ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has commended the Ministry of Communications and National Highway Authority (NHA) for the construction and rehabilitation of highways and bridges in flood affected areas across the country According to NHA, Secretary Communications and Chairman National Highway Authority Captain (R) Muhammad Khurram Agha gave a detailed briefing to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during the flight at Bibi Nani on the flood affected roads and the ongoing rehabilitation work on the link bridges and Pinjarra Bridge The Prime Minister lauded Federal Minister of Communications Maulana Asad Mehmood, Chairman NHA and his team for their keen interest and efforts on ongoing rehabilitation work on the bridges, highways etc The recent heavy rains and floods have severely damaged the national highway network in Balochistan and the province s land connectivity with other provinces has been cut off, due to which not only the movement of traffic but also the delivery of goods and relief activities were facing difficulties Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo said that there was no example of how quickly and in a short spam NHA restored the Pinjarra bridge and Bibi Nani for the movement of traffic Further, the land connection from Swat with Bahrain has been also restored with the efforts of the minister and Corps Engineers of Pakistan Army, NHA, District Administration have also played a vital role in this regard The NHA staff was also at the forefront of relief activities in the country The national highways of Sindh province have been greatly affected by the recent rains and floods Passengers were requested by NHA to get information from NHA zonal office before travelling while the road of National Highway N55 from Dadu to Nasirabad (35km) has been submerged in flood water The district administration has also closed N55 for traffic and diverted N55 traffic to N 5 Therefore due to the traffic of N55 there has been an additional load of traffic on N 5 However, the Motorway Police was trying to restore traffic on N5 The NHA officials have also contacted the Chief Secretary Sindh and IG Sindh and asked for police presence to restore the flow of traffic Under the direction of the minister, the architects and field staff of NHA were busy day and night in restoring all the damaged highways s ta f f r
P RIME Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday said during the cur rent situation which arose after the monsoon ra ns and floods, the ent re nation was working in un son and in spiration to overcome the problems which was ver y important Expressing h s view after getting a briefing from the relevant author ties over the recon struction and rehabilitation efforts of road rail and br dges infrastructure in the area the prime minister said that t was a matter of sat isfaction that a l the people had been in volved to overcome the enormous issues after the natural calamity hit the countr y Appreciating the efforts of the d str ct admin istration authorities and others, the pr me minister said their commitment and devotion had been a source of nspiration for the general publ c He said that he sa uted all those who had been nvolved in the rel ef and rehabilitat on efforts The chief minister and the chief secre tar y had been coordinat ng and work ng with all the relevant author ties he added It was your commitment to the nation, he said adding that their efforts would ser ve as a beacon of light for the people It was the teamwork that could yield results n tr ying times he op ned The prime minister announced Rs5 mill on re ief grant for the labourers who were working there in the difficult situation and another amount of Rs1 mi ion for the staff that was work ng for the restoration of gas pipelines A committee would be set up to d spense the amount on merit The prime min ster said the floods had caused large scale damages across the countr y, affecting all the prov nces About 1300 lives were lost vestock swept away wh le the economic and infrastructure dam ages were enormous In this distr ct, the prime minister said, recent floods had swept away B bi Nani br dge, dis rupting traffic from Quetta to Sukkur and leaving about 6000 people stranded on both ends He appreciated the NHA law enforce ment awans and other authorities who re stored the damaged bridge within 8 hours, adding that they did a great national ser vice The prime minister sa d that when a catas trophe hit, the whole nat on stood up and march in unison by working hard to overcome the chal enges The prime minister announced Rs3 m llion for those abourers working on the restorat on of Bibi Nani br dge National H ghway Author ty Chairman Khur ram Agha also briefed the prime minister about the restoration of Bibi Nani bridge About 106 kms road around Bib Nani and Pin jar Bridges were largely affected The ch ef min ster thanked the pr me minister for h s visits and cont nuous support to the flood affected areas of the province He sa d the FC personnel had played a major role n the restora t on of connect v ty bridge He also announced Rs2 mill on for the labourers and workers PM ARRIVes In QuettA to ReVIew RelIeF AC tIVItIes: Ear er Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Quetta on Sunday to assess the on go ng relief act vities in the flood affected areas of Ba ochistan The prime m nister arrived in Quetta to in spect the restoration efforts on the road and rail road infrastructure damaged by the floods PM Shehbaz received a detailed br efing from Na tional Highway Authority (NHA) Chairman Khur ram Agha regarding the flood affected roads in Baloch stan and the current restoration work The PM had ear ier made an announce ment on a grant of Rs10 b llion for flood v ct ms in Balochistan He also urged the wea thy people to step up and help with the relief operations Ba ochistan has suffered significantly as a re sult of the eight massive and severe monsoon spel s Pakistan’s devastating floods have cost the countr y between $10 bi l on and $12 5 b l ion in economic losses in addition to the lives lost
DUBAI ag e n c i e s Mohammad Rizwan hit an attack ng 71 as Pakistan beat India by five wickets in a last over Super Four thr ller at the As a Cup on Sunday Chasing 182 for victor y Pakistan achieved their target with one ball to spare in Duba thanks to a key 73 run stand between Rizwan and Moham mad Nawaz (42) Rizwan was out after his second success ve half centur y in the 17th over but Khushdi Shah with his unbeaten 14, and Asif Ali, who made 16 off eight ba ls made sure Pakistan got over the line against Arshdeep Singh Reprieved after Arshdeep dropped an easy catch at short third man Asif hit a six and two fours before falling w th two bal s left, leav ng Iftikhar Ahmed to knock off the rema ning two runs Ear ier V rat Kohli s 60 gu ded Ind a to 181 7 after being put n to bat first Pakistan started their chase cautiously and lost skipper Babar Azam for 14 with leg spin ner Ravi Bishnoi, luring the batsman nto a ch p straight to mid wicket The in form Rizwan, who made 43 and 78 in the previous two matches hit back w th three boundar es off pace bowler Hardik Pandya and a s x in the next over He put on 41 runs with Fakhar Zaman who played a scratchy knock of 13 before fa ling to Yuzvendra Chahal ’s leg spin Pakistan promoted the eft handed Nawaz, primari y a spinner, n the batting order to up the scoring and he del vered by promptly hitt ng a four and six Rizwan, who hurt himself keeping wicket after landing awkwardly on his right leg but was able to continue anchored the nnings and reached fifty in 37 ba ls Nawaz smashed five fours and two sixes in h s 20 ba l blitz and stood firm with Rizwan before getting out to Bhu vneshwar Kumar Pandya removed Rizwan as India sensed a turnaround but the left handed Khushdil and Asif pulled off the chase as Pakistan avenged their loss to Ind a in the group stage Kohli who hit 60 off 44 balls before being run out in the fina over, helped India sur v ve a middle order stutter to post a compet tive total Leg spinner Shadab Khan stood out with figures of 2 31 from his four overs PM CongRAtul Ates nAtIon, CRICket teAM on wIn In A sIA CuP: Prime Min s ter Shehbaz Sharif Sunday congratu lated the nation and Pak stan cr cket team for win against India in the Asia Cup 2022 In a statement he sa d the Pak stani cr cket team had won hearts of the nation Wel done Team Pakistan
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Finance Minister wants nation to live within its means i z w a n s t a r s a s Pa k i s t a n e d g e I n d i a i n A s i a C u p t h r i l l e r
g S AY S I T ’ S T E A M W o R K T H AT C o U L D Y I E L D R E S U LT S I N T R Y I N g T I M E S a t t e n t i o n Some readers have complained that they are not getting the magazine with their newspaper copy Please call or WhatsApp us at the following number to register a complaint. Contac t: 0307 7338168 ir fan farooq@pakistantoday com pk i n t o d a y ’ s i s s u e NatioN workiNg iN uNisoN to overcome flood devastatioN: Pm M o n d a y, 5 s e p t e m b e r, 2 0 2 2 I 8 s a f a r, 1 4 4 4 I R s 4 0 . 0 0 I Vo l X I I I n o 6 7 I 4 4 Pa g e s I I s l a m a b a d e d i t i o n
Federal M nister for Finance Miftah smai on Sunday said that the nation has to l ve within its current nationa resources by which the government can move towards self reliance The Minister said that the damage in this flood is estimated at 10 bill on dollars, which can help the rehabi itation of the flood victims Import payments should equa do lar nf ows which means curbs on uxur y items may remain in p ace for longer than currently ant cipated Miftah Ismail said n an inter view with Bloomberg News at his home in Karachi “ I want to see a Pakistan that l ves w th n its means,” the Finance Minister to d adding nothing can happen in one year, but we can start ” Less than a week ago the International Monetar y Fund (IMF) gave Pak stan $1 16 bill on he said The Minister said that Pakistan also secured pledges for a total of $9 billion in nvestments and loans from Qatar Saudi Arabia and the UAE Ismail said he expects a $1 bil ion nvestment in listed state owned companies to materia ize in about a month Pak stan on Aug 29 secured a bailout from the IMF to avert an imm nent defau t as the countr y dea s with po itical turmoil and deadly flooding Since taking up his post n April Miftah Isma l has made efforts to narrow Pakistan s yawning trade gap and current account deficit a priority Ismail expects economic growth of more than 3 5 percent for the fiscal year that started in July, down from an nitial target of 5 percent He predicts that inflation running at the highest in 47 years and the second highest in Asia, is close to its peak and wil average 15 percent for the year Ve g e t a b e p r i c e s a ke y c o m p o n e n t h a v e a l r e a d y s t a r t e d t o c o m e d o w n a f t e r s h o o t i n g h g h e r f o l l o w i n g t h e f l o o d s h e s a d commends ministr y, NHA for rehab of washed away road infrastruc ture
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MoNSooN CoNTiNuES wREAKiNg hAvoC AS 26 MoRE diE iN vARiouS iNCidENTS ACRoSS CouNTRy
ECP bars PML-N’s Rana Tanveer from visiting NA-118
Flood affected pregnant mothers, children to be covered under Benazir Nashonuma: Shazia Marri ISLaMaBaD S ta f f R e p o R t
Seasoned politician and Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Defence Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed on Sunday said that Pakistan needs to treat its neighbouring country Afghanistan as a sovereign state In his keynote address to the participants in a consultation titled: Afghan peace and reconciliation: Pakistan’s interests and policy options” organized by Islamabad based Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), Senate Mushahid Hussain Sayed said that Pakistan needed to adopt a regional approach to frame any policy towards Afghanistan and treat the neighbouring country as a sovereign state Our biggest fallacy on Afghan policy is that we have been playing favorites ” Senator Sayed further deplored that even after over 40 years, the Afghan story was not over and there were new challenges in this regard In the context of Pakistan, he said that the focus should be “who makes the policy and what policy should be made He also supported the suggestion that a working group should be formed on the Afghan issue Former National Security Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Nasser Khan Janjua in his remarks endorsed the view of other experts that policy review is required for Afghanistan He stressed that the Afghan issue was still unsettled in the larger context and Pakistan should treat the Afghan people with honour and respect He said that they should keep in mind that banned Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was a defeated phenomenon “We want closure of war,” he said, adding that Pakistan should see Afghanistan in the larger context that both have a common future Senator Anwaarul Haq Kakar shed light on the issue of Afghan refugees living in Pakistan for decades and said that there was a need to rationalize this matter He proposed that they should be given permanent resident cards of Pakistan to connect them with the formal economy and tax net Defence and strategic affairs analyst Maj Gen (retd) Inamul Haque disagreed with another participant that there was strong anti Pakistan sentiment among Taliban ranks and added that such a sentiment was only limited to few people He said that Pakistan enjoyed respect among the rank and file of Taliban and common citizens of the neighbouring country He also rejected the notion that Pakistan’s policy for Afghanistan was flawed and added that there was a problem in its implementation Former Ambassador Muhammad Ayaz Wazir also endorsed the view that Pakistan should revisit its policy towards Afghanistan and address reservations of the Afghan people He said that Pakistan should avoid interfering into the internal affairs of Afghanistan
District Monitoring Officer (DMO) Nankana Sahib Sunday banned Federal Minister for Education Rana Tanveer Hussain and other public office bearers from visiting NA 118 constituency The DMO of Nankana Sahib issued orders barring the education minister from visiting the constituency and sent a notice to Tanveer Hussain Rana Tanveer of PMLN was barred from participating in the election campaign by District Monitoring Officer Sheikhupura and was summoned on August 30 with a written explanation Earlier, the Returning Officer (RO) approved the nomination papers of Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan and other candidates for NA 118 Nankana Sahib by polls The RO rejected objections raised over the nomination papers of Imran Khan The returning officer also approved the nominations of all 10 candidates
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Flood victims on Sunday surrounded PPP Sindh President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro after he went to address a press conference at Larkana Press Club The residents of the Bakrani area staged a protest and surrounded the PPP president outside the press club over lack of food tents and medical facilities to the flood victims The protesters blamed that the elected representatives and officials of the local administration are nowhere to be seen in the testing times of the flood victims Nisar Khuhro assured the flood victims of resolving their issues Later talking to media, he said that the monsoon rainfall has devastated the province with millions of people displaced from their homes The Sindh government is assisting the flood victims and providing them with whatever facilities we have with us so far,” he said This is not the first time that a PPP leader has been surrounded by flood victims rather multiple footages have emerged showing people protesting on the arrival of PPP leaders in flood hit areas, blaming them for lack of relief activities in the affected areas
unprecedented torrential monsoon rains continued inflicting losses on life and property across the country on Sunday and claimed 26 more lives raising the total death count to 1 290 while 12 588 individuals have been injured in different flood and rain related incidents since June 14 The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued a 24 hour situation report released on routine basis that accounted overall life property and infrastructure losses incurred by the heavy rains lashing out various parts of the country The heavy rains and flash floods caused deaths of a child in Zhob and a man whereas the details of the latter were to follow In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa some two perished due to roof collapse and flood in various districts including a women due to flood in DI Khan and a child due to roof collapse in North Waziristan However in various incidents of roof collapse a man in Lower Dir and three children in North Waziristan were reportedly injured The NDMA underlined that the Provincial Disaster Management Authority of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) reconciled it’s death data as the number of a deceased woman was reduced by the PDMA Data Reconciliation: PDMA KP: 1x Female death reduced Death Data Rearrangement: PDMA Sindh: 2x Males added & and 2x Females reduced The data reconciled by the NDMA mentioned that two perished men and women each figures were reduced by the PDMA Sindh However, segregated data of nine individuals was still awaited from PDMA Sindh In Punjab’s District Rajanpur a man drowned in flood water In Sindh, 22 people perished including four men and a child died in Noushero Feroze, two men, a woman and four children in Shikarpur, two men, a woman and two children in Badin a man died due to house collapse in Matiari, a man died in Khairpur and three children died in Ghotki There was no incident or loss to report Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Gilgit Baltistan (GB), Punjab and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) In Balochistan M 8 was blocked as the route of 100 140 kilometers (Km) was blocked due to land sliding in 24 Km section of Wangu hills In KP, N 95 was blocked as the route (Madyan) between Behrain Laikot (27 km) was blocked At the N 50, the road was opened for traffic except breached section of Sagu bridge and preparation of approaches on both sides of Sagu bridge was in process In Sindh N 55 Meher Johi Canal to Khairpur Nathan Shah was submerged and road was closed The report highlighted that scattered thunderstorm and rain of moderate intensity with one or two heavy falls was expected over the upper catchments of all the major rivers along with Islamabad and Peshawar Rawalpindi and Gujranwala Divisions However, isolated thunderstorm and rain was expected over Lahore Division
Federal Minister of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety, Shazia Marri has said that Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) in collaboration with World Food Programme (WFP) has decided to cover the flood affected pregnant mothers and children under the Benazir Nashonuma Programme “For this purpose, an additional amount of one billion rupees would be allocated for the flood affected mothers and children apart from the existing beneficiaries” Shazia Marri said while talking to APP The Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) intervention of Benazir Nashonuma was designed by BISP in August, 2020 to increase the uptake of health and nutrition services of its beneficiaries The primary objectives of the programme is to prevent stunting in children under two years of age, improve weight gain of pregnant women during pregnancy reduce anemia and micronutrient deficiencies and prevent low birth weight World Food Programme is the lead implementing partner for Benazir Nashonuma The total budget of the three year programme is approximately Rs 8 52 billion A total of 50 Benazir Nashonuma Centres across 14 districts are being established countrywide at the district and tehsil level to provide health services and conditional cash transfers under two years old; Rs1500 for a boy child and mother and Rs 2000 for a girl child mainly to prevent children from stunting growth issue
Pa ki s t a n n e e d s to t re at n e i g h b o u r i n g c o u n t r y a s a s ove re i g n s t ate : S e n ato r M u s h a h i d
Tourists’ entr y banned in flood-hit Mohenjo -Daro
PPP Sindh president Nisar Khuhro besieged by flood victims
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecasted that weak monsoon currents from Arabian Sea were penetrating upper and central parts of the country which subsequently caused rain wind and thundershowers with isolated heavy falls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, Northern Punjab, Gilgit Baltistan and AJK from Sep 3rd (Saturday) to Sep 6th (Tuesday) The massive torrential rains have damaged 40,980 houses, including 14,904 fully damaged and 26,076 partially damaged while 875 livestock animals died
