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CMYK

Thursday, 27 February, 2020 I 02 Rajab, 1441 I Rs 19.00 I Vol X No 239 I 16 Pages I Islamabad Edition

coronavirus has arrived g

g PM’S aIde SayS both PatIeNtS had two CoroNavIruS CaSeS CoNfIrMed IN PakIStaN returNed froM IraN reCeNtly MIrza SayS ‘No Need to PaNIC’ aS baloChIStaN govt CloSeS all eduCatIoNal INStItuteS tIll Mar 15

KARACHI ARIBA SHAHID

he first two cases of the novel coronavirus in Pakistan have been confirmed, a top government official said on wednesday, adding that both patients had travelled to Iran recently. In a tweet, PM’s Special assistant on health dr zafar Mirza said, “I can confirm first two cases of coronavirus in Pakistan. both cases are being taken care of according to clinical standard protocols & both of them are stable.” he said there’s “no need to panic, things are under control”, adding that one patient was reported from karachi and the other from Islamabad. the confirmation came moments after the Sindh health department announced that a young man had tested positive for the coronavirus in karachi. the 22-year-old male patient travelled to Iran where he acquired CovId-19, Media Coordinator to the health and Population welfare Minister Meeran yousuf said in a statement. the patient travelled from Iran to karachi by plane on feb 20. he and his family have been placed in quarantine at the aga khan university hospital and the health department is in the process of examining all the passengers that he travelled with, the statement added. yousuf said the Sindh government has

informed the federal government, world health organisation and other partners about the confirmation of the virus in the patient. “the passengers who travelled with him were exposed as well; we will track down all the passengers and carry out their tests,” the coordinator added. So far, over 2,700 deaths have been confirmed from coronavirus in the world and over 81,000 others have been infected. Pakistan is facing a huge challenge to avoid the disease as the virus has already made entry to neighbouring afghanistan and Iran.

the government has deployed 67 doctors at its border crossing with Iran to treat suspected patients of the deadly virus. at the same time, the provincial authorities have declared a “coronavirus emergency” in five districts of balochistan – Chagai, washuk, Panjgur, kech and gwadar – as a preemptive measure. the balochistan government has also closed all educational institutions in the province till March 15 to prevent the spread of the virus. Meanwhile, activities at the Pakistan-Iran border remain suspended as the provincial government has completely sealed the border at five points not allowing anyone to cross into Pakistan from Iran. the authorities have also announced it would not allow around 5,000 pilgrims currently in Iran to return following the outbreak of the infestation there. the virus is believed to have originated late last year in a food market in the Chinese city of wuhan that was illegally selling wildlife. health experts think it may have originated in bats and then passed to humans, possibly via another animal species. on wednesday, the world health organisation said there are now more new cases of the coronavirus reported each day outside China than inside the hardesthit country. the uN health agency had put the number of new cases in China at 411 on tuesday and those registered outside the country stood at 427.

Pakistan gave mature response to Indian aggression, says Imran STORY ON PAGE 03

At least 27 dead, over 200 injured in Delhi sectarian riots STORY ON PAGE 03

Power tariff reduced for textile sector STORY ON PAGE 02

Attorney general says law minister and he are ‘equal partners’ STORY ON PAGE 02

Punjab govt asks Centre not to extend Nawaz Sharif’s bail STORY ON PAGE 03

US, India repeat old allegations against Pakistan in joint statement STORY ON PAGE 02

CMYK

Thursday, 27 February, 2020

02 NEWS

Power tariff reduced for textile sector GOVT AGREES TO PROVIDE ELECTRICITY TO TEXTILE SECTOR AT 7.5CENTS/KWH, WITHDRAW ALL ADDITIONAL SURCHARGES TILL JUNE 2020 LAHORE

HASSAN NAQVI

HE federal government has agreed to provide electricity to the textile and other zero-rated industries at the rate of 7.5 cents/kWh (which is approximately Rs11.58 as of today) all-inclusive till June 2020. Sources told Pakistan Today that the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) also managed to per-

suade the government to take back all additional surcharges and add-ons over and above the concessionary rate till June. According to a press statement issued by the Finance Division, the government also agreed to provide Rs20 billion total subsidy for power and petroleum in the form of cross subsidy and/or allocation, in the next budget. However, sources in APTMA said that they had not yet agreed to the government’s recommendation. Prime Minister Imran Khan was scheduled to meet the textile sector

and address the issues faced by the export-oriented sector, however the premier could not attend Wednesday’s meeting. Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razzak Dawood chaired the meeting in his place. Economic Affairs Minister Hammad Azhar, PM’s Adviser on Petroleum Nadeem Babar, Federal Minister for Power Omar Ayub Khan and Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar were also present. The APTMA delegation was led by Gohar Ijaz and comprised APTMA Chairman Dr Amanullah Kassim Machariya, APTMA Punjab Chairman Adil Bashir, APTMA Punjab Senior Vice Chairman Abdul Rahim Nasir, APTMA’s Executive Director Shahid Sattar and other leading textile millers and office-bearers of the association.

Attorney general says law minister and he are ‘equal partners’ KHALID JAWED SAYS HE HAS NO POLITICAL AFFILIATION WITH ANYONE, PM APPOINTED HIM DUE TO PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Newly-appointed Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan on Wednesday said that he and Law Minister Farogh Naseem “are equals” and that he would have a good working relationship with the government. In an informal conversation with reporters at the Supreme Court (SC), the attorney general also said that the “autonomy of [his] office” is his foremost concern. The remarks come after the attorney general wrote a letter to Farogh Naseem, seeking an explanation over reports that the government was trying to appoint a number of law officers without the new attorney general’s consent and that a number of lawyers from different cities had been approached by the law division to immediately submit their CVs so that the suitable candidates among them are appointed to fill the vacancies. “The law minister and I are equals. We have a very good working relationship and I wrote the letter to the law minister for the clarification of the news item,” Jawed said. He also said that he recused himself from the Justice Qazi Faez Isa reference case because he had earlier been approached to defend the judge’s case. The attorney general stressed that he has no political affiliation with anyone. “It was

my father who was associated with politics. Even if Bhutto or Musharraf’s case came in front of me, [I] will argue them with utmost honesty,” he said. “Maybe the prime minister nominated me because I am a professional. The judiciary has the same expectation [of honesty] from me as the prime minister does.” He added that he will try to establish the office of the attorney general according to the Constitution of Pakistan. “The prime minister has given me full freedom and assured me of his full support,” Jawed told reporters. The attorney general also said that his first priority will be cases concerning national security and state revenue and that he will try to control the damage from the Reko Diq case. He said that the government aims to get a stay order issued against the over $6 billion fine imposed on Pakistan.

US, India repeat old allegations against Pakistan in joint statement Following the conclusion of United States (US) President Donald Trump’s visit to India, both countries issued a joint statement, repeating old allegations against Pakistan. Both countries “denounced any use of terrorist proxies and strongly condemned cross-border terrorism in all its forms” and called on Pakistan to ensure that its territory is not used to “launch terror attacks”. “They call on Pakistan to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of such attacks, including 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot [attacks],” said the joint statement. The two sides also called on Islamabad to launch “concerted action against all terrorist groups, including al Qaida, Daish, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkare-Tayyiba, Hizbul Mujahideen, the Haqqani Network, TTP, D-Company, and all their affiliates”. Islamabad has repeatedly and vehemently denied similar accusations leveled by New Delhi in the past, pointing to India’s own disastrous policies in occupied Kashmir and its stridently anti-Muslim agenda for fanning resentment elsewhere in the country against New Delhi. It is worth mentioning here that a few days ago, in a rally at a stadium in Ahmedabad, Trump had said that his administration had been working with Pakistan in a very positive way. “Our relationship with Pakistan is a very good one. Thanks to these efforts we are beginning to see signs of big progress with Pakistan and we are hopeful for reduced tensions, greater stability and the future of harmony for all of the nations of South Asia,” he had added. NEWS DESK

CMYK

Shahid Khaqan, Ahsan Iqbal released from Adiala Jail RAWALPINDI Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) leaders Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Ahsan Iqbal walked out of Adiala Jail early evening on Wednesday, hours after the Islamabad High Court issued their release orders. A day earlier, the IHC had approved Abbasi and Iqbal’s bail in corruption cases against the two. The PML-N leaders were granted bails against bonds worth Rs10 million each in the cases against them. Former prime minister Abbasi had secured bail in the LNG terminal case, while Iqbal had been granted bail in the Narowal Sports City case. The two leaders had been incarcerated at Adiala Jail. On July 18, 2019, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had arrested Abbasi in an alleged case of corruption while awarding a multi-billion rupee import contract for LNG in 2013, when he was the minister for petroleum and natural resources. According to the NAB arrest warrant, Abbasi was accused of commission of the offence of corruption and corrupt practices under Section 9 (a) of National Accountability Ordinance, 1999. STAFF REPORT

Thursday, 27 February, 2020

NEWS

PAkIStAN GAVe MAture reSPoNSe to INDIAN AGGreSSIoN, SAyS IMrAN PM URGES THE INT’L COMMUNITY TO TAKE NOTICE OF BJP’S NAZI-INSPIRED RSS IDEOLOGY ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

RIMe Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that Pakistan’s response to Indian aggression in February 2019 reflected the nation’s maturity. The premier said this while addressing a ceremony held in the federal capital to commemorate Pakistan’s response on February 26, 2019. The ceremony was attended by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan, and other officials. PM Imran said that he was very proud of the way the Pakistani people dealt with the crisis. “The fact that the crisis did not aggravate and the situation didn’t worsen only shows the maturity of the Pakistani nation,” he added.

The prime minister said that Pakistan Armed Forces were fully prepared to meet any aggression, but Pakistan side exercised restraint after realising that there were no casualties in the Indian bombing. “We are proud of our armed forces in their ability to defend the frontiers of the country,” he said. “Our armed forces are battle hardened and they have defeated the menace of terrorism successfully, which has boosted their morale and confidence,” he added. The premier urged the world community to take notice of Hindutva ideology of India that is based on hatred and racial superiority against minorities. He said that the RSS ideology of incumbent Indian government takes inspiration from Nazi ideals of racist superiority and hate for followers of other religions. “More than eight mil-

lion Kashmiris are virtual hostage with communication blockade and essential freedoms compromised,” he added. The prime minister said that a racist, fascist and totalitarian ideology has been adopted by Indian government which is leading to violence and bloodshed. He said that the prevailing environment in India is echoing the same situation where hate is being spread against all minorities in that country, leading to communal violence. Imran said that 200 million Muslims are being targeted in India due to policies based on hate. He expressed fear that the situation will only get worse in India if not checked in time. earlier, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in his address, said that on February 26 last year, Pakistan’s eastern neighbour violated its sovereignty and launched aggression on the country. Pakistan responded befittingly to show its resolve and capability, he added. “Our first message to India is to not consider any ill misadventure against us, as we will respond immediately as self-defence,” he added.

At least 20 dead, over 200 injured in Delhi sectarian riots NEW DELHI AGENCIES

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on Wednesday for calm to be restored after several days of riots in Delhi killed at least 20 people. “Peace and harmony are central to our ethos. I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times. It is important that there is calm and normalcy is restored at the earliest,” Modi tweeted. Meanwhile, riot police patrolled the streets of India’s capital on Wednesday and the city’s leader called for a curfew following battles between Hindus and Muslims that claimed at least 20 lives. The two days of unrest – which has seen clashes between mobs armed with swords and guns – is the worst sectarian violence seen in Delhi in decades. The clashes come amid worsening religious tensions following a citizenship law that critics say is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist agenda. Delhi’s chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, called Wednesday for

the army to be deployed and for a curfew to be imposed over flashpoint northeastern districts. “Police, despite all its efforts, (are) unable to control situation and instill confidence,” Kejriwal tweeted on Wednesday morning. “Army (should) be called in and curfew imposed.” The clashes began on Monday between people supporting and opposing

the citizenship law, then descended into pitched battles between the mobs. Twenty people died and nearly 200 others were wounded in the first two days of violence, the director of the hospital where people were taken, told AFP on Wednesday. Sixty people had suffered gunshot wounds, according to the director, Sunil Kumar. The area is home to mostly poorer

Victims of New Delhi's deadly communal clashes fill hospital Patients on stretchers crammed the emergency room, while relatives of the dead wailed outside a morgue as injured people continued to pour into a public hospital after three days of violence in New Delhi, coinciding with US President Donald Trump’s visit to India. Protests against a contentious citizenship law began on a smaller scale on Sunday but escalated on Monday and Tuesday into running battles between Hindus and Muslims in New Delhi’s north-east, where rioters armed with stones, swords and even guns were out in force. More than 20 people were killed in the clashes, including at least one police officer, and over 200 people were injured, both Hindus and Muslims, in the worst communal riots in the Indian capital in decades. On Wednesday, victims’ relatives stood outside the mortuary, some crying as they waited for hospital authorities to release the bodies following postmortems. AGENCIES

The foreign minister said that Kashmir is an internationally recognised dispute. He questioned if it was India’s internal affair then why it organised a briefing of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members on the 15th of last month on Kashmir. He said that the two reports of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) cannot be ignored. “Similarly, the reports of european Union (eU) and All Parties Group in the British Parliament depict the real situation in occupied Kashmir,” he added. Referring to Afghan situation, he said we believe there is no military solution to Afghan conflict. It is only negotiated settlement that will bring peace in the neighbouring country. Qureshi said that his second message is for international community that drift to bilateralism from multilateralism is dangerous for peace and stability in South Asia. “Pakistanis and Kashmiris will never accept the steps taken on the fifth of August,” he added. He said that his third message is governments can come and go but consensus on Kashmir remains the same across the board in Pakistan. His fourth and final message, he said, for armed forces of Pakistan. “The nation is proud of you for rendering sacrifices to defeat the menace of terrorism and defending the frontiers of motherland,” he added. economic migrants living in many shanty neighbourhoods, and some fled on Wednesday ahead of more expected clashes. “People are killing (each other). Bullets are being fired here,” a tailor in the Jaffrabad area told AFP, adding that he was returning home to his village in northern Uttar Pradesh state. “There is no work… It is better to leave than to stick around here. Why would we want to die here?” On Wednesday morning AFP saw people cleaning out the blackened and trashed interior of a mosque in the Ashok Nagar area burned out during the violence. A video circulated on social media and verified by AFP showed men ripping off the muezzin’s loudspeaker on top of the mosque’s minaret and placing a Hindu religious flag and an Indian flag. The new citizenship law has raised worries abroad that Modi wants to remould secular India into a Hindu nation while marginalising the country’s 200 million Muslims, a claim he denies. The law expedites the citizenship applications for persecuted minorities from India’s three Muslim-majority neighbouring countries, but not if they are Muslim.

Pakistan launches documentary on Feb 27 response against Indian aggression ISLAMABAD APP

Pakistan on Wednesday launched a documentary titled ‘Invincible Resolve,’ showing a befitting response it gave to hostile India on February 27 the last year in the wake of airspace violation and Balakot attack. The 12-minute duration documentary contained Indian leadership’s threatening statements [after the Pulwama incident], Prime Minister Imran Khan’s offer to probe it asking [India] to share actionable intelligence and warning to retaliate in case of any aggression, violation of Pakistan’s airspace by Indian aircraft and Pakistan Air Force (PAF) response that proved its mettle by shooting down two Indian jets and arresting a pilot, who was later released as a goodwill gesture. Addressing the launching ceremony at the Press Information Department, Special

Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said a true picture of Pakistan’s brave nation had been portrayed in the documentary. She said the broadcast gave a glimpse of Pakistan’s national narrative for peace and impregnable defence that was proven by the PAF on February 27, 2019. She said Prime Minister Imran Khan had, time and again, apprised the world that Pakistan wanted peace but this desire should not be taken as its weakness. By shooting down the two Indian jets, the SAPM said Pakistan had given a clear message that it would keep giving the February-27 like surprises to its enemies in the future, if needed. She said peace-desire was the important component of Pakistan’s national narrative, adding “We believe in peace and co-existence.”

Punjab govt asks Centre not to extend Nawaz Sharif’s bail LAHORE: The Punjab government in a letter informed the federal government to approach the concerned court and trial court and ask them not to extend the bail of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, provincial law minister Raja Basharat said on Wednesday. “We have sent a letter to the federal government now they will take action,” the law minister said. He added that the provincial government has recommended the Centre to approach the court in this matter. Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry lauded the Punjab government and said the decision was a ‘good step’. The minister in a post on Twitter called for the formation of an independent commission to check whether the earlier reports submitted by Nawaz were authentic or not. “In the next step, it needs to be determined whether the medical reports on which the bail was granted were made through forgery, and if this is true then who was involved?” questioned the minister adding that an independent commission was needed to investigate this. STAFF REPORT

IHC approves Abdul Majeed Ghani's bail in five NAB cases ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday approved the bail of Abdul Ghani Majeed on medical grounds in five corruption cases filed against him. The court approved the bail and asked Ghani to submit surety bonds worth Rs100 million in the five references he is facing and disposed of National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) plea challenging the bail. In its order, the court said that Ghani was being granted bail solely on medical grounds. “If the accused goes anywhere else apart from medical treatment then NAB can submit an application seeking the ending of the bail,” it added. In its report, the jail authorities told the court that the accused was being given every possible treatment while he was in custody. They added that Ghani’s tests were also sent to Shaukat Khanum Hospital. STAFF REPORT

04 ISLAMABAD

Thursday, 27 February 2020

WEATHER UPDATES THURSDAY

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Torkham border on high alerT for coronavirus PESHAWAR

STAFF REPORT

olloWinG Afghanistan’s confirmation of its first case of coronavirus, authorities at the Torkham border crossing point have begun screening people entering Pakistan in order to block the possible transmission of the virus into the country. Khyber Tribal District Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mehmood Aslam Wazir told Pakistan Today that comprehensive arrangements have been made at Torkham to block the virus from reaching Pakistan. in this connection, a team of 13 expert doctors and medical staff, with the help of thermal screening guns, has so far screened 143,958 people who entered from Afghanistan via Torkham border whereas an ambulance is also available at the border to deal with any emergency case. it may be mentioned here that Afghanistan had confirmed its first case of coronavirus in Herat province

last Monday after which their public health minister declared a state of emergency in the western province which borders iran. Similarly, Pakistani authorities have also declared an emergency at the Pak-Afghan Friendship Hospital Torkham, Tehsil Headquarters Hospital landikotal and Jamrud. According to a statement issued by the district administration of Khyber tribal district, quarantine facility is also available at Torkham border for suspected coronavirus cases. The statement said the district administration is making all possible efforts to prevent the entry of infected patients in Pakistan. it said no confirmed case of coronavirus has appeared at Torkham so far. District Health officer (DHo) Tariq Hayat told Pakistan Today that all necessary arrangements were made at Torkham borders one month ago over reports that coronavirus has reached Afghanistan. He said thermal guns are being used to identify coronavirus infected people. He said the

temperature of those arriving at the border and their 14-day travel data is also checked. The DHo said isolation wards have already been set up at hospitals in Torkham, landikotal and Jamrud to deal with suspected coronavirus cases. He said ambulances have also provided in these hospitals which shift the suspected patients to Police and Services Hospital Peshawar which is specially designated to deal with coronavirus patients. He said the federal and provincial health ministries have provided full cooperation to the district administration of Khyber to prevent the spread of the disease. So far, over 2,700 deaths have been confirmed from coronavirus in the world and over 81,000 others have been infected. Pakistan is facing a huge challenge to avoid the disease as the virus has already made entry to neighbouring Afghanistan and iran. Pakistan has already closed its border with iran, while Turkey has also done so to prevent the spread of the virus.

KP govt approves compensation for NW shopkeepers, petrol pump owners PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakthunkhwa Government has approved Rs13532.292 million for the compensation to shopkeepers, petrol pumps and others relevant sectors of Miranshah bazaar of

north Waziristan tribal district. officials in KP Government told APP on Wednesday that process of payment of compensation to all those whose shops, markets and petrol

pumps were destroyed in Miranshah bazaar were expedited and Rs 13532.292 million were approved by KP Cabinet to help them in reconstruction and rehabilitation of its damaged infrastructure. This huge amount was approved following the recommendations of Special Committee to help affectees of Miranshah Bazaar for reconstruction of their shops, petrol pumps etc. The Government would provide same payment to affectees of Miranshah’s bazaar as provided to affected shopkeepers of Mir Ali’s tehsil of north Waziristan. The official said a hefty amount of Rs4404.973 million have already been distributed by the government among the affected people of Miranshah bazaar. international Fund for Agriculture Development (iFAD) has showed willingness to make investment in projects related to alleviation of poverty and improvement in socioeconomic lives of people in rural areas in KP. Rural Economic Transformation Project (REPT) has been prepared on which USD 100 million would be spent for which USD 50 million would be provided by iFAD for development projects in KP. KP Govt has accelerated work on multifaceted Accelerated implementation Program (AiP 202030) under which work on 20 sectors were initiated with outlay of Rs59 billion for three years ie 2020-23. For this purpose, Rs29 billion had been released after approval of 78 different schemes in merged areas. KP Government has made a ten- year phase wise multifaceted development programmeTribal Decade Strategy (TDS 2020-30) to bolster education, health, strengthen roads connectivity and improve overall socioeconomic conditions of tribal people. APP

CMYK

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4 killed, 9 injured in road accident TORGHAR APP

At least four persons including two children died and nine others were critically injured on Wednesday when a passenger jeep plunged into a deep gorge at Soral Tor Ghar. According to the police, a passenger jeep was heading towards Thakot from Dadda Banda Torghar carrying several passengers fell into a deep gorge when driver Sahibzada lost his control over the vehicle while taking a sharp turn at Soral. Four persons including two children died on the spot were identified as 8 years old Mazullah and Faiza Bibi while 9 injured

including Muhammad Alam, Shah Gul, Saeed Zada, Shahzad Gul, Muhammad Rahmatullah and others. After the accident, locals and police reached the spot and recovered the injured and dead bodies from the deep gorge and shifted them to the hospital.

Thursday, 27 February, 2020

NEWS

Social media rules: Senate’s IT panel irked at being kept in dark ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

THe Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology has sought clarification from the Ministry of Information Technology for forwarding the Citizens Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules 2020 to the cabinet without taking the panel into confidence. The government says the rules have been designed to protect citizens from online fraud and discourage social media companies from publishing prohibited content. The move requires the online companies to register themselves within three months.

It also directs the social media organisations to establish their permanent offices in Islamabad and appoint a local Pakistani focal person there. For the protection of data of Pakistanis, the social media companies will have to create a data server in Pakistan within a year. As the Senate Standing Committee on IT met on Tuesday with Senator Rubina Khalid in chair, the committee chairperson regretted that the IT ministry had not taken the panel members onboard while designing the rules. She said had the regulations been presented before the committee, its members would also have given their input on the matter. She lamented that the parliamentary

committee was bypassed by sending the rules directly to the cabinet. It was observed that there was no mention to curb banking frauds and cybercrimes in the regulations. Information Technology secretary negated the impression that the ministry tried to bypass the committee and said that a written reply on the matter would be submitted. He said when parliament makes an act, it also gives the right to the ministry concerned for preparing the rules and the rules cannot be made in contravention with the act. Senator Shahzad Waseem observed that legislation was done in parliament but there was no condition of presenting the

SC orders release of blasphemy convict after sentence completion

ISLAMABAD APP

The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday ordered to release of Saqlain, who was convicted in a blasphemy case, after the completion of his sentence. The accused Saqlain was arrested

in 2015 from Faisalabad for posting a controversial post about the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) on Facebook. A two-member bench comprising Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin heard the case. During the course of proceedings,

Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin said that no one had the right to write on Facebook against any person. Nothing about the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) could be tolerated, he added. The counsel for the accused said that the Facebook post was not shared by his client’s account. He said that the mobile phone recovered from his client had a different cellular company SIM card while the mobile that was reported in the forensic had another cellular company SIM card. The mobile phones were also different, he added. He alleged that nowadays, people also created fake accounts and his client’s fake account was also created. He said that the trial court had sentenced his client to prison with a fine. He pleaded the court to waive the fine amount.

IHC disposes of bail plea of Ahsan Iqbal’s brother ISLAMABAD APP

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Wednesday disposed of an interim bail petition of Mustafa Kamal, the brother of former interior minister Ahsan Iqbal, after the submission of an affidavit by National Accountability Bureau (NAB). A division bench comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Ghulam Azam Qamber conducted the hearing on the pre-arrest bail petition of Mustafa Kamal. At the outset of the hearing, the NAB prosecutor adopted the stance that his department had submitted an affidavit on the directives of this bench. The petitioner’s counsel Tariq Jahangir pleaded that the NAB had given this statement that no arrest warrants had been issued against his client so far. He said NAB could arrest his client tomorrow after the submission of this affidavit.

rules before the standing committees. However, he noted that the committees had the right to observe the rules to confirm that they were not against the law. Senator Rubina reminded the ministry that clear instructions were given in the January 15 meeting that rules will be shared with the committee. “The committee had taken the notice of sending the rules directly to the cabinet and also sought a report from the ministry,” she said. The senator recalled that legislation was done in 2016 but the rules could not be formulated despite passage of four years. Senator Faisal Javed pointed out that the main purpose of the rules was the pro-

tection of citizens’ rights. He maintained in view of the popularity of social media, collective steps needed to be taken to discourage its negative use and educate people to use the platform in a positive manner. “The prime minister has directed that the rules be formulated after detailed consultation with all the stakeholders,” he said. He emphasized on apprising the youth with the pros and cons of the use of social media saying that that internet had adversely affected the norms and standards in the society. He suggested that the IT ministry could run a campaign through Pakistan electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) urging the people to not pay heed to fake news.

Thursday, 27 February, 2020

06 worlD vIew

Has Trump surrendered afgHanisTan To THe Taliban? WHAT LESSONS MUST BOTH PARTIES DRAW FROM TWO DECADES OF WAR?

al Jazeera

Marwan Bishara

wo decades after its invasion of Afghanistan, the United States has come to the inevitable conclusion that it must end its military intervention there. Unable to win against the Taliban insurgency, Washington has finally given up on a military solution and embraced negotiations, dictated largely by those it long deemed terrorist fundamentalist killers "swathed in American blood". The decision has been a long time coming, but successive US administrations have persistently avoided it, insisting that the US was "making progress", if not outright winning. The secret documents dubbed the "Afghanistan Papers" released last year revealed a long-standing official policy of deliberately deceiving the American public into thinking everything was fine on the war front when in fact nothing was. Just like the 1971 "Pentagon Papers" about the war in Vietnam, the new revelations made it clear that this was also an unwinnable war and that it was only a matter of time before the US pulled out. In this context, the deal reached with the Taliban in Doha this month may soften the blow, but the compromises are no less humbling for the US and quite unsettling for its Afghan allies. FAILING SUCCESSFULLY: It took

the US and its allies only two months to "liberate" Kabul from the grip of the Taliban and less than two years for the thenDefense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to declare at a May 1, 2003, news conference in Kabul that "major combat activity" was over. This was the same day President George W Bush proclaimed rather bombastically that the war in Iraq was "mission accomplished". The US did disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, at least militarily, and in 2011 killed its leader Osama bin Laden, but all subsequent military surges and strategies failed to crush or contain the Taliban. Instead of declaring victory against al-Qaeda and calling it a day, considering that the Taliban took no part in the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington, the US persisted in its war efforts. But Afghanistan like Iraq soon turned into a huge quagmire for the US-led coalition. Its tough terrain, tribalism, and the tenacious Taliban, all made it impossible to win the war. Indeed, the Taliban grew even stronger and deadlier in the second decade of the conflict, exacting a heavy price on the Americans, their coalition and their Afghan allies. After 18 years of war, some 2,400 US soldiers and more than 150,000 Afghans killed, Washington has finally accepted the reality of its defeat. In the process, the US has spent, not to say wasted, over a trillion or according to some, two trillion dollars on the war, almost 1,000 times more than Afghanistan's GDP. Once again, the imperial power of the day has lost to indigenous fighters, finally realising that when it fights a relatively weaker party for too long, it also becomes weak. After Vietnam and Iraq, the US seems to have lost its third major war and the longest of them all. The only remaining question for the

India’s international image will take a beating Douse Delhi fires before they spread

US was how best to avoid a repetition of the fall of Saigon and the humiliating scene of the last US helicopter fleeing South Vietnam. SAVING FACE: To put an end to continuing losses in blood, pride and treasure, two years ago, the US finally embraced the idea of a negotiated settlement with the Taliban, largely on the armed group's own terms. The US had wanted the Taliban to start talks first with the Afghan government in order to reach a national accord on the future of the country and governing system, but the Taliban leaders refused to negotiate with the "US puppet" in Kabul. They insisted on direct negotiation with Washington over a US military withdrawal before any dialogue with the Afghan authorities. The US caved in - or, as former US ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker called it - surrendered. For a year and a half, it engaged in talks with the Taliban in Doha. It pushed them forward even after US President Donald Trump called them off temporarily after the death of a US soldier in a suicide bombing in September last year. Last week, an agreement was finalised, at least "in principle". Before proceeding with the signing, the US insisted that the Taliban agree to a week of reduction in violence to show it controls all of the various armed groups in the country, and commits to denying any hostile group like al-Qaeda a haven in Afghanistan. The Taliban agreed. But the armed group refused to commit to a particular American, democratic or liberal vision for the future Afghanistan, and insisted on the release of its imprisoned members before it began negotiations with the central government in Kabul. Diplomacy once again reflected not the absolute power of either party or the primacy of interna-

Anti-Muslim violence in Delhi serves Modi well THE RIOTS HAVE BEEN DRIVEN BY A RULING PARTY INTENT ON PAINTING ITS LARGELY PEACEFUL OPPONENTS AS SEDITIOUS SECTARIANS

Times of india On a day when US President Donald Trump hailed India’s unity, diversity, communal harmony, respect for rule of law and dignity of every human being, communal rioting in Delhi posed searching questions on all those fronts. Delhi Police, in particular, has much to answer for. Woefully unprepared for the violence that raged across northeast Delhi, the police put some of its own personnel’s lives at risk by deploying too few men to take on rioters. Quite a few videos also pointed to partisan conduct by police. Ominous signs were visible as early as Sunday noon when BJP leader Kapil Mishra led a mob supporting the Citizenship Amendment Act to confront anti-CAA protesters and both sides pelted stones in the hours following Mishra’s provocative remarks. At least ten lives have been lost and scores injured including journalists in the line of duty, because of Delhi Police’s monumental incompetence. At the first signs of trouble, a more professional police force would have intensified patrolling, convened peace committees and ramped up intelligence. Sadly, not in the national capital. The Union home ministry, exercising administrative control over Delhi Police, cannot skirt responsibility. Despite several failures over the course of his blemished stint as police commissioner, it granted Amulya Patnaik an extension last month. The most ghastly among these saw students of famous campuses like JNU and Jamia coming under attack with police facing charges of omission and commission. Early media reports pointed to police missing in (in)action in some riot affected neighbourhoods. The spectre of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots has always loomed uncomfortably over the capital city and for this reason many believed it would not permit another large-scale riot. More so on a day when India would like to showcase its capabilities as a leading democratic power. Politicians must introspect for this failure, which has shamed India before the world. Not only has Delhi Police been badly led, the role of politicians in sowing the current climate of discord, with incendiary rhetoric polarising communities and casting opponents as traitors, is reprehensible. East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir has rightly demanded action against those making provocative remarks irrespective of party lines, including his party colleague Mishra. The Modi government must restore order in Delhi and correct the creeping distrust of state agencies in minority communities. The Supreme Court taking note of CAA’s discriminatory provisions would also help.

tional law, but the balance of power on the ground. It is, in fact, a symmetrical diplomatic process with the clear objective of restoring Afghan sovereignty and independence free of foreign forces, no "ifs", no "buts", no "maybes". THE ELECTORAL CALCULUS: President Trump began his tenure by talking tough, making threats and even warning of "tens of millions killed" in Afghanistan, but the Taliban leaders were not impressed. They called his bluff through further escalation, believing time was on their side. As the US election countdown clock ticked, the president became ever more eager to make a deal. He even floated the idea of a Camp David summit to end the war in Afghanistan, but the Taliban rejected it. The US president may lack certain qualities, but tenacity is not one of them. He has already made good on his pledge to walk away from important international agreements, erect a wall along the border with Mexico and move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. And now comes the time to reduce US military footprints in the greater Middle East, notably in Afghanistan, especially after Trump deployed more troops to the Gulf region to deter Iran. If it works out, this deal would be a significant accomplishment for the Trump administration, considering the broad public consensus in the US over the need to end the war in Afghanistan as soon as possible. Bringing to a close the US withdrawal which the Obama administration started but could not finish may well prove to be one of his greatest electoral assets LESSONS LEARNED? Afghans have lived in horror and devastation for the past four decades,

starting with the 1979 Soviet invasion, which ushered in a civil war, and then the US invasion of 2001. The country's war economy has bred corruption and expanded the narcoticsdominated black market, which produces some 80 percent of the world's opium. Even if diplomacy succeeds, and the foreign forces leave, it is going to take a miracle for Afghans to reach national reconciliation, rebuild their nation, and put the country on the path to normalcy. Despite the calming words of deputy Taliban leader Sirajuddin Haqqani in an op-ed in the New York Times last week, many Afghans are afraid of a vengeful, uncompromising Taliban. The armed group could come back with a vengeance in Kabul and re-impose its ultraconservative ways on Afghan politics and society, facing little resistance from a weak and inept central government unable to protect the few political and social reforms enacted over the past two decades. A lot will depend on the tenacity of Afghan society and its ability to engage in nation-building on its own, without the dictates of outside powers. It is said, the wise learn from the mistakes of others, the smart learn from their own mistakes, and the foolish learn from neither. The Americans may have finally learned their history lesson: all empires, from the Persian and the Mongol to the British and Soviet, have suffered defeat in Afghanistan. It is the graveyard of empires, stupid. If the US-Taliban agreement holds, and that is a big IF, the Afghans too will have the opportunity to draw their own lessons. Will they stop al-Qaeda and ISIS type groups from making Afghanistan their safe haven? Will they begin the process of healing to end the suffering? May Afghans, especially the Taliban prove as resilient in the pursuit of peace as they have been in waging war. Marwan Bishara is the senior political analyst at Al Jazeera.

Guardian Mukul kesavan

Since Sunday violent mobs in north-east Delhi have killed 21 people including a police constable, injured hundreds of others, burned motor vehicles, set fire to shops and homes, assaulted journalists, vandalised places of worship and destroyed a shrine. The time-honoured convention for reporting on communal violence in India is to not name names. In news reports it is always “violent members of one religious community” attacking violent members of another. This anonymising ritual has the distorting effect of turning unequal violence into a symmetrical tug of war. It is important, then, to specify that the places of worship vandalised were two mosques and a sufi shrine, that the majority of identified dead people were Muslims, that the thugs frisking reporters, confiscating their phones and beating them up were in every instance Hindu supremacist goons, and that the shops and homes burned nearly always belonged to Muslims. There were occasions when Muslims burned cars, there is video evidence of a man identified as Muslim who fired a gun, and several instances of stone-throwing by Muslims. But the organising impresarios of this devastation were local politicians affiliated to the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), India’s ruling party. They made the incendiary speeches that triggered the violence. Their vigilante auxiliaries attacked Muslims with impunity,

and the Delhi police, which reports to the home minister (and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s right-hand man), Amit Shah, either looked on as goons rioted, arrived after Muslims had been attacked, or actually participated in the violence against people demonstrating against Modi’s discriminatory citizenship law. Delhi has not seen this kind of violence for decades – but it has been worse: in 1984 the Indian National Congress party used the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguard as an excuse for organising a pogrom in which thousands of Sikhs were murdered. The violence in Delhi is not yet a pogrom but a pattern of police complicity, and the political patronage extended to vigilante mobs suggests a continuing public-private partnership designed to violently subdue opposition to the BJP’s Hindu supremacist project. The cutting edge of this majoritarian project is a radical twopronged assault on Indian citizenship. First, the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which is designed to fast-track non-Muslim migrants from carefully chosen Muslim majority countries into citizenship, has created, by implication, a religious test for citizenship. This new law is to be followed by the compilation of a national register of citizens (NRC) that will compel Indians to document their Indianness. Non-Muslims who fail to satisfy the NRC’s tribunals might be able to use the loophole created by the amended citizenship law to find a path to citizenship. Muslims who fail the test will have no recourse: they will be cast into the kind of limbo that the Rohingya experienced in Rakhine before they were violently purged

from that province. This statutory, institutional subversion of Muslim citizenship would be a great prize for a majoritarian party like the BJP. It would be, if you like, a halfway house between the voter suppression tactics of the Republican party in the US and the Nuremberg laws of Nazi Germany: less covert than the first but less explicitly bigoted than the second. The CAA/NRC two-step is an existential threat to both Muslim citizenship and India’s now threadbare claim to being a secular, pluralist state. It has provoked an extraordinary pan-Indian campaign of civil disobedience led by Muslims, specifically Muslim women, and university students. After winning a second parliamentary majority in 2019, Modi’s BJP government had seemed unstoppable. The reduction of the Indian held Kashmir into federally governed territories, by stripping it of its constitutionally enshrined autonomy; the supreme court’s judgment ruling that the site of a mosque razed by a Hindu mob in 1992 in Ayodhya could be rebuilt as a Hindu temple, encouraged Modi and Shah to believe that they could spring their citizenship trap without opposition. To be publicly thwarted by a nonviolent movement fronted by Muslims that refuses to use a religious idiom, that invokes India’s constitution and its secular guarantees as holy writ, that wraps itself in the national flag and affirms Bhimrao Ambedkar, the Dalit architect of India’s constitution as its inspiration, has been intensely frustrating for this government. The violent standoff in Delhi between the supporters of the new citizenship law and its oppo-

nents has been misleadingly described as a religious clash for a simple reason. The burden of defending secular citizenship has been shouldered disproportionately by Muslims. At the heart of all the sit-ins are Muslim women, and they are mostly located in Muslim neighbourhoods. These sit-ins have become rallying points for a large, vibrant movement in which nonMuslims participate enthusiastically but there are no mainly non-Muslim sit-ins. The BJP government and India’s pliant television news channels have battened on this to paint the protestors as seditious sectarians determined to thwart Modi’s electoral mandate. There’s nothing this government wants more than to clear these demonstrations. Hence the violence. There’s an urgency to this because the resistance to the citizenship law – as symbolised by the sit-ins in the Delhi neighbourhoods of Shaheen Bagh and Jafrabad – has begun to win significant victories. On Tuesday, the government of Bihar, where the BJP rules in coalition with a provincial party, declared that it wouldn’t implement the new National Population Register, a necessary preliminary to compiling the NRC. This might encourage other state governments, especially those ruled by opposition parties, to follow suit. Without the cooperation of state governments, the BJP’s carefully plotted citizenship scheme might come to nothing. This is why the violence in north-east Delhi is both significant and potentially ominous; it might presage something worse, as a thwarted Hindu supremacist government tries to provoke nonviolent protestors, the better to clear them with brute force.

Thursday, 27 February, 2020

FOREIGN NEWS 07

MAlAysiA's MAhAthiR ANd ANwAR iN New showdowN AMid tURMoil KUALA LUMPUR

AGENCIES

ALAYSIA’S decades-old political rivals Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim set out claims to lead the Southeast Asian country on Wednesday after Mahathir’s shock resignation as prime minister sparked turmoil. The struggle between Mahathir, 94, and Anwar, 72, who formed a surprise pact to win a 2018 election, has shaped Malaysian politics for more than two decades and is at the root of the latest crisis. Mahathir, the world’s oldest head of government in his role as interim prime minister, proposed a unified administration without political party allegiances at a time Malaysia faces a flagging economy and the impact of the new coronavirus. “Politics and political parties need to be put aside for now,” Mahathir said in a televised message. “I propose a government that is not aligned with any party, but only prioritizes the interests of the country.” Anwar later said he opposed forming a “backdoor government” and that three parties from the former Pakatan ruling coalition had proposed his name to the king as candidate for prime minister.

“We wait for the decision of the king,” he told a news conference. To try to end the crisis, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah has been meeting all 222 elected members of parliament over two days. Those in the meetings said they were asked to name their favored prime minister or whether they wanted fresh elections. Anwar’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), or the People’s Justice Party,

has 39 seats and alliance partners could potentially give it another 62. While some politicians have openly voiced support for Mahathir to stay in office, it was not clear whether enough of them would give him their backing. POLITICAL TANGLE: The volatile relationship between Anwar and Mahathir helped prompt the latest crisis after Mahathir resisted pressure to set a date for a promised transfer

of power to Anwar made ahead of the 2018 election. As well as personal relationships, politics in Malaysia is shaped by a tangle of ethnic and religious interests. The largely Muslim country of 32 million is more than half ethnic Malay, but has large ethnic Chinese, Indian and other minorities. A unity government cutting across party lines could give Mahathir greater authority than during a spell as prime minister from 1981 until his retirement in 2003. But the idea was rejected on Tuesday by an alliance of four parties including the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), which ruled Malaysia for six decades until being defeated by Mahathir’s coalition in 2018. The four parties said they had told the king they wanted a new election instead. After their election defeat under former prime minister Najib Razak, those parties’ fortunes have been on the rise while the Pakatan coalition of Mahathir and Anwar has lost five by-elections Anwar was Mahathir’s deputy and a rising political star when Mahathir was prime minister the first time but they fell out. Anwar was arrested and jailed in the late 1990s for sodomy and corruption, charges that he and his supporters maintain were aimed at ending his political career.

Maldives gets Amal Clooney to fight for Rohingya at UN court FUVAHMULAH AGENCIES

The luxury tourist destination of the Maldives has hired prominent human rights lawyer Amal Clooney to represent it at the UN’s highest court in seeking justice for Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya Muslims. The Maldivian government said Wednesday it will formally join the mainly Muslim African state of The Gambia in challenging Myanmar’s 2017 military crackdown that sent around 740,000 Rohingya fleeing into neighbouring Bangladesh. In a unanimous ruling last month, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Buddhist-majority Myanmar to implement emergency measures to prevent the genocide of Rohingya — pending a full case that could take years. Clooney successfully represented former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed and secured a UN decision that his 2015 jailing for 13 years was illegal. With the fall of strongman president Abdulla Yameen in 2018, Nasheed as well as several other dissidents in the Sunni Muslim nation of 340,000 have been cleared of any wrongdoing.

Greek islanders opposed to new migrant centre clash with police ATHENS AGENCIES

NEW YORK: The day’s numbers are displayed above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the closing bell as the market takes a significant dip. AGENCIES

Police on the Greek island of Lesbos fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of people protesting on Wednesday against the creation of a new close detention center for migrants, the latest outburst of unrest over the matter. The Athens government infuriated residents of five Aegean islands – all straddling a key route to Europe used by thousands of migrants – by announcing two weeks ago that it would expedite the construction of secured detention centers to replace open-access, severely overcrowded camps. Local residents say they are concerned such an arrangement could become permanent. In a second straight day of disturbances on Wednesday, local crowds tried to approach a site earmarked for a new migrant center, precipitating clashes with police on a road winding through a hilly forest.

Sanders roughed up, hits back in feisty Democratic debate WASHINGTON AGENCIES

Democratic White House hopefuls rounded on leftist frontrunner Bernie Sanders at a feisty debate Tuesday, attacking him as too extreme for American voters and a flawed challenger to President Donald Trump. Joe Biden, who needs a victory in South Carolina’s crucial primary on Saturday to keep his campaign alive, hit Sanders as soft on gun control, while billionaire tycoon Michael Bloomberg claimed Russia was working to help Sanders win the nomination — betting he would be defeated in November. And Sanders’ rivals joined in savaging the self-described democratic socialist as too radical to appeal to a broad swathe of Americans. Fellow progressive Elizabeth Warren and centrists Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar, all desperate to halt Sanders’ momentum before it is too late, laid into

his ability to deliver on costly programs such as universal health care and tuitionfree college. Buttigieg, a 38-year-old military veteran presenting himself as a unifier, warned a Sanders fight against Trump would spell “chaos” and divide the nation. “I tell you what it adds up to,” Buttigieg said, “it ends up as four more years of Donald Trump.” Sanders is in pole position in South Carolina, the last step before “Super Tuesday” on March 3 when 14 states vote and a whopping third of all delegates — the representatives who pick the nominee at the Democratic Party’s July convention — are up for grabs. The 78-year-old hit back at the charge his policies were too “radical,” insisting such ideas “exist in countries all over the world,” including the notion that health care is a human right. “The way we beat Trump, which is what everybody up here wants, is we need a campaign of energy and excitement,” Sanders said.

“We need to bring working people back into the Democratic Party.” BUMPER STICKERS: Talking over one another in often contentious exchanges, the seven candidates aggressively vied for attention, locking horns on everything from housing to China policy, and whether or not to move the US embassy from Jerusalem back to Tel Aviv. Seeking to prove he is still in the fight, the 77-year-old Biden put in a spirited performance and snapped back at moderators who tried to cut him off, telling them: “I’m not going to be quiet anymore, OK?” The former vice president aimed a sharp attack at Sanders over gun control, an issue largely absent from previous debates, and a significant weakness for the Vermont senator who voted against legislation that would have allowed lawsuits against gun manufacturers. Sanders had emerged largely unscathed from the previous debate. But he acknowledged he was now in the firing

line, with rivals seeking to derail his push for the nomination following two straight victories, in New Hampshire and then Nevada. “I’m hearing my name mentioned a little bit tonight,” he said to laughter. “I wonder why.” Piling on, Klobuchar hammered Sanders’s plans as “broken promises that sound good on bumper stickers,” while billionaire activist Tom Steyer accused him of planning “a government takeover of large parts of the economy.” Like Buttigieg, Bloomberg sought to cast a Sanders nomination as a sure path to losing. “Vladimir Putin thinks that Donald Trump should be president of the United States, and that’s why Russia is helping you get elected so you’ll lose to him,” the former New York mayor told Sanders in a heated opening exchange. “I’m the one choice that makes some sense,” said Bloomberg, touting his experience running America’s largest city for 12 years — a point hammered home in lavish televised ads during multiple com-

mercial breaks. Trump, meanwhile, also suggested Sanders has Moscow’s backing, tweeting after the debate: “Russia wants him to win!” The president did not elaborate. BLOOMBERG, BIDEN SEEK REBOUND:Bloomberg is seeking to rebound from a disastrous performance last week in his first debate and prove he is a credible, moderate alternative to the leftist Sanders. But the 78-year-old found himself under assault too, including by Warren who called him “the riskiest candidate” on stage. “I don’t care how much money mayor Bloomberg has. The core of the Democratic Party will never trust him,” Warren said. “He has not earned their trust. I will.” Bloomberg jumped late into the race, and has not been on the ballot in the four early states, opting instead to make a splash on Super Tuesday. He has now spent more than $500 million on campaign advertising.

Thursday, 27 February, 2020

08 COMMENT Adding to bad blood Unauthorized labelling

he federal cabinet has decided against extending the bail of former PM Nawaz Sharif, declaring him instead an absconder. Two judgments, one by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and the other by the Lahore High Court (LHC), clearly indicate that neither the Punjab nor the federal government has the authority to decide about the timing of Mr Nawaz Sharif’s return. The announcement is therefore politically motivated and is a part of the campaign to defame the opposition leadership to divert attention from the PTI government’s lack of competence. In October 2019 the IHC suspended former PM Nawaz Sharif’s sentence in the Al-Azizia case on medical grounds for eight weeks. In case Mr Sharif’s health did not improve and he needed further medical attention, he was allowed to approach the Punjab government and in case it exercised its discretion in an arbitrary or whimsical manner, he was allowed to agitate the matter before the court of law for appropriate remedy. In November Mr Sharif was allowed by the LHC to go abroad for medical treatment initially for four weeks, with the proviso that the period could be extended on the basis of medical reports. As the court order put it, former PM Nawaz Sharif “will return when certified by doctors that he has regained his health and is fit to return back to Pakistan." Evidently, the doctors in London who are treating him, rather than any medical board in Pakistan, have to issue him a certificate of fitness to return. Former Punjab CM Shehbaz Sharif gave an undertaking to the LHC stating that he would ensure the return of his brother "within four weeks or on certification by doctors that he has regained his health and is fit to return back to Pakistan". According to both judgments, it is for the court rather than the Punjab or federal cabinets to determine if Mian Nawaz Sharif has violated any orders and is therefore liable to be declared an absconder. One can understand the demand by PPP chairman Bilwal Bhutto Zardari that Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif return to Pakistan at the earliest. But a government functionary like SAPM Firdous Ashiq Awan making a similar call, makes little sense when the PM is unwilling to meet Mr Shehbaz Sharif even in fulfilment of constitutional requirements.

Protests go on The anti-CAA ire is not dying down

he death toll in New Delhi as a result of the antiCitizenship Amendment Act protests has reached 24, and may rise if any of the 150 injured succumb to their wounds. That the protests occurred when US President Donald Trump was visiting India is no coincidence, and would explain why the ruling BJP hosted President Trump’s grand rally in Gujarat rather than New Delhi. The clashes illustrate the outrage of Indians over the sacrifice of the country’s vaunted secularism implicit in the CAA, in which the BJP showed its Hindutva mindset by excluding Muslims from the fast track it provided those who had fled religious persecution. Another element has been the unleashing of saffron terror gangs, such as the one that torched a mosque in the Ashok Nagar locality. This had made even more difficult the task of the police. One of the problems has been the fact that the BJP does not control its own capital, with the local legislative assembly controlled by the Aam Admi Party. However, as Delhi is a Union Territory, the police is controlled by the central Home Ministry, not the AAP government. AAP Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has to face the media and provide a defense for the actions of a police force controlled by Home Minister Amit Shah, who is President of the BJP, a henchman of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a virulent anti-Muslim Hindu extremist in his own right. The present violence may give him satisfaction from an ideological point of view, but as Home Minister, it only shows his inability to bring the situation under control. The deaths in New Delhi come after the UP government showed a similar inability to control anti-CAA protests, with 18 killed. UP has a BJP CM, Swami Adityanath, who has not yet reached the heights of Mr Modi when he was Gujrat CM in 2002, when 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed during the sectarian violence that marked his election. India seems destined to go down the path of endless sectarian violence unless the Modi governments acts responsibly, and rules the country for all citizens, and does not try to give vent to Hindu extremism.

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

Moroccan Agriculture and Rural Development Lessons for the whole world By DR. yoSSef BeN-MeIR

n recent years, Morocco has put in place the right frameworks for mobilizing rural communities to advance the nation’s sustainable development goals, yet it falls woefully short when it comes to implementation. As someone who has been engaged in rural development in Morocco for the past 26 years, I have analyzed how these frameworks can work together and complement each other. Since 2000, I have led a Moroccan-U.S. civil organization that assists local communities in their identification and management of priority development projects— in agriculture, education, health, and women’s and youth empowerment— and achieved initiatives located in the 12 regions of Morocco. The community-driven data-gathering, assessments, consensus-building, and overall project experiences engaging with most ministries and administrative tiers have afforded me realistic local and national contextual perspectives. Morocco’s agricultural development programmes to promote product cultivation, processing, and commercializing are not making a sufficient difference for the majority of families who farm five hectares or less of land and who experience intractable poverty. Despite immense local and national potential, rural poverty is the “Achilles’ heel” of Morocco’s stability and prosperity. Engaging and empowering local communities through financial grants and technical contributions is the best way to successfully address systemic poverty afflicting most rural households along the entire agricultural valuechain– from nurseries to processing. Agricultural programmes understandably put pressure on the entire upstream value chain of raw and processed product. Enormous value is lost by family farmers due to tree and seed dependency, irrigation inefficiency, ineffectual cooperatives, and selling through traditional local market channels. The vast majority of farming

families are without the production capacity, partnerships, and means to add value and reach a consistent standard and quality necessary to enter more rewarding markets. These stifling barriers keep the average household income as low as one-fifth of what it could be if a viable system were in place, based on my conservative calculation. Thus, rural people’s potential savings, income, and revenue for reinvestment only serve to improve livelihoods elsewhere while they themselves reap no benefit. Ensuring and expanding rural irrigation infrastructure must be the top priority. Local people are deeply frustrated with the anaemic progress made in implementing rural development projects. Farming communities know and consistently prioritize exactly the needed irrigation infrastructure to uplift all village households, yet even when the local beneficiaries would gladly contribute their in-kind labour, there has been no construction. Project priority solutions in irrigation– water canals, basins, towers, pipes, and pumps– can conserve water by 50 percent or more. Such projects are prohibitively expensive, especially in mountain areas, yet hardly any other project will more greatly improve agricultural production, food security, and income. In addition, one simple policy shift would make a profound difference for tens of thousands of families– fig and walnut trees (depending on water availability) should be allowed to be planted at high elevations on public domain lands, just as carob is allowed on public domain lands in lower-lying ones. Rural development conditions are very problematic; there are the near complete losses of local fruit tree varieties of fig, apple, pear, grape, clementine, carob, date, and others that are endemic in the north, and other varieties elsewhere in Morocco. They offer a genetic resource for small farmers, enhancing food security in the face of water scarcity and climate change. However, agrobiodiversity remains seriously undermined because of a few highyielding varieties that cause genetic erosion. Government tree nurseries have been closing over the years when they should be at maximum production capacities based on the enormous

public demand for trees. The obvious counter-response to the irrigation recommendation is that there are already similar government subsidy programmes (pressure drip systems, for example). However, those programmes need to be brought to the farmers where they are, with partnerships that aid their strategic planning and experiential learning. Programmes should fund nurseries on public land lent to community associations to reduce risk and cost to farmers, as the Moroccan High Commission of Waters and Forests, public schools, universities, and others have done with the High Atlas Foundation (HAF), the US-Moroccan nonprofit organization I founded and help lead that works to strengthen cooperative capacity-building in management and technical areas; organic, food safety, and other certifications; and revolving lines of credit so cooperatives can acquire certified product for processing and sale. These actions have typically resulted in a surge in cultivation and market-ready product, along with improved local organization. The HAF model can be adopted and adapted by other community-based organizations. But how do we get there? The Municipal Charter, forming community development plans driven by the intended beneficiaries, women and men of all ages, is key for sustainable agricultural project identification and implementation. Project development facilitation is helpful and needed; establishing centres of participatory planning to assist with dialogue, meeting space, and coordination is vital. Provincial governors and other local leaders who understand the important contribution such centres make should exercise greater authority to assign underutilized public or civil building infrastructure for this purpose. The Moroccan frameworks for development enumerate what is needed to catalyze sustainable development of marginalized areas and groups, and a few instructive cases have brought ideas to full implementation with replicable and enduring results. Dr Yossef Ben-Meir is an American sociologist with a particular interest in the MENA region. He lives and works in Marrakesh, Morocco. E-mail: yossef@highatlasfoundation.org

Mahathir’s legacy for Muslim world ALI HASSAN BANGWAR

he news of the resignation of Dr Mahathir Mohamad from the premiership of Malaysia in a surprise move may not be a cause of concern for his countrymen, as he has left behind enough legacies to enlighten Malaysian society, and for it to cherish, for generations. However, the said news is of great concern for those who find in him a leader, a mobilizer, an outspoken orator, for the oppressed marginalized Muslim community in general and the Muslim Ummah as a whole in particular. He has frankly taken the issues of persecutions of Muslims in whatever part of the world and he has given a chance to them. Moreover, the last term he has resigned from has witnessed his making dauntless and exceptional efforts directed towards unifying the otherwise divided Muslim Ummah as a unifying force to be reckoned with. Moreover, he was considered a perfect comrade and visionary lead of Turkish President Recep Tayyab Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. All three leaders, in varying degrees, possessed enough insight, vision and statesmanship to help raise the otherwise sinking ship of the Muslim world. Dr Mahathir Mohamad was particularly concerned about and stood with the oppressed Muslims under tyrannical and oppressive rules. He has plainly and unequivocally expressed his full support to the oppressed Palestinians in the League of Parliamentarians for al-Quds, organized earlier last month. Dr Mahathir said that Malaysia would not stand silent at the hands of the oppressive Israel regime. "We are dutybound and this responsibility is further amplified when powerful nations that had styled themselves as the defender of justice and freedom, choose to be silent while the atrocities are being committed. In other words, if we too choose to Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

be silent, the blood from the murders and killings of the Palestinians by the Israelis is on our hands as well,"he said on the occasion of the League. Similarly, he has similarly been vocal against the atrocities meted out to the Rohingya minority by Buddhist extremists and the military of Myanmar. On the occasion of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly September last year, Dr Mahathir had slammed the Aung San Suu Kyi-led Myanmar administration for its indifference on taking action against the Rohingya Muslims’ genocide. Similarily, he also denounced United Nation’s apathy and deafening silence on the Rohingya crisis. Additionally, the persecution of the hapless people of Kashmir at the hands of the oppressive and extremist Indian regime earned loud support for Kashmiris. Speaking to the 74th UNGA meeting, Dr Mohamad strongly censured India for its state-sponsored oppression of hapless Kashmiris. He went on to say that India had invaded occupied Kashmir. ‘Now, despite the UN resolution on Jammu and Kashmir, the country has been invaded and occupied." He remained strongly critical of the Indian military, and of the siege of occupied Kashmir and supported at all forums his stance despite Indian threats of cutting imports of palm oil from Malaysia. UNGA is not the only platform Dr Mohamad has offered unequivocal diplomatic and moral support to the oppressed Muslims. He missed no chance or platform to lambaste the oppressors and support the oppressed. He emerged as one of the vocal voices of the voiceless, providing help for the hapless. Apart from these, Uighur mass detention centres also gained his attention after which he censured China for such illegal detentions and subsequent human rights violations. Moreover, the complex issues of Syria, Yemen, Libya and Afghanistan too didn’t escape unattended from Dr Mohamad’s radar. He has in many occasion supported and called for the

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peaceful resolution of problems confronting these countries. Dr Mahathir was the main architect of the Kuala Lumpur summit held in the first week of January this year where a broader agenda on the outstanding issues facing Muslims were discussed and highlighted. Issues earning attention in the summit included Islamphobia, poverty, gender discrimination, economic disparity, the human tragedy in Yemen, the Rohingya crisis and the mass detention centres for Uighurs in China. More importantly, Dr Mahathir had proposed in the summit the introduction of the Dinar and Dirham as a Muslim world currency to trade with in a bid to counter the hegemony of the dollar. Though, the summit could not generate the expected output due to the ‘rival’ Muslim blocs and organizations, it was nonetheless been a major opportunity and headway towards providing a Muslim world platform and alternative to sit together and collaboratively solve problems of the Ummah. Dr Mahathir meant a lot for, and was revered in, Pakistan for his unconditional support on bilateral issues of importance. He has always been vocally supportive to Pakistan’s stance on the Kashmir issue. During Prime Minister Imran Khan’s recent visit to Malaysia, Dr Mahathir had reiterated his unwavering support for Kashmiris and slammed India for its aggression. Moreover, Dr Mahathir has been the guest of honour on Pakistan Day last year. Though the efforts and endeavours of rooting out problems of Muslim may continue after the doctor’s resignation, the required, momentum, sincerity and actions may be missing from them. Dr Mahathir Muhammad would be reminded as a charismatic, farsighted leader and one of the saviours of Muslim Ummah. CNIC# 4350304144269 Freelance Columnist based in Kandh Kot

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Thursday, 27 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

Indian Violence in Kashmir THe ongoing spate of gruesome violence by the racist Indian government in Indian-occupied Kashmir has torn us apart. Our hearts ache at seeing the bloodshed and the killing of innocent people in a place regarded as heaven on earth. India has never spared any effort to hegemonize Kashmiris with spine-chilling atrocities and in Modi’s regime the magnitude of oppression has reached its peak. earlier the use of widely-banned cluster ammunition on Kashmir civilians caused widespread outrage followed by the revocation of Article 35-A and Article 370, a sheer violation of Geneva convention and the international law. Consequently, Kashmir will lose its autonomy and will be merged with India as a union territory. This will bring more chaos in Kashmir which is already struggling for peace. Indian nation strongly supports these measures and feel that this is a so-called solution to prolonged Kashmir issue. Are they really so naive to think that Kashmiris will ever forgive and forget and peacefully coexist with the Hindus? Today, even the world has acknowledged the true essence of two nation theory. Thus, these actions will merely aggravate the issue and will induce rebellion. Categorically, the complete capture of Kashmir has been an ulterior aim of Modi all along. This is bound to result in a catastrophe. It is about time India is held accountable for all the atrocities and violations of human rights. UN and OIC must play their part to mitigate the warmongering situation in Kashmir. Sona Bakhtawar Bijarani Shikarpur

The roots of the Kashmir issue India’s attempts to bCouncil failed in the past Amjed jAAved

T Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s behest, puppet governments in disputed Jammu and Kashmir have issued a new calendar of 2020 holidays. This calendar excludes Sheikh Abdullah’s and Martyrs Day anniversaries. In addition, accession-to-India day (September 26) has been declared a holiday. It is painful to recall that Sh Abdullah is responsible for the Kashmiris’ present-day woes. He shrugged off the Quaid-e-Azam’s overtures and aligned himself with Pandit Jawahar Lal Kaul (assumed surname Nehru). Renowned journalist Barkha Dutt recalls (This Unquiet Land, p. 154),Ìn a 1948 speech to the United Nations, Sheikh Abdullah, the most formidable political leader the state of Jammu and Kashmir had ever seen, made a blistering defence of the accession to India. Sher-eKashmir (Lion of Kashmir) roared: I had thought all along that the world had got rid of Hitlers but what is happening in my poor country I am convinced that they have transmigrated their souls into Pakistan. I refuse to accept Pakistan as a party in the affairs of Jammu and Kashmir.' Dutt writes, "Sheikh Abdullah [later] began to talk about possibility of independent Kashmir. Nehru feared Abdullah may even announce to accede to Pakistan. To pacify Abdullah, Nehru addressed a lengthy letter to Sheikh Abdullah on 25 August 1952 to assure him Ìf the Constituent Assembly told India to get out of Kashmir, we would get out, because under no circumstances can we remain here against the expressed will of the people'. On 7 August BBC quoted Abdullah's speech: Ìf I felt that by remaining independent, Kashmir would be well off, I would not hesitate to raise my voice in favour of complete freedom for Kashmir. If I felt that Kashmir's betterment lay in it accession to Pakistan, no power in the world could silence my voice'. On August 8, he was jailed and dismissed from office and was not allowed to lead the state for another twenty years'. As for ‘accession’ day, it was a myth, kept alive through Indian propaganda. The factual position is that India marched its troops into Kashmir without the Maharajah's permission– an act of aggression. Historian Alastair Lamb, in his book Incomplete Partition (Chapter VI, ‘The Accession Crisis’) points out that Mountbatten wanted India not to intervene militarily without first getting an ‘instrument of accession’ from Maharajah Hari Singh. Inteervention without getting one would amount to ìntervening in the internal affairs of what was to all intents and purposes an independent State in the throes of civil conflict'. But India did not heed his advice. Lamb says `timing of the al-

leged Instrument of Accession undoubtedly signed the Instrument of Accession at all. Thw subsequent accession resolution, affected its legitimacy'(p.172, ibid). He adds Ìf in fact it took place after the Indian inter- passed by the occupied Kashmir's 'constituent vention, then it could well be argued that it assembly' is also void. This resolution violates was either done under Indian duress or to the UN Security Council's resolutions forbidding India from going ahead with the accession regularise an Indian fait accompli'. Lamb concludes (p. 191, ibid): Àccording farce. Aware of India's intention to get the 'Into Wolpert, V. P. Menon returned to Delhi from strument of Accession' rubberstamped by the Srinagar on the morning of 26 October with no puppet assembly, the Security Council passed signed Instrument of Accession. Only after the two resolutions, Security Council's Resolution Indian troops had started landing at Srinagar No 9 of March 30, 1951 and confirmatory Resairfield on the morning of 27 October did V. P. olution No 122 of March 24, 1957, to forestall Menon and M.C. Mahajan set out to Delhi the `foreseeable accession'. At heart, Nehru, architect of `special status', from Jammu. The Instrument of Accession, acnever cared a fig for the cording to Wolpert, was disputed state's cononly signed by Maharastituent assembly, Indian jah Sir Hari Singh [if parliament or the UN. At signed at all] after Indian a press conference on 11 troops had assumed control of the Jammu and At heart, Nehru, architect of June 1951, Nehru said have made it perKashmir State's summer `special status', never cared "We fectly clear that the Concapital, Srinagar. Lamb regards the soa fig for the disputed state's stituent Assembly of Kashmir was not meant called Instrument of Acconstituent assembly, to decide finally any such cession, 'signed' by the question [accession], and maharajah of Kashmir Indian parliament or the UN. it is not in the way of any on 26 October 1947, as fraudulent (Kashmir– A At a press conference on 11 decision which may ultiflow from the Secudisputed legacy 1846June 1951, Nehru said "We mate rity Council 1990). He argues that the Maharajah was travelhave made it perfectly clear proceedings". He wrote to the disputed State's ling by road to Jammu (a that the Constituent prime minister that after distance of over 350 consideration of the km). How could he sign Assembly of Kashmir was problem, “we are inthe instrument while being on the run for not meant to decide finally clined to think that it (plebiscite) should be safety of his life? There any such question held under United Nais no evidence of any contact between him and [accession], and it is not in tions' auspices” (p.28, Neighbours at Odds.). He the Indian emissaries on the way of any decision reiterated in New Delhi 26 October 1947. Actuon 3 November 1951, ally, it was on October which may ultimate flow that, “We have made it 27 that the maharajah was informed by Mahafrom the Security Council perfectly clear before the Security Council that the jan and Menon (who had proceedings. Kashmir Constituent Asflown into Srinagar) that sembly does not (insofar) an Instrument of Accesas we are concerned sion is being fabricated come in the way of a dein New Delhi. Obvicision by the Security ously, the Maharajah could not have signed the instrument earlier Council, or the United Nations.” Wow, then he declared ùnless the Security than October 27. Lamb points out Indian troops had already arrived at and secured Sri- Council functioned under some other Sections nagar airfield during the middle of October of the Charter, it cannot take a decision which 1947. He questions: "Would the Maharajah is binding upon us unless we agree to it. They have signed the Instrument of Accession, had are functioning as mediators and a mediator the Indian troops not been on Kashmiri soil?" means getting people to agree. As for Martyrs’ Day (July 13), it commemActually, it was on October 27 that the maharajah was informed by MC Mahajan and orates sacrifice of 22 Kashmiris to express their VP Menon (who had flown into Srinagar) that resentment against the Dogra despotic rule. an Instrument of Accession is being fabriThe writer is a freelance journalist, has cated in New Delhi. Obviously, the maharajah could not have signed the instrument served in the Pakistan government for 39 earlier than October 27. In his later work, years and holds degrees in economics, busiBirth of A Tragedy, Lamb claimed that the ness administration, and law. He can be Maharajah of Jammu and Kashmir never reached at amjedjaaved@gmail.com.

Will the Kashmir Perfidy Impair the Indian Union? C HINA supports Pakistan on Kashmir. Under the Sino-Pakistan Boundary Agreement (March 2, 1963), China yielded 2,000 square kilometres of administered territory to Pakistan (contrary to misconception). Like Kashmir dispute, McMahon Line is a maleficent legacy of British colonial raj. Maxwell in his book, India’s China War, showed the boundary between Tibet and China, curved round its southern extension to show what would have been the boundary between India and Tibet. The proceedings of the agreement were made public in 1935 and the Survey of India began to mark the lines on their maps. India and China have divergent perceptions of the McMahon Line. China wants India to settle the Kashmir dispute with Pakistan first. Let India realise that Indian Union is a cauldron of centrifugal movements. How did the Indian Union come into being? Through compromises with ‘rebellious’ icons like Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah of Kashmir, Master Tara Singh of east Punjab, Lal Denga of Mizoram, Angami Zapu Phizo of Nagaland, and so on. What happens to this Union if China begins supplying weapons to various insurgent groups fighting in northeastern India and the west? India arrested several intellectuals for links to separatist movements including Kashmiris and Naxalbaris (indiatvnews dated August 30, 2018). India alleges that ‘the arrested accused were involved in procuring weapons and arming the rebels through international routes'. The Naxalites want to carve out an independent zone extending from Nepal through Bihar and then to Dandakarnaya region extending upto Tamil Nadu to give them access to the Bay of Bengal as well as the Indian Ocean’. Several pro-Naxalite revolutionary bodies (People’s War, Maoist Communist Centrei, and Communist Party of Nepal) merged their differences (October 15, 2004) to achieve their sea-access aim. If China supports India's rebels, the portents are that disputed Kashmir could trigger disintegration of the Indian `Union’. Let India read the writing on the wall. AJ Malik Rawalpindi

Unleash The Power Of Those Beautiful Books T ONI Morrison died in New York City at the age of 88. The Nobel literature laureate had authored almost 11 novels apart from children’s books. Way back in 1993, Morrison had become the first African-American woman to win the Nobel Literature Prize. Most American english newspapers have been singing the praises of Morrison. For example, The New York Times has called her a towering novelist in its coverage. Her writing prowess had been widely accepted and applauded at the world stage. The fact that her novels like Beloved hugely exposed the facets of the African-American slavery, and the omnipresent reach and the impact created by her writing and speech skills are far more inspiring. Speaking of all these interesting stories, I as an english content writer and as an english trainer have just got inspired to no end. The interesting fact is that there have been interesting and beautiful english newspapers, magazines and books aplenty around the world. A voracious reader and a “book lover”, I have been buying a lot of english newspapers and books in various places. All I do/want in the morning is to go to the newspaper stalls wherever I am. This having been the effect of my humble study of culture and passion for languages. I sincerely convey my condolences on the demise of Toni Morrison. The international media houses should pitch for such great authors to literally fill up the world with beautiful books and newspapers that are replete with inspiring stories and words. P. Senthil Saravan Durai Mumbai

Thursday, 27 February, 2020

10 FOREIGN NEWS

StockS, oil priceS Slide aS viruS SweepS globe NEW YORK

AGENCIES

TOCK markets and oil prices slid again Wednesday, as major companies began to count the financial cost of the spreading coronavirus. Heavy selling followed another rout Tuesday on Wall Street where all three main indices lost around three percent after officials said COVID-19 would likely take hold in the United States. With cases being reported in more countries — and lockdowns in nations including Austria, Italy and Spain — traders are growing increasingly fearful about the impact on the global economy. “Markets continue to retreat as the coronavirus dominates headlines,” said IG trading group analyst Chris Beauchamp. London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index dropped below 7,000 points, erasing all gains won over the past year, while oil prices slid to the lowest levels in more than a year. British drinks group Diageo, the maker of Guinness stout and Smirnoff vodka, on Wednesday said the coronavirus would slash its annual sales by up to £325 million ($422 million, 388 million euros). Diageo, which produces also Baileys liqueur and Johnnie Walker whisky, said sales for the group’s financial year ending June 30 would be impacted by between £225 million and £325 million. French food giant Danone said it expected to take a hit of 100 million euros ($109 million) in first-quarter sales.

“What we appear to be seeing is the realisation that global economic growth could well come to a halt as the combined effects of a flu virus and belated attempts to stem the spread of it across the globe, raise the prospect of an economic sneeze,” said CMC Markets UK analyst Michael Hewson. The death toll is now at more than 2,700, while the number of infected is approaching 80,000, even if new cases in China, the epicentre, are falling. With panicked investors seeking out safe havens, the yield on both 10-

year and 30-year US Treasury bills are at record lows, while the Japanese yen is gaining. However, the dollar was being kept in check by speculation that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates to support markets, although for now officials are saying the US economy remains in rude health. The VIX “fear” index is at its highest level in more than a year, but gold, usually a main target for those seeking shelter from the turmoil, was subdued. “To suggest the market is a tad skittish over the

coronavirus becoming a pandemic could very well be the understatement of the century with the virus morphing into the market’s biggest macro worry of the decade,” said AxiCorp’s Stephen Innes. However, Gorilla Trades strategist Ken Berman said that “in light of the quick spreading of the virus, the global economy is likely to suffer, at least, a shortterm shock, but should the outbreak slow down during the spring, we could see a swift economic recovery.” KEY FIGURES AROUND 1130 GMT: London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 6,979.48 points Frankfurt – DAX 30: DOWN 1.1 percent at 12,644.23 Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.8 percent at 5,634.99 EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.9 percent at 3,540.87 Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.8 percent at 22,426.19 (close) Hong Kong – Hang Seng: DOWN 0.7 percent at 26,696.49 (close) Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 2,987.93 (close) New York – Dow: DOWN 3.2 percent at 27,081.36 (close) Dollar/yen: UP at 110.39 from 110.20 at 2200 GMT Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0877 from $1.0882 Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2928 from $1.3005 Euro/pound: UP at 84.12 pence from 83.67 pence Brent Crude: DOWN 1.5 percent at $54.15 per barrel West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.9 percent at $49.46

Iranian rial plunges as coronavirus threatens export lifeline DUBAI AGENCIES

Iran’s rial hit a one-year low against the dollar on Wednesday as a sharp rise in coronavirus cases forced the closure of most of its borders, threatening the non-oil exports that are its main economic lifeline. The dollar was being offered at as much as 158,500 rials on Wednesday, well below its official rate of 42,000 rials and 10% lower than a week earlier, according to foreign exchange website Bonbast.com, which tracks the free market. Iran’s coronavirus death toll rose to 19, the highest outside China, pushing several countries to suspend flights and most of its neighbours to close their borders.

Mounting U.S. sanctions pressure has already shackled Iran’s oil industry and slashed its crude exports. “The whole market is currently in shock,” said Pouya Zeinali, export director at Padideh Pistachio, an Iranian producer and exporter of pistachios. He said the borders had been shut for two or three days and the effect on exports would become clearer from next week. The border closures and flight cancellations seem certain to deepen Iran’s economic isolation. It has relied on trade ties with its neighbours to partly offset the crippling impact of sanctions re-imposed by Washington in 2018 after it quit a nuclear deal that it and other big powers had agreed with Tehran in 2015.

Internet giants fight spread of coronavirus untruths CALIFORNIA AGENCIES

As the new coronavirus spreads globally, the online battle to keep misinformation about the disease is also stepping up. Google, Facebook and other platforms are struggling to keep ahead of scammers, trolls, and others with ill intent who routinely use major tragedies or disasters as opportunities to swindle or manipulate people. “The public concern about coronavirus is being used as a vehicle to get people to transmit misinformation and disinformation,” said University of Washington biology professor Carl Bergstrom. Internet companies took part in a meeting with the World Health Organization last week at Facebook offices in Silicon Valley to discuss tactics such as promoting reliable information and fact-checking dubious claims about the coronavirus referred to as COVID-19. “(We must) combat the spread of rumors and misinformation,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told AFP recently. “To that end, we have worked with Google to make sure people searching for information about coronavirus see WHO information at the top of their search results.” Google search ranks authoritative sources higher when people are seeking information on health and labels results or news stories that have been fact-checked. Ghebreyesus said that social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Tencent and TikTok have also taken steps to limit the spread of misinformation about coronavirus. Facebook said in a recent online post that it is focusing on claims which, if relied on, could increase the likelihood of someone getting sick or not getting proper treatment. “This includes claims related to false cures or prevention methods — like drink-

CMYK

ing bleach cures the coronavirus – or claims that create confusion about health resources that are available,” Facebook head of health Kang-Xing Jin said in the post. “We will also block or restrict hashtags used to spread misinformation on Instagram, and are conducting proactive sweeps to find and remove as much of this content as we can.” SELLING SNAKE OIL: Bergstrom said some virus misinformation is “people trying to sell snake oil products” such as bogus cures or treatments, while others use attention-grabbing deceptions to drive online traffic that yields money from advertising. Misinformation is also spread by “actors” out to fuel distrust for the establishment in China or foment societal instability overall, according to Bergstrom. “There’s an appetite for up-to-date, realtime information,” said Jevin West, co-author of a book on misinformation with Bergstrom. “These actors can take advantage of that; things with crazier scenarios are more likely to be clicked on than the report from that doctor at WHO trying to calm down the fears.” Facebook said that when users seek information related to the virus, the social network will show “educational pop-up” boxes with information considered credible. Facebook is also giving free advertising credits to organizations running coronavirus education campaigns. Google-owned video-sharing platform YouTube has been modifying policies and products for several years to remove harmful content and give priority to authoritative content deemed trustworthy. “We currently do not allow content promoting dangerous remedies or cures, like videos which claim that harmful substances or treatments can have health benefits,” YouTube said.

Thursday, 27 February, 2020

BUSINESS 11

US SeekS to BooSt tRade with PakiStaN, SayS toP official

CORPORATE CORNER

COMMERCE SECRETARY WILBUR ROSS APPRISED OF PAKISTAN’S ECONOMIC REFORMS, INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES, FATF COMPLIANCE LAHORE: WWF-Pakistan and The Coca-Cola Foundation collaborated to host the finale of ‘The Panda Challenge 2020’ school competition organized recently at the Ali Institute of Education. p RE SS R EL EA SE

KARACHI: Indus Motor Company wins Global Compact Network Pakistan Award 2019. p RES S REL EA S E

ISLAMABAD: Ehsaas convened a consultative meeting on ‘Big Data Analytics’ with the key stakeholders at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat. Special Assistant to PM on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation/BISP Chairperson Dr Sania Nishtar chaired the meeting. pRESS RELEASE

LAHORE: realme Pakistan unveiled #QuadCameraBatteryKing realme 5i at Rs24,999 and #TripleCameraGameMonster realme C3 at Rs20,999 during its first campus launch event. p RE SS R EL EA SE

ISLAMABAD

STAFF REpORT

S Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Wednesday met Energy Minister Omar Ayub Khan and Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Petroleum Nadeem Babar and discussed ways and means to foster bilateral trade links. Wilbur Ross was leading a US trade delegation to Pakistan, aiming to elevate trade and commercial ties between the two countries. He said his visit to Pakistan was part of the US government's desire to increase trade links with Pakistan". "Such [enhanced] links between the two counties will help encourage further expansion of ties in various fields," the top US official added. During the meeting, Omar Ayub gave an overview of Pakistan's energy sector, including efforts made to reform the sector. "These efforts are being personally overseen by Prime Minister Imran Khan himself." The minister called for greater US investment in the energy sector, particularly in the areas of power generation, transmission & distribution, artificial intelligence, renewable and hydel energy etc. He reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to cleaner fuels and green energy. The minister said that Pakistan's energy mix would be diversified in the near future, as the government intends to inject more hydel and renewable sources in the national grid, foreseeing the share to increase by 52pc by 2025 and 63pc by 2030. Speaking on the occasion, SAPM Nadeem Babar informed the visiting delegation on key actions taken to improve ‘ease of doing business’

SBP raises Rs388bn from T-bill auction KARACHI

Break on gold rally as investors book profit KARACHI ARIBA SHAHID

Gold dropped Rs400 to Rs94,750 per tola after trading at Rs95,150 per tola. As per the Karachi Sarafa Association, gold prices checked in at Rs81,233 per 10 grams on Wednesday after losing Rs 343 over the previous trade session. INT’L MARKET: Gold prices fell following a ten-day rally as traders moved to book profits despite global equities heading towards a downturn in wake of coronavirus concerns. Analysts believe that the decline in gold prices is due to profit-taking after the precious metal hit a more than seven-year high this week. They said the metal had entered a dry powder positioning, moving its position off the charts. This holds the possibility of triggering a market reversal. With the rally falling short of the $1,659 resistance level, a breakthrough beyond would trigger a bullish signal into the market. As new coronavirus cases emerge, equities are facing a slump and so is oil. Analysts believe that after profit-taking, gold is likely to witness an upward trend.

in Pakistan. He also opined on how more US investments could be incremental in improving the business relations between the two countries. The SAPM welcomed the re-entry of ExxonMobil to the Pakistani market, terming it a 'favourable development' that could bring more companies there. The two sides agreed to step up cooperation in the energy sector. 'POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT: Separately, the US commerce secretary called on Adviser to PM on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh at the Finance Division to discuss Pakistan's economic planning and agenda. Welcoming the commerce secretary, the finance adviser remarked, "The arrival of the US commerce delegation is good news for Pakistan, as it will have positive consequences for the country." He noted that Pakistan and the United States had maintained a durable relationship over the years, adding that there was a dire need to cash in on these relations. Shaikh said after offering concessions to the export-oriented sector, the government was now looking forward to a major boost in exports. "We have followed the FATF action plan to a significant level, opened our markets to the foreign investors by providing ease of doing business and we are trying to build our image as a tourism-friendly and investment-opportunity

MEIRYUM ALI

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has reported that the government raised Rs388 billion through T-bills, exceeding the target set of Rs300 billion. The SBP conducted the auction for the sale of 3-month, 6-month and 12-month Government of Pakistan Market Treasury Bills (MTBs) and received bids amounting to over Rs1,380 billion. Bids worth Rs250.6 billion were received for 3-month T-bills, Rs4 billion for 6-month T-bills while 12-month government papers fetched bids amounting to Rs1,126.4 billion. Out of the received bids, the federal government raised Rs131 billion from 3-month

bids, Rs2 billion from 6-month T-bills and Rs255 billion from 12-month T-bills. The total acceptance in the auction, including non-competitive bids, was Rs450.3 billion. The cut-off yield for 3-month bids was 13.39pc and 13.33pc for 12-months; both yields slightly decreased from the last treasury bill auction. However, the cut-off yield for 6-month bids increased to 13.34pc. Unusually, most of the bidding was concentrated in the long term 12-month T-bills, showing that investors are willing to commit to long term instruments. This is unlike the last few auctions of MTBs, where most of the bidding has been concentrated in the short term 3-month T-bills. Previously, the bidding pattern in short term bills had indicated a possible anticipation of a policy rate cut. But as the current interest rate has remained stubbornly at 13.25pc since July 16, 2019, and inflation hit an all time high in January, the interest rate is unlikely to fall anytime soon. Analysts expect a policy rate cut in the latter half of the year. The next auction date for T-bills is set for March 11, with a target amount of Rs300 billion.

country in the region." Sharing the updates on the country's economy, the adviser said although the country was trying to revive the economy through stabilization reforms and inviting foreign investment to the country as well as taking care of its vulnerable, the rising prices of food items, high energy prices and slow revenue generation were issues that concerned him. He said the government's efforts were directed towards providing ease to the common man and it would require guidance from its global partners as well. The adviser said the trade volume between the two countries was only around $7 billion and the country was in urgent need to increase that to help the GDP grow. "We had made a mistake in the past by not forming our alliances on the economic front, based on our developmental requirements.” The US secretary commerce said they could help Pakistan in the energy sector and the details of the projects, where economic cooperation could be enhanced, were being worked on. INVESTMENTS SOUGHT: Moreover, Adviser to PM on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood urged US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to encourage US companies to invest in Pakistan. "After achieving economic stability, the government, under the leadership of PM Imran Khan, is now focusing on job creation and export augmentation through enhanced foreign investments," the adviser stated. He noted that the US secretary's visit to Pakistan was the outcome of recently held discussions between PM Imran Khan and President Donald Trump to promote bilateral trade engagements. Dawood took up the issue of early convening of the long-awaited 9th session of Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) meeting as well as the visit of US business delegation to Pakistan to participate in the Business Opportunities Conference in order to forge a better networking among the private sectors of both countries. The adviser also suggested that the US International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC) should help develop new businesses in Pakistan.

Nestlé Pakistan’s revenue falls 3pc to Rs116bn BUISINESS DESK Nestlé Pakistan posted a revenue of Rs116 billion for 2019, a 3.9pc reduction from 2018. The continuously evolving challenges in the economic and business environment impacted the purchasing power of people, causing this reduction. The annual results were announced following a board of directors’ meeting at the company's head office. During the year, imposition of sales tax on milk powders and federal excise duty on beverages also necessitated adjustment in the consumer price. However, due to deteriorating purchasing power of the consumers and competitive pressures, the company did not fully pass on the above increases which negatively impacted the margins and net profit for the year. The company remains committed to its vision of positively enhancing the quality of life of consumers by expanding its product base through continuous innovation and renovation. The major new product launches during 2019 included: Nestlé Everyday Lite Tea Creamer, Nestlé Fruit Yogurt, Nestlé Milkpak Whipping Cream, Nestlé Fruita Vitals Royal Mangoes, Nescafé Ready-toDrink Chilled Latte, Nestlé Lactogrow Recover, Nestlé Pure Life Active, Nescafé Roast & Ground Coffee, and Nestea Honey Green Tea.

MARKET WEEKLY

KSE-100 jolted by global market tremors, falls 590 points KARACHI STAFF REpORT

In line with global market trends, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) ended another session in the negative zone. As per the analysts, the ongoing fear of global slowdown due to an increase in the number of coronavirus cases had triggered a fall in equities all around the world. Moreover, the decline in oil prices also dented the investors' confidence. Meanwhile, foreign investors re-

mained net sellers for the fifth successive session on Tuesday. A net outflow of $5.50 million was recorded with major selling in banking ($2.11 million) and cement ($1.40 million) sectors. Losing 784.29 points, the KSE-100 Index touched at its intraday low at 38,074.16. Amid lack of positive triggers, it settled lower by 520.12 points at 38,338.33. Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index declined by 1,051.92 points or 1.72pc to end at 60,119.88, while the KSE All Share Index fell by 331.03 points, clos-

ing at 26,687.95. Out of the total traded shares, 77 advanced and 227 declined. The overall market volumes improved from 124.35 million in the previous session to 147.80 million. Shares worth $ 49.63 million were traded on Wednesday. Unity Foods Limited (UNITY -0.74pc) topped the volume chart, followed by Hascol Petroleum Limited (HASCOL 4.27pc) and TRG Pakistan Limited (TRG -4.15pc). The scrips had exchanged 29.78 million, 10.38 million and 7.49 million shares, respectively.

Sectors responsible for KSE-100's fall included fertilizer (-78.42 points), banking (-76.56 points) and power generation & distribution (-67.55 points). Among the companies, Hub Power Company Limited (HUBC -63.20 points), Engro Corporation Limited (ENGRO 55.93 points) and Dawood Hercules Corporation Limited (DAWH -48.03 points) dented the index the most. On the financial side, Pakistan Stock Exchange Limited (PSX -1.50pc) declared earnings per share (EPS) of Rs0.11 for the

second quarter of FY20 (Rs0.03 in 2QFY19), Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC -0.76pc) posted an EPS of Rs6.01 (Rs6.98 in 2QFY19), Amreli Steels Limited (ASTL -4.22pc) announced an EPS of Rs-0.78 (Rs 0.36 in 2QFY19), Unity Foods Limited (UNITY -0.74pc) registered an EPS of Rs0.52 (Rs0.19 last year), Shezan International (SHEZ 0.00pc) recorded an EPS of Rs-28.44 (Rs-2.60 in 2QFY19), while Nestle Pakistan Limited's (NESTLE 0.00pc) EPS declined from Rs256.05 in FY18 to Rs162.17 in FY19.

Thursday, 27 February, 2020

12 BUSINESS LPG price surges Rs50 to Rs180 per kg KARACHI: All Pakistan Liquefied Petroleum Gas Distributors Association increased on Wednesday the price of LPG by Rs50 per kilogramme amid closure of Pak-Iran border due to coronavirus outbreak. According to details, the LPG price was increased by 50 per kg to Rs180 per kg, while the price of an 11.8 kg domestic cylinder surged by Rs500 to Rs2,680. LPG distributors’ spokesperson Irfan Khokhar said the prices had increased because of closure of Pak-Iran border amid coronavirus threat from Iran. Last month, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) had decreased the price of LPG by Rs111 per cylinder for the month of February. All activities at Pak-Iran border remained suspended for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday amid the coronavirus outbreak in Iran and reported casualties there. The movement has been suspended at Pak-Iran border areas of Taftan and Mashkel in Balochistan and health officials were screening pilgrims returning from Iran at an emergency centre set up at Taftan border crossing. INP

Tajik envoy stresses to bridge trade gap with Pakistan LAHORE: Ambassador of Tajikistan to Pakistan Ismatullo Naserdin on Wednesday stressed the need for enhanced trade between Tajikistan and Pakistan. Talking to the business community at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), he deplored that trade volume between the two countries was limited to a few commodities only. He said direct flights between Tajikistan and Pakistan could save travelling time and help improve mutual trade. Inviting Pakistani businessmen to invest in Tajikistan, Naserdin said his country had four Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and one of them was near the Afghan border. He said those SEZs offered lots of facilities for investors, asserting that Tajikistan also had the cheapest and sufficient electricity. He mentioned the textile sector of Tajikistan that had vast opportunities for the investors. The ambassador said last year almost 47,000 Pakistani tourists visited Azerbaijan, but only a few thousands visited Tajikistan, adding both countries should step into joint ventures in tourism sector as well. Speaking on this occasion, LCCI President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh said efforts were required to transform cordial and brotherly relations into two-way trade for enhancing economic prosperity in both countries. “If effective measures are taken, the bilateral trade volume can be enhanced to $500 million dollars. Currently, Pakistan’s exports to Tajikistan are dominated by sugar related products while the imports comprise primarily of cotton,” he said. The potential areas where Pakistan and Tajikistan could enhance trade and economic ties were hydropower generation, halal meat, cement, pharmaceutical products, furniture, rice and LPG, he told the Ambassador. The LCCI president said with the completion of CPEC project, there would be new avenues of trade and investment for both the countries. In addition, Wakhan Corridor could also be utilized for that purpose as it further shortened the trade route and reduces lead time, Sheikh suggested. APP

POL prices likely to witness significant cut BUSINESS DESK A cut in the prices of petroleum products is expected in the next couple of days, officials at the Ministry of Finance hinted on Wednesday. According to a media report, the officials said the ministry has recommended a decrease in the prices of petroleum products, making a strong prediction that petrol prices would be slashed by Rs9 per litre. The finance ministry, sources said, would announce the new POL prices on Feb 28 (Friday). Sources said the price of high-speed diesel would be reduced by Rs12, light diesel oil by Rs8 while that of kerosene oil by Rs7. They said the ministry took this decision keeping in mind declining trends in the international markets. With a reduction in POL prices, the inflation rate was also expected to fall, providing some relief to the public that was suffering from record inflation.

COROnaviRus nOT TO affeCT JCC meeTinG, TRade TaLks wiTh China: asad umaR ISLAMABAD

GHULAM ABBAS

ESPITE trade activities in China getting badly affected by coronavirus, the planned visit of Chinese President to Pakistan, meeting of the Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) of China Pakistan Economic Corridor and other trade-related talks between Pakistan and China would not be disturbed by the virus issue. During a meeting of National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Reform on Wednesday, Planning Minister Asad Umar said the schedule of Chinese president’s visit to Pakistan would be finalised soon. He informed the committee that despite the challenge of dealing with the virus, the next meeting of the JCC, the highest forum of CPEC, would be held in April in Pakistan with the participation of a high-level Chinese delegation. The minister said the ongoing meetings of Pak-China joint working groups were also not being disturbed by the virus, as some of them were being held via video conference. “Prime Minister Imran Khan is being updated about the situation regularly. So far, there have been no talks about options of avoiding physical visits of delegations/officials on both

sides of the border,” Asad Umar said. He said the government would ensure the increased participation of the chambers of commerce and people directly involved in business with China in CPEC projects. “We need to increase collaboration in manufacturing and agriculture sectors,” the minister said. Meanwhile, the planning ministry’s additional secretary briefed the members about the implementation on committee recommendations. On Dasu Hydropower Project, the committee was informed that a meeting was held under the chairmanship of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary on January 21 to sort out the issue of land acquisition. Moreover, a follow up meeting was held under the chairmanship of the adviser to PM on establishment in which progress of land acquisition was deliberated and timelines to acquire remaining land were also agreed. The committee directed to obtain details of payments made to the landowners for land acquisition in batch 1 for the Dasu hydropower project. The committee was informed that WAPDA was implementing the ‘Local Area Development Program’ in the Dasu Hydropower Project area, which included eight infrastructure schemes. Furthermore, a bill titled ‘The General Statistics (Reorganization) (Amendment) Bill, 2019’

was deferred till next meeting of the committee. The WAPDA chairman briefed the committee about the Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project (1410mw) Sawabi, saying the Terbela 4 was part of the package of quick impact hydropower projects and that it was more efficient than existing Terbela units. He said the Terbela 4 had generated 6,347 billion units since its commissioning, adding major objective of the project was to generate cheap environment friendly electricity. The project would strengthen WAPDA’s financial position and would enable the authority to raise commercial financing for Diamer Basha Dam, the WAPDA chief told the committee. Regarding infrastructure and allied works on Metro Bus Service Peshawar Morr to New Islamabad Airport, a National Highway Authority member informed that work scope included both civil and structural. The project, approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) in March 2018, had witnessed substantial completion of civil work including metro bus corridor, underpasses, bridges and interchanges, the member added. “The finishing work and electromechanical work were in progress, whereas infrastructure work would be completed before 30th March this year.”

Muhammad Taha assumes charge as PSO MD KARACHI STAFF REPORT

Syed Muhammad Taha on Wednesday assumed charge as the Pakistan State Oil’s managing director/chief executive officer (CEO). He is known for his transformational skills in the energy sector with over two decades of experience in the industry. In a news statement, Taha said, “I am truly honoured to lead the country’s largest oil marketing company with utmost devotion. PSO has huge growth potential in fuel and non-fuel retail, as well as in the lubricants segment. “I am well aware of the chronic problems the company is facing, including the alarm-

ing level of receivables from various sectors.” Taha said he wouldn’t only keep focus on growth strategies in market-share and profitability but also would look into the ways to diversify in and outside the company’s core business areas. To achieve this, synergies would be created within various operating units of the company with the aim to better serve our customers and stakeholders, he maintained. “I have a firm belief that with the help and support of my team members at all levels of hierarchy in the company, we will be able to take PSO to a whole new level in terms of growth and efficiency,” Taha vowed.

According to the press release, Taha, during his last 19 years of executive level management experience, had been a member of the change management team with specific reference to K-Electric and PSO, where he was an integral member of the leadership team that turned around these struggling enterprises into highly profitable concerns. Previously, he worked with Oasis Energy, K-Electric and PSO, Shell Pakistan, Caltex Pakistan (A Chevron Company) and Pakistan Steel Mills at various positions. Taha holds an Engineering degree, with an MBA in Finance from the Institute of Business Administration Karachi.

Huawei releases new 5G products, poised to bring more value BUSINESS DESK Ryan Ding, Executive Director of the Board and President of Huawei's Carrier BG, has recently released Huawei's new 5G products and solutions while also launching the company’s new 5G Partner Innovation Programme. These efforts aim to build a thriving 5G ecosystem and make5Ga commercial success. 5G has developed beyond imagination in terms of deployment, ecosystem, and experience, says Ding, and networks are the foundation for the 5G business. So far, Huawei has been awarded 91 commercial 5G contracts. As a leading global 5G supplier, Huawei is committed to developing the best end-to-end 5G solutions. These will include the industry's highest performance 5G base station that supports all sce-

narios. Huawei is also the first vendor in the industry to provide industrial 5G modules for vertical applications. Ding emphasized that in the 4G era, virtually all operators provided the same network experience. However, in the 5G era, operators can provide differentiated experiences and charge users based on more metrics, including data volume, latency, bandwidth, and number of devices connected. This makes it possible to monetize 5G, and it is critical that operators redefine their 5G business models now. At the event, Ding also launched the 5G Partner Innovation Program. Through this program, Huawei plans to invest $20 million into innovative 5G applications over the next 5 years, contributing to a thriving 5G ecosystem and accelerating the commercial success of 5G.

Oil falls as coronavirus gains territory KARACHI: Following a rebound in black gold last week, crude oil found itself trading sharply lower on Wednesday as the rapid spread of the coronavirus spurred heavy selling pressure. Oil prices slid for a fourth day as Asia and oil-producing countries in the Middle East emerged with a number of new coronavirus cases, along with the CDC warning the US to prepare for the virus. Brent lost $11 (2pc) to $53.84 a barrel at 13:22. Goldman Sachs has reduced its 2020 demand for oil growth forecast from 1.2 million bpd to 600,000 bpd, and lowered its Brent forecast to $60/ barrel from $63. OPEC+ is due to meet in Vienna from March 5-6. Saudi Arabia supports further cuts in oil production as a result of weak demand due to the coronavirus crisis. However, Russia has remained silent regarding its decision. While the meeting may result in supply cuts, analysts believe that the impact is to be negligible considering demand-side concerns having a greater sway on the market. The International Energy Agency’s outlook on global oil demand growth has reached a decade wide low and is likely to fall lower as a result of coronavirus. This sell-off pressure is further accelerated by the CDC warning the US to prepare for the virus. The API reported yesterday that crude inventories rose by 1.3 million barrels in the week to February 21, to 4.2 million barrels, below the expectations for a build of 2 million barrels. ARIBA SHAHID

Sindh govt aiming new SEZs, foreign diplomats told KARACHI PPI

Sindh Chief Secretary Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah said on Wednesday that the provincial government had planned to set up three more Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the province under Public-Private partnership (PPP) mode. “These proposed SEZs will be established at Naushehro Feroze, Bolhari and Navena,” he told a 33-member delegation of the Advanced Diplomatic Course

at his office. The delegation comprised undertraining ambassadors of 33 countries including Afghanistan, South Africa, Iraq, Bahrain, Morocco, Nepal, Palestine, Sudan, Ukraine, Yemen, Zambia, Maldives, Sri Lanka and others. Shah informed the foreign delegates that the proposed SEZs were in addition to the Korangi Special Economic Zone, the Bin Qasim Special Economic Zone and the Khairpur Special Economic Zone.

Another important project Dhabeji Special Economic Zone was also in progress to be set up under CPEC, the CS told the trainee diplomats. “We have established a coal-fired power plant in Thar desert that is producing 660mw electricity and contributing to the national grid,” Shah said, adding Thar coal reserves were sufficient enough to produce a 100,000 megawatts electricity for 300 years. Besides coal, Sindh could produce 50,000mw electricity through wind

corridor as it had added 1,200mw power to the system in the last two years, the CS added. Briefing the diplomats on the annual development outlay of the province, he said Rs284 billion had been earmarked for the development schemes during fiscal year FY20. “The provincial government is focusing on the development projects of Karachi wherein at least 20 out of 40 mega projects including roads, storm water drains, underpasses, and flyovers

have been completed so far.” The Sindh CS also briefed the delegation about the WB-funded project that was aimed at improving the capacity and performance of civic bodies like solid waste management authority, and water and sewerage board. “The government has also initiated work on improving transport system in Karachi that includes Yellow Line, Red Line, while efforts are underway to revive the Karachi Circular Railway under CPEC,” he said.

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy releases the fifth film from HOME1947 titled Khamosh Yaadein (Silent Memories) Anaya by kiran chaudhry held an exclusive preview of her 2020 Luxury Lawn

SOC Films releases the fifth short-film from HOME1947 titled Khamosh Yaadein (Silent Memories). Indeed, HOME1947 Series is a deeply personal exploration of the lives and stories of the millions that were displaced in 1947 during the creation of two new independent states, India and Pakistan. The fifth film of HOME1947 series, Khamosh Yaadein (Silent Memories), tells the story of a woman's journey from a grand ‘haveli’ to a shack with a tin roof. She recalls the devastating effects that upheaval, turmoil and displacement have had on her and her family. HOME1947 is a series of 7 short films conceptualized and produced by SOC Films, which recreate the long-lost sights and sounds of what millions once called home and explores this world not through the words of historians and politicians, but through the eyes of those who lived through it. HOME1947 Series was first premiered as part of the HOME1947 Exhibition at the Manchester International Festival in the UK followed by exhibitions in Mumbai [India], Lahore and Karachi. HOME1947 has been cocommissioned by the British Council in Pakistan in collaboration with the Manchester International Festival and Super Slow Way.

THE QUILLS ON AFRICAN PORCUPINES ARE AS LONG AS THREE PENCILS.

SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE WHO DREAM ABOUT AN ACTIVITY WILL ACTUALLY GET BETTER AT IT IN REAL LIFE.

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YOUR HAIR CONTAINS TRACES OF GOLD.

Harvey Weinstein accusor Rose McGowan Katrina Kaif’s red-hot video walking the says won’t be satisfied ‘until he’s dead’ red carpet has her fans in awe

Taapsee Pannu: ‘When I didn’t win awards for Pink, it broke something in me’

Actor Rose McGowan, who accused producer Harvey Weinstein of rape, has said that she feels locked in a battle, which won’t end until one of them dies. McGowan appeared on Evan Ross Katz’s podcast a day after his conviction for sexual assault and rape. “Probably not until he’s dead now,” McGowan said when Katz asked if Weinstein’s trial was providing her a sense of closure. “I feel like he and I are strapped in this battle together until one of us is dead. That’s how it goes. I energetically, we’re like just locked. It’s a really disgusting feeling. I just would love to be able to be like other people and live my life. That would be really nice, you know?” In 2017, McGowan had accused Weinstein of raping her. She provided a detailed account in her 2018 book, Brave. Weinstein was convicted of sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and raping former aspiring actor Jessica Mann in 2013. Jurors acquitted Weinstein on the two top charges, predatory sexual assault, which carried a maximum life sentence.

It is a good time to be Taapsee Pannu. The actor, ready with her tour de force Thappad, is coming off Saand Ki Aankh for which she is deservedly being feted at the award shows. However, award show juries have not always been that kind to Taapsee, a fact that she accepted in a recent interview and added that the only validation she needs is from the audience. “The only time my heart broke and that pinch of not getting awards was in 2016 when Pink released. I was not nominated (for awards) and even in couple of places where I was nominated I didn’t win when everyone I met was raving about the film and my performance. So much so that Shoojit Sircar said get your clothes stitched, you are going to win all the awards,” Taapsee said. “A girl, who was relatively new to the film industry at that point, did pin a lot of hopes and when it didn’t happen that year, it did break something in me. After that, nothing shook me further. Now when I get awards, I am thankful to the jury, critics have been especially kind to me but now that heartbreak doesn’t happen,” Taapsee added.

Katrina Kaif has shared a candid video of herself walking the red carpet in a short red number, presumed to be for an ad campaign. The actor posted the video on Instagram and asked her fans to guess the purpose behind it. Sharing the video on Instagram, Katrina wrote, “Red Carpet Ready for the return of one of my favourite campaigns this time with a twist ........... Can u guess which one?” The actor can be seen walking a temporary red carpet in a short red dress with a matching shrug. There is a visible swing in her walk and her hair are also flowing in the wind. She goes on to pose for the several photographers around as she finishes her walk. A fan called her “One of the hottest girls in Bollywood!!” Another reacted, “Ufff Kattyyyyy.” Many of the fans guessed that the actor was actually shooting for a Slice commercial. Katrina had recently invited Priyanka Chopra and Alia Bhatt at her residence. She gifted some nice lip colours to Priyanka, from her recently launched makeup brand.

CMYK

Thursday, 27 February, 2020

14 SPORTS

ChElsEa's problEMs laiD barE by bayErn huMbling London

Agencies

RANK Lampard faces the first major test of his nascent managerial career after Chelsea were given a chastening Champions League lesson by Bayern Munich. Lampard's side are on the verge of crashing out of Europe's elite club competition following Tuesday's 3-0 home defeat against the German champions in the last-16 first leg. Serge Gnabry's second-half brace and Robert Lewandowski's late strike underlined the gulf in class between a Chelsea team experiencing growing pains in Lampard's first season and a Bayern side packed with Champions League experience. Four of the Bayern team that outplayed Chelsea at Stamford Bridge were members of the German club's 2013 Champions League final-winning team. That wealth of knowledge was clear to see as Thomas Muller ran the

show in midfield, while Lewandowski, who played in that final for Bayern's opponents Borussia Dortmund, was a constant menace. For Chelsea to reach the levels set

by Bayern, Lampard knows he needs to oversee a lengthy rebuild that will require patience -- a quality not usually shown by the club's notoriously fickle owner Roman Abramovich and his ad-

visors in the boardroom. "This is Champions League football. We as a club haven't been fighting to get to the latter stages for a number of years and that's the level we have to get to," Lampard said. "This was a clear show that there is a lot of work to be done. I felt that when I took the job. I will keep working." Lampard is only just finding his feet as a manager and deserves time to put his stamp on a Chelsea team that has shown flashes of excellence this season. They have impressed in wins against Tottenham, Arsenal and Ajax, but have flopped in a succession of uninspired home defeats. His hand forced by Chelsea's transfer ban last summer, Lampard's first major decision after arriving from Derby, where he started his managerial career last term, was to put his faith in the club's cadre of talented youngsters. Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori and Reece James have all shone at times. But Chelsea's kids remain far too raw to be expected to be thrive against teams of Bayern's calibre. Lampard acknowledged that fact by starting with Abraham on the bench on Tuesday and leaving Tomori out of the squad, instead using immobile veteran Olivier Giroud up front in a gamble that backfired.

Tokyo Olympics on, organisers say, as virus hits Japan events Tokyo Agencies

nadal off the mark in acapulco AcApuLco: Rafael Nadal marked his return to action with a straight-sets victory over Pablo Andujar on Tuesday as he launched his bid to reclaim the world number one ranking at the Mexico Open in Acapulco. The 33-year-old Spaniard, playing for the first time since his quarter-final exit to Dominic Thiem at the Australian Open last month, claimed a 6-3, 6-2 victory over compatriot Andujar in 1hr 30min. "The most important thing when you have not competed for a while is to win, I needed a match like today to get in rhythm and gain some confidence," Nadal said after the victory. Nadal suffered an early stumble, with Andujar grabbing a break of serve in the opening game as the 19-time Grand Slam winner took time to find his rhythm. However, Nadal broke back quickly and then opened up a 5-2 lead. Andujar saved three set points to hold serve but Nadal easily held to take the first set. Andujar never looked like finding a way back into the match in the second set as a dominant Nadal broke in the first game and kept up the momentum, to close out the win emphatically. The top-seeded Nadal admitted afterwards he was still adjusting to the heat and humidity of conditions in Acapulco. "It was an awkward first round game," Nadal said. "I had not competed for a while and the temperature change is drastic enough... but I am happy with the victory." Agencies

Murray admits he may need further operation London: Britain's former world number one Andy Murray faces a crucial few weeks to find out if he requires another operation in order to return to top-level tennis. The 32-year-old three-time Grand Slam winner has only just returned to training after being out of action since November due to bruising on his pelvic bone. He capped a remarkable comeback from a hip-resurfacing operation he underwent in January 2019 by winning the European Open in October. But Murray may need an operation to remove bone growth associated with the surgery though he could be back in action at the end of March in Miami. The Scot believes his lack of progress is caused by a common side-effect of his operation. "I have not had lots of clarity as to what the issue actually is, because it is difficult to tell," he told the British media. "What I need to do just now is build up in these next couple of weeks to really test it. Hopefully it responds fine. I should know by the end of next month whether I'm good to play or not with it." An operation would likely see him miss Wimbledon and also potentially scupper his bid for a third successive Olympics singles title. Murray has slipped to 130th in the world after missing a succession of Grand Slams in recent years. "I want to play in the Slams again," he said. "That is the thing that I have missed over these last few years. Agencies

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are going ahead, organisers said Wednesday, even as the government called for major events in coming weeks to be postponed, cancelled or scaled back over the new coronavirus. The fate of the Summer Games has been in the spotlight as the outbreak of COVID-19 forces the cancellation and delays in Japan of everything from football matches to the rituals that mark the opening of the March sumo tournament. But organisers have been at pains to insist that Olympics and Paralympics scheduled for the summer are not in danger of being scrapped. "We have not thought about it. We have not heard about it. We have made inquiries, and we were told there is no such plan," Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto told reporters. "Our basic thinking is to conduct the Olympics and Paralympics as planned. That's our assumption." Muto said organisers would consider how to respond to the call from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday for organisers of major events in the next two weeks to cancel, postpone or downsize the gatherings to prevent the spread of COVID-19. "We will make decisions by reviewing events individually," he said. But he said the torch relay scheduled to begin March 26 in Fukushima and travel across the country would not be cancelled, though he acknowledged adjustments might be necessary. "We are absolutely not considering cancelling it. But we will think about how we can hold it in ways that won't lead to the spread of the virus, including reducing its scale," he added. Muto also hit back at coverage of comments by Dick Pound, a member of the International Olympic Committee, who told the Associated Press that a de-

Virus forces Japan Davis Cup tie behind closed doors Tokyo: Japan's home Davis Cup tie against Ecuador next week will be played behind closed doors, organisers said Wednesday, the latest sporting event in the country to be affected by coronavirus fears, five months before the Tokyo Olympics. And Japan's sumo governing body announced Wednesday it would hold an emergency meeting to decide whether to go ahead with a major tournament in Osaka scheduled to begin on March 8. The Davis Cup decision comes a day after football's top-flight J-League postponed all matches until March 15. "The International Tennis Federation made the decision to play the tie behind closed doors in consultation with the Japan Tennis Association, following advice from Japan Sports Agency and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare," a statement said. Japan number one Kei Nishikori is due to play for the first time since last year's US Open at the tie in Miki on March 6-7 having recovered from injury, but spectators will be barred and have their tickets refunded. The winners will secure a place in November's Davis Cup finals in Madrid. Agencies

Man City register appeal against European ban

cision on the Games would have to be made in the next two to three months. "When we consulted with IOC... we were told it was not IOC's thinking." Earlier, Olympic Minister Seiko Hashimoto also told parliament that the Games were still on track. "At the IOC review meeting in Tokyo the other day which committee chair John Coates participated, the coronavirus was of course on the agenda," she told opposition lawmakers. "At that time, we received a high rating on our preparation for the Tokyo Games, and the IOC offered to continue its support." "It is important to prepare considering the worst-case scenario," she added. But Hashimoto said her focus now was "simply to end the (virus crisis) at the earliest time possible, to hold the Tokyo Games with a sense of safety, and to get approval from the IOC." The Olympics are scheduled to open on July 24, with the Paralympics beginning from August 25.

London: Manchester City's appeal against their two-year European ban has been officially registered by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, CAS announced on Wednesday. The Premier League club have vowed to fight the sanction imposed by UEFA on February 14 for breaching financial fair play regulations. Although CAS did not indicate a time-frame for the appeal process, it is expected to take several months. In a statement, CAS said: "The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has registered an appeal filed by Manchester City football club against the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)." City face losing hundreds of millions of pounds in prize money, TV revenue, gate receipts and sponsorship income should their appeal against the ban fail. Last week City Football Group CEO Ferran Soriano said the club hoped to have their appeal heard by CAS before the start of next season's Champions League. He said UEFA's charges against the club of overstating their sponsorship revenue between 2012 and 2016 and failing to cooperate with an investigation were "simply not true." Agencies

Saudi Arabia to host world's richest horse race Riyadh Agencies

Saudi Arabia this week hosts the world's richest horse race, with $20 million in cash prizes on offer in the latest international sports extravaganza designed to boost its battered global image. The ultra-conservative kingdom has in recent years invested heavily in sporting events, in a soft power push designed to project a more moderate image and jettison a reputation for rights abuses and the export of hardline ideology. The Saudi Cup, expected to attract about 10,000 spectators, takes place at the King Abdulaziz Racetrack on February 29 with the main race run over 1,800m on a dirt track with a maximum field of 14. The winner will walk away with $10 million, second place with $3.5

million and even the 10th place finisher will go away with something. The Saudi Cup includes another seven races on dirt and turf with prizes worth $9.2 million up for grabs. "We are taking the first steps on a journey to bring the domestic racing product on a par with our international counterparts," said Tom Ryan, director of strategy and international racing at the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia. The event will "increase the sport's following inside Saudi Arabia, as well as opening up the industry to international horses and connections to make our mark on global racing," he said. Saudi journalist Mugbel alZabni, who writes for Arriyadiyah sports daily, said the event plays to Saudi culture, in a kingdom where the horse is considered a symbol of its heritage.

CMYK

Thursday, 27 February, 2020

sohaIl tanvIr, rIlee rossoUw, KhUshdIl shah lIght UP mUltan's fIrst Psl game

SPORTS 15

MuLTAN

AgeNcIes

HAN Masood's men gave the home fans a night to remember on PSL 2020's debut night in Multan as a rip-roaring bowling performance set up a simple chase iced by Rilee Rossouw's unbeaten 49 in a sixwicket win against Peshawar Zalmi. Mohammad Irfan had Tom Banton dropped at slip by James Vince on the first ball of the match, but it was just about the only misstep on the night by Multan in the field. Banton fell five balls later driving Irfan to Shahid Afridi at extra cover and the Multan pacers continued to rip through the Peshawar line-up, aided by Sohail Tanvir's four-wicket haul, to eventually bowl out the visitors for just 123 in 18.3 overs. In a deja vu moment, Darren Sammy dropped the first ball of the Multan chase at slip when James Vince edged a drive off Hasan Ali, only for the bowler to have Vince caught at midon by the end of the over. Whereas Peshawar were 41 for 4 at one stage, Multan slipped to a near-identical 47 for 4 in the seventh over when Zeeshan Ashraf cut Wahab Riaz to Banton at backward point. But that was where the similarities between the two innings ceased. Rossouw got Multan back on track

MATCH SCHEDULE Islamabad UnIted

Multan Sultans 124 for 4 (Rossouw 49*, Shah 43*, Riaz 2-36) beat Peshawar Zalmi 123 (Ali 47, Tanvir 4-13, Ilyas 223) by six wickets

before he was slowed down with a hip injury after getting pinged by Wahab to end the 12th over. He was then dropped in the 14th on 46 by Livingstone at deep cover off Mohammad Amir Khan, the last sniff Peshawar had of an unlikely fightback. From there, Khushdil Shah helped send the home fans home with happy hearts by smashing a noball by Amir Khan through mid-off for four before clubbing a slower

ball on the free hit 20 yards over the long-on rope for six to end the 14th. Another six yanked flat over square leg off Wahab in the 15th by Khushdil put Multan one stroke away from victory. It was sealed with a single down the ground by Rossouw, clinching a mostly onesided contest. TURNING POINT: Superficially, the scorecard might point to Peshawar's top-scorer Haider Ali heaving Tanvir to James Vince on 47 for the fifth wicket to break a 44-run stand with Liam Dawson. But in terms of impact and energy on the field, it had to be the doublestrike by Mohammad Ilyas in the sixth over after Peshawar had been sent in to bat.

STAR OF THE DAY: Tanvir got the big wickets beginning with Kamran Akmal. Coming off a century in his last match, Akmal was looking ominous early once again with three fours. But hubris got the best of Akmal, who charged at Tanvir only to miscue a full ball to Vince at midwicket for 15 in the fourth over. The left-arm quick struck again in the 11th, having Haider caught at deep midwicket. Haider had played an identical stroke hammering Ilyas over the region for six just moments earlier but could not achieve the same against Tanvir. After the spinners worked through the rest of the middle order, Tanvir came back to claim Hasan Ali and No.11 Rahat Ali.

RAWALPINDI

Peshawar ZalmI

griezmann rescues barcelona first-leg draw at napoli BARCELoNA

Pakistan beats WI by 9 wickets in ICC Women’s T20 World Cup campaign CANBERRA INP

Pakistan claimed the scalp of West Indies as they outplayed the 2016 winners and began their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup campaign with an eight-wicket victory in Canberra. The ICC Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup match was played between the West Indies and Pakistan at Manuka Oval on February 26, 2020 in Canberra, Australia. A measured run chase led by experienced pair Javeria Khan and Bismah Maroof earned Pakistan a statement win. West Indies struggled for rhythm with the bat and only posted 124 for seven, going on to struggle in the field. Pakistan fuelled hope they can emerge from the group stage for the first time, while West Indies will have their work cut out to continue a proud record of five successive semi-final appearances Sharp new ball bowling from Diana Baig exposed a struggling Windies top order and only when

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Stafanie Taylor and Shemaine Campbelle were at the crease did they look fluent in posting 124 for seven. Pakistan openers Javeria Khan and Muneeba Ali controlled the chase expertly and put on 57, with captain Bismah Maroof’s unbeaten 38 steering her side to a seventh win at the Women’s T20 World Cup. The Windies top order faltered and found themselves three wickets

down within seven overs for the second game in succession. Hayley Matthews, star of the 2016 Women’s T20 World Cup Final, fell for a diamond duck as Diana got the game’s first ball to move in the air and rap the opener on the pads. Lee-Ann Kirby’s standand-deliver approach yielded three quick boundaries as she lofted Aiman Anwar for four over mid-off and then cover in the fourth over.

But she perished on the first ball of the fifth, Diana enticing another heave from the opener who skewed a catch to Muneeba Ali running back at point, departing for 16. Deandrea Dottin’s troubled stay at the crease ended when she tried to drag Nida Dar from outside offstump over long-on and could only pick out Iram Javed, departing for one from 10 balls. Experienced duo Taylor and Campbelle steadied the ship, the captain improving on the disappointing strike rotation last time out before Campbelle cleared the midwicket rope of Dar. Campbelle – who brought up a century of T20I appearances against Thailand – missed an attempted reverse sweep off Anam Amin and while given not out on-field, Bismah’s referral adjudged her lbw for 43. All-rounder Chinelle Henry couldn’t settle, dropped on her fourth ball as Anam grassed a return catch, but she departed when trapped lbw for four playing Aiman Anwar across the line.

AgeNcIes

Antoine Griezmann rescued a 1-1 draw for Barcelona at Napoli in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday. Frenchman Griezmann struck just before the hour mark in Naples after Dries Mertens had put the hosts ahead in the 30th minute with his 121st Napoli goal, drawing level with Marek Hamsik as the club's all-time top scorer. Barcelona ended the game with 10 men after Arturo Vidal was sent off with two minutes to go after picking up two yellow cards, following an angry clash with Napoli defender Mario Rui. "In the end it's a draw that is a good result considering that we have another home game," said Barcelona coach Quique Setien, with his side in a strong position ahead of the second leg at the Camp Nou on March 18. The clash was the first between the two teams and also a Champions League debut for both Setien and Napoli counterpart Gennaro Gattuso, who took over after the group stage. "They didn't hurt us, they tickled us," said Gattuso. "It went wrong in one moment and they punished us." Napoli captain Lorenzo Insigne added: "We could have won, so we're a bit disappointed. It was emotional to face players like (Lionel) Messi." Messi failed to score on his first appearance at the Stadio San Paolo, where Napoli legend Diego Maradona reigned supreme three decades ago. The 32-year-old Messi scored four goals at the weekend in Barcelona's 5-0 win over Eibar that put the Spaniards back top of La Liga, but could not add to his 114 Champions League goals. "If Barca didn't do today what they did three days ago (against Eibar) it's to Napoli's credit," said Gattuso. "I hope that no one thinks it's over. We know it will be very hard but nothing is finished yet. "But when on your back you have Messi or Griezmann, you want to play with a little security. This is where we can try to do better on the way back."

Steven Smith back as No. 1 Test batsman as Virat Kohli slides DuBAi AgeNcIes

Virat Kohli's match aggregate of 21 runs in the Wellington Test against New Zealand, which went the way of the home team by 10 wickets, has allowed Steven Smith to reclaim the top spot in the Test rankings for batsmen, the Australian getting to No. 1 for the eighth time in his career. The top spot has changed hands between Smith and Kohli for the longest time, with only Kane Williamson occupying the position for a brief eight-day period in December 2015, and the New Zealand captain has returned to No. 3 on the table by jumping past Marnus Labuschagne after scoring 89 in his only innings at Basin Reserve. Among the Indian batsmen who were part of the action in Wellington, Ajinkya Ra-

hane's 46 and 29 have taken him up by a spot to No. 8 and Mayank Agarwal has gone up to No. 10 following scores of 34 and 58, but Cheteshwar Pujara has slipped two spots to ninth after identical scores of 11 in the two innings. From the New Zealand side, Ross Taylor, who was playing his 100th Test, has gone up three spots to No. 13 after scoring 44 the only time he got to bat. Over to the bowlers, and there were big gains for Tim Southee and Trent Boult, who picked up nine and wickets in the match, respectively. Southee has moved up eight positions to sixth, his best since being No. 5 in June 2014, while Boult has moved up four spots to joint-13th with Pakistan's Mohammad Abbas. Neil Wagner, who missed the first Test against India because of the birth of his first child, remains the topranked New Zealand bowler at No. 2 be-

hind Pat Cummins. The Bangladesh v Zimbabwe Test in Dhaka, meanwhile, was a great one for the home side, which won by an innings and 106 runs. Their stars were Mushfiqur Rahim and Mominul Haque with the bat and Nayeem Hasan and Abu Jayed with the ball, and they too gained in the rankings. Mushfiqur's unbeaten 203 lifted him five places to No. 20, while Haque's 132 helped him go up to No. 39, a rise of five spots. Hasan's nine wickets for the match took him up 29 places to 38th, while Jayed, who picked up four wickets in the Zimbabwe first innings, got to No. 46, up by 11. Craig Ervine, the stand-in captain in Sean Williams' absence, played his part for Zimbabwe with 107 and 43, the best for his team in either innings, and moved up 15 places to 40th place.

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

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