Epaper – April 25 LHR 2021

25 April, 2021 I 12 Ramzan-ul-Mubarak, 1442 I Rs 25.00 I Vol XI No 297 I 32 Pages I Lahore Edition

Qureshi denies hOlding backchannel india talks with uae mediatiOn ISTANBUL

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STAFF REPORT

AYS after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) claimed credit for getting Pakistan and India to agree to a ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) through backchannel dialogue, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi categorically refuted reports of the arch-rivals engaging in “peace talks”.

“We [Islamabad and New Delhi] are not having any peace talks at the moment and the UAE is not facilitating anything,” the foreign minister told TRTWorld during an interview.

In February, Pakistan and India agreed to adhere to the 2003 ceasefire accord over the heavily militarised disputed region that had been largely ignored since its signing. Troops regularly exchanged artillery, rocket, and small-arms fire across the de facto border, killing hundreds including civilians.

Speaking in a video released Wednesday by Stanford University’s Hoover Institution on April 14, Abu Dhabi ambassador to Washington Yousef alOtaiba acknowledged an Emirati role “in bringing the Kashmir escalation down” between the two countries.

“We try to be helpful where we have influence with two different countries,” al-Otaiba told H. R. McMaster, a former national security adviser to former US President Donald Trump, on April 14.

“India and Pakistan was the most recent one.”

Qureshi, when asked whether the “secret” round of peace talks were “showing more promise” than the peace talks in Afghanistan, said he wanted to “correct” the host, Andrea Sanke.

islaMabad

karachi

sehr: 3:55 aM

sehr: 4:40 aM

iftar: 6:41 PM

iftar: 6:50 PM

iftar: 6:59 PM

fiqah-e-jafaria lahore

islaMabad

karachi

sehr: 3:46 aM

sehr: 3:45 aM

sehr: 4:30 aM

iftar: 6:51 PM

iftar: 7:00 PM

iftar: 7:09 PM

pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

790,016

I’ve “seen stories about the role of mediation, [but] no” the two governments are not engaged in any peace talks, he said. “[The] UAE is a friend and it has good relations with Pakistan and India,” he said, adding that all friends of Islamabad had been consistently saying that the two were nuclear countries with outstanding issues that could not go to war.

Therefore, “the best way forward [for us] is dialogue.” The foreign minister said Islamabad is willing to sit down, but New Delhi would have to create a conducive environment vitiated by its revocation of autonomy of occupied Kashmir, depriving its people of their fundamental rights.

“Pakistan has never shied away from dia-

ISLAMABAD

logue. India had shied away, India took certain steps that vitiated the climate,” he asserted.

“Look at the statement Pakistan made, look at the statement Prime Minister Imran Khan made when he won the elections [in August 2018]: ‘You take one step towards peace, we will take two’.

It was an olive branch because we as a government, we have a people-centric agenda. We want economic security, we want to concentrate on our economic stability and for that we need peace, we need peace with our eastern neighbour and we need peace on the western front.

So talks make sense.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Won’t criticise PPP beyond certain limit: Maryam g

STAFF REPORT

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

lahore sehr: 3:56 aM

cOrOnavirus in

Pakistan reports 157 coronavirus deaths; highest since pandemic began Pakistan registered 157 deaths related to Covid-19 on Saturday, the highest number of deaths confirmed in a single day since the start of the pandemic in February last year.

The daily death toll is published by the Ministry of National Health Services (MoNHS) and can include fatalities that took place days ago but were just confirmed to authorities on the day in question.

The government portal has recorded more than 790,016 confirmed Covid-19 cases, including at least 17,000 deaths, since the start of the pandemic. Officials said Friday 144 deaths and nearly 5,900 new cases of infection had been reported.

Punjab has been the worst hit with 285,542 cases followed by Sindh where 276,670 people have been tested positive, the National Command Operation Centre (NCOC) said in a statement.

Officials said hospitals in major cities, including Islamabad and Lahore, are nearly filled to capacity with coronavirus patients. Speaking in a talk show, Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry said that despite the increasing cases and deaths, the situation was better than in India where the healthcare system is buckling as a record surge in positive cases puts pressure on hospital beds and drains oxygen supplies.

Chaudhry further said a planeload of 500,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines arrived from China on Friday.

The high death rate follows a sharp increase in infections in early March following a relaxation of public-health measures the anteceding month.

Health experts believe that the variant of Covid-19 initially discovered in the United Kingdom has been behind the surge in the number of infections in the country.

fiqah-e-hanfia

PML-N VP says she has good relationship with Bilawal LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Oxygen shOrtage imminent if actiOn nOt taken: prOducers NEWS DESK The governmental authorities have been warned of an extreme shortage of oxygen gas by the producers amid the third wave of coronavirus, according to a news outlet.

According to the report, the producers, in a joint statement, said that they are currently producing oxygen at their maximum capacity and if coronavirus cases continue to rise, the situation could turn similar to that in India, where a shortage of the vital gas has triggered a serious public health crisis.

"We are currently producing the gas at our maximum capacity and the continued supply of oxygen to industries can [soon] affect the health sector," they warned.

They also demanded uninterrupted electricity supply for their plants.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz on Saturday said that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is not her target and she would not criticise the party beyond a certain point. Maryam further said that she has a "good relationship" with party chairman Bilawal BhuttoZardari. She made the comments while responding to a question from a reporter during a press conference in Lahore.

"If the PPP has decided to part ways politically, then it is responsible and can explain the reasons for doing so. If would have been better if it would not have happened. But the PPP is not my target, I choose my targets after politically strategising and deliberating. The PPP is not included in this. I have a good relationship with Bilawal and other members of the party." Earlier this month, the PPP had asked all party members to resign from their positions in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). The decision came after the Awami National Party (ANP) parted ways with the movement. Both parties had taken the step after being issued show-cause notices by the PDM for nominating Yousuf Raza Gilani as the opposition leader in the Senate “in violation of the unanimous decision” of the alliance. During today's press conference, Maryam stated that her earlier accusations of "submitting to the baap" during the Senate election, was not an attack on one particular party but rather a "matter of principle". "The PDM narrative was damaged, and the image of a divided opposition was presented which should not have happened. But I don't want to escalate this any further. "The people are watching, and can see who is doing what as well as what each party is deciding. They will hold parties accountable. But I had made a promise to the people, that we will fight in the political arena.

Therefore, we will fight [against each other] in elections but we will not cross a certain limit. We will not hit below the belt. Even today, I still have good relations with Bilawal, the PPP and other parties which includes the ANP." MARYAM POSTPONES KARACHI VISIT: Meanwhile, Maryam postponed her visit to Karachi in view of surging coronavirus cases, party spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb confirmed.

Maryam was scheduled to visit the metropolis in connection with the NA-249 (Karachi West-II) by-election, a seat that was left vacant due to the resignation of Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda. Aurangzeb confirmed the development, saying the visit was cancelled “considering the worsening situation” of the pandemic.

LAST UPDATED AT 9:27 AM ON APRIL 24, 2021

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

NEW CASES:

157

5,908

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

686,488 16,999 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

276,670

285,542

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

AJK/GB:

ISLAMABAD:

112,140

21,477

16,327 / 5,247

72,613

MORE INSIDE

India's daily Covid death toll hits new record as shortages bite STORY ON BACK PAGE

Mission following acid attack on PakistaniAmerican student in New York: FO STORY ON BACK PAGE

Pakistan receives 0.5m doses of Sinopharm vaccine from China STORY ON PAGE 03 IN TODAY S ISSUE @paperazzimagazine

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Sunday, 25 April, 2021

LAHORE

NEWS

SUICIde BomBer IN QUettA BlASt wAS ForeIGN NAtIoNAl: ProBe QUETTA

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HE police investigation team has made key progress in investigation into the bomb blast at Quetta, saying the suicide bomber in the terrorist attack was a foreign

national.

“Body parts of the suicide bomber were sent for DNA test,” sources said. “No record of the bomber was found in the database of NADRA,” the officials said.

They said that further investigation into the suicide bombing incident has been underway.

The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on Thursday had confirmed that the Serena Chowk blast was a suicide attack. A spokesperson of the CTD had

said that the initial investigation proved that the blast that claimed five lives and injured 10 others in the parking lot of a hotel was a suicide attack.

The investigators probed the incident with different angles, an official said.

The case of the blast was registered at the CTD police station under charges of murder, attempt to murder and terrorism on the complaint of the SHO of the area.

A powerful bomb had exploded in the parking lot of the Serena Hotel in Quetta on Wednesday night, killing at least five people and wounding 12 others, officials said. According to the bomb disposal squad, between 80kg to 90kg of explosive material was used. The team added that ball bearings and C4 explosive material was used in the blast.

UNSC CoNdemNS QUettA BlASt ISLAMABAD APP The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has condemned “in the strongest terms the cowardly terrorist attack” in Quetta.

In a press statement issued on Saturday, the 15-member UNSC called for bringing the perpetrators to justice. The statement noted that the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had claimed the responsibility for the deadly attack. “The members of the Security Council express their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims and to the government of Pakistan, and they wished a speedy and full recovery to those who were injured,” the statement said. “The members of the Security Council reaffirm that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security,” the statement added. The UNSC members underlined the need for holding the perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice, and urged all states to cooperate actively with the Pakistan and all other relevant authorities in this regard. The UNSC members reiterated that any acts of terrorism were criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed.

19,727 accounts, pages taken down for inciting hate, terrorism: NACTA ISLAMABAD tLtP

FIA initiates inquiry against illegal appointments in NBP KARACHI SHAHZAD PARACHA

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has initiated an inquiry against the illegal appointments in the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP). Sources said that FIA Commercial Banking Circle, Karachi has directed the head of Human Resource Management Group of NBP to provide appointments record and details of 19 officials including, President Arif Usmani, on April 26. The other contractual officials include HR group chief Asma Shaikh, International Banking group chief Saad Ur Rehman Khan, SEVP Amin Manji, EVP Mehnaz Salar, SEVP Adnan Aly Agha, EVP Mudassir Hassan Khan, EVP Mirza M Asim Baig, EVP Abdul Moeed, EVP Riaz Hussain, SVP Danish Bin Inbissat, Abbas Ali Hatim, Kaleem Riaz, Nida Haider, Abdul Waheed Sabir, Riazuddin, SVP Moiz Uddin Khan, VP Naeem Baloch and HR chairman. Sources said that the FIA has also directed the NBP to furnish details of requisition forms and approval of vacancies, internal circular regarding advertisement for the posts, external advertisement for the posts, board approval for changes in organogram and total number of staff of the bank with creation of vacancies and approved office note by the president for the vacancy creations for the posts. In addition, the authority has also asked to provide details of approval note for appointment of selection committee as per rule 8 of Staff Service Rules 1973, job applications submitted by selected candidates before selection amongst other documents.

The National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) has said that more than 19,000 social media accounts and pages have been taken down for inciting hate and spreading terrorism in the country.

Google, Facebook, and Twitter had taken down the 19,727 accounts involved in spreading hate and terrorism, the counter-terrorism agency said.

The NACTA said that 9,633 pages were spreading religious hatred, while 10,094 social media accounts were promoting terrorism and were blocked on the request of

the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the NACTA said. It said that five websites, spreading terrorism-related material, were also blocked, adding a total of 24,038 social media-related complaints were filed in 2020.

The development comes after services of social media platforms Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, and Telegram were blocked for four hours in Pakistan on April 16.

"In order to maintain public order and safety, access to certain social media applications has been restricted temporarily," PTA had said in its explanation regarding the suspension of services.

Shibli terms oxygen demand and supply situation satisfactory ISLAMABAD tLtP

Federal Minister for Science and Technology Senator Shibli Faraz has said that the demand and supply situation for oxygen in the country is satisfactory as the government prepares for a backup plan to ensure its smooth supply in case of worsening Covid-19 situation.

Shibli on Saturday approached the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), industries and production ministry and other concerned institutions and sought details regarding oxygen supplies and availability of ventilators.

The senator while detailing the situation said that Covid-19 situation has witnessed an alarming trend and they wanted strict SOPs implementation in order to avoid an India-like situation. “We are keeping an eye on demand and supply of oxygen in the country and I have approached industries ministers and oxygen suppliers to get details of the stocks from them,” he said.

Currently, the demand and supply are satisfactory and in case of an emergency situation, the oxygen meant for the industrial sector will be diverted to the hospitals, the minister said, adding that a backup plan is also being considered to maintain oxygen supplies to the health

facilities. It is pertinent to mention that sharing an alarming situation after Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a meeting of the NCC to review Covid-19 situation on Friday, Asad Umar had said that the country has already utilised 90 per cent of the available oxygen stocks. He, however, had said that steps would be taken to improve the oxygen supply.

Govt taking steps to bring backward areas into mainstream: Buzdar NEWS DESK Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government is taking effective steps to bring backward areas into the mainstream. The chief minister said this while talking to the media persons during a visit to Phagla, Dera Ghazi Khan, on Saturday. The chief minister said that the government is committed to eliminating the deprivation of the backward areas of South Punjab. The chief minister visited Darg, an area of Balochistan, Phagla, and Vahua of tehsil Koh-e-Sulaiman and tehsil Taunsa Dera Ghazi Khan, where he inaugurated 18 projects, worth Rs1.2 billion, and laid foundation of six new schemes worth Rs1.3 billion in Taunsa. The chief minister inaugurated Shah Suleiman Stadium, Sports Gymnasium and Pannahgah, and Rescue 1122 Centres for Fazila Kach and Barthi. The chief minister also inaugurated Border Military Police Station for Hangoon Kuch, Fazila Kach, Mubarki and Barthi. Buzdar also inaugurated Kamal Park, City Park and Food Godown Park, roads from Kalma Chowk to Sanghar and from Kalma Chowk to Mohalla Sheikhanwala, road from Indus Highway to Basti Hadmar, Basti Bait Ashraf Road.

Buzdar laid the foundation stone of 17-km long road from Chowki Wala to Atomic Energy Dual Carriageway Road. Moreover, he also laid the foundation stone of 5-km long Indus High School Road from Indus High Kot Mor to Tain via Basti Laghari Jarlagari Road, from Indus Highway Naari South to Langerwali Road. The chief minister laid the foundation stone of a rest house in Taunsa and a social security hospital in Chowkiwala. He also announced to set up Taunsa University with Rs2 billion.

He asserted that the sewerage system would be improved in Taunsa city at a cost of Rs620 million. The chief minister said that projects of Shorkot, Layyah, Taunsa, Chowkiwala, Barthi, Chhapar Balochistan Road are being reviewed. The estimated cost of these projects is Rs29 billion.

Ambassador calls on Xinhua president in Beijing BEIJING StAff RePoRt

Pakistan Ambassador to China Moinul Haque called on He Ping, president and editor-in-chief of Xinhua News Agency, at the agency’s headquarters in Beijing.

Hailing the long-standing friendship between Pakistan and China, Ping told Haque that Xinhua has always attached importance to news coverage of Pakistan.

Xinhua set up its bureau in Pakistan in the 1950s, and launched a special Xinhua Pakistan Service in 2019, he said.

Noting that this year marks the 70 anniversary of ChinaPakistan diplomatic ties, Ping further said Xinhua is ready to better tell stories of bilateral friendship and cooperation to people in both countries as well as in the world. Xinhua is also willing to enhance cooperation with Pakistani media and think tanks under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Ping added.

Haque said Xinhua, as a firstclass news agency, has been reporting bilateral relations and BRI cooperation in an “authoritative, objective and

impartial way,” adding that the Pakistan embassy would strengthen its partnership with the agency.

The Xinhua president presented “Chinese Poverty

Alleviation Studies: A Political Economy Perspective” to the ambassador. The report was released by the New China Research, a Xinhua-affiliated think tank, in February.

Sunday, 25 April, 2021

LAHORE Court fines Qatar Airways over rs0.5m for 'faulty services' KARACHI tLtP

Ordering Qatar Airways to improve its services with regard to reasonable standards as set out by the governing laws, a consumer court has ordered the airline to pay Rs550,000 as compensation to a passenger for providing "faulty services". Judge Mukesh Kumar Talreja of the Consumer Protection Court, Karachi South, also slapped a fine of Rs25,000 on the management of the Gulf airline to be deposited in the government treasury. These directives came on a complaint filed by Obaid Hussain Qureshi, who took the airline to court through its regional manager in Pakistan over faulty services provided by the carrier. The complainant stated that on October 7, 2020, he had departed from Karachi through the defendant airline for London, where he had already arranged accommodation till November 3. On November 4, the complainant was due to fly back to Pakistan, but the airline had cancelled the flight and subsequently caused a delay of 23 hours without giving any prior notice or intimation to him, Qureshi's counsel told the court.

