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Tuesday, 26 July, 2022 I 26 Zil Hajj, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 385 I 12 Pages I Lahore Edition

Blow to PDM: SC rejeCtS govt’S Plea for forMation of full Court IsLAmAbAD

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HE Supreme Court on Monday rejected the coalition government’s request to form a full bench on the deputy speaker ruling pertaining to the contentious Punjab chief minister election. A three-judge apex court bench, comprising Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhter announced the decision on Monday after a marathon 8-hour-long hearing. The hearing of the case was adjourned till 11:30am today (Tuesday). The court said in the verdict that it heard arguments of all parties in detail. It said in the short order that it examined the deputy speaker’s ruling on Punjab CM elections and detailed reasons for rejecting the petitions for constituting the full court will be issued later. The bench had earlier observed that it needed more clarity to decide on whether of to form full court bench on the matter on not.

“We need more clarity on certain things to decide about the formation of full court,” remarked Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial as the apex court resumed hearing on the case after a brief interval. Justice Ijazul Ahsan, who is part of a

three-member bench, remarked that the apex court wanted to hear the matter of the deputy speaker’s controversial ruling on merit before deciding about forming the full bench. The chief justice maintained that full

court had been formed in the past in the matter of utmost importance and added that the full bench could be formed if the issue lingered on. “We believe that the full court is only constituted when the matter is complicated,” the CJP remarked. Chief Justice Bandial said the main point of contention before the bench was that whether a party head could issue directions to his parliamentary party members or not. The bench also allowed the counsels of PPP and PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat to present their arguments in the case. PML-N’s counsel Irfan Qadir told the bench that Punjab CM Hamza Shehbaz and the coalition government wanted full bench to hear the matter. He maintained that the apex court’s verdict on Article 63-A of the Constitution was contradictory and added that only Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had the authority to decide the defection of lawmakers. “We have to see whether the party head could be a substitute to the par-

liamentary head as in this case party head directed the parliamentary party members,” the CJP remarked. During the hearing, the CJP also commented on the anti-judiciary smear campaign, saying, “Social media looks towards perception instead of facts but we are not concerned about this.” The chief justice told PPP’s counsel Farooq H Naik that his party through the 18th Constitutional Amendment empowered the parliamentary head and also cited an example of Britain that former PM Boris Johnson was also asked to step down by his party head in the parliament. “The internal matters of parliament should not be brought before the court,” said Naek. To which Justice Ijazul Ahsan asked, “Was no-confidence motion [against ousted PM Imran Khan] parliament’s internal matter?” “Back then you would say that the court has full authority but today you are taking different stance as you are standing on the other side,” Jusitce Ijaz told the PPP counsel.

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PDM out-rightly spurns SC verdict IsLAmAbAD stAff rePort

As soon as the Supreme Court rejected the petition regarding the formation of a full court to hear the Punjab CM election case as requested by the ruling alliance, bar councils and CM Hamza Shahbaz, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Chief Maulana Fazl-urRehman along with the leadership of allies addressed a press conference to declare that they would boycott the court proceedings, if the court denies the formation of a full court. The PDM Chief, while addressing the media stated that the current verdict of court is considered to be biased and unfair, while adding that only a full court could ensure a fair verdict. He further added that ‘if SC rejects to form full bench on the Punjab CM elections case, then we also reject this verdict of SC’ Adding to it, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal stated that Imran Khan’s prerogative has always been respected. Similarly Chaudhry Shujaat prerogative should also be respected. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister and Chairmain PPP Bilawal Bhutto

Zardari stated that ‘we would be boycotting the hearings until our demands are accepted’ Before concluding the presser, Maulana Fazl declared that the PDM has decided that we won’t present ourselves before the current bench, unless a full court is formed. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah threatened to boycott the court proceedings if the Supreme Court (SC) rejects the petition to constitute a full bench for hearing the case related to the ruling of Punjab Assembly deputy speaker. While talking to the media outside the SC building prior to the

hearing, Rana Sanaullah said that they will boycott the court proceedings if full bench is not formed. “Hamza Shahbaz will not become a party in the case and it is not a threat.” He said that the court had ruled about the party chief’s superior powers for giving instructions to the political party. Sanaullah said that the formation of full bench will end the controversy. The interior minister said that the top court is likely to hear the review petition of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) today or tomorrow. He said that all political parties of Pakistan are present in the al-

liance [Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)] and they are requesting for the formation of a full bench. Sanaullah added that they wanted to club all petitions besides hearing the petitions of the 25 dissident lawmakers. “The 25 lawmakers had been deseated on the instructions of a party chief. We are now requesting for a full court bench which will increase the dignity of the court.” Earlier, Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) vice president Maryam Nawaz on Monday said that impact of Supreme Court’s verdicts stays for decades and intensifies over time. She alleged that petitions were being filed with the court and were not being fixed or were facing delay but the SC was opened at night so that PTI can submit a petition against PA Deputy Speaker ruling. Our justice system is such that when a petition is filed, the people already know what bench will be constituted and the decision that will be given, she said. Maryam gave several examples of the PML-N’s legal woes, claiming that the party’s leaders were being discriminated against.

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top military brass takes comprehensive review of border, internal security RAWALPINDI APP

The 249th Corps Commanders’ Conference on Monday took comprehensive review of the security situation with particular focus on Border and Internal Security. The Corps Commander Conference held at GHQ was presided over by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, an Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) news release said. The COAS lauded successful ongoing counter terrorism operations and paid rich tribute to the supreme sacrifices of officers and men to ensure security of borders and safety of masses. The COAS also appreciated the efforts of formations in relief operations to mitigate challenges of people affected due to floods and heavy rainfalls in the country. The Forum reaffirmed resolve of the Armed Forces to extend complete support to civil administration in rescue and rehabilitation activities.

PTI considers SC verdict ‘positive’ progress in Punjab CM elections case IsLAmAbAD stAff rePort

The Supreme Court’s verdict about rejecting the coalition government’s request to form a full bench pertaining to the Punjab chief minister election is perceived as a ‘positive’ progress in the case by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership. Speaking to journalists outside the court, former information minister and PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry acknowledged that judges didn’t come under pressure. “The proceedings of the court are progressing in a positive manner,” he said, adding that by empowering the parliamentary party, democracy will be strengthened. “Parliamentary party should have the authority to unseat members,” he added.

Speaking on the occasion, the exstate minister for communication Farrukh Habib said that a “fake” chief minister was ruling the province for the last three months. “This is not possible that 13 ministers pressurise the judges by criticising them,” he said. Meanwhile, PTI’s Secretary-General Asad Umar, while speaking to media persons outside the court, said that the court has given Hamza another chance, and added that he hoped that the court will announce its final verdict tomorrow. “Hopefully truth will take its course,” he said, adding that the federal government is constantly criticising the federal government. Earlier in the day, PTI leader Fawad

Chaudhry stated that Pakistan Muslim league-Nawaz (PML-N) has once again planned to attack the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Talking to media, Fawad said, “The PML-N is saying the form a full bench. This authority belongs to the Chief Justice, but there is no need to interpret any legal point in this case.” Former federal minister said that 22 crore Pakistanis are waiting for their rights. He said that the people will not let anyone violate the constitution. He said that people have risen to restore democracy in the country. He said the current government by force deprived the majority vote holders of the provincial government and also in centre. He also attacked the Deputy

Speaker Punjab Assembly Sardar Dost Mohammad Mazari that he ran away. Earlier in a tweet on Sunday, Fawad said that Punjab cabinet formation has renewed the memory of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) attack on the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He wrote that at that time retired judge Rafiq Tarar divided the Supreme Court by distributing the briefcases and today the same family is being used again against this institution. Fawad Chaudhry further wrote in his tweet that the attack on the Supreme Court by the PML-N should be severely crushed. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has also filed contempt of court plea against Punjab Governor Baligh-urRehman on Monday.

The petition for contempt of court was filed by PTI leader Mian Aslam Iqbal in the Supreme Court. It was stated in the petition that the Governor Punjab has insulted the court by swearing in the cabinet of Hamza Shahbaz. Therefore, contempt of court action should be taken against Balighur-Rehman. The petition further requested to take contempt of court action against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hamza Shahbaz and Deputy Speaker Punjab Assembly Dost Mazari. It is pertinent to mention here that the political chaos has deepen in Punjab due to the constitutional clash between the opponent parties amid the Punjab Chief Minister election.

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Ministry of finAnce ProPoses six nAMes for Position of Governor sBP IsLAMABAD

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INANCE Ministry has sent six names to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat for the appointment of State Bank Governor, it has been learnt on Monday. The names proposed for Governor State Bank include Dr.

Saeed Ahmed Sabak, President National Bank, Asim Meraj Hussain, Murtaza Syed, acting Governor SBP, Zafar Masood, Muhammad, Jameel Deputy Governor State Bank and Muhammad Ashraf Khan, former Governor State Bank. The cabinet will approve one of the names in a meeting on Tuesday, sources said According to sources, Zafar

Power shortfall nears 6,000MW

Masood is most likely to be appointed new Governor State Bank. Dr. Murtaza Saeed is currently serving as acting Governor of State Bank of Pakistan. The position of central bank governor fell vacant on May 4 after the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led coalition government decided against giving a second term to Dr. Reza Baqir.

However, the government has failed to appoint a new governor of the State Bank of Pakistan despite interviewing six candidates due to the divisions within its ranks, violating a law that binds it to appoint the governor within one month. The central bank has been without a permanent governor for the last over two months, particularly at a time when

Pakistan’s economy is facing serious challenges and the central bank has the responsibility to control inflation. The SBP governor is a cosignatory of the Letter of Intent that is a prerequisite for clinching a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to media reports, of the six people that have been interviewed so far, three have worked with the IMF, including the acting governor, Dr. Murtaza Syed. The interviews were conducted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who was assisted by Finance Minister Miftah Ismail and Senator Saleem Mandviwalla – a representative of the main coalition

Government to judiciary: ‘Bench fixing’ is a crime like match fixing

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The power shortfall in the country has reached about 6,000 megawatts, power demand in the country is 28,500 megawatts while the production lags at 22,500 megawatts. According to power division sources, the power shortfall is increasing despite heavy monsoon rains in the country and currently has neared 6,000MW. Due to an increase in the demand for power, load-shedding of 4 to 6 hours is being carried out across the country. Earlier, K-Electric, the sole power utility in Karachi submitted a request to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) seeking another hike of Rs11.39 in tariff under fuel adjustment charges. According to the request, the power utility has requested a massive increase of Rs11.39 for the month of June 2022.

Pakistan earns $737mn by exporting transport services in 11 months IsLAMABAD app

Pakistan earned $737.720 million by providing different transport services in various countries during the eleven months of fiscal year (2021-22) as compared to the corresponding period last year. This shows increase of 47.83 per cent as compared to $499.020 million earned through provision of services during the corresponding period of last fiscal year (2020-21), Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported. During the period under review, the exports of sea transport services witnessed an increase of 65.87 per cent, by going up from $70.290 million last year to $116.590 million during the period under review. Among the sea transport services, the exports of freight services surge by 114.52 per cent from $31.890 million last year to $68.410 million whereas the exports of other sea transport services also rose by 25.47 per cent from $38.400 million to $48.180 million current year, the PBS data revealed. The exports of air transport services increased by 48.90 per cent by going up from $403.350 million last year to $600.600 million during July-May (2021-22). Among the air transport services, the exports of passengers services rose by 51.26 per cent, from $263.740 million to $398.9400 million, whereas the exports of freight services dipped by 0.74 per cent, from $27.190 million to $26.990 million, in addition the export of other air transport services surge by 55.37 percent from $112.420 million to $174.670 million. Meanwhile, the exports of road transport services during the period under review decreased by 19.10 percent by going down from $16.390 million to $13.260 million during this year, it added. Among the road transport services, the exports of freight services decreased by 70.02 percent, from $12.010 million to $3.600 million during the fiscal year

IsLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Heads of the ruling parties on Monday “highlighted” the importance of justice dispensation in society without any discrimination for achieving required goals of national development and prosperity, as they lambasted the judiciary, accusing it of being biased towards the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). The ruling coalition has demanded the Supreme Court form a full court bench to hear the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Pervaiz Elahi’s petition against Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari’s rejection of 10 votes cast for the chief minister. On Friday, Mazari rejected 10 votes cast by lawmakers of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), citing a letter written by party chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and a recent ruling of the Supreme Court on Article 63-A of the Constitution, resulting in Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president Hamza Shehbaz being elected

chief minister. Within hours, the PTI and Elahi had filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking a reversal of the order. The following morning, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial formed a three-member bench — comprising himself and Justices Ijaz ul-Ahsan and Munib Akhtar — to hear the case and commenced hearings. Today, while addressing a news conference along with members of the federal cabinet and leadership of the PDM component parties, PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz quoted a conversation frequently attributed to Winston Churchill but the status of

which is contested among historians. During World War II, when the Luftwaffe (a component of the German air force) was wreaking havoc over London with its incessant bombing attacks, then the British prime minister Winston Churchill took cognizance of the heavy casualties and economic devastation. He asked: “Are the courts functioning?” When told that the judges were dispensing justice as normal, Churchill replied: “Thank God. If the courts are working, nothing can go wrong.” Nawaz said it was unfortunate that during the past few years, there was a series of “startling decisions by the

Lucky Motors introduces limited time discount for Peugeot 2008 to spur sales DANIyAL AhMAD Lucky Motors’ has introduced a limited time reduction on the price of the Peugeot 2008 Active model whereby its price has been slashed from Rs 5,250,000 to Rs 4,999,000. Lucky Motors is no stranger to price reductions having introduced a discount on the KIA Sorento earlier this year and on the KIA Sportage in 2019. The former was a blanket discount on all models that only lapsed last week. Profit documented how the price decrease had contributed to the depressed sales of the Sorento, and this is one path that the Peugeot may find itself upon as a result of the discount. However, the latter of the two discounts is one that is often forgotten. Lucky Motors slashed the price of the KIA Sportage FWD by 3 lac in 2019 on account of its poor sales performance relative to the AWD variant. This discount proved successful for the Sportage line-up overall with Profit documenting later how the Sportage

had become ubiquitous with the CUV segment itself. The Peugeot 2008 may possibly take the road of the Sportage as only one of two, the Active, variants having its price reduced. The Allure has retained its price of Rs 5,850,000. A possible assumption that can be made to rationalize Lucky Motors’ decision is that this price point enables Lucky Motors to compete with Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai’s C-segment sedans with their CUV offerings. Furthermore, the 2008’s two price points now differentiate it significantly from the more up-market KIA Sportage. The decision may then be an attempt to allay the original fears buyers and investors had of the Peugeot 2008 cannibalizing into the Alpha variant of the KIA Sportage. Whether this decision is a sign of Lucky Motors’ possible new corporate strategy or their refusal to learn from the Sorento will be made evident in the weeks to come as in true Lucky Motors’ fashion, there is no estimated end date for this limited time price reduction.

Pakistan’s depleted mangrove cover improving ‘rapidly’ kARAChI aNadolu ageNcy

Pakistan’s mangrove cover has seen rapid expansion along the Arabian Sea over the past two decades due to coordinated efforts by government agencies and environmental organisations. Speaking to Anadolu Agency on the eve of the International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem, which is celebrated on July 26 every year, Tahir Rasheed, a regional director of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Pakistan, said that in Southeast Asia, Pakistan is the only country where mangrove cover has increased dramatically over the last two decades. Between 1999-2021, the vulnerable mangrove area along Pakistan’s 1,050kilometer (652-mile) coastline has increased to over 200,000 hectares (over

partner, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). But no consensus could be reached during at least four rounds of meetings. The SBP Act of 1956 says any time when the office of Governor is vacant or the Governor is incapacitated, the senior most Deputy Governor shall be the acting governor, until the Governor is appointed. Section 11 (4) of the law says in the event of a vacancy occurring amongst the appointed governor, deputy governors, non-executive directors and external members of the Monetary Policy Committee, an appointment shall be finalised within a period not exceeding 30 days on the occurrence of such vacancy.

