Epaper – December 08 ISB 2020

Tuesday, 8 December, 2020 I 21 Rabi al-Akhir, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 159 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition

Covid-19 test Positivity ratio reaChes new high g

Govt portal posts 9.71pc positivity rate

Coronavirus in

Pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

420,294

LAST UPDATED AT 8:06 AM ON DECEMBER 7, 2020

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

NEW CASES:

37

3,795

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

356,542 8,398 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

184,486

123,762

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

AJK/GB:

ISLAMABAD:

49,676

17,466

7,356/4,732 32,816

g

g

More than 40,000 tests being held ever y day

4,503 areas under smart quarantine countrywide, NCOC told ISLAMABAD

P

STAFF REPORT

AKIsTAN set a new all-time high for coronavirus positivity rate in a 24-hour period, posting a 9.71 per cent positivity ratio with 3,795 fresh infections and 37 deaths, to surpass the total tally of 420,294 cases and 8,398 fatalities, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) said Monday.

After a peak of more than 6,800 daily infections in June, the numbers fell to as low as 213 in August.

The authorities have been conducting more than 40,000 tests on a daily for the past two weeks, 40 per cent of which were conducted through contact tracing. According to data, 81 percent of the positive cases have been detected in urban centres. The forum was also briefed today on the measures taken by governments of provinces and federal territories to ensure the compliance of standard operating procedures (sOPs) between December 5 and December 12. smart quarantines have been enforced in 4,503 neighbourhoods across the country and heavy fines were imposed over violation of government restrictions in different provinces. The country’s last comprehensive lockdown was lifted in phases in May to boost the economy.

Pakistan is now in the midst of a second wave of the coronavirus but has yet to fully utilise its com-

plete testing capacity of 75,307, with daily testing still significantly below numbers proposed by global health experts.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the country’s testing policies likely only record the most symptomatic patients while ignoring the spread among asymptomatic carriers, which studies suggest comprise the majority of infections nationwide.

Meanwhile, in a measure to curtail the spread of pandemic in the capital, the Islamabad administration sealed on sunday the main hall of Faisal Masjid over non-compliance with prevention guidelines. Congregational prayers will not be offered in the inner hall of the mosque, as precautionary measures were not followed on Friday.

Prayers may still be offered in the mosque’s courtyard, in the open air.

Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Muhammed Hamza shafqaat said the inner hall of the mosque will be reopened once proper arrangements have been made. President Dr. Arif Alvi last week said that mosques and the media had an important role to play in raising awareness about the importance of Covid-19 guidelines.

Pakistan in talks with China, Russia to get coronavirus vaccines STORY ON PAGE 03

Imran to present plan for fighting drug abuse PM says number of substance addicts as high as 70m g Promises more resources for counternarcotics force to fight ‘menace’ g

ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Terming narcotics a “cancer of society”, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said his government will devise a comprehensive strategy to reduce the consumption of drugs among youth and save future generations.

Addressing a ceremony at Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) headquarters in Rawalpindi, the prime minister said concerned ministries including education and health will be taken onboard to chalk-out the policy in view of a growing trend of drug abuse at educational institutions.

The premier further said he would call a meeting next week to discuss ways to address the challenge on an urgent basis. “The government will run an anti-drug campaign across the country and the entire nation will fight this menace as a united force,” he said.

Khan said the government will

increase the resources required to counter the menace of drug abuse to the force to purge the country of drug abuse.

Citing statistics, he observed more than 70 million people in Pakistan have fallen prey to the addiction of substance abuse, which he said was a “dangerously” inflated number.

The prime minister said that narcotics are a “silent killer” and destroys an entire family even if only a single member is in the habit of consuming them. “If there are 70 million drug addicts in the country, it means that 70 million families are struggling.”

He stressed the need for raising awareness about the negative impacts of narcotics on the “personal and social [aspects of] life” of the addict.

“We have to save our next generations from the shackles of drug abuse,” he said.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

02

Tuesday, 8 December, 2020

NEWS

MaRyaM SayS ReSPoNSIbILITy To ouST PReMIeR oN LaHoRe’S SHouLdeRS

I

NEWS DESK

N spite of warnings from the incumbent government, the leaders of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) have said that they will move forward with their Lahore rally, and in this regard, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz said that the "responsibility to remove [Imran Khan] had fallen on the shoulder of Lahore".

The PML-N VP, while speaking to a charged crowd at a venue in Lahore's NA128 constituency on Monday, was gathering support for the upcoming PDM

rally. Replying to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s earlier statements about allowing the rally, Maryam lashed out and said, "He says he won't stop the government but says will not allow chairs […] He says he will not allow tents. Lahore, tell me, do you need chairs?"

"The Lahore jalsa will show that this fake government's days are numbered,” she added. Similarly, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader Qamar Zaman Kaira addressed a press conference in Lahore today, wherein he said the government’s attempts to change tactics would not stop the upcoming rally.

"The premier doesn't realise that these

Court sentences three to death for rape in Gilgit GILGIT: A local court in Gilgit on Monday sentenced three men to death after they were found guilty of subjecting a woman to sexual abuse in Gilgit-Baltistan’s (GB) Shigar district. Abid Hassan, Sakhawat and Asghar were also directed to furnish a fine of Rs1 million each.

The convicts had sexually abused the woman for seven months. The court wrapped up the trial proceedings within a month’s time by hearing the case on a daily basis. Gilgit Baltistan Chief Court Chief Justice Malik Haq Nawaz had taken notice of the incident after it came to light. A first information report (FIR) of the incident was filed on September 20 while the trial began on November 20. On September 25, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) had handed capital punishment to two men for raping and filming a teenager in Skardu. ATC Judge Mahmoodul Hassan announced the verdict, sentencing Muzaffar Abbas and Tajamul Hussain to death. Besides, both were also handed life imprisonment and asked to pay a fine of Rs1 million each. TLTP

Iqbal's indictment in NSC case deferred ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Islamabad on Monday deferred the indictment of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) secretary general Ahsan Iqbal in a case pertaining to the Narowal Sports City (NSC) project. Last month, the court had decided to indict Iqbal in the reference on December 7. The process was postponed after an anti-graft prosecutor failed to appear before the court. Meanwhile, the PML-N leader and the four other accused were present. Adjourning the hearing, the court announced to indict the accused on December 22. The agency filed the reference against Iqbal last month in the accountability court, accusing the PML-N stalwart of misuse of authority and “illegally enhancing the scope of [the] project from Rs34.75 million to Rs3 billion”. STAFF REPORT

Two witnesses record statement in Ramzan Sugar Mills case LAHORE: An accountability court on Monday recorded statements of two witnesses in the Ramzan Sugar Mills case. The hearing of the case was resumed

by Accountability Judge Amjad Nazir Chaudhry. The jail authorities presented Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz before the court under strict adherence of the coronavirus-related standard operating procedures (SOPs). The jail authorities and secretary home presented their report on the orders of the court over not presenting Hamza on a previous hearing.

Earlier, the court took notice of Hamza’s absence in the hearing and had ordered the jail officials to submit a written response to clarify the reasons for not producing him. The NAB had filed a reference accusing former Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif, his son Hamza and others for causing losses to the national exchequer and misusing authority by sanctioning construction of a bridge to facilitate the sugar mills. The NAB officials said that Shehbaz, being the chief minister of Punjab, misused his authority by issuing directives for the construction of a 10-kilometre-long drain in Chiniot primarily to benefit the sugar mill owned by his sons. STAFF REPORT

things don't stop rallies. Martial law used much harsher tactics but rallies and movements did not stop."

He labelled the incumbent government as “fascist”, declared that the people were fed up with the ruling party, and said that it was time for the Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) to go.

"The PDM leadership has decided that the Dec 13 jalsa will take place," he said.

This announcement comes a day before the leaders of the PDM meet in the federal capital to finalise their strategies for the aforementioned rally.

Punjab PML-N President Rana Sanaullah confirmed that the heads of the

11-party alliance would meet tomorrow, and said, "Hundreds of thousands of workers will participate in the Lahore rally.

This requires complete arrangements.

They cannot be addressed without a proper sound system."

Sanaullah also lashed out against the premier for his inconsistent statements. "[Imran] is saying that he will not allow arrangements for chairs and lights and will not allow a stage to be set up. And [in the same breath] he says he will not stop us from holding the rally".

A day earlier, PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had warned the government that it will respond in the same coin if it used force to disrupt the PDM Lahore rally. The Jamiat Ulema-e-IslamFazl (JUI-F) chief had also said that the opposition parties wanted their armed forces to carry on their duties as professional soldiers.

“They are our strength and should concentrate to protect the geographical frontiers of the country,” he had said.

Security situation may worsen if action not taken: Interior Ministry NEWS DESK The Ministry of Interior, in a letter, has asked provincial governments to take measures against armed wings of political and religious parties, warning that the security situation may worsen if action is not taken.

The letter issued added that these organisations and will create a negative image of the country. Furthermore, the letter outlined how certain religious parties, in violation of Article 256 of the Constitution and the third point of the National Action Plan (NAP), have established their militias and even wear uniforms like formal armed forces.

Interior Ministry requested all provincial governments to take immediate cognizance of this threat and adapt effective necessary measures to check the functioning and other development of such militias.

In response to the letter, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that the order to take action against religious and political parties' volunteers is "ill-intentioned."

"There is a difference between a party's military wing and its volunteers," Fazl said. "Our volunteers belong to Ansar-ul-Islam, which is the constitutional wing of the JUI, and is registered with the Election Commission of Pakistan."

"In 2001, our volunteers planned thousands of jalsas in the country. At that time, the then home minister had appreciated the arrangements made by our volunteers," he maintained. "Akin to that, the volunteers of Ansar-ulIslam performed security duties during our 2017 jalsas."

The JUI-F said that the letter by the home ministry was merely to exert political pressure.

Sindh govt surpassed tax collection targets, Murad tells Bilawal NEWS DESK Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had a meeting with Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, wherein the former said that the Sindh government has surpassed its own tax collection targets this year. The meeting took place at the Bilawal House in Karachi on Monday, and the two leaders discussed matters of mutual interest.

During the meeting, CM Murad said that the development of the province was slow-going due to low payments made by the federal government. The two also talked about measures taken against Covid-19 by the Sindh Health Department. Furthermore, Bilawal stressed the need for a public-private partnership to create more employment opportunities and instructed the Sindh

government to start a recruitment drive for filling vacant positions. On Saturday last, Pak Sarzameen Party Chairman Syed Mustafa Kamal, while speaking to the media outside the National Accountability Bureau court in Karachi, had said the chief minister “illegally and immorally withheld the money under the NFC [National Finance Commission] Award after its release from the federation, as if it was his personal property and not of the people of the province”. “No one dares to ask him why the entire Sindh, including its capital Karachi, is posing a dismal look despite receiving thousands of billions of rupees from the NFC every year,” he had said. Speaking on the occasion, he had said that public problems could not be resolved without local governments, and that asked for election of mayors which would revolutionise the country.

Zardari suffered head injuries after fall, IHC informed NEWS DESK The Islamabad High Court (IHC) learned on Monday that former president and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari had suffered head injuries from a fall and had been readmitted to a hospital on November 22. According to the medical report with Geo TV, the PPP leader had complained of swelling in his head and pain on the left side of his chest, as well as tension in his lower back. It also said that the chest pain increased whenever Zardari walked. He had earlier been discharged from the hospital on October 11. After an examination by neuro, orthopaedic, and spinal surgeons, it emerged that there was a blood clot in the occipital bone of the former president.

Furthermore, a CT scan had been conducted and Zardari had been advised to refrain from travelling. In light of this, Zardari had filed a petition with the IHC to exempt him appearing in court on medical grounds in the fake accounts case.

LHC seeks Punjab’s reply on petition seeking ban on rallies LAHORE STAFF REPORT

The Lahore High Court (LHC) took up on Monday a writ petition seeking a ban on public gatherings due to a continued surge in coronavirus cases and other Covid-related measures. An LHC bench issued notices to Punjab’s special health secretary and the Lahore deputy commissioner to furnish their response to the petition by the next hearing.

The petitioner stated before the court that there is a need to ban rallies to halt the spread of the deadly disease. He demanded that pharmacies at all the hospitals be ordered to stay open round-the-clock. He further requested the court to issue directives for the authorities concerned to ensure presence of senior doctors at coronavirus wards at night and kith and kins of hospitalised Covid-19 patients interact with them through video calls to keep tabs on their health condition. On December 2, a petition was filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC) seeking court order against the upcoming protest meeting by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) in Lahore. A petition filed by Advocate Nadeem Sarwar has made the federal government, NCOC, PDM, PML-N and PPP, parties in the petition. A health emergency has been enforced in the country in the wake of coronavirus, the petition said. The PDM is holding protest rallies despite the government’s ban on large public meetings, which are causing a spike in coronavirus cases, according to the petition. “The PDM leadership is playing with the lives and health of the people,” the petition said.

CPEC is a transformational project, says foreign secretary ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood on Monday held a meeting with China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Chairman Lt Gen (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa, wherein he said that CPEC is a transformational project, and there is a complete national consensus on CPEC's indispensability for Pakistan’s national development efforts.

“Pakistan and China are firmly committed to the timely completion of CPEC projects and making it a high-quality demonstration project of BRI [Belt and Road Initiative],” he said.

Reviewing the progress of CPEC projects, the foreign secretary maintained that CPEC energy and infrastructure projects had created thousands of jobs

and had boosted industrial growth and productivity. It testified to the fact that CPEC's contribution to strengthen Pakistan’s economic landscape has been real and substantial, he emphasised.

The foreign secretary underlined that Pakistan's focus in the next phase of CPEC was on industrialisation and socio-economic development, areas that will create vast job and growth opportunities for the common people. Three out of the nine CPEC SEZs, namely Rashakai, Dhabeji and Allama Iqbal, have been prioritised and Pakistan would welcome foreign direct investment in those projects.

Lt Gen (r) Bajwa underscored that the CPEC Authority was committed to ensuring that CPEC projects were completed on time. He hoped that the 10th JCC, likely to be held in the near future, will create more economic opportunities and contribute to

further expansion of CPEC projects. He reaffirmed that Pakistan would welcome relocation of industry from China and in that regard will institute a regime that could encourage inflow of Chinese investments to Pakistan.

The foreign secretary underlined that the government was particularly focused on strengthening agricultural cooperation between Pakistan and China.

In that regard, a plan of action, detailing the contours of this collaboration, was already being discussed between the two governments. The foreign secretary hoped that the plan of action will be expeditiously implemented. It was reaffirmed in the meeting that postCovid-19, through collective efforts of Pakistan and China, CPEC would become the hub for the regional trade and connectivity and will deepen people-to-people exchanges at a wider level.

Tuesday, 8 December, 2020

PakISTaN IN TaLkS wITH CHINa, RuSSIa To GeT CoRoNavIRuS vaCCINeS KARACHI

P

AGENCIES

AKISTANI health authorities are negotiating with China and Russia, among others, to procure coronavirus vaccines, an official said on Monday.

“We are in talks with China, Russia and some other countries for procurement of the [Covid-19] vaccine after narrowing down our priority list,” Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan told Anadolu Agency.

The vaccine, he said, would be available in Pakistan sometime between January and March next year, and administered to health workers and senior citizens in the first phase.

“There is nothing final yet; however, I can tell you that we have to rely on more than one source,” the adviser said.

“We will procure the vaccine only after its efficacy and safety is proven."

While Russia has started the distribution of its Sputnik V Covid-19 shot nationwide, China is testing its vaccines in many countries, and supply deals are being signed.

Other vaccines seeking emergency use authorisation are produced by PfizerBioNTech, Moderna and Oxford-AstraZeneca.

Islamabad has already earmarked an initial sum of $150 million to purchases the doses.

Last week, Parliamentary Secretary for Health Dr Nausheen Hamid said that all citizens would be administered Covid-19 vaccines free of charge, and the drive will begin in the second quarter of 2021. Pakistan has witnessed a spike in Covid-19 cases and deaths in recent weeks.

The South Asian country recorded 3,795 new infections on Monday, the highest single-day tally since July 3.

The total caseload in the country of 220 million people has reached 420,294, including 8,398 related deaths. Pakistan has tested about 5.8 million people for the virus to date.

Some patients being treated for the novel virus are said to have died of oxygen shortage at a government hospital in the city of Peshawar on December 5. The provincial health minister has ordered an inquiry into the incident.

KTH admin suspends seven officials for failure to maintain oxygen supply PESHAWAR STAFF REPORT

Peshawar's Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) suspended seven staffers on charges of negligence in the performance of duty on Monday, a day after six patients in intensive care and isolation units of the facility died of coronavirus-related complications as oxygen tanks arriving from Rawalpindi failed to reach on time.

The problem began after the daily supply of fresh oxygen cylinders did not arrive on Saturday evening. The 300 backup cylinders were then unable to supply the required pressure for the ventilators provided to critical Covid-19 patients. “The hospital orders oxygen cylinders from Rawalpindi,” said one KTH spokesperson. “[In this instance] the reserves did not arrive on time from Rawalpindi.”

Reports quoting hospital sources suggest patients admitted to other wards of the hospital were also facing difficulties due to the absence of oxygen cylinder. However, a person, whose mother is ill with Covid-19, told a publication that some patients were eventually moved to the emergency room, where there was still a good oxygen supply.

As the hospital administration initiated an inquiry into the shortage of oxygen supply, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government sought its report within 48 hours failing which Chief Minister Mahmood Khan said the provincial government would hold an “independent” inquiry.

Preliminary rePort Pins blame on 'system failure' According to the preliminary report -- prepared by a three-member committee and submitted Monday morning -- the on-duty manager of the services line told the committee that on the day of the incident he received a call from the hospital's operation theatre regarding low oxygen pressure.

Thank you to BoG KTH for directly supervising the inquiry & completing their work within 24 hrs. A sombre moment; please spare a prayer for the bereaved families.

On receiving the complaint, he called the oxygen plant's manager, who did not receive his phone, after which the former visited the plant in person and found that the two officials, who were supposed to be on duty, were absent. The oxygen plant pressure at that moment was zero, the report said.

At the time, about 90 patients were in the coronavirus isolation ward, out of which 20 were on Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAP), two on ventilators and the rest were being supplied with oxygen through masks.

Due to the shortage in oxygen supply, the hospital management shifted 13 patients to the Accident and Emergency Department where "limited supply in the form of [the] manifold was available". The rest of the patients were provided oxygen through cylinders, which were in limited supply.

According to the services line

manager, the oxygen plant assistant "failed to perform his duty as he is responsible for the oxygen plant and has a liaison with the supplier".

The inquiry report noted that there was "no emergency rescue squad as required for disaster management under such conditions". Six patients passed away due to the shortage of oxygen supply, the report said, while three were initially missing. One is still missing while the other two patients were tracked down and are alive, according to the report.

"Any other expiry [if any] in isolation or other wards of the hospital due to disruption in oxygen supply will be confirmed and submitted in detail[ed] report," the inquiry committee said.

The report revealed the services contract between the hospital and Rawalpindi-based Ms Pakistan Oxygen Limited had expired on June 30, adding that confirmation of extension was done verbally.

“No office order regarding renewal/extension of [the] contract is available with the record provided by the pharmacy’s manager,” it added.

The committee found that even though the oxygen tank had a capacity of 10,000 cubic metres, the supplier has "never filled the tank to the required level", the report said. On December 4, for example, the company only supplied 3,040 cubic metres of oxygen.

It also observed that the hospital had

one oxygen storage tank and did not have a backup system for oxygen supply despite official recommendations. A hospital should "ideally" have a primary backup, i.e., another oxygen tank, or a secondary backup of oxygen manifolds.

The committee also found that the staff appointed to work with the plant lacked technical expertise. The hospital's biomedical engineer and his team failed to train the staff and did not maintain "this important lifesaving equipment".

In its conclusion, the committee said that the incident had taken place due to "system failure". It also took note of the lack of training of staff, backup, supply and emergency squad.

The report said seven officials have been suspended with immediate effect, while an investigation will be conducted into the standards of the firm's monitoring and supply system. It said qualified and trained staff would be hired for the oxygen plant, and that a primary and secondary backup system for the oxygen plant would be established on an emergency basis.

The inquiry also calls for establishing a proper command and control system of oxygen supply, as well as a “proper emergency rescue squad” for the hospital. Medical Teaching Institution (MTI) director Dr. Tahir Nadeem Khan, facility manager Tahir Shahzad, supply chain manager Ali Waqas, biomedical engineer Bilal Babak, oxygen plant assistant Niamat and oxygen plant duty staffers Waheed and Shahzad Akbar have all been suspended, it said.

NEWS

03

Interior minister administered trial Covid-19 vaccine in Lahore LAHORE: Minister for Interior retired Brig Ijaz Shah on Monday received a shot of a trial vaccine of a Chinese coronavirus vaccine at the University of Health Sciences (UHS) in Lahore. “Interior Minister Ijaz Shah was administered the vaccine, which has been in phase three of clinical trials,” UHS vice chancellor Prof Dr Javed Akram said. “The minister’s staff members were also administered the trial vaccine.” Earlier on Saturday Governor Punjab Chaudhry Sarwar, his wife and staff members received shots of China-made coronavirus trial vaccine at the University of Health Sciences in Lahore. After Governor Sarwar, Interior Minister Ijaz Shah has been another prominent public figure in Pakistan who has received a shot of trial vaccine of the coronavirus. The university conducting tests of the vaccine since October 2 and administered the vaccine to 7,000 volunteers till now in clinical trials, Dr Akram said. Dr Javed Akram in an interview earlier said a vaccine will be available in Pakistan within six to eight weeks. He said that the UHS has tested a Chinese vaccine across the country in clinical trials. He added that the anti-bodies response in vaccinated individuals has been promising. STAFF REPORT

afghan president terms PM’s visit as milestone in cementing ties ISLAMABAD: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has termed the recent visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to the country as an important milestone in strengthening bilateral ties between the two neighbours. The Afghan president expressed these views during the 19th Ministerial conference of Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation virtually held on Monday. The Afghan president said that the visit has enhanced prospectus for regional cooperation and integration. STAFF REPORT

Petition challenges legal status of medical entrance exam KARACHI: Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday issued notices to Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) and other respondents in a petition challenging the legal status of the recently-held Medical and Dental Admission Test (MDCAT) examination. The petitioners, through their counsel Jibran Nasir, stated the questions asked in the exam paper were from out of syllabus and sought a committee comprising members from all provinces to investigate the matter. The counsel asked the high court to halt the second round of MDCAT exam scheduled for December 13 and also restrain PMC from announcing the result of the first round. The bench issued notice to all concerned parties and sought a reply by the next hearing on December 16.

Thousands of medical aspirants appeared in the MDCAT exam held across the country on November 29 after multiple hiccups and delays. STAFF REPORT

Pressuring elected reps for resignation not democracy: Faraz ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz has urged the opposition parties to demonstrate patience over their political destiny for the next three years. In his tweet on Monday, the information minister said that the alliance of opposition parties cannot negate the public decision of 2018. The minister said that the fate of those beating about the bush is not power but prison. Faraz said that putting pressure on the elected representatives for resignation on the part of unelected people is not democracy. Earlier on Sunday, in her address to the participants of the party's social media convention, PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz Sharif dropped strong hints of resignations

by PDM lawmakers to be announced in the December 13 show of street power of the opposition parties. She appealed to the party Senators, MNAs and MPAs to stay firm and loyal to the party if the leadership goes for the option of resignations from the assemblies. She asked them not to succumb to any pressure in this regard.

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar inaugurates the Gul-e-Dawoodi exhibition at Jilani Park in the provincial capital. ZUBAIR MEHFOOZ

noam Chomsky says Chinese vaccine may be first to be available in market ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Noam Chomsky, renowned academic and author of several books, appreciated the way China handled the coronavirus pandemic and its follow-up measures.

Chomsky expressed these views during his lecture through video-link to the students of a private university. He said

that 20 years have passed since he visited Pakistan and was happy to speak to Pakistani students.

The American academic added that coronavirus vaccine is in the early stages of testing in China, saying that he believed the Chinese vaccine may be the first to be available in the market.

Chomsky said that South Korea also took good measures to control the

pandemic. He said that South Korea fought the Covid-19 well while the United States, India and Brazil did not take good steps to deal with the epidemic.

He said that the American people were the victims of right-wing propaganda and the White House wanted to downplay China's actions. Chomsky hoped that the world will get rid of the pandemic at a very expensive and inevitable price.

"The present generation is facing questions that have never appeared in human history. These questions are a burden and a challenge," he said.

The renowned intellectual said that the threat of nuclear war is increasing in the world and if steps are not taken, the threat of environmental catastrophe is also on the rise. He said that South Asia faces threats from climate change.

Tuesday, 8 December, 2020

04 NEWS

BuzdAr lAudS ArMy’S SuPPort In fIgHt AgAInSt CovId-19

IHC rejects plea against appointments of advisers, SAPMs ISLAMABAD TLTP

LAHORE

C

STAFF REPORT

ORPS Commander Lahore Lt Gen Majid Ehsan held a farewell meeting with Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar at his office on Monday.

The chief minister paid tributes to the services of Lt Gen Majid Ehsan as corps

commander of Lahore and expressed good wishes for his future responsibilities. He said that the nation is proud of the armed forces which have written a new history of maintaining peace in the country. The peace has been restored due to the precious blood of the martyrs, he added. He also said that excellent support was extended by the army during the corona pandemic and work is done while maintaining best coordination be-

tween the civil and the military leadership, the CM added. The meeting, which was also attended by other civil and military leaders, expressed concern over the nonimplementation of the SOPs during the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic. The meeting agreed to launch joint efforts for saving the lives of the public, besides having a consensus over implementing strict Covid-19 measures if the ongoing situa-

tion aggravates. It was agreed that hospitals would be equipped with facilities aimed at dealing with the Covid-19 situation, further ensuring strict implementation of wearing masks in offices and public places.

It was further decided that the SOPs would be implemented while avoiding the shutdown of business activities. The meeting called for imposing strict restrictions in areas under micro or smart lockdown.

Masood spurns Indian propaganda against Turkey MUZAFFARABAD STAFF REPORT

Spurning India's propaganda against Turkey, the AJK President Sardar Masood Khan has said that Turkey’s support to the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people has left the Indian rulers perturbed and frustrated.

Commenting on the Indian media reports that accused Turkey of preparing to send Jihadi fighters to Kashmir, Masood said that the freedom struggle in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOK) is indigenous and Turkey or any other country of the world has nothing to do with it.

“India’s propaganda is rubbish and a crude attempt to undercut Turkey’s political and diplomatic support for Kashmiris struggling against Indian oppression and tyranny. It won’t happen,” said the president.

He maintained that the Indian media reports that the Turkish fighters fighting in eastern Syria were now preparing to fight the Indian Army in occupied Kashmir, is not only unfounded and baseless but also a deep-rooted conspiracy to malign the indigenous liberation movement of the Kashmiri people. Such Indian tricks have not succeeded in the past and will not succeed in future as well, he added.

The AJK president said that India would not be allowed to hide its crimes against humanity and its gross violation of human rights in occupied Jammu and Kash-

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday dismissed a plea challenging appointments of the prime minister’s advisers and special assistants. A two-member bench of the IHC comprising Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Ghulam Azam Qambrani released the reserved verdict in the open court. The verdict was reserved on September 9, after the completion of arguments from both sides.

Earlier, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had released a written order that stated there was no restriction of appointing persons having dual nationality as special assistants to the prime minister (SAPMs). The order read, “It is pursuant to the said powers that the Federal Government has made the Rules of 1973 and has described the “Organizations of Divisions” in rule 4 ibid. Sub-rule 6 of rule 4 enables the Prime Minister to appoint Special Assistant or Special Assistants and to determine their status and functions.” It also read the premier is answerable to the nationals and the parliament and he is authorised to appoint officials and other persons for assistance. There is no restriction regarding the number of special assistants by the prime minister.

IHC sacks judge over brawl with MPA’s husband ISLAMABAD TLTP

mir. Instead of unleashing false and unfounded propaganda, India must fulfil its international obligations, stop repression in occupied Kashmir, prevent its army from trampling human rights, and immediately cease the settler-colonialism in the disputed territory of Kashmir.

“India must fulfil its responsibility towards creating conditions conducive for a fair and a free plebiscite in accordance with the UN resolutions to determine the will of Kashmiri people regarding their future,” he asserted.

The AJK president while describing crackdown against the social media users in occupied Kashmir as illegal and undemocratic said that the Indian Army had set up torture cells and interrogation centres in the different parts of the occupied Valley including Srinagar where the social media activists raising their voice against the repressive actions of the Indian regime are severely tortured.

According to reports pouring in from the occupied territory, the cyber police of IOK monitors social media posts of the youth studying in colleges, universities and educational institutions, and those who speak against the Indian state terrorism, liberation of Kashmir, and the right of self-determination are arrested.

They are tortured in various concentration centres, and their cell phone, laptops and other equipment are seized in order to prevent them from showing the outer world the true picture of occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday dismissed Additional Sessions Judge Malik Jahangir Awan after finding him guilty of misconduct during a brawl with Member of the Punjab Assembly (MPA) Abida Raja’s husband in September. According to a notification issued by the IHC registrar, Additional Sessions Judge Malik Jahangir Awan had appeared before an inquiry commission investigating a road-rage fight between him and the MPA’s husband at a petrol pump near the Foreign Office (FO) in Islamabad. After completing its investigations, the inquiry commission, in its report, declared the additional sessions judge guilty of misconduct. In light of the inquiry commission report, the IHC dismissed the judge from service. Earlier on September 14, police had booked the husband of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA in a case under charges of assault against an additional session judge of Islamabad court. According to police, they had registered a case citing the medical report of the assistant session judge. “We have arrested an accused Bilal,” a spokesman for the Islamabad police had said.

Cabinet to decide allocation of land for construction of Federal Courts Complex ISLAMABAD AHMAD AHMADANI

The Ministry of Law and Justice has decided to construct a Federal Courts Complex in Karachi and has sought approval of the federal cabinet for allocation of a space of about 5 acres, situated on University Road, Pakistan Today learned on Monday.

The cabinet meeting scheduled for Tuesday is likely to take a final decision in this regard.

The Ministry of Law and Justice is seeking approval for allocation of a plot of land measuring 5.069 acres, situated at K-28 Trans Layari Quarters, University Road, near old Sabzi Mandi, Karachi, for the construction of Federal Courts Complex, Karachi.

Currently, almost 40 federal courts and tribunals of various disciplines are operational but are scattered across the port city. Previously, a courts complex could not be constructed due to the non-availability of a suitable piece of land.

The Ministry of Law and Justice has already constructed a judicial complex in Islamabad and Peshawar, but efforts to do the same in Karachi have so far not shown tangible results.

The land sought after by the Law Ministry is part

CABINET TO GRANT MPHIL ALLOWANCE TO ARMED FORCES PERSONNEL of the 18.43 acres occupied by the Department of Stationery and Forms (Cabinet Division). The approval is subject to the fulfilment of codal formalities, determination of the ownership of land and approval of the competent authority. While the area is free from encroachment, some structures of warehouses and offices of the Deputy Controller Stationery and Forms would have to be razed before construction.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Defence, in a summary, has sought approval of the federal cabinet for grant of MPhil allowance worth Rs2,500 per month to the armed forces personnel. The MPhil allowance is presently only admissible to civilian employees. The financial effect of the proposal would amount to Rs12.3 million per year.

The federal cabinet in its Tuesday meeting would also take the final decision regarding a proposed amendment in the policy of import of arms and ammunition.

The Ministry of Commerce, after consulting concerned stakeholders, floated two proposals in a summary and sought approval of the federal cabinet on proposed amendments in the policy of import of arms and ammu-

nition. Prime Minister Imran Khan, in this regard, has authorized the submission of the summary to the federal cabinet. The federal cabinet on Tuesday will take up 15 agenda items, including posting of Executive Director in State Life Insurance Corporation (SLIC), amendment in the policy of import of NBP arms and ammunition, permission for import of Montanide Oil from Seppic France in favour of M/s Alternative Chemicals (Pvt) Ltd, Lahore for supply to Livestock & Dairy Development Department, Government of Punjab, grant of M.Phil allowance to the armed forces personnel, appointment of Managing Director, Housing Building Finance Company Limited (HBFCL), allocation of quota for seats of Schools of Dentistry, Constituent College of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University, Islamabad, reconstitution of Board of Directors (BoDs) of six DISCOs (FESCO, HESCO, LESCO, PESCO and QUESCO), revision/reconstitution of Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC), the appointment of the post of Managing Director, Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC).

Tuesday, 8 December, 2020

PARCO’s COAsTAl OIl ReFIneRy TO helP BOOsT lOCAl PROduCTIOn: PM ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

RIME Minister Imran Khan said on Monday that completion of the oil refinery project

by Pak Arab Refinery Limited (PARCO) would help the country enhance its capacity to produce petroleum products at local level.

Presiding over a meeting on the es-

tablishment of Coastal Oil Refinery by PARCO, the PM termed the addition of PARCO’s refinery as a “good omen” for the country’s petroleum sector.

Power Minister Omar Ayub Khan and Special Assistant to PM on Petroleum Nadeem Babar were also present on the occasion. The meeting was informed that work on the construction of the [refinery] terminal would start within the next six months, while that on the es-

Balochistan govt developing 13 new border markets ISLAMABAD APP

Balochistan government has initiated the development work on as many as 13 border markets at frontier areas to boost significant business activities in the province. In this regard, the government has initiated development work on the Pak-Iran border and newly inaugurated gateway at Badini at the Pak-Afghan border to create and promote economic activities in the province. An official of the Balochistan government on Monday said that the government plans to set up 13 border markets at adjacent border areas of Iran and Afghanistan. He said that work on the border trade junction at Gabad and Mand Redig of Gwadar district will be carried out in the first phase. “The land acquisition process has completed while work has for developing infrastructure including communication network, water supply and electricity in the market areas has also been initiated,” he added. He said that with the establishment of border markets, employment opportunities will be created for 20,000 locals from each market and the entire province would benefit from its associated benefits.

KP govt releases another Rs1bn for TMAs PESHAWAR AZIZ BUNERI

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has released another Rs1 billion to the local government department for compensating Tehsil Municipal Administrations (TMAs) against losses incurred due to the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier, the provincial government had sanctioned Rs4bn for all TMAs in the province as compensation for losses incurred in term of property tax waiver due to the closure of businesses due to the Covid-19 and whereas the provincial cabinet had also waived the 2pc property tax for one year to provide relief to businesses in the province. Of the concession demanded from the provincial government, Rs1.5bn was released earlier whereas Rs1bn has been released now, while Rs1.5bn is expected to be released by the provincial government by June next year. According to sources in the Local Government, funds have been withheld instead of being transferred to the accounts of TMAs and will be released after appointing an officer on the level of a deputy secretary to retain the authority to utilise the funds.Due to this situation, all TMAs in the province are facing difficulties in meeting day to day expenses. It may be mentioned here that in the light of the decision taken by the KP Cabinet on February 3, the Local Government had reduced stamp duty, tax on property transfer, registration fee and local council tax.

tablishment of the refinery would commence after a year.

ENERGY SECTOR REFORMS: Meanwhile, in another meeting on Monday, Prime Minister Imran Khan directed the concerned authorities to take all necessary steps to bring improvements in the energy sector. While reviewing the progress on reforms in the energy sector, the PM emphasised that all stakeholders must fulfil their responsibilities in this re-

gard within the stipulated period.

He said a mechanism should be evolved so that the subsidy on electricity is only available to the poor and deserving people. Energy Minister Omar Ayub Khan, Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Information Minister Shibli Faraz, Adviser to PM on Commerce Abdul Razzaq Dawood and Planning Minister Asad Umar also attended the meeting.

Commerce ministry proposes NOC condition for import of NPB arms, ammunition ISLAMABAD SHAHZAD PARACHA

The Ministry of Commerce has proposed to make the condition of 'No Objection Certificate' (NOC) mandatory for the import of Non Prohibited Bore (NPB) and ammunition.

According to sources, the MoC has proposed the federal cabinet to make amendment in the import policy of NPB arms and ammunition.

"After consulting concerned departments as well as provinces, the commerce ministry has proposed that the import of NPB arms and ammunition would be subject to NOC from the Ministry of Interior for licence holders belonging to Islamabad, whereas those belonging to other cities would have to receive NOC from their respective provincial home departments," an insider informed.

In addition, import of arms and ammunition by individual and commercial dealers belonging to GilgitBaltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir would be subject to arm licence and NOC granted by the home department of governments of GB and AJ&K. It may be noted that the Import Policy Order (IP0) 2020 had banned the import of certain arms and am-

munition; however, import of some arms and ammunition was allowed subject to conditions listed in the 1P0 2020.

Sources said that the MoC used to authorise import of arms and ammunition before the notification of SRO 772(1)/2018. The said SRO had simplified the procedure for import of arms and ammunition by allowing licence holders to import arms and ammunition without the requirement of seeking any import authorization from the MoC. This procedure created some practical difficulties in the import of arms and ammunition especially for commercial dealers, as arms' manufacturers and dealers in some foreign countries were not willing to sell weapons to them without any import authorization by a government agency.

Meanwhile, customs' authorities had also expressed concern regarding monitoring of imported weapons without any specific import authorization issued by a government agency.

In view of the difficulties faced by commercial dealers in importing arms and ammunition, the ministry deemed appropriate to amend SRO 772(1)/2018 so that import of weapons allowed under the policy may be carried out without any hindrance.

District administration cracks down on Covid-19 SOPs violators LAHORE SHAHAB OMER

The Lahore district administration launched an aggressive crackdown operation against violations of Covid19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) and most of the violators in the provincial capital, including restaurants, wedding halls, shopping malls and university campuses, were also sealed off, Pakistan Today learnt on Monday.

Lahore Deputy Commissioner (DC) and the Assistant Commissioners had visited various places in the city and witnessed blatant violations of the SOPs taking place. The spokesman for the district administration said that various famous restaurant chains, shopping malls and wedding halls were openly violating SOPs, and these have now not only been sealed, but cases have also been registered against them.

The spokesperson further informed that 59 shops, 28 restaurants, cafes and hotels while 19 marriage halls were sealed last night, adding that the crackdown is still going on.

Similarly, Additional Deputy Commissioner General Shahid Kathia accompanied by Cantt assistant commissioner (AC) visited the Cantt area and, during the operation, sealed Ali Abbas Babar Shop,

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Jedi Salad, Pan Bar, Al Faisal Restaurant and Yasir Broast Hotel Y Block DHA on violations. “During the checking, our team came to know that SOPs were being violated at Yasir Broast Hotel, Ali Electric Shop, Waris Naan Shop and various other stores and shops and we have sealed them,” AC Cantt said. Shalimar Town AC Mehdi Maloff informed Pakistan Today that he had sealed Golden Break Snooker Club GT Road, Gaming Zone, Nasir General Store, My Dollar Shop Baghbanpura and Amritsar Harisa in Gawalmandi.

According to Maloff, he had sealed 13 wedding halls and marquees and 15 shops.

Raiwind AC Adnan Rasheed said he had sealed two cafes in his area and as well as the Al-Jannat Fort Marriage Hall and Mujeeb Shinwari on Canal Road.

Moreover, Rasheed also visited a private university campus situated in Raiwind where SOPs were being violated and students and staff were seen oncampus in spite of the closure of schools, and so the campus was also sealed off.

AC Faisan Ahmed said he had sealed Al-Ghani Marriage Hall in Gulshan-e-Ravi and SH Catering on Sanda Road on violation. Furthermore, he had also sealed Cakes & Bakes Bakery in the Gulshan-e-Ravi area due to non-implementation of Corona SOPs.

China keen to enhance energy cooperation under CPEC: envoy ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong has said that his country was keen to enhance its engagement with Pakistan, particularly in the field of energy, and thanked the government of Pakistan as well as the Ministry of Energy for expediting work on power projects under CPEC. He said during a meeting with Energy Minister

Omar Ayub Khan on Monday. CPEC Authority Chairman Gen (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Power Tabish Gouhar and Power Secretary Ali Raza Bhutta were also present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, the power minister said the government will ensure early provision of electricity to the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) being set up under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

He apprised the envoy of initiatives taken by the

present government to curb distribution and transmission losses in the power sector, adding that the government’s was striving hard to lower the cost of power generation by increasing the share of renewable energy. “Sustainable and affordable structure of energy tariffs will be beneficial for positive economic trajectory of the country,” he opined.

Both sides reviewed the progress of power projects under CPEC and agreed to continue the cooperation in the field of energy.

NEWS

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President Alvi for enhanced trade ties with Belarus ISLAMABAD TLTP

President Dr Arif Alvi said on Monday that Pakistan highly values its ties with Belarus and wants to further enhance bilateral relations in all fields of mutual interest, including trade and investment, science and technology, culture and defence. The president stated this while talking to the outgoing Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus, Andrei Ermolovich, who paid a farewell call on him at the Aiwan-e-Sadr. Talking to the ambassador, the president said that Pakistan is keen to promote trade and cultural cooperation with Belarus. He highlighted that Pakistan offered promising opportunities for joint ventures and investment and would welcome Belarusian investment in Pakistan. The president remarked that both countries have great potential for cooperation in the areas of culture, tourism and pharmaceuticals and emphasised the need for increasing cooperation in these areas for the mutual benefit of the two countries.

Committee formed to overhaul Pakistan's visa policy for tourism, investment ISLAMABAD TLTP

Prime Minister Imran Khan has constituted a high-level committee to overhaul the visa policy of Pakistan so that tourism and foreign investments could be encouraged.

The first session of the newly formed committee was held on Monday under the chairmanship of Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. The meeting was attended by Special Advisor to PM on National Security Moeed Yusuf and Adviser to PM on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood. Stressing the need to realise the potential of tourism and investment in Pakistan, Qureshi said that the committee would strive to make the e-visa policy more effective and result-oriented, besides presenting its recommendations to the federal cabinet for approval. The National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA) chairman on the occasion briefed the meeting on the huddles being faced in the country's visa policy. He informed that the e-visa policy has been functional for the past one-and-a-half-year in Pakistan.

Food prices continue to surge in KP PESHAWAR AZIZ BUNERI

The district administration has failed to control the prices of food items in the provincial capital despite repeated instructions from the provincial government. In the provincial capital, the price for pulses and rice have increased by Rs30 to Rs40 per kg in a month while sugar prices are still on the rise despite the government’s claims of resolving the issue by the start of sugarcane crushing season.

Sugar is being sold at Rs115 per kg, rice at Rs170 per kg and milk at Rs130 per kg while fruits and vegetable sellers in the city are also charging exorbitant prices. The prices of vegetables and fruits have gone up on a daily basis. Similarly, poultry in Peshawar is currently being sold at Rs236 per kg.

In the last two months, the price of chicken has gone up by Rs80 per kg while the price of eggs has gone up by Rs81 per dozen. Farm eggs have gone up from Rs120 to Rs210 per dozen. Prices of fruits in the city have also skyrocketed as pomegranates are being sold at Rs300 per kg, grapes at Rs320 per kg, apples at Rs150 per kg, persimmon at Rs150 per kg and guava at Rs120 per kg. Similarly, vegetable sellers are also ignoring the official price list. Okra per kilogramme is being sold for Rs100, potatoes Rs90 per kg, onions Rs80 per kg, tomatoes Rs120 per kg, lemon Rs150 per kg, peas Rs300 per kg, ginger Rs600 per kg, green chilli at Rs200 per kg, garlic Rs250 per kg, and cauliflower at Rs50 per kg.

Imran to present plan for fighting drug abuse COntInuED fROM PAgE 01 Citing information from a police chief, he said the frequency of the use of a synthetic drug, methamphetamine or ice, in school-going children as well as university students was alarming since it could leave a disastrous impact on their health and education. He said society had a significant role in the promotion of negative trends by accepting the earning of money through illegal ways and corruption. He lauded the services of ANF in eradicating drug abuse, however said the efforts of an institution alone could not produce results unless the efforts put in by society itself as the biggest deterrent.

Tuesday, 8 December, 2020

06 COMMENT

Who am I?

Opposition should be brought to negotiating table Denying it the right to hold rallies won’t help

Some thoughts on identity

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oDAY the top leadership of the PDM meets to consider its strategy after the December 13 rally.

The address to PML-N’s media team by former PM Nawaz Sharif and PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz was meant to prepare party activists for the struggle ahead.

Ms Maryam Nawaz again hinted at PDM parliamentarians tendering resignations en masse. The decision will only be taken if other parties in the alliance also agree to the move. Another important PPP leader maintained that even resignations by over 100 MNAs would force the government to hold general elections instead of going for disputed by-elections. This shows that PDM could call on its MNAs alone to resign not requiring this from its provincial assembly members as was done by the PTI in 2014. Another proposal is to march on Islamabad and then hold a prolonged sit-in. Presumably the ongoing nearly two week long dharna by Indian formers outside New Delhi has inspired some of the PDM components. There has also been talk about a ‘jail bharo movement’ in PDM’s ranks.

Today marks exactly the beginning of the third month of PDM agitation. Those who matter need to realize the dangerous implications of a prolonged and increasingly heightened confrontation in the country. on Monday the NCoC was told that the national positivity rate had been recorded at 9.71 per cent as Covid-19 cases across the country continue to soar. Within 24 hours 3,795 cases had been reported in the country— the highest since July 2 with thirty seven mortalities from the virus in the same period. The national economy is already in bad shape as shown among other indicators by the number of return filers declining by 23pc for the tax year 2020. The increase this year in cross LoC hostilities reveals increased Indian aggressiveness. PTI government has repeatedly insisted that it will not enter into a dialogue on an NRo which it claims is all that the opposition wants despite vehement denials by the latter. The situation on all the three fronts-health, economy and security- could worsen if the opposition is forced into further confrontation. A way out needs to be found to resolve the issues raised by the opposition through talks.

HASAN AFTAB SAEED

This is the manuscript for a lecture originally prepared to kickstart an interactive session with engineering sophomores as part of their community service course. The session could not be held because of scheduling difficulties.

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ho am I? As a fundamental question, this ranks right up there with Shakespeare’s ‘To be or not to be’.

Descartes’s cogito assures one of one’s existence, but it gives no clue as to what one is. Bulleh Shah’s ‘Ki jaanan main kaun’ raises the same question, but Bullah then proceeds to list all the things he is not. Being a poet, he can get away with being rhetorical. This is a luxury the ordinary mortal does not have.

So which aspect – your work, your body, your thoughts, your associations – is your ‘I’, your identity? This ‘you’ is not something static; it is constantly changing. heraclitus informs us that you can never step in the same river twice, because it is not the same ‘you’ on the second occasion. So, who is this ‘you’ that continually keeps evolving into something else?

This question about identity, which has been

Criminal negligence KP hospital deaths should not go unpunished

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INTERS tend to overwhelm hospitals even in the most common of circumstances with the flu season leading to complicated respiratory diseases that affect the most vulnerable, leading to a higher than usual demand for oxygen. Apart from this, the country is currently facing a destructive second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic at the moment, a virus which violently attacks the lungs causing severe pneumonia and as such hospitals would ideally be expected to maintain a more than adequate supply of oxygen. The death of seven patients, six of whom were suffering from the coronavirus, at Khyber Teaching hospital (KTh) in KP due to the unavailability of oxygen is therefore an unforgivable case of criminal negligence. That a government is on one hand advising the public to observe Covid-19 protocols and on the other cannot even guarantee an uninterrupted supply of oxygen at a public hospital that could save a critical patient’s life, is quite shameful. As is typical in such instances, the administrative staff of the hospital has been suspended with no action at the ministerial level.

Prime Minister Imran Khan is on record, speaking after a train crash back when he was in the opposition, demanding the resignation of then Railways Minister Saad Rafique, stating how had it been the UK, the minister would resign and an inquiry would be launched. By this standard, shouldn’t the KP CM demand the resignation of the province’s health Minister Taimur Khan Jhagra for such an avoidable tragedy? Rampant hypocrisy across the board will of course not allow that to happen. The oftrepeated excuse that the government has not been in power in the province for long enough to bring about considerable change does not apply here as the PTI has been running KP for seven and a half years straight, which is longer than any other party in the history of the province. The role of the PM’s cousin Dr Nausherwan Burki, tasked with reforming KP’s health system comes into question. Apart from the obvious nepotism, there is clearly a level of incompetence that has become a trademark of the PTI. Although an inquiry has been ordered, it remains to be seen if any meaningful action is taken against those at the top who should also be held accountable.

Avoid falling in love MoHAMMAD KHAliD BHATTi

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hAT makes me sick more than talk of studies, exams, passing and failing is the talk of falling in love...Fortunately there is no dearth of heartbreaks in the world, so, I rejoice when I get to know that I’m not the only one who has this disposition of avoiding this subject at all costs.

Love is such a popular subject for debate that authors and playwrights never find it difficult to talk at length about two lovers destined to fail, or about the society that is hell bent on making these two miserable wretches’ life more miserable.

The deplorable lives of Romeo and Juliet hardly need a mention as both ultimately died when their families wouldn’t allow them to live as one. Not trying to sound sarcastic, but they actually died! occasionally, society pushes a character to the point where he turns into what is now referred to as an ‘anti-hero’. heathcliff from Emily Bronte’s Wuthering heights’ is another failed lover. There are far more books of failed lovers than actual success stories that fill the dilapidated ‘Romance’ section in libraries; just another reason why one should avoid this stingy genre.

Before I proceed, one should keep in mind that there is no age of falling in love. one can be quite young, in the bloom of youth, or even on the deathbed when he confesses his desire for a significant other (Adolf hitler got married some 12 hours before his planned death!). Love is like a cool breeze that can come out of nowhere and hit you hard. It could reach you when the sun is at its zenith or during the wee hours of dawn. It could hit you during your job or while you’re a student. For me, it was the latter. I was in Class 4 and was burgeoning with enthusiasm at the ripe age of 9.

I was part of the student council and she was the class monitor; ideal match. We used to gossip about Disney characters when we weren’t discussing our homework. Unlike my good grade in English, her grammar wasn’t very good. Needless to say, this grammar deficit brought us closer. She wore a red

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I have a feeling many of you will feel that I have said a lot about what your identity is not and not nearly enough on what it is. Well, it is not my place to decide for anybody else what his identity is, or ought to be. I am afraid this is one question you must grapple with and answer for yourself. And no, ‘borrowing’ it from the guy seated next to you will not do either.

A juvenile love story

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

puzzling man from the earliest philosophers, is still very much a current issue today, at least as far as thoughtful men are concerned. It is not at all easy to answer. An anecdote will best illustrate the difficulty: A friend (let us call him Z) who works for a major media corporation (let us call it G) was introduced by one of his friends to a group of guests in these words: ‘This is Z. he works for G.’ Being a perfect gentleman, Z was civility itself while the guests were there; but afterwards he told his friend in no uncertain terms that he was not impressed with the way he had been introduced to the strangers. Was his affiliation with this organization all his friend could think of by way of his identity, he wanted to know.

‘What if I quit my job tomorrow? Would that leave me with no identity?’ he demanded. The hapless friend (who is not much of a philosopher) had no answers to these questions. on a different occasion a few months later, another friend (who was present during the earlier episode) had the onerous task of introducing Z to somebody. he had already said, ‘This is Z. he…’ before he realized that mentioning the employer would be a bad idea. After hesitating for a moment, he completed the sentence: ‘… he skips lunch and does not believe in God,’ regaining control in spectacular fashion. The person to whom these immortal lines were said apparently had a sense of humour. ‘I get the not-believing-in-God part, but what do you have against lunch, sir?’ he quipped. The day was saved thanks to some quick thinking, but the story illustrates the difficulties one encounters while thinking of identity. What are we really, stripped of all these sundry layers corresponding to the different aspects of our lives (occupation, associations, etc.)?

According to one view, these layers are all that

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we are. That trying to take them off, one by one, with the intention of seeing the real ‘I’ is akin to peeling away the layers of an onion to try and view the ‘real’ onion inside, because there is no onion left after all the layers have been removed. This makes a lot of sense, but so many of the things usually thought to be associated with one’s identity have more to do with happenstance: language, traditions, ancestry, etc. When we refer to identity in a narrow sense (as we are doing here) it implies something unique to the person, and which is not a chance occurrence. You do not inherit or chance upon your identity. Moreover, identity is certainly not the same thing as celebrity or public recognition (as is often thought). Although your identity includes how others see you, it is more about how you see yourself.

I have a feeling many of you will feel that I have said a lot about what your identity is not and not nearly enough on what it is. Well, it is not my place to decide for anybody else what his identity is, or ought to be. I am afraid this is one question you must grapple with and answer for yourself.

And no, ‘borrowing’ it from the guy seated next to you will not do either.

The most that can generally be suggested regarding your identity is that whatever else it may be; it is inexorably intertwined with your creativity, for your creativity makes you unique. It is a common error to associate creativity with geniuses alone. one does not need to be a Newton to be able to exercise one’s creativity. Each one of us is creative by birth, and every field of vocation as well as avocation offers plenty of opportunities for most everybody to express his creativity. Failing to be creative, then, is surrendering a major part of one’s identity. Iqbal probably had this in mind when in Javid Nama he goes as far as labeling as unappreciative ingrates those who choose not to lay claim to their share in man’s creative potential.

ribbon and I adorned a red tie (both were part of the class uniform). But for us, it was just one of the many traits that we shared. I lived in street 5 and she was in street 15. I always brought an extra pencil for her and she had the habit of bringing an eraser for me. Even while playing with other girls in the playground, she always kept an eye on me to check if I was flirting with the other girls.

To put it succinctly, she was very possessive. At least that’s was what I liked to think...

So, one day we decided to step things up a bit and bring our classroom romance to the playground.

Both of us decided that we would meet during recess one day. The thing about love is that one just can’t get enough of the other. As Friday had a longer recess (by 10 minutes), we agreed that Friday was the day that suited us best. our tiny brains cherished every minute we spent together. hence, we decided that I would be the crisps and biscuits and she would bring the drinks (grape juice for me) and orange for her.

The next few days were the longest days of my life.

Every day we used to look at each other across the aisle and blush like a Worcestershire orchard before harvest. Then there is this fluttering sensation called butterflies in one’s tummy. Thus, those few days were very long for both of us.

Again, that’s what I thought.

Come Friday, it was D-Day. I walk very confidently to my class and eagerly looked around for her. She’s not there. She’s nowhere for that matter!

The first thought that ran across my optimistic mind was that maybe she’s getting ready for the big day and would join me later. Giggling to myself and wreaking of half a bottle of perfume and one quarter of my father’s aftershave, I haughtily went towards my chair and sat down calmly.

Maybe she was getting her hair dyed. She looked amazing with a golden streak and her pearly

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The author is a connoisseur of music, literature, and food (but not drinks). He can be reached at www.facebook.com/hasanaftabsaeed

white teeth (all milk teeth of course). Another possibility was that her mother (also a huge crush of mine), might be giving her the finishing touches for her big day. All the delightful scenarios made me euphoric and I went on with the regular classes.

The bell rang and along with all of the boys, I went for lunch. Being raised the gentleman I was, I went to the cafeteria (it was more of a canteen) and bought the crisps and biscuits with my pocket money and began to wait at the selected spot which both of us had chosen. I was a stone bench under an old orange tree, right in front of the lawn. But, she was missing. The seconds turned to minutes and the minutes passed swiftly. She was nowhere to be found. half of the time I was looking at the clock and the other half, I was glancing at the gate. She never came. optimism turned to pessimism and this soon took form of rage. I even had a brawl with a class 3 student that day. That brawl ended when both us threatened each other that we’ll inform our elder brothers who will then take care of the matter (both the brothers were imaginary) If I had had access to a good bar at that time, I’d have spent the entire melancholy weekend over there.

Instead, I gulped down chocolate ice-cream and a lot of Nestle cerelac.

When I returned to school, I was a changed man (still 9 years old). With the characteristic slow gait of a Byronic hero, I entered the classroom and expected everyone to steer clear of my way. I had grown sulky, learnt a few good English curses (one rhymes with duck), and had adopted an indifferent demeanor. When I finally sat on my desk, a friend of hers came over and in a consoling fashion, whispered in my ear, ‘She has left the school, and has shifted permanently to the US.’ Since then, I have developed the propensity to stay away from love and I abhor, disdain and view with contempt any remote insinuation or even reference to love.

Love is like a cool breeze that can come out of nowhere and hit you hard.

It could reach you when the sun is at its zenith or during the wee hours of dawn. It could hit you during your job or while you’re a student.

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The writer is a fourth year MBBS student and can be reached at mohammadkhalid1099@gmail.com

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Tuesday, 8 December, 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

PM’s war on drugs PRIME MINISTER Imran Khan on Monday terming corruption and narcotics a “cancer of society” said the government would devise a strategy to check drug abuse among youth and save the future generations.

Addressing at an event here at Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) headquarters in Chaklala, the Prime Minister said relevant ministries including of education and health would be taken onboard to chalk-out the policy in view of growing trend of drug abuse at educational institutes. The Prime Minister said he would call a meeting next week to discuss ways to address the challenge of narcotics on urgent basis. “The government will run an anti-drug campaign across the country and the entire nation will fight this menace as a united force,” he said. he stressed the need for raising awareness among masses, particularly youth, about the negative impacts of drugs in personal and social lives. “We have to save our next generations from the shackles of drug abuse,” said Khan, expressing concern over high number of cases of drug addicts reported at schools and universities. he said as informed by Inspector General of Police, the situation of the use of synthetic drug ‘ice’ by schoolchildren besides university students was alarming as it could leave a disastrous impact on their education and health. Imran Khan said narcotics acted like a “silent killer” due to its damage inflicted upon the addicts and the society. he said seven million drug addicts in the country in fact meant suffering and misery of the same number of families. he said society had a significant role in promotion of negative trends by accepting earning of money through illegal ways and corruption. The Prime Minister said the government would enhance the flow of resources required to counter menace of drug abuse in the country. he lauded the services of ANF in eradicating drug abuse, however said the efforts of an institution alone could not produce results unless the efforts put in by society itself as the biggest deterrent. Federal Minister for Narcotics Control and senior officials of ANF attended the event.

Raza Ijaz ISlamabad

Food & shelter for the needy PTI’s welfare initiatives must be appreciated MuHAMMAD ZAHiD RiFAT

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hE social protection system refers to designing and implementing targeted social and economic policies aimed at reducing poverty and income inequality by providing relief to the most vulnerable and marginalized sections of the society.

Social protection aims to enhance the capacity of the poor and vulnerable people to manage economic and social risks, such as unemployment, exclusion, sickness, disability and old age.

According to World Bank’s recent estimates, 10 per cent of the world’s population or 734 million lived on less than $ 1.90 a day. .In the wake of the CoVID-19 epidemic, World Bank has estimated that 40 to 60 million additional people will also fall into extreme poverty during 2020 compared to 2019 depending on assumptions on the magnitude of the economic shocks. Under the pandemic, which has hit the world in its second wave more grievously, the global situation of poverty is likely to worsen further due to job loss, rising prices, disruptions in supply chains, loss of remittances, education and health services etc.

In Pakistan, owing to the incumbent federal government’s welfare orientation and commitment towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) , social protection has gained high priority and the government is determined to formulate and implement all –inclusive social protection policies that have transparent and manageable targeting system. In the post devolution scenario, both federal and provincial governments are jointly working towards the achievement of optimal social protection and minimum social exclusion.

Providing food to the poor, needy and destitute people is a great virtue. And to provide shelter besides the food also is a greater virtue.

PTI’s federal government headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan, ever since it came into power after securing peoples mandate in 2018’s free and fair General Elections, is endeavouring hard for taking all possible initiatives within the available resources for socio-economic uplift of the people at large with maximum focus on the needy, poor and destitute people. Quite obviously, the performance of a democratically elected government can and should only be judged and measured through its measures and programmes for the welfare and the well-being of the poor.

Prime Minister Imran Khan’s quite appreciable and welcome initiative to set up Shelter homes (Panah Gahs) for providing essential basic facilities to low income labourers, workers is a positive step forward towards establishment of the state of Medina, a model of perfection where protection of the rights of the vulnerable segments of the society is the primary responsi-

bility and obligation of the government.

This is a bitter fact that the resource-less people have been spending their nights on footpaths or in open parks even in harsh weather conditions.

For the first time in the history of the country, a democratically elected government is taking measures for taking care its people to the maximum extent possible, like the shelter homes which are serving a large number of non-resident daily wage earners, workers and their dependents with dignity and honour by providing them residential facilities and two meals services daily that are at par with any one-star hotel free of cost.

This great virtuous initiative is in all fairness one of the best step forward taken by the incumbent federal government in compliance and realization of its responsibility towards the people.

These steps should and must be appreciated by one and all; irrespective of political affiliation as this is generating hope among the needy and poor people that someone is there at the helm of affairs that is trying to facilitate them and taking care of them as much as possible.

It is also worth mentioning that PM Imran Khan, besides tackling the internal and external challenges and putting the national economy back on the right track and taking the country forward in the right direction, also finds time occasionally to visit the Shelter homes, spend some time with the people there to ensure they are served reasonably good food and being looking after by the officials concerned. The PM also joins them i at meals here and there thus reassuring them that he is all out for their welfare and well-being.

During his visit to the Shelter home (Panah Gah) in Tarlai area of the Federal Government, PM Imran Khan said that the civilized nations are recognized not by the luxurious lifestyle of the elite class but through the living conditions of the poor.

According to information gathered from different official sources, there are about 20 million people living without houses across the country and a majority of them are living in big cities.

Through its flagship initiative of Shelter homes (Panah Gahs), the federal government

plans to provide roofs to as many people as possible, ensuring food and shelter to them at the cost of the federal or provincial governments.

The federal government has allocated Rs 49 5 million per annum for each Shelter home.

There is no dearth of philanthropists and generous people and donations are also being accepted from them towards provision of facilities to the Shelter homes inmates.

These Shelter homes (Panah Gahs), whose number is gradually increasing, are being run on build, run and handover basis in collaboration and association with charity organizations as well as the private sector for sponsoring under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). In this regard, transparent and simple procedures have been devised for accepting donations.

According to the latest data, more than 150, 000 poor, needy and destitute people have so far benefitted from the Panah Gahs.

From September to end of November 2020, more than 17,000 persons were provided shelter, 130,000 served meals in the Shelter homes (Panah Gahs) which portrays and reflects the Prime Minister’s philosophy of affection and care towards the underprivileged and vulnerable population of the country.

It is also appreciable and good to note that Pakistan Baitul Maal has been tasked to remodel, rehabilitate the existing Shelter homes and also establish new ones for providing temporary/overnight stay with two time meals to the needy individuals seeking bed and breakfast while in pursuit of exploring employment opportunities.

In the first phase, the official sources have informed that the existing and new Shelter homes in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) are being renovated.

Pakistan Baitul Maal has also finalized a plan to set up 26 new Shelter homes including five each in Sindh and Balochistan provinces and eight each in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces by January 31, 2021, which is indeed appreciable. It should be ensured that these new Panah Gahs are in place as scheduled to accommodate more and more poor, needy and destitute people.

These steps should and must be appreciated by one and all; irrespective of political affiliation as this is generating hope among the needy and poor people that someone is there at the helm of affairs that is trying to facilitate them and taking care of them as much as possible.

The writer is Lahore based Freelance Journalist, Columnist and retired Deputy Controller (News) , Radio Pakistan, Islamabad and can be reached at zahidriffat@gmail.com

Jinnah’s visions lost IN 1947, sub-continent was divided into two independent states Pakistan and India. Quaid-e-Azam in his very first speech after independence said, “You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State”. From this it is clear that Pakistan is a Muslim state but minorities possess par rights and privileges. Jinnah believed in equality and equity for all, he craved for sameness and oneness among all irrespective of cultural and religious differences. he intended all of us to worked under a single banner of Pakistan with passion and patriotism.

Quaid e Azam was a man of qualities. After independence majorities as well as minorities were getting matched rights. But after his death, his doctrine faded away with a pace because our politicians never understood Pakistan as their their own nation but looted it ruthlessly as if it totally lacked ownership. Injustice, corruption and tranny became common in the country. Resultantly, Bangladesh then called east Pakistan separated from west Pakistan due to continuous injustices and suppressions of Pakistan army. This would never happened, if we have kept Quaid e Azam’s principals and statements. According to the constitution of Pakistan, army is servant of the country but now they have been rulers of the country due to defects and flaws in our system. Accept it or not Pakistan government is ruled by the army.

Recently, a Christian girl was murdered in Rawalpindi for she refused to marry a Muslim man named Shehzad. Leave minorities, even majorities are not getting their rights in Pakistan. Look at Zainab’s case, moterway incident and many more heart breaking happenings which can’t be mentioned in a little space, the criminals aren’t still arrested even after passing of a great time. The culprits are living wantonly as if they hadn’t did anything. It’s sad to admit that Quaid e Azam’s vision of Pakistan is lost that’s why we are all suffering in every walk of our lives and such nations who have forgotten their history, traditions and leader’s sacrifices can’t stand as a building can’t stand without pillars. And they called it Riysat e Madina, is Riysat e Madina lawless? If not, then why laws are not being implemented? muzaffaR KhoSo SuKKuR

Load shedding ThE current age can be really called the time of power as our day by day life is reliant on it is each way. Without power life will turn out to be hard, inconvenient, and uncomfortable. Pakistan is confronting intense lack of electric force. As per a gauge, there are 10,000 manufacturing plants in Karachi, among which roughly 30_40 percent industrial facilities have been shut due to stack shedding. These production lines were using power and Sui gas in an immense amount.in these plants, plastic, forming, elastic article, calfskin pieces of clothing, cotton iron-made merchandise, and numerous different things were being produced.According to the work office sources, roughly 800,000 Work have been dissipated from their jobs.while 400,000 to 800,000 workers were getting less wage.The proprietors have completed the additional time office in view of burden shedding and this was expanding our difficulties. Marriage corridors will no longer to have the entire evening wedding gatherings. The deficiency of power has become a cerebral pain for individuals of Pakistan. on the off chance that this danger of loadshedding isn’t controlled, individuals will rampage and there will be a bad situation for the rulers to stow away. The Public authority is needed to plane thoroughly to beat the heap shedding.

Individuals hit by load shedding have Now turned vicious because of disappointment. The arrangement of this difficult lies in giving the individuals enough power in their homes, shops and Manufacturing plants.

EhtISham ahmad lahoRE

Tuesday, 8 December, 2020

08 WORLD VIEW

KASHMIRIS INTERROGATED AND TORTURED

BY CYBER POLICE FOR TWEETING THE CRACKDOWN ON SOCIAL MEDIA USERS IN INDIAN OCCUPIED KASHMIR IS PART OF A SHARP ESCALATION OF THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT’S CENSORSHIP EFFORTS “THEY YELLED AND SHOUTED, ‘WHO IS GIVING YOU MONEY TO POST ALL THIS?’ ONE OFFICER SLAPPED AND KICKED ME”

Intercept

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AAkAsh hAssAn

hmed was nervous as he approached the fortified police station, its walls covered with barbed wire and gun-toting cops guarding the entrances. The college student had received a phone call the previous day from Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s cyber police, asking him to report to the station with no reason given. Ahmed, whose name has been changed for fear of retaliation, had never been summoned by the police before.

Upon his arrival, police immediately took Ahmed to another station nearby; his cellphone was confiscated at the gate. he was brought to a holding room where he noticed four other young people. After exchanging a few nervous glances and hushed whispers, the five youths realized they knew each other — not in person, but through social media.

They were meeting for the first time at Cargo, a counterinsurgency police complex known for its history as a torture site. Since August, the facility in Srinagar, the capital of Indian Occupied Kashmir, has allegedly been used to interrogate and torture young Kashmiri social media users who have been critical of the Indian government’s repressive policies implemented in the region since last year.

Indian Occupied Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, a group of human rights organizations, reported in August that police had made complaints against more than 200 users of social media platforms and virtual private networks, deploying surveillance technology to trace and summon them to police stations under anti-terror and detention laws.

Ahmed and the young people he met at Cargo are among the more than two-dozen

men and women, mostly students, who spoke to The Intercept about their experiences in police custody for their social media posts. Some of them had been contacted by the cyber unit and asked to sign a nonbinding agreement at a local police station to refrain from criticizing civil authorities or the armed forces on social media. Others recounted that they were sent to Cargo, where they were thrashed, verbally abused, and threatened with imprisonment or death.

The recent police crackdown on social media is part of a sharp escalation of censorship efforts under India’s hindu nationalist Prime minister Narendra modi since August 2019, when the government unilaterally decided to revoke Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s semiautonomous status previously guaranteed under the Indian Constitution and divide the state into union territories under its direct control.

The posts under police scrutiny, mostly shared on Twitter and Facebook, were explicitly political: They questioned India’s actions against Kashmiris leading up to and following the dissolution of the region’s special status, as well as human rights violations perpetrated by Indian security forces and the media’s silence on such abuses. Twitter did not respond to a request for comment.

The victims said that police confiscated their phones and returned them days later, after officers had used login information extracted during interrogations to access their social media accounts. Since being released from custody, many of the victims said they no longer post political content online or they have deactivated their accounts to avoid being summoned again.

There have been few reports outside Kashmiri and Indian media about the recent crackdown. After publishing a story on the issue for Indian news site Article 14, Kashmiri journalist AuqibJaveed was summoned in late September to the cyber police headquarters. he later claimed that he had been assaulted and detained at Cargo for five hours — a treatment similar to what the social media users described.

The intimidation of social media users and journalists is meant to silence criticism, said GowharGeelani, a journalist and author who himself has been booked by the cyber police under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, a controversial Indian anti-terror law. “It is part of a larger crackdown and criminalizing of opinions.”

INSIDE THE INTERROGATION ROOM: Considered the world’s most heavily militarized zone, Indian Occupied Kashmir was put under an unprecedented military lockdown by the Indian government last August.

Cellular services and digital communication lines were blocked without any prior notice — resulting in the longest internet shutdown ever recorded in a democracy. The Indian government restored internet access, including to social media sites that were previously banned, in march, but only at slow 2G speed.

The restrictions on internet access have come in tandem with increased surveillance in the region, said devduttamukhopadhyay, associate counsel at the Internet Freedom Foundation, an internet advocacy group based in India. “Some examples we have seen in the past year are WhatsApp group administrators being made to register with district authorities, ban on VPN services, and additional verification requirements for prepaid mobile internet users,” she said.

Some Kashmiris, in the spirit of the decadeslong rebellion against Indian rule, have taken to social media to air their frustrations with the government — but not without consequences.

After spending more than three hours in the holding room, getting fingerprinted and photographed, and handing over his banking information and other personal details, Ahmed was taken to an interrogation room where several officers were waiting for him.

“They yelled and shouted, ‘Who is giving you money to post all this?’” he said. “One officer slapped and kicked me.” One of the officers pushed a file toward him containing screenshots of his posts from Twitter.

“I was asked to unlock my phone and one officer started scanning it,” Ahmed said.

“Another officer asked for the passwords of my email and social media accounts.” The officers pulled up Ahmed’s Twitter account on a desktop computer and started questioning him about his more recent tweets. Some of the posts sought accountability from the police and the Indian army for human rights violations, such as extrajudicial killings of civilians in staged gunfights, while others seemed more benign.

“One officer asked me why I had congratulated Kashmiri photographers who won the Pulitzer Prize this year,” said Ahmed.

“They asked me why I quote selective poets and poetry in my tweets.”

Another college student who spoke to The Intercept also said that a police officer confiscated his phone while he was detained at Cargo and looked through photos of his mother and siblings.“he abused them and threatened that they will also be treated like me,” said Bilal, whose name has also been changed for fear of retaliation.

Bilal and two other victims told The Intercept that officers had proposed they become informants and snitch on other social media users police were monitoring, in exchange for their release. They were told that they would otherwise be jailed or killed in a staged gunfight. Bilal was baffled by the offer to become an informant, saying that he never thought his tweets would land him in a situation in which the police would ask him to become a spy.

“They would leave me alone for hours to decide,” he said. however, he was eventually let go with a warning that next time he would be booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. TRACK AND TRACE: Indian Occupied Kashmir’s cyber police force was expanded shortly after the August lockdown last year, with the intention of curbing cybercrimes.

Since then, the unit has grown into a sophisticated surveillance operation, equipped with advanced technology for tracking down Kashmiris, including more recent monitoring of those who contracted Covid-19 during the pandemic. Tahir Ashraf Bhatti, the head of Cargo who is also in charge of the cyber

THE PALESTINIAN CASE AT THE ICC IS LEGAL, NOT POLITICAL SECRETARY OF STATE MIKE POMPEO HAS REPEATEDLY REFERRED TO THE COURT AS AN EMBARRASSING, POLITICAL, RENEGADE, UNLAWFUL, “SO-CALLED” COURT AND A “VEHICLE FOR POLITICAL VENDETTAS”, “MASQUERADING AS A LEGAL BODY”

Al JAzeerA

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RAjisouRAni

T took International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor FatouBensouda five years to conclude her preliminary examination of the situation in Palestine, which found “a reasonable basis” to believe that “war crimes have been or are being committed in the West Bank, including east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip,” and thus to initiate an investigation. her statement on december 20, 2019 announcing the end of the inquiry was met with widespread enthusiasm by victims and human rights organisations alike. But the celebrations came too soon.

The prosecutor found that the standard of proof for the commission of war crimes was met, and that opening the investigation was appropriate and in the interest of jus-

tice. Nevertheless, instead of proceeding, she sought confirmation on the scope of the ICC’s territorial jurisdiction from the Pre-Trial Chamber. She asked the chamber to take a decision within 120 days. Nearly a year later, victims are still waiting for that decision.

As a Palestinian lawyer in Gaza, I have spent 30 years representing victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity across the occupied Palestinian territory. Since 2009, I have represented the Palestinian victims of Israeli crimes in Gaza before the ICC, our last resort to ensure the most serious crimes of concern to the international community do not go unpunished.

Today, I am increasingly frustrated by the court’s painfully slow progress. It is true that international criminal proceedings are typically longer than domestic cases, but it is hard to understand why the substantive investigations into the crimes committed in Palestine have not commenced, despite the evidence uncovered in the prosecutor’s preliminary examination.

The prosecutor’s decision to ask the Pre-Trial Chamber to confirm territorial jurisdiction in Palestine and consequent delays risk jeopardising the effectiveness of

the investigation. This wasted time has played into the hands of certain political actors who have attempted to detract from the seriousness of the court’s preliminary findings of war crimes. most notably, the Israeli ministry of Foreign Affairs has published a position paper which attempts to divert attention away from the gravity of the crimes, and direct it towards the old question: is Palestine even a state? This argument champions a legal and moral absurdity: there can be no victims of war crimes in Palestine if Palestine is not a state.

In January, the Pre-Trial Chamber issued a call for the submission of observations on the question of jurisdiction. In response, 43 amici curiae legal opinions were submitted from third states, international organisations, legal scholars and civil society by the march 16 deadline. most submissions did not limit themselves to the technical question of territorial jurisdiction, as requested, but interpreted this moment as an opportunity to make claims about the statehood of Palestine, the legitimacy of the proceedings and their political appropriateness. The chamber, however, did not follow up with a timely

delivery of its judgement.

The politicisation of this case engulfed the ICC proceedings from the very beginning, echoing the fate of previous attempts to seek redress for violations of international law in Palestine through legal mechanisms and forums. A delegitimisation campaign was launched against the court, with accusations ranging from taking a political stand to espousing anti-Semitic positions.

Reaffirming its unwavering support to Israel, the United States took radical steps to reject ICC authority over its citizens and territory, suspend visas to ICC personnel and their families, and condemn the Palestine investigation and “any other action that seeks to target Israel unfairly”. Secretary of State mike Pompeo has repeatedly referred to the court as an embarrassing, political, renegade, unlawful, “so-called” court and a “vehicle for political vendettas”, “masquerading as a legal body”.

In order to shield US and Israeli nationals who committed war crimes, US President donald Trump even issued an executive order, imposing sanctions on the ICC prosecutor and investigators. Some commentators have expressed doubt that US Presidentelect Joe Biden will be willing and able to

force, was awarded a medal from the Indian government on Independence day for his department’s work.

Bhatti told The Intercept that the cyber unit opens cases mostly for complaints regarding financial fraud and “cyberbullying” — the latter of which has been used as justification to summon social media users for anti-government posts. he denied that people were being summoned or tortured for expressing their political views online.Bhatti himself has been accused of assaulting at least one social media user in custody. The victim told The Intercept that he was summoned to the cyber police station in August after he had mocked Bhatti on Twitter. he was taken to Cargo where Bhatti used a leather belt to beat him repeatedly for three days on the same part of his body. “If I tell you the spot they hit, they would get to know my identity,” he said.

Bhatti denied this incident took place.

Bhatti declined to go into detail about what kind of surveillance technology the cyber force uses to collect information on Kashmiris who live both in the region and abroad. multiple people told The Intercept that despite using VPNs to stay anonymous on social media, the police were still able to find out who they were.“It takes us half an hour to pinpoint location and details of a user,” Bhatti said. he showed The Intercept a WhatsApp conversation, in which a senior officer had asked him about an individual’s location and address, and if they had a past record. “my team did it in minutes,” he said.That team is composed of 40 tech-savvy cops, Bhatti said, while the more challenging cases are outsourced to private companies, which he did not specify.

GONE QUIET: While much of the cyber unit’s internal operations remain shrouded in secrecy, its actions have had a noticeable chilling effect on social media activity in Indian Occupied Kashmir. many accounts have vanished, while others have gone silent or no longer post political content.

ShefaliRafiq, a 22-year-old journalism student who is active on social media, said she has become more cautious about what she posts. “There were some profiles I would eagerly follow,” she said, “but they have either deactivated their accounts or they no longer write critical posts.”

Three social media users said they have noticed suspicious activity on their accounts since being released from police custody, such as likes or retweets they did not make, or following and unfollowing other accounts.

Those who had been summoned said they have lived in fear since their encounters with the cyber police. After being called in for interrogation four days in a row, Ahmed said he was finally let go on the condition that he would stop criticizing the Indian government and security forces online, and report to the station whenever he was called in. Since his release, Ahmed said he has experienced panic attacks and a lack of appetite. he has not been able to bring himself to post on social media like he used to.“At times I write a long post and at the end, I delete it and cry,” he said. “my phone haunts me.”

reverse this course of action and hostility towards international justice.

Confronted by a deluge of politicallymotivated accusations, the ICC need not sink to the level of its detractors. Its founding treaty, the Rome Statute, requires the court to stand for justice, “determined to put an end to impunity for the perpetrators” of international crimes.

The only valid approach is for the court to tackle the question as a strictly legal one. In this sense, in concluding her preliminary examination satisfactorily, the prosecutor could have opened the investigation directly. There was no legal requirement to submit a request to clarify the territorial jurisdiction of the court. her request, therefore, has brought a heated political debate into the courtroom; resolving it once and for all, at the preliminary stage of the proceedings, will avoid incertitude and more unbearable delays in the decision.

This strictly judicial approach is not divorced from the reality on the ground. Instead, it acknowledges the critical situation of the victims of the Israeli occupation, for whom this court represents the only and last resort.Abandoned by the international community, unable to access any Israeli, foreign or international tribunal, and subjected to a cruel occupation, the fate of the Palestinian people is now more than ever tied to that of the ICC.Now the court is at a crossroads: it can yield and collapse under Israeli and US pressure or choose to act upon its object and purpose to ensure that international crimes committed on Palestinian territory do not go unpunished.

RajiSourani is Director of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, based in Gaza.

Tuesday, 8 December, 2020

BUSINESS 09

CORPORATE CORNER Meezan Bank partners with Telenor to provide greater accessibility to customers KARACHI: In continuation of its efforts to provide greater ease and accessibility to its customers, Meezan Bank, Pakistan’s first and largest Islamic bank, has announced partnership with Telenor Pakistan. Umair Mohsin, Chief Marketing Officer - Telenor Pakistan, and Faizur Rehman, Group Head IT & Digital Banking Meezan Bank, signed the MoU at Meezan Bank’s head office in Karachi. Speaking on the occasion, Faizur Rehman said, “We are delighted to partner with Telenor Pakistan to create great benefit for our customers. With this alliance, Meezan Bank and Telenor Pakistan are aiming towards the creation of unified solutions that are not only easy to deploy but will also enable the Bank to expand its digital outreach.”

Jubilee Life signs agreement with Domino’s Pizza KARACHI: Jubilee Life Insurance, Pakistan’s leading life insurance provider in the private sector, has signed an agreement with the top food chain, Domino’s Pizza to offer an exclusive discount to Saffron Loyalty Program members. The offer will be live in nine cities across Pakistan from December 2020. Saffron is a one of its kind loyalty program of Jubilee Life Insurance, which provides its members with the privilege and opportunity of availing exclusive discounts at restaurants, apparel, lifestyle brands, medical, insurance, and lots more, across Pakistan. Syed Usman Qaiser, Head of Marketing & Brand Management, Jubilee Life Insurance, stated, “We are proud to announce this collaboration with Domino’s Pizza, which gives our customers added value for having a life insurance policy from Jubilee Life. We aim to continue this effort of providing the best for our customers, and this collaboration is a testament to it.”

Nestlé redoubles efforts to combat climate change KARACHI: As a signatory of the UN ‘Business Ambition for 1.5°C’ pledge, Nestlé is one of the first companies to share its detailed, time-bound plan and to do so ahead of schedule. The company is taking measures to halve its emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050 – even as the company grows. Actions focus on supporting farmers and suppliers to advance regenerative agriculture, planting hundreds of millions of trees within the next 10 years and completing the company’s transition to 100 percent renewable electricity by 2025.

Nestlé Chairman Paul Bulcke said, “The Board recognizes the strategic importance of taking decisive measures to address climate change. It supports accelerating and scaling up our work to ensure the long-term success of the company and to contribute to a sustainable future for generations to come.”

ISLAMABAD: A global virtual fundraiser was held over the past weekend at Bani Gala to support the construction of Pakistan’s third and largest Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SKMCH&RC) in Karachi. Prime Minister Imran Khan graced the occasion as its special guest.

IHC BArs fINANCE ADvIsEr froM HEADINg CCoP COURT ANNULS FORMATION OF CABINET COMMITTEE ON PRIVATISATION, DECLARES INCLUSION OF ADVISERS ON COMMERCE, FINANCE AND INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS AS ILLEGAL ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

HE Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday barred Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh from heading the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation, besides declaring the formation of the said cabinet body as illegal. The plea against the constitution of the cabinet committee was submitted

by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Challenging the inclusion of advisers Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Abdul Razak Dawood and Dr Ishrat Hussain

in the cabinet committee, the petition, moved through Barrister Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha, had argued that only elected representatives of the people had the right to govern the country.

The IHC bench, headed by Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Ghulam Azam Qambrani, while announcing the verdict, which was reserved earlier, approved plea of the PML-N against the constitution of the federal cabinet committee.

The IHC annulled the notification issued on 25 April 2019 for the formation of the committee and declared the inclusion of advisers on commerce, finance and institutional reforms as illegal.

Regional connectivity vital to unleash trade, tourism potential: Bakhtiar ISLAMABAD STAFF RPEORT

Economic Affairs Minister Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar has stressed the importance of regional connectivity to unleash the country’s trade and tourism potential.

The minister expressed these views while participating in the 19th Ministerial Conference of Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) held virtually on Monday. Bakhtiar said that forums such as CAREC are important for Pakistan to achieve shared goals of sustainable development and economic growth. Endorsing the framework, he emphasised, “By setting specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound (SMART) targets along with active monitoring and annual reporting, we can effectively monitor the progress

leading to implementation of CAREC's Vision 2030."

The minister maintained that tourism is part of the national development policy of the government and that this sector contained immense untapped potential. He recommended the development of a regional tourism corridor, establishment of CAREC Business Council and increased involvement of the private sector for promotion of tourism. Bakhtiar said that the incumbent government was focusing on facilitating the private sector for increased investment. He also suggested an enhanced visa facilitation regime in the form of "CAREC Sticker" for certain categories within the region.

"In order to expand trade among CAREC countries, transit trade agreements among member countries leading to the regional

free trade agreement (RFTA) may be considered."

He endorsed long-term CAREC strategies to promote regional tourism and gender mainstreaming, and suggested the CAREC institute to conduct comprehensive studies identifying underlying gaps and including roadmaps on mutually beneficial topics.

"Pakistan attaches high importance to CAREC as it is aligned with our national priorities of regional integration and cooperation," the minister stated.

CAREC Programme is a partnership of 11 countries and six development partners working together to promote development through cooperation, leading to accelerated economic growth and poverty reduction. It is guided by the overarching vision of “good neighbours, good partners, and good prospects.”

MARKET DAILY

Stocks inch down in range-bound trade KARACHI STAFF REPORT

Investors of the Pakistan Stock Exchange witnessed a range-bound session on Monday, with the indices swaying both ways in search of a clear direction before closing in the red.

Equity markets around the globe showed a mixed performance, whereas crude oil prices slipped lower from the previous close; WTI crude price declining 0.82pc to $45.86 while Brent crude oil price falling 0.75pc to $48.88. "The market traded in a narrow range today after opening on a positive note, which depicted investors' general lack of interest due to concerns over political uncertainty," a report issued by Arif Habib Limited read. "Selling pressure was most evident in cement sector stocks; however, E&Ps also failed to perform amid dwindling oil prices in the international market."

SUMMARY: The benchmark KSE-100 Index endured a volatile start to the week, touching its intraday high at 42,321.37 (+114.37 points) and low at 42,047.00 (-160.00 points). It settled lower by 91.69 points at 42,115.31.

Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index dropped 282.26 points to end at 68,014.35, while the KSE All Share Index lost 66.93 points, closing at 29,482.48.

The overall market volumes declined from 427.9 million shares in the previous session to 380.5 million shares (-11pc). Average traded value also fell 2pc, from $113.3 million to $111.6 million. TRG Pakistan Ltd (TRG +2.07pc), Unity Foods Ltd (UNITY +2.02pc) and Ghani Global Holdings Right Shares (GGLR1 -3.57pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 41.31 million, 33.26 million and 18.04 million shares, respectively.

Sectors that dragged the benchmark index lower included oil & gas exploration (-53.60 points), cement (25.67 points) and oil & gas marketing (-13.94 points).

Among the companies, Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDC -26.95 points), Pak Petroleum Ltd (PPL -25.09 points) and MCB Bank Ltd (MCB -14.86 points) dented the index the most.

Shedding 1.29pc from its total market capitalization, the oil & gas exploration sector ended as the session's worst performer, with OGDC (-1.71pc), PPL (-1.79pc) and Mari Petroleum Company Ltd (MARI 0.27pc) ending in the negative.

Meanwhile, in a notification to the exchange, The Organic Meat Company Limited (TOMCL +2.56pc) announced that it has secured a contract for supply of frozen boneless meat with a multinational customer in Saudi Arabia. The 12-month project is expected to cost approximately $3.90 million.

Meanwhile, in another decision earlier in the day, the IHC dismissed a plea challenging appointments of advisers and special assistants.

Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Ghulam Azam Qambrani released the reserved verdict in the open court. The verdict was reserved on September 9, after the completion of arguments from both sides.

The order read, "It is pursuant to the said powers that the Federal Government has made the Rules of 1973 and has described the ‘Organizations of Divisions’ in rule 4 ibid. Sub-rule 6 of rule 4 enables the prime minister to appoint special assistant or special assistants and to determine their status and functions."

It added that the premier is answerable to the nationals and the parliament and he is authorised to appoint officials and other persons for assistance. “There is no restriction regarding the number of special assistants by the prime minister.”

Export-oriented industry to get uninterrupted gas: Dawood ISLAMABAD TLTP

Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood has said that the export-oriented industry will be supplied uninterrupted gas this winter. In a tweet on Monday, Abdul Razak Dawood said, "We are now heading into the winter and there may be gas shortages. The government has decided that for the export-oriented industry, there will be no outages of gas supply." Dawood asked industries to report any disruption in gas supply to the Ministry of Commerce so that it could be brought to the attention of the concerned body to take corrective action. Earlier on November 21, Sindh Energy Minister Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh had informed that the domestic gas crisis in the province had intensified with the advent of winter, blaming the federal government for "doing nothing about the situation". "Winter has barely arrived and domestic consumers are already experiencing gas shortage; the province is being compelled to buy expensive gas regardless of the fact that Sindh is the biggest producer of local gas," he had maintained.

PIA introduces voluntary separation scheme for employees BUSINESS DESK Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Monday introduced a 14-day voluntary separation scheme (VSS) for its employees. As per details, employees under the age of 58 are eligible for the VSS. The estimate of the scheme would be calculated based on the salary drawn by [interested] on November 30, 2020. Employees interested in the scheme have been asked to submit their application to PIA latest by Dec 22. PIA employees aged 58 or above as well as contractual workers are not eligible for the VSS. Those seeking departure under the scheme would be paid his or her dues on January 31, 2021. The PIA administration has already sought a fund of Rs12 billion from the federal government to make the voluntary separation scheme a success.

FPCCI lauds govt for removing 5pc duty on cotton yarn import KARACHI PPI

KARACHI: Toshikazu Isomura, Dean of the Diplomatic Corp and Consul General of Japan, met Eng Najeeb Haroon, MNA and PM’s Focal Person on Karachi Mega Projects, at Japan CG official residence to discuss federal government’s projects for Karachi. PTI young leaders Mustafa Karani and Yousuf Karani were also present on the occasion.

The Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has appreciated Prime Minister Imran Khan for considering the chamber's recommendations by removing 5pc regulatory duty on the import of cotton yarn.

"The decision to withdraw 5pc regulatory duty on the import of cotton yarn will greatly support the country’s textile sector, besides contributing to economic stability," said FPCCI Presi-

dent Mian Anjum Nisar in a statement on Monday.

The FPCCI had earlier pointed out that the country would not be able to achieve its textile export potential due to limited access to raw material. It had suggested the government to remove regulatory duty on cotton yarn so that exporters could be able to achieve price competitiveness and product diversification.

According to the FPCCI chief, local production of cotton was not sufficient to meet the demand of the textile indus-

try, which was currently receiving huge orders. Cotton was not available at competitive prices due to the imposition of regulatory duty and hectic procedures, while Covid-19 outbreak and subsequent lockdowns had also worsened the situation, he informed.

As per the data released by the Pakistan Cotton Ginners’ Association, around 4.6 million bales of cotton arrived in the industry as on 1st Dec 2020, as against 7.4 million on 1st Dec 2019.

The unsold stock of this year is 0.9 million bales as compared to last year's 1.4

million. The significant decline cotton cultivation area and production could be attributed to multiple factors, including torrential rains, Covid impact and growers shifting from cotton to sugarcane and maize crops.

As per the chamber, main reasons for low cotton production were reduction in per acre yield, lack of interest in cotton crop, uncertified seeds, pesticides etc. Anjum noted that there was a gap of five million bales between production and domestic consumption in the country.

Tuesday, 8 December, 2020

10 FOREIGN NEWS Ethiopia denies insurgency brewing up in Tigray

IrANIAN ScIENTIST kIllED wITh hElp oF SATEllITE-coNTrollED hArDwArE: IrGc

ADDIS ABABA

TEHRAN

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Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has denied a rebellious northern force his troops have been battling for over a month would have the capacity to mount an armed offensive from the mountains of Tigray. Federal troops have captured the regional capital Mekelle from the former local ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), and declared an end to their offensive. But TPLF leaders say they are fighting back on various fronts around Mekelle.

Ethiopian experts fear a drawn-out armed campaign with a destabilising effect around east Africa. “The criminal clique pushed a patently false narrative that its fighters and supporters are battle-hardened and well-armed, posing the risk of protracted insurgency in the rugged mountains of Tigray,” Abiy said in a statement. “It also claimed that it has managed to undertake strategic retreat with all its capability and regional government apparatus intact. The reality is the criminal clique is thoroughly defeated and in disarray, with insignificant capability to mount a protracted insurgency.”

The United Nations and aid agencies are pressing for safe access to Tigray, which is home to more than five million people and where 600,000 relied on food aid even before the war.

The assassination of senior Iranian military researcher Mohsen Fakhrizadeh involved sophisticated electronic equipment controlled via satellite link, a senior official said. The scientist was gunned down in an ambush last week.

This piece of information comes from General Ramezan Sharif, spokesman for the powerful Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), whose remarks

Denmark to end oil production from North Sea in 2050 COPENHAGEN AGENCIES

Denmark will stop extracting oil from the North Sea in 2050, the Danish government has said, adding it would cancel its eighth licensing round, announced earlier this year. The round failed to attract much attention, anyway, with just one applicant expressing interest after French Total withdrew. Denmark is not a particularly large producer of oil and gas, with its average daily output this year estimated at 83,000 bpd of oil and 21,000 of oil equivalent. Yet it is the largest in the European Union, which excludes Norway and, from next year, the UK. The small Scandinavian country is also one of the most ambitious climate goal-setters. Copenhagen plans to reduce emissions by 70 percent from 1990 levels by 2030 and become carbon-neutral by 2050. “We are now putting an end to the fossil era, and drawing a straight line between our activities in the North Sea and the Climate Act's goal of climate neutrality in 2050,” said climate minister Dan Jørgensen in comments on the official statement regarding the suspension of oil and gas exploration in the North Sea. The minister added that oil and gas industry employees whose jobs will become redundant under the plan will receive help through continuing education to find new employment.

The oil and gas fields will be used for carbon storage, Jørgensen also said. The end of fossil fuel extraction from the North Sea, including the cancelled eighth licensing round, will cost Denmark some $2.1 billion. Denmark has been at the forefront of the renewable energy transition, with 30 percent of the energy the country uses coming from renewable sources, notably wind power and biomass. It is the country with the highest wind power production per capita in the OECD, but most of its renewable energy output—some two-thirds—comes from biomass.

Foreign investment to UAE set to surge by 35pc after legal reforms DUBAI AGENCIES

Foreign investment to the UAE is expected to increase by 35 percent after an overhaul of the commercial companies' law, said Dubai Economy. The changes will “have [a] farreaching impact on the flow and quality of foreign and domestic investments, as well as overall economic growth of the country”, said Sami Al Qamzi, director general of Dubai Economy. The UAE reformed its commercial companies' law last month and annulled the requirement for onshore companies to have an Emirati shareholder. It also introduced other measures to improve the ease of doing business. The move is intended to boost the country’s competitive advantage and attract foreign capital to the Arab world’s second-largest economy. “Allowing foreign nationals 100 per cent ownership of commercial companies will lead to a significant increase not only in foreign and domestic investment, as these amendments allow full freedom for investors to manage and operate their businesses,” Mr Al Qamzi said. The amendments are also expected to encourage individual investors and residents to invest in the small and medium enterprises, “which is a critical link in production chains”. Sectors such as manufacturing, hightech industries, digital economy, entertainment, engineering and legal consulting services are expected to attract longterm investment that will enhance “competition, partnerships and acquisitions among existing local and foreign companies”. Demand for high-skilled, high-wage jobs is set to increase due to improvement in the flow and quality of investment, according to the DED.

during an event commemorating Fakhrizadeh were reported by Iranian media. “The assassination of a scientist on the street with a satellite device can not undermine our security,” he was cited as saying.

Last week the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, said a remotely controlled weapon was used in the ambush that claimed the scientist’s life. The operation was “very complicated” and didn’t require human presence on the site at the time of the attack.

Iranian officials believe that Fakhrizadeh’s assas-

EU to consider sanctions against Turkey as tensions grow BRUSSELS AGENCIES

The European Union (EU) foreign ministers will evaluate grounds for sanctions against Turkey over a Mediterranean gas dispute before the bloc's leaders decide whether to make good on their threat to impose sanctions.

Ministers will not make decisions at their meeting on Monday, leaving that to Thursday's summit of EU leaders, who in October told Turkey to stop exploring in disputed waters in the Eastern Mediterranean or face consequences. Turkey's move in late November to return a seismic exploration vessel to port has calmed tension, but EU officials and diplomats said broader issues over Libya, Syria, Russia and Ankara's authoritarian stance at home have hardened their positions.

"I'm not aware of any EU gov-

ernment challenging the view that the situation is worse than October and that leaders should consider the consequences," a senior EU official said. "We have been requesting a change that has not come."

The EU says Turkish drill and survey ships have continued to work in waters contested by Greece and Cyprus, which Greece says makes formal talks with Turkey over maritime claims impossible.

European Council President Charles Michel, who chairs EU summits, called on Turkey last week to stop playing a "cat-andmouse" game by offering concessions only to reverse them.

Germany, holder of the EU's six-month presidency, holds the key to whether sanctions go ahead.

It hoped to mediate between Athens and Ankara, but was angered when Turkey resumed exploration for gas off Cyprus in October

after a pause.

"Putting the [Oruc Reis] exploration ship back to sea straight after the summit was not taken kindly by member states that put a lot of effort in with Turkey and Greece," an EU diplomat said. "There are limits even to German patience."

France and the European Parliament say it is time to punish Turkey, a Nato ally and candidate to join the EU, which is seen in Brussels as fuelling the gas dispute for domestic politics.

Turkey rejects the EU talk of sanctions, saying it is not constructive. The EU parliament called for sanctions on November 26, but the return of the Oruc Reis to port and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's call for dialogue may give it reasons to hold off for now. "Sanctions are on the table but they're not automatic," the diplomat said.

Venezuela’s Maduro gets two-thirds votes in opposition-boycotted polls CARACAS AGENCIES

A socialist alliance, led by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, has scored a major win in parliamentary elections, getting over two thirds of the vote. The polls have been boycotted by opposition and faced allegations of fraud.

The United Socialist Party of Venezuela and its allies took more than 67 percent of votes in the election, the country’s electoral board’s president, Indira Alfonzo, said early on Monday. The result was hailed as a major win by Maduro, who said the socialist were able to “recover” the rebellious National Assembly.

Election turnout, however, appeared to be rather modest as only 31 percent of some 20 million eligible voters cast their ballots, official figures indicate.

“We have recovered the National Assembly with the majority vote of the Venezuelan people,” Maduro said in a televised speech. “It’s a great victory without a doubt for democracy.”

The National Assembly has been led by USbacked Juan Guaido, who proclaimed himself ‘interim president’ in 2019. Despite broad support from Washington and repeated attempts to oust Maduro, that

even allegedly included a botched military coup, Guaido has failed to snatch power from the socialist president. The polls have been boycotted by the country’s major opposition parties, that accused the government of fixing them well before election day.

Guaido himself called the election a “fraud” and urged his supporters not to participate in it.

The allegations have been further reinforced by pro-Guaido foreign players, with the US and many of its allies refusing to accept any results of the election.

The US secretary of state Mike Pompeo denounced the polls as a “sham”, insisting that the election “will not reflect the will of the Venezuelan people”.

Venezuelan authorities, however, have flatly denied all the allegations of somehow fixing the polls and blasted the critics over their concerns for the country’s “democracy” and simultaneous rejection of any election it holds. Responding to Canada’s statement for instance, Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza mocked the mixed message it sent.

“The ridicule syndrome under the Trump era is contagious. Now Canada also thinks its Venezuela’s electoral tribunal. They despise International Law. They don’t support elections and they want to restore democracy,” Arreaza tweeted.

sination was masterminded by Israel. Iranian media reported that the remains of the weapon that killed him, which was recovered from the scene, indicated that it originated from the Israeli military.

Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen said his government had no idea who killed Fakhrizadeh, but added that whoever did made the world a safer place because the Iranian physicist took “an active part in creating a nuclear weapon.” Iran denies ever trying to militarize its nuclear research, saying it’s purely civilian in purpose.

Sudan rejects further filling of Ethiopia's Nile dam KHARTOUM AGENCIES

Sudan said it will not accept a second filling of the reservoir behind the Nile dam being built by Ethiopia until Addis Ababa enters a legally binding agreement on operating it.

Sudanese Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Yasser Abbas said a second filling without an agreement would pose a threat to Sudan’s security. On Sudanese state TV, Abbas and acting foreign minister Omar Qamar El Deen ruled out military action.

Ethiopia's dam on the Blue Nile, which originates in its highlands, was built near the border with Sudan. The Blue Nile meets the White Nile north of Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, and accounts for 85 per cent of the River Nile’s waters as it flows north through Egypt to the Mediterranean. Egypt is deeply alarmed that the dam, officially known as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, could cut deeply into its crucial share of the Nile waters. Sudan wants Ethiopia to agree on close cooperation on running the nearly completed hydroelectric dam to avoid flooding or damage to its own power-generating dams on the Blue Nile. A decade of negotiations between the three nations has yet to produce an agreement on the dam’s operation, a mechanism for resolving future disputes or dealing with persistent drought. Sudan last month pulled out of the negotiations after Egypt and Ethiopia rejected its proposal that African water and river experts be given a more proactive role in the negotiations. Abbas said Ethiopia was planning to store 13.5 billion cubic metres during the months of July and August next year, the peak of the annual flood season. A first filling that took place this year was carried out without Addis Ababa giving Khartoum and Cairo notice. It involved five billion cubic metres but temporarily affected the volume of water flowing into eastern Sudan from Ethiopia. “We will not accept from Ethiopia that it goes ahead and starts a second filling in the Renaissance dam without first reaching a binding agreement, and consequently poses a threat to the security of Sudan,” Abbas said. Qamareldeen said: “The use of force is rejected by Sudan.

We will take the option of arbitration if we reach the end of the line without an agreement.” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi also said the dispute would be resolved through negotiations, not force. But El Sisi never categorically ruled out the use of force, describing the dispute as existential to Egypt, which depends on the Nile for 90 per cent of its water needs.

China’s $268bn exports in November set new record BEIJING AGENCIES

November has become the most lucrative month for China’s exports, driven by strong demand for pandemic-related items such as electronics and protective gear.

China shipped $268 billion worth of goods last month, posting a 21 percent growth year-on-year, customs data showed on Monday. This was the highest monthly sum ever for the country’s exports and the highest growth rate since February 2018.

“China’s export performance once again beat the market expectations,

mainly due to the holiday demand surge from the developed markets.

Consumer income and spending are supported sufficiently by furlough schemes in the US and Western Europe,” Wang Dan, chief economist at Hang Seng Bank (China), told Chinese state-run media CGTN. Inbound shipments rose for the third consecutive month to reach $192.6 billion in November, although at slightly slower pace than the month before. Imports rose by 4.5 percent in November from a year earlier, compared to a 4.7 percent growth in October, and were below the six percent expected by analysts.

Slower imports growth and the export boom only widened China’s trade surplus that amounted to $75.4 billion last month. The gap between exports and imports was the largest on record in Refinitiv data going back to 1981.

The widening trade surplus could reflect disproportionate recovery between industry and domestic consumption in the world’s second largest economy.

This could also create hurdles for the China-US trade deal, as the US trade deficit with China has widened to $37.4 billion to reach a new monthly high in November. Last month, the US became the top market

for Chinese goods, and it was China's third largest trading partner for 11 months this year.

“China-US trade surplus continued to grow, exerting additional pressure on yuan valuation. We now expect the end-year RMB exchange rate to breach 6.5, which will put significant pressure on the export sector,” Wang told CGTN. Some analysts still caution that booming exports are temporary as they are mainly driven by growing shipments of pandemic-related goods as well as seasonal holiday demand. Exports of electronics in November jumped 25 percent compared to the same period last year, while medical equipment exports soared 38 percent.

At the same time, many countries are still struggling to cope with the rising number of coronavirus infections and are forced to impose restrictions, and that could add pressure on their purchases from China.

Tuesday, 8 December, 2020

SPORTS 11

pakistan sEt to train in nEw ZEaland aftEr EntirE squad found covid nEgativE in final round of tEsting

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AGENCIES

AKISTAN’S jumbo contingent of 44 players have all tested negative for Covid-19 during the fifth and final round of testing on Sunday.

This allows them to start training, subject to a final clearance from New Zealand’s Ministry of Health.

The squad is expected to leave their managed isolation facility in Christchurch and fly to Queenstown on Tuesday, where they will train in the lead-up to the threematch T20I series that begins in Auckland on December 18.

Prior to the T20Is, Pakistan A, who are on a shadow tour, will feature in two fourday games against New Zealand A in the

build-up to the two-Test series, which is part of the World Test Championship. The first four-day game begins on December 10 in Queenstown, with the second one from December 17 in Whangarei.

Both squads - the T20I and Pakistan A will be staying in separate hotels in Queenstown and training at different times according to their match requirements.

“The member of the Pakistan squad who tested positive on day six will remain in managed isolation until departing - negative tests permitting,” a New Zealand Cricket release said. “Additionally, the member of the squad who was taken into quarantine in Auckland after arriving from Dubai feeling unwell - but subsequently testing negative has also been cleared to leave the facility.”

The news comes as a relief to the Pakistan camp, with many of the players having already spent extended periods in a bubble at different times since July, when they resumed playing cricket during the England tour after a coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Subsequently, they also conducted their domestic season under a bio-bubble at home, followed by a short limited-overs series against Zimbabwe and the PSL playoffs.

Pakistan were to start training in New Zealand on December 5, but were sent into extended quarantine after six members returned positive tests upon arrival. When a number of players were found to have mingled in groups at their isolation facility, Wasim Khan, the PCB CEO, had spoken to the players, asking them to refrain from such

acts that could put the tour in jeopardy.

On Sunday, head coach Misbah-ul-Haq praised his players for making sacrifices, while also stating how spending time in isolation without being given the concession to train was both “mentally and physically” draining. “I want to compliment my players and the management team for their patience, sacrifices and the hardships they have endured to ensure they not only lead the safe resumption of international cricket during the Covid-19 pandemic since the series in England, but also try to give their best every time they step on the field,” Misbah said in a PCB release.

“Top professional athletes require a certain environment to prepare so that they can perform at the minimum expected levels

every time they represent their countries.

While we completely respect and understand the New Zealand Government Laws which have been put in place for the health and safety of their public, there is no denying the fact that the implementation of certain regulations has affected our athletes, both mentally and physically prior to an international series.

“Nonetheless, when we will leave the isolation facility in the next day or two, we will try to put all this behind us and focus on the challenge of facing New Zealand in both the formats.”

The three-match T20I series between New Zealand and Pakistan is followed by two Tests, starting December 26 in Mount Maunganui.

England’s South Africa tour called Is England’s use off after Covid-19 outbreak of signals from the balcony a big deal?

AGENCIES

England’s tour of South Africa has been called off following the outbreak of Covid-19 among both teams’ camps and staff at their hotel. The three ODIs have officially been postponed, with a possibility they could be played at a later date.

The decision came after the opening ODI of the series was pushed back three times in four days, having originally been scheduled to take place at Newlands on Friday, before failed attempts to stage games at Paarl on Sunday, and at Newlands again on Monday.

With England due to fly home on a chartered flight on Thursday, and with the squad still awaiting the ratification of two unconfirmed positive tests within the camp, CSA had hoped to be able to host back-to-back ODIs on Tuesday and Wednesday. However, news that the tour would be abandoned out of consideration for the “mental and physical health and welfare of players from both teams” came on Monday afternoon. The announcement was made via a joint statement from CSA and the ECB, although ESPNcricinfo understands that the decision to pull out came at the behest of the English board.

Earlier on Monday, an England team spokesman hit back at suggestions that the players had breached Covid protocols during an unsanctioned practice session at Newlands on the eve of the scheduled first ODI, claiming that they had been given permission to set up a secure cordon around the nets, in spite of their proximity to a construction site, due to the “unacceptable” standards of the pitches they had been provided on the Newlands square.

The chief executives of both boards cited player welfare as a primary concern in the decision to curtail the tour, with players understood to be uneasy about recent developments and the fact that the bio-secure bubble had been breached. The three-match ODI series forms part of the qualification process for the 2023 World Cup via the ICC’s new Super League, and the boards signalled their intention to stage the series at a later date. With England due to tour Bangladesh, Pakistan, Australia and West Indies next winter, on top of the T20 World Cup in India, it will be a challenge to find a suitable window.

“The decision was taken jointly by the two boards to ensure the mental and physical health and welfare of players from both teams,” the statement said.

“CSA and the ECB will now work together to determine when the threematch series, which forms part of the ICC Cricket Men’s Super League, can take place in the future.”

Kugandrie Govender, CSA’s acting CEO, said: “The concern over the mental health impact of recent events on all involved is not one that we as CSA or the ECB take lightly and the decision to postpone the tour is the most responsible and reasonable course of action for

us.

“I would like to thank the ECB for the continued positive relations and we look forward to hosting the England team in the near future.”

Tom Harrison, the ECB’s chief executive, said: “We have always maintained that the welfare of our players and management is paramount. We were concerned about the potential impact that recent developments might have on the wellbeing of the touring party, and so after consultation with Cricket South Africa we have jointly made the decision to postpone the remaining matches in this series, in [the] best interest of the players’ welfare.

“I would like to thank Cricket South

Africa for their support and understanding on this matter and look forward to working with them to identify a time when we can return to play these fixtures in the future.”

The postponement of the series will cast further doubt on the viability of South Africa’s scheduled home series against Sri Lanka, Australia and Pakistan this season, not least with the number of infections rising by 43% in the Western Cape last week.

It is understood that CSA will lose in the region of US$2 million in broadcast revenue from the postponement of the three ODIs, and any further cancellations would have significant financial ramifications.

England blamE ‘unaccEptablE’ nEwlands facilitiEs aftEr claims of covid-19 protocols brEach The use of a previously off-limits nets facility at Newlands has emerged as a possible source of the Covid-19 infection within the England camp, as the ECB hit back at claims from officials at Western Province that its players had breached the teams’ biosecure environment for a practice session on the eve of Friday’s scheduled first ODI. In an email sent on Thursday, December 3, and seen by ESPNcricinfo, WP informed CSA, ECB and the Claremont Police, who are in charge of maintaining the teams’ bio-bubble, that they could not be held liable for the safety or health of the England team, who opted to practice in a nets facility adjoining a construction site at the Kelvin Grove End of the ground.

“Please be advised that the England cricket team has not adhered to the arrangements as agreed by all in the ESSPC [Event Security and Safety Planning Committee] meetings,” the email read. “The practice nets next to the construction site is not allowed to be used on practice days. Three cages of nets was set up on the square on the field. This serves to inform you that the England Cricket Team has accessed and used the nets today (3 December 2020) at their own risk. WPCA and the ESSPC will not be held liable or responsible for the safety and health of the England Cricket Team.” In response, an ECB spokesman told ESPNcricinfo that the session had arisen due to the “unacceptable” standard of the three practice pitches provided on the square at Newlands, and that CSA had accepted England’s request to put up a security cordon to facilitate the use of the nets as per similar arrangements during the T20I series on November 28. “On arrival at Newlands on 3 December, we advised the venue that the three nets provided on the main pitch were not of a standard for conducive practice, as per the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the respective boards,” an ECB statement said. “Batsmen were unable to face seam bowlers on the nets on the main pitch as the surfaces were rendered and unacceptable. “We requested with CSA that we would like to use the practice nets and that we would create a security cordon to ensure the players and coaches could enter the facility safely, as done previously on 28 November. This was confirmed by England’s Security Team, the Team Operations Manager and the Team Doctor. We were satisfied with this outcome and we were able to practice in the net facility safely. “The team also used the main outfield for fielding drills, a seam bowlers bowl through pitch and a number of nets were used for range-hitting against spin bowlers and coaches throws. “As far as the England touring party are concerned, the safety and health of our players and coaches was not compromised.” The nets at Newlands are currently out of bounds due to the construction of an office block at the Kelvin Grove End of the ground. The building site is attended to by several workers throughout the day. When South African players, including Andile Phehlukwayo and David Miller, who missed the T20 series, and some support staff attempted to have a net after Friday’s postponed first ODI, they were sent back and instructed to return to their hotel rooms. At the time, a third South African player had just tested positive for the coronavirus, causing the first ODI to be pushed back. On Saturday, two members of the Vineyard Hotel staff, who do not work in the same area and have not left the premises since November 16, also tested positive, prompting the entire England touring party to be retested. England returned two “unconfirmed” positive results, but have sought to get the tests analysed by doctors in London. The two England cases meant Sunday’s ODI in Paarl was abandoned. AGENCIES

CMYK

AGENCIES In the third T20I between England and South Africa last week, England’s analyst Nathan Leamon trialled a signal system for communicating with players, by propping up pairs of placards bearing a letter and a number each on the balcony. It was done, England explained afterwards, with permission from match officials but almost immediately, a broader question arose. Does this kind of real-time support from the coaching staff represent an evolution, or does it constitute too much tinkering with the game?

Cape Town wasn’t the first instance (England actually used it through the series). Earlier this year Leamon and his team at the Multan Sultans used a similar signal strategy. More controversially, during the 1999 World Cup, Bob Woolmer communicated with Hansie Cronje on-field through an earpiece.

Information has traditionally been passed from coaches to players on the field during designated drinks breaks, strategic time outs, or when bats or gloves are sent out to the field. In some cases, the 12th man or the coach talk to the captain boundary side. All of that still happens but what England did could spark a change in how this is done, eventually bringing it up to the level of such sports as the NFL or the NBA. Of course, one of the fundamental differences between those sports and cricket is that the manager or coach are the primary decision-makers there, while in cricket the captain is. As a result, historically, the involvement of coaches and support staff in real-time decision making has been limited in cricket.

Cricket has predominantly been played out on skills and technique. But T20 has allowed data-based strategy and tactics to come to the forefront. For example, data-based decisions can lead to your weakest bowler bowling the first over of an innings, knowing that the particular opening batsman up against them takes some time to settle; or not sending out your best batsman in his usual position because he has a belowpar average against legspin. You would never see this happen in the longer format.

Thanks to franchise cricket around the world, there is also a greater amount of data to work with in T20, compared to Tests and ODIs, for which teams tour a country once every three or four years - so much can change in that period that it leaves a fair amount of data irrelevant.

Most cricketers have grown up without data, though, so the ability to understand, filter and use it correctly needs time, education and experience. That is why the relationship between the captain and the analyst is crucial. Both need to understand that data-based decisions should not be judged on outcome alone. What data does is help provide logical justification for decisionmaking, and in many cases validates the instincts of the captain.

The format is still young enough to have teams at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to use of data. At one end you have MS Dhoni and the Chennai Super Kings making the IPL playoffs ten years out of 11 using instincts and experience, and at the other are Rohit Sharma and the Mumbai Indians winning five titles with data underpinning heavy research and meticulous

planning. But as the format evolves and grows, it will be important for captains to adapt and remain open to tools and techniques that can give them an advantage over their peers.

At the moment most of the use of data in T20s is to do with match-ups and venue-related information. Neither of these really requires signals from off the field. Venue details are easy to understand, while a captain can easily remember match-ups, since it is just six to seven batsmen to plan for. And anyway, you have time outs and water breaks to send the message across if needed.

However, signals could be useful to remind the captain of plans if bowlers drift away from them. For example, if the strategy is to bowl wide yorkers to Hardik Pandya at the death and the first two balls of an over are short and hit for six, it makes sense for a signal to be sent out immediately to correct course. You might think this is something captain and bowler should be able to do by themselves on the field but you’d be surprised how many still don’t orchestrate execution to such a specific degree. Waiting for an over to finish might make it too late. An alphanumeric code grid used to communicate details of line and length can be a simple and powerful way to minimise damage and remind a captain of plans.

Another potential instance where signals could help is to make sure not only that the right field is set, but that the right fielders are in the right positions.

Think about the possibilities that open up if wearable technologies such as RFID chips or smart watches are allowed, which can provide real-time data on performance and movements in the field.

Once these technologies trickle in, we could see involvement from specialised coaches and analysts in real time, leading to strategic field changes in the middle of an over. If there are real-time stats tracking player fatigue, informed decisions can be made whether they can continue or be taken out of the attack, if they are a bowler; or whether to hit out and get out, or retire out, if they are a batsman. Potentially, you could change a game as a coach on the back of a finding in real time.

Although there is a lot of noise and interest around data analytics in T20 at the moment, its use is at a nascent stage. Compared to sports like football and basketball, where thousands of data points are collected, cricket is still far behind. The first step towards catching up is to capture as much data as possible: more data on fielding, on tracking player movements through the day, on real-time health parameters, on players’ speeds.

None of this is collected currently, let alone organised coherently.

Cricket needs more investment, but also regulatory support from the ICC in allowing wearable technologies, or in-stadia cameras to capture relevant data. As data collection evolves and league cricket flourishes, such signals will add new dimensions not only in the aspect of high performance but also for broadcasting and fan engagement. For instance, after an IPL season or a Test series, a team could potentially release recordings of the interactions that the support staff and captain had during the season to fans.

We’re still far from that, but for now England have started something. It is only a matter of time before others get better at it.

Tuesday, 8 December, 2020

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New roads pave way for massive growth of israeli settlemeNts TEL AVIV

i

AGENCIES

N the coming years, Israelis will be able to commute into Jerusalem and Tel Aviv from settlements deep inside the West Bank via highways, tunnels and overpasses that cut a wide berth around Palestinian towns.

Rights groups say the new roads will set the stage for explosive settlement growth, even if the incoming US administration somehow convinces Israel to curb housing construction. The costly infrastructure projects signal that Israel intends to keep large swaths of the occupied territory in any peace deal and would make it even harder to establish a viable Palestinian state.

“This is not another hundred housing units there or here,” said Yehuda Shaul, an Israeli activist who has spent months researching and mapping out the new projects.

“This is de facto annexation on steroids.”

Construction already is underway on a huge tunnel that Shaul says will one day allow settlers from Maale Adumim, a sprawling settlement east of Jerusalem, to

Costly infrastruCture projeCts signal israel’s intention to keep large swaths of annexed land, further diminishing prospeCts of a palestinian state drive into the city and onward to Tel Aviv without passing through a military checkpoint or even hitting a traffic light.

South of Jerusalem, work is underway to expand the main highway leading to the Gush Etzion settlement bloc and settlements farther south, with tunnels and overpasses designed to bypass Palestinian villages and refugee camps. Palestinians will be allowed to drive on many of the new roads, but the infrastructure will be of limited use to them because they need permits to enter Israel or annexed east Jerusalem.

Israel seized the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 war and has since built a far-flung network of settlements that house nearly 700,000 Jewish settlers. The Palestinians want both territories for their future state and view the settlements as a violation

of international law and an obstacle to peace — a position with wide international support. Supporters of settlements view the West Bank and Jerusalem as the historical and biblical heart of Israel, seeing the settlements as a way of preventing any partition of the Holy Land.

But most Israelis live and work in the main cities. Except for an ideological minority, most Israelis would be uncomfortable living deep inside the West Bank, where two-lane roads pass through military checkpoints and Palestinian villages, and where clashes and rock-throwing can erupt at any time. The new roads promise to change all that, transforming settlements into affordable suburban communities with safe, easy access to cities and public transportation. Shaul estimates the new infrastructure could facili-

tate plans for more than 50,000 settler housing units in the West Bank and another 6,000 in east Jerusalem.

“People don’t bring roads, roads bring people,” he said. Shaul, an army conscript during the Israeli military’s suppression of the second Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s, is a co-founder of Breaking the Silence, a group of former Israeli soldiers who document human rights abuses in the occupied territories. In recent months, he has turned his attention to Israeli planning.

His findings are based on minutes from several meetings held in recent years by parliamentary subcommittees charged with improving West Bank infrastructure. He also cites a strategic plan presented by Transportation Minister Miri Regev, a hard-line supporter of settlements, to a group of settlement mayors last month.

In a statement after the meeting, Regev called it “an exciting day for the settlements and for the state of Israel, which builds and is building in all areas of the homeland.” She said it provided a “holistic vision” for “a future development plan for the region.”

The ministry did not respond to requests

US blocking Covid-19 vaccine purchase: Iran’s central bank chief TEHRAN AGENCIES

The United States is actively trying to prevent Iran’s efforts to buy a Covid-19 vaccine through COVAX, a global initiative undertaken by the World Health Organisation, according to the chief of Iran’s central bank.

Abdolnasser Hemmati on Monday said it must be “recorded in historical memory” that Iranian efforts to buy a vaccine through COVAX have been hampered due to money transfer issues arising due to the sanctions imposed by the US against Iran.

“So far, any methods to make payment and transfer the required currency have faced obstacles due to the inhumane sanctions of the US government and the need to obtain permits from OFAC,” Hemmati wrote in an Instagram post, referring to the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury. Iran, which is dealing with the largest and deadliest Covid-19 pandemic in the Middle East, announced months ago that it had become a member of COVAX in order to secure vaccines.

The WHO touts COVAX as “the world’s best hope” for tackling the pandemic in a coordinated and

timely manner, and says the international initiative’s aim is to “guarantee rapid, fair and equitable access to vaccines for people in all countries”.

Iran’s official Covid-19 death toll surpassed 50,000 on Saturday as the country battles the third wave of the virus with more than a million reported cases. Iranian health authorities say the real numbers are likely to be more than twice the official figures. After unilaterally reneging on Iran’s 2015 nuclear accord with world powers in May 2018, US President Donald Trump has imposed waves of economic sanctions on Iran.

The Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran has since seen the blacklisting of the entire Iranian financial sector. The sanctions, which have also targeted the Iranian central bank, have had a documented impact on Iran’s access to vital medicine in the past three years.

Iranian authorities have repeatedly said they consider the sanctions an instance of “economic and medical terrorism” against the Iranian people.

The US has refused requests by its traditional allies in Europe and human rights groups to lift the sanctions during the coronavirus pandemic.

us preparing new sanctions on Chinese officials over hong kong crackdown: report WASHINGTON AGENCIES

The United States is preparing to impose sanctions on at least a dozen Chinese officials over their purported role in Beijing’s disqualification of elected opposition legislators in Hong Kong, according to three sources, including a US official familiar with the matter.

The move, which could come as soon as Monday, will target officials from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as President Donald Trump’s administration keeps up pressure on Beijing in his final weeks in office.

President-elect Joe Biden takes over on January 20.

The State Department and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Up to 14 people, including officials of China’s parliament, or National People’s Congress, and members of the CCP, would likely be targeted by measures such as asset freezes and financial sanctions, two sources said. The US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said multiple individuals would be sanctioned. A person familiar with the matter said the group would likely include officials from Hong Kong as well as the mainland.

The sources did not provide names or positions of those being targeted for sanctions. Two sources cautioned an announcement could still be delayed until later in the week. China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Beijing has previously condemned US sanctions related to Hong Kong, calling it interference in China’s internal affairs.

Stock markets in Asia gave up early gains on worries the move may signal a further deterioration in relations between the world’s two largest economies.

“One thing that the market has been concerned

about is that on his ‘Out of office’ Trump would look for some retribution on China. So this news speaks to that fear,” said Kyle Rodda, market strategist at IG Markets in Melbourne. Chinese financial stocks traded in Hong Kong fell 2.3 percent in morning trade, their sharpest drop in six months amid worries sanctions could be extended to banks.

STAND-OFF GROWS: In October, the US State Department warned international financial institutions doing business with individuals deemed responsible for China’s crackdown in the Asian financial hub that they could soon face tough sanctions.

Washington has already put sanctions on Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, the territory’s current and former police chiefs and other top officials in August for what it said was their role in curtailing freedoms in a crackdown on the territory’s pro-democracy movement. Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed government last month expelled four opposition members from its legislature after China’s parliament gave city authorities new powers to curb dissent. The move triggered mass resignations by pro-democracy opposition lawmakers in the former British colony. It also raised further alarm in the West. The Five Eyes intelligence-sharing group — made up of Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the United States — said last month the move appeared to be part of a campaign to silence critics and called on Beijing to reverse course. White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien said in November the expulsion showed the “One Country, Two Systems” formula, under which Hong Kong’s autonomy had been promised since Britain handed the territory back to China in 1997, was now “merely a fig leaf” and promised further US action.

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

for comment. Oded Revivi, the mayor of the Efrat settlement in the West Bank who attended the meeting, said the draft plan was “very thorough,” and that the ministry was open to suggestions, “taking into account the needs of both populations, both the Jews and the Arabs.” He said US President Donald Trump’s Mideast plan, which would allow Israel to annex about a third of the West Bank, including all its settlements, had proven that the settlements are not an obstacle to peace.

That plan was immediately rejected by the Palestinians and is likely to be scrapped

by President-elect Joe Biden, who opposes annexation. Alon Cohen Lifshitz, an expert at Bimkom, an Israeli rights group that focuses on urban planning, said the main aim of the road projects is to create a “matrix of control” that ensures the free movement of Israelis while further fragmenting the areas governed by the Palestinian Authority.

“Most of the settlers are not (ideological). They are looking for options to live the dream in affordable housing,” he said. “This is the main obstacle for the expansion of settlements.”