E-Paper PDF 16th December (KHI)

CMYK

Monday, 16 December, 2019 I 18 Rabi-ul-Sani, 1441 I Rs 17.00 I Vol X No 166 I 60 Pages I Karachi Edition

US to pUll oUt 4,000 troopS from AfghAniStAn g

truMp reportedly wants to wIthdraw all troops By noveMBer 2020

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MONITORING REPORT

move that could be seen as a “unilateral concession” to the Afghan Taliban, United States President Donald Trump has decided to “immediately” withdraw about 4,000 troops from Afghanistan, drastically reducing the current number of American forces in the country.

It’s unclear when the withdrawal would begin, but officials told the network that it would take place over a couple of months.

The announcement would come just days after Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad rejoined diplomatic talks with the Taliban, which had broken down in September. On Thursday, Ambassador Khalilzad said the US was “taking a brief pause” in talks after a Wednesday attack near Bagram Airfield killed two Afghan civil-

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PM heads to Bahrain today after successful Saudi visit

deFence oFFIcIals say sMaller us MIlItary presence wIll Be largely Focused on counterterrorIsM operatIons agaInst IsIs-K, al Qaeda

ians and wounded 70 more.

According to CNN, the drawdown could be seen as “a unilateral concession” to the Taliban.

Defense officials have told CNN that the smaller US military presence will be largely focused on counterterrorism operations against groups like al Qaeda and ISIS-K, and that the US military’s ability to train and advise local Afghan forces will be reduced considerably.

However, In a statement to NBC News, a spokesman for US Forces-Afghanistan said, “US Forces-Afghanistan has not received orders to reduce troop levels in Afghanistan. We remain fully committed to the Resolute Support mission and our Afghan partners, and focused on our key objective: ensuring Afghanistan is never again used as a safe haven for terrorists who threaten the United States, our allies or our interests.”

The troop reduction was a part of Trump’s election campaign. He had also hinted at the re-

duction of troops in August, saying: “We’re going down to 8,600 and then we make a determination from there as to what happens. We’re bringing it down.”

Moreover, the intended reduction in troops could be seen as an attempt to show the US administration’s seriousness for peace in Afghanistan, especially after the US president abruptly called off a deal with the Taliban in September.

The US president’s election campaign also hinges on bringing back the troops. According to the US media, Trump in 2016 campaigned on pulling the US out of wars like Afghanistan, but has been unable to make good on that promise since entering the White House.

“The president reportedly wants to withdraw all US troops by November 2020, and pulling 4,000 out in the near future would be a significant step in that direction. At the same time, the president could face criticism and pushback for withdrawing troops without a solid peace deal in place with the Taliban. The presence of US troops in Afghanistan is considered important leverage in these discussions,” reported Business Insider.

AFGHANISTAN PAPERS: A landmark report from The Washington Post released earlier this month based on a trove of confidential government documents, revealed that the US officials have been lying to the public for years about the war in Afghanistan.

The report — dubbed “the Afghanistan Papers” — laid out how officials across the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations have misled the US public about the state of the longest war in US history, claiming progress was being made when it wasn’t.

In short, top US officials consistently lied to Americans to hide the unwinnable nature of the conflict.

The US is estimated to have spent roughly $1 trillion on the war in Afghanistan, which began in October 2001 following the 9/11 terror attacks. Over the course of the 18 years of conflict, 2,351 American troops have died as well as 3,814 US contractors, according to the Post.

Over 775,000 US troops have been deployed to Afghanistan since the initial invasion, in some cases more than once.

6 dead in protests against India's contentious citizenship law

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IMran to receIve BahraIn’s hIghest cIvIl award In specIal cereMony on hIs MaIden vIsIt to country STORY ON BACK PAGE

ptI govt deprived Balochistan of cpec benefits, claims Bilawal

STORY ON PAGE 03

Pakistan seeks WB's help over water dispute with India STORY ON PAGE 02

Major countries snub calls for climate action as UN summit grinds to close in today’s issue

Frustrated with climate talks, activists dump manure outside Madrid summit STORY ON BACK PAGE

STORIES ON BACK PAGE

Monday, 16 December, 2019

02 NEWS Another polio case emerges in Punjab, tally up to 101 LAHORE: Another polio case was reported in Punjab on Sunday, taking the tally of polio cases across the country to 101 this year. According to the Health Ministry, the case was reported from Muzaffargarh city of the province.

According to the authorities concerned, a 7-month-old baby boy was diagnosed with the crippling disease. It may be noted here that the minor’s parents had deprived him of vaccination against the virus. This is the sixth polio case which has been reported from Punjab province during the ongoing year. Earlier on Saturday, two polio cases were reported in Mirpur Khas district of Sindh.

AnTi-pOLiO dRivE in punjAb, Kp, SindH TOdAY: An anti-polio drive in Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will kick off on Monday in a bid to curb rising cases across the country. Poliovirus, which was at the brink of eradication in Pakistan, has surfaced again, with at least 100 cases– that excludes vaccine-derived cases– being reported across the country.

KP leads the tally with over 50 cases. punjab: A five-day anti-polio drive will begin in all districts of Punjab from Monday. More than 19 million children up to the age of five years will be administered anti-polio vaccine while 48,000 teams have been constituted to achieve full target.

Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has assigned the responsibilities to provincial ministers at divisional level for the success of the anti-polio campaign.

Khyber pakhtunkhwa: Meanwhile, a three-day anti-polio campaign will kick start on Monday with an aim to vaccinate at least six million kids. About 23,000 teams have been constituted for the purpose that will visit door-to-door to administer the vaccine. Similarly, polio teams will also be available at bus stops, Afghan refugees’ camps, railway stations and other public places for this purpose.

Strict security measures have been taken for the polio teams.

Sindh: During the campaign, more than two point three million children in Karachi and nine million children in other parts of the province, under the age of five years, would be administered polio vaccine. In this connection, all-out efforts are being ensured for smooth running of the campaign. STAFF REPORT

PAkistAn seeks WB’s helP over WAter disPute With indiA PAKISTAN WANTS A COURT OF ARBITRATION TO ADDRESS ITS CONCERNS OVER THE DESIGNS OF INDIA’S HYDROELECTRIC PROJECTS WHEREAS INDIA SEEKS APPOINTMENT OF A NEUTRAL EXPERT ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

high-level Pakistan delegation led by Indus Water Commissioner Syed Mehr Ali Shah left for the United States on Sunday for meetings with the World Bank (WB) officials to press for the complete implementation of the Indus Water Treaty signed between Pakistan and India in 1960.

The Pakistani delegation will be in the US for five days and will take up its demand for the establishment of a court of arbitration to address concerns over the designs of India’s two hydroelectric power projects – Kishanganga and Ratle. India has asked WB to appoint a neutral expert for the same purpose.

Pakistan has raised objections over the construction of the Kishanganga (330MW) and Ratle (850MW) hydroelectric power plants being built by India. Islamabad maintains that the design features of the two hydroelectric plants contravene the treaty.

“The plants are on respectively a tributary of the

Jhelum and the Chenab Rivers,” said a WB fact sheet.

“The treaty designates these two rivers as well as the Indus as the ‘Western Rivers’ to which Pakistan has unrestricted use. Among other uses, under the treaty, India is permitted to construct hydroelectric power facilities on these rivers subject to constraints specified in annexures to the treaty,” it added.

In March, soon after tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours flared up, New Delhi started impeding the flow of three rivers shared by the two countries. New Delhi had stopped 0.53 million acrefeet of water from the three eastern rivers flowing into Pakistan. Talks on the lingering water disputes between the long-time rivals were held in August 2018 but ended without any major breakthrough.

THE TREATY: The Indus Water Treaty was signed in 1960 after nine years of negotiations between India and Pakistan with the help of WB, which is also a signatory. Seen as one of the most successful international treaties, it has survived frequent tensions, including conflict, and has provided a framework for irrigation and hydropower development for more than

half a century. According to WB, the treaty sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two countries regarding their use of the rivers, known as the Permanent Indus Commission, which has a commissioner from each country.

The treaty also sets forth distinct procedures to handle issues which may arise. “Questions” are handled by the commission; “differences” are to be resolved by a neutral expert; and “disputes” are to be referred to a seven-member arbitral tribunal called the “court of arbitration.” As a signatory to the treaty, WB’s role is limited and procedural. In particular, its role in relation to “differences” and “disputes” is limited to the designation of people to fulfil certain roles when requested by either or both of the parties.

Zardari to undergo more medical tests KARACHI STAFF REPORT

The treatment of former president and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) CoChairman Asif Ali Zardari continues at Ziauddin Hospital in Karachi and he would likely undergo more tests in the light of his heart ailments.

A few medical reports of the former president were released on Sunday. According to the reports, the doctors were likely to continue Zardari’s treatment over the next few days.

Doctors will take a decision for performing his angioplasty after analysing his medical reports as he would have to

undergo a range of tests for his possible cardiac complications. The former president traveled to Karachi from Islamabad via an official plane of the Sindh chief minister on Friday days after he was released on bail from Islamabad High Court (IHC) on medical grounds.

The medical board at the hospital treated Zardari and advised him to undergo various tests for determining his current health position. The PPP stalwart has been suffering from ischemic heart disease, which means his heart may have an inadequate supply of blood and oxygen. He also has severe pain in L5-S1 vertebra of the spinal cord.

According to sources close to Bi-

lawal House, Zardari would likely stay at the hospital for a night on the advice of his doctors. He is currently undergoing several medical tests at the hospital.

On Wednesday, the IHC granted bail to Zardari in the Park Lane and fake accounts cases on medical grounds against surety bonds of Rs20 million. The former president was initially shifted to Zardari House in the federal capital.

Zardari was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on June 10 after the cancellation of his pre-arrest bail by the IHC in the fake bank accounts case, prompting a strong reaction from the opposition and sporadic protests by PPP workers in various parts

of the country, mostly in Sindh province.

Bilawal had termed his father’s arrest an act of “political victimisation” by the PTI government and declared it a negation of Article 10-A of the Constitution that guarantees the right of fair trial to every citizen. The IHC bench had also cancelled the bail of Zardari’s sister Faryal Talpur, a co-accused in the case, and she was also arrested a few days later.

The case against Zardari and Talpur was originally registered with the Federal Investigation Agency and was filed before a banking court in Karachi.

Later, NAB got the case transferred to its Rawalpindi directorate, a decision that was criticised by the PPP.

China-led media body to promote in-depth communication ISLAMABAD MIAN ABRAR

Media organisations from 12 countries, including Pakistan and China, agreed on a joint initiative on Media Cooperation between international cities to promote in-depth communication and mutual cooperation at the 2019 Beijing International Media Forum and Tour held in the Chinse capital from December 9-13.

The forum was held under the theme of “Connectivity, Mutual Learning, and WinWin Cooperation” and played host to over 150 journalists, including 14 senior executives representing media organizations from 12 countries, including Brazil, Cuba, Ethiopia, Iran, Japan, Laos, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, and Vietnam.

The event was co-hosted by the AllChina Journalists Association, China Public Diplomacy Association, Beijing Municipal Information Office and Beijing Media Network.

Delegates were first taken to a fourday tour of the Chinese capital and were shown places such as the Shougang Park, BAIC Motor Electric Vehicle Company, and Beijing Rail Transit Command Center.

Talking to Pakistan Today, Du Feijin, head of the Publicity Department of the Beijing Committee of the Communist Party of China, said that the forum served as a platform dedicated to promoting lasting friendship among international cities.

“Media is encouraged to be the disseminator of friendly exchanges by international cities and a promoter of win-win cooperation,” he said. Du said that he was positive that media from Beijing and the other cities will work to strengthen cooperation and exchanges. He also emphasized that media will focus on building, sharing, and creating a better future for cities, as well as promoting the building of a community with a “shared future for mankind.”

Participants agreed that Beijing International Media Forum is a constructive platform for more in-depth exchange and greater understanding. In the opening ceremony, Beijing Media Network signed cooperation agreements with the Ethiopian news agency, Nepal National News Agency (RSS), and Aydinlik news agency from Turkey to establish longterm cooperative partnerships.

The event consisted of one main forum and two sub-forums. With the topic

“Connectivity, Mutual Learning and WinWin Cooperation”, representatives from six domestic and international media organisations and a media expert made speeches in the main forum. The topics of the sub-forums were “Media Cooperation and International Communication against the backdrop of Globalization” and “Technology Transformation and Media Trends”. Media experts and representatives from the Chinese and foreign media made speeches on these two topics.

During their visit to the Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall, delegates were briefed about Beijing’s past, present, and future. They were also introduced to the city’s overall planning scheme as well as the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. The delegation learnt the profound history and development achievements of Beijing.

On the third floor of the exhibition hall, with the technical demonstration of sound and light, delegates were able to see all of Beijing’s landmark buildings in the urban planning model; which gave them a bird’s eye view of city.

Delegates were told that by 2050, Beijing will cement its position as a

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world-class, harmonious and liveable capital. Meanwhile, the Beijing-Tianjin Hebei region will achieve high-level coordinated development as well.

Later, the delegates visited the China Railway Museum where they learnt about the development history of the Chinese railway. Using a large number of vivid pictures, dioramas, and train models, the museum fully demonstrated the rapid development of the railway in China. Delegates were also shown historical photos of Chinese trains dating back to the republican era. In the museum, one of the most attractive exhibits was the simulated high-speed railway cab. Guests were able to act virtually as high-speed railway drivers, driving lightning fast trains on the Beijing-Tianjin railway.

The delegates lauded Chinese technical innovations in rail travel and appreciated China’s desire to export this technology to other parts of the world.

In the afternoon, they visited Beijing Rail Transit Command Centre to understand the role it plays in controlling Beijing’s rail transit system. The dispatch and command centre covers an area of 2,600 square meters and has installed 13 giant

display screens projecting operations of over 20 lines of the Beijing subway in real time. Moving light spots on the screen represent the running trains, and scrolling data on the large screen show the operation status. According to onsite staff, Beijing is now the world’s longest urban rail transit network.

Opendra Sharma from National News Agency of Nepal said that through this visit, he had gained a profound understanding of the history and development of Beijing. “The visit was really wonderful. I was deeply impressed by China’s history, culture, development achievements and hospitality.”

Brazilian reporter Cristiano Dias Vieira said that through the visit, he came to know not only what Beijing looks like, but also what it will become tomorrow.

“I am impressed that Beijing’ metro network has grown to such a large scale within just 50 years. Beijing’s urban planning is a good example for China, Brazil and for the whole world to learn from.

Brazil and China can communicate and cooperate in many ways, and there can be a better future between the two countries,” he concluded.

CMYK Monday, 16 December, 2019

NEWS

PTI GovT DePRIveD BAlochIsTAN of cPec BeNefITs, clAIMs BIlAwAl QUETTA

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STAFF REPORT

AKISTAN People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Sunday said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) government continued with the age-old discrimination against the people of Balochistan by charting out a new route of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which would strip the province of its share in benefits to come from the project.

While addressing a party workers’ convention in Quetta, the PPP chairman claimed that CPEC was the brainchild of his father [then president Asif Ali Zardari] and added that his party regret-

ted how the project had deviated from what it had originally intended to do for Balochistan.

“We brought revolutionary programmes such as CPEC for you. Former president Zardari’s vision was for the route, to begin with the most backward areas of Pakistan, namely exFATA and Balochistan; however, I regret to say that the route was altered to give most of its fruit to Punjab and Sindh,” he said.

“We want the people of Balochistan to benefit from CPEC but this incompetent, unqualified puppet government has deprived you of the benefits. Only PPP is capable and it is the only party to have ever strived to deliver the benefits of a project to the residents of the area it is launched in,” he added.

PTI govt has removed Pak-saudi Arabia misunderstanding, says fM ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said the incumbent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has removed all misunderstandings between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and that there has been no misunderstanding between the two countries at present.

Talking to a private news channel on Sunday, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said such perception was being created by the elements who desire to disintegrate the Muslim world. Responding to a question about the perception of Kuala Lumpur Summit being raised as a parallel platform or against the OIC, he said it is not being held for the first time, rather Mahathir Muhammad had already organized such four sessions as his private initiative before assuming the office of the Malaysian Prime Minister. The FM said that Mahathir Mohammed has sent his foreign minister to Saudi Arabia to extend a formal invitation for the summit considering it a very vital member of the Muslim world. He said such perceptions are being created and fanned by the elements who have reservations over the Muslim countries joining heads to discuss their socioeconomic development and exploit their potential in the fields of skills and technology. Shah Mahmood Qureshi said having cordial ties with Saudi Arabia and Malaysia and being an OIC’s founding member, Pakistan is supposed to play its role to improve the strained ties between the Muslim countries. STAFF REPORT

Difficult to shift Nawaz to Us until platelets stabilise, says son Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader Nawaz Sharif’s son Hussain Nawaz on Sunday said that it would be difficult to shift the prime minister to the United States for treatment until his platelets stablise. Speaking to the media in London, where his father is seeking medical care, he said that the PML-N supremo was only a patient of blood pressure and sugar before his jail term, however, after his incarceration, he contracted various diseases. Nawaz’s personal physician, Dr Adnan Khan, told the media that they were reviewing the former premier’s diseases from every aspect. “We are waiting for the clearance from the hematologist as the reasons behind the decrease in his platelets are still unknown,” he added. He further said that that cannot say anything about Nawaz’s stay in UK as they are waiting for his platelets to stabilise before they can shift him to the US. NEWS DESK

Speaking about Balochistan’s resource-rich land, the PPP chairman claimed that only PPP is capable of ensuring that due share is given “to the owners of the resources, the people of Balochistan” and further added that it is “evident that the power is being stolen from the people and handed over to the selected and the selectors”.

The PPP chairman vowed that his party will not accept injustices served to the common man as real power stems from no one but the masses. “The PPP will show the whole world that people are the real source of power and that we reject selected governments,” he added.

Bilawal also said that his father had stood tall in the face of pressure for six months that he spent in jail whereas his aunt Faryal Talpur was also unjustly sent

to Adiala Jail, alleging that the two siblings were deprived of medical facilities.

He further alleged that the federal government was “attacking” the PPP government in Sindh and further claimed that the 18th constitutional amendment was under attack in the country by the “selected” government.

He said that trial of Sindh’s cases is being conducted in Rawalpindi as the rulers think they can silence their voice through injustice but the PPP will come out victorious with the public’s support.

“We will make a people’s government with the support of the general public,” he said. Concluding his address at the rally, Bilawal announced that the party will observe former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s death anniversary in Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh.

Firdous lashes out at PPP over ‘poor governance’ in Sindh ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting (SAPM) Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan Sunday said the ideology of late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had expired as the poor masses in Sindh were dying of poverty and malnutrition.

She was addressing the oath-taking ceremony of Hafizabad Press Club’s newly-elected office-bearers on Sunday. In her response to Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s remarks in his party’s convention at Quetta, she said the deposed corrupt political leadership was making false narrative to mislead the nation. “They only feel the pain of poor masses when they are not in power. Public to them means their dear ones and close aides. But, the real problem and matter for concern is the looted money they have plundered from this country,” she added.

Firdous said a politically immature party leader (Bilawal) was elaborating on the political philosophy of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in Quetta, claiming himself as Bhutto’s successor and son of Benazir Bhutto. “He should realize that Larkana the city of late Zulfikar Bhutto has failed to provide medical relief to dog bite victims and the people of Thar is dying due to poor nutrition. If the Bhutto’s ideology was alive then the plunderers of public money would have been behind the bars,” she added.

She lambasted Bilawal for criticizing the government and said the

chief minister Sindh was the real puppet head of the provincial government. Prime Minister Imran Khan believed in meritocracy whereas the Sindh government leadership was totally controlled by the PPP top brass, the SAPM added.

“Bilawal should know that umpire whom you refer to in your speech is the people who rejected your leadership in Larkana polls. PPP chairman will have to remain in anxiety for the next four years,” she said.

The special assistant said masses would reelect Prime Minister Imran Khan. Referring to Bilawal Bhutto, she said that the PPP has been limited to a few districts of Sindh. You buried the ideology of Bhutto and revived the dogma of corruption which lead to the debacle of PPP in the entire country.”

