Epaper_22-11-21 ISB

P M S h e h b a z t e r M S g lo b a l f u n d d e a l

v o ta l S t e P

ISLAMABAD

ah storic united nations deal struck on funding to help vu nerable countries cope with the effects of climate change s a “ pivotal step” towards just ce pakistan pr me min ster She hbaz Sharif said Sunday the prime minister appreciated the estab lishment of the loss and damage fund at the un climate summit, saying t was the “ first piv otal step towards the goal of climate justice the un cop27 summit wrapped up Sun day n egypt with a dea for a fund to help vu nerable countries cope with loss and damage from devastating c imate impacts “the establishment of loss & damage fund at the un climate summ t is the first pivotal step towards the goal of climate justice,” She hbaz tweeted it is up to the transit ona committee to build on the h storic development i apprec ate (minister for c mate change) Sherr y rehman and her team for the r contr bution and hard work,” the prime min ster remarked pak stan the world s fifth argest popula tion s responsib e for only 0 8 percent of

f o r c l i M at e j u S t i c e

b litation of the f ood affected peop e and the reconstruction of the damaged nfrastructure according to a pm office statement cop27 made histor y by tak ng a practical step comparing the paris accord and Green marshal p an t h e c o p 2 7 s u m m i t w a s r e c e n t y h e l d o n n o v e m b e r 7 8 a l s o p a r t i c i p a t e d b y t h e p r m e m n i s t e r a t t h e i n v t a t o n o f t h e e g y p t i a n p r e s d e n t he had also co cha red a roundtable conference on loss and damage and his address to the sess on a so mainly focused on c imate change nduced disaster and the measures to mitigate the losses the prime minister emphas zed the estab lishment of the loss and damage fund to pro vide cl mate just ce to the affected countries fo lowing the agreement on the establ sh ment of the fund Sherr y rehman said it has been a long 30 year journey from demand to the formation of the loss & damage fund for 134 countries and cal ed it an mportant first step in reaffirm ng the core principles of cli mate justice

global greenhouse em ssions but is one of the countries most vulnerable to extreme weather caused by globa warming earlier this year pak stan was struck by dev astating monsoon floods that eft nearly a third of the countr y under water affecting more than 30 m llion people and leaving a repair bil estimated at nearly $30 bi lion according to the media reports at cop27 he d at Sharm el Sheikh, the countries adopted a hard fought final agreement at the cop27 climate summit early Sunday that sets up a fund to help poor countries be ng battered by cl mate d sasters what is be ng dubbed as a victor y for the poorer nations that have pushed for the move for years the fund would earmark money for loss and damage caused by climate change nduced disasters t h e p r i m e m i n i s t e r a o n g w i t h h i s c a b i n e t m e m b e r s i n c u d i n g fo r e i g n m i n i s t e r b a w a l b h u t t o Z a r d a r i a n d c m a t e c h a n g e m i n i s t e r S e n a t o r S h e r r y re h m a n h a d r a s e d t h e v o i c e f o r c l i m a t e j u s t c e a t t h e r e g i o n a l a n d g l o b a l l e v e s the fund would lead to the provis on of as s stance to the countries impacted by climate change it will also support pakistan n the reha

“ t h i s i s n o t a b o u t a c c e p t n g c h a r i t y, ” s h e s a i d “ t h i s i s a d o w n p a y m e n t o n i n v e s t m e n t i n o u r f u t u r e s a n d n c l i m a t e j u s t i c e s h e r e m a r ke d the un ted nations Secretar y General an tonio Guterres also welcomed the dec sion and said, “ clearly, this wil not be enough, but t is a much needed political signal to rebuild broken trust ”

GRIEVEd oVER dEMIsE oF sPM dR TauQIR shah’s MoThER: pr me minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday expressed grief over demise of the mother of Secretar y to pm drtauqirShah i am deeply grieved to earn about the passing of the mother of drtauqir Shah, Spm my thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved fam ly the pr me m nister wrote on twitter he prayed to a lah almighty to rest the de parted soul in eternal peace and grant strength to the bereaved fam ly to bear the oss w th fortitude meanwhile minister for informat on and broadcasting marriyum aurangzeb on Sunday expressed deep grief and sorrow over the death of the mother of the Secretar y to the prime minister dr tauqeer Shah i n a s t a t e m e n t s h e e x p r e s s e d h e r h e a r t f e l t c o n d o l e n c e s w i t h t h e f a m i l y o f d r ta u q e e r S h a h marriyum aurangzeb prayed to allah alm ghty to rest the departed sou in eternal peace and grant courage to the bereaved fam ly to bear this oss with fort tude

s

LAHORE

a day after announc ng what appeared to be the final showdown with the government former prime minister and pti chairman imran khan said that ever yone will get a surprise on november 26 the day when his party s supporters wi l converge on rawalpindi for haqeeqi azadi in a meeting with a group of ournalists in lahore on Sunday, imran w thout divulging details said: “ i am aware of their plans but i am p anning ahead the former premier reiterated that he was no more concerned about the appo ntment of next army chief “ i have no problem with whoever they want to appoint as army ch ef now these peop e [government] are trapped from both sides he to d his audience

imran who was voted out as prime minister in apr l this year, said the incumbent rulers wou d face defeat if early elections were held in the countr y if these [pol s] are not held there are chances that the countr y wi l go bankrupt Speak ng on the occasion, the former prime also revealed that he was sent messages through president arif alvi for negotiat ons to end political deadlock n the countr y “but i have only one demand give the date of the election only then d scussions can take place he added

ToshakhaNa waTch: the former premier said despite using the entire state machiner y the incumbent rulers could not find anything against him except watch that he bought from toshakhana and later sold it in the market

h i g h s t a ke s f o r Q a t a r a s F o o t b a l l wo r l d c u p s t a r t s

DOHA r e u t e r s the world cup kicks off in Qatar on Sun day in a high stakes event for the nat on which has faced a barrage of criticism and staked ts reputation on delivering a smooth tournament, the first held in the midd e east and most expensive in histor y in a show of arab solidarity, Saudi arabia s crown prince and the pres dents of egypt and algeria will be among the polit cal eaders at the opening ceremony led by Qatar s emir in a tent shaped stadium at 5:40 pm (1440 Gmt), before the first match be tween hosts Qatar and ecuador the un secretar y genera wil also be there the tournament marks a culm na tion of Qatar s soft power push on the global stage and a show of strength after emerging from a 3 1/2 year boy cott by Saud arabia and three arab al lies, includ ng egypt, that ended in 2021 the event wil a so see the first di rect flights from israel to Qatar onstage, South korean singer Jungkook of k pop boy band btS will per form a new official tournament song

called dreamers alongside Qatari singer fahad al kubaisi Qatar which has denied accusa tions of abuse of workers and discrim nation and fifa hope the spot ight will turn to act on on the pitch after mount ing crit cism over foreign workers rights lGbt rights and social restr ctions or ganisers have also den ed al egations of briber y for hosting r ghts in engthy remarks at a news confer ence on Saturday fifa president Gianni infantino rounded on european critics of the host nation saying engagement was the on y way to improve human rights, while doha has also pointed to re cent labour reforms denmark s and Germany s team captains wil wear one love armbands, the r teams said as they prepare to compete in a conser vative muslim state where same sex relations are i lega a l c o h o l h a s b e e n b a n n e d a t s t a d u m s o r g a n i s e r s s a y a l a r e w e c o m e w h i l e w a r n i n g a g a i n s t p u b l i c d i s p l a y s o f a f f e c t i o n

fanS: throngs of fans are already in doha but the main rush is expected later this week, with da ly flights shuttling

in fans from neighbour ng cities on ar rival, argentina fan Julio cesar said he expected a great atmosphere even though there is no beer we ll drink be fore the match ” as some v sitors savoured their first s ps at the launch of the fifa fan festiva on Saturday in central doha, hundreds

of workers a l men gathered n a sports arena in an industrial zone on the c ty ’s edges where no alcoho was be ng ser ved they will be able to watch matches there, priced out of the stadi ums many toiled to build along with other infrastructure for the event “of course, i didn’t buy a t cket they ’re

expens ve and i shou d use that money for other th ngs like sending it back home to my family ” Ghanaian national kasim a security guard who has worked in Qatar for four years, told reuters nev le a 24 year o d kenyan and compatriot willy also 24 and a man chester city fan, were hired as security guards for the event it s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said neville wealthy gas producer Qatar is the sma lest nation to host soccer s b ggest g obal event, organised at a cost of $220 billion crowd control wi l be key with some 1 2 mi lion visitors expected more than a th rd of Qatar ’s popu ation workers were putting the final touches on outdoor gardens and side walks on Saturday and carting construc tion mater al near the nationa museum but at lagoona mall, where world cup songs played on a loop life con tinued as normal with peop e queuing at the bank, s pp ng coffee in cafes and buying groceries i came now because i don t know how bad the traffic will be later this week said esraa an egyptian woman stocking up at food retailer carrefour

ta f f r e p o r t

COP27 agrees ‘lOss anD Damage’ funD tO aDDress Climate Crises Of POOr natiOns

EL SHEIKH R e u t e R s

COUNTRIES adopted a hard fought final agreement at the COP27 climate summit early on Sunday that sets up a fund to help poor countries being battered by climate disasters but does not boost efforts to tackle the emissions causing them

After tense negotiations that ran through the night, the Egyptian COP27 presidency released the final text for a deal and simultaneously called a plenary session to quickly gavel it through

The session first swiftly approved the text s provision to set up a loss and damage” fund to help developing countries bear the immediate costs of climate fuelled

events such as storms and floods

But it kicked many of the most controversial decisions on the fund into next year, when a “transitional committee” would make recommendations for countries to then adopt at the COP28 climate summit in November 2023

Those recommendations would cover identifying and expanding sources of funding” referring to the vexed question of which countries should pay into the new fund The establishment of loss and damage fund at the UN climate summit is the first pivotal step towards the goal of climate justice It is up to the transitional committee to build on the historic development ” tweeted the prime minister

Shehbaz Sharif noted that Pakistan, as Chair of G 77 and China successfully led

the effort for acceptance of the demand” for loss and damage The agreement “is a manifestation of excellent climate diplomacy that made this possible,” he declared in a series of tweets

I appreciate @sherryrehman & her team for their contribution and hard work,” he added Rehman, the environment minister, said the establishment of the fund “is not about dispensing charity ”

“It is clearly a down payment on the longer investment in our joint futures, she said speaking for the G 77 coalition of the developing nations Calls by developing countries for such a fund have dominated the two week summit pushing the talks past their scheduled Friday finish

And after a pause requested by Switzerland to review the final text

negotiators gave no objections as COP27 President Sameh Shoukry rattled through the final agenda items

By the time dawn broke over the summit venue in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh, the deal was done FOSSIL FUEL FIZZLE: The two week summit has been seen as a test of global resolve to fight climate change even as a war in Europe energy market turmoil and rampant consumer inflation distract international attention

Billed as the “African COP ” the summit in Egypt had promised to highlight the plight of poor countries facing the most severe consequences from global warming caused mainly by wealthy, industrialised nations Negotiators from the European Union and other countries had said earlier that they

were worried about efforts to block measures to strengthen last year ’s Glasgow Climate Pact “While progress on loss and damage was encouraging it is disappointing that the decision mostly copy and pasted language from Glasgow about curbing emissions, rather than taking any significant new steps said Ani Desgupta, president of the non profit World Resources Institute

In line with earlier iterations the approved deal did not contain a reference requested by India and some other delegations to phasing down the use of all fossil fuels

It instead called on countries to take steps toward “the phasedown of unabated coal power and phase out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies,” as agreed at the COP26 Glasgow summit

The draft also includes a reference to “low emissions energy”, raising concern among some that it opened the door to the growing use of natural gas a fossil fuel that leads to both carbon dioxide and methane emissions Norway’s Climate Minister Espen Barth Eide told reporters his team had hoped for a stronger agreement “It does not break with Glasgow completely, but it doesn t raise ambition at all, he said

‘S elf-proclaimed ’ PML-N leader claims Nawaz plotted to kill Arshad S harif, Imran K han

LAHORE

N e w s D e s k

iHC takes up plea seeking Pti chief’s disqualification over concealing ‘daughter’ today

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) will take up a petition for hearing on Monday (today) seeking disqualification of PTI chairman and former premier Imran Khan for concealing information about his alleged daughter Tyrian White IHC Chief Justice Amir Farooq will conduct the hearing of the application which contended that Imran Khan had concealed information about his alleged daughter in his nomination papers Petitioner Muhammad Sajid maintained in the application that Imran Khan in the past had denied about his alleged daughter “but now he does not answer about it because he knows that there is evidence against him” The petitioner contended that the PTI chief is unfit for holding public office while asking “why he should not be disqualified under Article 62(i)(f)” Last month, the IHC had indefinitely adjourned the hearing on the petition after neither the petitioner nor any representative on the petitioner s behalf appeared before the court In 2018 a similar case was filed against then premier Imran for not declaring Tyrian W h i t e a s h i s d a u g h t e r i n h i s n o m i n a t i o n p a p e r s T h e p e t i t i o n e r h a d c o n t e s t e d t h a t t h e P T I c h a i r m a n s h o u l d b e d i s q u a l i f i e d u n d e r A r t i c l e 6 2 ( i ) ( f ) o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n f o r p r o v i d i n g i n c o r r e c t i n f o r m a t i o n i n h i s n o m i n a t i o n p a p e r s , a d d i n g t h a t h e i s n o l o n g e r S a d i q a n d A m e e n T h e p e t i t i o n e r A b d u l Wa h a b B a l o c h , w a s a c a n d i d a t e o f t h e P a k i s t a n J u s t i c e a n d D e m o c r a t i c P a r t y i n t h e l a s t g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n B a l o c h h a d l a t e r j o i n e d t h e P T I a n d f i l e d a m i s c e l l a n e o u s p e t i t i o n i n F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 9 t o w i t h d r a w t h e c a s e I n J a n u a r y t h e I H C h a d d e c l a r e d t h e p e t i t i o n s e e k i n g t h e d i s q u a l i f i c a t i o n o f t h e n p r i m e m i n i s t e r I m r a n K h a n i n a d m i s s i b l e

A person, insisting to be the PML N London spokesperson, on Sunday made startling revelations claiming that former prime minister and party supremo Nawaz Sharif had discussed assassination plots of slain journalist Arshad Sharif and PTI Chairman Imran Khan with him

Speaking to the Pakistani media reportedly in London, the purported member of the ruling party claimed that he has been a spokesperson for the party for the last five years in London He claimed that he was part of the meetings with the PML N leadership in London wherein he alleged that assassination plots were hatched to eliminate Arshad Sharif and Imran Khan before the appointment of the next army chief “I held meetings with Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif The first meeting took place on July 8 and then on September 20 Another meeting took place on October 29 he claimed but refused to reveal the names of other

persons present in the meeting

Responding to a question as to why Nawaz sought his help for alleged assassination plots Shah said: “Nasir Butt introduced me to Nawaz Sharif, saying that he [Tasneem Haider Shah] is an influential person of Gujrat and they have shooters and are capable of executing [assassination plots]”

He further alleged that former PM Nawaz had asked him to provide shooters to attack Imran in Wazirabad, where the former premier survived an assassination attempt on November 3 ‘TaSnEEm HaIdEr HaS nO rELaTIOn wITH PmL n’: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Sunday said that Tasneem Haider had no relation with the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML N)

Tasneem Haider is not a spokesman of PML N London,” she said in a news statement, and added that nobody should try to become spokesperson of the party Marriyum said Tasneem Haider should produce evidence regarding murder of Arshad Sharif before the Joint

Investigation Team if he had any She said the person, who hurled allegations in a video clip circulating in different sections of media was organiser of the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) s London chapter Forgery, lies and fake news cannot divert attention from the real killers of Arshad Sharif,” she stressed

The minister challenged the ARY News to air such news in London It would not dare to broadcast fake news in London as their management had already been fined for such misadventures in the past, she said Tasneem Haider included in probe into assassination attempt on Imran In a statement, Punjab interior adviser Umar Sarfaraz Cheema said the authorities have contacted Tasneem Haider Shah and included him in the investigation into the assassination attempt on former PM Imran Cheema also said the central, provincial and district leadership of PML N will also be questioned regarding the Wazirabad gun attack following revelations of the self

confessed PML N leader

“The scope of the Wazirabad incident investigation has been widened ” he added aSSaSSInaTIOn aTTEmPT: Former prime minister Imran sustained bullet wounds to his leg after an armed attack on his container during the PT ‘Haqeeqi Azadi March’ in Wazirabad on November 3

One person died in the incident, while several members of the PTI chairman s close circle including Senator Faisal Javaid, former Sindh governor Imran Ismail, Ahmad Chattha and Imran Yousaf were injured according to PTI sources

The PTI chairman has accused three people Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, and a senior military officer, of plotting the botched assassination attempt on his life Imran had also provided details of the attack on him in Wazirabad, saying that there were two shooters I was on the container when a “burst of bullets” was directed at me I got shot in the leg and fell down he had said

Dr y fruit demand goes up amid high rates as winter sets in

MULTAN

With the advent of the winter season, the demand for dry fruits has increased in the city with a remarkable price hike as compared to the previous year With the change of weather in the city, the demand for dry fruits has started increasing and the prices have also gone up gradually The shopkeepers of dry fruit in different markets of the city have significantly hiked the prices because there was no proper check and balance on rates and missing rate lists by the market committees The peanuts were being sold in the city market at Rs 800 which was 500 per kg last year, Grams at Rs 500 to 600/kg against Rs 350 to 400 last year varieties of Almonds at Rs 1200 to 2200/kg which was Rs 600 to 1200 previous year, Pistachio with and without shell at Rs 3000 to 3200/kg respectively, varieties of Walnut at Rs 1000 to 2200/kg dried up dates at 300 to 400/kg, Pine nut (Chilgoza) at Rs 8000/kg, cashew at Rs 3200 to 3500 while apricots were being sold in open market at price of Rs 800 to 1000/kg

Imran Khan always gets the short end of the stick There was so much doubt expressed about his shooting, that he had to videotape the changing of his dressing at the Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital, and release it to the public It was not mentioned, but the wounds appear to be in the same places as policemen used to get in the days when they tried to make police encounters realistic: the fleshy part of the leg The fleshy part of the leg is where wounds are self inflicted Not that Imran s wounds could have been self inflicted or fired by someone else because he

was on top of the container Policemen injuring themselves after a police encounter did so in relative seclusion not a public space like the top of a container ‘Splinters’ of the bullets did the damage, That sounds a lot like shotgun pellets The recovered splinters have not been made available to any forensics lab, and so can’t be identified as pellets The moral of the story? Imran is in every indirect way, saying that if the attack on him were genuine, then so were the police encounters You ve got a pattern with Imran wanting three names included, even though there was no evidence tying them to the case Imran would not have benefited, because none of the three would have ever been brought to trial, let alone convicted, and indeed the accused would

probably have used their inclusion in the FIR to be acquitted The police investigating the case would have benefited, because that would certainly not let off Shehbaz Sharif and Rana Sanaullah for free no matter what office they held

They might let off a serving general posted in the ISI but I m not that sure After all, Ayub Khan made sure that his patwari in Abbottabad was sent the customary saip (a payment of grain debt at harvest time) even when President of Pakistan More to the point, he was a serving Field Marshal

My gut feeling says that if Maj Gen Faisal Naseer comes from a sap paying background, which is to say, rural landowners) he ll make the police happy However, if his background is urban, he’ll throw his weight around, and try to frighten the IO Either way he will win

Imran has no objection to the police After all, his present Punjab CM, Ch Pervez

Elahi, a nephew of Ch Zahoor Elahi (and perhaps more importantly his son in law) who had started life as a police constable One hopes Imran is not trying to suborn the Punjab police by the distribution of goodies Police rule can be harsh It is too often thought that the Roman Guard meant military rule However the Guard was a police force for the capital, and its Prefect the CCPO Rome Not only was the official crucial in making and removing Emperors but a couple of them became Emperors themselves Imagine the CCPO Lahore becoming CM Well KP (then NWFP) had its IGP resign in 1953 to become CM That was not the end He became CM West Pakistan in 1957 lasting until March 1958 I don’t knpw if he had favourite DSPs, heavy of hand and black of soul, who kept MPAs in line with a littar But if he did there wouldn t be any backbench rebellions, would there?

