Epaper – July 14 LHR 2020

CMYK

Tuesday, 14 July, 2020 I 22 Dhū al-Qa‘dah, 1441 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 16 I 12 Pages I Lahore Edition

senate rejeCts motion to amend nFC award ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

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HE Senate on Monday rejected a motion to present a bill proposing a constitutional amendment to the National Finance Commission Award, which earmarks a certain portion of resources for provinces. The bill was proposed by Senator Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif, which gained 17 votes in favour while 25 against it to be tabled before the House.

The ruling party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, its ally Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, Balochistan Awami Party voted in favour of the bill.

Meanwhile, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Jamaat-eIslami (JI) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) voted against it. Likewise, more political parties in the opposition such as Balochistan National party-Mengal and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, National Party were against as well.

Barrister Saif, who presented the motion before the Upper House, said that the expenses of the Centre were rising yet its share from the award had decreased.

He said that most of the Centre’s budget goes to provinces, adding that provinces should get funds only as per their needs.

Saif emphasised that the NFC Award issue should be discussed in the House and a committee session should be summoned, comprising all the Senators.

“For us also the Constitution is as holy (as for others)… Why are they scared of discussing the matter?” he said.

He said that the Centre wants a just division of resources so that no one’s rights are infringed. He added that under the Award, provinces get more funds than less as assumed.

The Senate chairman proposed that if the Head of the Senate and the Opposition Leader in the House agree, then the bill can be taken to a committee of the entire Senate.

Senator Sherry Rehman slammed the bill, saying that the Parliament is under attack from the treasury benches.

“They want to change the relationship between the Centre and provinces quite tactfully,” she said.

Rehman alleged that the government and

Coronavirus in

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CONFIRMED CASES:

252,982

Proposal seeks adoption of 20pc of Senate’s recommendations on money bills

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the ruling party does not realize that provinces are running the country.

“Punjab and Sindh exceed the target (when it comes to) tax collection,” she said, adding that the provinces provide ‘salaries’ to the government as well.

The Senator said that all the political parties and provinces had approved the NFC Award in unison, calling the bill an “attack on the rights of the people and democracy”.

Meanwhile, another bill was presented in the Senate proposing a constitutional amendment to declare as mandatory the adoption of at least 20 percent recommendations suggested by the Upper House on the money bills forwarded to the National Assembly.

A total of 17 MPs endorsed the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2020, seeking an amendment in Article 73 of the Constitution, regarding the procedure to deal with a money bill.

According to Article 73 (1A): “After the bill, which can only originate in the National Assem-

bly, has been passed by the Assembly, with or without incorporating the recommendations of the Senate, it is presented to the President, who shall give assent in 10 days.” The proposal has sought amendment in the aforementioned article, proposing to amend the rule. “Provided that at least twenty percent of the total recommendations made by the Senate shall be incorporated in the bill,” the proposed amendment states. Adviser to Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan assured the MPs that the government would consider their recommendations.

No drop of blood shall be forgotten or forgiven: ISPR DG

Pakistan reopens Wagah border for Afghan transit trade g

Indian goods cannot be loaded onto trucks for transit back to Afghanistan as per agreement

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2,753

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

161,917

5,304

SINDH:

PUNJAB:

106,622

87,043

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

AJK/GB:

ISLAMABAD:

30,747

11,192

1,599/1,671 14,108

Pakistan on Monday announced the reopening of the Wagah border crossing from July 15 to resume exports from Afghanistan to India.

“At the special request of the government of Afghanistan and with a view to facilitating Afghanistan’s transit trade, Pakistan has decided to resume Afghan exports through Wagah border crossing from 15 July 2020, after implementing Covid19 related protocols,” said a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “With this step, Pakistan has fulfilled its commitments under PakistanAfghanistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA),” the statement added, referring to a 2010 bilateral trade agreement, which provides Afghan traders access to eastern Wagah border with India, where Afghan goods are offloaded onto Indian trucks.

The agreement, however,

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday paid rich tribute to the people of occupied Kashmir for continuing to “valiantly fight and defy a Hindutva supremacist regime” in India which he said was “bent on demographic engineering” to alter the status of the disputed territory. The tribute comes as Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border between Pakistan and India along the valley, and the world over observe Youm-e-Shuhada-e-Kashmir with a renewed pledge to accomplish the mission of martyrs till achievement of the goal of liberation from Indian bondage. In a series of tweets posted early morning, the prime minister said: “Today, […] we salute Kashmiris for their continued struggle against the illegal & barbaric Indian occupation of Jammu & Kashmir.” “The Shuhada [martyres] of 13 July 1931 were the forefathers of today ’s Kashmiri resistance,” he added, referring toward the 22 Kashmiris who were killed 89 years ago today for daring to defy the Dogra Raj in the valley. Imran observed that “their descendants have […] laid down their lives for freedom,” saying: “[…] they continue to valiantly fight & defy a Hindutva Supremacist regime bent on demographic engineering to wipe out the Kashmiri people & their identity.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

STORY ON PAGE 03

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NEW CASES:

Imran pays tribute to Kashmiris on Youm-e-Shuhada STAFF REPORT

more inside

Sugar report prepared by fact-finding entity with no legal effect: IHC STORY ON BACK PAGE

STAFF REPORT

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

Pakistan to stand with Kashmiris come what may, PM Imran says

Eidul Azha: Cattle markets to operate from 6am to 7pm

STORY ON PAGE 03

does not permit Indian goods to be loaded onto trucks for transit back to Afghanistan. Pakistan, the statement further said, restored bilateral trade and Afghan transit trade at all border crossing terminals to pre-pandemic status.

The country had closed all its borders with neighboring countries in March in an attempt to stem the raging coronavirus pandemic. Last month, Islamabad reopened its three key trade routes — Chaman and Torkham, and Ghulam Khan

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border crossings — for transit trade and exports to Afghanistan.

“Pakistan remains fully committed to further strengthening its bilateral relations with Afghanistan in all areas including trade, and to facilitate Afghanistan’s transit trade under APTTA,” the statement concluded.

Pakistan and Afghanistan share 18 crossing points. The most commonly used ones are Torkham and Chaman.

Govt reduced Covid-19 testing 'on purpose', puts lives at risk: Bilawal

STORY ON BACK PAGE

Unprovoked Indian firing across LoC injures six civilians STORY ON PAGE 03

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Tuesday, 14 July, 2020

NEWS

Cheques issued by OGdC tO shazain buGti, brOthers bOunCe ISLAMABAD

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AHMAD AHMADANI

AyMeNT to Shazain Bugti of the Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) has now taken a new turn as the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) managing director has refused to grant approval to the issuance of cheques worth Rs770 million.

According to sources, OGDCL’s General Manager Finance Muhammad Azim, in a letter dated July 6, had sought the approval OGDCL MD Shahid Saleem for issuing Rs770 million to the Bugti family for land Uch Gas field. However, the OGDCL MD refused to give approval in this regard after which cheques which were previously issued to Bugti bounced, they added.

Sources said that the OGDCL Finance Department had issued three cheques to the Bugti family allegedly on the instructions of the OGDCL chief executive officer. Officials of the company’s Finance Depart-

sued on July 1, 2020, to the owners of Uch gas field on the instructions of MD/CeO which was conveyed by GM (CSR) and SO to MD/CeO. Nawabzada Shazain Bugti was given cheque number 21506833 worth Rs257,756,931; Mir Guhram Bugti was given cheque number 21506836 worth Rs257,756, 931, and Mir Chakar Bugti was given cheque number 21506837 worth Rs257,756,931.

“In view of the above, you are requested to arrange urgently the aforesaid case file with all necessary documents and approvals enabling Finance & Accounts Department to complete the payment documentation for accounting and audit purposes,” said GM (Finance) Muhammad Azim in a letter dated July 1, 2020.

Sources further said that ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in an apparent bid to facilitate disgruntled ally JWP’s Shazain Bugti ahead finance bill 2020 voting has allegedly advised OGDCL to pay an additional 36pc as rent for 2,500 acres of oil and gas fields situated at Uch, Dera Bugti.

ment are worried of action by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for misuse of powers, they added.

“I did not issue any instructions to the GM (finance) for preparing cheques. I also did not issue any instruction through GM (CSR) or SO for the preparation of cheques. I was informed that the GM (finance) is preparing some cheques regarding Uch land and inquired about the status of these cheques,” said the sources quoting the OGDCL’s note of refusal.

Sources also informed this scribe that Finance and Accounts Department was advised to issue cheques in view of the urgency of the matter and it was assured that the case file along with the agreement and requisite approvals would be provided to the department. However, the requisite case file with necessary approval has not yet been provided to the department for want of which the accounting documentation still remains incomplete, they added.

Documents available with Pakistan Today disclosed that three cheques were is-

And, a new agreement was inked with Nawabzada Shazain Bugti by OGDCL under which OGDCL was to pay Rs79,000 per acre rent to Bugti family with effect from 1st January 2018, despite the land not being in OGDC’s use since February 2017.

Sources said that former OGDC MD Zahid Mir had surrendered 2,500 acres of oil and gas fields and had kept 1,300 acres of land as additional land.

“Approximately Rs8 billion worth heavy burden was put on the national exchequer as OGDCL issued three cheques worth Rs77.2 million to Nawbzada Shazain Bugti and his two brothers even before inking of the amended agreement,” an insider said. According to sources, a special committee had earlier verified the use of only 800 acres of oil and gas fields at Uch by OGDC. Subsequently, the OGDC board of directors had refused to pay rent for the additional land, keeping the lease agreement intact till 2036. It is pertinent to mention here that the petroleum division has criticised the OGDCL MD for issuing these cheques.

Flour mills reduce supply in reply to govt’s price reduction LAHORE SHAHAB OMER

Chitral's Golen valley cut off after glacial outburst flood A glacial lake outburst flood in Golen Gol area of Chitral spread chaos in the region on Monday, sweeping away buildings, vehicles and livestock and cutting off the Golen valley from the rest of the area. According to details, the floods occured after a glacier exploded in Azghor area following rain. A girls’ madrassa in Azghor village, livestock, vehicles and sheds were swept away as the floods inundated footpaths and roads and broke bridge embankments. Last year in July, flash floods left at least 70 people stranded after Jam Ashpar glacier burst overnight. The floods had wreaked havoc, taking down houses, livestock and roads. Only recently Rs400 million had been set aside for flood rehabilitation in the area as it awaits restoration yet. In 2015, a similar incident killed at least three people and caused extensive damage to property and infrastructure and affected more than a quarter of a million in Chitral. NEWS DESK

uzair baloch denies all murder charges

KARACHI: Lyari gangwar leader Uzair Baloch, who has been accused of committing 198 murders, has denied all murder charges. During an appearance in an anti-terrorism court on Monday, Baloch said that he has not recorded any confessional statement under Section 164 (Power to record statements and confessions) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The judicial magistrate must have made a mistake, he claimed. “I swear to God, I didn’t kill anyone,” Baloch said in court. The court then asked him if his statement will stay the same if he approaches the high court. More than 16 cases, including the murder of gangster Arshad Pappu, who is accused of killing Baloch’s father, were heard by the court.

The hearing has been adjourned till the last week of July after the prosecution lawyers failed to attend the hearing.

Baloch was arrested by the Rangers on January 30, 2016. In a statement, he now denies, he confessed to committing criminal activities such as murder, extorting money, encroaching on land, illegally occupying 14 sugar mills, harassing residents, and purchasing arms. In April 2017, his custody was handed over to the Pakistan Army after he was accused of espionage and leaking information to foreign intelligence agencies. The Army Corps V handed him over to the police on April 6, 2020 after three years. STAFF REPORT

After the government announced reduction in flour prices, the supply of flour in the market has reduced considerably.

According to sources, consumers were already having problems with the availability of flour in the market when flour prices were high. earlier flour millers had assured the government that they will sell a 20 kilogramme (kg) bag of flour for Rs860. However, instead of selling 20kg bags of flour, flour millers introduced 25kg packaging in a bid to avoid rates set by the government. Currently a 25kg bag is being sold at Rs1,350 in the market. yasir Aslam, a shopkeeper in Akbari Mandi, said that he is finding it difficult to get hold of 20kg or 10kg bags of flour. “Shopkeepers will only be able to sell low priced flour, if there is a supply of such flour in the market. Currently, instead of 20kg bags of flour, bags having 25kg of flour priced at Rs1,350 are being supplied in the market,” he said. Similarly, low availability of flour bags at utility stores has also been reported by the general public who said that utility stores are refusing to sell flour citing inventory stock-outs.

“Both sugar and flour are in short supply at the utility stores. We

KARACHI APP

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday informed an accountability court that it has prepared another reference against Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in connection with the fake bank accounts case. The anti-graft agency claimed that Zardari had constructed his residence in Karachi’s Clifton with ill-gotten money as Rs15 crore for the project was paid from the bank account of a PPP leader’s stenographer.

Zardari has failed to provide evidence of paying money for the said residence by himself, the bureau added. The bureau further said that the stenographer, Mushtaq, had accompanied the former president on 104 foreign visits. It said that Mushtaq escaped when he was approached by the bureau for interrogation.

Moreover, NAB has requested the court to freeze Zardari’s Clifton house till completion of inquiry against him.

INSTEAD OF SUPPLYING 20KG BAGS AT GOVT APPROVED PRICE OF RS860, FLOUR MILLS ARE SUPPLYING 25KG BAGS AT RS1,350

‘stock market’s performance reflection of business confidence in country’

have to visit utility stores multiple times to be able to buy these commodities,” said Nasir Shah, a resident of Chungi Amarsidhu.

On the other hand, Muhammad Ilyas, a utility stores official near Mansura informed Profit that there were some supply chain issues pertaining to flour and sugar, however, their availabilty had been ensured at the stores. “The price of flour and sugar at the utility stores is lower than the market. We do our best to ensure the supply of cheap flour to the people,” he said.

Similarly, Pakistan Flour Mills Association Chairman Abdul Rauf while talking to Profit maintained that there is no shortage of flour in the markets and that flour mills have been supplying flour at government rates.

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz said on Monday that stock market’s performance was reflecting the business confidence in the country. In a tweet, he said that record $23 billion foreign remittances were also a positive signal for the economy. APP

NA passes resolution to teach Holy Quran with translation in universities ISLAMABAD INP

The National Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a resolution for teaching the Holy Quran with translation in universities across the country.

According to details, a meeting of the National Assembly was held under the chairmanship of Speaker Asad Qaiser in which Minister Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan presented a resolution in this regard.

According to the text of the resolution, the Quran should be taught with translation in universities of those provinces which currently do not do so.

The resolution says that reading the Urdu translation of Holy Quran would open new avenues of knowledge for the upcoming generations. The resolution was passed unanimously through the NA.

zardari couldn't provide money trail for Clifton residence, nab tells court

It may be recalled that recently, Punjab decided to teach the Holy Quran with translation in its universities and imposed the condition of learning Quran with translation for obtaining a university degree.

Court gives more time to govt to explain vehicle import ban LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday granted more time to the federal government and other respondents to furnish their response on a petition challenging the ban on the import of vehicles. The petitioner contended before the court that prices of domestically-produced vehicles have skyrocketed because of the ban on the import of cars, depriving people of cheaper and reliable vehicles. He pleaded with the high court to order the government to lift the ban on vehicles’ import. The production and sales of cars had fallen to zero in April because of the lockdowns enforced by the federal and provincial governments to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. According to Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA), 10 months of the fiscal year 2019-2020 proved to be tough for the auto sector as the overall car production and sales registered 52 per cent decline year-on-year basis. The lockdown resulted in the closure of plant operations along with car dealerships across the country. APP

SC issues notices to federal, Punjab govts in plea challenging PLGA ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday issued a notice to the attorney general of Pakistan and advocate general of Punjab over a constitutional petition against the enactment of the Punjab Local Government Act 2019.

A three-member bench of the apex court, presided

by Justice Mushir Alam, heard the petition filed by four former representatives of Punjab local government against the dissolution of previous local bodies system working under the Local Government Act 2013.

Advocate Nawazish Ali Pirzada said that the elected representatives took the oath of office on December 31, 2016, whereas the term of elected members was five years under the constitution.

“The Punjab government has brought a new act to advocate the violation of various provisions of the con-

stitution,” the counsel prayed upon the court. “My clients are elected representatives from different areas, including Sahiwal, Lodhran, Sargodha and Faisalabad.

The government cannot pass legislation that creates a vacuum.”

Justice Umar Ata Bandial said the SC must be satisfied that the petition has been filed in public interest.

Advocate Pirzada stated that the Local Government Act 2019 has impeded work and the federal government could have implemented the law after the term of the current representatives expired.

“All the powers of the elected representatives have been given to the administration,” the lawyer added.

The apex court inquired whether the petitioners have applied for the suspension of the act.

“No separate application has been filed but there is a plea in the case,” the lawyers responded.

To this, the apex court told the lawyer to apply for a

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stay order and then an appropriate order will be issued.

The SC adjourned the hearing for an indefinite period.

Tuesday, 14 July, 2020

NEWS

eiduL azha: CattLe markets tO OPerate frOm 6am tO 7Pm ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

He National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) on Monday decided to allow cattle markets to operate only between 6am to 7pm ahead of eidul Azha.

Federal Minister for Planning and NCOC chief Asad Umar announced the decision during the national body’s first

provincal level meeting held in Lahore.

“The movement of cattle and people between villages and cities increases the risk of the virus spreading,” the minister acknowledged, adding that better management of livestock markets was essential to preventing its spread.

He added that about 700 cattle markets had been set-up across the country.

However, the size of the markets will be limited and the number of people visiting

Pakistan lodges protest with india over ceasefire violations ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday summoned a senior Indian diplomat to the Foreign Office (FO) to register a strong protest over the ceasefire violations by the Indian forces along the Line of Control (LoC) on July 12, injuring six civilians. According to a statement issued from the FO, indiscriminate and unprovoked Indian firing in Rakhchikri and Khuiratta Sectors of the Line of Control (LoC), resulted in the injuries of six innocent civilians including two women and an 11-year-old girl. The injured civilians were residents of Kirni, Jijot Bahadar, and Jagalpal village, it said. FO Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said that the Indian forces along the LoC and the Working Boundary (WB) have been continuously targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-caliber mortars, and automatic weapons. “This year, India has committed 1659 ceasefire violations to date, resulting in the martyrdom of 14 people and serious injuries to 129 civilians,” said the spokesperson. Condemning the deplorable targeting of innocent civilians by the Indian occupation forces, it was underscored that such senseless acts are in clear violation of the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding, and are also against all established humanitarian norms and professional military conduct. Aisha said that such egregious violations of international law reflect consistent Indian attempts to escalate the situation along the LoC and are a threat to regional peace and security. “By raising tensions along the LoC and the WB, India cannot divert attention from the grave human rights situation in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K),” the foreign office said. She said that the Indian side was called upon to respect the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding, investigate the incidents of deliberate ceasefire violations, and maintain peace along the LoC and the WB. The FO further said that the Indian side was also urged to allow the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per the United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC) resolutions. TLTP

marriyum slams awarding of projects worth billions to Peshawar brt contractor LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Information Secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb on Monday expressed dismay over Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s awarding of three construction contracts to the company that “wreaked havoc” with the Peshawar BRT. In a statement, she said Prime Minister Imran Khan is doing the same to the entire country what he did to the Peshawar BRT project. She said that PM Imran should deliver special lectures on how to embezzle money from a project. The former information minister said this favour to a company known for delays reeks of the same corruption as the sugar, wheat and patrol scandal. It is bewildering that after getting the contact with the lowest bid, this company shoots up the cost of the project way beyond estimates, she added. “The Peshawar BRT project is a living example of this sinister and corrupt practice, where the completion of the BRT is not in sight but its cost continues to increase,” she remarked. Marriyum reminded that it is the same company that Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif hand over to Anti-Corruption establishment Punjab. The government is all set to turn the country's capital into the ruins like that of Peshawar BRT by giving projects to the same company, she concluded. STAFF REPORT

it will be restricted.

The meeting reviewed the management of cattle markets and standard operating procedures (SOPs), which have been provided to all relevant departments. No cattle markets will be allowed inside cities, the meeting further decided.

Moreover, wearing masks inside the market was made mandatory, whereas all visitors are to be screened at the entrance.

Appreciating his government, the plan-

unprovoked indian firing across LoC injures six civilians

ning minister observed that timely steps taken by the federal government prevented the deadly contagion from spreading further. “Smart lockdown is in place in 321 locations across the country,” he said. The lockdowns protected around 300,000 people from the virus, he claimed, adding that the NCOC also identified coronavirus hotspots in three cities. The meeting was also attended by provincial chief secretaries via video link.

Former KP CM's adviser attended two meetings of ad steering committee: report NEWS DESK The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Information Department in a report has revealed that Ajmal Wazir, former adviser to Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, had attended two meetings of the advertising steering committee despite not being a member of the panel.

The report, which has been submitted to the CM, alleged that Wazir violated the rules of the steering committee. It adds that Wazir co-chaired the meeting despite not being a member of it and his signatures are also present on the minutes of the meeting.

The meetings were chaired by Provincial Minister for Health Taimur Saleem Jhagra while the secretaries of health and information departments and DG Information were also present when the decisions were taken.

However, the report clarified that the advertisements were given according to the government rules under the law and policy. It adds that the decision to give the advertisement was given unanimously and that seven agencies expressed interest in running the advertisement campaign for the provincial government.

On Saturday, the PTI leadership removed Ajmal Wazir as CM’s adviser after an audio clip surfaced in which

Wazir and another person, believed to be the owner of an advertising agency, were discussing a project and its cost.

Chief Minister Mahmood Khan had ordered an immediate “fact-finding inquiry” into the recently surfaced audio-tape of Ajmal Wazir.

According to PTI leadership, the audio-tape of Ajmal Wazir had surfaced a few days ago but nobody was willing to officially comment on it as they were aware of the consequences and believed it would damage the party’s reputation.

“It was shared in WhatsApp groups and we listened to it but didn’t know what’s going on. I believe the motive behind the audio-tape was to trap Ajmal Wazir and blackmail him,” said one PTI leader.

Ajmal Wazir after being removed from the office had claimed that a conspiracy was hatched against him.

In a statement, he said that the conspirators used mean tactics to block his way to serving people. He claimed that fake audio was prepared with pieces of recordings taken from different meetings and briefings. He said the audio was edited from different points on the tape. He said some questions were asked from him, and he had replied to them. However, those replies were edited and fake audio was prepared with different pieces of the tape.

Faraz condemns Bilawal’s derogatory remarks against PM ISLAMABAD APP

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz on Monday said Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has no political agenda, resulting in his frustrated which was manifest in his press conference.

In a video statement in response to Bilawal’s press conference, he said that the PPP chief used derogatory language against the prime minister and his sister, which was highly condemnable.

Faraz said that PM’s sister has nothing to do with politics, and she should not be dragged into politics. Moreover, use of this kind of language about a woman was a

very despicable act, he remarked.

He said that Bilawal should be the last person to accuse Imran Khan of corruption as no one called Imran Khan “Mr 10 per cent”.

“We strongly condemn Bilawal Bhutto’s allegations.

Bilawal Bhutto should not say such things. He was either asleep or he is ignorant of the ground realities” the minister maintained.

He said that the PPP chief, whose family has confined one big party of the past to Larkana district only, has made a joke of himself by saying such frivolous things. Bilawal should have thought 10 times before accusing PM Imran of corruption, he added. He asked Bilawal that instead of talking nonsense, he should answer the questions raised about himself and his family.

Pakistan among nations facing education emergency LONDON AGENCIES

British charity Save the Children has bracketed Pakistan among a group of 12 countries where nearly 10 million school going children are most at risk of falling behind or even may never return to school, as a result of increasing poverty and budget cuts incurred by coronavirus pandemic.

To address an education emergency, Save the Children, which has 29 national members worldwide, has urged governments and donors to increase funding of education, with $35 billion to be made available by the World Bank. In its latest report on Monday, Save the Children cited Unesco data, showing that in April, 1.6 billion young people were shut out of school and university due to measures to contain Covid-19 – about

90% of the world’s entire student population.

The pandemic has caused an “unprecedented education emergency” with up to 9.7 million children affected by school closures at risk of never going back to class, it warned. “For the first time in human history, an entire generation of children globally have had their education disrupted,” it added.

The report titled ‘Save our education’ listed 12 countries where children are most at risk of falling behind: Niger, Mali, Chad, Liberia, Afghanistan, Guinea, Mauritania, yemen, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal and Ivory Coast. It said the economic fall-out of the crisis could force an extra 90 to 117 million children into poverty, with a knock-on effect on school admissions.

With many young people required to work or girls forced into early marriage to support their families, this could see between 7 and 9.7 million children dropping

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ISLAMABAD: Five innocent civilians, including an 11-year-old girl and a woman got injured when Indian forces opened unprovoked fire in violation of the ceasefire agreement in Khuiratta Sector along the Line of Control (LoC) on Monday. According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Pakistan Army troops responded effectively and targeted those Indian posts that had initiated firing. On Sunday, Indian troops had opened unprovoked fire on the Rakhchkri Sector, targeting the civilian population, which resulted in an elderly woman, who is the resident of Kirni village, getting injured.

Pakistan Army had responded effectively to Indian firing on Sunday. 1,643 ceasefire violations have been committed so far by India during this year. STAFF REPORT

no drop of blood shall be forgotten or forgiven: isPr dG RAWALPINDI: Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Major General Babar Iftikhar, in his message on the Kashmir Martyrs’ Day, on Monday said that it is “reminiscent of utmost price paid for freedom by brave Kashmiris”. In a statement shared on his Twitter account, the Pakistan Army’s spokesperson said, “every single drop of blood shed, shall not be forgotten or forgiven.

Decades of Indian atrocities failed to suppress insurmountable spirit and legitimate freedom struggle, destined to succeed, Insha’Allah.” earlier this week, the fourth anniversary of Kashmiri freedom fighter Burhan Wani’s martyrdom was commemorated. Wani was remembered on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) for his struggle against the Indian occupation forces. TLTP

‘World should fulfil its duty by stopping india from violating int’l law’ LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and National Assembly (NA) Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif, while condemning the unprovoked firing by Indian forces along the Line of Control (LoC), said that India has gone insane in its obsessive jingoism. In a statement, Shehbaz said these continued ceasefire violations by India across the LoC and Working Boundary (WB) cannot mask Indian war crimes. He said that India is the only country that has jeopardised the peace, security and stability of the entire region. He said that repeated ceasfire violations and targeting of civilian population is New Delhi's strategy to trigger a war in the region to divert world attention away from its brutalities and oppression in the illegally annexation occupied Kashmir. The PML-N president said that the silence of the international community, especially the United Nations (UN), shows their indifference to agents of destruction of world peace. STAFF REPORT

out of school permanently.

At the same time, the charity warned the crisis could leave a shortfall of $77 billion in education budgets in low and middle income countries by the end of 2021.

The charity urged governments and donors to invest more funds behind a new global education plan to help children back into school when it is safe and until then support distance learning.

DEBT RELIEF: Before the crisis, an estimated 258 million children and adolescents were already missing out on school, the charity said. The charity also urged commercial creditors to suspend debt repayments for low-income countries—a move it said could free up $14 billion for education programmes.

The charity’ call for debt relief came as the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) urged the Group of 20 major economies to extend and expand a freeze in debt service payments to help not just the poorest, but also middle-income countries, weather the coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout.

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Tuesday, 14 July, 2020

NEWS

covid-19: govt to condUct ‘smArt sAmPling’ in All PUnjAb jAils LAHORE:

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INP

HE Punjab government on Monday announced to start sampling in all jails of the province in order to contain coronavirus. In the first phase, a smart sampling of 30 prisoners and 10 staff members will be conducted, according to Punjab Inspector General of Prisons Mirza Shahid Saleem Baig.

Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Punjab will take samples of prisoners and staff members under the “smart sampling project” to “detect and determine the spread of Covid-19”.

Baig said that smart sampling will help detect coronavirus patients in Punjab

ex-Pm nawaz's cousin summoned in bank default case LAHORE: A banking court on Monday directed Tariq Shafi, the cousin of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, and others who are suspected of defaulting on a bank loan to appear before it in person on Aug 24. The summon was announced after Judge Muneer Ahmed approved petitions of the suspects for exemption from personal appearance in Monday’s hearing and directed them to show up on the next hearing. The counsel for multiple different banks, which instituted the case against the accused of allegedly defaulting on hefty loans, stated before the judge that Ittifaq and Kashmir sugar mills obtained loans in excess of Rs700 million from his clients. It was submitted that Shafi and other accused were served multiple notices by the banks in this regard but they failed to generate any response.

The court, therefore, was requested to order action against them as per relevant laws. APP

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Monday commended the efforts of Punjab government in controlling the Covid-19 pandemic in the province. “In today's meeting with Chief Minister Punjab (Sardar Usman Buzdar), I complimented efforts made by the provincial government to control spread of Covid-19 and improve health care capacity in the province,” Umar, who heads the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), said in a tweet. He also emphasised the need for continued vigilance for standard operation procedures’ (SOPs) compliance, smart lockdowns and most importantly precautionary measures during the upcoming Eidul Azha. APP

jails and positive coronavirus prisoners will be kept in isolation after the emergence of results.

The second phase of smart sampling will start from next week.

Meanwhile, 487 new cases of coronavirus were reported in Punjab in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of cases in the province to 87,043.

The province also reported seven more virus-related deaths in last 24 hours, pushing

the provincial death toll to 2,013.

According to figures released by the government, 58,023 people have recovered from the virus in the province so far. According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the national tally of cases soared to 251,624 with the addition of 2,769 new cases detected during the previous 24 hours. As many as 22,532 Covid-19 tests were conducted in the said period.

Sindh govt to protest increase in electricity tariff, overbilling KARACHI APP

The Sindh government on Monday decided to register a protest with

the federal government over the increase in electricity tariff and overbilling.

As per details, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah will write a

moon observatory in islamabad before next eid, fawad says Federal Minster for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry on Monday said Pakistan will have a moon observatory next Eid in Islamabad, hoping that it will lessen the burden on the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee when it comes to moon-sighting. The minister, while addressing an event held to start the production of drones to target locusts, said he would speak to provinces to spend a little bit of their budget on science and technology. He said that if the provinces were in favour of the idea, they could set up moon observatories of their own. Highlighting his ministry’s achievements, Chaudhry said that when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in Pakistan, the country was not manufacturing anything. “Today we are manufacturing ventilators, protective gear and N-95 masks,” the minister remarked. “Today, we have granted permission to three more companies to manufacture ventilators.” “With four companies, we will be able to export ventilators,” he added. Separately, Dr Suleman, the CEO of a private company, said on the occasion that the drones will be given to the NDMA to fight locusts in the country.

“Only recently we were tasked by the ministry to make drones. These drones can not only be used to spray [disinfectants] but also map areas,” he said. NEWS DESK

AsAd UmAr commends PUnjAb gov't efforts in controlling covid-19

letter to the federal government to apprise it from the reservations of the masses over an increase in tariff and the complaints of overbilling.

Earlier this month, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) had approved a price hike in K-Electric tariffs.

A statement issued by the Finance Ministry at the time had said that the increase in tariff was announced as per recommendations forwarded by the ECC and approved with the instructions that the same would be effective after the passage of three months.

The prince hike will bring the KElectric tariff on a par with other power distribution companies.

Buzdar announces to set up mobile land record centres across province LAHORE INP

Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on Monday announced that the provincial government has made all preparations to launch mobile land record centres across the province.

In a statement, Buzdar said that the government will launch 20 mobile “Arazi” centres for the far-flung areas of the province in the first phase.

He said that these mobile land record centres will facilitate citizens to avail of various services at their doorsteps. The chief minister said these services include the issuance of

fard (property ownership document) and the mutation of property.

He said the mobile Arazi centres have been linked with other Arazi centres in Punjab.

“The PTI [Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf] government is giving back the rights to people by bringing unique reforms in the system of governance,” he added.

The chief minister further said that past governments used to promote ‘patwari culture’ for their personal gains but this initiative of e-governance by the provincial government will completely eradicate the culture.

It is pertinent to mention here that Punjab Land Records Authority (PLRA) has been set up under the administrative control of the Board of Revenue, Government of the Punjab.

Pakistan to host World tourism forum 2021: Zulfi bukhari ISLAMABAD INP

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis and Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) Chairman Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari, announced on Monday that World Tourism Forum 2021 will be held in Pakistan. Confirming the development while talking to a private television channel, the PM’s aide said that over 1,000 foreign visitors will attend the five-day event to be held in 2021 in Pakistan. “The World Tourism Forum will have three days for conference and two days for tourism”, he added. The event had been scheduled for this year but was delayed until next year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Bukhari further announced that over 32 new three-star and five-star hotels will be constructed in Pakistan in the next two years. He said that the government will renovate PTDC buildings and motels across the country in order to promote tourism. The minister said that the government had closed down PTDC operations in a bid to restructure it. “We are making changes in PTDC as a step towards restructuring it in accordance with global best practices,” he added. On Sunday, Bukhari had said the government would be bringing reforms in the PTDC rather than closing it down.

ICCI asks CDA to revise building bylaws ISLAMABAD TLTP

The prime minister of Pakistan has announced an attractive package for construction industry to boost the economy; however, Capital Development Authority (CDA) has not taken any steps to revise its construction laws in line with the requirements of the construction industry package.

This was stated by Muhammad Ahmed Waheed, the president of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) in a press statement on Monday, adding therefore, the CDA should revise its building bylaws to facilitate the construction sector and notify them as soon as possible so that construction and business activities could flourish in the federal capital.

The ICCI president said that about four years ago, CDA Board had approved revised industrial building bylaws which addressed height of industrial buildings and allowed multi-businesses on industrial plots, but CDA has not notified them as yet due to which industrial growth in Islamabad is stagnant.

He urged that CDA should notify the approved amended industrial building bylaws to facilitate the

industrial development in the capital. He further said that lease of many industrial and commercial plots in Islamabad has been pending due to complicated lease renewal process of CDA. Due to this situation not only business activities were suffering, CDA was also losing revenue of billions of rupees in the form of lease renewal charges.

He emphasised that CDA should streamline lease renewal process and renew all pending leases of industrial and commercial plots. He said that without renewal of leases, commercial and industrial establishments were not able to avail the financing facility of banks for expansion and growth.

Waheed said that after depositing building map for construction projects, one has to wait for 2-3 years for its approval due to which development of the federal capital was very slow. He said that due to such difficult procedures, domestic and foreign investors were feeling no incentive to invest in construction projects in the federal capital.

He stressed that CDA should define timelines for every activity and approve all pending maps of industrial and commercial buildings in order to spur the construction activity in the federal capital.

Tuesday, 14 July, 2020

NEWS

05

CovId-19: KP'S touRISM SeCtoR feaRS RS12bN IN LoSSeS by auGuSt-eNd PESHaWar

K

AZIZ BUNERI

HyBER Pakhtunkhwa's tourism sector fears a loss of over Rs12 billion if the government continues to keep the industry closed till next month. Amjad Sahab, a senior journalist working on tourism in KP, informed this scribe that tourism was the only sector that could have provided employment opportunities to the people who were suffering badly at the hands of coronavirus lockdown.

"The sector would have earned a revenue of bil-

transporters Rs3.98 billion, archaeological sites Rs1.5 billion and local industry Rs32.17 million.

In total, the people associated with the tourism sector may bear a loss of Rs12.18 billion by August.

Meanwhile, a report of the KP Integrated Tourism Development picked three locations in the province, namely Swat, Kaghan and Galyat, to assess the damage caused by the closure of the tourism industry.

During the last three months, the hotel industry in these places incurred Rs2.12 billion loss; local vendors, transport and Restaurant owners Rs1.32 billion; archaeological sites Rs500 million, and local industry Rs107.25 million.

lions of rupees if scenic areas of the province were opened for the public on time," he opined. "But the government instead chose to close the sector, leaving millions associated with the tourism department unemployed." He recalled that KP’s tourism department had recommended a one-year abolition of government taxes and fees for the survival of the people involved in this business, but no implementation was carried out in this regard.

According to an international firm's survey, Pakistan’s hotel industry has suffered the most from the coronavirus pandemic; hotels and restaurants have incurred a loss of Rs6.37 billion, shops and local

The losses could be tripled by August if efforts were not made for revival of the Industry.

As per the report, income of 2,011 drivers, tour guides, labourers, porters and others belonging to these tourist destinations had been affected.

Similarly, room bookings for 5,390 and 8,235 tourists in Hazara and Malakand Divisions have been canceled due to the virus outbreak.

The report recommended the provincial government to provide grants as well as interest-free loans to those involved in the tourism sector, besides relief in government taxes, fees and arrears for the next one year to rehabilitate the industry.

Sugar reforms committee to submit findings within one month ISLAMABAD SHAHZAD PARACHA

A high powered committee, tasked to bring about reforms in the sugar sector on Monday said that it will submit its findings within thirty days.

A meeting of the committee was held under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar.

Members of the committee include adviser to Prime Minister (PM) on institutional reforms, special assistant to PM on accountability, minister for national

food security and research, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) director general, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman, ministry of industries and production secretary, law and justice secretary, ministry of national food security and research secretary and provincial chief secretaries.

The committee after deliberating on administrative, legislative and policy frameworks to improve the sugar sector has decided to submit its findings within thirty days.

The committee was formed by the federal cabinet on June 9 under the chairmanship of Minister for Industries

and Production Hammad Azhar.

Earlier, a forensic audit report issued by the sugar inquiry commission had recommended that assistant commissioners and deputy commissioners should ensure full payments to farmers and that technology should be used for bookkeeping and a mechanism should be developed to ‘recover the looted amount’.

The forensic audit report also suggested improvement in the regulatory system urging the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), National Accountability Bureau and FIA to step up their efforts.

Coronavirus immunity may disappear within months: study LONdON AGENCIES

Patients who recover from coronavirus infections may lose their immunity to reinfection within months, according to research released on Monday that experts said could have a "significant" influence on how governments manage the pandemic.

In the first study of its kind, a team led by researchers from King's College London examined the levels of antibodies in more than 90 confirmed virus patients and how they changed over time. Blood tests showed even individuals with only mild Covid-19 symptoms mounted some immune response to the virus.

Of the study group, 60 per cent showed a "potent" viral response in the first few weeks after infection.

However, after three months only 16.7 % had maintained high levels of Covid-19-neutralising antibodies,

Pakistan to stand with Kashmiris come what may, PM Imran says CONTINuEd frOm PagE 01 He assured the people of Kashmir that “the day is not far” when the valley will be “liberated from the clutches of Indian illegal occupation”.

“Pakistan has always stood steadfast for the Kashmiri right to self-determination and will continue to support this just struggle,” he tweeted. The Inter-services Public Relations (ISPR) said that the day was “reminiscent of [the] utmost price paid for freedom by brave Kashmiris”. In a tweet, ISPR Director General Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar said that “decades of Indian atrocities failed to suppress insurmountable spirit & legitimate freedom struggle” of the Kashmiris, which was “destined to succeed”.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shahbaz Sharif said the 22 martyred Kashmiris in 1931 had “written a history of bravery”. “Despite [the] intensification of violence post-August 5 by India, Kashmiris of all ages & across genders are challenging Modi’s fascism today with their blood. They are [the] hope of future!” he tweeted. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, while paying tribute to the martyrs said that their courage had “regalvanised a decades old struggle for self-determination in 1931”, which he said was an “inalienable right Kashmiris continue to die for to this day”. He added that no occupation could “subjugate [the brave] spirit of Kashmir”.

and after 90 days several patients had no detectable antibodies in their bloodstream.

When the body encounters an external danger such as a virus, it mobilises cells to track down and kill the culprit.

As it does so, it produces proteins known as antibodies that are programmed to target the specific antigen the body is fighting, like a key cut for a particular lock.

As long as someone has enough antibodies, they will be able to snub out new infections, giving them immunity.

But Monday's research suggests immunity cannot be taken for granted and may not last more than a few months, as is true with other viruses such as influenza.

Experts said the findings may change how governments plan for the next phase of the pandemic, including how they fund and organise vaccine research and development.

"This is an important study that starts to define the longer-term dynamics of the antibody response to Sars-

Cov-2," said Lawrence young, professor of Molecular Oncology at the University of Warwick, using the full name of the virus strain.

"It further emphasises the need for us to better understand what a protective immune response looks like if we are to develop an effective vaccine," said young, who was not involved in the research.

James Gill, an honorary Clinical Lecturer at Warwick Medical School, said the research reiterated the need for everyone to continue taking measures to mitigate the virus spreading, particularly at the start of Europe's holiday season. "In the same way that these patients were surprised to have antibodies to Covid-19, we should NOT be surprised if any protective benefit is mild, or at least transient," he said. "If you played the lottery and won £10, you wouldn't immediately think that you had acquired increased natural luck, and used your life savings to buy further lottery tickets.

Back to school!

CITY NOTES M A NIAZI

Whatever else they’re doing, they’re reopening the schools. It’s surprising the similarities there are between Trump and Imran. I mean, they’re both married more than the average number of times, they both have a lot of complaints against them, and while one is actually a septuagenarian, the other is approaching the age. There’s one difference though.

Imran isn’t orange.

But both are adamant on one thing. Come September, the schools are re-opening. Apparently, that is the sort of decision that most favours the coronavirus. I mean, here you have lockdowns, and the most vulnerable members being protected from contacting anyone and trying to get them to escape infection. But when schools reopen, the kids will be forced to go, and they will, almost as a matter of routine, ignore all SOPs that the best minds and the most experienced experts can come up with, and return home little hives of infection.

Kids don’t usually develop symptoms. That’s good news. But the bad news is that they are as infectious as anyone who develops the full list of symptoms and actually kicks the bucket. I wonder how many grandparents will live out this winter.

I wonder if either Trump or Imran realises when the schools are re-opening. In September, just at the beginning of the flu season, when the second wave is expected to kick in. That is really bad news, for it means that, just when it is going to get really interesting, the coronavirus will get a new vector in the shape of schoolchildren.

Why do I get the impression that both men are listening to parents? Because one of the hardest secrets to keep during this lockdown has been that schools exist for parents, not children. The lockdown has meant that parents have had to spend long periods of time with children. And one reason why the online thing hasn’t worked all that well is not because of the teachers, who have tried their best, but the children, who have tried to bunk even virtual classes? I wonder why. The only place they can hang out is virtual.

When I say parents, I mean mothers. Look, kids go off to school, husbands to the office, women stay home and watch TV. And don’t tell me women have to go off and work. When TV execs starting cancelling morning shows and soaps, then I’ll believe that. Of course, one of the hidden problems of returning to normalcy will be persuading men to give up watching TV and get to work. One problem is that women staying at home do manage the house. But men cooped up at home just sit slack-jawed in front of the idiot box.

By the way, Trump has his own difficulties, as an estranged niece has just published a tell-all memoir. Her late

SNGPL board elects Roohi Raees as chairperson ISLamaBad STAFF REPORT

The Board of Directors of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) on Monday, elected Roohi Raees Khan as SNGPL Board of Directors (BoD) chairperson. Earlier on July 3, eleven directors were elected to the SNGPL BoD, who on Monday elected Roohi Raees as the BoD chairperson for a period of three years.Roohi Raees was last elected as SNGPL BoD chairperson in November 2019 following the death of former SNGPL BoD chairperson Syed Dilawar Abbas. The newly elected SNGPL BoD chairperson also has the honour of being the first female to be elected as the chairperson of SNGPL’s BoD. She also currently serves as a director on male dominated boards at Pakistan Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation (PICIC) and Lahore Stock Exchange and heads some key financial institutions.The newly elected SNGPL BoD Chairperson Roohi Raees Khan holds an MBA from Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi and an undergraduate degree in Economics and Mathematics from the University of the Punjab. Moreover, she has over 15 years of experience at various senior management level positions including chief executive officer, chief operating officer and board director at various financial institutions. Roohi Raees has over 35 years of exposure in the financial sector by virtue of which she has interacted with various industrial sectors. She has also served on boards of leasing, housing and banking institutions. Previously, between 2011 to 2012, she also held the position of Zarai Taraqiati Bank acting president.

father was Trump’s elder brother and died of a heart attack brought on by too much drinking. He was an airline pilot.

Did he have a licence?

That is a question being asked of Pakistani pilots, whose image has changed from neatly uniformed men flying planes to overweight men dressed in dhotis and with pieces of cloth tied around their heads who will not start the plane until a member of the cabin crew slaps a door and yells, “Jaanedo dabbal.” And they are always on the lookout to overtake the plane ahead. The (licenceless) Pakistani pilot also envies the helicopter’s ability to hover. He would like that to make midflight unscheduled stops, letting off passengers with a parachute and a prayer. And they no longer respond to ‘captain’, answering only when addressed as ‘ustadji’ (preferably shortened to ‘staji’).

I wonder if the Bollywood comedian of yesteryear, Jagdeep, died of Covid-19. He won fame for his role in Sholay, that iconic movie of so many decades ago. One of its heroes, Amitabh Bachchan, has got Covid-19, as has Brazilian President Jair B-olsonaro.

Obviously, the letter ‘B’ is susceptible: B-oris Johnson also got it, while B-urundi’s President actually died of it.

Neither Trump nor Imran has a B anywhere near, so they’re safe. I hope nothing happens to the COAS. The wife of TV producer Ali Salman Alvi didn’t die of Covid-19, but something sure happened to her.

She was found hanging from the fan at home. Her sister has registered a murder FIR against her brother-inlaw, who she said used to beat her sister up. That’s might give him a defence. He didn’t murder her. Just drove her to suicide.

Well, Amber Heard was neither killed nor driven to suicide, but she said that ex-husband Johnny Depp used to beat her. Just examples that wife-beating is not limited to the lower classes. Of course, we know that Pakistan has the advantage of a firm upholder of women’s rights in Imran Khan.

Tuesday, 14 July, 2020

06 COMMENT

Hindu temple in Muslim Islamabad?

Kashmir martyrs’ day Withdrawal of IOK’s special status opened a Pandora’s Box

And the fine art of hedging your bets

A

S people in Pakistan, AJK and Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) observed the Kashmir martyrs’ day on Monday there was no end to inhuman atrocities committed by the Indian army and law enforcement agencies on the Kashmiri population under Indian control The Kashmir martyrs’ day is observed to pay homage to 22 Kashmiris who were killed in 1931 during a revolt against the barbarities committed by the Dogra rulers. After the partition of India, the people in IOK were subjected to even worse persecution. Unable to suppress their peaceful struggle for self-determination, the Indian secret agencies kidnapped, tortured and killed tens of thousands of peaceful protestors. Failing to curb their penchant for freedom, New Delhi sent in troops forcing the peaceful Kashmiri population to take up arms. Last year in August the Modi government withdrew the special status of IOK under Article 370 of the India Constitution and imposed a strict lockdown on the valley. This led to the commission of further brutalities in the occupied Valley. In March the government notified the Jammu and Kashmir Grant of Domicile Certificate (procedure) Rules 2020, providing thousands of Indians an opportunity to claim Kashmiri domicile in order to turn Kashmiris into a minority in their own land.

There is hardly anyone supportive of India in IOK. The hurriyat leaders have been in custody for more than a year.

Feeling insecure, the Indian government has not released even most of the erstwhile pro-India Kashmiri leaders including former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti. With space for peaceful protests continuing to shrink the Kashimiri youth are being forced to take up arms. The Resistance Front, an up-and-coming nonsectarian militant outfit is the latest to launch lethal attacks on the Indian occupation forces. The Draconian measures have failed to dampen the spirit of the Kashmiris who are bent upon getting rid of the Indian yoke.

India’s arbitrary tinkering with the status of IOK, an internationally recognized disputed region, led China to strongly object to the attempt to change the status quo in Ladakh. Beijing maintains that India has violated its sovereignty and encroached upon Chinese territory. With China also becoming a party in the dispute, India must forget that it can simply sweep Kashmir under the rug.

HASAN AFTAB SAEED

T

he CDA has halted the construction of the boundary wall of the Krishna Mandir citing technical reasons. But now that the issue has been thoroughly politicised, it is unlikely anybody is going to want to touch it with a bargepole any time soon. The court has decided that the matter of funding is for the executive to decide.

The executive branch has, in turn, referred the hot potato to the Council of Islamic Ideology, where it is likely to rest for a while.

It all started in the Zardari era, but that history, interesting as it is, is for another day. On the 3rd of this month, Kanwal Parvez of the PML(N) moved a resolution in the Punjab Assembly demanding that the government reverse its decision to devote for the temple funds out of taxes collected from hardworking citizens. The resolution called this a violation of the Quran and Sunnat. While it did not use the word ‘Muslims’, it mirrored the sentiment expressed by numerous religious scholars, viz. Muslims could never acquiesce to their taxes being used for such a purpose.

Parvez appeared on TV the very same day to explain her position. She started in fine style by repeating the standard formula that as a matter of principle hindus, and all other minorities, were free to observe their religion. But lest anybody went overboard putting the principle to practice, she was quick to point out the following: 1) The state of Pakistan was founded in the name of One God, so it was unbecoming for the government to help build a temple in its capital. 2) Building such a large temple was certain to send a very confusing message to the outsiders, and to cause conflict among the citizens. 3) Since there was already a temple in Islamabad, there was no need to build another, considering the meagre population of hindus there. This last point was the only

Threats and warnings Not the solution to Karachi’s energy problems

O

N Saturday, Minister for Planning Asad Umar confidently promised that there would be no more unannounced electricity load shedding in Karachi from Sunday, however there were still power outages across the city. he went on to warn K-electric that if it ‘did not resolve the issues’ the government would ‘take over’.

The center holds K-electric responsible for the recent energy crisis that the metropolis has been facing and blames the privately owned company for having inadequate infrastructure to carry the required megawatts to stem load shedding. K-electric however claims that an acute furnace oil shortage and the fact that the company’s many requests to the federal government and PSO, dating back to January demanding 120,000 tons of oil, not being entertained, prevented them from generating the required amount of electricity. Karachi has a perennial load shedding problem that peaks during the summer season and with the city under varying degrees of a lockdown due to Covid-19, demand unexpectedly skyrocketed. In the midst of it all, the blame game and politicization of the issue, residential and commercial consumers have to suffer, while also having to pay their electricity bills regularly. While the sufficient availability of electricity in the grid is no longer a major problem, a dated and inefficient transmission system leads to line losses and breakdowns.

This is much more prominent and in public-owned electricity generation, distribution and transmission companies for they are inefficiently run loss-making units that are a burden on the taxpayer. This reality makes the threat to take over sound rather ridiculous since K-electric is comparatively a more efficiently run profit making entity. The only possible way for any sort of ‘nationalisation’ to even be remotely possible would require the government to declare K-electric as being ‘against the national interest’ and therefore requiring the former to step-in. Not only is that a longshot, it will be near impossible to convince the courts of the same. The Abraaj group owns 66% of the company and therefore, despite its CeO’s own legal troubles; it will fight any such move tooth and nail in the courts. All this unrealistic talk of taking over therefore only generates more friction between the two entities involved. Instead, both should focus on resolving the issue rather than making it further controversial at the expense of Karachi’s citizens.

The dangers of certainty

Ali GAuHAr

“O

Ne of the painful things about our time is that those who feel certainty are stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision.”

These words from Bertrand Russell continue to ring true. Curiosity and unorthodoxy are constantly under attack. One would think that we wouldn’t have this issue in 2020, but here we are, where stifling and shaming is still going strong.

The art of discourse across the world is falling by the wayside. There is more emphasis on being right than being effective, which is a symptom of identity politics. It has all become too heated and divisive on both sides of the aisle. The lightness of touch has disappeared from discourse. GK. Chesterton once said “Angels can fly because they can take themselves lightly.” Belligerence has a short expiry date, and history usually does not remember bel-

Arif Nizami Editor Umar Aziz

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it is clear that they are increasingly becoming more tabloid and one sided. On both sides of the political spectrum, there is more focus on defending their ideology and tearing down alternatives. Since President Trump’s arrival, the divide has become more transparent. Many liberals fail to recognize that the triumph of the right is not because of some grand conspiracy, it’s because of the failures of the left. ligerents fondly. It is through humility, creativity, There came a point where the left became so re-examination and in this context, doubt, that we wrapped up in sanctimony and assurity, that they can strive for a better world. neglected the views of others and made people feel Russel’s quote above can be applied through alienated. We have seen over the last decade how many moments in history. If liberals across the Western we go through the past, we world are falling into the can identify many extreme trap of the radical right by instances of how certainty becoming intolerant of difhas been very pernicious ferent opinions. They call During the times of slavery and dangerous; the white for diversity, but not diverman’s sense of superiority sity of opinion. They are in the U.S, Christian slave over the black race for one. now exclusive in their deowners were so convinced of mand for inclusiveness, During the times of slavery in the U.S, Christian which is not what true libtheir superiority that they slave owners were so coneralism stands for. It seems vinced of their superiority used the Bible as a means of as if members of both sides that they used the Bible as a of the fence are lost in the means of justification to enjustification to enslave and haze of divisiveness. slave and punish Africans.

Certainty is not just a punish Africans. Clouded by problem Clouded by their pomposin the West needity, slaveholders believed less to say.

There are many their pomposity, slaveholders examples across the Bible was on their side, the world citing passages that comwhere a strong sense of cerbelieved the Bible was on manded servants to obey. tainty is damaging the polittheir side, citing passages Some ministers promoted ical and social fabric of the idea that Africans were nations. Before we can that commanded servants the descendants of ham work together to implement (son of Noah), cursed in the new ideas, it is crucial that to obey. book of Genesis, and hence people with different polititheir enslavement was justical outlooks see each other fied; a gross misinterpretaas allies not foes and then, tion. Abolitionists made of course, having the humilarguments against using the Bible to justify slavery, ity to not be so certain. This is not the time to be but they were in a minority. They were considered afraid of doubt. It is high time that individuals on radical and blasphemous, thus their objections were both sides make a concerted attempt to actively endismissed with disdain for a long time. gage in civilized debate with passion and most imThe historical example above is not a direct portantly, positive doubt. comparison to what’s happening now of course, but we continue to see how alternative views are downAli Gauhar is a sports anchor on PTV World graded due to a strong sense of certainty and a lack English where he hosts “Sports Extra”. He can be of humility. When you look at American networks, reached at aligauhar41@gmail.com

Considering the opposing view is necessary for meaningful discourse

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

legitimate concern of hers and one wishes she had to which Islam, as a matter of course, will ultimately only raised this one. But that would have hardly ap- conquer the world, reducing non-Muslims to second pealed to the targeted constituency, and the hon- class citizenship. While there has always been a huge ourable member is way too smart for that. Oh, who gulf between this particular dream and the ground ream I kidding? Smart money is on her merely follow- ality (a gulf which was never wider than it is today), ing orders from above; how much independence (and anybody who has ever been influenced by this sort of teaching finds it difficult to even contemplate a state initiative) these members have is an open secret.

Not one week after this, on the same issue in the where he happens to belong to the majority faith but National Assembly, Khawaja Asif – always keen to where politically all religions are equal.

Coming back to the fundamental question: portray PML(N) as more liberal than John Locke himself – delivered a thundering speech in favour of Should the state fund temples and churches when more understanding and tolerance for other religions. Muslims build their own mosques (according to he also pointed out (correctly) that the constitution Mufti Muneeb)? Absolutely. Not least because it guaranteed equal fundamental rights to everybody re- must have a decisive say in how they are run. If it is gardless of colour and creed. For once, it was hard to not doing so in the case of mosques, then that is an error to be corrected, not a disagree with Asif; although principle to be applied elseif the past is anything to go where. It is no secret that by, and with the resolution private parties that fund freshly moved in the Punjab building of such establishAssembly, this was but a Politicians will after all be ments invariably want to continuation of PML(N)’s politicians. They often feel run their affairs too. When cynical policy to secure all the state relinquished its bases including the crucial obliged to appeal to the role in the running of one in Washington. The mosques it inadvertently party had thus offered somebaser instincts of their sowed the seeds of strife thing to all quarters without constituencies, so it all and sectarianism. Inciteletting anybody know ment to violence from whether it was for or against comes down to the common mosques (of all places) is the construction. Mission acnot unheard of. Neither is it complished. folks. Many of whom a secret that there are countThose who have folless ahl-e-hadees, barelvi, lowed the happenings in this unfortunately feel that life deobandi, and shia mosques country for any length of would be unbearably boring across the country but not time were hardly surprised one mosque of Allah. Into see PML(N) charmingly without this sort of drama, stead of correcting the equivocal on the issue. Restate’s faulty approach tocall that all through the no small thanks to our wards mosques, there is this Mumtaz Qadri trial, sentencreligious ‘scholars’. unfortunate insistence on ing, appeal and execution, applying it to temples and Capt. Safdar was on the churches as well. forefront of the campaign The major point of conthat supported Qadri, declartention (‘Muslim’ taxes to ing him a saint. This was when others in the party were either silent or else build a hindu temple) is merely the application of the making all the politically correct noises. Shahbaz above principle and till the last time of checking, Sharif’s 2010 appeal to the Taliban, as chief minister, taxes had no religion. The non-Muslims pay taxes as to ‘spare’ Punjab because both the Taliban and the well as the Muslims. Of course, the share of the MusPML(N) had been fighting against Musharraf and lims is much larger but that is only reflective of their foreign dictation, just when the rest of the party was overwhelming majority.

This author, being a flagbearer of the explaying to the international gallery is also on record. cellent tradition of seeing the glass half-full, believes Madness? Sure. Without a method? hardly.

Politicians will after all be politicians. They often that it is not all doom and gloom. Matters could have feel obliged to appeal to the baser instincts of their been infinitely worse. Just imagine if the second constituencies, so it all comes down to the common largest religious group numbered, say, 15 percent of folks. Many of whom unfortunately feel that life the country population. In case your imagination is would be unbearably boring without this sort of not quite in the J.R.R. Tolkien mould, you need not drama, no small thanks to our religious ‘scholars’. look beyond India next door. here, I am not talking about some obscure mullah, for Hasan Aftab Saeed is a connoisseur of music, there are crazy people on most fringes. Instead, wellrespected figures in the mainstream have consistently literature, and food (but not drinks). He can be fed a diet of Political Islam to the masses according reached at www.facebook.com/hasanaftabsaeed

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Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Tuesday, 14 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

Leftistan or rightistan?

The uncertainties of covid-19 even though our very stoically built armor, seen something of this scale to come and challenge our misperceived immunity from loss, suf- we invest in over a life time, may shield us from the reality that dare not consume us but it is this fering and uncertainty.

We are undergoing a collective trauma and very armor that will prevent this reality from AHmAD BuTT the spectrums of reactions we see from different ever touching and transforming us.

Some of us may not be in complete denial of individuals are all valid and are people’s own hILe the coronavirus is swiftly unique ways of dealing the pandemic. We may conquering our air, the tendency with the devastating have some acceptance. of humans to attach to and live in change of reality. There The virus is there and is the delusion of certainty is shak- is no ‘correct’ way of devastating the world ing with it. The pandemic has being during the panwe knew. In this case, Even though our very tragically, on an unprecedented scale, shown us demic but a lot of our individuals aren’t irked how little control we really have in navigating reactions have common stoically built armor, we invest by the rapidly changing our lives. With rampant loss of human life, underlying threads. reality because they in over a life time, may shield have swallowed the behealth and interconnectedness, the consequences Some individuals for the mental health of billions around the are in complete denial lief that while there us from the reality that dare world seem bleak. how did we get here? has the of the pandemic. The might be uncertainty virus clamped down on our previously held free- virus doesn’t exist for and suffering, they are not consume us but it is this doms? Or has it simply stripped away the veneer them and it is just anabsolved from it. It of our world’s carefully concocted human sense other conspiracy. They won’t touch them. very armor that will prevent of control?

Again, this is another might attach themthis reality from ever touching delusion that we have each one of us is experiencing a different selves to whatever cocktail of emotions right now, but it should knowledge source or been brought up with. and transforming us. come as no shock that what one is feeling is ei- information that claims Global suffering will ther directly or indirectly connected to one com- to support their denial only move them once it mon human denominator- our lifelong struggle and will be unwilling to hits the close. Until then, to establish certainty. the self-created bubble budge no matter what The struggle for certainty knows no bounds. It dimension of current reality you show them. of certainty persists. And it is only when, unfortuis always there- always lurking behind each and Their denial has everything to do with attach- nately, suffering finally knocks on their door, the every single decision you make in your life. The ment to the familiar, pre-pandemic lost reality shock and bafflement on them being chosen might clothes you wear, the school you go to, the job you and is clearly a symptom of culture and upbring- disrupt their long held delusion of certainty. fight for, your investment in religion, the age de- ing that jumps hoops to distract or numb people These are of course just a few manifestations fined milestones you scream after and the tug of from unwanted, discomfort inducing experi- of the problem. You and I both know most of us war you sweat over in relationships are all mani- ences on a daily basis. have battled against uncertainty at one point or festations of the misCulture erro- another, even if we don’t necessarily fit the sceguided hope that neously dictates that narios mentioned above. If we didn’t pay attenperhaps one day you any painful or discon- tion to our constant running away from reality will carefully manipucerting experience is before, COVID invites us to see if we are ready late life in giving you the immediately dispensa- to take the first dive into the chaos that enLife is not meant to be silver platter of the right ble and you gain some- velopes us. We can’t run away like we used to. diameter and shine. thing from pouncing to The music has momentarily stopped playing and enclosed and neither can it The certainty will grab the remote to flip we can’t dance anymore to get lost into oblivion be. For the one event or somehow arrive if you once again. We are alone; scared; anxious; helpto another channel. follow the remnants of Denial can be a use- less. Looking on the outside- looking to the exoccurrence you were luckily equally unconscious ful, protective tempo- ternal world for sanity and comfort is not an and lost past generarary mechanism to option anymore. The external world has magiable to experience with some tions- their coveted xyz bypass a more damag- cally stepped away on its own to create space for defined parameters of certainty, there will always be ing impact on one’s self all of us to finally look within and embrace our tightly enclosing life in and most of us have had vulnerability- the only antidote to the indoctria hundred others where this one’s hands. some experience with it. nation of the illusion of certainty. When there is Life is not meant to no denying a painful yet wholehearted acceptance of reality expectation will be decimated. that There’s be enclosed and neither a head on collision can we begin to shatter our dysfunctional paracan it be. For the one with a stark reality can digm of living a life designed to capture someevent or occurrence be annihilating to many thing that will never exist. While we all continue you were luckily able and denial offers a tem- to experience this traumatic pandemic episode to experience with some certainty, there will al- porary escape from observing the rawness of the in our unique contexts, let’s start to question our ways be a hundred others where this expectation wound that lays covered up beneath the band- resistance to the current moment of uncertainty will be decimated. age. But why is it so easy to fall into this? Be- whenever possible.

If you are willing to see it, this delusion has cause we were never told to breathe through the become pronounced during the context of this rhythm of not being in control, dissolving our Ahmad is a teacher at a private school in pandemic because we’re at a standstill. trust in our own selves to be able to survive the Lahore and is also currently undergoing training Not even in our wildest imagination had we suffocation of a life that is always in flux. to become a therapist.

And our mental responses

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PAKISTAN as a nation has always been confused about its identity , whether we are a Islamic state representing a true colour of Islam or whether we are a modern secular progressive state. every leader since inception of Pakistan faced the difficulty of aligning to a side that was representing the true identity of a state. It was confusing whether Jinnah wanted to see Pakistan as a islamic state or a secular, in-fact probably even he was confused about that as he was asked on one occasion and his reply was ‘we will see when we get there’. however identity has been used and switched time to time for the gains and requirements of time. Pakistan has witnessed a secular leftist era of Ayub then switching to socialist Bhutto and later extreme right during Zia era. And the vicious cycle keeps on repeating and we as a society remain confused about our national identity.

Recently a new debate regarding construction of a mandaar in Islamabad has refreshed decades old confusion of our society, which is, what is our national identity? People are seen aligning in favour of or against construction of the mandaar, representing secular Pakistan for everyone on one hand and an Islamic Pakistan for Muslims on the other hand. however the question is not which side to align , the question is what are we as a state , what is our national identity? In order to develop a common national identity, it needs to be a progressive process , which needs to be incorporated in our educational curriculum and we as a society needs to be groomed.

In a nut shell, Pakistan as a society wants to modernise and enjoy the outcomes of new technologies and modernity and the same time wants to hold back to its culture and values. We are not a progressive society rather regressive society , which is that we are not open to change and new ideas and this is reflected in our decisions and mindset as a society.

To conclude, Pakistan as a society is to remain confused whether to align to leftistan or rightistan.

Rohail BaSEER PEShawaR

Witch doctors and crooks YeSTeRDAY, my friend told me a strange incident . he told me that his mother went to a lady for black magic removal. The friend further tell me that his mother went to that lady and ask lady to remove black magic on her . The lady firstly asked information about my friend’s mother and then tell a little common things about her . After this The lady demanded 5k for the removal of magic and also gave a list of grocery and also told her that he further take 30k for this process. The lady used the name of our beloved Imam hussain . The lady gave a list of grocery which includes fruits , meat , chicken, wheat , rice , biscuits etc which are not essential for the removal of magic. That lady was a fraud . And think it was totally wrong. Through this letter I want to draw the attention of our society to beware of this and please don’t waste your money in frauds like this . haRum KaRachi

Tech troubles TODAY’S world is jamed with technology .The main inventions which are playing an important role to destroy our health’s such as computers, mobiles and social media etc. Which almost every family owns. Originally it was created to make our lives more easier then before but later on researches were carried on and it came up that our physical and mental health suffers because of immoderate usage of technology. Technology appears to create global network bringing people together but infact this technology ends up the importance of real life communication the enjoyment of life even because of this we forget to give time to our relatives,families and friends. In today’s world it’s a habit of almost every people to live in their own world stuking at the device screen even when surrounded with the kith and kins. This technology have ruined the peace of people specially, the most inferior impact of technology is that it reduced the quantity and quality of sleep and today’s generation have become habitual of technology.

So we should not fail to think of that this technology have harmful effects too for our health so we should not accustomed to technology. We should take care of our health also. uRooj NadEEm hydERaBad

Illiteracy We all know that education is a tool which benefits all along the life, and it is also the most important weapon for everyone to succeed in life.

But do we know that our country’s 40% population is illiterate and the reason that our country is not as developed as other countries is probably that 40% population of illiterate families.

Most of the families in Pakistan are destitude from the authorities, they don’t even care with what talents and intelligence their children are blessed, Girls are not allowed to get higher studies even when they are exceedingly capable in studies, families that wants to educate their children and wants them to become successful in life by achieveing more and more knowledge are helpless because they can’t afford, while riches are not taking attentiveness and unluckily they are exasperate towards education.

We all know very well that every individual have equal rights to get education as our prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: education is compulsory from craddle to grave.

Today, across the world 75 million children are prevented from going to schools each day.

That’s why each and every children should be thankful to their God if they have such families and parents who are well known with wealth of knowledge and should work hard and make them feel proud by your efforts and success. aRifa SaEEd laRKaNa

Tuesday, 14 July, 2020

08 WORLD VIEW

Iran offers uncondItIonal support to Hamas, IslamIc JIHad

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HAMAS IS SPARING NO EFFORT TO RESTORE ITS RELATIONS WITH IRAN, WHICH ANNOUNCED THAT IT WILL PROVIDE ALL NECESSARY SUPPORT TO THE PALESTINIANS FACING THE ISRAELI ANNEXATION PLAN OF THE WEST BANK

al-Monitor rasha abou Jalal

INCE Hamas and Islamic Jihad remained on the sidelines in the syrian civil war and left their respective offices in Damascus in 2012, Iran, a staunch ally of the syrian regime, suspended its financial support to both movements, cutting off their largest sources of funding. the return of these relations, however, seems to be in the offing, especially with the recent events in the region. on May 28, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that his government intends to annex 30% of the West Bank.

Head of the Hamas political bureau Ismail Haniyeh said July 6 that he had received a message from Iran’s supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, confirming that his country will continue to provide support to the Palestinians.

“Iran will spare no effort to support the Palestinian people to restore their right and hold off the evil schemes of the Zionist entity,” the message read. the message comes after Iranian shura Council speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf made two phone calls to Haniyeh and Islamic Jihad secretary-General Ziyad alNakhalah July 1, to discuss mechanisms and ways to thwart Israel’s annexation plan.

Ghalibaf expressed his country’s support for the Palestinian people in the face of the

Us Middle East peace plan, known locally as “the deal of the century.”

Hamas has made great efforts in the past months in a bid to restore Iranian support.

Hamas condemned the assassination of Qasem soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, by a Us strike in Baghdad Jan. 3. Haniyeh also traveled to tehran to participate in soleimani’s funeral.

Mahmoud al-Zahar, a member of Hamas political bureau, had said during an interview with Al-Nahda News July 9, 2019, that Hamas had been making great efforts in a bid to restore relations with the syrian government backed by the Iranian regime. A prominent Hamas leader who spoke to AlMonitor on condition of anonymity said, “Iran decided to provide the Palestinian resistance with the greatest possible support to confront Israel’s annexation plan of the West Bank. this support will be greater than ever, with no restrictions and in any way the Palestinian resistance wishes.”

Although Iran announced that it would continue to support the Palestinian resistance, a major challenge stands in the way, which is the Palestinian Authority and Israel’s policy to dry up Hamas sources of funding, taking strict measures to prevent money from outside the Palestinian territories from reaching the Islamic movement through local banks.

Covid-19 worldwide: on the march

“Hamas has its own ways to get the money.

Banks are no longer part of its scheme to do so,” the Hamas source said.

A Reuters report published on April 26, 2019, said that Hamas is increasingly using sophisticated methods to raise money using Bitcoins, which highlights the difficulties facing the authorities to track cryptocurrencies financing groups that some classify as terrorists.

“It is not important here for the public to know how the support will reach the resistance, but what is important is where and how such support would be used on the ground to thwart the Israeli annexation plan,” the source explained.

He added, “the Iranian support will mainly be directed to the West Bank that is at risk now with the Israeli annexation plan. support will also focus on mobilizing the Palestinian people to confront this scheme.” on July 2, secretary-General of Fatah’s Central Committee Jibril Rajoub and Hamas leader salah al-Arouri, who is based in Beirut, held a rare joint video conference to discuss a joint plan of action to counter the Israeli annexation plan.

“We must realize that the battlefield now is the West Bank and our people in Gaza are ready by all means to [counter the plan]. Abu obaida [spokesman for Hamas’ military wing, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades] said that the annexation is a ‘declaration of war,’”

Guardian

ost of the world sort of sat by and watched with almost a sense of detachment and bemusement,” said Helen Clark, appointed to investigate the World Health organization’s handling of the pandemic. the former New Zealand prime minister was describing the early weeks of the outbreak, and the sense that coronavirus was a problem “over there”. the failure to recognise our interconnection created complacency even as the death toll rose.

It took three months for the first million people to fall sick – but only a week to record the last million of the nearly 13 million cases now reported worldwide. As England emerges from lockdown at an unwary pace, Covid-19 is accelerating globally. the WHo has reported a record surge of a quarter of a million cases in a single day. the death toll is over half a million people and rising fast.

Idlib, syria’s last rebel-held province, has reported its first case: a frightening portent, given the desperate circumstances in which people are already living. on thursday, the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said new cases were up 24% on the continent in the previous week, with cases surging in south Africa, Kenya and other countries. India, now the world’s third worst-affected country, reported a record rise of 27,000 cases on saturday, to over 800,000 – almost certainly far below the true level.

Australia and spain have reimposed local lockdowns, and Hong Kong has shut schools again. But the economic, social and political costs of such measures are all the higher second time around. In serbia, plans for a strict curfew were downgraded after sparking anti-government protests. Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, has said it cannot afford to shut down again despite rising deaths. so no one can afford to be compla-

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cent; the UK’s pandemic response should not be starting to “wind down”, as a No 10 insider reportedly said. Nor are endless lockdowns either desirable or sustainable. But we should not conclude that the worst is inescapable – rather, that effective measures, including the use of masks, distancing, and testing and tracing, are possible and make a vast difference to outcomes.

Vietnam has recorded no deaths and fewer than 400 cases, while the Us has seen 3 million cases and more than 130,000 deaths, thanks not only to Donald trump’s utter failure to prepare his country for coronavirus, but his reckless subsequent determination to push states into premature reopening. Infections are now surging in 41 states. on Friday, Florida recorded 11,433 new cases and saw its highest single day death rate, of 188.

In south America, Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, has repeatedly trivialised the pandemic and defied guidelines even since becoming infected himself. His country has 1.8m cases. Peru, Chile and Mexico are also badly hit. But Uruguay and Paraguay, which border Brazil, have had fewer than 50 deaths between them. though in some countries the apparently low impact of coronavirus will reflect low levels of testing, the Us shows that prosperity is far from the only determinant of success. Nonetheless, the difficulties of fighting the pandemic in overcrowded places with malnourished populations lacking basic sanitation or basic healthcare are obvious. Poorer nations will need support to deal with both the pandemic and its broader impact.

Hunger and poverty are surging and could kill more people than Covid-19.

Leadership can’t come from the Us, as it withdraws from the WHo and attempts to corner supplies. Finding agreement even within the European Union is proving hard. But coronavirus has shown us that “over there” cannot be separated from “over here”. For everyone’s sake, we must recognise and honour our ties.

Qatari support. okal explained that Hamas found out that Qatar’s support is conditioned by maintaining calm with Israel, which is in direct conflict with the movement’s principles and goals aimed at perpetuating the conflict with Israel. Hamas was forced to maintain calm with Israel at the moment in order to receive more funds from Qatar, especially since it has been grappling with a major financial crisis since Egypt established a buffer zone along the borders with the Gaza strip in 2014 to destroy the border tunnels, he added.

“Hamas realized that it is in imperative need of the Iranian support more than any other source of funding, as Iran would provide it without any conditions or prerequisites,” okal concluded.

Hassan Abdo, a writer and political analyst close to Islamic Jihad, told Al-Monitor, “the recent contacts between Hamas and Islamic Jihad with Iran — and Khamenei’s message — are proof that all differences between the two parties would remain on hold now as they are insignificant in light of the Israeli annexation scheme.” He added, “Many other Arab countries turned their back on the Palestinians and contributed in intensifying their blockade, making way for the Us deal of the century and the annexation plan, which is part of it. Iran’s position was exactly the opposite.”

Break Uttar Pradesh into 4 or 5 states TWENTY CRORE PEOPLE, DIVIDED OVER 75 DISTRICTS SPREAD OVER 2,43,000 SQ KM, IS TOO MUCH TO GOVERN FOR ONE GOVERNMENT

INFECTIONS ARE ACCELERATING IN LARGELY UNTOUCHED COUNTRIES AND THOSE WHICH HOPED THEY HAD COME THROUGH THE WORST. BUT THERE IS HOPE Editorial

Arouri said during the conference call.

Islamic Jihad leader Khodr Habib told Al-Monitor, “Iran’s support is of paramount importance for the Palestinian resistance and will significantly contribute to escalate the resistance against the Israeli occupation in the coming period.”

He stressed that there is ongoing communication between his movement’s leadership and Iranian officials to discuss mechanisms to translate what has been agreed upon in recent contacts with Iran on the ground. He added, “the resistance factions have been holding regular meetings to develop practical measures to address the Israeli plan. All our efforts in the coming stage will be focusing on resisting and thwarting the [annexation] plan and we will certainly succeed in that.” talal okal, political analyst and writer for the Ramallah-based newspaper AlAyyam, told Al-Monitor, “Iran’s recent stance to provide the greatest possible support to Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the framework of confronting the Israeli annexation plan, is the culmination of great efforts made by the leadership of the two movements to restore their relations with Iran.”

He said that Hamas felt it had made a historic mistake by detaching itself from Iran over the syrian conflict, and by looking for alternative sources of funding, such as

Print SHEKHar GuPTa

HE state of Uttar Pradesh has finally given us a break from coronavirus and China. But what can we say to it in response, thanks, but no thanks?

Because the context is every bit as disturbing as the threat of a rampaging pandemic or the army of an intrusive neighbour. A man has been killed in an alleged encounter so poorly staged that the policemen — and their political bosses — who did this should lose their jobs for incompetence if not be sent to jail for extra-judicial killing. If you believe this yarn, you’d even believe that the fables of ‘Vikram-Betaal’ are a reality. to me, even some of those might look more convincing.

We are, however, leaving the forensics and jurisprudence aside for the moment and reading the political message here. What is the state of Uttar Pradesh, whose population constitutes 15 per cent of the entire republic of 36 states and union territories, and which has given India’s ruling party more than a fifth of all its Lok sabha MPs, the prime minister and the defence minister, telling us? It is saying, go to hell. take your Constitution, the rule of law and the courts with you. We make our own laws, and then break them at our pleasure. Why? Because we have the size.

Uttar Pradesh is our most powerful state. It is also our worst governed. And remains carved up between many competing mafias. Its state government is just one of these. the chronic virus that’s eating up Uttar Pradesh from inside is its size. It is also taking India down with it.

Let’s first size up the problem called UP. It is a state with 75 districts — that is, more than one-in-ten of India’s 739. to understand how unmanageable the state is, think of some nations with populations about the same as Uttar Pradesh. Pakistan and Brazil both have about the same population, in the 20-crore ballpark. the first has four full provinces and two supposedly “autonomous” federative units, and the second has 26 states. the chief minister of UP does it all by himself.

It is an impossibility. And it shows in the state’s governance quality and social indica-

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tors. We, at thePrint, once carried a story that showed with copious data how UP, while being the same population size as Pakistan, also nearly matched its poor social indicators. trifle better on some (infant mortality), worse on some others (per capita income, gender ratio), but about the same on the most significant negative: Population growth.

Uttar Pradesh’s population growth has slowed lately, but is at almost exactly the same level as Pakistan’s, around 2 per cent, which makes it twice as high as the rest of India’s.

Uttar Pradesh’s per capita income is about half of our national average. Its crime rates, mafia infestation, and criminalisation of politics are the stuff of movies. It is because the state is so large, and its politics so divided on the basis of caste and religion, that those left out of the power structure then seek refuge in caste mafias and ‘bahubalis’ (strong men, mafiosi), for protection, justice and equity.

Let’s try and illustrate how this works. If a Yadav father or son is in power, it means the Yadavs have the power. that is, only about 9 per cent of the population. they make an alliance with Muslims, and often with thakurs. so, they are all accommodated in the legitimate power tent — all governance, distribution of welfare, including sinking of tube wells and hand pumps, appointment of the most important officers. the castes that feel left out then lean on their mafia leaders. this results in a counter-intuitive situation where the more active mafias usually consist of castes that are not in power.

In the past, until the 1980s, when upper castes were usually chief ministers, crime syndicates and dacoit gangs were from backward castes. It was late V.P. singh as chief minister who first brought the encounter culture to the state in 1981-82 with the killing of 299 ‘dacoits’ in just over a month. It stopped, unfortunately, when his brother, Justice Chandra shekhar Prasad singh of the Allahabad High Court, was killed along with his teenaged son in apparent reprisal. V.P. singh resigned soon thereafter.

An important political aside is that this is when a still-young former wrestler called Mulayam singh Yadav made his fame, as an unlikely human rights activist campaigning against encounters. Many of the encounter victims were of the backward castes that later became his support base. of course, once power in the state shifted to the lower and middle castes, including the Yadavs, upper castes moved to organised crime too. Brahmin and thakur gangs came up now, while western UP became a lawless zone

in its own right. the mafia the state is now dealing with in Kanpur is exclusively Brahmin. Remember, the last Brahmin chief minister this state had was Narayan Dutt tiwari in 1989. that is after a succession of Brahmin strongmen from Govind Ballabh Pant to Kamalapathi tripathi. Now, the community has been deprived of that political power for 31 years. so, a Vikas Dubey became its Robin Hood in Kanpur, as Hari shankar tiwari might have been in Gorakhpur in the past.

It is because the context today is law and order that we have dwelt in so much detail over one dimension of this misgovernance.

You can quickly run your eye over the rest. In seven decades, the state has failed to develop any new entrepreneurship, even a tiny flourishing industrial estate, except Noida, the sliver of territory abutting Delhi.

It inherited some of India’s oldest and finest cities. they are all in decay, if not dead already, like Kanpur and Allahabad. Its farming languishes, barring the few Green Revolution districts in its west. twenty crore people, divided over 75 districts spread over 2,43,000 sq km, is too much to govern for one government, especially when run entirely by one individual, which is the norm in our states now. similarly, 80 seats in the Lok sabha is too much power for one state in a federal republic. It is more than Gujarat, Rajasthan and Karnataka put together. It is politically distortionary. Especially when UP’s politics is so internally divisive based on caste and religion that the incentive for improving social indicators is poor.

Uttar Pradesh must be cut into four, if not five, states. the western districts have been demanding a Harit Pradesh for some time. Bundelkhand, to its south, should be carved out as another state, with three to four contiguous districts of Madhya Pradesh added. Purvanchal, with capital in Gorakhpur, should include all the districts going east along the Nepal border up to Bihar. the central state — you can call it Awadh Pradesh or anything else — can be governed from Lucknow. this would make it four new states. In my book, however, five would be even better, as Purvanchal will be too big and too under-developed still. so, split it into two, Varanasi being the capital of the other.

No political leader wants to do it. one with a full majority has an even greater vested interest in keeping UP together: Why mend what is working, never mind how broken it is.

But, unless somebody takes up that challenge, this state, where about one-in-six Indians lives, has no hope.

Tuesday, 14 July, 2020

BUSINESS 09

SBP GOvernOr STreSSeS ‘mInImAl dOCumenTATIOn’ TO fACIlITATe SmeS under refInAnCe SCheme

CORPORATE CORNER

KARACHI: Bank Alfalah Islamic and the Institute of Business Administration have announced the Alfalah Islamic Scholarship Programme to provide financial assistance for five fresh undergraduate students for their entire first year.

KARACHI: Induction ceremony of the state-of-the-art Corvette, Pakistan Navy Ship YARMOOK was held at Pakistan Navy Dockyard. Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi graced the occasion as chief guest.

KARACHI: Soneri Bank Limited and HBL Asset Management Limited have signed a landmark agreement for distribution of investment products through Soneri Bank’s branch network.

Thar Coal Block-II mine, power projects complete 1st year of operations KARACHI: Engro Powergen Thar (Private) Ltd (EPTL) – a majority owned Company of Engro Energy – and Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) – a joint venture of the Government of Sindh and Engro Energy with other corporate partners – have successfully completed one full year of commercial operations of both Block II mine and power Plant. Commenting on the occasion, Engro Corporation President and CEO Ghias Khan said, “The completion of one year of successful and safe operations of the Thar coal mine and power projects has brought our commitment to Pakistan a full circle. At Engro, we are determined to solve some of Pakistan’s most pressing issues and resolving the challenges in the energy value chain are at the core of our focus under the energy vertical. The success of Thar coal projects herald shared triumph for both the company and the country as this achievement translates into energy security for Pakistan.”

FAISALABAD

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HASSAN NAQVI

TATE Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Reza Baqir on Monday said that documentation for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) sector should be minimized so that SMEs can fully benefit from SBP’s Refinance Scheme. The SBP governor said this in an online meeting with the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) President Rana Muhammad Sikandar Azam Khan.

The SBP governor in this regard, also constituted a committee headed by SBP Executive Director Dr Anayat Hussain.

Reza Baqir said that the committee will review the SBP refinance scheme and identify documentation which can be exempted .

He further directed the committee to immediately start work and present viable suggestions at the earliest. Regarding banking hours, he said that a circular has been issued and all commercial banks will remain

Car sales plunge 53pc to 110,583 units in FY20 KARACHI TLTP

Domestic car sales plunged by 53pc in the fiscal year 2019-20 owing to slow economic activity, higher interest rates and the outbreak of coronavirus.

According to statistics released by Pakistan Automobile Assemblers Association (PAMA) on Monday, the overall sales of cars plunged to 110,583 units in FY20 as compared to 235,229 units in the preceding year.

The major decline came in the sales of Honda Atlas Cars (HCAR), which fell by 63pc to 16,390 units in FY20 when compared with 44,234 units in the preceding fiscal year.

Similarly, Indus Motors (INDU) witnessed a

LAHORE: OPPO, a leading global smartphone brand, has introduced the new handset of A series, OPPO A92.

Coming with a refreshing design and powerful settings in both hardware and software, OPPO A92 aims to deliver advanced technology in everyday usage scenarios.

“OPPO’s A Series has collected impressive popularity since its debut, OPPO A92’s launch is to further serve a young group with a versatile and powerful product designed in trendy style and most updated tech features. We have noticed the remarkable market changes in the past few years. The rise of visual expression seeing in social media platform, and the technological advancement utilized in entertainment experience,” said George Long, CEO of OPPO Pakistan.

53pc dip in sales, from 60,993 units in FY19 to 28,378 units in FY20.

The sales of Pak Suzuki Motors registered 49pc decline to 65,815 units during the period under review, as compared with 130,002 units in the preceding fiscal year.

Meanwhile, on a year-on-year basis, domestic car sales witnessed a decline of 52pc to 8,446 units in June 2020, as compared to 17,468 units in June 2019.

However, on a month-on-month, car sales increased by 77pc in June 2020 when compared with May 2020, as car dealerships had remained closed last month due to corona-related lockdowns. The top two car companies, Honda Atlas and Indus Motors, recorded 514pc and 199pc MoM growths, respectively.

Pakistan Bureau of Statistics begins electronic data collection ISLAMABAD APP

OPPO redefines user experience with OPPO A92

operational from 9 AM to 5.30 PM from Monday to Friday. ‘’It will not only mitigate the burden on banks but also facilitate the people,’’ he added.

The SBP governor also announced a separate committee headed by SBP Faisalabad chief manager.

“The committee will also include FCCI president in addition to other elected office bearers of local trade bodies,” he said adding that the committee will meet every month and solve problems of local nature immediately. Reza Baqir said that another committee will also be constituted which will access possible impacts of Covid-19 on struggling businesses units.

“A separate meeting will also be arranged with the owners of these sick units,’’ the SBP governor assured. Earlier, FCCI President Rana Muhammad Sikandar Azam Khan thanked SBP governor for having direct contact with the stakeholders and resolving their genuine issues.

He also appreciated SBP governors efforts to pass on the benefits of the refinance scheme to the needy segments.“In this connection SBP Faisalabad chief manager has been nominated as focal person to re-

Planning Development and Special Initiatives Secretary Mathar Niaz Rana on Monday was informed that the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) has shifted away from manual data collection towards electronic data collection.

The planning secretary chaired a meeting regarding digital transformation initiatives taken by the PBS. PBS Member Support Services and Resource Management Sarwar Gondal briefed the planning secretary regarding major initiatives taken by PBS in the last two years pertaining to digital transformation.

The planning secretary was informed that PBS has shifted from manual data collection to electronic data collection and has developed an in house capacity to develop Android based data collection softwares, mobile application and dashboards.

The secretary was further informed that PBS is developing Decision Support Systems (DSS) and Data Dissemination Systems (DDS) which

would enable policy makers to make evidence based decisions.

Furthermore, PBS officials informed that PBS has successfully conducted census and surveys including Mouza Census, Pakistan Social And Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) and Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES) and that the data will be disseminated to the policy makers and general public through the use of dashboards.

The planning secretary appreciated the efforts made by PBS and stressed that reliable and timely data helps policy makers to take informed decisions.

He said that PBS has a vast repository of data and specialised research activities should be started within PBS to provide evidence based information to policy makers.

The planning secretary further emphasised that PBS should complete all bodies formed under the General Statistics Re-organisation Act 2011 and should fill up all the vacant posts.

He further directed PBS to pinpoint issues faced by the department and devise a road map of the activities with specific timelines and objectives to achieve for the next year.

MARKET DAILY Stocks accumulate 428 points as PSX rally enters 12th day KARACHI ARIBA SHAHID

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) rallied for the 12th successive session on Monday, with the indices accumulating decent gains amid record investor participation.

"The first day after the resumption of normal trading hours brought increased investor participation, as market volumes at 468 million remained the highest recorded so far in CY20," said a report issued by AHL Research. "Cement and steel sectors once again led the rally, with a majority of the cement scrips closing at or

near upper circuits, mainly on back of the recently announced housing scheme, an increase in retail price per bag, and a decline in coal prices."

The benchmark KSE-100 Index remained in the green zone throughout the day, mark its intraday high at 36,722.13 after gaining 531.73 points. It settled higher by 428.17 points at 36,618.57.

Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index gathered 1,272.31 points or 2.21pc to end at 58,926.68, while the KSE All Share Index added 247.29 points, closing at 26,089.11. Of total shares traded scrips, 207 advanced and 140 declined.

The overall market volumes increased from 292.7 million shares in the previous session to 468.9 million shares (+60pc).

Average traded value also increased by 94pc, from $57.5 million to reach $111.4 million. Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF +5.12pc), Pak Elektron Limited (PAEL +4.31pc) and TRG Pakistan Limited (TRG +4.18pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 76.45 million, 21.92 million and 21.22 million shares, respectively.

Sectors that drove the benchmark index north included cement (+162.99 points), oil & gas marketing (+56.33

points), and oil & gas exploration (+50.32 points). Among the companies, Lucky Cement Ltd (LUCK +57.21 points), Pakistan State Oil (PSO +42.39 points) and DG Khan Cement (DGKC +34.25 points) remained the top contributors.

The cement sector, which accounted for approximately 30pc of the total volume, gained 4.88pc in its cumulative market capitalization, with DG Khan Cement Company Ltd (DGKC +7.31pc), Lucky Cement Ltd (LUCK +4.00pc), Bestway Cement Ltd (BWCL +5.07pc) and Fauji Cement (FCCL +4.78pc) posting decent gains.

solve any bottleneck,’’ he added. He said that the sick business units were on their way to restart operations when Covid-19 started spreading, halting their progress. He said that banks should reschedule loans of such units under SBP’s incentive package.

FCCI president also thanked the SBP governor for setting up a dedicated help desk at FCCI and added that extensive publicity campaigns have been run so that maximum people can avail SBP’s incentive package. FCCI has also written letters to the all elected office bearers of major trade associations with a request to convince their members to avail help from the help desk set up at FCCI. President FCCI further urged the government to focus on filers instead of facilitating non-filers adding that facilitating filers is necessary for achieving documentation of the economy.

He also thanked SBP for decreasing the policy rate to 7 per cent but added that the high banking spread has practically nullified the benefits of the incentive package. He urged the SBP to fix a maximum ratio for banking spread.

Workers’ remittances surge 50.7pc to $2.46bn in June BUSINESS DESK Workers' remittances surged by an impressive 50.7pc to $2.466 billion in June 2020, as compared to $1.636 billion received in the same month of last year. As per the data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Twitter, workers' remittances, on a cumulative basis, increased to the 'historical level' of $23,120.7 million in FY20, witnessing a growth of 6.4pc over $21,739.4 million in FY19. During the March-June 2020 pandemic period, the inflow of workers’ remittances registered an increase of 7.8pc compared with the corresponding period of 2019, it added. As per the SBP's data, workers' remittances received from Saudi Arabia ($619.4 million), USA ($452.0 million), UAE ($431.7 million) and UK ($401 million) registered an increase of 42pc, 7.1pc, 33.5pc and 40.8pc respectively, during the month of June 2020, as compared to May 2020.

The central bank attributed the significant increase in June remittances to a number of factors, including easing of lockdown by many of these countries in June, owing to which overseas Pakistanis were able to transfer accumulative funds. "Also, more remittances were sent by overseas Pakistanis to support extended families and friends due to economic problems arising from Covid-19." SBP stated that prudent policies, including an extension of the Reimbursement of TT Charges Scheme (Free Send Remittance Scheme) to small remitters by reducing the threshold from $200 to $100, as well as broadening the scope of an incentive scheme for financial institutions that increased the incentives on sending remittances through regular channels, also played a part in the remittance surge.

Govt seeks working paper to modernise oil sector ISLAMABAD TLTP

Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Petroleum Nadeem Babar has sought from the energy think-tank a working paper to ensure sufficient supplies of oil and low volatility in its price across the country. The SAPM was chairing the second meeting of the think-tank at the Ministry of Energy, said a statement issued on Monday. After extensive deliberations, the SAPM directed the members to chalk out a working paper on the use of technology and automation system for the collection of realtime data in the oil sector. It must also include ways to upgrade oil refineries and restructure the deregulated oil market, he added. The forum, which included renowned experts and professionals in the field of energy, identified key areas for policy and regulatory interventions for improvement of the pricing mechanism, deregulation of the oil market, licencing of retails/petrol pumps and other challenges and role of refineries in the downstream oil sector. Possible ways of expanding the LPG sector would also be presented in the next think-tank meeting.

Tuesday, 14 July, 2020

10 FOREIGN NEWS

CHINA HItS top US lAWmAKerS, eNvoy WItH US weighs limited options to deal SANCtIoNS over XINJIANg with China over Hong Kong: WSJ BEIJING

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AGENCIES

HINA on Monday slapped retaliatory sanctions on three senior Republican lawmakers and a US envoy in a deepening row over Beijing’s treatment of Uighurs in the western Xinjiang region. Some of the most outspoken critics of China — Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz along with Congressman Chris Smith — were targeted by the action, as well as the US ambassador-atlarge for international religious freedom, Sam Brownback.

The unspecified “corresponding sanctions” were announced days after the US imposed visa bans and asset freezes on several Chinese officials, including the Communist Party chief in Xinjiang, Chen Quanguo, over rights abuses in the region. The move was “in response to the US’s wrong actions”, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular briefing.

“We urge the US to immediately with-

Australian terrorist, who attacked NZ mosques, to represent himself in court WELLINGTON AGENCIES

The Australian terrorist who murdered 51 worshippers in a mass shooting at two New Zealand mosques has dismissed his lawyers and will represent himself when he is sentenced next month. Brenton Harrison Tarrant, a white supremacist, had pleaded guilty in March to 51 charges of murder, 40 of attempted murder and one charge of engaging in a terrorist act for the shootings in Christchurch in 2019. His sentencing hearing, delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, is scheduled to begin in Christchurch on Aug. 24 and could last more than three days. The date was confirmed at a High Court session in Christchurch on Monday that was attended by some shooting survivors. Tarrant’s defense team, lawyers Shane Tait and Jonathan Hudson, applied during Monday’s hearing for permission to withdraw as his counsel, a role they have filled since April 2019. They told the court they had been instructed by Tarrant to withdraw as he wishes to exercise his right to represent himself. Tarrant participated in Monday’s proceedings by video link from his Auckland jail. Justice Cameron Mander approved Tarrant’s request to dismiss his lawyers, saying he was satisfied he understood his right to legal representation and wished to waive that right. A lawyer will still be appointed by the court to provide advice if Tarrant requests it. Mander called for a pre-sentence report and statements from victims for the hearing. Tarrant faces life imprisonment, with the judge having some discretion in deciding how many years Tarrant must serve before becoming eligible for parole.

draw its wrong decision, and stop any words and actions that interfere in China’s internal affairs and harm China’s interests,” she said.

