E-Paper PDF 21th February 2020 (KHI)

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Friday, 21 February, 2020 I 26 Jamadi-ul-Sani, 1441 I Rs 17.00 I Vol X No 233 I 16 Pages I Karachi Edition

Attorney GenerAl AnwAr MAnsoor KhAn steps down g

Govt diSowNS toP Lawyer’S StatemeNt, SayS remarkS were ‘uNauthoriSed’, ‘totaLLy uNcaLLed for’ ISLAMABAD staff report

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ttorNey General of Pakistan (aGP) anwar mansoor khan submitted his resignation to President arif alvi on thursday, a day after the Supreme court (Sc) ordered him to tender an apology for making a controversial statement about the apex court bench in the Justice Qazi faez isa case. in his resignation letter, the top lawyer said: “i note with profound regret that the Pakistan Bar council, of which i am the chairman, has demanded through its press release dated 19th of february 2020 that i resign forthwith from the office of the attorney General of Pakistan.

“Being a life member of karachi Bar association, Sindh Bar association and the Supreme court Bar association, and having previously served as the advocate General Sindh, the attorney General for Pakistan and a judge of the high court of Sindh, i stand with my brothers and colleagues at the Bar and i wish to reaffirm my faith in the highest principles of integrity and professional excellence that the Pakistan Bar council has always stood for.” in the conclusion of his letter, khan said: “accordingly i hereby resign from the position of the attorney General for Pakistan and request to accept it with immediate effect.” the resignation came following an order by Justice umar ata Bandial of the Supreme court, directing aG khan to tender an unconditional apology over his now expunged statement. “as [a] certain statement was made by the aG about the bench yesterday, it would be appreciated if the material on

the basis of which the statement was made is placed on record before the bench,” a visibly disturbed Justice Bandial said while dictating the order at the end of wednesday’s hearing.

Later on, in a statement, PBc vice president had asked the attorney general to submit an unconditional written apology along with his resignation for his “unbecoming conduct”. the statement added that the PBc would not tolerate any government-sponsored attempt to undermine the independence of the judiciary and the process of dispensation of justice.

“Being most disturbed by the unprecedented behavior of the aG towards the apex court,” the PBc stated, adding that it would file contempt of court petition against the attorney general as well as the law minister. Later, contempt of court petition was also drafted but could not be filed in time.

CONTEMPT PETITION: the contempt proceedings must be initiated against anwar mansoor khan, Law minister farogh Nasim and any other person who may have in-

structed the attorney General to make such statement on behalf of the federation and punish them in accordance with the provisions of the constitution, said the petition. the contempt petition reads: “mr. anwar mansoor khan’s statement that any of the petitioners had attacked some Judges – “attack on a few judges” – is contrary to the record. the only application filed on behalf of any of the petitioners relating to composition of bench had sought, merely, that the petition “be fixed before the full-court comprising of all the eligible judges of this court”. to categorise this as an attack is false and the only object to make this false statement appears to sow dissension in this honourable court. mr. anwar mansoor khan then audaciously suggested that after the recusal of two hon’ble Judges this larger Bench is a “convenient court”.” “that these gentlemen are in the habit of castigating judges when they deliver judgments which do not meet with their approval. mr. Justice waqar Seth, chief Justice of Peshawar high court, a distinguished member of the Supreme Judicial council, was called “mentally unfit and incompetent” in various press conferences and statements made by various persons belonging to the federal Government including, inter alia, mr. farogh Naseem, mr. anwar mansoor khan, ms. firdous ashiq awan and mr.

Shehzad akbar, it went on to read.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Khalid Jawed to replace Mansoor as AGP STORY ON PAGE 03

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No hike in power and gas tariffs, cabinet decides STORY ON BACK PAGE

Choose either PAF or PIA, SC tells Arshad Malik

STORY ON PAGE 03

PSL 5 opens at National Stadium amid fanfare

STORY ON BACK PAGE

Army soldier martyred at LoC STORY ON PAGE 02

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Friday, 21 February, 2020

02 NEWS

PM reiterates suPPort to China aMid Coronavirus outbreak ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday called Chinese President Xi Jinping and reiterated that Pakistan firmly stands behind China in its efforts to eliminate the coronavirus, said a press release issued by the prime minister’s office.

He also expressed Pakistan’s “unequivocal solidarity with the Chinese leadership and people in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak”, the statement added. Conveying his condolences over the lives lost due to the outbreak, the prime minister praised the efforts taken

by China for containing and controlling the spread of the virus, adding that the timely, effective and far-reaching measures taken by China were being acknowledged globally, the statement said.

It added that Imran, once again, emphasised on Pakistan’s offer to send a field hospital, along with a team of doctors, to China.

“Underscoring Pakistan’s full trust in the measures being taken by the Chinese authorities, Imran expressed complete confidence that the Chinese nation, under the leadership of Xi Jinping, will emerge stronger and victorious in the aftermath of Covid-19,” it read.

According to the press release.

Imran also lauded China’s resolve and the special measures the country took to look after Pakistani nationals. He also

expressed his confidence in the Chinese leadership who will “continue to take the best possible measures for the welfare of our nationals and students in China”, it read.

Meanwhile, the Chinese president

assured the prime minister that the country was taking swift, effective, and timely measures to battle the outbreak, adding that they will win the war against the virus, the statement said.

He assured that Pakistani students in

China were being treated as their own and authorities will spare no effort in ensuring their safety, health and well being. On a separate note, Xi also stressed China’s commitment to taking the Pakistan-China economic partnership to a new level, adding that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will continue to be the strongest link in this partnership, the statement read.

Both leaders shared their resolve to continue exchanges at the highest level to strengthen the partnership between the two countries. China reported a big drop in new coronavirus cases on Thursday, fuelling hopes the epidemic is nearing its peak, but Japan faced a growing crisis as two passengers from a quarantined cruise ship died.

The death toll in China hit 2,118 as 114 more people died, but health officials reported the lowest number of new cases there in nearly a month, including in the hardest-hit province, Hubei.

On Wednesday, the families of Pakistanis who have not been evacuated from China had protested in Islamabad, calling for their return and refused the argument put forward by the special assistants to the prime minister on overseas Pakistanis and national health services.

They had blocked Margalla Road in F-8 in protest, arguing that even Afghanistan and Bangladesh had evacuated their citizens from China and asked why Pakistan decided not to do so.

Blackmailing, harassment most reported crimes in 2018-19, NA body told

ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday adjourned hearing on the bail pleas of former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and former interior minister Ahsan Iqbal till Feb 24. The bail petitions of both the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders were postponed without any proceedings as IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah is on sick leave. Now, the pleas will be heard by a two-member IHC bench on Feb 24. It is pertinent here to mention that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed cases against Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Ahsan Iqbal over corruption in liquefied natural gas (LNG) and Narowal Sports City projects respectively.

exact location of culprits committing cyber crimes, especially those involved in fraudulent and phishing phone calls, though the some agencies possessed the facility.

Waqar Chohan also highlighted the bottlenecks in data sharing from social media applications, money financial solution and even banks in case of inquiring financial fraud cases whereas legal framework also required amendments to make it more effective.

He requested the print and electronic media to highlight 9911 Helpline of the FIA Cyber Crime Wing so that people should reach out the relevant forum to report serious crimes.

Each additional school year for Pakistani girls’ increases future earnings by 10pc: WB country director ISLAMABAD APP

World Bank Country Director for Pakistan Illango Patchamuthu on Thursday said that every additional year of schooling for a girl increases her future earnings by up to 10 per cent.

He was speaking at the second Human Capital Summit: Girls Learn Women Earn at the Pakistan National Council of Arts. Representatives from the government, academia, development organisations, commercial banks, telecom industry, startup ecosystem, fashion industry, civil society and media were present at the event.

“Pakistan could really use the untapped economic potential of women in the workforce as estimates indicate that empowering women and girls to expand their skills, access to information, mobility, and access to finance and assets can boost the econ-

omy by up to 30 per cent”, he said while addressing the participants of the summit.

The need to invest in girls’ education and women’s economic empowerment as crucial to Pakistan’s sustained growth was also highlighted.

Building upon the ‘Girls Learn, Women Earn’ initiative launched in December 2019, the summit – co-hosted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and World Bank – marked the progress being made in Pakistan in efforts to enabling girls to excel in school, and women to thrive in the workplace.

Speaking on the occasion, Special Assistant on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety to the Prime Minister (PM), Dr Sania Nishtar said, “The government of Pakistan’s Ehsaas programme has a very serious intent to drive forward the agenda of women empowerment. Ehsaas stringently follows the 50pc rule across the board for womens’ inclusion in all

Ehsaas initiatives including interest free loans, scholarships and asset transfers”.

“Likewise, another programme Kafaalat, that has recently been launched by the prime minister, will ensure financial and digital inclusion of 7 million disadvantaged women across the country who will now benefit from a monthly stipend of Rs2,000 along with access to bank accounts and affordable smartphones,” she added.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) President Dr Shinichi Kitaoka said, “Investments in human capital, such as education, health and nutrition, are inevitable for building a progressive foundation for human security”.

“Learning from Japan’s experience, we know that countries can also enhance their human capital by thriving on trust and promoting the role of families and communities in national development.

JICA will work pro-actively to build and nurture

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Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Thursday discussed bilateral defence and security cooperation with the senior Kuwaiti leadership on a day-long visit to the country, according to the ISPR. Gen Bajwa held separate meetings with His Excellency Sheikh Ahmad Mansour Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Lieutenant General Mohammed Khaled Al-Khadher, Chief of General Staff Kuwait Armed Forces & Lieutenant General Staff Engineer Hashim Abdurazaq AlRefaea, Under Secretary National Guard.

The civilian and military leadership of Kuwait “highly appreciated” the professionalism of the Pakistani armed forces and the determination of the Pakistani nation in combating terrorism. “Both sides agreed to increase bilateral cooperation in multiple fields of defence & security including export of defence products, training, provision of trained manpower / human resource and cooperation in counter terrorism domain,” read the ISPR’s statement.

NEWS DESK

APP

Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director Cyber Wing Waqar Ahmed Chohan on Thursday said blackmailing and harassment over the social media portals were the most reported cyber crimes in the year 2018-19.

Briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Defence about cyber crimes, he said a comprehensive data had indicated an overall increase in the crime rate as in 2016, around 9,075 complaints were received that reached to 56,696 complaints in 2019.

The Director Cyber Wing told the committee that in 2019 FIA only managed to take up 27,000 cases due to shortage of investigators in the Wing. “It is anticipated as per the calculations that cyber crimes related cases will increase in the future and may go beyond 100,000 complaints a year,” he added.

He pointed out that “This will primarily happen due to increase in public access to relevant forum to highlight such heinous crimes that will eventually result into decline of such cases after proper trial and punishment.”

He informed the committee that FIA had been successful to penalize a pedophile who had been reported by the Norwegian Police. The Norwegian Police informed the FIA about the gang providing child porn material from Pakistan on ‘Dark web’ who was traced and punished of imprisonment and Rs1.2 million fine after court trial, he added.

He said the Cyber Wing lacked locators to detect

RAWALPINDI STAFF REPORT

ARMY SOLDIER MARTYRED AT LOC

ISLAMABAD

IHC adjourns hearing of bail pleas of ex-PM Abbasi, Iqbal

Gen Bajwa discusses defence cooperation with Kuwaiti leadership

A Pakistani soldier was martyred during Indian ceasefire violation along the Line of Control (LoC) in Leepa Valley, a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Thursday. According to the military’s media wing, Indian troops resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation in Kayani Sector and during an exchange of fire Sepoy Imtiaz Ali, 30, resident of Pabbi village in Nowshera District, while valiantly defending the motherland embraced martyrdom. Indian fire was responded effectively by Pakistani soldiers targeting cross-border posts, the ISPR added. On February 8, Pakistan had summoned a senior Indian diplomat at the Foreign Office to register a strong protest over unabated violations of the 2003 ceasefire agreement by Indian border guards along the heavily-miltarised LoC. “Condemning the targeting of innocent civilians by the Indian occupation forces, it was underscored that such senseless Indian acts, in clear violation of the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding and complete disregard for international human rights and international norms, further vitiate the tense atmosphere along the LoC and pose a threat to regional peace and stability,” the FO spokesperson said.

ONLY 11 PER CENT OF WOMEN IN PAKISTAN UTILISE BANKING SERVICES human capital by leading with trust and collaborating in the areas of education, health and nutrition as key building blocks of sustained human security for all,” he added.

The summit also discussed the challenges and constraints of the education system in Pakistan to promote girls learning were discussed by the panels. Poverty, distance from home to schools, and parental perception of schools’ safety were noted as three of the main determinants of school attendance for girls. In the ‘Girls Learn’ panel, it was highlighted that young girls in rural areas are the least likely to have full access to education whereas gender gap in enrollment is a persistent issue across education levels.

In order to tackle these challenges, panellists showcased the Accelerated Learning Programme which provides over age, out of school children with learning opportunities for human capital development as a good practice within Pakistan.

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Friday, 21 February, 2020

NEWS

03

Choose either PaF or Pia, sC tells arshad Malik ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

HE Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday declared Air Marshal Arshad Mehmood Malik’s appointment as head of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) “illegal”, saying he could not hold two posts at the same time.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed asked Malik to choose between serving in the Pakistan Air Force or as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PIA. Earlier, on January 21, the SC had rejected Malik’s appeal against the Sindh High Court’s decision to stop him from performing any functions as CEO of the national airline until a final decision in the present case is made.

“Arshad Mehmood Malik should resign from the air force and permanently join PIA. Only one thing can be done, either work in PAF or PIA,” remarked the chief justice.

The court noted that the national airline required a “permanent chairman” who can run it along profes-

sional lines and make it profitable.

The court asked Malik to submit a definite answer by the next hearing which will be in the first week of March. When Salman Akram Raja, representing the PIA’s board of governors told the court that former Air Marshal Nur Khan had also worked for the national carrier, the chief justice remarked that “they were big people and should not be compared to anyone”. Justice Sajjad Ali Shah said that if the court accepted the advocate’s argument, stating that if “the union employees would not let PIA function unless there was the stick of the army”, then the government “should close all its offices”.

The SC also rejected PIA’s report about the mysterious sale of an Airbus plane owned by the national flag carrier in 2017, observing that it had only conducted a “paper investigation” into the matter.

The court directed the National Accountability Bureau to continue its investigation into how the plane was sold.

The mysterious sale of the PIA plane had caught the attention of the SC on Feb 13 when it questioned whether the sale of the aircraft — a public property — amounted to a national offence or not.

Shehbaz says Imran gave ‘NRO to friends’ by hiding wheat, sugar crisis report NEWS DESK

ihC again seeks govt's reply in plea challenging appointment of special assistants ISLAMABAD APP

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday ordered the federal government to submit its reply in a petition challenging the appointments of 15 special assistants of prime minister. The bench expressed concern over non-submission of reply by the federation and directed it again to submit written reply against the petition so that arguments could be initiated. A division bench, comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Ghulam Azam Qambrani, conducted hearing on the petition moved by a citizen Farukh Nawaz Bhatti, challenging the status of special assistants. During the course of proceeding, Justice Aamer Farooq remarked that the lawyers of some respondents were yet to appear before the bench and directed them to ensure their attendance on the next date of hearing. He further remarked that an important constitutional matter had been placed before the bench and the court would give its judgement on it. The deputy attorney general informed the court that Yousaf Baig Mirza and Iftikhar Durrani were no more assistants to prime minister while Naeemul Haq had passed away. The petitioner’s counsel requested the court to view that whether these assistants (mentioned by deputy attorney general) had been denotified by the government. Justice Farooq remarked that the question was that if special assistants could be appointed, whether they could be given the status of federal ministers. The bench sought detailed reply till March 10.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday that Prime Minister Imran Khan gave NRO-like concession to his ‘friends’ by hiding the investigation report of the ongoing wheat and sugar crisis. The opposition leader in the National Assembly, in a statement, said that the PTI government’s silence over the crisis is tantamount to confessing the crime.

“Niazi (PM Imran) has proven that he is an accomplice of the culprits by not making the report public,” said the PML-N president.

Shehbaz said that to arrest the smugglers and hoarders of wheat and sugar “the PM House should be raided”.

He further said that those behind hoarding and profiteering of edibles should be brought forth. Last week, Prime Minister Imran had admitted that the sugar and wheat crisis had originated as a result of his govern-

ment’s negligence, saying that an investigation was being conducted to find out who was responsible for it.

“This was our [government] negligence, I admit this,” he said. “I am telling you this today, we are conducting an investigation into this [wheat and sugar crisis] and we are slowly getting to know who is involved. I promise you, whoever is involved in the crisis, we will not leave that person,” he said. Wheat prices across the country sky rocketed last month after fears of a looming shortage of wheat and sugar hit markets. The government had said it was doing all it could to contain the crisis, amid allegations from the opposition that the government was ill-equipped to deal with the issue.

The problem was exacerbated by a decision to export 200,000 to 400,000 tons of wheat, keeping in view surplus stocks on the basis of estimates presented by Ministry of National Food Security and Research, but the actual exports of wheat crossed 640,000 tons.

Five security men killed in turbat shootout NEWS DESK At least five security personnel were martyred and three were injured after alleged militants attacked a check post in Turbat.

Three militants were killed in an exchange of fire between the forces and militants that lasted several hours. A day earlier, one police official was martyred and two were injured after an improvised explosive device (IED) blew up near a police vehicle in the Kulachi tehsil of Dera Ismail Khan.

khalid Jawed to replace Mansoor as aGP

US-Taliban peace deal will be signed soon: FO AISHA FAROOQUI SAYS PAKISTAN HOPES TRUMP WILL RAISE KASHMIR ISSUE WITH INDIAN LEADERSHIP ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday said that a deal between the United States and Taliban for sustainable peace in Afghanistan will be signed soon and it will take into account the interests of all stakeholders.

Speaking at her weekly news briefing in Islamabad, FO Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said that the deal will lead to intraAfghan dialogue. She added that Pakistan wants to see peace and stability in Afghanistan more than any other country in the world.

Aisha said that Pakistan hopes

that the US President Donald Trump will raise the issue of Kashmir with the Indian leadership during his upcoming visit to India. She hoped that Trump’s offer of mediation will be taken forward through some concrete practical steps. The spokesperson said that Pakistan welcomes the letter written by the US Senators to the US secretary of state drawing attention to the plight of people of Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK).

