Epaper – July 5 KHI 2020

CMYK

Sunday, 5 July, 2020 I 13 Dhū al-Qa‘dah, 1441 I Rs 25.00 I Vol XI No 7 I 36 Pages I Karachi Edition

Carelessness Can worsen Covid-19 situation, govt warns g

68 dead, 3,387 new cases recorded in country in last 24 hours ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

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HIlE the Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) government has been touting a slight decrease in fresh Covid-19 cases, Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar on Saturday advised people to take precautions and follow doctors’ advice, saying that carelessness can result in an explosion of the pandemic.

A total of 3,387 new cases were recorded in the country over the last 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally to 225,283. According to the NCOC, 22,094 tests were carried out in the last 24 hours.

The novel coronavirus claimed 68 more lives in the country in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 4,619.

Sindh leads the tally of confirmed cases in the country with 90,721 cases, with Punjab coming in second with 80,297. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 27,506 cases have been recorded, 10,717 in Balochistan, 13,292 in Islamabad, 1,536 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 1,214 cases have been confirmed in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Speaking to media in Islamabad, the minister, who is spearheading the country’s anti-coronavirus campaign, said: “Wearing masks, social distancing, washing hands, not hugging on Eid, this is what doctors are trying to make us understand.

We saw that when we were careless, conditions worsened and then we saw improvement.” “If you take precautions and follow doctors’ advice, then you and your family will remain safe. If you are careless, we will be punished for it,” he cautioned.

Umar also paid tribute to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) chief lt Gen Mohammad Afzal and his team for “the way they were working on increasing healthcare capacity across Pakistan”. He added that during the last two weeks, 189 beds had been added to hospitals in Islamabad.

According to the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), 125,094

ISLAMABAD SHAHZAD PARACHA

The government has assigned Muhammad Javed Ghani the additional charge of the chairperson of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), said a notification issued by the Establishment Division.

Ghani replaces Nausheen Amjad, who was appointed to head the revenue authority in April.

“The federal government is pleased to assign additional charge of the post of chairman, Federal Board of Revenue, to Mr. Muhammad Javed Ghani … for a period of three months or till the posting/appointment of a regular incumbent; whichever is earlier.”

This is the fourth appointment made to the position since the ruling PTI took office.

A second notification issued by the Establishment Division said Amjad, a BS-22 officer of the Inland Revenue Service who was serving as the FBR chairperson, has been transferred and posted as the secretary of the National Heritage and FILE PHOTO

people have recovered across Pakistan so far, while the number of active cases is 95,570.

‘DECREASE IN CASES SHOWS GOVT’S POLICY WAS CORRECT’: Meanwhile, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz said that the recovery of Covid-19 patients in Pakistan so far is “satisfactory” and shows that the government’s policy to deal with the coronavirus was “correct”.

Faraz, while addressing a ceremony in Islamabad, said that the number of laboratories that can conduct tests for the virus has reached 129, adding that the country is now able to produce its own equipment

Coronavirus in

Pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

227,254

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

68

NEW CASES:

3,387

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

SINDH:

PUNJAB:

125,094 4,680 92,306

80,297

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

AJK/GB:

ISLAMABAD:

27,843

Javed Ghani appointed as new FBR chief, replaces Nausheen Javed

10,766

1214/1,536 13,292

[medical equipment such as ventilators] instead of importing them.

“Our bed capacity is adequate and I pray that such a time never comes when we do not have enough beds for our [virus] patients. But this can only happen if we follow the government’s instructions. If we do that, then these hospitals will be empty and the patients will be playing in fields,” he said.

“The government has announced a special package for medical workers. We will never abandon them. The government is aware of their dedication to their profession in these times and will continue facilitating them.”

in today’s issue @paperazzimagazine

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All shades of pink are p trending g this summer!

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Imran calls for strict implementation of Covid-19 SOPs during Eid ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday directed for ensuring strict implementation of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and the strategy of smart lockdown to curtail the spread of coronavirus pandemic and prevent any resurgence of the disease during Eidul Azha.

The prime minister, accompanied by Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, federal ministers and other highranking officials visited the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on the occasion of completion of 100 days of its establishment.

PM Imran lauded the efforts of National Command and Operation Centre in putting up a robust response to coronavirus pandemic and ensuring coordinated actions throughout the country. He also appreciated the resilience and adaptability of the nation to adjust to the new normal by following SOPs and face the challenge as one nation.

The prime minister directed to undertake all required administrative actions to implement the strategy of smart lockdown and continue mass

Culture Division. The reason(s) for her transfer was not immediately clear.

Ghani is a BS-22 officer of the Pakistan Customs Service who is currently posted as a member of the FBR. The summary to give additional charge of the post of FBR chief to Ghani was approved by the federal cabinet through circulation.

Meanwhile, sources claimed that Javed Ghani is a stopgap arrangement.

“The government is searching for a suitable candidate for the FBR slot as it wants to reform the department,” an insider said.

irfan.farooq@pakistantoday.com.pk

more inside

PML-N lawmakers ask NA speaker not to allow sale of Roosevelt hotel STORY ON PAGE 02

awareness campaign. Imran paid glowing tributes to all the doctors and paramedical staff, emergency responders working as frontline workers in the battle against Covid-19.

He acknowledged the role and services of health care workers, emergency responders and management team from all the provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

During the visit, Imran received a briefing on the current situation and the pattern analysis of Covid-19 spread, the government’s strategy of smart lockdown to balancing life and livelihood and the issues of the poor and the working class during the pandemic.

The participants were informed that the World Economic Outlook of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has bracketed Pakistan

among a group of 30 countries, where a downturn in the spread has been projected. At the same time, Pakistan’s exports fared much better than other countries of the region.

“From daily monitoring of the situation to the capacity enhancement of health system and from establishing a credible database to better resource management and formulation of appropriate SOPs, the NCOC has led from the front in the fight against pandemic,” Khan said.

Noting a slowing down of disease progression, Imran directed to ensure strict implementation of SOPs, undertaking of all required administrative actions to implement the strategy of smart lockdown and continuation of mass awareness campaign to curtail the spread and especially to prevent any resurgence of disease during Eidul Azha.

Shalimar Express rams into freight train near Khanpur

STORY ON PAGE 03

Power Division claims zero shortfall despite noticeable power cuts STORY ON PAGE 09

30 out of 262 pilots suspected of obtaining dubious licenses have fake degrees: minister STORY ON BACK PAGE

02

Sunday, 5 July, 2020

NEWS

PML-N LawMakers ask Na sPeaker Not to aLLow saLe of rooseveLt hoteL ISLAMABAD

t

STAFF REPORT

HE Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) lawmakers have urged National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser to revoke the notification for the formation of a cabinet committee for the “unconstitutional” privatisation of the PIA-owned Roosevelt Hotel in New York, according to a media report.

In a letter signed by six PML-N members, including Khawaja Asif, Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha, Rana Iradat Sharif, Ahmed Raza Maneka, Rasheed Ahmed Khan and Shehnaz Salim Malik, the lawmakers stated that the privatisation of the hotel was against the constitution, financially unsuitable and a waste of public money.

They pointed out that a National Assembly standing committee had questioned the reasons behind selling off Roosevelt Hotel when it is not a financial burden or unproductive.

The standing committee has also questioned the compulsion for selling off the hotel at a time when the tourism and hotel industry were suffering because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The standing committee has also asked whether the government had followed the

Privatisation Ordinance 2000 and the relevant law in connection with Roosevelt Hotel, the letter read.

The PML-N legislators said the elected members had taken an oath to defend, protect and keep the constitution functional.

Giving executive powers to the advisers on institutional reforms and trade and investment was unconstitutional, they pointed out.

“According to the Constitution, any such measure is unconstitutional and unlawful from the very beginning,” the letter read.

The PML-N lawmakers also pointed out that the preamble, Objectives Resolution and Article 2-A clearly stipulated that the powers would be used only through the elected people. “That is why oath is not taken from the unelected persons because they are not answerable to elected House, constituency and the authorised public forums.”

The letter further read that Roosevelt Hotel was located in New York, which had been severely affected by the pandemic and the property prices were currently very low in the city.

On Thursday, the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation reversed a seven-monthold legally questionable decision of deciding the fate of real estate jewel, Roosevelt Hotel New York, through a

YDa warns of nationwide protests against unresolved issues, police brutality MUZAFFARABAD INP

ministerial task force, putting the transaction back on right track.

Headed by Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, the committee authorised the privatisation ministry to hire a financial adviser for finalising the transaction structure of Roosevelt Hotel, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance after a meeting.

Every successive government, includ-

ing that of Pervez Musharraf, has tried to sell or give the hotel on lease. The last serious attempt was made during PML-N government’s tenure when the Privatisation Commission had the hotel valuation done by a third party.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto has maintained that the government was finding excuses to sell off the assets of the PIA to benefit its frontmen.

Sindh governor takes K-Electric chief to task over Karachi's power supply issues KARACHI STAFF REPORT

fBr pastes notice on Justice Isa’s house ISLAMABAD INP

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Saturday pasted a notice from the tax authority outside the residence of Supreme Court Justice Qazi Faez Isa. According to sources, the FBR sent notices to the judge’s residence thrice but received no response, adding that the notice was pasted outside his home as per the rules. It is pertinent to mention here that the Supreme Court has dismissed the presidential reference against Justice Qazi Faez Isa after declaring it ‘invalid’ while accepting the petitioner’s pleas on June 19. It stated that Justice Isa’s family will file a response to the FBR notice and no delay should be made over anyone’s absence from the country.

Last rites of sheikhupura train accident victims performed pESHAWAR STAFF REPORT

The bodies of 19 Sikh pilgrims —who died after a collision between a train and their van in Sheikhupura —were shifted to Peshawar in a special Pakistan Air Force (PAF) aircraft early on Saturday. The bodies were then moved via ambulances from PAF base to Dabgani Mohalla Jogan Shah, where family members of the deceased mourned over the sudden demise of their loved ones. Later, they were shifted to Attock crematorium where last rites of the victims were held.

On Friday, at least 20 Sikh pilgrims died and several others were injured in a collision between a train and a coaster near Sheikhupura. Secretary-General Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee Sardar Amir Singh said the deceased belonged to three or four families. Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid ordered immediate action against those responsible for the tragic incident. Train accidents are common in Pakistan, where the railways have seen decades of decline due to corruption, mismanagement and lack of investment. A National Assembly standing committee was recently told that there have been 384 train accidents in Pakistan since 2014: 74 in 2018-19, 67 in 2017-18, 78 in 2016-17, 76 in 2015-16, and 89 accidents in 2014-15.

Sindh Imran Ismail on Saturday took to task K-Electric chief Moonis Abdullah Alvi over the power utility's failure to guarantee uninterrupted supply of electricity to Karachi and end the prolonged loadshedding that has caused misery to citizens over the past few weeks.

Ismail held a meeting with the KE chief, as well as power minister Omar Ayub, through video link.

"K-electric is responsible for uninterrupted power supply in Karachi," said the governor. "No negligence can be tolerated in this."

"K-Electric claimed it will end unannounced load shedding in 48 hours," Ismail said, adding: "It has not fulfilled its claim." Ayub said 800MW power is being given to KE instead of 650MW and that the power utility was also being provided gas up to 280 MMCFD instead of 190 MMCFD,.

"There is no shortage of furnace oil supply to K-Electric," said the power minister. Ayub instructed the KE chief to "ensure timely redressal of grievances of consumers".

Earlier, it was reported that the power utility, in a letter to the governor, had said it is ready to talk about the investment made in the past years and plans for the future.

"City's issues, illegal connections (kundas), illegal street lights and damage to cables will be discussed," according to the letter's contents.

"Work on the 900MW power plant has been going on since last year," said the letter. "The first unit of the power plant will start functioning in 2021," it added. "K-Electric will also brief the governor on its preparations for the upcoming rains," the letter said.

Furthermore, a notification by the utility said that KE wants to present a $2bn investment plan and that over the next three years it aims to strengthen Karachi's power infra-

structure.

"Investment will be made in production, transmission, and distribution," said KE. Meanwhile, in a session of the Sindh Assembly, anger was expressed over K-Electric's performance.

The members of the assembly insisted that the electricity tariff not be increased till KE's performance improves. "Loadshedding is being carried out for three hours even in exempted areas," the members complained. "K-Electric has failed miserably in the suburbs," they added.

The lawmakers demanded that KE give details of its profits and investments over the past 10 years. "They have not fulfilled a single promise made in the past decade."

They also demanded the the control of the utility be handed over to National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra). With no respite seen in the city's burgeoning problems, a protest demonstration was held today against the city's water and electricity problems outside Karachi Press Club (KPC). President Karachi Traders Union Atiq Mir and MQMP's Farooq Sattar also participated in the demonstration.

"A city paying Rs3,000 billion in taxes is deprived of electricity and water," said Sattar.

"A bill of Rs15,000 is sent to the house of a person earning Rs18,000."

He said that PPP and MQM "have decided to clean the city's drains with money from Asian Development Bank", referring to the choked drain problem the city faces each year which exacerbates rain flooding during the monsoon. "If the chief minister cannot pay taxes to the federation, then we will not pay taxes without water and electricity," he declared.

Sattar remarked that leading industrialist Siraj Qasim Teli, has called for Karachi to be turned into a separate administrative unit, highlighting the deep-rooted issues that persistently go unaddressed by both federal and provincial governments.

The Young Doctors Association Azad Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday said that the association "will emerge stronger", a day after several medics were "subjected to violence" and arrested during a “peaceful protest”. The YDA and Grand Health Alliance (GHA), in a joint press conference, condemned the government’s “non-democratic” behaviour. "If the issues faced by doctors are not resolved, a countrywide movement will be launched," the GHA chairman said. “Violence against young doctors will only strengthen us,” the president of YDA Kashmir said. "We will stage a sit-in in front of Kashmir House in Islamabad [if our issues are ignored]," vowed Dr Salman of YDA Punjab.

President GHA Punjab Dr Fazle Rabbi said that the doctors were dying of coronavirus due to non-provision of facilities. Another representative of the medical fraternity present, explaining the condition of health facilities in AJK, said: “50% of our patients are referred to Islamabad.” On Friday, authorities had dispersed a sit-in in Muzaffarabad that the organisation had staged for their rights, among which, one demand was to provide them with incentives equal to that of federal institutions. “Police baton-charged peaceful protesters,” secretarygeneral YDA said, adding: “Ten doctors were injured and 23 arrested.” The YDA representative said that as a reactionary measure, all the emergency services in the AJK had been shut.