494,000 acres) from 46,000 hectares (over a 113,000 acres). A colossal chunk of mangrove forest falls in southern Sindh province, whereas southwestern Balochistan province, which boasts a 700-kilometre (435-mile) coastline, shares a meagre portion of nearly 4,000 hectares. “We witnessed a decline of mangrove forest from 600,000 hectares along the Sindh coastline in the early 20th century to merely 46,000 hectares in the mid-1980s. However, the coverage area of mangroves has increased to over 200,000 hectares along the Sindh and Balochistan coastline over the past two decades,” Rasheed said. Due to the “well-coordinated” plantation and rehabilitation campaigns by the Sindh Forest Department the federal government, WWF-Pakistan, and civil society organisations, the country’s mangrove cover is increasing at a “good

pace,” he went on to say. A host of projects by WWF-Pakistan alone have contributed 16,000 hectares to the country’s overall mangrove cover, apart from the rehabilitation of 32,000 hectares, he added. Danger still lurking: Mangroves, a group of trees and shrubs that grow in the intertidal regions of tropical and subtropical coastlines, are significantly important for ecosystems and are considered the first line of defense against cyclones, strong surges, tsunamis, and other natural calamities. The Sindh coast, particularly the port city of Karachi, has been reeling from a relentless process of morphological changes mainly due to anthropogenic activities including industrial pollution, soil erosion, deforestation, rapid industrialisation, urbanisation, and land degradation in addition to natural

processes. Industrial and economic infrastructure development, land-grabbing and inhabitation along the coast, and the construction of huts at beaches have adversely impacted the marine ecosystems and mangroves of the adjoining creeks, say environmentalists. Making matters worse, some natural phenomena such as high energy waves, tidal currents, and strong winds during monsoons have also influenced changes along the coast. Acknowledging a “rapid” increase in mangrove cover in the country, Hammad Gilani, a Lahore-based environmentalist, nonetheless observed that the danger is still lurking. “Mangroves along Pakistan’s coastal belt and Indus Delta are still facing two key threats in the form of sea intrusion and degradation,” Gilani, a researcher at the International Water Management Institute in Lahore, told Anadolu Agency.

judiciary”, adding there could be a ‘wrong decision’ but it should not have consistency as the court verdicts left a deep impact on society for decades. She said she had been advised by “sympathisers” not to hold the press talk as it would affect her appeal in the Panama Papers case that was being heard by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and was in its final stages. “However, I said that the people’s representative has to think beyond themselves and think about the people.” “I can write an essay praising the judiciary but one wrong decision will dismiss the entire [argument],” she said. On the other hand, a decision based on justice could withstand criticism, she added. She said Hamza Shehbaz won the office of Punjab’s chief minister in the run-off election, but the PTI approached the Lahore Registry of Supreme Court, over jumping the court walls which opened at midnight despite the day being a holiday. It was ironic the registrar waited for the filing of the petition that wasn’t even ready by that time, she added.

AJK PM for making people economically self-reliant News Desk Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan has said that his government would consider all available options to make people economically self-reliant by activating different sectors on modern lines. In a statement issued on Monday the PM said, “Production sector was the center of focus in the budget and the basic aim was to raise production so that the state revenue increases and our demands/needs are met at local level”. He said that it was for the first time in the history of Azad Kashmir that agricultural and livestock graduates were being provided assistance in obtaining loans from banks for model farming. The markup of these loans, he said, would be borne by the Azad Kashmir government. Similarly, he said, 30,000 people with low-income would be provided interest-free loans worth 1 billion rupees. These initiatives would be instrumental in reducing poverty and unemployment in the region, he added. Sardar Ilyas said the farmers will be given a subsidy of more than Rs. 70.2 million which would enable farmers to buy the highest milk producing cows and cattle breeds. He said that free vaccine facilities will be provided in all central district and educational level veterinary hospitals established by the Department of Livestock and Veterinary Development. The PM AJK said that the government was planning to start poultry production program for widows and disabled people. The funds of Rs.1 billion 10 crores have been allocated for the Electricity Department. “During the next financial year, 1141 HT Poles, 3881 LT Poles will be installed and 26 thousand 500 new connections will be provided to the remaining population of 1 lakh 26 thousand of Azad Kashmir”, he added. The Prime Minister said that five hundred acres of uncultivated land will be made cultivable in the agricultural sector. The Wildlife Breeding Centers/Zoos at Saran Pir Chinasi, Banjosa and Mangala and Patika Wildlife Park would be redeveloped on modern lines, he maintained. Sardar Tanveer Ilyas said that the AJK government would do all that was in the best interests of the people and the state. The technical education was being promoted to eliminate unemployment.

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PAKistAni PilGriM’s honesty MAKes country Proud

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Pakistani Hajji set an example of honesty in Saudi Arabia and made Pakistan proud. According to Pakistan Hajj Mission spokesperson Syed Imran Ahmad, a pilgrim identified as Khalida Parveen belonging to Bahawalnagar left 1000 Saudi Rial and Rs157000 in the bus of Hajj Mission. Another Pakistani pilgrim Haji Sajjad Anwar found this money from the bus during the journey, who immediately reported the money to Pakistan

Hajj Mission’s Sector Commander Ahmed Noor Waziri and assistant Khalid Karim. Director Cooperation DIG Dr. Muhammad Akhtar Abbas, upon receiving the information, immediately searched for the original owner, Pakistani Hajin Khatoon Khalida Parveen, and under his supervision, Deputy Director Dr. Akhtar Abbas went to Hajin Khatoon’s building and returned the money under his supervision. DIG Dr Mohammad Akhtar Abbas said that Pakistani Haji has made us proud with his honesty. The woman pilgrim praised the Haj Mission and Pakistani Haji after getting the money back.

The motorists can pay vehicles’ registration and transfer fee from anywhere as the Excise and Taxation (E&T) department has added a new feature in the “City Islamabad App” for the purpose. Director Excise Bilal Azam on Monday termed it “another milestone towards digitization” after online token taxes payment. Likewise, the Excise Department has also started

vehicle registration and transfer for motorists at doorsteps in collaboration with the NADRA. The motorist can submit fees including vehicle token tax through integrating credit cards, bank accounts and other payment methods. Meanwhile, the Excise Director told APP that the department had intensified crackdown against token tax defaulter. The E&T teams headed by ETO Malik Umer Awan were checking vehicles at Srinagar Highway, Islamabad Expressway and other major

toyota indus Motors to offer refunds to customers DANIyAL AhMAD Indus Motor Company (IMC), the assembler of Toyota cars in Pakistan, has decided to start offering refunds to customers facing delays in deliveries. Profit has been able to confirm this from Asghar Ali Jamali, Chief Executive Officer at IMC. “We will give customers the option to avail a refund with the full interest. In case they choose not to opt for this (refund), they will have to wait at least 3 (more) months from the delivery month given on the Provisional Booking Order Form and (also) pay the price differential due to the exchange rate situation”, Jamali said. The decision is expected to be announced soon and according to IMC is centered on facilitating customers amidst the current supply chain situation. Profit had reported earlier on how the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) extended mandate over letters of credit for ckd imports had created panic amidst the automobile market. All of this comes at a time when manufacturers were trying to negotiate a quota for ckd imports and relief from the KIBOR+3 penalty that they would be levied per the Auto Industry Development and Export Policy (AIDEP 2021-26). Profit had inquired with local Toyota dealerships about the wait times on various Toyota models to understand the gravity of the delays and discovered the following:

sBP discourages interbank trading to contain dollar shortage IsLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Amid a severe shortage of US dollars that plunged the rupee to its highest weekly drop since 1998, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has discouraged interbank trading, Bloomberg reported, citing well-informed sources. In order to control the free-fall of rupees against the US dollar, the central bank— with its limited power under the International Monetary Fund agreement — urged commercial banks to manage import payment requests from their own inflows, such as exporter accruals and remittances. The Pakistani rupee fell nearly 8% last week — its biggest drop in more than two decades — as the country’s foreign exchange reserves stand below $10 billion and are only enough to cover less than two months of imports. However, SBP Acting Governor Murtaza Syed told Bloomberg that Pakistan will comfortably meet its financing needs with an IMF bailout on track. Citing sources, the publication reported that it was earlier noted that some commercial banks are seeking permission from the SBP and providing US dollars at a premium, which is raising costs for their clients. Commercial banks provided dollars for energy companies at rates of Rs238 and Rs242 to a dollar on July 20, about 8% higher than the official closing rate for the day. Moreover, banks that previously released overseas payments in a day are now taking more than a week, said Raheel Ahmed, chief executive officer at VN Lakhani and Co, a Karachi-based steel importer. “Pakistan has seen dollar payment pressure because of energy payments,” Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said in a news briefing on July 21 in Islamabad. “The trend will reverse with there being more dollar supply than demand next month,” Ismail said.

notification confirms appointment of 34member Punjab cabinet LAhoRe Staff RepoRt

Motorists can pay registration, transfer fees via city Islamabad App stAff RepoRt

thoroughfares in the city to collect token tax from the defaulters. Similarly, the teams were also closely monitoring the movement of non-custom paid vehicles and shifting to excise office for further legal action. The Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) was providing assistance to excise teams in enforcing the campaign and removing tinted glasses from the vehicles, besides issuing challans to the violators, he maintained.

Finance Ministry finally gives nod for disbursement of loans under Mera Ghar Scheme IsLAMABAD ghulam abbaS

As the thousands of applicants for subsidised loan under Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar Scheme (MPMG) were worried about their cases after the government’s decision to halt loan disbursement, the Ministry of Finance on Monday has finally given permission to banks for disbursement to approved customers. In a statement on Twitter, the ministry has informed that the Finance Division on Monday has conveyed its permission to resume disbursements to already approved cases under MPMG. “Banks have also been asked to reduce their spread over KIBOR,” it said. Earlier, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail had also announced that the government would continue providing loans under the ‘MPMG scheme. However the applicants were waiting for notification and official permission in this regard. Miftah earlier said he had held a meeting with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) wherein it was decided that the housing loan scheme would continue for all those whose loan applications had been approved and who had paid an advance. He said the government would also ask banks to reduce the interest rate they had charged. “Just had a meeting at the SBP. The government will continue with the MGMP housing

loan scheme for all those whose loan applications have been approved and who have paid advances (Bayana). We will also ask the banks to reduce the interest rate charged,” he tweeted Miftah added the government was still in the process of reshaping the scheme to make it cheaper and more widespread, adding that the revised scheme would be rolled out soon. Earlier on June 30, the central bank had instructed banks to put disbursements under the Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar (MPMG) scheme till August 31, 2022, stating that “The government was considering a review/revision of the features of the scheme in light of recent developments in the macroeconomic scenario.” However, it had clarified that financial institutions may release remaining disbursements under MPMG in cases where partial disbursements have already been made till June 30, 2022. It is pertinent to note that out of the previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s promise to provide five million houses under the banner of Naya Pakistan Housing Programme, only 21,980 low-cost houses have so far been completed while 52,439 are under construction and 95,084 are in their planning phase. The flagship programme was aimed at ensuring availability of adequate housing in Pakistan as well as improving economic activities in the construction sector.

Defying the Supreme Court order, the cabinet division on Monday issued a notification, confirming the appointment of a 34-member Punjab cabinet under “trustee” chief minister Hamza Shahbaz. The notification was approved by Punjab Chief Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal. Punjab cabinet comprises Rana Iqbal Khan, Mehr Ejaz Ahmad, Kazim Ali Pirzada, Chaudhry Shafeeq, Rana Ejaz Noon, Asma Zahid Bokhari, Khalil Tahir Sindhu, Ghulam Qasim Hunjra, Col (retd) Rana Tariq, Zeeshan Rafiq, Saniya Ashiq, Syed Hasan Murtaza, Syed Ali Haider Gillani, Bilal Asghar Warraich, Qasim Abbas Langah, Rana Liaquat, Malik Asad Khokar, Ahmad Ali, Sibtain Bukhari, Saba Sadiq and Ashraf Ansari. It is pertinent to mention that the oath taking ceremony of the Punjab cabinet took place over the weekend on Sunday at the Punjab Governor House.

shoaib Akhtar’s biopic rawalpindi express will be the ‘first foreign film about a Pakistani sportsman’

News Desk Former cricketer Shoaib Akhtar has decided to tell his own story in the form of a biopic and named it Rawalpindi Express, after his on field nickname for being one of the fastest bowlers of his time. On Sunday, he shared a teaser for the film, captioned, “Beginning of this beautiful journey. Announcing the launch of my story, my life, my biopic, Rawalpindi Express — Running Against The Odds. “If you think you know a lot already, you’re mistaken. You’re in for a ride you’ve never taken before. An international project by Q Film Productions [and the] first foreign film about a Pakistani sportsman.” The short clip featured a very misty frame with train tracks at the centre and Akhtar’s character, with his back to the camera, running. The camera zoomed in on him and his jersey with the number 14 took up the screen all the while a train siren is audible in the background though no locomotive is seen. The teaser also revealed the release date for the film — November 16, 2023. The director, Muhammad Faraz Qaiser, said actualising an idea he had in 2016 is like a dream come true for him.

Chinese astronauts set up new lab on space station BeIJING ageNcIeS

Astronauts entered the new lab module of China’s space station for the first time Monday, in a major step towards completing the orbital outpost by the end of the year. The station is one of the crown jewels of Beijing’s ambitious space programme, which has landed robotic rovers on Mars and the Moon, and made China only the third nation to put humans in orbit. Once completed, Tiangong — or “heavenly palace” — will be constantly crewed by rotating teams of three astronauts, who will conduct scientific experiments and help test new technologies. Wentian, the second of Tiangong’s three main sections, docked with the station’s core module Tianhe on Monday after successfully launching from southern China a day earlier, state media reported. A few hours after docking, the three astronauts — who have been living in the core module since June — opened

the hatch and entered Wentian, footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed. The crew, dressed in blue jumpsuits, were seen floating around the brightly lit module before facing the camera and saluting. Wentian will focus on life sciences and biotechnology research, according to official news agency Xinhua, including cell research and growth experiments on plants, fruit flies and zebrafish. The module will have living space for three additional astronauts, housing

up to six people during crew transitions, state media said. The third and final module, another lab named Mengtian, is scheduled for launch in October. Tiangong, once completed, is expected to remain in low orbit 400-450 kilometres (250-280 miles) above Earth for at least 10 years. Next year, China is also planning to launch a space telescope with a field of view 350 times that of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The telescope will be positioned in the same orbit as Tiangong, allowing

the station to dock with it for refuelling and servicing when needed. China has poured billions of dollars into space flight and exploration as it seeks to build a programme that reflects its stature as a rising global power. The programme has rapidly yielded successes in the last two decades, including launching the first Chinese astronauts, a historic first controlled landing on the far side of the Moon, and delivering a rover to the surface of Mars. And after several missions to test the technologies needed for a constantly crewed outpost, it is set to finish Tiangong this year. The station when completed is expected to have a mass of 90 tonnes, around a quarter of the International Space Station — from which China has been excluded by the United States. The ISS — a collaboration between the United States, Russia, Canada, Europe and Japan — is due to be retired after 2024, although NASA has said it could potentially remain functional beyond 2028.

04 NEWS 26 JULY_Layout 1 7/25/2022 11:08 PM Page 1

Tuesday, 26 July, 2022 | LAHORE

04 NEWS

E-cUsTom clEaRancE sysTEm insTallEd in GwadaR FREE ZonE

stAff RepORt

N order to give a strategic boost to commercial activities, an e-custom clearance system “Web Based One Custom” (WeBOC) has been installed in Gwadar Free Zone, Gwadar Pro reported on Monday. It is a milestone development in the history of Gwadar Port Free Zone consisting of the South Free Zone (Phase I) and the North Free Zone (Phase II). Now all foreign and local companies already registered or to be registered in Gwadar Free Zone will observe a phenomenal growth of their businesses enjoying paperless, ultra-fast, cost-effective and transparent processes and procedures. It will be an impetus to foreign investors always asking for the activation of E-custom

functionality in Gwadar Free Zone. After fulfilling the prerequisite, foreign investment is highly likely to come, which is desperately needed for the struggling Pakistani economy in the current scenario. The game-changing e-initiative aims to facilitate companies in Gwadar Free Zone to get integrated with Gwadar Port, customs, NLC, FBR, banking channels and other institutions to increase efficiency and reduce the time taken for processing in various departments. WeBOC in Gwadar Free Zone will help with the automation, standardisation and harmonisation of all trade procedures and logistic services related to land, air and sea routes under the Pakistan Single Window (PSW). China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC) official said that investors and operators of the Free Zone have

Packaged milk price increased by Rs25 per litre News Desk The storm of inflation continues haunting people as the packaged milk producers have increased the price of milk by Rs25 per litre on Monday. It is learnt that the price of packaged milk has increased to Rs200 per litre. The price of the quarter pack of milk has increased by Rs5 to Rs55. Besides, many companies have also increased the prices of the packets of spices from Rs5 to Rs10 at least. Moreover, the prices of biscuits of different brands have also increased from Rs5 to Rs10 at least.

‘Historic victory of diplomacy’: Pakistan hails Turkish role in Ukraine grain deal

hailed the development as a watershed moment in the progress of Gwadar Free Zone. “It will increase the efficiency of consignment processing,” they added. Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) Chairman Naseer Khan Kashani said that since trade activities have been picking up momentum in Gwadar Free Zone, there is an acute need to put in place a vibrant system of E-Custom to help bolster entire manual business activities. “WeBOC installation in Gwadar Free Zone will put trade management and business administration into high gear,” he added. “It will also pave [the] way for endto-end logistics solutions,” he mentioned. A local businessman Agha Hayat said that a large number of government departments and organisations have prescribed multiple “Registrations, Licenses, Certifi-

cates and Other permits (RLCOs)” for establishing and operating businesses. Many of these RLCOs envisage cumbersome processing through manual application procedures. The launch of the mega initiative in Gwadar will reduce the compliance burden on businesses, he said. “This will enhance ease of doing business in Pakistan and as a result, it will improve the country’s image and attract foreign direct investment,” Muhammad Ali Baloch, another local businessman said. A senior official of Collectorate of Customs, Gwadar Custom House noted that Gwadar Port and Gwadar Free Zone are two different entities. Gwadar Free Zone has now been equipped with WeBOC. However, he revealed that in September, the 2019 WeBOC system was rolled out successfully

at Gwadar port by the Pakistan Customs. There was the Goods Declaration (GD) system till 2017 which was replaced by the One-Customs system. Basic features of WeBOC involve a paperless system such as online manifest filing and online payments, 24/7 GD filing (webbased), Risk Management System (Green, Yellow, Red channels), communication with the custodians of goods/port authorities through EDI, online communication with traders and clearing agents. This also includes assessment-based online examination reports and images, Firstin, First-out (FIFO) based assessment scheme, an online adjudication process, online decision support tools for customs and trade, stricter controls and checks (complete log of all activities).

Women should not be propping up healthcare systems without proper pay ReuteRs When I first arrived to work in Pakistan in 1989, I would regularly visit villages where mothers had died in childbirth, often with their newborns. The health system just didn’t reach that far. I had arrived in Pakistan with my own young baby and we were both healthy. Because the health system reached us. The previous year a young female Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, had replaced a military president. She asked how health services could reach women in remote, conservative communities. So, in 1994 the Lady Health Workers Programme was launched. For the first time in Pakistan, the health system reached women just about everywhere. For 20 years, on and off, I watched those women become the backbone of the health system, battling low pay, dealing with harassment, and travelling long distances on foot. Sometimes they weren’t paid at all, Women working unpaid and underpaid in health systems is not new. The Lancet Commission on Women and Health in 2015 estimated that women contribute $3 trillion to global health annually, half in the form of unpaid work. During the pandemic, stories surfaced of women community health workers forming the critical

frontline of global health security, going door-to-door tracing contacts, informing communities, often without adequate personal protective equipment and often unpaid. It was the right time to ask who these women were, how many there were and why women from lowincome families with already heavy work burdens, added unpaid health work to their busy days? SOCIAL RECOGNITION: In a report just published by Women in Global Health, “Subsidizing Global Health”, we calculated that upwards of six million women are working unpaid and grossly underpaid — often as ”volunteers” — to prop up health systems

worldwide. This is the first time a figure like this has been calculated, and we were conservative in our estimate. Not all countries include frontline community health workers in their formal workforce or labour market statistics, even though they are delivering core health services. In interviews, we found that women worked for now pay for a mixture of reasons. Though they were proud to carry out voluntary work, and were positive about the benefits to the community, it came at a personal cost. For women from low-income families and with low levels of education, unpaid work was an opportunity that might lead to some paid work or an asset like a mobile phone or bicycle. Unpaid work in health can also bring women social recognition and in many contexts, it is seen as “honourable work” that families will approve of for a woman. Our research showed that for others, it offered passage out of the home to freely move about for a positive purpose, an opportunity to learn, and also to achieve personal and professional rewards. The bottom line, however, is that women do this work because are backed into a gendered corner, with their choices constrained simply by being women.

Rise in construction cost hampering FGEHA projects: Senate body told IsLAMABAD stAff RepoRt

IsLAMABAD AnAdolu Agency

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hailed Turkey for its key role in preventing a looming global food crisis by brokering a deal on Ukraine’s Black Sea grain exports. With the mediation of Turkey and the UN, Kyiv and Moscow signed an agreement in Istanbul on Friday to resume Ukrainian grain shipments from Black Sea ports. “Ukraine grain deal signed in Istanbul is a historic victory of diplomacy signifying that all crises can be averted through meaningful engagement,” Sharif said on Twitter. “On this remarkable achievement, I congratulate my brother President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and thank Turkey for playing a key role in preventing (a) global food crisis.” Under the deal, reached on an UN-led plan during talks in Istanbul, a coordination centre will be established to carry out joint inspections at the entrances and exits of harbours, and to ensure the safety of the routes. Internationally praised for its mediator role, Turkey has coordinated with Moscow and Kyiv to open a corridor from the Ukrainian port city of Odesa to restart shipments stuck due to the Russia-Ukraine war, now in its fifth month.

Ministry of Housing and Works on Monday said due to unprecedented rise in cost of construction material the work on Federal Government Employees Housing Authority (FGEHA) projects was hampered. The Ministry officials told the Senate Standing Committee on Housing and Works that met here with Haji Hidayatullah in the chair. During the meeting, it was revealed that the price adjustment included in the contract in line with Pakistan Engineering Council standard price adjustment guidelines did not cover the current escalation of construction goods. The Committee members took strong notice of

phenomenally slow progress and stressed the need for rate analysis. A sub-Committee was formed by senate body to review the matter in detail and directed to submit rate analysis of all the projects. Discussing details of Pak PWD funds utilised for Malakand Division in the past 15 years the Committee showed concern regarding documentation and directed the Ministry to provide details related to the whole province in the next meeting. Regarding the Housing Project at Mauza Tamma and Morian, the matter was taken up by the Committee to ensure that the aggrieved are compensated. It was asserted that numerous measures have been taken by FGEHA in this regard. The matter of the murder of the land owner, it was

Pak-China olive cooperation possesses immense potential: Chen Rui News Desk Pak-China olive cooperation possesses has immense potential, says a report published by China Economic Net (CEN) on Monday quoting Chen Rui, General Manager of Fujian Baihejiang Industrial Development Co., Ltd. “As one of the main olive producing areas in China, the processing industrial chain in Fujian Province is still far from perfect. The supply of high-quality olives is in short supply; besides, the by-product market also contains unlimited potential. Namely, the market space is huge. In the future, if we can introduce excellent olive varieties from countries along the Belt and Road, including Pakistan, and carry out planting and processing technology exchanges with them, undoubtedly it will be a win-win situation,” Chen Rui said. Edible olives are rich in nutrients, providing protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, iron and other minerals. Its content of vitamin C is 10 times that of apples and 5 times that of pears and peaches. He told CEN that Pakistan, which has a large area of land suitable for growing olive trees, can produces about 1,500 tons of olive oil and 830 tons of table olives per year, all of which are consumed domestically. Now, Pakistan is the only South Asian country to be included in the International Olive Council. Farhan Pasha, the science officer in charge of the olive program

at the Barani Agricultural Research Institute, told CEN that the main areas in Pakistan fit for olive cultivation are Balochistan, KPK and Punjab, etc. Pakistan has 10 million acres of land suitable for olive cultivation, which is almost twice as much as Spain, the world’s largest olive oil producer. Nevertheless, the cultivation and processing of edible olives in Pakistan is facing a series of challenges, which also brings opportunities for agricultural cooperation between China and Pakistan in this field. According to Farhan Pasha, Pakistani olive growers often need to use costly imported fertilizers or pesticides when faced with pests and diseases, but this is beyond the purchasing power of most ordinary farmers. Therefore, if China provides effective measures to increase production or control pests and diseases, this will be the most ideal result. Chen put forward a specific plan for this, “Biopesticides are our best choice due to ordinary pesticides may cause soil hardening or pesticide residues. Even the most common biological materials such as wellproportioned ginger and pepper spray can have a very good sterilizing and insecticidal effect. In terms of pest control, we use breeding beneficial insects, such as ladybugs, to kill pests.” As for fertilizers, Chen emphasized that in most cases, his olive orchard chooses organic biofertilizers, such as chicken and sheep manure, which are of great help in increasing production.

asserted must be referred to law enforcement agencies. The Ministry recommended that compensation must be paid on the basis of the report given by the Deputy Commissioner and Inspector General of Police. Discussing details of projects of Ministry of Housing and works in Sindh, the Committee recommended that allocated funds for the province must be reviewed. The meeting was attended by Senators Saifullah Abro, Prince Ahmed Omer Ahmedzai, Fida Muhammad, Saifullah Sarwar Khan Nyazee, Bahramand Khan Tangi, Muhammad Qasim, Molana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Afnan Ullah Khan and senior officers of the Ministry of Housing and Works along with its attached departments and agencies.

Retired employees must be present in concerned oﬃce before commencement of pension: Railway Spokesman LAHORe news desk

A spokesman of Pakistan Railways has strongly denied the news circulating on social media that Pakistan Railways is making payments to pensioners without verification. The spokesperson of Railways has said that the institution has a foolproof system for payment of salaries and pensions. Any retired employee has to show his presence in the concerned office before commencement of pension which is recorded in a register. Pension is paid through banks which also have their own verification system to countercheck record provided by the pensioner to the railways. The spokesman said that to ensure that the payment is being made in a transparent manner, pensioners have to submit, twice a year, the life certificate and no marriage certificate in case of family pension. Additionally, the concerned bank verifies the pensioners through biometric system and this exercise is done every year. The verification process was done in 2021 to remove any ambiguity in the light of the orders of the Federal Minister of Railways after which the amount was recovered from the accounts of the deceased pensioners. The website has made this news based on the data of 2020 when the verification process had not started, so it has nothing to do with the current record and facts.

Tuesday, 26 July, 2022 | LAHORE

NEWS

corporate corner KE Chairman conducts visits to monitor situation during heavy rains

ForEIgn oFFICE SlaMS InDIa DEFEnSE MInISTEr’S STaTEMEnT on KaShMIr iSLamaBad

KARACHI: Mr. Shan Ashary, Chairman of KE's Board of Directors, visited different KE's Central Load Dispatch Center (LDC), Operations Command Cells as well as the 118 Customer Care Helpline which are operating 24/7 and met with the teams at the forefront of keeping Karachi energized amid the toughest operating conditions. He also thanked customers for their understanding and cooperation, amid the monsoon season's heaviest spell yet. pr

anadolu agency

AKISTAN has condemned the Indian defense minister’s statement on Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), calling it “provocative” and “completely unacceptable.” In a statement late Sunday, the Foreign Office rejected Rajnath Singh’s “unwarranted and totally unacceptable comments” made at an event in the Indian-occupied part of the disputed valley, in which he said the Azad Jammu and Kashmir is a part of India. “The minister in his remarks distorted the well-established historical facts about the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, leveled baseless allegations and hurled threats against Pakistan,” said the ministry. “PoK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir) is part of India, we believe it. A unanimous resolution has also been passed in this regard in the Parliament,” Singh later tweeted.

“Provocative statements by Indian political figures cannot alter the reality of IIOJK (Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir),” the Foreign Office said in response. According to The Indian Express, Singh alleged during his two-day visit to the valley, which began on Thursday, that Pakistan “has always resorted to anti-India activities and that Jammu and Kashmir had also witnessed terror activities in the past.” “Due to the relentless efforts of the personnel” of the armed and security forces, he said, “there has been a significant decline in the number of terror activities in the state recently,” it added. Though “Pakistan continuously tries to disturb peace in the country through its approach of bleeding India with a thousand cuts,” he said, India’s “security forces are such a protective shield for this country that whoever tries to break it bleeds himself,” the daily quoted him. The Foreign Office statement warned that while Islamabad supports

regional peace and stability, it is fully capable of thwarting any aggressive plans. “We have demonstrated our resolve and capability in this regard on numerous occasions, including in the recent past,” the statement said. The ministry reiterated that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognised dispute still on the UN agenda and that the solution lies in implementing relevant UN Security Council resolutions. “India would be well advised to introspect as to why, despite imposing draconian laws, holding the entire Valley under military siege for decades, imprisoning thousands of innocent Kashmiris and their true representatives and wanton killing of over 100,000 Kashmiris, India has not been able to smother the flame of freedom from the heart of Kashmiris,” the ministry said. Islamabad also urged the international community to take concrete steps to prevent India from continuing its “brutal treatment” of the Kashmiri people, and “illegal attempts” to change

PDM out-rightly spurns SC verdict

Blow to PDM: SC rejects govt’s plea for formation of full court

continued from page 01

continued from page 01 “The time and circumstances have changed today,” replied Naek. Jusitce Ijaz maintained that the case before the bench is related to the interpretation of the Supreme Court’s order and not constitutional. The PPP lawyer also requested the court to adjourn the hearing till Thursday. Earlier in the day, Supreme Court had reserved its verdict on the request for the formation of a full court to take up a set of petitions moved by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pervaiz Elahi, speaker of the Punjab Assembly, against his deputy Dost Muhammad Mazari’s rejection of 10 votes cast during the election for the office of the chief minister. The development came hours after the ruling coalition — while reiterating its demand for a full court bench to hear all cases related to the apex court’s interpretation of Article 63-A of the Constitution, including that of Elahi against the election — said cases of national importance “cannot be repeatedly decided by the same three people [judges]”. The verdict was reserved on the petitions filed by Hamza Shehbaz, the chief minister, and factions of bar associations — all seeking the formation of a full court — after it heard arguments from party lawyers. However, at 4:00 pm, the chief justice gave a break of an hour-and-a-half on the petition of Elahi, which challenged Mazari’s ruling. During the proceedings today, the chief justice remarked the party head “will also have to listen to the parliamentary party’s opinion”. He recalled that a senior parliamentarian once informed the court during the hearing on the presidential reference that the party head could also be a “dictator” which is why his role had been reduced and powers were given to the parliamentary party instead. “There are hereditary parties in Pakistan. How can a leader residing abroad issue instructions?” he argued.

Economy can’t afford a new political crisis: minister ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal Monday said the country’s fragile economic situation could not afford any new political crisis, therefore, his party’s demand for the formation of a full bench of the Supreme Court to hear the case involving the contentious election for the office of Punjab chief minister should be accepted. Addressing a press conference outside the Supreme Court, the minister said the government was making efforts to bring the economy out of crisis and towards stability. Staff report

She said that since Hamza was elected chief minister of Punjab, he was not being allowed to work. “He goes from parliament to court, and back and forth. What justice is this?” The PML-N vice president pointed out that there were many respected judges appointed to the apex court and questioned why they were not involved in hearing the PML-N’s cases. “One or two judges, who have always been antiPML-N and anti-government, they are repeatedly included in the bench,” she said. During the press conference, Maryam alleged that court decisions were favouring the PTI even though they were mocking the judicial system. Meanwhile, during the media talk, Jamiat Ulemai-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman endorsed Maryam’s view saying that fingers were being pointed at the judiciary. He said that the government wanted to strengthen the judiciary, where its decisions spoke for themselves. “They shouldn’t have any conflict or give the impression of a bias.” He said that the government was given the mandate by the people was not being allowed to function. “You are sitting behind a wall. You may decide whatever you want […] and make politicians the culprit in the eyes of the public and defame them. But if there’s moral courage, hold yourself accountable.” The Maulana said that the government did not expect any justice from the current bench and reiterated the government’s demand for a full court bench. He went on to say that the government supported what Maryam said earlier, saying that this was their “united stance”. Meanwhile, Bilawal Bhutto has reiterated that the coalition government only has one demand: the formation of a full bench to hear the case related to the Punjab CM’s election. Coalition government was addressing a press conference in federal capital ahead of hearing by the apex court on Chaudhry Parvez Elahi’s petition challenging the Punjab Assembly deputy speaker’s ruling. Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto said that this cannot happen that three people decide the fate of this country. Three people cannot decide on whether this country will run on a democratic, elected or selective system,” he said. He repeated “It cannot be possible that three people change Pakistan’s 1973 Constitution with just the stroke of a pen”. It is pertinent to note that earlier, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hamza Shahbaz Sharif filed a petition in Supreme Court to form a full

court bench on the plea filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi in which he challenged the Deputy Speaker Punjab Assembly’s ruling on Chief Minister Election on July 22. Appeals of deviant members against the Election Commission are also requested to be heard with a ruling case. In the petition, it has been prayed that the ruling of Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Mohammad Mazari is correct. The Election Commission declared Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s letter of instructions against defecting members valid. While it has also been pleaded that the letter by PML-Q head Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain is also according to the law and constitution. Meanwhile, aviation Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique also urged people by stating that the only solution to aver the political crisis that facilitators of Imran Khan sitting in the institutions must stop intervention and let political forces decide about the political decisions. Saad Rafique talking here alleged that ‘Project Imran Khan’ facilitators wanted to attack the parliamentary democracy of Pakistan followed by blue-eyed appointments in the Pakistan Armed Forces and judiciary and finally facilitators of Imran wanted to change the spirit of the Constitution of 1973. He said if coalition parties would not bring no-confidence move against Imran then Imran with the help of facilitators would get two-third majority. He urged let politicians decide about the political decisions and if Imran khan wants to remove our government but only through the constitutionally no-confidence motion. He said there would be no different decisions on a same issue. “This Imran Khan bash army and ECP and moves himself towards Article 6.” “If you want to fix the economy then Imran Khan should come up with the democratic ways,” he further added. To a question, he replied, “Nothing will happen to Punjab”. The minister said that Imran Khan vandalized green belts of Islamabad during his long march. Has anyone asked him or held him accountable? PMLN VP already stated that Imran Khan is ladla (blue-eyed) but her party would not accept the unilateral decisions of the judiciary. Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman also stated that the coalition parties in their plea requested the apex court’s larger bench to circumvent discrimination during the proceedings of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) leader Chaudhary Parvez Elahi’s petition challenging the deputy speaker’s ruling.

the demographic structure of Kashmir. DISputeD terrItory: Jammu and Kashmir, a former princely state, has been a bone of contention between Pakistan and India since 1947, following the end of British colonial rule in the subcontinent. The picturesque Muslim-majority valley is held by the two nuclear rivals in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China. Since they were partitioned in 1947, Pakistan and India have fought three wars — in 1948, 1965, and 1971 — and two of them were over Kashmir. Many Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence or unification with Pakistan. Relations between India and Pakistan plummeted to a new low after August 2019, when India scrapped the longstanding special status of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting Islamabad to downgrade its diplomatic ties with New Delhi.

