Epaper – August 16 ISB 2020

CMYK

16 August, 2020 I 25 Dhu-Hijjah, 1441 I Rs 25.00 I Vol XI No 47 I 36 Pages I Islamabad Edition

shireen Mazari CritiCises Foreign oFFiCe For 'letting kashMiris, PM iMran down' g

'HAD FOReIgN OFFICe TAkeN APPROPRIATe ACTION, THe WORLD WOuLD CeRTAINLY HAve LISTeNeD TO PAkISTAN ON THe kASHMIR ISSue'

ISlAmAbAd StAff rEport

h

uMAN Rights Minister Shireen Mazari, in a rare rebuke of the Foreign Office on Saturday, said that it had "let kashmiris and Prime Minister Imran khan down" in their struggle for the kashmir cause.

Addressing a function in Islamabad, Mazari said that it was through the prime minister's "single-handed efforts" that the narrative surrounding kashmir changed in the global arena.

"If the Foreign Office had carried forward the prime minister's narrative, the situation would have been vastly different today," said the minister.

Mazari said that no matter the world's politics, had the Foreign Office taken action, the world would certainly have listened to Pakistan on the issue.

"But our diplomats chose leisurely hotel stays, dressing in three-piece suits and heavily starched clothes and speaking over the telephone," she added.

The minister questioned how a country like Burkina Faso "has more diplomatic clout" than Pakistan, as it managed to get a resolution passed by the united Nations Human Rights Council against police brutality in the united States in the wake of protests against george Floyd's murder.

“We have to move away from traditional diplomacy and for that we need to adopt modern methods.

"The kashmiri struggle is a just struggle.

Indian occupation forces are using the debasement of women as a political tool," the minister stated. She said our response in the matter needs a major revamp if our voice against such atrocities is to go to the far reaches of the world. earlier this week, Foreign Minister Shah

Coronavirus in

Pakistan

Mehmood Qureshi, in an unusually sharp warning, had asked Saudi Arabia-led Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to stop dilly-dallying on the convening of a meeting of its Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) on kashmir.

Appearing in a talk show, the foreign minister said, “I am once again respectfully telling OIC that a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers is our expectation. If you cannot convene it, then I’ll be compelled to ask Prime Minister Imran khan to call a meeting of the Islamic countries that are ready to stand with us on the issue of kashmir and support the oppressed kashmiris.”

Qureshi said that if OIC fails to summon the CFM meeting, Pakistan would be ready to go for a session outside OIC. In response to another question, he said Pakistan could not wait any further.

Meanwhile, officials had confirmed on Thursday that Pakistan's army chief will visit Saudi Arabia this weekend to seek calm diplomatic strains over kashmir as financial support for Islamabad hangs in the balance.

The two countries are traditionally close and Saudi Arabia in 2018 gave Pakistan a $3bn loan and $3.2bn oil credit facility to help its balance of payments crisis.

But Riyadh is irked by criticism from Pakistan that Saudi Arabia has been lukewarm on the kashmir territorial dispute, two senior military officials told an international news agency, motivating general Qamar Javed Bajwa's planned fence-building visit on Sunday.

"Yes he is travelling," Pakistan army spokesman Major general Babar Iftikhar said, though the official line was that the visit was preplanned and "primarily military affairs oriented".

288,047

LAST UPDATED AT 9:22 AM ON AUGUST 15, 2020 DAY'S DEATH TOLL: NEW CASES:

747

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

265,624

6,162

SINDH:

PUNJAB:

125,632

95,203

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

AJK/GB:

ISLAMABAD:

35,091

12,144

2,179/2,452 15,346

ISlAmAbAd StAff rEport

Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif on Saturday challenged approached Islamabad High Court (IHC) his arrest warrants in the Toshakhana reference.

An ac¬¬count¬ability court in Islam¬abad in June issued nonbailable arrest warrants for Sharif in the reference that accused him, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) cochairperson Asif Ali Zardari and former premier Yousuf Raza gilani of receiving luxury vehicles and gifts from Toshakhana. The court also decided that since he was abroad, the warrant against him will be published in foreign newspapers.

Sharif, in his petition, requested the court through his counsel, Jahangir Jadoon, to nullify the court’s decision to issue an advertisement for his arrest.

He also requested the IHC to nullify the accountability court’s decision to issue warrants. The petition claimed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was targeting the opposition to suppress dissenting voices.

“Nawaz Sharif is not a fugitive but is abroad undergoing treatment and should be allowed to face trial

Facebook turned blind eye to BJP promotion of hate speech fearing business fallout: WSJ

CONFIRMED CASES:

9

Nawaz moves court against arrest warrant in Toshakhana case

WASHINGTON AGENCIES

A right-wing Indian politician who has called for violence against Muslims and threatened to raze mosques continues to remain active on Facebook and Instagram, even though officials at the social media giant had ruled earlier this year the lawmaker violated the company’s hatespeech rules, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The move to not proceed against T. Raja Singh, a member of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) party, came after Facebook’s

top public-policy executive in India, Ankhi Das, opposed applying the hate-speech rules to Singh and at least three other Hindu nationalist individuals and groups flagged internally for promoting or participating in violence, the newspaper quoted current and former employees as saying.

According to the report, Facebook employees charged with policing the platform had concluded by March that Singh’s rhetoric against Muslims and Rohingya immigrants online and offline not only violated hate-speech rules but he also qualified as “dangerous” for his words could lead to real-world

violence against Muslims.

Yet, instead of following the officials’ recommendation to permanently ban him from the platform, the company allowed Singh, a member of the Telangana Legislative Assembly, to remain active on Facebook and Instagram, where he has hundreds of thousands of followers.

The decision was influenced

by Das, whose job also includes lobbying the Indian government on Facebook’s behalf, telling staff members that punishing violations by politicians from the BJP would “damage the company’s business prospects in the country”, which is Facebook’s biggest global market by a number of users, the exposé said.

The way Facebook has applied its hate-speech rules to prominent Hindu nationalists in India “suggests that political considerations also enter into the calculus” of policing hate speech, it added.

Current and former Facebook employees cited in the report said Das’s intervention on behalf of Singh is part of “a broader pattern of favouritism

by Facebook toward Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and Hindu hard-liners”.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

through his representative,” the petition stated.

The plaintiff also mentioned the rights organisations including the Human Rights Watch have also questioned the bureau’s accountability drive.

TOSHAKHANA REFERENCE: According to the NAB reference, filed in March this year, gilani had been accused of illegally allotting cars to Zardari and Sharif. khawaja Anwar Majeed and khawaja Abdul ghani Majeed, owners of the Omni group, were also nominated as accused in the reference.

The reference states that Zardari and Sharif obt¬ained cars from Tosha¬khana by paying 15 per cent of the price of the cars. The bureau further alleged that gilani facilitated Zardari and Nawaz in this regard. He dishonestly and illegally relaxed the procedure for the acceptance and disposal of gifts, issued by the government of Pakistan vide Cabinet Division’s Memorandum No.9/8/2004-Tk dated June 25, 2007, which expressly stipulates that vehicles shall not be allowed to be purchased by the recipients and be given to the central pool of care of the Cabinet Division.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

more inside

Kashmiris observe India’s Independence Day as Black Day with protest, rallies STORY ON BACK PAGE

Punjab warns of second coronavirus wave as SOPs flouted STORY ON PAGE 04

Gen Bajwa, Bill Gates discuss anti-polio campaign, coronavirus crisis STORY ON BACK PAGE in today’s issue

attention Some readers have complained that they are not getting the magazine with their newspaper copy. Please call or WhatsApp us at the following number to register a complaint.

Contact: 0307-7338168 irfan.farooq@pakistantoday.com.pk

02

Sunday, 16 August, 2020

NEWS

NEw agREEmENt with iPPs to ENsuRE ChEaP ElECtRiCitY, saYs FaRaz ISLAMABAD

m

GHULAM ABBAS

INISTER for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz on Saturday said that the new agreement with Independent Power Producers (IPPs) would enable the government to purchase cheap electricity from private companies and provide electricity to end consumers at lower rates.

The information minister said this while addressing a press conference. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Power Sector Shahzad Qasim was also present on the occasion.

The information minister said that a basic agreement has been signed with IPPs which is the first major step towards providing cheap electricity to the consumers.

He said that the previous governments

had failed to negotiate with the IPPs and expensive power contracts were signed adding that it was not possible to undo such contracts unilaterally.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted to address the issue of expensive electricity on an immediate basis due to which a team was constituted which held negotiations with the IPPs to revisit the old contracts.

The information minister said that under the new agreement signed with the IPPs payments will only be made for the electricity acquired and consumed instead of the total installed capacity of a particular power plant.

Faraz added that the return on equity will now be paid in Pakistani rupee rather than the US dollar.

He informed that the government intends to enhance the share of renewable energy to 20 to 25 per cent in the overall

Efforts underway to revamp health facilities in eight districts: Yasmin Rashid

energy mix by 2030, which will help ease dependence on petroleum fuel and reduce the cost of electricity production.

Similarly, Shahzad Qasim highlighted that one of the key milestones achieved in the latest Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the IPPs is that fuel efficiency tests of plants will be held and their results will be shared with the electric power regulator.

“The IPPs would not only have to follow the prescribed limit of National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) but the savings would also have to be shared with the government,” he said adding that it would help reduce the cost of electricity.

He highlighted that earlier the late payment surcharge to be paid by the government to the IPPs was Kibor plus 4.5 per cent which has now been reduced to Kibor plus 2 per cent.

86 overseas Pakistanis honoured for role in Covid-19 fight

The special assistant to the prime minister said that the government is working to change the whole power purchase regime with the IPPs as the current system guarantees payment of electricity to the power producers as per their installed capacity even if the actual purchase of electricity was much lower.

“It will take between one and two years to devise a new power purchase regime,” he added.

He added that past dues of the power producers would be cleared by the government and the MOU would only be applicable after the dues are cleared.

Shahzad Qasim said that the tariffs of various hydro power plants of Water and Power Development Authority are being rationalised at a uniform rate since currently different projects have different rates of return.

CPEC Authority launches internship programme for youth ISLAMABAD APP

LAHORE TLTP

Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid has said that under the Prime Minister Health Initiative, work on revamping of health facilities is underway in eight districts. She said this while talking to the Special Advisor to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan at the Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department on Saturday. Dr Faisal Sultan and Dr Yasmin Rashid discussed progress on the Prime Minister Health Initiative, expansion in nursing colleges and other key health interventions initiated by the government. Dr Yasmin Rashid gave a detailed update on the healthcare facilities provided in Punjab and the progress on mother and child hospitals as well as other special initiatives. The provincial health minister said, “We are taking targeted steps to enhance the performance and capacity of nursing institutions. At basic health units, rural health centers and tehsil headquarters, 1,710 nutrition supervisors are providing services to address the issue of malnutrition.” Similarly, nutrition support services are being provided at 58 district headquarters and tehsil headquarters level hospitals. At community level, over 43,000 lady health workers are providing services at grassroots level. She maintained that at Punjab’s public sector hospitals, doctors and paramedical staff have worked day and night for treatment of corona patients. Under the Prime Minister Health Initiative, work on revamping of health facilities is underway in eight districts. Dr Faisal Sultan said the federal and provincial governments will jointly work to provide services to mothers and children facing malnutrition. The federal government will call a meeting of the provinces to address their concerns on PC-1 of nutrition, he added. He said the federal government will support provinces in international training of faculty members of nursing institutions.

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority Chairman Lt Gen (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa on Saturday announced the launch of a threemonth internship aimed at human and social development.

In a series of tweets, Bajwa said in the spirit of youth empowerment, CPEC has offered the youth an opportunity to develop skills and experiences that would allow the country to grow and prosper in the future.

With 60 per cent of the population falling under the youth category, a tremendous opportunity exists to develop young leaders with maximum productivity vis-à-vis other regional economies, he said.

IHC moved against new rules for regulating social media ISLAMABAD TLTP

A constitutional writ petition has been filed before the Islamabad High (IHC) challenging the Citizen Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules 2020.

Chief Justice Athar Minallah is scheduled to hear the petition on Monday (tomorrow).

The petition has been moved by Advocate Usama Khawar on behalf of Asad Baig, an Islamabad-based journalist and the founder and the executive director of Media Matters for Democracy.

Expressing concern over the rules, the petitioner has requested the court to declare them ultra vires the Pre-

vention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 and the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act, 1996, and fundamental rights of the citizens secured in the Constitution, namely, the right to access to information and freedom of expression, the doctrine of delegated legislation, and Pakistan’s international commitments and obligations. Making the federal government, Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) as respondents, Khawar requested the court to suspend the implementation of the rules.

According to Advocate Usama, civil society rights watchdogs, journalists, activists, and global internet giants have opposed the new rules for regulating social

ISLAMABAD TLTP

As part of his initiative to reach out to overseas Pakistanis, and in the context of Independence Day celebrations, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi honoured 86 overseas Pakistanis for contributing to combating the Covid-19 pandemic. According to a press statement issued on Saturday, individuals and organizations that had assisted in alleviating the suffering of humanity during these challenging times in any form or manner are recognized for their efforts. Categories of honourees included those being recognized posthumously; medical professionals; donors; facilitators and associations. While interacting with the honourees at a webinar hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the foreign minister underlined that overseas Pakistanis are an important asset for the country. Lauding their exceptional selflessness and generosity, he noted that their acts of kindness, performed without any consideration for reward or recognition, in the face of difficult circumstances, exemplified the true nature and spirit of the Pakistani nation. He declared such individuals and groups of Pakistanis to be the heroes of the nation, and the real ambassadors of the country. The foreign minister apprised participants of the steps taken by the government to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, including inter alia, the policy of TTQ (testing, tracing and quarantine) and smart lockdowns, stimulus to select industries; financial relief to the underprivileged in the shape of the Ehsas programme, and expediting the repatriation of over 412,000 Pakistanis from abroad through 478 special flights. He thanked overseas Pakistanis for contributing to the efforts. Pakistan was faring better than regional peers, and was being cited as a success story in the fight against the pandemic, he noted. Foreign Minister Qureshi interacted with the families of two deceased medical personnel, based in the UK and Saudi Arabia respectively, who had laid down their lives while serving patients. He also held brief dialogues with heads of Pakistani community organizations in various countries. The Foreign Minister’s Honours List is being launched as part of Vision Foreign Office, aimed at expanding the reach and interaction of the institution with key stakeholders.

media. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed its concerns that the authorities wanted to use the regulations to control the “freedom of expression and opinion in the guise of protecting “religious, cultural, ethnic, and national security sensitivities”. Superior bars of the country, including the Pakistan Bar Council and the Supreme Court Bar Association, has also voiced concerns about the rules. Similarly, the Asia Internet Coalition (AIC), an association of leading internet and tech companies including Google, Facebook, Apple, Twitter, Amazon, Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia Group, Yahoo, Grab, LinkedIn, and Rakuten, has warned the Prime Minister that the rules would severely cripple the growth of Pakistan’s digital economy and make it extremely difficult for its members to make their services available to the country’s users and businesses.

According to the petitioner, “The office of National Coordinator has been given broad and sweeping powers affecting the fundamental rights of citizens.

Tributes paid to Quaid at virtual I-Day event organised by Pakistani UN staffers NEW YORK APP

Some of Pakistani current and former diplomats as well as United Nations officials paid glowing tributes to the sterling leadership of Pakistan's founder Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah at a virtual event organized by the UN staffers of Pakistani origin in commemoration of the 74th Independence Day of their homeland.

Leading the tributes at the online event organized by the UN staff Recreation Pakistan Club was Pakistan's Ambassador to the United Nations, Munir Akram, who called for continued hard work in taking the country forward amid its challenges.

Other participants included former Ambassador Shaukat Fareed, who is Pakistan Club’s patron; Ambassador Rafiuzzam Siddiqui, Pakistan’s former High Commissioner to Bangladesh; Ambassador Khalil Hashmi, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to UN in Geneva, Asim Iftikhar, Pakistan’s Ambas-

sador to Thailand, and Jamil Ahmed, a Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Irfan Soomro, President of the UN-Pakistan Club, welcoming the participants, underlined that all Pakistanis, whether at home or abroad, and in whatever their capacity, were serving the cause of the great nation of Pakistan. He highlighted the contribution to the world that Pakistanis have made globally, including at the UN, in promoting multilateralism, and laid down their lives in the line of duty under the UN banner peacekeeping operations worldwide.