Karachi during the past two decades’ rule of PPP had turned into Mohenjo Daro and dumping site due to poor administration, she said.

Dr Firdous Ashiq said people had seen a family flying abroad after getting bail from the court. Along with Nawaz Sharif, facilitator Shehbaz Sharif had also left the country ignoring his basic role of an Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, she added.

Referring to Shehbaz Sharif’s claim of committing corruption of not even a penny, she said, “Yes, he is right. He has not embezzled a penny but billions of rupees and used the looted money to buy palaces for his children.” She said the Sharif family would have to face the law as

the country would fall into a crisis if a former prime minister and chief minister evaded the law. Firdous said the government knew the problems being faced by masses and was taking steps to overcome them.

The SAPM said Prime Minister Imran Khan had two options either to let the country become bankrupt or shift some burden to masses to revive the economic structure.

Dr Firdous Ashiq hoped that the inflation and economic crisis would come to an end in the near future as the government was working hard to provide relief to the downtrodden segment of the society.

She said realizing the problems faced by the farmers, the prime minister had increased the rates of wheat

by Rs 365 per 40-kilogramme besides taking steps to ensure the availability of fertilizer and seed at low cost. For the first time, the incumbent government had included the agriculture sector in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which was earlier confined to mere roads and infrastructure. She said the national development was impossible without bringing the agricultural revolution as around 70 percent people of the country were linked with the sector. “We are going to strengthen the small farmers through easy loans. Moreover, we are also working to provide health cards to the journalist community under the Ehsaas programme,” she added.

The SAPM also announced a grant of Rs 1 million for the development of the Hafizabad Press Club.

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NAB summons Gilani in illegal appointment case RAWALPINDI: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has summoned former prime minister (PM) Yousaf Raza Gillani on Monday in a probe related to the appointment of Yousuf Baig Mirza as managing director of state-run Pakistan Television (PTV) during his tenure. As per the details, the accountability watchdog asked Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Yousaf Raza Gillani to appear before Rawalpindi NAB on Monday at 11:00 am for interrogation in the illegal appointment case. “Gillani misused his powers and appointed the former managing director (MD) of Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) illegally,” said NAB. Gillani was also on NAB’s radar in September 2018, when the accountability watchdog established his involvement in a case of alleged misuse of authority in a publicity campaign of Universal Service Fund (USF), which caused heavy losses to the national exchequer. INP

Balochistan’s Mengal wants DG Khan, Rajanpur back Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNPM) chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal on Sunday demanded the inclusion of Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur into Balochistan, saying they were part of the province at the time of partition. Addressing a gathering held at Kalama Chowk of Taunsa tehsil in honour of the martyrs of Koh-e-Sulaiman, the BNP- chief said that Balochistan had the lowest population in the entire country despite having an area of 43 per cent of Pakistan. “Both these regions should be included in Balochistan to balance the population,” he said. He said that the government was launching mega projects such as metro trains under the ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) but no welfare projects were being introduced in Balochistan despite its significance in CPEC. He also accused the government of “selling” the entire country, including Balochistan under CPEC. Mengal said that the only reason for his support for the government was the implementation of his six-point agenda. “I am not supporting them in greed for any post,” he said, adding that he was striving for the rights of his people within the framework of the Constitution. “In the past, those who demanded their rights were termed traitors,” he said, adding that it was not just a coincidence that every ruler apologised for mistreatment of Balochistan. The BNPchief also demanded of the Punjab chief minister to conduct an inquiry into the killing of two persons in Dera Ghazi Khan two months back in police encounter.

Speaking about the women abducted from Awaran, Mengal said that they were only released after he protested over the incident. NEWS DESK

Imran pushes for diplomacy to avert conflict in Middle East RIYADH AGENCIES

Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that Pakistan would continue to facilitate efforts to resolve all disputes in the Middle East through diplomatic means to preclude conflict. The reiteration of Pakistan’s viewpoint by the prime minister came in his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in Riyadh on Saturday. Premier Imran, who was on a daylong visit to the oil-rich kingdom, held wide-ranging consultations with the Saudi prince covering bilateral matters and developments in the regional context, according to a statement issued by the foreign ministry in Islamabad.

The prime minister’s visit – which is part of regular exchanges between the leaderships of the two countries – came on the heels of a whirlwind trip by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi who, accompanied by Pakistan’s spy chief, toured Riyadh four days back to

lay the groundwork for Imran’s trip.

This was the prime minister’s fourth visit to Saudi Arabia since May 2019, which reflects the importance attached

by Pakistan to this strategic partnership, according to the statement. Imran emphasised the strategic importance of Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relationship and termed it a “pivotal partnership for peace, progress, and prosperity”.

In the bilateral context, the prime minister underscored the unique strength of Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relations, based on mutual trust and understanding. He noted that high-level visits were the hallmark of the relationship and the crown prince’s visit to Pakistan in Feb 2019 had ushered in a new era of deeper engagement across the economic, investment, energy, security and defence, and people-to-people domains. The two leaders expressed satisfaction at the ongoing bilateral cooperation between the two countries. They reiterated their determination to take bilateral relations to a new

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level. It was noted that the establishment of the Saudi-Pakistan Supreme Coordination Council had provided a firm institutional mechanism to advance cooperation in diverse fields in a robust manner. The two sides hoped to further advance this process during the second meeting of the council expected to take place early next year. “In the context of the Middle East, the prime minister reiterated Pakistan’s perspective that disputes and differences be resolved through political and diplomatic means,” according to the statement. “Pakistan would continue to facilitate all efforts in that direction with a view to precluding conflict, defusing tensions and preserving peace for the benefit of the region and the world,” it added.

The prime minister apprised the Saudi crown prince of the latest situation in Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir, marked by continuous lockdown and other restrictions since August 5, 2019. This was accompanied by

India’s belligerent rhetoric and actions on the Line of Control. Imran thanked Riyadh for its traditional support to the Kashmir cause, including its active role in the OIC Contact Group on Jammu & Kashmir. The two sides discussed ways of further advancing the Kashmir cause through the OIC and other means. The Saudi side offered all possible support in the development of the tourism sector in Pakistan. In this context, it was agreed that the Saudi team would undertake a visit to Pakistan soon. The prime minister extended warm felicitations on Saudi Arabia’s assumption of the G20 Presidency. This is a reflection of the Saudi leadership’s role and stature in the international community, he said, adding that Pakistan wished Saudi Arabia a highly successful G20 Presidency.

Premier Imran reached Riyadh after a brief stopover in Madian, where he paid his respects at Roza-e-Rasool (Peace be Upon Him) and offered prayers there.

04 KARACHI

Monday, 16 December, 2019

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GOvT TO DevelOP THar blOCK vI aS a naTIOnal STraTeGIC aSSeT, SaYS enerGY MInISTer

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iNDH Minister for Energy imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh has said that block Vi of Thar coal had huge potential to produce gas, urea/fertilizer and liquid fuel (diesel). The Minister said that owing to this reason Thar block Vi had been included in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

He said this while talking to Ms. Naheed Memon, Chief Executive Officer of UK-based Company Oracle, who called on him to discuss the energy re-

lated issues specifically about Thar block Vi. Speaking on the occasion the Minister for Energy imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh said that the Sindh government had intended to initiate Thar Coal Block-Vi as a national strategic project under the CPEC to develop coal mine, set up a 1,320 MW coal-fired power project, produce gas, urea and diesel.

Block-Vi of Thar Coal had estimated total coal reserves of 1.4 billion tones. imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh said that recently with the efforts of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Thar Block Vi had been included as a potential block for coal to gas to urea/fertil-

One dead, two injured in road accident KARACHI: A man was killed and two women injured in an accident at Karachi’s Baloch Colony Flyover on Saturday night.

According to reports, two cars and a motorcycle collided, killing the man and injuring the women on the motorcycle. The deceased, identified as Zeeshan Abbasi and the two injured women, Zainab and Mehek, his siblings were residents of Mujahid Colony.

Authorities laid the blame on the speeding car, which they said escaped the scene after the accident. The body and the injured were shifted to the Jinnah Hospital. The injured women are out of danger, according to rescue officials. Police said that the search for the suspect is ongoing. STAFF REPORT

Hamdard Public school wins InterSchool Football Championship ‘19 KARACHI: The final match of 21st Shaheed Hakim Mohammed Said Memorial inter-School Football Championship 2019 was played yesterday between the teams of Hamdard Public School and Hamdard Village School and won by the former with a margin 4-1. The match was equal at the last moment but eventually decided on penalty kicks.

Unfortunately, the four-year champion team of Hamdard Village School failed to utilise the penalty kicks properly and lost the championship.in all eight teams of differ schools participated in championship.

Hamdard Public School and Hamdard Village School qualified for final. Speaking on the occasion D.G. Rangers, Maj. General Umar Ahmed Bukhari said that extra-curriculum activities played key role in building up the personalities of the students, created team spirit in them and provided them opportunities to learn more. PRESS RELEASE

izer production in 9th joint coordination committee (JCC) meeting on CPEC held on 5th Nov 2019. During the meeting both sides appreciated the concept to include Thar Block Vi for coal gasification to fertilizer projects under CPEC and desired to undertake a feasibility study for evaluation.

Speaking on the occasion CEO Oracle Naheed Memon said that Oracle Power was a company incorporated in the United Kingdom and quoted on London Stock Exchange. She said that with active support of the government of Sindh our consortium under the joint development agreement (JDA) intended to develop

Thar block Vi as a National strategic asset for Pakistan beyond power generation.

She said that with the adequate expansion of Coal mine the production of Urea could be pioneered through cheaper surface gasification and liquids including diesel at almost one third of the existing price. imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh hoped that this endeavor of the Sindh government would lessen the forex pressure on National exchequer. Block Vi is located in the center of the coalfield and covers an area of 66.1 square kilometers.

The site has been extensively drilled and coal samples recovered and tested to international standards.

Haleem Adil accuses info minister, adviser of spreading disinformation KARACHI INP

Leader Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf (PTi) and the leader of Parliamentary Party in Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil has alleged that the information minister and advisor whose duty it is to give people true information are spreading disinformation, themselves. Addressing a press conference at the insaf House, flanked by PTi MNA Jay Prikash, MPA Ali Aziz G G, Karim Bux Gabol and others on Sunday, Haleem Adil said that for some days the press conferences of the information minister and advisor of Sindh are based on plain lies. He said Murtaza Wahab only talks on the basis of what written notes are handed to him. His service is based on telling lies. in the bath of corruption, he is also naked. Murtaza Wahab himself is involved in corruption in horticulture, he said.

The PTi leader said that the Sindh government has appointed advisors, illegally. He said we will go the apex court against these illegal advisors. He said these people occu-

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Tea shops being razed in Karchi in wake of Dua Mangi case

KARACHI: Workers add finishing touches to the under-construction Numaish Chowrangi Road in the provincial capital. ONLINE

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pying important offices illegally dream to become leaders of Sindh.

He asked why the police are seen intimidated in Sindh province.

He asked why police officers in Sindh are afraid. He said the case of Bisma is yet clueless. He said when the Thaili Walla told the truth about the king of Sindh Murad Ali Shah, the related SSP was removed. He said Asghar Mahesar was removed on allegation that he gave statement on behest of imran Gujar. He said a good PSP, retired from army, was also sent on forced transfer. He said the Sindh government does not need good and honest police officers.

Haleem Adil said that the crime of SSP Dr Rizwan was that he was the member of JiT against Rao Anwar.

He said now Shikarpur district is left in lawlessness. This is the same district from where a singer was kidnapped. He said there is a law of jungle and Karo-kari cases are on the rise. He said SSP Rizwan had told the truth that local PPP leaders were not happy when he took action against dacoits and bandits. This is why he was transferred out of the province. He

said Dr Rizwan had also investigated in case of Naqeebullah Mehsud.

The leader Parliamentary Party in Sindh Assembly said that the patrons of dacoits and criminals would also be arrested soon. He said now Sindh government is so afraid that it has banned police officers from issuing media statements. He said Saeed Ghani says that Punjab had demanded services of Dr Rizwan, while the fact is that the Sindh government had returned his services back to the federal government. He said we urge the federal government to demand back the services of secretary services Naveed Sheikh, who is showing a slavish mentality. He said Naveed Sheikh should have to work as per law and rules. He said Khadim Rind was also removed because he was writing letters. He said Khalid Mustafa Korai was also removed after using him for political purposes.Haleem Adil demanded that the briefing of Public Safety Commission should be held in public. He said the Sindh rulers are afraid of brave police officers like A D Khuwaja and they need corrupt officers like Ghulam Haider Jamali.

KARACHI STAFF REPORT

Local administration and police have started bulldozing tea shops in Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA) as part of security measures in the wake of the surge in kidnapping cases such as the abduction of Dua Mangi. According to reports, several tea shops and cafes were ordered to shut down by midnight by DHA administration and police after which they were razed to the ground.

Locals have reportedly expressed resentment over the move as it has resulted in scores of people being unemployed. Residents have instead called on law enforcement authorities to pay more attention to tightening security than demolishing cafes and affecting the owners and people working there. They have also urged DHA administration to review its decision. On November 30, five armed men in a car intercepted Dua and her young friend, who were strolling along the road in DHA, fired multiple shots, left him wounded and took away the girl. Her abduction triggered widespread public outrage and protests were held calling for her immediate release. Dua later returned home on December 6, weeks after she was kidnapped.

Young doctors assets of country, says health minister NEWS DESK Sindh Minister for Health Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho has said young doctors are assets of the country. Speaking on the occasion of 4th convocation ceremony of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University Larkana, she said Chandka Medical College was established by Shaheed Zulifqar Bhutto later it was given the status of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University. Vice Chancellor Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University Professor Dr Aneela Attaur Rehman said more than 465 medical graduates including 328 Girls were conferred degrees. On the occasion, about 50 gold medals and silver medals were awarded to graduates.

CHK’s incinerator machine out of order KARACHI PPI

Deep-Heat Steriliser machine (advance incinerator) is lying out of order at Dr Ruth KM Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) since one month while hospital administration was unable to get incinerator repaired yet. The machine had been installed at CHK in May 2018 for disposal of medical waste including dis-

posable syringes, drips, urine or blood bags, needles, fluids and other used wastage which are harmful for medical staff, visiting patients as well as, environment if not safely disposed of.

However, incinerator machine has developed some fault about one month ago which was not repaired yet. The CHK administration is disposing off the medical waste through municipal garbage which was posing serious

threats to visiting patients at the hospital as well as inr environment.

An official at CHK while talking to PPi said hospital generates around 2500 kilograms infected and non-infected medical waste in 24 hours out which 1300 kg infected medical waste like syringes, drips, urine or blood bags, needles, fluids and other used items are disinfected through sterilizer in a day under standard operating

procedure(SOP). Now the health hazardous materials like used disposable syringes, drips, urine or blood bags, needles, fluids and other used wastage is carelessly dumped near Main Pharmacy (store). Later, medical waste was transported to unknown location through municipal trucks.

Medical Superintendent, CHK, Dr Khadim Qureshi, was not available for comments.

Monday, 16 December, 2019

NEWS

AntI-MuslIM legIslAtIOn under MOdI gOvt A PlOy tO engIneer ‘HIndu rAsHtrA’, exPerts sAy EXPERTS FEAR CAB MAY TRIGGER AN EXODUS OF MUSLIM REFUGEES FROM INDIA AND MAY SPARK CHAOS IN REGION ISLAMABAD

A

MIAN ABRAR

S violent clashes erupted in New Delhi and other major cities of India over Citizens Amendment Bill (CAB) introduced by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, experts in Pakistan fear a new wave of violence and exodus of Indian minorities which may put security countries of region at risk.

A group of Indian Muslims petitioned the Indian Supreme Court that the law violated articles of equality, fundamental rights and the right to life. This followed criticism from domestic and international leaders of the government’s move. According to experts, CAB, the bill passed by Indian Lok Sabha which offers Indian nationality to all nationals of Pakistan and two other South Asian countries, except Muslims, is premised on falsehood and is in complete violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international covenants on elimination of all forms of discrimination based on religion or belief.

Experts told Pakistan Today that the Lok Sabha

legislation is also in complete contravention of various bilateral agreements between Pakistan and India particularly the one concerning security and rights of minorities in the respective countries. Minister for State for States and Frontier Regions Shehryar Khan Afridil, who deals with the issue of refugees and migrants in Pakistan, said that he fears that the legislation may trigger a new wave of massive violence in India which may follow exodus of migrants into India’s neighbouring countries – Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.

“Since Prime Minister Modi took over the government, there is a systematic persecution of Indian minorities in India. Muslims are a specific target of this campaign. CAB is a new move to target Muslims in India,” he told Pakistan Today while speaking from Geneva where he has arrived to look after arrangements for Global Refugee Forum 2019.

Afridi said that the world would have to deal with another humanitarian crisis if Muslims of India are forced to migrate. “We are speaking about an exodus of millions of migrants if anything happens and the world fails to act. World needs to act before it is too late,” he added. Experts said that CAB is another

The heart of the matter CIty Notes

By M.A. NIAzI The lawyers who stormed the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) were associated with an ancient tradition, but one not involving either doctors or lawyers: the great medieval university student riots, which are now subsumed under the gown rubric. I do not think we have had that here. Not unless you count students who used to extract money from wagons stopping outside the college.

I wonder if the lawyers were doing what they probably did not do as students: spread terror. Personally, I am not sure they are entirely to blame. I think the lawyers who did what they did were more involved on the criminal side than the civil.

Though you cannot do much civil law without a look at criminal law. For example, suits of adverse possession usually involve qabza matters, which usually involve multiple criminal cases. And some murders are actually just shortcuts to resolve a dispute over a boundary or walls that would otherwise include years of litigation. Then there is the old issue of entangling an opposing litigant in multiple criminal cases.

I would suspect that those attacking the PIC were criminal lawyers. I am referring to their practice, not their activities. Where did they get the pistols that were fired, if not from clients? And was there not a proper lalkara, that beloved part of murder First Information Reports (FIR), in which the perpetrator (usually a murderer) explains himself in a shout?

It should be noted that lawyers and doctors represent two of the three learned professions. The third is the clergy. In the United Kingdom (UK), that would mean the local vicar. Over here, it would mean the khateeb of the local mosque. There was no reference to the profession of arms, which was accepted a profession by people in mediaeval times, but even they could see that it was not learned. Of course, now we know that the profession of arms means knowledge of economics sufficient for the army chief to address businessmen.

Of course, we know that it was not the lawyers who were to blame. It was Nawaz Sharif, who had come all the way from the UK to wreak havoc. H’mmmm. Well, he

60pc Pakistanis live below poverty line: moot KARACHI: In the Human Development Index, Pakistan is at the 153rd place, which is lowest in entire South Asia, while 60 per cent population of Pakistan is living beneath the poverty line. This was stated at a seminar entitled “Role of Women in National Economy” organized by Home-Based

does have a law degree. He never practised, but still…

Imran was exercised. No, not because his nephew Hassaan was involved, but because instead of a clash of institutions, there was a clash of professions. Imagine if Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan was to take on Farogh Naseem… Imran might be thinking he was the grass in the saying, “When elephants fight, it is the grass that is trampled.” Actually, that was true of the PIC. How many doctors or lawyers were killed? How many patients? And who were the elephants, and who the grass?

Whatever the lawyers were doing, they were not protesting the bail granted to Asif Ali Zardari. Actually, there was a cause for celebration there, for the medical board that said he should be released, said his brain had shrunk. Zardari was pleased that they conceded he had a brain. He noted that the board that recommended Nawaz Sharif’s release had not claimed he had a brain, not even a shrunken one.

Zardari left jail pellmell, wearing an overcoat and a flat cap, on a wheelchair, hunched against the cold in Rawalpindi, instead of the blue kurta with huge yellow polka dots and black dhoti which are de rigueur for jail releases.

Imran might have felt it was appropriate for it to rain in Rawalpindi, and make Zardari’s release miserable, but it also had a negative effect on the Test against Sri Lanka.

