Epaper – April 4 KHI 2021

4 April, 2021 I 20 Shaban, 1442 I Rs 25.00 I Vol XI No 276 I 32 Pages I Karachi Edition

Imran ‘puzzled at cacophony’ over pakIstan’s exclusIon from global clImate summIt ISLAMABAD

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staff report

PPARENtLy irked over not being invited by longtime aide US to an upcoming meeting on the climate crisis, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday expressed surprise at the decision in no uncertain terms, questioning the commitment of the global community to the cause.

“I am puzzled at the cacophony over Pak[istan] not being invited to a climate change conf[erence],” he said in a series of tweets. the Pakistan tehreek-e-Insaf (PtI) government’s “environment policies are driven solely by our commitment to our future generations of a clean [and] green Pakistan to mitigate” the drastic impacts of the climate change, the

prime minister observed.

From 2013 onwards, when PtI came to power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, his government has taken several initiatives to tackle the threat to the environment,

including “Green Pak[istan], 10[billion]tree tsunami, nature based solutions and cleaning up our rivers”.

In the last seven years of continuous governance, “we have gained vast ex-

Opposition parties should keep issues aside, oppose government: Bilawal KHAIRPUR staff report

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Saturday said that the opposition parties should keep differences aside and fight together against the incumbent government.

Addressing a press conference in Khairpur, Bilawal said, “Opposition should keep differences aside and focus on opposing the government. PPP is working on this since the first day and the opposition’s focus should be on the government.”

“I know that it is the propaganda and effort of some parties to present the PPP in such a way that we did some deal [with the establishment]. But you know our history. We don’t do this kind of politics, and I think that we should not blame each other.”

He further said, “PDM chief

Maulana Fazlur Rehman has a very important responsibility to keep his allies together and he does not take side of one party.

I know that Maulana is a very senior politician as he has experience and he won’t allow small differences in opinions of parties to deal damage to his alliance.”

“We are happy when PML-N wins any by-election so PML-N

should also be happy on PPP’s success and we shouldn’t deal damage to such a grand purpose for which we’ve collected because of small jealousies.”

Bilawal also said his party would talk and engage with whoever the PML-N nominates to be its leader and it does not want to be involved in any fight.

He said the PML-N held important positions of leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and the Punjab Assembly so a contact would need to be maintained with them while engaging in parliamentary politics.

PPP DELAYS CENTRAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING: Meanwhile, the PPP postponed its Central Executive Committee’s (CEC) meeting, scheduled for April 5, as both the upper and the lower house of the Parliament would be in session on that day.

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perience […] beg with KP, [and] our policies are being recognised [and] lauded” worldwide, he said.

Imran said he has “already laid out priorities for the UN Climate Change Conference 2021 – COP26″ but wondered if the “international community is serious about countering [the] impact of climate change”.

His tweets come days after US climate envoy John Kerry announced to hold talks with leaders of India, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bangladesh during an Asian tour from April 1 to 9 in an effort to narrow differences on climate change goals to slow global warming.

However, conspicuously absent from his schedule was a stopover in Pakistan, one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate challenges, or talks with the government that has since coming to office in August 2018 has un-

veiled a wide-ranging plan to change practices and cut emissions that drive climate change. the schedule was announced days after US President Joe Biden invited 40 world leaders to a two-day Leaders Summit on Climate “to galvanise efforts by the major economies to tackle the climate crisis” but skipped Pakistan, raising eyebrows. the virtual summit, which follows Washington’s return to the 2016 Paris agreement, is slated to be held on April 22 and April 23.

Responding to the snub, the Foreign Office said: “Climate change is one of the defining challenges of our times that can only be countered through inclusive, cooperative and forward-looking policies. Pakistan remains fully committed to play its due role in this fight.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

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Sunday, 4 April, 2021

KARACHI

NEWS

CoronaviruS killS 84, infECtS 4,723 in a Day: nCoC CANSINO VACCINE ADMINISTRATION SET TO COMMENCE FROM MONDAY ISLAMABAD

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STaff RePoRT

AKISTAN has recorded 4,723 new coronavirus cases during the last 24 hours, bringing the nationwide tally of cases to 682,888.

According to the latest statistics shared by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Saturday, the Covid-19 has claimed 84 more lives during the aforementioned period, bringing the nationwide tally of deaths due to Covid-19 to 14,697.

The number of active cases stands at 58,500 and the positivity rate has reached 9.41 per cent. A total of 50,186 tests were conducted on Friday, out of which 9,050 were in Sindh, 23,029 were in Punjab, 8,239 were in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 7,491 were in ICT, 1,158 were in Balochistan. Gilgit-Baltistan conducted 346 tests while AJK conducted 875.

The country has recorded 609,691 recoveries across till date.

At least 84 people lost their lives during the past 24 hours, out of which eight patients were on ventilator support.

Province-wise, most deaths occurred in Punjab followed by KP. The province-wise breakdown of the total fatalities is as follows: 4,506 people died in Sindh while 6,523 died in Punjab.

2,417 died in KP and 574 died in ICT. Balochistan witnessed 211 deaths while 363 were recorded in AJK. Four cities with the highest ventilator occupancy are Multan at 70 per cent, Lahore at 65 per cent, Gujranwala at 60 per cent, and Islamabad at 56 per cent. The total number of ventilators occupied in the country is 393.

At least 205 fresh Covid-19 cases emerged in Sindh overnight, taking the tally to 266,377. Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said that three more patients succumbed to the deadly disease as the fatalities reached 4,509 in the province. He also said that 163 patients recuperated during the last 24 hours, lifting the total to 256,642.

Punjab reported at least 2,403 new coronavirus cases during the past 24 hours, taking the tally to 228,356.

According to health officials, 38 more patients succumbed to the deadly virus as the death toll surged to 6,523.

They further said that 192,452 patients have recovered from the disease in the province so far.

Meanwhile, the NCOC was apprsed on Saturday by the authorities concerned that single-dose CanSino Covid-19 vaccine administration would commence from April 5 in all

ECP prepares to ensure transparent by-polls in Daska

provinces.

A morning session of NCOC was presided by Federal Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar via video link and co-chaired by NCOC National Coordinator Lieutenant General Hamood Uz Zaman Khan.

The forum was informed that keeping in view the increasing Covid-19 disease spread, 594 more oxygen beds have been added to dedicated Covid-19 health facilities with special focus on Swat and Peshawar.

“All Covid-19 vaccination centres must ensure to facilitate above 65 years age individuals who already have been allowed walk-in vaccination facility,” the NCOC emphasised.

Ramazan to begin on April 14: science ministry ISLAMABAD STaff RePoRT

The holy month of Ramazan will begin in Pakistan on April 14 with the moon visible the night before in major cities, the Ministry of Science and Technology announced Saturday.

“The moon of Ramazan, 1442 AH will be sighted on the evening of April 13, 2021 and the first Ramazan will by on the 14th April, 2021 (InshaAllah). The moon will be clearly sighted in Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi,” the ministry said in a tweet.

Like 2020, this year too Ramazan will be markedly

different from previous ones as the coronavirus pandemic has stopped much of the world’s activities, including at places of worship.

This is the first time the ministry has officially made the announcement after the government and Ruet-i-Hilal Committee agreed earlier this year to work together and use technology to determine the sighting of the moon.

Last year, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry drew the ire of clerics over his calls for a science-based lunar calendar, in absence of which Ramazan and Eid would year after year begins on different days in different areas of the country, depending on where the moon had been sighted by the human eye.

‘Koi Bhuka Na Soye’ to be launched in three more cities next week ISLAMABAD TLTP

The federal government has decided to expand the ‘Koi Bhuka Na Soye’ programme, launched by Prime Minister Imran Khan, to three other cities of the country ahead of Ramazan.

The programme would be expanded to Peshawar, Lahore and Faisalabad in the next week and the premier has issued necessary directives in this regard to the concerned authorities.

The programme has been launched on public-private partnership mode and the cooked meal would be provided to the separate locations through vehicles. Needy people, labourers and others would be able to avail from the facility.

PTI Senator Faisal Javed Khan, while commenting on the expansion plan, said that the prime minister is

focusing on expanding facilities for the poor and underprivileged segments of the society. “Thousands of people are already availing from the facility in twin cities,” he said.

The programme, which included direct subsidy to 30 million families across the country, was launched by prime minister on March 10 in a bid to provide relief to the poor.

Talking about the programme, the prime minister had said that under the initiative, labourers and deserving people on roads will be provided food through mobile trucks in an honourable way.

Initially, the Ehsas Food Trucks are being operated in Islamabad and Rawalpindi and at a later stage, this programme will be further expanded to other parts of the country, he had added. He had said that the programme was a step towards a welfare state, which always cares for its poor and deserving people.

DASKA TLTP

Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Secretary Dr Akhtar Nazir has told district officers that the mistakes committed during the last by-election in NA-75, Daska, SialkotIV, should not be repeated. The ECP secretary said this while chairing a meeting to finalise arrangements for the bye-election in NA-75 Daska, and to ensure peaceful, fair, transparent and impartial conduct of by-elections in the constituency. The meeting, held on the directions of Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja at Quaid-e-Azam Divisional Public School Daska, was attended by the divisional and district officers. Dr Akhtar said that the office of the Provincial Election Commissioner Punjab and relevant wings of Election Commission will remain open on Saturday and Sunday. Meanwhile, Sikandar Sultan has directed Punjab Election Commissioner Ghulam Sarwar Khan to complete arrangements for by-election in the NA constituency of NA-75-Daska. The bypoll is scheduled to take place on April 10 as the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday upheld ECP’s decision for re-polling in the constituency. Raja reached Lahore from Karachi to chair an important meeting of the commission with regard to the Daska by-poll.

The meeting held at the Punjab Election Commission office reviewed the arrangements for the by-election.

PPP’s ‘unprincipled’ behaviour ‘unforgivable’, says Sanaullah LAHORE INP

Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) Punjab president Rana Sanaullah Khan on Saturday said the “unprincipled behaviour” of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is “unforgivable” and asked the party to “accept its mistakes”. Talking to reporters, Khan said the PTI government was caught red-handed stealing the by-election in Daska and termed the verdict of the Supreme Court the last nail in coffin of the incumbent setup. He said that Pakistan cannot make progress unless the public vote is respected.

“Right now there is no rule of law or supremacy of constitution in the country,” he added. Khan claimed Prime Minister Imran Khan and Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar were involved in rigging and demanded terminatation of 20 presiding officers who had reportedly gone missing. He further said Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) will continue its fight against the government. Speaking about internal differences between members of the opposition alliance, he said that PPP’s decision to seek help from government allies for the seat of Senate Opposition Leader was wrong.

Opposition parties should keep issues aside, oppose government: Bilawal COntInuED fROM pAgE 01 Senior PPP leader Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari announced this in a statement. He said as most of the members of PPP CEC are members of the Parliament and would be unable to attend the CEC meeting due to the session of both houses, the PPP chairman has postponed the meeting of CEC. Reportedly, as a result, there would be further delay in pronouncement of PPP’s formal decision about en mass resignation and Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) long march.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (1) of Article 54 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the president has been pleased to summon

the Senate to meet in the Parliament building, Islamabad, on Monday, the 5th April, 2021, at 10:00 a.m.,” stated a notification from the Senate Secretariat issued on Saturday.

Earlier it was reported that the rift between two major opposition parties – the PML-N and the PPP – over the office of the Senate’s leader of the opposition was deepened when five opposition parties, including the PML-N, agreed to form a separate bloc of 27 opposition senators in the upper house of parliament.

Serious differences had been emerged between the parties after the PPP appointed its stalwart Yusuf Raza Gilani as Senate’s opposition leader, apparently in violation of what had earlier been agreed upon in a PDM meeting.

Sources had said that in a meeting held in Islamabad on Friday, leaders of eight opposition parties agreed that “show cause notices” should be issued to the PPP and the ANP for disregarding the PDM’s decision.

They had said the parliamentary leaders of the eight parties decided that the show cause notices should be issued with the approval of PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

The eight parties had decided to first give a chance to the PPP and the ANP to explain their position and if they couldn’t satisfy then they will be expelled from the alliance. The parties had also agreed to hand over the leadership of the new bloc to Senator Azam Nazir Tarar, PML-N’s candidate for the position of Senate opposition leader.

Sunday, 4 April, 2021

KARACHI

PAkIsTAN reAdIes To ProduCe oWN CoVId-19 VACCINe LAHORE

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STAFF REPORT

AKISTAN has started preparations to produce its own Covid-19 vaccine after the initiative is being launched by the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Lahore.

A presentation in this regard was given by the UAVS officials to Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar on Saturday, who agreed to allocate a fund of Rs100 million for the preparation of the Covid-19 vaccine.

“We have sought a time period of six months to prepare the vaccine,” UVAS Director Prof Dr Tahir Yaqub said, adding that they had all necessary arrangements needed for its preparation. He said that in case of any progress in vaccine development, they would make an announcement within a month.

The country has currently given nod to the British, Chinese and Russian vaccines to be imported in order to get its population vaccinated against the deadly infection.

Pakistan Navy flotilla docks at Bandar Abbas ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani fleet consisting of two naval vessels docked at Iranian port Bandar Abbas on Saturday morning to further strengthen bilateral and friendly relations with Iran. With the message of solidarity, peace and prosperity for the Iranian people and the region, Pakistan Navy Flotilla will be present at Bandar Abbas from April 3 to April 6. The Pakistani fleet enters Bandar Abbas every April, which did not happen last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, said the chief of staff of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy. During the visit, the Pakistan Navy delegation will hold meetings with the Iranian navy and military officials on bilateral relations, added the First Captain Reza Sheibani. On the last day of its presence in Bandar Abbas, the fleet will be escorted to the east of Lark Island by the Navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. TLTP

Imran lifted India trade ban as commerce minister, put off as PM: aide ISLAMABAD: Days after a cabinet meeting chaired

by Prime Minister Imran Khan put on hold a decision made by the Economic Coordination Council (ECC) to allow imports of cotton and sugar from India, National Security Adviser Dr Moeed Yusuf has tried to justify the development in a rather bizarre way.

During an interview, the host observed Khan okayed the summary for the imports in his capacity as Commerce Minister, a position he holds in the absence of a regular minister, but rejected as prime minister. Dr Yusuf replied: “[These are] two different things. This is the strengthening of institutions that is often discussed.”

“One prime minister as minister-in-charge of the ministry that looks after commerce. In this capacity, he is acting as minister of that ministry.” But he is also the prime minister […] the head of the cabinet. So he may be the same person but he wears two different hats in this case,” he said. The host wondered: “So he considered it okay to forward the matter to ECC as Commerce Minister but as the prime minister he wasn’t convinced.” “No, I’m not implying this [in a literal sense]. There is a technical difference [between the two]. I’m not the bureaucrat here so I’m not exactly aware of the procedure.” Dr Yusuf responded. The government on Wednesday lifted a nearly two-year ban on sugar and cotton imports from arch-rival India only to put it off the following day, conditioning it with New Delhi reviewing the 2019 move to revoke occupied Kashmir’s special status. Pakistan was one of the leading buyers of Indian cotton until 2019 when Islamabad banned imports of goods from India after New Delhi revoked the special status of occupied Kashmir. STAFF REPORT

TLTP

Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar has announced that Karachi will be given 1,000 megawatts of electricity this year.