I don’t suppose Imran would consider

making a donative to the Punjab police You made one to Praetorian Guard on becoming Emperor (much as the Osmanli Padishah did to the Janissaries) Imran can afford a donative if one is to believe the stories about his sale of the watch gifted him by Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman

Is the revelation related to Imran s U turns over the USA (which he has forgiven, wanting good relations if he comes back to office) and the Army Chief s appointment (which he is leaving to the government, though he still thinks Nawaz Sharif will appoint someone who will cover his thefts)?

Incidentally, does |Imran know anyone apart from sleazebags like Arif Naqvi and now UmarZahoor the buyer of the watch? Why do so many people around him have cases registered against them abroad? Why is the registration of these cases proof that Umar Zahoor is a sleazebag, but that Arif Naqvi is a modern mujahid?

ISLAMABAD s tA f f R e p o R t

SHARM

LAHORE: Traffic policemen and members of civil society light candles at Faisal Chowk to mark

International Day of Remembrance for those killed and injured in road accidents photo by zubAiR Mehfooz

m u s H a H i D e l e C t e D i C a P P C O - C H a i r m a n

Russia, Lebanon, Turkiye and Indonesia, before being put to a vote Former foreign minister of South Korea, Chung Euiyong, was re elected chairman of ICAPP

sENATOR Mushahid Hussain

Sayed, representing Pakistan, has been unanimously elected co chairman of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP)

Launched in Manila in September 2000, ICAPP represents over 300 political parties from 52 Asian countries Its objectives are to promote exchanges and cooperation between political parties from different countries in the region

His name was proposed by Thailand and Iran; and supported by China, Cambodia,

The conference, held every two years, also issued the “Istanbul Declaration” which expressed solidarity with victims of the “recent devastating floods in Pakistan of epic proportions” and urged “alleviating hardships of people through climate finance and climate justice ”

Senator Sayed thanked the participants for reposing confidence in him and termed his election as a “humbling experience for me personally and a great honour for Pakistan to be so recognised at an important global forum which represents the public

opinion and political parties of the world s largest continent, Asia

He termed the current epoch as a historic transformation for Asia as the balance of economic and political power is shifting from West to East” marking the “dawn of the Asian century, which he noted the great visionary poet of the East Muhammad Iqbal, had predicted 90 years ago, when he said: See, the Sun rising in the East!

He said: “ICAPP is a continuation of the Bandung Spirit, which started in 1955 with the first Afro Asian Summit hosted by the great Indonesian leader Dr Soekarno at the Indonesian city of Bandung ”

The senator said the time has come that Asian hands must shape Asian destiny and

the future of Asia He recounted his own early exposure to Asia, when he was a student studying at a school in Jakarta while his father served as Pakistan s first Defence Attaché to Indonesia, and later his travels to China, Vietnam, Korea and Cambodia and other Asian countries

He also referred to Pakistan’s close connections to Asia, when Muhammad Ali Jinnah supported the cause of Indonesian Independence in 1945 and the Palestine issue in 1940 and admired the leadership of Turkey s Mustafa Kamal Ataturk

He said the formation of the Indian National Army (INA) in Singapore in 1942 served as a catalyst for the freedom struggle in the South Asian subcontinent Pakistanis

Imran has no interest in army chief appointment: Sh Rashid

LAHORE s tA f f R e p o R t

Former Interior Minister and Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rasheed has asserted that Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has no interest in appointment of army chief

Talking to journalists at Lahore’s Zaman Park, the former federal minister said that Imran Khan has no ‘interest’ in the appointment of army chief as he just wants selection to be made on merit

Sheikh Rasheed noted that doctors had advised the former premier not to travel, claiming that there was still a threat to the PTI chief ’s life “Efforts will be made to arrange Imran Khan s address before the evening ” he added

Speaking of the PTI’s long march, Rashid said people would march on Islamabad in the daylight “We have

only one demand, free and fair elections,” he added

The AML chief further said that if PML N supremo Nawaz Sharif wants to return to Pakistan, he has a diplomatic passport A politician never closes the door of negotiations”, he added

Earlier in a tweet, Awami Muslim League (AML) Chief Sheikh Rashid on Sunday said that the government is stuck in a political, economic and deployment crisis

In a statement on Twitter, Mr Sheikh stated that the countdown has begun for the government and this week is decisive

Further explaining the perplexed situation of the incumbent government, he added that, “It’s unaware of earthly realities and is suspended in the air neither its hands touching the sky nor its feet touching the earth

Everyone to get a surprise on Nov 26, says Imran

The charges of misuse of the Toshakhana against former prime minister Imran Khan took an unusual turn on Tuesday when a well known Dubai based businessman came to the fore and claimed he had bought some of the state gifts, including an expensive Graff wristwatch worth at least Rs2 billion from Farah Gogi and Shahzad Akbar

In an interview with a private TV channel Umar Farooq Zahoor said he bought expensive items, gifted to the PTI chief by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman for $2 million “I am going to court on the issue of the watch,” said Imran while

referring to the allegations

Speaking about Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif s defamation case against Daily Mail, Imran said that the premier is trapped in the London court It seems that he will make an out of court settlement,” he added

The PTI chairman said they are making efforts to conduct free fair and transparent elections as soon as possible and there is no solution to the country s problems except new elections

The former premier said that even using the entire state machinery against him, the corrupt rulers could not extract anything except a watch He added that he is going to court on this matter and he is sure this

Parliament determined to offer qualit y education to children: ashraf

ISLAMABAD

s tA f f R e p o R t

Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, speaker of the National Assembly, said on Sunday the Parliament was determined to protect the rights of children by offering them equal opportunities for quality education and training In a message on World Children’s Day, the speaker said children are the future of the nation and the House has constituted Parliamentary Caucus on Child Rights He said the caucus will be an important milestone in protecting children’s rights and making child related laws more effective and enforceable He said the Parliament would do legislation to control forced labour of children, trafficking and harassment of children Ashraf further said every member of society must play a role to protect children from all types of harassment He said that on the Parliament’s diamond jubilee, a special children s convention was organised at National Assembly where children belonging to all classes were invited to express themselves He recalled the children participating in the convention showcased their talents The speaker said Pakistan’s children are talented and have the potential to change the destiny of the nation He said that intelligent children of today would be tomorrow’s leaders and it was important to give them respect, and compassion by providing them with the best education and training opportunities

propaganda will be exposed in the court The PTI chairman said Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif is also stuck in a case in the London court and there is a chance that he will try to settle the matter out of court there too Earlier, Imran Khan chaired a party leaders’ meeting and instructed them about preparations for the Rawalpindi rally on November 26

In the meeting, Imran Khan said his party will achieve real freedom through a completely constitutional and democratic struggle

He gave a special task to the party leaders and workers to make sure of good arrangements for the success of his scheduled long march at Rawalpindi on Nov 26

Imran Khan said the real freedom movement is standing at a decisive point and all the attempts to suppress the demand for real freedom by oppression and fascism have proved unsuccessful Imran Khan said he will lead the largest gathering in history on November 26 and people from all walks of life will be welcomed in Rawalpindi

The PTI chairman said political awareness is on the rise and the nation is fully mobilized for getting its real freedom and rights

He also instructed his party leaders to prepare the caravans from all over the country and arrange the means of travel

also joined in solidarity with the Vietnamese people, while refusing to join the Korean War, although Islamabad participated in the 1955 Bandung Conference

Senator Sayed also quoted different world leaders to underline that the “current global scenario is unpredictable, volatile and unstable” noting that President Joe Biden calls it “the decisive decade”, President Putin of Russia says this is the most dangerous decade after World War II” and Chinese President Xi Jinping talks of “once in a century transformative change in the world In this context he urged Asians to avoid Bloc politics and reject any New Cold War He also praised Turkish President Erdogan s role as a “bold voice for Asian rights”

Corrupt elite fattening itself at people’s cost: asad umar

ISLAMABAD s tA f f R e p o R t

PTI Secretary General Asad Umar has said that during his interaction with people during party s long march he has met thousands of people and seen hope in their eyes but it is sad that a corrupt elite is enriching itself at their cost “We needed a country which was slave to none and where institutions were no bigger than nation ” Taking to his Twitter handle, Umar wrote an emotional note saying: “In last 10 days in 2nd phase of long march, I had the honour of interacting with thousands of people Saw their amazing spirit of generosity, the sincerity of their affection, hope in their eyes It is truly tragic that a corrupt elite has exploited them & enriched themselves To realize the dreams of these people we need a country which takes its own decisions & is subservient to none A country in which all power flows from it’s [sic] citizens A country in which individuals are not bigger than institutions & institutions are not bigger than the nation ”

Fawad bLamES FEdEraL gOvT FOr STaTE OF aFFaIrS: PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry held the federal government responsible for the current state of affairs in the country Taking to Twitter, he claimed that there had been a “52 per cent increase in terrorist incidents since Operation Regime Change” He alleged that the government had stopped allocating funds to the tribal areas which should have been prioritized He lamented that a sinking economy and lack of governance was bringing more destruction for Pakistan

Cosmopolitan

Pakistan-introduced resolution denouncing racism adopted at UN

UNITED NATIONS

s tA f f R e p o R t

The General Assembly of the United Nations has adopted four resolutions submitted by Pakistan, on behalf of G 77 and China including texts addressing racism, xenophobia and related intolerance, social development, the international year of the family as well as ageing

T h r e e o f t h e s e f o u r d r a f t s , i n t r o d u c e d b y A m b a s s a d o r A a m i r Khan deputy permanent representative of Pakistan t o t h e U N , w e r e a p p r o v e d b y c o n s e n s u s i n t h e T h i r d C o m m i t t e e o f t h e G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y w h i c h d e a l s w ith s o cial, h u man itar ian an d cu ltu r al matters

B u t a v o t e w a s t a k e n o n t h e d r a f t s e e k i n g t h e e l i m i n a t i o n o f r a c i s m , r a c i a l d i s c r i m i n a t i o n , x e n o p h o b i a a n d r e l a t e d i n t o l e r a n c e f o l l o w i n g o b j e c t i o n s o n s o m e o f i t s p a r t s t h a t Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom considered anti semitic

T h e t e x t s e c u r e d 1 2 6 v o t e s i n f a v o u r t o 1 7 a g a i n s t , w i t h 3 6 abstentions

U n d e r t h e t e r m s o f t h e d r a f t , t h e 1 9 3 m e m b e r A s s e m b l y w o u l d r e g r e t the evils inflicted on millions as a result

o f s l a v e r y, c o l o n i a l i s m , a p a r t h e i d , genocide and past tragedies I t w o u l d a l s o c a l l o n S t a t e s t h a t h a v e n o t a l r e a d y d o n e s o t o d i s p e n s e reparatory justice

I n t r o d u c i n g t h e d r a f t o n b e h a l f o f the G 77 and China, Ambassador Khan underpinned the group s concerns over t h e r e s u rg e n c e o f r a c i s m a n d r e l a t e d p h e n o m e n a i n a l l w a l k s o f l i f e , a n d c a l l e d o n c o u n t r i e s t o o p p o s e antisemitism and Islamophobia

N e w u p d a t e s i n t h e t e x t i n c l u d e r e c o g n i t i o n t h a t t h e D u r b a n D e c l a r a t i o n a n d P r o g r a m m e o f

A c t i o n ” s e r v e s t o e l i m i n a t e a l l f o r m s o f d i s c r i m i n a t i o n , i n c l u d i n g r e l i g i o u s d i s c r i m i n a t i o n ; a c k n o w l e d g e m e n t o f t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e P e r m a n e n t F o r u m o n P e o p l e o f A f r i c a n D e s c e n t i n a d d r e s s i n g t h e d i s c r i m i n a t i o n t h a t

A f r i c a n d i a s p o r a f a c e i n t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e s o c i e t i e s ; a n d t h e n e e d f o r e q u a l r e s o u r c e d i s t r i b u t i o n

T h e t e c h n i c a l u p d a t e i n c l u d e d a n u p d a t e o n t h e n a m e o f t h e P e r m a n e n t

Forum on People of African Descent to c o r r e c t c o n f u s i o n , t h a t c h i l d r e n a r e s u b j e c t t o i n s t i t u t i o n a l a n d s y s t e m i c c o n s e q u e n c e s o f r a c i s m a n d c o n c e r n s r e g a r d i n g t h e l i f e t i m e a p p o i n t m e n t o f

The text would also request the UN S e c r e t a r y G e n e r a l t o i n c l u d e i n h i s r e p o r t o n t h e i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f t h i s r e s o l u t i o n a s e c t i o n o n p r o g r e s s i n r e v i t a l i z i n g t h e t r u s t f u n d f o r t h e “Programme for the Decade for Action t o C o m b a t R a c i s m a n d R a c i a l D i s c r i m i n a t i o n a s w e l l a s t o encourage contributions M a t h u J o y i n i , p e r m a n e n t r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f S o u t h A f r i c a t o t h e UN said racism also affects inter State r e l a t i o n s a n d m a n y c o u n t r i e s a r e frustrated by the lack of commitment to i m p l e m e n t t h e “ D u r b a n D e c l a r a t i o n and Programme of Action”

The diplomat said the text was not anti semitic and called for “righting the wrongs of the past ” N e x t , t h e C o m m i t t e e a p p r o v e d b y c o n s e n s u s t h e d r a f t r e s o l u t i o n o n t h e i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f t h e o u t c o m e o f t h e World Summit for Social Development, w h i c h w a s h e l d i n C o p e n h a g e n i n 1995 I n t r o d u c i n g t h e d r a f t o n b e h a l f o f G 7 7 a n d C h i n a A m b a s s a d o r K h a n s a i d t h e g r o u p p r e s e n t s u p d a t e d recommendations on the World Summit f o r S o c i a l D e v e l o p m e n t s o u t c o m e w i t h a f o c u s o n e r a d i c a t i n g p o v e r t y, e l i m i n a t i n g i n e q u a l i t y a n d i m p r o v i n g

access to education

S o c i a l d e v e l o p m e n t i s f a c i n g s e r i o u s c h a l l e n g e s , s u c h a s t h e r i s e o f e x t r e m e p o v e r t y, f o o d i n s e c u r i t y, l a c k o f a c c e s s t o e d u c a t i o n , e n e rg y, a n d unemployment, the envoy said, urging the international community to respond to these pressing issues

T h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f s o c i a l d e v e l o p m e n t r e m a i n s a s r e l e v a n t a s i t was in 1995 and unity and solidarity of the international community is required more than ever, he said

Also adopted by consensus was the d r a f t r e s o l u t i o n o n “ F o l l o w u p t o t h e Second World Assembly on Aging” that was held in Madrid, Spain, in 2002

Introducing the draft Ambassador Khan said it focuses on two important issues access to information technologies and housing for ageing persons

C a l l i n g o n t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l community to close digital divides, the P a k i s t a n e n v o y e n c o u r a g e d m e m b e r s t a t e s t o p r o m o t e d i g i t a l l i t e r a c y, w i t h o u t a n y d i s c r i m i n a t i o n r e l a t i n g t o

socioeconomic status race or language

Further, he said, the draft includes l a n g u a g e e m p h a s i z i n g t h e i m p o r t a n c e of access to justice for older persons to protect them against harmful practices, such as forced eviction

Club of celebrate Diwali, bir th anniversar y of guru nanak

LAHORE

on Sunday Representatives of Human Rights and Minorities Affairs (HR&MA) Department, youths practising different faiths religious figures and representatives of welfare organisations attended the ceremony

ISTANBUL

According to the AML Chief the rulers are in denial of the reality that things are getting out of their control and the government is stuck in a

chaotic situation Imran Khan will be given a historic welcome at Committee Chowk on November 26 he said