On the other hand, police said they arrested 22 doctors and that "none of them were hurt" during the process. Meanwhile, PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari condemned the police brutality and demanded that the arrested doctors be released immediately, during a meeting with representatives of the YDA via video link. “Arresting doctors for demanding protective gear and rights is shameful,” he said, adding: “Doctors across the country should be given a risk allowance similar to that of Sindh." Lamenting over the arrests, Bilawal said that instead of consultations with doctors over the prevalent coronavirus situation, the government was busy arresting them.

Javed Ghani COntInUED FROM pAgE 01 “Different names, including that of Ministry of Kashmir and GB Affairs Secretary Tariq Pasha, have been under consideration in this regard.” Pasha would retire from service in September this year and the government is considering to appoint him for a period of two years, sources said, adding that Pasha is also very close to an important person in the PM’s Office. Moreover, Pakistan Today has learnt that PM’s Adviser on Austerity and Institutional Reforms Dr Ishrat Hussain had last year held four to five meetings with FBR high ups on the reforms issue as the PM’s Office wanted to implement the Pakistan Raises Revenue Programme of the World Bank. However, the government’s decision was resisted by the FBR as well as customs’ officers in November last year. Sources said the PM’s Office had last week directed FBR to start work on the PRR programme as it was the most suitable programme to increase the revenue.

TDCP plans to establish resort and food streets near Hiran Minar LAHORE SHAHAB OMER

The Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab (TDCP) has planned to establish a state-of-the-art resort in the vicinity of the historical monument Hiran Minar near Sheikhupura along with art and craft markets, food streets and camping sites.

The site work of the project has been completed and national and international food chains will also be invited to set up their stalls in food streets.

TDCP officials believe that work on the project would begin soon under public-private partnership. The development work would cost millions of rupees and provide direct employment to thousands of people.

TDCP General Manager Asim Raza told Pakistan Today that Hiran Minar was located in the middle of 104 acres of TDCP’s land. “If we look at the practical usage of such a large piece of land, it is not properly used for the tourism purposes. But now we are planning to make full use of it and are going to establish a camping site for about 100 to 150 children. We are also establishing three to four food streets here in which all the traditional food stalls will be set up. All the facilities related to ad-

venture tourism including art and craft bazaar, children’s play area will be provided to the people. We are also planning to establish a mini zoo here.”

“People in many cities will benefit from this project, and especially people from Lahore, Gujranwala, Shahkot, Faisalabad, Sheikhupura, Okara and Multan will come here. We are going to make a kind of mini Lahore here. The entire project will be under public-private partnership. The land will be ours but all develop-

CMYK

ment on it will be done by private parties. The entire project will cost around Rs100 million,” he added.

When asked about the sensitivity of historical monument and construction, he said, “Since this is an area close to a historical monument, we will not set up anything here on a permanent basis. No permanent structure of any kind will be established here. The bazaar or food street that will be built will also be in the form of beautiful wooden huts. Contracts will be allotted to private parties that come through the tender and meet the rules.

We will try to prefer serious people. Contracts should not be awarded to people who do not have experience in this field. We need success stories here. We would like international and local food chains to make their huts here.”

Regarding the provision of employment opportunities to the people, Asim said that he has estimated that this project would directly provide employment to thousands of people. He added that the site plan of the project has been completed while the secretary tourism and adviser to chief minister on tourism have also visited the site.

He further said that tourism activities will start in full swing as soon as the coronavirus outbreak ends as Pakistan has a lot of potential for tourism.

Sunday, 5 July, 2020

NEWS

IMraN asks MINIster to CoNsuLt CII over hINDu teMPLe Issue ISLAMABAD

P

STAFF REPORT

RIME Minister Imran Khan on Saturday directed Federal Religious Affairs Minister Pir Noorul Haq Qadri to consult the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) on the issue of construction of a Hindu temple in the federal capital.

During the meeting, the minister ap-

praised the premier about the sensitivity of the issue and reaction coming from the religious and political circles.

Qadri said that the Hindu members of the parliament had filed an application with the Human Rights Commission in 2017 for the construction of a place of worship.

“At the request of the Ministry of Human Rights, the Capital Development Authority allotted space for the temple in

India’s Covid-19 cases hit record high amid monsoon rains nEW DELHI AGENCIES

India recorded its highest singe-day spike of coronavirus cases on Saturday, with over 22,000 new cases and 442 deaths, as infections rose in the western and southern parts of the country amid heavy monsoon rains. The western state of Maharashtra, home to the densely packed financial capital Mumbai, has the country’s highest total, recording 6,364 fresh cases of the virus on Saturday and 198 deaths from Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus.

India has the fourth-most confirmed cases in the world, exceeding 640,000 on Saturday, according to health ministry data. It follows the United States, Brazil and Russia. Officials in Mumbai warned residents to stay away from the coast, as heavy rains were predicted for the next 48 hours. The monsoons typically cause waterlogging in many parts of the city and could scuttle coronavirus containment efforts by causing a further rise in infection numbers, experts say. In the southern state of Tamil Nadu, the second worst-hit state in India, the number of cases crossed 100,000. India had imposed one of the world’s harshest lockdowns in March to control the virus spread, but it has been eased in phases in recent weeks to restart economic activity. Epidemiologists warn India’s peak could still be weeks or months away, suggesting the country’s already severely overburdened healthcare system will come under further stress.

2017. They had also requested the Ministry of Religious Affairs for funds for the temple’s construction,” he said.

He added that the minority community was told earlier that Ministry of Religious Affairs does not release funds for the construction of minority places of worship, but repairs and renovates them and that the minister had forwarded the request to the premier. The CDA is responsible for providing space for reli-

gious places of worship in Islamabad.

The spokesperson for religious affairs said that Pakistan as a state and government would protect the rights of minorities as enshrined in the constitution. “The Hindu community is building the temple with its own resources.”

According to reports, the PM would decide to release funds of the construction of the temple after considering all social and religious aspects.

24 News decides to shut down after PEMRA suspends licence ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The management of 24 News HD on Saturday decided to shut down the channel after the Pakistan Electronic Media Authority Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) suspended with “immediate effect” its licence for “illegal transmission of news and current affairs content”.

According to a press release issued by the media regulatory body the other day, the license was in fact issued to Central Media Network (Pvt) Ltd. for its sister concern Value TV which “illegally” changed its name to 24 News HD. The channel was granted the license to air entertainment content but instead it was “persistently illegally and unlawfully airing news and current affairs in continuous violation of PEMRA laws”, the statement said.

The regulatory body said it issued a show-cause notice to the channel for violating the terms of its license and directed it to “revert back to its approved programming content” on May 7, 2020. But the channel “failed to adhere to the directions of the authority despite several notices and opportunities of hearing provided [to them],” according to the statement.

PEMRA, therefore, suspended the channel’s licence with “immediate effect till the time it reverts back to its original programming mix”.

Meanwhile in a text message sent to his senior managers, 24 News HD’s Chief Executive Officer Mohsin Naqvi said that he was shutting down the channel after getting “sick and tired with everyday blackmailing of federal government and paying legal fees every second day for challenging illegal PEMRA notices”.

The decision will impact 965 employees of the channel who have been given one-month notices of termination of services.

IMRAN TARGETTING THOSE WHO ‘SPEAK TRUTH’: PML-N Speaking to media on Saturday, Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) central spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb accused Prime Minister Imran Khan of suspending the channel’s license, claiming that he was targeting those “channels, media houses, journalists and owners who spoke the truth”.

In a tweet from the PML-N’s account, Aurangzeb condemned the suspension and demanded the channel’s “immediate resumption”.

“Taking channel 24 off-air without hearing its stance is oppressive and unjust. Imran’s government is cutting the very shoulders on which it came to power,” she said.

Donation of ventilators symbolises ‘strong partnership’, Pompeo says nEWS DESK US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday said that the donation of 100 ventilators to Pakistan symbolised the “strong partnership” between the two countries on the issue of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“American innovation and expertise is critical to the

fight against COVID-19,” Pompeo wrote in a tweet posted late Friday night. A shipment of 100 ventilators donated by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in cooperation with the National Disaster Management Authority had arrived in Pakistan on Friday.

The ventilators would be deployed in hospitals across Pakistan, a press release had said.

Case registered against ex-LGS employees after harassment allegations LAHORE STAFF REPORT

The Punjab government on Saturday registered a case against four employees of Lahore Grammar School— including a teacher who was earlier sacked by the administration — after they were held responsible by the school for the alleged sexual harassment of female students.

A case was registered on the complaint of Child Protection Bureau officer Ehtisham Arshad under Section 292-A (exposure to seduction), 500 (punishment for defamation), 501 (printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory), and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Pakistan Penal Code, and Section 25 (intentionally damaging or tampering with telegraphs) of the Federal Investigation Agency’s Telegraph Act. Last week, reports of a school teacher and administration harassing female students at the elite private school had emerged. Administration Officer Aitzaz, Accountant Omar, a chowkidar named Shehzad and chem-

istry teacher Zahid Warraich were accused of harassment by female students, some of whom had left school a few years ago and others who were still studying there.

Students said that they had lodged various sexual harassment complaints over the years against the accused but no action had been taken by the administration. Hence, some of them were forced to leave the school and seek admission in others. The administration said that after receiving evidence against the accused, which included videos, photographs and indecent messages sent by them to students, all four persons involved were shown the door.

The students revealed that the chemistry teacher, Warraich, used to harass them by staring and trying to touch them inappropriately. They also said that he tried to sit with them in a manner that made it very uncomfortable for the students to study.

They also spoke of a female teacher in the school who told them about how she was also a victim of harassment by one of the staff members at the institute but instead of taking action against the harassers, she told the students to remain silent.

03

shalimar express rams into freight train near khanpur LAHORE: Lahore-bound Shalimar Express collided with a freight train near Jetha Bhutta Railway Station on Saturday. According to a spokesman for Pakistan Railways, the driver and assistant driver of the train sustained minor injuries. He said that relief trains have been dispatched from Samma Satta and Rohri to the site. The engine of Shalimar Express and three coaches of the freight train derailed after the accident. Fortunately, no passenger was injured in the accident. Rescue officials, after being informed rushed to the scene and shifted the injured to the hospital. Rail traffic on both up and down tracks of the main line was suspended after the accident. Railway authorities were mobilising machinery, including a crane, to remove debris of the engine and bogies of the goods train from the track. The incident comes a day after a train rammed into a passenger coach at the railway track passing through Sucha Soda, a small town near Farooqabad in Sheikhupura district, killing 22 people including 20 Sikh pilgrims, a driver and his helper. The tragic incident, when also left nine people injured, took place at a small unmanned level crossing/passage, just about 100 feet away from a manned level crossing at the track. STAFF REPORT

Don’t wash your dirty linen in public, rasheed tells PtI LAHORE: Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Saturday advised the Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) members to not bring their personal issues out in the open by discussing them on public platforms. Addressing a press conference at the Railways Headquarters here, Rasheed said: “I can only request since I am in no position to restrict them to not to wash their dirty laundry in public.” The minister said it was the responsibility of the people in government to project the prime minister and his government in a positive manner but most certainly they did not succeed in doing so. “You don’t even need the opposition’s criticism if you behave in such a demeaning manner.”

When asked about the “minus-one formula” which the PML-N and PPP have been touting for some time now, Rasheed said it was never going to happen. “Imran Khan isn’t going anywhere. There will be no such thing as minus-one. If such a thing ever takes places, it will be minus-three,” he said without further elaborating. While speaking about his experience after contracting the coronavirus, Rsheed said that he would not wish it “even on his enemies”. “This is a very serious and fearsome disease. There have been four attempts on my life and five of my colleagues were killed, I was never fearful. But I would not wish this virus even on my enemies. I pray for Shehbaz Sharif to recover as well.” STAFF REPORT

04

Sunday, 5 July, 2020

NEWS

GovT iSSueS TeNder For 80 KArAChi GreeN LiNe BuSeS KARACHI STAFF REPORT

The federal government has issued international tender for the purchase of 80 buses for Karachi Green Line project.

The federal government has allocated funds for purchase of buses and installation of ITS. The tendering process will complete within three months and the successful bidder will import 80 buses within six to eight

months. The federal government will run Karachi Green Line project for three years.

The Sindh Infrastructure Development Company Limited (SIDCL) officials said that the first phase of the project is expected to become functional by February 2021, adding that the first consignment of the buses is expected to arrive in January of the next year.

The Sindh government has also handed over edhi Orange Line Metro Bus project to the central government and as per the under-

Four arrested for alleged involvement in child pornography ISLAMABAD: Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Saturday arrested four suspects on charges of working for an international child pornography ring during a countrywide crackdown. The four suspects allegedly involved in child pornography have been arrested from Sialkot, Karachi, Faisalabad and Gujranwala.

The action was carried out upon the directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan, said the FIA. It said that global anti-crime agency Interpol had shared relevant information regarding the suspects with Islamabad, following which the law enforcement agency had moved to make the arrests. The ring was being operated from the United States, the FIA said. A suspect, identified as Arsalan, was arrested from Sialkot. he was in contact with the group, said the agency. According to the FIA, the ring sold pornographic material featuring minors. Officials confiscated 225GB of data from Arsalan alone. The agency said it is investigating the matter further to uncover more illegal activity and will take appropriate action. The FIA, using the input from Interpol, also cracked down suspects in various other cities. Three suspects allegedly involved in child pornography were arrested from Karachi, Faisalabad and Gujranwala. The FIA said it seized illegal content from the possession of the suspects, adding that further investigation is underway. STAFF REPORT

standing the centre will purchase 20 buses for the Orange Line project.

The federal government will run the Orange Line Bus Rapid Transit operations from Orangi to Board Office for three years, while the Sindh government will provide Rs2 billion funds to SIDCL for the project. It is to be noted that the BRT Green Line project with intersections has 24 km long, which includes 12.7 km elevated, 10.9 km at grade, and 422 meters underground route, and has

SINDH RESUMES INTERCITY TRANSPORT WITH HIGHER FARES KARACHI: Passenger coaches, buses and vans on Saturday resumed operations across Sindh after a period of four months following the provincial government’s approval.

Passenger vans are allowed to travel to Karachi, Mirpurkhas, Umerkot, Tharparkar and Badin, among other places. Transporters at the Badin bus stop took all the necessary precautions against the coronavirus as passengers were sprayed with disinfectant and given masks. No more than nine passengers were allowed in an 18-seater van. “This has made things really convenient for us,” said a passenger. “We previously had to pay extra to travel home in private vehicles”. However, the fares have been increased by 50 to 60 per cent as compared to their earlier prices. The fare from Hyderabad to Mirpurkhas is Rs250 now whereas it used to cost Rs130. Similarly, passengers travelling to Umerkot from Hyderabad had to pay Rs500 as opposed to Rs300 they used to before the pandemic. “We are happy and relieved that the government has resumed transport services,” said a driver, adding that the transport community was stressed due to being out of work for four months. STAFF REPORT

25 stations.