PTI considers SC verdict ‘positive’ progress in Punjab CM elections case continued from page 01 The dispute started over Shujaat Hussain’s letter that declared the PML-Q votes in favor of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Hamza Shahbaz. While it served as a setback for Hamza’s opponent, who is none other than the PML-Q leader Pervaiz Elahi himself. Where Shujaat Hussain’s letter harmed PML-Q internally, it also raised serious questions regarding Supreme Court’s verdict over the interpretation of Article 63 (A). Furthermore, Pervaiz Elahi has filed a petition against Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari’s ruling over the election of Punjab CM in the SC. The court’s decision on the matter is of paramount importance for the future of government in Punjab. Meanwhile, Special Assistant to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Information Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif on Monday said that it was an old tactics of Pakistan Muslim League ( N) to pressurize the judiciary to get favorable verdict. In a statement he said that leaders of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) was attacking security establishment which is new shape of fascism in the politics. He said that PDM leadership should now announce new and a joint political party. He also strongly condemned a statement of Maulana Fazlur Rehman and termed it a ridiculous and sad. Barrister Saif said that it was a misconception in mind of Maryam Nawaz that she would influence institutions through verbal attacks. He said that it was Maryam Nawaz who ended politics of her father and now PPP wipe out PML- N from Punjab and brought end to it’s politics. He said that PDM’s press conference before the court proceedings was a failed attempt to influence the judgment of the judiciary.

President Alvi reiterates offer for online, virtual education to Afghan students iSLamaBad Staff report

President Dr Arif Alvi Monday reiterated Pakistan’s offer to provide virtual and online education facilities to the Afghan students through the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) and the Virtual University of Pakistan (VUP). Talking to Mufti Taqi Usmani, after being informed that Mufti Sahib was going to Afghanistan for discussions with the leadership, the president said since Afghanistan did not possess nationwide internet connectivity, therefore, initially the education materials of AIOU and VUP could be communicated to the Afghan students, both male and female, through its television network. The offer was made when the Afghan minister of ed-

ucation had visited the president and said that higher education was in dire straits in Afghanistan, the President Secretariat Press Wing said in a press release. On various occasions, the president had communicated the Government of Pakistan’s offers of providing online and virtual education facilities to Afghanistan during his meetings with the Afghan ambassador and counsel generals, and with other Afghan government leadership, directly or indirectly, through his interaction with them. The president said the government and the state of Pakistan believed in providing equal educational opportunities for women, at par with its male population. “Iqra in Quran is for all Muslims and is not gender specific,” he added. He further said that keeping in view the specific

socio-political concerns of Afghanistan, women could be imparted education by making special arrangements as deemed appropriate and as was initially pledged by the current Afghan leadership. He said Islam emphasized upon imparting education to all without making any distinction between the men and the women. He further observed that if Afghanistan was taking measures to provide education to its female population according to its own preferences, then the far-reaching initiative should also be properly publicized through all channels of media and communication tools to rest of the world to allay their concerns in that regard. Pakistan wanted peace and development in Afghanistan and it could not happen without development of their own human resource, he added.

06-07 Comments - 26th July 2022_Layout 1 7/25/2022 11:58 PM Page 1

Tuesday, 26 July, 2022

06 COMMENT

Theses for degrees

Full court was required to end controversy

Problems of University researchers

Further complications will now arise

fresh political crisis has given birth to yet another constitutional controversy over the interpretation of Article 63-A in the light of recent Supreme Court orders. the SC had declared defection a "cancer" in its interpretation of Article 63-A, adding that defection was no small matter as it is the fundamental right of political parties that its members remain loyal to it. CJP Umar Ata Bandial had observed that the loyalty of members was a basic right of political parties. the apex court had said that votes cast against party direction cannot be counted and must be disregarded. the issue to be decided now is whether it is the party leader or the party’s parliamentary leader who has the authority to issue the party’s guideline. there are some who are interpreting directions of a ‘parliamentary party’ in Article 63A as directions of the ‘leader of the parliamentary party’ as opposed to party head. the SC has refused in the past to uphold a declaration of defection because there was no “specific direction of the party head” For the common man what is good for the goose should be good for the gander also. If 25 PtI members were de-seated for voting against the party chief’s mandate, justice required that the 10 PML-Q members voting against the directions of PML-Q chief should also be sacked. In political parties of Pakistan, party leaders wield all power. they are the final authority in devising policies, making alliances, issuing tickets to party candidates and appointing parliamentary leaders. If provincial parliamentary leaders were to be given the authority to take policy decisions, there may be a situation in which a party head is giving one policy and the parliamentary party is going against it, as was seen in the CM’s election on Friday. Similarly the same party could be following contradictory policies and alliances in different provinces. this said there is a whole lot of eminent jurists some declaring Mazari’s ruling illegal while others taking an opposite stand. With Punjab mired in political crisis for months and disagreement over how to overcome it, the way out was a ruling by a full court. Now that the current 3-member bench under CJP Bandial has refused to for a full court bench, or any larger bench, the PDM has boycotted these proceedings, thereby declaring no confidence in the apex court. this does not do any favours to the reputation and credibility of the judiciary nor the prevalent political unrest in the country.

Prof. Abdul ShAkoor ShAh

NOWLEDgE, innovation and research are considered to be the core of a vibrant society. the world's progress is revolving around research productivity. the research in Humanities has become part and parcel in South Asian perspective particularly in Pakistan on personal, organizational and national levels. the researchers in Humanities come across a lot of obstacles while venturing for some productive project in developing countries. the researchers on both students and faculty level are bound to face almost similar hurdles in completion of their projects. Some of the major problems can be enlisted as old methodologies of research, managerial issues in data collection, data authenticity and validation and interpreting the data. then there is the scarcity of recent and relevant publications, unavailability of updated works and fund-based research projects. I have personally observed the heartening sight of research papers sold out in waste stuffed in sacks. It is proof that we are compelling our university students to fulfill the formality for the piece of degree which is going to whirl him in the practical field for a job. there are hardly few theses which get cited by others and most of them are done either by faculty members or by Ph.D scholars. the rest of the research theses are destined to be wasted. Another reason for substandard research in

Private guards

humanities is the lack of time frame given to the student for some research project. It is the irony of the situation that the supervisors are over burdened by the universities. I remember when I was doing my thesis more than thirty students were being supervised by a single supervisor and I am sure the same or almost the same is still happening in most of the universities. Another problem is the faculty members who supervise M. A or M.Phil research are not Ph.D. they are only one level higher than their students. the students are left on their own by the universities. the universities and the faculty do not provide any technical support to students. the theoretical complexities compel the students to course work rather than theses. If they decide to go for some research project, they have to do it on their own. Mostly, the supervisors do not entertain students either because of overwork or excess of students or for some other reason. Some students are advised to research on some specific projects and later on when it is near to finish it is canceled by the supervisor on some pretext. the very research is published by the supervisor by his own name in the coming years. the students are forced to restart research on some new project. Most of the universities do not practice the research base project before the final semester. In the final semester, when the students suddenly and off handedly come across research projects they get puzzled. they only try to fulfill the formality and get their degree and the same is supposed to be thought on the part of supervisors. the accessibility and application of knowledge in the developing society can be linked via research to the masses. the approach of most of the faculty members and supervisors is superficial and on surface level. the university exam pattern mostly revolves around theory based questions. the university prescribed syllabus is never taught or discussed thoroughly. Only selected chapters are overviewed. Most of the students resort to notes or past papers. the main end of university education is not the acquisition of skill but scrapes of degrees. Students are not well

informed about the vitality and significance of their research work in future. the HEC has cut a sorry figure in examining what is going on at universities. It seems both the universities and HEC are working on the mutual share interest bases to accumulate money and stuff the market with raw material. the researchers are not equipped with skills and concepts rather they are trained how to complete their theses for attaining a degree. Most of the supervisors introduce and advise short cut methods for getting rid of pilgrims. Now the market is overcrowded with hired researchers and most of the university students and faculty members get their research projects after paying the hired researchers a handsome amount. the criteria system for viva is also no more than a formality. the viva committee or panel does not give heed to research and also does not check whether the student has done the project on his own or he has got his project completed by someone else by paying him. the lack of a proper and systematic check and balance system on university level and by HEC, the researchers are getting numerous problems and our country is lagging behind in the field of research especially in Social Sciences. the researchers also face the problems after getting information about its validity and authenticity. Most of the researchers limit themselves to traditional internet level research. they do not have finance to access recommended and verified content. they are unable to purchase online published books or standardized publications. Most of our university libraries could not cope with the problems of information availability. Hardly few researchers ransack the libraries for their research projects. Most of the research remains ambiguous or has the problem of conceptual clarity. the acquisition of knowledge and information from foreign sources makes it hard to adjust it in their local and regional prospective. the absence of a professional approach is the result of scarcity of recent research techniques. Most of the time the supervisors themselves have never got published on an international level and their inability to deal the international level research and they can never train their students for productive research.

I remember when I was doing my thesis more than thirty students were being supervised by a single supervisor and I am sure the same or almost the same is still happening in most of the universities.

The writer is Prof. in English and Freelance Columnist : Prof.abdulshakoorsyed@gmail.com

Pakistani media

Who will guard us from them?

Where do we stand? A critical look

HE robbery in Lahore of a Chinese national by her own private security guards sheds yet some more light on the important issue of regulation, or lack thereof, of this business. the robbers tied their employer, a Chinese woman, and robbed her of some cash and valuables. Luckily, the police managed to trace the perpetrators and brought them to justice. that still won’t heal the trauma that victims have to deal with them for some time to come. With the services of the state crumbling, and the private sector picking up the slack, specially to anyone and everyone who can afford it, we are faced with a set of problems. the rich have their own hospitals, their children go to private hospitals, they have their own power sources for their homes and, since they don’t trust the local police, they have their own security guards. Were they allowed their own courts, they would have even paid for those. (they already do, in a manner of speaking.) there has been a slew of private security companies that have mushroomed across the country. Some of them have rather large head counts. One cannot call them militias but, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck…. Having private firms armed to the teeth and with little by way of vetting their armed employees, one can only expect things to go wrong. the incident with the Chinese national isn’t the first. there has been a litany of complaints against private security firms. this only happens to be one of the relatively rare instances where the guards attack their own employer. On a tangent, but related nonetheless, the state should also look out for the welfare of these security guards as well. the polyester uniforms they wear in the muggy heat in this neck of the woods aren’t going to help keeping tempers down. there needs to be comprehensive reform.

MuhAMMAd ShAhjAhAn MeMon, AiShA lAreb MeMon And rAMnA SAeed

t is not surprising that the mass media plays a critical role in every society. Ideally, the job of the media including, but not limited to, is educating the masses and disseminating awareness for the social and political good of the society as a whole to socialize viewers to become better and responsible citizens of the respective country. However, it remains debatable whether the media as a change agent plays its responsible part or not. In light of mass media theories, namely the Pluralist model, Dominantideology model, Elite- values model, and Market model, we concluded that apart from the Pluralist model, the rest of the theories are somehow relevant in the context of Pakistan. Moreover, it should be noted that not a single theory is one-size-fits-all because of the fact that theories always contain inherent flaws. theories are briefly explained below and with their interpretation in the context of Pakistan and media milieu. Elite value theory/Consensus theory. this theory was given by American linguist and historian Avram Noam Chomsky and American economist Edward Samuel Herman. this theory signifies that there are certain elites in every society; their consensus on certain values subsequently becomes the narrative of the society. to put it simply, it implies viewers can only watch what social elites want them to see. For example, each elite has certain biases. He/she may subscribe to a particular sect/religion. their businesses; biases and affiliations are disseminated through media content. Resultantly, viewers become parochial or narrow-minded and do not see both thoroughly and critically. Let’s take the example of religious harmony. In the case of Pakistan, there is a substantial dearth of religious harmony, among other issues. What we increasingly see is a culture of intolerance; religious extremism, etc. It shows there is no elite consensus among such crucial topics and it is clear that it does not come under their elite interests. Hence, such content is not made to sensitize the viewers. And its subsequent repercussions are evident. Since the media has the power to normalize taboo topics as well. But, it does not talk much about sensitive and

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor

Yousaf Nizami M. A. Niazi

Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

Umar Aziz

Joint Editor

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Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

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crucial topics to normalize for the general public. Hence proved, certain individuals are not playing their part in this respect and morals do not come under their elitist interests. Agenda setting theory indicates that any sustained group can have certain agendas and they ask viewers to follow them. In other words, agendas are being set by certain minds or an individual and consequently imposed through media content. It can be, by any institution or external pressures. Moreover, it can be organic as well. Somebody is essentially there who is largely defining some agendas. Society has developed certain agendas on certain things and such agendas also become the narratives of the society. For instance, it has become an established narrative not to talk about certain things. take a case of other dominant religions. there is hardly any talk about other religions apart from Islam. Resultantly, it does not promote religious harmony in society. One may argue that even true interpretations of Islam is not disseminated. What we see is the political use of religion for their interests. Resultantly, exposure of people is limited in terms of other dominant religions apart from Islam. Market model, as the name suggests, this model caters to its viewers based on the supply and demand model. It shows what viewers wish to watch. It can be termed as a model of commercialization as well. In the context of Pakistan, some private channels either support the government, opposition, or establishment. Resultantly, the public has become more polarized and divided than ever before. Although there are some checks on the part of the government or civil society on what to show or not which is based on the social and cultural values of the society. there remains a lot of room for improvement in the case of Pakistani media. For example, there is a substantial dearth of channels devoted to the children segment of society. What we direly need is, allocating time and resources, to educate children about science and technology. So, where do we stand? Media molds public be-

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

havior according to their interests and needs on several fronts. Resultantly, it has become polarized, parochial, and less tolerant than ever before. It has conditioned and desensitized us to such an extent that we tend to forget horrific incidents which jolted Pakistan. Incidents include, not limited to, the Mishal case, the Zainab-like case, and the recent Sialkot incident. However, both state and media have failed to play their due role in this regard. Lack of state support could be part of this backdrop. In the light of the above-written theories and observation, it is clear that our media in general does not play a responsible role in order to build a better and constructive society mainly because it does not come under their elitist agendas. their large focus is only on profit maximization. this is not to say that they have completely abdicated their responsibility. Some people challenge the status quo as well. However, their impact is minimal. It is observed that certain media elites further their interests and ideologies implicitly. the problem with the general public is that they largely consume media content uncritically because of the fact of lack of media literacy; the absence of quality education, and the lack of critical thinking which collectively further fuels the fire. therefore, there is a dire need for fostering healthy debates; realizing the public's true power, educating the masses when it comes to the accountability of politicians, normalizing so-called taboo topics, and sensitizing the public about issues. the state should join hands with dominant media outlets and disseminate innovative ideas for the larger interest of society as a whole.

Some people challenge the status quo as well. However, their impact is minimal. It is observed that certain media elites further their interests and ideologies implicitly.

Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

Shahjahan Memon is a freelance contributor and an independent researcher. He can be reached at muhammadshahjahan574@gmail.com Aisha Lareb Memon is a medical student Ramna Saeed is a journalist

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

06-07 Comments - 26th July 2022_Layout 1 7/25/2022 11:58 PM Page 2

Tuesday, 26 July, 2022

COMMENT 07 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

Woes of attaining British visa WE are husband and wife aged over 75 years. We applied at gerry’s Islamabad for UK Standard Visit Visa on June 14 (Ref Nos. gWF065108344 and gWF065107476) with all the required documents, including the evidence of United States and Dubai visas. We planned to break journey midway in England as we could not travel to the US in a single stretch. to date we have no information on our visa status though we understand that visa applications of those aged over 65 years are decided within three weeks. Our passports are with gerry’s and we are told that if we want our passports back for travel, we have to pay over Rs10,000 for each passport. this is certainly not fair on the part of gerry’s or the British High Commission. It will be nice if they could either decide the fate of our visa applications or withdraw the charges for withdrawing our applications. Shahid Saeed Islamabad

Faith in Humanity restored

For Erdogan the failed coup was a “Gift from God” Since its establishment in 1923, nothing has changed the Turkish Republic more than the failed military coup of July 2016

dr. Alon ben Meri

N July 15, turkey’s President Erdogan “celebrated” the sixth anniversary of a failed military coup—’a major victory’ that presumably protected the turkish constitution and its democracy. Erdogan himself characterized the coup as a “gift from god” because it provided him with the ‘justification’ to declare a national emergency; less than a year after the coup attempt, he held a referendum to transform turkey’s parliamentary democracy into an executive presidency, which he had been seeking for more than two decades. He mercilessly used his newly-acquired, near-absolute power to ‘cleanse’ the country of its domestic enemies and rule largely by decree, with little or no opposition to stop him. One of Erdogan’s biggest shortcomings is his sense of insecurity which led him to embark on the greatest purge in turkey’s modern history, while promoting Islam in order to cement his power without being challenged. Although he projects himself as self-assured and publicly exhibits confidence and assertiveness, his insecurity emanates from five different concerns: He believed the military, which was assigned at the time the new Republic was created to safeguard turkey’s democracy, was a threat to his unrestrained rule. the military toppled three governments before Erdogan’s rise to power—in 1960, 1971, and 1980—because they deviated from the constitution, and Erdogan was determined to emasculate the military and subordinate it to his whims. It is no wonder then that following the coup, he prosecuted over 23,000 military personnel for their presumed part in the insurrection. Political rivals have always been a major concern, and his chosen opponent is Fetullah gülen, whom he accused of being behind the coup. He stopped short of nothing to dismiss more than 100,000 public sector workers, including nearly 4,000 judges and prosecutors, from their jobs; over 321,000 have been detained since 2016 on suspicion of being followers of gülen. to this day, Erdogan is trying to extradite Fetullah gülen from the US but to no

avail, as he repeatedly failed to produce evidence to prove gülen’s culpability in the coup. gülen sternly denies the charges against him and insists his Islamic Hizmet movement promotes peace and education. the press was and still is one of Erdogan’s main targets. He shut down just about every single newspaper that dared to question any of his policies. As a part of his purge, he arrested more than 300 journalists, accusing them of bogus offenses. Nearly 180 of them continue to languish in jail, not knowing when or if they will ever be released. thousands of academics and lawyers who likewise had nothing to do with the coup attempt were also imprisoned. the Kurdish community is another source of deep concern to Erdogan, which he has and continues to persecute while denying them much of their inherent right to live in accordance with their tradition. the failed coup only deepened Erdogan’s concerns over the Kurdish community, as he remained fearful that the Kurds have never given up on their drive to seek autonomy, and incarcerated thousands of them as a part of his sweeping purge. to this day he continues to wage a merciless war against the PKK, which he considers a terrorist organization, and vows to hunt every PKK member until the last one is captured or killed. He even invaded Syria in 2016 in an effort to prevent the Syrian Kurds from establishing their autonomous rule, killing hundreds of YPg militia members whom he accused of being supportive of the PKK. Since the failed coup six years ago, turkey continues to suffer greatly on a number of fronts: turkey suffers persistently from high inflation and the turkish lira lost nearly two-thirds of its value against the US dollar in the first five years after the coup attempt. As a result, millions have joined the ranks of the very poor and the forecast for economic recovery in the foreseeable future remains dim at best. the turkish public remains extremely skeptical and deeply concerned about the future of the country as there seems to be no relief in sight from the pressure and the oppression that have become routine. the people are living in fear as they are being constantly watched and listened to by his intelligence and security apparatus. the relationships between turkey and the US and EU have not recovered as yet as the US in particular remains deeply concerned about Erdogan’s conduct, especially his unabated human

right abuses and violation of the sanctions imposed on Iran. Furthermore, his purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system remains a bone of contention between tukey and NAtO. the public’s trust in the government, the courts, the execution of the laws, the absence of justice, the rampant corruption of top officials, the Islamic AK Party’s devolution to being simply a rubber stamp for Erdogan’s every whim, and the government’s inability to address the people’s needs, have reached its nadir. tens of thousands of young turkish citizens, especially from the academia, who feel robbed of their dignity and unable to freely engage in scholarly discourse about domestic and foreign policy, are leaving the country in search of a better future. And finally, Erdogan’s stated objective to have zero problems with neighbors ended up with turkey having problems with just about every neighbor—from greece and Cyprus to Israel, Armenia, Iraq, Iran, and even georgia. He is now desperately trying to improve relations with many countries that he has alienated with very limited success, as he remains reviled for his ruthlessness at home and untrustworthiness abroad. to be sure, given how much power Erdogan has been able to amass, it also leaves him vulnerable because much of what is going wrong now is attributed to him, as by centralizing control he has no one else to blame for the public’s suffering. Next year, Erdogan will be presiding over the hundredth anniversary of the establishment of the turkish Republic. He is desperately trying to portray himself as a new Atatürk (father of turkey)—who founded the turkish Republic in 1923 with significant Western orientation. In fact, Erdogan did not create a “new turkey” and a sound democracy as he claims, but an autocracy that does nothing but continue to suppress the people and rob them of their dignity and future. this is the legacy of the failed coup. Erdogan may still believe that the failed coup was a “gift from god.” I wonder how many of his countrymen share his wickedness and selfdeceit.

Tens of thousands of young Turkish citizens, especially from the academia, who feel robbed of their dignity and unable to freely engage in scholarly discourse about domestic and foreign policy, are leaving the country in search of a better future.

Dr Alon Ben-Meir is a professor of international relations at the Centre for Global Affairs at NYU. He teaches courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies. alon@alonben-meir.com

I travelled from Lahore to Karachi recently with my husband on a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight. We were returning to our home after spending a rather traumatic time in Lahore where my husband had spent time in intensive care unit (ICU) owing to post-Covid complications. though the doctors had advised us against air travel, we were anxious to get back home and in the care of our own doctors. In Lahore, we were staying with friends, who are more than family to us and did their best to convince us to extend our stay, but the call of the familiar space was a bit too hard to ignore. Hardly 10 minutes after the takeoff, my husband started trembling uncontrollably as his blood pressure fell dangerously low and he started experiencing breathing difficulty. this is where the true story of unsung heroes and the kindness of the strangers began. the moment the trouble began, all flight attendants bar none swung into action. they covered him with blankets, poured hot cups of coffee and the famous crew ki chai (served usually to the highly favoured), made an immediate announcement for doctors on board, arranged oxygen and showed nothing less than complete and utter empathy and sincere professional concern. Soon after the announcement was made, two doctors came forward. One of them happened to be a pulmonologist visiting from England, while the other was a paediatrician. they took over the proceedings and within minutes brought things under control. It is the kindness of strangers that reaffirms one’s faith in mankind, and we would forever be grateful to the two doctors. As for the crew, they were amazing professionals who were much more than those who serve tea or coffee to the passengers. they were competent life-savers who knew how to react to an emergency without causing unnecessary panic. People these days are generally hesitant to travel PIA for one reason or the other, but this single interaction has made it clear how unfair it really is to make sweeping judgments and generalisations. May PIA be once again the airline that carried with pride the slogan, ‘great people to fly with’. It would be unfair on my part not to acknowledge the significant role of our fellow passengers who supported us silently and respectfully without bugging us with queries and advice. And, of course, there was this gentleman who shouted out as we began to disembark, ‘thank you, doctors! Zindabad!’ this is precisely what we wanted to say and in that very tone and pitch. May the Almighty watch over you all always just as you were sent to watch over us. thank you, all. Ayesha Afridi Karachi

Bank policy or attitude problem? tO collect my bank statement for income tax purposes, I recently visited the gulshan Chowrangi branch of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) to use its online facility to have the statement against my account at the Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC) branch. though politely, the branch manager refused to entertain the request, saying the bank management had not given him access to online accounts. this was rather surprising and sounded illogical, but he stuck to his guns and I had no option but to leave the place. Subsequently, the CBC branch manager insisted that there was no such policy in place. As a customer, I have the right and the need to know what the NBP policy happens to be in this regard. Anyone? Dr Syed Shah Talha Iqbal Karachi

Why hunting should be banned? Some influential men were recently caught by locals after they killed eight Chinkara deer in tharparkar. A young man, Utam Singh Rajput, valiantly resisted and banged his vehicle against the jeep of the ruthless hunters amid a volley of bullets to force them to surrender. the locals rushed to the location, caught three of the hunters and handed them over to police. Cruelty against animals is common in Pakistan when the world has generally abandoned the callous practice of hunting for pleasure. Officials paid for protecting wild animals are either active facilitators of hunting or find themselves helpless against the hunters. tribal chieftains, who are often parliamentarians as well, are also seen posing behind hunted deer, ibex and other animals as trophies. However, the vigilant local community, civil society and media deserve our appreciation for resisting the powerful to protect the threatened wildlife species. the late Nazim Jokhio, who lost his life while resisting the powerful facilitators of foreign hunters from the Middle East, and Utam Singh Rajput should be hailed as heroes. they really are. Gulsher Panhwer Johi

08 WORLD VIEW 26th July 22_Layout 1 7/25/2022 10:15 PM Page 1

Tuesday, 26 July, 2022

08 WORLD VIEW

How tHe west faiLed to isoL ate Russia NATioNAl iNTeresT

MArk episkopos

ussian president Vladimir Putin has given the green light to a Black sea grain export deal, the first major agreement between Moscow and Kyiv since Russia invaded ukraine on February 24. “This is an agreement for the world,” said un secretarygeneral antónio Guterres on Friday. “it will bring relief for developing countries on the edge of bankruptcy and the most vulnerable people on the edge of famine. it will help stabilize global food prices which were already at record-levels even before the war.” The agreement, which was negotiated by ukraine, Turkey, Russia, and the united nations, sets forth a framework for the resumption of global grain shipments out of ukraine. The deal provides for the creation of a “control center,” staffed by un, Turkish, Russian, and ukrainian officials, in istanbul to monitor and coordinate grain exports out of a designated maritime safe corridor. The arrangement covers food exports from the

ukrainian port cities of Odessa, Chernomorsk, and Yuzhny. Full details of the plan were not immediately published. Russian officials previously insisted that ukrainian vessels carrying grain out of the country must be subject to inspection by the Russian navy on their return trip, citing the concern that these ships could be used to smuggle military equipment back into ukraine. under the finalized version of the agreement, inbound ukrainian ships can be inspected by the Turkish military. The four participating parties reached a preliminary agreement as early as last week, but the deal had to be greenlit by Putin. Putin met with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier this week to finalize the agreement, and thanked his Turkish counterpart for ankara’s proactive efforts to mediate a grain export deal over the past several months. ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak stressed that there was technically no direct agreement between Russia and ukraine. instead, both countries separately

The US wants to use China's neighbours against it – will the plan succeed? WESTERN POWERS HAVE NEVER TREATED THE ISLAND COUNTRIES SERIOUSLY – BUT NOW THEY WANT A FOOTHOLD AGAINST BEIJING rT

tiMur FoMenko

asT week, us Vice President Kamala Harris gave a video address to the Pacific islands Forum – a multilateral meeting consisting of the archipelago nations of the south Pacific, commonly grouped as ‘Polynesia’ and ‘Melanesia’. in the exchange, Harris vowed to increase us cooperation with the island nations, warned of ‘bad actors’, and pledged to re-open us embassies in Tonga and samoa, an illustrative example of how the us previously failed to take the region seriously – until Washington figured out it needed a foothold against Beijing, of course. notably, the island nation of Kiribati did not attend the meeting, a move which was later blamed on Beijing. Later, China itself held their own meeting with the members of the forum. if it wasn’t apparent already, a serious battle for influence and political dominance has opened up between major powers across the south Pacific. although depicting China as the aggressor or expansionist, the us and australia nominally see this region as a strategic ‘backyard’. Having won military dominance over the Pacific in the second World War, Washington, and by extension, Canberra, understand unbridled dominance over these island nations as a prerequisite to their own global hegemony. it is a publicly stated ambition of us foreign policy to prevent China, now seen as its largest geopolitical opponent, from attaining military parity over the ‘first’ and ‘second’ island chains of the Pacific – if america lost primacy over them, it would lose its ability to project power into asia at large. Earlier this year, China stunned the us and australia with a diplomatic blitz through the Pacific that saw it sign a landmark security pact with the solomon islands, as well as wrapping up a number of agreements with other nations. Washington and Canberra have since responded by whipping up alarm through the establishment media, claiming that China was aiming to build a military or naval base on the islands. This soon led to threatening rhetoric being publicly vented towards the solomon islands. since then though, the us and australia have pushed their own diplomatic offensive towards the island countries, as well as the conspicuous launch of yet another anti-China focused multilateral grouping, titled the ‘Establishment of the Partners in the Blue Pacific’, also joined by the uK and Japan. all these efforts are not likely to change a lot. First of all, whether the us and australia like it or not, these island countries do not want to be politically dominated by any specific power. They do not see benefit in being subjected to a long-term ‘backyard’ status, especially to countries that have failed to show serious regard for their national interests or development in years gone by. secondly, there is nothing the us and its allies can do to change the perception that China represents a highly beneficial development partner for such countries and offers large-scale opportunities. When China finalized the security deal with the solomon islands, it also announced that 98% of the island’s exports to China would be made tariff free. With China being the world’s largest market, and the solomon islands having a population of over 686,878 (less than even a small-tier Chinese city), such an arrangement is a no-brainer. This leads to the next point. China is directly appealing to the interests of Pacific island countries with a view to advancing their economic status, providing infrastructure and export markets. The us, australia, and co. are not. in fact, their only purpose in seeking to re-engage these countries is solely to counter China and advance their ideological goals, as illustrated by VP Harris brandishing the words ‘bad actors’ – but there is little evidence that the Pacific island countries see China as one. Beijing pledges to respect their national sovereignty, which is why the security deal with the solomon islands was, much to the chagrin of Washington and Canberra, a popular arrangement which the solomons see as an opportunity to wean themselves off their own longstanding dependency on australia and the Commonwealth. China is not, contrary to how the media portrays it, ‘forcing itself’ on the Pacific, but is being welcomed, yet quite clearly the other side is attempting to force the island nations to choose, and then wondering why their diplomatic overtures are being ignored.

signed the same “mirror agreement” with Turkey and the un. nevertheless, the deal marks the first substantive agreement—even if by proxy—between Moscow and Kyiv since the beginning of the ukraine War. Putin arrived in iran on Tuesday to meet with supreme Leader ayatollah ali Khamenei. Tehran offered a statement of full-fledged support for Russia’s war effort in ukraine: “War is a hostile, harsh matter & the islamic Republic never favors seeing ordinary people afflicted by wars. However, in the issue of ukraine, had Russia not initiated taking action, the other side would have started a war,” tweeted Khamenei. “naTO is a dangerous entity. The West is totally opposed to a strong, independent Russia. if the way is opened for naTO, it will recognize no limits. if it hadn’t been stopped in ukraine, it would have later started a similar war in Crimea,” Khamenei added. Russia and iran found common cause in bucking Western sanctions; Russia’s Gazprom gas giant inked a $40 billion deal with the national iranian Oil Company (niOC) to help iranian pro-

ducers develop oil and gas fields across the country. also on Tuesday, Putin attended a trilateral summit with Erdogan and iranian president Ebrahim Raisi to discuss the conflict in syria. Russia and iran have emerged as key backers of embattled syrian leader Bashar al-assad, while Turkey supports anti-government factions in the country’s north. The summit did not resolve these underlying differences, with Erdogan failing to coax Russian and iranian support for a new Turkish offensive in northern syria under the pretense of combating “terrorist” groups. a joint statement published by the three participants—collectively known as the astana Platform—reaffirmed their commitment to syria’s territorial integrity, adding that “security and stability” in northeastern syria “can only be achieved on the basis of preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.” Erdogan told reporters on his flight home that he will not shelve the military option in northern syria until Turkey’s security concerns are addressed. The grain deal capped off a

week of Russian diplomacy that experts say was intended to show that the Western campaign to isolate Moscow economically and politically has failed. “i think the Russians would spin the meeting as a demonstration that they’re not actually isolated, they’re still a major player in the Middle East,” John Drennan of the u.s. institute of Peace told CnBC. “But i do think, to [national security Council spokesman John Kirby’s] point, it does show a bit of desperation that the Russians are having to go to the iranians for military support,” he added, referencing Kirby’s earlier assertion that Putin’s Mideast trip “shows the degree to which Mr. Putin and Russia are increasingly isolated.” Though Russia has been increasingly isolated from the West and certain Westernled institutions, Putin’s meetings in Tehran point to a different and altogether more unsettling phenomenon: despite ongoing attempts by European and u.s. policymakers to marshal a united global front against the Kremlin, a substantial part of the non-Western world has maintained neutrality or, as in the case of China and iran, explicitly endorsed Russia’s framing of the conflict. Mark Episkopos is a national security reporter for the National Interest.

