Epaper_22-10-24 KHI

Imran ousted for progress of parlIament, democracy: BIlawal

g ClAIMS PDM SAVeD CouNTRy AT CoST of ITS PolITICAl CReDIBIlITy

toric calamity, he said.

He said that the world should also rescue us to face the challenges after the flood as the rest of the world was responsible for the global warming not Pakistan, adding that today Pakistan was in trouble and tomorrow any other country could face the same situation.

“our core issue should be restoration of flood affected people’s life instead of politics now,” Bilawal said.

He said that political clashes would continue but need of time was to help flood victims by joining hands.

He said that the people themselves were struggling against the burden of weather change which was injustice as the political parties should jointly support them in this hard times. He said that solution of the impact of global warming in Pakistan was in working unanimously. He said that the government would make this challenge as a test case and it would be a pilot project for the globe.

Kohli shines as India defeat Pakistan in last-over thriller

MELBOURNE ReuteRs

Virat Kohli struck an imperious half-century and Ravichandran Ashwin was cool at the death as India secured a four-wicket win on the final ball against arch-rivals Pakistan at the T20 World Cup on Sunday in front of a huge Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) crowd.

Spin-bowling all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz had a final over to forget, gifting India two wides and a no-ball before Ashwin coolly blasted the winning run over mid-off as India chased down 160 for victory.

Man-of-the-match Kohli was magnificent, driving India to the brink of victory with 82 not out after digging the team out of trouble in a brilliant partnership with Hardik Pandya (40).

Pakistan were cruising to what seemed a morale-boosting victory but Kohli went ballistic with the bat in the final overs to bring India home in front of 90,293 screaming fans and hundreds of millions more watching around the world.

“Well, it’s a surreal atmosphere. I honestly have no words. I have no idea how that happened,” Kohli said. “Hardik kept telling me, just believe we can stay ’till the end. I’m lost for words.”

Kohli thrashed back-to-back sixes in the penultimate over against Haris Rauf to push India within 15 runs of victory from the final six balls. With Kohli off strike, Nawaz had Pandya caught in close with a miscued slog to break a 113-run partnership.

Kohli took back the strike and hit a six off a no-ball as the wheels fell off for Nawaz, who then bowled a wide.

Kohli was bowled off the free hit on the next ball but the ball rattled for three byes off the stumps.

LAHORE staff RepoRt

foReIGNMinister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Sunday that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) saved the country at the cost of their political credibility.

Addressing the closing session of the 2day Asma Jahangir Conference at a local hotel here, as the chief guest, he hoped that constitutional and democratic journey of the PDM would continue for the betterment of the country.

“We will together tackle the political and religious extremism,” he added.

Bilawal said that India, europe and the united States were also struggling against the political extremism and expressed his hope the new generation would welcome democracy and reject all nature of extremism.

He urged the youth to understand the issues of the country and protect themselves from the propaganda of an arrogant and selfish person who wanted to destroy the country for his politics.

“If Asma Jahangir was alive and she asked whether you have become the minister in result of a deal then I replied her ab-

solutely not,” Bilawal said. He added that everything was not fine, but one should accept that the parliament and the institutions have progressed in several aspects. “There is always scope for betterment,” he said. “It is important to be observed for the progress of parliament and democracy that Imran Khan was sent home through a constitutional way of no-confidence,” Bilawal stated.

“Whether you like it or not that there is only one method to remove a prime minister in the constitution and it is no-trust motion,” he added. He said that he believed that Imran Khan was a selected prime minister. He said in the past prime ministers were either hanged or forced to leave the country. He said the political parties had never thought that Imran would attack on the economy of the country for his political survival.

Bilawal said that as soon as the PDM succeeded in rescuing the country from economic crises, unfortunately the historic flood had created another problem for the nation, adding that from Gilgit-Baltistan to KPK, South Punjab, Balochistan and Sindh provinces had badly affected by the flood and still these areas were in great trouble.

“About 33 million people are affected due to the flood,”he added. The flood was a his-

The minister said that the coalition government would work to improve the agricultural and irrigation system for the better future.

He said his coalition government in the center has saved Pakistan from bankruptcy, adding that the country’s political history has gone through many ups and downs.

Bilawal declared Asma Jahangir a role model for human rights activists and lawyers. He emphasized bringing the situation of flood victims before the nation.

PPP Senator Raza Rabbani, PTI Senator Syed Ali Zafar, PPP’s Dr Nafisa Shah, PMlN leader and former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and other prominent figures of the country also addressed the conference.

FM CONgRATULATES PRESIDENT XI: Minister for foreign Affairs Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Sunday felicitated President xi Jinping on his re-election as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China.

In a tweet on social media platform Twitter, he said, “Heartiest felicitations to President xi on re-election as CPC General Secretary. It reflects enduring confidence of the Chinese nation in his sagacious leadership and befitting acknowledgment of his lifelong service to China.”

With two balls left and two runs required, Nawaz had Dinesh Karthik stumped but bowled a wide on what would have been the last ball of the over.

Ashwin cleared the in-field with a calm finish to complete the win, sending Indian fans into a frenzy.

It was a cruel finish for Pakistan, who had rallied well to post a defendable total of 159 for eight after losing the toss and starting poorly with the bat.

“All credit to Hardik Pandya and Virat Kohli,” said captain Babar Azam.

“They shifted the momentum and finished the game well … We had a chance, and we just asked the boys to believe in themselves, but again credit to Virat Kohli.”

Contact: 0307-7338168 irfan.farooq@pakistantoday.com.pk

Imran says to form govt only after securing two-thirds majority in polls

ISLAMABAD staff RepoRt

former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has said that he will never accept government without a two-third majority, elaborating on his party will not accept power if it does not secure a two-thirds majority in the next general elections.

In his exclusive interview with a private TV channel on Sunday evening, PTI chairman Imran Khan claimed that the entire script of his government ouster and bring in Shehbaz Sharif into power was written in the cipher.

“one is very much clear… the rulers are not interested in strengthening democracy rather they are worried about protecting their plundered money and how to stash up more and more public money”, he alleged and regretted that they did not obstruct Bilawal’s long march but the incumbent rulers want to put him behind bars so that the masses could not pour onto streets.

The PTI chief said that he will announce his long march date on Thursday. “His long march will be marked in history as the ‘biggest’ of all”, he hinted, asserting this time his party is coming with full preparations for the long march.

The former prime minister warned that he will end his protest with a long march, saying the country would never progress until the rule of law. The PTI chief said that there is a dire need for an independent foreign policy for the country.

FULL FAITH IN COURTS TO NULLIFY ECP’S TOSHAKHANA VERDICT: The former prime minister said he has faith in the courts to nullify the verdict of his disqualification by the election Commission of Pakistan (eCP) in the Toshakhana reference.

Criticising the eCP’s verdict, Imran Khan alleged that the chief election commissioner (CeC) could not make the decisions independently. He said that the country will not achieve prosperity and development goals until the rule of law.

About Pakistan’s exit from the fATfgrey list, Imran Khan said that the achievement was the outcome of his team.

Commenting over the reports of the Pakistan Muslim league Nawaz (PMl-N) supremo’s expected arrival in the country, he said that Nawaz Sharif’s return will benefit no one other than the opposition. “Nawaz Sharif doesn’t know that everything is changed in Pakistan.”

He said that the ‘mafia’ has seized control of Pakistan and the political system was not existed. Khan said that Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari had been ousted

from the rulership due to corruption.

He said that the ruling parties could not stop the mass movement of the PTI. He said that the ruling parties even failed to achieve anything in the recent byelections despite using state resources.

The PTI Chief also demanded the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) launch a probe into the cipher issue.

MEETINg wITH RELIgIOUS SCHOLARS

AHEAD OF LONg MARCH: More than 30 religious scholars from Punjab called on former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in which various issues were discussed on Sunday.

The delegation, under the leadership of Chairman of Sunni Ittehad Council Pakistan Sahibzada Hamid Raza, met the ex-premier at his residence in Bani Gala. former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Senator Shibli faraz and others were also present at the meeting. on the occasion, Imran appreciated Hamid Raza’s efforts regarding inter-faith harmony.

on Saturday, the former prime minister announced that he would reveal the date for the party’s much-anticipated long march on coming friday, saying that he was not expecting any “meaningful result from backchannel talks”.

Meanwhile, the former Prime Minister directed all party organizations to complete their preparations for a long march in the next two days as he is going to give a call for it. The report said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Acting Governor Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani Sunday issued an important message for PTI workers, telling them the time of the call for the long march. Mushtaq Ghani in his message said that the party leader Imran Khan will be calling for the long march in two days. He said that for participation in the march, the responsible party workers get themselves registered at Ghani House as soon as possible.

on the other hand, the preparations for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf long march in lahore started Sunday as the Punjab Insaf force Chief Commander Abid farooq displayed flex banners saying “Get ready for the long March lahore” on the roads of lahore.

Mian Abid farooq displayed flex banners saying “Get ready for long March lahore” in the constituency NA 120.

While talking to the media, he said that the whole nation stands with Imran Khan and they are waiting for an announcement of the March from their leader.

He also said that they are fully prepared and ready for March.

attentionSome 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.

today’s issue

g SAyS ToGeTHeR THey WIll TACKle PolITICAl, RelIGIouS exTReMISM

RISIng HIndutvA tIde belIeS IndIA’S ClAIm of SeCulAR demoCRACy: AJK PReSIdent

WASHINGTON stAff RepoRt

INDIA’Sreputation as a secular democracy has been eroded ever since the right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came into power in 2014, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir President, Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry, has said.

“Gone are the days when India used to be called the land of (Mahatama) Gandhi,” he told a public meeting in Washington on Sunday, while asserting that rising Hindutva fascism calls into question the country’s claims that it upholds secular values.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government has been pushing to change the secular and democratic fabric of India into that of a purely

right-wing Hindu nation, it was pointed out.

Barrister Chaudhry said that Kashmiri diaspora in the US has played an important role in mobilizing global public opinion in favour of the rights of Kashmiri people, while highlighting that the rise of fascism was a clear threat to the minorities in India.

Kashmiri Americans, he said, were best suited to bring home to the Biden Administration the importance of playing a role in persuading India and Pakistan to resume their dialogue that would lead to the exercise by the Kashmiri people of their right to self-determination as guaranteed under 18 substantive United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Barrister Chaudhry expressed thanks to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) – the second largest forum after the United Nations – which

has once again reiterated its principled stand on the Kashmir dispute and also appointed a special envoy on Kashmir.

Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Chairman of the World Forum for Peace & Justice, said that Kashmir was at war that India cannot win — like Vietnam for the United States.

“Kashmir is living proof that the people will not compromise, far less abandon, their demand for selfdetermination which is their birthright and for which they have paid a price unparalleled in the history of South Asia,” Fai said. “Today,” he added, “the challenge before us is that a new generation in Kashmir has emerged that doesn’t fear death”. “Their fearlessness has led to the powerful protests and the large demonstrations in recent years.” Several other Kashmiri activists also addressed the gathering.

Country on brink on default, says Sheikh Rashid

RAWALPINDI stAff RepoRt

Awami Muslim League (ANL) chief and former interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad on Sunday warned that the country is close to default. “Despite tall claims of the “imported government,” it is a glaring reality that the country is on the brink of default.” In a statement on Twitter, the AML chief said that the Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has failed as he did not get any help and neither was he given the chance for a meeting. Sheikh Rashid underscored that the country is close to defaulting. He further said the upcoming ten days of politics are very important and also pinpointed that the problem of national security has arisen. “The country’s assets are more precious to us than our lives,” he added. The former federal minister lashed out at the coalition government, in particular at the Sharif family. He said they are responsible for pushing the country into deep economic crises. Sheikh Rashid also shamed the top brass saying that, “The billionaire rulers did not give even 10 rupees from their pockets to the flood victims.”

13 dead, 1,171 injured in Punjab road accidents

LAHORE stAff RepoRt

At least 13 people were killed and 1,171 others injured in 1,128 road traffic crashes (RTCs) in Punjab during the last 24 hours. As many as 648 seriously injured people were shifted to different hospitals while 523 with minor injuries were treated at the incident site by the rescue medical teams. The data analysis showed that 552 drivers, 34 underage drivers,136 pedestrians and 496 passengers were among the victims of the road crashes. The statistics showed that 28 accidents were reported in Lahore, which affected 284 people, placing the provincial capital at top of the list, followed by 98 in Multan with 108 victims and at third Gujranwala with 84 accidents and 78 victims. According to the data, 910 motorbikes, 77 auto-rickshaws, 121 motorcars, 20 vans, nine passenger buses, 28 trucks and 96 other types of vehicles and slow-moving carts were involved in the road accidents.

11 workers held: Ex-speaker writes to NA speaker against MNA’s manhandling by police

ISLAMABAD stAff RepoRt

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has demanded immediate action against Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and the Inspector General (IG) Islamabad over police misconduct and criminal-like treatment with the Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Saleh Muhammad.

“The Pakhtoon people are in state of shock and anger over this shameful behaviour of the capital police with their representative, which will lead to impacting harmony among the federating units.”

Former NA speaker Asad Qaiser wrote an open letter to NA Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf following Islamabad police misconduct with PTI MNA Saleh Muhammad. He stated in his letter the Parliament possesses extraordinary sanctity in the political system in terms of role and status. He added that the Constitution guarantees the protection of life, property, dignity and honour of the citizens.

He said that MNA Saleh Muhammad was also present at the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) office at the time of the announcement of the Toshakhana reference’s verdict on October 12.

Asad Qaiser Qaiser said that Islamabad police violated the rules and regulations and arrested the PTI MNA Muhammad on a baseless charge. The former NA speaker said that the capital police exhibited insulting behaviour towards MNA Saleh Muhammad by releasing his photo with a criminal-slate inscribed with his details

FATF’s shades of grey

City Notes M A NiAzi

FATF has joined the grand conspiracy against Imran Khan, and has removed Pakistan from its grey list. It should have expressed its lack of trust in the imported government by moving Pakistan onto its blacklist, so that Pakistan would be forced into default. Other countries round the world would have noticed this, and refused to give Pakistan any flood relief until a genuine government was elected, which could only be the PTI of course.

Virtually the day before, Fitch had downgraded Pakistan’s viability to Ccc+, which was bad news for Pakistan. Getting off the FATC grey list was not much to

write home about, because the reason we wanted to get off that list was so that we didn’t lose access to the global financial markets. Of course, even if we had been placed on the black list, we wouldn’t have been shut out. Only we would have had to pay a much higher rate of interest. In other words, Pakistani paper would have had junk bond status.

As a matter of fact, we are heading towards that status with the latest downgrade.

Moody’s has not downgraded yet, which shows they are corrupt elements who are part of the conspiracy to oust Imran. Of course, they’ll have to follow suit, and Pakistan will be heading towards junkbond status. The downgrade indicates that we are that much closer to the default that will show the rest of the world that Imran should become PM.

hanging around his neck.

The letter said that this mistreatment has caused pain to the MNA, his family and the party. “As the leader of the House, it is necessary for you to take notice of this action by the police,” he wrote in his letter to the NA speaker. Qaiser criticized the police misconduct and stated the action caused pain to the MNA, his family and the political party, whereas, the capital police defamed and insulted the parliament. He added that the Pashtun people regretted the shameful behaviour of the capital police with their representative.

ICT POLICE ARRESTS 11 WORKERS: The Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Police arrested 11 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers for damaging public property amid a protest after the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) verdict to disqualify Imran Khan. The workers have been arrested by Bahara police station officers for pelting stones amid the protest in Islamabad. Cases were filed in multiple police stations across the capital territory for disrupting peace and creating a law and order situation after the ECP decision.

PTI workers that have been arrested include Mujahid, Faraz Man, Haroon, Ayaz Khan, Fazal Mola, Usman Khan, Ramzi Khan, Mehtab Hussain, and Zahid Huss Several members of the local leadership of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were booked in a terrorism case over alleged vandalism during the protests in Islamabad after ECP disqualified Imran Khan in the Toshakhana reference.

the gifts, as he should have done.

Soldier martyred thwarting terrorists’ attack from Afghanistan: ISPR

RAWALPINDI stAff RepoRt

A soldier of Pakistan Army on Sunday embraced martyrdom while thwarting terrorists’ attack from inside Afghanistan across the international border who opened fire on a military post in Hassan Khel Sector of North Waziristan district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a news release said the Pakistan Army troops responded in a befitting manner. The martyred soldier was identified as Assistant Lance Daffadar Waqar Ali, 32year-old, resident of Chota Lahore, Swabi who embraced martyrdom during the fire exchange. “Pakistan has consistently been requesting Afghanistan to ensure effective border management. Pakistan strongly condemns the use of Afghan soil by terrorists for activates against Pakistan,” the ISPR said. The Armed Forces media wing further added that Pakistan Army was determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of its brave soldiers further strengthen its resolve.

Of course, the Election Commission showed its complete dedication to corruption by disqualifying Imran in the Toshakhana reference. It might have only disqualified Imran for the life of the current Parliament, which is less than a year, but it leaves the PTI without a Chairman for the time being, may merely be a harbinger of things to come. Of course, Imran should get a stay order from the Islamabad High Court whenever he appeals. After all, he and his party have encountered the court before and got whatever it wanted from it.

Of course, it should be clear that ECP didn’t do anything wrong in selling gifts. In fact, I doubt if any member would have left all those millions to stay tied up in any watches. Where the ECP jumped on Imran with both hobnailed boots was not telling them. He didn’t even tell it he had received

It seems that the basis of the PTI’s appeal against the disqualification is that the ECP could hear the case. OK. Then who can? The PTI lawyers seem to have skirted over that point, just as they’ve skirted the issue of whether a crime had been committed or not.

I don’t suppose it included as a ground of appeal the failure of the prosecution to produce evidence of a lalkara, where the criminal is alleged to have yelled out a detailed explanation of why he was committing the crime, such as selling the watches because an ancestor of Muhammad bin Salman had stolen one of Imran’s ancestors’ buffaloes. Imran should have stolen one of MBS’s columns in return, but instead he sold the watch he was presented. The CEC got nothing, not even a mention in the statement of assets.

Of course, the ECP is against Imran, or else why would he win by-elections it supervised? Those seats will now have to have by-elections held again. You know,

you only need two safe seats to keep a cycle of permanent by-elections going, Back in 1988, Farooq Leghari won both a national and a provincial seat. He opted for the provincial seat. He didn’t get Nawaz, and failed to become CM. BB took him in the federal Cabinet. He now had to find s seat in Parliament, which he did, by again contesting the national seat he had given up.

Imran might be shocked by the cowardly resignation of Liz Truss as British PM just because the economy went wrong, but he should remember that that has created space for the comeback of Boeis Johnson. Are we to see a comeback of the demagogues? Trump is poised to regain the Republican nomination in 2024, and maybe the Presidency. Imran, though he doesn’t have orange or yellow hair, nor is he grossly overweight, is one of the ousted populists. He too has an election to win. Soon or by August next year. Johnson might be made unlikely for the role because of his poundage, but he’s a feather in the wind.

LAHORE: Residents of Asil Suleman area of Kahna stage a protest against grabbing of graveyard land outside Press Club.

photo by zubAiR Mehfooz

CPC nAtIonAl CongReSS to bRIng CHInA CloSeR to ReJuvenAtIon: AmbASSAdoR

BEIJING XiNhuA

tHE20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) will promote the highquality development of the country and bring it one step closer to achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, Pakistan’s ambassador to China, Moin ul-Haque, told Xinhua in an interview.

Haque’s comment came as the CPC convenes its five-yearly national congress in Beijing. As an ambassador, he has visited Xinjiang, Hubei, Shandong and other places to learn about the development and changes in China’s urban and rural areas, industry and agriculture, science and technology, and culture.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, China has made remarkable accomplishments in all fields of human endeavours, he said.