ISLaMaBaD S ta f f R e p o R t P r i m e M i n i s t e r ’s S p e c i a l Representative for Interfaith Harmony a n d M i d d l e E a s t H a f i z M u h a m m a d Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi has invited the w o r l d l e a d i n g p e r s o n a l i t i e s a n d organizations for supporting the flood victims in Pakistan Ta l k i n g w i t h n a t i o n a l a n d international media on Sunday, Ashrafi who is also the Chairman of Pakistan U l e m a C o u n c i l , s a i d t h a t P a k i s t a n alone could not cope with the damages caused by the floods in different parts of the country S e e k i n g s u p p o r t t o o v e r c o m e t h i s c r i t i c a l s i t u a t i o n , h e s a i d t h e w o r l d should come forward and witness itself t h e d a m a g e s i n c u r r e d d u e t o f l a s h floods in Pakistan B e s i d e s l a u d i n g t h e s e r v i c e s o f P a k i s t a n A r m y a n d v o l u n t e e r s o f r e l i g i o u s o rg a n i z a t i o n s i n f l o o d h i t areas, he said the endeavors on the part o f P a l e s t i n e f o r ‘ P a k i s t a n S o l i d a r i t y Day’ and assistance for flood victims were commendable H e s a i d P a k i s t a n w a s g r a t e f u l t o the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi A r a b i a , Tu r k i y e , C h i n a , U n i t e d K i n g d o m a n d U n i t e d S t a t e s f o r e x t e n d i n g a l l o u t c o o p e r a t i o n t o t h e flood victims in Pakistan I n t h e p o s t f l o o d s i t u a t i o n t h e l e a d e r s h i p s o f S a u d i A r a b i a , Q a t a r, United Arab Emirates and Turkiye had e x p r e s s e d t h e i r b o n d s o f l o v e a n d brotherhood with Pakistan Ashrafi said we should seriously think about the climate change and its implications No doubt, the flood was a test from the Allah Almighty but it had also disclosed our shortcomings and negligence, he said proposing dams should be built and the construction of other buildings on the rivers’ banks should not be allowed He said it should also be investigated why the roads and bridges were made so weak which could not withstand by flash floods H e s a i d P a k i s t a n A r m y w a s t h e p r i d e o f t h e P a k i s t a n i n a t i o n a n d t h e s e r v i c e r e n d e r e d b y i t o n t h e i n s t r u c t i o n s o f C h i e f o f A r m y S t a ff G e n e r a l Q a m a r J a v e d B a j w a i n t h i s d i ff i c u l t s i t u a t i o n w e r e e x e m p l a r y a s per its tradition He lamented, “It is a pity that the p o l i t i c a l l e a d e r s h i p s o f t h e c o u n t r y could not be united even after the flash f l o o d s , a d d i n g t h e p r o c e s s o f reconciliation should be started within the country He expressed the hope that P u n j a b C h i e f M i n i s t e r C h a u d h r y P e r v e z E l a h i a n d P r e s i d e n t D r A r i f A l v i w o u l d p l a y a n i m p o r t a n t r o l e i n the process of reconciliation A s h r a f i a l s o m a d e i t c l e a r t h a t n e i t h e r p r o s c r i b e d o u t f i t s w e r e c o l l e c t i n g d o n a t i o n s n o t p a r t i c i p a t i n g in relief work anywhere in Pakistan H e s a i d I n d i a w a n t e d t o c r e a t e more difficulties for Pakistan even in this difficult situation adding it aimed to obstruct the aid and cooperation of t h e w o r l d a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l organizations helping Pakistan in this trying time
ISLaMaBaD S ta f f R e p o R t Despite gradual increase in the number of everyday tests, all the coronavirus indicators in Pakistan remained steady as the country registered another 228 infections and three deaths during the last 24 hours (Saturday), showed the statistics released by the National Institute of Health Pakistan on Sunday morning As per the NIH data, the death toll in the country has now risen to 30,590 with the addition of three new fatalities while the number of total infections now stood at 1,570,016 after adding the fresh 228 cases During the last 24 hours (Saturday) 19 041 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio stood at 1 20 percent The number of patients in critical care was recorded at 114 New coronavirus variants are most likely to emerge this winter but existing vaccines should protect people from serious illness and death, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on 3 September The following comment arrived after the 27 nation European Union prepares to roll out a booster campaign ahead of a feared wave of new coronavirus cases later this year “It will include a mix of newly approved jabs adapted for the now dominant Omicron strain, and the original vaccines developed to fight the virus that first emerged in China in 2019 ” the EMA vaccines chief Marco Cavaleri said However, it added that people should not wait for a specific vaccine “There might be a completely new variant emerging that we are not able to predict today,” Marco Cavaleri added Earlier on 1 September, the EMA approved vaccines by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna that are adapted to tackle the older BA 1 subvariant of Omicron karaCHI M a n a l J a f f e R y Keeping in view that the heritage site Mohenjo Daro situated on the right bank of Indus River is facing the danger of obliteration after braving the monstrosity of recent flash floods and torrential rains, the administration on Sunday banned the entry of tourists to the place The recent heavy spell of rains and concurrent floods which have ravaged large swathes of Sindh have also taken a very heavy toll on the mounds and ruins of 5000 year old historic city of Mohenjo Daro The authorities fearing its annihilation has put a ban on the entry of tourists to the place It is expected that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will visit the archeological site during his visit to Pakistan on Sept 11 In a statement, the UN said that Secretary General Guterres will travel to Pakistan for a solidarity visit given the “tragic situation facing millions of men, women, and children impacted by historic floods The Secretary General is expected to arrive in Islamabad on Sept 9 and will then travel to the areas most impacted by the unprecedented climate catastrophe He is expected to be back in New York on Sept 11 but before wrapping up his visit, he is also expected to visit Mohenjo Daro Mohenjo Daro a group of mounds and ruins on the right bank of the Indus River in northern Sindh lies on the flat alluvial plain of the Indus about 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Sukkur The site contains the remnants of one of two main centres of the ancient Indus civilization (c 2500 1700 BCE) the other one being Harappa, some 400 miles (640 km) to the northwest in Punjab province The historic site also called City of Dead has received torrential rains and floods in recent days The department of archaeology has called for urgent attention towards its conservation and restoration work apprehending that the site may be removed from the world heritage list if such work was not carried out Meanwhile the road link between Swat and Bahrain was restored The Pakistan Army engineering corps, NHA and district administration participated in the restoration work and repaired the damaged road
Ashrafi urges world personalities, organizations for flood vic tims suppor t Corona indicators remain steady in Pakistan
Monday, 5 september 2022 IsLAMABAD 02 news ISLaMaBaD S ta f f R e p o R t T H E
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03news Monday, 5 september, 2022 IsLAMABAD
I took her up on the motorway when she was only four days old [ ] she was so small,” Bibi told AFP about their weekend evacuation
Dr James Shera, a distinguished British citizen of Pakistani heritage has been highly praised by the incumbent Leader of the Labour Party and Opposition Leader Keir Starmer In his letter, Keir acknowledged Dr James Shera s steadfast support and dedication to the Labour Party during his half century long membership, his contribution to society and unmatched and unbroken forty years of councillorship with the popular vote Former Prime Minister of Britain Gordon Brown also recorded his video message in acknowledgement of the achievements of Dr James Shera Deeply moved by the devastations that the floods caused in Pakistan Dr James Shera could not hold his sentiments and made a passionate appeal in his letter to a world renowned organization Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) calling for raising the funds for the flood victims in Pakistan He also reached out to the clergy in Britain to pray for the safety of the people of Pakistan and express solidarity His calls could not go unheard DEC has launched its campaign and shared it with Dr James The churches in England also offered prayers for Pakistan and its people Modi regime responsible for A JK resident’s custodial death MUZaFFaraBaD S ta f f R e p o R t
A mentally challenged resident of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Tabarak Hussain, who recently had unintentionally crossed the Line of Control in Rajouri district of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir was martyred in custody by Indian army, yesterday, said a report released by the KMS on Sunday The report said he was shot at and arrested in injured condition by the Indian troops after he unintentionally crossed the LoC in Naushera area of Rajouri district in the month of August It said as part of its evil designs to defame Pakistan New Delhi had claimed that Tabarak Hussain was sent by Islamabad to carry out an attack on Indian army post and being a mentally retarded person, Indian authorities couldn t present him before the world to malign Pakistan, so they killed him in custody On the other side, the report said a 30 year old mentally challenged man was repatriated by Pakistan after he inadvertently crossed the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district Mohammad Rashid, a resident of Degwar Terwan village in Poonch, was reported missing by his family on August 30, it said The Pakistani army, the report said, handed him over to their Indian counterparts at Chakan Da Bagh crossing point on the LoC in presence of civil officials and police on Saturday who was later united with his family The officials said that it was the second time in the past few years that the man crossed the LoC but was safely returned to his family It said India has a habit of resorting to malicious propaganda to defame Pakistan and the Kashmiris’ freedom struggle but it will fail in its nefarious designs against Pakistan and the Kashmir freedom movement
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“She was sick and her eyes were hurting, suffering from a fever too, my baby was in deep trouble because of the heat Similar scenes are playing out across Pakistan following record monsoon rains that have flooded over a third of the country affecting more than 33 million people UNICEF says 16 million children are impacted and 3 4 million are in need of humanitarian support Still recovering from the birth, Bibi had to be helped up the steep slope as warnings arrived that the Kabul River was about to burst its banks because of torrential rains further north In this village near Charsadda in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the sun was scorching when they fled to A frame tents handed out to families S l u d g e e v e ry w h e r e : They slept there for days in the open air, with no fans, no running water and nothing to bat away the mosquitos When the shoulder high floodwater receded, a dark brown sludge had coated everything in their three room home their feet sinking into it “We just want our house to be fixed It’s painful to see the children laying here said Bibi, who hopes for a doctor to reach the extended family of around 15 It is common in rural parts of Pakistan for birthdays to not be precisely recorded, but Bibi believes the baby was born about four days before the floods and is now around 10 days old She is unsure of her own exact age, putting herself at around 18 They have now moved their tents to drier ground outside their home, the children sharing wooden charpoy beds The environment is ripe for a breakout of infections The water pump is broken, so the adults have not showered in clean water for nearly a week Children swim in the small pools of floodwater where buffalo bathe and pass urine “The flood has passed but the water was very dirty, very muddy, all these children have rashes and their health is getting worse and worse said Naveed Afzal, Bibi’s husband, who since the floods can no longer find work as a day labourer On their feet and shins adults display sores they say have tripled in size in just a couple of days A young boy has watery red eyes another has fever The baby, at least, is washed in the few bottles of mineral water collected from donation points that the men spend hours walking to each day Many link roads have been cut off by standing floodwater I haven t yet lost hope but this baby girl is so small that it would be better to return home and settle down,” said Bibi, cradling the infant in her arms
In a bid to diminish the human and structure losses in future, the Balochistan government has launched a crackdown against the illegal constructions on the flood water channels throughout the province “The Balochistan government in exercise of powers conferred under sub section of (6) 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 is pleased to impose a ban upon construction of work within the limits of flood channels and irrigation drains throughout the province,” notification read It may be recalled that recent unprecedented rains and floods in Balochistan have caused large scale devastation in most parts of the province, especially in areas where the flood channels and irrigation drains stand choked owing to illegal construction and encroachments Hundreds of houses built by the land mafia on the flood water channels were swept away, rendering a large number of middle class families homeless On account of the provincial government s lack of proper checks and land mafia’s corruption, a large number of houses, even housing societies were constructed on the water channels keeping the middle class buying families in dark about the status of the land During the recent incessant rains and floods, the illegal act of such construction and encroachment led to perishing of newly constructed houses on the lands of flood water channels mainly in Quetta Malik Town Jan Town are some of the prominent housing schemes in suburbs of Quetta besides many other areas including Nasrabad, Chasma Achozai, Brewrey and Nawa Kili where flash floods swept away hundreds of houses made on flood channels in just a few hours h i n a R a i l way c o m p a ny to d e l i ve r 4 6 c o a c h e s to Pa ki s t a n R a i l ways C r a c kd ow n o n c o n s t r u c t i o n o n fl o o d wate r c h a n n e l s i n B a l o c h i s t a n 47,000 pregnant women in dire need of care in flood-hit Sindh karaCHI S ta f f R e p o R t Dr Azra Pechuho, health minister of Sindh, painted a bleak picture of women affected by the unprecedented floods in Pakistan, saying at least 47,000 pregnant women in the shelter camps across the province are in dire need of maternal health services Last week the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said many of these women lack access to the healthcare facilities and support they need to deliver their children safely Even before the floods, the women faced numerous reproductive health challenges and had one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in South Asia Speaking to Dawn News Pechuho said hundreds of thousands of people have contracted various diseases after the floods “More than 134,000 cases of diarrhoea and 44 000 cases of malaria have been reported in the province,” she said Over 100,000 skin related, 101 snake bites and 500 dog bites have been reported so far among flood affectees she added The minister said that other cases, including respiratory diseases, were on the rise in Sindh Climate change has increased health pressures on pregnant women new mothers, and their families in Pakistan, and exacerbated existing inequities in maternal and newborn health The negative impacts of climate change are unevenly experienced, with pregnant women among the groups most severely affected The latest statistics came days after the UN agency also warned that many women and girls were at an increased risk of gender based violence as almost one million houses were damaged in the catastrophic floods that spelled suffering for millions across Pakistan “Up to 73,000 women expected to deliver next month will need skilled birth attendants, newborn care, and support, the UNFPA said
Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan on Sunday formally approved Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Climate Change policy 2022 that was aimed to minimize effects of global warming The policy has been approved with requisite action plan that encompasses necessary steps to combat challenges said a press release issued here Saturday As many as 129 factors have been identified in different sectors that negatively impact climate and the action plan includes possible steps and measures to reduce these factors along with adaptation of 172 environment friendly practices The Chief Minister has termed the policy as a pressing priority adding that KP province was also witnessing effects of climate change like other parts of the country He added that these effects had become more evident over the past couple of years including forest fires due to severe heat wave that destroyed much of the forest cover in the province Similarly, monsoon rains had also caused severe floods that could be prevented by timely necessary steps He reiterated that effects of climate change had also become evident in the northern areas of the province He clarified that climate change policy had been divided into various categories keeping in view the priorities Locust attacks in Southern Districts, forest fires and environmental zoning had been taken into account and changes had been made accordingly, necessary steps for effective implementation of the policy had also been elucidated he said CM approves KP C limate C hange Polic y 2022
Well things are happening all over Like France, which has ordered the deportation of a 63 year old imam for hate speech to Morocco a country he hardly knows, though he’s a citizen He was born there, but never got citizenship I can see the avoidance of military service here but what about later, when he was past the call up age? Moral of the story: keep quiet when your citizenship status is wonky And then there was poor Ankita, who was burnt to death in her native Dumka, Jharkand vIndia Her killer was a Muslim Shahrukh, whose marriage proposal had been turned down IIt hasn’t been taken up by feminist groups but by Hindu fundamentalists, protesting first that a Muslim boy dared to punish a Hindu girl, and second that the DSP Dumka also a Muslim, was favouring the boy The BJP is gunning for him because it needs a distraction from suspended Jharkand BJP leader Seema Patra’s arrest for imprisoning a tribal woman to make her a maid
LaHore Da n i ya l a h M a D Pakistan Railways will receive 46 of 230 new passenger coaches from China in December This will be the first batch of coaches delivered as part of the $140 million contract between China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) and Pakistan Railways The first batch of 46 coaches will be completely built up (CBU) units delivered to Pakistan, whereas the remaining 184 will be manufactured in the country The coaches will be able to travel at a speed of 160 km/h and are set to be deployed on Main Line 1 (ML 1) after its $6 8 billion upgradation and dualization as part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor ML 1 stretches from Karachi to Peshawar with 184 railway stations 75% of Pakistan’s cargo and passenger traffic currently use the line The line will be particularly beneficial for the many people who have become increasingly reliant on intercity bus services to cover the distance due to the failings of Pakistan Railways, as their travel time will be cut immensely QUetta S ta f f R e p o R t
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A black lacha Polished balck pumps to be worn without benefit of socks I don’t suppose the police would allow him a gandasa, but he must not forget the fright wig favoured by the late Rahi Sahib, not to forget the moka or wart on his cheek A couple of wiry hairs curling out of it would be a nice touch And instead of ‘Dr Shehbaz Gill’, he should bribe the cxops to introduce himas ‘Sh’baaz Jat’ Imran would dress the same and introduce himself as ‘ ‘Mraan Vehshi Pathan’ Even if the Islamabad High Court forgives him a film of that name could probably be written and hit the studio floors within days Imran may have to deal with the IHC this week, but I hear he’s also angry with KP Finance Minister Taimur Jhagra and Punjab Finance Minister Mohsin Leghari because they failed to stop the IMF giving the government its programme tranche Jhagra wrote that KP would not stick to the IMF agreement, while Leghari should have too, but he bailed (He must had had a sudden cramp is his hand )
PeSHaWar S ta f f R e p o R t
City noteS M a n i a z i Lo o ki n g r i g h t to t h e j u d g e Labour leader Starmer, gordon Brown pay tribute to dr James Shera
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A sportsman of that era Manzoor Junior, has passed away He was part of what was an unbelievable outfit, perhaps in any sport Hanif Khan began the forward line at right out, and then there was Manzoor Junior at right in, Shehnaz Sheikh at centre forward Islahuddin at left in and Samiullah at left out Akhtar Rasool was centre half, and Manzoor Senior one of the backs That was a team you can t believe Imran was captain of a good, even great, team But it was believable On the other hand the news from politics is not that encouraging, with Mikhail Gorbachev dieing, and being denied a state funeral by Vladimir Putin That might encourage Imran to hang on to office till death I mean, if you die, as Gorbachev did over three decades after having been President, one’s successor might decide to avoid what should be inevitable which is a state funeral Gorbachev was a good 23 years older than Imran, but Manzoor Junior was actually five years younger And he didn t die of some untimely disease or in an accident, but of a heart attack Imran has got to get the youth vote even though he turns 70 next year He should work on revising his wardrobe now that he s going to hit that patriarchal age No, I don’t he should go for T shirts and skinny jeans He should also reconsider his garb in the light of his position as an accused contemner The judges hearing his case are used to defendants appearing before them with a certain demeanour It should start with Shahbaz Gill He’s been applying for bail all wrong To get bail you have to look the part First, he must wear a long kameez, yellow with blue polka dots
PeSHaWar a f p S WA D D L E D tightly under the shelter of a donated tent, a newborn baby lays still amid the disorder all around Her mother, Hajira Bibi, flits between checking on the 10 day old girl so young she s yet to be named and attempting to clean away the ankle high mud left behind in her home by the floods that forced her family to shelter on the hard shoulder of a motorway
Fast bowler Naseem Shah is clearly an Indian agent When India most needed the runs, he gave away crucial fours in the Asia Cup group match All those looking at him to see whether he is fit to be brought on the same page or not, should stick with Imran They should not think about a substitute Theory should take a hint from the fate of Shaheen Shah Afridi, who has been sidelined with a knee injury Of course, Imran came back from a spinal stress fracture which left him incapable of bowling Even then, he showed determination not to give up the captaincy with the result that for some time he played as a batsman
FLood-BoRN: NoThiNg BuT Mud AS MoThER, iNFANT RETuRN To hoME
The Capital Territory Administration (ICTA) has lodged 18 First Information Reports (FIRs) and sealed 17 premises for violating anti dengue Standard Operat ing Procedures (SOPs) All the assistant commissioners and magistrates along with surveillance teams were in the field to check dengue larvae breeding sites, including tyre shops, junk yards, godowns, brick factories and under construction buildings for its prevention, Deputy Commissioner Is lamabad, Irfan Nawaz Memon told APP on Sunday As per details, Additional Deputy Commissioner (East) and Assistant Commissioner Saddar along with dengue field teams inspected junkyards, tyre shops in Tarnol area and sealed 4 junkyards, 1 PVC factory, 1 transport good factory and 3 tyre godowns and shifted 8 persons to police station to repeated violations and non compliance with dengue SOPs Assistant Commis sioner, Rural inspected tyre shops and other workshops in Koral for dengue control along with dengue health teams Assistant Commissioner Secretariat along with entomologists and dengue teams visited car wash centres, tyre shops, block factories, nurseries and junkyards to en sure that proper preventive measures were being adopted to control prospective larva breeding sites Three block factories/junkyard were sealed for violations To a query, the DC said dengue situation in the fed eral capital was under control and the civil administra tion was making all out efforts for its prevention Presently he said there were 224 dengue patients were registered in the federal capital, around 25 were undergoing treatment in different hospitals while rest of the patients have recovered after medical treatment About charging a nominal fee for dengue test at pri vate labs, he said government hospitals were providing the facility at free of cost including National Institute of Health, Federal Government Polyclinic and Pakistan In stitute of Medical Sciences However the administration had approached the health ministry and it was expected that within two weeks a mechanism would be devised in that regard, said the DC The DC remarked that peoples cooperation was very important to control dengue, adding that a commu nity mobilization campaign was in progress to raise awareness about dengue He appealed the residents to get their dengue test done if found any symptoms
FINANCE FEARS: International finance to help at risk countries such as Pakistan boost their resilience to cli mate threats and adopt clean energy has also largely failed to emerge The United States has said it will supply $30 million in emergency support for Pakistan and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres this week launched an appeal for $160 million in aid “The Pakistani people are facing a monsoon on steroids the relentless impact of epochal levels of rain and flooding, he said in a video address But as disasters many at least partially driven by climate change surge globally, humanitarian aid groups are increasingly failing to raise the resources needed, with gaping shortfalls growing Furthermore, the $100 billion a year by 2020 prom ised by rich countries responsible for most of the emis sions driving climate shifts to help poorer nations deal with climate change remains undelivered, despite prom ises that it will happen soon d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e c o u n t r y T h e A I O U i s p r o v i d i n g c o m m e n d a b l e s e r v i c e s i n t h e f i e l d o f v o c a t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n This was stated by Minister for Education Gilgit Baltistan, Raja Mohammad Azam Khan at Karakoram I n t e r n a t i o n a l U n i v e r s i t y, G i l g i t B a l t i s t a n o n S u n d a y while addressing the graduation ceremony of the fourth b a t c h o f t h e s i x w e e k t r a i n i n g v o c a t i o n a l t r a i n i n g course for youth in Gilgit, Skardu, Hunza, Shigar, and Ghizer Introducing hotel management courses for the youth of Gilgit Baltistan will boost the tourism sector w i t h p r o p e r h o s p i t a l i t y i n t o u r i s t d e s t i n a t i o n s , h e e x pressed It is pertinent to mention here that the AIOU h a s s t a r t e d s k i l l d e v e l o p m e n t c o u r s e s i n t h e s e a r e a s with the support of Alight Pakistan and the TAF Foun dation More than 250 male and female students have graduated in the last one and a half years T h e E d u c a t i o n M i n i s t e r G B a p p r e c i a t e d t h e s e r v ices of AIOU Alight Pakistan and TAF Foundation for offering skill based training courses for youth Representatives of the Directorate of Technical Ed u c a t i o n a n d S k i l l D e v e l o p m e n t ( G B ) M i n i s t r y o f Tourism, Serena Shigar Fort, TAF Foundation, and Na tional Commission for Human Development were pres ent at the ceremony Focal person of the University, Dr Zahid Majeed, said that the hotel industry sector is on the way to rapid development keeping this need in view the Vice Chan cellor of AIOU, Prof Dr Zia Ul Qayyum had given in structions to launch this course H e s a i d t h a t t h e g r a d u a t i n g y o u t h w i l l g e t h o n o r a b l e e m p l o y m e n t o p p o r t u n i t i e s R e g i o n a l D i r e c t o r, A l i g h t P a k i s t a n , D r Ta r i q C h e e m a s a i d t h a t A I O U , A l i g h t P a k i s t a n a n d TA F F o u n d a t i o n j o i n t l y p r o v i d e skills courses to the youth We a r e t r y i n g t o p r o v i d e t h e b e s t o p p o r t u n i t y t o s h a p e t h e f u t u r e a n d t h i s p r o c e s s o f p r o v i d i n g s k i l l s education and training will continue in Gilgit Baltistan
Mangla: Minimum operating level 1050 feet, present level 1188 55 feet, maximum conserva tion level 1242 feet live storage today 3 648 MAF Chashma: Minimum operating level 638 15 feet present level 648 60 feet, maximum conservation level 649 feet, live storage today 0 258 MAF The inflows and out flows of River Indus at Tarbela, Jin nah and Chashma, River Kabul at Nowshera and River Jhelum at Mangla have been reflected as mean flows of 24 hours, whereas the other flows have been gauged at 6 00 am
WateR LeveL In RIveRS, ReSeRvoIRS RISeS aCRoSS CountRy
Will floods spur better climate disaster planning? islamabad S ta f f R e p o R t e R Vocational education is an important tool of economic stability of any society and the efforts of Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) to equ i p t h e y o u t h w i t h v o c a t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n w i l l b e b e n e f i c i a l i n t h e s o c i a l a n d e c o n o m i c
Sindh Minister larKaNa S ta f f R e p o R t e R Provincial Minister for Industries, Commerce and Co operative Department & In charge Rain Emergency Sukkur Jam Ikramullah Dharejo said on Sunday that the Sindh government was helping the rain and flood affected families with all available resources The minister said in a statement issued here that tent cities have been established in the most affected areas He said that spray was being carried out to prevent people from malaria and other waterborne diseases Flood af fected families were also being provided with two meals according to health principles Jam Ikramullah Dharejo said, funds have been provided to all the Deputy Commissioners for the rehabilitation of the flood victims Pak Army, Navy and Police personnel were also helping the flood affected families in every possible way, he added He said that Sindh cabinet members were also present in the field and the provin cial government would not sit until the rehabilitation of last flood victim Dharejo said that it was the time for service and not the politics Tehreek e Insaf members were holding public gatherings and Imran Khan was spending millions of rupees on music concerts at a time when people were facing devastating floods
Police officer mar t yred in Lakki Mar wat attack
lONdON R e u t e R S
islamabad S ta f f R e p o R t e R
The inhabitants of historical Chitral bazaars on Sunday demanded from the district adminis tration to shift the butchers and poultry shops to give a clean look to the foreign and local tourists coming to the districts from all over the world Former president of the traders as sociation Shabbir Rehman and other locals of historical Chitral bazaars said that due to the stench emanating from the meat and poultry shops in the bazaar, the tourist and other passers by were facing difficulties When con tacted, medical experts also termed it a risk of various vertical diseases due to the presence of these shops near food stalls Chitral is a beauti ful and touristic district where tourists from all over the world including all the provinces of the country keep coming but some things seem like a bad stain on the beauty of Chitral Butch ers and chicken shops are open everywhere in Chitral bazar, they said On one hand, the passers by and tourists are quite bothered by the stench coming out of these shops, and on the other hand it is also a threat to human health According to medical experts, there are more than three and a half hundred diseases that are transmitted from animals to humans and from humans to animals, they are called zoonotic diseases, they told
Monday 5 September 2022 ISLAMABAD 04 NEWS islamabad S ta f f R e p o R t e R F O L L O W I N G torrential rains and melting of glaciers at various parts of the upper reaches water level in the country’s major rivers and reservoirs continue rising The position of the river inflows and outflows at AJK based Mangla dam, Tarbela dam as well as Chashma barrage along with the reservoirs levels and the barrages was reported on Sunday as under: The official sources here on Sunday said that among rivers the inflows of the Indus river at Tarbela was reported as 176000 cusecs and outflows 175200 cusecs Kabul at Nowshera: inflows 61900 cusecs and outflows 61900 cusecs, Jhelum at Mangla: inflows 25400 cusecs and outflows 10000 cusecs, Chenab at Marala: inflows 52700 cusecs and outflows 22200 cusecs B A R R A g E S : Jinnah: inflows 188600 cusecs and outflows 180600 cusecs Chashma: inflows 228300 cusecs and outflows 210300 cusecs, Taunsa: inflows 219000 cusecs and outflows 209500 cusecs Guddu: in flows 484800 cusecs and outflows 484800 cusecs Sukkur: inflows 544700 cusecs and outflows 544700 cusecs Kotri: inflows 548700 cusecs and outflows 572400 cusecs Trimmu: inflows 31700 cusecs and outflow 16400 cusecs Panjnad: in flows 26700 cusecs and outflows 13600 cusecs Reservoirs (Level and Storage): Tarbela: Minimum operating level 1398 feet, present level 1550 00 feet maximum conserva tion level 1550 feet, live storage today 5 827 million acre feet (MAF)
A third of Pakistan is underwater, with at least 1,100 peo ple dead including 380 children but monsoon rains on steroids likely fuelled by climate change are not the only cause of the nation’s misery As with many of the increasingly common disasters around the world, problems from a lack of investment in warning systems to the building of homes in danger zones and a failure of political will to cut fossil fuel use are key drivers, analysts said “Disasters are not natural We are contributing to them with our actions and our inactions,” said Zita Sebesvari, who leads work on environmental vulnerabil ity at the United Nations University (UNU) in Germany The good news as rising fossil fuel use drives stronger floods, heatwaves, droughts and wildfires in al most every part of the world is that “there is a lot that can be done to reduce the impacts of a disaster happen ing, she said The UNU on Wednesday released a study suggesting that measures from better protecting nature to reducing inequality, boosting early warning systems, cutting over consumption and improving planning for surging risks could have huge payoffs A wide range of scientific and economic studies now argue that rising losses caused by climate change will soon far outstrip the costs of boosting resilience and cut ting emissions to curb disasters, Zita said In Pakistan alone, losses from the current flooding have been estimated at $10 billion, a figure the govern ment expects will rise with more rain in the forecast “The financial arguments are on the table The sci entific arguments are on the table too for moving now to cut risks, Zita told the Thomson Reuters Foundation Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, warned that pretending business as usual is possible (will) eventually end busi ness as usual”
18 FIRs lodged, 17 premises sealed for dengue SOPs violation
Residents demand relocation of butcher, poultr y shops out of Chitral bazaar Chitral S ta f f R e p o R t
Imran should help flood victims instead of spending millions on gatherings:
PEshaWar S ta f f R e p o R t A police officer was martyred and another injured when unknown gunmen sprayed their patrol car with bullets in Lakki Marwat late Saturday night, police said on Sunday Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Jamshed Iqbal died on the spot while Constable Inam Ullah was injured in the attack on Indus Highway An official of the Lakki Marwat Police Station told news men that the incident took place late night when ASI Jamshed Iqbal, who was the in charge of Chowki Shehbaz Khel was on routine patrol on the Indus Highway The official said the patrol party was at tacked by some unidentified assailants who opened fire on them As a consequence of the firing Jamshed Iqbal embraced martyrdom on the spot while Consta ble Inam Ullah got injured and was later rushed to the hospital for treatment The attackers somehow man aged to escape after the incident “The police launched a search operation in the area soon after the incident but there was no confirmation of any arrest so far,” said the police official I O U ’s fo u r t h b atc h o f vo c at i o n a l t r a i n i n g i n G B c o n c l u d e d
PAKISTAN’S RISKS: Besides endless monsoon rains this summer dramatic heatwaves in April and May con tributed heavily to Pakistan’s drowning, scientists be lieve The heatwaves which were 30 times more likely to occur as a result of climate change scientists from the World Weather Attribution group found ac celerated melting of the country s vast mountain glaciers, leaving waterways fuller than normal When months of heavy monsoon rains then poured into streams and rivers already swollen with large vol umes of water floods were the inevitable result they said A lack of consistent government efforts to boost preparedness and cut risks were also a contributor to the losses according to analysts After heavy floods between 2010 and 2012 drowned significant parts of the country, Pakistan s government promised new monitoring sys tems for glacier melt and flood early warning systems to help avoid such disasters in the future But while some early warning systems saved lives this month, Pakistan has seen five changes of government since 2010 and not all the plans have been implemented, with the debt ridden nation’s limited cash not consistently prioritised for such efforts Globally, spending to cut cli mate risks is only rarely a top priority for countries, ana lysts say “We have seen with the Covid 19 pandemic that we can unlock quite remarkable amounts of money if (an issue) is prioritized,” Zita said, stressing that this has not happened with climate change for the most part I won der if the losses we are experiencing and seeing now will push us to do that,” she added
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raging floods threaten archeological treasure
05NEWS Monday 5 September 2022 | ISLAMABAD ISLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t r E B U I L D I N G of a number of highways, roads and bridges damaged in unprece dented floods had been com pleted whereas on the remaining sections, the work was con tinuing on an emergency basis More roads have reopened, gas lines have been restored and a stable food supply secured, as emergency workers and volunteers continue to work in flood hit areas officials in formed the prime minister in a briefing The Ministry of Communication and National Highway Authority (NHA) are ensuring the early restora tion of the damaged infrastructure in different parts of the country Shehbaz Sharif is supervising the work and receiving reports on a daily basis his office said in a press statement During the last fortnight, different damaged roads in all four provinces and the Gilgit Baltistan region had been restored Sharif had already stressed that re habilitation of the communication and links roads was the top priority N 15 had been restored from Mansehra to Chilas via Naran while N 25 from Karachi to Chaman where Hub to Khuzdar section was damaged had been restored for traffic Karakorum Highway N 35 was also completely re stored which was closed for traffic from Indus Kohistan to Hunza districts Similarly, N 40 Quetta Noshki sec tion, N 45 Chakdara Dir section, Indus Highway N 55 Rajanpur Taunsa and DIKhan Pezu sections N 65 Sibbi Quetta section, N 70 Fort Munro section, N 90 Alpuri Basham section, N 140 Gilgit Shandour section and Strategic Highway S 1 Shangous section were re stored for traffic The restoration work on certain highways was still continuing which included the N 50 Zhob DIKhan section N 95 Fatahpur Kalam section and Motorway M 8 Wangu Hills Banja section These highways would be soon opened for traffic
The Health Department added that 76 out of the total 78 cases have been reported in Karachi alone In the last 24 hours, 27 cases were reported in the central district, 19 in the district south, 5 in Malir, 4 in Korangi, 19 in East District, and one each was re ported in Kemari and West district According to the Heath Department data, a total of 2 643 dengue cases have been regis tered in Sindh in the current year 2,280 cases were reported in Karachi alone, it shows Meanwhile, Hyderabad reported nine dengue cases, Badin two, Umerkot 7, Mirpur Khas four, while Tharparkar and Larkana re ported two cases respectively
Punjab excise and taxation suspends biometric registration of vehicles
Ma jor flood-daMaged infrastructure restored: PMo
LAHORE Da n i ya l a h m a D
Massive floods caused by deluges of water falling from the sky have wreaked unprecedented havoc across Pakistan inundating a third of the country and killing nearly 1,300 people since mid June Apart from massive human and infrastructure losses, the nation risks losing its archaeological treasure, which includes remnants of the thousands year old Mohinjo Daro and Mahargarh civilisations Mohinjo Daro, located in the Larkana district of Sindh, has been hit particularly hard by the country’s most destructive monsoon spells and floods in recent history The floodwaters surrounding the 5,000 year old iconic site have damaged several excavated portions, with water seeping through and creating furrows Rain and flood waters seeping into the ground are tilting the walls of the heritage site s prehistoric houses, which date back to 2,500 BC and are the last surviving remnants of the Indus Valley Civilisation This alarming development according to archaeologists could potentially lead to the walls completely crumbling and collapsing Apart from Mohinjo Daro, Sindh is strewn with heritage sites, only a few of which have been spared by the ravaging floods The 18th century Kotdiji Fort and Faiz Mahal (palace) built during the Talpur dynasty’s reign over the then independent state that is now the district of Khairpur located some 450 kilometers (280 miles) from Karachi, have also conceded considerable damage from the unprecedented rains and floods Makli, one of the world’s largest necropolises, roughly 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of Karachi, is also submerged Located on a Makli foothill and listed on UNESCO’s list of protected heritage sites in 1981, the necropolis contains over 20 000 tombs pavilions and open graves of rulers, army generals, poets, architects, and unidentified warriors going back to the 14th century Many other centuries old graveyards tombs structures and forts, notably the Ranikot Fort, known as the Great Wall of Sindh because of its structural resemblance to China’s Great Wall, have also been flooded Several Buddhist and Hindu sacred sites have also been damaged across the province According to Hamid Akhund, secretary general of the Endowment Fund Trust, a semi government organisation involved in the preservation of heritage sites in Sindh not a single heritage property survives intact outside of Karachi “The damage is massive due to the Biblical proportions (of the flood) A similar flood, I believe, decimated Mohinjo Daro thousands of years ago,” Akhund told Anadolu Agency “The rains and floods almost damaged everything in days that we had restored for years,” he added Furthermore major damage to the archaeological treasure has occurred in Balochistan, which is home to several archaeological sites over 5,000 years old, as a result of weeks long torrential rains and floods Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Panah Baloch, a researcher and historian based in the provincial capital of Quetta, observed that the latest floods have ruined many “already neglected” archaeological sites across Balochistan He noted that the most recent floods worsened the damage that soil erosion had already done to the 9,000 year old Mahargarh site in Balochistan’s eastern Naseerabad district Several historic forts and tombs dating back over 4,000 years, including Perak and Noshehra, have also been damaged in the districts of Naseerabad, Khuzdar, Saurab, and Naal, he said In contrast, archaeology sites across Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, which borders neighboring Afghanistan, remain largely safe despite massive rains and flash floods There are no major losses to the archaeology and heritage sites in KP with the exception of the destruction of roads leading to these sites,” said Fawad Khan, an official with the provincial archaeology department Speaking to Anadolu Agency, he said that unlike in Sindh and Balochistan, the floods have basically damaged the population and infrastructure located near the rivers and streams The province is home to 70 percent of the sites in the country sacred to Sikhs and Buddhists Once known as the heart of the Gandhara civilisation, Takht i Bhai (throne of origins), a small scenic town located some 160 kilometers (99 miles) from the capital Islamabad, is the most visited site by Buddhists, who flock to see the ancient monastery dating back to the 1st century AD
Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani, chief secretary of Gilgit Baltistan, arrived in Chilas city of the picturesque re gion to assess first hand the damage caused by historic floods and to review the rescue and rehabil itation efforts in the Diamer district He was accompanied by Works, Home and Fi nance secretaries On the occasion, Diamer deputy commissioner briefed Wani about the damage and progress on the rehabilitation measures The official said the people hit by the floods have been provided food and relief goods Wani assured the victims of every possible assis tance from the regional government to rehabilitate them and restore the damaged infrastructure In order to ensure effective utilisation of the re sources, a team of Food and Information Technology secretaries with assistance from the Planning and De velopment Department and Finance divisions will visit Darel Valley and Tangir sub divisions to verify the information shared by the respective departments “The flood victims were being compensated as per government policies said Wani PROGRESS: He also reviewed the progress on de cisions he took during his previous visits to Diamer These included the provision of quality human re source (HR) to schools and colleges and RHQ Hos
Health experts have warned that the dengue virus could take the shape of an epi demic if measures such as spraying insecti cides were not taken On the other hand, Islamabad reported 22 dengue cases during the past 24 hours, the district health officer (DHO) informed Amid monsoon season, the cases of the mosquito borne disease have surged in the fed eral capital According to the statistics shared the DHO Islamabad, 22 dengue cases have been reported in the federal capital, out of which 17 were reported in rural and 5 in urban areas The DHO Islamabad said so far 163 cases have been reported in rural and 51 cases in the urban areas, while one patient died of it
KARACHI a n a D o l u ag e n c y
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has released Rs7 bil lion for the construction of the Swat Motorway Phase 2 project The provincial government is constructing the project under Public Private Partnership (PPP) for which it has signed an agree ment with the construction firm, ZKB The project’s construction will cost PKR 38bn of which the company will spend PKR 24bn while the provincial will provide PKR 14bn It may be mentioned here that the KP Finance Department had rejected the provision of funds for the project, citing the province’s current financial difficulties The department had also added that various systems have been dis rupted by floods in most of the dis tricts, requiring billions of rupees to restore According to sources in the Finance Department, the KP government is facing a financial deficit of PKR 20 billion However, the provincial gov ernment instructed the Finance Department to release the funds to the construction firm, including a loan of PKR 2 billion The Swat Motorway Phase 2 will be under the control of the con struction firm for 30 years accord ing to the agreement After 11 years, the company will give the provincial government a 10% share of the profit earned from toll plazas K P re l e a s e s R s 7 b fo r p h a s e - I I o f Swat M o to r way
The biometric system will now reportedly be put on halt for three months from 11th September to 11th December to facilitate the registration of older vehicles and motorcycles A total of 177 000 registrations are expected to be made which will generate PKR15 billion for the department The biometric system was introduced by the department on 11th January with the aim to computerise Pakistan s 50 year old records of vehicles and motorcycles It will be active again in January 2023; to be reintroduced in phases with full implementation reported to be complete by June 2023
The reintroduction of the manual system is expected to lead to an uptick in sales across the second hand market for vehicles and motorcycles
KARACHI/ ISLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t
pital, Procurement of MRI machines, and provision of Rescue 1122 equipment Wani was delighted to see that 37 teachers have been appointed to augment the HR in schools He was informed the health department posted six medical of ficers and two specialist doctors in the hospital Projects for the provision of missing facilities in schools and colleges are also at an advanced stage, in addition to the establishment of a new hostel to re tain female instructors and doctors based in Chilas in their home city Meanwhile, his office said Wani took stern notice of the absence of field staff from peripheries He di rected the Finance secretary to investigate the matter and, if found guilty, penalise them as per law He also directed to pay death compensation of Rs1 million apiece to the heirs of the people who died in the floods i e f s e c re t a r y rev i ews re s c u e e ffo r t s i n fl o o d - h i t a re a s
The Punjab Excise Taxation and Narcotics Control department has suspended biometric verification for the registration and transfer of vehicles and motorcycles for three months across the province due to issues arising in the shift from the old manual registration system to biometric The system has come to a halt because of complications regarding registration and transfer of older vehicles and motorcycles The older manual registration system was completely replaced with the biometric registration system for older vehicles and motorcycles in April of this year However, the records for older vehicles and motorcycles had not been computerised, thus leading to delays in registration
The Sindh Health officials fear an imminent dengue outbreak as 76 new dengue cases have been reported during the past 24 hours, taking total number of dengue cases to 787 in the provincial metropolis so far in the cur rent season According to Sindh Health Department, a total of 78 dengue cases have been reported in the province amid water from heavy floods and rainfall is stagnating throughout the province The department said the dengue cases in Sindh reached to 839, of which majority of 787 cases were reported in Karachi
D e n g u e c a s e s o n r i s e i n K a r a c h i , I s l a m a b a d PESHAWAR a z i z B u n e r
GILGIT s ta f f r e p o r t
G B c h
If the ruling coalition or the establishment decides to put Khan behind bars, it is likely that the former prime minister will resor t to a call for public agitation, which could lead to greater disorder and violence in the country which is already polarized a Letter from Prometheus agha haroon
Another flood problem T h e floods have been destructive beyond imagination The problems of relief and rehabilitation are immense But the United Nations Family Population Fund has reported that there are an estimated 650,000 women who are expecting mothers with 73 000 expected to deliver next month in the flood affected areas While many of them have added the difficulty of displacement to their condition, some have remained at home All have lost access to healthcare facilities, which have been washed away There is a need to bring these facilities back to their access on an emergency basis Apart from prioritizing the reconstruction of the lost facilities, the question of staffing, always problematic even at the best of times, will arise At this juncture, it can only be met by volunteer doctors and nurses, even if they not specialist obstetricians or obstetric nurses One of the most important components of perinatal care is the examination both physical and by ultrasound These facilities must be provided The areas facing the worst of the flood damage are also areas where perinatal care has made relatively small advances only recently There is the danger of these advances being lost because of the floods The floods have been bad enough But is it necessary to raise a generation that is flood affected even before birth? That is what will happen if this problem is tossed to one side This is working on the assumption that none of the expecting mothers experiences any complications, which is a statistical impossibility A displaced persons’ camp is not at all the best place to handle an obstetric emergency It should not be forgotten that one of the purposes of regular examinations is to predict such emergencies, and avert them if possible Both examinations and emergencies require places where they can take place, as do the most normal deliveries, in which nothing goes wrong The future must be sacrificed, which is what will happen if this problem is not given the attention it deserves
P l i t i c s a m o n g t h e f l o o d w a t e r s
I am carrying the burden of “courage to know” for the last 40 years and have paid a heavy cost for this conviction My memory lane passed through the Oval, the Logia, and cool corridors of the old building, and ends at room number 34 where I had my first class in Government College (GC) Lahore which was a lecture of english and my first teacher in government college was Karimuddin Sheikh he was the man who injected the college motto of “Courage to Know” into me that led me to explore whatever I did not know and this probe is still continued Knowing that awareness is a curse and ig norance is a blessing, the quest for knowledge does not stop once someone tastes its pleasure The courage to know helps us to accept the real ity that there are situations we cannot change but also provides us the courage to change the things we can change and the wisdom to know the difference be tween what we can change and what we cannot My career in journalism started before I left Gov ernment College in 1989 having a degree in political philosophy the first decade in journalism I tried to un derstand the philosophy of politics in Pakistan, and the next decade I spent accepting the acrimonious authen ticity I found in the quest for the courage to know what drives politicians to join politics; bureaucrats to join the bureaucracy; an army official officer to opt for the duty to protect the motherland a police officer to choose uniform and a judicial official to join the judi ciary Whenever you meet anybody who serves the power delegated by the State, he or she will usually tell you that he or she joined the power grid of the State in a quest to serve the country Fewer of them will accept that power is all the more cunning because its primary forms can change in response to our efforts to free ourselves from its grip and the effort to free ourselves from its grip lures us to get more power Lord Acton, a British historian of the late 19 h century said that power corrupts; absolute power cor rupts absolutely In the last four decades, I attended countless weddings of children of politicians, bureau crats, army Generals, and judges that made them Ssamdhis (relatives of the child’s spouse) of each other According to my understanding, they moved forward to consolidate already attained power When we study the “philosophy of power” as a student, we are taught that the philosophy of power is based on recognition of the dominance of law and uniformity in society however, things are otherwise in reality because we see powerful individuals and groups are denying dominance of law and uniformity in society To understand philosophical aspects of power, we should study the diversity of philosophical thoughts on power From Plato’s Philosopher King to Thomas hobbes’s State Power, even philosophers be lieve that power has the essences of sovereignty, uni fied control and monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force French philosopher Paul Michel Foucault while explaining Thomas hobbes’s State Power dynamics says that the monopoly of the legitimate use of phys ical power is a real force of violence in the world, and not only state violence but corporate violence due to enormous condensations of capital In Pakistan, the monopoly of legitimate use of physical power is being shared with groups and even individuals by the State The State provides legitimacy to powerful groups and individuals to exhibit and use physical power and the simplest example is the private security and guard system allowed by the State to gated housing societies and to powerful individuals roaming on road with their security guards while exhibiting the latest weapons and harassing common people In the process of delegating “legitimate monopoly of physical power” to individu als and powerful groups the State itself is becoming weaker day by day, though the State itself is run by these powerful groups and individuals directly or in directly One can say there is a fallacy of thought in this statement but actually, there is not if we keep the connotation and denotation of the definition of the State in our minds There are two most popular definitions of the State (though there are hundreds of definitions for the modern state) The first definition says that a state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory The second most popular is that a State is a polity that maintains a monopoly on the legitimate use of violence Now we understand that the State is a face less entity while individuals and groups have names and faces but they maintain a monopoly on power and they have been legitimized by the State to use this power Pakistan’s social system supports individuals to get hold over the two major and the foremost institu tions of the State Thana (Police Station) and Kutchery (courts of law) and pressure groups have become so strong that they want to dictate courts for giving decisions of their choice and that we have seen in the Imran Khan Contempt of Court Case Today’s State of Pakistan is not faceless it has faces like Mr A, Mr B, Group A, and Group B Moreover, the discrepancies among the popula tion, the strength of law enforcement agencies, and the strength of the judiciary are unbelievable No State can ensure its writ over 222 million people with only 936,000 serving Armed Forces and 397,364 police men On the other hand the unofficial/unconfirmed strength of private security guards provided by regis tered security agencies is over 3 2 million and if we add the strength of unregistered and personal security guards then the figure can jump to 4 million Figures indicate that individuals and groups are stronger than the State if we talk about security issues The judicial system in Pakistan has an exception ally low strength as the Supreme Court of Pakistan has 17 judges Lahore high Court has 50 Sindh high Court has 25, Peshawar high Court has 15 and Balochistan high Court has 6 Districts & Sessions Judges/Senior Civil Judges & Civil Judges are 649 in Punjab, 390 in Sindh, 177 in KPK, and 125 in Baluchistan The private sector (Individuals and groups) has al ready taken over the control of other services usually linked with the responsibility of the State like the health sector education sector housing sector and transport sector I fear any group or individual can come forward and say that there is no State of Pakistan and I am afraid that institutions of the State would not have an appropriate response to contest this claim Failed States Collapsed States Weak States: Causes and Indicators by Robert Irwin Rotberg indi cates that states fail because of many reasons including internal violence failure in delivering positive political goods to their inhabitants, and losing their legitimacy as an umbrella of protecting the population from social, economic legal and physical exploitation of powerful individuals or groups Are we moving ahead to this sit uation or have we already reached there?
T h e filing of terrorism charges against for mer Prime Minister Imran Khan has in creased the political temperature in Pakistan more than ever Khan’s government was brought down by a no confidence motion earlier this spring by a broad coalition of opposition parties however, his ouster may also have been due to declining support from the establishment, includ ing the other powerful circles of the country Nonetheless Khan has managed to weave a nar rative around his political downfall, claiming that he was overthrown by a foreign conspiracy which had ejected a Pakistani prime minister who disagreed on some international issues and who wanted to make foreign policy free from the influence of major pow ers Khan has skillfully exploited years of anti US sentiment built up within the country as a result of the US military presence in Afghanistan Khan has cited remarks from a conversation be tween the outgoing Pakistani ambassador to the US and a senior State Department official as evidence of the foreign conspiracy against him The latter said that in such circumstances it will be difficult for the USA to rebuild relations with Pakistan under the lead ership of Imran Khan As Pakistan struggles to cope with an economic crisis that has seen inflation rise to un sustainable levels, current rulers are eager to secure in ternational debt issuance to prevent economic collapse Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been holding mass rallies and rallies calling for early elections to capitalize on his regained popularity in an at tempt to form a government for another term Khan and his supporters have been using inflammatory rhetoric and harsh language, not only accusing political opponents of collusion with foreign powers however, the estab lishment has also rejected these allegations The elec tion Commission has declared Khan s party guilty of receiving illegal funding from foreign countries Khan is contesting the decision in court, which could poten tially lead to a total ban on him and his political party however instead of retreating Khan is moving forward A senior political adviser to Khan was re cently arrested on charges of treason for advising sol diers and officers on a television channel to disobey “illegal orders” from the military leadership And al legedly, he was also subjected to torture Khan gave another speech late last week in which he threatened the police and a female judge with arrest and torture of his political aide The threat has led to fresh alle gations against Khan This time a case has been reg istered under the country’s strict anti terrorism law, in which Khan has also received a three day bail Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf Party workers gather out side his residence to possibly prevent his arrest The government of Pakistan also banned the live broadcast of any speech of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, though the courts later re versed the ban The current political situation has be come quite dangerous and the country is suffering from political and economic insta bility And on the other hand, the country is suffering from heavy rains and floods In such a situation, the country is in dire need of unity and political stability in order to help the flood af fected persons and cope with the after effects of this disaster Because the reha bilitation of the flood vic tims after the flood will be a challenge, that requires more unity and endurance than chaos and instability If the ruling coalition or the establishment decides to put Khan behind bars, it is likely that the former prime minister will resort to a call for public agitation, which could lead to greater disorder and violence in the country which is already polarized This situation can cause more damage that the country cannot afford Therefore, patience and tolerance must be shown on both sides so that the flood victims’ wounds can be healed and recovery made possible
o
D r M u h a M M a D a k r a M Z a h e e r The State is transferring ‘Legitimate Monopoly of Physical Power’ to individuals P o l i t i c a l t e m p e r a t u r e a n d f l o o d A p o l a r i ze d c o u n t r y f a c e s f l o o d s 06-07 Comments - 5th September 2022_Layout 1 9/5/2022 12:21 AM Page 1
06 Monday 5 September 2022 COMMENT Lahore Ph: 042 36300938, 042 36375965 I K arachi Ph: 021 35381208 9 I Islamabad Ph: 051 2204545 I Web: www pakistantoday com pk I Email: editorial@pakistantoday com pk
H i nt at p o s t p o n i n g Lo n g M a rc h a s i g n t h at I m ra n h a s at l a s t re a l i ze d h ow w ro n g h i s o p t i c s a re A p a r t f ro m o t h e r p ro b l e m s o f d i s p l a ce m e nt, t h e re a re a n e s t i m ate d 6 5 0 , 0 0 0 ex p e c t i n g wo m e n Yousaf Nizami Editor Dedicated to the legac y of late Hameed Nizami Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor M A Niazi Joint Editor Umar Aziz Executive Editor Aziz ud Din Ahmad Joint Editor
The writer is an international award winning journalist who has been in the field since 1988 and appears in national and international media as analyst and political scientist
The writer has a PhD in Political Science and can be reached at akramzaheer86@yahoo com Is the state abdicating its responsibilit y?
Iqrar
P TI chief Imran Khan had earlier seemed not to realize that the country was being buffeted by record floods he had continued with a rally programme that saw him threaten in Gujrat to take another long march to Islamabad Though there has been no contradiction of this, former Interior Minister Sh Rashid Ahmad has said that the long march will be held after the flooding is under control The floods have made Mr Khan ready to mould his political programme around them It is likely that the Jhelum rally some days ago, which was thinly attended because of the flood warnings given because there was a surge passing though at that time, may have convinced Mr Khan that the floods could interfere with his programme however, he has not given up At long last, he is visiting South Punjab, particularly Rajanpur District and its Rojhan tehsil Of course that does not mean he will give up politics because he addressed a rally in Dring Stadium, Bahawalpur however, he has still to push the provincial governments of KP and Punjab towards more focus on the relief efforts his failure to do so has meant that these provincial governments have not really gotten on the ground with the relief effort The Balochistan and Sindh governments have not done much better, so it is not really a PTI malaise however, the PTI should be more aware than the other parties particularly those in power at the Centre that just as economic non performance is punished, so too is flooding response Whereas as the PTI will benefit from the country s current poor economic performance it might find itself wanting when people weigh up its response to the floods, both at the provincial level, in the provinces where it is in office, and at the more global level of how Mr Khan responded at the personal level If nothing else, the need to get back in office should drive Mr Khan to making more of a show of taking part in the flood relief effort than he has at the moment Mr Khan has so far not shown any sign of heeding the call of President Arif Alvi, Mr Khan’s former Secretary General, to politicians to put politics on the backburner
Realistic approach
Price of honest y
A C C O R D I N G to recent reports, finance minister is of the opinion that all commitments with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), including increase in petroleum development levy should be implemented at all costs Obviously, the minister had to take the hard, unpopular decision to take the country out of the quagmire he found it in and all decisions in any case are finalised by the prime minister after consultation with the federal cabinet So, what is the point of being critical against an individual?
Barbarians
S R H HASHMI KARACHI
I have seen on television and movies, but never have I been a part of what I personally witnessed recently; an encounter that will always stay in my mind It happened recently in the main business hub of Karachi My daughter, visiting from the United Kingdom, and my little granddaughter were with me in my car We went to I I Chundrigar Road to pick up my husband from his office As we reached the traffic signal at the Shaheen Complex on our way back, suddenly out of nowhere this mob with sticks and stones charged towards the main road on which we were standing We were horrified and frozen with fear I was terrified to see this happening to us, especially when my three year old granddaughter was with me, crying and clinging on to her mother
A F T e R almost three years Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh hasina is going to Delhi again on a state visit on Sep tember 5 (today) Prime Minister Sheikh hasina’s visit is very signifi cant in India Bangladesh bilateral relations The Modi government also wants to give special im portance to this visit Because in the changing geopolitical situation, New Delhi considers Dhaka its most trusted friend On September 6, the two Prime Ministers will have a private meeting and a delegation level meeting Sheikh hasina will address major business meetings like the Indian Chamber of Commerce the next day, September 7 She will present the picture of how both parties can benefit if Indians invest in Bangladesh The next day she will return to Dhaka via Ajmer Sharif Why is this visit of Prime Minister Sheikh h a s i n a s o i m p o r t a n t ? T h e t e m p o r a r y p o w e r s h o r t a g e i n B a n g l a d e s h i s g o i n g t o e n d a s B a n g l a d e s h s l a rg e s t t h e r m a l p o w e r p r o j e c t ‘ M a i t r i ’ i s g o i n g t o b e i n a u g u r a t e d d u r i n g h e r v i s i t t o I n d i a D e s p i t e c o n s i d e r a b l e ‘ p r e s s u r e ’ f r o m t h e B a n g l a d e s h g o v e r n m e n t , t h e Te e s t a water distribution agreement could not be im p l e m e n t e d m a i n l y d u e t o t h e o b j e c t i o n o f We s t B e n g a l C h i e f M i n i s t e r M a m a t a B a n e r j e e T h i s t i m e t h e r e w i l l b e s i g n i f i c a n t p r o g r e s s , i f n o t t o t a l The demand for wheat in Bangladesh is in creasing In this situation the Modi government has given permission to export wheat through the hili border in Dinajpur It should be remem bered that this will be her last visit to India be fore the upcoming elections in Bangladesh As a result, India will not return Sheikh hasina empty handed During Sheikh hasina’s visit this time, there is a bright possibility of finalizing the trade agreement called CePA (Comprehensive eco nomic Partnership Agreement) between the two countries Prime Minister Sheikh hasina re cently approved the draft of this agreement in the cabinet meeting Now she is just waiting for India to agree on this It is being touted as a landmark agreement for free and duty free trade in hundreds of goods between India and Bangladesh If this is the joint testing service, one stop service will be launched It will increase investment As a result, ex ports will increase by $3 $5 billion beyond the
I am shocked to learn that the Sindh government would deduct five days’ salary of all its employees in grade 17 and above Being a government servant’s wife, who manages domestic affairs, I know how I manage to pay the utility bills education fees of children groceries medicine, etc There has been unprecedented hyperinflation, and prices of every household item have increased so much that it has become difficult to manage the household budget in a limited salary My husband is an honest government officer, and we do not rely on any other illegal source of income and means We are not alone because the families of all such government employees are facing the same situation The government’s decision to deduct salary is not justified and will create a lot of problems for the officers who are performing their duties honestly It is true that there are black sheep, and officers involved in corruption do make money through illegal means The government decision to deduct salary will hardly make any impact upon them But what about the rest of us? If the Sindh government thinks that all government employees have illegal sources of income and a deduction of five days net salary will not be an issue, it is sadly mistaken This is injustice, and nothing but punishment for being honest MRS SADIA QAZI KARACHI
The two ruling coalition leaders hardly sound convincing in their criticism of the option to go for the bitter pill for a disease that has been caused by mismanagement over the last many decades during which they, the two leaders concerned have themselves been in power The two leaders throwing tantrums and expressing opposition to the finance minister, who is doing a commendable job in seriously trying circumstances is just too much to digest What one can find fault with, however, is another decision by the federal government Though there is a lack of clarity on the matter, privatisation of some loss making public sector entities is on the cards
07 Monday, 5 September, 2022 COMMENT
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh hasina gave a message to the country s hindu community on Janmashtami before her visit to India She said, ‘Don’t think of yourself as a minority All people have equal rights in Bangladesh regardless of caste and religion ’ The Bangladesh government has requested $4 5 billion in assistance from the IMF econo mists say that the increase in the price of oil and gas, machinery and raw materials in the interna tional market has created a huge pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves Bangladesh approached the IMF donors to han dle that pressure Last year, Bangladesh s for eign exchange reserves were $45 5 billion, but by July 20, they had dropped to $37 67 billion In addition to the increase in the prices of fuel oil gas and food products in the international market, imports have increased a lot Bangladesh has not faced such economic problems with foreign exchange for the last decade, because both remittances and exports have done more or less well during this period But now due to the situation that has developed in the world, there is a negative impact on remit tances exports are good but the rate at which imports have in creased has created pressure on the balance of payments Bangladesh s infrastruc ture is improving rap idly Now it’s time to set up various industries In that case in order to get raw mate rials and technical as sistance quickly and cheaply, India will have to enter into some kind of financial agree ment, which is not de pendent on dollars Bangladesh and India are gradually moving in that direction, only at this moment the leaders and ministers of the two countries need to be helpful to each other in tackling the crisis c h n i c a l a s s i s t a n c e q u i ck l y a n d c h e a p l y, I n d i a w i l l h a v e t o e n t e r i n t o s o m e k i n d o f f i n a n c i a l a g r e e m e n t , w h i c h i s n o t d e p e n d e n t o n d o l l a r s B a n g l a d e s h a n d I n d i a a r e g r a d u a l l y m ov i n g i n t h a t d i r e c t i o n , o n l y a t t h i s m o m e n t t h e l e a d e r s a n d m i n i s t e r s o f t h e t wo c o u n t r i e s n e e d t o b e h e l p f u l t o e a c h o t h e r i n t a ck l i n g t h e c r i s i s Fi n a n ce, wate r ke y i s s u e s
The federal government is said to have hurriedly passed the Inter Governmental Commercial Transactions Act ostensibly to facilitate trouble free sale of state owned assets or shares therein to attract foreign investment that is desperately needed The Act provides that henceforth, by issuing a notification, the federal government can exempt any agreement from regulatory compliance Moreover, no court should entertain an application, petition or suit against any process or act undertaken or done, intended or purported to be undertaken or done under the ordinance Also, no court should grant an injunction or entertain any application for injunction against any process undertaken, intended or purported to be undertaken for a commercial transaction or agreement under the ordinance We know that after the Reko Diq disaster, adequate protection was needed to attract foreign investment but the Act seems to be taking the matter a bit too far And we know that one of the two leaders cited above is based abroad, and the other is spending time abroad for some time We also know that years ago, efforts were made to sell Roosevelt hotel for much less than what estate developers were offering at the time With all this background that our ‘leading’ politicians have, it is clearly not advisable to trust them, or those like them, with such unbridled powers anymore
My husband took the wheel and my driver jumped out to stop the miscreants from putting barricades and remove the stones they had put under the car so we could not move Thankfully my driver acted with great speed and made the attackers back off Slowly but surely our car moved at a snail’s pace I felt compunction for the ones who were behind us and were not as lucky to get out of this hostile aggression The mob looked really charged and I saw the lone traffic constable running away for cover from his duty What do we unarmed civilians do in such a time of overwhelming frenzy A Third World country is what we will always be I felt ashamed as my beloved country is being tattered and torn by vultures who have nothing to do with our culture due to lack of education and guidance I wonder if we will ever get out of this rut I shudder to think what would have happened had any one of them hurled a stone or smashed the car ’s windscreen with the sticks in their hands The next day I heard the mob was protesting against loadshedding and inflated electricity bills People think they can achieve their targets if they go violent This in itself is naiveté of the highest order E d i t o r ’ s m a i l S e n d y o u r l e t t e r s t o : L e t t e r s t o E d i t o r Pakistan Today 4 S h a a re y F a t i m a J i n n a h L a h o re P a k i s t a n E m a i l : l e t t e r s @ p a k i s t a n t o d a y c o m p k L e t t e r s s h o u l d b e a d d re s s e d t o Pakistan Today e x c l u s i v e l y
The writer is a free lance columnist B a n g l a d e s h P M ’ s u p c o m i n g I n d i a v i s i t t o b e p i v o t a l D r a r P I ta h a Z a r I k a To g e t r a w m a t e r i a l s a n d t e
06-07 Comments - 5th September 2022_Layout 1 9/5/2022 12:21 AM Page 2
TASNEEM ALLIBHOY THARIA KARACHI
current $1 28 billion After the signing of the CePA agreement if the trade barriers are re moved, the import picture of Bangladesh will also change As most of India’s products and services are compatible with Bangladesh s economy and culture, and due to low transportation costs and time savings, Bangladeshi importers will turn to India instead of Far eastern countries for the same products Then the amount of imports from India will increase In that case, the current im port of $7 billion will increase by $4 $7 billion Before Sheikh hasina’s visit, a ministerial meeting of the Joint River Commission (JRC) was held in Delhi on August 25 On August 23, JRC secretary level meeting was held It discussed the water sharing agreement of Manu, Dharla, Khoai, Muhuri, Gomti and Dudhkumar rivers In this the issue of finalizing the Memoran dum of Understanding (MoU) on the withdrawal of Kushiara river water becomes important Bangladesh wants to use Kushiara water to facil itate the cultivation of 5 thousand acres of land in Sylhet This would require India s permission to withdraw water from the same river Besides, the Ganga water sharing agreement will expire in 2026 There is supposed to be a joint survey for maxi mum utilization of this common river water After more than a cen tury, the meeting of the Joint Rivers Commis sion (JRC) of the two countries is being held in Delhi The matters agreed by the JRC in terms of water sharing or water management of several important com mon rivers of the two countries will be ful filled in the meeting of the two Prime Minis ters This time, the ques tion is Will the Chief Minister of West Ben gal, who has held back the Tista Agreement, come and meet Sheikh hasina in the capital during her visit to Delhi? The central gov ernment of India has in vited her as per rules
08 WORLD VIEW 5th September 22_Layout 1 9/4/2022 8:25 PM Page 1
U S I C provides a powerful means of shaping emotion and even actions Most of the times, that’s a positive A pop ular song can bring a group of strangers together in a shared experience In times of uncertainty a good song can be an outlet for fears and frustration In the wake of the overturning of Roe v Wade pop stars helped give voice to the anger many Ameri cans felt about the loss of an important civil right for women Pop star Olivia Rodrigo dedicated her Glastonbury performance of Lily Allen s F*** You (with Allen) to the members of the Supreme Court who voted to end Roe protections historically, songs were employed by labor unions to create a sense of solidarity and move labor rights forward against over whelming odds If music can be a salve and a rallying cry is the opposite true? history confirms this to be the case I want to share three examples from global pop music his tory First white power punk bands emerged from the UK and US in the 1980s Later that same decade also saw the emergence of tur bofolk in the Balkans which became the soundtrack of a violent strain of genocidal nationalism in the Yugoslav wars More re cently a genre of music known as hindutva pop found a ready and eager audience among the far right members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Prime Minis ter ’s Nerendra Modi’s political party Punks in the 1980s and early 1990s dealt with racially motivated violence in their scenes As far back as the late 1970s, some white supremacist elements embraced punk In the first British wave of punk right wingers were attracted by well known punks like Sid Vicious wearing a swastika shirt When Manchester band Joy Division rose to prominence, their name and early album art work came from the history of the holo caust Their shows sometimes attracted people who would seig heil during their per formances In the 1980s, as the skinhead movement globalized, the racist wing of the movement made their presence known at punk shows Racist skinheads sometimes known as “bone heads” to differentiate them from anti racist skins, would wreak havoc at shows and make them far less fun eventu ally, some punks had enough and started to push back Over the course of the 1980s, some punks took steps to make racists (and other bigots) feel unwelcome in punk spaces It was certainly a factor in creating a more political strain of punk over this period In places like Portland Oregon, the violence caused by white power skins drove a left wing turn in the counter cultural life of the city, as described by the podcast It Did hap pen here however, the rejection of these hatemongers by the majority of punk scenes reinforced an underground translocal white power movement, especially in english speaking countries US Canada South Africa, and Australia Leaders in the white supremacist movement such as William Pierce saw an opportunity to bring in young recruits willing to use violence against peo ple opposed to a white supremacist society In 1999 he bought Resistance Records to ac cess an already existing global white power music scene According to Justin harlan, the label was founded in 1993 by George Burdi who took inspiration from the DIY ethos of the hardcore punk scene Pierce bought a controlling stake in the label after Burdi re formed his racial views and abandoned the label Pierce was aware of the power aggres sive music could have as a recruitment tool The early 90s Australian film Romper Stom pers connected music with cementing social ties among racist skinheads Robert Forbes and eddie Stampton con nected music to the growth of the white power movement in their history of racist skinhead movement in the UK and US Kirsten Dyck also published a recent study of the white power music scene Few tools proved as powerful for recruitment as music, as these authors show Yugoslavia gives us another example from around the same period In his study of the rise of Serbian nationalism eric Gordy il lustrated how any alternatives to that nation alism were systematically wiped out on all levels including in popular music Irony drove the formation of turbofolk at first The genre originates with Antoniji Pušić, better known as Rambo Amadeus he played in some bands in high school in the late 1970s, but began to make a serious go of a career in the late 1980s with his first album O tugo je senja he combined jazz, funk, some hip hop, and Balkan folk music, dubbing his style “tur bofolk his second album hoćme Gusle in cluded the single Balkan Boj, which parodied the rise of Serbian nationalist sentiment that was growing in the late 1980s In it Amadeus plays a provincial musician swept up in the music industry and enjoying the high life his unique mix of American pop styles with local folks would not remain platform for political parody Soon other musicians began to imitate him, but without the satiri cal underpinnings According to Gordy, Slo bodan Milošević regime appropriated the genre and embraced it as the music of his na tionalist movement during the wars in Yu goslavia Natasa Franzisca Ivanovic discussed some of the more well known tur bofolk artists in an article for Post Pravda This includes the wildly popular (and con troversial) Ceca who married Željko Ražnatović or Arkan a man who likely would have been tried for war crimes had he survived the war Turbofolk was em braced by the various militias that made up the Republika Srpska Army during the Bosn ian war One of the major themes of these songs was the memeable “remove kebab” that targeted Muslims According to Balsa Lubarda, the songs are still embraced today by members of the far right that target Mus lims in other contexts such as the Christchurch shooting in 2019 More re cently the genre has been embraced by more than genocidal nationalists according to eu rovicious writing for the Calvert Journal They argue that since 2000, musicians work ing in the genre have embraced female em powerment, [and] queer performativity ” The author explored these themes in an extended series at Balkanist in 2014 One wonders if the genre can ever fully leave behind its con nections to acts of genocide, even if the more recent performers promote a more complex and inclusive Serbian identity Another genre rising in popularity among nationalist in India is hindutva pop, a genre that combines hindu praise music with na tionalist politics of the BJP Writing in Al Jazeera, Quratulain Rehbar noted the Islamophobic nature of the genre, something it shares with the Bosnian War era turbofolk Rehbar traces the rise of the genre back to the rise of Nerendra Modi in 2014 Songs in the genre often distort the long, shared history of Muslims and hindus in the subcontinent, pre ferring a myth of nationalist hindu purity She quotes a song by Prem Krishnavanshi calling some Muslims “butchers ” Some songs include genocidal threats against Mus lims which Krishnavanshi dismisses argu ing that his “music signifies truth ” Another performer of the genre, Laxmi Dubey, em braced the BJP in part due to its embrace of hindu nationalism Some hindu nationalists call for removal of all Muslims to Pakistan or face death Brahma Prakash argued that the music “has changed the pattern of reli gious violence in India ” Religious riots are now disconnected from an individual leader stirring up violence in a specific context, but can happen in almost any context thanks to these songs It removes the need for an insti gator Prakash draws parallels to the music created by the Nazis in the 1930s Religious violence is on the rise in India generally aimed at Indian Muslims The music trades in Islamophobia, helps keep the BJP in power and is deepening the already deep di vide between religious groups, primarily at the expense of the Muslim community Should forms of music that promote su premacy, hatred, and even outright genocide be banned? The experience with hatecore seems to indicate that it often just makes the music more attractive, as it takes on a for bidden quality Nor is it clear that the music itself creates adherents to these genocidal causes Rather, people already attracted to these ideologies embrace the music as their soundtrack Facing hateful propaganda and acts of violence head on provides one re sponse that can be effective, such as was the case in Portland Oregon in the 1980s with racist skinheads The task of changing minds proves far more difficult when a government plays a role In the case of Yugoslavia, the level of genocidal violence of the wars helped some to see through the propaganda, but even now, the war era turbofolk still seems to have a fanbase and not just in the Balkans The stakes seem especially high in India, with two nuclear armed powers saber rattling and supporting acts of violence against religious minorities One thing is for sure, while many dismiss mass culture as trivial in the study of history we can see that instead, the music we embrace can be pow erful signals to others about the values we hold Music can save lives and end them va p o p s lO b O da n m i lO š e v i ć r e g i m e a p p r O p r i at e d t h e g e n r e a n d e m b r ac e d i t as t h e m u s i c O f h i s n at i O n a l i s t m Ov e m e n t d u r i n g t h e wa r s i n y u g O s l av i a