James Bond is dead. He should stay dead. CONTRARY TO THE FICTION PROMOTED BY HOLLYWOOD AND STARRY-EYED COMPANY, THE SUBTERRANEAN WORLD OF SPIES DOES NOT HAVE A GLAMOROUS, IF NOT NOBLE, CACHET Al JAzeerA

Andrew MitrovicA

ussian spies killed Dawn sturgess. They did not plan to kill the 44-year-old British mother of three in July 2018. But they are responsible for her death. The manner of sturgess’s death is the stuff of nightmares. a confluence of intended and unintended events that conspired to extinguish the life of an innocent woman who was loved by her family and boyfriend, Charlie Rowley. The Russian spies’ mission was to murder another Russian spy – turned double agent – living in salisbury, England. Their weapon: novichok, a nerve agent. The double agent and his daughter were found on a park bench on March 3, 2018, foaming at the mouth while drifting in and out of consciousness. Both survived. Weeks later, Rowley was rummaging through a bin when he discovered an expensive-looking perfume box, sealed in plastic. He gifted the happy, if unexpected, find to Dawn, his “soul mate” who was helping him to recover from a hard, indigent life. Dawn sprayed the perfume on her wrists. Within moments, she was foaming at the mouth, unresponsive. Frantic, Rowley had a friend summon an ambulance before he began to suffer the same shocking symptoms. Rowley spent weeks on a ventilator. When he woke, a doctor told him Dawn was gone. Police confirmed the perfume bottle was laced with novichok. His home and belongings had to be destroyed. “i didn’t mean to, but i killed my girlfriend. How do you ever get over that? i can’t,” he told the British newspaper, The Mirror. “i want justice for Dawn. i want people to be caught, but i don’t expect that to happen. i carry a lot of guilt. i literally poisoned my girlfriend. unknowingly, but i still did it. it’s not a good thing to live with.” Four years later, sturgess’s family and Rowley wait for answers to still urgent questions about what happened to Dawn and how it could happen and if the government-trained thugs guilty of her sickening death will indeed ever be held to account. a commission of inquiry convened in March to try finally, if possible, to find those answers has stalled – a victim of the secrecy that shields anonymous spies, whatever the country they swear allegiance to, from the often fatal, inhumane consequences of their covert actions. The horror that sturgess and Rowley endured – forgotten casualties of a grubby war waged by grubby spies called “espionage” – is an antidote to the fiction promoted by Hollywood and starry-eyed company that the subterranean world populated largely by banal bureaucrats has a glamorous, if not noble, cachet. The marquee spy who epitomises this fantastical caricature is, of course, the suave assassin James Bond – the once indestructible creation of writer ian Fleming. The Bond franchise was slowly losing its lucrative lustre until it experienced a renaissance after actor Daniel Craig assumed the cartoonish role. Craig’s reimagination of Bond was rooted, producers insisted, in a grittier interpretation of the genre. Craig’s terse, muscular Bond combined the usual tropes – signature cars, tailored suits, scenic vistas, and sexual prowess – with a brutish edge. While the refashioned, modern Bond proved fabulously popular, Craig’s iteration of 007 was as divorced from the actual plodding, pedestrian nature of so-called “intelligence” services as any of the other “super spies” concocted in Bond’s long, absurd shadow. But success breeds imitation. spies are in vogue these days: from the robotically efficient killing machine known as Jason Bourne to Dan Chase, the ageing Cia officer who is forced out of agreeable retirement by an afghan strongman with a grudge. The unlikely and talented Jeff Bridges plays Chase in the new series, appropriately titled, The Old Man, with sophistication and gravitas absent from any spy you or i will encounter outside a streaming service or the “action/thriller” aisle of a bookstore. Given that much of my former career as an investigative reporter was steeped in the aforementioned grubby orbit of grubby spies, i know that the Dan Chase archetype – the tough spook with a contemplative disposition – is as ridiculous as James Bond.

The other pernicious conceit that runs through The Old Man like a winding river is that Chase and the other spooks, young and old, are not grey functionaries, but philosophers who share erudite observations about all things connected to the human condition – love, loss, sacrifice, grief, loyalty, disloyalty, death and everything in-between – with a facility and clarity that no spy i have met even remotely possesses. The grand-spook emeritus – mentor to the show’s two principal protagonists – is the wise patriarch who, predictably, prefers tweed jackets, the comfort of deep leather chairs and painting in the study of his book-lined mansion that he bought, no doubt, on a civil servant’s salary. Their easy eloquence is matched only by the characters’ near-universal ability to play what amounts to three-dimensional chess in the midst of a maze of competing motivations and alliances on both intimate and geopolitical scales. Most of the working spies i knew long ago preferred checkers to chess and gorging on beer after a pick-up hockey game since these were much less taxing and cheaper than the pretentious pursuits of their fictional brethren. The histories of any spy service, particularly anglo-american agencies, are testament to the sordid stories of “senior” intelligence officers who were exceptional in one way: the ease with which they sullied their oaths to satisfy their mundane appetites and abiding narcissism. aldrich ames, a Cia officer, was known for his rotting teeth. He also had a rotted soul. For approaching a decade beginning in 1985, ames fed his grateful soviet handler secrets in exchange for money. ames had divorced and he and his girlfriend used the millions in cash pipelined from Moscow to pamper themselves. ames flaunted his subterfuge-fuelled wealth, driving a Jaguar to his Cia office at Langley, Virginia. Despite coming under suspicion as the agency worried that a mole was lurking in its midst, ames kept getting promoted into positions that gave him carte-blanche access to nuclear secrets and the identities of scores of soviet agents doing what he was doing – betraying their country. it took a five-person Cia team almost eight years to nab ames in spite of his sloppy “tradecraft” and profligacy. He was arrested in 1994. after pleading guilty to tax fraud and conspiracy to commit espionage, ames was sentenced to life in prison, where he reportedly dabbles in literary criticism. Greed and the prospect of love with a stripper prompted a member of the devout Catholic sect, Opus Dei, and a top-tier FBi counterintelligence agent, Robert Hanssen, also to sell secrets to the Russians circa 1985. Like ames, Hanssen earned millions in cash and jewellery over his 21-year career as a prized soviet “asset”. Hanssen showered a lot of that treasure on an exotic dancer he met and befriended at a Washington District strip club. she claimed that her pious admirer – who secretly videotaped himself having sex with his wife – was only interested in saving her soul. Right. among the other costs of Hanssen’s treachery: several soviet moles working for the americans were executed. The FBi’s crack spy catchers let Hanssen run amok for decades even though, according to a Washington Post reporter, his FBi agent brother-in-law learned in 1990 that Hanssen was secreting thousands of dollars in cash in his home and “spending too much money for someone on an FBi salary”. Eventually, the FBi stirred from its institution-wide coma and Hanssen cut a lethal injection-avoiding deal. along with ames, Hanssen will die in prison. Hanssen and ames are blunt real-life rejoinders – there are so many others – to the make-believe paragons of duty and service to cause and country celebrated on TV screens and in movie theatres. Yet, there is hope. When we last saw James Bond, he was standing alone on an island having chosen a hero’s death over exposing his family – yes, his family – to a lethal toxin. it would be a welcomed and refreshing relief if 007 remained dead. Andrew Mitrovica is an Al Jazeera columnist based in Toronto.

Tuesday, 26 July, 2022 | LAHORE

NEWS

corporate corner Voice & Data Services Disrupted in Flood affected Balochistan Islamabad: The recent flash floods in Balochistan have caused multiple optic fiber breaks impacting voice and data services in Lasbela, Kech, Panjgoor, Gawadar, Awaran, Ziarat, Mastung and adjoining areas. About 343 cell sites of three cellular mobile operators (Telenor, Zong and Ufone) and PTCL have been affected due to floods. Efforts are being made to resolve this unprecedented situation. PTA is working with the concerned operators for early restoration of affected communication channels. Staff report

aIOU Celebrating august as Independence Month Islamabad: Allama Iqbal Open University is celebrating August as independence month. An awareness walk, dialogues, national song and essay competitions, speeches, baitbazi, painting, tree planting, flag hoisting, cake cutting, and other events will be part of these celebrations. Vice Chancellor, AIOU, Prof. Dr. Zia Ul-Qayyum said that a single day is not enough to celebrate independence, AIOU will hold celebrations for a whole month to explain the meaning of freedom to the new generation in a better way. We will also organize nationwide events in regional offices regarding the 75th Independence Day of our beloved homeland. According to Director Student Affairs, Rana Tariq Javed, a schedule of events for the entire month has been prepared and these events will be started in the first week of August with an awareness walk, led by the VC, AIOU, Professor Dr. Zia Ul-Qayyum. Deans, Principal Officers, teachers, and students will participate in the awareness walk. A national song competition will be organized between the students of Allama Iqbal Open University and other educational institutions of Islamabad/Rawalpindi on August 10. On August 16, there will be a speech competition on the topic "Are we following the objectives of Tehreek-e-Pakistan?" There would be a plantation drive to highlight the concept of green Pakistan on August 17. On August 19, a baitbazi competition will be held between students on Tehreek Pakistan and painting competition will be held on August 24. An essay writing competition will take place on August 30. It is pertinent to mention here that in each competition, 5,000 cash prizes will be given to the first place winner, 3,000 to the second place, and 2,000 to the third place. Staff report

Nha Fills Crater Caused By heavy Rainsnear Soan Bridge On Rawalpindi GT Road Islamabad: On the instructions of Chairman National Highway Authority Captain (R) Muhammad Khurram Agha, the crater caused by heavy rains near Soan Bridge on Rawalpindi GT Road has been filled. NHA has completed the repair work, so now the traffic is flowing at the affected place near Soan Bridge. It clarified that the maintenance staff of the National Highway Authority across the country is always ready for repair work on its entire network. Due to heavy rains, NHA has taken measures to ensure immediate repair affected portion of the road. During rainy season to ensure traffic flow is the primary responsibility of NHA. In order to deal with such a situation and repair the affected roads in time, active teams of National Highway Authority are present in different areas to review their entire network. Staff report

18 more filtration plants have been made operational in Islamabad Islamabad: The Water Supply Wing of the Capital Development Authority is taking consolidated steps for provision of clean drinking water in the city.In this context, after completing the construction 18 more filtration plants have been added in the system so that availability of clean drinking water be ensured. According to the details, these 18 filtration plants are established in short period of just three months in I series, G series and F series. Earlier, 85 filtration plants were being used in the city to supply clean drinking water, after the construction of new filtration plants, now a total of 103 filtration plants are fully functional in the city. It should be noted that the tests of water supplied from all the drinking filtration plants are done on a regular basis through CDA and PCRWR laboratory so that clean drinking water can be provided to the citizens as per hygiene norms. pr

NEw SaFETy STaNDaRDS CREaTE aVENUES FOR INDUSTRy ISLAMABAD

Daniyal ahmaD

HE Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) has finally developed safety standards for motorcycle helmets, and in doing so might have also highlighted an untapped market. Motorcyclists are mandated by law to wear helmets in all capacity whilst riding motorcycles. However, the market has largely been neglected. Options range from off-brand locally produced helmets that compromise one’s safety to expensive imported ones that may be too expensive for most buyers. Profit inquired with the larger motorcycle manufacturers about their policy for the manufacturer and sale of

helmets and the results were as follows: In conversation with various motorcycle accessory shops, Profit found that the most popular helmets were made by LS2, Shark, Shoei, and AGB. All of which are imported and with no local manufacturer garnering a local fan-base across the surveyed shops. The motorcycle helmet market presents a unique opportunity with the number of registered motorcycles standing at 17,465,880 in 2018. The industry has only grown since with motorcycles recording immense sales over the past few years: Whether or not All Pakistan Motorcycle Spare Parts Importers & Dealers Association (APMSPIDA) and Association of Pakistan Motorcycle Assemblers (APMA) take up the new opportunity is yet to be seen.

SECP registered 172,206 companies in FY22 ISLAMABAD app

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) registered 26,502 new companies in FY 2021-22, which shows an increase of 4% as compared to previous FY. The total number of registered companies with SECP now stands at 172,206 Real estate development & construction sector led the number of new incorporations with 4,791 new companies registered, followed by information technology with 3,760 new companies and trading with 3,534 new companies. As a result of end to end digitization of the company incorporation process, about 99.5 percent of companies were registered online while 1,640 foreign users were registered from overseas. Total capitalization (paid-up-capital) with regard to newly incorporated companies for the current month stood at Rs42.4 billion. SECP has made significant reforms to facilitate the registration of companies by fully digitizing the registration process, along with company registration certificates. With this automation, companies can now be registered on-

line from any part of the world, without needing to visit SECP offices. SECP’s e-services have been integrated with Provincial Revenue Departments to facilitate registration of companies with Provincial Revenue Departments at the time of incorporation. Company tax numbers are also issued online. In addition, an online portal has also been created for banks to facilitate companies in opening corporate accounts after registration. SECP has launched a WhatsApp helpline as well to provide immediate assistance to the investors. All these measures led to notable improvements in ease of doing business, one result of which can be seen through steady increase in the number of new incorporations. During fiscal year 2022, nearly 64 percent companies were registered as private limited companies, while 33 percent were registered as single member companies. Three percent were registered as public unlisted companies, not for profit associations, foreign companies and limited liability partnership (LLP). Foreign investment has been reported in 672 new companies from Afghanistan, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Burma (Myanmar).

NUST holds 18th annual National Engineering Robotics Contest (NERC) ISLAMABAD pr

National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), STEM Careers Programme HEC, and National Centre of Robotics & Automation (NCRA) organised the 18th annual National Engineering Robotics Contest NERC 2022 at NUST College of Electrical & Mechanical Engineering (CEME) Rawalpindi. The last two decades have seen tremendous activity in the field of Robotics. Robot clubs have sprung up everywhere in the world and thousands of web pages are devoted to robots. A large number of robotic contests are held annually throughout the world. NERC is the pioneering and biggest Robotics contest in Pakistan, which attracts participants from all over the country. Mr Asim Shahryar Husain, CEO of National Technology Fund (Ignite) graced the occasion as chief guest. In his address, he complimented the efforts of NUST CEME to organise NERC – a platform that provides students with an opportunity to get complete Engineering experience. Earlier, Brig Asim Bashir, Commandant CEME highlighted how the number of participants had grown and standard of the competition risen over the years. He said “We believe that healthy competitions like NERC are beacons of a progressive attitude. In a knowledge-based economy, creativity and innovation have become essential weapons in the intellectual armory of students.”

NEECA, Foundation University launching Internship Programme in Energy Information and Futuristic ISLAMABAD pr

National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Foundation University Islamabad to provide a one-year industrial training internship to the students of BSC information Engineering Technology. Federal Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology Mr. Ghulam Muhammad Memon graced the signing ceremony along with the Rector of Foundation University Islamabad Maj Gen. (R) Nasir Dilawar Shah (HI). Mr. Ghulam Muhammad Memon said that

developing a larger pool of technical human resource is critical to reverse brain drain, improve standards of liv-

ing, and achieve higher & just national growth. He appreciated NEECA for engaging with the academic institu-

tions where fresh graduates, now, will be equipped with technical and professional capacities to thrive in the market as well as participate more productively in the national economy. Managing Director of NEECA, Dr. Sardar Mohazzam said that the ever-increasing prices of energy and the impending global recession demand an enhanced focus on the indigenization of the energy efficient technologies and capacities. It was stressed by the MD NEECA that a critical mass of skilled local Human Resource in the domain of energy efficiency is absolutely necessary for the growth of this nascent energy efficiency market.

Ufone 4G supports livelihoods of local community in Murree ISLAMABAD pr

Pakistani telecom company, Ufone 4G has donated pushcarts and food stalls to local community members in Murree to help them earn a decent livelihood for themselves and their families. The initiative is an extension of Ufone 4G’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme, designed to create a shared impact for society. Station Commander Murree handed over the pushcarts and food stalls to deserving members of the community during a ceremony held at Murree Hills Cantonment. Amir Pasha, Group Head PR and

Corporate Communication PTCL & Ufone along with senior executives from the company and Cantonment Executive Officer Murree Hills Cantonment, Arfeen Zubair also attended the ceremony, alongside government officials, local leaders and media personnel. Sharing his thoughts regarding the initiative, Amir Pasha, Group Head PR and Corporate Communication PTCL & Ufone, said: “We are glad to lend a helping hand to the local community of Murree so that they can improve their incomes and economic conditions. They work hard and we believe that a little push will go a long way in helping them achieve financial stability

and prosperity in their lives. Ufone 4G is a Pakistani company therefore, it is always on the lookout for opportunities to create shared value for our people.” Speaking at the ceremony, Arfeen Zubair, Cantonment Executive Officer Murree Hills Cantonment said: “I thank Ufone 4G on behalf of the entire local community of Murree for extending a helping hand when it was most needed. It is heartening to witness a leading telecom player stepping up to foster welfare and social wellbeing in the society. It sets a positive precedent for other players from the private sector to come forward and create social good for the communities they serve.”