He was impressed by the transformation of the education, health and social security sectors, as well as

Rabbani urges all parties to sign ‘Charter of democracy-2’

LAHORE stAff RepoRt

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Raza Rabbani urged all the political parties to sign a political contract—“Charter of Democracy-2” as Pakistan has a controlled democracy. Senator Raza Rabbani was addressing the Asma Jahangir Conference in Lahore on Sunday. He said when Pakistan became a security state, the requirements of the state changed. He said it is very shameful that today even after 75 years of independence, the nation is suffering from doubts about the system of government as the country has a controlled democracy. The PPP’s senior leader said he was not ready to accept that the country’s elite, judiciary, and other institutions are oblivious to the Constitution of Pakistan. With great sorrow, he said that today, the parliament has become irrelevant so they need a grand national dialogue now as there is no point in having a ‘charter of the economy’ without a ‘charter of democracy’.

new Petroleum Secy struggles on to resolve long pending issues of gas sector

ISLAMABAD AhMAd AhMAdANi

Newly-posted Secretary Petroleum Capt (r) Muhammad Mahmood has convened important meetings on Monday(today) to devise plan for solution to issues related to gas, it was learnt on Sunday. According to sources, the newly-posted Secretary Petroleum after assuming office has been vigorously trying hard to solve the issues of petroleum and gas sectors, which were pending since a long time. And, for the purpose, the secretary petroleum has been holding important meetings on a daily basis. Sharing schedule of the meetings scheduled for Monday, the sources said that the secretary will hold important on supplyof gas to fertilizer industry wherein former premier Shahid Khaqqan Abbasi, Minister of State (Petroleum Division) Musadik Masood Malik, senior officials of ministry of industries and production, Director General (Gas), Managing Director (MD) of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL) will be in attendance. Similarly, the secretary petroleum has called another important meeting in order to solve the issues of gas supply to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Stations, which will be attended by the Energy Task Force chairman Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Minister of State (Petroleum Division) Musadik Masood Malik, DG (Gas) and MD of SNGPL.

China’s role in leading global efforts for the mitigation of climate change and exploring new frontiers in space technology, quantum computing, AI and medicinal research.

“Of all these accomplishments, achieving the first centenary goal of establishing a moderately prosperous society by eradicating absolute poverty is indeed one of the crowning achievements of the last decade,” the ambassador said. Haque called China’s success in people-centred development and economic growth “an inspiration for the developing countries,” saying Pakistan appreciates China’s success story and desires to learn from it in the areas of rural revitalization, industrialization, socioeconomic development and progress in science and technology.

“As an ancient civilization blessed with immense potential, progressive outlook and an acute sense of destiny, I am confident that China will meet its national development goals and emerge as a powerful country with harmony between modernity and history, and between material advancement and ethical refinement,”

Haque said.

Concerning China’s commitment to its foreign policy goals of upholding world peace and promoting common development, Haque said it is indeed heartening and reflective of China’s sincere desire for working with the international community on the basis of win-win cooperation and mutual respect.

“Pakistan appreciates the positive role China has always played for promoting the cause of global peace and development,” he said, expecting to work with China and all like-minded countries for the implementation of the Global Development Initiative (GDI).

After the 20th CPC congress, Pakistan looks forward to continuing its closer coordination with China and pushing forward the high-quality development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Haque said.

“I am confident that the outcome of the congress will deepen strategic ties between China and Pakistan and inject new impetus into our bilateral relationship,” the ambassador said.

Ashrafi: Islam rejects sectarianism, extremism in all forms

ISLAMABAD App

Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Interfaith Harmony and Middle East Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi said Islam rejected sectarianism, extremism, and terrorism in all their forms and manifestations.

Addressing an “International Tahzeem-e-Harmain Al-Sharifain Conference” in Abuja, Nigeria, he said to get rid of these social evils, it was necessary to disseminate the message of Islam in its actual context, which we received from the holy lands of Mecca and Medina.

Ashrafi who is also the chairman of the Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) and Secretary General of the International Tahzeem-e-Harmain Al-Sharifain Council said there was no room for such myths in Islam as it was a religion of peace, security, and moderation.

He said the situation of unrest in some Islamic countries was due to external interference which could be stopped by forging unity in the Muslim Ummah.

He said the union would help contain Islamophobia and resolve the issues confronting the Ummah on the global level. He also endorsed the stance of Saudi Arabia on the oil issue. He said

that Pakistan and the entire Islamic world were standing by its narrative for global economic stability.

Ashrafi said the entire Muslim Ummah’s message was loud and clear that they would not compromise on the security, sanctity, and stability of the soil of Harmain Al-Sharifain at all costs.

He said Kashmir and Palestine were the two burning issues of Ummah, and they should be resolved as per the will of the Kashmiris and Palestinians.

He said interfaith dialogue was also the need of the hour adding that Pakistan had prepared a document, titled ‘Paigham-e-Pakistan’ (Message of Pakistan) to get rid of sectarianism,

extremism, and terrorism.

Terming Harmain Al-Sharifain as the centre of Ummah, he said the way Saudi Arabia serves humanity was admirable and praiseworthy.

Besides leading Ulema, Mashaykh and religious scholars from all over the Islamic world, Dr Ibrahim Jamia Otoyo, Dr Dawood Abdul Baqi Muhammad, Dr Imam Issa Abdul Kareem, Dr Sulaiman Usman, Dr Muhammad Abdullah AlThani, Dr Sharafuddin Badibur Aji, Dr Muhammad Munir Ilyas, Dr Muhammad Al-Haaj Abu Bakr, Dr Abu Bakr Muhammad Al-Thani, and Dr Al-Khizar Abdul Baqi Muhammad also addressed the conference.

Ancient Mohenjo Daro site shows signs of recovery from devastating floods

ISLAMABAD ANAdolu AgeNCy

Dampness is still visible in the bases of walls and the main stupa at Mohenjo Daro, the last surviving remnants of the 5,000-year-old Indus Valley Civilisation, which has been badly affected by the recent rains and flooding in Pakistan.

Curators are busy restoring the walls of several prehistoric cells through “original technique and likewise materials” to save the remnants from further erosion, bulging, and tilting.

Mohenjo Daro, also known as the “Mound of the Dead,” is located 27 kilometres (about 17 miles) from the Larkana district in the southern Sindh province.

The floodwaters surrounding the iconic site have damaged several excavated portions, with water seeping through and creating furrows.

Rain and floodwaters seeping into the ground have tilted 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.

The alarming development, according to archaeologists, could potentially lead to the walls completely collapsing. The ongoing restoration work includes mud-capping of the tops of the affected walls, and filling of cracks in their lower portions and bases, apart from filling with mud bricks of the gullies caused by rainwaters gushing down the mounds.

“Currently, we are focusing to arrest two major issues. First, to contain the mortar erosion caused by the rainwater that penetrated the walls of the (pre-historic) cells and base of the main stupa (standing in the middle of remnants),” said Ali Hyder Gadhai, an assistant archeological engineer, who is supervising the

restoration work.

Secondly, he told Anadolu Agency, the eastern wall of “the Great Bath,” a vast bathing area on the northern side of the main stupa, which collapsed during the recent rains, has been restored.

At present, he further said, the epicentre of the ongoing restoration exercise is the 2nd century BC “Citadel area,” which consists of the pre-historic cells, which would serve as housing for monks, the Great Bath, the main stupa, and other remnants.

The drum of the main stupa, which was a proper dome centuries ago, has been covered by the geotextile (waterproof covering), he added.

FuRThER RESTORATIOn WILL TAKE TImE:

Aggravated by the recent rains and “surface” flooding, erosion of the foundation of the main stupa, which stands 70-foot (21-meter) high from the ground, could be spotted through the naked eye.

Gadhai, nonetheless, opined that only those parts of the foundation, which were hit by the surface flooding, have gone softer.

The erosion, he said, is being contained through

shoring and wall-buttressing, whereas the badly-hit parts are being “underpinned” by the same kind of bricks.

To contain the dampness, he went on to say, brushing off the foundation surface is being carried out.

The pointing work will begin once the base and the walls are fully dried, whereas work on already dried portions will begin in March amid a dwindling dew factor. Gadhai, however, acknowledged that the dampness could take another six to 12 months to completely go away.

“Although we plan to commence pointing work from April next year, we are not pretty sure about that as some portions of the base and the walls, particularly the northern side, do not receive direct or enough sunlight throughout the year,” he maintained.

The curators, nevertheless, have not so far adopted any artificial heating technique to dry the wetness.

Also, they are awaiting the release of funds, estimated between 30 and 40 million rupees ($136,856 to $182,477), to begin restoration work of other portions of the spectacular site.

‘WInTERS ARE nOT gOOd TImE FOR SOmE RESTORATIOn WORKS’: Rooh-ul-Amin, a curator involved in the restoration exercise, reckoned that dew will slow down the mud-capping work in winter, which is barely a few weeks away. The dew, he added, doesn’t allow the mud to dry easily.

Also, he further said, the volume of sodium chloride (salt) — technically described as mirability — shoots up to 300 percent at below 30 degrees centigrade, which increases the erosion of walls and bases, aside from causing chipping and flaking to bricks.

To control the phenomenon, he said, a mud-plating technique is applied to desalinate the bricks. Moreover, Gadhai added, soil stabilisation of the flooring is an annual affair.

LHC judge stresses end to acquisition of agri land for housing societies

LAHORE stAff RepoRt

Lahore High Court (LHC) Justice Shahid Karim Sunday stressed the need for a halt to the acquisition of agricultural land to build housing societies.

He was addressing a session titled: “Climate Change and Floods in Pakistan” on the last day of the two-day Asma Jahangir Conference here at a hotel.

He said that he had ordered to stop the acquisition of agricultural land in the Ravi Urban Development Authority (RUDA) case. He informed the session that he had

also revoked the old colonial law of acquiring agricultural land in the name of building infrastructure.

“For God’s sake! stop acquiring agricultural land. Building housing societies on agricultural land should be stopped now,” he stressed. “In the RUDA judgment, we had declared that the national security is now the food security. The new name of national security is now food security,” he pointed out.

Justice Shahid also said that he had heard a petition on the improvement of environmental pollution in 2018. “The petition on the environmental pollution has

been pending in the court,” he added.

The LHC judge also pointed out that the concept of secure life was in the Constitution, and he added that many judgements of the court were nothing but good paintings.

“We need to do more. Our constitution is a social link between the people and the state. Article 9 of the Constitution guarantees life,” he emphasised.

The judge also claimed that it had been decided to do something practically then. “A notice was taken on the wastage of water in mosques, and this water is now conserved,” he said.

“The water of Data Darbar Masjid is also conserved, and it irrigates Minto Park. Wasted water from cars’ washing is also being utilised,” he added.

“Various housing societies were ordered to pay money to the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA). During the monsoon season, water used to accumulate on Mall Road and Lawrence Road in Lahore,” he informed the session.

“Now, an underground water tank has been built to conserve this water.

According to the WASA, the groundwater level has not gone down since 2020,” he added.

Justice Shahid Karim also threw light on the steps taken for shifting the brickkilns on better technology.

“The brick-kilns have been shifted to zigzag technology in two and a half years. This year, October sees sunshine which was not visible last year,” he said.

“A heavy fine of 200,000 has been set for burning crop residue. The court also banned plastic bags,” he added. “Rising temperature is the biggest problem. Now we will move to controlling temperature. Installing solar panels and planting saplings will reduce temperature,” he pointed out.

FlooD vicTiMs reTurn hoMe To sTarT liFe anew

KARACHI anadolu agency

iNthe remote village of Allah Bachayo Phanwar in Sindh, Mithal Chandio was combing through the debris looking for intact bricks so he could begin rebuilding his house, which was flattened by last month’s devastating floods that submerged onethird of the country.

His belongings included damp blankets, a pedestal fan, a few bags and trunks full of clothes, and some crockery. When floods hit his village last month, he could only grab that much.

Located on the outskirts of Dadu district in Sindh, one of the worst affected regions, the village — like nearly all others in the area — was completely inundated by the floods, which forced around 500 residents to take refuge on a nearby road.

The raging water levels have since receded, leaving behind clear signs of massive destruction with nothing left intact. The village is still surrounded by 4- to 5-foot deep water, giving it an island look. Swarms of mosquitoes and houseflies continuously swirl around.

Boats are the only way to reach the ruined village, bring food, or transport the sick to the hospital.

“Only men from 10 to 12 families have returned so far during the past week to assess the damage and prospects of repairing the houses, which are currently uninhabited,” Mithal Chandio, a local farmer, told Anadolu Agency.

The women and children will join when at least one room of each house is made livable, according to Chandio, who has five children.

“Nothing is left intact here. It seems that we have to start from zero,” he said, pointing towards the razed walls and cracked wooden doors of his small house.

Another resident, Ghulam Omer, said the village was also hit by flooding in 2010, but the scale of the devastation was far less.

“This time, triple the amount of water came and left nothing behind except devastation and helplessness.

“We are facing a dual challenge. First, we have to have money for reconstruction of our houses, and secondly arrange livelihoods as the massive rains and floods have already wiped out our crops,” Omer added.

His cropland is still under water, with no chance of receding in the coming weeks if not months. UnsUre aboUt fUtUre: Munir Leghari lost his house in the 2010 floods, which took him the next eight years to rebuild.

But he and his family were only able to live in the new house for four years as the recent floods once again deprived them of a dwelling place.

“I had worked so hard to rebuild my house and pay off the loans. But I have lost it again,” Leghari told Anadolu Agency.

He was loading luggage on a canoe at Chandan Mori, also known as Zero Point, located around 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) from Dadu city, to return to his village after over a month. His family, which is currently staying

at a shelter camp in Dadu, will join him “soon.”

“I don’t know if I will be able to rebuild my house again. It had taken me a good eight years, but I don’t know how many years it will take this time, especially when resources have run out,” he said.

At least Rs500,000 are needed to build a small house — money that Leghari and many others don’t have.

He said his first priority is to find some work to earn a living, which has become so challenging due to an economic slowdown.

“If I don’t find work in a day or two, I plan to leave for Karachi or Hyderabad to find something there.

“I am not sure what to do,” he said before heading towards Ibrahim Laghari village near the town of Johi.

Drainage of flooDwaters reqUireD: A combination of torrential rains – 10 times heavier than usual – and apocalyptic floods have killed nearly 1,700 people across Pakistan since mid-June.

The colossal devastation will cost $40 billion to fix, according to government estimates.

The drenching monsoon, combined with massive floods, has damaged approximately 45 percent of the country’s cropland, posing a serious threat to food security.

Mohammad Musa Babbar, an official at the Al-Khidmat Foundation, one of the country’s largest relief and rescue organizations, said that the immediate drainage of floodwaters is essential for the resumption of economic activity and the reconstruction process.

“Almost 80 percent of the land in Dadu and adjoining districts are still under water, even after a gap of over a month, hampering the rehabilitation and reconstruction process,” said Babbar, whose organization plans to help flood victims rebuild their homes.

There is a shortage of construction materials, particularly bricks, as almost 80 percent of the brick kilns in Sindh are closed due to the inundation of large swathes of land. Even if bricks are available, Babbar said, their transportation is a big issue due to the inundation of roads.

“The government’s top priority should be the clearance of land and roads, which will generate huge economic activity in terms of agriculture and reconstruction, aside from providing jobs to thousands of flood victims,” he added.

Saudi CG hosts dinner in honour of Sindh Governor

KARACHI Staff RepoRt

Two die, 25 hurt in Murree school bus crash

MURREE Staff RepoRt

A school bus taking students on a trip from Kunjah, Gujrat met an accident in which two people including a teacher were killed and 20 students and five other teachers injured, police said on Sunday. Reportedly, a school bus was taking students to Murree from Kunjah on a trip when it crashed near Darya Gali. As a result, two persons including a teacher died on the spot while as many as 20 students and five teachers sustained injuries in the mishap. The dead and injured were shifted to the nearby hospital where the condition of three students was stated to be critical. The ages of the injured students are between 8 and 12. It is feared that the casualty toll might rise which has created a sense of horror and panic among the parents of the students.

Death toll from floods rises to 1,731

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The death toll from this season’s monsoon rain and floods since mid-June has risen to 1,731 along with 12,867 injuries in Pakistan, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said. According to a report released by the NDMA on Saturday night, 645 children and 350 women were among those who lost their lives in separate rain or flood-related incidents in the country so far. Sindh was the worst-hit province, where 792 people were killed, followed by Balochistan with 336 deaths, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab reported 308 and 223 deaths, respectively. Over 33 million people and 85 districts across Pakistan have been affected by the floods, it added. Rescue and relief operations by the NDMA and other government organisations were underway in the flood-hit areas.

Consul General of Saudi Arabia in Karachi, Bandar Fahad A. Al Dayel hosted a dinner in honour of Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori at his residence here the other night. On the occasion, the consul general congratulated Kamran Tessori on assuming the charge as the Sindh Governor. The governor thanked the Saudi Consul General and said “Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have good and strong relations”. He expressed the hope that the brotherly relations between the two countries would be further strengthened.

Meanwhile, Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori hosted a lunch for the children of Sarim Burney Shelter Home at Governor’s House here Sunday.

On the occasion, the governor freely interacted each and every child and played Ludo with them. He enquired from the children about the facilities being provided to them in the Shelter Home. While talking with

them, the governor asked the children to work hard in their studies, because they have to serve the country and the nation when they grow up.

He said that the importance and services of NGOs in the social sector are praise worthy, the services of Sarim Burney Trust in various fields are very appreciable. Governor Sindh further said that the Trust’s shelter homes are important for homeless boys and girls, as they are being provided with calm and quality accommodation. Governor Sindh said that taking care of orphans as well as homeless children is also a good initiative.

Philanthropists should fully support such institutions, he added and said that he would fully cooperate in the projects of Sarim Burney Trust.

Later, the children of the Shelter Home also presented recitations, naats, national songs and speeches and also visited various parts of Governor House including Quaid’s Room where belongings of the Father of the Nation were available.

QWP expresses concern over worsening law and order in KP

PESHAWAR Staff RepoRt

Chairman Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Sunday expressed concern over the worsening law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa particularly in Swat and urged the government to take concrete steps or else the situation could spin out of control.

Speaking at a gathering, he lauded the people of Swat district for taking to the streets to stage protest demonstrations against the recent wave of militancy. On this occasion, known political figures hailing from Matta tehsil in Swat Mumtaz Khan, Usman Ali Sina and Ms. Shamim Azad Advocate from Mingora and others along with their family members and supporters announced joining the QWP. Aftab Sherpao said that the people wanted restoration of peace as it was a prerequisite for development.

“In the past, the people of Malakand division faced displacement due to militancy and subsequent military operation,” he recalled, adding that the people could no longer afford to face a similar situation

and this had compelled them to protest against rising militancy. The QWP chief said that maintaining law and order was the responsibility of the provincial government, so it should stop blaming the federal government for the poor security.

“The provincial government can seek help from the federal government if it is unable to bring the situation under control,” he clarified. Welcoming the verdict of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualifying Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in the Toshakhana reference, the QWP leader said that the former prime minister should move to the court of law if he had any reservations over the decision instead of creating anarchy.

Aftab Sherpao said that removing Pakistan from the grey list by the Financial Action Task Force was a positive development andhoped this would have a good impact on the country’s economy. Criticizing the federal government for failing to control price-hike, he said that the people were facing skyrocketing inflation, which had made life miserable for them. “Controlling inflation is a test for the government as inflation has reduced their purchasing power,” he added.

Pakistan: A land of migratory birds, wildlife

PESHAWAR app

Known as land of Chakor, Pakistan’s wetlands provide breeding ground for migratory birds arriving from the Central Asian Republics (CARs) and Siberia owing to an enlargement of forestry cover and increase of weeds, insects, plants and suitable winter conditions.