PreSident UrgeS govt, world BodieS to focUS on PaKiStan flood-hit children’S needS

ISLAMABAD S tA F F R e P o R t

aS the international community observed World Children Day on Sunday, President Dr Arif Alvi called upon the govern ment, privileged persons, NGO’s and international organizations to especially focus on the needs of a large number of children worst affected by the super floods in Pakistan

“On this day, I call upon the govern ment, privileged persons, NGO’s and in ternational organizations to specially focus on the needs of large number of children who are worst affected by the recent climate induced super floods in Pakistan and to provide them education,

nutrition and shelter and protect them from disease and hunger,” the president said in a message on the Day

He said the day was observed every year to promote and protect the rights of children around the world

The day was first established in 1954 as Universal Children’s Day and on this date in 1959, the UN General As sembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child

The president said this year, the theme for World Children’s Day 2022 was very apt which states Inclusion for every child’

“From climate change, education and mental health, to ending racism and discrimination, children and young peo ple are raising their voices on the issues

Brilliance of 13-year old boy’s ‘Statesmen’ now in book stores

KARACHI S tA F F R e P o R t

A nation seeks to find some boosters when they are in a state of despair When the media is pre occupied with sensation and mass hysteria, confusion, and disinformation, there to find such news that a 13 year old boy, Syed Muhammad Saleh, hailing from Karachi has compiled a book which is about 196 countries across the world and their relevant key features, is a moment for a respite in this politically charged environment Before getting into the distinctive features of the book, let us take a minute to realize how important and commendable step Saleh has taken, at a time when book reading is regarded as a herculean task, leave alone authoring it When a teenager is expected to be indulged in squandering his/her time on social media and all the related negative aspects of it, Saleh was brave enough to realize that the precious time that he had at his disposal, could be utilized for something productive This does not mean to demean or play down the extra curricular activities in which a young blood ought to participate, however, sporting activities make into the headlines but does authoring a book can be in the spotlight? This may answer our priorities and a line of action we have taken as a nation anticipating what the future would be like

The book titled “Statesmen” is a compilation of invaluable insights about the geographies, population and some other useful information that may help historians, researchers and journalists to take as a prelude to initiate any thorough research of countries which they want to discover and dissect their various facets Sharing details of his struggle, Saleh said that since the outbreak of Covid 19 he took responsibility over himself to do a research based work on the countries and did not rely on just scattered information on the internet, which many times lacked veracity He said that he checked from multiple sources before incorporating it into his final draft He went on to add that the book has 196 pages attributed each to a single country, therefore a reader would remain not distracted or feel less involved while going through the pages Meanwhile, his father Dr Syed Shujat Husain, who is a senior professor at Jinnah University, Karachi, apprised that Saleh was keen enough to grasp of the opportunity lying before him

SHARM EL SHEIKH A F P

Vulnerable nations least responsible for planet heating emissions have been battling for three decades for wealthy polluters to cough up the cash for climate damages

Their final push took barely two weeks

The “loss and damage” inflicted by cli mate induced disasters was not even offi cially up for discussion when UN talks in Egypt began

But a concerted effort among developing countries to make it the defining issue of the conference melted the resistance of wealthy polluters long fearful of open ended liability, and gathered unstoppable momentum as the talks progressed

In the end a decision to create a loss and damage fund was the first item confirmed on Sunday morning after fraught negotiations went overnight with nations clashing over a range of issues around curbing planet heat ing emissions

“At the beginning of these talks loss and damage was not even on the agenda and now we are making history said Mohamed Adow executive director of Power Shift Africa

“It just shows that this UN process can

Usmani laid to rest in Karachi

that matter to their generation and call ing for adults to create a better future,” he remarked

H e s a i d o n t h i s d a y, P a k i s t a n l i k e the rest of the world, pledged to advo cate promote and celebrate children s r i g h t s , t r a n s l a t i n g i n t o d i a l o g u e s a n d actions that would build a better world for children

He said Pakistan commemorated the Children Day to reiterate its renewed commitment to safeguard the rights of children as a signatory to the UN Conven tion on the Rights of Children (ICRC)

It is also observed to reaffirm the commitment to make sincere efforts at all national, regional and international fora to protect the children and provide them access to development and participation

opportunities without any discrimination of status, caste, creed or religion He said the Government of Pakistan was fully committed to protect its chil dren from all types of exploitation, pre vent exclusion and marginalisation and provide them better education and health care, clean and green environment, op portunities to realise their full potential and an enabling environment to excel in every sphere of life

“On this day, we also commit our selves to bring approximately 25 million out of school children and street chil dren into the school system, vaccinate our children against polio and other dis eases, eliminate stunting and cater to their needs for balanced nutritious food and better lives, the president added

Mohenjo Daro emerges as symbol of global warming threat to c ultural heritage

A F P

One of the world’s first cities came close to being wiped off the map during tragic floods this summer in Pakistan Though Mohenjo Daro survived, it has become a symbol of the threat global warming poses to humanity’s cultural heritage

Built in around 3000 BC by the Indus civilisation in modern day South Asia, Mohenjo Daro was not swept away by the floods, most likely thanks to the genius of its de signers Perched high above the Indus river the city was equipped with a primitive drainage system and sewers, meaning much of the floodwaters could be evacuated

Nearly 1,600 died in the floods and 33 million others were affected in Pakistan in a disaster “probably” made worse by global warming according to World Weather Attribution, a network of researchers The ancient metropo lis could have disappeared with all the archaeological traces” it contains, said Lazare Eloundou Assamo, the director of the World Heritage program at the UN agency of UNESCO

The Pakistani site was “a vic tim” of climate change and was very lucky to still be around ex actly 100 years since it was first discovered in 1922, Assamo said

Fortunately, “the situation is not catastrophic” in Mohenjo Daro, said Thierry Joffroy, a specialist in brick architecture who visited the site on behalf of UNESCO

Despite ground sinking in some areas and water damage to some structures, the site “can be repaired Joffroy said

For 50 years, Paris based UN

ESCO has compiled a list of World Heritage sites, significant places that are deemed worthy of protection, and is marking the milestone this week in Greece

“To protect this heritage our selves is to confront the conse quences of climate disruption and the loss of biodiversity It’s the main threat that we assess in a tangible way UNESCO director Audrey Azoulay told the confer ence in Delphi on Thursday

Of its 1,154 World Heritage sites, “one site in five, and more than a third of natural sites, al ready see this threat as a reality,” she said “We are experiencing many more incidents of floods hurricanes, cyclones, typhoons,” said Rohit Jigyasu of the Interna tional Center for the Study of the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM)

“We have these climate re lated disasters, which are having a huge impact on sites for example Mohenjo Daro,” he said

Huge forest fires have scorched the Rocky Mountains in Canada, which are a world her itage site, and this year flames

came within 15 kilometres (nine miles) of Delphi as a heatwave in tensify the severity of wildfires across the Mediterranean basin

In Peru, meanwhile, landslides occurred this year at the foot of Machu Picchu in the Andes moun tains Other less noticeable changes can also have serious con sequences In Australia, the pro tected Great Barrier Reef is experiencing bleaching episodes due to rising water temperatures

In Ghana, erosion has washed away part of Fort Prinzenstein, which is conserved as a notable slave trading post

“Slow factors” that do not have an immediate impact pose “new kinds of risks in many of these sites,” Jigyasu said These include invasions of wood eating termites in areas that were previously either too dry or too cold for the insects to thrive

In other countries, the drying out of soil due to declining rainfall can have a “destabilising” effect on some heritage sites, said Aline Magnien director of the French state funded Laboratory for Re search on Historical Monuments

The funeral of Mufti Rafi Usmani renowned scholar cleric and patron of Jamia Dar ul Uloom seminary of Karachi was offered on Sunday at the seminary in Korangi neighbourhood of the port city where he was later laid to rest

Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) alliance, and Kamran Tessori, governor of Sindh, were among those who attended the funeral

The Namaz i Janaza was led by the cleric s younger brother, Taqi Usmani

A large contingent of police was deployed to guard the event A bomb disposal squad also checked the entire seminary one of the largest religious institutions of the Deoband school of thought in the country before the funeral

The eldest son of Mufti Shafi Usmani, himself a renowned cleric and founder of the seminary Rafi 86, passed away in Karachi on Friday after a prolonged illness

Born in July 1936 in the town of Deoband in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh of present day India, elder Usmani migrated to Pakistan with his family in 1947 His students and admirers who were well aware of his personal and family history said the cleric memorised Quran in 1948 and then completed the Dars i Nizami degree from his father ’s seminary, then located in the old city area of Nanakwara He then associated himself with teaching and academic activities with the same seminary After his father ’s demise in 1976, his close aide Maulana Abdul Hai Arifi became chief of the Dar ul Uloom and retained the office till his death in 1986 Afterwards, Usmani assumed the office and served it till his death

Stray kite string claims life of teenager

LAHORE

n g f o r l i f e f o r h a l f a n h o u r o n t h e s p o t W h e n t h e R e s c u e t e a m s r e a c h e d t h e s p o t , t h e y o u n g m a n h a d a l r e a d y d i e d

Capital City Police Officer Lahore, Additional IG Ghulam Mehmood Dogar took immediate notice of the death and sought a report from SP Allama Iqbal Town He ordered the Nawan Kot police officers to take strict action against the lawless elements involved in violation of the Kite Flying Act

On the other hand, the Lahore Police claimed to have arrested 5 967 people for violating the Kite Flying Act and registered 5,875 cases against them in the respective police stations so far this year The police recovered 59,548 kites and 8,174 strings rolls from the accused, according to Lahore police spokesperson on Sunday

In November, 185 kite flyers have been arrested so far and cases registered against them More than 1 200 kites and 240 string rolls were recovered from the arrested persons during this period

CCPO Lahore Ghulam Mahmood Dogar said kite flying was a bloody game He requested people to provide full support to the Lahore Police against those involved in violation of the Kite Flying Act He asked parents to keep their children away from the deadly illegal activity

Joy at ‘historic ’ climate damages deal

achieve results and that the world can recog nise the plight of the vulnerable must not be treated as a political football ”

Loss and damage covers a broad sweep of climate impacts, from bridges and homes washed away in flash flooding, to the threat ened disappearance of cultures and whole is land nations to the creeping rise of sea levels

Observers say that the failure of rich pol luters both to curb emissions and to meet their promise of funding to help countries boost climate resilience means that losses and damages are inevitably growing as the planet warms

Event attribution science now makes it possible to measure how much global warm ing increases the likelihood or intensity of an individual cyclone, heat wave, drought or heavy rain event

This year an onslaught of climate in duced disasters from catastrophic floods in Pakistan to severe drought threatening famine in Somalia battered countries al ready struggling with the economic effects of the Covid 19 pandemic and soaring food

and energy costs

“Everyone also now realises that things have gone way beyond our control,” said Harjeet Singh head of global political strat egy at Climate Action Network International W h o pay s?: The agreement was a high wire balancing act, over seemingly un bridgeable differences

On the one hand the G77 and China bloc of 134 developing countries called for the immediate creation of a fund at COP27, with operational details to be agreed later Richer nations like the United States and European Union accepted that countries in the crosshairs of climate driven disasters need money, but favoured a “mosaic” of funding arrangements

They also wanted money to be focused on the most climate vulnerable countries and for there to be a broader set of donors

That is the code for countries including China and Saudi Arabia that have become wealthier since they were listed as develop ing nations in 1992 After last minute tussles over wording,

the final loss and damage document decided to create a fund, as part of a broad array of funding arrangements for developing coun tries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change”

Other key points of contention were left ambiguous, or put into the remit of a new transitional committee that will be tasked with coming up with a plan for making the decisions a reality for the 2023 UN climate summit in Dubai

A reference to expanding sources of funding, “is vague enough to pass”, said Ines Benomar, researcher at think tank E3G

But she said debates about whether China the world’s biggest emitter among oth ers should maintain its status as developing was likely to reemerge next year

“The discussion is postponed, but now there is more attention to it she said

For his part, China’s envoy Xie Zhenhua told reporters Saturday that the fund should be for all developing countries

However, he added: “I hope that it could be provided to the fragile countries first

‘E m p t y b u c k E t’: Singh said other in novative sources of finance like levies on fossil fuel extraction or air passengers could raise “hundreds of billions of dollars”

Pledges for loss and damage so far are minuscule in comparison to the scale of the damages They include $50 million from Austria, $13 million from Denmark and $8 million from Scotland

Some $200 million has also been pledged mainly from Germany to the “Global Shield” project, launched by G7 economies and climate vulnerable nations

The World Bank has estimated the Pak istan floods alone caused $30 billion in dam ages and economic loss

Depending on how deeply the world slashes carbon pollution loss and damage from climate change could cost developing countries $290 to 580 billion a year by 2030, reaching $1 trillion to 1 8 trillion in 2050, ac cording to 2018 research

Adow said that a loss and damage fund was just the first step

“What we have is an empty bucket,” he said Now we need to fill it so that support can flow to the most impacted people who are suffering right now at the hands of the climate crisis

KARACHI

S tA F F R e P o R t

S tA F F R e P o R t

An 18 year old boy died after a kite string slit his throat in Chowk Yateem Khana area within the Nawan Kot Police precincts, here on Sunday P o l i c e s a i d t h a t t h e i l l f a t e d S h e h z a d S h a b b i r w a s g o i n g t o b u y b r e a k f a s t o n h i s m o t o r c y c l e w h e n a s n a p p e d k i t e s t r i n g h i t h i s t h r o a t A s a r e s u l t , h i s t h r o a t w a s s l i t a n d h e d i e d a f t e r s t r u g g l i

KARACHI

SChoolS in GB BeinG Sol aRiSeD To maTeRialiSe TeChnoloGy RevoluTion

the provision of an uninterrupted power sup ply was inevitable to achieve the objective

SOME 184 educational institutions

across Gilgit Baltistan are being solarised as part of the govern ment’s effort to materialise the vi sion of bringing about a technological revolution in the mountainous region, said the chief secretary Talking to the Associated Press of Pak istan, Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani noted that as the region had made a great stride towards the digitisation of educational institutions

While we have made a great stride to wards digitisation of our educational institu tions, it will be futile if there is a shortage of electricity to power the digital skeleton in these schools We do realise it and for the very purpose, we are solarising the educa tional hubs around the region he said Wani said that the solarised schools would not only be provided with solar backup but also have an additional battery backup to cope with prolonged power outages The chief secretary, who is putting in un

precedented efforts to bring about a change in the mountainous region by uplifting the people s living standard and equipping the youth with modern technological tools, has steered the establishment of a software tech nology park in Skardu after Gilgit

“Every generation needs a new revolu tion and here in Gilgit Baltistan, we believe in the technology revolution In this regard an Information Technology Park in Skardu after Gilgit has been established by the gov ernment with the help of the Special Com munication Organisation,” he said

Highlighting the government’s priorities,

Pakistan continues to suffer from af termath of devastating floods: UN

More than three months since the dev astating floods began in Pakistan, the catastrophe is far from over, said a UN spokesman over the weekend

Access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene remain challenging, with the flooding and standing water having led to a rise in water and vector borne diseases said Farhan Haq deputy spokesman for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres

Millions of people face increased food insecurity as families are return ing home to destroyed houses, ruined crops and dead livestock he told a daily press briefing

As winter begins to set in, with

Four killed, as many injured in Kashmir road accidents

ISLAMABAD

At least four people were killed and as many injured in two separate road accidents in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, rescuers told media Three teenage girls were killed and another person was injured on Satur day in Sudhnuti district after a school van fell into a ditch, the rescue service said The girls were report edly killed on the spot while the driver got severely injured and was shifted to a local hospital, the local media said, adding that two of the deceased were sis ters Separately, one person was killed and three oth ers were injured in a car accident near Neelum Valley district, the rescue service reported The victims were shifted to a local hospital, the rescue service said The ill fated car was traveling from the Patikka village of Muzaffarabad to the Neelum valley, it added Road accidents frequently happen in Pakistan mainly due to poorly maintained vehicles, dilapidated roads, as well as the negligence of road safety measures

Canvas footwear expor ts witness 414.02pc increase

ISLAMABAD

Canvas footwear exports during the first four months of the fiscal year of 2022 23 increased by 414 02 per cent as compared to the exports of the commodity dur ing the corresponding period of last year During the period from July 22 Oct 22, Canvas footwear worth US$ 293 000 were exported as compared to the exports of US$ 57,000 during the same period of last year Ac cording to the data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics the exports of leather footwear increased by 31 61 percent, worth US$ 51,234,000 as compared to exports of US$ 38,929,000 during the same period last year Meanwhile, Footwear exports also increased by 31 06 percent as the exports recorded during the cur rent fiscal year were US$ 62,527,000 as compared to the exports during the same period of last year which were US$ 47,708,000 During the period under review, Other footwear exports increased by 26 12 percent, worth US$ 11,000,000 in the current fiscal year, as compared to the exports of US$ 8,722,000 during the same period of last year

quate

Wani said the landscape of GB would be al tered to bring it at par with the smart cities of the developed world and its economic base would be expanded through technolog ical advancement

Moreover he said the facilities like unin terrupted power supply and high speed Inter net were being provided to various start ups located in its vicinity which would encourage the youth to seek new avenues of employment and broaden the region’s workforce base

In order to exploit the bright talent in higher education, the chief secretary, who is also the chairperson of Karakoram Cooperative

Bank, has introduced the “Taleem Finance” scheme Under the scheme, the students from Gilgit Baltistan securing admission to the top 15 universities across Pakistan would be of fered loans to cover the fees and stipends as sociated with the degree programme

The loan will be recovered after five years of the completion of their studies, Wani explained He recalled the region had already extended the loan facility to a stu dent who secured admission at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), enabling her to fulfil the dream of growth and development

