E-Paper PDF 30th November (KHI)

CMYK

Saturday, 30 November, 2019 I 2 Rabi-ul-Sani, 1441 I Rs 17.00 I Vol X No 150 I 16 Pages I Karachi Edition

Federal, Punjab bureaucracIes undergo major overhaul yet agaIn g

WAjid ZiA APPoinTed As fiA direcTor generAl, ex-PunjAb chief secreTAry yousAf KhoKhAr PosTed As inTerior secreTAry

ISLAMABAD/LAhore

I

SHAHZAD PARACHA/SHAHAb OmeR

t seems Prime Minister Imran Khan’s dream to reform civil service and police force remains a distant dream as the Pakistan tehreek-e-Insaf (PtI) government has once again reshuffled the bureaucracy at the federal and provincial levels within 15 months of coming into power.

Imran was reportedly not happy with the bureaucracy, especially in Punjab, after he received complaints from party lawmakers in this regard.

PtI lawmakers and office-bearers have repeatedly expressed reservations that the civil servants, especially officials in direct public service departments, use delaying tactics to slow down the government initiatives.

Meanwhile, the PM also think the bureaucracy in Punjab, a bastion of the Sharif family, was using delay tactics to hamper his development agenda.

In the light of the complaints and a trailer of the transfers that saw the Punjab chief secretary and police chief losing their jobs, the government on Friday went full-throttle on the transfers. the former chief secretary of Punjab, Yousaf Naseem Khokhar, was given charge of the interior secretary. Waheedud Din has been appointed as the special secretary for interior.

Furthermore, Ali Raza Bhutta has been

g

Students march for unions, freedom

PunjAb sees reshuffling of severAl commissioners, dePuTy commissioners And disTricT Police officers

given the portfolio of poverty alleviation division secretary; Hasan Nasar Jami took over as aviation division secretary; Afzal Latif was appointed industry and production secretary, while Habibur Rehman Gilani was directed to take charge as railway secretary.

In addition to this, Dr Allah Buksh was appointed as secretary of the National Health Services; Imran Nazir Khan got charge of the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation as the managing director; Muhammad Ali Shahzad will assume duties as the special secretary of the Establishment Division, while Syed Pervaiz Abbas will head Economic Affairs Division in the capacity of a secretary. Moreover, the federal government appointed Dr Pervaiz Ahmad Khan as the IPCD secretary.

In services, the National Police Foundation got Ahmad Latif as its new managing director, whereas National Policy Academy’s commandant will be Muhammad tahir. Mustaq Ahmad Mahr will be police chief of the Pakistan Railway after erstwhile IG Wajid Zia, who also headed the Panamagate JIt, was appointed the director-general of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

Industries Secretary Aamir Arshaf Khawaja was transferred to the Climate Change Division, whereas Aviation Secretary Shahrukh Nusrat, Sardar Ijaz Ahmad Khan Jaffar, Shaista Sohail and Bashir Ahmad were directed to report to the ED.

EAD Secretary Noor Ahmad was directed to report to the Establishment Division, while National Food Security Additional Secretary Muhammad Ayub Chaudhry was asked to join the petroleum division.

Lahore Commissioner Muhammad Asif Bilal Lodhi and Principal Information Officer (PIO) tahir Khusnood were told to relieve their duties and report to the ED. PUNJAB: In Punjab, the government replaced at least 31 deputy commissioners, five regional police officers and seven district police officers apart from changes in the bureaucracy.

Shaukat Ali was appointed as additional chief secretary; Momin Agha as additional home secretary, Ali Murtaza as irrigation secretary, Babar Hayat became a senior member of the Board of Revenue; Nadeem Mahboob was appointed as housing secretary; Zafar Nasrullah was told to take charge as the secretary of the Higher Education Department; Imran Sikandar was appointed as secretary to the Punjab governor; Iram Bukhari as additional chief secretary for energy; and Hamid Yaqoob was asked to take charge of the Planning Commission.

Lodhi, who was told to report to the Establishment Division, was replaced by Saif Anjum, who took charge as Lahore’s new commissioner.

Similarly, Capt (r) Mahboob was appointed as the Rawalpindi commissioner, while Farah Masood, Shanul Haq and Ishrat Hussain took charge as commissioners of Sargodha, Multan, and Faisalabad, respectively.

In Punjab Police, the Punjab government reshuffled DPOs of Okara, Jhang, Bahawalnagar, Muzaffargarh, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Sargodha and Attock.

Meanwhile, the Punjab chief secretary directed 18 police officers to assume new positions in different cities of the province.

Furthermore, Six PSP officers posted in Punjab were directed to report to the Establishment Division. the officers comprised Dr Moeen Masood, Capt (r) Atta Muhammad, Syed Ali Mohsin, Muhammad Maroof Masood Safdar, Maria Mehmood and Shakir Ahmad Shahid.

FBR: the government also made some change in the Federal Board of Revenue by transferring Intelligence and Investigation DG Qaisar Iqbal to Rawalpindi regional office as the chief commissioner. the government, meanwhile, asked Dr Bashirullah Khan to take charge of the Intelligence and Investigation as its director-general.

Parliamentary committee to interview new judges before appointment

STORY ON BACK PAGE

Taliban say ready to resume Afghanistan peace talks

STORY ON PAGE 02

more inside

‘Fake parliament’ can’t legislate on army chief’s extension: Fazl STORY ON PAGE 03

bilawal urges state institutions to work within constitutional ambit STORY ON PAGE 03

London Bridge: Two killed in stabbing attack STORY ON BACK PAGE

iraq’s prime minister to resign after day of deadly violence STORY ON BACK PAGE

STORY ON BACK PAGE

CMYK Saturday, 30 November, 2019

02 NEWS

TalibaN say rEady TO rEsumE aFghaNisTaN PEaCE Talks KABUL

T

aGeNCIeS

HE Taliban said on Friday they were ready to restart peace talks with the United States, a day after President Donald Trump made a surprise visit to US troops in Afghanistan and said he believed the radical group would agree to a ceasefire.

Trump’s Thanksgiving Day visit was his first to Afghanistan since becoming president and came a week after a prisoner swap between Washington and Kabul that has raised hopes for a long-elusive peace deal to end the 18-year-long war.

“The Taliban wants to make a deal and we are meeting with them,”

Trump told reporters after arriving in Afghanistan on Thursday. “We say it has to be a ceasefire and they didn’t want to do a ceasefire and now they want to do a ceasefire, I believe. It will probably work out that way.” Taliban leaders have told Reuters that the group has been holding meetings with senior US officials in Doha since last weekend, adding they could soon resume formal peace talks. On Friday, Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for

Qaim seeks interim bail ISLAMABAD app

Former Sindh chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah on Friday moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for interim bail, with the plea that he may be arrested by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on December 3. Barrister Qasim Abbasi, the counsel for Qaim Ali Shah, filed the petition in IHC. It has been pleaded in the petition that Qaim Ali Shah apprehended the arrest by NAB in alleged solar panel tenders irregularities as he had been summoned on December 3 for appearing before NAB. Qaim Ali Shah has pleaded for pre-arrest bail in the matter.

the hardline Islamist insurgent group, said they were “ready to restart the talks” that collapsed after Trump had called them off earlier this year.

“Our stance is still the same. If peace talks start, it will be resumed from the stage where it had stopped,” Mujahid told Reuters. Trump cancelled peace negotiations in September after the militant group claimed responsibility for an attack in Kabul that killed 12 people, including an American soldier. “We are hoping that Trump’s visit to Afghanistan will prove that he is serious to start talks again. We don’t think he has not much of a choice,” said a senior Taliban commander on conditions of anonymity.

Trump’s visit came a week after a prisoner swap between the Afghan

government and the Taliban, which had raised hopes for the revival of peace talks that were conducted in the Qatari capital since last year. A US citizen and an Australian held hostage since 2016 were released along with 10 Afghan soldiers in exchange for three senior members of the Haqqani Network, which is linked to the Taliban. Earlier this year, the US reached a deal in principle with the Taliban to pull out troops from the country and wind down the 18-year war in return for security guarantees. But in a shock move in September, Trump called off the talks after an American soldier was killed in a Taliban attack. About 13,000 US troops remain in Afghanistan, 18 years after the US invaded the country in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Pakistan to stand with oppressed Kashmiris come what may, Alvi says ISLAMABAD app

President Dr Arif Alvi on Friday said that Pakistan will never condone the blatant human rights violations in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK) at the hands of fascist Indian regime and will always stand by its Kashmiri brethren.

He was talking to Ambassador-designate of Pakistan to Oman K.K. Ahsan Wagan, who called on him here at Aiwan-e-Sadr.

The President underscored that all High Commissioners/Ambassadors must highlight the true perspective of Kashmir issue and Indian oppression there.

He said that Pakistan attached great importance to its fraternal relations with Oman and was keen to further enhance these brotherly relations in all spheres.

The President, however, mentioned that the current volume of bilateral trade be-

tween the two countries was not commensurate with the true potential, adding there was a need to diversify the bilateral trade. He said since Pakistan had the potential of exporting food items, construction materials, leather and surgical goods to Oman, the Ambassador-designate should endeavour to promote the economic and commercial interests in Oman and utilize existing institutional mechanisms.

The President directed

Farogh Naseem returns as federal minister ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

President Dr Arif Alvi on Friday administered the oath of federal minister to Barrister Farogh Naseem, who had resigned from his post as law minister on Tuesday to represent Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa in a case regarding the extension of the army chief’s tenure in the Supreme Court. However, it has not yet been announced which portfolio he would be given. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court had taken up a petition challenging the extension granted to Gen Bajwa by the government. On Wednesday, Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed told a news conference that Prime Minister Imran Khan had accepted

the Ambassador-designate to make efforts for holding regular interactions through established mechanisms of Bilateral Political Consultations and Joint Commission which would promote and expand bilateral ties in diverse fields. He hoped that the Ambassador-designate would endeavour to further strengthen bilateral relations in all areas of mutual interest.

The President highlighted that the presence of the Pakistani community in Oman was a living bridge between the two countries, adding they took pride that the Pakistani community had been making a valuable contribution to the development of Oman. Mentioning Pakistan’s huge potential in tourism, he directed the Ambassador-designate to work for the promotion of this sector and to also make efforts to utilize Pakistani labour to meet Oman’s requirements of skilled and professional manpower.

Naseem’s resignation which was tendered during a cabinet meeting.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar had said that Naseem “voluntarily” resigned from his office and added that Naseem would join the attorney general to clarify the government’s stance on the issue of the army chief’s tenure extension. Additionally, Akbar said that once the assistance was completed, Naseem could return to the cabinet subject to the prime minister’s approval.

Yesterday, the top court had announced its decision in the case while directing the government to pass legislation on the extension/reappointment of an army chief. The short order had noted that according to Article 243 of the Constitution, the authority to appoint an army chief lies with the president.

However, there is no duration of appointment specified in the Article. Following the announcement, while addressing a press conference, Naseem had thanked the three-member SC bench for “providing the government guidance at every moment”.

CMYK

Outgoing ECP secretary hopes govt, Opp will resolve members’ appointment soon ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Secretary Babar Yaqoob on Friday hoped that the government and opposition would sort out the issue of the appointment of the commission members soon to prevent the body from becoming ineffective next month. The chief election commissioner (CEC) and the ECP secretary are set to retire next month and the issue of the appointment of two members of the commission, one each from Sindh and Balochistan, has landed in court because the government and opposition were unable to reach a consensus on the nominations. “The ECP won’t be able to conduct local government elections [in the absence of the CEC and members],” Yaqoob warned while addressing a conference on election reforms organised by the Free and Fair Elections Network (FAFEN). “The tenure of the elected cantonment boards is also going to expire on December 15,” he added. “In one province, there is a stay order on local government elections for 10 months.” The ECP secretary said the commission is fully prepared to conduct the local government polls.

Yaqoob noted that the ECP was an autonomous body under the Elections Act. However, he added, the commission’s autonomous status was not being recognised. The ECP secretary also stressed the need for proportionate representation of the population in the elections. “The commission is working with NADRA [National Database and Registration Authority] for the registration of female voters,” he added. Yaqoob noted that all political parties had played a laudable role in the preparation of the Election Act 2017. “However, the Election Act should not be considered the final word as it too has some operational flaws.” The secretary informed the audience that the commission had prepared proposals after consulting with locals and the media about elections in 30 districts noted for irregularities. “In Shangla, elections were rescheduled because less than 10% women voters had cast their votes,” he said. “But there was great participation by women in the elections in tribal districts which was a major success for political parties and the commission.” The ECP secretary urged political parties to further support the commission. “Political parties have a responsibility to ensure women’s registration. Before the 2018 elections, the ECP had registered 43 million female voters. However, we fear that the number of unregistered female voters may increase,” he said.

Yaqoob said that as per the guidelines, polling stations for disabled people should be set up on the ground floor but a returning officer in Rawalpindi did not even bother to facilitate a disabled candidate to walk downstairs to take his nomination papers. The polling stations used in every election have now become permanent. Prior to the election, the ECP wrote to the chief ministers of the provinces to ensure electricity and other facilities at the schools which were being used as polling stations. “The chief secretaries were repeatedly called to remind them of the necessary measures but sadly no improvements were seen,” the secretary maintained. Yaqoob said the ECP had matured to a point that it considered FAFEN its partner because of its healthy criticism and observations.

CMYK Saturday, 30 November, 2019

NEWS

‘FakE ParliamENT’ CaN'T lEgislaTE ON army ChiEF’s ExTENsiON: Fazl KARACHI

J

Staff RepoRt

AMIAT Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Friday said that the top military leadership was dragged and demeaned in the courts due to incompetence of the incumbent rulers, adding that the ‘fake parliament’ cannot carry out sensitive legislation relating to the reappointment or extension in tenure of the army chief.

In a short order on Thursday, a Supreme Court-bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif Saeed Khosa had given the government six months to legislate and iron out the lacunae in the reappointment or extension of tenure of a chief of army staff (COAS) through an act of parliament.

Addressing a protest rally in front of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) office here, Maulana Fazl said the government is “not only illegal but also does not have the capability to take legal action”. Fazl said the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was running away from its own accountability in the foreign funding case, being heard by the ECP. He advised the national election watchdog to satisfy the masses and take the case to its logical conclusion at the earliest.

He also lashed out at the federal government over the country’s crippling economy. “Those who promised 10 million jobs are shutting down 400 departments. They have made tens of thousands

03

bilawal urges state institutions to work within constitutional ambit ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

lose their livelihoods and claim tomatoes and beans are available to masses in Rs17 and Rs5 per kg, respectively.” The firebrand cleric, who led a massive anti-government march dubbed as ‘Azadi March’ to Islamabad earlier this month, said the movement would continue until the gov-

Pml-N worried about politics, instead of Nawaz’s platelets: Firdous ISLAMABAD

ernment was ousted and fresh polls were announced.

The Azadi marchers had demanded Prime Minister Imran Khan’s resignation and free and fair election in the country. The days-long sit-in was eventually called off after the government

paid no heed to its demand and the opposition parties, led by JUI-F, moved onto ‘Plan B’.

However, the plan to block major thoroughfares of the country did not last long either and the party then decided to approach the election commission.

PML-N, PPP submit replies on ECP party funding questionnaire ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

app

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan Friday said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz spokespersons were now worried about politics, instead of the platelets of their leader Nawaz Sharif. In series of tweets, she said today they did not appeal for praying for the health of the “Zil-e-Subhani”. She said that the PML-N leaders were trying to get political mileage by criticizing the most popular leader and elected prime minister.

She said that Prime Minister Imran Khan was countering the conspiracies of the opposition on all fronts and would continue to do so in future. She said that it was correct to say that Imran Khan was not aware of the formulas of corruption and did not protect the personal businesses of his colleagues. She said that the elements which groomed under the patronage of former Punjab governor Ghulam Jilani, were now issuing statements to malign an elected prime minister.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan People’s Party on Friday submitted their replies on the questionnaire of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the party funding case. The scrutiny committee of the ECP chaired by the director-general law met on Friday for an inquiry into the party funding of the PML-N and PPP. Jahangir Jadoon, the PMLN counsel, appeared before the scrutiny committee and gave his arguments. He also submitted the reply of the questionnaire issued to the party by the election commission.

PPP’s Shehbaz Khosa advocate also appeared in a session of the ECP’s scrutiny committee and submitted the party’s reply over the queries of the election commission.

“We don’t have any company in the United States,” the PPP representative informed the committee to a question. The ECP body will review the answers and details submitted by

the two opposition parties. The scrutiny committee has again summoned the counsels of the PML-N and the PPP on December 3 for a hearing.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Farrukh Habib MNA, who also appeared in the scrutiny committee,

said the PML-N has submitted reply of the ECP questionnaire on one page, “this brief reply of the billions of rupees transactions is not understandable,” he opined. “They have also to answer about the electoral expenditures”, he added.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Friday said that his party believed in the constitution and it is important for all state institutions to operate within their constitutional ambit. In his message on the eve of PPP’s 52nd Foundation Day, Bilawal reiterated his commitment to the ideals of the party’s “founding principles for constitutionalism, rule of law, democracy and equality”. He said that PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had stood shoulder to shoulder with disenfranchised Haris, students, intellectuals, artists and the marginalized to empower them. He also tribute to his mother, the late prime minister Benazir Bhutto for leading the charge for democracy and the rights of the people following the judicial murder of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. “Either power must pass to the people or everything else will perish,” he said. Bilawal said that Muzaffarabad was chosen as the venue to celebrate PPP’s 52nd Foundation Day because one of the core founding issues was the Kashmir cause. “The PPP continues to support the right of self-determination for Kashmiri people and reinforce its commitment into the third generation,” he added.

sC to take up Nab appeal against shehbaz’s bail ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The Supreme Court (SC) will hear on December 3 a petition moved by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) challenging Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif bail in a graft case. A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and comprising Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Mazhar Alam Mian will hear the case. The corruption watchdog has challenged the Lahore High Court’s verdict through which it approved the bail for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president. The bench will also hear a NAB appeal challenging the bail granted to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad. It is to mention here that Shehbaz Sharif is facing a number of graft cases instituted by the bureau. Among the cases are the Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing Scheme scam, Ramzan Sugar Mills and Saaf Pani scam. In the Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing Scheme scam, the former Punjab CM is facing charges of misusing his authority to illegally issue directives for cancellation of the contract with regard to the housing project in 2014, causing Rs715m loss to the exchequer, the reference reads. Whereas, the Ramzan Sugar Mills case pertains to the misuse of authority by Shehbaz by sanctioning construction of a bridge to facilitate the mill.