Lies at the crossroads for birds migration, Pakistan’s wetlands, arid and semi arid areas draw influx of migratory birds, including houbara, cranes, geese and ducks mostly from freezing Siberia, the CARs and even Europe during harsh winter season owing to substantial enhancement in their forest and wildlife habitats.

“These birds mostly arrive through the international migration route known as the Indus Flyway (IF), from Siberia and the CARs by passing through Karakoram, Hindukush, and Suleiman ranges along the Indus River

via KP to downwards Sindh,” said Dr Mumtaz Malik, former Chief Conservator Wildlife while talking to APP.

He said houbara population mostly arrive Pakistan in October-December due to limited resources of food in the freezing CARs and returns in March-April to their native areas.

Besides wetlands, the desert plains of Punjab, Sindh, KP and Balochistan are the houbara, ducks, geese and cranes wintering habitats where sufficient food is available for their natural breeding.

Houbara’s flocks mostly land in Bannu, Lakki Marwat and DI Khan in KP, Bahawalpur, Rahimyar Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Cholistan in Punjab, Tharparkar Sindh and Balochistan, he said, adding that they eat insects, wild fruits, small reptiles and twigs.

Dr Mumtaz said houbara is very sensitive bird and it does not use the route again if they sense any danger on their way during the first journey, adding the bird

move quickly as it takes only few days to reach Pakistan.

“The weather determines the exact timing of travel as the large bird has to avoid harsh weather and snowfall in flights,” he added.

“The population travels in groups having a chieftain and once they looses their chieftain, the deputy guides the group to reach its destination.”

The wildlife expert said houbara can’t stay in severe coldness and Pakistan’s climate is ideally suitable for them during winter for breeding, adding in case a houbra looses its mate, the endangered specie takes three to five years to find a new one. Dr Mumtaz pointed out that one of the reasons of houbara decrease is the rivalry between its newborn. “The sibling hatching first usually kills the other,” and it lays only two eggs in life.

He said artificial breading is being carried out in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Morocco under extremely controlled condition and is very expensive.

GB extends school hours to plug learning gaps

GILGIT Staff RepoRt

The government of Gilgit-Baltistan has decided to keep pupils in school for longer lessons to overcome the gaps in their learning caused by the unavailability of teachers, the region’s chief secretary said. Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani, who blamed the shortage on the insufficient recruitment of instructors on vacant teaching positions in the past, said his administration has extended the school day by one hour as part of its catch-up plans. The decision, Wani said, was “based on the best practices around the world and by keeping in view the losses incurred by the students”. These extended hours would be utilised to inculcate learning related to science and technology among students, he added. The regional government has also recruited more than 700 teachers both through in-house testing and Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC), the chief secretary said. Wani was of the view that this move has been a stepping stone in improving the quality of pedagogy in Gilgit-Baltistan as it has “led to a lower teacher-student ratio in schools which is considered a necessity for effective learning”.

Since all migratory species are hunted and ducks are mercilessly killed every year in the range states, including Pakistan, he said, the population of some duck species, including white-eyed pochard, marbled teal and garganey has drastically decreased.

He said cranes, because of size, beauty, unique calls, and complex behaviour are also hunted and trapped during their migration in substantial numbers due to non implementation of laws. Dr Mumtaz said climate change has endangered about 90 different wildlife species, including Siberian crane, white backed vulture, long-billed vulture, red-headed vulture, saker and peregrine falcons and hawksbill sea turtle. Kashmir’s gray langur, Indus dolphin, finback whale, Balochistan bear, musk deer, hog deer, pangolin, Egyptian vulture, green turtle and narrow-headed turtle were also endangered by the climate change, he added.

He further informed that around 786 wildlife species found in Pakistan, including 186 reptiles and 173 mammals, and that about 90 species including 50 mammals, 27 birds and 17 reptiles were placed in categories of endangered, vulnerable and near to extinction.

CuTTinG DiwaLi Cake, CM eLahi reiTeraTeS MinoriTieS’ proSperiTy

LAHORE Staff RepoRt

aspecial ceremony in connection with Diwali festival was organised at Chief Minister’s Office here on Sunday. Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi cut a cake along with the representatives of Hindu and other minority communities to mark the Diwali festival. He felicitated the Hindu and other minority communities living in Pakistan on the occasion.

The chief minister was presented an ajrak as a gift on behalf of the Hindu and other minority communities.

The CM said, “We fully participate in the festivities of the Hindu community on Diwali.” He said that the minority students were being awarded scholarships from Matric to PhD level in the government educational institutions, adding that 2 percent quota had

been fixed for the minority communities in the higher educational institutions.

He said directions had been issued to ensure implementation of five per cent job quota for the minority communities, adding that 50 per cent scholarships under the educational scholarship scheme in the central Punjab, 35 per

Steps on for permanent solution to enforced disappearance issue, says Tarar

LAHORE Staff RepoRt

Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar on Sunday said that enforced disappearance is a serious issue and the coalition government is committed to taking legal and practical steps for its resolution. He was addressing a session titled: “Reluctance to Criminalise Enforced Disappearances and Arbitrary Detentions” on the last day of Asma Jahangir conference, held at a local hotel on Sunday. He said, “Enforced disappearances have become a stigma for our society.”

Azam Tarar said that collective efforts would be made for finding solution to the problem. Country’s constitution gives guarantee of personal freedom and human rights, he added. He said that right to life was the most cherished right in the Constitution. The law minister said that it was unfortunate that complaints regarding disappearances were received from Balochistan, KhyberPakhtunkhwa, Karachi, South Punjab and even from central Punjab. He said that this matter was related to security; therefore its solution could be discussed in in-camera proceedings.

Azam Nazeer said that matter of enforced disappearances was raised in the parliament and at different forums, which he added was a result of collective efforts of different segments of society. He said that two days earlier the National Assembly passed a bill of Ministry of Law in which it declared enforced disappearances as a crime.

He said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also held a debate on the issue in the cabinet and a seven-member committee in this regard held eight meetings in last 12 weeks. He said that the cabinet committee went to Quetta and held dialogue with Sami Baloch in her sitin and it was decided that their demands would be forwarded to the government and practical steps would also be taken in this regard.

cent in the south Punjab and 15 per cent in the northern Punjab were being awarded to the minority students. He said that scholarships up to Rs50,000 were being awarded to the minority students, who get 50 per cent marks from Matric to higher education level.

The CM underscored that by partic-

ipating in cultural events of each other helped promote tolerance. He said that safeguarding the rights of minorities is a responsibility of the state. The CM highlighted that all the minorities including the Hindu community have equal rights, adding that the Hindu and other minority communities are being provided equal opportunities to attain education. He outlined that giving better treatment and respect to the minorities is the essence of the religion of Islam.

Members Provincial Assembly Youdester Chohan, Nawaz Chandia, Abbas Ali Shah, Muhammad Shafique, Habkok Rafique Babu, Samuel Yaqoob, Mahindar Pal Singh, Saira Raza, Fauzia Abbas, Shahida Malika, Nohais Khokhar, Aftab Gul, Muhammad Yasin, Chairman CM Complaint Cell Zubair Ahmad Khan, Secretary Minority Affairs and Human Rights and concerned officials were also present.

Asifa for supporting government in eradication of polio

KARACHI Staff RepoRt

The younger daughter of former Prime Minister Shaheed Muhtrama Benazir Bhutto Ms. Asifa Bhutto Zardari requested that parents should support the government in its effort to eradicate polio.

On the occasion of World Polio Day 2022, she said that the recent polio cases in Pakistan were a threat to our future generations and that children could be saved from childhood diseases like polio through vaccines. “We must all come together and work towards polio eradication. We owe this to our children. We must collectively work towards making Pakistan Polio Free,” she said.

With 20 new cases reported in Pakistan in 2022 alone, the government is being extra vigilant, and it is extremely crucial for us to reach every child under the age of five in order to curb the spread of the polio virus in the country.

The back-to-back monthly polio campaigns are to ensure that our children remain polio free. Thanks to these campaigns, Sindh has not reported a single case of polio since July 2020 and

environment samples in major locations are also negative which is good for the programme and the future of our children.

“If we continue with the same momentum, we will further see significant results, but we must not get complacent and continue the hard work and have regular vaccination campaigns to ensure our children are protected. We understand that communities in the super high-risk UCs for polio need other services and we are addressing this through new initiatives like creating health facilities,” she said.

“We must focus on childhood immunisation to prevent childhood diseases; the benefits of vaccination are clear as frequent campaigns can significantly reduce the burden of polio across the country as it has in the past. Children can be saved from childhood diseases like polio through vaccination and we seek the media’s help to raise awareness regarding this,” she said.

Pakistan is one of the two polio-endemic countries in the world along with Afghanistan and has so far reported a total of 20 polio cases in 2022.

Dar reviews IT sector’s declining export

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar chaired meeting of Prime Minister’s Task Force on Information Technology (IT) and Telecom at Finance Division. Federal Minister for IT& Telecom Syed Aminul Haque, SAPM on Youth affairs Shaza Fatima Khawaja, SAPM on Finance Tariq Bajwa, the SBP Governor, Secretary Finance, Secretary IT&T, Chairman FBR, Chairman PTA and other senior officers attended the meeting. The meeting discussed the issues related to IT sector’s declining export and measures to bring it back to a growth trajectory. Dar emphasizing the importance of IT sector said that government accords priority attention to IT sector to tap its true potential. He said that IT sector has immense potential for growth and could play significant role in strengthening Pakistan’s economy. The chair considering the proposals of Ministry of IT&T, directed to the concerned authorities to take steps for facilitation of IT sector and to remove bottlenecks in order to encourage its exports. Staff RepoRt

LG govts vital for sustainable democratic system: speakers

MIRPUR (AJK) Staff RepoRt

Without the establishment of local government and the empowerment of elected representatives, neither is public participation in government affairs possible nor can a sustainable and genuine democratic system take hold in Azad Jammu Kashmir. These views were expressed by the speakers while addressing a conference organized here on Sunday by the Centre for Peace, Development and Reforms (CPDR) on local body elections to be held in the 3rd week of next month.

Former Chief Justice Mohammad Azam Khan lauded the holding of local elections and termed it a wonderful political development. Women cannot be empowered without imparting quality education under the Devolution Plan, he claimed. Justice Azam Khan suggested that to empower the local government in the real sense, reforms should be made in the Local Government Act after the election. He said that the provision of quality education is very important for the empowerment of youth and women.

Health Minister Dr. Nisar Ali Abdali said that despite all the difficulties and reservations, the PTI government is conducting local elections because it has been promised in the party’s manifesto. He said that all the stakeholders have agreed to conduct local elections.

Former minister and central leader of Muslim League-N, Chaudhary Muhammad Saeed while speaking on the occasion said that the local bodies have to be empowered politically and financially.

He suggested that a District Finance Board should be formed so that each district and village could receive direct government funding. Based on population, area, and poverty rate; the government should allocate grants to districts and then the districts to local union councils. This formula can open the door to development and prosperity.

PTI AJK leader Zulfikar Abbasi said that their villages and cities cannot be cleaned until an effective management system is entrusted to the elected representatives of the local government.

Coordinator of SDGs for Azad Kashmir Syed Ali Hasnain Gilani said that achieving the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations is not possible without the establishment of a local government. He said that fortunately Azad Kashmir is ahead of other regions of the country in achieving development goals.

Pakistan People’s Party Women’s Wing President and Member of the Legislative Assembly Nabila Ayub said that women have specific problems and needs which men cannot solve and fulfill. Therefore, it is important to increase the effective representation of women in elected positions. The low representation of women in the politics of Azad Kashmir can be compensated by increasing the representation of women at the local government level.

Representation of women in local bodies should be at least 25 percent. She stressed that the political parties should give a maximum number of tickets to women so that they gain confidence and participate in national-level politics.

CPDR Director Ershad Mahmud said that the establishment of local government will bring a key change in the economic, political, and social landscape of the region. He said that at least 30 percent of the development budget should be given to the local government. He said that the local government election will prove to be a game changer.

PPP Shaheed Bhutto leader Chaudhry Munir Hussain said that the local government system means a new economic and political process that will bring positive change in our society.

Senior journalist Muhammad Shakeel said that facilities like education and health should come under the jurisdiction of local governments. Former secretary Information Shaukat Majeed said that for the establishment of an empowered local government system, the government of Azad Kashmir, especially the MLAs, must agree on the distribution of funds.

The host of the event, Dr. Waqas Ali, in his closing remarks, said that the local government can play a key role in combating the climate change that our country is facing. He said that this was the third dialogue session organized by the CPDR and it will continue such activities so that the gap between civil society and the decision-making forces is reduced.

A month later, flood victims continue to flounder

KARACHI anadolu agency

Under a broiling midday sun, a police officer was handing out lifejackets to a group of desperate passengers before they took a dangerous step to board a boat. They had to take a 10-minute journey to cross a 15-meter (50foot) water channel to reach a breakaway portion of the Indus Highway.

Clutching their children and carrying ration bags on their heads, panicked men and women would scramble to find a place in overcrowded canoe boats to cross the channel created after authorities made a cut through a major highway to save this ancient town of Sehwan in Sindh from the torrents of devastating floods in late September.

Others were loading their motorbikes, water cans, and luggage on the boats to cross the tiny distance, which otherwise would cost them an additional 120 kilometres (74 miles) to reach their homes.

Two men holding a young but frail boy were carefully treading through the floodwa-

ters to board the boat.

“Yes, we took him to the doctor,” one of them briefly replied in a choked tone as the loud chants of the boat operator forced them to hurry up.

Muddy floodwaters were still covering large swaths of land across the highway even over a month after the massive floods inundated a third of the country.

The cut in the road was made due to the overflowing Manchar Lake in late September, disconnecting Sehwan, home to 175,000 people, from the neighbouring Dadu district.

Located west of the mighty Indus River in the southern districts of Dadu and Jamshoro and spreading over 250 square kilometres (96.5 square miles), Manchar is also one of Asia’s largest freshwater lakes.

With an average depth of 2.5-3.75 meters (812 feet), the lake can expand to 500 square kilometres (193 square miles) during the peak monsoon season.

It otherwise takes only 30 kilometres (18.6 miles) to reach Dadu from Sehwan, but the cut in the road added 90 kilometres (56

miles) to the journey.

“This has become a new normal here. Every day, thousands of people cross this small distance to reach their villages and work,” Saeed Ahmed, a police officer who was handing lifejackets to the passengers, told Anadolu Agency.

According to Ahmed, who has been serving here for over a month, some 5,000 people use canoe boats every day to cover the stone-throw distance as labourers backed by heavy machinery were dumping rocks into the 6-8 feet deep water to plug the cut.

“There is no other option but to take a boat to reach Sehwan and look for work and buy groceries as our villages are still under water,” said Mahmood Umrani, a local farmer.

A supervisor, who is overseeing the reconstruction work on the road, said it would take “another few days” to repair the road.

“If it is done, we will at least be free from these financial and physical hassles,” Umrani told Anadolu Agency.

“Our children and women are sick and hungry. Our people have been going through

this risk and hassle every day to take them to the hospital or buy food for them,” he went on to say.

‘We live in squalor and disease’

Drenching monsoon spells and apocalyptic floods have killed 1,731 people across Pakistan, mainly in Sindh and Balochistan, the two hardest-hit regions.

The cash-strapped country has also suffered staggering financial losses amounting to $40 billion, mainly in terms of infrastructure and agriculture. The World Bank fears that the economic backlash inflicted by the super floods might push another 10 million of the country’s roughly 230 million people below the poverty line.

Although a large number of victims have started returning to their homes amid receding floodwaters in many areas in the two provinces, tens of thousands are still living in shelter camps and tents.

Perched on the northern bank of Manchar Lake, this dust-bowl tent city in the Laal Bagh area is a temporary home to nearly 5,000 flood victims who are still unsure

about their return.

“We are counting the days to leave this place. We are living here in squalor and disease,” said Nooran Bibi, a mother of three who hails from Khairpur Nathan Shah town of Dadu district. The ill-fated town was among the areas that were completely inundated by the massive floods.

Standing in a queue to grab lunch for her children and herself, Bibi along with thousands of others left her village and took shelter at this camp. “Houses have been flattened, crops have been wiped out, and the entire village is surrounded by waist-deep water,” she told Anadolu Agency.

“There is nothing left for us there. I am not sure whether we will return to our village or not,” added Bibi, whose husband is looking for work in Sehwan, which according to her is difficult nowadays due to the economic slowdown.

The flood victims, especially in the shelter camps, are already reeling from huge outbreaks of several waterborne eyes and skin diseases.

Dar’s latest stint

THE reports of Ishaq Dar’s return to Pakistan and his takeover of the Finance Ministry caused the rupee to rise against the dollar. This indicated the markets’ recognition that Mr Dar’s main claim to fame was the defense of the rupee, and that he would take steps to bring it down. what exactly transpired in his meetings with forex dealers and banks is not known, but they did not produce any policy measures. However, the rupee started rising. Now, it seems the honeymoon is over, and the rupee has started falling again. How far will it go? one prediction is that it will go to 250 to the dollar, which would be a historic low.

This cannot be reconciled to Mr Dar’s statement that a fair value is around 200. However, the market seems to have started rebounding from Rs 220, which indicates that Mr Dar’s analysis is incorrect. Mr Dar has perhaps overestimated the effect of the exchange rate on inflation, the real problem he was sent to tackle, while the exchange rate leaves the average voter cold, inflation determines how voters will choose. Imported inflation cannot be ruled out entirely, but it certainly is not as great a cause as Mr Dar assumes. It seems to have led him to miss the full impact of the recent floods. while getting off the FATF grey list is good news, it should not lead Mr Dar to avoid the inevitable conclusion that the fundamentals of the economy remain unsound.

Mr Dar has not tried yet to do what he had done in previous tenures, to use the country’s forex reserves to prop up the rupee by throwing them into the market and thus reducing their price. Mr Dar must resist the temptation of possibly using the country’s already meagre reserves. one major reason for the reversal of the price decline was that Mr Dar’s arrival had prompted owners of foreign exchange, including speculators, putting their dollars up for sale to avoid taking too big a hit. Those dollars have now been absorbed, and the market is left with the normal sources of dollars: exports and remittances. Neither have spiked. Also, oil bought before he came has now been used up, and oil importers are adding to the demand for dollars. Instead of addressing the fundamentals of the economy, or even taking the sort of anti-inflation measures that would appeal to the voter, with a year to go to elections Mr Dar has so far merely given textile exporters a power price freeze; at the taxpayers’ expense.

Global economy needs a non-austerity policy and enhanced SDR allocation

place a ‘Resilience and Sustainability Trust’ (RST) window to re-channel allocated SDRs to move from rich to developing countries, not many amounts have reached the latter up till now.

The global supply shock, and the war in Ukraine, have resulted in high food and energy prices globally, which in turn have been the main determinant of inflationary pressures, where in many countries inflation has been at decades-high levels. while a more balanced approach, in terms of demand- and supply-side policies were needed to tackle inflation, more emphasis has been on using tight monetary policy in many countries, including many advanced countries. This over-hawkish stance has resulted in significantly contributing to both capital flight and high interest payments, while a strong US dollar has also meant greater imported inflation in developing countries like Pakistan.

ments must urgently identify alternative financing options to support their populations that are coping with multiple and compounding crises- from health, energy, finance and climate shocks to unaffordable living costs. The report: (i) presents the incidence of budget cuts based on IMF projections in 189 countries until 2025; (ii) reviews the latest 267 IMF country reports to identify the main austerity measures being considered by Ministries of Finance and the IMF in each country; and (iii) presents alternative financing options, ultimately calling on countries to end austerity by creating fiscal space to finance a people’s recovery and progress toward human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). …Analysis of IMF expenditure projections shows that the adjustment shock is expected to impact 143 countries in 2023 in terms of GDP or 85% of the world population. Most governments started scaling back public spending in 2021, and the number of countries slashing budgets is expected to rise through 2025.’