She said that voices are growing around the world calling upon India to provide fundamental freedoms to the people of occupied Kashmir by lifting the draconian laws and ensuring the just resolution of the outstanding dispute in accordance with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions. Referring to the recent visits of the UN secretary general and the Turkish president, Aisha said that these show a growing acknowledgment by the international community of Pakistan’s contributions towards global peace and security.

Responding to a question, the spokesperson said that a special task

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force comprising two officers of Pakistan’s mission in Beijing has been sent and deployed in the Chinese city of Wuhan and its mandate is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of Pakistani students.

She said that the task force has already visited seven universities in Wuhan where they have individually met every Pakistani student besides interacting with the administration of those universities. When asked about the arrests of Pakistani nationals in Saudi Arabia, the spokesperson strongly rejected the impression that it is a Pakistani specific drive. She highlighted that Saudi Arabia carries out the exercise against illegal expatriates and workers every year before the holy month of Ramzan. She said that Saudi Authorities have also arrested nationals of several other countries as part of this drive. She said that Pakistan’s consulate in Jeddah remains in constant touch with the Saudi authorities on this matter and is taking all possible measures within the local rules and regulations to protect the interests of the Pakistani community.

NEWS DESK The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has decided to appoint Khalid Jawed Khan as the Attorney General of Pakistan after Anwar Mansoor Khan quit the top post following a backlash over his controversial remarks regarding a Supreme Court bench in Justice Isa case. According to reports, Khalid Jawed will take charge of the office after notification to this effect will be issued by the Law Ministry, presumably on Friday. His appointment, however, has already been approved by Prime Minister Imran Khan, the report quoted sources as saying. As an AGP, he resigned from his post after the PTI government came into power and Mansoor replaced him as the top lawyer. In 2018, he had replaced Ashtar Ausaf Ali, who voluntarily relinquished the post for ‘transparent and unbiased elections’. Barrister Khan was also appointed as the Advocate General of Sindh on June 25, 2013. He, however, resigned from the post on January 11, 2014, citing ‘personal reasons’.

04 KARACHI 29 C 17 C 30 C 17 C 31 C 18 C Govt, JICA lAunCh Rs4.16bn hospItAl pRoJeCts foR home-bAsed women woRkeRs

Friday, 21 February, 2020

WEATHER UPDATES

FRIDAY

KARACHI STAFF REPORT

The Sindh government and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have agreed to launch two different projects for improvement of livelihood and well-being of female home-based workers and establishment of Maternal and Child health Center at Liaquat University Hospital, Jamshoro worth Rs4.16 billion.

The JICA would also provide technical and engineering solution of traffic congestion in Karachi.

This decision was taken in a meeting between Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and President JAICA Shinichi Kitaoka accompanied

by Consul General of Japan Toshikazu Isomura,

Petrol supplied at Karachi fuel stations as per routine

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Hiroo Tanaka, Chief Secretary of President Office, Shone Hara Director General of South Asia Dept, Nobuhiro Kawatani Director South Asia HQs and others.

The chief minister said that his government has submitted a concept paper of the project, Improvement of Livelihood and wellbeing of female homebased workers. The concept paper was approved in the larger interest of female workers. Therefore, he wanted the project may be approved so that it could be started in 2020.

The JICA president approved the project to be started in 2020 and its completion would be in 2023.

The overall size of the project has been estimated at Rs541.086 million of which JICA’s share would be Rs435.729 million.

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The remaining amount would be provided by Sindh government.

The project is about improving the livelihood skills and managerial abilities of female homebased workers and mainstreaming them in formal labour market.

MCH Center: Another project which came under discussion was the establishment of maternal and Child Health Center at Liaquat University Jamshoro.

The cost of the project would be Rs3623.040 million of which JICA’s share would come to Rs181.152 million and rest of the major amount would be provided by the provincial government.

The project was approved in the meeting and would be started in 2020 and to be completed within two years, 2022.

CM Murad issues funds to buy new buses for Karachi, other cities KARACHI

KARACHI STAFF REPORT

INP

People were seen getting their routine fuel refills from various fuel stations of the city on Thursday morning as the shortage ceased. Earlier on Wednesday night, people had rushed to petrol stations after rumours of petroleum supplies’ suspension amid the closure of Kemari oil terminal spread like wildfire. Long queues of cars and motorcycles, including public transport vehicles, were seen outside the petrol pumps in many areas whereas some filling stations were reportedly providing petrol in limited quantity, 2-3 litres and 5-10 litres respectively, to motorcyclists and cars.

Further, the persistent threat of toxic gas in the areas near the Kemari port had forced companies, institutes and individuals to take precautionary measures as it emerged that an oil terminal of state-owned PSO located in Zulfiqarabad was functional for petrol supplies to the metropolis.

After the rumours of petroleum shortage, Pakistan State Oil (PSO) in a statement claimed that they have closed down one of their 23 oil terminals in the city, adding that the closure should not affect fuel supply as 22 remain functional.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has issued funds worth Rs2.5 billion for the new bus service in Karachi to meet the growing requirement of passenger buses, it emerged on Thursday.

According to details, Sindh Transport Minister Owais Qadir Shah said that Shah has released funds for the purchase of new buses in Karachi. He further said bus operation would run under the public-private partnership.

According to its plan, the Sindh government will buy 100 buses for the provincial capital and 100 for Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana and Mirpurkhas cities.

“An international tender will be floated to purchase 200 city buses which would hit the roads of Karachi and other five districts of Sindh,” said Qadir.

The transport minister said that the process might take seven months for completion.

Last year in May, the Sindh government had inked an agreement to run 1000 public transport buses on roads of Karachi.

Provincial transport minister Shah told a press conference that the government had signed a trans-

shC rejects request for stay against dismantling of wedding halls KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Thursday turned down a plea, seeking a stay order against dismantling wedding halls in Karachi’s North Nazimabad neighboorhood. A high court bench, comprising Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi, also rejected a plea seeking prompt hearing of the case against dismantling marriage halls. “The court could not issue a restraining order with its eyes closed,” the judge remarked. “First submit papers with regard to the legal status of the wedding hall,” the bench said.

Advocate Nihal Hashmi, while representing the wedding hall owner, claimed to have legal documents of the premises. “The legal papers you are talking about were not present in the case file,” the court remarked. “Produce the papers on the legal status of the premises, the court could take any action after it,” the Justice said. The Supreme Court has ordered the demolition of illegal structures, the bench said, “we have also some limits and restrictions,” Justice Rizvi said.

port agreement with a Korean company for the provision of 1000 buses for the city.

“Under the agreement, 200 buses will be plied on the roads of Karachi within 60 days of the signing of the transport deal”, the minister said.

Lack of implementation on differently-abled quota irks SHC KARACHI INP

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday expressed its resentment over lack of implementation on the quota of differently-abled people in the province and directed Sindh Chief Secretary Mumtaz Ali Shah to submit a report into the matter by Feb 27.

The court was hearing a plea regarding nonimplementation of the differently-abled quota and the counsel arguing in favour of the case said that 61 visually impaired people are still denied jobs on the quota.

Expressing his concern, he said that it might be possible that the quota might be used to recruit people keeping in view their political affiliations.

The court expressed its anger on the advocate

general Sindh for not submitting a report on the quota implementation and remarked that it was giving last warning on the matter.

“Why the government is not implementing the quota?” asked the judge and remarked that it is the responsibility of the government to facilitate the differently-abled persons.

The court said that the government should not delay implementation on the quota and directed the chief secretary to submit a report in this regard by Feb 27. It is pertinent to mention here that in September 2019, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah directed all the provincial departments to implement five per cent job quota for differently-abled persons.

The chief minister also directed to issue offer letters to those candidates who had already cleared their interviews in a week.

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shC moved over fIR registration against traffic violators KARACHI STAFF REPORT

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday directed the top officials of the Sindh province to submit a report regarding registration of first information reports (FIR) against one-way traffic violators by Mar 10. The court was hearing a petition against the registration of cases over a one-way traffic violation. The petitioner’s counsel said that around 2100 citizens were booked in cases over violating a one-way traffic rule. The court made the top officials of the Sindh government including the chief secretary, Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP), provincial home secretary and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police traffic respondents in the case. It directed the officials to submit a written reply in the case by March 10. It is pertinent to mention here that on 15 Jan, Police Chief Ghulam Nabi Memon announced to a drive against oneway traffic violators and warned to register FIRs against them. In his statement, he said checking will start on Friday from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm at 100 places identified by the metropolitan police in the city. Memon said drivers travelling on the wrong side of the road will be arrested and cases will be registered against them under section-279.

Three days later, the IGP Sindh also endorsed the campaign saying that the DIG traffic is directed to take strict actions against the violators in order to succeed in the campaign against one-way and wrong way violators. “We will ensure that the citizens are forced to avoid driving on the wrong way,” the IGP Sindh said and added awareness would also be created among masses regarding dangers faced from violating the rules.

Riyadh-bound pIA flight makes emergency landing in karachi KARACHI STAFF REPORT

Riyadh-bound Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight made an emergency landing at the Jinnah International Airport due to technical fault on Thursday. Sources said that the PIA flight PK-729 was enroute to Riyadh from Multan when it made an emergency landing at Karachi airport due to technical fault. The pilot of the aircraft immediately contacted the control tower to seek permission for an emergency landing and safely landed the aircraft with more than 130 passengers on board. Earlier in January, Karachi-bound flight of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) suffered serious damage after a bird hit near Jinnah International Airport. According to details, PIA flight PK-311 coming from Quetta was hit by a bird while landing at Jinnah International. The pilot, however, successfully made landing as no human injury was reported. One wing of the plane has been damaged which is currently being repaired by a team of engineers. This was a first bird hit incident of the year 2020. In 2019, more than 19 planes were affected by bird strikes which caused millions of rupees loss to the national flag carrier.

President seeks strong culture of voluntary blood donation in country KARACHI APP

President Arif Alvi Thursday stressed the need for a strong culture of voluntary blood donation in the country with equal attention towards cadaveric organ donation.

Talking to the media during his visit to the LRBT Tertiary Teaching Hospital in Korangi, a locality largely inhabited by blue-collar workers, he said organ donation, be it cornea, kidney or liver, was a charity in itself.

"It saves lives," he emphasized reiterating that the relevance of blood donation also could not be ignored which ironically was rarely given due impor-

tance in the society.

"We generally come forward only in a crisis situation while its importance cannot be overlooked at any cost."

Recalling his association with the LRBT Hospital, he said his visit to the facility was to see how it could be helped at current point of time.

"It is definitely no mean feat that the LRBT through its chain of centres, scattered across the country, is catering a major chunk of the patients in need of eye care," he said.

President Alvi opined that such facilities and the people associated with them were role models, who must be duly projected so as to be a source of inspiration for the society in general.

He said it was a manifestation of philanthropic work and reputation the LRBT had earned for dedication to a cause related to the people with little or limited resources, which had helped it to get funds from different parts of the world as well by the locals.

"It is heartening to see that these people, pertaining to different age groups are provided free of cost services and assistance," President Alvi said referring to surgeries, treatment for eyerelated injuries and other crucial support in terms of lens implantation, glasses and so forth.

The president also reiterated the need to raise public awareness about prevention of eye conditions and diseases that

CMYK

might also cause visual impairment.

Earlier, he along with First Lady Samina Alvi took a round of the hospital and was briefed about its working coupled with efforts to further expand its satellite centres in remote and less privileged areas of the country.

He appreciated the state of art technology and the latest specialized equipment available for the treatment of the poor patients.

On the occasion, Najmus Saqib Hameed, Prof. Fawad Rizvi and Umer Ghafoor briefed him about the working of the trust. Member of the National Assembly Aftab Siddiqui and Member of the Sindh Assembly Shehzad Qureshi were also present on the occasion.

President Alvi was informed that the LRBT had been operational since 1985 with the mission that "No man, woman or child should go blind".

With the very objective it was said to run a network of 77 facilities countrywide, comprising 19 hospitals and 58 eye centres covering 78% of Pakistanis.

The LRBT is devoted to treat the poor patients in Pakistan suffering from any eye-related ailment - cataract, glaucoma, retina and corneal diseases among children, said of the staffers.

It was further claimed to have treated 44 million patients and conducted over 4.3 million sight restoration surgeries absolutely free of cost during the past 34 years.

Friday, 21 February, 2020

NEWS

05

Cylinder GAs leAKAGe CAused TezGAM inferno, sAys forensiC reporT LaHoRe

T

STAFF REPORT

HE forensic report of the 2019 Tezgam inferno near Liaquatpur in southern Punjab has confirmed gas leakage from cylinders in bogie no. 10 and 11.

The fire had claimed the lives of more than 7o people. About 40 people, including women and children, were injured, Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid said at the time.

The forensic report suggested that the ignition occurred immediately when the gas came in contact with a spark or flame.

Importantly, the report of Pakistan Railways’ Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dost Leghari claiming short-circuiting as the cause of the tragic incident has also been termed “suspicious”.

It has further pointed out that a matchstick or smoking of a cigarette in the gas leakage could also be the cause of the incident.

The samples of damaged and burnt cylinders were taken from Chani Goth

Railway Station instead of the spot of the incident.

On the other hand, the Railways Ministry has constituted an inquiry committee to reinvestigate the incident, according to a notification issued on Tuesday.

The legal status of the federal government inspector of railways has been termed suspicious as the appointment was made by railways secretary instead of the federal government.

On Monday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) strictly ordered secretaries of the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Railways to personally appear in the next hearing on Feb. 24 in the same case.

Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani presided over the hearing of the case and expressed displeasure over the proceedings and response from the concerned ministries over the matter.

“Does [the court] needs to summon the Prime Minister now?” the judge asked angrily, adding that people were burnt to death while the two ministries were unaware of telling anything.

Corruption, 'devastated' economy cannot be blamed on others: Marriyum

“Do we need to tell the Prime Minister that the two ministries aren’t working [properly]?” he questioned.

“Both ministries are asleep as they think that nobody had died in the incident […] if you won’t work, then we will make you work through [the court’s] orders.”

“Even the federal government doesn’t know if an FIR was lodged or not [… ] [you] are oppressing the people while

sitting in a building in Islamabad,” the judge remarked.

“Do you consider the Islamabad High Court “a sort of postal office”? [… ] after the passage of five months, you are writing a letter seeking a report,” the chief justice of IHC lamented.

Meanwhile, the court also ordered all investigation officers in the case to personally appear in the next hearing.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb on Thursday said that “mafia operating under Prime Minister Imran Khan” cannot put the blame of corruption and devastated economy on “others”. In a statement, the PML-N leader lashed out at the government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and said that the “deplorable condition” of the State Bank of Pakistan is a clear example of “PM’s incompetence”. She further questioned the federation about the “historic loan” taken in 18 months. Earlier, Aurangzeb said that Prime Minister Imran had raided the houses of political opponents to hide his inefficiency. PTI has destroyed economy, business and employment in the country, she added. STAFF REPORT

Attorney General Doctor on the run after allegedly killing Anwar Mansoor comedian Omar Shareef's daughter Khan steps down neWS DeSK

Continute on page 1 On August 31, 2018, Khan was appointed attorney general for the second time. He earlier served in the position during the tenure of the PPP government. He resigned from the post on April 2, 2010, after reportedly developing differences with the then law minister, Babar Awan.

GOVT DISOWNS KHAN’S REMARKS: Meanwhile, a response submitted on behalf of the federal government in the Supreme Court said the “statement” made by Khan on February 18 was “unauthorised, without instructions and knowledge of the federal government and the answering respondents, and totally uncalled for”. “It is pointed out that the federal government of Pakistan and the answering respondents hold the superior judiciary for Pakistan in the highest respect and esteem. “Accordingly, the federal government and the answering respondents dissociate themselves from the statement of the learned attorney general,” the response submitted by Law and Justice Division Secretary Muhammad Khashih-urRehman read. “The federal government and the answering respondents verily believe in the rule of law, constitutionalism and the independence of the judiciary,” it concluded. It has been learnt that the government was considering replacing the AGP. According to reports, Khalid Javed Khan was being considered for the post of the AGP. The government had earlier offered the top post to renowned lawyer Makhdoom Ali Khan, who reportedly turned down the offer.

PMS, PCS want a say in reform process LaHoRe SHAHAB OMER

All Pakistan PMS/PCS Officers Association has written a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan about the acute discrimination against provincial civil services and compromised goals of constitutionalism, federalism, civil service reforms, good governance and provincial autonomy. The association pointed out the performance of federal task force on civil service reforms, present illegal arrangements covered under CSP rules, unilateral grabbing of provincial posts and administrative federalism. “Throughout the history of civil service reforms, recommendations never addressed the core issues of federalism, constitutionalism, provincial autonomy and good governance. These reforms have only changed the nomenclature than reformation to the constitutional and structural anomalies of the civil service,” the letter read. “The federal task force on civil service reforms led by Ishrat Husain is not catering these fundamental core issues of the civil service structures in line with the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan as conveyed coherently by 4,000 provincial civil servants of all four provinces time and again,” the letter added. Talking about administrative federalism, the letter stated, “A federal form of governance, in the classical sense, is premised on the doctrine of administrative dualism, that is, each level of government is to be equipped with its own set of administrative instrumentalities and mechanism, and the two levels of government have thus separate and distinct levels of public administration.

Dr Fawad Mumtaz, the doctor who allegedly performed an illegal kidney surgery on comedian Omer Shareef’s daughter Hira Omer that resulted in her death, is on the run.

According to the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) initial probe, Dr Fawad fled from his house after Hira Omer’s death and the team is currently locating his whereabouts.

“Dr Fawad already has a history of illegal kidney transplants and an FIR has been lodged against him. According to initial information, around Rs3.4 million were given to Dr Fawad Mumtaz for Hira’s kidney transplant. The operation was held in Rawalpindi at an unknown location,” a Punjab Human Organ Transplant Authority (PHOTA) official said. “Omer Sharif is a prominent name and the authorities will do their best to arrest Dr Fawad. They will also try to retrieve the amount that Fawad received for Hira’s transplant. Dr Fawad was also arrested by the Faisalabad police 10 days ago over a similar matter. He got out on bail,” he said.

It may be mentioned here that Shareef’s son Jawad Umer had submitted an application to PHOTA, claiming that his sister’s death was

caused by Dr Fawad Mumtaz’s unprofessional and criminal act.