Commenting on the climate change that posed a serious threat to Pakistan, Soomro urged the participants and, especially to the younger generations, to step up for preservation of ecosystem, plant more trees, adapt sustainable lifestyle, reduce waste, and value the precious natural resources such as water and energy.

Soomro maintained that unlike other places, in Pakistan, everybody and everyone

matters regardless of the colour, caste, creed or religion.

The participants also viewed a short video presentation, produced by the Pakistan Club as tribute to Pakistan on her 74th anniversary. The video included a beautiful poetry by Nadeem Asad read by current and former diplomats of Pakistan and UN staff of Pakistani origin.

In his remarks, Ambassador Munir Akram stated that 74th Independence Day of Pakistan marked a sentiment of gratitude for existence of Pakistan, a homeland for Muslims. He underscored that if the Quaid had no vision for Pakistan, "we would be facing the same fate as our brothers and sisters in our neighbouring country."

Pakistan, he said, was in capable hands of its younger generation which he stressed was more knowledgeable and resilient.

Ambassador Akram voiced confidence in dedicated and capable diplomatic service of Pakistan, stating that Pakistan had emerged as an influencial country and

played a key role in diplomacy and international affairs.

He stressed that during the times of Covid-crisis, Pakistani diplomats and those serving with the United Nations and other international organizations, have a critical role to play.

Ambassador Fareed, briefly outlined the historical and immense contribution of Pakistanis at the United Nations and its important work, saying their contribution has been appreciated.

Ambassador Rafiuzzan Siddiqui, Pakistan’s former High Commissioner to Bangladesh, said that Pakistan always overcome the myriad challenges it faced and stood tall in the comity of nations.

Jamil Ahmed, senior official in UNEP, New York, highlighted Pakistan’s efforts in climate change mitigation and encouraged other participants to play their role in that regard.

Pakistan's Ambassador to Thailand Asim Ifikhar shared his joy in observing

the patriotic zeal that Pakistanis displayed in Independence Day celebrations despite the tough situation faced due to Covid-19.

He underlined the need for creating more synergies between the bilateral and multilateral fields of Pakistan’s diplomacy.

Pakistan's Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Khalil Hashmi, highlighted the great legacy and strides that Pakistan have made despite being a young nation. He shared a brief historical account of how Pakistan through its effective diplomacy had helped a number of countries gain their independence.

Dr. Bilal Ahmed, a Pakistani staffer working for UNICEF, New York, underlined the critical humanitarian support provided by Pakistanis to the marginalized communities in most difficult areas in North Africa and Asia. He stressed that in these testing times, nothing but a sense of belonging and ownership with the country could inspire feeling of patriotism and selfsacrifice in the service of the nation.

Sunday, 16 August, 2020

NEWS

CambRidgE has agREEd to REviEw o & a lEvEls REsults aFtER outCRY: miNistER ShafQaT MahMooD SayS CaMbrIDge haS agreeD To revIew ITS graDINg ProCeDUre afTer IT waS CoNveyeD The aNgUISh of PakISTaNI STUDeNTS ISLAMABAD

E

TLTP

DUCATION Minister Shafqat Mahmood has said that Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) has agreed to review its grading procedures regarding the recently declared CAIE results for O' and A' Levels after an outcry from Pakistani students who felt they were unfairly graded.

“As a result of our intervention conveying the anguish of our students, I have just heard that Cambridge has

agreed to review its grading procedure regarding the recently declared results,” Mahmood said in a post on Twitter.

He added that Cambridge International will announce its final verdict on the matter after review on Tuesday.

Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, CIE had cancelled its May/June 2020 series worldwide with the announcement to award certificates without exams. The CIE followed a four-step assessment mechanism which included teachers’ predicted grades, ranking order, school review/approval and standardisation.

However, after the results were an-

Nab placed names of 261 accused on ECl in year 2019 ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Saturday released a yearly performance report, stating that overall names of 1,037 personalities are put on Exit Control List (ECL) over corruption charges.

The report revealed that the names of as many as 261 accused facing corruption charges were placed on ECL in the year 2019. As per the report, names of former president Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz leaders, Maryam Nawaz, Ahsan Iqbal, Miftah Ismail, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, and Hamza Shehbaz were placed on ECL. In addition, Akram Durrani, Faryal Talpur, Sharjeel Memon, Agha Siraj Durrani, Anwar Majeed and Abdul Ghani Majeed were also found on the list. Names of 42 people including former prime minister Nawaz Sharif were removed from ECL in the year 2019. Earlier this week, NAB Chairman Justice (r) Javed Iqbal had said that the international institutions had lauded the performance of the accountability watchdog against corrupt practices. A gallop survey also found that 59pc of the people in the country have confidence in NAB, he had said while negating aspersions cast on the performance of the accountability watchdog. He said that the NAB was a focal person under a convention of the United Nations (UN) and even China has signed MoU with them with regard to the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects. INP

FbR to expedite operation against tax evasion ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Javed Ghani on Saturday directed all FBR field offices to expedite operation against tax evasion.

A statement issued by FBR said that people found involved in fake/flying invoicing and tax evasion will be dealt with strictly in accordance with law. The tax authority said that the organisation will also take prompt action against its own employees who are found involved in criminal activities. In accordance with the directives issued by the FBR chairman, the Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation (Inland Revenue) Faisalabad arrested owner of Fazal Awais Textiles Syed Muhammad Azhar who was found involved in tax fraud by issuing fake and flying invoices to a nonexisting unit named Arrow International. APP

nounced on 10 August, students started raising concerns as they got grades against their expectations and previous performance.

In its statement issued on Friday, CIE said that it had been listening to feedback and suggestions from schools and students and had been “looking carefully at how to act on it.”

“Since we released our results on August 11, we have been listening to the feedback and suggestions from our schools and students. We know schools have been pleased that we were able to provide grades in challenging circumstances,” it said.

It added, “We have also heard your concerns about some aspects of our process, and we understand the real anxieties Cambridge students are facing at the moment. We have been looking carefully at how to act on your feedback, and at the same time make sure schools, universities and employers continue to trust our qualifications."

"On Tuesday, August 18, we will let you know the actions we will take," it added. A day earlier, the federal minister had said the government has decided to approach the British Council, Cambridge, and the British High Commission over the unfair grading in O' and A' level results meted out to Pakistani students.

The minister had said the Pakistani students appearing in the Cambridge exams had largely been graded unfairly, which had spoiled their hard work.

CM Buzdar enjoys full support of PM Imran: Sheikh Rasheed NEWS DESK Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said on Saturday that Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar is not going anywhere and that he enjoys complete support of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Sheikh Rashid, while talking to media persons, criticized the opposition parties and said that opposition only wants NRO, and their demand for the abolishment of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was, in fact, an effort to divert people’s attention from their corruption cases.

The minister claimed that vans from Islamabad were rented to participate in the procession of Maryam Nawaz’s hearing before NAB. He blamed Maryam Nawaz for ruining his father’s political career.

He also claimed the [NAB] case against Hamza Shehbaz Sharif was very serious. Talking about the economic situation of the country, the minister said that the economy was on the road to recovery, as stock exchange and industry were showing positive signs. He also lauded Prime Minister Imran Khan’s coronavirus response, saying that the government’s strategy of smart lockdown proved successful.

On railway workings, he announced that 10 more trains would start running from August 17, adding that a high-level official from China is expected to attend the historic inauguration of the ML1 project. “The ML-1 project, credit of which goes to Prime Minister Imran Khan, will prove to be a game-changer for Pakistan.”

Imran Qureshi receives Sitara-e-Imtiaz from president ISLAMABAD INP

President Dr Arif Alvi conferred the Sitara-e-Imtiaz award on renowned Pakistani visual artist, Imran Qureshi.

"This honour signifies the Pakistani government’s deep appreciation for Imran Qureshi’s continued efforts and contribution in representing Pakistan globally with his outstanding work," according to an official press release on Saturday.

Qureshi’s work has been recognised and awarded globally on various occasions prior to receiving his first award in Pakistan. In 2011, he was Awarded Sharjah Biennale 10’s Art prize, 2013, Deutsche Bank Artist of the year Award, in 2017 with Medal of Arts Award by State Department Washington and recently Asian Art Game Changer Award, Asia Society Hong Kong.

He was also awarded Shaji Muhammad Sharif Award for Miniature Painting 1993 at the National College of Arts Lahore as well as Associateship of NCA in the year 2009.

Holding over 25 years of experience as an independent visual artist, Imran Qureshi’s work has been

exhibited in various biennales worldwide. Acclaimed fashion designer, Christian Louboutin also named one of his creations after Imran Qureshi in acknowledgement of his art. He also has the honour of having his work displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and at the British Museum in London.

Qureshi’s only permanent Public Artwork in Pakistan is on display at the newly-built Islamabad International Airport in the form of a 200 feet long mural in 100 parts.

Speaking on receiving the prestigious honour, Imran Qureshi said, “My efforts have always revolved around portraying a positive image of my country. While my work has been appreciated and applauded on various occasions globally, this award holds the utmost importance for me as my country has recognised my efforts and there is nothing that can supersede this honour”.

Imran Qureshi was born in Hyderabad, Pakistan in 1972. In 1993 he earned a BFA at the National College of Art in Lahore, with Distinction, where he started teaching shortly afterwards. His work is firmly rooted in the tradition of miniature painting — the subject he still teaches at the NCA.

Anti-polio drive starts in Punjab, Sindh LAHORE TLTP

A seven-day anti-polio campaign kicked-off in 31 districts of Punjab and 41 districts of Sindh on Saturday.

According to the Sindh Health Department, more than nine million children below the age of five will be administered anti-polio drops during the campaign.

Meanwhile in Punjab, more than 17 million children below the age of five will be administered anti-polio

drops. The polio eradication campaign will begin in Balochistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) from August 17th.

The campaign is being carried out following the successful resumption of polio activities in July 2020 after a four-month suspension due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

To build immunity among susceptible children, vaccinators will go door-to-door during this campaign to administer the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) to children under the age of five, as well as vitamin A supplements to children

who are between 6-59 months of age. The Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme has provided vaccinators with face masks and hand sanitizers for additional protection.

Meanwhile, Dr Faisal Sultan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services said, “It is imperative that Pakistan continues its fight against polio with an already accessible, safe and widely used vaccine that has saved countless children from polio worldwide. I am hopeful that parents will continue to realize the importance of vaccinating their children during this campaign in Au-

03

shibli urges people to highlight indian atrocities in ioK ISLAMABAD: Information & Broadcasting Minister Senator Shibli Faraz has urged the people to highlight Indian atrocities in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) to give a wake-up call to the world’s conscience. The information minister said this while addressing the launching ceremony of "Run for Kashmir Tele Marathon” on Saturday. He said that international community especially human rights’ organizations should take action over Indian atrocities on innocent civilians but they are in a slumber on ongoing Indian state terrorism in IOK. The minister said that armless Kashmiri people are facing worst state terrorism and the entire state is besieged by force of military might and new generation is being killed, blinded and maimed by use of lethal pellet guns. He said that Pakistan would continue its moral, diplomatic and political support to Kashmiris just cause till realization of the goal of freedom. TLTP

Paper mills increase prices for the second time in a month LAHORE: Paper mill owners have raised prices of paper for the second time in a month due to which prices of books are expected to increase. According to sources, owners of paper mills have increased the prices of different categories of paper by Rs5 to Rs6 per kilogramme (kg). A 68 gram paper which is mostly used for books was available in the market at Rs106 per kg a week ago. However, currently its price stands at Rs111 per kg. On the other hand, paper merchants have termed the increase in paper prices as unjustified.

Khamis Butt, a senior member of the All Pakistan Paper Merchant Association, said that paper millers have established their monopoly in the market. “It is unjustifiable for paper mill owners to raise prices of paper before next year's printing of school books begins, which will make books more expensive,” he said.

Butt also expressed fears that paper mill owners may further increase prices in the coming days. SHAHAB OMER

Fo summons indian envoy to register protest after loC firing injures minor ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Saturday summoned a senior Indian diplomat to register Pakistan’s “strong protest” at the ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC) a day earlier. According to FO, due to indiscriminate and unprovoked firing by the Indian occupation forces in the, sustained serious injuries. It added that Pakistani troops “responded effectively to Indian firing”. The Foreign Office in its statement said that due to “indiscriminate and unprovoked firing by the Indian occupation forces […] at Dhudhnial Sector of the LoC on Aug 14, three-year-old Zulekha, daughter of Mushtaq, resident of Village Tejian, sustained serious injuries”. The statement added that India had committed 1,980 ceasefire violations since the start of this year, which had resulted in 16 deaths and serious injuries to 161 people. “The Indian occupation forces along the LoC and the Working Boundary (WB) have been continuously targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-caliber mortars and automatic weapons,” the statement said. “Such senseless acts are in clear violation of the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding and are also against all established humanitarian norms and professional military conduct. These egregious violations of international law reflect consistent Indian attempts to escalate the situation along the LoC and are a threat to regional peace and security.” STAFF REPORT gust and help our nation ultimately end the threat of polio.”

As with the last campaign held in July, polio vaccinators will continue to adhere to stringent operating procedures while vaccinating children to protect themselves and families from Covid-19. Vaccinators have been trained ahead of the campaign to undertake prevention measures, including keeping a safe distance from children and families while administering drops and ensuring that parents themselves hold their children. According to Dr Rana Safdar, the coordinator of the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) of the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme, the campaign in August would help Pakistan tackle increased virus transmission within hotspots of virus circulation across the nation.

04

Sunday, 16 August, 2020

NEWS

Punjab warnS oF SEcond coronaviruS wavE aS SoPS FloutEd LAHORE

t

SHAHAB OMER

HE Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department (P&SHD) of Punjab has intimated the district administration and police officials regarding the possibility of a second wave of Covid-19 in the province, given the non-serious and irresponsible attitude of the people.

According to the letter written by P&SHD to Regional Police Officers and Divisional Commissioners, “It has been observed that SOPs in markets and shopping malls/plazas are not being followed while implementation activities have also slowed down. Even though Covid-19 cases are on the decline, the public health threat still exists and disease may spread if ade-

quate precautions are not taken.”

It further said, “It is requested that compliance of SOPs and face-covering usage to prevent Covid-19 spread may be ensured in true letter and spirit to avoid the second wave of Covid-19.”

It is pertinent to mention that the Punjab government had relaxed the lockdown right after the Eidul Adha holidays, gradually allowing markets, businesses and offices to restart their operation. The government had also issued instructions for businesses, asking them to comply with corona SOPs. However, this scribe has observed that the fear of the Covid-19 in public has completely disappeared, with many believing that 'life has returned back to normal'.

Speaking to Pakistan Today, Muammad Nazeer Imran, a shopkeeper of the

Environment agency must approve all Islamabad projects, rules court The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has said that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must approve all projects in the federal capital. The court was hearing a case on pollution and climate change. The agency has been instructed to act as an independent organisation and take action against violators. “We have reached a stage where we should hold people accountable,” IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah remarked on Saturday. “Why is work not being done for the protection of the environment? The federal government should answer this,” he said. The organisation that is responsible for controlling pollution has said that it does not have enough employees. Federal Minister and Adviser to Prime Minister of Pakistan for Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam and the climate change secretary have been summoned in person on August 22. NEWS DESK

OPDs reopened in Balochistan after five-month hiatus QUETTA: Outdoor patients’ departments (OPDs) of all government hospitals in Balochistan reopened after five months with precautionary measures on Saturday. Strict precautionary measures have been put in place to avoid coronavirus transmission. Hundreds of patients thronged to government hospitals for medical purposes following the announcement by the provincial government to reopen all OPDs. The provincial government had closed the OPDs after the imposition of lockdown in the country in March to control Covid-19 pandemic. The Ministry of Health had suggested a complete lockdown and curfew in the province to control the ongoing pandemic. As many as 747 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus during the past 24 hours across the country, taking the number of confirmed cases to 288,047. According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), nine people died due to coronavirus-related complications during this period, pushing the death toll from the disease in the country to 6,162. The number of active coronavirus cases has dropped to 16,261 as 265,624 patients have recovered. Thus far, 125,632 cases have been detected in Sindh, 95,203 in Punjab, 35,091 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 12,144 in Balochistan, 15,346 in Islamabad, 2,179 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and 2,452 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). INP

KP schools only allowed to open for administrative work: minister PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Education Minister Akbar Ayub Khan on Saturday said that private schools were only allowed to open to deal with their administrative matters. “Parents should inform the government if they are pressurised to send their children to schools,” he said in his reaction over the opening of schools in Swat.

Khan added that only staff of the schools are allowed to come to school to discharge administrative matters, adding that strict action would be taken against those schools, found violating the orders of the government. The minister said that the threat of coronavirus still persists and urged the private schools’ administration to cooperate with the government. Earlier in the day, private schools were reopened after a closure of five months due to the coronavirus outbreak in Swat. As per details, the management of private schools in Swat reopened their schools, but the attendance remained low. Parents dropped their children to schools. It may be noted that last week, the provincial cabinet had endorsed the decisions of National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) regarding the opening of schools from September 15. INP

market near Cavalry Ground, said that people were never afraid of Covid-19, and after the relaxation in lockdowns, they have gained even more confidence.

“On Eid and August 14, a large number of people came out on roads without any fear. People are not afraid of crowds anymore, nor are they keeping in mind the SOPs. Our markets are full of people all day long, which also causes traffic jams.

The government says cases of Covid-19 are declining, but if the same situation continues, the virus will spread again with severity,” he added.

Khurram Latif, a manager of an office on MM Alam Road, said corona SOPs were not being implemented in the offices.

“Our offices are open but people are shaking hands and hugging each other. Hand sanitizers are no longer being used, and

people are not washing their hands that regularly. Staff enters the offices without wearing masks and outsiders are not being prohibited from entering the offices. If people don't take things seriously, the situation could get worse.”

Zahid Abbas, a tour operator based in Gulberg, said that SOPs were not being implemented even in tourist places and the government should immediately take action against the violators. “Parks, zoos and other tourist sites in the city are full of people. With the opening of northern areas, a large number of people have gone to these areas for tourism and they do not understand how dangerous crowded places are. On Independence Day, people violated the corona SOPs although the threat of Covid-19 still exists and we must seriously implement SOPs.”

K-Electric announces up to seven hours of load-shedding in port city KARACHI STAFF REPORT

Karachi’s sole power supplier, K-Electric, has announced that there would be up to seven hours of load-shedding in different areas of the port city every day.

Different parts of Baldia Town will experience loadshedding of two hours at least three times a day. Malir to experience two hours of load-shedding thrice a day. Shah Faisal Colony to experience two hours load-shedding three times a day.

Parts of Clifton, Auto Road, Mandra Chowk, Poonawala, Kemari Center, and Shireen Jinnah Colony, to experience power outage for two and a half hours three times a day, whereas in the FB Area, there would be load-shedding of for a total seven and a half hours in four intervals

(power will go three times for two hours and then for half an hour in the middle).

K-Electric has said that load-shedding of up to seven areas will be done in areas where power theft is common.

The company’s spokesperson has denied the reports of unannounced load-shedding in the city.

The spokesperson said that power is being supplied to Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Orangi Town, Baldia Town, Lyari and Kemari. The spokesperson said that it was inappropriate to compare power outages because of technical faults with load-shedding, adding that registered users are told in advance about the outages.

The spokesperson further said that billing is being done in accordance with the rules and regulations laid down by the regulator. For complaints related to electricity, users can dial 118 or approach K-Electric on social media.

Buzdar says no room for negligence in anti-polio drive KARACHI PPI

Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on Saturday said that polio-free province was the government’s mission and there was a dire need to carry out collective efforts efficiently and effectively for the success of anti-polio campaign.

"Relevant departments and agencies will have to give results by strengthening and improving their liaison," he said in a statement. The CM said that there was no room for negligence in the anti-polio campaign. He added that full security would be provided to the polio workers.

He said that the Punjab government was utilising all of its resources for ensuring a safe and healthy future for the children. He further maintained that the provincial government was running a comprehensive awareness campaign to strengthen polio eradication efforts.

Continuation of effective measures for rooting out polio from the society is the collective responsibility of society as well, he added. Buzdar also appealed to the parents to be a part of the government's efforts to eradicate polio.

He said that protecting the children from polio was a

national responsibility and the government was determined to win the war against polio at all cost.

Meanwhile, the provincial chief executive has expressed a deep sense of sorrow and grief over the loss of precious lives in an accident on motorway near Sumundri.

He extended heartfelt sympathies and condoled with the bereaved family members and directed the authorities to provide best medical facilities to the injured. Buzdar also sought a report form administration about the accident.

Nasir Shah directs to improve sanitation situation across Sindh

KARACHI INP

Sindh Minister for Information and Local Government Syed Nasir Hussain Shah has directed to improve the sanitation situation in the province, removing dirt and piles of garbage in all the districts of province.

He said that garbage lying on the roads, neighborhoods

and streets should be picked up on an emergency basis and the entire situation should be monitored by the municipal commissioner along with officials of the solid waste department. Shah said that special orders have been issued to normalise the sanitation situation in different areas after rains and Eidul Azha and to keep each union council clean and tidy.

While directing to inform about the cleaning activities on daily basis, he said that all the officers should immediately inform about the cleaning activities taking place in their areas and make every effort to ensure uninterrupted on an emergency basis in all areas. Local government staff should fulfil their responsibilities, he directed.

The local government minister said that he would pay a surprise visit to the area to review the sanitation situation and the solid waste department should try to further improve its responsibilities.

Shah clarified that action would also be taken against the concerned officers in the presence of an unsatisfactory sanitation situation.

Eight-yEar-old girl EatEn by crocodilE nEar Sukkur canal An eight-year-old girl was allegedly attacked and eaten by a crocodile near Sukkur’s Nara Canal on Friday, the police confirmed. According to her father, Gulbahar Khaskheli, the girl had gone to the river near Taj Farm village in Salehpat with her friends to wash clothes when the crocodile suddenly attacked her and then dragged her into the water. Other people present at the accident site claimed that the crocodile was more than 16-feet-long and ate the girl.

“We called rescue officials and the police but they reached the site six hours after the incident,” Khaskheli said. The child’s parents have asked the government to help them. “No one is looking for our daughter. We are doing it ourselves,” said the mother. “I just want my daughter and nothing else.” Mukhtiyarkar Zahid Shah said that the attack occurred at night because of which they were not able to look for the body properly. “We have asked the Pakistan Navy to help us,” he added. According to the Sindh Wildlife Department, more than 300 crocodiles of various species live in the canal. The Nara Canal is a delta channel built on the left bank of the Indus River in Sindh. NEWS DESK

Five killed, 9 injured in road accidents FAISALABAD: At least five people were killed and nine others were injured in separate road accidents here on Saturday, rescue sources said. The first accident took place near Samundri motorway where a car got out of control as the driver was feeling sleepy and it slammed into a truck moving ahead. As a result of the collision four people Murtaza 15, Fakhara 50, Ahsan 32, and Shakir 68, died on the spot while Atifa 17, Masooma 18, Nasir 48, and another were critically injured. The bodies and injured were shifted to DHQ Hospital where condition of two injured people was stated to be critical. INP

tourists’ influx causes road blockages up north ABBOTTABAD: Tourists from all across the country on Saturday rushed to Galyat, Kaghan, Naran, Thandyani and other spots to enjoy the cool weather and serene beauty of the area which led to many roads being jampacked. Owing to the tourist influx from all over the country, Karakoram Highway (KKH) from Mansehra to Naran and Murree road from Abbottabad to Nathiagali remained blocked where thousands of tourists were stuck on both sides of the road. Mile-long ques of stranded tourists could be seen on both sides of KKH and Murree road. Weather in the upper parts of Hazara is very pleasant and the temperature in Galyat was around 19-degrees while in Naran it was about 12 degrees centigrade. Galyat Development Authority (GDA) and Abbottabad traffic police have made all arrangements to facilitate tourists but more than expected numbers of tourists reached in both Galyat and Kaghan resulting in the traffic blockage. The traffic police asked the tourists to avoid wrong parking which is causing serious road blockage. APP

double-decker bus service between islamabad, rawalpindi makes trial run On the special directives of Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, a test trial of double decker bus service was conducted in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. According to details, the Punjab Tourism Development Corporation, with the coordination of Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA), started a test drive of double-decker bus service on the occasion of Independence Day, celebrated across Pakistan yesterday. Adviser to CM Punjab for Horticulture & Tourism Asif Mehmood, MPA Farah Agha, PHA officials, others were present on the occasion. Addressing to the participants, the adviser said that double-decker bus service would be started next week in twin cities. The objective of the service is to promote tourism; to invite local and foreign tourists to enjoy the culture and scenery of the twin cities, he added.

“The Tourism Development Corporation Punjab (TDCP) will operate the buses,” he said, adding the construction work of the main terminal at Allama Iqbal Park double road has entered the final stage. NEWS DESK

Sunday, 16 August, 2020

NEWS

05

Nawaz moves court against arrest IESCO SmEllS A rAt In POWEr warrant in Toshakhana case DIvISIOn'S WOrkInGS cONTINUEd ON pAGE 01

Reference further states that Zardari accepted and received the armoured vehicles as gift from the United Arab Emirates (BMW750 Li model 2005, Lexus Jeep model 2007) and from Libya (BMW 760 Li model 2008) in September-October 2008. It was obligated to immediately report and deposit the vehicles with Toshakhana of Cabinet Division

but he neither reported the gifted vehicles nor despoiled the same.

The NAB reference alleges that Sharif did not hold any public office in 2008. However, from April to December 2008, without giving any application or request to then prime minister Gilani, dishonestly and illegally obtained relaxation for his benefits of the procedure for the vide Cabinet Division’s above said Memorandum which expressly stipulate that ve-

hicles shall not be allowed to be purchased by the recipients and be given to the Central Pool of cars of the Cabinet Division.

“Nawaz Sharif knowingly and with dishonest intention obtained illegal favour in connivance with the then prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani by obtaining the relaxation of said procedure for the acceptance and disposal of gifts,” reference states.

ISLAMABAd

I

IESCO CEO ALLEGES THAT POWER DIVISION IS TRYING TO TRANSFER FAVOURED CANDIDATES TO IMPORTANT POSITIONS AT THE COMPANY

AHMAD AHMADANI

SLAMABAD Electric Supply Company (IESCO) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Shahid Iqbal Chaudhry on Saturday alleged that the Power Division has been trying to transfer its favoured candidates to important positions at IESCO despite a ban on postings.

According to sources, the Power Division has been allegedly involved in transfer/posting of its favoured candidates in IESCO despite a ban on postings. Sources alleged that the Power Division has directed the IESCO CEO to transfer an official who is allegedly involved in corruption.

Sources added that the IESCO CEO is perturbed over transfer/posting of Ahsan Zaman in IESCO due

to which he has written a letter to Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) managing director asking approval of transfer/posting orders.

Currently, a ban has been placed by the Ministry of Energy on transfer/posting in DISCOs. According to sources, during July 2020, Minister of Energy Omar Ayub asked the IESCO CEO to transfer

Ahsan Zaman Khan from XEN Civil GSC to XEN Civil Works, IESCO. In response the IESCO chief apprised the energy minister regarding lack of experience of Ahsan Zaman (11 months compared to a 2 year requirement). However, later, on the directives of Power division secretary, Ahsan Zaman Khan was transferred from XEN Civil GSC to XEN Civil Works, IESCO. IESCO CEO in another letter to the Power Division special secretary informed that Ahsan Zaman Khan remained posted as IESCO XEN Civil Division from December 16, 2013 to August 16, 2019. However, during his tenure the performance of the officer was found lacking.

Moreover, the officer was also found involved in tendering irregularities in contradiction with Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) Rules.

Israel-UAE deal could open Dwindling gold demand pushes Chinese discounts up US weapons sales to Gulf kingdom, experts say to record high BENGALURU/MUMBAI

WASHINGTON

AGENCIES

AGENCIES

Normalised diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) could pave the way for more US weapons sales to the Gulf Arab country, according to experts.

Israel and the UAE announced on Thursday that they will normalise diplomatic ties and forge a broad new relationship under an accord that US President Donald Trump helped broker. The agreement makes the UAE only the third Arab state after Egypt and Jordan to make such a deal with Israel, which has enjoyed special access to US weapons sales. In a National Public Radio interview on Friday, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said that “the more the Emirates become a friend of Israel, become a partner of Israel, become a regional ally of the United States, I think obviously that alters the threat assessment and could work out to the Emirates’ benefit” on future weapons sales. The United States guarantees that Israel receives more advanced American weapons than Arab states get, giving it what is labeled a “Qualitative Military Edge” over its neighbors. One example is the F-35 jet made by Lockheed Martin Co that Israel has used in combat, but the UAE is currently unable to purchase.

David Makovsky, director of the Project on Arab-Israel Relations at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy think tank, told Reuters the deal is “a win for the Emirates, which will undoubtedly be eligible for military sales that it could not obtain due to ‘qualitative military edge’ restrictions due to fear certain technologies could be used against Israel.”

In May, the US State Department approved a possible sale of up to 4,569 used Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles to the UAE for $556 million. US lawmakers have tried to rein in Trump administration plans for arms sales, particularly to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to pressure them to improve their human rights record and do more to avoid civilian casualties in an air campaign against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the war in Yemen. A US government watchdog report released on Tuesday said the State Department did not fully evaluate the risk of civilian casualties in Yemen when it pushed through a huge 2019 sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Facebook turned blind eye to BJP promotion of hate speech fearing business fallout: WSJ cONTINUEd ON pAGE 01 Responding to the allegations, a Facebook spokesman acknowledged that Das had raised concerns about the political fallout that would result from designating Singh a dangerous individual, but said her opposition “wasn’t the sole factor” in the company’s decision to let the lawmaker remain on the platform. The spokesman said Facebook is still considering whether a ban is warranted.

Facebook deleted some of Singh’s posts after the WSJ inquired about them. The company said the BJP lawmaker is no longer permitted to have an official, verified account, designated with a blue checkmark badge.

According to the report, the representative said Facebook bars hate speech and violence globally “without regard to anyone’s political position or party affiliation”, adding that the company took down content that praised violence during deadly protests in New Delhi earlier this year.

But a team overseen by Das that decides what content is allowed on Facebook took no action after BJP politicians posted content accusing Muslims of inten-

CMYK

Chinese discounts for physical gold scaled yet another record peak versus global spot rates this week as the Covid-19 pandemic continued to choke retail appetite, with even a price dip failing to lure consumers in India.

Gold has been sold at discounts in China, usually the world’s top bullion consumer, since February. Discounts widened to between $75 and $100 an ounce over the global benchmark, up from last week’s $70$60. “Even with a price dip, there’s hardly any consumer demand,” said Peter Fung, head of dealing at Wing Fung Precious Metals. Benchmark prices are now around $1,948 an ounce, having retreated from the record high of $2,072.50 on August 7. While jewellery fabricators did buy more ahead of an Aug. 25 festival, selling was stronger, said Samson Li, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Refinitiv GFMS. Hong Kong dealers were operating between a discount of $0.60 an ounce up to a premium of $1.50. India’s gold futures eased to about 52,400 rupees per 10 grams on Friday, from a record 56,191 rupees last week. “Jewellery demand was subdued for weeks. Now even investment demand has fallen due to price volatility,” said Ashok Jain, proprietor of Mumbai-based gold wholesaler Chenaji Narsinghji.

Premiums eased to about $2 an ounce over official domestic prices, which incorporates import and sales levies, from $4 last week.

“Buyers are more cautious now and factor in a possible drop as well,” said one Mumbaibased dealer with a bullion-importing private bank. Bangladesh cut domestic gold rates to 73,716 taka ($871.04) per Bhori (11.664 grams) from a record 77,215 taka ($912.38) last week amid weak demand.

tionally spreading the coronavirus, plotting against the nation and waging a “love jihad” campaign by seeking to marry Hindu women, a former employee was quoted as saying.

Das has allegedly also provided the BJP with favourable treatment on election-related issues and in 2017 wrote an essay praising Modi.

In April 2019, Facebook announced it had taken down inauthentic pages tied to the Pakistani military and India’s Congress party. But it didn’t disclose that it also removed pages with false news linked to the BJP due to Das’s intervention, the report said.

It also said Facebook removed some of the posts by another BJP legislator, Anantkumar Hegde, who accused Muslims of spreading Covid-19 in the country as part of “Corona Jihad”, only after the WSJ asked the platform about them.

The report further reveals that Facebook also took down some of the controversial posts by former BJP lawmaker Kapil Mishra after the newspaper sought comment on them.

In February, Mishra in a speech had warned police that if they didn’t remove protesters demonstrating against a contentious citizenship law in India that excludes Muslim immigrants, his supporters would do so by force.

Not long after Mishra uploaded the video to Facebook, communal rioting broke out that left dozens of people dead, most of them Muslims. Some of these killings were organised via Facebook-owned WhatsApp, according to court documents cited by the WSJ. Facebook removed the video post later.