Two high-profile initiatives of the Going Global strategy of China which laid the foundation for the country’s departure from mere self-reliance to becoming a global actor are the Belt and Road Initiative and Capacity Cooperation.

According to Tristan Kenderdine from Australian National University and Han Ling from Columbia University, “Belt and Road is part of a wider attempt to recreate complex interdependence and provides the macro geopolitical setting, it is a much broader canvas, one which China hopes to use to smooth its longer term integration into both the world economy and the global security apparatus. Unlike Belt and Road (B&R), which is a linear geopolitical concept, capacity cooperation is rather a practical financial measure for shifting China’s excess industrial plants offshore to perpetuate the investment-driven project system model of economic development.”

Going Global 2.0 started focusing on China’s claim to become the champion of free trade. China quickly adapted to weaknesses of Going Global 1.0 policy to control corruption and governance issues. China also realized that it is not the high-handedness and rent-

THE covid-19 pandemic has had a very disruptive impact on poverty reduction. According to a recently released report by the world Bank titled ‘Poverty and shared prosperity 2022: correcting course’ the overall three-decade trend of reduction in extreme poverty was reversed during 2020– the year that Covid-19 was declared a pandemic. In the foreword of the Report, President of world Bank Group, David Malpass, pointed out in this regard ‘Covid-19 marked the end of a phase of global progress in poverty reduction. During the three decades that preceded its arrival, more than 1 billion people escaped extreme poverty. The incomes of the poorest nations gained ground.’

The practice of vaccine hoarding, and lack of vaccine supply to the global South, led to even more toll taking by the pandemic, longer economic recovery time, on one hand, and lack of fiscal space, especially given little debt relief was provided to already debtstressed countries in particular, overall meant that the amount of stimulus that could be provided to safeguard against vulnerability and as social safety net was much less compared to what was needed, and seriously miniscule when compared to more than $13 trillion that was provided in the rich, advanced countries.

In terms of financial support, the main occurrence in this regard during the pandemic up till now, happened in the shape of enhanced special drawing rights (SDRs) allocation by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), whereby the maximum allocation limit with the IMF at $650 billion was distributed among member countries. Although an important source of expanding fiscal space and providing cushion to domestic currencies against the US dollar, the majority of the allocation went to rich, advanced countries, since it was made on the basis of ‘quota’; not to mention that the allocation itself came around one-and-a-half years after the start of the pandemic in August 2021. while the IMF put in

Hence, while it is important that tight monetary policy is reined-in meaningfully, at the same time, it has been exceedingly important– and in fact overdue– for the IMF to make a fresh release of enhanced SDR allocation to the tune of $650 billion– and with a more appropriate distribution formula than just basing it on quota– so as to provide countries, especially developing countries, with the much needed cushion in terms of foreign exchange reserves, and fiscal space. In addition, to allow countries to be much more prepared in terms of dealing with the consequences of climate change, and to play an active role in reducing the carbon footprint, developed countries are yet to fulfil their $100 billion annual commitments towards developing countries.

Having said that, instead of providing any meaningful debt relief to developing countries, or releasing a much-needed enhanced SDR allocation, so that countries have greater fiscal space to make muchneeded productive investment, especially those like Pakistan that have suffered immensely from a climate change related disaster– like the catastrophic floods in Pakistan that have affected around 33 million people– the old mantra of austerity is being advocated.

In fact, according to a report ‘End austerity: a global report on budget cuts and harmful social reforms in 2022-25’ released in September, many countries are already well into practising austerity, and are likely to continue this policy in the short- to mediumterm. The Report indicated in this regard ‘This report alerts of the dangers of a post-pandemic austerity shock, far more premature and severe than the one that followed the global financial crisis. Instead of harmful austerity measures (or “fiscal consolidation”, govern-

Going Global and CPEC

seeking which can create space for China as a global actor but the partnership and engagement that can open doors of global markets for China.

Terminologies which we noticed in several agitations in Baluchistan particularly in Gwadar, clearly indicate lack of awareness about the transformation in China’s going global policies on one hand and probably some on-ground mismanagements on the other hand which created unrest in local masses.

The most noticed protest in the recent past with the slogan of ‘ Gwadar ko haq do’ ,( ‘Give rights to Gwadar’) led by Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman, a generally acceptable figure, has also raised questions about mishandling by the local administration. one of the participants expressed his concerns in these words, “when we go out to the sea, we cannot return home because the Chinese VIP movement is happening. Imagine that we spend eight hours working at the sea and then we are blocked because some Chinese engineer is moving about. Even if it is a Chinese cook, we have to wait on the roads for hours together. The situation is so bad that we cannot even take a patient to the hospital if the coastal highway is blocked by the security forces.” This certainly indicates maladministration of people incharge of daily affairs.

There is a need to educate the masses in Balochistan and Sindh and particularly in Gwadar that China’s foreign implementation of the “flying geese model” drives the economic development of underdeveloped countries at one hand and provides an opportunity to utilize China’s expertise on other, therefore making it a three-dimensional policy together with the benefits of B&R initiative.

According to the GRISP Development Forum, “The flying geese (FG) model intends to explain the catching-up process of industrialization of latecomer

economies from the three aspects. Intra-industry aspect: product development within a particular developing country, with a single industry growing from import to production to export enabling sustainable growth. Inter-industry aspect: sequential appearance and development of industries in a particular developing country, with industries being diversified and upgraded from consumer goods to capital goods and/or from simple to more sophisticated products. International aspect: subsequent relocation process of industries from advanced to developing countries during the latter’s catching-up process.” If we take the FG model optimistically, we can create a win-win situation for both China and Pakistan and particularly those who are directly exposed to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) from Gilgit to Gwadar. Capacity cooperation model can benefit on two fronts: first, building industrial parks focusing ‘comparative advantage’for different goods and services; second, upgradation of facilities and infrastructure through Sino-Pak industrial collaborations utilizing proposed industrial parks.

Policy makers have to consider the anxiety of the local population when they exclaim that Balochistan contains the richest mineral resources, but its people receive little of the income derived from those resources and are deprived of the education, medical care, and are subject to environmental challenges due to extensive mining activities.

China has exceptionally progressed in the latest technologies while Pakistan has a vibrant youth to contribute to the global demand of technologically skilled human resources. Instead of transferring only aging or environmenallyt unfriendly industries to the proposed technology parks included in the master plan of CPEC, relevant authorities should deliberate working on a

Hence, the global economy needs a policy of nonausterity, and a counter-cyclical policy, for transforming economies into being more resilient, productive, and having less poverty and inequality. This is also important for improving the quality of democracy.

The same world Bank published report on poverty also pointed towards the need for greater economic growth, and with better distributional consequences.

The Report indicated in this regard ‘Despite difficult global and domestic circumstances, policy makers must redouble their efforts to grow their economies in the coming years– while paying careful attention to who benefits from that growth. The need for growth that boosts the incomes of the poorest could not be greater than it is today.’

And inclusive economic growth, in turn, requires greater public investment, and with a large scope in terms of economic sectors, including providing broader social safety nets, something which is virtually impossible to see through a policy of austerity, and overly hawkish monetary policy stance that is currently being adopted by many countries.

The writer holds PhD in Economics degree from the University of Barcelona, and previously worked at International Monetary Fund.Prior to this, he did MSc. in Economics from the University of York (United Kingdom), and worked at the Ministry of Economic Affairs & Statistics (Pakistan), among other places. He is author of Springer published book (2016) ‘The economic impact of International Monetary Fund programmes: institutional quality, macroeconomic stabilization and economic growth’.He tweets @omerjaved7

wide variety of options considering both absolute advantage and comparative advantage to develop reliable infrastructure for the future needs of industrial and technological developments.

It is not that complicated to develop frameworks utilizing both absolute and comparative advantages which according to Investopedia, “largely influence how and why nations and businesses devote resources to the production of particular goods and services. Absolute advantage describes a scenario in which one entity can manufacture a product at a higher quality and at a faster rate for a greater profit than another competing business or country can accomplish. Comparative advantage, on the other hand, takes into consideration the opportunity costs involved when choosing to manufacture multiple types of goods with limited resources.”

Pakistan is a country of diverse seasons and lands with innumerable dimensions of producing a variety of both agricultural and industrial goods based on local environment and resources. The Politics and economics of CPEC are intertwined due to there being several internal and external stakeholders to the project. It is indeed a challenging task to ensure smooth execution due to numerous interest groups and regional forces being impacted by the progress and completion of CPEC.

Currently the most important aspect is to address local resistance because despite the promises of connectivity and development of the entire nation CPEC projects have become a target of terrorist attacks due to both inability to comprehend scope and benefits of the project and interventions of forces which consider CPEC a threat for their regional and global hegemony.

This can be achieved by inculcating consensus, effective stakeholder management, public education & engagement, and inclusion of indigenous communities & all relevant segments of the society.

The writer is Associate Professor of Management Sciences and Head, Center of Islamic Finance, COMSATS University (CUI) Lahore Campus. He can be reached at drabdussattar@cuilahore.edu.pk and tweets @drabdussattar

The beginning of the rupee’s umpteenth decline indicates that the honeymoon is over

Dr abDus sattar abbasi

Inclusive economic growth, in turn, requires greater public investment, and with a large scope in terms of economic sectors

Dr. Omer JaveD

The covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have meant a lot of suffering

The delusion of western democratic values

focal point is mostly Taiwan, a self-ruled island in the South China Sea contentiously claimed by China. Ironically, the USA always recognized Taiwan’s independence. Yet to gain the loyalty of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to prevent its engagement with the USSR, the USA unilaterally cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1979, diplomatically recognizing the People’s Republic of China. If that is opportunism and hypocrisy, what is?

Zain abbas riZvi

THE drumroll of democracy was sounded by the United Nations, colloquially known as the Allies, - as the Nazi clout waned after world war II. Under the leadership of the USA, western democracies gradually spurred around the globe, a symbolic departure from the imperialistic tendencies associated with the European monarchies. Unfortunately, while the trend of colonialism reversed by the mid-1960s, the centrality of power was never circulated around the world. And even in the 21st century, the principles of sovereign polarity are grossly limited to a select few.

Even after dismantling Nazi Germany and its autocratic cohort, the western alliance faced its biggest challenge; its expedient ally against Hitler: the USSR. The Cold war was arguably the most intense era for global security. The mutual nuclear threat allowed no interlude to the USA or the USSR; the cataclysmic consequences were patent during the 1962 Missile Crisis. Fortunately, the leaders of the respective powers were fully aware of what they knew; also what they did not know. And therefore, even at the nadir of diplomacy, the Soviet-US leadership never fully disengaged and managed to avert a nuclear armageddon.

However, we somehow always overlook the schemes of the USA that created its hegemony. True, the USA was able to retrieve Europe and Korea from Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan respectively. Yet, the USA was not directly involved in the war until the attack on Pearl Harbour by Japan on 7 December 1941. By then, millions of Jews were already massacred and displaced in Europe; hundreds of thousands of women and children were brutally raped and murdered in Korea; and western Europe almost razed. So the US intervention was not entirely altruistic, even if it catalyzed the downfall of the Axis powers.

The Cuban Missile Crisis, in simple words, was a 35-day confrontation between the USA and the USSR at the apex of the Cold war. However, while subsequent US presidents gush over Kennedy’s heroic deterrence against Soviet missile deployments in Cuba, they skim over how this precarious juncture came into being due to US deployments of ballistic missiles in Italy and Turkey. So how did the USA stop a nuclear disaster? The USSR is supposed to be a tyrant today for pummelling Ukraine because it was joining NATo. Yet after over six decades, US sanctions on Cuba for harbouring Soviet nukes are still in place. why this double standard?

The US leaders, conservatives and moderates alike, have a new disposition in global politics: besmirch China to undercut its economic ascent. The

Admittedly, the USA has practically transformed Taiwan into a militaristic porcupine to counter any sudden amphibious invasion by the People’s Liberation Army. However, how is this any different from the Soviets fortifying Cuba? or NATo deploying armaments in the Baltic states? I agree with the traditionally programmed answer: It is to defend these countries, not to attack adversaries. well, exactly which adversary threatens Israel? why does the USA provide military support to Israel? And why not arm the Palestinians to defend themselves against the systemic oppression of Israel? why didn’t the USA bolster Iran’s defenses when Iraq invaded in the 1980s? And if foreign invasions are categorically nefarious (as repeatedly proclaimed by the western leaders over the past seven months), why did the US invade Iraq in 2003? So many questions but not enough adequate answers. Yet an implicit answer is ostensibly visible - just read between the lines, literally! The answer is hypocrisy.

The inflationary pressures are crippling emerging economies around the globe. The western nations have unanimously blamed Putin for the energy and food crisis. It is hard to argue against the merits of those claims. Russia and Ukraine collectively bear the onus of the global grain supply; Russia is one of the world’s largest oil and gas producers; and Russia is the world’s largest manufacturer of fertilizers. Yet did Russia place sanctions without even a hint of contemplation of global economic and social repercussions? I unambiguously support befitting actions against Russian brutality. But not when the cost harms innocent working-class people who have nothing to do with this war or the power games in Europe!

Countries in Africa and Asia were barely emerging from the devastating effects of the pandemic. Now, the shortage of food and energy has pushed headline inflation to stratospheric levels. Instead of alleviating the pain for the developing world, Europe is bidding LNG cargoes away from struggling nations in Asia. The irony is that while still buying energy from Russia, albeit at a relatively slower pace, the European Union (EU) has the audacity to lecture Asian countries against dependence on Russia. Comparatively, the USA is duplicitous on simply another level.

The aggressive rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve this year have already vaulted the greenback to a 20-year high; nearly 40 percent up since its 2011 low against currencies of a broad range of trading partners. As the Fed simultaneously allows Treasuries to mature and roll off its nearly $9 trillion balance sheet, global market disruption is all but imminent. Due to the ubiquity of the US Treasuries, from mortgages to corporate loans, the Fed’s accelerating Quantitative Tightening (QT) is proving insufferable for developing economies with piles of dollar-denominated debt. Since the dollar is the mainstay of virtually every international market,- from commodities to oil to fixedincome, a burgeoning dollar is no less detrimental to vulnerable emerging economies than the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

According to a recent report by The Times, the growing strength of the US dollar has exacer-

bated the food crisis in Nigeria and Somalia while pushing Egypt and Kenya dangerously closer to a default on their international debts. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) already expects more than a third of the world’s economy to contract by 2023, the severity “resting critically” on the successful calibration of monetary policy by the Federal Reserve. This episode is highly reminiscent of the 1980s when aggressive rate hikes by the Fed invoked a double whammy of debt and currency crises in Latin America, later leading to a vertiginous drop in growth worldwide.

Thus, while Americans profusely defend their motivations for the collective good in diplomacy, they have not been entirely considerate of the social implications of their economic policies on the emerging world. on the contrary, the IMF is on the prowl to press harsh conditions on desperate nations in exchange for a bailout. what choice do these countries have but to approach China or (even) Russia for assistance?

If not for the socio-economic desperation perforating the resolve of emerging nations across the globe, the rise of right-wing politics in Europe and Asia foreshadows a paradigm shift. The extremist Hindutva moment under the wings of Indian premier Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is a stark example of the fissures in the western democratic order. If political pundits are intuitively precise about their predictions, then increasing violence against Muslims in India, alongside Jammu and Kashmir, is not just an anomaly consistently overlooked by the western world. But it is the beginning of a wave of right-wing populist movements that would ensnare the democratic ethos.

Governments in Hungary, Poland, and Italy have gradually edged toward fascist factions. And it is not inane to portend that these rightist elements could substantively enfeeble the democratic order piecemeal before the brewing authoritarian bloc, primarily comprising Russia, China, and Iran, takes precedence and disseminates worldwide.

we could intensely debate the theoretical rise of a new world order amid crumbling democracy worldwide. a return to the bloc politics of the 60s. However, the fundamental reality is that the USA is trying to fight multiple battles across a diverse range of elements with distinct rivals conniving in a rare display of ideological concord.

Yet the downfall could be forestalled by a few confessions. The USA should acknowledge that economically isolating Iran has only made it more resilient. The US should discern that arming Saudi Arabia is much more in tandem with its objectives than criticizing the royalty for its blatant human rights abuses, which ironically the USA was notoriously a part of for decades.

The Biden Administration should look for ways to supplant China economically instead of placing predatory tariffs, flaring tensions in the Pacific, or luring Asian economies with empty promises. The collective western bloc should have realized by now that blindly placing sanctions on Russia without paving alternate means of supply would only cause more suffering to the global economy while benefiting Putin’s devious vendetta. And ultimately, the USA should pause and consider for a moment.

The unapologetic rise of China, the belligerence of Russia, the self-interest of India, the perseverance of Iran, and the connivance of Saudi Arabia. All these elements, these distinct traits, have historically, from time to time, served as building blocks and shaped the USA into the superpower it is today. So a similar decline is only inevitable.

Editor’s mail

Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey

Traffic discipline and driving test

wE often ask our friends ‘how did the interview go?’, or ‘how tough was your test?’, or ‘did you memorise the entire book?’, or ‘was the examiner a tough guy?’ we ask these questions because we expect people to prepare for various examinations to ensure that they perform well. As a consequence, the outcome ensures that people are eligible for the task ahead. I find it amazing that when it comes to the crucial driving test, we don’t hear people talk about it in a similar vein.

There are millions of cars on our roads. The number of motorcycles is much higher. And if we include all types of public and private vehicles on roads across the country, the number would be staggering high. Is it not important that people take the driving test just as seriously as is the case with any other test or exam?

Back in the 1980s, my mother appeared for her driving test in the United States. She took classes, appeared for a written exam and a practical test to finally obtain a driving licence. She was rightfully proud of her hard-earned licence.

Pakistani taxi drivers in New York would tell you that driving tests were probably the toughest tests they have appeared in. Each would recall one mistake or the other that was pointed out to them by the examiners.

Ironically, almost every Pakistani who drives a vehicle owns a valid driving licence. A legitimate piece of plastic indicating the colour of your eye, blood group with a dishevelled photo of you from waiting in line at the licence office. And yet, the majority seems to be of unqualified drivers.

worldwide, road traffic injuries (RTAs) have been recognised as a public health issue. According to a paper by public health scholars at the John Hopkins University, motor vehicle accidents in Pakistan have surpassed being a public health issue, and has become an emerging ‘epidemic’.

Apparently, police reporting and data collection in Pakistan is done solely for legal purposes and not for research and public policy targets. A study done in Karachi alone revealed due evidence of under-reporting. It also suggested that the magnitude of motor vehicle injuries and deaths may be much more substantial than is evident from official statistics.

Things can surely change if we start taking our driving test seriously; just as seriously as we take any other test in life. I look forward to the day when I would actually hear someone ask the other, ‘how did the driving test go?’

SAADIA OWAIS KARACHI

Keti Bandar

KETI Bandar is a seaport with the potential to be a game-changer for the country as it could boost the national economy. About 150 years ago, it served as a port, and it makes practical sense to have Keti Bandar as the third-largest seaport in the country.

It was a centre of foreign trade and commerce in Sindh more than 50 years ago before dams were constructed upstream. The once beautiful, flourishing delta was made up of extensive agricultural lands rich with marine resources. For their blue economy, ships travelled this route from as far away as Europe. In the past, Keti Bandar was renowned for its sizable crop fields and its successful poultry business.

However, if it is developed and linked to M5 and M6 motorways, it would be a massive benefit for all concerned. A railway track should be constructed for the purpose of transporting cargo, and connecting to other areas of the province. Compared to the capacity of the two other ports, Keti Bandar Port has the ability to accommodate significantly larger ships. Compared to Gwadar, which is more than 600km away from Karachi, the port’s proximity to Karachi and accessibility to highway and rail networks would substantially curtail cargo delivery time to mainstream stations.

Additionally, Keti Bandar requires development with assistance from foreign investors and through projects, like the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). In fact, it should be made a part of the CPEC. The Russians might also be interested in Sindh, and, in that case, there is a chance they will bring counter-investments to the province to compete with American investments in Pakistan.

This project may attract further investment as a result. The only problem with Keti Bandar seems to be its location. Had the port been located in another province, it would have become a modern port long ago. The Sindh government should critically analyse the project and come up with a plan to develop it along modern lines.

FARHAN ALI SIYAL PADIDAN

Jiwani water woes

JIwANI is a small town located in eastern Gwadar. In fact, it is one of the four tehsils of Gwadar district which is approximately 70km away from the central part of the district. The tehsil lacks many basic facilities, but its water woes are unbearable. The first thing locals do in the morning is to search for water from water wells and other places.

They have protested for years, blocked the coastal highway, and even lost three precious lives for this cause, but the crisis has remained unresolved.

In 1987, when unarmed townspeople were holding a rally in the main bazaar to protest against the shortage of drinking water, the security forces had opened fire, killing three people, including a child.

Jiwani would surely be the only town in the world where people have lost their lives simply because they were demanding access to drinking water. Ironically, nothing has improved and the problem remains the same as it was back in 1987.

The town receives water from Ankara Dam via pipeline which is too old to serve the purpose. Therefore, the water takes a long time to reach its end point. on the other hand, the population is increasing rapidly and the need for water is high. Most of the people live below the poverty line, and cannot afford to buy water through commercial tankers.

Besides, in 2021, the provincial government had approved a fund worth over Rs937million to tackle this problem, build new dams and lay new pipelines, but no progress has been made so far.

The government must wake up from its rather deep slumber and take immediate measures to address Jiwani’s decades-long water woes before it claims even more lives.

WASEEM SALEEM GWADAR

StIll the end OF hIStOry

AtlAntic Francis Fukuyama

OVER the past decade, global politics has been heavily shaped by apparently strong states whose leaders are not constrained by law or constitutional checks and balances. Russia and China both have argued that liberal democracy is in long-term decline, and that their brand of muscular authoritarian government is able to act decisively and get things done while their democratic rivals debate, dither, and fail to deliver on their promises. These two countries were the vanguard of a broader authoritarian wave that turned back democratic gains across the globe, from Myanmar to Tunisia to Hungary to El Salvador. Over the past year, though, it has become evident that there are key weaknesses at the core of these strong states.

The weaknesses are of two sorts. First, the concentration of power in the hands of a single leader at the top all but guarantees low-quality decision making, and over time will produce truly catastrophic consequences. Second, the absence of public discussion and debate in “strong” states, and of any mechanism of accountability, means that the leader’s support is shallow, and can erode at a moment’s notice.

Supporters of liberal democracy must not give in to a fatalism that tacitly accepts the Russian-Chinese line that such democracies are in inevitable decline. The long-term progress of modern institutions is neither linear nor automatic. Over the years, we have seen huge setbacks to the progress of liberal and democratic institutions, with the rise of fascism and communism in the 1930s, or the military coups and oil crises of the 1960s and ’70s. And yet, liberal democracy has endured and come back repeatedly, because the alternatives are so bad. People across varied cultures do not like living under dictatorship, and they value their individual freedom. no authoritarian government presents a society that is, in the long term, more attractive than liberal democracy, and could therefore be considered the goal or endpoint of historical progress. The millions of people voting with their feet—leaving poor, corrupt, or violent countries for life not in Russia, China, or Iran but in the liberal, democratic West—amply demonstrate this.

The philosopher Hegel coined the phrase the end of history to refer to the liberal state’s rise out of the French Revolution as the goal or direction toward which historical progress was trending. For many decades after that, Marxists would borrow from Hegel and assert that the

true end of history would be a communist utopia. When I wrote an article in 1989 and a book in 1992 with this phrase in the title, I noted that the Marxist version was clearly wrong and that there didn’t seem to be a higher alternative to liberal democracy. We’ve seen frightening reversals to the progress of liberal democracy over the past 15 years, but setbacks do not mean that the underlying narrative is wrong. none of the proffered alternatives look like they’re doing any better.

* * *

The weaknesses of strong states have been on glaring display in Russia. President Vladimir Putin is the sole decision maker; even the former Soviet Union had a Politburo where the party secretary had to vet policy ideas. We saw images of Putin sitting at the end of a long table with his defense and foreign ministers because of his fear of COVID; he was so isolated that he had no idea how strong Ukrainian national identity had become in recent years or how fierce a resistance his invasion would provoke. He similarly got no word of how deeply corruption and incompetence had taken root within his own military, how abysmally the modern weapons he had developed were working, or how poorly trained his own officer corps was.

The shallowness of his regime’s support was made evident by the rush to the borders of young Russian men when he announced his “partial” mobilization on September 21. Some 700,000 Russians have left for Georgia, Kazakhstan, Finland, and any other country that would take them, a far greater number than has actually been mobilized. Those who have been caught up by the conscription are being thrown directly into battle without adequate training or equipment, and are already showing up on the front as POWs or casualties. Putin’s legitimacy was based on a social contract that promised citizens stability and a modicum of prosperity in return for political passivity, but the regime has broken that deal and is feeling the consequences.

Putin’s bad decision making and shallow support has produced one of the biggest strategic blunders in living memory. Far from demonstrating its greatness and recovering its empire, Russia has become a global object of ridicule, and will endure further humiliations at the hands of Ukraine in the coming weeks. The entire Russian military position in the south of Ukraine is likely to collapse, and the Ukrainians have a real chance of liberating the Crimean Peninsula for the first time since 2014. These reversals have triggered a huge amount of fingerpointing in Moscow; the Kremlin is cracking down even harder on dissent. Whether Putin himself will be able to survive a Russian military defeat is an open question.

Something similar, if a bit less dramatic, has been going on in China. One of the hallmarks of Chinese authoritarianism in the period between Deng Xiaoping’s reforms in 1978 and Xi Jinping’s accession to power in

2013 was the degree to which it was institutionalized. Institutions mean that rulers have to follow rules and cannot do whatever they please. The Chinese Communist Party imposed many rules on itself: mandatory retirement ages for party cadres, strict meritocratic standards for recruitment and promotion, and above all a 10-year term limit for the party’s most-senior leadership. Deng Xiaoping established a system of collective leadership precisely to avoid the dominance of a single leader like Mao Zedong.

Much of this has been dismantled under Xi Jinping, who will receive the blessing of his party to remain on as paramount leader for a third five-year term at the 20th Party Congress. In place of collective leadership, China has moved to a personalistic system in which no other senior official can come close to challenging Xi.

This concentration of authority in one man has in turn led to poor decision making. The party has intervened in the economy, hobbling the tech sector by going after stars such as Alibaba and Tencent; forced Chinese farmers to plant money-losing staples in pursuit of agricultural selfsufficiency; and insisted on a zero-COVID strategy that keeps important parts of China under continuing lockdowns that have shaved points off of the country’s economic growth. China cannot easily reverse zero-COVID, because it has failed to buy effective vaccines and finds a large part of its elderly population vulnerable to the disease. What looked two years ago like a triumphant success in controlling COVID has turned into a prolonged debacle.

All of this comes on top of the failure of China’s underlying growth model, which relied on heavy state investment in real estate to keep the economy humming. Basic economics suggests this would lead to massive misallocation of resources, as has in fact happened. Go online and search for Chinese buildings being blown up, and you will see many videos of massive housing complexes being dynamited because there is no one to buy apartments in them.

These authoritarian failures are not limited to China. Iran has been rocked by weeks of protests following the death of Mahsa Amini at the hands of the morality police. Iran is in terrible shape: It faces a banking crisis, is running out of water, has seen big declines in agriculture, and is grappling with crippling international sanctions and isolation. Despite its pariah status, it has a well-educated population, in which women constitute a majority of university graduates. And yet the regime is led by a small group of old men with social attitudes several generations out of date. It is no wonder that the regime is now facing its greatest test of legitimacy. The only country that qualifies as even more poorly managed is one with another dictatorship, Venezuela, which has produced the world’s largest outflux of refugees over the past decade.

Celebrations of the rise of strong states and the decline of liberal democracy are thus very premature. Lib-

eral democracy, precisely because it distributes power and relies on consent of the governed, is in much better shape globally than many people think. Despite recent gains by populist parties in Sweden and Italy, most countries in Europe still enjoy a strong degree of social consensus.

The big question mark remains, unfortunately, the United States. Some 30 to 35 percent of its voters continue to believe the false narrative that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, and the Republican Party has been taken over by Donald Trump’s MAGA followers, who are doing their best to put election deniers in positions of power around the country. This group does not represent a majority of the country but is likely to regain control of at least the House of Representatives this november, and possibly the presidency in 2024. The party’s putative leader, Trump, has fallen deeper and deeper into a conspiracy-fueled madness in which he believes that he could be immediately reinstated as president and that the country should criminally indict his presidential predecessors, including one who is already dead.

There is an intimate connection between the success of strong states abroad and populist politics at home. Politicians such as Marine Le Pen and Éric Zemmour in France, Viktor Orbán in Hungary, Matteo Salvini in Italy, and of course Trump in the U.S. have all expressed sympathy for Putin. They see in him a model for the kind of strongman rule they would like to exercise in their own country. He, in turn, is hoping that their rise will weaken Western support for Ukraine and save his flailing “special military operation.”

Liberal democracy will not make a comeback unless people are willing to struggle on its behalf. The problem is that many who grow up living in peaceful, prosperous liberal democracies begin to take their form of government for granted. Because they have never experienced an actual tyranny, they imagine that the democratically elected governments under which they live are themselves evil dictatorships conniving to take away their rights, whether that is the European Union or the administration in Washington. But reality has intervened. The Russian invasion of Ukraine constitutes a real dictatorship trying to crush a genuinely free society with rockets and tanks, and may serve to remind the current generation of what is at stake. By resisting Russian imperialism, the Ukrainians are demonstrating the grievous weaknesses that exist at the core of an apparently strong state. They understand the true value of freedom, and are fighting a larger battle on our behalf, a battle that all of us need to join.

Is a new protest movement starting in France?

DW Lisa Louis

On Sunday afternoon, thousands of protesters gathered at the Place de la nation in northeastern Paris waving signs labeled “Stop Tax Evasion” and “I want a 52% Pay Rise Just Like the CEO of Total.”

The demonstrators were hoping the march against rising living costs and government inaction on climate change would mark the beginning of a nationwide protest movement.

Some analysts also think it could be the start of something much bigger and more widespread. “We want to fight against government policies — they only ever take away money from the poorest,” one man wearing a denim jacket and a yellow scarf was yelling into a microphone from the cargo area of a small truck. “Yes!” the crowd in front of him replied.

“We will participate in every action to resist against these unfair policies,” Vincent Gay, the man on the truck, told DW shortly after. The 46-year-old member of Attac, an nGO fighting for social and environmental justice, added that his group was in favor of higher salaries, freezing prices for certain basic goods and decisive action against climate change.

LEFT IS HOPING FOR A ‘COMBINATION OF FORCES’ Attac, just like numerous other nGOs, had

joined a march organized by the so-called nupes coalition. The left-wing alliance, which first came together for French parliamentary elections earlier this year, includes far-left party France Unbowed (LFI), France’s Socialist Party, the Greens and the Communist Party. Unions hadn’t officially joined the march — although the crowd included some of their members.

nupes was also asking to bring down the pension age from 62 to 60, and calling for a basic income for young people. LFI’s former presidential candidate JeanLuc Melenchon was in the front row among the protesters. He told journalists that the march was the first day of a cycle of protests. “You’ll experience a week like no other — this will be the combination of all forces,” he said. Then, he declared the demonstration a success, saying there had been 140,000 participants. Police later put that number at roughly 30,000.

Melenchon had been hinting at a strike planned for this Tuesday. Unions for teachers, employees of the energy sector and employees at railroad company SnCF and Parisian metro company RATP will all participate. This comes after weekslong strikes at the majority of France’s refineries that have led to higher fuel prices and shortages. Employees there have been asking for higher wages and better working conditions. The government now fears the march, together with the upcoming strike day, could be the start of a monthlong protest movement — especially as President Emmanuel Macron’s team is working on a pension reform to increase the retirement age from 62 to up to 65.

Bruno Cautres, political scientist at the Paris-based Center for Political Research at Sciences Po University,

thinks such a protest wave could indeed be in the offing. “Today’s march has attracted a considerable number of participants,” he told DW.

‘PEOPLE FEEL SYSTEM IS UNJUST’ “That shows how deeply unjust many people feel our system is — also, as they realize some employees are paid a lot more than others,” Cautres added. “Paradoxically, the strikes at the refineries have highlighted that as certain employees will now receive bonuses of thousands of euros.” “It might well be that that was the final straw that has now incensed the people,” he said. Danielle Tartakowsky, a Paris-based historian specialized in protest movements, also speaks of a “difficult social climate.” “The number of ‘offensive’ strikes in companies has been multiplying — that means people don’t strike ‘defensively’ to prevent cuts from happening; they strike to ask for higher salaries,” she told DW. “That’s extraordinary!” she added.

And yet, according to Tartakowsky, it’s difficult to say if this will lead to monthslong demonstrations like the ones carried out by the so-called yellow vests, who protested for more social justice starting in november 2018. “You just can’t know what will be the spark that triggers general strikes such as the ones in the 1960s and the 1990s,” she said. Many workers hoped to return to work on Friday. Some commuters opted to hire bicycles and scooters and others took their cars. This led to large traffic jams in French cities. There were nearly 300 kilometers of traffic jams in the Paris region.

But Philippe Crevel, a Paris-based economist and founder of think tank Cercle de l’Epargne, points out that compared to certain other countries, France’s economy

isn’t doing that badly. “Inflation stands at 5.6% compared to an average 10% across Europe — also because the government has been capping electricity price rises for households and subsidizing fuel prices,” he told DW.

He added that France’s GDP was predicted to grow by up to 1% next year, whereas a recession was looming in neighboring countries such as Germany.

That’s why Crevel thinks the protests are primarily politically motivated. “The Left and the unions want to take a stand against Macron, but I don’t think they will manage to kick off a nationwide protest movement under these circumstances,” he said.

COULD OTHER PEOPLE LEARN FROM THE FRENCH? But Claudine Prioul begged to differ. She had traveled to Paris from the northwestern department of Mayenne with her husband, Gerard, and her friend Colette Paris. All three of them are 70 years old, retirees, members of left-wing union CGT and have been participating in demonstrations since they were in their 20s.

“We need to fundamentally change our political system so that market laws are no longer the decisive factor and the government finally does what the people want,” Claudine Prioul told DW. “I’m struggling more and more to get by with my pension of €1,510 ($1,469),” she added. Gerard Prioul added that citizens of other countries could learn a thing or two from the French and also take to the streets. “We French always think we achieve nothing with our demonstrations,” he said. “But if you compare our situation with that of other countries where no one protests, we have gained much more and lost fewer rights over the past decades.”

THE CONCENTRATION OF POWER IN THE HANDS OF A SINGLE LEADER AT THE TOP ALL BUT GUARANTEES LOWQUALITY DECISION MAKING, AND OVER TIME WILL PRODUCE TRULY CATASTROPHIC CONSEQUENCES

THE ABSENCE OF PUBLIC DISCUSSION AND DEBATE IN “STRONG” STATES, AND OF ANY MECHANISM OF ACCOUNTABILITY, MEANS THAT THE LEADER’S SUPPORT IS SHALLOW, AND CAN ERODE AT A MOMENT’S NOTICE

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE HAVE PROTESTED IN PARIS AGAINST THE HIGH COST OF LIVING AND FOR A MORE DECISIVE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE. BUT IS IT THE BEGINNING OF A WIDER MOVEMENT AGAINST PRESIDENT MACRON’S POLICIES?

Kurram people demand peace as NA-45 by-polls in doldrums

PARACHINAR Staff report

The people of Kurram district on Sunday united with one voice that all the tribes have a commitment to maintain law and order situation in the area.

A peace march was held by the political, social and religious parties of the entire district in Parachinar.

The participants of the march were waving white flags in their hands and shouting slogans in favor of peace.

After reaching the press club, tribal elders Inayat Tori, Syed Tajumal Hussain, Syed Sadaqat Mian, Mir Afzal Tori, Muzamil Hussain Mujahid Tori, Nushi Bangash, Abdul Samad Wazir and Muhammad Sharif Orakzai and others addressed the gathering. They said all the merged districts, especially Kurram had been affected in war against terror, and they now deserve long-lasting peace in their areas. They also assured the authorities of their readiness to take all kinds of responsibilities for maintaining peace in the area.

Meanwhile, the disqualification of PTI Chairman Imran Khan by the ECP has raised many eyebrows over the fate of NA-45 (Kurram) by-election, scheduled to be held on October 30, as former premier is one of the contenders.

Since Imran was the approved candidate by the ECP for the constituency, the recent order has jeopardized his position to contest the election as the commission is yet to clarify the situation of NA-45 following the verdict.

The district election commission has written to the election supervisor to ask about the Imran’s candidature in the aftermath of October 21 disqualification judgment.

Imran Khan should leave politics: Rana Tanveer

ISLAMABAD Staff report

Federal Education Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain Sunday advised Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan to leave politics and become chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). “Imran Khan should leave politics and become the chairman of the PCB. He has put the entire nation in trouble by spreading lies, deception, and temptation,” he said while talking to the media in Muridke.

PML-N leader Haji Tariq Dogar was also present on the occasion. Rana Tanveer said that Nawaz Sharif had been disqualified for life for not taking a salary from his son.

“But the election commission’s attitude towards Imran Khan has been lenient. He should have been disqualified for life too,” he pointed out.

“Imran Khan has bought properties in New York, New Jersey, and Dubai by sending billions of rupees out of the country through the accounts of his relatives. Everything is coming to the light slowly,” he added. He also vowed to go to the courts to end the lifelong disqualification of Nawaz Sharif.

Hamza notified as leader of opposition in Punjab Assembly

LAHORE Staff report

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president Hamza Shahbaz on Sunday was appointed Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, said a notification issued here on Sunday by the Assembly secretariat. Usually, the opposition leader is notified soon after the election of the leader of the House or the chief minister, who in this case was elected on July 26.

Hamza Shahbaz became the Punjab chief minister on April 30 after which he was de-notified as the opposition leader, an office he first assumed in September 2018.

However, his government was ousted after the Supreme Court declared as illegal the ruling of former Punjab Assembly deputy speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari in the election for the chief minister.

FREE qUAlITy SEEdS FOR FARmERS TO HElP OvERCOmE CROP SHORTAgE

ISLAMABAD Staff report

THErecent devastating floods have damaged almost 8 million acres of agricultural land countrywide, causing shortage of fruit and vegetables.

To overcome crop shortages, the government has decided to distribute free high-quality seeds to the farmers in the flood-hit areas, reports WealthPK.

According to an official of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFSR), the government has allocated sufficient funds for distribution of free seeds to the poor farmers whose crops have been badly destroyed.

“The government has decided to

distribute the seeds through the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and has released Rs4 billion for procurement. Additionally, the government will provide Rs4 billion more to seriously address this issue. The flood-hit areas need 2.99 million seed bags for the upcoming Rabi season,” he added.

He further said floods had destroyed almost 80% of agricultural land in Balochistan due to which food shortage and poverty will reach a high level. He said it was agreed that the provincial governments would match the amount announced by the federal government.

The official said seed distribution had started among the affected farmers without discrimination. The agri-

culture sector, he said, contributes 24% to the GDP growth, making it the main pillar of our economy. Almost all crops have been destroyed by floods, including rice, cotton, pulses, oil seeds, and vegetables.

