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Monday, 13 July, 2020 I 21 Dhū al-Qa‘dah, 1441 I Rs 25.00 I Vol XI No 15 I 52 Pages I Lahore Edition
soPs, smart loCkdown Cut CritiCal Covid-19 Cases by 28PC: nCoC g
acTive coronavirus cases conTinue To decrease while recoveries near 157,000
ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
t
he country has witnessed 28 per cent reduction in critical covid-19 cases due to smart lockdown as well as compliance with standard operating procedures (sops), said the national command and control centre (ncoc) on sunday. The ncoc said that the government’s decision to impose smart lockdown in areas reporting a spike in cases has produced the desired results as the number of cases has seen a steady decline. The ncoc said that a significant reduction in the number of positive cases has emerged as the country crossed the 100-day mark in its fight against coronavirus. “smart lockdowns, a stronger en-
forcement effort, compliance of standard operating procedures (sops) and the nationwide change in the behaviour can be credited for the current gains in the fight against covid-19,” it added. The ncoc added that as countries around the world juggle with strategies to flatten the covid-19 curve, pakistan's strategy won an unexpected endorsement from the united nations secretary-general (unsg) antonio guterres. guterres, in his Twitter post, had acknowledged that there was no choice between health or jobs in the fight against the covid-19 pandemic. "They are interlinked. we will either win on all fronts or fail on all fronts," said the unsg. earlier this week world health organisation (who) director general dr Tedros adhanom had lauded pakistani
Coronavirus in
Pakistan
CONFIRMED CASES:
250,977
DAY'S DEATH TOLL:
NEW CASES:
65
2,752
RECOVERED:
DEATHS:
156,700 5,257 SINDH:
105,533
PUNJAB:
86,556
KP:
BALOCHISTAN:
AJK/GB:
ISLAMABAD:
30,486
11,157
1,564/1,658 14,023
government’s response against the coronavirus pandemic and "recognised the positive trend of virus curtailment" in the country. in relation to the premier's concern regarding travel restrictions, the global health watchdog assured the country's top representative that it is creating sops to remove travel restrictions in future. REDUCTION IN ACTIVE CASES: The ncoc also said that the number of coronavirus cases has started receding in the country as 156,700 patients have so far recovered from covid-19, bringing the total number of active cases in pakistan to 86,975. a total of 2,521 new cases surfaced during the last 24 hours taking the tally to 248,872, said ncoc, adding that the death toll from the virus has reached 5,197 with 74 more deaths reported over the last 24 hours. according to the ncoc, the total reported cases include 86,556 in punjab, 103,836 in sindh, 30,078 in khyber pakhtunkhwa (kp), 11,157 in balochistan, 14,023 in islamabad, 1,658 in gilgitbaltistan (gb) and 1,564 in azad Jammu and kashmir (aJk). a total of 24,211 coronavirus tests were carried out during this period, it added.
Govt issues SOPs to prevent Covid-19 spread during Eidul Azha STORY ON PAGE 03
murad expresses concern over 'inadequate testing' KARACHI STAFF REPORT
sindh chief minister syed murad ali shah on sunday said that the coronavirus outbreak has been brought under control to some extent but not completely. addressing a press conference in karachi on sunday, the chief minister said that the federal government had said two months ago that testing capacity would be increased to 50,000 per day but it was still conducting 24,000 tests in a day. he pointed out that sindh has been conducting double the number of tests of any province since the outbreak began and that too for free. “i have data till July 11, according to which we are conducting 11,790 tests per million. punjab is doing 5,359 tests, khyber pakhtunkhwa (kp) is doing 4,898 and balochistan is conducting 4,316 tests per million,” he said. murad further said that he was “not satisfied” with the testing in sindh and that the provincial health department was working on increasing capacity. The chief minister said that coronavirus will be completely eradicated once a vaccine is developed to cure the disease. he stressed the need for conducting more tests of coronavirus. he said that 1,713 new cases
SBP imposes Rs1.68bn fine on 15 banks g
Twelve banks were fined for procedural violaTions perTaining specifically To know your cusTomer and cusTomer due diligence guidelines KARACHI MEIRYUM ALI
The state bank of pakistan (sbp) imposed a cumulative fine worth rs1.68 billion on 15 commercial banks for violating its regulations during the period from march 2020 to June 2020, according to data released by the sbp on saturday. These banks include united bank limited (ubl), Js bank, meezan bank, faysal bank, bank of punjab (bop), habib bank limited (hbl), mcb bank, national bank of pakistan (nbp), bank al
of the coronavirus were reported during the past 24 hours, taking the total number of infections in the province to 105,533. in a statement on the coronavirus situation, cm murad ali shah said that 48 more people succumbed to covid-19 in past 24 hours, taking the death toll from the disease to 1,795. The chief minister said that 42,780 coronavirus patients are undergoing treatment in the province, including 400 at isolation centres and 41,179 at their homes. he maintained that 1,201 covid19 patients are admitted at the hospitals and out of these patients, 743 are in critical condition. The chief minister said that 112 patients are on ventilators in the province. sindh cm said that 1,519 more covid-19 patients recuperated on sunday, taking the number of recovered patients to 60,958 in the province. shah said that 10,276 tests were conducted in sindh during past 24 hours and overall number of tests in the province has reached to 57,47,67. among 1713 fresh cases in sindh, 715 were detected in karachi including 325 in karachi south district, 143 in karachi east, 78 new cases in district central, 73 in malir, 66 in korangi and 30 positive cases in karachi east.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 05
more inside
PTI to move NAB against Sindh govt over graft charges STORY ON BACK PAGE
habib, habib metropolitan bank, bank alfalah, askari bank, bank islami, punjab provincial cooperative bank and Zarai Taraqiati bank. out of these banks, 12 were fined for procedural violations pertaining specifically to know your customer (kyc) and customer due diligence (cdd). bop faced the highest fine of rs286.3 million for procedural violations pertaining to kyc, cdd, asset quality, foreign exchange operations and corporate governance. according to the sbp, the bank has been advised to strengthen its processes to avoid recurrence of such violations. nbp faced the second highest fine of rs269.8 million for procedural violations related to kyc, cdd, asset quality, and foreign exchange operations. additionally, both hbl and mcb bank were fined rs204.2
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million and rs158.4 million respectively, for procedural violations in kyc and cdd. ubl was fined rs137 million for procedural violations in kyc, cdd, asset quality, foreign exchange operations and corporate governance. Js bank was fined rs71.4 million for procedural violations in cdd, kyc, and foreign exchange operations; while faysal bank was fined rs96.1 million for the same reasons along with violations in asset quality. bank al habib was fined rs 46.8 million, habib metropolitan bank was fined rs22.8 million, bank alfalah was fined rs40.3 million, askari bank was fined rs29.8 million, meezan bank was fined rs81.1 million; all for procedural violations in cdd and kyc.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 05
efforts underway to give boost to construction sector: faraz STORY ON PAGE 02
4 troops martyred in North Waziristan; 4 terrorists killed STORY ON PAGE 03 in today’s issue
attention Some readers have complained that they are not getting the magazine with their newspaper copy. Please call or WhatsApp us at the following number to register a complaint. Contact: 0307-7338168 irfan.farooq@pakistantoday.com.pk
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Monday, 13 July, 2020
NEWS
Efforts undErway to givE boost to construction sEctor: faraz ISLAMABAD
M
STAFF REPORT
INISTER for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz has urged the construction industry to take advantage of the government's new construction policy by December 31. Addressing a press conference along with Naya Pakistan Housing Authority Chairman Lieutenant General (r) Anwar Ali Haider on Sunday, the information minister said that the people availing this facility will not be asked about their source of investment. He said that the government is making all-out efforts to mitigate hurdles being faced by the construction industry. He added that a committee has also been
formed to solve issues related to the construction industry. The minister said that the government has devised a one window operation to reduce the process time required for clearance of documents. He said that the people, who desire to construct their homes by borrowing from banks, would be given loans at a subsidised interest rate. Faraz said that the interest rate of five marla houses will be 5 per cent whereas for ten marla houses it will be 7 per cent. He said that the government has asked the banks to dedicate about Rs330 billion for the construction industry. He added that 100,000 houses will be constructed in the first phase. Speaking on the occasion, Lt Gen (r) Haider said that the government is committed to starting construction activity at a
large scale. He said that the government has eased the procedures involved in obtaining no-objection certificate (NoC) and maps to facilitate the investors in the con-
struction industry. He said that a fixed tax regime has been introduced for builders and land developers and the tax has been reduced by 90 per cent. Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced a subsidy of Rs30 billion for the Naya Pakistan Housing Project (NPHP), urging the construction industry and investors to "take advantage of the opportunity", as the government tries to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak. "This means a subsidy of Rs0.3 million will be given on the first 100,000 houses constructed," he had said, while addressing the nation after chairing a meeting of the National Coordination Committee on Housing, Construction and Development in Islamabad.
civilian injured in indian army’s firing across Loc RAWALPINDI STAFF REPORT
Indian Army’s unprovoked ceasefire violation injured an elderly woman, resident of Kirni village in Rakhchikri Sector along the Line of Control (LoC). In a tweet, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Babar Iftikhar said that Indian troops targeted the civilian population unprovoked in the Rakhchikri Sector along the LoC. Pakistan Army troops responded effectively to Indian firing. According to ISPR, India has committed 1,643 ceasefire violations in 2020 so far.
schools’ reopening depends on pandemic situation: shafqat ISLAMABAD TLTP
imran to visit diamer-basha dam site ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan will visit the site of the Diamer-Basha Dam next week to review construction activities there. Construction work on the project, a multi-purpose reservoir that is being constructed on Indus River, began in May last. The project is aimed at addressing water storage for agriculture, mitigating flood threats and generating cheaper power. According to a previous statement, the 6.4 million acre-feet (MAF) water storage capacity of the dam will reduce the current water shortage in the country of 12 MAF to 6.1 MAF. It will add 35 years to the life of the Tarbela dam by reducing sedimentation. An area of 1.23 million acres of land will be brought under agriculture use due to the new dam which had remained in limbo for decades due to various reasons. The government in May last had signed a Rs442 billion contract with a joint venture of China Power and Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) for the construction of the dam. The Chinese state-run firm holds 70 percent and the FWO, a commercial arm of the Armed Forces of Pakistan, 30pc share in the consortium. The contract covers the construction of a diversion system, main dam, access bridge and the 21MW Tangir hydropower project. At the time, the prime minister was informed that the construction of the dam will create 16,500 jobs and utilise a large quantity of cement and steel which will boost our industry, in addition to its main purpose of water storage and producing 4,500 MW of cheap and affordable electricity. STAFF REPORT
2 more youngsters martyred by indian troops in ioK ISLAMABAD: Indian troops, in their fresh act of state terrorism, martyred two more youth in Baramulla district on Sunday, taking the tally to four within 24 hours in the territory. The youth were killed by troops during a cordon and search operation at Rebban in Sopore area of the district. On Saturday, Indian troops martyred two youth during a military operation in Handwara area of in Kupwara district. Earlier on July 7, at least two Indian soldiers, deployed in occupied Kashmir, committed suicide and an officer was killed by his colleague in two different areas of the territory. Meanwhile, Indian paramilitary Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) man committed suicide after killing his colleague ASI Sandeep Kuma in Kulgam district. “Constable Hemant lost the cool and fired with his INSAS rifle on the ASI killing him on the spot and in the meantime, he shot himself. Both were dead at the spot”, a police officer said. A senior police officer confirmed the incident and said that investigation had been launched to ascertain the reasons. TLTP
300th session of Senate to start today HOUSE TO CONSIDER TWO BILLS SEEKING INCREASE IN SEATS OF BALOCHISTAN ASSEMBLY ISLAMABAD APP
The 300th session of Senate will start on July 13 (Monday) as summoned by the president of Pakistan in exercise of power conferred by clause (1) of Article 54 of the Constitution. A total of 46 items would be part of the agenda for July 13 which include reports of Standing Committee on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs about the Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020, and the Covid-19 (Prevention of Smuggling) Bill, 2020. The House may consider and adopt the reports on these two bills following separate motions under Rule 130 (8) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Senate, 2012. The agenda further includes 15 motions for introduction of as many bills which may be presented in the House after passage of the motions. Five private members’ resolutions, a commenced motion under Rule 218 and five other motions under Rule 218 may be also considered by the House appearing in agenda. The Senate has included two bills in its agenda for the sitting on July 13, seeking amendments in Articles 73 and 106 of the Constitution of Pakistan.
A total of seventeen lawmakers have sponsored the bill seeking amendment in Article 73 of the Constitution of regarding procedure with respect to Money Bill and its first sub-article states that notwithstanding anything contained in Article 70, a Money Bill shall originate in the National Assembly provided that simultaneously when a Money Bill, including the Finance Bill containing the Annual Budget Statement, is presented in the lower house, a copy thereof shall be transmitted to the Senate which may, within fourteen days, make recommendations thereon to the NA. The sub-article (1A) states that the NA shall consider the recommendations of the Senate and after the bill has been passed by the Assembly with or without incorporating the recommendations of the Senate, it shall be presented to the president for assent. The lawmakers sponsoring this bill have sought amendment in this article. Another bill has sought amendment in Article 106 of the Constitution elaborating constitution of provincial assemblies and composition of seats in these legislatures. This bill sponsored by 20 lawmakers from Balochistan demands to increase the number of seats in provincial assembly of Balochistan from 65 to 80. The Standing Committee on Law and Justice has presented report on this bill during last session which recommended to increase the number of seats in Balochistan Assembly. A bill seeking raise in number of benches of high court is also part of agenda. This bill seeking amendment in article 198 of the constitution is sponsored by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Javed Abbassi and has been pending for the last several sessions.
Ministry refutes short fuel supply claim of K-Electric ISLAMABAD TLTP
Federal Ministry of Energy on Sunday refuted the K-Electric claims of non-supply of enough fuel from the federal authorities. A spokesman of the energy ministry said that K-Electric has itself confessed receiving supply of 290 MMCFD gas from the government. Connecting the issue of fuel supply with power load shedding is denying the actual situation, the statement said. It said that the KE failed to made required investment in its electricity distribution system. “Setting aside fuel supply the KE system was even not able to lift the electricity,” it added. K-Electric faces 100 megawatt to 200 MG shortage of electricity in peak hours. It uses unannounced load shed-
ding due to shortage in power generation, the spokesman said. The federal government has offered supply of 1000 megawatts to the power utility but it has to install 500 KV grid to lift this electricity, he added. The NEPRA chairman, in a hearing, noted that he had not seen any work being done on improving the transmission system by KE and said that the regulator could request the federal government to enhance supply from the national grid but the KE system was not able to lift the electricity. The NEPRA chief made these remarks while presiding over the hearing on load shedding by K-Electric in Karachi. It is pertinent to mention that K-Electric held the federal government responsible for the prolonged power outages in Karachi claiming that required oil and gas supply was not provided to the power utility that resulted in low power generation against demand of Karachi.
Preparations afoot for test trial of KCR project KARACHI TLTP
Preparations are being made for test trial of Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project, as six-month deadline set by the Supreme Court for making this project functional, is approaching next month. Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Shalwani held a meeting regarding the revival of the Karachi Circular Railways (KCR) on Sunday at the Pakistan Railway’s divisional superintendent office. According to details, Karachi Railways Divisional Superintendent (DS) Arshad Salam Khattak briefed the meeting about the work being carried out for KCR revival. He told the meeting that the track between Karachi city to Korangi will be completed in two months. Six-kilometre KCR track has been completed while work on remaining 8-kilometre track is underway, he told in the meeting.
Khattak said that Railways will launch test trail of KCR after completion of 13 kilometres ground track. The KCR project is 12.63 kilometres at grade (on the ground), and 30.75 kilometres elevated with 24 railway stations out of which 14 will be elevated. The average distance between each station will be 1.8 kilometres. Earlier, Federal Minister for Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed had expressed the confidence that KCR would be operationalised in six months in collaboration with the Sindh government. Rasheed had said that the Supreme Court (SC) had directed to complete the project within six months, adding that the federal and the Sindh governments are on the same page in context. He had said that housing colonies illegally constructed on railways land and financial crunch were the biggest hurdles in this regard. On February 21, the apex court had ordered to make KCR operational within six months.
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Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood has said that the government will take strict administrative actions for the implementation of the standard operating procedure (SOPs) in schools after their reopening. Talking to a private news channel, the education minister said that reopening of schools depends on the evolution of the pandemic over the coming months. The minister said the discussions will be held in next month in light of the coronavirus situation in the country. He said digital applications are being developed for teachers while student evaluations will be conducted differently.
Housing minister hospitalised after contracting covid-19 ISLAMABAD TLTP
Minister for Housing and Works and Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) leader, Tariq Bashir Cheema has been hospitalised after contracting coronavirus. The minister has been under treatment at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) since Saturday night. Doctors treating Tariq Bashir Cheema have decided to keep him at the hospital for a few days. A large number of ministers, government functionaries, and political figures have been affected by the virus since the pandemic began in the country. Lately, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Zafar Mirza tested positive for Covid-19. “I have tested positive for COVID-19,” he tweeted, adding that he has mild symptoms of the highly contagious disease. “Under med advice I have isolated myself at home & taking all precautions,” he said. On July 3, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had tested positive for coronavirus. The foreign minister, in a Twitter post, had said that he underwent the test after feeling a slight fever this afternoon. FM Qureshi had maintained that he quarantined himself at his home after his test reports for the virus came out positive.
Kashmiris to observe Martyrs' day today ISLAMABAD TLTP
Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) and across the world will observe Kashmir Martyrs Day on Monday to pay homage to martyrs of July 13, 1931. In Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK), All Parties Hurriyat Conference has appealed to the Kashmiri people mark it by a complete strike in the territory. On the July 13, 1931, the troops of Dogra Maharaja had killed 22 Kashmiris, one after the other, outside the Central Jail in Srinagar during the court proceedings against one Abdul Qadeer who had asked the Kashmiri people to defy the Dogra rule. The APHC spokesman in a statement said that on July 13, 1931, when it was time for Namaz-e-Zuhr, a young man, had started the call for prayer (Azaan) but had been shot dead by the Maharaja’s soldiers. Thus, 22 youth sacrificed their lives till the completion of Azaan. The spokesman said that the aim of the strike call is to stress the urgent need for a peaceful and just solution to the Kashmir dispute and to end the cycle of oppression against the Hurriyat leaders and the Kashmiri people. He also appealed for a march towards the Mazar-eShuhada, Naqshband Sahib in Srinagar on the day where the martyrs of 1931 are buried.
Monday, 13 July, 2020
NEWS
KP cM's Ex-aidE says LEaKEd audio cLiP was ‘HEaviLy EditEd’
a
NEWS DESK
JMAL Wazir, the former adviser to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister on information, has said that the leaked audio clip associated with him was heavily “edited”, laying the blame for it on those who “plotted this third-class act” against him. Wazir was removed from his post early on Saturday and replaced by Kamran Bangash, who is also the special assistant to the chief minister for local government, elections and rural development. Bangash will hold both portfolios, according to a notification by the provincial government. The reason behind Wazir’s removal is said to be a leaked audio clip and allega-
Holding up copies of the advertisements, he said that there were three advertisements that were to be given to television channels. He further said that according to the terms of business for the KP government, the minister of the relevant department chairs the steering committee which takes such decisions. “All three times the advertisements were for the health department. That department is headed by the health minister [Taimur Saleem Jhagra]. Other people such as health secretary, DG etc are involved […] I don’t have the power [to issue advertisements on behalf of the department].” Wazir said he had been “working day and night” since the pandemic began for the people of the province. “I did not
tions that he received kickbacks from an advertising agency in return for issuing them government advertisements. “Ajmal Wazir was removed after a leaked audio [clip],” Bangash had confirmed, saying: “Some things have come to light regarding [Wazir] taking commissions from an advertising firm.” In a video message on his Twitter account on Saturday night, Wazir alleged that the leaked audio had taken clips from different meetings and discussions, which were then edited to place the blame on him. “I was in a meeting […] a clip was taken from there. A discussion was happening in some other place and then cut, cut, cut, [it was taken] out of context. “You ask me a question, [then] you edit my answer.”
Kohala, azad Pattan power projects to create 8,000 jobs: PM ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday said that Kohala and Azad Pattan hydroelectric power projects launched by the federal government will produce 1,800 megawatts electricity and create 8,000 jobs. In a post on his official Facebook page, PM Imran said that Kohala project will be developed at Jhelum River in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). Similarly, Azad Pattan project will be built on the dual boundary between Rawalpindi district of Punjab and Sidhnouti district of AJK, he added. Meanwhile, the premier said the federal government is taking revolutionary steps to improve good governance in the country. He was talking to Punjab Law Minister Muhammad Basharat Raja who called on him. He said that the federal government will extend full cooperation to provincial government in improving good governance. He appreciated the efforts of Punjab government for initiative taken for the welfare of people and improvement in service delivery. The provincial law minister apprised the prime minister of draft law for local government system and said the new law will materialise the dream of real change. TLTP
covid-19 cases continue to drop in balochistan: shahwani QUETTA: The spokesman of Balochistan government, Liaquat Shahwani, on Sunday said that provincial government policies are bearing fruits as a further decrease was recorded in the number of Covid-19 confirmed cases across the province. In a statement, Shahwani said that new coronavirus cases have dropped by 50 per cent in the province. He said that the tally of recovered patients has increased from the active cases and 64 per cent patients of coronavirus have recovered. The overall tally of infections in Balochistan have now reached 11,157 and the death toll in the province stands at 126, he added. Shahwani said that more than 7,000 patients have fully recovered from the virus. STAFF REPORT
APP
The Ministry of National health Services on Sunday issued standard operating procedures (SOPs) for prevention of person-to-person transmission of Covid-19 to general public including the buyers and sellers of animals during Eidul Azha. According to an official of the ministry, the SOPs were related to social distancing, preventive measures during slaughtering of animals and Eid prayers on the occasion of Eidul Azha. He said that public should only undertake minimal necessary travel during Eid holidays as it is likely to fall in the peak period of pandemic in Pakistan while social visits at Eid and general family get together should be avoided. He said that as per SOPs, Eid shopping should only be restricted to minimal essentials and crowding in markets is not advisable. The tradition of ‘Eid embracing’ is likely to increase transmission so it should be avoided for this Eid, he added. He also said that the local authorities should encourage the trend of online buying, e-selling and slaughter arrangements of the animals as much as possible in their respective cities and towns. The authorities should allocate large enough spaces away from general populated areas for animal markets and must get the markets set under their supervision while allocating the space to the animal vendors strictly following social distancing principles, he added. The official said that the local authority must ensure that every individual visiting the market including buyer or seller must wear face mask as per the government’s orders. Those without face masks would not be allowed within the market, he added. Similarly, he also said, the local authority must ensure
ISLAMABAD: China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority Chairman and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting, Asim Saleem Bajwa has said that new optical fiber cable has been operationalised from Khunjrab to Islamabad. In a tweet on Sunday, Lt Gen (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa said that in next phase it will be laid from Islamabad to Karachi and Islamabad to Gwadar as part of digital highway plan. He said that foundation for digital revolution project is being processed in conjunction with China. Earlier on Friday, the chairman CPEC Authority had said that the Kohala and Azad Pattan power projects would generate 8,000 jobs and an investment of $4 billion over the years. Pakistan and China have signed an agreement for the construction of these two projects as part of the CPEC project. TLTP
take any holidays on Eid, I spent it in hospitals and isolation centres. I did not care about my protection or my family’s protection but [worked] to protect the lives of the people and ensure the implementation of SOPs.” He said that the matter would be cleared after which he would reveal the names of those who plotted against him. “They couldn’t face me so they did something third-class like this.” Wazir said he believed that whoever is accused [of misconduct] or has allegations levelled against him should face them. “This is Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision of accountability for every member of the party. [It will] not happen that we won’t be answerable when we are in government.”
the availability of thermal guns at entrance and allow customers only after checking temperature. He added that the local authority must designate an individual at the entrance and exit of the market with alcohol-based hand sanitizer (at least 70 per cent alcohol) to make sure each customer sanitises hand before entering and while leaving the market. As per SOPs, the official said, do not allow the customer with cough and flu to enter the market and to ensure the space does not get crowded, allow people to enter the market only in small groups at intervals. The sellers must keep themselves updated with the updated instructions issued by the government and show strict compliance to the buyers, he added. He also said that the buyer must wear a surgical or medical mask as per the government orders and do not go to the market if suffering from fever, cough or flu. He asked to make sure to sanitise hands before and after visiting the market. The official said that these guidelines have been developed to propose measures to ensure continued and uninterrupted prayers for Muslims on Eidul Azha. He said that as per SOPs, citizens have been asked to discourage the sick and elderly and children under 15 years of age from attending prayers and discourage the socialising within the mosques after prayers. He added that people must avoid handshake while worshipers must maintain social distancing by keeping two meters distance between each other, and every other row should be left empty. He further asked to avoid crowding when entering or exiting the mosques. The official said that every person should wear face surgical mask and worshippers should bring their own prayer mat and not leave them behind after the prayer. Clean floors for prayers must be ensured by washing them with chlorinated water regularly, he added.
RAWALPINDI: Four terrorists were killed and an equal number of troops embraced martyrdom when security forces conducted an intelligencebased operation (IBO) in North Waziristan on Sunday, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. The military media wing said in a statement that four terrorists were killed during an intelligence-based operation in Vezhda Sar area of North Waziristan when the security forces were clearing an area. During the exchange of fire with the terrorists, four security personnel were martyred, said the ISPR. The martyred soldiers are identified as Muhammad Ismail Khan, Muhammad Shahbaz Yasin, Muhammad Rizwan Khan and Raja Waheed Ahmed. Earlier on June 21, a Pakistan Army captain and a soldier had embraced martyrdom and two others were injured when unidentified gunmen opened fire at the convoy of security forces in North Waziristan. One terrorist had been killed in retaliation. STAFF RPEORT
cPnE condoles demise of Mir shakilur rahman’s sister KARACHI: Council of Newspaper Editors (CPNE) President Arif Nizami and Secretary General Dr Jabbar Khattak on Sunday expressed deep sorrow over the demise of the sister of Mir Shakilur Rahman, the editor-in-chief of Jang and Geo Media Group. In a statement, they prayed for the salvation of the departed soul and courage for the grieved family during this difficult time. Arif Nizami said that Mir Shakilur Rehman was currently behind bars on extra-judicial charges, while his sister passed away. He also appealed to the prime minister, supreme judiciary and higher authorities for immediate release of Mir Shakilur Rehman on humanitarian grounds so that he can participate in the funeral of his beloved sister. STAFF REPORT
nab gets assets details of aviation minister ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has received details of the properties owned by Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan and his family. Sources said the anti-corruption watchdog sought the property details of the minister and members of his family from the Rawalpindi revenue department in connection with its ongoing investigation into his assets. The property details provided to the bureau included information on commercial and agricultural land owned by him. The sources relayed that the accountability bureau will seek further asset details of the minister from the Federal Board of Revenue and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). INP
Polio vaccination to resume in Pakistan from July 20 ISLAMABAD APP
optical fiber operationalised from Khunjrab to islamabad: asim
4 troops martyred in north waziristan; 4 terrorists killed
Govt issues SOPs to prevent Covid-19 spread during Eidul Azha ISLAMABAD
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Pakistan will resume polio vaccination on July 20 with a campaign in selected districts after a four-month suspension of all polio vaccination activities due to Covid19 pandemic. According to an official of the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC), Polio Eradication Programme, the government has decided to reach the eligible children with all essential vaccines and relaunch small scale door to door vaccination round since suspension during March in the context of Covid-19. He said that the first round of the campaign will be launched in districts included Faisalabad, Attock, South Waziristan, and parts of Karachi and Quetta with a target to vaccinate almost 800,000 children under the age of five. He said that under the guidance of the Ministry of National Health Services and following the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) guidelines and Polio Oversight Board recommendations, the Pakistan Polio Eradication programme had suspended all polio related activities in the last week of March, except surveillance.
In the meanwhile, all programme strengths and capacities were redirected to support the ongoing Covid19 surveillance and response efforts at different levels. The programme has been vigilantly monitoring the evolving risks of Covid-19 as well as the polio and other vaccine preventable diseases across Pakistan. The suspension of immunisation activities was due to lockdowns, closure of OPDs and travel difficulties disrupted essential health interventions. The provisions of essential vaccines to around 700,000 newborns per month were seriously affected while the suspension of door to door campaigns also widened immunity gap among vulnerable children significantly diluting the gains made during December 2019 to March 2020 as the programme was recovering from 2019 crisis. The country is facing widespread circulation of WPV1 and cVDPV2 with heightened risks across Pakistan. “The impact of Covid-19 on our economy and communities is unprecedented. With the disruption of essential immunization services due to the Covid-19 pandemic, children are continuously at a higher risk of contracting polio and other vaccine-preventable dis-
eases,” said Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Dr Zafar Mirza. “As we learn to live with Covid-19, I urge all parents and caregivers to ensure vaccination of their children to protect them from all vaccine-preventable diseases including the paralyzing polio. Ensuring safe vaccination and well-being of children is our utmost priority,” he said. The resumption plan prepared by the national team in consultation with provinces was presented and endorsed by the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on Polio Eradication in Pakistan during meeting in June advising robust safety measures. The plan encompasses large scale case response rounds in August and September and 3 nationwide campaigns during last quarter of 2020. The meeting of the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) held on July 4, chaired by the prime minister, and having all chief secretaries on board, appreciated the resumption of essential immunization services and urged all stakeholders to urge the optimal quality of supplemental immunization activities envisaged in the plan to resume polio immunisation activities.
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Monday, 13 July, 2020
NEWS
BUzdAr vows to mAKe PUnjAB BUsiness hUB of coUntry LAHORE
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STAFF REPORT
UNJAB Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar on Sunday vowed to make the province a business hub of the country. In a statement, the chief minister said that economic zones and industrial estates are being established on 10,000 acres in the province. He said the government is introducing favorable reforms to boost the industrial sector in the province. He lamented that previous rulers only established three special economic zones since the establishment of Pakistan. “We have introduced such reforms for the industrial sector in only two years which could not have
been done in the next 70 years by those elements displaying pomp and show,” he highlighted. He apprised that Allama Iqbal Industrial City to be established in Faisalabad stretches on more than three thousand acres of land. The CM highlighted that employment opportunities for 300,000 youths will be generated directly from Allama Iqbal Industrial City. He directed to start work on phase-II and phase-III of Greater Thal Canal project removing all impediments. The chief minister said that Greater Thal Canal will irrigate millions of acres in five districts of South Punjab upon completion. “We are bringing international companies to Pakistan and one window system is being introduced in the industrial estates for
man poisons two daughters to death, wife and another daughter hospitalised CHICHAWATNI: A man poisoned his two minor daughters to death while his wife and another daughter were hospitalised in critical condition. Police said that accused Haq Nawaaz hailing from village 38/12-L of Chichwatni was annoyed with his wife over repeated domestic quarrels. To get rid of her, the culprit administered poison to his wife and three daughters mixing into soft drink. Condition of woman and her three minor daughters deteriorated due to taking poisonous cold drink. While being shifted to hospital, Noureen, 5, and Sehrish, 7, expired and Sana Bibi and Swaira, 8, were hospitalised in DHQ Hospital Sahiwal in critical condition. The police, after registering a case against the culprit, started raids for his arrest. INP
stepmother poisons bride to death on wedding day PESHAWAR: A woman has poisoned her stepdaughter to death on the day of her wedding in a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) village on Sunday. According to the details, the bride, Naila, was given poison by her stepmother at their home as the groom led his wedding procession into the house in a Lower Dil village in KP. But the bride, attired in the red wedding dress, breathed her last as soon as the wedding party reached back at the groom’s home. A case has been registered against the stepmother after a medical examination revealed that the girl was given poison. Naila, daughter of Sherbaz Khan, was given poison just before the wedding party was to leave the bride’s home. The victim's family has not yet contacted the police, police sources claimed. Policemen from Lal Qila Police Station and Samarbagh Police Station have the spot and shifted the dead body to a hospital for post-mortem. As per locals, Naila’s real mother has been divorced by her father. INP
KP issues soPs to set up cattle markets: Bangash PESHAWAR: Adviser to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister on Information Kamran Khan Bangash has said that the protection of public from coronavirus is the top priority of the government. Addressing the media in the provincial capital on Sunday, he said that another hospital with the assistance of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is being established in Peshawar Institute of Cardiology for coronavirus patients. Bangash said that the KP government has issued standard operating procedures (SOPs) for cattle markets before Eidul Azha in view to protect people from Covid-19. He said that according to the SOPs, cattle markets would be set up outside the cities and Instead of establishing big cattle markets, more small markets would be set up to avoid rush in one place. He said that arrangements will also be made to avoid congestion around the cattle markets, while the traffic police would have the responsibility to come up with a plan to avoid traffic congestion. Bangash said that district administration will check the condition of these markets and no cattle market would be set up without registration. "Elder people and children will not be allowed to enter the cattle markets, so the elders are requested to refrain from entering the markets," he said. The special assistant said that just like in all other places, entry without a mask is prohibited, similarly, entry into the cattle markets without a mask is not allowed while the temperature of every person entering cattle market will be checked with thermal gun. He said that hand washing and sanitizer facilities will be available in the markets. TLTP
their facilitation,” he underscored, adding that there will be capacity for setting up more than 550 industrial units in the industrial city. The CM outlined that this project will prove to be a game changer in order to set the wheel of economy rolling which will create one million employment opportunities in the concerned sectors. He emphasised that industrial reforms of Punjab government will pave the way for the economic revival in the Covid-19 perspective. The CM maintained that work on infrastructure is ongoing in the contiguous districts of other provinces for the promotion of inter-provincial trade. The economic progress of Punjab will bring about industrial revolution in the whole region including Pakistan, said Buzdar.
Govt strivinG to strenGthen economy: Aleem KhAn LAHORE: Punjab Senior Minister Abdul Aleem Khan has said that despite the most difficult circumstances, the country is moving towards betterment as the government is striving hard to strengthen economy. Aleem Khan expressed these views while talking to a delegation of workers from NA-129 and PP-158 on Sunday. He said that the government is working day and night to solve the problems of the masses and Prime Minister Imran Khan is striving hard to strengthen economy as he wants to stand the country on its own feet. He also said that despite global and domestic recession, the prime minister is committed to improving the country’s situation and his mission is to increase employment opportunities for the people and reduce their hardships by bringing equal development in all sectors. He further said that the present government believes in real development in all segments and therefore the issues of common man are being resolved through real development instead of exhibition projects. He added that the objective of the premier is to take the country out of the problems facing presently and join the ranks of developed countries. Khan stressed that the corruption and bad governance of the previous rulers have increased the problems of the common man as former governments are responsible for the mire of debts in which they have used the national exchequer for their own corruption without setting the national priorities. Talking to the workers, Khan appealed to them that citizens should also be involved in development and support the government in its work of improvement efforts. He said that serious efforts are being made to solve the problems of the common man and the priority of local development works is being implemented after the feedback of the residents. TLTP
KP govt slashes tourism, sports, youth development funds PESHAWAR AZIZ BUNERI
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has reduced more than Rs1.82 billion from the annual development fund of tourism, sports and youth development department despite the fact that the department has spent 96 per cent of its Rs5 billion allocated funds for the financial year 2019-20. Due to the reduction in uplift fund, it is feared that the ongoing projects in the tourism, sports and youth affair department, would not be completed on time. Tourism department sources told Pakistan Today that there is a reduction in government revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic, but tourism is still the only department in the province which has most of the opportunities to collect billions in revenue. Sources said that the department had launched major projects in to promote tourism in the province. The sources added that KP government had said that for the departments which have utilised maximum of their development budget in the financial year 2019-20, there will be no deductions from their ADP fund due to the situation caused by the coronavirus.
The KP government had set aside Rs5.90 billion for the Department of Sports, Tourism, Culture, Archeology and Youth Affairs last year out of which Rs3.35 billion were released. The department has utilized more than 99 per cent of the released funds. However, the provincial government has reduced the development fund allocated this year. The KP government has allocated Rs4.86 billion for the department for the financial year 2020-21 out of which Rs2.91 billion were released for ongoing project while Rs1.17 billion are for undertaking new projects. The uplift fund of the department has been cut by Rs1.82 billion, which has affected many ongoing projects of the department. According to sources, the provincial government has been claiming for the day first to improve the tourism infrastructure in the province. The department was spending billions of rupees on finding and developing new tourist spots and was establishing tourists camping pods at tourist sights. Besides this, the construction of new sports grounds in different districts on which the development work is in the final stages, but there is a risk that these projects will not be completed on time due to the reduction of uplift funds.
Expo Centre Field hospital in Lahore closed after all virus patients discharged LAHORE INP
All three halls of Expo Centre Field hospital in Lahore have been closed after Covid-19 patients receiving treatment at temporarily built field hospital discharged on Sunday. Reportedly, all coronavirus patients receiving treatment at the Expo Cente Field Hospital discharged after being fully recovered from the deadly virus.
The Punjab government established 990-bed isolation facility and 10-bed High Dependency Unit at the Lahore Expo Centre, while 110 doctors, nurses and paramedical staff had been appointed at a field hospital to look after virus patients. Sources said that due to the Punjab government’s home isolation policy, many Covid-19 patients isolated themselves at their homes. Earlier on July 9, Expo Centre had forwarded Rs550 million bill to
the provincial government for renting the place for a few months amidst the coronavirus pandemic. According to sources privy to the development, the rent is being charged after the provincial government acquired the premises to form a field hospital in the vicinity for coronavirus patients. 600 patients have thus far been treated in the temporarily built field hospital.
Citizens demand strict action against street vendors selling unhygienic food ISLAMABAD APP
Residents of federal capital on Sunday demanded that the authorities concerned should take strict action against the open sale of unhygienic and leftover food items in several streets and markets during the coronavirus critical situation which is leading to severe medical complications among citizens. Ctizens’ complaints have stated that there was no check and balance on these items; therefore, vendors have been allowed to make a profit off them. According to Citizens nowadays, traveling through the streets we came across a fair amount of street vendors selling different types of food without ensuring its hygiene and they do not understand that their unhygienic food can become a health hazard specially in Coronavirus. Muhammad Bilal resident of F-6/1 while talking to APP said that many roadside vendors do not cover food items which attracts flies and germs so the consumers should avoid uncovered food. It should be made compulsory to cover the food so that they are not exposed to insects. Vendors should ensure that every food item they serve is prepared in hygienic conditions, he said, adding, they
should voluntarily adopt hygienic measures to improve the quality of the food served. Asma Shifa a housewife said, habits of food vendors such as not washing their hands, not covering their hair, use of contaminated water, slime layer on poorly cleaned utensil and improper handling of food should be brought under check by the legislation as we already feared about Covid-19. Vendors who violate the norms should be penalised. There should be a regulatory body to keep a vigilant eye on them. Each fruit seller must be provided a license to sell fruits and salad, she demanded. A citizen Rauf Israr said there should be a constant check on the sale of unhygienic food items. Authority concerned officials should come out to keep a check on unhygienic food items openly sold in every nook and corner of the city. A medical expert Dr I Q Baig also claims the number of infectious diseases increases due to the sale of unhygienic ally-prepared foods and drinks. And he says there should be an immediate ban on sale of unhygienic foodstuffs, especially in streets where kids are playing. The vendors are more focused on their business rather than the public health, he added.
tenant robs house owner in Gujranwala to pay rent GUJRANWALA: A tenant in Gujranwala robbed his landlord after he was unable to pay the rent due to the financial crisis caused by the Covid-19 lockdown on Sunday. According to details, a tenant, identified as Usman, robbed his landlord’s house situated at the Jinnah road area of Gujranwala to pay the rent. He donned burqa and looted Rs39,000 cash from his house owner. The police arrested the accused after being informed about the incident. DSP Imran Abbas said that accused Usman has been arrested and a case of robbery was registered against him. According to the tenant, he made the plan to rob landlord after he failed to pay two months’ rent due to short of money amid coronavirus pandemic. However, police officials paid his house rent to the owner so that the tenant’s wife and children could continue to stay in the house. INP
one killed, another injured in Panjur firing PANGUR: One person was killed and another injured when unknown armed persons opened firing on Sunday, police said. According to details, the incident took place in main bazaar of Panjgur city of district Panjgur where unidentified gunmen sprayed bullets at two people. As a result of firing one person was killed on the spot and another was critically injured. The attackers fled the scene of the crime. The body and injured were shifted to hospital for medico-legal formalities. Police said that the incident seems to be outcome of personal enmity, however, a case has been registered against unidentified assailants and investigations were underway. INP
citizens stage protest against tiktok, PUBG in Peshawar PESHAWAR: A number of citizens held a protest demonstration against two highly popular mobile apps – TikTok and Player Unknown’s Battleground (PUBG) – in Peshawar on Sunday. The protestors were carrying banners with slogans inscribed on them against both apps and demanded that the government impose a permanent ban on their use in the country. One of the protesters told the media that youth are wasting their precious time on TikTok and called on the government to immediately take notice of it and block access to the mobile app in the country to save the younger generation. On July 1, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had temporarily banned PUBG in the country. A PTA spokesman had said that a decision to permanently ban the PUBG would be made after consultations. “We have received many complaints regarding the game,” he said adding that complaints termed the game as a waste of time and further claimed that it was causing a negative impact on the children. INP
Monday, 13 July, 2020
PM MoveS to Revive viRuS-hit econoMy thRough MoRtgage financing Plan iSLaMaBad
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APP
RIME Minister Imran Khan has rolled out another plan to revive the economy reeling under the Covid19 pandemic with over Rs300 billion of mortgage financing by commercial banks to boost the construction related activities in the country. On Friday, the premier himself had unveiled the plan for revival of the construction sector after the maiden meeting of the newly-formed National Coordination Committee on Housing and Construction. As happened all across the world, the coronavirus pandemic had contracted Pakistan’s economy as well and resulted in rise in unemployment and economic difficulties for the masses. The government's measures for the revival of the construction sector is expected to create job opportunities. The novel coronavirus emerged as a deadly threat for the world at the start of 2020 and so far killed more than half a million people and ravaged the leading economies of the world, contracting world economic growth and completely closing down vital sectors like airline, travel and tourism industries. Many economically strong countries like China, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain were forced to impose strict lock-
downs spread over months to stop the surging coronavirus. However, economically fragile countries like Pakistan were caught in a dilemma as the option of complete lockdown was a recipe for disaster, especially for the vulnerable sections of society like daily wage earners and lower strata of society, who are a significant portion of population counting in tens of millions. PM Imran went for a policy of smart lockdown, balancing the need to halt the spread of coronavirus and keep the different sectors of the economy open at the same time. The strategy, largely worked and as of now the vital sectors of the economy, is open and the economy is rolling along, with the number of coronavirus cases after hitting the peak are dipping on a daily basis. Now the number of recovered is more than that of the active Covid-19 patients in Pakistan. More than 157,000 patients have defeated the virus so far. In order to deal with the adverse effects of coronavirus, the government announced a relief package worth Rs1.2 trillion on March 24, which was being implemented in the fiscal year 2020-21. An important component of Pakistan’s economic revival plan was the second phase of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Despite hurdles Islamabad and Beijing went ahead with the second phase of mega project during the last two years.
After undertaking of the infrastructure, road and energy projects across Pakistan in the first phase, the focus was shifted to the building of eight special economic zones and socioeconomic and human development with the Chinese financial assistance of $1 billion. The PTI-led government established the CPEC Authority and appointed Lt-Gen (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa which had a decisive impact as was evident from the progress on different projects undertaken under CPEC. Bajwa has set his sights on executing vital projects, including M8 motorway from Gwadar (Balochistan) to Ratodero (Sindh) and $230 million Gwadar international airport. The other projects include a fully fenced 1,800-kilometre-long railway track from Karachi to Peshawar, a dry port at Havelian and a new electricity transmission system to augment the ultimate plan of mass industrialisation and relocation of industries from China to Pakistan. While giving a practical shape to the concept of Riyasat-e-Madina, Premier Imran launched his flagship Ehsaas programme to take care of the poor and needy. This year the government allocated Rs08 billion for different projects under the Ehsaas programme deftly managed by Dr Sania Nishtar, special assistant to the prime minister, gaining appreciation at international forums.
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SBP imposes Rs1.68bn fine on 15 banks continued on page 01 Bank Islami was fined Rs11.5 million, for procedural violations in foreign exchange operations. Punjab Provincial Cooperative Bank and Zarai Taraqiati Bank were fined Rs81.5 million and Rs147.2 million respectively for violations in Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML). Both banks had penal and administrative action taken against them. Both banks were also advised to conduct an internal inquiry on breaches of regulatory instructions and take disciplinary action against the delinquent officials. Since the middle of 2019, the SBP has started making public the fines it imposes on commercial banks. The recent fines come after the central bank increased regulations in the last few months, through its off-site supervision and enforcement department. The SBP has also become more vigilant about complying with international standards due to Pakistan being included on the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list. The deadline to meet the FATF’s 27 conditions has been extended to October 2020. Earlier in December 2019, the SBP imposed a cumulative fine worth Rs219.14 million on five commercial banks for violating its regulations including Bank Alfalah, NBP, MCB Bank, Habib Metropolitan Bank and Summit Bank. In October 2019, SBP imposed a Rs35.6 million penalty on HBL “due to major flaws in the foreign trade operation services and CDD”. In September 2019, the central bank fined Meezan Bank Limited, Askari Bank Limited and MCB Islamic Bank Limited a total of Rs133.3 million. The penalty was imposed on all three banks due to violations related to KYC and CDD. In August 2019, the SBP imposed a total penalty of Rs805 million on 10 banks, including HBL, mostly for violating AML and CFT regulations.
Murad expresses concern over 'inadequate testing' continued on page 01 Meanwhile, 46 fresh cases were reported in Mirpur Khas, 172 in Khairpur, 62 in Larkana, 59 in Shikarpur, and 55 cases in Mariari. Moreover, 32 cases of coronavirus reported each in Dadu and Qambar, 31 in Tando Mohammad Khan, 27 cases in Thatta, 41 cases in Ghotki, Sanghar 35, Badin 18, Kashmore 14, Umarkot 11, Jamshoro 26, Hyderabad 24, Tando Allahyar 21 and 19 cases in Jacobabad. Seven cases each were reported in Sukkur and Naushehro Feroz, two cases in Sujawal and 10 cases in Shaheed Benazirabad.
Of reminiscences SYed aFSaR SaJid Title: Footprints in Time --- Reminiscences of a Sindhi Matriarch Author: Ghulam Fatima Shaikh Translated from Sindhi and Annotated by: Rasheeda Husain Published by: Oxford University Press, Karachi Pages; 107 – Price: Rs. 525/-
The author of this memoir Ghulam Fatima Shaikh, though semi-literate, was a staunch advocate of female education. A qualified midwife and nurse, she had a good knowledge of Arabic and Turkish as she lived among Arabs and Turks for many years during World War I. She founded and managed a girls’ middle school in Hyderabad, Sindh until her death. Rasheeda Husain, Ghulam Fatima Shaikh’s grand-daughter and the translator of this work, is an alumna of the London School of Economics with diverse professional occupations like broadcasting, librarianship, publicity management, UN consultancies, family planning and woman activism. The ‘Foreword’ and ‘Afterword’ of the book have been written by Dr. Aziz ur Rehman Bughio and Iqbal Akhund respectively. The former (a retired high official of the Press Information Department, government of Pakistan) transcribed the story of the matriarch’s life that she narrated to him over a period of a month in the 1960’s while he was serving as tutor to the children of Dr. Umar bin Mohammad Daudpota and Khadija Daudpota, her son-in-law and daughter whereas the latter (Pakistan’s former ambassador to the UN) is her grandson. She had no formal education but had an amazing memory. The narrative first appeared in Nai Zindagi, published by the Information Department, government of Sindh and later in the monthly Adiyoon, Sindhi women’s monthly magazine published by the Sindhi Adabi Society. The book was first published in Sindhi in 1983 by the Sindhi Adabi Society. It contains eight chapters including the ‘Afterword’. The protagonist of the story Nandni became a Muslim at the age of five when her father Shaikh Abdal Rahim (formerly Deomal), belonging to a well-to-do Kripalani household of a Hindu Amil family of Sindh, had already converted to Islam. Acharya Kripalani, the president of the Indian National Congress in 1947, was her real paternal uncle. Shaikh Abdal Rahim’s commitment to Islam was unflinching in the face of a dogged opposition from within his erstwhile fraternity; he spent most of his time in preaching Islam. Shaikh al Hind Maulana Mahmoodul Hassan, Maulana Husssain Ahmad Madni and Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi were his eminent associates. That was the time when large scale conversion of young Sindhi Hindus to Islam unnerved the Hindu community in the province, seriously disturbing its age-long societal patterns. The first chapter of the book deals with such conversions and their impact on the local environment besides the courage and conviction of the narrator’s father who brought many Hindus into the fold of Islam through his preaching. In the next two chapters of the book, the narrator has described the circumstances of her marriage (and thereafter) with Dr. Shaikh Shamsuddin, a grandson of Shaikh Ahmad who had himself earlier converted to Islam on her father’s persuasion. At that time she was only fourteen while her would-be bridegroom was twenty-one. Dr. Shaikh Shamsuddin planned to leave for Turkey in the wake of World War I, to join the Hilale-Ahmer to rescue the sick and injured. The Indian Muslims were anxious to share the woes and sufferings of
their Turkish brethren and provide them succour. Turkey was pitched against powerful adversaries and the Ottoman Empire stood in danger of being liquidated. The narrator also followed and joined her husband in Bombay from where they set sail for their new destination. On their way, however, they changed their plan in view of the termination of the Balkan Wars, and diverted their journey to Madinah where the couple settled comfortably with some initial setbacks --- the austere husband striving to establish his credentials as a physician while the frugal spouse sewing and stitching dresses for sale to ease the domestic economy. In the fourth chapter, the narrator gives a graphic account of the civil life in Madinah under the aegis of the Ottoman rule. She praises the Turks for their sagacity and benevolence. The machinations of the British led to the fall of the Ottoman Empire eventually coinciding with the defeat of the Central Powers in the War (WW I). The narrator views the inevitable with deep anguish: ‘With the defeat of Turkey, the Allied powers established separate independent kingdoms. Egypt and Arabia came under British influence, and Syria under French, with the victorious powers installing their own puppets as suzerains. This narrow concept of nationalism, which is against Islam, was propagated by the British to destroy the unity of Muslim power.’ The event had implicit repercussions for the Indian Muslims’ struggle for freedom from the British as according to her they ‘drew their strength from a strong Turkish Empire’. In the following chapter the narrator relates their emigration to and (twelve-month) stay at Adana in Turkey as a sequel to the deteriorating law and order situation in Madinah. She liked the new place and its congenial surroundings albeit the ongoing war. The last two chapters contain an account of the couple’s homeward journey at the end of the war interspersed with details of some family men and matters. The story of Ghulam Fatima Shaikh therefore depicts, in the words of its translator, ‘a society wherein the measure of man was not his wealth but his learning and respectability, wherein men with great passion abandoned all, and stood steadfast in pursuit of their ideals. But most of all, it depicts a society in transition as a result of the war, the struggle for Indian independence and the rising aspirations of Indian Muslims’.
Monday, 13 July, 2020
06 COMMENT
Historic blunders
Be careful!
The government’s triumphalism is perhaps the biggest threat
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HE government has been sounding triumphalist of late, as if it has defeated the coronavirus. Planning Minister Asad Umar was the latest member of the chorus, with his revelation that the number of patients needing ventilators was going down. However, World Health organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu sounded a less upbeat note when he pointed out that the number of cases worldwide had doubled in the last six weeks, though he did hold out hope for the affected by saying that it was still possible to handle the pandemic by taking aggressive measures. The implication for Pakistan is that there is still room to rethink the attempts at reopening the country. Not only Uzbekistan has reversed its lockdown rollback, but Hong Kong is once again closing its schools after a fresh outbreak of cases. The government needs to take a long hard look at its decision to move over to a so-called smart lockdown policy, which appears to punish citizens for no fault of their own, and which ends up placing the entire city in lockdown. That effort appears driven by guesswork, for the brakes which have been placed on testing, mean that all figures available with public health officials are rendered dubious. Reducing testing means that the number of sick is hidden, but when people start suffering symptoms and just dying, the government may find itself having to explain a large number of deaths labeled non-covid because they had never been tested while alive. The government has got yet another opportunity to make amends. But that it will not be able to do if it does not insist on trumpeting its achievements so far. The government should take to heart the WHo’’s warning about how the pandemic is not yet over. That is something the government will need to monitor, for it is only when the WHo says that the pandemic is no longer that, when it downgrades covid-19 to endemic in some countries, that there might be reason to celebrate. That will be, of course, if one is off the list of those countries where it is endemic, and it can be assumed that covid-19 will remain endemic all over the world, for some time to come.
Humayun GauHar
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o rule successfully is to rule well. To rule well is to give the people what they want. It would be good for Prime Minister Imran Khan to make his own list of what he thinks it is that the people want. I would say that first and foremost, people want to live. They don’t want to live like stray dogs on the street. They want to live in dignity with at least their basic needs met. They want security and reassurance against threats being perpetually meted out by demented neighbours. It goes without saying that they want life, liberty and to use a good phrase from the American constitution– “the pursuit of happiness.” That is their bounden right. And it shouldn’t be difficult to understand. Prime Minister Imran Khan, I feel, has got caught up in the difficulties of implementing his agenda, which raised people’s hopes sky high and which level of expectation he is finding it hard to reach. Needless to say, people also want food, shelter and clothing, the old slogan of the People’s Party, which it didn’t take seriously. They want health facilities; they want education for their children, because in Islam it is the basic fundamental right of every person to be able to develop his or her mind to its fullest potential and it is the duty of the State, if it really is an Islamic state, to provide the wherewithal for that. I will at some point make a list of what are the fundamental Islamic rights of people in an Islamic State, which it is Imran Khan’s duty to implement, not immediately, but at least give it a start. Most importantly, the people want justice at every level, which is most strikingly absent in today’s Pakistan. There are tens of thousands of people languishing in prison just awaiting trial and our judiciary is overwhelmed by the numbers and unnecessary bureaucratic procedures and many laws that are asses. Many have spent more time in prison awaiting trial then they would if they had been convicted for the crime they have allegedly committed. Take the case of Mir Shakil ur Rehman, owner of the Jang Group. He is languishing in incarceration for over four months now without any formal charges being brought against him. What prize justice? This in itself is an abhorrence to the concept of natural law. That is not all. Many journalists and press mediums are under unnecessary pressures. Channel 24 was closed down for a time and given quite a run around till a court restored its viewership. Imran Khan should realize that he who takes on the media never wins. The media is a ball of fire that you can’t hold. Look at what happened to Richard Nixon. Look at what happened to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who arrested many editors. Chaudhry Shujat Husain gave Imran Khan sterling advice when he told him not to open yet another front with the media unless he has his case watertight and one that is likely to be accepted in an honourable
The Hagia Sofia The return of the museum to mosque has created a storm
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HE ruling by the Turkish Constitutional Court reversing the decision of the Republican regime, which converted the Hagia Sophia Mosque into a museum, has been received with great warmth by the Erdogan government, for which it was an important step in its agenda, which has been to reverse the legacy of the post-ottoman dispensation. As the name discloses, Hagia Sophia was a church at the time of the 1453 ottoman conquest of Constantinople. In fact it was the main cathedral of the Greek orthodox Church, and it was as a symbol that a new era had begun that Muhmammad the Conqueror converted the cathedral into the main mosque of what was to be the new capital of the ottoman: Istanbul. Now the Aya Sofia mosque, that was the role it played as long as there was an ottoman sultan, and when the sultanate was abolished in 1924, presumably as a symbol of the change to a republic under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the mosque was converted into a museum. The conversion of places of religious worship is not new: the cathedral itself was built on a temple of Diana which fell into disuse with the advent of Christianity. However, while there are no votaries of Diana to make any complaint, there are Christians aplenty to complain about this reversal. This should perhaps not be seen merely as a change in the status of a historical monument, as a further step in Recep Tayip Erdogan’s consolidation of power. While he and his supporters may claim that this was a court decision, that would sound as disingenuous as the claim that the Pakistani government makes about NAB’s independence. Turkey has a different history than Pakistan’s, but religion is a factor. It should not be forgotten that one Christian body making a noise about the Hagia Sofia has been the Greek orthodox Church, which has allowed Greece to become involved. Similarly, Pakistan faces the issue of the construction of a Hindu temple in Islamabad. That matter should be settled before any unfriendly neighbor uses the opportunity to get involved in what is one of Pakistan’s internal affairs. Just as the Hagia Sofia is an internal affair of Turkey, not a hot-button issue for all Muslims.
The Black list of Human Rights abusers The UK Parliament should sanction Indians too
aLI SuKHanVEr
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HE UK has ultimately announced longawaited sanctions against individuals involved in human rights violations. These individuals include the abusers from Saudi Arabia, Russia, Myanmar and North Korea. Dominic Rennie Raab, the First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs said, announcing the names of the ‘abusers’ in Parliament, that the sanctions would target 25 Russian nationals involved in the death of the Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, 20 Saudi nationals involved in the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, two highranking generals implicated in the systemic killing of the Rohingyas in Myanmar, and two organizations using forced labour in North Korea. The most prominent name in the list is of Saud al-Qahtani who allegedly oversaw the team that killed Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Qahtani is a close aide to the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
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court of law. The media has become the fourth pillar of the state and taking it on is like taking on Parliament, or the judiciary or even elements in the executive, especially the Army, which, Imran should have learnt by now, ends up calling the shots when it wants to. People also moan about Imran Khan’s team and how wanting it seems to be. A few notable exceptions notwithstanding, the people are not wrong. Why has an intelligent man like Imran Khan made such a stunningly mediocre team? To understand that one has to understand that he is a child of the system and the system is atrocious in the extreme. When a prime minister is forced to choose his team from the small pool of the National Assembly and Senate instead of from amongst all the very able Pakistanis available, it is not surprising that his team is mediocre. The system is a child of the constitution and the constitution is a child of the annihilation of democratic principles, made as it is by a rump assembly after the loss of East Pakistan and the majority party that had been elected. The constitution is a product of our historic misfortunes and mistakes starting from before the Partition of India. Being still mentally colonized by the British, it is a no brainer that, like other colonies, we adopted the British political system which may work for them (although it has stopped working now) but which can never work for a federation like Pakistan. India did the same and where are its people now? As wretched as ever. It has become conventional wisdom that Imran Khan cannot be replaced because there is no alternative to him anymore. True. Within this system, there really isn’t, which to me more than anything else symbolizes the utter and complete collapse of our system. In fact, electoral democracy, be it parliamentary or presidential, is actually failing all over the world and the method of government making will need to change drastically. Pakistan is not the only country which looks like it has no choices. Does the USA? President Trump was actually no choice. The Democratic Party is unable to come up with a credible presidential nominee and have fallen back on an old and stale man. In Britain, Boris Johnson does not leave much to be desired. There also is no potential prime minister who seems to be knocking on the door of Ten Downing Street. They will also have to rethink their system. The most glaring dilution of the will of the people comes from having Electoral Colleges to choose a head of government. In the USA you have an electoral college of a few hundred people who elect the president and they often go against the popular vote as they did the last time. In Britain, you have the House of Commons comprising some 600-odd members who act as the electoral college. We have to presume here that the electors in electoral colleges truly represent the will of the people, which they patently do not. Back to Pakistan. our first problem was in the Partition formula: that areas with Muslim majorities could go to Pakistan and the princely states would depend on the decision of their ruler. The point is that where Muslims were in a majority in India, they did not feel insecure and thus their demand for Pakistan was weaker than in areas where they were in a minority and felt insecure and threatened. But because we followed the formula of where Muslims were in a majority, we forgot the Muslims who lived in a minority and hankered after Pakistan much more. I think this formula was first suggested by Allama Iqbal in
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Raab said, “Those with blood on their hands won’t be free to waltz into this country, to buy up property on the Kings Road, do their Christmas shopping in Knightsbridge, or siphon dirty money through British banks. You cannot set foot in this country, and we will seize your blood-drenched ill-gotten gains if you try.” Certainly this action of the UK Parliament is highly appreciable; we all need to stand against every type of human rights violations. It is an undeniable fact that without putting a check on those involved in human rights violations, this world could never be peaceful and prosperous. And furthermore it is also admirable that in the list of the human rights abusers, contrary to the previous practice, only the names of the Muslim individuals and Muslim countries are not included; the list includes the non-Muslims too; but at the same time it seems the list is missing some names which must have been on the very top; India, Kashmir and Narendra Modi. When we talk of the human rights violations, the worst example could be seen in the Indian occupied Kashmir where the innocent Kashmiris cannot even breathe freely. Recently the whole world condemned the painfully agonizing picture of a three-year-old boy sitting over the bleeding dead body of his grandfather and crying for help in the Sopore area of the Indian occupied Kashmir. The man, Bashir Ahmed Khan, was callously murdered by the Indian forces. He never had a criminal record, was never involved in any protest and never remained in any kind of political activity, but he was shot dead just to spread harassment and fear among the people. The most painful part of the episode was that this all was done in presence of his innocent grandson. This cruelty of the Indian forces grieved every heart. Not only the Muslims but everyone from other religious communities expressed deep sorrow over the incident. Advocate Devinder Singh Behl is the Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Social Peace Forum. He is respected everywhere as an impartial and neutral
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his famous Allahabad address. But if you ask me, I cannot think of an alternate formula. Pakistan ended up with a Constituent Assembly that had been elected in another country one year before Partition, that other country being United India. Thus many of the MPs in our new Constituent Assembly did not even have constituencies in Pakistan. What should have happened is that the founding fathers, no matter what the difficulties, should have called immediate elections in the new country so that those elected to Parliament could be called true representatives. In the event, we did not do this and ended up taking nine years to make Pakistan’s first constitution in 1956. That was another mistake. Pakistan was divided into two wings separated by 1,000 miles of hostile Indian territory. The politicians of West Pakistan were keen that power should not go to the Bengalis of East Pakistan and that the country should be ruled by West Pakistan, primarily the martial Punjabis and the swarthy Pathans with Sindhis thrown in. Balochistan was not on the scene. In order to prevent the Bengalis of East Pakistan forming a government, we devised a satanic formula which was called the Parity Principle, which assumed that the population of the two wings, east and west, would be deemed to be the same, thus emasculating the six percent majority of East Pakistan. Democracy was entirely absent and the cornerstone of democracy, the will of the people, entirely undermined. To make it look good, the 1956 Constitution forced West Pakistan’s four provinces to amalgamate into what they called the ‘one Unit.’ Thus the smaller provinces like Balochistan and others in the Northern Areas were in a way deprived even of their identity. Mind you, all this came at the hands of the politicians of West Pakistan. The surprising thing is that the Bengali politicians of East Pakistan agreed to it. The apologists insist that the East Pakistanis did so for the sake of unity, which is the most stupid argument borne of hindsight. That was another mistake. People ask why East Pakistan accepted the Parity Principle. The usual answer is that they wanted a constitution and ‘democracy at any price.’ If true, it actually shows an utter misunderstanding of democracy. Not to forget that the 1956 Constituent Assembly was by now very different from the original Constituent Assembly of 1947. This constitution was unworkable and anti-democratic and led to the military coup of 1958, which required the President of Pakistan, a civilian, to declare martial law and ask the Army to take over. Needless to say the Army kicked him out of the country in 21 days and then we had our first military ruler for ten years. That was General Ayub Khan who later made himself into a Field Marshal. Truth to tell, he ruled successfully because he more than any of his predecessors and successors developed the economy and gave the people a lot of what they wanted. But that should not be an indictment against the people’s vote. This was not really the first coup. The first was when the civil bureaucracy took over the office of Governor General and a little later another finance services officer was appointed prime minister. This is a long subject on which I will have to write more in the coming weeks. We will pick up the thread next time. Humayun Gauhar can be reached at: humayun.gauhar786@gmail.com
type of political leader whose only aim and objective is to fight for the rights of the suppressed Kashmiris. In a recent statement he said, condemning the brutality of the Indian Army, that this brutal killing must be an eye-opener for the international human rights organizations and the international community. He said that the three-year-old grandson crying near his grandfather’s body was a reflection of Indian oppression of unarmed Kashmiris and this brutal act of Indian forces personnel was enough to shake the conscience of the world. Mr Behl appealed to the international community and international human rights organizations to play their role in ending Indian oppression in occupied Kashmir and resolving the lingering Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN resolutions. The situation in Indian occupied Kashmir is getting worse day by day and even the pandemic could not put a full-stop to the human rights violations there. From illegal detention of young Kashmiri leaders to the rape of Kashmiri women, the tale of brutality seems never ending. According to the Kashmir Media Service, only in the month of June more than 50 innocent people were cruelly murdered by the Indian forces deputed in the Kashmir valley, three women were shamelessly gang-raped and more than 25 houses and shops were destroyed. From January 1989 to June 2020, at least 95,623 Kashmiris lost their lives at the hands of the Indian forces and more than 11000 women have been molested during the same period. No report on human rights violations can be completed without making reference to the brutalities committed by the Indian Armed Forces deputed in the Indian occupied Kashmir. The helpless people on one hand have to face the indifferent selfish attitude of the courts of law and on the other hand illegal abduction, sexual harassment and use of pellet guns and shotguns by the military troops. This all is being done under the command and guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is being hoped that the name of India and Mr Modi would not be ignored when the UK Parliament prepares and issues the next list of those involved in human rights violations. Ali Sukhanver is a freelance journalist.
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Monday, 13 July, 2020
COMMENT 07 Editor’s mail Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively
Temple in Islamabad
The ideological reposition DamIya SaGHIr
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AKISTAN, in itself is an idea. The basis of its formation is widely established on the idea of having an independent nation-state for the Muslims of the Subcontinent. However, understanding the ideology of Pakistan is something that needs a deeper thought process. If studied generally it will hold a different meaning and if its origins are traced back even before the Mughal Empire, it will entirely have a different meaning. Before we analyze the ideology of Pakistan, we first need to look at what are it and its significance. Different philosophers have attached various meanings to ideology but the most relatable to all is that ideology is a different form of those comprehensive patterns of moral beliefs about man, society, and the universe in relation to man and society. Ideology is often understood as a way of thinking about the cultural and social programme of a political movement launched to emancipate a suppressed group from the exploitation of a more dominant social class. Pakistan’s ideology completely fits this definition. During the Mughal era, the Muslims of the Subcontinent were the most dominant class from centuries and practised authority over the entire region. The Muslims were used to having control over power until the Mughal Empire gave way to Britain. It was only then, that a Muslim ideology began to be thought of. Since Hindus became dominant under British rule, Muslims were neglected in all political and social participation. It is difficult to accept failure and weakness when one has had power. Hence, the ideology for Muslims then was based on the concept of the two-nation theory. It was based on Muslims being a separate nation from Hindus, having their own culture, civilization, customs, literature, religion and the way of life. They cannot be merged into any other nation because their philosophy of life is based on Islam. Therefore, a movement for rights and equal representation began. The thought of a separate state was not the initial ideology of Muslims. They simply focused on getting equal representation. For a long time, Muslims fought for equal representation and equal rights as the second largest group. The ideology at this time was to give significance to the religion that was followed. Many activists started motivating Muslims to fight for their their position in society. Allama Iqbal wrote poetry to bring enthusiasm in the Muslims to realize how weak they had become. When they failed to revive the Muslim image and identity and it became difficult for them to protect their culture and civilization, the ideology shifted from equal representation to a separate homeland where Muslims can practice their religion freely, based on Islamic democracy in which God will be the sovereign. The struggle was dreadful but finally a separate
and the glue of Islam is coming unstuck. The home for Muslims was formed; Pakistan. Up until the formation of Pakistan, the ide- Baloch are demanding a separate province. ology was based on the rule of religion and the Parts of Pakistan are not in the control of the famous slogan Pakistan ka matlab kiya, La state. The demand for an autonomous Sindh is ilaha illallah became the core of the freedom picking up steam. All these people are Musmovement. However, after the formation of lims, not Hindus or Sikh. Everybody today Pakistan, there was a shift. The ideology which owns Pakistan in their own way. Jinnah in his first was the core idea now became the idea of first speech stated that Pakistan is a secular state. If so, why form Pakistan? Religious Pakistan which needed to be protected. The major shift in Pakistan’s ideology was groups say Pakistan is a an Islamic state and follows Islamic princinot to practice the ples whereas, we still same ideology anyignore modern educamore but to protect the tion or the rights of state from the evil. By We must have the moral women and promote creation of a new state sectarianism. based on distrust and courage to declare that So ideology is a hatred, Partition actulost concept for Pakally created two warreligion cannot be the basis istan. Its uniqueness ring states from Day initially has slowly lost one. This intense anifor creating a nation-state. its relevance and due mosity between the Once we have established consideration in the two countries has reworld and within. We mained the single most this basic premise, we must left our fellow Musimportant factor in the lims back in India, lost formulation of Paknot let anyone– whether an many of them in the istan’s foreign policy. elected representative or a journey where only Internally, every leader some managed to setin Pakistan has cynireligious extremist– use tle. Then again history cally invoked the specrepeated itself with tre of India and milked religion to exploit those east and West Pakistan the cow of national sehonest, hardworking and we lost another curity whenever faced significant part. Movwith domestic unrest Pakistanis who are only ing forward we have and disaffection. The been creating unrest distrust of India gives seeking a square meal, some and intolerance within immense clout to the Army. Pakistan, indesecurity of life and property, our society. All of this done by ourselves and pendent, should have a decent education, we blame that why the been free from all the world considers us the previous suppression healthcare and a little hope enemy. but it still largely is inWe must have the secure and under presfor the future. We must insist moral courage to desure of the threat from that religion is a matter of clare that religion canIndia. Half the country not be the basis for was lost and the reone’s belief and faith and creating a nation-state. maining is insecure. Soon there may be there can be no restriction on once we have established this basic premnothing left to defend. practicing it in the private ise, we must not let Twenty-four years anyone– whether an after Partition the realm, but we must separate elected representative same saga was rea religious extrempeated in 1971. once it from the affairs of the state or ist– use religion to exagain, thousands ploit those honest, killed, raped or hardworking Pakistamaimed. only this nis who are only seektime it was the blood of Muslims shed by other Muslims. This does ing a square meal, some security of life and not fit well at all in the “Two-Nation Theory”. property, a decent education, healthcare and a Where was the mother of all bonding, Islam? little hope for the future. We must insist that Unless, of course, you say that East Pakistan religion is a matter of one’s belief and faith and West Pakistan were two nations! More and there can be no restriction on practicing it likely, years of exploitation by the West Wing in the private realm, but we must separate it gave the Bengalis a broken heart that no bond from the affairs of the state. could keep together and no balm could heal. Damiya Saghir is a Political Science gradReminding of the fact, later formed, but they are still doing better with their nation than uate from Kinnaird College for Women Lahore. She can be contacted at Pakistan is. From 1971, the country is ripping apart damiya.saghir.ds@gmail.com
BESIDES the debate on how to control CoVID-19, the other recent debate in the country these days is the construction of a temple in Islamabad. As the construction work on temple began in Islamabad recently, religious fanatics went at the site of temple and broke the wall which was initially built as a mark of temple foundation. Religious leaders and scholars have registered their strong protest against building of temple in Islamabad. Some are of the opinion that they are not against building of temple but why government of Pakistan is paying the construction expenses of temple from exchequer’s money? According to these religious leaders and scholars, the money in government treasury is the tax money of Muslims and should not be used for construction of temple for Hindus. If this is how the religious leaders and scholars of this country are looking at it, let me remind them that government recently built religious place for Sikhs in Kartarpur. Why no one raised any objection at that time? Probably because the construction of Kartarpur corridor was announced by someone in uniform? And the construction of temple for Hindus has been announced by an elected government? For the purpose of record, construction of this temple was announced by the then President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari, carry forwarded by Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. Both the parties feared backlash from religious parties and never built the temple. The present government of PTI decided to complete the long awaited project. I have a question for the religious leaders and scholars of this country. Can a Hindu donate money in the construction of a Mosque? The answer is big No because even Zakat money cannot be used for construction of Mosque. Now, when government of Pakistan pays money for construction of Mosque or Madressah, the money used from government treasury also include tax money of Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis etc. How does this money become pure for the construction of Mosque or Madressah? If Pakistan is a Islamic Republic, why we don’t have Shariah in the country? Why are our courts providing justice (if they are providing any) under the law of the British? Pakistan can only prosper if matters of state and religion are treated separately. I suggest that announcement of temple is made once again but this time by a man in uniform ! M RAFIQUE ZAKARIA KARAcHI
Political situation IN the world of politics, being ostentatious is one of the greatest requirement to achieve what you want. Showing off the work they do or exposing their opposition, has become a daily life habit of Pakistani politicians. Ever since the concept of politics arrived in our country, the blame game has played a major part. Either the politicians simply do not use their power or if they do, they do it to humiliate others in the eyes of the public. Recently the problem of drainage system in the Karachi got into headlines because of moonson. Lot of criticisms emerged from every corner of the country but some politicians took it too far by gluing other politician photos on sewers. Being an MNA by himself, doing this kind of cheap tricks doesn’t come under the ethical boundaries we have. A member of the national assembly; who has the power to speak directly to the government and higher authorities, chose not to talk these problems out on a legitimate platform, not to use the power he has but instead he chose to go down on the road of political tricks just to show the public how irresponsible other political parties are. These tricks will only create conflict and it will become a big hindrance on the way of progress so rather than humiliating each other, they should really be working together to fix the domestic issues of our country and only by the cooperation we can lead our country in harmony. MIAn AIZAZ AHMEd SHAdAKot
Remembering Edhi oN 28 of February 1928, one of the giant person took birth in Bantva Gujarat later he moved to karachi, the person we know as Abdul sattar edhi, the richest poor man. He was also the proprietor of (Edhi Foundation). He always helped the proletarian, and he helped till his last breath. Abdul sattar edhi was fraught with fondness and tenderness. He had the percption of devoids, because he was poor oneslef, but he was magnated by heart. He was a person who always in consideration to meliority of remediless and impuissant. Abdul sattar edhi is the name of view-point which will never end, and also he will be alive in the hearts of people, but habitude of the world that at the end everyone has to leave this fatalistic world, and also a sympathetic of destitute ones Abdul sattar edhi aslo relinquish this perishable world on 8th of July in the age of 92 years. This was an agonized day for all humans but mostly for restricted, harbourless, and for displaced ones. I have no more words to describe the epithet of Abdul sattar edhi. Whatever I write in the applaud of Abdul sattar edhi, iam proffering this compliment to the legend Abdul sattar edhi. My Red salute to stouthearted Abdul Sattar Edhi. MIAn HAMId AlI tUnIo MIRo KHAn
Youtubing YoUTUBE is an American online video-sharing platform. It is a great source of entertainment and a platform to earn money as well. It has also been the reason to confront people with their careers by presentation of their abilities like makeup, painting, designing, religion, vlogs, or sharing information and much more subjects. Their are channels to increase knowledge and news to be aware of world. Students can find videos related to their studies as well. It is second largest social site with billions of users. The great thing about youtube is that it not only gives the opportunity to show your talent but also the opportunity to earn money by providing productive contents. We often blame the government for not providing us platform to show our potential but sometimes we have to do things ourselves, find our own platforms and youtube is the best one to show your talent. Be it comedy, acting, journalism, painting, cooking or learning. FARAHnAZ FARooK AHMEd tURbA
Monday, 13 July, 2020
08 WORLD VIEW
A very sordid sex scAndAl LORD BOOTHBY SLEPT WITH YOUNG MEN, CONSORTED WITH THE KRAYS, AND HAD AN AFFAIR WITH MACMILLAN’S WIFE — ALL THE WHILE PROTECTED BY AN ESTABLISHMENT daily mail
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roger leWiS
HEN a Sunday paper, tipped off by Scotland Yard, printed a story in 1964 about the illicit relationship between a member of the House of Lords and an East End gangster, Sir Robert Boothby immediately sued, even though names weren’t named. He argued that he was ‘the prominent peer’ mentioned. Arnold Goodman, the solicitor who became involved, issued threats and insisted on a retraction, and Boothby received an out-of-court settlement of £40,000 (£800,000 in today’s money). When the Home Secretary and Chief Whip confronted Boothby, he said of Ronnie Kray, who had in fact visited his flat in Eaton Square: ‘I knew then, and know now, nothing of his background. He seemed an agreeable chap.’ Boothby also categorically assured his superiors he was not an active homosexual (homosexuality was a criminal offence at the time) and had never attended saucy parties. Boothby, says Daniel Smith, ‘had been casting a web of lies’. For some years, he’d been going to boxing matches and underground nightclubs owned by the Kray twins, and he was ‘just the sort of gent to appeal to Ronnie Kray’s sensibilities’. What the men particularly had in common was ‘their shared love of sex with young men’. In 1959, at one of the Krays’ clubs, Boothby met a 17-year-old, Robert Bevan, whom he dined at an expensive restaurant and then took to ‘a late showing of Gigi’,
before going back to his Eaton Square flat for the night. Boothby then accused the boy of stealing his watch. The case came before the Magistrates Court. ‘Who was Bevan to cast doubt on the account given by a peer of the realm?’ asks Daniel Smith rhetorically, capturing the deferential assumptions of the times. Another 17-year-old, James Buckley, was sent to Borstal for stealing Boothby’s chequebook — though it was later found still locked in Boothby’s desk. Then there was Leslie Holt, a young croupier who was to die under anaesthetic ‘during an operation to remove a verruca’. Boothby had bought him an E-type Jaguar and took him to the opera. Boothby, then, was a regular user of young male prostitutes, often manipulating the law to stop them squealing, and he also participated in orgies at the Krays’ home in Hackney. All this, we are told, was monitored by MI5, who knew Boothby to be a liability. The Krays, too, had been under surveillance and, in spite of a frightening increase in their ‘lawlessness, extortion, blackmail and intimidation’, police records went missing, witnesses disappeared and they got off scotfree. The big question is: why was there such a conspiracy of silence between parliament, political parties, the Press and the security services? Smith’s theory is that, just months after the Profumo affair (and Boothby even sat for a Stephen Ward portrait), the Government simply couldn’t afford yet another embarrassing scandal. For his part, Boothby knew ‘his life could not bear too much close examination’, and that his existence was ‘a precarious house of cards’, so the strategy de-
How would we know the Covid endgame if we saw it?
times of india Kanti baJpai
The border tensions with China are not over, but with the troop disengagements, an endgame is in motion. Attention can now return to the Covid pandemic, a far more serious short- to medium-term threat. How would we know when the Covid endgame is visible and victory against the pandemic is in sight? Answering this is vital for public policy. We could define victory in terms of key metrics, including the infection, mortality and ‘R0’ measures. Admittedly, these are tricky measures. In India’s case, under this government, virtually all statistics are questionable – as evidenced by the controversies around GDP growth and unemployment rates. But allowing for question marks around the numbers, perhaps we can agree that the endgame is in sight when infection and mortality levels are down to annual seasonal flu levels. A second crucial threshold or metric is the number of people who visit hospitals for ailments unconnected to Covid. Worldwide, during the pandemic, the numbers of patients seeking emergency and routine treatment as also various surgical procedures have dramatically fallen. Ironically, as these numbers rise, it will be a sign that the Covid endgame is in sight: Using their own estimates and rules of thumb, people will calculate that infectivity is much reduced and it is safe to visit hospitals and clinics. Third, the reduction in demand for masks will be a sign of the Covid endgame. Fact, demonstration effects and local storytelling will spread the word that infections are easing and that masks are no longer needed as much. Intermittent mask usage will signal the endgame. As people stop using masks except when they go to large gatherings or crowded public spaces or face
a sudden localised outbreak, we will smell victory. A fourth sign of the endgame will be the prophylaxis and treatment of Covid. Much has been learnt already about both elements. Looking ahead, victory over Covid will require universally available, high quality, and affordable testing. When we have access to a cheap, reliable test, then the end will be in sight. Even more important in prophylaxis is the development of a vaccine. Real victory over Covid will occur when we have a universally available and effective vaccine, one that is administered sufficiently widely so that herd immunity is achieved. Like the flu vaccine, if the Covid vaccine is ‘updated’ annually to respond to new strains, we will have beaten the virus. As for treatment, victory will be achieved worldwide, with local variation, when we develop a standardised set of interventions that every GP reflexively knows, much as she routinely knows how to respond to the seasonal flu. If remdesivir and dexamethasone are standard medications, victory over Covid will require that they are cheaply available. Beyond these signs of the endgame are the more thoroughgoing changes societies will make. A real victory over any pandemic must be preparations and protocols for the next pandemic. Clearly, communication between the WHO, member states, national governments and provincial and municipal governments must be improved. Surveillance systems are uneven across the world and in India. They must be strengthened to catch outbreaks sooner. The subsequent notification of outbreaks and responses including lockdowns and quarantining must be standard operating procedures if we are to be victorious in the pandemic fight. Victory over Covid will entail long-term changes in social distancing. Open workstations will give way to cabins and offices. Specialised filters and architecture will arise that rework office spaces so that airflows minimise infectivity. Offices will go even more paperless. Meetings, even within a workplace, will become increasingly virtual. Air travel will need to adjust, from check-ins to security procedures to inflight arrangements. So also travel by other means. Finally, no victory can be complete without an inquest into the causes of the pandemic. It will signal victory if the WHO inquiry is untrammelled and meets the highest scientific standards.
vised by Goodman, the ‘puppet master’, was not to defend, repudiate or address the story but pre-emptively to shut it down and throttle discussion. The Government, in its turn, pursued a policy of ‘passivity and deniability’. And why did the Opposition not kick up a stink? Harold Wilson, indeed, colluded with the cover-up as he didn’t want his own relationship with Marcia Williams, who ran his office and was, says Smith, his ‘mistress for many years’, coming under scrutiny. There were also issues involving Labour MP Tom Driberg, who liked anonymous sex ‘in doorways, public toilets and phone boxes’, and who was another one protected by the authorities, including MI5. ‘Boothby and Driberg had grown used to leveraging their social contacts to smooth things over when their private lives threatened to cause problems.’ Evidently, a person’s status as VIP or grandee got them out of tight corners. The idea was that they needed to be ‘saved from public shame’ for the greater good of the party or governing class. Boothby was even looked after by the police when he was blind drunk in a gutter. ‘There was an unwritten rule: Boothby was not to be picked up and arrested if found.’ Though the impression he liked to give was that of ‘a loveable elder statesman of British politics’, Boothby was actually a ‘decadent, gambling adulterer’ whom his cousin Ludovic Kennedy called ‘a s**t of the highest order’. Boothby, born in 1900, knighted in 1953, made a Life Peer in 1958, liked fancy restaurants and fine wine. ‘His expensive tastes extended to a passion for gambling,’ and he was often in debt. Educated at Eton and Oxford, he did no work and was known as ‘Palladium Boothby’ because he liked a sexual performance twice nightly. He was Conservative MP for Aberdeen at the age of 24. His parliamentary contemporary was Harold Macmillan, whose wife, Dorothy Cavendish, Boothby immediately seduced. ‘Dorothy had thighs like hams,’ he said gallantly. He also said she ‘reminded him of a caddy he’d once ravished on a golf course’. They did ‘very little to disguise the nature of their relationship’, and the Press never breathed a word. Boothby did his own bit to muzzle the Press, telling Beaverbrook, the newspaper baron: ‘Don’t let your boys hunt me down. Because I am not going to let go of public life.’ The lesson Boothby learned early was that if you are brazen, you can behave as you please. Yet for all his sound and fury, he never achieved high office. As a junior minister, he was sacked for making
murky deals with Czechoslovakian refugees seeking their assets frozen during the War: there was an ‘informal understanding’ that Boothby would receive a percentage. In this book, there is a sensational item or allegation on every page. When the Krays were in prison, they ran a bodyguard business on the outside; one of their clients was Frank Sinatra. Boothby was the real father of Macmillan’s daughter Sarah, who committed suicide in 1970, her life blighted by alcoholism. Boothby’s lover at Oxford was Michael Llewelyn Davies, the inspiration for JM Barrie’s Peter Pan. Boothby died in 1986 from a heart attack. By then he’d been married for nearly a decade to a ‘glamorous’ Sardinian lady, 34 years his junior. ‘Don’t you think I’m a lucky boy?’ he’d remarked on his wedding day. THE PEER AND THE GANGSTER by Daniel Smith (History Press £20, 256pp).
Death by policy
City Journal Joel Zinberg
Many years ago, one of my duties as a young surgical intern was to fill out death certificates for recently deceased patients. Under “cause of death,” Part I asked for the immediate cause, other conditions leading to it, and the underlying cause. Part II asked for “other significant conditions contributing to death but not resulting in the underlying cause given in Part I.” If you think this is confusing, you’re right. Did the postoperative patient found dead in bed really die of a heart attack, a pulmonary embolism, or some operative complication, like bleeding? Where do you list their colon cancer or hypertension? The task has not gotten any easier during the Covid-19 pandemic. People are still dying of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and accidents. But now there is a new respiratory illness to account for. Not every decedent who tested positive for the virus that causes Covid-19 died from it—in fact, the disease is mild for most people. Conversely, some deaths due to Covid-19 may be erroneously assigned to other causes of death because the people were never tested, and Covid-19 was not diagnosed. Nearly everyone dying of Covid-19 has concurrent health problems—the average decedent has 2.5 comorbid conditions—and hypertension, heart disease, respiratory diseases, and diabetes are among the most common. The presence and interaction of these co-morbid conditions is what sometimes changes Covid-19 from a relatively benign disease into a killer. But co-morbidities can also cause death regardless of Covid-19. A common way to distinguish the mortality burden of a new infectious agent from other causes of death is to estimate the excess deaths that occurred beyond what would be expected if the pathogen had not circulated. A recent study of 48 states and the District of Columbia estimated 122,300 excess deaths during the pandemic period of March
1 to May 30, compared with expected deaths calculated from the previous five years. Deaths officially attributed to Covid-19 accounted for 78 percent of the total; approximately 27,000 deaths (22 percent) were not attributed to Covid-19. A second study, using the same database with different statistical methods for the period March 1 to April 25, found that 65 percent of 87,000 excess deaths were attributed to Covid-19. Only part of the discrepancy between excess deaths and official Covid deaths results from undercounting of Covid deaths. In New York City, when excess deaths between March 11 (the first recorded Covid-19 death) and May 2 were examined, only 57 percent had laboratory-confirmed Covid-19. Yet when probable deaths—deaths for which Covid-19, SARS-CoV-2, or an equivalent term was listed on the death certificate as an immediate, underlying, or contributing cause of death, but that did not have laboratory confirmation of Covid-19—were added in, 22 percent of excess deaths were still not attributed to Covid-19. The indirect effect of the pandemic— deaths caused by the social and economic responses to the pandemic, including lockdowns—appears to explain the balance. For instance, people delayed needed medical care because they were instructed to shelter in place, were too scared to go to the doctor, or were unable to obtain care because of limitations on available care, including a moratorium on elective procedures. Inpatient admissions nationwide in VA hospitals, the nation’s largest hospital system, were down 42 percent for six emergency conditions—stroke, myocardial infarction (MI), heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, appendicitis, and pneumonia—during six weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic (March 11 to April 21) compared with the six weeks immediately prior (January 29 to March 10). The drop was significant for all six conditions and ranged from a decrease of 40 percent for MI to 57 percent for appendicitis. No such decrease in admissions was found for the same six-week period in 2019. These emergency conditions did not become any less lethal as a result of the pandemic; rather, people simply died from acute illnesses that would have been treated in normal times. Deaths from chronic, non-emergent conditions also increased as patients put off maintenance visits and their medical conditions deteriorated. In the second study of excess deaths, the five states with the most Covid-19 deaths from March through April (Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New
York, and Pennsylvania), experienced large proportional increases in deaths from nonrespiratory underlying causes, including diabetes (96 percent), heart diseases (89 percent), Alzheimer’s disease (64 percent), and cerebrovascular diseases (35 percent). New York City—the nation’s Covid-19 epicenter during that period—experienced the largest increases in non-respiratory deaths, notably from heart disease (398 percent) and diabetes (356 percent). Cancer diagnoses were delayed for months as patients were unable to obtain “elective” screening procedures. For some, this will result in more advanced disease. Diagnosed cancer cases—normally treated with surgery or inpatient medical treatments—were treated with outpatient treatments instead. While some oncologists rationalized that the results might be just as good, physicians were clearly deviating from the standard of care. The lockdowns led to wide unemployment and economic recession, resulting in increased drug and alcohol abuse and increases in domestic abuse and suicides. Most studies in a systematic literature review found a positive association between economic recession and increased suicides. Data from the 2008 Great Recession showed a strong positive correlation between increasing unemployment and increasing suicide in middle aged (45–64) people. Ten times as many people texted a federal government disaster mental-distress hotline in April 2020 as in April 2019. As we consider how to deal with resurgent numbers of Covid cases, we must acknowledge that mitigation measures like shelter-in-place and lockdowns appear to have contributed to the death toll. The orders were issued by states and localities in late March; excess deaths peaked in the week ending April 11. Reopening began in mid-April, and by May 20 all states that had imposed orders started to lift restrictions. In June, as the economy continued reopening, excess deaths waned. Our focus must be on ensuring that the health-care system can simultaneously treat Covid-19 and other maladies and reassuring patients that it is safe to seek care. Otherwise, today’s young physicians will have to start entering a new cause of death on death certificates—“public policy.” Joel Zinberg, M.D., J.D., is a Senior Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., and an associate clinical professor of surgery at the Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine in New York. He served as general counsel and senior economist at the Council of Economic Advisers from 2017 to 2019, where he specialized in health policy.
Monday, 13 July, 2020
BUSINESS 09
Covid 19: virus wary buyers switCh to online Platforms to buy saCrifiCial animals LAHORE SHAHAB OMER
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KP cloth traders threaten to close shop due to frequent police, customs raids BUSINESS COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES SAY SUCH RAIDS PUT ADDITIONAL BURDEN ON TRADERS DURING THE COVID-19 ECONOMIC DOWNTURN AZIZ BUNERI PESHAWAR
Cloth traders and businessmen in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have warned to close down businesses and stage protests against frequent raids on their business premises by KP Police and Customs officials. On the other hand, police and customs officials have been allegedly carrying out such raids on the suspicion that cloth traders possess illegal cloth in inventories. KP Tajir Ittehad President Mujeeb-ur-Rehman, told Profit that business activity in the province was already on a downward trend due to Covid-19 pandemic and that such raids by police and customs officials are forcing traders to close down their businesses. He further alleged that the police and customs officials are forcing thousands of legal traders across the province to trade in illicit clothing. “Police and customs officials on a daily basis make illegal raids on shopping malls, take legal cloth into custody and file baseless cases involving garment traders across the province,” Rehman alleged. He further added that cloth traders are facing millions of rupees losses on a daily basis due to such raids. According to Mujeeb-ur-Rehman, cloth traders in KP legally import cloth and get it cleared from the port after paying all taxes and duties. However, despite that police and customs officials confiscate legal cloth from warehouses, which takes traders up to two months to recover. Rehman further alleged that the KP Police and Customs officials are forcing traders to trade in illegal and smuggled garments as smuggling of illegal garments is a source of income for some officials of these departments. "We have repeatedly warned the police officials to refrain from raiding the warehouses and malls of legal traders. If this situation continues, we will be forced to protest across the province," he said. According to sources, smuggled cloth enters the country through the Khyber District. Despite the presence of check posts of police and customs officials several containers are smuggled daily. The cloth is delivered to various markets in Peshawar and other cities of the province. Sources alleged that police and customs officials in a bid to recover illegal cloth, even carry out raids on legal outlets and confiscate legal cloth which is allegedly given back after taking fine or bribes from traders. Profit tried to contact KP Customs and Police officials however was unable to get any response from them regarding the issue.
UE to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the government imposed lockdowns, people in the provincial capital of Punjab have moved away from cattle markets and are switching towards online buying and selling of animals for the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha. The prices of goats in the online market range from Rs24,000 to Rs200,000 while the prices of cows range from Rs50,000 to Rs1 million. While talking to Profit, Shahid Nawaz, a resident of Defence Housing Authority (DHA), said that cattle markets were set up by the government but Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) could not be implemented. “Conditions in cattle markets in Lahore are already bad. No proper arrangement for cleanliness or social distancing has been made which makes visiting such markets extremely dangerous under current circumstances,” he said. “Private meat shops in the city are providing the service of depositing money in advance and collecting the meat of sacrificial animals on the day of Eid. The current situation requires great caution, so we have already booked our animal from a meat shop instead of buying it from the cattle market.” Khalil Khawar, a resident of Shadman, said that he was added to a WhatsApp group by a friend, for buying and selling sacrificial animals. “The WhatsApp group was created by a goat farm house. The group contains details of animal breeds, sizes and their rates. Rates offered in the group seemed
WHILE ONLINE PLATFORMS OFFER CONVENIENCE AND PROTECTION TO CONSUMERS, INSTANCES OF FRAUD HAVE ALSO BEEN REPORTED reasonable compared to cattle markets so I booked two sacrificial animals from there which will be delivered to my house two days before Eid. However, from the date of booking till the date of delivery I will have to bear the cost of feeding my animals,” he said. Salman Bakhsh a resident of Shahdara said that every year a cattle market used to be set up near his house from where he would buy sacrificial animals. However, this time he is reluctant to visit the cattle market. “Going to the cattle market and buying the animal of your choice is a tradition in our society. However, this time people are scared due to Covid-19. Older people should not go to the cattle markets to buy animals on this Eid. And people who decide to visit such markets should take the needed precaution,” he said. “For the last five years the conditions of the cattle markets have not improved much. There is no sanitation, no price control system and the animals are not properly screened. For this Eid, my son contacted some goat dealers through OLX and we got the sacrificial animal from there in a reasonable amount,” Salman Bakhsh added. On the other hand Kahisf Sheikh, a resident of Gulberg, complained that buying animals online
Blacklisted entity among 42 FBR approved vendors providing POS integration to retailers ISLAMABAD SHAHzAd PARAcHA
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has recommended a blacklisted company for the provision of Point of Sales (POS) integration software to retailers. According to sources the tax department has authorised 42 vendors including Abuzar Consultancy, for the provision of POS softwares to retailers for integration with FBR. The retailers are free to approach any of these 42 vendors to attain the POS software. Sources further disclosed that
Abuzar Consultancy, despite being a blacklisted entity, is providing software services to retail chemist stores including Shaheen Chemists in Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Lahore while not being registered with tax authorities. Currently, under FBR’s and Punjab Revenue Authority’s (PRA) directives, service providers are liable to charge General Sales Tax (GST). According to sources, with this move the FBR aims to curtail GST theft that acts as an additional leakage in government’s revenue. According to a FBR spokesperson, currently the POS system is a simple
TLTP
Most people are planning to avoid travel even after the pandemic subsides due to health risks and economic uncertainties, a recent poll by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) shows. While some 58 percent of travelers surveyed by the aviation agency in 11 countries said they “have avoided air travel,” some 33 percent are not planning to travel in the near future to avoid catching the deadly virus. Less than half of respondents – 45 percent – indicated that they would return to travel within a few months after the outbreak is contained, much less than the 61 percent of positive responses recorded in April. While most of those polled are still willing to travel to see family and friends or go on vacation, some 66 percent sug-
cloud based system requiring a computer, an internet connection and an application downloaded from Pakistan Revenue Automation Private Limited (PRAL). Due to the simplicity of the system, very few retailers currently use the services of the 42 approved vendors. As per a preliminary inquiry, registration of Abuzar Consultancy was suspended due to non filing of returns with FBR and not due to tax fraud, the FBR spokesperson added. Earlier, the FBR extended the date of POS registration to August 30 to facilitate retailers battling the adverse
economic effects of Covid-19. All tier-1 retailers are to express in writing their willingness to integrate their POS’s with the respective regional tax officers and large taxpayers units by August 30 to avail the extended deadline. The initial deadline for POS integration with FBR’s system was December 15, 2019. However, it was later extended to June 30 to facilitate retailers amid the Covid-19 lockdown. Currently, around 44,000 shops are registered with the FBR and the tax authority expects to register an additional 16,000 retailers by August 30.
Will resolve tax-related issues of business, assures FBR chairman ISLAMABAD INP
Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Muhammad Javed Ghani on Sunday said that he would address tax related issues of the business community in order to facilitate their businesses and strengthen the country’s economy. The FBR chairman said this while adressing a delegation of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) led by ICCI President Muhammad Ahmed Waheed. Javed Ghani said that he would visit ICCI to interact with the business community and get their input regarding further improvements in the prevailing tax system. He said that efforts would be made to create a taxation system that can facilitate the growth of eco-
nomic activities and help in improving the tax revenue of the country. He welcomed the suggestions given by the delegation members for resolving taxation related problems and broadening of the tax base. Speaking at the occasion, ICCI president congratulated Muhammad Javed Ghani for assuming the charge of FBR chairman and hoped that the FBR chairman would take measures to address key tax issues of the business community and promote the vision of the Prime Minister Imran Khan to turn Pakistan into a fast growing economy. ICCI president said that the current government has made commitments to streamline the payment of tax refunds, but the process has been slow due to which the business community is facing liquidity issues. ICCI president further said that the Covid-19 pan-
66pc travelers plan to reduce trips in post-pandemic world, reveals survey MONTREAL
should be done with extreme caution since there is a high probability of fraud in online procurement. “I ordered four goats and a cow online. The seller sent pictures of animals that looked very reasonable and the price was not very high. The animals were delivered to my house by the seller but later I found out that three of them were suffering from a disease. Now I am getting them treated by a veterinarian,” he said. Liaqat Ali, owner of a private goat farm house, believes that due to the lockdown and lack of business, demand for sacrificial animals has been low, which has led to lower prices in the market this year. “We have created WhatsApp groups and Facebook pages and we are getting good orders from there. We strive to sell sacrificial animals to the people at standard rates,” he said. Raiwind Assistant Commissioner Adnan Rashid, while talking to Profit, said that this year cattle markets would not be set up inside Lahore. However, 14 points would be set up outside the city from July 15 from where people will be able to buy sacrificial animals. “Cattle markets will be set up while ensuring the implementation of SOPs. Livestock and Dairy Development Department staff will also be present at each point for animal health checks,” he said. Adnan Rashid said that every year cattle markets used to be set up a month before Eid-ul-Azha, however this time they will be set up 15 days before Eid, which will make them busier compared to previous years. “This year, sacrificial animal sales points are being set up just 15 days before Eid, which will attract more people and increase prices to a much higher level compared to previous years,” he said.
gested they would travel less for leisure and business after the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. Almost the same number of people – 64 percent of poll participants – said they would postpone travel until economic factors improved, referring to both personal and global economic conditions. “This crisis could have a very long shadow. Passengers are telling us that it will take time before they return to their old travel habits,” IATA’s Director General and CEO, Alexandre de Juniac, said in a statement. Cabin air quality is one of the top three concerns of travelers when they board an aircraft, while sitting next to someone who might be infected and using restrooms are also on the list. The agency noted that the fear could be exaggerated given that the quality of air in modern jets is actually better than in most
places, as the cabin is exchanged with fresh air every two to three minutes compared with two to three times per hour in office buildings. While at the airport, travelers also feel nervous about being on crowded transport on the way to the plane, waiting in a queue and using public restrooms. To feel safer, passengers are ready to undergo screening at departure airports or take a coronavirus test prior to travel, while others agree with mandatory wearing of masks and social distancing measures on the aircraft. Many airlines and airports earlier noted that they do not expect the demand to return to pre-crisis levels until 2023 or 2024. According to a United Nations forecast, global tourism revenues may drop between $1.2 trillion and $3.3 trillion depending on how long international travel remains halted.
demic has created extraordinary challenges for the business community and the overall economy which necessitated FBR’s focus on speedy automation of refunds including customs duty, sales tax and income tax to ensure that all tax refunds are automatically transferred to the bank accounts of the concerned taxpayers. He said that another option to solve the issue of refunds is to allow taxpayers to adjust their payable taxes against the accumulated refunds. This mechanism would not only address the liquidity issues of the business community but would also improve the tax revenue of the government. The ICCI president further informed that under Section-8B of Sales Tax Act, a registered person is not allowed to adjust input tax in excess of 90 per cent of the output tax for the tax period, which he said is unjustified.
Huawei faces July 14 decision day over its role in UK 5G LONDON TLTP
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's most senior security advisers will meet on Tuesday to decide on Huawei Technologies Co's future in the UK, as officials draw up plans to cut the company out of fifth generation mobile networks. The National Security Council is due to assess the findings of a review which concluded new U.S. sanctions mean Huawei will have to use untrusted technology, making 5G security risks impossible to control. Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has promised to update Parliament on the final decision and could make a statement in the House of Commons immediately after the NSC meeting on July 14. "We have to protect our critical national infrastructure," Johnson said in a Facebook question-and-answer session produced by his office on Friday. "There is a particular issue that is
now caused by the U.S. sanctions on the chips. We'll have to find a way of addressing that." A crackdown on Huawei would further escalate tensions between London and Beijing, which are already under strain over China's new security law for Hong Kong and the handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Even though China has warned Johnson of repercussions, the British government is planning to speed up the removal of Huawei's kit from emerging networks. Officials have started work on a blueprint to start phasing out the company's equipment from 5G as soon as this year. The Daily Telegraph reported Dowden is set to announce a 2025 deadline to strip Huawei from the network. If the NSC confirms this course of action, it would mark a reversal by Johnson's administration, which in January cleared Huawei to participate in the UK's 5G networks, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to ban the company.
Monday, 13 July, 2020
10 foreign news
IndIa reporTs hIghesT sIngle day spIke of 22,674 CovId-19 Cases NEW DELHI
I
TLTP
NDIA’s federal health ministry Sunday morning reported 551 new deaths from Covid-19 and 28,637 new cases during the past 24 hours across the country, taking the number of deaths to 22,674 and the total infections to 849,553. This is said to be the highest single day spike in the number of fresh cases in the country so far. On Saturday morning the number of COVID-19 cases in the country was 820,916, and the death toll stood at 22,123. According to ministry officials, so far 534,621 people have been discharged from hospitals after showing improve-
ment. “The number of active cases in the country right now is 292,258, according to the ministry. The country has entered “Unlock 2.0” phase, though restrictions remain in full force inside the Covid-19 containment zones. Last week the country’s civil aviation watchdog — the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) announced that commercial international flights to and from India shall remain suspended until July 31. On Thursday the government of Uttar Pradesh, the country’s biggest state in terms of population, decided to impose a weekend lockdown from Friday night till Monday morning, to cut the chain of transmissions of Covid-19. TLTP
2 officers, suspect killed in Texas border town shooting MCALLEN AGENCIES
Two police officers were shot and killed Saturday by a suspect who later fatally shot himself in a South Texas border town after responding to a domestic disturbance call, authorities said. McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez identified the slain officers as Edelmiro Garza, 45, and Ismael Chavez, 39. Garza was an officer with the police department for more than eight years while Chavez had over two years of experience. “We have lost two brave public servants who sought only to keep peace in our City,” Rodriguez, visibly distraught, told The Monitor. The officers first met with two people who reported assaults that took place inside a nearby home on the south side of McAllen around 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Rodriguez said. But the alleged shooter, whom police identified as 23-year-old Audon Ignacio Camarillo, opened fire when officers attempted to enter the home. “They were doing their job. That is what they were supposed to do. The person was a suspect of the incident, met our officers at the door, and shot at both officers,” Rodriguez said. “Both officers suffered fatal wounds, they have both passed away as a result. The officers never had a chance to suspect deadly assault on them, much less death.” Camarillo shot and killed himself shortly after opening fire on the officers, Rodriguez said, adding that the suspect hid behind a vehicle after other officers responded to the scene. Camarillo had a few run-ins with police beginning in 2016 to his most recent arrest last month on assault charges, according to public records. More details surrounding the domestic disturbance Garza and Chavez responded to were not immediately known. Rodriguez said the attack happened suddenly and fellow police officers didn’t learn of the officers’ deaths until arriving at the area moments later. Rodriguez said he doesn’t expect his department to get over the deaths of their fellow officers anytime soon.
On fifth attempt, UN Security Council renews Syria aid via Turkey NEW YORK AGENCIES
.The United Nations Security Council on Saturday approved aid deliveries to Syria through one border crossing from Turkey, a day after its authorization for the six-year-long humanitarian operation ended, leaving millions of Syrian civilians in limbo. The United Nations describes the aid delivered from Turkey as a “lifeline” for Syrians in the country’s northwest. The 15-member council had been deadlocked, with most members pitted against Syrian allies Russia and China, which abstained on Saturday in the council’s fifth vote this week on the issue. Veto-powers Russia and China wanted to halve the approved Turkey border crossings to one, arguing that the northwest of Syria can be reached from within the country. They also wanted to include language that Western diplomats said blamed unilateral sanctions on Syria for the humanitarian crisis. German U.N. Ambassador Christoph Heusgen told his Chinese and Russian counterparts to report
back to their capitals that he had asked: “How those people who gave the instructions to cut off the aid of 500,000 children […] are ready to look into the mirror tomorrow.” Council members had also been split on whether to renew authorization for six months or one year. The short resolution finally adopted on Saturday, which was drafted by Germany and Belgium, simply authorized one crossing for one year. “Russia is consistently in favor of humanitarian deliveries to Syria with full respect of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and with coordination of its legal government. This issue should not be politicized,” deputy Russian U.N. envoy Dmitry Polyanskiy said after the vote. Twelve members voted in favor, while the Dominican Republic also abstained. The successful vote came after two failed votes on Russian proposals and two vetoes by Russia and China of resolutions drafted by Germany and Belgium. Acting British U.N. Ambassador Jonathan Allen said after the vote that the loss of aid access through Bab al-
Salaam border crossing would deprive “1.3 million people in northwest Syria of cross-border humanitarian assistance that they rely on.” Germany and Belgium said in a joint statement after the vote: “One border crossing is not enough, but no border crossings would have left the fate of an entire region in question.” When the Security Council first authorized the cross-border aid operation into Syria in 2014 it also included access from Jordan and Iraq. Those crossings were cut in January due to opposition by Russia and China. China’s U.N. Ambassador Zhang Jun said China always had reservations about the delivery of cross-border aid, but given the current situation in Syria it does not object to retaining it “at this stage.” Though he added that “it should [be] adjusted accordingly in light of the developments on the ground.” Russia has vetoed 16 council resolutions related to Syria since Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad cracked down on protesters in 2011, leading to civil war. For many of those votes, Moscow has been backed in the council by China.
Thousands of Israelis protest over PM’s handling of Covid-19 crisis TEL AVIV: Massive crowds have packed into one of the largest squares in Tel Aviv on Saturday to protest over how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has handled the coronavirus pandemic and its harsh economic fallout. The rally at Rabin Square, which is a traditional protest spot in the city, was staged by self-employed, small business owners and students, who claim that, unlike salaried workers, they never received financial help that was promised by the government. The demonstrators, who neglected social-distancing rules, carried banners, which read “Let us breathe” and jokingly asked for charity money to be sent to them via a banking app. The Jerusalem Post reported that the event was attended by some 80,000 people, however other estimations suggest the rally was smaller. “No more games,” Ronen Mili, one of the protest organizers, said. “We waited for four months and haven’t seen a dime.” Israel had imposed strict lockdown measures to stop the spread of Covid-19 in March, banning public gatherings and all entertainment events, while only allowing the most essential specialists to go to work. TLTP
Us military supply convoy attacked, torched in Iraq BAGHDAD TLTP
Militants on pickup trucks attacked a logistics supply convoy heading to a US military base in Iraq on Saturday night, forcing it to stop and getting local contractors out of the vehicles before torching the trucks, local media reported. The incident happened on the Samawah-Diwaniya highway as the convoy, operated by Iraqi citizens and carrying supplies from Basra to one of the US bases in Iraq, came under attack by unknown assailants on Saturday night. There were no reports of casualties in the brazen attack, but at least three vehicles were completely destroyed in a raid that apparently lasted less than 10 minutes. “Four trucks were attacked in the Najme region between Diwaniyah and As-Samawah,” an Iraqi security source told local media, adding that the attackers “asked” the drivers to get out of the vehicles before torching them and fleeing the scene. The US-led coalition forces in Iraq often rely on local contractors to move supplies between their bases, but it was not immediately clear whose cargo, apparently including a flatbed truck carrying a Humvee and two empty fuel trucks, was destroyed.
71 held in serbia as protests over Covid-19 restrictions continue BELGRADE TLTP
Police in Serbia have arrested dozens of people, including a Briton and a Tunisian, as crowds of protesters pelted stones at cops in Belgrade. Serbia’s government and police have accused “foreign factors” of instigating unrest. The Serbian capital was consumed by unrest for the fourth night in a row on Friday, in what President Aleksandar Vucic described as “pure terrorism.” Crowds chucked flares at parliament and hurled stones at the lines of riot police outside the building. Seventy-one people were arrested on Friday night, police director Vladimir Rebic said at a press conference on Saturday. “Among those arrested are many foreign nationals from Bosnia, Montenegro but also from Great Britain and Tunisia,” Rebic added. Local reports indicate that the Briton is 24 years old and the Tunisian is 54. Rebic displayed the men’s passports at the press conference, holding them up as an example of the “foreign factors” supposedly influencing the protests. “Serbia welcomed them hoping that they would come to have a good time with us, but they came to destroy and attack the police,” he said. The protests are a multifaceted affair, and kicked off on Tuesday when Vucic announced the return of strict lockdown measures, in a bid to clamp down on the country’s rising rate of coronavirus infections. Vucic brought in the lockdown immediately before departing for Paris, where he met with French and German leaders to discuss negotiations with the breakaway province of Kosovo. Nationalists accused him of conspiring with the West to recognize Kosovo, and their presence on the streets was soon met with a cohort of pro-western protesters, who shouted down anyone waving the Serbian flag or chanting nationalist slogans. Vucic had earlier accused foreign actors of stoking the violence, and blamed “all kinds of interference from foreign security services.” Serbia’s defense minister called the protests and riots a “coup attempt,” aimed at provoking “a civil war in Serbia.”
Trump wears mask in public for first time during pandemic WASHINGTON AGENCIES
President Donald Trump wore a mask during a visit to a military hospital on Saturday, the first time the president has been seen in public with the type of facial covering recommended by health officials as a precaution against spreading or becoming infected by the novel coronavirus. Trump flew by helicopter to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in suburban Washington to meet wounded service members and health care providers caring for COVID-19 patients. As he left the White House, he told reporters: “When you’re in a hospital, especially […] I think it’s a great thing to wear a mask.” Trump was wearing a mask in Walter Reed’s hallway as he began his visit. He was not wearing one when he stepped off the helicopter at the facility. The president was a latecomer to wearing a mask during the pandemic, which has raged across the U.S. since March and infected more than 3.2 million and killed at
least 134,000. Most prominent Republicans, including Vice President Mike Pence, endorsed wearing masks as the coronavirus gained ground this summer. Republican governors have been moving toward requiring or encouraging the use of masks as the pandemic has grown more serious in some states in the South and West. Trump, however, has declined to wear a mask at news conferences, coronavirus task force updates, rallies and other public events. People close to him have told The Associated Press that the president feared a mask would make him look weak and was concerned that it shifted focus to the public health crisis rather than the economic recovery. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private matters. While not wearing one himself, Trump has sent mixed signals about masks, acknowledging that they would be appropriate if worn in an indoor setting where people were close together. But he has accused reporters of wearing them to be politically correct and has retweeted messages making fun of Democratic rival Joe Biden for wearing a
mask and implying that Biden looks weak. Questions remain whether Trump will wear a mask with any regularity. The wearing of masks became another political dividing line, with Republicans more resistant to wearing them than Democrats. Few masks were seen at recent Trump campaign events in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Phoenix and South Dakota’s Mount Rushmore. The only time Trump has been known to wear a mask was during a private part of a tour of a Ford plant in Michigan. A spokesman for the Biden campaign cast the president’s action as too little, too late. “Donald Trump spent months ignoring the advice of medical experts and politicizing wearing a mask, one of the most important things we can do to prevent the spread of the virus,” spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement. “Rather than taking responsibility and leading, he wasted four months that Americans have been making sacrifices by stoking divisions and actively discouraging people from taking a very basic step to protect each other.” On its website, Walter Reed carries this
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recommendation: “Whenever you’re out in public, like at your local grocery store or pharmacy, where it’s difficult to maintain 6 feet of social distance, you should wear a
cloth face covering.” The facility also notes that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends wearing cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the coronavirus.”
Monday, 13 July, 2020
WI vs ENG: JasoN HoldEr ENGINEErs ENGlaNd collapsE by dIsmIssING stokEs LONDON
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HE fourth day of the first Test match between England and West Indies Saturday saw a flurry of wickets fall after the Windies skipper dismissed his English counterpart Ben Stokes, at Southampton. England were 284-8 in their second innings at stumps, a lead of 170 runs in a match that marks international cricket´s return from lockdown. England fought back during a fourthwicket partnership of 98 between Zak Crawley and Stokes. But their 249-4 was soon transformed into 279-8 as five wickets fell for just 30 runs inside the final hour. No sooner had stand-in England skipper Stokes (46) fallen to rival all-rounder Holder for the second time in the match then Crawley was caught and bowled by paceman Alzarri Joseph for a Test-best 76. Jos Buttler then fell for nine when bowled through a huge gap between bat and pad by Joseph, who had stumps figures of 2-40. And there was still time for Windies spearhead Shannon Gabriel (3-62) to bowl Dom Bess and Ollie Pope. West Indies hold the Wisden Trophy but they have not won a Test series in England for 32 years. Victory on Sunday, however, would put them 1-0 up with two to play. "All you can do is get the two remaining wickets and bat normally," West Indies
coach Phil Simmons told reporters. "If we bat for five hours tomorrow to chase 180-190 it´s a normal batting day, not a chase where you have to go at it." But teams have faltered before facing seemingly modest fourth-innings chases and Crawley told Sky Sports: "It should be tight if we bowl well tomorrow. "We´ve definitely got the bowlers to take 10 wickets on there." England were still one run behind West Indies´ first innings 318 when Crawley came to the crease. But the 22year-old, in his fifth Test, completed a well-made fifty when he reverse-swept offspinner Roston Chase for four before surpassing his previous best of 66 against
South Africa at Johannesburg in January. Stokes, skippering the side in the absence of Joe Root, had already top-scored with 43 in England´s meagre first-innings 204 before leading their attack with 4-49. BIG SPELLS: But towering paceman Holder, number one ahead of Stokes in the ICC´s Test all-rounder rankings, squared up the England talisman and had him caught by Shai Hope, cleverly positioned as the finer of two gulleys for the lefthanded batsman. It was a tactical as well as personal triumph for Holder, with Simmons saying: "It´s what he does. He comes back and puts in the big spells for the team -- that´s
how he leads. I didn´t expect anything different." There was more joy for the Windies when Crawley, aiming legside, was caught and bowled by Joseph. England resumed on 15-0 in the first of a three-match behind closed doors series. Chase, who took a Test-best 8-60 against England at his Barbados home ground last year, achieved the initial breakthrough Saturday when Rory Burns (42) carelessly cut him to backward point. Dom Sibley, Burns´ opening partner, made a painstaking fifty. The very next ball saw Sibley play on to Gabriel only for the bowler to be denied by third umpire Michael Gough´s tight noball call. But, two balls later, Sibley - still on 50 -- glanced Gabriel to Dowrich as he was yet again caught down the legside in his fledgling Test career. Joe Denly, competing for a place with Sibley when Root returns following the birth of his daughter for next week´s second Test at Old Trafford, needed a big score to bolster a lowly Test average of under 30. But instead he fell tamely for 29 when chipping Chase to Holder at short midwicket. The West Indies have made the running in this match, with Holder taking a Test-best 6-42 after losing the toss. Kraigg Brathwaite then made 65, the opener´s first Test fifty in 22 innings, and Dowrich 61 as the tourists established a valuable first-innings lead of 114.
Everton spirit unacceptable: Carlo Ancelotti LONDON AGENCIES
Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti says the spirit of his side during their 3-0 defeat at Wolves on Sunday was "unacceptable". The Blues were comfortably beaten at Molineux, mustering just two shots on target against a superior opponent. It is their heaviest loss since the restart of the Premier League and leaves them 11th in the table, with any real hope of making Europe gone. "It was a really frustrating day and performance," said Ancelotti. "There are some excuses but I don't want to have excuses, the performance was not acceptable. The spirit of the team was unacceptable. "I spoke to the players and we have to prepare and work differently and have a different attitude. "I don't want to talk individually about every single player. I said to them this attitude is not acceptable for me and we have to change immediately. I want to see a different spirit. "If I have to be honest, in some games the spirit was really good. Liverpool, Norwich, Leicester. It's difficult to accept for this reason because this team has a fighting spirit." Everton were hit by two well-timed goals from Wolves that took Sunday's game away from them, with Raul Jimenez scoring from the penalty spot before half-time and Leander Dendoncker heading in the second just after the break. Diogo Jota fired in a third to seal the win, but in truth Everton were never in the game and could have lost by more.
Defender Seamus Coleman echoed his manager's sentiments are offered his own warning to the squad. "There's no hiding, they were better all over the pitch and we need to ask some serious questions of ourselves," said Coleman. "The attitude and desire is not there, we got beat by the better team. "As individuals, as a club we need to be expecting better and the lads really need to dig in or
that won't be good enough for this manager or this football club." Ancelotti took over at Everton in December on a four-year deal and so far has seven wins, five draws and six losses from 18 matches in charge. The 61-year-old Italian, who has won numerous trophies across Europe as a manager, including three Champions Leagues and the Premier League title with Chelsea, inherited an expensively-assembled but under-performing side that sat 15th in the table, four points off the relegation zone. Ancelotti's calm and measured approach to all of football's various fortunes is legendary - so for Everton's manager to use the word "unacceptable" to describe the 3-0 loss at Wolves sounds an ominous warning to their players. Ancelotti has done well to engineer a position of comfort for an Everton squad that has let down a succession of managers and is a monument to a wretched recruitment strategy in recent years. It now appears, however, that Ancelotti's patience is at an end. Everton owner Farhad Moshiri spent big money luring one of the most decorated managers in the game's history on a contract worth a reported £9m-a-year - now Ancelotti will expect his judgement to be backed over the next transfer windows. He is working with a virtually non-existent midfield and the increasingly erratic performances of goalkeeper Jordan Pickford will worry not only Ancelotti but England manager Gareth Southgate. Ancelotti represents Everton's best opportunity to achieve Moshiri's high ambitions - now the Italian will expect him to support his equally ambitious plans.
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racist abuse of crystal palace forward despicable: roy Hodgson LONDON AGENCIES
The racist abuse directed at Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha is "cowardly and despicable", says Eagles manager Roy Hodgson. Zaha revealed he had received several abusive messages on social media before Sunday's trip to Aston Villa. The Premier League called the abuse of the 27year-old Ivory Coast winger "completely unacceptable". "He will pay for these actions because there is no excuse," Hodgson said of the person who sent the messages. Speaking to Sky Sports, the former England boss added: "It's been highlighted at the moment anyway with the Black Lives Matter movement and everyone seems to be making such an effort to eradicate this behaviour. "It is very sad that on the day of a game, a player wakes up to this cowardly and despicable abuse. It's right Wilf has made people aware of it and I don't think this is something you should keep quiet about. "Our club, Aston Villa and the Premier League are doing everything they can to find out who this despicable individual is, and one can only hope he will get identified and called to account. "He wants to put off one of our best players from playing well today, but to do it in the way he has chosen is totally inexcusable." The Premier League posted on social media: "This behaviour is completely unacceptable and the Premier League stands alongside Wilfried Zaha in opposing this, and discrimination in any form." Players in England's top flight have been kneeling in support of the Black Lives Matter movement before every match since the season restarted in June.
Gavaskar’s small tip helped me face short-pitched balls in England: Inzamam ISLAMABAD APP
Former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has revealed that during Pakistan team’s tour to England in 1992 he was facing difficulty to deal with short-pitched balls but a small tip by Indian batting great Sunil Gavaskar helped him overcome that problem forever. “I went to England after 1992 World Cup at the back of a tremendous performance in the mega event. It was my first ever tour to England. I didn’t have any idea as how should I play on those pitches. I was going through a bad patch as I was unable to play short-pitched deliveries. “Playing these [short-pitched] balls had always been my plus point. And prior to that tour, these balls never troubled me as I used to negotiate them very well,” Inzamam said in a video on his YouTube channel. He recalled how during a charity match he came across the legendary Indian batsman and sought his advice to resolve that problem. “It was somewhere half of our season that I met him at a charity match in
England. We both had gone to play that match. And I asked him ‘Sunil Bhai I’m facing problems to play short-pitched balls, what should I do’? “As great are the ways of the great, he told me to do only one little thing, that is, don’t think about shortpitched balls or bouncers while batting because the moment you’ll think about them you’ll get trapped. “He told me that when the bowler would deliver the ball you would automatically understand; so don’t get worried about that. “While in nets I started practicing the way I was told by him. I strengthened my mind, telling myself not to thinks about that [short-pitched balls]. The weakness was removed. And from 1992 till the time I retired, I never faced that problem again,” added the 50-year-old Inzamam, who scored 8,830 runs in 120 Tests and 11739 runs in 378 ODIs. He said great players like Sunil had so much understanding of the game that they could solve a big problem through a small tip. Inzamam wished to have played against then Indian side for whom Sunil had been playing. “I wish I would’ve seen
him live while he was batting.” He said by scoring 10,000 runs in Test cricket, Sunil opened the door for other batsmen to also reach that milestone. “There were several great players in his era as well as before that. There were batsmen like Javed Miandad, Viv Richards, Garry Sobers and Don Bradman but none of them thought to reach to the figure. “Even in today’s cricket when there is too much Test cricket there are very few players who’ve achieved that feat.” Inzamam said in Sunil’s era there were hardly five to six Test matches [for a country] during the entire year as against today when countries like Australia, England, South Africa and India had started to play even ten to twelve matches in a year. “If [as a batsman] your form is good you can even score 1000 to 1500 runs in a season. But when Sunil was batting, the situation was not like that. “Today purely batting wickets are prepared so that you can continue scoring runs. The ICC also wants to see batsmen doing that so that spectators are entertained.
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“But in the past wickets were not so easy to bat on, especially when you were playing outside the subcontinent.” He said even the formation of a cricket bat at that time was different from that of current era. “The bats were not like that as you simply touch the ball and it goes for a boundary or for a six. In today’s cricket runs are scored in a way that the timing and technique have not a much role in that. “But during Sunil’s days, you couldn’t score runs unless you had pure timing and a
perfect batting technique. “So considering all that if you ask me I’ll say Sunil’s 10,000 runs of that era are equal to today’s 15,000 to 16,000 runs. These can be more than that but not less in anyway.” Inzamam also wished a long life for the former Indian great saying that cricketers also benefitted a lot from Sunil’s commentary and expert analysis. He said Sunil was a great asset and as he had turned 71, the other day, he wanted to comment on his birth anniversary.
Monday, 13 July, 2020
PRAyER TImINgS
NEWS
PTI To Move NAB AGAINsT sINdh GovT oveR GRAfT ChARGes
ASR MAGHRIB ISHA 5:02
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ISLAMABAD: The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has pointed out a total of Rs5.1 billion irregularities in the Ministry of Information Technology (IT) and has directed the ministry to recover the amount. According to AGP’s Audit Report 2019-20 serious irregularities regarding non-production of record, violation of Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules and Human Resource were pointed out within the ministry. The report pointed out Rs5.1 billion in potential recoveries in twenty two cases. Irregularities pertaining to non production of records worth Rs9.666 million were pointed out in two cases. Human resource and employees related irregularities amounting to Rs239 million were identified in twenty-two cases. Additionally, violations of PPRA Rules amounting to Rs3.5 billion were highlighted in twenty-three cases. Similarly, irregularities pertaining to value for money and service delivery issues amounting to Rs316.402 million were pointed out in three cases. SHAHZAD PARACHA
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STAFF REPORT
HE Sindh chapter of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) has announced to take the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government in the province to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) over multiple allegations of corruption. Addressing a press conference, Sindh Assembly Opposition Leader Firdous Shamim Naqvi alleged that the provincial government received “52 per cent” kickbacks in every development scheme, declaring the PPP only plundered Karachi. The announcement comes a day after the federal authorities warned to take control of K-Electric if the power utility if it failed to improve its performance and end unannounced power outages in the metropolis. Flanked by party leader Haleem Adil Sheikh, Naqvi said to lodge a complaint with the accountability agency, accusing Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah of failing to appear before the agency when summoned. He declared that “whenever one is summoned by the anti-graft agency, they should appear before it”. In an apparent reference to PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari, Naqvi said: “We have seen that many people go to NAB with a stick but jog when they come to the assembly.” A day earlier, a picture
FAJR SUNRISE 3:30
Aishwarya Rai, daughter contract Covid-19 after Bachchans
of Zardari seated in the bureau’s Islamabad office with his walking cane sitting in his lap went viral on social media. Sheikh stated that thousands of acres of stateowned land in Karachi was given illegitimately on a lease. He added that he was also offered a piece of land, however, upon the concerned authority seeking
bribe, he refused to accept it. Sheikh further alleged that the provincial government directed the Anti-Corruption Establishment to target him for taking out against the Omni Group. “Whenever NAB will summon us, we will go,” he said, adding that NAB had launched a probe against him on the directives of the ACE.
MUMBAI: A day after Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek tested positive for the coronavirus, actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek’s daughter Aaradhya have now tested positive for the virus as well. The first round of tests came back negative, but the second round of tests yielded a different result. BMC assistant commissioner Vishwas Motey confirmed Rai Bachchan and her daughter's positive Covid-19 swab diagnosis to the local media in Mumbai. Meanwhile, Amitabh Bachchan’s wife Jaya has tested negative for the virus. As of now, Amitabh and Jay's daughter Shweta and their grandkids Navya and Agastya have tested negative in the second round of test results. TLTP
PIA increases domestic flights amid international bans PAKISTAN INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES MAY POTENTIALLY SUFFER LOSSES UP TO RS33 BILLION DUE TO BANS BY EASA, US, UK KARACHI TLTP
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has increased the number of its domestic flights after Europe and other countries imposed bans on the national flag carrier due to issues related to fake licences issued to pilots. In order to restore its routine flight operations, the PIA has decided to increase flights to domestic destinations. PIA will run two flights between Islamabad and Karachi, as well as a daily flight between Lahore and Karachi, said the PIA spokesman in a statement on Sunday. The spokesperson added that return flights will be scheduled between Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The spokesperson further said that PIA’s special flights to Saudi Arabia, central Asian states and Iraq remain operational. Earlier on May 20, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had allowed the national flag-carrier to operate more domestic flights. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) could suffer a loss of Rs33 billion as the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), United States, United Kingdom and some other countries have sus-
pended PIA flights for six months after reports emerged that over 200 PIA pilots could possess dubious licenses Before the bans, PIA operated 23 flights to the UK in a week which included 10 flights to London, nine to Manchester and four to Birmingham. The national flag carrier operated six flights to Paris, Milan, Barcelona and Copenhagen in Europe. The national flag carrier would also suffer losses of up to Rs12 billion due to cancelation of Hajj operations this year after the Saudi authorities decided to hold the annual pilgrimage on a limited scale.
China reassures its continued support to Pakistan against Covid-19 BEIJING INP
China has reassured its continued healthcare support to Pakistan to control the deadly virus, Covid-19. In a statement, a spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Zhao Lijian said that helping Pakistan to build the Isolation Hospital and Infections Treatment Centre (IHITC) was an important consensus reached between the leaders of the two countries during President Dr Arif Alvi's visit to China in March this year. “Thanks to the joint efforts of both sides. The hospital, built within only three months, will be helpful in Pakistan's fight against the epidemic after it starts running. China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners and iron-clad friends sharing weal and woe. We will never forget the precious assistance we received from the Pakistani side at the most trying moment of our combat against the pandemic,” he said.
“We will continue supporting Pakistan to the best of our capability and in accordance with its needs. We will work with Pakistan to safeguard public health security in both countries and around the world, and build a closer ChinaPakistan community with a shared future. Long live China-Pakistan friendship,” he added. To a question, Lijian said that China and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have been in close communication and cooperation since the epidemic broke out. “Now
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China is undertaking an arduous task of preventing both case import and domestic resurgence, and we are the first to invite WHO experts to discuss science-based origin tracing,” he said. “It is our contribution to global public health cooperation as a responsible major country. By contrast, the US has been shirking its own responsibilities and undermining global solidarity in combating the virus by declaring to exit the WHO, politicising matters related to the pandemic and smearing others,” he added.