“We had promised to provide 900 MW electricity to Karachi. We will give 1,000 MW to Karachi,” said Asad Umar while addressing an event on Saturday.

He said that the Kashmir dispute could not be

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TTP terrorist gunned down in North Waziristan RAWALPINDI: The security forces on Saturday gunned down a terrorist belonging to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) during an operation in North Waziristan. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), an area sanitisation operation was conducted in Boya area of North Waziristan on reports of terrorists’ presence. "During intense exchange of fire, terrorist Ashrafullah alias Toofani, a resident of Boya, was killed," the ISPR said. It further said that Ashrafullah was an active terrorist of TTP and remained involved in target killing and other terrorist activities against security forces, extortion and planting of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Earlier on March 7, the security forces killed four terrorists, including three Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) commanders, in two separate intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in Waziristan districts, said the ISPR. TLTP

IHC to take up Vawda disqualification case tomorrow

Ehsaas secondary education cash programme approved ISLAMABAD TLTP

The government has approved the first of its kind Ehsaas Secondary Education Conditional Cash Transfer programme to enable the deserving households to send their children to secondary schools.

A meeting chaired by Special Assistant on Poverty Alleviation Sania Nishtar on Saturday approved the programme that will be rolled out nationwide in July this year.

According to a press statement, the programme will be implemented in close coordination with provincial education departments to avoid duplication.

Children of underprivileged households will be provided quarterly cash grants of Rs2,500 for boy child and Rs3,000 for girl child on fulfilment of 70 per cent attendance in school. All payments will be biometrically made to mothers of children.

In his remarks on the occasion, Sania said that Ehsaas aims to lift the poorest families in Pakistan out of poverty and help them achieve their potential by

serving the unserved area of secondary education.

She said, “The programme will help disadvantaged families to overcome financial barriers to access secondary education. The programme will be structured in line with Ehsaas Stipends policy which allows doling out higher stipend amounts for girls as compared to boys. The prime objective is to encourage parents to send their daughters to schools and support them to achieve secondary education.”

The programme is an important element of Ehsaas and is included in the Ehsaas strategy. It not only socially assists vulnerable households but also reduces the number of out of school children.

Earlier last month, Sania said that because of the issue of 18.7 million out of school children in the country coupled with high rate of drop-outs at the secondary school level, extension of primary education conditional cash transfer programme, Waseela-eTaleem Digital, to the secondary level was strongly needed. For the purpose of tackling this issue, a pilot will be rolled out in federally administered areas to serve the unserved area of secondary education.

Renowned academic Dr Kamal Ud Din passes away

LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Renowned academic Dr Kamal Ud Din passed away on Saturday.

He was the chairman of the English department at

the Forman Christian College University, with a teaching career spanning decades. As an academic, his research interests included American Literature and African-American Women’s Poetry.

In spite of losing his eyesight to meningitis during his student years, he overcame the odds to become the first blind person to obtain a Master of Philosophy in English from the University of Punjab.

He also attended the British Council Summer Schools at the University of Leeds and the University of Aberdeen.

Later, he was awarded the Fulbright scholarship for his doctorate and attended the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he became the first blind Fulbright scholar to complete a PhD within three years. He also completed the adaptive software technology course from Adaptive Technology Centre, University of New Orleans, as an independent researcher. He remained affiliated with Forman Christian College University for a long time, wherein he contributed to the growth of the university’s English department, earning the admiration of fellow academics, colleagues and students, who grew fond of his compassionate nature, in-depth knowledge of his discipline and his inspirational journey.

His funeral took place at 4:30 pm in Lahore. Dr Kamal leaves behind a loving family and many grieved colleagues and students.

Karachi to get 1,000 MW electricity this year: Asad KARACHI

NEWS

neglected at any cost. He clarified that Premier Imran Khan has asked about finding an alternative instead of trading with India. He said that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is not only going ahead but also expanding. The federal minister said that many things are usually being discussed about its western route.

“We are trying to make the Green Line [bus rapid transport system] functional in August.” He further said that encroachments were removed from Mehmoodabad while the authorities had been facing issues regarding

Mehmoodabad, Orangi and Gujjar nullahs.

Regarding the development plans of Karachi, Umar said that a pipeline will be laid from Karachi port to Pipri and the bidding process of the project was completed. China has made investment for the first industrial zone of CPEC. He added that Pakistan Water & Power Development Authority (WAPDA) was given the responsibility for the K-4 project and expressed hopes that the federal government’s projects in Karachi will be completed by the end of this year.

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Saturday announced to take up Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf (PTI) leader Senator Faisal Vawda’s disqualification case on Monday. IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Babar Sattar will hear the case. Mian Faisal, the petitioner, has requested the court to declare the single bench’s verdict void by declaring Vawda disqualified from holding any public office for submitting a fake affidavit. He recalled that Vawda held dual nationality at the time of submission of his nomination papers for the 2018 general elections, but lied to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The case, which was to be taken up for the hearing last week, could not be heard because of the non-availability of the bench. INP

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Sunday, 4 April, 2021

KARACHI

newS

RS50bn to be Spent to upgRade 27,512 SchoolS: buzdaR LAHORE

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TLTP

uNjab Chief Minister Sardar usman buzdar has said that 27,512 primary and elementary schools in the province will be upgraded with the cost of Rs50 billion. addressing a press conference on Saturday, buzdar said that the first phase will be started on the 1st of august and 4 million students will be benefited from this programme. He said that the promotion of education is the top priority of the incumbent

government for which no stone will be left unturned, adding the government will continue to make all-out efforts for the promotion of education.

He detailed that in the first phase starting from august 1, 21,000 primary schools will be upgraded to elementary level at a cost of Rs17 billion. In the second phase of this programme, 6,653 elementary schools will be upgraded to a high school level. according to the procedure and keeping in view the number of students, elementary classes will be held in existing primary schools and there will be secondary classes

in the second shift of elementary schools. He said that only teachers and staff will be paid honorarium instead of changing the civil structure.

He said that 6,653 computers and science labs will be set up for the students of 9th and 10th classes in elementary schools.

He further maintained that Rs295 billion would have been required if the government adopted a traditional way of upgrading schools. This project will save Rs245 billion, he added.

He said that 27,517 schools in the first and second phase of this project include

11,501 schools from Central Punjab, 5,402 from Northern Punjab and 10,614 primary and elementary schools from Southern Punjab. buzdar further stated that the ratio of Southern Punjab’s schools to be upgraded under this programme is 38 per cent. He said that the up-gradation of the schools will be made purely on merit and as per the procedure.

He stated that he would have announced the up-gradation of high schools to higher secondary schools if the government is not giving the subsidy of Rs30 billion to Orange Line Metro Train.

The chief minister said that one million children have been enrolled in a year, including 40 per cent boy and 60 per cent girl students. The responsibility of enrolling children has been withdrawn from the teachers, and now the education officer and the school council will do this work, he added.

The chief minister, while disclosing the third important feature, said that a record of b-form has already been obtained to devise the accurate data of 10.6 million students. He further stated that lunch is being provided in 100 government schools with the help of philanthropists while the government is reviewing to launch this programme in other five districts as well.

Responding to a question, buzdar said that 127 vaccination centres are being operated in Punjab. The Punjab government will evolve a policy for private vaccination with the federal government. The decision of administering the vaccine to the children will be taken with the consultation of experts, he further said.

Sindh announces school timings for Ramazan KARACHI TLTP

The Sindh education authorities on Saturday announced the timings of schools across the province for the upcoming month of Ramazan. The education centres will continue its academic session from 7:30 am to 11:30am in morning shift, whereas, the second shift will be continued from 11:45am to 2:45am. On Friday, all schools will be opened from 7:30am to 10:30am. The education authorities also suggested closing schools for two weeks and asked the private school owners to consider it following the latest situation of the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier on Friday, the Sindh government had written a letter to the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) seeking a ban on inter-provincial public transport and granting approval to Covid-19 vaccination to people suffering from chronic illness. Sharing the recommendations, it said that a ban should be imposed on inter-provincial or inter-city public transport for a period of two weeks. The letter suggested an immediate implementation of the ban with only giving two days to the public transport to reach their desired designation. “Special focus and strict implementation should be ensured from districts with high positivity ratios,” it said while adding that goods transport would be allowed to move while following all SOPs.

LAHORE: A view of closed shops at Jail Road due to smart lockdown in the provincial capital. Zubair MehfooZ

3.5m children vaccinated against polio: officials ISLAMABAD STaff rePorT

3.5 million children have been vaccinated during the first four days of the polio immunisation campaign, officials said on Saturday. a five-day nationwide polio eradication campaign had commenced on March 29 to vaccinate over 40 million children under the age of five years.

“During the five-day campaign, around 285,000 frontline workers, respecting Covid-19 safety protocols, will go door-to-door in all 156 districts across Pakistan to give polio

drops,” a statement by Pakistan Polio Eradication Program (PPEP) had said. “Frontline workers and programme staff have been diligently trained to adhere to Covid-19 precautionary measures, keeping communities and themselves safe from the virus,” the statement had added.

During the drive, in Punjab, 20 million children will be administered the vaccine. according to a spokesman of the provincial health department, 120,000 health workers will take part in the drive.

Whereas, in Sindh, nine million children will be administered drops. Whereas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), more

than 6.4 four million children will be administered drops. according to KP Emergency Operation Centre, some 30,000 teams have been constituted which will visit door to door to vaccinate the children.

Polio teams will also be available at bus stops, railway stations, afghan refugee camps, and other public places to ensure the vaccination of every child.

In Gilgit-baltistan (Gb), over 242,000 children will be administered the vaccine.

Pakistan is one of the two polio-endemic countries in the world along with afghanistan. The country is facing a

challenging situation in polio eradication with the upsurge in the number of polio cases. In 2020, 83 polio cases were reported across the country, including 24 from balochistan, 22 each from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Sindh, and 14 from Punjab.

The government’s efforts to rid the country of polio have lately suffered setbacks due to attacks on vaccinators and police personnel guarding them. The deadly violence is also cited as a factor for the upsurge in new cases that had dropped to only 12 cases in 2018. Strict security measures had been taken for the campaign and personnel of balochistan Levies force, police and Frontier Corps (FC) would move with all teams of vaccinations. In traditionally conservative parts of the country, many see the vaccine as a Western-led conspiracy to sterilise children.

PSMA complains against fixing of sugar prices LAHORE Shahab oMer

The Pakistan Sugar Mills association (PSMa) has complained against the government's fixing of sugar prices, saying that the association was not taken into confidence before the decision. addressing a press conference here in Lahore, javed Kayani, former chairman of the PSMa, said that the previous system had a few sugar mills and the government used to procure all the sugar from them. “under the system, funds used to come to the sugar mills from the government and the government used to require the mills to pay the price of sugarcane to the farmer within 15 days, if any.

If the payment was not made within the stipulated period, the government was empowered to recover from the sugar mills under the arrears of Land Revenue act, but this is no longer the case,” he said.

“We have bought sugarcane in Punjab this season for about 360 to 380 billion rupees. The rate of sugarcane was fixed at Rs200 per 40 kg and the average mill cost came down from Rs260 to Rs285 per 40 kg.

We were ordered to run the mills early.

However, the report of the sugar commission clearly states that if the mills are run early, there will be a national loss. National

loss occurs in two terms, one in terms of quantity and the other in terms of government revenue. Obviously, if sugar production is low, the government will have less revenue in terms of taxes.”

Kyani further added that despite all that they started mills and during the season, the price of sugar reached about Rs90 per kg.

“In the meantime, we also released an advertisement in the media in which it was said that if the fixed price of sugarcane is insured by the government at Rs200 per 40 kg, then the price of sugar will be Rs87.67 per kg. Similarly, if we have to buy sugarcane at Rs250 per 40 kg, the cost of sugar will be Rs105.83 per kg and if we buy sugarcane at Rs275, the price of sugar will reach to Rs114 per kg,” he said.

“We had informed the government during the season that the price of sugarcane was going up. If the government wanted to fix the rate of sugarcane at that time, it was possible and the sugarcane dealers would also revise their given prices but nothing like that was done. This time the ordinance said that we have to make 100 per cent payment through banking channels to sugarcane dealers and we did so. Now we know that the rate of sugar has been announced by the government at Rs80 per kg and the price will be Rs85 per kg in the retail market. We are not enemies

of the country but we do business in this country. Then we are also called speculation mafia even though we have no role in speculation. I wrote a letter against gambling in 2009 and the fact is that speculators influence the price of sugar.”

Kyani added that all matters relating to the sugar industry were the result of misunderstandings and they were ready to sit down with the government for any expla-

nation as no one has talked to them at the senior level yet.

“However, a few days ago, a meeting was held with the chief minister and Shehzad akbar. We are serving the country.

Sugarcane is cultivated on 3 million acres in Pakistan. The government should sit with us and resolve the issue through understanding. We request our government to purchase the sugar and cover all our ex-

penses. It is unfortunate to make a decision without thinking. We want to meet the prime minister. There are 80 sugar mills operating in Pakistan out of which 42 mills are operating in Punjab. We do not want to criticize any institution. The government should have taken us into confidence before deciding on sugar prices. Even now, if the government abolishes the sales tax, sugar will be sold at Rs80,” he concluded.

Sunday, 4 April, 2021

KARACHI

NEWS

PakiSTaN CallS for kaSHmir DiSPuTe reSoluTioN To PromoTe regioNal PeaCe ISLAMABAD

P

TLTP

AKISTAN has called for resolution of conflicts and disputes like Jammu and Kashmir to promote peace and security in the region.

Addressing a virtual session of Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN Munir Akram said that Jammu and Kashmir dispute is a major threat for conflict between two

nuclear states.

“The dispute over Jammu & Kashmir is a major threat for conflict between two nuclear weapon states in the region,” Ambassador Akram said, adding, “We must try to see if we can contribute to the resolution of this dispute, and similar disputes, which exist in our part of the world.”

The Pakistani envoy said that CICA, which is committed to addressing conflicts and disputes in the region, must take an active role in resolving them.

“It (CICA) must try to address the problems that arise from threats to

peace and security in the region – threats, which arise, not only from terrorism, but also from the threat of conflict between member states of our organisation,” he said.

Ambassador Akram also cautioned the organisation to be on guard becoming a theatre for outside powers who wish to pursue their agenda of competition and perceived geo-political rivalries.

“We must continue to stand against unilateral coercive measures as well as any politicization of the United Nations Security Council sanctions architecture that undermines the principles

05

NTDC begins work on HVDC Convertor Station project

and purposes of the UN Charter as enshrined in numerous declarations of CICA,” the Pakistani envoy said.

