Epaper – February 26 ISB 2021

Friday, 26 February, 2021 I 13 Rajab, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 239 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition

ECP dEClarEs daska by-Poll void, ordErs rE-ElECtion g

'On the day Of the electiOn, chaOs was spread in the entire cOnstituency,' the shOrt Order reads

ISLAMABAD staff report

t

he election commission of pakistan (ecp) on thursday declared a last week’s by-election for a national assembly (na) seat in a sialkot constituency as null and void and ordered the government to hold re-election on March 18. the commission on saturday stopped the initial results of the na-75 (sialkot-iV) byelection — a seat in daska tehsil of the city which fell vacant after the demise of pakistan Muslim league-nawaz (pMl-n) Mp sahibazada syed iftikharul hassan shah in august — a day after polling was held, suspecting vote fraud. in a press statement, the ecp said it had suspected that the results of 20 polling stations in the constituency had been falsified because it received the results of the constituency with “unnecessary delay”. a short verdict, announced on an application of pMl-n candidate syeda nosheen iftikhar, ordered re-election in the constituency because “conducive environment was not available for the candidates and voters and the election had not

been conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in a transparent manner.”

“On the day of the election, chaos was spread in the entire constituency,” it read. the order was issued using the powers conferred on the ecp under article 218 (3) of the constitution and article 19 (1) of the election act, 2017. a detailed verdict will be issued later, the commission said.

VERDICT EXPOSED ‘CONSPIRACY’: PML-N hailing the ecp order, the pMl-n said it “exposed” the pakistan tehreek-e-insaf (pti) government’s conspiracy to rig the election. in a tweet, pMl-n vice president Maryam nawaz said: “the people of daska have gotten back their right.”

“Vote thief imran Khan also turned out to be a kidnapper,” she alleged. in another tweet, Maryam said the echo of her father and pMl-n supremo nawaz sharif’s narrative of “vote ko izzat do (honour the vote)” was being heard “throughout the country”. her spokesperson, Muhammad Zubair, told the media that the government has been caught red-handed and that even the ecp was surprised by the ruling party’s tactics.

Coronavirus in

Pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

575,941

LAST UPDATED AT 8:05 AM ON FEBRUARY 25, 2021

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

NEW CASES:

64

1,361

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

539,888 12,772 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

257,089

169,474

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

AJK/GB:

ISLAMABAD:

71,490

19,010

10,022/4,955

43,901

painting pM imran has the frontman for the alleged conspiracy, Zubair said that the atmosphere on voting day was unconducive for the voters, and cited the incident in which two workers had lost their lives while another three were injured. however, it is pertinent to mention that the reports confirmed that one of the slain party workers, Majid, belonged to the ruling pti. pMl-n candidate iftikhar termed the decision as a “historic” one and thanked her voters for casting their ballots despite being beaten by batons and sticks. “this is a historic decision which has set an example for coming elections,” she said. “i congratulate people of na-75 whose battle i fought.

Meanwhile, the government said it would wait for the detailed order and to decide its future course of action. in a meeting with reporters, Minister for information senator shibli faraz said that the order was a victory for the government, as it proved the commission was independent of political influence. he maintained that all the by-elections held recently were free of any influence as per the pti’s manifesto and the government is also making efforts to hold the forthcoming senate elections through open balloting. faraz said that the ecp should announce the result of by-polls in na-75 daska. he stressed that the present government is going to introduce an electronic voting system in the country to ensure transparency.

Meanwhile, pti senior leader Muhammad usman dar on thursday said that the opposing pMl-n orchestrated a propaganda campaign to make the na-75 bypolls controversial. talking to media outside the ecp office in the federal capital, he maintained the pMl-n’s propaganda was meant to demoralise the pti workers as it knew that they (pMl-n) had lost the election in daska.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Pakistan to remain on FATF grey list till June ISLAMABAD staff report

pakistan will remain on the financial action task force (fatf) grey list for another four months. according to a handout issued by the Ministry of finance, the fatf has appreciated pakistan for the significant progress made on the entire action plan. the plenary meetings of fatf were held virtually from february 22-25, 2021, where its members discussed a range of topics relating to pakistan’s progress. pakistan’s delegation in the fatf plenary was led by chairman fatf coordination committee and federal Minister for industries and production Muhammad hammad azhar, and attended by senior officers from the Ministry of foreign affairs, national counter terrorism authority (nacta), financial Monitoring unit (fMu), national fatf secretariat and other key stakeholders. in its plenary meeting held on february 25, fatf has stated: “to date, pakistan has made progress across all action plan items and has now largely addressed 24 of the 27 action items.” the global watchdog has also acknowledged the continued high-level political commit-

Pakistan, India agree on ‘strict observance’ of LoC ceasefire ISLAMABAD staff report

in a rare move, pakistan and india have agreed to strictly observe the 2003 ceasefire agreement at line of control (loc), the de facto border between the arch-rivals in the disputed region of Kashmir, and other agreements, radio pakistan reported. the director generals of military operations (dGMOs) of the two countries reviewed over a hotline the situation along the loc and all other sectors in a “free, frank and cordial atmosphere” on thursday morning, inter-services public relations (ispr) said in a statement.

“Both sides agreed for strict observance of all agreements, understandings and cease firing along the [loc] and all other sectors, with effect from midnight [on friday],” read the statement. the Muslim-majority himalayan region has been at the heart of more than 70 years of animosity since the partition in 1947. artillery, rockets, and even small arms fire have been regularly exchanged between troops on opposite sides of the border, killing hundreds since the ceasefire was signed.

ment of pakistan to combat terrorist financing which, according to the fatf statement, has led to significant progress across comprehensive countering financing of terrorism plan. pakistan has undertaken enormous work to strengthen its anti-money laundering (aMl) and combatting finance of terrorism (cft) regime and address the strategic counter-terrorist financing-related deficiencies. in addition to the acknowledgement by fatf in its plenary statement that pakistan has made significant progress on the entire action plan by addressing 24 out of the 27 items in the action plan. pakistan has also made notable progress in the remaining 3 action items which also stand partially addressed. as of now, all the 10 action items pertaining to the financial sector and border controls have been addressed. in relation to terrorism financing (tf) investigations and prosecutions, 6 of the 8 action items have been addressed, whereas, for targeted financial sanctions, 8 of the 9 action items also stand addressed. the progress on the remaining 3 action items is well underway with significant progress made so far.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

more inside

PPP, PML-N top leaders discuss political situation, Senate strategy STORY ON BACK PAGE

pM urges int’l community to seek return of stolen assets from ‘haven’ countries STORY ON PAGE 03 tensions were exacerbated in august 2019 when india revoked the autonomy of occupied Kashmir. the diplomatic relationship worsened further as new delhi and islamabad each ejected half of its neighbour’s diplomats. the statement pointed out that in the interest of achieving “mutually beneficial and sustainable peace” along the borders, the two dGMOs agreed to address each other’s core concerns which have the propensity to disturb the peace. the two armies agreed on “strict observance” of all agreements, understandings, and

cease firing along the loc and all other sectors with immediate effect from the night between february 24 and february 25.

“Both sides reiterated that existing mechanisms of hotline contact and border flag meetings will be utilised to resolve any unforeseen situation or misunderstanding,” the statement added. last summer, the two armies were locked in their most frequent cross-border fighting in at least two years, amid surging coronavirus outbreaks.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 03

SC reserves decision on Senate open ballot reference STORY ON PAGE 02

schools to resume five-day routine from March 1: minister STORY ON PAGE 03

02

Friday, 26 February, 2021

ISLAMABAD

NEWS

SC reServeS DeCiSion on SenATe oPen bAlloT referenCe

T

NEWS DESK

HE Supreme Court (SC) has reserved its decision in the presidential reference on the matter of holding the upcoming Senate elections through an open ballot method after the aforementioned reference sought the apex court's insight into the matter.

The hearing was overseen by a fivemember larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed and comprising Justice Mushir Alam, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Justice Yahya Afridi.

During the hearing, Pakistan Bar Council's (PBC) lawyer Mansoor Usman Awan argued that holding elections through an open-ballot system has been unprecedented in Pakistan, adding that the secrecy of casting votes is the essence of elections.

"The allegation of corrupt practices has to be separated through evidence [and] cannot be associated with ballot papers."

The CJP maintained that the passing of resolutions to ensure transparency was the prerogative of the parliament and that the top court would only offer its opinion of the application of Article 226 in the matter.

"All parties demand transparent

elections but no one is ready to take an initiative," CJP Gulzar Ahmed said. "We have been hearing from day one that the party decides which candidates to vote for."

Justice Ijazul Ahsan remarked that there is no court verdict concerning the implementation of Article 226 in the Senate elections. Justice Ahsan added that only polling procedure is mentioned in the Election Act, and it is mentioned nowhere that the Senate elections will be held according to the law.

"If the connection between the amount [of money] and the ballot paper is established, the election commission should note it," Justice Ahsan added.

Justice Umar Ata Bandial observed that the 'real purpose' was ending corrupt practices.

The PBC lawyer argued that the National Assembly (NA) elections were held on an overall basis, while those in the Senate were based on proportional representation.

To this, Justice Ahsan inquired how Article 51 of the Constitution – which pertains to the NA elections – could apply and ensure proportional representation upon specific seats. He observed that the quota for specific seats aligns with the representation of parties in the lower house.

Awan replied that the election

PM seeks plan to meet future needs of essential items ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

commission took lists from political parties for election on specific seats beforehand and the names on the list are then scrutinised according to the principle of proportional representation.

When asked by Justice Bandial if he meant to say that all elections are held according to Article 226, Awan argued that all elections would be affected should the Senate election be conducted through an open ballot.

He maintained that the term election itself referred to a secret ballot method. "It is necessary that every vote be secret," he stressed. Elaborating on the concept of proportional representation, the PBC lawyer gave the example of the Balochistan Assembly which he said had a total of 65 members.

"In every election, there are 10 political parties and one independent candidate [out of which] only three political parties hold a majority. What would happen to the other parties? They could unite and change the situation. Any alliance in Balochistan could change the situation."

Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Javed Khan said the deep states always believes in secrecy and not transparency. The AGP added that this was the most important case of his life.

The chief justice at this point reminded

Over 100,000 health workers vaccinated against Covid-19: govt ISLAMABAD INP

Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed to formulate a comprehensive plan to meet the future needs and any emergency situation with regard to prices and availability of essential items in sufficient quantity.

Chairing a review meeting on Thursday regarding prices and availability of essential items, the prime minister said that strict legal measures should be taken against hoarders and profiteers. He asserted that efforts should be made to avoid any additional burden on the poor people. He also emphasised on strengthening inter-provincial coordination to end disparity in prices of essential items. PM Imran instructed to utilise information technology in shifting agricultural produce from field to market to make the procedure more transparent so that both farmers and consumers can get best prices. He advised to increase the number of warehouses for the storage of edible items on modern lines.

Those who rigged Daska by-poll not booked even after a week: Abbasi KARACHI INP

Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) Vice President Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Thursday regretted that a police case could not be lodged against those who "rigged" the NA-75 by-election in Daska city of Sialkot district even after a week. Speaking to media in Karachi, Abbasi claimed presiding officers in the constituency were kidnapped but no action was taken against those responsible for the act and accused Prime Minister Imran Khan responsible for what he termed systematic vote fraud. Abbasi said: "Is it not a crime to abduct presiding officers? The sanctity of public mandate is being violated by ministers, advisers, and the administration. Re-election should be held in the entire constituency." "If a former prime minister can be summoned to court, so should be the ones who stole the votes. There is no need for election reforms, only the implementation of the laws and the constitution is required," he added. "The institution of accountability [NAB] is itself accountable.

Commissions are formed here to protect the culprits, and the same has been done in the Broadsheet LLC case. Imran Khan’s government is one of the most corrupt regimes of the world." He said that Transparency International has also declared the incumbent government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as the "most corrupt".

the court that the presidential reference inquired only into the matter of Article 226, which deals with the declaration that all elections but those of the premier and chief ministers would be held through secret ballot. He maintained that the court would not go out of the bounds of the reference.

"Political parties are accepting [that there are] corrupt practices in the election process. You saw the video, you want to repeat that?" the CJP questioned, further asking if there was a reason why a constitutional amendment was not being done to end corruption in the election process, going on to observe that resolutions were passed by the parliament to make the election process transparent.

The chief justice said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was a "guard against malintent". He pondered what role the ECP could play to prevent corrupt practices if voters made secret agreements behind closed doors.

Justice Ahsan said the election commission was "sleeping and was not willing to wake up", observing that the election commission did not only have to hold elections but end corruption in the election process.

During the hearing, Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) lawyer Khurram Chughtai said that the federal government

lacks the relevant authority to seek an opinion from the apex court.

To this, the CJP said that the reference in the court has been sent by the president of Pakistan.

Khurram Chughtai maintained that the AGP is the advocate of the federal government and not the president, adding that opinions were sought from all political parties before drafting the Election Act. He pointed out that the incumbent Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, sitting President Dr Arif Alvi, and current Information Minister Shibli Faraz were also members of the Election Act Committee, while 89 meetings were held before drafting the Act. Khurram Chughtai added that President Arif Alvi himself was a member of the Constitutional Reforms Committee, along with many of the sitting ministers in the cabinet.

Chughtai also said that the president of Pakistan has to act on the advice of the cabinet or the prime minister, on which the CJP told him to limit his arguments to the questions raised.

The attorney general maintained that examining the ballot papers would not lead to a violation of secrecy.

Justice Yahya Afridi questioned whether the court's opinion on the presidential reference would be considered final to which the AG replied that the government would be bound by it.

The presidential ordinance, which amends sections 33, 86 and 122 of the Election Act 2017, was announced with immediate effect. It has been strongly opposed by the opposition. Its enforcement will be subject to the outcome of the apex court's decision, which has been reserved today.

Covid-19 vaccine shots have been administered to more than 100,000 frontline healthcare workers across the country, the government said on Thursday.

Speaking to a news channel, Dr Nausheen Hamid, parliamentary secretary for health, said that health workers, who are at the forefront of the country’s fight against the pandemic, were administered the vaccine in the first phase.

Nausheen said that the process of the registration of citizens aged 65 years and above is underway, urging people to get themselves registered for the drive.

She said that the situation will further improve with the arrival of more doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

The government launched a nationwide vaccination campaign on February 3, with more than 400,000 doctors and frontline healthcare workers, teachers and social workers being covered in the first phase because they run the highest risk of exposure to the contagious disease.

As per the roll-out plan, the second phase, due to

start from March 1, will focus exclusively on citizens over the age of 65, who generally face a higher mortality risk from the virus, and all remaining healthcare workers, while the general public would be accommodated in the third phase.

On the other hand, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal Sultan while addressing a ceremony in Islamabad on Thursday warned that Covid-19 was "not over yet", adding that after facing the second coronavirus wave, there was now a new threat of Covid-19 variants.

"I think we are keeping a close eye on those and it will require continued vigilance and retooling of efforts to combat this to completion."

Sultan said the "idea of vaccinations" was directly connected to this strategy of sustained precautions and said the world was fortunate to have many effective Covid-19 vaccines.

"I do feel we need to speed it up and wrap it up because the pace isn't what I would be happy about. I think we have some measures and ideas to make it a little bit faster," said Sultan, urging the public to influence and convince people in their social spheres to

get vaccinated as vaccines become available.

"I think once we have a significant number of people in the world who are vaccinated, we will start to breathe a little easier."

Earlier this week, the SAPM shared on Twitter that he himself has now been vaccinated after registering as a healthcare worker, and urged others in the field to do the same.

I registered myself as a healthcare worker on http://Covid.gov.pk/vaccine and received a PIN & instructions. Got my 1st dose of vaccine (Sinopharm) today & feeling fine. If you are a health professional (below 60 years of age), please get vaccinated now.

Protect yourself and others Pakistan received its first tranche of the Sinopharm jabs, given by China as a “gift”, earlier this month. The shipment marked the first shots to be imported into the country where more than 564,077 cases of the disease have been reported since the outbreak in February last.

In addition, the government is due to receive a further 1.1 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine by the end of this month, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had announced in January.

PDM's mixed messages: Fazl says establishment is not neutral NEWS DESK Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) President and Jamiat Ulema-e-IslamFazl (JUI-F) chief Fazlur Rehman on Thursday has said that there is no viable evidence of the establishment's neutrality in political matters. ''The judges observed that the Constitution did not provide any provision for secret voting in the Senate," he noted merely two days after his meeting with PDM's joint candidate for the upcoming Senate elections and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) senior leader Yousaf Raza Gillani.

