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Vaccination at snail’s pace

Failure to purchase vaccine when it was available

ON 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. Aday earlier, theArmy 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 asAllah’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.

Dirty politics

All parties playing the religion card

IT 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 NAstanding 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.

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami Arif Nizami

Little light at the end of the tunnel

Only consensual politics can heal these festering wounds

aRif Nizami

The 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 ShaukatTarin. 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 Pakistanisnowaretryingtosurvivebelowthepoverty line. Thanks to the polices of the present government andtheCOVID-19pandemic,theplightofthehapless 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 government 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 itsArmageddon 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 fauxpasbydeclaringthatheagreedwiththeobjectives 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 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,apartycreatedinthenameofethnicity had its own negative ramifications for the future. Similarly, the Tehreek e Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) is a religious party was created inAugust 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 theTLP 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 NationalAssembly 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.

Teaching to be understood

Why understanding is crucial

Rabia ahmed

ThROWN 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. “IfAllah 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 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 educateinamannerthatspeaks 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-PCRTest is, what the CTvalue in an RT-PCR test means, how the pulse oximeter works, and how to recover from corona – and he 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 DNAis, 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 otherkindsofknowledgethat are equally crucial. It will helppeopletounderstandthe 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. Rabia Ahmed is a freelance columnist. Read more by her at http://rabia-ahmed.blogspot.com

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

The historyofhumanityinevitablyboils down to a history of justice and its dispensation. There have been countless storiesofadministeringthiskeycomponentofgovernanceundertryingcircumstanceswhichhaveinspiredfaithinhumanity,but there have also been instances of its miscarriage whichhaveservedthecauseofthedevil.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

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

SIR, It is our belief as Muslims about the authenticity of what is meant about the famous quote of hazratAli Ibn Talib that “AState 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 ofAlmighty 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 ofAyub 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 onApril 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 onApril 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.

08 WORLDVIEW ‘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 theirthe weeks-long lives atfestival a hossince pital inthe firstMa-day harashtra after a leak from the mainof bathing on March 11, despite clearhos-evipitaldencoxygen tank stoppede that thousands are the flow to theirtesting positive ventilators. Multiple hospitals in India arefor the virus after attending. In the space petitioning the Highof just a few days in Courts to seek imme-mid-April, more than diate oxygen supply. If the apocalypse had1,600 cases were confirmed among devoan imatees. Inge, it wouldMarch, when bethe the hosecondspitalwaves ofwas India.already underway, state leaders from the ru Despite these inesling Bharatiya Janata capabParty le(B horJP) rors,pubmuchlishedof India rfull-pageemains in a sort of paralleladsinnationalnewspapers realitytelling whereworshCOVIippersD-it 19 iswas not“clea a thn”reat.and Tens“safeof thousands” to attend. ofThHindue Uttadevotees con-rakhand chief tinueministo show up each day forter declared on March 2a 0 dip in the, “nobody Ganwillges as partbe stopped oinf ththee Kumbh Mela pil-name of COVID-19