T h e revolt of 1857 must surely count as one of the most important political events in 19th century world history For a brief few months, a rag tag band of soldiers and civilians took on the greatest superpower in the world, and almost managed to pull off one of the greatest revolutions in history The revolt formally began when the soldiers of the British barracks at Meerut revolted against their venal bosses, and took over the cantonment on May 10, 1857 They then rode to Delhi, and impossibly, overpowered the British fort at Mehrauli Moving quickly to the Red Fort, they announced an independent nation, under the sovereignship of Bahadur Shah Zafar, destined to be India’s last non colonial ruler The octogenarian monarch was initially uneasy at this sudden recoronation, but eventually warmed up to the rustic “Purabias ” the denizens from the east who car ried with them the frustration of a century of British ex ploitation that began with Siraj ud Daulah s defeat at the hands of Robert Clive in the Battle of Plassey in 1757 The military revolt, it appeared, had the backing of the peasantry across the Indo Gangetic plains as well as the indigenous nobility The former were being starved of their agricultural output in the name of a brutal taxa tion regime, while the latter were alarmed at the manner in which the east India Company was ousting many of their peers in the name of rulings such as the infamous “Doctrine of Lapse” THE FIRST WAR OF INDEPENDENCE: Using that arbitrary law, the east India Company, led by Lord Dal housie, annexed several Indian princely states, most no tably the kingdom of Jhansi in 1854 In 1856 India s most prosperous state, Awadh, was taken over by the Company, without even the fig leaf of the doctrine The revolt which would in hindsight be referred to as India s First War of Independence, was thus foretold by several decades of oppression The British responded to this act of defiance by the re bellious soldiers with startling brutality Using state of the art cannonry, they indiscriminately bombed Delhi for months, eventually taking the city over on the 21st of Sep tember 1857 The preceding four months of conflict had led to several British casualties, and the vengeance minded conquerors unleashed unprecedented fury upon the city Over 1,400 residents of Delhi were massacred on a single day in the locality of Kucha Chelan alone Rebels were tied to the mouths of cannons, which were then fired Mass hangings on peepul trees on the banks of the Yamuna were a common sight The advancing army de stroyed several buildings in the Red Fort and the walled city of Shahjahanabad Cruelty it appeared was the point Some of the worst reprisals were visited upon the large extended family of Bahadur Shah Zafar The Red Fort and an adjacent fort in Salimgarh had housed sev eral families related either to the king himself or the de scendants of his predecessors (known in local parlance as the salaatin) The British forces killed several male members of Zafar ’s household, most notably his two sons Mirza Mughal and Mirza Khizr Sultan and his grandson Mirza Abu Bakr who were stripped naked and shot at a gate of the city that still bears the name “Khooni Darwaza (blood soaked gate) The rest of the family was either exiled to Rangoon with the monarch, or more commonly, driven out into the hinterland Unaccustomed to surviving by their wits, many perished The others ended up eking out sorry livings con cealing their royal identity, which had quickly transformed from a mark of pride to an insult Women were sold into slavery children were taken from their mothers embrace by anyone who cared to, and the Mughal empire dissolved into the atmosphere like smoke from a pyre THE PLIGHT OF THE WOMEN: In 1922 a writer named Khwaja hasan Nizami published a book titled Begumat Ke Aansoo (Tears of the Ladies) Nizami was a popular figure in Delhi having written several books and essays he was a polymath of sorts, part Sufi, part essayist, and had even made a name as a satirist his se rious works also included a few tracts on the 1857 rebel lion, but Begumat ke Aansoo broke new ground, offering stark testimonials from actual members of the Mughal household about their suffering in the aftermath of 1857 Nizami collected the testimonials over years and his book lays out in stark detail the suffering of a number of individuals, many of them women The stories of their plight are harrowing and granular, each tale with its own specificity Many of them begin with a background of an idyllic life, rudely disrupted by events the women (and some men) had no control over, and end in individualised accounts of tribulations and sorrow In a style that recalls more recent testimonial literature from Chile and Ar gentina, these stories flesh out the trauma of late 1857 Delhi in a way no historical account can A BOOK TO TREASURE: As the translator of Begu mat ke Aansoo, Rana Safvi has a historian s acumen and a storyteller ’s flair, and her rendition of Nizami’s book into english brings it to life in an accessible manner her footnotes provide valuable annotation and historical con text and at times refer to her earlier translation of Zahir Dehlavi’s account of the 1857 revolt, which she had ti tled Dastan e Ghadar (The Tale of the Mutiny, Random house 2017) The translator ’s note at the beginning of the book provides important insight, not only into the re volt itself but also to Nizami s book, which she notes, was published thirteen times by 1946 and translated into hindi, Gujarati, Kannada, Bangla and Marathi Safvi is on her way to becoming one of the most im portant contemporary historians of 19th century Delhi Be it her translation of Syed Ahmed Khan’s Asar us Sanadid (Signs of eminence), a geographical exploration of pre 1857 Delhi or her “When Stones Speak” trilogy historicising Delhi’s monuments, her work has become an important and essential part of the narrative of the last vestiges of precolonial India before the British Crown annexed the subcontinent in June 1858 Some of the stories in Nizami’s narrative take on near mythical dimensions well aided by Safvi s translation
One such story describes a woman clad in green clothing who fought alongside men in the defence of Delhi One can imagine how the story must have energised a defeated population, with its accounts of valour and sacrifice Others begin as droll love stories, such as “The Grasscutter Prince which speaks of the protagonist s flamboyant romance with, and subsequent marriage to, a woman named Durdana, before the story returns to its predictable course of death defeat and oppression with the defeat of the rebellion The earliest chapters in the book provide an understanding of the system of resi dence and cohabitation that the network of royal families produced before everything fell apart Reading all the stories together produces a heaviness in the heart; one would be best advised to consume this book in smaller doses however, each story, despite track ing similar historical grooves, is a standalone narrative Books such as Begumat ke Aansoo need to be read and remembered Rana Safvi’s translation has commendably brought Nizami’s account to a global audience In addition, her empathic translation footnotes and translator s fore word place it in an understandable context for the neophyte Raza Mir is the author of Murder at the Mushaira and Iqbal: Poet of the East Tears of the Begums: Stories of Survivors of the Uprising of 1857 Khwaja Hasan Nizami translated from the Urdu by Rana Safvi, Hachette
One Of the ma jOr themes Of these sOngs was the memeable “remOve keb ab” that tar geted muslims. accOrding tO b alsa lub arda, the sOngs are still embr aced tOday by members Of the far right that tar get muslims in Other cOntex ts, such as the christchur ch shOOting in 2019
Monday 5 September 2022 08 WORLD VIEW 3 QuarkS Daily M i n dy C l e g g m
T H e m u s i c o f H aT e : H aT e c o r e , T u r b o f o l k , a n d H i n d u T
Harrowing testimonies following the revolt
Scr oll R a z a M i R
1857
Pa k i s ta n s et s u P Pav i l i o n at C h i n a i n t ’ l Fa i r F o r t r a d e i n s e r v i C e s
ISLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t
ISLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has ded icated maximum resources for rescue and relief operations in flood affected areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Sindh, Balochistan and South Punjab The PAF helicopter fleet was actively participating in operations for airdrop of ration, medicine and critical supplies in the area whereas the PAF personnel were also extending all out support to civil administration in the rehabilita tion process of the flood affectees, a PAF media release said Deputy Chief of Air Staff Admin istration, Air Marshal Hamid Rashid Randhawa inspected PAF relief camp near Hyderabad He expressed his satisfaction on the facilities being provided to the flood affectees He also lauded the pro fessionalism of PAF Emergency Re sponse Teams for taking prompt actions and continued relief operations in far flung areas Earlier in the day, Air Officer Commanding Northern Air Command Air Vice Marshal Hakim Raza also oversaw relief activities conducted by Saidu Sharif Dett at Arak, Tehsil Matta Area locals and civil administration ap preciated PAF's relief and rehabilita tion efforts To alleviate the sufferings of flood affectees, PAF Emergency Response Teams distributed 1 853 dry ration packs, 1,960 water bottles and 11,860 cooked food packets during the last 24 hours Additionally 3,644 patients were also treated by PAF medical teams at field medical camps established by Pakistan Air Force Moreno Holdings to lay new standards for real estate in Pakistan to expedite evacuation, nav y deploys hovercrafts, helicopters in flood hit areas
ISLAMABAD: The National Flood Response & Coordination Centre (NFRCC) said on Sunday that overall 3,146 people were evacuated to safer localities including 479 trapped citizens during the past 24 hours The NFRCC stated in its press statement that the Pakistan Army engineers were making efforts to strengthen the banks of Manchar Lake For restoring the communication infrastructure and raging lakes, Peshawar Corps Engineer troops opened Bahrain Bridge which helped authorities to connect people in Swat Valley Moreover, Frontier Works Organization (FWO) along with the National Highway Authority (NHA) assisted by Rawalpindi Corps troops opened the Karakoram Highway (KKH) for light traffic The army aviation helicopters operated 307 flights and evacuated stranded citizens from different flooded areas During the last 24 hours, the army helicopters operated 31 flights and evacuated 479 people to safer localities, the NFRCC's statement read Moreover, 44 tons of rations and medicines have been transported by the army helicopters during the last 24 hours staff report
PA
09NEWS Monday 5 September 2022 | ISLAMABAD corporate corner
Japanese envoy hands over emergenc y relief goods to Pak istan
The emergency relief goods, tents, and plas tic sheets sent by government of Japan were handed over to the National Disaster Man agement Authority (NDMA) by Kinoshita Yasumitsu Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Pakistan Office, in the presence of Odagiri Toshio, Consul General of Japan in Karachi, at the Jinnah International Airport Karachi On August 29 the Government of Japan has decided to provide these goods through JICA, based on a request from the Govern ment of Pakistan to the Government of Japan The first batch of the goods which was handed over earlier on August 31 were distributed in Balochistan province Mr Odagiri stated that Japan is deeply saddened by the widespread damage in Pak istan caused by the unprecedented flooding, which has surpassed even the devastating floods of 2010 and hope that these goods will be of some help to the victims In addition, he mentioned that there is a high demand for food water and medicine in the affected areas, and the United Nations has issued an appeal for assistances Therefore, the Government of Japan will continue to work closely with the Government of Pakistan, and the Embassy of Japan the Consulate General of Japan, and JICA will cooperate with each other to respond to the situation Mr KINOSHITA expressed his sincere condolences to the grieving families who have lost precious lives and their loved ones He said “Japan has also experienced various disasters in the past Entire JICA family is with you in this most difficult time JICA has decades old partnership with the government of Pakistan in disaster management With the partner ship of JICA the Government of Pakistan prepared its first ever disaster management plan in year 2012, which currently is in the process of revision for next 10 years JICA is committed to support relief, recovery, and rehabilitation effort of the Government of Pakistan with the motto of ‘Build Back Bet ter ’ ” He also mentioned his heartfelt respect to the dedication and contribution of NDMA to overcome this catastrophe Muhammad Muazzam Zaman, Repre sentative of NDMA explained the situation in various areas affected by the disaster and the ongoing relief efforts by the Pakistani government, and stated that they are grateful for Japan’s assistance and will make sure that the supplies will be delivered to the victims
ISLAMABAD p r Moreno Holdings (Pvt) Ltd MHPL is creating quality urban lifestyles, building stronger communities and aiming for the world class lifestyle destination development for all households, was officially launched today MHPL has signed MOUs with Meinhardt Singapore, Tekton Engineering Darvis and Solar AI At the event held in Serena Hotel Islamabad, on September 2 2022 the management team introduced the partners, unveiled the branding and plans about up coming projects In the coming two to three years MHPL is strongly aiming to reach new unexplored levels within the Real Estate Develop ment Sector Its upcoming proj ects include; Moreno Enclave, Moreno Sports City and Moreno Logistics City, with each project close to the International Airport Islamabad and have their own idiosyncratic design aesthetic and vision of providing an inspi rational lifestyle within a thriv ing community As, Rawalpindi and Islamabad are the cities with a colossal influx of people, bear the most significant develop ments and landmarks, MHPL will carry a distinguishing legacy with a portfolio of intricate de tailing projects in the most ex clusive locations, creating wealth and long term value for a local and international clientele These projects will offer, af fordability, sustainability, security and engaging community living MHPL will offer the highest qual ity of design and construction, which will set new standards for Pakistan Real Estate The master plan of Moreno Holdings projects will be con ceptualized by Meinhardt Singa pore a renowned brand known for its architects and urban plan ners Darvis will be working on artificial intelligence based ro bust surveillance system and mobile app for our Projects
encroachments on natural drains reason for flash floods: saB
BEIJING ag e n c i e s a Pakistan National Pavilion being set up in the China In ternational Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) for the first time, China Economic Net (CEN) reported on Sunday The 2022 CIFTIS witnessed the flourishing business of these Pakistani merchants With this platform, they are logging their growing appetite for the Chinese market “How about this necklace? It’s more stunning than the former one Yep dear all from Pakistan! Quality ones!” In front of the Pakistani jewelry stall stands a Chinese buyer who is in a video call with his wife, holding his mobile phone to shoot the gems shin ing in the booth “It’s the very first time I partici pate in CIFTIS This year we are look ing to understand more about the Beijing market,” Pakistani jeweler Aqeel Ahmed Chaudhry told CEN He is also the founder of WINZA from Pakistani gemstone firm Cosmo Enter prises Pvt Ltd Shanghai, the first stop for this Pakistani brand to shine in China nourished its business and now, next destination “next year we plan to open our next retail store in Beijing Muhammad Kamil Khan, CEO of Pak Link Enterprises, has been partic ipating in the fair for two consecutive years He told the reporter that his stall to showcase high end Pakistani handi crafts is much bigger than last year For the 2022 CIFTIS he applied for two stalls in different exhibition areas to exhibit quality onyx handicrafts and wood carving handicrafts to Chinese customers Khan who has been in the industry since 2012, got his own key to success “Our design is specially made for Chinese customers, and they like it a lot,” he said Likewise, Chaudhry, who has been living in China for more than a decade, knows it well when it comes to doing business in China We are cooperating with Chinese e commerce giants like Tmall and Jingdong to make our way in Shanghai I think digital payment is the future of payments in China ” “There are many countries coming to this fair and showcasing their most in fluential products and services, so I reckon it a good chance to explore more in the Chinese market,” Aqeel Ahmed Chaudhry further said, adding that he expects more bilateral cooper ation in the coming future
KARACHI: Pakistan Navy on Sunday deployed hovercrafts and helicopters in flood affected areas to expedite evacuation process The relief and rescue operations continued in different flood affected areas of Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including Mirpur Khas, Sukkur, Sanghar, Qambar Shahdadkot Sajawal, Rajanpur, Paharpur and Dera Ismail Khan, a Pakistan Navy news release said Pakistan Navy had deployed two hovercrafts to evacuate stranded people in flood water at Dadu District These hovercrafts have evacuated hundreds of trapped people from Goth Ahmed Khan Chandio in Khairpur Nathan Shah to high point safe areas These hovercrafts are capable to be operated on water, land and muddy areas PN utilizes them for defence of Creeks Areas Currently, stationing of hovercrafts to evacuate standard people will speed up the rescue operation at far flung and remote areas where evacuation through small boats is difficult Meanwhile Pakistan Navy personnel are also wholeheartedly undertaking Rescue and relief operations through use of Helicopters at far off ranges PN relief teams are providing ration bags, drinking water and cooked food to rescued people Additionally, a large number of medical camps have been established to provide free medicines amongst flood victims Pakistan Navy is resolutely committed to support the countrymen during this natural calamity Relief operations in South Punjab, Sindh The PN relief operations continued nationwide and extended its efforts to flood hit areas of South Punjab and Sindh staff report army engineers repair flood damaged Bahrain Bridge
