly countered Chinese reassurances that the epidemic, which has now officially killed more than 1,350 people in China, would peak in a matter of weeks.

“I think it’s way too early to try to predict the beginning, the middle or the end of this epidemic right now,” said Michael Ryan, head of WHO’s health emergencies programme.

The virus has had massive ramifications globally since emerging from the central Chinese province of Hubei last month, with many countries banning travellers from China in a bid to stop people spreading the disease.

In Hubei, where tens of millions of people are trapped as part of an unprecedented quarantine effort, 242 new deaths were reported on Thursday.

Another 14,840 people were confirmed to be infected with the virus, with the new cases and deaths by far the biggest one-day increases since the crisis began.

The jumps raised the death toll to 1,355 and the total number of nationwide infections of the virus — officially named COVID-19 — to nearly 60,000.

Hubei authorities said the huge increases were because they had broadened their definition for cases to include people “clinically diagnosed” via lung imaging.

Up until now, authorities had been documenting cases using a more sophisticated laboratory test.

The commission said it looked into past suspected cases and revised their diagnoses, suggesting that older cases were included in Thursday’s numbers.

About 56 million people in Hubei and its capital, Wuhan, are being banned from leaving as part of the quarantine efforts.

Tens of millions of other people far from the epicentre are also enduring travel restrictions.

China had been praised by the World Health Organisation for its transparent handling of the outbreak, in contrast to the way it concealed the extent of the deadly SARS virus epidemic in 2002-2003.

But it has faced continued scepticism among the global public, and US officials have also called for more openness from China’s Communist Party rulers, leading to fears that there may be similarities with the way it dealt with SARS. Authorities in Hubei have been accused of concealing the gravity of the outbreak in late December and early January. The death of an infected doctor who had tried to raise the alarm about the outbreak in December, but was silenced by authorities, triggered an outpouring of anger in China.

TRANSPARENCY: On Thursday, the leaders of Hubei and Wuhan were sacked, the highestprofile political scalps of the crisis.

Hubei’s two top health officials had already been sacked this week.

Analysts said Hubei’s new methodology to count infections might be for medical reasons and could be because Xi wants officials to be more transparent, but the immediate impact was to sow more distrust.

Ahead of Trump's visit, US senators warn of 'serious consequences' of Kashmir clampdown, CAA WASHINGTON AGENCIES

In a letter to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, four US senators— two from the Democratic Party and two from the Republican Party—have urged an assessment of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and Indian annexation of occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

According to The Week, Senators Chris Van Hollen, Todd Young, Dick Durbin, and Lindsey Graham wrote: “More than six months after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government unilaterally revoked the autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir, the government continues to block most internet in the region.”

India stripped the Muslim-majority region of its special status through the abrogation of Article 370 and clamped down on communication and freedom of movement in August last year. The held valley has remained under a 24/7 curfew ever since. Many political leaders, including three former chief ministers, are still in detention without charge, six months

after the crackdown.

“India has now imposed the longest-ever internet shut down by a democracy, disrupting access to medical care, business, and education for seven million people. Hundreds of Kashmiris remain in preventive detention, including key political figures.”

These actions have “serious consequences”, they observed, adding that there needed to be an assessment of the number of indi-

viduals detained, the government of India’s restrictions on communications in Jammu and Kashmir, the restrictions on religious freedom in occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and the number of people who could be made stateless if the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, comes into action.

This letter comes ahead of Trump’s state visit to India on Feb 24 and 25 at the invitation of Prime Minister Modi.

“Oddly, this now is a moment of greater transparency,” Sam Crane, political science professor at Williams College in Massachusetts, told AFP. “It is not clear if the problem up to now, on this issue, was lack of transparency or simply bad medical practice,” Crane said.

Yun Jiang, a China researcher at Australian National University, said the new methodology may be a “practical measure” because Hubei has a shortage of laboratory testing kits.

“I don’t think the numbers are necessarily manipulated for political purposes but the numbers themselves may not be so trustworthy,” Yun told AFP. GLOBAL HAVOC: The biggest cluster of cases outside China is on a cruise ship quarantined off Japan’s coast, where 44 more people tested positive for COVID-19, raising the total number of infections on the Diamond Princes to 218.

Several countries have banned arrivals from China, while major airlines have halted flights to and from the country, as hundreds of people have now been infected in some two dozen countries. United Airlines extended its China flight cancellations into late April. The outbreak has wreaked havoc on global events, too.

US, Taliban agree to seven-day truce WASHINGTON AGENCIES

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Thursday that the United States and the Taliban had negotiated a proposal for a sevenday reduction in violence. Sources had told Reuters that a US-Taliban peace deal could be signed this month if the Taliban significantly reduces violence, which could lead to an eventual withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. “The United States and the Taliban have negotiated a proposal for a seven-day reduction in violence,” Esper told reporters during a news conference in Brussels at NATO headquarters. “I’m here today consulting with allies about this proposal, and we’ve had a series of productive bilateral and collective meetings about the path forward,” he added. The tentative timeline shared with Reuters by sources came a day after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said there had been a possible breakthrough in US-Taliban talks in Qatar. The talks had been deadlocked in part over a US demand that the insurgents agree to sharply reduce violence as part of any American troop withdrawal accord.

TTP leader Sheharyar Mehsud killed in Afghanistan bombing PESHAWAR AGENCIES

A senior Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander was killed by a bomb in eastern Afghanistan, militant and intelligence sources told AFP on Thursday, the latest such incident to target the group in recent days. Sheharyar Mehsud, chief of a militant faction which is part of the umbrella TTP, was the target of the remote controlled blast in Kunar province, a TTP commander in Pakistan told AFP. A Pakistani intelligence official who confirmed the incident said Mehsud had fled to Afghanistan in 2016. The blast comes nearly two weeks after two other key TTP leaders — Khalid Haqqani and Qari Saifullah Peshawari — were killed in a clash with security forces. It was not immediately clear who was behind the killings, which have come as the US and the Afghan Taliban — which is separate from the TTP — appear close to a breakthrough on a deal for an American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. Islamabad has helped to facilitate the gruelling talks, which have stretched over more than a year.

UK's Boris asserts control over govt as FM quits LONDON AGENCIES

Prime Minister Boris Johnson forced the resignation of his finance minister on Thursday for refusing to toe the line, a sign he was tightening his control in a government reshuffle designed to deliver his vision for Britain beyond Brexit.

Johnson, who had wanted to minimise any disruption from his long-planned cabinet revamp, quickly replaced Sajid Javid with his deputy Rishi Sunak, a loyal supporter of the prime minister who is often put before the media to sell government policy.

Johnson’s team had carefully choreographed the reshuffle, presenting it as an opportunity to foster new talent, particularly among women, while also rewarding loyalists.

But the finance minister’s resignation – which some commentators said might have been sought

by Johnson’s team all along – added to a sense that the prime minister would brook no dissent.

“He has turned down the job of Chancellor of the Exchequer (finance minister),” a source close to Javid said. The source said Johnson had told Javid he would have to sack his advisers and replace them with advisers from the prime minister’s Downing Street office. “The Chancellor said no self-respecting minister would accept those terms.”

Sunak, who once worked for investment bank Goldman Sachs and is married to the daughter of an Indian billionaire, is seen by many Conservatives as a safe pair of hands who will easily get on board with Johnson’s agenda for a post-Brexit Britain.

David Jones, a former Brexit minister, described Sunak as “very bright” and an “excellent choice”.

Sterling rose on the expectation of investors

that Sunak’s appointment would pave the way for a more expansionary budget next month.

Johnson has promised to reduce the wealth and opportunity gap between parts of Britain by channeling investment into northern and central England, where he won the votes of many traditional supporters of the main opposition Labour Party.

CHAOS: Johnson had not been expected to change the biggest-hitting posts in his government, keeping change to a minimum. But even the smaller changes in the lower ranks of government offered some insight into how he wanted to tighten his grip on power. His sacking of Northern Ireland minister Julian Smith, who only a month ago had helped broker the restoration of a government in the British province, prompted criticism from politicians north and south of the border with Ireland.

Smith, who had been in charge of parliamentary discipline for Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa May, was the first minister to lose his job in the reshuffle.

He was joined by business minister Andrea Leadsom and environment minister Theresa Villiers.

Published by Arif Nizami at Plot No 66-C, 1st Floor, 21st Commercial Street, Phase-II (Extension), DHA Karachi and printed at Ibn-e-Hassan Printing Press, Hockey Stadium, Karachi. Ph: 021-35381208-9. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk

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