In Gujarat, the PrimeTImE Minister ’ s home grasimawege iaren Hasure ridwar, Uttthe faith inarakhandGod will. Mil-overstate, crematoriums are burning day and night, while the state refuses to acknowledge the high number of deaths In West Bengal, where Modi himself has been campaigning, the BJP Chief has advocated drinking cow urine to treat COVID-19 RAnA AyyuB d R Jalil Parkar, one of India’s leading pulmonologists, wears his exhaustion on his face. In between treating patients at the COVID-19 intensive care unit of Mumbai’s prestigious Lilavati Hospital, Parkar appears regularly on TV to give lions of worshippers have participated in the weeks-long festival since the first day of bathing on March 11, despite clear evidence that thousands are testing positive for the virus after attending. In the space of just a few days in mid-April, more than 1,600 cases were confirmed among devotees. In March, when the second wave was already underway, state leaders from come the fear of the virus. ” It wasn’t until mid-April that Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that participation in the pilgrimage should be kept “symbolic” to combat the pandemic. Is it any wonder that the festival has become a super-spreader event? A MORE DEADLY SECOND WAVE: I’ ve been reporting on COVID-19 in so that they are not stolen by other states. We might also ask how many deaths the government is attempting to hide. In the state of Uttar Pradesh workers were pictured covering the crematorium with tin sheets. Priyanka Gandhi, of the opposition Congress party, accused local authorities of hiding the truth. ” In Gujarat, 94 bodies were cremated in a day but government data reported only three, according to Times Now. But the more overwhelmed morgues and crematoriums become, the less able state governments are to conceal the truth or to bolster the false narrative that all is well in India. RESPONSIBILITY LIES AT THE from their high-rise windows and lighting candles to praise Modi and celebrate the success of an unplanned lockdown— while poor migrant workers lost their jobs and had to leave the cities. While the rich booked themselves in hospitals using their contacts, they rarely offered monetary help to their employees. has allowed religious events like the Kumbh Mela to go ahead, while his party continued with its dog-whistle campaigns against Indian minorities. InWest Bengal, the Modi election campaign warned Hindus of being under threat from Muslim immigrants from neighboring states, with Amit Shah accusing West Bengal’s Chief Many Indians called out the prime minister ’ s failure to take accountability. The hashtag #WeCannotBreathe is trending on Indian twitter updates on the current, devastating second wave of the pandemic that is killing thousands of Indians. He himself spent time in the ICU last year and almost died after suffering multiple COVID-complications. the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) published full-page ads in national newspapers telling worshippers it was “clean” and India since March 2020, and it’s been bad before, but what I’m witnessing in this second wave is like nothing I’ ve seen. PRI IN GUJARAT, THE ME MINISTER’S HO the Prime Minister’s home state, crematoriums are burning day and night, while the state refuses to acknowledge the high number TOP:Thisweek,asIndiareported the highest number of daily cases of anywhere in the world, the ruling Bharatiya Janata PartyME Accountability also lies with the state ministers who prefer playing power games to actually governing, and who were caught napping as the virus made a comeback. In the state of Maharashtra, as Minister of appeasing Muslim interests. The vaccine rollout became a global PR campaign for Modi’s leadership—in March, an Indo-Canadian group sponsored billboards erected in Canada thankTime RanaAyyub Dr Jalil Parkar, one of India’s leading pulmonologists, wears his exhaustion on his face. In between treating patients at the COVID-19 intensive care unit of Mumbai’s prestigious Lilavati Hospital, Parkar appears regularly on TV to give updates on the current, devastating second wave of the pandemic that is killing thousands of Indians. He himself spent time in the ICU last year and almost died after suffering multiple COVID-complications. Now, he confesses to losing his calm over what he is seeing unfold every day. “Our healthcare system has collapsed. We have let down our own people in the country, ” he says. “What can doctors do when our infrastructure is unable to take the patients, when there are no hospital beds or oxygen cylinders?” On Friday, April 23, India recorded 332,730 coronavirus cases, the highest single-day total of cases recorded globally so far. It had broken that record the day before, too. Since the pandemic began, India has confirmed more than 16 million cases and more than 186,000 deaths. India’s total confirmed COVID-19 cases to date are second to the United States overall, and its daily case and death rates are rapidly catching up with the U.S. —which means, given India’s much larger population, its raw case and death numbers will surpass the U.S. soon if the trends continue. Every day, more than 2,000 people in India are dying with COVID-19, according to official numbers—and experts believe that number is a dramatic underestimate.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. There is no escape from it; in the past week alone, I have lost four people to COVID-19—a distant relative, my next-door neighbor, and two of my closest friends, both in their mid30s. Increasingly, people are dying in plain sight. On Friday, Delhi’s leading Gangaram Hospital issued an SOS that it only had enough oxygen left for two hours and that 25 patients had already lost their lives in the hospital due to oxygen shortages. Videos show people stealing oxygen cylinders for their relatives. One devastating video from the BBC shows a woman trying to help her dying brother regain consciousness. “Bajali, why don’t you wake up?” she cries.As I was writing this, the news broke that 22 critically ill pa“safe” to attend. The Uttarakhand chief minister declared on March 20, “nobody will be stopped in the name of COVID-19 as we are sure the faith in God will overcome the fear of the virus. ” It wasn’t until mid-April that Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that participation in the pilgrimage should be kept “symbolic” to combat the pandemic. Is it any wonder that the festival has become a super-spreader event? AMORE DEADLYSECONDWAVE I’ ve been reporting on COVID-19 in India since March 2020, and it’s been bad before, but what I’m witnessing in this second wave is like nothing I’ ve seen. Healthcare workers are stretched beyond all comprehension. When I visited the state-run Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation hospital on Sunday, I saw a nurse sitting on the staircase with her head in her hands. She told me she’d been struggling with nausea. The bathrooms had not been cleaned; the workers had given up because there is only one toilet for every 20 COVID-19 patients. The nurse, who did not wish to be named, said she herself was recovering from the virus. Her request for leave had been denied three times and she wished she could resign, but her family of six depends on her. “This is hell, you tell me, is this not?” she said. “They talk of worshipping the medical fraternity but they have left us to die. ” The second wave of cases has been made more deadly by oxygen shortages in hospitals.An investigation by Indian news website Scroll.in revealed that the country ’s government waited until October 2020, eight months after the pandemic began, to invite bids for a $27 million contract to place oxygen generation systems inside more than 150 district hospitals. Six months later, most still aren’t up and running. Hospitals in the states of Haryana, Maharashtra and Gujarat have been issuing distress calls for urgent supplies of oxygen.Two patients in a Gujarat hospital died because of oxygen shortages on Wednesday. States are now feuding with each other to obtain supplies. In a recent tweet, Anil Vij, a minister from the state of Haryana accused the neighboring Delhi government of stealing oxygen canisters from a truck en route to Haryana.Vij later told the Economic Times that he had ordered police protection for oxygen trucks of deaths. The Gujarat high court has demanded the state government reveal the accurate count of COVID-19 patients and deaths. In other states, the data for COVID-19 deaths are unreliable at best, and at worst fabricated to cover up the devastation. To give just one example, in a crematorium in the state of Madhya Pradesh, 94 bodies were cremated in a day but government data reported only three, according to Times Now. But the more overwhelmed morgues and crematoriums become, the less able state governments are to conceal the truth or to bolster the false narrative that all is well in India. RESPONSIBILITY LIES AT THE TOP This week, as India reported the highest number of daily cases of anywhere in the world, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party tweeted a video of one of Modi’s political rallies. (Five states are holding elections in May.) Alongside Modi was his close confidante and home minister,Amit Shah. In theory, Shah should have been in the capital, coordinating with various state governments on how to deal with the devastating spike in COVID-19 cases over the past few weeks. Instead, Shah has been holding roadshows with thousands of joyous crowds on the streets of eastern India. He broadcasts these rallies live on his Twitter and Facebook accounts at the same time as many Indians’ social media feeds are inundated with people begging for medical help.As thousands are dying, our home minister and our Prime Minister have looked the other way to continue campaigning. (It was only after significant criticism this week that Modi finally announced on Thursday night that he would be canceling his Friday rallies in West Bengal to instead hold COVID-19 management meetings with state ministers.) Why was India caught unprepared as the second wave ravaged a cross-section of Indian society? The responsibility lies with a strongman regime that has ignored all caution. It lies with the sycophantic cabinet ministers who praised Modi for successfully dealing with COVID- 19 in India even as testing slowed down and allowed people to become more complacent about the virus. It lies with the upper-middle-class Indians who were last year banging plates numbers surged, the BJP and the ruling party, the Shiv Sena, were occupied with a face-off over control of the state government. But above all it lies with Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, who calls himself the servant of 1.3 billion Indians, yet who has criminally abdicated his responsibility. Since January, Modi has organized mass political rallies in various states and has allowed religious events like the Kumbh Mela to go ahead, while his party continued with its dog-whistle campaigns against Indian minorities. InWest Bengal, the Modi election campaign warned Hindus of being under threat from Muslim immigrants from neighboring states, with Amit Shah accusing West Bengal’s Chief Minister of appeasing Muslim interests. The vaccine rollout became a global PR