HYDERABAD: The Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) considers encroachment on natural drains across Sindh as one of the reasons for rain triggered flash floods in the province which affected millions of people and caused thousands of billions of rupees in financial losses A meeting of the board which is a farmers lobbying group, here on Sunday expressed deep concern over the colossal losses sustained by the agriculturists and livestock farmers in Sindh Dr Muhammad Bashir Nizamani, Vice President of the board, chaired the meeting Dr Zulfiqar Yousfani, Aslam Mari, Usman Bozdar, Arbab Ahsan, Yar Muhammad Laghari and other office bearers and members of SAB attended The farmers expressed sadness that they and their counterparts had sustained hundreds of billions of rupees losses as standing crops of dates onion cotton rice chillies and many other vegetables were devastated by rains and flood “The farmers won’t be able to sow wheat and other winter crops because the flash flood is unlikely to recede from the submerged agricultural lands in next three to four months, they said The SAB s farmers said the government would have to take emergency measures to clear the flooded agricultural fields to allow the sowing of the winter crops including wheat s ta f f r e p o rt F d e d i c ate s m a x i m u m re s o u rc e s to re s c u e, re l i e f o p e r at i o n s
RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Army engineer fulfilled a promise made by Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa regarding restoration of Bahrain Bridge damaged by recent floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday On the directives of the Army Chief the Pakistan Army Engineering Corps has geared up its effort to repair the damaged infrastructure across the province General Bajwa during his visit to Swat on August 30, had promised to repair and restore Bahrain Bridge within 6 days The bridge connects Bahrain with Swat, Mingora and Khwaza Khela and when it was swept away during recent floods, Bahrain was cut off from other areas Much to the pleasure of people living in these areas, the Army engineers worked day and night and succeeded in repairing the Bahrain Bridge Bahrain seemed to be divided into two separate parts after its bridge washed away staff report 3,146 people evacuated to safer localities: nFrCC
APHC denounces custodial killing of A JK resident by India in IIOJK SRINAGAR Ag e n c e s
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According to an Entertainment Weekly tracker, only 17 people have achieved an EGOT, including Mel Brooks, Whoopie Goldberg, Audrey Hepburn and most recently Jennifer Hudson
Their company’s first documentary for the streaming service, “American Factory,” won the Oscar for best documentary feature and an Emmy for directing, though the awards went to the filmmakers and not to the Obamas themselves Obama’s successor to the presidency, Donald Trump, did not win an Emmy for his reality competition show “The Apprentice,” although he was nominated twice Obama also received the Nobel Peace Prize after his 2008 presidential election win, for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples ”
MoU signed to strengthen Sino Pak coop in buffalo business
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tensions between Türkiye and Greece, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Er dogan urged Athens on Sat urday to look at history, saying: “If you go too far, the price will be heavy “Greece, look at history, go back in time; if you go too far, the price will be heavy We have one thing to say to Greece: Remember Izmir,” Erdogan said at Türkiye s largest technology event, Teknofest, in the province of Samsun on the Black Sea coast Izmir is a province on Türkiye s western Aegean Sea coast that Ankara liberated from Greek occupation in 1922 as part of its War of Independence
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Meanwhile, APHC senior leader Agha Syed Hassan Al Moosvi Al Safvi in a statement in Srinagar expressed grief over the demise of Mehmooda Fazili, mother of prominent journalist Muzammil Jaleel He expressed solidarity with Muzammil Jaleel and other family members of the deceased and prayed to Allah Almighty to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and give strength to the grief stricken family to bear the inconsolable loss
Erdogan warned Greece, saying that Athens occupation of Aegean Sea islands “is not our concern ” “When the time comes, we will do what is necessary As we say, all of a sudden we can come overnight Tensions between the two neigh boring countries rose after Greece lodged a complaint with NATO Secre tary General Jens Stoltenberg to delete a tweet by the NATO Allied Land Command (LANDCOM) to mark Türkiye’s 100th Victory Day, which commemorates the resounding defeat of occupying Greek armies at the hands of Turks in the 1922 Battle of Dumlupinar LANDCOM on Tuesday tweeted a post to mark the 100th Victory Day However, it tweeted a new post on Thursday congratulating Ankara, say ing: We are thankful to have Türkiye as our host nation ” Türkiye criticized NATO for delet ing the tweet calling it unaccept able,” and saying that the alliance “has greatly discredited its corporate iden tity and prestige” by deleting the tweet upon a “baseless request” by Greece n i t Population to its p e s a m m o t e s , e s p e a l l y t o s o m e 6 5 0 0 0 0 p r e g n a n t w o m e n a m o n g t h e 3 3 m i l l i o n displaced people Addressing a session of United Nations Devel opment Programme (UNDP), UNFPA and UN Of fice for Project Services (UNOPS) at which Pakistan s UNFPA Country programme (2023 2027) was adopted, Ambassador Munir Akram said that out of the displaced people, an estimated 8 2 million are women of reproductive age and up to 73,000 women, who are expected to deliver next month, will need skilled birth attendants, newborn care, and support Emphasizing that success of any policy or pro gramme depends on the willful and determined participation of the target population, the Pakistani envoy said it was important that the cultural partic ularities and sensitivities along with national prior ities are taken well into consideration while implementing the programme H e s a i d t h a t t h e C o v i d 1 9 p a n d e m i c , s p i r a l i n g p r i c e s o f f o o d a n d e n e rg y a n d s e c u r i t y c h a l l e n g e s , h a v e s e v e r e l y c o n s t r a i n e d P a k i s t a n ’s ability to respond to the goals of ensuring the nu t r i t i o n a l h e a l t h a n d h y g i e n i c n e e d s o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n , p a r t i c u l a r l y o f t h e m o s t d i s a d v a n t a g e d a m o n g t h e m Noting that out of the total US$ 59 million al located for the Country Programme, only US$ 23 million is allocated through regular resources and US$ 36 million is to be secured from co financing and other resources, Ambassador Akram hoped UNFPA will be able to get the required funding from partners and donors to ensure the implemen tation of its identified priorities In this regard he also stressed the need to im prove availability of high quality reproductive health services, especially through sustainable and equitable financing for the most underserved com munities The role of trained nurses, midwives and lady health workers was critical and they must maintain midwifery cadres according to the global standards We hope UNFPA will work with us to mitigate the impacts of climate change, both now and in the longer term, especially on young female popula tion,” Ambassador Akram added
CAEN, FRANCE Ag e n c i e s A minute s silence was observed here on Sunday at the Normandy Chair for Peace Summer School in France for the victims of devastating floods in Pakistan A video report on floods, made by Mu sadaq Sultan and Ahmed Ali, was presented at the concluding session of the summer school held at the University of Caen, France on the climate change environment and rights of future generations The concluding session was led by Shirleen Chin, an eminent environmentalist and legal expert, David FORMAN, co direc tor Environmental Law Program of Univer sity of Hawai’i and Alyn Ware, an eminent campaigner and member of Normandy Chair for Peace Emilie GAILLARD, the General Coor dinator of the Normandy Chair for Peace, was also present After the video report, all participants and speakers of summer school observed one minute silence for the victims of floods in Pakistan About 40 students from different coun tries of the world including the United States of America, Brazil, Chile, India, Italy, Ar gentina Caribbean Cameroon and Australia are attending the summer school
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Pakistan urges UNFPA to ensure maternal health, reproduc tive ser vices for flood displaced women s te r n Au s t ra l i a a re a s h i t by M a rc h s to r m s u n d e r s e ve re we at h e r wa r n i n g s wIll y, wArNS grEECE i n u te’s s i l e n c e o b s e r ve d i n Fr a n c e fo r f l o o d v i c t i m s
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One other president had already been awarded an Emmy Dwight D Eisenhower in 1956 although his was an honorary award After leaving office in 2017, both Obama and his wife Michelle have each written best selling memoirs, and in addition to their non profit foundation, have established a production company which has inked a major deal with Netflix, reportedly worth tens of millions of dollars
10 FOREIGN NEWS Monday 5 September 2022 ISLAMABAD ANKARA A n A d o l u Ag e n c y A M I D
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BEIJING Ag e n c i e s Royal Group, China, and JW Holdings, Pakistan in the spirit to enhance cooperation in buffalo business between the two countries, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as a side event of the 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), China Economic Net (CEN) reported on Sunday According to the MoU, the two companies will deepen cooperation in buffalo farm building, buffalo dairy products deep processing and other related projects “We and JW Holdings will jointly invest USD 100 million to develop buffalo breeding and buffalo milk and meat products processing industry in Pakistan, build a number of modern large scale buffalo disease free pastures, dairy processing plants and slaughterhouses, and jointly promote and sell buffalo milk and meat products produced in Pakistan to ASEAN countries and the Middle East region,” said Teng Cuijin deputy president of Royal Cell Biotechnology Corp , while taking an exclusive interview with CEN Also, “we will deepen cooperation in research and development of buffalo germplasm, standardized feeding and deep processing of dairy products,” she told the reporter, adding that Royal Group has accelerated the implementation of its cooperation project with Pakistan s buffalo business since 2021 As per Teng, the project is based in Punjab, one of Pakistan’s major agricultural provinces that enjoys a similar climate with south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in which Royal Group is based And that, she added, makes it more feasible when introducing quality Pakistani buffalo germplasm to China Pakistan itself is a big animal husbandry country “They have a quality germplasm of buffalo, but they mainly raise them in a free range way While China has rich experience in buffalo farming, management and intensive production, which can be shared with our Pakistani friends, Teng told CEN With the signing of the MoU, “we will train local talents, improve local agricultural technology and promote the development of local industries in Pakistan At the same time the introduction of quality germplasm from Pakistan to China will promote the development and upgrading of China s dairy industry Teng Cuijin pinpointed
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“Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees Beware of fallen trees and power lines the agency said Four flood warnings were in place in the state I n n e h b i n g N e w S o u t h Wa l e s t o t h e s o u t h , e i g h t f l o o d w a r n i n g s w e r e i n p l a c e , a n d a s e v e r e w e a t h e r w a r n i n g f o r d a m a g i n g s u r f c o v e r e d t h e s t a t e ’s n o r t h e r n r i v e r s a n d m i d n o r t h c o a s t , a r e a s s e v e r e l y h i t b y t h e M a r c h w e a t h e r c r i s i s Causing the wild weather was a low pressure system off the state’s northern coast, the weather forecaster said During the March crisis, military helicopters airlifted stranded people from rooftops, while mo torists and animals were rescued from bridges after rising waters submerged surrounding lands
In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has denounced the custodial killing of a mentally challenged resident of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Tabarak Hussain by the Indian army in the territory According to Kashmir Media Service Tabarak Hussain was shot at and arrested in injured condition by the Indian troops after he unintentionally crossed the LoC in Naushera area of Rajouri district in the month of August
Earlier, world renowned academicians and environmental law experts addressed the participants of summer school from Sept 1 to Sept 04, 2022 The speakers included Professor Nicholas Robinson, who is widely globally as a pioneer of modern environmental law and Tony Oposa, an award winning environ mental lawyer and the architect and counsel of the decade long famous Manila Bay case
WASHINGTON A F P Hollywood newcomer Barack Obama was awarded an Emmy for narrating his Netflix documentary series “Our Great National Parks,” the Television Academy announced Saturday The former two term US president had already won a pair of Grammy Awards for audio versions of his memoirs “The Audacity of Hope” and “Dreams from My Father” so he now only needs an Oscar and a Tony to complete the estimable EGOT
The APHC spokesman in a statement issued in Srinagar said beating and killing of innocent Kashmiris have become the norm in the occupied territory He added that Tabarak Hussain was mentally ill which the Indian authorities knew as he had also mistakenly crossed the LoC six years ago and was returned through Wagah He urged the world community, particularly the United Nations, to hold India accountable for grave human rights violations and war crimes being perpetrated by its troops in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir ABDULLAH ENQUIRES AFTER ANSARI’S HEALTH: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the National Conference President Farooq Abdullah visited Soura Institute of Medical Sciences, Srinagar, and enquired about the health of senior leader of All Parties Hurriyat Conference Maulana Abbas Ansari According to Kashmir Media Service, Farooq Abdullah wished him swift and complete recovery He was accompanied by the party leaders Nasir Aslam Wani, Tanvir Sadiq and Salman Ali Saghar
Parts of eastern Australia were under severe weather and flood warnings, the country’s weather fore caster said on Sunday months after massive floods hit the country’s east coast In March, at least 13 people were killed and tens of thousands evacuated due to extreme weather in Queensland and New South Wales, which submerged town centres, washed away homes and cut power The Bureau of Meteorology on Sunday issued a severe weather warning for damaging winds for parts of southeast Queensland, saying damaging gusts with peaks around 100 km (60 miles) per hour were possible through the day
UNITED NATIONS Ag e n c i e s A t o p P a k i s t a n i d i p l o m a t h a s u rg e d t h e U
Scores in brief: Match 1 Northern 146 7, 16 overs (Ali Imran 56, Hasan Nawaz 24 Sohail Tanvir 20 not out; Mohammad Ali 3 33, Ali Asfand 2 24, Aamer Yamin 2 30) Central Punjab 143 5 16 overs (Tayyab Tahir 53, Abdullah Shafique 33; Salman Irshad 2 27) Match 2 Sindh 151 4, 20 overs (Saad Khan 40, Sarfaraz Ahmed 27 not out, Saim Ayub 23, Danish Aziz 21 not out, Saud Shakeel 20; Mohammad Imran 2 30) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 154 4, 18 4 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 45, Adil Amin 40 not out, Mohammad Haris 37; Zahid Mehmood 2 32) Monday s fixtures: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Southern Punjab at 0930; Balochistan v Northern at 1345
Wo r l d C u p f a n s w i l l o n l y g e t b e e r o u t s i d e s t a d i u m s
I n d I a ’ S B o W l I n G n o t ‘ G l a M o r o u S ’ l I k e Pa k I S ta n B u t G et S r e S u lt S : d r av I d
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Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim retires from T20 internationals
DOHA a f p Beer will not be sold inside stadiums during World Cup matches in Qatar, where alcohol is severely restricted, but FIFA said that drinking will be allowed in the sta dium zone before and after games The global body gave the first details of beer sales after months of sensitive talks with authorities in the conservative Muslim Gulf state The issue is important for FIFA as beer maker Bud weiser has been a major sponsor for three decades while foreign fans have also questioned what to expect at the November 20 December 18 tournament Qatar has predicted more than one million visitors for the World Cup A source with knowledge of the plans said beer stands would open in zones around stadiums when gates open for a match and close 30 minutes before each game starts The source said stands would reopen for a short time after the game FIFA did not confirm times but a spokesperson said it had focused on “catering for those who wish to enjoy an alcoholic drink while being respectful towards the local culture In a statement to AFP, the spokesperson said “ticket holders” would get access to beer “within the stadium perimeter prior to kick off and after the final whistle Inside stadiums, only Budweiser ’s zero alcohol beer and soft drinks would be available, the spokesper son added Coca Cola, another huge sponsor, has the sole right to sell non alcoholic drinks at the eight stadiums to be used for the first World Cup in a Muslim nation Alcohol is a sensitive topic at stadiums around the world In England, most Premier League clubs allow beer sales inside stadiums but fans cannot drink in the sight of the pitch While alcohol is not banned in Qatar as it is in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, it is only sold in about 35 international hotels and restaurants Foreign residents can buy alcohol in government stores Drink ing in public is illegal Budweiser ’s parent company, AB InBev, did not comment on FIFA s plans but has in the past said it was looking for “respectful” ways to sell its product at the Qatar World Cup DHAKA, BANGLADESH ag e n c i e S
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Bagnaia wins San Marino MotoGP for four th straight victor y MISANO ADRIATICO, ITALY ag e n c e S Italy’s Francesco Bagnaia won the San Marino Mo toGP on Sunday to claim his fourth straight premier class triumph and close in on championship leader Fabio Quartararo Ducati rider Bagnaia pipped Enea Bastianini in a thrilling win at Misano Adriatico which moved him to within 30 points of reigning world champion Quartararo who finished fifth He moves into second spot in the championship standings ahead of Aleix Espargaro after the Spaniard finished a place behind Yamaha rider Quartararo Aprilia rider Espar garo is 33 points behind Quartararo after being over taken by the Frenchman who had started on the grid in eighth Bagnaia’s victory was all the more impressive for him being forced to start from fifth after a three place grid penalty imposed during practice on Friday After taking the lead on lap three Bagnaia held off first Maverick Vinales and then Bastianini his teammate next season to claim his sixth win from the 14 GPs raced so far this season Bagnaia s team mate Jack Miller had started on pole for the second time in his MotoGP career but was one of five riders to crash in a chaotic opening to the race Johann Zarco, Michele Pirro and Pol Espargaro all crashed out on the very first corner, while Miller and Marco Bezzechi went down a lap later Andrea Dovizioso fin ished his final MotoGP race in 12th place
Six-member Pak team to feature in Int’l Bowling WC
Former Bangladesh captain Mush fiqur Rahim announced retirement from Twenty20 international cricket on Sunday, three days after the team s unceremonious exit from the Asia Cup “Today, I am announcing my retirement from T20 internation als ” Mushfiqur 35 said in state ment on social media I will proudly continue to represent Bangladesh in Test and ODI formats I am hopeful that I can bring success for our nation in these two formats ” he added M u s h f i q u r a d d e d t h a t h e would continue to take part in the Bangladesh Premier League and other Twenty20 franchise tourna ments Mushfiqur s announcement came after Bangladesh lost their Group B matches in the Asia Cup against Afghanistan and Sri Lanka in United Arab Emirates, in which he contributed only five runs It was his comeback tourna ment having missed the previous two series against the West Indies and Zimbabwe He played in 102 Twenty20 matches for Bangladesh and scored 1 500 runs at 19 48 His captained for 23 of those matches, leading Bangladesh to eight wins Mushfiqur is the second senior Bangladeshi cricketer to retire from Twenty20s in recent months after Tamim Iqbal B a n g l a d e s h h a v e w o n j u s t two of 12 matches in the shortest format since T20 World Cup last year
A six member Pakistan tenpin bowling team would compete in the International Bowling Federation (IBF) World Cup 2022 According to Pakistan Tenpin Bowling Federation (PTBF) the IBF World Cup would run from November 11 to 23 at Suncity Bowl on the Sunshine Coast, Australia The event would see around 750 tenpin bowlers from 120 countries to vie for the prestigious in dividual and team awards The six member Pakistani team included Ahmer Sal dera, Ijaz ur Rehman, Shabeer Laskar, Ali Suria, Amjed Mehmood and Muhammad Hussain Chattha
Ali, Adil guide Nor thern, KP to vic tories
Monday 5 September 2022 ISLAMABAD 11SPORTS real Madrid, Barcelona continue winning streaks in la liga MADRID ag e n c i e S Real Madrid edged past Real Betis 2 1 to keep their LaLiga winning streak intact meanwhile Barcelona crushed the home side Sevilla 3 0 after a dominant show to remain undefeated and secure the third consec utive victory of the season Real continued to stay at top of the standings while Barcelona jumped to the sec ond after the win on matchday four of La Liga 2022 23 Atletico Madrid, on the other hand, finished in a 1 1 draw against the home team Real Sociedad Vini cius Junior put Real Madrid in lead in the ninth minute as he lobbed the ball over Betis goalkeeper Rui Silva’s head after he received a wonderful long pass from David Alaba Betis, however, responded eight minutes later as Sergio Canales popped up inside the box to score the equalizer Madrid unleashed a more vigorous attack to regain the lead but squandered multiple op portunities with Rodrygo finally breaking the deadlock in the 65th minute to steer his side 2 1 up in the game Meanwhile, Barcelona completely thrashed out Sevilla with goals from Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Eric Garcia Raphinha Dias scored the opening goal after a counter attack and the defenders cleared the ball off the line in the 21st minute He headed the ball into the open goal with a brilliant assist from Lewandowski to make it 1 0 for Barca Lewandowski doubled the lead in the 36th minute as he received a phenomenal cross from Jules Kounde on his chest and volleyed the ball into the nets Barca furthered the lead in the 50th minute when Eric Garcia pushed the ball after a bril liant header from Kounde Sevilla successfully thwarted a few other attempts by Barca to extend the lead before the full time DUBAI a f p I N D I A coach Rahul Dravid said he re mains confident in his bowlers despite them not being as glamorous as their Pakistan counterparts in the Asia Cup T20 tournament The arch rivals, who only play each other in multi nation tournaments due to po litical tensions, will clash in the Super Four stage in Dubai on Sunday It will be the second meeting between the two Asian giants in the competition after India edged out Pakistan in the group stage They are a good bowling side, but we also bowled well to restrict them to 147 (in the first match),” Dravid said on being asked whether Pakistan have a better bowling line up “End of the day bowling analysis is the most important thing You are judged by the results you produce I respect their bowling but I am very confident that we have a good bowling attack that produces results ” The former captain, on the eve of the high profile match, told reporters: “(Our bowling) might not look very glamorous but in terms of results we got some guys who produce results ” Pace bowler Avesh Khan remains doubtful for the key clash Avesh has been under the weather but hopefully he should be okay for tomorrow or for the later part of the tournament,” said Dravid India s bowling, led by experienced seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar have Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya as pace options fol lowed by spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel, who replaced the injured Ravindra Jadeja Dravid believes high pressure matches against Pakistan remain a good test for the team ahead of the T20 World Cup in October November “We know Pakistan is a good team and it is a challenging match, said Dravid “It will be a packed stadium and there is always an edge to these games and it’s good to play such games where you are tested It s good to play such tournaments before the World Cup ” Pakistan suffered injury blows with three of their fast bowlers including ace quick Shaheen Shah Afridi, but Naseem Shah’s express pace has kept the opposition batsmen wary Pace bowler Haris Rauf in sists the 19 year old Shah, who has taken four wickets in two matches and clocks speeds of over 90 mph, has given him confi dence despite Afridi’s absence
ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t Ali Imran’s half century guided North ern to a three run victory over Central Punjab while Adil Amin s quick un beaten 40 helped Khyber Pakhtunkhwa overcome Sindh by six wickets in the matches of Kingdom Valley National T20 Cup 2022 23 at Pindi Stadium Rawalpindi on Sunday I n t h e f i r s t m a t c h , Ta y y a b Ta h i r s third half century of the tournament the most for any batter went in vain as Central Punjab lost to Northern by three runs The Central Punjab opener scored 53 off 39 (six fours and a six) and stitched a crucial 82 run second wicket partner ship with Abdullah Shafiq (33 off 23, five fours) in a contest curtailed to 16 overs because of rain Northern’s Ali Imran later named player of the match smashed 56 at a s t r i k e r a t e o f o v e r 1 6 4 a f t e r C e n t r a l Punjab captain Qasim Akram elected to b o w l A l i s t r u c k t h r e e s i x e s a n d a s many fours in his 34 ball knock before he was dismissed by Mohammad Ali w h o r e t u r n e d t h r e e f o r 3 3 i n t h e penultimate over He added 39 runs with opener Hasan Nawaz (24 off 23) and 47 with Mubasir Khan (18 off 17) in what was an extraor dinary rearguard after Northern were re duced to 10 for two in nine balls Sohail Tanvir made his experience count down the order spanking 20 runs off eight deliveries (two fours and a six) In the second match of the day, Adil Amin s superb unbeaten 40 off 24 helped Khyber Pakhtunkhwa surmount 152 run target with eight balls spare Player of the match Adil smashed three four and two sixes as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa crossed the line with six wickets in hand Adil was provided a solid platform for the run chase by openers Sahibzada Farhan (45 off 34) and Mohammad Haris (37 off 29) as they added 82 for the first wicket Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had a scare in the 11th over when both were dismissed by leg spinner Zahid Mehmood Sind’s Saad Khan top scored with 40 off 36 and wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed made 27 not out off 24 after captain Saud Shakeel elected to bat The other notable batters in Sindh’s innings were opener Saim Ayub (23 off 20), Saud (20 off 15) and Danish Aziz (21 not ouf off 15)
“The training camp for the preparation of the world cup will start from September 1 at Leisure Bowling Club Rawalpindi, President PTBF Ijaz ur Rehman said Ijaz who was also part of Pakistan team said Pakistan would be trying to make a respectable fin ishing in the event Pakistan bowlers will participate in the singles and team events of the World Cup Although we don’t have the services of a qualified foreign coach, but we on our day can cause an up set, he said In this regard the team training camp under the auspices of Pakistan Tenpin Bowling Federation (PTBF) and in col laboration with Pakistan Sports Board was underway at Leisure City Bowling Club Jinnah Park Rawalpindi
The friendship of the two countries was higher than Himalayas and deeper than the ocean, he re marked We are always proud of this friend and will remain so in the times to come ” F a c k n ow l e d g e s p r o g r e s s o n r o l l - o u t o f Tr a c k & Tr a c e s y s t e m
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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has acknowledged the continued progress on the roll out of track and trace IMF in its report mentioned that contin ued progress on the roll out of track and trace will create a solid basis for further revenue collection notably from tobacco sales The Track & Trace System was a land mark initiative aimed at achieving much needed improvements in the collection of sales tax and digitization in the four key sec tors of the economy, including, cement, sugar, fertilizer, and tobacco AJCL, along with its lead partners Au thentix Inc of USA and Mitas Corporation of South Africa had won the $120 million proj ect back in March 2021 Pakistan Tobacco Company, Philip Mor ris Company, and Khyber Tobacco Company have so far implemented a track and trace system whereas the remaining local cigarette companies operating in Mardan and Swabi are also being directed to install track and trace if they want to sell cigarettes On the other hand, the Sugar sector had also implemented the system in the last crashing season Officials said that the Track and Trace System shall be extended to multiple other sectors of the economy including cement and others The TTS is a transformational one of a kind, initiative that integrates real time pro duction monitoring tax stamp affixation and data sharing with the FBR’s network in a seamless manner, resulting in transparency of taxation process, digital record keeping, tracking of goods throughout the supply chain, and thereby improving ease of busi ness for manufacturers and consumers alike The TTS shall also assist in capturing undeclared markets help with the under re porting of production and sales, restrict the flow of illegal/untaxed products and prevent leakage of revenue At present, Track and Trace technologies are being used around the globe, as means to assist governments in digitization of the economy and to enhance tax collection with the successful implementation of this system in Pakistan
U O Zhaohui Director of China International Develop ment Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) announced that China will provide relief sup plies worth 300 million yuan to Pak istan to help the country cope with the flood devastation He announced the message while meeting with Chairman National Disaster Management Authority, Pakistan Lieutenant General AKhtar Nawaz via video, Gwadar Pro re ported on Sunday Luo Zhaohui requested the Pak istani side to provide a list of urgently needed supplies at an early date and de termine the mode of transportation so that the Chinese assistance can reach the flood victims as soon as possible He highlighted the higher than mountain, deeper than sea, and sweeter than honey all weather friendship between the two countries, recalling that during the Wenchuan Earthquake in China in 2008 Pakistan sent all its tents in stock to the stricken area At the onset of the flood in Pak istan, Chinese military aircrafts car ried 3,000 tents for assistance China has also raised 200 tons of onions as needed by Pakistan, which will arrive in Pakistan via the Karakoram High way within a week The China Meteorological Ad ministration has also been providing real time weather forecasts to Pak istan Ordinary Chinese people, enter prises and local governments are also raising donations in cash and kind, manifesting the iron clad friendship between the two countries He said that in the next step, China is ready to share the experience in disaster relief and provide support in post disaster reconstruction Lieutenant General AKhtar Nawaz, Chairman National Disaster Management Authority, Pakistan, thanked Chinese leadership and Chi nese people for their assistance He briefed that the first batch of tents pro vided by China has reached the flood stricken areas He introduced in detail the latest situation and relief efforts in Pak istan, shared specific needs in the following step and expressed readi ness to cooperate with China in dis tributing relief supplies Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong Consul General in Karachi Li Bijian, Pakistani Ambas sador to China Moin ul Haque, and members from the Ministry of Com merce, the Ministry of Emergency Management, the Bureau of Meteor ology and other departments of China attended the video meeting n I S I D e t o P R o v I D e l I S t o f U R g e n t ly n e e D e D S U P P l I e S
CHINESE DELEGATION PRESENTS CHEQUE TO PM: A delegation of Chinese com panies led by China’s Consul General in Pakistan Zhao Shiren called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif here Sunday and presented him a cheque for the relief and rehabilitation of the flood affectees Talking to the Chinese delegation, whose com panies had made business investment in Punjab the PM said the government and people of China never left Pakistan alone in its hour of need
Criticising the government over soaring inflation and its purported plan to impose further taxes of Rs608 billion, former interior minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Sunday claimed that Pakistan Tehreek i Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan will give a call for a march on Islamabad once the flood waters recede “The former prime minister has repeatedly warned the country would descend into a civil war if snap polls were not announced , he referred to the PTI chief demanded Sh Rashid also warned the government against “victimization of opposition leaders”, saying if the “imported rulers” continued applying mean tactics they would be constrained to start a march on Islamabad and “no leader will be able to find any place to hide” In a series of tweets, the Awami Muslim League (AML) chair said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had made yet another agreement with the government for Rs608 billion First they robbed the treasury and now the people’s pockets,” he said “The floods have opened the eyes of the people of Sindh, and the floods have destroyed the Pakistan Democratic Movement s reputation How will other countries give aid when the people of the country refuse to give money to money launderers,” he asked He said the people could not bear the burden of increasing petrol and power prices yet the government continued to raise them “Imran Khan will give the call for Islamabad once the floods recede ”
US Congressmen visit flood-hit Dadu to assess flood devastation s ta f f r e p o r t
DISCUSS FLOOD RELIEF ACTIVITIES: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif here on Sunday met a delegation of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) led by its President Mian Nauman Kabir and discussed the ongoing relief work for the flood affectees The president of the chamber gave a cheque of substantial amount to the prime minister for the re lief and rehabilitation of the flood affectees
Imran will march on Islamabad once floods recede: Sh Rasheed ISLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t
PM thanks UAE President, Qatari Emir, Prince R ahim Aga for flood relief help
PM THANKS UAE PRESIDENT FOR RELIEF ASSISTANCE TO PAKISTAN: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Sunday here met with Charge d’Af faires of United Arab Emirates and discussed mat ters of mutual interest On behalf of the Pakistani nation, the Prime Minister thanked the government of the United Arab Emirates for sending planeloads of goods for the flood affectees He thanked President UAE Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for sending relief goods worth 50 million dollars and also thanked Prime Minister UAE Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for pro viding aid of 50 million Emirati Dirham C T E E S : Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif held a tele phonic conversation with Amir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani on Sunday and discussed matters of mutual interest Recalling his recent visit to Qatar, the prime min ister expressed the resolve to working relentlessly to implement the decisions taken during the visit The Amir conveyed condolences on the loss of precious lives and property, caused by floods in Pakistan The Amir assured Qatar s support for the flood affected people of Pakistan
The prime minister thanked the Amir for relief support provided by Qatar including the air bridge for the provision of goods and equipment, as well as for the establishment of a field hospital in Sindh PM, LCCI DELEGATION
A five member delegation from United States headed by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee on Sunday visited flood hit areas in Dadu district of Sindh province to assess the damages caused by floods The US delegation which also included Ambassador Donald Blome reviewed the flood situation on the ground and during an aerial view of the area The delegation was briefed on the rescue operations in the area and losses from the floods by Major General Dilawar Khan, Brigadier Hasnat Ahmed, and Dadu Deputy Commissioner Syed Murtaza Ali Shah The delegation praised the rescue and rehabilitation efforts of the armed forces The US congresswoman also met flood victims and distributed gifts to them Sindh remained the most affected in the recent floods and according to a report, heavy monsoon rains and subsequent flash floods have affected almost 10 million people and killed almost 518 people in Sindh Earlier, US Congress members arrived on a brief visit to flood ravaged Pakistan as the government declared a national emergency and looking for urgent aid from the international community, especially friendly countries The visiting politicians are expected to meet senior Pakistani officials Earlier, Sheila Jackson before leaving for Islamabad wrote to US President Joe Biden requesting provision of assistance for relief work in Pakistan In a social media post, US senator Tom Suozzi urged the masses to keep Pakistani people in prayers and stay tuned saying he will report back over the next few days He mentioned that many of Pakistani Americans apprised him about the devastation that has affected their friends and family Citing a huge number of victims, he said so many more people are suffering Earlier, Washington pledged an additional $30 million in life saving humanitarian assistance
FAISALABAD s ta f f r e p o r t Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) Chair man and former prime minister Imran Khan on Sunday reiterated that both political and economic instability could be ended through fresh elec tions asking the youth to be prepared for his call for getting real independ ence in the country The PTI government had pro vided subsidies to the masses after the record collection of taxes during its tenure instead of increasing financial burden on the nationals”, he recalled while addressing a charged gathering in Iqbal Stadium Faisalabad, warning warned of another wave of inflation over the directives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) The PTI chief blamed the incumbent government for destroying the national economy in four months The Pakistan Tehreek i Insaf (PTI) chairman announced holding another telethon for raising funds for the flood victims next Sunday Imran Khan an nounced that he will hold another telethon for raising ‘billions of funds’ once again for the flood victims Imran Khan said that the PTI gov ernment had planted 10 billion trees to reduce the impact of climate change in Pakistan “We have to con struct more dams Our government had started construction of 10 dams ” “We need a proper water drainage system to avoid such disasters We need to improve the water drainage system across Pakistan ” When we came to Faisalabad for electioneering in 2018, the people of the city were facing unemployment and textile industries were shutting down During 3 5 years of the PTI government, Faisalabad’s textile in dustry witnessed growth and people got employment, whereas, the farmers received timely payments ” Khan said that record crop pro duction was witnessed during the last two years of the PTI government He added that the situation has overturned now as people are witnessing the rise in unemployment and fuel prices after an imported government was im posed through a foreign conspiracy ” He said that Faisalabad is an indus trial city in Pakistan like Manchester Khan vowed that factories will be es tablished in Faisalabad and people will get employment if PTI was given an opportunity to rule the country again The former premier slammed the current rulers and said that Shehbaz Sharif, his brother Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari were allegedly in volved in laundering public money abroad He alleged that Sharif and Zardari’s families were looting the na tional treasury for the last 30 years VISIT FLOOD HIT SINDH ON MONDAY: The former prime minis ter and PTI Chairman Imran Khan will visit flood Sindh province on Monday (today) According to PTI Sindh President Ali Zaidi, Imran Khan will arrive in Sukkur on Mon day where he will visit a relief camp established for flood affectees PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Sat urday visited flood hit areas in Rojhan city of Rajanpur district and again reit erated the need for improving drainage system and building more dams in the country Speaking after meeting flood affectees and reviewing arrangements for them in Rojhan, Khan said that if there would have been two dams in the city, the devastation from floods could have been minimized
ISLAMABAD s h a h z a d pa r ac
prayer timings FA J R S U N R I S E Z U H R A S R M AG H R I B I S H A 4:10 5:00 1:30 5:15 7 08 9:15 Monday 5 september 2022 nEws Published by Arif Nizami at Plot # 7 Al Baber Centre F/8 Markaz Islamabad for PT Print (Pvt) Limited Ph: 051 2204545 Email: newsroom@pakistantoday com pk BEIJING ag e n c i e s l
Imran asks youth to be prepared for real independence in countr y
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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a telephonic conversation with Prince Rahim Aga Khan, son of Aga Khan and discussed matters of mutual interest Prince Rahim Aga Khan delivered to the PM a message of best wishes from Aga Khan Prince Rahim expressed sorrow over the loss of lives and material in the devastating floods in Pak istan and announced financial assistance of 10 mil lion dollars The Prince told that instructions had been is sued to all the institutions of Aga Khan Develop ment Network to fully take part in the relief assistance and rehabilitation work in the flood af fected areas The prime minister conveyed a mes sage of best wishes for Aga Khan He appreciated the work of Aga Khan Develop ment Network in the fields of health, education and rural development The PM thanked Prince Rahim Aga Khan for announcement of financial aid for the flood affectees He requested Prince Rahim to make the world especially the European Union member countries, aware about the situation emerging after the floods in Pakistan
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