E-Paper PDF 16th February 2020 (ISB)

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16 February, 2020 I 21 Jamadi-ul-Sani, 1441 I Rs 27.00 I Vol X No 228 I 76 Pages I Islamabad Edition

Govt’s neGliGence led to price hike, imran says g

Pm sAys PAkisTAn will Follow PrinciPles oF sTATe oF medinA insTeAd oF Becoming ‘AsiAn Tiger’ lahore

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staff report

eeks after blaming the shortage of wheat and sugar on ‘mafias’, Prime minister imran khan on saturday admitted that the hike in the prices of essential commodities was caused due to the government’s negligence.

Addressing the distribution ceremony for sehat sahulat cards in Punjab governor’s House, Pm imran said imports had become costlier after the rupee fell in value, which he attributed to soaring prices of “ghee and cooking oil”.

He, however, promised that a proper investigation would be carried out in this regard, adding that those who benefited from the hike will be brought in the dock. He said the PTi government will bring in a new system to stave off

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such practices in the future. speaking about the economy, imran said he inherited the trade deficit of rs40 billion. “when we assumed office, our imports were rs60bn while our exports were rs20bn,” said imran. earlier, the prime minister distributed health cards among attendees after which he began his speech amid roaring applause and cheers from party workers present on the occasion.

Addressing Punjab Health minister dr yasmin rashid, who was also among the guests, the premier congratulated her for providing health cards to five million families. “i never said that we will make Pakistan an Asian tiger. i had said that we will make Pakistan a great nation, following in the footsteps of madina. And the most important principle for madina is humanity.

“Humanity means that a great nation takes

responsibility for the people at the lowest level,” he said, adding that the reason for making shaukat khanum cancer memorial Hospital was because he can never forget the face of a man at mayo Hospital who was told he would have to buy yet more medication for his ailing brother.

“He used to work as a labourer during the day and used to spend his nights with his brother who was dying of cancer. That completely changed the course of my life. if i would have never seen the face of that man, then i would have never made the cancer hospital […] and maybe never have entered politics. “it was after that i decided to spend my life working for the people after my cricketing career. Therefore, the first time we [PTi] had a provincial government in khyber Pakhtunkhwa, we initiated this health card system.

“The reason that the province gave us a sec-

NAB raids Sharifs’ business offices in Lahore STORY ON PAGE 02

Bilawal believes 2020 is ‘year of change’ STORY ON PAGE 03

PTI co-founder Naeemul Haque passes away at 70 STORY ON PAGE 02

Pakistan’s FATF review begins today STORY ON PAGE 11

UN chief Guterres arrives today STORY ON BACK PAGE

in today’s issue

BuzdAr meeTs Pm, discusses overAll siTuATion in PunjAB And PAce oF develoPmenT ProjecTs

attention Some readers have complained that they are not getting the magazine with their newspaper copy. Please call or WhatsApp us at the following number to register a complaint.

Contact: 0307-7338168 irfan.farooq@pakistantoday.com.pk

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ond chance and a two-third majority […] one of the biggest reasons for this was the health cards system. This was the first time they were introduced to the concept of a welfare state.” calling out media channels, the premier said: “They go to unsuspecting citizens and ask if there is a hike in the prices of essentials. He replies yes, before they ask where did naya Pakistan go, forcing him to say bad things [about the country].”

“This is being planned. The state of madina was not built on the first day, it was a journey.

For the first three to four years, the state was in great turmoil. muslims had to face great difficulties. But then the tide turned, and it changed history. The distribution of these health cards is just another step in that journey,” he said.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 03

Sunday, 16 February, 2020

02 NEWS

NAB rAids shArifs' BusiNess offices iN LAhore LAHORe

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Staff RepoRt

HE National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Saturday raided businesses of the Sharif family in search of evidence pertaining to cases involving money laundering and benami accounts.

According to details, Judicial Magistrate Amir Raza Baittu granted permission to NAB to search 55-K, Model Town, Lahore, and 91-F, Model Town, Lahore, as well as any other offices of the companies owned by the accused in the case.

The warrant further read that search orders were issued to recover documents from the said addresses which are “vital for logical conclusion of the case”.

NAB sources said that officials confiscated computers and laptops during the raids. Sources added that important documents were re-

covered from the office of the chief financial officer of the Sharif Group of Industries.

They claimed that benami companies allegedly involved in money laundering were being operated from the office at 55-K, Model Town. They said the bureau was looking for record pertaining to Unitas, Waqar Trading and other companies. PML-N spokesperson Mariam Aurangzeb, in a statement, confirmed the raids, saying these took place around 12:30pm on Saturday.

Aurangzeb said the raids were being conducted by the Imran Khan-led government to distract the masses from its political and economic failures.

“They should tell the public what they found during the raids,” she said, questioning why the government was not uncovering those responsible behind the wheat and sugar crises in the country.

PTM chief Manzoor Pashteen gets bail DERA ISMAIL KHAN: A sessions court in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Tank district on Saturday granted bail to Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) chief Manzoor Pashteen in two cases of sedition while he was also granted bail in a similar case by a Dera Ismail Khan court. Pashteen’s bail applications in two other cases — also pertaining to sedition — were approved by the DI Khan court last Saturday. MNA and PTM’s senior leader Mohsin Dawar said that Pashteen will be released from jail once legal formalities are completed. Pashteen was arrested on Jan 27, in Peshawar’s Shaheen Town and sent to the Peshawar Central Jail on a 14-day judicial remand by a magistrate. A day after his arrest, a Peshawar court had rejected the PTM leader’s bail plea and ordered his transfer to DI Khan, where he is currently imprisoned. According to Dawar, police had registered five cases against Pashteen prior to his arrest in Peshawar, adding that the DI Khan court had accepted his bail applications in three cases. The additional district and sessions judge Tank granted the PTM leader bail against two personal sureties and a surety bond worth Rs100,000, PTM lawyer Farhad Afridi said. “We are trying to complete the legal formalities as soon as possible,” he said, adding that if they are unable to complete the legal procedure today then Pashteen will be released on Monday. The lawyer added that the PTM is holding a public gathering tomorrow and if Pashteen is released today, he will “definitely join the jalsa”. Initially, Pashteen was arrested in a case registered against him at DI Khan’s City Police Station under sections 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups), 120-B (punishment of criminal conspiracy), 124 (sedition), and 123-A (condemning the creation of the country and advocating the abolishment of its sovereignty) of the Pakistan Penal Code. Staff RepoRt

NAwAz's MoTher LeAves for LoNdoN To MeeT AiLiNg soN News Desk Shamim Bibi, the mother of former prime minister and supreme leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Nawaz Sharif, on Saturday left for London “to be with her son while he undergoes heart treatment,” PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb tweeted on Saturday. The spokesperson also wrote on Twitter that Shamim Bibi had been advised not to travel because of her advanced age and illness but she expressed her wish to be present during her son’s medical treatment. Nawaz’s mother is more than 90 years old. Nawaz was allowed to travel to London in November of last year for medical treatment. He was accompanied by his personal physician Dr Adnan Khan. In a tweet earlier this month, Khan had said the former premier was suffering from “complex multi-vessel coronary artery disease and substantial ischemic and threatened myocardium” for which he was due to undergo surgery. According to the doctor, the treatment had been delayed twice because Nawaz’s daughter Maryam was not allowed to travel to be with him during the procedure.

PM's comrade Naeemul Haque passes away in Karachi

LAHORe Staff RepoRt

Special Assistant to Prime Minister (PM) on Political Affairs Naeemul Haque, who was also the premier’s old best friend, passed away in Karachi at the age of 70 after a two year long battle with blood cancer.

His funeral prayers will be offered at Ayesha Mosque in DHA, Karachi after Asr prayers on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, it was reported that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) leader’s health had deteriorated and that he had been shifted to Agha Khan Hospital.

PM Imran Khan on Saturday said he was devastated by the PTI’s senior leader’s death, remembering him as one of his oldest friends and the most loyal founding member of the party. He said during 23 years of PTI’s trials and tribulations, Naeem-ul-Haq stood by him and he had always been there for support whenever “we were at our lowest ebb.”

“In the last two years, I saw him battle cancer with courage and optimism. Till the very end, he was involved in party affairs and attended cabinet meetings as long as he was able,” the prime minister recalled.

His passing has left an irreplaceable void, he commented.

Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari tweeted that in Haque’s passing, she has lost “a unique friend”.

“His humour, his political support for me in PTI, his passion for music, his temper — & his fight against cancer till the end — all was so “Naeem”! Can’t imagine PTI without Naeem frankly! So many wonderful memories come flooding,” she said. Opposition leader and Pakistan Muslim League-Noon (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif also tweeted his condolences saying: “Very sad to hear about the passing away of Naeemul Haque. My profound condolences to the bereaved family and the PTI.” A banker and businessman by trade and one of the co-founders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Naeem was instrumental in promoting a positive change in Pakistan as part of the party’s ideology.

Born on July 11, 1949, in Karachi, Naeem completed his M.A. in English Literature from University of Karachi (1970) and then pursued LLB from Sindh Muslim Law College Karachi (1971). He practised law with Khalid Ishaq before joining Jamil

Nishtar’s team at the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP).

As a young banker, he was part of the team that established the NBP branch at UN Plaza in New York City, after which he moved to London in 1980 as a merchant banker for Oriental Credit Limited.

Naeem had thirty-five years’ of cumulative experience in banking, finance, corporate sector and law in Pakistan, London and New York. During his career, he also served as an Advisor/Managing Director of Aero Asia Airlines, Chairman & CEO Metropolitan Steel Corp and Managing Director, Credit & Leasing Corporation.

During his professional stint in London in early 1980s, he became close friends with Imran Khan, who used to play county cricket at that time. Imran would frequently visit Naeem and his wife, Nazli Jamil (“Nazo”). Naeem and Imran Khan became especially close friends when the latter developed a debilitating stress fracture in 1983, and Naeem famously gave his exercise bike for Imran’s recuperation.

Naeem was driven by the purpose to serve Pakistan and believed that positive change could only be brought about in the country through a democratic, political system. In 1984, he joined Air Marshal Asghar Khan’s Tehreek Istiqlal party in London and moved back to Karachi a couple of years later to set up his leasing company business and pursue political aspirations. In the post-Zia ul Haq era, he contested the 1988 elections from Tehreek Istiqlal ticket in Orangi. Even though he lost the election, he continued his interest in politics and kept himself abreast of economic related matters. In 1996, he became one of the five founding members of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) along Imran Khan. As a trusted aide, he helped Imran Khan manage the party affairs and overcome the election setbacks of 1997 and 2001.

After the death of his wife in 2008 from a bout of cancer, Naeem fully devoted his life to PTI, where he became the central information secretary and president of Sindh. He is credited with organising the huge December 25, 2011, public rally in Karachi that helped establish PTI’s popularity as a national party.

In 2012, Naeem moved to Islamabad as Chief of Staff to the PTI Chairman and an integral part of the PTI Core Committee leading into the elections of both 2013 and 2018. He worked extremely hard for organising the party at the grassroots, working across the board with workers and part office bearers. He also intermittently served as the information secretary of the party during this period, playing an important part in the party’s communication strategy.

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Sunday, 16 February, 2020

NEWS

Bilawal Believes 2020 is 'year of change' PPP LEadEr saYs PakIstaNIs HavE GrOwN tIrEd OF PtI GOvt

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neWS deSK

AKISTAN People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Saturday said he believes 2020 is the year of “tabdeeli” (change), as he reaffirmed his party’s faith in politics and democracy.

“The way the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has forcefully thrust this International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal on us, with the way taxes are being raised, the way life is being taken out of our economy, because of that we believe the people of this country cannot tolerate this government for very long.

“I believe the most important thing is that people are on the same page and right now the Pakistani public is very tired [of this government],” he said while talking to a private news channel.

Bilawal said opposition parties and the people of Pakistan had several options, of which the most talked about is “in-house change [and] secondly new elections”.

When asked whether he thought any deal was being made in London after news of several prominent personalities’ visits to the city emerged, the PPP co-chairman said: “I do not know anything, I believe these are conspiratorial talks. Decision makers should only be the people of Pakistan.”

Referring to his party’s decision to launch a protest march next month against the PTI-led government, Bilawal

said his target was “taking the condition of the economy and our party’s stance to the public”.

“Our struggle against this inflation and the IMF budget will acquire a new angle during the march,” he added.

“As soon as I said this, Imran Khan’s NAB sent us a notice, tried to put us under pressure, tried to threaten us but we are not ready to back down,” Bilawal said.

He criticised the PTI-led government’s IMF deal, saying the government was “incapable” of negotiating the deal.

Bilawal said his party had rejected the “PTI-IMF deal for the way it compromised on the rights of the people of Pakistan […] attacked the economic sovereignty of the country”.

He called for the government to leave the deal and renegotiate it afresh and to bring forward a “people-friendly plan according to Pakistan’s economic sovereignty”.

Bilawal denied he had knowledge of any pact made between the government and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman last year.

CPNE president condoles Naeemul Haque’s demise Govt’s negligence LAHORE: Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) President Arif Nizami has expressed his grief over the demise of PM’s Special Assistant on Political Affairs and close friend, Naeemul Haque, who passed away in Karachi at the age of 70 after fighting a twoyear-long battle with blood cancer.

Condoling the death of the founding member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Nizami said that Haque was a great

friend and would be greatly missed. “Very sad to hear about the passing away of Naeemul Haque. May his soul rest in peace.

My profound condolences to the bereaved family and the PTI,” he said in a statement.

The CPNE president said that Naeemul Haque had played a pivotal role in strengthening the PTI and promoting a positive change in Pakistan as part of the party’s ideology. STAFF REPORT

led to price hike, Imran says Continued on page 01

“For the first time, we have removed all duties on importing medical equipment because we want hospitals to be built, we don’t have enough facilities. These health cards will bring a change in our healthcare system; we will give incentives to people for building hospitals, he added. Referring to the controversial MTI reforms, the prime minister said that there was a dire need to sort out the management of healthcare facilities. “The problem is that there is no accountability in government hospitals.

The rich go to private hospitals, while the richer go to London for medical treatment,” he said in an apparent reference to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif who is currently abroad for his medical treatment. “This is not privatisation, this is autonomy. It is meant to improve the management structure of hospitals. With these reforms, government hospitals will be up to par with private sector healthcare facilities.” Calling out his naysayers, the premier said that current Pakistan was the Pakistan that was originally envisioned. “I myself was not aware of the country’s potential until I took office.” This country will be the nation where people will come to find employment, he concluded.

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FO summons Indian envoy after teenage girl injured in LoC firing iSLaMaBad STAFF REPORT

The Foreign Office (FO) on Saturday summoned a senior diplomat from the Indian High Commission to register Pakistan’s strong protest on the ceasefire violations by the Indian border forces along the Line of Control (LoC) in Nezapir and Rakhchikri Sectors on February 14.

According to an FO statement, due to indiscriminate and unprovoked firing by Indian forces, an innocent civilian minor, 13-year-old Abida Jamal, resident of village Fatehpur, sustained serious injuries.

“Pakistan urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire understanding; investigate these and other incidents of ceasefire violations; instruct the Indian forces to re-

spect the ceasefire in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC and the Working Boundary,” the statement said. The statement said that the meeting discussed that India cannot “take attention away from the worsening human rights situation in occupied Kashmir” by raising tensions along the LoC. The statement further said that the Indian forces along the LoC and Working Boundary have continuously been targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-calibre mortars, and automatic weapons, which still continues.

“This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when the Indian forces committed 1,970 ceasefire violations. This year India has committed 287 ceasefire violations to date,” the statement pointed out.

Princess Beatrice of York, former EU leaders visiting Pakistan for ski trip neWS deSK Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday met with Princess Beatrice of York, a member of the British royal family, and other prominent European leaders, including the former prime minister of Spain Jose Maria Aznar and former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi.

The group is visiting Pakistan for a ski trip, according to a post on the premier’s Instagram account. Ali Jehangir Siddiqui who is Pakistan’s ambassador-at-large for investment in an honorary capacity was also present on the occasion.

They group was welcomed to the country by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Sayed Zulfi Bukhari. Princess Beatrice is the daughter of Prince Andrew, the Duke of York. Her visit to Pakistan comes four months after Britain’s Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton, visited the country for a five-day tour. It was the first royal visit from Britain to Pakistan in 13 years after a visit by Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, and his wife Camilla Parker, the Duchess of Cornwall, in 2006.

04 ISLAMABAD

Sunday, 16 February 2020

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PAkistAn, tuRkEy mEDiA COllAbORAtiOn tO stREngtHEn muslim nAtiOn: FiRDOus ISLAMABAD

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APP

pecial Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan Sarturday said the Cooperation between Pakistan and Turkey's state media is a positive development.