This forum, he said, stands for the peaceful settlement of disputes and resolution of conflicts on the basis of the UN Charter and principles of international law. “I hope that we will create a mechanism under the institutions of CICA to be able to address conflicts, counter military doctrines that are dangerous for the maintenance of peace and security, and address the arms race, which has been unleashed by certain powers across the world,” Ambassador Akram said.

LAHORE: While achieving yet another milestone, the National Transmission and Despatch Company Limited (NTDC) on Saturday started construction work on HVDC Convertor Station for CASA-1000 Power Project Azakhel Bala in Nowshera. A signing ceremony was held at the site, wherein the project was taken over by the EPC contractor M/s ABB/Cobra (joint venture) to start site construction activities. The ceremony was attended by senior officers of Power Division, CASA-1000 Secretariat team, consultant, contractor and NTDC CASA -1000 team. Minister for Energy Omar Ayub Khan lauded the efforts of National Transmission and Despatch Company for implementing the project of international importance. It is worth mentioning that under CASA-1000 Power Project, 1300MW clean power will be transmitted from Tajikistan to Pakistan during summer season and will be helpful to maintain the required voltage level and meet the increasing load demand of the country. For the purpose 1270-km long transmission is also under construction. Whereas, NTDC is constructing 113-km long HVDC transmission line from Torkham border to Nowshera Converter Station. The transmission line will be completed by 2023. PR

Indian legal system produces unlawful laws

imran ‘puzzled at cacophony’ over Pakistan’s exclusion from global climate summit ContInueD froM PAge 01 The summit is one of two major international events on climate change. The United Nations is also scheduled to hold an event, the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP-26) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change later this year and Pakistan, as a UN member, will be invited to this event.

US SAYS ‘LOOK FORWARD’ TO ENGAGE ISLAMABAD ON CLIMATE: Islamabad’s exclusion from the invitation list for the summit was questioned by several analysts given the country’s vulnerability to global warming and Prime Minister Khan’s focus on the environment front. However, in a later press statement, the US State Department had said that Washington looked forward to working with Islamabad on the climate crisis at different levels.

“The United States seeks to engage all countries to explore areas for cooperation on addressing the climate crisis, including Pakistan,” a spokesperson for the State Department had said when asked why Pakistan was being ignored on such a sensitive issue.

“The Leaders Summit on Climate is only one of several major climate-related events in the run-up to COP-26, which will be a global event,” the official had said. “We look forward to working with the government of Pakistan and governments around the world to raise the level of global ambition to meet the climate challenge.”

Prof ShAzIA Anwer CheeMA Law and order have always perceived as a relative situation although it meant to serve the purpose of maintaining order and peace, it has been observed that laws are not always enough to keep harmony in society. Law made by man for man has a coherent tendency to create craves between state and society.

The textbook example of that is Indian laws named UAPA, TADA, and POTA. These three laws created for the safety of society have been immensely used to subjugate the population of India and have been criticised by the civil society that named these laws as “Draconian Laws”.

Let me give you a review of these laws that are being used ruthlessly nowadays by BJP government to subjugate Indian population.

Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) was established in 1967 and got blame to be linked with the political change in India. The second one, the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Prevention Act (TADA) was introduced in 1985. And the third infamous law Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) came in being in 2002.

Due to the inhuman aftermaths and hue and cry of humanitarian sectors, the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Prevention Act (TADA) got stop in 1987 leading to the repeal of the Terrorist Prevention Act (POTA) in 2004. Leaving one law, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) fully operational to date.

Being the only one to cater to hate crimes, any act that is unsuitable for the establishment has narrow scope to encompass a huge range of activities. So to broaden

the span of unlawful activities solely to victimize the population UAPA amended in 2019. The most barbaric inclusion was considering individuals as terrorists, because before that terrorists could only be associated with a group of people or cult. Any individual because of individual instance cannot be classified as a terrorist.

The way the provisions of the law are enacted is draconian. The law takes an exception to settled legal principles and rights that the accused in a criminal case are ordinarily entitled to. The accused are introduced to a new set of procedural and substantive rules—all of which give significant leeway to the state or the prosecuting authority.

Starting from the definition of unlawful activity, (s.

2(o)) and terrorist act (s. 2(k)), the provisions of the Act are designed to trap the opponents of the regime. Section 2(o) defines unlawful activity as “any action” that inter alia “supports or intended to bring about” cession or secession, disrupts or questions the “sovereignty and territorial integrity” or which “causes disaffection against India”. The definition is wide and elastic and allows the government to interpret criticism and dissent as falling within the purview of the provision.

For example, questioning the human rights abuses in Kashmir could be interpreted as an action questioning India’s sovereignty. A criticism of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act could be construed as something that causes disaffection against the country. In this way, any act like possession of critical literature or speech against the ruling regime could be penalised. Well-known authors, writers, and activists such as Anand Teltumbde, Gautam Navlakha, Safoora Zargar, Umar Khalid, and Sudha Bharadwaj were incarcerated essentially on the basis of varied forms of this interpretation.

Under this law accused could be held captive for up to 180days. Section 43D (5) seems to be crafted to consider accuse unbailable. Section 38 of the Act makes the life of the alleged even harder if there is a remote connection to any person related to the prohibited organization. Sections 43A and 43B give unfettered power to the police insignificant steps such as arrest, search, and seizure without adequate safeguards and judicial scrutiny. Section 43E of the UAPA builds into the law a statutory presumption of guilt in certain circumstances. Instead of the prosecution being required to prove the guilt of the accused as it happens in conventional criminal cases, the accused is required to prove his innocence.

This is not an extensive analysis of the complete Act there is much more to it, I have tried to establish a preamble for recent activities. The political undertone of the Law (UAPA) is the predecessor of (POTA)

and (TADA). The brutality of the post-Indra Gandhi periods requires volumes to pen them down. The number of alleged, under custody and then never found has a long list.

The laws based on personal agenda to maintain and retain power have paved the way for civil unrest. The scenario, particularly recent example of a BJP MLA’s insult and humiliation by a crowd is the outcome of hate generating legal system. Anyone at any time doing anything that could be considered unlawful then the line between lawful and unlawful gets blurred. Protest for the right cause is illicit, supporting that protest is illicit, saying something humane could be illegal, telling the truth can make one a traitor than we must not get astonished to see today’s India.

Almost all human rights activists are being labelled as conspirators, Andolan jeevi and parasites. Independent journalists are tag as enemies of the sovereignty of the country, conscious writers, poets, students are all defectors. One can either with the ruling regime or conserved himself a deserter, who will be hunt down upon the very first opportunities.

In this chaos, it is difficult to differentiate between legal and illegal. Everything seems relative. The human mind is based on relatively, if there is no outward relative system available then it can create its own relativities for survival. Imagine if I do what suits me and you, what deems appropriate to you. You and I can have a different set of justifications for our right and wrong, that is the reason the judicial system work as a holist component, (blindly), to my utter agitation Indian Legal system evolved eyes over the period and now it can see who is powerful thus innocent and who is weak/criminal.

Sándor Márai who was a Hungarian writer and journalist while writing about the subjugation of people through laws wrote in his novel “Embers” in 1942 that hate originates subjugation among powerful against the powerless. He writes, “Every exercise of power incorporates a faint, almost imperceptible, element of contempt for those over whom the power is exercised. One can only dominate another human soul if one knows, understands, and with the utmost tact despises the person one is subjugating.”

The writer is an analyst. She writes for national and international media outlets and heads the DND Thought Centre. She did her MA in Cognitive Semiotics from Aarhus University Denmark and is currently registered as a Ph.D. Scholar of Semiotics and Philosophy of Communication at Charles University Prague. She can be reached at her: Twitter @ShaziaAnwerCh Email: shaziaanwer@yahoo.com

Remembering Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto: A leader of all generations

BAShIr rIAz This year marks 42 years since the judicial killing of the founder of Pakistan People’s Party, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. A truly charismatic and popular leader whose legacy of

politics for the common people of Pakistan continues to inspire even today. He might be polarizing for some because of his strong stance on matters but he was never tainted by allegations of corruption.

The Lahore High Court announced the ruling of death penalty for Mr. Bhutto on March 18, 1978. Not only heads of various countries but even the secretary general of the United Nations made appeals for clemency to General Zia. It was an open secret that there was biasness and personal grudge evident in the conduct of Chief Justice of Lahore High Court, Molvi Mushtaq Hussain.

On April 4, 1979, Mr. Bhutto was hanged. Zia ul Haq killed his most daunting rival in a false murder case. This news generated a strong protest from around the world. World leaders condemned this act and international newspapers deemed it as political murder. “Mr. Bhutto was denied justice!’ was the common consensus.

Pakistanis residing abroad, especially in London and Europe, registered their protest in large demonstrations. Mir Murtaza Bhutto launched a global protest movement from Birmingham. Pakistani and Kashmiri community came together in an exemplary chain of unity. A large number of people attended his funeral in Hyde Park. This was followed by a demonstration where streets of London witnessed slogans of “jiyaye Bhutto!”

Everyone across the world, who believed in democracy, was devastated on the eve of April 4, 1979, as they mourned the death of the strongest voice for the people of Pakistan.

A voice that brought together the Muslim World. A voice that spoke against the callousness of the world on the plight of the Kashmiri people. This voice was silenced. It was a great loss and a severe setback to the dream of an independent, democratic Pakistan ruled by the common people.

There is no doubt that Mr. Bhutto was a master of the table and dialogue. His suc-

cesses in foreign policy are innumerable. He was a bridge between the third world countries and the rich and mighty, without compromising dignity. He promoted friendly relations with China and our country is still reaping its benefits. His determination in setting up an atomic reprocessing plant meant that Pakistan could become a nuclear power.

Mr. Bhutto chose to be a voice for the downtrodden and highlighted the issue of Kashmir in the United Nations. He took politics from the drawing rooms to the common people. In true spirit, he worked towards empowering the people and brought them to the parliament. One of his many noteworthy achievements include the 1973 constitution that provided framework for relationship at the federal and provincial levels.

The military dictator, Zia ul Haq, could not accept a popular leader who had such a stronghold on the hearts of the common people and devised a way to severe this connection. In a special interview to Masawat

Weekly London, Begum Nusrat Bhutto said, “This was not a murder case against the Prime Minister but it was murder of justice.

We want justice for an innocent person who was the elected representative of the people.

His people demand justice.”

Justice was not easy to come but the people won and the legacy of Mr. Bhutto was carried forward by his children and his grandchildren. Mr. Bhutto’s contributions have been recorded forever in the annals of history.

Today, people remember him as the leader who chose not to compromise on his principles. Despite offers of clemency, Mr. Bhutto made a choice that only a leader of his stature could have made. He chose to stay alive in history over an extension of physical life for the people of Pakistan. As a result, his memory is etched in the hearts and minds of the people of all generations of this nation.

The writer is the former press secretary of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and adviser to PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto

Sunday, 4 April, 2021

06 COMMENT

Great Expectations

PDM at a crossroads Time to unite or further divide

A

Hafeez Sheikh was an asset worth retaining

FTER maintaining an uncharacteristically stable union for months, relations between the two major opposition parties in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), the PPP and PML(N) are now at loggerheads with each other as both want to follow divergent strategies and protect their individual interests. Both parties have unfortunately made avoidable blunders that have jeopardized the future of the PDM that had emerged as a formidable force that both the ruling party and the establishment were having a tough time dealing with. While the PML(N) and the JUI(F) were quite keen to resign en masse from Parliament when the time came, the PPP was understandably reluctant considering it was in power in Sindh and the second largest party in the Senate. It would have been better if the PML(N) understood this and showed some flexibility and agreed with the PPP on bringing a no-confidence motion against the PM first.

Such was the stubbornness from the PML(N) camp that during a meeting, Asif Ali Zardari asked Nawaz Sharif to come back from London and then the PDM as a whole would resign. The PPP made matters worse by approaching the pro-establishment government ally BAP for support to get yusuf Raza Gilani elected as opposition leader in the Senate, a move condemned by members within the party as well.

That a five-party faction headed by the PML(N)’s parliamentary leader in the Senate, Azam Nazir Tarar, will form a new opposition in the Senate with 27senators, is perhaps the start to a complete disintegration of the PDM at all levels, with a PPP-led bloc going its separate way. There are however senior parliamentarians on both sides of the divide who believe that there is room for reconciliation and that the alliance should not falter at this stage when it has achieved much by sticking together. It would be beneficial for hardliners in both camps to heed this advice and try to reach a consensus on a way forward that suits all stakeholders. The survival of the PDM in these testing times is not only important for opposition parties but also all those institutions that have been affected by the current setup. The alliance can go on to achieve much more only if it works in unity; divided it will quickly falter.

humayun GauhaR

I

am using this title from Charles Dickens’s book, though I do not claim to be anything like him, but it describes the feeling not only I but many Pakistanis had when Imran Khan came to power. We all had great expectations of him.

I know he’s human but he’s made mistakes that are sometimes inexplicable. So I’m afraid the great expectations are still there but they have taken a bit of a bashing.

Take for example how he treated his finance minister, Hafeez Sheikh. He was lucky to have him in his team and he’s one of the few in the political milieu who actually knows the subject of public finance and macroeconomics. He took over a near dead economy and brought it back to a life of sorts against great odds. What does he get for his pains? Being humiliated by his boss, namely one Imran Khan. Knowing that Imran is not a stupid man, why did he let this happen? After losing the Senate election, which looks a lot like a loss by design, he did the honourable thing and tendered his resignation to the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister met him and insisted that he stay on. Hafeez agreed and the conventional wisdom was that Imran would create a vacancy in the Senate from where Hafeez would win a by-election. His ministers came and said that Hafeez was going nowhere and that he would remain finance minister. And then just a couple of weeks later, Imran relieved him of his portfolio. What is wrong with this guy, Imran Khan?

He says one thing and does another. He never used to be a man who’d go out of his way to embarrass somebody. So why did he do it?

People’s ambassador Popular singer Shaukat Ali passes away

S

INGER Shaukat Ali, who performed for over five decades, breathed his last on Friday. He was a maestro who could sing patriotic songs, ghazals, Sufi poetry and folk hits with equal felicity Shaukat Ali’s powerful voice electrified many when it was aired for the first time on PTv in 1965. The popular war song “Sathio, Mujahido, Jaag Utha Hai Sara Watan” was originally sung together by Ali and Masood Rana and was later released as ISPR’s official video with Ali as lead singer. Another song that made him a household celebrity all over Pakistan was “Apna Parcham Aik Apna Quaid-e- Azam Aik Hai”.

Singer Shaukat Ali was often called the voice of Punjab for his rendition of Waris Shah’s Heer and Mian Muhammad Bakhsh’s Saiful Maluk besides folk genres that included challa and jagga, sung by generations of Punjabi singers. Among his Pujabi song hits were ‘Kyun Door Door Raindey O’ and ‘Kaddi Te Hass Bol vay’. Ali was a well known figure in East Punjab also where he was invited to several performances.

Shaukat Ali was a people’s ambassador from Pakistan who created a lot of goodwill. On Saturday the Chandigarh-based English newspaper The Tribune quoted Punjabi poet Gurbhajan Gill who said Punjab had lost a towering cultural figure in Ali's death. The condolence messages that poured in from East Punjab indicate that his admirers included a whole lot of well-known Punjabi stage artists and singers like Dalair Mehndi, Jasbir singh Jassi, Jaspinder Narula and top Padma Shri Award winner and BJP figure Hans Raj Hans. Ali’s singing skills endeared him to Punjabi speakers all over the world. He toured and performed overseas in countries that had significant pockets of Punjabi speakers like the UK, Canada and the USA. Shaukat Ali received the 'voice of Punjab' award in 1976. In July 2013, he was honoured with the 'Pride of Punjab' award by the Pakistan Institute of Language, Art and Culture (PILAC). He gave a live performance at the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi, and was awarded the highest Pakistani civilian presidential award ‘Pride of Performance’ in 1990. Despite the accolade he received, Shaukat Ali lived hand to mouth all his life.

Rabia ahmed

P

OvERTy means living in tight accommodation, consuming inadequate and poor food and possessing mostly no education.

At present more than half of such povertystricken persons around the world live in rural areas and about 85 percent are involved in agriculture. This is certainly true of Pakistan, and generally true across the third world where the welfare of the poor is very low on the political agenda if it features at all.

Pakistan is primarily an agricultural country. Its highest exports consist mainly of cotton, followed by rice. Its other exports are fruit (particularly oranges and mangoes), maize and various cereals. The people owning the land that produces these crops are generally well to do, sometimes exceedingly well to do, but those who perform the labour are among the most poverty stricken in the world, and the last to benefit from the fruits of their hard work.

Editor Joint Editor

Humayun Gauhar is a veteran columnist in Pakistan and editor of Blue Chip magazine

When dangers are discounted

Arif Nizami

Managing Editor

The Prime Minister met him and insisted that he stay on.

Hafeez agreed and the conventional wisdom was that Imran would create a vacancy in the Senate from where Hafeez would win a by-election. His ministers came and said that Hafeez was going nowhere and that he would remain finance minister. And then just a couple of weeks later, Imran relieved him of his portfolio.

Do they count?

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Yousaf Nizami Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

My feeling is that one behaves in an erratic way when one is being told what to do, sometimes against one’s better judgement. It’s just a feeling. I’m not saying Imran is being told what to do and what not to do.

When the founder of Dubai, Sheikh Rashid al Makhtoum was asked about the future of his country, he said, “My father was on a camel, I’m in a Mercedes, my son is on a Land Rover and my grandson is going to be on a Land Rover, but my great grandson will be back on a camel.”

Why is that, he was asked? And his reply is memorable, “Tough times create strong men. Strong men create easy times. Easy times create weak men. Weak men create tough times.” We are all undergoing this. Sheikh Nahyan is the man who once famously said, “Give me agriculture and I’ll give you a civilization.” There is a staggering amount of depth in this statement. But I say it only to persuade Imran to give even more importance to agriculture. We are losing our civilization and Imran should act before it’s too late.

I ask Imran Khan: “Was Hafeez Sheikh thrown under a bus by you?” A few months earlier, Imran appointed him as Minister of Finance so he could carry out his job properly. And what transpired shortly afterwards was inexplicable. It was the Prime Minister’s job to protect Hafeez Sheikh and his economic team from political charlatans without and especially within his party.

Imran should know by now that he has snakes in his pavilion. It’s ironic that as captain of the Pakistan cricket team, he came down hard on match fixers but as Prime Minister, he’s either turning a blind eye or is completely unaware.

Hafeez Sheikh wanted to contest the senate elections from Sindh but he was forced to do so from Islamabad against a candidate from the People’s Party, a former prime minister. The People’s Party and Gilani moved heaven and earth to ensure that he purchased the loyalties of many senators and then Hafeez Sheikh lost. That is when he did the honourable thing and resigned though what chance did he stand in a system where there is no honour and in a country where there is no honour. Imran Khan refused to ac-

cept his resignation and told him he was badly needed and should stay on. He was needed to renew Pakistan’s understanding with the IMF to get the new tranche. Once he had done that and the IMF money had arrived, he was shown the door. His junior minister, an unpolluted boy so far, took charge. He now heads the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) and the first thing he does in the first meeting he chairs, is to agree to open trade with India and start importing sugar and yarn. This for a country that was once the cotton king of the region. Oh what a fall there was my countrymen, a fall that should have been easily avoided. Shireen Mazari, the Human Rights Minister, spoke against this in Parliament.

That is when we knew that there would be a mini-revolt in the cabinet. And so it came to pass. When the issue came up before cabinet, it summarily dismissed it. Imran Khan was left with egg on his face. I hope it was not an Indian egg. Imran Khan said in the past that he was good at making teams (which remains moot) and that he would create a world class team which would win matches. We know that America is trying its best to bring peace to South Asia and they are trying to incrementally increase India-Pakistan relations in areas like trade. They are using the UAE and Saudi Arabia to prevail upon Pakistan, India and others to do incremental normalization.

This is where Imran Khan could have been told that he should open trade with India.

But the sad thing is that he agreed, though he will deny it vehemently. Don’t tell me that the UAE and Saudi Arabia managed to prevail upon Imran’s new kid finance minister to do the dastardly deed. He looks like a good boy so far and let’s hope he remains good and learns lessons from this faux pas. So those great expectations have not dimmed. Now, Imran Khan says that he wants good people to be in his team. Then why is he so smitten by incredibly odious people to include in his cabinet. So I wish Hafeez Sheikh well. He’s such a competent man brimming with integrity that he cannot be without a purpose in life. He shall, God willing, be fine. I hope Imran is fine too. But he should try and get Hafeez back in his circle because he will bring a rare commodity into his team that he badly needs. That, my friends, is wisdom.

Umar Aziz

With almost no education these poor individuals have no understanding of health and safety, and the requirements involved. They perceive no sense in things like vaccinations for example, and therefore few of them are bothering to get covid vaccinations these days, nor do they get themselves tested for the disease when they fall sick. Given the tight accommodation and work conditions, and so on, social distancing is generally not possible among this segment of society, and it is not considered important anyway. In short, the manner in which the poor live and their interactions with things such as powerful machinery and electricity are more frightening than anything Bram Stoker could think of. It is not their fault. They have not been taught any better.

To allow such unfortunate individuals to handle pesticides therefore is like handing a toddler a cyanide pill to play with. And yet pesticides are used in agriculture and that is exactly what happens.

To take one example, aluminum phosphide is a pesticide responsible for the often unreported deaths of thousands of persons in the Sub-continent alone, and further thousands of deaths worldwide. These deaths are caused by deliberate incidents, accidental ingestion and occupational exposure. Death by ingesting aluminum phosphate is the most common method of suicide in India and some other countries, and it is being increasingly used for that purpose in Pakistan although as yet there are no proper figures available for the country. There is no antidote for the poison and the treatment is mainly supportive. In Pakistan medical help is in any case too inaccessible in many rural areas.

Given all these reasons, the use of aluminum phosphide is banned in several countries because of its high fatality rate. In Europe the sale of aluminum phosphide is restricted to qualified users, which means it is used under supervision by individuals trained in its use, and yet a few cases of poisoning are reported even there.

In a case study done in a hospital in Lahore, the mortality rate as a result of aluminum phosphide poisoning was 70 percent, and another study reported a rate of 55-90 percent.

Despite all this, this chemical is commonly and easily available in Pakistan under several brand names for fumigation of stored cereal crops, and even more dangerously to fumigate homes and as tablets for bed bugs. In 2019 five young brothers and sisters and their aunt died in Karachi when the floor of the room they were living in was sprayed with the chemical. They had all been sleeping on the floor where they inhaled the maximum amount of poison. Their mother, sleeping on the bed in the same room, was the lone survivor. It was not reported what after-effects she suffered, aside from devastating grief.

There are alternatives to using this chemical as a pesticide, but these alternatives can be expensive.

They consist of purpose-built silos and warehouses with prescribed systems of ventilation, a high degree of sanitation, and other requirements such as controlled air quality. None of these methods however are possible without monitoring for safety. For financial reasons Pakistan can probably only use aluminum phosphide, which can be used with relative safety if properly monitored, and that of course is the crux of the problem. The general attitude in this country is: why bother with monitoring when those who lose their lives are just peasants and labourers. Do they count? If one dies there is another readily available to take his place. Those who die as a result of this poison are among the countless victims of lack of education and gross negligence on the part of the concerned authorities who seem to be far more concerned with re-election than anything to do with the safety of the people they are meant to serve.

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

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Sunday, 4 April, 2021

COMMENT 07 Editor’s mail Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan.

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Guidelines to prevent the spread of coronavirus in wedding ceremonies

Let the jackals howl A damning indictment of those who are sworn to safeguarding Pakistan’s interests

Candid Corner Raoof Hasan “The sky was dark. The night was black. Obscurity reigned. The gleam of the wolves’ eyes was the only light that came to sight.

The howling of the jackal was the only sound to be heard. Conspiracies were in the making while slanderers and the malicious were busily chattering.”

–Ali Shariati

T

he Broadsheet enquiry Report is a miniscule reflection of the way the state of Pakistan has been defrauded by succeeding rulers and their appendages in a systematic manner. After discovering that the record pertaining to the payment of a hefty amount to a wrong party was either missing, or those who had it were unwilling to cooperate with the investigation, the author of the enquiry Report relating to Broadsheet, Justice Azmat Saeed, noted that “to say that, as a consequence of absence of due diligence, a sum of US$ 1.5 million had been paid to a wrong person or entity would be a misstatement. In fact, the State of Pakistan had been swindled out of US$ 1.5 million”.

This is only the beginning of the damning indictment. It goes without saying that, from his appointment as head of the enquiry Commission onward, Justice Saeed remained under immense pressure not to go ahead with penning a soulsearching report outlining the putridity which has infected various pillars of the State. As he elaborates himself, “parts of this report were scribed late evenings at the foot of the Margalla hills where I was staying. The discordant symphony of the howling jackals was a constant companion. The howling of the jackals could not distract me from the task at hand”.

While responsibility has been apportioned to some individuals, as it should have been, the underlying narrative is far more damning in terms of the dysfunctional aspects of the State.

The factors relating to the record of the case either having been callously destroyed, or the responsible functionaries blatantly unwilling to cooperate in facilitating the conduct of the enquiry, constitute the extent to which this malady

has penetrated the body politic. The hands of evil were not confined to offices and individuals inside Pakistan. They extended to Pakistan’s high Commission in the UK and other places which also reported loss of the relevant material.

The disgraceful role of a former Pakistani high Commissioner in the UK, Wajid Shamsul hasan, in personally wheeling away the documents pertaining to the indictment of Benazir Bhutto and Asif Zardari by the Swiss Court, was caught on camera, which would remain forever an indelible mark of shame across the face of Pakistan.

There are many criminals who figure prominently in this saga of corruption. Justice Saeed has a few words to say about the haughty and dangerously bloated bureaucracy of the country: “...the Secretaries of various Ministries/Divisions involved are deliberately delaying matters by indulging in farcical bureaucratic games reminiscent of the erstwhile British Comedy called ‘Yes Minister’. The Secretaries who strut about like inflatable ‘Prima Donnas’ with the sole purpose of finding ways to ensure that no worthwhile work gets done for the benefit of the State and its people except to provide comic relief.

This quotation from ‘Yes Minister’ appears to be very apt for the case at hand: ‘We don’t measure our success by results, but by activity and the activity is considerable and productive’”. Are you reminded of the monkey game?

Justice Saeed highlights his mindboggling narrative of crime and complicity by quoting the French journalist Frédéric Bastiat who said that “when plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves, in the course of time, a legal system that authorises it and a moral code that glorifies it”. he goes on to state that this “quotation is uncanny in its applicability to present-day Pakistan. Corruption has infected every institution in the country. All four pillars of the state are afflicted with this malaise but, perhaps, what is worse is that the most blatant acts of corruption, even those without the benefit of a fig leaf, are not only condoned, but also applauded. histrionics are mistaken for heroics”. he ends his scathing indictment with a piece of advice: “As a nation, we must dismantle the structures that give rise and protection to corruption which gnaws away at the scaffolds that support the state structure and polity: the state must not tear the scaffolds that support its existence.

The apologists of corruption are a dime a dozen.

I wonder whether this phenomenon reflects some perverted form of ancient tribalism, moral bankruptcy, or such persons are simply standing there with their mouths open, tails wagging, hoping for some crumbs from the table”.

I have written often on a comprehensive moral collapse that afflicts Pakistan today. This has been laboriously nurtured, promoted and strengthened by various strings of rulers who came to strangle the country in their vicious and malfeasant grip. There is virtually no exception in the long lineage of humiliating appendages whom one could single out by way of their integrity, character and devotion to the cause of Pakistan. They all came riding the bandwagon

of shallow sloganeering to salvage the fate of the State, but went on to scavenge it of all its promise, virtually skinning it to its bare bones. In the process, and with the wicked cooperation and complicity of corrupt functionaries whom they first appointed to important positions and then exploited in fulfilling their nefarious agendas, they were able to hijack the functionality of the State to serve their self-interest-driven cause alone. Thus, while the State kept becoming weaker, their personal coffers, and those of their appendages, were overflowing with arrogance and pelf both. Instead of the State becoming powerful and strident, this experience makes for a classic case of individuals prospering at the cost of the mother ship.

The utter absence of self-esteem makes this trail of robbery absolutely depraved and degenerative. These criminals who chartered the fate of the country during their respective stints in power have gone about commemorating their crime spree with gay abandon, laced with substantial proportion of pride. They celebrate indictments in gross criminal indulgences with victory signs and censure by courts with hurling wild accusations of injustice. There is no submission before law as these charlatans consider themselves, and their appendages, above everything except subservience to their own crass agenda of pillaging the state.

The critical question is whether the findings of this enquiry Report will make any difference in terms of proper cases initiated against those found responsible for this daylight robbery, or this, too, shall be consigned to the bin after the initial hullabaloo like so many other similar reports have been in the past? In the current times, I don’t have any doubt about the intentions of the government. There is an underlying commitment to the cause of justice and probity. The problem spans multiple dimensions which have been outlined in the Report itself with regard to the incriminating complicity of institutions and personnel alike. If lack of their cooperation during the phase of conducting the enquiry is a fair yardstick to go by, there is little good that I see coming out of this Report also.

That would be a tragedy of no small measure because states cannot prosper without the support of their institutions and functionaries.

