Epaper – June 14 ISB 2020

CMYK

14 June, 2020 I 22 Shawwal-ul-Mubarak, 1441 I Rs 15.00 I Vol X No 345 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition

PM iMran says no to CoMPlete loCkdown in Punjab g

g

pm reIterateS ‘Smart lockdown’ Strategy, warnS of Stern actIon agaInSt SopS vIolatIon

g

SayS people are not takIng covId-19 SerIouSly, ‘they thInk It IS lIke the flu’

punjab health mInISter claImS almoSt 7,000 covId-19 bedS StIll vacant In provInce

LAHORE

e

staff report

ven though there has been no letup in the spike of the covid-19 cases in punjab, especially lahore, prime minister Imran khan on Saturday ruled out a complete lockdown during his visit to the provincial capital. the premier’s visit to the provincial capital comes a day after the punjab government had sent recommendations to the federal government to tighten lockdown measures in a bid to curb the growing number of covid-19 cases. however, on his visit, pm Imran held meetings with chief minister usman buzdar and governor chaudhry Sarwar, wherein it was decided that a strategy of “smart lockdowns” will be pursued and the government would ensure strict adherence to standard operation procedures (Sops). addressing a press conference in lahore alongside cm buzdar, punjab health minister dr yasmin rashid and his advisers,

the pm said: “after analysing with my punjab team today, [we’ve decided that] we will not impose a lockdown but will impose selective lockdowns — trace and seal hotspot.” reiterating his stance over lockdown, he said it would have meant complete economic closure and destruction of economy. pakistan has a different economic situation compared to Singapore, taiwan, or thailand, which are less populous and have no issues implementing social distancing protocols, he added. about 25 per cent population of pakistan are living below the poverty line, he said and added that if the economic activities were halted, it would have burdened the lower-income groups, daily wagers and labourers. the prime minister said the smart lockdown was the only solution to the current situation. he mentioned that the government took steps to keep the wheels of the economy moving and save the common man

from financial burden. the government faced difficulties in presenting the current fiscal budget. noting that the public had made light of government-mandated Sops so far, the premier warned that from now on there will be “consequences” if covid-19 Sops weren’t followed. “we were leaving it on you [the public] until today but unfortunately I did not see people taking it seriously. people think it is like the flu,” pm Imran said, adding that the government had now come up with a system to crackdown on violations and apprehend those behind them.

It may be noted here that pm had in march told the nation that coronavirus was just a flu and that people would recover soon after contracting it.

‘MODERN SYSTEM TO IDENTIFY HOTSPOTS’: elaborating on the system, dr faisal Sultan, the prime minister’s focal person on coronavirus, said the government had prepared a “modern and sophisticated” software to help it identify coronavirus hotspots around the country. “this will allow the administration to implement and enforce stricter restrictions, or in other words, a smart lockdown,” he said.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 03

1,300 hotspots sealed across country as cases spike following rush to reopen STORY ON PAGE 03

govt wants private sector to create jobs pm Imran had promised g

SheIkh SayS welfare SpendIng curtaIled due to loan paymentS ISLAMABAD shahzad paracha

the pakistan tehreek-e-Insaf (ptI) government cannot give jobs to people in this “grim” situation, its economic team announced during the post-budget press conference on Saturday. earlier in march, just before the coronavirus outbreak began in pakistan, prime minister Imran khan had promised that 2020 would be the year of jobs and housing facilities for deserving people. Soon after assuming the pm’s office, Imran had repeatedly announced that his government would create 10 million jobs for the youth and would turn pakistan into an Islamic welfare state, raising expectations of his supporters, however his pledges have been checked by a worsening economic outlook. a whopping increase of rs9,209bn has been witnessed in government debt during the first 20 months of the ptI tenure. as per the State bank of pakistan (Sbp), the government debt, which stood at rs24,212bn in june 2018 and rs27,542bn in february 2019, surged to rs33,421bn till february 2020. this means that the government debt increased 21pc (rs5,873 billion) during the last one year. on the other hand, the government’s external debt also witnessed a significant increase from rs9,231bn in feb 2019 to rs11,232bn in feb 2020.

‘RELIEF IN TAXES’: addressing the media alongside pm’s finance adviser dr abdul hafeez Sheikh, federal minister for Industries hammad azhar said that jobs can be created by giving incentives to the private sector. “we have given relief around rs40 to 50 billion in taxes, duties and the government is expecting new

jobs in the private sector in the coming months,” azhar said, adding that we are expecting new jobs in the construction sector as the government has given massive relief to this sector.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 02

Imran’s ministers, advisers get a pay raise STORY ON PAGE 02

Coronavirus in

Pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

135,864

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

NEW CASES:

88

6,472

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

SINDH:

PUNJAB:

50,056 2,596 51,518

50,087

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

AJK/GB:

ISLAMABAD:

17,450

574/1,044

8,028 7,163

02

Sunday, 14 June, 2020

NEWS

Sindh govt objectS to nFc award cutS SPOKESPERSON SAYS RS234BN REDUCTION IN FUNDS WOULD HURT SINDH’S DEVELOPMENT KArACHI

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STAFF REPORT

INDH government spokesperson Murtaza Wahab on Saturday objected to the Centre’s slashing of the province’s National Finance Commission award in the federal budget 2020-21, saying the Rs234 billion reduction would hurt the province’s development.

Wahab, addressing a press conference alongside Sindh Information Minister Nasir

Hussain Shah, said: “Provinces receive 80 per cent [of their budget] from the federal government […] How will the province develop and how can we pay the salaries of [government employees]?”

Wahab claimed that the Centre “had not” allocated funds for tackling coronavirus and that the government “could only make” a decision of not imposing a lockdown.

“They will blame the provincial chief ministers later on [if they fail to handle the pandemic],” he said, adding: “The federal

growers move ihc to become part of sugar inquiry case ISLAMABAD: Sugarcane growers moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Saturday seeking to be included as respondents in the sugar inquiry report case.

Ahsan Abdi, who hails from Rahim Yar Khan district, filed a petition requesting to be included as a necessary party in the case. He said that his rights and those of other farmers have been infringed by the ‘sugar mafia’.

The court should hear the version of sugar farmers too, he added. On June 11, the court restrained the government from taking any action on the basis of the sugar commission’s inquiry report for 10 days. Mill owners were directed to sell sugar for Rs70 per kilogramme until the next court hearing. The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association had challenged the inquiry report on June 10. The petition said the inquiry report was “entirely unlawful” and led to an “unwarranted campaign of vilification and demonisation” against the country’s sugar mills, adding that it denied the “right to due process guaranteed to them by the Constitution”. All sugar mill owners said that they are willing to “answer all questions of fact and law and face the consequences of their actions”. The sugar inquiry report was issued on May 21. It revealed the way sugar barons had cheated farmers, benefited from subsidies and created conditions so that the price of sugar could go up. Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf’s Jahangir Khan Tareen was among the ones accused of benefitting the most from the crisis. The report said that six major groups control 51 per cent of the total sugar production. Tareen’s JDW Mill has the biggest share—20pc of the total production. STAFF REPORT

hec slams reduction in higher education budget ISLAMABAD: The governing body of the Higher Education Commission on Saturday criticised the cut in the higher education budget by another Rs5.90 billion from the committed Indicative Budget Ceiling of Rs70bn for FY 2020-21. It emphasised that the move will dismantle the country’s higher education system by forcing the shutdown of universities, which are already suffering from unprecedented budgetary shortfalls and the impact of the Covid-19 crisis. The members stressed upon the government to reconsider its decision and take immediate steps to appropriately fund the universities in order to protect access to and quality of higher education. The Commission stressed that without adequate investment on higher education, the youth of Pakistan will never acquire the competencies needed to develop and compete internationally. Meanwhile, the Commission reviewed the HEC funding formula for universities, took into account various proposals, and decided that for FY 2020-21, the actual total allocation of FY 2019-20 will be treated as base plus need grants, accounting for 85 per cent of the total allocation, while the remaining 15 per cent will be treated as a performance grant, allocated on the basis of the number of publications, the number and amount of research grants received, as well as number of PhD faculty and students. It was also agreed that for FY 2021-22 and beyond, a new funding methodology will be developed on the principles of equity, needs, and credit for performance. APP

Fir registered in rawalpindi blast case RAWALPINDI: Rawalpindi branch of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on Saturday registered the first information report (FIR) of Friday’s blast in which one person was killed and 10 injured. According to reports, the police, which lodged the case on the request of the anti-terrorism agency, added terrorism clauses in the FIR. Furthermore, the evidence gathered from the scene has been sent to the forensic lab. STAFF REPORT

bilawal termS budget ‘anti-people’

government does not seem to be helping the provinces in the health sector [….] We got to know that it takes a week for getting tested [for Covid-19] in Islamabad.”

Talking about Hyderabad University, he said that there was not a single rupee allocated for it, while the premier had already inaugurated the varsity.

“No funds were allocated for Tharparkar in the federal budget,” Wahab said, adding that the Centre was not helping the province and that it was attempting to put “obstacles” in its way and “spurring chaos”.

Wahab, speaking about private hospitals overcharging patients, said that the Health Commission would probe the matter and that the Sindh government was “upgrading public hospitals”.

KARACHI: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said the ‘PTIMF budget’ is a “tsunami for the economy, agriculture and health sectors”, which may unleash a wave of poverty and famine-like conditions in the country if not resisted by the entire nation. Addressing a meeting of PPP’s parliamentarians from both Senate and National Assembly at Zardari House on Saturday, Bilawal said that the policies of the selected government were akin to taking revenge on the people for questioning its legitimacy, as its federal budget exercise exposed both its callousness and indifference to the urgent needs of the people at such a delicate time. The PPP chairman stated that it is obvious that budget proposals have ignored the Covid-19 pandemic, locust attacks and the well-being of healthcare professionals, the needs of the salaried class, pensioners and poverty-ridden people. “This budget should have given incentives to pensioners to stay home but by not increasing their pensions, or being sensitive to the real needs of the poor it claims to champion, it has tried to compel them to come out in a pandemic when the world is encouraging Stay HomeStay Safe policy for all, especially the elderly.” Bilawal Bhutto repeated that the PTIMF budget was actually for providing comfort to a small comprador elite, which lacks any structural relief plan for the poor and vulnerable communities. “PPP has already rejected the anti-poor budget and would vehemently oppose it at all elected forums also,” he added. Senator Sherry Rehman, Syed Naveed Qamar, Nawab Yousuf Talpur, Ch Manzoor and others also spoke on the budgetary proposals and described increase in levies on petroleum instead of GSP as a tool to deprive the provinces of their divisible pool share. They said this was in fact an anti-agriculture budget, the source of livelihood for almost 70% of Pakistanis. STAFF REPORT

imran, murad meeting on the cards during pm’s Sindh visit

Imran’s ministers, advisers get a pay raise ISLAMABAD SHAHZAD PARACHA

While it has ignored the salaried class in the federal budget, the federal government has decided to increase the salaries as well as allowances of the federal cabinet members for the next fiscal year 2020-21.

According to the budget documents, the Cabinet Division has increased the overall budget of federal ministers/ministers of state to Rs217 million from Rs214m. Expenses have been increased from Rs147m to Rs150m. The wage bill of federal ministers/ministers of state has been increased to Rs880m from Rs855m, similarly, the allowances have also been increased to Rs629m to Rs615m.

In addition, the government also increased the regular allowances from Rs558m to Rs554m, besides other allowances also surged to Rs710m to

ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Rs610m. Documents state that the advisers’ salary and allowances increased to Rs282m from Rs235m in which the operating expenses, including transportation, have been increased to Rs102m from Rs50m, respectively.

On the other hand, the Cabinet Division has proposed to decrease the pay and allowances of special assis-

tants to the PM. Documents state that the government has decreased pay and allowances of special assistants to the PM to Rs286m from Rs295m in the next fiscal year.

Documents state that the government is paying Rs1.17m to four officers of special assistant to the PM, overall, the expenditures of the SAPM office is Rs13m.

Sindh Assembly Covid-19 positive members tally soars to 23 KArACHI STAFF REPORT

The tally of the Sindh Assembly members tested positive for coronavirus ahead of the provincial legislature session reached 23 on Saturday as more lawmakers were diagnosed with the novel coronavirus.

Assembly members recently tested positive of novel coronavirus include Naseem Rajpar and

Moazzim Abbasi of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), Khawaja Izharul Hassan, Ghulam Jillani and Ali Khurshidi, Mangla Sharma, Sharjeel Memon, Saleem Kalmati, Shahana Ashaar, Shajeela Laghari, Noor Ahmed Bhurgri, Liaquat Askani, Khurram Sherzaman and Shabbir Qureshi.

It is pertinent to mention here that a member of the assembly can only attend the house session if they are free of the coronavirus.

Prime Minister Imran Khan will visit Karachi and Larkana on Tuesday to discuss various issues with the political stakeholders in the province, including the Covid-19 pandemic. The PM will have a busy schedule during his twoday visit and would hold separate meetings with Sindh Governor Imran Ismail and Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah. He would also chair a meeting to review the Covid-19 situation in the province while holding a separate meeting with the delegations of traders and industrialists. He will also meet the provincial lawmakers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) during his Karachi visit along with holding separate meetings with the leadership of coalition parties from the province, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA). The premier will be visiting Larkana, a political stronghold of ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), on Wednesday morning, where he would visit Prime Minister Ehsaas Centre and would also meet healthcare workers. He would also meet with the provincial leadership of the party in Larkana. It is pertinent to mention here that PTI provincial lawmaker Khurram Sher Zaman on May 04 said that Prime Minister Imran Khan may visit Karachi at the end of the ongoing week. However, the visit was delayed.

The PTI lawmaker said that Imran Khan would soon announce more relief packages under Ehsaas programme for Karachi. “He wants to provide more relief to the labourers and business community,” Zaman said.

Govt wants private sector to create jobs PM Imran had promised ContInueD froM pAge 01 In addition to this, PM’s finance adviser Dr Sheikh said that the government has announced all the measures to end unemployment in the country.

“We want to give more benefits to people and the PM has also given directions to facilitate the vulnerable segment of society, for this, we have allocated more money in Ehsaas programme apart from giving soft loans to more than 6,000 business enterprise in last two months.” The government would have increased its allocation for BISP [Ehsaas] manifold if it did not have repayment obligations, he said.

“We inherited a broken economy. PTI’s government had to repay billions of dollars in loans. But we still managed to collect Rs1,600bn in non-tax revenues,” Sheikh said, adding that the entire world was “praising” the government’s economic performance.

“The International Monetary Fund (IMF) board praised us. Moody’s increased our rating. Bloomberg called our stock market the best in the world in December 2019. We witnessed a 137 per cent increase in foreign direct investment (FDI),” he told the presser.

“All of these things were happening but then came the coronavirus [outbreak] and that hurt our economy,” he added. He said that Pakistan has to repay around Rs2,900bn in the upcoming year and also paid Rs3,000bn in the outgoing year. “We are borrowing money to repay the old ones and no one can blame the PTI government for this,” the adviser said. Sheikh also said that “the government has ended duties on 1,623 tariff lines. This includes textile, leather, rubber, chemicals”. In addition, he mentioned that the government has also lowered RDs on LEDs, electronics, packaging, home appliances, special children food, and life-saving medicines.

FBR has also proposed to end withholding tax on

10 different items apart from decreasing taxes from 5.5% to 1 to 2 per cent on import, he added.

The PM adviser said that the government has also halved the capital gain tax on the real estate sector, this would also increase economic activity as the government had already announced the package to the construction industry. The cement price to Rs15 per bag will also fall due to a decrease in sales tax up to Rs0.25.

He said that the FBR was collecting a big percentage of taxes on imports; however, this has been reduced due to rationalization policy as well as pandemic.

Replying to one question, the adviser said that the government has not announced the minimum wage because there is a time for everything. “We want to give relief to those people who do not have wages due to Covid-19.”

He also said that people will witness a decline in the CNG price, adding that the regulatory regime will also be strict against the companies if they violate the law.

Regarding the privatization matter, the advisor said that we have added 15 new companies in our privatization program. The privatization of two LNG based plants is in its final stage and we will implement

CMYK

our agenda. He deferred the question with regard to the PTCL privatization, he said “that we have given answers to PTCL many times. I will reply after the budget. “ He also said that Pakistan has a very good relationship with the IMF, the latter one approved $1.4bn from its board on the request of Pakistan to cope with the Covid-19 crisis. The lending organization has asked Pakistan to spend while keeping in mind the income, the adviser said, adding that the government must make decisions keeping the ground realities in mind, and in this budget, “we have made massive cuts in expenditures”. The FBR chairperson said that the board has made amendments in the definition of NPOs and now the government has given one year to explain their source of income on the direction of FATF. “We will treat all of them on an equal basis despite the fact, they were availing tax exemptions.” The member IR policy Dr Hamid Attique also said that the government had ended the Rs350bn exemption in last year and now Rs1100bn exemption is pending and this would be finished in the coming years.

Regarding the decrease in sales tax on mobile phones, Minister for Industries Hamzad Azhar said that we have also lowered the sales tax on mobile phones and this would be implemented through a supplementary budget. In addition to this, he also said that FBR will issue the SRO with regard to decreasing the regulatory duties (RD) not the finance bill.

Replying to one another question, the advisor said that we have purchased Rs280bn wheat from farmers. The agricultural sector will flourish once the farmers will get the money. “Our sole purpose is to continue the economic activities in this Covid-19 times as no one knows how long this pandemic will remain and the government cannot make any final decision with regard to the economy. “

Sunday, 14 June, 2020

NEWS

1,300 hotSpotS Sealed acroSS country aS caSeS Spike Following ruSh to reopen ISLAMABAD

a

STAFF REPORT

UTHORITIES have identified and sealed off nearly 1,300 coronavirus hotspots across the country on Saturday to contain the rising trajectory of new infections.

The sealing of high-risk areas comes as government’s Covid-19 portal reported 6,472 new cases in the last 24 hours, the country’s highest single-day total.

Pakistan has reported 132,405 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, including 2,551 deaths since its first case emerged on Feb 26.

After initially imposing a countrywide

lockdown, the government has now eased restrictions, saying it was necessary to save the country’s economy, but it has caused a surge in infections.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has resisted demands from experts to reinforce the lockdown, citing the teetering economy.

Authorities, however, are now using the term “smart lockdown” to close shops and markets and force people to stay home in areas where confirmed cases have increased in recent weeks.

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) was told on Saturday that smart lockdowns had been enforced in 1,292 localities across the country during the last 24 hours to prevent the further

balochistan reopens restaurants, hotels despite rise in covid-19 cases QuettA APP

While observing that the coronavirus cases in Balochistan may reach 100,000 by mid-July, the provincial government on Saturday allowed restaurants and hotels to resume their businesses. Addressing a press conference in Quetta, director general of provincial health department Dr Saleem Abro said that cases were rising at a higher pace due to a lack of implementation on the standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued to curb the spread of the disease. According to Abro, the health department had recommended the government to impose a province-wide lockdown, however the violation of SOPs continued even during the earlier stages of the quarantine.

He lamented that during the quarantine period, people did not cooperate with the administration which led to a spike in cases. The provincial health chief observed that the government was held responsible for the violation of SOPs in public transport facilities. He further said the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has given some 20 ventilators and personal protective equipment (PPE) kits to the Balochistan government. According to Abro, the local transmission rate has exceeded 90 per cent amid some 70 deaths.

spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The NCOC was also apprised that a total of 308,600 people were affected due to the imposition of smart lockdowns in different areas.

In the federal capital, the smart lockdown was imposed in sectors G-9/2 and G-9/3 along with Karachi Company (G9 Markaz) in the last 24 hours. The forum was told that total 10 localities in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), having population of 60,000 population, were under smart lockdown.

It was also informed that the federal and provincial authorities were ensuring compliance to health guidelines/instructions, particularly regarding workplaces,

Govt notices shortage of tocilizumab, remedesivir, orders action ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The government swung into action on Saturday after reports emerged that two drugs currently being used for the management of Covid-19 patients were in short supply in the country.

Chairing a meeting regarding the coronavirus situation in the federal capital, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza said tocilizumab and remedesivir injections used for the Covid-19 patients will be made available by the government.

The premier’s aide said these medicines will be distributed to critically ill patients through a robust mechanism to meet the needs of various hospitals.

Dr Mirza said that taking cognizance of reports of short supply of these two injections immediate action was taken. After extensive efforts, there is an improvement in the availability status of the tocilizumab injection, he said.

Tocilizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that ordinarily used as an immune suppressant agent in rheumatoid arthritis. The authorities have included it in the National Clinical Management Guidelines for use in the treatment of critically ill patients of Covid-19 who have Cytokine Release Storm.

The SAPM said directions have been issued to National Task Force on Eradication of Spurious and Substandard drugs to apprehend the black marketeers.

“The public is encouraged to inform the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) on its toll-free number 0800-03727 in case they have been over-charged for the Actemra Injection.”

“Strict action will be taken against elements found in-

PM Imran says no to complete lockdown in Punjab Three-storied ContInueD froM pAge 01 Prime Minister Imran added that volunteers of the government’s Corona Relief Tiger Force will go into these areas [hotspots] and report violations of SOPs in the month of July.

“Our Tiger Force will use technology to report violations of SOPs and we will act on their complaints,” he said.

‘ALMOST 7,000 BEDS STILL VACANT’: Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid claimed that 10,000 Covid-specific beds were available in the province where out of 3,055 admitted patients, 215 were critical and 193 on ventilators.

She said on average 40 percent of the health facilities were vacant and available for the coronavirus patients in the province. She thanked the prime minister for ordering the National Disaster Management Authority to provide 1,000 oxygenated beds to the province and allowed Roche company to import the much-needed Actemra injections from the United States other than Japan. But she strongly forbade the people to use the medicine without the expert advice

industrial sector, transport, markets and shops, besides pursuing the Track, Trace and Quarantine (TTQ) strategy.

The NCOC was told that the smart lockdown was enforced in 844 areas of Punjab in the last 24 hours. Similarly, the lockdown was imposed in 414 localities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with a population of 11,000, seven localities in Sindh with a population of 7,000, 12 areas of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and five areas in Gilgit-Baltistan.

The NCOC meeting was told that over 13,116 violations of health guidelines/instructions were observed across Pakistan in the last 24 hours. Punitive actions were taken against some 1,541 markets/shops, 33 indus-

for having adverse impacts in certain conditions.

Provincial Finance Minister Hashim Jawan Bakht said Bulgaria and South Korea had controlled the disease with the cooperation of volunteers. A specified mobile app had been designed to help the volunteers report the SOPs’ violations directly to the administration.

Earlier this month, it had emerged that on May 15 an alarming summary was presented by the Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department to CM Buzdar according to which “no workplace and residential area of any town was disease-free” in Lahore, Punjab’s capital, and that the total number of cases in the city were estimated at around 0.7 million.

Advising the chief minister to immediately enforce a complete lockdown for “at least four weeks”, the summary had said that a smart lockdown would not work since all areas of the city had been impacted by the disease, adding that asymptomatic cases had become the “main source of infection and local transmission” in the metropolis.

Landhi building on verge of collapse KArACHI PPI

A three storied building in Landhi was found leaning to one side, posing a danger of collapse.

Sources said a three storied building in Bilal Colony, Landhi over an 80yard plot was about to collapse as it had already developed cracks and had leant to one side.

A team of Sindh Building Control Authority rushed, inspected the building and termed it very dangerous. Arrangements were being made to get the people living in this building safely vacated.

volved in over-charging or black marketing of life-saving drugs in accordance with DRAP Act 2012,” he said.

Approved Maximum Retail Price (MRP) for Actemra 80mg injection is Rs11,952 per vial, Rs29,882 for 200mg and Rs59,764 for 400mg vial.

Meanwhile, in a meeting of DRAP’s Drug Pricing Committee, the price of remedesivir was also finalised.

In the Drug Registration Board meeting held on 8th – 11th June 2020, two importers and 12 local manufacturers of remedesivir have been approved for market authorisation. The approvals would allow larger quantities to be made available.

Later in the day, Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid said that the government has allowed the import of Actemra from the US. The manufacturer (Roche) had earlier informed the authorities that due to certain restrictions, the drug can only be imported from Japan.

Addressing a media briefing, the health minister said the provincial government had requested the drug regulatory authority (DRAP) to grant the permission to import it from other destinations.

“Roche, the manufacturer of Actemra, informed us that the drug is not produced in a large quantity in Japan to meet the local requirements so we asked the federal government to allow import from the US,” Rashid said.

She, however, warned the people to not use it on their own and follow the protocols issued by the health officials. “It could be dangerous for the patient if it is used without doctor’s advice. We are using it on a trial basis and we will be only able to decide after it is tried on 1,000 patients.” She cautioned that the government will take action against those hoarding the drug to sell it at higher rates.

03

trial units and 1,429 transport vehicles.

In the Islamabad Capital Territory, 44 hotels, 120 shops, and seven industrial units and seven workshops were sealed and 42 transport vehicles banned due to over 255 SOPs violations. Likewise, 163 markets and shops were sealed, and 170 transport vehicles fined over 1,037 violations of SOPs in the AJK. Similarly, 37 shops/markets and 15 industrial units were sealed/closed, and 83 transport vehicles fined over 231 violations in GilgitBaltistan.

In KP, 122 transport vehicles were fined with 239 shops/markets sealed/closed owing to 5,798 violations, while 820 shops and nine industrial units were closed/sealed, and 776 transport vehicles fined over 3,753 violations in Punjab.

Likewise, 217 transport vehicles were fined, and 81 shops and one industrial unit were closed/sealed over 1,306 violations of SOPs in Sindh, while action was taken against 81 shops/markets, one industrial unit and 217 transport vehicles over 736 violations in Balochistan.

Former pm gilani, ex-cricketer afridi test positive for coronavirus ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and former cricket captain Shahid Afridi on Saturday became the latest victims of the Covid-19 pandemic. Announcing the news through a tweet, Kasim Gilani, the son of the former premier, blamed Prime Minister Imran Khan and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for his father’s infection. “Thank you Imran Khan’s government and National Accountability Bureau! You have successfully put my father’s life in danger,” he tweeted. The PPP leader had appeared in an anti-graft hearing in Rawalpindi on Thursday in a reference that accused him, Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) supreme leader Nawaz Sharif and former president Asif Ali Zardari of receiving luxury vehicles and gifts from Toshakhana. Gilani requested the judge that since a number of lawmakers had tested positive for Covid-19, he may be given permanent exemption from personal attendance in the court.

AFRIDI CONTRACTS VIRUS: The 40-year-old star all-rounder announced the news through Twitter, saying: “I’ve been feeling unwell since Thursday; my body had been aching badly. I’ve been tested and unfortunately, I’m [Covid-19] positive.” Retweeting the original tweet, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) wished Afridi a “swift recovery”. Afridi is the second international cricketer from Pakistan to test positive for the pandemic. Recently, former opener Taufeeq Umar had also tested positive for the disease. He has however recovered from the disease already. Since the outbreak began in the country, Afridi has been doing a load of charity work through his foundation “Hope Not Out”. STAFF REPORT

04 ISLAMABAD

Sunday, 14 June, 2020

WEATHER UPDATES SUNDAY

390C

230C

MONDAY

400C

240C

TUESDAY

400C

250C

PRAyER TimingS FAJR SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

3:14

12:08

3:53

4:56

7:19

9:03

KP govt creates 950 new jobs for tribal districts in agri dePt PESHAWAR

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STAFF REPORT

ORE than 950 new vacancies ranging from BS-3 to BS-18 have been created for the Agriculture Department and its attached formations in Newly Merged Districts (NMDs) under the Accelerated Implementation Plan (AIP).

This was revealed in a meeting held here the other day with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister (CM) Mahmood Khan in the chair to review progress on the ongoing developmental schemes of Agriculture Department launched in the NMDs. The meeting was informed that 732

more vacancies have also been created in the Livestock and Dairy Development sector, 46 in Fisheries, 106 in Soil and Water Conservation, 81 in Agriculture Engineering and 50 in Agriculture Extension.

The process of recruitment against these newly created vacancies is in progress and to be completed during the upcoming fiscal year Regarding the progress made on various ongoing developmental schemes so far, the meeting was informed that an Integrated Agriculture Development Scheme had been launched in NMDs at a cost of Rs1,500 million to promote the cultivation of vegetables and fruits.

Under this scheme, fruits orchards have been cultivated on 1,950 acres of land

whereas vegetable seeds have been distributed to cover 4,267 acres of land. This scheme will be completed by the year 2022.

Similarly, another scheme for virus-free seed potato production using tissue culture has also been launched at a cost of Rs508 million. In relation to this scheme, one Tissue Lab has been functionalised while construction of another such lab is in progress and relevant training is being imparted to the local farmers.

The meeting was told that another three years’ scheme has been launched for livestock productivity enhancement under the Livestock and Dairy Development sector with a cost of Rs674 million under which 13 Mobile Veterinary Clinics and 100 calf fat-

Smart lockdowns imposed in various sectors, Markaz Karachi Company ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

A smart lockdown has been imposed in Sectors G9/2, G-9/3 and Markaz Karachi Company areas of Islamabad to prevent the spread of coronavirus and inducing necessary measurements in high-risk areas.

It may be mentioned here that more than 13,116 violations of health guidelines were observed across the country within 24 hours. More than 1,541 markets, 33 industries and 1,429 vehicles were cautioned, fined, sensitised and sealed in this regard.

In Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 44 hotels,

120 shops and seven industrial units were closed over 255 SOP violations.

Federal and provincial authorities are ensuring compliance with health guidelines, particularly in working places, the industrial and transport sectors, as well as markets based on Test, Track and Quarantine (TTQ) strategy. A total of 1,292 smart lockdowns over 308,600 of the population has been imposed throughout the country.

To ensure the implementation of the health guidelines and preventive measures, special teams are operating across the country to ensure that the SOPs are being implemented.

tening farms have been established whereas more than 1,000 sheep and goats have been distributed in the merged districts.

"Under the Agriculture Engineering sector, a scheme worth Rs1,657 million has been launched for levelling wasteland and solarisation of existing agricultural tube wells and under the scheme, so far 15 solar pumping systems have been installed and more than 15-acre land has been levelled," the KP CM was told.