Demand for early elections unjustified, says Saad Rafique

ISLAMABAD

displaced as the floods have affected 33 million people and caused destruc tion across the agricultural, health and education sectors, said Haq Food and livelihoods assistance has reached 4 1 million people, while 1 5 million people have received emer gency shelter kits, blankets, bedding and kitchen sets UN humanitarians and partners have provided health as sistance to 1 5 million people, while more than 1 7 million people have re ceived clean water he said “We are calling for additional funding to maintain the life saving re sponse The $816 million humanitarian appeal launched by the United Nations and the government of Pakistan is cur rently just 21 percent funded ” said the spokesman

Turkish marbling ar t introduced at Islamic Ar ts Festival in Pakistan

LAHORE

Turkish marbling art was welcomed by visitors at the International Islamic Arts Festival in La hore as artworks from various Islamic countries were exhibited “As YEE (Yunus Emre Institute), we opened a booth at this festival We are pro moting works of art such as tiles, rosaries and handmade carpets at our stand,” the group’s La hore coordinator, Eren Miyasoglu, said in a state ment to Anadolu Agency

Miyasoglu said the group opened an exhibi tion of marbling and calligraphy works “We worked on the art of Turkish marbling This work was highly appreciated by the visitors About 150 people followed the work ”

Miyasoglu said YEE will also hold a work shop on the rosary and will introduce traditional Turkish archery to residents

The festival was held at the Al Hamra Art Center in Lahore as part of International Islamic Arts Day Activities began Thursday and will end on Sunday

wate r

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

Indus River System Authority (IRSA) on Sunday released 84,600 cusecs water from various rim stations with inflow of 56,300 cusecs

According to the data released by IRSA the water level in River Indus at Tarbela Dam was 1516 69 feet and was 118 69 feet higher than its dead level of 1 398 feet Water inflow and out flow in the dam were recorded as 26,000 cusecs while outflow as 42,000 cusecs

Business

ISLAMABAD

Canada is an import oriented country and the business community of Pakistan has a good opportunity to tap this poten tial market for trade and exports The Pakistani private sector can set up a base in Canada and capture the North Ameri can market

This was said by Faisal Kakar Deputy Head of Mission designate to Canada while exchanging views with the business community during his visit to the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), said a press release issued here

Faisal Kakar said that he could facil itate online B2B meetings between Pak

The water level in River Jhelum at Mangla Dam was 1143 85 feet which was 93 85 feet higher than its dead level of 1,050 feet

T h e i n f l o w a n d o u t f l o w o f w a t e r w a s recorded 10 700 cusecs and 23 000 cusecs re s p e c t i v e l y T h e r e l e a s e o f w a t e r a t K a l a b a g h , Ta u n s a , G u d d u a n d S u k k u r w a s r e c o r d e d 55 500 39 100 33 200 and 13 100 cusecs re spectively Similarly, from River Kabul, a total of 12,000 cusecs of water released at Nowshera and 2 00 cusecs released from River Chenab at Marala

istani and Canadian entrepreneurs to ex plore areas of mutual cooperation

He said that Pakistan can export many products to Canada including rice, textiles, IT and software, and others

He said that around 0 6 to 0 7 million people from the Pakistani community were living in Canada and some of them had been elected in the Canadian parlia ment He said those parliamentarians could play an effective role in improving trade and economic ties between Pak istan and Canada

He assured that he would try to share information with ICCI about business opportunities for Pakistan in Canada so that the private sector could make efforts to take advantage of them Speaking at the occasion, Ahsan

S

Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique on Sun day said that Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s demand for early elections is unjustified In a tweet on Sunday Khawaja Saad Rafique said that Imran s illegitimate government was tolerated If those demanding early elections were serious, they would have gone for getting their resigna tion accepted instead of a long march The federal minister further said that if Imran Khan had dissolved the provincial governments, the election environment would have been cre ated automatically He underscored that the purpose of PTI long march is to spread chaos and not letting the country run

‘Food For Thought’ continues to ser ve ar t lovers

ISLAMABAD

Food For Thought, a collaborative art and book exhibition is serving art lovers here at gallery 8b2 featuring a collection of art by visual artist Anjum Alix Noon and inspirations from Culinary Tales of Baluchistan by Nilofer Afridi Qazi till Nov 22 Using the medium of acrylic on canvas the show carries as many as 55 pieces that revolve around content and context from the book Culinary Tales from Balochistan by Nilofer Afridi Qazi The book is presented as a journal of recipes, anecdotes, folklore, travels, places, history, hospitality, people and memories The artwork has developed around these elements Nilofer’s book is the inspiration that I used by art to display in this show Having collaborated with diverse disciplines, I developed it into an artist’s journey through a book The initial approach was a visu alization of an imaginary travelogue composed of sketches, scribbled notes maps and historical layering into various ele ments Thus, I made a basic analysis and mind mapping of those materials, references and sources, said Anjum Alix Noon about his work Culinary Tales from Baluchistan took me to vast land scapes where people and places appeared as figments and mem ories The abstractions combine old photographs ancient irrigation Karez system, Bardasht (goat’s shoulder bone), Das tarkhwan and Dawat The artwork is eclectic and holistic, using several mediums such as linocut, stencils, acrylic paints, and aquarelle on paper, canvas and Wasli (handmade paper) in small to large formats Its focal point is the creative process and how ideas have formed and developed The artistic effervescence is made up of endless spheres of creativity that navigates into the realm of the imagination and the end results are colorful and vivid “Culinary Tales from Baluchistan is just the beginning This journey continues to inspire seeking the beauty the com plexity of my province The Food stories in the collection are oral histories wrapped in ancient cultural markers Post publica tion of my book, I am equally curious about what it invokes in my fellow citizens,” said Nilofer about the book

Zafar Bakhtawari, President of Islam abad Chamber of Commerce & Industry said that the bilateral trade between Pak istan and Canada in 2020 was just around US$ 1 11 billion, which was not according to the actual potential of both countries He said that with better efforts, bilateral trade can be increased to 3 5 billion US dollars

He stressed that both countries should focus on developing strong busi ness linkages between their private sec tors to explore new areas of cooperation

He said that the Pakistani High Commission in Canada should explore the products that were in good demand in Canada and share such information with chambers of commerce & industry so that Pakistan’s private sector can cap

ture better market share in Canada

He said that many sectors of Pak istan’s economy offer great opportunities for JVs and investment and stressed that the Pakistani diaspora in Canada should be motivated to invest in Pakistan

Fahad Waheed, Senior Vice Presi dent ICCI said that Pakistan and Canada were agro based economies and had good potential to enhance cooperation in this sector

Khalid Iqbal Malik Group Leader Zubair Ahmed Malik, Zafar Bakhtawari, Muhammad Ejaz Abbasi, Raja Imtiaz, Khalid Chaudhry Mehmood Ahmed Warraich and others were also spoke at the occasion and offered useful propos als to further improve bilateral trade ties between Pakistan and Canada

GILGIT a p p

I R S A re l e a s e s 8 4 , 6 0 0 c u s e c s

UNITED NATIONS M o n to R n g R e p o R t

snow already affecting some areas, people affected by the floods are even more vulnerable and many need ade

shelter, food and winterization support, he said More than 5 million people remain

communit y asked to tap oppor tunities for bilateral trade with Canada

Loss and Damage Fund

COP27 ends with last minute historic funding agreement

TH E last minute agreement at the COP27 in Sharm

el Sheikh Egypt for a Loss and Damage Fund

represents, as Pakistan s Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman put it, the culmination of a 30 year campaign by less developed countries for \climate justice ’ After all, climate change is the result of conspicuous consumption by the industrialized countries, but its harmful effects are manifested in poor countries like Pakistan which has just undergone its worst monsoon flooding because of precisely that climate change The economic damage cannot be reversed, because lost production stays lost; crops once lost cannot be regrown It seems only fair that industrialized countries pay for the rebuilding of infrastructure lost because of their irresponsibility However, while the Loss and Damage Fund is a major achievement for the developing countries, the industrialized world should realize that it is no substitute for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, which caused the problem in the first place COP27 did not extract any fresh commitments, on the lines of those at COP 21 in 2015 in Paris COP27 also did not address the problem of how to handle greenhouse gases already emitted into the atmosphere Without such a removal, there is nothing to prevent a rise in the global temperature too great for the planet to handle, as it has been doing so far

However, Pakistan should not assume that there is a load of free money heading its way and its economic woes are going to go away once again Pakistan should note how the IMF wants to know about how it spent the funds it was given for covid 19 relief Pakistan should expect to have to account to donors for any money it gets and it should also expect to have to fight over the quantum of damage, not to have its claims accepted, as donors will expect to pay only for actual damage suffered To take an example, Pakistan should not be expected to be paid for all the losses it suffered during the recent floods, because the donor countries will argue that much of the loss was inevitable, and the fault of those living much of the loss was inevitable and the fault of those living in monsoonal flood areas Pakistan should also remember that this aid will not be a one off bit of assistance, but a fixture for the foreseeable fixture, and likely to become the main vehicle of foreign aid It seems, therefore, that the real work of tackling climate change will only now begin

Reflections on COP27 meetings

The rich world s governments arrived at the con ference in Egypt saying “it’s now or never” They left saying “how about never?” We sail through every target and objective red line and promised restraint towards a future in which the possibility of anyone’s existence starts to dwindle towards zero Every life is a madly improbable gift For how much longer will we sit and watch while our governments throw it all away?’ An excerpt from a recent Guardian pub lished article Our leaders had a final chance to halt climate breakdown They failed each and every one of us ’ by George Monbiot

TH E COP27 Summit, which was held in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, from november 7 18 has overall not lived up to the enormous and perhaps most urgent challenge at hand, and that is tackling the fast unfolding cli mate change crisis both in terms of mitigation and adaptation through shifting towards green economies, but also rich countries with much higher carbon foot prints paying reparations to developing countries like Pakistan, with relatively miniscule carbon footprint, but which have suffered climate change induced dis aster; where catastrophic floods this year in Pakistan inundated one third of the country, led to the loss of more than 1700 lives, and an estimate damage worth $30 billion

Having said that, over the years the rich countries have not lived up even to their climate finance related commitments, where a recent article The Barbadian proposal turning heads at COP27’ published by Fi nancial Policy (FP) pointed out in this regard ‘A perennial question hanging over U n climate confer ences is how developing countries will finance their domestic climate mitigation and adaptation efforts Rich countries currently provide them with a little less than $100 billion per year in a combination of grants and loans for this purpose, but their annual need is widely understood to be in the trillions of dol lars Developing countries have contributed far less to climate change than wealthy ones but dispropor

tionally bear the brunt of its effects ’ Hence, while it is all very well talking about in novative solutions to move towards renewable en ergy sucking out carbon from the atmosphere and managing the water sector much better; among other issues, the other main thing is arranging finances A recent Project Syndicate (PS) article pointed out in this regard ‘If there is one issue that has taken center stage at this year ’s United nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) it is money Delegates climate activists, and the rapidly increasing number of pri vate sector attendees are dis cussing who should pay for climate change, and how The focus on money is past due While the annual cli mate talks are ultimately about cutting greenhouse gas pollution the transition to a net zero economy re quires massive financing, as will adapting to a world of rising average temperatures and sea levels, increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather, and all the other costly effects of burning fos sil fuels

There has been some movement on the ‘Loss and Damag e’ fund, and wider acceptance of taking forward a meaningful financial and economic policy plan with regard to dealing with climate chang e crisis in the shape of ‘the Barbadian Initiative’ put forward earlier in the summer, and evolved thereafter, under the able leadership of Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley

With regard to moving towards a meaningful finan cial plan and the needed economic environment, in cluding reforms of the Bret ton Woods institutions away from neoliberal and overly austerity mindset, in addi tion to rich countries being asked to come good on their commitment of providing $100 billion to developing countries by 2020 there has been some progress, al though much greater break throughs were needed, especially after a lukewarm COP26 Summit in Glas gow, Scotland last year in this regard Hence there has been some movement on the ‘Loss and Damage’ fund, and wider acceptance of taking forward a meaningful financial and economic policy plan with regard to dealing with climate change crisis in the shape of ‘the Barbadian Initiative’ put forward earlier in the summer, and evolved there after under the able leadership of Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley

Indicating about the The Barbadian Initiative the same FP published article pointed out ‘Mottley and Persaud spent the past year developing their Glasgow pitch into a more solid proposal and workshopped it at a July meeting in the Barbadian capital of Bridgetown with academics, IMF executives, and the U n deputy secretary general The document that emerged from these discussions dubbed the Bridgetown Initiative made a one time $650 billion

request of the IMF (a departure from Mottley’s origi nal suggestion that this amount be paid annually) and called for development banks to issue $1 trillion in low interest loans for climate spending in developing countries An updated version of the Bridgetown Initiative that Persaud published this week also advo cates for a tax on oil companies to finance reconstruc tion grants that would be dispensed to developing countries after climate disasters, though it did not specify how exactly this would work Persaud also wrote that countries’ outstanding loan repayments should be temporarily paused after such disasters Although developments with regard to the estab lishment of a ‘Loss and Damage’ fund have indeed been encouraging, given that the EU proposed this on early Friday, there is a long way to go in this regard, as pointed out by Guardian’s environment editor, Fiona Harvey, in her recent article ‘Second draft of COP27 text: what has changed since the first draft? She high lighted both where the COP27 stood on this fund, and also with regard to some other main issues as follows: ‘There is still a commitment to phase down coal power, but the wider commitment to a phase down of all fossil fuels sought by India and others has been taken out On the 1 5C temperature limit, many countries were hoping for much stronger language that would reflect the advances made at Cop26 in Glasgow last year to “keep 1 5C alive” And on loss and damage the vexed issue of how to provide fi nancial assistance to poor countries suffering the worst ravages of climate break down there is little of sub stance because countries are still fiercely debating the possibility of a new fund proposed by the EU in the early hours of Friday This text has a long way to go, and while the tightening that has been done by the Egyptian hosts is welcome the lack of substantial commitments and forthright language in some key areas will disappoint many ’

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

h e P o l i s h M i s s i l e F i a s c o a n d t h e U S D u a l P o l i c y

We s t O n l y t h o s e s e c u r i t y b r e a c h e s c o n c e r n e d t h e USA which lie on the opposite side of their geostrate gic equation The Poland

their concern given its geostrategic

lation in the incident missile was likely not fired from Russia but still, the USA and its allies were determined to investigate this incident before taking any next move The day before this incident the USA took an initiative as its CIA Director William Burns met with his counterpart, the head of Russia s Foreign Intelli gence Service Sergey naryshkin in Turkey

Furthermore, Poland was a nATO member and it was ready to invoke article IV of nATO which allows the consultation of the member states when a nation’s s o v e r e i g n t y a n d t e r r i t o r i a l i n t e g r i t y h a s b e e n t h r e a t ened This attack was taken by the West as a spillover effect of the Russia Ukraine war into a third country

Moreover, there was also confusion among western al lies about whether the missile was fired from Ukraine or Russia However they were assured that if it is fired from Ukraine then it is unintentional and if Russia is involved then it is an escalation On the other hand, Russia denied the involvement and slammed the accu sation by Poland as a deliberate provocation Later on, the investigations confirmed that the missile was fired from Ukraine

n november

people

was

The comparative analysis of this Poland missile saga with the BrahMos Missile incident highlights the dual policy of the USA The BrahMos Missile was fired by India on Pakistan on March 9, both are nuclear armed states with a history of animosity

raised concerns over the incident Moreover their re s p o n s e w a s c o n t r a d i c t o r y a n d c o n f u s i n g a s t h r e e d i f f e r e n t r e s p o n s e s c a m e o n t h e s a m e i n c i d e n t f r o m t h e i r s i d e I n d i a c l a i m e d i t w a s a n accidental firing which insti gated fear in the region as if it h a p p e n e d a g a i n t h e n e x t t a r get could be any other state, it c o u l d b e I n d i a i t s e l f t o o D r A s m a S h a k i r K h a w a j a h i g h lighted the concerns about the s t r a t e g i c s t a b i l i t y o f t h e r e gion by raising the question: “is India “deliberately” trying to establish a new norm of ac c i d e n t a l f i r e i n S o u t h A s i a ? ” It would not be beneficial for a n y s t a t e a n d r e g i o n a s a w h o l e P a k i s t a n r a i s e d c o n c e r n s a b o u t t h i s m i s s i l e m i s a d v e n t u r e a n d d e m a n d e d a t h o r o u g h a n d t r a n s p a r e n t i n v e s t i g a t i o n f r o m I n d i a a n d r e g i s t e r e d a p r o t e s t a g a i n s t t h i s f i a s c o c a l l i n g i t a n i r r e sponsible incident

vis à vis Russia, s o t h e y w e r e v o c a l a b o u t t h e i n c i d e n t a n d d e m a n d e d a t h o r o u g h i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f t h e i n c i d e n t C o n t r a r y t o t h i s , t h e B r a h M o s M i s s i l e i n c i d e n t w a s a n u c l e a r s a f e t y a n d s e c u r i t y b r e a c h b y I n d i a T h o u g h t h e U S A i n t e g r a t e d d e t e r r e n c e a p p r o a c h i n t h e S o u t h A s i a n r e g i o n r e v o l v e s a r o u n d I n d i a a s i t s k e y a l l y, t h e y r e m a i n e d u n p e r t u r b e d b y t h i s p r o f o u n d p r e c a r i o u s n e s s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e B r a h M o s fiasco by India Their strategic b l u n d e r s a r e b r u s h e d u n d e r t h e c a r p e t

a

and sover

Russia was allegedly accused by Poland of this misadventure without any conclusive evidence An emergency meeting of G7 countries was called out dur ing the G20 nations’ summit in Bali Indonesia which was also attended by US president Joe Biden to discuss the situation in Poland

Biden commented to limit the risk of a major esca

Even though the incident was not taken that earnestly by the West The BrahMos missile was a high speed, supersonic, nuclear capable missile It threatened the strategic stability of South Asia The se curity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Pakistan were also threatened by the incident

I n d i a w a s r e l u c t a n t t o r e s p o n d i m m e d i a t e l y a f t e r t h e i n c i d e n t T h e i r r e s p o n s e c a m e a f t e r P a k i s t a n

T h e U S A m a i n t a i n e d a c a u t i o u s b u t c o n s p i c u o u s s i l e n c e o n t h i s i n c i d e n t a n d s i x d a y s a f t e r t h e p i n n a c l e t h e s t a t e m e n t i t i s s u e d e n d o r s e d I n d i a ’s s t a n c e T h e r e c e n t m i s s i l e s a g a i n P o l a n d h i g h l i g h t s t h e d u a l p o l i c y o f t h e

The unequivocal and unjust suppor t of the USA to India’s strategic blunders for sake of g eostrategic interest vis à vis China will fur ther heighten India’s assumed sense of supremacy and threaten the strategic stability of South Asia. Fur thermore , it also questions the legitimacy of the USA as the sole sponsor of a rule based international order.