Tuesday, 26 July, 2022 | LAHORE

10 FOREIGN NEWS

Russia says Odessa stRikes hit WesteRn aRms R

USSIA said its missile barrage on a Ukrainian port central to a landmark grain export deal had destroyed Western-supplied weapons, after the attack sparked an outcry from Ukraine’s allies. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was embarking on a tour of several countries in Africa and on his first stop in Egypt Sunday sought to reassure Cairo that Russian grain supplies would continue. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced Saturday’s strike on the Odessa port as “Russian barbarism” and said it amounted to desperation after the warring sides struck a deal to release exports from the facility. “Even the occupiers admit that we will win. We hear it in their conversations –- all the time, in what they tell their loved ones when they contact them,” he said Sunday in his nightly address. Turkey helped broker the accord and said immediately after the double cruise missile hits that it had received assurances from Moscow that Russian forces were not responsible. But Russia’s defence ministry rolled back on the denial Sunday, saying the strikes had destroyed a Ukrainian military vessel and arms delivered by Washington. “High-precision, long-range missiles launched from the sea destroyed a docked Ukrainian warship and a stockpile of anti-ship missiles deliv-

ered by the United States to the Kyiv regime,” it said. “A Ukrainian army repair and upgrade plant has also been put out of order.” The strikes have cast a shadow over the milestone accord — that was hammered out over months of negotiations and signed in Istanbul — to relieve a global food crisis. United Nations chief Antonio Guterres, who presided over the signing ceremony Friday, “unequivocally” condemned the attack. The United States meanwhile said it “casts serious doubt” over Russia’s commitment to the deal. Western nations repeated their condemnation of Russia’s military assault on Ukraine after the strikes. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called the invasion a war

China’s population expected to start to shrink before 2025

against the unity of Europe. “We must not let ourselves be divided, we must not let the great work of a united Europe that we have begun so promisingly be destroyed,” he said in a speech Sunday. Cereal prices in Africa — the world’s poorest continent where food supplies are critically tight — surged because of an exports slump. Lavrov, who will visit Uganda, Ethiopia and Congo-Brazzaville on the tour, told his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry that Russia would meet grain orders. “We confirmed the commitment of Russian exporters of cereal products to meet their orders in full,” he said in a press conference. Zelensky said the strikes on

Odessa showed Moscow could not be trusted to keep its promises. Under the deal brokered by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Guterres, Odessa is one of three designated export hubs. Ukrainian officials said grain was being stored in the port at the time of the strike, but food stocks did not appear to have been hit. There was no response from Moscow until Sunday, but Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said before that Russia had denied carrying out the attack. Huge quantities of wheat and other grain have been blocked in Ukrainian ports by Russian warships and the mines Kyiv laid to avert a feared amphibious assault. Zelensky has said around 20 million tonnes of produce from last year’s harvest and the current crop would be exported under the agreement, estimating the value of Ukraine’s grain stocks at around $10 billion. Diplomats expect grain to only start fully flowing by mid-August. The agreement in Istanbul has brought little reprieve on the battlefield where Russian forces were carrying out bombardments across the sprawling front line over the weekend, Ukraine’s presidency said Sunday. It said among attacks in the industrial east and south, four Russian cruise missiles Saturday had hit residential areas in the southern city of Mykolaiv, injuring five people, including a teenager. agencies

Lavrov reassures Egypt over Russian grain supplies in Cairo visit

HONG KONG ReuteRs

China’s population has slowed significantly and is expected to start to shrink ahead of 2025, the statebacked Global Times reported, citing a senior health official. Birth data released late on Sunday showed that the number of new births in 2021 was the lowest in decades in several provinces. The number of births in central Hunan province fell below 500,000 for the first time in nearly 60 years, the Global Times said. Only China’s southern Guangdong province has had more than 1 million new births, it said. China is battling to reverse a rapid shrinkage in natural population growth as many young people opt not to have children due to factors including the high cost and work pressure. China’s population is expected to start to shrink in 2021-2025, the Global Times said, citing Yang Wenzhuang, head of population and family affairs at the National Health Commission. A change in China’s laws last year to allow women to have three children has not helped, with many women saying the change comes too late and they have insufficient job security and gender equality.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov offered reassurances to Egypt over Russian grain supplies during a visit to Cairo on Sunday amid uncertainty over a deal to resume Ukrainian exports from the Black Sea. Egypt is one of the world’s top wheat importers and last year bought about 80 percent of those imports from Russia and Ukraine. The months-long conflict between the two grain exporters disrupted shipments and sped up a rise in global commodity prices, delivering a financial shock to Egypt. Egypt has been torn between longstanding ties to Russia and its close relationship with Western powers that have sanctioned and sought to isolate Moscow. Western embassies had lobbied Egypt and the Arab League ahead of Lavrov’s visit, which included talks with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and repre-

sentatives of the Arab League. “We reaffirmed the commitment of Russian grain exporters to meet all their commitments,” Lavrov said in a press conference with Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry. “We discussed specific parameters of cooperation in this area, agreed on further contacts between the relevant ministries, and we have a common understanding of the causes of the grain crisis.” Since the start of Moscow’s “special military operation,” tens of millions of tonnes of grain have been trapped in Ukrainian ports, worsening global supply chain bottlenecks. Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations signed a deal on Friday to restart Ukrainian wheat exports by sea, but a Russian strike on Odesa last week has put the implementation of the agreement in doubt. While Ukraine’s efforts in

restoring grain shipments to normal levels are ongoing, the Russian strike indicates that such efforts could be further hampered, making it take longer for the country to meet an expected target, Oleh Ustenko, an economic advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, told Ukrainian television. Russia has blamed the halt in Black Sea trade on Western sanctions and Ukrainian mines, though, under Friday’s deal, pilots would guide ships along safe channels. Lavrov said he hoped the UN would succeed in removing “illegitimate restrictions” on shipping. “There are still 70 foreign vessels from 16 or 17 countries standing there as almost hostages, including, incidentally, one vessel blocked in Ukrainian ports because of the threat of mines, which is supposed to bring food to Egypt,” he said. agencies

u.s. iCe surveillance scandal might be ‘tip of iceberg’: says China The recent research report exposing the scandal of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) surveillance of Americans might be just “the tip of the iceberg,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) commented on Monday. According to a report by researchers from Georgetown University’s Law Center on Privacy and Technology published in May, ICE is able to sidestep state laws to keep track of immigrants and citizens, on a large scale. “The U.S. is the No. 1 empire in hacking, eavesdropping and stealing secrets,” MOFA spokesperson Zhao Lijian said. “This report once again proves that the U.S. government has not only turned ordinary citizens into suspects but also attempted to take all its allies and partners around the world to the bottom of the net,” Zhao said. “This is an irrefutable fact and a brilliant satire of the U.S. boasting about human rights, the rule of law and rules,” he said, adding that the country’s actions will be resisted by the American people and the international community. Between 2008 to 2021, ICE spent $2.8 billion to build the “dragnet surveillance system,” which allows its agents to “pull detailed dossiers on nearly anyone, seemingly at any time,” the report said. The two-year investigation was based on hundreds of freedom of information requests and a review of more than 100,000 previously unseen ICE spending transactions. The network enabled ICE to conduct a slew of things warrantlessly and secretly, such as searching through the driver’s license photographs of around 1 in 3 adults by using face recognition technology, the report revealed. Additionally, ICE has access to the driver’s license data of 74 percent of adults and tracks the movements of cars in cities home to nearly 70 percent of adults. The agency can even automatically learn the new addresses that people change to their utility information and access utility records belonging to over 218 million utility customers across all 50 states. “ICE built its surveillance dragnet by tapping data from private companies and state and local bureaucracies,” the report said. It also said the agency used interviews with unaccompanied children to find and arrest their family members. “It [the report] gives us more context about the magnitude of how awful and devastating the depths of ICE’s surveillance network is,” Cathryn Paul, government relations and public policy manager at immigrant advocacy group CASA, told USA Today earlier, adding “this confirms what we knew.” Oregon Senator Ron Wyden criticized ICE for having a “long history of abusing their authority,” expressing concerns over the data available to the agency, Gizmodo reported. agencies

Myanmar junta executes two pro-democracy rivals YANGON afp

Myanmar’s junta has executed four prisoners including a former lawmaker from Aung San Suu Kyi’s party and a prominent activist, state media said Monday, in the country’s first use of capital punishment in decades. The four were executed for leading “brutal and inhumane terror acts”, the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper said. The paper said the executions were carried out “under the prison’s procedure” without saying when or how the men were killed. The junta has sentenced dozens of anticoup activists to death as part of its crackdown on dissent after seizing power last year, but Myanmar had not carried out an execution for decades. Phyo Zeya Thaw, a former lawmaker from Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) who was arrested in November, was sentenced to death in January for offences under anti-terrorism laws.

Democracy activist Kyaw Min Yu — better known as “Jimmy” — received the same sentence from the military tribunal. Two other men were sentenced to death for killing a woman they alleged was an informer for the junta in Yangon. Diplomatic conDemnation: The junta was heavily criticised by international powers last month when it announced its intention to carry out the executions. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the junta’s decision, calling it “a blatant violation to the right to life, liberty and security of person”. UN rights experts said that if the executions went ahead — for the first time in Myanmar since 1988 — it could mark the start of a spate of hangings. The experts said that under the junta’s martial law provisions, the death penalty could be given for 23 “vague and broadly defined offences” — which in practice could include any criticism of the military.

Myanmar expert Richard Horsey of the International Crisis Group (ICG) said on Twitter that the executions were “an outrageous act. And one that will create political shockwaves, now and for a long time to come”. Phyo Zeya Thaw had been accused of orchestrating several attacks on regime forces, including a gun attack on a commuter train in Yangon in August that killed five policemen. A hip-hop pioneer whose subversive rhymes irked the previous junta, he was jailed in 2008 for membership in an illegal organisation and possession of foreign currency. He was elected to parliament representing Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD in the 2015 elections, which ushered in a transition to civilian rule. The country’s military alleged voter fraud during elections in 2020 — which the NLD won by a landslide — as justification for its coup on February 1 last year. Suu Kyi has been detained since then and faces a slew of charges in a junta court

that could see her face a prison sentence of more than 150 years. Kyaw Min Yu, who rose to prominence

during Myanmar’s 1988 student uprising against the country’s previous military regime, was arrested in an overnight raid in October.

11 Sports 26 JULY_Layout 1 7/25/2022 10:19 PM Page 1

Tuesday, 26 July, 2022 | LAHORE

SPORTS 11

RameSh gRabS ThRee To PuT SRi Lanka on ToP in Second PakiSTan TeST gALLe, sri LANkA

Agencies

PINNER Ramesh Mendis took three wickets to put Sri Lanka in command of the second Test on Monday despite a fighting 62 by Pakistan batsman Agha Salman. Tourists Pakistan, who lead the two-match series 1-0, ended day two on 191-7, still trailing Sri Lanka by 187 runs in their first innings in Galle. Salman resisted the bowling attack with his maiden Test fifty but

fell to Prabath Jayasuriya’s left-arm spin in the final moments of play before stumps was called. Jayasuriya got Salman caught at slip with a drifter coming into the right-handed batsman. Salman, who made his debut in the previous match, put on 46 runs with Yasir Shah, batting on 13, to lift Pakistan from 145-6. He expects the lower-order to fire come day three. “The way the partnership was going, we wanted to see off the day and come back tomorrow to start

either side of the lunch break. Jayasuriya, who took 21 wickets in his first two Tests, bowled Azam on a turning delivery that got the edge of the dangerman’s bat to crash onto the stumps. Imam-ul-Haq attempted to rebuild the innings with Mohammad Rizwan but Dhananjaya de Silva broke through with his off-spin to send back Imam on 32. De Silva is standing in as captain in place of Dimuth Karunaratne, who did not take the field in the Pakistan innings because of back pain.

afresh, but it’s cricket and it happens,” said Salman. “Disappointed, but still we have enough batters who can utilise the situation and add to the total,” he added. “They were bowling well, to be very honest, and they were not giving runs, that’s why they took the wickets. They were playing patient games and we lacked that.” Pakistan suffered from a lack of partnerships after losing first-match hero Abdullah Shafique for a duck and skipper Babar Azam for 16 on

Rizwan hit a few boundaries to counterattack but Ramesh trapped him lbw for 24 and a review failed to save the wicketkeeper-batsman. Ramesh also claimed Fawad Alam (24) and Mohammad Nawaz (12) for figures of 3-42. Dickwella blitz: Pakistan had lost opener Shafique, who hit a

Messi, Neymar star as rampant PSG end Japan tour in style AgeNcies Osaka, Japan: Paris Saint-Germain’s new coach Christophe Galtier said his side conceded “two goals too many” despite Lionel Messi and Neymar combining to deadly effect in a 6-2 thrashing of Gamba Osaka on Monday. Neymar scored a brace and Messi bagged one in Osaka as a rampant PSG rounded off their pre-season trip to Japan with a third win in as many games. The French champions will now head to Israel to play Nantes in the French Super Cup in Tel Aviv on July 31. Galtier, taking charge of the full squad for the first time since joining PSG from Nice this summer, said playing J-League teams in the middle of their domestic season had “forced us to raise our physical level”. “We trained a lot, we played a lot with little recovery time,” he said, after PSG’s third game in the space of six days.

“But overall I’m satisfied both with this match and more generally with the three matches we’ve had here in Japan.” Star forwards Neymar and Messi both played the

opening 70 minutes against Gamba, and Neymar scored a first-half penalty before setting up a goal for his Argentine team-mate. Messi then returned the favour in the second half, releasing Neymar for the Brazilian to notch his second goal of the game. Kylian Mbappe got his name on the scoresheet with a late penalty after coming on for the final 30 minutes. Pablo Sarabia and Nuno Mendes also scored for PSG, but Galtier was concerned by the way his team conceded two at the other end to Gamba, who lie 16th in the 18-team J-League table. “There is still a lot of work because we conceded two goals, which is two too many,” he said. “I hope that even when we have a substantial lead, we will be more difficult to beat when we have to defend as a team. We must be more structured.” PSG beat J-League champions Kawasaki Frontale 2-1 in their first game in Japan last Wednesday before downing Urawa Reds 3-0 three days later.

Report finds Cricket Scotland ‘institutionally racist’ LONDON AFP

Sports festival for underprivileged children to start on Tuesday News Desk Sports Festival for under-privileged and orphanage children of Zamunga Kor under the aegis of Directorate General Sports Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be commencing from Tuesday. The Festival title as “Smile Again” will continue until July 28 wherein the children from Zamung Kor would participate in different Games. Talking to APP, Sports In-charge and former cricketer of the Zamung Kor, Khatijah Khan said that the children were fully ready and more enthusiasts for taking part in different Games to be organized under the aegis of Directorate General Sports Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The festival would be held in Orphanage Village Zamung Kor situated in Haryana Bala village on main Charsadda Road, Near Khazana Sugar Mills. She said that all the arrangements had been completed in this regard. She also lauded Director General Sports Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khalid Khan, Director Operation Aziz Ullah Jan and Deputy Director Operation Jamshed Khan Baloch for initiating such steps in providing healthy activities for the children of Zamung Kor. She said the aim and objective was to provide opportunities for positive entertainment and happiness to the children living in Zamung Kor so that they can also express their talents and move forward. She said that these children are full of abilities like other children of the society, they need to be given opportunities. The Directorate General Sports is providing them with sports opportunities. She said that cricket, football, table tennis, badminton, tug-of-war, karate, jujitsu, musical chair competitions will be organized in the festival. A song competition will also be held, she said, adding “Sports equipment will also be provided to the children and prizes will be given to the position takers to motivate them.”

An independent review into allegations of racism at Cricket Scotland has found the governance and leadership practices of the organisation to be “institutionally racist”. The report, which was described as a “wake up call for Scottish sport”, found 448 examples of institutional racism. A review was commissioned by sportscotland, the national funding body, last year after Scotland’s alltime leading wicket-taker Majid Haq and former teammate Qasim Sheikh said they had suffered racist abuse. As part of the review, an anonymous survey was carried out, with 62 percent of those who responded saying they had experienced, witnessed or had received reports of incidents of racism, inequalities or discrimination. Allegations include racial abuse, use of inappropriate language, favouritism towards white children from public schools and a lack of a transparent selection process. The investigation, carried out by consultancy firm Plan4Sport, found Cricket Scotland failed in 29 out

of 31 indicators of institutional racism. As a result of the findings, the governing body has been placed into special measures until at least October 2023, with sportscotland effectively taking control of the organisation. “Governance and leadership practices of Cricket Scotland have been institutionally racist,” said Louise Tideswell, managing director of Plan4Sport. “The reality is that the leadership of the organisation failed to see the problems and, in failing to do so, enabled a culture of racially aggravated micro-aggressions to develop.” On Sunday, the board of Cricket Scotland resigned en masse. Interim chief executive Gordon Arthur said: “The racism and discrimination that has taken place in the sport that we all love should never have been allowed to happen, or to go unchallenged for so long. “I would like to again issue a heartfelt apology to all those who have been the victims of racism and discrimination in Scottish cricket.” Among the recommendations of the review are for the new board to be comprised of no more than a 60-40 gender ratio either way and a minimum of 25 percent of members should come from black, southeast Asian, or other mixed or multiple ethnic groups.

match-winning 260 in the first Test, when he inside-edged a delivery from Asitha Fernando onto his stumps. Wickets kept tumbling but allrounder Salman, who went wicketless in his six overs during Sri Lanka’s innings, played the spinners on the front foot until his departure.

Tom sees Pakistan as one of the most welcoming countries News Desk International professional paraglider pilot Tom de Dorlodot feels Pakistan was one of the most welcoming countries in the world with beautiful mountains, people and culture. No altitude record was set for paraglider pilots Tom and Horacio Llorens but they did fly past four of Pakistan’s most spectacular peaks in a day in July. World’s first Paragliding flight around K2 was in itself a milestone achieved by Tom and Horacio, who were Red Bull’s branded athletes. During July, they succeeded in making just over a dozen 100km flights with an average flight time of five to six hours, pioneering new lines where no one has flown a paraglider before. This was Tom’s seventh paragliding adventure to Pakistan and he leaves with even more love for the country and people. “We love the country, the mountains, the people and the culture. The real heroes are the high altitude porters and the people from the villages. They’re so strong and welcoming. Pakistan is one of the most welcoming countries in the world,” he said while sharing his experience about the expedition here at a local hotel on Monday. Speaking about his overall expedition, he said with roads cut off due to landslides we had to ration supplies. “For some days we survived off little else but chapattis and rice, while our only sustenance before a day in the air was a boiled egg and a potato on takeoff,” he said. Tom and Horacio were due to fly home after three weeks with their team mate Rámon Morillas but decided to stay on another week to try one last time for the 8,400m altitude record by flying above K2, which stands at 8,611m. “All we needed was a bit of luck with the weather, in particular, we needed strong 35-45km winds could be used to soar up K2’s slopes. And we got the wrong type of good weather – perfect flying conditions but nil wind. That meant the altitude record was impossible. However, we made one of the most spectacular high altitude flights ever done in the Karakoram. We called it the Grand Slam flight,” said Tom. “We flew all the big mountains in one day – Muztagh Tower, K2, Broad Peak all the way to Gasherbrum IV, then back to our base camp after a seven hour flight. “The mountains are so big. It’s so wild. We climbed to 7,500m on K2 and we could see all the way into China and Nanga Parbat, 185km away. We could see the Siachen glacier and mountains for as far as you could see. This was really special.” The pair were joined by birds of prey as we thermalled upwards in warm currents of air – and were able to fly over parties of climbers attempting Broad Peak, sometimes just meters above their heads.

De Kock warns multi-format cricketers could be on way out LeeDs AFP

Quinton de Kock believes it will become increasingly difficult for leading cricketers to play all three main formats, although he remains confident about the future for one-day internationals. The South Africa wicketkeeper-batsman, who made a fine unbeaten 92 before the third ODI against England at Headingley on Sunday was washed out, ended his Test career late last year, shortly before becoming a father for the first time. Questions regarding a congested global schedule were raised again after the ODI retirement of England all-rounder Ben Stokes following the first match of this series at the 2019 World Cup final star’s Chester-leStreet home ground. De Kock, speaking after Sunday’s rain in Leeds meant a three-game contest ended in a 11 draw, told reporters: “It’s going to start being tough for players — three formats is a lot and it looks like more games are happening over the calendar. “Players need to make decisions individually and if they feel they can do it (play Tests, ODIs and Twenty20 internationals), I am happy for them,” the 29-year-old added. “But guys need to take decisions into their own hands. For me, I am happy where I am.” De Kock though stressed curtailing a 54-match Test

career had yet to have the desired effect. Although he had two months off after returning from paternity leave to play in South Africa’s white-ball matches against India in January ahead of the series against Bangladesh, he has been on the go playing cricket ever since. De Kock featured for the Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League before the tour of England, which also includes several further T20 internationals. He will then remain in England to play in the Hundred before heading to the Caribbean Premier League

prior to another white-ball series in India which precedes the T20 World Cup in Australia. ‘Sacrifice’: “It (retiring from Tests) hasn’t freed up my calendar — at least not this year,” said De Kock. “I’ve been roped in to play a couple of leagues but that’s my own consequence. “I am happy to do it. It’s still a sacrifice but I’m slowly getting to an age where I need to think about where I want to be in my career.” South Africa have never won a 50-over World Cup — something they will try to put right in India next year — with De Kock insisting: “The (ODI) game is doing well for itself with the way players are going about it and from a batting and bowling competitiveness. “There’s a future for it and a lot of us still want to win 50-over World Cups.” De Kock was just shy of what would have been his 18th ODI century, with the opener 92 not out off 76 balls, including 13 fours, when rain eventually ended play with South Africa 159-2 off 27.4 overs. “I think obviously it’s nice going out there and scoring runs for the guys,” he said. England captain Jos Buttler was left frustrated by a gruelling schedule, as much as the bad weather. The 50-over world champions are currently nine games into a hectic period of 12 white-ball fixtures in 24 days, with just a solitary training day in that time.

Tuesday, 26 July, 2022

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NEWS

ECC approvEs inCrEasE in rLnG priCE for fivE Export-oriEntEd sECtors ISLAMABAD

ShAhzAd PArAchA

He economic Coordination Committee (eCC) of the Cabinet has given approval to enhance the RLNG rate from $6.5 to $ 9 per MMBTU for export oriented sectors. The meeting of eCC was held under the chair of Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail at the Finance Division. The Ministry of Commerce (MoC) presented a summary on regional competitive energy rates for export oriented sectors during the financial year 2022-23. MoC informed the eCC that the government provided energy to export oriented sectors (erstwhile zero rated sectors) namely textiles including jute, leather, carpet, surgical and sports sectors at regionally competitive rates (electricity at $9 cents per kWh all-inclusive and RLNG at $ 6.5 per MMBTU) during FY 2021-2022 to reduce cost of manufacturing and enhance exports. Further, the Committees constituted by the eCC in August 2021 with representatives of Finance, Commerce, Power and Petroleum Divisions held several meetings to deliberate on the energy matter and recommended few changes to be incorporated in Textiles and Apparel Policy. Subsequently, the cabinet approved the

implementation report of the committee and revised the Textiles and Apparel Policy submitted by the Commerce Division. In accordance with approved Policy interventions, energy (electricity and RLNG) will be provided to export oriented sectors at regionally competitive rates throughout the policy years. MOC is responsible for exports and approximately 65% of total exports are from five export oriented sectors including textiles. Further, such measures including others provided a launching pad for export-oriented sectors and resultantly overall exports achieved a historical high level of $ 31.79 billion during fiscal year 2021-22 having an increase of 25.64% as compared to the fiscal year 2020-21. After thorough deliberations and while considering prevailing financial challenges, it was agreed that RLNG may be revised from $6.5 to $ 9 per MMBTU all-inclusive for export oriented sectors. Similarly, it was also agreed to revise the prices of indigenous gas, being provided to other provinces to $7 for export oriented sectors. The eCC was told that Rs. 20 billion for electricity and Rs40 billion for RLNG have been allocated in the budget for the ongoing fiscal year to supply energy at concessionary tariff to five exports oriented sectors. Keeping into consideration the proposals of textile industry and budgetary

space available, it was agreed that electricity at $9 cents per kWh and RLNG at $9 per MMBTU all-inclusive will be provided to export oriented sectors. However, only 50 MMCFD will be supplied to captive power plants of export oriented sectors on SNGPL network, till the time supply related issues get settled. The eCC was further submitted that textile industry has shown willingness that its captive doe plants in Punjab using indigenous gas primarily for power generation may be shifted to national grid, however it is important to ensure uninterrupted supply and reliability of grid electricity; and sort out issues of new connections, load enhancement and transmission/distribution in first place. The availability of energy at regionally competitive rates is required to sustain the exports. Keeping in view of the above, it is proposed that: electricity may be provided at US cents 9 per kWh all-inclusive to export oriented sectors namely textiles including jute, leather, carpet, surgical and sports goods from 1st July 2022 to 30th June 2023, RLNG may be provided at US$9 per MMBtu all-inclusive to five export-oriented sectors from 1st July 2022 to 30th June 2023 across Pakistan without any disparity; RLNG may be provided to SSGCL consumers on same concessionary tariff as that of SNGPL

consumers of five export oriented sectors and Finance Division may give financial commitment that additional funds if required by Power and Petroleum Divisions would be provided to continue supply of energy to export oriented sectors on concessionary tariff as specified. According to the ministry of finance handout, the eCC after detailed discussion approved RLNG rate at $9 per MMBTU, all inclusive to five export oriented sectors across Pakistan for existing gas connections. A subsidy cover of Rs. 40 billion for RLNG has been allocated under the Federal budget 2022-23 which will be reviewed on a quarterly basis. Further, the eCC recommended to the Federal Cabinet to raise the tariff of indigenous gas for export oriented sectors at Rs. 1350 per MMBTU and for general industry at Rs. 1550 per MMBTU. The eCC also approved the electricity rate at US cents 9 per kWh to five export oriented sectors from 1st August 2022 subject to subsidy of Rs. 20 billion provided by Finance Division, quarterly review of the subsidy and Petroleum Division will provide a list of industrial units getting subsidized gas and electricity, within one month to the eCC for review. The eCC also approved a supplementary grant of Rs 750 million for the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for 75 years’ Independence Day.

China, Pakistan agree on third parties’ participation in CPEC BEIJING StAff rePort

Ch shujaat, fazlur rehman discuss political situation over call The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Chief Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Monday held a consultative conversation on call. In their telephonic contact, the two leaders thoroughly discussed the political situation in the country. It is pertinent to mention here that the political chaos has deepen in Punjab due to the constitutional clash between the opponent parties amid the Punjab Chief Minister election. The dispute started over Shujaat Hussain’s letter that declared the PML-Q votes in favor of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Hamza Shahbaz. While it served as a setback for Hamza’s opponent, who is none other than the PML-Q leader Pervaiz elahi himself. Where Shujaat Hussain’s letter harmed PML-Q internally, it also raised serious questions regarding Supreme Court’s verdict over the interpretation of Article 63 (A). Meanwhile, a three-member bench of the SC headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial will hear the petition filed by Pervaiz elahi against Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari’s ruling over the election of Punjab CM on Monday. Furthermore, Chaudhary Shujaat was not summoned by the Supreme Court and he will not appear. Chaudhry Shujaat and Salik Hussain are said to be residing in Islamabad. NewS deSk

China and Pakistan have agreed on participation of third parties in China-Pakistan economic Corridor (CPeC) and exchanges among media and think thanks, including promoting cooperation schemes involving third parties in line with the existing consensus and extending CPeC projects to Afghanistan, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Monday. During the third meeting of Joint Working Group on International Cooperation and Coordination under the CPeC held last week, both sides agreed to well grasp the general direction of development of the CPeC, he said during his regular briefing held here. He said the two sides agreed to properly cope with risks and challenges to accumulate positive energy for, inject new impetus into, and provide a strong guarantee for the development of CPeC. The relevant CPeC meeting held via video link and co-chaired by China’s Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Jianghao and Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood exchanged views and reached common

understandings on the participation of third parties in CPeC, exchanges among media and think tanks, including promoting cooperation schemes involving third parties in line with existing consensus and extending CPeC projects to Afghanistan. The spokesperson said that the two sides also agreed to continue to deepen media cooperation and do a good job in telling a CPeC stories, and innovate and expand cooperation among think tanks to provide more public support and insights for the development of CPeC. China stands ready to work with Pakistan to follow through on the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, and push forward all CPeC projects in a safe, smooth, and high-quality manner to better benefit the two countries and two peoples, he added. Meanwhile, in a tweet, Pakistan Ambassador to China Moin ul Haque said that the third meeting of CPeC JWG on International Cooperation placed emphasis on high-quality development of CPeC. As an open and inclusive platform, both sides welcomed interested third parties to benefit from avenues for mutually beneficial cooperation opened by CPeC, he added.

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rupee sheds rs1.51 against dollar iSLaMaBaD: exchange rate of the Pakistan rupee depreciated by Rs1.51 against the US dollar in the interbank trading on Monday and closed at Rs229.87 against the previous day’s closing of Rs228.36. According to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the buying and selling rates of dollars in the open market were recorded at Rs228 and Rs230 respectively. Similarly, the price of the euro was increased by Rs 2.87 and closed at Rs 234.84 against the previous day’s closing of Rs231.97. The Japanese Yen gained 02 paisas to close at Rs 1.68, whereas an increase of Rs 3.00 was witnessed in the exchange rate of the British Pound, which was traded at Rs 276.28 as compared to its last closing of Rs 273.28. The exchange rates of emirates Dirham and Saudi Riyal increased by 41 paisas each to close at Rs 62.58 and Rs 61.17 respectively. APP

Ghandhara & Chery to invest another $10 million in pakistan’s automotive industry iSLaMaBaD: Leading Chinese automaker Chery has launched in Pakistan through a manufacturing and licensing agreement with Ghandhara Group. This initiative has initially injected an investment of Rs. 2.4 billion in Pakistan’s automotive sector. As per the details, both entities have planned to increase the production capacity and ameliorate product quality while embracing the latest trends in technology. Ghandhara and Chery are eyeing localization and export as the next targets. Following the successful infiltration into Pakistan’s market, the companies are now looking to penetrate South Asia and other emerging markets. This endeavour promises to give a great boost to Pakistan’s export sector helping the economy tackle financial challenges and improve GDP. The official brand launch of Chery Automobiles Co. Ltd. named, “A Glance Into The Future of SUVs” was arranged at a local hotel in Islamabad. While addressing the attendees, the executive Vice President of Chery, Charlie Zhang said, “Chery’s entrance to Pakistan’s automotive market represents a colossal leap in the ongoing progress of local manufacturing infrastructure and economic activity.” He further added, “We believe that, with the close collaboration and cooperation of the Pakistani government, this will deliver sustainable benefits for the national economy, stakeholders, partners, Chery, and Pakistan’s automotive industry.” The Ghandhara-Chery alliance has also agreed on promoting localization. CeO of Ghandhara Group Ahmed Kuli Khan Khattak said, “By localizing the manufacturing of components and parts and boosting development in the auto supplier industry, Pakistan will be provided with the much-needed technical assistance. This will also serve as a cornerstone for promoting Pak-China cooperation in the automobile industry that will significantly boost the country’s economy through exports.” It was also revealed that Ghandhara plans to invest about $10 million over the next four years. The project and the development of a distribution network promise to create many job opportunities in the industry while driving economic growth. The ambition to localize production, create jobs, and drive exports was reiterated by the key speakers. ShAhzAd PArAchA

Gold reserves not pledged, says Deputy Governor SBP Karachi: Dr. Inayat Hussain, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) dispelled rumors of pledged gold reserves in a podcast hosted by Chief Spokesperson Abid Qamar. Pakistan currently holds $3.82 billion worth of gold. “Currently, we are not in a debilitating crisis, so we do not need to pledge these gold reserves. We must not panic. I advise the Pakistanis to reject the fake news reports drawing a doomsday scenario for Pakistan,” said Hussain. The podcast was joined by Acting Governor Murtuza Syed and Deputy Governor Sima Kamil. Are Pakistan’s gold reserves safe? The gold reserves have not been pledged, despite rumors. Hussain explained that the gold reserves are safe considering the current FX reserves. Pakistan’s current reserves stand at $9.3 billion. Hussain says they are sufficient enough to carry Pakistan through the next few months despite not being ideal. The FX reserves are fully usable for all purposes. It is important to note that these reserves are in addition to the gold held and encumbered assets. AribA ShAhid

Catastrophic monsoon rains leave 14 dead, 27 injured across country ISLAMABAD StAff rePort

Heavy monsoon showers and strong winds have wreaked havoc across the country with 14 casualties reported within a span of 24 hours on Monday as images and videos of raging flood waters in urban and non-urban areas alike going viral. Authorities also confirmed that as many as 27 people were injured in rain-related incidents all over the country. PunjaB: In Faisalabad, four people, including two tourists, lost their lives when the roofs of two buildings, a private hotel and a house, collapsed due to heavy rains. A nine-year-old boy was electrocuted in Rehman town.

Rescue officials told reporters that around 17 people were injured in separate roof and wall collapse incidents in the district. Faisalabad Rescue 1122 District emergency Officer (DeO) ehtesham Wahla claimed the incidents took place due to the negligence of the public. “They did not repair the vulnerable buildings in time which resulted in catastrophe,” he added. Meanwhile, the Faisalabad building control authority sprang into action to mark dangerous structures before their collapse could claim more lives. In Lahore, a person was killed and three others were wounded from debris when a mud roof in Daroghawala caved in, according to Rescue 1122 officials. The survivors were pulled out from the

rubble sent to the hospital for medical treatment. A further five people were wounded in Lodhran, located on the northern side of Sutlej River, when the roof of a house collapsed on top of them. On the other hand, the Rawalpindi district administration has issued a warning to the public to protect themselves from the floodwaters accumulating in Nullah Leh. The water rose up to 16 feet in the tributary, submerging several areas located along the massive storm drain. Water spilling from Nullah Leh gushed into the Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Hospital and the area near Naz Cinema. Raging streams of flood waters were also seen in Bohar Bazaar and Mochi Bazaar. A 21-year-old drowned in the Lyari

River on Monday while another man was buried under a landslide in Karachi. The father of the 21-year-old man said that his son Amir was standing by the riverbank when he lost his footing and slipped into the turbulent river near Sohrab Goth. He reached out to the rescue services but no one came in time to help. As a result, his son lost his life. Separately, Rescue 1122 managed to save the life of a septuagenarian. eyewitnesses said a 70-year-old was trapped in the Korangi River for several hours before being rescued by authorities. Meanwhile, in the Qasbah colony, a landslide resulted in the death of a person. A house located near the Mughal Kantey Colony was destroyed in the incident. Thun-

dershowers were equally hostile towards other areas in Sindh. Crops in Tando Allah Yar, Jacobabad, Bhit Shah, Hala and Matiari were damaged by the severe weather. A roof collapse incident was also reported in Hyderabad, which luckily did not cause any casualties. Authorities have confirmed that at least two women drowned in raging rainwaters at a village in Islamkot. Meanwhile, heavy rains left several parts of Karachi inundated as local and disaster management authorities struggled to drain accumulated rain water. BaLochiStan: According to the Khuzdar Levies Force, two siblings were killed when the roof of the house they were in collapsed in Orinji today.

Published by Arif Nizami at Qandeel Printing Press, 4 Queens Road, Lahore, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk