Epaper – August 24 LHR 2020

Monday, 24 August, 2020 I 4 Muharram, 1442 I Rs 25.00 I Vol XI No 55 I 52 Pages I Lahore Edition

COVID-19

DownwarD trajeCtory of Death toll aDDs to imProving outlook g

4 CovId-19 deathS, 591 CaSeS rePorted aCroSS CouNtry IN 24 hourS

ISLAMABAD tLtp

P

aKIStaN on Sunday reported 591 new cases of coronavirus and four deaths during the last 24 hours. the latest data from the National Command and operation Centre (NCoC) showed that the number of patients recovered from Covid-19 in the country has reached 275,836 making it a significant count. according to the latest statistics, there are now only 10,694 active cases in the country. a total of 24,956 coronavirus tests were carried out during the last twenty-four hours. among the four who passed away from the virus on Saturday, three died in hospitals while one died out of hospital. the total death toll stands at 6,235. the NCoC stated that there are no patients on ventilators in balochistan and azad jammu and Kashmir. out of 1,920 ventilators in the country, 121 are occupied.

Pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

292,765

LAST UPDATED AT 9:43 AM ON AUGUST 23, 2020 DAY'S DEATH TOLL: NEW CASES:

RECOVERED:

591

DEATHS:

275,836 6,235 SINDH:

127,965

PUNJAB:

96,178

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

AJK/GB:

ISLAMABAD:

35,720

PuNjab rePortS zero CoroNavIruS deathS for SeCoNd CoNSeCutIve day

out of a total of 292,765 cases detected so far, 2,245 cases have been reported from ajK, 12,507 cases surfaced in balochistan, 2,657 in Gb, 15,493 in ICt, 35,720 in KP, 96,178 in Punjab and Sindh has so far reported 127,965 cases, stated the NCoC. Meanwhile, more than 23.1 million people have been diagnosed with Covid19 around the world, and more than 14.91 million have recovered. at least 804,400 people have died, according to johns hopkins university.

India has had the highest number of daily new cases in the world for the last 18 days, with over 50,000 new cases every day. India’s coronavirus tally crossed the 3 million case mark, the country’s health ministry said, just 16 days after the number of cases surpassed 2 million. an update released by the health ministry showed the death toll stands at 56,706. In the last 24 hours, the country recorded close to 70,000 new cases. the

Coronavirus in

4

g

12,507

2,245/2,657 15,493

ministry figures show the western state of Maharashtra reported the highest number of cases in the country.

Meanwhile, the government of Punjab Sunday reported zero deaths due to Covid-19 for the second consecutive day, while the number of total active cases in the province stands at 2,840. according to official figures released

by Punjab’s Primary and Secondary healthcare department, 121 new Covid19 cases surfaced over the past 24 hours, taking the total number of confirmed cases across the province to 96,178. the number of people who have succumbed to the disease in the province so far stands at 2,188. More than 863,000 samples have been tested in the province to detect Covid-19 infection so far.

Whereas, the number of people recovered from the infection has surged to 91,150.

Meanwhile, the Punjab government on Sunday imposed “micro smart lockdown” in small neighbourhoods of three cities for a period of fourteen days to prevent the spread of deadly coronavirus that has affected over 96,000 people and killed 2,188 across the province. the cities where localities have been sealed include Lahore, rawalpindi and Gujranwala. More than a dozen areas have been locked down in these cities, including Lahore’s twelve areas that reported 28 cases of late. as many as 19,538 residents of the provincial capital will be under lockdown. rawalpindi’s three areas with a population of 947 people have been sealed after they reported seven coronavirus cases while two localities have been locked down in Gujranwala where 53 locals will be under lockdown. Police personnel have been deployed in these areas to enforce the lockdown restrictions.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Pakistan rejects Indian remarks on Pak-China strategic dialogue ISLAMABAD staff report

Pakistan has strongly rejected the unwarranted and irresponsible comments made by the spokesperson of Indian Ministry of external affairs (Mea) on the joint press release of the second round of China-Pakistan foreign Ministers’ Strategic dialogue. the foreign office (fo), in a statement on Sunday, said that Indian Mea’s contentions about jammu and Kashmir being the socalled “integral and inalienable part” of India and an “internal affair” are a laughable fiction, totally contrary to historical and legal facts and in violation of the relevant united Nations Security Council (uNSC) resolutions.

It said that India’s self-serving claims regarding jammu and Kashmir, including the parts which are under illegal Indian occupation, have no basis whatsoever. the fo said that Pakistan also categorically rejects India’s malicious propaganda against the China-Pakistan economic Corridor (CPeC), which is another manifestation of desperate Indian attempts to mislead the world community.

Islamabad said that India has no locus standi on the issue – historical, legal or moral. the regurgitation of false claims by India can neither change facts nor divert attention from India’s state-terrorism in the Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) and its egregious violations of human rights

Sindh CM says $10bn required to modernise Karachi newS DeSk Sindh Chief Minister Murad ali Shah on Sunday claimed that at least $10 billion were required to modernise the port city’s infrastructure.

Shah talked about Karachi’s problems along with some major representatives of the main political parties during a television programme. taking note of the new monsoon spell that entered the city on july 26-27, he commented, “the city’s issues are not new; they have been here for some time. In the past four years, we have worked a lot on cleaning the storm drains in the city.” “there was a lot of rain back in 2007 when nearly 200 people had died,” he added. the chief minister also talked about how the Sindh government has been giving funds to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) to clean the nullahs of the city.

“In the last four years, we cleared many nullahs in the city. despite the rain the water was cleared within three to four hours,” he said, adding, “the major problem is due to a major structure which has blocked all nullahs in Karachi, which are the responsibility of the canton-

of the Kashmiri people. rather than resorting to false and misleading assertions, India should faithfully implement its international obligations, said the statement. India must immediately vacate its illegal and forcible occupation of IoK and let the Kashmiris exercise their inalienable right to self-determination through a free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the united Nations (uN) as enshrined in the relevant uNSC resolutions.

In another statement on Sunday, fo Spokesperson zahid hafeez Chaudhri rejected the assertions made by some sections of the Indian media, as to Pakistan admitting to the presence of certain listed individuals on its territory, based on the information contained in the Statutory regulatory orders (Sros). the spokesperson said that the Ministry of foreign affairs issued two consolidated Sros on august 18 reflecting the current status of the uN taliban and da’esh and al Qaeda Sanctions list. he said these lists contain names of individuals and entities designated under the two sanction regimes established pursuant to the uNSC resolutions. the spokesperson said the consolidated Sros are issued periodically as a routine matter. he said similar Sros were issued, by the Ministry of foreign affairs, in the past, as per statutory requirements to meet Pakistan’s international obligations.

more inside

Opp demanding NRO through proposed amendments: Faraz STORY ON PAGE 02

Sharif family mulls submitting Nawaz Sharif’s new medical reports STORY ON PAGE 03 ments and dMCS.” he additionally talked about how the responsibility of cleaning storm drains lies with KMC and that Sindh government had given the required funding for it. the spokesperson for the Sindh government, Senator Murtaza Wahab, said that he would identify the issues plaguing the metropolis rather than mudslinging. “until and unless we all understand the challenges that Karachi faces, they cannot be resolved,” Wahab added.

CM Murad emphasised that although 187mm of rainfall was recorded in Surjani town and Nazimabad, the rainwater was cleared in 3-4 hours. “Shahrah-

e-faisal was not blocked despite the heavy rain,” he added. he also said that in the past four years, a lot of work was done to clean the nullahs, yet water still stagnated at Kda and Nagan Chowrangis for four or five days. “even now, there’s rainwater in New Karachi,” he added, saying the government had been giving funds to the KMC to clear the nullahs.

CM Murad said that he had met the National disaster Management authority (NdMa) Chairman Lt Gen Muhammad afzal, a few days ago, and was grateful to the authority for clearing three nullahs in Karachi.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Progress on 10th NFC slow after removal of Hafez Shaikh 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

Monday, 24 August, 2020

NEWS

OPP dEMAndIng nRO ThROugh PROPOsEd AMEndMEnTs: FARAz ISLAMABAD

F

STAFF REPORT

EDERAL Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz on Sunday sharing the proposed amendments submitted by mainstream opposition parties, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), in National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), said that proposing such amendments tantamount to demanding national reconciliation ordinance (NRO).

In a tweet, the minister said, “For several days now, the PML-N has been saying who is asking for the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).”

“These are the sources and documents through which the NRO was requested,” he said while sharing the proposed amendments forwarded by the opposition parties.

“History has shown that every time PML-N leadership took path of escaping from the country and the law,” Faraz said.

PPP and PML-N Amendment of Section 25, Ordinance XVIII of 1999, draft stated, “Provided, however that NAB shall not conduct any inquiry or investigation or file any reference for an alleged offence after the passing of five years from the date of the transaction or act constituting the offence.”

“National Accountability Bureau shall not initiate action on allegations, it con-

PM lauds KP govt for 65pc increase in revenue ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has appreciated the efforts and progress of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government for an increase in revenue generation of the province. In a Facebook post, the prime minister said that during the last financial year, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Revenue Authority grew its revenue by 65 percent despite the impact of Covid-19.

The premier said the growth in revenue surpassed any other revenue authority country-wide. He said that the main factors for the growth are continuity of leadership, the performance of management, monthly stocktakes, and institutional strengthening. Earlier, on August 14, PM Imran hoped that the country will one day become an Islamic welfare state, a goal he has worked towards since coming to power in 2018. “It was always a dream of our founding fathers, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Iqbal,” he said while addressing the nation on the country’s 74th Independence Day. He said that this was a journey in which everyone would have to struggle and play their respective role. Talking about the Covid-19 situation in the country, he congratulated the nation for the way it fought the pandemic that has ravaged many countries. “We were afraid that people would die of the virus and on the other hand, from hunger because of the lockdown,” the PM said, “We have to thank Allah that coronavirus cases in the country have reduced and the economy is reviving.” STAFF REPORT

First T-054 advanced warship inducted in navy fleet ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Navy on Sunday inducted its first Type-054 Class Frigate in its fleet, said a press release issued by the Navy’s Directorate General of Public Relations. “The Type-054 Class, fitted with latest surface, subsurface, anti-air weapons, combat management system and sensors will be one of the technologically advanced surface platforms of Pakistan Navy Fleet,” said the press release. It added that the ship will “significantly contribute in maintaining peace and security” in the Pakistan Navy’s “area of responsibility”.

The launching ceremony of the frigate was held at Hudong Zhonghua Shipyard in Chinese city of Shanghai. Pakistan Navy’s Chief Naval Overseer in China Commodore Azfar Humayun said the induction of the frigate is a “new chapter in Pakistan-China’s defence relationship”. He also acknowledged the commitment and dedication of China’s Hudong Zhonghua Shipyard and inexorable support provided by China Shipbuilding Trading Co (CSTC) for continuity of the programme despite the Covid-19 pandemic. The event has been marked as a major milestone in the construction of state-of-the-art frigates for the Pakistan Navy. The ceremony was also attended by (CSTC) Chairman Li Hongtao and officials of the navy and CSTC/ Hudong Shipyard. STAFF REPORT

Motorway Police recovers one abducted person, 3 abductors arrested ISLAMABAD: The National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP) on Sunday arrested three abductors and recovered the kidnapped person. The officers of NHMP N-5 North, during their routine patrolling, received a call from beat 10 Kamoke regarding the kidnapping of one person named Amir. He was made captive by unknown culprits in a car Honda city bearing registration LEC 4049 and proceeding towards Lahore. The message was passed to all patrolling officers, consequently the said car was intercepted at the location of 1,289 south-bound by the Chief Patrol Officer Rashid Bhatti, Operations Officer Inspector Zafar Iqbal and MTO Headquarter Inspector Nafees Shafqat who was already pursuing the said car. Resultantly three kidnappers were arrested on the spot whereas one culprit, who was in the driving seat escaped. The captive Amir was freed and all the three culprits along with case property handed over to SI Zahid of Amanabad Police Station after codal formalities for further legal proceedings. APP

tained in a complaint which is anonymous or pseudonymous: or which do not involve public money or in which the amount involved is less than Rupees One Billion; or which, under the provisions of any law for the time being in force, cannot be investigated due to lapse of time or relate to a period for which records need not be maintained by the holder of public office,” the proposed amendments document shared by the Information Ministry said.

Another proposed amendment by the opposition parties is “Where at any time during enquiry or after the authorisation of an investigation, before or after the commencement of the trial or during the pendency of an appeal, the holder of public office or any other person offers to return

to the NAB the assets or gains acquired or made in the course, or as a consequence of any offence under this Ordinance.”

“The Chairman, NAB, may, in his discretion, after taking into consideration the facts and circumstances of the case, accept the offer on such terms and conditions as he may consider necessary, and if the holder of public office or any other person agrees to return to the NAB the amount determined by the Chairman NAB.” Separately, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry assailed leaders of the PML-N for holding the government responsible for allowing former premier Nawaz Sharif to travel abroad for treatment.

In a tweet, he said that PML-N leaders and their supporters in media used to say day and night how critically ill Nawaz was, and if he was not allowed to go abroad, his life would be in peril.

Since yesterday, these people have been saying that it was the government that had sent Sharif abroad and ask how could they ask him to fly back home, and this is the deceit and fib on the basis of which the PML-N was formed, he added.

IPU president for evolving joint strategy to overcome Covid-19 ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) President Gabriela Cuevas Barron has urged the governments and world parliaments to evolve a joint strategy to overcome Covid-19 pandemic.

Gabriela said this during her visit to Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS) Islamabad where she was given a detailed briefing about the institute.

She said that it is the prime responsibility of the parliament to defend human rights and democracy.

Speaking on the occasion, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani appreciated the steps taken by IPU for the cause of democracy. He said eradication of inequality is part of IPU’s agenda and joint efforts are needed for this purpose.

Earlier in the day, Gabriela Cuevas Barron arrived in Pakistan on the invitation of the Senate chairman. The purpose of the visit is to strengthen ties between the Senate of Pakistan and the IPU. Senator Mirza Afridi and Member National Assembly (MNA) Sher Ali Arbab received Cuevas at the Islamabad

airport.

Terming the visit important, Senator Afridi said that he is hopeful that it would pave new avenues for institutional cooperation. He said that Pakistan attaches great importance to parliamentary diplomacy for peace and development and for social and economic prosperity.

This is the first high profile visit by an IPU president, and is being seen as important for parliamentary and diplomatic development. The visit will help promote the country’s soft image at an international level.

Earlier, on July 10, Sanjrani said that he would contest elections for the post of the president for the IPU. Sanjrani was nominated by National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser.

A spokesperson for the Senate said that 179 countries are members of the union, whereas elections for IPU president would be held in December.

“For the first time in the history of the country, Sanjrani will be contesting the IPU presidential elections,” the spokesperson stated. The spokesman quoted parliamentarians saying that “Sanjarani’s IPU presidential election will further enhance the prestige of parliament”.

Another IAF pilot commits suicide in IOK JAMMU TLTP

Another Indian Air Force (IAF) officer has committed suicide by shooting himself with a service pistol.

According to details, a warrant officer of the Indian Air Force (IAF) committed suicide by shooting himself with his service pistol inside a camp in Jammu area of Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK).

Warrant Officer, Inder Pal Singh, 53, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, shot himself at Air Force Station, Kalu Chak, on the outskirts of Jammu.

Inder Pal Singh’s colleagues rushed him to a nearby hospital where doctors declared him dead.

This incident of suicide has raised the number of such deaths among Indian troops and police personnel in Indian Occupied Kashmir to 467 from January 2007 to date. This

was the second incident of suicide among the IAF personnel posted in the Jammu region this month.

Earlier on August 8, an IAF jawan allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with his service rifle in Udhampur district.

Earlier on Friday last, two Indian soldiers committed suicide in Kupwara and Poonch districts of IOK. According to details, a soldier of the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) committed suicide by shooting himself dead in the Kupwara district. The deceased BSF soldier was identified as Head Constable Kundan Ram Kumar of 169 Battalion. He ended his life by shooting himself with his service rifle at Brinwari area in Kupwara district.

Meanwhile, another soldier, Mohit Kumar of 39 Rashtriya Rifles, shot himself dead with his service rifle in a forward area in the Mankato Sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu region.

Asim Bajwa warns people against fake CPEC job ads ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information and Broadcasting Lt Gen (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa on Sunday took note of “attempts to subvert China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) by lies and propaganda stories.” In a tweet, the SAPM who is also chairman CPEC Authority appealed to the general public to ignore all fake news and stories regarding jobs, projects and individuals. He said that attempts to subvert CPEC project by lies and propaganda stories about various aspects and individuals have recently been noticed. He said that all the advertisements regarding jobs will be posted on the official website http://cpecauthority.gov.pk/ and official accounts. Earlier on August 15, Lt Gen (r) Bajwa had announced an internship programme for youth. “In the spirit of Youth empowerment/to develop young leaders, we announce to offer an opportunity to you to join #CPEC specific internship for 3 monthsbrochure for the first internship of the series attached, all eligible Pakistanis can apply,” he had tweeted. STAFF REPORT

Int'l day for remembrance of slave trade & its abolition observed ISLAMABAD: The International Day for Remembrance of Slave Trade and its Abolition was observed on Sunday. Marked under the auspices of the United Nations, this year’s theme of the day is “Confronting Slavery’s Legacy of Racism Together”. The theme underscores the reality that lasting effects of the slave trade, including racism, continue to divide societies across the globe and hamper our advancement towards a peacefully harmonious world. The night of 22 to 23 August 1791, in Santo Domingo (today Haiti and the Dominican Republic) saw the beginning of the uprising that would play a crucial role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. The day is commemorated every year on 23 August. The day intends to inscribe the tragedy of the slave trade in the memory of all peoples. In accordance with the goals of the intercultural project “The Slave Route”, it should offer an opportunity for collective consideration of the historic causes, the methods and the consequences of this tragedy, and for an analysis of the interactions to which it has given rise between Africa, Europe, the Americas, and the Caribbean. The director-general of UNESCO urged the ministers of the culture of all member states to organize events every year on that date, involving the entire population of their country and in particular young people, educators, artists, and intellectuals. TLTP

Jordan center names PM Imran as ‘Man of the Year’ ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Prime Minister Imran Khan has been declared as “Man of the Year” from the Muslim world, by the Jordan based Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre, official said. “Jordan’s Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre named Prime Minister Imran Khan as ‘Man of the Year’ in its recent list of the most persuasive Muslims in the World”.

In its latest edition “The World’s 500 Most Influential Muslims, 2020″ the center also named American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib as “Woman of the Year”.

Abdallah Schleifer, who is chief editor of “The Muslim 500” project, while declaring Khan as “Man of the year”, wrote that his quest for peace with neighboring India and his philanthropist work entitled him for the honor. Schleifer is Professor Emeritus of Journalism at the American University in Cairo.

He added that he was impressed by Khan, launching a successful fund-raising campaign to establish a hospital devoted to treating cancer victims and research.

Recalling Khan’s first address to the nation as prime minister in August 2018, the author said he genuinely wanted to normalize relations through trade, and settle the Kashmir dispute with India.

“Khan also wrote three letters to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling for dialogue and lasting peace. Modi did not respond,” Schleifer noted.

The center also declared the US Congresswoman

Rashida Tlaib, as the most prominent “Muslim Woman of the Year”.

“American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (Democrat, Michigan) is this year’s Muslim 500 Woman of the Year,” the center announced.

She is the first Palestinian-American woman elected to the American Congress, as member of the House of

Representatives, Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre said. The center also included other top 50 influential Muslims personalities in its edition. They are Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamid Al-Thani, President Joko Widodo President of Indonesia, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud King of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah II Ibn Al-Hussein King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, King Mohammed VI King of Morocco and others.

Eminent religious scholars Mufti Taqi Usmani and Maulana Tariq Jameel have also been named among the most influential Muslims.

Maulana Tariq Jameel’s sermons focus on ‘self-purification, avoidance of violence, observance of Allah’s orders and pursuing the way of Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).’ He has been named continuously as one of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world by the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought in Jordan from 2013 to 2019.

In 2019, the religious scholar stood 40th of a list ranking the world’s most “influential” Muslims. The annual publication was compiled by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre in Jordan and highlights people who are influential as Muslims. The publication defines influential as meaning “any person who has the power to make a change that will have a significant impact on the Muslim World”.

Monday, 24 August, 2020

03 shARIF FAMIly Mulls suBMITTIng nAwAz shARIF’s nEw MEdICAl REPORTs NEWS

DR YASMIN SAYS NAWAZ ALLOWED TREATMENT ABROAD ON HUMANITARIAN GROUNDS LONDON/LAHORE

s

INP/TLTP

HARIF family has begun consultations with their legal team on whether to submit new medical reports of Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) supreme leader and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, it was learned on Sunday.The family will forward the medical reports to the court and government only after consultations with their legal team and doctors.

Dr Adnan Khan, the personal physician of Nawaz, said that the former prime minister’s medical reports were submitted eight times to the government and the Lahore High Court (LHC) from December 4, 2019 to June 26 this year.

In a tweet on Sunday, Dr Adnan said, “Nawaz Sharif was undergoing treatment in London due to ill health.”

He said, “Nawaz Sharif’s medical reports and summaries duly notarized and attested were submitted as directed by and to Government of Punjab and Honourable LHC dated as follows: 01 DEC 2019, 04 DEC 2019, 13 JAN 2020, 30 JAN 2020, 12 FEB 2020, 18 MAR 2020, 28 APR 2020 and 26 JUN 2020.”

It is pertinent to note that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on 29 October 2019 suspended the sentence of former premier Nawaz on medical grounds for eight weeks

in the Al Azizia case filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Nawaz left for London on Tuesday, 20 days after he was released on bail from a seven-year sentence for corruption.

On 20 November 2019, PML-N supremo, accompanied by his brother Shehbaz Sharif and his personal physician Dr Adnan, reached London via air ambulance for treatment on an eight-week bail.

Before that, on October 26 Nawaz last procured bail on medical grounds in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case from the LHC. It may be mentioned here that on Saturday the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has fixed for hearing on September 1 an appeal against the sentencing of Nawaz Sharif in Al-Azizia Steel Mills reference. A two-judge IHC bench will hear the appeal.

At the same time, NAB’s appeals against Nawaz Sharif’s extension of the sentence and his acquittal in the Flagship reference have also been fixed for hearing on the same day. The last hearing on Nawaz Sharif’s appeal in the Al-Azizia reference was held on September 18. A special bench of the Islamabad High Court comprising Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani has been constituted to hear the appeals of Nawaz Sharif and the NAB. It should be noted that Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Arshad Malik had given the verdicts of Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Flagship references. Judge

PM's AIdE hInTs AT EsTABlIshMEnT's InvOlvEMEnT In nAwAz's lOndOn dEPARTuRE In a rather unanticipated reaction, Mirza Shahzad Akbar, adviser to the prime minister on accountability and interior, suggested a reporter, who attempted to equate the decision to allow former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, to travel abroad with an NRO, to ask the question to the “agriculture department”, implying the involvement of a secret agency. The response, an open secret in power circles, came during a press conference held on Saturday to announce that the federal government had approached the United Kingdom government for Sharif’s extradition. The term was coined in 2018 when a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate for Punjab Assembly alleged that he was manhandled by the security personnel of a secret agency over his refusal to withdraw from the upcoming elections. In a statement to media, Rana Iqbal Siraj had said the personnel raided his godown and threatened to destroy his business in case of non-compliance. However, Siraj had later backtracked his statement, saying it was the officials of the agriculture department who raided his godown and not the security personnel. Akbar, however, later clarified that his statement did not refer to any state institution.

He said he had referred to “adept” PML-N leadership who “fooled the entire nation into believing Sharif’s forged medical reports.” The government in November last year allowed the former premier to travel abroad for medical treatment after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspended for eight weeks his sentence in Al-Azizia Steel Mills reference. Sharif has been residing in London ever since.

Independent observers claim the decision to allow Sharif to leave the country was a result of a silent agreement reached between the establishment and the opposition PML-N. The alleged deal comes on the heal of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vow to not give NRO to those facing corruption probes. The National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) was a controversial ordinance issued by then president Pervez Musharraf in 2007. It granted amnesty to politicians facing corruption, money laundering and murder cases. NEWS DESK

Muhammad Arshad Malik was sacked by the LHC following a video scandal.

‘NAWAZ ALLOWED TREATMENT ABROAD ON HUMANITARIAN GROUNDS’: Meanwhile, Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid said that the government allowed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to travel abroad for treatment on humanitarian grounds.

In a statement, she slammed the PMLN, saying the opposition party has made quite a fuss about the party leader’s health.

“We diagnosed Nawaz’s ailments and began his treatment but he had the intention of going abroad from the start,” she said.

“Nawaz first said he will consult his personal physician and then demanded that he be al-

lowed to have treatment abroad,” Dr Yasmin said, adding that Nawaz declined an offer to get treatment at any private hospital in the country.

The former premier was getting treatment at Services Hospital but later he was shifted to Sharif City Hospital on his request, where he decided to travel abroad for treatment, she recalled.

The minister said that the government had been ensuring his better treatment in the country, due to which his blood platelet count was improving, adding that he flew out of the country after assuring the government and the relevant court that he would return home after treatment.

She said that the PML-N leadership sub-

Buzdar forms committee to resolve civic issues of Lahore LAHORE STAFF REPORT

IhC to hear nawaz’s appeal against conviction in Al-Azizia reference on sept 1 ISLAMABAD INP

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) will hear an appeal filed against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s conviction in Al-Azizia reference on September 1. A two-member bench of the IHC will hear the appeal on September 1.

Meanwhile, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) appeals against Nawaz Sharif’s extension of the sentence and his acquittal in the flagship reference has also been fixed for hearing. The Islamabad High Court’s special bench comprising Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani will hear the appeals of Nawaz Sharif and NAB. Pakistan on Saturday had approached British authorities to repatriate three-time prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif, who is currently staying in London for his medical treatment. Pakistan’s High Commissioner to United Kingdom Mohammad Nafees Zakaria had written a letter to the British authorities, demanding to handover the former prime minister to the country. The development came a day after Federal Minister for Information Senator Shibli Faraz has said that it is necessary to bring back former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to Pakistan and the government will ask the Foreign Office (FO) to take steps for his return.

nA, senate sessions to be held today ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The sessions of the Senate and National Assembly will be held separately at Parliament House on Monday evening. Besides legislative business, both Houses will take up matters of national and international importance.

The government of Punjab has constituted a committee to resolve the civic issues of Lahore.

Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar chaired a high-level meeting in this regard on Sunday.

Buzdar assigned tasks to the various departments to bring uplift and betterment of Lahore while taking important decisions during the meeting. It was decided to constitute a ministerial committee to resolve the problems of Lahore on a permanent basis. The meeting of this committee will be held after every 15 days and concerned departments will submit their relevant reports.

The chief minister directed the concerned departments to undertake concrete and everlasting measures, adding that consolidated planning must be made for resolving parking problems along with eradicating overcharging issues. He asserted that action must be taken against those selling charity meat and birds on different roads of the city. He disclosed that special measures will be taken to save the citizens from stray dogs. He said that a crackdown will be launched against drug addicts found near metro bus bridges and underpasses. It was also decided to take prompt measures for rooting out the increasing beggary trend.

It was decided to launch stern action against smoke emitting vehicles in order to protect the environment as well as curb environmental pollution surrounding the city.

Buzdar illustrated that ugly looking wall chalking will be done away with and painting/graffiti will be done on the walls of government departments. He intimated that legal action will be taken against non-approved housing societies in the city.

He maintained that the trend of doing trade and business activities in the residential areas will be discouraged.

He directed that solid steps must be taken to eradicate the increasing encroachments trend in the city.

Buzdar stated that construction and repair of important roads across the city will be done on a preferential basis. He asserted that development projects of Lahore must be completed on priority basis at the earliest.

The chief minister outlined that streetlights will be

restored all over the city. He underscored that a special plan will be chalked out for the restoration of parks, green belts and horticulture. He stressed that non-functional water filtration plants after going through necessary repair work will be restored in various areas of the city.

The chief minister directed that projects should be prepared for the beautification of Jallo Butterfly Park, Istanbul Chowk and other areas. He asserted that the presence of doctors performing their duties in different dispensaries of the city must be ensured.

Buzdar directed that traffic management plan should be formulated keeping in view heavy volume of traffic on the roads of Lahore. He directed that foolproof planning must be undertaken to bring improvements in the law & order along with decreasing crime rate in the city.

The chief minister highlighted that Lahore is not only the heart of Punjab but also of Pakistan, adding that Lahore must become an exemplary city of Pakistan. He emphasized that he wants to resolve problems of the Lahorites. He outlined that he would himself go out to check and monitor different affairs of the city.

He maintained that every visitor coming to Lahore should clearly witness a significant and a visible change undertaken in the city. He said that he did not do injustice with anyone and warned that he would not tolerate any lapse or laxity in delivering official work.

The chief secretary, IGP, secretary social welfare, commissioner Lahore division, CCPO, DG PHA, MD WMC, MD WASA, DG LDA, DG Child Protection Bureau, MD PSCA and high officials of other concerned departments attended the meeting.

mitted old medical reports of Nawaz in the court six weeks after he had arrived in London for treatment. Nawaz’s personal doctor has not forwarded latest medical reports of the former premier so far, she added.

Dr Yasmin further said that the cabinet had directed the PML-N supremo to fly back to Pakistan over presenting incomplete medical reports.

Earlier, PML-N Spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said that the Punjab government and provincial health minister Dr Yasmin gave permission to Nawaz to travel abroad. The PML-N leader said that spokespersons should better concentrate on resolving the issues of the general masses instead of tweeting on Nawaz’s matter.

Mayor demands turning Karachi into a province KARACHI: Karachi Mayor and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Waseem Akhtar has once demanded again to declare Karachi a separate province. Talking to journalists here on Sunday, Waseem Akhtar expressed his views that the Constitution allows the creation of a new province; however, public opinion should be taken by holding a referendum. The mayor censured the Sindh government, saying that the worst administrative situation of Malir and Korangi should be considered as a proof against the provincial authorities after converting it into districts. He alleged that the Sindh government has taken hold of the revenue-generating departments by including institutions into the newly-created Keamari district. He added that districts are being created on a political basis in Karachi. The mayor said that stakeholders of the metropolis were not consulted before declaring Keamari as a district. Akhtar said that the Sindh government wants to earn money after distributing Karachi. He reminded that MQM-P had raised reservations over census which allegedly vanished half of the Karachi population. While answering a question, Akhtar said that Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) would have performed well if it was provided appropriate resources. TLTP

Karachi to receive rain till Tuesday: MET KARACHI: The MET office has forecast monsoon rainfall in Karachi and parts of Sindh till Tuesday. A monsoon low persists over eastern Sindh with another low-pressure area prevailing over central India. Under influence of these systems widespread rain/thundershowers with a few heavy to very heavy falls are likely to occur in Tharparkar, Badin, Mirpur Khas, Umerkot, Thatta, Sanghar, Hyderabad and Karachi districts, and almost all the places in rest of Sindh till 25th August, according to the PMD forecast. Sea breeze is still not restored in Karachi due to the monsoon low. The city will experience partly cloudy to cloudy weather, which could turn into rain and thunderstorms with a few heavy falls in the afternoon or evening, the met office said. TLTP

Court to indict PPP leader today SUKKUR APP

An accountability court in Sukkur will indict opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Syed Khursheed Shah in the assets beyond means case against him on Monday.

The court will hear the case against the former National Assembly opposition leader and 17 other suspects.

His wife Talat Bibi and nephew Sindh Minister for Transport Syed Owais Qadir Shah will appear before the court.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has also

nominated Shah’s two wives, two sons and son-in-law in the reference.

The prosecutor had also requested the judge to indict all the accused in the case. The agency had arrested Shah in September last year in a case regarding his alleged assets beyond means. Shah, however, has distanced himself from the properties which the bureau attributed to him, saying that these properties belonged to someone else and he had nothing to do with them.

Multiple corruption cases against Shah are under investigation with NAB. In 2012, an accountability court

had directed NAB to file a reference against him on a complaint pertaining to the alleged accumulation of illegitimate assets. The following year, NAB had reopened two corruption cases against Shah under the directives of the Lahore High Court (LHC).

In July last, NAB Chairman retired Justice Javed Iqbal had approved nine inquiries against different personalities, including Shah. At the time of his arrest, Shah said he had declared his assets before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and there was nothing in his name or in the name of his dependents.

04

Monday, 24 August, 2020

NEWS

several villages in sialkot submerge as chenab rages SIALKOT

t

TLTP

HE water level in River Chenab has been on the rise at Marala Headworks in Sialkot district and other points after India discharged water in the river, and several villages and low-lying areas in Chak Bhatti, Narowal and Mehmoodpur have submerged.

The inflow of Chenab at Head Marala in Sialkot district has been recorded at

76,400 cusecs of water, while it flowed out with 54,300 cusecs at the point, according to the irrigation department of Punjab.

The inflow of Chenab River at Head Khanki in Gujranwala district has been recorded 92,800 cusecs, while the discharge of the water at the point has been measured 84,500 cusecs.

The inflow of Chenab River at Qadirabad Headworks in Mandi Bahauddin district has been gauged at 1,08,600 cusecs, while its outflow has been recorded at 78,500 cusecs.

Increasing water flow in Chenab has caused flooding in outfall drains linked to the river and several villages and lowlying areas in Chak Bhatti, Narowal, Mehmoodpur have submerged. According to locals, standing crops at thousands of acres in Jalalpur Bhattian have also sunk under the water.

India has released 100,000 cusecs of water from its Salal Dam into Chenab and the floodwater reached Marala Headworks in Pakistan on Saturday last. The water discharged in Chenab could enhance the

Dengue rears its ugly heaD with 5 infections in Punjab

water level in the river to 220,000 cusecs, the officials had apprehended earlier.

A day earlier, Chiniot deputy commissioner directed concerned departments and the settlements along the river to take precautionary measures in view of likely flooding in Chenab.

The officials apprehended mediumlevel flood at Marala Headworks and Sialkot, Gujranwala, Hafizabad and Gujrat districts. The areas of Chiniot and Jhang could also be affected by the flooding in Chenab.

Mahmood for successful organisation of Broghil festival PESHAWAR TLTP

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has directed timely arrangements for successful organization of the Broghil festival in Chitral.

In a statement on Sunday, the chief minister directed the tourism department to start in-time preparations for the two-day festival starting from 5th of next month.

Khan also directed the concerned au-

thorities to extend maximum facilitation to the participants of the festival and visiting tourists. The festival will be held at Broghil National Park situated in the extreme north of district Upper Chitral.

It will showcase various activities including yak, horse and donkey polo, Buzkashi, tug-of-war, wrestling, marathon race, cricket, football and many other traditional games. Special tent village will also be set up for tourists.

The two-day Broghil Festival will kick

off from September 5 in Upper Chitral district. Being organised by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tourism Department and the administration of Upper Chitral district, the festival will showcase various activities, including horse and yak polo, cricket, football, Buzkashi, marathon race, tug-of-war, wrestling, music and other traditional games. Buzkashi is the ancient Asian game in which a dead goat is being pulled by the player while riding on a horse. The yak race, yak polo, fireworks, traditional

music and traditional food shows will be the main features of the festival.

Proper arrangements are being made for highlighting different aspects of the ancient and unique Wakhi culture. A tent village will be established in Broghil to facilitate the participants and tourists.

Broghil is the home of Chiantar glacier surrounded by many other glaciers, which feed the Chitral River while the Kuramber Lake is said to be a biologically active lake supporting a wide range of diversity.

LAHORE: Punjab health authorities said on Sunday that five more cases of dengue fever have been reported in the province. The tally of total cases of dengue fever in the province has reached 39 this year, said the health department in a statement. The cases have been reported in Hafizabad, Gujranwala, Sheikhupura and Rawalpindi. Provincial authorities earlier said that all possible measures are being taken to check dengue larvae and mosquito breeding spots in the province. Dengue larvae was found at 773 spots in two cities of Punjab within a week, the health department statement said. In Lahore, dengue larvae was found at 36 homes and 43 commercial places, while in Rawalpindi larvae was spotted at 309 homes and 367 commercial places, according to the health department. Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid last week said that emergency measures are being taken by the provisional government against dengue outbreak. She said that all tehsil municipal administrations, development authorities and water and sanitation companies have been clearly advised that stagnant water ponds be immediately filled with soil and anti-dengue sprays should be carried out on such places. The minister said that dengue fever is a severe, flu-like illness that affects infants, young children and adults and in case of dengue like symptoms, the patient should immediately consult a medical practitioner. She said the current weather is very conducive for dengue larva growth. TLTP

20kg flour bag availability at Rs860 being ensured: Aleem LAHORE TLTP

Punjab Food Minister Abdul Aleem Khan has said that sale of a 20kg bag of flour at Rs860 is being ensured across the province and teams of the food department and district administration are active in the field.

The provincial food minister said this on Sunday while chairing a meeting along with Punjab Chief Secretary Jawwad Rafique Malik to review measures to control prices of flour and sugar in the province at the Chief Secretary's Office.

“The report of Bureau of Statistics also con-

firmed availability of flour in Punjab comparatively at lower price,” Aleem said. He mentioned that different prices of flour in other provinces create problems, adding that the provinces would have to take steps to ensure the same price. The chief secretary said that the prices of flour and sugar would be strictly enforced as per the directions of the prime minister and the Punjab chief minister.

The meeting deliberated on various action plans to contain the prices of flour and sugar.

The meeting was attended by administrative secretaries of food and industries departments, director food Punjab and officers concerned.

PUBG claims another life in Lahore LAHORE TLTP

PlayersUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), an online multiplayer game, reportedly claimed the life of a teenager at Ichhra area on Sunday. According to police, the deceased boy, aged 16, committed suicide after being stopped from playing PUBG game anymore. The latest incident of suicide was followed by two deaths of young boys in Punjab’s capital Lahore in June 2010, where a 20-year-old boy took his own life in Saddar Bazaar neighbourhood in North Cantonment and a 16-year-old boy claimed his own life

in Gulshan-e-Abbas Phase 2 area.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on July 20 had lifted the ban on the most popular online game Player Unknown’s Battleground (PUBG).

Taking to Twitter, a spokesperson for PTA said that representatives of the PUBG welcomed their feedback on the issue and assured that the concerns of PTA would be taken into account.

PUBG is one of the most popular online games with millions of downloads and a huge fan base. Unhealthy practices by gamers and addiction have led to some deaths in the past too.

Universal registration plates system to eliminate agent mafia, corruption RAWALPINDI APP

Rawalpindi Excise and Taxation (E&T) Department has started issuing universal numbers for vehicles which is claimed a state-of-the-art system and a revolutionary step that will help eliminate agent mafia and corruption.

According to Assistant Excise and Taxation Officer, Rawalpindi Sohail Shahzad, the system would help bring efficiency to the department and improve public service.

Instead of city codes, the universal number plate will be issued at the provincial level and the registration number in all the districts will have the same value.

He said that the universal number plates and their e-auction system had been inaugurated to facilitate people. The serial numbers of all the districts had been abolished, he said adding, the vehicles would be issued registration numbers starting from AAA1 to 999 while motorcycle serial numbers would be issued from 1001 to 9999 with AAA. Similarly, the commercial vehicles would be assigned the serial CAA and issued numbers from 1 to 9999. The serial number of the government vehicles would start from GAA with numbers from 1 to 998 while the SAA serial number would be issued to semi-

government vehicles with 1 to 998 numbers.

The excise department had adopted smart technology for the new project, he added.

The universal registration number system would benefit the people belonging to any city of the province as the resale value of vehicles of any district would be same. On the other hand, the burden on the big cities’ registration offices would also reduce.

To another question he said, the number plates issued already would not change.

With the e-auction, people would no longer have to go to any excise and taxation office to get their preferred number. The applicants would be able to deposit the money by pay order or online.

He said, the department on the directives of Director General (DG) Excise Punjab Ch Masoodul Haq and director Rawalpindi region, had made all the arrangements to facilitate citizens. He said, earlier the series of motor vehicle registration numbers was assigned in each category at the district level.

The year of registration was printed on the number plate and the alphanumeric scheme was repeated every year. In case of a road accident or crime, it was often difficult to note the number of the vehicle completely.

He said that there was also pressure of registration in the big cities due to the attractive resale market.

Monday, 24 August, 2020

Making Diabetes Disappear City Notes M A NiAzi

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He Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has completed two years in office. Can you feel the change? Prime Minister Imran Khan has said you can. That means you can, and I for one will not say any different. What the change means, is another matter. If it means eating less flour and products using sugar as an ingredient, then he has succeeded in no uncertain terms.

All this talk of a wheat shortage and a sugar dearth should not be used to conceal the fact that both are bad for you, and likely to give us diabetes. A World Diabetes Day is commemorated every November 14, and this year, Imran himself should be the chief guest at the main function. By putting flour and sugar out of the reach of the ordinary man, Imran has prevented so many Pakistanis from developing the disease which not only is a precursor of high blood pressure and heart disease, but also a predisposing condition for Covid-19 infection, and death.

Imran knows about diabetes, you see, from having managed Waseem Akram, his second greatest discovery (the greatest being Usman Buzdar), who was a diabetic.

Still is, as a matter of fact.

Imran is not entirely happy with his own contributions to medical science in the field of diabetes treatment, but is also upset still at Nawaz Sharif’s great escape, by pretending to be ill. He somehow got the medical board constituted by the Punjab government to certify that he could only be treated abroad, even though Imran could from pictures of him in the air ambulance that he was okay, not to

Sindh CM says $10bn required to modernise Karachi

forget the shot of the back of Nawaz’s head in a restaurant.

Thus, Imran established his own credentials as a great diagnostician, greater than Dr W G Grace, the last doctor to play Test cricket.

Test cricket is going on, and luckily for Imran, neither of his two potential successors, Shaheen Shah Afridi or Naseem Shah, has done much. True, Zac Crawley has scored almost the highest for anyone making a maiden hundred for england, but ask any PTI supporter and he would tell you that if Imran had been playing, he would have dismissed in pretty short order.

Well, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa did not have time to watch cricket, what with his efforts to get Pakistan’s relations with Saudi Arabia back on an even keel. And those efforts succeeded. Anyone who disagrees must immediately change his mind or the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) will come after him.

It is unfortunate that the Saudis did not show him as much respect as a Pakistani COAS deserves. The Saudis should remember that the British Indian Army, which is the army from which the Pakistan Army was carved out, played a key role in the fight against the Ottomans. Which the Saudi founder, Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, joined.

However, in a slightly post-Ottoman development, some splinter groups have rejoined the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). I wonder if they know that the TTP is as banned as them. It is an old trick if you’ve been banned, set up a pre-organisation. Business could use the same method to avoid paying taxes, but I suppose they do not want to lose brand loyalty.

I mean, if Usman Buzdar was a drinking man, would he want to put Kaki cola in his liquour instead of Coca cola, if the latter ever got banned?

The reference against him on the issuing of a liquour licence seems to have yielded a lot of information about the alcohol-induced haze in which the Punjab government, which also explains why Nawaz got away. Not because anybody was corrupt or incompetent, but because everyone was too sozzled to do anything but desperately sign while Buzdar watched, fighting off the sudden urge to go to the nearest toilet bowl and start heaving. The excise DG says he issued the license because the CM told him.

The CM has not taken the defence that he was slurring too much, or that the DG is in no position to remember what happened, being too fuddled at the time, but has simply said the DG acted off his own bat. Possible. If a man has had enough, there is no telling what he will do.

In fact, our being a dry country might explain why we are not as badly hit by the coronavirus. We do not have any bars, or any other places where we can get so badly sloshed we cannot walk. In fact, we do not have any place where we can have fun, defining fun as imbibing so much alcohol that one or more sensory centres shut down. I suppose, instead, we have just the opposite: religious congregations. But there seems to be nothing to beat a bar, where not only is everyone getting wasted, but the music is on really loud, and you have to shout to be heard (thus increasing the chances of getting infected.)

Let us hope we get a vaccine soon, not that we have got the greatest of records when it comes to vaccines. Instead of eradicating polio, we have to have its vaccine teams arrested by cops, and team members are at risk of being killed.

I wonder if that will happen to the Covid-19 vaccinators.

Maybe that is why Buzdar wants the liquor licence issued. So that vaccinators who have made it through the day have a place to go to unwind.

NEWS

05

Downward trajectory of death toll adds to improving outlook continueS on page 01 It is pertinent to mention here that the Punjab government on Saturday decided to impose ‘micro smart lockdown’ in several areas of the province for a period of two months to prevent the resurgence of deadly coronavirus which has played havoc across the world. Under micro smart lockdown, small localities such as one building with multiple units or small neighbourhoods would be sealed. It must be noted that micro smart lockdown is being implemented in streets and small localities as per instructions of the federal government. The Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department requested people to continue taking precautionary measures to keep the virus at bay until it is completed weeded out. Separately, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said that 274 new cases of coronavirus and one more death have been reported during the last 24 hours in the province. In a statement, the chief minister said that 9,311 tests were conducted against which 274 new cases of coronavirus emerged that constituted three percent of current detection rate. He said that one more patient died of Covid-19, lifting the death toll in the province to 2,358. CM Murad said that currently 4,463 patients are under treatment, of them 4,142 are in home isolation, seven at isolation centers and 314 at different hospitals. He added that the condition of 223 patients is stated to be critical, and 31 of them have been shifted to ventilators.

Govt likely to appoint Zulfi Bukhari as PTDC BoD chairman iSLaMaBad

continued on page 01

sHAHzAD PARACHA

“The Supreme Court (SC) had ordered the NDMA to clear all the nullahs. When it rained again, the Gujjar nullah overflowed once more,” he noted. The CM admitted that the KMC was short on funds, informing that only Rs1.5 billion was collected through property taxes in Karachi, as opposed to Rs55 billion in Mumbai in the same category. “Garbage collection is a major problem in Karachi,” CM Murad said. Commenting on the recently formed coordination committee, the CM informed that it comprised federal and provincial ministers. “Such committees have been set up in the past as well,” he said, stating that there was a communication gap between the government of Sindh and Centre. “The committee will not bring administrative matters under discussions,” he stated. Responding to the chief minister’s remarks about KMC having the responsibility to clean up drains in the city, Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar said that Karachi did not fall under the domain of one man. “One person does not have entire city’s domain,” Akhtar said, adding that the issues originated from the fact that the powers were not with one person.

“Till the local governments are not given power, nothing can be done. Cleaning nullahs is my responsibility but I only did so until I had the resources,” he added, stressing that had the Article 148 been imposed, the city would not have been facing these issues.

The federal government is likely to appoint Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Zulfi Bukhari as the chairman of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) Board of Directors (BoD).

According to sources Prime Minister Imran Khan being the minister incharge of the Cabinet Division has authorised the submission of the summary regarding nomination of directors and chairman of PTDC’s BoD before the federal cabinet.

Sources further said that the PTDC BoD, in its 89th meeting, held on July, 2, 2020 emphasised that the composition of the board should be completed on priority, as three private members, namely

Javaid Jabber, Kamram Lashari and Selman Siddique, have ceased to hold office by remaining absent in four consecutive meetings of the board.

The PTDC board members have suggested the names of Qasim Jaffery, Ahmad Shafiq, Iqbal Walji, Salman Javed, Aziz Ahmad Jamali and Masood Ali Khan against the three vacant positions on the board.

Additionally the decision regarding the appointment of the PTDC BoD chairman also needs to be revisited. In the existing composition, the National Tourism Coordination Board (NTCB) chairman has been appointed as the chairman of PTDC’s BoD. Currently Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari who has been appointed as NTCB’s acting chairman also holds the position of the PTDC BoD chairman by virtue of his office.

The position of NTCB and the appointment of Zulfi Bukhari as its chairman has already been challenged in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

According to sources the Cabinet Division has requested the Federal Cabinet to make amendments in public sector companies rules to appoint Zulfi Bukhari as director/chairman of PTDC. PTDC is a public sector enterprise, functioning as a corporation under the administrative control of the Cabinet Division. The company is unlisted with 99.3 per cent shares owned by the federal government.

The federal government, being the single major stakeholder has reconstituted the PTDC BOD, consisting of 17 members including the chairman and seven private members. The affairs of PTDC are being managed by the BoD

in accordance with its memorandum/articles of association and the Public Sector Companies (Corporate Governance) Rules, 2013 as amended upto April 21, 2017.

It is pertinent to mention here that the government had fired more than 400 employees of PTDC last month during a major restructuring of the company.

Zulfi Bukhari tweeted at the time that changes were being made as a step towards restructuring PTDC in accordance with global best practices since overtime due to mismanagement and political appointments the company had become stagnant and was running in loss.

He said that PTDC will continue to work as a federal implementation body under NTCB and a new structure will be proposed in consultation with field experts.

Columns on Urdu Language

By Syed afSar Sajid Title: Teef-e-Nazar Author: Syed Ruhul Amin Publisher: Izzat Academy, Gujrat Pages: 128 – Price: Rs.300/-

Syed Ruhul Amin is a noted writer, columnist, researcher, and a committed votary of Urdu with some thirteen publications to his credit. He is a column writer also. The instant book viz. Teefe-Nazar is a collection of newspaper columns on issues relating to the adoption and promotion of Urdu as a national language. His first collection of columns was earlier published in 2017, under the title of Bar Sar-e-Matlab. His work on Allama Iqbal, as also on Urdu linguistics, has won him recognition from many an academic and intellectual elite in the Urdu world. Literary pundits like Dr. Farman Fatehpuri, Dr. Muhammad Ali Siddiqui, Dr. Jamil Jalibi, Prof.

Fateh Muhammad Malik, Dr. Moeenuddin Aqeel, Dr. Rasheed Amjad, and Dr. Shabbir Ahmad Qadri have extolled his contribution to the cause of Urdu.

This book enlists twenty-eight columns on a miscellany of topics highlighting the importance of Urdu as Pakistan’s national language and the snags barring its universal adoption in the country, its use in the State business, its promotion in the areas of science and technology et al. In his preamble to the book, the author reiterates that despite Quaid-e-Azam’s unequivocal verdict on adoption of Urdu as a national and official language of Pakistan backed by a like mandate as envisaged in article 251 (1) of the 1973 Constitution, the task as yet, remains unaccomplished. He attributes the phenomenon to the apathy of

the ruling class in the country which includes politicians, public functionaries, planners, and policy makers. He also views Urdu as an inalienable component of the ideology of Pakistan.

Dr. Moeenuddin Aqeel ‘s prolegomena to the book is intended to highlight the importance of the subject in the backdrop of the issues related to the implementation of Urdu as an official language in the country. However, in an otherwise nebulous linguistic scenario, Gen. Ziaul Haq evinced personal interest in accelerating the tempo of the process of adoption of Urdu as an official language in the country. He launched the ‘Muqtadira Qaumi Zuban’ (National Language Authority) for this purpose. But Muqtadira’s recommendations were never enforced for unknown reasons. In the year 2014, however, the government undertook to speed up the process of adoption/implementation of Urdu as an official language of the country before the honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan. In September 2015, the apex Court directed federal and provincial governments to fulfil their constitutional obligation by adopting Urdu as official language in the country.

The titles of these columns are mostly eponymous as they suggest their own contextual formulations, e.g. (translated versions) Allama Muhammad Iqbal and Urdu, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Urdu, Urdu as a medium of instruction, Urdu’s importance as a teaching aid, Lord Macaulay’s anti-Urdu stance, Urdu and the two-nation theory, a letter to the President of Pakistan pleading implementation of Urdu as a national language, the bond between the national language and national progress, impart-

CMYK

ing of scientific education in Urdu, incompatibility of the academic curricula with the ideology of Pakistan, election manifesto of political parties on the implementation of the national language, Allama Iqbal’s concept of education, and Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and the Urdu medium of instruction, to cite a few.

The author’s standpoint is very consistent; he does not oppose the teaching or studying of english as a foreign language. His only grouse is that Urdu has not yet been given its due status in the country notwithstanding the mandatory provisions contained in Article 251(1)(2) of the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan which reads as follows: 251(1) The National Language of Pakistan is Urdu, and arrangements shall be made for its being used for official and other purposes within fifteen years from the commencing day.

(2) Subject to clause (1), the english language may be used for official purposes until arrangements are made for its replacement by Urdu.

The timeline for the implementation of this mandate expired in 1988. Gen. Ziaul Haq however took some concrete steps in this direction. He instituted the National Language Authority (‘Muqtadra Qaumi Zaban’ in Urdu, now changed to National Language Promotion Board) in 1979 with a view to supporting the ‘advancement and promotion’ of Urdu as a national language of Pakistan. It was also invested with the task of ‘creating a synergy between national and provincial governments and institutions for using Urdu’. Subsequently in 1981, he directed the NLA to compile recommendations for phase-wise introduction/implementation of Urdu in all organs of the State.

The matter was promptly processed and

necessary recommendations envisaging gradual implementation of the mandate in three years, were duly forwarded to the Authority but there has been no visible progress regarding their proper execution.

The author’s plea is that Urdu has the potential to cater for all species of phraseology/ terminology including those relating to the physical and social sciences and technology. The Osmania University in Hyderabad Deccan (now forming part of the State of Telangana in India), soon after its inception in the year 1917-18, adopted Urdu as the medium of instruction at all levels of university education until its annexation

by India in 1948 when Urdu was replaced by english. In order to reinforce his argument, the author cites the example of countries like Japan, China, Korea, and Indonesia where the medium of instruction is their respective native language, and yet the first three of them are reckoned amongst the most advanced countries of the world. All said, the book is a commendable effort to revive an issue of national importance for the benefit of all concerned.

Monday, 24 August, 2020

06 COMMENT

In Judges we trust

New district

Karachi’s seventh district has left the city a mess

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An acquittal exposed the whole judiciary

He creation of Kemari district within Karachi division not only failed to alleviate the woes of a ravaged city, but raised the suspicion that the provincial government was indulging in a bit of gerrymandering before the coming local body polls. One effect of the new district would be the creation of a new district municipal committee, and as there have been complaints that the new district has excluded areas where Muhajirs are in majority, the new district will not yield a chairmanship for the MQM, which currently dominates the DMc chairmanships. conceivably, this might also affect the drawing of constituency lines, but that is not due until after the next census, due in 2027, because the basic unit of constituencies are the districts.

However, the creation of another district, and of a new DMc, does not seem a solution to the most recent woes of the city, which has had the heaviest monsoon in decades.

The knowledge of the new district has not brought any joy to the many residents of the city who have been stranded in their houses by flooding, starving because unable to go buy food (not that the shops were able to open) and thirsty because the water is polluted by untreated sewage. Where power has not broken down, it has been switched off by K-electric itself, for fear of the combination of naked wires and floodwater electrocuting citizens wandering out of their homes.

With more rains predicted, the citizens of Karachi can only expect things to get worse. The authorities are taking things slowly, with the clearing of encroachments from three nullahs due to start today after almost a week of deliberations. While the provincial government did not see fit to consult anyone on creating the new district, it also does not see fit to give the Karachi Metropolitan corporation the funds it needs to operate. If the federal government tries to do anything about an area where it has not just an ally, but also significant electoral stakes, the sindh government begins to assert its prerogatives.

The problem has been caused by past neglect, with the passage of time only adding complications. It is time to talk with all stakeholders about a solution. There is the temptation to hope for an all-powerful saviour, but that must be eschewed. It has been tried, and it doesn’t work.

Humayun GauHar

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ecause of my poor eyesight and arthritic fingers, I am dictating this article to my 13-year-old granddaughter, Zara, who is a super child and will hopefully continue the family tradition of writing truth without fear. I am grateful to the magistrate for throwing out the suo motu case. atiqa Odho won admirably, and Iftikhar chaudhry lost ignominiously. This is going to be an article written in anger, but it must come out, for the sake of the record if for nothing else.

I am glad that atiqa Odho won her spurious case because it proved what I have been saying for long: that Pakistan has an extremely wanting judiciary and largely mediocre judges. Judges being mediocre is natural, because good lawyers earn so much that the salary and benefits of a judge are petty cash for them. Mediocre lawyers become judges of the superior judiciary and the briefless lawyers become magistrates. No wonder that hundreds of cases, indeed thousands, are pending at every level while many accused cool their heels in prison, undergoing endless mental torture, along with their families and friends. Waiting upon the judges and the broken judiciary, they spend more time in prison undergoing mental torture and more time than they would have if they had been found guilty. so it was with atiqa Odho, who spent nine long years awaiting judgment on a completely spurious case and in the meantime undergoing mental torture, opprobrium and loss of income, amongst others, while her mother and children went through hell for this issue to be decided. Had she not been a celebrity, she would have likely spent this time in prison. During this period, some eleven or twelve

Coronavirus second wave Improvement should not make us let our guard down

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He coronavirus has now killed more than 800,000 people worldwide, but while covid-19 has not finished taking the world in its grip in its first wave, the second wave is already upon us, earlier than predicted, as the number of infections in those countries where it had gone down begins to rise. Infections are already beginning to rise to levels unseen for months in Italy, France and Germany, even before the onset of autumn, when cold weather was expected to bring a revival in the infection. It might be a cause for jubilation in Pakistan that the worst is behind us, and that with just over 6,200 deaths, the country has got off lightly, but it should not be a cause of relaxation. The first wave is not yet over, and cases are still registering a disturbing uptick in neighboring India, which now has the third highest number of infections, as well as deaths.

There is also a north-south pattern, which probably has more to do with the weather than anything else. While it not yet autumn in europe, summer has lost some of its intensity, and there is nip in the air which the coronavirus probably finds encouraging, even if human beings do not notice it as yet. That means it is probably inevitable that a second wave will strike us again in the coming weeks, if not days. In turn, that might mean that the re-opening of the economy that has been witnessed of late, might prove to be premature. That has been the case in the usa, where re-openings were quickly followed by revivals of the infection, and the re-imposition of lockdowns.

The most immediate challenge ahead is that of ashura. It is only by sticking persistently to the sOPs that the challenge it presents can be overcome. It should not be forgotten that Pakistan experienced a fresh outbreak after eidul Fitr, when sOPs and social distancing were thrown to the winds with predictable consequences afterwards. It is not going to be over with ashura. The next big challenge will be the re-opening of educational institutions. all resources necessary must be doted to meeting it.

Why the QAnon conspiracy theory is worrying Why this conspiracy theory is particularly dangerous HaIDEr rIFaaT

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anon, an alien term that originated in 2017, has gained renewed momentum over the past few months. supporters of this conspiracy theory back Donald Trump and adhere to radical tenets that lack factual evidence. Qanon followers hold that a supposed “deep state” is conspiring against Donald Trump – primarily corrupt Democrats who are paedophiles and satan worshippers.

The connotation of this belief goes beyond Democrats. It has celebrities and politicians working together with governments across the world to participate in child sexual abuse. Travis View, the host of QAnon Anonymous, unveiled to Michel Martin in a podcast that Donald Trump constantly retweets Twitter messages by Qanon accounts– which only raises more eyebrows.

Qanon supporters also appear to winning Republican primaries– the recent case being Marjorie Taylor Greene, who will most probably serve in Georgia’s 14th congressional district. Greene is pro-Trump and an avid supporter of Qanon. she is widely known for her racist rants on social media that put Muslims, Jews and african-americans to shame. according to Politico, a series of social media videos caught her saying that Muslims do not belong in government. Greene has made loaded, generalized remarks by claiming that Islamic states and their countrymen have sexual intercourse with “little boys, little girls and multiple women.” she added that they marry their sisters, their cousins.

Marjorie Taylor Greene deemed the 2018 midterm elections as an “Islamic invasion of our government.” she went on to compare Democrat George

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judges were changed, so the case would have to start table son if his father was not the chief Justice? The case became so big, that it went to the supreme all over again every time. What a joke.

What was the case? Nothing. Trivial. The for- court, which to its abiding shame, put it on ice, mer chief Justice of Pakistan, who has mercifully with Iftikhar chaudhry leading the bench for a time retired, decided to institute a suo motu case against and then leaving it.

Why did Iftikhar chaudhry institute this case her for allegedly carrying two bottles of alcohol in her luggage from Islamabad to Karachi. Had there against atiqa Odho? One cannot be sure of the intent. really been two bottles, they would probably have could it be that she was so famous and some of the consumed them by now. anyway, an admirable fame would rub off on him? can’t rule it out. But I magistrate finally acquitted her for lack of evidence. believe that the real reason was that she had joined President Musharraf’s politIt was the self same Iftikhar ical party. He had it in for chaudhry that forced airhim because Musharraf had port customs to register a thrown him and other complaint against her, but In our country, unfortunately, judges of his ilk out of the when asked to produce evijudiciary, but in the end, dence, obviously they could class is measured by wealth, with the help of equally not, nor could they produce wanting lawyers, civil sociany credible witnesses. and and in Pakistan, if you are ety and many confused peoso the charade went on, for wealthy, no matter how you ple, he got reinstated. These 11 years, doing her incalcupeople thought that they lable unnecessary damage. acquired that wealth, you are were fighting for the princiMeanwhile, Iftikhar chaudhry continued on his placed in the top class. By that ple of an independent judiciary. But they didn’t stop to destructive spree. He took measure, Iftikhar Chaudhry think, that the person who many suo motu notices on they were fighting for, was even more spurious cases, should rejoice in the upper the symbol of a runaway, like the price of samosas and the car park fee people class. I would not disgrace the man-eating judiciary who would damage it woefully. take at Karachi airport, lower class by including him in Their real purpose was to lowering the price in the President Musharraf and first case and increasing it it. I pray that we will never see get that they did do. Not long the second. Is this the job after, their victory turned of a chief Justice? In the likes of him again around to bite them; the Iftikhar chaudhry’s world health of many declined view, triviality is. Meanwhen they realised what time, he did the judiciary they had done. and Pakistan incalculable Victor Hugo described this class of people addamage. Is he going to pay the price for this?

Is he going to compensate atiqa Odho for 11 mirably in Les Miserables as: “That…class formed of low people who have wasted years and her suffering? such people ought to be consigned to the trashcan of history where risen, and intelligent people who have fallen, which lies between the classes called middle and lower, they belong.

This is not all. Iftikhar chaudhry ratified the first and which unites some of the faults of the latter with Provisional constitutional Order (PcO) when Gen- nearly all the vices of the former, without possessing eral Musharraf took over but rejected the second the generous impulses of the workman, or the rePcO. In the first instance, he accepted the PcO to spectability of the bourgeoisie. They were of those save his job; in the second he rejected it to get his job dwarfish natures, which, if perchance heated by back. It was one of Musharraf’s big mistakes to ap- some sullen fire, easily become monstrous…”

In our country, unfortunately, class is measured point him chief Justice.

Iftikhar chaudhry the spurious judge, who by wealth, and in Pakistan, if you are wealthy, no loved spurious cases, allegedly indulged in corrup- matter how you acquired that wealth, you are placed tion, using his son as a shield. Nothing new there, in the top class. By that measure, Iftikhar chaudhry because our corrupt leaders also use their children should rejoice in the upper class. I would not disas shields to escape charges of corruption. His son grace the lower class by including him in it. I pray allegedly took a huge amount of money and bene- that we will never see the likes of him again. fits from a real estate builder, but in actuality, was Humayun Gauhar is a veteran columnist in it the father who was being paid off? Would the builder even have given a cup of tea to the forget- Pakistan and editor of Blue Chip magazine.

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soros to a Nazi, and blatantly called House speaker active Republicans who believe in Qanon; some are Nancy Pelosi “a hypocrite” and “anti-american.” even winning GOP primaries to serve different states These are all reductive talking points that are reflec- across the usa. tive of anti-semitic sentiments and sheer ignorance. seeing false rhetoric like Qanon proliferating in Donald Trump even congratulated Greene on us politics is dangerous territory. It enables people Twitter, calling her a “future to commit more violence, republican star” and “a real especially when supporters winner.” This move is an inof Qanon speak to ameridication of Trump backing can gun owners through Trump allies and mouthpieces their anyone who would toe his campaigns. This ideolline. ogy also encourages white of QAnon endorse certain another Republican, supremacists to carry out Lauren Boebert, who is the more vile attacks with dictavalues that are Republican nominee of coltors in the driver’s seat. unconstitutional, unethical orado’s 3rd district, also subelected officials who promote Qanon will only scribes to the Qanon and inhuman. To see them in make america more divided agenda. she hopes that and polarized. They are in“Qanon is real because it powerful roles only hints at capable of changing the poonly means america is getmore lies, bigotry, hypocrisy, litical setup and making a ting stronger and better and difference in people’s lives if people are returning to conviolence and denial. They will they look down on Latinos, servative values.”

Muslims, Jews and africanRepublican senate nomeventually stir more americans. They will ultiinee for the state of Oregon, controversy in US politics and mately be serving these Jo Rae Perkins, is another ethnic groups once they ascandidate who values threaten the very fabric of sume official duties.

Qanon principles, saying “I Trump allies and mouthstand with Q and the team.”

American democracy and pieces of Qanon endorse No one knows who the certain values that are unanonymous foe “Q” is. constitution constitutional, unethical and However, in a brave move, inhuman. To see them in Facebook removed a Qanon powerful roles only hints at support group that consisted more lies, bigotry, of 200,000 followers.

It is alarming how quickly Qanon is taking hypocrisy, violence and denial. They will eventually charge of u.s. politics. The repercussions of having stir more controversy in us politics and threaten the avid supporters of Trump in key positions to influ- very fabric of american democracy and constitution. ence policy-making and decisions for the marginalHaider Rifaat is a freelance columnist ized communities, are dire. There are currently ten

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Monday, 24 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

Zaheer Abbas

Reformation of the Judicial System The justice system is not yet independent akHTar aly kurEsHy

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T is a settled view that the well-being of the general public and the boosting of the economy is purely dependent upon an efficient legal justice system so it is urgently required to initiate Law reforms. Law reforms are essential and desirable for a progressive nation but in Pakistan this phenomenon is most disliked and ignored by every regime, including the present one, claiming to be a law reformer. unfortunately, the history of Pakistan is full of such legal crises, and after the demise of Quaid-e-azam, the new born country was forced to suffer a number of constitutional and legal crises and undesirable experiences of martial law multiple times.

Law reform is the process of examining existing laws, advocating and implementing change in a legal system, usually with the aim of enhancing delivery of instant and inexpensive justice, and its efficiency. Law reform is a subject matter of good governance, but the Government has established an institution for this purpose which is called the Pakistan Law commission, which is an organization set up to facilitate law reform. The Pakistan Law commission carries out research and recommends ways to simplify and modernize the law. The Law commission is an institution independent from government control, providing intellectual independence to accurately reflect and report on how the law should progress. The chief Justice of Pakistan is the chairman of the Pakistan Law commission. ex-cJP Mr Justice saqib Nisar, while addressing a lawyers’ function, regretted that he did not manage to give time to the Law commission for required law reforms, although he has taken more than 100 suo motu actions on the deteriorating situation of law.

Law reforms activities can include preparation and presentation of cases in the court, in order to change to give justice and research or writing that helps to establish an efficient legal system which can be a basis for other law reform activities. actually Law reforms can be the driver for all other reforms, including reform of the economy. a true market economy cannot be created without ensuring the guarantees of private property and transparent predictability for business activity.

Law reforms create the atmosphere of rule of law which implies that every citizen is subject to the law. It stands to convey that nobody is above the law and all citizens are equal before law.

There is no secret that a powerful nation is recognized by its history, civilization and its judicial system and we being a Muslim nation have our own culture and civilization but due to British rule in the subcontinent, our values got pushed to compromise everything, resultantly we fail to deliver what we desire and get involved in corruption, nepotism, social and moral evils. so in the beginning, Pakistan had no other option except to adopt the laws and judicial systems already enforced in British India without realizing whether they represented the wishes and needs of the public or not.

The usa is a unique example of a good nation which has its own system, which refused to adopt anything from the British system of government despite being formerly colonized, and which was determined to design and develop its own system of government including its judicial system. That’s why the usa is now ruling the world except for the coronavirus, of which it has become its largest victim. Neither the British nor any other ex-colony of the British is in line to compete with the usa. Perhaps the usa is fol-

lowing abraham Lincoln’s saying that “You general public is connected with an instant and cannot escape the responsibilities of tomorrow inexpensive judicial system and our present judicial system is about to collapse and totally fails by evading them today”.

Pakistan, which remained a British colony to deliver justice to a common man.

Recently in an interview science and Techfor a long time, still shows its reflection on everything and never ever tried to show that we nology Minister Fawad chaudhry on a question too have our own Islamic system of Govern- said the PM should initiate a project of Law Rement and judicial system. There has been a set forms to change Pakistan as claimed in its party of different tenures of Martial Law, first one in manifesto and that it was the need of the hour 1958 followed by a new constitution of 1962 in and a key to progress.

Now it is easy to understand that Pakistan is which it was tried to introduce a presidential form of government which remained a bitter ex- desperately seeking legal reforms to make Pakperience. PM Imran Khan used to talk about the istan a welfare state where everybody has the basic idea of the first welfare state of the world right to live with respect and security. Therefore, “Medina”, the most fascinating state to rule a law reforms are inevitable in the existing subcountry and the entire europe who were our stantive and procedural laws. all prevailing laws enemy by religion, are following our symbol of need to be reviewed to harmonize the wishes and the state of Medina and we are just talking needs of the public. The IMF, World Bank and aDB also impose such conditions of law reabout its concept. forms, economic reamong all Muslim forms etc. to avail countries credit goes to financial facilities, as saudi arabia which recently we reformed made the Quran its perWhile the clock is running our tax system by folmanent constitution IMF guidelines. and ut the Kalima fast for a change to make law lowing Legal JurispruTayyiba on its flag to dence evolved in Pakshow that it is an Isreforms in our judicial istan, especially in the lamic nation with its system in our interest and last decade where the own independent and court has unique system of govnot in anyone else’s interest, supreme taken suo motu actions ernment and judicial against the Governsystem to deliver jusa bold decision has to be ment and its officers retice, where everybody garding public policy has a peaceful sleep. taken to stop looters and and merits, shows that Pakistan, following grabbers, and a clear project the government is least neither an Islamic sysinterested in required tem nor a British Parthat is above all stronger legislation and suliamentary form of premacy of law. It is government, simply than everyone and we have obvious to emphasize adopted an objective no choice to initiate these that laws and the court Resolution (on 12 system both need reMarch 1949) as an inlaw reforms to make a new forms. Our whole legal tegral part of the conjustice system is primastitution that there will Pakistan which was the rily based on the legal be no law contrary to dream of Allama Iqbal and precepts of the previous the Quran and sunnah, century and needs to which does not make vision of Quaid-e-Azam and change into a digital, ePakistan an Islamic filings system, a meanwelfare state just like PM Imran Khan who claims to ingful, cost effective Medina. similarly, and result-oriented one.

Pakistan is not a pure make the State of Medina a Law reforms should Parliamentary system welfare state, this is high be an integral part of the as we added a number ongoing reform process. of new things to hartime to make it possible Legal reform is a tool monize the Islamic culfor implementing necture, so Pakistan is a essary reforms, to balmixture of so many ance competing systems and it has lost its real identity by following the British legacy, interests, create a dynamic and sustainable econand thus therefore miserably failed to deliver or omy, and build a sustainable civil society. During emerge as an independent nation with its own the last decades the judiciary became active in system of justice. Without an effective justice economic issues related to economic rights estabsystem there is no concept of prosperity and lished by the constitution because “economics may provide insight into questions that bear on equal opportunity for every citizen.

Once Khalil Gibran said that “One day you the proper legal interpretation”.

While the clock is running fast for a change will ask me which is more important: my life or yours? I will say mine and you will walk away to make law reforms in our judicial system in not knowing that you are my life.” This is our our interest and not in anyone else’s interest, a problem, that our leaders do not know who is bold decision has to be taken to stop looters and more important and Pakistan is our life. They grabbers, and a clear project that is above all made their own life comfortable, ignoring the sys- stronger than everyone and we have no choice tem to leave it as it is and walk away to London to initiate these law reforms to make a new Pakor abroad, leaving Pakistan to the next ruler who istan which was the dream of allama Iqbal and again starts the legacy of earlier ones or starts vision of Quaid-e-azam and PM Imran Khan learning how to make Pakistan a welfare country. who claims to make the state of Medina a welImran Khan is a big follower of Nelson fare state, this is high time to make it possible.

Mandela and used to quote him everywhere, Akhtar Aly Kureshy is an Advocate Supreme Nelson Mandela said “You can’t finish poverty by charity, poverty will finish by justice” which Court, member International Bar Association, we are lacking since the creation of Pakistan. London and former Assistant Attorney General everything of wellbeing and prosperity of the for Pakistan.

THe name of Pakistan,s Batting Wizard Zaheer abbas who ruled the world of cricket for more than a decade has been included in Icc,s “Hall of Fame class 2020”. This announcement was made by the international cricket council in a ceremony held online. Zaheer abbas who received the title of runs machine had the ability to thwart even the strongest bowling line ups of that era- mainly West Indies and australia. His presence on the pitch was always a threat for rivals as his batting was a treat to watch.

He represented Pakistan in 78 test matches and scored 5,062 runs along with it he also played 62 oneday internationals for Pakistan and scored 2,572 runs. His batting brilliance was announced to the world when he scored billistering double century (274) in the second test match of his international career. It was a very famous quote about zaheer that when he batted it seemed like “Poetry was in motion”. Batting suzerain like Inzamam-ul-Haq, Ijaz ahmad, Mohammad Yousuf and Younus Khan who later on earned recognition in late 90 learnt a lot from his batting. He was appointed the President of the international cricket council in 2015. congratulating Zaheer, chairman PcB ahsan Mani called him a role model for the young generation who has left a positive impact on the gentleman’s game. Zaheer also rendered his services for PcB with downright dignity and proficiency. His amenities and services are inimitable. congratulations Zaheer abbas Kamran KhamiSo Khowaja (K.K) Sujawal

No deal with Israel ON 13 august, uae signed a peace deal with Israel, under the leadership of President Trump. The peace deal leads to full normalization of deplomic relations between both states. Donald Trump said in the agreement of 13 august, “Our version is peace, security, and prosperity _ in this world”. everyone knows how unpredictable Mr Trump is, attacking Iran was also a way of peace according to him. Muslim countries are against this deal seeing it as a betrayal caused in arab world. This act by uae is really disheartening for Plastaniens. Our religion taught us that Muslims are brothers and uae’s deal with Israel is the deal of accepting brutality and deaths of her own brothers in the hands of Israel. mahnaz muShtaq turbat

Supporting media MeDIa is the main source to keep us up to date and show the reality. But how is it supposed to reveal the truth when the journalists freedom to speech is violated? We live in a country where the people in power want to remain where they are by doing wrong and when a broadcast or print media highlights the news, the people voracious for power either ban it or threaten the journalists. Press freedom declines day by day. There were many times when the news channels were banned for months and many journalists have exiled from Pakistan for there lives were endangered.

Press plays a profound role on shaping the society. Thus it is better it should show the veracity by having the full freedom for it. afroz mj turbat, KEch

President’s speech THe speech delivered by the president of Pakistan to the joint session of parliament on august 20, 2020 did not seem like an address of a bipartisan head of the state. It sounded more like a fiery speech of a party worker trying to defend his party. It was boycotted by the opposition and in retrospect rightly so. I remember when the late president Ghulam Ishaq Khan gave a speech in a joint session, things were so bitter that one of the female lawmakers of PMLN, the opposition party at that time, threw her “dupatta” (head wear) at the speaker. It seems that all our politics are so tainted with hate and selfishness that nobody cares where the country is going. While the president in his address did not show even a shred of grace of being the head of the country, sounding more like an ordinary party worker, the opposition does not care about anything but their own interest. It seems the people of Pakistan rank too low in the priority of the parties in the power or the opposition. While people are dying under skyrocketing inflation, every deteriorating economy, and worst conditions in terms of health and safety, our politicians are busy in a farce to prove their party heads superiority.

Perhaps we as a nation are destined to bear the woes of selfish leaders we keep choosing after freedom from the British to enjoy the fruit of democracy which has become our biggest nightmare. raja Shafaatullah iSlamabad

Chappak: A true story BOLLYWOOD film chhapaak produced by Meghna Gulzar is a heartwarming story of a young acid victim girl Laxmi agarwal. The movie was released on 10th, January ,2020 where we could see a famous Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone playing the role of Laxshmi agarwal. In the film it shows that a man who is Laxshmi’s family friend attacked on her with acid since he got jealoused , seeing Laxmi to love another boy and instead of him. Laxshmi suffered through many surgeries to recover her self,but her skin still could not be the same as it was before. unfortunately, her all dreams got burnt with her skin. she never went out of her home because people stared at her and children used to get afraid when they saw her destroyed skin. But her lawyer motivated her to come out and fight for her justice as the lawyer could not fight without her. Besides, Laxshmi demanded a very strict punishment of ten years for the culprit. In India there was not such a strict rule for the acid attackers. Therefore, it took them several years to fight for her justice. During this period ,Laxshmi applied for job at multiple places but got rejected due to her burnt skin. after that, she found a man who had made a group of acid survivors who worked against acid attack. Thus, Laxshmi got a job there and worked against acid violence. after many years of hard work and fight Laxshmi got justice. The culprit of Laxshmi got jailed for ten long years. farahnaz farooq ahmEd turbat

Monday, 24 August, 2020

08 WORLD VIEW

A KGB mAn to the end THE ORIGINS OF PUTIN’S WORLDVIEW—AND THE RISE OF RUSSIA’S NEW RULING CLASS

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T was December 1989, the Berlin Wall had fallen, and in Dresden, crowds were gathering outside the headquarters of the Stasi, the East German secret police, shouting insults and demanding access. Nearby, frantic KGB officers—the Soviet advisers whom the Stasi had long referred to as “the friends”—were barricaded inside their villa, burning papers.

“We destroyed everything,” remembered one of those officers, Vladimir Putin. “All our communications, our lists of contacts and our agents’ networks … We burned so much stuff that the furnace burst.”

Toward evening, a group of protesters broke away from the Stasi building and started marching toward the KGB villa. Panicked, Putin called the Soviet military command in Dresden and asked for reinforcements.

None were forthcoming. “I got the feeling then that the country no longer existed. That it had disappeared,” Putin told an interviewer years later.

“It was clear the union was ailing. And it had a terminal disease without a cure—a paralysis of power.” The shock was total, and he never forgot it.

For hundreds of millions of people, the fall of the Berlin Wall was a great triumph: The moment marked the end of hated dictatorships and the beginning of a better era. But for the KGB officers stationed in Dresden, the political revolutions of 1989 marked the end of their empire and the beginning of an era of humiliation.

In interviews, Putin has returned to that moment—the moment when reinforcements did not come—always describing it as a turning point in his own life. Like Scarlett O’Hara shaking her fist at a blood-red sky, Putin swore, it seems, to dedicate his life to restoring his country’s glory.

But Putin’s cinematic depiction of his last days in Dresden captures only part of what happened. As Catherine Belton demonstrates in Putin’s People, large chunks are missing from his story and from the stories of his KGB colleagues—the other members of what would become, two decades later, Russia’s ruling class. As the title indicates, Belton’s book is not a biography of the Russian dictator, but a portrait of this generation of security agents. And many of them were not, in fact, entirely shocked by the events of 1989.

On the contrary, some of them had been preparing already. In August 1988, a high-ranking official from Moscow arrived in East Berlin and

began recruiting German sleeper agents, who continued to work with the KGB, or rather the institutions that replaced the KGB, even after the reunification of Germany and the fall of the Soviet Union itself. At about the same time, the KGB was also setting up the offshore accounts, fake businesses, and hidden “black cash” funds that would, in the 1990s, propel some of its members to great wealth and power. From 1986 to 1988, for example, the Stasi transferred millions of marks to a network of companies in Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Singapore, all run by an Austrian businessman named Martin Schlaff. He and his companies would reemerge years later, Belton writes, as “central cogs in the influence operations of the Putin regime.”

The KGB’s Dresden team may have also played another role in the organization’s careful preparations for a post-Communist future. Precisely because the city was a backwater— and thus uninteresting to other intelligence agencies—the KGB and the Stasi organized meetings in Dresden with some of the extremist organizations they supported in the West and around the world. One former member of the Red Army Faction—the West German terrorist organization, also known as the Baader-Meinhof gang, that killed dozens of people during its heyday—told Belton that one of its most notorious final actions was planned with the help of the KGB and the Stasi in Dresden. In late November 1989, Alfred Herrhausen, the chairman of Deutsche Bank, died after a bomb hit his car. Herrhausen was, at that time, a close adviser to the German government on the economics of reunification, and a proponent of a more integrated European economy. Why him? Perhaps the KGB had its own ideas about how reunification should proceed and how the European economy should be integrated. Perhaps Russia’s secret policemen didn’t want any rivals messing things up. Or perhaps they wanted, as their successors still do, to create havoc in Germany and beyond.

Belton does not prove Putin’s personal involvement in any of these projects, which isn’t surprising. The Russian leader has gone to great lengths to conceal his real role during the four and a half years he spent in Dresden. But throughout her book, which will surely now become the definitive account of the rise of Putin and Putinism, she adds enough new details to establish beyond doubt that the future Russian president was working alongside the people who set up the secret bank accounts and held the meetings with subversives and terrorists. More important, she establishes how, years later, these kinds of projects came to benefit him and shape his worldview. Building on the work of others—Masha Gessen’s The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely

Rise of Vladimir Putin, Karen Dawisha’s Putin’s Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia?, Steven Lee Myers’s The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin, and Fiona Hill and Clifford Gaddy’s Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin, among many books on this subject—Belton, a former Financial Times correspondent in Moscow, incorporates crucial new material from interviews with former KGB operatives, Kremlin insiders, and bankers in various countries. She shows that Putin may have been burning documents in Dresden, but he never lost touch with the people, the tactics, or the operations launched by the KGB at that time.

Step by step, Belton demonstrates how the future president made full use of KGB methods, contacts, and networks at each stage of his career. She describes the famous swindle he ran in St. Petersburg in the ’90s, selling oil abroad on the city’s behalf, supposedly to buy food for its inhabitants; instead the profits went to create a hard-currency slush fund—known in Russian criminal slang as an obschak—much of which financed other operations and eventually enriched Putin’s friends. Later, Putin won the confidence of the Russian oligarchs of President Boris Yeltsin’s era, in part by promising them immunity from prosecution after Yeltsin resigned; once he took power, he eliminated them from the game, arresting some throughout the early 2000s and chasing others out of the country. In the years that he has been president, his cronies have launched a series of major operations—the Deutsche Bank “mirror trading” scheme, the Moldovan “laundromat,” the Danske Bank scandal—all of which used Western banks to help move stolen money out of Russia. Similar schemes continue to the present day.

But the pivotal political event for Putin took place in 2005, when a proWestern president, Viktor Yushchenko, came to power in Ukraine after a street revolution. The Russian president blamed these events on American money and the CIA (an organization that, for better or worse, never had anything like that kind of influence in Ukraine). “It was the worst nightmare of Putin’s KGB men that, inspired by events in neighboring countries, Russian oppositionists funded by the West would seek to topple Putin’s regime too,” Belton writes. “This was the dark paranoia that colored and drove many of the actions they were to take from then on.”

Not coincidentally, this scenario— pro-Western-democracy protesters overthrowing a corrupt and unpopular regime—was precisely the one that Putin had lived through in Dresden.

Putin was so upset by events in Kyiv that he even considered resigning, Belton reports. Instead, he decided to stay on and fight back, using the only methods he knew.

Although the American electorate awoke to the reality of Russian influence operations only in 2016, they had begun more than a decade earlier, after that first power change in Ukraine. Already in 2005, two of Putin’s closest colleagues, the oligarchs Vladimir Yakunin and Konstantin Malofeyev, had begun setting up the organizations that would promote an “alternative” to democracy and integration all across Europe. With the help of intermediaries and friendly companies, and more recently with the assistance of troll farms and online disinformation operations, they promoted a whole network of think tanks and fake “experts.” Sometimes they aided existing political parties—the National Front in France, for example, and the Northern League in Italy—and sometimes they helped create new ones, such as the far-right Alternative for Germany. The most important funder of the British Brexit campaign had odd Russian contacts. So did some cabinet ministers in Poland’s supposedly anti-Russian, hard-right government, elected after a campaign marked by online disinformation in 2015.

The pro-Russian “separatists” who would later launch a war in eastern Ukraine got their start around 2005 too, with an even more apocalyptic result. Russian propaganda deliberately sought to divide Ukraine and polarize its citizens, while Russian corruption reached deep into the economy. Within a decade, the Russian operations in Ukraine led to mass violence. Some of the Ukrainians who attended Kremlin youth camps or joined the Eurasian Youth movement during the 2000s—often funded by the “charities” created by Malofeyev, Yakunin, and others—took part in the storming of Donetsk’s cityadministration buildings in 2014, and then in the horrific Russian-Ukrainian war, which has disrupted European politics and claimed more than 13,000 lives. Russian soldiers, weapons, and advisers fuel the fighting in eastern Ukraine even now.

All of these Russian-backed groups, from refined Dutch far-right politicians in elegant suits to the Donetsk thugs, share a common dislike for the European Union, for NATO, for any united concept of “the West,” and in many cases for democracy itself. In a very deep sense, they are Putin’s ideological answer to the trauma he experienced in 1989. Instead of democracy, autocracy; instead of unity, division; instead of open societies, xenophobia. Amazingly, quite a few people, even some American conservatives, are taken in

by Russian tactics. It is incredible, but a group of cynical, corrupt ex-KGB officers with access to vast quantities of illegal money—operating in a country with religious discrimination, extremely low church attendance, and a large Muslim minority—have somehow made themselves into the world’s biggest promoters of “Christian values,” opposing feminism, gay rights, and laws against domestic violence, and supporting “white” identity politics. This is an old geopolitical struggle disguised as a new culture war. Yakunin himself told Belton, frankly, that “this battle is used by Russia to restore its global position.”

Ultimately, all of these tactics had their culmination in the career of Don-

The battle for the Indo-Pacific A BOOK OF ESSAYS EXPLORES ASIA’S GEOPOLITICS

City Journal Guy Sorman

Michael Auslin, an historian at the Hoover Institution, argues that the United States has no global strategy to contain China’s overwhelming ambitions. Moreover, he believes, the U.S. does not understand the collective destiny of Asia. Local agree-

ments, whether economic or military, with India, the Philippines, or Japan cannot balance the power of Beijing, which aims to control this part of the world.

In his new collection of essays, Asia’s New Geopolitics: Essays on Reshaping the Indo-Pacific, Auslin argues that China’s economic growth, the foundation of its strategic ambitions, reveals the extent of the Communist regime’s cheating, propaganda, and massive theft of intellectual property. If Chinese stealth fighters look very much like U.S. planes, he observes, the only rationale is copycat and theft.

Auslin reviews the Beijing regime’s incremental advancements: the creation of artificial islands in the South China sea, for instance, illustrates its long-term strategy. Indeed, China

acts as a patient chess player. China’s gamesmanship, concurs British historian Niall Ferguson in the foreword, is the greatest strategic challenge of the next generation.

How should the U.S. cope with the Chinese threat? The current American policy goal of a free and open Indo-Pacific encompasses too vast a battlefield. Instead, Auslin puts forward the concept of an “Asiatic Mediterranean.” He believes the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea—an expanse of water between China and its neighbors Korea, Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia—is key to the region.

China treats this Asian Mediterranean as if it were its own coastal waters. Though America remains dominant on the Pacific’s high seas, it does not appreciate the strategic impor-

ald Trump. In the last chapter of Putin’s People, Belton documents the activities of the biznesmeny who have circled around Trump for 30 years, bailing him out, buying apartments in his buildings for cash, offering him “deals,” always operating in “the halflight between the Russian security services and the mob, with both sides using the other to their own benefit.”

Among them are ShalvaTchigirinsky, a Georgian black marketer who met Trump in Atlantic City in 1990; Felix Sater, a Russian with mob links whose company served, among other things, as the intermediary for Trump buildings in Manhattan, Fort Lauderdale, and Phoenix; Alex Shnaider, a Russian metals trader who developed the Trump hotel in Toronto; and Dmitry Rybolovlev, an oligarch who purchased Trump’s Palm Beach mansion in 2008 for $95 million, more than double what Trump had paid for it in 2004, just as the financial crisis hit Trump’s companies.

While many of these stories have been written before, Belton puts them in the larger context. The hard truth is that Trump was not exceptional. He was just another amoral Western businessman, one of many whom the exKGB elite have promoted and sponsored around the world, with the hope that they might eventually be of some political or commercial use.

Many of these bets didn’t pay off, but in 2016, Putin finally hit the jackpot: His operatives helped elect an American president with long-standing

tance of its marginal seas—and thus, each Chinese encroachment in the Asian Mediterranean brings only a tepid U.S. reaction.

Taiwan is crucial, Auslin maintains. For Chinese President Xi Jinping, annexing Taiwan is a dream. The U.S. knows it, but how should it respond? Auslin suggests a more proactive military policy in the region.

Auslin’s essays were written before two major regional events: Hong Kong’s democratic revolt against Beijing’s interference in the local judiciary system, and Taiwan’s reelection of a pro-independence president.

Beijing may have a superior military strategy in the Asian Mediterranean, but it has no soft power. Democratic ideas supported by the U.S. still have the upper hand in that regard—but as Auslin notes, the region could use more American hard power in the future.

Guy Sorman, a City Journal contributing editor and French public intellectual, is the author of many books.

Asia’s New Geopolitics: Essays on Reshaping the Indo-Pacific by Michael Auslin, (Hoover Institution Press, 263 pp., $29.95)

Russian links who would not only sow chaos, but systematically undermine America’s alliances, erode American influence, and even, in the spring of 2020, render the American federal government dysfunctional, damaging the reputation of both the U.S. and democracy more broadly.

A huge success for Putin’s people has proved a terrible tragedy for the rest of the world—a tragedy that also touches ordinary Russians. In her epilogue, Belton notes that in seeking to restore their country’s significance, Putin’s KGB cronies have repeated many of the mistakes their Soviet predecessors made at home.

They have once again created a calcified, authoritarian political system in Russia, and a corrupt economy that discourages innovation and entrepreneurship. Instead of experiencing the prosperity and political dynamism that still seemed possible in the ’90s, Russia is once again impoverished and apathetic.

But Putin and his people are thriving—and that was the most important goal all along.

ANNE APPLEBAUM is a staff writer at The Atlantic, a senior fellow of the Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, and the author of Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism.

Putin's People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took On the West BY CATHERINE BELTON FARRAR, STRAUS AND GIROUX.

Monday, 24 August, 2020

BUSINESS 09

GovT planninG mUlTiple iniTiaTiveS To booST ToUriSm ISLAMABAD

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US WeChat users sue Trump over order banning messaging app LOS ANGELES AGENCIES

Some US-based users of WeChat are suing President Donald Trump in a bid to block an executive order that they say would effectively bar access in the US to the hugely popular Chinese messaging app. The complaint, filed Friday in San Francisco, is being brought by the nonprofit US WeChat Users Alliance and several people who say they rely on the app for work, worship and staying in touch with relatives in China. The plaintiffs said they are not affiliated with WeChat, nor its parent company, Tencent Holdings. In the lawsuit, they asked a federal court judge to stop Trump's executive order from being enforced, claiming it would violate its US users' freedom of speech, free exercise of religion and other constitutional rights. “We think there's a First Amendment interest in providing continued access to that app and its functionality to the Chinese-American community,” Michael Bien, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, said Saturday. Trump on August 6 ordered sweeping but vague bans on transactions with the Chinese owners of WeChat and another popular consumer app, TikTok, saying they are a threat to U.S. national security, foreign policy and the economy. The twin executive orders — one for each app — are expected to take effect September 20, or 45 days from when they were issued. The orders call on Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who is also named as a defendant in the US WeChat Users Alliance lawsuit, to define the banned dealings by that time. It remains unclear what the orders will mean for the apps’ millions of users in the US, but experts have said the orders appear intended to bar WeChat and TikTok from the app stores run by Apple and Google. That would make them more difficult to use in the US. “The first thing we’re going to seek is a postponement of the implementation of the penalties and sanctions —- a reasonable period of time between explaining what the rules are and punishing people for not complying with them,” Bien said. TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, said Saturday saying it plans to mount a legal challenge against the executive order that President Trump issued against the popular video app. WeChat, which has more than 1 billion users, is less well-known than TikTok to Americans without a connection to China. Mobile research firm Sensor Tower estimates about 19 million U.S. downloads of the app. But it is crucial infrastructure for Chinese students and residents in the U.S. to connect with friends and family in China and for anyone who does business with China. Within China, WeChat is censored and expected to adhere to content restrictions set by authorities. The Citizen Lab internet watchdog group in Toronto have said WeChat monitors files and images shared abroad to aid its censorship in China. Even so, the U.S. WeChat Users Alliance complaint argued that losing access to the app would harm millions of people in the U.S. who rely on it, noting it is the only app with an interface designed for Chinese speakers. “Since the executive order, numerous users, including plaintiffs, have scrambled to seek alternatives without success. They are now afraid that by merely communicating with their families, they may violate the law and face sanctions," according to the complaint.

APP

HE federal government is planning to roll out multiple initiatives in a bid to revitalize the tourism industry and project a positive image of Pakistan globally through the use of modern means of communication.

"After successfully suppressing the coronavirus pandemic in the country, our prime focus now is on promoting multi-faceted tourism from across the globe," a senior PTDC officer told APP, while sharing the government's two years performance pertaining to the tourism sector.

He said that the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC), is preparing to launch all initiatives which were delayed due to the closure of the sector in the wake of coronavirus.

The PTDC, he said, has developed 'Brand Pakistan' with the help of international experts and would launch it soon to introduce the country as a tourism destination across the globe.

Brand Pakistan has three main components which include brand identity development, musical score creation and

THE PTDC HAS DEVELOPED BRAND PAKISTAN IN ORDER TO INTRODUCE THE COUNTRY AS A TOURIST DESTINATION ACROSS THE GLOBE an interactive e-portal, he added.

The officer said that an exclusive eportal would be launched to provide exposure to Pakistan's tourist attractions through one click. "The portal will consist of a user-friendly interface through which tourists will be able get a view of Pakistan's tourism sites through virtual galleries, videos and documentaries and avail the various available services."

He said that the development of a National Tourism Strategy (2020-2030) is in the final stages which is meant to develop a harmonised framework for the tourism sector, after taking all the stakeholders on board. The strategy would focus on four key areas including good governance, tourism demand and supply, jobs creation and growth.

He said that Pakistan is also preparing to host the 'World Tourism Forum' next year to showcase the country's tourism potential, attract investment and build Pakistan into an international

brand. "The participation of over 1,000 foreign visitors, including investors, companies, tourists and holiday makers is expected," he said.

Highlighting steps taken by the government for the promotion of tourism in the last two years, he said that prior to Covid-19, the government undertook multiple initiatives at the policy level, formed authorities at the federal level to boost coordination among federating units and opened up the country by easing the visa process.

He said the government constituted the National Tourism Coordination Board (NTCB) with representation from all the provinces and stakeholders.

Nine working groups were formed to assist the NTCB, with each group assigned a specific thematic area such as policy and regulatory reforms, eco tourism, culture and heritage tourism, religious tourism and others.

The board is responsible for coordi-

nation between federal, provincial and regional tourism organisations and departments and international tourism bodies for promoting the country's tourism sector.

The officer said that the PTDC restructuring has been completed to transform it into a progressive, efficient and technology savvy organisation.

He said the government has relaxed its visa policy for boosting the influx of foreign tourists into the country.

The officer said that e-visa facility is being provided to over 170 countries, whereas visa on arrival to citizens of 50 countries is also being provided. So far around 120,000 international visitors have utilised these services to obtain a Pakistani visa, he added.

He said that the Tourism Development Endowment Fund with the seed money of Rs1 billion has been established after receiving concurrence from all the stakeholders.

The fund would be utilised to promote tourism potential of Pakistan. It would also aid the tourism industry in matters related to hospitality services, standards and certifications, research and analysis and centralising the tourism database, he added.

Lack of funds to put some KP development projects on hold, increase costs

PESHAWAR AZIZ BUNERI

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has allocated a token amount of Rs1,000 for 10 multi-billion rupee power projects due to lack of financial resources and the failure of the federal government to disburse the net electricity profit and other arrears to the province.

The KP government had included a number of important development projects in the annual development programme for the current fiscal year. However, due to lack of finances work on these projects is expected to be delayed which will potentially lead to an increase in their costs.

According to sources, the World Bank (WB) in

collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) were supposed to provide funds for the completion of these projects, which have been withheld due to the prevailing Covid-19 induced global financial crunch.

Moreover, sources said that the KP government has not yet received its full share from the National Finance Commission (NFC) award and net profit on electricity from the federal government.

The projects for which the token amount has been allocated include a 177 megawatt (MW) power projects in Swat, which is expected to be completed at the cost of Rs77 billion.

Other major projects include solarization in collaboration with the WB, annual design of Malakand III, 31.17 MW Koto hydraulic project in Swat and the purchase of land for a Rs15 billion public-private partnership project.

Sources further disclosed that despite the completion of several important projects launched to increase power generation in KP, the federal government and Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) are not being able to receive electricity from them due to lack of transmission lines, which is causing billions of rupees in losses to KP.

LCCI lauds govt for income tax refunds LAHORE: Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh on Sunday appreciated the federal government’s decision regarding payment of income tax refunds to taxpayers. The LCCI president also congratulated the business community adding that LCCI’s efforts had borne fruits for the businessmen who had been suffering due to the Covid-19 induced economic slowdown. “I’m happy that LCCI’s proposals have been accepted and relief has been provided to the business community,” he said. He urged all the taxpayers to immediately visit their respective regional tax offices and fulfill all legal requirements for the issuance of refunds. The LCCI president said that the government's decision to issue income tax refunds will help in the economic revival of traders and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Earlier the LCCI president had written letters to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) stating that Covid-19 lockdowns have negatively affected businesses and the economy as a whole adding that the board should issue income tax refunds to help businesses in such trying times. STAFF REPORT

TikTok to challenge Trump's executive order TikTok said on Saturday it plans to file a lawsuit on Monday against President Donald Trump’s executive order prohibiting transactions with the popular short video app and its Chinese parent ByteDance, confirming an earlier Reuters report. Reuters exclusively reported on Friday that TikTok would challenge Trump’s executive order as early as Monday. TikTok said it had tried to engage with the US administration for nearly a year, but faced “a lack of due process” and that the government paid no attention to the facts. “To ensure that the rule of law is not discarded and that our company and users are treated fairly, we have no choice but to challenge the executive order through the judicial system,” the company said in a statement . TikTok’s owner ByteDance issued a separate statement on Sunday saying it will officially file a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday, August 24. Trump issued an executive order on August 14 that gave ByteDance 90 days to divest the US operations of TikTok. ByteDance has been making progress in talks with potential acquirers, including Microsoft Corp and Oracle. Some of ByteDance’s US investors could also join the winning bid. While TikTok is best known for its anodyne videos of people dancing and going viral among teenagers, US officials have expressed concerns that information on users could be passed on to China’s government. A representative for the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. AGENCIES

Media buying is the least important strategic capability for CMOs: Gartner survey SINGAPORE BABAR KHAN JAVED

Only 12 per cent of chief marketing officers (CMOs) cited media buying and placement as a vital strategic capability, making it the least important function within the marketing department, according to the latest 2020 Gartner CMO Spend Survey.

The global research and advisory firm surveyed 432 marketing executives in North America, the UK, France, and Germany at companies with $500 million to $20 billion or more in annual revenue.

“For many industries, the immediacy of the Covid-19 crisis meant that in the response phase, budget cuts were focused on freeing up cash flow,” said Gartner Principal Analyst Anna Maria Virzi. “Initial responses

THE GLOBAL RESEARCH AND ADVISORY FIRM FOUND THAT CHIEF MARKETING OFFICERS ARE TAKING FINANCIAL CONTROL IN-HOUSE WHILE SEEKING A FULL VIEW OF THE MEDIA SUPPLY CHAIN to budget cuts were focused on canceling or delaying events and campaign launches, amending agency commitments and reducing contractor headcount, halting long-term projects and reducing media buying.”

Piero Poli, a former partner at Alonso//Poli, said that media buying and placement is a commodity product driven by efficiency, adding that the lowered prioritisation could have something to do with ad buying and placement becoming increasingly programmatic.

According to the 2020 International Report on Programmatic In-Housing from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), the Covid-19 crisis accelerated the adoption of in-housing media buying and placements, with marketers telling the trade association about having the ability to drive better consumer experiences through increased connectivity and collaboration across marketing.

“Inhousing drives data integration and improves planning, thereby improving data transparency, ad efficiency, and campaign ef-

CMYK

fectiveness,” said Kat Van Fossen, who authored the IAB report. “[The] agency role is shifting to more of a supporting role, which may suggest an opportunity for deeper specialisation within agencies. Whether inhousing or working with an agency, those teams that have clear and transparent processes can pivot and adapt more easily.”

Sir Martin Sorrell, executive chairman of S4 Capital, has built the entire value proposition of his three-year-old agency holding group with the understanding that client-side marketers worldwide are in-housing creative and media capabilities at an alarming rate.

Speaking at ATS London 2019, the former CEO of WPP spoke about how in-housing is driven by the desire to have sole control of first-party data - which was incidentally the rationale behind the Munchies

and Super Sauda investments by Unilever Pakistan. Sorrell told attendees about the historic instances of client data misuse, such as agencies licensing it to third parties without prior consent, plus the ever-increasing power of platforms such as Amazon and Google that has spurred many to contemplate inhousing aspects of their media operations.

“There’s tremendous pressure, and they’re looking at the best way of doing things, and fundamentally, this ‘take back control’ thing is really powerful,” Sorrell told attendees. “From the pitches we've been involved in during the last three months or so, clients are experimenting more than I’ve ever seen before in the four decades or so that I’ve been involved in the business.

There’s a degree of confidence now which wasn’t there a few years ago.”

Monday, 24 August, 2020

10 FOREIGN NEWS Hezbollah downs Israeli drone over Lebanon GAZA AGENCIES

Lebanon's Hezbollah movement has said it downed and seized an Israeli drone on Saturday that flew over the Blue Line that demarcates Israel's 2000 withdrawal from the country. Hezbollah said its fighters downed the drone near the town of Aita alShaab. The Israeli army said one of its drones "fell in Lebanese territory" during "operational activity along the Blue Line". Israel said last month it had repelled an attempt by Hezbollah fighters to penetrate the line.

Hezbollah denied any involvement in the incident, which came after an alleged Israeli missile attack hit positions of Syrian regime forces and their allies south of Damascus, killing five. Hezbollah, whose fighters back Damascus in the nine-year Syrian civil war, at the time said one of its own was among the dead and it vowed to respond. Lebanon and Israel are still technically at war, and a United Nations force, UNIFIL, patrols the line between the two. Set up in 1978, UNIFIL was beefed up after a month-long devastating war in 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah. The 10,500-strong force, in coordination with the Lebanese army, is tasked with monitoring a ceasefire and Israeli pullout from a demilitarised zone on the border. Israel accuses Hezbollah of stockpiling weapons at the border to prepare for a new war.

IAEA chief to reach Tehran today VIENNA AGENCIES

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi will travel to Tehran to meet with high-level Iranian authorities on Monday, IAEA said in a statement. The visit will be the director general's first to Iran since he took office last December, the statement said. During his visit, Grossi will address the cooperation of Iran with the IAEA, and in particular Iran's provision of access to the agency's inspectors to requested locations, it said.

"I have decided to come personally to Tehran so that I can reinforce the importance of cooperation and the full implementation of all safeguards commitments and obligations with the IAEA," Grossi said in the statement. "My objective is that my meetings in Tehran will lead to concrete progress in addressing the outstanding questions that the agency has related to safeguards in Iran and, in particular, to resolve the issue of access." "I also hope to establish a fruitful and cooperative channel of direct dialogue with the Iranian Government which will be valuable now and in the future," he added. Earlier, Iran's ambassador and permanent representative to the Vienna-based IAEA Kazem Gharibabadi said Grossi will make an official visit to Iran. "In line with the ongoing interactions and cooperation between Iran & IAEA and based on Iran's invitation, Rafael Grossi will visit Iran next week," Gharibabadi tweeted. Iran is one of the main partners of the agency and Grossi's visit will hopefully lead to reinforced mutual cooperation, Gharibabadi said.

4 die, 11 go missing as floods hit Turkey's Black Sea coast

ExpErTS fLAg rISkS In IndIA’S USE of rApId TESTS for vIrUS NEW DELHI

I

AGENCIES

N June, India began using cheaper, faster but less accurate tests to scale up testing for the coronavirus — a strategy that the United States is now considering.

These rapid tests boosted India’s testing levels nearly five-fold within two months. But government numbers suggest some parts of the country might have become over reliant on the faster tests, which can miss infections. Experts warn that safely using them requires frequent retesting, something that isn’t always happening.

Cases surged faster than labs could scale up testing once India’s harsh lockdown was relaxed. So far authorities have rationed the use of the more precise molecular tests that detect the genetic code of the virus. But on June 14, India decided to bolster these with faster tests that screen for antigens, or viral proteins.

Albeit less accurate, these tests are cheap and yield results in minutes. Most don’t require a lab for processing or any specialized equipment or trained personnel. The plan was to rapidly increase testing to identify infected people and prevent them from spreading the virus.

Samples tested using both tests increased

from 5.6 million in mid-June to 26 million two months later, and nearly a third of all tests conducted daily are now antigen tests, health officials say.

But India’s experience also highlights the inherent pitfalls of relying too heavily on antigen tests, at the expense of more accurate tests. The danger is that the tests may falsely clear many who are infected with Covid-19, contributing to new spread of the virus in hard-hit areas.

Rapid test results can be backstopped with more accurate laboratory tests, but these are slower and expensive. Experts also warn that since the two types of tests vary in accuracy, they need to be interpreted separately to properly assess the spread of infection -- something India isn’t doing.

The U.S. faces a similar need to strike a balance between speed and precision, with overburdened labs struggling to keep pace with the outbreak. Researchers at Harvard and elsewhere are proposing developing a $1 saliva-based antigen test for all Americans to test themselves daily, something that has not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Harvard’s Dr. Michael Mina says antigen tests don’t catch as many patients early in the infection, when virus levels are low. But these people aren’t consid-

ered the greatest threat to spreading the disease since it’s only after virus levels surge that they become more infectious, and by then they will be picked up by antigen tests, he said.

Because a negative antigen test doesn’t guarantee a person is virus free, people should be retested regularly, said Dr. Ashish Jha, director of Harvard’s Global Health Institute. “If their symptoms change, you want to think about retesting those people.”

India’s strategy is different. Health officials have asked for those who test negative with antigen tests but have symptoms to be retested with the more accurate laboratory tests.

But India has largely been opaque about how many negatives were being retested, and what type of tests were being used.

Delhi state, which includes the Indian capital, New Delhi, and where the High Court is monitoring testing, was among the first to aggressively use antigen tests to screen patients for free. Centers were created in dispensaries, schools and government offices. But only 0.5%, or 1,365 of over 260,000 people who tested negative from June 18 to July 29, were retested, court documents show.

Delhi conducted over 280,000 tests in this period.

US hands over military base near Baghdad to Iraqi forces BAGHDAD AGENCIES

The US-led international coalition forces, tasked with fighting the Islamic State (IS) militant group, on Sunday handed over a military base in Taji Camp in the north of Baghdad to Iraqi forces, the official Iraqi news agency reported.

"The coalition forces handed over the site No.8 at al-Taji Camp which was used to train and equip Iraqi forces by Australian, New Zealand and American forces," the Iraqi News Agency (INA) quoted Tahseen alKhafaji, spokesman of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command, as saying.

The military site was handed over to the Iraqi forces in the presence of a representative of the prime minister, who signed the minutes of the handover, al-Khafaji said, noting that other sites will be handed over to the

Iraqi side according to a timeline.

Al-Taji Camp is a huge military base containing an airbase where some U.S. troops are stationed.

On Thursday, INA reportedly said that Iraq and the United States announced that the U.S.-led coalition forces will withdraw from Iraq in three years.

During his recent official visit to the United States, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi agreed with U.S. officials "on forming a special team to discuss mechanisms and timings for the redeployment of the U.S.led international coalition forces outside Iraq," INA said.

On August 18, al-Kadhimi and his delegation headed to Washington at an official invitation of the U.S. government, during which he held a series of meetings and attended the second session of strategic dialogue between the two countries.

Earlier, the international coalition forces handed over several military sites to the Iraqi security forces in central and northern the country.

The relation between Baghdad and Washington has witnessed a tension since Jan. 3 after a U.S. drone struck a convoy at Baghdad airport, which killed Qassem Soleimani, former commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy chief of Iraq's paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces.

The tension pushed the two sides to hold a round of strategic dialogues on June 12, during which the United States confirmed that it does not seek permanent military presence in the country and that over the coming months the U.S. would continue reducing forces from Iraq and discuss with the government of Iraq the status of remaining forces.

ANKARA AGENCIES

Four people lost their lives in floods caused by heavy rain on Turkey's Black Sea coastline, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said Sunday. He also said another 11 people were reported missing amid flooding in the northeastern province of Giresun, with 127 people being rescued. Vehicles and debris were seen being carried by the floods along the main road of Dereli, a mountain town in Giresun Province.

Referring to the information provided by the state meteorology authority, Soylu warned that more rainfall is expected within the day. Turkey has been afflicted by heavy rains and flooding in recent months. Two people were killed in mid-July flood in the city of Rize, and one was killed in June in Ankara.

Sudan's Omar a step closer to facing war crimes charges KHARTOUM: Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has announced that the country is ready to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) so those accused of war crimes in Darfur appear before the tribunal, a list that includes deposed President Omar al-Bashir. Al-Bashir, who has been in jail in Khartoum since he was toppled after mass protests last year, is wanted by the ICC for alleged war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur in a conflict that killed an estimated 300,000 people beginning in 2003. The government reached a deal with rebel groups in February that all five Sudanese ICC suspects should appear before the court, but Hamdok had not previously publicly affirmed Sudan's position. "I reiterate that the government is fully prepared to cooperate with the ICC to facilitate access to those accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity," Hamdok said in a televised address on the anniversary of his ascent to office on Saturday. Al-Bashir has denied the allegations against him, and had escaped previous attempts to send him to The Hague tribunal. Sudan's transitional government, a three-year joint civilian-military arrangement led by Hamdok, said it is close to a peace deal with some rebel groups active in Darfur, a vast region roughly the size of France. AGENCIES

Saudi Aramco positive on India investment plan RIYADH AGENCIES

World’s largest oil company Aramco remains committed on its investment plan in India, including a $15 billion deal with Reliance Industries, even though COVID-19 pandemic has made life difficult for oil companies with suppressed demand and falling oil prices and wide scale erosion in valuations.

Aramco said that it remains interested in all its Indian investment plans and will give appropriate updates soon. This would include a proposed $15 billion investment

in RIL’s refinery and chemicals business.

Doubts were raised about the investment plan of Saudi Aramco after the oil giant reported a 50 per cent fall in net income for the first half of its financial year, reflecting a devastating year for oil markets and the global economy at large as the world continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic.

“Aramco continues to explore potential growth opportunities in Asia including India,” the company said in an email reply.

“We are still engaging in discussions with Reliance Industries and will make ap-

propriate updates as and when necessary,” it added.

Apart from the Reliance deal, Saudi Aramco has expressed its desire to participate in several other ventures in India, the world's third biggest oil consumer.

There have been government-to-government discussions for Aramco to pick up the entire government’s stake in state-run refiner Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. This would give the Saudi entity presence in the vast Indian retail market with huge potential for growth.

Indian government is also looking at

Aramco’s investment in a $60 billion oil refinery proposed in Maharashtra as well as its investment in oil marketing and retailing in the country. The oil giant is also exploring options to put some of its oil in India’s strategic oil reserve.

Despite the concerns for the oil market, analysts have said Aramco was better prepared to weather market volatility, owing to its size and scale, its low cost of production and solid free cash flow generation in a weak oil price environment.

This is good news for its investment plan for Asia.

“That is abysmally low,” said Dr. S.P. Kalantri, a public health specialist in Maharashtra, India’s worst-hit state. He said the decline in use of more precise lab tests by nearly half, from a capacity of 11,000 tests daily to just 5,400 tests per day, was a worrying trend Under guidelines set by the World Health Organization, India should be conducting around 140 daily tests per million people in order to safely relax coronavirus restrictions.

Rajesh Bhushan, India’s top health official, has repeatedly pointed to India’s cumulative total of the two types of test to assert that India is testing more than the WHO standard. Authorities also use this to calculate the percentage of samples testing positive, which is a key metric for judging testing performance.

But Jha said combined data from the two types of tests can’t be used to conclude that infections in India are going down, since using less accurate tests would automatically drive down the number of positive results.

Experts fear that over-reliance on antigen tests without retesting could impede efforts to contain the virus as it spreads to states with fragile health care systems, like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, with a combined population of over 300 million.

Iran says black boxes from downed Ukraine jet show missiles hit 25 seconds apart DUBAI AGENCIES

Analysis from the black boxes of a downed Ukrainian passenger plane shows it was hit by two missiles 25 seconds apart and that passengers were still alive for some time after the impact of the first blast, Iran said on Sunday. The announcement by the head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization marks the first official report on the contents of the cockpit voice and data recordings, which were sent to France for reading in July. Tehran has said it accidentally shot down the Ukraine airliner in January at a time of extreme tensions with the United States. All 176 people aboard the plane were killed. The second missile hit the aircraft 25 seconds after the first, but only 19 seconds of that gap was captured on the recordings because of damage from the first missile, Touraj DehghaniZanganeh was cited as saying by state television. “Nineteen seconds after the first missile hit the plane, the voices of pilots inside the cockpit indicated that the passengers were alive ... 25 seconds later the second missile hit the plane,” he was reported as saying.

“Therefore, no analysis of the performance and effects of the second missile was obtained from the aircraft’s black box.” The aircraft’s flight crew - two pilots and an instructor also travelling in the cockpit - tried to keep control of the plane until the last moment, Zanganeh said. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards shot down the Ukraine International Airlines flight with a ground-to-air missile on Jan. 8, just after the plane took off from Tehran, in what Tehran later acknowledged as a “disastrous mistake” by forces on high alert during a confrontation with the United States. Iran has been in talks with Ukraine, Canada and other nations that had citizens aboard the downed plane, and who have demanded a thorough investigation into the incident. Iranian and Ukrainian officials have also held talks on the compensation to families of the victims. Another round of talks is set for October. Iran’s investigation is being carried out under United Nations aviation rules calling for probes aimed solely at preventing future accidents, separately from any judicial process. But the probe has been swept up in regional and domestic tensions.

“The data analysis from the black boxes should not be politicised,” Zanganeh said.

Over 20 people have been sentenced to jail terms up to 20 years in Iran for participating in peaceful protests against the downing of the plane. Some Iranians took to Twitter on Sunday to show their anger, with at least one user tweeting “They were alive for 19 seconds ... a tragedy”.

Monday, 24 August, 2020

SPORTS 11

JaMeS anderSon fIve-for allowS england to enforCe follow-on deSpIte azhar alI CentUry SouthAmptoN

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AMES Anderson's 29th fivewicket haul in Test cricket enabled England to enforce the follow-on at the Ageas Bowl, despite Azhar Ali holding Pakistan together thanks to his second hundred as captain.

Anderson took the first and last wickets of the day after three breakthroughs on the second evening, taking his tally to 598 across his Test career. He removed Asad Shafiq 12 balls into the day, leaving Pakistan reeling at 30 for 4, before eventually dismissing last man Naseem Shah to finish with figures of 5 for 56. That Pakistan's innings lasted as long as it did owed much to Azhar, whose hundred his was his first away from home since Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan's joint retirements in 2017.

He scored the bulk of his runs behind square, pulling and flicking off the pads when England erred too straight and cutting and steering behind point when they when they went short. With Mohammad

Murray makes triumphant start to year at US open tuneup AGENCIES Britain's Andy Murray made a triumphant ATP comeback Saturday, defeating Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (8/6), 3-6, 6-1 in his first match of 2020 at the Western and Southern Open. The 33-yearold Scotsman advanced in hot and humid conditions to a second-round date with German fifth seed Alexander Zverev at the COVID-19 quarantine bubble that will also be used for the US Open, which starts on August 31. Murray won the 2012 US Open as well as the 2013 and 2016 Wimbledon titles plus the 2012 and 2016 Olympic gold medals. Former world number one Murray, now ranked 129th, suffered a pelvic injury at the Davis Cup last November and that, combined with the pandemic shutdown, kept him out of competition until he faced 22-year-old Tiafoe in a meeting of wildcard entrants. "I thought I moved well today," Murray said. "That was probably the thing I was most happy with and probably the thing I was most apprehensive about going into the match. "My tennis could have been better. I did some things well at the end, but I could definitely improve in terms of my game." Murray broke Tiafoe for a 2-0 lead in the third set when the American missed a volley, broke again to 5-1 with a backhand return winner and held at love to finish matters after two hours and 28 minutes. Murray was the 2008 and 2011 winner in this Grand Slam tuneup event, usually staged in Cincinnati but moved to New York due to the COVID-19 pandemic that wiped out much of the season, including Wimbledon. He rallied from 2-5 down in the first set tiebreaker to gain the upper hand. But Tiafoe gained the first break of the match for a 5-3 lead in the second and held to force a third set. The match was played on the National Tennis Center Grandstand court, the event's feature court with no matches until the US Open scheduled at Arthur Ashe Stadium or Louis Armstrong Stadium. With no spectators in attendance, Murray said he missed the boost that fans can provide, and he had to make a conscious effort to early in the third set to energize himself with fist pumps and the like. "That helped a bit," he said.

Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime appeared to be at a loss as his 6-4, 6-1 victory over Nikoloz Basilashvili concluded, with no crowd to cheer or groan when Basilashvili buried a forehand in the net on match point. "I actually threw a ball at my coach," said Auger-Aliassime, who usually tosses a ball to a fan after a win.

Auger-Aliassime had the distinction of being the first winner on the ATP tour as it resumed after a five-month coronavirus shutdown.

YASTREMSKA OUSTS VENUS: On the women's side, 20-year-old 16th seed Dayana Yastremska beat seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus williams 5-7, 6-2, 7-5. Facing the elder Williams sister for the first time, Yastremska let a 4-2 first-set lead get away after twisting her ankle, but after having it taped she rallied to win the next two. She gained the first service break in the third set for a 5-4 lead but was broken as she served for the match. She responded by breaking Williams to love then saved three break points to close out the victory over the American star who turned 40 in June. "I really wanted to withdraw because of the pain," Yastremska said.

Rizwan for support, he guided Pakistan towards the second new ball with a dogged innings, but was eventually left stranded, unbeaten on 141.

In a morning session that was again abbreviated by the rain, Anderson added his fourth wicket of the innings, removing Shafiq in his first full over of the day.

Shafiq lunged forwardly hopefully at a length ball in the channel, only managing to edge into the slips, and has scored just 46 runs in four innings this series; his run of 72 consecutive Tests might soon come under threat. That gave Fawad Alam an opportunity to bed in after lunch, after nudging Anderson into the off side to score his first Test run in 11 years. He edged Chris Woakes through the slips early on, but started to knuckle down alongside Azhar to lead Pakistan's recovery. Frustratingly for him, he fell tamely after making a start, offering Jos Buttler a sharp chance behind the stumps after being drawn forward by Dom Bess.

Bess quickly found his groove after going unused across the whole of the second Test, settling into a rhythm as Rizwan

PAKISTAN 273 (AZHAR 141, RIZWAN 53, ANDERSON 5-56) TRAIL ENGLAND 583 FOR 8 DECLARED BY 310 RUNS looked to rebuild alongside Azhar, who survived an England review for caught behind after copping a short ball on the right shoulder. He then ticked past the 6000-run mark in Tests, becoming the fifth Pakistani batsman to reach the landmark as he steered Archer through backward point. Rizwan was busy throughout, despite an early blow on the helmet from Archer, and the pair put on Pakistan's highest partnership of the series against the old ball. Azhar was particularly strong off his pads, but his off-side game improved as his innings progressed. Archer reverted to short-ball theory with the new ball imminent, but it was Woakes who made the breakthrough thanks to a strangle down the leg side, Buttler again taking a sharp diving catch to remove Rizwan.

The timing of the wicket was particularly vital for England, as it meant Pakistan's bowlers were exposed to the new

Batting legend Zaheer Abbas to be inducted into ICC Hall of Fame AGENCIES Former batting legend Zaheer Abbas has become the sixth Pakistani cricketer to join the International Cricket Council (ICC) Hall of Fame, the governing body said on Sunday.

Zaheer, 73, a prolific run-scorer during the 1970s and 1980s with both Pakistan and English county side Gloucestershire, was nicknamed the "Asian Bradman" in honour of Australia's Don Bradman, widely regarded as Test cricket's greatest batsman of all time.

In a press release, the ICC said that the announcement was made during a show streamed live on the council's social media channels. "In all, 93 players have been inducted so far under the system, which sees retired players become eligible five years after playing their last international match."

In addition to Abbas, South Africa’s gritty all-rounder Jacques Kallis and Australian World Cup-winning allrounder Lisa Sthalekar were also inducted into the Hall of Fame.

In comments posted to the ICC's website, Abbas, a former president of the global governing body and the only player from Asia to have scored a hundred first-class hundreds. said that he

felt "privileged and truly humbled".

"I am excited to be in the midst of other illustrious cricketers.

"I would like to say a special thanks to my family, my country Pakistan, my county Gloucestershire and many fans worldwide who helped me achieve and fulfill my dreams by playing this great game at the highest level.

"Thank you ICC and the members of the jury for this special honour. It is a final recognition for any cricketer.

"This great game has made me the person I am. Thank you cricket."

MATTER Of 'gREAT hONOUR, pRidE' fOR pAKiSTAN, SAYS pCB: Congratulating Abbas on his inclusion to the ICC's Hall of Fame, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ehsan Mani said it was a matter of "great honour and pride" for the country that the cricketer's outstanding career achievements had been acknowledged by the game's governing body.

"It gives me immense pleasure to congratulate Zaheer on behalf of millions of Pakistani cricket fans across the world for this recognition.

"I am sure all those who watched Zaheer live in action will agree that when he batted, it was like a poetry in motion.

"It was his immaculate footwork backed up by superlative wrist work with an ability to consistently bisect the field that not only made him a run-machine but also one of the most attractive and graceful batsmen ever to grace this great game." The chairman added that Abbas also had a "huge, positive impact" on Pakistani cricket.

"After he had established himself as a household name in every cricket playing country, the younger generation fell in love with the sport and consequently, we produced a battery of champion world-class batsmen. "His contributions to cricket were beyond the field of play when, as an administrator, he served the PCB and the ICC with respect and dignity. "He deserves this recognition from the ICC, which hopefully will further inspire [the] next generation of Pakistani cricketers.”

According to the PCB, Abbas joins compatriots Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis in the ICC Hall of Fame. The ICC Hall of Fame includes 27 Australia cricketers, 28 England players, six India cricketers, three from New Zealand, four from South Africa, one Sri Lankan and 18 players from the West Indies, it said.

BCCI dId not treat dhonI ‘the rIght way’: SaqlaIn Former spinner Saqlain Mushtaq said that the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) did not treat ex-India captain MS Dhoni "the right way" as he retired without playing a farewell game for the country. Saying that every cricketer dreams of leaving on a high, Saqlain said that fans of Dhoni would have wanted to see him take the field in the India jersey one last time. Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15 through an Instagram post. His last game for India was the World Cup semi-final defeat to New Zealand in 2019. "I think everyone who loves MS Dhoni will have one complaint. If he wore India's kit, with gloves on and holding the bat, and taken the gloves off, and his cap off with respect one last time, then it would have been great," Saqlain Mushtaq said on his YouTube channel. "I usually don't say anything negative on my show, and if I feel like it, I try and stop myself, but my heart says that I should say this," he said. "It is BCCI's loss that they did not treat such a big player the right way," he said. "This is not how he should have retired. I can say with surety that crores of his fans and cricket lovers would also agree that BCCI did not treat him right," the former spinner claimed. "I'm really sorry to BCCI for saying this, but I am also hurt. Such a big player and he is retiring like this," Saqlain said. "I think every cricketer has a dream to exit on a high, and I am sure MS Dhoni too would have had the same dream," he said, before wishing the wicketkeeper-batsman well in his future endeavours. “MS Dhoni you are a gem of a person and real hero, proud of you," he signed off. In 350 ODIs, Dhoni amassed 10,773 runs at an average of 50.57. He has 10 centuries and 73 fifties to his name. AGENCIES

ball. Broad, who has been brutally effective with the second new ball throughout the summer, struck with it immediately as Root clung onto a sharp chance from a loose push from Yasir Shah.

He had a second not long after, as Buttler - who had struggled so much with the gloves throughout the summer before this Test - took a blinding catch off Shaheen Afridi, leaping at full stretch to his right as the tailender looked to fend away a short ball. That left Pakistan clinging on eight wickets down, at which point things became calamitous for Anderson in his attempts to secure a five-for.

He had two chances put down in the slips in the 87th over - Azhar dropped by Burns at second slip, Mohammad Abbas shelled at third by Zak Crawley two balls later - and then Broad made a mess of the most straightforward of the lot, Azhar miscuing to him at mid-on.

england should treat yasir like Kumble, not warne: hussain AGENCIES Former England captain Nasser Hussain has opined that England batsmen are failing against Yasir Shah because they are treating him as Shane Warne. Nasser Hussain added that the Three Lions will have to treat Shah like Anil Kumble to find success against the Pakistani tweaker.

Apparently, Hussain did not want to demean the Indian leg-spinner and was instead suggesting that like Kumble, Shah is also not a spinner who would turn the bowl massively on Day 1 of a Test match. Kumble was someone who was known for his consistency with line and length while bowling, whereas Shane Warne would start turning the ball from the first day of a Test match itself.

Nasser Hussain explained that England batsmen including captain Joe Root and Ollie Pope are getting trapped on the back foot because they are predicting massive turns from Yasir Shah. The 52-year-old added that in order to negate the spinning conditions in Sri Lanka and India in the upcoming series', England will have to watch out on how they play Yasir Shah.

“England have a winter of Test cricket in subcontinental conditions coming up against Sri Lanka and India, if those tours go ahead, so they must learn from how they are playing Yasir Shah here,” Hussain wrote in his column for The Daily Mail.

“For some reason, whether it is Joe Root or Ollie Pope, England have been going back to the leg-spinner and getting stuck on the crease. They are playing him as if he were Shane Warne but, in the first innings of a Test, they should play him more like Anil Kumble,” Nasser Hussain added.

“Yasir will not bowl massive, turning deliveries on the first day. Instead, he has been setting batsmen up by going slow, slow and then producing a quicker, straighter delivery,” he explained.

Notably. Yasir Shah with 11 scalps is the leading wicket-taker in the ongoing 3-match Test series.

Steve Smith missing fans already as Australia leaves for England AGENCIES The Australian cricket team departed Sunday for a tour to England like no other in the long history between the two nations. The teams will meet in three one-day and three Twenty20 internationals in stadiums without fans, played under strict biosecurity protocols. Between matches the Australians will be locked in a hermetic bubble to ward off the threat of the coronavirus.

They are the first Australian national sports team to leave the country since the global pandemic began.

Australia hasn’t played a match since March 13, when a scheduled one-day series against New Zealand was abandoned. As captain Steve Smith left Sydney on Sunday for Perth, from which the Australian team’s chartered

flight was to leave for London, he said he is eager to play again, whatever the surrounding circumstances.

Smith was also sad that stadiums won’t be full of the England fans who have always jeered him in the past, moreso since his suspension for ball tampering.

“I do like batting there,” Smith said at Sydney Airport.

“But unfortunately there’s no crowd there to egg me on and give me a bit more motivation.

“Still, there is going to be plenty of eyes on the TV and it is going to be great to be back out there playing.”

England fans taunted Smith relentlessly when he made his test return there last year after his 12 months suspension over the ball tampering scandal in South Africa. He drew on those reactions to post 774 runs in that year’s Ashes series at an average of 110. Smith said he isn’t con-

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cerned by Australia’s three months absence from international cricket and England’s advantage in having played recent test series against the West Indies and Pakistan.

Australia will take a 21-man squad and will play at least five inter-squad matches during its two weeks in quarantine. The team will be headquartered at Southampton where it will be surrounded by a tight biosecurity bubble. Players will be able to play golf but will not be able to leave their hotel for drinks or meals. They will have to make their own beds to avoid interaction with hotel staff.

Any biosecurity breach could jeopardize the series.

The first of three T20s will be played at The Rose Bowl in Southampton on Sept. 4 and the one-day series will be played at Old Trafford, Manchester, starting Sept. 10.

Monday, 24 August, 2020

PrAyEr TIMINGS

NEWS

ProgrESS on 10Th nFC SloW AFTEr rEmovAl oF hAFEz ShAIkh SINCE HAFEEZ SHAIKH’S REMOVAL FROM THE COMMISSION IN JULY, MATTERS RELATED TO NFC REQUIRE THE APPROVAL OF THE PRIME MINISTER WHO IS ALSO NOW THE CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMISSION ISLAMABAD

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GHULAM ABBAS

HE newly constituted National Finance Commission (NFC) is likely to remain inconclusive due to the removal of Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Affairs Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh from the commission.

Earlier on July 22, Hafeez Shaikh was removed from the chairmanship of the commission after opposition from provinces and Balochistan High Court’s (BHC) verdict against the composition of the NFC. According to an official at the Ministry of Finance (MoF), since Hafeez Shaikh’s removal from the commission, matters related to NFC require the approval of Prime Minister Imran Khan who is also now the

chairman of the commission.

“Any progress on the newly constituted 10th NFC is unlikely in near future as the prime minister may not be able to

With China tensions rising, US joins Taiwan to mark battle anniversary KINMEN: The de facto U.S. ambassador in Taipei joined for the first time on Sunday a Taiwanese leader, amid rising tensions with Beijing, to commemorate a key military clash and the last time Taiwanese forces joined battle with China on a large scale. China, which claims Taiwan as its own, has stepped up military activity around the democratic island, moves denounced by Taiwan’s government as an attempt at intimidation to force them to accept Chinese rule. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen laid a wreath and bowed her head in respect at a memorial park on Kinmen island, which sits a few kilometers (miles) off the Chinese metropolis of Xiamen, to mark the 62nd anniversary of the start of the second Taiwan Straits crisis. In August 1958, Chinese forces began more than a month of bombarding Kinmen, along with the Taiwancontrolled Matsu archipelago further up the coast, including naval and air battles, seeking to force them into submission. Brent Christensen, head of the American Institute in Taiwan and Washington’s de facto representative, offered his respects too, standing behind Tsai, in a symbolic show of US support for the island. Washington has no formal ties with Taipei but is its largest arms supplier. The administration of President Donald Trump has made bolstering relations a priority, to Beijing’s anger. Like Tsai, Christensen did not make public comments. Taiwan fought back at the time with support from the United States, which sent military equipment like advanced Sidewinder anti-aircraft missiles, giving Taiwan a technological edge. AGENCIES

chair every meeting and look into technical issues of the commission. This will cause a further delay in reaching consensus on a new NFC Award,” he said, adding that the issue can be solved if Hafeez Shaikh becomes a federal minister. “If Hafeez Shaikh becomes a senator, he can then chair the commission.”

According to the MoF official, under the existing composition of NFC, letters to provinces are also sent through the Prime Minister secretariat. Recently the prime minister himself responded to a letter written by the Sindh chief minister who had raised objections on the new composition of NFC. Since the last 10 years, the center and provinces have failed to reach a consensus which led to both the 8th and 9th NFCs being inconclusive and the extension of the revenue distribution mechanism set under the 7th NFC Award given by the

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in 2010.

According to sources, the provinces are also largely in favor of keeping the mechanism of 7th NFC intact as they are wary of the likely change in their respective shares due to demographic fluctuations identified in the latest population census.

The 7th NFC Award, after a thirteen year gap, became effective under PPP’s rule in 2010-11. The NFCs that followed remained indecisive. The award’s noticeable features include the vertical increase in provincial share to 56 per cent in the first year and to 57.5 per cent thereafter.

Under the fiscal mechanism in the 7th NFC Award the federation withholds too little, compared to its colossal needs and financial commitments, forcing it to run a deficit. The federation has to service unilateral and bilateral debt after distributing the due shares of the provinces. The debt servicing only leaves behind a sum that finances a part of the military budget. Nontax revenue and additional loans fund the remaining expenditures.

China's first coronavirus vaccine approved for clinical trials BEIJING AGENCIES

China's first recombinant protein Covid-19 vaccine made from insect cells has been approved for clinical trials by the National Medical Products Administration, local media reported.

Developed by the State Key Laboratory of Biological Therapy of Sichuan University affiliated West China Hospital, the vaccine uses insect cells to multiply in the culture medium and introduces the gene of Covid-19 into insect cells, which means the cell can be used as a factory to produce high-quality recombinant vaccine proteins and purify them for refinement.

The vaccine was tested on monkeys and other animals, and was found to have a good protective effect against Covid-19 infection, with no obvious side effects. The technology is expected to make it simple to quickly bring a vaccine to the market with mass production, Chinanews.com reported.

The safety of using insects to produce recombinant protein vaccines has been demonstrated by the successful development and marketing of cervical cancer and influenza vaccines in Europe and the US, media reported.

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Pompeo to visit Israel and UAE with peace, Iran and China on agenda WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Israel on Monday and the United Arab Emirates a day later to discuss the countries’ normalisation deal, two sources briefed on his itinerary said. Also on Pompeo’s agenda will be the security challenges posed

by Iran and China in the region, said the sources, who declined to be identified by name or nationality. Israel and the UAE announced earlier this month that they would normalise diplomatic ties and forge a broad new relationship. Under the accord, which US President Donald Trump helped broker, Israel agreed to suspend its planned annexation of areas of the occupied West Bank. The deal also firms up opposition to regional power Iran, which the UAE, Israel and the United States view as the main threat in the conflictriven Middle East. White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, is expected to travel to Israel and the UAE in early September, and may stop in other countries as well, an administration official said. Kushner will be accompanied by Avi Berkowitz, Trump’s Middle East envoy, the official said. AGENCIES

Iran offers help for intra-Afghan talks TEHRAN: Iran's special envoy for Afghanistan has expressed concern about an increase in insecurity in Afghanistan.

Mohammad Ebrahim Taherian also offered Tehran's assistance in launching intra-Afghan negotiations. "Restoration of peace and stability is not only a public demand from the people, government, and various currents in Afghanistan, but also a necessity in the course of promotion of regional cooperation and achievement of collective security," said Taherian. On Saturday, at least 18 security agents were killed and six people were wounded in four attacks across Afghanistan, including one explosion in the capital Kabul, where a civilian was injured. Taherian pointed to the August 9 agreement at Afghanistan's Loya Jirga, or the Grand Assembly, to release Taliban prisoners, and stressed the need to prepare intra-Afghan negotiations. AGENCIES

Floods in India's Bihar affect over 8.3m people

In April this year, The West China Hospital of Sichuan University, the vaccine research team and a biological company established a new company, which is planning and designing the vaccine production line with an annual output of over 100 million needles by independent efforts, Chinanews.com reported. A Chinese inactivated Covid19 vaccine has started phase-3 clinical

trials in Peru on Thursday. Two months before, China's inactivated Covid-19 vaccine received approval for phase-3 clinical trials in the United Arab Emirates on June 23.

Observers believe that when a vaccine is available, China would provide vaccines to countries that cooperated with it in clinical trials at a cost, or donate vaccines to these countries.

NEW DELHI: Floods in India's eastern state of Bihar have affected over 8.3 million people, according to Bihar Disaster Management Department (BDMD). The BDMD said the ongoing floods have inundated 16 districts across the state affecting a population of 8,362,451. According to officials, the floods have so far claimed 27 lives in six districts, including 11 in Darbhanga, six in Muzaffarpur, four in West Champaran and two each in Khagaria, Saran and Siwan. The worst affected districts were Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Supaul, Kishanganj, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj, East Champaran, West Champaran, Khagaria, Saran, Samastipur, Siwan, Madhubani, Madhepura and Saharsa. AGENCIES

UAE deal puts Israel's economic reach on Iran's doorstep DUBAI AGENCIES

Israel's deal with the UAE to normalise ties could see businesses from the Jewish state operating on arch-rival Iran's doorstep, but are unlikely to disturb Emirati economic ties to Iran. It could also pave the way for direct economic engagement between Israeli and UAE-based Iranian business people that would reap benefits from politics, experts say. Cinzia Bianco, a research fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said it would be "a while" before Iranians in the UAE come face to face with Israelis.

"It is important to stress here that most Iranians with real ties in the Islamic republic were either expelled or moved away in the past years," she said. "Those who remained in Dubai or the UAE in general are the ultrapragmatic business people, who refuse to get enmeshed in any kind of politics. So some of them view this deal as an opportunity, not a challenge," she added.

The oil-rich United Arab Emirates was the first Gulf state to establish ties with Israel, in a deal that came amid rising tensions with Iran, accused by its neighbours of fuelling regional instability.

Abu Dhabi accuses Tehran of occupying

three Emirati islands since 1971, and downgraded ties with Iran in 2016 amid rivalry between UAE ally Saudi Arabia and the Islamic republic, which is also targeted by painful US economic sanctions.

Despite tensions, the UAE and Iran, which lie 70 kilometres (44 miles) apart across the strategic Strait of Hormuz, have maintained diplomatic exchanges and crucially protected their economic ties, generating billions for both sides.

"Tehran is not in a position to forego its economic ties with any country - especially not the UAE which is practically next door," said Ellen R. Wald, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Centre. "Iran also has close ties to countries like China that work alongside Israel," she told AFP. DEEP ECONOMIC TIES: Two days after US President Donald Trump's shock announcement of the deal, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned the UAE "against opening the path of Israel to the region".

The UAE summoned Iran's envoy to protest the "threats", although it insisted the next day the agreement "was not directed against Iran". But feelings are still running high in the Strait of Hormuz -- a vital corridor connecting the petroleum-rich states of the Middle East with markets in Asia, Europe,

North America and elsewhere. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), 35 per cent of the world's seaborne oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran last week said it seized an Emirati boat and arrested its crew after two Iranian fishermen were shot dead in an incident in the Gulf. But the foreign ministry in Tehran conceded the UAE had promised "compensation for any damage caused".

Trade between the UAE and Iran is worth billions of dollars, with Dubai historically serving as a centre for Iranian offshore business. Exchange between the two oil producers was worth $8.3 billion last year, according to official Emirati statistics, down from $15.2 billion in 2018 -- before US sanctions reached their peak in May 2019.

Iranian businesses and individuals complain those sanctions mean their banking services are often suspended or withdrawn, but fail to actually stop them trading.

Mobiles phones, cars, frozen meat, clothes and other goods flow between the two countries' ports almost constantly.

‘COOPERATIVE RELATIONSHIP': More than 8,000 Iranian companies and 6,000 traders operate across the UAE, making it highly likely they will encounter the expected wave of Israeli merchants and in-

vestors. "Iranians in the UAE are not in a position to complain about the Israel-UAE relationship, but there is little indication that the typical Iranian would be disturbed by this," Wald said. She noted that before the 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled the Western-backed shah, "Iran and Israel had a cooperative relationship". The UAE is also home to a sizeable Iranian community that owns hundreds of properties and has invested heavily in the infrastructure of the country since its formation in 1971.

According to Emirati media, tens of

Published by Arif Nizami at Qandeel Printing Press, 4 Queens Road, Lahore. Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk

thousands of Iranians live in the UAE while Iranian officials estimate their number to be closer to half a million. Around 350,000 Iranians visit the Emirates each year.

Many prominent Emirati families are originally from Iran, with some members holding government jobs. Some Iranians, like public relations executive Fariba, say they are not concerned by the UAE-Iran deal to normalise ties. "I am a divorced mother, and I need to work to raise my son. That's all I care about," the 45-year-old who did not give her surname told AFP.