The fourth day was lost without a ball being bowled, an appropriate aftermath to three rain-affected days in which Sri Lanka had not come close to concluding their first innings.

Not quite the crushing victory that Imran deserved in the first Test held in Pakistan for a decade. Further evidence that Misbahul Haq and Azhar Ali are Nawaz supporters.

Well, here is hoping that the Karachi Test sees an improvement on the situation where the first innings of the match was ended, and that too by a declaration, on the last day of the match. Let us hope that there is as big a win for Pakistan as in the recent one-day series, which Pakistan clean-swept. Any other result, and we will know for sure that the corrupt elements are still there in the PCB. I see the Tories have won the recent election. Congratulations to the UK for having re-elected a hairdo to match that of Donald Trump and King Jong-Un (of North Korea).

Women Workers Federation (HBWWF) in Gadap Town of Karachi to mark the 16-day international movement to end violence and harassment of women. Addressing the seminar, HBWWF general secretary Zehra Khan said every year human rights activists observe 16 days from November 25 to December 10 to demand end of violence against women. This movement was started in 1981 in the memory of three revolutionary sisters, Patria, Minerva, María Teresa, and Dedé, who opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo (El Jefe) in the Dominican Republic and were involved in clandestine activities against his regime. PPI

major step towards the realisation of the concept of ‘Hindu Rashtra,’ idealised and relentlessly pursued by the right-wing Hindu leaders of BJP for several decades. Dr Zafar Jaspal, a scholar at Quaid-e-Azam University (QUA), said that the Indian CAB has exposed totally India’s secularism and defied Indian Constitution’s Article 4. “It ended Indian states pluralistic character. Precisely, India is converted into Hindutva state, in which minorities rights are no more protected,” he added. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal said that the CAB bill passed in India is violation of all covenants on human rights.

"It is discriminatory against Muslims and proves once again that Muslims are not secure in India.

Quaid e Azam sensed it long ago and demanded separate homeland for Muslims. It is condemnable and international community must take note of this Indian act,” he added. Syed Khurram Ellahi, a professor at PIDE, said that the CAB is a part of Indian strategy of targeting Muslims, driven by a toxic mix of an extremist ‘Hindutva’ ideology and hegemonic ambitions in the region. “Giving citizenship to selective groups on the basis of faith and religious beliefs is also a clear manifestation of interference in the internal matters of neighboring countries, which are in violation of United Nations’ (UN) human rights charter,” the professor added.

05

Pakistan foreign policy effective compared to India: FO ISLAMABAD: A day after Foreign Office Spokesperson Muhammad Faisal was appointed as an envoy to Germany, the outgoing FO spokesperson said that due to the “effective foreign policy” Pakistan was on the front foot compared to India.

Talking in a program of Radio Pakistan, he said Pakistan is effectively highlighting the dire lockdown situation and Indian brutalities in Occupied Kashmir with International community especially with the Muslim Ummah. He said fascist government in India led by Prime Minister Modi is on back foot due to Pakistan’s effective foreign policy. He expressed his concern that there is shortage of foods, medicines and other basic facilities in the Occupied Valley due to lockdown and restrictions which is very alarming. Dr. Faisal said, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are enjoying brotherly relations in religion and culture with a very strong history of relationship. The visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Saudi Arabia would further strengthen these relations, he added. APP

Women of the World festival celebrates achievements of women and girls

KARACHI stAFF RePoRt

The British Council in Pakistan, together with the Women of the World (WOW) Foundation, and four curating partners Dr Fozia Tahir, Entrepreneurship and Community Development Institute (ECDI), Numaish-Karachi and Olomopolo Media hosted the third WOW – Women of the World festival in Karachi on December 14-15, at Beach Luxury.

The festival’s diverse programme was reflective of Karachi’s dynamic spirit with important talks and mentoring, musical performances, dramatic readings, panel discussions, workshops, a space for young children and a market reimagined as an inclusive third space.

This year WOW Karachi also endeavored to become an environmentally responsible festival by reducing the use of single use materials like plastic and panaflex, and working with partners for a sustainable waste management solution. This is not only in response to the prevalent issues around climate change, but also a proactive measure for future program-

ming.

Senator Sherry Rehman during her Keynote address at the opening ceremony said: “Women, whose lives are deeply entangled with access to natural resources, like water and firewood to complete their daily chores, are harder hit by climate enhanced burdens and frustrations. They have been thrust to the forefront in dealing with the harsh realities of this rapidly changing environment “As we celebrate women, we must continue to push back, disrupt and defy emerging challenges, risks and problems women face at multiple levels.”

British Council Director Arts in Pakistan Chantal Harrison-Lee in said: Working with our team, the WOW Foundation and our phenomenal curatorial team we have put together our most ambitious programme to date, featuring nearly 100 women as well as men, across ages. We have climate change at the heart of our work, throughout our programming and in our delivery approach and are dedicated to making WOW a climate friendly festival. WOW first and foremost is a family friendly inclusive festival for all ages and genders. We

really believe that if we move towards a world where gender equality is an every-day fact, it takes all of us to get their no matter your age gender, race or social standing. WOW is a vital platform to celebrate and empower women, to provide a space for discussion around key issues and barriers women and girls face, and aims to make bottom up change.

The British Council hosted the first full scale WOW in South Asia in Karachi in 2016. The festival in Karachi has been supported by Standard Chartered Bank and Engro.

WOW – Women of the World Festivals first began in the United Kingdom in 2010, launched by Jude Kelly CBE at Southbank Centre London.

WOW festivals around the world are platforms to celebrate women and girls, discuss what prevents them from achieving their potential, raise global awareness and discuss solutions to on the issues they face. To date, WOW has reached over 2 million people in 17 countries on 5 continents with more than 60 festivals around the world. The WOW Foundation was created by Kelly in 2018 to manage what has now become a global movement.

Monday, 16 December, 2019

06 WORLD VIEW

IT’s TIme IndIa goT a new capITal observer reseArch FoundAtion

T

raManaTH JHa

HE exasperation of India’s Supreme Court with the appalling quality of life in Delhi was palpable. On 25 November 2019, the Supreme Court was hearing a matter concerning air pollution in Delhi and was being updated on steps taken by the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and the Centre.

Reacting to the Delhi Chief Secretary’s admission that 45 per cent of the city’s solid waste was not being lifted by civic bodies, the Court remarked, “Is this not worse than internal war? Why are people in this gas chamber (Delhi)? … you better finish them with explosives… it would be better to go rather than suffer from diseases like cancer”.

The Supreme Court further bemoaned that no government wanted to take measures that were anti-populist. The issue of pollution was being politicised right under the nose of the Supreme Court. It concluded that it was high time to make state governments and officers responsible for

not providing clean air and water.

One of the judges remarked, “Delhi is worse than hell”.

Delhi’s problems are not of sudden making; they have risen over the years. These comprise, among other things, air pollution, water quality, waste management, housing shortages, crime, transportation and fire tragedies. Delhi ranks as the most polluted city in the world in terms of its air pollution. Its water was declared by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) the most contaminated among cities that were surveyed.

As stated above, the Delhi government itself admitted that almost half the solid waste of the city continues to lie on the streets on account of the civic body’s inability to dispose of it. More and more of its population is living in slums and unauthorised colonies with substandard amenities. Among the major metros, the National Crime Records Bureau reported that Delhi has the highest crime rate in terms of IPC crimes. Despite huge additions in public transport through the metro, private transport vehicles are rising and clogging Delhi’s streets. And adding to the tragic condition of the capital, Delhi with troubling regularity is visited by horrendous fires since the days of the Upahar tragedy in 1997 to the Anaj Mandi fire on 8 December 2019, exposing the enormous governance deficit plaguing the city.

One of the primary reasons for

Delhi’s mounting infrastructural inadequacy is its demographic explosion. Delhi, with about 400,000 people in 1901 ranked the seventhlargest Indian city. It is now around 18 million and the largest megacity in the country. That is a rise of 4,500 percent. The future appears even more daunting. A UN Report titled World Urbanisation Prospects 2018 by the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs suspects that Delhi may be the world’s most populous city by 2028 with 37.2 million people. It does not require great intelligence to foresee that the physical, environmental and social infrastructure of the city – already unable to keep pace with demography and showing signs of severe fatigue and atrophy – will be far more nightmarishly out of joint than what it is today. Notwithstanding the Supreme Court’s admonitions, it appears the demographic tsunami will make it almost impossible to salvage the city.

What is most worrisome is that Delhi happens to be the national capital, housing the most significant institutions, the most important people and the centre of the most critical national decisionmaking. What would be the impact on them and their efficiency in a dysfunctional city? Decidedly, the future bodes ill. What should, therefore, be the national response of decision-makers? While an allout effort is made to keep the city

afloat, one would suggest that a parallel strategy needs to be put in place to find another, more congenial capital that would better serve the interests of the nation.

Moving the capital of a city is nothing new. Countries over time have moved their capitals for a variety of reasons. However, delving far back into history to find examples may not be the most appropriate. Hence, we will stick to recent illustrations. Rio de Janeiro was for very long the capital of Brazil. But the city was crowded with huge transportation issues. Since government buildings were far apart, its efficiency was being seriously eroded. Hence the Government decided to create a new city about 1,100 km away in Brasilia. This became the country’s capital in 1960.

Lagos, the capital city of Nigeria and its most populous city was replaced by Abuja in 1991. Lagos was found to be muggy, crowded, hot and politically divisive. Abuja, 300 miles northeast of Lagos, was preferred by virtue of its sparse population density, higher elevation, and more central location.

Cairo, the capital city of Egypt was found inconvenient on account of heavy congestion, pollution and over-crowding and future indications that its population will double in the next few decades. Consequently, Egypt decided on a new capital city. This is under construction, some 45 km away to the east of Cairo.

Why the media is ignoring the Afghanistan Papers

new republic alEX SHEPHarD

This week, The Washington Post published the Afghanistan Papers, an extensive review of thousands of pages of internal government documents relating to the war in Afghanistan. Like the Pentagon Papers, which showcased the lies underpinning the Vietnam War, the Post’s investigation shows that U.S. officials, across three presidential administrations, intentionally and systematically misled the American public for 18 years and counting.

As Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1974, told CNN earlier this week, the Pentagon and Afghanistan Papers revealed the same dynamic: “The presidents and the generals had a pretty realistic view of what they were up against, which they did not want to admit to the American people.”

The documents are an indictment not only of one aspect of American foreign policy, but also of the U.S.’s entire policymaking apparatus. They reveal a bipartisan consensus to lie about what was actually happening in Afghanistan: chronic waste and chronic corruption, one ill-conceived development scheme after another, resulting in a near-unmitigated failure to bring peace and prosperity to the country. Both parties had reason to engage in the cover-up.

For the Bush administration, Afghanistan was a key component in the war on terror. For the Obama administration, Afghanistan was the “good war” that stood in contrast to the nightmare in Iraq.

san failure. During the impeachment hearings, news outlets gleefully covered the conflict between Trump and members of the foreign policy establishment, holding up the latter as selfless bureaucrats working tirelessly and anonymously on behalf of the American interest, in contrast with the feckless and narcissistic head of the executive branch. The Afghanistan Papers don’t provide that kind of easy contrast; they demand a kind of holistic condemnation, in which Trump and those bureaucrats are part of the same problem.

The media also has a longstanding bias toward “new” news.

The Afghanistan War has been a catastrophic failure for nearly two decades. Because little changes, there is little to report that will excite audiences. (Though the Afghanistan Papers are startling, they are hardly surprising.) Given that the president is the greatest supplier of “new” news in recent history—his Twitter feed alone powers MSNBC most days—more complex stories, like the situation in Afghanistan, are often buried in favor of the political equivalent of sports sideline reporting.

The result is that this massive controversy receives disproportionately little coverage. Despite wasting thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars, everyone in the U.S. government gets off scotfree. The very people who have kept us in Afghanistan since 2001 remain empowered, thanks to a combination of cynicism and apathy. And as a result, the Afghanistan Papers have ended up working in favor of Trump’s Republican Party, which exists to channel voters’ contempt of elite lawmakers and the institutions they represent.

Alex Shephard is a staff writer at The New Republic.

USD $33 billion. It also takes time to design and construct a new city.

For this reason, many observers suggest that moving capital is not a good idea. They caution that it may take generations to see any benefits. Instead, the nation should concentrate on improving and refurbishing existing infrastructure.

However, one has to also see the cost of continuing with a capital city that hinders economic efficiency and quality of life. For instance, the negative effects of Jakarta’s traffic congestion and pollution are computed to cost the economy USD $10 billion annually. Besides, governments may find private partners to share the burden. The Egyptian government has adopted such a partnership and will have a new capital with little cost to the Egyptian treasury.

In the above-cited background, India should start having a hard look at shifting its capital from Delhi. The place should be more centrally located and sparsely populated. It should have a more temperate climate and less prone to be polluted from outside. It should also better serve the requirements of national security. The effort of relocation may take a lot of time. But it appears worth the trouble, given the future downward trajectory of Delhi that seems difficult to reverse.

The author is Distinguished Fellow at Observer Research Foundation, Mumbai.

The trio ruling Iran IN LIGHT OF THE CURRENT BALANCE OF POWER, MANY BELIEVE THAT THE SUPREME GUIDE’S SUCCESSOR WILL EITHER BE RAISI OR MOJTABA, WHO ARE SUPPORTED BY TAIB

THE DOCUMENTS ARE A BOMBSHELL. SO WHY DO SO FEW NEWS OUTLETS CARE? The Afghanistan Papers are, in other words, a bombshell. Yet the report has received scant attention from the broader press. Neither NBC nor ABC covered the investigation in their nightly broadcasts this week. In other outlets, it has been buried beneath breathless reporting on the latest developments in the impeachment saga, Joe Biden’s purported pledge to serve only one term, and world leaders’ pathological envy of a 16-year-old girl. The relentless news cycle that characterizes Donald Trump’s America surely deserves some blame: This isn’t the first time that a consequential news story has been buried under an avalanche of other news stories. But one major reason that the Afghanistan Papers have received so comparatively little coverage is that everyone is to blame, which means no one has much of an interest in keeping the story alive. There are no hearings, few press gaggles.

George W. Bush started the Afghanistan War and botched it in plenty of ways, not least by starting another war in Iraq. But Barack Obama, despite his obvious skepticism of the war effort, exacerbated Bush’s mistakes by bowing to the Washington foreign policy blob and authorizing a pointless troop surge.

Now, although both Democrats and Donald Trump seem to be on the same page about getting the U.S. out of Afghanistan, there has been little progress with peace talks. The pattern across administrations is that any movement toward resolution is usually met with a slow slide back into the status quo, a.k.a. quagmire.

The political press loves the idea of bipartisan cooperation, which plays into a notion of American greatness and its loss. It also thrives on partisan conflict, because conflict drives narrative. It doesn’t really know what to do with biparti-

This year, Indonesia’s President announced that the national capital would move from Jakarta to the island of Java in the province of East Kalimantan, on Borneo island. The reasons are Jakarta’s huge environmental burden. Its air is notoriously polluted. Additionally, Jakarta is sinking, suffers horrendous traffic jams, is short of drinking water and yet continues to grow unsustainably. China continues to house its capital in a megacity Beijing. However, faced with problems of demography and infrastructure, it has decided to limit its population at a pre-determined level by forcibly relocating large populations into other settlements.

It is interesting to note that most highly developed countries have their capitals in reasonably sized cities. The population of Washington, the capital city of USA, is a little more than 750,000. Germany’s capital Berlin is around 3.5 million, Paris is 2.1 million, London around 8 million and Canberra, Australia’s capital city is 390,000.

None of these are even half the size of Delhi. There are 36 countries in the world that have capitals that are not their largest city. While almost all European countries have their capitals in their largest cities, most such cities, barring London, are medium-sized and among the best in terms of quality of life.

The cost of building a new capital city is humongous. Jakarta’s new capital, for instance, will cost

ENOUGH WITH ‘GAS CHAMBER’ NEW DELHI

Al-ArAby Al-JAdeed / Middle eAst Monitor Marwan Kabalan

It seems that Iran will continue to appear in the headlines for a long time. After the protests were finally extinguished, the focus in the coming weeks will be on the general elections for the 11th parliament of the republic in February. Although the parliamentary elections are an important stage in Iran’s political life, and usually reflect the size (and weight) of the two main trends in the government, the reformists and the conservatives, it is clear that this division has become a part of the past.

This is after the reformists were abused and almost eradicated after the Green Movement’s protests in 2009, and competition was then limited to the circles of the conservative movement itself, i.e. between the wing of the so-called realists, represented by President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, and the wing of hardliners represented by the Revolutionary Guards and the associated centres of influence around the Supreme Guide.

However, even this classification is no longer valid to understand the dynamics of Iranian politics today, after US President Trump undermined the realists ’positions by re-imposing tough sanctions on Iran, and the Rouhani-Zarif bilateral bet on the nuclear deal failed to achieve the expected political and economic revenues.

While the focus was on the widening gap between the regime and its social support base during the recent protests that suddenly broke out and the horrific suppression it was ex-

posed to, the New York Times released leaks, known as the Iran Cables, which suggested the existence of more significant divisions amongst the ruling elites.

The most important of which is the silent war between the commander of the Qods Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Qasem Soleimani, and the Iranian intelligence ministry.

Indicators of this war include the Iranian intelligence’s planting of spies in Soleimani’s inner circles, including members who attended meetings with him organised in Turkey, Syria, and Iraq. The Iranian intelligence has objected to the “legendisation” of Soleimani, who has become somewhat of an Iranian Rambo, as excessive focus is put on its activities and movements. Even failed activities are portrayed as successes.

Various sources also report that Soleimani is only an image that the spotlight is deliberately being focused on in order to conceal the more important role played by Hossein Taib, who is the commander of the Revolutionary Guard intelligence organisation. Taib is believed to be the most powerful man of the regime today. The tripartite alliance that includes him and the Supreme Guide’s son, Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei on whom sanctions were imposed by Washington, and Ebrahim Raisi, the former candidate for the presidential elections in 2017, who was appointed head of the judicial system months ago thanks to the support of Taib and Mojtaba, is what effectively governs Iran today.

The first act of this trio (Taib – Raisi – Mojtaba) was politically eliminating the Larijani brothers (Sadeq, the former head of the judicial system and Ali, the current

speaker of parliament who announced his retirement from political work a few days ago).

Many predicted that after Sadeq Larijani was marginalised after being mentioned as a potential successor to the Supreme Guide after being appointed as chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council in December 2018.

This followed the death of former chairman Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, who was also a strong candidate to succeed the Supreme Guide. In light of the current balance of power, many believe that the Supreme Guide’s successor will either be Raisi or Mojtaba, who are supported by Taib. It seems that the Supreme Guide gave the green light to begin arrangements for his succession and appears to be firmly on the side of this alliance.

In the coming period, attention will be focused on the Assembly of Experts, whose membership includes 88 “jurists” from the regime and its staff, and which is charged with the task of selecting the Supreme Guide from among its members.

It is interesting that Raisi was appointed to the position of Deputy Chairman of the Assembly of Experts in the same week in which the decision to appoint him as head of the judiciary was issued last March. This indicates that the chances of the man, who belongs to the far right of the conservative trend, to become Iran’s next Supreme Guide are now greater.

It is also likely that the government will go back to being closed off onto itself. However, we must not forget that we are talking about Iran, where nothing is certain until it becomes certain.

This was first published in Arabic in Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Monday, 16 December, 2019

Johnson eyes Parliament vote before Christmas to ‘get brexit done’ LONDON

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AGENCIES

RITISH Prime Minister Boris Johnson will “get Brexit done” by Jan. 31 and then agree a new trade deal with the European Union by the end of 2020, cabinet office minister Michael Gove said on Sunday, vowing to deliver on the government’s top priority.

Johnson and his team were triumphant last week when he won a com-

manding majority of 80 at an early election he said he was forced to call to break the Brexit deadlock. Winning over many traditionally Labour voters in northern and central England, Johnson has proclaimed he will lead a “people’s government”.