With the crime spree penetrating deep, openly sponsored by people in influential positions, a sustainable remedy is not a possibility without first undertaking an extensive surgical procedure to eliminate the hotbeds of crime and corruption which have plagued the country through generations. That is the monumental challenge that the government is faced with. In order to salvage the State, it does not have an gammaother than initiating this procedure in earnest.

Let the jackals howl. After all, it is their job to do so.

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

The National Command and Operation Center imposed a ban on indoor and outdoor wedding ceremonies on 28th of March in areas with high coronavirus cases. This was due to the fact that the daily coronavirus cases were increasing rapidly. The positivity rate climbed to 10.44% on the same date this decision was announced and was the highest number recorded since June 21st 2020. And since this rate increased to 11.2% by 30th of March, the fears of the authorities that the cases will rise if wedding ceremonies are held are only more confirmed. Prime Minister Imran Khan himself declared the current coronavirus situation as catastrophic and advised the nation to adopt ways that would decrease the number of cases springing up in the country. It is thus hoped that the government will succeed in controlling the number of daily cases in the country and in case it does and the ban on wedding ceremonies is lifted, the following suggestions should be considered.

In the recent past, I personally observed that while the management of marriage halls encouraged the hosts and guests of the wedding to follow the Safety Operating Procedures, or SOPs, for short, and followed the SOPs themselves, did not monitor whether the hosts and guests are following the SOPs too. This may have led to the rapid increase in Covid-19 cases and so, it is advised by the government to ask the management of these marriage halls to strictly monitor the hosts and guests to check if the hosts and guests are following SOPs or not.

Moreover, the management of marriage halls could advise the hosts to limit the number of people attending the marriage to close friends and relatives. Furthermore, each and every one attending the wedding should be checked to see if they are carrying sanitizers, and handed one if they are not. Lastly, the management of marriage halls should advise the hosts to provide the guests with food packages, instead of serving the meals on tables. All these guidelines, if implemented, would significantly decrease the rate of cases in the onslaught of this third deadly wave of coronavirus.

HAfSA HuSSAin KARACHi

Third wave of coronavirus

The third wave of coronavirus is occurring to be more destructive. But are we taking it seriously? Are we willing to save ourselves? No! We are so busy in attending immense weddings, enjoying concerts, filling up the parks and cinemas. We think that corona only exists in schools, colleges and universities and the main strategy to control coronavirus is to promote the shutting of the educational institutions and still enjoying everything else.

The authorities and the government are trying to control the situation but efforts always have to be interdependent. The government and other authorities cannot take over this fatal disease without our help and the least we can do to rescue our country is to follow proper SOPs, minimize going out, support the shutting of all kinds of activities that may include mass audience. We need to stand together by staying home. Save the country from deadly coronavirus.

MARiA EJAZ KARACHi

Teen Smoking ThROUgh the column of your esteemed newspaper, I would like to draw your attention towards the issue of teen smoking which is increasing in our society. The number of young people who smoke has dramatically risen over the past years. This is a problem because smoking causes big health risks that leads to problems and diseases that can kill you. Absence of adult supervision over teens make them addicted to such activities. It usually occurs in parks, under bridges and anywhere away from parents. Most teens find this habit quite interesting and cool. Smoking can cause many negative mental and physical effects, from causing all different types of cancers to your mouth. heart disease and Cancer are two of the main effects of smoking, this is because of the high level substances that are left in your body by inhaling the poisonous gases. The concerned authorities should impose a ban on the usage of substances which are especially included in the making of cigarettes like tobacco and also ban the companies which are producing cigarettes that is endangering the lives of the young generation. nuMAiRA MiR KARACHi

Overloaded points of University of Karachi Being a student of University of Karachi, I am very happy that there are so many facilities provided by University of Karachi to their students and I like the university as well. But i want to draw your attention towards the major problem being faced by students since late 90’s and which is still facing by new comers too.The problem is each and every point (bus) of Uok is fully packed with students everyday. A single point have 57 seats and the number of students in every morning crosses the limit of 150 to180 almost in each point. It just looks like a cage which is fully packed with animals Alas! This is the basic need for every student to come university easily without struggling and as you know Corona Virus is still here and it’s very dangerous for the university students who come and go by points.

I request to the point management of University of Karachi to please have a look at this problem and increase the quantity of points (buses) if the management is not financially stable so please ask those institutes who donate buses. Students have a little bit hope that by this letter the situation of points will get better soon. Many students complain about this matter in unit area but no action has taken place.

SAMRA Abid KARACHi

Sunday, 4 April, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

Is the AsIAn century reAlly here?

Project SyNdicate

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LEE JONG-WHA

he COVID-19 pandemic has not been the West’s finest hour. Most Western governments failed to contain the deadly outbreak and the resulting economic damage effectively. And by pursuing inward-looking and protectionist policies, they have contributed relatively little to an effective international response to the coronavirus.

Although the modern world was built with oil, the time has finally come for humanity to shift to newer, cleaner sources of energy. But, as three recent books show, the process will be neither simple nor easy.

Against this background, some regard the current crisis as a tipping point that will accelerate Asia’s global resurgence. They point out that Asian countries managed the pandemic better than the West did, and argue that the region’s robust and resilient economic performance over the past half-century demonstrates the superiority of its governance systems.

In fact, the twenty-first century will belong to Asia only if the region can develop unified, collective leadership. Asia is already a major global power, accounting for 60% of the world’s population and about 40% of

ASIA IS ALREADY A MAJOR GLOBAL POWER, AND SOME REGARD THE ONGOING COVID-19 CRISIS AS A TIPPING POINT THAT WILL ACCELERATE THE REGION’S RESURGENCE. BUT THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY WILL REALLY BELONG TO ASIA ONLY IF IT CAN DEVELOP UNIFIED, COLLECTIVE LEADERSHIP global GDP in purchasing-power-parity terms. And with eight of the world’s 15 most populous countries (China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Japan, the Philippines, and Vietnam), Asia is more than just China.

Moreover, India and Japan – the world’s third and fourth largest economies, respectively, in PPP terms – also are economic superpowers. Over the last 50 years, the per capita incomes of Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan have risen fast and caught up with Western levels. China, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam are now following the same path. And Asia is expected to continue growing strongly in the coming decades: McKinsey & Company forecasts that by 2040, the region will account for more than half of world GDP and 40% of global consumption.

Skeptics argue that several domestic challenges could jeopardize the region’s long-term growth. Some east Asian economies, including China, Japan, and South Korea, have rapidly aging populations that are now shrinking. This means they will no longer enjoy the demographic dividends that previously supported the region’s strong growth. naysayers also point to growing income and wealth inequality, which is under-

mining social cohesion and political stability.

And political upheavals may become more likely if authoritarian Asian governments fail to deliver higher living standards and satisfy growing demand for democracy.

But Asian policymakers have successfully addressed previous obstacles to strong and sustainable growth. east Asian governments in particular have been pragmatic and relatively uncorrupt. Many have committed themselves to providing important public goods such as education, health care, and information and communication technology infrastructure. Good governance has also supported the effective functioning of markets.

Asian countries have nurtured competent private sectors, too. A well-educated and skilled labor force, along with well-directed economic policies, was key to building up diversified and technologically sophisticated export industries. And Asian firms have shown great dynamism and agility in responding to both the 2008 global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the Asian century currently seems a distant prospect, mainly owing to its lack of unity. China is clearly an economic and military superpower, but its authoritarian model

does not appeal to the region’s democracies.

Japan and India are also leading regional and global players, while Australia, Indonesia, and South Korea, all G20 members, play important political and economic roles as well.

Little wonder, then, that an effective formal regional institution like the european Union is entirely absent.

Despite establishing regional bodies such as the Association of Southeast Asian nations and the east Asia Summit to resolve economic and political differences, Asian leaders have yet to share a common vision for regional integration and cooperation.

And with geopolitical tensions rising in the east and South China Seas, the Korean Peninsula, and along the China-India border, military conflicts remain a possible threat to regional peace and prosperity. external actors will continue to play a key role in the region, partly because Asia is heavily dependent on its exports to the United States and the eU. True, with COVID-19 disrupting global supply chains, companies now prefer to localize or regionalize their production networks. This shift could deepen trade ties among Asian countries, where a growing middle class is expected to generate its own demand for

When illness is invisible COULD A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW SOCIETY AFFECTS SICKNESS AND THE BRAIN HELP US SOLVE MEDICAL MYSTERIES? New StateSmaN

W

ALICE ROBB

hen the London-based neurologist Suzanne O’Sullivan flew to Sweden to visit a sick girl in a small town northwest of Stockholm, the child did not acknowledge her. not when O’Sullivan entered her bedroom, or when she knelt down to introduce herself, or even when she examined her. nola (not her real name) wasn’t trying to be rude. It had been more than a year since she had got out of bed, opened her eyes or moved at all. A feeding tube, taped to her cheek, kept her alive.

Yet her vital signs were normal; medical tests found nothing amiss. nola was suffering from a mystery illness known as “resignation syndrome” that afflicts hundreds of children in Sweden. The first cases were officially documented in the early 2000s: children were falling into a sleep so deep that – for days, weeks, even years – they could not be roused. Whatever their parents tried, they did not respond. If the children were pulled into an upright position, they fell back, limp, like rag dolls. The children were sent to the hospital, where doctors performed every test they could think of. Cat scans and blood tests came back normal. eeGs showed brainwaves that zigged and zagged in a healthy pattern. Blood and urine analyses ruled out the possibility that they had been poisoned.

The children’s physiology was normal, and their psychology was inaccessible; they were hardly able to fill out Rorschach tests or talk about their past. It was their unique social circumstances that gave clues into their condition. All of the children were refugees, and they had gone to bed during the long process of applying for asylum.

When they fell asleep, they were facing deportation to countries they scarcely remembered, where their families had suffered severe trauma. nola and her family were members of the persecuted Yazidi minority. When they fled their home in rural Syria, nola’s mother was facing death threats as a result of being assaulted by four men. They arrived in Sweden when nola was a toddler – her age was estimated at around two and a half – and were granted temporary residency. (When

O’Sullivan met her in 2018, nola was thought to be about ten.) As their parents embarked on the lengthy journey towards permanent asylum, nola and her siblings settled happily into their new home, becoming fluent in Swedish and making such close friends that, months after nola stopped speaking, they continued to visit her at home. It was after receiving the news that their application had been refused – via a letter that nola and her siblings had to translate for their parents – that she began to withdraw. One might guess, at this point, that nola’s illness was a response to trauma, but – as O’Sullivan points out in her new book The Sleeping Beauties: And Other Stories of Mystery Illness – there are traumatised children all over the world. While stress and epigenetics no doubt played a role, these factors can’t tell the whole story; they can’t explain why it was asylum-seeking children primarily in Sweden who were affected by the sleeping sickness.

The missing piece, O’Sullivan believes, is in their environment, and in the children’s awareness that others like them were at risk of falling into an impenetrable sleep. “The children reacted to their situation by unconsciously playing out a sick role that had entered the folklore of their small community – a role that had been coded in their brains by their cultural environment,” O’Sullivan argues. “Their brains were primed to manifest apathy when faced with a particular trigger.”

The key word is “unconsciously”: those suffering from psychosomatic illnesses have no more volition over their symptoms than anyone else. Still, suffering that doesn’t show up in brain scans or blood tests is liable to be dismissed; patients become suspects, forced to defend themselves against accusations that they are “faking it”. O’Sullivan powerfully demonstrates how wrong this is. “every medical problem is a combination of the biological, the psychological and the social,” she writes. Cancer, primarily a biological disease, can have an environmental trigger. Depression, primarily a psychological disorder, can have physiological effects.

In Western medicine, the role of society is often ignored. Yet there is no doubting the impact of culture and community on illness and the brain. O’Sullivan explains how diseases with psychological or social origins still depend on unconscious cognitive processes.

We are constantly exposed to huge quantities of information, but the brain deems much of it irrelevant and throws it away, focusing instead on the inputs that, based on expectations and prior experience, ought to matter most. Over time, these connections are strengthened and biases – sometimes healthy, sometimes not – are reinforced. Say you catch a cold, develop laryngitis and lose your voice. The next time you have a sore throat, your brain – comparing this experience to the last – might send the wrong signals, causing you to lose your voice once again.

O’Sullivan travels the world collecting fascinating stories of culture-bound syndromes, which she relays with nuance and sensitivity. Among the Miskito of nicaragua, young people, mainly girls, suffering from “grisi siknis” experience dizziness, convulsions and terrifying visions of the devil. Unless they are restrained, and the evil spirits ritually exorcised, they may succumb to violent behaviour and self-harm. In a tropical town in Guyana, teenage girls began collapsing en masse, recovering only when they left their boarding school and returned to their families. An epidemic of convulsions gripped a school in upstate new York, which was resolved only after the camera crews and newscasters – some of whom insisted that the children had been poisoned by the residue of

a long-ago chemical spill – finally left.

O’Sullivan notices that these illnesses often serve a purpose: alerting a community to a patient’s need for help or providing a way to communicate distress. “Culturebound syndromes are often a metaphor for something that cannot be expressed in a more explicit way within a certain community,” she writes. For example, “Resignation syndrome gives a voice to the voiceless.”

(Psychosomatic illness is more common in women, and O’Sullivan suggests this may be due, in part, to “their voiceless position in society”.) *** O’Sullivan writes with a refreshing humility; unlike some doctor- authors, she doesn’t paint herself as a miracle-worker. An epilepsy specialist, she has been a neurology consultant since 2004 and an author since 2015, when her debut, It’s All in Your head, won her the Wellcome prize for science writing and a reputation as a talented “detective of the mind”. Both her first book and her 2018 follow-up, Brainstorm: Detective Stories from the World of neurology, deal with psychosomatic illness, mostly among her own patients.

As O’Sullivan travels further afield in The Sleeping Beauties, she is attuned to the irrational beliefs that are widespread in Western culture, inviting us to consider that if the concept of spirit possession sounds farfetched, so does the idea that going outside in the rain will cause a cold, or that chicken soup will cure it. She reflects on the patients she couldn’t help, and is haunted by the ones that she – or the brand of medicine that she practises – may have even harmed.

Sienna (a pseudonym) was a first-year university student and a savvy medical consumer. By the time she made an appointment with O’Sullivan, she had already accumulated a long list of diagnoses, including low blood pressure, hypermobility, irritable bowel syndrome and a sleep disorder. Sienna was now suffering from what she called “blank spells”: she was having trouble focusing in noisy rooms, and sometimes spaced out if a lecturer spoke too quickly. Sienna and her parents were certain that these were epileptic seizures, and only wanted O’Sullivan to confirm the diagnosis.

Privately, O’Sullivan found Sienna’s symptoms not only unconcerning but relatable, and she feared that Sienna had already

production.

But America and the eU, as well as emerging markets in Africa and Latin America, will remain important trade partners for Asia. The region’s future trajectory will thus depend on how effectively it can prevent global trade protectionism and minimize the impact of US-China strategic competition, which is the single biggest obstacle to the development of collective Asian leadership.

