CMYK
Wednesday, 8 April, 2020 I 14 Shaban, 1441 I Rs 15.00 I Vol X No 280 I 12 Pages I Lahore Edition
Govt set to Grab suGar cartels by the horns g
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Firdous says CCP will be reformed to counter cartelisation in sugar industr y, artificial food crisis
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Says govt mulling sugar export after ‘bumper sugarcane crop’
ISLAMABAD BY STAFF REPORT
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he federal government has decided to reform the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) to make it efficient in countering the cartelisation in the sugar industry as well regulating it to thwart any kind of artificial food crisis in future. Addressing a press conference after the meeting of the federal cabinet, Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan said that modern technology would be introduced in collection and maintenance of sugar industry data so that nobody could hoodwink the system in future. She said the prime minister warned that stern action would be taken against those found involved in hurling threats to the commission, adding that the government will deal strongly with the elements involved in profiteering after the release of forensic reports.
coronavirus in
Pakistan
The PM’s aide said the present government for the first time since 2014 increased the price of sugarcane to protect the interests of the growers. Speaking about the proceedings of the cabinet, she said PM Imran assured the ministers that all necessary initiatives would be taken to protect the interests of farmers and ensure supply of edibles items to general public at affordable prices. Firdous said Special Assistant to the PM on Accountability Shahzad Akbar presented the inquiry report on flour and sugar crisis before the cabinet at the outset of meeting on the directives of the prime minister. She said Shahzad Akbar informed the cabinet that the concerned ministry had presented the report in the eCC meeting that there was about 2 million tones surplus sugar available in the country. She said that after bumper crop of the sugarcane, the mill owners pleaded that they were unable to purchase the same due to already available stock. In this situation the PM was briefed
4,009
RECOVERED:
429 SINDH:
986
DEATHS:
56
PUNJAB:
2,004
KP:
BALOCHISTAN:
AJK/GB:
ISLAMABAD:
500 19/211
204 83
that for saving the interest of the farmers, it was necessary to hold consultations with mill owners and take export-oriented initiative, she added. She said that the PM issued directives for resolution of the farmers problems; however, the federal government did not give any subsidy on the export of sugar. She said the cabinet was informed that in 2017, Suleman Shehbaz, son of former chief minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif, allegedly approached then prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, seeking Rs20bn for sugar export. Similarly during 2014-18, the Sindh government gave Rs20/kg subsidy on sugar to benefit the Omni Group. During the meeting, she said that the cabinet gave approval to the decisions of the committee on energy besides approving inclusion of 62 more districts in universal service fund to improve broadband service. She said that the cabinet approved proposals regarding revamping, reconstructing and reorganizing evacuee Trust Property Board and gave approval to utilization evacuee Trust Board land for welfare purposes, including health, education and housing sectors. Firdous said that Special Assistant on Social Protection Dr Sania Nishtar gave detailed briefing to the Cabinet on ehsaas emergency Cash Programme. She said that the cabinet was informed that the federal government was providing cash assistance worth Rs12,000 to over 12 million deserving families.
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PTI govt’s debt surges Rs9.2tr to Rs33.4tr
ISLAMABAD The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday directed the federal government to make functional quarantine centers in the country in one month and also sought a report in this regard. A five-member larger bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed and comprising Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed heard the case regarding the closure of hospitals due to the coronavirus. During the course of proceedings, the chief justice asked about the doctors, who were taken into custody by Balochistan police and taken to a police station in a van. The Additional Advocate General informed the court that all the doctors were released later. To a court query about their demands, the AAG responded that the provincial cabinet had approved the doctors’ demands. The chief justice directed the government to provide available protective kits and facilities to the doctors. he said the court had ob-
served that the doctors were protesting the non-provision of the protective kits. If the same were not provided to the doctors and medical staff, then their lives would be at risk, he added. he asked how much money the Balochistan government had received to combat the coronavirus. The AAG replied that the provincial government had received Rs 443 million and Rs 118 million of which had been spent so far. The Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) apprised the court that he had talked to Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on health Dr Zafar Mirza regarding the court ’s quer y about the closure of out-patient departments of hospitals, who wanted to give a briefing to the court on the steps taken by the government in the health sector. The government was taking steps to combat the virus, he added. he said the government had closed the OPDs as the people gathered there while the emergency departments were open to all types of patients. Justice Umar Ata Bandial said the government had to help the people on the ground. If there were local governments, the peo-
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army chief orders all commanders to step up relief operations ISLAMABAD BY STAFF REPORT
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Tuesday said that every citizen of the country was important as the nation was striving to contain the coronavirus pandemic. Presiding over the 231st Corps Commanders’ Conference, the COAS said, “Being a nation with vibrant youth and resilient people ready to share and sacrifice, we will emerge stronger from this challenge, by the will of God.” The corps commanders participated through video link from their respective headquarters, an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release said. Appreciating the troops in the field for efforts so far, the COAS directed all commanders to extend maximum assistance in moving critical resources and reaching out to mitigate suffering of people in far flung areas, including Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), interior Sindh and Balochistan. The forum reviewed geo-strategic, regional and national security environment with particular emphasis on latest situation arising from COVID-19. The forum undertook comprehensive review of deployment of Pakistan Army troops assisting civil administration in aid of civil power across the country.
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Army to provide protection gear to Balochistan medics STORY ON PAGE 03
STORY ON PAGE 09
SC gives govt month’s time to operationalise quarantine centers APP
CONFIRMED CASES:
PM vows to protect interests of farmers, ensure supply of edible items to people at affordable rates
COVID-19
ple would have been helped at the grassroots level, he added. he said the local government system in the country, inwas Islamabad, cluding dysfunctional. The chief justice said the government’s job was not to keep the employees on contract instead of appointing on a regular basis. The attorney general said that the federal cabinet had discussed the matter. The chief justice asked the government to appoint all employees on a regular basis in all the departments of hospitals. Many cases were pending in the Supreme Court regarding the regularization of employees. he said the government had appointed the employees on a contract basis, instead of recruiting them through the Public Service Commission.
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Pakistan to raise testing capacity as corona cases cross 4,000 STORY ON PAGE 03
more inside
IMF delays approval for $450m tranche for Pakistan STORY ON BACK PAGE
FATF extends action plan deadline for Pakistan till October STORY ON BACK PAGE
Gold price rises to Rs103,800 per tola STORY ON PAGE 09
SC annuls IHC, SHC orders to release UTPs STORY ON PAGE 03
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Wednesday, 8 April, 2020
NEWS
PMDC ReOPeNS ON IHC’S ORDeRS COURT DELETES DR ZAFAR MIRZA’S NAME FROM CONTEMPT PLEA ISLAMABAD
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thority that oversees medical and dental colleges in Pakistan, was dissolved following a presidential ordinance proclaimed on October 21. After declaring the ordinance ultra vires to the constitution, the IHC had restored the status of the council almost two months ago but the federal health secretary in connivance with Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration and local police remained reluctant to de-seal the council premises. Invoking the IHC jurisdiction on behalf of their client, Barrister Zafarullah Khan and Advocate Umer Sajjad moved another contempt plea in the same matter. The court summoned Federal Health Secretary Tanvir Ahmad Qureshi, Joint Secretary Saeedullah Khan Niazi, Section Officer Ali Raza, Islam-
STAFF REPORT
HE Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) reopened on Tuesday soon after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) took up plea seeking contempt of court proceedings against federal secretary health and others for disobeying the court’s order pertaining to the restoration of the council. A single-member bench of the IHC comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani heard the contempt plea of the council registrar who accused Federal Health Secretary Tanvir Ahmad Qureshi and other officials of creating obstacles in the court order in restoration of the PMDC. The PMDC, a statutory regulatory au-
abad Capital Territory (ICT) Deputy Commissioner (DC) Hamza Shafqat, ICT Magistrate Ali Javed and Ramna Police Station SHO Khurshid in person for Tuesday. Resuming the hearing of the matter, the bench expressed annoyance over failure in compliance with the court orders and said while addressing federal secretary health that the government has earned bad reputation in world by stopping operation of the PMDC. Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani further observed that medical graduates were stuck in a limbo whereas practicing doctors could not get their licences renewed. He asked why the federal health secretary was interested to disobeying court orders instead of paying more attention to curbing the spread of coronavirus. The federal health secretary said that he
Attributing coronavirus spread to any religious group or sect unacceptable: NA speaker ISLAMABAD APP
National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser on Tuesday said that the coronavirus pandemic is a global issue which can only be fought through joint efforts and attributing its spread to any religious group or sect is unacceptable. He said this during a video conference held at Parliament House with representatives of Tablighi Jamaat from Raiwind. Minister for Interior Brigadier (r) Ijaz Shah, Minister for Religious Affairs Pir Noorul Haq Qadri and Minister of State for SAFRON Shehryar Afridi, representatives of Ministries of Health, Interior, Foreign Affairs and Aviation Division were also
present during the meeting. The NA speaker said that the Tablighi Jamaat had immense contributions for spreading Islam in the world. “They have always portrayed the real image of Islam which underlines peace, harmony and interfaith tolerance,” he added. He said that multiple factors led to the
Seven terrorists killed during North Waziristan, Mohmand IBOs RAWALPINDI: At least seven suspected terrorists have been killed during intelligencebased operations (IBOs) conducted in tribal areas of North Waziristan and Mohmand, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Tuesday. In a statement, the ISPR spokesperson said that security forces conducted separate IBOs in North Waziristan and Mohmand where at least seven terrorists were killed. According to the statement, security personnel raided Adal Khel village of South Waziristan and killed four terrorists who were trying to flee from the site. Seizure of arms and communication equipment was also made by the forces, it added. During the Mohmand IBO, three terrorists were killed and Indian medicines, literature and other material were also recovered from their possession, it concluded. STAFF REPORT
DRAP bars unlicenced companies from making sanitisers LAHORE: The Drugs Regulatory Authority of Pakistan has said that the manufacturers with valid drug manufacturing licence (DML) or valid enlistment certificates (Form-6) with topical or external preparations section will be only allowed make hand sanitisers. The permission was granted only on campaign basis for a period of three months with the provisional permission of the health & OTC division. According to the notification, DRAP considering the public health urgency and the dire need of availability of quality hand sanitizers the coronavirus pandemic took the decision in the public interest. WHO standard for santisiers: Alcohol (ethanol) 80% volume/ volume in an aqueous solution denatured or Isopropyl Alcohol (75% v/v) in an aqueous solution — Glycerol (1.455% v/v) and Hydrogen peroxide (0.125% v/v). It is pertinent to mention here that Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry shared a list of sanitizer brands, selling fake or substandard products. HUMZAH REHMAN
spread of coronavirus globally and it should not be associated with any religious sect or group. “The government is cognisant of the concerns of people associated with Tablighi Jamaat, thus important ministers and senior representatives their ministries had been called to listen and address their problems,” he added. The representative of Tablighi Jamaat thanked the NA speaker for his initiative and informed him that government functionaries had been very cooperative with them. He said that arrangements must be made to transport more than 1,500 foreigners on preaching missions in Pakistan to their respective countries. He suggested allowing local people who were tested negative to leave for their native areas. He also informed the
personally responded to faryad (complaint) of every faryadi (complainant). To which Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani expressed dis-
attendees that 500 Pakistanis on preaching missions abroad were stranded in different countries and arrangements must be made to bring them back to Pakistan. He assured the Tablighi Jamaat’s all-out support for jointly tackling the pandemic. He also suggested allowing Afghan nationals who are on preaching missions to leave by land routes to their country. The interior minister said the government would make all necessary arrangements for safe transportation of all the foreigners and stranded Pakistanis, once the data was available. He said that the government was cognisant of the coronavirus pandemic and was making all-out efforts to keep its citizens safe. The NA speaker appreciated the assurance of the interior minister and constituted a committee to with Afridi as its convener and representatives of Ministries of Health, Interior, Foreign Affairs and Aviation Division as its members to collect data of all foreigners in Pakistan and stranded Pakistanis abroad and suggest measures to transport them back home.
PIA flight postponed after crew members contract COVID-19 KARACHI STAFF REPORT
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) pilots refused to bring back stranded Pakistanis from Iraq on Tuesday after two pilots and an air hostess of the flag carrier tested positive for corona. This was also confirmed by a PIA spokesperson later in the day, who said PK 9184 that was to leave for Iraq in the morning with some 54 Iraqi nationals on board and carry back 161 Pakistani stranded in Baghdad had to be postponed. It said the reason for the postponement in the flight was due to
concerns expressed regarding the anti-coronavirus measures taken by the administration. However, the spokesperson said that the national carrier will immediately start operations to bring back Pakistanis stranded in different parts of the world after successful negotiations with the Pakistan Airlines Pilots’ Association (PALPA). “The matter now being resolved is expected to help departure of the same flight any time Tuesday evening,” he said mentioning that relief flight operation to bring Pakistani passengers stranded at Malaysia, Thailand and Dubai is also to be executed in next few days time.
To a query, he said PIA, like any other international airline is strictly committed to follow the standard operating procedure (SOP) required in any pandemic like situation and that these have been further updated in face of COVID -19. The PIA chief Air said that the safety of pilots and cabin crew will not be compromised. The spokesperson said that PIA has also made adequate arrangements to keep in quarantine the passengers being carried back from abroad and is cooperating with the civic administration to ascertain their status against the corona virus disease through standard set of tests.
may saying, “What do you mean by faryadi? Do you feel like a king? You are a civil servant. Pay respect to doctors as it is a warlike situation in the country.” Later, the bench asked the government officials to restrain from interfering into the court orders whereas registrar would let them know about strength of the staff in wake of the COVID-19. Meanwhile, the bench clubbed another contempt plea of former principal of KMU Institute of Medical Science filed through Advocate Sharafat Ali Chaudhry seeking contempt proceedings over non-compliance with the court orders to make functional the PMDC.The petitioner submitted that the PMDC remained locked due to which thousands of medical graduates, including the daughter of the petitioner, could not get registered as doctors, and this is significant at a time when health professionals are required more than anyone else in the country. Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, after removing name of Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza with consent of Advocate Sharafat Chaudhry, observed the court will take the matter next week.
Pakistan rejects Indian media’s ‘mischievous’ reports on Afghan gurdwara attack ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday categorically rejected news reports circulating in the Indian media, attempting to link the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to a suicide attack on a gurdwara in Kabul which killed some 25 people. At least 25 people were killed in the attack on the gurdwara on March 25 where worshippers were offering morning prayers. The attack had been claimed by the militant ISIS group. According to a report published in India Today on April 5, Afghanistan’s spy agency, National Directorate of Security (NDS), has arrested Abdullah Orakzai alias Aslam Farooqi – the mastermind behind the attack – who, it claimed, had ties to the ISI. The publication also added that Orakzai “enjoyed close relations” to the Haqqani network and the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Responding to the report, the Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui, in a statement, said it rejected the “officially-inspired reports” and termed the move “mischievous and condemnable”. Terming these news reports part of a “well-known smear campaign against Pakistan”, Farooqui said these were “patently designed to malign Pakistan”. “Seeking to implicate Pakistan in this terrorist attack is part of the desperate attempts India is making to divert attention from its own unacceptable actions and state-terrorism in India-occupied Jammu & Kashmir.” FO WELCOMES STATEMENT DEMANDING INDIA TO RELEASE KASHMIRI PRISONERS: Earlier in the day, the FO welcomed the joint statement of six international human rights organisations, calling on the Indian government to immediately release all illegally detained prisoners in held Kashmir and fully restore internet and communication facilities in the valley. In a series of tweets, Spokesperson Farooqui said: “The Joint Statement rightly underlines that measures to combat #COVID19 must respect human rights of every individual.” Farooqui also said that the urgent release of the political prisoners, the majority of whom are Muslims, who were arrested after the Indian government unilaterally annexed the mountainous valley on Aug 5 last year. STAFF REPORT
Jang Group chief’s bail plea dismissed; remand extended for 11 days LAHORE STAFF REPORT
The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday dismissed post-arrest bail petitions for the release of Editor-in-Chief of Jang Group Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman in illegal plots allotment case, followed by a 11-day extension in physical remand by an accountability court. The division bench headed by Justice Sardar Ahmad Naeem heard the petitions filed by Mir Shakil and his wife, Shaheena. At the start of proceedings, National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) Special Prosecutor Faisal Raza Bukhari initiated his arguments and responded to objections raised by defence counsel Aitzaz Ahsan on last hearing. He submitted that the bureau had put 26 questions to the accused in connection with the matter but he denied all of them, submitting that the NAB chairman was also aware of the case proceedings and the investigations were being held as per his instructions. He alleged that the accused obtained illegal exemption of 54 plots of one-kanal
each in Johar Town Lahore, with the connivance of Nawaz Sharif, the then chief minister of Punjab, in violation of the exemption policy. He submitted that Nawaz Sharif granted special favour to Shakil while approving the summary in 1986. He argued that a complete block was alloted to Mir Shakil in violation of the exemption policy. He submitted that even two roads were included and there was no example of such a favour in the history. At this, Justice Sardar Ahmad Naeem questioned, whether, roads could be exempted under the policy. To which, the prosecutor replied that a road could not be exempted in any housing society.
CMYK
However, Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan submitted that Mir Shakil was not only old but also ill. He assured that the accused would not flee. He pleaded with the court to grant him bail against surety bonds. The bench after hearing detailed arguments of the parties dismissed bail petitions for the release of Mir Shakil. Mir Shakil and his wife had challenged the arrest through two different petitions. They submitted that the NAB acted beyond its jurisdiction and violated it’s own policies. They had submitted that the plots were exempted in accordance with the then prevalent policy. REMAND EXTENDED: Separately, an accountability court extended the physical remand for another 11 days in illegal plots allotment case. Accountability Court Judge Syed Jawadul Hassan conducted the case proceedings, wherein the NAB officials produced Mir Shakil on expiry of his physical remand. The NAB prosecutor apprised the court about investigations conducted so far. He pleaded with the court for granting further 15-day physical remand of the accused to complete the investigation in the
case of alleged plot allotment granted by then Punjab CM Nawaz Sharif. He submitted that a questionnaire had been sent to Nawaz Sharif in the matter. He also informed the court that the Lahore High Court had dismissed post-arrest bail petitions for release of Mir Shakil on Tuesday. However, a counsel for Mir Shakil opposed the remand plea. He submitted that the bureau acted beyond its jurisdiction and arrested his client. He submitted that it’s a plot allotment matter and only the Lahore Development Authority could review it. The court, after hearing detailed arguments of parties, extended Mir Shakil remand for another 11 days and ordered for producing him on April 18 again. The court expressed serious annoyance over Mir Shakil’s daughter recording the proceedings. However, she deleted the recording and sought an apology. Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman was taken into custody following his appearance in the anti-corruption watchdog’s office in Lahore on March 12 after he failed to give satisfactory answers during interrogation. He was also grilled by NAB on March 5.
Wednesday, 8 April, 2020
PAkISTAN TO RAISe TeSTINg CAPACITy AS CORONA CASeS CROSS 4,000 ASAD UMAR SAYS DAILY TESTING CAPACITY TO REACH 25,000 BY MONTH’S END PUNJAB ACCOUNTS FOR HALF OF PAKISTAN’S CASES; BALOCHISTAN EXTENDS LOCKDOWN FOR ANOTHER TWO WEEKS ISLAMABAD
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STAFF REPORT
S coronavirus cases crossed 4,000 on Tuesday, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said that Pakistan will be able to conduct 25,000 tests per day by the end of April. Punjab’s cases tally reached 2,004 after another 86 cases emerged. Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Spokesperson Qaiser Asif explained that
726 patients were pilgrims being kept at quarantine centres, 539 were associated with Raiwind and the Tableeghi Markaz, 49 cases had been detected in prisoners, while the remaining 690 had been detected in citizens across the province. Sindh reported 54 additional cases, taking the provincial tally to 986. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said that 16 more people had recovered over the past 24 hours, while one more death was recorded. Balochistan has recorded 206 cases while the tally in KP has reached 500. The federal capital reported one new case
To combat coronavirus, Pakistan is taking a page from China’s playbook ISLAMABAD: Awareness campaigns have been ramped across Pakistan as the country continues to see a rapid rise in the number of coronavirus cases in the country. Though the country so far managed to control the outbreak, by locking down parts of the country, imposed curfews and called on volunteers to help, as parts of its efforts to curb the spread of the virus. “It is undoubtedly a huge challenge for us for a very simple reason. We are a developing country,” Naghmana Alamgir Hashmi, Pakistan’s ambassador to China said during a recent interview with CGTN. Hashmi said that, in the example of implementing social distancing, in heavily populated cities, sometimes more than 10 people live in one small house, and a huge portion of the nation’s labour force depends on daily wages, which requires the government to find a balance between allowing businesses to stay open to a degree, and taking public health measures. One silver lining in dealing with the crisis, however, could be Pakistan’s close ties with China. Pakistan recently welcomed an eightmember Chinese medical team and received crucial medical supplies worth millions of Chinese yuan. The relief aid includes personal protection equipment such as masks and gloves, testing kits, x-ray machines, and even traditional Chinese medicines. APP
while Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) reported two cases. With the confirmation of new cases, Islamabad and AJK’s respective tallies increased to 83 and 18. About 56 people have died and 429 have recovered so far across the country. Addressing a conference with Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza in Islamabad, Asad Umar said that last month, the country was struggling to conduct 1,000 tests daily but the capacity was being increased. He said that the federal government would directly provide protective gear to approximately 400 hospitals across Pakistan. “Healthcare is a devolved subject in Pakistan and thus it is the responsibility of the provinces to provide protective to frontline medics in this time of crisis,” he said, adding that since it was a time of emergency, the government’s decision to deal with the hospitals directly while circumventing provincial authority was prudent and timely to ensure that there are no more delays in the distribution of
NEWS medical equipment. “We have identified approximately 400 hospitals across the country for this purpose. But we will prioritise 153 hospitals that have five or more ventilators before moving on to others,” he added. The minister also revealed that the federal government has sent 39,500 medical kits to the provinces. Dr Mirza revealed that in Pakistan, 163 tests are being conducted per one million people. In comparison, 50 tests per one million are being carried out in India and 964 per million in Iran. While acknowledging that the figure of 163 tests per million is “not really” enough, he said that “all efforts are being put into increasing our testing capacity”. The curve of coronavirus cases can be flattened in Pakistan through mass testing, he added. BALOCHISTAN EXTENDS LOCKDOWN: Meanwhile, the Balochistan government extended the ongoing lockdown in the province till April 21. Earlier in the day, Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal confirmed the recovery of 31 patients in the province. Meanwhile, the Japanese government decided to grant $250,000 through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to Pakistan to aid the country in its battle against COVID-19.
Army to provide protection gear to Balochistan medics ISPR URGES PATIENCE, SAYS GOVT TRYING TO ACQUIRE AND SUPPLY RESOURCES REQUIRED TO FIGHT COVID-19 RAWALPINDI STAFF REPORT
A day after the Quetta police arrested over a dozen doctors, protesting against the unavailability of personal protective equipment (PPEs) in public hospitals, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Monday announced that emergency supplies of medical equipment, including PPEs, were being dispatched to the provincial capital “to help medical staff fight COVID-19 effectively in Balochistan”. The equipment is being supplied on the special directives of Chief of the Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, it said. In a series of tweets, the military’s media wing quoted Gen Bajwa as saying: “Doctors and paramedics are the frontline soldiers in this war. Most advanced nations/govts are finding it extremely difficult to fight this pan-
demic.” “Pakistan government is striving hard to acquire and supply the required resources. In this hour of distress, we must remain patient and steadfast,” added Gen Bajwa. While the police had said it arrested 30 doctors for taking out a protest rally in violation of Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) imposed by the Balochistan government in Quetta in connection with the lockdown, the YDA claimed that more than 100 doctors and health workers were arrested. YDA Spokesperson Dr Rahim said that the arrested doctors will not leave the police stations until their demands were met and they were provided with protective gear. According to YDA’s Balochistan chapter President Dr Yasir Achakzai, 15 doctors in the province had been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus
so far but the government still had not supplied protective equipment. “On one hand, the coronavirus is killing us and on the other, police are beating us up,” Achakzai said. On Monday, Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal said that he had met the YDA doctors and had assured them of his government’s full cooperation in their battle against coronavirus and in meeting their demands. Meanwhile, Balochistan government spokesperson Liaqat Shahwani, while commenting on the clash, said that if medical professionals start flouting Section 144, what message will it send to others in the province. Addressing the media, Shahwani said: “The doctors formed a mob and advanced towards the secretariat. The district administration tried to discourage them, urging them to practice social distancing but they did not listen. “What message does that send to the people of the province,” he asked, adding that the government has fulfilled their demand for protective gear and will continue to do so in the future. PUNJAB YDA THREATENS STRIKE IF PPES NOT PROVIDED: In a related development, Punjab Young Doctors Association (YDA) President Salman Haseeb while condemning the clash between medics and police in Quetta, said that doctors on the frontline in the province were also not being provided protective equipment.
SC annuls IHC, SHC orders to release UTPs TOP COURT REITERATES THAT HIGH COURTS DO NOT HAVE POWER TO TAKE SUO MOTU NOTICES ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday set aside the orders passed by the high courts in Islamabad and Sindh pertaining to the release of under-trial prisoners and ordered authorities to arrest all detainees who had been released. “In the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, we consider it expedient to convert this petition into one under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution and in exercise of powers vesting in the Court under Article 187 thereof set aside the impugned directions issued by the Islamabad High Court as well as High Court of Sindh; bails granted to the accused/convicts, thereunder, are re-
called,” read the apex court interim order. A five-judge larger bench – headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed – however, accepted Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan’s recommendations regarding the release of prisoners. The AGP had proposed to the apex court to release the under-trial prisoners (UTPs) accused of minor crimes in the wake of the novel coronavirus. In a written proposal to the SC, the AGP said the accused persons charged for offences under non-prohibitory clauses or under vagrancy law or offences carrying less than three years sentence may be considered for bail. He added that it should not be considered in cases involving abuse or violent acts
against children and women, but persons suffering from ailments or disability should be considered. AGP Khan said bail should be considered in the case of UTPs who are 55 years old or older, provided there is no history of past convictions, adding that it should also be extended to all women and juvenile UTPs. He further proposed that bail in these cases may be extended on personal bonds. “Some categories of convicted persons may be considered for release by the provincial governments under Section 401 Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).” AGP Khan further said that convicts who have completed their sentences but remain in jail due to non-payment of fine/monetary penalties and women/juvenile convicts who have served 75 per cent of their sentence and have no history of past convictions can be released. In addition, convicts whose remaining term in jail is six months or less – provided
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efforts underway to repatriate Pakistanis stranded around world: Qureshi ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday said the government is taking necessary steps to ensure the early repatriation of Pakistanis stranded at airports across the world amid the coronavirus outbreak. The foreign minister was on an unannounced visit to the crisis management unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), which was set up to help stranded Pakistanis return home. During the visit, Qureshi was briefed on the performance of the cell. He also reviewed received complaints and expressed satisfaction over their performance of officials. Qureshi also reiterated the importance of uniting to overcome the challenges faced by the pandemic. “We, as a nation, have to overcome this challenge. It is a test for the whole nation,” he said. Last week, the foreign minister had said that bringing back Pakistanis stranded was the top priority of the government. STAFF REPORT
Pakistan ranks fourth among 10 most affected OIC countries In the wake of novel coronavirus that has hit about 200 countries around the world, Pakistan has been ranked as the fourth most affected country among members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). In a statement on Twitter on Tuesday, OIC raised concerns over the swelling numbers of coronavirus cases in member states despite tremendous efforts by the countries to contain the virus — that has claimed over thousands of lives so far. Iran tops the list as the worst calamity-hit country with over 62,000 reported cases along with nearly 4,000 deaths to date. Following Iran are Turkey and Malaysia with 649 and 63 fatalities respectively. Pakistan is listed fourth with over 4,000 reported cases, 55 deaths and at least 429 patients recovered. The number of cases has seen a rapid surge despite the country being under lockdown for the third consecutive week. NEWS DESK
Pakistan, Turkey to work together against COVID-19 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Turkey have decided to work together and reinforce each other’s efforts in the fight against coronavirus. An agreement to his effect reached during a telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Imran Khan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday. The prime minister offered condolences to the people of Turkey and the Turkish government over the loss of precious human lives due to COVID-19. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s abiding support and solidarity with Turkey, including Ankara’s efforts to combat the pandemic. The prime minister also conveyed thanks for facilitation of stranded Pakistanis by Turkish authorities in the aftermath of discontinuation of flight operations. STAFF REPORT
that the offence was not abuse against women or children – and women/juveniles who are sentenced to a term of one year or less, may also be released on bail. The SC passed the order during the hearing of a petition challenging the Islamabad High Court verdict, which was issued last month. The petition, which has been deemed maintainable under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution, argued that the March 20, IHC order militated against the concept of trichotomy of powers since it was within the exclusive domain of the executive to frame any policy to deal with under-trial prisoners in a manner it deemed appropriate keeping in view the coronavirus emergency. The petition had also questioned whether the inherent powers vested in the high court under Section 561-A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) were unfettered or whether they can only be exercised in situations where no express statutory provisions were available. Glaring omissions and mistakes have crept into the March 20 IHC order violating the law, the Constitution and public policy, the appeal had contended.
The top court, in its verdict, also observed that high courts have not been bestowed with the power of taking a suo motu notice. The hearing of the case will continue, the top court’s order added. Last month, the IHC had taken up a petition based on a report of the high court’s judicial branch on Islamabad-based under-trial prisoners and had ordered the release of detainees in Rawalpindi’s overcrowded Adiala jail who were nominated in minor crimes. The high court had also told capital police not to make arrests in petty matters. The order was passed in consideration of the growing number of coronavirus cases in the country. The court had observed that the prisoners were vulnerable and exposed to suffer irreparably in case of an outbreak. Prisons, which were overcrowded, had high turnover and intolerable living conditions, could potentially become epicenters for outbreak of the deadly virus, it said. The Sindh High Court had also issued a similar order last month following which district courts had released more than 800 prisoners nominated in cases of petty crimes.
Wednesday, 8 April, 2020
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FLeA mArketS in A CoronA ConUndrUm SHOPPERS WARY OF ITEMS COMING FROM WESTERN COUNTRIES LAHORE
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HE business of flea markets in the provincial capital is likely to face huge crises in coming days due to the outbreak of coronavirus and lock-down, Pakistan Today learnt on Tuesday. Prominent flea markets in the city that are situated near Delhi Gate, Anarkali Bazar, Railway Station, Hospital Road, Ichhra etc. sell everything, including used clothes, shoes, toys, electronics, crockery, carpets, interior and decoration and other household items.
Ateeq Butt, a trader and wholesaler in the Delhi Gate flea market informed this scribe that most of the things sold in flea markets come from the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), China or European countries. “Used goods first come to the Karachi Port and are then distributed all over the country. We deal in used electronics items and we pre-book our container mostly from the US. Container costs vary between Rs1.5 million to Rs20 million as the price depends upon the quality and category of products,” he said. “From July to date, we have invested Rs70 million, ordering containers of used electronic appliances. But the last container which we had ordered in November remains unsold due to lockdown. Now, we fear that after the lockdown people will not come to the market as they will think as these appliances that are coming from the worst affected areas may have the virus. People will not believe that these goods came when coronavirus was not reported,” he lamented.
Mian Fayyaz, a wholesaler of used garments in Anarkali Market, said, “I still have a stock of used winter garments which worth RS45 million and some of my stock is still in Karachi which I had not received due to lockdown”. “We distribute the used garments in all flea markets of Lahore and even to the handcart vendors. We order these garments from the UK, USA and China. People believe that these garments must be the carrier of COVID-19 as they came from such countries. Even our families also have concern with our business and they are also instructing us to avoid touching these garments. Will the people come to the flea markets again after lockdown?” he questioned. Similarly, a wholesaler of used toys from Hospital Road, Muhammad Hanif informed this scribe that a stock of worth Rs10 million was still unsold in his warehouse. “I also sale these toys through different online websites and also distribute them to different vendors in Punjab. People
are now calling me and asking that are these toys sterilised? The vendors are saying that the procurement of these toys mean to procure coronavirus as all these items are used and came from western countries. It is very difficult for us to sale our goods in future. I think people won’t prefer purchasing used items in the future, especially those coming from western countries and China,” he said, adding that his livelihood was at stake. “These goods come into the market after several hands. Similarly, in flea markets these things are not presented as displayed in stores. Anyone can try the garments or touch anything on the spot. Now the trend of touching and using things has changed. People are now reluctant to even shake hands and in this situation how can they use the pre-used things? Flea Markets provide the bread and butter from wholesaler to handcart vendor. Without taking serious steps we cannot safe these markets,” Railway Station flea market shopkeeper Safiullah Khan concluded.
Woman shot dead, three held with murder weapons LAHORE: A woman was killed here in the provincial capital on Tuesday. Dophin Squad arrested three culprits along with murder weapons. According to details, the incident took place at Zarar Shaheed Road in VIP Chowk area of Lahore where three culprits gunned down a woman identified as Bushra and slit her throat with sharp edged knife. The Dolphin Squad hearing the firing rushed the scene and arrested all three culprits including Akram, Shahzeb and Junaid besides recovering arms and a sharp edged knife from their possession. The body was shifted to hospital for postmortem. The detainees were handed over to Northern Cantt police which after registering a case against them have started investigation. STAFF REPORT
LHC disposes of Hamza’s bail plea on being withdrawn LAHORE: A Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench Tuesday disposed of the second postarrest bail petition, filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hamza Shehbaz in assets-beyond-means case, on a fresh ground that the applicant might contract coronavirus in prison and therefore he should be granted bail. The court, however, disposed of the petition on being withdrawn. The bench comprising Justice Sardar Ahmad Naeem and Justice Farooq Haider heard the petition. Advocate Azam Nazir Tarar appeared on behalf of Hamza and argued that coronavirus was spreading across the country and there were serious threats in this regard in jail also. He submitted that the court could seek a report from the superintendent of jail as to how many prisoners had been infected by the virus so far. He pleaded with the court for grant of bail to Hamza in the wake of coronavirus pandemic. However, Justice Sardar Ahmad Naeem observed that the Supreme Court had suspended decisions of all high courts for the release of prisoners. He remarked that Hamza Shehbaz should have approach the apex court for bail as the high court had already dismissed his bail petition in February. To which, Azam Tarar submitted that they wanted to wait for the apex court verdict in prisoner’s release matter and requested the court to grant permission for withdrawal of the petition. APP
LAHORE: Needy people wait for their turn to get food ration at a stall setup by a local charity organisation here on Tuesday. ZUBAIR MAHFOOZ
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Lockdown improves coronavirus situation in Punjab: Yasmin LAHORE: Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid has said that situation of coronavirus has improved in the province due to lockdown. Talking to media persons here on Tuesday, she said the government has increased testing facilities which may increase number of corona cases in the province in the next two weeks; however, situation will be in control. Punjab health minister urged the people, especially people over 60 years, to stay at homes, use face masks and adopt other precautionary measures. Earlier, she inaugurated Corona Ward at Social Security Hospital in Lahore. APP
Governor inaugurates new BSL-3 Lab at UVAS LAHORE: Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar inaugurated a new stateof-the-art Bio-safety Level-3 (BSL-3) 'Laboratory for Emerging Pathogens’ at the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) here on Tuesday. The Department of Microbiology of UVAS in collaboration with Pirbright Institute UK, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council UK and Zoonosis and Emerging Livestock Systems UK established the lab for research on and diagnosis of emerging pathogens, including coronavirus. Addressing the inaugural ceremony, the Governor who is also Chancellor of the university, said that testing of COVID-19 was the first and foremost requirement to understand its spread, epidemiology and treatment. Since, coronavirus was a novel virus, its testing facility must fulfill all scientific guidelines of safety, he stressed. The governor appreciated the UVAS Vice Chancellor and his team for establishing the much-needed laboratory. He said that he was glad to see vice-chancellors of all universities to play leadership role in the time of coronavirus pandemic. He assured the UVAS of his full support for further enhancing the scope of the laboratory. He also spoke about the importance of telemedicine and its benefits for health experts and general public. “Coronavirus is a big challenge and we will meet this challenge with collective efforts,” he added. APP
Punjab sets 4.5m tonne wheat procurement target WHEAT FARMERS DEMAND INCREASE IN WHEAT SUPPORT PRICE FROM RS1,400 TO RS1,600 PER 40 KG LAHORE STAFF REPORT
Punjab Chief Secretary Major (r) Azam Suleman Khan has said that field officers would have to work day and night to meet the wheat procurement target, set at 4.5 million tonnes, due to the coronavirus pandemic. He was presiding over a meeting to review arrangements for the provincial wheat procurement campaign here on Tuesday. The meeting was attended by the additional chief secretary, secretary food department, Lahore division commissioner and officers concerned whereas divisional commissioners also joined through a video link. It was decided that only license holders would purchase grains during the wheat procurement campaign. The chief secretary said that under the
policy, private purchase, transportation and storage of wheat, except for personal, use has been disallowed. “Feed mills and unregistered seed companies would not be permitted wheat purchase as well,” he maintained. He ordered stern action against hoarders, directing administrative officers to coordinate with law enforcement agencies to take action against hoarders. He said that the policy of ‘first come first serve’ would be followed in the campaign, adding that the limit of Bardana (gunny bags) would be from 200 to 1000 sacks. He directed that all possible facilities be provided to farmers and SOPs regard-
ing coronavirus be implemented at wheat procurement centres by disinfecting premises and ensuring the availability of masks, sanitizers and soap for hand wash. The meeting also decided to depute officials of law-enforcement agencies and civil defence at each centre and set up dis-
pute resolution committees at the district level to address farmers’ problems. The meeting was briefed that online registration of farmers and issuance of Bardana(gunny bags) has started in Rajanpur district. The meeting was also told that interprovincial and district movement of wheat would be regulated through an application developed in collaboration with Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB). Talking to Pakistan Today, Malik Irfan Raza, a wheat farmer from Budh, a village near Muzaffargarh requested the government to increase wheat support price from Rs1,400 per 40 kg to Rs1,600 per 40 kg as during the current season March rain spell have wreaked havoc on wheat farms across the province.
Punjab to be able to conduct 5,000 tests per day: CM Buzdar LAHORE APP
Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar on Tuesday said that the government had reached to the capacity of conducting 3,100 tests daily whereas it would soon be increased to 5,000 tests per day He was presiding over a meeting of the cabinet committee for eradication of coronavirus at his office here in Lahore. The meeting held a detailed review of the prevailing situation and different facilities arranged for patients in the province and was attended by provincial Ministers Dr Yasmin Rashid, Mian Aslam Iqbal, Chief Secretary, IG Police, secretaries of health, information, finance, and agriculture departments as well as military officials, while Finance Minister Hashim Jawan Bakht and a few other participated through a video link. “As many as 1,785 people were tested on Monday. There were around 19,000 diagnostic kits available in Punjab and 2,000 more would be received from National Dis-
aster Management Authority (NDMA) on Wednesday,” Buzdar added. The CM said that testing labs were being established in Lahore and other districts of the province, eight of which would be made functional at the earliest. He directed the authorities concerned to implement Section 144 strictly as the steps had been taken to protect the lives of citizens and ordered for taking action against those violating pillion-riding ban. He asked the Health Department to early complete the procurement of necessary equipment, adding that patients in quarantine facilities or isolation wards would be tested again after 14 days and those found negative would be allowed to go to their homes. The CM ordered for establishing separate wards for coronavirus affected pregnant women in Lahore and other districts hospitals. “Patients should be provided with every necessary facility in quarantine centres, he said. Personal Protection Equipment should also be provided to doctors and nurses on priority and their other issues will be resolved by the government,” he promised.
Wednesday, 8 April, 2020
SwAt’S CottAGe induStRy fACeS CloSuRe, SeekS ReSCue pACkAGe peSHAWAR
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AZIZ BUNERI
RIOR to the outbreak of coronavirus in the country, the unemployment rate in Swat’s Islampur village was almost zero, as its unique cottage industry had employed 25,000 villagers besides contributing significantly to the national exchequer in terms of sales and exports. But the ongoing lockdown has altogether changed the traditional life of locals, especially owners and labourers associated with the cottage industry, as they seem worried about their future. The cottage industry of Swat consists of more than 4,500 small units, manufacturing handmade shawls and other warm stuff. It not only caters to a huge demand in the country, but also helps in exports to USA, Europe and other countries. The market is now giving a deserted look as workers now jobless and shop owners are struggling hard to avoid a complete collapse like other industries in the country. They (owners) have also
sought a relief package from the federal and provincial governments. Islampur Cottage Industry Association Chairman Khazir Gul told Pakistan Today that the coronavirus-led lockdown was imposed in Pakistan at the end of March, while hundreds of workers of the Islampur industry were stranded in China two months ago due to the closure of border. He said most of the raw materials were imported from China for the cottage industry, adding almost 80 per cent of labourers worked on daily wages. “This is the only industry that has not been included in any economic package announced by the federal and provincial governments,” he claimed. According to Gul, shawls produced in Islampur are not only sold in large markets of Peshawar, Swat, Rawalpindi and Karachi, but these are also imported to Europe, US, Central Asia, Afghanistan and Gulf countries. “Since the virus outbreak in Wuhan, the industry has completely shut, rendering thousands of labourers unemployed.” Around 1,800 families are part of Islampur village with a total popula-
tion of up to 25,000. About 70pc population is associated with this industry, whereas remaining 30pc are employed by the government departments, such as police and education. Apart from this, a good number of people are also associated with the agriculture. About 50pc of Islampur village women are also employed by the cottage industry. There are some five thousand khaddi where workers who weave shawls on traditional machines. Every khaddi can weave 3 to 6 shawls a day. From this calculation it can be said that 15,000 to 16,000 different quality shawls are produced daily. The price of a single shawl ranges from Rs1,000 to 60,000. B esides shawls, hand-made clothes like traditional caps, waistcoats, pashmina shawls and linen shawals are also made. Abdullah, a shopkeeper, said, “We have a complete variety of handmade products and Swat locals and tourists love it immensely.” In Islampur, a normal shawl can be prepared in two to three hours, while women shawls, which have often hand-
Hundreds of lockdown-hit animals die at pet markets KARACHI AGENCIES
Abandoned when the country’s largest cities went into lockdown, hundreds of caged cats, dogs and rabbits have been found dead inside pet markets hurriedly shuttered as the coronavirus spread. Survivors from the specialist corner of Karachi’s sprawling Empress Market were only rescued after activists appealed to the authorities for access. Two weeks into the shutdown, Ayesha Chundrigar could hear the cries of the pets from outside the shops, which together housed up to 1,000 animals. “When we got inside, the majority of them were dead, about 70 per cent. Their bodies were lying on the ground,” Chundrigar, who runs ACF Animal Rescue, told AFP. “It was so horrific, I can’t tell
you.” Starving and locked in cages with no light or ventilation, the survivors sat amongst the dead, trembling. As the virus pandemic grew, Pakistan’s major cities were plunged into lockdown, forcing many shops to close. Only stalls selling essential goods such as food and medicine were allowed to continue operating. It left pet shop owners blocked from their businesses, some resorting to sneaking in at night to feed the animals. After the desperate rescue, Chundrigar has now convinced the Karachi authorities to allow pet shop owners and her team daily access to the animals. DUMPED IN A SEWER: In the eastern city of Lahore, animals met with a similar fate. The bodies of about 20 dogs were found dumped in a sewer near Tollinton Market, a hub for pet
Govt set to grabe sugar ContInued fRom pAge 01 The deserving families, she said, would get this cash assistance after biometric verification through over 18,065 sale points or retail shops across the country. She said that Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza briefed about the current the situation of ongoing coronavirus and the relief steps being taken. He informed the meeting that so far 3,864 coronavirus patient had been registered in the country and 54 deaths have been confirmed. She said that the PM expressed his annoyance over the treatment meted out to doctors in Balochistan and said that doctors and paramedical staff were the frontline soldiers in war against the pandemic and that it was the responsibility of the concerned governments to provide them with protective gears. The cabinet was informed that so far over 39,000 protective kits have been handed over to the provinces but these have not reached the hospitals in enough numbers. The cabinet decided that from now onward, these kits would be directly sent to the medical superintendents of the hospitals through courier service to speed up the delivery process. She said that SAPM on Youth Affairs Usman Dar was specially invited in the meeting who briefed it about the registration of volunteers for Tiger Volunteer Force. He said that so far 7,17,199 persons have registered themselves for the force which would work at district, tehsil and union council level to support the district administration in rescue, relief and rehabilitation activities, she added.
businesses which had closed, leaving animals to starve. Kiran Maheen was able to rescue more than two dozen dogs, rabbits and cats after convincing officials at the market to let her in, but a large number had already died. “When the police opened up the shutters, a lot of animals were already lying dead inside,” Maheen told AFP, adding that many had suffocated from a lack of air. Pakistani authorities have confirmed about more than 4,000 cases of Covid-19 and 55 deaths, though the tally is thought to be many times larger because of testing limitations in this impoverished country of 215 million. Around 25pc of the population already live under the poverty line, but millions more who earn a daily wage have joined them since the lockdown began, experts say.
Rupee reaches Rs168 intraday KARACHI STAFF REPORT
The rupee continued with its downward trend against the Greenback, reaching an intraday high of Rs168 in the interbank on Tuesday. This trend can be attributed to foreigners selling T-bills. The magnitude of this sell-off can be witnessed from the $150 million worth of T bills sold on Monday, leaving approximately $900 million. However, this is not only limited to Pakistan and it experienced across the board in emerging economies. However, some assurance on the trade account will prevent the worsening of the value of the rupee. “As the size of reserves is small, therefore handling the currency parity in this avalanche is tricky. As soon as situation normalizes, flights from Dubai resume and Pakistan receive aid money from multilateral institutions, PKR USD parity is going to stabilize” comments Sami Tariq, Head of research and business development at Arif Habib Limited.
Army chief orders ContInued fRom pAge 01 It was also apprised on the functioning of National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) established to synergise and articulate national effort for containment of COVID-19. The forum paid tribute to those on the frontline, including doctors, paramedics, healthcare workers and LEAs for braving this pandemic under challenging environment. It also paid tribute to the Kashmiri people who are fighting the pandemic under Indian atrocities and struggling for their just cause of self-determination.
embroidery, take an extra four to five hours. Laborers make three to four shawls and earn Rs500 to Rs800 a day. If the industry gets the government’s patronage, it can further be developed and the national treasury can find another source of income. These handicraft products are also sold in specialised markets in major cities of the country. Rahmat Ali, a khaddi owner, says the entire industry is currently shut due to the coronavirus lockdown. Ali adds the cost of shawl produced on order sometimes can cost up to Rs100,000. Accordingly, Islampur village has a daily turnover of at least Rs80 million and crosses Rs2.7 billion monthly. Along with the village, the livelihood of around 50,000 families in Swat is also associated with this business, he adds. The skilled labour of the village has urged the government to provide interest-free loans and free the market from the middleman’s clutches. Locals also want the government to help them procure quality raw materials, later buy their finished goods and export it at good prices.
NEWS
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SC gives govt month’s time to operationalise quarantine centers ContInued fRom pAge 01 He said the parliament should be in session at all times to formulate new laws. The job of courts was not to make laws, he added. The chief justice said who was being paid under the Ehsaas programme. The attorney general said the government would give money to those below the poverty line. The chief justice asked as to how it would be known that the money had reached the poor. The attorney general replied that the data collected by the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), which had been renamed as Ehsaas programme, was being used. He said the Ehsaas programme had been approved by a foreign agency. During the hearing, the court was informed that the process to prepare ventilators in Pakistan was underway. The court directed the government to provide all resources in that regard, as the ventilators would be provided in hospitals and quarantine centers. The court directed the federal, provincial and Gilgit-Baltistan governments to ensure the provision of safety kits in hospitals. The chief justice said emergency legislation was needed in the current situation and the government should take immediate action on the matter. Quarantine centers were needed in cities and hospitals, he added. He said quarantine centers having a capacity of 1,000 people should be set up at Taftan, Torkham and Chaman borders. The chief justice said the government should take steps to maintain law and order in the country. Later, the case was adjourned till Monday.
Wednesday, 8 April, 2020
06 COMMENT
The worldwide healthcare albatross
Coronavirus and the PTI government The negative impact of “Ghabrana Naheen”policy
Pakistan’s on auto-pilot AmJeD JAAveD
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HE fast increase in coronavirus cases in Pakistan may not equal the spread of the epidemic in Europe and america, but is still threatening. The first pandemic-positive case was reported in Pakistan on February 26. in less than seven weeks the number of patients escalated to 4004. The first death caused by COVid-19 was reported on March 1. in less than six weeks the toll had risen to 55. . Punjab recorded 538 new cases on Monday– the highest single-day spike so far across Pakistan. The number of confirmed cases in the province has now reached 2004, more than half of the country’s total. The PTi administration has all along underestimated the danger posed by the virus. Prime Minister imran Khan nourished the hope that it would be wiped out or lose potency during the coming ‘hot and dry’ weather. any single day with fewer cases compared to other days is presented by Health SaPM dr Zafar Mirza to rouse false hopes. The top bureaucracy in the government health sector maintains that while the number of coronavirus cases may be high, the number of critical patients and pandemicrelated deaths will remain very low in view of Pakistan’s special genetic and social conditions, and medical policies. The wishful thinking restrains the government from largescale testing. The generally relaxed attitude has led the government to go slow on providing monetary or food relief to those affected by lock downs. despite the package announced by the PM, not a rupee has been delivered to those made jobless. The government machinery has shown negligence in providing protective kits to doctors and other medical personnel required to deal with coronavirus cases leading to the death of at least two doctors. doctors have widely criticized that apathy, while in Quetta the protesting medical staff was brutally thrashed by police. That the COaS had to dispatch the required material is a reflection on the government’s performance. The government’s take-it-easy posture has created a sense of carelessness in the general public. in big cities like Karachi and Lahore, more people are violating the instructions issued to observe isolation and social distancing. Unless the government is seen to be concerned and firm the violation is likely to cause a surge in corona cases.
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teen-aged US national COVid-19 patient died on the way back from hospital after it refused treatment. He was without an insurance card (NBC News, 28 March). The gynaecology unit of Shaikh Zayed Hospital boycotted duty after unknowingly performing a caesarean section on a COVid19-positive woman. a German state’s finance minister committed suicide. What do the news reflect? Even rich countries like the USa has not so far readied their medicare system to deal with the epidemic. a Kaiser Family Foundation study assessed the average cost of simple coronavirus treatment in USa at around $9,763, and $20,000 for complicated treatment. Out-of-pocket insurance payment would be over $1,300 (The Hill March 27, 2020). Confirmed cases in the US stood at over 367,650 with 10,943 deaths on Tuesday aternoon. These deaths are in addition to 12,000 to 61,000 deaths every year due to seasonal flu. Modicare: To avoid lockdown in cities people are trekking back to their village. One person died having travelled 200 miles COVid19 has exposed deficiencies in Modicare. The promised hospitalisation coverage of Rs 500,000 a year to 100 million poor, or 500 million indians, is a myth. nobel Economics laureate amartya Sen doubts government’s capacity to provide healthcare alone. He says, “Basic healthcare for all can be provided at very low cost if society, including the political and intellectual leadership, can get its act together”. india ranks 154 out of 195 countries in terms of access to healthcare, worse than Bangladesh, nepal, Ghana and Liberia. india’s expenditure on healthcare (1.15 per cent of GdP) is among the lowest in the world. it faces a desperate shortage in health infrastructure and manpower. There are 0.7 hospital beds per 1,000 indians (ideal be 1:1,000) and 0.6 doctors per 1,000 indians (ideal 1:1,000). There is 1 nurse per 2,500 indians, compared to 1 for every 150-200 in richer countries. There is almost a 40 percent shortage of medical teachers in its 472 medical colleges. india needs 65 million surgeries a year, but only 26 million are carried out. The country has the world’s highest disease burden of 700 Million daLY (disability-adjusted Life Year) units (or years lost due to premature death, disability, poor quality of life) and a WHO estimate says india’s economic burden just from non-com-
Another cabinet reshuffle FIA report warranted stricter action
F
OLLOWinG the release of a much-awaited report by the Federal investigation agency (Fia) on last year’s ‘sugar crisis’ that named senior PTi leaders and cabinet ministers, Prime Minister imran Khan has reacted by merely reshuffling his cabinet, something he has already done twice before in less than two years. Much of the focus of the report has been on Mr Jehangir Tareen, who until recently was a close confidant of the PM and a central figure within the party. He has now pointed fingers at the PM’s Principal Secretary azam Khan for running a smear campaign against him, which clearly shows that significant fissures have developed in the party and at the centre. Meanwhile, Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiyar, who quite ironically was the Minister for Food Security, resigned in light of the report and instead of being sent on his merry way, has been elevated in the food chain, landing the Ministry of Economic affairs. Razzaq dawood’s role has also been rolled back some, as his industries portfolio has gone to Hammad azhar, who lost his to Mr Bakhtiyar. although Mr Khan is now waiting for a ‘full report’ after the Fia has conducted a detailed forensic audit of the accused sugar mills/millers to take ‘action’, his initial reaction comes off as a slap on the wrist. For the ministers who are also mill owners, the advisors who pushed for the approval of the export of sugar and the bureaucrats who facilitated it, it will be business as usual, just different offices. Mr asad Umar, who was Finance Minister and head of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) when the export of sugar was allowed in 2018 with a subsidy, has not and quite possibly will not be questioned. it was up to him as head of the ECC to determine whether or not the export of sugar would adversely affect the domestic price, which is exactly what happened, and this is the primary allegation in Fia’s report. Sugar mill owners have a convenient and easy defense in all of this; the government asked us to export and we did exactly that, so what is the fuss about? Mr Khan in a recent media interaction stated that the buck stopped with him and that no decision was taken without his knowledge or approval. What he does next remains to be seen, but what is abundantly clear is that he has not made an example out of anyone in light of the inquiry he himself ordered. He should stop patting himself on the back and perhaps formulate policy and legislation that restrict such conflicts of interest and keep a better check on commodity dealings between the government and private companies.
SADAF AIJAZ
I
ndia is facing its biggest health emergency since the country gained independence in 1947 ,a 21-day lockdown in india was announced by Prime Minister narendra Modi on 24 March 2020 in the wake of the novel coronavirus or Covid-19 outbreak. By the time Mr Modi announced the lockdown, india has officially counted about 590 cases of coronavirus infection and about 10 deaths. india reported its first coronavirus case on Januaray 30 but till date the number of infection has climbed rapidly. according to the latest report by the iCMR. The total number of positive cases till Tuesday afternoon are 4858, 382 recovered with 136 deaths across india. What is really worrying is the huge migration that has started across the country as Mr Modi gave four days to the people to prepare for Janta Curfew and only four hours to millions of people, especially to poor migrants, for complete lockdown ,and this four hour deadline to reach their native places or homes created panic among people and everybody became tense because of this .it seems that the Modi government has yet again turned the fight against the coronavirus into a mess of epic proportions. The lockdown should have been done in a phased manner as you can’t give only four hours to lock down the second most populous country in the world, it’s not easy .it means that the government was not aware of the facts, of how this could create chaos and confusion among the people, particularly the poor people of indian society. Presently, the situation in many states of india is nothing short of a famine. The poor and unprivileged across india are of the view that “Hunger will kill us before the coronavirus does”. The sudden call for a lockdown has affected people, especially the poorer section of society. no country has rushed into a complete three-week-long lockdown to stop the disease, definitely not like india. Modi being the Prime Minister of the india and knowing that half of his country’s population is poor , should have had an idea that poor people would suf-
Editor Umar Aziz
Asher John
Executive Editor
Deputy Editor
Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965
Amjed Jaaved is a freelance journalist, has served in the Pakistan government for 39 years and holds degrees in economics, business administration, and law. He can be reached at amjedjaaved@gmail.com.
Life won’t return to normal afterwards
Arif Nizami
Joint Editor
capita income, health expenditures, and tax base is comparable to india. Yet, it achieved universal healthcare in 2002. it spends around four per cent of its GdP on health. in Thailand, out-of-pocket medical expense has fallen to 12 percent, as compared to 40-60 percent in wealthy countries. The proportion of children dying in the first five years of life fell to less than 1.2 percent. Thailand saved money by shutting down or consolidating selected good-for-nothing lackadaisical hospitals (like ours) that had large government budgets. Short of funds, we should put our fragmented unbridled hospitals under one civil-military supervisory board, and distribute load reasonably. The Federal Government Services Hospital is supposed to cater for federal government servants. The government has shifted the burden of residents of the nongovernment-servant population of Rawalpindi/islamabad to FGSH. it should be taken away. The hospital is so overcrowded nowadays that it is no good for serving personnel. The ‘civilian officers paid out of defence services’ budgets should be empanelled to military (CMH/aFiC) and other hospitals (like Shifa international or aga Khan) for secondary and tertiary treatment, to reduce FGSH patient load. it is very difficult for government servants to get back medical expenses incurred out of their own pocket. The Civil Surgeons, including that of TB Hospital, have stopped countersigning bills. They say the hospital is closed. Even defence-paid civilians, whose bills are already signed by the aFiC commandant, are required to get bills countersigned by the TB hospital civil surgeon. i for one suffered heart attacks in november 1999. The Controller Military Pensions (Medical Reimbursement Group) is equally lethargic in paying bills. He has not reimbursed my stents-bill despite the lapse of five months. all hospitals are nevertheless open to private patients who could pay hefty fees. There is no justification to close down OPds. if so, doctors and paramedics should forego pay and perks. The civil surgeon should be divested of the power to endorse aFiC commandant/commanding officers’ signatures. Military and other accounting departments should reimburse bills without ‘quid pro quo’. Blackmarketing of masks, sanitizers and essential medicines should stop.
What does India do after the lockdown?
Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami
Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad
municable diseases will be $6.2 trillion between 2012 and 2030. india tops in HiV,-aidS and tuberculosis. Between 2004 and 2014, average medical expenditure per hospitalisation per urban patient rose by 176 percent, and 160 percent per rural patient. no wonder over 60 percent of health expenditure is out-ofpocket, amongst the highest in the world. around 6070 million people fall into a crushing debt cycle and into poverty each year due to “catastrophic” medical expenses. about 32 per cent of rural patients are forced to travel over five kilometres to access healthcare. The 150,000 sub-centres, or the lowest level of basic healthcare facilities in every village, catering to one for every 5000 population, exist mostly on paper-and offer only maternal and child healthcare services. For OPd, emergency or basic lab services, one has to go to one of the 25,000-plus primary health centres, while for more serious ailments, the options are far-flung community health centres, taluka hospitals or district hospitals, which work with a severe shortfall of 81 percent specialists and just 12 percent MBBS doctors. The government has assumed role of a payer, rather than the provider, and needs to create infrastructure, resources and management. HealtHcare in Pakistan: Healthcare in Pakistan is in shambles. it appears to be on auto-pilot. no study. no survey. no commission of inquiry. Like india, it started a health card system, which has a limited coverage in specified districts. The familiar medical systems of wealthy countries is the Bismarck model (multi-payer health-insurance model), the Beveridge model, the national Health insurance Model, the out-of-pocket model, and the US model. The government could have picked up good points of medical systems of wealthy and poor countries alike. The Bismarck model is being followed in Belgium, France, Germany, Japan and Switzerland. Generally, healthcare providers in this model are private entities. The government neither owns nor employs most physicians. Health insurance also is provided by private companies, not by the governments. Governments strictly regulate costs and other aspects of healthcare (no arbitrary fees and fleecing). The USa outspends its peer nations on health. Yet it has no universal-health insurance, nor universal health coverage. Thailand’s successful healthcare plan reflects three lessons: being prepared, exercising tight control, and being pragmatic and politically broadminded. Thailand took the opposition and other stakeholders aboard. as such, the plan remained intact despite change of governments. Thailand’s per
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fer from his sudden lockdown call. He should have her citizens that doctors, supermarkets, and access to esgiven them at least a day or arranged some way so sential banking services would be available throughout that the people could reach safe places or destina- new Zealand , and if you didn’t have immediate needs tions, but it is quite surprising that his government do not go to the supermarket, and that she would be has no idea how it was going to affect people and i there for your today ,tomorrow and day after that. On will not hesitate in saying that Modi’s poorly planned the other hand Mr Modi’s speech contained no concrete measures other than expressing his concern for their lockdown would kill more because of hunger. not everybody is as lucky as us, and there are fight. He should have, but did not, offer some specific people who don’t have food to eat or shelter to live. details on how the poor, especially daily wage workers, The internet is flooded with the videos and pictures would be provided for in the 21 days. a national curfew for 21 days will definitely go of people complaining about shortage of food, meda long way in reducing icines and other basic the transmission of the things for survival. Furdeadly virus, but what ther heart-wrenching after? a lockphotos were circulated A lockdown call without preparation happens down call without on the social media preparation has caused where, because of the has caused problem for millions of problem for millions of sudden lockdown, people, and the Government should people, and the Governgroups of daily wage should not think workers at many places not think that the problem will not go ment that the problem will not were seen walking to go away if any old relitheir homes, hundreds of away if any old religious serial is gious serial is broadkilometres away, on foot. casted on TV, They an estimated 120 milbroadcasted on TV, They should should think about what lion of india’s 650 milthink about what next? Until we get next? Until we get a vaclion workforce are the virus won’t dismigrant workers .Mila vaccine, the virus won’t disappear. cine, appear, if the vaccine is lions of them are now on developed, it will take at the move on foot to If the vaccine is developed, it will least a few months to reach their homes. They take at least a few months to vaccinate every indian. risk spreading Covid-19 So what will happen to to rural india in addition vaccinate every Indian those poor daily wage to the risk of contracting workers after 21 days? the disease themselves Had Modi and his GovThey also run the risk of ernment thought about going hungry. The situation in india seems to be worsening with it, with each passing day the situation in india is each passing day. it’s been nine to 10 days, and peo- worsening, per day near about 10 to 12 positive cases ple are running out of food and other necessary things of Coronavirus are identified and it will take time to to survive as they stare at a bleak future and what will get things back on track. it doesn’t seem that life will be normal after 21 days. after analysis of the situahappen to them in next four or five days. When Prime Minister Modi announced a three- tion, i think that Modi’s national Curfew could starve week complete lockdown, i was expecting that his indians to death and not even save the country from speech might contain some elements of what Jacinda the coronavirus. ardern, the new Zealand PM, said in her speech anSadaf Aijaz is a journalist based in Srinagar nouncing her country’s lockdown. in her speech she told
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Wednesday, 8 April, 2020
COMMENT 07 Editor’s mail Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively
Why schools should give a big discount on fees
BJP leader admits anti-muslim stance Not only will this divide India, but it threatens regional peace
mAlIk muhAmmAD AShrAF
R
EPORTEdLY a senior BJP leader and member of the indian parliament, dr Subramanian Swamy, talking to a journalist by the name of isobel Yeung, admitted that Muslims were not equal citizens. This he said when the journalist pointed out that article 14 of the indian Constitution prescribed equality of every person before law and protection to them. There could not have been more authentic confirmation of the anti-Muslim stance of the Hindutva philosophy deriving inspiration from the RSS creed. Perhaps it would be pertinent to give a historic perspective to the creed and designs of RSS and its proponent BJP. RSS, a right wing Hindu nationalist paramilitary organization widely regarded as the parent entity of BJP, the ruling party in india, was founded in nagpur on 27 September 1925. its initial objective was to provide character training through Hindu discipline and to unite the Hindu community to form the Hindu Rashtra (nation). it promoted the ideals of upholding indian culture and the values and the spread of Hindutva ideology. Hindutva means strengthening the Hindu community. it drew inspiration from European right-wing parties during World War ii, particularly those with leaders like Benito Mussolini and adolf Hitler and their philosophy of racial purity. French Political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot, specializing in South asian affairs, particularly india and Pakistan, points out that the ideology of the RSS along with other Hindu nationalist movements such as the arya Samaj and the Hindu Mahasabha, thought of Muslims, Christians and the British as “foreign bodies” implanted in the Hindu nation, who were able to exploit the disunity and absence of valour among the Hindus in order to subdue them. However, a majority of scholars believe that RSS was actually formed to fight the indian Muslims. in 1927 RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar led a Hindu religious procession, beating drums in defiance of the usual practice not to pass in front of a mosque with music, which triggered a clash between the Hindu and Muslim communities. The Hindus had the upper hand. This incident vastly enhanced the prestige of the RSS and contributed to its subsequent expansion. RSS adopted as its emblem the saffron
flag of the Hindu warrior King ‘Shivaji ‘ and ob- 1986, the BJP also began to rally around the ayjected to the adoption of the tricolor flag of india odhya campaign. in 1990, the party organized as well as the indian Constitution, particularly the Ram Rath Yatra to advance this campaign on its secular creed and the fact that it would treat a large scale. advani also attacked the then rulall castes equally. The RSS believed that Parti- ing Congress party with slogans such as tion was the result of a mistaken soft line to- ‘pseudo-secularism’, accusing Congress of miswards the Muslims, which only confirmed the using secularism for the political appeasement natural moral weaknesses and corruptibility of of minorities, and established an explicit and unambiguous path of Hindu revival. the politicians. The ayodhya issue and the related commuafter Partition the process continued of RSS becoming a political force to be reckoned with, nal riots which polarized the electorate along reparticularly during 1971 war between india and ligious lines helped the BJP make good progress the subsequent elections Pakistan which culminated in the emergence of in Bangladesh. The RSS provided support to the of 1989, 1991 and 1996. Finally the BJP won the government, by offering its services to maintain elections in 2014 and a diehard disciple of RSS law and order in delhi, and its volunteers were narendra Modi, who is known as butcher of Guapparently the first to donate blood. The organ- jrat for the massacre of Muslims became Prime ization got a boost during the Emergency im- Minister of india. The party in its election manposed by indira Gandhi for its role in the ifesto pledged to undo articles 370 and 35a of movement against it. it was finally lifted in the indian constitution. Modi adopted a belligerent posture towards 1977. Pakistan which The RSS and gave boost to his Jana Sangh, a napopularity. On autionalist party, took Stripping 1.9 million Bengalis gust 5 he finally complete advantage managed to fulfill of the 1965 war Muslim in Assam of their Indian his pledge of endwith Pakistan to ing special status of ‘deepen suspicion citizenship and the pogrom of Kashmir. in his adabout Muslims’, dress to the nation and also encashed Kashmiris are the outcomes of the on indian indethe growing unpopimplementation of the fascist and pendence day he ularity of Congress, boasted that he had particularly in the supermacist ideology of ‘Hindutva’ done within 70 days Hindi-belt, where a that which could left-wing alternawhich can have serious not be done in 70 tive was weak or repercussions for the entire region. years and that he non-existent. The had fulfilled the major themes on What the Modi government is doing dream of Vallabhai the party’s agenda Patel of a United during this period in Kashmir and to the Muslim india. were banning cow community in India should open the Stripping 1.9 slaughter, abolishmillion Bengalis ing the special staeyes of the global community to the Muslim in assam tus given to Jammu of their indian citiand Kashmir and lurking dangers zenship and the legislating a unipogrom of Kashform civil code. miris are the outThe RSS-domicomes of the nated Jana Sangh started making alliances by joining anti-Con- implementation of the fascist and supermacist gress coalitions. it became part of the 1971 ideology of ‘Hindutva’ which can have serious Grand alliance and finally merged itself with the repercussions for the entire region. What the Janata Party in 1977. The success of the Janata Modi government is doing in Kashmir and to the Party in 1977 elections made the RSS members Muslim community in india should open the central ministers for the first time (Vajpayee, ad- eyes of the global community to the lurking danvani and Brij Lal Verma) and provided the RSS gers. The hate philosophy pursued by the BJP with an opportunity to avail the state and its in- would not only prove disastrous for india itself struments to further its ends, through the re- as it would not only divide the country on comsources of various state governments as well as munal lines but would also lead to catastrophic the central government. Meanwhile, the other consequence in regards to regional peace and secomponents of the Janata Party denounced the curity. The world has already seen and suffered allegiance that the ex-Jana Sanghis continued to the consequences of the supremacist narrative pay to the RSS. This led to a ‘dual membership’ pursued by Hitler and cannot afford yet another controversy, regarding the links the former Jana similar creed devastating the world with even Sangh members were retaining with the RSS, more horrible repercussions, considering the fact that india as well as Pakistan are nuclear powers. and it led to the split of Janata Party in 1979. The former Jana Sangh elements formed a india needs to be stopped in its tracks before it new party,the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in inflicts irretrievable harm in itself and the entire 1980. The BJP did not have much electoral suc- region. cess in its initial years and was able to win only Malik Muhammad Ashraf is an academic. two seats in the 1984 elections. after L.K. advani replaced Vajpayee as party president in He can be contacted at: ashpak10@gmail.com.
aS an economist, i have come up with four reasons in favour of the fee reduction: 1) Schools charge fees against a service they provide. Like any other service provider, if one isn’t providing a service or only providing a partial service (distance learning), one can’t charge the full price. This is not a wish. it’s the law. 2) These are unprecedented times and companies across sectors are giving forced unpaid leaves and pay cuts to their employees. Why should teachers and other administrative staff in schools be treated any differently? 3) Other than reduced payroll expenses, schools are already saving big time on their overhead expenses especially utilities, stationary, petty cash, interest on loans etc. 4) School fees contribute not just towards covering expenses of a school but it includes a decent percentage of profit for the owners. Why shouldn’t school owners run losses or pay from their retained earnings for a change like almost all other businesses at the moment? imagine if schools insist on charging the normal fee, school owners would make even more than they usually do. How is this fair or even legal? For arguments sake, i was also able to come up with one scenario where schools need not give a discount: if the parents don’t ask for one in the first place. MANSooR AHMEd Lahore
Deadly blessing? THE coronavirus pandemic gives credence to Thomas Malthus. (Thomas Robert Malthus wrote a paper in 1798 titled Principle of Population . He believed that natural forces would correct the imbalance between food supply and population growth in the form of natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes and human-made actions such as wars and famines.) i remember when i joined Government College Lahore 64 years ago in my first year of Economics class ( Professor Fiza ur Rehman ) we were taught Malthusian Theory of Population which in the last 50 years became very Controversial and labelled as Tool of the white supremacist and Plutocrats. Thomas Malthus theorized that populations grew in a geometric progression is a sequence of numbers where each term after the first is found by multiplying the previous one by a fixed, non-zero number called the common ratio. For example, in the sequence 2, 10, 50, 250, 1250, the common ratio is 5. additionally, he stated that food production increases in. an arithmetic progression is a sequence of numbers such that the difference between the consecutive terms is constant. For example, in series 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, the common difference of 3. He derived this conclusion due to this, we can conclude that populations will grow faster than the supply of food. This exponential population growth will lead to a shortage of food. Malthus then argued that because there will be a higher population than the availability of food, many people will die from the shortage of food. He theorized that this correction would take place in the form of Positive Checks (or natural Checks) and Preventative Checks. These checks would lead to the Malthusian catastrophe, which would bring the population level back to a ‘sustainable level.’ He believed that natural forces would correct the imbalance between food supply and population growth in the form of natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes and human-made actions such as wars and famines.To correct the imbalance, Malthus also suggested using preventative measures to control the growth of the population. These measures include family planning, late marriages, and celibacy. The Malthusian Trap (or “Malthusian Population Trap”) is the idea that higher levels of food production created by more advanced agricultural techniques create higher population levels, which then lead to food shortages because the higher population needs to live on land that would have previously used to grow crops. Even as technological advancement would normally lead to per capita income gains, theorizes Malthus, these gains are not achieved because in practice the advancement also creates population growth. Once the population exceeds what food supplies can support, this supposedly creates a Malthusian crisis with widespread famine as well as rampant disease. This ends up decreasing the population to earlier levels. What Thomas Malthus envisaged 222 years ago should not be ignored and we should recognise that Thomas Malthus was a man capable of an extraordinary farsightedness. i am not promoting Malthusian philosophy but only saying that coronavirus gives credence to the controversial Malthusian Theory of Population. AFTAB A CHAudHRY Lahore
Effect of COVID-19 on poverty POVERTY is one of the major issues faced by pakistan. according to a report published by human development index Pakistan ranks 150 out of 189 countries in poverty. Before the outbreak of coronavirus, upto 29.5 percent people lived below the poverty line that constituted approximately 55 million people. However, the situation is different after the outbreak of covid-19. it is expected that the rate of poverty will become 50 percent and 120 million people will live under the poverty line by the end of this year amid an outbreak of coronavirus. We have been witnessing the unnecessary debate over whether or not total lockdown is justified. The prime minister imran Khan already opposed total lockdown because he said if he imposed lockdown across the country, people would run out of food and starve. However, the government of all provinces are already experiencing the lockdown that will result in abject poverty. according to the international Labour Organization (iLO), almost 90 percent of pakistan’s workforce are working as security guards, cleaners, raksha drivers, street vendors, garbage collectors and domestic help are suffering from hunger and food shortage due to lockdown in the country. Therefore, there is a dire need to take strong measures by the government to support the poor and implement properly on relief packages given by federal and provincial governments. Otherwise, the situation will be further critical for the country and people will die of hunger not of coronavirus. BiLAwAL ALi LAkHo Shikarpur
Wednesday, 8 April, 2020
08 WORLD VIEW
Has sweden found tHe rigHt solution to tHe Coronavirus? UNLIKE OTHER COUNTRIES, IT HAS SO FAR AVOIDED BOTH ISOLATION AND ECONOMIC RUIN
NatioNal Review
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JOHN FUND & JOel HAy
F the CoVID-19 pandemic tails off in a few weeks, months before the alarmists claim it will, they will probably pivot immediately and pat themselves on the back for the brilliant social-distancing controls that they imposed on the world. They will claim that their heroic recommendations averted total calamity. Unfortunately, they will be wrong; and Sweden, which has done almost no mandated social distancing, will probably prove them wrong. Lots of people are rushing to discredit Sweden’s approach, which relies more on calibrated precautions and isolating only the most vulnerable than on imposing a full lockdown. While gatherings of more than 50 people are prohibited and high schools and colleges are closed, Sweden has kept its borders open as well as its preschools, grade schools, bars, restaurants, parks, and shops. President Trump has no use for Sweden’s nuanced approach. Last Wednesday, he smeared it in a spectacular fashion by saying he’d heard that Sweden “gave it a shot, and they saw things that were really frightening, and they went immediately to shutting down the country.” He and the public-health experts who told him this were wrong on both counts and would do better to question their approach. johan Giesecke, Sweden’s former chief epidemiologist and now adviser to the
Swedish Health agency, says that other nations “have taken political, unconsidered actions” that are not justified by the facts. In the rush to lock down nations and, as a result, crater their economies, no one has addressed this simple yet critical question: How do we know social-isolation controls actually work? and even if they do work for some infectious epidemics, do they work for CoVID-19? and even if they work for this novel coronavirus, do they have to be implemented by a certain point in the epidemic? or are they locking down the barn door after the horses are long gone? In theory, less physical interaction might slow the rate of new infections. But without a good understanding of how long CoVID19 viral particles survive in air, in water, and on contact surfaces, even that is speculative. Without reliable information on what proportion of the population has already been exposed and successfully fought off the coronavirus, it’s worth questioning the value of social-isolation controls. It is possible that the fastest and safest way to “flatten the curve” is to allow young people to mix normally while requiring only the frail and sick to remain isolated. This is, in fact, the first time we have quarantined healthy people rather than quarantining the sick and vulnerable. as Fredrik Erixon, the director of the European Centre for International Political Economy in Brussels, wrote in The Spectator (U.K.) last week: “The theory of lockdown, after all, is pretty niche, deeply illiberal — and, until now, untested. It’s not Sweden that’s conducting a mass experiment. It’s everyone else.” We’ve posed these simple questions to many highly trained infectious-disease doctors, epidemiologists, mathematical diseasemodelers, and other smart, educated professionals. It turns out that, while you need proof beyond a reasonable doubt to convict a
person of theft and throw them in jail, you don’t need any actual evidence (much less proof) to put millions of people into a highly invasive and burdensome lockdown with no end in sight and nothing to prevent the lockdown from being reimposed at the whim of public-health officials. Is this rational? When we asked what evidence is available to support the utility of quarantine and social isolation, academics point to the Diamond Princess cruise ship, with 700 CoVID19 passenger cases and eight deaths. But the ship is an artificially engineered, densely packed container of humans that bears little resemblance to living conditions in most countries. The other major evidence academics often cite is the course run by the 1918 swine flu, which swept the globe 102 years ago and was not a coronavirus. Philadelphia did not practice social distancing during the 1918 pandemic, but St. Louis did and had a death rate lower than Philadelphia’s. But how is that relevant to today’s crisis? apart from the post hoc, ergo propter hoc nature of the argument, a key difference was that the GIs returning from World War I Europe who were carrying the swine-flu virus couldn’t fly nonstop from Paris to St. Louis. They had to land at East Coast ports such as Philadelphia. It’s therefore not surprising that the sick GIs rested and convalesced while spreading the virus on the East Coast, and they got better before continuing to St. Louis and other interior cities. Basing the entire architecture of social distancing on the evidence from the 1918 swine flu makes no sense, especially when that architecture causes significant destruction in the lives and livelihoods of most of the american population. But the social-isolation advocates frantically grasp at straws to support shutting down the world. It bothers them that there is one country in the world that hasn’t shut down and that hasn’t socially isolated its
population. It bothers them because when this coronavirus epidemic is over, they would probably love to conclude that social isolation worked. Sweden has courageously decided not to endorse a harsh quarantine, and consequently it hasn’t forced its residents into lockdown. “The strategy in Sweden is to focus on social distancing among the known risk groups, like the elderly. We try to use evidence-based measurements,” Emma Frans, a doctor in epidemiology at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, told Euronews. “We try to adjust everyday life. The Swedish plan is to implement measurements that you can practice for a long time.” The problem with lockdowns is that “you tire the system out,” anders Tegnell, Sweden’s chief epidemiologist, told the Guardian. “You can’t keep a lockdown going for months — it’s impossible.” He told Britain’s Daily Mail: “We can’t kill all our services. and unemployed people are a great threat to public health. It’s a factor you need to think about.” If social isolation worked, wouldn’t Sweden, a Nordic country of 10.1 million people, be seeing the number of CoVID-19 cases skyrocket into the tens of thousands, blowing past the numbers in Italy or New York City? as of today, there are 401 reported CoVID-19 deaths in Sweden. The really good news is that in Sweden’s ICU census, which is updated every 30 minutes nationwide, admissions to every ICU in the country are flat or declining, and they have been for a week. as of this writing (based on currently available data), most of Sweden’s ICU cases today are elderly, and 77 percent have underlying conditions such as heart disease, respiratory disease, kidney disease, and diabetes. Moreover, there hasn’t been a single pediatric ICU case or death in Sweden — so much for the benefits of shutting down schools everywhere else. There are only 25 CoVID-19 ICU admissions among all Swedes under the age of 30. Sweden is developing herd immunity by refusing to panic. By not requiring social isolation, Sweden’s young people spread the virus, mostly asymptomatically, as is sup-
posed to happen in a normal flu season. They will generate protective antibodies that make it harder and harder for the Wuhan virus to reach and infect the frail and elderly who have serious underlying conditions. For perspective, the current CoVID-19 death rate in Sweden (40 deaths per million of population) is substantially lower than the Swedish death rate in a normal flu season (in 2018, for instance, about 80 per million of population). Compare that with the situation to Switzerland, a similar small European country, which has 8.5 million people. Switzerland is practicing strict social isolation. Yet Switzerland reports 715 cumulative Wuhanvirus deaths as of today, for a death rate nearly double the number in Sweden. What about Norway, another Nordic country that shares a 1,000-mile open border with Sweden, with a language and culture very similar to Sweden’s? Norway (population 5.4 million) has fewer reported CoVID-19 deaths (71) than Sweden but a substantially higher rate of coronavirus ICU admissions. on Friday, one of us spoke with Ulf Persson in his office at the Swedish Institute for Health Economics. He said that everyone he knows is calm and steady, behaving with more caution than normal, following such government-mandated social controls as a 50-person limit on gatherings and only sit-down service at bars and restaurants. Persson estimates that the Swedish economy will drop about 4 percent because of the global economic shutdowns. But that’s nothing compared with the Great Depression unemployment levels of 32 percent that the U.S. Federal reserve Board of St. Louis recently forecast for the United States. Nature’s got this one, folks. We’ve been coping with new viruses for untold generations. The best way is to allow the young and healthy — those for whom the virus is rarely fatal — to develop antibodies and herd immunity to protect the frail and sick. as time passes, it will become clearer that social-isolation measures like those in Switzerland and Norway accomplish very little in terms of reducing fatalities or disease, though they crater local and national economies — increasing misery, pain, death, and disease from other causes as people’s lives are upended and futures are destroyed. John Fund is a columnist for National Review and has reported frequently from Sweden. Joel Hay is a professor in the department of Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy at the University of Southern California. The author of more than 600 peer-reviewed scientific articles and reports, he has collaborated with the Swedish Institute for Health Economics for nearly 40 years.
Global currency accord is necessary, but unlikely LEFT UNCHECKED, A SOARING DOLLAR WILL WREAK HAVOC IN EMERGING MARKETS WITH RISING INFLATION, COLLAPSING CURRENCIES AND A DECLINE IN US COMPETITIVENESS. THE 1985 AGREEMENT MAY HAVE MARKED THE LAST GREAT INITIATIVE FOR MULTILATERAL CONTROL OF THE DOLLAR’S ASCENDANCY
YaleGlobal
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Will Hickey
ajor economies should pursue currency agreements to stabilize the US dollar, especially during the CoVID-19 crisis, preventing a rapid rise against other currencies that is sure to trigger calls for protectionist measures. There is historical precedent. In 1985, the US dollar soared. The United States, West Germany, japan, France and the United Kingdom – the Group of 5 world powers – met at the Plaza Hotel in New York on a Sunday in September, when markets were closed. Four nations agreed to appreciate their currencies to depreciate the US dollar. Multilateralism and discrete action were necessary to realign exchange rate stability and counter the strong dollar in the early 1980s, with particular significance to West Germany and japan, two former adversaries that were gobbling up increased US industrial output. Former US Treasury Secretary james Baker III convened the meeting, expressing concern about rising protectionist sentiment among US industrial interests over an account deficit for the United States and surpluses posted by japan and Germany. The meeting, held in stealth, was based on Baker’s close relationship with then President ronald reagan, whose trust he had gained earlier as chief-of-staff. Baker’s idea
ran counter to reagan’s policy about controlling inflation with a strong dollar, but the president listened and liked the idea, knowing that protectionism over the long haul would do more to damage markets than promote domestic interests. The global economy faces a more calamitous situation today, namely with the CoVID-19 pandemic, which has destabilized world markets and caused the dollar to rally against other world major currencies in a few weeks. Countries have feasted on cheaper, liquid dollars for several years and now the piper calls. In essence, a new Plaza accord is necessary, even more so than in 1985, to soothe market volatility. Nonetheless, consider the many monetary changes over the last 35 years that may preclude such action: ● World capital markets are much deeper, more complex and electronically integrated than in 1985. ● Unilateralism, not multilateralism, is the guiding theme that most countries now pursue, as led by the United States. ● China, a dollar-backed economy, would not readily agree to depreciation of its vast dollar holdings. First, regarding the capital markets, dollar credit accounts for 14 percent of all nonbank global GDP as of 2018. In fact, there are more $100 bills circulating worldwide than $1 bills, with 80 percent outside the United States. Bonds, loans and payments around the world are today denominated in dollars. These are not dollars owed to the United States, but rather covenants made between various parties that rely on the dollar as the most stable currency and the only game in town. The financial calamity caused by the coronavirus has delayed pay-
ments in king dollar, with numerous defaults expected soon or debts called in by creditors early. This has precipitated a global ripple. Dollars must be had, and quickly, or depreciating local currencies will result. The crisis has not spared even so-called safe-haven currencies such as the japanese yen and Swiss franc from volatility, due to their liquidity for such payments. During crises, lenders seek to minimize risk. Further, commodity currencies, such as the Norwegian krone and Canadian dollar, which garner most of their support from stable oil prices, quickly depreciated with Saudi arabia and russia warring over oil-production cuts in the face of slackening demand. Second, with unilateralism, protectionism ensues. Countries try to contain the carnage on their own. Coordinated leadership is required. The US president, strongly unilateralist, seeks to influence economic policy directly. In the process, he has undermined trust among nation-states that he perceives as abusing US markets. This contrasts with reagan’s style in 1985, authorizing Baker to pursue multilateral negotiations on his own. Massive credit “swap” lines, contracts recently opened by the US Treasury to reduce risks and assist aligned countries with dollar loans, are not enough to stem the tidal wave of demand. There are simply not enough dollars in the system to placate all outstanding dollar indebtedness. These debts include dollar-denominated sovereign and corporate issues from countries like Indonesia or Nigeria, which were later sold on world markets. Such bonds were not only absorbed by US investors, but also by those in the United Kingdom, Singapore, Dubai and China. Third, China holds more foreign exchange reserves than any other country in the
world, at last count, around $3 trillion. Foreign exchange is synonymous with the US dollar, generally speaking, with 62 percent of world reserves in dollars and euros a distant second at 20 percent. It would work against Chinese interests to devalue the yuan further. China, not a party to the 1985 Plaza accord, is today the second largest economy in the world, and its vast dollar reserves have assisted the nation in weathering financial storms better than other countries. Much of this was born during the financial crisis in 1997, when most asian countries lacked the dollar reserves necessary to placate the stampede on local currencies. Yet such an agreement is unlikely. This time, developing countries are loaded for bear, hoarding dollars to the extreme. Nonetheless, many developing countries, such as Nigeria, Lebanon and Turkey, have a much larger dollar debt-to-reserve ratio, even with large holdings, and feel the dollar squeeze. Nothing would assuage world markets more than orderly depreciation of the US dollar, with stabilization and appreciation of other currencies. a multilateral approach – conducted by a handful of leading finance ministers, with the backing of strong US financial leadership, away from news media – might calm global markets. None would want to tip the markets early, similar to the 1985 agreement when orderly depreciation of the dollar occurred and accomplished the immediate goal of rebalancing the dollar. Today, the G20 has many more actors, many with political tendencies that resist the appearances of compromise. The European Union’s euro, successor to the French franc and deutsche mark, did not exist in 1985. Further, the digital world instantaneously
conveys currency moves of any type. any sudden market move would invite not only speculators, but also reactionary capital controls from governments, both on dollar holdings and domestic currency. Nonetheless, this trying time of pandemic and collapsed oil prices mandates compromise and multilateral action – along with cooperation from a US president who holds his position based on "america first" policies. To be precise, the Plaza accords were a prescription to soothe a short-term symptom of uncontrolled dollar strength, exactly what the world experiences now. Soon afterward, another agreement, the 1987 Louvre accord in Paris, halted the dollar’s 18-month decline, exacerbated by speculators. once again, the G5 agreed to exchange their currencies in a range, with a compromise between a pure floating and fixed-exchange rate system. japan was recognized as a world financial powerhouse during the Plaza accord, and swelling of the yen’s value from ¥250 to ¥150 per dollar in a few months contributed to asset bubbles and fiscal mismanagement, eventually leading to stagnant growth and the “lost decade” of the 1990s for the japanese economy. Nevertheless, the real target of both accords was West Germany, with its growing industrial might threatening to overwhelm US industry with an artificially low deutsch-mark exchange rate. Left unchecked, a soaring dollar will wreak havoc in emerging markets with rising inflation, collapsing currencies and a decline in US competitiveness. The 1985 agreement may have marked the last great initiative for multilateral control of the dollar’s ascendancy. Will Hickey is a former Fulbright scholar and visiting professor with Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Canton, China. He is also author of The Sovereignty Game: Neo-Colonialism and the Westphalian System, 2020, and Energy and Human Resource Development in Developing Countries: Towards Effective Localization, 2017.
Wednesday, 8 April, 2020
BUSINESS 09
CORPORATE CORNER Easypaisa joins hands with Punjab govt to disburse Rs1.5bn LAHORE: Easypaisa has partnered with Zakat and Ushr Department of the Punjab government to digitally disburse funds to those who are being affected by the lockdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The collaboration is aimed to disburse Zakat funds of Rs1.5 billion to more than 170,000 beneficiaries who need them the most during these trying times in a convenient and safe manner. Speaking on the development, Easypaisa President & CEO Mudassar Aqil said, “We are honoured to be the first bank, designed to operate as a fintech, by bringing cutting edge technology solutions to the financial sector through our large digital platform Easypaisa. We will keep providing the Government of Pakistan our support in these difficult times. Easypaisa is well-suited for such government-to-people transactions and we are already working with other departments and provincial governments to facilitate more of such transfers”. PReSS ReleASe
Hamdard Foundation marks World Health Day KARACHI: The World Health Organization commemorates the day it was established, 7th April 1948, by organizing World Health Day annually on that date. Hamdard Foundation Pakistan has been celebrating WHD for the last 29 years, with a tradition established by its founder, Shaheed Hakim Mohammed Said, by holding an International Children’s Health Conference, on the theme selected for the year by WHO. This year’s topic is ‘Strengthen Nursing and Midwifery to Achieve Health for All’. Hamdard’s Children’s Health Conference, which was to be held in Karachi this year, has been postponed till when the lockdown due to the coronavirus has been relaxed. The young participants are anxiously looking forward to the new date. PReSS ReleASe
PTI govt’s debt surges Rs9.2tr to Rs33.4tr
ISLAMABAD SHAHZAD PARACHA
A whopping increase of Rs9,209 billion has been witnessed in government debt during the first 20 months of the Pakistan Tehreek Insaf (PTI) tenure. As per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the government debt, which stood at Rs24,212 billion in June 2018 and Rs27,542 billion in February 2019, has surged to Rs33,421 billion till February 2020. This means that the government debt increased 21pc (Rs5,873 billion) during the last one year. The SBP report further stated that the government's domestic debt increased from Rs18,315 billion in February 2019 to Rs22,188 billion till Feb 2020. Similarly, an increase of Rs8,699 billion was recorded in permanent debt during the last one year. On the other hand, the government’s external debt also witnessed a significant increase from Rs9,231 billion in Feb 2019 to Rs11,232 billion in Feb 2020.
PM consTITuTEs coMMITTEE as TElcos DEManD Tax cuTs ISLAMABAD
P
GHUlAM ABBAS
RIME Minister Imran Khan has constituted a high-level committee to facilitate the telecommunication sector, which wants a reduction in taxes to overcome the losses it was incurring due to the lockdown situation in the country. As per a notification issued on Monday, a 13-member committee, to be headed by IT and Telecom Secretary Shoaib Siddique, has been constituted in response to a letter sent to the prime minister on April 2, 2020. “The committee has been tasked to carry out consultations and evaluate the issues of cellular mobile operators (CMOs) and formulate recommendations for onward submission to the PM Office,” the notification read.
Earlier, the country's cellular companies had written a letter to the premier and the IT secretary, asking them to reduce taxes on CMOs, as well as on mobile data, to facilitate the consumers during the lockdown period. The letter was signed by the senior management of Jazz, Zong, Telenor and Ufone. As per sources, the key demand of the telecom sector was to reduce taxes being paid by the consumers mainly on account recharging. Besides, the cellular companies had also asked the government to suspend 12pc withholding tax being levied on consumers. "The telecom sector also wants a reduction in the GST from 19.5pc to 16pc on mobile telephony and suspension of 19.5pc GST on internet," a telecom official told this scribe. "This will help the consumers maintain affordability under the crisis-like situation, as the markets and other
major business generating activities have been suspended." Moreover, the sector requested that the condition of 1.5pc revenues for Universal Service Fund (USF) and 0.5pc of revenue for R&D (being deposited in a pool) should be reduced to a total of one per cent for the time being. "USF has accumulated around Rs100 billion, and reduced collections for some time will not have any serious impact on this head," the letter stated. Another concern of the cellular companies was regarding the collection of Rs23 per verification by NADRA, which accounts for around Rs140 million per month. The telecom companies demanded the government to waive this amount the time being. The four companies also asked the government to reduce certain regulatory duties, including the annual regu-
latory duty being paid to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, by 50pc for the year 2020. The cellular firms maintained, "Like the general public and the consumers, the business sector is also facing economic difficulties and the cost of doing business has increased." Interestingly, in an attempt to avail the benefit of the current situation, the cellular firms also demanded the government to allocate the spectrum for AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan so that internet service could be enhanced for those areas. The companies sought allocation of spectrum for 15 years at a base price without auction. The government of GB and AJK, on the other hand, want the auction of the spectrum as they foresee billions of rupees worth income through the process.
marKEt daIly
Bullish trend prevails as KSE-100 recovers 652 points KARACHI STAFF RePORT
Bulls of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) managed to recover some losses accumulated in the last session, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing above the 31,000-mark. Foreign investors ended the previous session (Monday) as net sellers. A net outflow of $5.72 million was recorded with major selling witnessed in the banking sector ($1.56 million). According to market analysts, expectation of early release of COVID 19 financial assistance from the IMF kept the mood elevated at the bourse. “The positive sentiment was further aided by an uptrend in international crude prices, which gained another 3pc on Tuesday. Besides E&P, cement and steel stocks also rallied based on construction package announced last Friday,” said an analyst at Arif Habib Ltd. Gaining 723.98 points, the KSE-100 Index jumped to its intraday high at 31,303.13. Holding its ground, the index ended higher by 652.40 points at 31,231.55. Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index surged by 1,381.17 points to settle at 49,403.33, while the KSE All Share Index gathered 424.70 points, ending at 22,446.92. Of the total traded shares, 186 advanced, 96 declined while the value of 261 remained unchanged.
The overall volumes declined from the last session and were recorded at 172.63 million. Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF +5.12pc), Hascol Petroleum Limited (HASCOL +7.22pc) and Fauji Cement Company Limited (FCCL +2.83pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 20.39 million, 19.89 million and 9.85 million shares, respectively. Sectors that painted the KSE-100 Index green included oil & gas exploration (+168.70 points), banking (+117.77 points) and cement (+117.51 points). Among the companies, Pak Petroleum Limited (PPL +71.90 points), Hub Power Company Limited (HUBC +71.29 points) and Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC +69.92 points) contributed maximum points to the index. The oil & gas exploration sector gained 4.67pc in its cumulative market capitalization, with Pak Petroleum Limited (PPL +5.99pc), Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MARI +2.33pc) and Pakistan Oilfields Limited (POL +1.51pc) closing with decent gains. Meanwhile, in a notification to the exchange, Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF +5.12pc), Saif Textiles (SAIF +3.13pc) and Kohat Textile Mills Limited (KOHTM +6.86pc) announced that the companies have resumed their operations following the relaxation allowed by the government.
SECP receives ISO certification for infotech security ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has received the security standard certification ISO/IEC 27001 for its Information Security Management System. This is a globally recognised certification that enables an organisation to identify, prevent and defend potential security vulnerabilities. According to a press release issued by the authority, “The ISO/IEC 27001:2013, awarded by the International Organization for Standardization, encompasses the requirements for establishing, implementing and maintaining the infotech security techniques.” It will help SECP keep confidential information secure, provide customers
and stakeholders with confidence in how you manage risk, allow secure exchange of information and ensure competitive advantage. ‘MAJOR RELIEF’: In another development, the SECP has extended major relief to all companies, including mutual funds, from submission of certain information in filing of “statement of profit or loss”. Prior to this, on March 31, SECP announced relief from requirements contained in IFRS 9 (IAS 39, IFRS for SMEs and AFRS for SSEs), requiring recording of fair value adjustments of equity instruments held as FVPL (Fair Value through Profit or Loss) in the statement of profit or loss. STAFF RePORT
Gold price rises to Rs103,800 per tola ISLAMABAD The price of a tola of 24-karat gold rose by Rs2,500 on Tuesday to Rs103,800, as per the Karachi Sarafa Association. The rate of 10-gram gold is now Rs89,000. This rise in gold price is an international phenomenon. India, Pakistan’s immediate neighbour, witnessed an all-time high in their gold prices today as investors rushed to safer investment classes. On a global level, safe-haven metals are attracting investors as the coronavirus pandemic moves from panic territory towards stabilization. As a result, investors are encouraged to re-enter markets. In addition, owing to the expected supply-side shocks and quantitative easing movements, investors stockpile on gold in anticipation of price inflation in the future. SURGE IN IMPORTS: Meanwhile, gold imports into the country increased by 8.89pc during the first eight months of the current financial year (FY20), as compared to the corresponding period of last year. Pakistan imported gold worth $11.188 million during July-February FY20, as compared to the import of $10.275 million during July-February FY19, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). In terms of quantity, the country imported 266 kilogrammes of gold during the period under review compared to the import of 262 kilogrammes last year, showing an increase of 1.53pc. STAFF RePORT
Is there a silver lining to Pakistan’s external account situation? KARACHI ARIBA SHAHID
International trade has come to a standstill owing to the outbreak of coronavirus and the subsequent lockdown measures taken worldwide to tackle the spread. As per the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), trade disruptions due to the COVID19 pandemic are likely to cost the country a 4.64pc loss in GDP if both exports and imports fall by 20pc. However, an AKD Research report titled, "External Account & COVID-19: variables to remain manageable", stated the impact of the virus on Pakistan’s international trade in the worst-case scenario "is not disastrous". "While the impact varies from net negative to net positive, depending on which scenario plays out, we highlight the near term impact, even
in a very pessimistic scenario, to be relatively moderate and manageable, given the country’s limited reliance (fortunately or not so) on exports (10.4pc of GDP) and tourism (0.1pc of GDP).” IMPORTS: Imports for March 2020 clocked in at Rs525 billion, depicting an 18.7pc decline over last year. Of the total, 51pc of the imports came from China, UAE, Singapore, USA, and Saudi Arabia, with China alone accounting for 21pc, as mentioned by “Impact of Coronavirus on Pakistan’s Economy”, a report released by Dun & Bradstreet Pakistan. As per the report, the decline in import value can be attributed to multiple factors, including disruptions in supply chains, lower demand in Pakistan, and a fall in prices of goods and commodities. A decline in imports will have a positive impact on Pakistan’s current account deficit;
however, delays in imports of essential items could disrupt the supply chains of multiple industries.” Approximately 32pc of Pakistan’s imports are direct products. However, the remaining 62pc are intermediary products or raw material that are further used in the industry. As per Profit’s analysis, import and gross domestic product are positively integrated and the exchange rate is not a significant determinant of imports due to the relatively inelastic nature of the products in the production process of goods and services. This is due to the lack of local alternatives to such commodities and the lack of technological advancement. EXPORTS: According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, total exports for the month of March 2020 were down by 12.9pc over January and stood at Rs287.7 billion. A major proportion, approx-
imately 40pc, of this trade is to the USA, UK, China, Germany, and the Netherlands. All these countries have been hit with the pandemic. Due to a cancellation of export orders, Pakistan may lose on $4 billion exports by June 2020 based on calculations made by the Ministry of Commerce. REMITTANCES: As per data released by the State Bank of Pakistan, inward remittances clocked in at $1,824 million for February 2020, showing a 4.4pc decline over January. The decline, however, has been attributed to the spread of COVID-19 around the world. While the extent was not drastic in February, the number of cases, deaths, and countries on lockdown have increased since then. Based on that, remittances are expected to further decline. Ammar Habib, Head of APAC investments i5 Capital, opinioned “Would be interesting to see if the
Middle East and Gulf states are reducing construction activity which would have an impact on overseas Pakistani workers. This could hurt the inflow of remittances and dollar reserves.” A major proportion of Pakistan’s remittances can be traced to GCC countries. Saudi Arabia, UAE, and the USA account for the largest share of remittances contributing $422 million, $387.1 million, and $333.5 million respectively. Remittances made up 7.7pc of the Pakistani GDP in 2019, in comparison to the World Bank’s calculated average of 5pc share of GDP experienced in more than 66 emerging and developing nations. This highlights the importance remittances have in the Pakistani economy. However, as per AKD’s Umer Farooq, the situation can be offset by other factors. He says, “Savings in oil import bill (24pc of total import
bill in 8MFY20) from a crash in oil prices and low domestic demand partially offset the dollar earnings loss in the form of lower exports and remittances.” WORST CASE SCENCARIO: Farooq explains, using a matrix, “Even in a pessimistic scenario where we assume an aggressive 80pc decline in 4QFY20 exports (ex-food), 30pc decline in 4QFY20 remittances - through resilient in short term, in our view - and a relatively moderate decline of 30pc in imports (non-essential), the net incremental impact comes around $3.49bn (1.25pc of GDP).” He further adds that there will be some relief due to the oil price and consumption decline. “Adjusting for import bill savings from oil price and consumption decline (see table above on RHS), the net incremental burden on the current account would be $2.30bn (0.8pc of GDP).”
Wednesday, 8 April, 2020
10 FOREIGN NEWS
StockS Surge on hopeS for eaSing viruS criSiS NEW YORK
g
AGENCIES
LoBAL equity markets rebounded strongly Monday as some of the world’s worst-hit countries reported falling coronavirus death rates, while oil prices sank after a meeting of top producers was delayed. Wall Street powered to a solid rally, with the Dow gaining 1,600 point to close 7.7 percent higher, while key eurozone markets closed five percent higher or more. “It’s going up on hopes that perhaps we’re reaching a peak in this coronavirus,” said Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities. AvaTrade analyst Naeem Aslam said “investors are shrugging off the pessimism” as death rates slowed in a number of European countries like Italy, Spain and France.
Besides news of the slowing deaths, US investor optimism was also fueled by “early signs that the virus’ intensity in the epicenter of New York may be hitting an apex,” said analysts at Charles Schwab. London gains were capped by a stronger pound, but some of that value was lost after news broke that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to intensive care due to the coronavirus. WORST IN 100 YEARS: But even as traders were feeling more optimistic, European governments were reaching for superlatives to describe the economic damage of the pandemic. The French finance minister said his country was headed for its worst recession since World War II, while German leader Angela Merkel said the virus outbreak was the biggest challenge ever for
the European Union. Analysts at oxford Economics said the pandemic “may trigger annual GDP declines among the worst seen in the last 100 years.” Meanwhile, the commodities’ markets attention was on a planned meeting of oPEC and other key crude producers aimed at easing a supply glut that had sent oil prices crashing. Both main contracts had soared last week after Trump said Saudi Arabia and Russia would hold talks on ending their price war, and after it emerged that oPEC would be holding a teleconference on Monday. However, investors were dealt a blow over the weekend when the meeting was delayed until Thursday. Analysts warned there were doubts that the US would take part in the discussions, which could be a major sticking point for
AGENCIES
Japan on Tuesday declared a monthlong state of emergency over a spike in coronavirus cases, ramping up efforts to contain infections but stopping short of the strict lockdowns seen in other parts of the world. The government has come under mounting pressure to tackle an outbreak that remains small by global standards but has raised concerns among Japanese medical experts, with warnings that local healthcare systems are already overstretched. Announcing the measures, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged the Japanese people to draw on the sense of togetherness seen after the country’s
devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown in 2011. “We are again facing a great difficulty. However, if we work together once again with hope, we will rise to the challenge and move forward,” he said. “We will beat the virus, we will defeat the virus and we can overcome the ordeal of this state of emergency.” The move allows governors in seven affected regions including Tokyo to ask people to stay indoors and request that businesses close, but there are no enforcement mechanisms and no penalties for those who fail to comply. “Although a state of emergency is declared, it won’t mean a city lockdown as seen overseas,” Abe said, pledging public transport would run as
lion barrels a day would be enough to help the oil market, owing to a collapse in demand caused by the pandemic.
Child sex abuse accused Cardinal Pell set free after winning appeal
Japan declares state of emergency over coronavirus TOKYO
Moscow and Riyadh. But even if a deal is reached, there is skepticism the talked-about cuts of 10 mil-
normal and roads would not be blocked. But he urged people to take the declaration seriously, telling citizens “everything will depend on your actions.” And he warned that people would have to reduce contacts by 7080 percent if the emergency was to be lifted in a month. Pressure to declare an emergency grew after several days of record new infections in Tokyo, though the numbers are far smaller than in many parts of the world, with around 80 cases reported on Tuesday. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has already asked residents to avoid unnecessary outings and work from home, but had pushed for an emergency declaration to give her requests legal strength.
CMYK
MELBOURNE AGENCIES
Cardinal George Pell was released from prison Tuesday, hours after Australia’s High Court quashed his conviction for child sex abuse, bringing an end to the most high-profile paedophilia case faced by the Catholic Church. The 78-year-old left Barwon Prison near Melbourne after the court overturned five counts of sexually abusing two 13-year-old choirboys in the 1990s. Pell, who maintained his innocence throughout a lengthy court process, left the jail where he has been held for the last year and issued a statement saying a “serious injustice” had been remedied. Hours later, without referencing Pell, Pope Francis decried “unjust” sentences against “innocent” people. “In these days of Lent, we’ve been witnessing the persecution that Jesus underwent and how He was judged ferociously, even though He was innocent,” the pope said on Twitter. “Let us pray together today for all those persons who suffer due to an un-
just sentence because someone had it in for them.” A jury convicted Pell in December 2018, a decision upheld by a three-judge Court of Appeal panel last August in a split verdict. But Australia’s High Court found there was “a significant possibility that an innocent person has been convicted because the evidence did not establish guilt to the requisite standard of proof”. The seven justices unanimously found a lower court had “failed to engage with the question of whether there remained a reasonable possibility that the offending had not taken place”. Pell’s legal woes, however, may not be at an end, as he faces possible civil action, including from the father of one of the alleged victims — now deceased — who is planning to launch a claim for damages. The prosecution’s case had relied heavily on the testimony of Pell’s surviving accuser, who told a closed-door hearing that Pell had sexually assaulted the two boys in a Melbourne cathedral while he was archbishop of the city.
Wednesday, 8 April, 2020
New BrIBe detAILs oN 2018, 2022 worLd CuP votes As exeCs ChArged washington
t
Agencies
WO former executives with US media giant Fox were charged with corruption, bank fraud and moneylaundering on Monday as US federal prosecutors shed fresh light on the scandal-tainted bidding war for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Former 21st Century Fox employees Hernan Lopez, 49, and Carlos Martinez, 41, face charges along with 65-year-old Gerard Romy, who worked for Spanish media conglomerate Imagina. The three men are accused of paying millions in bribes to officials from CONMEBOL and CONCACAF, the governing bodies for football in South America and
North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The charges allege the bribes were paid in exchange for lucrative television rights contracts for regional competitions, the Copa America and qualifying games for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. The case forms part of the wide-ranging 2015 corruption scandal that left world governing body FIFA in turmoil and led to the downfall of president Sepp Blatter. An unsealed superseding indictment released on Monday also detailed corruption surrounding the 2010 vote in Zurich which saw FIFA award the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. The indictment said former Brazilian FIFA member Ricardo Teixeira and late Paraguayan official Nicolas Leoz, both
Premier League stars will ‘play part’, says union chief Paris: The head of the union representing Premier League players says they have “agreed to play their part” during the coronavirus pandemic as pressure mounts to find a collective pay deal. England’s topflight stars have come under fire over their lack of action, which contrasts sharply with significant pay cuts taken by players at other leading European clubs such as Barcelona and Juventus. The Premier League has urged players to accept wage cuts of 30 percent but ongoing talks have hit a stumbling block, with the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) warning that Britain’s National Health Service could suffer from the loss of tax receipts as a result of players taking pay cuts. FIFA has urged players and clubs to reach agreement over wage reductions and players are reportedly set to start negotiations on a club-by-club basis. British Health Secretary Matt Hancock was among senior politicians calling for players to take a cut and “play their part”, a call that sparked off angry reactions from players. A poll conducted by polling company YouGov last week found 92 percent of respondents said they backed a pay cut. PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor told BBC radio on Tuesday that the players had “all agreed to play their part”, adding they were “responsible enough” to know wages were a factor in any club’s expenditure. “We’ve been consistent with what we’ve said from the beginning and the fact is the players feel quite aggrieved that the Secretary of State for Health should put them in a corner without looking,” he said. “They’re not selfemployed, they make massive contributions to the Treasury and they’ve also quite logically felt that if they don’t get that money, if a third is deferred or a third is cut, then the Treasury is £200 million ($246 million) a year worse off and that could be going towards the National Health (Service) and will be needed.” Taylor, 75, is reportedly not taking a cut to his own £2 million annual salary. “The PFA will make donations and the PFA is involved in the players’ charity,” Taylor told the Guardian when asked directly if he would accept a reduction in salary. Agencies
members of the FIFA committee which voted on the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, received payment of bribes in exchange for voting for Qatar’s bid. In addition, Trinidad’s long-serving FIFA official Jack Warner “was promised and received” bribe payments totalling $5 million to vote for Russia while Guatemala’s Rafael Salguero was promised a $1 million bribe to vote for Russia. Salguero pleaded guilty to multiple corruption charges in 2016 and was banned from FIFA while Warner, who faces charges in the United States, is currently battling extradition to the US from his native Trinidad. “The profiteering and bribery in international soccer have been deep-seated and commonly known practices for decades,” William F. Sweeney Jr, the assistant director
in charge of the FBI’s New York field office, said in a statement on Monday which announced the charges against Lopez, Martinez and Romy. “Over a period of many years, the defendants and their co-conspirators corrupted the governance and business of international soccer with bribes and kickbacks, and engaged in criminal fraudulent schemes that caused significant harm to the sport of soccer. “Their schemes included the use of shell companies, sham consulting contracts and other concealment methods to disguise the bribes and kickback payments and make them appear legitimate.” Since the FIFA scandal erupted in 2015, the US government has accused a total of 45 people and various sports companies of
SPORTS 11
more than 90 crimes and of paying or accepting more than $200 million in bribes. Of the 45 accused, five have died. A total of 22 pleaded guilty, of which only six have been sentenced to date. A dozen remain in their home countries, where they face prosecution by local authorities or are free fighting extradition.
Coronavirus not an opportunity for athletes to dope: WADA president
Moscow Agencies
Athletes are fooling themselves if they think they can use the chaos caused globally by the coronavirus pandemic to cheat, World Anti-Doping Agency president Witold Banka has told AFP. The Pole said physical testing might be virtually at a standstill but WADA and national anti-doping agencies possessed other weapons they can deploy in the fight against doping. Canada and Russia have gone public in saying they have suspended their testing programmes while the British anti-doping body has significantly reduced its testing. “COVID-19 is not a space for the athletes to cheat,” Banka said in a phone interview from his home in Poland. “They should not feel it is a time for cheating. Otherwise, the antidoping agencies will use their weapons to catch them.” The 35-year-old former Polish sports minister, who only took up his post on January 1 after being elected to replace Craig Reedie, said he hoped it would not take long once the pandemic was over to return testing to its “full power”.
In the meantime, WADA would rely on other means to keep tabs on athletes. “Testing is not our only weapon and we have some strong ones,” Banka said. “There is the athlete biological passport, there is long-term analysis of samples, there is intelligence. “The biological passport is a useful tool for the profile of the athletes. “Also they are still obliged to tell us of their whereabouts even if we cannot go and test them.” Banka is mindful however that on a global basis, combating the coronavirus is the number one priority. “Anti-doping is not as important as people’s lives,” he said. The former international 400 metres runner said he had been in regular contact with leading sports bodies including the International Olympic Committee and the National Anti-Doping Organizations to discuss the current situation. “We issued guidelines for them that cover a number of areas that may be affected by COVID-19.” causE FOr cOncErn: The pandemic has forced Banka to put on hold several ideas he wants to implement, especially a bid to increase funding for the anti-doping fight.
“I am pursuing the idea of a Solidarity Fund to serve regions like Africa, for example, where they have very limited anti-doping systems (there is just one accredited laboratory in South Africa),” he said. “We are still working on that, this is a very important issue.” He aims to encourage sponsors and corporate partners to back the fight against doping with hard cash. “The idea is to get them to contribute a minimum of their sponsorship investment in sport (to anti-doping efforts).” Such corporate involvement could go some way to resolving an age-old problem for WADA, and one Reedie frequently raised — that their budget is insufficient for the size of the task they face. “We are a strong organisation with powerful tools,” said Banka. “But taking into account our budget, $36-40 million a year, that is not in line with the expectations towards the organisation expressed by our stakeholders. We want, or rather have to, increase it. “That is why we are looking for some alternative sources of funding.” Banka said proudly that WADA “plays many roles” and achieves a lot even with the budget constraints but stresses that with extra funding “it could do a lot more”. “One aspect we would like to address is that at the 2016 Rio Games, 10 percent of the medallists came from countries who either have very weak anti-doping systems or none at all,” he said. “That is a cause for concern and one which we should have the capability to address. “That would be possible if sponsors were willing to contribute to the Solidarity Fund.” Banka said the coronavirus pandemic would not deter WADA from its over-riding goal. “This is a new world for all of us,” he said. “WADA, though, will do everything to maintain the integrity and beautiful idea of clean sport.”
Kyrgios offers to drop off food to hungry people during lockdown Melbourne Agencies
Controversial tennis star Nick Kyrgios has offered to deliver food to people finding themselves hungry during the coronavirus lockdown, his latest charitable effort after spearheading sporting donations to help Australia’s bushfire crisis. The Canberra-based Kyrgios, infamously outspoken and known for his fiery on-court antics, said he would personally drop food on doorsteps after COVID-19 restrictions closed down entire industries, forcing huge numbers of people out of work across Australia. “Please don’t go to sleep with an empty stomach,” Kyrgios, the world number 40, posted on Instagram late Monday. “Don’t be afraid or embarrassed to send me a private message. I will be more than happy to share whatever I have. “Even just for a box of noodles, a loaf of bread or milk. I will drop it off at your doorstep, no questions asked!” he said in a post which has already attracted more than 90,000 likes.
People queueing for welfare payments around the country have been likened to scenes from the Great Depression, as all non-essential business and travel are banned to contain the virus. In January, Kyrgios led a bushfire relief campaign which raised millions of dollars. The 24-year-old contributed Aus$200 (US$125) for
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every ace he hit across his home tennis summer, which ran until the end of the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open. Players and Australian Open organisers also contributed to relief for the deadly fires, but it was Kyrgios who was seen as driving sport’s fundraising efforts, gaining him new respect. Kyrgios cited the crisis for changing his outlook on life in the wake of being handed a 16-week suspended ban in September 2019 for a series of outbursts. “I guess it’s just a perspective thing, isn’t it?” he said. “Why am I really getting mad on the tennis court with everything going on?” Since then, the year’s next two Grand Slams have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic with the French Open postponed and Wimbledon cancelled for the first time since World War II. There will be no professional tennis anywhere in the world until at least July 13 after the governing bodies ITF, ATP and WTA suspended all tournaments with coronavirus causing an almost complete shutdown of the global sporting calendar.
Australian cricketers ‘sucked up’ to Kohli to save IPL deals: Clarke MuMbai: Australian cricketers “sucked up” to India and Virat Kohli by holding back on verbal sledging to protect lucrative Indian Premier League deals, according to former Australia captain Michael Clarke. Clarke said players were “too scared” to play a normal game against India because of the influence of the world’s wealthiest cricket tournament. “Everybody knows how powerful India are in regards to the financial part of the game, internationally or domestically with the IPL,” Clarke said on Sky Racing television. “I feel that Australian cricket, and probably every other team over a little period, went the opposite and actually sucked up to India. “They were too scared to sledge Kohli or the other Indian players,” he said, referring to the verbal sparring that often takes place on the pitch. Australian players have attracted big money since the IPL started in 2008. Paceman Pat Cummins is the most expensive overseas star this year with Kolkata Knight Riders paying $2.17 million. The contest has been delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic and the league must announce soon whether it will be held at all. The league was due to feature top internationals including England’s Ben Stokes and David Warner of Australia. Clarke, who played for the now-defunct Pune Warriors in 2012, said Australian players coveted the million-dollar deals on offer. Agencies
Mueller extends Bayern stay until 2023 Munich: Bayern Munich forward Thomas Mueller has signed a new deal that will keep him at the club until 2023, the Bundesliga champions announced on Tuesday. “I’m happy that we’ve reached agreement with Thomas. Thomas is a special player for us, a figurehead for the club and our fans, a leader who shows the way on the pitch and has achieved a lot with FC Bayern,” Bayern’s sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic said in a statement. Mueller, 30, has played more than 500 times for Bayern since rising through the youth ranks to reach the first team in 2008, winning eight league titles, five German Cups and the 2013 Champions League. The new deal comes after he worked his way back into the team under coach Hansi Flick after being frozen out by previous coach Niko Kovac. Flick himself signed a deal last week to become permanent coach until 2023 after guiding the reigning champions back to the top of the Bundesliga. Mueller has played 100 times for Germany and was a key part of the 2014 World Cupwinning team. But coach Joachim Loew announced after the team’s flop at the 2018 World Cup that Mueller no longer figured in his plans for the national team. Agencies
wednesday, 8 April, 2020
news
BrITIsH PM FIgHTs VIrus In InTensIVe CAre As glOBAl DeATHs sOAr LONDON/NEW YORK
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RITISH Prime Minister Boris Johnson battled the coronavirus in intensive care on Tuesday as death tolls in the United States and Europe reached new heights from the pandemic sweeping the world. Johnson, 55, moved into intensive care when his condition worsened 10 days after his diagnosis. A senior cabinet minister said Johnson had been given oxygen but had not been put on a ventilator. His case has highlighted the global reach of COVID-19, which has put more than half of the planet on some form of lockdown, upended societies and wrecked economies worldwide. The disease’s relentless march across the planet has now claimed more than 75,000 lives out of more than 1.3 million confirmed cases, with warnings that much worse is yet to come. The number of daily deaths in Spain rose to 743 on Tuesday, after France on Monday recorded a new surge of 833 fatalities and Italy saw its death toll shoot up after days of dropping. And the United States — which has by far the most number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the world — recorded 1,150 deaths over 24 hours, Johns Hopkins University said. FIGHTING A FEROCIOUS ENEMY: There were however glimmers of hope in
Imran wishes Boris Johnson speedy recovery from COVID-19 Prime Minister Imran Khan has conveyed best wishes and prayers for the earliest recovery and good health of his British counterpart Boris Johnson, who has been taken to intensive care unit after his COVID-19 symptoms worsened. In a letter written to Prime Minister Johnson on Tuesday, Imran Khan also underscored the importance of Pakistan and United Kingdom working together to overcome the formidable challenges posed by coronavirus and building a safer world, said a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office. Boris Johnson is now said to be stable in intensive care after receiving oxygen support to help him battle the deadly virus, while his foreign minister led the government’s response to the accelerating outbreak. The upheaval of Johnson’s personal battle with the coronavirus has shaken the government just as the UK enters what scientists say will be the most deadly phase of the pandemic, which has killed 5,373 people in Britain and 70,000 worldwide. Johnson, 55, was admitted to St Thomas’ Hospital across the River Thames from the House of Commons late on Sunday after suffering persistent coronavirus symptoms, including a high temperature and a cough, for more than 10 days. NEWS DESK
China reports no new coronavirus deaths as cases decline BEIJING Mainland China reported no coronavirus deaths for the first time since the pandemic began, and a drop in new cases, a day before the central city of Wuhan — where the virus emerged late in December — is set to lift its lockdown. China had 32 new infections by Monday, down from 39 a day earlier, the National Health Commission said. For the first time since the commission began publishing nationwide data in late January, Hubei’s provincial capital of Wuhan saw no new deaths, joining the rest of mainland China, which has recorded none since March 31. Wuhan, a city of 11 million that reported only
two new infections in the past fortnight is due to allow residents to leave the city on Wednesday, for the first time since it was locked down on Jan 23 to curb the spread of the virus. With mainland China well past February’s peak of infections, authorities have turned their attention to imported cases and asymptomatic patients, who show no symptoms but can still pass on the virus. Total infections in mainland China stood at 81,740 on Monday with 3,331 deaths, the commission said. It reported 30 new asymptomatic cases, nine involving incoming travellers. Of the new asymptomatic cases, 18 were in Hubei. By the end of Monday, 1,033 asymptomatic patients were under medical observation.
the daily diet of deadly statistics. In China, where the virus originated late last year, there were no new deaths reported for the first time, just a day before it plans to lift travel curbs from the contagion’s epicentre of Wuhan. In New York state, the US epicentre of the crisis, the rate of growth in the death toll appeared to be slowing, although state Governor Andrew Cuomo warned that “now is not the time to be lax”.
“New York City is fighting back. We have an invisible enemy. We have a ferocious enemy. But this city is fighting back with everything we’ve got,” said mayor Bill de Blasio. LIKE 9/11: But amid fears of a second wave in Asia, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a month-long state of emergency in Tokyo and six other parts of the country. Singapore’s usually bustling business
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district fell silent as most workplaces closed to stem the spread amid a new surge of cases in the city-state. The virus is stretching medical facilities to the limit and the World Health Organization warned there was a global shortage of six million nurses. People around the world have been forced to improvise as supplies run short, with bodies packed in cardboard coffins in Ecuador and a mosque converted into a makeshift mask factory in Iran. Undertakers in New York are so overworked that a city official raised the possibility of carrying out temporary burials in a public park. “Trenches will be dug for 10 caskets in a line. It will be done in a dignified, orderly and temporary manner. But it will be tough for NYers to take,” tweeted Mark Levine. New York City funeral home director Pat Marmo said he was dealing with three times more bodies than normal. “It’s almost like 9/11, going on for days and days and days,” he said. As hospitals overflow, the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in Manhattan is being converted to handle at least 200 patients beneath its stainedglass windows. “In earlier centuries, cathedrals were always used this way, like during the plague. So this is not outside the experience of being a cathedral, it is just new to us,” cathedral dean Clifton Daniel told the New York Times.
Taliban break off talks with Afghan govt on prisoner exchange
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has deferred the approval of the second review of the $6-billion bailout programme, scheduled for Friday, due to delay in implementing agreed actions by Pakistan, saying, for now, it was focused on rapid financing facility of $1.4 billion, said a report. It may be noted here that IMF and Pakistan had reached a staff-level agreement by the end of Feb this year, that was supposed to pave the way for a disbursement of $450m in IMF funds if approved by the Fund’s executive board. “The IMF staff and the Pakistani authorities have reached a stafflevel agreement on policies and reforms needed to complete the second review of the authorities reform programme supported under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF),” Ernesto Ramirez Rigo, IMF Mission Chief for Pakistan, had said in a statement issued from Washington. “The priority now is to move ahead with the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI). The IMF team and Pakistani authorities are working hard for prompt approval and disbursement,” a newspaper quoted IMF Resident Representative Teresa Dabán Sanchez as saying. On March 25, Prime Minister’s Finance Adviser Hafeez Shaikh said Pakistan approached the IMF with a request of $1.4 billion to mitigate the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Addressing a press conference, he had said this sum was separate from the current $6bn programme and that the World Bank would also provide $1bn to the country to support its efforts against the corona pandemic. A Finance Ministry spokesperson told a local media outlet that his ministry was not aware of the IMF decision regarding the April 10 meeting as of yet. NEWS DESK
FATF extends action plan deadline for Pakistan till October The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has decided to extend the deadline for Pakistan to achieve all 27 points of its action plan till October 2020. The extension has been granted on account of the difficulty being faced by the Pakistani authorities in negotiating and coordinating with industries due to the coronavirus lockdown. Legislations to prevent the illegal outflow of the US Dollar, such as needing State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) approval before taking amounts over $10,000 abroad, have already been passed. FATF has also been made aware of the fact that Pakistan has frozen accounts of various banned organisations and convicted individuals related to them. Reportedly, various departments and ministries are in contact through video-link and steps to comply with FATF guidelines are being taken as quickly as possible. NEWS DESK
KABUL AGENCIES
The Taliban on Tuesday broke off talks with the Afghan government on a prisoner exchange, the main step in peace talks being brokered by the United States after it agreed on a troop withdrawal pact with the militants. Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the militant group’s political office in Qatar, said on Twitter a technical team would not participate in “fruitless meetings” and the release of their prisoners was being “delayed under one pretext or another”. The late February pact between the United States and the Taliban, under which US-led international forces will withdraw in exchange for Taliban security guarantees, is the best chance yet of ending the 18-year war. But peace hinges on talks between the US-backed Afghan government and the militants. A prisoner exchange is meant to build confidence on both sides for those talks. A spokesman for the government said it would maintain its work on the prisoner release plan. “We ask the Taliban to not sabotage the process by making excuses now,” said Javid Faisal, a spokesman for the National Security Council in Kabul. The Taliban suspension of the talks could lead to an escalation of violence,
IMF delays approval of $450m tranche for Pakistan
World short of six million nurses, WHO says NEW YORK AGENCIES File photo
which in turn could threaten the plan to withdraw US troops, a major objective of President Donald Trump. A three-member Taliban team arrived in Kabul last month from Qatar to begin the prisoner exchange process. Last week, Afghan officials said they would release 100 Taliban prisoners who were sick or over the age of 50. In exchange, the Taliban were expected to free 20 members of the Afghan security forces. Ultimately both sides would aim to release the 6,000
prisoners they are holding. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed the arrival in Kabul of the Taliban team as good news. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Pompeo last month traveled to Kabul and the Qatari capital of Doha in a bid to nudge the prisoner process forward. Afghan government officials have said the Taliban were demanding the release of senior commanders involved in some of the most violent attacks in recent years.
As COVID-19 captures global headlines, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned Tuesday that the world needs nearly six million nurses. The UN’s health agency along with partners Nursing Now and the International Council of Nurses (ICN) underscored in a report the crucial role played by nurses, who make up more than half of all health workers worldwide. “Nurses are the backbone of any health system,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.“Today, many nurses find themselves on the frontline in the battle against COVID19,” he noted, adding that it was vital they “get the support they need to keep the world healthy.” The report said that there are just under 28 million nurses on the planet. In the five years leading up to 2018, the number grew by 4.7 million.
India agrees to export malaria drug after Trump threat NEW DELHI AGENCIES
India on Tuesday announced to ease restrictions on export of a malaria drug seen as a potential coronavirus treatment, after US President Donald Trump hinted at “retaliation”. Citing domestic needs, India banned on Saturday exports of hydroxychloroquine which has shown early promise against COVID-19 in small-scale studies in France and China. India is the world´s largest producer and exporter of the drug, according to media reports. Global stocks are however limited and Trump said that he had pressed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this weekend to expedite shipments, hinting at consequences otherwise. “If he doesn´t allow it to come
out, he doesn´t allow it to come out, that would be okay, but of course, there may be retaliation, why wouldn´t there be?” Trump said on Monday. The Indian foreign ministry swiftly backtracked and on Tuesday said it would now license the export of the drug and paracetamol — exports of which were restricted in March — “in appropriate quantities to all our neighbouring countries who are dependent on our capabilities.” “We will also be supplying these essential drugs to some nations who have been particularly badly affected by the pandemic,” foreign ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said in a statement. He added that they would be “kept in a licensed category and… continuously monitored.” Trump has strongly touted
hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus treatment although many scientists are urging caution until larger trials show whether it is safe and effective. Hydroxychloroquine and another drug, chloroquine, have been used for decades against malaria but they have potentially serious side effects, especially in high doses or administered with other medications. The European Medicine Agency warned last week that the two drugs should not be used to treat COVID-19 cases, except for clinical trials or in the event of a “national emergency”. The Times of India reported that New Delhi had also come under pressure from Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and from other countries including Britain, France, Germany and Brazil over pharma exports.
Published by Arif Nizami at Qandeel Printing Press, 4 Queens Road, Lahore. Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk
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