Sunday, 16 August, 2020

06 COMMENT

Maryam’s putsch

The progress under PTI Deviating from the Quaid’s road map

P

OLITICIAnS tend to make exaggerated claims about their achievements to dispel negative impressions among the populace about their performance. Prime Ministrer Imran khan has conceded that the last two years of his tenure were difficult but maintains that the economy is improving, exports have gone up and tax collection has exceeded targets. While he may not be altogether wrong the question is if the progress is more than marginal.

The exports show signs of revival as the pace of decline slowed in June. A continuous fall in imports is however providing some breathing space for the government to manage the external account despite negative growth in exports. The covid-19 pandemic has already led to a loss of 5.3 million jobs. In case the growth rate touches four percent in next fiscal year, 2021-22, and five percent in 202223, some of these jobs might be retrieved. But will it? The country needs to create over two million jobs over the next decade to absorb new workers entering the labor market.

With an employment elasticity of 0.5, this will require seven percent annual gdP growth.

Pakistan’s exports could be made compatible with those of India and Bangladesh if power was made available to industry at cheaper rates. But unless Pakistan’s industrialists improve the quality of goods the margin provided by cheap electricity alone may not keep them competitive.

The PM says he is taking measures towards creating an Islamic welfare state as visualized by the Founding Father.

Many think he is in fact pushing Pakistan in the opposite direction. The Quaid-e-Azam wanted Pakistan to be a pluralistic state with equal rights for all minorities. The way Mr Khan first appointed an economic advisor, then dropped him because of his faith, is just one example of his surrender to the clergy. The Founding Father also stood for the supremacy of the civilian authority, and for a federal and parliamentary form of government. Mr Khan on the other hand runs the country with the help of several unelected advisors and assistants and rarely attends the national Assembly, showing a preference for a presidential form of government. Under PM Imran Khan, the country has been made to diverge blatantly from the direction mapped out by the Quaid.

A flash in the pan?

aRif Nizami

W

AS the show of strength by the PMLn in front of nAB’s Lahore headquarters on Tuesday merely a flash in the pan or a real change of direction, only time will tell. Of course, the focus of attention was on the PML-n vice president Maryam nawaz who had been summoned by the accountability watchdog in a fresh case.

After a long hiatus nawaz Sharif’s political heir apparent reappeared on the scene with a bang. during her long absence, she confined herself to her Jati Umrah abode on the outskirts of Lahore.

Apart from an occasional tweet she meticulously avoided taking part in any kind of political activity whatsoever. during this period Shahbaz Sharif, the president of the party, also went into self-isolation himself to his Model Town residence limiting his politics to occasional statements issued by the party spokesperson on his behalf. The excuse he proffered was that the Covid-19 pandemic had also hit him. despite paying lip service to the joint opposition, Sharif remained aloof on one pretext or the other. The PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto visited Lahore twice to meet him. But to no avail.

Finally, when Bilawal and JUI-F (Jamiat Ulemae-Islam) president Maulana Fazlur Rehman did met, it was decided to hold the elusive APC (all parties conference) post eid. More than two weeks have elapsed since, and there has been no movement about fixing a date or even the agenda of the proposed APC. Both the Maulana and the PPP leadership are a

UAE-Israel Agreement Palestine stabbed in the back

T

He agreement between the UAe and Israel to normalize relations, which is being hailed as ‘historic’ and a ‘huge breakthrough’ by US President donald Trump, can more accurately be described as a shameful abandonment of the Palestinian people by its Arab allies. That a mere hour after the deal was announced, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin netanyahu clarified that his West Bank annexation plans were ‘postponed’ and not suspended, which is what had been dishonestly portrayed by the UAe and the USA as a dominant feature of the agreement, displays the extent to which Palestine has been stabbed in the back. It is clear as day that the real intention behind this cozying up of the gulf to the Zionist regime is to challenge its common enemy Iran that they view as a potent threat to regional peace. Since the USA bowed out of the Iran nuclear deal, spearheaded by the US with necessary european support, Iran has been aggressively pursuing its nuclear arms programme while locking horns with anyone challenging it; in particular, Saudi Arabia. With this Israeli alliance, a significant shift in the Middle east’s power balance has taken place that will only get worse going forward as regional countries, according to their interests, take sides in the days to come. The USA, which is taking full credit for brokering the truce, will project this as a massive diplomatic win in the run-up to the presidential election that is less than 90 days away. One of President Trump’s major foreign policy goals was ‘peace in the Middle east’, a task he had delegated to his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is not only grossly underqualified for this job but also for practically every other critical domestic and international problem that he has been selected to solve out of sheer nepotism.

Pakistan has been appealing to the OIC to raise the Kashmir issue on its forum. This has led to a diplomatic spat with Saudi Arabia that has necessitated COAS gen Qamar Javed Bajwa having to visit the Kingdom to smooth things over. Perhaps now that a prominent member of the OIC has left Palestine, a country for whose liberation the Islamic conglomerate was created, high and dry, Pakistan should look elsewhere for support on the Kashmir front while also standing on the right side of the Israel-UAe development─ with Palestine.

Where do we stand?

Rabia ahmed

L

egend goes that there was once a small fishing settlement on the coast of the Arabian Sea. It was home to a community of fishermen and their families, one of them a fisherwoman named Kolachi. It is unknown whether Kolachi was born there, but she settled in that fishing settlement, started a family and in time the settlement was named Kolachi Jo goth which in Sindhi, the language of the people of the area, means ‘The Village of Kolachi.’

Kolachi Jo goth grew into a small walled city with two gates, Kharadar (salt gate) and Mithadar (sweet gate), referring to the seawater and freshwater that those gates faced. Under the British the gates were torn down in 1860. even without the gates, however, the names Kharadar and Mithadar survived to identify those localities where the gates had been, at the core of a newer, larger city called Karachi. Kolachi Jo goth itself disappeared long ago.

A few hundred years later the city became home to another woman, this one born on 14 August 1947 in Bantava in the State of gujarat now in India. Her name was Bilquis Bano. Later, her family moved to Karachi in Pakistan– the country that shared her date of birth.

Karachi had morphed into the capital of the province of Sindh, the largest city of Pakistan and its commercial hub. It is also now the seventh largest city in the world, but that is beside the point, except to stress the fact that Bilquis lived in this city which had a population of– at that time- over seven million.

Meantime Abul Sattar edhi who was also born in Bantva lost his mother in 1947, the year Pakistan came into being. edhi’s mother had encouraged him to be

Arif Nizami Editor Umar Aziz

Asher John

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Deputy Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

Arif Nizami is Editor, Pakistan Today. He can be contacted at arifn51@hotmail.com http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk

Back in the bonds we were freed from

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

bit flustered owing to this patently benign attitude on the part of Shehbaz Sharif who has effectively filibustered the APC beyond Moharram due later this month. Knowing his pro establishment predilection, it is obvious that Sharif seems to be biding his time as an absentee opposition leader.

Some critics contend that he is waiting to graze in better pastures with a little help from the miltesatblishment. To put it bluntly, the powers that be have an attitude towards PML-n and the PPP bordering on: plague on both houses. neither the Sharifs nor the Zardaris are a viable option for them. Prior to 2018 general elections, finally they settled for Imran Khan as the fabled Manchurian candidate. At one stage Sharif was considered to be one of their favourites.

They are sticking to their original choice despite forlorn hopes of the opposition. The ostensible honeymoon (if ever it was) with younger Sharif did not last for long. His biggest perceived failure was that he was unable to deliver his elder brother’s silence as a run up to the 2018 general elections.

By the time he was able to convince his brother that spewing fire and brimstone will get them nowhere, it was too late. The die was already cast.

After buying Maryam’s silence, nawaz Sharif was allowed to travel abroad on nebulous health grounds.

The prodigal daughter’s public appearances were restricted to nil. Her father has also been overtly careful not to issue any critical statements from London.

But even after brokering this carefully calibrated deal (whose details are still a well-kept secret) there is no let up to nAB’s relentless pursuit against Shahbaz Sharif. In this backdrop Maryam’s defiant show in front of the nAB headquarters in Lahore will prove to be a breath of fresh air for the demoralised opposition. Many of the frontline PML-n leadership and belligerent workers were present there.

Undoubtedly this was a planned show of strength. The Maryam camp was fully prepared for the showdown, while the Punjab police was also ready for them.

The police used most of its third-degree signature tactics against the PML-n workers. These included pepper spraying, tear gas, water cannons and brickbats. The Punjab government spokesmen brazenly lied that it was the police that was the victim of PMLn violence. But the manner in which Maryam’s bullet proof vehicle was aggressively attacked with projectile bricks belies that claim.

In fact, the allegation that PML-n workers attacked their own leader’s car sounds so ludicrous that it does not even merit serious mention. nonetheless, whatever the real facts, nAB through its incessant hounding of the opposition, unwittingly played into

its hands.

Maryam through sheer luck or meticulous planning put up a good show from the opposition’s point of view. She made good use of the news channels’ live coverage of the event.

Her decision not to budge from the nAB headquarters gate unless she was heard as per the accountability watchdog’s summons was a smart move. For the first time nAB sleuths seemed to be on the defensive pleading with the PML-n vice president to leave as the hearing had been postponed. Leave she did but not without nailing her point home. going forward, will Maryam go back into hibernation or come out again with full strength?

Critics contend that the kind of meaningless politics Shahbaz Sharif has pursued throughout this year will run the PML-n aground. If Sharif reckons that the party he presides has a blank check to be encashed owing to the PTI’s malfeasance whenever the opportunity arises, he is sadly mistaken. There is no gain without pain.

So far as Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the main sponsor of the elusive APC is concerned, he is unhappy with the mainstream opposition parties for supporting FATF legislation without consulting him.

Both Shahbaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto have yet to meet him or offer any explanation for not taking him on board.

It is obvious that the secular parties and the religious zealots have different priorities. Fazl wants the government to be sent packing even it means chaos on the streets as it doesn’t matter for him if the democratic project is packed up in the process. So be it.

Both Sharif and Bilawal do not want this to happen. Perhaps they reckon such chaos and mayhem engendered through a large number of madrassa followers of JUI-F will inexorably suck the military in.

Post March next year when Senate elections are held, the opposition will lose its working majority in the Upper House as well. This would mean more opposition specific draconian legislation. The militarycivilian partnership will become stronger with an even more pronounced centralized federal system, further eroding the democratic project in the process.

The federal government is already threatening governor rule in Sindh in vague terms. Strangely enough it is getting tail winds from the apex court.

The CJP is rightly upset over the shoddy manner in which civic affairs of Karachi have been mishandled by the provincial government.

But thanks to the eighteenth amendment it is easier said than done.

For the time being the political opposition wants to have it both ways- hunt with the hounds and run with the hares.

I

Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

I

charitable ever since he was a small child by giving him one paisa to spend in school and another paisa to give in charity every single day. After her death edhi and his family moved to Karachi. edhi worked as a pedlar and sold clothes here until, in 1951, with donations from the Memon community to which he belonged, he laid the foundations of his philanthropic empire with The edhi Trust, starting with a small dispensary in Mithadar in 1951. Whichever of those over seven million people needed its services, was free to avail of them as well as anyone from the rest of the country.

The dispensary grew and more nurses were needed. edhi hired some. Bilquis edhi was one of these nurses. She went through a six-month training programme to learn the basics of midwifery and healthcare, after which edhi put her in charge of the nurses at the dispensary. He was not blind to her interest in her chosen profession, and her dedication to charity. She in turn admired him for his dedication and his faith. In time the two were married when she was just 17 and he about 20 years older. The couple was blessed with two sons and two daughters, and the country was blessed by their joint efforts to serve its people and to alleviate their misery.

The edhis also set up the edhi Foundation entirely funded by private donations, its goal to help anyone regardless of status, ethnicity or religion, and edhi renamed his Trust the Bilquis edhi Trust. every single day of their existence the Trust and the Foundation set up by edhi and run by him and his wife, and when he was ill by his wife and their children, has ‘made a difference and changed lives forever.’

The Foundation grew to include shelters for destitute women and children, dispensaries, food kitchens, a volunteer fleet of ambulances which is the largest in the world, rehab centres and other services. It also donates and helps wherever needed around the world.

Bilquis edhi and her husband were partners in these ventures every step of the way. They lived among the people they were helping, and dressed like them, not in a fancy house in an expensive neighbourhood.

In 1986 the edhis were awarded the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service. The citation with the Award mentions how the edhis took no government assistance, and no salary for their work, and lived a life of service to humanity in the true spirit of Islam.

And yet not everyone thought so. edhi was very often most severely criticized for his undiscriminating service to humanity, because he helped people regardless of who and what they were.

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

I

Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

I

He came under fire from terrorists as well as farrightwing persons who felt this service should be restricted to Muslims alone. Some political figures resented his popularity too, and his selfless devotion to welfare. edhi responded to all these by saying that ‘people had become more educated but not yet human,’ and he and his wife carried on with their work.

Abdul Sattar edhi died in 2016 of renal failure.

His last wish was for his organs to be donated; because he had been so ill however only his corneas were able to be donated.

His charitable organisations are now run by his wife Bilquis and his son Faisal. Pakistan has therefore been blessed in many ways, by several men and women among whom the edhis stand out prominently, people who serve humanity and make us proud to be Pakistani, Muslims and human beings.

Unfortunately it has also been beset by problems that make us hang our heads in shame.

Independence day, the birth day of Pakistan as well as of Bilquis edhi, is a good time for us to muse on both: on what Islam really means and what it means on to people like those who criticized the edhis for their undiscriminating service to humanity. It is time also to think of Jinnah’s famous speech where he said that people were free in this country to go to their temples, their mosques or any other place of worship.

Are people really free to do that in Pakistan?

Think also of what was said almost 1500 years ago by someone whose name now has so many appendages after it that only his words need to be quoted, that “ All mankind is from Adam and eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black or a black any superiority over a white except by means of piety and good actions.”

Independence day is a time to appreciate the contribution of the women of Pakistan, predominantly women like Bilquis edhi. To weigh this against the harassment women face every single day in this country in the name of religion and tradition, Malala Yousufzai standing out as a representative.

The 14th of August is the day of the birth of this nation. But it should also be the day we assess howhaving been born, we mean to carry on, truly free as Independence day suggests and as Islam meant us to be, or back in the bonds of oppression, ignorance and cruelty– the ones it tried to free us from.

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

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Sunday, 16 August, 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

Remembering Abdul Qadir

Convicts and criminals on a rampage Fragments of a collapsed system making a mockery of grandiose pretensions

Candid Corner Raoof hasaN “Fine, you do that, and you tell them that, at the very first opportunity, I am coming down there and killing all of them. Mass murder!

And after they are all dead, I am going to kick the bodies around, dance on top of them and sing a happy song. No jury will convict me.”

–Nora Roberts

P

AKISTAn is a strange country with strange people. Their sympathies ooze out for the bands of criminals, but they are unforgiving towards even minor failings of honest and well-meaning individuals. Reason, logic, rationale, persuasion– nothing will convince them to look inward and try to re-evaluate their appraisals. In fact, this will further harden their outlook. With their numbers increasing, such persons are not only visible, they are also fully active in demonstrating their implausible and incoherent fixations.

How have they grown into becoming people of such weird dispensations and proclivities is not a mystery.

The daylight attack on the nAB office is an example that fairly illustrates this phenomenon.

A small crowd of hooligans, led by the Calibrifont-fame queen, daughter of a runaway convict, who had been summoned to answer a few queries regarding the illegal procurement of vast swathes of land, assaulted the nAB office, causing damage to the property. The attack also inflicted injuries on some nAB employees.

The Calibri-font queen then held a press conference to voice wild allegations that there had been an attempt to cause harm to her person and the windscreen of her bullet-proof car had been damaged. Utterly devoid of logic, she ranted and raved before making her exit.

Maryam Safdar is a convict. She was sentenced to serve seven years behind bars on account of proven corruption in the Avenfield reference case. Her sentence was suspended by Islamabad High Court, one doesn’t know why, but this does not impact the guilty conviction.

Since then, the state institutions have not moved the court for vacation of the suspension orders.

She continues to reside at home virtually as a free person. What are the compulsions for this reticence? Is it that the institutions are inefficient, incompetent or unwilling to move against her? Is it that they are complicit with her and her multifaceted crimes? Is this the fait accompli

that everyone has to live with, irrespective of the But, over time, we have become self-righteous, need for law to assert itself? It seems that con- intolerant and bigoted, riddled with factionalism, victs and criminals of all hues and shades have sectarianism and cultism. We kill others for practising a different religion, and refuse to grant the absolute freedom to go on a rampage.

Her convict father had managed to sneak out them their rights as citizens of the country. We earlier by signing on a mere stamp paper. Ini- even resort to desecrating their graves and wortially, it was for a period of six weeks which has shipping places.

Quaid was a great advocate of unity: “If you now extended to over eight months. Again, none of the concerned institutions has moved an inch change your past and work together in a spirit that every one of you, no matter to what comto get him back.

Asif Zardari and Faryal Talpur had also been munity he belongs, no matter what relations he bailed out some time ago and they now live in had with you in the past, no matter what is his comfort within the precincts of their palatial colour, caste, or creed, is first, second, and last abodes. nobody is pushed about the impact that a citizen of this State with equal rights, privisuch grievous happenings may inflict upon the leges, and obligations, there will be no end to the ordinary and the deprived people and how they progress you will make”. And what have we bemay react to reiterate their existence. Is it that, come instead? We are a misguided herd of peobeing acutely aware of the blatant effort to make ple forever belittling others for a host of them irrelevant in the existent environment, they meaningless reasons and causes. We woefully are rendered prone to taking law in their own lack discipline, are low on conviction, and are forever eager to decamp hands, ever more often, with our share from the ever more viciously? remorseless loot and The system has plunder of state renothing left in it to serve This deception must come to an sources. the cause of the people. end. The road we have taken is So vast is the chasm In fact, it has collapsed between what we were with its fragments scatthe road to damnation. The supposed to become and tered all over making a convicts and criminals should what we have actually mockery of grandiose become that it looks alpretensions. What we not be allowed to dictate the most unbridgeable. But have is stinking excredestiny of this country. The there is also no prospect ment of a system which to become a viable and the beneficiary elite state’s conscience, exercised sustainable country have fabricated laborithrough its power spectrum, without following the ously, and which they ideals which the Quaid continue to defend and should get to work and clean up believed in, and which promote. the stables. When that happens, he had so fervently What is really hurtful is that, having enwe may actually see the direction preached.

I am reminded of tered the 74th year of we have lost, but which we Faiz. He knew the shalindependence, we have lowness of our society. reduced ourselves to bemust take to secure the In many of his incompacoming a country which Quaid’s Pakistan rable poems, he talked is the very antithesis of about this aspect with how the Quaid-e-Azam immeasurable beauty had visualised it. Adand impact. His writings dressing the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on 11 August are laced with descriptions of the fascist tenden1947, he strongly preached equality among all cies of the beneficiary elite and how they have people: “We are starting in the days where there exploited the people to advance their selfish inis no discrimination, no distinction between one terests: This stained light, this night-bitten dawn, community and another, no discrimination beThis is not the dawn that we had yearned for, tween one caste or creed and another. We are This is not the dawn for which we had set starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens, and equal citizens, of one State”. out, Hoping that in the sky’s wilderness, Instead, we have become an extremely discrimWe would reach the final destination of inatory polity which distinguishes among people on the basis of an increasing number of divisions stars.

This deception must come to an end. The so much so that there are virtually two concurrent laws prevalent: one for the beneficiary elite road we have taken is the road to damnation. The and the other for the poor and marginalised com- convicts and criminals should not be allowed to dictate the destiny of this country. The state’s munities.

The Quaid’s statements underlined the need conscience, exercised through its power specfor religious tolerance: “You are free. You are trum, should get to work and clean up the stafree to go to your temples. You are free to go to bles. When that happens, we may actually see your mosques, or to any other place or worship the direction we have lost, but which we must in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any take to secure the Quaid’s Pakistan. religion or caste or creed - that has nothing to do The writer is a political and security stratewith the business of the State”. His first cabinet, comprising people with varying religious iden- gist, and heads the Regional Peace Institute – tities, was a practical demonstration of this deep- an Islamabad-based think tank. Email: Twitter: rooted faith that no matter what belief one may raoofhasan@hotmail.com. practise, we are all equal citizens of one country. @RaoofHasan

One of the greatest leg spinners of all time, Abdul Qadir who passed aways last year, has been awarded with SItara-e- Imtiaz by the honorable President. Qadir has been awarded in recognition to his remarkable services in the field of sports.

Leg Spinner Qadir was considered as the leading leg spinner of his era, who paved the way for leg spinners in One day cricket. By performing magnificently in the middle overs of the game, he made international cricketers realize the importance of a leg Spinner in OdI cricket.

His performance in Test cricket for Pakistan was also beaming, his googly was a mystery for batsmen who preferred to give away their wickets rather than resisting long against his bowling. He took 236 in 67 test matches and he was the first spin bowler of Pakistan to take 200 wickets in test cricket. great Australian leg Spinner Shane warne called Qadir his teacher and mentor who contributed significantly in improving his bowling skills.

He also rendered his services as the chief selector of Pakistan team, the team selected by him won T-Twenty World Cup in 2009 under the captaincy of Yonus Khan. He was a strict man who always wanted merit to prevail in the selection process of the team and that is why he was always a tough man to handle. On his demise his colleagues including Prime minister Imran Khan and many international cricketers paid him homage with a heavy heart and called him a Magician of Spin Bowling.

KAMRAN KHAMISo KHAwAJA SuJAwAL

Trafficking escalation On July 30th world day against Trafficking in Persons is held every year. Thousands of men, women and children end up in the hands of traffickers every year, often through being tricked and misled to believe that they are being taken to work that will make their family better off, or through force, kidnap, or even through very poor families selling children in order to survive. There are many ways that people get caught up in trafficking, but the result is the same, they lose their rights and identity and are used and abused.

PAKISTAn has been downgraded from ‘Tier 2’ to ‘Tier 2 Watch List’ in the 2020 TIPR by the US State department. Pakistan does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking this year, the conviction rates remained inadequate when compared to the magnitude of the problem. Almost 19,954 trafficking victims were reported in Pakistan. Our government has significantly decreased investigations and prosecutions against sex-trafficking. due to steep rise in unemployment, overseas employment promoters entrap Pakistanis in sex trafficking and bonded labor.

How long will our government turn a blind eye on the plight of victims? We as a Pakistani should combat human trafficking through public awareness, outreach, education, and advocacy campaigns. Protect and assist victims by providing shelters health, psychological, legal, and vocational services, and lastly by Prosecute human trafficking, the traffickers must be incarcerate for the rest of their life.

We all have a responsibility to advocate for a more equal world that doesn’t allow slavery of any kind to exist.

SyEdA RuqIyA FATIMA, KARAcHI.

Public property IT was only yesterday when a friend came to university unusually quiet.

On inquiring, she told me that she had been out walking with her mother the other night when two men, on a bike, swooshed past her deliberately touching her behind. The experience, she revealed, had left her extremely surprised and disgusted.

I realized how often such mishappenings occur with the women of our society, despite the fact that they are mostly modestly dressed. How often do we hear men instructing women to dress properly and talk slowly in the presence of men? Why is it that they consider women to be their properties which can be treated in just about any way they pleased?

As disconcerting as this episode with my friend may be, I am choosing this moment to speak for all the females like her who often take it upon themselves that they tempted the person into touching them. It is high time men learn to respect women altogether and not just the ones who are their family. Awareness programs should be launched by the authorities to make them realize how wrong it is to disrespect a woman in such way as that and that the women are certainly not public property to be touched whenever wanted. uSMAN MIR KARAcHI

Alcohol proliferation Youngsters in Pakistan are the most affected by drugs and alcohol and the number of these addicts is increasing at the rate of 40,000 per year making Pakistan one of the most drug affected countries in the world while the most disturbing fact is that majority of heroin addicts are under the age of 24. It is the main reason, today youth is distracted from their ambitions.

Majority of drug addicts usually start with soft drugs like chaliya, gutka and pan, and then move to hard drugs like heroin, opium and cocaine, etc. The purchase of drugs or alcohol by young people is usually through dealers or ‘agents’, who are just a phone call away and their numbers are easily exchanged from one person to another.

This increasing problem of alcohol abuse has made youth, including university, college and school going students, violent in behavior.

Youth today in rural areas of Pakistan is angry and negative due to increased abuse of alcohol. Look at the youth in Karachi, especially, the alleged criminals how undergraduate college students have been turned into drug addicts by some extremist groups to serve their vested interests.drug addiction among youngsters is increasing day by day, which have a very negative effect on our society.

IRMA youSuF KARAcHI

Sunday, 16 August, 2020

08 WORLD VIEW

Hagia SopHia and tHe untold Story of CHriStian-MuSliM Cooperation THE ARCHITECTURE REFLECTS THE POLITICS, MAKING VISIBLE WHAT IS HAPPENING IN SOCIETY. THE CURRENT EVENTS ARE JUST THE LATEST IN A LONG LINE OF TWISTS AND TURNS

Middle eaSt eye

H

DIANA DARkE

AgIA Sophia’s conversion from a museum into a mosque has seen thousands and thousands of words committed to the page across the globe. Most of it recycles the same information - that the great church was built in the sixth century under the Byzantine emperor Justinian, that it was converted to a mosque when Mehmed the Conqueror captured Constantinople in 1453 and that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey, repurposed it as a museum in 1934. All this is true but misses so much of the flavour and historical context of this hugely important building.

The tone of much western coverage is pained, as if the Hagia Sophia is somehow part of a European Christian cultural heritage now wrenched away into the dark folds of Islam by a Turkish president with neo-Ottoman delusions.

There can be no doubt that President Erdogan does indeed have his own agenda for converting Hagia Sophia into a mosque, and his timing is clearly political. It heightens his popularity with his core Islamic supporters at a time when the coronavirus pandemic is hitting Turkey’s struggling economy hard, and provides a welcome distraction. He makes no apology for his actions - and an Optimar poll shows that 60 percent of Turks support the move.

The important thing to understand is that the Hagia Sophia, like so many religious buildings, has its own highly political backstory. As ever, the architecture reflects the politics, making visible what is happening in society. The current events are just the latest in a long line of twists and turns.

ETHNICALLY DIVERSE: The first church on the site was built in 360, but there

is no evidence that it had Christian mosaics on the walls of the type found from the fifth and sixth century onwards. Walls instead were covered with marble revetments, plaster, and painted and gilded stucco in decorative patterns. Constantine denuded virtually every city in the empire of its pagan statuary to adorn Constantinople, his new Rome, just as Justinian scoured the empire for precious marble two centuries later, like the eight green columns from the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, to build Hagia Sophia.

When the Western Roman Empire and Rome itself collapsed in 476, Constantinople became the largest and wealthiest city in Europe, and the influences upon it were wide and varied, including from the Roman Latin culture, the Egyptian Copts, the Thracians, Macedonians, Illyrians, Bithynians, Carians, Phrygians, Armenians, Lydians, galatians, Paphlagonians, Lycians, Syrians, Cilicians, Misians, Cappadocians, Persians, and later the Arab Muslims. Many Europeans call the Byzantine Empire "greek", when in practice it was very ethnically diverse. greeks composed a relatively small portion of this multiethnic empire, and most Byzantine emperors were not ethnic greeks.

Justinian was obliged to build the current Hagia Sophia after it was damaged beyond repair by angry crowds protesting his high taxes.

According to art historian John Lowden, Justinian was "a person of vision and extraordinary energy, both intensely pious and utterly ruthless… his military ambitions matched by his grandiose building programme."

RECONSTRUCTING HAGIA SOPHIA: To re-establish control as quickly as possible, he commissioned two famous architects in 532, both from western Asia Minor, a geographic region located in the southwestern part of Asia comprising most of what is present-day Turkey, to complete the project with a huge workforce over an intense five-year period.

Both ignored numerous stylistic quotations and detailed instructions from the emperor to come up with their own unique creation, universally recognised as the highpoint of Byzantine architecture and admired round the world for the stunning achievement of the central dome.

A very different image is conveyed by the western European Latin manuscript now held in the Vatican Library, in which an enormous Justinian, many times bigger than the Hagia Sophia itself, is seen directing a small, rather nervous-looking mason who is balancing on a ladder.

The inspiration for Hagia Sophia was never Hadrian’s Pantheon, but earlier Eastern traditions. St Simeon’s Basilica, in Syria west of Aleppo, completed in 490, was the largest and most important religious establishment in the world for 50 years before the construction of Hagia Sophia.

It also inspired the UNESCO World Heritage Site basilicas of Ravenna, briefly capital of the Western Roman Empire, where all the bishops up until 425 were Syrian and whose patron saint Apollinaris was a native of Antioch. Famed across Europe as a site of pilgrimage, the Santiago de Compostela of its day, St Simeon’s could hold 10,000 worshippers, more than Notre-Dame de Paris or the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny.

THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE: Hagia Sophia was the largest cathedral in the world for over a thousand years, a major influence on and inspiration for future religious architecture, both Christian and Muslim. A series of earthquakes caused it to fall in 558, just twenty years after it was completed, by which time Justinian was 76 and both architects had died.

Sections of this second dome, completed in 562, collapsed again in 989 and in 1346, but were restored and repaired without material change. It was a remarkable achievement, openly praised by later Ottoman historians - following the typical Byzantine tradition, they used language implying that the architect must have worked in direct union with god, with descriptions of a guardian angel watching over the church.

In 1204, during the Fourth Crusade, Hagia Sophia suffered the greatest damage in its long history, looted and sacked, along with the whole of Constantinople, thereby consummating a major schism between the Latin and greek churches - Roman Catholics against greek Orthodox Christians. For three days they murdered, raped, looted and destroyed.

The dollar doldrums

Project Syndicate MOHAMED A EL-ERIAN

A near-10% drop in the value of the US dollar since its March high has given rise to two distinct narratives. The first takes a short-term perspective, focusing on how a depreciation could benefit the US economy and markets; the second takes the long view, fretting over the dollar’s fragile status as the world’s reserve currency.

Both narratives contain some truth, but not enough to justify the emerging consensus around them.

Several factors have combined to put downward pressure on the greenback (as measured by the DXY index of tradeweighted currencies) in recent weeks, resulting in a depreciation that has reversed almost half of the appreciation of the last ten years within the space of just months.

As the US Federal Reserve has loosened monetary policy (actually and prospectively) in response to a worsening economic outlook, the income accruing to dollar-denominated safe havens, such as US government bonds, has declined. And with US-based investments having lost some of their relative attractiveness, there has been a shift in holdings in favor of

emerging markets and Europe (where the European Union last month agreed to pursue deeper fiscal integration).

There also are indicators of lower capital inflows into the United States. House purchases by foreigners appear to have decreased again, owing in part to the US government’s embrace of inward-looking policies and the related weaponization of trade and sanction measures.

With the exception of Lebanon, Turkey, and a few other countries that have experienced even sharper exchange-rate depreciations than the US, most currencies have strengthened against the dollar. But among those with appreciating currencies, the reactions to this generalized phenomenon have been far from uniform.

Some countries, particularly in the developing world, have welcomed the reversal, because their previous currency weakness had been contributing to higher import prices, including for foodstuffs.

Moreover, a weaker dollar provides them with greater scope to support domestic economic activities through more stimulative fiscal and monetary measures. But the reaction has been less welcoming in the other advanced economies. Japan and eurozone member states, in particular, fear that currency appreciation could threaten their own economic recovery from the COVID-19 shock. Also, the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank now have to worry that they are not only reaching the limits of their policy effectiveness, but could also be putting their economies at greater risk of collateral damage and unintended consequences.

In the US, meanwhile, the dollar’s depreciation has been welcomed as an overwhelmingly positive development for the economy, at least in the short term. After

all, economic textbooks tell us that a weakening dollar boosts US producers’ international and domestic competitiveness relative to foreign competitors, makes the country more attractive for foreign investors and tourism (in price terms), and increases the dollar value of revenue earned overseas by home-based companies. That is also all good for US stock and corporate bond markets, which benefit further from the greater attractiveness of dollar-denominated securities when priced in a foreign currency.

The longer-term consensus view is less positive for the US. The worry is that a dollar depreciation will further erode the currency’s global status, which has already been weakened by US policies of the past three years – from trade protectionism and the weaponization of sanctions to increasingly bypassing global standards and the rule of law.

The more the dollar’s credibility is eroded, the more the US risks losing the “exorbitant privilege” that comes with issuing the world’s main reserve currency.

A country in this position can exchange bits of printed paper or digital entries (currency creation) for the goods and services that other countries produce. It enjoys disproportionate influence over important multilateral decisions and appointments.

And it benefits from others’ willingness to outsource to its own institutions the management of their financial wealth.

Both of these (partly true) consensus narratives imply further significant dollar depreciation. While the immediate effects are theoretically positive, the practical situation is likely to be different, because so much economic activity is currently impaired by government restrictions and the reluctance of individuals and companies to

THE FOURTH CRUSADE: The defeat of Byzantium, which was already in a state of decline, accelerated the empire's political degeneration, leaving it easy prey for the Turks. The Fourth Crusade and the crusading movement generally resulted, ultimately, in the victory of Islam, an outcome which was of course the exact opposite of its original intention.

Pope Innocent III, who had unintentionally launched the ill-fated expedition, rebuked them: "How, indeed, will the church of the greeks, no matter how severely she is beset with afflictions and persecutions, return into ecclesiastical union and devotion to the Apostolic See, when she has seen in the Latins only an example of perdition and the works of darkness, so that she now, and with reason, detests the Latins more than dogs? As for those who were supposed to be seeking the ends of Jesus Christ, not their own ends, who made their swords, which they were supposed to use against the pagans, drip with Christian blood, they have spared neither religion, nor age, nor sex. They have committed incest, adultery, and fornication before the eyes of men... They violated the holy places and have carried off crosses and relics."

The pope’s outrage however did not prevent him accepting the stolen jewels, gold, money and other valuables, and the Church was much enriched as a result. A great deal of this wealth was in turn repurposed into huge building projects across Europe - much of it decorates St Mark’s Basilica in Venice and some of it certainly would have helped to finance Europe’s gothic cathedrals. Remorse was expressed 800 years later by Pope John Paul II for the events of the Fourth Crusade.

Writing to the archbishop of Athens in 2001, he said: "It is tragic that the assailants, who set out to secure free access for Christians to the Holy Land, turned against their brothers in the faith. The fact that they were Latin Christians fills Catholics with deep regret."

SHARED SYMBOLISM: When Mehmed the Conqueror took Constantinople in 1453, he permitted his armies three days of looting, as was the custom at that period for a victorious army (not just the Ottomans), but then he called for a halt. Most churches were allowed to continue functioning, but the Hagia Sophia was adopted as a mosque. Mehmed

return to previous consumption and production patterns. Around half of US states have now reversed or halted the process of economic re-opening. Moreover, today’s positive market effects demand further qualification beyond the health crisis.

Owing to the reliable and ample provision of liquidity, particularly by central banks, most valuations have already decoupled from economic and corporate fundamentals. Under these financial conditions, it is hard to imagine that a dollar depreciation will have any more than a marginal effect on real economic performance. As for the dollar’s role as a reserve currency, I am reminded of a simple principle I learned at university: it is hard to replace something with nothing. At this time, there simply is no other currency that can or will fill the dollar’s shoes. Instead, we will continue to see small pipes being built around the dollar. And, because none of these will be large enough to replace it, the eventual result will be a more fragmented international monetary system.

As has happened before, the current consensus views on the dollar will probably end up overstating the long-term implications of short-term movements.

Today’s dollar weakness is neither a boon to markets and the US economy nor an augury of the currency’s global downfall. But it is part of a larger, gradual fragmentation of the international economic order. The main factor in that process is the shocking lack of international policy coordination at a time of rising global challenges.

Mohamed A. El-Erian, Chief Economic Adviser at Allianz, the corporate parent of PIMCO where he served as CEO and co-Chief Investment Officer, was Chairman of US President Barack Obama’s Global Development Council.

He is President Elect of Queens’ College (Cambridge University), senior adviser at Gramercy, and Part-time Practice Professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

erected a minaret and subsequent sultans installed three more, so there is now one at each corner, but the interior remains largely as it ever was. There is much shared symbolism between Christianity and Islam in the meaning of the dome as the physical representation of heaven and the afterlife, but the flavour of Hagia Sophia as a building was always different to the sacred buildings of Rome, like the pagan Pantheon and Michelangelo’s St Peter’s.

Its design was rooted in Eastern traditions, where Persian mausoleums had a circular dome resting on a square drum. The transition between the circle and the square resulted in an octagon, which came to represent, both in Christianity and Islam, the resurrection and the journey between earth and heaven, which is why so many tombs are octagonal in both religions.

As well as shared concepts, Christians and Muslims in the eastern Mediterranean enjoyed a common heritage of building materials, techniques and tools passed on from the graeco-Roman, Persian and even earlier Etruscan worlds. They also shared workers, builders and craftsmen, who moved around according to demand, following the next or the most profitable commission from a wealthy patron, no matter what his religion.

Byzantine mosaicists, for example, were frequently employed to decorate Islamic mosques, such as the Dome of the Rock, the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus, and the Cordoba Mezquita.

In 1573 the great Ottoman architect Sinan was commissioned to strengthen Hagia Sophia, which was again starting to show signs of possible collapse. Extra buttressing was added to the outside to ensure its resistance to earthquakes.

In total, 24 buttresses have been added over the centuries to ensure its stability, making its external appearance quite different to how it would have looked originally. In today’s world of intense economic pressures, a final mention should be made of the loss of revenue to the Turkish treasury through the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque. Like the Blue Mosque next door, and like all mosques in Turkey (unlike many cathedrals and churches in Europe), entry will now be free to all. The entrance fee to Hagia Sophia as a museum was expensive, costing $15 per person. Maybe we should celebrate the fact that Muslims and nonMuslims alike can today make repeated visits to admire the blended architecture of Christianity and Islam on display for free in this unique building, standing on its promontory between East and West.

Diana Darke is a Middle East cultural expert with special focus on Syria. A graduate in Arabic from Oxford University, she has spent over 30 years specialising in the Middle East and Turkey, working for both government and commercial sectors

google, faCebook MuSt pay for Content econoMic tiMeS The Australian government’s draft code requiring technology companies such as google and Facebook to pay media outlets for using their content comes at a time when media companies suffer revenue losses due to Covid-induced economic contraction. The Indian government needs to take a cue and develop a similar code that will create a level playing field, increase competition and protect a sustainable media landscape.

Media organisations invest money, time and effort to create content. Tech companies display this content and earn from advertisers; they neither pay media companies a fee nor give them a share of the advertising revenue. Tech companies argue that the inclusion of media content on their site or engine directs traffic to news organisations. But the benefit of the increased traffic is monetised by the digital companies alone.

The googles and Facebooks have also gained in reputation through the inclusion of content created by credible media organisations. Effectively, the digital companies have reaped value off the investments made by media companies. Loss of revenue adversely impact the ability of media companies to continue creating credible content.

The contraction of credible media will mean rise of fragmented players with limited resources and resilience, and untrusted sources peddling unverified information and fake news. This will undermine the independent media landscape critical for a functioning democracy. The tech giants have threatened to exit the Australian news market, as google had from Spain after a similar directive in 2014. In April, the French competition regulator passed an interim order requiring tech companies to pay media outlets for their content. More countries, including India, need to institute a fair sharing of advertising revenue.

Sunday, 16 August, 2020

BUSINESS 09

CORPORATE CORNER PTCL celebrates Independence Day at its headquarters KARACHI: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) celebrated Pakistan’s Independence Day on August 14 at its headquarters. Ensuring Covid-19 guidelines, a special flag hoisting ceremony took place at 9:00AM, which was followed by prayers for the prosperity of the nation. Syed Mazhar Hussain, CHRO, PTCL, along with key PTCL officials and employees were present at the occasion to celebrate the Independence Day with full zeal and enthusiasm. Addressing the gathering, Syed Mazhar Hussain said, “We have followed our patriotic tradition to celebrate Pakistan’s Independence Day with proper safety protocols during the pandemic. PTCL has worked tirelessly to support the people of Pakistan as its frontline workers have been keeping the nation connected during these trying times. For the safety of our employees, we have implemented ‘Work from Home’ policy where required and ensured that all protocols are in place for both field staff and customers.” PRESS RELEASE

KARACHI: Pakistan State Oil Managing Director & CEO Syed Muhammad Taha hoisted the national flag at PSO House to mark the Independence Day. The flag hoisting was followed by the National Anthem. PRESS RELEASE

Covid-19: Poultry industry asks for a bailout, says sector on the verge of collapse LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA) Vice Chairman Muhammad Fargham on Saturday urged the government to provide a bailout package for the poultry industry which he said has been badly affected due to the economic slowdown caused by Covid-19 pandemic. PPA vice chairman said that almost 35 to 40 per cent of poultry farms have been closed down while the rest of the sector is facing heavy losses due to the prolonged closure of marriage halls and the hotel industry due to coronavirus. Addressing a press conference, he said that the poultry sector has been facing losses for the past six months due to high cost of production coupled with the falling purchasing power of consumers. He said that the cost of production for the sector increased manifold due to the increase in cost of borrowing and capital financing. He urged the government to uplift businesses which have been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and launch financial programmes for the revival of closed industrial units. He said that the food sector should be on top of the government priority list in this regard as the sector is vital to ensure food security. He also urged banks to immediately provide loans to the poultry sector according to the State Bank of Pakistan’ s (SBP) directives adding that such loans should be provided without the condition of showing past records. He further said that loans should be provided on lowest markup rates to farms and companies. The PPA vice-chairman said that sanction of new loans for poultry farms should be ensured in order to ensure continuity of production activities. He also urged the government to provide an exemption to the poultry sector on import duty and all taxes related to poultry vaccines, medicines, raw materials and machinery so that the sector can reduce its cost of production. He said that poultry farmers have experienced heavy losses during the last few months adding that the sector will collapse if the government does not announce a relief package.

PowEr PLAnTs InsTALLED DUrIng PML-n’s TEnUrE hELPED EnD PowEr CrIsIs, sAys rAzAk DAwooD ISLAMABAD

A

STAFF REPORT

DVISOR to the Prime Minister for Commerce, Textile, Industry, Production and Investment Abdul Razaq Dawood on Saturday gave credit to the former prime minister and leader of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) Nawaz Sharif for ending the power crisis in the country.

The adviser while talking to media said that the former prime minister installed power plants during his tenure which led to a decrease in load-shedding in the country.

He said that the power plants had been set up during PMLN’s previous tenure under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The adviser said that work on CPEC is going on in full swing adding that CPEC remains one of the top priorities of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

He said that the next phase of CPEC

will focus on the development of industries and agriculture in the country.

Razak Dawood further said that the government has decided to set up border markets with Iran adding that border markets will also be established with Afghanistan.

Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the government has signed a new agreement with the independent power producers (IPPs) under which the cost of electricity generation would be brought down and circular debt would be reduced.

“I congratulate the nation because we are fixing the damaging structure we inherited in our power sector,” he said in a series of tweets.

The prime minister promised that he would soon introduce a package that would focus on improving the distribution system by tackling line losses and theft.

On Thursday, the government and IPPs had finally reached an understanding on reduction in the rate of return on equity and late payment surcharge (LPS), and sharing of savings on ac-

count of plant efficiencies. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) containing 13 points was signed between the two parties.

“The IPPs which were set up under the 2002 Power Policy have now agreed to alter their existing contractual agreements and to ink new power purchase agreements,” an insider said.

Once National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), federal cabinet and IPPs’ Board of Directors approve this MoU, the documents and procedures of these understandings would be completed preferably within 30 days, after which the same will be submitted to NEPRA and Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) to be followed by legal documentation to reflect the amendments needed in the relevant agreements.

Sources said this MoU is valid for six months and it will stand terminated on the signing of the detailed agreement.

According to the MoU, the two parties have, in the larger national interest, voluntarily agreed to provide concessions

Nine KP departments await release of ADP funds PESHAWAR AZIZ BUNERI

Despite the approval of Rs317 billion for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Annual Development Programme (ADP) for fiscal year 2020-21,the KP Finance Department has failed to release funds for nine provincial departments.

According to sources, the delay in the release of funds by the KP Finance Department is adding to the pressure faced by some of the major departments in the province.

The department whose funds have been withheld include, the department of Auqaf, Hajj, Religious and Minorities Affairs for which Rs372 million were allocated in the ADP. Similarly, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, Livestock with an allocation of Rs10.12 billion, Department of Secondary Education with an allocation of Rs11.68 bil-

THE COST OF SOME DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN KP IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE DUE TO THE DELAY IN THE RELEASE OF FUNDS BY PROVINCIAL FINANCE DEPT lions, Department of Energy and Power with an allocation of Rs8.7 billion, Department of Environment with an allocation of Rs30 million, Department of Higher Education with an allocation of Rs449 million, Department of Housing with an allocation of Rs6.5 billion and Department of Special Initiatives with an allocation of Rs4.5 billion all await release of funds by the KP Finance Department.

According to sources in the KP Finance Department the provincial government is facing financial difficulties which has led to a delay in

the release of funds for provincial departments.

The cost of development projects in the province is expected to increase due to the delay in the release of funds by the KP Finance Department.

In case of shortage of funds from the federal government, the KP government is expected to get loans from banks to cover its budget deficit which would further increase the financial burden on the provincial government. The KP government had earlier already obtained Rs300 billion from banks for various development projects.

‘Blue economy’ policy to revitalise shipping sector: PM ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the government's new Blue Economy Policy will revitalise Pakistan's shipping sector, save valuable foreign exchange and create more employment opportunities for seafarers.

In a tweet on Saturday, the PM congratulated the Ministry of Maritime Affairs for finalizing a new and dynamic Blue Economy Policy. The PM said, “We will ensure that Pakistan fulfils its enormous maritime potential.” On August 7, the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs announced the country’s new shipping policy. “Under the impact of the new shipping policy, we will soon see registration of 3-4 local shipping companies, which will also ensure job security for our seafarers,” Ali Zaidi had said. Prime Minister Imran Khan had declared the year 2020 as the Year of Blue Economy to gain maximum advantage of the blue economy resources. Presiding over a high-level meeting on blue economy on July 14, the prime minister said that Pakistan has immense potential in the field but unfortunately former governments had neglected the sector. Promoting a blue economy will create job opportunities, boost tourism and bring investment in the country and renewable energy, he added. TLTP

considering the fact that a significant period has been passed since its Commercial Operation Date (CoD). It was agreed that all projects will convert their contracts to take-and-pay basis and until then, the existing take-or-pay will continue.

The return on equity (ROE) including Return on Equity During Construction (RoEDC) for local investor will be changed to 17 per cent per annum in rupee terms without dollar indexation, while for foreign investors registered with the State Bank of Pakistan, ROE will be 12 per cent per annum on NEPRA approved equity at CoD. Similarly, any saving in fuel for oilfired projects would be shared on a sliding scale starting from 70:30 in favour of the power purchaser for the first 0.5 per cent efficiency improvement while any future savings in O&M of oil-fired projects will be shared 50:50 after accounting for any reserve for major overhauling which would be by power purchaser or NEPRA as mutually agreed and the power purchaser will not share in any efficiency losses.

PIA likely to resume flights to EU within two months, says aviation minister NEWS DESK Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan on Friday said that the government is using all diplomatic and technical means to resume Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights to Europe within the next two months. According to a report published by a local media outlet, the aviation minister said that the national flag carrier is in contact with European Union Air Safety Agency (EASA) and is taking necessary corrective actions to address concerns raised by the agency over safety and pilot licensing issues in PIA. He said that the government will file an appeal against EASA’s ban on PIA on August 31. Earlier, flying licenses of 262 PIA pilots were termed ‘dubious’ leading to EASA suspending PIA’s authorisation to operate in European Union (EU) states. The United Kingdom also followed suit, suspending PIA flights to London, Birmingham and Manchester. According to the report, the aviation minister said that PIA flights to Europe are currently being managed through a court sharing arrangement, through which the national carrier flies passengers to Turkey who then take a subsequent flight to EU states or the UK. The aviation minister said that the court sharing arrangement has been made on a temporary basis and added that PIA would restore its operations to the EU within two months.

Business community stresses industry-academia linkages, seeks steps for economic growth ISLAMABAD TLTP

Business community members on Saturday stressed the importance of strong industryacademia linkages for commercialisation of innovative business ideas of students and urged the government to take steps towards a more self-sustaining economy.

Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) President Muhammad Ahmed Waheed called onthe National University of Science and Technology (NUST) Rector Naweed Zaman and discussed with him the importance of strong industry-academia linkages. NUST Pro-Rector (Research, Innovation and Commercialization) Admiral (retired) Dr Nassar Ikram, was also present at the occasion.

Muhammad Ahmed Waheed said that in recent times industries have been increasingly relying on technology based solutions

ICCI PRESIDENT SAYS UNIVERSITIES SHOULD FOCUS ON FOSTERING ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN STUDENTS TO MAKE THEM JOB CREATORS INSTEAD OF JOB SEEKERS to solve various problems. He said that universities being the hub of research and development activities should play an enhanced role in suggesting innovative solutions to problems faced by industries and the society at large.

He emphasised that universities should focus on applied research to accelerate industrial development. He said that over 60 per cent of the population of Pakistan comprises of youth adding that universities should focus on fostering entrepreneurship in students to make them job creators instead of job seekers.

He appreciated the efforts made by

NUST for providing quality education to students in various disciplines and hoped that close collaboration between ICCI and NUST would yield beneficial results for students and the industry. Speaking at the occasion, Lieutenant General (retired) Naweed Zaman and Admiral (retired) Dr Nassar Ikram said that universities can help in improving the productivity, efficiency and competitiveness of industry through strong academia-industry linkages.

They said that research departments of universities are conducting good research in various fields, but due to lack of coordination, local industry is not benefiting from

CMYK

such efforts. They urged the industry to share its problems with universities so that universities can work on finding solutions for them.

They also informed the ICCI president about initiatives taken by the NUST Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC) which they said is working actively in different fields of research, design, development, innovation and commercialisation.

Meanwhile, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s (FPCCI) Businessmen Panel Secretary General Ahmad Jawad said that Pakistan’s national interest demands reduction in heavy dependence on foreign countries and aid agencies in order to develop a viable selfsustaining economy.

Jawad said that weak governance, lack of commitment, corruption, external and internal threats has led to Pakistan being heavily reliant on foreign assistance.

He said that although the economic sur-

vey reveals that Pakistan's economy is set to contract for the first time in 68 years by 0.38 per cent due to the adverse impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the country can still take advantage of low oil prices, and use it to reduce cost of production and strengthen the economy. “We have to recognise the paradoxes that we face. We are proud to be a nuclear-armed country, and justifiably so, but on the other hand we are so dependent on others to keep our economy afloat. This is a huge contradiction,” said Jawad.

The BMP secretary also expressed surprise over the instability of Pakstani rupee despite an improving current account position, seeking the central bank’s intervention for stability.

“We have to draw a new strategy for effective stabilisation, rely on our existing resources, reduce the cost of expenditures, strengthen agriculture and revise the strategy of free float of the dollar,” he said.

sunday, 16 August, 2020

10 foreign news

IrAn's presIdent sAys emIrAtes mAde 'huge mIstAke' wIth IsrAel deAl TEhRan

t

AGENCIES

HE United Arab Emirates (UAE) has made a “huge mistake” in reaching a deal toward normalising ties with Israel, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday in a speech furiously condemning what he called a betrayal by the Gulf state.

The UAE-Israel agreement announced on Thursday, which US President Donald Trump helped to broker, is seen as aimed at bolstering opposition to regional power Iran.

In his televised speech, Rouhani warned the UAE against allowing Israel a “foothold in the region”.

“They [the UAE] better be mindful.

They have committed a huge mistake, a

treacherous act. We hope they will realise this and abandon this wrong path,”

Rouhani said without elaborating.

He said the deal seemed aimed at en-

suring that Trump wins another term in the US presidential election in November and referred to the fact it was announced in Washington.

“Why then did it happen now? If it weren’t a wrong deal, why was it then announced in a third country, in America?

So a gentleman in Washington wins votes, you betray your country, your people, Muslims and the Arab world?”

He added that the Emirates may also have thought that they could guarantee security by getting close to Iran’s enemies, but Iran had “historically been the protector of its neighbours and ensurer of the security of the Persian Gulf.”

Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards Corps said in a statement on Saturday the UAE-Israel deal, would “accelerate the process of the destruction of the child-killing Zionist regime.”

US calls for credible probe into 'overwhelming' Beirut blast BEIRUT AGENCIES

The United States called on Saturday for a transparent and credible investigation into the massive port blast in Beirut that killed 178 people and said Lebanon could never go back to the days “in which anything goes” at its ports and borders.

The Aug. 4 blast, which the authorities say was caused by more than 2,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been unsafely stored at the port for years, injured 6,000 people, ruined entire neighbourhoods and left 300,000 homeless.

“We can never go back to an era in which anything goes at the port or the borders of Lebanon that had to contribute to this situation,” said David Hale, U.S. Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs, after visiting the port.

He added that FBI agents would be arriving this weekend, at the invitation of Lebanon, to help investigate what led to the explosion.

The blast has fuelled anger at Lebanon’s ruling politicians who were already facing criticism over a financial meltdown that has sunk the currency, demolished the value of savings and left depositors unable to with-

draw their money.

Some Lebanese people doubt the authorities can carry out a proper investigation and say foreign countries should intervene.

“We can’t trust this government. They will lie to us.

They should form an international committee to investigate this,” said businessman Jimmy Iskandar.

President Michel Aoun has said a probe will look into whether the cause of the blast was negligence, an accident or “external interference”.

“They won’t do a thing in an investigation and the whole world knows that,” said painter Mohammed Khodr, as he helped repair a restaurant damaged in the blast.

The heavily armed, Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, which is listed as a terrorist organisation by the United States, said on Friday it would wait for results of the official Lebanese investigation into the blast.

But if it turns out to be an act of sabotage by neighbouring Israel then it would “pay an equal price”, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address. Israel has denied any role in the explosion.

Nasrallah said his group was against an international investigation because its first purpose would be to “distance Israel from any responsibility for this explosion, if it had responsibility”. He said the participation of the FBI

in an investigation would serve the same purpose.

POLITICAL VACUUM: The explosion has pitched Lebanon into a new political vacuum since the resignation of the government, which had formed in January with backing of Hezbollah and its allies, including Aoun.

Lebanon’s most senior Christian cleric said the Lebanese people had run out of patience with ruling politicians.

In his strongest intervention since the blast, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai said the church reserved the right to veto any proposals that further jeopardise Lebanon.The Maronite church exercises political sway in a country where the head of state must be a Maronite, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the parliament speaker a Shi’ite Muslim.

The United Nations launched a $565 million aid appeal on Friday. Priorities included stabilising the grain supply, U.N. humanitarian coordinator Najat Rochdi said on Saturday, after the explosion destroyed Lebanon’s only port-based grain silo.

Six hospitals and more than 20 health clinics were damaged in the explosion and more than 120 schools destroyed, the UN says. “We would like to be able to rebuild the three hospitals that were completely destroyed,” Rochdi said.

Afghan peace deal negotiator wounded in attack KaBUl AGENCIES

Fawzia Koofi, a prominent women’s rights advocate and member of the Afghan negotiating team team was wounded in an attack in Kabul by unknown gunmen, officials said on Saturday. Officials described the attack on Koofi, a former lawmaker, as an assassination attempt. It was condemned

by Afghanistan’s president as well as senior politicians involved in the peace process. “I strongly condemn the assassination attempt on Ms Fawzia Koofi and call upon the government to identify and apprehend the culprits and possible motive for the attack,” Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, said on Twitter. A spokesman for the insurgent Taliban denied any involvement in the attack. Koofi could not immediately be reached for comment, but a post on her Facebook page said her right arm was injured but, “Thankfully not a life-threatening injury!” A government-mandated team is set to start long-awaited peace negotiations with the Taliban in Qatar’s capital Doha in coming days once a prisoner release process is complete.

The United States has been attempting to broker peace talks to end more than 18 years of war after signing a troop withdrawal deal with the militant group in February. Koofi is a staunch advocate of women’s and girls’ rights, starting her public career in 2001 shortly after the ouster of the Taliban by campaigning for girls’ education. Human rights officials have raised concerns in recent months about senior civil society members being targeted in attacks. Shaharzad Akbar, head of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, said there is a “worrying pattern of targeted attacks that can negatively impact confidence in peace process.”

75 years later, can Asia shake off shackles of the past?

TOKYO AGENCIES

Northeast Asia doesn’t so much repeat history as drag it along like an anchor.

The bombs stopped falling 75 years ago, but it is entirely possible — crucial even, some argue — to view the region’s worldbeating economies, its massive cultural and political reach and its bitter trade, territory and history disputes through a single prism: World War II and Japan’s aggression in the Pacific.

Even as Northeast Asia’s tangle of interlinking economic and political webs grows denser by the day, the potential for an unraveling may loom as large now as at any time since 1945.

Japan in 2020 is unrecognizable to the

fascist military machine that once rolled across Asia. Its military is now legally constrained as a “self-defense force.” Its constitution demands peaceful cooperation with the world. Postwar Japan has pumped trillions of yen (tens of billions of dollars) into regional development.

So how does this peaceful, generous, stable nation still enrage so many? Why do the crimes of long-dead Japanese politicians and soldiers still loom so large in its neighbors’ eyes?

For many Koreans and Chinese, there’s a dogged perception, long encouraged by their national leaders, that Japan has failed to fully address past atrocities, including the sexual enslavement of Asian women by Japanese troops, the forced labor of Asian men in Japanese factories and mines, and a host of other unresolved insults lingering from Japan’s brutal early 20th-century push for regional dominance.

Many in Japan, meanwhile, are frustrated that repeated and explicit high-level apologies for wartime actions — not to mention the huge amounts of aid sent to former enemies over the years — have seen so little goodwill in return.

It’s useful to put the immense scale of the war’s horrors in context when examining why, 75 years later, Japan and its neighbors still can’t come to terms with what’s euphemistically referred to as their “history problems.”

With its millions dead, injured and displaced, with its grand ideological narratives belying some of the worst brutality in the his-

tory of warfare, with its cities pounded to rubble and then, almost as shockingly, rebuilt as glittering, high-tech showpieces, the war in Asia has seared itself into the world’s collective consciousness.

Because Japan played such a central role in those years it is jarring to remember what a neglected afterthought it was — isolated, feudal, deeply wary of the outside world — when U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry’s warships forced the ruling shoguns to open up to trade and commerce with the West in 1854.

A little less than a century later, Japan’s foreign minister doffed his top hat to sign surrender papers on the deck of the USS Missouri as it floated in Tokyo Bay. Japan’s breathtaking rise and fall, in that comparatively short period of time, was, according to John Dower’s masterful study of the postwar U.S. occupation of Japan, “swifter, more audacious, more successful, and ultimately more crazed, murderous and self-destructive than anyone had imagined possible. In retrospect, it seemed almost an illusion — a 93-year dream become nightmare that began and ended with American warships.”

And now?

Updated versions of those US warships still patrol the same waters, dispatched from permanent American bases in South Korea and Japan. This infuriates North Korea and China, who use it to justify their own fastincreasing arsenals.

But the anger in North Asia can seem most incandescent when directed at Japan.

The reason the war continues to play such an outsized role in regional ties is because political leaders in Seoul and Beijing “see the advantage in keeping these memories alive, not just to honor the dead, which everyone does, but for political advantage,” Ralph Cossa, president emeritus of the Pacific Forum think tank in Hawaii, said in an email interview.

Most Koreans and Chinese alive today didn’t experience the war, and memories of what happened are fading with each pass-

CMYK

ing year.

But “the narratives of oppression and victimization are central to an identity and cemented through education and popular culture,” said Daniel Sneider, an expert on East Asia at Stanford University. “In that sense, the wartime historical memory also undermines the stability and prosperity of the region.”

In comparison to Asia, Europe has more successfully moved past the trauma of World War II, with Germany now working mostly in partnership with France and Britain, for instance. This may be because the Soviet threat during the Cold War forced the former European foes to cooperate.

The postwar years in Asia, instead, saw a split that killed collaboration and healing, with Japan and South Korea in the U.S. camp and China and North Korea in the Soviet camp. The Korean Peninsula was literally split into a Soviet-backed north and U.S.-backed south.

Germany “solved” its war issues by squarely facing up to is past, said Wang Shaopu, a Japanese studies professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and honorary president of the Japan Society of Shanghai.

“To a large extent, Japan’s foreign policies are following the United States,” Wang said. “Japan should learn a lesson from World War II to correctly deal with the issue of history, which is good for the world and for Japan.”

The war debate has also divided Japan.

Progressives acknowledge Japan’s responsibility for its crimes. Conservatives, however, say Japan, as it struggled against Western imperialism, was

boxed into war by resentful Western powers and then punished by unfair postwar trials.

Those divisions have complicated efforts to address the past and compensate victims.

Many are also exasperated over what’s seen in Japan as an unwillingness of China and the Koreas to recognize the efforts Tokyo has made to make amends.

“The Chinese, Korean and Southeast Asian tigers (and their) economic miracles would not have happened as quickly, and perhaps not even at all, if Japan had not led the way and provided generous assistance,” Cossa said. “History did not end in 1945.

There is a second half of the 20th century where no nation was as generous as Japan in helping others.” Conservative Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe often plays to Japanese frustration with its neighbors.

And much of the anger in South Korea and China centers on Japanese conservatives, including Abe, questioning past apologies and crimes and pushing for a stronger military.

Sunday, 16 August, 2020

SPortS 11

EnglanD vS PakIStan 2nD tESt: Day 3 abanDonED wIthout a ball bowlED MANCHESTER

D

AGENCIES

UE to low light and rain, no play was possible on Day 3 of the second Test being played between Pakistan and England. Pakistan had ended the Day 2 of the Southampton Test to 223/9 before bad light stopped play.

In the conventional sense, the score is incompetent. But given the amount of swing the surface generated, and the fast-bowling ammo at their disposal, Pakistan would be sufficiently pleased with their comeback. Even 200, at one stage, had looked dreamy. A lot would also be expected of the bowling brigade of Pakistan to bundle English batting line up for a minimum score possible on Day 4.

Earlier on Day 2, an astute half-century by Pakistan No. 7 Mohammad Rizwan 60 pushed his side towards something that might be approach-

ing a par score given the challenging conditions at a damp and overcast Ageas Bowl. Bad weather and low light has been a long-standing issue in England. Earlier, the ICC previously tried to persuade players to play on using floodlights. "However that approach wasn't accepted by any of the teams," David Richardson, then chief executive, had said in 2015. "They felt that would be unfair and would lead to unjust finishes."

The playing regulations now state play can be suspended if, in the umpires' view, conditions are "dangerous" or "unreasonable" to continue. There is a further caveat stating: "Conditions shall not be regarded as either dangerous or unreasonable merely because they are not ideal."

Those definitions are subjective, however.

The word "dangerous" can be utilised at pretty much any time. In Manchester, during the first Test, England's fielders said they "couldn't see" the ball. Not, you'll note, that it was harder to see it; that they couldn't see it at all.

Steve Smith, David Warner, Ben Stokes among top cricketers likely to miss IPL first week Pakistan batsmen are scared of playing shots: Inzamam NEWS DESK Former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has slammed the Pakistan batsmen for their defensive approach against England in the ongoing Test series, saying they are "scared of playing their shots". Inzamam said Pakistan batsmen need to play aggressive cricket if they want to beat England in the second Test here and level the three-match series. "Pakistan batsmen were scared of playing their shots. If you look at most of their dismissals, their bat was behind their leg," Inzamam said on his YouTube channel. "When you meet the ball, your bat should be ahead of your leg. You are getting caught at slips because you are employing a defensive approach." Pakistan struggled to reach 126 for 5 on the opening day which saw just 45.4 overs being bowled due to rain. Day two was no different with only 40.2 overs possible as bad light forced early stumps with Pakistan at 223 for 9, courtesy an unbeaten 60 by wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan. The 50-year-old Inzaman, who scored 8830 runs in 120 Tests and 11739 runs in 378 ODIs, said only an aggressive brand of cricket can help Pakistan outwit England at home.

A total of 29 players from England and Australia are part of the eight IPL squads. All the franchises apart from Mumbai Indians are expected to be affected because of this. The two Australian players – Chris Lynn and Nathan Coulter-Nile – in Mumbai Indians’ squad are not part of Australia’s limited overs squad for the England tour.

Rajasthan Royals are likely to suffer the most in their absence as they

have Buttler, Smith and Archer in their ranks. As per the joint release issued by ECB and CA, the upcoming series will also be a bio-secure behind the closed doors event with the Australian team reaching UK on August 24. The Australian squad will travel to Derbyshire’s The Incora County Ground before leaving for the Ageas Bowl after England’s third Test match against Pakistan on August 27.

Recovery or separation for Messi as Barcelona face up to change BARCELONA AGENCIES

Lionel Messi's body language said it all as Barcelona were sent into full-blown meltdown in their historic Champions League quarter-final humiliation at the hands of Bayern Munich on Friday.

He could only look on helplessly as the club to which he has brought so much glory succumbed to a record 8-2 defeat in Lisbon.

By the end, even with the ball he could not make anything happen -- he was robbed of possession in his own half to start the move which brought Bayern's seventh goal at the Estadio da Luz. Earlier, in a photo taken through the door of what appears to be Barca's changing room at half-time and which has widely circulated online, Messi can be seen sitting alone at the end of his bench, turned away, wearing both the captain's armband and a look of total resignation.

He looked beaten as he stared at the floor with his shoulders drooping, deflated, done, exhausted, perhaps even, old.

Bayern were 4-1 up at that point, but there was no chance of a comeback in the second half and instead it became Barcelona's worst ever defeat in Europe.

The hope had been that Messi would erase all logic by beating arguably the most formidable club team in the

AGENCIES Indian wicketkeeper-batsman and former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket on Saturday in a cryptic message posted on Instagram. Dhoni, who turned 39 in July, quit test cricket in 2014 and has not played a limited overs match for India since taking a break after the team's semi-final exit at the 50-overs World Cup in July last year. "Thanks a lot for your love and support throughout. From 1929 hrs consider me as Retired," he wrote on Instagram with a video montage which had images from his 15-year international career. As captain, Dhoni led India to the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup title in 2007 and he repeated the feat at the 50-overs World Cup on home soil in 2011. Dhoni ends his ODI career having played 350 matches, scoring 10,773 runs and effecting 444 dismissals. He holds the record for most dismissals in T20 internationals with 91 in 98 matches. He also captains the Chennai Super Kings in the franchisebased T20 Indian Premier League but did not specify if he has retired from all cricket.

AGENCIES Top Australian cricketers including limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch, Steve Smith and IPL’s costliest overseas cricketer Pat Cummins are set to miss the start of IPL 2020 in UAE after Cricket Australia and England and Wales Cricket Board agreed to a limited overs series in England just ahead of the T20 league.

England’s Eoin Morgan, Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes too won’t be allowed to play in the IPL before September 26. The 13th edition of IPL is set to begin from September 19.

England and Australia will be playing three T20 Internationals at the Ageas Bowl on September 4, 6 and 8 while the ODIs will be held on September 11, 13 and 16 at the Old Trafford.

The latest that the players can touch base in UAE is September 17 or 18 and as per the IPL SOP, will be quarantined for six days with RT-PCR tests on day 1, 3 and 6. On the seventh day, they will be entering the bio-bubble provided they test negative on all three occasions.

Effectively, none of the players will be available for at least the first two to three games of their respective franchises.

All eight franchises had apparently requested the BCCI to ease the quarantine norms but the board has unofficially rejected the request.

Former Indian captain MS Dhoni retires from international cricket

world right now on his own, and in spite of everything around him.

How did it come to this? And more pressingly, what now? At 33, Messi has to decide if he wants to be part of the overhaul that is surely now unavoidable at the Camp Nou. "No-one is essential," said Gerard Pique, one of the last survivors along with Messi of Barcelona's glorious era under Pep Guardiola a decade ago.

CMYK

"New blood has to come in and change this dynamic.

If I am the first to go, so be it because now we have reached rock bottom."

Pique, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Arturo Vidal are all 31 or over, but if there is to be a purge of the old guard, Messi would survive it.

Yet it is not clear who would replace them given Barca's financial problems mean this is not a recovery that can be driven by a string of new signings.

Instead, a new coach, assuming Quique Setien is replaced, would have to turn to the academy, where Barcelona's creation of young talent is not as efficient as it once was.

Frenkie de Jong, Ansu Fati and Riqui Puig could lead the way but others will need patience, time to bed in, perhaps even a transition season or two.

It is the kind of job that might suit Mauricio Pochettino -- a coach who is on the market -- even if he thought he had left behind the days of precious few signings and an emphasis on bringing through youth.

Trophies during that period would prove harder, not easier, to come by. Is Messi prepared to spend the final years of his career as a mentor rather than a winner?

The alternative would be to keep faith with the senior players, many of whom might prove impossible to shift anyway, given their expensive contracts in the current market, badly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Rizwan believes England won’t find batting easy on Southampton wicket MANCHESTER AGENCIES

Pakistan gained a foothold into the second Test match due to a gritty knock from wicketkeeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan. At the end of Day 1, Pakistan were tottering at 126/5 and it looked like England bowlers could strike early in overcast conditions on Day 2.

But Babar Azam and Rizwan stuck together to play out the first session. Azam departed soon but Rizwan stayed on till the end of the day to take Pakistan to a score of 223/9. He is batting on 60 with fast bowler Naseem Shah on the other end. Batting at the Rose Bowl hasn’t been an easy task for the Pakistani batsmen and Rizwan said England would also not find batting easy on the wicket in Southampton.

For England, James Anderson and Stuart Broad have scalped three wickets each. “They were difficult conditions, not too dissimilar to some of the wickets in the north in Pakistan.

Places like Abbottabad and Peshawar, particularly. But this was the first time in my career I saw the ball seam after 75 overs, right until they took the new ball. I’ve never seen anything like it before. It’ll be very difficult for England, too. They won’t find batting easy,” ESPNCricinfo quoted Rizwan as saying. The second day of the match got off to a delayed start due to rain. In the first session, only 15 overs were bowled and Babar Azam and Rizwan managed to survive that period. However, in the second session, Azam (47) was dismissed by Stuart Broad, and from there, wickets fell in a cluster, and Rizwan had to take on the charge.

Sunday, 16 August, 2020

PRAyER TImINGS

NEWS

FAJR SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

4:00

12:12

5:57

5:31

6:53

8:23

KAshMIrIs observe InDIA’s InDepenDenCe DAy As blACK DAy wIth protest, rAllIes SRINAGAR

K

APP

ASHMIRIS on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) and around the world are observing India’s independence day as a Black Day to protest New Delhi’s illegal occupation of the valley. The black day is used to express a complete dissociation with India because of its illegal occupation of the valley for the past 73 years and for turning it into the world’s largest prison since August last year when New Delhi revoked the region’s special status.

Hurriyat leaders Syed Aijaz Rehmani

In I-Day address, Modi issues veiled warning to China NEW DELHI AGENCIES

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday issued a veiled warning to China over deadly border tensions while also promising to strengthen the country’s military in his Independence Day address at the Delhi Fort. “India’s integrity is supreme for us. What we can do, what our soldiers can do — everyone saw that in Ladakh,” Modi said, referring to a border clash with Chinese troops in the Ladakh region of the Himalayas on June 15. Twenty Indian soldiers were killed in the clash, which saw the two sides fighting with batons, stones and bare fists. China has also acknowledged that it suffered casualties but without giving numbers. The two sides have blamed each other for the fighting and tens of thousands of Indian and Chinese troops, who also fought a border war in 1962, have since been sent to the region.

Modi has insisted that no land was lost in the battle but military experts have used satellite images to counter that Chinese troops occupy frontier territory that India had claimed for decades. India has in turn used economic weapons against China. It has banned at least 59 apps, including the major video-sharing platform TikTok, and taken other measures to freeze Chinese firms out of contracts and block its imports. In his address today, the Indian premier said that relations with neighbours are now linked to “security, progress and trust”. “A neighbour isn’t just someone who shares our geography but those who share our hearts.

Where the relationship is respected, it becomes warmer,” he said. The Hindu nationalist prime minister mentioned confrontations with both Pakistan and China, but without naming either country. “Anyone who has cast an eye on the country’s sovereignty, the country’s army has answered them in their own language,” he said. The 1.4-million-strong military would be built up, he added.

“Anyone who has cast an eye on the country’s sovereignty, the country’s army has answered them in their own language,” he said. “India is just as committed to its security and strengthening its army as the attempts it has made for peace and harmony,” he said, stressing efforts to make India “self-reliant” in defence production. Attendance at the historic Red Fort in New Delhi for the speech was cut by more than half to 4,000 people, all of whom sat two metres (six feet) apart because of the coronavirus pandemic. Modi also said that his priority was getting India out of the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

India is expected to pass 50,000 deaths in the coming days and three million cases within a week. It has the fastest-growing caseload in the world and is now only behind Brazil and the United States in terms of total case numbers. With the economy expected to shrink this year, Modi reaffirmed an election promise to spend 1.3 trillion dollars on 7,000 infrastructure projects “to get us out of the pandemic situation”.

and Abdul Hameed Lone said in a statement that India had been illegally occupying the valley for the last 73 years.

“India has turned Kashmir into a prison, immobilizing more than more eight million people,” said Lone He added that ever since New Delhi revoked the special status of the region on August 5, the Muslim majority area of the valley has remained under a complete lockdown.

“Kashmiris are laying their life down for our right to self-determination,” he said, adding that India’s attempt to change the status and demographics of occupied Kashmir was against UNSC resolutions.

“Anti-India rallies followed by protest

demonstrations in all small and major cities and towns on both sides of the LoC will be the hallmark of the day”, an Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government spokesman told a local news outlet on Friday.

He added that the participants of the protest rallies will wear black bands around their arms as a sign of their protest against India while black flags will be hoisted atop private and public buildings by the protesting Kashmiris.

In AJK, anti-India rallies will be staged and processions will be held in all small and major cities including Muzaffarabad and all other nine district headquarters of Mirpur, Kotli, Bagh, Bhimbher, Palandri, Rawalakot, Haveli, Jhelum Valley, and Neelam valley.

The participants of the rallies will march in major city streets carrying black banners and placards to express their anger over India turning occupied Kashmir into the world’s largest prison and the continuing brutalities and human rights abuses in the occupied state since August 5 last year.

Chairman of UK-based Kashmiri rights outfit Global Pakistan Kashmir Supreme Council (GPKSC), Raja Sikander Khan told media in London on Friday that his organization had secured formal permission from the concerned British authorities in London to hold the scheduled black day protest in front of the Indian High Commission on August 15.

Gen Bajwa, Bill Gates discuss anti-polio campaign, coronavirus crisis RAWALPINDI STAFF REPORT

Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa on Saturday held a telephonic conversation with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation co-founder Bill Gates in which the two discussed the coronavirus crisis and the resumption of the anti-polio campaign in Pakistan.

The foundation in December last year announced a $10 million aid for Pakistan to help eradicate the disease.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Gates appreciated the support extended by the Pakistan Army for “national polio drive, ensuring proper reach and coverage”.

Gen Bajwa said the campaign was a national cause and national efforts were being made for creating a poliofree Pakistan. “Credit goes to grassroots workers including mobile teams, Law Enforcement Agencies and healthcare representatives,” the army chief was

TLTP

The Russian Health Ministry announced on Saturday that production of the world's first registered coronavirus vaccine has begun. It's been named ‘Sputnik V’ after the famed space satellite, launched by Moscow in 1957.

The formula, officially known as ‘Gam-COVID-Vak,' was developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center in the Russian capital. It has two components that need to be injected three weeks apart to trigger an immune response to Covid-19. The director of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, which bankrolled the project, Kirill Dmitriev

IMF to provide $364m to Afghanistan for economic reforms WASHINGTON TLTP

quoted as saying. The two also discussed the efforts needed to effectively conduct the polio campaign amidst the pandemic. “Mr Gates also appreciated Pakistan’s success against COVID-19 despite resource constraints. COAS attributed the success to a true national response executed through the

mechanism of NCOC which allowed optimisation of resources,” the military’s media wing said. Gates also reiterated his organisation’s “ongoing commitment to fight pandemics around the world and to support Pakistan in its goals of ending polio and improving health for every child”.

Russia starts production of Covid-19 vaccine MOSCOW

“It would be a great opportunity for us to send our message to all diplomats, the world over, who are likely to be arriving at the Indian High Commission London as guests to attend India’s independence day state ceremony,” Khan said.

Khan reiterated that the Kashmiris demand the immediate withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which empowers low-ranking Indian army personnel to shoot at sight and kill anyone in the illegally occupied state.

He underlined that so far thousands of innocent people had been martyred under the AFSPA and so far not a single person had been convicted of killing these innocent Kashmiri people.

pointed out that Moscow had received applications for more than one billion doses of the vaccine from 20 countries.

Russia’s health regulator registered the vaccine after it passed Phase II trials in June and July. It was decided that completing a Phase III trial was not necessary for the initial rollout because it is based on an already proven platform. However, it's important to note that Sputnik V won't go into general circulation until January 2021, allowing another four to five months in which to further observe its effectiveness.

The decision was criticized by some Western governments and health professionals, who consider it rushed and po-

tentially dangerous. That said, some of them seemed to be under the impression that the vaccine was going into immediate mass circulation. In reality, it will initially only be available to vulnerable workers in important frontline roles.

Even then, participation is voluntary, with nobody forced to take part.

Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said, earlier this week, during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin that medical workers and teachers would be the first to get the vaccine. The Health Ministry added that the data from the trials will soon be published and this will hopefully alleviate some of the concerns surrounding it.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reached a staff-level agreement with Afghanistan to provide a $364 million loan for economic reforms. According to a press statement issued on Saturday, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Azim Sadikov held virtual discussions with the Afghanistan authorities in July and August 2020 on IMF support for Afghanistan’s economic reform program.

Sadikov said that Afghanistan authorities and IMF staff have reached a staff-level agreement on a three-and-half year Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement to support authorities’ economic reform program. Access under this arrangement is proposed at SDR 259 million (about US$364 million). The agreement is subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board, which is expected to consider the request in late October, after the authorities implement the agreed prior action to improve the accountability and transparency in procurement, he said. The new ECF arrangement will support authorities’ reform program to maintain macroeconomic stability and lay the ground for a sustained post-pandemic economic recovery while continuing to advance structural reforms, said the statement. As the recovery gets underway, the reform program will aim to gradually reverse the fiscal deterioration caused by the pandemic and create space for development spending while increasing self-reliance, mainly through improvements in customs and revenue administration and value added tax implementation in 2022, said the statement. Monetary policy will continue to focus on maintaining price stability and a flexible exchange rate regime, while fostering confidence in Afghani.

Govt announces Sitara-e-Imtiaz for team that saved $1.2bn penalty in Karkey case NEWS DESK The highest civilian award, Sitara-e-Imtiaz, has been announced for the team which helped save a $1.2 billion penalty on Pakistan in the Karkey case.

According to reports the team will be awarded the highest Pakistani civilian award on March 23, 2021.

The team comprising Brigadier Rana Arfan Shakeel Ramay, Lt Col Farooq Shahbaz and International Dispute Unit Head Ahmed Irfan Aslam gathered information from international banks and foreign countries pertaining to corruption in Karkey, a Turkish power rental company.

As a result of the work of the team, Karkey withdrew six cases it had filed against Pakistan thus saving $1.2 billion in penalties to Pakistan.

Last year, the International Centre for

Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) had asked Pakistan to pay $760 million along with interest to Karkey Karadeniz Elektrik Uretim, the Turkish ship-based energy firm, after it filed arbitration claims against the country under the Bilateral Investment Treaty.

Following the decision, Karkey went to the US, the UK and Germany for enforcing the court’s ruling.

Pakistan’s assets abroad were at major risk of being taken over as security to enforce the international court’s verdict, which could have huge financial implications for the country.

In June 2019, Islamabad had decided to open an escrow account in a European bank for depositing $50 million in partial security while seeking an extension of stay in enforcement of the international court’s verdict.

Karkey was one of the 12 rental power

companies awarded contracts for electricity production by the Pakistan People’s Partyled government in 2009.

The Turkish firm installed a 232megawatt ship-based rental power plant and signed a rental services agreement in April 2009 under the Rental Power Policy 2008 to produce electricity in collaboration with Lakhra Power Generation Company.

In 2012, the Supreme Court of Pakistan took suo motu action against rental power projects, declaring illegal all such agreements signed under the Rental Power Policy 2008.

The apex court also directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to initiate investigation into the projects.

The anti-corruption watchdog started probe and prevented the power-producing ship of the Turkish company from leaving Pakistan.

Published by Arif Nizami at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad. Ph: 051-2204545. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk

According to NAB, Karkey ship was brought to Karachi Port in April 2011 to provide electricity to the national grid under the Rental Power Policy to overcome the energy crisis. However, it failed to generate 231MW as required under the agreement, although $9 million was paid in advance as capacity charges to its management.

The power plant produced only 3055MW and that too at a cost of Rs41 per unit, which was a serious breach of the contract.

In April 2019, Laeeq Ahmed Sheikh, the key suspect in the rental power plants case who is in NAB’s custody, confessed to have received kickbacks worth $350,000 for brokering a deal between the government of Pakistan and the Turkish company to address the power shortage in the country.