T h e u n e q u i v o c a l a n d u n j u s t s u p p o r t o f t h e U S A t o I n d i a ’s s t r a t e g i c b l u n d e r s f o r s a k e o f g e o s t r a t e g i c i n t e r e s t v i s à v i s C h i n a w i l l f u r t h e r heighten India’s assumed sense of supremacy and threaten the s t r a t e g i c s t a b i l i t y o f S o u t h A s i a F u r t h e r m o r e i t a l s o questions the legitimacy of the U S A a s t h e s o l e s p o n s o r o f a rule based international order Power politics overruled ideal ism for the USA

missile incident was of

utility

The writer is Research Officer at Center for International Strategic Studies (CISS) AJK

S y e Da Ta h r e e m B u k h a r i

D r O m e r J av e D

The Bretton Woods institutions must also change their neoliberal bias

Yousaf Nizami Editor

Dedicated to the legac y of late Hameed Nizami Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor

M A Niazi Joint Editor

Umar Aziz Executive Editor Aziz ud Din Ahmad Joint Editor

P T I r e g i m e a n d t h e h e l p l e s s

F o r e i g n M i n i s t r y

Kashmir issue with or without the Saudis

He was also criticized by Saudi social media for his impolite posture in a meeting with the Saudi Ambassador in Islamabad when his shoe pointed at the Saudi envoy Diplomatic circles claimed that the then Ambassador of Pakistan in Riyadh Raja Ali Ejaz requested his Minister to review his can did behaviour while meeting with royal digni taries,the Minister took serious note of this and Rajs was replaced with Lt Gen (retd) Bilal Akbar Raja Ali Ejaz was posted as Ambassador in Riyadh in January 2019 and was replaced in January 2021

Diplomatic circles indicate that General Akbar also expressed the point of view that Pakistan must be careful and must give due respect and honour to the Saudis while dealing with them

ical public meeting for gaining domestic popular ity Then there was no end to this practice The ci pher fiasco was the pinnacle of the diplomatic shows PTI had in public meetings When he was using the cipher for purely political purposes, the White House kept rejecting claims of Imran Khan regarding Washington’s role in an alleged “for eign conspiracy” to oust him from power Khan was voted out in April 2022 but he started claiming in March 2022 that “an interna tional conspiracy against was part of regime change funded by western countries

In his March 27 public meeting, he claimed he was punished for not supporting Ukraine’s cause and visiting Moscow when President Putin initiated the bombing over Ukraine

Dangerous bridge

T H E shabby bridge on Kech Kor in Turbat connects many areas, like Panjgur and Quetta Since the heavy monsoon earlier this year potholes have become the main feature of the bridge, creating troubles for the commuters and leading to accidents

The Turbat Quetta bridge is used by locals as well as students who commute daily to reach academic institutions located on the city’s outskirts Regrettably, the number of accidents has increased due to high volume of traffic and hindrances in the way of smooth flow Two students recently lost their lives when their bike collided with a vehicle

While the district administration says it has taken notice of the dilapidated condition of the bridge no progress can be seen so far The commuters, including teachers and students, get late in reaching their respective destinations

The situation if not addressed urgently will add to the misery of local people The authorities concerned should repair this important bridge to prevent road accidents, and to facilitate life to the extent they can

BURHAN RAUF TURBAT

Custodial tor ture

T H E Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Bill, 2022, was recently passed by parliament criminalising custodial torture This is one of the best moves by any government in recent years in Pakistan, and has come at a time when such issues are under the spotlight owing to events and statements involving opposition politicians who have claimed to have faced custodial torture

There are two points that are of major concern First, if the politicians, who are powerful and influential claim to have undergone such treatment and if their claims are correct, we can just imagine what the common man goes through in police stations and other detention centres across the country

We all know about it but prefer to keep quiet and justify it by taking it as a matter of routine But we do not care or try to even imagine what mental trauma the person who is physically or mentally tortured has to go through for the rest of his life

In most cases, such victims cannot share the details of the atrocities faced even with their families It is high time that each and every one of us stopped taking custodial torture as a matter of routine and started speaking out against this inhuman and cruel investigation method

Second, legislation is as good or as bad, as effective or as ineffective as its implementation no piece of legislation can serve the purpose in the absence of its proper implementation Sadly, as far as our police force is concerned, ‘physical remand’ means permission to torture the accused to extricate the truth

PO L I T I C I A n S are politicians and they live, rise and fall through their political moves They come into power for a certain period through elections in a democratic system, they rule during their term and they pass on the government to other political parties or other politicians if they fail in elections Therefore, political govern ments are not permanent governments Almost every country has a political as well as a perma nent government, and this permanent govern ment is its civil and military bureaucracy

Imran Khan’s cipher fiasco exposed again that our permanent government is crumbling as our political system is We have listened to an audio leak about what role Principal Secretary to Prime Minister, Azam Khan, played in this tragicomedy theatre He is a part of the permanent government and he is one of the custodians of the state The weak character of former Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood is also questionable because the For eign Office from March 2022 till the end of the PTI government refrained from giving a straight forward answer about the nature of the whole issue Whenever media persons asked questions about the reality of the cipher, the Foreign Office (FO) never gave a clear cut answer when Imran Khan was in power and always responded with ambiguity that supported Khan’s version

Both Azam Khan and Sohail Mahmood are bureaucrats of Grade 22 the highest attainable rank for a civil servant in Pakistan We have seen pathetic and immature performances come from both top bureaucrats when they failed to stand for the state and bowed down against a reckless and ill behaved political government

This was not the only instance where the Foreign Office failed to perform an expected professional role that was needed during the 42 months of the rule of the PTI Imran Khan and his team magnificently created difficulties for our ambassadors serving abroad, particularly in countries where Pakistan has high economic and diplomatic stakes Without any reference, con notation or denotation, former ForeignMminis ter Shah Mahmood Quraishi once passed derogatory remarks against Saudi Arabia, and then had to withdraw his words In August 2020, Quraishi said that he would be left with no choice but to advise his prime minister (Imran Khan) to call a session of all those Islamic coun tries that are ready to stand with Pakistan on the

He was also replaced within the next 10 months and then Quraishi placed his most trust worthy officer as the new Ambassador in Riyadh in november 2021 In two years, Pakistan changed three Ambassadors in Riyadh It is be lieved in diplomatic circles that if a country keeps changing its Ambassador in a host country, actually it wants to send a message to the host country that the station (country) is problematic

We remember that former Minister for Human Rights Shirin Mazari wrote a Twitter mes sage against the French President and it bounced back within hours and the French Embassy in Pakistan strongly reacted We also remember the Turkish solid waste management firm was uncer emoniously sent away We also recall that the Chinese led Orange Train project of Lahore was halted for a long period and PTI had been trying to find corruption in the project I recollect former Railway Minister Sheikh Rasheed saying large scale corruption was involved in the ML 1 project that the PM(n) government signed with the Chi nese government He ordered an investigation but nothing came out of this probe However, Chinese firms took back seats and waited for normalcy in Pakistan so the ML 1 project was halted

Statements of former Federal Minister for Communication Murad Saeed against the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project claiming large scale corruption involved in it had also been a problem for the Chinese because such statements had been used in official reports the USA prepared against the CPEC project

In november 2019 Ambassador Alice Wells the then Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia at the US De partment of State raised several critical questions about CPEC during her talks at Woodrow Wilson Center, citing several statements of Pakistani politicians and the then serving ministers (of PTI government) The then Ambassador of China to Pakistan Yao Jing repulsed the narrative of Am bassador Wells about CPEC and said that the China Pakistan relationship is (was) mutually beneficial and based on “win win cooperation” for both sides The Chinese Ambassador stated that CPEC projects were investigated and it was unanimously concluded that there was no corrup tion in their affairs

In March 2022, the then prime minister Imran Khan condemned the European Union (EU) for asking Islamabad to condemn Russia over the Ukraine Russia war While addressing a public meeting in Vihari, he lambasted EU ambassadors for writing a letter to the Foreign Office of Pakistan urging Pakistan to vote against Russia in a special Un General Assembly session on the Ukraine war This was the first instance Imran Khan abused foreign countries (except India) in a polit

From March 27 to november 15, Imran Khan took several positions and took several U turns over domestic issues he blames and claims against establishments kept changing but he kept saying that he is the victim of a US conspiracy He had been establishing that the USA ruined Pakistan and it was also involved in the judicial murder of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto now he has taken a remarkable U turn In his latest in terview published in The Financial Times, Imran said that he no longer blamed the USA and wants a “dignified” relationship if re elected

“As far as I’m concerned it’s over, it’s be hind me Pakistan and I (Imran) want to lead good relationships with everyone especially the United States” said Imran Khan

In an interview, he also admitted his visit to Moscow a day before the Russia Ukraine war started in February for which he claims the USA retaliated against him was embarrassing but said the trip was organized months in advance

What Imran Khan and his cabinet members had been saying against foreign countries could be the political demand of PTI for domestic gains They are politicians and they have their own interests, therefore, I would not blame them for what damage they have done to the foreign relations of Pakistan by antagonizing friendly and important countries However, I am amazed at what a puny role professional diplomats sit ting in the Foreign Office played during the whole fiasco spreading over 42 months Could they not stop the reckless PTI when its politi cians were damaging foreign relations with Pak istan? Is pleasing politicians for better foreign postings more important than safeguarding state interest through showing professional displeas ure against the thoughtless actions of politicians?

When you talk with someone in the Foreign Service cadre, the answer is simple: The Foreign Service cadre has limited choices and chances of postings and they have to entertain politicians for lucrative postings so they keep pleasing their political bosses Their answer is not so un founded because we have seen large scale for eign postings during the PTI era mostly done through the procedure of pick and choose in stead of appreciating professional credentials

The PTI epoch gives a lesson to learn that there must be a strong and independent Secre tary in office in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; as strong as in the Ministry of Defence Foreign Office is as important as the Ministry of De fence if we talk about the interests of the coun try and there should be a minimum role of politicians in transfers and posting as we see in the ministry of Defence

The writer is an international award winning journalist who has been in the field since 1988 and appears in national and international media as analyst and political scientist

I hope that the government will initiate a proper process to implement the said law, and will try to eliminate any loophole detected during its execution The police might take an accused to a different drawing room before bringing him to the police station This, and other such attempts at bypassing the law, should be kept an eye on

Perhaps a civil person in charge of the detainees in police stations and other such agencies, especially the jails, may help reduce the problem to a great extent People need to regain their lost faith and trust in police, and it can only be achieved with sincere efforts by the force itself

HAROON YUSUF FAISALABAD

Value-added goods

PA K I S TA n, as part of undivided India, faced the ugliness of colonialism But once that phase came to an end and we got our independence we fell into the trap of neo colonialism that has crippled the national economy because it has remained dependent on the industrial world

Unfortunately the lingering leadership crisis in the country is to blame for our continued dependence on the global market For instance, we export our raw material for a pittance instead of converting it into a value added product Our exported raw material is refined and branded by industries elsewhere and we import those very products at exorbitant prices

The only way forward is for the leadership to reconsider the relevant policies and have them implemented Instead of exporting our raw material to the developed nations, we should build our own industries like everybody else did

By doing so our exports would be the final product not the raw material, and our imports would be reduced Together, the two elements will improve the trade balance by generating the needed revenue

FAIZAN RAZA LARKANA

Information literacy

A few aspects have become unavoidable with the concept of the globe as a village and a continuous flow of information through media platforms These include imparting knowledge, developing attitudes, and grooming abilities required to recognise the authenticity of information One should be able to access organise analyse and use the information ethically

To meet the challenges concerning the propagation of truthful and well timed information, the United nations General Assembly (UnGA) has been promoting Media and Information Literacy (MIL) since 2012 making it an integrated part of the larger campaign aimed at ensuring the right to be informed

In Pakistan especially with the increasing use of digital media due consideration to emphasise and elaborate the connotation of MIL is becoming exceedingly desirable not only for the professionals in the field, but also for the masses so that they may be able to recognise that MIL is essential for the wellbeing and progress of the community

The integration of MIL in public policies, such as curricula and cultural aspects should be encouraged through various activities Strong support to networks and organisations working on MIL issues and investment in capacity building is unavoidable in the present era where separating disinformation from facts and figures is not just a privilege, but a fundamental right

a Letter from Prometheus agha iqrar harOOn

Diplomats must please politicians if they want good postings

Al JAzeerA Pat r i c k G at

The WesT WIll noT acT on clImaTe change unTIl IT feels ITs paIn

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f there is anything that has been true in the history of the world, it is that states, and especially Western states, rarely if ever act out of a sense of moral com pulsion when such acts could impose hardships back home Look at the rhetoric around support for Ukraine following the Russian invasion as an example W h i l e t h e c o n f l i c t h a s b e e n p r e s e n t e d i n s t a r k l y m o r a l i s t i c t e r m s , a s t h e We s t h e l p i n g b r a v e U k r a i n e s t a n d u p t o R u s s i a n b u l l i e s , i t h a s b e e n c l e a r t h a t moralism can be quickly discarded in the face of dis comfort for their citizens The prospect of cold Euro pean homes and high prices motivated the European Union to leave a myriad of loopholes in its sanctions t o a l l o w f o r t h e f l o w o f R u s s i a n g a s a n d o i l t o c o n tinue When Russian gas was cut off, European gov ernments did not hesitate to reach out to various fossil f u e l r i c h a u t o c r a t s t h e y o t h e r w i s e r e g u l a r l y c r i t i c i s e for their dismal human rights record

As Africans learned long ago during the Cold War, global powers are more than happy to wage supposed wars of principle on other peoples’ lands, sacrificing other peoples welfare but not their own The same dynamic is evident in the narratives and proposals that were tabled at the latest United Nations Climate Change Conference in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt Lots of the talk was about helping the unfortunately sit uated “Global South” cope with the ravages of extreme weather events such as droughts and floods, and helping them transition into greener sources of energy

Like during the Cold War, the West is actively the atre shopping, recruiting countries to serve as arenas for its climate fight Switzerland for example plans to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, not by ac tually reducing them, which might require inconvenienc ing its citizens but by paying countries like Ghana to reduce its emissions and give it credit

The idea would be for the Swiss government to pay for efficient lighting and cleaner stoves to be installed in Ghanaian households and claim the resulting reduc tion in emissions as its own Switzerland is not the only Western nation to use such carbon offsetting schemes, which displace climate action from rich polluting na tions and frame poorer nations that have contributed lit tle to the crisis as the ones that need to change the most

They were very much present at COP 27, too The United States, for example, unveiled a new carbon trad ing scheme that supposedly would help poorer nations transition to cleaner energy In it large Western compa nies would invest in renewable energy projects in the Global South in exchange for being allowed to continue emitting large quantities of greenhouse gases As envi ronmentalists have pointed out, this is little more than another scheme allowing Western Big Business to con tinue polluting and reaping large profits

However, Western talk about transition by poorer countries is not only about deflecting from a focus on their reluctance to decarbonise their own economies and shifting the blame for the climate problems to those least responsible for them It is also an example of what 19th century German economist friedrich List called “kicking away the ladder”

It is a very common clever device that when any

one has attained the summit of greatness, he kicks away the ladder by which he has climbed up, in order to de prive others of the means of climbing up after him he wrote in 1841

While List applied this to the familiar prescriptions of free trade by the British who had themselves clam bered up the ladder of mercantilism, it is just as applica ble to today’s push by the West to have others not follow their energy path to the top, while they keep the advan tages of such ascension an approach they have also ap plied to nuclear weapons technology

In response, many non Western countries have been keen to either highlight the injustice of having to bear the cost of mitigating extreme weather events caused by others They have also appealed to the Western sense of self preservation by arguing, as the prime minister of the Bahamas has, that climate change would send hordes of refugees to Europe, overwhelming the systems of privi lege the West has built to insulate itself from the prob lems it has caused in the rest of the world

However, both these approaches accept a faulty premise: that climate change is primarily a problem for the Global South, with the West escaping largely un scathed, yet again managing to outsource the pain to the rest of the globe

Yet, a report from the World Meteorological Organ ization released on November 2 said temperatures in Europe have increased at more than twice the global av erage over the past 30 years the highest of any conti nent in the world and predicted exceptional heat, wildfires floods and other climate change impacts will affect society, economies and ecosystems”

Just this year, the effects of this have been startlingly

visible The region suffered extreme heatwaves that caused the worst drought in half a millennium, dried up rivers and reservoirs fuelled wildfires that destroyed more than 660,000 hectares (1 63 million acres) of land and killed at least 15,000 people further west, states in the US are battling a 22 year mega drought the worst in a millennium, and across North America, water levels in rivers, lakes and reservoirs are dropping

Rather than appealing to the West s conscience or pushing the tale that they will only be indirectly affected by the folly of their actions, the world should borrow the language of JRR Tolkien in The Hobbit: If this is to end in fire, then we should all burn together ”

The fact is, the West has just as much to lose, if not more, than the rest of us, from the climate crisis Using the tropes of the 1990s’ humanitarian appeals that portray Global South folk as helpless victims will only inspire the same superficial, charitable responses that are de signed to make the giver look and feel good rather than address the problem as Switzerland has demonstrated

Rather than saving Brazilian rainforests, maybe a bet ter and more impactful discussion would be what to do about the drying Seine Rather than the image of climate change being floods in Pakistan, perhaps it should be the thousands dying in heatwaves in the United Kingdom

In the end, it is not our pain and suffering that will move the West in any meaningful way It is a recognition of their own And only when we change the conversation can we expect that to happen

World cup 2022: What’s behind the sustained condemnation of Qatar?

izens in India? Perhaps Labour is soon to announce its boycott of the 2023 Cricket World Cup

VOCIFEROUSLY CONDEMNED: Selective moral outrage isn’t just coming from the Labour Party, though Qatar is being widely and vociferously condemned in the sports world and the mainstream press Coach Gary Neville has been lambasted for agreeing to work for the Qatari state owned channel beIN Sports at the World Cup former England striker Gary Lineker says he knows secretly gay Premier League footballers and thinks it would be “great if one or two of them came out during the World Cup to send a message to Qatar

Then there’s England’s team captain, Harry Kane He intends to wear a “OneLove” rainbow coloured arm band in Qatar showing support for LGBTQ+ rights

Europe, especially in france, often being misinterpreted as suggesting that 6,500 migrants had died on World Cup construction sites In Britain the number was cited by a Sky News interviewer, speaking about World Cup related deaths in a question put to Qatar ’s foreign minister He replied that the figure was untrue And at a recent football match between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, fans held up a flag saying “15,000 deaths for 5,760 min utes of football shame on you The 15 000 figure stems from an Amnesty International report It refers to the total number of deaths of all non Qataris in Qatar be tween 2010 and 2019, not of construction workers on the World Cup, nor even only construction workers

uK’s Labour leader Keir Starmer, notoriously cautious has gone into battle over the fifa World Cup in Qatar Even if England’s team made it into the final, he said on air in late October, “the human rights record is such that I wouldn t go and that’ll be the position of the Labour Party”

Shortly afterwards, the shadow culture secretary, Lucy Powell announced that no Labour delegation would be going to Qatar “LGBT England and Wales fans are having to put up with the tournament being played in a country where their sexuality is crimi nalised,” she said

This kind of moral stance is unusual for the Labour Party Starmer recently slammed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s decision not to attend COP27 in Egypt as an “ab solute failure of leadership” But by all measures, human rights are in a much worse state in Egypt than in Qatar

There are an estimated 60,000 political prisoners in Egypt, including the activist Alaa Abd el fattah A British Egyptian dual citizen, he recently called off a hunger strike and risks dying in prison as have hundreds of other political detainees Does Starmer think that cli mate change is more important than these staggering human rights abuses? His pragmatism when it comes to Egypt does not seem to extend to Qatar

It s curious that Starmer should intervene so stri dently in a sporting event Perhaps we can expect the Labour leader to remark next on the upcoming formula 1 Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi The United Arab Emirates has a record of imprisoning dissidents, and there is wide spread abuse of migrant workers Like Qatar, the country criminalises homosexuality But so far, Starmer hasn t said anything about the Grand Prix

And then there’s cricket When England won the final of the 2022 T20 Cricket World Cup in Australia at the weekend it would have been the perfect time for Starmer to announce that Labour would boycott the Cricket World Cup next year in India Experts warn of a potential genocide against Muslims there

Does Starmer think that the lives of Indian workers in Qatar are more valuable than the lives of minority cit

There’s something strange about the coverage of this World Cup There are many serious criticisms that can be levelled against Qatar But the country is subject to an ex traordinary campaign which often seems based on igno rance and bigotry In the British press, only a very small amount of the coverage of Russia in the run up to its 2018 World Cup was about the football event By contrast, almost half of the coverage on Qatar has been about the World Cup

Reporting on Russia s invasion of Crimea, the bomb ing of Syria and human rights abuses was relatively dis connected from coverage of the World Cup there In the one dimensional, simplistic reporting on Qatar, however, human rights abuses are being closely connected to the World Cup, even when the two topics are not directly re lated The result has been the extreme politicisation of the sporting event Painting a simplistic caricature of Qatar moreover, is significant in shaping public opinion about the country Most people in Europe and America know lit tle about Qatar’s people history political system and cul ture except for what they see in coverage of the World Cup

‘ORIENTAL DESPOTISM’ In france, where multiple municipalities are refusing to hold public screenings of World Cup matches in protest at Qatar hosting the event, the magazine Le Canard recently published a racist car toon depicting Qatari footballers as terrorists holding the country up as a spectacle of horrifying barbarism in a manner that evokes old ideas of “oriental despotism”

In 2021 the Guardian reported that a staggering 6,500 migrant workers had died since the World Cup was awarded to Qatar, seeming to imply that the deaths were connected to the World Cup The 6 500 figure actually refers to all deaths of migrant workers from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, India and Bangladesh, regardless of cause says Marc Owen Jones assistant professor of Middle East Studies at Hamad bin Khalifa University, Qatar “It’s not an ‘excess’ death figure ”

The number of worker deaths actually linked to the World Cup is disputed While World Cup organisers say that there have been three work related accidents and 37 deaths from all causes a report by the UN s International Labour Organisation says that there were 50 deaths in the construction industry in 2020 and raises questions about the way that deaths are categorised

The Guardian’s story was tweeted thousands of times and the “6,500” figure was picked up by journalists across

REFORMS: Political geographer Natalie Koch, who has studied the topic in depth, notes that it is rarely the Qatari government directly exploiting the workers but their fellow citizens who serve as brokers and manage their contracts in Qatar and at home

In recent years, reforms have somewhat improved the situation in Qatar The kafala sponsorship system has been overhauled so that migrants can now change jobs without their employers’ approval Researcher Crystal Ennis, writing for Middle East Eye, notes that “improve ments have taken place to bring regulations into line with international labour standards” Qatar is now far ahead of its neighbours in key respects In 2021, the govern ment introduced a non discriminatory minimum wage law By the end of the year it had reportedly paid $165m in compensation to 36,000 workers

In a new report, the International Labour Organisa tion highlights improved working and living conditions for workers because of reforms introduced by the Qatari government It adds, however, that there were still im mense challenges in implementing these reforms The reality is that terrible abuse and appalling living condi tions remain a feature of life for many migrants

The overarching problem Ennis argues is the ex ploitation of migrant workers in global labour market structures It s not just the Gulf some European countries also have serious issues with the abuse of migrant work ers, but they receive little attention in the mainstream British media A global effort is needed to encourage safe and regular migration Both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International warn against an international boy cott of the World Cup, arguing that it won’t drive positive change Strikingly though only seven of the qualifying football federations endorsed a campaign calling on fifa to create a $440m compensation fund for migrant workers This was a more practical but less sensational demand LGBTQ+ RIGHTS: Of course, there are some irrecon cilable differences in values between the British public and Qatar One issue which has provoked particular out rage is LGBTQ+ rights 62 percent of British people think Qatar ’s position on this issue alone should have barred it from hosting the World Cup

It is of course vital to draw attention to horrifying re ports of the arbitrary arrest and abuse of LGBTQ+ people in Qatar Human Rights Watch recently documented six cases of severe and repeated beatings and five cases of sex ual harassment in police custody between 2019 and 2022”,

although Qatar strongly disputes the report’s assertions But in terms of the criminalisation of homosexuality, there s nothing exceptional about Qatar s stance In most Commonwealth countries homosexuality is illegal, and many of these are Christian, not Muslim, countries This raises the question of whether it s acceptable to travel to or engage with countries around the world such as Saint Lucia, Singapore and Nigeria If it is, why is Qatar being singled out? Nor does this issue pit Europe against the rest of the world Around 100 towns and re gions across Poland have declared themselves free of LGBT ideology In Italy, the recently elected govern ment strongly opposes same sex marriage and its presi dent rails against the “LGBT lobby” In Qatar, sexuality is understood in terms of actions rather than identity Under Qatari law, sexual relations outside of marriage and sodomy are both crimes, whether they’re between a man and woman or a same sex couple So too are im moral actions”, a term which is undefined

It’s noteworthy that the US Department of State re port in 2021, like reports in previous years, doesn t ref erence any actual prosecutions for same sex sexual behaviour However, it must be said that the reporting of incidents is limited due to the Qatari LGBTQ+ commu nity not being able to be open about their identities

Qatar’s approach reflects the fact that its society is con servative Public displays of affection between members of the same sex are forbidden and any public display of affection can lead to arrest, including between a man and a woman Holding hands, by contrast, is legal including for two men and two women In the run up to the World Cup, the emir of Qatar has maintained that LGBTQ+ fans are welcome but must respect our culture

COMPLEXITY: It’s worthy of comment that the world of football has never been renowned for its celebration of LGBTQ+ identities either In May this year, Jake Daniels became the first male British footballer in over 30 years to come out as gay No country should be treated like it s beyond criti cism And any country that hosts a major sporting event must expect to face scrutiny over its human rights record

But the orientalist depiction of Qatar as a land of ex ceptional barbarism functions as a form of virtue sig nalling, a self congratulatory but incoherent show of moral superiority Qatar is a young country it was only founded in 1971 and it has developed dramatically in the last few decades Last year, the nation held its first elec tions for the Shura Council, the state’s legislative body Qatar is a fast changing country and that s partly be cause of hosting the World Cup This could have been a chance for the world to learn more about Qatar Instead, the opposite is happening

Taking a moral stance is important, but can only be helpful if it’s consistent and combined with a genuine at tempt to understand the Other in all its complexity

Imran Mulla has written for The Critic, Conservative Home Athwart Panoramic the Magazine and Traversing Tradition among others Peter Oborne won best commentary/blogging in both 2022 and 2017

THE WORLD SHOULD BORR OW THE L ANGUAGE OF JRR TOLKIEN IN THE HOBBIT: “IF THIS IS TO END IN FIRE, THEN WE SHOULD ALL BURN TOGETHER ”

PLEAS FR OM THE GLOB AL SOUTH WILL NOT STIR WESTERN GOVERNMENT INTO AC TION. ONLY WESTERN SUFFERING WILL

Middle eAst eye

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CORPORATE CORNER

Pak , UNESCO agREE tO SEt UP CENtRE OF ExCEllENCE iN iSl amaBad

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

S ec urity arrangements for visit of England cricket team reviewed

PAKISTAN and UNESCO have agreed to work out for establishment of PAK UN ESCO Joint Centre of Excel lence in Teachers Training and STEAM Learning at Islamabad It has been decided during a bilat eral meeting held at Tashkent, Uzbek istan between the Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Rana Tanveer Hussain, with Ms Ste fania Giannini, Assistant Director Gen eral for Education UNESCO

The meeting was held on the side lines of II World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education

Ms Giannini was previously Sen ator and Minister for Education, Uni versities and Research, Italy

ISLAMABAD:

Nasir

Rana Tanveer Hussain informed about Pakistan’s resolute commitment to overcome the major challenges in education sector and mainly in the areas

of Out of School Children, Girls Edu cation, urgent actions required to miti gate learning losses Quality of Education referring to (pedagogy skills, faculty development & governance is sues) introducing & embedding Skills learning in mainstream Education as well as use of technology & STEM to assist the conventional mode of educa tion He also emphasized on the dam

age caused by the recent unprecedented floods with recovery cost in education sector around USD918 million

Mr Tanveer urged that various in terventions were made in partnership with UNESCO however the focus shall be on major challenges with one or two high impact targeted interven tions instead of low impact scattered collaborations in different areas

f e long learning opportunities as in light o f S D G 4 a s w e l l a s c o m m i t m e n t s made in Bangkok declaration and re cen tly h eld Tr an s f o r min g Ed u catio n Summit at UN HQs

While considering the importance of teachers’ training and STEAM edu cation, he proposed for Pak UNESCO Joint Centre of Excellence (CoE) in teachers training and STEAM learning at Islamabad, which will be established with the support of UNESCO The said Centre will mainly focus of early child hood & primary education

Ms Stefania Giannini informed that UNESCO has been doing its best to support Pakistan’s education sector along with its other partners (UNICEF, WFP, WHO etc) in emergencies She appreciated Pakistan’s commitment to address the educational challenges faced by the country

on Sunday

security arrangements for the upcoming visit of the England

According to the police spokesman, overall security arrangements were discussed and reviewed in the meeting presided over by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad which was also attended by the CPO (Security), SSP (Security), AIG (Operations), AIG (Investigation), all SPs, DSPs and Inspectors from security division It was decided in the meeting that the Islamabad Capital police would maintain complete coordination with Rawalpindi police to ensure foolproof security while the routes of the team would be monitored through digital technology and drone cameras More than 1,200 personnel would be deployed on security while CPO (Security) would monitor all affairs pertaining to team security and to ensure the foolproof security of the guests CPO (Operations) will ensure complete coordination with them while Chief Security Officer would be deployed with the cricket team to maintain close liaison and sharing of any important information with other law and enforcement departments IGP Islamabad emphasized that Islamabad Capital Police will take all possible measures for the security of the cricket team to maintain national dignity He ordered all the officers to carry out search and combing operations in the city Dr Akbar Nasir strictly directed all officers to deploy alert personnel at the staying venue and they should be briefed about the importance of the duty before deployment p R

Investor awareness session held at FFC by PSX

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) conducted an Investor awareness session at Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited (FFC) Head Office, Sona Tower Rawalpindi for its employees

Imran’s c all for long march towards Pindi ‘mere empty slogan’: Memon

S

Sindh Information, Transport and Mass Transit Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon on Sunday termed Imran Khan s call for long march towards Pindi mere an “empty slogan ”

He claimed that Imran was now heading to wards a political death end and he (Imran) was now asking for face saving excuses “But, the PTI chief is getting no response despite his apologies ”

In a statement issued here on Sunday, the min ister said that Imran Niazi was the only leader whose own Punjab chief minister was considering him a liar Till today, Pervaiz Elahi has not said that the names given by Imran Khan for the regis tration of FIR are correct,” he added The Sindh minister further said that earlier the world had knew Imran as a cricketer but now Imran has become in famous as a “watch thief all over the world

CPEC first phase created 190,000 jobs in past 9 years: C hinese official

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a pilot project of the Belt and Road Initiatives has created 190,000 jobs over the past 9 years, a Chi nese official told on Sunday China and Pakistan established the Joint Coop eration Committee (JCC) on the CPEC in 2013, fo cusing on cooperation in Gwadar Port, energy, infrastructure and industries said Meng Wei spokesperson of China’s National Development and Reform Commission

In recent years, the two sides have expanded their cooperation to the fields of science and tech

nology, agriculture, society, people’s livelihood and information technology industries, the spokesper son said The cooperation outcome can be represented by Gwadar East Bay Expressway project, China funded Gwadar Seawater Desalination Project Karot Hydropower Station, China’s aid to Pak istan’s flood hit areas and more, the China News Service reported Next, the two sides will jointly implement the consensus between the leaders of the two countries, accelerate the cooperation in the fields of agricul ture, mining, information technology, society and people’s livelihood, and promote the high quality construction of the CPEC, the spokesperson added

Tang China’s Ltd, UoS sign MoU to collaborate in academic, cultural spheres

grams and vocational & faculty training and Chinese Language programs as well

The University of Sargodha and Tang Chinese Education & Technology Ltd inked an agreement to promote coopera tion in academic, educational and cultural spheres In this regard, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed at University of Sargodha

The agreement was duly signed by Dr Anjum Murtaza Additional Director Office of the Research Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC) University of Sargodha and Mr Max Ma Director & Executive President of Tang Pakistan

Prof Dr Qaisar Abbas, the Vice Chan cellor UoS commented on the moment “this partnership will connect Sargodha University with top Chinese Universities and Vocational Institutes It will also bring forward opportunities of joint degree pro

Mr Max pointed out that there are sev eral Hi end technologies through CCTE Model Modern China Pakistan dual Diploma Joint Technical Education Pro gram in which the University could start three year Associate Degree Programs Under this program, students will acquire theoretical knowledge at Sargodha Univer sity and a year long practical training from Chinese Universities while a dual degree will be awarded after completion

The agreement is aimed at imparting effective training, quality assessment, cer tification to the manpower for local eco nomic zones and CPEC Industries & Special Economic Zones (SEZs) by launching CCTE Model Sino Pak Dual Diploma Vocational & Technical Joint Education Program

According to the agreement the two

sides will also carry out in depth cooper ation in the development of information based vocational, technical courses and the introduction and certification of China s vocational education standards

Both parties also agreed to make ef forts to establish a Model Industrial Unit for value addition to the citrus export in a triparty framework, including Tang, UoS and the Sargodha Chamber of Commerce

Railways mulls restoration of closed sections in Balochistan

Pakistan Railways is planning to restore all the closed sections in Balochistan province which could not only generate revenue for the department but also facilitate the masses “The decision will facilitate the local peo ple of the province and also boost the business activi ties for the small business owners ” an official in the Ministry of Railways told APP He said that Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique had also taken a keen interest in this regard and asked the concerned official of the department to make a plan for restora tion of different sections to generate income in the province To a question, he said that Pakistan Rail ways had also planned to start rehabilitation work of a 33 kilometer track through sleeper renewal between Quetta Bostan and Quetta Chaman section “The track will not only facilitate the passengers but also connect three major cities of the province he said He said railway network in Balochistan province mainly con sisted of Quetta Division having Dera Allah Yar Sibi Quetta, Quetta Chaman, Sibi Khost, Spezend Dalbandin Taftan Bostan Zhob which were closed for the last 15 years The official said there were two passenger trains Jaffer Express (40Up, 39 Down) and Chaman Passenger (349Up, 350 Down) operating in Balochistan while no stations had been closed during the last 15 years in Quetta division He said the overall length of the railway track in Balochistan was 1,470 36 kilometers including the closed Bostan Zhob section Most of the track is more than 100 years old and on certain stretches, engi neering speed restrictions have been imposed due to deferred maintenance and owing to resource con straints he said adding that the routine maintenance of track was being carried out with available re sources To improve railway services in Balochistan, he said, the department was taking several steps like approval of PC I for the track s rehabilitation and the rehabilitation of another 100 km track between Ahmedwal Dalbadin on Quetta Taftan section

Footballs expor ts witness 62.22pc increase: PBS

ISLAMABAD

Footballs exports during the first four months of fiscal year of 2022 23 increased by 62 22 percent as compared to the exports of the commodity during the correspon ding period of last year During the period from July 22 Oct 22, footballs worth US$ 81,351,000 were exported as compared to the exports of US $ 50,148,000, during the same period of last year According to the data re leased by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the exports of Sports goods increased by 32 31 percent, worth US$ 139,185,000 as compared to exports of US$ 105,199,000 during the same period, last year Mean while, other exports also increased by 8 54 percent as the exports recorded during the current fiscal year were US$ 33,102,000 as compared to the exports during the same period of last year which were US$ 30,499,000 During the period under review, gloves exports in creased by 0 73 percent, worth US$ 24,731,000 in cur rent fiscal year, as compared to the exports of US$ 24,552,000 during the same period of last year

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad Dr Akbar

Khan

reviewed

cricket team

Ms Raeda Latif, Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer covered aspects of mutual interests like investment in stock market, financial products, and investors’ attitudes towards budgeting, saving, debt management, financial negotiations, rights and obligations She apprised the participants with PSX mandatory Disclosure requirement on Company share transactions by employees Brig (R) Asrat Mahmood, the Company Secretary FFC and Ms Raeda Latif presented respective shields to eachother, as a token of appreciation p R

KARACHI

The people are giving examples of his watch theft”, Memon said and added that as Prime Minis ter, Imran brought disrepute to Pakistan Sharjeel Inam Memon said that Imran Khan was threatening in speeches and in interviews, but behind the scenes Imran Khan and his party leaders were sending mes sages of apology to the people in power corridors

CEO Ezfuels, Group Capt (R) Syed Ahmad Farooq

Tamgha e Basalat with CEO DelSys Technologies, Muhammad Waqar briefing honorable delegates pR

SAR GODHA S ta f f R e p o R t

and Industry (SCC&I)

Besides exchanging experiences in innovative teaching methods, course de sign and modem education tools, inviting scholars, joint symposia, conferences like China Pakistan International Industrial Academic Cooperation Alliance and stu dents for participation in training, lec tures, conferences, and workshops, were other features of the signed MoU

TURkey l aUnches aiR Raids againsT kURdish miliTanTs in syRia , iRaq

TU R K E Y announced early Sunday it had carried out air strikes against outlawed Kur dish militant bases across northern Syria and Iraq which it said were being used to launch “ter rorist” attacks on its soil

The offensive codenamed Operation Claw Sword comes after a deadly blast in central Istanbul last Sunday which killed six people and wounded 81, with Turkey blaming a banned Kurdish group

“We are starting Operation Claw Sword from now on,” Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said at the air force opera tions centre before the planes left their bases to hit the targets in northern Iraq and Syria

Akar was also seen in a video image briefing President Recep Tayyip Erdo gan who gave the order for the latest op eration, which a monitor said had killed 12 people

The raids targeted bases of the out lawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara considers

an extension of the PKK the defence ministry said “In line with our self defence rights arising from Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, air operation Claw Sword was carried out in the regions in the north of Iraq and Syria which are used as bases for attacks on our country by terrorists, it added Turkey blamed the PKK for the Is tanbul bombing, the deadliest in five

Ukraine, Russia trade blame over nuclear plant shelling

MOSCOW Ag e n c i e s

Kyiv and Moscow on Sunday traded accusations of shelling on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant that Russia controls in southern Ukraine The UN atomic watchdog that has a team of experts at the plant the biggest nuclear facility in Europe said powerful explosions had occurred on Saturday and Sunday Kyiv “does not stop its provocations aiming at creating the threat of a man made catastrophe at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant the Russian army said in a statement on Sunday Despite the shelling, radiation levels “remain normal”, the army added It said missiles exploded around a power line that feeds the plant, the fourth and fifth power units and “special building number 2” Renat Karchaa, an advisor to the Russian nuclear agency Rosatom, told state run agency TASS that the “special building contained nuclear fuel Ukrainian nuclear energy agency Energoatom said shortly after that Russia was behind the explosions “This morning on November 20 2022 as a result of numerous Russian shelling at least 12 hits were recorded on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,” Energoatom said It accused Russia of “once again putting the whole world at risk” “The news is extremely disturbing Explosions occurred at the site of this major nuclear power plant, which is completely unacceptable,” UN atomic watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said in a statement He added that the damage to buildings systems and equipment recorded so far was not “critical” The explosions were “abruptly ending a period of relative calm at the facility and further underlining the urgent need for measures to help prevent a nuclear accident there”, the statement read

years and which evoked bitter memories of a wave of nationwide bombings from 2015 to 2017 that were attributed mostly to Kurdish militants and the Islamic State group fighters

The PKK, which has waged a bloody insurgency in Turkey for decades and which is designated as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies, and the YPG have both denied any involvement in the attack

No individual or group has claimed responsibility ‘h o u r o f r e c k o n i n g’: Turkish police captured the chief suspect Alham Albashir a Syrian woman who is said to have been working for Kurdish mili tants in an Istanbul suburb

The hour of reckoning has come, the Turkish defence ministry tweeted, along with a photo of a plane taking off for a night operation

“ T h e t r e a c h e r o u s a t t a c k s o f t h e scoundrels are being held to account,” it said

“Terrorist hotbeds razed by preci sion strikes,” the ministry said in an other post, which was accompanied by a video showing a target being selected from the air followed by an explosion

Turkey carried out more than 20 strikes on sites in the Syrian provinces of Raqa Aleppo and Hassakeh said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain based monitoring group that has an extensive network of contacts across Syria

The raids killed at least six members of the Kurdish led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and six pro regime sol diers the monitor said

Five dead, 18 injured in gay nightclub shooting in Colorado: police

DENVER A F P

At least five people were killed and 18 wounded, police said Sunday in a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs city of United States

It s with a heavy heart I have to tell you that we had a shooting at a local club this evening,” said police spokesper son Pamela Castro

We have 18 injured and five deceased That number is subject to change as the investigation continues she said Castro said police received an emergency call just before midnight on Saturday (0657 GMT Sunday) saying that there was an active shooting at a local

club known as Club Q She said medical teams and officers responded and “they did locate one individual who we be lieve to be the suspect inside

The suspect, Castro added, was being treated for injuries

In its Google listing, Club Q describes itself as an “adult ori ented gay and lesbian nightclub hosting theme nights such as karaoke, drag shows & DJs ” Club Q responded by saying it “is devastated by the senseless attack on our community ”

We thank the quick reac tions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack,” it posted on Facebook Sunday

The club had posted earlier on Saturday about an LGBTQ

event starting at 8:00 pm

We re celebrating Transgen der Day of Remembrance with a variety of gender identities and performance styles the post read

The US Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting as a single incident in which at least four people are wounded or killed On June 12, 2016, a gun man opened fire inside the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing 49 people and wounding more than 50 in what was then the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history

US President Joe Biden marked the fifth anniversary of the Orlando shooting last year, taking the rare step of saying he would designate the club as a na tional memorial

White house hosts wedding as Biden granddaughter gets hitched

WASHINGTON A F P

President Joe Biden welcomed guests to the White House Saturday for the wedding of his granddaughter Naomi an unprecedented ceremony that was closed to the press Naomi Biden, a 28 year old lawyer in Washington, is marrying Peter Neal, 25, also an attorney Biden is the daughter of the president’s son Hunter It is not unheard of for the presidential mansion with America’s most stately address 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to be decorated with white flowers for a wedding

The White House Historical Association says 18 weddings have been performed at the mansion including those of Richard Nixon’s daughter Tricia in 1971 and Barack Obama’s official photographer, Pete Souza, in 2013 The association says four times the White House has also hosted receptions for weddings held elsewhere for instance that of George W Bush s daughter Jenna in 2008

But this is the first time a president’s granddaughter is getting hitched there

‘P o P’: The White House has given few details on this wedding, which is classified as strictly private and is closed to the press This has raised some eyebrows

“The White House press has covered weddings held there through history because the space belongs to the American people and a president’s participation is an event of national interest,” Kelly O’Donnell, an NBC reporter slated to become the next president of the White House Correspondents Association, said Thursday on Twitter The New York Times has reported a few tidbits about the bride and groom and what it says the wedding will entail: Biden and Neal are actually living at the White House for the time being, and they will exchange vows before a luncheon, to be followed by a big gala dinner in the evening

Naomi Biden announced her wedding plans in September on her Instagram account, which features photos of vacations, the Biden clan and her day to day life Biden is very close to his grandchildren who call him Pop and are often seen with him, even at some official events Naomi is named after the president’s first daughter, who died as a baby in a car crash in 1972 that also claimed the life of his first wife US press reports have said Naomi Biden plays an important role in the president’s inner circle and pressed him, for instance, to run for president in 2020

Twitter turmoil, staff exodus aggravate sec urity concerns

Wang Y i: Xi ’s overseas trip demonstrates China’s commitment to global growth, governance

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s attendance at the 17th Group of 20 (G20) Summit and the 29th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting, as well as his visit to Thailand sends a strong signal that China will continue to promote world peace and development, and deepen opening up and cooperation said Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi Wang told the media that it is widely ac knowledged at home and abroad that in the face of a complex international situation, by promoting global development and leading global governance China has demonstrated its role as a responsible major country During his six day trip Xi participated in more than 30 events, promoting global de velopment and leading global governance, and demonstrating China’s role as a rational, confident and responsible major country, Wang emphasized When addressing multilateral meetings and talking with leaders of other countries,

Xi elaborated on the conclusions of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Chinese modernization, win win cooperation between China and the rest of the world, and championed the bright prospects of China’s high quality develop ment and high standard opening up, sending a strong signal that China would always ad vance world peace and development and deepen opening up and cooperation with other countries, Wang said D e v e l o P i n g to g e t h e r: The G20

Summit brought together world and regional countries and was a platform for interna tional economic cooperation, Wang said

At the summit, Xi called on all countries to embrace the vision of building a human community with a shared future, and to ad vocate peace, development and win win co operation so as to replace division with unity, confrontation with cooperation and exclusion with inclusiveness, and make global development more inclusive and ben eficial to all and more resilient

Xi noted that modernization is not a privilege reserved for any single country, and

frontrunners in development should help others develop, Wang said

The Chinese president proposed build ing a global partnership for economic recov ery and the International Cooperation Initiative on Global Food Security, and sup ported the African Union in joining the G20 Wang said this showed Xi cared for devel oping countries and remained committed to the vision that “development is real only when all countries develop together” in diplomatic actions adding that this approach had received warm responses from develop ing countries

A s i A PA c i f i c c o o P e r At i o n : APEC is the most important platform for economic cooperation in the Asia Pacific re gion, Wang said Wang said that Xi wisely summarized the successful experience of Asia Pacific economic cooperation, underlining that the Asia Pacific is no one’s backyard and should not become an arena for a big power contest

The Chinese president said no attempt to wage a new cold war will ever be allowed by the people or by the times

The

WAshington: Twitter ’s owner Elon Musk has pledged the platform will not become a “hellscape,” but experts fear a staff exodus following mass layoffs may have devastated its ability to combat misinformation, impersonation and data theft Twitter devolved into what campaigners described as a cesspit of falsehoods and hate speech after recent layoffs cut half the company s 7,500 staff and fake accounts proliferated following its botched rollout of a paid verification system Further throwing the influential platform into disarray and raising doubt about its very existence reports said hundreds of employees chose to depart the company on Thursday in defiance of an ultimatum from Musk “The huge number of layoffs and resignations raises serious questions about content moderation and the security of user data,” Cheyenne Hunt Majer, from the nonprofit Public Citizen, told “It is imperative that (US regulators) act with urgency as users could have their sensitive data exploited or even stolen given the lack of sufficient staff that remain to adequately protect it ” The hashtag #RIPTwitter gained huge traction on the site after resignations poured in from employees who chose no to Musk s demand that they either be extremely hardcore or exit the company Ag e n c e s

ANKARA A F P

BEIJING

Wang also noted Xi called for building an Asia Pacific community with a shared fu ture that is peaceful, stable, clean and beau tiful, and a region where all are ready to help each other and that brings prosperity for all

Chinese president set out six points to promote Asia Pacific cooperation while

facing new developments: bolstering the foundation for peaceful development, taking a people centered development approach, pursuing higher level opening up, striving for higher standard connectivity, building stable and unimpeded industrial and supply chains, and promoting economic upgrading

Q ata r f i r s t W o r l d C u p h o s t s t o lo s e o p e n e r W i t h e C u a d o r d e f e at

QATAR ag e n c i e s

Qata r became the first home team to lose their opening World Cup match as Ecuador cruised to a 2 0 victory over the hosts, with Enner Valencia scoring twice in the tournament curtain raiser on Sunday asian champions Qatar enjoyed the backing of the majority of the crowd at the 60 000 capacity al Bayt Stadium but could not follow a glitzy opening ceremony with a statement performance Ecuador thought they had made a dream start when they silenced the home fans as Va lencia headed in, only for the goal to be ruled out by Var for an offside in the build up Valencia did break the deadlock with a penalty in the 16th minute and doubled his tally just after the half hour mark Qatar improved slightly in the second

Yadav powers india to big win despite southee’s hat-trick

MOUNT MAUNgANUI, New ZeAlAND ag e n c i e s

New Zealand’s tim Southee claimed a hat trick but Suryakumar Yadav smashed a blistering hundred to help secure India s comprehensive 65 run victory in the second twenty20 International at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Sunday

Yadav, the world’s top ranked t20 batter, clobbered seven sixes and 11 fours in his unbeaten 111 off 51 balls to power India to a commanding 191 6 after being put into bat New Zealand was bundled out for 126 with skipper Kane Williamson (61) supplying half of the runs before they were bundled out in 18 5 overs after Friday s series opener in Wellington had been washed out, Williamson elected to field in the second match which was also rain affected India was 50 1 in the seventh over when the players were forced off the field the visitors sent in rishabh Pant (6) to open the innings with fellow left hander Ishan Kissan (36) but the ploy did not work Kissan could not really convert his start and Shreyas Iyer (13) departed hit wicket Yadav was irrepressible at the other end, though, playing audacious shots all around the ground and making a mockery of New Zealand’s field settings the right hander raced to a 49 ball hundred but was kept away from the strike in the eventful final over from Southee Yadav watched on as the seamer conceded four runs in his first two deliveries before dismissing Hardik Pandya, Deepak Hooda, and Washington Sundar in successive balls

australia’s starc to drop white-ball cricket at some stage

SyDNey ag e n c i e s

australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc reckons the game’s hectic schedule will force him to quit white ball cricket at some stage to prolong his test career the left arm quick is among australia’s all format players, who headed into a three match one days series against England four days after the conclusion of the t20 World Cup Down Under Starc’s 4 47 fetched australia an unassailable 2 0 lead in the ODI series against reigning t20 and ODI world champions England on Saturday, also earning him the player of the match award “It’s certainly impossible at the moment to play every game as a three format player,” the 32 year old who has not played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) since 2015 to maintain his workload, said after australia’s 72 run victory in Sydney Having (the IPL period) to rest might help me keep bowling at decent speeds for a period of time “(But) I don’t think playing three formats is something I can do for a long period moving forward ”

While he wants to play the next t20 World Cup to be jointly hosted by West Indies and the United States, Starc said test cricket was paramount for him “tests (are) always first (priority) far above white ball,” he said

ignominy of becoming only the second hosts, after South africa in 2010, to be dumped out in the first round

Hopes were high among the crowd that Qatar could make a winning start, but the de ficiencies of the World Cup debutants were ruthlessly exposed by an impressive Ecuador Qatar failed to even muster a shot on tar get in the game, with spectators filing out of the stands long before the final whistle

In the 92 year history of the tournament home countries had previously won 16 and drawn six of their opening matches the South americans had the ball in the net inside three minutes when captain Valen cia nodded home from Felix torres’ miscued overhead kick

Var officials spotted an offside against Michael Estrada in the build up after torres challenged for the ball with Qatar goalkeeper Saad al Sheeb Ecuador were completely dominant in

Nadir Magsi wins Thal jeep rally

n e w s d e s k

Nadir Khan Magsi won the race in the seventh ‘thal Desert Jeep rally’ that ended here on Sunday in the desert of districts Muzaffargarh and Layyah asif Fazal secured the second position and Muhammad Jafar Magsi stood third in the race that kicked off on Saturday

Nadir Magsi achieved the target in 2 hours 10 minutes and 15 sec onds, while asif Fazal Chaudhry took 2 hours 12 minutes, and 32 sec onds to reach the finishing point and Jafar Magsi came third in 2 hours 50 minutes and 16 seconds tourism Development Corpora tion of Punjab (tDCP) has arranged the seventh edition of the rally at the

desert and marshy track of around 2 8 kilometers of Southern Punjab thal desert in districts Muzaffargarh and Layyah as many as 38 stock category vehicles participated in the race, in which rally drivers and racers from across the country participated a musical night and prize distri bution ceremony will be held at Faisal Stadium Muzaffargarh a large number of people turned up to enjoy the colourful event the police had made fool proof security arrangements and 250 personnel provided [security] cover to the venue and 45 traffic policemen managed vehicular flow and parking of motors

France star K arim Benzema out for World Cup with leg injur y

DOHA

T h e a s s o c i aT e d P r e s s

One month after raising the Ballon d’Or in triumph to crown his remarkable rise, Karim Benzema’s dream of winning the World Cup is over before he has even played a game in Qatar

Defending champion France’s World Cup hopes took a huge blow with the news that its star striker Ben zema is out of the tournament after tearing a muscle in his left thigh during training on Saturday

“Karim Benzema is out of the World Cup,” the French soccer federation (FFF) said “after hurting the quadriceps on his left thigh the real Madrid striker is forced to give up on taking part in the World Cup ”