In a tweet, the SAPM said it was propitious to have Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs)

signed with Pakistan Television, Pakistan Broadcasting Association and TRT and other departments.

Dr Firdous said, “This initiative will promote cultural relationships between Turkey and Pakistan, encourage understanding of each other's traditions and further strengthen public relations.”

She added that under these MoUs, TV dramas from Pakistan and Turkey would be screened in each other's countries.

“This bilateral cooperation will

not only facilitate exchange of programmes between the two countries, but will also strengthen the narrative to highlight cause of Muslim Ummah.”

The SAPM said the agreement on cooperation between the two countries in the field of cinema would help restore and promote Pakistani film industry.

She went on to mention that promotion and development of tourism sector was the top priority of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Michael Jackson's nephew impressed by Pakistani youth ISLAMABAD BilAl SABRi

Jaafar Jackson, a rising singer, songwriter and entertainer born in Los Angeles, California, says he is happy to see Pakistans brilliant and talented youth.

Jaafar Jackson, is the second youngest son to legendary singer, songwriter and producer Jermaine Jackson, and nephew to the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. He is currently visiting Pakistan on a week-long tour. Jaafar Saturday visited federal capitals top universities including NUST and COMSATS, and had an interaction with the students.

He addressed the students and spoke about Pakistan. “This is definitely a great trip. I had wanted to visit this part of the world for a long time. It’s only my second day here and I have enjoyed every second of Islamabad … I look forward to visiting Karachi and Lahore," he said.

Jaafar, who has a striking resemblance with the late King of Pop, said he has loved being in Pakistan every moment. “I found Pakistan completely different from the negative perception about the country portrayed in western media. I have found

everyone in the country to be warm, welcoming and loving. Everyone is full of hope and warmth,” he said.

“I am amazed at how Pakistanis respect their guests,” he said, adding that he is captivated by the beauty of Pakistan and its people.

Jaafar Jackson's father, Jermaine Jackson, is said to have converted to Islam after visiting Bahrain in 1989.

During his stay in Pakistan, Jaafar Jackson is also scheduled to visit Lahore where he will be visiting LUMS, University of Engineering and Technology and the National College of Arts, besides going to some historical places like Badshahi Mosque and Lahore Fort. He is also scheduled to have a meeting with Punjab Governor Ch Sarwar at the Governor’s House.

In Karachi, he will be visiting University of Karachi, NED University of Engineering and Technology and Indus Valley School of Arts and have an interaction with the students.

A visit to Lyari and Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum is also part of his schedule, besides a meeting with Sindh Governor Imran Ismail and a press conference at the conclusion of his trip.

“The MoU for increasing cooperation in the tourism sector will be helpful in benefitting from the experiences of Turkey in this sector and would also be a precursor to the development of tourism in Pakistan.”

Dr Firdous mentioned that exhibitions and calligraphy workshops would be organized in the fields of culture and heritage in both the countries. She said, joint initiatives to promote and preserve Islamic architecture and heritage were also under consideration.

FAO, Ehsaas explore options to drive forward progressive agriculture and nutrition agenda ISLAMABAD APP

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Sania Nishtar in a meeting with a delegation of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) led by Director-General FAO, Qu Dongyu explored collaborations for Ehsaas, the Prime Minister’s flagship poverty alleviation programme.

This was Dongyu’s first official visit to any country in Asia. The meeting discussed avenues of cooperation to drive forward the progressive agriculture and nutrition agenda and working closely to deliver to the small farmers and disadvantaged people in rural areas of Pakistan. Poverty in Pakistan is closely linked to agriculture as our country is being faced with several agricultural issues predominantly small landholdings, subsistence farming and exploitation by extractive middlemen and monopolies which are major contributors to poverty.

Hence, Ehsaas has been designed to promote equalities, which amongst other things stands on Jobs and

Several places in KP being promoted for tourism: CM ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has said that several places in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are being promoted for tourism.Addressing a ceremony in Haripur on Saturday, he said the tourism sector will flourish under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minster Imran Khan. Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Power Division Omar Ayub Khan said the government has normalized the country's situation.

6 killed in accident ATTOCK APP

Six persons, including a dental surgeon, on Saturday were killed while 14 others received serious injuries when a speeding passenger van collided with a truck. The Rescue 1122 shifted the injured and dead bodies to a nearby hospital. As per details a speeding van coming from Rawalpindi collided with a truck near Qutbal toll plaza in the jurisdiction of Fateh Jang police station.

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Livelihoods of which agriculture is a core element.

In her opening statement, Dr. Nishtar stated, ‘This is an opportune time that FAO has come to the table with Ehsaas. The government realizes that in our agriculture-based economy, tackling agriculture is fundamental to poverty reduction since the sector employs 43.5% of labour force and contributes to around 21% of our GDP.’ Adding further, she said, ‘With the convening of ‘Ehsaas Development Partners’ Forum’, ‘Ehsaas Rural Value Chain Building Committee’ and ‘Pakistan National Nutrition Coordination Council’, Ehsaas is fully determined to change the landscape of poverty in the country through a multisectoral approach by capitalizing on FAO’s technical expertise and strategic advice in a well-coordinated manner across agriculture, food and nutrition.’

Acknowledging the multisectoral construct of Ehsaas, Dongyu said, ‘FAO looks forward to partner with the Ehsaas particularly in endeavours around food security.

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RDA declares Al-Haram City’s extension illegal RAWALPINDI: Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has declared a housing scheme on Chakri road namely Al-Haram City’s extension illegal. According to a spokesman, Director Metropolitan Planning and Traffic Engineering (MP&TE), RDA said that Al-Haram City’s extension including its part Danial Town at Chakri Road Rawalpindi has not been approved by RDA. A legal action was being initiated against Al-Haram City’s extension under section Punjab Private Housing schemes and Land Subdivision Rules and directed to stop its illegal advertisements, he said. He informed that Al-Haram City Phase-I Mouza Kolian Par Chakri Road Rawalpindi containing 702 Kana. APP

Saturday, 16 February, 2020

NEWS

Malaysia fully backs Kashmir cause, says AJK president

Civil Service reforms set to do away with tedious, obsolete structure ISLAMABAD APP

MUZAffArABAD

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APP

zAD Jammu and Kashmir President Sardar Masood Khan on Saturday thanked Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Muhammad for his principled and courageous stand on Indian-Occupied Kashmir (IOK) and his call for the implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions to give Kashmiris their democratic right to determine their own political future.

The AJK president also thanked the Malaysian Parliament for establishing a ‘Friends of Kashmir Group’.

“We hope that this would lead to the establishment of a Caucus on Kashmir in the Malaysian Parliament,” he said.

The president conveyed these messages to the top leadership of Malaysia during his meetings with Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah binti Wan Ismail, Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah,

Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad and State Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment Datuk Mohd Rafiq.

President Masood Khan said that the people of the besieged valley want the realisation of their right to self-determination recognised and pledged to them by the UN Security Council.

“They do not want a confrontation or war or endless strife,” he said. He told his interlocutors that Kashmiris had been subjected to inhumane violence for the past 72 years, including kidnapping massacring, blinding and raping.

Since August 5, 2019, the entire territory of IOK has been under a relentless occupation lockdown and communication blockade.

“The people and the land are both under punitive, imperialistic siege”, he said, adding that in this dark hour of Kashmir’s history, the leadership and people of Malaysia have stood by Kashmiris and had demanded an end to occupation of the territory and re-

05

pression. “I salute Malaysia for not yielding to immense Indian pressure to retract its position on Kashmir. The Malaysian example clearly shows that nations have to bear costs for upholding norms of justice and protection of human rights of people living under foreign occupation and alien domination,” he added. The president also sought the guidance of the Malaysian leadership for resolving the Kashmir dispute through peaceful and diplomatic means while keeping the UNSC resolutions intact as the starting point of any negotiations on the issue.

Masood Khan further underscored that the people of Pakistan and IOK were keen to learn from the experience of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which had invested time, energy and political will in confidence-building measures and conflict resolution mechanisms to amicably resolve the association’s internal problems and its issues with neighbouring countries.

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government has covered another milestone by reforming the decades old structure of the Civil Service with the objectives to transform it into a merit based, depoliticized cadre of professionals.

The PTI, during its elections campaigns, had pledged bring about wide ranging reforms in the system. It had promised to introduce a system of internal accountability to encourage the competent officials and weed out inefficient people.

The Civil service in Pakistan had seen many reforms and the efforts by this incumbent government would be another step to transform the service, ensuring that the best officers reach the top slots who were dedicated to service.

A notification in this regard might be issued next week, an official source in the Establishment Division told APP on Saturday.

According to the documents, the source disclosed that for the first time, the reforms were being made in the promo-

tion rules of the Civil Servants Promotion (BS-18 to BS-21) Rules, 2020, because, earlier, no promotion rules were framed in this regard and there existed few policy memorandums in the scattered forms.

Now, such rules will deal with the promotion of civil servants in a comprehensive manner as the bar of ‘Promotion Threshold’ had been raised.

Other conditions for promotion included for the first time, submission of declaration of assets made mandatory, ensuring promotions to be objective, transparent & merit based, collective judgment of the promotion board has become more relevant (more marks for the board; from 15% to 30%).

Besides, the Civil Service (Retirement from Service) Rules, 2020, to review the performance of civil servants had also been finalized which entailed mandatory performance review of all civil servants after twenty years of service.

In addition, regular reviews will be done even after 20 years of service. The government will have the option to retire civil servants after 20 year service after following the prescribed procedure.

Pakistan’s 40 At least 16 wedding Golden Years of guests killed in Jhal Hosting Afghan Magsi road accident Refugees JHAL MAGSI: At least 13 persons, including women and ShehryAr KhAn AfrIDI The world today is at crossroads of its history as humanity faces gigantic challenges.

The biggest challenge for the world is unresolved conflicts and human displacement due to these wars.

According to Dina Nayeri, it is the obligation of every person born in a safer room to open the door when someone in danger knocks. But unfortunately, lack of empathy, consideration and generosity towards immigrants and refugees is on the rise.

Even a boat of immigrants can change political dynamics of developed nations. No one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land.

In this backdrop, Pakistan stands tall and decorous being among a few nations in the world as we have provided generous shelters and homes to over four million Afghan refugees for forty long years.

And the world has come to our help too. But much more needs to be done.

There are states that remain indifferent to the refugee crisis too. Unfortunately, the developed world needs to be sensitized on refugee crisis.

Elections in the developed world are fought on vows of anti-immigrants laws and fences are being erected to isolate immigrants. Hence, in this age of technology and development, refugees and immigrants are dying due to hunger, epidemic and dislocation. And there are a few who care.

While the developed nations have GDPs of trillions of dollars, it is a pity that 85 percent of the refugees are being hosted by developing nations.

The developed world needs to come forward and share the burden in compliance of the UN conventions on refugees.

While the world has been witnessing anti-immigrant laws, public taunts, slurs and attacks against immigrants, not a single incident of hate crime against immigrants has ever been registered in Pakistan over the past 40 years of hosting Afghan refugees.

children, were killed while 30 others injured when a bus carrying wedding guests overturned in Jhal Magsi district on Friday night. According to police, the ill-fated bus was on its way to Shikarpur from Khuzdar. The bus overturned when it reached Bareecha area, killing 16 persons. According to Levies’ sources,’ the injured have been shifted to Civil Hospital Jhal Magsi for treatment. On January 24, at least three people died and 10 others sustained injuries in a road accident in Hub. According to rescue sources, the incident occurred due to head-on collision among passenger bus and a truck near Gaddani morr in Hub, resulting in the killing of three people. INP

Sunday, 16 February, 2020

06 WORLD VIEW

Will rising Us-iran tensions spark afghan proxy War? for 40 yeArs, irAn hAs built ties with An ArrAy of AfghAn forces thAt could be Mobilized to AttAck AMericAn interests United states institUte of Peace BElquIs AHMAdI, BARMAk PAzHwAk And MICHAEl V PHElAn

r

ISInG tensions between the United States and Iran—illustrated and exacerbated by the January 3 assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani—are rippling out beyond the Middle East. now, American officials are voicing growing concern about Iranian activities in Afghanistan. In recent weeks, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Iran is supporting militant groups in the country and seeking to undermine the peace process between the U.S. and the Taliban. A top U.S. general for the region, meanwhile, warned that Iranian actions in Afghanistan pose a risk to the approximately 14,000 American troops deployed there.

They are right to be worried. While Iran’s strategy of standing up proxy forces in the Middle East is well understood, the Shiite power also has a long, lesser-known history of engagement in Afghanistan.

Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran has involved itself with a shifting array of forces operating in its neighbor to the east. It has mobilized Shiite fighters at some junctures, allied with Sunni Taliban insurgents at others, and currently maintains ties with both. Through payoffs, pressure and trade, it has influence over the U.S.-backed government in Kabul. While the rationale for such influence is clear, how it will be used, especially in the wake of the Soleimani killing, is less evident. In this fluid and volatile environment, Tehran has many levers available to achieve its preferred outcome, ranging from sabotage of a peace process aimed at facilitating U.S. withdrawal to orchestrating terrorist attacks on Americans and their interests virtually throughout the country.

But while Iran's capacity to make trouble is worrisome, its overarching strategy most likely pulls in the other direction. Despite a declared passion to avenge the drone strike that killed Soleimani, Iran's primary and patient goal for its neighborhood is to eject American influence as quickly and cheaply as possible.

On this objective, Washington and Tehran appear to be in some agreement.

Consequently, the most likely course for Iran and the foreign expeditionary Quds Force that Soleimani led, are to qui-

etly build strength inside Afghanistan for the future and, for now, to hold steady in relation to the Taliban, the government and the peace talks.

If, however, the peace process slows or U.S. threats against Iran escalate, Tehran has laid the groundwork to strike U.S. interests across its 500-mile border with Afghanistan and significantly raise the cost of American deployment in the country.

A WEB OF TIES: Over the past four decades, Iran has provided financial and military support to Afghan mujahedeen factions resisting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan; deployed Afghans to fight in its war with Iraq in the 1980s; mobilized Shiite Afghan fighters for foreign ventures; and supported Taliban insurgents with funds, training and weapons. Since 2001, it has exerted both positive and negative influence on Afghanistan’s politics, economy, and security, and shaped public narrative in favor of Iran through trade, bribery and political pressures.

Much of this effort was conducted by the Quds Force, an elite unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) established in the 1980s early in the IranIraq war and considered a terrorist group by the United States. Its objective was— and remains—to extend Iranian influence throughout surrounding countries. The unit has recruited and provided military training for thousands of young Shia men from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and the Palestinian territories, mobilizing them as proxies to advance and protect Iranian interests and promote the Islamic Republic.

For example, in Syria the Quds Force formed the Fatemiyoun brigade to support the regime in the country’s civil war—one of several foreign-fighter militias it established. The majority of Fatemiyoun’s men were “recruited” in Iran from among Afghan refugees and migrants whose economic and legal status made them vulnerable to coercion. (Anecdotal evidence suggests some were also enlisted inside Afghanistan.) In 2018, Hazara and other Shiite comprised the majority of the estimated 50,000 Afghan members of the Fatemiyoun force.

Iran hosts about a million registered Afghan refugees and about 2 million undocumented ones, plus half a million Afghan passport holders with Iranian work permits. About a half million Afghans are estimated to have returned from Iran in 2019.

QUDS FORCE REACH: The same day that the U.S. strike killed Soleimani, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, named General Esmail Ghaani the new commander of the Quds Force. Ghaani, who had served as Soleimani’s deputy, is believed to have handled much of the unit’s day-to-day operations and was largely responsible for overseeing regional operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Like his predecessor, Ghaani has significant ties to Afghanistan. Last month, Bamiyan Governor Tahir Zaheer claimed that Ghaani, along with eight other Iranians, visited the province in July 2018. According to Zaheer, Ghaani posed as the “deputy ambassador of Iran to Kabul” using the alias “Ismaili” as a last name. Zaheer claims that Ghaani was in Bamiyan to oversee construction of an Iranian-funded hospital. Bamiyan province in Central Afghanistan is the area of origin for most of the Fatemiyoun Afghan militia’s members. Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has no record of Ghaani working at the Iranian mission in Kabul and is currently investigating the visit.

MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE: Between 1996-2001, Iran viewed the Taliban regime as a security threat and supported the deposed government of President Burhanuddin Rabbani. Tehran provided the anti-Taliban northern Alliance with a network of proxies in northern and central Afghanistan, as well as financial and military aid that included weapons and advisers.

