Epaper – December 13 KHI 2020

CMYK

13 December, 2020 I 26 Rabi-ul-Akhir, 1442 I Rs 25.00 I Vol XI No 164 I 36 Pages I Karachi Edition

Pakistan eyes 60Pc clean energy by 2030, PM iMran tells Un sUMMit g

PM says the country will opt for ‘nature-based solutions’ to mitigate the effects of climate change

ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

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RIME Minister Imran Khan said on Saturday that Pakistan was focused on producing 60pc clean energy through renewable resources by the year 2030 and announced to switch 30pc of the country’s vehicles to electric.

“I assure you that Pakistan will be doing its best to make its contribution to mitigate the effects of climate change and run 30pc of its vehicles on electricity,” PM Imran Khan told the Climate Ambition Summit to mark the fifth anniversary of the signing of the landmark

Paris Agreement.

The prime minister in his video speech expressed Pakistan’s contribution to global emissions were less than one per cent, “but sadly, we are the fifth most vulnerable country to climate change.”

The prime minister, explaining what Pakistan had decided to do about climate change, said that the country has decided to opt for "nature-based solutions" to mitigate the effects.

“First, Pakistan will plant 10 billion trees in the next three years. Secondly, we have increased the number of national parks and protected areas from 30 to 45. At the same

coronavirUs in

Pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

435,056

LAST UPDATED AT 8:31 AM ON DECEMBER 12, 2020

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

NEW CASES:

71

2,729

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

381,208

8,724

SINDH:

PUNJAB:

192,735 KP:

51,404

126,526 BALOCHISTAN:

17,696

AJK/GB: ISLAMABAD: 7,620/4,775 34,300

time, we have decided that we will not have power based on coal. We have already scrapped two coal power projects that were supposed to produce 2,600MW energy.”

The premier further apprised the forum that Pakistan had replaced the project through hydroelectricity.

As far as Pakistan's indigenous coal goes, the premier said the country had decided to produce energy, either by coal to liquid or coal to gas so that coal does not burn to generate power.

THE SUMMIT: The United Kingdom was to host this year's UN's climate change summit in Glasgow but the event was postponed to November 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Johnson had announced to co-host a "landmark global event" on December 12.

Dubbed as the "sprint to Glasgow", the event was held amid signs that the world is off-track to limit global temperature rise and that a carbon-free economy is long overdue.

“The climate emergency is fully upon us, and we have no time to waste," Guterres said in a statement. “The answer to our existential crisis is swift, decisive, scaled up action and solidarity among nations”.

According to the UN, the event aims to "rally momentum and call for much greater climate action and ambition".

"National governments will be invited to present more ambitious and high-quality climate plans, as well as Covid recovery plans, new finance commitments and measures to limit global warming to 1.5C." The event brought together leaders from across all levels of government, as well as the private sector and civil society, to present new measures, boosting ambition and action.

Govt vows legal action against those flouting Covid restrictions ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

A day before the opposition is scheduled to hold its final antigovernment meeting in Lahore, the government has vowed to launch legal action against elements “provoking” the public to flout coronavirus guidelines for “personal gains”.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Saturday, federal ministers Senator Shibli Faraz and Ali Amin Gandapur slammed the opposition parties for holding mega public meetings during the pandemic, putting lives at risk.

The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an alliance of 11 opposition political parties, gears up for its final meeting in Lahore on Sunday (today). The meeting comes as a second wave of Covid19 has gripped Pakistan, which miraculously survived the first wave despite public slackness towards the crisis.

However, the luck factor appears to have run its course. The government portal keeping track of the dis-

Pakistan rejects India’s attempt to deny EU DisinfoLab report ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Pakistan on Saturday rejected Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)’s attempt to deny responsibility for the elaborate and reprehensible global disinformation campaign against Pakistan exposed by EU DisinfoLab. The independent disinformation watchdog’s latest report illustrates in graphic detail the web of more than 750 media in 116 countries; over 550 website domain names registered; resurrection of dead people; impersonation of EU institutions and direct control of more than 10 NGOs accredited to the UN Human Rights Council, utilized for the purpose of pushing fake news and false Indian propaganda against Pakistan since 2005.

“MEA’s tall claims have no legs to stand on: the latest developments and international exposés have clearly shown that India is neither responsible nor a democracy,” a statement issued by the Foreign Office said. It further stated that Islamabad has shared extensive and irrefutable evidence of India’s active planning, promoting, aiding, abetting, financing and executing terrorist activities in Pakistan.

ease reported 2,729 fresh infections of the coronavirus on Saturday after conducting 41,426 tests — a worrying positivity ratio of 6.59pc. The positivity rate has remained below 2 percent for most of the time between July and September.

The government, however, has failed in persuading the opposition to come to the dialogue table. Despite growing Covid-19 infections and reports of offers of talks save what the prime minister calls NRO-style concession, the PDM leadership has refused to call off the anti-government protests.

To put pressure on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, the PDM has decided in principle to quit legislative assemblies. Earlier this week, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Rana Sanaullah Khan said a consensus has been reached among PDM parties on resignations from National Assembly to “push the government for a fresh election”.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

more inside

NAB starts investigation into illegal sale of govt land to JUI-F's Fazlur Rehman STORY ON PAGE 03

Govt to authorise provinces to register treason cases STORY ON PAGE 02 “The report by EU DisinfoLab goes to further corroborate our long-held position about India’s incurable obsession with Pakistan and its unrelenting smear campaign against Pakistan,” it added.

The Foreign Office urged the UN Human Rights machinery, particularly the Human Rights Council (HRC), to take a serious notice of HRC being misused in such a manner against a member state.

“The relevant authorities in Switzerland and Belgium must investigate the finances and transparency of the relevant NGOs registered within their jurisdiction,” the statement stressed. Pakistan

also reiterated its call for EU authorities to take full cognizance of this massive disinformation campaign against Pakistan and initiate steps to hold accountable those who misused their procedures and abused the European institutions.

“For far too long, India has masqueraded itself as a victim of terrorism. It is time that the world saw the reality of India as a state-sponsor of terrorism and a purveyor of anti-Pakistan propaganda globally,” the Foreign Office underscored.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

India appoints new Charge d’Affaires to Pakistan STORY ON PAGE 12 in today’s issue

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

02

Sunday, 13 December, 2020

NEWS

2,729 COvid CASeS, 71 deAthS RepORted in 24 hOuRS: nCOC ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

AKISTAN'S coronavirus tally surged to 435,056 as 2,729 people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours. According to data issued by the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), a total of 71 Covid-19 deaths were reported across the country in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 8,724.

The national positivity rate stood at 6.58pc on Saturday. The highest coronavirus prevalence was observed in Karachi with

Covid-19 positivity rate at 20.88pc, followed

by Peshawar at 15.05pc and Muzaffarabad at 11.20pc. With 1,489 people testing positive for Covid-19, Sindh continued to report the highest positivity rate of 12.91pc.

Punjab reported 629 new infections with a positivity rate of 3.87pc, while Balochistan's rate stood at 10.48pc with 46 new cases.

At least 42 people tested positive for the virus in AJK, as the region's positivity rate remained above 8pc. With 252 new infections, KP's positivity rate stood at 4.12pc and GB at 1.23pc.

The country has one of the highest recovery rates in the world with over 87pc of

COAS lauds Rangers’ contributions in maintaining peace in Karachi KARACHI: While paying homage to sacrifices in maintaining peace and stability in metropolis on Saturday Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa appreciated contributions of Sindh Rangers during visit to Headquarter Pakistan Rangers at Karachi. Inter Service Public Relations said that the COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa attended 48th Basic Aviation Security Course passing out parade held at Airport Security Force Academy, Karachi where large number of serving / retired officials and families of passing out trainees witnessed the parade. While addressing the participants of the ceremony, COAS said that training of ASF trainees will enhance the standards of the aviation security in Pakistan. He expressed satisfaction with the training and performance of the ASF trainees and also appreciated participation of women in the force. TLTP The COAS also congratulated the trainees and their families and distributed the prizes among the position holders. Earlier on arrival, COAS was received by Major General Zafar UI Haq, Director General Airport Security Force at the Academy. Later, COAS visited Headquarters Pakistan Rangers Sindh, where he was received by Major General Omer Ahmed Bokhari. During interaction, COAS appreciated the contributions of Sindh Rangers in maintaining peace and stability in Karachi and paid homage to their sacrifices. On arrival, COAS also laid floral wreath on Yadgar-e-Shuhuda. TLTP

Govt to authorise provinces to register treason cases ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to confer provincial governments and home secretaries with the powers to register treason cases. Reliable sources disclosed on Saturday that the federal cabinet has given a go-ahead to make amendments in section 196 of the penal laws, which earlier gave the federal government authority to register treason cases. “The approval from the federal cabinet was taken through the circulation process,” an insider said, adding that home secretaries are now being designated the powers to register cases under treason and those inciting it.

However, sources said that no treason case could be registered without approval of the provincial government. It is pertinent to mention that on October 6, Prime Minister Imran Khan had categorically disassociated the incumbent federal government from registration of a treason case against PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and other party leaders. “The government is not in favor of political victimization,” the source quoted the PM as saying. STAFF REPORT

the coronavirus patients surviving the virus.

The highest recovery rate has been observed in Balochistan as 96pc of coronavirus patients have beaten the virus, followed by GB at 95.15pc and Punjab 91.06pc. KP has reported a recovery rate of 88pc and Sindh 86pc, while Islamabad and AJK recorded 79.8pc and 79.2pc, respectively.

Highest fatality rates of 2.8pc and 2.6pc were observed in KP and Punjab. The two provinces were closely followed by Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) with a fatality rate of 2.4pc, while GB reported 2.0pc and Sindh 1.6pc. Balochistan has the lowest

fatality rate of 0.98pc.

With 32 people dying of the novel coronavirus, Punjab recorded the most deaths across the country in the past 24 hours; Sindh reported 22; KP and Islamabad recorded five; while two died in AJK. Since the beginning of December, Pakistan is losing about 57 lives on average per day as 634 people have died of Covid19 in the past 11 days. During the early months of the pandemic, the country was reporting as many as 139 deaths every day with a mortality rate of over 2.14pc.

The current rate stands at 2.0pc.

Meanwhile, the Punjab health secretary on Saturday announced the imposition of smart lockdown in 13 more areas of Lahore in order to curb the spread of coronavirus during its second wave.

“Shopping malls, restaurants and offices in those areas declared under lockdown will be closed, whereas movement of local residents will also be restricted by the authorities,” the secretary stated.

He said the local authorities will allow

PM felicitates economic team for bringing sugar prices down ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Prime Minister Imran Khan has congratulated his economic team for bringing sugar prices down through a multi-pronged strategy.

In a tweet on Saturday, the prime minister said that sugar is being sold at a national average of Rs81 per kilogram while it was at Rs102 per kilogram a month back. His words were echoed by his team members, as Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar and Federal Minister for Industries and Productions Hammad Azhar also took to Twitter to hail the PTI government’s efforts to bring down the price of sugar.

Umar said when an attempt is made to change a corrupt system then those benefiting from it tend to resist but if the government is courageous then it succeeds in

the end. “The ex-mill and retail rates of sugar are down by approximately Rs30 per kg in the last one month,” wrote Hammad Azhar. “Competitive sugar import by [the] government, its supply at control rates and timely start of mills crushing season provided relief to both consumers and farmers.”

Meanwhile, Karachi Grocers Association generalsecretary Fariq Qureshi said the sugar prices have gone down with the beginning of the crushing season and import of the commodity. He said the commodity was being sold at Rs72 in wholesale market and Rs78 in retail across Karachi. “The prices went from Rs52 to Rs102 and now its coming down,” he said.

The general secretary said during last year’s crushing season the wholesale price was Rs50 and retail was Rs52.

He added that it was unlikely the price would go as low as last year.

Witness identifies two MQM workers in May 12 carnage trial KARACHI STAFF RPEORT

In a key development in trials pertaining to violent clashes in Karachi on May 12, 2007, a witness on Saturday identified two Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) workers in court.

The armed clashes between activists of political parties that broke out on the streets during deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry’s visit to the city had left over 50 people dead and 100 injured. The country’s then top judge had arrived in the city on the invitation of the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) to address a huge gathering of lawyers on the premises of the SHC building but had to remain confined to the airport before flying back to Islamabad as violence spread across Karachi.

While various cases were registered by the lawyers

and the political activists at different police stations, trials for only seven cases could begin and that too moved at a snail’s pace. An anti-terrorism court in Karachi conducted a hearing wherein former Karachi mayor and MQM leader Wasim Akhtar and other accused appeared.

Prosecution witness Javed Abro, a sub-inspector of the Anti Vehicle Lifting System identified two accused, namely Salman and Nasir, in the courtroom, recalling they had opened fire on the people near the airport.

The accused were involved in violent activities on the directives of MQM founder Altaf Hussain, the witness said. “The accused were arrested in 2016 and recorded their confessional statements in August 2016,” he added. The two accused had confessed to their involvement on the instructions of the party’s top leadership, the witness said.

only one person and a vehicle to move at a time, whereas a complete ban will be observed on all gatherings and events.

“Medical services will remain open for 24 hours a day while grocery, meat shops, bakeries, flour mills, tandoor and petrol pumps will be permitted to continue businesses from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm.”

Earlier on December 8, as many as 55 areas of Lahore had been placed under smart lockdown owing to the rising Covid-19 cases in the provincial capital.

Moreover, Sindh Health Minister Azra Fazal Pechuho said on Saturday that the present wave of the novel coronavirus could become four times bigger than the first wave of pandemic. “Existing winter waves of the disease could become manifold bigger than the spike in summer,” she warned.

Overall, 237 ventilators were available in Karachi hospitals for coronavirus patients, while the number of high dependency Unit (HDU) beds has been 828, she said, adding that 1,536 beds were available at isolation wards.

Mustafa nawaz Khokhar quits as Bilawal's spokesperson KARACHI STAFF REPORT

Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar on Saturday announced his resignation from the position of PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's spokesperson. Khokhar, however, clarified that he won’t be leaving the party. Announcing his decision in a tweet, Khokhar maintained that he would stand by Bilawal “through thick and thin”. “I have resigned from the position of spokesperson to the chairman, not from PPP. Will stand by BBZ through thick and thin. In my years as his spokesperson, have given counsel with honesty, sincerity and in the best interests of the country and the party,” he tweeted.

Khokhar was appointed Bilawal’s spokesperson in 2018. He also chairs the Senate Committee for Human Rights. Reports suggesting Khokhar was “unhappy” and “uncomfortable” with the party leadership for a few some days had emerged earlier however could not be confirmed. According to a PPP leader, the senator was attending party meetings, “but we found him alienated and reticent”. He said Khokhar had also left a WhatsApp group the party had created prior to the 2018 general elections. Some claim Khokhar was angry over the PPP’s decision about resignations from the assemblies and the party leadership’s back-channel contacts with the military establishment.

Court seeks record of salaries, privileges received by Shehbaz as member assembly LAHORE APP

An accountability court on Saturday sought record of salaries and perks received by Opposition Leader in National Assembly Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif as member assembly in money laundering and assets beyond case.

Accountability Court Judge Syed Jawadul Hassan conducted the case proceedings, wherein jail authorities produced Shehbaz Sharif, Hamza Shehbaz and others on expiry of their judicial remand term.

Advocate Amjad Pervaiz on behalf of Shehbaz Sharif conducted cross examination from NAB witness, Punjab Assembly Deputy Secretary Faisal Bilal, during the proceedings.

The witness stated that Shehbaz Sharif received salaries and other perks from 1993 to 96.

However, Shehbaz Sharif raised objection on the statement and stated that he never received a penny.

On this, the court asked the witness to present attested record of salaries and other perks received by Shehbaz Sharif as member assembly from 1988 to 90

and 1993 to 97.

The court adjourned further hearing till December 16 and summoned further witnesses on the next date of hearing.

It is pertinent to mention that the court had already declared Shehbaz Sharif's wife Nusrat Shehbaz, son Salman Shehbaz, daughter Rabia Imran and son-in-law Haroon yousaf as absconders in the case.

The NAB had nominated 16 persons as accused in the case. However, only 10 out of 16 were indicted yet. Besides Shehbaz Sharif, Hamza Shehbaz, Javeria Ali, Fazl Dad Abbasi, Rashid Karamat,

Muhammad Usman, Masroor Anwar, Nisar Ahmad, Shoaib Qamar, and Qasim Qayyum had been indicted in the case.

However, Salman Shehbaz, Nusrat Shehbaz, Rabia Imran, Syed Muhammad Tahir Naqvi, Haroon Yousaf Zai and another could not be indicted due to their absence.

In a reference, comprising 55 volumes, the bureau had alleged that Shehbaz Sharif family committed massive money laundering of Rs7 billion. Yasir Mushtaq, Mushtaq Ahmad, Shahid Rafique and Aftab were made approvers in the reference.

Sunday, 13 December, 2020

NEWS Gas supply to remain suspended in parts of Karachi today

Sindh removes Iftikhar Shallwani as Karachi commissioner, administrator KARACHI TLTP

Sindh government on Saturday removed Iftikhar Ali Shallwani from the posts of administrator and commissioner of Karachi in a major reshuffle in the top municipal posts.

According to a notification issued by the provincial authorities, Laeeq Ahmed was appointed as the new administrator of Karachi, while Dr Syed Saifur Rehman was posted as the commissioner of the city. It is pertinent to mention that the provincial government had appointed Shallwani as the first administrator of the city three months ago after the elected municipal representatives completed their fouryear tenure. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had selected Shallwani for the slot on September 5. After the selection, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had also lauded the decision and hoped for better working of the administration.

Shallwani had been appointed as commissioner of the city twice, first before getting the portfolio of administrator and secondly after Sohail Rajput left the slot vacant.

Senator Faisal Javed shares details of backdoor messaging from opposition NEWS DESK Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Faisal Javed on Saturday shared details of backdoor messaging from the opposition, saying that the latter was conveying a message for talks to Prime Minister Imran Khan. Speaking to a media outlet, Faisal Javed said that the opposition has approached the prime minister multiple times and has offered to go along with the government if their cases prior to 1999 are quashed. When asked as to who was conveying these messages, Faisal Javed said that seniormost PPP and PML-N leadership are conveying these messages and three of the demands are even conveyed to Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in writing. Sharing the demands from the opposition, he said that they want immunity on cases prior to 1999, no cases on corruption below Rs 1 billion, and restriction on NAB role against money laundering cases.

While daring opposition to submit resignations with the speakers of the assemblies, he said that they would be accepted in the next five minutes.

“We will not keep those resignations with us like [former PML-N speaker in National Assembly] Ayaz Sadiq,” he said. Sharing the two views within the PTI when they resigned from assemblies, he said that some partymen supported the idea to withdraw the resignations while others including Imran Khan were against it.

KARACHI TLTP

LAHORE: Workers instal loudspeakers at Minar-e-Pakistan ahead of Pakistan Democratic Movement’s Sunday gathering. The government had imposed a ban on large gatherings amid Covid-19 pandemic. ZUBAIR MEHFOOZ

CM Buzdar urges opposition to hold talks instead of rallies LAHORE STAFF REPORT

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uNJAB Chief Minister usman Buzdar on Saturday urged opposition parties to resolve issues through dialogue and avoid holding public gatherings amid coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking to the media in Lahore, CM Buzdar advised the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) to delay their Dec 13 Lahore gathering and discuss their issues through talks and not by "compromising or playing with people's lives".

Buzdar said the current coronavirus situation in Lahore was very grave as the positivity rate was more than 46pc. "It is not appropriate to play with the people's lives like this and permission [for the rally] will not be given".

Addressing the opposition, he said nowhere in the world are protests and gatherings being held.

"Why are you doing them…are they happening anywhere else that you can justify yourself? What is the need for this, is there some kind of emergency?"

He stated that the government will deal with the PDM in accordance with the law and its provisions.

Meanwhile, Punjab Law Minister Basharat Raja said the PDM was not allowed to hold the public meeting in the light of the directives issued by the National Command and Control Centre.

"Action will be taken against those who take the law into their own hands. The PDM should avoid meeting in view of corona and security concerns," he said.

Later in the day, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said that opposition party workers had broken into the ground at Minar-e-Pakistan and started making arrangements for tomorrow's rally even though the provincial government

PESHAWAR STAFF REPORT

Former head of the Pathology Department of Khyber Medical College Professor Dr Zebunnisa died due to coronavirus-related complications on Saturday. Provincial Doctors Association (PDA) said she was under treatment at a private hospital and was on a ventilator for more than a week. Funeral prayers of the diseased were offered at Hayatabad, Peshawar.

The PDA claimed the shuhada package has not been awarded to anyone. The provincial government, in August, decided to award financial compensation to all the healthcare providers, who died of coronavirus in the public sector hospitals. “Each doctor, nurse, paramedic, and others will get Rs7 million as a one-time shuhada package,” Health Secretary Syed Imtiaz Hussain Shah had said.

Furthermore, the frontline workers are also deprived of the risk allowance, the PDA added.

The second wave of the pandemic starting from November has so far claimed the lives of 18 doctors in the country. According to an estimate, a total of 154 health professionals, 128 doctors and 26 paramedics have died of the coronavirus since March 3.

has denied them permission.

"The government has decided that we will expose them. I invite the media [that] you will not see a single container on any street in Lahore. No street will be blocked to stop [the opposition] from holding a rally."

She maintained that the government will facilitate party workers as long as they abide by the law. "under the Punjab Infectious Diseases Act, any kind of assembly has been prohibited."

She added the provincial government was responsible to enforce the recent orders passed by the court and issued by the National Command and Control Centre regarding public gatherings in light of rising Covid-19 cases.

Awan said that the route from Jati umra, as well as all entry and exit points in the city, will be monitored through CCTV cameras. "These cameras will register your black actions. Whoever takes the law into their own hands will be dealt with accordingly."

TERROR THREATS: The National Counter Terrorism Authority has also warned of a possible terrorist attempt on Dec 13 in Lahore.

Two separate notifications issued on Dec 9 said that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan (HIA) may target the PDM's Lahore rally.

"Reportedly, TTP terrorists are coordinating to carry out a terrorist activity on Dec 13. Although details regarding the place of the terrorist activity and likely targets is not available, the date appears to be significant as a huge public gathering is expected at Minar-e-Pakistan.

"After the failure of their first plan in Peshawar, these terrorists are planning to shit their operatives [...] and logistics towards another place (most likely Lahore) for carrying out a large-scale terrorist activity against an unspecified target," one of the notifications reads.

Centre increases Balochistan healthcare grant to Rs8.5bn QUETTA APP

Senior doctor dies of Covid-19

03

Parliamentary Health Secretary Dr Rubaba Khan Buledi said on Saturday the federal government has increased Balochistan healthcare grant from Rs5 billion to Rs8.5 billion so as to bring significant improvement and reforms in the health sector.

She expressed these views while chairing a meeting of the annual performance review of peace and nutrition emergency response projects.

The meeting was attended by Director Nutrition Directorate Dr Muhammad Amin Mandokhel and nutrition coordinators of different districts and district officers of health department.

Expressing satisfaction over the ongoing nutrition programs, Buledi stressed the need to formulate an effective strategy according to the circumstances and difficulties of each district.

She said that a healthy child is a symbol of a healthy

society, adding that drought, poverty, and other issues in Balochistan are different from other provinces.

She said the public health situation in a large area of the population is certainly not satisfactory, but it requires a coordinated strategy.

“Malnutrition is more serious in rural areas than in urban areas, especially among newborns and adolescents”, she said, saying this proportion is high which is why nutrition is focused on a specific age group.

She said Balochistan is the first province in the country where a regular nutrition directorate has been set up to combine various nutrition-related programs.

Providing vocational training to the people working in various programs under the scheme is a commendable initiative as a result of which trend manpower is striving to provide quality health and nutrition facilities to the people in the field, Dr Rubaba added.

Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) on Saturday said that the gas supply would remain temporarily suspended across seven Karachi localities on Sunday. According to the SSGC statement, the gas supply will remain suspended from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm on Sunday in the Metroville Blocks 1,2 and 3, Site Industrial Area, Zia Colony, Mavach Goth, Baldia Town, Seikh Khani Area and Labour Square. The gas company said it is undertaking looping work for a 15 kilometre long 20-inch dia interlink of Shershah Main and Gas Turbine Main on December 13. On Thursday, the Sindh High Court (SHC) had issued notices to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and others over the shortage and closure of gas in the province. The plea against the shortage of gas in Sindh especially in Karachi was taken up by the SHC. The issuing notices to the chairman OGRA, SSGC and other respondents directed them to submit their replies latest by January 13.

NAB starts investigation into illegal sale of govt land to JUI-F's Fazlur Rehman NEWS DESK The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has started investigating a complaint filed against Jamiat ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JuI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman which says the government transport service illegally sold expensive land to the JuI-F chief at a low price. In the complaint, it is alleged that the JuIF was given 64 Kanal government-owned land after former prime minister Nawaz Sharif closed the general transport service department, a source in the bureau informed Geo News. The NAB source said land worth Rs14 million was illegally given to the JuI-F for Rs4 million. JuI-F Khyber Paktunkhwa chief Senator Attaur Rehman, however, told Geo News said the complaint is a lie and nothing will come of it. This investigation too, like all other NAB investigations, will go into the trash, the senator said.

In September, NAB Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had summoned Fazl to answer allegations that he owns assets beyond known sources of income. In the notice sent to the JuI-F chief, NAB KP had stated that Fazl can be arrested if his answers fail to satisfy officials of the anti-corruption watchdog.

Sunday, 13 December, 2020

04 NEWS

Sindh govt inaugurateS neighborhood park, aSSureS early completion of other projectS KARACHI

S

APP

InDH Government Spokesperson and Chief Minister’s Advisor on Law, Environment, Climate Change and Coastal Development Barrister Murtaza Wahab on Saturday inaugurated a neighborhood park here in Clifton and announced that Burns Road and Haqqani Chowk will also be con-

verted into urban recreational places for the citizens.

During the inauguration of the park, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders Khalil Haut, najmi Alam and Karamullah Waqasi, Commissioner South Irshad Sodhar, Municipal Commissioner South Akhtar Sheikh and some others were present.

Murtaza informed the media that colorful benches and sheds have been set up in the park and a space for various sports has also been al-

lotted to the park in collaboration with a local non-Governmental Organisation (nGO).

He said: “The nGO had come up with a plan and put it into practice for the welfare of the public.

This place had a devastating look, which has now been turned into a hub for walking and playing basketball. Old Clifton's 70-year-old park has become a green space. A garbage disposal place in Block 2 near Bilawal House has been

KP govt decides to give all hospital ambulances to Rescue 1122 PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has decided to hand over all ambulances of its hospitals to Rescue 1122 department to improve rescue services in the province.

While talking to Radio Pakistan Peshawar on Saturday, Rescue 1122 Spokesman Bilal Faizi said that the initiative is being taken to ensure the availability of ambulances to all patients.

Rescue 1122 will install all necessary medical equipment in the ambulances. The spokesman further said that the government has established ninety-two Rescue stations in thirty-two districts of KP to meet the emergency and uncertain situation in these districts. TLTP

turned into a green belt. now I see children playing there.”

“People's Square in the South District with a parking capacity of 300 cars and bikes has been built.

The newly-built Malir Expressway is the best project for Karachi in terms of the smooth flow of traffic.

109 other parks are being rehabilitated. A sewerage project is also being built here for the people. Its sewerage service will be started in the next 30 days while the construc-

tion of a road in Block 4 will be completed in a few days. Another recreational space, which was converted from an occupied land on Ibrahim Haideri Road, will be inaugurated soon.”

The spokesperson asked the local administration to stop those people, who harm such recreational places. He further said that problems are being solved by the government.

If the people will support the government, it will keep performing bet-

ter. not only the Sindh government but Sindh Assembly is working hard for the betterment and benefit of the Karachi citizens. Peace has been restored in the city. They will remove every obstacle in the journey of happy civic life.

Meanwhile, the South deputy commissioner constituted a 10member committee to chalk out a plan to develop and beautify the city's well-known Burns Road Food Street for the visitors.

‘Tram service to be launched in Karachi with Turkey’s assistance’ KARACHI APP

Commissioner Karachi Iftikhar Ali Shallwani on Saturday said that a tram service will be started in the city with assistance of Turkey.

While addressing the "Jadeed Pakistan Conference 2020”, organised here by the Youth Parliament, Shallwani said that only cities with good infrastructure are getting developed across the world. The basic necessities of the city are proper water sewerage system, transport and road sector.

All-out efforts are being made to make Karachi a modern city.

Renowned social activist Rafeeq Pardesi, former Member of national Assembly (MnA) Rehan Hashmi, Dr Farhan Essa,

Mehmood Ahmed Khan, Youth Parliament President Rizwan Jaffer and other prominent personalities were present in the conference.

The commissioner said: “Youngsters have to play a vital role in the country's development, as they are the ones, who can put Pakistan on the path of prosperity.

The youth must come forward and form their committees at local level to help the local administration in resolving civic issues. Baghban Committees, comprising of representatives of parks departments and locals of areas, are formed to look after the parks. The youngsters of the country are very talented. They are playing key role in different sectors.”

“Pakistani youngsters are recognized across the world due to their abilities and tal-

ent. The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has formed several corner places to train the youth for Central Superior Service (CSS) examinations and the corners have given fruitful results, as a large number of students joined the corners over the period.

Karachi remained a center of education and culture in the past. The youth must concentrate on education in order to get appointed on big and key positions,” he further said.

“Street libraries are established to get the youth back towards reading culture. The libraries will be improved with the passage of time. The KMC is committed to utilize all of its resources to resolve civic issues.”

The commissioner also distributed awards amongst some youngsters for doing good work in different fields.

SAPM Shehzad Arbab inaugurates Five killed in Rahim Yar Khan accident new gas pipeline in Peshawar ISLAMABAD TLTP

Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Establishment Mohammad Shehzad Arbab inaugurated a new gas pipeline in Peshawar on Saturday.

On the occasion, Arbab expressed that domestic gas consumers in the city were facing the problems of shortage and low pressure since long. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has been focussing on the resolution of gas problems since coming into power. After consistent efforts, we have now

addressed the issue and facilitated the public.

He said that a 12-inch wide and 16-kilometer long pipeline has been connected with the main gas pipeline, which will help to increase the gas pressure for domestic usage. The new pipeline will facilitate at least 1,50,000 households.

Parliamentary Secretary for Interior Haji Shaukat Ali, CPEC Committee Chairman Arbab Sher Ali, MPA Asif Khan, MPA Malik Wajid, Sui Gas General Manager Taj Ali and other senior officers of Sui Gas Department were also present during the inauguration.

RAHIM YAR KHAN INP

At least five persons were killed in a road accident here in the wee hours of Saturday.

According to the details, the incident occurred at the M-5 motorway due to over speeding and foggy conditions. Eye-witnesses told that the accident was so severe that the travellers died on the spot. Rescue teams reached the spot and shifted the dead bodies to a nearby hospital.

Meanwhile, at least ten people received wounds when multiple vehicles rammed into each

other due to low visibility on the Indus Highway near Dadu.

According to the rescue officials, the accident took place when a truck suddenly pushed brakes and caused four other vehicles behind it to smash into each other.

“A traffic jam on Indus Highway was caused due to the accident.

The police and administration got the damaged vehicles removed from the accident site to clear up the traffic jam. There was very less visibility due to fog. We are investigating the matter and will register a case,” a rescue official said.

PSDF, UNICEF sign accord for research on youth skills development, job placement ISLAMABAD APP

The United nations Children’s Fund (UnICEF) and the Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF) have signed a partnership agreement to implement a research and development project in support of adolescent and youth education, skills development and job placement as part of the ‘Generation Unlimited’ partnership in Pakistan.

“A model linking non-formal education and job placement will be developed as part of the ‘Generation Unlimited’ partnership,” said a statement issued on Saturday.

The agreement will help research, design and pre-test an accelerated and cost-effective ‘non-Formal Education to Job Placement’ model to help improve the skills and employability of the most vulnerable and economically, socially disadvantaged adolescents and youth. It targets adolescents and young people who have never attended formal education or who dropped out of the formal education system without achieving primary school competencies, and who do not have access to education and economic opportunities.

PSDF will work with UnICEF, federal and provincial governments, and partners from civil society organizations and the private sector to design and pre-test the ‘non-Formal Education to Job Placement’ model in Punjab.

It aims at offering a unique, integrated solution by simultaneously (1) providing adolescents and young people age 10-19 who are outside the formal education system with the opportunity to enroll in an Accelerated Learning Program so they can achieve foundational skills in literacy and numeracy at primary school; (2) equipping those who have achieved grade 5 competency level with job and entrepreneurial skills through training to enhance their capacities to access non-hazardous income generational opportunities; and (3) linking young people who have successfully graduated from the program to the labour market.

“We are proud that UnICEF has partnered with PSDF in Pakistan for this landmark initiative to educate and skill out-of-school adolescents,” said Jawad Khan, CEO of PSDF. “This is recognition of PSDF as the most innovative and progressive development sector organization in Pakistan. PSDF has deep knowledge in skills training gained through managing large evidence-based and demanddriven programs, operational excellence achieved through working with largest international donors, and unmatched ability to deliver results as PSDF graduates generate annual incomes of PKR 20 billion.”

The project is part of the ‘Generation Unlimited’ (GenU) partnership in Pakistan,

which aims at creating a movement to help young people, particularly adolescent girls and boys between the ages of 10 and 19, acquire the education and skills training required to access employment opportunities.

The GenU multi-sector partnership platform brings together government, private sector, civil society organizations and development partners, and forges innovative collaboration with young people, with a view to expand and link formal education and skill development.

“Pakistan has the largest generation of young people in its history, which provides unique challenges as well as opportunities,” said Ms. Aida Girma, UnICEF Representative in Pakistan.

“This new model aims to expand opportunities for and with young people, in particular out-of-school adolescent girls and boys, to access quality education, skills training and employment. It supports the Vision of ‘Generation Unlimited’, which is to gather public and private partners around the goal of investing in young people to help them achieve their potential while supporting economic and social growth,” she added.

The model will be developed and pretested in Punjab as a first phase. The goal is to start similar programs in other provinces in the future to reach millions of young people who lack opportunities.

Sunday, 13 December, 2020

HafEEz SHaIKH to fInaLLy CHaIr nfC aftEr taKInG oatH aS fInanCE MInIStEr

ISLAMABAD

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GHULAM ABBAS

R Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, who had recently been removed from the newly-constituted National Finance Commission (NFC) after objection from provinces and political parties, would now be chairing the NFC meeting after becoming federal finance minister.

As per the new composition of NFC, Prime Minister Imran Khan was supposed to chair the meeting as the minister in charge.

However, according to an official source, the premier, during the past five months, had only chaired one meeting with concerned officials of the finance ministry.

As the finance ministry had prepared a summary for the NFC meeting under the chairmanship of the prime minister, only a department meeting was held so far in which the premier was briefed about the NFC and related issues.

Earlier, a summary related to the same meeting was

revised multiple times to confusion related to the new body of NFC. Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh was sworn in as a federal minister on Friday. Shaikh assumed office as the SAPM on April 20, 2019; his appointment comes in light of the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) December 7 ruling on the inclusion of special assistants and advisers to the prime minister in cabinet committees.

The IHC had ruled that special assistants and advisers to the prime minister were not members of the Cabinet and therefore, cannot be part of Cabinet proceedings.

Shaikh’s appointment as a federal minister is a rarity since he is not an elected member of the parliament. The notification of his promotion cites Article 92(1) read with 91(9) of the Constitution as the basis of his appointment.

“The government, as per the constitution, needed to make Shaikh as member of the parliament within next six months. It is expected that Shaikh will be made senator during the election of senate in March 2021,” said an insider. In April 2018, the government of PML-N had also

Last solar eclipse of 2020 on Monday: PMD KARACHI TLTP

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Saturday said the last solar eclipse of 2020 will take place on Monday (tomorrow). This solar eclipse, however, will not be visible in the country and the South Asian region.

According to the PMD, the eclipse will start at 6:34 pm and end at 11:53 pm. The eclipse will be seen in most of the countries of South Africa and South America. It will also be visible in the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans, and the Antarctica. The partial solar eclipse will begin at 6:34 and the greatest eclipse will begin at 9:13. The total eclipse will end at 10:54 while the partial eclipse will come to an end at 11:53. On June 21 this year, an annular solar eclipse was occurred and visible in some cities of Pakistan. According to the PMD’s Climate Data Processing Centre, “an annular solar eclipse happens when the moon covers the sun’s centre, leaving the sun’s visible outer edges to form a ‘ring of fire’ or annulus around the moon”.

promoted Miftah Ismail from adviser to finance minister under Article 92 of the constitution.

According to sources the late Benazir Bhutto was the only prime minister who chaired NFC meetings as the minister in charge. The meetings are normally chaired by finance ministers.

Since the constitution does not allow advisers to chair the meeting, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had strongly objected to the composition of the 10th NFC, in which the adviser on finance was empowered to chair the meeting.

On July 22, 2020, Shaikh was removed from the chairmanship of the commission after opposition from provinces and Balochistan High Court’s (BHC) verdict against the composition of the NFC. It may recall here that in the last 10 years, the Centre and provinces have failed to reach a consensus which led to both the eighth and ninth NFCs being inconclusive, and the extension of the revenue distribution mechanism set in the seventh NFC Award, which was given by the PPP in 2010.

According to sources, the provinces are also largely in favour of keeping the mechanism of seventh NFC intact, as they are wary of changes in their respective shares due to demographic fluctuations identified in the latest population census.

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

Under the fiscal mechanism in the 7th NFC Award the federation withholds too little, compared to its colossal needs and financial commitments, forcing it to run a deficit. The federation has to service unilateral and bilateral debt after distributing the due shares of the provinces.

The debt servicing only leaves behind a sum that finances a part of the military budget. Non-tax revenue and additional loans fund the remaining expenditures.

Pakistan, Tanzania sign MoUs for political, economic cooperation ISLAMABAD APP

Pakistan and Tanzania have signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), namely 'Bilateral Political Consultations between the two countries’ ministries' and 'Establishment of a Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation'.

The MoUs, described as a major leap forward in bilateral ties, were signed during a meeting between Pakistan High Commissioner to Tanzania Muhammad Saleem and United Republic of Tanzania Foreign Af-

fairs and East African Cooperation Minister Dr Palamagamba John Aidan Mwaluko Kabudi in Dar es Salaam.

According to a statement issued by Pakistan High Commission in Tanzania, the MoUs provide the institutional framework for structured dialogue between the two friendly countries in political and economic fields to elevate the relations to higher levels.

Both sides were also working on various other initiatives including exchange of high level visits, trade delegations and people-topeople contacts to further

strengthen the existing cordial ties.

The bilateral trade between Pakistan and Tanzania during financial year 2019-20 valued $154 million.

Pakistani business community has invested around $490 million in the Tanzanian economy providing employment for 5,400 Tanzanian nationals.

Both countries were working on realizing the existing trade and investment potential following a Tanzanian trade delegation’s recent visit to Pakistan from November 25 - December 01, 2020, the statement added.

NEWS

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Govt vows legal action against those flouting Covid restrictions CONTINUED fROM pAgE 01 Addressing the presser, Senator Faraz said the threat of mass resignations is bound to fail “like their previous attempts at getting an NRO” from Prime Minister Imran Khan in graft cases against the opposition leaders. He said the opposition parties had nothing to do with the public welfare as they claim and they were following the single agenda of receiving an NRO-like concession. Deposed prime minister and PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif is also expected to address the Sunday meeting where he, Sanaullah said, will make his “decisive” address. Sharif has been residing in London since November last year where he had travelled after securing conditional eight-week bail to receive medical treatment. He has since refused to come back and, in October, launched a political campaign to oust the government.

“We have come out for the supremacy of the law,” Maryam Nawaz, PML-N vice president, maintains. “Our struggle is against injustice, unemployment and all-time price hikes.”

Pakistan rejects India’s attempt to deny EU DisinfoLab report CONTINUED fROM pAgE 01 It pressed that the latest revelations have established that no amount of Indian falsehoods can succeed in diverting attention from India’s unspeakable crimes in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and in misleading the world community. “While countering India’s state-terrorism and exposing its false narratives, Pakistan remains fully committed to supporting the Kashmiris in their legitimate struggle for the right to selfdetermination as per the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions,” the statement added.

PKM voices against ‘undue favours’ to blue-eyed farmers Pakistan Kissan Movement Secretary General Chuadhry Hanif Gujjar recently met farmers of Bahawalpur to discuss undue favours being given to “so-called farmers” by the Punjab cane commissioner. Farmers complained that a faction that portrays itself as ‘a split group of Pakistan Kissan Ittehad’, is in reality a different group. “The leaders of this so-called Pakistan Kissan Ittehad are favourites of ex-chief minister Shehbaz Sharif, who in the year 201718, used to get 10-15 cane purchase permits which they used to sell to the poor farmers for Rs5,000 per permit,” they added. The farmers strongly criticized this group and said that if any farmer who did not agree with them or surrender to their whims, was man handled and nobody could dare to question them, as administration of Shehbaz Sharif was all out to support them. Hanif Gujjar appealed the prime minister to take notice of Punjab cane commissioner for his undue support to “black mailing” faction of farmers. NEWS DESK

UN Chief urges world leaders to declare 'climate emergency' UNITED NATIONS APP

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday urged every country to declare a "state of climate emergency", while speaking at a global summit coinciding with the fifth anniversary of the Paris climate agreement.

The state of emergency should remain in place until carbon neutrality is achieved, meaning that no more additional greenhouse gases are being pumped into the Earth's atmosphere, Guterres said on launching the "Climate Ambition Summit", an online conference attended by leaders from around the world, including Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The United Nations, Britain and France are co-hosting the summit.

Guterres described the situation as "dramatic", saying that current commitments across the globe did not go "far from enough" to limit temperature rises.

In Paris in 2015, states promised to limit

the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius as much as possible, Guterres said.

But he pointed out that the pledges made to meet that goal were insufficient, and in some cases were themselves being ignored.

The UN chief warned that if the global community does not change course, the globe may be headed towards a "catastrophic" temperature increase of more than 3 degrees this century.

"Can anybody still deny that we are facing a dramatic emergency?" Guterres said.

"That is why today, I call on all leaders worldwide to declare a State of Climate Emergency in their countries until carbon neutrality is reached."

The UN chief said economic recovery packages launched in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic represented an opportunity to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon future — but warned so much more needs to be done to ward off catastrophic consequences.

"So far, the members of the G20 are

spending 50% more in their stimulus and rescue packages on sectors linked to fossil fuel production and consumption, than on low-carbon energy," Guterres said.

"This is unacceptable. The trillions of dollars needed for COVID recovery is money that we are borrowing from future generations," he said. "We cannot use these resources to lock in policies that burden future generations with a mountain of debt on a broken planet," he added.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said that by 2030, 60 per cent of all energy produced in the country will be "clean" and through renewable resources. "Thirty per cent of all the country's vehicles will use electricity," he added.

China's President Xi Jinping said his country will boost its installed capacity of wind and solar power to more than 1,200 gigawatts over the next decade. Xi also said China will increase its share of nonfossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 25% during the same period.

And "China always honors its commit-

CMYK

ments," Xi promised.

More than 110 countries have already committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2050.

“The summit is a major step on the road to the next UN Climate Conference, COP26, which will be hosted by the UK next November in Glasgow,” according o an official statement released ahead of Saturday's summit.

The Paris accord, adopted in 2015 and signed a year later, is designed to boost greenhouse-gas-emissions mitigation worldwide. Its main goals include keeping the global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), and efforts to limit warming to 1.5 degrees in a bid to reduce the impact and risks of climate change.

The last five years have been the warmest on record, according to the World Meteorological Organisation, a UN agency, with concern at rising numbers of wildfires, storms and flooding.

The UN has said that the drop in emis-

sions due to the global coronavirus pandemic is too small to halt the rising temperatures.

The United States, the world’s secondlargest polluter after China, left the Paris Agreement under President Donald Trump who questioned the accepted science behind climate change.

Incoming US climate envoy John Kerry plans immediately to re-enter the accord and President-elect Joe Biden has set a goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.

The summit - seen as one of the last chances to set the world on track to meet the Paris accord - will now take place in person in November 2021.

"My message to you all is that together we can use scientific advances to protect our entire planet, our biosphere against a challenge far worse, far more destructive than coronavirus," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the summit.

Johnson said the pandemic was an opportunity to create thousands of jobs by way of a green recovery,

Sunday, 13 December, 2020

06 COMMENT

Beginning of globalization and changes in Indian democracy

PTI in a spin Accusation as a stock response

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espite differences both old and new, the ppp and pML(N) were never united in recent history as strongly as they are now. On Friday, ppp chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari visited Jati Umra to meet the pML(N) leadership and held a joint presser along with pML(N) Vice president Maryam Nawaz.

While the ppp Central executive Committee is yet to take a decision of the issue of resignations, Mr Bilawal Zardari maintained that there would be no division in the pDM on the issue of resignations. He even claimed that he was in fact receiving resignations of his party legislators in large numbers. Yesterday six ppp and pML(N) leaders met at Bilawal House Lahore to review arrangements of the Lahore rally and discuss the future steps of the agitation, including resignations.

Ms Nawaz claimed that over the last few days senior pti leaders, including ministers, had been contacting the pML(N) leaders with requests for talks. she reasserted the stand that there can be no parleys with the pti government that had been formed through a stolen mandate. to show to the pML(N) rank and file that the decisions being taken by the pDM had the full support of the party’s supreme leader, Mian Nawaz sharif convened the pML(N) working committee meeting yesterday where all took oath that they would abide by party discipline and follow whatever decisions were taken by the party including resignations, long march, and sitins. the pMLN() knows it is expected to play the most vital role in organising protests on account of having the largest following in punjab. it also understands that it would be the principle beneficiary if the ongoing agitation achieved its goal. the pML(N) is therefore keen to keep the pDM united despite the differences. the pti leadership is nervous for it is now being subjected to criticism couched in the sort of acerbic language that it employed against the governments in power. Federal Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has suddenly discovered that pDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had contacts in British intelligence agency Mi6 and was allegedly involved in anti-state activities besides corruption. the question is why didn’t the government take immediate action instead of keeping the so called information to itself only to disclose it on the eve of the Lahore rally?

An opportunity was lost at independence Dr rajkumar Singh

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t was the time for the indian republic to choose between majoritarian principles and substantive democracy. in general the failure of post–colonial states to assure equal citizenship rights and to deliver on the promise of redistributive justice has brought these entities into some disrepute, as secularism and socialism have resorted to majoritarian ideologies, religiously or ethnically defined, in an attempt to prevent their own structures from being undermined. in today’s polity instead of the unbending insistence on the singular loyalty of the citizen to the state, the time is overdue to rethink the relevance of multiple and shifting social identities for the cause of democracy. if it happens so it can be a boon and not a threat to democratic values and practice. the multiple identities can only flourish within a political and state system based on layered and shared sovereignties. the rise of Hindu majoritarian ‘nationalism’ in india is tied to the defence of centralised state authority against a variety of regional as well as class based challenges, even though it has not succeeded in dislodging the formal secular ideology of the indian state. But over the years the social character of the BJp, as distinct from its class composition, has therefore undergone a rapid change. From a party of traders and other hidebound petty bourgeoisie, it has grown into a representative party of dominant sections of indian society, including the ruling classes.

A notable feature of the rise of rightwing militant Hindu nationalism and the assumption of power by the BJpled alliance in 1998 and 1999 elections, is the materialisaion of a new alignment between the ruling classes and the social basis of political power.

While the 1990s witnessed the phenomenal growth of the BJp, the Congress registered a steady decline. the indian National Congress– long emblematic of the ruling classes– represented a diverse social constituency earlier; consisting as much of the Dalits, and the poor and oppressed of various communities, as of the richer sections of society. it has now become more a party of the disprivileged sections of society, with the privileged moving into the BJp. in the period the vote for Congress among the rich sections of the

Unchecked religious extremism Not nearly enough done to address a dangerous problem

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Making the covid-19 vaccine work will be a challenge

rabia ahmeD

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UssiA has started vaccinating using the sputnik V vaccine, although it is still in the process of being mass-tested. the pfizer vaccine has been approved in the UK where vaccinations are well under way. pfizer has approval in Canada, and has just received the same in the UsA. pakistan hopes to have a vaccine ready to use by the first quarter of next year, perhaps the Chinese Cansino Biologics, a single dose vaccine which is going through its phase 3 clinical trials, with volunteers from several countries including pakistan.

Whichever vaccine appears on the scene in pakistan, one hopes it will be handled with due planning and organisation, and with a genuine view to help the people of the country instead of the privileged few. it is not something pakistan can pride itself on generally, neither planning nor indiscriminate provision of benefits to all. the ‘flu vaccine which, when available is expensive, and thus that puts it out of the reach of most people. this season it has not been available in pakistan at all. this, despite warnings that this year in particular people need to be vaccinated against influenza. pollution this year has probably been worse than in previous years. As with the ‘flu, respiratory problems associated with pollution make people more susceptible to other infections. An added risk is that if a person is infected with covid-19, a cough will spread the covid-19 virus to all within range. Yet nothing much has been done to improve the quality of air in places like Lahore and Faisalabad, which is important in any case regardless of covid-19. Yes, some factories that (mind-bogglingly) use rubber and plastic as fuel have been shut down. such shutdowns happen every winter. it gives rise to the obvious question: how did/do such ventures manage to

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor Umar Aziz

Asher John

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Deputy Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

The writer is head of the political science department of the B.N.Mandal University, Madhepura, Bihar, India and can be reached at rajkumarsinghpg@gmail.com

The long awaited vaccine

He incident in Lahore on Friday, where the statue of Maharaja Ranjeet singh, placed outside the Haveli of Rani Jindan at Lahore Fort, was vandalized, is not a first, as it was attacked just after being placed at the spot last year, following much uproar and controversy. the person responsible for the latest incident is by his own admission a staunch follower of late tLp leader Khadim Rizvi, and did what he did because Ranjeet singh desecrated Badshahi Mosque and killed several Muslims when he ruled punjab, while the motivation for the previous attack was that it was against islam to erect statues and it should be taken down. the pti government has invested a lot of time, money and energy into its policy to promote ‘religious tourism’, which so far has centered on sikhs. the Kartarpur corridor is perhaps the bedrock of this initiative, facilitating visafree border crossing connecting the Gurdwara Darbar sahib in pakistan with india. Apart from generating much-needed economic activity in the country, it projects a secular image of pakistan as well. the persecution of minorities, especially Muslims, in india under Modi and the BJp government, makes the diplomatic angle of pti’s tourism policy all the more significant. it is therefore unfortunate that the perennial problem of religious extremism is undoing much of the good work that has been done to build some positive and progressive credentials of the country. While the fight against terrorism, fought with will and ferocity, has garnered tangible results, the threat posed by religious intolerance and extremism has been largely ignored. the age of social media has made the job even more difficult as various online platforms can easily disseminate hate speech without being detected. the appeasement of elements that promote the ideas that fuel religious extremism is also rampant, even at the state and institutional level; the disruptive and violent sit-ins by tLp over the years, ended by the government succumbing to their irrational demands, is a case in point. if the pti is striving to bring about social change in pakistan, it will not get very far if a large section of society is increasingly becoming intolerant.

Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

upper castes is as low as 26.3 percent, while the BJp boasts 57.2 percent. surprisingly the Congress vote, 26.5 percent, was lower than that of the BJp. 40.8 percent, among the rich sections of Dalits. Apart from this the Congress has also lost heavily among all sections of the Muslims and the Dalits in the Gangetic belt. the rule provided by the BJp–led alliance represents a specifically ruling–class bloc– a unification of the ruling-class interests under bourgeois leadership and bourgeois aspirations among the various strata in society. However, in a parliamentary rule based on party competition, it is important how the social bases of support are structured. the political responsiveness of a government is partly conditioned by the social support it depends on. And in the similar class character of the two parties, their parliamentary rule cannot make any difference to the interests of the peasantry or the working class but it would be a definite setback to the democratic interests of the masses particularly in indian context where democratic gains have been so slow and so little.

Only at this point lies the basics of the indian state– a unique situation in which the birth of our republic took place. the state became congealed in its present form in the wake of independence; in fact, the first few years were of crucial importance. it began its trajectory of consolidation by facing mass upheavals; popular struggle the like of which india never saw again. On the face of this, the state had two choices.

One, it could have used the popular upheavals to start altering or restructuring its institutions. Alternatively, it could continue to rely on the inherited colonial bureaucracy, and, a host of other repressive institutions and laws to subdue the popular movements. At that juncture, out of fear of popular struggles, the ruling leadership chose the second alternative– a case of historical shortsightedness. this choice had longterm consequences as it allowed the state institutions to become insulated from popular pressures and the need for accountability, as well as gave them permanence as necessary intermediaries to the state’s exercise of power. the fluidity of the early period could have been utilised in moulding the state institutions as truly democratic structures. Given the alignment of forces in the political establishment as a whole, the first option would have had short-term destabilising consequences. But it

may also have had longterm beneficial results in more responsiveness to popular aspirations, anti–feudal and transformational measures such as participatory grassroots–level institutions freed of bureaucratic control, self–initiative and local mobilisation in planning and handling of poverty, health, literacy and so on. such open–ended options would surely have helped in breaking the power of the narrow–minded elite. the state in india thus failed in living up to its inheritance of the values, inspirations and aspirations of the anti–colonial national movement. the state failed to materialise as the site of structural possibilities of changing social relations, of institutional initiatives, of involving people, and of normative impulses for justice and equity. instead it pursued a narrowly conceived, western capitalist inspired modernisation under the charge of a bureaucracy that had foreclosed possibilities of an emancipatory transformation based on popular impulses.

As a result of this, after over 60 years and 15 national general elections, india’s parliament is nowhere close to being truly representative. since the adoption of the Constitution, india has moved decisively towards a multi–party system, with laws such as the one to prevent defection restricting inner–party dissent even while curbing horse trading. power is still concentrated in the hands of a few, with the role of the public limited to voting in governments every five years or so. While the strength of indian democracy has withstood the decades of social, economic and political developments, there are numerous challenges to democratic governance. the social and economic progress achieved by the deepening of democracy in many societies has been shaped by their efforts to successfully protect the rule of law. Despite various attempts to enforce and institutionalise the rule of law in indian society, the intended results have not been achieved. While the normative framework of constitutional governance is established through the Constitution of india and the various institutions established under it, deeply embedded values constitutionalism have not taken roots in the indian society. in between the period huge social expectations have been generated by institutions that are responsible for checking abuse of power. But given that the capacity for dealing with abuse of power is disproportionate to the demands imposed upon them by the sheer size and magnitude of the country, there have been numerous unfulfilled promises. Urgent steps are needed to establish a society having the rule of law in india, without which our fundamental credentials as a democracy will seriously be undermined.

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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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exist and function in the first place? several things need to be prepared in advance for covid-19 vaccinations, proper storage facilities such as freezers, sufficient equipment such as protective gear and syringes, and oxygen. there has to be provision for emergency care in case of adverse reactions. there must also be facilities for proper disposal of the syringes used in the vaccination. the population of pakistan is about 220 million. even if quarter of those people get vaccinated that means 55 million syringes in addition to the syringes used as a norm in the country. that is a lot of hazardous plastic waste. Nice thing if next year these syringes are used for fuel by those factories that have just been shut down. Also what an irony if, after getting a grip on covid-19 the incidence of HiV rises steeply because syringes were re-used, as happens.

Recently in peshawar covid-19 patients died because there was insufficient provision of oxygen for their use. Given that one of the features of this disease is the need for oxygen in serious cases this is an almost incredible oversight.

Another factor to guard against is misinformation that spreads as fast as the disease itself. the American CiA did pakistan no service by using the callous, thoughtless methods they did in their hunt for Bin Laden, using the services of Dr shakil Afridi, who however says he did not know that he had been employed by the CiA. Dr Afridi conducted a hepatitis-B vaccination campaign in the area around the house where Bin Laden was hiding. the plan was to analyse the used syringes to look for any DNA belonging to relatives of Bin Laden. A relative’s DNA was not identified, but the DNA of a man known to have close links to Al Qaeda was. Bin Laden was captured as a result, but the ones who lost out were the people of this country. the religious brotherhood had long been spreading fears that vaccines were causing harm to people, and that vaccines were a tool by means of which ‘the West’ sought to render the people of pakistan infertile. Well the people of pakistan do not appear to be infertile in the least but the accusations about vaccination programmes being a Western tool were certainly borne out thanks to the CiA, although not exactly the way it was claimed. the long and short of the incident was that vaccinations have taken a hit, as have the men and women charged with administering them. it has been many years since that event but since then the

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incidence of polio in pakistan– which had dwindled– has risen dramatically. the taliban called for a ban on polio vaccines and action against those administering them. As a direct consequence many polio workers and security personnel protecting them have been killed. similar rumours and misinformation are likely to latch on to the covid-19 vaccine. indeed religious extremists have been a thorn in the side of the country since its inception, yet nothing has ever been done to curb them. even something so innocuous as the adhan (call to prayer) which can be beautiful and a real call to prayer if well executed is obviously not within government control. it issues five times a day as loud as a horde of Mongols– badly pronounced and utterly unattractive.

Another point, by no means the last but a big one, is the question whether or not the covid-19 vaccine ought to be mandatory. Whatever decision one comes to, the same would apply to other vaccines such as the polio and other childhood vaccines unless it is medically advised against for some reason. this is a debate which must be resolved. there appears to be a rule in existence making vaccinations ‘compulsory’ in pakistan, yet like many other injunctions there is no follow-up and no one checks to see if this rule is upheld. is it even possible to uphold it? it is doubtful.

And yet. Manslaughter is a legal term for homicide. it is less culpable than murder since murder includes an intention to kill, while manslaughter does not. Yet manslaughter is punishable by law.

Not taking a vaccine can and does lead to a rise in the incidence of infection, as we have witnessed often but most recently now when there is as yet no vaccine against covid-19 and people persist in neglecting adequate preventive measures such as masks. Nobody intends to harm but harm does result.

How, therefore is not taking a vaccine any less than manslaughter?

But seeing how almost impossible it would be to make vaccines mandatory, it has been suggested that making them mandatory could be achieved on an institutional level. this question needs some thought.

For governments that are in the habit of thinking, and planning, these points and questions are of crucial importance. is pakistan one of those countries?

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

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Sunday, 13 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

Addressing Bilawal

Dark dungeons of crime Custodians of the illicit with no shame in theft

Candid Corner Raoof Hasan “It was as good as sealing yourself into a dungeon: walled in, with nowhere to go but your own doom.” —Haruki Murakami

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HeRe are books aplenty containing stories of those who are used to living in the dark dungeons of their crimes.

The pain that some may feel initially gradually recedes into the background and their chosen life assumes a dominant hold of their psyche.

But crime can neither be hidden, nor does its affliction ever disappear completely. It keeps coming back to haunt the perpetrator, driving him through fits of agony and shame which, inevitably, impact the way he lives his life. one is often reminded of Faiz’s prophetic words: “Reward and punishment shall be dispensed here For here shall be enacted hell and paradise Here shall be raised the call for the hereafter Here shall be the doomsday.”

There are those who may temporarily escape the punishment, but when one is nudged by the sway of justice, there is no evading the dragnet.

We are witness to this haemorrhaging drama being enacted in our midst these days.

For much too long, the sharifs, Zardaris and that vile merchant of religion manipulated the system to save their illicit billions which they had scavenged off the state, denuding it of its resources and leaving it struggling for support to sustain what had been reduced to a mere carcass.

As they were taking turns at playing this odious game, they refused to realise that the arm of law could actually get to them.

When it ultimately did, they had nowhere to hide their faces, or their evil deeds. They were caught in the tricks of their own trade and all they could do was to holler their innocence, not through production of proofs, but by politicising their criminal indulgences and hoping that the complicit system they had created so laboriously would come to their rescue. But it did not because the one who is running it now is not one of their tribe. He is sworn to raising the levels of accountability encompassing punishing the perpetrators of crime together with their aiders and abettors. The agencies of law did not have to struggle much as proofs of their sprees of loot

and plunder were aplenty. once secured, it was not a difficult job to have them convicted. But when it started happening, it created a deafening furore because the ones caught thought that they enjoyed immunity from prosecution. That proved to be a fallacious notion, effectively drummed away by those calling for justice to be administered to all without any distinction.

That dream may yet be a far cry from the reality on ground, but it is also true that the criminal syndicates can no longer escape a higher level of accountability than ever before. surrounded by a plethora of evidence incriminating them, it became apparent that their cases could neither be defended in the courts of justice, not consigned to oblivion. so, their only escape was to politicise the entire accountability process and dub this as selective in nature. When that did not work, they decided to drag their fight to the ‘court’ of the people. That is what we are witnessing around us these days with the crescendo of protest rising louder and the situation getting murkier. This may not be entirely to the benefit of the criminal syndicates as, with the passage of time, their attempt to exploit raw human sentiments is not only getting exposed, it is also generating a negative momentum against them particularly when the entire country is caught in the grip of Covid-19. The danger of the scourge getting completely out of hand is a palpable reality.

But, instead of reviewing their escape strategy and pursuing a more rational course, the opposition parties are injecting further doses of venom in their politically caustic harangues. In the process, attempts have been made to polarise the country across all imaginable divides. They are banking on just one prospect: that the Prime Minister would thus be forced to grant them reprieve from their crimes. on the other hand, the Prime Minister has often extended an offer of dialogue to the parties of the opposition with one proviso: there will be no reprieve from crimes and the accountability process will not be halted. since a viable and just resolution of the crisis is not the objective of the opposition parties, they have rejected the offer repeatedly, threatening to continue their protest movement– which is what they are doing presently with the next rally scheduled in lahore on December 13. This will be followed by what is being termed a march on Islamabad, even submission of resignations from the assemblies.

For the opposition, this is plunging to new depths of shame. The government is determined that due process of accountability will continue irrespective of the nature or extent of protest that the opposition may resort to. nearing the end of

their spectrum, considerable level of discordance and disharmony has already begun to creep into the opposition ranks, particularly on the count of submitting resignations from the assemblies. The parties pushing the gauntlet are the PMl(n) and JUI(F), whose leaders are not even members of the legislatures: Maryam is ineligible through the stamp of conviction administered by the apex court and the vile and wicked merchant of religion lost the election from both constituencies he contested in 2018. so, they have nothing to lose in the bargain. It is their party people who will have to resign their seats to save their leaders from punishment for their crimes. The chances of the gambit going through are minimal unless the leaders, in their utter desperation, decide to run the risk of creating divisions within their party ranks. This pungent hubris reminds me of the magic of T. s. eliot:

As the opposition disintegrates, the government will gain in strength and will be in a position to not only impose its writ, but further strengthen its accountability programme to the detriment of those whose crimes are no longer a secret even from the eyes of their own supporters

Thou hast nor youth nor age But as it were an after-dinners sleep Dreaming on both

It is a long list of crimes the leaders of the opposition want to shield themselves from.

In this vile effort, they want the unsuspecting people to be sacrificed like lambs at the altar of the pandemic. This is as gruesome a tactic as can be: securing self over people, crime over righteousness and personal immunity over collective survival. let’s also not discount the prospect of an inferno in a polarised environment with inimical external forces joining hands with domestic saboteurs to ignite the flame.

The opposition parties seem to be running out of steam. Any divisions within their ranks will render them weak.

Their unity will be in tatters and their narrative will be bereft of whatever appeal it may have had at the beginning of this protest movement. so, the entire edifice would be reduced to a rudderless ship with the masters lost in a blame game that will get increasingly combative with the passage of time.

As the opposition disintegrates, the government will gain in strength and will be in a position to not only impose its writ, but further strengthen its accountability programme to the detriment of those whose crimes are no longer a secret even from the eyes of their own supporters.

This may not take much longer. Beyond the holding of the public meeting in lahore, there may be a different story to tell.

The writer is a political and security strategist, and heads the Regional Peace Institute – an Islamabad-based think tank. Email: raoofhasan@hotmail.com.

Twitter: @RaoofHasan

PeoPles’ Party which was founded by the great leader of Pakistan history Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who showed a democratic path in shape of 1973 constitution got immense popularity among the common people of Pakistan within short period of time under the slogan of Roti Kapra and Makaan, (food, clothing and home) has now been struggling for its existence after the martyrdom of brave father’s brave daughter Bibi Benzeer Bhutto on 27th December 2007. There are enormous reasons behind loosing the party’s fame such as lack of a true leader and good governance, nepotism, corruption and so on.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari the representive of the Peoples’ party is actively seen in the gatherings of PDMs (Pakistan Democratic Movement) an opposition alliance of different political parties. The sole purpose of PDM is to curb the Imran Khan’s Government. The chairman of PPP, on every political forum and gathering is criticizing the federal government on its bad governance, but before doing all this, he should critically look into the serious issues of common people of sindh Province. The people of sindh who are left over a barrel of Peoples’ Party’s government are confronting day to day problems. Hundreds of children are being bitten by the dogs. Due to unavailability of anti-rabies, the infected people are wondering about here and there loosing many lives of infants. In thar, the lives of infants are at stack due to malnutrition and starvation. In interior sindh, no serious steps are taken for the betterment of education despite imposing education emergency. Corruption is considered as legal right. law and order situation is getting worst day by day. People are not safe even in their own homes. Police has failed to regain its reputation among the masses. Rape, murder cases and tribal conflicts are increasing on alarming situation. Kidnapping and ransom trends are at peak level. lack of justice has encouraged the criminals to vivid their crime activities freely. Youth is made to commit suicide due to unemployment, poverty and nepotism in state of disappointment.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari should improve the provincial governance at sindh and may take it as a real opportunity to address these burning issues in a systematic way by taking stern decisions and strengthening the institutes. The result of good governance will definitely affect the other provinces as well and Peoples Party in the leadership of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari may regain its former position in all over the country once again.

Ali Gul leGhAri-Johi DADu

Beyond traditional trade partners PAKIsTAn and Tanzania have signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) including on Bilateral Political Consultations between the two countries’ foreign ministries and for the establishment of a Joint Commission on economic Cooperation. The MoUs, described as a major leap forward in bilateral ties, were signed during the meeting between Pakistan High Commissioner to Tanzania Muhammad saleem and Dr Palamagamba John Aidan Mwaluko Kabudi, Minister of Foreign Affairs and east African Cooperation of the United Republic of Tanzania, in Dar es salaam. According to a statement issued by Pakistan High Commission in Tanzania, the MoUs provide the institutional framework for structured dialogue between the two friendly countries in political and economic fields to elevate the relations to higher levels. Both sides were also working on various other initiatives including exchange of high level visits, trade delegations and people-to-people contacts to further strengthen the existing cordial ties. The bilateral trade between Pakistan and Tanzania during financial year 2019-20 valued Us$ 154 million. Pakistani business community has invested around Us$490 million in the Tanzanian economy providing employment for 5,400 Tanzanian nationals. Both countries were working on realizing the existing trade and investment potential following a Tanzanian trade delegation’s recent visit to Pakistan from november 25 - December 01, 2020, the statement added.

SohAil Ali KhAn iSlAmAbAD

Government servants beware AFTeR passing matriculation examination in 1942-43, I joined the government service as a lower division clerk (lDC) in the office of commissioner Rawalpindi. Those were the times when life simple and people’s needs were limited. My salary was rupees 28 per month and that was good enough to make ends meet in a comfortable manner. lives being simpler, temptations were limited, which made people content and happy with whatever they had. Therefore, corruption was not too big an issue at the government offices at that time. In the english record room, the head clerk was a straightforward, honest, and hardworking man who oversaw 6-7 lDCs including myself. He did not like people who wasted time and shirked from work. one of my colleagues was a compulsive talker and work shirker. The head clerk warned him to desist from an irrelevant talk and pay more attention to his work. The lDC did not like being called out and hatched a conspiracy against the head clerk. Being a smooth talker, he convinced us all into his plan and we signed the complaint against the head clerk too. I was tasked with submitting the complaint to the superintendent and my colleagues kept watching from outside to ensure I do not digress. When I submitted the complaint, the superintendent called the head clerk who after a cursory glance at the complaint spoke very high of my performance and told the superintendent that I might have been pressured into this. I denied this and did not say the name of the person who started it all as I was sure my colleagues were watching me. However, the superintendent dismissed the charges against the head clerk and asked me to join my duty. At this point, the superintendent again asked me to disclose the name of the person who staged this ill-intended complaint. At this point, I revealed the truth and gave away the name of the person who started it all. That person was dismissed from duty. I learned a lesson that day to stay away from troublemakers at work, who stir storms in a teacup just to cover their own incompetence and corruption. It seems the tradition goes on even today where shirkers and incompetent individuals in government jobs use various guises to exploit the system in their favor. I appeal to all government employees to shun such mischievous and self-serving people who exploit others for their benefit. The government employees must realize that it is this handful of selfish and corrupt individuals who make the entire setup of government service look bad. rAJA ShAfAAtullAh iSlAmAbAD

Sunday, 13 December, 2020

08 WORLD VIEW

The viTal buT deliCaTe Task of RevivinG The JCPoa internatiOnal Crisis grOup

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RUISED and battered, the Iran nuclear deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of action (JCPOa), appears to be on its last legs. Since 2018, it has been under relentless assault: the U.S. withdrawal from the agreement, the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran, unattributed acts of sabotage at Iranian nuclear facilities and the killing of Iran’s top nuclear scientist, along with Iran’s own growing defiance of the JCPOa’s restrictions, all threaten to terminate it a mere five years after it came into being. Joe Biden’s election as U.S. president offers a last opportunity to prevent its collapse. His administration, along with Iran’s leadership and other JCPOa participants, will have to act quickly after 20 January in order to halt a gathering crisis.

The Trump administration came into office with an unconcealed, powerful animus against the JCPOa. Upon exiting the deal in May 2018, it contended that an alternative policy, based on coercion, would not only yield an improved agreement to roll back Iran’s nuclear program beyond the terms sealed in Vienna, but also would curb Iran’s regional activities. The past two and a half years have delivered an unambiguous negative verdict on these claims. nearly 1,500 unilateral U.S. sanctions designations, including sweeping restrictions on Iran’s energy and financial sectors, have undoubtedly wrought significant damage to Iran’s economy; U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that 77 rounds of sanctions had deprived the Iranian government of some $70 billion in income. But where “maximum pressure” was meant to further limit Iran’s nuclear work, instead it led to its expansion; where it meant to temper Tehran’s regional influence, instead it heightened tensions, triggering multiple brushes with open conflict.

Even in its twilight, the Trump administration shows little sign of letting up in its resort to coercion. To the contrary: a steady rollout of unilateral U.S. sanctions designations, punctuated by the 27 november killing of the senior Iranian nuclear scientist in an operation widely attributed to, if unclaimed by, Israel, suggests a determination

by Washington and some of its allies to use the period between now and President-elect Biden’s inauguration on 20 January to further its goals. The intent appears to be manifold: inflict maximum pain on the Islamic Republic; restrict the incoming Biden administration’s room for manoeuvre via legal and political obstacles; and, possibly, pro-

ances that the U.S. will not unilaterally seek to “snap back” multilateral sanctions once it rejoins the JCPOa, and insists that the U.S. lift all sanctions imposed by Trump. It is hard to see a Biden administration meaningfully agreeing to any of these measures: compensation would be akin to a gift to Iran, which would prove politically toxic in the U.S.; snapback is a right that was the subject of intense negotiations among JCPOa parties and the U.S. cannot be expected to relinquish; and some of the post2017 sanctions may well be justified – those permitted under the JCPOa and that any U.S. administration could have been expected to impose.

Finally, Iranian officials have said that rather than permitting the U.S. to rejoin the JCPOa, Tehran will demand that it instead comply with Un Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the nuclear deal. It is a curious position. Perhaps their calculation is that by coming into compliance with Resolution 2231, the U.S. would have to lift its sanctions, but by simultaneously remaining outside the JCPOa, it would not regain its rights under the accord, including to unilaterally snap back Un sanctions. If so, the reasoning seems fallacious, a mirror image of the Trump administration’s claim in august 2020 that the U.S. was not a participant to the JCPOa yet could still invoke the provisions of 2231 reserved for JCPOa participants – a contention that Tehran and virtually all others correctly dismissed out of hand.

Iran may believe that it can pressure the Biden administration into accepting one or more of its demands on the theory that the newly elected president, faced with economic, health and social crises, will be determined to avoid a nuclear crisis at all costs.

That would be a fundamental misread. True, as noted, Biden almost certainly would prefer not to have to deal with a rapidly growing Iranian nuclear program. But Tehran would be wrong to assume that his administration would hesitate to maintain or even intensify pressure on the Islamic Republic – this time in coordination with European allies – if it were to issue excessive demands.

a far more constructive approach would be to address the nuclear issue on the basis of the agreement that already exists: Iran would verifiably reverse its breaches, while the U.S. would return to compliance with the JCPOa and restore transatlantic cooperation, and all sides would begin to dispel the atmosphere of tension and distrust. Such an approach could lay more solid groundwork for the follow-up negotiations to which the U.S. and its European partners aspire. neither side would lose leverage in this scenario, as both would have proven how swiftly they can regain it. a far more constructive approach would be to address the nuclear issue on the basis of the agreement that already exists. a good place to start is the 16 December meeting of the JCPOa’s Joint Commission convening the P4+1 and Iran, to be followed by a ministerial-level session. Despite the Trump administration’s absence, participants should enter those deliberations with an emphasis on clearly and resolutely underscoring their mutual interest in consolidating the existing agreement. They could do so by identifying the steps Iran would need to take to swiftly and verifiably reverse its existing breaches, as well as offering Tehran the assistance it may require to do so, endorsing the lifting of U.S. sanctions as an imperative for stabilising the agreement, and pledging to do what they can to ensure that such relief will deliver tangible dividends. Such action would send a strong signal to the U.S. that if a Biden administration, which no doubt will encounter domestic opposition to rejoining the deal, proceeds with a renewed commitment to go down that path, it will do so with international support.

Even in the best-case scenario, of course, obstacles will abound: the U.S. and Iran will still need to agree, inter alia, on sequencing of mutual steps; on which U.S. sanctions are to be lifted; and on whether, when and over what to initiate the subsequent talks. But at least they will be guided by a shared desired outcome rather than venturing into the unknown. anything other than a relatively clean, mutual return to the JCPOa is likely to prompt a crescendo of demands from both parties. Meanwhile, sanctions on Iran would remain or even intensify; Tehran’s nuclear program would expand. any attempt by either the U.S. or Iran to tinker with – let alone fundamentally alter – the terms of the deal on the theory that it has more leverage than the other would be a dangerous gambit. at best, it would amount to loss of precious time. at worst, it would amount to squandering a precious opportunity.

nity? Like Jayant Singh, son of ajit Singh and grandson of the pioneer farmers’ leader Charan Singh. Or Sachin Pilot, the son of kisanJat leader Rajesh Pilot. Both are said to be not against the reforms spelt out in the farm laws and think that new-generation farmers must be equipped to deal with the future. Meanwhile, in UP, another young leader, Rakesh Tikait, son of Mahendra Singh Tikait, who was once a mass organiser of farmers, has however jumped into the agitation through his organisation, BharatiyaKisan Union.

CELEB VS CELEB Two Bollywood celebrities, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Sonam Kapoor ahuja, came out in support of the agitating farmers.

BJP immediately decided to counter them with a celebrity of its own. The party got its MP Sunny Deol to tweet in support of the farm legislation.

KHALISTAN TWIST There is a new twist to the Khalistani

angle in the farmers’ protests.

The US-headquartered pro-Khalistan separatist outfit, Sikhs For Justice, threatened to shut down Indian consulates across the world through tractor and truck rallies in support of the agitation. Their campaign is saying that Khalistan is the only solution for Punjab farmers’ plight. Union Home Minister amit Shah has taken note of this development.

NO PARTY FOR ACTRESSES actresses don’t seem to last too long in Congress. Urmila Matondkar, who had contested on the party’s ticket for a Lok Sabha seat and lost, recently joined Shiv Sena. South Indian actress KhushbuSundar had earlier left as Congress spokesperson to join BJP. Telugu actress Vijayashanthi had left BJP to join Congress in Telangana but switched back to BJP. In Karnataka, DivyaSpandana, who used to be Congress’ social media chief, also left the party some time ago.

PRESIDENT-ELECT JOE BIDEN SAYS THE US WILL REJOIN THE IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL IF TEHRAN RESUMES FULL COMPLIANCE. IRAN SAYS IT WILL DO SO IF WASHINGTON RELAXES SANCTIONS voke Tehran into responding – whether by staging military operations or by accelerating its nuclear program – in ways that could fatally wound the JCPOa. That the JCPOa survives at all bears witness to the manner in which, even in its current atrophied form, it continues to strategically benefit all parties involved in efforts to salvage it. For the P4+1 (the UK, France, Germany, Russia and China), the agreement remains the best available vehicle for what they regard as the imperative of keeping Iran’s nuclear program in check.

For Tehran, the promise of economic normalisation under a different U.S. administration as well as the continued political and diplomatic returns, notably in terms of Iran’s relations with Europe, have justified sticking to the deal, even as internal pressure to abandon it has grown.

With the election of Biden, who repeatedly has signalled willingness to bring the U.S. back into JCPOa compliance if Iran were to do the same, and Tehran’s stated readiness to reverse its mounting violations of the deal if Washington lifts sanctions, all sides now have a chance to revive the JCPOa. But how they seize that opportunity will be crucial and remains a matter of intense debate.

In Washington and some European capitals, some are urging the president-elect to at most entertain only a partial lifting of U.S. sanctions imposed in violation of the JCPOa, conditioning further relief on Iranian concessions beyond the terms of the original deal or issues beyond its scope. The argument has appeal. If the Biden administration were to concede up front the immense U.S. financial leverage accumulated under President Donald Trump, the argument goes, Tehran would have little incentive to keep talking, including on issues such as JCPOa sunsets, ballistic missile development and regional dynamics that the U.S., some of its regional partners and European parties view with concern.

Holding a return to full JCPOa compliance subject to resolving everything runs the risk of solving nothing at all.

Yet the experience of the past several years should offer a more jaundiced view of

the usage of such leverage. Iran undeniably has been under intense pressure, yet, far from succumbing to it, has chosen to build leverage of its own, accumulating more enriched uranium and installing more advanced centrifuges.

For Biden to replace “maximum pressure” with a slightly less aggressive version of it would be to play the same failing hand with different stakes and expect better results. Recently adopted Iranian legislation compelling an immediate increase in uranium enrichment rates and threatening future escalation – notably, ceasing to abide by the additional Protocol to the non-Proliferation Treaty, which will constrain the work of international inspectors charged with monitoring Iranian nuclear facilities – if sanctions are not lifted by early February 2021, underscores the risk of leverage-focused one-upmanship. Holding a return to full JCPOa compliance subject to resolving everything runs the risk of solving nothing at all.

Moreover, if the U.S. were to offer less than a full return to the JCPOa, then Iran undoubtedly would insist on less than full compliance with the deal. Reaching a satisfactory understanding regarding steps both would need to take almost certainly would involve bitter, drawn-out negotiations, during which time Iran would advance its nuclear program still further. all of which likely means that the Biden administration would face a mounting nuclear crisis in its early months.

Critics of this argument charge that it implies the U.S. should surrender to Iranian nuclear blackmail. True, negotiating under the shadow of Iran’s nuclear threat is hardly appealing. But the critique would be more persuasive if the U.S. had not taken the first step in withdrawing from the deal – in effect resorting to sanctions blackmail of its own.

For the U.S. to lift sanctions in exchange for Iran rolling back its nuclear advances would not be capitulating to intimidation, but rather conforming to a pre-existing commitment.

On the Iranian side, too, the temptation exists to squeeze the U.S. for concessions, in this case before rolling back nuclear advances. Iran has demanded compensation for four years of unfulfilled promises of economic relief, is suggesting it wants assur-

Get Priyanka if Rahul Gandhi is not serious THE UP ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS WILL TAKE PLACE IN 2022 AND THERE IS EVEN A PROPOSAL THAT PRIYANKA CONTEST THEN TO LIFT THE MOOD OF THE AVERAGE PARTY WORKER

Open Magazine

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JayantaGhosal

an Priyanka Gandhi Vadra eventually take over the Congress leadership? after their terrible showing in the Hyderabad municipal corporation polls, several in the party are now demanding that if Rahul Gandhi is not serious about becoming their president, then she should don the mantle.

Recently, P Chidambaram’s son, Lok Sabha MP Karti Chidambaram, suggested that Priyanka should contest the Kanyakumari Lok Sabha by-election in Tamil nadu. The seat fell vacant on the death of its Congress MP. But Congressmen from Uttar Pradesh (UP) objected, saying that she should fight from their state. The UP assembly elections will take place in 2022 and there is even a proposal that Priyanka contest then to lift the mood of the average party worker.

FOE TURNED FRIEND AGAIN? In Karnataka, can the Janata Dal (Secular) head and former Chief Minister HD Ku-

maraswamy again make an alliance with BJP? He met Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa recently and rumours on this front began immediately. In fact, the two have met on several occasions in the last few months.

Kumaraswamy also made a comment that a major mistake of his life was to ally with Congress to form the government in 2018.

ON NOTICE Famous artists who have been asked to vacate bungalows in Lutyens’ Delhi are complaining, but many in the Government think they have no right to be there. among those who got notices are Kathak dancer BirjuMaharaj, painter Jatin Das and Dhrupad singer WasifuddinDagar. But the Government is arguing that these were only allotments for a stipulated period, which is over.

There was also a Supreme Court order that said people who have outstayed their allotted time should vacate.

COURTING CONTROVERSY Trinamool Congress MP MahuaMoitra has run into a controversy with the media in West Bengal. In a meeting with party workers, she angrily asked why they had invited the “two-paisa press”. a few Bengali TV channels then boycotted her and the Kolkata Press Club condemned her statement. Several Trinamool leaders said that what she said was not the party’s view and even advised her to apologise. Even party chief Mamata Banerjee is said to have not taken too

kindly to it. But an apparently unrepentant Moitra tweeted that she apologises for all the accurate things that she had said!

HEADLESS UNIT Congress is wholeheartedly supporting the farmers’ protests. But some people are asking why the party doesn’t have a head for its own farmers’ wing, the Kisan Congress. a year ago, the person heading it had vacated the post after becoming a minister in the Maharashtra government. It remains vacant. The leadership is now considering getting someone from Punjab for the job.

THE THAW after a history of confrontation, there is now a sign of thaw between Punjab Chief Minister amarinder Singh and his former cabinet colleague navjot Singh Sidhu. The ice was broken with the former inviting the latter to lunch. Harish Rawat, Congress general secretary and Punjab affairs in-charge, was said to be active for the last few months to bridge the gulf between the two. The meeting took place in the farmhouse of the chief minister near Chandigarh. Gossip is, if Sidhu is ready, Singh is ready to reinduct him to the cabinet.

MISSING IN ACTION It is after a very long time that India is seeing a farmers’ agitation on such scale.

Farmers’ issues have moved centre stage again in politics, but where are all the dynasties who have their bases in the commu-

Sunday, 13 December, 2020

BUSINESS 09

BusIness communITy seeks consulTATIon on TAx mATTeRs As numBeR of fIleRs DeclIne

corporate corner

ISLAMABAD LAHORE: Amid rapid surge in Covid-19 cases in Punjab, The Coca-Cola Export Corporation (TCCEC) donated 37 essentially required portable ventilators to the Punjab government to help save critical human lives. The donation was received by Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar during a special ceremony held at the Chief Minister’s Camp Office. PR

PTI govt paid $10.4bn in debt servicing: Hammad Azhar ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Industries & Production Hammad Azhar on Saturday informed that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government has paid a total of $10.4 billion on account of debt servicing of external public loans, including principal payment of $8.5 billion and $1.9 billion in interest payments. Azhar disclosed this while responding to the Annual Report on Foreign Economic Assistant (FEA) for FY19-20 which highlighted Pakistan's increased reliance on foreign commercial loans. Pakistan recorded total external loan inflows worth $10.7 billion in the last fiscal year. The government raised $3.4 billion through foreign commercial loans to meet external debt obligations and support the balance of payments. "The PTI government is conducting the highest external debt repayment and servicing ever done by any government," Azhar wrote on Twitter. "Despite this high debt retirement, the pace of external debt rise is slower than during the last years of the PML-N government. And foreign exchange reserves are also rising." According to the report, Pakistan’s reliance on foreign commercial loans has increased as Islamabad generated $3.4 billion or 32pc of total external loan inflows of $10.7 billion obtained for supporting the balance of payment position during the fiscal year 2019-20. The report further disclosed that during FY2019-20, an amount of $6.5 billion has been disbursed by multilateral and bilateral development partners as compared to $4.1 billion last year, registering 59pc growth. In addition, the government raised $3.4 billion from foreign commercial sources to meet its external debt obligations and support the balance of payments. Out of the total disbursement of $10.7 billion, 97pc were loans and 3pc were grants.

Disbursements of $10.7 billion during FY 2019-20 were mainly under the projects and programme loans/grants from multilateral, bilateral development partners and financial institutions. STAFF REPORT

PIA excludes ATR-72 airplanes from its fleet KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Saturday excluded ATR-72 airplanes, hired on an expensive lease, from its fleet. As per details, the planes were removed from the PIA fleet due to their nonprofitable operation, as the planes were hired on an expensive lease in 2015 by the then administration of the national airline. "The lease agreement was the biggest hurdle in returning the aircraft, but on the directions of CEO Arshad Malik, the administration took advantage of a clause in the agreement in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and managed to revoke the pact," a PIA statement read. In this regard, the first aircraft APB departed for Johannesburg from Karachi on Saturday morning. Malik said the decision was hard but was inevitable. "Reforms are being introduced in the PIA and new planes would soon be added to the fleet of the national flag carrier." It is pertinent to mention that PIA is currently operating ATR-42 from various airports of the country. INP

T

STAFF REPORT

HE Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has stressed the need for taking serious measures in close consultations with the real stakeholders to broaden tax base and improving tax-to-GDP ratio, as the number of return filers has declined by more than 23 per cent to 1.31 million till the first week of December as compared to 1.69 million returns in the previous year.

Commenting on the issue, FPCCI President Mian Anjum Nisar noted that the FBR had failed to increase the number of active taxpayers in the last decade, indicating bad governance and weak tax management of the tax department.

According to the data, the FBR received about 23 per cent less income tax returns for the tax year 2020, as returns stood at Rs6.5 billion during the period against Rs12.8 billion of the same period of last year, reflecting a decline of 49pc.

“There is an urgent need to reform and simplify the taxation system in consultation with real stake-

holders, besides addressing the issue of double taxation through integration of provincial and federal government laws and harmonisation of FBR and Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA),” he added.

The FPCCI president said that the chamber has already submitted its proposals to meet the challenges being faced by trade and industry due to the outbreak of Covid-19, as its severe and adverse impacts on various aspects of the economy are quite visible.

“We have also asked the FBR to reduce the tax rates to help increase competitive edge of indigenous products in both local and global markets, as high tax rates provide incentives for tax evasion and corruption and results in high cost of doing business.

“The tax agency should conduct a study to find out what has gone wrong that even after penalising non-filers, they are happy to pay more by way of advance tax instead of filing returns.”

The FPCCI president suggested that taxes should be charged one time by any provincial or federal government, as provinces levy same kind of tax which the federal government has already imposed, escalating the cost of production and discouraging the registered manufacturers.

He called for harmonisation of sales and income tax laws, getting rid of conflicting provisions, suggesting enhancing tax base by automation, and improvement in the tax structure so that business and investment could flourish in the country, as the existing tax structure discourages investment.

He also requested the government to focus on reducing tax rates and expanding tax base by bringing all exempted sectors into the tax net.

Mian Anjum said that high tariff of utilities and RD’s on raw material are also the factors discouraging exports, adding that coordination between the government and the private sector was vital for economic growth, therefore the government must develop policies that could provide conducive business environment in the country.

He urged the authorities to introduce new tax incentives and extend the period of existing ones for attracting new foreign direct investments in line with the potential of the country.

Commenting on the menace of corruption, he said that the government needs to develop local software and applications with simplified system in Urdu so that interaction of human resource is reduced.

ADB’s report on Pakistan’s economic recovery ‘highly encouraging’, says minister

QUETTA: A street vendor roasts corn for his customer. INP

KP govt devises new rules for housing schemes PESHAWAR AZIZ BUNERI

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has issued a number of new rules for housing schemes located within the province.

According to the draft rules and regulations, private housing schemes will be divided into five categories. Category D will be the smallest housing scheme with a maximum size of 50 kanals, while category C would be of 50 to 100 kanals. Likewise, category B scheme must cover an area of 100 to 200 kanals whereas category A would cover an area of 200 to 500 kanals.

The housing scheme larger than 500 kanals will be called a mega housing scheme.

The width of the main road in the smallest category will be 40 feet, while the width of streets would be 25 feet, and the maximum size of domestic plots will be one kanal.

Similarly, it is mandatory for housing schemes to allot areas for garbage disposal and graveyards. At least 2pc of the area from Category B to mega housing will have to be allotted for cemetery area whereas 5pc to 10pc for commercial activities, 10 marla to 2 kanal for garbage collection and also for grid station.

Similarly, the size of a residential plot can be kept up to a maximum of 2 kanals.

Concerned deputy commissioners (DCs) have been assigned the authority to keep a check over housing schemes and implement the rules and regulations of the provincial government.

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar on Saturday hailed the Asian Development Bank’s (ADBs) report on recovery of Pakistan’s economy, which he said was highly encouraging.

The minister welcomed the ADB’s Asian Development Outlook Supplement (December, 2020) which highlights improvement in mobility and economic activities in Asia and the Pacific Region despite the persistent challenge of Covid-19, said a press release issued by Ministry of Economic Affairs. In its ADO Supplement, ADB has also revised growth projections for South Asia from -6.8pc to 6.1pc for 2020. While commending Pakistan’s performance, ADB stated that Pakistan’s economy was recovering, particularly in the manufacturing and construction sectors, supported by the government emergency relief measures.

Khusro highlighted that Pakistan’s economic performance was remarkable in the context of second wave of Covid-19 and persistent growth contraction worldwide, adding that pre-COVID improvements in macroeconomic fundamentals and strong policy response during the pandemic helped save lives and livelihoods. “The economy is poised to pick up from where it was before the Covid-19 outbreak,” he added.

He also mentioned that Large Scale Manufacturing (LSM) expanded by 4.8pc YoY in Q1FY21 against a contraction of 5.5pc in the corresponding period last year.’;p He said the robust momentum of economic recovery was evident from growing production of cement, textile, automobile and home appliances in the first five-months of this fiscal year.

“This revival of industrial growth has also created huge employment opportunities and surpassed the pre-corona level,” he added. The report also states that Pakistan’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has also witnessed 150pc YoY increase in October 2020. During the first five-months of FY21, workers’ remittances have reached an unprecedented level of $11.77 billion, 26.9pc higher than the same period last year. This increase in external inflows reflects the confidence of international investors, business community and overseas Pakistanis on the successful policies of the present government. The minister also appreciated the ADB for launching a $9 billion vaccine initiative under Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX) under which member countries can access rapid financing facility from ADB for procurement and delivery of Covid-19 vaccine. APVAX will play a critical role in helping our developing members to overcome the corona pandemic and bring them back on a path of economic growth and sustainable development. Pakistan may access this emergency financing facility for vaccine procurement to the extent needed. APP

Food Delivery Wars: Careem slashes its commission to 5pc to poach restaurants LAHORE TAIMOOR HASSAN

In an ongoing war with foodpanda to establish dominance in the food delivery space, Careem Pakistan has announced that it has reduced restaurant commission fees to a fixed 5 per cent from the previous 15-20 per cent.

The announcement was also made on Careem’s social media handles on Saturday.

On September 16 this year, Careem had announced that it would be charging restaurants 15 per cent to 20 per cent in commis-

sions, with annual commitment for the rest of the year. The Careem announcement had come a day after the All Pakistan Restaurant Association (APRA) protested against the “unfair practices” and suspended business with mobile food delivery marketplace Foodpanda in Karachi.

In a letter, APRA had said that the restaurants in Karachi were boycotting foodpanda because the company was repeatedly pressing restaurants for an increase in commission and made some important demands.

The APRA chairman had said that a majority

of members of the association were being pressurised to to pay 25-35 per cent in commissions from less than 20 per cent previously for aggregation services.

Following the protest, Careem was quick to act and offered lower and flexible commissions for restaurants. Zeeshan Baig wrote an open letter to the restaurant industry and offered lower commissions, besides highlighting some key proposals by Careem such as flexibility in self delivery, no exclusivity and special packages for APRA members.

Though a statement from the company

CMYK

received by Profit today maintains that the reduced commissions have been introduced to support the restaurant industry. “The reduction in commission fees will allow Careem to extend the necessary support to restaurants by passing down these commissions in form of discounts to customers, while encouraging increased orders,” the statement said.

Careem launched its food delivery service in Pakistan by launching in Karachi in 2019 and Lahore in October 2020. However, with the food industry being impacted by

Covid has had its implications on growth.

Being relatively newer entrants in the food market, Careem is dedicated to not only grow but also to safeguard the interest of its restaurant partners.

“Since Careem launched its operations in Pakistan in 2016, our purpose has always been to build an app that remains a constant source of positive impact and prosperity for the people in Pakistan by simplifying lives, creating job opportunities and enabling our partners to grow,” a statement from the company said.

Sunday, 13 December, 2020

10 FOREIGN NEWS Russia says may retaliate after new round of UK sanctions MOSCOW AGENCIES

BRExiT dEAL hOpES dim AS JOhNSON SAyS FAiLURE 'vERy LiKELy' LONDON

A new round of British sanctions against Russian individuals over alleged human rights abuses in Chechnya is “unfounded” and Moscow may retaliate, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday. “Undoubtedly, this politically-charged demarche will have a negative impact on Russian-British interstate relations,” the ministry said, adding Russia “reserves the right to take appropriate countermeasures.” Britain said on Thursday it was imposing sanctions on 11 individuals, including security figures and officials from Russia, Venezuela, Pakistan and Gambia, in a coordinated move with the United States on human rights violations.

Swiss freeze assets of Belarus leader Lukashenko ZURICH AGENCIES

Switzerland has frozen the financial assets of the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, following the violent aftermath of the elections in the east European country.

Lukashenko and son Viktor are among 15 people banned from entering or travelling through Switzerland, the government said. The individuals are alleged to be responsible for the use of violence and arbitrary arrests, it said. “Switzerland is deeply concerned by the ongoing tensions and is calling for dialogue between the Belarus government and civil society,” the government said. It demanded the release of people who have been arbitrarily detained and the investigation of allegations of torture and ill-treatment by security forces.

A

AGENCIES

Brexit trade deal between Britain and the European Union looked to be hanging in the balance on Saturday after gloomy assessments from leaders on both sides of the Channel, with just hours left before last-gasp talks conclude.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen have given their negotiators until Sunday before a decision is made on whether to keep talking or give up.

The mood worsened after von der Leyen told EU leaders at a marathon Brussels summit there were "low expectations" and the "probability of a nodeal is higher than of a deal".

Ireland and Germany tried to raise spirits, agreeing that a pact was "difficult but still possible".

But Johnson said it was looking "very, very likely" that Britain would

end up dealing with its biggest single trading partner on World Trade Organization (WTO) terms from the New Year.

"If there's a big offer, a big change in what they (the EU) are saying then I must say that I've yet to see it," he told reporters. The comments did nothing to inspire confidence in the British pound, which extended its losses on currency markets, dropping more than one percent against the dollar.

"Traders are turning their back on the pound as the language being used now is more serious," CMC Markets analyst David Madden told AFP. UK chief negotiator David Frost and his EU counterpart Michel Barnier are trying to carve out a deal by Sunday, with just three weeks left until the end of a transition period following Britain's departure from the bloc in January.

LAST-MINUTE TURNAROUND? Whatever happens, Britain will leave the EU single market and customs union, leading to the re-introduction of border checks for the first time in decades.