The authority has set up a four-member committee under the supervision of Deputy Director Vigilance Dr Adnan Bhatti to probe the matter in this regard.

Hira Omer, daughter of renowned Pakistani actor and comedian Omer Shareef, died on Tuesday due to complications that arose after the alleged botched surgery.

Her family said that the doctor and his medical staff conducted illegal transplantation of Hira’s kidney without permission or need to do so.

She had been under treatment at a private clinic in Azad Kashmir for around three weeks but was shifted to a hospital in Lahore last week after her health deteriorated after the transplant.

The deceased’s family also revealed that Dr Fawad had charged them Rs3.4 million for a ‘new kidney’.

Kashmir journalist wins AFP's Kate Webb Prize for coverage of India's lockdown agenCieS SRINAGAR

Freelance reporter Ahmer Khan was named the winner of the 2019 Agence France-Presse Kate Webb Prize on Thursday for his coverage on the ground in occupied Kashmir during Delhi’s lockdown of the disputed region. The award, named after one of AFP’s finest correspondents, recognises journalism by locally hired reporters in Asia operating in risky or difficult conditions. Khan, 27, was honored for a series of video and written reports that vividly illustrated the impact on locals in the Muslim-majority area following India’s decision to strip occupied Kashmir of its special status in August of last year. India’s Hindu-nationalist government-imposed restrictions on movement and a communications blackout, virtually cutting occupied Kashmir off from the outside world. India claimed the move was aimed at bringing prosperity and peace to the

region. The removal of autonomy and subsequent crackdown in occupied Kashmir, however, drew international criticism, and diplomats from several countries say they have raised human rights concerns with India’s foreign ministry.

Despite curfews and a heavy security presence, Khan took to the streets with his camera to document the tensions, concerns and frustrations among the residents of Srinagar and other cities in occupied Kashmir.

Unable to skirt the communications shutdown, he flew in and out of Delhi to file his stories.

“Reporting from Kashmir at this time has been extremely challenging for everyone, including the established foreign media,” said AFP’s Asia-Pacific regional director Philippe Massonnet.

“For an independent, local journalist those challenges have been far greater, and it is to Ahmer’s enormous credit that he managed to provide accurate, high-quality journalism when

it was so sorely needed.”

Khan said on learning of his win: “This is a real honor, and a huge motivation to carry on my work with enthusiasm and determination. “I want to dedicate this award to the courageous and resilient journalists from Kashmir who have been reporting in extremely difficult conditions for the past six months. This is a collective award.”

The Kate Webb Prize, with a 3,000 euro ($3,400) purse, honors journalists working in perilous or difficult conditions in Asia and is named after a crusading AFP reporter who died in 2007 at the age of 64, after a career covering the world’s trouble spots.

The award, which in 2018 went to reporter Asad Hashim for his coverage of the plight of ethnic Pashtuns and blasphemy issues in his native Pakistan, is administered

by AFP and the Webb family.

The prize will be formally presented at a ceremony in Hong Kong later this year.

Friday, 21 February, 2020

06 WORLD VIEW

Israel’s propaganda war waged through tV shows

Al JAzeeRA

I

Yara hawari

srAeL’s latest propaganda war is being waged through slick tV shows on various media service providers such as netflix and HBO. While racist depictions of Arabs and the glorification of israel is not new in the film and tV industry, there has recently been a surge in programmes venerating the israeli secret services while demonising Palestinians as threats to global security and erasing their history. the most well-known is the israeli netflix series Fauda (meaning chaos in Arabic) which has been a global hit. the series follows an undercover israeli special forces unit known as the “musta’ribim”, who disguise themselves as Palestinians to infiltrate Palestinian towns, villages and protests. they are particularly known for blending into protests dressed as young Palestinian men and kidnapping protesters. Fauda has been heavily criticised for dehumanising Palestinians and completely erasing the military occupation by failing to show any of the massive and visible infrastructure built across the West Bank and Gaza to keep Palestinians contained.

Another tV show, on HBO, called Our Boys, dramatises the infamous events surrounding the killing of three teenage israeli settlers and the subsequent killing of a Palestinian boy, Mohammed Abu Khdeir. Many praised the show for being critical of israel, particularly after israeli Prime Minister Benjamin netanyahu denounced it as “anti-semitic”.

However, the series not only reinforces the israeli narrative but also shows israel’s secret police agency shin Bet as a defender of the rule of law. similar net-

NETFLIX’S THE MESSIAH IS THE LATEST POPULAR TV SHOW SUPPORTING ISRAEL IN ITS PROPAGANDA WAR AGAINST THE PALESTINIANS flix programmes such as the spy (starring sasha Baren Cohen) also glorify the israeli secret services as an agency of good fighting the bad, which inevitably happens to be all the neighbouring Arab countries. the latest addition to the list of tV shows supporting israel in its propaganda war against the Palestinians is netflix’s the Messiah. in the show, a messiah-like figure from the Middle east causes concern for the CiA and the shin Bet. in the first episode, he is seen to lead a group of Palestinian-syrian refugees to syria’s border with presumably the occupied Golan Heights. A fictional Cnn reporter declares that “as displaced Palestinians they claim they are entitled passage into the West Bank as rightful citizens”. Yet Palestinian refugees in syria come from historic Palestine, now recognised as israel, and they do not demand to become citizens of the West Bank. rather they demand their right to return to their villages and towns of origin from which they were displaced in 1948 - a right that is inalienable and enshrined in international law. this is not pedantism; this kind of consistent and subtle denial of Palestinian rights seeps into what becomes hegemonic, accepted norms. this is further demonstrated when the show consistently refers to Jerusalem as israel’s capital, while international law and consensus denies it as such in recognition of the Palestinian right to the city.

We also know far too well what happens when

Palestinian refugees march to israeli military fences and demand their inalienable rights to return home. indeed, the courageous Great March of return in Gaza shows us the horrific consequences of such an action: israeli soldiers shot dead hundreds of Palestinians. in contrast, the Messiah shows a few israeli army jeeps standing by as the refugees camp next to the fence.

Other Palestinian protests later on in the series are consistently referred to as riots - a word commonly used by mainstream media to delegitimise political protest, evoking connotations of senseless violence and often holding heavy racial undertones. the show also glorifies a troubled shin Bet agent who kidnaps and tortures a young Palestinian boy to near death, while it is later discovered that he previously killed another Palestinian boy in an act of revenge. not only are Palestinians so dehumanised that their torture and killing is seen as justifiable, but the agent is also portrayed as a tortured soul, a heroic protagonist who works with a CiA agent for the sake of world security. similar to the portrayal of the CiA in the show Homeland, in the Messiah, the shin Bet is portrayed as an ultimately virtuous organisation that sometimes has to undertake “unsavoury” activities for the sake of the greater good. Yet we have clear documentation of the shin Bet’s systematic human rights abuses and crimes against the Palestinians and others, including their torture and violent interrogations of Palestinians, which contravene inter-

national law and all considerations of morality. none of this is surprising, especially as the CiA continues to be portrayed as a force for good in mainstream media despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

While it can be expected that a large media organisation such as netflix has no interest in humanising Palestinians or Middle easterners or portraying their narratives accurately, it is particularly disappointing that Arab actors take part in these programmes and become complicit in racist propaganda and ultimately their own dehumanisation. Yet throughout the history of television and film this too has always been the case. this latest surge of programmes focusing on israel and trying to show it as a force for good is a clear attempt to win the current legitimisation battle.

While it may seem like one of the less important battles, the effectiveness of such tV shows cannot be understated. they feed into global narratives on israel and Palestine and soon become part of hegemonic norms or facts. indeed, in today’s world, media services such as netflix, and their popular tV shows, are the main sources of knowledge for many people. And although not as crude as classic Orientalist cinema and tV, these programmes are no less racist and perhaps even more dangerous in their subtlety and slick presentation.

Yara Hawari is the Palestine Policy Fellow of Al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network.

Trump’s India visit highlights bilateral challenges RCD Sue GhoSh Stricklett

resident trump and First Lady Melania trump are scheduled to visit india next week, February 24 – 25, 2020. the trumps will travel to “new delhi and Ahmedabad, which is in Prime Minister Modi’s home state of Gujarat and played such an important role in Mahatma Gandhi’s life and leadership of the indian independence movement,” according to a White House Press release. the year that led to the planning of this Presidential trip has been anything but a sentimental journey. the age-old dilemma in such encounters - what happens when an unstoppable force (President trump) collides with an immovable object (new delhi Government – the indian deep state)? each would require every scrap of energy to prevail against the other. Or nothing changes. For a President elected on a populist mandate of protecting American jobs and enforcing fair trade rules, india’s “developing country” designation under international development programs is an unacceptable refrain.

P

While the President out-maneuvered the Chinese use of the same designation to justify abusive trade practices, india may yet pose his biggest challenge.

As they did with China’s President Xi, the trump Administration’s lowgrade trade war with india has been calibrated with well-choreographed bonhomie between donald trump and indian Prime Minister Modi. But with one characteristic difference – donald trump’s outreach to Hindu Americans, both before and after his election. Hindu American political appointees are ubiquitous in the trump Administration, including high profile perches such as the FCC Chairman, CMs director, and Undersecretary of state for economic Affairs.

A Hindu American trump nominee replaced Justice Kavanaugh at the district of Columbia Court of Appeals, the customary pipeline for future supreme Court nominations. At a september 2019 Houston texas rally for Prime Minister Modi, that was organized by local indian Americans, President trump remarked to a cheering crowd of 50,000: “every day indian-Americans help write the story of American greatness … everyone here has a crucial role

to play in an even greater American and indian future.” the President polls well among Hindu American voters, who are among his fastest growing support base, and can indeed help him win the 2020 election, not just in texas, but in critical swing states such as Florida, Michigan, Colorado, and Virginia. regardless, President trump remains an unstoppable force in forging “America First” trade agreements. Pratik Chougule, a security policy expert, observes: “the Bush and Obama administrations largely bracketed the [trade] issues to facilitate a partnership in other areas such as defense and civil nuclear cooperation. Progress on these fronts, they calculated, would build the confidence and political capital necessary to ameliorate more divisive trade dilemmas.” However, President trump chided india in a July 9, 2019 tweet: “india, for years having put very high tariffs against the United states, just recently increased the tariffs even further. this is unacceptable, and the tariffs must be withdrawn!” the trump administration has levied tariffs on indian steel and aluminum imports, blocked india’s oil imports from iran, threatened sanctions to dissuade

india’s purchase of advanced russianmade s-400 missile defense system, deter Huawei’s foray into india - the world’s second largest internet market - to build its 5G network, unceremoniously removed india from the Generalized system of Preference Program (GsP) that allows low tariffs on indian exports to the U.s., imposed countervailing duties against india’s alleged currency devaluation, and filed a consultation request before the World trade Organization (WtO) challenging india’s high import tariffs due to its status as a developing country.

A bill titled “Fixing Global Freeloading Act” (H.r. 2209), introduced by trump-ally rep. Mark Meadows (r-nC), now making its way through the legislative process, designates india and China as “foreign governments that fail to appropriately reward United states innovation with respect to pharmaceuticals.” in its bilateral negotiations with india, the trump Administration demands india lower its import quotas on U.s. agricultural goods, remove price caps on U.s. medical devices such as heart stents, stop the outsourcing of generic drug manufacturing by indian companies, enforce intellectual property protection, particularly

for American pharmaceutical patents, and rectify fraud and abuses in H1B Visas for indian high tech workers. to date, the indian deep state remains an immovable object. Joining the President and Mrs. trump on next week’s india trip is the dream team of Hindu American trump appointees. However, the much anticipated mini-trade deal to be signed by President trump during his india visit next week now looks like a micro-deal: india’s purchase of $2.6 billion worth of military hardware (24 seahawk [MH60r] helicopters) from Lockheed Martin. the question remains as to why American Presidents overlook their bargaining chip with india, which is the American security guarantee in Afghanistan that counters the regional hegemonies of China, russia, iran, and Pakistan. With President trump’s unstoppable force, a significant Us-india trade agreement is possible in his second term.

Sue Ghosh Stricklett is a widely published author on topical issues concerning National Security Law. A graduate of the Catholic University of America School of Law, she has practiced law for the past twenty-five years.

Friday, 21 February, 2020

EU lEadErs to faCE off in 'vEry toUgh' bUdgEt sUmmit

PARIS

E

AGENCIES

uropean Union (EU) leaders are to hold a Brussels summit Thursday to set a sevenyear budget despite splits between some stingy rich nations, poorer ones wanting to preserve spending and others wanting to fund grand global ambitions.

The money tussle, hard-fought at the best of times, is especially problematic this time around

Coronavirus outbreak slashes China carbon emissions

because of Britain’s departure from the EU. The “Brexit gap” caused by the loss of the UK’s contribution is 75 billion euros ($81 billion) over the 2021-2027 period.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the eve of the summit predicted “very tough and difficult negotiations” around the table.

The talks are expected to be so strained that some of the 27 EU delegations are preparing for the summit to drag out into the weekend. A few EU sources, however, suggested differences over the budget are so great the summit could end quickly and the can kicked down the road to another summit — or two — in the coming months.

An analyst at the European Policy Centre, Marta Pilati, agreed, saying: “There likely won’t be agreement at this summit. All the member states aren’t showing much willingness to compromise.”

The minimum spending in the multi-annual financial framework (MFF), as the long-term budget is called, is just over one trillion euros.

VARIED GOALS: The discord is over how much above that amount this budget should be, how spending might be shifted between priorities and how much each member state should pay as a percentage of its gross domestic product (GDP).

Another touchy issue is whether budget rebates pocketed by a few wealthier countries should still exist. The last MFF came in at 1.08 trillion euros (in 2018 prices). A “frugal four”

group of nations — Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden — wants to rein in the budget and make up only some of the ground of the Brexit gap. They also want to keep their rebates, as does Germany. At the high end of spending demands is the European Parliament, which wants the MFF expanded to 1.32 trillion euros to pay for costly goals such as turning the European Union into a carbon-neutral economy within three decades.

The legislature, which has to sign off on the final MFF, believes more money can be raised from EU-wide taxes on plastics and on the carbon emissions trading scheme.

A “friends of cohesion” group of mostly eastern and southern EU nations wants to ringfence money it gets to help bring infrastructure and society up to the level of wealthier counterparts.

Agriculturally sensitive countries such as France, Spain and Poland are also looking to preserve farmers’ subsidies. France would like to also see extra money for common security and defence and the “unfair” rebates scrapped. The European Commission, which aims for a “geopolitical” mantle under President Ursula von der Leyen, is trying for a target of 1.13 trillion euros.

LOOKING FOR A DEAL: The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, who calls and coordinates summits, believes he can at least narrow positions.

Virus fears weigh on European stock markets

BEIJING AGENCIES

The coronavirus epidemic that has paralysed the Chinese economy may have a silver lining for the environment. China’s carbon emissions have dropped by least 100 million metric tonnes over the past two weeks, according to a study published on Wednesday by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) in Finland.

That is nearly six percent of global emissions during the same period last year. The rapid spread of the novel coronavirus — which has killed over 2,000 and infected more than 74,000 people across China — has led to a drop in demand for coal and oil, resulting in the emissions slump, the study published on the British-based Carbon Brief website said. Over the past two weeks, daily power generation at coal power plants was at a four-year low compared with the same period last year, while steel production has sunk to a five-year low, researchers found. China is the world’s biggest importer and consumer of oil, but production at refineries in Shandong province — the country’s petroleum hub — fell to the lowest level since autumn 2015, the report said. Economic activity in China usually picks up after the Lunar New Year holiday, which began on January 25.

But authorities extended the holidays this year — by a week in many parts of the country including Shanghai — in an effort to contain the epidemic by keeping people at home.

PARIS AGENCIES

Coronavirus fears weighed on European stock markets Thursday despite China reporting a big drop in new cases and easing borrowing costs to cushion the epidemic’s economic impact.

Traders have been betting on central banks, particularly China’s, doing what it takes to keep their economies chugging along as the new coronavirus hits corporate earnings and economic growth.

In a widely anticipated move, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) lowered its oneyear and five-year loan prime rates as policymakers seek to reduce the impact of the virus-fuelled slowdown on companies and households. But the moves

FOREIGN NEWS 07

were “not nearly enough”, said Stephen Innes of AxiCorp.

“The PBoC needs to exceed the market expectations, not hit them in this environment,” he said. “If the PBoC made a bigger splash, the market would have reacted more favourably” than the 1.8-percent gain Thursday for Shanghai’s main stocks index. Sentiment had improved in recent days amid growing hopes that the impact of the virus — which has killed more than 2,100 people and infected over 74,000, mostly in China — will be short-lived.

China reported a big drop in new cases on Thursday, fuelling hopes the epidemic is nearing its peak. In the best-case scenario, the economic hit from the epidemic in China will be shortlived, but it comes as the global

economy remains fragile, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said Wednesday. Overnight gains on Wall Street boosted Asian equities at the start of trading before gains evaporated. European stock markets were slightly lower approaching the half-way mark, with a rebound for British retail sales failing to ignite the pound and London’s benchmark FTSE 100 stocks index.

Elsewhere Thursday, oil prices were mixed as traders assess the virus’ impact on demand for crude in China, the world’s biggest importer and consumer of the commodity.

Oil traders were tracking also unrest in crude-producing nation Libya. The country’s unity government has announced it is halting its participation in UN talks aimed at brokering a lasting ceasefire in the war-torn country where a fragile truce has been repeatedly violated.

KEY FIGURES AROUND 1100 GMT: London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 7,450.39 points Frankfurt – DAX 30: DOWN 0.1 percent at 13,774.98 Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 6,098.18 EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,851.42 Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 23,479.15 (close) Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.8 percent at 3,030.15 (close) Hong Kong – Hang Seng: DOWN 0.2 percent at 27,609.16 (close) New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent to 29,348.03 (close) EURO/DOLLAR: DOWN at $1.0792 from $1.0805 at 2200 GMT POUND/DOLLAR: DOWN at $1.2879 from $1.2920

EU seeks 'responsible' AI to dispel Big Brother fears BRUSSELS AGENCIES

The EU unveiled its strategy for artificial intelligence on Wednesday as it seeks to catch up with China and the US and dispel fears of Big Brotherlike control.

The EU said building trust would be a guiding principle, with higher-risk uses of AI in health, security or transport facing stricter demands on transparency and human oversight. Lower-risk applications would be largely left alone.