Iran’s relationship with the Taliban regime hit a nadir in August 1998, when the Taliban conquered the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, raided the Iranian consulate and murdered eight Iranian diplomats and one Iranian reporter. In response, Iran sent troops to the Afghan border amid escalating talk of war. Political and trade concessions by the Taliban eventually eased the tension, and Iranian troops backed off.

At the same time, however, Quds Force officers were dispatched to Afghanistan to train and organize antiTaliban proxies, overseen by Soleimani

and Ghaani.

Following the U.S.-backed ouster of the Taliban, Iran initially played a constructive role by supporting the 2001 Bonn Talks that established the transitional government and provided financial assistance to the new regime. That cooperation soured with President George Bush’s “Axis of Evil” speech in early 2002 and the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, and was replaced by U.S.-Iranian competition for sway over the new elite in Kabul. Iran slipped unaccounted sums of cash to thenPresident Hamid Karzai, his ministers and other officials as well as parliamentarians to counter American influence.

By 2009, evidence emerged that despite Iran’s decision to eschew any overt or dramatic steps in Afghanistan, it was hedging its options more expansively with military support to Taliban groups in the southwestern part of the country.

Pompeo highlighted those ties on January 7 when he accused Iran of bolstering militant groups in Afghanistan, including the Taliban.

“The Taliban’s entanglement in Iran’s dirty work will only harm the Afghanistan peace process,” he said. Indeed, Tehran was “actively working” to undermine it, he said. About a week later, Afghan police reported the discovery of eight Iranian-made rockets armed and aimed at Kandahar airport. The proxies and networks that Soleimani and Ghaani created over decades could now be exploited by Iran as discrete strategic or tactical weapons.

THE AFGHAN PEACE PROCESS: Taliban field commanders, particularly those in southwestern Afghanistan and who worked with Iran in the past, are more susceptible to pressure to target U.S. bases and interests, should Tehran turn in that direction. Other proxies include the Fatemiyoun brigade and former jihadi commanders.

Iranian military doctrine generally favors employing proxies in asymmetric warfare over any conventional confrontation. Using proxies such as breakaway groups of the Taliban or Fatemiyoun militias would avoid the risk of direct conflict with the United States—something the regime has carefully steered clear of.

For now, these remain hedges against an uncertain future. To be sure, Iran might decide to put some heat on the Americans to hasten their withdrawal from Afghanistan or orchestrate limited strikes to avenge Soleimani; on January 9, the commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, said Iran’s missile attack on an Iraqi base housing American troops was just the start of a revenge operation across the region. Significantly, as Hajizadeh spoke he was flanked by flags of Iranian regional proxies, including the Fatemiyoun.

But the Taliban political office in Doha has been notably cautious regarding the Soleimani affair, its spokesperson drawing a line between the assassination of the Quds Force chief and the fragile peace process that it supports.

The Taliban’s first order of business is getting U.S. troops out of Afghanistan, a strategic objective it shares with Iran and, for that matter—depending on the conditions—with the United States. For Tehran, a voluntary drawdown through a peace deal with the Taliban is almost certainly the fastest and lowest-cost path toward attaining its goal.

Yet American security officials are right to be concerned about the levers for violence and disruption at the disposal of the Quds Force and the Iranian regime. For now, Iran appears content—with the exception of some warning shots—to keep its proverbial powder dry in Afghanistan.

Should the peace process bog down, or the U.S. ramp up threats or attacks against Iran or its leaders, the kind of proxy war already endured by Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen could also embroil South Asia.

Barmak Pazhwak oversees USIP Afghanistan grants program and previously worked with the U.N. Development Program. Michael joined USIP after working for 16 years in Congress and nearly 15 years on active duty in the U.S. Navy.

Belquis Ahmadi has over 20 years of experience working in Afghanistan on issues related to gender, human rights, civil society development, rule of law, governance and democracy.

America has given up trying to define success in Afghanistan ‘Most of the [indicAtors] of MeAsuring success Are now clAssified, or we don't collect it,’ the speciAl inspector generAl for the AfghAnistAn reconstruction told A senAte coMMittee

Reason ERIC BOEHM

The United States has spent more than $64 billion rebuilding Afghanistan's military and police forces since 2001—but there is literally no way for American taxpayers to know whether their investment has been worth it.

"Most of the [indicators] of measuring success are now classified, or we don't collect it. So I can't tell you, publicly, how well a job we're doing on training," John Sopko, the special inspector general for the Afghanistan reconstruction effort told members of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee on Tuesday.

America has been propping up Afghani security forces since soon after the 2001 invasion of the country.

The idea has been to eventually leave behind a military and police apparatus that can fight the Taliban and other terrorist groups without American support—and, ultimately, to prevent Afghanistan from sliding back into a state of lawlessness that could make it a breeding

ground for terrorism once again.

Having goals is one thing. But 19 years after America's longest war began, there is little indication that the U.S. is any closer to achieving them. And now, as Sopko told the committee on Tuesday, it seems like U.S. military and political leaders don't even have a way to accurately determine if those goals are being met. Even the most basic data points are being obscured, according to Sopko.

"How many Afghan soldiers do we have? We're still trying to figure out how many we are paying for.

How many Afghan police are there, really? We don't know," Sopko said Tuesday. "This isn't rocket science, but apparently it's all secret, classified, and I can't tell you what the results are."

That the United States has sought to suppress negative information about the seemingly endless war in Afghanistan is not news to anyone familiar with The Washington Post's bombshell "Afghanistan Papers" report. Published in December, the Post's report included more than 2,000 pages of interviews conducted by Sopko's office with "people who played a direct role in the war, from generals and diplomats to aid workers and Afghan officials." Those internal documents paint a picture of a nation-building effort that has lacked definable goals, wasted billions of dollars and thousands of lives, and done little to improve the internal security of Afghanistan—all while American officials have deliberately misled Congress and the public about the ex-

tent of the quagmire. Tuesday's hearing was called in response to the Post's report.

"It portrays a U.S. war effort severely impaired by mission creep and suffering from a complete absence of clear and achievable objectives," Sen. Rand Paul (R–Ky.), who called Tuesday's hearing, said of the Post's report. "What the Afghan Papers makes crystal clear is that doing nothing is no longer an option for any senator or member of Congress with a conscience."

While there are no shortage of ideas for how to improve America's reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan, Paul said Tuesday that members of Congress should view the entire project more skeptically after the Post's reporting. "The bigger question is whether or not we should be in the business of trying to create nations," he said.

While the Post's report was indeed shocking, it largely confirmed what the special inspector general's office has been reporting for years. It has published more than 600 audits since 2008 and has repeatedly sounded the alarm about the United States' misleading account of the nation-building effort.

In 2014, for example, the United States Agency for International Development published a report claiming that 3 million Afghan girls and 5 million Afghan boys were attending school—up from a total of 900,000 during the period of time when the Taliban ruled the country. The inspector general's office found that the U.S.

was simply repeating the Afghan government's claims about school enrollment and had not sought to verify the totals—totals that even the Afghan Ministry of Education had called into question.

Another audit looked at more than $1 billion the United States had spent supporting "rule of law programs" in Afghanistan. Shockingly, auditors found that progress wasn't just slow—it was going backward. In 2009, America's overall rule-of-law strategy in Afghanistan contained 27 performance metrics. By 2013 those metrics had been abolished, making it impossible to determine whether the programs were succeeding or not.

That audit is part of a disturbing trend. When there hasn't been progress to show, America's Afghanistan strategy has been to prevent showing the lack of progress. On Tuesday, Sopko told the committee that both the American and Afghan governments have been increasingly classifying information that auditors need to review to determine if progress is being made.

One of his office's most recent reports looked at the declining number of independent missions that the Afghan special forces have been conducting. Sopko told the committee to keep an eye on that metric.

"I'm not a betting man, but I will bet you that next quarter that database will be classified," Sopko told the committee. "Every time we find something that looks like it's going negative, it gets classified or it's [ruled] no longer relevant."

Sen. Josh Hawley (R–Mo.) interrupted to ask a vital question: "How is the public, or this Congress— which is supposed to be performing oversight—how are we going to measure any progress if we don't have any access to data or metrics?" Sopko sighed. "That's the point we've been trying to make over the past five or six years."

Sunday, 16 February, 2020

FOREIGN NEWS 07

IndIAn court questIons InterrogAtIon oF cHIldren In AntI-government plAy NEW DELHI

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AGENCIES

N Indian court on Friday ordered a state government to explain why police interrogated children who performed a play critical of a new law, a lawyer said, in a case that has raised questions about freedom of speech.

The Indian parliament in December passed a law, championed by prime minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Hindunationalist party, aimed at facilitating citizenship for migrant members of non-Muslim religions from India’s Muslim-majority neighbours.

Critics say the law violates India’s secular constitution and discriminates

against Muslims. At least 25 people have been killed in protests against it.

Students at a school in the southern state of Karnataka performed a satirical play on January 21 in which references were made to “dictators” and dialogue

suggested hitting Modi with a shoe, which is seen as particularly insulting.

Police, lawyers and school officials said that following a complaint from a member of the public, the headmistress of the school, Farida Begum, and the

US, Europe clash over Washington's global retreat

WASHINGTON AGENCIES

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday traded barbs with European leaders over diminishing Western influence, rejecting as “grossly over-exaggerated” their claims that Washington had retreated from the global stage.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Pompeo sought to assuage European anxiety over the transatlantic bond under an unpredictable President Donald Trump.

“The West is winning and we’re winning together,” Pompeo said.

But he was immediately contradicted by French President Emmanuel Macron, who warned of “a weakening of the West”.

The annual gathering of world leaders, generals and diplomats to discuss security challenges has been dominated by fears over the West’s diminishing role in the face of a more assertive China and Russia.

In his opening speech a day earlier, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier suggested that the United States rejected “even the idea of an international community” and was acting “at the expense of neighbours and partners”. “Those statements don’t reflect reality,” Pompeo retorted.

“I’m happy to report that the death of the

transatlantic alliance is grossly over-exaggerated,” he added, paraphrasing a famous Mark Twain quote.

He said Washington was playing a key role in keeping Europe safe by reinforcing NATO’s eastern flank on the border with Russia, as well as leading a multinational effort to defeat the Islamic State jihadist group.

“Is this an America that ‘rejects the international community’?” he asked.

“The free West has a brighter future than illiberal alternatives,” Pompeo added, urging allies to have “confidence” in the transatlantic bond.

He stressed the need to work together against threats posed by Russia’s territorial ambitions, China’s military build-up in the South China Sea and Iran’s “campaigns of terror” through proxy conflicts in the Middle East. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, who also took to the stage in Munich, joined Pompeo in voicing dismay at the gathering’s pessimistic tone.

“There is a competition out there in so many areas, with so many different actors, but simply lamenting that we have lost our way will not provide us with a way forward,” Stoltenberg told the audience. “Europe and North America are indispensable partners.” But France’s Macron echoed the German concerns. The US was undergoing “a rethink of its relationship with Europe”, Macron said, strengthening his belief that the continent had to take charge of its own destiny.

“We need a European strategy that renews us and turn us into a strategic political power,” he added.

The divisions were underlined in the growing spat over Chinese tech giant Huawei, another dominant theme in Munich.

Washington has pushed hard for countries to bar Huawei from building their next generation 5G mobile networks, claiming its equipment can be used to spy for Beijing.

Attackers kill 31 in Mali village, after massacre last year at same site BAMAKO AGENCIES

At least 31 people were killed on Friday in an attack on a village that was the scene last year of Mali’s worst civilian massacre in recent memory, the government said.

A government statement late on Friday did not say who carried out the early morning attack on Ogossagou, a village of Fulani herders in central Mali. “They came and shot everything that moved,” said Hamadou Dicko from Fulani association Tabital Pulaaku. In the attack on Ogossagou in March, suspected militiamen from a rival group killed more than 150 civilians, part of spiraling ethnic and jihadi violence in West Africa’s vast Sahel region.

Moulaye Guindo, mayor of the nearby town of Bankass, and another local official, who declined to be named, said the latest attack came less than 24 hours after Malian

troops who had been stationed near Ogossagou left their base. An army spokesman said soldiers had been deployed to respond to the attack but did not give details.

Central Malian residents have criticized the army for failing to protect them against violence that has displaced 200,000 people and left many communities with no local government or means of defense. They have turned to self-defense militias for protection against jihadists and rival ethnic groups though the defense groups have also used their weapons to settle scores. Malian officials have said they suspect Dan Na Ambassagou, an anti-jihadi, ethnic Dogon group of carrying out last year’s massacre in Ogossagou. The group denies responsibility. French forces intervened in 2013 to drive back al Qaeda-linked jihadists who had seized northern Mali the previous year, but the militants have regrouped, stoking ethnic rivalries in central Mali and elsewhere to boost recruitment and destabilize the region.

mother of one of the children who took part in the play were arrested on Jan 30.

Police later questioned children as young as nine, some of them as many as five times, said Thouseef Madikeri, chief executive of a foundation that runs the Shaheen English Primary and High School, and Narayan Ganesh, a lawyer for the two accused women.

Karnataka’s top court on Friday gave the state government, ruled by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), until next Wednesday to respond to a rights group’s allegations that police illegally questioned the children, said Nayana Jhawar, a lawyer for the group.

A senior police official, Basweshwar H., said the incident was being investigated. He declined to comment further.

Fifteen children killed in Haiti orphanage fire PORT-AU-PRINCE: Fifteen children were killed when a fire swept through an unlicensed orphanage outside Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, a judge told AFP on Friday, highlighting the severe shortcomings of the island nation’s child welfare institutions. Two children died in the blaze and 13 others died at a hospital as a result of smoke inhalation, said magistrate Raymonde Jean Antoine. The building — which had not been authorized to operate as an orphanage since 2013 — housed about 66 children, she said. The fire in Kenscoff — a town of 50,000 south of the capital — began shortly after 9:00 pm Thursday (0200 GMT Friday), Antoine added. According to one of the children, the fire was ignited by candles that the young occupants had lit in their rooms because the electricity was out, she told AFP. An investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of the fire and identify the people responsible for the orphanage. AGENCIES

Sunday, 16 February, 2020

08 COMMENT From corruption charges to treason allegations If you can’t kill him with the bullet, strike him with the butt

T

HE Prime Minister first ordered an enquiry against PML(N) leader khawaja asif for posing a risk to national security. failing to gather any evidence, the fia chief was reportedly asked to slap treason charges on him. avowedly when he failed to comply with the instructions, he was given his marching orders. Now Prime Minister imran khan wants JUi(f) chief Maulana fazlur rehman to be tried for treason because, like kh asif, he too cannot be thrown into the slammer on any other charge.

The reason given by the PM to justify the allegation is that the JUi(f) chief had staged a sit-in with the purpose to topple the PTi government and had claimed he had been given a signal to go ahead. But this is precisely what Mr khan had himself done when he invoked the umpire’s finger during a much longer sit-in and employed mob violence to seek the resignation of an elected PM chosen in the 2013 polls which were declared 'fair and in accordance with law' by the Judicial Commission, appointed on his demand. it is an irony that the PTi government defends former military ruler Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf who has been sentenced on a treason charge, and allows ex-ssP karachi rao anwar and terrorist leader Ehsanullah Ehsan to move freely, but wants political opponents to be tried for a crime punishable with death.

Claiming that he had endured “media attacks” over the last two years and pointing an accusing finger at two media houses in particular, the PM said something that was against the facts. referring to media laws in Britain, he maintained that there if any media house publishes false news or makes a false allegation, it is shut down. in fact, anyone having a complaint of the sort, takes the paper to court for defamation, which if proved leads to heavy damages. This is what Mr khan could also do.

The PM unnecessarily drags the army into dispute by maintaining that its agencies keep a tab on politicians’ corruption and since he is not corrupt he is not afraid of the army. The army’s agencies are supposed to gather information about conspiracies hatched by enemy countries. Punishing the corrupt is the task of accountability bodies rather than army.

Out of the woods?

Or still in FATF’s crosshairs

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akisTaN’s progress in satisfactorily meeting faTf’s (financial action Task force) directives to curb terror financing will be under review in Paris this coming week where its request to be taken off the gray list, on which it was placed over a year ago, will be considered. although it is highly unlikely that the faTf downgrades Pakistan further to the much dreaded black list, there is no chance that it will be given a clean chit and removed from the gray list altogether. Pakistan enjoys the support of China (currently the president of the faTf), Turkey, saudi arabia and Malaysia, without whose votes blacklisting is not possible. But it will take a total of 12 out of 39 votes to move into the white list. Gathering those votes will require some very intricate and nuanced diplomatic maneuvering, the capacity for which has so far been lacking.

But the positive development that may have won Pakistan the crucial support of the Usa at the faTf is the sentencing of Hafiz saeed by an anti-terrorism court this past week, lack of prosecution against whom has remained a particularly thorny bone of contention between the two countries. saeed, who heads the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, has been found guilty of running a terror financing operation under the organization’s various charity wings. Pakistan had for years dragged its feet on taking any definitive action against Hafiz saeed who was even allowed to contest elections in 2018. it took quite a lot of pressure from the faTf, the Usa and even some of Pakistan’s closest allies to realise that ignoring saeed’s activities was no longer going to be tolerated, and would lead the country to an eventual blacklisting.

Pakistan had failed to meet 22 of the 27 recommendations of the faTf at the last review meeting held in October 2019 and was given another four months to comply. in all likelihood, it will be given another deadline to meet the remaining unfulfilled objectives. it is imperative that during this time Pakistan gains the muchneeded support of countries who believe that it is willing to implement significant changes in its internal security policy and financial system to combat terror financing and money laundering. for that it will have to display some tangible advancement towards the goal of getting out of the faTf’s crosshairs; support will naturally follow.

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

I

PAKISTAN IN WONDERLAND How can you ban social media?

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Rabia ahmed

ffairs in Pakistan are losing coherence and taking on an increasing resemblance to scenes from alice in Wonderland where the (Mad) Hatter makes frequent appearances. When alice arrives at the tea party the Hatter is all over the place at the table. He makes short, impertinent remarks, asks unanswerable riddles and recites nonsensical poetry, all of which eventually drives alice away. in one of the chapters the Hatter asks that much-noted riddle "why is a raven like a writing desk?" When alice gives up trying to figure out why, the Hatter admits "i haven't the slightest idea!" which sounds a bit like the economic situation in this country when even those in charge have not the slightest idea how to fix it. in fact who has the slightest idea about many things today, such as how the new rules pertaining to the regulation of the social media will work, or even if they can work, not to mention why they have been put in place to start with?

These rules have been okayed by the federal Cabinet, following which they ‘require no fresh legislation’. This is possible thanks to the Pakistan Telecommunication (re-organisation) act, 1996 and the Prevention of Electronic Crimes act, 2016, which says that: ‘Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, an offence under this act or any other law shall not be denied legal recognition and enforcement for the sole reason of such an offence being committed in relation to or through the use of an information system.”

Under these new regulation rules, social media organisations must open offices in islamabad and must disclose data or information when sought. This is nothing but more of that ever-increasing thing: censorship, because data regarding everyone who criticizes the establishment must now be made available to the relevant authorities who will then take action. it is one of the many things that the powers that be still need to understand that the media genie can no longer be pushed back into the bottle. The electronic media is here to stay, and the more it is meddled with, the more it kicks back.

The solution is to use media to win over the rest-

rules, the national coordinator may issue instructions for blocking of the entire online system, social media application or services owned or less, thinking segments of society, which means managed or run by the company.’ to help this technology to enable rather than hinThese are platforms which are being used der our youth and journalists. radicalism among abundantly not just by the spoilt elite of this the young is growing in today’s world and jour- country and their even more spoilt progeny, but nalists will always find a way to be heard. Push- also by the poor man. Their absence will create ing back by means of social media is taken very a dangerous void. also then, where will our ofpersonally and increases the problem. ficials post their drivel on if not on Twitter in and then again: as per the new regulations in their zeal to mirror whatever idiotic trend is set Pakistan, social media organisations must now elsewhere? Where will they say: ‘take due cognizance of the religious, cultural, eth“i have issued instructions to our foreign Ofnic and national security sensitivities of Pakistan.’ fice and Overseas Ministry to do everything possisay what? The religious, cultural, ethnic and ble for our students who are stuck in Wuhan city.” national security sensitivities of Pakistan are really? and our foreign Office and Overwhat, exactly? at a cursory seas Ministry need to be glance it appears to be told to do their job, why? right in keeping with our Without these ‘instrucreligious sensitivities to tions’ would they be sitpersecute minorities and to on their behinds These are platforms which ting allow the children of mitwiddling their thumbs? norities to be kidnapped, and again: are being used abundantly forcefully converted and “i understand the diffimarried when under age. it not just by the spoilt elite of culties ordinary people inalso appears to be in keepthe salaried classes this country and their even cluding ing with our national secuare confronting and have rity sensitivities to declare decided, come what may, more spoilt progeny, but those who criticize the esgovernment will be analso by the poor man. Their my tablishment to be terrorists. nouncing various measso now what? ures that will be taken to absence will create a What makes the aureduce the prices of basic thorities so sure that they dangerous void. Also then, food items for the common will succeed in pushing where will our officials post manToon Tuesday.” around organisations like which the Mad facebook, Twitter and Hatter had this to say: their drivel on if not on many others. Do they “Everyone wants some Twitter in their zeal to think they can succeed in magical solution for their procuring what is supproblem,” and also that mirror whatever idiotic posed to be private data “sometimes i’ve believed and information from trend is set elsewhere? in six impossible things these organisations who before breakfast.” are subject to their own These new regulations confidentiality agreements possess neither sar na paer with their clients? You (neither head nor feet) have to possess a measure of credibility to force which again fits neatly into Wonderland where giant organisations to buckle under. and if they the Cheshire cat disappears gradually until at do not fall in line with the demands of this Pak- one point, until nothing is left but its grin, istani regulation, what happens next? Does any- prompting alice to remark that "she has often one for a moment imagine that facebook, seen a cat without a grin but never a grin without Whatsapp or Twitter will shut down in Pakistan? a cat".apt Because these new regulations say that ‘if a company fails to abide by the provision of these Rabia Ahmed is a freelance columnist

Dissection of the idea of “Dignity” Not enough thought has gone into the outcry

H

hafiz muhammad azeem

aviNG seen the continuous surge in the shocking, ghastly, and dreadful cases of child abuse in Pakistan, the Members of the National assembly left with no choice except to vote for a bill proposing the public execution of the culprits. The bill passed with a majority vote. However, some parts of society’s intelligentsia expressed their resentment; considering it a violation of the right to dignity.

Does the concept of public execution really violate the right to dignity?

Erin Daly in her book Dignity rights: Courts, Constitution, and the Worth of the Human Person expressly talked about the concept of dignity. Having a long history, the concept of dignity can be divided into two parts: one, being a constitutional value; second, being not a constitutional value or right. “as to constitutional value, human dignity is the value of a person within the society”. Meaning thereby, it varies from constitution to constitution and according to the norms and mores of a society.

To consider each society’s norms and mores as one: arguing that the idea of public execution is against the norms and concepts of the United Nations and its laws, is nothing but an attempt to undermine each society’s dignity. Yet it is a separate debate. But the crux of the above terse three lines is that: dignity varies from society to society and morality. One's morality may often become an offense for the other. Thus, it is an absurdity to consider the whole world’s morality and mores as one. The same goes for dignity. as aharon Barak said in the forwarded portion of the above-mentioned book: “the concept of human dignity will be determined in accordance with the perspectives of the enlightened public in israel, in accordance with the purpose of Basic Law…” as a natural outcome: here the dignity must be interpreted according to our mores and norms.

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“at the centre of human dignity are the sanctity and liberty of life. at its foundation are the autonomy of the individual will, the freedom of choice, and the freedom of man to act as a free creature”, said aharon Barak in another constitutional case in the supreme Court of israel. so, dignity revolves around the concept of freedom; but the freedom is not unbridled and it is and was always limited freedom. Unless one does not interfere in the freedom of the other, it is unlimited; it is limited as soon as one transgresses into the others’ freedom. This is what the great proponent of liberty John stuart Mill taught us.

Under article 14 of the 1973 Constitution, the concept of dignity is preserved as: “the dignity of man… shall be inviolable”. The supreme Court of Pakistan in 1994 in a suo-motu case on the question of public hangings has held that “the dignity of every man is not subject to law but is an unqualified guarantee… inviolable and execution in public, even the worst criminal appears to violate the dignity of man”. But what is the purpose of punishment; if it is really to save the dignity of the transgressor, the one who dreadfully violates the dignity of a child; then what is the value of the dignity of the child? Could he be satisfied, if the sinner is punished with all due respect?

Needless to reiterate here, liberty is not unlimited, and dignity is entangled with liberty; if one violates the liberty and dignity of the other, he should be deprived of the dignity of his own.

Dignity is inviolable: yes, but not when one transgresses and deprives the victim from dignity. it is itself against the dignity to think: let the sinner be left his dignity. as one the purpose of the punishment is retribution: the satisfaction of the victim, not of the society. amongst five paramount purposes of punishment: deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation, retribution, and restitution, the retribution is the one that deals with the victim's satisfaction.

True, that crime is considered against society, but it is the victim who is suffered the most. The rest just can empathize with the victim’s sufferings.

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so, it must be his satisfaction and his retribution.

Moreover, the utilitarian concept of punishment is deterrence: they rationalize it as an exemplary act of the state so that the habitual offenders may deter and refrain from their sins. Jeremy Bentham is the chief proponent of this theory; he argued that sentences should be calculated to be sufficient to deter others from committing the offence.

Therefore, what are we achieving by not publically executing the transgressors: especially the hardened, desperate and dangerous criminals; those who violate the dignity of a child? The prime consideration should be the dignity of the child, why should it be of the offender? Moreover, if one argues that— as it is being argued in newspapers and articles— deterrent and retributive punishments do not serve the purpose: they do not diminish the crime rate; to those, the answering-question is: whether the incarceration serves your purpose: have incarceration— count it even from a century— brought forth the desired results? Have the habitual offenders been treated? Can it be done? How much more time is needed? Thus, the incapacitation, rehabilitation, and restitution theories are not serving the purpose anymore. it is time to look at retribution and deterrence theories.

Last but not least, as per our norms and mores, islam too has had the concept of retribution for punishment. as in retribution, the same injury is caused to the offender as a punishment: what if the injury is caused to the dignity? Then, should it not be caused to the dignity of the offender? for clarification, it is pertinent to describe here that injury is to the body, mind and reputation in criminal law. Can we extract the term ‘dignity’ from the term ‘reputation’? Certainly, we cannot. as the idea is: "Life for life, eye for eye, nose for nose, ear for ear, tooth for tooth, and wounds equal for equal" (Quran5:45); so, here it should be as well: “Dignity for Dignity”.

The writer can be reached at Khokhar.azeem@yahoo.com

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Sunday, 16 February, 2020

COMMENT 09 Editor’s mail Whither humanity ?

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

In the cauldron of reform Echoes of despair mired in grime

L

Raoof hasan

iviNG within the embrace of the indian nation are vast numbers of different regional, social, and economic groups, each with different cultural practices. Throughout the country religious differences can be significant, especially between the Hindu majority and the large Muslim minority, and other indian groups– Buddhists, Christians, Jains, Jews, Parsis, sikhs, and practitioners of tribal religions– all pride themselves on being unlike members of other faiths. The framework of politics in any democratic society is characterised by the general and specific features of the interaction between politics and the social structure. The general feature of politics in all democratic societies is that it intervenes to influence society and that it also reflects the social reality. “a silver-tongued charlatan and a half-wit society are made for each other. When these two come together in an election, a great disaster happens: charlatan comes to power.”

Mehmet Murat ildan i have been a vociferous critic of the kind of people who get elected to our assemblies and the reasons which make that possible. i have also consistently contended that if ever an effort is to be initiated to change things, it will have to begin by improving the stock of people who sit in Parliament.

While that effort is nowhere to be seen yet, the members of Parliament have continued to degenerate with the passage of time. What happened on the floor of the National assembly during this last week, and the kind of language that was used by a member of a mainstream party, cannot be adequately expressed in decent parlance. instead of castigating the person and moving a multi-party resolution to de-seat him forthwith, he was cheered animatedly by a partisan crowd including the ladies. My head is bowed in shame to know that so appallingly low is the substance of people who represent the nation in the federal legislature.

Let’s also concede that they don’t drop in there from the skies. They are sent there by members of a half-wit society who have languished on the sidelines of life, getting sold repeatedly on the crumbs of those who wield power. This is all part of a system that is tailored to perpetuate the corrupt status-quo to the deprivation of an increasing number of the marginalised communities who continue to sink deeper in the pit of ignorance and depravity. all they have heard through the demeaning years of their existence is the promise of a tomorrow that will relieve them of the burden of their woes and they shall bask in the sunshine of success and happiness.

The tragedy is that they still believe it because they have virtually nothing else to latch their hopes on except the facile promises of those whom they continue sending to Parliament to legislate for their relief and deliverance from the perpetuity of pain and hopelessness.

But, instead of attending to the existential challenges that a bulk of the people of the country are faced with and debate a way out, these legislators indulge in vile, vulgar and abusive commentary which is even below the most es-

sential benchmarks of human dignity. But they tary on what the collective forfeiture of morality do so with pride, in utter obsequiousness to their and ethics has reduced the Parliament to.

The worst part is that no one seems to be lords and masters who want them to heap scorn and insults on their political opponents without concerned about this shameful fall. and there is caring one bit whether it would be worthy of a reason for that. Traditionally, the ruling elites their status as elected representatives of the peo- of the country took the institutions of the state for ple. That is not a worry because they know that their personal handmaidens to do as instructed. they shall again woo their electorate either by Examples of this mindset litter the national exshowering them with charm, or demonising them panse in abundance. Just pick up any institution by the dint of power and privilege they exercise. and you’ll find indelible signs of corruption, it is such a woeful and endless cycle of deceit cronyism, nepotism and maladministration inheaped upon a blighted people without pity and scribed across its masthead. The legislature has respite. as George Orwell once said, “a people been no exception and was an integral part of forthat elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves mulating myopic and self-promoting policies of the family oligarchies who and traitors are not victook the country for their tims, but accomplices”. inherited fiefdom in the But, then, this is not past. Now that some feeconfined to just the junior effort is actually going members of the parties.

The solution does not lie ble into reforming these instiEven the language their leaders use is crass and obin turning back the clock tutions so that they could become viable units to do scene. One Bilawal Bhutto and giving way to reliving the job they were set up Zardari is a stalwart of this for, there is increasing retribe. Every time he opens the indulgences of a sistance coming from the his mouth, it is to degrade morbid past. Instead, there very same quarters which the Prime Minister. The manipulated them for their crappy digs that he takes at is a need to further personal advancement. him are unworthy of his This is breeding anger and position as the Chairman expedite the reform exasperation which are so of a political party. it approcess which should be abominably displayed on pears to spring more from the floor of Parliament. brewing frustration and principally focused on The solution does not anger and reveals the perrehabilitating the lie in turning back the son that he really is against clock and giving way to the persona that is built institutions and reliving the indulgences of around him. a morbid past. instead, What is all this for? empowering them to there is a need to further Why is there a continual become credible expedite the reform accentuation of this malprocess which should be ady like it has no end and instruments for promoting principally focused on rewhy do they think that the a clean, transparent, habilitating the institutions rationale of their survival and empowering them to in the legislature depends accountable and become credible instrusolely on outshouting others in abuse? They are not progressive agenda of the ments for promoting a clean, transparent, acsent to Parliament to bestate. The legislature countable and progressive come symbols of obscenagenda of the state. The ity and vulgarity. if these should be right in front legislature should be right be the assets they want to of this effort. in front of this effort. live by, i am sure they can But that cannot hapfind more appropriate pen with the present deplaces to practice their generate lot of people slimy art. sitting there. reforming One understands that they all want Prime Minister khan to go so that the election process, ensuring democracy within they could revert back to the days of their un- the political parties and defining the minimum abated loot and plunder. One also understands that, measure of people eligible to sit in Parliament with the dice of a future heavily loaded against would be the principal features of a major effort their resurgence, there is a state of desperation to have a group of decent and competent people creeping in regarding their survival as corrupt po- debate and define the national charter and destiny. it also cannot happen by just expunging the litical contingents of the country. They have imbibed so much filth that they can’t hide it, and filth from the record sheets. The likes of Qadir confessing to it would mean the end of their polit- Patel should not be allowed within the august ical careers. No two places could be harder than walls of Parliament. His place, and of others of the ones they are stuck between and each day that his ilk, in out somewhere in the stink holes which passes further diminishes their power base and are their exclusive domain. their relevance in the fast-changing paradigm.

The writer is a political and security strateas the level of desperation increases, so do gist, and heads the Regional Peace institute – their abuse and venom. it is like Parliament is being an islamabad-based think tank. email: turned into a large vestibule of their puke. are these raoofhasan@hotmail.com. Twitter: the images they would like to leave behind for the @Raoofhasa younger generations to follow? it is a sad commen-

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

Torture in particular is a unique mode of policing. its purpose is not to serve justice adequate to a particular crime. instead, it aims to annul citizenship out of the victims body through the use of excessive pain. Tortured bodies are the stamps carrying dirty secrets of the state to remind the public that beyond all rhetoric of rights and responsibilities, there remains the sovereign's primordial right to kill. it melts away any remnants of dignity in people's live and elevates the anxiety of death as the supreme emotion in society.