Rickshaw blast injures 10 in Lahore LAHORE Staff RepoRt

At least 10 people were injured in an explosion that occurred in a rickshaw in Chauberji area on Friday.

According to the spokesperson for Punjab’s Counterterrorism Department (CTD), the blast occurred at around 11:25am.

“Ten persons have been injured, including the driver of the rickshaw. All sustained minor injuries. All of the injured were walking near the rickshaw at the time of the blast,” he said.

In a statement released by the CTD spokesperson, the official said that a passenger had boarded the rickshaw and got down at Samanabad after paying the fare.

“The passenger was carrying a shopping bag which he probably left in the rickshaw,” said the official, adding that the driver “had not noticed it”.

According to the statement, the driver parked his rickshaw on Multan Road Chauberji and got off to relieve himself nearby. That is when the blast occurred.

The statement said that based on the BDS (Bomb Disposal Squad) and PFSA (Punjab Forensic Science Agency) staff’s initial assessment, the blast could have come from an IED (Improvised Explosive Device). “Weight and nature (of the explosive device) will be determined later on after analysis,” it added.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Inam Waheed, who oversees investigations, said that the police’s initial impres-

sion was that it was a blast from a gas cylinder. “After investigating, we discovered that was not the case.”

“We have also retrieved some ball bearing from the crime scene,” he added.

He said that though nothing final could be stated at this point, “we can estimate that 3-5kg of explosives were used”. An FIR is being launched at the police station of the CTD in Lahore and further investigations are underway, said the CTD statement.

The incident comes a day after the facilitator of the Data Darbar suicide bombing earlier this year was sentenced to death. The blast, which occurred on May 8, had left as many as 12 people, including 5 security personnel of the Elite Force, dead.

CMYK

Zubair Mehfooz

04 KARACHI

Saturday, 30 November, 2019

WEATHER UPDATES 0 SATURDAY

30 C

190C

SUNDAY

300C

190C

MONDAY

290C

190C

TUESDAY

290C

180C

NAB initiates inquiry against Fazaia Housing Scheme KARACHI staff rePort

The National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) Karachi chapter has requested the watchdog’s chairman, Justice (r) Javed Iqbal to order a fresh inquiry against Fazaia Housing Scheme (FHS) Karachi on the allegation of “cheating public at large”, a press release issued by the accountability watchdog said on Friday. It added that the probe against FHS and others has been requested to address the grievances of a “huge number of affectees” — i.e. 6,000 people — who were allegedly defrauded under the housing project. The matter involves an amount of Rs13 billion invested by the general public. The NAB chairman “has been requested to initiate [a] fresh inquiry on the allegation of cheating public at large to provide relief to the affectees”, according to the statement. It said that NAB Karachi is determined to complete the inquiry at a fast pace and “hold accountable all the persons involved”. According to the scheme’s website, the FHS was launched by the Pakistan Air Force for serving and retired personnel and civilians in March 2015.

KARACHI: The statues installed by the authorities present a neglected look. ONLINE

SiNdH govt to LAuNcH BiogAS BuSeS iN KArAcHi KARACHI

t

staff rePort

HE Sindh government has decided to launch biogas buses in Karachi under its “Clean and Green Sindh Program”.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United Nations Green Climate Fund are helping the government build the Bus Rapid Transit Red Line project.“The Red Line is the

world's first transport project to receive funding from the UN Green Climate Fund,” Sindh Minister for Energy Imtiaz Sheikh said.

In July, the ADB had approved a $235 million loan to help develop the bus transit system in Karachi.

“The Karachi Bus Rapid Transit Red Line Project will deliver a 26.6kilometer corridor and associated facilities benefiting as many as 1.5 million people,” the ADB had said in a state-

ment.The United Nation’s Green Climate Fund loan of $37.2 million and a $11.8 million grant will be used to finance the biogas plant and the incremental cost of the transition from diesel bus technology to compressed natural gas hybrid bus technology with the biomethane extracted from cattle waste, according to documents seen by this correspondent.Owais Qadir Shah, the Sindh minister for transport, said that at least 29 stations will be built under the

Red Line project and a single bus will carry around 125 passengers.

The federal government has also assured the Sindh government of its support in developing the Red Line project.“This is a real cause for celebration and a big gift for Karachi,” said Malik Amin Aslam, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s adviser for Climate Change.“We are glad that the Government of Sindh has taken a lead on it,” he added.

SHC adjourns hearing of Iqama case against PPP leaders KARACHI staff rePort

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday adjourned the hearing of Iqama case against Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) leaders Faryal Talpur, Nasir Shah and others till December 6.

Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Agha Faisal of the Sindh High Court heard the Iqama case where Nasir Shah’s counsel was ordered to continue arguments. He said that Shah had ended his Iqama in 2012 and also submitted related documents.

The lawyer continued that it was a fake case filed against his client and the petition was not maintainable for hearing. He added that the matter did not come under the jurisdiction of the high court to declare someone as ineligible.

The SHC’s judge said that the Supreme Court

(SC) had declared former prime minister Nawaz Sharif ineligible as he had lied before the court. To this, the counsel said that it was the top court but the high court has no authority to declare ineligibility.

On November 25, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had issued a notice to Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MPA Faryal Talpur on a petition seeking her disqualification as member of the Sindh Assembly. Talpur is accused of concealing details of her assets in her tax returns details that were filed in the ECP. The notice was served on the plea of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Arsalan Taj and Rabia Azfar. The ECP has asked the PPP leader to file her response on December 9.

Speaking to journalists, after the hearing of the plea, Arslan Taj said the PPP stalwart had not disclosed the details of her assets in her tax returns filed

128 new dengue cases in Karachi KARACHI PPI

As many as 128 more dengue fever cases were reported across the megacity, Karachi, in last 24-hours, taking the reported cases’ toll to 14,139 since 1st Jan 2019. Spokesman Prevention and Control Program for Dengue (PCPD) Sindh, while talking to PPI, informed that at least 134 new dengue fever cases emerged throughout the Sindh province in a day, out of the 128 were detected in Karachi and six in other districts. A total of 40 people have already died in Sindh province so far; 38 in Karachi and one each in Hyderabad and Ghotki.

In November so far, a total of 5,638 dengue positive cases surfaced throughout the province; 5,163 were from Karachi and 475 from other districts.

In 2019, a total of 15,192 dengue cases have been reported in Sindh province so far; 14,139 in Karachi and 1053 in other districts.

DENGUE AFFECTEES' TOLL REACHES 15,000 IN SINDH: The number of patients affected with dengue virus has reached 15,058 across Sindh, the Dengue Surveillance Cell disclosed on Friday.

The surveillance cell confirmed 40 deaths in Karachi due to the dengue virus.

Karachi has the biggest number of dengue victims within the province with the number exceeding the

Sharjeel Memon’s family members seek pre-arrest bail KARACHI staff rePort

The family members of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader and former Sindh minister, Sharjeel Memon, on Friday sought prearrest bail in the Sindh High Court.

The family members including wife, mother of Sharjeel Memon, who is accused in different corruption cases including assets beyond income and money laundering, filed a petition to get pre-arrest bail from the high court. It is pertinent to mention here that Memon and eleven others are accused in the corruption reference. The co-accused include Zeeshan, Izhar Hussain, Muhammad Sohail, Saifullah Lohar, Agha Ahsan, Shaukat Ali Thebo, Waseem Akhtar Thebo and Kamran Gul. He was arrested by the accountability bureau in 2017 and remained in jail for 20 months. He is currently out of jail after the court granted him bail.

Lyari medical college head accused of corruption in the ECP, while a plea over holding an Iqama is also under trial in the Islamabad High Court against her.

Holding Speaker Sindh Assembly Agha Siraj Durrani responsible for the late in the case, Taj alleged that he is not impartial and acting as a spokesman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

14,000 figure. On Nov 24, it emerged that dengue cases in Pakistan exceed 50,000 in 2019 alone with the virus, primarily carried by female mosquitoes.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza said on October 29 that the government was committed to make Pakistan a dengue-free state.

In a media talk, Dr Zafar Mirza said: “Making Pakistan a dengue-free country is our main mission.”

He said that had taken effective measures to control the mosquito-borne disease in the federal capital and Rawalpindi. The special assistant further said that an efficient strategy was being pursued to control the disease throughout the country including in GilgitBaltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K).

Speaking on the occasion, Zafar Mirza said that fumigation was being carried out in the areas where the dengue cases had been reported.

KARACHI staff rePort

A judicial enquiry report on incidents of corruption at the Benazir Bhutto Medical College in Lyari was presented in the Sindh High Court on Friday. According to the inquiry report, the college’s principal, Dr Anjum Rehman, has been accused of dishonest dealings. She unlawfully admitted three of her sisters at grade 19 and two brothers at grade 14 and 15 in the college.

“The principal has given a contract for construction work at the college to her father’s firm,” the report stated. “One of her sisters, Sehar Fatima, has been working outside Pakistan while also taking allowance from the college.” Another of Dr Rehman’s sisters who is a teacher at the college also owns a hospital in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. “She has been using the college’s machinery at her private hospital,” the report claimed. Dr Rehman cannot be dismissed from the college because she has obtained restrictive orders from the court. The hearing was adjourned till December 12.

Saturday, 30 November, 2019

Govt woRkInG HARD to ImpRove HeAltH SeCtoR: ASAD UmAR of social sectors, without having any follow up of such projects due to which the projects could not run for a long time. However, he said the present government was specifically focusing on ensuring the sustainability of new projects.

He said the politicians in past were interested only in grabbing power however they were least interested in the welfare works of the people.

He said Dr Zafar Mirza had a passion to work for the welfare of the people and such people could bring real change.

He said the prime minister had a vision of bringing real changes in the lives of people.

“Unless Imran Khan is Prime Minister and the PTI is in the government, the struggle for change will be continued and improvement will be seen gradually in all sectors of life,” he said.

ISLAMABAD

m

APP

INISTER for Planning and Development Asad Umar on Friday said that under Prime Minister Imran Khan’s special directions, the government was working on an emergency basis to bring positive changes in the health sector of the country.

Addressing an inauguration ceremony of Community Health Center here at Shah Allah Ditta, Asad Umar said this centre would be an important model of reforms in the health sector across the country.

Under this model, he said all health facilities would be computerized across the country in which data of every citizen of a particular town or area would be available.

Special Assistant on National Health Services Dr Zafar Mirza

was also present on the occasion.

Asad Umar said Dr Zafar Mirza was struggling to bring positive changes in the health system of the country.

He said the provision of basic facilities in all sectors especially heath was the primary responsibility of the state

2,300 excess prisoners in Adiala Jail, IHC informed ISLAMABAD

He said the struggle of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) government was aimed at bringing real changes in people’s mind and thinking, as real change can only be possible when people’s thinking will change.

The minister pointed out that in past, the governments were only interested in launching new products

Marriyum Aurangzeb lashes out at PM for using NAB to target opposition ISLAMABAD

APP

stAff RePoRt

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday was informed that there were 4,800 inmates in Adial Jail against actual capacity of 1,500 prisoners. The point was raised as IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah took up a petition filed by a prisoner Khadim Hussain for provision of medical facilities in Adiala Jail. Superintendent Adiala Jail, was present in the court. He pointed out that the jail was built for 1,500 prisoners, but unfortunately, 4,800 prisoners were being kept right now in the premises. The CJ took note of the absence of Human Rights and Ministry of Health officials and remarked that it will not be spared any more. Justice Athar Minallah said: “I myself was a guest of Adiala and know well the situation there.” He remarked that jail authorities were unaware of their obligations and powers, adding prisoners were not just the responsibility of jail management but of the state as well.

Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb on Friday said that her party would be ruling the country if the Results Transmission System (RTS) of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) hadn’t failed.

Talking to media in Islamabad on Friday, she said that the country is being ruled by a mafia, alleging that Prime Minister Imran Khan is using his office to target the opposition.

The PML-N spokesperson said that not a single penny of corruption could be proved against party president Shehbaz Sharif and that no reference could be filed against him even after the passage of six months.

Marriyum said that Shehbaz Sharif’s businesses are being run by members of his family

and everyone related to the businesses is being arrested.

She demanded that National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman Justice (r) Javed Iqbal take notice of the fact that the anti-graft watchdog’s attentions have once again diverted towards the PML-N to serve the interests of the ruling party.

Earlier, while reacting to the premier’s remark, she said that PM Imran Khan’s statement is

synonymous with showing anger after getting embarrassed, adding that no corruption case has been proven against PML-N till date.

“The Supreme Court pointed out the government’s ineptitude time and again. PM Imran is trying to put blame of his own mistakes on others as always. Pakistan is getting unsafe due to the prime minister’s incompetency and lies,” she said.

Pakistani man aims to bring shade to Iraq's Arbaeen pilgrims KARACHI Agencies

A retired Pakistani industrialist sent thousands of saplings to Iraq on Friday to bring shade to pilgrims, an idea formed when his relatives returned from a holy site with sunburn.

Mohammedi Durbar, 85, wants to plant nearly 50,000 trees along the entire 80-km (50mile) pilgrimage route between Iraq’s Shi’ite Muslim holy cities of Najaf and Kerbala.

Millions of people make the pilgrimage every for the religious ritual of Arbaeen, which marks the 40-day mourning period for the grandson of the Prophet Mohammad. They walk most of the way under a baking sun.

Among the worshippers last year were Durbar’s grandson and daughter-in-law, who returned to Pakistan tanned and with photographs showing a barren landscape.

“I immediately realised there was no shade,” Durbar told Reuters at his farm on the outskirts of the city of Karachi.

Durbar travelled to Iraq, spoke to officials and got permission for his project, and a promise the trees would be cared for. He also planted some trees in Najaf to see if they could thrive there.

The test was a success. “The trees are happy,” he said.

A first batch of 9,800 saplings of eight types of trees, up to eight months old, set off from Karachi by truck on Friday, for their journey across Iran to Iraq.

The shipment was delayed about a month because of anti-government protests in Iraq and last-minute visa delays.

Durbar says the saplings will be well looked after on their journey with the truck stopping to ensure they get regular sunshine and water.

He is confident they will arrive in good shape and plans to travel back to Iraq to work on the plan.

The trees will spend the winter in a nursery in Baghdad, with the planting due to begin in March.

He said about a dozen people would plant the trees, with the help of small digger he is also sending from Pakistan.

Durbar, a member of the Dawoodi Bohra sect of Shia Islam, estimates it will take three years to plant all of the trees at a cost of 25 million rupees ($160,000), which he is paying.

He is not sure if he will live to see pilgrims walking under his trees, but he knows he has found his calling after a lifetime in industry.

“I thank God, at this age, he has put me on the right path,” he said.

“Partnership with nature is good.”

CMYK

NEWS

05

Saad Rafique scuffles with police during court hearing LAHORE stAff RePoRt

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Saad Rafique got into a fight with a security officer outside the accountability court on Friday where he and his brother, Khawaja Salman Rafique were brought for a hearing of the Paragon City case.

According to reports, the PML-N leader wasn’t allowed to bring his companions inside the courtroom, which made him angry. He got into a fight with a police officer dressed in plainclothes. Before the hearing started, police officials had taken charge of the security in the courtroom. They had sent all the reporters out of the room and did not let anyone else enter. Upon complaints, the superintendent of police had said that he would look into the matter but later refused to let anyone inside the court. Since only a duty judge was present, the hearing of the case was rescheduled to Dec 9. After the proceedings, Rafique left while chanting slogans. He told the reporters that they should fight for their rights themselves. On April 26, the NAB Lahore had approved the filing of a reference against the Khawaja brothers and Nadeem Zia for the alleged corruption. Qaiser Amin Butt, the director of the society, was also included in the inquiry initiated by the NAB, and he was also arrested in November last year.

However, later on, he agreed to turn approver against the Khawaja brothers and Zia.

Underage girls being misused at Darul Aman, claims official NEwS DESK A superintendent at Lahore’s Dar-ul-Aman accused a government official of pressuring her to marry “underage girls” to fulfil demands of some higher government officials and a provincial minister. In a video on Twitter, she claimed she was being pressurised

by Social Welfare Director General Afshan Kiran Imtiaz of misusing the orphan girls living in the shelter homes under the guise of giving them shelter and food. She added that the Chief Minister’s Inspection Team consistently pressurised her to take back her statement, and her refusal to do so resulted in the budgetary allocations to her department being held back. In a recent video shared on Twitter by journalist IA Rajpoot, the same official could be seen saying that she was facing arrest for exposing the happenings in the women shelter homes. She said that she was facing immediate arrest as police had broken the door of Dar-ul-Amaan’s (Kashana) Lahore office. In reference to authorities and those involved, she stated that they were trying to wipe out evidence and requested people to spread her message. She added that she did not know what was to happen to her and where she would be taken now.

Rajpoot further shared a video of police barging in through the doors of Kashana’s office. He claimed that this was being done to teach an unforgettable lesson (to her) for exposing black faces of Usman Buzdar’s cabinet involved in raping orphan and helpless girls.

Saturday, 30 November, 2019

06 WORLD VIEW

Has Israel’s securIty agency decIded to brIng netanyaHu down?

THE APPARENTLY STRONG COOPERATION BETWEEN THE MEDIA AND SHIN BET PROBABLY MEANS THAT THE SECURITY AGENCY BELIEVES THAT THERE IS NO LONGER ANY CHOICE BUT TO OVERTHROW NETANYAHU BY LEGITIMATE MEANS AL-QuDS AL-ARAbI/MIDDLE EASt MonItoR

a

Suhail Kewan

ROUND 10,000 people demonstrated in Tel Aviv on Tuesday night in support of Benjamin Netanyahu. This was seen as a rather weak effort after more than seven days of rallying support for the Israeli Prime Minister. It was noted that officials and Knesset members from his party did not take part, which suggests that there is serious discontent within his party and among his supporters.

The demonstrators railed against what they called “the left”; they are so right-wing that they regard the likes of retired Generals Benny Gantz, Moshe Ya’alon and Gabi Ashkenazi, as well as Avigdor Lieberman, as being members of “the left”.

They also attacked the media, accusing them of hating the right in general and Netanyahu in particular, and of making up accusations and suspicions to overthrow him and serve the interests of “the left”.

The media has indeed carried out some very serious investigations in order to uncover Ne-

tanyahu’s alleged corruption and fraud for which he has now been indicted. He is also said to have abused his position in order to control media outlets, which is a serious allegation for any government claiming to be a democracy.

However, the media needed the cooperation of internal security agency Shin Bet, which apparently provided information, including details of Netanyahu’s personal calls. If found guilty of the charges against him, he faces a prison sentence.

There are some who believe that the Prime Minister will commit suicide if he is imprisoned, but he is not the type to kill himself; that would require the sort of courage that he does not possess.

Even if he does go to jail, he will not confess any guilt, but will continue to claim that he has been framed by his political opponents.

He is now accusing the investigators and judicial system of working in favour of his opponents, and is demanding that his investigators be investigated, which challenges the credibility of the Israeli judiciary.

I actually agree with Netanyahu that the integrity of the investigations and judiciary in Israel need to be challenged, but

only when it comes to Palestinian suspects, who fill the occupation authority’s prisons. Not, though, when it comes to Netanyahu, who has friends like America’s Donald Trump, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and India’s Narendra Modi. Not when it comes to the Israeli Prime Minister who has personal relations with governments such as those in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and far-right leaders in Europe.

Has he been treated unfairly?

The opposite is actually true; the judiciary is being lenient with him. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit stalled before making and announcing his decision to indict Netanyahu. He gave the Likud leader the chance to win the General Election and form a government, which would have delayed his trial for years as a sitting Prime Minister of Israel.

Mandelblit tried to avoid the inevitable trial of his one-time friend, but the facts and evidence uncovered by the police investigations, based on the media information given to the police, apparently proved his clear involvement in wrongdoing enough for an indictment. The Attorney General had no choice, and optimism about an acquittal is non-

existent. The decision to put him on trial would not have been

made if conclusive evidence did not exist. Netanyahu will try to

avoid this by all means, hence his incitement against the legal system, the judiciary and police officers. He may even launch further military offensives in every direction, even against Iran, to divert attention from his predicament, but a prison uniform is waiting for him.

The apparently strong cooperation between the media and Shin Bet probably means that the security agency believes that there is no longer any choice but to overthrow Netanyahu by legitimate means, not through a coup, as the Prime Minister would have us believe. He angered Shin Bet over the sale of a German submarine to Egypt, turning a blind eye to the deal because it profited those close to him. In Shin Bet’s eyes, though, the deal harmed Israel’s strategic security. Its officials were also angered by Netanyahu’s boasting about spy agency Mossad’s operations in Iran, which they see as undermining Shin Bet’s work, and could endanger the lives of its agents in Iran.

They even said that the Iranian authorities have benefited more than once from Netanyahu’s boasting, such as the disclosure of the location of a nuclear site; this led Iran, says Shin Bet, to hide what was happening there.

These issues, and perhaps others that we do not know about, must have led Shin Bet to make the critical decision to remove Netanyahu from power.

He is no longer a source of security for Israel, and so must be brought down. It is hard to reach any other conclusion in this whole sordid affair.

This article first appeared in Arabic in Al-Quds Al-Arabi.

Eyewitnesses on the unrest in Iran POVERTY, HARDSHIP AND A SENSE OF HOPELESSNESS ARE DRIVING PROTESTERS INTO THE STREETS IN IRAN, WHERE THEY HAVE BEEN MET WITH BRUTALITY BY THE REVOLUTIONARY GUARD. WITNESSES DESCRIBE THE DRAMATIC EVENTS UNFOLDING IN THE COUNTRY

DER SPIEGEL SuSanne Koelbl

NOVEMBER 28, 2019 Thousands have been protesting against the government and revolutionary leader Ali Khamenei in dozens of Iranian cities for more than a week now. The security forces have responded with lethal force, with human rights organization Amnesty International reporting more than a hundred deaths. The announcement made on the night of Nov. 15 that gasoline would be rationed and prices would increase dramatically -- in some cases tripling -- triggered the protests. Under sanctions imposed by the United States, Iran is only able to export small amounts of oil and goods, which has created a financial and economic crisis in the country. One of the aims of the American sanctions is to provoke protests. Officials in Washington hope a counterrevolution can bring down the regime.

DER SPIEGEL spoke with Iranians who have witnessed the protests. To protect the interviewees, their names have not been used in this article, although their identities are known to the journalist.

TEACHER, 37, FROM TEHRAN: "The news that gasoline prices would now double, from 1,500 toman to 3,000 toman (around 60 euro cents) per liter hit like a bang. At first, there was a silent protest in front of the university building. In addition to being a high school teacher, I am also completing a doctorate in ar-

chitecture. I happened to be there when security forces in civilian clothes surrounded and removed some of the demonstrators. I wanted to get home fast, but the Revolutionary Guards stopped me. They called me a "traitor" and a "slut" and said I wasn't a real Muslim. They arrested me too.

The police station was totally overcrowded. They insulted and intimidated me. I was allowed to leave after a few hours.

I rushed home. My brother wasn't there. No one had heard from him for 24 hours. A few days ago on Instagram, he wrote, "I have an important question for our leaders: You are so proud of the many missiles you have built to fight Israel. Are you also saving on gas there?" My brother is 27 years old and studying law.

Our internet connection was dead. The phones didn't work. We checked the police stations. It turned out the Revolutionary Guards had arrested him. We kept negotiating until he finally got released. He was totally exhausted.

They had terrorized and humiliated him. He was ashamed to say what really happened to him in jail. We now know that many young demonstrators were killed.

Just like that, shot on the street."

ISLAMIC THEOLOGY STUDENT, 56, FROM SHIRAZ: "When I came back from Tehran to my hometown of Shiraz this week, the streets in the north were full of people. We drove through the Maliabad district, where there are two gas stations. They were on fire. The driver said people were protesting over gas prices. He said they had set the gas stations on fire.

I am very religious and began pursuing a degree in Islamic theology at a later stage in my life. I trust the wisdom of our spiritual leader Khamenei. Closeness to

God fulfills me. The protesters are enemies of our republic. They are being manipulated by our opponents, the Zionists. They support U.S. President Donald Trump's imperialist ideas. The Americans want to destroy Islam.

I don't really think there's a shortage of gasoline in Iran. It's all propaganda. President Hassan Rohani wants to stir up unrest in the Islamic Republic to please the Americans. He's a puppet of imperialism. He must have lost his faith.

I live in Farhang Shahr, a middle-class area. The enemies of the state also gathered there. The security forces pushed the demonstrators back. They told the protesters to go home. Then shots were fired. It must have been agents of Israel and America who sought to further incite demonstrators against the government.

We're being bombarded from the outside with false information.

That's why it's good for the government to turn off the internet.

Then the U.S. and Israel won't be able to continue wrongly and negatively influencing people here."

WEB DESIGNER, 32, FROM SHIRAZ: "In the beginning, we, the protesters, walked silently down the street. The crowd kept growing. Then, some started shouting slogans, like: "Not Lebanon, not Gaza, I will only sacrifice myself for my fatherland Iran!" The idea was that Iran should not interfere with the conflicts of Arab countries. Another slogan was: "Our enemy isn't America, our enemy is here!"

Shots were fired. They were trying to scare us. They also used tear gas. Civilian police, who had only moments ago been walking with the crowd as if they belonged to the demonstrators, suddenly began arresting people. Everyone

panicked and scattered.

We just wanted someone to listen to our problems -- the mayor of Shiraz, for example, or an imam. But no one came. The reality is that other prices will go up along with gasoline prices -bread, eggs, meat, rent. A lot of people are losing their jobs right now.

We're four people in my family. We all live in the same apartment. My dad works as a painter, my mother is a teacher, I'm a web designer and my brother is employed by the city. But the high inflation means we still don't have enough money to buy things like fresh fruit every day. We never go on vacation. We seldom invite friends over anymore. We can only afford meat once a week.

The recent price increase just went too far. The situation gets even worse with each new uprising. I would like to start a family, but I can't afford it. Nobody gives us any help. Has the world forgotten us?"

CITY TOUR GUIDE, 30, FROM SHIRAZ: "Our office is located directly on the big street where the protests took place.

Many tourists from Europe, Sweden, Germany and England who had signed up for tours have since canceled their trips because of the unrest. For us, this means we won't make any money yet again.

My cousin Rubina called. She was upset and crying and said she had gotten caught up in a demonstration in front of the university in Maliabad. She saw a fellow student get shot in the head. He fell to the ground and everyone screamed. Rubina thinks he died before the ambulance arrived to take him away. The Revolutionary Guards had simply mingled among the protesters. That's why we no longer know which of the

demonstrators belong to us and which belong to them.

On Tuesday, my cousin and I arranged to meet in the city center, at the intersection near the Saadi cinema. Protesters had just set banks there on fire. They wanted to send a message against inflation. There were police and intelligence service people everywhere. It was chaotic. We stayed in the background because we feared they would shoot again.

They're blocking the internet so that none of this gets out.

They're cutting us off. Blood is being shed again in vain. We need this connection to the outside world. Call us! Come to our country! Don't forget us."

ARCHITECT, 28, FROM BUSHEHR: "The price increases have really upset people.

The protesters have been normal, mostly poorer people. They made no secret of how fed up they are with the government. They want a regime change.

There were police and members of the Revolutionary Guard everywhere. They aimed hot water at the demonstrators and used tear gas. I saw it myself. It was eerie to observe how they neither allowed the protesters to move forward nor backward. This country has no plan for the future.

The economic situation is no longer bearable. It is entirely unclear what will happen next. Perhaps the Iranians will soon be at each other's throats?

My wife's trying to get a student visa for Canada right now. I just want to leave this country."

BUSINESSMAN, 37, FROM TEHRAN: "We're a family business that sells technical equipment. Things were going quite well for us, but everything has been back to zero since the sanctions went into full force again.

We are living off our savings.

Costs are constantly increasing as incomes decline. The economic pressure on the people has now led to this backlash.

It was the poorer people from the south who took to the streets in Tehran. They set banks on fire as a statement against inflation. In the nearby town of Karaj, people deliberately created traffic jams on the highway. The anger is unrestrained. But the Revolutionary Guard showed up everywhere at once. They were very harsh toward the demonstrators.

Mistrust toward President Hassan Rohani is growing in Iran.

The government is chaotic. The people are suffering extremely from the fact that few countries are willing to work with Iran.

Things can't continue like this. We now have the feeling that we have been left completely alone here.

No one in the outside world will know if they are persecuting or killing us."

ART TEACHER, 43, SHIRAZ: "I haven't allowed my son to go to school for a week now.

We've barely left our home since the unrest began. The atmosphere outside is tense and things are only slowly quieting down.

Banks and other institutions in Tehran have been set on fire and destroyed. What's left is a feeling of serious insecurity. Our trust in this government has been exhausted. There's fraud and corruption everywhere. Things can't go on like this. I can't see anything positive here any longer.

My husband and I both make money, but it's not enough to make ends meet. We're so tired of this fight. I wish I could travel back through time to the days before the revolution. Everything needs to change. I would love to live in another country."

Saturday, 30 November, 2019

FOREIGN NEWS 07

Hong kong police end 12-day Siege of univerSity HONG KONG

H

AGENCIES

ONG Kong police ended their blockade of a university campus Friday after surrounding it for 12 days to try to arrest antigovernment protesters holed up inside. Police removed a stash of nearly 4,000 gasoline bombs left behind by protesters, who fought pitched battles about two weeks ago with riot officers on surrounding streets.

The standoff at Hong Kong Polytechnic University was one of the most dramatic episodes in nearly six months of unrest that began in June with a huge march against an extradition bill seen as an erosion of freedoms promised when the former British colony returned to Chinese control in 1997.

Protesters have since expanded their demands to include fully democratic elections and an investigation into police use of tear gas, rubber bullets and other force to suppress the demonstrations. Police

have arrested 5,890 people since June, ranging in age from 11 to 83.

About 100 officers first entered the Polytechnic campus on Thursday to collect evidence and remove dangerous items. A police statement said that over two days, they seized 3,989 gasoline bombs, 1,339 explosive items, 601 bottles of corrosive liquids and 573 weapons.

No protesters were found. One masked man told media the night before police came in that about 20 people were still hiding to avoid arrest.

They were the holdouts from perhaps 1,100 who had retreated inside after the battles with police. A few escaped the cordon, but police say they arrested 810 people and recorded the details of 300 minors who could face charges later.

Another 567 people were arrested in the vicinity of the university.

A university official estimated it would take five to six months to repair the damage to the campus.

During an official visit to Thailand, city leader Carrie Lam said that Hong

Kong is undergoing a difficult period but that the fundamentals of the Asian financial center, including its strengths under the “one country, two systems” framework, remain strong.

“I and my government are listening to our people with a view to resolving some deep-seated problems in Hong Kong through dialogue,” she said. “I have every confidence that Hong Kong can bounce back, as we always do.”

Hundreds of people chanted prodemocracy slogans at lunchtime rallies around Hong Kong on Friday. Some carried posters featuring U.S. President Donald Trump. Other posters told Lam that “it’s time to step down.” Protesters disrupted traffic in at least two places, but they dispersed after police issued warnings.

Police said two high school students were detained Wednesday for possessing TATP, or tri-acetone triperoxide powder, a powerful explosive that has been used in bomb attacks worldwide. Police said it was alarming that such dangerous explosives were found with young students.

The latest protests followed a large rally Thursday night to thank America, on its Thanksgiving Day holiday, after Trump signed into law two bills supporting the protesters. Chanting “fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong,” thousands of people waved American flags and urged other countries to join the U.S.

in supporting human rights in the semiautonomous Chinese territory.

One of the laws prescribes sanctions on officials found guilty of human rights abuses and requires an annual review of a special trade status for Hong Kong. The other bans the export of certain nonlethal munitions to Hong Kong police.

Search in Albania quake reduced, death toll at 49 TIRANA AGENCIES

UK PM Johnson implores Trump: please keep out of election LONDON: Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was best if U.S. President Donald Trump did not get involved in Britain’s upcoming election when he visits London for a NATO summit next week. “What we don’t do traditionally as loving allies and friends, what we don’t do traditionally, is get involved in each other’s election campaigns,” said Johnson, whose Conservative Party has a commanding lead in the polls ahead of the Dec. 12. “The best (thing) when you have close friends and allies like the U.S. and the UK is for neither side to get involved in each other’s election,” he told LBC radio. Trump has already waded into the election, saying in October left-wing opposition leader Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, would be “so bad” for Britain and that Johnson should do a pact with Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage. Corbyn has used Trump’s praise of Johnson as one of his focal messages to attack the Conservatives in his campaign, saying they would sell off parts of the much-loved state-run National Health Service to the U.S. businesses after Brexit if they win the election. The Sun newspaper reported on Friday that senior Conservative Party figures feared he could say something during his two-day visit that upsets their campaign. The president has not shied away from wading into British politics on previous visits, including criticism of Johnson’s predecessor Theresa May’s Brexit policy.

Trump, who is due to arrive in London on Dec. 2, is likely to be asked about his attitude to future trade talks and whether the NHS should be included, having previously said everything should be on the table. However, Johnson said he would walk out of trade negotiations if including the health service was a pre-condition. “First of all the NHS is not for sale. Under no circumstances will this government or any Conservative government do anything to put the NHS up for negotiation in trade talks or privatizing anything like that,” he said. “I can tell you were the United States, or any other country, to insist on that as condition of talks we would simply walk out.” During his hour-long appearance on LBC, where questions were put to him by listeners, he vowed that Britain would leave the EU by Jan. 31 if his party won a working majority in parliament.

However, he declined to say how many children he had, saying that he would not “put them on the pitch” ahead of the Dec. 12 election. “I love my children very much, but they are not standing at this election, and I am not therefore going to comment,” said Johnson, whose colorful love life has attracted tabloid attention in the past. When asked if he was going to have more children, Johnson, 55, who is living at Downing Street with his partner Carrie Symonds after separating from his wife last year, said: “I’m not going to get into discussions (on this).” AGENCIES

The operation to find survivors and recover bodies from Albania’s deadly earthquake was winding down Friday, with rescue crews limiting their efforts to a collapsed beachfront hotel in the port town of Durres as the death toll climbed to 49.

Albanian, Serb and Montenegrin rescue crews were working through the ruins of the hotel, where one person was still believed to be missing, Defense Ministry spokeswoman Albana Qehajaj said. Neighbouring countries and European Union nations rushed in rescue crews and specialized equipment hours after the quake struck.

About 2,000 people were injured in Tuesday’s 6.4-magnitude pre-dawn quake, said Health Minister Ogerta Manastirliu, after information was collected from hospitals, small health centres, homes and those now staying in tents.

The most seriously affected areas were

Durres, 33 kilometres (20 miles) west of the capital, Tirana, and the nearby town of Thumane. The search operation in Thumane ended Wednesday, and mourners were preparing to bury some of the victims of the earthquake in a series of funerals on Friday.

The earthquake struck as people slept, and nearly all of those killed were trapped when their apartment buildings or hotels they were staying in collapsed on top of them.

Hundreds of aftershocks, with at least three of magnitudes greater than 5, have rattled the country and complicated rescue efforts.

Apart from the buildings that collapsed, Prime Minister Edi Rama said preliminary figures showed about 700 buildings in Durres and more than 235 in Tirana were seriously damaged.

“Now comes a hard time for us, with nonstop work to bring life back to normal,” said Rama, who said he had appealed for international help in reconstruction efforts.

He has vowed to re-house all those left homeless “in better living conditions than

before the quake,” within a year.

Greece said it was responding to Rama’s appeal for help by sending a specialized 16-member team of engineers from the country’s natural disaster relief agency to help in reconstruction on Friday. The team was to fly to Albania on a military plane that would bring back the two teams of Greek disaster response firefighters that have been working in search-and-rescue efforts since Tuesday afternoon.

“The priority now is shelter, food and care for any homeless citizen,” said Albanian Defense Minister Olta Xhacka, adding engineers have begun assessing damaged homes.

Preliminary estimates put the number of people left homeless by the quake at 4,000.

“No one will remain in the street,” she said.

About 500 people spent a third night in tents in Thumane, while a total of about 2,000 people from Durres and Thumane were moved to temporary accommodation in hotels, schools and sports halls.

Black Friday frenzy goes global and not everyone’s happy

PARIS AGENCIES

People don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in France, or Russia, or South Africa – but they do shop on Black Friday.

The U.S. sales phenomenon has spread to retailers across the world in recent years with such force that it’s prompting a backlash from some activists, politicians and even consumers. Near Paris, climate demonstrators blocked a shopping mall and gathered in from of Amazon’s headquarters to protest overproduction they say is killing the planet.

Workers at Amazon in Germany went on strike for better pay. Some French lawmakers want to ban Black Friday altogether.

Consumer rights groups in Britain and some other countries say retailers use Black Friday as a slogan to lure in shoppers, but it’s not always clear how real or big the discounts are. Other critics say it hurts small businesses.

Globalized commerce has brought U.S. consumer tastes to shoppers around the world, from Halloween candy to breakfast cereal and peanut butter, sometimes even supplanting local traditions. To French activists, Black Friday is the epitome of this shift, a

purely commercial event designed to boost U.S. retailers ahead of the Christmas holidays, the symbol of capitalism run amok. “The planet burns, oceans die, and we still want to consume, consume, and therefore produce, produce – until we eradicate all living things? … We will not betray our children for a 30% discount!” reads a manifesto by groups holding “Block Friday” protests around Paris.

In Britain, where the big winter sales have traditionally been held on the day after Christmas, companies have adopted Black Friday marketing campaigns since about 2010. After a rise in business on the day in the first years, the volume of shopping has leveled off, with most of it happening online over multiple days. Research by a U.K. consumer association found that 61% of goods advertised in Black Friday deals last year were cheaper or about the same price both before and after the event. That echoes similar warnings in other countries. Russia’s consumer watchdog published detailed tips on how to avoid getting fooled, like checking whether prices were raised before Friday to make deals look good or whether delivery costs are inflated.

The Black Friday advertising push has extended beyond the one day to Cyber Monday, with retailers in several countries spreading them across what’s often called “Black Week.” In the Czech Republic, one electronics chain encourages shoppers – in English, of course – to “Make Black Friday Great Again,” in an ad featuring a suited man wearing the distinctive red cap used by U.S. President Donald Trump’s election campaign.

Saturday, 30 November, 2019

08 COMMENT Every month, a new priority

BarriSter mian aamir haSSan

Foreign policy under PM Khan

A

perception is growing that the PM chooses a foreign policy task, calls it crucial, then fails to fulfil it. Instead of giving thought to why he failed and devising a new approach to achieve the aim, he takes up another goal as the most important one for Pakistan and again misses the target. There is therefore little worthwhile that the PTI government can call its foreign policy achievement during the last 15 months.

Some of the priorities announced by the PM were no more than good wishes that could not have materialised under the prevailing circumstances. With his facile approach to issues Mr Khan did not take into account the complexities underlying regional disputes. he also failed to realise that the tail cannot wag the dog. A couple of meetings with the Saudi Crown Prince and a visit to Iran led him to believe that with the help of advisors like Zulfi Bukhari, he could play a peacemaker’s role in the Middle east. he also thought he could bring an end to the Yemen war. When snubbed, the issues were removed from his priority list. The PM told US think tanks that improvement of ties with India and settlement of the conflict in Afghanistan are top foreign policy priorities for his government. In September Kashmir became his priority and he promised to act as Kashmir’s ambassador.

After the failure of the Middle east gambit, and a few speeches on Kashmir, the PM announced on Thursday that Africa would henceforth be the new focus of the country’s foreign policy.

With Imran Khan blaming PML-N government of corruption in all financial deals brokered with foreign countries, a couple of PTI leaders made statements about CPeC that created grave misunderstandings with China.

It took quite a few months and a lot of effort by the establishment to restore mutual confidence. Marked by tensions earlier, Pak-US relations improved marginally after July’s Imran-Trump meeting in Washington. The PTI government however failed to efficiently address FATF related issues leading the USA to maintain economic pressure on Pakistan. PM Khan can have a more realistic foreign policy if he improves working relations with the opposition and get the issues debated in Parliamentary committees.

More blows for industry Wheat, power price hikes will exact a high cost

T

he economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet has approved a further increase in the wheat support price, while the federal government has approved an increase in the electricity tariff. Both steps will further batter an already battered industry. even before this latest round of increases, industry was already in trouble, with shutdowns and layoffs rife, the product of a slowdown caused by a multitude of factors, virtually all caused by government action, like massive and precipitate devaluation, increased taxation in the last budget, hikes in the interest rate which show no sign of being reversed and generally sluggish demand. Industry is all the more important for this government as a job creator after it announced that it would not be doling out jobs, with the view freely being expressed by government stalwarts that job creation took place in the private sector, not in government service. however, the government should realise that the price hike it has imposed, though supposedly for a year, will probably not come off. It has been imposed because of the commitment to the IMF to reduce circular debt, but its impact on the economy will be across the board and far-reaching. Domestic consumers will get higher bills, while industrial and commercial consumers will also.

These are not necessarily fat cats, but anyone who uses electricity in his work, like the corner shop, or the tailor in the neighbourhood market. Then there is the increase in the price of all agricultural products. The State Bank Governor has said that hardships will only last for a year. here we have an increase with its effect lasting well into 2020-2021. When will such surprises stop?

Some might argue that the increase in the wheat support price would compensate for that, but it must not be forgotten that the increase only came after hectic lobbying by farmers, who are also well represented on both Treasury and Opposition benches in Parliament.

This will drive up the wheat price, with this hike adding to the power tariff woes that consumers will face. This will add to the woes of industry as hard-pressed workers demand more wages, which will only come from higher prices. With Pakistan trying to attract foreign investment because of its cheap labour, this will not work.

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

Umar Aziz

Asher John

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Deputy Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

I

P

OLITICS is generally termed as a science or art relating to social activity, where people form and improve the rules we all live by. Politics is the art which helps politicians attain seemingly impossible goals without violence, and political parties are institutions to serve the nation and protect its interests, both at home and abroad.

Pakistan is a federation which requires a political party to have representation in all the country’s federal units. Only Zulfikar Ali Bhutto founded a party whose contribution in nation building is palpable in all federal units. The PPP is the only political party with mass representation across the country. The party has actually tied the nation in a single chain of unity.

On 30 November 1967, the Pakistan People’s Party was founded at a time when the country was divided on ethnic lines and no single party had representation in the areas forming today’s Pakistan. Within years, the PPP had filled the gap. Since then, it has been acting as a federal political party even at the cost of its leaders’ lives. Now the nation’s interests and the party’s goals are so interwoven that you cannot damage the former without hurting the latter. history witnesses that most of the parties in arena, nowadays, have either been founded by powers-that-be or work as their extensions. having no genuine vote bank, these parties have to play political gimmicks to attract sub-nationalities. On the other hand, PPP not only respect the voices of such nationalities, it binds them into Pakistani nationhood. On all occasions, PPP has proved itself to be a federal party. You can find numerous voters and supporters everywhere from Khyber to Karachi. The PPP is considered the true representative of Pakistan worldwide.

That’s why Shaheed Benazir Bhutto was invited to lecture at different forums across the globe.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto presented the true picture of Pakistan in the world; Benazir Bhutto amplified his vision and, now, Chairman Bilawal Bhutto is all set to play his part. We know the PPP was created under the dynamic leadership of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who gave hope to the people of Pakistan already pressed under a decade-long rule of a dictator.

Commemoration of Foundation Day is about uniting the people of Pakistan in general and the workers of PPP in particular, having a sense of belonging with the legacy he bequeathed to the nation.

The Foundation Day reflects the Pakistani people’s true commitment to the PPP, due to sac-

The party that binds together the nation Today is the 52nd anniversary of the founding of the PPP rifices made by its leaders and workers time and again. With sacrifices they sowed the seeds of tolerance and other democratic virtues in national politics: tolerance breeds tolerance while intolerance begets violence. The present national politics is a true example. It is the PPP that always kept its cool despite the worst kind of oppression by rivals. The slogan of ‘Pakistan Khappay’ was raised by Asif Ali Zardari at a time when the whole country was presenting the scene of lawlessness after the martyrdom of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. In fact, President Zardari has played the same role to get both party and country united after Benazir’s tragic martyrdom, as had once been played by Begum Nusrat Bhutto after Bhutto’s heartrending assassination.

She stood firm against the tyrannical oppression of dictator Ziaul haq and did not let the party fall apart. True to say, no other woman can claim to be of her stature as far as the sacrifices for the party and the people of Pakistan are concerned.

This day reminds us to engage with our workers while sticking to the values of the founding fathers.

We are well aware that the dictators tried their best to depoliticise the society just to promote their own agendas. Thus, they hollowed out the country’s foundations. In such times, the PPP stood tall against the aggression and violence aiming at its leaders and workers. The presence of the PPP on the national political scene is evidence that it is on the true path.

No lie can replace the truth or any party the PPP. There is no party like the PPP as far as its philosophy, sacrifices and legacy go. The nation is indebted to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who infused a new spirit in the nation and spread political awareness. It was he who gave the nation the slogan: All Powers to the People. You can find political clowns copying his style, but in vain, since it is the legacy of his family alone.

Today the air is abuzz with the slogan of change. The real change, in fact, was introduced

by Bhutto who elevated the common man and allowed them to enter Parliament and other top fo-

rums. With a tweet, you cannot bring about a diplomatic miracle on the foreign policy front.

Again, it was Bhutto who refused to yield before the superpower despite threats to his government and life. he dreamed to witness the ummah united, befriended China, raised the Kashmir issue worldwide, got the 90,000 POWs released and so on. This is foreign policy and the real change. Of course, PPP has set a good example of change and never used abusive language in politics as is the fashion today.

The PPP provided mature leadership to the nation in the form of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto and Bilawal Bhutto. Now the 52nd Foundation Day of the PPP is being celebrated with a pledge to revive its lost glory in coming days under the dynamic leadership of Chairman Bilawal Bhutto who is inspired by the vision of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto. he has rekindled hope among the masses through his commitment, resilience and dedication.

The visible and invisible forces have always tried to tamper with history and erase the sacrifices made by the PPP’s workers and leaders from the nation’s collective consciousness. For this, they hatch conspiracies and toil day and night, but in vain. Rivals adopt measures to damage the party’s image and malign the leadership, by following Goebbels, who said, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.”

But they forget that Abraham Lincoln had already said, “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”

The PPP is like the legendary phoenix. The party rises from the ashes after every effort to wipe out its existence since the rivals can kill a man, not an idea.

Barrister Mian Aamir Hassan is PPP Punjab Information Secretary.

Hindu and Hinduism in the modern context Modernity has produced Hindu political discourse

Dr rajkumar Singh

T

he word ‘hindu’ and hinduism are products of modernity. Its cause was championed by nationalists who thought hinduism suffered in comparison with Christianity because it lacked an effective ecclesiastical organisation. even today it remains an outer layer of religious self-identification as those who are commonly acknowledged as hindus, shows no willingness to adopt religious practices. As the idea of hinduism is quasi-political in origin, it is easy to use it for political purposes.

It did not bind itself to the idea of territorial nationalism but spread to the concept of cultural nationalism. Unlike traditional religion it is not apolitical, but organises an impressive assemblage of world renouncing Sadhus to assist in the winning of elections for political parties, this has changed the entire nature of modern politics in more ways than one. It is entirely due to the forces of modernity and has little to do with traditionalism. hence, it is a process generated by the forces of modernity.

Comparison with the West: In Western democracies politics is followed by a decline of religious influence in public life, but in India, in which a strong religious culture is dominant, democratic politics would show the imprint of popular religious notions. Since our politicians had not direct access to Western parliamentary styles of governance, they simply translate these notions to rural India. even ordinary people grasped the great significance of numbers in electoral politics and beginning with the Panchayats, a new style of functioning came to be represented in the political arena, which was less observant of the norms of liberal democracy. All these alterations began to reflect in InKarachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

I

dian politics in the form of style, language and behaviour. It was in sharp contrast to those in power in the Nehru years. Further the issue was compounded by the forgetfulness and negligence of the Nehruvian state itself about the process of the cultural reproduction of the nation. M S Golwalkar had described the concept in detail: “Our nationalist vision is not merely bound by the geographical or political identity of India, but defined by our ancient cultural heritage. From this belief flows our faith in ‘cultural nationalism’ which is the core of hindutva. That we believe, is the identity of our ancient nation Bharatvarsha.”

Status in India: Failure of the Nehruvian state to create conditions for the development of a common sense in Indian politics also led to a lack of secular political ideas in public. The material benefits of modernity were exclusively limited to english-knowing class which gave rise to two understandable reactions in the rest of society. First, of course it set off a great movement of emulation, through english-medium schools. Secondly, because the number of those who could benefit was bound to be quite small, it added to the resentment of the rest. Thus, the uneven and unjust distribution of the benefits of development had prepared the ground for two types of political dissent– an economic critique of class and an indigenist critique of modernist cultural privilege. And it was the second kind of resentment that has found expression through regionalist and communal politics, through the politics of hindu, hinduism and finally hindutva. excessive reliance on the state and its increasingly less accountable bureaucracy created a situation in which forces of hindu majoritarianism can claim the dig-

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

I

nity of cultural self-assertion against a dispensation in which individuals are penalised for speaking their mother tongue or evincing interest in their own culture. This cultural indigenism is a likely consequence of democracy, and the unwillingness of liberal and left politics in India to allow expression to these impulses has enabled hindu communal and hindi chauvinist politicians to appropriate the considerable power of such cultural democracy.

Party positions: All the major parties had a direct political agenda which included the themes of this cultural democracy. But, no doubt, the BJP is first to take advantage of the situation. In the 1970s when communal propaganda seemed to bring a few dividends and the then Jana Sangh seemed irreversibly declining, some suggested that it should shift its appeal to the middle class. They also advised that instead of the traditional appeal to hindu chauvinism, it should try to project itself as a substitute for the Congress offering a cleaner, more efficient, government. The Indian National Congress too under the leadership of Indira Gandhi began to adopt a more hindu-oriented strategy beginning 1982. her killing by her Sikh guards in 1984 and the elections that followed immediately in a communally surcharged atmosphere brought the party, now led by Rajiv Gandhi, its biggest victory ever. From then on, the Party had sought support of hindu communalists as it had not done earlier. ‘encountering implacable opposition from an array of regional forces, the political centre gave hindu majoritarian communalism its head.’In 1986 the Congress under its policy of appeasement allowed the opening of the Babri Masjid and the hindu shrine for worship which were

Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

I

kept locked since 22 December 1949.

It created the setting for a sustained mobilisation of hindus that led to the Shilanyas for a new temple in November 1989 and the destruction of the Babri Masjid in December 1992.

But the BJP from the 1970s onwards sincerely executed its twopronged policy. especially after the dramatic success of the rathayatras its own agenda was rewritten in a retrograde direction but it also adhered to its more secular constituency. With advertising tactics, it continued to appeal to modernist groups but it also persisted with its blatantly communal propaganda aimed at more traditional hindu groups. The BJP’s manifesto had clearly adopted the theory of ‘cultural nationalism and noted, “Our nationalist vision is not merely bound by the geographical or political identity of India, but defined by one ancient cultural heritage. From this belief flows our faith in cultural nationalism which is the core of hindutva”. however, the modernisation of this traditional religion cannot be of much use as its root lies in contradictions, bewilderments, suffering and enticement of modernity. It is also possible that in shifting the line between the sacred and the profane and playing opportunistically with it, this political religion would erase that distinction and turn eventually to more secular forms of mobilisation.

But the example of Iran and some other Third World countries urges caution: for it is possible for religious consciousness to acquire a modern form, that is a historical formation of consciousness, and which can turn against all principles of modernity, including democracy itself.

Dr Rajkumar Singh is head of the Political Science Department at BNMU, Saharsa, Bihar, India and can be reached at rajkumarsinghpg@gmail.com

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Saturday, 30 November, 2019

COMMENT 09 Editor’s mail

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

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

Fake accounts case

Threats to independence of the judiciary in AJK The AJK judiciary is in turmoil Zaki rahman

T

he issue of independence of the judiciary is at the forefront once again.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan is currently seized of a petition filed by Mr Justice Qazi Faez Isa in which the learned judge has challenged the President’s filing a reference against him before the Supreme Judicial Council.

Another situation where judicial independence is at stake is in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). The imbroglio pertains to the removal of a sitting Chief Justice of the AJK high Court, Mr Tabassum Aftab Alvi, both as Chief Justice as well as judge.

It all began in February 2011 when Mr Alvi, a widely respected advocate in AJK, was elevated to the AJK high Court. According to the 1974 AJK Interim Constitution, an AJK high Court judge was to be appointed by the AJK President on the advice of the AJK Council, a constitutional advisory body headed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, after consultation with the Chief Justices of the AJK Supreme Court and high Court.

In February 2011, then Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, in his capacity as AJK Council Chairman, advised the AJK President to appoint Mr Alvi and one other person as AJKhC judges. Mr Alvi initially refused to take oath as judge as the then Chief Justice of the AJK high Court had not been consulted. On the same day, the then AJK President wrote to the then AJKhC Chief Justice who replied that “Mr M Tabassum Aftab Alvi Advocate qualifies for appointment for appointment as a judge of the high Court and that there is nothing against him in the official record.” Constitutional consultation having been completed, Mr Alvi took oath.

Fast forward to 2015 when the PPP Government appointed certain judges to the AJK Shariat Court through a Presidential ordinance in violation of legal provisions. The appointments were challenged in the AJK high Court before Mr Justice Alvi (as he then was) who set aside the appointments. this decision, which was in accordance with the law, resulted in Mr Justice Alvi making certain enemies. Barely two months after this decision, a writ petition was filed in the AJKhC challenging his appointment as a judge, four and a half years after his appointment, on the ground that due consultation with the then AJKhC Chief Justice had not been completed prior to his appointment.

The writ petition was dismissed by a larger bench of the AJKhC as the petitioner had not established his bona fides, apparent from the petition being filed after such a long time, and also that due consultation had been completed. An appeal to the AJK Supreme Court was dismissed as the petition was tainted with mala fide having been filed at the behest of the Shariat Court judges whose appointment had been nullified.

After this dismissal by the highest court, the matter should have been settled finally. Not so.

Mr Justice Alvi was appointed Chief Justice of the AJKhC in April 2017. In May 2018, five judges were appointed in the AJKhC following a long drawn out tussle between the Chief Justice

of the AJK Supreme Court and Chief Justice Alvi. Chief Justice Alvi had objected to certain of the judges because of their lack of competence. For this principled stance, he had to pay the ultimate price as it set off a chain of events which led to the AJKhC declaring his original appointment as a judge illegal and his consequent removal. The manner in which this was done points to victimisation on political grounds.

In October 2018, Chief Justice Alvi’s original appointment was challenged again through a quo warranto writ petition, after almost eight years had elapsed since his appointment and despite the earlier AJK Supreme Court judgment.

The grounds taken in the petition were the same as before, that the condition of due consultation with the then AJKhC CJ had not been fulfilled.

This writ petition was dismissed on the basis that the matter had already been settled by the AJKSC in 2015 and could not be agitated again and again.

The petitioner appealed to the AJK Supreme Court which surprisingly set aside the decision, remanding the matter back to a twomember bench of the AJKhC with a direction to decide the case on merits. however, one of the judges of the concerned two member recused himself (since he was next in line to become CJ). Consequently, a new two-member bench was constituted.

Th at bench was divided, with one holding that due consultation had been made and the other judge disagreeing. Normally, a third referee judge is appointed, and this was done; however, astonishingly the AJK Supreme Court appointed to act as referee the judge who had earlier recused himself. The referee judge agreed that the appointment was unlawful, with the consequence that Mr Alvi stood removed both as judge and CJ. It is important to note that Mr Alvi’s retirement was due in a few months. To arrive at their decision, the majority judges relied on the technicality that consultation had been done after the AJK President had been advised by the AJK Council to make the appointment. Mr Alvi has appealed this decision to the AJK Supreme Court where the matter is pending but no stay has been granted him.

The decision can be criticised on several grounds. Firstly, the AJK President had duly consulted the then Chief Justice. That the consultation had been made after the Council’s ad-

vice had been received by the President was at best a minor irregularity which should not have vitiated the appointment of a sitting CJ. Secondly, a writ is a discretionary remedy and before issuing a writ the court has to satisfy itself regarding the petitioner’s bona fides. The petition’s timing– almost eight years after the appointment– as well as the petition being filed after Mr Alvi opposed appointment of unsuitable candidates for judgeship raises serious questions about the petitioner’s bona fides.

There is also the consideration that a similar petition had been thrown out earlier by both the AJK high Court and Supreme Court.

A former AJKSC CJ, Mr Justice (retd) Manzoor Gilani, has criticised the decision. In a newspaper article, he has said that a writ, being a discretionary remedy, should only be issued where the requirements of “propriety, legitimacy, morality, equity, justice and good conscience” are fulfilled, which requirements are not met in this case. Moreover, he points out that if there was any irregularity in the original appointment, it stood cured when he was appointed Chief Justice in 2017 in an admittedly legitimate manner.

Some of AJKSC decisions in this matter are also curious. For example, the decision to appoint the same judge as referee judge who had earlier recused himself.

Surely the matter could have been entrusted to another judge. Moreover, the refusal of the AJKSC not to grant a stay while Mr Alvi’s appeal is pending is also questionable particularly as a stay has recently been given in a similar appeal filed by another judge (Justice Chaudhry Munir) against his removal.

The entire chain of events narrated above smacks of unfair treatment of Mr Alvi as a result of his principled decisions on certain matters. his removal on narrowly technical grounds while ignoring certain basic principles has the effect of upsetting the system and shaking public confidence in the judiciary. A competent judge of integrity has been removed for sticking to his principles against powerful lobbies. This sends out a message that only pliant individuals can find accommodation within the system. Unfortunately, an independent judiciary cannot function in such an environment.

A competent judge of integrity has been removed for sticking to his principles against powerful lobbies. This sends out a message that only pliant individuals can find accommodation within the system.

Unfortunately, an independent judiciary cannot function in such an environment

Zaki Rahman can be Zakirahman25@yahoo.com

reached

at

ThIS is reference to report that NAB has arrested key suspect Ijaz haroon, in fake accounts and money laundering case. Ijaz haroon was Chairman Overseas Cooperative housing Society, who has previously served as MD PIA from 2008 to 2010 and has a history of being involved in controversies, yet managed to get clearance for such executive assignments. What were the qualifications of this controversial individual that he was allowed to become Chairman of Overseas Cooperative housing Society?

Those responsible for appointing him to head national airline PIA, in spite of never having got education beyond school i.e., O-Level are as much responsible for irregularities committed and assets beyond means that he owns in Pakistan and UK etc. From his involvement in Kidney hill scam to investigation ordered by Ministry of Defence and conducted by Late AM Mushaf Ali Mir for gross financial misappropriation in recruitment of pilots, to allegations involving him in the case of smuggling rare artifacts abroad PIA cargo allegedly destined for Surrey Palace. All state institutions and agencies responsible for background checks need to be probed who gave his security clearance to become MD of PIA. The national airline, which was once a profitable stateowned enterprise has been driven to technical insolvency by appointment of cronies over the years by successive political and dictatorial governments. When the State chooses to overlook glaring conflicts of interest of individuals appointed to head key state-owned enterprises, then they share responsibility for losses incurred. A Catering company located in europe owned by family of Ijaz haroon was designated as sole vendor for all flights that transit or terminate in europe.

GULL ZAMAN Peshawar

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

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

ALI MALIK TARIq Lahore

Kashmir solidarity IT seems that tensions between Pakistan and India may keep on escalating until the Kashmir issue is resolved. The dispute has come under International light and is being discussed and struggling to resolve the problem and reduce tensions between Pakistan and India. No one can deny the fact that India is taking no any steps to bring peace in the region. As India on August 5 unilaterally decided to revoke Article 370 of its constitution which granted special autonomy to occupied Kashmir. Undoubtedly, Pakistan has been struggling to make the region peaceful, but due to the lack of support the region has yet not been peaceful. As newly on Tuesday Combined Opposition leaders from the capital announced that they would observe October 27 as black day in protest against the ongoing repression in India-held Kashmir. Actually, the decision was taken at a multi-party conference held to discuss matters related to Kashmir Solidarity Day and the upcoming Azadi March. The conference decided that a protest demonstration would be staged outside the National Press Club on Oct 27 against the India attempts to jeopardise regional peace and stability, and express solidarity with the oppressed Kashmiris.

IMRAN RASHEED Kech

Furthering peace AS the world at large knows Pakistan has opened up a “hard border” also called corridor for the Sikh community, facilitating them to perform their religious rites free of visa and harassment hassle. This has certainly won the hearts of Sikh people, if not the Indian government. Keeping this in mind, I sincerely suggest and pray to the Indian government to offer visa free travel to the Parsi community of Pakistan to perform similar religious duties at Udvada and other places of worship. This act of the Indian government will certainly be appreciated and thanked by the tiny / peace loving community of parsis of Pakistan and those living around the world.

ISPHANyAR BHANDARA Rawalpindi

Saturday, 30 November, 2019

10 FOREIGN NEWS

StudentS Stage global StrikeS to preSSure un climate Summit

LISBON/SYDNEY

t

AGENCIES

HOUSANDS of people in Asia and Europe joined rallies demanding more action on climate change on Friday, aiming to force political leaders to come up with urgent solutions at a United Nations conference next week.

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg had been due to join a student strike in Lisbon, but her environmentally friendly voyage across the Atlantic from New York by yacht was hit by high winds, delaying her by a few

days, she told social media followers.

Portugal’s student movement still expected thousands to join marches on Friday, building on the famous campaigner’s imminent arrival to mobilize ahead of the United Nations climate summit in Madrid from Dec. 2-13.

“We wish she’d been here, but the movement has to carry on without her.

We’ve got to send our message and pressure politicians ahead of the climate summit,” Marianna Louca, 14, told Reuters in Lisbon.

Friday’s climate strikes are expected to take place in 2,300 cities in 153 countries around the world, according to the climate

Former Turkish PM to form new party within weeks: source ANKARA AGENCIES

Former Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who was once President Tayyip Erdogan’s closest ally but who broke away from the ruling AK Party in September, will form a new party within weeks, a source close to the matter said on Friday.

Davutoglu, 60, served as prime minister between 2014 and 2016 before falling out with Erdogan. This year, he slammed the president and the AK Party’s (AKP) economic management and accused them of curbing basic liberties and free speech. “The new party which Davutoglu is forming is expected to file its application to the interior ministry and be officially established within a few weeks,” the source, who was involved in the party’s foundation, told Reuters.

“The final touches are being made to the new party. It will not be delayed into 2020.

Buildings have been rented, a headquarters in Ankara and a provincial centre in Istanbul,” the source added.

On Sept. 13, Davutoglu announced his resignation from the Islamist-rooted AKP, which has ruled Turkey since 2002. He said at the time it was no longer able to solve the country’s problems and no longer allowed internal debate. The source said some former political figures and some senior public sector officials would take up roles in Davutoglu’s party.

Separately, former deputy prime minister Ali Babacan, who resigned from the AKP in July citing “deep differences,” said this week he hoped to have formed a new political party by the end of the year to challenge the ruling party.

Babacan was a founding member of AKP and served as the economy and then foreign minister before becoming deputy prime minister, a role he held from 2009 to 2015. But the source played down any prospects of Davutoglu and Babacan working together. “The scope for acting together within Babacan’s party has narrowed because the two sides are taking their own line,” the source said, adding: “Of course there would have been many benefits in forming a joint party, but the will for this did not emerge.”

campaign group Friday For Future.

It comes as experts have warned that global temperatures could rise sharply this century with destructive consequences after greenhouse gas emissions hit record levels.

Dozens of young people gathered in Bangkok for a climate strike in solidarity with others around the world, chanting: “No more coal, no more oil, keep the carbon in the soil.”

In Warsaw, activists, some in gas masks, waved banners saying: “Save our planet” and “Poland without coal 2030”. In Berlin, protesters in swimming costumes dived into the chilly river Spree, holding up a white box in a symbolic attempt to rescue the government’s climate change package.

Activists protested at Amazon (AMZN.O) sites around France, using the annual Black Friday shopping frenzy to denounce what they said was the destructive effect of rampant consumerism, in a backlash against the event driven in part by environmental concerns.

Several dozen protesters staged a dawn sit-in outside an Amazon building in the Clichy district of Paris, holding a sign saying: “No to Amazon and its world.”

In Australia, students in Sydney and other cities walked out of class, saying more should be done to combat the country’s bushfire crisis, which many see as a result of climate change.

Australia has for weeks been battling wildfires, which have killed at least four people, burnt about 2.5 million acres (1 million hectares) of farmland and bush and destroyed more than 500 homes.

NATO chief says defense budgets on the rise BRUSSELS AGENCIES

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says European allies and Canada are spending even more than previously thought on defense, days before U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to repeat demands that other allies boost their budgets.

Stoltenberg said Friday that European allies and Canada are now projected to increase spending on their national military budgets by around $130 billion between 2016 and 2020. Previously, the figure was forecast to be “more than $100 billion.” At the Dec. 3-4 summit in London, Trump is expected to repeat his demands that Washington’s 28 allies at NATO starting spending at least 2% of Gross Domestic Product on defense. Stoltenberg said that Bulgaria has now become one of nine allies meeting the 2% guideline.

India announces $400 million loan for Sri Lanka, in support of new president NEW DELHI: India will lend Sri Lanka $400 million for infrastructure projects, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday after talks with the island nation’s new President Gotabaya Rajapaksa aimed at improving bilateral ties. Sri Lanka, located off the southern tip of India, has become an arena of competing for influence between New Delhi and China, which has built ports, power stations and highways as part of President Xi Jinping’s signature “Belt and Road Initiative”, designed to boost trade and transport links across Asia. But the terms of some of those projects have drawn criticism from politicians in Sri Lanka and opened the way for countries such as India, the United States and Japan to rebuild ties in the Indian Ocean country that lies near key shipping lanes. Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka’s former wartime defence chief, is on his first visit to India after a sweeping election victory earlier this month won on a platform promising to pull the country out of its deepest economic slump in more than 15 years. He told reporters he wanted to take bilateral ties with India to a “very high level”. Modi said India would provide Sri Lanka with $50 million for its security needs in addition to the $400 million for infrastructure. “India is fully committed to the development of Sri Lanka,” he said. AGENCIES

Germany planning total ban on Hezbollah: report BERLIN: The German government is planning to outlaw all activities of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group in the country after previously only banning its military wing, the Hamburg-based Der Spiegel news magazine quoted government circles as saying. The report said Berlin plans to ban the group’s political arm from operating in Germany following an agreement last week between the Foreign Ministry, Justice Ministry and Interior Ministry. A final decision could be made as early as next week at a conference of German state interior ministers. As a result, the group’s members and activities in Germany would be treated like those of the PKK terrorist group or militant Islamic State.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah is recognised as a major political party and plays a role in the country’s complex power structure. The European Union has only banned the military wing of Hezbollah, so the group is still allowed to carry out “political work”. A complete EU-wide ban failed in Brussels mainly because of France’s resistance. As a result, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has been calling for Hezbollah to be banned under the country’s Association Act. According to the Der Spiegel report, the Justice Ministry authorised the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in September to launch investigations into Hezbollah’s activities in Germany without its prior permission. Calls for a complete ban on Hezbollah have been growing in recent months, especially by US ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, who stepped up pressure on Berlin via Twitter. AGENCIES

Japan’s ex-prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone dead at 101 TOKYO AGENCIES

Former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, a giant of his country’s postWorld War II politics who pushed for a more assertive Japan while strengthening military ties with the United States, has died. He was 101.

The office of his son, Hirofumi Nakasone, confirmed that Nakasone died Friday at a Tokyo hospital where he was recently treated.

As a World War II navy officer, Yasuhiro Nakasone witnessed the depths of his country’s utter defeat and devastation.

Four decades later, he presided over Japan in the 1980s at the pinnacle of its economic success.

In recent years, he lobbied for revision of the war-renouncing U.S.-drafted constitution, a longtime cause that no postwar leader has achieved to date.

Nakasone began his political career as a fiery nationalist denouncing the U.S. occupation that lasted from 1945 to 1952, but by the 1980s he was a stalwart ally of America known for his warm relations

with President Ronald Reagan.

He boosted defense spending, tried to revise Japan’s U.S.-drafted pacifist constitution and drew criticism for his unabashed appeals to patriotism.

In the 1950s, he was a driving force behind building nuclear reactors in resource-poor Japan, a move that helped propel Japan’s strong economic growth after World War II but drew renewed scrutiny in the aftermath of the meltdowns at a nuclear plant in Fukushima swamped by a tsunami in 2011.

The son of a lumber merchant, Nakasone was born May 27, 1918, the last year of World War I. He went to Tokyo Imperial University before entering the Interior Ministry and then the navy, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant commander during World War II. In his last news conference as prime minister, he said his political ambitions were sparked after the war by “the conviction I felt as I gazed bewildered at the burned ruins of Tokyo.”

“How can this country be revived into a happy and flourishing state?” he said.

He established his nationalist credentials by campaigning for parliament rid-

ing a white bicycle bearing the “rising sun,” or the “Hinomaru” national flag, which Japan’s wartime military had used.

He won a seat in 1947, becoming the youngest member of parliament at age 28.

Nakasone became a leading figure in the Liberal Democratic Party that has dominated postwar politics. During more than a half-century in parliament, he served as defense chief, the top of the powerful Ministry of International Trade

and Industry, and secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party before becoming prime minister.

Nakasone assailed the U.S.-drafted postwar constitution, demanding revision of the document’s war-renouncing Article 9 and urging a military buildup.

He was a key figure behind crafting and ramming through government funding for nuclear research in 1954, less than a decade after the U.S. dropped atomic

bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing 200,000 people in the last days of the war. In 1955, he helped pass legislation designed to promote nuclear power.

“Atomic power used to be a beast, but now it’s cattle,” he told a parliamentary session in 1954.

In a 2006 speech marking the 50th anniversary of Japan’s first nuclear institute in Tokaimura, Nakasone said he was intrigued by nuclear power as he tried to figure out why Japan lost the war.

“My conclusion was that one of the biggest reasons was (the lack of) science and technology,” he said. “I felt strongly that Japan would end up being a lowly farming nation forever unless we take a bold step to develop science and technology.”

After the Fukushima disaster in 2011, there was a public backlash against nuclear energy, but Nakasone said it remained indispensable to maintain Japan’s industrial growth.

As prime minister from 1982 to 1987, Nakasone broke the mold of the Japanese politician. His outspokenness appealed to voters, and he was praised for putting a human face on Japanese politics.

Saturday, 30 November, 2019

BUSINESS 11

CORPORATE CORNER

Govt yet to receive DiamerBhasha money, na BoDy tolD ISLAMABAD

ISLAMABAD: GulAhmed Textile Mills Ltd once again wins Pakistan France Business Alliance 3rd Trade Performance Award 2018-19 for being the number one home textiles exporter to France from Pakistan.

GulAhmed Textiles Chairman Bashir Ali Muhammad receives the award from Ambassador of France in Pakistan Marc Barety. p r e s s r e l e a s e

LAHORE: Lahore-American Business Forum recently held its elections for the Board of Governors. Vaseem Anwar was elected as the president, Afsar Mahmoud as senior vice president, Ayesha Hamid as vice president, Usman Khalid Waheed as vice president and Anwar Kabir as secretary general. press release

n

app

ATIONAL Assembly’s Standing Committee on Water Resources was informed on Friday that Rs12 billion collected for Diamer-Bhasha Dam has not yet been transferred to the government’s account.

The NA body was told that the government had released Rs87 billion for the construction of dam whereas Rs894 billion were required for the completion of the project. “The project, after completion in eight years, will produce 4,500MW electricity,” officials told the NA body.

Committee member Maryam Aurangzeb asked for the details of expenditure incurred upon Diamer-

'RS12BN COLLECTED FOR DIAMER-BHASHA DAM HAVE NOT YET BEEN TRANSFERRED TO THE GOVT’S ACCOUNT' Bhasha advertisements given to local and international newspapers and TV channels. Khawaja Asif noted that according to the Supreme Court’s decision in the case, Pakistan Television (PTV) was not paid for the advertisements.

He said it was imperative that the parliament was informed as to how much money was spent, out of the total collected funds, on advertisements in the name of construction of Diamer/Bhasah Dam. The committee directed the officials to clarify in the next meeting the latest position of funds deposited for the dam as well as the expenditure incurred on advertisement

OGRA proposes nominal decrease in POL prices ISLAMABAD GHUlaM aBBas

ISLAMABAD: TCL, one of the most popular TV brands in Pakistan, has launched its flagship store at Lower Ground Roshan Centre, Jinnah Avenue, Blue Area. p r e s s r e l e a s e

through electronic and print media.

The NA body refused to confirm the minutes of its previous meeting with direction to the Ministry of Water Resources to take up the issue of power station proposed to be constructed at Chashma Jhelum Link Kanal in the next Council of Common Interest (CCI) meeting expected to be held in near future.

The committee also discussed the issue of conservation of water and directed the ministry to chalk out a mechanism to assess the supply and demand aspects of water. It directed the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) to install a telemeter on the main rivers’ headworks and

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has proposed a nominal decrease in the prices of petroleum products for the month of December.

According to details, the regulator has recommended cutting petrol price by Rs0.25 per litre and kerosene oil by Rs0.83 per litre.

Similarly, OGRA has recommended a decrease of Rs2.40 per litre in diesel price and Rs2.96 per litre in light diesel oil price.

The final decision in this regard would be taken by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

On October 31, the government had increased the price of petrol by Rs1 per litre for the month of November. The price of high-speed diesel was also increased by Rs0.27.

However, the government had slashed the price of light diesel by Rs6.56 while that of kerosene by Rs2.39 per litre.

It is pertinent to mention that the government is currently charging 17pc general sales tax (GST) on all petroleum products. Apart from this, the government is also collecting petroleum levy (PL) on these products from the consumers.

At present, the government is charging Rs18 per litre petroleum levy on diesel, Rs15 on petrol, Rs6 on kerosene and Rs3 on LDO. In the previous government of the PML-N, the petroleum levy was charged in the range of Rs3 to Rs10 per litre. However, GST was higher than the current rate.

HIKE IN LPG PRICE: Meanwhile, OGRA has increased the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) by Rs2 per kilogramme for the month of December. According to a notification issued by the regulator, the price of an 11.8 kilogramme cylinder has gone up by Rs18 to Rs1,514 from Rs1,496.

The new rate of a commercial cylinder is Rs5,825 after the upward revision of the LPG prices.

US weighs new regulations to further restrict Huawei suppliers LAHORE: Italian Agency for Development Cooperation Director Emanuela Benini and Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) CEO Qazi Azmat pose for group photo during the closing ceremony of Poverty Reduction Programme (PPR) training session. p r e s s r e l e a s e

LAHORE: Samsung Electronics Pakistan and Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) have joined hands to support and empower social startups contributing towards achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). p r e s s r e l e a s e

WASHINGTON aGeNCIes

The US government may expand its power to stop more foreign shipments of products with US technology to China’s Huawei, amid frustration the company’s blacklisting has failed to cut off supplies to the world’s largest telecoms equipment maker, two sources said.

The US Commerce Department in May placed Huawei Technologies on a trade blacklist, citing national security concerns.

Putting Huawei on the entity list, as it is known, allowed the US government to restrict sales of US-made goods to the company, and some more limited items made abroad that contain U.S. technology.

But under current regulations, key foreign supply chains remain beyond the reach of US au-

thorities, prompting inter-agency discussions within the administration of President Donald Trump about possible changes to two key rules that could expand US authority to block more foreign shipments to the company, giving more teeth to Huawei’s blacklisting, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The expansion of the rules is being considered even though the Trump Administration last week agreed to grant some reprieves on the existing ban and continues to seek a deal to de-escalate a bitter trade war.

If the Commerce Department makes the proposed rule changes, it will allow US authorities to regulate sales of non-sensitive items, such as standard cell phone chips, made abroad with USorigin technology, software, or components to Huawei, which is the world’s second largest smartphone maker.

present a thorough report before the committee in the next meeting.

The committee also discussed the irrigated water resource management issue and recommended that sufficient funds be allocated for this purpose to all the provinces, while grassroots public awareness be started through seminars and electronic/print media in which the importance of clean water should be highlighted to the nation.

MNAs Fazal Muhammad Khan, Ali Nawaz Awan, Ch Shoukat Ali Bhatti, Dr Muhammad Afzal Khan Dhandla, Naureen Farooq Khan, Nuzhat Pathan, Khalid Hussain Magsi, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Riazul Haq, Maryam Aurangzaib, and Munir Khan Orakzai, along with the parliamentary secretary for water resources and Punjab irrigation minister attended the meeting.

Korean investors eager to explore Pakistani market: envoy South Korean Ambassador to Pakistan Kwak Sung Kyu said on Friday that the investment companies of his country were eager to invest in various sectors of Pakistan. Talking to Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur In Islamabad, the envoy lauded the measures of the incumbent government regarding investment and economic development. “Pakistan has a huge potential to become one of the strongest economies of the world, given that it makes consistent economic policies,” he remarked. Both sides discussed in detail bilateral relations between the two countries with particular reference to economic and social cooperation and other issues. Speaking on the occasion, Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur urged the South Korean companies to benefit from the lucrative investment opportunities in Pakistan. He highlighted the investment opportunities in various areas of Pakistan, particularly Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan. “Investors could get maximum returns on investments in these areas, especially in the tourism, minerals and hydel power sectors.” He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has a special vision regarding economic development of Pakistan in which foreign investment holds a key position. Gandapur said foreign tourists were showing a keen interest in visiting Pakistan owing to the soft visa policies and better facilities offered by the present regime. Lauding the role of Seoul in the economic development of Pakistan, Gandapur said that the South Korean companies have completed a number of important development projects in Pakistan. “Pakistan could also benefit from the Korean model of economic progress,” he added. BUsINess DesK

PTA terms American watchdog’s report on Pakistan as ‘biased’ ISLAMABAD sTaFF repOrT

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has released a detailed response to Michael J Abramowitz, President of the Freedom House – an NPO watchdog organization working for "freedom and democracy around the world", and negated the claims made in the report by the said NPO titled "Freedom on the Net: The Crisis of Social Media".

As per the report, PTA has responded to the claims in concern and have negated allegations of suspending internet services during elections time and of a new surveillance programme. The report read, "Most content of the said report is based on newspaper articles to which PTA has been responding from time to time as the articles contained inaccurate information.

The main report and country report seem heavily biased and one-sided in portraying internet freedom in Pakistan."

Clarifying the allegations, PTA's stated, "Data services were only temporarily suspended for a short period of time in certain areas during elections/processions or large public gatherings. This was done under relevant laws to ensure the security of the public."

On the issue of internet surveillance, PTA said, "Web Monitoring System (WMS) is being deployed by the telecom operators to facilitate in the identification and eradication of grey traffic causing huge loss to the national exchequer, and PTA's assigned roles as mandated under Pakistan’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA 2016). Any perception regarding WMS curtailing privacy or limiting the freedom of internet users is false."

In addition to answering the claims of the report, PTA also said that the country report on Pakistan was analyzed and discrepancies were found. "For instance it states…that 'over 800,000 websites are blocked, including political, religious

and social content'. Under PECA 2016, PTA has been mandated to block/remove unlawful content hosted on the internet.

This may include content, that is, blasphemous, indecent, pornographic, defamatory, impersonation, and anti-state etc. The figures reported here have been misquoted and misattributed to political, religious and other social content. PTA has blocked more than 830,000 pornographic web links."

On allegations that PTA was creating obstacles for service providers, the authority said that it has already clarified its position regarding media statements. "It is unfortunate that the report does not mention those [statements]. All procedures related to license renewals were based on established benchmarks, consultations with stakeholders, policy principles and market dynamics of Pakistan so that the Government of Pakistan, consumers and cellular mobile operators continue to benefit.

"This development will not only contribute towards the continued provision of better telecom services to the people of Pakistan but will also help in the promotion of competition and investment in the telecom sector of Pakistan. Moreover, two licensees have made a partial payment as per license renewal conditions in accordance with Court orders. Users continue to be provided with uninterrupted services."

With regard to content restriction/blocking, PTA clarified that the authority is mandated to block/remove unlawful content hosted on the internet. "The insinuation as presented on page 14 that 'PTA restricts content in a non-transparent and arbitrary fashion' is grossly incorrect. PTA takes necessary action for blocking/removing after thoroughly checking the reported content."

Political dissent in certain areas was also mentioned in the country report from Washington's NPO. On this, the PTA said,

"Under Article 19 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973, freedom of expression has been guaranteed, subject to any regulation and reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan. Moreover, militant groups inciting violence and promoting hate speech on the internet cannot be permitted to do so. PTA is working diligently under the law of the country and only takes action in accordance with the law.

"With regard to the government placing restrictions on anonymous connections mentioned on page 24; it is important to mention that all social media platforms also discourage anonymous users by removing or restricting such accounts/users since they carry wide implications and security risks. Furthermore, in 2015, as an added authentication step, it was mandated that all SIM cards must be verified through biometric fingerprints."

Saturday, 30 November, 2019

12 BUSINESS Pakistan receives $2.3bn in foreign loans in 4MFY20 ISLAMABAD sHaHZaD paraCHa

Pakistan received $2.3 billion loan from foreign donors in the first four months (July-Oct) of the current fiscal year (FY20). As per details, the government received loan worth $2.3 billion from different countries as well as multilateral donors in 4MFY20, against the yearly budget estimate of $12 billion. On a bilateral basis, Pakistan received $311 million loan from five countries, namely China ($295 million), France ($4.02 million), Japan ($5.73 million), South Korea ($1.69 million) and Saudi Arabia ($4.70 million). The country received $35 million from friendly countries in October alone. Similarly, the government received grants worth $161 million from different countries during the period under review. Grants from multilateral donors amounted to $33.71 million. Cumulatively, Pakistan received $2.5 billion worth loan and grant during the first four months of FY20. According to documents, the government received $1.02 billion loan from multilateral organisations such as Asian Development Bank ($563 million), International Development Association ($408 million), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development ($26 million), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD $25 million), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB $3 million) and Islamic Development Bank ($0.11 million).

Saudi Aramco IPO gets $44.3 billion in bids so far RIYADH: Saudi Aramco has received bids for its shares totalling $44.3 billion (34.5 billion pounds) so far, lead manager Samba Capital said on Friday, putting its initial public offering on track to be oversubscribed.The stateowned oil giant plans to sell 1.5pc of the company’s shares for as much as 96 billion riyals (19.9 billion pounds), a deal which would give it a market value of $1.7 trillion.Overall demand so far totals 1.7 times the amount of shares on offer, with institutional investors having until Dec 4 to put their bids in.In the first update on institutional investor interest in the listing, Samba said it had received bids from them worth 118.86 billion riyal.The retail tranche of the offering - which closed to subscribers on Thursday - has had bids totalling 47.4 billion riyals, around 1.5 times the amount of shares on offer to retail investors. While comfortably oversubscribed, the level of interest is relatively muted compared to other Saudi IPOs.When Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank listed in 2014 the retail portion was 23 times oversubscribed.Aramco is relying on local and regional demand to pull off its listing, after cancelling marketing roadshows outside the Gulf region due to a lack of interest from foreign institutional investors. aGeNCIes

BMW, Great Wall to build new China plant for electric cars MUNICH: BMW and its partner Great Wall Motor said they plan to build a plant in China with a capacity of 160,000 cars per year, and which will produce BMW’s electric MINI brand and Great Wall Motor models. The 650 million euro ($716 million) plant is due for completion in 2022. Automakers and suppliers are scrambling to meet tough new Chinese quotas for less polluting cars.

Those rules call for electric and rechargeable hybrid vehicles to account for a fifth of total sales by 2025. The new joint venture Spotlight Automotive, will be based in Zhangjiagang near Shanghai and eventually employ 3,000 staff. Earlier this month, Great Wall gained domestic regulatory approval for the new plant. Great Wall is China’s top sport utility vehicle and pick-up truck maker. It also builds Ora, an affordable battery electric vehicle brand in Baoding, the city where it is based. BMW is following the footsteps of larger peer Volkswagen, which is readying two Chinese factories to build electric cars next year, and which will have a combined production capacity of 600,000 vehicles. aGeNCIes

FBr chieF urGes traDers to help curtail smuGGlinG RAWALPINDI app

F

EDERAL Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Syed Shabbar Zaidi has sought traders’ help and cooperation in addressing the menace of smuggling. The FBR chairman made this request during a meeting with the members of Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI), according to a press statement issued on Friday.

Apprising the FBR chairman of the business community’s woes, RCCI President Saboor Malik said raids and closure of business centres propagate a negative message in the markets. “Such steps also hurt the honour, respect and goodwill of the businesses.”

The RCCI president urged the FBR chairman to stop conducting raids, in the garb of ‘crackdown’ against smuggled goods, at different business centres.

He noted that the national economy was passing through a difficult time, saying that it was imperative for the FBR to form a close liaison with the business community.

Speaking on the occasion, the FBR chairman assured traders that powers to impose penalties would be given to higher authority (Member FBR), who would evaluate the authenticity and then give permissions if required.

“Turnover tax will be reduced for small traders and businessmen on a case to case basis and its threshold will be increased. Hajj companies’ payment to Saudi Arabia under section 152 will be evaluated and exempted from withholding tax,” he added.

The FBR chairman assured the business community that no raids would be conducted on the offices of registered taxpayers.

BANKING SECTOR LAUDED: Separately, FBR Chairman Shabbar Zaidi on Friday expressed gratitude to the Pakistan Banks

Association (PBA) and presidents of all banks for showing willingness to withdraw pending litigation on furnishing of certain information.

“On behalf of FBR, I thank Pakistan Bank Association and Presidents of all the banks for agreeing to withdraw pending litigation on the matter of furnishing of certain information,” the FBR chief tweeted. “This positivity has been achieved by mutual consultation. A way forward of cooperation has opened.”

It is pertinent to mention that commercial banks had agreed to provide details of their account holders to the tax body.

As per the officials, the agreement would let the tax authorities to check the flow of undocumented money through banking channels.

The agreement was reached at a meeting between the FBR chairman and chief executives of commercial banks on November 27 at the Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU), Karachi.

mukesh ambani gears up to buy air india

MARKET DAILY

BUSINESS DESK

KSE-100 extends rally, rises 581 points KARACHI sTaFF repOrT

Stock extended rally once again on last trading session of the week. Indices drove north from the beginning with the benchmark KSE-100 Index cruising past the 39,000 mark. Foreign investors offloaded stocks for the fifth consecutive session on Thursday. A net outflow of $0.833 million was recorded.

On the economic front, foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank rose 2.84pc on a weekly basis, as per the data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday.

On November 22, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $8,682.3 million, up $240 million compared with $8,442.1 million in the previous week.

The central bank attributed the increase to official inflows. The overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $15,577.7 million. Net reserves held by banks amounted to $6,895.4 million.

The KSE-100 Index recorded its intraday high at 39,452.76 after gaining 746.49 points.

It closed higher by 581.38 points at 39,287.65. The KMI 30 index settled at 62,713.95 after accumulating 432.39 points.

While, the KSE All Share index ended higher by 399.40 points at 27,838.52.

The overall trading volumes improved significantly, from 348.53 million in the previous session to 431.85 million, with 261.74 million coming from the 100 index. The Bank of Punjab (BOP +3.84pc) topped the volume chart, followed by Pak Elektron Limited (PAEL +1.69pc) and K-Electric Limited (KEL +2.19pc). The scripts had with a volume of 51.84 million, 20.09 million and 16.43 million shares, respectively.

The KSE-100 Index's one-month return was recorded at 15pc or 5,083.97 points.

Sectors that helped the index stay in green throughout the day included banking (+277.06 points), power generation and distribution (+44.67 points) and cement sector (+31.29 points). Among the companies, Habib Bank Limited (HBL +96.84 points), United Bank Limited (UBL +76.06 points) and Hub Power Company Limited (HUBC +37.35 points) contributed maximum points to the index. The refinery sector managed to add 4.97pc to its cumulative market capitalization. Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited (BYCO +5.18pc), National Refinery Limited (NRL +5.00pc), Attock Refinery Limited (ATRL +4.22pc) and Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL +4.96pc) closed with decent gains.

The BJP government is all set for a second attempt to sell India's national carrier Air India and Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries is quickly emerging as the front runner among investors, a foreign media outlet reported. The central government has said that the national carrier will have to shut shop if the latest bid to sell the debt-ridden airline fails. On similar lines, a report from April 2019 had suggested that Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries was mulling interest in bailing out Air India. The last effort to privatise Air India by the BJP government a year and a half ago had failed to find buyers. While Reliance was not in the mix then, experts now put the spot on the Ambani conglomerate, which certainly has the buying power and currently not venture in the scheduled commercial aviation sector. As per comments from Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, running Air India will be difficult if not privatised. In fact, Puri said, "If we don't privatise Air India, where will we get the money to operate it? Right now, Air India is a first-class asset and we will get bidders if we sell it. And if we take ideological positions, then it will be difficult to run it." Furthermore, earlier in the month, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that the government aims to initiate the complete sale of Air India in March 2020. In April, two sources close to the development said that Reliance Industries was exploring an investment in Air India. However, Reliance did not file an official Expression of Interest (EoI) for Jet Airways. A Reliance Industries spokesperson had refused to comment but said that the company “evaluates various opportunities on an ongoing basis”. Another anonymous source had revealed that interest in Air India was a part of Reliance's overall plan, "It is a boardroom strategy and could be considered at a later stage. Discussions are slowly picking pace since the interested parties are of the view they still have time." Reliance Industries remained unavailable for comment.

German envoy apprised of opportunities in power, petroleum sectors ISLAMABAD sTaFF repOrT

Pakistan's energy sector is flourishing like never before, as it is offering around $60 billion worth of investment opportunities in its renewable energy generation, transmission and distribution system.

“The petroleum sector also offers huge oil and gas exploration opportunities in around 40 new sites, auctions for which will be conducted next month,” said Power and Petroleum Minister Omar Ayub Khan in a meeting with German Ambassador Bernhard Schlangheck on Friday.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Petroleum Nadeem Babar was also present on the occasion.

Apprising the German ambassador on the new renewable energy policy, the minister said for the first time, the provinces have been given a leading role in both decision making regarding new renewable energy projects as well as in their implementation.

"For this purpose, a steering committee having due representation of all provinces has been envisaged by the Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB)," he said. "The government has formulated a 25-year power generation and transmission plan in order to ensure the commissioning of new electricity projects in the country."

Meanwhile, Nadeem Babar informed the German envoy that a multi-year auction of bulk renewable energy projects is

under consideration on a competitive bidding basis. “It will be beneficial for the manufacturers of renewable energy products, providing them good size and term for their businesses besides creating considerable job opportunities in Pakistan,” he added.

Regarding the exploration of new oil and gas reservoirs, the German ambassador was apprised that due to the absence of a clear globally acceptable policy for exploration, there were few explorations as compared to the potential that Pakistan had. "Now after the policy has been revamped, the government is ready to auction around 35 offshore and 10 onshore sites for exploration from next months," Nadeem Babar said.

Omar Ayub Khan briefed the ambassador regarding the huge potential of per capita consumption of electricity in Pakistan that is currently around 500KW lower than China, which is 2500Kw per capita. This means that electricity consumption would further increase in Pakistan with the adoption of business friendly policies by the present government, he added.

The minister said that the government has formulated a Circular Debt Capping Plan to arrest the circular debt, which was growing by Rs39 billion per month during the previous government’s tenure. “Circular debt has now been successfully brought down to little more than Rs10 billion per month. This growth will be arrested by the end of

next year,” he added.

The minister also threw light on the steps taken by the present government to bring efficiency in the power sector.

He said due to extensive anti-theft campaigns, recovery drives and action against government employees, 80pc feeders across the country were now receiving uninterrupted power supply. "Besides, considerable investment has been made to introduce lastest technology, including AMI meters and Areal Bundled Cables in the DISCOs, to enhance their efficiency and reduce losses. The German envoy appreciated the government’s endeavours, saying that the entire developed world and their entrepreneurs were watching the developments in Pakistan and were ready to invest.

aneeSa, fouZIa and SaadIa aSad

adnan & hajra

london: Adnan Ansari of Riwayat London oragnised Lifestyle London Season 2 at 116 Pall Mall in London.

Ahsan Khan & Ushna Shah play lead roles in 7th Sky Entertainment Mega Project afZal & alIya

SaIMa & GeorGIa

aISha, ZaInab & Sunny

HOLLYWOOD BOLLYWOOD

hIra Shah

MaShaal & rubIna

7th Sky Entertainment, who has been ruling the small screen with some of the most popular TV shows, has started shoot for another mega project with Ushna Shah, Ahsan Khan, and Hina Altaf in the lead roles.

Ace producers of Pakistani drama industry Abdullah Kadwani and Asad Qureshi, popular for bringing a host of dramas spanning on a diverse range of genres are behind the "Bandhay Aik Dor Se” that has a star studded cast including Ushna Shah, Ahsan Khan, Hina Altaf, Saba Faisal, Saba Hameed, Samina Ahmed, Noor Hassan, and Madiha Rizvi in leading roles.

Penned down by the Dillagi famed Faiza Iftikhar and the talented Ali Faizan, the story is expected to be a love triangle between the lead characters.

The drama is expected to go on air in early 2020 on Geo Entertainment.

The 100 folds in a chef's toque are said to represent 100 ways to cook an egg.

In curling, good sportsmanship and politeness are essential. Congratulating opponents and abstaining from trash talk are part of what's known as the "Spirit of Curling."

MoTIa, aMIna & KoMal naSIr

ShahZad, aaMIr & MoIn

In 1974, the journal of applied behavior analysis published a paper titled "The unsuccessful SelfTreatment of a Case of 'Writer's block.'" It contained a total of zero words.

Maheen Khan

The Hound of Game of Thrones was homeless before the show release, reveals ‘I was in a tent and stealing food occasionally’ Actor Rory McCann, who impressed the audience with his role of The Hound in the global hit series Game Of Thrones, has revealed that he was homeless and stealing food until he bagged the project. During the Game of Thrones Reunion Special, which will only be available on the Game of Thrones: Seasons One to Eight DVD box set, Rory shared that his life was very different before he started shooting for the show.

“Two years ago I was in a tent - literally in a tent and stealing food occasionally. Eventually I got a job and sorted myself out, but then suddenly I’m getting driven around in a nice car in the biggest and best show in the world; just shows how your fortunes can change. Amazing. I managed to go back there and pay my library fines,” Rory said.

Pamela Anderson writes to PM Narendra Modi, urges him to support veganism

Ranveer Singh sports a new look, jokes about his blood group

Concerned by the deteriorating Air Quality Index of Delhi, actor and honorary director of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Pamela Anderson wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to do his bit to save the environment by serving only vegan food at all official meetings and functions of the government.

In her letter, she pointed out that the raising of animals for dairy, meat, and eggs accounted for 20% of all human-induced greenhouse gas emissions. “With your country’s innovation and agricultural history, I’m sure that India-produced soy and other versatile foods can easily replace these damaging foods,” she wrote.

Pamela cited the pro-vegan initiatives of New Zealand, China, and Germany and wrote, “I appeal to you to show that India can equal or best them.” She also said that the United Nations has advised a “global shift to vegan eating” to save the environment.

The letter also highlighted that eating wholly plant-derived food not only spares animals a painful death at the slaughterhouse.

Ranveer Singh has shared a new picture of himself on Instagram, cracking a joke about his blood group. The actor, who has begun prepping for Karan Johar’s Takht, seems to be mastering the bohemian look with confidence.

Sharing the picture on Instagram, Ranveer wrote, “Checked my blood group. It was G+” He is seen in a printed shirt with different zodiac symbols drawn on it and has paired it with a hat and aviators. He is also wearing gold earrings and a chain and sports a light beard.

The picture got more than 4 lakh ‘likes’ within an hour. Indian-American singer Raja Kumari, who was among the first ones to notice Ranveer’s picture, gave his new look her approval and wrote, “Ok! I see youuuu.” Filmmaker Karan Johar called it “Amazzzze.” A fan wrote, “Blood group is colorful like your dress.” Another called him, “Hotttttt as usual.” Referring to his wife Deepika Padukone, a fan wrote, “I thought it was DP+.”

Ranveer and Deepika recently celebrated their first wedding anniversary.

CMYK

Saturday, 30 November, 2019

14 SPORTS

EmEry rEachEs brEaking point as arsEnal crash in Europa lEaguE LONDON

u

AGENCIES

NAI Emery’s future as Arsenal coach was plunged into further doubt when the Gunners slumped to a 2-1 loss in the Europa League against Eintracht Frankfurt but the Spaniard said he did not fear for his job.

Arsenal are now winless in seven games, the club’s worst run since 1992.

Emery shrugged off multiple questions regarding his position during the post-match press conference.

“Now our moment is not good.

We need to win, take confidence and I think we are better than we are showing. The players, the coaches and myself,” 48-year-old Emery said.

“I am thinking about the next match (against Norwich on Sunday) and how we can improve.

“My work and my job is firstly analysing that match, how we are in the Europa League, in our feelings and how we are going to play on Sunday.”

Japan midfielder Daichi Kamada scored a second-half double for Eintracht after captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had opened the scoring in first half injury time for Arsenal inside a half-full Emirates Stadium.

Boos from the lowest attendance at the ground since it opened in 2006

greeted Emery and his misfiring team at the final whistle while some disgruntled fans held up banners demanding ‘Emery Out’.

Aubameyang struck home just before the half-time whistle with a low effort for his ninth goal in 14 matches.

Kamada’s equaliser came 10 minutes later as he curled a tidy shot past Emiliano Martinez before adding his second on 64 minutes with a drive from outside the box to inflict a first home defeat of the campaign on Emery’s men.

The Gunners are still on course for a last 32 place if they draw with Standard Liege on December 12.

Scottish champions Celtic

clinched top spot in Group E with a 3-1 win over Rennes while Wolves reached the knockout stages with a 3-3 draw at fellow qualifiers Braga in Group K. Rangers drew 2-2 at Feyenoord to hold top spot in Group G with a one point lead ahead of their last game against Young Boys.

Earlier, Roma’s Lorenzo Pellegrini was hit by coins as the Italian club kept their last 32 hopes alive with a 3-0 victory at Istanbul Basaksehir.

Attacking midfielder Pellegrini had his head bandaged after he was struck by multiple coins with an hour of the game played after Jordan Veretout, Justin Kluivert and Edin Dzeko had claimed the advantage for

the Serie A outfit in Turkey.

The visitors remain in contention for a knock-out spot and sit behind leaders Borussia Moenchengladbach, who beat Austrians Wolfsberg 1-0, on goal difference with the Turkish side a point behind on seven.

– Kazakhs teach United kids a lesson – Elsewhere, Kazakh champions Astana fought back to surprise a youthful Manchester United 2-1.

United captain Jesse Lingard opened the scoring, who had already reached the last 32, before Dmitri Shomko equalised for the home side.

Di’Shon Bernard, 19, then put through his own goal to hand Astana victory over a United side whose average age was just 22.

United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made 11 changes from Sunday’s draw with Sheffield United by handing senior debuts to teenagers Ethan Laird, Dylan Levitt and Bernard as well as naming cancer survivor Max Taylor on the bench. Solskjaer said some of the youngsters on show put their hands up to feature against Alkmaar in the final round of group matches on December 12.

“At times we were excellent but there were spells when we let them push us back. That cost us in the end,” he said.

Bottas tops practice times for Abu Dhabi grand prix ABU DHABI AGENCIES

Valtteri Bottas topped the times for Mercedes ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in Friday’s opening free practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The Finn, who is assured already of finishing second behind six-time champion Hamilton in this year’s title race, clocked a best time of one minute and 36.957 seconds to outpace Verstappen by half a second and Hamilton by six-tenths.

Bottas, who announced the break-up of his marriage on Thursday, will start from the back of the grid on Sunday regardless of how he does in qualifying after being sanctioned for taking a new power-unit.

He clocked his best lap on a set of medium tyres midway through a session stopped twice for red flags following a blown engine in Daniel

Ricciardo’s Renault and a late crash

by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

The four-time champion Vettel had arrived late at the circuit on Friday morning following the birth of his third child, a son, on Wednesday.

Red Bull new boy Alex Albon was fourth, Vettel fifth and Romain Grosjean sixth for Haas ahead of Charles Leclerc in the second Ferrari, Kevin Magnussen in the second Haas, Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giov-

inazzi and Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg who is set to start his final Grand Prix with the team.

Bottas dominated the session from the start and was only replaced briefly early on by Hamilton before the stoppages on a hot day of blue skies at the Yas Marina circuit.

Ricciardo’s engine failure dumped a lot of oil on the track, which led to a 10-minute clean-up before the action resumed and Vettel

spun backwards into the barriers.

Williams’s George Russell took part in the session and wound up 20th despite doubts about his fitness due to illness. He went through a medical check before taking part.

Hamilton ran briefly in the session with number one on the nose of his car and, when asked earlier about Bottas’ private predicament, said that balancing the demands of racing with a full private life was dificult.

He congratulated Vettel on the new addition to his family while sympathising with Bottas following the split with wife Emilia, an Olympic swimmer and a horse show jumping rider, after three years’ marriage.

“It’s similar to most sportsmen and women, but it may actually be slightly different in that we are away for crazy amounts of time,” he said.

“I for one also find that incredibly difficult, with your goal to be as competitive as you can be, but there are those who manage it — like Seb.”

'true gentleman' - tributes as ex-australia coach pim Verbeek dies at 63 PERTH AGENCIES

Former players and officials paid tribute on Friday after Pim Verbeek, who coached the Socceroos at the 2010 World Cup and also saw success with South Korea and Oman, died from cancer at the age of 63.

Tim Cahill and Mark Schwarzer, who both played under the Dutchman at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, called him a “gentleman”, while Football Federation Australia said he would be sadly missed.

“Pim made a great mark on Australian football, and is fondly remembered by the people that worked closely with him, many members of the media, as well as the public,” said FFA chairman Chris Nikou. “Pim’s record as coach of the Socceroos can only be looked back on as strong, however the outpouring of sincere sentiments since news of his passing filtered through highlights the esteem in which he was kept by many.”

Verbeek was assistant coach of the Koreans at the 2002 World Cup, when they reached the semi-finals under Guus Hiddink, and at the 2006 tournament. After taking over from Dick Advocaat as head coach in 2006, Verbeek led South Korea to third place at the 2007 Asian Cup before becoming Australia coach just weeks before World Cup qualifying began. Verbeek duly guided the Socceroos to their second straight World Cup in 2010, where they lost 4-0 to Germany, drew 1-1 with Ghana and beat Serbia 2-1, missing out on the knockout phase on goal difference. “So sad to lose such a gentleman and someone who I respected a lot as a manager and person. Rest in peace Pim Verbeek,” tweeted Cahill, while Schwarzer called the news “heartbreaking”. “Very sad and heartbreaking news today of Pim Verbeek’s passing,” wrote the former goalkeeper. “He was an amazing human being, a true gentleman with an infectious smile. Someone I have had the privilege to call a friend. You will never be forgotten.” Verbeek managed the Socceroos in 33 matches, securing 18 wins and nine draws. He spent his entire playing career at Sparta Rotterdam before injury forced his retirement at the age of just 25. In his later years as a coach, Verbeek coached Morocco’s Under-23s for three years before taking over Oman in 2016, leading them to the last 16 for the first time at this year’s Asian Cup. After Oman were knocked out

by Iran, Verbeek announced his retirement, saying it would be his last job in football. “Those who enjoyed the 2002 World Cup will always remember Hiddink and Verbeek. I hope he rests in peace,” one South Korean fan wrote on Twitter. “Thanks for the happy memories,” added another.

Football: Euro 2020 venues MADRID AGENCIES

The draw for the Euro 2020 finals takes place in Bucharest on Saturday at 1700 GMT, with just over six months to go until the start of the 24-team tournament, which for the first time will be played in 12 cities across the continent.

Here is a factfile of the 12 venues: Rome Stadio Olimpico (capacity 68,000) Opened in 1953 Home of Lazio and Roma Four matches: Three Group A matches, all involving Italy, on June 12, June 17 and June 21 One quarter-final on July 4 Baku Olympic Stadium (capacity 69,000) Opened in 2015 Home of Azerbaijan national team and venue for 2019 Europa League final Four matches: Three Group A matches on June 13, June 17 and June 21 One quarter-final on July 4 Copenhagen Parken Stadium (capacity 38,000) Opened in 1992

Home of FC Copenhagen Four matches: Three Group B matches, all involving Denmark, on June 13, June 18 and June 22 One Round of 16 match on June 29 Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg Stadium (capacity 61,000) Opened in 2017 Home of Zenit Saint Petersburg Four matches: Three Group B matches on June 13, June 17 and June 22 (two of these matches will involve Russia) One quarter-final on July 3 Amsterdam Johan Cruyff Arena (capacity 54,000) Opened in 1996 Home of Ajax Four matches: Three Group C matches, all involving Netherlands, on June 14, June 18 and June 22 One Round of 16 match on June 27 Bucharest Arena Nationala (capacity 54,000) Reopened in 2001 Home of Romanian national team as well as FCSB and Dinamo Bucharest games

Four matches: Three Group C matches on June 14, June 18 and June 22 One Round of 16 match on June 29 London Wembley Stadium (capacity 90,000) Reopened following renovation in 2007 Home of England national team Seven matches: Three Group D matches, all involving England, on June 14, June 19 and June 23 One Round of 16 match on June 27 Both semi-finals on July 7 and July 8 The final on July 12 Glasgow Hampden Park (capacity 51,000) Opened in 1903 Home of Scotland national team and Queen’s Park Four matches: Three Group D matches on June 15, June 19 and June 23 One Round of 16 match on June 30 Bilbao San Mames (capacity 53,000) Opened in 2013 Home of Athletic Bilbao Four matches: Three Group E matches, all involving Spain, on June 15, June 20 and June 24

CMYK

One Round of 16 match on June 28 Dublin Dublin Arena (capacity 51,000) Renovation completed in 2010 Home of Republic of Ireland national team and Irish Rugby Four matches: Three Group E matches on June 15, June 19 and June 24 One Round of 16 match on June 30 Budapest Puskas Arena (capacity 68,000) Opened in November 2019

Home of Hungary national team Four matches: Three Group F matches on June 16, June 20 and June 24 One Round of 16 match on June 28 Munich Football Arena Munich (capacity 70,000) Opened in 2005 Home of Bayern Munich Four matches: Three Group F matches, all involving Germany, on June 16, June 20 and June 24 One quarter-final on July 3

Saturday, 30 November, 2019

latham ton puts nEw ZEaland in solid position against England HAMILTON

t

AGENCIES

OM Latham’s unbeaten hundred and his century stand with Ross Taylor laid a solid foundation for New Zealand before rain brought an early end today one of the second Test against England in Hamilton on Friday.

Latham was on 101 when the rain swept in, just three deliveries after the tea break with New Zealand 173 for three.

While Latham played down his 11th Test century as “nice”, England were left to regret dropping the left-hander on 66 and not meeting expectations after winning the toss and bowling first.

“On day one of a Test match if you get a team six or seven down by the close you’ve probably had a pretty good day,” said Chris Woakes who took two of the three wickets to fall.

Woakes was added to the England line up to give them five seamers on a wicket renowned to assist the side bowling first.

Instead, England toiled for little reward, saw Ross Taylor benefit from a dubious decision during a century partnership with Latham and lost the use of Ben Stokes as a bowling weapon.

Stokes, who was also responsible for dropping Latham, felt pain in his left knee after bowling two overs and will be assessed overnight to see whether he can bowl again during the innings.

Latham has now scored five centuries in the last 10 Test innings but preferred to talk about “a reasonably good day” for New Zealand rather than focus on himself.

“Hopefully we can keep going and put a good score on the board,” he added, mindful that he had failed in the first Test when New Zealand posted 615 for nine declared to beat England by an innings.

His 11th century lifted him to equal sixth on

the New Zealand century-makers list headed by Kane Williamson with 20.

Williamson, however, was off his best this innings when he was dismissed for four in a rocky start for New Zealand after Jeet Raval was removed for five.

But from two for 39, Latham and Taylor put on 116 for the third wicket when Taylor went for 53 to have New Zealand three for 155.

All three wickets were to catches by England captain Joe Root at first slip.

Taylor also received a let-off which proved costly for England when he was hit on the pads by Stuart Broad and given out.

After conferring with Latham, Taylor sought a review which saw the dismissal overturned when slow-motion video replays detected a faint sound

after the ball passed the bat but had not reached the pads.

TV Umpire Bruce Oxenford believed it could only have come from an inside edge, keeping Taylor safe although there appeared to be no concrete evidence to prove this.

A relieved Taylor batted on to bring up his 32nd Test half-century with a four and was dismissed on the next ball.

After New Zealand had lost the wickets of Raval and Williamson cheaply, Latham and Taylor dominated for nearly 34 overs to rescue the innings.

Latham has 15 fours in his 101 off 164 deliveries while Taylor faced 100 balls for his half-century which included eight boundaries.

Woakes finished the day with two for 41 while Broad had one for 33.

Philippines' Duterte calls for probe after chaotic SEA Games build-up MANILA AGENCIES

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has called for a probe into the preparations for the Southeast Asian Games, which start on Saturday after a messy build-up marked by last-minute construction and logistical problems.

Complaints over transport, accommodation and food stacked up as thousands of athletes flood in for the biggest ever edition of the Games, which are also threatened by an approaching typhoon forecast to hit the northern Philippines early next week.

Red-faced organisers apologised and promised to do better, but after criticism grew under a mocking hashtag, #SEAGamesfail, Duterte waded into the furore late Thursday.

“I said let us investigate. Do not create a firestorm now because we are in the thick of preparations,” he told reporters. “To me personally there was a lot of money poured into this activity,” he added. “Now I suppose that with that kind of money you can run things smoothly. Apparently, maybe something went wrong.”

Earlier, however, the PHISGOC organising committee chairman Alan Peter Cayetano remained upbeat.

“First and foremost, this is going to be a great hosting,” he said. “You

will be very, very proud of your country, of your athletes once the SEA Games are over.”

In matters out of its own hands, the Philippines is also bracing for a typhoon which national forecasters warn is steadily intensifying.

PAGASA said Typhoon Kammuri — which is packing gusts of 170 kilometres (87 miles) per hour and maximum sustained winds of 140 kph — is presently heading right for Games venues in the north of the country and is expected to make landfall on Tuesday.

– Tight security – This year’s Games in Clark,

Manila and Subic, which run through to December 11, are particularly complex with a record 56 sports across dozens of venues that are in some cases hours’ drive apart, even before Manila’s notorious gridlock traffic is factored in.

The vast scale of the multi-sport event has included erecting a massive sports complex in New Clark City, which is at least two hours’ drive north from the capital.

The Philippines’ path towards Saturday’s opening ceremony — an all-singing, all-dancing celebration of the island nation — has been tortuous from the start.

Manila in July 2017 suddenly pulled out of hosting the Games to focus on rebuilding the southern city of Marawi which was heavily damaged during seige by jihadists.

But officials made a U-turn just one month later after securing backing from Duterte.

Security remains a top concern, and police have increased visibility at nightspots near competition venues and suspended Filipinos’ right to carry firearms outside their homes.

Almost 16,000 policemen are deployed in various parts of greater Manila, particularly in the venues and hotels where athletes and other delegations are billeted.

– Home advantage – The Philippines, which last hosted the biennial games in 2005, is aiming to win the most medals, and history is on their side: seven of the last 11 SEA Games hosts have topped the table, reflecting the tradition of rewriting the sporting programme to suit local strengths.

Malaysia topped the table two years ago with home advantage in Kuala Lumpur, ahead of Thailand and Vietnam, with the Philippines in sixth place. Around 8,750 athletes and team officials are expected at this year’s edition, and there are some 12,000 volunteers.

SPORTS 15 Emery axed as arsenal boss after worst run in decades FRANKFURT AGENCIES

Unai Emery was sacked as Arsenal manager Friday after less than two years in charge and with the club without a win in seven games, their worst run since 1992. The 48-year-old Spaniard was fired following the 2-1 home defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in Thursday’s Europa League match. His assistant Freddie Ljungberg takes over as interim manager during the search for a permanent replacement.

Arsenal fans had demanded “decisive action” from directors with the club’s present run of five draws and two defeats this season just one match off equalling George Graham’s run of eight without a win in 1992. Club directors responded by axing the man appointed in May 2018o to revive a club stagnating after two decades under Frenchman Arsene Wenger. “We announce today that the decision has been taken to part company with our head coach Unai Emery and his coaching team,” read the statement. “We have asked Freddie Ljungberg to take responsibility for the first team as interim head coach. “The search for a new head coach is underway and we will make a further announcement when that process is complete.” Ljungberg will be the first Swedish manager to take charge of a Premier League game since Sven-Göran Eriksson, whose last game in the competition came in May 2008 in charge of Manchester City. Among those in the mix for the permanent job include former Gunners star Mikel Arteta, Pep Guardiola’s assistant at champions Manchester City, ex-Juventus handler Massimiliano Allegri and Wolves Portuguese manager Nuno Espirito Santo. Napoli’s coach Carlo Ancelotti is another name that has entered the reckoning — he won the domestic double in the 2009/10 campaign when in charge of Chelsea — but Santo is the early bookies favourite at 11/10.

However, one thing that may work against Santo, 45, is his two spells in charge of relatively high profile clubs Valencia and Porto were not blessed with success. – ‘Rejuvenation’ – Arsenal’s league form has fallen away badly with five Premier League matches without a win — they are the only side in the top half of the table with a negative goal difference. Emery’s cause has not been helped by the stripping of the captaincy from fiery Swiss international Granit Xhaka after he swore at Gunners fans when being substituted against Crystal Palace last month. And a potential saviour, Gunners record signing Pepe, has been a huge disappointment since his £72 million ($93 million) move from French Ligue 1 outfit Lille in the close season. Emery’s position had looked shaky enough when north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur sacked Mauricio Pochettino last week only months after taking them to the Champions League final. The former Paris Saint Germain handler’s first season ended in disappointment. Arsenal blew two chances for a return to the Champions League, winning just one of their last five games to finish fifth in the Premier League and then losing the Europa League final 4-1 to Chelsea. “Our most sincere thanks go to Unai and his colleagues who were unrelenting in their efforts to get the club back to competing at the level we all expect and demand,” read the club statement. “We wish Unai and his team nothing but future success.

“The decision has been taken due to results and performances not being at the level required.” The board, though, and especially unpopular American owner Stan Kroenke are seen as part of the problem by the supporters. The influential Arsenal Supporters’ Trust, the official supporters’ club, issued a statement welcoming the departure of Emery but calling for further radical changes. “Emery’s departure is the easy part,” read their statement. “The more difficult challenge is to recruit a suitable successor. “We are far from certain that Arsenal has the right personnel to lead this process. “If Arsenal are to genuinely move forward from today it requires not only a new head coach appointment but also a rejuvenation of the boardroom.”

Mo Farah says targeting track return at Tokyo Olympics LONDON AGENCIES

Mo Farah announced Friday he was targeting a return to the track to compete in the 10,000 metres at next year’s Olympic Games.

The Briton has won double gold at each of the last two Olympics, taking the 5,000m and 10,000m crowns in London and Rio, but switched to the marathon in 2017.

Farah, 36, won the Chicago Marathon in 2018 but has decided to return to the track, admitting the marathon had been “a learning curve”.

“The big news is I’m back on the track in the 10,000m in Tokyo next year,”

he said on his YouTube channel.

“I hope I haven’t lost my speed but I’ll train hard for it and see what I can do.”

Farah slashed 37 seconds off the European record with a time of 2hr 5min 11sec when he won in Chicago but with Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge ruling the marathon world, the Briton was never as dominant at the longer distance as he had been on the track.

“To win the Chicago Marathon was nice, to finish third in London was OK, it was good. It’s been a learning curve for me,” he continued. “(But) next year I’ve decided, Tokyo 2020, I’m gonna be back on the track. I’m really excited to be competing back on the track and give it a go in the 10,000m.”

Farah has come under intense scrutiny for his cooperation with US coach Alberto Salazar, who has been banned for four years by the US anti-doping authorities.

Farah broke off cooperation with Salazar in 2017.

UK Athletics on Thursday announced a review into its dealings with the coach and his Nike Oregon Project.

The federation’s performance director Neil Black, who once described Salazar as a genius, left his role in October.

Before running in this year’s Chicago Marathon, Farah responded angrily to media questions about his time with Salazar, saying “I was never given anything”.

CMYK

Saturday, 30 November, 2019

NEWS iraq’s Pm to resign after violence leaves 40 dead BAGHDAD: Iraq’s prime minister has announced that he is resigning in the wake of deadly anti-government protests. Adel AbdulMahdi’s announcement was broadcast on state television, just over a year after he took office. It comes a day after more than 40 protesters were killed by Iraqi security forces, and hours after the country’s top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, called for a change in leadership. In a statement, Mr Abdul-Mahdi said: “In response to this call [from the Shiite cleric], and in order to facilitate it as quickly as possible, I will present to parliament a demand (to accept) my resignation from the leadership of the current government.” The announcement gave no indication of a specific time frame, but parliament is due to convene on Sunday. Iraq has been in midst of anti-government protests for weeks, where an estimated 400 mostlypeaceful activists have been killed. Protesters are angry with the level of corruption, the poor performance of the economy and the lack of public services in Iraq. Many people in the country face frequent power outages, and end up using privately funded generators to keep the lights on. Protesters are not just calling for government resignations, but widespread changes to the way the country is run. Mr Abdul-Mahdi had previously offered the activists a reform and re-shuffle package – but was rejected. Agencies

London Bridge: two killed in stabbing attack LONDON: Two members of the public have died after a stabbing attack at London Bridge, in which police also shot dead the suspect. The Met Police has declared the attack a terrorist incident. The suspect, who died at the scene, was believed to have been wearing a hoax explosive device, police said. Videos on social media appear to show passers-by holding down a man. An officer arrives, seems to indicate to the group to move, and fires a shot. A Whitehall source confirmed two members of the public died to the BBC but gave no further information. Details are still emerging and Neil Basu, the head of UK counter-terrorism policing, said the force was keeping an open mind over the motive. He said officers were called to a stabbing at premises near the bridge just before 14:00. BBC journalist John McManus, who was at the scene as it unfolded, said he had seen a struggle on the bridge, with several men restraining one man. Police then arrived quickly and a number of shots were fired at him, he said. In footage shared on social media, the man could be seen being pinned down by members of the public. Another man in a suit could be seen running from him, having apparently retrieved a large knife. Mr Basu told a press conference: “A male suspect was shot by specialist armed officers from City of London police and I can confirm that this suspect died at the scene.” Agencies

StudentS acroSS PakiStan march for unionS, freedom LAHORE

t

ZAki AbbAs

HOUSANDS of students and civil society activists held demonstrations in at least two dozen cities of the country in a protest against the budget cuts in higher education, growing militarisation on campuses, and ban on student unions.

The annual student march, organised by the Progressive Student Collective (PSC) in major and small cities, including Lahore, Karachi, Hyderabad, Quetta, Islamabad and Peshawar, saw the participation of members of civil society, leftists and progressive academics, who expressed their support for the cause.

In Lahore, a large number of students started gathering at Nasir Bagh and then marched towards Charing Cross (Faisal Chowk) amid chants of ‘Students want Freedom’ to hold a brief sit-in outside the Punjab Assembly.

The impressive turn-out in Lahore was owing to the month-long efforts of the organisers, which also caught the mainstream media’s eye after a video of students singing revolutionary anthems went viral on the eve of the Faiz Festival.

Speaking to Pakistan Today, Ammar Ali Jan, a professor at the Forman Christian College University (FCCU), said that anger among students was simmering for a long time and the recent cuts in higher education, harassment in universities, antipeople policies of the government had added fuel to the fire and students were forced to take to streets to get their voices heard. Mohiba Ahmed of the PSC told Pakistan Today that the students showed up in

large numbers because the space for freedom of expression was shrinking every day on campuses.

“They cannot expect us to face harassment on campuses and stay silent,” she said alluding to a recent scandal at the Balochistan University, which revealed the collusion of university staff and security personnel posted there in blackmailing the students.

“Militarisation of the educational institutes is a major issue among the countless problems faced by students,” she added.

A student, Muhammad Irfan said the private educational institutes treat students as ‘slaves’; they have no say in the policies concerning students nor are they allowed to protest against the policies. “If we go public with our reservation, we risk a suspension,” he added.

In an interesting development,

the administration of the Government College University (GCU) locked the main gates of the campus in a bid to stop its students from participating in the demonstration when it started congregating at Nasir Bagh.

KARACHI: In Karachi, protesters, among them students, parents, civil society, gathered at Regal Chowk and then marched towards the Karachi Press Club. Rights activist Jibran Nasir, while speaking to the media, said: “I have come to support our country’s future. Students are our future. We must realise that our future will never be bright if we keep on lighting monuments of the past.”

“Any real and new leadership that comes forth in the country, will not cross through the corridors of Aabpaara and Pindi. It will come from colleges and universities,” said Nasir, referring to the military handpicking the politicians to rule the

country. Balochistan and GilgitBaltistan students also took part in the rally in Karachi.

ISLAMABAD & PESHAWAR: In Islamabad, a large number of students gathered outside the National Press Club where they staged a demonstration in support of their demands. Similar scenes were reported from Peshawar where a large turnout of students demanded access to higher education and restoration of student unions.

‘UNIONS NEED TO BE RESTORED’: The revival of student unions— highlight of the march—was also supported by politicians, including Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. In a tweet, he said: “The PPP has always supported student unions. The restoration of student unions by SMBB was purposely undone to depoliticise society.”

Parliamentary committee to interview new judges ISLAMABAD sTAFF RePORT

A meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Appointment of Judges headed by PTI MNA Ali Muhammad Khan on Friday amended the rules for appointment of judges.

As per the new amendments, the parliamentary committee can summon any nominated judge for interview. If the candidate fails to appear before the committee, his/her nomination for the post would be considered as rejected.

The process regarding rejected cases has also been introduced in new rules. The parliamentary com-

mittee has the right to form a subcommittee and if any member remains absent during three consecutive sessions, his/her membership will be cancelled. The new chairman of the committee will be appointed in the next session on December 4 for the next six months.

Commenting on the development, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) former president Syed Ali Zafar told Pakistan Today that there was nothing wrong in parliamentary oversight on judges’ appointment.

“I think the parliamentary committee has decided to scrutinise the judicial appointments, which is now

a norm worldwide. Parliamentary oversight and interviews are a tradition in US and now it’s the right of the parliament if they are opting for it. In my view there is nothing wrong with the decision of the parliamentary committee,” he added.

Another former SCBA president Kamran Murtaza opposed parliamentary oversight on judges’ appointment, saying it was a technical issue and should be dealt by professionals.

“Judiciary is a profession par excellence and a judge of superior court has to be interviewed by people who have technical knowledge about the profession. Parliamentarians may be very knowledgeable but they may not

have technical knowledge on law. So I think that parliamentary oversight may not be a good idea,” he added.

Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz’s legal wizard Ashtar Ausaf Ali said that there was no harm in interviewing the judges before their appointment.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Punjab President Qamar Zaman Kaira said that his party had originally floated the idea but it was shot down by the then chief justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry.

“There must be a parliamentary oversight on judges’ appointment. It will bode well for the country,” he said.

Amid 'air apocalypse', mask-clad Lahore looks for answers LAHORE Agencies

When black smoke from burning rice stubble in nearby India swept into Lahore – one of Pakistan’s largest and wealthiest cities – earlier this month, outraged residents declared an “air apocalypse” and the provincial government shut down schools.

But even the city’s own thick autumn smog – driven in large part by emissions from polluting vehicles – is becoming a significant threat to health and basic rights, residents and human rights groups warn.

“Air pollution … claims tens of thousands of lives, devastates the health of millions, and denies other rights, like the right to education, when children cannot go to school,” said Omar Waraich, South Asia campaign director for Amnesty International. “This is a human rights crisis,” he said.

This autumn, Lahore’s worsening air quality has led it to overtake New Delhi

on some days as the most polluted city in the world, according to the communityled Pakistan Air Quality Initiative.

“Both Lahore and Delhi now have a similar number of days of very unhealthy or hazardous air pollution” said Abid Omar, a founder of the non-profit initiative.

Since October, the city of more than 10 million has been engulfed most days by a smoky, chemical haze that is relieved only briefly when it rains.

Warmer air layers above the cooler air at ground level act like a lid that keeps the pollutants close to the ground, according to Pakistan’s Meteorological Department. Across the city, many residents now wear disposable anti-pollution masks – but they are a poor fit for the faces of vulnerable young children, residents say.

Air quality is so bad that it exceeds even the worst ratings of the World Health Organisation, said Attiya Noon, an air quality activist in Lahore and the mother of three young children.

Pollution “is now beyond the index” – which means serious consequences for the city’s health, said Noon, a member of the Punjab government’s newly set up Smog Committee.

The committee was hurriedly established earlier this month when air quality levels became so hazardous in Punjab’s capital that schools had to be shut down three times, and social media channels erupted with outrage. The smog group now aims to find both immediate and longer-term ways to reduce pollution.

Mahbina Waheed, a Lahore entrepreneur and another member of the committee, said the creation of the group was one sign the provincial government was taking the problem seriously.

“With the last government we felt we were helpless and were spiraling into this abyss with all the focus on building new roads. Now with this new government we can raise our voices and they are heard,” she said.

MORE MONITORING: One of the quick fixes the activists are proposing is

to require students to ride buses to school, rather than arriving in many more individual cars.

Countries such as China and Iran have used school closures as a way of curbing smog emergencies, Noon noted.

Malik Amin Aslam, an adviser to the country’s prime minister on climate change, attended early meetings of the Smog Committee and said Lahore needed “more high-quality air monitoring stations and actionable data.” New Delhi, he said, has 37 official air monitoring stations, while Lahore has just four.

The World Bank plans to provide 30 new monitors in Pakistan, including 10 in Lahore, with the aim of having them in place within six months, he said.

‘In Lahore, smog touches alarming levels in nearly two years’ The biggest driver of the city’s pollution, Aslam said, is vehicles, which contribute 43% of the smog. Burning of crop stubble, steel manufacturing furnaces and brick kilns are other major sources, he said.

Omar, of the Pakistan Air Quality Initiative, said mandating the use of cleaner fuels should be a top priority.

“While closing schools or low weekend traffic have a marginal impact, our transportation and industrial sectors never sleep,” he said.

Aslam said he would take up fuel standards with the country’s oil ministry and urge them to import higher quality diesel.

He said he also planned to introduce vehicle inspection systems in Punjab province in the coming months to keep a check on polluting vehicles.

As well, Pakistan’s cabinet recently passed a new electric transport policy, which aims to shift 30% of vehicles on the country’s roads to electric power by 2030.

Aslam said the World Bank also plans to provide $55 million to help Punjab steel and brick plants shift to cleaner technologies, and to help farmers find alternatives to burning crop residues by next year.

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

CMYK