The former premier, after his meeting with the PDM chief, had said that he believes the establishment is neutral. This statement was echoed a day earlier by PPP Chairman Bilawal BhuttoZardari during a presser in Lahore.

While the PPP chairman had stated a day earlier that the PDM is as united as it has ever been, the president of the antigovernment coalition today contradicted his cohort's words. The court should not become a party in the case, he maintained.

The JUI-F chief echoed the PDM's running mantra of hosting a long march

towards the end of next month and promised that the incumbent government would be surprised by the outcome of the polls wherein the PDM would emerge victoriously.

The rigging in Kurram Agency and Daska is unacceptable; bogus votes were found in the Agency," he said, adding that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) candidate must be declared as ineligible for the polls.

"We reject such results."

He observed that the results were changed and the undeserving candidate was made to win. "In the by-elections, officials of the Election Commission (ECP) were either involved or helpless, but the electoral authority, instead of taking a notice, has held the results of the polls," he said.

"ECP should make its decision," the veteran politician demanded, saying, "rigging is what it is regardless of who's involved. The authority should announce re-polls in both the constituencies."

PDM President and JUI-F chief Fazl met with former premier Gillani on Monday and both the leaders had discussed the alliance’s chances in the National Assembly (NA).

After the meeting, the JUI-F chief

had told media persons that the PDM is united in support of Gillani. He went on to claim that the PDM has 12 votes more than the required strength to win the Senate seat from the federal capital – a claim that the ruling alliance may challenge in the coming days. Fazl had purported that, ever since the announcement of the former premier’s nomination, there has been panic in the government circles.

“The government is showing distrust and fear in its ranks. Gillani has also been our prime minister and, if he

is elected as a senator, it will be a matter of honour for him. PDM stands united to support Gillani and we will fight this battle successfully,” Fazl had asserted.

Last week, PPP Cochairperson Asif Ali Zardari and Fazl had exchanged views on the upcoming Senate polls and the anti-government long march in a telephonic conversation.

The week prior to that, Fazl had also discussed the country’s political situation including a long march with the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Friday, 26 February, 2021

ISLAMABAD

NEWS

03

PM urges int’l coMMunity to seek return of stolen assets froM ‘haven’ countries ISLAMABAD

P

APP

RIME Minister Imran Khan on Thursday stressed upon the international community to seek commitment from the “haven” countries to return all foreign stolen or illegitimate assets and develop international anti-money laundering legal instruments.

Addressing as a keynote speaker at the virtually held launching ceremony of the Final Report of the High-Level Panel on International Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity for Achieving the 2030 Development Agenda (FACTI Panel), the prime minister called for considering the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) proposal to freeze and return the unexplained assets of foreign “Politically Exposed Persons.”

The event was also addressed by 75th President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Volkan Bozkir, 76th President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNSEC) Munir Akram.

The FACTI Panel aims to improve the world’s chances of achieving sustainable development by making recommendations that both strengthen current efforts to combat illicit financial flows, and close remaining gaps in the international system.

The report presents 14 recommendations

to reform, redesign and revitalize the global architecture, so it can effectively foster financial integrity for sustainable development. Furthermore, it stresses for strengthening coordination and global governance related to financial integrity as an essential component of the common agenda for the common future of present and coming generations.

Urging for some quick concrete actions, the prime minister first emphasized on "a commitment by 'haven' countries to immediately and unconditionally return all foreign assets that are shown to be stolen or whose 'legitimacy' cannot be explained. The OECD’s proposal to freeze and return the unexplained assets of foreign Politically Exposed Persons is worthy of consideration.”

He also suggested several steps the United Nations could take such as initiating "negotiations on the new international tax corporation and anti-money laundering legal instruments like the Convention on Corruption, adopt common principles identified by the FACTI panel that would apply to all financial transactions and establish a UN coordination, adjudication and mediation mechanism on illicit financial flows".

The prime minister urged the international community to initiate negotiations on the new international tax cooperation and anti- money laundering legal instruments, like the Convention on Corruption.

The adoption of common principles

identified by the FACTI Panel to apply to all financial transactions, and establishment of a UN coordination, adjudication and mediation mechanism on illicit financial flows also comprised the quick concrete actions proposed by the prime minister who is now globally recognized for his efforts against corruption and money laundering for his decades long struggle to purge the country of the very evils.

He told the audience that his government had inherited a country with empty coffers, denuded by huge and accumulated trade and fiscal deficits, but “more than that, by illicit financial outflows from our country.”

He viewed that the FACTI’s Interim Report confirmed that due to political and official corruption, as well as crime and tax evasion, trillions of dollars flow out of developing countries each year.

“Seven trillion dollars in stolen assets are parked in the financial haven countries. The flight of these vast resources from the developing countries is a principal cause of their under-development, poverty, inequality and political instability,” he remarked.

He recalled that during the consideration of the Interim Report in September last year, he had suggested several global policy actions including immediate return of stolen assets; penalties on the financial institutions, lawyers and accountants, and other “enablers” of corruption, crime and tax evasion.

The disclosure of the “beneficial ownership” of companies; a global minimum

corporate tax; fair digital taxation; review and revision of unequal investment treaties; and a coherent mechanism for monitoring illicit financial flows set up under the United Nations were also part of his proposed policy actions. Expressing pleasure over the final report of the panel marking his proposed policy actions, the prime minister said that was a systemic problem, embedded within the international financial architecture.

“It requires a systemic solution. It cannot be resolved by piecemeal or cosmetic actions.

The magnitude of the illicit financial flows is staggering. If recovered and returned, they can have a transformational impact on the development prospects of the developing countries.”

Quoting the report, the prime minister said that this could enable the developing countries to eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities, build back better after the Covid-19 crisis, address climate change and strengthen human rights.

He also endorsed the three-point plan proposed by the panel, including applying international “values” of honesty and integrity to all financial transactions; strengthen policy frameworks; and reform and reinforce the relevant institutions dealing with these illicit financial flows. He viewed that the said responses could form part of a Global Pact for Financial Integrity.

PM Imran called for regulating national and cross-border financial transactions under a “values-based” system, encompassing

Schools to resume five-day routine from March 1: minister ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

In a bid to ease coronavirus restrictions, the government on Thursday announced to restart regular five-day classes at schools from March 1.

In November, the government had shut schools and postponed exams to try to curb new infections and a rise in the number of people in hospitals with Covid-19 before opening them in phases earlier this month.

"All schools will go back to regular 5 day classes from Monday March 1," Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood tweeted.

"Restrictions imposed in some major cities on schools to conduct staggered classes was only till Feb 28." Important announcement. All schools will go back to regular 5 day classes from Monday March 1.

Restrictions imposed in some major cities on schools to conduct staggered classes was only till Feb 28.

— Shafqat Mahmood (@Shafqat_Mahmood) February 25, 2021 The government portal keeping track of the outbreak in Pakistan on Thursday reported 1,361 new infections

of the novel coronavirus after conducting 40,906 tests, receiving back a positivity ratio of 3.33 per cent.

Mahmood's tweet comes a day after the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) said to have devised new rules after a “comprehensive review” of the coronavirus situation.

“Time-limit lifted from commercial activities and amusement parks, condition of 50% work from home removed,” NCOC said. “Indoor wedding ceremonies will be allowed from 15th March 21 [...]

Indoor dining allowed from 15th March subject to the review on 10th March.”

The NCOC also allowed cinemas and shrines to reopen from March 15, with coronavirus guidelines in place.

“Wearing of masks, social distancing, smart lockdowns will continue and will be ensured,” the body said. The NCOC also increased the number of spectators attending Pakistan Super League (PSL) pool matches to 50pc from the present 20pc and permitted full attendance during play-offs with stringent standard operating procedures.

However, these relaxations would be subject to review and may be reimposed should the positivity ratio rise once more.

Meanwhile, as many as 64 more patients died of coronavirus in Pakistan during the last 24 hours while 1,361 new virus cases emerged, PPI reported. The country-wide death toll from the virus has surged to 12,772 so far since the outbreak of the disease in February.

According to a Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation, and Coordination report issued on Thursday a total of 575,941 people have been tested positive for the coronavirus disease in the country since its outbreak in February 2020.

Out of this, 257,089 cases were in Sindh, 169,474 in Punjab, 19,010 in Balochistan, 71,490 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 43,901 in Islamabad, 4,955 in Gilgit-Baltistan, and 10,022 in Azad Kashmir. However, 539,888 patients have recovered from the disease so far. As many as 2.4 million new infections were reported globally which was an 11 per cent decline compared to the previous week, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported. This marks the sixth consecutive week wherein the world witnessed a fall in the total number of cases.

“This brings the global cumulative

Pakistan, India agree on ‘strict observance’ of LoC ceasefire ContInueD froM pAge 01 Talking to a news channel, ISPR director general Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar said: “There have been contacts between India and Pakistan on a hotline level since 1987. Frequently, the DGMOs of both countries stay in contact through this established mechanism.”

He said that from 2014, there was a spike in ceasefire violations along the LoC. But both the DGMOs have agreed that the existing 2003 understanding should be implemented in letter and spirit, he said. Both officials have agreed on making it sustainable and have expressed the intention to act on it, he said, recalling that there have been more than 13,500 ceasefire violations since 2003 which have claimed the lives of 310 citizens and injured 1,600.

He said that there is a great difference in the number of ceasefire violations and casualties between 2003-2013 and after 2014.

In 2020 alone, Indian small arms, and mortar fire and artillery shells killed at least 28 civilians and wounded 257 more in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), according to a Foreign Office (FO) count.

Since January 1, Indian troops have violated the ceasefire at least 175 times, hurting eight civilians.

“92 per cent of the figures shared occurred between 2014 and 2021,” Gen Iftikhar said, adding that 49 women and 26 children have been martyred in the last four years.

The chief military spokesperson recalled that 2019 witnessed the most ceasefire violations while 2018 had the most casualties. “After the understanding between the two countries, it has been agreed to implement the 2003 ceasefire in letter and spirit,” he said.

It remains unclear what prompted the two militaries to initiate the development, but Pakistan has been urging the international community to urge India to resume dialogue with it to ensure lasting peace in the region.

In January, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, in an interview with Al Jazeera, had said the “onus” of resuming talks was on India, demanding that illegal measures of August 2019 that New Delhi had taken in occupied Kashmir be reversed.

MOVE AIMED AT ‘EASING’ SITUATION FOR CIVILIANS: An official in New Delhi said the cessation was partly aimed at easing the fraught situation for civilians living along the border, who are regularly caught in the crossfire.

“We are cautiously optimistic that the violence levels and tensions along the LoC will come down,” the official said, declining to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.

But India will not ease up on deployments along the LoC that aim to stop infiltration or counterinsurgency operations in the Kashmir valley, the official said. With additional input from Reuters, AP, APP

numbers to 110.7m cases and over 2.4m deaths since the start of the pandemic,” the report read. The government launched a nationwide vaccination campaign on February 3, with more than 400,000 doctors and frontline healthcare workers, teachers and social workers being covered in the first phase because they run the highest risk of exposure to the contagious disease.

As per the roll-out plan, the second phase, due to start from March 1, will focus exclusively on citizens over the age of 65, who generally face a higher mortality risk from the virus, and all remaining healthcare workers, while the general public would be accommodated in the third phase.

Pakistan received its first tranche of the Sinopharm jabs, given by China as a “gift”, earlier this month. The shipment marked the first shots to be imported into the country where more than 564,077 cases of the disease have been reported since the outbreak in February last.

In addition, the government is due to receive a further 1.1 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine by the end of this month, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had announced in January.

accountability, transparency, legitimacy, fairness, inclusion and equity.

He called for reflecting the said “values” in all national and international financial instruments, institutions and transactions – and particularly in those bodies which address illicit financial flows.

Asking for improvement of global financial governance, the premier stressed for implementing policies on illicit flows in a coordinated and coherent way by national and international institutions and bodies.

“International bodies dealing with tax matters, corruption and illicit financing should be inclusive and representative. They should not be used as instruments of pressure and coercion against developing countries,” he underscored.

He said that a global forum, under the UN, should coordinate all bodies dealing with the technical, legal and political aspects of illicit financial flows. It should incorporate a mechanism to adjudicate and mediate disputes on issues relating to illicit financial flows, he added. “It’s now time to act on the recommendations of the FACTI Panel.

Pakistan will be happy to join in proposing the adoption of the FACTI Panel Report by the United Nations Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly.”

He also assured the world community that Pakistan would work actively with all likeminded countries to realise the said vital objectives.

DgMos hotline contact to help control cfvs along loc: isPr Dg ISLAMABAD: Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Babar Iftikhar on Thursday said that the hotline contact between the Directors General Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two neighbouring countries would help control ceasefire violations (CFVs) along the Line of Control (LoC). Talking to a private news channel, he said that the military-to-military hotline mechanism between India and Pakistan, which dated back to 1987, remained effective from 2003 till 2013. Since 2014, there had been persistent rise in ceasefire violations (CFVs) by the Indian forces. Now, both sides realised that the DGMOs hotline contact mechanism should be fully implemented in letter and spirit to avoid human and other losses, he added. The hotline contact was imperative to avoid any unusual situation and misunderstanding on the LoC, he further said.

Replying to a question, Major General Iftikhar said that Pakistan had overcome terrorism through Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad. Expressing satisfaction, he said that there had been effective improvement in overall security situation across the country. To another question, he said that the countries took decisions keeping in view regional dynamics and acclimatizing situation. As far as Pakistan’s Armed Forces action was concerned, he said, they respond in a befitting manner to any unusual activity. STAFF REPORT

Pakistan faces an unexpected dilemma: too much electricity KArACHI AGENCIES

After suffering decades of electricity shortages that left families and businesses in the dark, Pakistan finds itself with a new problem: more electrical generating capacity than it needs.

Large-scale construction of new power plants -- largely coal-fired ones funded by China -- has dramatically boosted the country’s energy capacity.

“It’s true. We are producing much more than we need,” Tabish Gauhar, special assistant to the prime minister on power, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by telephone.

But even as supply surges, electric power is still not reaching up to 50 million people in Pakistan who need it, according to a 2018 World Bank report, though the expansion of transmission lines is planned.

Power outages also remain common, with a transmission problem just last month leaving many of the country’s major cities in the dark.

Excess fossil fuel energy capacity also is boosting electricity costs -- and raising questions about whether the country will now manage to achieve its climate change goals, with scientists saying coal needs to rapidly disappear from the world’s energy mix to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.

RENEWABLES AIM? Last year, Prime Minister Imran Khan promised that Pakistan by 2030 would produce 60 percent of its electrical power from renewable sources.

Currently, the country gets 64 percent of its electricity from fossil fuels, with another 27 percent from hydropower, 5 percent from nuclear power and just 4 percent from renewables such as solar and wind, Gauhar said.

The country has already scrapped plans for two Chinese-funded coal plants -- but another seven commissioned as part of the sweeping China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project have gone ahead, and

are expected to add up to 6,600 megawatts of capacity to the grid.

China has also funded new renewable energy but at a smaller scale, with six wind farms set to generate just under 400 MW of power, a 100 MW solar project and four hydropower plants expected to produce 3,400 MW by 2027.

CPEC aims to boost road, rail and air transport links and trade between China, Pakistan and other countries in the region, as well as boosting energy production.

Vaqar Zakaria, the head of Hagler Bailly Pakistan, an environmental consultancy firm based in Islamabad, said Pakistan’s coal-heavy power expansion was in line with its own former national aims.

“I think blaming the Chinese may not entirely be fair as setting up projects on local and imported coal was our country policy and priority,” he said.

Officials at the Chinese embassy in Islamabad did not respond to calls and emails asking for comment.

04

Friday, 26 February, 2021

NEWS

Senate elections: All candidates for technocrat, general seats win unopposed in Punjab LAHORE INP

All the candidates for the technocrat and general seats of Punjab in the Senate elections have won unopposed, according to the Punjab Election Commission (PEC). A statement issued by the PEC said that the candidates of all parties from Punjab have won the technocrat and general seats unopposed.

Sources said that Azam Nazir Tarar, Syed Ali Zafar, Dr Zarqa, Sadia Abbasi, Sajid Mir, Irfan-ul-Haq Siddiqui, Ejaz Chaudhry, Aun Abbas, Saifullah Sarwar Niazi and Kamil Ali Agha have won the Senate seats from Punjab.

Afnanullah Khan, son of late Mushahidullah Khan, has also been elected as Senator. They also said that Azeem-ul-Haq Minhas and Saiful Malook Khokhar had withdrawn their nomination papers. The notification is likely to be issued soon in this regard.

ISLAMABAD

BuzdAr APProveS rS28Bn for fIve moTHer & CHIld HoSPITAlS LAHORE TLTP

P

UNJAB Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has approved the construction of mother & childcare hospitals in Attock, Layyah, Rajanpur, Bahawalnagar and Sialkot with an estimated amount of Rs28 billion.

The chief minister gave the approval while chairing a meeting on Thursday, which reviewed the progress on different health projects. Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid, the P&D chairman, the secretaries of health and finance departments, and some others attended the meeting.

Buzdar said that the foundation stones of five hospitals will be laid soon to complete the hospitals within two years to provide the best healthcare facilities to the patients. He directed to settle related aspects without delay and announced to personally monitor the progress, besides informing that no shortage of funds will occur for these projects.

The CM said that around 7.5 million people of more

than 60 years age will be administered the anti-corona vaccine from March 8. “Special centres will be set up in districts with necessary facilities and I will also visit such facilities,” he added.

The meeting was informed that 47,000 frontline health workers have been vaccinated and 225,000 others have been registered.

The CM directed to expedite the vaccination process and appreciated the role played by health professionals.

He instructed the health department to deliberate over the proposal of setting up a prefabricated hospital in Lahore and submit recommendations without delay.

Separately, Buzdar said the foundation of a transparent Pakistan has been laid under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

In a statement, the chief minister asserted that the PTI-led government is most transparent in the history of the country and pointed out that not a single scandal has been exposed in its two and a half years tenure. “Those engaged in the spate of political aspersions have no future and they must realize that the people cannot be served through hollow claims,” he added.

The CM advised the Opposition to look into its own matters before levelling baseless allegations on others and maintained that the rejected elements criticise the government for the sake of some political gains.

Buzdar emphasised that practical steps have been taken by the incumbent government for public welfare.

“Pakistan has been bestowed with an honest and trustworthy leader in the shape of Imran Khan and the performance of the PTI government is better than the previous governments,” he stressed.

The chief minister said the rejected elements are busy hatching conspiracies against the government from the day first but their tricks have been failed due to the blessings of Almighty Allah and the support of the masses. “The Opposition is not serious even in the prevailing circumstances, when every patriotic Pakistani is duty-bound to prioritise the national interest. The Opposition is following a personal agenda,” he regretted.

“The nation demands unity as Pakistan is the only identity of all of us but the PDM is trying to fulfil the enemy’s agenda by spreading chaos in the country,” the CM concluded.

SHC declares PTI’s Abro eligible to contest Senate polls KARACHI TLTP

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday declared Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Saifullah Abro eligible to contest the upcoming Senate elections. The nomination papers of Abro for a technocrat seat of the Senate from Sindh were earlier rejected by an appellate tribunal. However, the SHC set aside the decision of the election tribunal.

Earlier, Advocate Makhdoom Ali Khan pleaded Abro’s challenge to the rejection of his nomination papers in the SHC. “The election tribunal has misinterpreted the national achievements,” Abro’s counsel argued. “You should convince the court about the candidate’s national achievements,” Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar, a member of the two-judge bench of the court, said. “Apart of 13 projects, other schemes were also completed by my client in partnership,” the counsel said. “Abro was awarded top performance certificates. He has completed various projects, including flyovers and bridges. He has also built a railway line, the Kotri industrial area project, a part of the Larkana city flyover project, and some railway line bridges in Kashmore and Khairpur,” the counsel further said. Abro had filed nomination papers on a PTI ticket to contest the Senate election from Sindh on a technocrat seat. His nomination paper was approved by the returning officer before its rejection in the appellate tribunal of the high court.

KARACHI: A view of traffic jam on a busy road in the provincial capital. PPI

Maryam spreading misconceptions against ECP, institutions: Firdous LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz is spreading hatred in the people for gaining some political mileage against the government and she has even resorted to spreading misconceptions against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the state institutions.

These views were expressed by the Special Assistant to CM while addressing a press conference outside the Punjab Assembly on Thursday.

Dr Firdous said that the government is duty-bound to inform the people about the facts when some political pygmies spread lies, adding that the ECP decision has sounded like a mortal blow to Maryam’s scathing narrative. She said that the credit goes to the PTI government that neither any children of a judge were taken hostage nor was any judge intimidated with money. Gone are the days when some chief minister used to dictate a judge via telephone and the tape was leaked afterwards.

The special assistant said the appli-

cant requested the ECP about some specific polling stations and the RO also requested for re-polling in some specific polling stations. Meanwhile, the PTI leadership is holding consultations about the decision of re-polling in the whole constituency. She regretted that the RO and the DMO violated the ECP rules and

acted as a PML-N facilitator in Daska.

After a detailed decision of the ECP, PTI will set its priorities, she said.

The SACM disclosed that legal notice will be issued to Uzma Bukhari for levelling baseless allegations of rigging and she should bring out proof if there is any or she should tender an apology.

Uzma should remain ready to pay the fine if the apology is not tendered, she further said. The SACM reminded that Uzma’s father was a lawyer of Raymond Davis.

To a question, Dr Firdous said that Prime Minister Imran Khan proposed to hold re-polling on 23 polling stations. Regrettably, the political cabal used big money and a section of media to make the election process controversial. “I know who is more loyal than the king and who is providing oxygen to the dying politics of PML-N,” she said.

The PML-N has followed the policy of giving respect to money by giving a vote to Yousaf Raza Gillani and what would be the fate of the local body election if the ECP will make its rules hostage to the whims of some candidates. She said that Maryam has again shown her ardent attachment with Indian PM Modi by using the notorious quotation of an antiPakistan Indian movie and the same was repeated by Modi.

Maryam is perplexed over the neutrality of the umpire because the Sharif family is used to a partisan approach of institutions in politics. The credit goes to PM Imran that the ECP is acting as an autonomous and independent state institution, said the SACM.

Friday, 26 February, 2021

ISLAMABAD

Moeed denies bAckchAnnel TAlks wiTh dovAl yielded icebreAker iSLamaBad

A

TLTP

DvISOR to the PM on National Security Dr Moeed Yusuf has dismissed the Indian media reports, claiming that Thursday’s icebreaker in the acrimonious relations between New Delhi and Islamabad is the result of some backchannel diplomacy.

Dr Yusuf’s statement came hours after top military officials from Pakistan and India spoke on phone and agreed to ensure strict observance of a 2003 truce along the Line of Control (LoC) where troops from both sides have frequently exchanged light and heavy weapon fire.

“I have seen claims by Indian media that attribute today’s ceasefire announcement between Pakistani and Indian DGMOs [director general military operations] to backchannel diplomacy between me and the Indian NSA [National Security Adviser],” Dr Moeed wrote in a series of tweets on his verified Twitter handle.

“This is baseless. No such talks have

taken place between me and Mr. Ajit Doval,” he added. He clarified that “the welcome development on the LoC is a result of discussions through the established channel of DGMOs”. “Obviously, these are by their very nature not in the public eye and done privately and professionally

through the direct channel,” he added.

Dr Moeed recalled that Pakistan has continued to call for the 2003 ceasefire agreement to be honoured and “I am glad we have reached the understanding. It must be followed in letter and spirit”.

Earlier, Indian newspaper Hindustan

Times claimed on the authority of “people aware of the matter” that the DGMOs contact came months after NSA Ajit Doval and his counterpart in Islamabad, Dr Moeed, initiated backchannel conversations to ensure peace along the LoC. Doval and Dr Moeed have been in touch directly and via interlocutors from the intelligence community, a person familiar with the negotiations told HT. “Moeed Yusuf later confirmed that the two countries had been making efforts behind the scenes,” it claimed.

The joint statement is the first outcome of these conversations that included at least one face-to-face meeting in a third country, the person cited above said. He added that only a small group of top government leaders including union home minister Amit Shah, defence minister Rajnath Singh and external affairs minister S Jaishankar were aware of the details of the talks.

Officials said Thursday’s joint statement could be the first of the many steps that the two countries may take over the next few months to normalise relations, one step at a time.

ECP declares Daska by-poll void, orders re-election continued from page 01 He said that it was an unprecedented decision in the history of the country, which exemplified the truth that the state institutions were completely independent.

Dar added that in the past the PML-N, especially Hamza Shehbaz, used to influence the by-elections by sitting in the particular constituencies.

He said that the PML-N did not claim rigging in those constituencies where they won the by-elections such as Nowshera and Wazirabad.

Interestingly enough, on the day of the so-called rigging, PML-N vP Maryam Nawaz shared videos which she claimed were proof of the vote theft. The videos, shared on Twitter, were not limited merely Daska.

The PTI leader said that they would discuss the order of ECP with their legal team, adding the detailed decision was yet to come.

Earlier, referring to the uproar of PML-N on NA-75 by-polls results, Dar said that it had designed a “story-

board” of rigging to strengthen its anti-state narrative.

He said that the political role of Maryam had been fully exposed as she blamed the state institutions for her party’s apparent defeat in the Daska by-polls. She was trying to make the state institutions controversial to get the results of her own choice, he added.

He also said that the PTI lawyer had submitted before the ECP evidence that the PML-N candidate Nosheen Iftikhar had no objection to the results of 337 polling stations of the Daska by-polls.

Dar maintained that the PML-N’s demand for reelection in the entire constituency was incomprehensible.

First, they called for opening 23 polling stations in the middle of the night and then the next day their demand relegated to 20 polling stations, he said.

With regard to the disappearance of the ECP staff from the constituency on the election day, the PTI leader said that the returning officer (RO) had admitted in the affidavit that neither they were disappeared nor were abducted rather they were late due to certain reasons.

He said out of 20 polling stations, results of six were even endorsed by the PML-N. The ROs had also been saying the same, he added.

Furthermore, he stated that if the Punjab government had used any state machinery in the by-polls, the results of the Wazirabad election would not have been as they were.

Dar stressed Prime Minister Imran always advocated for the free and fair elections, recalling his party’s struggle for the opening of four constituencies where it claimed that the elections of 2013 were not fair.

He said that PM Imran alone had made an offer for re-polling in 20 polling stations. The past regimes had not shown such moral courage, he added.

He said that he was confident that the decision of ECP would prove in favour of PTI’s stance. The party would accept the ECP decision, he added.

PTI candidate from Daska, Ali Asjad Malhi, said that he had gained 50,000 more votes in the by-polls as compared to the previous elections.

NEWS

05

Pakistan to remain on FATF grey list till June continued from page 01 The Ministry of Finance reaffirms its commitment to continue strengthening the AML/CFT regime in line with global standards. In its previous meeting in December, the body said Islamabad had now reached 21 targets out of 27 set for it in 2018 — when Pakistan was placed on the list of countries with inadequate controls over money laundering — and urged it to complete the plan by February. Starting February 21, the global dirty money watchdog engaged in a four-day virtual meeting to discuss, among other matters, the status of Pakistan after a review of the measures it has taken to combat the menace of ill-gotten money. The meetings were hosted in Paris and multiple countries, including Pakistan, will come under review. Officials familiar with the developments had – prior to the statement – expressed strong confidence that Pakistan would finally be removed from the list “if the decisions are taken on merit”. Despite active Indian lobbying, few analysts expected Pakistan to be blacklisted, which so far includes only Iran and North Korea. A minimum of three votes by FATF members are required to avoid the blacklist and Pakistan enjoys the unwavering support of Malaysia, Turkey, and its all-weather friend China. While it has strong allies among the 37member countries that make up FATF, Russian and US support was critical to being removed from the grey list. The government has lately been pushing through tougher legislation and other measures to ward off blacklisting by the watchdog which means it would be shunned by international financial institutions. Last year, the government got three laws — the Anti-Money Laundering (second amendment) Bill-2020, Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) (third amendment) Bill-2020, and Islamabad Capital Territory Waqf Properties Bill2020 — passed in a joint sitting of Parliament. In recent months, law enforcement agencies have cracked down on hardline religious groups — especially Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its welfare arms, Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) and Falah-e-Insanyat — and on their sources of income, arresting, trying, and convicting several of their members and leaders. “To date, Pakistan has made progress across all action plan items and has now largely addressed 21 of the 27 action items,” a statement issued by the global watchdog in December had said. Pakistan had already complied with the six recommendations and also submitted details to the FATF Secretariat, reports suggest. The progress would come under evaluation during the upcoming meetings.

Of Proverbs, History, and a Palingenetic Epic Syed afSar Sajid Title: ‘Mataloona - Pukhtun Proverbs and Mizh - A Frontier Classic’ Compiled and Edited by: Akbar S. Ahmed Published by: Oxford University Press, Karachi Pages: 198 – Price: Rs.795/Title: ‘Bibi Mubarika and Babur’ Author: Sahibzada Riaz Noor Published by: Dost Publications, Street 15, I-9/2, Islamabad Pages:122 – Price: Rs.500/-

Akbar S. Ahmed is an eminent former Pakistani bureaucrat turned diplomat, poet, anthropologist, filmmaker, researcher, Islamic scholar and teacher. He has taught at prestigious universities like Cambridge, Princeton, and Harvard, and presently he occupies the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University in Washington. He has a vast but variegated experience of serving in the Tribal Areas and Balochistan. Among a miscellany of illustrious writings, he also has to his credit a graphic novel on the Quaid. His compilation ‘Mataloona – Pukhtun Proverbs and Mizh – A Frontier Classic’ (being reviewed here) is a step forward to understanding Waziristan and the Tribal Areas of Pakistan.

Sahibzada Riaz Noor is also a famed excivil servant turned poet with two verse collections in English to his credit, the first being ‘The Dragonfly & Other Poems’ while the second, an epic titled ‘Bibi Mubarika and Babur’ which is also the subject of this review.

‘Mataloona Pukhtoon Proverbs and Mizh - a Frontier ClassiC’ In the foreword to the work, the compiler explains that it comprises two small books first published by OUP in the 1970s; the first is a collection of Pukhtun proverbs (original and translated) while the second, a monograph on the Mahsud tribe by Sir Elvyn Howell (1877-1971), a British

scholar-cum-civil servant posted to Waziristan in the first decade of the past century.

The dictionary defines a proverb (‘masal’ in Urdu and ‘matal’ in Pukhto) as ‘a condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people’. Thus it is a representer of values embedded in the language, culture, custom, peculiar habits, morals and traditions of a people inhabiting an intra-contiguous geographical entity besides reflecting a great deal of their ‘social thinking’ (as viewed by Shoaib Sultan Khan, a renowned pioneer of rural uplift in the region). The compiler claims that he spent ‘many an evening looking for the most exact translation of each Pukhto proverb or finding the nearest equivalent from other cultures; there are Arabic, Russian, Chinese, and Spanish proverbs and there is even Shakespeare. The diversity of sources establishes the scope, span, and sophistication of the Pukhto proverbs’.

Sir Olaf Caroe of Sussex (UK) (18921981), a one-time Governor of the NWFP has written the Preface to the book. Cracking

an anecdote relating to his tenure of service in the area, once his teacher of the Pukhto language Qazi Rahimullah of Abdara told him that ‘an ability to quote the apt matal-proverb is one way to the heart of the Pukhtoon. And so it proved once with an angry Mohmand jirga at Shabqadar, who turned from scowls to smile when told that patience is bitter but its fruit is sweet’.

(Translation of a Pukhto proverb).

The book is a compendium, as it were, of as many as 153 mataloona in their native as well as English versions. The compiler seems to have taken pains to collect, edit, and correlate them to contemporary multilingual but cross-cultural jargons where necessary, bespeaking his vast but variegated learning and experience.

Part II of the book is titled ‘Mizh’ which is a monograph on government’s relations with the Mahsud tribe by Evelyn Howell, Resident in Waziristan (1924-26). It is purported to be a confidential document which stipulates ‘how to deal --- or not to deal --with tribes in the modern world’. The compilation is thus meant ‘to dispel the idea that Pukhtun culture somehow lacks cultural sensitivity and sophistication’. The writer politely vilipends those public functionaries serving in that region who have ‘little idea of Pukhtuns’, deeming them as ‘backward and primitive’. He cites the example of Howell and Caroe who being aliens learned the local language and tried to adjust themselves to the creed, custom, and culture of the native populace. As notable exceptions, he mentions the names of Ghulam Qadir Khan Daur, Sahibzada Riaz Noor, and Ejaz Rahim as scholar-administrators of repute having served in Frontier Province (now KPK) for lifetimes. The latter two for their savvy literary-cum-administrative insight and acumen are likened to Howell and Caroe by the compiler who himself being an ace scholar-administrator, had had a distinguished service career in the NWFP and the adjoining Tribal Areas besides Balochistan, graduating to Pakistan’s High Commissioner to the UK and

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finally diverting to professorship at some topranking universities of the world. ‘bibi Mubarika and babar’ This is a palingenetic epic in English, in the Homeric tradition. An epic may be defined as a long narrative poem about events in the past, often involving gods or kings and queens. The chief actors in the ‘drama’ are the Mughal Emperor Babur (1483-1530) and his Pukhtun wife Bibi Mubarika (m. 1519) (d.1531), a scion of the Yousafzai tribe.

Famed writers and intellectuals Akbar Ahmad and Ejaz Rahim have contributed thought-provoking forewords to the monumental work. Sahibzada Riaz Noor in Akbar Ahmad’s opinion seems to have been enamoured by Babur’s valour and strategic skills, poetic genius, versatility, cultural and architectural pursuits, and last but not least, his humanity.

Ejaz Rahim views this work as an ensemble of ‘craft, realism and romanticism, imagination and empathy, and a constant strand of humanism’. Sahibzada Riaz Noor, according to the former has ‘picked up aesthetic courage in choosing a tale from

Mughal annals to produce an epic full of human significance and contemporary relevance, as well as philosophical universality’.

The use of quatrain as a vehicle of expression lends the poem an air of interlingual proximity to the reigning oriental languages viz. Urdu, Persian and Arabic.

The poem bears an inimitable splendour of description and delineation of natural scenery and human character. Grace and generosity were the hallmark of Babur’s character. Bibi Mubarika, his fifth spouse, was a paragon of temperance, self-esteem, and fidelity. The poem is rich in imagery, sentiment, and a historicist stance generic to its theme. The quadrilateral structure and shape of its stanzas with unrhymed lines of varying length consorted with the rhythmic nuances of accent and stresses in changing metrical patterns add to the sonic splendour, as also the contextual import, of the poem.

The epic as a poetic form has traversed across the ages encompassing Homer (‘Iliad’ and ‘Odyssey’), valmiki (‘Ramayana’), vyasa (‘Mahabharata’), Ovid (‘Metamorphoses’), virgil (‘Aeneid’), Ferdowsi (‘Shahname’), Dante (‘Divine Comedy’), Milton (‘Paradise Lost’), Byron (‘Don Juan’), Hafeez Jalandhari (‘Shahnama-e-Islam’) down to Ejaz Rahim (‘Gardens of Secrets Revisited’) and Shibzada Riaz Noor (‘Bibi Mubarika and Babur’) in different languages of the world. Ejaz Rahim is of the view that ‘Sahibzada Riaz Noor achieves success through three elements ---- convincing characterisation, artistically portraying the ambience of the times, and skilful fusion of poetic form and language’. He goes on to say that ‘the great challenge of writing an epic today is that it must not only recall or recover the past but also allure and convey a sense of the present’, and that ‘an epic is not a mere recollection; it has to be a rebirth, a renaissance’.

All said, the two books are likely to draw a host of keen but discreet readers to read and appreciate them in both their resemblance as well as divergence.

Friday, 26 February, 2021

06 COMMENT

The Caliph-less century

A display of Imran Khan’s diplomatic skills

The centenary of an absence

After Afghanistan, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka-Pakistan relations have been cordial ever since the former’s independence in 1948. The two countries came closer during the three decades of the Tamil Tiger’s insurgency as Pakistan provided regular military assistance in the form of intelligence, weapons and training to the Sri Lankan army. After the formation of SAARC in 1985 Pakistan-Sri Lankan economic ties were further strengthened. Currently Pakistan is Sri Lanka’s second largest trading partner in South Asia after India.

Prime Minister Imran Khan was already known in Sri Lanka where he had played cricket matches during the height of the insurgency. During his recent visit, he had to face two embarrassments. First, his address to the Sri Lankan Parliament was canceled. Then his meeting with a group of Sri Lankan Muslim parliamentarians was called off. Mr Khan’s offer to Sri Lanka to benefit from the CPeC got no immediate response either. he expressed readiness to resolve differences with India through talks.

Surprisingly Mr Khan forgot to mention Siachen and Sir Creek which are among major Pak-India disputes while maintaining that Kashmir issue was the sole cause of conflict in the region. Undeterred by snubs from the Gulf where he had tried to mediate between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Mr Khan again expressed confidence that Pakistan could play a part in reducing tensions between the USA and China.

Mr Khan offered a $50 million credit line to Sri Lanka for defence ties. There was also an agreement to expand security sector cooperation while maintaining the existing mechanism to curb illegal drug trafficking, arms smuggling and other illegal activities. What could bring the people of the two countries closer are agreements to provide Rs 52 million for the promotion of sports in Sri Lanka, 100 scholarships in the field of medicines (MBBS and BDS) and plans to establish an Asian Civilisation and Culture Centre at the University of Peradeniya. Also the five MoUs related to sports, investment and cooperation between the top universities and centres of excellence of the two countries. But these require a follow-up to ensure that the MoUs are really implemented. Keeping in view the past performance of the PTI administration there is a likelihood of Mr Khan and his team once again getting absorbed in the ongoing domestic strife, forgetting the MoUs signed in Sri Lanka.

At Penpoint M A NIAZI

W

hen exactly did the Caliphate come to an end? The abolition by the Turkish Grand national Assembly took place on 3 March 1924, which corresponded to 30 Rajab 1342. The official calendar of the Osmanli Caliphate, and for the beginning of the succeeding Turkish Republic, was the Rumi calendar, which corresponded to the Gregorian calendar, but which began with the hijra. According to it, the date was 3 Mart 1340. Like the Osmanlis, the Rumi calendar has ended up on the dust heap of history. This calendar had been introduced during the Tanzimat reforms in 1840.

The hijri calendar seems most appropriate for the abolition of an institution so inextricably bound up with Islam. Therefore, it seems appropriate to mark the centenary of its abolition on 30 Rajab 1442, which will fall next Friday (if the month runs to 30 days), rather than 3 March 2024, which will also be 3 Mart 2340.

When the Caliphate was abolished, the Osmanli Sultan had become just one among the monarchs of europe. Yet the prestige of the office was such that it caused widespread upheavals in the entire Muslim world, and there was a Khilafat.

Movement in India. The Ali Brothers, who led this Movement, were put on trial for a sin the Raj deemed unforgivable: trying to suborn the loyalty of Indian Muslim troops, through a pamphlet they tried to distribute among Indian troops heading for deployment in the Middle eastAt this point, the Osmanli Caliphate had lost World War I. Perhaps nothing illustrates the changed position of the Caliphate than Osmanli participation in the War, where it was one of three Allies, along with Germany and Austria. The upheaval was not because the Osmanli Sultanate was abolished, but that the Caliphate had been.

The Caliphate, at that point, had been a continuously held office, which dated back to the passing of the holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon him), after whom it was instituted. The first four Caliphs are described as Rightly Guided, and were all Companions of the holy Prophet (PBUh). Though all belonged to the Quresh, they were not related to one another, and it was left to the Umayyid dynasty to introduce the hereditary principle.

The Umayyids were ousted forcibly the Abbasids.

Theyy held the Caliphate the longest, from 750 AD,

Catching Ehsan

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he DG ISPR, Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar, has said that the officers responsible for the escape of former Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman ehasanullah ehsan have been acted against, and efforts to arrest him are being made afresh. ehsan managed to escape last year after three tears in custody, from the Islamabad safe house where he was being kept, by the simple expedient of going out of the house and catching a taxi. Where he got his family, where he got travel documents, is not known, but then he turned up in Turkey. he dropped out of sight there, until his recent tweets threatening Malala Yousufzai, who had complained to the Pakistani military about this her 2012 shooting, and the 2014 APS attack, are the highlights of the acts of terrorism Mr ehsan confessed to being involved in after his capture in 2017.

General Iftikhar may reflect international concern about the threats Ms Yousafzai has received, At the time of Mr ehsan’s escape, the Interior Minister was Brigadier (retd) ejaz Shah, the Musharraf-era DG Intelligence Bureau, and at the time, there was widespread amazement that on his watch it transpired that such a high-profile prisoner should manage to escape, and that too in such a simple manner. Mr ehsan’s tweets and audio recordings upon his escape had created the patently false image of a serious dereliction of duty by agencies. It further boggles the mind that it is beyond them to find out where Mr ehsan had disappeared too after his last sighting almost a year ago.

This raises the question of whether the agencies are more focused on its real task of intelligence gathering or on those that a well outside their mandated role. It would be more purposeful if it would focus on maintaining security and on finding out information that would allow General Iftikhar to come good on his claim that Mr ehsan would be arrested again, though it is still not clear how someone outside the country could be arrested.

It would also help settle the secret-ballot issue for Senate polls FAhAd SIddIque

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OSePh Stalin had said that the decision of an election is not made by the voters but by those who count the votes. Since Stalin was the guardian of the Russian communist system where elections were not held, his statement was considered a satire on democracy in his day, but at one point people were forced to think that Stalin was right.

If you look at Pakistan’s electoral system, especially the recent by-elections, Stalin’s point seems to be correct. In nA-75, where 20 polling officers mysteriously went missing, including ballot boxes, the whole system looks like a mess. What is the solution? The answer is very straightforward and simple. In this advanced age of technology, the solution is very simple. You may have noticed that scams and widespread corruption in land records have been eliminated because wherever land records have been computerized in Punjab, no Patwari or Tehsildar can afford to own the property of a widow or illiterate woman. Get your name fraudulently. This leaves the question of who is responsible for this deed. history cannot be denied. Whenever it comes to computerization of land records, the name of Shahbaz Sharif will come up.

Taunsa is considered to be the most backward tehsils of Pakistan and this is probably one of the reasons why Usman Buzdar was made the Chief Minister. If you go to a small mobile shop there and want to buy a SIM, the shopkeeper in this 8x8 feet shop also has a nADRA biometric machine that will check your thumb, and if it matches the nADRA record then your SIM will be issued. The shopkeeper who is verifying may be a matric failure.

This is the perfection of technology.

Despite the fact that technology has become so common in our society, our government is still holding elections in a centuries-old ballot box manner, while e-voting has started in our neighboring country India since 1998. Many Indian states have adopted a series of electronic voting methods, especially in sensitive constituencies. It is not possible to cast a fake vote in this process. even if the

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor Managing Editor

Joint Editor

Umar Aziz Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

The writer is a member of staff.

E-voting: the only solution to Fraud

The dramatic escape of the TTP spokesman re-echoes

Yousaf Nizami Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

when it replaced the Ummayyids to 1516, when it handed over to the Osmanlis. It was also the dynasty which experienced the greatest decline of the office, and some sacralisation. It should be noted that the Caliphate was not a religious office like the Papacy.

True, the Caliph was a requirement, but that was because all human activity was supposed to be governed

by Islam, and that included how society was to be ruled.

The Caliph was supposed to be for all Muslims, which meant they were supposed to part of the same state. This was the pattern under the Rightly Guided Caliphs, the Ummayids and the early Abbasids. But it is possible to see a decline in this control under the Abbasids. The first part of the Caliphate not to obey the Caliph was Spain, where an Ummayyid Prince fled and became an independent Amir. More typical were the Tulunid rulers of egypt, who never claimed to be anything more than the Caliphs’ walis, or governors, but who not only remained in office for long periods, but where son succeeded father.

This fiction was virtually all that the Abbasid Caliphs were left with, as the institution passed through a period where Caliphs were made and unmade, sometimes assassinated, and even dragged through the streets of Baghdad. however, Caliphs were apparently needed as a means of legitimation.

This might explain why the institution was revived after the first fell, in 1258, when the Abbasid Caliph was killed with an estimated 90,000 others. The Caliphate remained vacant for three years, until in 1261, an Abbasid claimant was installed in Cairo, and was maintained by the Mamluk rulers of egypt. It was this Cairo Caliphate the Sultans of Delhi had to do with, who legitimated their rule as their governors.

The theory was that the local ruler was one of the Caliph’s governors. Increasingly, the governor happened to be a Turk military man. In fact, the Mamluk rulers of egypt kept the Caliph on hand to legitimate them when the favoured means of transfer of power was carried out, which was a military coup. Ultimately, the Turkish military man par excellence, the Ottoman Sultan, swept aside the Mamluks and conquered egypt. he took the Abbasid Caliph with him to Istanbul, deposed him and became Caliph himself.

A major change came when the Mughal emperor did not bother obtaining that legitimation. The emperor Akbar claimed to be Caliph in his kingdom, but not anywhere else. It was with the end of the Mughal dynasty in the 1857 War of Independence that Muslims in India had to deal with the bare minimum issue.

They needed to acknowledge a Caliph in the Friday

sermons, so that the prayers would be valid. Thus at the time that the Caliphate was at its lowest ebb, something shown by its continuous loss of territory in europe, the British suddenly developed an interest in the preservation of the Caliphate, because of their Indian Muslim subjects. They had other interests in the Caliphate, but then came the Sykes-Picot Agreement.

Perhaps the Jewish homeland issue showed why the Caliphate had to be abolished, apart from any residual Crusader sentiments (which could not be ignored, not with the prevalence of evangelicalism in the British Army in the Victorian era). Sultan Abdul hamid II refused the Zionist offer to pay off the Osmanli national debt in return for Palestine. The British and French promised a Jewish homeland, but that would require the break-up of the Osmanli state. That is what happened, though its demise had been predicted long before.

At present, with nationalism the prevalent ideology, the restoration of the Caliphate seems risible. however, the OIC’s existence shows there is sufficient sense of Muslim unity that ex-colonial governments proffer it as a sort of substitute. A Caliphate would have much on its plate; Palestine, Kashmir, the Rohingya, the Uighur, Syria, the Kurds, Afghanistan, are all issues which it would have to deal with if it was to have any credibility.

It would not be restored if it was merely to perpetuate a dynasty. There is no restoration movement for the Ummayids, Abbassids or Osmanlis, for example. At the same time, a Caliph is not supposed to be a religious figure, a sort of Sunni pope. he would not have any religious function, just be a ruler following the Shariah. There has been an attempt to restore him as a terrorist group leader, as Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi was, but that didn’t work.

One side-effect would that it would help end terrorism. One of the characteristics of the Caliphate is that it monopolises the right to wage jihad. For example, that there should be jihad against the USA is a given, but the Caliph may decide that that should be later. he may decide on peace for another decade.

But he will not allow anyone to declare private jihad, as at present.

The Muslim world has never gone this long without a Caliph, and the fact reflects not just the forces arrayed against this (which include all governments), but also that Muslims do not value the institution. The Caliphate was monarchical in the age of monarchy, and it would have to win consent, even it be only minimal, in this age of democracy.

At the same time, perhaps there is more support for the idea than for the religious parties. The past few decades have seen socialism and now capitalism discredited among the masses, to the extent that there is a demand for Islam, not out of any sentiment, but in an attitude of ‘might as well try it, what is there to lose?’

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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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polling station is taken over, it is not possible to misuse the machines. This is a foolproof system.

Ballot boxes are rigged by putting extra paper, but the system of this machine is that you cannot cast more than 5 votes in one minute and before casting each vote, it is necessary that the polling officer press the button which allows a single vote to be cast later. A vote cannot be cast until the polling officer presses the next button. electronic voting machines, or eVMs, are currently in use in many countries of the world including the USA, the UK, India, Philippines, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, eU, Finland, France, Germany, Switzerland, Thailand, and many more other countries.

The question is why evoting has not been adopted in Pakistan till date. The obvious reason for this is the malice of the rulers. If e-voting is adopted in Pakistan, you will no longer need to form a caretaker government. In any case, caretaker governments are not formed other than Pakistan and Bangladesh. For this you must amend the Constitution. When the present government had difficulty in getting votes in the Senate, they went to the Supreme Court for a show of hands for an end to the secret ballot in the Senate elections, but to date no one has said that e-voting should be introduced here as well. e-voting

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

will save billions of rupees in election expenses, will eliminate the possibility of vote theft, will restore the confidence of the common man in democracy and will increase voter turnout.

Candidates will work in the constituency and try to get votes. Merit and transparency will be promoted and the concept of rule of law will be strengthened.

The role of the election Commission of India is more important than that of politicians in launching evoting in India. We have zero tradition of taking initiative in bureaucracy. Only our seats are saved in big posts here, so we are 25 years behind India in terms of e-voting.

To date, no political party has tried to talk about e-voting. Until that happens, polling stations will continue to be occupied. Servants will continue to die, and polling officers will continue to be abducted. not taking advantage of today’s modern technology for better governance is an argument of incompetence and incompetence. If this is not done, then in the future, the decision for evoting may have to be taken by the Supreme Court so that the pressure of electionrelated cases on the judiciary can be reduced. In the world we live in, we must look around to adapt to modern requirements.

To date, no political party has tried to talk about evoting. Until that happens, polling stations will continue to be occupied.

Servants will continue to die, and polling officers will continue to be abducted.

Not taking advantage of today’s modern technology for better governance is an argument of incompetence and incompetence. If this is not done, then in the future, the decision for e-voting may have to be taken by the Supreme Court so that the pressure of election-related cases on the judiciary can be reduced.

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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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The Writer can be fahadsiddique789987@gmail.com

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

reached

at

Friday, 26 February, 2021

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

Institute of Nation Building (‘’INB’’)

Women’s legal literacy and the struggle against gender based violence How a difference was made AishA sArwAri

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hen it comes to women’s rights in Pakistan, the key component that is missing is mass education of women on their legal rights. It is with this in mind that the Asian Development Bank initiated the Legal Literacy for Women project in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Pakistan is especially interesting because it is one of the worst performers on gender equality despite having had a woman prime minister and sizeable representation in legislative bodies.

In December 2019, the World economic Forum ranked Pakistan at 151 out of 153 countries and sevent in the region. It is the social framework that have kept women out of the economic pie with only 18 percent of Pakistan’s labour income going to women. In terms of literacy only 46 percent of Pakistan’s women are literate as opposed to 71 percent men. It is estimated that 94.5 years are required at the current pace to close the gender gap in political empowerment. One of the key reasons was identified as the male dominated legal system, which becomes a tool for patriarchy that is inherent in Pakistan. 32 percent women in Pakistan have experienced genderbased violence (GBV) in some form or the other, usually from their close family members and intimate partners.

The project took on capacity building for judges and lawyers by compiling a compendium of case law, both in english and local languages.

Training modules were designed to implement the existing GBV laws for stakeholders. Workshops were held on skills to respond to victims of GBV in an effective manner. A report was prepared on best practices and mediation skills.

Courses were designed on women’s rights and laws pertaining to GBV and an innovative outreach programme was designed and implemented. The problem that the project identified was that women do not see any justice, even if they try to raise their voice. Their families and society either shun them or if they finally find courage to report the incident, they are violated all over again by the legal and judicial systems.

This project attempted on providing an alternative way of thinking and positive awareness raising so women and other vulnerable genders can find their footing in the society.

For Pakistan this is a very important intervention. As mentioned above Pakistan needs to do something drastically different to quicken the pace with which it is closing the gender gap.

Pakistan’s economy is in shambles precisely because half its population is marginalized both socially and economically. 94.5 years is too long a time to close the gender gap when already 40 countries in the world have achieved gender parity. This gap also has to do with the pitiful access to justice that women face. Those countries have leapt ahead and Pakistan has no hope of catching up unless something drastic is done. Greater women literacy and greater awareness of their legal rights would be key to ensuring the lag women have been forced into can end, and it will not only rectify injustice faced by women but also lead to a just and equitable society where

economic progress can be achieved. The patriarchal mindset needs to be challenged which keeps women backwards and invisible in what is a conservative society. Without this Pakistan is likely to remain in shackles of patriarchy, which in turn thwarts its economic progress by putting numerous roadblocks in its way.

Therefore Irum, a former private sector corporate lawyer who had made a transition as a public sector development lawyer, led this important intervention. She convinced the Asian Development Bank (ADB) by showing them that without women’s inclusion in the economic and social life of a country no progress would be possible. The ADB is largely an infrastructure bank but Irum convinced them that without the women the infrastructure would benefit only 50 percent of the population. To her personally this meant that she could make a difference in lives.

This also required substantially that the project be important because it is addressing the causes of violence by educating legal and judicial service providers to women.

Irum says that this was achieved by emphasizing the dignity of humans in Islam, society, law, and practice. She says that women in our region have been suffering violence because both women and men believe that women are sub-humans, made for men, and a source of honour. She emphasizes that this is not just a women issue but is a human issue for without women’s participation, there can never be any progress.

The scope of the programme was eventually widened to include transgenders as well because that is another segment of society that is marginalized. Finally it encompassed the rights of children who are often abused in our society.

To its dismay the programme team found that majority of the judges (including women and men) said that (i) 90 percent of rape cases are false; (ii) when they said khula law is damaging sanctity of families, (iii) when they said that past conduct of a women and the way she dresses and speaks are relevant in deciding a rape case.

This mindset itself is responsible for the horrible treatment meted out to the women in courts.

Women do not see any justice, even if they to raise their voice. Their families and society either shun them or if they finally find courage to report the incident, they are violated all over again by the legal and judicial systems. The Program Team asked the judges and prosecutors some pointed questions: (i) why do they think the way they think today? (ii) They are the product of the same society and hence, they have unconscious biases, even if they think they don’t because they are upholding justice; (iii) they have been influenced by gender biased upbringing, education,

professional attitudes, media, and misinterpretation of religion and because of bigoted customs.

During these discussions the judges and prosecutors were sensitized to some key issues. Some of the key discussions revolved around the anatomy of a woman who has been raped and how the two-finger test is not efficacious in determining rape, because a wife could also be raped and so could a prostitute, essentially driving home the point that any non-consensual sex is rape. These judges and prosecutors were introduced to an alternative way of thinking and a new vocabulary emanating out of law, human rights and best practices that revolve around rape and GBV. Accordingly 300 judges and prosecutors were trained in Pakistan and working with the Lahore high Court Chief Justice, a special model court was created in Lahore for GBV. This was the first of its kind in Asia. Features such as a screen for the victim, provision for e-evidence using the tech and special facilitation for women with children, were added as mandatory part of the court structure. Procedure was also simplified to ensure that there was no miscarriage of justice on account of unnecessary delays. As a result convictions have gone up in rape cases from 2 percent to 16 percent, which is a major achievement, given the recent horrific incidents of rape in Pakistan. The cases here are fast tracked through modern techniques in evidence collection as well the alacrity with which such cases dealt in a fast docket. The Chief Justice of Pakistan also took note of this and the need for such courts in over 100 such courts in districts all around Pakistan was made part of the national Judicial Policy.

Irum says that this could not have done without the help of the stake holders especially the Chief Justice of Lahore high Court and district officers.

Similarly in Afghanistan over 100 prosecutors and judges were trained for capacity building especially with respect to GBV. The outreach was in the remotest of areas in Afghanistan despite security threats. It was an award winning initiative. As a result, Technical Assistance team won 2018 Financial Times Most Innovative Inhouse Legal Team Award and Innovation in Rule of Law and Access to Justice Award; ADB’s 2019 Governance Award for Outstanding Knowledge Sharing and Collaborative Initiatives; and 2017 ADB’s Vice President Award for exceptional Contributions to the Law and Policy Reform Work.

The cases here are fast tracked through modern techniques in evidence collection as well the alacrity with which such cases dealt in a fast docket. The Chief Justice of Pakistan also took note of this and the need for such courts in over 100 such courts in districts all around Pakistan was made part of the National Judicial Policy

The writer is is the Co-founder of Women’s Advancement Hub, a media company that advocates the rights of Pakistani women. She can be reached via Twitter @AishaFSarwari

TODAy marks a historic day where we witnessed the start of a new Chapter in the honour of our great Quaid with leaders from every walk of life & Government representatives joining at the Quaid e Azam house (the Flag Staff house) for discussing the next steps & our contribution for “Institute of nation Building” at the heart of the City of Quaid. The reception was co-hosted by Liaquat Merchant & Ikram Sehgal as joint Vice Chairman of the newly constituted Board of Management (BOM) for the Quaid-e-Azam house Museum (otherwise house as Flagstaff house) almost in the center of Karachi! BOM as a JV between Jinnah Society headed by its Chairman, Liaquat Merchant and Karachi Council on Foreign Affairs (KCFR) headed by its Chairman Ikram Sehgal. emergence of the Pakistan in 1947 was a mere shadow of what Quaidi-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah had wanted. It was Jinnah, who steered the Muslims of the Indian sub-continent during the most desperate times and enabled them to follow one cause amidst heavy odds to achieve independence. During his lifetime, he brought the wisdom to walk in the path of honour, the courage to follow his convictions, and an abiding compassion for others. he enriched us all by the nobility of his spirit.

Quaid-e-Azam is best described by Professor Stanley Wolpret in his book ‘Jinnah of Pakistan’: “Few individuals significantly alter the course of history.

Fewer still modify the map of the world. hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state. Muhammad Ali Jinnah did all three.” As part of his vision, Quaid-e-Azam said, “The first duty of the state is to maintain law and order, to protect the life, property and religious beliefs of its people. The biggest curses of bribery, corruption, black-marketing, nepotism and jobbery, inherited from India, should be put down with an iron hand.

Great grandnephew of the Quaid, former Attorney General of Pakistan, Liaquat Marchant strongly felt that it’s above time that our nation needs to realise and relive the values of our Quaid and needed something of immense value to carry forward Jinnah’s vision & dream of Pakistan. This has led to the formation of an Institute of nation Building (‘’InB”), at the Flag Staff house, to realise the very same vision and dream of Quaid.

Starting with the city of Quaid – Karachi, InB also plans to expand to all major cities of Pakistan.

The electronically smart building housing the InB will not only include an auditorium, a Library mainly having to Quaid’s document and but also a state of art Audio/Visual Center that will show documentaries on Jinnah, Pakistan Movement & other leaders of the movement. It will also have relics and Quaid’s belongings. It will have parking space for several hundred cars in the basement and at least 3 floors.

InB will also hold talks on Jinnah, other leaders of the movement, aspects relating to Pakistan including but not limited to foreign relations, finance, culture, education and any subject that will benefit Pakistan.

InB’s auditorium will facilitate youth of Pakistan with various activities.

In addition to above, there will also be organised talks with parliamentarians, ambassadors, diplomats, and Consul General on development of international relations and diplomatic relations with Pakistan.

ZESHAn AFZAl KARACHI

PM in Sri Lanka PRIMe MInISTeR Imran Khan and President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa held a one-on-one meeting at Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.

The two leaders discussed the significance of Pak-Sri Lankan relations with a history of friendship and cooperation in diverse fields. The two sides also exchanged views on bilateral, regional and international importance.

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday inviting the Sri Lankan businessmen to invest in Pakistan said trade connectivity among the countries of Asian sub-continent was vital for poverty alleviation. Addressing at Pakistan-Sri Lanka Trade and Investment Conference held in Colombo which he jointly chaired with his Sri Lanka counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa, Imran Khan proposed establishing trade links, as existed among the european countries, which he said could prove beneficial for the prosperity of Asian sub-continent. Imran Khan and Mahinda Rajapaksa led their business delegations at the Conference held in a bid to explore avenues of collaboration in diverse fields. The Prime Minister, who is in Colombo on a two-day official visit, said political stability in the region by maintaining good relations with neighbouring countries ensured business-friendly environment that resulted in an overall development of the people. he said Pakistan and Sri Lanka could explore the idea of generating wealth through joint business activities and diverting the wealth to alleviate poverty. Imran Khan offered the Sri Lankan businessmen to explore the immense opportunities offered by the government of Pakistan in the form of ease-of-doing business. he said his government would welcome and facilitate investment from the island nation.

The Prime Minister mentioned that as Pakistan and Sri Lanka both suffered the brunt of terrorism in the past, their journey together towards development could make a difference. he expressed intent for Pakistan to learn from Sri Lanka’s advanced tourism industry and mentioned that he made the tourism minister part of his delegation to explore the area.

SoHAIl AlI KHAn ISlAmAbAd

Democracy in Pakistan ALLAh has blessed me with life long enough to have witnessed and participated in all the general elections held in Pakistan. Polls in our country have always remained subject to controversies and conspiracies. The muchtrumpeted fair general elections of 1970 were also not so transparent after all. I used to live in Rawalpindi on account of my job. On the day of the election, I went to my village to observe my civic duty to cast the vote. To my surprise, the presiding officer at our village told me that my vote had already been cast. Pakistan People’s Party was riding a high tide on the back of their popular slogan “roti kapra aur makaan” during those elections.

My relatives told me that Raja Rauf, a leader of PPP had accompanied all members of our extended family to the polling booth to ensure their votes were cast for “sword”, the symbol of the PPP. The losing candidate from the PML cried foul alleging irregularities in the election process, which to some extent was true. After this incident, I developed serious doubts about the possibility of a fair democratic process in a country like ours. I believe that politics is a game of rich and powerful where poor and marginalized a exploited and used as pawns.

RAjA SHAFAATullAH ISlAmAbAd

Friday, 26 February, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

Why hAs FrAnce’s IslAmIst sepArAtIsm bIll cAused such controversy?

foreign Policy

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CaiLEY GriFFiN

n Feb 16, France’s national Assembly passed a controversial bill meant to protect the country against the dangers of what the government deems “Islamist separatism,” the latest French effort to reinforce the country’s traditional embrace of a secular identity. The bill passed handily, by a vote of 347 to 151, though the left abstained and the far-right felt it didn’t go far enough. next month, the bill will head to the Senate, dominated by conservatives, where the bill’s passage is pretty much guaranteed.

Despite plenty of centrist support, including from President Emmanuel Macron, the bill has proved controversial, especially with French Muslims, who feel the legislation—which doesn’t name Islam or Muslims—unfairly targets them. An official in the French president’s office said the bill “is not against Islam. It is against people who in the name of a wrong or reconstructed vision of a religion behave in a way contrary to the republic.”

The French effort is part of a broader push in other European countries. In

WHILE THE FRENCH FAR-RIGHT BELIEVES THE BILL COULD DO MORE TO FIGHT EXTREMISM, THE COUNTRY’S MUSLIM POPULATION FEELS THE LEGISLATION IS UNFAIRLY TARGETING THEIR COMMUNITY Switzerland, a right-wing political party is pushing a proposal to ban facial coverings such as niqabs or burqas; a referendum is set for March 7. France was the first country in Europe to ban full-face coverings in public in 2011; however, other countries in Europe still have partial or total burqa bans, including norway, Bulgaria, Denmark, Austria, Latvia, and Belgium.

WHAT DOES THE FRENCH BILL DO? Broadly speaking, the bill is meant to reinforce France’s lay tradition by discouraging behavior seeking to impose religious viewpoints in the public sphere. First, the bill expands the “neutrality principle” forbidding not only civil servants but “all private contractors of public services” from sharing political opinions or even wearing physical representations of their religion, according to Al Jazeera. The bill also allows French authorities to temporarily shut down places of worship to stop preachers from spreading hatred. Lastly, French associations with spe-

cific religious ties that receive any “foreign funds will have to provide a strict accounting,” as reported by the new York Times.

French associations that receive public funds will also have to demonstrate their commitment to the “principles of liberty, equality, fraternity, and respect of human dignity,” the Times added.

The bill would see any person spreading, with the intent to harm, personal information about public sector employees online fined 45,000 euros ($55,000) with the possibility of up to three years in jail. Any person who attempts to threaten or intimidate an elected official or public sector employee would be fined 75,000 euros ($91,000) and face up to five years in jail.

There are a few other noteworthy measures in the bill. Doctors will no longer be able to complete a so-called virginity check for patients before marriage—a common request among some Muslim families—and doctors still performing the checks would face a 15,000 euro ($18,000)

I’m an Indian journalist. A video called for me to be hanged for my reporting.

Washington Post

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Barkha Dutt

n normal times, a journalist should be the storyteller and not the story. But when you are confronted with a viral video that calls for you and eight other journalists to be hanged for reporting on protests by the country’s farmers, and the police in your city take no action, silence would be cowardice.

I am writing today about how extraordinarily difficult it is to be an independent journalist today in India — a thriving democracy when it comes to elections and the peaceful transition of power, but a distinctly diminishing democracy when it comes to other institutional freedoms. Instead of a compassionate compact between the citizen and the state, draconian high-handedness has become the norm rather than the exception. Patriotism is policed, the police are politicized, dissent is penalized, the media is compromised and satire is criminalized. In this divided environment, paranoia thrives.

Indian democracy has seen challenges before — Indira Gandhi’s emergency declaration in the 1970s remains the most notorious example. The irony is that many leaders of the current ruling Bharatiya Janata Party went to jail in those years in protest. Today, because of the dissonance between electoral success and institutional accountability — the BJP continues to win elections — the depletion of freedoms is more difficult to identify.

The hateful video that called for violence against me and other journalists has been taken down by some platforms. But by that point, half a million people had already viewed it. It came against the backdrop of the arrest of 22-year-old climate activist Disha Ravi, who has been accused of sedition for collaborating on an online “toolkit” to amplify the ongoing farmers’ protests. Authorities allege that Ravi participated in an international conspiracy, along with teen activist Greta Thunberg and a secessionist Sikh group based in Canada. Ravi’s organization has denied any connection with the group, citing a “lack of research” in including a certain link in the toolkit.

Ravi spent 10 days in custody before being granted bail. The judge in the case had to remind India of the most basic of democratic principles: Disagreeing with the state’s policies doesn’t make you a traitor.

But the controversy offered the perfect opportunity for the government to deflect from its poor handling of the protests. Until the court called the toolkit

for what it is — “innocuous” — it was made to sound like an arsenal deployed to blow up the Indian political establishment.

And so the threatening video targeted me and other journalists because we were listed in the toolkit as reporters covering the protests. It is striking that the police clamped down on Ravi but took no action against a man who was openly inciting violence. And the calls for our execution did not stop at least four members of the BJP and its ideological affiliates from endorsing the video and complaining about censorship when it was removed by YouTube.

The video also called for our arrest. And because yesterday’s trolls are today’s mainstream, and what might have seemed entirely implausible a few years ago is now completely plausible, a week later, the prospect of going to jail is no longer academic.

On Saturday, police in the state of Uttar Pradesh filed a criminal case against me and my team for a report on Mojo Story, a digital platform that I edit and run, about the murder of two Dalit girls. The two sections of the law that were cited could mean up to three years in prison. And because the Information and Technology Act has been invoked against our Twitter handle, our lawyers warn that it could allow police to seize our phones and computers. All this because the victims’ families told us that police initially pushed for an early cremation, something they successfully resisted. Last year, in another village where a Dalit woman was allegedly raped and murdered, we were barricaded from accessing the village for two days, and the cremation was performed in the middle of the night.

The aim of the police is clear: to create fear and drag us into a legal vortex so we think twice before being critical.

Indeed, journalists who are still willing to be independent are increasingly vulnerable in India. One study found that in 2020, 67 reporters were questioned, detained or arrested for doing their jobs, as India slipped two places on the World Press Freedom Index. This January alone, five journalists were arrested, the highest number in nearly three decades.

Despite all the challenges — including threats to physical safety, misogynistic abuse and trolling, and curtailed access to government and information — I remain privileged to get support from colleagues, as well as international media groups such as the Coalition for Women in Journalism, Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders. As emotionally exhausting and mentally debilitating as it feels, I am determined to battle on.

But when I think of reporters in smaller towns and cities without the same access to resources and platforms — including Siddique Kappan, a reporter from Kerala who has been in jail for more than 100 days — I think that we do in fact need a toolkit, one that will allow us to repair and reassemble our wounded democracy.

Barkha Dutt is an award-winning TV journalist and anchor with more than two decades of reporting experience. She is the author of “This Unquiet Land: Stories from India’s Fault Lines.” Dutt is based in New Delhi.

fine and up to a year in jail.

Macron, when he introduced the bill in October 2020, spoke explicitly about tackling “Islamist separatism,” which he described as the act of France’s Muslim community to supplant civil laws with its own laws and customs derived from religious practice, essentially creating two parallel societies. nonetheless, Prime Minister Jean Castex said the bill “is not a text aimed against religions or against the Muslim religion in particular,” but observers have noted that the behaviors he is trying to curtail are all linked to Islamism.

Protesters took to the streets in Paris on Feb. 14, just before the bill’s passage in the national Assembly, arguing that it places a stigma on followers of France’s second largest religion. The legislation has rippled beyond France: Pakistani President Arif Alvi called the measure a “dangerous precedent” and urged the French government not to “entrench these attitudes into laws.”

WHAT’S THE IMPETUS FOR THIS BILL?

France, which has one of the largest Muslim populations of any country in Europe (outside Turkey), has grappled with the problems of integration and assimilation for decades, and Macron has made dealing with those social stresses one of the priorities of his presidency. In 2018, he told an interviewer that he wanted to “set down markers on the entire way in which Islam is organized in France,” according to Reuters.

But the bill really gained momentum after the brutal beheading last October of a schoolteacher, Samuel Paty, who was killed by a young Russian of Chechen descent who said he was upset that Paty had shown cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in class. Later that month, a Tunisian national killed three people in a knife attack in nice, in southern France. At the February protest against the bill, one demonstrator told The Associated Press that “it’s not worth attacking a whole community because one person did a horrible act.”

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? The bill will now head to the Senate at the end of March, where it’s expected to be approved, and become law within months.

Even so, for France’s far-right, the legislation does not go far enough. Marine Le Pen, the head of the national Rally party and a perennial presidential candidate, said the legislation is too weak in fighting what she calls “Islamist ideologies.”

Why government must make Google, Facebook pay for content Big Tech is on notice in other democracies for destroying the viability of independent journalism times of india

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SauBhik ChakraBarti

S the world’s largest democracy, as its second-largest online market, as a soon-to-become fastest growing major economy, India should have taken the lead on making Google and Facebook – two alarmingly dominant global super-monopolies – pay a fair share of earnings they make from domestically produced news content on the internet.

Even more so because, first, India’s government has demonstrated it is perfectly willing to take on Big Tech on multiple other fronts and, second, it has made atmanirbharata (self-reliance) its economic policy mantra.

A large democracy with growing internet market power run by a government that champions local enterprise and can get tough on global players is just about the perfect candidate to be a key player in this fight.

But it was Australia that took the lead. A law that’s almost certain to be passed by its parliament will impose payment obligations on Big Tech. And Australian PM Scott Morrison was entirely right to call for a global alliance of democracies to make Google and Facebook pay much more for news content they profit from.

Some other democracies have taken a few steps or half steps. Led by France, European countries have started making rules and launched investigations. Discussions on remedial action are gathering momentum in the US. So far, there’s nothing in India. Even though, nothing could be clearer than the case for making Big Tech cough up more money to democratic India’s news content publishers. Let’s explain it simply, point by point: Credible, fact-checked news is a bedrock of democracy. This should be self-evident. Imagine waking up one morning and finding out that tweets, posts and internet videos by just about anyone, none of whom has a reputation to protect or responsibility to adhere to or is bound by laws, is your OnLY source of news. How will our democracy survive that? It can’t.

Producing credible news takes money, a lot of money. Journalists have to be trained and paid. A big news gathering infrastructure has to be paid for.

The internet has become a major distribution channel for news, like it has for so many other things. But two companies dominate internet traffic for news. Around 80% of external traffic to news websites is carried by Google and Facebook. Also, news is a big source of traffic for internet behemoths. Around 40% of trending queries in Google are news related. now, because Google and Facebook dominate internet traffic, they take away a huge share of advertising revenue – between 70% to 80% – that comes from digital consumption of news. As digital distribution of news grows, and therefore, revenue from other distribution models comes down, the current internet model for news leaves less and less revenue for publishers.

Remember, while this is happening, the cost of producing credible news is not coming down. So, news pub-

lishers are getting more and more squeezed over time.

So, what happens? Domestic, reputable publishers who have painstakingly built a news brand over decades start confronting an unsustainable business model. As the country’s news industry shrinks, dissemination of credible news comes under threat. And then we face the prospect of a democracy where news is what trolls on Twitter say it is. now think of a scenario where Google and Facebook are by law or regulation obliged to pay a fair share of earnings from digital distribution of news.

This is what will happen: Domestic news industry, vital to India’s democracy, is financially viable. Because its revenues from digital news distribution increase.

Hundreds of thousands of jobs in the news industry are saved over time in a country where increasing the proportion of white collar employment is a critical goal of public policy. The government gets more tax revenue because it is far easier to collect tax from the domestic news industry than from multinational tech companies.

This is the premise Australia’s proposed law is based on. Its government wants the news publishing business to be financially viable because it knows Australian democracy needs a viable Australian news media. That’s why France and the UK, Germany and Spain have started taking on Big Tech. And this is why India’s government must act, too. And India has one advantage as a late starter. It can see that concerted government action can unbend global super-monopolies. In Australia, Google is making deals with individual publishers. Facebook, after a petty blackout of news, is seeking to renegotiate. And variations of the Australian law are a looming threat both tech giants now face across democracies.

India can – and must – start acting on its own version of a law or an appropriate set of regulations. And once it does, because of its current market size and future market potential, there’s no way Google and Facebook can simply ignore what’s being done here.

How can the government start the process? There are several options. The Competition Commission of India can start a suo motu investigation. Or the information and broadcasting ministry can be the agency that kickstarts the process. For example, it can call for, say, a 45-day consultation period asking for inputs from all stakeholders.

And then set a time frame for drafting a bill, as Australia did. Some experts suggest the government can down the line set up a new digital agency to tackle all complex issues, including those involving news publishing, arising out of dominance of Big Tech. Others suggest looking at the Copyright Act for options on imposing licensing fee for content, roughly the route France has taken.

Therefore, there’s plenty the government can do, and do quickly. The global environment has finally turned.

Big Tech is on notice in other democracies for destroying the viability of independent journalism. It must be on notice in India, too. An atmanirbhar India needs an atmanirbhar news industry.

Saubhik Chakrabarti is Associate Executive Editor, ET.

Friday, 26 February, 2021

BUSINESS 09

ISLAMABAD corporate corner reon announces completion of 3.73 Mw solar project with g&t group KARACHI: Reon Energy Limited on Thursday announced the completion of its’ 3.73 MW captive Solar Power Project for G&T Group in Karachi, and Baluchistan. The Solar Photovoltaic Plant is the largest bi-facial PV rooftops in the country. The 3.73 MW Photovoltaic Project is expected to produce approximately 6,152 MWh (Megawatt hours) annually. The project is dispersed across 4-locations including Gatron at Hub, Mustaqim Dyeing and Printing at SITE and Nooriabad and Novatex at Landhi. The output energy will be used on-site, reducing gas consumption, and avoiding around 3780 Tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions during the plant life.

Bi-facial solar modules applied at G&T, that can absorb sunlight from both faces- front and back, have significantly improved energy production by up to 10%.

The project ensured strict compliance with Covid-19 protocols during execution. A total of 80 jobs were created for the locals during execution. PRESS RElEASE

NCC rEvIEws ProgrEss of forEIgN fuNdEd PowEr sECtor ProjECts ISLAMABAD

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APP

HE National Coordination Committee on Foreign Funded Projects (NCC-FFP) on Thursday reviewed the progress of the power sector’s projects.

In this regard, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtyar and Federal Minister for Energy Omar Ayub Khan co-chaired a

meeting at the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Islamabad.

Economic Affairs Division Secretary Noor Ahmed, representatives of the PM’s Office, Finance Division and Provincial Departments and heads of line departments attended the meeting.

The meeting was informed that 14 foreign-funded projects including power generation, transmission and distribution amounting to $3,418 million with the support of development part-

KP to launch universal vehicle number plates PROVINCIAL EXCISE DEPT FETCHED RS2BN IN TAXES SO FAR IN CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, CM'S AIDE SAYS PESHAWAR AZIZ BUNERI

LAHORE: Carrefour has launched a five-month promotional campaign called ‘It’s a Big Deal’, bringing weekly saving deals on a vast range of fruits and vegetables. The offer will be valid from February 25 to July 25 at all Carrefour’s physical and digital stores across the country. PR

ners, including the Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank (WB) and Islamic Development Bank (IDB), are under implementation.

Bakhtyar highlighted that the government is focusing on energy sector reforms and energy efficiency through production of renewable and clean energy at affordable prices, development of reliable transmission system and improved distribution network.

Minister Omar Ayub Khan directed

The provincial government has announced to introduce a universal vehicle number plate system from July 2022 in a bid to improve provincial revenue through increasing vehicle registration.

This was disclosed by Special Assistant to Chief Minister (SACM) on Excise and Taxation, Syed Ghazi Ghazan Jamal while briefing the media regarding the performance of his department in the past two years here on Thursday.

Flanked by SACM on Information, Kamran Bangash, Ghazi said

that the tax ratio has been reduced for existing taxpayers, while initiatives have been made to bring new people under the tax-net.

He said the department has recovered Rs2billion on the head of various taxes so far in the current fiscal year, with an additional collection of over Rs180million as compared to the previous year, showing an increase of 143 per cent against the last year. “This shows that the tax collection ratio remained at 86pc during two quarters of the current financial year,” he added.

He said that the provincial government is working on a historic tax reforms agenda, adding that the

concession on property tax has been increased from 10pc to 20pc, while the duration for benefiting from this discount has been increased from two to eight months.

Similarly, he said that the provincial government is also offering a 30pc rebate on the payment of property tax in a single instalment and a 25pc rebate on payment through multiple instalments.

In order to end the collection of dual taxes, he said that taxes had been waived off on 18 items. “A self-tax collecting system has been launched for the determination of tax, whereas a GIS mapping survey is also being carried out,” he further told the media.

The SACM on Excise and Taxation said that the ratio of taxpayers has surged by 24pc in more than 15 districts of the province.

Exports of ICT, telecom services increased 38pc in 7MFY21: Razak ISLAMABAD APP ISLAMABAD: Hashoo Group Hospitality Division Chief Operating Officer (COO) Haseeb Gardezi and Linked International Pvt Ltd’s Mehboob Bhulani sign an agreement to boost travel and tourism in the valley of Hunza at Islamabad Marriott Hotel on Thursday. PR

Adviser to the Prime Minister for Commerce and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood, on Thursday said that the export of information and communications technology (ICT) and telecom services increased by 38 per cent during the first seven months of the current fiscal year (7MFY21) as compared to the corresponding period last of the last fiscal year.

In a tweet, he said that the country exported these services worth $1,119 million during the July-January period of FY21 against the export of $811 million dur-

ing FY20. “We are glad to share that for Jul-Jan 2021 (7 months), exports of ICT & Telecom Services grew by 38pc to $1,119 million as compared to $811 million in July-Jan 2020. In Jan 2021, these exports grew by 26pc to $161 million as compared to $128 million during Jan 2020.”

On year on year basis, these exports also rose by 26pc, from $128 million during January 2020 to $161 million during January 2021.

The advisor concluded by saying that these exports now constitute a third of Pakistan’s total export of services and, therefore, are of strategic importance to us, saying that they would cross $2 billion this year.

Bulls stage comeback as index gains 603 points lahore: Concordia Colleges held its annual debates competition was held at e-library Gaddafi Stadium on Tuesday. Students and teachers from all over campuses in Punjab participated. Beaconhouse Group Director Ali Raza was present as a chief guest and awarded shields and certificates to the winners. PR

ISLAMABAD: The KSE-100 index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday witnessed a bullish trend, gaining 603.05 points, closing at 45,965.63 points. A total of 468,970,739 shares were traded during the day compared to the trade of 557,503,875 shares the previous day whereas the price of shares stood at Rs23.261 billion against Rs26.248 billion the previous day. As many as 416 companies transacted shares in the stock market, 286 of them recorded gain and 111 sustained losses whereas the share price of 19 companies remained unchanged. The three top traded companies were Telecard Limited with a volume of 36,199,000 shares and price per share of Rs6.88, Byco Petroleum with a volume of 34,599,000 and Rs10.04 per share and Unity Foods Ltd with a volume of 33,172,359 and Rs32.04 per share. Rafhan Maize witnessed a maximum increase of Rs488 per share, closing at Rs10,200 while Nestle Pakistan shares increased by Rs54.62 per share closing at Rs6,204.62. APP

Geely and Volvo to launch powertrain venture after merger scrapped BEIJING/STOCKHOLM AGENCIES

China’s Geely Automobile and its Swedish sister company Volvo Cars will abandon merger plans but launch a new entity to combine their powertrain operations and expand cooperation on electric vehicles, the companies said.

A year ago the two said they were planning to merge, giving Volvo access to public markets, as global automakers pursue alliances to respond better to the cost of the transition to electric cars, tougher emission rules and autonomous driving.

Geely and Volvo on Wednesday said they had decided to preserve their existing

separate corporate structures after “a detailed review of combination options” but would launch a new company to combine their existing powertrain operations.

The new entity, expected to become operational this year, will provide engines, transmissions systems and petrol-electric hybrid systems for use by both companies and other automakers.

“I firmly believe that this is the best combination, the best way forward for our companies,” Volvo Cars Chief Executive Hakan Samuelsson told a joint news conference. Asked if Volvo Cars would consider a stock market listing, he said there were currently no such plans.

The two companies will also focus on

the development and sourcing of next-generation technologies, from connectivity and self-driving vehicles to car sharing and electrification, their statement added.

The companies did not disclose what savings they expected to make from the various collaborations.

Shares of Geely Auto rose more than 2% on Thursday.

“Overall, we see this solution as more of a cooperation than a merger as only the powertrain assets will be merged and thus below our expectation,” a Daiwa analyst wrote.

Geely Auto will also forge a partnership with Volvo’s sales network to help to boost growth for their jointly owned Lynk & Co car brand.

CMYK

Last year Geely Auto sold 1.32 million cars while Volvo Cars sold 661,713 vehicles.

Geely Auto plans to raise 20 billion yuan ($2.93 billion) from a public share sale on Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style STAR Market, which Chief Executive Gui Shengyue said would be unaffected by the new collaboration with Volvo.

Hangzhou-based Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, Geely Automobile’s parent, bought Volvo Cars from Ford Motor Co in 2010. It also has stakes in Daimler AG and Malaysian carmaker Proton.

Geely President An Conghui said the company had plans to set up an independent entity for pure electric vehicles, confirming a Reuters report last week.

the line departments of Power Division to convey a course of action, along with timelines for prompt redressal of remaining issues besides.

He informed the forum that the Power Division is regularly monitoring the progress of foreign funded projects as the projects are significant to achieve strategic objectives, including the provision of affordable electricity, transmission efficiency, modernisation and enhancement of the country’s distribution system.

Envoy urges Pakistani exporters to market products in Yemen ISLAMABAD APP

Ambassador of Yemen in Pakistan Muhammad Motahar Alashabi has said that Pakistani exporters should introduce their branded products in Yemen, adding that the products were of high quality and would be liked the Yemini citizens. Addressing the business community in the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI), he said that Yemen needed everything for its reconstruction and urged Pakistani exporters to establish direct links with their Yemeni counterparts. Saying that both countries should translate the excellent relations into economic terms, he assured full cooperation to Pakistani exporters in establishing direct links with reliable business partners in Yemen. Ambassador Alashabi also invited skilled labour to look into work options in Yemen. “The skilled manpower from Pakistan will also be welcomed in Yemen”, he said, adding that trade diplomacy was the best tool to exploit untapped economic potentials.

International tender for twin cities’ ring road likely to be announced next week ISLAMABAD APP

The international tender for the RawalpindiIslamabad Ring Road project has been prepared and would be published in newspapers by next week. The announcement in this regard was made by Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Asad Umar, during a briefing on the project by Rawalpindi Commissioner Muhammad Mehmood in a meeting held to review the progress of development work on the flagship project of the twin cities. Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Capital Development Authority (CDA), Ali Nawaz Awan, and a top official of the planning ministry attended the meeting. The Rawalpindi commissioner informed the minister that the proposed length of the road was 64 kilometres, starting from Rawat and pass through Motorway M2 and M3, and ending at Sangjani Point. The road would consist of six lanes and eight interchanges. He informed the minister that the project’s feasibility study had been completed whereas its alignment had also been finalised. Further, the minister was informed that the road up to Sangjani had been identified, while the payment process for its acquisition had also been started.

Appreciating the work done by the Rawalpindi administration, Asad Umar said the project would be very helpful in improving the traffic system in Rawalpindi city, solving a long standing issue, in addition to speeding up economic activities in the area. The minister directed the authorities concerned to fix a timeline for the project’s completion and further increase the pace of progress, warning that the project’s launch should not be delayed.

Friday, 26 February, 2021

10 FOREIGN NEWS

ISLAMABAD

austraLian parLiament passes meDia reforms after Last-Ditch changes CANBERRA

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AGENCIES

USTRALIA’S parliament passed a law on Thursday to make Alphabet Inc’s Google and Facebook Inc pay media companies for content on their platforms in reforms that countries such as Britain and Canada are looking to replicate.

After robust negotiations in which Facebook blocked all news content in the 13thlargest economy, the vote makes Australia the first nation where a government arbitrator can set the price tech giants pay domestic media if private talks fail.

“The code will ensure news media businesses are fairly remunerated for the content they generate, helping to sustain public interest journalism,” Treasurer Josh Fryden-

berg and Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said in a joint statement.

Facebook’s news ban, which also blacked out many nonprofit and government pages, including those of public health agencies promoting reliable information about Covid-19, would be lifted the following day, Frydenberg added in a radio interview, eight days after the measure took effect.

Representatives of both Google and Facebook did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

The new law sets the stage for a dispute-handling process largely untested in corporate Australia, should negotiations between Big Tech and media companies fail. Its progress will be closely watched globally.

Both sides claimed victory after Australia offered Facebook some concessions,

Dubai's Latifa urgeD uK poLice to reopen sister's KiDnap case: report LONDON AGENCIES

SheikhaLatifa, one of the daughters of the ruler of Dubai, has written to British police asking them to reopen their investigation into the kidnap of her older sister from a street in Cambridge in 2000, the BBC reported on Thursday. In a handwritten letter seen by the British broadcaster and dated 2018, Latifa asked Cambridgeshire Police to refocus on the case of her sister Shamsa, now 39, who was captured aged 18 and has not been seen in public since. Reuters has not seen the letter.

The Dubai government’s media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Cambridgeshire police confirmed it had received a letter, dated February 2018, in relation to the case and that it was part of an “ongoing review”. Latifa, 35, is herself the subject of international concern. In a video message filmed in a bathroom and obtained by the BBC, she said she was being held captive in a barricaded villa. The UAE last week said Latifa was being cared for at home by family and medical professionals. The two women’s father, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, has rejected findings by a London High Court judge who said last year that he accepted as proved allegations that the sheikh had ordered the abductions of his daughters. Britain has called on the United Arab Emirates to show proof that Latifa was still alive.

Violent protests rock niger over contested election result NIAMEY AGENCIES

Supporters of the losing candidate in Niger’s presidential election burnt tyres, threw rocks and set several buildings on fire on Thursday, in a third day of violent protests in the capital Niamey. Niger’s electoral commission on Tuesday declared ruling party candidate Mohamed Bazoum the winner of Sunday’s runoff election with 55.75 per cent of the vote, but his rival, MahamaneOusmane, a former president, has alleged fraud and claimed he won with 50.3 per cent. The election is meant to lead to the first transition from one democratically elected leader to another following four coups since independence from France in 1960. President Mahamadou Issoufou is stepping down after two five-year terms.

The national prosecutor said late on Wednesday that several people had been arrested in the protests. Internet access has also been severely limited since Wednesday. On Thursday, small groups of Ousmane supporters again took to the streets to lob rocks at police and national guard troops, who responded by firing tear gas. Some protesters set private houses on fire, including that of Radio France Internationale (RFI) correspondent Moussa Kaka, a Reuters witness said. RFI said in a statement that Kaka and his family were safe and condemned what it called “a grave attack on freedom of the press”. Ousmane, who served as president from 1993 until 1996, when he was overthrown by the military, said on Wednesday that he reserved the right to appeal the election result in the courts. An observer mission from the Economic Community of West African States has said the vote was held “under free, fair, credible and transparent conditions”. However, it was marred by two attacks that killed eight election workers in parts of Niger where militants regularly target civilians and the military.

including government discretion to release the tech giants from arbitration if they can prove a “significant contribution” to the domestic news industry.

The revised code also allows the tech companies a longer period to cut media deals before the state intervenes. It will be reviewed within a year of taking effect, the joint statement said, but gave no start date.

For months Facebook and Google threatened to pull core services from Australia if the law took effect. But in the days before the vote, and before Facebook blocked news, Google struck some deals with publishers News Corp.

Several large Australian media companies, including Seven West Media, Nine Entertainment and the Australian Broadcasting Corp have said they were in talks with Facebook.

Supporters of Myanmar military coup rampage in Yangon YANGON AGENCIES

Supporters of Myanmar’s military, some armed with knives and clubs, others firing catapults and throwing stones, attacked opponents of the February 1 coup on Thursday, as protests against the new junta continued in the country’s largest city.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army seized power and detained civilian government leader Aung San Suu Kyi and much of her party leadership after the military complained of fraud in a November election.

Protests and strikes have taken place daily for about three weeks, and students had planned to come out again in the commercial hub Yangon on Thursday. But before many coup opponents congregated, about 1,000 supporters of the military turned up for a rally in the city centre. Some threatened news photographers, media workers and witnesses said, and scuffles soon escalated into more serious violence in several parts of the city.

Several people were set upon and beaten by groups of men, some armed with knives, others firing catapults and hurling stones, witnesses said. At least two people were stabbed, video footage showed. In one incident, several men, one wielding a large knife, attacked a man outside a city-centre hotel. Emergency workers helped the bloodied man after his attackers moved off but his condition was not known.

“Today’s events show who the terrorists are. They’re afraid of the people’s action for democracy,” activist Thin Zar Shun Lei Yi told Reuters.

“We’ll continue our peaceful protests against dictatorship.”

As dusk fell, dozens of riot police fired tear gas into a neighbourhood in the city to disperse a crowd that had gathered at an administrative office to protest the appointment of a local official by the junta, according to a witness and live-streamed video.

The violence will compound worries about a country largely paralysed by the protests and a civil disobedience

ers and one policeman have been killed in violence.

‘ABETTORS’: The United States, Britain and others have called for Suu Kyi’s release and the restoration of democracy and have imposed limited sanctions aimed at members of the junta and its business links.

The British Foreign Office said on Thursday it would sanction a further

campaign of strikes against the military.

Earlier, police blocked the gates of Yangon’s main university campus, stopping hundreds of students inside from coming out to demonstrate.

Facebook said that due to the risks evident from the “deadly violence” seen since the coup it had banned the Myanmar military from using its Facebook and Instagram platforms.

The spokesman for the ruling military council did not respond to a telephone call seeking comment.

Military chief General Min Aung Hlaing says authorities are using minimal force. Nevertheless, three protest-

six military figures, adding to 19 previously listed and including Min Aung Hlaing, and that the trade ministry would work to ensure British businesses do not deal with Myanmar’s military-owned companies.

“Today’s package of measures sends a clear message to the military regime in Myanmar that those responsible for human rights violations will be held to account, and the authorities must hand back control to a government elected by the people of Myanmar,” Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement.

A rights group said as of Wednes-

day 728 people had been arrested, charged or sentenced in relation to the pro-democracy protests.

The army said its overthrow of the government was within the constitution after its complaints of fraud in the Nov. 8 election, swept by Suu Kyi’s party as expected, had been ignored. The election commission said the vote was fair.

The army has promised a new election after reviewing voter lists. It has not given a date but it imposed a one-year state of emergency when it seized power.

Suu Kyi has been detained incommunicado at her home in the capital Naypyitaw but her party says its November victory must be respected.

Veteran democracy activist Min KoNaing said the military’s efforts to arrange to an election re-run, which include a new election commission, had to be stopped and any parties involved in it were “abettors”. “We have to reject the actions of the military government to try to legitimise itself,” he said in a post on Facebook.

The question of a new election is at the centre of a diplomatic effort by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Myanmar is a member, aimed at easing the crisis.

Indonesia has taken the lead in the attempt and its foreign minister, RetnoMarsudi, met her military-appointed Myanmar counterpart, WunnaMaungLwin, for talks in Thailand on Wednesday.

But Indonesia’s intervention has raised suspicion among coup opponents who fear it will confer legitimacy on the junta and its bid to scrap the November vote and arrange a re-run.

Retno did not mention an election in comments to reporters after her talks but emphasised “an inclusive democratic transition process”.

A Reuters report this week cited sources as saying Indonesia was proposing that ASEAN members send monitors to ensure the generals stick to their promise of fair elections, which would imply accepting the November result was void. Protesters gathered outside the Thai embassy in Yangon on Thursday chanting “respect our vote”.

India unveils tougher rules for social media NEW DELHI AGENCIES

India announced new rules on Thursday to regulate big social media firms, such as Facebook and Twitter, the latest effort by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to tighten control over Big Tech firms.

The rules come after Twitter ignored orders to drop content on farmers’ protests, fuelling the government’s zeal, dating from 2018, to clamp down on material it regards as disinformation or unlawful.

The new measures will require big social media companies to set up a grievance redressal mechanism and appoint executives to coordinate with law enforcement, the government said in a news statement.

The government said the guidelines in its code of digital media ethics were needed to hold social media and other companies accountable for misuse and abuse.

Social media firms should be “more responsible

and accountable,” Ravi Shankar Prasad, the minister for information technology, told reporters in outlining the rules.

A detailed version of the guidelines is to be published later and take effect three months after that, the government said. It did not specify the date, however.

Facebook said it welcomes rules that prescribe ways to address challenges on the web. “The details of rules like these matter and we will carefully study the new rules,” it said in a statement.

Twitter declined to comment.

On Wednesday, Reuters reported the draft of the rules, which give companies a maximum of 36 hours to remove content after they receive a government or legal order.

Prasad also told reporters the rules would oblige the companies to reveal the originator of a message or posting when asked to do so through a legal order.

Tech firms are coming under tighter scrutiny

worldwide. Facebook faced a global backlash last week from publishers and politicians after it blocked news feeds in Australia in a dispute with the government over revenue-sharing.

India’s rules will also require video streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime to classify content into five categories based on users’ age, the government said.

Online news media will also be regulated as part of the new rules, with the ministry of information and broadcasting creating an oversight system, the government added.

Apar Gupta, the executive director at advocacy Internet Freedom Foundation, said the new rules for digital news media portals and video streaming platforms posed risks to freedom of speech.

“To fix the problems in these sectors the government has adopted an approach which carries the risks of political control and censorship,” he said.

Friday, 26 February, 2021

SPORTS 11

ISLAMABAD

iNdia wiN day-Night test iN two days, eNglaNd's wtc hopes dashed AHMEDABAD

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AGENCIES

NDIA’S Axar Patel claimed an 11wicket match haul as they beat England by 10 wickets inside two days in the day-night third Test on Thursday, dashing the tourists’ hopes of making the final of the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) in June.

On a viciously turning track, England were shot out for 81 in the second innings, their lowest ever total against India, at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

Chasing 49 for victory in the spin-dominated, lowscoring contest, India overwhelmed the target without losing a wicket to go 2-1 up in the four-Test series.

The hosts need a draw in the final Test, also in Ahmedabad from March 4, to reach the WTC final against New Zealand.

England had been on the back foot since being skittled out for 112 in their first innings on a turning

track at the world’s largest cricket stadium.

Joe Root and Jack Leach shone with the ball to drag the tourists back into the contest by bowling out India for 145.

The tourists, however, suffered a second batting collapse to allow the hosts to take charge again.

Earlier, resuming on 99-3, India looked on course for a handy first-innings lead but Root (5-8) and Leach (4-54) wreaked havoc with the pink ball.

Rohit Sharma top scored for India with 66 but the hosts lost their last seven wickets for 31 runs. Patel had claimed six of the 10 English wickets in the first innings and the left-arm spinner returned to haunt them with a two-wicket first over.

Ben Stokes (25) and Root (19) offered hints of a partnership before they fell in successive overs.

Patel went on to claim 5-32, while Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed four batsmen en route to reaching 400 Test wickets.

England lasted 30.4 overs with all 10 batsmen falling to spin.

INDIA 145 (ROHIT 66, ROOT 5-8) AND 49 FOR 0 (ROHIT 25 NOT OUT) BEAT ENGLAND 112 (CRAWLEY 53, PATEL 6-38) AND 81 (PATEL 5-32) BY 10 WICKETS

Champions League: Man City on brink of Guptill returns to form as quarter-finals with 2-0 win over Gladbach New Zealand edge Australia

by four runs in run fest DUNEDIN

Twenty20 century after being caught trying to hit a Daniel Sams delivery out of the ground.

STEADY WILLIAMSON: Guptill averaged Veteran batsman Martin Guptill returned to form only 17 in the recent series against the West Indies and Pakistan, then managed just 11.5 in with a blistering 97 as New Zealand held on the domestic competition before pickfor a nail-biting win over Australia in ing up a hamstring injury. Pressure the second Twenty20 international on the opener intensified when in Dunedin on Thursday.

NEW ZEALAND 219 he made a duck in the first Guptill’s Black Caps set FOR 7 (GUPTILL 97, match against Australia on Australia a challenging target of 220 after losing the toss WILLIAMSON 53, NEESHAM 45 Monday, with calls for unFinn Allen to join but were made to sweat as NOT OUT, KANE RICHARDSON 3- capped the squad. But he answered Australia came within four 43) BEAT AUSTRALIA 215 FOR 8 his critics with a return to runs of victory. Both sides his big-hitting best, bringing took advantage of Univer(STOINIS 78, PHILIPPE 45, up 50 off 27 balls, with eight sity Oval’s short boundaries SAMS 41, SANTNER 4-31) boundaries, including four in a thrilling match that feasixes. Guptill insisted he had not tured 30 sixes and 434 runs at an

BY FOUR RUNS changed his approach during the average of 10.9 an over. game-turning innings.

Marcus Stoinis starred for the Aus“I just went out and tried to do the best I tralians with 78 from 37 balls but Guptill’s 97 from 50 laid the foundation for New Zealand’s could – fortunately for me it came off,” he said.

While Guptill provided fireworks at one end, win. Black Caps spinner Mitchell Santner also shone amid the batting fireworks, taking four for Kane Williamson was steady at the other, scoring 31, while Australian paceman Kane Richardson 53 off 35 balls. Australia made a solid start in reply, despite skipper Aaron Finch continuing to managed three for 43.

New Zealand allrounder Jimmy Neesham struggle for runs when he was dismissed for 12.

The tourists were 87-2 at the halfway mark, was another exceptional performer, taking two wickets in the final over when a rampant Aus- with rookie batsman Josh Philippe scoring 45 tralia needed 15 runs for victory. Neesham also from 32 balls. He departed as part of a mid-innings collapse that saw Mitch Marsh and Ashton scored an undefeated 45, including six sixes.

The result puts New Zealand 2-0 up in the Agar out for first-ball ducks as Santner claimed five-match series, on the brink of a win over the three wickets in an over.

Stoinis and Daniel Sams came together with world’s second-ranked Twenty20 team.

Guptill’s innings gave him the record for the Australia looking shaky at 113 for six but staged most sixes in Twenty20 internationals with 132, a remarkable fightback, putting on a 92-run partnership that put victory in Australia’s grasp. taking him past India’s Rohit Sharma on 127.

But the heroics from Stoinis and Sams – who The 34-year-old clubbed the ball over the boundary eight times, bludgeoning all comers in scored 41 from 15 balls – were not enough to get the Australian attack. He fell just short of his third Australia over the line.

AGENCIES

BUDAPEST AGENCIES

Manchester City moved to the verge of the Champions League quarter-finals with a 2-0 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach on Wednesday but coach Pep Guardiola insisted his team still need to “be more clinical up front”.

A first half header from Bernardo Silva and a Gabriel Jesus strike in the second period of the last 16 first leg tie extended a winning streak by Guardiola’s high-flying side to 19 games in all competitions.

Premier League leaders City camped inside the Gladbach half for most of the game, which was moved to Hungary due to Germany’s Covid-19 travel restrictions. Although dominant, City took time to break down a stubborn German defence, often foiled by the interceptions of Algeria left-back Ramy Bensebaini.

While Guardiola said afterwards he was “pleased” with the result, he added City “have to improve” to challenge for Champions League honours.

“We controlled the game. Unfortunately we were not clinical up front, it is something we have to improve in this competition, we were not good enough in the box, we didn’t dribble and shoot enough,” said Guardiola. “In this competition you have to be perfect to be sure you can go through,” he said.

Debutants in the Champions League knockout stages, Gladbach had been urged by coach Marco Rose to be brave against Guardiola’s side.

France’s Alassane Plea was almost through on goal on 20 minutes after a rare counterattack, but a nervy and deep-lying Gladbach eventually succumbed to mounting pressure in the 29th minute.

A sublime inch-perfect cross by Portuguese defender Joao Cancelo curled over the defence from the left to reach his compatriot Silva who flicked his close-range header past Yann Sommer. “We tried to play simple and not make mistakes. It’s a good win for us, but it’s not over yet,” Silva told BT Sport. “Every time when he plays (Silva) is an exceptional player, he’s really good in the air, the goal was fantastic how he finished it,” said Guardiola.

The 26-year-old Cancelo, impressive throughout, nearly doubled the lead five minutes from the break but his shot from just outside the box pinged over the bar.

Then early in the second half Jesus should have converted after latching on to a poorly judged backpass by Bensebaini but saw his shot blocked by Swiss defender Nico Elvedi.

Apart from a lunging backheel from Plea that flashed just wide of Ederson’s far post on the hour mark, City

comfortably contained the Germans, and went two up in the 65th minute.

Another majestic cross-field pass

by Cancelo again found Silva at Sommer’s far post who this time headed back across the goalmouth for Jesus to fire home and seal City’s 19th successive victory and sixth Champions League clean sheet in a row.

Gladbach, who managed just one shot on target throughout the game, an effort by substitute Hannes Wolf saved

by Ederson in the last moments, now face a formidable task to turn around the tie in the return leg scheduled for March 16 in Manchester.

REAL MADRID DOWN 10-MAN ATALANTA: Ferland Mendy put Real Madrid within touching distance of the quarters with the late strike that sank 10-man Atalanta 1-0 in Bergamo.

The French left-back’s curling effort came four minutes from time in a last 16, first leg clash in which the hosts had to play a man down for over 70 minutes, giving Zinedine Zidane’s side the advantage heading into the second leg in Madrid on March 16.

“We didn’t have a great game tonight, but the most important thing was the result, scoring away was important for us,” said Zidane.

“It’s a very good result against an Atalanta team even at ten, because they defended very well. The tie is open. We are going to have a great return match.”

CMYK

Nadal pulls out of RotteRdam opeN with back issue ROTTERDAM: World number two Rafa Nadal has withdrawn from next week’s Rotterdam Open due to a back injury, organisers of the ATP 500 event said on Thursday. The 20-time Grand Slam winner has been struggling with a back issue since the build-up to the Australian Open and was forced to skip Spain’s ATP Cup ties earlier this month. “Unfortunately, Rafael Nadal is forced to pull out of the 48th ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament,” the tournament organisers said in a statement. “The back problems that started in Australia prevent him from playing next week.” Despite the injury, Nadal did not drop a single set at the Australian Open until the quarter-final stage, where he was knocked out by Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas last week.

World number three Daniil Medvedev will replace Nadal as the top seed in the Rotterdam event, which will run from March 1-7. AGENCIES

Friday, 26 February, 2021

prayer tImINGs

NEWS

PPP, PML-N toP Leaders discuss PoLiticaL situatioN, seNate strategy islamabad

P

staff report

akistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto met Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-n) Vice President Maryam nawaz at the PML-n stronghold Jati Umra, wherein they discussed the strategy for the 11-party antigovernment alliance, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), for the upcoming senate elections.

Both the leaders have discussed the ongoing political situation in the country and strategy for upcoming senate elections. they also deliberated upon the future agenda of their campaign against the government of Pakistan tehreek-e-insaf (Pti), Bilawal said at a press conference after the meeting.

On this occasion, former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Makhdoom ahmed Mahmood, Qamar Zaman kaira, Chaudhry Manzoor and Hassan Murtaza

were also present.

PML-n leaders Rana sanaullah, Pervaiz Rashid and khawaja saad Rafique were also in attendance.

PPP leaders such as Bilawal and former premier Yousaf Raza Gillani have recently stated that they believe the establishment to be neutral, while PDM President Fazlur Rehman has opined the opposite.

“Our short-term goal is to remove this puppet government from power and our long-term goal is to establish democracy and rule of law in Pakistan,” said Bilawal to media persons, echoing his statements from a press conference held in Lahore the day before. talking about the PDM’s long march scheduled for next month, he said, “Protest is a democratic right bestowed to us by the constitution and implementing it is also democratic.”

“Every elected government should complete its five-year term. But when a government is selected and chosen by non-

oil prices hit 13-month highs on tighter supplies

democratic elements, then it should be removed as soon as possible,” the PPP chairman maintained. the PML-n VP, during the presser, took the middle ground. When asked about her perspective on the purported neutrality of the establishment, Maryam did not declare her stance outright, and merely said that the establishment is not part of the political spectrum up and until it starts interfering in political matters. “it is best for the country that the establishment remains neutral and stay within its constitutional limits,” she said in reply to a query about the so-called pressure being placed on the opposition.

Commenting on the matter of open balloting in senate polls, the PML-n VP said, “issues falling within the purview of parliament must be decided in parliament.

Dragging the courts in the discourse is going against the legislative procedure.” she further added that Gillani was not representing only PPP in senate elections, rather the whole of PDM.

a day earlier, Bilawal had said, “Yousuf Raza Gillani’s win will usher in a new chapter of democracy”.

He had thanked the other parties of the alliance for placing their faith in the senior PPP leader during yesterday’s presser, adding that the PDM’s inflation March would take place at the end of next month.

“Yousuf Raza Gillani (when he was premier) would respond to questions from the government and opposition, come to the parliament, give everyone respect […] because you are the leader of the entire House, not your own political party,” he had said, adding that the opus was now on the voters to decide upon a candidate that would assure the betterment of the country. “this is a test for the members of our assembly. Will you vote according to the people’s expectations or out of fear of imran khan?” Bilawal had asked. the PPP chairman had said that PDM had been “working against the illegitimate, incompetent and unqualified government from day one”.

COAS, Iraqi minister discuss steps to enhance defence collaboration

siNGaPORE aGeNCIes

Oil prices rose for a fourth straight session on thursday to the highest levels in more than 13 months, underpinned by monetary easing policies and lower crude production in the United states. Brent crude futures for april gained 19 cents, 0.3%, to $67.23 a barrel by 0400 GMt, while U.s. West texas intermediate crude for april was at $63.30 a barrel, up 8 cents, 0.1%. Both contracts touched their highest since January 2020 earlier in the session with Brent at $67.44 and Wti at $63.67. an assurance from the U.s. Federal Reserve that interest rates would stay low for a while boosted investors’ risk appetite and global financial markets. “Comments from Fed Chairman, Jerome Powell, earlier in the week relating to the need for monetary policy to remain accommodative have probably helped, but sentiment in the oil market has also become more bullish, with expectations for a tightening oil balance,” inG analysts said in a note. a rare winter storm in texas has caused U.s. crude production to drop by more than 10%, or 1 million barrels per day (bpd) last week, the Energy information administration said. Fuel supplies in the world’s largest oil consumer could also tighten as its refinery crude inputs had dropped to the lowest since september 2008. the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, is due to meet on March 4. the group will discuss a modest easing of oil supply curbs from april given a recovery in prices, OPEC+ sources said, although some suggest holding steady for now given the risk of new setbacks in the battle against the pandemic. Extra voluntary cuts by saudi arabia in February and March have tightened global supplies and supported prices.

FAJR SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

5:36

12:14

3:07

7:01

5:27

6:52

Foreign borrowing soars to $6.7b in 7MFy21 the government received $6.7 billion in gross foreign loans in the first seven months of the current fiscal year (7MFY21), including a new commercial loan of $500 million from China last month, which helped islamabad keep its gross official foreign exchange reserves at current levels. according to a statement by the Ministry of Economic affairs, the government during (July-January) period of FY21 obtained $6.7 billion in external loans from multiple financing sources. the gross loans were higher by 6pc or $380 million over the same period of last fiscal year. the statement added that out of the $6.7 billion, an amount of $2.7 billion or 41 per cent of the total loans was on account of foreign commercial loans. according to a local media report, the government also signed a new agreement worth $1.1 billion on Wednesday with the islamic Development Bank (iDB). total inflows in seven months were equal to 54pc of the annual budget estimate of $12.2 billion for the current fiscal year. nearly 87pc of the foreign loans or $5.8 billion were for budget financing, building foreign exchange reserves and commodity financing. the country would be paying back those loans after taking new loans as no revenue-generating assets were created by using the loans. Project financing was a mere $897 million or 13pc. the economic affairs ministry said that Pakistan repaid $2.7 billion worth of foreign debt in six months, suggesting that net addition to the external public debt in the six-month period was $4 billion. NeWs DesK

coinbase listing filing shows surge in revenue amid bitcoin boom NEW YORK aGeNCIes

RaWalPiNdi staff report

Chief of army staff (COas) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has said that Pakistan acknowledges sacrifices rendered by iraqi nation in fight against terrorism. the chief of army staff said this during a meeting with iraqi Defence Minister Jummah Enaad saadoon khatab al Jibori who called on him at General Headquarters (GHQ), said the inter-ser-

vices Public Relations (isPR) in a statement on thursday. the army chief also offered all possible assistance and cooperation to iraq in development and defence-related fields. according to isPR, during the meeting, matters pertaining to mutual interest, regional security issues and measures to further enhance bilateral defence collaboration were discussed. Both sides reaffirmed their determination to work together for enhancing secu-

rity and stability in the region.

Last Monday, the special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign affairs of Qatar Dr Mutlaq Bin Majed al Qahtani called on General Bajwa at GHQ. inter-services intelligence (isi) Director General Faiz Hameed was also present in the meeting.

Matters of mutual interest, regional security situation, cooperation in various fields and facilitation of the reconciliation process in afghanistan were discussed in detail during the meeting.

Coinbase, the biggest Us cryptocurrency exchange, moved a step closer to listing on the nasdaq with a filing on thursday to go public, revealing that it had swung into profit last year as bitcoin surged. approval from the U.s. securities and Exchange Commission for a listing would represent a landmark victory for cryptocurrency advocates, vying for mainstream endorsement for a sector which has struggled to win the trust of mainstream investors, regulators and the general public. it would pave the way for the highest-profile share listing of a company whose business is primarily focused around the trading of cryptocurrencies, and could also be seen as a tacit regulatory approval of assets traded on its platform. in its filing, Coinbase noted that it had not received approval from regulators that would allow it to trade cryptocurrencies that had been classified as securities in the United states. While bitcoin is considered a commodity by U.s. financial regulators, most other cryptocurrencies have yet to be classified as commodities or securities.

India's health workers balk at taking homegrown Covid-19 vaccine NEW dElHi aGeNCIes

india is struggling to convince its health and front-line workers to take a homegrown COViD-19 vaccine controversially approved without late-stage efficacy data, government data showed dashboard.cowin.gov.in on thursday, days ahead of a wider roll-out. the country has the world’s secondhighest number of COViD-19 infections after the United states, with cases recently surging as mask wearing declines and states have eased social distancing measures. a lack of confidence in a homegrown vaccine country could prevent india from meeting its target of vaccinating 300 million of its 1.35 billion people by august. india has vaccinated more than 10.5 million health and front-line workers since beginning its immunisation campaign on Jan. 16.

But only 1.2 million, or about 11%, of them have taken COVaXin, the locally developed vaccine from Bharat Biotech, while the remaining 9.4 million have used the vaccine licensed from astraZeneca, according to the government’s Co-Win online platform used to track the vaccination drive.

india’s federal government has so far ordered 10 million doses of COVaXin and 21 million doses of the Oxford University/astraZeneca shot. the government says it has received at least 5.5 million COVaXin doses. “it’s all because of the initial discussion about how (COVaXin) was only an experimental vaccine, how it had not completed

the Phase-3 trial,” said Dr subhash salunkhe, who advises the Maharashtra state government on vaccine strategy. “these things created doubts in the minds of people, resulting in lesser acceptance. the availability is not a concern at this juncture.”

However, india’s Health secretary Rajesh Bhushan on tuesday attributed the

lower uptake of COVaXin to Bharat Biotech’s limited production capacity compared to that of the serum institute of india, the world’s biggest vaccine producer, which is making the astraZeneca shot for low- and medium-income countries.

“We have found that in proportion to the quantity of vaccine available with us, (COVaXin’s) off-take is fairly satisfactory,” told a news conference.

His ministry did not respond to a request seeking comment on the latest figures showing that only about 12% of the ordered doses had been administered.

Earlier this month, Chhattisgarh, an opposition-ruled state of 32 million people, told the federal government it would not use COVaXin until its efficacy could be proven in an ongoing late-stage trial. Epidemiologist and public health experts have also criticised the COVaXin approval as rushed.

Bharat Biotech has said efficacy data from the trial on nearly 26,000 volunteers will be out soon. the company, along with india’s drug regulator, says the vaccine is safe and effective based on early and intermediate studies.

Bharat Biotech did not immediately comment on the lower uptake of its vaccine.

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

CASES RISING: the government is trying to expedite vaccinations as cases have surged, especially in Maharashtra in the west and the southern state of kerala, possibly as they have reopened suburban trains and schools.

Mask-wearing and social distancing has also largely vanished, with big events like international cricket matches being played in front of tens of thousands of spectators hardly following any COViD-19 rules. india reported 16,738 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, the highest daily jump in a month, health ministry data showed on thursday, raising the total to 11.05 million.

More than half of the new cases were in Maharashtra, india’s richest and home to its financial capital Mumbai, which reported a record high of 8,807 cases on Wednesday.

Deaths across the country rose by 138, also the highest in a month, taking the total to 156,705. (interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus: here) Reporting by anuron kumar Mitra in Bengaluru and shilpa Jamkhandikar in Mumbai; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Christian schmollinger