Benzema was participating in his first full training session with Les Bleus when he had to come off after feeling some pain in his left thigh, the FFF said He went for an MrI scan in a hospital (clinic) in

Doha, which unfortunately confirmed a tear,” the FFF said adding that he will need three weeks to recover Benzema addressed his fans after the news emerged

“I’ve never given up in my life but tonight I have to think of the team as I have always done Benzema posted on his Instagram account “So reason tells me to give my place to someone who can help our squad have a great World Cup thanks for all your messages of sup port ” France coach Didier Deschamps said: “I’m very sad for Karim who had made this World Cup a major ob jective ” Benzema had hardly played at all in recent weeks since winning the Ballon d’Or, he has played fewer than 30 minutes for Madrid and this was his first full training session with France France faces australia on tuesday in Group D, then Denmark four days later and tunisia on November 30

It is a crushing blow for Benzema, only the fifth Frenchman to win the Ballon d Or award and the first since Zinedine Zidane, his idol, in 1998

D jokovic downs Fritz to face Ruud for ATP Finals title

TURIN ag e n c i e s

Novak Djokovic remained on course for a record equalling sixth atP tour Finals title after a 7 6 (7/5), 7 6 (8/6) win over taylor Fritz in turin Djokovic brushed off his bruising en counter with Daniil Medvedev the day before to boss the semi final against the ninth seeded american the 35 year old set up a meeting with Norway’s Casper ruud who at 23 years of age will bid for his first major title after sweeping past russ ian andrey rublev 6 2 6 4 in the second semi final in northern Italy the Serb has beaten world num ber four ruud in all three of their

previous meetings including this year in the semi finals in rome

Djokovic will aim for his second major title of the year, after Wimble don, having missed a significant part of the season, including the aus tralian Open and the US Open for his refusal to take the covid vaccine

“Of course, the last match of the season I m going to give it all I m going to obviously try my best,” said the Serb “I’m very happy to be able to compete for another big trophy, one of the biggest ones that we have in our sport Victory in Sunday s final will also see him equal roger Federer ’s haul of six wins in the tournament comprising the top eight players in the world this season

“I had to fight to survive,” said Djokovic, who has now reached the final of the season ending event eight times and last won in 2015

“I didn’t feel very reactive or very comfortable I knew coming into today s match from yesterday s gruelling battle against Medvedev, it would take me some time to adjust and find the dynamic movement I need against Fritz, who is one of the best servers on the tour ” Fritz was playing his first atP Final, having replaced injured world number one Carlos alcaraz

But the american was punished for his errors and fell to his sixth de feat in as many ties against Djokovic

the early exchanges, though, and were awarded a penalty after Valencia was tripped by al Sheeb when through on goal

the former West Ham forward coolly sent al Sheeb the wrong way from the spot and stroked the ball into the bottom corner to score his 36th international goal

Ecuador did not have to wait long to double their advantage as, after a surging run from Moises Caicedo right back angelo Preciado swung in a cross which Valencia met with a thumping header

Even the small section of noticeably en thusiastic Qatari fans situated behind the goal, who arrived together after the majority of the crowd and wore matching t shirts, briefly fell silent almoez ali, the hero of Qatar s 2019 asian Cup success should have pulled one back on the stroke of half time but could only steer a free header wide from eight yards out

Ecuador allowed Qatar more of the ball after the break but still looked the more dan gerous side, with romario Ibarra bringing a diving save from al Sheeb

Valencia hobbled off in the 77th minute after being on the wrong end of a series of heavy challenges, although that would only have taken some of the shine off a famous night for Ecuador

By the time an official attendance of 67,372 was read out over the tannoy, the sta dium was barely half full

pace ace shaheen afridi ‘feels’ better after undergoing appendectomy

lAHORe s Ta f f r e P o r T

Pakistan pace spearhead Shaheen Shah afridi on Sunday underwent surgery, a week after a knee injury forced him on the sidelines during the t20 World Cup final against England in Melbourne

In a tweet, Shaheen said that he had an appendectomy a surgery to remove the appendix when it is infected adding that he was feeling better now During the World Cup final, Shaheen had landed awkwardly on his right knee while taking a catch to dismiss batter Harry Brook in what ended up being a five wicket defeat for Babar azam and co before aborting his third over the 15th of the innings after the first delivery the 22 year old came into the World Cup after 12 weeks on the sidelines following a knee injury during a test match against Sri Lanka in July and the setback in the final triggered fears over his long term future as Pakistan’s premier fast bowler

Last week, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had advised Shaheen two weeks of rehabilitation adding that the feared injury was nothing but “discomfort” following impact during the fielding effort It had said that Shaheen would undergo a “rehabilitation and conditioning programme”, designed to strengthen his knee at the National High Performance Centre for a few days the PCB had added that Shaheen’s return to international cricket would be subject to the successful completion of the rehabilitation programme and following go ahead by the medical staff

‘pakistan Commissioner Gold hockey tournament’ inaugurated

Commissioner Multan Division ashfaq ahmed Chaudhry inaugurated the “1st all Pakistan

Commissioner Gold Hockey tournament inaugurated here on Sunday to promote the national sport in the country addressing the inaugural ceremony, Commissioner ashfaq ahmed Chaudhry said that hockey was the national game and the tournament was being organized to attract youngsters towards the national sport He said that the national talent hunt was the need of hour to bring young talent up for representation of the country at the international level

He said that work on grass root level must be started to increase the number of hockey players in the country

He lauded the efforts of the district government and sports department for arranging the first ever mega sports event in the city of saints

MUZAFFAR gARH

MUlTAN sTaff rePorT

pe

riod but by the end of the 90 minutes the ex citement which greeted the build up fea turing Morgan Freeman and BtS star Jung Kook was a distant memory as thousands

of fans left early amid a deflated atmosphere Felix Sanchez’s Qatar will likely need a positive result in their second Group a match against Senegal on Friday just to avoid the

S h e r r y r e h m a n , B i l a lwa l l a u d C O P

2 7 F u n d a S ‘ m a j O r w i n ’ F O r Pa k i S ta n

SHArM eL SHeiKH/iSLAMABAD S ta f f r e P o r t

FE D E R A L Minister for Cli mate Change Senator Sherry Rehman on Sunday, while representing G 77 plus China group statement at the con cluding plenary of the international climate change conference termed the establishment of Loss and Damage Fund a landmark achievement and the international moot as an implementa tion conference by fulfilling the long standing goal

Addressing the 27th meeting of the conference of the parties (COP 27) concluding plenary, Senator Sherry Rehman said,”Mr President (SamehShoukry) you promised us an implementation COP and you deliv ered an implementation COP Our all congratulations to you

The minister said the ultimate test of the COP was that it responded to the voices of the vulnerable

“We have struggled for thirty years for this path and achieved it This fund is clearly the down payment in our joined futures and investment in our coming generations The estab lishment of Fund is not about dispens

ing charity but rather an investment in our joint future ”

She also commended the global partners especially the UN Secretary General for responding to the flood victims of Pakistan in an overwhelm ing response as the cataclysmic floods impacted 33 million popula tion and inflicted cumulative dam ages of $30 billion

Senator Rehman said We (G77 plus China) are also encouraged by the decision of operationalizing of the San tiago Network on Loss and Damage

Through constructive engagement all parties were able to arrive at a con sensus that puts the network on a firm institutional footing with an advisory board and a Secretariat with the host to be selected through a robust process, she added

The minister as chair of G 77 plus China mentioned that the group looked forward to enhancing the catalyzation of technical assistance to all develop ing countries to equip themselves with knowledge and technology for better management of climate change

While highlighting the observa tions of the Group on various signifi cant observations, she said first, the Group regretted that for the new col

lective unified goal it could not get substantive guidance for 2023 24 but will get a workplan in the next moot

Second, she said the Group noted the progress on the GGA framework program but the GGA substantive por tions were not explained and elaborated on despite many partners requests

Third, the group emphasized the work of KCI and KCI Report but it had concern over the lack of progress on the midterm review of the report However, it looked forward to the KCI to help develop understanding of the response measures among the devel oping countries

Fund a ‘major win’ for Pakistan, developing world: Bilawal

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Sunday said that the estab lishment of the Loss and Damage Fund and financial arrangements to address the issue of climate justice, was a “major win” for Pakistan and all of the developing world

The foreign minister, in a state ment said In monumental achieve ment for climate justice & G77 led by Pakistan, the COP27 has successfully concluded with loss and damage as part of the agenda including a fund and financial arrangements to address

this issue ”

He congratulated Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry for hosting a historic COP27

The foreign minister said that having experienced first hand scale and devas tation of Pakistan floods, they traveled to the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for climate justice

He recalled that the Group of 77, chaired by him at the UN unani mously adopted Pakistan’s proposal to demand loss and damage be part of the COP27 agenda

Bilawal Bhutto said that in Egypt too, Pakistan’s proposal as chair of G77 to include language ‘loss and damage fund’ on the agenda had achieved consensus Upon conclusion of negotiations, we have sustained that consensus and also included necessary language on fund and financial arrangement, he added

The foreign minister also men tioned his interactions with US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry both in Egypt and over the phone in which he appreciated the leadership on climate, requested support for G77, and demanded the inclusion of finan cial arrangements to tackle loss and damage which led to a compromise

Expor t of surplus sugar: Sugar millers hold meeting with Dar today

sugar, we don’t have a storage capacity and thus the crushing of new cane is not possible ”

As the powerful sugar millers are pressing the gov ernment to allow export of surplus sugar, the gov ernment is going to negotiate with the millers on Monday (today)

As per the sources, the representatives of Pak istan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) are sched uled to hold a meeting with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to convince the government about export of limited sugar stock which the association claims to be surplus in the country

The association had earlier warned the govern ment that the sugarcane crushing season will not start until the export of one million tonnes of sugar is allowed

Addressing a press conference on Friday Asim Ghani Usman, Central Chairman of PSMA had claimed that it was necessary to start the crushing season by November 30, but sugar mills already had surplus stocks from the last season, amounting to more than one million tonnes, which was enough to meet the national sugar requirements till January 15 If we are not allowed to export 10 lakh tons of

At present 1 2 to 1 3 million tons of sugar is available in godowns which is sufficient to meet the national domestic requirement till January 15, 2023

“If the government insists not to permit the ex port then let the crushing season start from mid Jan uary If the government does not believe in the figures presented by the millers or the cost of sugar production then it may appoint an independent for eign auditor to let the issue settle for once and all,” Ghani said

According to him, if the government, due to po litical consideration, wanted to keep some buffer stocks then it could retain 500 000 tons of sugar and allow the rest of the surplus to be exported According to Iskander M Khan Sr Vice Chair man PSMA, the government should have allowed export even in June of this year “We could have earned $1 2 billion from export If one million tonnes of sugar was exported, everyone would ben efit, the government should immediately pay atten tion to the situation If this situation continued the sugar industry might go bankrupt If the industry suffers, farmers would also be affected,” he said Since there is a competitive market in various

countries Pakistan can easily export the surplus sugar without any financing and support to the sugar industry, he claimed

Last year the Sugar Sector Reform Committee had made a draft proposal for deregulating the sugar industry under which various amendments in rules and a number of steps were proposed

While proposing amendments in Sugar Facto ries Control Act 1950 it was proposed that there will be no ban on import of sugar For exporting the commodity, stocks of sugar will be monitored for any decision of export Exports will be considered only if there is an excess amount of 1 5MT over the domestic consumption requirement Unlike the government s previous decision to subsidize sugar exports, the committee proposes that the govern ment will not provide any export subsidy Likewise through the proposed deregulation, the government had tried to bind millers for crush ing sugarcane within the timelines In this regard, through amendments in Factories Control Act 1950, the provincial government would fix a crushing date and millers would be penalized in case they fail to comply The penalties of Rs5 million and 12 months imprisonment were also proposed for those violating the timeline

Dar-led committee inter views

SECP

COaS inaugurates prefabricated village for flood victims in lasbella

rAWALpiNDi

Chief Of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Sunday visited Lasbella, Balochistan where he inaugurated prefabricated village in Lal Gul Goth constructed for flood affected people who had lost their homes

According to the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) news release, Village Laal Gul Goth was devastated by recent floods with livestock personal belongings of people lost and basic infrastructure completely destroyed

The new village includes a primary school, is lit by off grid solar power and also provided with a tube well Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) completed this project in record time as this was promised to the villagers by the Pakistan Army

The COAS was briefed by Major General Kamal Azfar, Director General FWO about the progress of rehabilitation work for the flood affectees The COAS met teachers and students of the newly renovated primary school at Lal Gul Goth, and the local villagers The army chief said, “Pakistan Army will continue its efforts to expedite the rehabilitation process being undertaken with the support of Federal and provincial governments ” High ranking Civil and Military Officials were also present on the occasion

Later, the COAS interacted with the troops of Quetta Corps, FWO Frontier Corps (FC) Balochistan and Pakistan Coast Guards and appreciated their efforts during rescue, relief and rehabilitation process in recent floods

Lieutenant General Inam Haider Chairman NDMA and Lieutenant General Kashif Nazir, Engineer in Chief, accompanied the COAS during the visit

Earlier on arrival, the COAS was received by Lieutenant General Asif Ghafoor, Commander Quetta Corps

default risk rumors ‘malicious Pti’s propaganda’: ahsan iqbal

iSLAMABAD

Federal Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal categorically dismissed rumors related to default risks, terming it “Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf s(PTI) propaganda for mere politicking

The minister said the country had adopted a path of stability and saved it from going to default

The minister made these remarks while addressing the Pakistani community at the Pakistani Consulate in Jeddah, where a large number of overseas Pakistanis had participated according to a message received here on Sunday

The government would soon introduce the death insurance scheme for overseas Pakistanis he further apprised to participants “The PTI destroyed the country’s economy which led to an economic crisis but the incumbent government has improved the economy by following the agreement with the IMF and for the last six months Pakistan has adopted a path of stability, said the minister The news about Pakistan s default risk is based on a “malicious campaign initiated by the PTI which has no reality” The incumbent government under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif succeeded in removing Pakistan from the grey list, he added The minister further added that Pakistan had a long standing and brotherly relationship with Saudi Arabia which would continue with the same spirit We want to establish CPEC style economic cooperation with Saudi Arabia, also apprising that China and Saudi Arabia had been offered joint investment under CPEC

KP minster says D ar misled nation about Pakistan’s impending default

open market but it is astonishing that the federal government is claiming of improve ment in national economy

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Minister Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra said Sunday that Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had misled the nation about Pakistan s impend ing default Addressing a press conference in Peshawar, he said the federal government had failed to stabilize the teetering economy and yet has the audacity to put all blames on the previous government

Taimur Jhagra said that the value of Pakistan international bonds is falling and the US dollar is still worth Rs240 in the

Kamran Bangash was also present on the occasion Jhagra said Moody’s and Fitch are the most reliable and independent rat

e c o n o m y o u t l o o k a s “ n e g a tive Therefore, jhagra said, the interna t i o n a l m a r k e t d o e s n o t t r u s t P a k i s t a n economy He said there is record inflation i n P a k i s t a n s i n c e t h e c o a l i t i o n g o v e r n ment came to power and people are pay ing through a very difficult situation

The Finance Minister claimed that the

I M F h a s a l l e g e d t h a t t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l monetary fund had lost trust in Pakistan s economy He maintained that foreign re mittances are on decline as overseas Pak i s t a n i s u s e t o s e n d m o n e y t h r o u g h t h e open market instead of banks “Instead of filing false cases against Imran Khan, the g o v e r n m e n t s h o u l d f o c u s o n t h e e c o n o m y, ” t h e m i n i s t e r s a i d “ T h e i m p o r t e d g o v e r n m e n t s h o u l d t a k e s e r i o u s s t e p s t o r e s t o r e t r u s t a n d s t a b i l i z e t h e c o u n t r y ’s economy The federal government is not taking effective steps because it will have to bear the brunt of it in the elections ”

Referring to the article of former fi nance minister the provincial minister said

that Miftah Ismail has highlighted the gov ernment s failure while Gallup survey has unearthed the failure of the Pakistani econ omy According to the survey, 88 percent of businessmen believe that the country s economy is not going in the right direction

The federal government is delaying the transfer of funds to the provinces, claiming that Shehbaz Sharif had not paid a single penny to his province Punjab for the flood relief activities forget about Pakhtunkhwa “The Prime Minister refused to transfer the ten billion rupees he announced for floods relief in Pakhtunkhwa The PM has an nounced a Rs100 billion subsidy on elec tricity for Punjab but after losing the

government, the province’s funds were even stopped, the Finance Minister said

In response to a question that “why the provincial government discuss the issues with the federal government the Finance Minister took the stand that Ishaq Dar ’s of fice was approached several times but he was not ready to discuss and solve the is sues faced by the province, therefore, it has been decided to submit a petition to the supreme Court to secure the province’s rights from the central government

He said Political stability is essential for stability of the economy but such stability can be restored only through free and fair early general elections

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar led committee has re portedly interviewed the interested applicants for the posts of the Commissioners in the Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) Sources close to the development told this cor respondent that a total 20 people were invited for

the interview for the three posts According to de tails, Finance ministry has issued interviews letters to Bilal Rasool, Raheel Ahmed, Muhammad Imran, Akif Saeed, Javed Ahmedjee, Vadiyya Khalil, Khalida Habib, Syed Aamir Bukhari, Siraj Ahmed, Khalid Mehmood Bhatti, Imran Inayat Butt, Abdul Rahman Warraich, Abid Hussain, Mian Aamir Mumtaz Ziaul Mustafa Abdul Majid Alvi Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Javed Qureshi, Mujtaba Ahmed Lodhi and Jahanara Sajjad Ahmed

Presently, Bilal Rasool, Khalida Habib and Imran Inayat Butt are working as Executive Direc tor SECP While, Akif saeed and Abid Hussian were working on different positions in SECP Sources said that the team will conduct the in terviews of remaining candidates on Monday It is pertinent to note that these posts of the commissioners have been vacant for quite some time and the incumbent government is trying to fill these positions as soon as possible