The counsel argued that such sudden change and delay in the flight had caused serious financial and mental torture to the complainant as he had neither accommodation nor travel facilities in London.

Therefore, he had to bear extra charges for his meals, hotel accommodation and airport transportation. The court was informed that the complainant had issued a legal notice to the defendant airline, which was never replied to. Therefore, the court was pleaded to order the airline to pay him damages of Rs2 million on account of expenses borne in the head of accommodation and travelling, mental shock and distress as well as expenses incurred on litigation. In its comments, the airline’s representative informed the court that the delay in the flight was caused due to the pandemic and maintained that such circumstances were beyond its control. The representative maintained that the complainant was duly intimated 14 days in advance about the change in the flight schedule, both personally as well as through his travel agent.

There was no proof of consequential damages in lieu of mental torture, agony or shock caused to the complainant, said the representative, and asked the court to dismiss the complaint. However, the court imposed fines on the airline. In case of default, the defendant shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not less than one month which may extend to three years, or with a fine of not less than Rs50,000 which may extend to Rs200,000 or with both, in terms of Section 33(2) of the Sindh Consumer Protection Act, 2014. The airline was told to comply with all the directives within a period of 30 days.

NEWS

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PAkIStAN reCeIveS 0.5m doSeS oF SINoPhArm vACCINe From ChINA ISLAMABAD

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NOTHER Pakistan Air Force (PAF) special plane carrying 0.5 million doses of Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine from China arrived on Saturday. The special plane carrying the vaccine arrived at Islamabad’s Nur Khan Airbase. This was the eighth Covid-19 vaccine consignment that arrived from China.

China previously gifted 1.5 million vaccine doses to Islamabad.

Separately in another development, three

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) planes have left for China Saturday to bring 1 million more vaccine doses.

On Thursday Pakistan had received another shipment of 500,000 doses of a SinoVac coronavirus vaccine from China. Pakistan on April 18, had reached an agreement for the procurement of China’s CoronaVac vaccine.

CoronaVac vaccine has been prepared by the Sinovac Life Sciences of China. The firm has assured providing the vaccine according to the needs of Pakistan. CoronaVac, inactivated vaccine, comprises two doses and is stored at minus-two to eight degree

Celsius temperature, sources said.

China had allowed emergency use of the CoronaVac in July 2020.

According to sources, Pakistan will receive two million doses of Covid vaccine from China by April. Out of two million doses, 1.5 million would be purchased from China while 500,000 would be provided as a gift from the neighbouring friendly country.

The doses included 1.5 million vaccines of Sinopharm and 500,000 jabs of Sinovac.

It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan has already begun vaccinating elderly people aged above 50-yearold and health professionals.

Opposition urged for unified message to world on sanctity of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) ISLAMABAD tLtP

Religious Affairs Minister Noorul Haq Qadri and State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan called on the Opposition to join hands with the government to send a unified message to the world, especially France, on the sanctity of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

The appeal was made by the ministers in their separate statements.

Qadri stated that the government stood firm regarding the resolution of the issue about the French ambassador and has honestly implemented all the

promises it made.

"The purpose of setting up a parliamentary committee is to formulate a joint action plan and consensus resolution by incorporating the suggestions of all the parties in it," said Ali Mohammad Khan as he appealed to the Opposition.

Earlier this week, the government had called a session of the National Assembly and presented a resolution calling for the protection of the sanctity of Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

NA Speaker Asad Qaiser had already called upon the government and the Opposition to sit down together and formulate a unanimous resolution. The resolution

LAHORE: Authorities seal a gym over violation of coronavirus restrictions. ZUBAIR MeHfooZ

Technical institutes to be established around SEZs: Bajwa ISLAMABAD APP

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority Chairman Lieutenant General (R) Asim Saleem Bajwa has said that clusters of technical institutes would be established around the new Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

In a tweet on Saturday, the CPEC Authority chairman said the new clusters would help create numerous new jobs.

Asim Bajwa said, “Preparing youth for jobs in CPEC projects is our top priority under a comprehensive plan.” He said that Gwadar Technical Institute to cater for new industry in the free zone is coming up fast.

According to a CPEC Authority official, the mega project would move forward with more strength during the current year and the years ahead, which would further strengthen the bilateral relations between Pakistan and China.

Their strategic relationship, which is being strengthened with every passing day, is of great importance both on regional as well as international fronts, the official said.

He said in the next phase, four important sectors, including industry, agriculture, socio-economic development and Gwadar New City, would progress at fast pace.

The official said nine out of 22 energy projects have been completed, while five mega electricity projects in Thar, Kohala, Azad Pattan and other

areas are in the pipeline. After completion of all the projects, Pakistan would not only become self-sufficient in the energy with addition of 17,000 MW electricity to the national grid, but would also be able to export it.

Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong, in a recent statement, had also expressed satisfaction over the progress of CPEC projects, the official said.

He said at present, work on four Special Economic Zones (SEZs) is underway. Some 2,000 local and foreign investors have expressed their intention to invest in the Rashakai SEZ. The Rashakai SEZ, the official said, would spread over 1,000 acres of land.

The federal government had decided to develop it into three phases. About 247 acres of land would be developed in the first phase, 355 acres in the second phase and 399 acres in the last phase.

Similarly, 210 MW electricity would be provided to the zone in three phases whereas the government has also allocated Rs1.203 billion for provision of gas, the official said.

He said over 400 industrial units, including garments and textile, domestic goods, electronics, electricity accessories, pharmaceuticals and others, would be set up in the zone.

The official said the Allama Iqbal Zone Faisalabad is being completed on priority, which would create around 250,000 jobs for the locals.

presented to the assembly was introduced as a private member one by PTI MNA Amjad Ali Khan.

It centres around whether or not the French ambassador to Pakistan should be expelled.

On the same day, Amjad Ali Khan had also requested the formation of a special parliamentary committee to discuss the French envoy's expulsion.

Following the MNA's request, the Ali Muhammad Khan had presented a separate resolution for the formation of the committee. The resolution, after a voice vote, was declared by the NA speaker as approved by the parliament, amid loud chants of objection by the Opposition.

04

Sunday, 25 April, 2021

LAHORE

NEWS

Punjab seeks army dePloymenT To enforCe Covid-19 soPs LAHORE

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He government of Punjab on Saturday sought deployment of Pakistan Army in five of its districts in order to effectively enforce Covid19 SOPs in the province that has so far remained worst affected by the pandemic.

According to sources privy to the matter, the provincial home ministry has written a

letter to the interior ministry, seeking deployment of five companies of the military in the province to ensure SOPs implementation alongside district administration.

The sources further claimed that the interior ministry has approved the deployment and the personnel of Pakistan Army would be deployed at five districts, including Lahore. Special Assistant to Punjab Chief Minister (SAPCM) Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan also confirmed the move, saying that they had

submitted a requisition for Pakistan Army deployment.

“The armed forces will work alongside police and civil administration in major cities of the province,” she said while confirming that Punjab has witnessed a worsening trend of Covid-19 spread. Firdous said that the deployment will take place next week.

Meanwhile, the Covid-19 situation is becoming worse in Lahore day by day as consumption of medical oxygen in the

provincial capital’s hospitals has doubled amidst an alarming surge in infections.

Oxygen consumption has doubled in a week, Chief Coordinator for Covid-19 Professor Asad Aslam said. He said that oxygen cylinders are being supplied to hospitals unhindered.

“We have ensured timely supply of oxygen to hospitals,” he said, warning, “The situation could get out of control if people do not take precautions.”

Mayo Hospital saw its oxygen use go up by 66 per cent while Jinnah Hospital recorded 60 per cent increase in consumption of oxygen, Services Hospital 55 per cent, General Hospital 41 per cent, Nawaz Sharif Hospital 47 per cent, and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital 33 per cent.

Oxygen consumption in Kot Khawaja Saeed Hospital and Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute (PKLI) rose by 24 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively.

The number of critical Covid-19 patients has also gone up as ventilators allocated for such patients in almost all dedicated coronavirus disease hospitals in Lahore have been occupied. All the 84 allocated ventilators in Mayo Hospital are currently in use.

The Services Hospital, Government Nawaz Sharif Hospital, PKLI, Kot Khawaja Saeed Hospital and General Hospital are facing a similar situation.

Masood urges Muslim scholars to work for peace, harmony in country MUZAFFARABAD TLTP

The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan has urged Ulema and Mushaikh to work for peace and harmony in the country. He was addressing a small gathering of Ulema at an Iftar dinner hosted at the President House.

The president said that Ulema and Mushaikh are role models for the masses and they should give direction and provide leadership to build a just and equitable society. "Creation of such a society can be possible only by following and enforcing the golden principles, which the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had set fifteen hundred years ago, and resultantly, several countries in the world followed these principles in order to establish a welfare states later," he asserted.

The state president said that besides playing a prominent role in the Pakistan movement and the Kashmir liberation struggle, the religious scholars of the country had always played a leading role in the national crises including the ongoing novel corona pandemic.

He called upon the religious scholars to counter enemies' propaganda designed

to paint Islam as a religion of extremism.

"Hundreds of thousands of Muslims have been martyred during the last 15 to 20 years, and their killers claim themselves to be peace-loving people," he astonished, adding that powerful media and psychological operations were in full swing to dehumanized the Muslims as terrorists, extremists and violent in order to block spread of Islam all over the world.

The AJK president asked the religious scholars to guide the Muslims keeping in view the present day challenges, and highlight various aspects of Islamic socio-economic and political systems so that the Muslim youth are able to play their role in the renaissance of Islam and turning the world into a haven of peace and prosperity.

He maintained that several Western countries had adopted high values of the Islamic welfare society in order to ensure progress and prosperity.

In these societies, he added, the tax is collected from the people and spent on providing education, health and social security to the people thereby creating peace and balance in the society. He appealed to the religious scholars to continue to educate the people about the measures to prevent coronavirus.

LAHORE: Smoke rises after fire erupted in the PEL factory in the provincial capital. ZubaIR MehfooZ

Dr Nassar Ikram joins University of Central Punjab as pro-rector LAHORE PR

Dr Nassar Ikram has joined University of Central Punjab (UCP) as a pro-rector. Dr Nassar Ikram is a retired two-star admiral of the Pakistan Navy and a recipient of Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Military) and Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military). Before joining UCP, he was serving as the pro-rector of the National University for Sciences and Technology (NUST). An academician by profession, Dr Ikram has a versatile and diverse experience of hosting senior positions in Pakistan’s public sector. On behalf of the government of Pakistan, he led the team that authored the Pakistan National Security Standard for the testing of crypto and IT products. He has also played a pivotal role in the establishment of Pakistan’s first Science and Technology Park and currently serves as its vice-president.

Dr Ikram is a proven leader with strong strategic management skills and an extensive industry experience in R&D and product development.

The UCP is confident that it will benefit from Dr Ikram’s rich experience, extensive knowledge and expertise.

Sri Lankan monks visit Gandhara civilisation sites ISLAMABAD STaff RePoRT

A 14-member delegation of visiting Buddhist monks from Sri Lanka visited several archaeological sites of Gandhara civilisation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and performed religious rituals.

The delegation arrived in Pakistan on Wednesday for a week-long visit aimed at strengthening cultural ties between Islamabad and Colombo based on shared Buddhist heritage. The guests visited the sites in Taxila, Khanpur, and Takht-i-Bhai and evinced keen interest in the preservation of the sites by the government.

They praised the restoration of the Buddhist religious sites at Bhimala in the Khanpur town of Haripur.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Tourism Zulfi Bukhari, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa tourism secretary, and scholars accompanied the delegation.

The monks were informed about the progress of work on the Buddhist sites in Taxila and Khanpur for the promotion of religious tourism by the government.

Two judges go into isolation after contracting Covid-19 MUZAFFARGARH INP

Bukhari while talking to reporters on the occasion said the government has a vision to complete the world’s biggest Ghandhara trail by 2022. The tour has been arranged by the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo to boost religious tourism in Pakistan by showcasing its rich cultural heritage.

The visit is in line with Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision to promote religious tourism, project the country’s historical treasures and strengthen cultural ties, said Ayesha Abu Bakr Fahad, Second Secretary at Pakistan Mission in Colombo.

Muzaffargarh Additional District and Sessions Judge Syed Ahsan Mahboob Bukhari went into selfisolation on Saturday after contracting Covid-19. A week earlier, another district and sessions judge in Muzaffargarh Jawad Hassan was also diagnosed with the contagion disease. Reports citing sources suggested that the judges’ staffers have also been isolated after the samples of both judges sent for testing came back positive. In the last 24 hours, 3,073 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in Punjab and 98 people lost their lives to the disease, according to data released by the National Command and Control Center (NCOC).

Sunday, 25 April, 2021

LAHORE

NEWS

05

90PC CountriEs faCE disruPtions to EssEntial HEaltH sErviCEs: WHo iSLamaBad TLTP

o

VER one year into the Covid-19 pandemic and 90 per cent of countries are still reporting one or more disruptions to essential health services. The findings of the second World Health Organisation (WHO) “Pulse Survey” reveal that no substantial global change has been made since the first survey was conducted in the summer of 2020. There are some signs of progress however: in 2020, countries surveyed reported that, on average, about half of essential health services were disrupted. In the first 3 months of 2021, that figure had dropped to just

over one third of services.

Many countries have now stepped up efforts to mitigate disruptions. These include informing the public about changes to service delivery and providing advice about ways to safely seek healthcare. They are identifying and prioritizing patients with the most urgent needs.

More than half the countries say they have recruited additional staff to boost the health workforce; redirected patients to other care facilities; and switched to alternative methods to delivering care, such as providing more home-based services, multi-month prescriptions for treatments, and increasing the use of telemedicine.

The WHO and its partners have also been helping countries to better respond to the challenges being

placed on their health systems; strengthen primary healthcare, and advance universal health coverage. “It is encouraging to see that countries are beginning to build back their essential health services, but much remains to be done”, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of WHO. “The survey highlights the need to intensify efforts and take additional steps to close gaps and strengthen services. It will be especially important to monitor the situation in countries that were struggling to provide health services before the pandemic.” Countries are still having to make important decisions when responding to Covid-19, that may negatively affect access to care for other health issues.

Redeployment of staff to provide Covid-19 relief and

Qureshi denies holding backchannel India talks with UAE mediation Contineud from page 01

Honda aiming for 100pc electric vehicles by 2040 toKYo AGENCIES

Japanese car giant Honda said Saturday it would aim to have electric and fuel cell vehicles account for 100 percent of all sales by 2040 to promote climate goals. The automaker’s newly appointed CEO Toshihiro Mibe described the target as “challenging” but said the firm wanted to “set high goals”. Honda has said it wants the ratio of electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles sold in major markets to hit 40 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2035, before hitting 100 percent globally by 2040. It has unveiled 5 trillion yen ($46 billion) in investments in its R&D to reach the goals. The announcement comes a day after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Japan would aim to cut emissions 46 percent by 2030, significantly more than previously pledged. The new target revised a previous goal of cutting emissions 26 per cent from 2013 levels by 2030. The pledge came with international focus on climate change as US President Joe Biden hosts a summit to encourage stronger action on warming and faster moves towards carbon neutrality.

STAKEHOLDERS ON SAME PAGE ON AGHAN WAR: Qureshi said Pakistan, its military, and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), “they’re all on the same page and they all believe a peaceful, stable, democratic and prosperous Afghanistan is in Pakistan’s interests”.

When asked how much Islamabad and the military could do in the Afghan peace process, Qureshi said: “We are all trying very hard to push the peace process forward. It wouldn’t have reached to where it has without Pakistan’s facilitating role.”

In this regard, he also cited the developments of the Doha peace talks, the US-Taliban agreement for withdrawal of US troops, the commencement of intraAfghan peace talks on September 12, and the agreement on the rules of procedure.

“It wouldn’t have happened without Pakistan’s nudging. Now they are independent people, we can [only] take them so far, ultimately decisions have to be taken by Afghans.”