What is worse is that the state now has mechanism to deal with the periodic rage that spills out. in moments of public outpouring of anger, even ministers will join the chorus to condemn a particular act. The aim is always to ensure that the rage is contained within the parameters defined by the state. But the moment a campaign develops to challenge the underlying logic of systemic violence, the state will allege treason and use the same police to fix those who cross the line.

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

Walter Benjamin taught us that despite all obfuscations by government officials, rage continues to store in the collective unconscious of the masses. There are then moments in which this accumulated rage bursts into the open to impose divine justice.

The suffering of victims has been repressed but has not disappeared. Their limits are being tested. Despite the long night of tyranny, we may not be too far from a sudden eruption of anger that will paralyze the violent apparatuses. When enough of us will muster the courage to declare that the Emperor is naked, we will begin to dismantle the police state that has turned our entire society into a death zone. Just heard of another case of police violence. This time in Peshawar. an alleged thief died in police custody. There was foam coming out of his mouth. in fact, virulent victims of people in Pakistan has become routine of times. Government is sleeping. Every passing day, comes with heartwarming dilemma. Government should leave deep slumber and provide justice to people who are dying by powerful.

NAveed AbbAs MAiTlo islamabad

Misbah— Waqar duo

after revamping, reinventing and restructuring Pakistan’s rotten Domestic system with ambitious one, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has also announced the name of Misbah-ul Haq for the earlier vacant posts of the Chief selector and Head coach. in addition, Waqar Younis has also been finalized as the bowling coach, replacing f azhar Mehmood. so far, the reaction of the Cricket fraternity to the decision has been mixed. some welcome the decision in the context that Misbah-ul- Haq has remained one of the most successful Test Captains of Pakistan Cricket Team. it was his tenure, when Pakistan stood 1sT in iCC Test ranking. apart from this, Misbah-ul- Haq sensibly understands Pakistan’s domestic as well as Pakistan’s international cricket very well. With this, it is bore in the mind that Misbah has also the qualities of leadership with great determination. Observing all these traits, Misbah remained the final choice of the five- member panel committee, throwing weight behind Misbah for the all important slots of Chief selector and Head Coach.

However, people also criticize the choice of the PCB as Misbah has no experience of the coaching and Waqar, who earlier remained the Head Coach of the tram, has been one of the most controversial coaches of Pakistan, has also been recalled as bowling coach without considering his previous record.

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

AAMiR KhAN WAgAN larkana

whiteLies

For feedback, comments, suggestions and, most importantly, tips, contact us at whitelies@pakistantoday.com.pk

Apollo WHiLE greeting MCC dignitaries in Pakistan, the new British High Commissioner impressed all attending by speaking fluent Urdu. Talking about the commonalities between the British and Pakistani peoples, he said the sport of cricket “humaray khoon mein daurrta hai.” all present rightfully doted on him. We have it on good authority, however, that Pakistan is reciprocating this gracious behaviour by sending a High Commissioner to London who knows English. * * * * * * * * * a relatively new private airline (known for its serene travel experience) has taken to a quaint practice: passengers whose tickets booked by credit cards had to show their cards. Those whose tickets were booked on someone else’s card had to read out that credit card’s last three digits. it was booked on my own card but i don’t have it on me, complained a corporate traveller. Then have someone send you a photo, replied the unrelenting airline staff.

Sunday, 16 February, 2020

10 FOREIGN NEWS

globAl stocks end week mIxed As vIrus FeAr lIngers NEW YORK

w

AGENCIES

ALL Street posted mixed results on Friday, ending an otherwise positive week as markets in Europe and Asia also muddled to a close.

Of concern to investors was the new coronavirus outbreak that has spread globally, infecting 64,000 amid fears of widespread economic disruptions in the world’s second-largest economy, China, and beyond.

Mixed government data did little to move Wall Street traders who held fire ahead of a three-day weekend, with the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average closing down slightly but the tech-rich Nasdaq and the broad-based S&P 500 ending up.

Meanwhile, official data showing Europe’s largest economy, Germany, had zero growth in the last quarter of 2019 subdued European markets.

Asian indices earlier closed mixed as traders struggled to work out if China’s outbreak was worse than being reported by authorities. A dramatic rise in the number of deaths and new cases of the virus on Thursday fuelled global suspicions that Beijing might be concealing the illness’ real scope.

Wall Street finished that day in the red — a reversal from Wednesday when its main indices closed at record highs.

“The coronavirus has been increasingly worsening but the market really doesn’t seem to be that concerned,” Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities said of Wall Street. “That could change drastically if the macro news begin to change in China and here.”

Nonetheless, the major US indices made substantial gains over the week as a whole, with the Dow up one percent, the Nasdaq growing 2.2 percent and the S&P 500 up 1.6 percent.

But the rebound many observers were hoping for in the first half of the year will likely be pushed back by the effects of the novel coronavirus COVID-19.

The US Commerce Department earlier on Friday reported a 0.3 percent increase in retail sales in January compared to December, as expected. Industrial production data released by the Federal Reserve showed a drop of 0.3 percent over the same period, blamed on Boeing’s decision to shut down production lines for its grounded 737 MAX aircraft.

The death toll from China’s virus epidemic neared 1,400 on Friday with six medical workers among the victims, underscoring the country’s struggle to con-

tain a deepening health crisis.

Nearly 64,000 people are now recorded as having fallen ill from the virus in China, with officials revealing that 1,716 health workers had been infected as of Tuesday. On Wall Street, a solid earnings report from graphics card manufacturer Nvidia pushed its price up seven percent, while similarly positive results from online travel company Expedia led to a gain of 11 percent.

– Key figures around 2200 GMT – New York – Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 29,398.08 (close) New York – S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 3,380.16 (close) New York – Nasdaq: UP 0.2 percent at 9,731.18 (close)

Australian bushfires extinguished, but climate rows rage on MELBOURNE AGENCIES

Australia’s “black summer” of devastating bushfires is finally coming to a close, but bitter arguments over how to tackle climate-fuelled disasters are raging on.

When firefighters announced this week that all blazes in the hardhit state of New South Wales were under control for the first time since September, the relief was palpable.

In other regions, a few fires are still being contained, but most Australians can finally abandon the grim rituals of the last half-year — morning checks of smog monitors and “Fires Near Me” apps, deciding whether the kids can play outside, whether to flee or defend their homes. But the after-effects will endure, and national soul searching has already begun.

“We know events like these can challenge the way we think about the world, undermine our perceptions of safety, and rupture social bonds,” said disaster response expert Erin Smith.

Dozens of families have lost loved ones, thousands of homes and farms have been gutted, swathes of

the east coast are scarred charcoalblack and millions have had their sense of security shaken. “It will likely take years and a great deal of imagination for us to figure out where we go from here,” said Smith. The question of what is next for Australia is already being asked, most of all of political leaders, and it is being met mostly with fingerpointing and recrimination. While scientists agree climate change created favourable conditions for the blazes, politicians of all stripes are acutely aware how sensitive the issue is in Australian politics.

In an arid nation whose economic strength is intimately tied to the mining and export of fossil fuels, at least four prime ministers have been ousted in part over their climate policies. In recent weeks, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has seen his ruling conservative coalition threatened by members in rural constituencies demanding funding for more coal-fired power plants.

At the same time, the centrist wing of his party has criticised his climate targets as inadequate.

Meanwhile rebel members of opposition Labour met secretly to steer the centre-left party’s leader-

ship toward a more overtly pro-coal stance. The party’s deputy leader awkwardly refused to rule out more coal subsidies, months after vowing they should end.

“They don’t want to stick their heads above the parapet, at least when it comes to suggesting substantive policy,” said Matt McDonald, an expert in climate politics from the University of Queensland.

One reason, he explained, is that while the hot and dry Australian continent is uniquely susceptible to the impact of climate change, it is also a world-beating source of coal. Coal accounts for around 75 percent of Australia’s

electricity generation and exports of the fossil fuel are worth Aus$60 billion a year, the country’s largest export after iron ore. People in affluent suburbs may call for emissions cuts and green energy, but coal accounts for thousands of jobs in election-deciding districts of Queensland and New South Wales, and many more in the related aluminium smelting business.

Independent MP Zali Steggall — a former barrister and Olympic medal-winning skier — who ousted climate-sceptic former prime minister Tony Abbott from his Sydney seat at the last election, wants to take some heat out of the debate.

Chinese, Vatican foreign ministers hold first meeting

BEIJING AGENCIES

The foreign ministers of China and the Vatican have met in the first high-level encounter between the sides — a new sign of improving relations between two states with no diplomatic ties.

The talks between China’s Wang Yi and Archbishop Paul Gallagher in the German city of Munich on Friday come as relations steadily improve following a landmark agreement on the appointment of bishops in 2018.

“Today is the first meeting between the Chinese and Vatican for-

eign ministers,” Wang said, according to the People’s Daily newspaper, a Communist Party mouthpiece.

“This is a continuation of the exchanges between China and the Vatican for a period of time. It will open up more space for the future exchanges between the two sides,” he said.

Wang, who met Gallagher on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, called the 2018 agreement “groundbreaking”, adding that it “has achieved positive results”.

FIRST BISHOP: In a statement, the Vatican said the talks were “cordial” and that contact between the

two sides had seen “positive developments”. Wang and Gallagher “highlighted the importance” of the 2018 deal and reiterated a willingness to continue “the institutional dialogue at the bilateral level to promote the life of the Catholic Church and the good of the Chinese people”. The People’s Republic of China broke relations with the Vatican in 1951. The Vatican is the only European diplomatic ally of selfruled Taiwan, which is viewed by China as a breakaway province awaiting reunification.

China’s roughly 12 million Catholics have for decades been split between a government-run association, whose clergy were chosen by the atheist Communist Party, and an unofficial underground church loyal to the Vatican.

But under the terms of the deal agreed in September 2018, both Beijing and the Vatican now have a say in appointing Catholic bishops.

The first bishop to be ordained under the deal was Yao Shun of the diocese of Ulanqab in the northern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in August last year. The law in China requires priests and bishops to register and align with the country’s official church. But the Vati-

can said at the time that the bishop, who it named as Antonio Yao Shun, had also “received the papal mandate” at the ordination. Pope Francis has recognised seven clergy appointed by China as part of the deal, despite fears the accord would be used by Beijing to further crack down on worshippers outside the official church.

EPIDEMIC TALKS: Wang and Gallagher also discussed China’s efforts to contain the new coronavirus epidemic, which has killed more than 1,500 and infected at least 66,000 in the country.

Official figures showed Saturday that 143 more people had died though the number of new cases had fallen, with 2,641 reported after a change in the criteria to confirm infections earlier caused a massive surge in the total. Wang said the outbreak has been “effectively controlled”, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

The Chinese foreign minister also said the Vatican can play a constructive role to encourage the international community to support China’s efforts to combat the epidemic “in an objective, rational and scientific manner”, according to Xinhua.

CMYK

LONDON – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 7,409.13 p at 13,744.21 (close) Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.4 percent at 6,069.35 (close) EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.2 at 3,841.09 (close) SHANGHAI – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 2,917.01 (close) HONG KONG – Hang Seng: UP 0.3 percent at 27,815.60 (close) TOKYO – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.6 percent at 23,687.59 (close) EURO/DOLLAR: DOWN at $1.083 from $1.0841 at 2200 GMT EURO/POUND: DOWN at 83.01 pence from 83.10 pence

Syrian chopper downed over rebel area, killing crew IDLIB: A Syrian military helicopter was shot down over the last major rebel bastion in northwest Syria on Friday, the second such incident in a week of high tensions with Turkey. The attack in a region where Turkish troops and Russian-backed government forces have engaged in multiple clashes came as Washington urged Ankara to look to its Western allies in light of Moscow’s actions. Syrian and Russian forces have pressed a deadly offensive against the shrinking pocket in the country’s northwest since December, claiming the lives of nine civilians on Friday. AGENCIES

Sunday, 16 February, 2020

buSineSS 11

Pakistan's FatF rEviEw bEGins today

CORPORATE CORNER

PAKISTAN NEEDS 12 OUT OF 39 VOTES TO EXIT THE GREY LIST

LAHORE: Samsung Electronics held a press event to announce the launch of its new Lite Series with two innovative models; the Galaxy S 10 Lite and Note 10 Lite along with two powerful phones from their A series range; Galaxy A 51 and Galaxy A 71. p r e s s r e l e a s e

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar meets Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director General Qu Dongyu and his delegation at the Ehsaas Secretariat. p r e s s r e l e a s e

LAHORE: Enablers, as part of its ‘Vision 2020,’ has set up its very first Incubation Centre at the University of Management and Technology (UMT). A memorandum of understanding was signed in this regard between the managements of UMT and Enablers. press release

Google protests 'eyecatching' $2.6bn EU fine LUXEMBOURG: Google on Friday attacked what it called an eye-catching 2.4 billion euro ($2.6 billion) EU antitrust fine, prompting a judge to ask how a rich company can miss a relatively paltry amount. The sparring underlines the battle ahead for the world’s most popular internet search engine, with two other challenges against EU antitrust enforcers to be heard in the coming months. The Alphabet unit argued that additional amounts tacked on to the fine imposed by the European Commission in 2017 to deter anti-competitive behavior known as a deterrent multiplier and another multiplier factor was excessive and unwarranted. Google’s challenge came on the final day of a three-day hearing at the General Court, Europe’s secondhighest, as it attempts to overturn the first of a trio of EU antitrust penalties totaling 8.25 billion euros. agencies

t

BUSINESS DESK

HE five-day session of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will commence today (Sunday) in Paris, where Pakistan’s performance on the implementation of the global financing watchdog’s 27 action points to curb terror financing and money laundering would be reviewed.

Analysts expect Pakistan to either exit the grey list soon after winning a “largely-compliant” rating from the FATF or might get more time from the watchdog to ensure full compliance.

Pakistan will be judged by an FATF plenary meeting in the meeting on the basis of the joint group’s report, for a possible exit from the grey list or at least avoiding the blacklist.

According to media reports, Pakistan needs only 12 out of 39 votes to exit the grey list.

Pakistan has already gained full support from China, Turkey and Malaysia, and aims to obtain 12 votes with escalated diplomatic campaign.

Pakistan has ensured significant implementation on most of the recommendations and took necessary actions.

On Jan 28, the State Bank of Pakistan stated that Pakistan had made significant progress to get off the grey list while the central bank had been making all-out efforts to curb money laundering

and terror financing.

While announcing the monetary policy with unchanged interest rate of 13.25pc, SBP Governor Dr Reza Baqir had said that the last two [FATF] reviews in May and September showed that Pakistan had made significant progress in most of the 27 points raised by the FATF. However, he maintained, the FATF was the final authority to decide if the progress was enough to pull Pakistan out of the grey list, adding that the country would have to continue making progress in this direction.

Last month, despite strict opposition from India, several FATF members, including the European Union and the United States, had expressed satisfaction on Pakistan’s performance report from October 2019 till January 2020.

The Pakistani delegation, led by Economic Affairs Minister Hammad Azhar last month had presented the report in a meeting with the Working Group in Beijing, and explained measures taken and progress made by the country in stopping funding of terrorists and eradication of money laundering since October last year.

Peasants demand economic rights at HRCP convention BUSINESS DESK Over 1,200 peasants, labourers, home-based workers, sanitation workers and human rights defenders gathered at the Sindh Hari and Mazdoor Convention organised by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).

Labour rights activists, including men and women from the bonded labour camps near Hyderabad, called on the government to recognise and address the rising inflation that had left them unable to afford flour and sugar.

Among the speakers were labour rights activists Manu Bheel, Raju and Lali, Sindh Tenancy Rights Committee Convenor Taj Marri, Sindh Hari Committee VicePresident Samar Haider Jatoi, veteran hari leader Dada Ali Bux, trade union leader Mehboob Ali Qureshi and home-based workers' representative Jamila.

HRCP council member Hina Jilani, Honorary Spokesperson I A Rehman, Sindh Vice-Chair Asad Iqbal Butt and Secretary-General Harris Khalique assured participants that the commission would continue to raise its voice for labour rights throughout the country.

The convention concluded with a unanimous resolution calling on the government to recognise that

rising inflation, unemployment and unbridled price hikes had crushed the working classes. This should be considered an emergency: the government must admit its failure and change the course of the economy.

Pakistan's feudal and monopolistic capitalist order must be replaced with a people-centred economy.

Decent employment, health and education are constitutional rights

that must be realised by the state.

The official minimum wage must be paid in every sector by the public and private sector. Moreover, women must be paid equal wages.

In the light of the Sindh High Court's ruling, the powers of the Tenancy Tribunal must be taken from the bureaucracy and invested in the judiciary. Government officials who refuse to register the names of farmers in Form 6 of the land records, must be penalised.

All farmers must be given ownership rights of their homes. In addition, farmers and their crops must be insured so that they are protected from further poverty and destitution in case of a natural or man-made calamity.

The resolution also demanded an end to forced conversion of peasant women from minority communities. Those committing or encouraging such practices must be brought to justice.

Chinese firms boost ‘immunity’ to coronavirus fallout NANJING agencies

Although the novel coronavirus outbreak is to have a temporary negative impact on the world's second-largest economy, Chinese companies have never given up hope of finding a way out of this dilemma and strengthening their immunity to the fallout.

Since the contagion coincided with the Spring Festival holiday, various industries in China, including catering, retail, manufacturing and tourism have been heavily impacted. Hotels, restaurants, shopping malls and tourist sites which should have been in full swing at this moment are actually quiet and empty.

As more and more workers have gone back to work since the extended holiday ended, domestic firms are racing to cut losses through their own efforts with the help of the government.

COMPANIES' RAPID ADJUSTMENT: Zhang Liqing is the owner of a restaurant that serves Chinese Huaiyang cuisine in east China's Jiangsu Province.

"People used to stand in a long line to wait for a table, especially during the Spring Festival. This year, however, we have already lost about 1 million yuan (about 143,000 U.S. dollars) due to the shutdown of the restaurant since the first

day of the Lunar New Year," Zhang said.

Although the owner does not know when he can reopen his restaurant, he said he has to do something.

"I'm training my employees online and also learning new business models such as take-out food and non-contact orders. I think these measures will help me resist the damage of the epidemic in the future," Zhang said.

Due to the huge demand for medical materials during the outbreak, masks and protective outfits, in particular, some Chinese enterprises have accelerated their adjustment of production structure.

In the city of Wuxi, Jiangsu Hongdou Industrial Co., Ltd., a clothing maker, has pitched in.

"We transformed a factory into a workshop for disposable medical protective clothing and upgraded technologies to produce such products," said Gu Jinlong, executive vice president of the company.

The company completed its first general protective suit on Feb. 3 and its daily output has now increased to about 40,000 pieces. It is now waiting for the permission of the government to produce medical protective suits.

Shi Yun, 29, living in the city of Nanjing, found a new way to kill time since residents are suggested to stay home to

avoid virus infections. She found that many shopping malls in Nanjing displaying their new products, including the latest collections of clothes online through group chats on WeChat or other apps.

"It feels like virtual window shopping," said Shi, who only needs to browse on her computer or mobile phone, instead of in a mall.

In order to pull through, brick and mortar retailers have been forced to run their businesses through social media platforms. According to He Huan, a manager at Deji Plaza, a Nanjing-based shopping mall complex selling luxury goods, the mall has set up various group chats based on commodity categories and even launched an online shopping app to cater to customers.

"So far, sales for cosmetics and fashion brands are satisfactory. We are willing to keep improving our online services," He said.

Didano Technology Co., Ltd., located in southwest China's Sichuan Province, specializes in robotics for children's health. Their customers were mainly kindergartens and preschool education institutions.

But the outbreak brought the company some new ideas. The company has advanced technologies and turned their

robotics products into infrared temperature measuring robots.

"The new robots, which can check people's temperature rapidly and accurately, can be used in hospitals, companies, schools, factories and other public venues with huge people flows," said Xu Bo, CEO of the company, adding they have sold 71 such robots in three days to local hospitals and companies, and they have started to presell and produce 300 such robots.

Sun Jian, general manager of Frimec (Jiangsu) Environmental Technology Co., is very optimistic. His company focuses on air-cleaning facilities.

"After the epidemic, the demand for air purification in China will soar. The impact of the epidemic won't last long, and the demand for such products will rise sharply in the second quarter. We are making preparations for that," Sun added.

GOVT SUPPORT: While enterprises are racking their brains to strengthen their immunity against the outbreak, governments at all levels across China are also making efforts to give a helping hand.

Molarray Biotechnology Co., a high-tech company located in Suzhou Industrial Park, Jiangsu, received timely help, a 5-million-yuan loan offered by a local bank, after the company

reported financial problems as it was in full capacity to provide products in urgent need to curb the contagion. It only took about five days from the application to get the loan.

The government of Suzhou, one of the manufacturing hubs in the country, rolled out various policies in early February including financial support and tax cuts to aid companies affected by the epidemic.

For many small and medium-sized enterprises, rent during the epidemic is definitely a burden. Fortunately, nearly 20 provincial-level regions across China have announced policies to cut or exempt rent.

In Shandong Province, the local government set up a special emergency unit and opened a round-the-clock hotline to answer requests from businesses and resolve their difficulties during the resumption of work.

The State Grid Sichuan Electric Power Company has also introduced a series of measures to support local enterprises, including cutting electricity costs.

China has stepped up targeted financing support for epidemic-stricken small and micro-enterprises. Banks have offered more credit loans to such firms, especially those in sectors hit hardest by the epidemic and in Hubei Province.

Sunday, 16 February, 2020

12 buSineSS over 100 businesses fined for violating labour laws ISLAMABAD sTaFF repOrT

Islamabad's high-end restaurants, bookstores and shops have been slapped with penalties over violation of labour laws. According to sources privy to this development, the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration has imposed penalties on more than 100 businesses, including Chai Khana, Mr Books, Saeed Books, Pizza Hut and Chattha Restaurant, over noncompliance of minimum wage rate and other violations pertaining to working hours and rest intervals, maintenance of registers, appointment letters, bonuses, health and safety etc. "On the directions of Islamabad Chief Commissioner Aamir Ali Ahmed, the ICT's Labour Department, under the supervision of Director General Syeda Shafaq Hashmi, imposed a fine of Rs115,000 on more than 100 businesses in Islamabad," an official confirmed. Sources said the labour department officials, while inspecting businesses in different sectors of the federal capital, found that the owners of these businesses were not paying the minimum wage of Rs17,500 to their workers. They said that the department has served challans to high-end hotels & restaurants, including Chai Khana, Mr Food, Sufi Shanwari Restaurant, American SteakHouse, Pizza Hut, Mindanos, Quetta Tea, Butt Karahi and Chattha Restaurant, Sitara Hotel, Hotel Alkaram, Ali Restaurant, Desi Accent and Royal Watch Gallery etc. Similarly, fine has also been imposed on Mr Books, Saeed Books and Bake Well, Al-Sajjad Flour Mills and Taibah Steel Mills over violation of labour laws, sources added. As per the government's labour laws, the minimum monthly wage for unskilled workers is Rs17,500. A labourer can work for six days with a total of 48 working hours per week. According to data available on ICT's website, there are 247 factories, 4,005 registered shops and establishments and 92 marble units operating in the federal capital. However, it lacks information regarding the total number of registered skilled and unskilled workers.

tUrkEy to hElP UPliFt Pakistan’s railway inFrastrUctUrE: ministEr LAHORE

r

sTaFF repOrT

AILWAYS Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad said on Saturday that the Turkish Railways has agreed to assist Pakistan Railways through transfer of technology and by signing joint ventures.

Addressing a press conference at the PR headquarters, he said as per the latest agreement signed with Turkey, new coaches would be manufactured in Pakistan and for this purpose, the department would improve its technology with the support of Turkish Railways' workshops.

He said a shuttle train between Lahore and Gujranwala would be initiated from February 24 and that its fare would be halved for the first day.

"Parking fee at both railway stations would be reduced so that passengers prefer travelling by

'RANGERS' HELP COULD BE SOUGHT TO EVACUATE PEOPLE LIVING WITHIN 50 FEET OF KCR TRACK' train instead of roads."

The minister said that the Supreme Court (SC) had given the department three months to make operational Karachi Circular Railways, adding that all hurdles would be removed in this regard with help of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.

"We do not want to disturb anyone but people within 50-feet land on both sides of the KCR track would have to evacuated and Rangers' assistance could be sought for this purpose in line the SC orders," he added.

He said the apex court had also permitted the department to sell its properties situated in Karachi. "All the deficit of Pakistan Railways can end if it succeeds in selling only one property like Hayyat Regency in Karachi."

To a question, he said the elimination of encroachments was the responsibility of the government.

The minister said he felt honoured when the SC, during his recent appearance before the court, had expressed its trust in railways' performance.

"For the first time in the railways' history, the department had devised a business plan which was submitted to the SC. I thank the planning ministry for all the help in this regard," he maintained.

To another question, the minister said that the railways department had a transparent mechanism to sell its lands and properties across the country.

trump administration eyes 10pc middle-class tax cut proposal WASHINGTON agencies

The Trump administration is considering a 10pc tax cut for middle-class Americans and making some other tax reductions permanent as part of a package it intends to propose before the November election, a top White House adviser said. “We’d love to have a 10pc middleclass tax cut, and we would love to strengthen and make permanent some of the other tax cuts,” National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said in an interview with Fox Business Network, according to excerpts released by the network. “It’ll probably come out some time in September,” he added. The Trump administration’s signature legislative achievement was a tax overhaul in 2017. The massive $1.5 trillion legislation reduced tax rates for corporations and individuals, but the personal income tax cuts were set to expire after 2025. The tax cuts have been criticized

by Democrats for favoring businesses and the wealthy over average Americans. Rolling out a proposal in September could strengthen Trump’s hand ahead of the Nov 3 presidential election. One proposal the Trump administration is considering is creating tax incentives intended to encourage US households to invest in the stock market, CNBC reported on Friday, citing four senior administration officials. A separate payroll tax cut would be an option only if the strength of the economy drastically declined, CNBC reported, citing two senior Trump administration officials. The White House declined to comment on the report. Changes to tax policy would require congressional approval, which would be difficult for the White House to win.

Although Trump’s fellow Republicans hold a majority in the Senate, the House of Representatives is controlled by the Democrats.

RAWALPINDI: A vendor sprinkles water on vegetables to keep them fresh for customers. Online

Pakistan's public debt to become 'sustainable' after reforms: IMF KARACHI MeirYUM ali

Ongoing fiscal reforms will put Pakistan's public debt path on a sustainable footing, according to Athanasios Arvanitis, the Deputy Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The director was speaking at a seminar titled "Managing Crises in Emerging Markets" at the State Bank (SBP) on Friday. The seminar was held in collaboration with the Pakistan Business Council (PBC).

Arvanitis said Pakistan's government must focus on meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under the UN's 2030 Agenda, and that fiscal reforms will help build the foundation to meet those targets.

The director also spoke more broadly, saying that typically, crises across emerging markets, including Pakistan, have many similarities. These include elevated levels of debt, high public and

external deficits, inflexible exchange rates, lack of competitiveness, low saving and investment, and maturity and currency mismatches.

However, the director also said emphasized that there was no 'one-size-fits-all' model for managing crises.

Instead, the IMF focuses on different dimensions while assisting a country in developing a homegrown stabilization programme, focusing on the roots of a country’s crisis, and country-specific dynamics that affect the political economy.

Arvanitis also stressed the importance of country ownership and adopting measures to provide support to vulnerable segments of the population.

SBP Governor Dr Reza Baqir, PBC CEO Ehsan Malik, Macro-Economic Insights CEO Sakib Sherani and journalist Khurram Husain were also present on the panel.

Dr Reza Baqir, in his short opening remarks,

said that Pakistan was not unique, and that other emerging economies had faced similar crisis and had also undergone difficult adjustments.

Ehsan Malik praised the SBP for the marketbased exchange rate, but was less happy about the tax burden on the manufacturing sector, and the level of interest rates in the country.

He highlighted the need for a national tariff policy that prioritizes industrial promotion in the country instead of revenue generation.

Sakib Sherani critiqued the IMF programmes, saying they could be better if they were longer, more back-loaded, and more heavily focused on structural conditionality rather than specific quantitative targets.

Meanwhile, Khurram Husain noted that none of the previous IMF programmes in Pakistan were able to put the economy on a sustainable growth trajectory, and that there was little focus on addressing structural vulnerabilities in the economy.

Rebuffed by uK, uS pitches 'big tent' for Huawei rivals in europe MUNICH agencies

The United States is seeking to rally European support for competitors to Huawei Technologies following disappointment in Washington over Britain’s decision to use 5G equipment made by the Chinese company.

US officials at a global security conference in Germany this week urged governments and business leaders to build an ecosystem of “industry champions” that can provide alternatives to Huawei, the world’s biggest maker of mobile networking equipment.

Previous US efforts to convince allies to bar the Chinese company from their

networks have primarily focused on warnings that its equipment could be used

by China for spying.

Huawei has repeatedly and vehemently denied the espionage allegations. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Reuters on Friday there was no credible evidence that Huawei was a threat to US security.

Speaking on Saturday, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper told the Munich Security Conference that Washington was already working with vendors to develop and test new 5G technologies.

“We are encouraging allied and US tech companies to develop alternative 5G solutions and we are working alongside them to test these technologies at our mil-

itary bases as we speak,” Esper said.

The United States has used high-profile events in recent years to raise security concerns about Huawei equipment, warning that allies that use it in their networks risked being cut off from valuable intelligence-sharing feeds.

Officials in Munich repeated those concerns but also struck a softer tone, emphasising the need to work with Huawei competitors to support their market position. They stopped short, however, of detailing any concrete plans or measures.

White House advisor Robert Blair told reporters the United States was already working with Scandinavian suppliers Nokia and Ericsson, as well as Korea’s Samsung and other smaller firms.

“We will have some sort of a partnership with industry, we’re not sure what that’s going to look like but ... we will have a big tent,” said Blair, White House special representative for international telecommunications policy.

“It will be very much a US-led effort but with like-minded partners around the world and we’ll have to see where that discussion goes. And that’s a matter of months not years.”

People with knowledge of the matter said Blair had met with senior executives from both Nokia and Ericsson on the sidelines of the conference but declined to detail the contents of the conversations.

One industry executive said the US arguments about alternate suppliers were

not new but had been stepped up following a British decision last month to use Huawei equipment, partly due to a lack of alternatives.

“If people oppose one brand or another then they have to tell us what is the alternative, right?” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said ahead of the UK’s decision.

“The Americans are frustrated by the weak response from Britain, and worry Germany and France will think the same,” said the industry executive, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations with American and European officials.

“As they see it, European leaders are not basing their statements on facts.”

CMYK

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Sunday, 16 February, 2020

For a Scientist Turned Novelist, an Experiment Pays Off

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BY mJ FraNkliN

hEN he set out to write a novel, Brandon Taylor, a former doctoral student in biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin, approached it like a scientist.

“I have this very technical approach to almost everything,” he said during a video interview from Iowa, where he now lives. “If there is a problem, I first determine the parameters of the problem, and then I try to lay out a very systematic way of doing it.” he started with a series of lists: Reasons he had failed to write a novel (too concerned with inventing everything, problems with setting and time frame). Things he considered himself good at (tone, dialogue).

Scenes he wanted in the book (a tennis match, a dinner party). he gave himself rules, setting a goal to write 10,000 words a day. “It began in this very mercenary place,” he said, “but it moved to a place of genuine artistic interest.”

The result is “Real Life,” which Riverhead is publishing next week, a novel that merges two versions of him: Brandon Taylor the writer and Brandon Taylor the scientist..

When he was a boy growing up in a small community outside Montgomery, ala., Taylor, now 30, dreamed of a career in medicine. “My entire life, I wanted to be a neurosurgeon,” he said.

“Because if you’re a black boy from the South who is good at science, everyone is like, ‘Oh, Ben carson, you should be a neurosurgeon.’”

For just as long, he has been writing. “as a kid, I was always writing little stories, or trying to, but I never considered myself a good writer,” he said. It hasn’t always been easy for him to reconcile these two aspirations. When he signed up for his first creative writing class, he

remembers thinking, “They’re all English majors, and I study chemistry.”

But it was Taylor’s life as a scientist that enabled him to write “Real Life.” he began working on it while he was in his graduate biochemistry program. he spent most of his days in the lab, working on his experiments on nematode worms, so he wrote mainly at night. It took him five weeks to finish a manuscript. at one point, he threw it in the trash after two agents rejected it. “It felt like the universe was telling me that I wasn’t good enough, and that my work wasn’t worth sharing with the world,” he said. his roommate antonio Byrd, a fellow Ph.D. student, fished it out. “I told him, I’m keeping this draft in my bedroom until you come to your senses,” Byrd said.

Taylor also deleted the manuscript files from his computer, attempting to scrub the book from his life. a few weeks later, he found out he had received a fellowship from the Tin house summer writing workshop.

Encouraged, he went back to his novel, recovering it from one of his rejected queries. “That kind of seems like a sign, too,” he said.

Throughout his undergraduate years at auburn University at Montgomery and graduate school in Wisconsin, he felt he had to choose between science or writing, and science often won. But when he received an acceptance letter from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he decided that, this time, writing would win. “I could survive not having science, but I couldn’t survive not having writing,” he said.

“Real Life” follows one pivotal weekend in the life of Wallace, a black gay biochemistry Ph.D. student in the Midwest. Grappling with the death of his father, a nascent romance with a straight friend, the potential failure of his scientific work and a general sense that he doesn’t fit into the

predominantly white cohort of his university campus, Wallace must figure out whether he wants to continue on his path as a student or chart a different course.

Taylor knows that Wallace sounds a lot like him. Both are black gay scientists. Both are migrants to the Midwest by way of alabama. Both have had confusing trysts with straight men. (“My life, in some ways, is just a series of inappropriate encounters with heterosexual men,” Taylor joked.) and both have stood on the precipice of a scientific career and had to ask whether to walk back or leap.

But Wallace — whose name is based on Mrs. Wallis from ann Patchett’s novel “commonwealth,” Taylor said — is not Taylor. Instead, Wallace is an amalgam of Taylor’s own experiences as well as those of other queer black people on college

campuses, he said.

“We wanted to see us in a story, and we didn’t have that,” said christopher Sprott, a friend and former roommate of Taylor’s who is also black and queer.

The academic setting is one that Taylor gravitates toward as a reader — some of his favorite novels include “The Idiot,” by Elif Batuman; “The Marriage Plot,” by Jeffrey Eugenides; “harvard Square,” by andré aciman; and “Fates and Furies,” by Lauren Groff — but he rarely sees people like himself when he reads them. he hopes “Real Life” changes that. “What I wanted to do was to take this genre and this milieu that I really respond to as a reader and to sort of write myself into it,” Taylor said. he channeled this desire into his first published piece of writing, the story “cold River,” which appeared in 2015 in Jonathan, a literary journal published by Sibling Rivalry Press. he wrote the story as an undergraduate student, after he had gone to a bookstore in Montgomery but couldn’t find the queer books he was looking for. When he asked the clerk if they had them, he said, “the guy was like, ‘We’re a family store, we don’t stock that kind of stuff here.’”

Taylor considers himself primarily a short-story writer, but the desire to see people like him represented in literature led him to make his book debut with a novel. “I had this feeling no one was going to take me seriously until I write this novel,” he said. “I’m going to write a novel so that people will let me write short stories in peace.”

Stories are on the way. his next book is a collection, “Filthy animals,” which will also be published with Riverhead.

But now that Taylor has made space for himself in the world of novels, maybe he’ll stick around, he said. “Over the summer, I was like ‘Oh, maybe I will write another novel.’”. g

‘What the Hell Are We Doing Lending Money to a Guy Like This?’

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The New York Times

By RogeR Lowenstein

ach era seems to have a bank emblematic of its excesses — in the 1980s, it was Drexel Burnham Lambert, the junk bond king; in the 2000s, it was Lehman Brothers.

The 2010s were different. No towering financial collapse marred the landscape; no Madoff or Enron blighted the business page. Yet never have good times felt so bad. In these early months of the next decade, america is prosperous but malcontent, solvent but anxious.

David Enrich, a former reporter with The Wall Street Journal and now the finance editor of The New York Times, has found, perhaps, the perfect vehicle for this murky, untransparent moment. Name a banking scandal and Deutsche Bank was in the thick of it — interest rate manipulation, Russian money laundering, currency dealings with rogue states, the collapse of Italy’s (and the world’s) oldest bank, hidden derivative losses, a highlevel suicide.

It would have been perfect had Deutsche bankrolled a shunned real estate mogul and made him king — and of course, they did that too, the one bank that lent to Donald Trump long after he had a reputation for stiffing its peers and for stiffing Deutsche itself.

No single thread connects these myriad scandals, but “Dark Towers” offers a compelling, if familiar, thesis: that unchecked ambition twisted a pillar of German finance into

a reckless casino and fostered a culture in which amorality and, ultimately, criminality thrived.

Deutsche is intriguing not only because its leaders chased growth at any cost — resulting in mountains of losses, as it always does — but because it once was the emblem of European institutional lending, the nearopposite of Wall Street short-termism.

Founded in Berlin in 1870, just before German unification, Deutsche saw its mission as advancing not just profits but German commerce in Europe and america. and over the next century — save for a nasty lapse under the Nazis, when it pressured corporate clients to rid themselves of Jewish directors — Deutsche did that well. as late as the 1980s, when Wall Street was preaching the

glories of debt, Deutsche stood for stability, social as well as financial. It had no c.E.O. excesses because it had no c.E.O. It was run, consensually, by a vorstand (board), an arrangement designed to promote harmony with labor unions and industrial partners. however, as the West deregulated markets, profits from trading soared. Wanting in on the game in 1995, Deutsche recruited Edson Mitchell from Merrill Lynch to expand its markets desk. Mitchell was a gunslinger who would wager $10,000 on a golf putt — arguably, not much riskier than the derivatives Merrill peddled to clients. Merrill was so good at peddling these unprotected market bets that one high-profile institutional client, Orange county, calif., purchased enough to wind up

in bankruptcy.

Seeking just this sort of expertise at Deutsche, Mitchell went on a hiring binge, snagging 2,500 traders and such from his former firm and others, which Enrich calls “one of the greatest migrations in Wall Street history.”

In no time, Deutsche’s center of gravity (and 85 percent of its profits) shifted to investment banking and trading. The bank’s formerly prudent style came to seem as dated as the dark oil portraits lining its corridors.

The thing about risk is, until it stops working it works rather well. as profits soared, Deutsche wanted more risk. It blithely quadrupled its balance sheet, swallowing Bankers Trust (which Enrich generously labels a third-rate firm) and purchasing a dicey mortgage shop at the peak of the bubble.

One telling moment in Deutsche’s evolution came when an executive bragged that they no longer needed “clients.” Why bother writing loans when you can trade derivatives? another was when Josef ackermann was anointed c.E.O. The Swissborn ackermann understood Wall Street all too well. he ran the bank for short-term profit and set a target of 25 percent on equity, the banking equivalent of driving 80 miles per hour on an icy road.

Troops got the message: Internal controls were scotched or ignored. It was a short step from taking outsize risks to fleecing customers — but when whistle-blowers reported concerns, they were shoved aside. g

Sunday, 16 February, 2020

14 SPORTS

McIlrOy clOses In On Kuchar, WOOds lags aT rIvIera dubLIN

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Agencies

ORY McIlroy, making his first start as world number one since 2015, pulled within two strokes of 36-hole leader Matt Kuchar Friday as Tiger Woods's hopes of a landmark Genesis Invitational win dwindled.

Northern Ireland star McIlroy fired six birdies in a four-under par 67 at Riviera Country Club, to share second place on seven-under 135 with Americans Harold Varner and Wyndham Clark, who both signed for 68s.

Kuchar, who started the day with a three-shot lead, posted a two-under 69 that put him at nine-under par 133.

Woods was nine shots off Kuchar's lead, tied for 45th, after a two-over 73 that included a doublebogey and three-bogeys.

"I made some bad mistakes out there," said Woods, who opened with a birdie at the 10th but soon found himself in trouble. "I had a wedge in my hand at 15 and made double there, sand wedge on three and made bogey there. "Three runaway shots with wedges, something I rarely ever do," added Woods, who was in the fairway with 144 yards to the hole at 15 but found a greenside bunker on the way

Kaepernick writing memoir about decision to protest during national anthem New york Agencies

to a double-bogey. He clawed back two shots with birdies at the 17th and first, but was in another greenside bunker at the third and couldn't get his seven-footer to save par to drop.

Two more bogeys in the next three holes further dimmed his chances of breaking Sam Snead's record of 82

PGA Tour victories this week.

Woods matched the record with a win at the Zozo Championship in Japan in October, and finished tied for ninth in his only other start since at Torrey Pines. The record would be extra sweet this week at Riviera -- the course where Woods made his tour

debut as a teenager, but where he has come up empty in 12 prior starts.

"I'm going to have to make some birdies this weekend," he said.

McIlroy, playing Riviera for just the fourth time, birdied all three parfives and while he hit just four of 14 fairways he avoided major trouble.

Man City face chaos after ban says former star LoNdoN Agencies

Former Manchester City star Rodney Marsh fears the Premier League champions will be thrown into disarray by their shock two-year ban from UEFA competitions.

City have been barred from the Champions League and Europa League from the start of next season and fined 30 million euros (£24.9 million) after being found to have committed "serious breaches" of financial regulations.

The heavy sanctions relate to an alleged overstatement of sponsorship revenue in the club's efforts to get around Financial Fair Play rules.

City, currently second behind runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool, have said they will appeal against the punishment through the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

But the damage to City on and off the field could be immeasurable if the ban is upheld.

And ex-England forward Marsh, ranked as one of City's greats after his spell there in the 1970s, is concerned the club's Abu Dhabi-based owner Sheikh Mansour could walk away in that case.

"If this decision is upheld it would not surprise me to see owner Sheikh Mansour sell the club," he tweeted. "He has been superb for City and this is a huge kick in the balls. I wouldn't blame him."

City face an anxious wait to discover if their appeal is successful and in the meantime there will be speculation about Mansour and the futures of City manager Pep Guardiola and his star players.

Guardiola and company may not want to stay at

Colin Kaepernick, who sparked a national debate when he protested against racial injustice by kneeling during the U.S. national anthem, will publish a memoir later this year, the former NFL quarterback announced on Thursday. The book will be released by Kaepernick Publishing who described it as “part political awakening and part memoir” and said it would reveal the life experiences that led him to risk his NFL career in one silent act of protest. “My protest was the culmination of years of thought and experiences, of learning and unlearning,” Kaepernick said in a news release. “I want to tell the story of my evolution, and the events that led me to protest systemic oppression, in hope that it will inspire others to rise in action.” No title or release date for the memoir was announced. The former quarterback popularized the gesture of kneeling during pre-game renditions of “The Star-Spangled Banner” in 2016 while a member of the San Francisco 49ers. He became a free agent after that season.

Tokyo holds Olympic torch rehearsal as spectre of virus looms Tokyo Agencies

City if they are denied Champions League action.

But former City midfielder Michael Brown expects Mansour to fight to save the club's reputation and preserve their successful squad.

"What they've done as a football club, what they've done on the pitch, the way they've gone about it, I think they've been first class," Brown told the BBC. "They've been honourable how they've gone about it, as usual like Manchester City. This will be a shock for them but it will be something that

they'll come out fighting.

"The owners aren't here for the short term, they will take it on. If any owners will take this adversity, it will be these." Former Manchester United and England midfielder Paul Ince disagrees with Brown and suggested the ban may convince Guardiola and his players to look for a way out.

Guardiola has won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, and twice lifted the League Cup since arriving at the Etihad Stadium in 2016.

Tokyo Olympic organisers held a dummy run for the torch relay Saturday as fears over the coronavirus epidemic continue to cast a dark shadow over preparations for this summer's Games. A quartet of runners carried unlit torches for some 200 metres each as organisers meticulously went over the fine details before the Olympic flame arrives in Japan to wind its way around the country from March 26 to July 24, when the Games begin. Watched by security and police, the torch-bearers, sporting the official white Olympic uniform with diagonal red stripe, passed a fake flame to one another followed by onlookers, local residents and city officials as traffic was diverted for the event. "It's thrilling to think this will take place across Japan over 121 days," said actress Satomi Ishihara, who ran the third leg of the relay rehearsal. "I'm sure it will leave behind a lot of good memories." However, concerns over the fast-spreading coronavirus -- which has killed more than 1,500 people and infected over 66,000 in China -- have triggered calls for Tokyo organisers to reveal whether they have contingency plans, despite their assertions the Olympics will go ahead as planned.

Bryant named Basketball Hall of Fame finalist CHICAGo

ficult for me and family,” said Colangelo, a longtime NBA executive who was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 2004.

Bryant won nine All-Defensive First Team honors, four All-Star Game MVP awards and a Slam Dunk Contest title. Bryant also sits as the Lakers’ alltime leader in several categories, including games played and steals.

Bryant wore the No. 24 and No. 8 during his career. Both numbers are retired by the Lakers with his jerseys hanging from the Staples Center rafters.

Joining Bryant as finalists were former NBA stars Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Chris Bosh, along with former Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) stars Swin Cash and Tamika Catchings. Also named as finalists were three-time NCAA National Championship coach Kim Mulkey, five-time Division II National Coach of the Year Barbara Stevens, four-time National Coach of the Year Eddie Sutton and two-time NBA Champion coach Rudy Tomjanovich.

Bryant was on his way with his daughter and seven others to a youth basketball tournament on Jan. 26 when the helicopter they were in crashed in Calabassas, California.

Agencies

Three weeks after Kobe Bryant, one of the most dominant players in NBA history, was killed with his daughter and seven others in a helicopter crash, the global sports icon was named a finalist to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Bryant, fourth all time in NBA scoring, played for the Los Angeles Lakers during an illustrious 20year career that was highlighted by five NBA championships, two NBA Finals MVPs and one league MVP. The announcement came during the NBA AllStar weekend in Chicago, which culminates on Sunday with an exhibition game featuring the sport’s best players. The three-day event is likely to be muted as the National Basketball Association pays homage to the fallen star.

“I’ve never seen in my long life an athlete passing that had the impact that Kobe’s passing had on people, people on the street, people that didn’t even know him,” said Jerry Colangelo, chairman of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, after the announcement was made.

“In my case it was personal... so much more dif-

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Sunday, 16 February, 2020

SPORTS 15

shaMI, BuMrah, yadav dOMInaTe as neW Zealand fOld fOr 235 HAmILToN

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ndia quicks dominated on the second day of the tour game in Hamilton as they ran through the New Zealand XI to bowl them out for 235.

Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav and Navdeep Saini shared nine wickets between them, while the final wicket went to offspinner R Ashwin. Following that, openers Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal got off to a steady start in the second innings to help India gain an 87-run lead.

In reply to India's 263, Rachin Ravindra began positively despite losing his partner Will Young to Bumrah for a cheap score. Shami was the chief tormentor on the day, picking up the first of his three wickets by having Tim Seifert caught behind for 9. Finn Allen then joined Ravindra as the hosts gained some momentum, but Yadav wouldn't let it last, dismissing Ravindra for 34.

Bumrah struck soon after to remove Allen as well.

There were brief stages of recovery from the New Zealand XI

still want to prove myself in Tests: Moeen ali LoNdoN Agencies

Indians 59 for 0 (Shaw 35*, Agarwal 23*) and 263 all out lead thanks to New Zealand XI (Cooper the mid40, Shami 3-17, dle-order contribuBumrah 2-18) by tions from Henry Cooper 87 runs (40), Tom Bruce (31) and Daryl Mitchell (32) but none of them could go on to make a big

score. James Neesham, walking in at No. 8, became Shami's third victim, bowled for just 1. The lower order then added 74 runs, taking the total past 200, to finish with a deficit of 28 runs. Shami finished with figures of 3 for 17, while Bumrah, Yadav and Saini picked up two apiece. After failures in the first innings, Shaw and Agarwal were

off to a rapid start, hitting a boundary-laden 35 off 25 and 23 off 17 respectively. The duo was especially severe on Scott Kuggeleijn, who had dismissed them for those low scores in the first innings, taking him for 34 runs in three overs. India finished the second day with the score on 59 for 0 in only seven overs.

Barcelona's Alba suers injury blow ahead of Napoli clash bArCeLoNA Agencies

Barcelona left-back Jordi Alba hobbled off in the 20th minute of the Spanish champions' La Liga game against Getafe on Saturday with an apparent right thigh injury.

The 30-year-old left the field wincing in pain and was replaced by Junior Firpo.

It is the third injury for the

Spain international this season, having spent two spells on the sidelines with injuries to his left thigh.

Quique Setien's Barca visit Napoli in their Champions League last-16 first leg on February 25, before the return game on March 18.

The Catalans led their thirdplaced opponents 2-0 at half-time at the Camp Nou.

Moeen Ali has restated his desire to return to Test cricket in the future, saying he has "huge ambitions" to prove himself in the format. Moeen did not make himself available for next month's tour of Sri Lanka but said he was keen to be involved in next winter's five-match World Test Championship trip to India. Moeen's last Test appearance was in August, for the opening encounter of the 2019 Ashes. He subsequently took time away from the game to deal with burnout, making his England return in the third ODI against South Africa last week. He was named Player of the Match in Durban on Friday as England levelled the T20I series, and spoke afterwards about his plans for a Test return. "I do want to be part of that [tour to India] for sure," Moeen told the BBC. "I still have huge ambitions for Test cricket. It is still the best form of the game and the hardest. I want prove to myself and to other people that I am not a bad Test player." England play two Tests in Sri Lanka in March, before taking on West Indies and Pakistan during their home summer. Moeen, who lost his central contract in October but could have been obliged by the ECB to make himself available for Sri Lanka as part of his white-ball deal, will next head to the Pakistan Super League, where he has been signed by Multan Sultans. "I am going to give myself a bit more time," he said of his break from Test cricket. "I want to make sure when I come back I am ready and fresh. "I want to keep enjoying my cricket and get that hunger back because I feel I lost that completely. I had no interest in my batting and bowling and when you are in that situation there is no point playing. "I definitely feel like I am getting there and not far [away]. I want to give myself extra time and know when I come back I will have to fight for my place." Moeen played once during the ODI series against South Africa, taking 1 for 41 and then hitting the winning runs in Johannesburg. He showed signs of getting back to his free-scoring best in the second T20I, cracking a whirlwind 39 off 11 balls to fire England to a score they narrowly managed to defend in a dramatic final-over finish.

Lahore attack taught me a lot about my character and values: Kumar Sangakkara LAHore Agencies

Pakistan's emergence from international purgatory is slowly but surely coming to fruition. In recent years the growth of the PSL, and the willingness of its overseas stars to put themselves forward for the knock-out stages in Karachi and Lahore, has helped to accelerate a process that culminated, late last year, in Sri Lanka's arrival for the first Tests on Pakistan soil in more than a decade.

Bangladesh too have decided the time is nigh to get the show back on the road, with the second Test of their two-part tour due to take place in Karachi in April, after last week's innings win at Rawalpindi was lit up by a hat-trick for Pakistan's latest teenage sensation Naseem Shah.

But for sheer symbolism, few matches will resonate more than the one taking place under the Gadaffi Stadium floodlights on Friday, when Kumar Sangakkara leads his MCC side in a T20 contest against Lahore Qalanders. In doing so, he will return to the scene of the most shocking atrocity to be visited on an international sporting team since the Munich Olympics in 1972. The events of March 3, 2009 are all too well known to cricket's tight-knit global community. As the Sri Lanka team bus approached the stadium for what should have been the third morning of the second Test against Pakistan, they were ambushed by 12 gunmen on the Liberty Roundabout, sprayed with bullets and subjected to rocket and grenade assaults, in an attack that left six policemen and two civilians dead, as well as the driver of the minibus carrying the match officials.

Heroically, the Sri Lankans' bus driver, Mehar Mohammad Khalil, kept their vehicle moving towards the stadium compound despite having his tyres shot from beneath him, but amid the chaos, seven of the team suffered shrapnel and gunshot wounds -

most seriously, Tharanga Paranavitana and Thilan Samaraweera, who only the previous day had completed his second double century in a fortnight.

Sangakkara himself had a shockingly near miss.

As he related in his MCC Spirit of Cricket lecture in 2011, in the very moment that he turned his head to attend to Samaraweera, he felt the wind of a bullet fizz past his ear and strike his seat. The last time he and his team-mates departed the Gadaffi Stadium, it was as evacuees in a military helicopter. His return, more than a decade later, provides closure on the one hand, and hope on the other. "I don't think I need any flashbacks, because I remember that day and those moments so very clearly," Sangakkara told ESPNcricinfo, on the day of the team's arrival in Pakistan.

"It's not something I relive or wallow in. But it's an experience you should never forget, because it gives you perspective in terms of life and sport, and you learn a lot about your own values and characters, and those of others. "I have no reservations about talking about it, it's not something that upsets me, but these sorts of experiences can only strengthen you. Today I consider yourself very fortunate to be able to come back here to Lahore, and at the same time remember the sacrifice of all those who lost their lives that day."

The emotions among the Sri Lankans ran understandably wild in the immediate aftermath of the attack, though as Sangakkara recalled, their innate resilience shone through first and foremost, along with a certain grim humour too. Within minutes, Ajantha Mendis, himself injured in the attack, was reaching for his poker chips and setting up a card school, while Sangakkara's own thoughts somehow kept coming back to Paranavitana's terrible first taste of international cricket - a golden duck on debut, and now hospitalised with a bullet in his chest.

"I think everyone deals with it in their own personal way," Sangakkara said. "But at the same time, what really unites us is that you face adversity and

you face challenge, and you have to get past it, and you've got to do that successfully. It's about moving forwards and upwards and being part of cricket.

Being Sri Lankan you learn those lessons quite well, because throughout our civil war, cricket was a unique vibe. "We speak about the attack at various times," he added. "We even have a laugh about it, in terms of what we went through, because it helps sometimes to look at it with a bit of humour, even though there was a tragic loss of life, and other serious injuries within that incident.

"And I think for us also, it's brought home the fact that being a cricketer on the international stage, you are not immune to real-life situations and the experiences of other people that you might not otherwise connect with. It's really a strengthening experience for us, a humbling one as well, and it puts

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a lot of things in perspective."

That said, Sangakkara had no reason to think he'd ever come back to Lahore after the attack, certainly once it became clear that international cricket would not be returning to Pakistan before his retirement in 2015. But as MCC president - an office that speaks, in his words, of "stewardship and legacy" he felt a compunction to lead a side back to the country to help to spread the word that one of the game's "powerhouses" is open for business once again.

"There is history and tradition galore at MCC but to actually use that to benefit the game, not just in the UK and within the club framework, but beyond that, internationally, will edify the philosophy of MCC," Sangakkara said. "We feel we have a role, not just as the guardians of the spirit and laws, but of the game itself.

Sunday, 16 February, 2020

NEWS

InDIa tellS turKey not to 'InterFere In Internal aFFaIrS' aFter erDogan'S vISIt to PaKIStan New DeLHI

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NDIA on Saturday took exception to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s unequivocal support for the people of Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) and told Turkey to “not interfere in India’s internal affairs.”

According to ANI news agency, Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar responded to President Erdogan’s statement by saying: “India rejects all references to Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral and inalienable part of India.”

“We call upon the Turkish leadership not to interfere in India’s internal affairs and develop a proper understanding of the facts, including the grave threat posed by terrorism emanating from Pakistan to India and the region,” Kumar added.

The Turkish president had on Friday compared “the struggle of Kashmiri people” with that of the Turkish people’s struggle against foreign occupation during World War I. While addressing a joint session of

Parliament before ending his two-day trip to Pakistan on Friday, Erdogan said what had happened in Turkey a hundred years ago was being repeated in Indian occupied Kashmir today.

“Events that happened a hundred years ago in Çanakkale in Turkey are being repeated in Indian occupied Kashmir and Turkey will continue to raise its voice against the oppression.

“Today, the issue of Kashmir is as close to us as it is to you [Pakistanis],”

he had said, reiterating Turkey’s support for Kashmiris. “The Kashmir issue can be resolved not through conflict or oppression but on the basis of justice and fairness,” Erdogan said. “Such a solution will serve the interests of all parties concerned. Turkey will continue to stand by justice, peace and dialogue in the resolution of the Kashmir issue.”

Referring to Kashmir multiple times in his address yesterday, Erdogan also said: “Our Kashmiri brothers and

sisters have suffered from inconveniences for decades and these sufferings have become graver due to unilateral steps taken in recent times.

“The Kashmir issue can be resolved not through conflict or oppression but on the basis of justice and fairness.

Such a solution will serve the interests of all parties concerned. Turkey will continue to stand by justice, peace and dialogue in the resolution of the Kashmir issue,” he said.

Pakistan’s efforts to raise awareness about the plight of the people of occupied Kashmir have become more pronounced since August 5, 2019 when India repealed Article 370 of its constitution, stripping the region of its special status.

India also divided up occupied Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories; one Jammu and Kashmir, and the other the Buddhist-dominated high altitude region of Ladakh. The bifurcation of the territory came into effect on October 31 last year.

Since India’s measures of revoking Kashmir’s special status came into place, the issue has been raised thrice in the United Nations Security Council and also in the European Union Parliament.

First coronavirus death outside Asia as China toll leaps past 1,500 PARIs AgEnciES

Flights canceled as Britain braces for Storm Dennis LONDON AgEnciES

Flights have been cancelled and the army drafted in as Britain prepares for Storm Dennis with the authorities warning of heavy rain and flooding in parts of England. EasyJet has warned of “significant disruption” to its operations whilst Luton Airport is advising passengers to check with their airlines before setting off from home. A total of 15 flood warnings are in place in England with Storm Dennis expected to bring very heavy rain, flooding and disruption to parts of the country, according to the Environment Agency. It comes barely a week after Storm Ciara caused disruption to transport and left thousands of homes without power. The army is being deployed to help in Yorkshire as residents prepare for the storm.

“There is still uncertainty about the scale of impact that Storm Dennis could bring, but as there is a significant risk of further damage, residents and businesses are urged to be prepared,” said the leader of Calderdale Council Tim Swift.

The death toll from the new coronavirus outbreak jumped past 1,500 in China on Saturday as France reported the first fatality outside Asia, fuelling global concerns about the epidemic.

More than 66,000 people have now been infected in China from a virus that emerged in central Hubei province in December before spreading across the country and some two dozen countries.

Amid criticism over the handling of the crisis, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for tighter policing to protect social stability, while Beijing ordered people returning to the capital to self-quarantine for 14 days in the latest drastic measure aimed at containing the virus. In France, an 80year-old Chinese tourist died from the new coronavirus, French Health Minister Agnes Buzyn said.

Only three other deaths have been recorded outside mainland China — in the Philippines, Hong Kong and Japan.

The death toll in China, meanwhile, rose to 1,523 after 143 more people died in the country, most in Hubei.

Several countries have banned arrivals from China and major airlines have cut services with the country.

The biggest cluster outside China is on a quarantined cruise ship off Japan, with 285 infections now as dozens more cases were confirmed. The US embassy said it would evacuate Americans stranded on the vessel, who would face a further quarantine of two weeks in the United States. more poLICe: The virus spread last month as millions travelled across the country for the Lunar New Year, which was extended by three days — more than a week in some cities — in an effort to prevent further contagion.

People have slowly started to return to work in the past two weeks, though many are doing their jobs from home and schools remain closed.

Beijing’s municipal government enacted a rule on Friday requiring all people coming to the capital to quarantine themselves for 14 days, warning that violators would be punished, according to official media. It was unclear how authorities would enforce the measure.

Chinese authorities have

placed some 56 million people in Hubei and its capital Wuhan under quarantine, virtually sealing off the province from the rest of the country in an unprecedented effort to contain the virus.

A number of cities far from the epicentre have also imposed tough measures limiting the number of people who can leave their homes.

Battling the outbreak is a “big test for the country’s governance system and governance ability,” Xi said in a Communist Party central committee meeting on Friday.

The government must “increase use of police force and strengthen the visible use of police,” to ensure stability during the crisis, Xi said in a February 3 speech published by state media on Saturday.

In another drastic preventive measure, China’s central bank said Saturday that used banknotes were being disinfected with ultraviolet light or high temperatures, and stored for up to 14 days before they are put back into circulation.

The scale of the epidemic ballooned this week after authorities in Hubei changed their criteria for counting cases, retroactively adding thousands of new patients to their tally.

un chief guterres arrives today

News DesK United Nations Secretary General (UNSG) Antonio Guterres will arrive in Islamabad on Sunday (today) to attend International Conference on Afghan refugees. During his four day stay, the UN secretary general will call on President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan. He will also hold a meeting with Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi. During these meetings, Pakistan s perspective on all aspects of Jammu and Kashmir dispute will be shared with the UN top official. The secretary-general’s other engagements include interactions with parliamentarians, media and the youth. He will deliver special talks on themes of sustainable development, climate change and peacekeeping. The UN secretary-general will also pay a visit to Lahore. He will also travel to Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib.

Five new polio cases surface in KP, Balochistan KARACHI STAFF REPORT

Five new cases of polio were reported on Saturday – four from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one from Balochistan. The cases of the crippling disease were reported in Lakki Marwat and Pishin in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Qilla Abdullah in Balochistan.

The number of polio cases in Pakistan has reached 17 during the ongoing year.

Meanwhile, a three-day anti-polio campaign is underway in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. During the campaign, more than 6 million children under the age of five years will be vaccinated in the province. A Rotary International delegation called on Prime Minister Imran Khan on Feb 5, where they were briefed on the government’s efforts aimed at tackling poliovirus in the country. The delegation led by the organization’s president was briefed over the country-wide immunization campaigns to tackle the virus. It was briefed that over 250,000 polio-workers were engaged during the process and more than 40 million children are administered polio drops in it.

The Rotary delegation lauded the efforts of the government.

In 'mini Kabul', Afghan refugees mark 40 years in Pakistan Afghan boys sell fresh fruit on carts, signs are written in Dari or Pashto, and restaurants in the bustling bazaar sell Afghan dishes such as Kabuli pulao.

But this “mini Kabul” is in Pakistan, which this week marks 40 years of hosting Afghan refugees.

It is a grim milestone for entire generations of families who fled war to create a life in Pakistan but still face an uncertain future and no clear path to citizenship.

“We spent an entire life here,” says Niaz Mohammed, a 50-year-old labourer from Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province who fled to Pakistan in the 1980s.

“We had weddings and marriages here, our kids were born here … We have jobs and work here, while there’s no peace in Afghanistan. That’s why we are happy here.”

On Sunday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will arrive in Islamabad for a conference the United Nations says will “send a global reminder about the

fate of millions of Afghans living as refugees”.

“The main challenge right now is to continue to provide support to Pakistan in hosting them … and also give access to skills and education for the young Afghan population here,” Indrika Ratwatte, Asia director of the UN refugee agency UNHCR, told AFP on Friday.

Temporary sTaTus: Pakistan is one of the largest refugee-hosting nations in the world, home to an estimated 2.4 million registered and undocumented people who have fled Afghanistan, some as far back as the Soviet invasion of 1979.

Many live in camps, while others have built lives for themselves in Pakistan’s cities, paying rent and contributing to the economy.

“Mini Kabul”, the bustling Refugee Market in the northwestern city of Peshawar is home to some 5,000 shops — all run by Afghan refugees.

But their status has always been tem-

porary, with deadlines set for them to leave Pakistan repeatedly pushed back as the conflict in Afghanistan worsens.

Many Pakistanis view them with suspicion, accusing them of spurring militancy and criminality, and calling for them to be sent home.

Even those who have spent decades in the country cannot own property or obtain identity cards, and were only recently allowed to open bank accounts.

Shortly after he came to power, Prime Minister Imran Khan vowed to grant them citizenship — but the controversial promise sparked outrage, and has not been spoken of since.

‘I prefer to stay’ Nevertheless, many of the refugees who spoke to AFP in Peshawar recently said they love their adopted home.

Javed Khan, 28, was born in Pakistan, has married a Pakistani woman and has three sons of his own. “I will leave only if Pakistan forces me,” he told AFP.

The situation could yet change: Afghanistan may be about to take the first step on the long road to peace.

Late Thursday, the US said it has secured a seven-day reduction in violence in the country that it hopes will allow it to strike a deal with the Taliban, as President Donald Trump said a peace accord was “very close”. Such a deal would allow Washington to begin withdrawing troops, in return for security guarantees from the Taliban and a promise to begin peace talks with the Afghan government.

However, refugees were sceptical about what it would mean for them.

Mohammed Feroz, who came to Pakistan just over 40 years ago from Kabul, now runs a cloth shop in “mini Kabul”.

Sitting in a chair at the front of his shop, he said he supported the withdrawal of US troops — but was leery of US and Taliban motivations.

“They are after their interest. No one cares about us, God is the only hope for

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

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us,” he said.

Even if peace comes, most refugees said that they would prefer to stay in Pakistan, where they can support their families.

In the Khurasan refugee camp outside Peshawar an estimated 5,000 refugees live in poverty. Yaseen Ullah, 26, collects scrap and sells it to junkyards. His family — his mother, four brothers, and four sisters — share a two-room mud house with no plumbing.

They also came from Nangarhar province across the border — and, despite the harshness of life in the camp, are not eager to go back. “I have no job, no work in Afghanistan. So what will I do there?”

Ullah asked. Mohammad, the labourer from Nangarhar, agreed. “I have to feed my family, my kids,” the father of seven, all born in the camp, told AFP, speaking Pashto with a Pakistani accent.

“I am saying it from my heart and I am very clear on it, that I will prefer to stay here. I do not want to return.“ AgEnciES