First, the Conservative leader must make good on his often-repeated promise to “get Brexit done” and then turn to realising another priority – to increase funding into Britain’s much loved but struggling public health service, a pledge he plans to enshrine in law. “I can absolutely confirm

UK OPPOSITION CHIEF CORBYN SAYS ‘SORRY’ FOR ELECTION DEFEAT LONDON: Britain’s main opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn apologised to supporters on Sunday for overseeing his Labour party’s worst election defeat since before World War II. But the veteran socialist defended his far-left campaign platform and gave no clear indication of when he might step down. “I will make no bones about it. The election result on Thursday was a body blow for everyone who so desperately needs real change in our country,” Corbyn wrote in the Sunday Mirror newspaper. “I wanted to unite the country that I love but I’m sorry that we came up short and I take my responsibility for it.” Thursday’s snap general election handed Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservatives a mandate to take Britain out of the European Union at the end of next month. Corbyn said on Friday that he would step down at some point early next year. But the centuryold party has no clear successor and is being riven by infighting within its senior ranks. Labour’s campaign was dogged by voter doubts about its vague position on Brexit and allegations of anti-Semitism within the party’s senior ranks. AGENCIES

that we will have an opportunity to vote on the Withdrawal Agreement Bill in relatively short order and then we will make sure that it passes before January 31st,” Gove told Sky News.

Asked about a new trade accord with the EU, Gove said: “It will be concluded next year. We will be in a position to leave the European Union before the 31st of January next year and then we will have concluded our conversations with the EU about the new framework of free trade and friendly cooperation that we will have with them by the end of next year.”

The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, has cast doubt over whether the trade talks will be so swiftly concluded, saying last month that the negotiations would be “difficult and demanding” and warning Britain the bloc “will not tolerate unfair competitive advantage”.

Johnson, who celebrated his victory by visiting Sedgefield, a former Labour bastion that was the parliamentary seat of ex-prime minister Tony Blair but voted Conservative this time, will set out his programme on Thursday in a Queen’s Speech. Rishi Sunak, a deputy finance minister, said the government aimed to re-submit the Withdrawal Agreement Bill to parliament for ratification before Christmas to allow ministers to start work on other priorities such as “levelling up” the country.

FOREIGN NEWS 07

LABOUR SOUL-SEARCHING: After more than three years of debate over Brexit, Johnson faces a struggle to unite a country where disagreements over how, when or whether Britain should leave the EU have torn towns, villages and even families apart.

For the opposition Labour Party, Thursday’s election was its worst result since 1935 and underlined how its equiv-

ocal Brexit policy and its socialist leader, Jeremy Corbyn, had proven an electoral disaster for many traditional supporters.

“Let me make it clear that it’s on me.

Let’s take it on the chin,” Labour’s finance chief John McDonnell told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show. “I own this disaster.” He said there would be a new leader in place by early next year, and already some said they were considering running.

UK PM CANNOT KEEP SCOTLAND IN UNION AGAINST ITS WILL: STURGEON LONDON: Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, warned Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday that he could not keep Scotland in the United Kingdom against the country’s will. Johnson and his government have repeatedly said they will not give the go ahead for another referendum on Scottish independence, but Sturgeon said after the Scottish National Party won 48 of Scotland’s 59 seats in the UK parliament, her party had been given a mandate for one. “If he thinks … saying no is the end of the matter then he is going to find himself completely and utterly wrong,” Sturgeon told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show. “You cannot hold Scotland in the union against its will … If the United Kingdom is to continue it can only be by consent. And if Boris Johnson is confident in the case for the union then he should be confident enough to make that case and allow people to decide.” AGENCIES

Hong Kong mall protests flare with leader Lam in Beijing

HONG KONG AGENCIES

Small groups of anti-government protesters gathered in shopping malls across Hong Kong on Sunday amid sporadic scuffles with riot police, with Chief Executive Carrie Lam away on a visit to Beijing.

In the peak shopping season

ahead of Christmas, groups of masked protesters, clad in black, marched through malls chanting slogans including “Fight for freedom” and “Return justice to us”. In the Telford Plaza mall in Kowloon Bay, skirmishes broke out with riot police, who used pepper spray on crowds and wrestled several people to the ground before taking them away.

In Shatin, police fired one tear gas canister outside the New Town Plaza mall, and took away several people, according to media reports, after some entrances and walkways were blocked, glass panels smashed, and graffiti sprayed. The police said in a statement that some shops had been damaged and that a smoke bomb had been set off. Many shops closed early.

Hong Kong has been embroiled in its worst political crisis in decades since June with anti-government protests posing a populist challenge to China’s leader Xi Jinping, complicating ties between China and the United States at a time of heightened tensions including over trade.

Demonstrators have railed against what they see as Chinese meddling in freedoms promised to Hong Kong when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997. They also say they are responding to excessive use of force by police. Last Sunday, a protest march drew around

800,000 people, according to organizers, suggesting the movement still has significant public support.

On Hong Kong island, several hundred people, many social workers, gathered peacefully to reiterate demands that include full democracy and an independent inquiry into allegations of police brutality. Some called for more strikes, while others sat at tables to write Christmas cards to those who have been jailed.

“One of our goals is defending social justice,” said Chan, a 20-yearold studying to become a social worker. “We have tried every measure to express our voices … but the government still doesn’t listen. We haven’t put enough pressure.” Separately, a pro-government rally drew over a thousand people nearby.

“We don’t support any violence in Hong Kong,” said Lee Man-kan, a 54-year-old solicitor. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam is in Beijing where she is due to meet Xi on Monday.

As Modi advances agenda, India finds rare criticism in US WASHINGTON AGENCIES

For the past two decades, India has been enthusiastically feted in Washington, with politicians across the spectrum eager to nurture an alliance between the world’s two largest democracies.

But as Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushes forward his Hindu nationalist agenda, India has suddenly found itself in an unusual position — facing reprimands from the United States.

Few observers expect a serious deterioration of relations, and India’s foreign and defence ministers are due in Washington on Wednesday for wide-ranging talks that could further boost the countries’ military relationship.

Still, Washington’s long reverential tone toward India, including muted reactions on human rights issues, has shifted after Modi revoked the autonomy of occupied Kashmir and parliament passed a citizenship law that opponents say discriminates against Muslims. After the citizenship law’s approval, a State Department spokesperson said: “The United States urges India to protect the rights of its religious minorities in keeping with India’s constitution and democratic values.”

Sam Brownback, the US envoy on religious

freedom, voiced respect for India’s institutions.

However, he said the US was “concerned” with the citizenship bill, and called on India to “abide by its constitutional commitments”. Criticism has been more strongly worded from outside the administration. A resolution proposed by Representative Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat born in India, urges New Delhi to free people rounded up in occupied Kashmir since the region’s autonomy was terminated in August, to lift remaining restrictions on communications and to allow human rights observers and foreign journalists to enter.

CALL FOR SANCTIONS: In the most outspoken criticism, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom called for sanctions to be considered against Home Minister Amit Shah — a stalwart of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party — over the citizenship bill. The Commission, which advises the US government but does not set policy, called the bill “a dangerous turn in the wrong direction”.

The citizenship bill has set off deadly protests. Critics, including opposition figures, say Modi is excluding the country’s 200 million Muslims from a definition of what it means to be Indian.

The Modi government denies that is the intention, saying that the law fast-tracks citizenship for religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh

and Afghanistan and does not include Muslims because they do not need such protection in India.

India’s foreign ministry denounced the criticism by the US religious freedom commission, saying that anyone regardless of faith can still seek citizenship through regular channels. It is “regrettable that the body has chosen to be guided only by its prejudices and biases on a matter on which it clearly has little knowledge”, foreign ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar said in a statement. India has contacted all members of its House Foreign Affairs Committee about Kashmir, telling them that the reforms will stimulate the economy, officials said.

Child killed, dozens injured as quake strikes southern Philippines MINDANAO: A powerful earthquake hit the southern Philippine island of Mindanao on Sunday, killing a child, injuring dozens and damaging buildings in an area still recovering from a string of deadly quakes in October. Police said a rescue operation had been launched at a heavily damaged market building in Padada near the 6.8 magnitude quake’s epicentre, which is about 90 kilometres (55 miles) south of the major city of Davao. Patients were evacuated from hospitals as a precaution and nervous crowds massed outside shopping malls after the jolt and dozens of smaller, but strong aftershocks. “We can no longer use our office because the walls cracked and the stairs collapsed,” local police spokeswoman Lea Orbuda told AFP. “The power is off and the water taps are dry.” A provincial police commander said the number of injured across the hardest hit areas had reached 62, with one confirmed fatality after a child was crushed under a collapsed structure. The commander, Alberto Lupaz, said there appeared to be some people trapped under the damaged market building but rescue efforts had been delayed.

“They (rescuers) were attempting to check the rubble… the aftershocks were too strong,” Lupaz said. President Rodrigo Duterte, who is from Davao, was caught up in the earthquake but was unharmed, officials said. “The First Lady… said the car she was riding (in) was swaying,” spokesman Salvador Panelo said. “They are unhurt.” There was no threat of a tsunami, said the US Geological Survey, which initially reported the magnitude at 6.9. The Philippines is situated on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin. Three quakes above 6.0 magnitude hit roughly the same area of Mindanao in a matter of weeks in October, killing some two dozen people and heavily damaging office buildings, schools and apartments. Tens of thousands of people were forced into shelters by the string of tremors, the government said, either because their homes were damaged or they were too afraid to return. Most of the deaths in October were due to collapsing walls and falling debris, including a teenage boy who was crushed by a falling wall as he tried to escape his school. AGENCIES

Monday, 16 December, 2019

08 COMMENT PIC attack The CJP speaks

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he Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mr Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, has weighed in on the attack by lawyers of the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC), and along with the condemnation of the attack expressed by other leaders of the profession, he has also said that it provides an opportunity for introspection to both the legal and medical professions, and for self-accountability. The CJP, who has himself been a working lawyer of considerable standing before his elevation to the Supreme Court, has attempted to speak for both professions, while his words also included an element of the belief that the medical profession bore some responsibility for the incident.

There seems an element of lawyers thinking their community demands special treatment. however, there is an element, present within the doctors, who seem to believe that the medical profession should also be treated as a sacred cow. The problem is that other professions claim to be immune from the law, and it seems that doctors and lawyers are pressing their own claims.

The lawyers’ demand for a judicial inquiry seems plausible, until one realises that no judge can claim totally neutrality, having either himself been a lawyer, or having had much to do with lawyers if elevated from the subordinate judiciary. That lawyers are not willing to let the police do its job indicates that they believe that the lawyers arrested will not get justice if left to their tender mercies. Still, that is no excuse for avoiding arrest. It seems that the Prime Minister’s nephew hassan Niazi, one of the protesting lawyers, is doing precisely that, what with police raids to arrest him proving unsuccessful. The PM has distanced himself from his nephew, but the police, normally so efficient at arresting people, cannot find him.

The legal fraternity seems more bent on defending those accused of attacking the PIC, than in helping identify and punish the attackers. There can be no other reason for the nationwide protest called. The showing of strength by lawyers makes one wonder if the community realises the gravity of what happened. In that respect, it is to be hoped that the legal fraternity will listen to the man who is supposed to stand at its head, the CJP.

Polio is back New cases throw doubt on vaccines

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he detection of fresh polio cases in Mirpur Khas and Swabi has taken the nationwide tally to 101, compared to eight in 2016 and 12 in 2017. Clearly, the polio situation has gone totally out of control. Pakistan, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, was one of those last countries where polio sill occurred, and where, if polio was eradicated, the disease would be eliminated from the world.

Perhaps the most dangerous sign is that one case in Mirpur Khas had been administered two doses of vaccine according to his Routine Immunisation Card and seven according to his parents, while the other had had ten doses. That indicates that the vaccine might not be working. In that case, the polio eradication may well be blown, not just for Pakistan, but for the whole world, because it might mean that the polio virus might have developed resistance to the polio vaccine. The alternative is that Pakistan has been supplied defective vaccines.

That implies that those vaccinated with the defective batch would have to be re-vaccinated. Considering that the vaccinations might date back to the past, and the affected children may no longer be in the same place, the difficulties multiply. It may be noted that a polio case has only been very recently detected in Malaysia, again an indication that vaccines are not to be trusted.

Developing a new vaccine might not be easy, but it will need to be done if that is the problem. At the same time, the government has obviously not been giving the issue enough attention. That has to change if polio is to be eradicated from the country, and thus the world.

There needs to be a thorough and transparent investigation and study into why 2019 has seen such a surge in polio cases in the country as compared to the past few years and what steps need to be taken in order to get the situation under control before it is too late. PM Imran Khan, speaking at a launching ceremony of the Nationwide Polio eradication Campaign last week called the emergence of polio cases a ‘matter of shame for the country’. his strong words should now translate into formidable action that bears credible results.

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

Umar Aziz

Asher John

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Deputy Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

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Declare December 16 National Mourning Day MuhaMMad Zahid Rifat

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heRe is no greater fall than that of the Fall of Dacca for Pakistan. There is not a greater surrender before the enemy in the history of the Muslim Ummah than the one that took place at the Paltan Maidan in Dhaka, on 16 December 1971 when 90,000 officers and jawans of the Pakistan Army and civilians surrendered before India, and the Pakistan flag was pulled down never to rise there again.

Indeed, it was the darkest day in the chequered history of Pakistan which was then only 24 years old after emerging on the world map out of nowhere on 14 August 1947.

Another anniversary of the Fall of Dacca is being observed today and even after passage of 48 years, many questions still remain, most unfortunately, unanswered.

The factors that caused the separation of east Pakistan and the characters responsible for the great tragedy are somehow yet to be identified.

The most pertinent question which still remains unanswered is that how many of the Army officers were punished who were named on the basis of bitter facts established by the hamoodur Rahman Commission in its report.

The answer to this, most unfortunately and regrettably, still remains a BIG NO even now.

This no action on the report of the Inquiry Commission into the Fall of Dacca, and history has somehow passed the blame onto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto from the then military ruler, Gen Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan, on whose orders army action was launched in east Pakistan in March 1971.

The Indian rulers had fully exploited the situation and supported the Mukti Bahini and Shaikh Mujibur Rahman in what was called “the struggle for independence”. As a matter of

fact, India had gained the most from the Fall of Dacca. During a recent visit of the scribe to the newly-established Army Museum in Lahore, a big map showing training centres for Mukti Bahini in different areas of India established the fact that the Mukti Bahini comprised Indian Army officers and jawans, and not the people of east Pakistan.

General Yahya and other army generals and officers named in the hamoodur Rahman Commission Report should have been arrested, tried and punished for the major crime of dismemberment of the country according to the recommendations of the Inquiry Commission. But somehow this was not done for reasons better known to the rulers of the time.

The other day, this writer was involved in a heated discussion arising out of frequent army interventions and abrogation and suspension of the Constitution by the military dictators and nobody being punished for the high treason so committed under Article 6 of the Constitution.

Someone during the discussion quite rightly pointed out that if nobody had been held responsible and punished for causing the dismemberment of Pakistan, then who is bothered to ensure sanctity of the Constitution and punish one or the other for committing high treason?

Many may be still alive, though retired from the Army and the civil services several years back. At least they should be made accountable for their alleged crimes and irregularities. Those who have expired during all these years also should at least be held responsible for their actions and misdeeds as per the findings of the hamoodur Rahman Commission Report even now.

Army Chief/ President Gen Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan was at the helm of the whole dirty episode. Shaikh Mujibur Rahman was on the record having stated after Bangladesh had come into being that he had working for gaining

independence for more the previous 20 years.

The words “Idhar Hum Udhar Tum” were never uttered by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The phrase was coined by journalist Athar Abbas (who expired some years back), who was working as the News editor in an Urdu daily, Azad, published from Lahore, and this had clicked instantly under the then prevailing circumstances.

If the National Assembly session was called off before being held by the then President of Pakistan, with or without the consent and connivance of PPP Chairman Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, then someone should have been held responsible for contributing further to the cause of separation of east Pakistan.

While none has so far been punished for the dismemberment of Pakistan as none those listed in the hamoodur Rahman Commission Report were apparently just sacred cows who could not be touched. We also have not learnt any lesson from the great tragedy of Fall of Dacca so far somehow.

As usual, there will be no official word on and about the Fall of Dacca, political parties will hold meetings blaming one or the other for the separation of east Pakistan and the day December 16 will just pass like any other day.

Could not the succeeding civil and military governments all these years declare December 16 as the National Mourning Day then, now and for all times to come for reminding our future generations about the great tragedy of Fall of Dacca? Why is the national flag is not lowered on this day to remember and mourn the Fall of Dacca while it flies at half-mast on the demise of one or the other world leaders every now and then? Please act now and stay alive for now and centuries together with the continued blessings of Almighty Allah.

Muhammad Zahid Rifat can be reached at zahidriffat@ gmail.com

KANUPP takes CSR to the next level CSR as a first step in building a legacy MuhaMMad aftab alaM

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he very first word that jumps to mind when we have a glance at the pyramids and such iconic landmarks is ‘wonder’ but what these actually reflect is ‘legacy’–of some visionary leaders who built these marvels centuries ago. Today’s leaders should also aspire to leave the legacies. They should ensure that whatever they do must have sustainability so that long after they are gone, whatever they started continues to evolve.

To achieve this level of transformational legacy, we have to pursue more than the typical concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) that entails a few nicely-worded hollow promises on official websites and some feelgood philanthropist initiatives.

Rather, such legacy requires taking CSR to the next level that is deeply engrossed in all the activities of an organisation.

And that is exactly what Karachi Nuclear Power Project (KANUPP) has been aiming to achieve for over four decades. On the Arabian Sea coast, approximately 18km east of Karachi, KANUPP is Pakistan’s first nuclear power plant inaugurated on 28 November 1972. It comprises a single-unit Canada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) pressurised heavy-water reactor supplied by the Canadian General electric Company with a gross output of 137MWe. The plant is one of the five nuclear power plants currently owned and being operated by the Pakistan Atomic energy Commission.

Nuclear power plants are often Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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located in rural areas that receive considerable benefits from a large industrial complex. Utilities and government departments operating nuclear energy facilities are involved in the economic uplift of nearby towns and communities, offering better quality educational institutes, dispensaries, hospitals, and markets. As the plants operate over several decades, their presence encourages continuity in their communities by offering employment to more than one generation.

At KANUPP this has translated into a reality through building shared value across all stakeholders from owners to regulators and to the surrounding communities. These shared values have helped create a thriving community. As goodwill gesture, poor communities of the surrounding areas including Safar Goth, Soomar Goth, and Abdul Rahman Goth are regularly provided with dry ration bags for sustenance.

KANUPP takes CSR and community development very seriously. The KANUPP plant operation has contributed immensely in various ways of job creation and skills development of the population especially the youth.

KANUPP Management has ensured that all unskilled and semiskilled jobs are given to people hailing from the immediate vicinity. A total of 172 area residents have been inducted in special pay scale 1 to 5.

The work of PAeC Foundation and hunargah (Industrial homes) is worth mentioning as it is doing remarkable job in polishing the talent of skilled and semi-skilled workforce living in the vicinity.

The Foundation School (junior to middle) has been providing free

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

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education and uniforms to the students of surrounding areas including Grexi, Bhudhni Goth and Musharraf Colony. There are 222 students currently enrolled. hunargah arranges free training for the girls in surrounding areas. The art and crafts of the trained girls as well as local skilled women are promoted through exhibitions all over the country on its platform. This promotional campaign helps local community women earn, which is crucial for survival of the poor families.

For provision of standard health facilities to the poor neighbouring communities, visits of mobile health units/dispensaries arranged by KANUPP management is a regular feature. So far, the radius of service area receiving free medical dispensary services has been expanded to 17 villages/goths.