Regarding the Agriculture Department's proposed schemes to be included in the upcoming Annual Development Programme (ADP) for NMDs, it was said that besides other initiatives, a scheme for olive cultivation and establishment of olive oil processing plants has

been proposed in the upcoming ADP. The chief minister directed the higherups of the Agriculture Department to complete the hiring process against the newly created posts within the given timelines while ensuring transparency and meritocracy in the process besides giving preference to the locals for recruitment against non-technical vacancies.

He termed the accelerated development of the merged areas as a top priority of his government and directed the authorities to ensure the completion of all ongoing developmental schemes within the stipulated time frame so that the people of the area could benefit from public welfare schemes without any delay.

Cut in prices of motorcycles, cement, local mobile phones welcomed PESHAWAR APP

People from cross-sections of society including politicians and economic experts here on Saturday highly praised slashing prices of motorcycles, cement, local mobile phones and rubber products in federal budget 2020-21 and termed allocation of Rs56 billion for development of merged tribal districts was highly laudable.

Provincial Minister for Environment and Forests, Syed Ishtiaq Urmar highly appreciated the tax-free budget of PTI government and declared it as the best budget in the prevailing difficult economic situation in the wake of coronavirus

pandemic. Talking to APP, the minister said rickshaws and motorcycles were mostly being used by poor people for communication and making it cheap and inexpensive in the federal government budget 2020-21 would largely benefit the white-collar community, poor and deserving people.

He said it would help promote rickshaws and motorcycles industries and create jobs opportunities for thousands of labourers and workers.

Misal Khan, a retired information officer termed the budget wide-ranging and goal-oriented and said slashing prices of cement and rubber products was a landmark decision that would help bolster the construction industry in the country.

Sunday, 14 June, 2020

NEWS

PM orderS early loCal bodieS PollS in Punjab

House maid arrested, cash and foreign currency recovered ISLAMABAD INP

Islamabad Women Police Station arrested a house maid for her alleged involvement in a theft case and recovered cash and dollars from her, a police spokesman said on Saturday. As per Inspector General of Police (IGP) Muhammad Amir Zulfqar Khan’s orders, DIG (Operations) Waqar Uddin Syed assigned special task to SP (City) Omer Khan to ensure arrest of those involved in criminal activities in various areas of city. The SP City constituted special team under supervision of ASP Aqeela Naqvi, including SHO Misbah Shehbaz along with others to trace a theft case. The team arrested a house maid identified as Sumera Robeen and recovered Rs751,000 and 400 dollars from her. A case has been registered against her and further investigation is underway.

LAHORE

P

APP

RIME Minister Imran Khan Saturday directed the Punjab government to make arrangements for early holding of local bodies’ elections to activate the local government system and resolve the public issues at their doorsteps.

In a briefing given to him on local government system in Punjab during his visit here, the prime minister was apprised that all administrative and legal arrangements were being made actively.

The meeting was attended by Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar, senior provincial ministers and senior officers.

It was told that the elections of Village Panchayat and local bodies would be held on time.

The provincial election commission would complete the delimitations within 60 days starting next month which would follow Village and Panchayat level elections within 45 days. However, the election of the local bodies might be held by year end, it was told.

The prime minister expressed satisfaction over the pace of fulfilling administrative and legal formalities for the local bodies elections.

19 more fall prey to Covid-19 as tally goes up to 17,450 in KP PESHAWAR

Smuggling bid foiled, hashish recovered PESHAWAR: The City Police on Saturday foiled a bid of narcotics smuggling and recovered eightkilogram hashish from a motorcycle near Sarband areas. According to the police, a suspected motorcycle was signaled to stop near Sarband but the driver sped up the two-wheeler and tried to escape.

However, when police team started chasing the motorcycle, he abandoned the bike on roadside and escaped. APP

Qureshi, Buzdar discuss South Punjab Secretariat

STAFF REPORT

At least 19 more people have died from the novel coronavirus in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on Saturday, bringing the Covid-19 death toll in the province to 661. According to the statics released by the provincial health department, a total of 1,035 new cases of coronavirus were reported during the past 24 hours, taking the total count of infected people in the province to 17,450. As many as 3,849 active patients of the virus have recovered from the ailment so far including 219 new during the past 24 hours.

Six bazaars in naudero closed as Covid-19 cases surge NAUDERO PPI

After surge in coronavirus positive cases here in the hometown of the Bhutto family, Ratodero Assistant Commissioner (AC) Abdul Wahid Channa, accompanied

by Naundero SHO, ordered the closure of six bazaars here on Saturday for 14 days.

According to the details, shopkeepers were forced to close down shops immediately at 12pm. These bazaars include Shahi Bazaar, Resham Galli, Kiryana Bazaar, General Store, Sarafa Bazaar and tailor shops. Even medical stores and grocery shop owners have been ordered to remain shut for two weeks. During the AC's visit, the Naundero SHO was ordered to immediately wear a mask to force other denizens to abide by SOPs by setting an example.

LAHORE APP

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi called on Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar at the CM's Office here on Saturday in which matters regarding mutual interest, political situation, steps taken to deal with coronavirus as well as setting up of the secretariat in South Punjab were discussed.

They also strongly condemned the Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir and the unprovoked firing by the Indian Army on the Line of Control.

On this occasion, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the establishment of the South Punjab Secretariat would provide relief to people of the area. The secretariat would solve problems of people at the grass root level besides bringing about improve-

ment in the governance.

He said that confused India wanted to destroy peace in the region. The struggle of Kashmiri youth against India in occupied Kashmir would become successful. The Indian government had made a new history of brutality by inflicting extreme cruelties on the innocent Kashmiris, he added.

During the meeting, Usman Buzdar said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the federal government had presented an excellent, balanced and people-friendly budget, in difficult times.

He also congratulated Prime Minister Imran Khan, Federal Minister Hamad Azhar and his team. He said the opposition should avoid criticism for the sake of criticism on the tax-free budget. He maintained that the priorities had been rightly set in the budget and the best budget had been presented

in the present circumstances.

The budget did not put additional burden on the poor and underprivileged segment of the society, he said.

The chief minister said that the posts for Add Chief Secretary and Additional IG for South Punjab Secretariat had been approved and notification had been issued in this regard. He said the add chief secretary and Additional IG would be posted in Bahawalpur and Multan. He added South Punjab Secretariat would be functional soon.

He said that the government was fulfilling its promises made with people of South Punjab and keeping its focus on development of backward areas. He added the budget allocated for the South Punjab could not be utilized for any other purpose, adding that funds of South Punjab would only be spent on development and prosperity of people of south Punjab.

China offers Shehbaz assistance in treating Covid-19 ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry Lijian Zhao on Saturday telephoned Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif and offered assistance for his treatment of Covid-19 on behalf of the Chinese government, the Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) said in a statement.

The party said that Lijian expressed concern for Shehbaz’s well-being and prayed for his early recovery.

“Shehbaz Sharif thanked the Chinese government, its leadership,

and Zhao Lijian for offering treatment for Covid-19. Your concern and offer is a reflection of China’s love for Pakistan and its people.”

“China’s affection, consideration and brotherly relations are a source of pride for me,” said the PML-N leader. Ahsan Iqbal, who has also been diagnosed with Covid-19, said he too had received a phone call from Zhao, inquiring after his health.

Iqbal said he is “deeply touched”

by Zhao’s concern for his illness, recognition of his contribution towards CPEC and over his “offer of medical support on behalf of Chinese govern-

ment”. The PML-N president on Thursday said that he is self-isolating after lab reports confirmed that he has contracted the virus.

He had appeared before a NAB investigation team in a corruption case where a large number of party workers had also gathered to show support to their party chief.

Besides the party president, a large number of senior PML-N leaders including former prime minster Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Ayaz Sadiq, Marriyum Aurangzeb and Tariq Fazal Chauhdry have tested positive for COVID-19.

Punjab budget to be unveiled tomorrow LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Punjab Minister for Finance Hashim Jawan Bakhat will present Punjab budget for fiscal year 2020-21 in provincial assembly tomorrow (Monday). A spokesperson of the Finance Department Saturday stated that the first time public was included in the budget making process and finance department advertised in the national dailies for seeking public budget proposals which are included in the budget.

The public opinion was kept in consideration so that 68 percent budgetary allocations are made to education, health and employment generation. The special focused has been given to the corona pandemic and allocations were made accord-

05

ingly to the departments.

Further, financial assistance is

being ensured to the SME sector through Rise Punjab strategy. The

budget has focused towards social protection, ensuring the work for daily wagers, and industrial revival. In order to keep the industry in the backdrop of the covid-19 pandemic, no new tax was being introduced while relaxations are given on the existing taxes on the services sector.

The ease of taxation payment is being ensured in excise and taxation and Board of revenue. Concrete steps are being taken for the agriculture growth. Further, for rural areas special focused is given to the people attached with agriculture economy through public private partnership projects.

Special funds are allocated for Covid-19 pandemic and locust attack besides allocation of resources to counter the pandemic and emergencies in the future.

Sunday, 14 June, 2020

06 COMMENT

Long hot summer

Avoiding responsibility Pack up and go quarantine at home

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eSPiTe reporting thousands of new confirmed cases of the Coronavirus daily, the Punjab government has closed up all quarantine centres that were established earlier when the virus had started to spread. Accounting for over a third of total cases in the country and close to 40 percent of total deaths, doing away with one of the few state-enforced measures being taken to handle the crisis and asking people to quarantine themselves at their homes is simply a way of avoiding responsibility and duty. The World health Organisation (WhO), in a letter to the Punjab government, has already voiced concern over lifting of a lockdown that was already underenforced, without meeting any of the six key requirements to do so and recommended a strict two-week lockdown. his own health Department, in mid-May, presented a report to the CM based on randomised and smart sampling, revealing a horrific picture with an infection rate as high as 6 percent in the province’s most populous city, lahore, translating into at least 670,000 active cases there. The report also recommended another lockdown. WhO’s recommendations and the report, much like other warnings and suggestions based on empirical medical and scientific data, were both ignored. it seems that an unsaid policy of developing ‘herd immunity’ is being pursued, which essentially entails allowing a virus to infect around 70 percent of the population for enough people to recover and become immune to it so that it eventually stops spreading. The only perceivable advantage of this policy is that the government does not have to do much, just stand back and look at how the healthcare system gets crippled, the economy collapses and thousands die. The UK attempted this at the beginning of the pandemic but abandoned it within a couple of weeks due to public outrage at its government’s inaction and death toll projections from experts showing numbers in the hundreds of thousands. Sweden went through with it and its top epidemiologist now regrets the decision that has resulted in ‘too many deaths’. There is still time for Pakistan to impose another stricter lockdown, otherwise the death toll will almost certainly reach truly horrific levels. An already underfunded and underequipped healthcare system is now running over capacity, but the government is unwilling to roll back its easing measures and is still banking on the general population to follow SOPs that cannot be enforced. The direction has to come from the top, which means the Prime Minister, but sadly he has never been in favour of any lockdown and only last week finally admitted, contradicting his own words from two months back, that ‘covid-19 is not like the common cold and people are not taking it seriously’.

The worst is yet to come

arif NiZami

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he long hot summer of discontent is here.

No matter what political views one holds, or whichever way one looks at it, there seems to be little light at the end of the tunnel. As apprehended, the coronavirus pandemic is now hitting the country with full force. And the worst is yet to come. last Friday Pakistan broke its previous record of the highest single-day rise ever. With 130,000 plus cases and daily deaths from the virus exceeding 100 we have already surpassed China, the country now ranks 17th in Coronavirus cases globally.

Not that the advent of Covid-19 in Pakistan is the government's fault. The pandemic like the rest of the world had to hit Pakistan.

But the haphazard manner in which it has been tackled leaves much to be desired. Prime Minister imran Khan, rightly upset with the public for not following the preventive SOPs, has warned that he will personally monitor the situation and will be tough on the people. Better late than never, but it’s like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.

The government’s Coronavirus strategy at best can be termed as patchy, bordering on sheer incompetence. When initially a national lockdown was theoretically in place, it never was properly implemented. Khan always made it amply clear that he did not believe in shutdowns as they will deprive the teeming poor of their livelihood.

Coupled with this, the Sindh government was consistently castigated by various federal and Punjab government spokesmen for insisting upon a lockdown. hence, we had a lockdown that never was.

True, that the majority of the populace is culturally and also, owing to sheer economic needs, not akin to staying home and follow proper safety measures. But did the government really have its heart in enforcing a lockdown? Of course not.

Another test of government’s competence The locusts are coming

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Till reeling under the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, another severe crisis is looming over the horizon with the potential to severely damage the country’s crops and endanger its food security. earlier PM imran Khan took the coronavirus lightly, ignored the threat when he still had time to make preparations to meet it and ended up blaming political opponents and the people in general for not adhering to SOPs. his reaction to the impending locust threat has been no different.

The locusts entered Pakistan in June last year and the government had enough time to destroy them in the breeding regions of the country through timely sprays. letters written by the Sindh government to islamabad on the subject were thrown into the dustbin. Thus the local breeding of the last year’s infestation was allowed to continue. The pests have consequently come to inhabit pockets in all the provinces of Pakistan. last month the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warned Pakistan of a second and a more destructive invasion by swarms from east Africa in late June and in July. The inference that can be drawn from what Chairman NDMA told the Supreme Court last month is that arrangements to fight the locust are still in the making.

A report on the situation submitted to the Supreme Court by the Punjab government also confirms the perception.

According to the report, urgent arrangements were needed for obtaining 50 micron sprayers, five aeroplanes and the services of 50 entomologists to support surveillance and combat operations in Punjab. On Monday the apex court observed that satisfactory measures were not taken to eliminate locusts from the country.

Fresh swarms of locusts have meanwhile entered KP through Afghanistan, destroying crops and divesting trees of their leaves in Dera ismail Khan, from where they were entering Punjab, thus posing a serious threat to the food basket of the country. There is a need on the part of the Federal Plant Protection Department, the NDMA and the provincial governments to get their act together. On account of delayed decisions, this has turned into a race against time and a failure could lead to a famine like condition in parts of the country, particularly Balochistan, which has been worst hit so far.

Prospect of E-Courts in Pakistan

Osama Zafar

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hile i write this piece, the world is struck by a pandemic. Covid-19, which was first detected in Wuhan, China, and which has spread across the globe, wreaking havoc in europe, USA and many other countries and is now peaking, especially in the Subcontinent. Pakistan has just officially surpassed China in terms of the total number of cases and is on track to surpass many more. Most of the countries have resorted to complete lockdowns while with countries like Pakistan and Sweden, the policy seems to be in line with achieving herd immunity. Most of the industries and businesses in Pakistan have been reopened after a brief lockdown, with instructions and SOPs from the government. inevitably, litigation before the Court is also gaining normality as if there was no pandemic. While some of the businesses have gone completely online, with employees working from home and minimal presence in offices, the question arises, can we achieve the same with litigation?

Countries such as the United Kingdom, india, Australia and UAe have shifted most of the Courts operations online to protect the lives of the litigants, lawyers and the judiciary. in Pakistan however, the lockdown has been lifted and Courts operate with preventive measures. On my recent visit to the lahore high Court, i observed how crowded some of the Courts were, while some people wore masks, and some did not care to. Some of the judges, i observed, were very strict in keeping their Courts observant of

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

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Joint Editor

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Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

Resultantly, we have had the worst of both worlds.

People are dying at a much higher rate and at the same time (as is evident from latest figures) the economy is not reviving in a hurry. According to conservative estimates, the Coronavirus affectees number will exceed 200,000 by the end of this month as warned by the WhO (World health Organisation) much earlier.

And according to the Prime Minister himself, the peak is yet to come in July and August. in the meanwhile, Khan comfortably ensconced in his ivory tower surrounded by his Covid-19 team frequently addresses the nation, pontificating what a beautiful job his SAPM (special assistant to the prime minister) on health Zafar Mirza and his team is doing. in reality they are a couple of yes-men saving their jobs and refusing to state the bitter truth. Or maybe they do not know any better?

The situation on the ground is dire. There is an acute shortage (or perhaps self-created by profiteers) of life saving medicines. And even if available they are at an exorbitant costs running into several lakhs. it is utter confusion worst confounded. if a citizen contracts the deadly disease, he has no idea where to go for treatment or who to go to.

Most hospitals- including private hospitals with the limited beds they have allotted for Covid-19 patientsare bursting at their seams.

The government is parroting its oft repeated mantra: ‘sab acha hai’ (all is well) and that everything is under control. Take the case of Budget 2020-21 presented with much fanfare. Read in conjunction with the economic Survey it highlights the current state of the economy.

Of course, it is very dismal. But the wily advisor on finance, Dr hafeez Sheikh, has blamed it all on the previous government and the pandemic. The fact that the first nine months of the financial year, (July 2019 to March 2020) the pandemic had not yet hit the country, is conveniently papered over.

Despite a number of exemptions and incentives there has been a sharp decline in economic activity like never before in the country’s history. Most economic indicators headed south during the financial year 201920. The GDP growth was negative at 0.38 per cent. But of course, the economic team did no wrong.

The fact that the iMF’s (international Monetary Fund) eFF (extended Fund Facility) was negotiated by the present team is simply overlooked.

True, the economy was in dire straits when the present government took over in August 2019. But simply passing over the buck to the previous government simply does not fly.

Why did the former iMF/World Bank economic team negotiate a deal programmed to slow down the economy and inhibit growth? high interest rates, aggressive depreciation of the rupee against the dollar and record inflation was a lethal combination to bring the economy further down.

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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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SOPs while some were helpless. They had a handful of cases, litigants and lawyers to attend to and were too committed to their duty and could not be bothered by the pandemic at hand. One cannot really blame the judges, litigants or lawyers at this time, the Courts have never invested in, or planned, an alternate system. One has always been expected to physically go to Courts, whether litigant, lawyer or judge. in tough times such as we are in, smart nations learn, improvise, adapt and overcome. it seems we have not quite reached the smart nation status yet; some might even suggest that we are quite far off. in a world where covid-19 is expected to stay among us for at least two years; and with no vaccine; maybe even longer; businesses and industries are adapting. it is now imperative that the third pillar of the state makes an effort to uphold the rule of law and ensure access to justice without putting people’s lives at risk. e-Courts seem to be the only solution. But what are e-Courts? And will they successfully work in Pakistan? Firstly, e-Court is an electronic-Court through which Judges can adjudicate upon matters. The lawyers can join and present their arguments; however, the execution will be a bit complex. There are different procedures in place for civil and criminal matters in Pakistan. Civil matters, which predominantly concern disputes regarding commercial, taxation, property, tort, family, employment matters, could be dealt with through e-Courts in the high Courts and Supreme Court but in civil and session Courts, where lawyers and litigants have to conduct evidence through examination-in-chief and cross-examination, the same would prove to be a grave task. Making technology accessible to the witnesses would prove very difficult and allocating resources for the same would realistically be impossible. everyone does not have access to technology in Pakistan and the masses cannot be expected to appear for examinations online; this is furthered by the uncertainty internet connectivity issues bring to the table. however, for witnesses who have access to technology, an option may be provided for online examination. if the Judges are available online, some e-Systems such as PCs or tablets can be installed in Civil and Sessions Courts which may only be used practicing strict social distancing measures.

For criminal matters, evidence proceedings can possibly be made online. For execution, police and other law enforcement agencies such as NAB can

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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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Dr Sheikh takes a lot of pride in not borrowing from the State Bank but does not fully explain why Pakistan had to take bilateral loans amounting to a humongous $12 billion during the tenure of the present government? This figure does not include the iMF facility or other loans taken from various international donors.

Of course, the official explanation proffered is that had the government not borrowed the economyleft in tatters by its predecessor government- would have tanked. industries minister hammad Azhar presented a Rs 7.13 trillion annual budget on Friday.

While no new taxes were imposed, he crowed about real or perceived achievements of the government during the outgoing fiscal year. he underscored 73per cent decline in current account deficit but conveniently ignored the fact that this was mainly owing to a sharp decline in imports rather than a perceptible increase in exports.

Partly owing to an investment averse iMF programme followed by the pandemic, the large scale, small and medium size manufacturing sectors registered a negative growth and agriculture remained stagnant as well.

The real challenge for the government in the upcoming financial year is how to jump-start the economy. it has given enough incentives to business and industry. What remains to be seen is whether they will bite or not. The growth target has been set at 2.1 per cent for the new financial year. But in the present backdrop it is expected to be in the negative. Similarly, setting a Rs 4.9 trillion tax revenue target might keep the iMF at bay for the time being, but is too ambitious.

Another royal mess is the plight of the sugar industry. it had to take its case for relief to the islamabad high court. The Chief justice of the ihC, Athar Minallah, only granted an interim stay for restraining the sugar commission to institute criminal proceedings against them on the undertaking from the sugar barons that they would sell sugar at Rs 70 per kilogram. As the special assistant the PM Shahzad Akbar had put it, the sugar industry was fleecing the consumer by creating cartels. But in his now signature vindictive style he lost sight of his stated goal to bring the sugar retail price down.

Fuel shortages in the country are another feather in the government’s cap. As per his norm now, the PM expressed his anger at the oil companies for creating artificial shortages. if he looks closer at home a few members of his team primarily SAPM for oil and gas Nadeem Babar and related OGRA (Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority) officials should have been put on the mat. But accountability under the present power dispensation is solely for the opposition.

Arif Nizami is Editor, Pakistan Today. He can be contacted at arifn51@hotmail.com.

make available the technology within prisons and police stations, and the witnesses may join the online room where lawyers and judge are present. This is very much a possibility, but effort is required on part of law enforcement agencies and courts.

The main challenge lies for the judges and lawyers to be brought on the same platform with regards to e-Courts. Many of the judges are old-fashioned and it would be difficult for them to be equipped with latest technology. The same can be said for lawyers. Some of the lawyers might not be able to afford such technology, but in these testing times an investment in a decent laptop and an internet connection would be worthwhile their practice. Also, i am of the view the number of lawyers who would not have access to a PC or smartphone with an internet would be minimal. i recommend that the judiciary uses their invaluable institution of Judicial Academies all across Pakistan to educate the judiciary on e-Courts. They may conduct workshops on the use of software. Microsoft Teams for instance is a reliable and secure software which allows several members to join an online room for a video conference and allows people to share documents and even screen-share. They can even come up with their own software, but this would be time consuming and costly. The Bar Councils and Bar Associations can also arrange for online workshops for lawyers to train them in this manner as well. internet connectivity may also be assured, Courts can contract with different service providers to provide free or subsidised internet to the lawyers for making e-Courts effective. Filing is still being done physically. lawyers or clerks have to submit papers in filing branches of courts for effecting filing. it is suggested that an effective and secure e-filing system may be established on the court websites. This would not only curb the environmental detriment of paper filing but will make the system efficient, and free from human error. i would urge that even when the world returns to normality, and approaching public places such as courts becomes possible, the e-filing system remains intact for its efficiency.

These are difficult times and require extraordinary measures. We cannot sit idle and risk our lives.

Justice is important but if we do not change our ways, obtaining Justice will cost valuable lives. e-Courts are the necessity of the time and immediate measures must be taken to make it a reality in Pakistan.

The writer can be reached at osama.zafar@zafariqbalandco.com / and tweets @Osama_Zafarr

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Sunday, 14 June, 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

Decrease the fees i am Saira, a resident from islamabad. As a responsible citizen of Pakistan, i would like to draw the respected attention of authorities and common people mostly including students. The future of this nation belongs to students of Pakistan. As a student, i observed and experienced that respected Government of Pakistan, students, and their parents everyone is in trouble these days. The Pandemic badly affected the economy, local industries, and education. i respect the step taken by the heC(higher education Commission) of online education. Their efforts are much appreciated, with that our teachers, faculty & management working tirelessly to provide us quality education at our homes. Now coming towards students many of us are facing issues like electricity, network issues, students from Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir have to ride over mountains to meet network connectivity and attend online classes. Many students left their homes because of these issues and started living in a hostel located in settled/stable cities like islamabad, lahore, Peshawar, and Karachi. i would like to request heC to decrease our next semester fee by some percentage as we are not using respective services like electricity and internet even labs are not in use. hopefully, my request will be forwarded using your platform and higher authorities will take notice.

SAirA KHAN islamabad

Destruction vs protection

Weighing words in coins Is the decline temporary, or has the malady sunk in deep?

Candid Corner raOOf HasaN if they take away my ink and pen Grieve i shall not For i have dipped my fingers in my heart’s blood if they seal my tongue Complain i shall not For the links of every chain Shall recite my words – Adapted from Faiz Ahmed Faiz

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he first time i had an urge to write, i was very young and had little idea of the importance of either the written or the spoken word. For me, writing was just a means of venting my pent-up emotions. it was much later in life that i began to associate my words with the cause of ideas and convictions. There has been no looking back ever since.

Moving ahead in life, i discovered that, within and outside the ambit of the profession, words were also offered for sale. ideas and convictions had nothing to do with this travesty which reflected one’s lust for money and an effort to gain some relevance, political or otherwise. But, i thought that such people would constitute only a tiny minority of the tribe of journalists.

But, no, there were further shocks in store. i learnt to my absolute angst that the buying and selling of words, of the written and the spoken varieties, was a widespread affliction. it was just like trading in other commodities. ideas and convictions were not the drivers of words any longer. Only money was, and entire opinion pieces in newspapers and prime-time programmes on television, were up for sale for the right price. even later in life i discovered that these ugly mansions, these grandiose pretensions of being important, these desperate overtures to manoeuvre credibility were the masks to hide the filth and ugliness inside, and that this trade was not really new. it dated back to all such times when people nurtured similar aims and ambitions. They purchased words to camouflage their shame and bloated affectations by gratifying the sordid ambitions of the tribe of journalists with a few coins so as to advance their selfish objectives. it was Faiz who wrote about the need and

impact of words even in oppressive times: or kind. They are to be shamed. The path to sal“Speak for thy lips are free, speak for thy tongue vation is not in their company. That would only is still yours...”. There are other poets and writ- spell ignominy for the whole profession.

From Faiz’s words of defiance to contempoers who defied tyranny and repression with bold and meaningful invocations which changed the rary coinages sold for varied inducements, it has course of history and humankind. Their words been one humiliating fall. The power of words will forever remain embedded in human mem- is now manipulated by a bunch of intellectual ory with our heads bowed in gratitude. The dark parasites, nibbling away at the ethos of their pronight of autocracy would have lasted longer if fession. it has been hijacked by a group of selfthese brave voices had not come forth, weaving anointed pontiffs who sit every evening before the cameras, fabricating stories that would suit magic with their writings.

Words command immense power. Words their pockets rather than the ethical code govhave raised empires. Words have nurtured dy- erning their job. The edifice of journalism which nasties. Words have marshalled armies, initiated had been raised by some stalwarts of the profeswars and woven the peace thread. Words have sion has crumbled before the greed and callousinspired a spate of creativity and bred phenom- ness of those who sit at the helm at this critical enal progress. But, words have wrought may- juncture. They have no reason to be there. They hem and destruction also, annihilated have no professional or moral integrity. They becivilisations and bared the demonic lust and long in the pit.

A profession rooted in bias and prejudice greed among people. empires have perished at their calling and dynasties have surrendered to cannot be a pillar of the state. it breeds hatred their might. Words are powerful and this power and divisions in a society which is already tothas been at play in multiple ways through cen- tering on the brink. it needs healing, not further turies. human beings have been both the cre- fragmentation. These merchants of words ators of this power as well as the victims of its preaching hate must go. They have no role in the process of putting the country together by ensurwrath. ing welfare for the sufBut, one had never fering communities witnessed the demeaning which have languished of the written and spoken on the fringes of life. word like it has been conThe problem is visisistently on display these The profession of journalism ble. The cause is known. days. Words are no longer it is for those who still vehicles for promoting commands sanctity and care about the profeshumankind’s progressive sion, and are mindful of and creative faculties. instature. Both have been maintaining its sanctity, stead, they hang like albacontaminated in exchange for to also prescribe the trosses around their necks prognosis. The time is because the writers have abominable pursuits of a now. Any further delay surrendered before their clique of merchants. Left to would irreversibly comingrained greed and calpromise the ideals which lousness. They no longer them, they would dispose of are still espoused by a put their faith in the effilarge number of adhercacy of words. They ex- the entire profession if it would ents of this profession. ploit its purchasing suit their lustful desires and it is not going to be prowess instead by sacrificing their integrity at the their demeaning indulgences. easy because these merchants of deceit possess altar of securing their rea saleable commodity. spective pound of flesh.

So, in addition to nullifyis the decline temporary, ing myriad temptations, or has the malady sunk in deep? i say this because, without establishing the it is the lure of the illicit bounty that has to be sanctity of the written and spoken word, there is resisted. it can be done by reiterating the founno way we could move forward along a civilised dational ethics of the profession and ensuring path. We would only wander off into the boon- that these are not compromised by the deviants.

The profession of journalism commands docks, lost for direction and purpose both. This is the course which the merchants of words have sanctity and stature. Both have been contaminated in exchange for abominable pursuits of a clearly opted for.

Faraz had likened words with dreams. Yes, clique of merchants. left to them, they would words weave dreams which show direction to dispose of the entire profession if it would suit humankind to accomplish their destiny. But, their lustful desires and their demeaning indulwhat kind of destiny have we opted for: a des- gences.

The words you write reflect your soul. You tiny which these vile merchants are trying to forge at the cost of our character, integrity and cannot sell your soul for a share in the loot. let ethos? it is not by selling our dreams that we us hope that the profession will bounce back by would progress and flourish. instead, it is by re- ousting these demons whose continued presence within its folds has been infectious, with the soclaiming our dreams and our heritage.

An earnest movement is required to shake ciety bearing the brunt of the scourge. off this apparel of respectability which these The writer is a political and security strateugly merchants of words have wrapped around themselves to hide the corrupt instinct which has gist, and heads the regional Peace institute – put us on course to depravity. We cannot take a an islamabad-based think tank. Email: Twitter: path chiselled by the illicit bounties delivered by raoofhasan@hotmail.com. this crooked cartel selling their words for cash @raoofHasan

i am 96 years old and a regular contributor to various news outlets through my letters in the opinion and editorial sections. i have been writing extensively about looming disasters in form of disease, natural calamities, and economic crunches. i kept pleading to the government through my letters that all these menaces are intertwined and until the government takes solid steps, our country does not stand a chance. Many others also kept pleading to their governments around the world to take these things seriously, but alas all our pleas fell on def ears. More upsetting is the fact that while this disease has devoured hundreds of thousands of lives world over, leaders in most countries are more focused on developing means of destruction than finding a cure to this and other diseases. People die of disease and hunger and resources are being spent on means of further destruction.For example, india, China, and Pakistan seem more obsessed with developing weapons and gaining ability to destroy each other than using even a fraction of their resources for development of human life. The US is more worried about China and iran than Corona, which has killed more people than all their enemies combined have in the battlefields. The oppressive and brutal regime of israel is more dangerous for millions of Palestinians and israeli Arab citizen than any disease in the world. One wonders why the so-called custodians of the human and civil rights all over the world are more obsessed with finishing the very life they claim to be defending. i beg to the leaders of the countries around the world to stop developing means of destroying life on this fragile planet and pool resources to protect human life. in the end, we all have to die one day but what we leave behind in form of our deeds and actions will determine how we are remembered. The world leaders should take a hint from how hitler or Mussolini are remembered versus Mother Tressa or Abdul Sattar edhi. rAJA SHAFAATuLLAH islamabad

Man is not an ATM machine AS we always raise our voices regarding girls’ rights and freedom, we should raise our voices for boys too. it is now becoming increasingly common in our society that a girl’s wedding is just on the man’s handsome salary. A man is not an ATM machine to be used like this. if a good, well educated young girl’s proposal comes, the matter is stopped by the boy’s income. The society accepts only a salary as high as Rs 80,000 to 100,000 which is very wrong and meaningless, especially if they expect a young graduated boy. Over time, the salary increases. even though, they demand a handsome, good looking man, no siblings or they have luxury etc. in order to get a boy for your daughter, you have to compromise on something otherwise the girl will stay at home forever. The boy is also a child of a human being. Does it mean that only if he’s a doctor, engineer, banker, or a businessman that your daughter should be stable?

This situation has increased significantly and the girls have increased their own demands. We should keep an eye on this thing. Don’t increase your desires. A man is not an atm machine.

SAEEd ANwAr islamabad

Reimpose lockdown The World health Organization (WhO) has recommended that Pakistani authorities reimpose a strict, intermittent lockdown targeting localities with high coronavirus spread, as cases in the South Asian country increase exponentially since most restrictions were lifted last month. in a letter sent to the provincial governments on Sunday, WhO Pakistan chief Palitha Mahipala said the country did not meet any of the organisation's six technical criteria for easing a lockdown. As of today, Pakistan does not meet any of the pre-requisite conditions for opening the lock down," says the letter, shared with Al Jazeera on Wednesday. Pakistan's government, led by Prime Minister imran Khan, had imposed lockdown restrictions of varying strictness in different provinces, but lifted most measures in late May, ahead of the Muslim festival of eid al-Fitr. The lifting of restrictions ushered in a skyrocketing of reported coronavirus cases, with daily infections rising from about 1,700 per day before the relaxation to 5,385 new cases on June 9, a single-day record. So far, five of the nine days in June have posted single-day case increase records. Pakistan currently has 113,702 cases of the coronavirus, with 2,312 deaths recorded so far, according to government data. in its letter, the WhO said Pakistan's rate of coronavirus-positive patients was too high (24 percent), indicating that not enough testing was being done. The global body recommended that Pakistan ramp up daily testing to more than 50,000 per day. Current testing capacity is about half that number, with 23,799 patients tested for the coronavirus countrywide on Tuesday, according to government data. The WhO also said the country's surveillance system to identify, test, isolate, medical care and contact tracing was "weak". There is limited capacity to provide critical care [only 751 ventilators are allocated for COViD-19] and the population is not ready to adapt to change behaviour.

ASFANdyAr KHAN islamabad

Sunday, 14 June, 2020

08 WORLD VIEW

Is AssAd About to fAll?

Politico Magazine CHARLES LISTER

“W

e promised to keep things peaceful … but if you want bullets, you shall have them.” That was the wording of a message issued to Bashar Assad by the Druze community in Syria’s southern Suwayda province on Tuesday after three days of intensifying protests. Since then, its opposition to the Assad regime has only heated up, despite a pro-regime counterprotest on Wednesday, in which local state employees were threatened by secret police should they not participate. Demonstrators took to the streets against Assad again on Wednesday and Thursday, some bearing flags of the Syrian revolution.

Until recently, the Druze, a minority sect, had largely stayed out of Syria’s bitter nine years of conflict, but the nation’s spiraling economic crisis has forced them onto the street.

Addressing Assad directly, protesters chanted “curse your soul, we are coming for you,” and expressed their solidarity with the 3 millionstrong opposition community in Idlib, the last holdout of the armed rebellion against Assad.

As remarkable as they are, the protests unfolding in Suwayda are merely a symptom of a far greater crisis striking at the heart of the Assad regime and its prospects for survival. Assad’s decision to sack his prime minister, Imad Khamis, on Thursday was a clear indication that economic collapse and newly vocal opposition posed a real challenge to his legitimacy.

For some time, it has become commonplace to declare Assad the victor of the war in Syria—a dictator who managed to survive nearly a decade of rebellion and civil war by brutally suppressing dissent and exploiting the support of Russia and Iran to keep his grip on a burning country.

But that has never been an accurate way to see Syria. Assad may have crushed the opposition to his dictatorial rule in 60 percent of the country, but in 2020, every single root cause of the 2011 uprising is not just still in place, but has worsened. Challenges to the regime’s prosperity, credibility or survival remain in place in every corner of the country. For the first time in nearly a decade, the millions of Syrians who outwardly support Assad or who have remained quietly loyal to his rule have begun to share whispers of their own exasperation. For most, life in 2020 is a great deal worse than life at the peak of nationwide armed conflict in 2014-15. In holding on to power, Assad has effectively—and purposely—destroyed his own

nation and economy.

This new and almost unprecedented moment offers America an opportunity. Although it may seem like the Trump administration— and particularly the White House—has paid little attention to Syria, it has an opening now. If it uses its remaining levers to exploit Assad’s newly vulnerable position within an energized diplomatic effort, in concert with our many allies in europe, the Middle east and elsewhere, it has a chance to usher in real and long-overdue changes to a country that could otherwise become a global tinderbox.

For now, taking all current circumstances into account, three scenarios appear to be on the horizon. On the one hand, Assad could take Syria down the North Korea route, isolating the nation from the global economy, consolidating its status as a global pariah, and attempting to unify his loyalist population with a sense of solidarity in victimhood. In many ways, Assad has prepared his loyalist base, particularly Syria’s many minority communities, for this very scenario over the past nine years of conflict, though the extent to which a genuine and unshakable cult of personality has been built around his rule is open to question.

Syria could also take a truly unprecedented turn for the worse, crashing into a debilitating crisis that tears every fiber of the country apart and, as hard as it is to imagine in 2020, leaving even greater levels of destitution, famine, and worsening criminality and predatory behavior.

In this scenario, loyalist unity would dissolve altogether, leaving in its wake a Somalia-type failed state that’s both a human-rights disaster and a breeding ground for dangerous extremists and regional instability.

Or finally, as several longtime loyalists have suggested to me in private in recent days, this extraordinary internal crisis could spark a change at the top. In their eyes, this moment may already represent a greater threat to Assad’s survival in power than the one posed by the opposition at its peak in years past. In this scenario, the Assad path for Syria may emerge as so deeply distasteful for so many Syrians that instability, anger, disenchantment and perhaps a Russian push might end up unseating him for another established regime name.

Those scenarios are a lot to swallow, but there may be another one in which the United States could play a meaningful role alongside its many allies, in europe and the Middle east itself.

The situation in Syria is already of grave concern to Russia, which along with Iran is the primary source of Assad’s external support. In Moscow, rhetoric critical of Assad— both in public and private—has never been more acute. The rapid and likely irreversible decline of Syria into an economic basket case, combined by a continued and aggressive policy of isolation from the international community, could end up triggering—if it hasn’t already—a deep sense of unease in Russia and Iran, leaving them vulnerable and potentially open to considering some form of international settlement, conditioned on gradual reengagement and sanctions easing.

American leverage in Syria may have suffered from irrational and unpredictable decision-making from a Trump Oval Office, but the U.S. still matters in the region and the world at large, and has a chance to shape the outcome.

In fact, Assad’s current weakness provides more meaningful opportunities than we have seen for some time.

In recent months, Syria’s economy has collapsed, resulting in hyperinflation, mass business closures, widespread food shortages and increasing unemployment. With the Syrian pound floating between 2,400-3,000 to a single U.S. dollar, an average monthly salary in Syria now buys roughly one watermelon, or two pounds of lemons. At least 85 percent of Syrians live in poverty and the regime has failed to acquire sufficient wheat supplies for the remainder of 2020—meaning bread shortages are only a matter of time. Some in the nongovernmental organization sector are quietly warning of a famine that may set in later this year or in 2021. And still hovering over all of this, Covid19 cases continue their slow rise.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s recent decision to transition the economy of northern Aleppo—a region it controls militarily, alongside Syrian opposition proxies—to the Turkish lira has removed roughly 10 percent of Syria’s population from the Syrian pound, and plans are reportedly afoot to do the same in Idlib, where an additional 18 percent of Syrians now reside.

The departure of nearly a third of Syrians from their national currency may prove to be the nail in the coffin for Syria’s economy. There is virtually nothing that Assad’s two primary allies, Russia and Iran, can or will do economically to leverage Syria out of this crisis.

As he has strained for much-needed capital, Assad has opened chaotic new fronts in his own domestic politics. Most notably, he has unleashed the dogs on his cousin, longtime friend and Syria’s wealthiest businessman, Alawite billionaire Rami Makhlouf, whose money had arguably done more to keep the regime afloat over the past nine years than any other Syrian actor. A coordinated effort enforced by Syrian intelligence services has seized Makhlouf’s most prized assets—including Syria’s principal cellphone network, SyriaTel, whose services Makhlouf had allegedly provided free of charge to Syria’s military and intelligence services—and placed him under house arrest. But Makhlouf has not gone quietly, releasing multiple Facebook videos decrying the regime’s betrayal and criminality, and the spat has engendered a sense of unease within Syria’s business community. He is unlikely to be the last target of Assad’s thirst for power, particularly as he grasps for air amid Syria’s financial collapse.

At this point, it’s important to note that Syria’s economic crisis is not the consequence of the wide spectrum of sanctions imposed by the U.S. and europe, principally against individuals and business entities judged to have been involved in war crimes, though under some circumstances sanctions have exacerbated the effects of the decline. Instead, Syria has suffered principally from the financial crisis next door in Lebanon, as well as from the crippling levels of corruption and incompetence that riddle the regime and wider government structures. Despite regaining the military advantage back in 2018, Assad has also stubbornly insisted on prioritizing costly—and brutal—military campaigns against his own citizens in Idlib, where a million people were displaced late in 2019.

Beyond the economic sphere, the Assad regime’s failure to stabilize former opposition

areas and its continued brutal and corrupt practices are driving intensifying instability.

In addition to the uprising in Suwayda, the “cradle of the revolution” in Deraa has witnessed an expanding armed insurgency responsible for hundreds of attacks and hundreds of deaths in the last year. ISIS is now resurgent in the regime-controlled central desert, and Turkey has doubled down in defending what remains of opposition territory in the northwest, briefly unleashing an unprecedented air campaign against the Syrian military in March. Meanwhile, Israel continues to make a mockery of Syria’s sovereignty in striking Iranian targets at will and Turkey is almost certainly consolidating a permanent presence in northern Aleppo.

There is no magic solution to Syria’s many problems, and if there were one, the U.S. would not be in a position to provide it.

However, Syria does matter to U.S. national security and interests in the Middle east and beyond. The extraordinary list of destabilizing effects that have stemmed from Syria’s crisis and transformed the world in the past decade are palpable evidence of Syria’s importance.

Its mass migrant flows to europe precipitated a surge in populism and far-right politics around the world, along with Brexit and the weakening of the european Union. The explosive rise of ISIS, and the massive international military response, was a consequence of Syria’s civil war. It’s not too much to say that Trump’s dramatic election in 2016 may, in part, have been enabled by the chaos in Syria.

With his long list of war crimes, including more than 350 chemical weapons attacks, Assad has degraded international norms unlike no other actor in modern history. Russia has defiantly returned to the Middle east, pulling NATO’s second- largest standing army (Turkey) virtually out of the alliance and undermining U.S. influence and credibility regionwide. Iran has capitalized on Syria’s problems to achieve its decades-old regional goal of establishing an arc of influence from Tehran to Beirut and Palestine, effectively resetting regional power dynamics. And lastly, the world’s muffled response to Assad’s record-setting list of war crimes, as well as the 700,000 dead and nearly 12 million displaced, appears to have inspired an era of international isolationism in which dictators are likely to thrive.

America will always have an interest in helping solve Syria’s crises, but rarely will we have a chance like the one currently in play.

Though it has shrunk in scale, our military

The generals are turning on Trump MARK MILLEY’S APOLOGY FOR THE CHURCH PHOTO-OP IS A MAJOR ESCALATION

Slate FRED KAPLAN

President Donald Trump’s fraught relations with senior military officers ratcheted up another notch on Thursday as Gen. Mark Milley, the top U.S. general, formally apologized for appearing in Trump’s June 1 photo-op at St. John’s episcopal Church after police and National Guard officers fired rubber bullets and tear gas to clear protesters from nearby Lafayette Square, across from the White House.

“I should not have been there,” Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a prerecorded commencement address to

National Defense University. “My presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics.”

Last week, Secretary of Defense Mark esper, who also appeared in the photo-op, told reporters that he too shouldn’t have been there, further claiming that he didn’t know where he was going when Trump led him to the church. esper also said that he opposed invoking the Insurrection Act to bring activeduty soldiers to quell disorder in D.C., as Trump had threatened to do. esper’s remarks earned him a chewing-out in the Oval Office. Whether the same will happen to Milley—who has reportedly been agonizing over his role in Trump’s politicization of the military—is a matter of some suspense.

In between the June 1 incident and now, several senior officers, retired and still serving, have spoken out against the idea of using active-duty troops against the American citizens who have been demonstrating since the Minneapolis police killing of

George Floyd. Retired Marine Gen. Jim Mattis, who had resigned in protest as secretary of defense in December 2018, used the occasion to criticize Trump himself, lambasting his presidency as “three years without mature leadership.”

Trump is scheduled to give a commencement address this Saturday to the graduating cadets at West Point. Rather than delivering it remotely, as various leaders have done for other military academies, Trump—against the wishes of West Point’s leaders—demanded that the Army cadets return to campus, isolate themselves for two weeks, and then, during the ceremony itself, sit in tight formation, ignoring CDC guidelines on social distancing. Of the 1,100 graduating cadets, 17 have tested positive for the coronavirus. The whole business, which seems designed to provide footage of Trump speaking before the newest flock of military officers for his reelection campaign, has sparked quiet resentment from many in the Army.

Meanwhile, in another brewing conflict

between Trump and a military culture that’s suddenly, swiftly modernizing, the Republican-chaired Senate Armed Services Committee late Wednesday approved a motion giving the Defense Department three years to change the names of all military bases, installations, and street signs named after Confederate officers. Sen. elizabeth Warren offered the amendment to the defense authorization bill; the motion was approved in a voice vote, signaling that it will almost certainly be adopted by the full Senate.

Then, on Thursday, Rep. Yvette Clarke, a Democrat from New York, introduced a bill giving the Defense Department just one year to change the names. She sponsored a similar bill in 2017 that garnered so little support it didn’t even come up for a vote on the House floor.

The world has since changed. Just in recent days, several prominent Army officers—notably retired Gen. David Petraeus, former commander of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan—have said it’s time to remove the names of the treasonous secessionists who fought against the United States in the Civil War from U.S. military facilities, including 10 large Army bases in former Confederate Southern states. In response, acting Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said that he

presence in eastern Syria, where we help control roughly 25 percent of the country and the majority of Syria’s oil resources, provides us with a meaningful place at the table, as do the many other levers of influence resulting from our diplomatic clout and the combined pressures resulting from American and european sanctions. Syria’s only way out of this newly intensified crisis may be revealed when the gates to international diplomacy and economic reengagement are opened, but we are holding those gates firmly closed today.

The lock on the gates will grow a great deal harder to crack when in a matter of days, the most significant sanctions regime ever imposed on Syria—the Caesar Act—will come into force, forbidding any economic engagement with the Assad regime by any actor worldwide, ally or foe. That is a significant and conveniently timely step, but what is mysteriously missing is a serious diplomatic track of action, in which the U.S. seeks to take advantage of what may be the Assad regime’s weakest period in nine years.

The State Department has been engaging behind the scenes with Moscow in recent weeks, consulting on the feasibility of a new Syrian diplomatic process, and this is prime time to put that on the table. Though Russia has done a great deal in Syria on the cheap, brutally subduing the Syrian opposition and repeatedly outbluffing the international community in a game of highstakes poker, the Kremlin cannot afford to be left with what appears to be in the cards today in Syria. The ultimatum from Washington ought to be simple: The economic isolation of Assad’s regime is easy to sustain and deeply costly and dangerous to you, but it can be eased in return for meaningful political concessions from Damascus. A genuine political process leading to some form of power sharing, nationwide ceasefire, the release of thousands of political prisoners, constitutional reform, an acceptance of decentralization and internationally monitored elections inclusive of Syria’s regionally displaced, to name only a few.

Though back channels with Moscow and dialogue with europe is good, it is far from enough.

Washington has every interest in getting the diplomatic ball rolling, now. If we fail to assertively act in concert with our allies at this opportune moment, we will live to regret it.

Charles Lister is a senior fellow and the director of the Syria and Countering Terrorism and Extremism programs at the Middle East Institute and author of The Syrian would be open to a “bipartisan conversation” on the matter.

But Trump reacted with fury to the whole idea, tweeting on Wednesday that he “will not even consider the renaming of these Magnificent and Fabled Military Installations.” He finished off his tweet, laden with more capitalized letters than usual: “Respect our Military!”—although he clearly has no notion of what real military officers, who have deployed for real combat from these bases, really think.

All of this is taking place as Trump’s ratings have slid by as much as 10 percentage points just in the past week, owing in part to his hostile and aggressive response to the protests and to his political exploitation of church property, a move that has damaged his standing with many evangelicals. Now, he’s picking a high-profile fight with the military as well.

The awkward thing about Milley is that Trump appointed him Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman in 2019. The post has a term of four years, so he is nowhere near retiring—though, in accordance with his powers as commander in chief, Trump could fire him. In a recent article in the Atlantic, eliot Cohen, dean of Johns Hopkins University’s School for Advanced International Studies, wrote about the Trump era’s growing crisis in civil-military relations, concluding, “The real demonstration of military courage by a general in such a position is … the willingness to be fired.”

Milley may soon face that test.

Sunday, 14 June, 2020

buSineSS 09

Kp traders irked by ‘mismanagement’ at pak-Afghan border PESHAWAR AZIZ BUNERI

Despite the federal government's permission to open Pak-Afghan border crossings at Torkham and Chaman, Afghan transit trade and export vehicles aren't being cleared to enter Pakistan due to the alleged difficulties created by the border management, it was learnt on Saturday. According to sources, Afghan traders had last week cancelled more than 5,000 containers booked for Torkham border and shifted them to Iran's Bandar Abbas and Chabahar ports. Owing to the alleged mismanagement at Torkham and Chaman crossings, Pak-Afghan trade was dying a slow death, rendering millions of people unemployed, besides causing a heavy loss to the government exchequer, they added. Talking to Profit, Frontier Customs Agents Association (FCAA) President Ziaul Haq Sarhadi noted that coronavirus had caused heavy economic losses worldwide during the last three months, including more than Rs3,000 billion loss to the Pakistani economy. In such a situation, he said, emergency efforts were required to provide relief to traders so that trade activities could be revived. Sarhadi lamented that around 6,500 containers of Afghan transit trade were parked at Karachi port owing to coronavirus.

"Despite the government opening the border 24/7 after ending the lockdown, the goods have not been cleared as yet, while the shipping companies are charging hefty detention fees from Afghan traders," he claimed. He suggested that the Frontier Corps should be given the responsibility to manage the border so that the goods were cleared within 24 hours. "Earlier, only 10 per cent cargo was being checked at Karachi port, but now all of the cargo goes through the checking process. This is a time-consuming activity and should be avoided." He said the FBR-Director General Transit Trade has further complicated the issue by making it mandatory for containers to be scanned at the borders. "The scanners at the Afghan border can only scan up to 50 containers per day, thus the trade vehicles have to wait for weeks at border points." Meanwhile, Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) Senior Vice President Shahid Hussain stated that all departments were present at Torkham border, "and if they want, they can easily resolve all the traders' problems". Hussain urged the government to make the import/export clearance process easier, adding that drivers of transit vehicles should be allowed to take goods up to Kandahar and Kabul. "The National Logistic Cell has installed scanners [at borders] and they claim it is their responsibility to scan the vehicles. On the other hand, customs' officials claim that only they have the authority to issue clearance letters. This confusion is only wasting the time of traders. Under the Import and Export Agreement and the Customs Act, the authority of all departments has been clarified, but it needs proper implementation," he added.

Govt urGed to ANNouNce ‘five-yeAr export policy’ to eNd uNcertAiNty LAHORE

t

HASSAN NAQVI

HE All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has urged the government to immediately announce the 'five-year export policy' in order to end uncertainty among exporters.

Commenting on the federal budget 2020-21, APTMA-Punjab Chairman Adil Bashir Bashir said, "If it was difficult for the government to extend the zero-rating facility to the export-oriented industry, it should have at least reduced sales tax to five per cent in order to resolve the liquidity issues faced by the exporters on account of stuck-up refunds."

Reduction in sales tax would have also brought the untaxed sector into the tax net, he added.

Bashir stated that the textile industry was demanding a reduction in the turnover tax by half so that the industry could compete with regional competitors.

He recalled that APTMA had also asked the government to continue with the energy package for the export industry by ensuring the provision of electricity at 7.5 cents per kWh and RLNG at $6.5 per MMBTU in FY21. But despite committing that the facility would be extended in the next fiscal year, no clarity so far has been given in this regard by the government, he added.

"In the 18-month period when competitive energy prices were implemented, Pakistan's textile exports increased in real (US Dollar) terms, even though prices per unit values of exports were lower," The senior APTMA official noted. "So despite the fact that the external environment was not favourable, textile exporters were able to compete in international markets and achieved increased exports which would otherwise have fallen by over $3 billion per year,

necessitating more borrowing, he stated.

Bashir informed that a number of major retail chains in the US and EU were filing for bankruptcy due to corona-related economic slowdown, while the remaining were either being forced to offer massive discounts or were delaying/cancelling their shipment orders.

"By all accounts, the demand for textile has crashed in the global market and it is unlikely to attain the previous levels in the foreseeable future. Competition among the remaining markets, where price levels will be substantially low, is likely to be intense," he remarked.

Under the prevalent circumstances, he reiterated,

Govt looking at Rs470bn pension bill in FY21

Arif Naqvi stole $385m from Abraaj, liquidators claim LONDON TLTP

pSMA directed to provide sugar to uSc at rs63 per Kg ISLAMABAD APP

In pursuance of the Islamabad High Court's order, the Ministry of Industries and Production on Saturday directed the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) to ensure the provision of sugar to the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) at reduced rates. According to official sources, the USC had earlier written a letter to the PSMA, seeking the provision of sugar at Rs63 per kg so that it could be sold at Rs70 per kg to the consumers. In a letter to PSMA, the Ministry of Industries and Production quoted the IHC order, stating, "This order is subject to the sale of sugar to non-commercial consumers at the rate of Rs70 per kilogramme. PSMA and the federal government must ensure that sugar is available and sold to non-commercial consumers at the said price until the next date is fixed." It also directed the association to ensure that the commodity was sold at the specified price in other retail outlets as well. Earlier, the USC had suggested the PSMA to provide sugar at Rs63 per kilogramme in order to provide relief to the common citizens. The USC had also requested PSMA to treat the matter as urgent and inform accordingly about the decision latest by June 14.

the government must resolve its 'balance of payments' issues by providing regionally competitive energy to the export sector.

"Pakistan has been managing its 'balance of payments' crisis through local and international borrowing for quite some time. More debt piling or borrowing is not a feasible solution and therefore, an increase in the volume of exports in the only way forward."

Bashir hoped that the government would announce the export policy without any delay so as to attract fresh investment in the export-oriented sector, create job opportunities and put an end to the uncertainty regarding government policies.

KARACHI ARIBA SHAHID

As per the federal budget announced in the National Assembly the other day, the total pensions budgeted for FY21 amounted to Rs470,000 million.

A look at the numbers shows how the amount, budgeted to be dispersed in the form of pensions, is roughly the same amount as the costs budgeted to run the civil government.

Critiques of the budget have expressed concerns over the alarming proportion of pension

payments that are paid for as a recurring expenditure.

It is pertinent to mention that provincial pensions are not included in this amount, and neither are railway pensions. This means that the amount spent on pensions itself is more than the costs incurred by the government on dayto-day expenditure.

A further critique of the amount to be disbursed as pensions is that the share of military pensions greatly outweigh that of ex-civil servants. This amount is in addition to the set aside amount for the military in the budget.

The growing trend in the budgeted pension payments calls for the need for a pension scheme. Considering how the government cannot just abruptly stop paying pensions to retirees, there is a need to ensure this is not directly paid from the taxes that citizens are paying.

The critique the government is facing is not regarding the significantly large number set aside for pension payments, but merely the fact that the pension payments need to be funded. If not mitigated and looked after, the government may have a pension crisis at hand in the upcoming years.

Liquidators overseeing Abraaj Group’s insolvency now estimate Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Arif Naqvi’s alleged theft to have cost the firm $385 million, an amount significantly more than what prosecutors claimed. Naqvi is one of six former Abraaj executives who face charges stemming from the private equity’s firm’s 2018 collapse. In court papers last year, US prosecutors said Naqvi stole more than $250m. But in a new filing on Friday, the liquidators put the losses much higher, claiming Naqvi stole $385m from 2009 to 2018 as he moved money for his own use in more than 3,700 transactions. The liquidators are at work trying to trace the transactions and have asked a New York judge for permission to file subpoenas on 18 banks.

The information will be used in a planned lawsuit in the Cayman Islands seeking to recover funds to pay the firm’s investors and creditors. Abraaj managed more than 40 private equity funds and assets of more than $14bn until it crumbled in the biggest failure for a private equity firm. Naqvi, who has denied wrongdoing, is under house arrest in London facing possible extradition to the US. Another executive, Mustafa Abdel-Wadood, a former managing partner, was arrested while on a college-shopping trip to the US with his wife and son. He pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing in September. Other defendants charged in New York are outside US custody. Abraaj, which was founded in 2002, was the Middle East’s biggest private equity fund and one of the world’s most influential emerging-market investors, with stakes in health care, clean energy, lending and real estate across Africa, Asia, Latin America and Turkey. Dubai’s financial regulator has fined Abraaj $315m for deceiving investors and misappropriating their funds. The case is in reapplication of Abraaj Investment Management Ltd., 20-mc-00229, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

Wall Street marks worst week since March selloff NEW YORK AGENCIES

US stocks ended higher on Friday as bargain hunters stepped back into the market following sharp losses a day earlier, but all three major indexes suffered their biggest weekly percentage declines since March.

The day’s trading was marked by wild swings, with the S&P 500 up about 3pc at its high of the session and down about 0.6pc at the low.

The Federal Reserve’s indication earlier

this week of a long road to recovery and rising COVID-19 cases in the United States had cast a pall over investor optimism about a swift economic rebound, and the S&P 500 dropped about 6pc on Thursday.

“You’ve gotten a pretty sizeable dip, and there’s probably some fear of missing out, some trying to (take) some value while it’s there,” said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at US Bank Wealth Management in Seattle.

The S&P 500 closed well above its 200day moving average, a closely watched tech-

nical level, after moving above and below the level during the session.

The financial and technology sectors gave the biggest boosts to the S&P 500.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 477.37 points, or 1.9pc, to 25,605.54, the S&P 500 gained 39.21 points, or 1.31pc, to 3,041.31 and the Nasdaq Composite added 96.08 points, or 1.01pc, to 9,588.81.

For the week, the Dow ended down 5.6pc, the S&P 500 fell 4.8pc and the Nasdaq shed 2.3pc, the biggest weekly percentage declines for the indexes since the week

ended March 20.

The Cboe Volatility index ended down on the day but registered its biggest weekly gain since the week ended March 13.

Earlier this week, the Nasdaq confirmed it had been in a bull market since March 23 and the S&P 500 briefly turned positive on the year.

On Friday, Photoshop maker Adobe Inc rose 4.9pc after posting a better-thanexpected quarterly profit, driven by strong demand for its cloud software.

Yoga apparel maker Lululemon Athlet-

ica Inc fell 3.8pc after posting lower-thanexpected quarterly results following coronavirus-induced store closures.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 3.14-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.98-to-1 ratio favoured advancers.

The S&P 500 posted one new 52-week high and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 23 new highs and seven new lows.

Volume on US exchanges was 13.08 billion shares, compared to the 12.90 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.

Sunday, 14 June, 2020

10 FOREIGN NEWS

FrEsh ChIna ClUsTEr raIsEs FEars For pandEMIC ConTrol BEIJING

l

AGENCIES

OCKDOWNS were imposed in parts of Beijing on Saturday to try and prevent the spread of a new coronavirus cluster, highlighting the challenges that lie ahead even for places where outbreaks are under control.

It came as Brazil claimed the unenviable position of having the second-highest virus death toll worldwide behind the United States, with no sign the infection rate is slowing in Latin America.

Some of Europe’s hardest hit countries meanwhile are further emerging from lockdown, even as fingers are being pointed at who is to blame for the health and economic

crisis. The respiratory disease was first detected in central China last year, believed to have jumped from an animal to humans at a market that sold wildlife.

China largely eliminated transmission within its borders through hyper-strict lockdowns that were emulated across the globe.

But after mass testing at a wholesale food market in southern Beijing this week detected more than 50 new infections, people were forced indoors at 11 nearby residential estates.

It has fuelled fears of a resurgence in local transmission and marks a painful step backwards in the capital’s return to normality.

Officials said the district has established a “wartime mechanism” to deal with the outbreak, as paramilitary police were seen around the market and a mass testing cam-

Conte calls for ‘courage’ to save Italy at talks with EU, IMF ROME

paign was announced. The chairman of the Xinfadi market told state media that the virus was detected on chopping boards used to handle imported salmon.

MORE THAN 426,000 DEAD: Worldwide, the pandemic has killed more than 426,000 people and infected more than 7.6 million, while wreaking large-scale economic devastation.

Brazil’s health ministry recorded 909 deaths in the past 24 hours, putting the total at 41,828 — meaning the country of 212 million people has now surpassed Britain’s death toll.

“Some areas are at a critical stage” in Brazil, with intensive care unit occupancy levels of more than 90 percent, World Health Organization emergencies director Mike Ryan said.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who

threatened last week to quit the WHO over “ideological bias”, has dismissed the virus as a “little flu”, and berated state officials for imposing lockdowns.

World health officials have warned that the virus is far from contained.

The WHO this week said the pandemic is accelerating in Africa, and on Saturday Botswana’s capital Gaborone locked down after new cases were detected.

In the US, which has confirmed the most COVID-19 deaths with over 114,000, more than a dozen states, including two of the most populous, Texas and Florida, reported their highest-ever daily case totals this week.

But Europe is pushing ahead with its exit from lockdown, with a number of countries preparing to reopen borders on Monday after the EU Commission urged a relaxation of restrictions.

African countries call for racism debate at UN rights council

AGENCIES

CAPE TOWN

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte called Saturday for a “courageous plan” when he launched virtual talks with EU and IMF leaders to rescue Italy’s economy and society from the “uprecedented shock” triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. Conte said the plan was needed to surmount the nation’s crisis as Italian opposition figures shunned the hastily organised and roundly criticised emergency talks. European Union leaders “must show that they have understood that it is about defending mutual interests,” Conte said in an opening speech transmitted to leading executives in Brussels. “We are in the process of living an unprecedented shock with very high human, social and economic costs,” Conte said. The EU’s third largest economy is expected to contract by at least 8.3 percent in 2020, under the most optimistic estimate from Italy’s national statistics agency. To stimulate activity in EU countries most affected by the COVID-19 crisis, the European Commission has proposed a 750-billion-euro ($847-billion) recovery plan — 500 billion euros in grants and 250 billion euros in loans. Italy is expected to receive around 172 billion euros of this sum. “We must also take advantage of (the moment) to transform the crisis into an opportunity to eliminate all the obstacles that slowed (the country) down for the last 20 years,” Conte said.

AGENCIES

African countries called Friday on the UN Human Rights Council to urgently debate racism and police brutality amid the unrest in the US and beyond over George Floyd’s death.

In a letter written on behalf of 54 African countries, Burkina Faso’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva asked the UN’s top rights body for an “urgent debate” on “racially inspired human rights violations, police brutality against people of African descent and the violence against the peaceful protests that call for these injustices to stop.”

The letter, addressed to rights council president Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger of Austria, requested that this debate be held next week, when the council’s 43rd session resumes, after it was interrupted in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The call came after Floyd’s family, along with the families of other victims of police violence and over 600 NGOs this week called on the council to ur-

gently address systemic racism and police impunity in the US. For the council to consider such a request, it needs to have the backing of at least one country.

With the request now coming from a large group of states, “that increases the

chances” it will take place, a council spokesman told AFP. UNCHECKED POLICE BRUTALITY: “Sadly, the fates of many other victims attracted no attention, as they were not captured on social media for all to see,” Ambassador Dieudonne Desire

Calls to remove 'racist' Gandhi statue in Leicester NEWS DESK A petition to remove a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Leicester has received nearly 5,000 signatures, BBC reported.

The online petition accuses the Indian independence campaigner of being “a fascist, racist and sexual predator”.

Last year, students from Manchester called for a similar statue of Gandhi to be removed because of his “well-documented anti-black racism”.

In 2018, Gandhi’s statue was removed from the campus of the University of Ghana after protests from students and faculty who argue India’s founding father considered Africans “inferior”.

Leicester East MP Claudia Webbe called the petition a “massive distraction” from the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Labour politician said Gandhi “was part of creating a movement in the same way that Martin Luther King created a movement”. “His form of peaceful protest, like Black Lives Matter, is a force for change,” she said. “There is not any desire from the black community to move that symbol of change.” Professor of Indian History at Oxford University, Faisal Devji, said he thought the debate to remove the statue was “absurd”. “It seems almost surreal to have to list the many things Gandhi did,” he said.

“He’s a fallible man as all men are, but to lump him in with slave owners, that’s a bit much.” Prof Devji said Gandhi’s statue in Leicester was also a representation of the large refugee Gujarati community in the city. “Gandhi himself was Gujarati, and many of the [city’s] residents came from Uganda when they were expelled by Idi Amin,” he said.

CMYK

“So in some ways, Gandhi’s statue represents their presence in that place.”

Several academics have noted reports of Gandhi’s derogatory views towards native Africans while he lived in South Africa in the late 19th Century.

Gandhi’s biographer and grandson, Rajmohan Gandhi, previously admitted one of the fathers of modern India was “at times ignorant and prejudiced about South Africa’s blacks”. Leicester City Council said the petition had not yet been submitted to the authority.

Sougouri wrote on behalf of the African Group at the council.

While the letter called for a debate on racism around the globe, it in particular highlighted the situation in the United States. Council President TichyFisslberger will now announce Monday a proposed day for the urgent debate, and unless there are any objections, which is unlikely, it will go ahead.

A number of countries are expected to address Floyd’s killing and concerns about police violence and racism in the United States during the resumed 43rd council session even without a special debate.

But since the deadline for tabling fresh resolutions during this session expired back in March, they will only be able to call for concrete actions within the confines of this extraordinary debate.

John Fisher, head of the Human Rights Watch’s Geneva office, voiced hope earlier Friday, before the African Group letter went out, that the council would order some form of scrutiny of the US situation.

Trump administration revokes transgender health protection WASHINGTON AGENCIES

In a move applauded by President Donald Trump’s conservative religious base, his administration on Friday finalized a rule that overturns Obama-era protections for transgender people against sex discrimination in health care. The Department of Health and Human Services said it will enforce sex discrimination protections “according to the plain meaning of the word ‘sex’ as male or female and as determined by biology.” This rewrites an Obama-era regulation that sought a broader understanding shaped by a person’s internal sense of being male, female, neither or a combination. LGBTQ groups say explicit protections are needed for people seeking sex-reassignment treatment, and even for transgender people who need care for common illnesses such as diabetes or heart problems. But conservatives say the Obama administration exceeded its legal authority in broadly interpreting gender.

The reversal comes in the middle of LGBTQ Pride Month. Activists and Democratic lawmakers noted that Friday was also the four-year anniversary of the mass shooting at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in which 49 people were killed. Behind the dispute over legal rights is a medically recognized condition called “gender dysphoria” — discomfort or distress caused by a discrepancy between the gender that a person identifies as and the gender at birth. Consequences can include severe depression. Treatment can range from sex-reassignment surgery and hormones to people changing their outward appearance by adopting a different hairstyle or clothing. Many social conservatives disagree with the concept.

Sunday, 14 June, 2020

SPORTS 11

MIsbah says no stRIngs attachEd to England touR LAHORE AGENCIES

Head coach Misbah-ul-Haq is adamant Pakistan's upcoming tour of England amid the coronavirus pandemic is not dependent upon a return visit.

Next month international cricket is set to resume for the first time since the outbreak as England host the West Indies in a three-Test series staged behind closed doors.

Pakistan are also meant to play three Tests, as well as three Twenty20s, in a series scheduled to start on August 5, although the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have still to confirm the dates.

Major international teams stopped touring Pakistan after Sri Lanka's team bus was attacked by armed militants in Lahore in 2009 and, although some have returned recently, it is 15 years since England last visited the country.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) president Ricky Skerritt told ESPN Cricinfo on Friday a $3 million loan to CWI by the ECB in May, was not contingent upon his side touring England but rather a "helping hand" from one of the sport's wealthiest major bodies to one of its poorest.

The Pakistan Cricket Board, who

announced Friday a touring squad at a time when more than 50,000 people have died from COVID-19 in Britain, are also a financial minnow compared to the ECB. But Pakistan chief selector and head coach Misbah, in a conference call on Saturday, rejected talk of a reciprocal arrangement.

START SOMEWHERE: "It is not in

our minds that we are coming and keeping in view something that the ECB has to do for us in return," he said.

"It is important for us to restart international cricket somewhere, get the players back on the ground. That is the most important thing at the moment."

Nevertheless, looking to the longer term, the former Pakistan captain added: "Obviously, in a bigger picture,

Ramiz Raja gives 5 out of 10 to Misbah for England tour selection SPORTS DESK

we are not expecting anything in return but overall, we want not just the ECB but all cricketing nations to help each other so this game can grow. It's important for cricket fans in Pakistan and also for Pakistan cricket that countries start touring Pakistan."

Meanwhile Misbah said Pakistan's experience of playing 'home' games in the United Arab Emirates without the "energy" provided by fans would stand them in good stead for matches in England where there will be no spectators on health grounds.

"Nobody understands it better than us because we played much more cricket than any other team in the world with empty stadiums in the UAE," he said. "Obviously in a bigger picture, if we want to resume international cricket, we have to start it from somewhere."

Misbah also wished Shahid Afridi well after his fellow former Pakistan skipper tweeted on Saturday he had tested positive for the illness.

"My prayers are with him, all well wishes with him that he gets out of this soon," said Misbah.

"I think he was doing a lot of work in the area of Balochistan and the northern areas just to help the people.

Throughout the COVID situation he was helping the poor, doing a very good job."

Tokyo Olympics will be safe, governor says TOKYO AGENCIES

Next year’s Olympics will be safe despite the coronavirus pandemic, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has said, pledging a “120-percent effort” to ensure the first-ever postponed Games can go ahead.

Koike who announced Friday she would stand for re-election next month — said the city was committed to holding the event as a “symbol of human triumph” over the virus, but admitted it would be downsized.

“I will make a 120-percent effort,” Koike, 67, said in an interview with AFP but declined to say how confident she was that the sporting extravaganza would open as planned.

Tokyo 2020 became the first Olympics ever postponed in peacetime earlier this year as the coronavirus marched across the globe, upending lives and forcing the cancellation of sporting and cultural events.

They are now scheduled to begin on July 23, 2021 — though they will still be known as the 2020 Games — but medical experts have raised concerns that the delay will not be long enough to contain the virus and

hold the event safely. Officials in Japan and from the International Olympic Committee have warned it will not be possible to postpone again. Koike said she was continuing to “make all-out efforts in the battle against the virus to put on a Games that is full of hope”. And she pledged an event “that is safe and secure for athletes and fans from abroad as well as for residents of Tokyo and Japan”.

A SIMPLER, CHEAPER GAMES: Japan has got through the first coronavirus wave better than many countries, with just over 900 deaths out of fewer than 18,000 confirmed infections.

But it has faced persistent criticism for conducting relatively few tests that could understate the true number of cases. Officials point to the comparatively low death rate as evidence that a recently lifted state of emergency — imposed in response to rising cases in April — and a public awareness campaign on social distancing have worked. “Tokyo residents know that the summer Games next year in 2021 is not possible unless the impact of coronavirus calms down,” Koike said. “That was among the things that pushed them to make these efforts.”

Japanese and Olympic officials have repeatedly said it is too early to tell how the pandemic will have evolved by the run-up to the rescheduled Games. For now, Koike said “simplification and cost reduction” are the main planks of discussions, along with potential safety measures. “What kind of (virus) tests and how? How much social distancing is necessary? These will depend on future discussions,” she said.

Pakistan’s former cricketer-turned-commentator Ramiz Raja, in a YouTube video, criticised chief selector-cumhead coach Misbahul Haq for relying on old faces such as veteran all-rounders Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez after the squad for the tour of England was announced on Friday. The 57-year-old called the squad a mixed bag that had talented inclusions such as batsmen Haider Ali and Khushdil Shah. “Pakistan has announced their squad for the England tour which is a mixed bag of selection. I would give Misbah 5 out of 10 for this selection. Selecting the likes of Haider Ali and Khushdil Shah was a good move but the mindset is wrong that has impacted selection as well. There are many old faces and Misbah does not seem to be ready to move on in T20 cricket without them. This shows his mindset which is now, unfortunately, being transferred to the young captain. He has been told that you cannot win the T20 World Cup without Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez,” Raja said. The former cricketer claimed that experience alone would not help the Men in Green clinch the T20 World Cup. “Shoaib Malik, in the last 10 years, has played 25 matches in ICC events without scoring a fifty. Mohammad Hafeez was a good all-round cricketer but his form is not the same in the international arena.

More than 8 million Italians tune in as football returns ROME AGENCIES

The return of Italian football was a hit with television viewers in the country as more than eight million tuned in to watch the cup semi-final second leg between Juventus and AC Milan on Friday. The match was the first to be played in Italy since the coronavirus pandemic halted the season on March 9. The 0-0 stalemate, which was enough to send Juventus to the final, drew the biggest TV audience for a football match this term, Italian media reported on Saturday. When he authorised the resumption of football, Italian Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora welcomed the fact the first matches would be in the Italian Cup, as they are broadcast free-to-air on national network RAI and are thus accessible to everyone. On Friday, the match attracted almost 8.3 million viewers on RAI 1, with a 34 per cent market share. The biggest audience before the lockdown was for the first leg of the semi-final which ended 1-1 attracted 8.09 million viewers.

Fifty years ago, Brazil taught the world to play, in colour JOHANNESBURG AGENCIES

Fifty years ago this month, modern football was born at the World Cup in Mexico, kicking and yelling, and live in vibrant colour for a global audience.

This weekend marks the anniversary of the quarter-finals of that tournament as a star-studded cast played a thrilling series of knock-out games which built to a dazzling final, when the first World Cup broadcast in colour ended with an unparallelled display by a technicolour team.

Mexico in 1970 was not the first World Cup broadcast live. Four years earlier 400 million watched England beat West Germany in the final. But that tournament was shown in black and white. Battered Brazil, the reigning champions, limped out playing, as far as viewers could tell, in two shades of grey.

In Mexico, their yellow, blue and green glowed in the sunshine.

Most viewers still watched in black and white. But the games were shot in colour and when the many iconic moments are replayed, that is how they are seen. And that is how the competition is remembered, even by its greatest star.

"I watch it because there are a lot of videos available and TV programmes," Pele told FIFA's website. "If I'm not careful, I always start crying."

The tournament gave Pele his third winner's medal but the images also cemented his reputation as the world's greatest player,

partly because of three spectacular near misses: a shot from his own half against Czechoslovakia, a header saved by England's Gordon Banks and the dummy that almost turned a Tostao pass into a goal against Uruguay.

"I was at my peak," Pele said. "We had a fantastic side and everyone expected us to win, which gave me the shakes."

His strike partner Tostao wrote in his column in Brazilian newspaper Folha this week that Pele "wanted to end his international career with a great triumph, both individually and collectively, so no one would have any doubts that he was the best of all time."

The quarter-finals all kicked off at noon on June 14.

Gigi Riva scored twice and Gianni Rivera once as Italy beat hosts Mexico 4-1.

Rivellino, Tostao and Jairzinho, but not Pele, scored as Brazil beat Peru 4-2.

"There were four 10 shirts in that team," Teofilo Cubillas, one of Peru's scorers, told the Brazil football federation web site. "If you scored four goals, they would go there and score eight.

Reigning champions England, with many of the stars of 1966 but not an ailing Banks and not, by the end, Bobby Charlton, substituted with his team two goals up to protect him from the heat, lost 3-2 in extra time to West Germany. Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Mueller were among the German scorers.

In the semi-finals, in Guadalajara, Brazil gave Uruguay a one-goal start but won 3-1.

Again Pele didn't score, but Clodoaldo,

Jairzinho and Rivellino did.

In Mexico City, the other semi-final was heading for a 1-0 Italian win until KarlHeinz Schnellinger scored a 90th-minute equaliser for West Germany.

Extra time was 30 minutes of mayhem.

Mueller gave West Germany the lead.

Tarcisio Burgnich levelled and Riva put Italy ahead. Mueller replied, but a minute later Rivera gave Italy victory.

The abiding image is of Beckenbauer playing much of the game extravagantly strapped after dislocating a shoulder when West Germany had already used both substitutes.

EVERYBODY IS STILL TALKING ABOUT IT: The best was yet to come.

Italy were a good team, with the extravagantly gifted Sandro Mazzola. The defence was built on the great Inter Milan side, pioneers of 'catenaccio', with Giacinto Facchetti at its heart. Brazil tore them apart.

At an altitude of 2,200 metres (7,200 feet) in dazzling sunshine in the Azteca, Brazil produced a display of attacking football that touched Olympian heights.

Mario Zagallo, Brazil's coach, later said he thought the 1-0 victory over England "was the best game of the tournament...a high-class game of chess."

Yet Brazil's attacking display in the first colour World Cup final set a benchmark against which every one of the tens of thousands of matches broadcast since is measured. Pele gave Brazil the lead with his fourth goal of the competition.

"I told myself before the game, he's

CMYK

made of skin and bones just like everyone else —- but I was wrong," Burgnich said later. Roberto Boninsegna levelled, but in the second half Gerson and Jairzinho put the match beyond reach.

It was as if Brazil were inventing football. They finished with a flourish, scoring one of the great team goals with four minutes left as full-back Carlos Alberto finished a mesmerising eight-man move by lashing home Pele's deft pass.

"I realise how beautiful and how important that goal was, because everybody is still talking about it," Carlos Alberto told the BBC years later.

"Nobody talks about Pele's goal, the first goal, the second goal. It is always about the fourth goal. I think it was the best goal ever scored in a World Cup." It was a fitting exclamation mark at the end of what might have been the best World Cup.

Sunday, 14 June, 2020

NEWS

BrAzil now SeCond in viruS deATHS, AS uS STATeS See riSing CASeS NEW YORK

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AGENCIES

RAzIL on Friday claimed the unenviable position of having the second-highest coronavirus death toll worldwide behind the United States, where several states have posted record daily case totals, signalling the crisis is far from over.

US and European stocks ended the week on an upswing after a rout sparked by the US data and fresh evidence of the economic damage caused by virus-related lockdowns, with British GDP shrinking by a record 20.4 percent in April.

Meanwhile, in several European countries, the focus shifted to the courts, and who might eventually be pinned with the blame for the global financial and health crisis.

Brazil's health ministry recorded 909 deaths in the past 24 hours, putting the total at 41,828 — meaning the country of 212 million people has now surpassed Britain's death toll.

Experts warn the actual number of cases in Latin America's biggest economy could be many times higher than the confirmed figure of 828,810.

"Some areas are at a critical stage" in Brazil, with intensive care unit occupancy levels of more than 90 percent, World Health Organization emergencies director Mike Ryan told journalists in Geneva.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who threatened last week to quit the WHO over "ideological bias," has dismissed the virus as a "little flu," and berated state officials for imposing lockdowns.

Latin America is the latest epicenter in the world's battle with the novel coronavirus, which emerged in China late

last year.

The region has recorded more than 1.5 million infections and 76,000 deaths, with no signs the virus is slowing.

In the US, which has confirmed the most Covid-19 deaths — over 114,000 — more than a dozen states, including two of the most populous, Texas and Florida, reported their highest-ever daily case totals this week.

"It's important that we remember that this situation is unprecedented. And that the pandemic has not ended," Robert Redfield, director of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, told a media briefing on Friday.

Nevertheless, US President Donald Trump and many local officials remain determined to get the world's biggest economy back on track.

The virus and resulting lockdowns have caused a spike in US unemployment — 44.2 million people have filed claims for jobless benefits since mid-March.

Taliban blamed for killing seven Afghan cops in checkpost attack KABUL: Seven police officers were killed when their checkpoint was attacked in central Afghanistan, officials said on Saturday, blaming the Taliban for the assault. The attack happened late on Friday in Pasaband district of Ghor province, said district police chief Fakhruddin, who goes by one name. “They killed seven police officers and wounded one. One policemen is missing,” he said, adding that the suspected Taliban attackers had seized guns and ammunition. The attack was confirmed by the deputy governor of Ghor, Habibullah Radmanish, who also blamed the insurgent group. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, which came hours after four people were killed in a blast at a mosque in Kabul during Friday prayers. The latest bloodshed comes as the Taliban and the Afghan government appear to move closer towards potential peace negotiations. The much delayed talks aimed at ending the conflict are expected to begin once the two sides complete an ongoing prisoner swap, accelerated after a brief ceasefire last month. The rare truce to mark the Eid al-Fitr holiday has been followed by an overall drop in violence across the country, though authorities have blamed the Taliban for a number of attacks in recent weeks. “While the government has continued to advance the cause of peace, the Taliban continued their campaign of violence against the Afghan people during Eid and the weeks after that,” Javid Faisal, spokesman of the National Security Council tweeted on Saturday.

“In the last two weeks, they killed 89 civilians and wounded 150 across 29 provinces.”AGENCIES

Worldwide, the pandemic has killed more than 425,000 people and infected more than 7.6 million.

COURT ACTION: In Italy, one of the countries hardest hit by the virus, prosecutors questioned Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte over his government's initial response.

In the country's northern Lombardy region, an investigation has been launched into why a quarantined "red zone" was not enforced around two towns sooner.

And in Bergamo province, 50 victims' family members filed complaints this week over how the crisis was handled.

"All investigations are welcome. The citizens have the right to know and we have the right to reply," Conte said this week.

Elsewhere, British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair launched legal action against the British government over a "flawed" 14-day coronavirus quarantine system introduced this week.

EUROPE'S REOPENING: Europe is

pushing ahead with its exit from lockdown, with a number of countries preparing to reopen borders on a limited basis on Monday after the EU Commission urged a relaxation of restrictions.

France said it would gradually reopen its borders to non-Schengen countries from July 1.

Greece said it would welcome tourists again, though Britons remain barred — and passengers from Italy, Spain and the Netherlands must undergo tests on arrival.

Germany said it would end land border checks on Monday.

And Italy said it would allow amateur contact sports — including team sports — from June 25.

'FIGHT NOT OVER': Yet world health officials have warned that the virus is far from contained.

"The fight is not over," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Thursday.

In evidence of the continued threat, eleven residential estates in the southern part of the Chinese capital were locked down due to a fresh cluster of coronavirus cases linked to a nearby meat market, officials said Saturday.

Seven cases have so far been linked to Xinfadi meat market, six of them confirmed on Saturday, officials added. Nine nearby schools and kindergartens have been closed.

China has largely brought domestic infections under control, and the majority of cases in recent months have been among overseas nationals returning home.

In India, experts are warning the worst is far from over.

Deaths from coronavirus in New Delhi are almost twice as high as official figures show, a city leader said.

Plane crash: Families question DNA sampling by Sindh forensic lab KARACHI STAFF REPORT

The families of the victims –who were killed in a plane crash near Karachi airport last month– have raised questions over the DNA testing conducted by the Sindh Forensic DNA and Serology Laboratory (SFDL) at the University of Karachi.

Holding a press conference on Saturday, they highlighted delays and mix-ups in the process, demanding that the government look into the matter.

Arif Iqbal, whose wife and children were killed in the crash, accused the authorities of corruption.

“I provided my DNA sample and expected the result in a few hours, but five days later, I still had nothing,” he said.

“This is a great business where samples and bodies are spoiled, and bodies are sold for money,” he alleged, asking other families to resend their samples to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) for correct identification and point-

ing out that SFDL reports had not been given to them.

Another person also made similar allegations and said that the SFDL misidentified the bodies of their loved ones. He said unlike PFSA, SFDL failed to give results in time.

Meanwhile, International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences director Dr Iqbal Choudhary said in a meeting at the SFDL on Saturday that the laboratory had employed all international quality standards while carrying out the

forensic DNA analysis, adding that sampling, coding, tagging and handing over bodies to the families was the responsibility of the medico-legal department.

He claimed that efforts were being made to undermine the SFDL. Meanwhile, SFDL in-charge Dr Ishtiaq Ahmed pointed to ‘unnecessary interference’ by PFSA, saying their team visited the sample receiving unit a day after the incident and demanded the samples and case records be handed over to them, without any authorising documents.

Saudi Arabia considers cancelling Hajj over Covid-19 fears NEWS DESK Saudi Arabia, for the first time in modern history, is considering cancelling Hajj after the kingdom’s cases went past 100,000, Financial Times reported. “The issue has been carefully studied and different scenarios are being considered. An official decision will be made within one week,” a senior official from Saudi Arabia’s hajj and umrah ministry told the Financial Times. The annual pilgrimage to be observed in late July is the largest gathering of Muslims in the world with as many as 2 million pilgrims congregating every year. Earlier, it was reported that Saudi Arabia is considering reducing the number of people allowed to observe the pilgrimage. The kingdom asked Muslims in March to put Hajj plans on hold and suspended Umrah until further notice. Two sources familiar with the matter later said authorities are considering allowing “only symbolic numbers” this year, with restrictions including a ban on older pilgrims and additional health checks. All options are on the table but the priority is for the health and safety of pilgrims,” the official said. Saudi Arabia has successfully organised Hajj during previous outbreaks of viral illnesses such as Ebola and MERS. However, the scale of the coronavirus pandemic poses a greater challenge to overcome. Saudi Arabia enforced safety measures early on. The first case was confirmed on March 2, after which the kingdom swiftly put restrictions on travel and imposed a two-month nationwide curfew.

Subsequently, the lockdown was eased in May, after which a surge in cases and deaths was witnessed. As of Saturday, the coronavirus cases in the kingdom have crossed 123,000 and deaths have shot past 900.

Muslim countries every year apply for a quota, seeking to have more pilgrims from their country allowed to go for Hajj. Indonesia, which has the largest Muslim population, usually gets the lion’s share with around 200,000 faithful undertaking the pilgrimage. But this year the country has announced none of its citizens will go. The biggest allocation goes to Indonesia, home to the world’s largest Muslim population, which usually sends around 200,000 pilgrims. But this year, Indonesian officials have said their citizens will not travel. “In May, we prepared two options: a 50 per cent quota reduction or cancellation. [But] Saudi Arabia has not opened access to hajj pilgrims from any country to date,” Fachrul Razi, Indonesia’s religious affairs minister, told local media earlier this month. “As a result, the government doesn’t have enough time to make primary preparations for services and protection of pilgrims.” Malaysia said on Thursday it would also not send pilgrims this year. Saudi Arabia had ambitious tourism plans before the coronavirus outbreak. The kingdom had sought to double the Umrah pilgrims to 15 million by the end of 2020.

The Umrah and Hajj pilgrims combined were expected to add $12bn to the country’s wealth this year. “The probable loss of most of that revenue will put more pressure on an economy that has already been hit by the twin shocks of the oil price collapse and the pandemic. Hotels and religious tourism operators in the holy cities of Makkah and Madina will be particularly affected,” noted Financial Times.

An international ban imposed on May 20 is in place and will need to be lifted if Saudi Arabia does decide to go ahead with Hajj. According to a report by the Riyadh-based King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives, Hajj has only been known to have disrupted on 40 different occasions in history, all before modern Saudi Arabia came into being in 1932. Yasmine Farouk, a visiting scholar at the Middle East Program of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that whatever decision is made will have political and economic consequences for Saudi Arabia and internationally as well. “If they go ahead with Hajj while the current Covid-19 situation doesn’t improve, they might incur unprecedented pressure on their health system, international criticism and maybe even demands for compensation,” Ms Farouk said. “If they decide against Hajj, the economy — especially local economies of Makkah and Madina — will suffer.”

Kim Jong Un’s sister threatens South Korea with military action PYONGYANG AGENCIES

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un threatened military action against South Korea as she bashed Seoul on Saturday over declining bilateral relations and its inability to stop activists from floating anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border.

Describing South Korea as an “enemy”, Kim Yo Jong repeated an earlier threat she had made by saying Seoul will soon witness the collapse of a “useless” inter-Korean liaison office in the border town of Kaesong.

Kim, who is first vice department director of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Committee, said she would leave it to North Korea’s military leaders to carry out the next step of retaliation against the South.

“By exercising my power authorised by the supreme leader, our party and the state, I gave an instruction to the arms of the department in charge of the affairs with enemy to decisively carry out the next action,” she said in a statement carried by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.

“If I drop a hint of our next plan the [South Korean] authorities are anxious about, the right to taking the next action against the enemy will be entrusted to the General Staff of our army,” she said.

“Our army, too, will determine something for cooling down our people’s resentment and surely carry it out, I believe.”

Kim’s harsh rhetoric demonstrates her elevated status in North Korea’s leadership. Already seen as the most powerful woman in the country and her brother’s closest confidant,

state media recently confirmed that she is now in charge of relations with South Korea.

The liaison office in Kaesong, which has been shut since January due to coronavirus concerns, was set up as a result of one of the main agreements reached in three summits between Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in 2018.

Moon’s government had lobbied hard to set up nuclear summits between Kim and United States President Donald Trump, who have met three times since 2018.

At the same time, Moon also worked to improve inter-Korean relations.

But North Korea in recent months has suspended virtually all cooperation with the South while expressing frustration over the lack of progress in its nuclear negotiations with the Trump administration.

Over the past week, the North declared that it would cut off all government and military communication channels with the South and threatened to abandon key interKorean peace agreements reached by their leaders in 2018. They include a military agreement in which the Koreas committed to jointly take steps to reduce conventional military threats, such as establishing border buffers and no-fly zones.

They also removed some front-line guard posts and jointly surveyed a waterway near their western border in an unrealised plan to allow freer civilian navigation.

In an earlier statement last week, Kim Yo Jong said that the North would scrap the military agreement, “which is hardly of any value”, while calling North Korean defectors who send leaflets from the South “human

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

scum” and “mongrel dogs.”

Her comments on Saturday came hours after a senior North Korean Foreign Ministry official said that Seoul should drop “nonsensical” talk about the North’s denuclearisation, and that his country would continue to expand its military capabilities to counter what it perceives as threats from the US. In response to North Korea’s anger over the leaflets, South Korea’s government has said it would press charges against two defector groups that have been carrying out border protests.

The South also said it would push new laws to ban activists from flying the leaflets across the border, but there’s been criticism over whether Moon’s government is sacrificing democratic principles to keep alive his ambitions for inter-Korean engagement.