“The government has decided to give subsidy on seed and fertilizer to support the affected farmers. This subsidy is for the Rabi season on a cost sharing basis with the provinces. The government also plans to provide subsidy on wheat and edible oil seeds. This is in addition to one fertilizer bag per acre given to the farmers,” the official added.

He said Pakistan was facing a looming food security crisis, as vast swathes of farmland in Sindh and Balochistan provinces were still under-

Chinese experts’ advice to help in rehabilitation of flood-hit areas: official

ISLAMABAD Monitoring report

Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Lt. Gen. Inam Haider Malik said Pakistan would benefit from the advice of the visiting Chinese flood control expert group in the rehabilitation process of flood-hit people.

Speaking at a meeting with the delegation, Lt. Gen. Malik said that Pakistan has a colossal work at hand, but with the help of the Chinese experts and learning from their experiences the country will come up outstandingly to tackle the problem and do something better for the next phase of reconstruction and rehabilitation.

The 11 experts sent by the Chinese government arrived in Pakistan on October 11 and concluded their inspection and exchange activities in Pakistan on October 21.

The expert group, which is organised by China’s Ministry of Emergency Management, covered six fields including hydrology, meteorology, rescue and relief, disaster assessment, flood control planning, and flood control management.

Xu Xianbiao, head of the Chinese delegation, shared China’s experience in flood control and disaster reduction and provided the Pakistani side with preliminary advice and suggestions for recent disaster relief and medium-

and long-term enhancement of flood control and disaster reduction capabilities.

The delegation visited the worst-hit Sindh for inspection on October 15-17.

The delegation met Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and his cabinet on Wednesday and shared their impression of the situation in the aftermath of the floods.

During the meeting, Sharif asked China to help his country in disaster management and make it self-reliant in disaster management.

The death toll from this season’s monsoon rain and floods since mid-June has risen to 1,719 along with 12,867 injuries in Pakistan, according to the NDMA.

KPRA builds capacity of its staff through weeklong training

PESHAWAR aziz Buneri

To build capacity of its staff, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Revenue Authority (KPRA) arranged a weeklong training workshop on Comparison of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sales Tax on Services Act 2022 with sales tax laws of the rest of the three provinces.

Officials of KPRA Collectorate, Directorates and Regional offices took part in the training workshop arranged with the financial assistance of USAIDfunded Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Revenue Mobilization (KPRM) Activity at PC hotel Peshawar.

The aim of the training workshop was to improve the skills of KPRA Officers in their

routine working to minimize the risk of litigations. The trainers worked on show cause notices served by the KPRA officers, identified flaws in the notices and worked on assessment orders drafted by the KPRA officers along with maintenance of order sheets to leave no margin for litigations.

Along with comparison of KP Sales Tax on Services Act 2022 with the sales tax laws of Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan the trainers also discussed international best practices in sales tax regime.

Officials of KPRA who took part in the training workshop thanked USAID KPRM for providing them the opportunity to learn from experts in the field of litigations.

“The training workshop was needed for the uplift of KPRA staff skills in their routine workings. There were weak points in our show cause notices and assessment orders due to which our orders were set aside by in appeal forums,” said Assistant Collector Waqar Ahmed in his remarks regarding the training workshop.

“The training will help in improving our show cause notices, assessment orders and maintenance of order sheets where there were weaknesses and were exploited. Now our working will leave now weak points to be exploited in litigations,” said Inspector Imad Ali. The participants were given training completion certificates at the end of the workshop.

water after the deadly monsoon floods that cost the country an estimated $30 billion loss.

Minister for National Food Security and Research (MNFSR) has also directed the department of plant protection to prepare a comprehensive plan for delivery of farming inputs to the affected areas.

The official further said under this project, farmers in Sindh and Balochistan as well as in one flood-hit district each of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces would be provided with free seeds for wheat and oilseed crops, including mustard and sesame. In order to prepare as much agricultural land for crops as possible, the government is dewatering Sindh and Balochistan, he added.

Int’l conference on interfaith relations begins at AIOU today

ISLAMABAD: A three-day international conference titled: "Interfaith Relations: Challenges and Prospects" would begin at Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) from Monday (today). According to an AIOU spokesperson, international and national experts, teachers and researchers will present their research papers during the three-day conference.

"The purpose of the conference is to promote interfaith harmony and to examine the challenges we are facing today," he added. Currently, efforts are being made to create a society based on tolerance all over the world, and this conference will be a milestone in these efforts. pr

IESCO issues power suspension schedule

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) on Sunday issued a power suspension programme for Monday for various areas of its region due to necessary maintenance and routine development work.

According to the IESCO spokesman, the power supply of different feeders and grid stations would remain suspended for the period from 08:00 am to 02:00 pm, including EME Complex, P&T Wini, Jhangi, Azharabad, CWO, Sanghui, Nathawala, Safdar Shaheed, Khaklian, Ahmedabad Feeders. Similarly from 09:00 am to 01:00 pm, Basharat, Katas, Dalwal, Tharpal, CS Shah, Dandut feeders and surroundings would undergo power suspension, he added. pr

ICP nabs six dacoits with valuables, narcotic

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Capital Police (ICP) apprehended six criminals involved in criminal activities and recovered stolen valuables, drugs and weapons from their possession, police said on Sunday.

According to details, Kohsar police team arrested an accused namely Iftikhar and recovered 1175 gram heroin from his possession. Likewise, Bani Gala police team arrested an accused namely Shahbaz and recovered one 30 bore pistol from his possession. pr

Cut in duties on raw material import must to boost towel export

both the industries.

Applying cutting-edge technology and reducing duties on import of raw material can help Pakistan unleash its potential in towel exports.

Talking to WealthPK, Amjad Hussain, Assistant Manager at Sadaqat Textile Mills, Faisalabad, said Pakistan has the potential to lead the global towel market by using cutting-edge technology, focusing on research and development, as well as ensuring innovation and value addition.

He said the major export markets for Pakistani towels are the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands. He added that during the last fiscal

year 2021-22, the export of towels was recorded at $1.11 billion.

Data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics indicates that the export of towels in August 2022 was recorded at $75.036 million, showing a decline of 9.37% over the same month of the previous year. Moreover, during the first two months of (July-Aug) FY23, exports of towels were recorded at $150 million, showing a decline of 6.61% over the same months of last year.

Amjad Hussain said that Pakistan’s major competitors in towel export are China, India and Vietnam, adding that Pakistan should encourage towel manufacturers and exporters to adopt modern production techniques to compete with their counterparts.

He added that exporters faced tough competition from their peers due to higher cost of production caused by lack of modern production technology.

Amjad Hussain said that raw materials used in production of towels included cotton yarn and dyes, most of which were produced locally, but were of rather low quality. To improve the quality of towels, producers of dyes would have to improve their quality, he underscored. He added that devastating flooding had destroyed cotton crop on a vast area, which would also dent the textile sector’s ability to achieve the export target for the current financial year.

The textile mills official said that Pakistan should seek new markets to increase its

towel exports. Non-traditional markets such as Russia, Japan, Australia, Austria, France and Canada have significant potential for towel exports, he added.

According to a report published by Pakistan Trade Development Authority, most of the raw materials for towel manufacturing are produced locally. The local producers of dyes and yarn are protected by the government’s imposition of import and customs duties ranging from 5% to 26%.

The report points out that the existing import duties (customs duty, additional duty, and regulatory duty) protect local dye manufacturers while increasing costs for textile manufacturers. The report recommends that lowering import duties on dyes will benefit

According to the Pakistan Business Council, the country underperforms in towel exports due to limited access to technology and use of outmoded machinery, ineffective image-building and brand-development strategies, as well as the effects of currency fluctuation.

Amjad Hussain continued that the towel industry is labour-intensive, but scarcity of skilled labour hampered export growth in terms of quality, productivity and value addition.

He suggested launching internationallyrecognised training programmes for workers to enhance their skills and outputs. He said towels made from dyed yarn have greater value than piece-dyed ones.

ISLAMABAD Staff report

ChIna’S XI eXPandS PoweRS, PRomoTeS allIeS

BEIJING The AssociATed Press

PRESIDENTXi Jinping, China’s most powerful leader in decades, increased his dominance when he was named Sunday to another term as head of the ruling Communist Party in a break with tradition and promoted allies who support his vision of tighter control over society and the struggling economy.

Xi, who took power in 2012, was awarded a third five-year term as general secretary, discarding a party custom under which his predecessor left after 10 years. The 69-year-old leader is expected by some to try to stay in power for life.

On Saturday, Xi’s predecessor, 79year-old Hu Jintao, abruptly left a meeting of the party Central Committee with an aide holding his arm. That prompted questions about whether Xi was flexing his powers by expelling other leaders. The official Xinhua news agency later reported Hu was in poor health and needed to rest.

The party also named a sevenmember Standing Committee, its inner circle of power, dominated by Xi allies after Premier Li Keqiang, the No. 2 leader and an advocate of market-style

reform and private enterprise, was dropped from the leadership Saturday. That was despite Li being a year younger than the party’s informal retirement age of 68.

Xi and other Standing Committee members appeared for the first time as a group before reporters Sunday in the Great Hall of the People, the seat of China’s ceremonial legislature in central Beijing.

The No. 2 leader was Li Qiang, a former Shanghai party secretary who is no relation to Li Keqiang. The holder of that post has since the 1990s served as premier, the top economic

official. Zhao Leji, a member of the previous committee, was promoted to No. 3, which puts him in line to head the legislature. Those government posts are to be assigned when the legislature meets next year.

Leadership changes were announced as the party wrapped up a twice-a-decade congress that was closely watched for signs of initiatives to reverse an economic slump or changes in a severe “zero-Covid” strategy that has shut down cities and disrupted business. Officials disappointed investors and the Chinese public by announcing no changes.

The lineup appeared to reflect what some commentators called “Maximum Xi,” valuing loyalty over ability. Some new leaders lack national-level experience as vice premier or Cabinet minister which typically is seen as a requirement for the post.

Li Qiang’s promotion appeared to support that analysis because it puts him in line to be premier with no background in national government. Li Qiang is seen as close to Xi after the two worked together in Zhejiang province in the southeast in the early 2000s.

Li Keqiang was sidelined over the past decade by Xi, who put himself in charge of policymaking bodies. Li Keqiang was excluded Saturday from the list of the party’s new 205-member Central Committee, from which the Standing Committee is picked.

Another leader who left the Standing Committee was Wang Yang, a reform advocate suggested by some as a possible premier. Wang, 67, is below retirement age.

Other new Standing Committee members include Cai Qi, the Beijing party secretary, and Ding Xuexiang, a career party manager who is regarded as Xi’s “alter ego” or chief of staff. Wang Huning, the party’s chief of ideology, stayed on the committee. The No. 7 member is Li Xi, the party secretary since 2017 of Guangdong province in the southeast, the centre of China’s export-oriented manufacturing industry.

None of the members is a woman or ethnic minority. The Central Committee includes 11 women, or about 5 percent of the total.

Indian troops torch APHC leader’s house, shops in Kupwara

SRINAGAR Agencies

Russia discusses Ukraine in calls with France, Turkey, UK

MOSCOW Agencies

Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu held phone calls Sunday with his British, French and Turkish counterparts, during which they discussed Ukraine, the Russian defence ministry said.

“The situation in Ukraine, which has a steady tendency towards further, uncontrolled escalation, was discussed,” by Shoigu and France’s Sebastien Lecornu, the ministry said. Later on Sunday, the ministry said Shoigu held phone calls with his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar and UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace. In all three calls, Shoigu conveyed “concerns about possible provocations by Ukraine with the use of a ‘dirty bomb'”. The statements did not provide further details.

On Friday, Shoigu held a rare phone call with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Both sides confirmed they discussed Ukraine.

It was only the second call between the ministers since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine on February 24. Back in May, Austin had urged Moscow to implement an “immediate ceasefire”.

In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops set on fire the house and shops of All Parties Hurriyat Conference leader Chaudhry Shaheen Iqbal in Haft Rada area of Handwara in Kupwara district in the dark of night.

According to Kashmir Media Service, Hurriyat leaders in their statements in Srinagar strongly condemned the Indian army’s brutal act and expressed solidarity with Chaudhry Shaheen Iqbal. They said that India cannot force the Kashmiris into submission by using such inhuman tactics.

The leaders said that the Kashmiri people have not recognized India’s oppressive occupation since the first day and will never do so. They appealed to the international human rights organizations to put pressure on India to stop the violations of human rights in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

APHC leader Chaudhry Shaheen Iqbal is on a visit to Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan for the past few week.

27 October Black Day posters appeared

Posters appeared in several areas of Srinagar and other areas of territory urging people to mark black day on Oct 27 Tuesday against Indian illegal

occupation of Jammu and Kashmir.

According to Kashmir Media Service, the posters of Jammu Kashmir Democratic Movement and Warseen e Shohdai Jammu Kashmir posters said, the Kashmiris are bound to continue freedom struggle against Indian illegal occupation.

The posters appeared on walls, pillars and on high way electric polls in different areas of territory said that the Kashmiris are struggling for their right to self-determination and observing October 27, day as a Black Day.

The posters termed the 27th October 1947 as the darkest day in the history of Jammu and Kashmir.

Two pilots dead after Russian jet crashes into building

Moscow: Two pilots were killed after a Russian jet conducting a test flight crashed on Sunday into a two-storey building in the city of Irkutsk in southern Siberia, the regional governor said. The incident comes days after a military jet crashed into a block of flats in the Russian town of Yeysk, killing more than a dozen people, including children. “A Su category plane hit a two-storey building in Irkutsk on Przhevalskogo street,” governor Igor Kobzev said on social media, with the local department of the emergencies ministry clarifying that a “Su-30 aircraft crashed during a test flight”. Kobzev later said that two pilots were killed in the crash but local residents were unharmed. He posted a video of the building, which he described as a “private home for two families of 100 metres squared”, with smoke billowing against a dark sky. Firefighters were seen at the scene, working to extinguish the fire that broke out after the crash. Russia’s investigative committee, which probes major crimes, said in a statement that it had launched a criminal case over the incident. Agencies

Israeli forces shot dead Palestinian

JERUSALEM Agencies

Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said, and a Palestinian stabbed an Israeli in Jerusalem, police said.

The Israeli military said its troops were trying to detain a vehicle after its passengers had crossed illegally into Israel. It said the vehicle fled and hit a soldier, after which “the soldiers fired towards the vehicle”.

One of the passengers died at hospital, Palestinian hospital officials said.

The man’s father told Palestinian Qudsnet news that his son was headed for work when he was shot. It was unclear whether he had an entry permit into Israel.

The official said Rabi Arafah Rabi, 32, was hit by “a bullet to the head” at a checkpoint southeast of the city of Qalqilya.

The Israeli military said troops had fired on a vehicle carrying three people suspected of trying to enter Israel illegally after it failed to stop for inspection and instead moved off, hitting a soldier. The soldier did not require medical attention, the army added. In a separate incident in the West Bank, Israeli defence officials said a Palestinian driver rammed his car into a manned guard booth, in what it described as a suspected attack. In Jerusalem, Israeli police said they shot and “neutralised” a Palestinian who had stabbed and badly wounded an Israeli. Video circulating on social media showed the suspected assailant lying wounded at a playground where children had been playing soccer, as an armed police officer stood over him.

Police said officers “neutralised” a Palestinian stabbing suspect in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem after an attack that left an Israeli man in serious condition. “The suspect stabbed a passer-by with a knife and fled” the scene north of the Old City, police said.

Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak eye comeback ahead of Tory vote

LONDON Agencies

UK former prime minister Boris Johnson returned to Britain from a Caribbean holiday aiming to launch an audacious political comeback, as Conservative rival Rishi Sunak reached the minimum threshold to contest the UK’s top job.

Johnson cut short a luxury stay in the Dominican Republic to join the seemingly three-person race to replace outgoing leader Liz Truss, with allies telling British media he was “up for it”.

Cabinet member Penny Mordaunt, who just missed out on making the final runoff after Johnson quit, was the first to formally unveil her candidacy, on Friday.

The 49-year-old said she was running for “a fresh start, a united party and leadership in the national interest” but is already trailing her rivals by dozens of nominations.

The accelerated contest will see the Conservatives’ 357 MPs hold a vote Monday on any candidates with the 100 nominations, before a possible online ballot of party members later in the week if two remain.

The Sunak and Johnson camps are reportedly seeking talks to see if there is scope for a unity deal — although there is plenty of bad blood since the former prime minister’s defenestration.

Sunak’s July resignation helped trigger the government mutiny that ultimately led to Johnson’s ousting.

Tory MP James Duddridge, a key Johnson ally who confirmed Friday the ex-leader was intent on standing, said that he had now secured the support of 100 colleagues.

His apparent bid to return to office just weeks later has already been dec¬ried by opposition politicians, and even some in his own fractured ruling party who are demanding stability and unity. However, both Sunak and Johnson are yet to announce they are running, with reports that a declaration by the former was imminent.

The Tories were forced into a second, this time expedited, leadership contest since the summer after Truss dramatically announced on Thursday she would stand down — just 44 tempestuous days into her tenure. It followed a disastrous taxslashing mini-budget that sparked economic and political turmoil which Sunak had predicted.

Far-right Meloni takes over as Italy’s first woman PM

ROME Agencies

Giorgia Meloni officially took over Sunday as Italy’s first woman prime minister at the helm of the country’s most right-wing government since World War II.

Four weeks after her post-fascist Brothers of Italy party won general elections, Meloni joined outgoing premier Mario Draghi for a handover ceremony at Chigi Palace, the prime minister’s seat in Rome.

After almost 90 minutes of private talks, the pair smiled broadly as Draghi, a former European Central Bank chief, symbolically handed over to Meloni a small bell used in cabinet debates.

She will later hold her first meeting of ministers comprising members of her party and its allies, former premier Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party and Matteo Salvini’s

far-right League.

The Eurosceptic, anti-immigration coalition takes over the eurozone’s third largest economy at a time of soaring inflation, an energy crisis and war in Ukraine.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Saturday she had a “good first call” with Meloni, adding: “I count on and look forward to constructive cooperation with the new government on the challenges we face together.”

Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany later said he looked forward to “working closely together with Italy in EU, NATO and G7” — a sentiment Meloni reflected in responses to congratulatory messages on Twitter.

Italy’s La Stampa daily spoke of a “European beginning” on its front page on Sunday.

“Meloni: down to work, with pride”, headlined the Corriere della Sera.

On Saturday, Meloni and her 24 minis-

ters were sworn in before President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinal Palace in Rome, once home to popes and kings of Italy.

She declared her intention to get “straight to work”.

Meloni’s ministerial experience is limited to three years as youth minister under Berlusconi’s 2008-2011 government, while her party has never held power. Brothers of Italy won just four percent of the vote in 2018 elections, but secured a historic 26 percent of the vote in the September 25 poll.

Meloni was a fan of late dictator Benito Mussolini as a teenager, but has managed to distance her party from its neo-fascist roots.

She presents herself as a straight-talking “Christian mother”, a defender of traditional values and Italy’s national interests, particularly in Brussels.

Her party no longer wants Italy to leave the EU’s single currency but remains

strongly Eurosceptic, as is the League, which won nine percent in the elections.

However, she named committed European Antonio Tajani, a former president of the European Parliament who co-founded Forza Italia with Berlusconi, as foreign minister and deputy prime minister.

In an attempt to reassure investors that Italy’s debt-laden economy was safe in her hands, Meloni also appointed Giancarlo Giorgetti as economy minister.

Giorgetti, who served as minister of economic development under Draghi, is considered one of the more moderate, pro-Europe members of Salvini’s League.

Salvini will serve as deputy prime minister and minister of infrastructure and transport. He had wanted the role of interior minister, a post he previously held between 2018 and 2019. That went instead to a technocrat, Rome prefect Matteo Piantedosi.

– Coalition tensions –

The talks to form a government had been overshadowed by disagreements within Meloni’s coalition on one of the biggest issues facing Europe — the response to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

She was forced to clarify her strong support for Kyiv and EU sanctions against Moscow after Berlusconi was recorded defending his old friend President Vladimir Putin.

Salvini, too, is a long-time fan of Putin and has criticised Western sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

On Saturday Meloni again affirmed her desire to work with NATO, which she described as “more than a military alliance: a bulwark of common values we’ll never stop standing for”. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and US President Joe Biden sent their congratulations, as did Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.

NO TimE TO wASTE AT T20 wOrld CuP: S AFriCA SkiPPEr

SYDNEY afp

SOUTHAfrica captain Temba Bavuma vowed Sunday that his team will come out with all guns blazing in their T20 World Cup bow in Australia, with no time to ease themselves into the tournament.

The Proteas have a poor record in global events, never winning a World Cup or reaching a final in either short-ball format. They failed to make the T20 World Cup semi-finals a year ago on net run-rate.

Bavuma’s side meet resurgent qualifier Zimbabwe in an all-African clash in Hobart on Monday to get their Australian campaign underway with the pressure on.

But he said they were up for the challenge.

“We have Zimbabwe as our opening game. There, everything that we’ve spoken about in our meetings and our preparation, we’ll be looking to execute them as well as we can,” he said.

“We obviously want to start on a positive note. We don’t want to kind of ease ourselves into the tournament. There really is no time to do that.

“Tomorrow will really be an opportunity for us to execute our skills and our plans accordingly.”

Bavuma himself is desperate for runs with his batting form so poor he was overlooked in the auction for South Africa’s new T20 franchise competition.

He followed that by scoring only three runs in three innings in their recent T20 series in India.

Making matters worse, he recently fell ill to further hamper his preparations.

“I was out of action the last week or so in India with sickness. I came here to Australia still kind of recovering. But I’ve gotten over that,” insisted Bavuma, who was appointed South Africa’s white-ball captain in 2021. Zimbabwe booked their berth in the Super 12 at the expense of Scotland in round one on Friday, to continue their good form under coach Dave Houghton, Zimbabwe’s first Test captain back in 1992.

They have promised to cause “as much damage” as they can and Bavuma is wary, but confident. “We know what we’re going to do. We know how we’re going to do it. And we’re all quite comfortable around all of that,” he said.

Sri Lanka beat Ireland in one-sided chase with five overs to spare

HOBART agencieS

Ashwin accused of ‘cheating’ with sneaky attempted fib

MELBOURNE: Indian veteran Ravichandran Ashwin has been accused of an unsportsmanlike act after trying to claim a catch that hit the ground against Pakistan. After a strong start, India looked to have claimed another wicket when Shan Masood topedged a pull shot off the bowling of Mohammed Shami and it flew to fine leg. Ashwin had a slow reaction and just failed to get to the ball on time as it hit the ground just before his hands got under it. However, he rose to his feet claiming the catch and it had to be checked by the third umpire. It was clearly seen on the replay the ball had hit the MCG turf. Ashwin was heavily criticised for the act on social media given the heated nature of this rivalry. He has previously been criticised for Mankad incidents. “Ashwin claiming a catch which he knew he hadn’t taken is a serious offence in cricket. Many non-Indian cricketers were banned by ICC for claiming a bump ball under ‘conduct contrary to the spirit of the game’. Will @ICC ban Ashwin for cheating,” asked Daniel Alexander, a commentator and analyst. “How could Ashwin not know he hadn’t taken it cleanly,” questioned Manak Gupta, an Indian anchorperson.

ATF 16&U Asian Tennis Tour 2022 commences today

Sri Lanka commenced their Super 12 campaign with an impressive nine-wicket triumph over a disappointing Ireland in Hobart on Sunday.

There were many fears for Sri Lanka when they were thrashed by Namibia in the opening match of the First Round, but the reigning Asia Cup champions are slowly gathering some momentum.

While the nine-wicket victory over Ireland was expected by most, the way the island nation went about it was ultra-impressive as they clinically dispatched of their opponents in clinical style with plenty of improvement to come.

Star spinner Wanindu Hasaranga (2/25) took his eighth and ninth scalps of the tournament thus far and he was well supported by fellow spinner Maheesh Theekshana (2/19), who was thrust into the bowling crease during Ireland’s batting Powerplay.

Not only did Sri Lanka take wickets at regular intervals, but they also kept the run rate down as Ireland’s batters were unable to gather much momentum and were restricted to 128/8 from their 20 overs.

Sri Lanka’s run chase was a mere formality, with in-form opener Kusal Mendis (68 from 43 balls) continuing his excellent tournament thus far with another half-century. Kusal Mendis passes 50 on way to Sri Lanka triumph. Much of the good Ireland managed from eye-catching victories over Scotland and the West Indies was undone against Sri Lanka, with the European side unable to backup their strong showings from the First Round.

Veteran opener Paul Stirling (34 from 25 balls) got a handful of big shots away early, but young gun Harry Tector (45 off 42) was the only

other player to look assured at the crease.

Their bowling didn’t fare much better, with spinner Gareth Delany (1/28) the only wickettaker as Ireland started their Super 12 campaign in disappointing style.

While Sri Lanka will be buoyed by their easy victory, the good news for them is they still have plenty of improvement left in them and can play much better.

First-choice opener Pathum Nissanka missed the clash against Ireland due to a groin injury, while the rest of their batting line-up – outside of Mendis – are yet to really hit their straps.

There is still four more matches Sri Lanka must negotiate during the Super 12 if they are to reach the semis, with their next test coming in Perth on Tuesday against tournament hosts Australia.

Ireland have two full days to lick their wounds and recover, with a difficult match-up against England their next assignment at the MCG on Wednesday.

Ashfaq outclasses talented golf professionals to win 41st Punjab Open Title

LAHORE Staff RepoRt

ICU wins volleyball trophy in KP Inter-Varsity Games

PESHAWAR Staff RepoRt

LAHORE: ATF 16&U Asian Tennis Tour 2022 (Leg2) will commence Monday (today) here at Sports Board Punjab (SBP) Tennis Academy Nishtar Park Sports Complex. Tariq Zaman, CEO Ali Embroidery Mills, sponsors of the event will grace the opening ceremony as chief guest. Secretary, Punjab Lawn tennis association, Rashid Malik (Tamgha-e-Imtiaz), players and their families and tennis lovers will also be present on the occasion. All the final matches of the prestigious Asian Junior event will be played on 28th October at 3:30 p.m. Meanwhile, Ali Embroidery Mills Punjab Junior Tennis Championship 2022 will also take place from 24th October to 28th October 2022 at Sports Board Punjab Tennis Academy, Nishtar Park Lahore, where the players from across the Punjab will be seen in action. They will be vying for the trophies, medals and certificates in the different categories including Boys/Girls U-14, Boys/Girls U-14 Doubles, Boys/Girls U-12, Boys/Girls U – 10, Boys/Girls U–8 and Boys/Girls U–6. MonitoRing RepoRt

Islamia College University (ICU) defeated Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan by 3-0 in the boys volleyball final match played as a part of the ongoing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inter-Varsity Games here at the indoor hall of the Agriculture University, Peshawar on Sunday.

The hall was jam-packed with the university students and local game spectators. The final was also witnessed by Agriculture University, Peshawar Vice Chancellor Dr Jehan Bakht along with Brazilian Volleyball Coach Cristiano, Secretary General of Provincial Volleyball Association Khalid Waqar Chamkani, Admin Officer Jafar Shah, Director of Sports Islamia College University Ali Hoti, Volleyball Coach Hidayatullah, AD Sports Haya Naz and other important personalities.

The Inter-Varsity Games continued in full swing under the auspices of the Directorate General Sports with girls and boys from 30 universities competing in three male and as many female

games.

The volleyball final produced great excitement but Islamia College University dominated the proceedings and did not allow the team of Abdul Wali Khan University to strike back. The score was won 25-16, 25-19 and 27-25. Earlier, in the semi-finals, Abdul Wali Khan University defeated the University of Agriculture by 23-25, 25-24, 25-13 and 2521, while Islamia University beat Malakand University by 25-25, 17-25-21, 23-25 and 25-23. After the final match, the chief guest distributed trophies and cash prizes among the players. Rs 100,000 was awarded to the winning team with a trophy, and Rs 50,000 cash and a trophy were given to the runners-up team. in the cricket event, DI Khan University qualified for the final by defeating Peshawar University by 65 runs. Gomal University won the toss and batted first and scored 150 runs in the allotted overs, in which Sabrullah scored 43 runs, Fahad 24 runs, and Hafeez 42 runs.

However, from Peshawar University, Hamad dismissed two players, Wahid and Abu Bakr dismissed one player each.

Afghanistan will bounce back from England defeat: Rashid

MELBOURNE agencieS

Star spinner Rashid Khan said Afghanistan would bounce back from their opening loss to England at the Twenty20 World Cup having shown “promising talent” in the five-wicket defeat.

England bowled out Afghanistan for a paltry 112 in Perth on Saturday but the Afghan spin force led by Rashid dragged the opposition chase to the 19th over by taking five wickets. “First game for the guys. A different environment for all the youngsters in the team. First time playing in Australia and the condi-

tions, facing the bowlers with speeds of 150 plus, so a great learning for them,” said the leg-spinner. “But definitely we will come back. Some promising talent is there. We are going to be much improved in the upcoming games. Batting is the area we need to work on.” Afghanistan will next play New Zealand on Wednesday in Melbourne.

Afghanistan’s batting fell flat with left-arm quick bowler Sam Curran becoming the first England bowler to take five wickets in a Twenty20 international. Ben Stokes and Mark Wood, whose express pace exceeded 150kph (93mph) at times, took two wickets each as Afghanistan were all out in 19.4

overs. Rashid returned impressive figures of 1-17 in his four overs and was ably supported by fellow spinners Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman as they looked to restrict England, one of the tournament favourites. Mujeeb got Dawid Malan with his mystery spin and off-spinner Nabi bowled Stokes for two before Liam Livingstone took England home with an unbeaten 29 off 21 balls. “The way we bowled it showed anything between 150160 will be a good total for us,” Rashid said.

Afghanistan played two left-arm quick bowlers Fazalhaq Farooqui and Fareed Ahmed, but they rely on spin to win matches.

The three rounds and 54 holes 41st Punjab Open Golf Championship 2022 supported by Punjab Golf Association came to a most pleasing conclusion for Mohammad Ashfaq, a golf professional of Karachi Airmen Golf Club, at wondrous and sublime PAF Skyview Golf Course here. The winner outclassed colossally talented golf professionals like Shabbir Iqbal, Matloob Ahmed, Ahmed Baig and a few others to achieve overwhelming victory. At the start of the final round today on Sunday, Ashfaq who has yet to attain the leading light status in the national golf arenas of Pakistan, was placed one stroke behind three leaders, Shabbir Iqbal, Matloob Ahmed and Shahid Javed and not many predicted that the ultimate winner will be someone other than Shabbir or Matloob or even Shahid. But the purposeful and resolute Ashfaq had other plans. As the competitive activity in the final 18 holes progressed, noticeable was Ashfaq’s brilliance and his score was adorned with birdies and regulation pars .And when the final 18 holes came to an end his score of gross 67 represented an illuminated effort, giving him a commendable aggregate score of 206, ten under par plus elevating him to the star status of the title bearing event and compelling four other bright ones to accept the consoling runners up second position. While Ashfaq emerged as the Punjab Open Champion, established ones like Shahid Javed, Matloob Ahmed, Tallat Ijaz and A.Zahoor were bracketed at a championship aggregate score of 208, two shots behind Ashfaq. The top ten positions in Professional Category; Ashfaq (Airmen Golf Club) 68+71+67=206; Shahid Javed (Gymkhana) 68+70+70=208;Matloob Ahmed (Garrison)69+69+70=208;Tallat Ijaz (Gymkhana) 69+70+69=208; A.Zahoor (Multan)68+72+68=208; M.Naeem (Peshawar)72+69=69=210; M.Shabbir (Islamabad)68+70+73=211; Ashiq Hussain (Multan )72+72+68=212;M.Alam (Garrison)73+71+68=212; M.Sajjad (AGC)71+71+71=213; Amateur Category Champion was Salman Jehangir with three rounds scores of 70,73 and 73 and an aggregate of 216.Qasim Ali Khan ended up as runners up .His scores were 76,71 and 73 and the aggregate was 220.Damil Ataullah came third ,scores being 73,76 and 72 and a match total of 221.Net section winners were Nosherwan, first net ,Mohammad Shoaib, second net and Ahmed Jibran ,third net. A big development for ladies golf in Pakistan is that they are a part of World Amateur Golf Rankings and their performances are under review perpetually. The requirement they have to meet is to compete over 54 holes instead of the usual 36 holes. In this championship the top lady competitors contested over 54 holes and the results were;Hamna Amjad (AGC) 75+82+77=234;first arkha Ijaz (Defence Raya) 77+79+80=236;second;Aania Farooq (AGC) 76+82+79=237;third ;Suneya Osama (Garrison)91+87+81=259;fourth; Results of other Ladies events; Hadia Osama, first gross; Shahzadi Gulfam, second gross; Dr Fouzia, third gross; Dr Shaheen Irfan, first net; Minna Zainab ,second net;Aliha Amjad ,third net; Winner of Senior Professionals Event was Muhammed Akram ;Junior Professional Event Winner was M.Sahil; The winner in Senior Professional Category was Air Cdre Tariq Usman Abbas; Invitational Category Winners;GP Capt Asim Hafeez ,first gross ;Tariq Usman ,2nd gross;Sqn Ldr Sheraz Wahab ,3rd Gross ;Capt Ali Ejaz ,first net ;Ch Amir Akram ,2nd net;Brig Irfan Iftikhar ,3rd net.

El Sirty, Fayrouz clinch international squash titles

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

World No. 27 Mustafa El Sirty of Egypt overcame compatriot Mohammad El Sherbini to win the Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Serena Hotels International Men Squash Championship at Mushaf Squash Complex Islamabad on Sunday. El Sirty lost the first game 4-11 but came back strongly to win the next three games by a score-line of 11-5, 11-7, 11-8 and annex the title in 49 minutes. In the Serena Hotels Combaxx Sports International Women Squash Championship, Egypt’s Fayrouz Aboelkheir outplayed compatriot Malak Khafagy 11-6, 10-12, 11-4, 611, 12-10 in 37 minutes to to win the title. Over 30 players from 16 countries featured in the two events. The five-day championships were organised by Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) in collaboration with Pakistan Air Force. The men and women events carried a prize purse of US$ 30,000 and US$ 12,000, respectively.

PM leaveS fOR SaudI aRaBIa TOday TO aTTend ‘davOS In deSeRT’ SuMMIT

ISLAMABAD stAff RepoRt

PRIMEMinister Shehbaz Sharif is set to undertake a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia from Monday to attend “Davos in the desert” summit – an initiative of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to expand the Kingdom’s role beyond oil in the global economy.

Hundreds of delegates from around the world including government officials, business leaders and even CEOs of American companies are attending the two-day Future Investment Initiative summit in Riyadh. The conference will kick off on Tuesday.

According to officials, Prime Minister Shehbaz is visiting Saudi Arabia on the invitation of Saudi crown prince. He will attend the two-day conference and is scheduled to meet the Saudi leadership. The Davos in the desert is taking place at a time when Saudi Arabia and the US clashed over Riyadh’s move to cut oil supplies despite request by President Biden to the contrary.

The US officials were not invited to the investment summit, according to the organisers. However, 400 CEOs from different American companies will be in attendance. A strong Chinese delegation will be in Riyadh highlighting Saudi Arabia’s push to diversify its options and look beyond the West.

Meanwhile, Pakistan considers the conference as

an opportunity to draw world’s attention towards the climate-induced floods.

Shehbaz is visiting Saudi Arabia as the Saudi crown prince is also planning to visit Pakistan next month. Prime Minister Mohammad bin Salman is expected to travel to Islamabad next month on a crucial visit Pakistan is hoping will lead to yet another financial bailout package from the oil-rich Arab nation.

The officials, though, are tightlipped not sharing any details of the visit, it seems the two countries are in touch to prepare for the visit.

There are reports that the Saudi crown prince

may make a stopover in India on his way to Indonesia in mid-November, to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The visit is expected to last a few hours on November 14, and both leaders are expected to depart for Bali to attend the G-20 summit there on November 15-16, according to Indian media.

While MBS is keen to travel to Islamabad, there are concerns that the visit may be delayed or put on hold if Imran Khan decided to launch the much-anticipated long march against the government. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif invited the Saudi de facto ruler on a visit to Pakistan when he visited Saudi Arabia in July.

The visit comes at a time when the coalition government led by Shehbaz is facing an imminent long march of former prime minister Imran Khan and when Saudi Arabia is involved in a diplomatic row with the United States over the recent cut in oil supplies by major exporting countries.

Pakistan in a surprise and significant move took a public stance on the US-Saudi row and backed Riyadh’s position.

The US has been furious over the OPEC+ move to cut oil supplies by 2 million barrels a day despite request by President Joe Biden to the contrary.

Biden warned that Saudi Arabia will have to face consequences of the decision and that his administration would revisit the 80-year long bilateral relationship with the Arab country.

President, PM felicitate Xi on clinching third term

ISLAMABAD stAff RepoRt

President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif felicitated President Xi Jinping on his reappointment as general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the country’s military chief for a record third term.

ing third leadership term on Sunday and introduced a new top governing body stacked with loyalists, cementing his place as the country’s most powerful ruler since Mao Zedong.

Terrorist killed in Shalobar IBO: ISPR

ISLAMABAD stAff RepoRt

The security forces on Sunday killed a terrorist during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) conducted in general area Shalobar of Khyber District, following reports about presence of terrorists after intense fire exchange.

The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) informed in a news release that the forces also recovered weapon and ammunition from the killed terrorist. The killed terrorist remained actively involved in terrorist activities against the security forces, it added.

A day earlier, four terrorists were killed in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) conducted by the security forces in North Waziristan.

Security forces conducted the IBO in the Spimwam area of North Waziristan after a tip-off about presence of the terrorists. After an intense exchange of fire, four terrorists were killed by the security forces.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the killed terrorists had been involved in attacks on the security forces. Arms and explosive material were also recovered from the killed terrorists’ possession during the IBO, the statement added.

Earlier in the month, security forces had killed two terrorists during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in the North Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Alvi, on his Twitter account, extended his heartiest congratulations to President Jinping on his re-election, and best wishes for his “health and happiness”. “He is a true friend of Pakistan and champion for All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership between Pakistan and China,” the president posted in a tweet. On his Twitter, the prime minister posted: “On behalf of the entire Pakistani nation, I congratulate President Xi Jinping on his re-election as CPC General Secretary for the 3rd term.”

The prime minister further said that it was a glowing tribute to President Xi’s sagacious stewardship and unwavering devotion to serving the people of China. Jinping secured a precedent-break-

Shanghai Communist Party chief Li Qiang, 63, followed Xi onto the stage at the Great Hall of the People as the new Politburo Standing Committee was introduced, putting him in line to succeed Li Keqiang as premier when he retires in March.

The other members of the seven-man Standing Committee are Zhao Leji and Wang Huning, who return from the previous committee, and newcomers Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi. Li Qiang is also new to the Standing Committee. All are seen by analysts to have close allegiance to Xi, 69, the son of a Communist Party revolutionary who has taken China in a more authoritarian direction since rising to power in 2012.

“This is a leadership that will be focused on achieving Xi’s political goals, rather than pursuing their own agendas for what they think is best for the country,” said Drew Thompson, a visiting senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

Saudi Arabia, UAE & Pakistan likely to establish a new oil refinery at Gwadar

ISLAMABAD AhmAd AhmAdAni

Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Pakistan are likely to set up a new refinery in the port city Gwadar, Balochistan with a heavy investment and the newly appointed Secretary Petroleum has called an important meeting in this regard on Monday.