campaign for Modi’s leadership—in March, an Indo-Canadian group sponsored billboards erected in Canada thanking Modi for exporting Indian-made vaccines abroad—even while many Indians were apprehensive about their efficacy and side effects. The great orator has made little effort to send out a message to the country to get the vaccine, or to dispel the myths surrounding it. In rural India, where more than 65% of Indians live, many are skeptical of the vaccine, with misinformation circulating on social media. The Prime Minister has done little to reinforce public health messaging. In West Bengal, where Modi himself has been campaigning, the BJP Chief has advocated drinking cow urine to treat COVID-19. Vijay Chauthaiwale, in charge of the BJP’s foreign affairs department, wrote a column calling economists and experts part of the “anti-Modi lobby ” and encouraging Indians not to reject traditional medicine, including cow urine and turmeric to boost the immune system. When the vaccine rollout slowed, there was no effort or coordination with the states as Modi’s cabinet indulged in a blame game with ministers from opposition parties. When states like Maharashtra, with the highest number of COVID-19 cases, shut down a majority of its vaccination centers because of a lack of vaccines, the government was not quick to step in. While epidemiologists, specialists and opposition leaders have long urged Modi to give approvals for foreign vaccines, the decision to give emergency use license to the Russian manufactured SputnikVvaccine was only taken in the second week ofApril. Now, he confesses to losing his calm over what he is seeing unfold every day. “Our healthcare system has collapsed. We have let down our own people in the country, ” he says. “What can doctors do when our infrastructure is unable to take the patients, when there are no hospital beds or oxygen cylinders?” On Friday, April 23, India recorded 332,730coronaviruscases,thehighestsingle-day total of cases recorded globally so far. It had broken that record the day before, too. Since the pandemic began, India has confirmed more than 16 million cases andmorethan186,000deaths.India’stotal confirmed COVID-19 cases to date are second to the United States overall, and its daily case and death rates are rapidly catching up with the U.S. —which means, given India’s much larger population, its raw case and death numbers will surpass the U.S. soon if the trends continue. Every day, more than 2,000 people in India are dying with COVID-19, according to official numbers—and experts believe that number is a dramatic underestimate. Three health officials who asked toremainanonymoustoldme they believe that the daily number of COVID-19 deaths in India has already crossed the 10,000 figure.There is no escape from it; in the past week alone, I have lost four people to COVID-19—a distant relative, my next-door neighbor, and two of my closest friends, both in their mid-30s. Increasingly, people are dying in plain sight. On Friday, Delhi’s leading Gangaram Hospital issued an SOS that it only had enough oxygen left for two hours and that 25 patients had already lost their lives in the hospital due to oxygen shortages. Videosshowpeoplestealingoxygencylinders for their relatives. One devastating video from the BBC shows a woman trying to help her dying brother regain consciousness. “Bajali, why don’t you wake up?” she cries. As I was writing this, the news broke that 22 critically ill patients lost their lives at a hospital in Maharashtra after a leak from the main hospital oxygen tank stopped the flow to their ventilators. Multiple hospitals in India are petitioning theHighCourtstoseekimmediateoxygen supply. If the apocalypse had an image, it would be the hospitals of India. Despite these inescapable horrors, much of India remains in a sort of parallel reality where COVID-19 is not a threat. 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, Uttarakhand. Millions of worshippers have participated in Healthcareworkers arestretchedbeyondall comprehension. When I visited the state-run NaviMumbaiMunicipal Corporation hospital on Sunday,Isawanursesitting on the staircase with her head inherhands.Shetoldmeshe’dbeen strugglingwithnausea.Thebathroomshad notbeencleaned;theworkershadgivenup becausethereisonlyonetoiletforevery20 COVID-19patients.Thenurse,whodidnot wish to be named, said she herself was recovering from the virus. Her request for leave had been denied three times and she wished she could resign, but her family of six depends on her. “This is hell, you tell me, is this not?” she said. “They talk of worshippingthemedicalfraternitybutthey have left us to die. ” The second wave of cases has been made more deadly by oxygen shortages in hospitals. An investigation by Indian news websiteScroll.inrevealedthatthecountry ’s governmentwaiteduntilOctober2020, eight months after the pandemic began, to invite bids for a $27 million contract to place oxygengenerationsystems inside more than 150 districthospitals.Sixmonths later, most still aren’t up and running. Hospitals in the states of Haryana, Maharashtra and Gujarat have been issuing distress calls for urgentsuppliesofoxygen.Twopatients in a Gujarat hospital died because of oxygen shortages onWednesday. States are now feuding with each other to obtain supplies. In a recent tweet, Anil Vij, a minister from the state of Haryana accused the neighboring Delhi government of stealing oxygen canisters from a truck en route to Haryana.Vij later told the Economic Times that he had ordered police protection for oxygen trucks so that they are not stolen by other states. We might also ask how many deaths thegovernmentisattemptingtohide.Inthe state of Uttar Pradesh workers were pictured covering the crematorium with tin sheets. Priyanka Gandhi, of the opposition Congressparty,accusedlocalauthoritiesof hidingthetruth. ”InGujarat,thePrimeMinister’s home state, crematoriums are burning day and night, while the state refuses to acknowledge the high number of deaths. The Gujarat high court has demanded the state government reveal the accurate count of COVID-19 patients and deaths. In other states, the data for COVID19 deaths are unreliable at best, and at worst fabricated to cover up the devastation. To give just one example, in a crematorium in the state of Madhya Pradesh, tweeted a video of one of Modi’s political rallies. (Five states are holding elections in May.) Alongside Modi was his close confidante and home minister, Amit Shah. In theory, Shah should have been in the capital, coordinating with various state governments on how to deal with the devastating spike in COVID-19 cases over the past few weeks. Instead, Shah has been holding roadshows with thousands of joyous crowds on the streetsofeasternIndia.Hebroadcaststhese rallies live on hisTwitter and Facebook accounts at the same time as many Indians’ social media feeds are inundated with peoplebeggingformedicalhelp.Asthousands aredying,ourhomeministerandourPrime Minister have looked the other way to continuecampaigning.(Itwasonlyaftersignificant criticism this week that Modi finally announcedonThursdaynightthathewould becancelinghisFridayralliesinWestBengaltoinsteadholdCOVID-19management meetings with state ministers.) Why was India caught unprepared as the second wave ravaged a cross-section of Indian society? The responsibility lies with a strongman regime that has ignored all caution. Itlieswiththesycophanticcabinetministers who praised Modi for successfully dealing with COVID- 19 in India even as testingsloweddownandallowedpeopleto become more complacent about the virus. It lies with the upper-middle-class Indians who were last year banging plates from their high-rise windows and lighting candles to praise Modi and celebrate the success of an unplanned lockdown— while poor migrant workers lost their jobs and had to leave the cities. While the rich booked themselves in hospitals using their contacts, they rarely offered monetary help to their employees. Accountability also lies with the state ministers who prefer playing powergamestoactually governing, and who were caught napping as the virus made a comeback. In the state of Maharashtra,asnumberssurged,the BJP and the ruling party, the Shiv Sena, were occupied with a face-off over control of the state government. But above all it lies with Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, who calls himself the servant of 1.3 billion Indians, yet who has criminally abdicated his responsibility. Since January, Modi has organized mass political rallies in various states and ing Modi for exporting Indian-made vaccines abroad—even while many Indians were apprehensive about their efficacy and side effects. The great orator has made little effort to send out a message to the country to get the vaccine, or to dispel the myths surroundingit.InruralIndia,wheremorethan 65% of Indians live, many are skeptical of the vaccine, with misinformation circulating on social media. The Prime Minister has done little to reinforce public health messaging. In West Bengal, where Modi himself has been campaigning, the BJP Chief has advocated drinking cow urine to treat COVID-19. Vijay Chauthaiwale, in charge of the BJP’s foreign affairs department, wrote a column calling economists and experts part of the “anti-Modi lobby ” and encouraging Indians not to reject traditionalmedicine,includingcowurineand turmeric to boost the immune system. When the vaccine rollout slowed, there was no effort or coordination with the states as Modi’s cabinet indulged in a blame game with ministers from opposition parties.When states like Maharashtra, with the highest number of COVID-19 cases, shut down a majority of its vaccination centers because of a lack of vaccines, the government was not quick to step in.While epidemiologists, specialists and opposition leaders have long urged Modi to give approvals for foreign vaccines, the decision to give emergency use license to the Russian manufactured Sputnik V vaccine was only taken in the second week ofApril. This is a moment when the country needs answers. Yet on April 20, when Modi finally addressed the nation about the growing crisis, he warned states that a lockdown should be considered a last resort, and called on young people to form committees to ensure COVID-19 protocols are being followed. On the festival of Ram Navami, he tweeted that people should follow the message of Lord Ram, the Hindu deity for protection, and follow “appropriate behavior. ” The address to the nation received a lukewarm response as the Prime Minister offered no immediate relief to the country. Many Indians calledouttheprimeminister’sfailuretotake accountability. The hashtag #WeCannotBreatheistrendingonIndiantwitter.Atthis critical juncture in its history, Indians have been left to fend for ourselves. Ayyub is an Indian journalist and the author of Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover Up. STATE, CREMATORIUMS ARE BURNING DAY AND NIGHT, WHILE THE STATE REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE HIGH NUMBER OF DEATHS IN WEST BENGAL, WHERE MODI HIMSELF HAS BEEN CAMPAIGNING, THE BJP CHIEF HAS ADVOCATED DRINKING COW URINE TO TREAT COVID-19 MANY INDIANS CALLED OUT THE PRIME MINISTER’S FAILURE TO TAKE ACCOUNTABILITY. THE HASHTAG #WECANNOTBREATHE IS TRENDING ON INDIAN TWITTER

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.Asimilar 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.

CORPORATE CORNER

BOP, National Incubation Centre collaborate to support young tech entrepreneurs PM thaNks exPats FOr reMIttINg $1BN thrOugh rOshaN DIgItal aCCOuNt

ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

PRIME Minister Imran Khan took toTwitter 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 onApril 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 HeadAsad Zia, NIC Project Director OmarAbedin and NIC Program Manager SyedAzfar 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

NEWSDESK

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 906ATMs 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 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 environment, 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.

Israel and PalestInIans clash on Gaza border as vIolence flares

JERUSALEM

Agencies

sOMe 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 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.

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 envoyTorWennesland 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 onApril 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.

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.

PALESTINIANS SAY POLICE HAVE TRIED TO PREVENT THEM FROM HOLDING THEIR USUAL RAMADAN EVENING GATHERINGS OUTSIDE THE OLD CITY’S DAMASCUS GATE

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.

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 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.

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

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 TVinterview, 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 DonaldTrump. 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.

ButBidenstressedatthetimethathehadnodesire to escalate tensions. He also signaled retaliation was forthcoming in a call with Russian PresidentVladimir 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 inAmerican 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 criticAlexei 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 violationsthatheandhissupporterssaidwerefabricated. OnFriday,Navalnysaidhewouldstartendingahunger strike after getting medical care. His worsening health in Russian custody had raised alarm in the West.

real madrid president insists european super league will return

MADRID

AGENCIES

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 newspaperAS 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 ShoaibAkhtar 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.

srIlanka'skarunaraTnescores doublecenTuryagaInsTbangladesh

PALLEKELE

AGENCIES

The 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 seamerTaskinAhmed 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. ”

DjokovichopesCovid-19 vaccinationwillnotbecompulsory

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 capitallastsummerwhereDjokovic,aswellasanumber of other players, tested positive for Covid-19 after organising a controversial exhibition event. On whetherornothewillbevaccinatedtoguaranteeentry totournaments,33-year-oldDjokovicrefusedtocommit 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 theAustralian 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.Abig, 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.Abig 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 MohamedAli 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. 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 andAl 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.

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

NEW DELHI

aGeNCIeS

INDIA'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 organised 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.

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 SaudiArabia — 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.

three middle east states impose curbs on arrivals from pakistan

ISLAMABAD

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.

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

ISLAMABAD

Staff RepoRt

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 NewYork chapter of the Council onAmerican-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 attack 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 MusaTahir visited different commercial areas with army and police personnel 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 Coordination 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.