“China will make a further response depending on the development of the situation.” Sanctions will also be applied on the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China, an agency that monitors human rights in the Asian country.

The two countries have traded barbs and sanctions on a slew of issues since US President Donald Trump took office, from trade to more recent spats over the coronavirus pandemic, a security law in Hong Kong, and Chinese policies in the far west regions of Tibet and Xinjiang.

‘HORRIFIC’ ABUSES: Witnesses and human rights groups say that China has rounded up more than one million Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang in a vast brainwashing campaign aimed at forcibly homogenising minorities into the country’s Han majority.

US State Secretary Mike Pompeo said last week the United States was acting against “horrific and systematic abuses” in the western region including forced labour, mass detention and involuntary population control. China rejects the accusations, but it has acknowledged sending Uighurs to “vocational education centres” to learn Mandarin and job skills in a bid to steer them away from separatism following a spate of deadly violence in the fractious region.

WASHINGTON: The United States is weighing restricted options to deal with China over its recent moves in Hong Kong, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, as tensions between Washington and Beijing heat up. Steps against Hong Kong’s financial system risk hurting US, Western and Hong Kong companies and consumers, according to the report, citing US officials and analysts. Measures like more targeted sanctions against Chinese officials and trade moves against products made in Hong Kong would have little impact on Beijing’s integration of the city into the mainland’s political and security system, the Journal added. On Thursday, Trump administration officials discussed Hong Kong plans in a White House meeting, people familiar with the gathering told the Journal. Officials will regroup early this week and may announce sanctions or other measures, one person added.Washington last week imposed sanctions on the autonomous region of Xinjiang’s Communist Party Secretary Chen Quanguo, a member of China’s powerful Politburo, and three other officials. Beijing described the sanctions as “deeply detrimental” to mutual relations between the countries and warned that China would impose reciprocal measures on US officials and organizations. As bilateral tensions escalate over matters ranging from the coronavirus, trade, the new Hong Kong security law and allegations of human rights violations against Uighurs in the Xinjiang region, the US government alerted American citizens on Saturday to “exercise increased caution” in China. Earlier, a Bloomberg report said Trump’s top advisers weighed proposals to undermine the Hong Kong currency’s peg to the US dollar, although the idea did not appear to have gained traction. Chinese state lenders were revamping contingency plans over the threat of US sanctions, according to a Reuters report last week. AGENCIES

Turkey's minister says to inform UNESCO about Hagia Sophia move ISTANBUL AGENCIES

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday said that the country will inform the United Nation’s cultural body UNESCO about changes to Istanbul’s ancient Hagia Sophia after Ankara converted the museum back into a mosque. On Friday, a Turkish court ruled that the building’s conversion to a museum in 1934 was unlawful and President Tayyip Erdogan, declaring it a mosque, said the first prayers would be held there within two weeks.

UNESCO said on Friday it would re-

view the status of the monument as a World Heritage Site following Erdogan’s enouncement.

Cavusoglu said Ankara was surprised by UNESCO’s reaction and would let it know of further steps that will be taken regarding Hagia Sophia, which was a Byzantine church for nine centuries before the Ottomans converted it to a mosque.

Turkey is sensitive about protecting its historical character, he said. “We have to protect our ancestors’ heritage. The function can be this way or that way – it does not matter,” Cavusoglu told state broadcaster, TRT Haber.

Asked about criticism and expressions of concern from Greece, Pope Francis, and others, Cavusoglu said the decision to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque was lawful.

“We respect everyone’s view even if we don’t agree with it but we strongly reject comments made in a way that infringes on Turkey’s sovereign rights,” he said.

Greece condemned the decision on Friday, saying it would have repercussions not only on relations between the two countries but on Turkey’s ties with the European Union. Pope Francis said on Sunday he was hurt by the decision.

21 injured in fire aboard ship at Naval Base San Diego SAN DIEGO AGENCIES

Twenty-one people suffered minor injuries in an explosion and fire Sunday on board a ship at Naval Base San Diego, military officials said. The blaze was reported shortly before 9 am on USS Bonhomme Richard, said Mike Raney, a spokesman for Naval Surface Force, US Pacific Fleet.

Seventeen sailors and four civilians were hospitalized with “non-life-threatening injuries,” Raney said in a brief statement.

He didn’t provide additional details.

Previously, officials said at least one person was treated for smoke inhalation.

The cause of the fire was under investigation. It wasn’t immediately known where on the 840-foot (255-meter) amphibious assault vessel the blast and the fire occurred. The flames sent up a huge plume of dark smoke visible around San Diego.

Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck, commander of Expeditionary

Strike Group 3, told the San Diego Union-Tribune that the Navy thinks the fire began somewhere in a lower cargo hold where marine equipment and vehicles are stored.

The fire was not fueled by fuel oil, hazardous materials, or electrical causes, Sobeck told the newspaper. It was fueled by paper, cloth, rags, or other materials in a standard fire. Sobeck said he is not concerned about the air quality or toxicity around the fire. There was no ordnance on board, Sobeck said. There are a million gallons of fuel on board, he said, but that is “well below” any heat source.

The explosion was probably caused by a change in air pressure, Sobeck told the Union-Tribune.

San Diego is the Bonhomme Richard’s home port, and the ship was undergoing routine maintenance at the time of the fire.

About 160 sailors and officers were on board, Raney said — far fewer than the thousand typically on the ship when it’s on active duty. All crew members were accounted for, said Admiral Mike Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations.

India sees another surge, hot spots shut again NEW DELHI AGENCIES

The number of infections in India neared 900,000 on Monday with a record 28,701 cases reported in the past 24 hours. Several Indian states imposed weekend curfews and locked down high-risk areas as its coronavirus cases surge. The total of 878,254 is behind only the United States and Brazil. The Health Ministry on Monday also reported another 500 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking India’s total fatalities from Covid-19 up to 23,174. The ministry said the recovery rate was continuing to improve at 63 per cent.

New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Pune are among the Indian cities witnessing a surge in infections. Several states introduced weekend curfews and announced stringent lockdowns in high-risk areas to slow infections. India imposed a national lockdown March 24 that lasted more than two months, but it has mostly reopened.

US cop filmed ‘kneeling on man’s neck’ triggers fresh outrage PENNSYLVANIA TLTP

Pennsylvania authorities have launched a probe after an officer was filmed restraining a man by kneeling on his head in Allentown.

The video of the incident went viral, further fueling nationwide outrage over police brutality. Captured outside St Luke's HospitalSacred Heart Hospital and widely shared by Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists and even George Floyd family attorney, Ben Crump, the disturbing clip shows two officers restraining a screaming black man, while another cop briefly puts his knee on the suspect’s neck. The incident, not fatal but painfully reminiscent of the shocking death of George Floyd in a botched arrest, triggered calls for the immediate termination and charges against the officers.

Locust invasion in Yemen stokes food insecurity fears AL-MUKALLA TLTP

Locust swarms have swept over farms in central, southern and eastern parts of Yemen, ravaging crops and stoking fears of food insecurity.

Residents and farmers in the provinces of Marib, Hadramout, Mahra and Abyan said that billions of locusts had invaded farms, cities and villages, devouring important seasonal crops such as dates and causing heavy losses.

Images and videos posted on social media showed layers of creeping locusts laying waste to lemon farms in Marb, dates and alfalfa farms in Hadramout and flying swarms plunging cities into darkness.

Heavy rains and flash floods have hit several Yemeni provinces over the last couple of

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months, creating fruitful conditions for locusts to reproduce. Farmers complained that locusts had wiped out entire seasonal crops that are grown after rains.Last year, the UN said that the war in Yemen had disrupted vital monitoring and control efforts and several waves of locusts to hit neighboring countries had originated from Yemen.

Yemeni government officials, responsible for battling the spread of locusts, have complained that fighting and a lack of funding have obstructed vital operations for combating the insects.

Ashor Al-Zubairi, the director of the Locust Control Unit at the Ministry of Agriculture in Hadramout’s Seiyun city, said that the ministry was carrying out a combat operation funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization in Hadramout and Mahra, but complained that the operation might fall

short of its target due to a lack of funding and equipment.

“The spraying campaign will end in a week which is not enough to cover the entire plagued areas,” Al-Zubairi said. “We suggested increasing the number of spraying equipment or extending the campaign.”

He said that a large number of villagers had lost their source of income after the locusts ate crops and sheep food, predicting that the outbreak would likely last for at least two weeks if urgent control operations were not intensified and fighting continued. “Combating teams could not cross into some areas in Marib due to fighting.”

The widespread locust invasion comes as the World Food Programme (WFP) on July 10 sent an appeal for urgent funds for its programs in Yemen, warning that people would face starvation otherwise.

Tuesday, 14 July, 2020

SPORTS 11

JeRmAine BLAckwood StARS AS windieS BeAt engLAnd By foUR wicketS LONDON

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AGENCIES

ERMAINE Blackwood scored a match-winning 95 as the West Indies beat England by four wickets in the first Test at the at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on Sunday.

The West Indies, set 200 to win on the last day, were reeling at 27-3 after England fast bowler Jofra Archer's early double strike. Blackwood, however, held firm until, in sight of just his second Test century, he drove England stand-in captain Ben Stokes to James Anderson at mid-off, with the visitors needing just 11 more runs to win.

But John Campbell, forced to retire hurt on one after being struck on the toe by Archer, returned to hit the winning runs.

West Indies captain Jason Holder, the world's top-ranked Test all-rounder ahead of Stokes, was 14 not out.

The match was a personal and tactical triumph for Holder, who took a Test-best 6-

42 in England's lowly first innings 204 after Stokes, leading the side in the absence of Joe Root, won the toss and batted.

Although they hold the Wisden Trophy, the West Indies have not won a Test series in England for 32 years. But this victory put them 1-0 up with two to play in a behind closed doors series ahead of next week's second Test at Old Trafford. It was a thoroughly deserved success for the West Indies, who went ahead with their tour despite more than 44,000 deaths in Britain from the coronavirus during the pandemic.

"It is right up there with the best victories we've had as a group," Holder told Sky Sports. Holder sparked a collapse that saw England lose five wickets for 30 runs late Saturday when he dismissed Stokes.

BEST DAY I'VE HAD IN TESTS: "To me, yesterday was probably the best day I've had in Test cricket," said Holder.

"It was a hard, long toil and the bowlers really put it in. Every time I asked a bowler to come up and give a spell, they came up

and gave a massive effort."

Stokes, while relieved to be back in action, said England's first innings had been the key to the game.

"First and foremost it is great that we've been able to get back onto the park and play some international cricket," he said. "It was a bit strange. "Ideally we would have liked to have got a lot more runs in the first innings. "We got ourselves into some great positions at times with the bat and unfortunately we weren't ruthless enough to make our innings count."

Windies spearhead fast bowler Shannon Gabriel was named man-of-the-match following combined figures of 9-137, including 575 in the second innings. "I'm still a bit stiff but thankfully there is a couple of days to recover before the next Test match," said Gabriel. "Coming here, the guys were confident after playing them back in the Caribbean.

We knew we could get the job done."

But it might have been a different story for England on Sunday had they not given

Blackwood several reprieves.

The 28-year-old Jamaican had made just five when he edged off-spinner Dom Bess only for Stokes, moving at slip, to drop the chance. And he had moved on to 20 when wicketkeeper Jos Buttler floored a onehanded catch off Stokes.

Leg-byes were signalled but Blackwood would have been out on review had Buttler held on. England then squandered a possible run-out chance when Zak Crawley fumbled.

But with West Indies needing exactly 100 more for victory, Barbados-born quick Archer defied a docile pitch to produce a rearing 90 mph delivery that Roston Chase,

on 37, could only divert to Buttler via his glove and helmet.

It was the end of a valuable stand of 73.

The diminutive Blackwood pressed on, cover-driving both Bess and Anderson, England's all-time leading Test wicket-taker, for two of his dozen boundaries in a 154-ball innings. Archer had earlier made a useful 23 before he was last man out in England's second innings 313.

He then reduced West Indies to 7-2, having gone wicketless in the first innings after being selected ahead of dropped veteran Stuart Broad. Archer got Kraigg Brathwaite to play on and had Shamarh Brooks lbw for

PTF willing to send athletes for World Junior C’ships ISLAMABAD APP

Pakistan Taekwondo Federation (PTF) has informed World Taekwondo that it is willing to its athletes to compete at this year’s World Junior Championships.

The world game’s governing body in an online survey has asked the taekwondo playing nations to apprise as whether or not their athletes will be able to participate in this year’s World Junior Championships.

World Taekwondo has already announced that it was hoping to stage the Grand Prix Finals and Gala in Cancun in November as planned. The organization also said that the World Junior Championships and the World Taekwondo General Assembly in Sofia, Bulgaria in October are also set to

be held as scheduled.

“The organization has sought our comments in an online survey. We’ve told them that we are ready to send our athletes, but certain issues may deny our participation in the event,” Col (R) Waseem Ahmed told APP. “The organization has also inquired about the coronavirus situation in our country and we’ve updated them.”

Waseem said the organization was also told that in the prevailing situation the

government had not allowed to hold training camps. “We’ve also told the organization that Pakistan was also among the countries whose citizens are not allowed to enter Europe for six months [due to the coronavirus pandemic].”

He said that even if a decision is taken to ease travel restrictions for Pakistani athletes, the federation would face difficulties to arrange their participation in the event as it

was suffering from scarcity of funds.

“Though we’ve been issued the annual grant, the amount is not enough to cater to our needs,” he added. He said the online training of four to five male and as many female players was continuing, but added that such an arrangement was not an alternative to training camps.

The PTF is also set to hold Pakistan Open (G-1) 2020 and South Asian Region Championships by the end of October. The first event [Pakistan Open] is the first World Taekwondo certified event of its kind in Pakistan and is scheduled to begin on October 24. While, the second event [South Asian Region Championship], which is also the first of its kind at the regional level is scheduled to take place soon after the conclusion of the first event.

Manchester City's European football ban lifted LONDON AGENCIES

Manchester City will play in the Champions League next season after club’s twoyear ban from European football was overturned on Monday.

"The club welcomes the implications of today's ruling as a validation of the club's position and the body of evidence that it was able to present," City said in a statement.

City had earlier denied any wrongdoing over allegations they deliberately inflated the value of income from sponsors with links to the Abu Dhabi United Group, also owned by City owner Sheikh Mansour, to avoid falling foul of FFP regulations between 2012 and 2016.

In February, UEFA imposed a fine of 30

million euros ($32 million, £25 million) on City as well as suspending them from European competitions for the next two seasons. "Today we achieved qualification for the Champions League mathematically," said coach Pep Guardiola on Saturday after a 5-0 rout of Brighton which cemented second-place in the Premier League.

"We deserve to be there because we won it on the pitch. Hopefully on Monday, UEFA can allow us to play as this team and these players deserve to." Since Sheikh Mansour's takeover 12 years ago, City's fortunes have been transformed from perennially living in the shadow of local rivals Manchester United to winning four Premier League titles in the past eight years among 11 major trophies.

Yet the prize that has eluded them is the one the Abu Dhabi project most desires

- the Champions League.

GUARDIOLA'S LAST SHOT? No matter the outcome on Monday, City will have the chance to do so in August as they resume their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 lead over Real Madrid from the first leg of their last 16 tie.

That could be the last chance for some of City's biggest names to win the Champions League for the club as a two-year ban would have severe consequences for the club´s finances. Guardiola's contract runs until the end of the 2020/21 season and the Catalan is unlikely to still be in charge in two years´ time.

Star players such as Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling are also unlikely to want to waste two of their peak years without Champions League football.

"Two years would be long. One year is

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something I might be able to cope with," De Bruyne told Het Laatste Nieuws in June. It would still take huge fees from rival clubs to tempt City to sell, but they may be forced to downsize to gain re-entry to the Champions League even after any ban is over.

City made 93 million euros from UEFA prize money and TV rights from last season´s Champions League, with gate receipts and extra sponsorship revenue from Europe´s premier club competition added to that tally. It would be almost impossible for the club to lose that level of revenue for two years and remain FFP-compliant without cutting costs on transfer fees and wages, or selling players.

MAN UTD TO BENEFIT? Even more painfully for City, Manchester United could be one of the major beneficiaries of their exclusion.

City are comfortably second in the Premier League table, but if they are banned, fifth will be good enough to qualify for the Champions League.

United are currently in fifth with Chelsea or Leicester the other sides likely to profit. Losing such a high-profile case would also cause major embarrassment to the legacy of the City project.

It is no secret that one of the major motivations behind the billions invested is to promote a positive image of Abu Dhabi around the world. But the stakes are also high for European football´s governing body.

Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain have already successfully won an appeal at CAS against UEFA reopening a FFP investigation into the French champions.

The system which limits clubs to not losing more than 30 million euros with exceptions for some costs such as youth development and women´s teams over a three-year period has helped cut debt across European football.

Remaining PSL matches to be played in Pakistan: report LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to conduct the remaining matches of Pakistan Super League (PSL), the fifth edition of which was cut short in March last due to the coronavirus pandemic, in Pakistan rather than the United Arab Emirates (UAE), media reports emerged on Monday. According to the report, the PSL governing council, in its last meeting, had rejected the proposition of staging the remaining four matches in the Arab country.

With the budget being approved, the PCB will now take the next steps to conclude the PSL in November this year. However, in the event that the Covid-19 pandemic deems it impossible to stage the remainder of the matches, then the formula will be devised for trophy and prize money sharing. Meanwhile, the PCB on Monday will begin its ticket refund process for matches that were abandoned due to rain, played behind closed doors, or rescheduled due to the health crisis. STAFF REPORT

Judgment reserved on Umar Akmal's ban appeal

An independent adjudicator on Monday reserved the judgment on cricketer Umar Akmal's appeal against his three-year ban, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced.

The PCB, in a press release, said that the adjudicator, former Supreme Court Judge Justice (r) Faqir Muhammad Khokhar, after listening to the arguments of both sides, reserved the judgement. The PCB did not mention when the reserved order will be made public.

Akmal's transgression had first come to hours before the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 kicked off on February 20. He was thrown out of the tournament for not reporting multiple approaches by corrupt elements - a violation of the PCB's explicitly stipulated rules. He had decided against going to trial but was still banned until 2023 - a punishment deemed harsh by those in his corner but just by neutral observers, considering his long list of disciplinary issues. SPORTS DESK

Tuesday, 14 July, 2020

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SuGAr repOrt prepAred By fACt-findinG entity WitH nO leGAl effeCt: iHC ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

HE Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday issued its detailed order on the petition filed by sugar mill owners against the government action based on the report prepared by a sugar committee, saying the inquiry commission had conducted the proceedings “in the most professional and fair manner” however its recommendations are not binding nor have any legal effect.

On June 20, Chief Justice Athar Minallah told the lawyers of the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association that the court will not extend the stay order barring the government from taking action against mill owners. On June 11, the court restrained the government from taking any action on the basis of the sugar commission’s inquiry report for 10 days.

He gave the reasoning for his verdict in a 35-page detailed order.

“It is also not disputed that ‘sugar’ is one of the most essential commodities for the general public, particularly the low-income strata of the population and the working classes,” says the order.

The executive branch of the State, as representatives of the people, remain responsible and thus accountable for implementing policies that would ensure the availability of essential commodities at affordable prices, it reads.

Whenever there is a shortage of an essential commodity in the market or there is an increase in its price, the executive branch is not only expected to fulfill its constitutional obligations, but it becomes a duty to discover the reasons and to take appropriate measures in order to alleviate the sufferings and hardships.

The sugar crisis, which had led Prime Minister Imran Khan to order a preliminary inquiry and appoint an ad hoc committee followed by notification of a statutory commission of inquiry by the federal gov-

Global coronavirus cases rise above 13m WHO says number of cases is around triple that of severe influenza illnesses recorded annually GENEVA AGENCIES

Global coronavirus infections passed 13 million on Monday, according to a Reuters tally, marking another milestone in the spread of the disease which has killed more than half a million people in seven months. The first case was reported in China in early January and it took three months to reach one million cases. It has taken just five days to climb to 13 million cases from 12 million recorded on July 8. The number of cases is around triple that of severe influenza illnesses recorded annually, according to the World Health Organisation.

There have been more than 568,500 deaths linked to the coronavirus so far, within the same range as the number of yearly influenza deaths reported worldwide. The first death was reported on Jan. 10 in Wuhan, China, before infections and fatalities surged in Europe and then later in the United States. Many hard-hit countries are easing lockdowns put in place to slow the spread of Covid-19. Other places, such as the Australian city of Melbourne, are implementing a second round of shutdowns.

The Reuters tally, which is based on government reports, shows the disease is accelerating the fastest in Latin America. The Americas account for more than half the world’s infections and half the deaths. The United States reported a daily global record of 69,070 new infections on July 10. In Brazil, 1.86 million people have tested positive, including President Jair Bolsonaro, and more than 72,000 people have died. India, the country with the third-highest number of infections, has been contending with an average of 23,000 new infections each day since the beginning of July. In countries with limited testing capacity, case numbers reflect only a proportion of total infections. Experts say official data likely under-represents both infections and deaths.

ernment were exclusively executive functions. “It was indeed a definite matter of public importance, besides being a matter of general interest and of direct and vital concern for the general public,” it adds.

The Inquiry Act of 2017 makes it obvious that the commission of inquiry is a “mere fact-finding statutory entity and its scope of jurisdiction for this purpose is strictly confined to the Terms of Reference specified in the notification issued by the Federal Government”.

The entity is constituted for investigating, analyzing and evaluating the data and making recommendations based on its findings. The recommendations are not binding nor have any legal effect.

The court ruled that the inquiry commission had conducted the proceedings in the most professional and fair manner and that in the facts and circumstances there has been no breach of the principles of fairness.

Any government policy has to be

formed by the executive, the verdict reads.

“It is in a better position to decide such matters on account of its mandate, experience, wisdom and sagacity.”

“The judiciary, on the other hand, is entrusted with the task of interpreting the law and to play the role of an arbiter in cases of disputes. It has been emphasized that the judiciary neither has sword nor power over the purse.” The judges are “not representatives of the people nor accountable for those functions that fall within the exclusive jurisdiction and domain of the executive branch of the state”.

Intervention in such matters can only be “justified if an aggrieved petitioner can demonstrably show a violation of constitutionally guaranteed rights”. The executive is answerable to the people for performance of its duties and functions assigned under the scheme of the Constitution and, therefore, it should be free from unnecessary interference and intrusions thus warranting exercise of judicial restraint, it adds.

Govt reduced Covid-19 testing 'on purpose', puts lives at risk: Bilawal KARACHI STAFF REPORT

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday accused the federal government of putting the lives of people in danger by lowering Covid-19 testing capacity “on purpose”, and denied the claim that coronavirus cases in the country were going down.

Addressing a press conference here, Bilawal said Prime Minister Imran Khan and his ministers were “making a mockery” of themselves when they claimed that the graph of coronavirus cases was going down. “If you stop testing, then the graph will [obviously] go down. But the same number of people will fall ill and die,” Bilawal said.

“They are putting the lives and the health of the people in danger. They are

lowering testing capacity […] this is a conspiracy against the people, they’re not fooling anyone.” The PPP chief claimed that Sindh was conducting the highest tests per capita and had the most intensive care unit (ICU) and high dependency unit (HDU) beds per capita.

“When the Centre was celebrating 100 days of battling the pandemic at the National Command and Control Centre, the Sindh health minister was inaugurating a 50-bed infectious diseases hospital in Karachi.”

Earlier in the day, PPP’s Central Information Secretary Nafisa Shah in a statement said that a reduction in the number of coronavirus tests being conducted by the Centre should not be taken to mean that coronavirus cases in the country are decreasing. Shah claimed there were crowds lining up

at the country’s hospitals and patients were facing difficulties. “People in the country have recovered but new cases are also emerging in large numbers.” she said.

She warned that the federal government taking credit for a reduction in the number of cases by reducing testing could “prove to be destructive” and alleged that the Centre was making “misleading statements” in front of the country and international community.

During his presser, Bilawal also claimed that despite being given limited funds by the Centre, his party’s government in Sindh had managed to provide relief to the people, frontline health workers and poor farmers affected by locusts by not allocating funds for new development schemes in the budget for the new fiscal year.

KARACHI Quran tutor Muhammad Asim should have been packing to leave his Karachi home for Makkah next week to perform one of the most sacred, oncein-a-lifetime obligations for Muslims, the Hajj pilgrimage. But that was before the coronavirus hit.

Asim, 30, is one of 2.5 million Muslims globally, almost 180,000 from Pakistan, whose plans were upended when Saudi Arabia restricted this year’s event to only 1,000 local residents, savaging Pakistan’s Rs160 billion ($1 billion) Hajj industry.

Indonesia and Pakistan, one of the largest Muslim-majority countries by population, send the most pilgrims. “I prayed for the chance to go on Hajj and Allah answered my prayers,” Asim, selected from tens of thousands of applicants for a government-supported package, told Reuters. “But then he sent this coronavirus.” Asim borrowed

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Bomb blast, clash at Afghan govt compound leave dozens hurt KABUL: Gunmen clashed with security forces following a car bombing at a government compound in Afghanistan’s northern province of Samangan on Monday, officials said, and more than 40 people were wounded. The attack took place at a government facility in Samangan’s capital, Aybak, close to an office of the National Security Directorate, the main intelligence agency, officials said. It was not immediately clear what the target of the attack was or who was behind it. “It’s a complex attack that started with a car bomb. Clashes with the attackers are still going on,” said Mohammad Sediq Azizi, a spokesman for Samangan’s provincial government. The province’s health director, Khalil Musadeq, said 43 civilians and members of the security forces had been wounded in the attack, with that number expected to rise and deaths expected. The attack comes at a sensitive time as violence in Afghanistan ramps up even as the United States is trying to usher the government and the Taliban towards peace talks to end more than 18 years of war. AGECNIES

‘Coronavirus could have existed long before outbreak’ MOSCOW: The novel coronavirus could have existed in a dormant state long before its outbreak, Melita Vujnovic, the representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to Russia, has said.

“WHO has established a large team that will work together with Chinese scientists to analyse the origin of the virus,” Vujnovic said in a recent interview with a local news agency. “This virus lived in animals and at some point passed to humans. It’s hard to say when and where this happened. It’s being investigated. Viruses can be found in waste water. But nothing can be said specifically,” she said. The novel coronavirus has existed worldwide and broke out whenever and wherever favorable conditions occurred rather than starting in China, Tom Jefferson, senior associate tutor at the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine at Oxford and a visiting professor at Newcastle University, said earlier this month. Spanish virologists have discovered traces of the novel coronavirus in a sample of Barcelona waste water collected in March 2019, nine months prior to the virus outbreak in China. AGENCIES

820 million could go hungry by end of 2020: UN ROME AGENCIES

More people are going hungry, an annual study by the United Nations has found, saying tens of millions have joined the ranks of the chronically undernourished over the past five years, and countries around the world continue to struggle with multiple forms of malnutrition.

The latest edition of the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, published Monday, estimates that almost 690 million people went hungry in 2019 – up by 10 million from 2018, and by nearly 60 million in five years. High costs and low affordability also mean billions cannot eat healthily or nutritiously. The hungry are most numerous in Asia, but expanding fastest in Africa.

Across the planet, the report forecasts, the Covid-19 pandemic could tip over 130 million more people into chronic hunger by the end of 2020. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World is the most authoritative global study tracking progress towards ending hunger and

malnutrition. It is produced jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agriculture (IFAD), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Writing in the Foreword, the heads of the five agencies warn that “five years after the world committed to end hunger, food insecurity and all forms of malnutrition, we are still off track to achieve this objective by 2030.”

In this edition, critical data updates for China and other populous countries have led to a substantial cut in estimates of the global number of hungry people, to the current 690 million. Nevertheless, there has been no change in the trend. Revising the entire hunger series back to the year 2000 yields the same conclusion: after steadily diminishing for decades, chronic hunger slowly began to rise in 2014 and continues to do so.

Asia remains home to the greatest number of undernourished (381 million). Africa is second (250 million), followed by Latin America and the Caribbean (48 mil-

Virus-hit Hajj cuts deep for Pakistan pilgrims and businesses AGENCIES

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money to come up with the nearly $3,000 cost.

More than 900 Pakistan tour operators and travel agencies are licensed to arrange travel over the Hajj.

This year will be the first in modern times that pilgrims from abroad will not be allowed into Makkah.

“The biggest effect right now is on our business,” Zaeen Siddiqui, senior vice-chairman of the Hajj Organisers’ Association of Pakistan, told Reuters.

“Our money is stuck in airlines. Our offices are closing because we cannot keep workers.”

According to Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, which oversees Hajj arrangements, 179,210 Pakistanis had already registered to attend this year – 71,684 through private tour operators and 107,526 through cheaper, government-supported packages. Pilgrims buying private packages spend $4,000 to $6,000 on the journey, Siddiqui said. Those using government packages deposit around $3,000 into state accounts, money which authorities began returning

last month. Around 60% of the cost of Hajj is spent on accommodation, food and transportation in Saudi Arabia, 20% on airlines and 20% on arrangements inside Pakistan, Siddiqui said.

But local operators are able to charge premiums thanks to the high demand – premiums that keep their businesses going for the rest of the year.

Low-end tours involve basic accommodation in tents, while high-end packages come complete with personal guidance and sermons from scholars and televangelists to small groups of pilgrims who stay at luxury hotels in Makkah. Before the Hajj setback, Pakistan’s tour operators were already reeling from the suspension of year-round pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina from abroad known as the umrah, also because of the coronavirus. Pakistan International Airlines has lost Rs12 billion ($72.37 million) in revenue because of the cancellation of the Hajj after losing nearly as much because of the umrah ban, a company official told Reuters.

lion). The global prevalence of undernourishment – or overall percentage of hungry people – has changed little at 8.9 percent, but the absolute numbers have been rising since 2014. This means that over the last five years, hunger has grown in step with the global population.

This, in turn, hides great regional disparities: in percentage terms, Africa is the hardest hit region and becoming more so, with 19.1 per cent of its people undernourished. This is more than double the rate in Asia (8.3 per cent) and in Latin America and the Caribbean (7.4 per cent). On current trends, by 2030, Africa will be home to more than half of the world’s chronically hungry.

As progress in fighting hunger stalls, the Covid-19 pandemic is intensifying the vulnerabilities and inadequacies of global food systems. While it is too soon to assess the full impact of the lockdowns and other containment measures, the report estimates that at a minimum, another 83 million people, and possibly as many as 132 million, may go hungry in 2020 as a result of the economic recession triggered by Covid-19.

Coronavirus crisis may get 'worse and worse and worse', warns WHO GENEVA: "Let me be blunt, too many countries are headed in the wrong direction, the virus remains public enemy number one," WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual briefing from the UN agency’s headquarters in Geneva. "If basics are not followed, the only way this pandemic is going to go — it is going to get worse and worse and worse." Global infections stand at 13 million, according to a Reuters tally, with more than half a million deaths. Tedros, whose leadership has been heavily criticised by US President Donald Trump, said that of 230,000 new cases on Sunday, 80% were from 10 nations, and 50% from just two countries. The United States and Brazil are the countries worst hit. "There will be no return to the old normal for the foreseeable future ... There is a lot to be concerned about," Tedros added, in some of his strongest comments of recent weeks. Tedros said the WHO had still not received formal notification of the US pullout announced by Trump. The US president says the WHO pandered to China, where the Covid-19 disease was first detected, at the start of the crisis. Trump, who wore a protective face mask for the first time in public at the weekend, has himself been accused by political opponents of not taking the coronavirus seriously enough, something he denies. AGENCIES

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