That has already raised the prospect of heavy traffic clogging roads leading to seaports in southern and southeast England, as bureaucracy lengthens waiting times for imports and exports.

Transport companies have also warned that Ireland could see import volumes shrink in the event of new customs for goods routed through Britain.

"As an industry we're looking to plan ahead but there's so many unknowns it becomes difficult," Road Haulage Association director Martin Reid told the Press Association.

Logjams at the Felixstowe container port in eastern England and elsewhere have already raised fears of more to come, and delays in deliveries to shops, businesses and industry.

But Johnson's spokesman said they were mainly caused by a "global spike" in demand for consumer goods and the effect of the coronavirus outbreak on shipping patterns and container capacity.

Brexit trade talks have been deadlocked over the extent of EU access to

South Korea reports highest number of new Covid cases

First NGO aid convoy arrives in capital of Ethiopia's Tigray region ADDIS ABABA

Armed bandits raid Nigerian school, police hunt for missing students

AGENCIES

MAIDUGURI AGENCIES

Bandits armed with assault rifles attacked a secondary school in Nigeria’s northwestern Katsina state late on Friday, police said, and two local people told Reuters hundreds of students were missing. The gunmen stormed the Government Science secondary school in Kankara district at about 9.40 p.m., and police at the scene returned fire, allowing some students to run for safety, police spokesman Gambo Isah said in a statement. Police said they were working with the army and air force to determine how many pupils were missing or kidnapped, and to find them. One officer was shot and wounded in the exchange of fire with the gang, they said. There were chaotic scenes at the school on Saturday as desperate parents and security personnel gathered to search for roughly half of the school’s 800 students who were still missing, one parent and a school employee told Reuters.

Katsina, the home state of President Muhammadu Buhari, is plagued by violent bandits who regularly attack locals and kidnap for ransom. Attacks by Islamist militants are common in northeastern parts of the country. Violence and insecurity across Nigeria have enraged citizens, particularly after scores of farmers were killed, some beheaded, by Islamist militants in northeast Borno state late last month. Buhari, who arrived on Friday for a week in his home village some 200 km (125 miles) from Kankara, was scheduled to brief the national assembly on the security situation last week, but cancelled the appearance without official explanation.

British fishing grounds and rules governing fair competition.

An EU official refused to rule out a last-minute "turnaround" for a deal, even after the bloc published "no-deal" contingency planning in what was seen as a warning shot to Britain.

Johnson again said fishing and the so-called level playing field were key issues, in particular a "ratchet clause" that would bind Britain to match any future EU legislation.

Von der Leyen told a post-summit news conference the proposed "equivalence" rules would not be compulsory and Britain could act as it sees fit.

"We would simply adapt the conditions for access to our market accordingly," she added. Johnson's spokesman said that would still leave Britain tied to decisions made in Brussels.

In the event of no-deal Brexit, the Royal Navy is ready to deploy four armed patrol ships as a "last resort" to protect Britain's fishing waters, the defence ministry confirmed to local media.

SEOUL AGENCIES

South Korea on Saturday reported its highest daily number of coronavirus cases so far, with a surge centred on the capital region sparking fears the country could lose control of the spread.

Officials announced 950 new infections after several days reporting numbers ranging from about 500 to 600.

Some 669 were reported in the greater Seoul area on Saturday, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, prompting worries about a major outbreak in the densely

populated area -- home to half the country's 52 million people.

"This is the last hurdle before the roll-out of vaccines and treatments," President Moon Jae-in said in a statement, calling the situation "very grave".

"The government will make utmost efforts using the full administrative power" to bring the spread under control, he added.

An additional 150 testing centres will be set up in areas with heavy movement of people including train stations.

The new figure came despite the government's tightening of social distancing rules in the capital area earlier this week.

The measures include a ban on gatherings of more than 50 people and spectators at sport events. Cafes can serve only takeaways, while restaurants must close by 9 pm, with only deliveries permitted afterwards.

Despite the changes, "people's movement has not been reduced significantly", senior KDCA official Lim Sook-young told a news briefing.

"Infections from personal face-to-face meetings have been continuing... Please cancel all such meetings," she said.

Saturday's figure takes the total number of recorded cases in the country to more than 36,800.

The first non-governmental aid convoy since fighting erupted last month has arrived in the capital of Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray carrying desperately needed medicines and other items, the international Red Cross said on Saturday. The government restricted access to the region after fighting began on Nov. 4 between the government and a rebellious regional force.

The conflict in Africa’s second-most populous nation is believed to have killed thousands of people and displaced around 950,000. The United Nations and other agencies have not been able to deliver aid although the government says it has sent food and other supplies. The convoy of seven white trucks that arrived in the city of Mekelle was organised by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Ethiopian Red Cross, the ICRC said. Healthcare facilities in Mekelle have been paralysed after supplies of drugs and other medical items like surgical gloves ran out, the ICRC said. Ayder Hospital, the region’s main referral hospital, was forced to shut its intensive care unit and surgical theatre because of the shortages and an inability to run the generator. “Doctors and nurses have been ... weeks without new supplies, running water, and electricity,” said Patrick Youssef, the ICRC’s regional director for Africa. “This medical shipment will inject new stocks, help patients, and reduce those impossible life-or-death triage decisions.” The government says it has defeated forces loyal to the region’s former ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), and struck a deal with the United Nations to allow aid. But some aid agencies and donors say the agreement is too restrictive and security remains a problem; one U.N. security team was shot at last weekend. Nearly 50,000 refugees have crossed into eastern Sudan since early November. Nearly 15,000 are at Um Rakuba camp, where long lines of people waited for food with plates in their hands and new arrivals constructed shelters using tree branches.

Pandemic threatens India’s children with child labour rising LUCKNOW AGENCIES

A boy who cried out when he was beaten for complaining of stomach pains drew attention from a passerby, who alerted police in the central Indian city of Agra.

Officers broke a padlock on the gate of the illegal shoe factory where the boy was working and found a dozen children, aged 10-17.

With classrooms shut and parents losing their jobs in the pandemic, thousands of families are putting their children to work to get by, undoing decades of progress in curbing child labour and threatening the future of a generation of India’s children.

In rural India, a nationwide lockdown imposed in March pushed millions of people into poverty, encouraging the trafficking of children from villages into cities for cheap labour. The pandemic is hampering enforcement of anti-child labour laws, with fewer workplace inspections and less vigorous pursuit of human traffickers.

“The situation is unprecedented,” said Dhananjay Tingal, executive director of the

Bachpan Bachao Andolan, a children’s rights group whose founder, Kailash Satyarthi, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.

“These children are made to work 14-16 hours a day and if they refuse to work they are beaten. One beating sends the message down the group, which suits the owner,” said Tingal.

Tingal’s organisation has rescued at least 1,197 children between April and September across India. In the same period last year, it helped 613.

Childline, a national helpline for children in distress, received 192,000 distress calls between March and August, most of them related to cases of child labour. It handled 170,000 such calls in the same period of 2019.

The 13-year-old boy who was working in the illegal shoe factory in Agra cannot be identified by name because Indian law forbids naming suspected victims of child labour and trafficking.

He was working 12-14 hours a day attaching the rubber soles of shoes with glue in a small cramped room, with little food and water when police rescued him and other

children in September.

He was sent home to Bahraich, a rural town in India’s heartland state of Uttar Pradesh, some 460 kilometers (285 miles) from Agra, with help from the Children’s Welfare Committee, a government body that provides care and protection for children in need.

But with schools closed and his father struggling to feed his four children, the boy went back to work, this time on a farm in his village.

In India, children under 14 are not allowed to work except in family businesses and farms. They are also barred from dangerous workplaces such as construction sites, brick kilns and chemical factories.

The country has made serious gains in combatting child labour, but more than 10 million Indian children are still in some form of servitude, according to UNICEF. At the height of the pandemic, which has infected more than 9.5 million Indians and killed more than 138,000, the 13-year-old’s father, Sukhai Ram, a landless farmer from the lower end of India’s unforgiving caste system, was jobless and worried.

One day, he met a man who promised to give Ram’s son a job paying about $60 a month. Ultimately, the family only got one month’s pay for the two months the boy worked there before he was rescued.

“I was swayed by those words and allowed him to take my son to the city,” Ram said.

In many cases, families know the child traffickers, said Surya Pratap Mishra, a children’s rights activist.

In some Uttar Pradesh villages, traffickers distributed free food to impoverished families during the pandemic lockdown, which lasted 68 days. Having earned confidence of the villagers, they offered to give their children jobs in big cities.

“As the villagers knew these people, they agreed and sent their children with them,” said Mishra.

Many did not return for months and were sent home only after being rescued by the authorities and nonprofit groups. Some have not yet been found.

In July, India’s Home Ministry redoubled its fight against the resurgence of child labour, issuing guidelines for urgently setting

up Anti Human Trafficking Units in every district. Many Indian states have flouted that advisory.

Ajit Singh, a child rights activist in Uttar Pradesh, said the government’s efforts to protect children since the pandemic began have been abysmal.

Most of India’s elementary and middle schools are still closed because of the pandemic, affecting more than 200 million children. Teachers visit families to check in with students, but online learning is beyond the reach of millions of families that can’t afford smartphones or laptops.

One recent morning in a suburb of the capital, New Delhi, Mohammad Shahzad watched with concern as his 14-year-old son shouldered a heavy bag of sand at a construction site.

“Keep your body stiff. Else it’ll fall,” Shahzad shouted as the boy, a seventhgrader headed barefoot into the building. At least four other children were working alongside their parents.

With schools closed, the boy will keep working, Shahzad said.

Sunday, 13 December, 2020

KAshmIR PRemIeR LeAgue LAuNched wITh shAhId AFRIdI As bRANd AmbAssAdoR

ISLAMABAD

K

APP

ASHMIR Committee Chairman Shehryar Khan Afridi on Saturday launched the Kashmir Premier League (KPL) as the first premier cricket tournament of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), vowing to initiate a series of cultural and sports events to raise the voice of Kashmiris globally.

Flanked by President AJK Sardar Masood Khan, former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, who is also announced as brand ambassador for the KPL, KPL Chief Coach Azhar Mahmood, KPL President Arif Malik and CEO Shehzad Akhtar, Shehryar said that the league would help in taking Kashmir

to the world sports map.

Shehryar also announced to appoint the AJK president as Chief Patron of the KPL. “The KPL would put Kashmir on the world sports map. We will raise Kashmir on all forums across the world. The Kashmir Committee would do everything to preserve, project and promote Kashmir’s identity and culture. The ‘K’ word is the buzz word now,” he said.

He said the KPL has been approved by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and federal government. The league has the support of the people of Kashmir.

Pakistani cricketers have become the identity of our country. Sports help bring people closer. “The talent of Kashmiri youth will reach to the world through this league. The youngsters of

Kashmir have to show their talent to the world,” he added. He further said that after the launch of the KPL, its second edition would feature KPL Women, which would provide a chance to the girls of Kashmir to come forward and play cricket. The KPL logo 'play with freedom' will resonate around the world and Pakistan will keep highlighting Kashmir at forums around the globe.

The AJK president said that the AJK government and people would fully own and support the league, which would provide an opportunity to the Kashmiri youth to showcase their talent through sports. “It was a great feeling to see Shehryar Afridi supporting Kashmir at all levels. I will leave no stone unturned to make the league a success. Kashmiri people have always loved cricket and the

Jamieson's five has Windies reeling WELLINGTON AGENCIES

Kyle Jamieson bagged five wickets in a masterclass of swing bowling as New Zealand struck hard and fast to have the West Indies on the ropes on day two of the second Test in Wellington on Saturday.

The tourists ended the day on the brink of another follow on as they struggled to 124 for eight, still 336 behind New Zealand's 460.

Only Jermaine Blackwood provided any serious resistance but he fell late in the day for 69 as Jamieson and Tim Southee wreaked havoc. The Basin Reserve strip continued to provide all the ingredients on a fast bowler's wish list -- pace, bounce and movement -- and New Zealand exploited this perfectly. The West Indies, though had problems allowing Henry Nicholls and Neil Wagner to plunder runs when the New Zealand innings resumed on Saturday morning. Both scored personal bests, untroubled whether the West Indies bowled full or short, as

Nicholls advanced from his overnight 117 to 174 while Wagner finished unbeaten on 66.

The New Zealand quick quartet -- Southee, Trent Boult, Neil Wagner and Williamson -- immediately extracted life from the wicket. They moved the ball in and away and it took the tourists four overs to get their first runs on the board, by which stage Southee had already dismissed Kraigg Brathwaite caught at first slip by Ross Taylor.

After Southee caught and bowled Darren Bravo for seven, Jamieson stepped up with the back-to-back wickets of John Campbell 14 and Roston Chase to have the West Indies at four for 29.

It was familiar territory for Blackwood whose century in the second innings of the first Test started with the West Indies at four for 27. He survived Jamieson's hat-trick ball, and the one after, which slammed both into the pads but vociferous appeals were turned down and replays showed the deliveries swinging away down the leg side.

When Jamieson boasted figures of three overs,

two maidens and two for four, Blackwood mounted a counter attack with three boundaries in the tall right-armer's next over. As the pair engaged in a private battle, Jamieson readjusted his line and bowled two consecutive maidens to Blackwood although the one opportunity to claim the wicket became a spilled caught-and-bowled chance.

Southee tied up Shamarh Brooks at the other end and the West Indies faced 27 dot balls before Blackwood broke the drought with a single. The pair put on 68 for the fifth wicket before falling in quick succession. Brooks faced 92 deliveries for a stubborn 14 before he shouldered arms to a good length Jamieson ball that jagged back into the stumps. Southee then accounted for Blackwood with a sharply rising delivery that was fended to Latham in the slips Jamieson closed the day with the wickets of Jason Holder for nine and Alzarri Joseph without scoring to have figures of five for 34. Southee has taken three for 29.

Unlike the West Indies, New Zealand did not struggle for runs and their final four wickets added 166 runs in 30 overs. Joseph removed Jamieson for 20 and Southee for 11 before Wagner joined Nicholls in a rollicking 95-run stand.

Saudi Arabia pulls out of hosting Spanish Super Cup: report MADRID AGENCIES

This season’s Spanish Super Cup will be played in the region of Andalusia and not in Saudi Arabia in January due to the coronavirus pandemic, El Pais newspaper reported on Saturday.

The Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) agreed a three-year deal worth a reported 120 million euros ($145 million) with the Saudi sports authority in 2019 to expand the competition and play the game in the Middle East. Real Madrid were crowned champions of the first edition of the four-team competition held in Jeddah in January.

El Pais reported, however, that the Saudis did not wish to hold the tournament until coronavirus restrictions were lifted and spectators were able to attend matches, adding they had agreed to extend the deal

KPL would go a long way to project Kashmir globally. The Kashmiri movement would also support the KPL in a big way and it would largely help in projecting Kashmir and its people,” he said.

The KPL president told that six cricket teams Mirpur Royals, Kotli Panthers, Bagh Stallions, Rawalakot Hawks, Overseas Warriors and Muzaffarabad Tigers would participate in the league.

The KPL management is indebted to Shahid Afridi, who agreed to act as brand ambassador for the KPL. Shahid Afridi said that Kashmir is close to his heart and he would love to support the league. He said: “I have played for many teams throughout my cricketing career, but I would love to play for the KPL to return the love I get from the people of Kashmir.”

SPORTS 11 NZ's Taylor dropped for Pakistan T20 series WELLINGTON AGENCIES

Veteran New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor has been dropped for the Twenty20 series against Pakistan, while Kane Williamson and Trent Boult have been recalled after they were rested for last month’s series against West Indies.

Taylor’s omission was because of the form of Devon Conway and Glenn Phillips, selector Gavin Larsen told reporters at the Basin Reserve on Saturday. “Ross has done a great job for us over the years,” Larsen said. “He has been very consistent in that number five role but what Glenn Phillips and Devon Conway have done against West Indies was compelling. It’s the brand of Twenty20 cricket that we want to move forward with.” Larsen added, however, that it was not the end of the road for Taylor in the shortest form of the game and that he expected the 36-year-old would “fight” to get his place back in the squad. Larsen added that the Pakistan series, which starts at Eden Park on December 18, was important in terms of helping finalise their thinking for next year’s Twenty20 World Cup in India. “We have still got the Australia series (from late February) and I would like to think when that does roll around we are getting pretty close to where we are just fine tuning,” he added. “We still have a little bit of information to gather over the Pakistan series.” Williamson’s inclusion for the second and third match only, however, was conditional on the birth of his first child, which had seen him withdraw from the ongoing second Test against West Indies in Wellington. Mitchell Santner would captain the side for the first match, with Williamson potentially returning for the other two games on December 20 in Hamilton and December 22 in Napier. None of the players currently involved in the second Test in Wellington would be available for the first Twenty20 game.

Fit-again India batsman Rohit cleared to fly to Australia MUMBAI AGENCIES

India batsman Rohit Sharma has recovered from a hamstring injury and will fly to Australia to join the Test squad Down Under, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) said on Saturday. Rohit was initially ruled out of the entire Australia tour with a high-grade left hamstring injury, which kept him out of four Indian Premier League (IPL) matches in the United Arab Emirates. The 33-year-old, who opens the batting for India, returned to lead the Mumbai Indians to a record fifth IPL title, prompting questions about the extent of his injury. The BCCI subsequently added him to the Test squad, while monitoring his recovery at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, having deemed him still unfit to travel with the rest of the team to Australia. “The NCA medical Team was satisfied with the physical fitness of Mr Sharma after assessing him on different metrics that tested his skills related to batting, fielding and running between the wickets,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a statement. “Mr Sharma’s physical fitness has been satisfactory, however, he will be required to continue work on his endurance.” Rohit will have to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine on arrival in Australia, which will rule him out of the first two Tests in Adelaide and Melbourne. “He has been given a detailed programme to follow for the duration of the two weeks he will be quarantined for,” Shah added. “He will be reassessed by the Team India medical team post his quarantine to establish his fitness status and a call on his participation in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be taken accordingly.” Rohit will be a welcome addition for India with captain and batting mainstay Virat Kohli set to return home for the birth of his child at the conclusion of the match in Adelaide, which starts on Thursday. There is a gap of seven days between the end of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and the start of the third Test in Sydney from January 7, which should allow Rohit enough time to integrate with the squad.

Verstappen leads Red Bull one-two in final Abu Dhabi GP practice

with the federation by a year to compensate for the loss in revenue.

The Spanish soccer federation would not confirm the change but said an announcement would be made soon. La Liga champions Real Madrid and runners-up Barcelona have qualified for the Super Cup alongside Copa del Rey finalists Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao, who have still not played last season’s showpiece game due to coronavirus restrictions.

The Super Cup used to be the season curtain raiser, a game held in August between the league champions and Cup winners until the federation voted to expand it in 2019. The El Pais report said the final would take place on January 17 in Seville’s La Cartuja stadium, while the semi-finals would be held on January 13 and 14, either in Seville, Malaga or Cordoba.

Spectators are unlikely to be allowed in to attend matches due to ongoing restrictions in Spain.

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ABU DHABI AGENCIES

Max Verstappen led Alexander Albon in a Red Bull onetwo in the final practice session of the Formula One season at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Saturday, as dominant Mercedes found themselves in unfamiliar territory. Dutchman Verstappen lapped the Yas Marina track in one minute, 36.251 seconds, 0.501 seconds clear of his British-born Thai team mate Albon. Daniel Ricciardo was third for Renault with his team mate Esteban Ocon in fourth. World champion Lewis Hamilton, back in action after missing last week’s Sakhir Grand Prix due to Covid-19, was the lead Mercedes in sixth, 0.761 seconds slower than Verstappen. Team mate Valtteri Bottas, who had set the fastest time on Friday, was ninth.

Mercedes, running a special livery with the names of about 2,000 team personnel on their cars, have taken

pole in Abu Dhabi every year since 2014. They have started every race but one this season from the front of the grid. Hamilton indicated on Friday that the Brackley-based team, who this year wrapped up a record seventh straight title double, could use Saturday’s hour-long session to run their cars on higher fuel loads, suggesting normal order could be restored come qualifying.

Lando Norris was fifth for McLaren ahead of Hamilton, who has wrapped up a record-equalling seventh title. Lance Stroll was seventh for Racing Point ahead of Carlos Sainz in the other McLaren. Sergio Perez, winner in Sakhir last week who is set to start Sunday’s (today) race from the back of the grid thanks to engine-related penalties, rounded out the top 10 for Racing Point. George Russell, who stood in for Hamilton in Sakhir and nearly won the race, was 15th on his Williams return behind Sebastian Vettel who took part in his final practice session for Ferrari.

Sunday, 13 December, 2020

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IndIan Farmers and polICe In road showdowns as protests worsen NEW DELHI

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NDIAN police stopped farmers blocking major highways and taking over more roads into the capital on Saturday as a two-week campaign against market reform laws intensified.

Police deployed in large numbers stopped groups of hundreds of farmers from blocking the main highways from Delhi to the northern cities of Agra -- the home of the Taj Mahal -- and Jaipur.

Some farmers were detained on the expressway to Agra while other groups took over at least two toll booths and let cars and trucks pass without paying.

Thousands of farmers have already blocked two key roads into Delhi and tried to cover more Saturday but were again stopped by police who put up security cordons.

Farmers squatted in the service lane at Ghazipur on the edge of Delhi chanting

slogans against the right wing government.

Farmers' leaders and ministers have held several rounds of talks but they have

French law on filming police triggers third weekend of protests PARIS: Thousands of protesters took to the streets in France on Saturday for a third consecutive weekend of demonstrations over a controversial security bill that would limit filming of the police. The authorities were girding for further possible violence after the last two such protests in Paris ended in rioting. In the capital, several thousand protesters flanked on all sides by a huge deployment of riot police marched through the east of the city. "Global repression, total regression," read a placard held aloft by one demonstrator, a reference to the new "global security" bill which bans the "malevolent" publication of images showing the faces of police officers in action. Tensions mounted as night fell, with police using water cannon to repel small groups of black-clad protesters who threw bottles and other projectiles at the security forces. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted that 81 people had been arrested in Paris by midafternoon and said the police had to deal with some "ultra-violent individuals".

Demonstrations were also held in Montpellier, Lyon and Lille. Critics argue that the security bill, which has been adopted by the lower house of parliament, will make it harder for journalists and citizens to document cases of police brutality. Footage of white police beating up an unarmed black music producer in his Paris studio on November 21 amplified anger over the legislation, widely seen as signalling a rightward lurch by President Emmanuel Macron. Other incidents caught on camera have shown police in Paris using violence to tear down a migrant camp. In the face of mounting protests, Macron's ruling LREM party announced it would rewrite the bill's controversial Article 24, dealing with filming the police. But the announcement fell short of the mark for left-wing protesters and rights groups, who are demanding that the law be completely withdrawn. AGNECIES

broken down without agreement.

Agriculture unions want three laws which allow farmers to sell their produce

on free markets to be repealed and a decades-old guaranteed minimum price system to be maintained.

‘COMMITTED TO REFORMS’: Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured farmers on Saturday that reforms in the agrarian sector were aimed at helping them as thousands of farmers continued protests against three new laws to overhaul procurement and sale of produce.

“Reforms will help draw investment in agriculture and benefit farmers,” he said at the annual meeting of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry in New Delhi.

“The aim of the all government reforms is to make farmers’ prosperous,” he said adding that private sector must help improve the country’s agriculture sector.

At the same event, Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said the government was committed to doubling farmers’ income and the ongoing “farmer agitation was infiltrated by Leftists and Maoists.”

Iran executes journalist who encouraged 2017 protests TEHRAN AGENCIES

Iran on Saturday executed a once-exiled journalist over his online work that helped inspire nationwide economic protests in 2017, authorities said, just months after he returned to Tehran under mysterious circumstances.

Iranian state television and the staterun IRNA news agency said that Ruhollah Zam, 47, was hanged early Saturday morning. The reports did not elaborate.

In June, a court sentenced Zam to death, saying he had been convicted of “corruption on Earth,” a charge often used in cases involving espionage or attempts to overthrow Iran’s government.

Zam’s website AmadNews and a channel he created on the popular messaging app Telegram had spread the timings of the protests and embarrassing information about officials that directly challenged Iran’s Shiite theocracy. Those demonstrations, which began at the end of 2017, represented the biggest challenge to Iran since the 2009 Green Movement

protests and set the stage for similar mass unrest in November of last year.

The initial spark for the 2017 protests was a sudden jump in food prices. Many believe that hard-line opponents of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani instigated the first demonstrations in the conservative city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran, trying to direct public anger at the president. But as protests spread from town to town, the backlash turned against the entire ruling class. Soon, cries directly challenging Rouhani and even Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could be heard in online videos shared by Zam. Zam’s channel also shared times and organisational details for the protests.

Telegram shut down the channel over Iranian government complaints it spread information about how to make gasoline bombs. The channel later continued under a different name. Zam, who has said he fled Iran after being falsely accused of working with foreign intelligence services, denied inciting violence on Telegram at the time.

The 2017 protests reportedly saw

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IndIa appoInts new Charge d’aFFaIres to pakIstan ISLAMABAD STAF REPORT

India’s Deputy High Commissioner to Pakistan Gaurav Ahluwalia has been replaced by Suresh Kumar, a career diplomat who has been working at the Pakistani desk in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. Suresh's appointment was confirmed by the current Charge d’Affaires on Saturday. His name was sent to the Pakistani authorities by the Indian government last month for approval. During September, Islamabad had denied a visa for Jayant Khobragade, a senior Indian diplomat whose name was earlier proposed by New Delhi in June. Pakistan rejected Khobragade’s name since he was too senior for the post.

Pakistan had approved Suresh’s appointment earlier this month. Suresh will assume his responsibilities in the next few days. Following India’s illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019, in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Pakistan took a number of steps, including the downgrading of diplomatic relations with India. The development comes at a time when India has been repeatedly violating ceasefire agreement between the two countries, causing many casualties to civilians as well soldiers of Pakistan Army along the Line of Control (LoC) and Working Boundary. Gaurav Ahluwalia had been repeatedly summoned by the foreign office to register protest over unprovoked aggression by the Indian security forces.

some 5,000 people detained and 25 killed. The details of his arrest still remain unclear. Though he was based in Paris, Zam somehow returned to Iran and found himself detained by intelligence officials. He’s one of several opposition figures in exile who have been returned to Iran over the last year.

France previously has criticised his death sentence as “a serious blow to freedom of expression and press freedom in Iran.” A series of televised confessions aired earlier this year over his work.

During an interview on July, Zam said he has lost some 30 kilograms (66 pounds) since his arrest in October 2019. He said following the arrest that he could meet his father after nine years and his mother and sister after some six years. Zam is the son of Shiite cleric Mohammad Ali Zam, a reformist who once served in a government policy position in the early 1980s. The cleric wrote a letter published by Iranian media in July 2017 in which he said he wouldn’t support his son over AmadNews’ reporting and messages on its Telegram channel.

Algeria rejects Trump's stance on Western Sahara ALGIERS : Algeria on Saturday rejected a decision by outgoing US President Donald Trump to recognise Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, saying the step would undermine efforts to end the decades-long conflict over the desert territory.

Trump’s administration said it was recognising Moroccan claims to Western Sahara as part of a deal under which Morocco agreed to normalise its relations with Israel. In Algiers, the Foreign Ministry said the US decision “has no legal effect because it contradicts UN resolutions, especially UN Security

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Council resolutions on Western Sahara”. “The proclamation would undermine the de-escalation efforts made at all levels in order to pave the way for launching a real political process,” the ministry said in a statement. The US-Morocco deal comes at a key moment in the long-frozen conflict in Western Sahara between Morocco and the Algeria-backed Polisario Front independence movement, which erupted again last month after three decades of truce. The United Nations and other Western states are not expected to change their long-standing position calling for a referendum to resolve the dispute. AGENCIES

one killed as multiple rockets hit kabul KABUL: A series of rockets struck the Afghan capital on Saturday, killing one person and wounding another, the interior ministry said, the second such attack to rock Kabul in less than a month. "Four rockets were fired from the Labe Jar neighbourhood of Kabul," ministry spokesman Tariq Arian told reporters, adding that two landed near Kabul airport. He said one person was killed and another wounded. No group has claimed the attack so far. Kabul police confirmed the early morning attack, saying most of the rockets struck the eastern part of the capital.

On November 21, eight people were killed when 23 rockets hit Kabul in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group. Violence has surged across Afghanistan in recent months, with several deadly attacks carried out in Kabul, despite the Taliban and the government engaging in peace talks since September 12 in Qatar. Apart from the November rocket attack, IS claimed two deadly assaults in Kabul. Those attacks targeted educational centres in the capital that killed mostly students, including one on Kabul University that saw gunmen spraying classrooms with bullets. Authorities blamed the attacks on educational centres on the Haqqani network, an affiliate of the Taliban.

Violence has also surged amid an ongoing withdrawal of US troops. In November, the Pentagon said it would pull 2,000 troops out of Afghanistan, speeding up the timeline established in a February agreement between Washington and the Taliban that envisions a full withdrawal by May 2021. The deal also stipulates that the insurgents will not target key cities in the country, although Afghan authorities have blamed them for such attacks. AGENCIES

Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine will reach hospitals across US on Monday WASHINGTON AGENCIES

The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine will reach hospitals and other sites across the United States by Monday morning, a top official said Saturday, ready to be injected into the arms of millions of the most vulnerable Americans.

The shots will begin leaving the Pfizer factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Sunday, stored in boxes containing dry ice that are capable of staying at -70 degrees Celsius (94 degrees Fahrenheit), the frigid temperature needed to preserve the drug.

General Gus Perna, who is overseeing the massive logistical operation as part of the government's Operation Warp Speed, likened the moment to D-Day, the turning point of World War II.

"I am absolutely 100 percent confident that we are going to distribute safely, this precious commodity, this vaccine, needed to defeat the enemy Covid," he told reporters.

It comes as the coronavirus is soaring across the country as never before, with fatalities now approaching 300,000 and nearly 16 million cases of infection.

Over the past two weeks the US has exceeded 2,000 Covid-related deaths per day several times, rivalling tolls it saw in the early days of the pandemic. Perna said hundreds of sites, including hospitals and other distribution centers, would receive the vaccines from Monday to Wednesday, which would cover the first wave of about three million people to be vaccinated.

Federal health authorities have recommended that health care workers and nursing home residents be at the front of the line, but

the final decisions have been left to states.

REGULATORY APPROVAL: The US became the sixth country to green-light the Pfizer vaccine on Friday night.

It was a triumphant moment for the American giant and its German partner BioNTech, who started work on their product, based on experimental mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) technology, just 11 months ago.

But the move, while expected, was not without controversy after it was widely reported that President Donald Trump had called the chief of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and threatened to fire him if he didn't issue emergency approval on Friday. On Saturday, FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn denied this had occurred, telling reporters: "The representations in the press that I was threatened to fired if we did-

n't get it done by a certain date is inaccurate."

The vaccine has been shown in a clinical trial of 44,000 people to be 95 percent effective in preventing Covid-19, and no serious safety concerns have been identified.

But, after two health care workers in Britain who received the injection suffered severe allergic reactions, the FDA has advised people who have known allergies to the vaccine's ingredients to avoid getting it.

If they receive the first dose and have a severe allergic reaction, they are advised to not take the second dose.

The FDA has made no definitive ruling regarding whether pregnant women or the immunocompromised should be given the shots, instead punting that call to people to make for themselves in consultation with their doctors.

"There were not enough pregnant women in the trials, or women who became pregnant in

the trials to actually know, and make any statement about thatsaid FDA scientist Peter Marks. "It will be something that providers will need to consider on an individual basis for patients." Marks also voiced support for Pfizer's plan to allow people involved in the clinical trial to find out whether they had received the vaccine or placebo.

Under this proposal, if they received the placebo, they can request the vaccine when their demographic group's turn comes up.

Some scientists have opposed this plan because if trial participants become "unblinded" and find out what they got, they may change their behavior and this would corrupt the trial's data.

But Marks said: "We have to balance the amount of blinded data that we receive with the need to protect people from a pandemic that's taking thousands of lives daily."

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