The phase-II common corridor from Gurumandir up to Municipal Park with a length of 2.5 km has two underpasses at

KP lifts restrictions from 89 hotspots after Covid-19 cases drop PESHAWAR STAFF REPORT

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has lifted lockdowns from 89 neighborhoods of the province after a significant decrease in fresh coronavirus cases from these hotspots, the health department’s focal person Dr Iftikharuddin said on Saturday.

Lockdown restrictions were lifted from eight areas in Peshawar, five in

Mardan, 15 in Nowshera, 12 in Bajaur, eight in Abbottabad, five in Lower Dir, four in Buner and Charsadda each, three in haripur, Swat and Malakand each, and two areas in Upper Chitral, Upper Dir and Bannu each.

Dr Iftikharuddin said the government’s smart lockdown policy had resulted in an 80 percent decline in the number of reported cases from these areas. he added that no cases had been

reported for the last six days from the area under lockdown in Mardan while Nowshera district reported one case on Friday compared to 31 cases on June 21.

Giving further details, he said just one case was reported from Mansehra district on Saturday, down from 32 cases on June 22, whereas Bajaur district reported three cases yesterday compared to 12 cases on June 16.

The official added that there had been

NAB launches probe into illegal appointments in Sindh education dept KARACHI: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) launched an investigation into illegal appointments in the provincial education department on Saturday. According to the details, the anti-graft watchdog has launched a probe against former education executive District Officer (eDO) Aijaz Solangi for illegally hiring people in the Sindh education Department’s Naushero Feroz branch. According to the department, a total of 69 teachers were appointed in Naushero Feroz, of whom the record of 52 teachers is missing. The anti-corruption watchdog has also included District education Officers (DeO) Noor Ahmed and Mumtaz Shah into the investigation. Last year, the Sindh high Court (ShC) had given a deadline to the concerned authorities for completing an investigation into illegal appointments on the quota of special persons in the provincial education department. Justice Shaikh expressed severe outrage over the NAB officials’ over failure to complete a probe into the case. It may be noted that the anti-graft watchdog had opened an investigation into illegal appointments on the Sindh education Department’s 2017 special persons’ quota. STAFF REPORT

a 70pc decrease in the number of infections reported from Swat and Peshawar.

More than 50 percent of coronavirus patients in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have recovered from the disease against a nationwide recovery rate of 48.08pc.

The province has so far recorded 27,506 Covid-19 cases and 15,520 of them (50.42 percent) have recovered, the World health Organisation (WhO) said in a report.

42 more Covid-19 patients die in Sindh

Smart sampling data shows major decline in Covid-19 cases in Lahore LAHORE: The Covid-19 spread in Lahore has witnessed a sharp decline due to the smart lockdown enforced by the provincial authorities. According to data obtained from smart sampling process in one of the most infected cities of the province, 5,840 samples were obtained from six zones of Lahore city and out of them, only 45 came out positive. This shows a 0.74 per cent spread which is far below than the earlier data which depicted a 5.39 per cent spread in the provincial capital. According to the area-wise distribution of samples and positive cases, 1,640 samples were obtained from Data Ganj Bakhsh Town and eight of them turned out positive, followed by five people testing positive for the virus out of 763 samples taken from Shalimar Zone, three COVID-19 cases are reported from Ravi Town out of 730 samples and 27 positive cases popped up from Gulberg area out of 2,250 samples of the suspected patients.

Cantt zone of the city reported no cases out 207 samples taken from the area. STAFF REPORT

M.A Jinnah Road. The state-of-art underground bus terminal with parking facility and commercial mezzanine floor was being also being constructed at Numaish.

PESHAWAR: Members of Sikh community carry a coffin of a victim of Friday’s train accident on Saturday. PPI

Punjab to reopen varsities LAHORE STAFF REPORT

After more than three months of closure due to ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the Punjab government has decided to reopen all universities across the province after finalising all recommendations with the consultation of all varsities vice-chancellors in this regard.

According to a strategy prepared by the provincial government, masters and PhD classes will commence in the first phase. The higher education Department (heC) has prepared recommendations and sent them to the federation whereas the final decision on the reopening of universities will be announced by Federal education Minister Shafqat Mehmood. earlier on June 23, it was learnt that the federal gov-

ernment had started mulling over reopening universities after July 15 and formally ordered the heC to formulate a policy for the resumption of academic activities.

Following the directives, the heC chairman held a meeting with the vice-chancellors of Punjab's varsities to seek recommendations for devising standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the safety of students and teachers.

The universities will be reopened after finalising SOPs by the higher authorities in order to stop the spread of Covid-19 cases besides the resumption of academic activities in all educational institutions across the country. education Minister Shafqat Mehmood on May 7 had announced an extension in the closure of all educational institutions until July 15 besides the cancellation of board exams till the end of the year due to the spread of Covid-19 infections.

KARACHI: Sharing the daily coronavirus situation report on Saturday, Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah informed that 42 more patients died of the virus, lifting the death toll to 1,501 while 1,585 new cases emerged when 10,718 samples were tested, raising the tally to 92,306 in the province. he said that the number of patients who died due to coronavirus now constitute a 1.6 per cent death ratio and the new cases constitute a 15 per cent detection rate for Saturday. “So far, 491,768 samples have been tested against which 92,306 cases were diagnosed all over Sindh,” he said and added that the overall detection ratio is 19 per cent. Shah said that at present, 38,417 patients were under treatment, of them, 36,515 are in home isolation, 299 at isolation centres and 1,603 at different hospitals. Similarly, he added that at present, 733 patients were in critical condition while 98 of them were on ventilators. he said that 1,480 more patients had recovered overnight and now the number of patients recovered so far had struck a 52,388 mark that constituted 57 per cent recovery rate. Shah said that out of 1,585 new cases, 928 belonged to Karachi, including 262 in east, 221 South, 121 Korangi, 116 Central, 105 Malir and 103 West. he added that Sukkur had 107 new cases, hyderabad 76, Ghotki 65, Matiari 31, Thatta 16, Khairpur 14, Jacobabad 13, Badin 13, Naushehro Feroze 12, Sanghar and Umerkot one each, Kambar eight, Mirpurkhas seven, Jamshoro six, Larkana four and Dadu, Kashmore, Shikarpur and Shaheed Benazirabad one each. The Sindh CM urged the people of the province to cooperate with the administration in the implementation of selective lockdown and observe SOPs for keeping everyone safe and healthy. STAFF REPORT

AGP to conduct special audit of KP’s Covid-19 relief funding PESHAWAR

T

AZIZ BUNERI

he auditor general of Pakistan (AGP) has decided to conduct a special audit of all expenditures related to the coronavirus pandemic and issued instructions to the provincial auditor general (PAG) asking for complete details of expenses incurred in this regard so far in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

A record of the facilities, including ration and medicines provided to the families of the Covid-19 victims has also been sought from KP auditor general while directions have also been issued to all deputy commissioners (DC), tehsil

and town municipal administrators, district health officers (DhO), assistant directors (AD) of the local and district governments to submit details of funds they have spent on all Covid-19 related activities.

The AGP has strictly directed that all records be provided to the Directorate General in a timely manner besides mentioning that all concerned are to cooperate for eliminating any possible audit objections. he asked the concerned officers to submit the coronavirus budget books, released funds, cash book for the financial year 2019-20, bank statement from July 2019 to June 2020, revised expenses, mobility expenses, medicines procured in

emergency, medical supplies and all other details of purchases.

Similarly, DCs, DhOs, tehsil and town municipal officers are to provide details reports of medical equipment purchase, fuel and transportation costs, expenses on quarantine centers and medical infrastructure, donations collected and their use, progress report on coronavirus relief activities, provision of food rations during lockdown, facilities provided to victim families, details of machinery, furniture, vehicles and other equipment provided by the PDMA, prime minister's (PM) secretariat, and local and international aid agencies.

According to sources, there are complaints of alleged corruption in the funds

of various districts in KP, however, all provinces of the country will be auditing the pandemic related funds.

Sunday, 5 July, 2020

FOREIGN NEWS 05

US SeNdS carrierS to SoUth chiNa Sea dUriNg chiNeSe drillS: WSJ WASHINGTON

t

AGENCIES

HE United States is sending two aircraft carriers into the South China Sea at the same time as China is conducting military exercises in the contested waterway, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The USS Ronald Reagan and USS Nimitz would be in the South China Sea from Saturday, the US news outlet quoted the strike group commander as saying.

“The purpose is to show an unambiguous signal to our partners and allies that we are committed to regional security and stability,” Rear Admiral George M. Wikoff was quoted as saying.

He said the exercises were not a response to those being conducted by China, which the Pentagon criticised this week as “counter-productive to efforts at easing tensions and maintaining stability”.

China dismissed the US criticism of its drills on Friday and suggested the United

States was to blame for increasing tensions.

Wikoff did not give the location of the

Minor killed, 3 injured in shooting at Alabama mall HOOVER AGENCIES

An 8-year-old boy was killed Friday in a shooting at an Alabama shopping mall that left three other people injured, police said.

Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said the child was killed in the afternoon shooting at the Riverchase Galleria.

The police chief said a girl and two adults were also hospitalized after the shooting.

The Bessemer City School system identified the 8year-old victim as Royta Giles Jr. (pronounced Roy-TAY Jyles), who would have been a third-grader this fall at Jonesboro Elementary School.

The school system described him as “a smart child, who was a jewel, with big dreams of someday entering the music industry.” “He was bright, articulate, and very convincing. We even tried to convince him to become a

North Korea says no need to sit down with US for talks PYONGYANG AGENCIES

North Korea does not feel the need to have talks with the United States, which would be nothing more than “a political tool” for Washington, a senior North Korean diplomat said on Saturday, ahead of a US envoy’s visit to South Korea. Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said negotiations would not work out between Washington and Pyongyang and there will be no change in North Korea’s policy. “We do not feel any need to sit face to face with the US, as it does not consider the DPRKUS dialogue as nothing more than a tool for grappling its political crisis,” Choe said in a statement carried by state-run KCNA news agency. DPRK stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s formal name. US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun is due to visit South Korea next week to discuss stalled talks with North Korea. South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Wednesday that US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un should meet again before the US elections in November, which would help resume the stalled nuclear negotiations.

Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, told reporters in New York on Thursday that the president might seek another summit with Kim as an “October Surprise” ahead of the election. Trump and Kim Jong Un met for the first time in 2018 in Singapore. They met again in Vietnam in 2019, but the talks fell apart when Trump said Kim had failed to offer enough nuclear weapons or ballistic missiles in exchange for lifting international sanctions. At their third meeting, in June 2019 at the demilitariSed zone separating the two Koreas, the two agreed to restart negotiations. Workinglevel talks between the two sides in Sweden in October were broken off.

lawyer,” former assistant principal Van James said in the school system statement.

Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato said he visited with the boy’s parents Friday evening.

“This was just a very senseless tragedy and of course they are devastated by this,” Brocato said. He asked residents in the city to pray for the family.

Police did not give a motive for the shooting near the food court inside the mall. Derzis said police are working promising leads, but did not say if they had identified suspects.

“We don’t know at this point what led to the shooting or how many gunmen were involved,” police Capt. Gregg Rector said in an earlier news release.

Multiple shots were reported fired, police said.

Annalisa Pope, who works at Hollister in the mall, told WBMA-TV in a telephone interview that she heard six to seven shots that “sounded like they

As much of US dials back July 4 plans, Trump goes big WASHINGTON AGENCIES

While public health officials are urging Americans to avoid large crowds and hold more muted Independence Day celebrations amid a spike of coronavirus cases, President Donald Trump is going big for what he is promising will be a “special evening” in the nation’s capital.

Trump is set to hold his “Salute for America” celebration on Saturday with a speech from the White House South Lawn that he says will celebrate American heritage, a military flyover over Washington, and an enormous fireworks display that is expected to draw thousands to the National Mall.

The celebration comes one day after Trump kicked off the holiday weekend by travelling to Mt. Rushmore for a fireworks display near the iconic mountain carvings George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. The president delivered a fiery speech in which he accused protesters who have pushed for racial justice of engaging in a “merciless campaign to wipe out our history”.

Trump is taking part in the big gatherings even as many communities have decided to scrap fireworks, parades and other holiday traditions to try to prevent further spread of the virus that they fear could be spurred by large holiday gatherings.

Still, Trump insisted on moving forward on holding big gatherings — including the Mt. Rushmore event for which South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a Trump ally, insisted social distancing wasn’t necessary and masks were optional. Trump spent little time in his Mt. Rushmore address reflecting on the pandemic, which has killed more than 129,000 Americans.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cautions that mass gatherings like the one scheduled for Washington present a high risk for the spread of the virus.

Trump’s Surgeon General Jerome Adams, who has stepped up his call for Americans to wear a mask in public, on Friday punted when asked during an interview whether he would caution a loved one from attending such large gatherings.

“It’s not a yes or no,” Adams told NBC’s “Today Show.”

“Every single person has to make up their own mind. There are people going to beaches, going to barbeques, going to different environments and they are going to have to look at their individual risk.”

CMYK

US exercises. The Wall Street Journal said they would be conducted by the two carriers and four other warships and would include round-the-clock flights.

China announced last week it had scheduled five days of drills starting July 1 near the Paracel Islands, which are claimed by both Vietnam and China.

Vietnam and the Philippines have also criticised the planned Chinese drills, warning they could create tension in the region and impact Beijing’s relationship with its neighbours. The United States accuses China of miniaturising the South China Sea and trying to intimidate Asian neighbours who might want to exploit its extensive oil and gas reserves.

China claims 90 percent of the potentially energy-rich South China Sea, but Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also lay claim to parts of it, through which about $3 trillion of trade passes each year.

were coming from every direction.”

“It wasn’t just one or two,” Pope said. “That’s what got me off guard. They (the shots) just kept going.”

“It felt so close,” she said. “It was so surreal. It doesn’t even feel real right now. You wouldn’t expect something like that to happen out of nowhere on a normal, Friday afternoon.”

The mall was evacuated after the shooting.

Hoover police asked anyone was in the mall who witnessed the shooting to call authorities.

“This is certainly a tragic situation when you have an innocent child who gets caught in the middle of an altercation between others,” Derzis said.

The mall in suburban Birmingham was the site of a 2018 police shooting where an officer fatally shot a Black man with a gun after mistaking him for the gunman in an earlier shooting at the mall.