After all, Asia still relies heavily on the US for peace and security. Many countries, including Australia, Japan, the Philippines, and South Korea, are US allies and do not want to choose sides. Within the framework of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or the Quad, the US, Japan, India, and Australia are strengthening ties to confront China’s increasing regional influence. The group also recently announced a plan to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to Southeast Asian countries, while China has been supplying its own vaccines to much of the developing world. Unified Asian leadership can emerge only once China and the US compromise and cooperate.

An increasingly prominent Asia will have to assume greater responsibilities and obligations. The region’s governments must actively engage in solving regional and global challenges, and cooperate constructively with other regions. And they must contribute to improving global governance.

There will be no Asian century until Asia’s leaders recognize that it must also be a century of shared global prosperity.

Lee Jong-Wha, Professor of Economics at Korea University, was chief economist at the Asian Development Bank and a senior adviser for international economic affairs to former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

been over-medicalised – that she might be unconsciously embodying some of her diagnoses. Still, she agreed to order a battery of tests and kept Sienna at the hospital, under full-time observation, for a week.

After reviewing the test results, O’Sullivan told Sienna that her blank spells were not due to epilepsy, but to brief episodes of dissociation. Sienna didn’t like that: she felt as though O’Sullivan was accusing her of faking her symptoms, and she demanded even more testing. “If I had been more truthful with Sienna, I would have said I thought her symptoms indicated a difficulty coping with escalating academic pressures,” O’Sullivan admits. “I would have said they were not an illness, but a sign that the life she had chosen was impacting negatively on her.” *** As I read about Sienna, I remembered an episode from my own childhood. When I was around 11, I developed a constant pain in my hip. I was studying ballet at the time, and this new ache represented a setback. I couldn’t trace its onset to a specific fracture or fall; the pain had crept up on me until I could no longer ignore it. Desperate for a diagnosis, and a cure, I visited specialists and physical therapists and slid into an MRI machine that made me think of a coffin. But the scans came back normal. eventually, I saw an orthopaedist who specialised in ballet injuries, and who was intimately familiar with the culture in which I was embedded. Like his predecessors, he found nothing physically wrong with me. At the end of the exam, he looked at me – with my tight bun, my notso-high insteps and my not-so-turned-out hips – and asked me a question.

“Look around at the girls in your class,” he said. (There were about 20 of us.) “Only one of you is going to make it. Do you think it’s going to be you?” I am sure this was devastating at the time, but it was also, I think, the right thing to say. I doubt, after reading O’Sullivan’s book, that my mysterious pain had a biological cause. “Sometimes,” O’Sullivan writes, “illness is a sign that the life we have chosen for ourselves is not the right one, but Western culture doesn’t make it easy to acknowledge that.” My pain served a purpose: it allowed me to externalise my failure and gave me an excuse to step back.

That was nearly 20 years ago. Medical categories are expanding all the time. I wondered, as I read about the growing pressure O’Sullivan feels to classify and to diagnose the grey areas, if that doctor would say the same today.

Alice Robb is the author of “Why We Dream: The Science, Creativity and Transformative Power of Dreams” (Picador) and the forthcoming “Don’t Think, Dear” (Oneworld).

The Sleeping Beauties by Suzanne O’Sullivan, Picador, 336pp, £16.99

Sunday, 4 April, 2021

BUSIneSS 09

KARACHI CORPORATE CORNER STEP urges students to start entry test preparation LAHORE: Engineering Universities have announced dates for ECAT/FUNGAT Admissions Entry Tests.

University of Engineering & Technology will conduct ECAT from May 24 to 27. Hence, students are urged to start their entry test preparations as soon as possible.

Students across Pakistan can get more information on the test patterns and instructions at step.pgc.edu or can register online for entry test preparation regular sessions at admissions.step.pgc.edu. PRESS RElEASE

K-Electric inaugurates Mehmoodabad Grid Station. Set up with state-of-the-art equipment provided by longtime technology partner, Siemens Pakistan, the Mehmoodabad Grid Station is one of the power utility’s few grid stations that can be remotely managed from the KE Load Dispatch Centre. Among others, the chief financial officer (CFO) of Siemens Pakistan as well as KElectric CFO, chief marketing and communications officer (CMCO) and chief people officer (CPO) of were also in attendance at the ceremony. Since privatisation, KElectric has invested over $3.5 billion into Karachi’s power infrastructure. This includes over $900 million invested in the transmission network. PR

BOI PrEParES STraTEgy FOr rEFOrMINg BIlaTEral INvESTMENT TrEaTIES ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

HE Board of Investment (BOI) has prepared a strategy for reforming Pakistan’s existing and future bilateral investment treaties (BITs) with 48 countries.

Pakistan has concluded 53 BITs with these countries to date as tools for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) through the provision of investment protection and facilitation to foreign investors. However, presently due to the rising trend in investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) cases, new BITs are on the decline and terminations continue to rise.

According to details, the BOI has proposed that all 16 unratified BITs not

PAKISTAN HAS PAID BILLIONS OF DOLLARS COMPENSATIONS TO FOREIGN INVESTORS be further processed for ratification besides, 23 ratified BITs, which completed the initial duration of 10, 15 or 20 years, be terminated by giving six months to 1-year notices.

The investment promotion agency suggested that contracting States should be offered an option of renegotiating existing treaties on the basis of a new template; however, in case the party doesn’t accept, the government will engage them to terminate BITs. Article continues after this advertisement In case of non-agreement by the other States, a strategy may be adopted on

case to case basis which includes engaging them in signing the joint interpretation protocol to mitigate harmful effects.

Moreover, it has also been suggested to engage contracting States in amending certain provisions like ISDS, fair and equitable treatment (FET), stand-by arrangement (SBA), and expropriation.

Sources privy to the matter told Profit that the Cabinet had not taken up this agenda in the Thursday meeting, therefore it will now be considered in the next meeting. “Pakistan may wait till the timeline of termination as pro-

Cement sales grow record 44.4pc in March

Karachi traders refuse to follow Covid SOPs Traders in Karachi have refused to close businesses by 8 pm amid the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Addressing a joint presser, the representatives of Sindh Tajir Ittehad (STI) and All City Tajir Ittehad (ACTI) announced that they would not close their businesses from Friday. “Arrest us and put us behind bars,” they said while announcing the ‘jail bharo’ movement. “Closing businesses at 8 pm will lead to an economic meltdown for traders,” the representatives said, adding that they planned to recover their losses owing to the last year’s lockdown, while fresh restrictions will further damage businesses.

They also lamented that the Sindh government had announced to waive-off taxes last year, but instead imposed new taxes since then. MONITORING REPORT

Weekly SPI down 0.43pc ISLAMABAD APP

The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) based for the week ended on April 1, for the combined consumption group, witnessed a decrease of 0.43 per cent as compared to the previous week. The SPI for the week under review in the above mentioned group was recorded at 147.12 points against 147.76 points registered in the previous week, according to the latest data of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). As compared to the corresponding week of last year, the SPI for the combined consumption group in the week under review witnessed an increase of 17.2pc.

The SPI for the lowest consumption group up to Rs17,732 witnessed a decrease of 0.32pc, going down from 158.43 points last week to 157.93 points during the week under review. The items, which recorded a decrease in their average prices, included chicken, tomatoes, diesel, onions, petrol, moong pulse, potatoes, LPG Cylinder, gram pulse and mustard oil. The commodities which recorded an increase in their average prices included bananas, sugar, cooking oil, mutton, beef, shirting, garlic, vegetable ghee, bread, curd, fresh milk, wheat, washing soap and eggs.

The cement sector posted the highest-ever monthly growth of 44.39 per cent in March at 5.773 million tonnes from 3.722m tonnes in the corresponding period last year due to a massive increase in domestic consumption and exports.

According to a local media report that compiled data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), local cement dispatches in March 2021 stood at 4.563m tonnes, up by 42pc compared to 3.214m tonnes in the same period last year whereas, exports surged by 60pc from 507,480 tonnes in March 2020 to 810,962 tonnes in March 2021.

During the month under review, cement mills in the North dispatched 3.809m tonnes to local markets against 2.749m tonnes in March 2020, up by 38.52pc.

In March 2021, south-based mills dispatched 753,704 tonnes in domestic markets, which was 62.28pc higher than 464,440 tonnes in the same period last year.

Exports from North-based mills registered an enormous increase of 162.58pc as the volumes increased from 106,759 tonnes in March 2020 to 280,330 tonnes in March 2021.

Exports from the South rose by 32.42pc to 530,632 tonnes in March 2021 from 400,721 tonnes during the same month last year.

During the first nine months of the current fiscal year (9MFY21), total cement dispatches (domestic and exports) were 43.325m tonnes that was 17pc higher than 37.035m tonnes during the corresponding period of last fiscal year. MONITORING REPORT

Goods worth Rs700m recovered by Peshawar Customs FENCING AT TORKHUM BORDER FAILS TO CURB SMUGGLING PESHAWAR AZIZ BUNERI

Peshawar Customs authorities have seized non-custom paid goods worth over Rs700 million in the past month.

According to details, Peshawar Customs’ AntiSmuggling Wing seized the non-customs paid goods in 47 different operations at Peshawar and Torkham border as smuggling continues despite fencing on the PakAfghan border. Data released by the department shows seized items include textile, gold, cigarettes, foreign

currency, mobiles, cardamom, powdered milk, spare parts, fireworks and explosives.

According to sources, it takes several days for noncustoms paid goods to be smuggled into Pakistan from Khyber District to Peshawar through Torkham and then distributed throughout the country.

Wali Khan, an Afghan resident associated with the trade-related transport on the Pak-Afghan border, said that most of the transit goods that enter Afghanistan are smuggled back to Pakistan.

He also said that fencing at the border has reduced smuggling to some extent but has not been able to put an end to it as the smugglers are creative.

“Women and children have been recruited for the illicit movement goods including tires and other car spare parts, cigarettes, tea etc.,” Khan said.

vided in the respective BIT is reached,” they added.

According to documents, the majority of Pakistani BITs contain standard provisions relating to expropriation, FET, national treatment (NT), most favourite nation (MEN), ISDS and prohibition of performance requirements — thus shrinking the policy space for the government to adopt any measure of public interest.

Provisions relating to ISDN have exposed the departments to international arbitration as to date, seven cases were lodged by foreign investors in the Interactional Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and three in the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), resulting in Pakistan having to pay billions of dollars in compensations.

SECP proposes amendments to NBMFC regulations ISLAMABAD: In order to improve governance and risk management, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has proposed amendments to Non-Banking Microfinance Companies (NBMFCs) and Notified Entities Regulations, 2008. The proposed amendments, which focus on self-discipline amongst market players and enhance consumer protection of non-banking microfinance companies, have been made available on the SECP website to solicit public comments. It is pertinent to mention here that the sector has 26 operating NBMFCs with over three million active borrowers and a gross loan portfolio of Rs72 billion. During the Covid-19 pandemic, SECP enabled NBMFCs to operate smoothly and provide relief to their respective microfinance clients by enabling the Pakistan Microfinance Investment Company Limited, an apex lender of the microfinance sector, to provide more subordinated debt to NBMFCs for strengthening their equity base. The pandemic, however, demonstrated that the resource base of many NBMFCs needed to be better managed to sustain such adverse situations therefore, the SECP has proposed amendments addressing longer-term values for business continuity and sustainability such as governance, liquidity, risk management and credit underwriting. STAFF REPORT

Suez Canal shipping backlog ends, days after giant vessel freed CAIRO: All ships stranded by the grounding of the giant container ship Ever Given in the Suez Canal in March had passed through the canal by Saturday, ending the backlog that built up during the blockage, the canal authority said. The last 61 ships, out of 422 ships that were queuing when the vessel was dislodged on Monday, passed through the vital trade artery on Saturday, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said. International supply chains were thrown into disarray when the 400-metre-long (430-yard) Ever Given ran aground in the canal on March 23, with specialist rescue teams taking almost a week to free her after extensive dredging and repeated tugging operations. In total, 85 ships had been due to pass through the canal on Saturday including 24 ships that arrived after Ever Given was dislodged, the SCA said. An SCA investigation began on Wednesday into what caused the vessel to run aground in the canal and block the waterway for six days, the canal authority’s chairman, Osama Rabie, told the MBC Masr private TV late on Friday. AGENCIES

Half of UK firms expect long-term post-Brexit disruption LONDON AGENCIES

The majority of British firms have faced disruption with trade with the European Union since Brexit, with many expecting the problem to last for some time, according to a survey published on Saturday.

A trade agreement between London and Brussels which came into force on Jan. 1 has

meant some companies have had to deal with new bureaucracy and rules.

The Survation survey for London First/EY, conducted in February, found 75% had experienced some disruption, even though 71% said they had felt prepared for the changes.

Almost half, 49%, said they expected that to continue in the long-term while nearly a third said they had stopped trading

with the EU and countries not covered by rollover agreements.

The findings echo other surveys which indicate businesses have had difficulties with their supply chains, along with other border and regulatory matters, since the new trading arrangements came into operation.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the disruption is mainly due to “teething” problems which would ease as firms got to

grips with the new system.

“It’s clear that the disruptions to UK trade with the EU go beyond teething problems with the new regime,” said John Dickie, Acting Chief Executive of London First.

“If the government is to champion Global Britain successfully, it must redouble its efforts to fix our trading relationship with the EU.”

The survey of 1,040 businesses found 29% of firms reported their cost base had increased, with half of these businesses saying those costs would have to be passed on to customers.

However, 26% reported they had a better understanding of how to access new markets, and 24% saw the new trading arrangements as a chance to diversify their activities.

Sunday, 4 April, 2021

10 FOREIGN NEWS

KARACHI

MyAnMAr deAth toll MoUnts AMId protests, MIlItAry CrACKdown YANGON

s

Agencies

ECURITY forces in central Myanmar opened fire on anti-coup protesters on Saturday, killing at least two people according to local media. A human rights group said mounting violence since the February 1 military takeover has killed at least 550 civilians.

Of those, 46 were children, according to Myanmar’s Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. Some 2,751 people have been detained or sentenced, the group said.

Threats of lethal violence and arrests of protesters have failed to suppress daily demonstrations across Myanmar demanding

the military step down and reinstate the democratically elected government. The coup reversed years of slow progress toward democracy in the Southeast Asian country.

The Myanmar Now news service reported government forces fired at demonstrators in Monywa city, killing at least two people. One video posted on social media showed a group of protesters carrying away a young man with what appeared to be a serious head wound, as gunfire sounded. His condition wasn’t immediately known.

At least seven people were injured in the shooting, two of whom sustained severe wounds and were taken into custody by soldiers, Myanmar Now said, citing a member of a local rescue team.

Late Friday, armed plainclothes police

UK regulator says AstraZeneca jab safe after 7 blood clot deaths LONDON: Britain’s medicines regulator is urging people to continue taking the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, despite revealing that seven people in the UK have died from rare blood clots after getting the jab. The Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency, or MHRA, said it wasn’t clear if the shots are causing the clots, and that its “rigorous review into the UK reports of rare and specific types of blood clots is ongoing.” Though the agency said late Friday that seven people had died as a result of developing blood clots, it didn’t disclose any information about their ages or health conditions. In total, MHRA said had identified 30 cases of rare blood clot events out of 18.1 million AstraZeneca doses administered up to and including March 24. The risk associated with this type of blood clot is “very small,” it added. “The benefits of Covid-19 vaccine AstraZeneca in preventing Covid-19 infection and its complications continue to outweigh any risks and the public should continue to get their vaccine when invited to do so,” said Dr. June Raine, the agency’s chief executive.

Concerns over the AstraZeneca vaccine has already prompted some countries including Canada, France, Germany and the Netherlands to restrict its use to older people. The UK, which has rolled out coronavirus vaccines faster than other European nations, is particularly reliant on the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was developed by scientists at the University of Oxford. MHRA’s view about the relative benefits of the vaccine is shared by the European Medicines Agency. It has said a causal link between unusual blood clots in people who have had the vaccine is “not proven, but is possible,” and that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks of side effects. The World Health Organization has also urged countries to continue using the jab. Adam Finn, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Bristol, said the “extreme rarity” of the blood-clotting events in the context of the millions of jabs administered in the UK makes the decision facing people very straightforward. Agencies

India braces for Covid-19 curbs as infections hit 6-month high MUMBAI: India’s biggest cities braced for stricter lockdowns and other Covid-19 curbs on Saturday as infections hit a six-month high, as a month-long surge continued in the country third-worst hit by the pandemic. India’s richest state, Maharashtra, accounted for more than half of the 89,129 new cases reported by the national health ministry in the last 24 hours, with a record 47,827 infections. The state’s chief minister warned citizens of a lockdown if cases continued to rise at their current rate, saying medical infrastructure would be inadequate in a couple of weeks. In the southern state of Karnataka, home to India’s tech capital Bengaluru, authorities ordered gyms to be closed, barred functions at religious places and told cinema halls, bars, pubs and restaurants to limit the number of people allowed in. India’s capital, New Delhi recorded more than 3,500 cases, its highest this year, but its chief minister ruled out another lockdown for now. Daily coronavirus cases have surged from around 15,000 in early March to 88,000 or so at the start of April. The south Asian nation recorded 89,129 new infections and 714 deaths, the ministry said.

That was the biggest daily rise since Sept. 20 and the most deaths since Oct. 21, according to a Reuters tally. India follows only the United States and Brazil in infections, with more than 12 million recorded since the start of the outbreak. The government has intensified its vaccination drive in recent weeks, but the shots have been slow to reach India’s 1.3 billion people. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has faced criticism for exporting vaccines produced in India when most Indians are yet to get them. Agencies

took five people into custody after they spoke with a CNN reporter in a market in Yangon, the country’s largest city, local media reported citing witnesses. The arrests occurred in three separate incidents.

Two women reportedly shouted for help as they were being arrested, Myanmar Now reported. One police officer, who was carrying a gun, asked if “anyone dared to help them,” a witness told the news service.

“They pointed their pistols at everyone — at passersby and at people in the store,” a witness said of two police officers, who forcibly took away two other women in the market.

Meanwhile, the Karen National Union representing the ethnic minority rebel group that has been fighting the government for

decades condemned “non-stop bombings and airstrikes” against villages and “unarmed civilians” in their homeland along the border with Thailand.

“The attacks have caused the death of many people including children and students, and the destruction of schools, residential homes, and villages. These terrorist acts are clearly a flagrant violation of local and international laws,” the group said in a statement.

In areas controlled by the Karen, more than a dozen civilians have been killed and over 20,000 displaced since March 27, according to the Free Burma Rangers, a relief agency operating in the region.

About 3,000 Karen fled to Thailand, but many have returned under unclear circum-

stances. Thai authorities said they went back voluntarily, but aid groups say they are not safe and many are hiding in the jungle and in caves on the Myanmar side of the border.

More than a dozen minority groups have sought greater autonomy from the central government for decades, sometimes through armed struggle. Several of the major groups — including the Kachin, the Karen and the RakhineArakan Army — have denounced the coup and said they will defend protesters in their territories.

After weeks of overnight cutoffs of internet access, Myanmar’s military on Friday shut all links apart from those using fiberoptic cable, which was working at drastically reduced speeds. Access to mobile networks and all wireless — the less costly options used by most people in the developing country — remained blocked on Saturday.

Myanmar languished for five decades under strict military rule, which led to international isolation and sanctions. As the generals loosened their grip, culminating in Aung San Suu Kyi’s rise to leadership in the 2015 elections, the international community responded by lifting most sanctions and pouring investment into the country.

Authors of UK racism report hit back at ‘misrepresentation’ LONDON Agencies

The commission behind a report that concluded that Britain doesnot have a systemic problem with racism has defended itself against critics, some of whom have argued that it downplayed the country’s historic role in slavery.

In a response late Friday, the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities said disagreement with the government-backed review had “tipped into misrepresentation” and it took particular umbrage at accusations that it put a positive spin on slavery.

“This misrepresentation risks undermining the purpose of the report — understanding and addressing the causes of inequality in the UK — and any of the positive work that results from it,” the commission said in a statement.

The Conservative government launched the commission’s inquiry into racial disparities in the wake of last year’s Black Lives Matter movement.

The panel of experts, which was made up of 11 members from a broad cross section of ethnic backgrounds, concluded that while “outright racism” exists in Britain, the country is not “institutionally racist” or “rigged” against minorities.

Citing strides to close gaps between ethnic groups in educational and economic achievement, the report, which was published Wednesday, said race was becoming “less important” as a factor in creating disparities that also are fueled by class and family backgrounds.

Many academics, lawmakers unions and anti-racism activists were skeptical of the findings in the 258page report, with some claiming the commission ignored barriers to equality, while others said it downplayed the ongoing legacy of Britain’s colonial past as well as its role in slavery.

David Olusoga, professor of public history at Manchester University and one of Britain’s leading academics on slavery, became the latest to join in the criticism.

“Determined to privilege comforting national myths over hard historical truths, they (the panel) give the impression of being people who would prefer this history to be brushed back under the carpet,” he wrote in a piece for The Guardian newspaper published Saturday.

In their statement published before Olusoga’s article, the commission said the idea it would downplay the atrocities

of slavery “is as absurd as it is offensive to every one of us” and described the personal attacks on its members as “irresponsible and dangerous.”

“We have never said that racism does not exist in society or in institutions,” it said. “We say the contrary: racism is real and we must do more to tackle it.”

Like other countries, Britain has faced an uncomfortable reckoning with race since the death of George Floyd, a Black American, by a white police officer in May 2020, which sparked antiracism protests around the world.

Large crowds at Black Lives Matter protests across the UK last summer called on the government and institutions to face up to the legacy of the British Empire and the country’s extensive profits from the slave trade.

The toppling of a statue of 17thcentury slave trader Edward Colston in the city of Bristol in June prompted a pointed debate about how to deal with Britain’s past. Many felt such statues extol racism and are an affront to Black Britons. Others, including the prime minister, argued that removing them was erasing a piece of history.

Malaysia is independent, says minister who called Chinese counterpart 'elder brother' KUALA LUMPUR Agencies

Malaysia’s foreign minister stressed on Saturday that his country remained independent in foreign policy after some social media users and opposition politicians lambasted him for referring to his Chinese counterpart as his “elder brother”.

Hishammuddin Hussein, on his first visit to China as foreign minister, had expressed hope that he and Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi would pursue closer ties between the nations, including post-Covid-19 cooperation

and fighting the pandemic.

However he provoked controversy back home when he told his counterpart in a joint press briefing on Thursday: “You will always be my elder brother.”

China is Malaysia’s largest trade partner, but relations between the two countries have been tested in recent years by Beijing’s increasingly assertive foreign policy in the region, particularly its maritime claims in the resource-rich South China Sea, some of which conflict with Malaysia’s own claims.

Some Malaysians took to social media to chide Hishammuddin, saying

he appeared to be appeasing the global superpower, while opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim demanded the minister retract his comment and issue an apology to the country.

“This is not the language and style that should be used in the world of diplomacy and international relations because it seems to put Malaysia’s status as a foreign puppet,” he said on Saturday. “As a country that is neutral and not in favour of any great power in the world, his statement is clearly a form of insult to our own country,” Anwar said.

Following the criticism, Hisham-

muddin said on Twitter that he had said “elder brother” to show respect to Wang Yi, and that the words did not refer to Malaysia’s relationship with China.

He said he had been “respecting that Wang Yi is older, and a more senior foreign minister; hence ‘elder brother’ to me personally”.

“Being respectful does not signify weakness,” he added.

“Rest assured that Malaysia remains independent, principled and pragmatic in terms of our foreign policy - founded on the values of peace, humanity, justice, and equality.”

Sunday, 4 April, 2021

SPORTS 11

KARACHI

Pakistan eye ODi series win Over sOuth africa tODay JOHANNESBURG

t

AGENCIES

HE first ODI painted a broad enough picture of both sides' strengths and weaknesses in a way whole series often fail to do. Across exactly 100 overs of two mid-table sides jostling for position in the World Cup Super League, South Africa's inconsistency at the top was laid bare, as were Pakistan's struggles with their death bowling and a relatively lightweight middle order.

Equally, the home side's resilience lower down, as well as the purple patches Anrich Nortje and Rassie van der Dussen currently enjoy, took them within inches of an unlikely win, while the brilliance of Babar Azam and the assuredness of Imam-ul-Haq came in handy in a below-par chase of 274. Nothing

that happened at SuperSport Park will convince anyone these teams will compete for the biggest prizes just yet, but the first ODI showed they are still capable of offering up absorbing contests.

Pakistan have a chance of wrapping up the series at the earliest opportunity in Johannesburg, which, regardless of the state of South African cricket, would be a major feather in the touring party's cap. Series in South Africa have historically been a struggle for Pakistan, and the inflation of ODI scores notwithstanding, Pakistan's chase on Friday was the joint third-highest outside of Asia in their history. They took wickets up top, and just about killed the game off with one partnership. In many ways, it was a dominant performance, large parts of which they merely need to replicate to put themselves 2-0 up.

South Africa will draw positives not just

from intangibles like the spirited fightback and a never-say-die attitude, but the knowledge of significant room for improvement.

The game might have gone down to the last ball, but they might believe they lost it in the first 15 overs; the loss of four early wickets meant they were always swimming against the current. That they almost got to the shoreline suggests a less disastrous start up top would place much greater pressure on Pakistan, and as we all saw on Friday, Pakistan under pressure always look like they might have a collapse in them. The hosts will play in a different kit to mark the annual pink ODI, which raises money for breast cancer awareness and treatment.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Tabraiz Shamsi didn't get any wickets, but the scorecard doesn't quite tell the tale of his contribution to the late drama in Centurion. Even while Azam and Imam racked up the runs, Shamsi

Sri Lanka batting stands firm against West Indies to ensure a drawn series ANTIGUA AGENCIES

Sri Lanka’s top-order batting held firm to ensure a draw and a drawn series against the West Indies on the last day of the second and final Test at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Friday.

Set the daunting target of 377 and resuming at 29 without loss, the tourists reached 193-2 with a top score of 75 by captain Dimuth Karunaratne and an unbeaten 66 by Oshada Fernando leading the resistance.

After managing just 16 runs in three previous innings, Karunaratne’s 25th Test half-century spanned over four hours. He faced 176 deliveries and struck nine fours before being trapped lbw by seam bowling all-rounder Kyle Mayers just before the end of the post-lunch period.

“I am really happy the way we played in this series, especially the bowlers and particularly Suranga (Lakmal),” said Karunaratne in paying tribute to the man of the series for his 11 wickets in the two matches.

“We need to improve on our batting though, especially in building partnerships. That’s a concern for me going forward.”

Karunaratne put on 101 for the first wicket with Lahiru Thirimanne who battled through to the afternoon period before he eventually fell for 39, edging a full delivery from fast bowler Alzarri Joseph for Rahkeem Cornwall at first slip.

Thirimanne ended the series with a tally of 240 runs, the most on either side and putting him three runs ahead of the leading West Indian, captain and fellow opening batsman Kraigg Brathwaite.

“None of our players ever gave up. Everyone tried really, really hard all the way through,” said Brathwaite reflecting on 10 days of Test cricket and especially the final day of the series when they struggled for any potency on a placid surface. “We are heading in the right direction and once we keep that discipline and commitment we will be a team to reckon with.”

Brathwaite’s innings of 126 and 85 made him the obvious choice as man of the match.

While the home skipper exhausted every bowling option available to him, Fernando ensured there was to be no late stumble in the final session in partnership with former captain Dinesh Chandimal.

As well as he played though in nearly three hours at the crease, Fernando again seemed vulnerable to the gentle swing bowling of Mayers.

Dismissed in his previous two innings by the Barbadian, he needed the benefit of television replay technology and a successful DRS referral to have a leg-before verdict against him off Mayers overturned.

Sri Lanka’s task was made easier by the absence of Shannon Gabriel for most of the afternoon. West Indies’ fastest bowler left the field in his sixth over with what appeared to be a hamstring injury.

That injury would have only worsened Gabriel’s mood after he saw wicketkeeper Joshua da Silva spill a leg-side catch offered by Thirimanne at the start of the day when the opener was just on 17.

Early-morning rain delayed the start of play by just over an hour, effectively ending any distant hope the Sri Lankans would have entertained of launching a runchase.

was a leash on the visitors' otherwise incessant scoring, conceding just three boundaries; the fewest among his team-mates. His wrong'uns spun prodigiously and appeared to trouble most batsmen, and his consistency of line and variable turn gave off the impression any over he bowled could be eventful.

It was telling that Temba Bavuma persisted with him at the other end while Nortje was picking off wickets at the other. In the T20I series in Pakistan, he coupled control with wicket-taking, and he doesn't look too far away from doing that here, either.

For an opener with an average over 50, it's odd Imam-ul-Haq's place in the Pakistan side is subjected to as much forensic criticism as it is. Once more, he appeared to deal with it with aplomb, serving as the perfect foil as Azam helped him take the game away from South Africa in the first half. While Fakhar Zaman continues to misfire at the

other end, Imam offers a level of poise to a top order that historically possessed little, but that may well be the stick that's used to beat him with in the long-term.

TEAM NEWS: South Africa will suffer absences once the IPL begins, but for now, they have their full squad at their disposal, and should field an unchanged side. Pakistan might want to shore up the middle order with another batsman, with Asif Ali's place under increasing pressure. Haider Ali could be in line for the nod, with everyone below Babar subsequently dropping a slot down.

PITCH AND CONDITIONS: This should be a high-scoring game, in line with The Wanderers' reputation. Inclement weather is unlikely to make its presence felt.

SQUADS: South Africa (probable): Aiden Markram, Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma (captain), Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi, Glenton Stuurman.

Pakistan: Imam ul Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam (captain), Haider Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Danish Aziz, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Rauf.

Injured Tiger Woods to miss Masters AUGUSTA AGENCIES

Severe leg injuries in a February car crash ensured Tiger Woods won't be playing in this year's Masters on the 20th anniversary of his "Tiger Slam" victory at Augusta National.

But the 45-year-old superstar, whose 15 major titles include five Masters green jackets, will have his legacy felt across the famed layout.

Woods is recovering at home in Florida after suffering serious injuries when his car flew off the road and flipped several times during the Southern California accident.

Hours of surgery were required to repair his shattered lower right leg and ankle, including a rod inserted into his tibia and the use of screws and pins to stabilize the joint.

Woods, who won his most recent major at the 2019 Masters, became the first black golfer to win a major title when he captured the 1997 Masters in record fashion.

On Thursday, the Masters will pay tribute to the first black golfer to play in the event when Lee Elder hits a ceremonial tee shot alongside usual honorary starters

Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.

"Lee was a pioneer. He was the one that broke the color barrier here and paved the way for players of color like myself to be able to play this event," Woods said about Elder.

"It's ironic that he did it in '75, I was born in '75, and when I won in '97, he was on the back of the green."

"To have him as our Honorary Starter, it's awfully special and important in the history of the event, but also for me personally, it's probably even more special."

Woods, whose 82 US PGA victories is level with Sam Snead for the all-time record, faces a long recovery and questions about his future.

He was already recovering from a fifth career back surgery at the time of the crash, which investigators have described as "purely an accident" with no evidence of impairment.

Woods completed a fairytale comeback from multiple back operations to win the 2019 Masters, an emotional victory that saw him hug his children the way he did his late father after his 1997 triumph.

But his most amazing golf feat was likely the "Tiger Slam" when he won the 2000 US and British

Opens and PGA Championship and then added the 2001 Masters to capture four major trophies in a row. "I've had some very special things happen to me," Woods said in 2001. "But I guess to win four consecutive majors, I don't think I've ever accomplished anything this great."

Woods, who was 25, recalled himself as "a little young, a little naive" for his 1997 victory but said in 2001 "I understand. I've been around the block. I have better appreciation for winning a major championship, and to win four of them in succession, it's just hard to believe.

"You've got to have your game peak at the right time. You've got to get some good breaks and you've just got to have everything kind of go right.

And to have it happen four straight times, that's awfully nice.

Some of the golfing gods are looking down on me the right way."

Woods became emotional on the 18th green after victory was assured, putting his cap over his face to hide his feelings.

"It was just a weird feeling," Woods said in 2001. "When I didn't have any more shots to play, that's when I started to realize what I had done. I started getting a little emotional."

Miami Open: Sinner battles past Bautista Agut, Hurkacz stuns Rublev to set up final MIAMI AGENCIES

Italian teen Jannik Sinner rallied past Spanish seventh seed Roberto Bautista Agut at the Miami Open on Friday to book a meeting with Hubert Hurkacz in the biggest final of his young career.

Sinner, who reached last year’s French Open quarter-finals, defeated Bautista 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to become only the fourth teen to reach the men’s final in the 36-year history of the ATP Miami Masters.

Poland’s Hurkacz, seeded 26th, won his second straight match over a top 10 player, beating Russian fourth seed Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-4.

Coming off a quarter-final win over second-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas, Hurkacz became the first player to take a set off Rublev at the tournament. It’s the first time he has earned two top 10 wins in the same tournament.

Sinner, 19 and playing only his third Masters 1000, joined 1990 champion Andre Agassi, 2005 runner-up Rafael Nadal and

2007 winner Novak Djokovic as Miami teen finalists.

“Today we both showed great tennis,” Sinner said. “It was not easy. It was a little bit windy as well. I’m very happy about my performance today.” Sinner took his eighth career triumph over a top-20 rival and ensured he will rise into the ATP’s top 25 next week, although he nearly smashed a racquet in a tense second set.

“Sometimes you get the frustration going but just trying to stay calm, which is how I am normally,” Sinner said. “Sometimes you have to scream or do something else, but don’t break racquet. Please let me don’t break racquet.” Sinner seeks his third career ATP title after last year at Sofia and February in an Australian Open tuneup at Melbourne. As excited as he was at reaching the final, he kept a long-term perspective about what it meant for his career.

“This kind of stuff can help you a lot. It’s good to be in finals here but it doesn’t mean anything,” Sinner said. “The road is very long and I want to improve day after day and we’ll see what’s coming.”

Bautista, who ousted Russian top seed Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals, missed out on his second career ATP Masters 1000 final after 2016 at Shanghai, where he lost to Britain’s Andy Murray.

KEEPING IT SIMPLE: Bautista broke Sinner to open then saved two break points and held for a 2-0 lead. But Sinner broke back at love in the sixth game to level at 33. The Spaniard broke again for 6-5 when Sinner netted a backhand and he held to claim the set on his second ace after 51 minutes. In the second set, Sinner saved four break points in the seventh game to hold but sent a backhand wide on his first break chance in the eighth games as Bautista held for 4-4. Sinner held and then broke when the Spaniard netted a backhand to force a third set. Bautista broke at love for a 2-1 lead in the deciding set, but Sinner roared back to claim the victory and ensure himself a place in next week’s ATP top 25.

“I tried to stick with my serve after the second set, maybe a little bit deeper,” Sinner said. “Trying to keep my game simple and make it in the best possible way so I’m very

happy today.” Hurkacz, who already has one victory this season in Delray Beach in January, advanced to the first Masters 1000 final of his career. “After winning a title at the beginning of the year I had a couple of rough matches,” Hurkacz said. “I have just been trying to improve my game. “ Hurkacz hammered eight aces and broke Rublev’s serve three times while being broken just once in their one hour, 27 minute match. Besides dominating on the serve,

Hurkacz struck more backhand winners than the Russian. “He played a couple of amazing shots,” Hurkacz said of Rublev. “I was able to play to his backhand to get advantages on the rallies.” Rublev fought to stay alive in the opening set before Hurkacz finished it off with a powerful serve on the sixth set point.

In the second set, Hurkacz clinched the win on his third match point, blasting a cross court forward winner that froze Rublev in his tracks.

Sunday, 4 April, 2021

Prayer tImINgs

NEWS

FAJR SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

5:36

12:14

3:07

7:01

5:27

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PM gIves APProvAl To reConsTITuTe eAC ISLAMABAD

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sHaHZaD ParaCHa

RIME Minister Imran Khan on Saturday approved the reconstitution of the Economic Advisory Council (EAC), which will recommend macro-economic stabilization measures and carry forward the reform agenda for robust and sustained economic growth.

As per the details, the EAC shall be chaired by the prime minister and the minister for finance and revenue shall be the

vice chairman. In the absence of the premier, the vice chairman will chair the meeting.

The private sector members include Abid Suleri, Arif Habib, Asif Quershi, Ejaz Nabi, Farooq Rahmatullah, Mohammad Ali Tabba, Dr Rashid Amjad, Salman Shah, Shaukat Tarin, Dr Shamshad Akhtar, Sultan Allana, Syed Salim Raza and Zaid Ali Mohammad.

On the other hand, the ministers for energy, planning, development and reform, industries and production, national food security and economic affairs would also be the members of the EAC.

Covid-19 vaccination certificates announced for travellers ISLAMABAD staff rePort

The government has launched a Covid-19 vaccination certificate for people planning cross-border travels, joining other countries issuing similar documents as they seek ways to reopen their economies.

In an interview on Saturday, Parliamentary Secretary for National Health Services (NHS) Dr Nausheen Hamid said certificates can be downloaded from the NHS website as well as collected from National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) mega centres. “People who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 can now receive a vaccination certificate showing their immunisation status,” Nausheen said, adding an immunisation certificate portal has already been launched. Speaking about the vaccination drive, she said the government is importing China’s CanSino shots in bulk to prepare and package three million doses locally. “The bulk vaccine received will be formulated, sterilised, and packaged in Pakistan. Production of vaccine would start soon under NIH’s trained staff,” she said.

Nausheen further said the government has procured special equipment for this purpose and is training officials to take part in the process. She urged people eligible for Covid-19 vaccination being held in phases to get vaccinated and not succumb to conspiracy theories. She warned that the government is taking strict notice of the carefree attitude of district administrations and police towards enforcement of the Covid-19 guidelines in public places to prevent a resurgence of the virus.

CoronAvIrus In

PAkIsTAn

CONFIRMED CASES:

682,888

LAST UPDATED AT 9:38 AM ON APRIL 3, 2021

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

4,723

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

609,691 14,697 PUNJAB:

266,173 228,356 KP:

90,262

nomic policies in order to enhance their welfare impact for the citizens.

The ultimate goal of the EAC is to promote analytically sound and evidencebased reforms and initiatives after taking all stakeholders on board. The ministry of finance will be the nodal government agency for the EAC. The reconstitution of the EAC is aimed at framing an agenda for economic reforms in an entirely non-partisan manner and promoting an active and informed debate that leads to sound policymaking, analytical vetting and active monitoring.

Asad questions UK’s decision to ban travel from Pakistan MP NAZ SAYS UK IS KNOWINGLY AND CONSCIOUSLY DISCRIMINATING AGAINST PAKISTAN ISLAMABAD staff rePort

Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar on Saturday questioned the United Kingdom’s decision to place Pakistan on a so-called red list of countries and banning entry to its people unless they hold dual citizenship of Britain or Ireland.

London on Friday banned international arrivals from four more countries — Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kenya, and the Philippines — in view of concerns over new virus variants but opted against including European nations that are facing a resurgence of the virus.

“Every country has a right to take decisions to safeguard the health of their citizens,” Umar said in a tweet.

“However, the recent decision by the UK government to add some countries, including Pakistan, on the ‘red list’ raises a legitimate question whether the choice of countries is based on science or foreign policy.”

While London claims the decision was based on advice from public health experts and scientific data, no European nations are placed on the red list, even though much of Europe is witnessing a resurgence of the virus that has prompted many countries to reimpose lockdown restrictions.

Health experts say the surge is being driven by virus variants, including the one first identified in Britain, that are sweeping the continent.

The government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson has faced questions in recent days as to why France, which is suffering one of the worst outbreaks in Europe, is not on the list.

Yet putting France on the red list could have serious implications for trade flows in and out of the UK, given its reliance on traffic from cross-Channel ports.

BRITISH MP QUESTIONS MOVE: Through his tweet, Umar also shared a letter written by Naz Shah, MP from Bradford West and Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion, to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on March 30, prior to restrictions being announced.

“I have a large Pakistani diaspora within my constituency which is why I am writing to simply ask, what scientific data is any decision being led by,” Shah asked in the letter.

She observed that according to re-

cently available data, France, Germany, and India had substantially higher numbers of infections per 100,000.

“It must also be noted that the South African variant isn’t a concern in Pakistan whereas this isn’t the case for example in France and other countries. This begs the question why hasn’t the government extended the red list to France, Germany, and India?”

Shah declared London did not have a coherent strategy for dealing with the red list and was applying decisions led by politics and not data.

“Contrary to what the government is saying, it is clearly not making decisions fed by science/data. Further, it is knowingly and consciously discriminating against Pakistan and the Pakistani diaspora community,” Shah said.

“I’ve been raising this for weeks and still no answers from Matt Hancock or Dominic Raab,” she said in a separate tweet.

Tareen, son secure pre-arrest bail in FIA case LAHORE INP

A banking court in Lahore on Saturday granted one-week interim bail to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Tareen and his son Ali Tareen in two cases of corporate fraud and money laundering.

Additional District And Sessions Judge Hamid Hussain, while accepting the request, granted bails until April 10 against surety bonds of Rs0.5million apiece. He also directed Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to present its record against the accused in the next hearing. The agency has booked Tareen and members of his family on charges of corporate fraud and money laundering. The cases, filed on March 22, were registered under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating of public shareholders), and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), read with sections 3 and 4 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010. In his response, Tareen termed the charge sheet as “totally fabricated”. “I have already submitted a detailed reply along with concrete evidence in response to FIA notice.

Unfortunate to see them go on another smear campaign against me & my family without establishing anything illegal,” he tweeted.

Tareen had returned to Pakistan in November after ending his seven-month-long selfimposed exile after falling out with Prime Minister Imran Khan following an inquiry into the last year’s sugar scandal that accused several sugar producers — including him — of “underreported sales and fraud”.

At the time, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Accountability Mirza Shahzad Akbar had declared sugar-producing units under Tareen’s JDW-Group were found guilty of “double billing” and “overinvoicing” as well as “corporate fraud”.

Tareen had rejected the findings of the Sugar Inquiry Commission. “I am shocked at the kind of false allegations levelled against me.

I have always run a clean business. All Pakistan knows I always pay full price to my growers,” he had said in a tweet. “I DO NOT maintain 2 sets of Books. I pay all my taxes diligently. I will answer every allegation and be vindicated IA.”

NEW CASES:

84

SINDH:

Similarly, advisers to PM on commerce, institutional reform, overseas Pakistanis, power and petroleum, special assistants to PM on revenue, BOI chairman, and SBP governor would also be the official members of the EAC. The EAC will have an advisory and capacity enhancement relationship with the government of Pakistan.

It will engage with economic institutions collaboratively. Moreover, The EAC will follow the consultative process and suggest policy initiatives that will further strengthen and optimise financial and eco-

BALOCHISTAN:

19,679

AJK/GB: ISLAMABAD: 13,176/5,045 60,197

Multinational PAF drill ‘in full swing’ ISLAMABAD staff rePort

The air forces of the United States and Saudi Arabia are participating “in full swing” in a two-week drill organised by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF).

The commencement of Aces Meet 2021-1 — a multinational air force exercise aimed at maximising combat readiness of participating troops through air-to-air combat training — at an undisclosed operational airbase was announced earlier this week.

Saudi Arabia and the US have brought their combat air-

craft and fairly large contingents of pilots and technical staff. The Royal Saudi Air Force contingent consists of 180 officials, including pilots and technicians, who arrived with several Tornado multirole combat aircraft and the Lockheed C-130 Hercules.

While the two armies are “actively participating” in the exercise, the air forces of Bahrain, Egypt and Jordan are invited as observers.

PAF Deputy Chief of Air Staff (Operations), Air Vice Marshal Waqas Ahmed Sulehri, was the chief guest at the opening ceremony held on Monday.

Addressing the exercise participants, Sulheri said the international exercises were not new but the particular cycle of ‘ACES Meet’ was unique due to the vast experience of the participants in combat operations in counterterrorism and composite flying domains.

“Multinational air exercise, ‘ACES MEET 2021-1’ is in full swing at an operational base of PAF. Participating air forces are actively engaged in multiple missions across the spectrum of airpower,” PAF said in a statement.

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