Sanke questioned whether the talks with the Taliban could be called negotiations and that some people referred to them as “blackmail”. “I think, in the discussions I’ve had with them in Islamabad [… ] I realised that they have also realised that they need to engage with the rest of the world if they want acceptability and violence is not an option,” Qureshi replied.

“How can you have peace and violence at the same time? That is exactly what we have been telling them [that] reduction in violence is essential [for] leading to a ceasefire,” he said, adding the Taliban were willing to work and honour their commitments.

He also said that it was a “misnomer” when people said that violence in Afghanistan was linked to the Taliban, adding that they [Taliban] could not be blamed for “all the ills in Afghanistan” because there were other terrorist organisations operating in Afghanistan such as the so-called Islamic State.

“There is an element in Afghanistan who has benefitted from [the] war economy and they are spoilers (of peace),” said Qureshi. He also stated that Pakistan’s

influence over the Taliban was “exaggerated” and they knew where their interests laid.

“We have been engaging with them because we felt they have a say in Afghanistan and the world has realised after two decades of fights that you cannot have peace until and unless you bring them into the mainstream.”

Sanke then asked the foreign minister whether he potentially saw a situation where terrorist groups like IS and Al-Qaeda stepped in to start working with the Taliban and it went from “bad to worse”.

“We are no supporters of Daesh [and] we are no supporters of Al Qaeda. In fact, we do not want any terrorist organisation to gain a foothold in the region to cause harm to neighbours and beyond,” said Qureshi.

He pointed out that Pakistan had “cleansed” its own areas and started border fencing for more regulation and better border management.

“Have you cleansed your areas? You just had an attack on the most important luxury hotel in Quetta,” Sanke pushed back, adding that the attack had been claimed by the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

“The point is, where are they located? where is the TTP located today?” responded Qureshi, adding that the border with Afghanistan was fluid and had been so for “centuries”.

“We are now managing it and we have managed it a lot better. Hopefully, once the fencing is complete, we are 90 percent there, we will be able to moderate it in a better way.”

When asked if allowing the Taliban back into power would “embolden existing extremist groups in Pakistan”, The foreign minister said “terrorists are terrorists” and that applied everywhere.

They would take advantage of the situation but “I think if you look at the incidents of terrorism, they have declined sharply”.

Sanke pushed back that the decrease in the incidents of terrorism was seen in Pakistan but not in Afghanistan. Qureshi responded that they had not reduced to the extent they should have in Afghanistan and that is why Pakistan had been an advocate of “sit and talk”.

Bitcoin tumbles below $50,000, other cryptos sink over Biden tax plans neW YorK AGENCIES

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies posted sharp losses on Saturday, on concern that US President Joe Biden’s plan to raise capital gains taxes will curb investments in digital assets.

News reports on Thursday said the Biden administration is planning a raft of proposed changes to the US tax code, including a plan to nearly double taxes on capital gains to 39.6% for people earning more than $1 million.

Bitcoin, the biggest and most popular cryptocurrency, slumped to $47,555, falling below the $50,000 mark for the first time since early March. It was last down 4% at $49,667.

Smaller rivals Ether and XRP fell

3.5% and 6.7%, respectively, while dogecoin, created as a joke for early crypto adopters and which had surged about 8,000% this year prior to this latest setback, was down 20% at $0.21, according to price and data tracker CoinGecko.

The tax plans jolted markets, prompting investors to book profits in stocks and other risk assets, which have rallied massively on hopes of a solid economic recovery.

"With a high growth rate in the bitcoin price, crypto holders that have accrued gains will be subjected to this tax increment," said Nick Spanos, founder at Bitcoin Center NYC. He sees bitcoin dropping further in the coming days.

Bitcoin is on track for an 11.3% loss on the week, it is the worst weekly show-

ing since late February. In the year, however, it was still up 72%.

But while social media lit up with posts about the plan hurting cryptocurrencies, and individual investors complaining about losses, some traders and analysts said declines are likely to be temporary.

"I don't think Biden's taxes plans will have a big impact on bitcoin," said Ruud Feltkamp, CEO at automated crypto trading bot Cryptohopper. "Bitcoin has only gone up for a long time, it is only natural to see consolidation. Traders are simply cashing in on winnings."

Others also remained bullish on bitcoin's long-term prospects but noted it might take time before prices start increasing again.

"Investors will see the price drop

across the crypto market as an opportunity to widen their portfolio by averaging up their investment outlay and buying new altcoins," said Don Guo, chief executive officer at Broctagon Fintech Group.

He added that for bitcoin, investors will see it as an opportunity to buy bitcoin at a lower price.

Shares of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase were up 0.5% at $294.86 in the early afternoon US trading. The public floatation of its shares on April 14 had seen bitcoin prices rise to $65,000, before pulling back 25% in the following days.

"The Coinbase listing – the ultimate poacher-turned-gamekeeper moment might have been the high watermark for bitcoin," said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com.

temporary closures of health facilities and services continue, the UN health agency said. Although they may have taken on new staff, 66 per cent of countries continue to report health workforce-related reasons as the most common causes of service disruptions. Supply chains are also still disrupted in nearly one third of countries, affecting the availability of essential medicines, diagnostics, and the PPE needed to safely and effectively provide care.

More than half of countries report service disruptions due to patients not seeking care and because of mistrust and fears of becoming infected. Meanwhile, 43 per cent of countries cite financial challenges as major causes for disruptions.

Pakistan reports 157 coronavirus deaths; highest since pandemic began Contineud from page 01 “The new variant seemed to be more contagious and deadly, and the only way we can control it is to shut all kinds of activities that may play role in the spread of the disease,” Ejaz Ahmad Khan, an infectious disease specialist at the Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad, told Xinhua The government on Friday deployed the army into cities to assist in enforcing public safety restrictions, called standard operating procedures (SOPs), to contain the pandemic outbreak, warning the country may soon be facing a health crisis similar to that of India unless the current peak of infections is reversed. Prime Minister Imran Khan addressed the nation after chairing an emergency meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) as the number of Covid-19 infections soar across the country. “I have also asked the Pakistan Army to now come out on the streets and help our law enforcement, our police to ensure people are strictly following [COVID-19] SOPs, including wearing masks,” he said. Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, who also heads the NCOC, said authorities were struggling to maintain the much-needed supply of oxygen to hospitals across Pakistan for Covid-19 patients, as the number of cases soars. “We have reached 90 percent capacity of oxygen supplies and a big chunk of it is being used to treat patients with coronavirus infection,” Umar said.

NEW RESTRICTIONS: The authorities have imposed targeted restrictions in hotspots, closing all educational institutions in areas with a five percent transmission rate, banning public gatherings, sports events, and wedding ceremonies. The restrictions were further tightened Friday, restaurant dining — both indoor and outdoor — was banned after 6:00 pm, and only essential trade allowed after those hours. Restaurants, Umar announced, will remain closed until Eidul Fitr. “We have restricted attendance in workplaces to 50 percent with work hours restricted to 2:00 pm,” he said adding that the corporate centres will be closed by 6:00 pm. “Shopping will only be allowed in the morning,” he said while urging the people to avoid waiting for the last days for Eid preparations. The minister further shared that all schools in areas witnessing a positivity rate of five percent will remain shut. “Effective testing will also be performed on the travellers from abroad,” he said.

Chinese company to invest $2.4bn in CPEC Kohala Hydel Project ISLAMABAD: The government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and Chinese Three Gorges Company on Friday signed agreements related to 1124 megawatt Kohala Hydel Power Project under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Taking to Twitter, CPEC Authority Chairman Lieutenant General (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa announced that the project would attract foreign investment of $2.4 billion under the umbrella of CPEC. Federal Minister of Energy, Hammad Azhar, AJK Prime Minister (PM) Raja Farooq Haider and others officials were present on the occasion. APP

Sunday, 25 April, 2021

06 COMMENT

Little light at the end of the tunnel

Vaccination at snail’s pace Failure to purchase vaccine when it was available

Only consensual politics can heal these festering wounds

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N Saturday Pakistan recorded a grim milestone in the Covid -19 pandemic. The country reported the highest daily death toll since the start of the pandemic with as s many as 157 deaths in 24 hours pushing up the number of total fatalities so far to 16,999.

A day earlier, the Army had to be called in because the civil administrations failed to enforce the coronavirus precautions. While the measure had become inevitable, this exposed the lack of capacity mainly on the part of two provincial governments, Punjab and KP, both run by the PTI, one with 98 fatalities and the other 37. Sindh and Balochistan trudged far behind reporting 11 and 3 deaths respectively.

Those running the NCOC have belatedly realized that the country is also heading towards acute oxygen shortage. The realization of what can happen has apparently come after the harrowing reports appearing in the international media about people in India dying in and out of hospitals due to shortages in oxygen supplies.

Instead of behaving like a rabbit in the headlights, there is a dire need to put in place an action plan to deal with the eventuality before it is too late Like Modi in India, the PTI leadership also prided itself over fewer casualties in Pakistan than expected during the first wave of the pandemic. It was interpreted among other things as Allah’s special gift for the country.

Violating the requirements of medical science, the BJP government allowed devotees to participate in the Kumbh festival which helped spread the virus. Prime Minister Imran Khan takes pride in Pakistan being the only Muslim-majority country which had kept mosques open last year during Ramazan.

The only way toward off covid-19 is to vaccinate the population, at least all those above 18, at the earliest.

Despite claims of spending billions of rupees on pandemic control, the government failed to place orders for timely purchase of the vaccines, leaving the population at the mercy of the donors instead. The result: in a country with a population of 210 million only 1.5 million people, who comprise under 1 percent of the population, have so far been vaccinated. Unless the government picks up speed, the vast majority of the population will remain vulnerable to the pandemic.

aRif Nizami

T

he prime minister is spot on: reducing poverty is the biggest challenge for his government. Addressing the newly formed eAC (economic advisory council) comprising of the top captains of business and industry, Khan was particularly perturbed by the scourge of rising inflation.

Obviously, his audience included the freshly inducted finance minister Shaukat Tarin. his predecessor hafeez Sheikh was unceremoniously shown the door for precisely this reason.

The PTI is soon to celebrate a quarter century, “of our struggle to reduce poverty”, according to the PM. he claims that the PTI, since coming to power in KP in 2013 has actually been able to reduce poverty in the province.

Unfortunately, ground realities speak otherwise.

According to some IMF estimates, forty percent of Pakistanis now are trying to survive below the poverty line. Thanks to the polices of the present government and the COVID-19 pandemic, the plight of the hapless common man has perceptibly deteriorated.

Khan it seems has somewhat belatedly realised that his regime is between a rock and a hard place. he is on the one hand under pressure to salvage a sinking economy which is in a bigger mess thanks to his own mishandling while on the other, his govern-

Dirty politics All parties playing the religion card

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T seems both the government and opposition are making all out efforts to become the primary party in parliament that best represents and supports the cause of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). The PTI had already made a mess of the situation when it agreed in writing with the TLP to bring the matter of the French Ambassador’s expulsion from the country to parliament a few months back for some temporary reprieve, only to backtrack on the promise completely. The violent nationwide protests that followed forced the government to make good on its word and a special National Assembly session was held in this regard on Tuesday where the opposition thoroughly lambasted the government over its response to the unrest. The remainder of the debate was scheduled to be held on Friday, but the government refused to table the resolution, deciding to send it to a NA standing committee, leading to the opposition creating a ruckus, staging a walkout and chanting trademark TLP slogans, in an obvious attempt to pander to its voter base and paint the government as their enemy. That the PPP, once considered a party with the most secular credentials of the lot, initiated and led the sloganeering is highly condemnable. The PML-N lost much of its religious voter base in the 2018 general elections to the TLP and were therefore not far behind in trying to regain some of that electorate as well.

While the three major political parties of the country squabble for scraps, the TLP is singing all the way to the bank as FIRs are cancelled, arrested rioters released from custody and its demands are met. Since PTI took power, parliament has been treated as a battleground between the opposition and treasury benches and is only taken seriously when the government has to bulldoze an important self-serving piece of legislation. This wave of religiously charged mob violence does not bode well for a country already in the grips of extremism that typically evolves into domestic terrorism. When such a serious problem arises it is the duty of all elected representatives to unite and find a way forward towards rational disengagement rather than adding fuel to the fire.

Unfortunately, politics has taken precedence over any such logical positive outcome.

Teaching to be understood Why understanding is crucial

Rabia ahmed

T

hROWN into stark relief against a dark background of viruses is the fact that much of the world, and certainly most of Pakistan does not understand - not just about the corona virus but about viruses, microbes and bacteria in general. This is what exacerbates the problem we’re living through now.

“It’s all western propaganda. Just something to keep us buying their vaccines,” says one Pakistani, an ‘educated’ one in fact, showing that the attitude is not restricted to the illiterate.

“If Allah wants us to die, we’ll die,” says another.

“Do whatever you will.”

“There’s no such thing as a virus,” says yet another. “I’ve never seen one, have you?”

No I have not, but that does not mean they aren’t there. In any case they can now be seen.

Once upon a time diseases were explained away with supernatural explanations. Djinns were responsible, and of course curses. This belief still thrives, in fact it is very common, but at least ever since the microscope came into existence we can see the microbes and bacteria that cause many diseases. This has made it possible to accept the existence of viruses which are organisms that are not alive– they are more like androids than living organisms, but they can replicate

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor Yousaf Nizami Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad Managing Editor

Joint Editor

Umar Aziz Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

ment has signed off on the IMF deal that consists of commitments too hard to fulfil.

The kind of pledges made to the IFIs (International Finance Institutions) are so stringent that if met in letter and spirit will engender vast civil unrest in the country. Whatever route he takes its Armageddon at the end of the tunnel.

The resurgence of religious extremism has made matters worse. The re-emergence of Tehreek-e- Labbaik Pakistan(TLP) on the scene is one significant manifestation of this phenomenon. It is bizarre that the government had to proscribe (albeit reluctantly) TLP as an entity.

Contrarily, at the same time it is negotiating with it. The prime minister in his signature style made a faux pas by declaring that he agreed with the objectives of the TLP, however did not endorse their methods. how can the prime minister of Jinnah and Iqbal’s Pakistan endorse the objectives of such groups who simply do not believe in the constitution of Pakistan?

Of course, blasphemy cannot be tolerated at any cost but the state cannot allow those objectives to be met through a flagrant violation of Pakistan’s law.

Nonetheless, why is it only contingent upon Pakistan to pander to the zealots? If the cause was so dear to our heart why didn’t the prime minister dispatch his foreign minister to major Islamic capitals to mobilise the OIC (Organization of Islamic Countries) on the matter?

Most observers agree that extraditing the French ambassador back home is not an option. Islamabad literally cannot afford it. The nub of the problem lies with the yawning cultural gap between the West and the Muslim world that has increased with the advent of social media and the so-called digital revolution.

The western media has its own demons like for example endorsing the holocaust. Considered highly condemnable, it’s simply not the done thing.

Western society on the other hand, fails to appreciate the sensitivities of the Muslims. Ironically Pakistanis are more sensitive about defending the Islamic cause compared to our brethren in the rest of the Muslim countries.

For reasons quite obvious, the ruling party is having cold feet extraditing the French ambassador. A private member resolution demanding his expulsion is trying to be passed with the help of the opposition.

The PML-N itself knowing its core constituency is forced to kowtow to the religious lobby.

But the government is in no position to absorb the backlash in the west to such a measure. With the

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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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and spread. Viruses are too small even for microscopes. It was not until ernst Ruska, a German physicist who won a Nobel prize in 1986 for his work on electron optics, designed an electronic microscope that we saw them.

And yet, as said above, the disbelief and the attribution to the supernatural persists, and its extent defeats all attempts to do what must be done to combat the spread of viruses, for example in the current pandemic.

The only way to get around the problem is not simply to educate but to educate in a manner that speaks to ignorant minds. And please note, calling someone ignorant is not meant to be a taunt here, it is the description of a mind that does not know, and does not encompass and accept new ideas, mostly because it has been taught to rely on the blame game. The reason for the existence of such minds is not that such persons are unable to understand but that they have not been educated to do so, have not been educated well, or not at all. This is the fault of society, our fault. So what does it mean to educate in a way to speaks to ignorant minds?

It means to use language that will be understood with plenty of examples that relate the thing being taught to the environment of the person being taught. It would help if practical demonstrations are given where possible, and if the students are granted the opportunity to participate in discussions regarding the subject.

An example is the teaching style of an Indian teacher called Faizal Khan, popularly known as Khan Sir, whose videos have gone viral online. The video I saw can be seen on YouTube, and you can watch it here: https://tinyurl.com/bk3f9bzc In this Mr. Khan talks about what a RT-PCR Test is, what the CT value in an RT-PCR test means, how the pulse oximeter works, and how to recover from corona – and he

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

imminent threat of black-listing under FATF hanging on its head like the sword of Damocles, it is impossible for Khan to raise the ante by further provoking the West. Being demoted to the blacklist is a possibility under such circumstances. But being kept on the greylist is a certainty.

Why are we facing this conundrum now? Simply because the chicken has come home to roost! historically speaking, in order to break the back of prodemocracy entities in the country, such forces have been nurtured by the establishment with a little help from quisling politicians.

The creation of MQM by general Zia ul haq as a counterweight to mainstream parties like the PPP in urban Sindh created a monster in the form of Altaf hussain. MQM, a party created in the name of ethnicity had its own negative ramifications for the future.

Similarly, the Tehreek e Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) is a religious party was created in August 2015.with Khadim hussain Rizvi as its head. The Nawaz Sharif government in October 2017 altered the language in the election bill, thus changing the language of oath of office.

The TLP successfully blocked the Faizabad interchange, one of the main traffic arteries of the capital as a mark of protest. The charismatic Rizvi was able to paralyse the whole country with the support of his largely Barelvi followers.

Those were the times when the Sharif government was at loggerheads with the miltesatblishment.

The popular perception was that the TLP was being tacitly backed by the powers that be. Lo and behold, when the matter was settled, a uniformed officer was seen distributing one thousand rupees each to the TLP protesters, ostensibly for their fare back home.

Whether true or not, this act on behalf of the military leadership has been etched in the memory of the public with regards to the role of the establishment in political engineering.

The government’s efforts to bring the matter of extradition of the French ambassador miserably failed when the ruling party was unsuccessful to bring the opposition on board. The National Assembly session had to be prorogued till May. In this context there is little light at the end of the tunnel for the prime minister. he has to move towards consensual politics by making serious efforts to bring the opposition on board.

Arif Nizami is Editor, Pakistan Today. He can be contacted at arifn51@hotmail.com.

manages to make it very easy to understand.

Mr. Khan calls the coronavirus “susra corona”, a mocking colloquialism that brings the mighty corona down off its scary perch. It relaxes the students and enables them to understand what he says. Such as his funny explanation of what DNA is, that ‘if your child resembles your neighbour, you check the child’s DNA.’ I learnt, thanks to his video that viruses unlike humans are made of RNA which is composed of a single strand, rather than DNA which – as many of us know is composed of two intertwined strands.

Mr. Khans ‘desi way’ of teaching science has attracted almost two million subscribers online. This is what we need here, to move from the current aim of passing exams and scoring for the school to understanding the subject at hand and learning to research, rationalize and derive. It means we need a sharp shift in focus, as huge as when the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) switched from facing the Baitul Maqdas in Jersusalem to face the Kaaba in Mecca while saying his prayers.

Teaching by such means is important not just for literacy or mathematics. It is for other kinds of knowledge that are equally crucial. It will help people to understand the environment for instance why crop burning affects the air we breathe, how pesticides destroy our food, it will help them understand why it is important to boil water and enforce hygiene. It will make it easier for them to work on the land if they understand some basic physics, to use machines if they understand electronics, to make a living if they believe in the importance of knowledge.

Such education will also help in the understanding of religion if people learn to apply its injunctions to life rather than leaving them within the pages of the Quran.

Pakistan’s massive population has to be given something else to do besides riot, reproduce and die.

It is a resource that must be harnessed if not for itself then for the survival of the country and its people.

Teaching is important not just for literacy or mathematics. It is for other kinds of knowledge that are equally crucial. It will help people to understand the environment for instance why crop burning affects the air we breathe, how pesticides destroy our food, it will help them understand why it is important to boil water and enforce hygiene.

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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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Rabia Ahmed is a freelance columnist. Read more by her at http://rabia-ahmed.blogspot.com

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Sunday, 25 April, 2021

COMMENT 07 Editor’s mail Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. e-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively

Beware the ghosts of the past

A state held hostage Pomp and pelf should not dictate the conduct of justice

Candid Corner Raoof hasaN “There really can be no peace without justice. There can be no justice without truth.

And there can be no truth unless someone rises up to tell you the truth.” —Louis Farrakhan

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he history of humanity inevitably boils down to a history of justice and its dispensation. There have been countless stories of administering this key component of governance under trying circumstances which have inspired faith in humanity, but there have also been instances of its miscarriage which have served the cause of the devil. Pakistan and its justice system are no exception to this reality. In fact, it may not be inappropriate to say that most of the ills in this country emanate from a failure to uphold this banner.

It is not always a case of absence of justice per se from our midst that breeds discontent. The societal disparities also make a certain class more eligible to receive favourable treatment as compared to another, thus tearing apart the fabric that binds people together. Resultantly, in every society, there is a surfeit of justice for some while, for others, generations are consumed waiting for even a semblance of it.

The fact that Nawaz Sharif secured bail on the basis of a fake medical certificate, or Shahbaz Sharif and hamza Shahbaz were granted bails in cases where irrefutable evidence had already been placed before the court proving their culpability, or convict Maryam Nawaz, out on bail to look after her (then) ailing father, roaming the country without a fear of being arrested, or the scions of the Zardari clan and accomplices given reprieve one after the other discounting mountains of evidence available with the courts of their criminal involvement, don’t inspire confidence in either the justice system that prevails in the country, or its selective applicability.

Recently, when Maryam was summoned to answer some questions by the NAB, she appeared accompanied by an unruly mob which pelted stones at the Bureau’s office, hurling invectives and threats of wreaking vengeance. Instead of the writ of the state intervening to restore order and ensuring that the hearing would proceed unimpeded, it was cancelled which transmitted a message that even the state and its institutions were helpless before hooliganism of a few ruffians. When she was called a second time in the more recent past, the script was replayed and the hearing was cancelled yet again. The multiple instances involving members of these beneficiary families having escaped the country and the state’s inability to get them back to be held accountable create serious

doubts about the dispensation and its international relevance, stature and effectiveness.

The moment someone from the beneficiary segments of society is arrested for an alleged crime or misdemeanour, all hell breaks loose on the plea that they are the victims of political vendetta. They go to all lengths to advertise this to influence the courts and win sympathy from those who dispense justice as well as the ordinary people. Instead of being presented in courts in handcuffs, the alleged criminals are transported in bullet-proof vehicles escorted by rented crowds chanting slogans regarding the innocence of their leaders, even threatening the courts and the state with dire consequences if they were held accountable. Instead of dealing with these naked threats with its full writ and might, the state capitulates promptly and allows them space to run wild and dictate their narrative to the institutions. Why and where do the fault lines lie and how, if at all, can these be corrected, are some of the questions that haunt the mind as the oppressed multitudes wait for a day when they would also be administered justice on a par with those who have had an excess of it through decades.

Not only has it not happened so far, there are scant chances that it may happen sometime in the future. As a matter of fact, with the race for piling up illicit resources by the beneficiary few continuing unabated, the chances that they would ever be held accountable for their myriad crimes are fading into an unreal realm. It is no longer a case of justice not being administered equitably to some segments of the society. The blatant and flamboyant manner in which this is being done is completely demoralising. It further depletes one’s faith in the judicial process as well as its administrators sitting in the courts.

The manner in which proceedings are conducted foretells which way the winds would blow. In the end, whichever way a verdict may appear to tilt, it seldom appears to espouse the dictates of justice and ensure that the same are ingrained into judgements. If, by any chance, these are questioned through pleas and petitions, inordinate delays dictate the fixing of their hearing. By and large, most of such appeals are consigned to the bins.

Unfortunately, the history of judiciary in Pakistan is replete with instances which belittle human dignity. But merely castigating such instances may not provide the way out of these cobwebs of miscarriage for the future. The key challenge would be consigning this history to the past and initiating a viable effort for crafting a system that will ensure justice for all irrespective

of any discrimination on the basis of position or pelf, faith, caste, colour and creed of individuals.

All should be held equal before law not just in words, but in substance. Justice should not only be advocated to be administered. It should also be seen to be happening.

Justice is not for a select few. It is for all who must get it without prejudice. The might of the state should not stand on the side of the rich and the powerful, but ensure its non-partisan and legitimate conduct for all to breed respect among the people. It is only then that members of the society would be able to rise beyond their worldly positions to promote the state and its institutions. Courts should not be the targets of people’s ire. They should deserve their respect which will come only when justice is administered equally for the beneficiary elite and the impoverished communities alike. It is then that the system as well as its administrators will inspire the trust and respect of the people across divides.

But we have a long way ahead to get to a stage where there will be no miscarriage of justice by using it to serve the cause of the beneficiary clans and the coterie of their accomplices. The poor and the needy people who are not endowed with the bounty to serve a few pockets or satiate a few egos deserve it as a matter of their right and they should not be denied. Justice should come naturally by the strength and legitimacy of the case, and not by the standing and stature of individuals.

We are enveloped in the amalgam of times. The old system, structured for accruing unfair advantage for the traditional beneficiary elite, is being stretched by the charge for change. But it is fighting back not just through its principal beneficiaries, but their attendant cronies who are placed in and across every institution that matters. Their tentacles are dug in deep. They have stuck their ground, thus thwarting the efforts for turning the tide of time. The most recent bail extended to Shahbaz Sharif proves it beyond a shadow of doubt that the system continues to be manipulated for the benefit of the privileged.

The state is being held hostage by the people who have been its major beneficiaries. Instead of change filtering in, the old and the decrepit system is perpetuating itself. It all needs a serious rethink – urgently.

We are enveloped in the amalgam of times. The old system, structured for accruing unfair advantage for the traditional beneficiary elite, is being stretched by the charge for change. But it is fighting back not just through its principal beneficiaries, but their attendant cronies who are placed in and across every institution that matters. Their tentacles are dug in deep. They have stuck their ground, thus thwarting the efforts for turning the tide of time.

The writer is a political and security strategist, and heads the Regional Peace Institute – an Islamabad-based think tank. Email: raoofhasan@hotmail.com.

Twitter: @RaoofHasan

SIR, It is our belief as Muslims about the authenticity of what is meant about the famous quote of hazrat Ali Ibn Talib that “A State can exist without religion, but not without justice”. While the ghost of Zia haunts this country, where believers and followers of holy Prophet Muhammad PBUh, each reciting the Kalima, are brainwashed, murdering each other. even in the holy Month of Ramadan Kareem, terrorists are indulging in mayhem like the recent attack in Quetta. While it is the sole jurisdiction of Almighty Allah SWT, to decide who will go to heaven or hell, there are few who dare to defy this Divine Jurisdiction. Fatwas are being given inciting Muslims to damage private and public property, creating hurdles for ambulances and Oxygen tankers to pass through, resulting in the death of many innocent human beings. While all this was happening the State remained absent, choosing not to exercise its Writ and protect constitutional rights of citizens.

One only hopes that the ghost of Justice Munir does not haunt the corridors of our judiciary, who have taken an oath to protect and uphold the sanctity of the Constitution. Justice Munir must have been subjected to tremendous pressure and threats by the likes of Ayub or Iskandar Mirza, but he was required to withstand these and deliver judgment based on Laws and not the Doctrine of Necessity. Munir stands condemned in history and so are those who were instrumental in reducing Quaid’s vision of a modern democratic welfare state, into the mess that we are witnessing. Pakistan has suffered enough and we must ensure that Justice is seen to be delivered and MAJ’s vision implemented, instead of the whims of visionless men blinded by greed and vested interests.

Malik T ali lahore

Lessons from India COVID-19 situation is getting worse after passing every single in India.

Worst of all, the most essential oxygen for critical Covid patients has been run out. The authorities and hospitals have been looking for oxygen, but they are failed to arrange oxygen for critical patients; as a result, the death ratio has increased with intense tension in the whole country. The situation in India can be an example for Pakistan if it is taken as learning. God forbid, if Pakistan faced such a situation in the future, what would be the strategy to combat it. As Pakistan is already facing the 3rd wave of covid19 with a more fatality rate. Government must ensure the strict implementation of SOPs and social distancing throughout the country otherwise the situation can go out of the hands.

Zohaib ahMed hub

Poverty and the PTI SINCe PTI has come in power, every common person is sailing against the wind. Government has sailed through more than 2 years but there is no good work done by it for the common citizens. even, the life is getting tougher day by day. Certain issues have accented up and don’t know the way to down such as: inflation, unemployment, poor health facilities, disturbed education. To the date 15 million children of 5 to 16 years are out of school.These children belonging to poor families don’t afford to study. On the other hand, the ratio of poverty line is increasing day by day and the number of children out of school are increasing simultaneously. It is an urge to PM, Imran Khan, to heed towards poor, help them through funds, and create job opportunities.

SheMureed Jan MohaMMad TurbaT

Inflation in Ramzan The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) based weekly inflation during the first week of holy month of Ramzan, for the combined consumption group, witnessed decrease of 0.40 percent as compared to the previous week.

According to the data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday, during the week that ended on April 22, prices of 13 items witnessed decrease while that of 26 items remained stable. The items, which recorded decrease in their average prices, included tomatoes prices of which declined by 30.22 percent while the prices of onions went down by 8.12 percent.

Likewise, the prices of eggs went down by 5.81 percent, garlic by 2.92 percent, sugar by 2.68 percent, diesel by 2.02 percent, petrol by 1.58 percent, bananas by 1.03 percent, LPG Cylinder by 0.96 percent, chicken by 0.89 percent, gram pulse by 0.53 percent, mash pulse by 0.27 percent while that of moong pulse decreased by 0.17 percent.

According to the data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday, during the week that ended on April 22, prices of 13 items witnessed decrease while that of 26 items remained stable. The items, which recorded decrease in their average prices, included tomatoes prices of which declined by 30.22 percent while the prices of onions went down by 8.12 percent. Likewise, the prices of eggs went down by 5.81 percent, garlic by 2.92 percent, sugar by 2.68 percent, diesel by 2.02 percent, petrol by 1.58 percent, bananas by 1.03 percent, LPG Cylinder by 0.96 percent, chicken by 0.89 percent, gram pulse by 0.53 percent, mash pulse by 0.27 percent while that of moong pulse decreased by 0.17 percent. The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) based weekly inflation during the first week of holy month of Ramzan, for the combined consumption group, witnessed decrease of 0.40 percent as compared to the previous week.

Sohail ali khan iSlaMabad

Sunday, 25 April, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

‘this is hell.’ Prime minister modi’s failure to lead is deePening india’s Covid-19 Crisis ThRee heAlTh offiCiAlS who ASKed To RemAin AnonymoUS Told me They Believe ThAT The dAily nUmBeR of Covid-19 deAThS in indiA hAS AlReAdy CRoSSed The 10,000 fiGURe

TenS of ThoUSAndS of hindU devoTeeS ConTinUe To Show Up eACh dAy foR A dip in The GAnGeS AS pART of The KUmBh melA pilGRimAGe in hARidwAR. iS iT Any wondeR ThAT The feSTivAl hAS BeCome A SUpeR-SpReAdeR evenT?

tients lost their festival lives at since a hospital in Mathe weeks-long the first day harashtra a leak11, from the main of bathingafter on March despite clear hosevipital oxygen tank stopped flowpositive to their dence that thousands are the testing ventilators. hospitalsIninthe India are for the virusMultiple after attending. space petitioning High to seek immeof just a fewthe days in Courts mid-April, more than diate oxygen supply.

If the apocalypse had 1,600 cases were confirmed among devoan image, it would be second the hospitals of tees.

In March, when the wave was India. underway, state leaders from the already Despite these inescapable horrors, ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pubmuch of India remains in a sortnewspapers of parallel lished full-page ads in national reality where COVID-19 not a threat. telling worshippers it wasis “clean” and Tens ofto thousands of Hindu devoteeschief con“safe” attend. The Uttarakhand tinue to show up each day for20, a dip in the minister declared on March “nobody Ganges as part inofthe thename Kumbh Mela pilwill be stopped of COVID-19 grimage Haridwar, Milwe areinsure the faithUttarakhand. in God will overIn Gujarat, the TImE Prime Minister’s home as lions of have participated in theworshippers fear of the virus.”