The shooting of 21-year-old Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr. prompted a series of protests at the mall. The Alabama attorney general’s office cleared the officer, saying he acted “reasonably under the circumstances” in the encounter that spanned approximately five seconds.

Pubs, restaurants and hairdressers reopen as england's lockdown eases LONDON AGENCIES

England takes its biggest steps yet towards the resumption of normal life on Saturday as people are finally allowed to drink in a pub, get a haircut, or have a meal in a restaurant for the first time in over three months. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said everybody had to behave responsibly and maintain social distancing to support businesses and not risk a second wave of the coronavirus. Some hairdressers were reported to have opened at the stroke of midnight while pubs will be allowed to start serving from 0500 GMT on the socalled “Super Saturday”, sparking worries of pent-up over-indulgence.

Today I spoke to business leaders who are supporting the government’s #EnjoySummerSafely campaign. As more hospitality and leisure businesses open from this weekend, everybody must follow the COVID-19 Secure guidelines wherever they are to protect themselves and others. pic.twitter.com/KWS0AidQE6 — Boris Johnson #StayAlert (@BorisJohnson) July 2, 2020 Johnson said his message was to “enjoy summer safely” and not undo the progress made in knocking back the pandemic.

Sunday, 5 July, 2020

06 COMMENT

The shadows are lifting

PM Modi’s conniptions Emanating from a hegemonic mindset

D

eSpITe the Indian Army’s humiliating debacle in Galwan valley, the BJp government continues to provoke neighbouring countries. As pakistan announced elections for the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly, the spokesperson of India’s Ministry of external Affairs challenged Islamabad’s right to conduct the exercise while laying claim to the region. This led to a prompt response from pakistan Foreign office, describing elections in the Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir as fraudulent and conducted under the barrel of Indian occupation forces. India, the Fo maintained, had turned the occupied region into the world’s largest open prison after which it had no locus standi to comment on elections in Gilgit-Baltistan.

During his visit to Ladakh a day earlier Indian prime Minister narendra Modi indulged in rhetoric, maintaining that the “enemies of India have seen the fire and fury of our forces”, and warned that “India’s commitment to peace should not be seen as its weakness”. The Indian aggressive posture is causing concern among its neighbours. on Friday prime Minister Imran Khan presided over a meeting of the military high command to review the challenge emerging from the Indian side. The meeting stressed that while pakistan believed in peaceful co-existence with its neighbours, it possessed the will and capacity to defend its people and its territorial integrity.

The meeting also voiced serious concern over the continued human rights violations on the part of Indian forces in the Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir and urged the international community to take notice.

The absurd Indian territorial claims have led china and pakistan to exchange notes about the dangers posed to the region by Indian chauvinism. The foreign ministers of pakistan and china have talked on phone and are likely to meet in coming days. pakistan is fully engaged in fighting the coronavirus.

With its economy in bad shape the government needs peace to achieve its economic targets. pakistan will not however allow India to get away with any aggressive act.

In view of India’s hostile posture, pakistan would naturally hold consultations with china, a time-tested ally. In case of the china-pakistan economic corridor coming under threat, pakistan and china will jointly defend it.

There is a need on the part of India to shed its hegemonic ambitions and live peacefully with its neighbours while implementing the un resolutions regarding Kashmir.

Candid Corner Raoof hasan “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear”.

–Nelson Mandela

I

T is a season of weaving conspiracies. There is one every week, nay every day, predicting the fall of the government. Time span is outlined, dates are projected, a rationale concocted, reasons counted and the finale enacted on way to the promised hour. And when one set of rumours is quashed, out comes another with even greater alacrity, and almost the same set of predictions– that the prime Minister and his government are on the verge.

We have been hearing this for as long as Imran Khan has been in power. There has not been a time when a new doomsday scenario was not enacted, either by the set of politicians who have been left out of the loop, or their minions engaged in the trade of selling their written and spoken word for a price. every day this government survives brings them incalculable pain and suffering. Their desperation is literally immeasurable.The reason is not difficult to fathom. This government is not like any other government that ruled this country in the past. And Khan is not like any other leader. He has come with a mission– that the networks of corruption and crime have to be busted and their perpetrators brought to justice.

When the work started in earnest, it dawned that the links in the chain of corruption and crime were really widespread, in and outside the country. Be it the ignominy of receiving illicit commissions on government contracts, laundering funds by opening fake accounts, running crime cells, abductions, murder of opponents and those carrying their damning secrets, letting loose a reign of terror– all these heinous acts were orchestrated by the politicians, their crony beneficiary elite and a network of aiders and abettors.

So, the task turned out to be even more daunting than anticipated. The choice was simple to either face

Another railway tragedy Inadequate safety measures at crossings

T

HAT another railway accident has taken place, this time when a Lahore-bound train travelling from Karachi crashed into a coaster at an unmanned crossing near Sheikhupura, in which at least 20 people have died including 19 Sikh pilgrims, was an eventuality, given how countless similar incidents in the past two years have failed to induce any meaningful remedial actions on part of the government. With only 1857 of the total 3389 railway crossings across the country being manned, such tragedies will continue to occur, making it a very high risk mode of public transport, both for passengers in the trains and especially the buses, that get readily pulverized. There is a dire need to introduce new safety measures, be it through increased manpower, upgrading the technology being used or investment in infrastructure. Granted, funds required to make these changes have to be released by the provinces so that pakistan Railways can move forward, but with the pTI having its government in all provinces but Sindh, it should not pose that big of a problem. If finding the money is the issue then a question arises: how does the punjab government afford sugar subsidies worth billions that are approved, seemingly without much deliberation and red tape, but it can’t also allocate some of its budget to making train travel safer?

But perhaps a much larger question needs to be answered first; who is running the railways and where does the buck stop? Federal Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed might be quick and efficient in coming up with witty remarks against the opposition or predicting how, when and where the political climate of the country will shift, but a good Railways Minister he is not. His leader, prime Minister Imran Khan, while in opposition had said, following a train accident under the pML(n) that had this happened in the united Kingdom, the railways minister would have resigned immediately. Such noble ideals, among others, seem to have escaped him since becoming the prime Minister. under cpec, the existing ML-1 line will be upgraded at a cost of $8.1 billion, but that is a very long-term prospect with work yet to begin as approvals remain pending. In the meanwhile, it falls upon the government to make the changes necessary in order to make train travel a safer prospect for the thousands of travellers who use it every day.

Once upon a time there was a great airline Once things were different

Rabia ahmed

O

nce upon a time there was an airline called pIA that was known by the slogan ‘Great people to fly with.’ It really was a good airline. It is said that that line which became the flag carrier’s advertising slogan was suggested by pakistan’s sports columnist omar Kureishi who also worked for the airline. It was echoed by Jacqueline Kennedy when, as the First Lady, she flew from pakistan to London.

When she was leaving the aircraft she hugged the pilot, and when someone asked her what her flight had been like she said they (pIA) ‘were great people to fly with.’The line-up on the tarmac shows a confident, smart air stewardesses, and a male pilot returning a skirt-clad Mrs Kennedy’s hug. It did not cause the end of his career and the world did not collapse. Those were different times indeed.

A look back at pakistan International Airlines is nothing but an exercise in bitterness.

The airline that we were once so proud of and that

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

Umar Aziz

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Joint Editor

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Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

stringent methods and mechanisms to weed out the crime cells from the country. His recent speeches from the floor of the parliament reflected an unflinching rechallenges in carrying out the job of cleaning the solve and determination in combating the scourge. decks with courage and fortitude, or compromise with now that the budget has sailed through the parliathe mafias for an easy sailing through five years of ment, he would be playing more on the front foot constitutional tenure. All projections favoured the latwhich is going to make things extremely uncomfortter. obviously, those contriving them were not aware able for the gangs of thugs who come wearing the apof the mettle that Khan is made of: a person consumed parel of political leaders. A cursory glance will tell the with a passion to remove all impediments in the way story. The Sharifs have run away. Virtually all memof pakistan getting on course to genuine progress. bers of the family have been declared absconders, but Making a choice was not a difficult task. What was they neither have the character, nor the shame to subharrowing was that the criminal syndicates had penemit before the law. The ones who are here have retrated all institutions of the state. So, it was not just treated to their illicit mansions amidst deafening dealing with a few criminals alone. Their cronies, toadsilence for fear of accountability. Asif Zardari, on bail, ies, bootleggers and agents were present in all branches has virtually vanished from the scene. This comes as of the government as guardians of their sordid indula consequence of lavish indulgence in corruption and gences. They were there in the bureaucracy and The crime. In spite of complicity of the judicial arm of the financial institutions. They were present in the acstate with criminals, there is still no escaping the dragcountability bureau, in the judiciary and in the business net of justice in the end. They must all be punished communities. They had put together cartels and were for their misdemeanours. running terror outfits and death squads, operating with While there are some whose presence may be unthe patronage and financial support of the gangs patrodesirable, Khan has a group of loyalists who are irnised by political leaders and their accomplices. revocably committed to his So mammoth was the chalagenda of freeing the country lenge that anyone else in Khan’s from the tentacles of corruption place would have given up. But and crime. They are willing to he is unique. He is fearless with go the distance in realising the Notwithstanding the indomitable courage. no one dream which was their leader’s from among the politicians conspiracy theories that these prime objective for entering polcomes even close to matching his political charlatans and their itics. There is going to be neither credentials. They all hail from any dilution of this objective, wicked cronies, paid the tribe of predators who exnor forfeiture. ploited a decrepit system to their bootleggers and the bunch of Khan is one man standing in personal advantage, and that of the way of these gangs of crimidespicable merchants of the nals the crony beneficiary elite they trying to take over the counpatronised. This led to the makwritten and the spoken word try again and plunge it back into ing of an unjust and inequitable may keep weaving, Khan is the deep pit of crime. Dithering society breeding poverty, disconor showing weakness in the face tent and disaffection. nobody not going anywhere. He is not of vicious onslaughts is not an paid any attention to this because option. As a matter of fact, I exonly here to complete his it was all part of the larger game pect this determination to be furplan to foster a few to rule the tenure, he is here to ther strengthened in direct rest. Khan had entered politics to accomplish a mission– a proportion to the level and intenbreak this stranglehold and give of hostility thrown his way. mission that is pivotal to the sity notwithstanding space to the impoverished people the conspirto be able to breathe. survival, security and acy theories that these political The motivations of this clan charlatans and their wicked progress of Pakistan can be gauged from the fact that cronies, paid bootleggers and the they had started accusing the bunch of despicable merchants of government even before it had the written and the spoken word assumed office, saying that it had may keep weaving, Khan is not been planted by ‘Khalai Makhlooq’ (read Army). But going anywhere. He is not only here to complete his they were so devoid of character that, when asked, tenure, he is here to accomplish a mission– a mission they would not garner the courage to name the instithat is pivotal to the survival, security and progress of tution. This accusation becomes even more grotesque pakistan. The spectre of gloom and doom shall give when one looks at the background of these political way to the advent of hope. The shadows have started fabrications, be it the ppp, pML(n) or others. They lifting. Having passed through a cauldron of fire, it will forget that they were literally born in the laps of dicbe a chastening sight to behold the dawn of a glorious tators whom they referred to as ‘daddy’ and mentors, morning - for pakistan, and those who keep their faith. rating them even ahead of the Quaid-e-Azam.

The battle lines have long been drawn and there The writer is a political and security strategist, is no backing off for the prime Minister. As a matter and heads the Regional Peace Institute – an Islamof fact, having been frustrated by the inefficiency and abad-based think tank. Email: raoofhasan@hotculpability of most of the state institutions and their mail.com. Twitter: @RaoofHasan functionaries, it is expected that he will resort to more

Detractors may conspire as they may, Khan is here to stay

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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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now makes us hang our heads in shame (the story of pakistan) started life in 1946 as orient Airways with financial help from Mirza Ahmad Ispahani and Adamjee Haji Dawood, two of pakistan’s wealthiest businessmen. It was the year before pakistan came into being, so the headquarters of this fledgling airline was calcutta (now Kolkata), one of British India’s major cities. Later, when pakistan came into being headquarters shifted to Karachi. In 1955 orient merged with pIA and became pIAc (pakistan International Airlines corporation). It started international operations the same year.

The young airline achieved many firsts. As orient Airways it was the first airline with a Muslim ownership in British India. It was the first Asian airline to operate jet aircraft, and in 1964 it became the first non-communist airline to fly to Mao Zedong’s china, and the first non-Soviet airline flying non-stop from Moscow to europe. Much later in 2005, pIA made the world’s longest flight by commercial aircraft (a Boing 777) from Hong Kong to London. The flight lasted all of 22 hours and 22 minutes. pIA also provided assistance to other airlines around the world and was mainly instrumental in setting up emirates, now a well respected airline based in Dubai. Air Marshal nur Khan became Managing Director of pIA in 1959 and the following year pIA became a financially profitable airline.

Then came General Zia. Funny how that line is almost always the precursor to an account of a downturn in events. Zia became pakistan’s Head of State in 1978. pIA’s crew have had a few changes of uniform, from the first uniform of a hat and skirt to the second design by Feroze cowasji. The third design was by pierre cardin and the fourth by Sir Hardy Amies. The fifth unform was designer by pakistan’s own naheed Azfar, and that appeared in 1986. The process of selection began earlier, personally overlooked by the General himself, who along with his wife was himself

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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present and part of the judging panel. He found Azfar’s design too form fitting, nevertheless it became the uniform with a few strategic changes. pIA’s life has never been easy, what with political interference in its running. In 1954, the Ministry of Defence for some reason took over the running of the airline; it controlled appointments and made all decisions that had previously been the responsibility of the civil Aviation Authority. From then on the cAA became kind of redundant. Many major airlines stopped flying to pakistan. pIA had the highest ratio of employees to aircraft in the world and it suffered due to interference by unions in management. It became known for its dirty cabins, bad food, failure to keep to the timetable, and worst of all, unreliable staff.

In 2013 nawaz Sharif’s government separated the Aviation Division, which had been a wing of the Ministry of Defence, and it became an independent entity. The Aviation Division took over commercial airlines and the cAA. The move out from under the thumb of the Ministry of Defence was hailed as a major step in the right direction, although subsequent governance seems to have compromised its potential.

The end seems to have come now with ‘dubious licenses’ adding the final nail on the coffin. Who wishes to fly an airline whose pilots have not passed their flying tests? pakistan’s national carrier has now been banned from airports around the world and its pilots in several countries have been suspended until further investigation into the status of their flying permits.

The bit about dubious licenses is not hard to believe if one places the issue alongside the car driving licenses held by the people of pakistan. Raise your hands all those who have a kosher license, obtained by taking a test?

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

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Sunday, 5 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

Water crisis

Education Should Reach Every Home The covid-19 pandemic is taking a toll of education too dR allah bakhsh malik

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oVID 19 is an unprecedented pandemic in human history and the number of infected cases is soaring higher than the average of preceding days in pakistan. This pandemic is a huge challenge and a test of the mettle of political and professional leadership. The scale and gravity of the situation is alarming and warrants immediate measures at all levels with a sense of national pride in service delivery by all and for all.

The pandemic has further exposed our education and health systems since patina and polemics disappeared with the first push to the systems, a few months back. The situation did not emerge suddenly and the successive governments at the helm of affairs in pakistan are responsible for inaction and apathy. The health system all over the country, during the initial few weeks of the pandemic, demonstrated gaps in the capacity and the prevalent institutional arrangements and pointed straight towards persistent lack of interest in human development by the political economy. The lack of space and capacity in public sector hospitals forced patients to approach private sector facilities at exorbitantly high costs. The pandemic is the test of the will and potential of the political leadership but at the same time, it is an ideal opportunity to build resilient systems and expand them exponentially to meet the incessant demand in the country.

The available workforce in the public health system worked day and night to cope with the situation with limited resources. Many doctors and paramedical staff embraced martyrdom in the service of the nation during the pandemic.

They are the pride of the nation and the crown of the creatures and rightly deserve appreciation and conferral of the highest national awards and recognition at the highest political and professional levels. The salutation gestures by the officers and all ranks helped to raise the morale of the health professionals since they deserve the accolade and salute. The doctors and paramedics have made the nation proud and vehemently announced with a stoic resolve that they will continue serving the nation despite all odds and limitations. They are still struggling with the same zeal, spirit, determination and dedication in an emergency.

As a matter of fact, health systems, both in public and private sectors, were slow to provide extra workforce, requisite financial resources and personal protection equipment to doctors and paramedics well in time. covid-19 reached the country with a lag period of more than one month as compared to china and many other countries in europe and the rest of the world. The Federal Ministry of national Health Services and lead epidemiologists in the country were successful in disseminating symmetrical information through print and electronic media about the dynamics of the pandemic and its impact and implications on the health of the people in near future and planned expansion in health paraphernalia, but implementation is a limitation so far.

The manifold increase in the number of patients in the public sector hospitals has put an extraordinary burden on the existing facilities and pressure on health professionals and management. The propriety demands that federal and provincial governments should build field hospitals in rural areas and improvise the available

buildings into hospitals on a war-footing basis in private educational institutions and entrepreneurs urban settlements. The campaign to engage more must make an immediate investment in the doctors and paramedics must be started simulta- human development sector, enabling the mentors neously and immediately since the demand for and mentees to unlock their potential and ensure health facilities in the near future will escalate that affordable quality education is possible in and has the potential to create acrimony and dis- emergencies. The Government of pakistan appointment among the people if the top priority should mobilize the investments to help educais not accorded right now. The health systems are tion managers and entrepreneurs to build already late in keeping the requisite pace with the stronger and resilient systems in the country. The emerging needs and further delay in expansion proposed investments will help the education and in health infrastructure and human resources may health systems to continue and serve undeterred during the current covid-19 crisis and in case of cost the people very heavily. educational institutions have been closed emergencies in future as well.

There is an old but impressive adage that, down and students are waiting for the opening for the last four months or so. While the devel- ‘where there is a will, there is a way’ but this has been further improved oped world has taken adby Dr Mahathir Muhamvantage of technology mad, former prime Minand ensured the dissemiister of Malaysia, by nation of knowledge saying that, ‘where there through education tech- The entry tests for admissions is a will, there is a way nologies and took the edin universities are longbut if there is a way, will ucational institutions to be found.’ The Governthe homes of the students, awaited. It is not difficult to ment, led by prime Minsome of the developing conduct admission tests like ister Imran Khan, needs countries, including pakto take immediate measistan, are still at the MDCAT and ECAT in small ures to find will and way thought process stage. batches by the respective both and that too urThe private sector in education and some of universities and colleges, by gently. national Disaster the lead institutions in the Management Authority public sector have taken a observing the standing and similar authorities at lead and introduced innooperating procedures and the provincial level are vative approaches by onfirefighting against line coaching of the maintaining social distance, doing the pandemic, but the students, but secure covsoaring trends in panerage for all the students without any further wastage of require a much remains a challenge. time. Pakistan Army has once demic higher level of undivided The Government of attention. Ideally, the dedpakistan took an apt and again taken a lead and has icated implementation prompt decision to prostarted the process for the units, led by the prime mote students based on Minister and respective marks scored by them in recruitment of officers using chief Ministers, should previous classes in the reeducation technology in their work in unison to develop spective Boards of Internew facilities for health mediate and Secondary selection centres by strictly and monitor the state of education two months education in emergency. back. The sole purpose observing the standing There is a dire need for behind this important deoperating procedures action and quick and accision was to save the curate decision making is time of the students and prescribed by the health warranted, bypassing buallow them to progress authorities in Pakistan reaucratic rigmaroles and further and seek admisconundrums in an emersions in universities and gency. The Global educolleges. The students cation Monitoring who have passed the inReport, 2020 has been termediate examination are still waiting for admission in medical, engi- published recently and the state of education in neering and general universities. There should pakistan is not enviable when compared with be a strong realization on the part of policymak- other countries at the same level of development ers and political leadership that delay in admis- in the region and around the globe.

The entry tests for admissions in universities sions and start of new classes is causing a colossal loss in terms of creating a lag in build- are long-awaited. It is not difficult to conduct ading the human didactic resource base of the pak- mission tests like MDcAT and ecAT in small istani students, as compared to the other nations batches by the respective universities and colleges, employing education technologies to teach and by observing the standing operating procedures and maintaining social distance, without any furassess their students. our youth, the future of the nation, is already ther wastage of time. pakistan Army has once at the brink and heading towards chaos and un- again taken a lead and has started the process for certainty due to unclear policy guidelines regard- the recruitment of officers using education teching admissions and start of classes in professional nology in their selection centres by strictly observcolleges and universities. It has been established ing the standing operating procedures prescribed by now that remote teaching, learning and secure by the health authorities in pakistan. assessment, is possible through education tech(Dr Allah Bakhsh Malik is a UNESCo Connologies ,and we can save the precious time of the students and engage them in learning through fucius Laureate and former Federal Secretary virtual learning platforms in all disciplines of Health and Education. He can be reached at abknowledge. It is high time that government and mmalik@gmail.com)

THe tail end districts of sindh- Badin, Thatta and Sujawal are Suffering at the Hands of acute water Shortage. Since decades this snag has been denting the economic life in these remote areas of Sindh as the majority of the population here solely depends on agriculture as their source of earning livelihood. Around 7 million acres of land has been left uncultivated due to this ongoing affliction that seems to have no end. Water flows towards these districts via "pHuLeLI" canal but on the way it is diverted towards the lands And Fishing pounds of influential figures of the area as a result of which poor peasants and Growers have to face Starvation and destruction of their agricultural Lands. Sugar-cane and wheat are two major crops sown in these areas which need water in bulk but because of inadequate and untimely supply of water these crops get dried up. According to a survey Sugarcane does not survive without water for more than a month. It is a very disdainful state, that growers are unable to harvest paddy crops on time furthermore vegetation that grows in the area also becomes of no worth. on many occasions Growers have staged protests and long marched to end this ordeal but higher authorities are showing utter ignorance over the issue.

Large numbers of animals have parched to death as a result of the water crisis as well. Moreover these areas are also coastal belt areas of Sindh and this scarcity of water is leading to the quandary called sea intrusion. In different areas of districts sea has erosioned land at large scale which is threatening further the residents in these areas. In the wake of water accord 1992 ten thousand cusecs was to be released for kotri downstream but it has rarely actually happened since then. It is incumbent upon Indus River Supply Association (IRSA) to release the due share of water to sindh, and sindh should supply it fairly to these tail end areas so as to deter the disaster KAMRAN KHAMISo KHowAJA & AyAz LASHARI Sujawal & MirpurSakro

Fake licenses on 22nd May, a plane crashed on a densely populated area in Karachi causing hundreds of death. According to the investigation, no technical error was found in plane. It was due to human error. Lately, a statement from Ghulam Sarvar, (pakistani Aviation Minister) came that clears that around 600 people in pIA has fake degrees including pilots and 262 pilots are suspected to have dubious license. pakistan airline has suspended 150 pilots over alleged license fraud. This has made a really bad impact of pIA in front of other countries. eu has banned pIA for six months which will directly effect our bleeding economy. These were the things to focus before but what is done can't be undo. now pIA has to be wide awake to prevent any further incidents.

AFRoz MJ Turbat

Symbolic act IT has been practice of court when a judge awarded a death penalty to someone he is used to break nib of pen to express his/her compulsions, numerous people do not know about this practice it is a symbolic act to break nib of pen so that pen will not be used in future because it takes a life of someone even though he was convicted but taking someone’s life is very unsought. Death sentence is the last final penalty in extremely antisocial acts, a judge can give while finalizing the case and in doing so he breaks a nib of pen and makes his/her self away from that pen. The judges have no authority to review/revoke judgment once it is decided it is done therefore broke the nib of pen so he may not think of second thought in his mind, we use a legal term for that which is ‘Res Judicata’ means a matter that has been adjudicated by a competent authority may not be pursued further, we can speculate any thoughts about it, on a lighter note someone my colleague said judges conferred death sentence to a person then break nib of pen to give it death too. The death sentence is sad but sometimes necessary things and breaking the pen is used to carry it out, expresses that sorrow.

SARFRAz ALI SooMRo Tharu Shah

Illegal annexation MIDDLe east peace plan process initiated by uS president Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister netanyahu has been exposed for what it is a colonisation operation. Despite backlash of international law, netanyahu takes bold step to go forward for annexation amid uS support to Israel.

Regardless of annexation, netanyahu must know that Israel is neither demacratic, jewish nor a normal state but it is a colonial occupation, garrision state and domination of palestine.

Historically, in 1947, uno allocated plan that Galilee to a future state of palestine. However, unenforcable plan rejected by palestinians and war breakout that caused Israel occupied Galilee and imposed military rules for two decades. After Israel-Arab war in 1967, Israel adopted same strategy to build jewish settlements in the west bank, syrian golan heights and east jerusalem. Similarly, after five decades, Israel has now decided to annex further territory for jewish settlements to complete control over palestine.

However, world has condemned this move and said that it would be disastrous for palestinians.

In reality, this move was basically parcel of Trump's deal of century. uS made peace plan with support of Arab countries, eu and Israel to compensate with palestine. This plan was made to put pressure on palestine to accept the plan or face consequences. However, plan was rejected by palestinian authority that facilitate Israel illigimitate goals to control over palestine. Moreover, palestinian authority already warned that further annexation would be declaration of war. Therefore, world community must break the ice and speak up for dispossessed palestinians in order to maintain peace and prosperity in the region.

BILAwAL ALI LAKHo Shikarpur

Sunday, 5 July, 2020

08 WORLD VIEW

AmericA is rApidly pulling troops from AfghAnistAn THE FUTURE OF THE COUNTRY THEY ARE LEAVING BEHIND IS MORE UNCERTAIN THAN EVER

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AIzA Ibrahimi is too young to remember when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan as a theocracy. She can scarcely believe her parents’ stories about it. She is a radio presenter in the western city of Herat. The idea that guntoting zealots from the countryside used to forbid women to leave home unless fully veiled and accompanied by a male relative seems almost inconceivable: “My mother was unable to work and find bread. I couldn’t imagine that time again.”

It was only in 2001 that American forces toppled the Taliban regime, when the mullahs who led the movement refused to hand over Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 attacks.

But nearly two-thirds of the population is less than 25 years old, and so has little or no memory of the Taliban’s rule. They are having to brush up on their history, however, as they contemplate the prospect of the Taliban returning to power in some form. The American troops that have propped up the Afghan government and held the Taliban at bay for the past 19 years are on their way out. Over the past four months the number of American soldiers in the country has fallen by a third, from around 13,000 to 8,600. The administration of President Donald Trump has pledged to reduce their strength still further, as part of a deal it signed with the Taliban on February 29th. In exchange the Taliban are supposed to cease providing shelter to foreign militants and—an element of the peace plan that is proceeding much less smoothly—enter into talks with the Afghan government.

“Intra-Afghan talks”, in which the government, the Taliban, opposition politicians and representatives of civil society were to discuss the country’s future, had been due to start within days of the signing of the accord. But the process immediately bogged down. First,

the government and the Taliban bickered over a prisoner exchange outlined in the deal.

America had promised that the Afghan government, which was not party to the agreement, would release “up to” 5,000 Taliban prisoners as a gesture of goodwill. The Taliban, in return, were to free 1,000 policemen and soldiers it held captive. Ashraf Ghani, the president, said 5,000 was too many, but the Taliban were adamant. Months passed.

Another sticking point has been the Taliban’s continuing attacks on soldiers and civilians. Although the insurgents observed something close to a ceasefire in late February, to pave the way for the signing of the deal, they reverted to their old ways soon afterwards. The government says they carried out 422 attacks in a single week in June. This breaks a promise to reduce violence, the American and Afghan authorities say. But if the Taliban made such a pledge, it was only in private: the text of the deal did not spell out any truce.

The Taliban did at least cut back on attacks during the Eid holiday in late May. That seems to have spurred Mr Ghani to release most of the required prisoners, even though violence subsequently increased again. There is lingering disagreement, too, over 200-odd people the Taliban want freed, some of whom are accused of terrible atrocities. Nonetheless, diplomats believe the way may at last be clear for talks to begin within weeks, probably back in Qatar, where the original accord was signed.

These discussions, should they go ahead, will give Afghans a glimpse of how much the Taliban have changed their spots since the 1990s. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they have not been clear what they want for the country, beyond the departure of American troops. Their statements speak vaguely of Islamic government. When asked whether their attitudes to women have changed, they say only that women’s rights will be pro-

tected in accordance with Islamic teachings.

Although they claim no longer to oppose girls going to school, for instance, girls do not seem to be allowed to remain in education past puberty in the rural areas controlled by the Taliban, according to a report published this week by Human Rights Watch, a pressure group.

Some Afghans believe that the Taliban’s refusal to elaborate on their stances is a sign that they are not serious about negotiations, and plan to attempt to seize power by force once the Americans are gone. Others assume that divisions within the organisation make it hard to stake out clear positions. Although the talks with America suggested an element of pragmatism, the Taliban still insisted on referring to themselves as leading an “Islamic emirate”, just as they did when they ruled the country in the 1990s. “If this thing moves forward, the day’s going to come where they can’t just say, ‘We will settle that later’,” says Andrew Watkins of International Crisis Group.

The government, for its part, has said it wants to preserve “a sovereign, democratic

and united republic”. It will definitely resist the re-creation of a doctrinaire Islamist regime. In a speech by video-link to an American think-tank on June 24th Abdullah Abdullah, in effect the government’s chief negotiator, said, “We cannot achieve peace with sacrificing the basic and fundamental rights of our people.” He has said he will include women in his negotiating team. But he also concedes that the government will have to compromise to win the Taliban over— without specifying how.

Yet more uncertainty surrounds America’s part in Afghanistan’s future. The only element of the peace plan going according to schedule is the withdrawal of American forces. “It is not the duty of US troops to solve ancient conflicts in far away lands that many people have never heard of,” Mr Trump told cadets at the us Military Academy at West Point on June 13th. Claims that Russia paid a bounty to the Taliban for every American soldier they killed are causing him embarrassment. Joe Biden, his rival in November’s election, has long been sceptical about state-building in Afghanistan. How

Why Lebanon is on the brink of collapse

New StateSmaN JIM MUIR

“The Covid-19 virus couldn’t have come at a worse time,” Antoine Khoury, a lighting contractor in Beirut, told me. “Look what it’s doing to the rest of the world, and in Lebanon it came to a country that was already collapsing under its own much deadlier virus.”

Like Covid-19, Lebanon’s other virus is invisible to the naked eye. But as the Lebanese emerge from its coronavirus lockdown, which the government first enforced in March, the symptoms of the other virus are there for all to see. I don’t need to look more than ten yards from my window in Beirut, where the bistro that opened eight years ago has now closed, just like many other restaurants, cafes, shops and businesses all over town. My local bank is now hidden behind a brutalist cladding of thick steel. Many banks had their façades smashed before the lockdown, when in October 2019 angry protesters attacked them in retribution for the financial meltdown that has brought the country to its knees.

Across in Mar Mikhael, in east Beirut, the big building that houses the state electricity company, Electricité du Liban, bristles with new spiky defences. Power cuts have become increasingly frequent, and there are rumours that these might last as long as 24 hours a day, leaving supply in the hands of the private generator and fuel mafias. The corrupt diversion of billions of dollars from the electricity sector is one of the enduring scandals of the current crisis. Nobody knows how many thousands more will be joining the already swollen ranks of the unemployed as the Covid-19 lockdown eases. But Khoury, who belongs to a business group which sup-

ports the protest movement that broke out last October, believes an estimate of 50 per cent unemployment is optimistic; some expect 70 per cent in the coming months.

“The private sector is dead,” he said. “If it goes on like this, how are they [the government] going to build their GDP if the private sector is not working properly? Where’s the revenue going to come from? Everything will collapse.” With Lebanon’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab warning that many people may soon not even be able to afford bread, there are real fears of nationwide violence, whether as a continuation of the “revolution” that occurred on 17 October last year or as spontaneous explosions of rage.

There may also be a crime wave. It is no secret that there is between $5bn and $6bn in cash hidden in people’s homes, given the public’s widespread distrust in the banks. The first four months of 2020 has already seen a sharp increase in murder, car theft and burglary.

The cash-strapped, debt-laden Lebanese government has only been able to give about $100 (£80) each to the very poorest members of society. Alarmed about the potential for social unrest in Lebanon, the World Bank is preparing a $500m, two-year “social safetynet” programme aimed initially at the poorest 100,000 families.

“It is worsening day by day, and the needs are much more,” the Bank’s regional director for the Middle East, Saroj Kumar Jha, said.

“With 100,000 households, you’re looking at people who are in extreme poverty. The actual number of poor people is much larger.”

Even this temporary fix, which amounts to little more than an emergency bandage, has been slow in coming. Delivery was expected to begin in early August, but has now been pushed back to September.

For something closer to an economic vaccine, Lebanon is looking to the IMF as the primary source of the $20bn that it desperately needs to keep the nation afloat. But that will not come easily or quickly. Lebanon has to demonstrate that it is putting its profligate and unruly house in order. To that end, it finally conceived an economic reform programme which is the basis of negotiations with the IMF that began in May and will last for many months.

There is no guarantee that the government will succeed. Lebanon’s position is drastically

weakened by its first hard default in March on a $1.2bn Eurobond debt, which shattered any remaining confidence in the Lebanese banking system. No results are expected from the IMF negotiations before October at the earliest. The Lebanese negotiating team is divided over the precise figures for the country’s enormous debts and losses, and two of its members have resigned.

Even if an agreement is reached with the IMF, there are other visible pitfalls. The US is currently resisting Iran’s application to the IMF for a $5bn Covid-19 emergency loan. There is no guarantee that Washington won’t likewise prevent a bailout for the Lebanese government, which it believes is dominated by Iran’s Hezbollah allies.

In an interview with a Saudi TV station on 26 June, the US ambassador to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea, openly blamed Hezbollah for the Lebanese government’s failure to tackle the economic crisis. Hezbollah has accused the US of starving Lebanon of dollars, and a sympathetic judge in the southern town of Tyre issued a ruling banning the local media from carrying statements from the ambassador.

The government’s reform programme has been denounced by virtually all of Lebanon’s factional leaders, although the cabinet is supposedly made up of independent technocrats.

The main objection is to the thinly disguised haircut – taking a large chunk from the biggest accounts in exchange for shares in the bank – that would hit the top 5 per cent of bank deposits, seen as another devastating blow to investor confidence.

How did Lebanon, once hailed as the Switzerland of the Middle East, reach such desperate straits? It probably started with independence back in 1943. The country has 18 officially recognised religious sects but the basic divide back then was between Christians and Muslims. In those days, the saying was that Lebanon was like a bird that needed its two wings to fly. Top jobs were divvied up on a sectarian basis. Nothing could happen without consensus.

One major problem now is that since the 1980s, there is a third divide, between Sunni and Shia Muslims. There is no such thing as a bird with three wings. If there were, it couldn’t fly. That is Lebanon today.

The 1975-1990 civil war entrenched the role of sectarian warlords who have dominated

politics – and money – ever since. “This confessional regime is very solid, very entrenched,” argues Walid Jumblatt, the self-identified warlord of the Druze minority.

“This political class, myself included, is part of this confessional system. The collusion between the leaders on corruption means they can never reform.”

Whoever is in governmental office, the real power lies with a handful of sectarian factional leaders who call the shots. On the Shia side, there are Hezbollah’s chief Hassan Nasrallah and his ally, Nabih Berri, speaker of parliament and leader of the Amal movement. For the Sunnis, Saad al-Hariri, former prime minister and son of the assassinated ex-PM Rafic al-Hariri, is the main figure. The Druze have Jumblatt, while the Maronite Christians are divided between President Michel Aoun with his Free Patriotic Movement, which is allied to Hezbollah, and the Phalangists (Samy Gemayel) and Lebanese Forces (Samir Geagea), who are in opposition.

Together, the sectarian factional leaders have milked the country dry. In the post-civil war reconstruction years of the 1990s, money gushed into Lebanon from donors, from Lebanese expatriates remitting to their families or stashing it in high-yielding banks, and from the regional patrons of the political barons. The banks lent the money to the Central Bank, which lent it to successive governments, which went on spending-sprees as the leaders jostled for their share of the proceeds and stuffed the bureaucracy with loyal followers.

It was a bubble. Nobody was producing anything. But the public spending bonanza went on. By 2019 the country was saddled with an eye-watering debt ratio of 176 per cent of GDP, and a huge balance of payments and fiscal deficits. Corruption was rampant. An estimated $47bn was invested in electricity infrastructure, but the power cuts continued.

Corruption is tolerable when times are good. But not when the cold winds are blowing. In October 2019, when the bankrupt government of Saad al-Hariri tried to impose a tax on free social media platforms, the nation erupted. Across class, sect and regional barriers, unprecedented demonstrations in Beirut, Tripoli and elsewhere, denounced all Lebanon’s political leaders as never before.

Hariri and his government resigned, and was replaced by the Diab administration, whose

forcefully either man would push to preserve Afghan democracy is unclear. Many doubt that either would send troops back in should the Taliban come close to toppling the elected government.

Covid-19 has made all these questions more fraught. The disease is said to be barrelling through the Afghan security services.

The American troops who remain in Afghanistan are providing less training to the Afghan army in part to avoid catching it from their Afghan comrades. Attempts to contain the spread of the virus have also hit the already sputtering Afghan economy. Nation-building, under any government, is looking harder than ever.

Afghans like Miss Ibrahimi anxiously await the start of talks. She wants to remain working in Afghanistan to justify her parents’ sacrifices. But she doubts that the gun-toting zealots her mother told her about have changed much. “If the Taliban come with that ideology that they had before 2001, then it won’t be a change for peace, or better security or a better country,” she says grimly.

ministers were appointed only by the Hezbollah-led alliance.

The political barons were taken aback by this “revolution”. But they were saved by the coronavirus lockdown, which allowed them to reassert themselves as the patrons of aid and services in their own regions, while the government took advantage of the curfew to break up protest camps in the centres of Beirut and Tripoli. In Martyrs’ Square, the epicentre of the revolution in downtown Beirut, all that is left of those heady days is a huge clenched fist with “Revolution” written on it, and a scrawled slogan on the statue of the eponymous martyrs, which reads: “Despite Corona, the Revolution remains”. And so it does, in the shape of dozens of disparate groups which have kept in touch by social media but have failed to produce any structures or leaders. Many of its early enthusiasts had dropped out even before the lockdown. Attempts to stage a big demonstration on 6 June failed disastrously, with only a few thousand turning up and the affair dissolving into violence as protestors were attacked by Shia militants and rock-throwing hooligans clashed with riot police. This had sinister sectarian overtones raising alarming echoes of the civil war.

“We’re way beyond demonstrations,” said a teacher friend and erstwhile “revolution” supporter. “My salary used to be good, now it’s peanuts. Prices have tripled. The banks are holding our life savings hostage. As soon as we can leave the country, we will.” That disillusion is widely shared.

The Lebanese pound is now in free fall against the US dollar, slashing the value of people’s labour, salaries and savings as prices head in the opposite direction. If this were the UK, the pound in your pocket would suddenly have become worth 18p. Bankers say there is no limit to how far the currency could fall. Many are predicting a lost decade, or longer, and nobody knows what will emerge after that.

“Yes, it is existential,” says veteran banker Maurice Sehnaoui, who is advising the government and who is more worried now than during all the earlier wars and invasions.

“The state is sick, the economy is sick, and the banks are in very, very deep shit. Yes, the system could collapse. I am tense all the time.

It’s not a question of bombs like we had before.

I’m afraid of what will happen after the chaos.

This time, I don’t know what is the future. Nobody does. But for sure it will not be the Lebanon you know.”

Jim Muir is based in Beirut and has covered Lebanon and the Middle East since 1975, much of the time for the BBC.

Sunday, 5 July, 2020

BUSINESS 09

After Unilever, Shell hints at moving headquarters to Britain AMSTERDAM AGENCIES

Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) is “not ruling out” moving its headquarters from the Netherlands to Britain, the oil company’s chief executive Ben van Beurden said in a Dutch newspaper interview published on Saturday.

Anglo-Dutch consumer products giant Unilever said last month it plans to ditch its dual Anglo-Dutch legal structure and create a single entity in Britain. Van Beurden did not explicitly say Shell wants to move its headquarters, het Financieele Dagblad said. “You always need to keep thinking,” Shell’s Van Beurden told the newspaper. “Nothing is permanent and of course we will look at the business climate. But moving your headquarters is not a trivial measure. You cannot think too lightly about that.” A Shell spokesman confirmed the CEO’s comments to Reuters and said the company was looking at ways to simplify its dual structure, as it had been doing for many years. Shell has a complex Anglo-Dutch holding structure with a tax residency and headquarters in the Netherlands and a registered office in Britain. Unilever’s decision to move followed the scrapping in 2018 of a plan by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to do away with a 15% dividend withholding tax.

Shell’s corporate structure features the parent company headquarters in The Hague but two share classes and other arrangements to prevent the Dutch government from levying withholding tax on dividends paid to shareholders of its former British arm. The arrangement has come under renewed scrutiny after the Dutch government tried to scrap the dividend tax as an incentive to convince Unilever to unify its dual structure in Rotterdam. Rutte abandoned the plan after a popular outcry over the tax cut, which was seen as a gift to rich foreigners. Shell has consistently lobbied against the dividend tax, which it says makes financing dividends, share buy-backs and acquisitions more difficult.

PoweR DIvISIon ClAImS zeRo ShoRtFAll DeSPIte notICeABle PoweR CUtS ‘LocaL maintenance probLems cannot be termed as Load shedding’ ISLAMABAD

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AHMAD AHAMADANI

ONTRARY to the Power Division's claims of "zero load shedding across the country", unscheduled power cuts amid scorching continue to play havoc with the lives of the masses.

According to the Power Division, the recorded system demand of peak time (2030 hours on Saturday) was 18,819MW, while power availability to

meet the prevailing demand of the day was 22,000MW. "All power distribution companies (DISCOs) have been receiving electricity from the main system as per their demands," the Power Division spokesman confirmed.

Denying the start of unscheduled or forced power load shedding in the country, the spokesman said local faults or maintenance work cannot be termed as load shedding.

However, according to sources, dif-

ferent areas of the country were bearing the brunt of up to six hours of unannounced power load shedding every day. Besides, voltage issues were also being reported even in areas that were exempted from load shedding (important cities).

The unavailability of electricity was causing tremendous hardship to the poor people, especially for those living in remote areas of the country, sources said, adding that students were also facing difficulties in taking online classes amid power cuts.

According to the government's policy, "Besides repair and maintenance work, power load shedding can be carried only in loss-making areas, espe-

cially where power theft is found and recoveries are low."

However, it has been learnt that Karachitis were suffering the most from unannounced load shedding. Besides this, the residents of different localities have also complained of low voltage and fluctuation.

K-Electric (KE) has been receiving 800MW from the national grid to meet the electricity demand of Karachi.

According to sources, KE was using less furnace oil to generate electricity despite being provided with sufficient quantity. Also, the closure of two power plants at Bin Qasim has been adding to power outages in the economic hub of the country.

FY21: KP Finance Commission approves Rs261bn for local bodies PESHAWAR AZIZ BUNERI

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Commission has approved Rs260.97 billion for local bodies, with an additional grant of Rs1.71 billion for tribal districts, for the fiscal year 2020-21. According to details, a sum of Rs150 billion has been earmarked for the disbursement of salaries in settled districts, of which Rs144 billion would be for the salaries of subordinate departments while Rs6 billion would be released for the recruitment of new officials and their salaries. Similarly, Rs17.80 billion has been sanctioned for "other expenses", which was Rs400 million less than the financial year 2019-20. The fund included Rs1 billion as a conditional grant for education, basic health centres and local governments, Rs2 billion for medicines in hospitals, Rs700 for electricity bills, Rs350 million for martyrs' package, Rs20 million for advertisements, Rs664.3 million for grants to higher secondary schools, Rs138.50 million for admission campaign grants, IT equipment in educational offices, Rs1.76 million for procurement, Rs1 million for furniture, Rs1.5 million for district performance programme, Rs125.8 million for financial reward of teachers and principals for better performance of schools, and Rs320 million for position holder students under "Stori da Pakhtunkhwa programme". The KP government has also sanctioned Rs1 billion grant for financially weak municipal authorities and Rs192 million for the cantonment board. A sum of Rs2 billion would be given to village and neighbourhood councils.

In addition, the District Development Fund of Rs44.60 billion was also approved for the settled districts which would be provided to each district on the basis of population, poverty and infrastructure. The commission sanctioned Rs25.67 billion for salaries of local government subordinates in the tribal districts, of which Rs22.70 billion has been earmarked for the salaries of existing employees while Rs2.97 billion has been earmarked for new recruits and their salaries. Local bodies would be given Rs6.4 billion, of which Rs1 billion was conditional education grant while the rest was reserved for electricity bills, supply of medicines to primary health centres, martyrs' package and financial rewards for teachers.

HYDERABAD: Saddar area gives a deserted look as businesses remained closed due to the imposition of smart lockdown. PPI

PM’s aide, Chinese envoy discuss opening of Khunjerab border ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Ambassador of China to Pakistan Yao Jing on Saturday called on Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood to discuss the opening of Khunjerab border as well as strategies to exploit bilateral trade and investment opportunities in the wake of Covid-19. During the meeting, the adviser informed the envoy that around 186 containers were stuck at the Khunjerab border, owing to which concerns among small businesses were rising.

On this, the envoy apprised said the temporary opening of the border was under consideration so as to clear the backlog of containers.

Both sides agreed to finalise modalities in this regard so that the issue could be resolved at the earliest.

Meanwhile, the PM's adviser informed the envoy that Pakistani exports have started gaining momentum after the Covid-related slowdown. "Both sides need to sit together again and discuss issues related to bilateral trade, with an

aim to further diversify the products being exported from Pakistan, under phase-II of the China Pakistan Free Trade Agreement,” he added.

The Chinese ambassador discussed some proposals for joint ventures between Chinese and Pakistani companies, particularly in the value-added agriculture sector.

Moreover, the adviser highlighted that the meat and poultry exports of Pakistan had risen by more than 50pc in FY20, with market access to the Middle East.

He said that a joint venture with Chinese in this regard would benefit Pakistan to realise its export potential.

The ongoing projects of CPEC were also discussed during the meeting, wherein the commerce adviser emphasized the need to start the industrial activity through the development of Special Economic Zones.

He said that JVs with the Chinese companies would allow Pakistan to have improved technology and enhanced capacity for production and exports.

“China is moving fast on some of the construction projects in Pakistan, which will create a number of jobs for the local population,” he added.

sbp stresses active involvement of pakistan post to promote financial inclusion KARACHI MEIRYUM ALI

Pakistan Post has the capacity to increase financial inclusion in Pakistan, according to staff notes released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Saturday.

As per the notes titled ‘Enhancing Financial Inclusion through Pakistan Post’, the use of the post office infrastructure network has been effective in promoting financial inclusion around the world. This is particularly important when it comes to Pakistan, where domestic savings are low despite the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) having been launched in 2015.

"With the effective inclusion of Pak-

istan Post in the provision of extended financial services, NFIS targets can be met rather efficiently as financial outreach can stretch to the rural and far-off areas where the post office has been providing its limited services for decades, thus harbouring the trust of residents," the authors of the notes stated.

Pakistan Post is a government-owned entity serving around 20 million customers.

Along with post, the organization also provides three financial functions: life insurance instruments, transactions on behalf of the Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS), and remittances.

Pakistan Post provided around 15,458 new life insurance instruments in 2018;

around 25pc of all financial inflows into the National Savings; and 4.8 million remittances money orders in 2017.

"Cross-country evidence indicates that post offices are likely to accommodate the financial needs of individuals who are poor, less educated, or outside the labour force compared to conventional financial institutions," the notes stated, in making the case for the post office.

The report noted that Pakistan Post has physical branch infrastructure consisting of around 2,400 delivery post offices, of which 87pc are located outside the five most populated cities.

“This physical outreach is even more important in the sparsely populated and

poverty-stricken province of Balochistan and war-torn tribal regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” the report noted.

The report noted that other countries like Japan, China, Brazil, Russia, and India had successfully used post offices to increase financial inclusion. These were achieved through a mix of financial education, rural outreach, and formalized postal banks.

The notes also praised the Pakistan Post’s partnerships with commercial banks like Habib Bank Ltd., to improve financial inclusion.

“Going forward, there is potential for the post office to establish similar partnerships with Islamic banks,” the report recommended.

Govt urged to reopen restaurants, marquees in Islamabad ISLAMABAD APP

Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) President Muhammad Ahmed Waheed has urged the government to allow restaurants, marquees and wedding halls in Islamabad to restart their operations. "Due to the prolonged lockdown, these businesses are on the verge of collapse," the ICCI president said in a statement issued on Saturday.

In order to combat the spread of Covid19, he informed, the government had closed restaurants, marquees and wedding halls in Islamabad during the 2nd week of March. As a result, he added, thousands of workers have lost their jobs, while businesses were now faced with an extreme financial crisis. He said there was no doubt that Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat was doing a great job in controlling the pandemic in Islamabad, but "he should also take up the issue of opening of businesses with higher authorities". Waheed said that restaurants, marquees and wedding halls were playing an important role in generating economic activities, as many other businesses were linked with this industry. These included meat sellers, poultry farmers, jewellers, fashion designers, florists, carpenters, crockery suppliers, tent services, waiter suppliers, wedding bands, valet staff, lighting and generator suppliers etc. “Despite the Covid-19 closure, these businesses are being made to pay rents, wages and utility bills, which is further adding to their financial problems,” the ICCI president said. “When other businesses have been opened with SOPs, restaurants, marquees and wedding halls should also be reopened; owners are ready to comply with laid out SOPs.”

C M YK

E R I T SA Sunday, 05 - 11 July, 2020 I Issue 178 I Pages 04 I Sections 06 I Rs 30

PTI has destroyed PIA by unveiling fake pilots that PPP hired: Bilawal LAhore

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THE DEPENDENT

he Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Wednesday held the PTI government responsible for the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) being barred from operating flights to european countries, saying the PTI has destroyed the national carrier by unveiling the fake pilots that the PPP hired.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore,

he said PIA’s permit to fly to eU countries was suspended because Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan pointed out that the airline deploys pilots with dubious licences.

“Thankfully, they haven’t further highlighted the fact that a large chunk of the appointments in the PIA are of political workers, or that many in the National Assembly are fake politicians, otherwise there would be a global ban on Pakistani politicians as well,” Bilawal said in his scathing speech

against the ruling party.

“Of course, the minister whose own politics and degrees are fake, does not know the difference between democratic PIA, and selected PIA,” the PPP chairperson added.

Bilawal further added that the opposition is united on the matter and will pass a no confidence vote in this regard.

“The PML-N (Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz) is with us because their fake pilots and political workers are also under attack,”

SATIre

Bilawal said.

“We’re all united in our stance that no one has caused this type of damage to PIA in history as this government.”g

50Kg PUBG found in rana Sanaullah’s car trunk at ANF checkpost

I (Sindh Police constables trained for a bit by) MILITARY neutralise threat at stock market

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ISLAMABAD THE DEPENDENT

he Pakistani military, through the Special Services Group (Navy) and the Rangers, were effective in neutralising a standoff with terrorists at the Pakistan Stock exchange building.

The SSG(N) immediately sprang into action a couple of years before the incident and trained some Jatoi fellow and something Soomro from the Sindh Police’s rapid-something-something.

All while the Sindh Rangers guarded the larger perimeter so that people don’t wander in and also that the Rangers themselves stay hydrated.

“hats’ off to the military,” said Dr Moeed Peerzada, an analyst not associated with the ISPR. “Let us hope one day the rest of the government departments, specially the police, can perform as well as the military did today.”. We have all the evidence and will present it in court tomorrow”, Afridi said, with a familiar confidence, as he ended the presser.

At press time Rana Sanaullah had already been presented at an AntiNarcotics court and in the meanwhile Shehryar Afridi had miraculously repeated “mein nei jaan Allah ko deni hai (I have to give my life to God)” on at least 20 TV talk shows, the National Assembly and Senate floors. g

SATIre

N a shocking turn of events that is bound to exacerbate the already bitter and tense rivalry between the ruling party and opposition, PML-N President Rana Sanaullah has been arrested yet again by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), this time for being in possession of 50 Kilograms of PUBG. The ‘highly addictive substance’, that was branded a class-A drug only yesterday by authorities, was found in Sanaullah’s car trunk, tightly sealed in a blue medium-sized suitcase and was allegedly being smuggled into Lahore via Sialkot.

The ANF, through an official notification, suspects that Lahore was being developed as the primary market for the newly criminalised drug.

Speaking at a press conference following the successful operation, Federal Minister for Narcotics Control Shehryar Afridi explained how his team, in close coordination with the ANF, had been monitoring Sanaullah’s movements for weeks and had collected ample video evidence of him frequently transporting massive quantities of the ‘youthdestroying’ ‘morally-corrupting’ PUBG across Punjab.

“Our intelligence suggests that the same sophisticated Afghan network that was regularly supplying heroin to Sanaullah’s vast and complicated drug cartel has also started trafficking PUBG. We have all the evidence and will present it in court tomorrow”, Afridi said, with a familiar

National Assembly passes budget, air

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he National Assembly on Monday passed the Finance Bill 2020-2021. It also passed copious amounts of flatulence in said session. “The Finance Bill for the fiscal year 2020-2021 is hereby passed,” said Speaker Asad Qaiser, while pausing to shift in his seat. “I would like to congratulate the government.”

The passing of the budget is a routine activity

and is the bare minimum courtesy opposition benches extend the treasury benches in every chamber of legislature, but the atmosphere was soured not only by the tension caused by the speeches of the PPP and the ruling PTI but also by the considerable amount of the hydrogen sulphide and ammonia present in the large intestine that are released during farts.

Whereas the finance bill is the only piece of legislation about which there is never any doubt about the origination, the flatulence remained fiercely contested, with all sides denying responsibility.

Some experts suggest that the culprit is federal minister Murad Saeed, who had first said there was a stench in the air.

“There are many game theorists who believe that the individual who first calls to attention that a

fart is in the air, is the culprit,” said Dr Shariq Cheema, professor of mathematics at LUMS. “It is a signal to the others implying that they can’t be the one that is responsible for said flatulence, because why would they bring it up? Game theorists suggest that there is a strong possibility that this is a costly signal, a gamble, to deflect responsibility.”

“This reasoning is known in common parlance as he who smelt it, dealt it,” said Dr Cheema. however, this is a minority opinion. Most of those present on not just the benches but also in the visitors and press galleries, said that this was in no way the work of one digestive system.

“This was the work of 15 to 20 people, I think,” said Sadiq Yousafzai, a reporter. “I have covered the Swat operation closely and never ever have I feared for my life as much as I did today.” g

SATIre

confidence, as he ended the presser.

At press time Rana Sanaullah had already been presented at an Anti-Narcotics court and in the meanwhile Shehryar Afridi had miraculously repeated “mein nei jaan Allah ko deni hai (I have to give my life to God)” on at least 20 TV talk shows, the National Assembly and Senate floors. g

SATIre

E D I TO R ’S N OT E The Dependent is a completely satirical publication. The articles within are not true and meant to be taken in good humour.

The Dependent is an “equal opportunity offender” and we would urge all concerned to humour our attempts at humour.

The Dependent is a completely satirical publication. The articles within are not true and are meant to be taken in good humour.

Sunday, 5 July, 2020

Sri Lanka dropS probe into 2011 WorLd Cup finaL fixinG aLLeGationS COLOMBO

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AGENCIES

RI Lankan authorities have said they are dropping a probe into match-fixing allegations surrounding the 2011 ICC World Cup final, saying they found no evidence of match-fixing by players.

The world governing body of the sport, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said it had also looked into the recent allegations and found no reason to doubt the integrity of the 2011 final, won by India.

Former chief selector Aravinda de Silva, and the team's skipper Kumar Sangakkara and opening batsman Upul Tharanga were questioned this week over suspicions that have dogged the match for years.

"We are satisfied with their explanation," a top police official told AFP. "The inquiry is now closed."

Sri Lanka's four changes to the team just before the finals at Mumbai's Wankhede stadium were raised as suspi-

cious by a Sri Lankan minister, Mahindananda Aluthgamage last month. He was the minister of sports in 2011.

The officer said police had spoken to the players and the chief selector.

"They had reasonable explanations about the changes that were made to the final squad," the officer said. "We found no evidence of any wrongdoing."

However, the ICC said it was willing to review its findings if presented with credible evidence.

"We take all allegations of this nature extremely seriously and should we receive any evidence to corroborate the claims, we will review our current position," ICC anti-corruption chief Alex Marshall said in a statement. "If anyone has any evidence that this match or any other has been subject to match-fixing, we would urge them to get in contact with the ICC Integrity team."

The sudden decision to end the Sri Lankan police investigators came after the 2011 team's vice captain Mahela Jayawar-

dena went to the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) office to give a statement.

"We will give our maximum cooperation," Jayawardena told reporters before leaving the SIU when officers refused to accept his testimony and told him to return later. Jayawardena had been called in after Sangakkara was grilled for nearly 10 hours by detectives on Thursday.

POLITICALBACKLASH: The investigation has led to a social media backlash against the government which is facing a parliamentary election on August 5.

Opposition legislator Bimal Rathnayake poked fun at the police over the marathon grilling of Sangakkara, who is also president of England´s prestigious Marylebone Cricket Club.

He tweeted that a 50-over cricket match lasts around 7-8 hours, even if all 100 overs are bowled, adding: "Committee questioned Sanga for 9 hours! Did they question him ball by ball?"

Sri Lanka's Opposition leader Sajith

Premadasa said police dropped the highprofile match fixing probe following the social media and political backlash.

"Magic of 'People Power' has worked," Premadasa said on Twitter. "Sri Lanka's government has ultimately succumbed to public pressure and abruptly withdrawn the bogus, manipulated and politically motivated investigation...

Bravo people of Sri Lanka!"

Another former sports minister Harin Fernando, who introduced anti-corruption laws in November, said Aluthgamage should be prosecuted for making a false allegation against cricket legends.

Match-fixing was made a criminal offence in the new law. Offenders face fines of up to 100 million rupees ($555,000) and up to 10 years' jail.

Aluthgamage faced a widespread backlash in the cricket-mad country for implicating former players in match fixing There was no immediate comment from Aluthgamage over the cancellation of the investigation.

England stick with Denly, no room for Bairstow, Moeen Ali in Test squad ENGLAND STICK WITH DENLY, NO ROOM FOR BAIRSTOW, MOEEN ALI IN TEST SQUAD

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VIENNA Valtteri Bottas upstaged his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton with a sizzling display to claim pole position ahead of the Briton for Sunday's delayed season-opening Austrian Grand Prix.

The Finnish driver outpaced the sixtime champion with a best lap in qualifying in one minute and 2.939 seconds and then survived an 'off' into the gravel and a spin on his final lap to emerge 0.012 seconds clear of Hamilton.

SPORTS DESK Pakistan's limited-overs captain Babar Azam said on Saturday that he wishes to adopt iconic cricketer Imran Khan’s style of leadership that he exhibited during his cricket days. Speaking to Geo News, Azam said that the cricketer-turned-PM always favoured aggressive style of play and instilled confidence in his younger teammates. “When players are praised, they get the courage [to perform well]," the superstar batsman said, adding that "when players are relaxed they deliver better performance." Azam further said that now he is the skipper, he thinks less of his own self and cares more about the team's larger interest. “More than my own performance, I now have to work for the team,” he said, adding that he also tries to encourage his team members and take their input for devising team plans. The captain expressed hope that he, along with the team, plan on taking the Pakistan cricket team to the top in ICC rankings. Azam is currently with the national contingent in England where they are scheduled to play a Test and T20I series in August.

BARCELONA AGENCIES

England's 81st Test captain, the selectors have stuck with familiar names for the first of three matches in three weeks against West Indies. Rory Burns returns, having suffered ankle-ligament damage while playing football in South Africa, and seems set to open alongside Dom Sibley, with Denly and Zak Crawley the options to cover for Root's absence at No. 4.

Ollie Pope and Stokes will complete the batting line-up, while Jos Buttler retains the gloves, as head coach Chris Silverwood hinted during the week, with Ben Foakes retained as back-up keeper.

In the fast-bowling department, England have Archer and Wood available to provide extra pace - but while there may be a temptation to deploy them together in Test cricket for the first time, Silverwood has previously hinted that they will likely be rotated in order to protect both from wear and tear. Archer has only recently recovered from an elbow stress fracture, having missed three Tests in South Africa and been omitted from the touring party for Sri Lanka in March.

Although Broad went wicketless in the Ageas Bowl warm-up, he has been

the automatic pick to partner Anderson with the new ball - currently on a run of 51 consecutive Test appearances at home - but Woakes will also have the chance to press his case. With the likelihood that England will have to rotate their seamers in order to keep them fresh - there are only three-day gaps between the Tests - the reserves include two uncapped quicks in Saqib Mahmood and Ollie Robinson, alongside Craig Overton and Olly Stone, who stays on despite not being fit enough to bowl in the warm-up game because of hamstring trouble.

Bottas upstages Hamilton to take opening pole of season AGENCIES

babar azam wishes to match imran khan’s cricket leadership

Setien plays down Messi and Griezmann uncertainty

LONDON AGENCIES

NGLAND have opted for continuity ahead of the first Test against West Indies, with every member of their 13-man squad having featured on the tour of South Africa earlier this year. That means Joe Denly is set to retain his place in the batting line-up, while the main decisions will revolve around the make-up of the pace attack.

Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, both of whom impressed during England's warmup game this week, may be vying for one place, while Chris Woakes is the allrounder option in support of James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Sam Curran, who tested negative for Covid-19 after feeling unwell during the match, is among the nine reserves who will remain with the squad at the Ageas Bowl.

Most noteworthy among those missing out were Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali, senior members of England's white-ball squads but overlooked for the Tests.

Bairstow had been a contender to come into the side in the absence of Joe Root, England's Test captain who is missing the game in order to attend the birth of his child, but only managed scores of 11 and 39 in the three-day warm-up; James Bracey and Dan Lawrence, who both caught the eye with half-centuries, have been retained as the back-up batsmen.

Dom Bess remains at the head of the pack among England's spinners, keeping out Jack Leach, who is among the reserves, and Moeen. Bess claimed 3 for 72 in his outings for Team Buttler, while Leach and Moeen went wicketless for Team Stokes in the first innings and then conceded runs at six an over in the second.

With Root having already left the camp, and Ben Stokes in line to become

SPORTS 11

It was Bottas' third pole at the Austrian Grand Prix and the 12th of his career, a feat that followed Hamilton's cleansweep of the three practice sessions on Friday and Saturday morning.

"It feels really good – I've missed this feeling," said Bottas.

"The qualifying shakes! It's something special when you push the car to the limit and I've been waiting for a long time – we seem to be in our own league."

Hamilton added: "A great job by Valtteri and it's a great start to the season and I'm happy to be here.

"I think we show year on year that we are the best team – because we are openminded, keep with the times and nobody is too stubborn to admit they are wrong."

Max Verstappen was third for Red Bull, half a second adrift of the two newlypainted 'black arrows' cars whose dominating performance delivered a 65th front row lock out for the team, equalling Ferrari's record.

"I'm happy to be P3," said Verstappen.

"But we have a different tyre so it's going to be interesting."

Lando Norris was an impressive fourth

CMYK

for McLaren ahead of Alex Albon in the second Red Bull and Sergio Perez, who was sixth in Racing Point's 'pink Mercedes'.

Charles Leclerc was a disappointed seventh for Ferrari ahead of his future team-mate Carlos Sainz in the second McLaren, Lance Stroll in the second Racing Point and Daniel Ricciardo of Renault.

The Austrian race is the opening event of the 2020 season after the traditional season-opener in Australia was cancelled in March before the global lockdown over the COVID-19 crisis.

Barcelona coach Quique Setien moved to ease concerns on Saturday about the futures of Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann. Messi's contract is due to expire next year and, according to Spanish radio station Cadena Ser, the Argentinian has stopped talks due to frustrations with the direction the club is going in. Asked about suggestions Messi plans to leave Barcelona, Setien said: "I won't speculate about this because I haven't heard from him so I'm not aware of him saying anything. "I see him well, everything else is speculation that I won't get involved in.

We speak about what we have to speak about and nothing else." Griezmann's position is also in doubt after a disappointing first season since joining from Atletico Madrid. Barcelona play away at in-form Villarreal on Sunday, with Real Madrid sitting four points clear at the top of the table. "He's fine, I exchanged a few words with him. He's a great professional. He understands the situation because he's seen it before," Setien said about Griezmann. "It will not affect him because he is a very positive person. We can count on him 100 per cent." Griezmann has started three of Barca's last four matches on the bench, including the crunch games against Sevilla and Atletico, both of which Barcelona drew. Setien described Griezmann as "unquestionable" last month. "I was talking about hierarchies but I haven't said he is unquestionable. Griezmann is a great player and important to the team," said Setien. "When he plays, you ask me about Ansu Fati and vice-versa. Not everyone can play. "I am not ignorant, every club has its hierarchies but at a club like Barca where there are so many players, not everyone is able to play." Barca's form, as well as suggestions of unrest in the dressing room, have placed scrutiny on Setien's job. He has a contract until 2022, with a break clause in 2021, but it remains to be seen if he is in charge for next season, or even the Champions League in August. "I have experienced it other times," said Setien, when asked about the uncertainty. "It is not something I can control. This the circus that we are in and we accept it. "I don't exhaust myself by reading or listening to the noise around me." Frenkie de Jong is not available to face Villarreal as the midfielder is still nursing a calf injury.

Samuel Umtiti and Ousmane Dembele are also out.

Sunday, 5 July, 2020

NEWS

30 out of 262 PIlots susPected of obtaInIng dubIous lIcenses have fake degrees: mInIster ISLAMABAD

f

STAFF REPORT

eDerAl Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan has said that degrees of 30 more pilots out of the 262 pilots suspected of obtaining dubious licences have turned out to be fake. Addressing a presser on Saturday, the aviation minister said that out of the overall pilots who were declared dubious, 141 of them belong to the Pakistan International Airline (PIA) while nine of them work for Air Blue and Serene Air. “They are grounded immediately,” he said.

He said that the flight operations to europe remained suspended temporarily and the PIA has the right to appeal against the decision. “We will take stern action against the pilots who are found possessing dubious or fake licences,” said Ghulam Sarwar while terming the PIA pilots as one of the most professional pilots.

The aviation minister said that they are

cleaning the mess of the previous governments as neither pilots were recruited after 2018 nor any test was conducted to issue licences during the period.

“The Aviation Ministry saw political recruitments with 11 chief executives of the PIA replaced during the past 10 years,” he said, adding that they took over the PIA with rs462 billion debt.

The national flag carrier has not purchased any plane since 2006, said Sarwar.

“We have to rectify our errors to make PIA one of the best airlines,” he said, adding that the case of five Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) officials posted at the licensing section would be referred to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and no one would be spared for committing fraudulent activities.

He said that the airlines across the globe have suffered losses of $350 billion due to Covid-19 pandemic and many international airlines have terminated their staff due to the ongoing situation.

“In the current situation, we have brought down PIA losses from rs4bn to rs1bn,” he said, adding that overall losses suffered by the national flag carrier during the pandemic have reached up to rs6bn.

The aviation minister said that similarly, the CAA is suffering losses of rs2bn weekly, making it a loss of rs20bn in a moth in terms of flying charges it receives.

Separately, Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan chaired the oath taking ceremony of 250 members of the Tiger Force at rawalpindi Arts Council.

While addressing the tiger force, Sarwar said that the government of PTI has faced numerous challenges from its first year in government. He said, “We tackled the spread of dengue virus and now we are successfully controlling Covid-19.”

He said that the policy of smart lockdown of Prime Minister Imran Khan is a success and is now being followed by the western developed countries as well. He ac-

knowledged the untiring efforts of the entire medical and police force and appreciated their zeal and vigour with which they are serving the people of Pakistan in the tough time of corona.

He said that nobody is safe from this virus and encouraged the youth to lead the fight against this virus by following the relevant SOPs developed by the government.

He appreciated the spirit of the youth who have stepped forward to fight the spread of this pandemic.

He lauded their efforts to work free of charge for the betterment of the society and expressed hope that the future of Pakistan is bright under the leadership of PTI. He said that the current government has initiated the biggest social protection program in the history of Pakistan. He said that the PM Imran Khan feels the trouble of the people living below the poverty line and it is one his top priorities to enable these people to rise above the poverty line.

Pakistan to re-open border with Iran on July 5 ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Pakistan said Saturday that it will re-open its western border with Iran from July 5 for trade. In a notification, the ministry of interior said it will re-open the border at four crossing points at Gabd, Mand, Katagar, and Chedgi and they will remain opened seven days a week from morning till evening.

“Unlimited number of trucks will be allowed while ensuring all Covid-19 related SOPs and protocols,” read the notification. The ministry said the decision to reopen border crossings with Iran was taken on July 2 in the meeting of National Command Operation Center. Pakistan had first closed its western border with Iran on March 15 after the surge in the coronavirus infections in the country.

The virus has for killed 4,619 people in Pakistan, while the known number of cases in the country has reached 22,5283.

LAHORE: A view of a city road following a dust storm and heavy rain on Saturday evening. ZUBAIR MAHFOOZ

D&B survey reveals majority of Pakistanis worried about Covid-19 spread 90PC RESPONDENTS EXPRESS CONCERNS OVER THEIR PERSONAL FINANCES AMID PAY CUTS, REDUNDANCIES, LAYOFFS AND BUSINESS CLOSURES 87PC CLAIM THAT THEIR SAVINGS HAVE TAKEN A HIT; 59PC FEAR JOB LOSSES KARACHI ARIBA SHAHID

As per a survey by Dun & Bradstreet Pakistan in collaboration with Gallup Pakistan, 80 per cent of respondents were worried about the spread of Covid-19 as the virus continues to impact their day to day lives.

According to the survey, 81pc urban dwellers and 79pc residents of rural areas are concerned about the spread of the virus.

However, with regard to economic recovery, 25pc were optimistic for recovery within four months, whereas 25pc remained neutral and expected the adverse impact on the economy to last until a year. As many as 26pc, however, were pessimistic, expecting the impact to be lasting and lead to a recession, whereas 25pc were uncertain. The spread of this answer showed that there was no strong consensus among participants surveyed.

Considering how business ac-

tivity was not at its 100pc capacity, 90pc of individuals surveyed were concerned about their personal finances amid pay cuts, redundancies, layoffs, and business closure, while 87pc claim that their savings have taken a hit owing to the situation.

As far as employment was concerned, 18pc have lost their job during the pandemic, despite government claims to prevent layoffs, and 59pc fear to lose their jobs considering the large number with which employees were given unpaid leaves or furloughs. As a result, there was a sense of panic among the working class of the population.

A deeper analysis shows 27pc have had salary cuts, 27pc have been laid off, 12pc have been given unpaid leave, while 8pc have been given paid leaves. Only 26pc have experienced no change.

This means that as a whole, 50pc of the individuals surveyed have either been laid off or were facing some form of salary reduction.

Considering how Punjab is the most populous province, 32pc of the respondents in Punjab have been laid off, 23pc in KP, and 22pc each in Sindh and Balochistan.

Owing to the rapid spread of the virus and the alarming stats, 94pc of respondents were concerned about their family’s safety and health.

However, interesting enough, the closure of brick and mortar stores has not bode as well as the ecommerce business would have hoped. As per the survey, only 15pc consumers transitioned to online payments for the first time.

As far as consumption patterns are concerned, in order to maintain a stock in case of a lockdown, households have increased their grocery expenditure by 33pc, sanitation products by 32pc, and medicinal expenditure by 32pc in June 2020.

However, conserving the impact on finances, 39pc of consumers have decreased their expenses on apparel and footwear in June.

Published by Arif Nizami at Plot No 66-C, 1st Floor, 21st Commercial Street, Phase-II (Extension), DHA Karachi and printed at Ibn-e-Hassan Printing Press, Hockey Stadium, Karachi. Ph: 021-35381208-9. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk