CMYK
8 December, 2019 I 10 Rabi-ul-Sani, 1441 I Rs 27.00 I Vol X No 158 I 68 Pages I Islamabad Edition
US openS firSt roUnd of reSUrrected peace talkS with taliban
PML-N discusses Bajwa extension, ECP issue in London huddle
STORY ON BACK PAGE
London calling: Maryam moves LHC for permission to travel to UK
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S peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad held on Saturday the first official talks with Afghanistan’s Taliban since President Donald Trump declared a near-certain peace deal with the insurgents dead in September. The talks will initially focus on getting a Taliban promise to reduce violence, with a permanent cease-fire being the eventual goal, said a US statement. Khalilzad is also trying to lay the groundwork for negotiations between Afghans on both sides of the protracted conflict. The meetings being held in the Middle Eastern State of Qatar, where the Taliban maintain a political office, follow several days of talks in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, where Khalilzad met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. The Taliban have so far refused direct talks
with Ghani calling him a US puppet. Ghani leads the Afghan government with Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah in a power-sharing agreement brokered by the United States after the presidential elections in 2014 were so deeply mired in corruption that a clear winner could not be determined. To head off conflict, Washington stepped in and forced the two leading candidates Ghani and Abdullah to share power in a so-called Unity Government that has been largely paralysed because of the relentless bickering between the two leaders. The Afghan government is now embroiled in a fresh elections standoff. Presidential polls on September 28 again ended in accusations of misconduct, with no results yet announced. Repeat leading contender Abdullah has challenged the recounting of several hundred thousand ballots, accusing his opponent Ghani of trying to manipulate the tally.
Meanwhile, Khalilzad’s return to his peace mission followed Trump’s surprise Thanksgiving Day visit to Afghanistan in which he said talks with the Taliban were back on. While Khalilzad is talking to the Taliban about reducing violence, the US military in its daily report said overnight on Saturday US airstrikes killed 37 Taliban and operations by the Afghan National Security Forces killed another 22 of the militants. The insurgents have continued to carry put near daily strikes against military outposts throughout the country. They now hold sway over nearly half of Afghanistan. Trump has expressed frustration with America’s longest war repeatedly saying he wants to bring the estimated 12,000 US soldiers home and calling on Afghanistan’s own police and military to step up. The Afghan government has also been criticised for its relentless corruption.
Death toll in Baghdad attack rises to 23
STORY ON PAGE 02
Fawad Alam returns to Pakistan’s Test squad for Sri Lanka series STORY ON PAGE 15
US and Iran swap prisoners in rare act of cooperation
STORY ON BACK PAGE
STORY ON PAGE 10
CMYK
CMYK Sunday, 8 December, 2019
02 ISLAMABAD iHC to hear nawaz's al-azizia plea on Dec 18
KARACHI: PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah inaugurate Tariq Road intersection to mark the start of Seven Development Projects. ppi
ISLAMABAD staff RepoRt
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) is set to hear former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s appeal against his sentence in Al-Azizia reference on December 18. The IHC registrar office issued a cause list and the court has fixed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) petition in the same case to extend the erstwhile premier’s sentence for hearing on the same day. An IHC division bench – comprising Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani – will conduct the hearing. A decision will be made regarding judge Arshad Malik’s video case before Nawaz Sharif’s main petition. Nasir Butt – a central character in the video scandal – had requested to become a party in the erstwhile premier’s appeal. It is pertinent here to mention that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) supremo had requested to make five persons as eyewitnesses in the case, including a British expert.
Nation awaits Shehbaz’s response 18 questions: Firdous Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan Saturday said the whole nation was still awaiting the answers of 18 questions put by the government on Shehbaz Sharif’s money laundering. “The nation wants to know the answers of 18 questions about money laundering committed by Shehbaz Sharif through specially hired cash boys from his Model Town residence and office,” she said while talking to media persons here. She said instead of responding to the money laundering allegations, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) spokesmen were trying to divert public attention by unduly criticizing the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government just in the animosity of Prime Minister Imran Khan. The SAPM said the nation wanted to know that how Shehbaz Sharif managed to transport abroad the cash bags from the Model Town Residence and Office, which was later received by the Sharif family through telegraphic transactions in Pakistan.
LONDON CALLING
MaryaM Moves LHC for perMission to traveL to UK PML-N VP SAYS SHE WANTS TO BE WITH HER AILING FATHER NAWAZ SHARIF AS HE NEEDS TO BE ‘CLOSELY MONITORED’ LAHORE
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AKISTAN Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) Vice President Maryam Nawaz on Saturday filed a plea in the Lahore High Court (LHC) and requested that her name be removed from the Exit Control List (ECL) so she could visit her ailing father in London. A two-member bench headed by Justice Ali Baqir Najafi issued notices to the federal government, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the Immigration and Passport Authority and asked them to appear before it on Dec 9. In the petition, Maryam ex-
pressed concern over her father, Nawaz Sharif’s health and requested the court to allow her to travel abroad so she could go to London and take care of him. Maryam claimed that she was under a lot of stress these days as she was unable to care for her father at a time when he needed to be closely monitored. She asked for her passport to be returned to her from the deputy registrar judiciary. In the petition, Maryam stated that Nawaz had not been well ever since her mother had died. The PML-N leader claimed that she had been her father’s primary caregiver since then. Maryam also challenged the legality of her name being placed on the no-fly list by claiming that
her version had not been heard and asked the court to remove her name from the ECL till the final verdict in her case is announced. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is in London where he is undergoing treatment. His health deteriorated a couple of months ago due to complications of the heart, kidney, lungs and a low platelet count. Upon petition, the LHC had directed the government to remove Nawaz’s name from the ECL so he could fly abroad for medical treatment. The PML-N leader’s name along with her father Nawaz Sharif’s was placed on the no-fly list last year, following their conviction in the Avenfield reference. Acting upon the court’s orders, the PTI-led government had removed Nawaz’s name from the ECL.
Grace period for govt is over, says akhtar Mengal President Balochistan National Party- Mengal (BNPM) Sardar Akhtar Mengal on Saturday, said that grace period of the incumbent government is over. If the government wants to meet me, they should come to me with results, he said. He threatened that if the party insists he would resign from the National Assembly (NA) seat. Two days ago, the BNP-M had threatened the PTI-government of breaking coalition after four women from Balochisan’s Awaran district were arrested. According to Mengal, “four women were kidnapped and taken away to a torture cell and tortured”. The Mengal-led party had called the reported arrest of the women a direct attack on the traditions of the Baloch people and demanded formation of a high-level committee to investigate the crime. News Desk
Gill likely to be appointed as pM's adviser: report ISLAMABAD iNp
Shahbaz Gill is likely to be appointed as adviser to Prime Minister Imran Khan. According to reports, a notification regarding the appointment will be issued within 24 to 48 hours. It has also emerged that Senator Faisal Javed will also be given an important position in the government. It may be noted that Shahbaz Gill had tendered his resignation as spokesperson to Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar a few months back.
Govt using graft charges to supress Opp: Sherry SUKKUR iNp
The government is only politicking over allegations and they have nothing to give except using abusive language, People’s Party’s parliamentary leader in Senate Sherry Rehman said on Saturday. Senator Sherry Rehman was arrived in Sukkur to attend the NAB hearing against former leader of the opposition Syed Khursheed Shah. Talking to media in Sukkur, Rehman said that several ministers and advisers of the government are facing charges in NAB inquiries but no action being taken against them. PPP Senator said that the government has made the parliament and the election commission disable as they are well aware that the election commission will send them packing in the foreign funding case. “They are only repeating ‘accountability ac-
countability’ what the vengeful government has given to Pakistan except using expletives,” Senator Rehman posed question. “Which case has been proved against anyone in the country so far,” she questioned. “The history will tell the story of the game played in the name of democracy,” Rehman further said.“The Parliament has been locked down and the election commission made disable,” Senator Sherry Rehman said. The foreign funding case being probed since 2015, they don’t want any question over it, she said. “Why they are not being made accountable over their foreign funding”, Senator Rehman further asked. Nafeesa Shah, provincial minister Syed Awais Shah and Khursheed Shah’s son Syed Farrukh Shah MPA along with a large number of party workers were present in the courtroom during the accountability hearing.
CMYK
CMYK Sunday, 8 December, 2019
NEWS
PPP fOcusing On infrasTrucTure develOPmenT TO cOmbaT ecOnOmic crisis, saYs bilawal
One dead, six wounded in Township blast
KARACHI
LAHORE staff RepoRt
A blast in Township area on Saturday left one person dead and at least six others injured. A police spokesperson said that an initial investigation suggests that the blast, which occurred at an electronics shop, took place as gas was being filled in a refrigerator. A ‘Seerat-un-Nabi’ conference was being held nearby, he added. A statement released by the spokesperson of the Punjab counterterrorism department (CTD), said that a blast occurred at about 7:50pm in front of a refrigerator workshop in Township. “According to an initial investigation, it seems that a compressor [blew up]. Pieces of the compressor have been found,” said the statement, which added: “No traces of explosives have been found.” The statement confirmed that the deceased was a “technician who was working on repairing a fridge”. Further details will be shared tomorrow after results from a lab report are released, said the statement. The injured have been shifted to Jinnah Hospital for emergency aid and treatment.
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AKISTAN People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Saturday inaugurated seven mega development projects in the port city. “The Sindh government is focusing on infrastructure development to fight the economic and governance crises,” he said while addressing the ceremony. Bilawal said that 10 million jobs will have to be provided across the country to combat the economic crisis. “Provision of jobs is a tradition of PPP and people will get jobs with the launch of these seven mega projects,” he said, adding that the incumbent federal government is causing unemployment across the country.
The PPP chief said that the federal government facilitated billion-
LAHORE staff RepoRt
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) here on Saturday set the date of December 11 to indict Hafiz Saeed, chief of the proscribed Jamaatud Dawa, in the illegal funding case against him and others. Judge Arshad Hussain conducted hearing of the case in presence of Saeed. A co-accused, Malik Zafar Iqbal, could not be presented before the court. Deputy Prosecutor General Abdur Rauf Wattoo informed the court that Saeed was to be indicted today. However, the court directed officials to present the JuD chief and other accused on December 11 for their indictment in the case. At the last hearing, Saeed and other accused had been provided copies of challan filed against them. The Counter-Terrorism Department had registered a case against the JuD chief, Malik Zafar Iqbal and others for illegally receiving funds. Saeed has also been accused by India of his involvement in the Mumbai attacks on November 26, 2008. However, New Delhi has failed to provide any evidence to Pakistan in this regard.
aires with tax amnesty scheme whereas PPP launched the revolu-
Change of govt in Sindh not on cards yet, says Shafqat
Hafiz Saeed to be indicted in illegal funds case on Dec 11
KARACHI staff RepoRt
A day after Prime Minister Imran Khan criticised the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) government in Sindh over ‘bad governance’, Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood on Saturday said there was nothing wrong in having differences with the provincial government in a democratic manner. “According to my information, there are no efforts afoot to topple the Sindh government … it would only be replaced democratically when the time comes,” he said while addressing the media. “There are severe internal rifts
within the Sindh government … some people are against Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, who is clearly disturbed with these differences,” Mehmood said. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader said the country was now moving in the right direction with its economy finally stabilising. “Inflation however is still an issue and we are trying to keep it in check,” he added. Recent statements by the Imran Khan-led party point to its renewed bid to dislodge the PPP government in Sindh. The ruling parties in Sindh and at the Centre are at loggerheads ever since PPP’s top leadership including co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and his
sister Faryal Talpur were placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) by the federal cabinet earlier this year. The former president and his sister have been arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for their alleged role in a multi-billion rupees money laundering case. On Friday, Prime Minister Imran met a delegation of parliamentarians from Sindh, belonging to PTI as well as allied parties, led by provincial Governor Imran Ismail. Without mentioning any names, according to sources, PM Imran told the participants that proofs of corruption worth billions of rupees have surfaced, therefore, they were worried. “Accountability will take place and everybody’s turn will come. There is no place for the corrupt in Pakistan,” he said. He said that elimination of corruption was the basic agenda of the PTI government. “Corruption will not be tolerated. Because of this menace the country lacked development,” he said. “I have come to wage a Jihad against corruption. There will be no deal, no doctrine of necessity.” The lawmakers asked if there was any deal between the federal government and the PPP. On this, PM Imran stated that there would be no compromise and there would be no deal.
Mazari condemns violence against Dawn after three days Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari on Saturday condemned the incidents of “violence and threats” by protesters outside the Dawn offices in Islamabad in recent days. In a tweet, Mazari said: “Peaceful protest is everyone’s right but giving threats to others cannot be acceptable. I disagree often with @dawn_com’s line but I strongly condemn violence and threats by protesters outside Dawn’s offices.” “Sadly our society can’t rid itself of Zia’s legacy of intolerance and vitriol,” she added. PML-N stalwart Khwaja Asif also voiced his support for the publication. “In this hour of trial we stand with Dawn,” he said, prior to attending a consultative session between party
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leaders in London. “Dawn is a newspaper founded by Quaid-e-Azam. Over the last seven decades, they have kept the traditions of our freedom of press and the freedom of expression and [followed] the highest standards of journalism,” said Asif. “Any attempt to curb the freedom of expression in Pakistan is one, unconstitutional, and secondly, it negates the basic fundamentals of the creation of Pakistan,” he added. Global media watchdogs — Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) — on Wednesday called on Pakistani authorities to condemn the besieging of Dawn offices in Islamabad and to prevent
demonstrations against the newspaper from turning violent. Earlier on Dec 2, a few dozen unidentified people staged a protest outside Dawn offices in the capital over the publication of a news report regarding the Pakistan-origin of the London Bridge attacker who stabbed two persons to death last week. The charged mob, carrying banners and chanting slogans against the newspaper, remained outside the office building for nearly three hours, besieging the premises and making the staffers hostage. Security guards at the media house had to lock the gates to prevent the protesters from entering the premises before police and officers of the capital administration arrived.
A day later, dozens of people staged a protest outside Karachi Press Club against the newspaper and made threats against its staffers. They also threatened to besiege the offices of the media group if “prompt action was not taken against the management and outlets of the organisation for publishing false news.” “Pakistanis have every right to object to and demonstrate against the Dawn newspaper over its coverage, but threatening violence steps way over the line,” said Kathleen Carroll, CPJ’s board chair, in a statement issued on Tuesday. “We call on Pakistani authorities to take all appropriate measures to ensure the safety of Dawn’s staff.” News Desk
CMYK
tionary Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) for the poor. He went on to say that the ‘selected’ and incompetent government cannot alleviate the problems of people. “The country has plunged into the tsunami of inflation, while small businessmen are stuck into the storm of taxes,” he added. Bilawal said that the bureaucracy is suffering at the hands of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the country. The PPP chief said that Sibghatullah Shah Rashidi road, Shaheede-Millat road and Sunset Boulevard flyover were completed in a record five months. He added that timely completion of all three projects was evidence of the hard work done by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and his team.
govt decides to reach out to bnP-m, gda ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Saturday announced that it would reach out to the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) and the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) to address their grievances after taking the Pakistan Muslim LeagueQuaid-e-Azam (PML-Q) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) in the loop. According to details, the government’s coordination committee will hold meetings with representatives of BNP-M and GDA next week and then apprise Prime Minister Imran Khan regarding the reservations and demands of its allies. It may be mentioned here that earlier in the week, BNP-M chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal had threatened to leave the coalition government following the arrest of four women from Balochistan’s Awaran district during a sit-in protest in front of the speaker’s dais at the National Assembly (NA). “Neither did the previous government want to take Balochistan forward neither does this one,” he had said during his speech in the parliament, while adding that the government is least concerned about the rights of the people of Balochistan. Mengal, while stating that he and Shahzain Bugti were instrumental in securing votes for the government, asserted that nothing had changed for Balochistan and its people. A few days ago, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi held talks with an MQM-P delegation in Karachi. The MQM-P leadership had assured the foreign minister that it had stood with the government since day one and will continue to do so. staff RepoRt
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Segregation at weddings (yes, it is still observed even in some of the more seemingly modern of families) is so strict that even the bridegroom is brought over to the ladies’ venue with difficulty. The waiting staff serving the food is also women now at these events. Yet, power has its own logic. At the recent marriage ceremony of the daughter a PTI leader, the other aspects of segregation as mentioned above were observed. Yet these puritan rules were suspended for some of the male leaders of the party, along with their security entourages as well. Leaders make their own paths, as they say. * * * * * * * * * Since it doesn’t seem to have much to show for itself, this is a government that can publicise the smallest, most routine of achievements. One bright spark of a minister even took credit - in only half-jest - for the good weather. Yet, not a peep on the GBP 190 million settlement in the UK by Malik Riaz, which will be sent to Pakistan. Is the PTI as beholden as the others to the property developer’s charms? It would appear so.
04 LAHORE
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Govt liFts ban on tRansFeRs and postinGs oF oFFicials Lahore
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SHAHAB OMER
HE Punjab government on Saturday lifted the ban on transfers and postings of government officials which had been imposed under the chief minister’s directive of August 25, 2019. Pakistan Today has learnt that transfers and postings can now be made on ad-
ministrative grounds against vacant and operational needs. The notification issued by the principal secretary to the chief minister, Iftikhar Ali Sahoo in this regard stated, “In partial modification of this office directive of even number dated 25.08.2019 on the subject cited above (copy enclosed), Chief Minister, Punjab has been pleased to approve that officers authorized for making transfer/ posting as per Punjab Govern-
dolphin peRsonnel maRtyRed in FiRinG oF RobbeRs SHEIKHUPURA: A Dolphin Squad personnel was martyred in firing of robbers here on Saturday. According to details, Dolphin Squad personnel Ijaz Ahmad was on routine patrolling in Narowala Chowk Muridke when armed robbers opened fire at him. Ijaz Ahmad chased the robbers but they sprayed bullets at him leaving critically injured and fled the scene. The injured was rushed to hospital in critical condition where he succumbed to his wounds. INP
ment Rules of Business 2011 shall exercise their powers on following grounds: Administrative grounds, against vacant post, operational necessity. The chief minister has further desired that transferring authorities shall ensure that suitably qualified officers having requisite experience and competence are posted against important positions to improve the functioning of Government Departments.” It is pertinent to mention here that
under the ban imposed on postings and transfers by the chief minister in August, transfer and postings could only be made in case of extreme hardship or compassionate or administrative grounds with the approval of the CM through a summary of tenure of the concerned official and the vacancy or position. Government servants have welcomed this development as it has opened the door for transfers and postings after a period of over four months.
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A grade 18 official speaking on the condition of anonymity said, “I am grateful to the CM for making this decision as I was very concerned about where my job was headed.” “I had applied for a new posting but due to the ban imposed in August, serious hurdles had been created in the way of my career,” he said. Another official said that the reason why government servants look forward to deputations, postings and transfers is that it gets them allowances. “With inflation on the rise and the economy in bad shape, it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to make ends meet on these meagre salaries. This time the government did not make any substantial increase in salaries; which is one reason why many officers had applied for postings,” he said. Another government official said that transfer posting enabled officials to gain more experience and work various departments in different parts of the province.
NAB has detected another mega corruption case of Shehbaz: Chohan Lahore APP
Punjab Information Minister Fayyazul-Hassan Chohan said on Saturday that another mega corruption and money laundering case of PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif had been detected by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Addressing a press conference here at the Directorate General Public Relations (DGPR), he said that former rulers had converted the chief minister secretariat as the hub of corruption and money laundering. He said that two officers including Nisar Ahmad Gil and Ali Ahmad Malik were working in the CM secretariat as the personal employees of Sharif family. “These officers are involved in transferring billions of
rupees to abroad from where this money returned in fake accounts on the name of poor after this these amounts were transferred to the accounts of Sharif family,” he elaborated. The minister said that a company “Good Nature” had been made and two persons including Anwar Ahmad Saroor and Shoaib Kharal shifted the looted money to the accounts of Shehbaz Sharif, Nusrat, Hamza Shehbaz and Salman Shehbaz. He said that Shehbaz was continuously telling lies by holding press conferences in London. Chohan said the NAB was investigating the case and soon the details would come out. The minister said that Shehbaz should see David Rose who had written an article about his corruption in the “Daily Mail” on which Shehbaz had announced to go to the courts
to sue against the journalist. “Now he is in London then why does not he sue David,” he questioned. He said that David had written that Shehbaz was “Coffin thief” while Nawaz was ‘head of dacoits’. The offered Shehbaz Sharif that he could give money to any expansive lawyer to sue against David, if he (Shehbaz) was so poor. To a question, the minister said that Nisar Ahmad Gil was under custody of the NAB and details of the case would be shared in few weeks. To another question, Chohan said that it looked that Sharif brothers had no plan to return, however, whenever they returned, they would be arrested. Denying any deal, he said that Prime Minister was a human-friendly person, so he allowed Sharif brothers to go on the recommendations of courts.
Akhuwat and Dunya Foundation organises Kasur Muwakhat Programme introductory session Lahore PRESS RElEASE
An Akhuwat and Dunya Foundation on Saturday organised an introductory session on “Kasur Muwakhat Programme: the voices of the poor” at the University of Central Punjab (UCP) Lahore. The event was graced by eminent personalities including Mian Amer Mehmood who highlighted the significance of participatory development and encouraged the students and academics alike to get involved and promote sustainable change in the rural communities throughout Pakistan whereas it was moderated by Fiza Zaheer.
The programme, which is a joint initiative by Akhuwat and Dunya Foundation that focuses on Participatory Development to provide support to the rural communities through social mobilisation and selfempowerment, was introduced by Khadija Amer to an audience that included members from both the stu-
Four persons killed in road accident MUZZAFARGARH: Four persons including a woman and a child died in a road accident on Saturday in the Chowk Sarwar Shaheed area. According to reports, the incident occurred near Hussain Shah bus stop, where a speeding bus crashed into a motorcycle and a rickshaw which resulted in the deaths of four persons. Rescue teams reached the spot and shifted the bodies to nearby medical facility for legal formalities. Taking notice of the incident, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has summoned a detailed report from the district administration into the matter. Earlier this month, five women were killed while five others sustained serious injuries when a tractor-trolley turned turtle in Muzaffargarh. Rescue officials said about 30 women were going for cotton picking on a tractortrolley when it overturned while trying to cross another vehicle near Head Taunsa. STAFF REPORT
10-year-old’s nose cut off in Rajanpur by father’s rivals: police RAJANPUR: Three men cut off the nose of a 10-yearold child in Rajanpur’s Rojhan after storming into his school Saturday morning. The school is located in the Dera Dildar area. The suspects attacked the child because of a rivalry with his father, according to the police. The child was rushed to DHQ Hospital where the doctors further referred him to a Multan hospital. INP
dents and academic community representing renowned institutes from across the country. The session also included testimonials from real life “heroes” be it the individuals, groups and/or families, who have benefited from the programme and played their role in the socio-economic uplift of the society.
Sunday, 8 December, 2019
NEWS
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Pakistan urges ‘realistic’ mandates for success of un PeacekeePing oPerations UNITED NATIONS
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APP
AKISTAN has underscored the need for realistic mandates for U.N. peacekeeping operations, with adequate resources, to face the difficult challenges in the world’s troubled regions. “With the operating environments becoming ever more complex, there are increasing calls to update our tools to face the contemporary challenges, respond to current threats and also to do our job better,” Pakistani delegate Rajeel Mohsin told in a meeting held to review action to improve peacekeeping, the UN’s flagship activity, in line with the 2018 Security Council resolution 2436 aimed at enhancing performance at all
ECP matters to be settled soon: Sheikh Rasheed RAWALPINDI: Federal Minister for Railways, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed Saturday said that legislation on tenure of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and the issue of appointments in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would be passed easily by the parliament. Talking to media persons after talking oath taking ceremony of Anjuman-e-Tajran Printing Press, Sheikh Rasheed hoped that all the issues related to the ECP would be settled soon. He asserted that the government would complete its tenure. He said the PTI government was taking historical steps to bring the country out of the crises and due to its prudent policies, the country was moving towards economic progress and rupee had stabilized against the dollar. Kashmir was the Pakistan’s jugular vein adding “We cannot forget our Kashmiris brethren as they are under military curfew for over 100 days,’ he added. He said construction of mother and child hospital in the city was under process where 14 operation theaters would be established that would be equipped with all modern facilities. He said government was committed to provide better education facilities and said that in near future, Rawalpindi would have four universities for women. APP
Peshawar in search of Pied Piper The provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has been infiltrated by thousands of rats who seem to have occupied streets, hospitals, shops, and houses as permanent residences whereas as many as 3,000 people have been bitten by the rodents between January and November, according to a local news outlet’s report published on Saturday. “We received more than 300 cases of rat bites in November. People come here to get vaccinated after the rat bites,” a spokesperson of Lady Reading Hospital told a local news channel. He said that although the bites aren’t specific to any age, children under 14 years seem to be a top choice for the rats. The most number of cases have been reported on Khushal Road where nine members of one family have been bitten by rats in the span of one year while one four-yearold child was bitten twice. In this regard, a resident of Khushal Road revealed that all her sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren have been bitten by rats. She emphasised that the area has been seeping in filth for a very long time, however, city government and district administration seem to be far away from the cities issues. Meanwhile, Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar (WSSP) said that they have devised a plan to catch the rodents and focus on cleaning different areas, a statement that was corroborated by KP chief minister’s (CM) Spokesperson Ajmal Wazir. News Desk
levels, both at Headquarters in New York and in the field. Pakistan is one of the largest contributors to UN peacekeeping, with over five thousand troops serving in missions in hotspots around the world. “We all agree that performance cannot be evaluated solely in terms of what peacekeepers on ground did or did not accomplish,” Mohsin, a First Secretary at Pakistan’s Mission to the UN, said, pointing out that it also depends on realistic mandates, adequate resources and many other factors that are not in control of troop contributing countries (TCCs). “Rather than focusing just on cutting costs and troop numbers, operations must dictate logistics, and not the other way around,” he added. On his part, UN Secretary-General
Antonio Guterres said he welcomes opportunities to review effectiveness of world body’s peacekeeping. The UN chief recalled that his Action for Peacekeeping initiative renews collective commitment to excellence amid an increasingly dangerous landscape for the blue helmets and their civilian colleagues. “Across all missions, we have introduced new systems and tools to evaluate performance. These include regular military and police unit evaluations and a hospital evaluation system,” he said. “As a result, we are engaging with Member States in a more focused way. In some cases, we have repatriated underperforming troops; in others, we have deployed mentors or training teams.” There has also been progress in intelligence sharing, reducing gaps in vital
equipment, improving safety and security of peacekeepers, and in increasing the numbers of women serving under the UN flag, among other areas. The United States, which contributes $1.7 billion to the peacekeeping budget, co-organized the meeting. While underlining Washington’s strong support for peacekeeping, US Ambassador Kelly Craft stressed the need for accountability. Poor performance harms the reputation of both the UN and the countries which contribute to peacekeeping, Ms. Craft said. She listed some of the consequences such as troops being left vulnerable to armed group attacks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), or peacekeepers sexually abusing children in the Central African Republic.
“But a far greater concern is that it puts human lives at risk: those of the people the UN is mandated to protect, and the peacekeepers sent to protect them. For all their sakes, we must hold peacekeeping missions, leadership, and uniformed and civilian staff accountable”, she said. Guterres, the UN chief, said the Organization was “doing everything possible” to improve accountability and end sexual abuse and exploitation by peacekeepers. Strong prevention and response measures, as well as the appointment of a Victims’ Rights Advocate, were among the steps he mentioned. The UN chief called for increased momentum and partnerships in building what he sees as “a culture of continual improvement and accountability”.
Court extends Khursheed Shah's judicial remand SUKKUR INP
An accountability court in Sukkur on Saturday extended the judicial remand of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) senior leader Syed Khursheed Shah till December 12 in a case regarding his alleged assets beyond means. Shah’s defence counsel argued with the court that 82 days have been passed since his client’s arrest by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), however, the accountability watchdog could have produced any concrete evidence against his client. “There is nothing in the case against Khursheed Shah […] Asif Ali Zardari is
under NAB’s detention from the last 120 days,” the defence counsel stated. Contrarily, the NAB’s prosecutor told the court that for further investigation into the case against the arrested leader, a permission has been sought from the chairman of the bureau. “Upon grant of permission, the court will be informed accordingly […] 90 days are not completed since Khursheed Shah’s judicial remand,” he said while pleading with the court for granting extension in Shah’s judicial remand for another 15 days. On Sept 18, the NAB arrested senior PPP leader Syed Khursheed Shah in a case regarding his alleged assets beyond means.
Pakistan confers civil awards on Chinese dignitaries in Beijing BEIJING stAff RePoRt
Four Chinese dignitaries were awarded civil awards of Pakistan, in recognition for their services towards the country at a ceremony held at the Embassy of Pakistan in Beijing. Xu Shaoshi who served as the Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of the People’s Republic of China from 2013 to 2017 was awarded Hilal-e-Pakistan. During his time, the ChinaPakistan Economic corridor (CPEC), the flagship project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), proceeded rapidly from concept to concrete reality. In
these formative first years of CPEC, notwithstanding the unprecedented size, scale and development pace of the CPEC portfolio, Pakistan and China were able through unremitting efforts to deliver tangible benefits to the peoples of both countries. Hilal-i-Quaid-e-Azam was conferred upon Wang Xiaotao, who is currently heading the newly established International Development Cooperation Agency (IDCA) of the People’s Republic of China. Xiaotao has also co-chaired four meetings of the CPEC Joint Cooperation committee (JCC). Under his guidance and direction, bilateral cooperation on CPEC
transcended the planning and implementation stages, delivered direct benefits to the peoples of Pakistan and China. A noteworthy accomplishment of the JCC mechanism under Xiaotao’s cochairmanship came in Islamabad in November, 2017, when various aspects of CPEC cooperation were enshrined in the “Long-Term Plan for CPEC”, providing a detailed blueprint for the evolution of CPEC through 2030. Sitara-i-Pakistan was conferred upon Lin Yi who is the Vice President of Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) since 2015 and is in-charge of the Asian and African Affairs.
“NAB Sukkur has arrested Syed Khursheed Shah in the assets beyond means case,” a brief handwritten statement issued by NAB Islamabad said. Multiple corruption cases against Shah are under investigation with NAB. In 2012, an accountability court had directed NAB to file a reference against him on a complaint pertaining to alleged accumulation of illegitimate assets. In 2013, NAB had reopened two corruption cases against Shah under the directives of the Lahore High Court. In July this year, NAB chairman Javed Iqbal had approved nine inquiries against different personalities, including Shah.
Rangers ex-personnel gets death sentence for murdering colleague KARACHI: A court on Saturday awarded death sentence to a suspended Rangers personnel for killing his colleague over a petty dispute in the bachelor barracks in 2016. Suspended sepoy Syed Ali Murtaza was found guilty of killing sepoy Mashooq Ali with his official rifle after exchanging hot words inside the bachelor barracks of 63 Wing of Bhittai Rangers in Gulshan-e-Iqbal on Oct 23, 2016. Judge Haleem Ahmed of the model criminal trial court (East) found Murtaza guilty of having committed premeditated murder of his colleague over a petty dispute. The convict was also ordered to pay Rs2,00,000 compensation to the legal heirs of the deceased or undergo six months imprisonment on default. According to the prosecution, a confrontation between the two soldiers triggered when one argued with the other over his “prolonged stay in the washroom” while he was waiting for his turn. A case was lodged against the paramilitary soldier under Section 302 (premeditated murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code at Sharea Faisal police station. stAff RePoRt
Hasan Jalisi: A Karachiite for US Congress WASHINGTON INP
With grass root Democrats entering the race, a ray of hope has emerged that the New Year will bring the first PakistaniAmerican into Congress. It is something the community is looking for the last seven decades. Dr Hasan 'Jay' Jalisi is the man who can make it possible. He has already taken the first step by filing the nomination for the US House Maryland District 7. The John Hopkins University graduate has already served the state as a representative of its 10th District. Congressional District 7 is considered quite a safe Democrat seat, so no surprise that 24 Democrats are keeping an eye on the pie. Whoever wins would have to fill the big shoes. After all, the seat lies vacant after the the death of Congressperson Elijah E Cummings, who had represented the District since 1996, in October at the age of 68. The man with a broad smile on his face, Cummings was a champion of civil
rights and his death was mourned by Democrats and Republicans alike. Among his mourners were the Obamas and the Clintons as well as leading Republicans. As chairperson of the US House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Cummings had led one of the three committees dealing with the impeachment inquiry against US President Donald Trump and remained one of his staunchest opponents. Yet, Mark Meadows — one of the US president's closest allies — struggled to hold back tears as he delivered a stirring eulogy. Even Trump himself admitted that it would be "very hard, if not impossible, to replace Elijah Cummings". The late Democrat was the Pakistani-American's mentor. It was Cummings’ persistent encouragement that brought Dr Jalisi, who otherwise would have enjoyed his life as a medical practitioner, to politics. Thanks, however, to Cummings’ support that Dr Jalisi later successfully contested Maryland Assembly seat.
CMYK
By winning 10th District, Dr Jalisi was honoured to become the first Pakistani-American who represented any state assembly of the United States. Last year, he easily retained the seat and is now vying to move on to the next stage. However, to reach the US Congress, Dr Jalisi has to first jump the primaries obstacle, where the field is fiercely being contested. The Democrat hopeful for the seat also includes Cummings' widow. Maya Rockeymoore Cummings is a former chair of the Maryland Democratic Party. Two years ago, she had tried to unseat Governor Larry Hogan. Lady luck, nonetheless, was not with her as her husband was hospitalised and she had to drop out of the race. Last month, she underwent a double mastectomy to beat cancer. Though she is recovering fast but an even bigger battle lies ahead. The party's acting chair has raised major financial concerns, including the party's bank balance during her tenure. Cummings' wife was also caught in a domestic dispute as his daughters, Jen-
nifer and Adia, have openly criticised their stepmother. They also recently endorsed one of their father’s former staffers, Harry Spikes. Other Democrat hopefuls include T Dan Baker, Talmadge Branch, Alicia Brown, Anthony Carter, Jill Carter, Matko Lee Chullin, Jay Fred Cohen, Nathaniel Costley, Darryl Gonzalez, Mark Gosnell, Leslie Grant, Dan Hiegel, Jermyn Davidson, F Michael Higginbotham, Terri L Hill, Paul Konka, Adrian Petrus, Saafir Rabb, Charles Smith, Charles Stokes, and Kweisi Mfume. In 1996, Representative Mfume had stepped down to lead the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a civil rights organisation. It has taken him 23 years to seek a comeback. Mfume, too, has a baggage as he is embroiled in an affair with a female staffer. Admitting it as a boneheaded mistake, Mfume said it happened everyday in the society. As he campaigns to regain congressional seat, Mfume keeps his fingers crossed.
Sunday, 8 December, 2019
06 WORLD VIEW
What kind of capitalism do We Want? ‘STAKEHOLDER CAPITALISM,’ A MODEL I FIRST PROPOSED A HALF-CENTURY AGO, POSITIONS PRIVATE CORPORATIONS AS TRUSTEES OF SOCIETY, AND IS CLEARLY THE BEST RESPONSE TO TODAY’S SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES Project Syndicate
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KLAUS SCHWAB
HAT kind of capitalism do we want? That may be the defining question of our era. If we want to sustain our economic system for future generations, we must answer it correctly. Generally speaking, we have three models to choose from. The first is “shareholder capitalism,” embraced by most Western corporations, which holds that a corporation’s primary goal should be to maximize its profits. The second model is “state capitalism,” which entrusts the government with setting the direction of the economy, and has risen to prominence in many emerging markets, not least China. But, compared to these two options, the third has the most to recommend it. “Stakeholder capitalism,” a model I first proposed a half-century ago, positions private corporations as trustees of society, and is clearly the best response to today’s
social and environmental challenges. Shareholder capitalism, currently the dominant model, first gained ground in the United States in the 1970s, and expanded its influence globally in the following decades. Its rise was not without merit. During its heyday, hundreds of millions of people around the world prospered, as profit-seeking companies unlocked new markets and created new jobs. But that wasn’t the whole story. Advocates of shareholder capitalism, including Milton Friedman and the Chicago School, had neglected the fact that a publicly listed corporation is not just a profitseeking entity but also a social organism. Together with financial-industry pressures to boost short-term results, the singleminded focus on profits caused shareholder capitalism to become increasingly disconnected from the real economy. Many realize this form of capitalism is no longer sustainable. The question is: why have attitudes only begun to change now? One likely reason is the “Greta Thunberg” effect. The young Swedish climate
activist has reminded us that adherence to the current economic system represents a betrayal of future generations, owing to its environmental unsustainability. Another (related) reason is that millennials and Generation Z no longer want to work for, invest in, or buy from companies that lack values beyond maximizing shareholder value. And, finally, executives and investors have started to recognize that their own long-term success is closely linked to that of their customers, employees, and suppliers. The result is that stakeholder capitalism is quickly gaining ground. The change in direction is long overdue. I first described the concept back in 1971 when creating the World Economic Forum to help business and political leaders implement it. Two years later, attendees at the Forum’s Annual Meeting signed the “Davos Manifesto,” which describes a firm’s principal responsibilities toward its stakeholders. Now, others are finally coming to the “stakeholder” table. The US Business Roundtable, America’s most influential
Political parties cannot be trusted on campaign finance
business lobby group, announced this year that it would formally embrace stakeholder capitalism. And so-called impact investing is rising to prominence as more investors look for ways to link environmental and societal benefits to financial returns. We should seize this moment to ensure that stakeholder capitalism remains the new dominant model. To that end, the World Economic Forum is releasing a new “Davos Manifesto,” which states that companies should pay their fair share of taxes, show zero tolerance for corruption, uphold human rights throughout their global supply chains, and advocate for a competitive level playing field – particularly in the “platform economy.” But to uphold the principles of stakeholder capitalism, companies will need new metrics. For starters, a new measure of “shared value creation” should include “environmental, social, and governance” (ESG) goals as a complement to standard financial metrics. Fortunately, an initiative to develop a new standard along these lines is already under way, with support from the “Big Four” accounting firms and led by the chairman of the International Business Council, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan. The second metric that needs to be adjusted is executive remuneration. Since the 1970s, executive pay has skyrocketed, mostly to “align” management decisionmaking with shareholder interests. In the new stakeholder paradigm, salaries
The NSW ALP has had a bad year, including the loss of its third state election in a row and a poor result in the federal election. But things could easily get worse before Christmas. The Independent Commission Against Corruption will next week resume its inquiry into allegations that Chinese billionaire Huang Xiangmao walked into the ALP office in 2015 and handed then party secretary Jamie Clements an Aldi bag stuffed with $100,000. Former state Labor MP Eddie Wong, who allegedly played a role in securing the cash, will front the inquiry and there could be more lurid revelations. The ALP tried to show it is ahead of the game on Friday, releasing a package of reforms designed by former attorney-general Michael Lavarch to show that it is cleaning up its act even before ICAC hands down any findings. The reforms will go a small way to correcting the ALP’s problem with corruption but the corrosive links between money and political parties is much broader on all sides. Ever since the days of former general secretary Graham Richardson, who famously adopted the motto “whatever it takes”, the NSW ALP has struggled with its reputation for Tammany Hall machine politics of the grubbiest kind. The report has made a number of recommendations which federal leader Anthony Albanese has promised to adopt. Among the most interesting is a change to the status of the party’s general secretary which will end their unbridled power, straddling both politics and administration. At present the secretary is responsible only to the party conference and once elected is almost impossible to dislodge. They have also lacked a clear job description, which gives them the power to meddle in all the party’s affairs. The reforms will define the party secretary’s role, making it easier to sack them. They will have to serve five years before they can seek preselection for a seat in Parliament. They will be answerable to a new risk committee composed of people outside the party machine. These reforms may be useful to the ex-
tent that they will increase scrutiny of the party apparatchiks but it would be wrong to think that they can solve the problem of corruption, which is far broader than the ALP. It may be that something in the ALP’s rules and the ability to wield power through factions makes it more vulnerable to abuse. But ICAC’s Operation Spicer and Credo inquiries in 2014 into breaches of campaign finance laws showed that the NSW Liberal Party was also happy to flout election funding laws. It had a risk committee (of sorts) but so long as the money was coming through the door they were careful not to ask too many embarrassing questions. The best way to cure parties of the risk of corruption is not internal reform. Whatever safeguards are in place, political parties will do what they can get away with. It is more important to have in place stricter campaign finance laws and a strong body, such as the ICAC, to keep politicians honest. The current ICAC inquiry is a case in point since it has only occurred thanks to significant reforms in 2016 by the Baird government. The laws forced parties to make more timely disclosures of campaign donations and gave the ICAC a clear responsibility for enforcing the laws. It is thanks to the ICAC’s sleuthing that the story of the Aldi bag and the $100,000 cash came to light. NSW is also right to have imposed a general ban on donations by property developers, which could theoretically include Mr Huang. By contrast, in Victoria, where property developers can donate, the state’s equivalent of the ICAC has spent the past few weeks exposing how property developers are giving money to political parties, legally and otherwise, to secure favourable planning decisions. The problems in NSW are significant but our regulation of campaign finance is ahead of the federal sphere. The Morrison government is taking too long delivering on its campaign promise to establish a federal ICAC and its proposals are, in any case, too weak to make much difference. It has also refused to consider campaign finance reforms similar to those in NSW. The NSW ALP faces a long struggle to rebuild after the scandals exposed by the ICAC but it should not be the sole focus of efforts to fight corruption. A systematic approach based on tougher laws and enforcement is needed.
Klaus Schwab is the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum.
Is Kashmir India’s Palestine?
THE BEST WAY TO CURE PARTIES OF THE RISK OF CORRUPTION IS NOT INTERNAL REFORM. WHATEVER SAFEGUARDS ARE IN PLACE, POLITICAL PARTIES WILL DO WHAT THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH Sydney Morning Herald
should instead align with the new measure of long-term shared value creation. Finally, large companies should understand that they themselves are major stakeholders in our common future. Clearly, all companies should still seek to harness their core competencies and maintain an entrepreneurial mindset. But they should also work with other stakeholders to improve the state of the world in which they are operating. In fact, this latter proviso should be their ultimate purpose. Is there any other way? State capitalism, its proponents would say, also pursues a long-term vision, and has enjoyed recent successes, especially in Asia. But while state capitalism may be a good fit for one stage of development, it, too, should gradually evolve into something closer to a stakeholder model, lest it succumb to corruption from within. Business leaders now have an incredible opportunity. By giving stakeholder capitalism concrete meaning, they can move beyond their legal obligations and uphold their duty to society. They can bring the world closer to achieving shared goals, such as those outlined in the Paris climate agreement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda. If they really want to leave their mark on the world, there is no alternative.
counterPuncH ROBERT FANTINA
In August of this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India suspended Article 370 of the constitution, the provision that granted some level of autonomy to Indian held Kashmir. Already heavily policed by Indian soldiers, nearly 40,000 additional troops were deployed to ‘calm’ (read: further oppress) the population following Modi’s repressive and illegal decision. Travel in and out of the country was banned, with even news reporters forbidden from entering, and all communication was disrupted, leaving people around the world with no word on the status of their friends and family members in Indian held Kashmir. With India’s increased oppression of the people of Indian held Kashmir, one cannot help but see similarities to Israel’s decades-long, brutal oppression of the Palestinians. And that comparison was not lost on the government of India. On November 16, Sandeep Chakravorty, who is India’s consul-general to New York City, was in New York attending a private event. He told Kashmiri Hindus and Indian nationals that India will build settlements modelled after Israel for the return of the Hindu population to Indian held Kashmir. He did not mince words; said he: “I believe the security situation will improve, it will allow the refugees to go back, and in your lifetime, you will be able to go back … and you will be able to find security, because we already have a model in the world. I don’t know why we don’t follow it. It has happened in the Middle East. If the Israeli people can do it, we can also do it.” Although Modi’s increased repression of the Kashmiri people has been condemned by much of the international community, most nations only objected with a whimper, and news of this unspeakable, ongoing oppression quickly took a back seat to other events. But for the Kashmiri people, the suffering continues. Chakravorty was right in one thing: Israel has successfully, to date, divided Palestine and oppressed its people, using illegal settlements, land confiscation, racism, terrorism in all imaginable forms, kidnapping, murder and an endless array of cruel and savage methods to destroy the nation and its people. These violations of international law and crimes against humanity have been financed and fully supported by the United States, with most other countries of the world simply looking the other way, occasionally issuing a few words of criticism, but seldom, if ever, doing anything constructive for the Palestinian people. As long as Israel has gotten away with murder, why not India? In Canada, a Zionist organization has arranged a presentation with two speakers, a Hindu priest and a conservative commentator, to prove to Canadians that George Orwell’s ‘black is white’ and ‘up is down’ forecasts have certainly come to fruition. The presentation purports to present Israel as on the front lines against extremism! This is more than laughable, when one considers that Zionism, on which Israel is built, is an extremist, racist philosophy, and Israel this year
officially declared itself the nation-state of the Jewish people and only the Jewish people, marginalizing the 25% of the population that is not Israeli. Some of those marginalized people have lived on that land since before Israel even existed. But now Zionists in Canada are going to enlighten us all with tales of how land that belongs to one group of people should really belong to another, and how it is completely acceptable to steal it and kill those who currently live on it. Is there not something in all this that violates the most basic tenets of common decency? It is beyond mindboggling to think that anyone would have the nerve to even suggest this, let alone present it as a reasonable idea. Yet Zionists, and now, apparently, those who would model their actions on Zionism, seem to find it all perfectly acceptable. During Israel’s brutal and deadly bombing of the Gaza Strip in 2014, one Israel publication editorialized that genocide, in some circumstances, can be acceptable, remarking that where Israelis and Palestinians are concerned, genocide of the Palestinians is one such case. Although quickly removed due to backlash, the fact that an Israeli editor could think that publishing support for the genocide of the Palestinians would be acceptable shows a common mindset among Zionists. And now this disease seems to be spreading to India, at least among government officials, and one wonders in horror if the general populace might agree. Israelis in general all seem to be on the same, genocidal page; is India now so afflicted? The president of the United States, whoever he might be at any given time, is often referred to as the leader of the free world. This image is often accepted around the globe, to the severe detriment of much of the world’s population. While every president since the bloody founding of Israel has supported it, Donald Trump has taken that support to the extreme, defunding United Nations organizations that support Palestine, moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem (in violation of international law), and providing the current Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, with all the weaponry and international support he could possibly dream of. Trump likes dictators; will he now throw his support behind Modi’s oppression of Indian held Kashmir? The words of German Pastor Martin Niemoller, spoken in 1934, hauntingly come to mind: “First, they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.” Today, one might say that the infamous ‘they’ came for the Palestinians, and no one spoke for them; they came for the Muslims, and no one spoke for them; they are coming now for the Kashmiris, and no one is speaking for them. Who will be next? Journalists? Authors? University professors? This writer is not Muslim; he is not of Palestinian or Kashmiri descent. But he has spoken for years for the Palestinians; additionally, he opposes all anti-Muslim attitudes and legislation. And now, perhaps coming a little late to the table, he is speaking for the people of Kashmir. It is his duty, as it is the duty of everyone who believes in the freedom and dignity of all people, and who supports international law, human rights and basic, common decency. Robert Fantina’s latest book is Empire, Racism and Genocide: a History of US Foreign Policy (Red Pill Press).
Sunday, 8 December, 2019
‘all roaDs leaD to putin’: impeachment ties ukraine, russia WASHINGTON
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AGENCIES
ouse Democrats are bringing the impeachment focus back to Russia as they draft formal charges against President Donald Trump. speaker Nancy Pelosi is connecting the dots — “all roads lead to Putin,” she says — and making the argument that Trump’s pressure campaign on ukraine was not an isolated incident but part of a troubling bond with the Russian president reaching back to special counsel Robert Mueller’s findings on the 2016 election. “This has been going on for 2 1/2 years,” Pelosi said Friday. “This isn’t about ukraine,” she explained a day earlier. ”’It’s about Russia. Who benefited by our withholding of that military assistance? Russia.” The framing is taking on greater urgency and importance, both as a practical matter and a political one, as Democrats move seriously into writing the articles of impeachment. It’s an attempt to explain why Americans should care that Trump pushed ukraine to investigate rival Joe Biden while withholding $400 million in military aid that Congress had approved for the struggling eastern european ally fighting a border war with Russia. “sometimes people say, ‘Well I don’t know about ukraine. I don’t know that much about ukraine,’” Pelosi said Thursday after announcing the decision to draft formal charges. “Well, our adversary in this is Russia. All roads lead to Putin. understand that.” At the same time, tracing the arc of Trump’s behavior from the 2016 campaign to the present, stitches it all together. And that helps the speaker balance her left-flank liberals, who want more charges brought against Trump, including from Mueller’s report, and centrist Democrats who prefer to keep the argument more narrowly focused on ukraine. Pelosi and her team are trying to convey a message that impeachment is indeed about ukraine — Trump’s asking-for-a-favor
phone call that sparked the probe — but also about a pattern of behavior that could stoke renewed concern about his attitude toward Russia ahead of the 2020 election. “It shows that a leopard doesn’t change his spots,” said Rep. eric swalwell, D-Calif., a member of the Intelligence Committee, which drafted the 300-page report on the ukraine inquiry that serves as the foundation for the impeachment proceedings. With articles of impeachment coming in a matter of days and votes in the House expected by Christmas, Trump’s team is hardening its argument that the president did nothing wrong. They say voters will stick with him at the Democrats’ expense next November. Late Friday, White House Counsel Pat Cipollone informed the Judiciary Committee that the administration would not be participating in upcoming hearings, decrying the proceedings as “completely baseless.” And Trump’s campaign announced new rallies taking the case directly to voters — as well as a new email fundraising pitch that claims the Democrats have “gone absolutely insane.”′ “The Democrats have No impeachment case and are demeaning our great Country at YouR expense,” Trump wrote in the email to supporters. “It’s us against THeM.” Democratic lawmakers and aides are working behind closed doors over the weekend as the articles are being drafted and Judiciary Committee members are preparing for hearings and votes expected next week. The articles are likely to encompass two major themes — abuse of office and obstruction — as the drafters strive to reach the Constitution’s bar of “treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors.″ But they could be divided up into multiple articles. Democrats argue that Trump abused his office when he asked ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for a “favor” during a July 25 phone call congratulating the newlyelected comedian-turned-president. Trump wanted ukraine to announce it was investigating Democrats including Biden, according to a rough transcript released under pressure by the White House.
Fossil fuel groups 'destroying' climate talks: NGOs BARCELONA AGENCIES
oil and gas groups were accused saturday of seeking to influence climate talks in Madrid by paying millions in sponsorship and sending dozens of lobbyists to delay what scientists say is a necessary and rapid cut in fossil fuel use. A day after tens of thousands marched in the spanish capital demanding climate action, seven environmental groups raised concerns to AFP over the role of fossil fuel representatives at the CoP25 summit. under the 2015 Paris Agreement, nations agreed to limit global warming to “well below” two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) and as close to 1.5C as possible. The uN’s top science panel says that 1.5C would require a radical drawdown in fossil fuel usage. Delegates are gathered in Madrid negotiating how to implement the Paris pledges. The summit was moved at short notice after domestic unrest forced original host Chile to cancel. spanish energy giants endesa and Iberdrola stepped in to sponsor the conference, which brings together more than 20,000 negotiators, scientists, NGos and journalists from around the world. AFP has been told that each company paid 2 million euros to be CoP25 “Platinum” sponsors, affording them prominent branding and trade stalls at the event. endesa is one of spain’s largest greenhouse gas emitters, producing just over 60 million tonnes of Co2 equivalent last year alone. Iberdrola produced 24.6 million tonnes in 2018. Neither group nor organisers confirmed the exact cost but their sponsorship of a conference designed to reach consensus on how to cut emissions drew allegations of
“greenwashing” from observers. “Bankrolling the global climate negotiations is a classic trick from the polluter’s playbook,” said Jean su, energy director with the Center for Biological Diversity. “For just a fraction of yearly profits, big polluters are able to wrap themselves in the branding of the CoP and use this access to influence the negotiations,” added sriram Madhusoodanan of the Corporate Accountability watchdog. When CoP25 opened on Monday, many spaniards woke up to advertisements from endesa splashed across the front pages of national newspapers. An endesa spokeswoman told AFP that it was “a marketing action” and denied greenwashing. “our objective is to always do better and we are accelerating our energy transition,” she said. Iberdrola and the conference organisers did not respond to queries over sponsorship. Trade groups representing energy firms are entitled under uN rules to attend annual uNFCCC talks and inter-sessional meetings as observers. They frequently host networking meetings or presentations and have the same status and access permits at negotiations as environmental charities. While few oil and gas majors participate directly in uN talks, they are well represented in Madrid by the trade organisations they partner. one such group is the International emissions Trading Agency (IeTA), which counts among its members energy giants such as BP and eNI. It also represents Iberdrola and endesa’s parent company enel, and is holding a total of 74 side events during CoP25. According to an official participants list IeTA has sent 141 people to Madrid — more than the entire european union’s delegation, and larger than that of host Chile.