The proof of an organisation’s successful CSR campaign can be gauged by leaders from the host community speaking on the organisation’s behalf whenever there might be an issue with the regulators. That is what I saw when Sindh environment Protection Agency conducted a public hearing on the environmental Impact Assessment Report submitted by PAeC seeking permission for the construction of two plants, K-2 and K-3 of 1100 MW each, near the KANUPP site on 27 April 2015. Some dissenting voices tried to create much hue and cry based on the worst-case scenario but the local community leaders gave them a real tough time and the sceptics had to go silent because the public at large favoured the siting of the plants. The community leaders from nearby vil-

Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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lages not only expressed much appreciation for the efforts of KANUPP management for the benefit of locals– mostly fishermen, but they also defended the K-2 and K-3 power plants’ siting in the close vicinity as they were sure that these projects of much bigger size would definitely improve their standard of life by providing them access to quality healthcare, schools, jobs for children and overall development of the area.

The greatest contribution of KANUPP in terms of community service and CSR is, perhaps, the supply of potable water to the residents of localities in immediate vicinity, otherwise nowhere to be found. There was neither any pipeline to supply this basic commodity nor was the groundwater fit for consumption in performing household chores and for drinking.

KANUPP has been doing a great service to the locals by supplying potable water through tankers at their doorstep for decades. Currently, a tanker of 1000 gallons of potable water is sent to nearby villages including Arab Goth and Safar Goth, weekly.

Projects like KANUPP, based on the legacy of public service, need ownership at national level.

For success of these national-level projects, we require to evolve the notion of stewardship– a core leadership quality– at every step of the project. It is hoped that the top management at PAeC, KANUPP and now K-2 and K-3 NPPs, nearing completion, would stick to this good old tradition.

Muhammad Aftab Alam can be reached at journalistinmaking@gmail.com

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Monday, 16 December, 2019

COMMENT 09 Editor’s mail

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

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

Jinnah’s ‘Purana Pakistan’

The noble profession The PIC incident must be condemned, but only lawyers involved should be

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Syed KaSwaR GaRdeZi

N times of war, all hell breaks loose, violence ensues and mass casualties are inflicted. But even in such times of conflict, certain ground rules are set, the violation of which is a war crime. Attacking a hospital, where innocent civilians are under treatment, is one of them. even the most prolific barbarians do not strike a hospital. What happened on 11 December is horrific, and condemning it in mere words would be unjust. The storming of the hospital’s emergency and the intensive care unit is despicable and it is incumbent upon the legal fraternity to vilify the act, which most of the literate part of the fraternity already has.

Provocation, no matter how intense, cannot be a ground to take the law into one’s own hands. Mob justice under the garb of hurt sentiments has long been present in Pakistan and it is high time that steps are taken to completely abolish this practice. The hospital was a no-go area and the number of lawyers who participated in ransacking it deserve no leniency. however, without prejudice, action against the delinquents should be taken in a proportionate manner and after a thorough investigation.

Mass arrests, without probing into the involvement of the detained lawyers, is no less condemnable. There are reports of lawyers having been arrested who were not even present in Lahore at the time of the incident. The detained lawyers are also being physically tortured by the police, which in itself is a violation of the law. even though the deplorable act of the group of lawyers involved in ransacking the Punjab Institute of Cardiology merits strict action however, even those accused have a fundamental right of being treated in accordance with law and to be accorded due process. It is for the courts to determine the role and guilt of a particular accused, and to punish them accordingly. The police cannot be allowed to straightaway carry out illegal punishments by torturing the detainees.

Similarly, the ongoing media trial of the entire legal fraternity is uncalled for. The lawyers at the PIC do not form the entirety of the bar. The actions of 300 lawyers should not be blamed upon the thousands of other lawyers practicing professionally. The black coat is also worn by countless other individuals who had nothing to do with the incident and who are actively condemning it. By marginalising the entire legal community, these

lawyers are being defamed for simply wearing Meanwhile, the government should also rethe black coat. Media should put forward the frain from irrationally targeting the legal community irrespective of their role in the fateful unbiased view from both sides.

Again, not supporting the PIC incident in incident. It appears as though the government any manner, but the young doctors’ commu- is using this incident as a means to put an end to ‘wuklagardi’, a lofty nity is also not as motive. however, the saintly as is being porstate should be mindful trayed. The general acof the several thousand tions of the young lawyers who had nothdoctors resemble that of ing to do with the PIC the charged-up lawyers attack. On the basis of who attacked the PIC. In a bid to shackle unruly the action of a small Let us not forget that it group within, the legal was these doctors who lawyers, let us not give community as a whole themselves assaulted a rise to another countershould not be berated. group of lawyers in the In a bid to shackle very same hospital a force in the shape of the unruly lawyers, let us few weeks ago; and no action was taken against young doctors. It is only a not give rise to another in the those involved. The matter of time when these counter-force shape of the young docvery same doctors Re It is only a matter of responsible for the doctors would turn out to tors. time when these doctors deaths of dozens owing be like those who attacked would turn out to be to their own strikes. like those who attacked As the fateful events the PIC and the public the PIC and the public unfolded, there were would be seen condemncertain aspects which would be seen ing ‘doctorgardi’. The would raise eyebrows. condemning ‘Doctorgardi’. government and media The civil administration should narrow their kept mum until after the The government and focus to those involved situation aggravated and culminated into loss of media should narrow their rather than degrading the entire legal fraternity. life and property. No focus to those involved The narrative of the provisible efforts were lawyers should made by the police to rather than degrading the fessional also be presented and avert the incident till after the situation was entire legal fraternity. The the black coat should not be portrayed as a symbol already out of hand. narrative of the of hostility alone. The Likewise, the governother side of the Bar ment should have professional lawyers should also be brought played an active role in resolving the matter should also be presented forward and the comments on the PIC inciwhen it started. Once and the black coat should dent should be rephrased again, there is no justifito say: ‘the group of cation for the PIC attack not be portrayed as a lawyers involved in the but had the government taken steps to amicably symbol of hostility alone. violent attack’ as opposed to ‘the legal comsettle the matter, we The other side of the Bar munity in general’. would not have had to The Punjab police bear this burden today. should also be brought should immediately reSimultaneously, the suspension of the bar liforward and the comments frain from targeting inlawyers having cense of the Secretary, on the PIC incident should nocent no nexus with the PIC Islamabad high Court incident. They cannot Bar Association, is unbe rephrased to say: ‘the be allowed to take over warranted under the cirgroup of lawyers involved the role of the judge, cumstances. As opposed jury and executioner on to teaching the lawyers in the violent attack’ as their own. Custodial a lesson, such steps add torture needs to be repmore fuel to the fire. opposed to ‘the legal rimanded and disconThe Bar up till the point community in general’ tinued forthwith. of suspension had no In the end, as a animosity with the member of the legal fraBench but with the isternity, I hope and pray suance of the show that the noble profescause notice, the Bench sion of law regains its has created unnecessary glory and the entire friction. Striking the iron when it’s hot is not always a good option. saga is put to rest.

Nevertheless, a judicial inquiry into the Syed kaswar Gardezi is a lawyer and a PIC incident is the need of the hour and only the constitution of a judicial commission over columnist. He can be contacted at the incident can set things on the right track. kaswargardezi@gmail.com

MARTIN Luther King Jr once said ‘almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world a better place’. Jinnah wanted the Pakistanis to respect our minorities. I want to reiterate that Prime Minister Imran Khan had promised to give minorities their due rights. he envisioned following the model of the state of Medina. Mr Khan’s zeal was witnessed when he proposed that Dr Atif Mian was the panacea for the economic calamity of Pakistan. he desired to see Dr Atif as the Finance Minister in his ‘Naya Pakistan’. The desire was a rhetorical.

Nevertheless, Mr Khan coerced Dr Atif to resign from the economic Advisory Council, owing to his faith; which is indifferent to our economy. Consequently, Dr Imran Rasul resigned in protest. This robbed our economic Council of competent members. however, Jinnah would have daunted the government’s decision because he guaranteed justice, equality, and opportunities for the minorities. Jinnah was a protagonist of minority rights. he stood for the Muslims when they were a minority in the colonial India. Jinnah must have been disenchanted following this inauspicious decision.

The premier idealises Jinnah and pledged to withhold the values of the father of our nation. The white part of our flag denotes Pakistan’s minority. One need not be a Muslim to serve this country. Any person regardless of their religion is capable of serving his/her state without prejudice.

Unfortunately, our government has unceasingly disdained almost every other Pakistani, who had the audacity to choose a dissimilar trajectory since the demise of Mr Jinnah.

Pakistan loses her chance to prosper when every Joginder Nath Mandal, Sir Zafarullah Khan, Abdul Salam and in this case, Dr Atif is left to the mercy of the bigots in the country.

This is a startling moment for our homeland. The food for thought is that can our nation flourish with this myopic attitude and is Pakistan alike India when it comes to minorities? Ostensibly, those who claim to be the harbinger of revolution, need to aspire for the Pakistan of 1947 i.e., ‘Purana Pakistan’.

BARRISTER ARSALAn CHAUdHRy narowal

Curse of unemployment UNeMPLOYMeNT due grave economic recession and poor governance has caused frustration and anger among educated youth. Successive government policies, instead of addressing these issues have been captive to vested interests, rehiring retired civil or uniformed officers and judges making matters worse. Can anybody justify hiring retired paid state employees receiving pension and other benefits like allotment of real estate plots etc, including free medical coverage, on contract whilst more qualified and educated youth, with specialised professional qualifications and skills, remain unemployed. This has contributed to brain drain, growing discontent and frustration. The acute economic crisis that Pakistan faces is testimony, if any is required, that unless state employs highly qualified individuals who have specialised in economics, technology, medicine and science this country will not recover from the mess. British Raj trained civil and unformed bureaucracy was to run an occupied country, for the sole benefit of hM government.

In the UK, USA etc the state employs best qualified specialists at key assignments where policies are made, whilst civil service officers are confined to administrative posts only. If Pakistan wants to develop, it must invest in development and optimum utilisation of talent to keep at pace with fast technological changes. Our Civil Service is outdated and not trained to serve people as public servants but have decadent mindset for which they were trained by the Raj to serve as agents of occupation forces. They continue to live on islands of prosperity in gated housing societies in palatial villas spread over acres, instead of modest houses at state expense, surrounded by a sea of people living in misery, denied even basic necessities like clean drinking water, with garbage dumps serving as breeding grounds for mosquitoes and an outdated sanitation system infected with polio virus, typhoid and blocked gutters. This is certainly not Jinnah’s Pakistan.

ALI MALIk TARIq Lahore

Banning plastic bags PLASTIC bags had been a huge indication of apocalypses since 1950s and it is very much notorious of being the fountainhead of enhancing the mortality rate of people in Pakistan. Plastic bags are being manufactured with various hazardous chemicals which are very much dangerous for every individual surviving in Pakistan, because in every corner of Pakistan plastic bags are being used to carry out the eatable goods without being aware the causes and health risk and sometimes it is very much spoiler for the lands because the plastics would make a timber land into a barren land. According to the expert scientists that plastic takes more than 500 years to break down in a landfill. Moreover, the scientists have claimed that the plastic bags have been the source of numerous deadliest diseases such as cancer endometriosis, neurological damage, endocrine disruption, birth effects and developmental disorders, immune damage, asthma, and cause multiple organ damages. Furthermore, the Minister of Climate Change Senator had evaluated that more than 55 billion plastic shopping bags are being used in Pakistan where the utilisation had been increased to 15 per cent per annum. In Pakistan approximately 8,021 production units are available whose production of average is nearly 250-500 kilogrammes per day and the result more investigated that more than 160,000 were directly and 600,000 were indirectly dependent on the industry. I request to the government to conduct surveys to create awareness among the residents about the health risks of applying plastic bags.

MEHRAJ ALTAF Turbat

Monday, 16 December, 2019

10 FOREIGN NEWS

North Korea says New tests will help it couNter us threats SEOUL

N

AGENCIES

ORTH Korea said it successfully performed another “crucial test” at its long-range rocket launch site that will further strengthen its nuclear deterrent.

The test — the second at the facility in a week, according to North Korea’s Academy of Defense Science — possibly involved technologies to improve intercontinental ballistic missiles that could potentially reach the continental United States. Pak Jong Chon, chief of the Korean People’s Army’s general staff, asserted on Saturday that North Korea has built up “tremendous power” and that the findings from the recent tests would be used to develop new weapons to allow the country to “definitely and reliably” counter U.S. nuclear threats.

The North in recent weeks has been dialing up pressure to coax major concessions from the Trump administration as it approaches an end-of-year deadline set by leader Kim Jong Un to salvage faltering nuclear negotiations. The Academy of Defense Science did not specify what was tested on Friday. Just days earlier, the North said it conducted a “very important test” at the site on the country’s northwestern coast,

prompting speculation that it involved a new engine for either an ICBM or a space launch vehicle.

The testing activity and defiant statements suggest that the North is preparing to do something to provoke the United States if Washington doesn’t back down and make concessions to ease sanctions and pressure on Pyongyang in deadlocked nuclear negotiations.

Stephen Biegun, the U.S. special representative for North Korea, was to arrive in Seoul on Sunday for discussions with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and other officials.

It was unclear whether Biegun would attempt contact with North

Bolivia’s interim leader says arrest warrant to be issued against Morales SANANDITA: Bolivia will issue an arrest warrant in the coming days against former leftist President Evo Morales, accusing him of sedition, interim Bolivian President Jeanine Anez said on Saturday. Morales is in Argentina, granted refugee status this week just days after the inauguration of new President Alberto Fernandez. Peronist Fernandez succeeded outgoing conservative Argentine leader Mauricio Macri, who lost his bid for re-election in October. Morales had spent the previous month in Mexico in the wake of a highly-contested October election in Bolivia. He had proclaimed victory after his government was accused of manipulating the vote results. Morales, who had been in power nearly 14 years, left Bolivia as the controversy grew. “He can return whenever he wants. He left because he wanted to,” Anez told reporters. “The arrest warrant will be issued in the next few days, because we have already brought the charges.” Morales had obtained his fourth consecutive term in the October vote, according to the official count, which was criticized for irregularities by the Organization of American States. Morales resigned under pressure from the armed forces in what he has called a coup d’etat. AGENCIES

50 bodies unearthed from Mexican mass grave GUADALAJARA: The bodies of at least 50 people have been unearthed from a mass grave at a farm outside Mexico’s western city of Guadalajara, local authorities said. The grim site was discovered just over three weeks ago in Jalisco — a state hard-hit by violence linked to organized crime. The local prosecutor’s office said Saturday 13 of the dead — 12 men and a woman — have been identified and the remains given to their families. The process of identifying more of the victims and how they died will continue, it added. A mass grave with 34 bodies was discovered in a suburb of Guadalajara on September 3, while another was found nearby in May with the remains of 30 people. Nearly 2,500 murders were reported between January and November in Jalisco — where the powerful Jalisco Nueva Generacion cartel is based — state authorities have said. AGENCIES

Korean officials at the inter-Korean border, which has often been used as a diplomatic venue, or whether such an effort would be successful. “Genuine peace can be safeguarded and our development and future be guaranteed only when the balance of power is completely ensured. We have stored up a tremendous power,” Pak said in a statement carried by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.

“We should be ready to cope with political and military provocations of the hostile forces and be familiar with both dialogue and confrontation,” Pak said. “Our army is fully ready to thoroughly carry out

any decision of the supreme leader with action. … U.S. and other hostile forces will spend the year-end in peace only when they hold off any words and deeds rattling us.”

Kim Dong-yub, a former South Korean military officer and currently an analyst from Seoul’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies, said the North mentioning its nuclear deterrent makes it clear it tested a new engine for an ICBM, not a satellite-launch vehicle. Kim said it was notable that North Korea announced the specific length of the test, which he said possibly signals a more advanced design for a liquid-fuel multistage ICBM that can carry larger payloads with more stability. North Korea’s current ICBMs, including the Hwasong-15, are built with first stages that are powered by a pair of engines that experts say are modeled after Russian designs. When the North first tested the engine in 2016, it said the test lasted for 200 seconds and demonstrated a thrust of 80 tons-force.

During a provocative run of weapons tests in 2017, Kim Jong Un conducted three flight tests of ICBMs that demonstrated potential range to reach deep into the U.S. mainland, raising tensions and triggering verbal warfare with President Donald Trump as they exchanged crude insults and threats of nuclear annihilation.

Smog forces schools shut in Iran TEHRAN AGENCIES

Air pollution forced schools to close on Sunday in parts of Iran including Tehran, state media reported, as the capital lay under a thick cloud of smog. The pollution level in the capital was “unhealthy for sensitive groups” and officials warned the young, elderly and people with respiratory illnesses to stay indoors, with sporting activities suspended. The decision to shut schools in the capital was announced late Saturday by deputy governor Mohammad Taghizadeh, after a meeting of an emergency committee on air pollution.

“All of (Tehran) province’s schools except for Firuzkuh and Damavand counties are closed for Sunday,” he said, quoted by state news agency IRNA. Schools in the capital may stay closed on Monday, the third day of the Iranian working week, he added. An “odd-even” traffic scheme based on vehicles’ registration numbers was imposed to restrict traffic in the capital, IRNA reported. Trucks were banned outright in Tehran province.

Taghizadeh added that all activities at Tehran province’s numerous sand quarries would also be halted. A grey cloud hung over Tehran on Sunday, obstructing the view of the mountains overlooking the city to the north. Average airborne concentration of the finest and most hazardous particles (PM2.5) was at 145 microgrammes per cubic metre for the 24 hours until Sunday noon, according to government website air.tehran.ir. That is close to six times the World Health Organization’s recommended maximum of 25 microgrammes per m3. Schools were also closed in the northern province of Alborz and in the central cities of Qom and Arak, IRNA reported. Air pollution was the cause of nearly 30,000 deaths per year in Iranian cities, state media reported earlier this year, citing a health ministry official. The problem worsens in Tehran during winter, cold air and a lack of wind traps hazardous smog over the city for days on end, a phenomenon known as thermal inversion. Most of the city’s pollution is caused by heavy vehicles, motorbikes, refineries and power plants, according to a World Bank report released last year.

New Zealand eruption death toll rises to 18 WHAKATANE: The death toll from New Zealand’s White Island volcano eruption rose to 18 Sunday, including two people whose bodies have not been recovered, police said. A land search early Sunday failed to find any sign of the missing pair and divers returned to the sea in the afternoon amid increasing speculation both could be in the water. Deputy police commissioner Mike Clement said there was “every chance” the bodies had been washed into the sea from the stream where they were last seen Monday. He added that searchers were “satisfied that the area we searched near the jetty is clear of the bodies”. “The rescue teams are frustrated. We understand completely how frustrating it is for loved ones who want the bodies back,” Clement said. Forty-seven people were on the island — a popular tourist attraction — when the explosion happened. The death toll now stands at 18 after an Australian victim who had been repatriated to Sydney died in hospital almost a week after the deadly eruption. Another 26 survivors remain in New Zealand and Australian hospitals, of which at least 18 are listed as “critical” and fighting for their lives after the eruption on the desolate island, which is the country’s most active volcano. The family of the latest victim have requested his name and age not be released. Police on Sunday named seven victims who have been officially identified including New Zealand tour guide Tipene James Te Rangi Ataahua Maangi, 24.

Four were Australians — Zoe Ella Hosking, 15, her stepfather Gavin Brian Dallow, 53, 51-year-old Anthony James Langford and Karla Michelle Mathews, 32 — along with Matthew Robert Hollander, 13 and Berend Lawrence Hollander, 16, who were US citizens with Australian permanent residency. Clement said although the land and sea searches had so far been unsuccessful in finding the remaining bodies, police had not given up hope. “There will come a time when we’ve done everything we can do, when we’ve done everything that’s sensible but we’re not there yet… we don’t give up easily,” he said. Scientists monitoring White Island said there had been no further significant activity since last Monday’s eruption but the risk remained with the volcano alert at Level Two, which indicates “moderate to heightened unrest with potential for eruption hazards”. The disaster has raised questions about why tourists were allowed on a volcano where experts had recently raised threat levels. AGENCIES

italian city evacuates 54,000 people to defuse ww2 bomb MILAN: Around 54,000 people were evacuated from the southern Italian city of Brindisi on Sunday as experts worked to defuse a World War Two bomb, authorities said. Corriere della Sera daily said the operation was the biggest peacetime evacuation in Italy, with more than 60% of the city’s residents forced to vacate a “red zone” in a radius of 1,617 meters from where the bomb was found. The British bomb, believed to have been dropped on the city in 1941, is 1 meter long and contains 40 kgs of dynamite, authorities said.

It was found by chance last month during refurbishment works at a cinema theater. The city’s airport, train station, two hospitals and a prison were shut down and evacuated as part of the operation, which authorities expect to be completed around lunchtime. AGENCIES

Decades on, Soviet bombs still killing people in Afghanistan KABUL AGENCIES

Gholam Mahaiuddin sighs softly as he thinks of his 14-year-old son, who was killed in the spring by a bomb dropped last century in the hills of Bamiyan province in central Afghanistan.

“We knew the mountain was dangerous,” said Mahaiuddin, who found his son’s remains after he didn’t come home one day. “We were aware of mines but we could not find them.

They were buried in the soft sand after the rain.” Forty years after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan — and three decades since the conflict ended — the war’s legacy continues to claim lives across the country. Mahaiuddin’s son, Moujtaba, was killed along with two friends, aged 12 and 14, on May 17 when they went looking for berries in this idyllic landscape where chocolatecoloured mountains are topped with snow. When none of them had returned the next day, Mahaiuddin and other residents from his tiny village, called Ahangaran, started searching.

“I found my son with just his chest and head left,” Mahaiuddin recalled.

Moujtaba and his friends had been killed by what is known as an AO-2.5

RTM submunition. The cluster bombs were used extensively by Soviet forces, who dropped them like deadly rain across Afghanistan in the years following their December 1979 invasion.

Mahaiuddin, 44, remembers the war well. He said he used to bring tea to mujahedeen fighters who would hide in the mountains and launch ambushes against Soviet patrols. More recently, the cluster weapons have been used in Syria, according to a 2016 Human Rights Watch report. “It is the most dangerous, it is very sensitive to vibra-

tions,” said Bachir Ahmad, who heads a team of deminers from the Danish Demining Group (DDG).

1980s BATTLEFIELD: The humanitarian organisation has been working in several Afghan provinces since 1999 to clear explosives left from a war most of the country’s current, young population never lived through.

The hills of Bamiyan, which is famous as the home of two giant 6th-century Buddha carvings that the Taliban blew up, have been extensively scoured for mines and other explosives.

Near the site of the blast that killed Moujtaba and his friends, DDG workers have painted white pathways showing which areas are clear of danger. “This is the last battlefield we are cleaning in Bamiyan, it dates back to 1986,” said Habib Noor, the DDG’s head for the province. Bamiyan, a region dominated

by Shiite Hazaras and relatively unaffected by today’s violence ravaging the rest of Afghanistan, will soon be the first of the 34 provinces in Afghanistan where all known contaminated areas have been cleared. The DDG found 26 explosive devices just in the area around Ahangaran. “We explored the area with information from the people, finding locals who had fought up there,” Noor said.

TEDIOUS WORK: At the site near Ahangaran visited by AFP, deminers worked under a bright blue sky, with a doctor and team leader always on hand.

The team of eight, wearing bright blue body armour, picked quietly at the ground, their silence broken only by the sound of crows crying and metal detectors buzzing. Zarkha, 26, said she had found her first cluster bomb a few days earlier. “I was very scared,” she said, describing how her team had carefully dug around the sensitive device and then destroyed it in a controlled explosion.

Monday, 16 December, 2019

BUSINESS 11

Govt to intRoduce PSdP PluS PRoGRAMMe government projects.

Following the decision, the federation announced to introduce ‘PSDP Plus’ project as the premier has forwarded the draft plan to the concerned ministries for reviewing the programme.

Under the PSDP Plus programme, the authorities will start its implementation on different projects underway across the country besides encouraging private sectors to take part in the government-run development projects.

The newly-launched programme would expedite the pace of financial and economic process in the development projects and also assist the government for ending the shortage of funds through a public-private partnership.

After the successful implementation of the programme, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will be increased up to 6.7 per cent in the re-

AT LEAST 53 MEGA PROJECTS WITH AN APPROXIMATE RS5.2 TRILLION INVESTMENT WILL BE COMPLETED UNDER THE PROGRAMME THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN WILL BE IMPLEMENTED IN THREE YEARS BETWEEN FY2020-23 AT THE END OF PROGRAMME, GOVERNMENT AIMS TO ACHIEVE 6.7PC GDP GROWTH RATE ISLAMABAD

t

INP

HE federal government has announced to introduce ‘PSDP [Private Sector Development Programme] Plus’ plan on the directives of

Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The federal government has taken a decision on principle for increasing the volume of the private sector in the development process of the country to expedite efforts for achieving social and economic targets by ending the shortage of funds in completion of the

Rs32bn refunds to act as driving force for sizeable growth in exports: PHMA LAHORE: The Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers & Exporters Association on Sunday welcomed the release of sales tax refunds of Rs32.20 billion and appreciated the Ministry of Commerce for releasing another Rs17.6 billion under DLDL, saying the initiatives will act as a driving force for a sizeable growth in exports. Vice Chairman PHMA Shafiq Butt said: “Export industry is grateful to the PM and his entire team on payment of Rs30 billion for bonds issued against long outstanding sales tax refunds. Moreover, release of Rs2.2 billion against RPOs generated between Sept 6 and Oct 31. But this is a partial payment, majority of our members, who are renowned exporters, are still waiting for their refunds payment.” He said that the country has achieved current account surplus and now it needs a policy that makes country become a trade surplus through industrialisation and exports. “We are confident that the same spirit will be followed and remaining hurdles in export growth will also be removed.” He said that the PHMA appreciates the government on great progress towards a sustainable future, including current account surplus from an annual deficit of $20 billion, Moody’s outlook from negative to stable and KSE Index crossing 40,000 level. Shafiq Butt also calls for removing bottlenecks from the new refund payment system of the FBR. He asked the PM to also get his directives implemented fully and in their true spirit, as the exporters, who have not received the payment yet, are facing a severe liquidity crunch.

He said that increase in exports of the country is a very important objective as far as improvement of economy of the country is concerned. He observed that it should be the utmost priority of the government to facilitate exporters in every possible way. INP

sult of the development expenditures.

The federal authorities have marked 53 major projects from different sectors to be run under the PSDP Plus which include maritime affairs, aviation, logistics, energy, tourism, information technology (IT), real state, infrastructure and social sectors. The cost of the projects is estimated at around Rs5.5 trillion which would be completed in the next three years.

The PSDP Plus initiative will also cut the volume of financial allocations from the federal government for completing the pending development projects.

Sources said that the concerned authorities will amend regulations and law which is likely to gain investment of Rs3.1 trillion for its implementation besides generating an annual income of Rs1.1 trillion and Rs91 billion collectively in term of non-tax revenue and taxes respectively.

‘Ample trade opportunities for Chinese businessmen in Pakistan’ LAHORE INP

Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF) Chairman Mian Nauman Kabir on Sunday observed that Pakistan offers ample trade opportunities for Chinese businessmen in almost all the sectors or sub-sectors of economy to become closest trading partner of China. While talking to Consul General of China in Lahore Long Dingbin along with the PIAF delegation here at Chinese Consulate, Mian Nuaman Kabir said that in the context of ongoing project of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the importance of private to private contacts had mounted, and in this scenario, role of trade and industrial associations has widened.

He mentioned that Lahore has a special significance being the hub of business activities in Punjab.

Both public and private sector organizations were striving hard to fully exploit trade and investment potential of Punjab in collaboration with foreign investors, he said and added that China was first choice for Pakistani businessmen to join hands for joint ventures. The Chairman PIAF appreciated the Chinese Consulate for opening up the first visa application service center in Lahore recently to facilitate applicants wishing to visit the country.

He called it a landmark step, as earlier residents of Lahore had to travel to Islamabad to apply for a visa to China. This new place will provide enormous relief to businessmen and visitors. Lahore is an important city and the new hub of economic activity in Punjab, he added. Mian Nauman Kabir said that Pakistan is looking Chinese businessmen for making joint efforts aimed at boosting bilateral trade and economic relations. PIAF chairman, who is also former LCCI senior vice chairman, hoped the state-level cooperation between two countries would bring greater fortune to both.

He said that status of two-way trade was bound to improve in a decade or so because once the CPEC project became fully functional, a win-win situation

Fertilizer imports reduce 25.60pc in four months ISLAMABAD: The fertilizers manufactured imports into the country during first four months of current financial year decreased by 25.60% as compared the imports of the corresponding period of last year. During the period from Jul-October, 2019, about 889,395 metric tons of fertilizers worth $320.149 million imported to fulfill the domestic requirements as compared the imports of 995,549 metric tons valuing $430.323 million of same period last year, according the data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. Meanwhile, the imports of agriculture machinery and implements into the country during the period under review reduced by 25.07 percent as compared the corresponding period of last year as agriculture machinery and other implements worth $34.732 million imported as compared the imports of $ 46.342 million of same period of last year. In last four months, the imports of agriculture chemicals also decreased by 17.20% as it was recorded at $2.56 billion as compared the imports of $3.092 billion of same period last year. Meanwhile, the import of insecticides decreased by 16.55% in four months of current financial year as it about 7,465 metric tons of insecticides worth $51.067 million imported as against the imports of 9,526 metric tons valuing $61.192 million of same period of last year.

During the period under review, the imports of plastic materials and medicinal products registered decrease of 15.87% and 0.06% respectively as about 500,271metric tons of plastic material valuing $619.786 million imported as compared the imports of 7,956 metric tons costing $382.369 million of same period last year. During the period under review, country imported about 8,823 metric tons of medicinal products worth of $347.745 million as against the imports of 7,956 metric tons costing $382.369 million of same period of last year, it added. APP

Motorbikes, three wheelers' sale falls 16.8pc in 5 months would take place for Pakistan and China. In the meantime, we need to interact on regular basis for exploring avenues for trade expansion and opportunities for investments, he added.

He said that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor promises greater fortunes for Pakistan and it would certainly prove to be a game-changer. Mian Nauman Kabir said that Pakistan and China, being geo-political partners, had very cordial relations. Be it electricity generation, infrastructure development, technology transfer, knowledge sharing or joint venture projects with Chinese firms, Pakistan knows that tomorrow is bound to get better than today. He said that China was well positioned to take advantage of Pakistan's economic potential and its geo-strategic location, asserting, "Let us make trade and investment the central pillar of this cooperation."

Speaking the occasion, Chinese Consul General Long Dingbin underscored that limitless opportunities existed as a result of CPEC's execution and emphasized that Pakistan needed to bring about far-reaching reforms in various socio-economic sectors to get maximum advantage of CPEC. He also highlighted China's experience of miraculous reforms that changed the destiny of China.

ISLAMABAD: The motorcycles and threewheelers' sale has declined by 16.83 percent to 672,032 units in July-November (2019-20) against sale of 785,146 units in same period of last year. On yearly basis, the sale of motorbikes and three-wheelers edged down to 142,604 units in November 2019 as compared to the sale of 143,997 units in same month of previous year thus showing a negative growth of 0.96 percent. According to latest data issued

by Pakistan automobile Manufacturing Association (PAMA), sale of Honda bikes witnessed a decline of 11.8 percent in first five months of current fiscal year as it went down to 428,718 units compared to 486,147 units sold during the period July-November (2018-19).

Likewise sale of Suzuki motorbikes during the period under review fell to 8,877 units in JulyNovember (2019-20) from 10,122 units recorded in same period of last year showing a decline of 12.3 percent. Sale of Qingqi three wheelers plunged by 42.9 from 9,289 units in first five months of previous year to 5,304 units in same period of current fiscal year.

Similarly Sazgar three wheelers' sale also declined to 4,885 units in the period under review while during same period of last year, as many as 6,811 units were sold. APP

UK stocks may move from Brexit fear to ‘fear of missing out’ LONDON AGENCIES

The scale of Boris Johnson's election victory on Thursday may be enough to draw back billions of pounds of investment that have sidestepped UK stocks for years over Brexit, mirroring the US market surge seen after Donald Trump's election three years ago.

With an unexpectedly large 80 seat majority in parliament, the resounding win for British Prime Minister Johnson, who campaigned largely on a slogan of pushing his Brexit deal through in January, could mark a critical turning point for UK equity – the laggard of developed world stock markets over the last decade.

Not only does the size of the majority bring some clarity to the Brexit fog, but money managers say it may well allow

Johnson room to face down more extreme elements of his fractious Conservative Party and negotiate a relatively quick trade deal with Brussels involving softer terms than many had feared only a week ago. If so – and combined with a government spending stimulus in an early post-election budget – the signal to small businesses, the wider UK economy and foreign investors could be electric. Companies with strong exposure to the domestic economy have been a no-go zone for investors ever since Britain voted in 2016 to exit the European Union, a factor that has led to massive outflows out of equity funds.

Several asset managers have been underweight on UK stocks since then, but a slight uptick in sentiment could quickly suck in tens of billions dollars.

“The election result brings to an end the paralysis that has affected Westmin-

ster and is a catalyst for investors to reconsider the value available in public UK equity markets," Mark Barnett, head of UK equities at Invesco, said.

For more than three years, the looming menace of a disorderly Brexit had acted as a drag on UK stocks which have underperformed their European and US peers since the referendum.

Just a day ago, consensus among analysts was that Johnson would win only a modest majority and that he would have to tread carefully in negotiating a free trade deal with the EU. “There is clearly pent up investment demand and corporate decision making, which should be unlocked by the result," said Richard Staveley, a fund manager at Gresham House Strategic Investment Trust. “UK equities remain excellent value when compared to many other asset

classes, cheap compared to history and other markets – particularly the US" So when the initial euphoria calms down, what could be a catalyst for the longer-term rethink?

Some signs of how Johnson reshapes his top team will be important in signalling how he intends to avoid capture by one faction or another. And – as per Friday's exchanges – positive noises between London and Brussels about a free trade agreement will be important.

But the “animal spirits" of business sentiment alone could be a trigger in themselves. In the immediate aftermath of Trump's victory, the US small business optimism index, released in Jan 2017, posted its biggest rise in 30 years. The S&P 500 soared 20% that year.

In the UK, investors will be keenly looking into similar signals from business

sentiment surveys, such as the Purchasing Managers' Index as soon as January.

British finance minister Sajid Javid said on Friday investors had already decided to put money into the United Kingdom. Scott Theil, chief fixed-income strategist at BlackRock, said it's not just investors returning to the market. “Within the UK, you are going to have more commitment of capital to projects and businesses than we've had previously."

For years, UK companies exposed to the domestic economy such as housebuilders, banks, retailers and utilities have been under pressure and were underowned in global asset managers' portfolios.

Johnson's win boosted housebuilding stocks Taylor Wimpey , Berkeley Holdings and Persimmon to record highs on Friday.

Monday, 16 December, 2019

12 BUSINESS Aramco listing boosts Saudi bourse into world’s elite RIYADH: Saudi stock exchange Tadawul, already the largest Arab bourse, has been catapulted into the global top ten with the listing of energy giant Aramco on Wednesday.

Minutes after trading began, Aramco's valuation soared to $1.88 trillion, dwarfing the combined $500 billion value of all the other companies in the Saudi market. The giant addition makes the Saudi bourse the ninth biggest in the world, according to Bloomberg News, edging out the Bombay Stock Exchange and advancing on the Canadian and German markets. Aramco's shares rose the maximum allowed 10 percent after the opening bell, and even though just 1.5 percent of the company was sold in the IPO, the market's capitalisation is likely to get another boost in Thursday's session. Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, the elder half-brother of de factor ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, last week said he expected Aramco's capitalisation could hit $2 trillion shortly. Established in 1985, Tadawul was upgraded to the status of an emerging market by global index provider MSCI in June last year, three months after the global FTSE Russell index granted it secondary emerging market status. The two moves, coupled with the Saudi Capital Market Authority's easing restrictions on foreign ownership, are aimed at luring billions of dollars in foreign investment.

Tadawul, which has 200 firms listed, has had its ups and downs over the past two decades. The most painful was a massive crash in 2006 when the Tadawul All-Shares Index (TASI) dived from its historical high above 20,634 points on February 25, 2006 to below 8,000 points, wiping off 65 percent of the index. AGENCIES

telenor says Huawei will still play role in 5G rollout BRUSSELS: Telenor reiterated on Sunday Huawei would be involved in building Norway’s 5G network along with Ericsson, one of several companies to continue working with the Chinese company despite U.S. pressure. Still, on Friday, the head of Telenor Norway, Petter-Boerre Furberg, told Reuters that the operator would gradually phase out the use of Huawei network components in Norway over a 4-5 year modernization period. Huawei faces increased official scrutiny in Europe amid U.S. allegations that it poses a security threat. The company rejects the charges. Huawei, with which Telenor has collaborated for more than a decade on 4G, will continue to play a role in modernizing its infrastructure, Hanne Knudsen, Telenor vice president for communications, told Reuters.

“Ericsson has been introduced as a new vendor for 5G RAN, but we will also work with Huawei both to maintain the 4G network and also upgrade to 5G coverage in selected areas of Norway,” Knudsen said in response to written questions.

“Huawei has delivered hardware for RAN, but not for the core network. When they will build 5G in selected areas for the modernization, this is also for RAN, not core,” she said. Telenor’s Finnish subsidiary DNA also uses Huawei as one of several vendors for 5G RAN, Knudsen said.

RAN, or radio access network, refers to the radios and antenna that connect smartphones to the mobile network, and accounts for the bulk of the cost of a new network. It is not the core. Huawei said it welcomed competition in 5G and looked forward to continuing its collaboration with Telenor. Telenor is using Finnish company Nokia and Ericsson for building its core network. Last week, Telefonica Deutschland picked Nokia and Huawei to build its 5G network. AGENCIES

PESHAWAR: A man sells coats as their demand increases during winter. ONLINE

cHinA HAltS intRoduction oF new tARiFFS on uS GoodS BEIJING

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AGENCIES

HINA said on Sunday it will not impose new tariffs on imports of American products, but added that the ongoing negotiations between the two countries must proceed on the basis of equality and respect. The announcement came after an interim agreement was reached on Friday to prevent a further escalation of the trade war, which has been running since July 2018.

Beijing had threatened to introduce tariffs of 5 and 10 per cent on selected US goods at noon on Sunday, but that move had been halted, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council said in an online statement. It also said that US cars and car parts would continue to be exempted from existing duties. China hoped it could continue to “work with the US on the basis of

equality and mutual respect to address the concerns of both parties and promote the steady development of the China-US trade relations”, it said.

During the negotiations for a “phase one” deal, Beijing repeatedly called for the suspension of any tariff increases by the US on Chinese products and for existing duties to be lifted. After weeks of debate and deliberation, Washington on Friday halted its plan to introduce fresh tariffs on the remaining US$100 billion worth of Chinese goods that were exempt from the punitive action, and said it would halve its existing duties on about US$120 billion of Chinese imports to 7.5 per cent. However, a 25 per cent tariff on about US$250 billion worth of Chinese goods would remain in place, it said. Besides the removal of tariffs, the US said the “historic and enforceable” phase one deal would require China to make structural and other changes to its economic and trade regime in the areas

of intellectual property, technology transfer, agriculture, financial services, and currency and foreign exchange.

“The phase one agreement also includes a commitment by China that it will make substantial additional purchases of US goods and services in the coming years,” the trade representative’s office said. It also “establishes a strong dispute resolution system that ensures prompt and effective implementation and enforcement”, it said. Despite the consensus, the deal had yet to be signed and was still undergoing final legal checks, China’s viceminister for commerce Wang Shouwen said on Friday. US President Donald Trump described it as “an amazing deal for all” and said he was looking forward to the next stage of the trade talks. “We will begin negotiations on the Phase Two Deal immediately, rather than waiting until after the 2020 Election,” he said on Twitter. Speaking at the Doha Forum on Saturday, US Treasury Secretary Steven

Mnuchin said that as well as addressing several of the key issues on Washington’s trade agenda, the phase one deal would be good for the global economy.

“For a very long time the US was open to China, China was not open to the US,” he said. “There were very strong restrictions and for the first- and second-largest economies in the world, there should be more trading back and forth and that’s what we’ve been working on. I think these agreements will not only be good for the US, but will be very good for global growth.” The interim deal covered issues of intellectual property, technology transfers, the opening up of China’s financial services markets and Beijing’s commitment to buy more American agricultural and other goods, he said. Yu Chunhai, deputy dean of Renmin University of China’s school of economics, said the two sides had been able to manage their differences by focusing on areas where it was easier to find consensus.

Russia stocks rally seen peaking in mid-2020 before paring gains MOSCOW AGENCIES

The Russian stock market has reached record highs this year but still has room to climb further in coming months before paring gains towards the end of 2020, a Reuters poll of market experts found. The market has ridden the wave of a global upturn and outperformed its emerging market peers this year as investors snapped up high-dividend Russian equities as fears have faded of imminent new Western sanctions against Moscow.

The rouble-based MOEX index has reached an all-time high of 3,009.1 in November, taking its year-to-date

gain to over 25%, and is seen finishing this year at 3,000. The MOEX is seen climbing higher to 3,058 by the middle of 2020 before sliding to 2,785 by end2020, according to the poll of 12 market experts conducted in the second half of November.

Forecasts for the end-2020 MOEX reading ranged between 2,450 and 3,300 as analysts priced in downside risks stemming from global trade tensions, particularly the US-China trade war, and upside risks from the easier monetary policies of major central banks. “The global macro backdrop is the single most important factor for all equity markets, including Russia," said Slava Smolyaninov, chief strategist at BCS Global Mar-

kets. The so-called bull run in global stocks that buoyed the Russian stock market is likely to last for several months or even up to a year, the poll showed.

“There is a big chance that US President Donald Trump will keep fiscal stimulus on and could possibly make a deal with China (before the) approaching US presidential election," said Vladimir Miklashevsky, senior economist and trading desk strategist at Danske Bank. Alexander Osin, an analyst at Freedom Finance, said even though risks were skewed more to the downside, lower rates globally and extra liquidity were seen supporting bullish sentiment. The Russian stock market could also see inflows of funds from

Russian bond investors whose strategy was to buy fixed-income tools while the country's central bank was cutting rates, which drove bonds prices higher.

As room for further cuts becomes narrower after the central bank brought its key rate into the middle of its neutral range of 6-7%, some bond investors may look for buying opportunities elsewhere.

The dollar-based RTS index is forecast to trade at 1,500 points by the end of this year, versus Monday's close of 1,454.63. It is seen staying at 1,500 up to the middle of 2020 and sliding to 1,425 by the end of 2020. Forecasts for end-2020 ranged from 1,000 to 1,750 in the poll.

Wall Street steady as US, China announce trade deal NEW YORK AGENCIES

The S&P 500 and the Dow industrials ended little changed on Friday, hitting record highs in the session, as the United States and China announced an initial trade agreement, cooling tensions that have rattled markets.

The S&P 500 technology sector and the tech-heavy Nasdaq finished solidly in positive territory, with gains in Apple Inc providing a boost.

Trading was choppy following announcement of the agreement, which reduces some US tariffs in exchange for

increased Chinese purchases of American farm goods. The United States has agreed to suspend tariffs on $160 billion in Chinese goods that were due to take effect on Dec. 15, a deadline that had been closely watched by investors.

“The risk of trade (dispute) escalation has been averted for now, and that's a positive," said Sunitha Thomas, regional portfolio advisor at Northern Trust Wealth Management in Chicago.

Investors were also digesting Prime Minister Boris Johnson's commanding victory in the British election, which could bring more clarity to the country's planned exit from the European Union.

“We got confirmation today that two major risks that have been weighing on the market all year have been lifted, for now at least," Thomas said.

“The market is not up more because we have had some of the rally coming into it, and I think there is now a recognition that there needs to be policy followthrough on the negotiation of Brexit and also what really the details of this deal between China and the US are," Thomas said. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3.33 points, or 0.01%, to 28,135.38, the S&P 500 gained 0.23 point, or 0.01%, to 3,168.8 and the Nasdaq Composite added 17.56 points, or 0.2%, to 8,734.88.

Utilities led gains among the S&P 500 sectors along with tech, while energy and materials lagged.

The S&P 500 rose 0.7% for the week, its ninth rise out the past 10 weeks.

Improving sentiment about trade tensions, interest rate cuts from the US Federal Reserve and encouraging economic data have fueled records for the major US stock indexes. The benchmark S&P 500 has gained 26% so far in 2019.

Earlier this week, the Fed signaled borrowing costs will not change anytime soon. In company news, Adobe Inc shares rose 3.9% after it beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter revenue and

profit. Broadcom Inc shares dropped 3.8% after the company provided a lukewarm revenue forecast for 2020.

Oracle Corp shares fell 3.5% after its revenue fell short of quarterly estimates.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.19-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.07-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 76 new 52-week highs and one new low; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 128 new highs and 49 new lows. About 7.4 billion shares changed hands in US exchanges, above the 6.8 billion-share daily average over the last 20 sessions.

This Fun-packed Actor’s YouTube Channel will Give you Endless laughs!

Gone are the days when celebrities were hard to reach out to, with their personal lives being a mystery for their fans. With the onset of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, audiences can now feel more connected to their favorite stars.

Recently, Pakistani celebs are turning to YouTube, branching out beyond their traditional jobs and exploring their craft in a new space. So if you want to get a closer look at their lives, find out about their hobbies, or hear them talk about their favorite things; you can catch them on their YouTube channels. Interesting, isn’t it?

Currently featured in the fan-favorite “Alif”, the rising young star Yashma Gill is a powerhouse of talent. The very bubbly and cute actress has also recently launched her own YouTube channel. Her channel showcases videos – from personal adventures and experiences to experiments, fan moments, and her everyday anecdotes.

Her journey of vlogging is exciting enough to hook you up on her YouTube channel for hours. Her captivating personality and her natural flair for casual talk instantly grabs the audience’s attention.

Here are all the funniest moments from Yashma Gill Vlog to get your inner kid some carefree laughs!

WhenYashma accepted the Challenge of“DoWhatThey Can’t Do”

When Yashma Gill tried making Gol Roti

The Vlog where she can be seen holding snakes in Biryani boxes, half puzzled and half appalled when Azlan Shah puts that snake on her palm. We couldn’t stop laughing at her cute expressions. The content of vlog is so different from the usual content on other celebrities’ Vlog.

Her entertaining Vlog where she roamed around the streets of Lahore sipping local lemonade from street stalls and visited Lahore Zoological garden to take pictures with the elephant. The climax of the vlog was when she came to know that Suzzi Elephant has died. Did she fulfill the challenge or not?

So this Vlog is all about her gol roti struggles when her domestic help was on leave. Was she able to make Gol roti for herself or she had to order food in the end?

When Yashma Gill visited Bakra Mandi

When Yashma Gill tried stitching her Eid Dress

This vlog was all about her visit to Bakra Mandi in a black abaya and veil and asking random questions to the vendors. Her energy is unmatchable when it comes to this vlog, from buying cotton candies to bargaining, the Vlog will get you hooked to her channel.

So by now, you must have realized that this girl is unpredictable and you can expect anything from her. In her quest to do things in an unusual way, she learned from her tailor how to stitch a dress! Do watch to see her on-spot comments and real efforts.

HOLLYWOOD BOLLYWOOD

When Yashma Gill becomes Friends with 75 Snakes:

Hugh Jackman Calls Our Ryan Reynolds With Wolverine Deadpool Meme The heated battle between frenemy's Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds continues as Wolverine and Deadpool are added to the mix.

The Marvel actors have been going back and forth for quite a while busting each other's chops, with the latest being that, following having been called a fraud by Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman gives Reynolds the one-finger salute courtesy an adamantium Wolverine claw.

"Who you callin' a fraud?" Hugh Jackman posted on Instagram.

Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld can be seen responding in the comments with, "What is this about????????"

What this is all about is that recently saw Ryan Reynolds do an interview with Today Show Australia, where Reynolds "slammed" Hugh Jackman.

"He's just an evil person," Reynolds quipped about Jackman, who hails from Australia. "I mean, you guys have all been duped.

So the list doesn’t end here, and I bet that once you start following her YouTube channel, you will not want to do anything else but watch her vlogs. If you haven’t subscribed to her channel, go and subscribe to find out what next challenge she is going to accept next!

Shazam 2 Gets A Release Date Following The Flash, now Shazam! 2 has a release date as Warner Bros. announces the sequel will be released on April 1, 2022. Zachary Levi has confirmed he will be returning to the titular role, with Asher Angel and Jack Dylan Grazer expected back in their respective roles, Billy Batson and Freddy Freeman.

Director David F. Sandberg is expected back for Shazam!

2 as well, with screenwriter Henry Gayden also back writing the sequel, along with Peter Safran back as producer.

Worth a mention is that Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam comes out a few months prior to Shazam! 2, December 22, 2021, so perhaps there will be some sort of tie in, though Johnson has hinted the two characters won't be meeting up for a while.

The first Shazam! did set up a potential sequel as the postcredit scene features the DC Comics supervillain, Mister Mind, who is the only survivor of a race of mind-controlling worms from Venus that has plans to invade and take over the Earth.

While Shazam! only brought in around $364 million worldwide, the lowest of any DC movie, it did only have a $100 million budget and it was well-received critically and by many fans.

CMYK

Due to the restaurant's reputation for staying open in extreme weather, the so-called “Waffle House Index” is informally used by FEMA to gauge storm severity.

The first sales pitch for the Nerf ball was “Nerf: You can’t hurt babies or old people!”

GulAhmed launched its Royal Velvet collection, Noor-eChasham on Friday, 13th December 2019 with a grand evening of glamour and fashion. Mehwish Hayat attended the show in stunning Noor e Chasham ensemble and added more beauty to the evening. Press release

Salman Khan on Dabangg: ‘Chulbul Pandey was originally a negative character’ Actor Salman Khan has revealed that Dabangg was originally a dark film with its lead character, Chulbul Pandey being “out and out negative.” Directed by Abhinav Kashyap, the 2010 film featured Salman as Pandey, a fearless yet corrupt police officer with unorthodox working methods. It received critical acclaim and was a blockbuster upon its release.

In a group interview, Salman revealed that before him, actor Randeep Hooda and his brother Arbaaz Khan were approached for the project. “It was a very dark film, small film to be made under Rs 2 crore. At that point of time, it had Randeep Hooda and Arbaaz. So Arbaaz said he has been approached for this and it’s a good one so just hear it.

“Then six-eight months passed before I finally heard it. I think UTV was supposed to do it. I liked the feel of the film but Chulbul was out and out negative.” Salman said he then suggested changes to Arbaaz and Abhinav incorporated them. “That film didn’t have any action, certainly not at this scale. There were no songs and we never get to know who killed the mother...

Monday, 16 December, 2019

14 SPORTS

Crawford Crushes KavaliausKas in ninth round to retain wBo title

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ERENCE Crawford survived some early jitters to retain his WBO welterweight title on Saturday with a ninth round knockout of former Olympian Egidijus Kavaliauskas at Madison Square Garden.

Crawford, who improved to 36-0 with 27 knockouts, survived a scare in the third round before finding his rhythm in the fifth, knocking the Lithuanian down once in the seventh, and then twice in the final round.

In a tougher than expected tussle, heavy Crawford finished the heavy underdog challenger off with a right hook to the left ear 44 seconds into

the ninth.

"When I let my hands go that's when I started landing more favourable shots," the American said. "After I dropped him with my uppercut I was like, I am going to face his jab, and come out with my right hook."

Kavaliauskas barely survived the end of the eighth round and Crawford wasted no time going to work in the ninth. He landed a barrage of punches to start the round, beginning with a left hook followed by a right that sent Kavaliauskas staggering back towards the ropes.

Crawford then moved in for the finish and connected with a right hook that floored Kavaliauskas (21-1-1, 17 KOs) for the third and final time as the referee stopped the bout.

Kavaliauskas, who competed in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, appeared to score the first knockdown of the fight in the third round. But the ref ruled that Crawford slipped. Regardless Crawford was in a load of trouble after absorbing an overhand right on the chin.

Crawford collected his thoughts and survived the round, but it wasn't until the fifth that he really started to look like his old self.

Crawford's early troubles aside, he did a superb job of figuring out a tough opponent who came into the bout in excellent shape.

"He's a strong fighter, durable," said Crawford who denied he was in trouble in the third. "I wasn't hurt at all. I went straight for him. He caught me with a good punch."

Crawford and his promoters are hoping to eventually land a fight with former two-time welterweight champ Shawn Porter.

Whoever he fights it will surely be a much bigger test, which means Crawford can't afford to fiddle away five rounds before he gets comfortable throwing meaningful combinations.

"The rounds before my coaches were telling me to stop loading up. I was trying to give the crowd a knockout," he said.

"I am not ducking anybody. Listen man, everybody knows who I want to fight. I don't have to name names. I want all the top guys."

On the undercard, Teofimo Lopez captured his first world title by knocking out Ghana's Richard Commey in the second round to take Commey's IBF lightweight crown in emphatic fashion.

"I'm at a loss for words right now. This is a dream come true," said Lopez, 15-0 with 12 KOs. "(Commey) is a bad man. His shot could've done the same to me if he hit me with that shot."

Veteran Commey (29-3, 26 KOs) suffered just his third career loss but he had never been dominated by an opponent like this before.

Commey was making his second title defence and looked solid in the opening round, but then Lopez destroyed him in the second.

Ufone KP Football Cup: Super8 concludes as championship enters final leg Peshawar Press release

DFA Green FC Kohat, Peshawar Combined FC, DFA Chitral FC and DFA Swabi FC have qualified for the semifinals of the championship here at Tehmas Khan Football Stadium Peshawar. The semifinals will be played on Monday, 16 December 2019 while the championship decider will be held on 17 December 2019 at 5 p.m. under flood lights.

The first match of Super8 was played between DFA green FC Kohat and Pak Rose FC Haripur.

In this thriller of a game Kohat beat Haripur in a sensational penalty shootout to book a place in the semifinals. The first half of the game was dominated by Kohat where Asad and Khayaam scored in 6th and 14th minute of the game to put their team in the lead. Haripur fought back and scored two back to back goals to level the scores. Faisal and Saddam from Haripur scored in the 42nd and 59th minute to level the match. Later on, the match was decided on penalties where Kohat beat Haripur by 4 – 3.

The second Super8 game between Peshawar Combined FC and Shah FC Charsadda ended in a draw. No team was able to score a goal. However, in the penalty shootout Peshawar beat Charsadda by 8- 7 to qualify for the semifinals.

In third Super8 match DFA Chitral FC beat Aatish FC Tank by 1 – 0. The solitary goal was

scored by Yousaf in the 28th minutes of the match.

The last Super8 game was played between DFA Swabi FC and Bannu Red FC. Swabi scored two goals in the first have to take a decisive lead in the match against Bannu Red. Farhan and Waseem scored in the 17th and 36th minute of the match to book their team a place in the semifinals.

Both the semifinals will be played on 16 December. In the first game, DFA Green FC Kohat will face Peshawar Combined FC for a place in the title decider. In the second game, DFA Chitral FC will take on DFA Swabi to advance to the final.

Both semifinals and the final will be broadcasted live on PTV sports and Suno FM 89.4.

Man City a victim of their own success, says Guardiola LONDON aGeNCIes

Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City are paying the price for having raised the bar in how many points it takes to win the Premier League. Guardiola's men have won the title in the past two seasons with record tallies of 100 and 98 points, but travel to Arsenal on Sunday already 17 points behind runaway leaders Liverpool. "I didn't want to think it too much in the beginning of the season but I thought will we be able to do it again?"

Guardiola admitted in his pre-match press conference.

"When we arrived here the standard was 85 points to win. Now you have to reach almost 100 points to win the Premier League. "That is why we helped Liverpool to make this step, buy incredible top players and now it is the level you have to reach. All the teams that are behind Liverpool, we know we have to make 100 points." City denied Liverpool the title last season by winning their last 14 league games to become the first side to retain the Premier League in a decade. Four defeats in 12 league games have led to much criticism of City's succession planning for the loss of captain Vincent Kompany and Guardiola's inability to patch up a makeshift defence. However, the Catalan coach insists it is normal for his side to have a brief drop in standards after such a sustained period of success.

"Eleven years no one won back-to-back and then we did it, by winning 14 games in a row. "That is why when people say we are not good, I cannot forget what this team has done, but sometimes it is a process. In NBA teams, in incredible tennis players, there are problems or periods in the season when you struggle a little bit. "I would say that is normal, that the people can expect it. That is going to help us, the situation we are in is going to help us in the future." Guardiola did, though, admit that after a clean sweep of domestic silverware last season, some measure of complacency may have cost City and warned his players they must prove he can count on them for next season. "Maybe we believe something we are not and reality of sport is to make you (prove yourself) again and again and again," he added on the spectre of complacency.

"Unfortunately now, in the position we are in, we have to overcome that situation. It is tomorrow and the next games we prove how we are as a team. "You have to evaluate if you are good enough as a manager to continue (winning), are the players good enough to try it again next season?"

Tokyo unveils heat-busting stadium, seven months before Olympics TOKYO aGeNCIes

Tokyo formally unveiled its 60,000-seater main Olympic Stadium Sunday, more than seven months before the 2020 Opening Ceremony -- with a host of special features to beat the feared heat.

Built on the site of the former national stadium used for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, it has five floors above ground and two below, with greenery planted on the decks to provide shade from the scorching summer sun.

The eaves around the outer perimeter keep out sunlight and rain and will help channel breeze into the stadium. There are also eight mist spraying facilities, 185 fans and 16 air-conditioned lounges.

Opening the facility, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hailed its "top-level universal design" and "harmony with its surrounding environment."

Renowned architect Kengo Kuma designed the stadium along traditional Japanese lines, with the use of wooden eaves and domestic lumber helping it to blend into the surroundings in central Tokyo.

The stadium will host the opening and closing ceremonies plus the flagship athletics events.

However, the marathon will not have its traditional finish there, as the event has been moved to Japan's northern island of Hokkaido to avoid the expected heat and humidity of the capital.

The unveiling will come as a relief after the humiliation in September 2016,

when Abe scrapped the original plans from late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid as the costs soared beyond $2 billion.

The stadium was also lowered to a height of 47 metres (154 feet) from the original design of 70 metres, which was criticised as too high and for being a potential eyesore on Tokyo's skyline.

Total construction costs including design and supervising fees came to 156.9 billion yen ($1.45 billion), within the budget, according to officials.

The stadium will see its first sporting action on December 21 when former sprint champion Usain Bolt will take the track for a special exhibition relay.

The first competitive action there will be the Emperor's Cup football final on New Year's Day.

CMYK

Monday, 16 December, 2019

15

aBid aChieves reCord in PaKistan's drawn test rawaLPINDI

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PENER Abid Ali became the only batsman to score hundreds on both Test and one-day debuts as Pakistan's first home match in the long form of the game since the 2009 attack on the visiting Sri Lanka team ended in a tame draw against the same opponents Sunday.

On 95, the 32-year-old hit paceman Vishwa Fernando for a boundary and then drove him through cover for two to complete his hundred, raising his hands in jubilation before kneeling on the ground to offer a prayer of gratitude.

His hundred came in 267 minutes, laced with 11 boundaries, and was the highlight of a Test badly affected by the weather.

Pakistan finished at 252-2, with stylish batsman Babar Azam knocking his third Test century with a boundary off spinner Dilruwan Perera.

Azam ended with 102 not out, which came in 151 minutes of punishing batting spiced by 14 crisp boundaries.

But the day belonged to Abid, one of 15 batsmen to score a hundred on their one-day international debut -- against Australia in Dubai in March this year -- since limited over cricket began in January 1971.

None of the others also scored a century on their debut in Test cricket, which started in 1876.

Abid is the 11th Pakistani batsmen to score a century on Test debut.

"I don't have words to thank the Almighty," said Abid of his feat.

"My plan was to see off the new ball and then I gradually built the innings with plans for every five overs. So I kept trying to keep that up, and Babar gave me confidence in 90s.

Abid's feat spiced up the historic Test, the first in Pakistan since the 2009 attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus left international cricket sus-

Ponting picks Pat Cummins, Chris woakes to 'go for big money' at iPl auction MUMBaI aGeNCIes

pended in the country.

Only 91.5 overs were possible on the first four days as rain, bad light and overcast conditions affected play. The fourth day was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

But there was bright sunshine on Sunday as Sri Lanka batted for 20 minutes to declare their first innings at 308-6 with middle-order batsman Dhananjaya de Silva scoring an unbeaten 102.

With gates opened to the crowd for free, about 12,000 fans were kept entertained by Dhananjaya and then Abid.

Sri Lankan skipper Dimuth Karunaratne hopes his team moves on.

"We came two days before the Test and we've done a really good job. Washed out for a couple of days but Dhananjaya's effort and the two fast bowlers on this pitch did well," said Karunaratne.

The draw gives both Pakistan and Sri Lanka 20 points each in the World Test championship,

contested by nine teams, with the top two contesting the June 2021 final.

Pakistan lost opener Shan Masood for nought when he drove a full toss from paceman Kasun Rajitha straight into the hands of Dinesh Chandimal at cover Skipper Azhar Ali scored a shaky 36 before he was caught off Lahiru Kumara.

Dhananjaya finally completed his sixth Test century in the morning.

The 28-year-old right-hander drove paceman Mohammad Abbas for his 15th boundary to bring up the hundred in his 28th Test.

De Silva remained unbeaten on 102 after 241 minutes of batting, having come in with the score on 127-4 on Thursday. Dilruwan Perera remained unbeaten on 16.

The pick of the Pakistan bowlers were 16year-old quickie Naseem Shah, who took 2-92, and Shaheen Shah Afridi with 2-58. The second Test is in Karachi starting December 19.

Australia close in on Test victory against New Zealand PerTh aGeNCIes

Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc took Australia to within five wickets of a yawning victory over New Zealand with four sessions remaining in the day-night Test at Perth Stadium.

Taking advantage of a deteriorating pitch that offered cracks and also footmarks for the spinners, the Australians accounted for Ross Taylor and Tom Latham shortly after lunch, before Henry Nicholls was out to Lyon off pad and bat in the final over of the middle session.

New Zealand had been set a target of 468 after Australia captain Tim Paine declared with one wicket remaining at the end of an innings where the visitors had successfully limited the lead while also expanding the amount of time in which the hosts may have needed to bowl with only two fit pacemen. Josh Hazlewood, sidelined with a hamstring tear, padded up to bat but was not asked to hobble out to the middle.

However, a quick breakthrough

by Mitchell Starc, who bounced out a struggling Jeet Raval, and then Lyon's bat-pad dismissal of the touring captain Kane Williamson had the Australians eyeing a vast defeat of the

tourists on another day of temperatures higher than 35-degree C. Tim Southee and Neil Wagner shared eight wickets between them in Australia's second innings, as New Zealand claimed 8 for 86 after the hosts had advanced to 1 for 131 late on the third day. Their concerted, shortpitched angle of attack resulted not only in plenty of wickets but also a succession of painful blows for the batsmen, most notably Matthew Wade.

Wade, Pat Cummins, Starc and Lyon added 50 runs on the fourth afternoon, leaving New Zealand with fiveand-a-half sessions to survive if they wish to get out of Perth with a draw - a

next ball. With scores of 3, 33, 4, 0, 19, 5, 0, 1 and 1 since his first Test century against Bangladesh, Raval has some thinking to do.

Williamson was granted some early latitude by Starc and CumNew mins, who allowed him to Zealand 166 and 5 skate into the teens with a couple of full balls on leg for 98 (Watling 20*, de and then a wide Grandhomme 0*, Lyon 3-33) stump half volley, but Lyon was need another 370 runs to beat in no mood to be quite so charitable. His first ball Australia 416 and 9 for 217 dec leapt out of the surface (Burns 53, Labuschagne 50, with turn and bounce, clipping the edge onto the Southee 5-69, Wagner thigh pad and straight to 3-59) short leg to leave New Zealand feat that, if teetering at the interval. achieved, would They were given very little severely fatigue Australia's bowlers with Hazlewood al- respite on resumption through a superlative spell from Cummins, who ready out of the game.

If New Zealand did not make will bowl far worse on other days quite as disastrous a start as they had and return a hatful of wickets. The done in the first innings, when they rewards were to be reaped by Starc had lost two wickets in the first two when Taylor attempted a pull shot overs, Raval and Latham could not and could only edge thinly behind to stay together for long. Taking advan- Paine, and then Lyon when he fizzed tage of an increasingly cracked pitch, one through to strike Latham in front Starc taunted Raval with the words, of the middle and leg stumps. Paine "This is the last chance of your ca- reviewed after the umpire Aleem Dar reer," before promptly hitting the decided the ball may be missing the shoulder of the opener's bat to gift stumps, only to be proven clearly Lyon the simplest of catches the very wrong by ball-tracking.

Pat Cummins and Chris Woakes "could go for big money" at the IPL auction on December 19, according to Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting.

Cummins, No. 1 and No. 5 in the ICC rankings for Test and ODI bowlers respectively, was part of the Delhi franchise in 2017, where he topped their wickettaking chart with 15 strikes from 12 games with an economy rate of 8.07. He has set himself a base price of INR 2 crore (US$ 282,900 approx.) this time.

Woakes, who has earlier been part of Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore, has set his his base price at INR 1.5 crore (US$ 212,195 approx.).

"There's going to be a lot of focus and attention on fast bowlers, overseas ones in particular. Pat Cummins could go for big money, as could Chris Woakes," Ponting said in a Capitals statement. "Allrounders are always interesting in my opinion. Players like Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Marsh, Jimmy Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme could all be big picks." Ponting also welcomed the addition of R Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane to the Capitals' ranks, saying the two senior India cricketers will "bring tremendous experience with them". Rahane and Ashwin, two big-ticket Indian players have already joined the Capitals during the trade window to bolster their top-order batting and spin bowling. "They are the kind of players who are likely to do well on the [Ferozshah] Kotla wicket, and of course, bring tremendous experience with them." Capitals, who have 14 players and go into the auction with 11 available slots - six Indian and five overseas - have INR 27.85 crore (US$ 3,939,760 approx.) to spend at the auction. "Going into the auction you have to be very specific about the kind of players you need," Ponting said. "For instance, we've got three openers [Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw], so we don't need to look for one. You need to identify the problem areas in your starting eleven, and essentially plug the gaps. "We've had several discussions over the last few months, and have put in a lot of time and effort to make sure that we're well prepared. You can do all the planning in the world, but at the auction table, the unpredictable always happens." The Capitals have never won the IPL, with final-four finishes in 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2019, the last season, their best performances to date. "The semi-final loss against Chennai [Super Kings] was disappointing of course," Ponting said of the 2019 season. "But we played some great cricket, and even now, about 7-8 months after the tournament, I feel like there were times when we were the best team in the competition. "I just remember how much fun everybody had. It was a totally different environment than most other IPLs that I have been a part of. The idea is to recreate that atmosphere and culture with our new and existing bunch of players." "The government had sent their security team, so once we get the clearance we can tell you our decision. After the security clearance, we also must ask the cricketers, whose opinion is important.

"We also have to consider the board's decision, but we are at the final stages of our decision. I think we will know about it in the next 4-5 days," said Hassan. The tour comprises of three T20Is, scheduled to be held in Lahore on January 23, 25 and 27, and two Tests, which are slated to be held in Rawalpindi and Karachi.

BCB chief positive about getting security clearance for Pakistan tour DhaKa aGeNCIes

BCB president Nazmul Hassan is hopeful that the Bangladesh team will get security clearance from the government to tour Pakistan next month for a series comprising three T20Is and two Tests. However, he also said that there remained a couple of more steps that needed to be taken before a final decision could be arrived at.

Last week, BCB chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury had said that the board was expecting a decision from the

government imminently, but that time was running out. However, Hassan struck a more positive tone on Saturday.

"We had written to the government about our security clearance for Pakistan," Hassan said. "We had sent a women's team and an Under-16 team previously. We don't have the clearance for the senior men's team yet. Security is paramount even if it is for an Under-12 side. It is going to be the same for everyone, which is why I believe that we are likely to get the security clearance."

Bangladeshi sides have toured Pak-

istan in the recent past, but the men's team haven't done so since 2008. Seven years ago they were close to deciding on a tour to Pakistan, only for the AHM Mustafa Kamal-led BCB to pull out shortly after the decision to tour was taken.

Hassan has said that after the government announces their decision, it would be up to the BCB to speak to the players who could decide for themselves whether they were keen to tour or not. BCB director Akram Khan has already suggested splitting the tour so that the Tests could be played later.

CMYK

Monday, 16 December, 2019

NEWS

PM heaDs to Bahrain toDay after successful sauDi visit IMRAN KHAN TO RECEIVE BAHRAIN’S HIGHEST CIVIL AWARD IN SPECIAL CEREMONY ON HIS MAIDEN VISIT TO COUNTRY ISLAMABAD

a

STAFF REPORT

day after his visit to Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Imran Khan is all set to visit Bahrain on Monday to attend the National Day of Bahrain as a guest of honour on the invitation of King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa.

The PM will undertake a three-country tour from December 15, with Bahrain as his first stop. He will also travel to Geneva to attend a conference on refugees, while, Malaysia will be his last stop.

The prime minister will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including members of the cabinet and senior government officials, on his maiden visit to Bahrain after coming to power in 2018.

During the visit, he will have a oneon-one meeting with King Hamad Bin Isa

Al-Khalifa and will hold delegation-level talks with Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, said a statement issued by the PM’s Office. The exchange of views would cover the entire gamut of bilateral relations and matters pertaining to regional and international issues.

“The Prime Minister’s visit to Bahrain will enable the two sides to explore ways and means to further deepen bilateral trade and investments ties. The visit is of special significance and will impart a strong impetus to both sides’ endeavours to forge a closer, multifaceted bilateral relationship,” the statement added. “Pakistan and Bahrain enjoy close cordial ties based on commonalities of faith and culture marked by mutual trust and understanding. The bilateral relationship is broad-based and multifaceted, covering diverse fields including political, trade, commercial, defence, people-to-people contacts,” it said.

PM’s media adviser Durrani removed

AFTER MEETING, MBS ACCOMPANIES IMRAN TO RIYADH AIRPORT TO SEE HIM OFF

The frequent high-level exchanges are a hallmark of the relationship.

The two countries have established institutional mechanisms, including Bilateral Political Consultations and Joint Ministerial Commission, to bolster bilateral cooperation in diverse fields. The two countries also enjoy close inter-parliamentary cooperation. Over 100,000 Pakistani expatriate community which contributes to the socio-economic development of Bahrain, acts as a strong human bridge between the two countries.

HIGHEST CIVIL AWARD: Bahrain’s highest civil award, King Hamad Order of the Renaissance, will also be conferred upon the prime minister during a special ceremony. In August, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also conferred the same award by the king.

This was confirmed earlier in the week by Special Assistant to the Prime

GUWAHATI AGENCIES

Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Media Affairs Iftikhar Durrani has been sacked from his post following which his name has also been struck off from the cabinet list, according to media reports that emerged on Sunday. Earlier, Durrani had been sent to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) to monitor the provincial assembly election in the newly merged tribal districts whereas he had been kept out of cabinet meetings for the last several months. Durrani, on the other hand, has said he has not received any information about his removal.

According to media reports, Punjab chief minister’s former spokesperson Shahbaz Gill is a strong candidate for the post of SAPM on media. Gill had resigned from his post after the CM himself requested the former’s removal. According to different sources, Gill was removed from his post because he was promoting himself instead of his boss. “The Punjab chief minister had some reservations with Shahbaz Gill, and he was removed because Buzdar requested it,” Naeemul Haque had said in a video message. It was reported that Gill would be given another post or he would be made part of the federal cabinet, however, no such development took place.

In November, former Pakistan Television Corporation’s (PTV) chairman Yousuf Baig Mirza had also tendered his resignation from the post of SAPM media affairs. In his resignation, Mirza had said he wanted to resume work in the media industry. Further, former State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governor Shamshad Akhtar has also been removed from the cabinet list. Shamshad had refused to join PM Imran’s cabinet due to her differences over the allocated portfolio of special assistant on public-private partnership. NEWS DESK

The death toll from violent protests in northeast India against a contentious citizenship law has risen to six, officials said on Sunday, as authorities maintained internet bans and curfews to quell unrest.

Tensions remained high at the epicentre of the unrest in Assam state’s biggest city, Guwahati, with troops patrolling the streets in vehicles amid tight security.

Some 5,000 people took part in a fresh demonstration in Guwahati on Sunday, with hundreds of police watching on as they sang, chanted and carried banners with the words “long live Assam”.

Officials said oil and gas production in the state was hit by the curfew, although the restrictions were eased during the day on Sunday with some shops opening.

The legislation, passed by the national parliament on Wednesday, allows New Delhi to grant citizenship to millions of illegal immigrants who entered India from three neighbouring countries on or before December 31, 2014 — but not if they are Muslim.

In Assam, four people died after being shot by police, while another was killed when a shop he was sleeping in was set on fire

Minister on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfiqar Bukhari. “The prime minister is going on an official visit to Bahrain in mid-December where he will be conferred Bahrain’s highest civilian award,” the publication had quoted Bukhari as saying.

‘SUCCESSFUL SAUDI VISIT’: The visit to Bahrain comes right after the premier’s visit to Saudi Arabia, where he had met Muhammad Bin Salman, the crown prince, to discuss the regional situation and bilateral matters.

As a special gesture, the crown prince came along with Prime Minister Khan after the bilateral meeting to see him off at Riyadh International Airport.

Imran emphasised the strategic importance of Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relations and termed it a pivotal partnership for peace, progress and prosperity. In the context of the Middle East, the prime minister reiterated Pakistan’s perspective

that disputes and differences be resolved through political and diplomatic means.

Speaking about the PM’s visit to the Kingdom, his special assistant on media, Firdous Ashiq Awan, said that the visit to Saudi Arabia will usher in a new era of bilateral relations. In a tweet on Sunday, she said the brotherly country Saudi Arabia has always supported Pakistan in the hour of need.

She said the prime minister apprised the Saudi leadership about the grave human rights abuses by Indian forces in occupied Kashmir and thanked for the Saudi support for the Kashmir cause. She said Pakistan is emerging as an attractive destination for tourism in the world.

6 dead in protests against India’s contentious citizenship law and a sixth after he was beaten up during a protest, officials said.

In West Bengal state, where protests stretched into a third day, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee — who has spoken out against the national government’s push for the law — suspended internet services in several districts. Demonstrators

set fire to tyres, staged sit-ins on highways and railway tracks, and torched trains and buses, with riot police brought in to disperse protesters and train services suspended in some parts of the east. Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday called again for calm, saying local cultures in northeastern states were

not under threat, amid fears the new law will grant citizenship to large numbers of immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh.

“Culture, language, social identity and political rights of our brothers and sisters from northeast will remain intact,” Shah told a rally in eastern Jharkhand state, News18 television network reported him as saying. For Islamic groups, the opposition, rights activists and others in India, the new law is seen as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist agenda to marginalise India’s 200 million Muslims.

He denies the allegation.

Rights groups and a Muslim political party are challenging the law in the Supreme Court, arguing that it is against the constitution and India’s secular traditions.

Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ally in Assam, which had supported the bill in parliament, told local media on Sunday that it now intended to challenge the law in the Supreme Court.

Major countries snub calls for climate action as UN summit grinds to close MADRID AGENCIES

A UN climate summit ground toward a delayed close on Sunday with a handful of major states resisting pressure to ramp up efforts to combat global warming, prompting sharp criticism from smaller countries and environmental activists.

The Madrid talks were viewed as a test of governments’ collective will to heed the advice of scientists to cut greenhouse gas emissions more rapidly in order to prevent rising global temperatures from hitting irreversible tipping points.

But the conference was expected to endorse only a modest declaration on the “urgent need” to close the gap between existing emissions pledges and the temperature goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement to tackle climate change.

Many developing countries and campaigners had wanted to see much more explicit language spelling out the importance of countries submitting bolder pledges on emissions as the Paris process enters a crucial implementation phase next year.

“These talks reflect how disconnected country leaders are from the urgency of the science and the demands of

their citizens in the streets,” said Helen Mountford, Vice President for Climate and Economics, at the World Resources Institute think-tank. “They need to wake up in 2020.” Brazil, China, Australia, Saudi Arabia and the United States had led resistance to bolder action, delegates said, as the summit – known as COP25 – began wrapping up. It had been due to finish at the two-week mark on Friday but has run on for two extra days – a long delay even by the standards of often torturous climate summits.

Earlier, talks president Chile triggered outrage after drafting a version of the text that campaigners complained was so weak it betrayed the spirit of the 2015 Paris Agreement. The process set out in that deal hinges on countries ratcheting up emissions cuts next year. The final draft did acknowledge the “significant gap” between existing pledges and the temperature goals adopted in 2015.

Nevertheless, it was still seen as a weak response to the sense of urgency felt by communities around the world afflicted by floods, droughts, wildfires and cyclones that scientists say have become more intense as the Earth rapidly warms.

“COP25 demonstrated the collective

ambition fatigue of the world’s largest (greenhouse gas) emitters,” said Greenpeace East Asia policy advisor Li Shuo.

The Madrid talks became mired in disputes over the rules that should govern international carbon trading, favored by wealthier countries to reduce the cost of cutting emissions. Brazil and Australia were among the main holdouts, delegates said, and the summit seemed all but certain to defer big decisions on carbon markets for later. “As many others have expressed, we are disappointed that we once again failed to find agreement,” Felipe De Leon, a climate official speaking on behalf of Costa Rica. “We engaged actively, we delivered our homework, and yet we did not quite get there.”

Smaller nations had also hoped to win guarantees of financial aid to cope with climate change. The Pacific island of Tuvalu accused the United States, which began withdrawing from the Paris process last month, of blocking progress.

“There are millions of people all around the world who are already suffering from the impacts of climate change,” Ian Fry, Tuvalu’s representative, told delegates.

“Denying this fact could be interpreted by some to be a crime against humanity.”

Frustrated with climate talks, activists dump manure outside Madrid summit MADRID: Green activists dumped horse manure and staged a mock hanging outside the venue of a U.N. climate summit in Madrid on Saturday, airing their frustration at the failure of world leaders to take meaningful action against global warming. Led by grassroots group Extinction Rebellion, the actions were timed to coincide with the closing of the COP25 summit, where negotiators have been unable to agree on how to implement the 2015 Paris climate agreement. “Just like rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic, this COP’s fiddling of carbon accounting and negotiating of Article 6 is not commensurate to the planetary emergency we face,” Extinction Rebellion said in a statement. Twelve members of the group stood on melting blocks of ice, nooses drawn tight around their necks to symbolize the 12 months remaining until the next summit, when the Paris deal enters a make-or-break implementation phase. Attached to the pile of manure was a short message to leaders saying “the horseshit stops here.” In contrast to a protest held last weekend, in which hundreds of demonstrators blocked one of Madrid’s central shopping streets for a mass disco-dance, the mood at the gathering was subdued. “Even if they reach an agreement it’s still not enough.

This is the 25th COP they’ve had and nothing has really changed,” protester Emma Deane told Reuters from her perch atop an ice block, holding her young daughter in her arms. “She’s going to grow up in a world where there’s no food on the shelves and that breaks my heart.” Still, Extinction Rebellion spokesman Ronan McNern stressed the importance of humor in the face of the climate crisis.

“Out of shit comes the best roses. We hope that the international community comes together to create a beautiful future,” McNern said. AGENCIES

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

CMYK