The other ambition will be to offer companies and universities access to the mountain of data that drives AI — with the bloc considering forcing tech giants to share data or face sanctions.

“We want the application of these new technologies to deserve the trust of our citizens,” Eu-

ropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters.

“This is why we are promoting a responsible, human-centric approach to artificial intelligence.”

EU officials are eager to define the rules of AI and push their champions, acknowledging that Europe and its companies have been outflanked by Silicon Valley’s Google, Facebook and Apple, as well as Chinese players like Tencent.

“It’s not us that need to adapt to today’s platforms. It’s the platforms that need to adapt to Europe,” the EU’s Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton told a news conference.

“The battle for industrial data starts now and Europe will be the main battlefield. Europe has everything it needs to be a leader.”

The proposals are the first step in a long road to legislation, with Brussels hoping for draft laws

by the end of the year. But the far-ranging plans will face furious lobbying from corporate giants and governments and will require ratification by the European Parliament.

“Artificial intelligence is not good or bad in itself. It all depends on why and how it is used,” said the EU Commission’s executive vice president on digital policy, Margrethe Vestager.

‘PRECISION’ DEMANDED: The commission, the EU’s executive arm, will seek to repeat the impact of GDPR — its regulation on data protection that has become a global standard. Corporate lobbies welcomed the hands-off approach to lowerrisk applications of AI, relieved that Brussels was stepping back from blanket regulation.

“We support the targeted and risk-based approach,” said Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl, the head of DigitalEurope, a tech lobby.

Thai retail giant launches record-breaking IPO BANGKOK AGENCIES

Thai conglomerate Central Retail launched the country’s biggest ever IPO Thursday, giving it a market cap of around $8.1 billion in a punt on a sputtering economy now hampered by the new coronavirus. Most Thais visit a shop each day owned by Central, a family-run empire which has hundreds of malls, electronics, grocery and 24-hour convenience stores across the country.

Shares in Central Retail Corporation (CRC) were offered at 42 baht on Thursday morning, but made only a modest quarter baht gain in early trading, with the company eying fundraising of just over 71 billion baht ($2.26 billion).

Friday, 21 February, 2020

08 COMMENT Friends not masters

PSL home at last The momentum should continue

A visit at a critical time

T

he holding of the PSL tournament in Pakistan should have been a matter of routine. however, the fact that it took until the fifth tournament to be held entirely at home, is an indication of the long journey, probably still not over, Pakistan has had to make to convince the world that it is safe for international cricket. Pakistan is not the only Testplaying country to have been a victim of terrorism.

There have been fatal terrorist incidents in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, New Zealand and england, but Pakistan remains the only country where a Test team has actually been attacked, as the Sri Lankan team was back in 2009. That led to a blanket refusal to visit Pakistan by all, which was only ended by a plucky Zimbabwe toured Pakistan in 2016 for a T20I series. however, Test cricket only resumed when Sri Lanka came last year for a twoTest series. It was followed this year by Bangladesh, that has not yet completed a Test series.

The PSL began in Dubai, where the first two editions were held entirely. Only in 2018 was the final first staged in Lahore, and last year in Karachi. For the first time, the entire tournament is being held in Pakistan. It is the only tournament with overseas players, the other domestic tournaments being entirely staffed by local players. Overseas players have opted out over safety concerns, so the participation of overseas players not only treats the fans of the game to the sight of such players, who have never played here for their country, but it also shows that Pakistan is safe for the game. Though the security has often been heavy-handed, it has also shown that crowds are also safe. This has been a grave concern, especially after attacks on european football crowds.

Full credit must be given to the previous PCB management for having soldiered on, but the present PCB management must follow up not just by having the entire PSL held in Pakistan, but by having foreign teams visit. And not just regional teams like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, but top-ranked teams like england or Australia. In that context, South Africa’s decision to cancel its tour must be accounted a setback in what has been so far a story of steady progress back from the bottom of the abyss.

Opposition’s dilemma Waiting for the referee to raise finger?

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he media continues to broadcast live interviews with the people in the streets bitterly complaining of rising prices, unemployment, businesses closing down leading to retrenchments and their highly negative impact on their livelihood. They condemn the PTI government for failure to fulfil its promises. The opposition quotes statistics in Parliament to prove that the government is incompetent and unable to deliver. The opposition parties however are yet not clear over how to deal with the situation, what to do or what to tell the masses. To crown it all, at a time when they are is expected to lead the people, the opposition parties remain disunited.

Soon after the last elections, the opposition parties had formed a grand alliance, with a Rahber Committee to formulate policies. The alliance broke amidst acrimony after the JUI-F_ initiated a movement to overthrow the government, mysteriously insisting on a particular date and without discussing its details with the PPP or the PML-N. The JUI-F blamed the two major parties of letting it down when they politely refused to join its sit-in.

The PPP and the PML-N too have differences. The former holds power in Sindh, its traditional bastion, and wants to play the role of opposition without endangering its government. The PML-N has lost Punjab, its erstwhile fief, and has little to lose now. It blames the PPP for being soft on PTI as the former insists on change of government only in accordance with the Constitution.

The PPP accuses the PML-N of hobnobbing with the offstage players to get back to power.

Despite the differences between the PPP and the PML-N, each party knows that it is incapable of leading a movement on its own, partly because of its past failures to deliver and partly because of the deadly propaganda against its leadership. The sense of isolation is again leading them to muse over joining hands. They however remain unclear whether to demand fresh elections, in house change, or a national government prior to fresh elections. Some maintain the government would fall under the weight of its own incompetence leading to allegations the they are all waiting for the referee to raise his finger.

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

Umar Aziz

Asher John

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Deputy Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

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At Penpoint

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M.A. NIAZI

he visit of Turkish President Recep Tayip erdogan to Pakistan was by no means his first. his address to the joint sitting of Parliament was his fourth, and he had been around often enough for an opposition leader on a previous visit, one who had led a walkout during his speech, to now be the Prime Minister who listened in rapt attention.

President erdogan has one major reason to value Pakistan: the old relationship between the two countries, that is not solely because both are large Muslim countries. One important commonality is the Turkish connection. Turkey was originally Byzantine, Greek, Thracian and Illyrian. however, Turks from Central Asia moved into it, and conquered it. The entire population was Turcised, and when a new country emerged after the break-up of the Ottoman empire, it was as Turkey.

Turks provided the rulers for the Delhi Sultanate, though there were a number of other dynasties coming from Afghanistan. It could be said that even Afghanistan is basically a borderland for essentially Turkic peoples, the Afghans are a kind of ‘mountain Turk’ (a term used more commonly for Kurds). Be that as it may, the apotheosis of the Delhi Sultanate came in the shape of the Mughal dynasty. Though called Mongols because of their descent from Tamerlane, the founder of the dynasty, was an Uzbek, his birthplace in modern Uzbekistan. It is one of the Central Asian Republics, but it is part of what was known as ‘Soviet Turkestan’. Turkey has always had a particular interest in the CARs because of their being Turkic.

The Mughals had always remained proud of their Turkic heritage, making sure that their scions learnt the language. even as late as 1739, the emperor Muhammad Shah Rangila was able to chat in Turkish with the Persian emperor Nader Shah, when he sacked Delhi. It was thus in 1912 when the Ottoman was about to fight its last war in the Balkans, after which it had to concede territory to Greece, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Serbia, that a medical mission from India went to Turkey, consisting of Muslim doctors. It was led by Dr Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari, and organised by Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar, later the one who led the Khilafat Movement along with his brother Maulana Shaukat Ali. The Ali Brothers ended up in the Congress, after the Khilafat Movement was taken over by

Gandhi. however, not only was that supposed to be one of the preliminary phases of the Pakistan Movement, but it also created an attitude towards the Muslims of India among the Turkish people, a debt which remains to this day. It is important to note that this was not a Pan-Islamist movement, because the Ottoman Sultan who had appealed most strongly to Pan-Islamism, Abdul hamid II, had been deposed, and the Ansari Mission had gone to the help of a Young Turk government, which wanted the non-Arab Ottoman lands to form their own countries, as they ultimately did Turkey.

Another bond was the admiration among the Muslims of India, then among Pakistanis, for Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. his secularising mission was generally welcomed, and the backlash against him, even among Turks (of which erdogan is a representative), was far in an unimaginable future.

Yet at the same time, erdogan mentioned Gallipoli, using it as a metaphor for Turkey’s support for the Kashmiri people. Gallipoli is one of the great battles of World War I, where the Australia New Zealand Army Corps (Anzac) landed on Gallipoli, an island just off Istanbul, and where both sides lost a quarter of a million troops each before the invasion was called off. Gallipoli also played a crucial role in building the legend of Ataturk, for that is the site of the story familiar to every Pakistani schoolboy, of how he remained unruffled under fire even though his wristwatch was hit.

At the moment, one of the more important aspects of the Turkish relationship is its unswerving support to Kashmiris ever since the August 5 lockdown began. Like Pakistan’s support of Palestinians being fervent because of the Kashmir cause, Turkey’s support of Kashmir is because it sees the resemblance between that and the Cyprus issue.

Pakistan too supports the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which also is one of the problems created because of British decolonisation.

Turkey, egypt and Pakistan are the three giants of the Islamic world’s heartland. Indonesia, while more populous than all three, is peripheral. All three have a history of being bitten by British decolonisation. Pakistan was actually part of a British colony, and was left to deal with the Kashmir problem. egypt had actually been an Anglo-French condominium, but was nominally independent when it had to deal with the creation of Israel in the British mandate of Palestine. Turkey first found itself occupied by Britain and France after World War I, and then found itself opposing Greece, which had broken off from it in 1822. however, British messiness was best illustrated by the independence it gave to Cyprus in 1960, followed by

The looming shadow of an arms race India is pushing ahead to become the regional hegemon HAMZAH TAoqeer

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new cycle of arms race is on the horizon as the major powers are striving for power projection. The rapid force modernization has ensued a domino effect across contested regions, plunging states into arms races. The global defence spending has reached $1.82 trillion in 2018, with the USA ($649 billion), China ($250 billion), Saudi Arabia ($67.6 billion) and India ($66.5 billion) accounting for 60 percent of total spending. The hegemonic ambitions of India under the Modi regime has initiated a force modernization programme involving major procurementa of weapon systems, hardware for triservices by allocating specifically $16.91 billion.

The gravity of the issue can be seen from the Modi regime spending $1.23 billion for emergency arms procurements in the first 50 days after its re-election, thus setting forth on a path to destabilize the strategic balance of the region.

The Indian Army’s Future Infantry Soldier System (F-INSAS) programme, aiming to equip infantry soldiers with new weapons, armour and network-centric communication systems received $6-8 billion investment by the DRDO for upgrading 325 battalions by 2020. It has allocated $3.4 billion under the Field Artillery Rationalization Program for equipping its 169 artillery regiments with 3,000 tracked, self-propelled 155 mm howitzers by 2025.

The Indian Army’s 65 armoured regiments comprising 3000 tanks are to be replaced by T-90S Bhishma MBTs under a $1.93-billion Transfer of Technology (ToT) agreement with Russia.

The Indian Air Force has embarked upon a major force modernization programme, with purchases worth $1.088 billion cleared for it during May-July 2019. Deals for procuring 170 aircraft, including 114 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA), including 56 C-295 cargo jets, worth $22 billion are also underway. The deal for 36 Rafale jets worth $8.6 billion and S-400 BMD worth $5.5 billion are to be matured by 2022 and 2023 respectively. Moreover, a deal Wis also going ahead orth over $3 billion for Ah-64e atKarachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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tack helicopters.

The Indian Navy, with its blue-water ambitions, has been aiming to man over 200 naval vessels by 2027. Projects are underway like acquisition of six Scorpène-class diesel-electric AIP submarines for $4 billion, and six more conventional submarines under project P75I for $6.6 billion, by 2030. Furthermore, under Advance Technology Vessel (ATV), work on six Arihant-class SSBNs is underway for $13 billion. The Indian Navy’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, is also under construction which, worth around $2.4 billion, will be inducted by 2023. Major deals for acquiring advanced frigates, destroyers, AeWACs, and replenishing vessels, are in the pipeline.

India has been running the world’s largest unsafeguarded nuclear programme, being the violator of nuclear safeguards, but was given a waiver in the Nuclear Suppliers Group in 2008.

The Indian Nuclear City project at Challakere, Karnataka, boasts of being the world’s largest nuclear site, with excessive fissile material production capabilities sufficient to manufacture over 2,500 nuclear devices, including hydrogen bombs. According to estimates, India maintains fissile material stocks ranging to 4.0±1.4 tonnes of heU (30 percent U-235) enriched, 0.58±0.15 tonnes of weapon-grade plutonium.

The Indian space programme with a budget of $1.6 billion has embarked on multiple projects including sending manned missions to space.

India on 27 March 2019 carried out an ANTISAT test targeting its own satellite, thus indicating its reckless ambitions for militarizing space. . India has launched over 29 satellites into three different orbits which include navigation, weather monitoring, and military intelligence gathering satellites. Moreover, the formation of Defence Space and Cyber Agencies by India will broaden the offensive capabilities of India.

The new era of arms race in the domain of conventional, nuclear, outer space and cyber domain

by India showcases only its hegemonic ambitions which can potentially destabilize the region. The balance of power in the region is gradually getting disturbed, thus creating pressure upon Pakistan to

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the 1974 partition of the island between Turks and Greeks, after Turkey had to invade to prevent enosis, which was the merger of Cyprus into Greece.

The three binaries were thus set up: Pakistan-India, egypt-Israel and Turkey-Greece.

One result has been over-powerful militaries. egypt has the longest experience of military rule in modern times, which was first imposed in 1952, and continued until the Arab Spring led to an Ikhwanul Muslimeen president, who was replaced by the current ruler, Field Marshal Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi. Turkey was founded by a military man (Ataturk had risen to brigadier-general under the Ottomans, becoming a marshal under the Republic), and was subject to frequent military coups. Pakistan too is a democracy, but with a military that looms large in its affairs. egypt has made peace with Israel through the Camp David Accords, and Turkey with Greece as the former wants to join the european Union, of which the latter is already a member. Pakistan has not yet made peace with India. Pakistan and Turkey were part of CeNTO, along with Iran.

In Ottoman times, Iran (or rather Persia) was the main opponent of Turkey to the east. Culturally, though, was another matter. Pakistan too, as the heir of the Mughals, was also influenced by Persia. It was therefore something of an inevitability that Turkey and Iran were at the Kuala Lumpur Summit, which Pakistan was supposed to attend, but didn’t, because of Saudi pressure. Turkey and Malaysia are at the centre of a push for non-Arab countries to take the vanguard role, so far conceded to Saudi Arabia, in the Islamic world. erdogan’s visit again made Pakistanis aware that the Arab world had tilted in favour of India over Kashmir. however, there are problems ahead. Pakistan wants to keep on the right side of China, but erdogan does not. he has put himself at the head of the Islamic world, and has tried to highlight the issues of the Rohingya and the Uighurs. Both bring him up against China, which supports Myanmar in its handling of the Rohingya issue, and is itself accused of mistreating the Uighurs. The Uighurs’ Xinjiang Region is also east Turkestan, which gives erdogan a nationalist reason to intervene, as well as an Islamic one. Pakistan has a relationship with China, which puts it at odds with Turkey on this count.

Pakistan was never an Ottoman land, and Indian Muslims only accepted the Ottoman Caliphate after the fall of the Mughal dynasty. Yet after it came into being, it grew closer to a secular Turkey. The two countries needed to industrialise, particularly build fence industries. That cooperation has now begun. The ties that bind the two nations are rooted in history, and are more than those to newer friends, for both.

M.A. Niazi is a member of the staff engage in an arms race to maintain the balance of power. Indian force modernization along with formation of cyber and space defense commands in coming decades would subsequently increase the security and strategic implications for Pakistan. The massive spending and procurement of weapons systems and rapid force modernization by India poses a grave danger to regional stability by 2030 upon maturation of Indian defence projects.

Moreover, the force build-up could give India the ability to engage Pakistan across all spectrums of the battlefield using network-centric warfare capabilities. In its second term, the Modi administration has alarmingly spent $2 billion on its defense needs, indicating belligerent and hostile intentions of India. As India is crucial to the US Pivot to Asia policy, India is on a spree of force modernization for quenching its hegemonic desires at the cost of destabilizing strategic balance in South Asia. The picture that will develop after the ripening of Indian defense deals, portrays a considerable threat to the national security of not only Pakistan, but also China. Assessing emerging battlefield scenarios, it is imperative for Pakistan to reinvigorate its warfighting capacities across various domains. Pakistan should capitalize existing capabilities, ensure survivability and redundancy of command and control structures, enhance intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities such as spy satellites and develop delivery means such as long-range strategic and cruise missiles capable of striking targets deep within enemy territories while suppressing enemy air defences.

Therefore, China and Pakistan should further strengthen their military ties and initiate joint ventures for research and development in the conventional domain, the emerging aerospace and naval domain and most importantly the space and cyber domain which will be the battle space of future.

1. Indian Fissile Material, International Panel on Fissile Materials, February 12, 2018, http://fissilematerials.org/countries/india.html 2.“India’s Military To Create Defence Space And Cyber Agencies As Part of Reforms,” SpaceWatch, April 30, 2019, https://spacewatch.global/2018/10/indias-military-to-createdefence-space-and-cyber-agencies-as-part-of-ref orms/. ventures for research and development in the conventional domain, the emerging aerospace and naval domain and most importantly the space and cyber domain which will be the battle space of future.

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Friday, 21 February, 2020

COMMENT 09 Editor’s mail

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

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

Gone with the mushroom cloud

The world takes cognizance of COVID-19 The world reacts to the coronavirus

SulTAN M HAlI

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ORONAVIRUS, the deadly epidemic, which the World health Organization (WhO) has officially named COVID-19, where “co” stands for “corona”, “vi” for “virus” and “d” for “disease”, and “19” for the year, as the outbreak was first identified on December 31, has caught the attention of the world. Other countries, including the USA, and international organizations have expressed support for China’s battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak and commended China’s measures in preventing and controlling the epidemic.

More leaders of foreign countries and international organizations have extended solidarity to China in its hour of need. During his visit to the Chinese embassy in Cuba on Friday, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel voiced confidence in China’s fight against the novel coronavirus.