FOREIGN NEWS 07 White house tells Democrats it Will not participate in trump impeachment hearing WASHINGTON: The White House said on Friday it would refuse to take part in hearings in the U.S. House of Representatives set for next week that will consider what articles of impeachment to bring against President Donald Trump. In a letter to Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, White House counsel Pat Cipollone called the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry “completely baseless” and said that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had ordered Democrats to proceed with articles of impeachment “before your committee has heard a single shred of evidence.” “We don’t see any reason to participate because the process is unfair,” said a senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We haven’t been given any fair opportunity to participate.” AGENCIES
Sunday, 8 December, 2019
08 COMMENT
A change in the offing
A timely measure Kamyab Jawan Programme
A
T a time when the economy is in a pretty bad shape and the number of the unemployed is on the increase, the announcement of a microfinance scheme for the unemployed young people is a commendable step. The government, we are told, has earmarked Rs 100bn for the Kamyab Jawan Programme. Last month the government invited applications for loans from the youth to invest in small and medium enterprises. That within three weeks around one million applications were received is indicative of the strong urge among capital deficit young people, both male and female, to set up their own business enterprises. The scheme would particularly help computer-savvy and imaginative individuals who can develop new start-ups with the funds. The youth have energy that can be turned into a positive force helpful for society if they are provided an opportunity to enter into a meaningful economic activity. Conversely, if they find that there is no opening available to them, their energy can turn into a highly lethal negative force. This is what one has seen happening in Lebanon and Iraq where two PMs have been recently forced by the youth to resign after hundreds of protesters had either died or were injured. Government financed or government backed microfinance programmes for youth have been launched by previous governments also. The PML-N’s Yellow Cab Scheme during its earlier tenure and Prime Minister’s Youth Bank Loans Scheme during the last one are just two examples.The KJP is however backed by far lager funds. There is a need on the part of the PTI to learn from the mistakes of its predecessors. When political parties implement schemes of the sort, they often use them to oblige sympathizers. There is a need to ensure that loans are issued to the really deserving irrespective of their political affiliations. Those taking decisions would bring bad name to the PTI if they use the scheme to develop their constituencies caring little for merit. PM Imran Khan has promised that the scheme would be characterized by transparency and merit. An online system will reportedly ensure that there are no undue favours to anyone. One can only hope that the promise is duly fulfilled.
Accountability À la NAB
I
T is no coincidence that whenever the political arena heats up to the disadvantage of the ruling government, that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) becomes overactive in its relentless pursuit of opposition leaders’, bureaucrats’ and businessmen’s scalps. This lopsided accountability has been witnessed before, in the Musharraf years, which was when the NAB was established, to be used as a tool for political victimization. This growing sentiment is perhaps why NAB Mr Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal was forced yet again to defend his institution by stating that it ‘focuses on cases not faces’. That is a nice thought but in practice it is hardly the case. There are a disproportionately higher number of opposition leaders behind bars as they are being ‘investigated’ for their alleged corruption, including two former Prime Ministers, one of whom is out on bail. In the past the same NAB Chairman claimed that if he were to take up the many cases on his table against the PTI and its allies, the government would fall within a day. So there is a clear undeniable bias against opposition parties. Bureaucrats, fearing arrest, are in a virtual pendown state that has made the already sluggish government functionality come to a halt. Businessmen’s reputations were being deliberately tarnished by the accountability watchdog that would issue press releases to the media announcing the opening of an investigation against them. That practice has somewhat died down since senior business leaders were able to plead their case to the powers that be in order to get some relief. If the NAB truly wants to be perceived as an independent institution that is fighting the good fight then it should do away with the not-so-clever quips and practically show that it can take on any case that bears merit. A good place to start would be KP where the PTI government has now been in power for over six years and an embarrassing public transport project by the name of BRT remains unfinished despite significant funding having been used. Another case it could take up would be that of a property tycoon being able to send £190 million to the UK from Pakistan without anyone noticing. Is the NAB ready to open this can of worms? Unlikely, but one never knows in this country where political tides can shift quickly without warning.
Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami
Arif Nizami Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad
Umar Aziz
Asher John
Joint Editor
Executive Editor
Deputy Editor
Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965
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Or a storm in a teacup?
aRif Nizami
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he knives are out for PML-N president (Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz) and leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif as a concerted media trial against has been ramped up with a new vigour. According to Shahzad Akbar, special assistant to the prime minister on accountability, Sharif and his sons are guilty of mega corruption worth billions of rupees. As per yet to be substantiated multifarious claims, the former chief minister’s wealth exponentially went up a whopping 70 per cent in the past decade. For services rendered, Mr. Akbar- a relatively undistinguished lawyer- has also been appointed the super boss of the FIA (federal investigation agency) as a minister of state. It is obvious that in days to come the opposition will have to face the twin wrath of a hyperactive NAB (National Accountability Bureau) and a rejuvenated FIA. The wings of the incumbent interior minister Ijaz Shah have been somewhat clipped in the process. Shah, a retired brigadier and close buddy of former strongman general (Retd) Pervez Musharraf, was reportedly inducted in the federal cabinet on the express recommendation of the COAS. Whether Akbar’s fresh induction in the interior ministry had a nod from General Bajwa is not known. Despite the bravado expressed and tall claims of Khan and his cohorts, not a penny (of the looted billions) has been so far recovered either from the younger Sharif and his family or from the Bhutto Zardari clan. Meanwhile a pervasive sense of desperation seems to be setting in amongst the corridors of power. It is indeed ironical that on the one hand a
planned media trial against the alleged corruption of the opposition leadership is in full swing. But on the other, Akbar and his bosses are quite tight-lipped about the antecedents of the £190 million deal brokered between a property tycoon and UK‘s National Crime Agency. Nonetheless the question remains that at a time when the government badly needs cooperation with the opposition to pass important legislation in the parliament why raise the ante? There has to be a method in this madness. Khan seems quite miffed, perhaps believing that the PML-N supremo Mian Nawaz Sharif escaped the gauntlet by duping him about his critical health. An ostensibly ailing Sharif walking, rather than being carried on a stretcher and raising his two finger while embarking a special plane provided by his Qatari friends was not a pretty sight for the PTI chief. Despite his numerous U-turns, his perennial plank: ‘mein in choron ko nahin chorun ga’ (I will not spare these thieves) has gone haywire. Notwithstanding the elder Sharif‘s serious health issues, with a little help from his younger sibling, he managed to get away under the very nose of the prime minster. The hawkish prodigal daughter Maryam Nawaz has become a born again dove. The hullabaloo in the media that uncle and niece duo are not on the same page has become a thing of the past. Now dear uncle is back in the saddle calling the shots with the express approval of his elder brother. Maryam is meticulously keeping out of politics for the time being. She is not engaging in any kind of political activity whatsoever. She does not meet her party stalwarts, neither tweets, nor uses a cell phone. All this is giving jitters to Khan and his inner circle. What is going on? Surely there must be a hidden hand that facilitated this mini deal with or without the express knowledge of the prime minister. Suddenly the younger Sharif has started talking about an imminent ‘in- house’ change within months; supplanted by the PPP leadership as well. The name of foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi is being touted as an acceptable alternative prime minister. For the time being this kind of talk can be dismissed as being in the domain of conjecturing and pure speculation. however, slowly but surely, political sands are shifting much to the obvious discomfiture of Khan. Despite having a thin majority in the National Assembly and none in the Upper house, the PTI in its hallmark impervious style has been simply unable to manage its coalition partners. In the process they have managed to annoy the
Chaudharies of Gujrat, the MQM (Muttahida Qaumi Movement) and even BNP-M (Balochistan National Party-Mengal group). Now when the chips are down, these parties want their proverbial pound of flesh. Pervez elahi while glibly claiming that he will continue support the PTI government wants development funds for his party PML-Q legislators (Pakistan Muslim League Quaid e Azam group) just like the rest of the ruling party’s coalition partners. As per a written agreement his son Moonis elahi has to be inducted in the federal cabinet. Significantly the question of COAS‘s (Chief of Army Staff) extension beyond the six months granted on the orders of the apex court hangs in the balance, that if further mishandled can become problematic. Whether as an act of parliament or as a constitutional amendment it should be passed by consensus. Right now the government is in no mood to molly cuddle the opposition. On the contrary it is bent upon using the state’s dirty tricks department to the hilt. Contrarily with a little help from the powers that be- at least theoretically speaking- the PTI government can lose its shirt at the federal level as well as Punjab. The glue that is holding the ruling coalition together is the ubiquitous establishment. Shahbaz Sharif is no longer the pariah he was a few months ago. he managed to keep his erstwhile hawkish brother and niece ominously quiet. This is the feat that was required from him. And he has delivered. The opposition touting Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s name as a consensus candidate possibly to replace Khan is also quite revealing. The Shah of Multan- also known as SMQ- is highly ambitious but not a narcissist a la his boss. he started his career in mainstream politics, as finance minister Punjab in the early nineties under Sharif who became chief minister. SMQ worked with Benazir Bhutto Shaheed who nominated him as the party’s candidate for prime minister in the 2002 National Assembly. Later he served as foreign minister in Yousaf Raza Gilani’s cabinet. he is unhappy that he was deprived of his coveted spot as chief minister Punjab by design. In this sense he is an acceptable face. Khan instead of playing footsie with the opposition should get his act together and bring them on board. Pakistan needs a bout of consensus politics rather than ego driven toxic divisiveness. he should know that when the chips fall, they fall like ninepins. They did for Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and later for Nawaz Sharif. It is high time he leashed the multifarious attack dogs on his team and seriously starts governing rather than chasing mirages. he should be warned that vultures are already hovering around to devour the carcass of a divisive PTI. Arif Nizami is Editor, Pakistan Today. He can be contacted at arifn51@hotmail.com
Is it time students had a platform? Students when they learn the best way to demand their rights translate into citizens who safeguard theirs Rabia ahmed
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he aims, objectives and activities of student unions/guilds/associations vary depending on where they are found. In the USA, student unions mostly take the form of student activity groups with their own governing bodies. In New Zealand they focus primarily on addressing students’ financial issues, such as student debts. historically in Pakistan, student unions have been much more involved in the politics of the country starting with the Muslim Students’ Federation, an arm of the Pakistan Muslim League. The MSF was already an established entity when Pakistan came into being in 1947. Subsequently, other student groups came into being as well. Ten years ago Nadeem Paracha wrote an excellent paper about student unions in Pakistan. One of the (many) things you learn reading this paper is that the Karachi University owes its existence to demands made by the DSF, a student union set up in Karachi’s Dow Medical College. But Karachi University did not come into being until six students lost their lives in processions and riots demanding their rights in the shape of a proper university for the metropolis. The point then is: should student unions exist, and if they do, should there be any perimeters within which they should function? The primary function of schools and universities is to impart education of course. Whether or not unions exist in educational institutions hinges upon the definition of education. Is learning dates and theorems all there is to education? A holistic approach to education would require the student to learn about all aspects of life, social and political, and to acquire the knowledge with which to organise these various aspects.
Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9
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Real education provides students with principles to help him lead a good, decent life, and that definition in turn depends on the defining authorities. A person who grows up without having learnt about these various aspects of life is left with little option but to allow those with power to govern, and if he manages to get power himself such a person is more likely to use it incorrectly. he is more likely to accept mis-dealings on the part of his government and leaders because he/she does not know any better. That works very well for persons with selfish motivations. It comes as no surprise then that in Pakistan, student unions are illegal. It was the DSF that was the first to be banned, in 1954. By the time General Ayub Khan blew in with his Martial Law the National Students’ Federal (NSF) had become powerful. It, and other student unions and all political parties were banned by Ayub Khan. But unions rose again and were a force in bringing Z.A. Bhutto into power. The late 1970s saw a great increase in the presence of sophisticated arms and ammunition on campuses and powerful student activism. Many violent incidents occurred. General Zia ul haq banned student unions in 1984; they were revived again in 1988 and banned again in 1993. The ban was supposed to be subject to review, but a review never materialized, and unions are still for all purposes not allowed to function. Should this state of affairs continue? Are students justified in their protest against the existence of pressures against reviving student unions? If there is one thing that sets our culture apart from the West it is the inability to organise. Few people in this country are aware of the due process involved in any organisation. Surprisingly for a culture that prides itself on its tehzeeb (refined manners) few people allow a person to finish speaking before cutting in. Debate and discussion
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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk
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and the ability to reason and infer from available evidence is almost unknown. Instead violence and baseless accusations are resorted to. We are also comparatively new to democracy. It is possible to learn both organisation and the workings of the system on campus by means of student groups. It has to be a good idea to re-form student unions and insist on them being organised with proper committees and working groups. The committees must run as committees should, with regular meetings conducted in a disciplined manner. The death of students demanding their rights should never happen again. We have been guaranteed certain rights by the constitution of this country. No one has the right to take them away at any stage. Nor do students shed their Constitutional rights at their university’s gates. Schools and universities can be the cradle where these things are taught and learnt. So long as the authorities stand firm against violence and undisciplined behavior, so long as they insist on academic learning not suffering as a result of these student activities– while remembering that both are important– the country can only benefit from such grounding. Unions can prevent students and citizens from being exploited by universities and later by governments regardless of their gender and religion. This might teach us to tolerate minorities and help us protect the rights of all citizens as already provided for in the Constitution of Pakistan but not practiced. Students, when they learn the best way to demand their rights, translate into citizens who safeguard theirs. So, yes, student unions should exist. Subject to certain conditions. Rabia Ahmed is a freelance columnist. Read more by her at http://rabiaahmed.blogspot.com/
Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk
Sunday, 8 December, 2019
COMMENT 09 Editor’s mail
Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively
Our battle PAKISTAN is among 10 countries affected most by climate change. Pakistan is in a geographic location where average temperature is predicted to rise faster than elsewhere increasing 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit. Pakistan has faced catastrophic floods, droughts and cyclones in recent years that have killed and destroyed livelihoods and damaged infrastructure. Climatic changes are expected to have wide ranging impacts on Pakistan, reduced agricultural productivity, increased variability of water, increased coastal erosion and seawater incursion. In the last 50 years the annual mean temperature has increased by roughly 0.5 degrees Centigrade. The number of heat waves days per years has increased nearly fivefold in the last 30 years. Sea level along the Karachi coast has risen to approximately 10 centimetres in last century. By the end of this century, the annual temperature in Pakistan is expected rise by 3 degrees Fahrenheit to 5 degrees Fahrenheit. Pakistan is expected to experience increased variability of river flows due to increasing the melting of glaciers. Deforestation and increase in the use of chemicals in domestic and agricultural life are the main cause of climate change in Pakistan. RAFIA KHALId Islamabad
Winter rain
Mafias breeding mafias Silence in the face of crime speaks of complicity
Candid Corner Raoof hasaN “He knew what he was, what depths of depravity and cruelty he had plumbed, what ambitions drove him. He prided himself on knowing those things – but that didn’t mean he needed anyone else to see them as well.” —Holly Black: “The Coldest Girl in Coldtown”
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received a call from a television channel this last Thursday requesting me to participate in a talk show the same evening. As usual, I asked the producer what would be the subjects to be discussed and he gave me a list encompassing patent non-issues. When I expressed my reservations, he was quick to respond that he had instructions to discuss these subjects. I pointed out that there were other issues which were far more relevant for a discussion under the existent circumstances including the recovery of funds from the UK, their transfer to Pakistan, and the role that various people appeared to have played in this act, but he said that the editorial policy of the channel did not permit a debate on this. I excused myself from participating in the programme saying that he was welcome to call me whenever the editorial policy would allow for discussion on substantive issues facing the country. This came quickly after a similar incident involving another channel. A few lines which I had spoken during the course of recording the programme about the mindset of a political party were edited while a similar comment made by the representative of that party was broadcast. Upon enquiring from the anchor, I was told that it was the channel’s editorial policy. But, he had no answer to it being a patent slant favouring one set of opinion against another. These incidents reflect a general conduct of the entire media circuit. There has neither been any credible reporting of the transaction in the UK, nor any follow-up discussion on the subject. The names of the people involved have found little mention in the media. While there may be numerous theories regarding the reasons necessitating this lack of concern for a development that may have far-reaching impact on the nature of governance and the enhancement of the growth potential of the country in the future, there is one reality that cannot be de-
nied any further: people in general, and insti- to the nature and strength of their linkage with tutions and media in particular, have an inde- the established mafias, be these headed by the scribable soft spot for looters and plunderers of Sharifs, the Zardaris, the Riaz Maliks, or others national wealth as well as those who have par- of their kind in this country. Their operations taken lavishly of the spree of gory crimes and are widely spread and their roots are deeply dug in. They use all traditional and non-traditional gross misdemeanours. The case of a possible repatriation of funds instruments and methods to accomplish their from the UK involves two families: the Sharifs tasks and stymie any opposition. It is here that and Riaz Malik. According to the details of the the media, as one of the many instruments that case as entered in the Proprietorship Register, the mafias have at their disposal, plays a dethe seized property located at 1 hyde Park meaning role in terms of not only hiding their Place, London W2 2Lh was sold on March 21, crime, but also building a false aura of goodness 2016 (to Riaz Malik), barely 12 days before the about the criminals. That’s why no importance was given in the release of the Panama Papers, for a price of £42,500,000. The owner is named as hasan traditional media to the details of the transaction and the people involved. In fact, the very menNawaz Sharif. In addition to this, nine assets of varying tion of the word Riaz Malik has been muted on amounts were blocked by the National Crime numerous occasions during live transmissions. Agency (NCA) of the UK during this year. The Why has the media remained shy of naming the culprits and giving details total amounts in the frozen of the nature of this and assets and the yield from other similar transactions the sale of property located that may be in the offing? Is at 1 hyde Park Place, It is not the media’s role to it not their job? Should they amounting to £190 million, will be transferred to Pakbecome the aider, abettor not be fulfilling their professional responsibility? istan. This transaction is and apologist of the crime In a country where bound by a confidentiality crime is rampant and agreement signed by the syndicate. Instead, it should where corruption is enGovernment of Pakistan not to divulge details be- be the moral denominator of demic, institutions have to rise beyond the call of duty yond a certain point. the state and the people. in playing their role to Many questions may arise with regard to this How long we may have to eliminate the twin scourge. Not so in Pakistan where transaction and what has wait to see this happen, or even a key institution like Pakistan to do with these media, which never funds? Who are the famiwhether this would happen the tires of calling itself the lies involved and why a fourth pillar of the state, number of assets mainat all, is only a matter of prefers to maintain a crimtained by them were frozen conjecture, but exuding inal silence in such matby the UK authorities? What is the background of silence in the face of crime ters. That, in no way, can absolve it of the blame. this transaction and and offering it a shield to Not only that, it would be whether it is the first of a rightfully painted as comseries of other such deals hide behind are plicit in the crime. in the future? The obvious For much too long need for the media was to unmistakable signs of now, media has been on have investigated this furirretrievable complicity this degenerative trip to bether and apprised the peocoming a tool in the hands ple of its multiple of the criminal mafias in dimensions. exchange for their pieces None of that ever happened. Instead, the vast media conglomerate has of silver. The reprehensible process continues as maintained a pregnant silence which speaks vol- these self-serving partnerships are consolidated umes in terms of it being a concerted effort to further. There is every likelihood that this insticover up the crime and the perpetrators who are tution may pass through various other degrading none other than the Sharifs and that man, Riaz phases in a desperate bid to place the criminal Malik, whom many dub as the most consummate oligarchies of the past back in the saddle. It is not the media’s role to become the criminal operator Pakistan may ever have known. The reason is also understandable. When aider, abettor and apologist of the crime syndithose sitting as anchors, and their masters man- cate. Instead, it should be the moral denominaaging the channels, stand compromised for al- tor of the state and the people. how long we legedly having received gratifications in the may have to wait to see this happen, or whether shape of plots and bank transfers, how would this would happen at all, is only a matter of conthey dare name their benefactors? So, for this jecture, but exuding silence in the face of crime media, Riaz Malik would always remain a and offering it a shield to hide behind are un‘business tycoon’ and the Sharifs ‘politically mistakable signs of irretrievable complicity. victimised’ leaders. Raoof Hasan is a political and security Pakistan has been reduced to becoming a land specialising in nurturing and patronising strategist, and heads the Regional Peace mafias with the old hands wearing new masks, Institute – an Islamabad-based think tank. He new masquerades. The survival and continued can be reached at: raoofhasan@hotmail.com; progress of individuals and institutions is owed Twitter: @RaoofHasan
WeLCOMe to the first heavy spell of the winter rain. Though it may be a cause of little concern for cotton growers, it is mostly good news for everyone in the country. hopefully, it will help fight the gravely dangerous issue of smog in Lahore. heavy rain in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi has ended the dry spell causing health issues for people. Now the air will be free from pollution and dust and dirt will be washed away from roads. The agricultural land in the Pothohar region is arid, which primarily depends on rains for irrigation. These rains will be a blessing for farmers in the Pothohar region as it will benefit them preparing their land for the Rabi crop. The government needs to supply better quality seed to farmers to enable them to increase agriculture production. The farmers must put in extra efforts to preserve water any way they can for use during dry days. Similarly, the citizens should avoid wasting water and littering as that chokes drains and cause problems. even a step further, they take small steps such as growing vegetables in their lawns and backyards to bring about a change. This would not only be a healthy activity but also will help fend off the adverse effects of exorbitant prices of daily use vegetables on their budgets. Overall, a small effort by everyone can help bring about a big change. RAJA SHAFAATuLLAH Islamabad
Treating our teachers better TeACheRS are supposed to be spinal cord of a nation in terms of socio-economic and cultural development of a country. In Pakistan, especially in Sindh teachers are treated badly. Yesterday, on November 6, there was called a well-managed and peaceful protest in front of CM house by the Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association (SPLA) for their time scale and promotion. Meanwhile, police contingent reached there and arrested many of teachers including female professors. Perhaps, government is unaware that protest is a democratic right of every citizen. Moreover, college teaching staff from all over of Sindh has said they will remain in peaceful protest until their resolution of time-scale, and furthers it was explained that colleges will be closed till to meet their demands. On the other hand, by closing of colleges the already lowest rate of literacy in Sindh is going to be in a worst condition if demands are not meet. The protestors reminded the government that summary of time scale had been sent to the secretariat on 2010, but perhaps it has not yet been pursued. Surprisingly, all other provinces have resolved its time scale issue of the college education. ZAKIR HuSSAIN Wahi Pandhi
Banning plastic bags PLASTIC bags had been a huge indication of apocalypses since 1950s and it is very much notorious of being the fountainhead of enhancing the mortality rate of people in Pakistan. Plastic bags are being manufactured with various hazardous chemicals which are very much dangerous for every individual surviving in Pakistan, because in every corner of Pakistan plastic bags are being used to carry out the eatable goods without being aware the causes and health risk and sometimes it is very much spoiler for the lands because the plastics would make a timber land into a barren land. According to the expert scientists that plastic takes more than 500 years to break down in a landfill. Moreover, the scientists have claimed that the plastic bags have been the source of numerous deadliest diseases such as cancer endometriosis, neurological damage, endocrine disruption, birth effects and developmental disorders, immune damage, asthma, and cause multiple organ damages. Furthermore, the Minister of Climate Change Senator had evaluated that more than 55 billion plastic shopping bags are being used in Pakistan where the utilisation had been increased to 15 per cent per annum. In Pakistan approximately 8,021 production units are available whose production of average is nearly 250-500 kilograms per day and the result more investigated that more than 160,000 were directly and 600,000 were indirectly dependent on the industry. I request to the government to conduct surveys to create awareness among the residents about the health risks of applying plastic bags. MEHRAJ ALTAF Turbat
Sunday, 8 December, 2019
10 FOREIGN NEWS
DeaTh Toll In BaghDaD aTTaCK rISeS To 23 BAGHDAD
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AGENCIES
HE death toll in an attack by armed men at Baghdad’s main protest site on Friday night rose to 23 on Saturday, police and medical sources said, the deadliest incident to hit the capital in weeks. More than 127 others were wounded by gunfire and stabbings targeting anti-government protesters near Tahrir Square, police and medical sources said. The death toll includes three members of the police. Thousands of Iraqis have occupied the central square and three nearby bridges which lead to the city’s Green Zone for weeks, calling for the complete uprooting of the current political system. Security sources said they could not identify the gunmen who attacked protesters. The incident was followed by further intimida-
tion early on Saturday morning, as unknown gunmen drove in a convoy down the main riverside street which leads to Tahrir Square, firing a volley of shots toward it. The heavily armed, masked gunmen roamed the street near the square and attempted to advance onto Tahrir Square but were eventually turned around at a checkpoint manned by Iraq’s security forces, witnesses said. The incidents were the most violent flare-ups in the capital for weeks and came a week after Iraqi’s prime minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, said he would resign following two months of anti-government protests. Friday’s deadly attack came hours after Washington imposed sanctions on three Iranianbacked Iraqi paramilitary leaders who it accused of directing the killing of Iraqi protesters. A senior U.S. Treasury official suggested the sanctions were timed to distance those figures from any role in forming a new government.
Military base shooter assailed US as 'nation of evil' WASHINGTON AGENCIES
Trump speaks with Saudi king after Pensacola shooting WASHINGTON: President Trump on Friday said he spoke with King Salman of Saudi Arabia after U.S. officials said that a Saudi national was suspected of opening fire at a naval air station in Pensacola, Fla., killing three people and injuring several others. “The King said that the Saudi people are greatly angered by the barbaric actions of the shooter, and that this person in no way shape or form represents the feelings of the Saudi people who love the American people,” Trump tweeted. The Saudi leader expressed his condolences to the families of those killed in the shooting, Trump said. “It’s a horrible thing that took place, and we’re getting to the bottom of it,” Trump said of the shooting during an event focused on deregulation. The president would not say whether he believed the incident was an act of terrorism. The Pensacola shooting was the second fatal incident at a Naval base this week. A U.S. sailor killed two shipyard workers on Wednesday before killing himself. Trump has had a complicated relationship with Saudi Arabia. He came under bipartisan criticism last year for his response to the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The president echoed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s denials of involvement in Khashoggi’s death and argued the economic relationship between the two countries was critical. AGENCIES
A Saudi military student reportedly condemned America as a “nation of evil” in an online manifesto prior to opening fire Friday at a US naval base, killing three people before being shot dead by police. The shooting, which took place in a classroom building at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, left eight others wounded, including two sheriff’s deputies who responded to the attack. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the shooter was from Saudi Arabia — the same nationality as 15 of the 19 men involved in the 9/11 attacks, some of whom attended civilian flight school in Florida. The SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist media, identified him as Mohammed al-Shamrani, saying he had posted a short manifesto on Twitter that read: “I’m against evil, and America as a whole has turned into a nation of evil.” “I’m not against you for just being American, I don’t hate you because your freedoms, I hate you because every day you supporting, funding and committing crimes not only against Muslims but also humanity,” he wrote. ABC News reported that investigators were working to determine if it was in fact written by the shooter. The Twitter account that posted the manifesto — which also condemned US support for Israel and included a quote from Al-Qaeda’s deceased leader, the Saudi Osama bin Laden — has been suspended. DeSantis
told a news conference that “the government of Saudi Arabia needs to make things better for these victims. And I think they are going to owe a debt here given that this is one of their individuals.” Commanding officer Captain Timothy Kinsella said the shooter was an aviation trainee, one of “a couple hundred” foreign students at the base. Six Saudis were detained following the shooting, including three who were seen filming the entire attack, The New York Times reported, citing a person briefed on the initial investigation. The gunman was armed with a Glock 9mm handgun that had been purchased locally, the Times reported. It had an extended magazine and the shooter had four to six other magazines in his possession. Saudi Arabia’s King Salman telephoned US President Donald Trump to denounce the shooting, affirming that “the perpetrator of this
heinous crime does not represent the Saudi people,” according to the official Saudi Press Agency. Saudi Arabia has long been a major US ally in the Middle East, thanks primarily to security considerations and oil. Trump said King Salman “called to express his sincere condolences and give his sympathies to the families and friends of the warriors who were killed and wounded in the attack that took place in Pensacola, Florida.” Police were first called about the shooting shortly before 7:00 am (1200 GMT), Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said. “Walking through the crime scene was like being on the set of a movie,” Morgan said. “You don’t expect this to happen.” Only members of the security forces can bring weapons on base, Kinsella said, and it was not clear how the shooter got the gun onto the premises.
Bangladesh tears down brick kilns to fight toxic smog DHAKA AGENCIES
Excavators flanked by Bangladesh riot police are at work demolishing illegal soot-belching brick kilns around the smog-choked capital Dhaka, forcing migrant labourers out of work and back to their villages. Every autumn, following the monsoon rains, Dhaka’s brick kilns — which use coal and wood to fire bricks from clay — start up again, adding to the emissions pumped out by other heavy industries and the thousands of vehicles on the streets of the capital. On November 25, an independent air quality monitor pegged Dhaka’s air as the most polluted in the world. The next day, the high court ordered the hundreds of illegal brick factories that surround the city to be closed within two weeks. Many were built in the past five years as heavy industry and construction fuelled a booming economy. While authorities say tearing them down will make Dhaka’s air more breathable, thousands of kiln workers — who hail from poor rural regions or
coastal areas hit by climate change — have been left without a job. Standing beside an excavator as its metal teeth bit into a tall kiln chimney at Saturia, west of the city, magistrate Kazi Tamzid Ahmed ordered police to keep the workers at bay. “It (the brick kiln) flouted environmental regulations […] It is also set up near a school,” he told AFP.
The kiln’s owner Nazrul Islam Nabin pleaded tearfully for the excavator to be stopped, but to no avail. Some 300 workers were now without a job and would have to head home to their villages on the south coast, he said. “We sought 15 more days from the authorities, saying we’ll pay off the dues of the workers by selling bricks. But they didn’t heed our call,” he said.
CMYK
Most workers travel to urban brick kilns during the winter months, where they earn between 300-800 Taka ($3.5 – $9.5) per day, shovelling coal into furnaces or laying brick out to dry in the sun. The money they save keeps them and their families afloat for the rest of the year. Almost half of the 7,000 kilns across the country are illegal, Bangladesh Brickfield Owners Association secretary Abu Bakar told AFP, employing almost one million people. The campaign so far has closed at least 25 illegal kilns, Rubina Ferdowshy, the environment department’s director told AFP. The demolitions have “improved Dhaka’s air quality,” she said. “We now rank much below among the worst polluted cities.” By early December Dhaka’s air had improved, coming in at 23rd worst among major world cities according to the same monitor. But for Bishwanath Mallick, who used to work at the Saturia kiln, the improved ranking has come at a price. “Now, where will I find work? There are only shrimp farms in my village, but they don’t need many workers,” he told AFP.
Indian rape victim dies in hospital after being set ablaze NEW DELHI: An alleged rape victim in northern India set on fire on her way to a court hearing in the case she filed died in a hospital in New Delhi, officials said Saturday. The woman was attacked by a group of men in the state of Uttar Pradesh, including two of the five men she had accused of gang-rape last year who were out of custody on bail. Five men were arrested in connection with the burn attack. The 23-year-old woman suffered extensive injuries and was airlifted Thursday from Uttar Pradesh to Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi, where she died late Friday of cardiac arrest, according to Dr. Shalab Kumar, head of the hospital’s burn unit. The woman’s death came on the same day police in the southern state of Telangana fatally shot four men being held on suspicion of raping and killing a 27-yearold veterinarian after investigators took them to the crime scene. AGENCIES
Johnson, Corbyn wage Brexit battle in final debate before UK election MAIDSTONE: Prime Minister Boris Johnson and opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn clashed over Brexit on Friday in the last televised debate before next week’s election that will determine the path for Britain’s departure from the European Union. Six days before Britain votes in its second national election in less than three years, the debate was seen as the last chance for Corbyn to squeeze Johnson’s lead in the polls, which mostly point to victory for the prime minister. A snap poll by YouGov found 52% of viewers thought Johnson had won the debate. The two leaders set a combative tone over how to leave the EU and in their very different offers for domestic policy – “socialism carried out in a democratic way” from Corbyn, or “one-nation Conservatism” that will not “rack up debts” from Johnson. More than three years after Britain voted to leave the EU, the Dec. 12 election will determine when, how and even whether Brexit happens. Johnson ridiculed Corbyn’s support for a new referendum in which Corbyn has said he would remain neutral, while the Labour leader said the prime minister’s pledge to “get Brexit done” actually meant years of trade talks. “We have ample time to get on and build a new free trade partnership, not just with the EU but with countries around the world,” Johnson said in the BBC television debate. But Corbyn countered that it would take the government seven years to negotiate a trade deal with the United States and said business could not live with the uncertainty that Britain might still leave the EU without a deal next year. Polls show Johnson’s governing party is well ahead of Labour. A Panelbase survey on Friday showed the Conservatives extending their lead slightly over the opposition party to nine points, up from eight a week ago. Johnson, who renegotiated a new divorce deal with the EU in October, has promised to “get Brexit done”, a slogan he has repeated constantly during campaigning to try to win over Labour supporters who backed leaving the bloc, and those who are simply fed up of the political haggling over the issue. AGENCIES
Sunday, 8 December, 2019
BUSINESS 11
FBR pRopoSeS up to RS40,000 tAx FoR ShopkeepeRS
CORPORATE CORNER
ISLAMABAD
SIALKOT: Escorts Investment Bank Limited (EIBL) has opened its eighth branch in Sambrial area. EIBL CEO Naveed Amin inaugurated the branch by cutting the ribbon. PreSS releASe
LAHORE: Tetra Pak Pakistan has collaborated with Islamabad United as its ‘Official Nutrition Partner’ for the upcoming Pakistan Super League (PSL). P r e S S r e l e A S e
t
SHAHZAD PArACHA
HE Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has proposed a maximum Rs40,000 fixed tax for shopkeepers, Pakistan Today has learnt. As per the documents, the tax department has prepared a draft for small shopkeepers and in this regard has requested feedback from the relevant quarters. FBR has defined shopkeepers as “individuals carrying business activities at premises having a covered area less than 300 square feet”. However, jewellers, wholesalers, real estate agents, builders & developers, lawyers, chartered accountants are not included in the shopkeepers’ category. Documents revealed that the FBR has di-
vided the shopkeepers into four categories. Under the first category, it has been proposed that if a shop is located in area specified as category A (an area where the value of shop exceeds Rs10,000 per square foot as per FBR’s valuation) and the shop premises does not exceed 150 square feet shall pay Rs35,000 for the tax year 2019 and Rs40,000 in next tax 2020. Similarly, if the shop is located in an area specified as category A and the shop premises in which the business activity is carried out exceeds 150 square feet but does not exceed 300 square feet shall pay Rs40,000 for the tax year 2019 and Rs50,000 in the next tax year. Meanwhile, it has been proposed that if the shop is located at any place other than category A and the shop premises do not exceed 150
square feet shall pay Rs20,000 for the tax year 2019 and Rs25,000 in the next tax year. Likewise, if a shop is located at any place other than category A and the shop premises exceed 150 square feet but not 300 square feet shall pay Rs25,000 for the tax year 2019 and Rs30,000 next year. FBR would charge two per cent of turnover as defined in section 113 or the amount of tax set out in the above-stated paragraphs. It has also been proposed that shopkeepers could pay money in two instalments but they would have to pay money till December. “There shall be no audit or examination of such shopkeeper and upon paying tax, shopkeeper shall be issued a sticker that shall be displayed by the shopkeeper on a prominent place within the business premises,” the FBR proposed.
Senate body calls for facilitation of Balochistan miners QUETTA APP
SUKKUR: Special government dignitaries, along with local famers, attend ‘Salam Kissan’ initiative hosted by Sarsabz, Pakistan’s leading fertiliser brand. PreSS releASe
ISLAMABAD: Winners of a cricket match, organised by Serena Hotel Islamabad, pose for a group photo. PreSS releASe
Govt to set up markets along Iran, Afghan borders ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to establish markets along Iran and Afghanistan border areas. The prime minister has tasked the commerce ministry to complete necessary requirements in this regard, saying that the border markets would facilitate traders of the entire region. According to sources, the matter of establishing border markets would soon be raised with the governments of Iran and Afghanistan. It is pertinent to mention that the markets would be established at specific locations along the border regions of Afghanistan and Iran. Specific spots for this purpose would be identified by the provincial governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan. The border fencing and smuggling across the borders has been affecting trade activities in the region, and the government has planned to take security agencies, customs and the NADRA into confidence for carrying out the task. inP
Senate's Standing Committee on Petroleum Chairman Mohsin Aziz on Saturday chaired a meeting to review the facilities being provided to mine workers in Balochistan. Addressing the meeting, Mohsin Aziz said, "We have come to Quetta to review the problems being faced by mineworkers." He expressed resentment over the non-registration of workers, saying that only four per cent miners were registered and that it was the responsibility of the provincial government and owners of mine companies to ensure the registration of workers. "Measures should be taken to provide training to miners in order to save them from any untoward situation inside a coal mine," he said, adding that compensation to victims, who died in different incidents during the mining process, should be ensured within three months. Briefing the meeting, Balochistan Labour & Manpower Secretary Bashir Ahmed Bazai said the provincial government was taking serious steps to ensure the welfare of labourers, adding that thousands of workers had been trained by the government regarding their work in mines. Meanwhile, Sui Southern Gas Company (Quetta) General Manager Madani Siddiqi also gave a briefing to the meeting, saying that some areas were facing low gas pressures due to nonpayment of bills and gas pilferage. "But SSGC is trying to improve gas pressures in Quetta, Mastung and Kalat." On the occasion, Senator Mir Kabir Muhammad Shahi said the temperature in Kalat had dropped to the freezing point, and due to low gas pressure, people there were facing a lot of problems. Senator Sarfraz Bugti said people of Dera Bugti were being deprived of gas despite the fact that the area supplied gas to various parts of the country. Committee chairman Mohsin Aziz summoned Pakistan Petroleum Limited and SSGC officials to the next meeting so that gas supply issued related to Dera Bugti could be resolved.
RAWALPINDI: A boy waits for customers as he sells used clothes near Fowara Chowk. online
Trump calls for World Bank to stop lending to China WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has called for the World Bank to stop loaning money to China, one day after the institution adopted a lending plan to Beijing over Washington’s objections. The World Bank on Thursday adopted a plan to aid China with $1 billion to $1.5 billion in low-interest loans annually through June 2025. The plan calls for lending to “gradually decline” from the previous five-year average of $1.8 billion. “Why is the World Bank loaning money to China? Can this be possible? China has plenty of money, and if they don’t, they create it. STOP!” Trump wrote in a post on Twitter. “World Bank lending to China has fallen sharply and will continue to reduce as part of our agreement with all our shareholders including the United States,” the World Bank said in an emailed statement to Reuters. “We eliminate lending as countries get richer.” Spokespeople for the White House declined to comment on the record. The World Bank loaned China $1.3 billion in the fiscal 2019 year, which ended on June 30, a decrease from around $2.4 billion in fiscal 2017. But the fall in the World Bank’s loans to China is not swift enough for the Trump administration, which has argued that Beijing is too wealthy for international aid. AGenCieS
Trade war goes digital: countries eye tariffs on Internet economy GENEVA AGenCieS
A 20-year global moratorium on imposing tariffs on digital trade could end next week if India or South Africa makes good on threats, according to trade officials and documents, potentially forcing people to pay duties on software and movie downloads. Since 1998, the World Trade Organization (WTO) members have renewed a ban on import duties on so-called “electronic transmissions”, worth up to $255 billion a year by one estimate. Some think this favours rich countries, given it received strong backing from Washington at the outset and most of the lost customs revenues are thought
to be born by developing countries. Pressure is now growing to lift the ban as more books and movies become digital potentially reducing revenues further. India and South Africa circulated an internal WTO document, reviewed by Reuters this week, saying that rising digitalisation compelled “a rethink of the role of the temporary moratorium” last year, citing the potential of 3D printing to manufacture products. It will be decided on next week and renewal requires full consensus. Asked about its position, South Africa’s WTO Ambassador Xolelwa Mlumbi-Peter said in an emailed response this week that it was “still consulting on this important decision.” India did not respond to a request for
comment. “At the moment there are a number of countries that feel confident they can stand aside from the global consensus,” said the International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) Secretary General John Denton. “It could break the Internet.” A proposal backed by 21 countries including China and Canada seeks to extend the ban for at least six months when it expires at year-end. Deal-broker Switzerland said “a large part of the WTO has signalled its support for the Moratorium”. Such duties could be difficult to apply and it is not clear how it would be determined where the digital product originated from and whether it is an import. “How do you put a tariff on a byte?
How would you capture millions of data flows from multiple sources flowing across countries’ borders every minute of every day,” asked Denton. However, the first possible answers are emerging. Indonesia created tariff codes for digital goods in 2018, fixing the level at 0 per cent for now. LOST REVENUES? Should the moratorium end, it does not mean that tariffs will immediately follow, and MlumbiPeter stressed that. But this is seen as more likely in a new culture of permissiveness following the expected paralysis of the WTO’s top ruling body after Dec. 10. “If someone tries to experiment putting customs duties on even a limited set of products or services, then there is a risk
of immediate retaliation absent of the dispute settlement function,” said the ICC’s Andrew Wilson. Estimates of the ban’s effect vary. At the top of the scale, a recent U.N. report said potential annual tariff revenue losses could be up to $10.4 billion a year, with more than $10 billion lost by WTO developing countries. “More and more production is going to be digitised in future so developing countries will lose tariff revenues,” Rashmi Banga, the report’s author, said. However, an OECD study questioned these assumptions, arguing that the revenue gains from lifting the ban would be relatively small and tariffs would lead to higher prices for consumers among other costs.
Sunday, 8 December, 2019
12 BUSINESS
telenoR InveStIGAteS RS 514M FRAud In MIcRoFInAnce BAnk
t Govt targets 300,000Mt of kinnow export this season EXPORTERS SEEK GOVT’S HELP IN PRODUCING NEW VARIETIES OF CITRUS FRUITS ISLAMABAD GHUlAM ABBAS
The export of kinnow from Pakistan has started and an export target of 300,000 tonnes has been set for the current season, which is expected to generate valuable foreign exchange worth $19.5 million. Of the anticipated kinnow production of 2.2 million tonnes, around 15-20pc would be exported. According to All Pakistan Fruit & Vegetable Exporters, Importers & Merchants Association (PFVA), “Keeping in view the huge losses sustained by the kinnow exporters in the Russian market during the previous season, the exporter target for the current season has been kept 50,000 tonnes less than the last year.” Owing to stiff competition in the Russian market, the exporters had to export kinnow to Russia at a much lower rate than its actual cost of shipment, leading to financial losses of around $6 million in the previous season. “Kinnow exporters from competitor countries received financial support from their respective governments, while Pakistani kinnow exporters can only wish to have such privileges from their government,” PFVA said in a statement. “To meet the export target of 300,000MT, it is imperative that we have close coordination among the shipping companies, concerned ministries and departments,” PFVA head stated Waheed Ahmed opined. “If we don’t encounter any disturbances in supply or transportation, we will leave no stone unturned to even go above the set export target.” According to Ahmed, since the existing kinnow orchards have already completed their lifecycle and don’t have adequate resistance to counter the effects of climatic changes and diseases, Pakistan is now confronted with the issue of “quality”. “It is the need of the hour to harvest new varieties of citrus fruits,” he suggested. The PFVA chief noted that the season of citrus fruits is limited to four months only. “However, with the production of new varieties, this period can be extended to eight months which means we will have a wider window of time for export and thus the existing export volume can be enhanced to $1 billion.” He said through extensive research & development (R&D), new orchards with new varieties could be established in the next 4-5 years. “If orchards with new varieties are not established, the existing export of citrus fruits will be affected badly,” he added. Meanwhile, it has been learnt that owing to serious issues of quality, the association had self-imposed a ban on kinnow export to Europe since 2014. Europe is a huge market for Pakistani kinnow and can easily accommodate around 1,000 containers. However, to avert any likely ban by Europe over ‘quality’, Pakistani exporters had stopped the export of kinnow to the region. According to exporters, the European market offers better price of Pakistani kinnow compared to other conventional international markets. Had the export to this market continued, the overall kinnow export would have enhanced by 50pc, they added. Stressing the need to improve the quality of kinnow, the exporters urged the government to get access to international markets that are currently inaccessible. They called upon the Ministry of National Food Security & Research and the provincial governments to initiate the process of R&D in the horticulture sector so that concerns regarding food security could be addressed.
MEIRYUM ALI
ELENOR is investigating suspected extensive fraud in its microfinance bank in Pakistan, according to news reports from Norway. Verdens Gang (VG), a Norwegian tabloid newspaper, and Dagens Næringsliv (DN), a Norwegian business newspaper, both reported on the ongoing case earlier this week. In an article published on 7 December, DN reported that the Telenor Microfinance Bank says it has been scammed for around NOK 30 million, or around PKR 514 million. The bank has identified 14 people, 12 of whom are local bank employees, and two of whom are external loan agents. The DN managed to obtain access to a police report in Lahore. According to the article, there was a hearing on Saturday in Lahore where Telenor bank's lawyer, Waheed Riaz, and several of those accused of fraud appeared. The meeting, however, was postponed. According to the police report, the loan agents were recruited by the branch's staff, who created 1638 false loan applications. According to Riaz, the accused constructed ‘ghost clients’ to create fake loan applications. The bank employees then approved the loans and transferred money.
14 PEOPLE, INCLUDING TELENOR EMPLOYEES, HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE ALLEGED SCAM The accused have denied the allegations. According to Profit sources, an inspection team from the State Bank of Pakistan also arrived earlier this week to help investigate. The fraud has been alleged to have been ongoing since February 2017. The actual amount may differ, as the current figure only refers to one branch, out of the bank’s 171 branches in Pakistan. Other bank branches are currently under investigation. Telenor's communications director Gry Rohde Nordhus said in an email to DN that they cannot comment on the details of the case as the investigation is still ongoing. As per the article, after issues with the branch’s loan portfolio arose, the bank set up an investigation team in August 2019 to investigate. The team concluded there had been a number of false loan applications, and that bank employees had granted loans to people without sufficient documentation. The bank’s management in Pakistan notified Telenor in Norway in September 2019 of the
possible scam. Telenor’s board was also informed. Telenor ASA then decided to start an investigation in October 2019. When reached for comment, Telenor Microfinance Bank said that they have followed all procedures, and acted swiftly when they were first made aware of this scam. They also notified the State Bank of Pakistan immediately when this was first brought to management’s notice. Telenor Microfinance Bank also said they are working closely with the State Bank on this case, and have filed an FIR against the employees involved. They are also investigating the branch to ensure that there is no further scam. Telenor Microfinance Bank is based in Karachi and was founded in 2006. It was later acquired by Telenor Pakistan in 2008. Telenor Group now jointly owns the bank along with the Chinese fintech company Ant Financial, through an agreement between the two in March 2018. As per the agreement, Ant Financial will invest $184.5 million for a 45% stake in the microfinance bank. The microfinance bank just received a second tranche investment of $70 million from Ant Financial today to further develop mobile payments and digital financial services. The bank has served more than 30 million customers through Easypaisa.
Pakistan Property Show concludes successfully in Dubai HELD AT WORLD TRADE CENTRE, THE TWO-DAY EVENT ATTRACTED OVER 20,000 VISITORS The Pakistan Property Show (PPS) 2019, organised by Pakistan’s largest property portal Zameen.com, successfully concluded at the World Trade Centre in Dubai on Friday. Consul General of Pakistan in UAE Amjad Ahmad Ali graced the occasion as special guest on its second and last day. A total of 64 exhibitors from Pakistan’s most important cities, including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Multan, Peshawar, Murree, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Raheem Yar Khan, Gwadar, offered property options during the event. The exhibition attracted more than 20,000 visitors.
It was for the first time that the Government of Pakistan participated in PPS. Prime Minister Imran Khan had tasked the Privatisation Commission to engage with the expatriate community in an effort to find buyers for dead-weight government properties. "Such events provide ideal opportunity to engage with overseas Pakistanis because of their phenomenal outreach,” said Privatisation Commission DG Iftikhar Hussain. This was the third annual edition of PPS, which is arranged by Zameen.com. The previous two editions generated a combined audi-
ence of more than 31,000. PPS 2019 was earlier inaugurated by Dubai Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) CEO Marwan Ahmed bin Ghalita. Prominent media persons, including Moeed Pirzada, Waseem Badami and Mansoor Ali Khan, also attended the event and inter-
acted with exhibitors. Speaking to the press, CEO of Zameen.com Zeeshan Ali Khan said, “The success of Pakistan Property Show is in fact the success of UAE based Pakistanis, whose participation generates an invaluable inflow of foreign exchange to Pakistan.” PreSS releASe
'Uber must take action after disclosing sexual assault reports' WASHINGTON AGenCieS
The chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee urged Uber Technologies Inc to take action after the company disclosed it received over 3,000 reports of sexual assault related to its 1.3 billion rides in the United States last year. Representative Peter DeFazio, a Democrat, praised Uber for releasing the information, but said Uber and other companies must do more “to establish formal policies, training and reporting structures.” “As a country, we must ensure safety is a priority, and make it clear that sexual assault and harassment will not be tolerated anywhere, no matter where it occurs,” he said. DeFazio in November introduced legislation
to help track and prevent incidents from occurring in different modes of transportation, including ridesharing companies. It was approved by the committee and now awaits action by the full US House. Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The sexual assault figure represents a 16pc fall in the rate of incidents from the previous year in the five most serious categories of sexual assault reported, Uber said on Thursday in its first biennial US Safety Report. The company also said reports of assaults on passengers overlooked risks for drivers, as riders accounted for roughly half of the accused. Uber, which operates in 70 countries, said the report showed its commitment to transparency to improve accountability and safety industry-wide. It said it would use what it learned producing the
report for its “next steps” in other places. In the report, Uber said 99.9pc of its 2.3 billion US trips in 2017 and 2018 ended without safety incidents. In October, Uber and rival Lyft Inc declined to appear in front of DeFazio’s committee at a hearing related to the ride-hailing industry. “Their failure to appear at this hearing is a telling sign that they would rather suffer a public lashing than answer questions on the record about their operations,” DeFazio said at the October hearing, adding the companies “don’t make information about their process for deactivating dangerous drivers public. They don’t share data on the prevalence of assaults on their platforms.” Lyft on Thursday said it was committed to releasing its own safety report and sharing information on unsafe drivers. It did not state a release date for its report.
China's November forex reserves ease to $3.096tr BEIJING AGenCieS
China's foreign exchange reserves fell $9 billion in November to $3.096 trillion, central bank data showed on Saturday, as Washington and Beijing remained locked in negotiations over an interim trade agreement. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected China’s reserves, the world’s largest, would fall $4 billion to $3.101 trillion in November. Despite the slowing Chinese econ-
omy and escalating US-China trade war, its reserves have been gradually rising since late 2018, helped by tight capital controls and rising inflows from foreign investors who are snapping up the country’s stocks and bonds. Modest changes in reserve levels in recent months have been largely ascribed to fluctuations in global exchange rates and the value of assets that China holds such as foreign bonds. The yuan has been driven largely by twists and turns in the 17-month long trade war between China and the
United States. After sliding sharply this summer as the dispute suddenly escalated, the yuan rose for three straight months through November on hopes of a trade truce, only to slide again in early December as tensions between Washington and Beijing flared. Fresh US tariffs on Chinese goods are set to take effect on Dec 15. It gained 0.12pc against the dollar in November but remains about 2.3pc weaker for the year to date. The dollar, meanwhile, rose about 1pc against a basket of other major cur-
rencies in November. The value of the country’s gold reserves fell to $91.47 billion at the end of November from $94.65 billion at the end of October. China held 62.64 million fine troy ounces of gold at the end of November, unchanged from October. China’s economic growth cooled to 6.0pc in the third quarter, the slowest pace in nearly 30 years, and many economists believe it will decelerate further into the upper 5pc range in 2020. Still, analysts note capital outflows
have been modest compared with the last economic downturn in 2015-16 when policymakers burned through roughly $1 trillion in reserves supporting the yuan. China’s central bank has started to slowly trim interest rates in recent months, and more reductions are expected in coming quarters to avert a sharper slowdown. But analysts believe those cuts will likely be more gradual and smaller than those in 2015. If so, moves in the yuan are likely to be influenced more by trade developments than policy easing.