It wasn’t until RAnA AyyuB state, crematoriums are burning day and come fromallowed their high-rise windows andlike lighting religious events the so that they are cremated not stoleninby other bodies were a day butstates. gov- has the weeks-long since the first day 94 that festival Hindu nationalist Prime night, while the state refuses to acknowl- mid-April candles to praise Modi and celebrate the Kumbh Mela to go ahead, while his party We might also ask how many deaths ernment data reported only three, accordof bathing on March 11, despite clear evMinister Narendra Modi tweeted that parR Jalil Parkar, one of India’s edge the high number of deaths success ofwith an itsunplanned lockdown— dog-whistle campaigns the government attempting In continued to Times isNow. But to thehide. more idence thatinthousands are testing the pilgrimage shouldpositive be kept ing leading pulmonologists, wears ticipation while poor migrant workers jobs Indian minorities.

In lost Westtheir Bengal, the state of Uttar Pradesh were against morgues and workers crematoriums for the virustoafter attending.

In the space combat the pandemic.

Is it overwhelmed exhaustion his face.

In “symbolic” In WesthisBengal, whereonModi himself and Modi had toelection leave the cities. While theHinrich campaign warned pictured covering the state crematorium with the the less able governments of just a few that daysthe in festival mid-April, thana become, wonder hasmore become between treating patients at has the any has been campaigning, the BJP Chief booked themselves in hospitals using their dus of being under threat from Muslim tin sheets.

Priyanka Gandhi, of the oppoare to conceal the truth or to bolster the 1,600 cases were confirmed among devosuper-spreader event?

COVID-19 intensive care unit advocated drinking cow urine to treat contacts, they offeredstates, monetary fromrarely neighboring with sitionnarrative Congressthat party, local au- immigrants all isaccused well in India. tees.

In March, when the second wave was false MORE DEADLY SECOND WAVE: of Mumbai’s prestigious Lilavati Hospital, A COVID-19 help toShah theiraccusing employees.

West Bengal’s Chief thorities of hiding the truth.”

RESPONSIBILITY LIES In ATGujarat, THE Amit already underway, leaders from been reportingstate on COVID-19 in Parkar appears regularly on TV to give I’ve Accountability alsoMuslim lies with the state of appeasing interests. the Prime home state, Minister TOP: ThisMinister’s week, as India reported the ruling Janata Party sinceBharatiya March 2020, and it’s updates on Indians the current, devastating Many called out the second prime India ministers who prefer playing The vaccine rollout became a power global crematoriums are burning the highest number of daily (BJP) published full-page been bad before, but what wave of the pandemic that is killing thouminister’s failure to take accountability. games to actually governing, and who campaign for Modi’s leadership—in day and while cases of night, anywhere in the PR ads witnessing in nationalin newspathis secsandshashtag of Indians.

He himself spentistime in I’m The #WeCannotBreathe trendIN GUJARAT, THE were caught napping as the virus an Indo-Canadian groupmade spon-a state refusestheto acknowlworld, ruling March, pers wave tellingis worshippers like nothing the on ICU last year and almost died after ond ing Indian twitter PRIME MINISTER’S HOME comeback.

In theerected state ofinMaharashtra, as billboards Canada thankedge the high number Bharatiya Janata Party sored it was seen.“clean” and suffering multiple COVID-complications. I’ve numbers surged, the BJP and the ruling ing Modi for exporting Indian-made of deaths.

The Gujarat tweeted a video of one “safe” to attend.

The Healthcare workers ARE Now, he confesses to losing his calm over CREMATORIUMS STATE, Time party, theabroad—even Shiv Sena, were occupied with while many Indihigh court has ralde- vaccines of Modi’s political Uttarakhand chief stretched beyond all whatRana he isAyyub seeing unfold every day. “Our are BURNING DAY AND NIGHT, WHILE lies. a face-off over control of the their state efficacy governwere apprehensive about manded the states state gov(Five are ans minister declared on When healthcare system has collapsed. We have comprehension.

THE STATE REFUSES TO ment. side effects. ernment elections reveal the holding in and visited 20, the “nobody state-run let down ourParkar, own people the country,” Dr Jalil one ofinIndia’s leading IMarch But aboveorator all ithas liesmade withlittle Narendra The great effort accurate count of May.) Alongside Modi will be stopped in the Navi Mumbai Municipal he says.

“What can doctors do when our ACKNOWLEDGE THE HIGH pulmonologists, wears his exhaustion on Modi, Minister India,towho sendthe out Prime a message to theof country get COVID-19 and to was his closepatients confidante name of COVID-19 as hospital on infrastructure is unable to patients take theat pahis face. In between treating the Corporation NUMBER OF DEATHS calls himself the servant of 1.3 billion Inthe vaccine, or to dispel the myths surdeaths. and home minister, Amit we are sure the faith in God Sunday, I saw a nurse sitting tients, when there are no hospital beds or COVID-19 intensive care unit of Mumdians, yetit.who hasIndia, criminally In rural where abdicated more than In In other states, data rounding Shah. theory, Shahtheshould willthe overcome fear the staircasethe with herofhead oxygen cylinders?” bai’s prestigious Lilavati Hospital, Parkar on his responsibility. of Indians live, many are skeptical of for COVID-19 unreli- 65% have been in the deaths capital,are coordinatvirus.”

It wasn’t until mid-April her hands.

She told me she’d been On Friday, April 23, to India appears regularly on TV giverecorded updates in Since January, Modi has organized with misinformation circulatablewith at best, and at governments worst fabricated to the vaccine, various state on how that Hindu nationalist Prime Minister with nausea. The bathrooms had ing 332,730 coronavirus cases, the highestwave sin- struggling on the current, devastating second mass political rallies in various states and ing on social media.

The Prime Minister cover up the devastation.

To give just one to deal with the devastating spike in Narendra Modi tweeted that participation not been cleaned; the workers had given up gle-day total of cases recorded globally so of the pandemic that is killing thousands allowed events like the littlereligious to reinforce public health example, incases a crematorium in the of has done over the past fewstate weeks. in the pilgrimage be for keptevery “symthere is onlyshould one toilet 20 COVID-19 far.Indians.

It had broken that record of He himself spent the timeday in bethe because Kumbh Mela to go ahead, while his party messaging.

In West Bengal, where Modi Madhya Pradesh, 94 bodies were creInstead, Shah has been holding roadshows bolic” to combat the pandemic.

Is it any COVID-19 patients.

The nurse, who did not fore, too.

Since the pandemic began, India ICU last year and almost died after suffercontinued with its dog-whistle campaigns has been campaigning, the BJP matedthousands in a day of butjoyous government re- himself crowdsdata on the wonder that the festival become to be named, said she has herself was re-a with has multiple confirmed more than 16 million Now, cases wish ing COVID-complications. against Indian minorities.

In West Bengal, Chief has advocated drinking cow urine to ported only three, according to Times streets of eastern India.

He broadcasts these super-spreader event? covering from the virus.

Her request for and more than 186,000 deaths.

India’s total he confesses to losing his calm over what the Modi election Vijay campaign warned HinCOVID-19.

Chauthaiwale, in Now. But overwhelmed morgues livethe on more his Twitter and Facebook ac- treat MORE SECOND WAVE beenDEADLY denied three times and she rallies confirmed to date are leaveAhad he is seeing COVID-19 unfold everycases day. “Our healthdus of being under threat from Muslim charge of the BJP’s foreign affairs departand crematoriums become, the less able counts at the same time as many Indians’ I’ve been reporting on COVID-19 in wished she could resign, but her family of second to the United States overall, and its care system has collapsed. We have let immigrants neighboring with wrotefrom a column calling states, economists state governments are inundated to concealwith the truth media feeds are peo- ment, India since March it’s been depends on her.2020, “Thisand is hell, you bad tell social daily our caseown andpeople death inrates are rapidly down the country,” he six Amit Shah accusing West Bengal’s Chief and experts part of the “anti-Modi lobby” or to bolster the false narrative that all is ple begging for medical help.

As thousands before, but what I’m witnessing in this me, is this not?” she said.

“They talk of catching up with the U.S.—which means, says. “What can doctors do when our inMinister of appeasing Muslim encouraging Indians not tointerests. reject trawelldying, in India. our home minister and our Prime and second wavethe is like nothing I’ve seen. medical fraternity but they are given India’sis much population, its worshipping frastructure unablelarger to take the patients, The vaccine rollout became a global ditional medicine, including cow urine and RESPONSIBILITY LIES AT THE Minister have looked the other way to conHealthcare workers are stretched behave left us to die.” raw case and death numbers will surpass when there are no hospital beds or oxygen PR campaign forthe Modi’s leadership—in to boost immune system.

TOP campaigning. (It was only after signif- turmeric all second comprehension.

I visited wave of When cases has been tinue the U.S. soon if the trends continue. Every yondThe cylinders?” an the Indo-Canadian groupslowed, sponWhen vaccine rollout week,this as India thefinally high- March, criticism weekreported that Modi the state-run NavibyMumbai Municipal more deadly oxygen shortages in icantThis day,On more than 2,000 people in India are made Friday, April 23, India recorded sored was billboards erected in Canada thankno effort or coordination with est numberon ofThursday daily cases of that anywhere in there night he would Corporation on Sunday, I saw An hospital investigation

by Indian newsa announced dying with COVID-19,cases, according to offi- hospitals.

332,730 coronavirus the highest ing Modi for exporting Indian-made the states as Modi’s cabinet indulged in a the world, the ruling Bharatiya Janata be canceling his Friday rallies in West Bennurse sitting on the staircase with her head website Scroll.in revealed that the country’s cial numbers—and experts believe that single-day total of cases recorded globally vaccines abroad—even while many Indigame with ministers from opposiParty a video of one ofmanagement Modi’s po- blame to tweeted instead hold COVID-19 in her hands.waited She told she’d2020, been gal government untilme October number a dramatic underestimate. so far. Itishad broken that record the ans were apprehensive their efficacy parties.

When statesabout like Maharashtra, litical rallies. are holding elec- tion with(Five state states ministers.) struggling The meetings eight monthswith after nausea. the pandemic Three healthtoo. officials day before, Sincewho the asked panand side the effects. highest number of COVID-19 in May.) Alongside was his was India caught Modi unprepared as with bathrooms hadbidsnot began, to invite for abeen $27 tionsWhy to remain anonymous told me demic began, India has conTheshut great orator has madeoflittle effort down a majority its vacciclose confidante homeaminister, Amit cases, second waveand ravaged cross-section cleaned; contract the workers had the million to place they believe the daily IN WEST BENGAL, firmed morethat than 16 to send centers out a message to of theacountry get because lack oftovacShah.

In theory, Shah have beenlies in nation Indian society?

Theshould responsibility given up because systems there is of oxygen generation number cases of COVID-19 million and more WHERE MODI HIMSELF HAS the vaccine, or to dispel the myths surcines, the government was not quick to the capital, coordinating with various state with a strongman regime that has ignored only one toilet for every inside more than 150 disdeaths in India has althan 186,000 deaths.

BEEN CAMPAIGNING, THE BJP trict rounding it. Inepidemiologists, rural India, where more in. While specialists governments caution. on how to deal with the dev- step 20 COVID-19 hospitals. Sixpatients. months all ready crossed 10,000 India’s total the confirmed than opposition 65% of Indians live,have many are urged skepleaders long in sycophantic COVID-19cabinet cases minover and It liesspike with the The nurse, whoaren’t did not later, most still up astating figure. Therecases is no to escape CHIEF HAS ADVOCATED COVID-19 date tical oftothe vaccine, withfor misinformation give approvals foreign vacthe past weeks.

Instead, Shah has Modi whofew praised Modi for successfully wishrunning. to be named, said and Hospitals in isters fromsecond it; in the pastUnited week are to the DRINKING COW URINE TO circulating on social media.

The Prime the decision to give emergency use been holding roadshows with thousands with COVID19 in India even as cines, she states herselfofwas recovering the Haryana, Ma- dealing alone, overall, I have lost peoStates andfour its daily Ministertohas littlemanufactured to reinforce public thedone Russian Sputof joyous crowds onand the allowed streets ofpeople eastern slowed down to license from the virus.

Her request harashtra and Gujarat have testing TREAT COVID-19 ple toand COVID-19—a distant case death rates are raphealth messaging.

West Bengal, where V vaccine wasInonly taken in the secIndia. He broadcasts theseabout rallies on nik more complacent thelive virus. for leave been calls denied been issuinghad distress for become relative, my next-door neighidly catching up with the Modiweek himself has been campaigning, the of April. andthe Facebook accounts at the It lies with upper-middle-class In- ond three times and wished urgent supplies of she oxygen.

Two she pa- his Twitter bor, and two ofmeans, my closest U.S.—which givenfriends, India’s Chief advocated cow is has a moment whendrinking the country same time many social media who as were lastIndians’ year banging plates BJPThis could in resign, but her familydied of six depends a Gujarat hospital because of dians both inlarger their mid-30s. much population, its raw case and tients urine toanswers. treat COVID-19.

Vijay ChauthaiYet on April 20, when feeds their are inundated with people high-rise windows and begging lighting needs on her. shortages “This is hell, you tell me, is this from on Wednesday.

Increasingly, people are dying in plain death numbers will surpass the U.S. soon oxygen wale, in chargeaddressed of the BJP’s finally theforeign nation affairs about for medical help. As thousands are dying, to praise Modi and celebrate the Modi she said. talk of worshipping States are “They now feuding with each candles sight.

On Friday, Delhi’s leading Gan- not?” if the trends continue.

Every day, more department, growing wrote crisis, ahecolumn warnedcalling states econthat a our homeof minister and our Prime Minister the an unplanned lockdown— the medical fraternity butInthey have tweet, left us success to obtain supplies. a recent garam Hospital issued an SOS that it with only other than 2,000 people in India are dying omists and experts part of the “anti-Modi lockdown should be considered a last rehave looked the other way to continue while poor migrant workers lost their jobs to die.”

Anil Vij, a minister from the state of had enough oxygen left for two hours and COVID-19, according to official numlobby” and encouraging reand called on youngIndians peoplenot to to form campaigning.

(It was only after significant had to leave the cities.

While the rich sort, The second of cases hasDelhi been and accusedwave the neighboring that 25 patients hadbelieve alreadythat lost number their lives bers—and experts is Haryana ject traditional medicine, including committees to ensure COVID-19 criticism this week that Modi fibooked themselves in hospitals made more deadly by oxygen shortages in government of stealing oxygen canisters in the hospital due to oxygen shortages. a dramatic underestimate. Three health ofcow urineareand turmeric to protocols being followed. nally announced on Thursday their contacts, they hospitals.

Anen investigation

by Indian a truck route to Haryana.

Vijnews later using Videos who showasked peopletostealing cylin- from ficials remainoxygen anonymous boost the immune system.

On the festival of Ram night that he would be canrarely offered monetary website Scroll.in revealed that the countold the Economic Times that he had orders for their relatives.

One devastating told me they believe that the daily number MANY INDIANS Whenhe the vaccine Navami, tweeted that celingtohis Friday rallies in their employees. try’s government waited October police protection for until oxygen trucks help video from thedeaths BBC shows a woman try- dered of COVID-19 in India has already rollout slowed, there people should follow the West Bengal to instead Accountability also 2020, eight months after the pandemic so that they are not stolen by other states. ing to help her dying brother regain conPRIME THE OUT CALLED crossed the 10,000 figure. There is no eswas no effort or coordimessage of Lord Ram, holdwith COVID-19 manthe state minisinvitealso bidsask for ahow $27many million con- lies Wetomight deaths sciousness. why don’t youIwake cape from it;“Bajali, in the past week alone, have began, MINISTER’S FAILURE TO TAKE nation withdeity the states as the Hindu for proagement with who meetings prefer playing tractgovernment to place oxygen generation systems is attempting to hide.

In the ters up?” she people cries. As was writing this, the the lost four to ICOVID-19—a distant Modi’s and cabinet intection, follow “apstate ministers.) power games to actually THE HASHTAG ACCOUNTABILITY. insideofmore than 150 district hospitals.

Six Uttar Pradesh workers were picnews broke 22 critically ill and patients relative, my that next-door neighbor, two state dulged in behavior.” a blame game propriate Why was and India who months later, most aren’t up and covering the still crematorium withruntin governing, lostmy their lives at a hospital Maharashtra of closest friends, bothinin their mid- tured #WECANNOTBREATHE IS withThe ministers from address to opthe caughtcaught unprepared napping as ning. Hospitals the states Haryana, were Priyanka in Gandhi, of theofopposition after a leak from the main hospital oxygen sheets.