Facing the complicated and challenging situation, the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Chinese government took decisive measures to contain the spread of the epidemic, and made good progress in defeating the novel coronavirus, Diaz-Canel said, expressing his appreciation to the CPC and the Chinese government for their contributions.

Diaz-Canel said he firmly believes that under the leadership of the CPC, China will eventually win the battle against the epidemic, reaffirming that Cuba will do everything in its capacity to support China in fighting against the virus.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella hosted an extraordinary concert last week, showing solidarity with the Chinese people dealing with the coronavirus emergency. “This concert highlights the relevance our country attaches to the Italy-China year of culture and tourism 2020, and it represents a sign of friendship from the Italian people to the Chinese people,” Mattarella stated in an interview to the media before the concert.

Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima said in a message to Chinese President Xi Jinping that they are closely watching the epidemic situation. They expressed hope that

the Chinese government and people could win viral outbreak.

Germany’s Der Spiegel news magazine this war with great strength and courage, adding that the Netherlands will stand firm with China flashed on its cover a man in red hoody, goggles to fight the epidemic. The Dutch government and a protective mask, with the headline “Corohas provided €1 million ($1.1 million) to the navirus made in China”. And Danish newspaper WhO and will continue to work with China and Jyllands-Posten (notorious for the caricatures published against Prophet Mohammed [PBUh]) the WhO to fight the epidemic.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization carried a cartoon of China’s national flag with (SCO) member states voiced support for China the five yellow stars replaced by coronavirus to fight against the virus and spoke highly of the pictograms. Above all, The Wall Street Journal decisive measures taken by the Chinese govern- published an op-ed, “Sick Man of Asia”, resurment and people to fight the epidemic and pre- recting a late 20th century racist tag for China. vent its spread.

To rub salt in the wound, French daily Le CourAs of February 14, altogether 33 foreign rier Picard published a print headline, ‘Yellow governments and 4 international organizations alert’ and an online version, ‘New yellow have provided China with medical supplies, and peril?’, both featuring an Asian-looking a total of 17 foreign governments and 1 inter- woman’s photo with her mouth covered with a national organization announced that they will surgical mask. The ‘Yellow Peril’ slur was used offer medical supplies to China. in the late 19th century-europe and America for US Congress held a hearing on the coron- Chinese immigrants who were considered as inavirus outbreak last week. There were three ex- sidious threats to white morality. perts attending the hearing. One of them was At a time like this, the media is supposed to Jennifer huang Bouey, a senior policy re- sensitize people, educate them, dispel fears, but searcher of RAND Corthese outlets [some of poration and a research which have since apolofellow of the Tang Chair gized] apparently sensain China Policy Studies. tionalized the tragedy with Pakistan’s National She criticized the distheir wrong editorial calls crimination against and insensitive choice of Assembly unanimously China and presented words which could only passed a resolution Congress a plan how the fuel racial stereotyping and US government should sentiments. expressing solidarity with anti-China work with its Chinese And this didn’t go unnocounterpart on the virus. the government and people ticed. “These media outfits While China strug… should be aware that of China for dedicated gled to come to grips their racism and xenophowith the national efforts and efficient policy bia hurts the feelings of the calamity, some of Chinese people, at a critito combat coronavirus China’s detractors took cal time when they are racthe opportunity to feed ing against time to fight grist to the mill with ruthe disease and save lives,” mours. Some suggested wrote the state-run Xinhua that it was a bio-chemical weapon being devel- news agency in a news commentary. And a Chioped by China which had gone awry. Yet others nese TV anchor, Liu Xin, lamented the negative opined that in line with sci-fi movies, it was a press China has received over the challenge. biological weapon released by the USA as puni- “China is not only battling the virus but a wave tive action against China. It is heartening that of deeply repugnant and often racist-laden atthe outbreak of the pandemic COVID-19 in tacks,” she said in a live commentary on China China was discussed threadbare in the US Con- Global Television Network (CGTN). gress to put the rumour mill to rest and express Pakistan’s National Assembly unanimously solidarity with China as well as stop discrimi- passed a resolution expressing solidarity with the nation against Chinese Americans. government and people of China for dedicated efUnfortunately, many international players forts and efficient policy to combat coronavirus. do not share commonality, and either out of igIt commended the efforts of Chinese govnorance or prejudice, they ostracize China dur- ernment under the able leadership of President ing its period of trial and tribulation. To quote Xi Jinping for treating Pakistani citizens espeThe Herald Tribune’s story, ‘China’s double cially students in Wuhan city just like their own whammy: Coronavirus and toxic racism.’ Sev- by providing them the best possible care. The eral countries have evacuated their citizens, sus- resolution appreciated the way in which China pended trade, cancelled import orders, closed is dealing with the extremely tense situation to borders, halted flight operations to China, and combat and fully eliminate this virus. It said even pulled out of international events where Pakistan stands united with China and extends east Asians were invited. The fears set off a its full support in this difficult time and moment global frenzy, exacerbated by some Western of medical emergency. media outlets with their sensationalism and disinformation, resurrecting dormant fears of Sultan M Hali is a retired Group Captain racism, xenophobia, and even Sinophobia [fear and author of the book Defence & Diplomacy. of Chinese people]. Video clips popped up and Currently he is a columnist, analyst and TV immediately went viral on social media after the talk show host.

IT was 73 years ago when the mushroom cloud arose in hiroshima and Nagasaki and signaled the end of the World War II. It was to this date the most catastrophic use of weaponry and the only time history saw a nuclear bomb in action. ever since that the United Nations (UN) acts as the central organ preventing another war of this scale whereas the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) serves as an agreement aiming to prevent anymore nuclear warfare, but does this mean we are completely safe?

Perhaps if the NPT had been free of loopholes or at least followed to the letter, we could have had a somewhat better sense of security. For example, five states (namely the United States of America, Russia, France, China and the United Kingdom) still possess ample nuclear stockpiles. While the treaty presents these recognised Nuclear Weapon States (NWS) as aloof from several obligation, one of the core obligations in Article III of the treaty urging for “movement towards general and complete disarmament” is still applicable to them. Despite this, after reducing their stockpiles to certain extent, none of these states show intention to denuclearize further, and states like Russia and the US still possess over 1000 warheads. Furthermore, the treaty through articles such as Article II and VI not only allows but encourages as one of its “three pillars” that nuclear stockpiles for peaceful purposes such as developing nuclear energy may be traded. Although since this consists of a uranium isotope which cannot be uses for weaponry (U-238), with the advancement of modern technology turning this very enriching this very uranium to U235 for use in weaponry is not impossible.

If this alone did not establish just how shallow the security we live under was, another fact is that the NPT is not completely universal, even amongst the members of the UN. Pakistan and India never signed the NPT whereas as North Korea withdrew from the treaty, as allowed in Article X. All three countries possess nuclear weapons. To make matters worse is the constant tension between Pakistan and India and the rogue nature of North Korea. We also see the matter of Israel, a state whose nuclear intentions have been hidden by powerful nations like the US, thus leaving us in confusion. The truth is, even now we may be sitting at the brink of nuclear war. We may be sitting a mere 10 seconds away from the loss of millions of lives and destructions of hundreds of cities. It is when one ponders over these thoughts that the words of Albert einstein come to mind, “I do not know what weapons World War III will be fought with, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”

ALY RASHID Lahore

Social media curse?

IN the Pakistani society it isn’t unprecedented to feel that internet based life is a threat which has spread especially among youths to destroy their lives. Frequently seen as the best issue of our age, web based life is intensely scrutinized. however, there are sure benefits of online networking which can refute this manner of thinking.

This conviction springs from what online life sites have been named as. Destinations, for example, Facebook and Twitter have gotten incredible analysis starting late normally being seen as a path for youngsters to squander their days on their electronic gadgets. This to a degree can even be viewed as obvious yet just in the event that one contemplates over the outside of the ocean that is present day media. While indeed, web based life may have expanded the utilization of electronic gadgets, the benefits accompanying it are much more than that of a silver coating.

In the electronic age of the 21st century, online life is the best stage to make mindfulness. We would now be able to see works pioneers, scandalously Donald Trump, running their administration of web based life locales, for example, Twitter.

This mass mindfulness has demonstrated to really be a gift. The #BlackLivesMatter and #WeAreThe1% for the Fergeunson and Occupy Wall Street Movement individually have been more prominent occasions of social developments which did make mindfulness about critical issues as well as tackled these issues.

All however the two issues conflicted with the standards which had been set a state as incredible as the United States of America, when mass familiarity with an issue becomes even the best countries need to pay regard. Along these lines, internet based life costs to be a crucial resource.

Internet based life has additionally allowed each person to voice their conclusion. The #MeToo is the best case of this where not just have ladies at long last had the capacity to talk about a predominant issue in the public arena yet have had the capacity to join to neutralize it. Through thusly a solitary post via web-based networking media makes numerous ladies feel less alone. Thus, the ongoing down disorder displaying program on Facebook have made it conceivable to maintain kids with the affliction and not make them feel segregated.

Obviously the best course to embrace, as in each part of life, is balance. A reasonable utilization of media, in the correct ways will permit to utilize it appropriately as an extraordinary stage. Issues emerge regular. Where better to talk about their gravity and need to talk facing them then a medium through which our each word can achieve a huge number of individuals by the dash of a catch? henceforth, before naming online networking as an ‘instrument of the fiend” we should contemplate over its benefits and how if has helped fill in as a mode of increasing essential data and crating mass mindfulness. Along these lines it might genuinely end up being a surprisingly positive turn of events.

AbbAS FATEH-uD-DIN ASIM Lahore

Friday, 21 February, 2020

10 FOREIGN NEWS

gErman PoliCE say 9 PEoPlE killEd in fatal attaCk in hanaU, sUsPECt foUnd dEad BERLIN

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AGENCIES

MAN suspected of fatally shooting nine people in the German city of Hanau was found dead at his home early on Thursday, hours after the attacks in and outside two hookah lounges, police said.

Officers also found another body at the same address, police said.

Police gave no details of the suspected gunman but said: “There are currently no indications of further perpetrators”. They did not give details of his possible motive or how he died, or specify why they believe “with a high degree of probability” that he was the assailant.

Mass-selling Bild newspaper said the man was a German citizen and that ammunition and gun magazines were found in his car. He had a firearms hunting licence, it added.

The number of dead in the shootings on Wednesday evening rose to nine, a police statement said.

Officers sealed off and searched the apartment in Hanau’s Kesselstadt district, near the scene of one of the shootings, after following up witness statements on a getaway car. Police said work to confirm the identities of the two

lesotho Pm to be charged with murder of estranged wife NAZARETH AGENCIES

Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane is expected on Friday to be charged with the murder of his estranged wife, who was gunned down two days before his inauguration in 2017, police said Thursday. “It has been agreed with his lawyer that he will appear (in court) and he will be formally charged with… murder,” Deputy Police Commissioner Paseka Mokete told AFP. Lilopelo Thabane, who was 58, was killed by unknown assailants on the outskirts of the capital Maseru in June 2017, two days before the premier, now aged 80, took office. The couple had been embroiled in bitter divorce proceedings when Lipolelo was murdered in front of her home in the capital Maseru. Her death shook the tiny mountainous kingdom of Lesotho, which is entirely surrounded by South Africa. “It has to be understood that it does not necessarily mean he was there but that he was acting in common purpose,” Mokete said. On Tuesday, Thabane’s current wife Maesaiah Thabane, 42, appeared in court charged with the same murder of her rival.

bodies at the home was still underway, and they couldn’t immediately give details either on them or the identities of the victims of the earlier shootings.

Earlier on Thursday, police said that eight people were killed and around five wounded. They said a dark vehicle was seen leaving the location of the first attack and another shooting was reported at a scene about two and a half kilome-

tres away. The first attack occurred at the “Midnight” bar in the center of the city around 10:00 pm, police and reports said. Three people were killed in front of the building, local media said, with witnesses reporting hearing a dozen shots. The attacker, or attackers, fled the scene by car, according to police. There was then a second shooting at Arena Bar.

A gunman reportedly rang the doorbell and shot people in the smoking area, killing five people including a woman, according to mass-circulation Bild, adding that the victims were of Kurdish origin. “The victims are people we have known for years,” said the bar manager’s son, quoted by DPA news agency.

Two employees were among the victims, according to the man, who was not at the bar during the shooting.

“It is a shock for everyone”. At least five people were also seriously wounded in the attacks, reports said.

Police officers swarmed central Hanau, cordoning off the area of one of the shootings as a helicopter hovered overhead. A car covered in thermal foil also could be seen, with a shattered glass next to it. Forensic experts in white overalls collected evidence.

“This was a terrible evening that will certainly occupy us for a long, long time and we will remember with sadness,” Hanau Mayor Claus Kaminsky told the Bild newspaper.

Lawmaker Katja Leikert, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s centerright party who represents Hanau in the German parliament, tweeted that it was “a real horror scenario for us all”.

Hanau is about 20 kilometres east of Frankfurt. It has about 100,000 inhabitants and is in Hesse state.

White House says Trump didn’t offer pardon deal to Julian Assange WASHINGTON AGENCIES

The White House on Wednesday denied an allegation that President Trump had offered to pardon Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder who is fighting extradition to the United States, if he absolved Russia of hacking Democratic emails during the 2016 campaign.

Mr. Assange’s legal team told a court in London on Wednesday that Mr. Trump had made the offer in 2017 through Dana Rohrabacher, who at the time was a Republican congressman from California. Stephanie Grisham, the White House press secretary, dismissed the accusation.

“The president barely knows Dana Rohrabacher, other than he’s an ex-congressman,” Ms. Grisham told reporters.

“He’s never spoken to him on this subject or almost any subject. It is a complete fabrication and a total lie.”

It is not a new revelation that the congressman tried to broker a deal in which Mr. Trump would make Mr. Assange’s legal troubles with the United States go away if he provided evidence disproving that the Russians had hacked the Democratic emails WikiLeaks published. But the claim, which came the day after Mr. Trump pardoned numerous high-profile white-collar criminals, grabbed attention because a lawyer for

Mr. Assange portrayed Mr. Rohrabacher as acting on Mr. Trump’s instructions.

Previous accounts have described Mr. Rohrabacher as freelancing an idea that he came up with on his own.

On Wednesday, a lawyer for Mr. Assange, Edward Fitzgerald, referred in court to a statement by another lawyer for Mr. Assange, Jennifer Robinson, describing a purported quid-pro-quo offer conveyed by Mr. Rohrabacher, according to a Daily Beast account of a hearing on what evidence could be admitted at an upcoming extradition hearing.

The statement by Ms. Robinson, he said, described “Mr. Rohrabacher going to see Mr. Assange and saying, on instructions from the president, he was of-

fering a pardon or some other way out” of his legal troubles if Mr. Assange “said Russia had nothing to do with the D.N.C. leaks.”

The Wall Street Journal reported in September 2017 that Mr. Rohrabacher — who lost his seat in the 2018 midterm elections — was trying to broker a deal for a pardon if Mr. Assange produced evidence absolving Russia of the hack. That would have also absolved the Trump campaign of suspicions that it conspired with Russia.

But that article portrayed Mr. Rohrabacher as approaching the White House with an idea that he had come up with, not acting as Mr. Trump’s envoy.

It said that he spoke with John F. Kelly, Mr. Trump’s chief of staff at the time, about the possibility of “a meeting between Mr. Assange and a representative of Mr. Trump, preferably someone with direct communication with the president,” but that Mr. Kelly had not passed that message on to the president.

After the Journal article, a local news program for a CBS affiliate in Los Angeles, KCAL, interviewed Mr. Rohrabacher. He confirmed the account, saying that “The Wall Street Journal has the whole thing.”

Mr. Rohrabacher also said in that interview that Mr. Assange “repeatedly told me that the Russians were not involved at all.”

China sees drop in new virus cases, two Japan cruise passengers die BEIJING AGENCIES

China reported a big drop in new coronavirus cases on Thursday, fuelling hopes the epidemic is nearing its peak, but Japan faced a growing crisis as two passengers from a quarantined cruise ship died. The death toll in China hit 2,118 as 114 more people died, but health officials reported the lowest number of new cases there in nearly a month, including in the hardest-hit province, Hubei. More than 74,000 people have been infected in China and hundreds more in some 25 countries, with Iran reporting two deaths, the first fatalities in the Middle East. In Japan, a man and a woman in their 80s who had been aboard the Diamond Princess have died, local media reported, citing a government source. A World Health Organization official noted the progress in China but warned it had not reached a turning point just yet. Chinese officials said this week that their drastic containment efforts, including quarantining tens of millions of people in Hubei and restricting movements in other cities nationwide, have started to pay off. “After arduous efforts, the situation is changing for the better,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a meeting with Southeast Asian counterparts in Laos late Wednesday, according to the official Xinhua news agency. Hubei and its capital Wuhan — where the virus is believed to have emerged in December — are still “severely affected” by the epidemic, Wang said. “But the situation is under effective control, while other regions are embracing comforting news,” he said.

‘NOT TURNING POINT’: More than 600 new infections were reported in Wuhan — the lowest daily tally since late January, and well down from the 1,749 new cases the day before. The national figure has now fallen for three days in a row. Chinese authorities placed Wuhan, a city of 11 million people, under quarantine on January 23 and quickly locked down the rest of Hubei in the days that followed. Cities far from the epicenter have limited the number of people who can leave their houses for groceries, while villages have sealed themselves off from outsiders. Richard Brennan, regional emergency director at the World Health Organization, said China was making “tremendous progress in a short period of time” but cautioned that it was not over just yet. “Trends are very encouraging but we are not at a turning point yet,” Brennan told a press conference in Cairo.

Romanian boxer inspires girls to knock out poverty BUCHAREST AGENCIES

Steluta Duta was a teenaged orphan living on the streets when, one cold January day in 2002, she stepped through the door of a boxing gym in the town of Buzau and embarked on her unlikely path to becoming an elite athlete.

Duta, whose first name means “little star”, has fought for almost two decades in the ring, with every punch thrown bringing her closer to what she calls “a normal life, away from misery” and becoming an inspiration for others like her.

Romania is one of the poorest in the European Union, with 38 percent of children at risk of social exclusion and poverty, according to Eurostat.

Becoming a boxer “was my only chance, my gamble”, Duta, a short

woman with cropped hair dyed blond, tells AFP during a break from her training at the gym in Buzau, a town in southeastern Romania. At 38, Duta is a three-time silver medallist at the sport’s World Championships and a three-time gold medal-winner at the European Championships in the light flyweight category.

“If it wasn’t for that day she entered the gym, she would now be another one of those living under a bridge and sniffing glue,” says a tearful Constantin Voicilas, 69, who has been Duta’s coach and mentor throughout her career and has been training promising boxers for more than four decades. When Duta left her orphanage aged 17, she initially became homeless and even thought about suicide.

“Back then I lied to (Voicilas) and said I had a place to sleep so he would let me box,” Duta recalls.

When Voicilas learned the truth he converted part of the gym into a bedroom to make sure she had somewhere to sleep.

SPORT AS A LIFELINE: Duta overcame formidable odds to build a successful career in Romania. A Save the Children report released in late 2019 cited a host of threats to child welfare, particularly in rural areas: high education dropout rates, limited access to healthcare and a prevalence of physical and emotional abuse as a form of discipline.

Duta is now helping the next generation to fight those obstacles in the ring.

At the Buzau boxing gym, she often spars with Bianca Lacatusu, a shy teenager 20 years her junior. Lacatusu also had a tough childhood. Her parents died when she was seven months old, when she was placed with a foster family who later handed her over to an orphanage.

“I like to fight… I don’t know how the Master found me, but I’m glad he did,” Bianca tells AFP, using Voicilas’s nickname. Lacatusu says that Duta has been an inspiration to her — and that she dreams of one day defeating her in the ring.

Adrian Lacatus, the national boxing team coach who has worked closely with Duta, says that girls from tough backgrounds often display this will to succeed.

“Children from poor families are used to difficulties, they don’t throw in the towel at the first hurdle,” he says.

NO GRUDGE: One of them is already well on her way. Alexandra Gheorghe’s delicate features belie her hardscrabble childhood.

But at 17 she has already won a silver medal at the European Championships and is now training with Lacatus for future competitions.

Friday, 21 February, 2020

BUSINESS 11 CORPORATE CORNER

LAHORE: Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar confers a degree on a student during the 10th convocation of University of Lahore. p r e s s r e l e a s e

LAHORE: The launch of "Pakistan Migration Report 2020" was held recently at the Lahore School of Economics’ Amjad Chaudhry Library. Adviser to PM on Institutional Reforms Dr Ishrat Hussain graced the occasion as chief guest. p r e s s r e l e a s e

LAHORE: British Deputy High Commissioner Mike Nithavrianakis recently called on Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Chairman Lt Gen (r) Muzammil Hussain at the WAPDA House. p r e s s r e l e a s e

KARACHI: Unity Foods Ltd, Islamabad United’s official title partner, recently hosted a send-off for the team and staff on the eve of PSL kick-off. p r e s s r e l e a s e

‘Financial inclusion oF women imperative For economic growth’ KARACHI

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sTaFF repOrT

TATE Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Dr Reza Baqir, while seeking concerted efforts for economic empowerment of women in the country, particularly emphasized the need to encourage them to hold active bank accounts.

Addressing the "CEO Summit Asia 2020" organized by CEO Club Pakistan and Management House, he mentioned that only 15 per cent of the adult female population of the country possess active bank accounts. "This is a major challenge before the SBP as this is even lower than the South Asian average which is 65pc," he said.

The event was also addressed by Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs Andleeb Abbas, CEO Club Pakistan Founder Ijaz Nisar,

SBP GOVERNOR SAYS ONLY 15PC OF PAKISTAN’S ADULT FEMALE POPULATION POSSESS ACTIVE BANK ACCOUNTS Karachi Port Trust Chairman Rear Admiral Jamil Akhtar, Pakistan Stock Exchange Chairman Sulaiman S Mehdi, Sindh Bank President Imran Samad, Arif Habib Corporation Chairman & CEO Arif Habib and former Sindh governor Muhammad Zubair.

The SBP governor said the major question was why there was such phenomenal difference between the percentage of Pakistani adult female population having active bank accounts and the

South Asian average of the same.

"One of the strategies being used by SBP to address this is the promotion of entrepreneurship among the female population of the country," he said, mentioning that attention was also being paid to promote money transaction through electronic and digital means. Mentioning that a platform is in process of being launched to promote micropayment gateway, he said this would put Pakistan prominently on the map of the countries having advanced systems of electronic and digital means of money transactions to do business.

In the context of women empowerment in the realms of economy, concerted efforts were said to be made for the growth of the small and medium enterprises in the country.

"State Bank of Pakistan would ensure that SMEs may get financing from banks in the country," said Dr Raza Baqir.

Cotton imports likely to touch $2bn in FY20 LAHORE HassaN NaQVI

Pakistan's cotton imports are likely to touch $2billion mark this year due to a lack of research on the commodity, which has resulted in reducing the overall cotton production area in the country.

According to sources, Pakistan would have to import around 6.46 million bales this fiscal year which was likely to cost around $2 billion.

This would have a negative impact on the country's trade deficit, which had shrunk by 28.4pc in the first seven months [of FY20], they added.

As per figures released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the country's raw cotton

imports clocked in at $196.097 million during July-January FY20 as compared to $137.870 million during the same period of last year, showing an increase of 42pc.

On a year-on-year basis, Pakistan's raw cotton imports clocked in at around $108.111 million, as compared to $17.667 million in Jan 2019, showing a surge of 512pc.

According to the PBS figures, the total import of textile group (including raw cotton, synthetic fibre, synthetic and artificial silk yarn, worn clothing and other textile items) in January 2020 stood at around $295.256 million as against $223.809 million in Jan 2019 (+32pc).

As per the Pakistan Cotton Ginners' Associ-

ation (PCGA), as of February 15, 8.547 million cotton bales reached the ginning factories, showing a shortfall of 6.46 million bales against the target of 15 million bales.

Sources said the major share of Pakistan's cotton imports was from the US; Pakistan’s cotton imports from US were $457.262 million in 2018, $280.296 million in 2017, $87.165 million in 2016, $78.279 million in 2015 and $75.869 million in 2014.

Pakistan's cotton imports from the US alone are likely to touch $1bn this year which would not only hurt the country's foreign reserves but would also devalue Pakistani Rupee against US Dollar, sources feared.

Replace or convert Rs40,000 prize bonds by March 31: SBP KARACHI LAHORE: Renowned film star Reema visited Shaukat Khanum Diagnostic Centre Liberty, where she was briefed on the state-of-the-art facility by hospital’s medical director Dr Asif Loya. p r e s s r e l e a s e

KARACHI: Agha Steel Industries Ltd (ASIL) launches Pakistan’s 1st European ARC furnace technology steel.

The official launch ceremony was inaugurated by Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Shalwani and Agha Steel Industries CEO Hussain Agha. p r e s s r e l e a s e

ISLAMABAD: Fauji Foundation launches countrywide ‘Go Green’ campaign. press r e l e a s e

ISLAMABAD: In a ceremony held recently, Fauji Foods Limited signed a contract with MCR (Pvt) Ltd to supply locally manufactured cheese to Pizza Hut restaurants across the nation. pres s r e l e a s e

KARACHI: US Ambassador to Pakistan Paul W Jones recently visited Mondelēz Pakistan Ltd’s confectionery plant in Hub, Balochistan, as part of his official visit to Karachi and Hub. press r e l e a s e

MeIrYUM alI

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has issued new instructions regarding the withdrawal of the Rs40,000 denomination National Prize Bonds.

In a statement dated February 19, and addressed to all banks’ CEOs and presidents, the SBP reiterated that the last date replacement or the conversion of those bonds was March 31, 2020.

No requests for encashment, replacement or conversion of those prize bonds will be entertained by participating commercial banks on or after April 1, 2020, according to the instructions laid out by the SBP’s currency management department.

Additionally, the head offices of commercial banks will solicit details of prize bonds physically held by each branch or regional office on March 31, 2020, and report a consolidated bank wide position to the currency management department on April 1.

The data submitted by commercial banks will also be subject to inspection by SBP Inspection Teams, the statement added.

The daily reporting of the encashment of those prize bonds will continue till March 31, 2020.

Commercial bank branches will also have to physically surrender prize bonds held by them to the concerned SBP Banking Services Corporation field office.

Previously on June 24, 2019, the Finance Division of the Government of Pakistan, via Notification No. F.16 (3) GSI/2014-1072, had restricted the sale of National Prize Bonds of Rs40,000 denomination after the said date.

This meant that no prize bond of Rs40,000 would be sold after June 24, 2019, and would not be redeemed or encashed after March 31, 2020.

Bond holders had the option to either convert the bond to a Premium Prize Bond, replace it with a Special Savings certificate, or encash it at face value.

Any bond holder could avail all three options through the 16 field offices of the SBP Banking Services Corporation, and the branches of six commercial banks: National Bank of Pakistan, Habib Bank, United Bank, MCB Bank, Allied Bank, and Bank Alfalah.

mcB, taleem Finance join hands for ‘collection management’ LAHORE: MCB Bank and Taleem Finance Company Limited (TFCL) have joined hands to strengthen collections for TFCL. The two organizations signed an agreement in this regard at the MCB House. Speaking on the occasion, MCB Retail Banking Head Zargham Khan Durrani said, “Under this agreement, MCB Bank will enable TFCL to fully automate its collections through the provision of our state-of-the-art collection management solution.” In his address, TFCL CEO Kamran Azim said, “TFCL has been launched with the objective of providing education finance services to low and middle cost private schools in Pakistan and to cater to the infrastructure and working capital needs of such schools.” p r e s s r e l e a s e

The Rs40,000 bond is the highest graded prize bond out of a total of eight denominations, starting from Rs100 to Rs40,000, and was introduced in 2017.

The government took the decision to stop issuing these premium prize bonds primarily to prevent the ‘whitening’ of ‘black’ money, and to stop taxevasion. It had also hoped to appease the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Pakistan remains on the FATF’s grey list.According to sources, Pakistan would have to import around 6.46 million bales this fiscal year which was likely to cost around $2 billion. This would have a negative impact on the country's trade deficit, which had shrunk by 28.4pc in the first seven months [of FY20], they added.

As per figures released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the country's raw cotton imports clocked in at $196.097 million during July-January FY20 as compared to $137.870 million during the same period of last year, showing an increase of 42pc.

On a year-on-year basis, Pakistan's raw cotton imports clocked in at around $108.111

million, as compared to $17.667 million in Jan 2019, showing a surge of 512pc.

According to the PBS figures, the total import of textile group (including raw cotton, synthetic fibre, synthetic and artificial silk yarn, worn clothing and other textile items) in January 2020 stood at around $295.256 million as against $223.809 million in Jan 2019 (+32pc).

As per the Pakistan Cotton Ginners' Association (PCGA), as of February 15, 8.547 million cotton bales reached the ginning factories, showing a shortfall of 6.46 million bales against the target of 15 million bales.

Sources said the major share of Pakistan's cotton imports was from the US; Pakistan’s cotton imports from US were $457.262 million in 2018, $280.296 million in 2017, $87.165 million in 2016, $78.279 million in 2015 and $75.869 million in 2014.

Pakistan's cotton imports from the US alone are likely to touch $1bn this year which would not only hurt the country's foreign reserves but would also devalue Pakistani Rupee against US Dollar, sources feared.

MoC evaluates impact of coronavirus on Pak-China trade ISLAMABAD: The global economy is faced with supply chain challenges amid the coronavirus outbreak in China. Pakistan also has significant reliance on China, as the former sources bulk of its raw material, intermediate and capital goods from the latter.

To assess any likely negative impact on trade and supply chain due to coronavirus, the Ministry of Commerce on Thursday held a meeting, where senior officials from the MoC, Trade and Development Authority of Pakistan, representatives of the textile sector and the commercial counsellor in Beijing (via video link) were present.

On the feedback from private stakeholders and following an in-house analysis

by the commerce ministry and TDAP, the officials deliberated on the possible effects of coronavirus on domestic production and exports by taking into account recent global and bilateral trade trends, possible bottlenecks in supply chains, availability of stocks and supply of raw materials and intermediate goods.

The Beijing commercial counsellor apprised the participants that although there were slight delays in shipments, however, except for Hubei Province, normal trading activities were expected to resume in the next 10 days.

The TDAP secretary and textiles representatives informed the meeting that the intermediate goods' stock cover was sufficient for 6 to 8 weeks. sTaFF repOrT

Friday, 21 February, 2020

12 BUSINESS MARKET DAILY

stocks close in red ahead of FatF decision KARACHI sTaFF repOrT

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed another range-bound trading session on Thursday, as the investors remained cautious ahead of the Financial Action Task Force's decision. Foreign investors were net sellers on Wednesday, with a net outflow of $4.99 million. Oil & gas marketing ($2.22 million), banking ($1.22 million) and cement ($1.08 million) sectors took the major hit.

According to latest data published by State Bank of Pakistan, the country’s current account deficit declined by 72pc in the first seven months of current fiscal year. The deficit was recorded at $2.65 billion during the period under review as compared to $9.47 billion last year.

Imports of goods fell by 20pc to $26.08 billion while exports improved by mere 2.2pc to Rs14.44 billion.

Gaining 122.53 points, the benchmark KSE-100 Index touched its intraday high at 40,697.05 during initial hours.

However, the index embarked a jittery ride thereon, sliding to its intraday low at 40,445.78 after shedding 128.74 points. It finally settled lower by 92.87 points at 40,481.65. Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index lost 321.16 points to end at 64,095.02, while the KSE All Share Index fell short by 45.83 points, closing at 28,018.02. Out of the total traded shares, 119 advanced and 166 declined. Sectors that drove the index south included oil & gas exploration (-40.03 points), oil & gas marketing (-25.62 points) and cement (-25.41 points).

Among the companies, Habib Bank Limited (HBL -45.07 points), Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC -17.35 points) and MCB Bank Limited (MCB 14.51 points) dented the index the most. The overall market volumes fell from 142.96 million in the last session to 111.99 million. Hascol Petroleum Limited (HASCOL -2.85pc) led the volume chart, followed by The Bank of Punjab (BOP +2.16pc) and DG Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC -1.68pc). The scrips had exchanged 8.76 million, 8.66 million shares and 8.13 million shares, respectively. On the market front, Bestway Cement Limited (BWCL -6.18pc) declared its financial performance for the second quarter of FY20. The company’s gross profit margin declined from 33.5pc to 5.90pc in 2QFY20, whereas its cost of sales-to-sales ratio increased from 66pc to 94pc. The company's earnings per share declined from Rs7.75 to Rs0.20.

17 new oil & gas exploration blocks await security clearance ISLAMABAD app

The Petroleum Division has forwarded around 17 onshore oil and gas exploration blocks to the quarters concerned in order to get security clearance and subsequently to initiate the activities to discover hydrocarbon reserves in all four provinces of the country. Currently, there are 38 active exploration licences awarded to both local and foreign national oil companies which are undertaking exploration studies and projects in their allocated areas, according to an official data available with APP. The exploration and production (E&P) companies operating in Pakistan have so far drilled 18 offshore oil and gas wells, including Kekra-I, to discover hydrocarbon deposits in the deepsea waters but could not get the required results. A senior official privy to the petroleum sector developments told APP that the country was in dire need of a "big discovery" as the existing hydrocarbon reserves were depleting fast and its reliance on imported gas and oil was increasing with each passing day. Quoting a recent study, he feared that the existing deposits would further deplete 60pc by the year 2027 and underlined the need for stepping up exploration activities in potential areas on war-footing. In a bid to accelerate oil and gas exploration activities in potential areas of the country, the official said the government was in process of floating an international tender for the award of new exploration blocks.

uBer-careem merger gets ccp’s nod UBER ASKED TO APPLY A CEILING ON ITS ‘SURGE MULTIPLIER’ AT A MAXIMUM OF 2.5 TIMES THE NON-SURGE PRICE ISLAMABAD

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sYeDa MasOOMa

HE Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has approved the Uber-Careem merger after approximately a year of Uber announcing its acquisition of Careem for $3.1 billion.

The merger approval came through a PhaseII Order and imposes pro-competitive and tough conditions on both players.

CCP had opened the Phase-II review of the proposed merger in August last year after the usual Phase I review failed to arrive at a decision.

Phase-II is an in-depth analysis of the merger's effects on competition and requires more time.

Multiple detailed hearings were reportedly held at CCP before the issuance of today’s statement announcing approval for the merger.

According to a press release issued by CCP on Thursday, the conditions imposed are to ensure “a level playing field for the new entrants/competitors in the app-based Ridesharing market”.

The said conditions will remain applicable on Uber up to three years after the merger or until the occurrence of “Meaningful Market Entry” of competitors.

The statement issued by CCP defines meaningful market entry as the time “when one or more Ridesharing Services Provider(s) enter Pakistan and achieve individually at least 25pc (market share), or collectively at least 33.3pc (market share) of weekly ridesharing trips on average for three consecutive months. This condition will allow competitors to grow and flourish in the appbased ridesharing market and for the merged entity not to abuse its dominant position.”

The CCP opened a Phase-II review of the

SAFETY FEATURES TO BE INTRODUCED WITHIN THE APP SO THAT THE RIDERS CAN COMPLAIN ABOUT THE DRIVER’S BEHAVIOUR OR VICE VERSA

merger as it was resulting in a significant lessening of competition in the market for app-based ridesharing services. In its Phase II-Order, the CCP has imposed certain conditions on Uber to address the competition concerns regarding an increase in prices of products or services, discriminatory pricing, degradation in quality of services, and possible lack of innovation.

The CCP has imposed a “no contractual exclusivity” condition to ensure that drivers or captains are free to offer their services on any ridesharing platform they choose. Uber shall maintain the contractual service fee for UberGo and UberMini across all drivers, nationwide, in the range of 22.5pc to 27.5pc. This service fee cap will ensure that drivers or captains do not see a decrease in their earnings.

The CCP has directed Uber to apply a cap of 12.5pc per year on the total organic fare charged to riders for a trip, as that would protect the consumers from the unreasonable increase in fares.

Moreover, on the topic of "Surge", which is a pricing mechanism to raise fares during peak or rush hours, CCP has directed Uber to apply a ceiling on its "surge multiplier" at a maximum level of 2.5 times the non-surge price. This will protect the consumers from the unrealistic hike in the fare during peak hours.

CCP said, "These conditions will ensure that there is no unreasonable increase in prices post transaction, thereby protecting consumers from burdensome increases in fares."

The issued order also states that Uber shall grant access on a one-time basis to new/existing ridesharing service providers “point of interest map data” against the payment of applicable license fee. The CCP was of the view that control of data by a single undertaking with market power is a significant barrier to entry. This condition

would offset any increase in the market power or the elimination of competitive constraints and ensure the ease of entry into the market.

To address its concern that Uber continues to bring innovation to its business after the merger, the CCP has directed Uber to dedicate 10 engineers to work on R&D activities focused on product, service innovation. To address the issue, Uber has committed to introducing a DOST/Hero application, which will enable drivers to earn money while not driving by recruiting other drivers.

Moreover, Uber will introduce safety features within the driver application wherein the riders can complain about the driver’s behaviour or vice versa. An Uber Lite version of the application will also be introduced that runs on low bandwidth mobile networks and also on older Android phones.

To address the CCP's concerns about potential exploitation of riders, Uber shall not introduce personalized pricing in Pakistan. This ensures that the post-transaction entity will not be able to charge different prices to different Riders for similar journeys.

Talking to this scribe, Uber spokesperson Hyder Bilgrami said, "We welcome the decision by the CCP to approve Uber’s pending acquisition of Careem. Uber and Careem joining forces will deliver exceptional outcomes for riders, drivers, and cities across the country, and in this fast-moving part of the world."

Prior to today’s announcement, Pakistan was one of the only three counties where Uber operates to grant the permission for the merger. The other two countries are Qatar and Morocco, both of which have disallowed the merger with the former also issuing orders of potential penalties if Uber continues with the merger in that country.

Medicinal imports drop 10pc in seven months ISLAMABAD: The import of medicinal products into the country during the first seven months of the financial year 2019-20 dipped by 9.95pc as compared to the corresponding period of last year.

Pakistan imported medicinal products worth $590.783 million during July-January 2019-20, as compared to the imports of $656.080 million during the same period of last year, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

In terms of quantity, Pakistan imported 13,195 metric tonnes of medicinal products during the period under review as compared to the imports of 13,590 metric tonnes last year, showing a decrease of 2.91pc.

Meanwhile, on a year-onyear basis, medicinal imports declined by 8.22pc in January

sBp reserves up $74m to $12.5bn KARACHI sTaFF repOrT

2020 when compared with the imports of the same month of last year. Medicinal imports during January 2020 were recorded at $73.354 million against the imports of $82.105 million in January 2019.

On a month-on-month basis, medicinal imports registered a decline of 14.06pc in January 2020 when compared with the imports of $87.683 million in December

2019. It is pertinent to mention that the country's merchandise trade deficit plunged by 28.40pc during the first seven months of the current fiscal year (2019-20) as compared to the deficit of the same month of last year.

During the period under review, the country's exports registered about 2.14pc growth, whereas imports reduced by 15.95pc. app

Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased by $74 million to $12,504.7 million during the week ending February 14, 2020, according to data released by the central bank on Thursday. The total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $18,747.1 million, of which net foreign reserves held by commercial banks were recorded at $6,304.6 million. The central bank did not cite a reason for the increase in reserves.

The total liquid foreign reserves have consistently been on the rise for the past seven months. The total reserves initially crossed the $15 billion mark in July 2019, crossed the $16 billion mark in November 2019, and finally crossed the $18 billion mark in January 2020.

PLRA generates Rs5.54bn through land mutations LAHORE sHaHaB OMer

The Punjab Land Record Authority (PLRA) generated Rs5.54 billion revenue through land mutations during the first seven months (July-Jan) of the current fiscal year (FY20), as compared Rs4.94 billion generated during the same period of FY19.

Similarly, during the period under review, the authority generated Rs668 million through the issuance of Fard (land document), as against Rs636 million generated last year.

Seeking anonymity, a PLRA official informed this scribe that the main reason

OFFICIAL TERMS ‘DIGITISATION’ AS THE MAIN REASON BEHIND REVENUE GROWTH behind the increase in revenue was "land digitization".

"Back when Patwaris used to collect the money [through fard or mutation], the amount volume used to be very low as they refrained from submitting the collected amount to the government exchequer."

He claimed that most of the patwaris were still involved in the same practice.

"In Punjab, most urban and some rural areas are still not digitised and the

people have to go to patwaris to obtain land records. Firstly, it is still very difficult to approach a patwari and if a person is lucky enough to meet them [patwaris], then they misuse their powers."

However, he said, such malpractices have reduced significantly owing to the process of digitisation and now the service centres were performing such duties.

"These service centres provide basic services related to land records i.e. provision of copies of land records and receipt

of requests for transactions (mutations).

Moreover, digitization has also made the land records searchable through the internet. Both these changes brought improvements in the generated amounts."

Talking to this scribe, PLRA spokesperson Nadia Ahmed confirmed the generated amounts and said, "We are focusing on generating more revenue from the issuance of land documents and mutations. The manual paper-based land records are now being transformed into a computerized database. The right holders are now able to acquire land records related services easily from the service centres. Any transaction in revenue record is immediately incorporated in Haqdaran-e-

Zameen register."

She said anyone who intended to mutate any land can apply for mutation verbally or through written application in the service centres.

"Our staff will register their request and provide them with challan for payment of the specified fee and fix a date for the next visit. On that scheduled date, the buyer, seller, along with the witnesses, visit the service centre wherein the revenue officer will decide the mutation. In case of approval of mutation, both buyers and sellers provided with a copy of the mutation and updated fard-e-malkiat, free of cost, with the photographs of the buyers printed thereon," she added.

Does the Keto Diet Treat IBS?

I

f you deal with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), you’re not alone. This common condition causes bloating, gas, stomach pain, constipation, and diarrhea.

To manage IBS, your healthcare provider may recommend that you change your diet, improve your lifestyle quality, and limit your intake of certain fermentable carbs called fODMAPs. You may have also heard that the high fat, very low carb ketogenic helps treat IBS symptoms.

Yet, you may wonder whether this claim is backed by scientific evidence — and whether you should try out keto if you have IBS. This article examines how the keto diet affects IBS symptoms.

What is iBs, and hoW is it treated?

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) affects 14% percent of the world’s population. Its symptoms include stomach pain, bloating, cramping, constipation, and diarrhea.

There’s no one identifiable cause of IBS. Instead, it likely in-

volves a number of processes that may be unique to each individual.

Possible causes include increased digestive sensitivity, chemical signals from your gut to your nervous system, psychological and social stress, immune system activ-

ity, changes in your gut bacteria, genetics, diet, infections, certain drugs, and antibiotic use. treatment IBS treatment focuses on managing symptoms via medications, diet, and lifestyle adjustments.

Many individuals find that food is a trigger for specific symptoms, so 70–90% of people with IBS limit certain foods to try to decrease negative effects.

Experts often recommend a diet that includes regular meals, as well as adequate fiber and fluids.

You should limit alcohol, caffeine, and spicy or fatty foods if they trigger symptoms.

Currently, a common treatment for IBS is a low fODMAP diet, which limits short-chain, fermentable carbs that are poorly absorbed by your body.

UNLIKE MOST FISH, SEAHORSES ARE COVERED IN BONY PLATES INSTEAD OF SCALES.

Fatema Effendi and Kanwer Arslan

Ali Raza with his wife Ali Gul Pir and Mehar Bano

YOU LOSE ABOUT 50 TO 100 HAIRS A DAY.

P.F.Chang’s Karachi celebrated love throughout the weekend with its Valentine’s day special!

Danish Hayyat and Faiza

HOLLYWOOD BOLLYWOOD

Aly Khan with Family

Anoushay Abbasi with her mother

Sharmila Farooqi

Chris Hemsworth’s Dhaka renamed Extraction; here’s your first look Extraction, starring Hollywood star Chris Hemsworth, is set to start streaming from April 24, Netflix has announced. Previously titled Dhaka, the film marks the directorial debut of Sam Hargrave, known for serving as second unit director on movies such as Atomic Blonde and The Accountant.

Joe Russo of the directing duo Russo Brothers, who previously collaborated with Hemsworth on Marvel films Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, has penned the story.

Billed as an action-packed, edge-of-your-seat thriller, Extraction follows Tyler Rake (Hemsworth), a fearless black market mercenary, who embarks on the most deadly extraction of his career when he's enlisted to rescue the kidnapped son of an imprisoned international crime lord.

"But in the murky underworld of weapons dealers and drug traffickers, an already deadly mission approaches the impossible, forever altering the lives of Rake and the boy," according to a statement from the streamer.

Muneeb Butt and Aiman Khan

"ARMADILLO" IS A SPANISH WORD MEANING "LITTLE ARMORED ONE."

Hrithik Roshan claims he has no abs, jokes ‘they Deepika Padukone strikes a pose in a are somewhere hidden under the paunch’ quirky outfit, Ranveer Singh says ‘You can’t be left alone’ Hrithik Roshan is undeniably the sexiest man in Bollywood and features in his best form on celebrity photographer Dabboo Ratnani’s 2020 calendar. However, the actor chose to make fun of himself as he shared his shirtless picture from the calendar shoot, claiming that he doesn’t have any abs now and they must be somewhere hidden under his paunch.

He shared his portrait from the calendar and wrote, “Main aur meri tanhai aksar ye baatein karti hain, ki aaj ye abs hote to kaisa hota. Agar ye hote to aisa hota, agar ye hote to waisa hota. Jabki mujhe khabar hai ki abs nahi hain...kahin nahi hain. Lekin ye pagal dil hai ki kah raha hai ki wo hain...mote pet ke neeche kahin hain. Main aur meri tanhai aksar ye baatein karti hain (I and my loneliness often talk about what would it be like if I had these abs today. If it were, it would have been like this or it would have been like that. While I am aware that there are no abs, my heart says they are there .. somewhere under the fat belly…I and my loneliness often talk about these things).”

CMYK

Deepika Padukone seems to be taking fashion advice from her actor husband Ranveer Singh lately, surprising fans with unexpected fashion choices. As she attended the Mirchi Music Awards in a blazer with a hood, it was Ranveer Singh’s reaction that caught the attention of her fans on social media.

Sharing her red carpet look on Instagram, Deepika wrote, “balma balma...fashion ka hai yeh balma!!! I just HAD to!” She can be seen dressed in a black outfit and black heels. As she struck a pose for the camera with a lock of hair falling on her face, Ranveer reacted to the picture, “You can’t be left alone ..”

The actor won the Make It Large Award award at the event.

She had also appeared in a black dress at the femina Beauty Awards held on Tuesday where she was awarded the Powerful Performer of the Year award.

Deepika saw the release of her latest film, Chhapaak, last month. She played an acid-attack survivor named Malti in the film.

Friday, 21 February, 2020

14 SPORTS

AtAlAntA thrASh VAlencIA on nIght to 'remember foreVer' RoMe

A

AGENCIES

TALANTA coach Gian Piero Gasperini hailed a performance his club will "remember forever" after the Italian side crushed Valencia 4-1 on Thursday to take a giant step closer to reaching the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time.

Dutch wing-back Hans Hateboer scored twice on 16 and 62 minutes, sandwiching goals from Josip Ilicic and Remo Freuler.

"This is an evening that we'll remember forever," said Gasperini. "It's an amazing result, full of emotion."

It was an extraordinary night for the side from Bergamo who travelled to the San Siro with over 40,000 of their fans as their home stadium 55km away does not meet UEFA regulations.

Denis Cheryshev pulled one back for Valencia in the first leg of the last16 tie at the San Siro, the same stadium where the Spanish side lost the 2001 final to Bayern Munich on penalties.

Valencia, seventh in La Liga, had finished top of their group after away wins over Ajax and Chelsea but were missing several key players through injury and suspension.

"It certainly complicates things a bit, it's a pretty overwhelming result, this 4-1," said Valencia coach

Albert Celades.

"In the end it doesn't reflect much what we saw on the pitch."

Atalanta's run comes despite losing their opening three Champions League group games, before finishing second behind Manchester City.

"Three goals ahead is a nice re-

ward," added Gasperini. "But there were a lot of dangerous situations, these are things we'll need to improve in Valencia.

"We are satisfied with this victory and above all with this advantage.

"Yesterday I would have signed to go to Valencia in the return game with a three-goal lead."

The tournament debutants dominated the first half with Mario Pasalic having their first chance on eight minutes, but Valencia goalkeeper Jaume Domenech pushed the ball over the bar at full stretch.

Hateboer opened the scoring just after quarter of an hour, though, meeting a low Gomez cross to poke past Domenech for his first goal of the season.

Ferran Torres struck the post for Valencia on the half-hour mark, before Eliaquim Mangala missed a chance to connect with Goncalo Guedes' shot across the face of goal.

Marten de Roon and Gomez both fired over before Ilicic collected Pasalic's pass and drilled a powerful right-footed strike into the top corner three minutes before half-time.

Swiss indict PSG boss, ex-FIFA number two in bribery case Paris Saint-Germain chief Nasser AlKhelaifi and FIFA's disgraced former secretary general Jerome Valcke have been indicted in Switzerland for alleged corruption in the attribution of football broadcasting rights.

The Swiss attorney general's office (OAG) said in a statement on Thursday that the two had been charged "in connection with the award of media rights to various World Cup and FIFA Confederations Cup tournaments."

A third, unnamed suspect in the case -- described by Swiss prosecutors as "a businessman in the sports rights sector" -- was also indicted, the statement said. Al-Khelaifi, who is also the boss of Qatari television channel BeIN Sports, is suspected of giving inappropriate gifts to Valcke - including rent-free access to a luxury property -- in order to secure broadcast rights to prestigious events, including the World Cup. Valcke, formerly ex-FIFA boss Sepp Blatter's right-hand man, is suspected of awarding those rights in exchange for bribes.

"The investigations revealed that Valcke had received undue advantages from both co-accused," the

OAG statement said.

It found that Valcke was refunded a down payment of around 500,000 euros that he had made to a third party on the purchase of a villa in Sardinia, after Al-Khelaifi purchased the villa through a company instead of Valcke.

"Valcke then received from AlKhelaifi the exclusive right to use the villa for a period of 18 months – until he was suspended by FIFA – without having to pay an estimated rent in be-

tween about 900,000 euros and about 1.8 million euros," it said.

On the other hand, the OAG said that the suspicion that Valcke accepted a luxury watch from Al-Khelaifi "in return for exerting his influence as Secretary General of FIFA was not found to be substantiated."

Al-Khelaifi was charged with "inciting Valcke to commit aggravated criminal mismanagement," the statement said.

The unnamed businessman meanwhile faced the same charge, and was also indicted for bribery after paying Valcke's company Sportunited LLC a total of 1.25 million euros.

"The charge of criminal mismanagement relates to the fact that Valcke had not reported the mentioned advantages that he received to FIFA, as he was required to do as its Secretary General, thus unlawfully enriching himself," the statement said.

Valcke also stands accused of exploiting his position at FIFA between 2013 and 2015 to influence the award of media rights for Italy and Greece for various World Cup and other tournaments scheduled between 2018 and 2030 "in order to favour media partners that he preferred" in exchange for the payments from the unnamed businessman.

He has also been charged with falsifying documents, after Sportsunited's balance sheet listed those payments as loans.

Valcke, who worked with Blatter from 2003-2015, has been banned from football for 10 years for failing to cooperate with investigators, the resale of World Cup tickets and inflated expenses.

Inter seeking to 'bounce back' against Sampdoria before Juventus showdown Milan AGENCIES

Antonio Conte warned Inter Milan need to bounce back from recent setbacks against Sampdoria on Saturday to keep pace with leading duo Juventus and Lazio, before their clash with the Serie A champions in Turin next week. Inter dropped from first to third, three points behind champions Juventus, after losing 2-1 to secondplaced Lazio last weekend, following an Italian Cup defeat to Napoli. "It was a painful result," said Conte of the loss in Rome's Stadio Olimpico.

"We've now got back up with the desire to bounce back and move forward." Claudio Ranieri's Sampdoria are 17th, just one point above the relegation zone, and lost the reverse fixture in Genoa 3-1 in September. Juventus can open up a six-point gap on Conte's side with a win at rock bottom SPAL, before hosting Inter in their Allianz Stadium on March 1. Lazio are just one point behind Juventus as they chase their first Scudetto since 2000, and can push their unbeaten run to 20 games at third-from-bottom Genoa.

NTDC grants cash reward to players on incredible performance in 13th SAF South Asian Games 2019 LAHORE: National Transmission and Dispatch Company Limited (NTDC) has granted cash reward of Rs2,598,000 for NTDC players and their coaches for their extra ordinary performance in different disciplines during 13th South Asian Games 2019 held at Nepal. A special cash reward of Rs500,000 was also approved for boxer Muhammad Waseem on Winning 10th professional fight against two times former world champion. Players from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka took part in SAF games. NTDC players overall bagged 4 gold, 7 silver and 7 bronze medals in different categories. It is pertinent to note that Haider Ali defeated his Indian counterpart Ajey Kumar in the Common Wealth Champion weight lifting competitions. Other players who honoured Pakistan with variety of medals include Hanzla Dastgir Butt (Weight lifting), Baz Muhammad, Naimat Ullah and Kalsoom (Karate), Karamat Butt & Beenish Khan (Judo), Sana Ullah & Naqeeb Ullah (Boxing), Muhammad Attique, Awais Zahid and Mahoor Shahzad (Badminton). 20 per cent of total cash reward was also given to coaches of concerned disciplines. AGENCIES

Mourinho sees no bright side for Spurs without Son and Kane london AGENCIES

Jose Mourinho fears his side's season is running out of gas after an injury-hit Spurs slumped to a 1-0 defeat at home to RB Leipzig in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie.

Spurs could be without the talismanic duo of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min for the rest of the season through injury and looked toothless against the Bundesliga contenders.

"We are in a very difficult situation," said Mourinho. "What worries me is this is going to be the situation until the end of the season." Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris kept his side in the tie with a string of important saves, but he could not prevent Timo Werner from the penalty spot as the German international's 26th goal of the season gave Leipzig a lead to defend on home soil on March 10.

"Over the 90 minutes we deserved

the win and could have won by more," said Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann.

"It's only the first game today. You have to perform at the same level in both games." Tottenham upset the odds to progress past Manchester City and Ajax to reach last season's final. But it was Leipzig who looked the seasoned Champions League team in their first ever knockout tie in the competition.

After receiving the news that Son would be sidelined by a fractured right arm on the eve of the game, Mourinho compared his side's prospects for the rest of the season to hanging from a fourthfloor building by the balcony.

The hosts could easily have fallen flat on their face inside the first 90 seconds as Leipzig amazingly passed up four chances to open the scoring through Patrik Schick, Angelino and Werner.

"In the first five minutes we should have taken the lead," added Nagelsmann.

"Young teams can become impatient

thinking they have to score an away goal in the first leg, but they weren't like that."

Werner could be a more frequent foe for Spurs next season with speculation linking him to Liverpool.

However, his profligacy ensured the hosts went in level at the break as he fired too close to Lloris with just the French number one to beat.

Leipzig could have regretted not making the most of their supremacy during the first 45 minutes as Peter Gulacsi saved well from Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn fired the rebound wide early in the second period. However, after grinding out wins over Manchester City, Norwich, Southampton and Aston Villa in recent weeks despite conceding plenty of chances, Spurs' luck ran out.

An ill-timed lunge from Ben Davies chopped down Konrad Laimer inside the area just before the hour mark and Werner confidently converted the resulting penalty.

CMYK

Friday, 21 February, 2020

SPORTS 15

UmAr AkmAl SUSpended Under pcb'S AntI-corrUptIon code lahoRe AGENCIES

U

MAR Akmal has been suspended by the PCB with immediate effect under Article 4.7.1 of its anti-corruption code, disallowing him from taking part in any cricket-related activity under the board's purview "pending the investigation being carried out by PCB's Anti-Corruption Unit".

A PCB statement announced the development, but didn't reveal anything about the nature of the offence or the duration of the suspension.

First up, though, it will mean that Akmal will not be a part of Quetta Gladiators' title defence at the PSL, which starts on Thursday against Islamabad United.

In his place, Quetta have turned to 32-year-old allrounder Anwar Ali, who links up with the team as a Silver Category player. Ali, who turned out in 22 ODIs and 16 T20Is for Pakistan between 2008 and 2016, was a part of the Quetta squad in all the previous editions of the PSL, and has 191 runs and 23 wickets in 32 appearances.

Akmal, 29, was in the news most recently for his alleged misbehaviour with a staff member after a failed fitness test at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore, which the PCB later put down to a "misunderstanding" following an inquiry. The two-day investigation looked into the incident in which Akmal, during the skin-fold test, was believed to have exposed himself in front of the trainer and asked: "Where is the fat?"

Akmal faced no sanction, only a reminder of his responsibilities, with a PCB statement saying that he had "offered his regrets" to the PCB for his action, and was in turn reprimanded and "reminded him of his responsibilities as a senior cricketer".

Mind the gender gap: India's women's cricketers bat for higher pay MuMbai AGENCIES

India's women cricketers could be forgiven for feeling a little jealous during the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia, where the hosts are paid as much as the men and play in front of packed stands.

While Australian women's cricket is on a roll, India's women lag far behind their vaunted men's cricketers, who are feted as demi-gods with endorsements and lifestyles to match.

In Australia, the final of the fifth edition of the Women's Big Bash League drew a sell-out crowd in Brisbane last year, underlining the growing appeal of women's cricket.

The T20 World Cup final, at the 100,000-capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground, could attract a record attendance for a women's sporting fixture, exceeding the 90,185 at the 1999 football World Cup final in Pasadena, California.

Perhaps it's no surprise that Australia have won four T20 World Cup titles so far, and are hot favourites to make it five when the tournament starts on Friday.

Meanwhile in India, the world's largest cricket market and the sport's financial powerhouse, there's no women's version of the Indian Premier League, and few opportunities to play.

A case in point is teenage batting sensation Shafali Verma, who cut her hair short and had to

pretend she was a boy to play matches when she was younger. Last year, a women's T20 Challenge involving three teams was played alongside the cash-rich, globally popular IPL. Indian cricket president Sourav Ganguly has vowed to push women's cricket during his tenure, but for now it's up to the players themselves to prove their worth -- despite reaching the 50-over World Cup final in 2017.

"There is definitely a big gap," Verma told AFP. "The men get so much support and us, after doing so well, we should be supported more," she said. "But it again it boils down to playing well. If we play better, then we will slowly but surely get recognition, as does men's cricket."

BOLLYWOOD BIOPIC: India's top male cricketers, led by Virat Kohli, earn more than 10 times as much as the leading women on the annual contract list of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the world's richest.

On the female A-list, T20 captain Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Poonam Yadav get $71,500 each, while Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah receive around $1 million, not counting their lucrative endorsements.

Last year Kohli was listed among Forbes' 100 highest-paid athletes worldwide, with estimated earnings of $25 million.

But opener Smriti Mandhana said the squad was focused on winning matches for India, "and

if that happens, everything else will fall in place".

"We need to understand that the revenue we get is through men's cricket. The day women's cricket starts earning revenue, I will be the first person to say that we need the same thing," said Mandhana.

"I don't think any of my teammates are thinking about this (pay) gap because the only focus right now is to win matches for India, get the crowd coming in and earn revenues."

The International Cricket Council has been urging cricket bodies around the world to follow Australia's lead and dramatically raise wages for women's players.

The hosts are eyeing a multi-million-dollar payday should they retain the T20 World Cup title on March 8 in Melbourne.

In addition to the increased prize money of $1 million for the World Cup winners, Cricket Australia will kick in another $600,000 should its team clinch the title.

A Bollywood biopic on batting icon Mithali Raj is expected to hit Indian movie theatres next year, but large endorsement deals still elude India's women, in contrast to the men's players.

"Indian women's cricket is not able to generate any money on their own," veteran sports journalist Vijay Lokapally told AFP. "Australian women have many sponsors. The Aussie fans go and watch women's cricket."

New Zealand's Taylor vows to bat on after unique 100-caps milestone Wellington AGENCIES

Veteran New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor has dismissed talk of retirement as he approaches a unique career milestone in the opening Test against India starting Friday in Wellington.

The 35-year-old will become the first cricketer to play 100 internationals in all three formats of the game when the Black Caps take on Virat Kohli's men at Basin Reserve.

"It's nice to start the club. I'm sure over the next few years, there's going to be a lot more to join in," Taylor told reporters.

He admitted that retiring after last year's Cricket World Cup had briefly crossed his mind, but now he's not ruling out playing until the 2023 edition, if form and motivation remain intact.

"I still feel like I'm good enough and have a lot more to offer this team, both on and off the field," he said.

"I'm still as hungry as ever to score runs. I love playing cricket, first and foremost. It's not a job." Taylor demonstrated his hunger earlier this month, hitting an unbeaten century in the first one-day international against India that helped the Black Caps to a 3-0 series sweep over the visitors. He is New Zealand's leading run scorer in Tests and ODIs, with 40 centuries across the two formats, more than any other Black Cap. FAILURES SHAPE YOU: Taylor's 14-year international career has had its rough spots, including two losing appearances in World Cup finals and being dropped as captain in 2012.

But he said such difficulties had contributed to his longevity.

"It's not necessarily the runs you get in the good times, it's how you deal with the failures that shape you as a person," he said.

"Sometimes the negative things make you harder and stronger and more resilient. That's what you need to be, to be a Test player."

CMYK

Isolated, training in masks: coronavirus hits china's olympic hopes beijing AGENCIES

The coronavirus has destroyed the Tokyo Olympic dreams of some Chinese athletes and disrupted the preparations of others, forcing them to miss tournaments and train in strict isolation -- sometimes in masks. Games organisers are adamant that the outbreak, which is centred on the Chinese city of Wuhan and has killed more than 2,100 people, will not derail one of the biggest events in the sporting calendar. But it is likely to compromise the performance of the Chinese team, which numbered 416 at the Rio 2016 Games and has been top three on the medals table at every Olympics this century. There are no known cases among Chinese competitors, but the virus outbreak coincides with a critical stage in their build-up to the Olympics, which begin on July 24. In one stark example, China's women's football team resorted to doing stretching exercises in the corridor of a Brisbane hotel after they were quarantined ahead of an Olympic qualifying tournament. China hopes that rival countries will open their doors to its athletes to compete in qualifiers as some nations, including Australia, have issued strict restrictions on arrivals from China.

"There will be over 100 Olympic qualifying tournaments around the world between February and April," said Liu Guoyong, a vice-president of the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC), according to the Xinhua news agency. "The IOC has asked various international sports federations to provide all possible assistance and convenience to Chinese athletes."

DREAMS OVER: Despite their disrupted build-up and missing star player Wang Shuang -- who was not allowed to leave her home city of Wuhan, and was videoed training alone on a rooftop while wearing a mask -- China's women's football team managed two wins and a draw in Australia.

Friday, 21 February, 2020

NEWS

CommIssIoNer advIses aGaINst UNloadING of soybeaNs at KaraChI port KARACHI

K

STAFF REPORT

ARACHI Commissioner Iftikhar Ali Shallwani has urged the Sindh government to put an end to the unloading of soybeans at Karachi Port [in order to avoid such incidents in the future] in a report concerning alleged soybean poisoning that caused 14 deaths in the megacity.

Shallwani forwarded a report on the incident to Chief Minister of Murad Ali Shah on Thursday, in which he claimed that the situation in the city was under control and the administration was taking measures to contain the problem.

The report send by the commissioner to the CM was based on the findings of the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS). The ICCBS had forwarded the findings of the report to the commissioner.

It had revealed that “exposure to soybean dust” was causing severe respiratory problems for the locals of Kemari, an area of Karachi.

The report had suggested giving bronchodilators and antihistamines to the patients admitted in the hospitals. It had also recommended the local authorities to take extreme care during the unload-

PSL 5 Quetta Gladiators beat Islamabad United by 3 wickets KARACHI: The Quetta Gladiators on Thursday defeated Islamabad United in the first game of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 by three wickets. 21-one-year old Azam, Gladiators’ emerging pick, smashed three shots over the boundary and stroked five shots to the fence to score 59 off 33 that helped Quetta chase the target of 169 in 18.3 overs for the loss ofseven wickets. Earlier, Islamabad got the blow on first ball of the tournament when Colin Munro was caught and bowled by Mohammad Nawaz. After the loss of first wicket, Dawid Malan and Luke Ronchi tried to rebuild the innings and added 38 runs in 22 deliveries before Ronchi was caught at backward point off Sohail Khan after scoring 23. Following the fall of Ronchi, it was Malan’s turn to take the charge, and he did so by scoring some quick runs. Malan added 68 runs for the third wicket before his partner Hussain Talat (19) was caught by Ahmed Shahzad off Mohammad Hasnain. STAFF REPORT

SHALLWANI SENDS REPORT TO CM MURAD, SAYS BLOOD SAMPLES TAKEN FROM VICTIMS CONTAIN TRACES OF SOYBEAN DUST ing of soybean containers from now on.

“Kindly note that soybean dust exposure related epidemics have been reported earlier from other parts of the world with associated morbidity and mortality,” the report had stated.

Meanwhile, Ships Agents Association strongly denied reports of dangerous gas emissions from soybean and said that soybean is not related to chemicals as it is an agricultural product.

Soybean is being handled at the port without any damage for years and no one from the workers on the ship got affected by it, the association said.

On the other hand, the Sindh government issued an advisory according to which, the soybean dust causes itching in the mouth, eczema, throat inflammation and choked breathing.

HANDLING OF SOYBEAN: While soybean handling is not new to Pakistani ports, it is believed that the specific procedure and SOP for carriage, loading, and unloading were not carried out as outlined. Negligence in this re-

gard can be attributed to the regulator and Karachi Port Trust. This suggests that there may have been a breach of protocol and thereby negligence that has resulted in a deadly gas leak.

Speaking to Pakistan Today, a citizen working in the vicinity said, “The area smells acidic and from what I have heard soybean does not smell like acid.” Residents claim the smell was more along the lines of a strong acid or chemical bearing resemblance to a drain opener.

As per protocol, tankers are washed before and after unloading. Oil-water separators are used to prevent oily residue from mixing with water, whereby the residue is then collected in a sludge tank to be later disposed of by shore facilities following which the water is drained.

It is believed that the process was not carried out diligently and water has flown directly into sewerage lines and has mixed with the toxic gases there to become deadly.

HYDROGEN SULPHIDE, NITRIC

OXIDE FOUND IN KEMARI: On Tuesday, a private laboratory monitoring air quality in the area over the past two days had found the air to be extremely polluted. However, the levels of pollutants — particularly two harmful gases which should not be present in the air at all — did not cross the limit where it could endanger life.

These areas included Bhutta village, Railway Colony, Jackson bazaar and Massan Road.

“The levels of all pollutants, particularly the hazardous hydrogen sulphide and nitric oxide gases, were found to be very high late Monday night near the Ziauddin Hospital when reports of more people being affected by the toxic gas leak emerged,” an official of the Global Environmental Laboratory (GEL) had said on the condition of anonymity.

“Harmful gases such as hydrogen sulphide and nitric oxide shouldn’t be present in healthy air at all,” he had said.

“But, the levels of these gases didn’t reach the limit where they could endanger life, though they would have long term impact on health depending upon the extent and duration of exposure. The level of these gases was also high on Monday afternoon when we started monitoring air quality,” the official had added.

University at PM House likely to cost over Rs35bn ISLAMABAD GHULAM ABBAS

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s plan of converting the Prime Minister House into a modern university is likely to cost over Rs35 billion as new buildings will be constructed on over 50 acres of land.

Sources said that the Pakistan Science and Technology Task Force, which is looking into the proposed university project, estimated an initial cost of over Rs35 billion for the university, however, a feasibility study for the said project is yet to be conducted.

As per officials at the Ministry of Planning and Development, an important meeting on the planned project was held at the ministry on Thursday, which was chaired by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar.

The meeting was also attended by Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry, Pakistan Science and Technology Task Force Chairperson Prof Dr Attaur Rehman, Member Science and Technology Dr Hussain Abidi and senior officials from the Higher Education Commission (HEC).

According to the officials, Prof Dr Attaur Rehman briefed the participants

RS200M SOUGHT FOR CARRYING OUT A FEASIBILITY STUDY about the latest developments in the establishment of the university at the PM House. The ministers were informed that the planned university will have three centres of excellence and eight departments with a special focus on innovation and technology development. The university will accommodate more than 1000 PhDs and PostDoc fellows and 200 faculty members, ministers added.

He also elaborated that a budget of Rs200 million is required to conduct an initial feasibility study.

The planning minister noted that the manufacturing sector in Pakistan needs to be supported through cutting edge and latest technologies in order to make them more competitive. He directed the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) to form a special committee to ensure that the university focuses on relevant technologies that can support the manufacturing industry in Pakistan. He said that there should be no delay in the establishment of the University as it is a

high priority project. The planning minister was also briefed about the scholarships that will be offered at the university.

Sources said that since the prime minister wants fast-track progress on the project, the concerned ministries and authorities have speeded up initial work on the proposed university.

The university was among Prime Minister Imran Khan’s election promises and was included in the PTI party’s manifesto before the July 25 election as well.

Initially, the incumbent government faced great difficulty in going ahead with the proposal because of the PM House is located in a highly sensitive area and red zone of the capital, but the premier insisted that the university would be built there.

To build the new university, the government also needed to change in the master plan of the capital for carrying out new/additional construction on the land adjacent to the PM House. To deal with this, the federal cabinet approved a specific change to the master plan of Islamabad last year.

Sources said that the total area of PM House could be more than 100 acres but the university required over 50 acres on the north-western side of the building.

No hike in power and gas tariffs, cabinet decides ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The federal cabinet on Thursday decided to not increase prices of electricity and gas, as it deliberated on further steps to reduce inflation. A meeting of the federal cabinet was held at the Prime Minister’s House under the chair of Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday to discuss a 16point agenda. A detailed review was made over the government’s steps taken to reduce inflation. The premier directed the authorities concerned to strictly monitor commodities’ prices after the issuance of a relief package. It was also decided to devise a strategy for decreasing import levy to lessen prices of pulses. Federal Minister Faisal Vawda raised the matter of children affected by metabolism disorder on which PM Imran ordered to ensure the availability of life-saving nutrients after removing the ban on its imports.

Moreover, the matter related to the appointment of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) chief commissioner and a briefing on parliamentarians’ inclusion in the Ehsaas programme was postponed.

Briefing reporters about the decisions taken in the cabinet meeting, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said that a comprehensive report on the wheat crisis will be presented to the cabinet in one week. “The federal government has decided to release 100,000 tonnes of wheat for Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” she said. “The Punjab Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO) already has 2.8 million tonnes of wheat in its storage,” she added. She said that the federal government had come to the provinces’ aid who had not procured wheat according to the demand. “In future, provinces should procure wheat according to their targets,” said the prime minister’s aide. Dr Firdous said that a mafia was behind the sugar and wheat crisis which had taken hold of the country. She said that those responsible for the artificial crisis will not escape justice. Lashing out at the PML-N indirectly, she said people were targeting the Prime Minister’s Office from abroad for political motives.

PSL 5 opens at National Stadium amid fanfare KARACHI STAFF REPORT

The opening ceremony of the 5th edition of the Habib Bank-sponsored Pakistan Super League (PSL) was held on Thursday at Karachi’s National Stadium with thousands of Pakistanis participating with an unmatched enthusiasm for cricket at home.

The ceremony opened with national anthem which was followed by the history of the PSL’s journey narrated by Shahzad Nawaz. This is also the first Pakistan-only edition of PSL where all the matches will be played at home grounds in four cities — Lahore, Karachi, Multan and Rawalpindi.

Hosted by Fakhar-e-Alam, the ceremony officially started with the speech of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah who lauded the efforts of the PSL management in organising another successful edition of PSL. Speaking on the occasion, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ehsan

Mani described the struggles and efforts made by the board to start, retain and bring the entire PSL from UAE to Pakistan.

“Pakistan is opening its doors to the rest of the world, and PSL is making this happen,” Mani said.

The ceremony was graced by various musical performances of regional and local musicians and singers to portray the rich culture of the country before the world.

The first performance saw a Sufi piece sung by Sanam Marvi and famous qawwali duo Fareed Ayaz and Abu Muhammad which was followed by singer Sajjad Ali who mesmerized the Karachiites with some of his classic tunes such as Babia and Sohni Lagdi from the 90s.

Renowned singers Abrarul Huq, Ali Azamt, Arif Lohar, Haroon Rashid, Aima Baig and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan also performed at the event.

The ceremony concluded with glaring fireworks.

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CMYK