CMYK
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Sunday, 8 December, 2019
Times Critics’ Top Books of 2019
I
The New York Times By Dwight garner
N the literary world, it has been a year of big, bold ambition. Novelists have stretched their canvases — writing a sentence that runs for a thousand pages; charting the fate of three families in Africa across four generations. Nonfiction writers have made riveting narrative from sprawling, difficult material: the irish troubles, the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, the history of the Lakota tribe. And memoirists have confronted harrowing and profound subjects: Life in New Orleans during and after Hurricane Katrina; decades spent in solitary confinement; psychological abuse in intimate relationships. Below, the New York times’s three daily book critics — Dwight Garner, Parul sehgal and Jennifer szalai — share their thoughts about their favorites among the books they reviewed this year, each list alphabetical by author. An annual note on methodology: the critics limit themselves in making these lists, each selecting only from those books they reviewed for the times. For more of their thoughts about the year, including books they may not have reviewed themselves but still enjoyed, you can read their related roundtable discussion. — John Williams, Daily Books Editor and staff Writer
DWIGHT GARNER ‘NIGHT BOAT TO TANGIER’ By Kevin Barry (Doubleday). the irish writer Kevin Barry’s buoyant third novel is about Maurice and Charlie, former drug runners who lift from the page — they’re existentialist and twinkling thugs. throughout this short novel they linger in the dismal all-night waiting room of a ferry terminal in the spanish port city of Algeciras. they’re hoping to find Maurice’s estranged adult daughter, who may be passing through on her
way to (or from) tangier. this melancholy and comic novel works because Maurice and Charlie are such vivid company on the page. they’re a couple of battered and slightly sinister vaudevillians on a late-career mental walkabout. ‘THE YELLOW HOUSE’ By sarah M. Broom (Grove Press). this forceful, rolling and manychambered memoir, set largely on the outer margins of New Orleans, isn’t merely about Hurricane Katrina. But the storm and the way it scattered the author’s large family across America give this book its grease and gravitas. Broom was the youngest of 12 children. the yellow house of the title may be this book’s central character. it looked pleasant on the outside, but was in such disrepair inside that no guests were allowed in. Broom’s family felt a constant sense of shame. this book moves around the world as Broom takes jobs elsewhere, including Burundi. But it always returns to Louisiana. “New Orleans is a mood,” the author writes. so is this book. ‘TRUST EXERCISE’ By susan Choi (Henry Holt and Company).
Choi’s remarkable fifth novel, the winner of this year’s National Book Award, is about sophomore theater students in high school, their souls in flux. it’s about misplaced trust in adults, and about female friendships gone dangerously awry. in the end, it’s about cruelty. satisfyingly, it’s also about revenge. At about this novel’s midpoint, Choi pulls the tablecloth from under her narrative and forces you to reassess, from a different angle, all that’s come before. the novel becomes a phosphorescent examination of sexual consent, especially when applied to student-teacher relationships. Late in the book there is a sense of final puzzle pieces snapping into place, of someone scooping up all the jacks before the second bounce. ‘UNDERLAND: A Deep time Journey’ By robert Macfarlane (W.W. Norton & Company). Macfarlane’s book recounts a series of explorations under the surface of our planet. in England, he visits caves and studies fungi; in Paris, he goes into the catacombs. He considers sinkholes in the slovenian highlands, nuclear waste in Finland
and global warming in Greenland. there’s a bit of John Muir and John McPhee, patient writers and naturalists both, in Macfarlane’s work. there’s a bit of Geoff Dyer, of the critical wildcat, in him, too. there’s the prickling sense that a library door or a manhole cover or a forest path might lead you not just to the end of a chapter but to a drugs party or a rave. ‘BABY, I DON’T CARE’ By Chelsey Minnis (Wave Books). this persuasive and blackly funny book of poems takes its tone and subject matter from old Hollywood movies, but the intensity of the attack is all Minnis’s. the speaker in “Baby, i Don’t Care” is a soignée gold-digger (“Baby, why don’t you give me an oil well or something?”) who toys with the lunk who keeps her in diamonds. He’s a side of beef into which she flicks verbal darts. “Baby, it’s so sexy to think. / Why don’t you try it?” she says. Across her five books of poems Minnis has marinated in the sort of feelings you don’t like to admit you have. she’s a bored, fierce, literate attendee at what the poet Frederick seidel has referred to as “life’s cotillion.” ‘NORMAL PEOPLE’ By sally rooney (Hogarth). rooney’s taut and psychologically intense second novel is about Marianne and Connell, teenagers when we first meet them, not yet flowers but small tight buds. At school, he’s popular and an athlete. she is offbeat and withdrawn and friendless. “Normal People” tracks them across four years. they are both gifted students and wind up at trinity College in Dublin. they are never quite boyfriend and girlfriend in the conventional sense. they merely break each other’s hearts over and over again. there’s no sawdust, no filler in rooney’s novel. Her intimate style can be reminiscent of rachel Cusk’s. there aren’t dueling narrators or cat’s cradles of plotlines. You buy rooney’s ticket, you take her ride.
‘THE OLD DRIFT’ By Namwali serpell (Hogarth). “the Old Drift” is an intimate, brainy, gleaming epic, set mostly in what is now Zambia, the landlocked country in southern Africa. it closely tracks the fortunes of three families (black, white, brown) across four generations. the plot pivots gracefully from accounts of the region’s early white colonizers and despoilers through the worst years of the AiDs crisis. it pushes into the near future, proposing a world in which flocking bug-size microdrones are a) fantastically cool and b) put to chilling totalitarian purposes. serpell seems to want to stuff the entire world into her novel — biology, race, subjugation, revolutionary politics, technology — but it retains a human scale. it is filled with love stories, greedy sex (“my heart twerks for you,” one character comments), pot smoke, comedy, inopportune menstruation, car crashes, tennis, and the scorching pleasure and pain of long hours in hair salons. ‘LOT: Stories’ By Bryan Washington (riverhead Books). Washington’s subtle, dynamic and flexible short stories crack open a vibrant, polyglot side of Houston about which few outsiders are aware. His characters move through streets that he names so often — richmond and Waugh, rusk and Fairview — that they come to have talismanic power, like the street names in springsteen songs. these stories take place amid dismal laundromats and broken-down pharmacies. there are turf wars and shootouts. things happen near Dollar tree stores or in Whataburger parking lots. the men and women here are extended hope only in homeopathic amounts. But there is a fair amount of joy in Washington’s stories, too. An underthrob of emotion beats inside them. He’s confident enough not to force the action. the stories feel loose, their cellular juices free to flow.
ROVING EYE
‘The Man Without Qualities’ Acquires a New Volume
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The New York Times By Lisa appignanesi
irst there was robert Musil the mechanical engineer, who invented a chroma meter, a device for evaluating color. then there was Musil the philosophical scientist, interested in probability theory and logical positivism, as well as in the workings of the mind and the soul. Neither Musil seems a likely candidate for the role of novelist, even in that hotbed of modernism that was the Austro-Hungarian Empire during its dying liberal decades. Yet Musil went on to write “the Man Without Qualities,” an achievement that ranked him with Proust and Joyce. it could just as easily have been otherwise, Ulrich, Musil’s antiheroic protagonist, might have interjected. He’s a character so ironical, so open to possibility, that no attributes stick, certainly not long enough for him to develop the kind of passionate conviction that, Musil makes clear, the worst in his time are prone to. Musil’s scientific background is undoubtedly what gives his great human comedy its singular aspect. Packed with incisive essayistic excursions, explorations of chance, traffic accidents, pathology, probability and the weather, along with extravagant characters, picaresque sexual encounters and a rebellious questioning of love, gender and morality in a world then newly abandoned by God, “the Man Without Qualities,” which is set in 1913 and runs
nearly 2,000 pages, has a contemporary flavor. Epigrammatic reflections jump from the pages: “the ideal obligation to love one’s neighbor is obeyed in two parts, the first consisting in not being able to stand the human race, and the second in compensating for that by engaging in sexual relations with one half of it.” As Ulrich thinks this thought, he is desultorily wandering the streets of Vienna, ogling a pretty woman. the novel is famously unfinished: in a world poised to enter a cataclysmic war, definitive resolutions are elusive. Only death marks a terminus. Musil began the novel in
1921, published the first volume in 1930 to some acclaim, the second in 1933 as the Nazis came to power, only to die of a stroke while in exile in switzerland in 1942. His wife found him in the tub shortly after he’d completed a version of a much reworked chapter called “Breaths of a summer Day,” in which Ulrich and his sister, Agathe, in a state of contemplative enchantment, watch blossoms drift “like snow through sunshine” in his Viennese garden. this scene constitutes the finale of AGAtHE, Or tHE FOrGOttEN sistEr (New York review Books, paper, $17.95), a
new stand-alone volume comprising material culled from prior editions of “the Man Without Qualities” as well as the substantial Musil archive, and appearing in English for the first time, in a translation by Joel Agee. the idea was to create a concentrated narrative focused on the twinlike siblings and what Agathe calls, at once in jest and in earnest, “the last possible love story.” Gone are the comic antics of the Parallel Campaign, that committee of the great and good searching for a big idea to celebrate the emperor’s impending 70th jubilee. (Might that be better sex for women? its leader, the beautiful Diotima, suggests in a chapter not included in this volume.) Gone is Moosbrugger, the pathological sex-murderer with the face of a saint, now interned in an asylum and awaiting trial. Gone, too, is the hysterical Clarisse, who thinks she may also be a boy and is enamored both of Ulrich and of a self-styled prophet not unlike Hitler. in Agee’s vividly contemporary and sensuous translation, “Agathe” zeros in on a quasi-mystical adventure in living and loving. Musil’s emphasis on spiritual experience — what he calls the “other condition” — may well be in part a reaction to Nazism; in the face of the regime’s terrors, he, like so many writers of the period, retreated inward. He had initially toyed with featuring a sister in his vast novel’s title — a double for his sometimes lonely hero. He, himself, was haunted by a sister who had died four years before his birth.
Sunday, 8 December, 2019
14 SPORTS
Inter held by roma after racIsm storm, leavIng Juve to eye top spot turin
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Agencies
NTER Milan were held to a goalless draw by Roma at the San Siro on Friday, leaving the way open for Italian champions Juventus to reclaim top spot in Serie A this weekend. Antonio Conte's side have a two-point advantage on Juventus who play Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday. The match in the San Siro had been overshadowed by a racism storm after Italian sports daily Corriere dello Sport's controversial "Black Friday" headline. The front-page headline accompanied an article about the first Serie A meeting between former Manchester United teammates Romelu Lukaku and Chris Smalling. On the pitch, defender Smalling and Gianluca Mancini stifled Inter's prolific strike duo Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez, who between them have scored 18 of their team's goals in 15 league games this season. Conte's side proved toothless in attack against a well-organised Roma, failing to find the net for the first time this season, days before their Champions League clash against Barcelona.
"The great merit of Roma is having stopped Lautaro-Lukaku," said coach Paulo Fonseca. "Inter's main chances came from our mistakes, but we always played the ball with courage and that's what I want for the team. "We did well defensively. Smalling and Mancini had a good game like the whole team, it's certainly not easy against Inter." Lukaku, Marcelo Brozovic and Matias Vecino all missed chances for the hosts as Roma snatched a precious point to move fourth and into the Champions League places. Inter were lacking in midfield with Stefano Sensi, Nicolo Barella and Roberto Gagliardini all out with Roma missing goalkeeper Pau Lopez while Edin Dzeko started on the bench after flu, but came on for the final 25 minutes. Midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo took Dzeko's place up front with Roma dominating the first half hour, although Inter had the best chances with Antonio Mirante denying Lukaku after a blundering Jordan Veretout back-pass. A similar error from the Roma goalkeeper nearly proved costly when Mirante passed the ball straight to Lukaku on the edge of the area just before the break but Marcelo Brozovic wastefully fired over the bar.
Political football: Riquelme and Maradona carry old feud into Boca election Beuaos aires Agencies
'We should stand up and pay attention' to mental health: Brian Lara santa Cruz Agencies
Mental health has become a major talking point in cricket of late, with more and more prominent players opening up on the subject. Brian Lara, still the holder of the highest individual score in Test and first-class cricket, is among many to welcome the discussions on the subject, calling mentalhealth issues "real", and a "part of all sport", which "is coming to the fore now with a lot more aggression". Lara is one of the greats of the game, and his 400 not-out against England in a Test in 2004 and 501 not out in a County Championship game in 1994 remain the top batting efforts in the longer formats of the game. To most outsiders, he was as close to infallible as could be during that period, but Lara, speaking at a charity golf event in Mumbai on Friday, revealed that it was far from smooth sailing for him. "... From the beginning of my international career in 1989 to about 1995, it was on an upward spiral. I don't think a lot of people will appreciate (but) from 1995-98, it was on a downward spiral," he was quoted as saying by PTI. "I felt the pressures of being a double world-record holder, (it) played its part and the West Indies team was on its decline. "I remember on occasions where I lay in my room feeling the despair. It [mental health issue] is real, it is part of all sport and it is coming to the fore now with a lot more aggression. Players are at least standing up and saying 'I need to just remove myself, fight myself and come back again'." Rachel Trenaman, the Sydney Thunder and New South Wales allrounder, became the latest to ask for time off from the game to focus on her mental health. In just the
past few months, England's Sarah Taylor has retired from the sport at just 30 years of age, and Australians Glenn Maxwell, Will Pucovski and Nic Maddinson all took breaks to address their problems before returning to action. "... The kind of pressures the players are in now, may be before in the 70s and 80s, you played for the love of the game, you played for your country, you loved Test cricket," Lara said. "With all franchise cricket going on around in the world, the intensity of the game, sometimes is a burden. Guys are playing for England and not playing county cricket, guys are playing for Australia and not playing Sheffield cricket (and) that just tells you how mentally draining it is. "[It's] something that we should stand up and pay attention to." Lara's 400 not-out was under threat just the other day when David Warner hit 335 not-out in just 554 minutes in a Test against Pakistan in Adelaide. There was a lot of time left in the game but with the weather forecast being a bit iffy, Australia decided to declare at that point - Warner had just gone past the 334-run mark of Don Bradman and Mark Taylor - to press for victory. Tim Paine, the Australia captain, has had to answer questions about the declaration since, the argument being that there might have been time for Warner to chase Lara's record and for Australia to win - victory was achieved well inside four days in the end. "I felt that David Warner should have been given an opportunity to go for it," Lara said. "I happened to be in Adelaide and I thought it was kind of destiny being there. We do understand, obviously any team, who have forced themselves to a very good position would want to get (give) the opposition a chance (to bat) the second, evening.
Diego Maradona and Juan Roman Riquelme are back in the heart of the battle at their former club Boca Juniors, but this weekend they are playing political football. Riquelme's decision to join the opposition ticket in the election of the club board has added fuel to a heated campaign and reopened a feud with Maradona who aimed a broadside at his former team-mate. The vote on Sunday is also shaping as a rematch of the recent Argentine presidential election. The 80,000 Boca members can vote at the club's famous Bonbonera stadium on Sunday in a ballot that could bring a second defeat for Mauricio Macri in less than two months. Macri was president of Boca from 1995 to 2006 and used that as a springboard to national political success. He became president of Argentina in 2015 at the head of his centre-right Cambiemos party. But his rule will end on December 10. He was booted out of office in a national election on October 27, beaten by another Buenos Aires politician Alberto Fernandez, a centre-left candidate. Boca has been run for the last
eight years by Macri's long-time ally Daniel Anglici, backed by Cambiemos members on the board. The Macri faction's candidate this time is Christian Gribaudo a former national deputy. His main challenger is a former Macri protege Jorge Amor Ameal, club president from 2008-11. Riquelme, 41, is running with Ameal as candidate for the position of second vice-president. Riquelme made his Boca debut in 1996 and soon replaced Maradona, who had returned to the club to finish his career. Riquelme also had a fractious relationship with Macri and feuded with Anglici. Unlike Maradona, who won little at the club, Riquelme is associated with Boca's greatest success. The club's last major international trophies came in 2007, when Riquelme scored three goals in a 5-0 aggregate win over Gremio in the Libertadores Cup final. That was the club's sixth victory in the competition, the last three with Riquelme in the team. He also led them to their last Intercontinental Cup victory in 2000. Boca reached the Libertadores final again last year only to lose to hated rivals River Plate in a controversial final. River also eliminated Boca in this year's semi-finals. Coming close only to lose to their
neighbours seems to have hurt deeply. "I think it's time to help my club, these last few years were the worst," Riquelme told America TV. When fans at the Bombonera chanted "Riqueeelme, Riqueeelme," as the club drew 1-1 with Argentino Juniors last Saturday it was read as an electoral signal. Riquelme made it clear that he thought the vote had a wider political significance: "The whole country knows that we have to win." Attempts to cash in on Riquelme's popularity in the election have been blocked. A photo showing his back, wearing the Boca number 10, was banned from the ballot paper. The club has warned that anyone wearing a Riquelme t-shirt on Sunday will not be allowed to vote. Maradona, recently returned to Argentina to coach Gimnasia in nearby La Plata and the owner of a box at the Bombonera, reacted with hostility to Riquelme's candidacy. Riquelme snubbed Maradona, Argentina's coach, by refusing to come out of retirement for the 2010 World Cup, making it clear the refusal was personal. "We don't agree much," Riquelme said in late 2009. "My codes are not his and it's clear that we can't work together."