30s.

TRENDING ON INDIAN position parties.

When nation received a lukesecond wave ravaged the virus made a comeMaharashtra and Gujarat have been issuCongress party, accused local authorities of tankIncreasingly, stopped the flow to their ventilators. people are dying in plain states response like Maharashtra, warm as the Prime a cross-section In the stateof of Indian Mahaing distress callsIn for urgent of back. the truth.”

Gujarat, thesupplies Prime MinTWITTER Multiple India are petitioning sight. Onhospitals Friday, in Delhi’s leading Gan- hiding with the highest number of Minister offered no immediate society?

The responsibility rashtra, as numbers surged, the oxygen.

Two patients in a Gujarat hospital ister’s home state, crematoriums are burnthe High Courts to seek immediate oxygen garam Hospital issued an SOS that it only COVID-19 cases, shut relief to the country.

Manydown Indiansa lies with a strongman regime that and the ruling party, the Shiv diedday because of while oxygen shortages and night, the state refuseson to BJP supply.

If theoxygen apocalypse had anhours image, it ing had enough left for two and majority vaccination centers outof theitsprime minister’s failurebecause to take has ignored all caution. were occupied with a face-off over called Wednesday. the high number of deaths. Sena, would the hospitals of India. that 25be patients had already lost their lives acknowledge of a lack of vaccines, the government was The hashtag #WeCannotIt lies with the sycophantic cabinet accountability. of the state government. with each Gujaratare highnow courtfeuding has demanded the control Despite these inescapable horrors, The States in the hospital due to oxygen shortages. not quick to step in.

While epidemioloBreathe is trending on Indian twitter.

At this ministers who praised Modi for successBut above all it lies with Narendra other to obtain supplies.

In a recent tweet, state government reveal the accurate count much of India remains in a sort of parallel Videos show people stealing oxygen gists, specialists opposition leaders juncture in and its history, Indians have fully dealing withMinister COVIDin India the Prime of 19 India, who critical Anil Vij, a minister from the state of Modi, COVID-19 patients and deaths. reality where COVID-19 not devastata threat. of cylinders for their relatives.isOne have left long Modi to give approvals to urged fend for ourselves. even himself as testing and allowed theslowed servantdown of 1.3 billion In- been accused Delhi calls In other states,the theneighboring data for COVIDTens of thousands Hindu devotees con- Haryana ing video from theofBBC shows a woman people yet to become more complacent about for foreign vaccines, the decision to give who has criminally abdicated government of unreliable stealing oxygen canisters deaths are at best, and at dians, tinue each day brother for a dipregain in the 19 tryingtotoshow helpupher dying emergency licensejournalist to the Russian Ayyub isuse an Indian and the the responsibility. virus. from afabricated truck en route to Haryana.

Vij later his to cover up the devastaGanges as part of the Kumbh Mela you pil- worst consciousness.

“Bajali, why don’t manufactured Sputnik V vaccine was only of Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a It lies with the upper-middle-class In- author Since January, Modi has organized told the Times that heinhad orTo Economic give just one example, a cregrimage inshe Haridwar, wake up?” cries. AsUttarakhand.

I was writing Milthis, tion. taken in the second week of April.

Cover Up. dians who were last year banging plates mass political rallies in various states and dered police protection for oxygen trucks matorium in the state of Madhya Pradesh, lions of worshippers have participated in the news broke that 22 critically ill pa-

d

Creating alternatives to China’s Belt and road As part of his plan to create an alliance of democracies to counter China’s growing power, US president Joe Biden has proposed to the UK’s Boris Johnson setting up an infrastructure effort to rival the Belt and Road plan Financial Times EDITORIAL BOARD

With its bold Belt and Road Initiative to boost trade and infrastructure links with partners, Xi Jinping’s China stole a march on other large economies. Since 2013, it has created a framework endorsed by more than 150 states and international organisations. Western democracies were slow to recognise its strategic implications, and even slower to respond. Talks between the EU and India on building joint infrastructure projects around the world show attempts to come up with alternatives to China’s project are finally under way. Whether they can have a similar impact is less clear.

The EU and India hope to announce their “connectivity” partnership at an online leaders’ summit on May 8. In reality, it follows a similar alliance with Japan unveiled in September 2019. It is unlikely to be a one-off but eventually to form part of a kaleidoscope of co-ordinated bilateral and multilateral partnerships between the EU and US and IndoPacific nations.

As part of his plan to create an alliance of democracies to counter China’s growing power, US president Joe Biden has proposed to the UK’s Boris Johnson setting up an infrastructure effort to rival the Belt and Road plan. That may form part of June’s G7 summit, to be hosted by Johnson in the UK, and to which leaders from India, Australia and South Korea have been invited.

Many will be wary of anything that resembles a return to cold war-style practices of signing up client states into opposing camps. Some will note that Narendra Modi’s India is hardly a model democracy. But the wealthy democracies are right to try to develop infrastructure ties that go deeper than the old “trade and aid” model with poorer countries.

Such alliances can deliver mutual economic benefits, and enhance the resilience of global supply chains.

For Europe, in particular, they provide strategic leverage and a chance to present itself as a pole of attraction for third countries. While the EU lacks the military clout of the US, it does boast financial firepower. It can also offer highly attractive market access. In the past it has successfully used this as a carrot to encourage its near neighbours to move closer to Europe’s own standards of governance. Concerns among western democracies and some BRI partner countries have intensified as China has taken an increasingly authoritarian path. The project has been seen more overtly as a tool of influence and a way for Beijing to establish strategic or military footholds. China has been accused of using “debt trap diplomacy” to entice countries such as Sri Lanka into taking unsustainable loans for infrastructure projects; when they struggle to sustain the debt, Beijing can seize the asset. It has faced a backlash, too, over weak legal and environmental safeguards.

That opens an opportunity for advanced economies to offer alternatives with less onerous financing terms and more legal transparency. But there are also obstacles.

Western countries have allowed China to build up a substantial lead in using infrastructure partnerships to create economic networks.

They will be hampered, too, by the lack of a unified strategic vision and centralised control compared with China’s BRI. Many countries, including India, are wary of being part of anything that might be construed as a global anti-China alliance.

While China, too, can rely on state banks to provide financing, the model the EU is pursuing envisages state bodies such as the European Investment Bank providing seed money to leverage private sector financing.

Private sector appetite for such investments remains in question; the EU-Japan infrastructure partnership has little to show for it, though it was signed just months before the pandemic. A similar deal with India will be a further test of the EU’s ability to shift from “payer to player” — and leverage its heft in trade, aid and investment to become a rival pole to China.

Sunday, 25 April, 2021

BUSINESS 09

LAHORE

PM thaNks exPats FOr reMIttINg $1BN thrOugh rOshaN DIgItal aCCOuNt

CORPORATE CORNER

ISLAMABAD

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BOP, National Incubation Centre collaborate to support young tech entrepreneurs

STAFF REPORT

RIME Minister Imran Khan took to Twitter on Saturday to thank overseas Pakistanis as cumulative inflows in Roshan Digital Account (RDA) crossed the $1 billion mark.

“Alhamdulillah, funds received through Roshan Digital Account have crossed $1bn. I would like to thank our overseas Pakistanis for their overwhelming response,” the prime minister wrote on his official Twitter handle.

He also appreciated the efforts of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and banks for achieving this significant milestone

in such a short period.

Roshan Digital Account is a major initiative of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), in collaboration with commercial banks operating in Pakistan. This provides non-resident Pakistanis with an opportunity to remotely open an account in the country through an entirely digital and online process without any need to visit a bank branch.

According to the State Bank’s data, the RDA inflows were recorded at $9 million in September last year, $42m in October, $110m in November, and $250m in December last year. The inflows jumped to $418m in January this year, $594m in February, $806m in March and $1,000m on April 23.

LAHORE PRESS RELEASE

The Bank of Punjab has always been at the forefront to support young entrepreneurs as a part of its CSR initiatives. In line with this vision, BOP has collaborated with the National Incubation Centre and hosted an award and MoU signing ceremony at NIC, NED University Karachi. The event marked the MoU signing of a partnership agreement between the Bank of Punjab and NIC in creating a FinTech Learning and Development Center at NIC Karachi, collaboratively. As a part of the initiative, the organisations will be providing FinTech startups a collaborative workspace, access to various training programs, and industry mentors from the financial and IT sector. To expand the budding FinTech sector in Pakistan, the Bank of Punjab and NIC Karachi will be hosting a FinTech Conference/ Hackathon jointly. The ceremony was attended by BOP Group Chief Consumer and Digital Banking Zahid Mustafa, Chief Information Officer Faisal Ejaz Khan, Group Head Retail Banking Nofel Daud, Marketing Head Asad Zia, NIC Project Director Omar Abedin and NIC Program Manager Syed Azfar Hussain. Acknowledging the efforts of young techie Nabeel Haider, BOP provided a laptop to applaud him for his ingenuity and support him in his efforts. Haider, a student of class nine, recently developed an instant messaging app with features ranging from voice calling to group creation, channel creation, and features for the vision impaired.

Speaking at the occasion, Zahid Mustafa said “It’s about time we understand that banking of tomorrow is going to be very different from banking of yester years or even banking of today. It’s a pleasure for me to announce a partnership that we have signed a MoU with NIC Karachi in which we will be sponsoring 4 seats for co-creation work, working with the entrepreneurs that are attracted by NIC to come up with solutions in the digital space.”

KARACHI: Mobilink Microfinance Bank has partnered with Saylani Welfare International Trust, Health and Nutrition Development Society (HANDS), and Sarim Burney Welfare Trust International for financially empowering beneficiaries of the organisations through payments via JazzCash.

World Bank approves $400m for KP

Current account remains in surplus for 9MFY21 NEWS DESK

NEWS DESK The World Bank (WB) has approved a new loan of $400 million for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) for addressing staff and budget issues in education and health sectors. According to a local media outlet’s report, the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved the loan under the KP Spending Effectively for Enhanced Development (SPEED) programme, which they said would help the provincial government strengthen its management of public resources and fiscal planning to sustain human capital investments in education and healthcare services.

By implementing critical reforms in budget allocation and expenditures, the provincial programme will contribute to increased quality of schools and health centres and remove obstacles to reach ‘the last mile’ in the delivery of education and health services in KP, according to the World Bank.

WB Country Director for Pakistan Najy Benhassine said that the SPEED programme supported a comprehensive and robust approach to public financial management in KP that tackled key bottlenecks in planning, budgeting, procurement and supply chain management so that adequate resources were available to deliver education and health services on a sustainable basis.

The loan is given to ensure implementation of quality assurance measures to evaluate the performance of education and healthcare services in the

province, which focus on facility-level accountability and increased access, as well as disparities in the uptake of services among males and females, said the World Bank.

The World Bank said that the $400 million loan will improve predictability of resources to provide access to medicine in primary healthcare facilities, including maternal and neonatal clinics for women across the province, and increase availability of adequate teaching staff in at least 45 per cent of primary, middle, and high schools in the province, and particularly for girls’ schools.

Earlier on Friday, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin said that continued support of the World Bank (WB) as a major development partner was critical to attaining fiscal consolidation, improved service delivery and good governance in Pakistan.

The minister was talking to Benhassine, who had made a courtesy call on the former at the Finance Division.

The minister lauded the pivotal role being played by the World Bank in strengthening governance and service delivery through institutional reforms and human capital development in Pakistan over the years. He appreciated the swift and timely assistance extended by the WB for stimulating economic recovery during the Covid-19 pandemic. Tarin also reiterated the firm resolve of the government in achieving macro-economic stability and sustained economic growth by following a consultative process.

Pakistan managed to maintain a current account surplus during the first nine months of the current fiscal year (9MFY21), indicating that the fiscal year might end without an overall deficit. However, according to data issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), although the country posted a surplus of $959 million during the July-March period, it also posted a current account deficit of $47 million in March for the fourth month in a row, slightly higher than that of February at $31m. In January the deficit stood at $229m while the deficit in December 2020 was $625m. As opposed to surplus in this fiscal, the current account deficit in the first nine months of the previous fiscal (FY20) was $4.147bn. Exports of goods have shown no significant improvement during the first nine months of the current fiscal; exports of goods were at $18.7bn compared to $18.3bn in the same period of last fiscal. However, imports of goods have shown a strong growth as it has reached $37.4bn against $34.1bn in the same period of last fiscal. The balance on trade in goods is negative, with $18.657bn compared to $15.855bn in the previous fiscal. Pakistan has been getting robust support from overseas Pakistanis, who have been remitting over $2bn per month during the current fiscal. In the first nine months of FY21, the country received $21.5bn, a growth of 26 per cent when compared to last year’s remittances. The government expects to receive over $28bn by the end of the current fiscal, which would be much higher than the total proceeds from exports. It is pertinent to mention here that the IMF has predicted a growth rate of 1.5pc for FY21, while the World Bank has forecast a rate of only 1.3pc. The SBP, on the other hand, has stuck to its earlier stance that growth rate will be 3pc.

Meezan Bank announces financial results for first quarter of 2021 KARACHI PRESS RELEASE

Meezan Bank Limited has approved the unaudited financial statements of the bank for the quarter ended March 31 in a meeting presided over by Chairman Riyadh S.A. A. Edrees, Vice Chairman Faisal A. A. A. Al – Nassar was also present.

The bank recorded excellent results for the quarter ended March 31, with profit after tax of Rs6.1 billion – 11

per cent up from corresponding period last year. EPS of the bank increased to Rs4.31 per share from Rs3.89 per share in March 2020. The board approved 15pc, Rs1.5 per share, interim cash dividend for the first quarter of 2021.

Deposits of the bank closed at Rs1.25 trillion with CASA ratio of 79pc as compared to 76pc on December 31, 2020.

Meezan is the fifth largest bank in Pakistan in terms of deposits. During the quarter, the bank opened 10 new branches bringing its geographical network to 825

branches in 255 cities and a network of 906 ATMs across the country. The bank’s mobile banking app has been consistently ranked as the No.1 Mobile Banking App in Pakistan by both Apple Store and Google Play Store.

With a diversified product portfolio, the bank is wellpositioned to cater all financing needs of its customers within the bounds of Shariah. The bank has a well-diversified assets portfolio comprising Corporate and SME customers and is among the market leaders in the consumer financing sector.

Mastercard study shows 9 in 10 adults willing to take action on sustainability issues KARACHI PRESS RELEASE

On the occasion on Earth Day, new research on sustainability commissioned

by Mastercard reveals a marked increase in consumer passion for the environment, as personal attitudes toward the

environment evolve as a result of Covid-19.

In the Middle East region, 9 in 10 people stated that they’re willing to take personal action to combat environmental and sustainability issues. This compares to 8 in 10 globally. Over 80 per cent of adults in the Middle East also said they are even more

mindful of their impact on the environment since COVID-19.

Social media seems to be driving an increase of environmentally conscious consumers, especially among Gen-Z, with 43pc globally seeing social media posts from influential people showcasing climate change or environmental issues since the beginning

of the pandemic. Additionally, almost a quarter (24pc) of the global respondents say that social media has made them more aware of their environmental and sustainable choices.

Over 72pc of adults in the Middle East think it’s now more important for businesses and brands to do more for the envi-

ronment, and over 25pc said they are going to stop using or buying from brands that do not have a plan to help the environment or behave sustainably. Nearly 15pc admitted that for the first time, they have boycotted companies that have not adopted sustainable values.

Among adults surveyed in the Middle East, 7 in 10 see reducing their carbon footprint more important now than pre-pandemic. Globally, 58pc of respondents have become more conscious about how their actions can impact the environment than ever before, with Gen-Z and Millennials (65pc) leading this shift.

Sunday, 25 april, 2021

10 foReign newS

lahoRe

Israel and PalestInIans clash on Gaza border as vIolence flares JERUSALEM

s

Agencies

OMe Palestinian in the Gaza Strip fired dozens of rockets into Israel on Saturday drawing retaliatory air strikes, the Israeli military said, after nightly Ramadan clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police had resumed in Jerusalem.

The pre-dawn exchange of fire broke months of relative quiet on the Israel-Gaza frontier, though it did not appear to signal a wider escalation after the military said it was not imposing any safety restrictions on Israelis living near the border.

In Jerusalem, Israeli-Palestinian tension has been higher than usual during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Protests turned violent on Thursday with scores of arrests and injuries.

The unrest resumed on Friday night, when Palestinian youths gathered outside the walled Old City and scuffled with hundreds of Israeli police in riot gear.

Palestinians pelted stones towards police firing water cannons. Others hurled rocks at

PALESTINIANS SAY POLICE HAVE TRIED TO PREVENT THEM FROM HOLDING THEIR USUAL RAMADAN EVENING GATHERINGS OUTSIDE THE OLD CITY’S DAMASCUS GATE an Israeli court building and smashed security cameras. The Palestine Red Crescent said eight Palestinians were injured.

Israeli police said the unrest later extended to a nearby Palestinian neighbourhood with Palestinians hurling fire-bombs at officers and throwing stones at Israeli vehicles and homes. Three Palestinians were arrested and four officers were injured.

In the occupied West Bank, Palestinians clashed with Israeli troops around military checkpoints near West Bank cities. Israel’s border police said it dispersed hundreds hurling stones and fire-bombs.

In Gaza, some Palestinian fired 36 rockets at Israel during the night, Israel’s military said, soon after Gaza’s rulers Hamas and other groups issued a joint call for Palestinian resistance in Jerusalem.

Indonesia navy declares lost sub sank after finding debris BANYUWANGI Agencies

Indonesia’s navy on Saturday said items were found from a missing submarine, indicating the vessel with 53 crew members had sunk and cracked open, and that there was no hope of finding survivors. Military chief Hadi Tjahjanto said the presence of an oil slick, as well as the discovery of debris near the locaation of KRI Nanggala 402′s last dive on Wednesday off the island of Bali, were clear proof the vessel had sunk. Indonesia earlier considered the vessel to be only missing. Navy Chief Yudo Margono told a press conference in Bali, “If it’s an explosion, it will be in pieces. The cracks happened gradually in some parts when it went down from 300 meters to 400 meters to 500 meters […] If there was an explosion, it would be heard by the sonar.” The navy previously said it believes the submarine sank to a depth of 600-700 meters (2,0002,300 feet), much deeper than its collapse depth of 200 meters (655 feet), at which point water pressure would be greater than the hull could withstand. The cause of the disappearance was still uncertain. The navy had previously said an electrical failure could have left the submarine unable to execute emergency procedures to resurface. Margono said that in the past two days, searchers found parts of a torpedo straightener, a grease bottle believed to be used to oil the periscope, debris from prayer rugs and a broken piece from a coolant pipe that was refitted on the submarine in South Korea in 2012. “With the authentic evidence we found believed to be from the submarine, we have now moved from the ‘sub miss’ phase to ‘sub sunk,’” Margono said at the press conference, in which the found items were displayed. Margono said rescue teams from Indonesia and other countries will evaluate the findings. He said no bodies have been found so far.

Officials previously said the submarine’s oxygen supply would have run out early Saturday. An American reconnaissance plane, a P-8 Poseidon, landed early Saturday and had been set to join the search, along with 20 Indonesian ships, a sonar-equipped Australian warship and four Indonesian aircraft.

Singaporean rescue ships were also expected Saturday, while Malaysian rescue vessels were due to arrive Sunday, bolstering the underwater hunt, officials said earlier Saturday. Family members had held out hopes for survivors but there were no signs of life from the vessel. Indonesian President Joko Widodo had ordered all-out efforts to locate the submarine and asked Indonesians to pray for the crew’s safe return. The German-built diesel-powered KRI Nanggala 402 has been in service in Indonesia since 1981 and was carrying 49 crew members and three gunners as well as its commander, the Indonesian Defense Ministry said.

Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago nation with more than 17,000 islands, has faced growing challenges to its maritime claims in recent years, including numerous incidents involving Chinese vessels near the Natuna Islands.

Israeli aircraft retaliated with strikes on Hamas rocket launchers and underground infrastructure, the military said. There were no immediate reports of casualties in Gaza or on the Israeli side of the border where most the rockets fell in open areas and six were intercepted.

The UN Middle east envoy Tor Wennesland said the United Nations was working with all parties to deescalate the situation. In a written statement he condemned the violence and called upon all sides to exercise restraint.

JERUSALEM TENSIONS: Clashes and incidents of violence have occurred almost nightly in Jerusalem since the start of Ramadan on April 13.

Palestinians say police have tried to prevent them from holding their usual Ramadan

evening gatherings outside the Old City’s Damascus Gate by erecting metal barriers in its amphitheatre-style plaza.

Israelis have been angered by videos on social media showing Palestinian youth striking or otherwise assaulting religious Jews in the city.

Brazil’s Bolsonaro says military would follow his orders to take the streets

Covid-19 patients die on trolleys outside Delhi hospital NEW DELHI Agencies

Straining against his weight, Shayam Narayan’s brothers haul him from a rickshaw onto a hospital trolley in India’s capital New Delhi. Only a few minutes pass before they are given the news: he is already dead.

Narayan is one of the latest casualties of a second wave of the coronavirus sweeping across India. His brothers had first brought him to the hospital at 6:00 am on Friday. But they said staff deemed him well enough to return home.

Ten hours later, his condition deteriorating, they came back. But it was too late to save him.

“The system is broken,” his younger brother Raj said. Narayan, who had five children, died without being admitted to the hospital, or taken to its morgue, meaning his death is unlikely to be officially counted in the city’s rising toll.

For the second day running, the country’s overnight infection total was higher than any recorded anywhere in the world since the pandemic began last year, at 332,730. Some 2,263 died, with over 300 of those in Delhi alone — figures that are almost certainly conservative. Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, in the northeast of India’s capital, is one of many battling oxygen shortages and a lack of space. Patients die on trolleys outside, like Narayan.

The medical superintendent of the hospital was not immediately available for comment.

“Due to an exponential rise in Covid-19 cases in Delhi, all the hospitals are over-burdened,” a Delhi government spokesman said.

“In GTB Hospital, the patients are arriving via ambulances despite unavailability of beds. Despite this, the

Jerusalem is at the core of the IsraeliPalestinian conflict. Israel claims the whole city, including its eastern sector captured in a 1967 war, as its capital. Palestinians seek to make east Jerusalem the capital of a future Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza.

government is trying its best to give all patients treatment at some facility or the other.”

THREE-DAY SEARCH: The government hospital’s 400 Covid intensive care beds are also full, according to official data.

But that does not stop patients gasping for air arriving every few minutes in ambulances and autorickshaws.

Half a dozen wait for hours on trolleys for admission. Others, like Narayan, die before ever being admitted. “The staff are doing their best but there is not enough oxygen,” said Tushar Maurya, whose mother is being treated at the hospital.

After being denied entry to the ICU, a man staggers as he tries to get back into an autorickshaw. Minutes later, he returns unconscious. Loaded onto a stretcher, his arm slams against the ICU door while a guard watches on.

Another man writhes in pain in the back of an ambulance, alone, as it drives forward with the rear doors hanging open. The oxygen cylinder of a third man lying in the sun runs out, and his family rush to change it.

Footage from inside the wards seen by Reuters showed some patients sitting two to a bed and barely enough floor space for others to stand.

“They are like cattle in there,” said one man after coming outside.

Despite the lack of beds, many feel they have little choice than to turn up after being denied entry to other overburdened Covid hospitals, pleading with staff to admit their loved ones.

Currently, an online dashboard indicates just 22 ICU beds are available in Delhi out of more than 4,500.

“We have been roaming around for three days searching for a bed,” said a man who gave his name as Irfan, whose wife sat immobile on the pavement.

BRASILIA: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Friday that if he were to order the military to take the streets and restore order, “the order will be followed,” raising fresh questions about his politicization of the armed forces. Speaking during a TV interview, Bolsonaro said he would not “go into details into what I’m preparing.”

But he said that “if we were to have problems, we have a plan of how to enter the field […] our armed forces could one day go into the streets.” The comments by Bolsonaro, a far-right former army captain who has long praised Brazil’s two-decade military dictatorship, will do little to assuage critics who fret about his politicisation of the military. Others worry about his commitment to a peaceful handover of power in the event of a tight result in next year’s presidential election. Pressure has grown on the president as Brazil’s coronavirus pandemic has spiraled out of control. He has faced widespread criticism for his handling of the outbreak in Brazil, which has the world’s second-highest coronavirus death toll after the United States. Last month, Bolsonaro put his former chief of staff in charge of the Defense Ministry and swapped all three commanders of the armed forces as part of a cabinet reshuffle that was met with shock from senior military officers. Since his 2018 election victory, Bolsonaro has made baseless allegations of voter fraud in Brazil, which critics say could lay the groundwork to challenge upcoming elections in the same vein as his political idol, former US President Donald Trump. Agencies

Results of Russian sanctions ‘pretty close’ to hopes so far: US official WASHINGTON Agencies

The US sanctions imposed last week on Russia generated results that were “pretty close” to Washington’s hopes, a senior Biden administration official said on Friday, as tensions appeared to ease between the countries over Ukraine.

“Our intention was to act in a proportionate manner, and to be targeted in our approach, and to signal that we had the capacity to impose far greater costs if Russia continued or escalated its behavior,” said Daleep Singh, a top White House international economic aide, in an interview.

“The results so far have been pretty close to what we had hoped for.”

Russia’s defense ministry said on Friday it had begun returning military units from annexed Crimea to their permanent bases following a build-up of tens

of thousands of troops near Ukraine’s border that had raised concerns about the risk of war.

Last week, US President Joe Biden’s team imposed broad sanctions on Russia to punish Moscow for bullying Ukraine as well as interfering in last year’s US election, cyber hacking and other alleged actions. Biden approved provisions that would let officials easily expand the sanctions on any area of the Russian economy in response to future provocations.

But Biden stressed at the time that he had no desire to escalate tensions. He also signaled retaliation was forthcoming in a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin two days before imposing the sanctions.

The measures were one part of a broader strategy by the US administration to thaw relations with Moscow, which had deteriorated since Biden took office in January.

“They’re just a tool that can advance a strategy by, in this case, creating leverage for a diplomatic

process,” said Singh. “In the case of Russia, the goal of that process is for a more stable and predictable relationship.” Russia responded by asking 10 U.S diplomats to leave the country and suggested the US ambassador return home for consultations, but they left the door open for further dialogue and a possible Biden-Putin summit.

The Kremlin has denied US allegations that it meddled in American elections, orchestrated a cyber hack that used US tech company SolarWinds Corp. to penetrate US government networks, and used a nerve agent to poison Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

The White House has closely been watching the treatment of Navalny, an opposition politician who was jailed for 2-1/2 years in February for parole violations that he and his supporters said were fabricated.

On Friday, Navalny said he would start ending a hunger strike after getting medical care. His worsening health in Russian custody had raised alarm in the West.

Sunday, 25 April, 2021

SPORTS 11

LAHORE real madrid president insists european super league will return MADRID

srI lanka's karunaraTne scores double cenTury agaInsT bangladesh

AGENCIES

PALLEKELE

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez says the 12 clubs who were to found the European Super League cannot abandon it due to binding contracts, and he promised the project would return after a period of reflection. Perez was one of the leading figures in the breakaway competition, which was unveiled last Sunday only to fall apart within days when all six English clubs involved withdrew and others followed.

But Perez, whose club is one of three teams along with Barcelona and Juventus yet to abandon the project, said it was not so simple for clubs to leave. "I don't need to explain what a binding contract is but effectively, the clubs cannot leave," Perez told Spanish newspaper AS on Saturday. "Some of them, due to pressure, have said they're leaving. But this project, or one very similar, will move forward and I hope very soon." The Super League was dealt another blow on Friday when JPMorgan, who had provided a 3.5 billion euro ($4.2 billion) grant to the founding clubs, said it had "misjudged how the deal would be viewed". Perez, however, said the bank was still on board. "It's not true they've withdrawn. They have taken some time for reflection, just like the 12 clubs.

If we need to make changes we will but the Super League is the best project we've thought of," he added. "The partnership still exists as do the members who comprise the Super League. What we have done is taken a few weeks to reflect in light of the fury of certain people who don't want to lose their privileges and have manipulated the project." Devised in secret among club bosses and financiers, the project has effectively imploded, however, after a ferocious backlash from fans, pundits and politicians. Perez reiterated the need for the new competition to boost clubs struggling to cope with losses from the COVID19 pandemic, adding that the 12 Super League clubs had lost a combined 650 million euros last year and stood to lose up to 2.5 billion euros this year. He was also not convinced by UEFA's next reform of the Champions League, which will see the competition expanded to 36 teams from 2024.

shoaib akhtar requests fans to donate, raise funds for India

NEWS DESK Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has made an appeal to his fans in Pakistan to come forward and help India in tackling the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

India on Saturday recorded 3,46,786 new COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day spike since the pandemic broke out last year. According to the official data issued by the government, the country recorded 2,624 new deaths due to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours. "It is impossible for any government to tackle the ongoing crisis. I appeal to my government and fans, to help India. India does need a lot of oxygen tanks. I request everyone to donate and raise funds for India and deliver oxygen tanks to them," Akhtar said in a video on his YouTube channel. The former Pakistan pacer also expressed solidarity with citizens of India and said "we must become each other's support" in these testing times amid the pandemic. "India is really struggling with Covid-19. Global support needed.

Health care system is crashing. Its a Pandemic, we are all in it together. Must become each other's support," Akhtar tweeted.

T

AGENCIES

he first Test match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka is heading for a high-scoring draw after the hosts finished on 512 for three in reply to Bangladesh’s 541 all out on day four on Saturday.

Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne posted a maiden double hundred and was well backed up by Dhananjaya de Silva, who was unbeaten on 154 as play was called off early on due to bad light. Play will resume early Sunday (today) after 22 overs were not bowled on day four.

Karunaratne and De Silva were involved in a 322run partnership for the fourth wicket on a wicketless day dominated by the Sri Lankans.

Sri Lanka began the day trailing Bangladesh by 312 runs and by stumps they had reduced the lead to just 29 runs. Karunaratne has batted through the Sri Lankan innings with his marathon lasting 11 hours. He has been on the field on all four days now — a total of 1,443 minutes. Karunaratne, who turned 33 on the first day of the match, was slow off the blocks and survived some nervous moments. When he was on 98, Bangladesh reviewed after a leg before wicket appeal was turned down. Soon he reached three figures by flicking Taskin Ahmed to mid-wicket for two. It was his 11th test hundred.

The left-hander was in full flow after the milestone, coming down the track and lofting the spinners and at one point he even reverse paddled Taijul Islam to the vacant third man region for four.

De Silva, meanwhile, was hardly troubled as he hit some cracking shots. With good use of feet against spin,

he didn’t allow Taijul or off-spinner Mehidy Hasan to settle down and Bangladesh failed to stop the boundaries. After lunch, Sri Lanka went past the follow on score of 341 and cut loose from there.

De Silva went on to compile his seventh test hundred and was unbeaten on 154, having batted for over six hours and facing 278 balls with 20 fours.

The thick grass cover on the pitch at the start was misleading and although both teams packed their sides with seamers, eventually it was up to the spin bowlers to do the containing job. Despite the grass cover, there was hardly any bounce on the wicket and it turned out to be a batting paradise.

After four days, just 10 wickets have fallen in the game and the pitch has come under the microscope.

“The margin of error is very small for bowlers,” Bangladesh seamer Taskin Ahmed said. “We are trying to find out ways to bowl better on such wickets. We have to accept the conditions, weather and wicket. It is not in our control. We can't do much when there's no help from the wicket. I am instead more focused on the process, trying to bowl consistently according to the field.” Sri Lanka coach Mickey Arthur applauded the efforts of his batsmen.

“Dimuth is a little bit fatigued, but it’s a nice fatigue," Arthur said. "He’ll be stiff in the morning, but he can resume tomorrow and who knows where he gets to. The initial goal this morning was to have parity by the end of play today. We’re in a really good position.

“We scored at a good rate,” he continued. “The partnership was good this morning. They absorbed the new ball spells well, and then scored quite freely.

They've run well between the wickets and I've loved the intensity.”

Djokovic hopes Covid-19 vaccination will not be compulsory BELGRADE AGENCIES

World number one Novak Djokovic said Friday he hoped it would not become compulsory for players to be vaccinated against coronavirus and insisted any decision he makes on whether or not to take the vaccine will remain private.

"I am still a supporter of freedom of choice," Djokovic said after reaching the semi-finals of the ATP tournament in Belgrade. It was in the Serbian capital last summer where Djokovic, as well as a number of other players, tested positive for Covid-19 after organising a controversial exhibition event. On whether or not he will be vaccinated to guarantee entry to tournaments, 33-year-old Djokovic refused to commit himself.

"I will keep my decision to myself, I think it's a private, intimate thing. I do not want to be labelled as someone who is for or against vaccination," added Djokovic who has expressed his reservations in the past. "I hope it does not become compulsory."

On court, Djokovic stayed on course for a third Belgrade title with a comfortable 6-1, 6-3 quarter-final win over compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic.

Djokovic, the 2009 and 2011 champion at the event which is played at a venue which carries his name, will face Russia's Aslan Karatsev for a place in the final. In their first meeting, Djokovic broke his 21-year-old opponent's first service game and repeated the feat for a 5-1 lead in the opener. His only blip was when he was broken as he served for the match at 5-2 in the second set.

However, it was a brief respite for world number 47 Kecmanovic who handed back the break in the next game allowing the top seed to complete a 75minute win. "I think personally I'm feeling very well on court, moving well, hitting the ball well and, of course, enjoying the home court advantage," Djokovic said. "So I'm really excited to go out in the semi-finals on the court again tomorrow."

Djokovic, who captured an 18th Grand Slam title in Australia in February, opened his clay court campaign in Monaco last week where he suffered a surprise last-16 loss to Britain's Dan Evans. On Saturday, he will face Russian third seed Karatsev who put out Gianluca Mager of Italy 6-3, 6-4. Djokovic ended Karatsev's stunning run at the Australian Open in the semi-finals in February where the Russian, then ranked at 114, came through qualifying.

Tendulkar To donaTe blood for plasma Therapy MUMBAI: On the occasion of his 48th birthday, cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, who has just recovered from Covid-19 due to which he was hospitalised last month, will donate his blood for plasma therapy, and has urged those who have recovered from the deadly infection to do the same. In a video he tweeted for his millions of fans on Saturday, the retired batting maestro said: "I want to give a message which the doctors have asked me to give. Last year, I inaugurated a plasma donation centre. The doctors have given me a message that if plasma is given at the right time, then the patients can recover faster. I myself, when permissible, am going to donate (plasma). I've spoken to my doctors. Those of you who've recovered from Covid-19, please consult your doctor, and when permissible, please donate your blood. This will solve a lot of problems. We know how much we, our family members and friends are troubled till we recover. So, I urge you to please donate your blood and help your fellow Indians. A big, big thank you for all your good wishes and prayers." Recalling his ordeal while suffering from Covid last month, Tendulkar said: "Thank you so much for your birthday wishes! It's truly made my day. Last month was tough for me. I tested positive and had to be isolated for 21 days. Your, my family and friends' prayers and good wishes, and last but not the least, the doctors and their entire staff, kept me in a positive frame of mind and helped me recover. A big thank you to all of you." AGENCIES

pirlo says Juventus do not fear european ban after super league collapse LONDON AGENCIES

Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo says there is a positive atmosphere at the club despite the quick collapse of the planned Super League and insists he has no concerns about the threat of a Champions League ban. The Italian champions were one of 12 clubs to join the breakaway league on Sunday, but it fell apart within three days as eight clubs withdrew following a fierce public backlash. Juve chairman Andrea Agnelli was one of the masterminds behind the project and has since faced calls to resign, but Pirlo insists the mood in the camp is good. "Agnelli is calm, it is normal that he has been talked about a lot during this period. He brings great enthusiasm every day when he comes to the pitch and we are relaxed," Pirlo told a news conference. "The atmosphere is positive, that of a team that wants to finish the season well." UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin warned that the 12 clubs involved in the Super League "will have to suffer the consequences for their actions," but Pirlo said he did not fear a potential Champions League ban. "We are not afraid of this, we are calm and focused on what we must do. We are calm about what UEFA will decide," he said. A top-four finish required for Champions League qualification is by no means guaranteed for Pirlo's side, however. They sit fourth in the Serie A table ahead of their league game against 13th-placed Fiorentina on Sunday. The Old Lady suffered their first league defeat of the season against Fiorentina in December with a shock 3-0 defeat in Turin, which came after Juan Cuadrado's 18th-minute red card. "We have a single objective in mind, which is to qualify for the Champions League," said Pirlo. "We are facing a team that is fighting to stay up, but we are keeping in mind the last time we played them, which was our first defeat, with almost the whole game down to 10 men. "We have a great spirit of revenge against a team that is a historic rival. It will be a good match and we are hoping to get a result."

AFC Champions League: FC Goa thrashed by Persepolis FC in return leg MARGAO AGENCIES

Starting with as many as eight fresh faces, FC Goa were thrashed 4-0 by Iranian champions Persepolis FC in their return-leg AFC Champions League Group E match.

Shahriar Moghanlou (24th minute), Mehadi Torabi (43rd), Issa Alkasir (47th) and Kamal Kamyabinia (58th) scored for the winners in a completely one-sided match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

Playing three matches in a week prior to

this game forced FC coach Juan Ferrando to make wholesale changes to the starting XI, but the move hampered the team's prospects as it looked clueless at the face of the fancied Iranian club's attacking prowess.

Three of the four goals conceded by the home team came because of errors by its players, especially goalkeeper Naveen Kumar, who was played in order to give first-choice Dheeraj Singh a breather after his excellent performance in the three previous outings.

Naveen was at fault as far as the first two

goals were concerned while defender Mohamed Ali was guilty for the fourth one.

Persepolis FC, runners-up in the last edition of the elite club competition, dominated possession and FC Goa could hardly trouble the opposition goalkeeper, reflecting their struggles in the fourth outing of their maiden season in the tournament.

Goa survived early on with Persepolis not getting their deliveries forward after scoring twice through set-pieces in the previous game against the same opponents -- a penalty and a corner.

CMYK

However, Moghanlou broke the deadlock when he unleashed his left-footed past a hapless Naveen at the post.

Just before half time, Torabi made it 2-0 when he converted from the spot after Naveen, unable to claim the ball off a Ali Shojaei cross from the left, brought down Alkasir inside the box.

Persepolis were off to a great start after the break as Alkasir, after being released by MoghanlouIss, scored without much fuss.

Thanks to reckless defending by Ali, Kamyabinia inflicted more misery on

Goa as he scored the visitors' fourth goal of the match.

Ivan Gonzalez captained FC Goa in the absence of suspended Edu Bedia.

After playing out 0-0 draws against Al Rayyan of Qatar and Al Wahda of the UAE, FC Goa lost to Persepolis 1-2 in the first leg.

The result saw Persepolis, with 12 points from four games, extending their 100 percent win record while Goa suffered their second consecutive defeat after the 12 loss to Yahya Golmohammadi's side on Tuesday.

Sunday, 25 April, 2021

pRayeR tImINGS

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FAJR SUNRISE

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IndIa's daIly CovId death toll hIts new reCord as shortages bIte NEW DELHI

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aGeNCIeS

NDIA'S daily coronavirus death toll passed a new record on Saturday as the government battled to get oxygen supplies to hospitals overwhelmed by the hundreds of thousands of new daily cases.

Queues of Covid-19 patients and their fearful relatives are building up outside hospitals in major cities across India, the new world pandemic hotspot which has now reported nearly one million new cases in three days.

Another 2,624 deaths, a new daily record, were reported in 24 hours, taking the official toll to nearly 190,000 since the pandemic started.

More than 340,000 new cases were also reported, taking India's total to 16.5 million, second only to the United States.

But many experts are predicting the current wave will not peak for at least three weeks and that the real death and case numbers are much higher.

Stung by criticism of its lack of preparation ahead of the wave of infections, the central government has or-

ganised special trains to get oxygen supplies to the worst-hit cities.

It has also pressed industrialists to increase production of oxygen and other life-saving drugs in short supply.

One 'oxygen express' carrying 30,000 litres for hospitals arrived in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh state at dawn on Saturday, where armed guards were waiting to escort trucks to hospitals.

Lucknow has been one of the worst-hit cities, with hospitals and crematoriums inundated with patients and bodies, and officials said the liquid oxygen would only be enough for half a day's needs.

The Indian air force is also being used to transport oxygen tankers and other supplies around the country.

In New Delhi, the city's government said it would begin setting up buffer stocks of oxygen to speed supplies to hospitals when they are within hours of running out.

Many patients are dying outside hospitals in the capital because of the lack of beds and oxygen.

One charity has set up an overflow crematorium in a car park, with makeshift funeral pyres built to deal with the mounting deaths.

three middle east states impose curbs on arrivals from pakistan

Imran expresses solIdarIty wIth IndIa ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

While India is in the grip of a rampaging second peak of the pandemic and its hospitals begging for oxygen supplies, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday came forward expressing solidarity and offering prayers to the neighbour.

“I want to express our solidarity with the people of India as they battle a dangerous wave of Covid-19,” the prime minister said in a tweet. India has been registering a record number of coronavirus cases and deaths. On Saturday alone, the infections rose by 346,786 overnight, setting a new world record for the third consecutive day.

The country is hitting a rate of one Covid19 death in just under every four minutes in New Delhi as the capital’s underfunded and fragile health system buckles.

“Our prayers for a speedy recovery go to all those suffering from the pandemic in our neighbourhood & the world,” Imran said. “We must fight this global challenge confronting

humanity together.”

His tweet follows a letter sent by the Edhi Foundation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi offering to send ambulances and medical staff to help India.

“We sympathise with you greatly and during this strenuous time, we would like to extend our help in the form of a fleet of 50 ambulances along with our services to assist you in addressing, and further circumventing, the current health conditions,” the letter — written by Faisal Edhi, the managing trustee of the charity — read.

However, there was no immediate response from the Indian government that may be reluctant to receive help from Islamabad under pressure from its hardline, anti-Pakistan political base.

India has requested various countries — including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Singapore and Saudi Arabia — to procure containers and oxygen cylinders to meet the growing domestic demand, India Today reported, quoting sources.

Today, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood

Qureshi too expressed his “heartfelt sympathies”. “We express our support to the people of India in the wake of the current wave of Covid-19 infections, that has hit our region hard,” he tweeted. “On behalf of the people of Pakistan, I extend our heartfelt sympathies to the affected families in India.”

Qureshi observed the pandemic was a reminder that “humanitarian issues require responses beyond political consideration”, and said Pakistan continued to work with the SAARC organisation to increase cooperation to tackle the contagion disease.

Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari said it was “painful” to see the suffering of Indian people as they grappled with the pandemic and oxygen shortages to treat coronavirus-positive patients.

“We are all in this struggle to stem massive surge of deadly third wave. Unfortunate that many in West have sought to only seal their borders rather than help,” she said, referring to countries including the Britain and Canada that have temporarily suspended air travel from India.

Mission following acid attack on Pakistani-American student in New York: FO ISLAMABAD

ISLAMABAD

Staff RepoRt

tLtp

Three more countries, including Bahrain, Iran and Saudi Arabia, have imposed travel restrictions on Pakistan, India and Bangladesh amid the growing number of Covid-19 cases. According to details, Bahrain has introduced new health measures for passengers arriving in the kingdom from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The Bahraini National Medical Team tackling Covid-19 said it has updated procedures for passengers coming from the three countries or transiting them. Starting from Tuesday, April 27, all travellers arriving in Bahrain from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh will have to show a certificate proving results of coronavirus-detecting PCR testing with the QR code, done 48 hours before departure from the three countries.

Around 450,000 to 500,000 Indians and 120,000 Pakistanis are living in Bahrain. There are about 150,000 Bangladeshis in Bahrain, according to a Bangladeshi embassy estimate.The new measure applies to those arrivals in addition to previously announced procedures implemented for all passengers landing at the Bahrain International Airport, the team added. Meanwhile, due to the outburst of the mutated coronavirus in India and Pakistan, Iran will stop flights from and to these countries as of Sunday. Iran Civil Aviation Authority Spokesman Mohammad Hassan Zibakhsh made the announcement on Saturday. He noted that all routine flights between Iran and India or Pakistan have been cancelled and a limited number of flights are being done currently but due to the spread of the mutated virus, Iran will ban all and every flight to and from India and Pakistan as of Sunday. "There are now flight restrictions to 41 countries," he said. In a letter on Saturday to Rahmani Fazli, interior minister and head of the commander of the operating room of Iran's coronavirus taskforce, Iranian Minister of Health Saeed Namaki asked authorities to stop travels to and from India due to concerns over coronavirus outbreak. He wrote, “Due to the very dangerous mutation of the Covid-19 virus in India, it is necessary to stop the transfer of passengers both directly and indirectly from India.” Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Saturday imposed a travel ban on various countries including Pakistan and India amid the growing number of Covid-19 cases. The kingdom also implemented the ban on the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Indonesia whereas Saudi’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) issued a notification imposing a temporary travel ban on European Union (EU) countries and Switzerland. Saudi residents have been given 72 hours to return to KSA. On Friday last, Canada's government had said it would temporarily bar passenger flights from India and Pakistan for 30 days as part of stricter measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

PAKISTAN ASKED CANADA TO RECONSIDER BAN: Meanwhile, Pakistan on Saturday asked the Canadian government to reconsider its decision of suspending all passenger flights from Islamabad for 30 days. In a letter to Canadian Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra, Pakistan High Commissioner to Canada Raza Bashir Tarar drew attention to the fact that Pakistan, like all other countries, has been facing the pandemic but it has managed it well due to its strategy of smart lockdowns. He assured the minister that Pakistan’s testing mechanism is very robust and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) only accepts results from the best laboratories and matches them with barcodes on every result sheet.

The Foreign Office said on Saturday Islamabad will continue to follow the development of the incident of an acid attack on a Pakistan-American student in the state of New York.

Nafiah Ikram, 21, was assaulted on March 17 by a man who doused her with acid on her own driveway, leaving her severely burned and nearly blind.

This week, the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a leading civil rights group, called for the attack to be investigated as a hate crime, New York Times reported.

In response to media queries on the attack, Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said the Consul General of Pakistan in New York is in contact with the family and has offered every possible help.

Chaudhri said Ikram is an American citizen of Pakistan origin and is residing along with her parents in Elmont, a diverse suburb some 15 miles east of Manhattan. “The local police department has deputed a 12-member team to investigate the incident. We should wait for the completion of the investigations to ascertain the nature of the crime and the motive behind it,” he said.

Part of the encounter was captured on a surveillance video, and the police are offering a $10,000 reward for further information leading to the arrest of the attacker or anyone else involved.

But in response to questions about the investigation, the police did not provide further information beyond a weeks-old statement describing the at-

tack and the suspect, who they said was wearing gloves and a black sweatshirt, The Times said.

Chaudhri further said the Pakistan embassy in Washington and the Consulate General in New York will continue to follow the developments and will provide every possible assistance to the family.

Pakistan Army springs into action to enforce Covid-19 SOPs NEWS DESK The Pakistan Army personnel visited several areas and markets in the federal capital along with the local administration to check the implementation of coronavirus SOPs. Assistant Commissioner Rana Musa Tahir visited different commercial areas with army and police per-

sonnel and took action against the violators.

The district administration, in a statement, said 1,997 inspections were carried out, while 28 shops and one restaurant were sealed for violating coronavirus SOPs. Nine people were arrested for hoarding and violation of SOPs, the administration said, adding that fines

worth Rs226,000 were imposed for not abiding by safety protocols.

The army and district administration officials also inspected 85 mosques, said the statement. Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan had sought Pakistan Army’s help in curbing the virus's spread.

Briefing the media after chairing a meeting of the National Coordina-

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

tion Committee (NCC) on Covid-19, the premier had said that if the SOPs are not followed, the government will be compelled to impose a lockdown.

“People are telling me to impose a lockdown today, but we are not going to do so because, and I keep repeating this, daily wagers and labourers will suffer the most.”

“The situation in India is worsening as people are not getting enough oxygen. Pakistan could also face a similar situation if the SOPs are not followed,” the prime minister had warned. “I appeal to the public to follow the SOPs religiously. The lockdown could be avoided if people cooperate and take precautions,” he had stressed, advising the masses to put on a mask while venturing out.

“Pakistan was the only country which had kept mosques open last year during Ramazan. I was proud of the way our religious scholars and imams informed the people about precautionary measures,” he had added.