According to sources, newly-posted Secretary Petroleum Capt (r) Muhammad Mahmood has been striving hard to finalize the establishment of a new refinery in the country with the huge investment of Saudi Arabia and UAE. They said that the incumbent Secretary Petroleum has been consulting the concerned local stakeholders prior to finalizing the deal for setting up the new refinery in the country. And, in this regard a virtual meeting with Saudi Aramco is scheduled on Monday in the petroleum division. They said former prime minister Shahid

Khaqqan Abbasi, Minister of State (Petroleum Division) Musadik Masood Malik, Secretary Petroleum, Director General (Oil), managing directors (MDs) of Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and Pak-Arab Refinery Company Limited (PARCO) will attend this meeting. Last week on Tuesday, present Secretary Petroleum had also called a meeting on the subject matter and former prime minister Shahid Khaqqan Abbasi, Minister of State (Petroleum Division) Musadik Masood Malik, senior officials of petroleum division, Director General (Oil), MDs of Attock Refinery Limited (ARL), Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) and Pak Arab Refinery Limited (PARCO) attended this meeting, said sources. In order to materialize the establishment of a new oil refinery with the investment of Saudi Arabia, UAE and Pakistan, the newly appointed Secretary Petroleum Capt (r) Muhammad Mahmood has been vigorously pursuing to introduce the new refinery policy 2022 as early as possible, the sources added.

Media’s role in countering disinformation critical, says Marriyum aurangzeb

ISTANBUL AnAdolu AGency

A minister urged the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) member states to “optimally utilise” opportunities offered by digital platforms and social media to help improve the image of Islam and Muslims.

“The media’s role in this regard, while critical, would only be meaningful if it is given a common sense of direction,” said Marriyum Aurangzeb, the minister for information and broadcasting.

Aurangzeb was in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul to attend a two-day 12th Conference of the Information Ministers of the OIC which concluded on Saturday.

The conference underscored the need to combat Islamophobia and hatred against Islam in all manifestations while calling for “utilizing new and emerging platforms and technological innovations to present the truth” about Islam effectively.

It also emphasized the importance of cooperation among OIC member states in “developing necessary mechanisms to fight disinformation and other related challenges of the post-truth era, and devising short, medium, and long-term strategic processes in the total fight against disinformation.”

Pakistan’s current role in oic: Pakistan currently holds the chair of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM), which Aurangzeb told Anadolu Agency, is a “singular honour and important responsibility” for the South Asian nation.

Several initiatives were taken under Islamabad’s leadership, she said, including the Plan of Action on the Kashmir dispute, the peace, and security architecture at the OIC, launching and strengthening of humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan, efforts for the appointment of a special envoy on Islamophobia and enhancing economic coordination amongst OIC member states in critical areas like trade, investment, and IT cooperation.

The initiatives are part of resolutions adopted at an Islamabad summit of OIC foreign ministers in March.

“Pakistan is committed to playing an active role in these important areas during and beyond our chairmanship of the CFM,” she said.

Fraternal relations with türkiye: Aurangzeb said Pakistan and Türkiye “enjoy excellent fraternal relations” which have been “transformed into a strategic partnership.”

Sources said that the UAE had earlier planned to set up a deep-conversion, state-of-the-art refinery that would have an output of 500,000 barrels per day in Hub (a town in Balochistan) with PARCO while Saudi Arabia also shown interest to set up an oil refinery in Pakistan’s deepwater port of Gwadar with oil refining capacity of 500,000600,000 barrel/day. However, since there is no capacity in the system for two new oil refineries, it is likely that Saudi Arabia, UAE and Pakistan will jointly set up a new oil refinery in Pakistan with an output of five lakh barrels per day, they added. Currently, there are five players operating in the oil refining sector in Pakistan including, Pak-Arab Refinery Limited (PARCO), Attock Refinery Limited (ARL), National Refinery Limited (NRL), Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) and Cnergyico Pk Limited (CPL). All of the refineries are hydro skimming refineries, except for PARCO which is a mild-conversion refinery.

Pakistan’s oil refining capacity is about 450,000 barrels per day (bpd), equivalent to 20 million tons per annum.

The product slate typically comprises of energy products i.e. Naphtha, Motor Gasoline (MS), High Speed Diesel (HSD), Furnace Oil (FO), Kerosene, Jet fuel (JP1&JP-8), High-Octane Blending Component (HOBC), Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Light Diesel Oil (LDO) and non-energy products.

Rice exporters unhappy with govt over being neglected in fixed energy rate facility

ISLAMABAD GhulAm AbbAs

As the government has approved fixed electricity rates for selected export sectors of the country to facilitate exporters, the rice exporters have expressed their concern that despite being a major contributor, the rice sector has been neglected.

Through a notification issued here on October 19, 2022, the Ministry of Energy has fixed the electricity rate for the five ex-

port-oriented industries including textiles, leather, carpet, surgical and sports goods.

According to Taufiq Ahmed, former Vice President of Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP), the sector, despite contributing $2.5 billion in the exports of the country, was not included in the fixed energy facility.

“Even sectors having less than the contribution of rice in exports have been included in the list. Unfortunately we, despite competing, India, the major competitor, have been neglected,” he said, adding that the ex-

port of rice could go up to $3 billion if the sector is given the due attention.

“The rice exporters are now facing the huge challenge of competing with India in the international market as the exporters in neighboring countries comparatively enjoy good crops, stable currency and lower rate of dollar. We are unfortunately expecting a setback under the prevailing situation,” the rice exporter claimed. As per the notification of the ministry of energy, the energy rate, “Regionally Competitive Energy Rates for Ex-

port Oriented Sectors” would be available for the exporter from October 1 to June 2023.

Earlier, the Ministry of Commerce, through a summary had requested ECC to approve the fixed Rs 19.99/kWh all-inclusive rate for the five sectors. The same was approved by ECC on October 10, 2022. Following the approval from ECC and cabinet the ministry of energy has asked all DISCOs (including KElectric) to provide electricity on fixed rate to the five sectors. Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Mohammad Ishaq Dar had an-

nounced the relief measure, saying that the finance ministry would bear around Rs100 billion for the period of one year, which was the difference of actual and subsidized rate.

Earlier, the government provided the electricity at the rate of US 9 cents, which was to continue only for two months. Dar claimed that the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) government had provided Rs147 billion targeted relief or Duty Drawback to exporters back in 2017, and resultantly the exports were increased by 12.7 percent.

AfRICA wIll nOt beCOme A PAwn fOR U.S. In RUSSIA-UkRAIne CRISIS

way of giving the impression that africa supports the West’s hegemonic approach.

By coercing one of africa’s most influential leaders to misrepresent the continent’s genuine feelings, the West could also have succeeded in alienating the continent from China. if push eventually comes to shove, then the West would have it that africa would at worst remain neutral, or at best join the anti-Russia brigade.

But in an interview with the nikkei financial newspaper, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni disabused this notion by stating that China-style diplomacy was “much better” than the West’s. he contended that the West’s response to the conflict was full of “double standards” and extolled the virtues of China’s diplomatic approach of non-interference in other countries’ domestic affairs.

stephen nDegwA

thE bombshell by South african President Cyril Ramaphosa condemning the United States-led north atlantic Treaty Organization (naTO) for the conflict in Ukraine must have come as a shocker to the West. Further, the South african former freedom fighter and leader of the patriotic african national Congress (anC) stated categorically that he would not bow to pressure to condemn Russia for its “special military operation.” in what could be seen as South africa’s official position, Ramaphosa stated in South africa’s Parliament last week that “the war could have been avoided if naTO had heeded the warnings from among its own leaders and officials over the years that its eastward expansion would lead to greater, not less, instability in the region.”

Basically, the U.S. and its allies have unfairly and forcefully had their way with everyone else in the world for so long, more so africa, which they still believe is, going by their condescending attitude, technically a “dark continent.” Therefore, it must have been rather disconcerting for Ramaphosa to speak truth to power on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Ramaphosa’s sentiments are representative of the unstated feelings flowing through not just africa’s leadership but the citizenry as well. But it seems like there was extreme pressure for Ramaphosa to state otherwise as a

RENEWED COLD WAR

it is also instructive that Ramaphosa’s courageous statement came after he had personally talked on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The latter has actually spoken with several leaders from around the world, while his Ukrainian counterpart has been talking unilaterally to the Western bloc. Therefore, it is rather obvious who is genuine in their angst seeing that, as Ramaphosa acknowledged, the crisis has been building over many years as the international community gave a deaf ear to Russia’s grievances about naTO’S intrusive eastward expansion.

The african Union made its own pronounced on the matter on February 24 at the onset of Russia’s special military operation and called for the intervention of the United nations (Un). The organization’s statement was bent on seeking Russia’s ceasefire and negotiations under the auspices of the Un.

however, subsequent and ongoing revelations of the West’s meddling coupled with racial discrimination against africans during the evacuation of civilians across the borders from Ukraine has brought in a new dynamic.

individual countries like South africa, and kenya before it, have also already expressed their views. Ramaphosa took a totally different tack from Martin kimani, kenya’s Permanent Representative, in his statement to the Un. kimani’s February 22 statement seemed to criticize Russia’s special military operation. Given that it was a knee-jerk reaction using the stated Un stance, the view today would definitely be different in light of the new developments.

in retrospect, kenya must be in a quandary about its

Real challenges await the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation

Asif DurrAni

PakiSTan will host the 48th Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the Organization of islamic Cooperation (OiC) in islamabad from March 22 to 23. The session will coincide with the 75th anniversary of Pakistan’s independence. While Palestine and kashmir have remained a permanent agenda item on the organization’s agenda, there are also issues of islamophobia, terrorism and the situations in Bosnia, Yemen and Libya. Millions of our afghan brethren still remain at the mercy of international aid and confront an uncertain future at the hands of hunger and disease. The deleterious impact of the COViD-19 pandemic is yet to be fully contained.

The proposed theme of the 48th Session, “Partnering for Unity, Justice and Development,” is a clarion call not only for the Muslim world but the entire humanity facing discrimination. While Pakistan may seek to build “partnerships” across the islamic world and build bridges of cooperation to address the challenges facing Ummah, or the Muslim community, there is also a need to look at the emerging geopolitical paradigm at the regional level. Special attention has to be paid to the regions suffering from perennial tensions in the Muslim world, such as the Middle East. held under the shadows of the Ukraine crisis, in which the world is once again pushed to the renewed Cold War, the OiC meeting will have the opportunity to look at the emerging threats to the world and options that the islamic world can avail to put across its point of view effectively.

The OiC meeting assumes importance because of the severe sanctions imposed on Russia by the U.S. and EU countries. The most affected sector under these sanctions is energy. Russia is the world’s top exporter of crude and oil productscombined, producing about seven million barrels per day, or seven percent of global supply. in addition, Russia is the world’s largest grains and fertilizers exporter and a top producer of palladium, nickel, coal and steel. The bid to exclude its economy from the trading system will therefore hit a wide range of industries and add to global food security fears though many islamic countries, endowed with vast energy resources, may have windfall profits due to the sanctions on Russia.

The forthcoming CFM should afford a rare opportunity for the member states to formulate a common position about the world challenges. it would also be a rare occasion to draw lessons from the partisan attitude of the West

toward white people and the people of color. While the Ukrainians have been welcomed in Europe as normal citizens, asians escaping Ukraine faced discrimination and slurs at the Polish and Romanian borders without refugee status.

although the OiC countries have realized that few countries have supported the Russian military operation on Ukraine, the attitude of the U.S. and EU is equally reprehensible to instigating Ukraine to provoke a violent response from Russia. Behind the Russian attack lie the severe Russian complaints against the american and European attitude of pushing the envelope while expanding the north atlantic Treaty Organization well beyond the Western threat perception.

The islamic countries will have to look at the emerging Cold War situation from twin agenda points, first dealing with peace, security and stability in the Muslim countries, and second, how to refrain from block-politics to secure their interests. indeed, none of the islamic countries’ situation is ideal. apart from external interference in the name of “arab Spring,” which caused disasters for Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, iraq and Syria, the islamic countries have been grappling with tensions within their ranks, such as Saudi-iranian tussle in the region.

Secondly, the entire islamic world will sooner be facing a stark choice of either supporting the U.S.-led global order or the one which defies its dictates. after the end of the Cold War, Francis Fukuyama’s book, “The End of history and the Last Man,” made a sweeping statement that humankind had “reached the end-point of post-war history and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government.”

however, it did not happen as predicted by Fukuyama. China’s rise based on “meritocracy” set a new par-

ultimate position. Since independence, the East african country has had a long cordial diplomatic relationship with Russia. The communist country was a destination for tertiary education for thousands of kenyan students post-independence.

international rules should not be weaponized and applied to achieve predetermined outcomes favoring certain favorites to the detriment of those presumed powerless and inconsequential in the geopolitical scheme of things. While the West piles pressure on Russia to halt the conflict, it refuses to be accountable for its toxic actions in Ukraine.

Though largely unspoken, forthright statements like Ramaphosa’s are currently reverberating around the continent. Experts expect that such observations will soon become common currency as the truth of the conflict unfolds with the debunking of international media propaganda. however, what may not be immediately clear is why Ramaphosa seems to have been given clout to the extent

that he was even suggested as a probable mediator.

Well, Ramaphosa is seen as a sincere leader whose views are untainted by geopolitical passions. Moreover, the fact that he comes from africa means it is assumed that he would have no personal or national stake in any of the warring parties.

an african proverb says, “When a fool becomes enlightened, the clever man is in trouble.” africa has come of age and is not willing to be used as a rubber stamp to undermine or antagonize other countries’ genuine grievances. The countries have learned the hard way after experiencing the brunt of divide-and-rule tactics that have stunted their growth and unity for decades.

Stephen Ndegwa is a Nairobi-based communication expert, a lecturer-scholar at the United States International University-Africa and an author and international affairs columnist. The article reflects the author’s opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

‘He who tied the bell to the tiger must take it off’: America should show the world its sincerity

“China and the U.S. must not only guide their relations forward along the right track, but also shoulder their share of international responsibilities and work for world peace and tranquility,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping during a video call with U.S. President Joe Biden at the latter’s request, showing the wisdom and commitment of the leader of a major country.

Four months after the two leaders’ last virtual meeting in november 2021, the global situation changed significantly. incitement by the U.S.-led naTO further aggravated hostilities between Russian and Ukraine, leading to military conflicts. as the culprit of the Ukraine crisis, the U.S., instead of taking responsibility, churned out misinformation against China and piled pressure and coercion on China in an attempt to shift blames and take advantage of the crisis. This has not only further challenged China-U.S. relations, but also upset world peace.

adigm through whole-process people’s democracy. The country has lifted over 800 million out of poverty – a marvel that the best democracies could only dream about.

But the U.S.-led Western order, through their military-industrial complex, may push the world into bloc politics. Just look at the post-9/11scenario, where islamic countries have been on the receiving end. Countless Muslims were killed in afghanistan, iraq, Libya and Syria on the U.S. watch, and millions became refugees on various continents. naturally, the emerging order would directly impact the islamic world, which spans over a vast geographical expanse connecting Europe, africa and asia. individually, islamic countries could be pressurized to join the american-led world.

alternatively, however, the OiC has a choice whether to emerge as a neutral bloc to assert its identity or as a formidable alliance with friendly relations with the american-led world and other countries. The OiC can decide on peace and security issues on merit. Moreover, a neutral OiC can also play the role of a mediator between the countries in conflict. Given the divisions within the islamic Ummah’s ranks, a unified neutral stance over the renewed Cold War may sound premature. Still, the gathering storm on the international horizon would soon force the countries to adopt a unified stance for their individual and regional interests.

Asif Durrani is a former Ambassador of Pakistan in Iran and the United Arab Emirates. He served as a Deputy Head of Mission in Kabul from 2005 to 2009. Currently, he is a senior research fellow at Islamabad Policy Research Institute. The article reflects the author’s opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

The two heads of state having a candid and indepth exchange of views on China-U.S. relations, the situation in Ukraine and other issues of mutual interest at such a crucial moment is of great significance to the two countries and the world in general.

During the call, Biden reiterated the position that the U.S. does not seek to have a new Cold War with China, change China’s system, revitalize its alliances against China or support “Taiwan independence,” and that it has no intention to seek a conflict with China. in response, Xi said he took these remarks “very seriously” and noted that the “direct cause” of the current strain on China-U.S. relations was that “some people on the U.S. side have not followed through on the important common understanding reached by us, neither have they acted on President Biden’s positive statements. The U.S. has misperceived and miscalculated China’s strategic intention.”

Xi’s frank and straightforward statement pointed out america’s failure to deliver on its promises as well as its deepgoing misconception of China as an “imagined enemy,” accurately identifying the crux of the problem in China-U.S. relations.

Taiwan is the most complex and sensitive issue in China-U.S. relations. The current U.S. government, although having repeatedly underscored its commitment to the one-China policy, has gone back on its own words by acts that severely jeopardized peace across the Taiwan Straits and further strained bilateral relation. During the video call, Xi stressed that some people in the U.S. had sent a wrong signal to “Taiwan independence” forces, which was “very dangerous,” and that mishandling of the Taiwan issue would exert a disruptive impact on China-U.S. relations. Xi’s remark was a reaffirmation of China’s solemn position on the Taiwan issue and a clear warning to the U.S. Washington must take it seriously and exercise caution over its words and deeds to avoid getting itself into trouble.

Xi also talked about “international responsibilities” and restated China’s standpoint on the Ukraine crisis. he emphasized that “as leaders of major countries, we need to think about how to properly address global hotspot issues and, more importantly, keep in mind global stability and the work and life of billions of people. Sweeping and indiscriminate sanctions would only make the people suffer.” Xi went on to point out that the “pressing priority” of addressing the Ukraine crisis was to keep the dialogue and negotiation going, avoid civilian casualties, prevent a humanitarian crisis,

and cease hostilities as soon as possible, while an “enduring solution” would be for major countries to respect each other, reject the Cold War mentality, refrain from bloc confrontation, and build step by step a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture for the region and for the world.

This means that China has offered a general plan to resolve Ukraine crisis, which involves both guiding principles and specific means, and addresses both the conflict itself and its root cause. These proposals are a reflection of China’s wisdom and its deep concern for the people, and represent the latest effort it made to dissolve the Ukraine crisis.

“The more complex the situation, the greater the need to remain cool-headed and rational. Whatever the circumstances, there is always a need for political courage to create space for peace and leave room for political settlement,” said Xi. as the saying goes, he who tied the bell to the tiger must take it off. now that Biden has expressed Washington’s willingness to keep the lines of communication with China open to prevent the escalation of the situation, Washington must match its words with its deeds. Seeking China’s support and cooperation on the one hand while attacking, vilifying, threatening and sanctioning China on the other will never work.

it is worth noting that the video call between the two leaders coincided with the 50th anniversary of signing of the Shanghai Communique by China and the U.S. 50 years ago, when the then leaders of the two countries recognized that in spite of disagreements, China and the U.S. did not have the intention to change each other’s systems and therefore may cooperate based on common interests. This is the key spirit of the Shanghai Communique and still makes sense after half a century. Biden also mentioned the Shanghai Communique during the call, holding that the Sino-U.S. relationship would shape the world order in the 21st century. Where is this relationship heading? The U.S. may find some clues in history.

“The stable development of bilateral relations will benefit both countries,”, the two heads of state agreed that the video call was constructive and directed their teams to promptly follow up. it is the hope on China’s side that the U.S. honors its words, acts on the common understandings between the two leaders and fulfills Biden’s political pledges. On both putting China-U.S. relations back on the right track and properly solving the Ukraine crisis, the U.S. should not disappoint China and the world yet again!

The following article has been taken from Chinese-language column “The Real Point.” It reflects the author’s opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Talks between delegations from Ukraine and Russia in Belarus' Brest region.