Qatar postpones launch of new 2022 World Cup venue Doha Agencies
Qatar has postponed to next year the opening of Education City stadium, its second newly built venue for the 2022 football World Cup, FIFA said on Saturday. The venue was due to be inaugurated when it hosted the semifinal of the Club World Cup between Liverpool and an as yet undetermined side on December 18. But delays to the certification of the stadium by the authorities will mean that the fixture will instead be played at Khalifa International Stadium which was already due to host several Club World Cup fixtures. Education City will now be opened in 2020 although the world football governing body did not give an exact date. "Construction at Education City stadium is complete and the venue is now operational," FIFA said in a statement. "However, the necessary certifica-
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tion process took longer than expected and therefore the stadium was unable to host the required test events prior to the semi-final and final of the FIFA Club World Cup at full capacity. "The priority is to ensure an enjoyable experience for all fans so it was decided to open the stadium at a later date." Three years ahead of the
start of the 2022 tournament, Qatar has already launched the brand new 40,000-capacity Al-Janoub stadium and the refurbished Khalifa International ground. Five new stadia remain under construction. On Tuesday, Qatar will open the remaining line and stations on its new three-line metro system.
Sunday, 8 December, 2019
SPORTS 15
fawad alam returns to test squad after decade away from red ball Lahore
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AWAD Alam is back in Pakistan's Test squad after more than a decade out of the red-ball team. The lefthand middle-order batsman is part of the 16-member squad that will face Sri Lanka in two Tests in Rawalpindi and Karachi later this month. Fawad replaced Iftikhar Ahmed, who only managed 44 runs in four innings on the recent tour of Australia. The only other change in the squad was the entry of left-arm quick Usman Shinwari, who has played 17 ODIs and 16 T20Is but is yet to make his Test debut, in place of the 19-year-old Muhammad Musa, who went wicketless in his Test debut in Adelaide. Naseem Shah, the 16-year-old paceman who played in Brisbane before giving way to Musa, kept his place in the Test squad. Shah has also been named in Pakistan's squad for the Under-19 World Cup, which begins on January 17 in South Africa. He will miss the initial part of the Under-19 squad's preparatory camp in Lahore, and join his team-mates at the end of the Test series. Kashif Bhatti, the uncapped 33-yearold left-arm spinner who was part of the squad in Australia but didn't get a game, also remained in the squad. "Our target and our thinking is that we need consistency in the team and the continuity will give player confidence they need," Misbah-ul-Haq, the chief selector and head coach, said at a press briefing. "We don't need a lot of change and we haven't done much either. Overall, only two changes in the squad, which was necessary. "This series holds a lot of importance
BrisBane Agencies
in many way as the Sri Lanka series is marking the revival of Test cricket in the country. The results in this series will help us to regain our winning streak, so we have considered many aspects and taken important decisions. I am satisfied the team we have selected is based on a winning combination." Fawad, 34, began his Test career in November 2009 in Colombo, scoring a second-innings century on debut. He has only played two more Tests since then, however, despite being one of the most prolific scorers, season
after season, in Pakistan's domestic cricket. He has also played 38 ODIs and 24 T20Is. His last international appearance was an ODI against Bangladesh in April 2015. But his runs in the domestic circuit have kept his cause alive. And, in the leadup to this selection, he made himself almost impossible to ignore: in his last six games for Sindh in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, he's made scores of 92, 1, 29*, 107, 0, 65, 211 and 116. "It's not that he was written off for any reason or so, but there is a narrow line
where decisions are made. We had picked Iftikhar Ahmed because of his strengths and it's not like someone else is overlooked intentionally," Misbah said of Fawad. "We sometimes don't go by numbers, but the ability in certain conditions as well. We needed a player at No. 6 and we think Fawad can fill in. "His performance isn't about just one season, as he has been performing and maintaining his average for over many seasons. I don't know what happened in the past but for now we are considering him and going to use his form."
Indian women's IPL 'four years away', says Ganguly mumBai Agencies
As India head into a Women's T20 World Cup year in search of their maiden title, there has been a chorus among the current and former internationals - both from India and overseas- to have a full-fledged women's IPL. However, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly thinks such a tournament - involving seven or eight teams - is at least "four years away". "You need to understand the practicality of it," he told India Today. "You need a lot more women players. I see that in four years' time, to get a seven-team IPL with the best women players [in participation]." After what began as an exhibition in 2018, the BCCI turned the Women's T20 Challenge into a three-team event in Jaipur in 2019. Senior players and coaches unanimously gave the tournament a thumbs-up. Encouraged by the response, the board has initiated discussions on converting it into a four-team event, with each side playing the
other twice. India's successful hosting of South Africa in Surat, where record crowds turned up to cheer both teams, has got the BCCI thinking about hosting next year's
Javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem qualifies for Tokyo Olympics sports Desk Pakistan’s javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem on Saturday qualified for the Tokyo Olympics following a throw of 86.29m in the ongoing South Asian Games (SAG) in Kathmandu. Arshad, a bronze medalist at the 2018 Asian Games, also won the gold medal with his longestever throw. The 22-year-old's throw of 86.29m was not only Pakistan's best but it surpassed previous records of the SAG, which was previously held by India's Neeraj Chopra of 82.23m in 2016.
Australia allay Boxing Day pitch fears at 'dangerous' MCG
The record-breaking throw has also ensured his qualification in Tokyo Olympics as he met the minimum entry standard of 85m throw for the men’s competition. The javelin-thrower said that he was delighted to achieve the milestone. "I’m very excited that my hard work has finally paid off. I have made the longest-ever throw by a Pakistani and I’m very hopeful of winning a medal in Tokyo Olympics," he said. "I’m thankful to Athletics Federation of Pakistan who provided and arranged training for me," Arshad said.
Women's T20 challenge there before taking it to other cities as well. While this is a direct consequence of increased popularity in the women's game
since India's stupendous run to the final at the 2017 World Cup, the domestic game is yet to grow at the same rate. To some extent, BCCI's re-introduction of the A tours for women is seen as a step towards bridging the gap between domestic and international cricket. An India A team will go to Australia on a shadow tour before the senior team's tri-series in January, with a number of hopefuls having the opportunity to stake claim for a T20 World Cup berth. Steps like these, according to Ganguly, will only help increase the push for women's cricket. At the same time, he also wants the state associations to do much more to widen their talent pool. "You have to let the state association teams get stronger, a lot of them are getting stronger," he said. "The push for women's cricket has been enormous over the last few years. Three years down the line, when you have 150-160 players, you can take the IPL forward. Right now, we have 50-60 players. With the push BCCI has for women's cricket, that will only increase."
Cricket Australia (CA) sought to allay pitch concerns for the Boxing Day test against New Zealand after the surface at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) was deemed unsafe to continue a Sheffield Shield match on Saturday. Western Australia batsmen Shaun Marsh and Marcus Stoinis sustained several blows to the body struggling to adjust to the unpredictable bounce of the surface in the contest against Victoria. Umpires Phillip Gillespie and Geoff Joshua initially asked the ground staff to roll the pitch but eventually abandoned the opening day’s play after consulting the players and head groundsman Matt Page. CA subsequently issued a statement, saying it would work with ground staff to ensure the best possible wicket at the MCG for their transTasman rivals. Its Head of Cricket Operations Peter Roach said he was disappointed at the suspension of play at a venue where two other Sheffield Shield matches went without any incident. “Matt Page and the MCG groundstaff have more than two weeks to ensure the test surface, which is a different pitch strip to the one being used in this match,” Roach said. “We will seek to better understand the issues that resulted in variable bounce at the MCG on Saturday. We will also work closely with MCG groundstaff in the lead up to the test match.” The MCG pitch, which produced a dull draw in the 2017 Boxing Day Ashes test against England, received a ‘poor’ rating from the governing International Cricket Council. Last year’s pitch against India earned an ‘average’ rating even though the tourists took 20 wickets to comprehensively win the match. Umpires will inspect the pitch on Sunday morning with play scheduled to begin 30 minutes early, CA added.
Bowling discipline key for West Indies after opening defeat thiruvananthapuram Agencies
West Indies seldom put all their best T20 stars on the park at the same time, so watching them between world tournaments is often an exercise in fantasy squad building. If this guy weren't playing Global T20 Moldova, and if that other chap recovers from that knee injury… It's also the reason why their performances since the 2016 World T20 - 12 wins, 26 losses - and even their more recent form - nine losses in their last ten games feels less alarming than it looks. Sure, they have been losing a lot of games, but who's going to bet against them when next year's T20 World Cup rolls around? West Indies' display in Hyderabad summed up the above. A line-up packed with power-hitters - but missing three or
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four other, equally gifted hitters - posted a big total, but their bowlers lost control of the game in dewy conditions, and India won with ease. West Indies lost, but the dormant-superpower narrative remained intact. Losses like that might turn into wins if West Indies can assemble their best squad more often, but it can also happen if their bowlers get their act together. India completed their chase of 208 in 18.4 overs, and while that's 112 balls in theory, they actually got to face 123, thanks to all the wides and no-balls. There will probably be dew in Thiruvananthapuram too, and sweaty palms thanks to the muggy heat, so West Indies' bowling discipline will once again come under the spotlight. India, meanwhile, have a long-term issue of their own to address - or sidestep, depending on how the toss goes. You
probably already know this, but it's worth reiterating: since the start of 2018, India have a 14-3 record while chasing, which becomes 8-7 when they bat first. They hunted down their biggest-ever T20I target on Friday, and did so with ease, but it's still not certain that their batsmen know how to approach innings when they don't have a required rate in mind. Thiruvananthapuram may or may not give us answers to that particular puzzle. PITCH AND CONDITIONS: The Greenfield International Stadium has only hosted two international games - an ODI and a rain-affected T20I - and slow turn was a feature of both games. The ground hosted 14 games during the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (India's domestic T20 tournament), and spinners did well once again, averaging 20.85 and conceding 6.35 runs per over.
Sunday, 8 December, 2019
NEWS
PML-N MuLLs Bajwa’s exteNsioN, eCP issue iN LoNdoN huddLe LONDON
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Staff RepoRt
HE Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) held an important meeting on Saturday in London to discuss the parliamentary and political developments in the country, especially in the wake of pending legislation on the army chief’s tenure and the appointment of members and chief of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The meeting chaired by PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif was attended by senior leaders Ahsan Iqbal, Ishaq Dar, Senator Pervaiz Rashid, Khawaja Asif, Rana Tanvir, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Marriyum Aurangzeb. Speaking to media persons after the meeting, Khawaja Asif said that the PML-N chief was briefed on parliamentary issues. “His guidance on these issues was sought,” said Asif, adding that the next strategy will be formulated upon their return to Pakistan. “The issue of the army chief’s exten-
Dua Mangi returns home week after her kidnapping in Karachi KARACHI Staff RepoRt
Dua Mangi, a 20-year-old law student, returned home on Saturday, a week after she was kidnapped from Karachi’s Defence area. According to a statement issued by South Zone DIG Sharjeel Kharal, the investigation in the case is ongoing and police will soon provide further information. “By the grace of God and blessing of the loving people of Sindh, people of Pakistan and friends from all over the world, my daughter Dua Mangi reached home safely,” the girl’s father wrote in a Facebook post. “I am very much thankful to friends from media, especially civil society who helped us in these tough circumstances and shared their feelings with my family.” Late on November 30, Mangi was kidnapped by armed men from Bukhari Commercial in Defence Housing Authority (DHA) while her friend Haris Fatah Soomro was shot at and wounded. On Thursday, DIG Kharal had said: “It appears to be a case of kidnapping for ransom.” He had said that it had been ascertained through investigation that the student was kidnapped for ransom, without elaborating. The DIG South was leading different teams of police probing the incident. Police had said on Tuesday that they sus-
pected a criminal gang was behind Mangi’s abduction. According to sources, Dua’s father told police that 10 days ago her daughter had a fight with her friend, later identified as Muzaffar, and a few days later she was abducted. Police had deduced that the kidnappers may have used a car that was snatched earlier from the Pakistan Employees Cooperative Housing Society (PECHS) neighbourhood last week. Ferozabad police station’s Station House Officer (SHO) Inspector Aurangzeb Khan Khattak said that a car that was snatched from a trader, Danial Javed, at gunpoint in PECHS Block 2 was suspected to have been used by Dua’s kidnappers. Khattak added that four armed robbers had snatched Javed’s car at gunpoint from outside his residence and a first information report (FIR) was subsequently registered at Ferozabad police station. On Thursday, the family of the abducted girl had denied rumours of receiving a ransom call and had criticised Sindh Police and the provincial government for their failure in recovering the abducted girl, claiming that the rumours of ransom were being spread to divert attention from the protests demanding Dua’s recovery and to cover up the authorities’ failure. The police, faced with criticism and protests by family members and civil society members, had claimed the force was “doing its best” to recover the abducted girl, but after the passage of almost a week, had failed to crack the case.
KH ASIF SAYS HIS PARTY ENDORSES SNAP ELECTIONS, BUT THERE MUST BE AN IN-HOUSE CHANGE FIRST sion cannot be commented upon until the issuance of the detailed judgement.” The PML-N leader said his party favoured in-house change in case snap polls were to take place. “We don’t want to perpetuate the change but the in-house change is for the sake of holding new elections,” he added. The PML-N leader said the £190 million settlement by the family of property tycoon Malik Riaz was not discussed during the meeting. The PML-N leaders later met former prime minister Nawaz Sharif at the Avenfield Apartments after their meeting at the Maroush Gardens. ARMY CHIEF EXTENSION: As the government seeks support to legislate over the extension of army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif has plans to put forth some conditions for any support in this regard.
More French protests see roads blocked, trains disrupted and scuffles in Paris PARIS: Truckers blocked roads in about 10 regions around France on Saturday to protest against a planned reduction in tax breaks on diesel for road transport, while train and metro services remained heavily disrupted by a strike against pension reform. In Paris there were scuffles with police in the Denfert Rochereau area of the residential Left Bank as several hundred “yellow vest” protesters continued their weekly demonstrations, but numbers were relatively small compared with previous weeks as the transport strike made it hard to reach the capital. The combined pressure of the yellow vest movement over the cost of living and union protests against pension reform are a major challenge to President Emmanuel Macron’s efforts to balance the state budget and introduce more environmentally friendly legislation in the second half of his mandate. agencieS
US and Iran swap prisoners in rare act of cooperation DUBAI agencieS
The United States and Iran each freed a prisoner on Saturday in a rare swap, an act of cooperation between two longtime foes whose ties have worsened since President Donald Trump took office. Trump said Xiyue Wang, a US citizen held in Iran for three years on spying charges, was returning to the United States. An Iranian official said that Iranian Massoud Soleimani had been freed from detention in the United States. Switzerland facilitated the swap and Iranian state news agency IRNA said Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif welcomed Soleimani in Zurich, where it said the swap took place. It said Soleimani was expected to return to Iran in the coming hours. In a statement issued by the White House, Trump made no mention of the freeing of Soleimani but thanked the Swiss government for its help in nego-
tiating Wang’s release. “Freeing Americans held captive is of vital importance to my Administration, and we will continue to work hard to bring home all our citizens wrongfully held captive overseas,” he said. Zarif said earlier the prisoner swap was imminent. Later he posted pictures on Twitter of himself with Soleimani talking on board an Iranian plane. “Glad that Professor Massoud Soleimani and Mr. Xiyue Wang will be joining their families shortly. Many thanks to all engaged, particularly the Swiss government,” Zarif tweeted. IRNA reported that Wang was released based on “Islamic clemency”. Switzerland represents U.S. diplomatic interests in Iran, since Washington and Tehran cut diplomatic ties shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran. Wang, a Princeton University graduate student, was convicted on espionage charges and sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2017. His family and the university have always said he was in Iran for research into a history
degree and denied spying. According to Princeton, he was born in Beijing in 1980, emigrated to the United States in 2001 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2009. His wife and child are Chinese citizens. China, which normally requires its citizens to give up their nationality when they become citizens of another country, has not commented publicly on the case. A senior US official said Brian Hook, the US special representative for Iran, accompanied Soleimani to Switzerland to make the exchange and Hook and Wang were now “en route to Landstuhl in Germany where Wang will be examined by doctors”. It said Wang was expected to stay in Germany for several days. Landstuhl is home to an American military medical center. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a tweet that he was “pleased that the Iranian government has been constructive in this matter”. He added “we will not rest until we bring every American detained in Iran and around the world back home”.
Published by Arif Nizami at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad. Ph: 051-2204545. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk
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However, Shehbaz Sharif is waiting for a detailed judgement in the case so a future strategy could be chalked out. ECP APPOINTMENTS DILEMMA: The opposition and government are facing a deadlock over the appointments of ECP members, as both sides have failed to reach a consensus on the matter. Though both Shehbaz and Prime Minister Imran Khan have sent their recommendations for the post to the relevant parliamentary committee, an agreement is yet to be reached. Earlier on Wednesday, opposition members approached the Supreme Court requesting it to “pass an appropriate order” in the wake of an impasse in parliament on the appointment of the chief election commissioner (CEC) and two ECP members from Sindh and Balochistan.