Epaper – June 20 ISB 2020

CMYK

Saturday, 20 June, 2020 I 28 Shawwal-ul-Mubarak, 1441 I Rs 15.00 I Vol X No 351 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition

SC quaSheS 'invalid' referenCe againSt JuStiCe iSa g

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g APEX CoURT oRDERS INLAND FULL CoURT DISMISSES PRESIDENTIAL REFERENCE AGAINST REvENUE CoMMISSIoN To ASK SENIoR jUDGE, WITHDRAWS SHoW jUDGE'S FAMILY To EXPLAIN CAUSE NoTICE ISSUED LAST YEAR NATURE AND SoURCE oF FUNDING

BY SUPREME jUDICIAL CoUNCIL FoR BUYING FoREIGN PRoPERTIES jUSTICE ISA’S CoUNSEL SAYS BENCH ACCEPTED ALL ARGUMENTS, INCLUDING MALAFIDE INTENTIoN, PREMATURITY AND LACK oF EvIDENCE

ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

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HE Supreme Court (SC) on Friday dismissed the presidential reference filed against justice Qazi Faez Isa for non-disclosure of family members’ properties in his wealth statement.

The reference filed against justice Isa by the government in May last year alleged that he acquired three properties in London on lease in the name of his wife and children between 2011 and 2015, but did not disclose them in his wealth returns. justice Isa contested the allegation, saying he is not a beneficial owner of the flats — neither directly nor indirectly.

Through his petition, justice Isa pleaded before the apex court to consider and declare that the Asset Recovery Unit (ARU) constituted by the government to investigate his family’s properties was illegal and working without any legal effect and any of the actions taken by the unit with regard to the reference against the petitioner judge and his family was thereby illegal and of no legal effect.

The petition also claimed that no search was ever conducted and the names and property details of the petitioner’s family were gathered through surveillance.

A 10-member full court bench led by justice Umar Ata Bandial announced the short verdict in the case at 4 pm. “[The reference] is declared to be of no legal effect whatsoever and stands quashed,” read the judgement.

The top court, accepting justice Isa’s

petitions seeking the reference’s dismissal, also withdrew a show cause notice issued to justice Isa. The show cause notice was issued by the Supreme judicial Council (SjC) to justice Isa in july last year for “writing letters to President Arif Alvi” after the presidential reference was filed against him.

The short order directed that the Inland Revenue Commissioner send a notice to the judge’s wife and children within seven days, asking them to give explanations about the nature and source of funding for three properties in their names in the United Kingdom.

The commissioner will complete the investigation within 60 days and issue an order within 15 days of investigation’s conclusion. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has also been directed to submit a report to the SC registrar within seven days

CoronaviruS in

PakiStan

CONFIRMED CASES:

168,728

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

NEW CASES:

136

4,944

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

61,383 3,295 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

65,163

61,678

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

AJK/GB:

ISLAMABAD:

20,790

769/1,225

9,162 9,941

of the commissioner’s order.

The registrar will then present the report to the chairman of the SjC (the chief justice of Pakistan) who will decide when to present it in the council.

Three of the 10 judges wrote additional notes while justice Yahya Afridi opposed the judgement.

Munir A Malik, counsel for justice Isa, while speaking to the media outside the SC said that “all of their arguments were accepted by the court, including malafide intention, prematurity and lack of evidence”. “The ARU cannot be accepted as a legal department as it was not constituted on legal grounds,” he added. justice Bandial had maintained that the apex court will examine whether the case should be completely quashed. He had said, “It is not an easy case. We will act strictly in accordance with the law.”

Appearing in the court on Friday, the government’s counsel, Dr Farogh Naseem, who resigned as the federal law minister to appear before the court in this case, submitted a reply from the FBR about the complaint of justice Isa’s wife that she had disclosed properties in her tax returns for 2018-2019 but the FBR had still issued her a notice.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 02

Govt says satisfied with SC verdict, no plan to file review petition STORY ON PAGE 03

Covid-19 claims 136 lives in 24 hours as new cases decrease on fifth consecutive day ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

136 patients lost their lives due to coronavirus in 24 hours while the National Command and operation Centre (NCoC) said that there was a decline in new coronavirus cases for the fifth consecutive day on Friday after cases surged continuously for three weeks.

4,944 coronavirus cases emerged during the last 24 hours while 136 more patients died of the disease caused by the virus. The countrywide death toll from the virus has surged to 3,229, According to the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation, and Coordination data, a total of 163,614 people have been diagnosed with Covid-19 in the country since it emerged in February, out of which 62,269 cases were in Sindh, 61,678 in Punjab, 8,998 in Balochistan, 20,182 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 9,941 in Islamabad, 1,225 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), and 769 in Azad jammu and Kashmir (AjK), and 61,383 patients have recovered from the disease so far. According to government’s figures, as many as 28,824 tests were conducted during last 24 hours and 61,383 people recovered so far across Pakistan.

Moreover, according to NCoC, around 103 more ventilators were added to national count, taking the

Pakistan signs $1.5bn loan agreements with IFIs to strengthen Covid-19 response ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Pakistan on Friday signed three financing agreements worth $1.5 billion with three International Financial Institutions (IFIs) -- World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) -- to aid its anti-Covid response, besides strengthening healthcare and education systems.

Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan also witnessed the signing ceremony of the agreements in Islamabad, said a press release issued by the PM office.

Under the agreement for Covid-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support (CARES) Programme, the ADB would extend financial support of $500 million with the objective to support the Pakistani government’s efforts in strengthening its healthcare system and mitigating the socioeconomic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The AIIB would also extend co-financing of $500 million for the CARES Programme to augment the government’s efforts to mitigate the direct and indirect impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“By supporting industries and vulnerable groups that have

total number of ventilators in the country to 1,503. In order to meet additional requirements of hospitals, procurement of additional ventilators on fast track basis was in progress and would be completed between mid to end of july, it added. “operationalisation of 2,150 additional oxygenated beds across Pakistan was pursued on war footing to ease extra pull on major hospitals in mega cities across the country,” a statement issued by NCoC read.

It said that 60 beds would be added to hospitals in AjK, 200 in Balochistan, 40 in GB, 450 in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 400 in KP, 500 in Punjab and 500 in Sindh.

Moreover, it added, the testing capacity increased immensely and would be further increased to more than 100,000 tests per day by mid-july.

However, the NCoC also issued the mortality analysis till june 18 (n3,093) which showed CFR: 1.93 against 5.37 per cent globally where further gender bifurcation showed 73 per cent males between ages 1– 102 years (median 60 years) and 74 per cent over the age of 50. However, 73 per cent deceased had chronic comorbidities, which means that they were already affected with other diseases before contracting coronavirus.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 02

more inside

Two Rangers personnel among three killed, five injured in Ghotki blast STORY ON PAGE 03

KP finance minister unveils Rs923bn ‘tax-free’ budget for FY21 STORY ON BACK PAGE been hard hit by Covid-19, this financing will help mitigate the economic shock and social impacts the country is currently facing,” said AIIB vice president, investment operations, Konstantin Limitovskiy, in a statement.

“Preventing long-term damage to the productive capacity of the economy is essential. AIIB’s joint efforts with the international community are targeting this need,” he added.

The third agreement titled “Securing Human Investments to Foster Transformation (SHIFT) worth $500 million aims at strengthen-

CMYK

ing the civil registration and vital statistics, health and education systems essential for human capital accumulation.

Ministry of Economic Affairs Secretary Noor Ahmed signed the three loan agreements on behalf of the Government of Pakistan while World Bank Country Director Patchamuthu Illangovan and ADB Country Director Xiaohong Yang signed agreements on behalf of the WB, ADB, and AIIB. The disbursement of $1,500 million will be made to Pakistan in the next few days.

20-year exemption on income tax in Gwadar, FBR tells Senate body STORY ON PAGE 09

Legislators demand more spending for economic development STORY ON PAGE 03

02

Saturday, 20 June, 2020

NEWS

FM Qureshi warns india against any False Flag operation iSLamaBad

F

PPI

OREIGN Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said India stands diplomatically isolated and is at the verge of bankruptcy in the wake of Covid-19.

Making a policy statement in the Senate on Friday, he said that India has strained its relations with all the regional countries, including China and Nepal. He said that India could resort to a false flag operation against Pakistan in the current situation. He, however, warned that Pakistan would give a befitting and immediate response if India cast an evil eye on Pakistan. He said that the entire nation is united for the security, sovereignty and dignity of the country.

Qureshi rejected the impression that Pakistan has given a walkover to India to

become a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). He said that Pakistan did not abstain but voted against non-permanent membership of India for the unconstitu-

indian troops martyr six more Kashmiri youngsters in ioK ISLAMABAD: Indian troops, in their fresh acts of state terrorism, martyred six more Kashmiri youth in Shopian and Pulwama districts of occupied Kashmir on Friday, taking the number of martyred youngsters in the territory to eight since yesterday. During the cordon and search operations, the troops martyred four youngsters at Bandpawa Chitragam in Shopian and two others inside a mosque in Pampore area of Pulwama on Friday. The troops had martyred one youngster each in these areas on Thursday. Indian police and troops also used brute force and fired teargas shells in Pampore on the demonstrators protesting against the killings. Meanwhile, the troops continued violent military operations in different areas of Pulwama, Shopian, Islamabad, Kulgam, Kupwara, Baramulla and Bandipore districts. PPI

gB budget with rs68bn outlay announced GILGIT: Gilgit-Baltistan’s tax-free budget for the fiscal year 2020-21 with an outlay of over Rs68 billion was announced on Friday. Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Aurangzeb Khan presented budget proposals. The minister announced to increase the salaries of government employees from grade one to sixteen by 15 per cent while salaries of government employees from grade-17 and above were raised by 10 per cent.

The minister announced to allocate Rs6 billion for subsidy on wheat and Rs1.8 billion for transportation. TLTP

welfare of frontline health workers govt’s top priority: dr Mirza ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on National Health Services Dr Zafar Mirza on Friday said that welfare of the frontline health workers against Covid-19 is the top priority of the government. Talking to the media, he said that the government has established an integrated complaint management system to address complaints of the frontline health workers. He said that they can register their complaints at 1166 or WhatsApp number 00923001111166. He added their complaints will be addressed on priority basis. He further said a comprehensive package has already been announced for the health workers fighting against coronavirus pandemic. PPI

pia announces to pay six-month rent, rebuild houses damaged in plane KARACHI: In order to compensate the affected residents of Karachi's Model Colony, where a Pakistan International Airlines plane had crashed on May 22, the national flag carrier on Friday announced to pay sixmonth rent and rebuild their houses. According to a spokesperson of PIA, cheques of payment of rent for the six months will be distributed among the affected residents of Model Clooney during a ceremony on Sunday at PIA Training Center in Karachi. In the second phase, PIA will rebuild the damaged houses after completion of the survey report, he added. PIA will pay Rs30,00 per month as rent for 120 square yard house, Rs50,000 for 180 and 200 square yard houses, said the spokesperson. INP

tional steps it took in occupied Kashmir on August 5, 2019.

He said these steps were in complete violation of the United Nations (UN) Charter and international norms. He said Pak-

istan is focused to expose Indian sinister designs at the world level.

He, however, added there is a process to become the non-permanent member of the UNSC. He pointed out that the membership is given on rotational basis for a period of two years. He recalled that Pakistan and India both have held this seat for seven times each.

Qureshi said India had been campaigning to become non-permanent member of the UNSC since 2013. He said this will not change the stance of the UN on outstanding Kashmir dispute.

He also said that the world body sticks to its principled stance on Kashmir and considers it a disputed territory and there are also UNSC’s resolutions on the lingering dispute. He added that Pakistan has also started its campaign to become the non-permanent member of the UNSC in 2025-26.

Pakistan condemns sexual violence against women in occupied Kashmir iSLamaBad PPI

Pakistan expressed solidarity with Kashmiri women on the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, being observed on Friday.

“Today, on the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, we draw the world’s attention to the plight of Kashmiri women in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK),who have been frequent targets of sexual violence by Indian occupation forces”, said a statement issued by the Foreign Office spokesperson on Friday.

The statement said that in the past three decades, more than 11,000 women have been victims of rape or gangrape at the hands of Indian occupation forces in occupied Kashmir. “We reaffirm our complete solidarity with these Kashmiri women and their families,” it added.

The statement said that women in IOK have frequently been targets of violence and aggression as a means to punishing their families and communities for standing up against illegal and forcible Indian occupation.

It said that abduction and molestation of young women during so-called “cordon-and-search operations” has been used as a punitive tool by Indian occupation forces to punish entire communities.

These repugnant acts of violence against women are enabled through a pervasive culture of impunity, reinforced by draconian laws such as Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) that shield the Indian security forces from prosecution from their crimes of sexual violence, the statement added.

The statement said that India’s resort to sexual violence in the conflict situation of IOK has been documented by the two reports of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) as well as global media and civil society organisations.

It said that the horrific mass rape of Kashmiri women in Kunan Poshpura villages of IOK on 23 February, 1991, is one of many evidences of systematic use of rape by Indian occupation forces to terrorise the entire population.

It also said lack of accountability of perpetrators and absence of justice for victims of rape of this and other incidents in the occupied region continue to define India’s deliberate disregard of rule of law and human rights.

“Pakistan condemns India’s use of rape as an instrument of state policy to subjugate the Kashmiri people in the occupied territory. The world must wake up to these war tactics in IOK, in violation of international humanitarian and human rights law as well as applicable United Nations Security Council Resolutions,” it added.

PM stresses promotion of national values and ideology iSLamaBad PPI

Prime Minister Imran Khan has called for immediate steps to acquaint the new generation with the national identity and to promote social values and ideology of Pakistan among them. Talking to writers and intellectuals via videolink, the prime minister said that Pakistan’s famous writers whose writings are equally popular in every section of the society can play a key role in this regard.

He said that efforts for the promotion of national culture, civilization and ‘Pakistaniyat’ will be welcomed at the government level. He added that the government is paying special attention to reform Pakistan Television (PTV) so that it can play its role in highlighting national

identity as in the past. He hoped that private channels will also play their full role in this regard.

Emphasising on the importance of highlighting national values and ideology of Pakistan, the premier said that easy access to all kinds of content on internet, especially objectionable material, and the invasion of western norms and foreign culture, are posing serious challenges to Pakistan’s values, education and training of our younger generation.

He said that the onslaught of foreign culture which is repugnant to Islamic morals and national values, is posing serious threat to our history, culture and social values. He added that at the same time knowledge about Islamic heroes, ancestors and national history is becoming limited among the new generations.

Covid-19 claims 136 lives in 24 hours as new cases decrease on fifth consecutive day Continued from page 01 It also added that 91 per cent of deceased remained hospitalised (average stay: 5 days, range: 1-35 days).

The NCOC also noted that 10,111 violations of health guidelines were recorded during the last 24 hours across the country. It said that in consequence of the violations more than 813 markets and shops, 5 industrial units were sealed and 1443 transporters were fined.

The details of violations of health guidelines across Pakistan and enforcement measures were also provided. In AJK, 741 violations were recorded and in response 75 markets and shops were closed and sealed, 264 transport vehicles were fined as per violations. In GB, 216 violations of health guidelines were observed, 82 markets and shops were closed and sealed and 42 transport vehicles were fined as per violations. In KP, 5,326 violations were observed where in consequence 178 markets and shops were closed and sealed and 105 transport vehicles were fined as per the violation. In

Punjab, a total of 2,176 violations were recorded whereas in consequence 362 markets and shops were closed and sealed, two industrial units were sealed and 1,027 transport vehicles were fined as per the violation. In Sindh, 744 violations were noted whereas 50 markets and shops were closed and sealed, three industrial units were sealed and five transport vehicles were fined as per the violation. In Balochistan, 908 violations were observed where 66 markets and shops were closed and sealed as per the violation. Separately, Interior Minister Brigadier (r) Ijaz Shah has briefed the NCOC regarding Eidul Azha management plan and associated hazards of Mandis, qurbani in public places and urban areas.

The forum was briefed that plan for Qurbani on Eidul Azha in wake of coronavirus threat would be finalised after consensus of all stakeholders, particularly the religious leaders. Areas in focus include mechanism for animal sacrifices, concept of Ijtimai Qurbani, online booking (online of Hajj), central arrangements for distribution of meat through civil administration and local committees.

CMYK

sC dismisses presidential reference against Justice isa Continued from page 01 Justice Bandial said that the judge’s wife had brought all documents pertaining to the properties on record and the government would verify them. Justice Isa’s counsel said that he could “not understand” what the government’s case was about. Referring to Naseem’s argument about a similar case of a judge in Gibraltar, Malik said that in that case the judge had associated himself with his wife’s properties while Justice Isa had not done the same. He argued that the government had come to the SJC instead of going to the FBR, adding that Justice Isa had “never interfered” in the tax body’s workings. He said that Justice Isa had been forced to challenge the presidential reference to defend his and his wife’s honour and requested the court to declare the reference invalid. Malik also demanded that the government’s counsel submit receipts for searching the record of properties in a UK court, saying that this exercise would determine whether the ARU had searched for them or someone else had done it.

He claimed that the ARU had only acted as a facilitator in the reference. Justice Isa’s counsel further claimed that the government brought in a reference against his client only because it wanted to remove the judge who had announced the verdict in the Faizabad sit-in case.

“The court should not consider this petition as the case of an individual. Do we want a law that allows one institution to spy on another?” he questioned. Justice Yahya Afridi then questioned Malik as to whether a judge’s individual rights were more important than the oath he took. The counsel for the Supreme Court Bar Association Hamid Khan argued that Islam gave every individual the right to own property.

Iftikhar Gilani, who was representing the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council said 29 petitions had been filed by different bar councils and bar associations against the presidential reference.

“These are not Justice Isa’s relatives. The government’s reference has no basis and is against the freedom of judges,” he argued. Justice Bandial said the question was whether the reference should be completely dismissed. “This is a very important question [for the bench]. Bar councils and bar associations have full faith in the judiciary,” he observed. Justice Yahya questioned whether Justice Isa had violated his oath by appearing in the court to which Malik replied that that will be determined after it is decided whether the judge had appeared in the court for his own self or for the judiciary. “Today, a reference has been filed against Justice Isa, tomorrow it can be filed against anybody,” he concluded. A day earlier, Justice Isa’s wife Zarina Carrera Khoso had submitted the money trail of her three properties in the United Kingdom to a full bench of the apex court via videolink in the said case. Justice Isa had told the apex court on Wednesday that his wife wanted to appear before the SC bench to explain the sources of her UK properties. Subsequently, following the top court’s approval she had testified that all the money was transferred from Pakistan to UK through her two foreign accounts. “Properties in Karachi were sold out and two bank accounts — one in British pounds and the other in US dollars — were opened in a private bank to transfer the money. From 2003-2013, a total of £700,000 was transferred through these two foreign accounts in the Standard Chartered Bank’s Karachi branch,” she had added. Khoso had clarified that she was a Spanish citizen and that she had used her passport to purchase the properties in London. She had added that when her husband was a lawyer, she would get a five-year visa. However, the Pakistani authorities had issued a one-year visa after 2018 only to create hurdles. Justice Isa’s wife had explained that since she was born in Spain and her father’s and mother’s names, respectively, were Khoso and Carrera, her name on her birth certificate and passport is Zarina Carrera Khoso.

After she got married to Justice Isa back in 1983, however, the Pakistani government registered her name on her CNIC as Zarina Isa, she had added.

In her statement, the judge’s wife had said her tax returns were filed after advice from Rehan Naqvi, her solicitor, and that she owned a house in Clifton, as well as a plot in Shah Latif Town. She also received agricultural land from her father, which is now in her name, she had added. Khoso had said she that was advised that according to the law, tax returns were not filed on agricultural land. All of her taxes were filed after consultations with Naqvi, she had added, noting that the last tax return she had filed was over Rs7.6 million. “We are quite satisfied that you have the material in support of the source (of money) for the properties,” observed Justice Bandial after the recording of her statement. “You have a strong answer to the slur caused by the allegations.” In a rare appearance before the bench on Wednesday, Justice Isa had opposed the court’s suggestion the other day to the federal government to refer the matter of his family members’s foreign assets to the FBR, providing an opportunity to the spouse of the judge to explain about the sources for purchasing the London properties.

Saturday, 20 June, 2020

NEWS

govt says satisFied with sC verdiCt, no plan to File review petition iSLamaBad

s

STAFF REPORT

PECIAL Assistant to Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar on Friday said that the government was satisfied over the Supreme Court's (SC) judgment on Justice Qazi Faez Isa's petition challenging the presidential reference under Article 209 of the Constitution.

He said this while addressing a press conference flanked by Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz after a 10-member larger SC bench quashed the presidential reference against Justice Qazi Faez Isa for non-disclosure of his family members’ properties in his wealth statements.

“It was a sensitive issue and it was not anyone's victory or defeat as such processes took place in a democracy,” he said, adding the government had no plan to file a review petition against the verdict.

Akbar said that the Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI), its Chairman Imran Khan, and he himself as an advocate, had great respect for the honourable superior court judges, and independence of the judiciary.

“The PTI believes in separation of judiciary, executive and legislature as was envisaged in the Constitution,” he added.

The SAPM said that under Article 209, there were three ways to file a reference against a judge. Either the Supreme Judicial

Council (SJC) itself takes notice or the government files a reference or any person approaches the council for action against a judge, he added.

He said that there was mechanism of accountability of every institution and the superior judiciary was answerable only to the SJC comprising five senior judges of the superior judiciary.

Akbar said that the reference was about three flats owned by the wife and children of the honourable judge, which had been challenged by the latter. The SC bench, in its short order, had declared the SJC's proceedings and its show-cause notice as abate, he added.

As per the SC verdict, he said, within seven days, the inland commissioner of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) would issue notices to the judge's spouse and children, who were the owners of property. “As per the SC direction, the FBR is required to compile a report regrading assets of Justice Isa’s family members and submit it to the SJC, which after reviewing it would take an appropriate action, if needed,” he added.

He also said that the government believed that the issues related to the judges of superior judiciary should be looked into by the SJC. The scheme of things given in the court verdict was appropriate, he added.

The SAPM clarified that with filing of the reference, the role of the government had ended and that was why neither he nor Law Minister Farough Naseem ever commented

on the case. It was intentional as we wanted to avoid any controversy, he added.

He said that the superior courts judges were custodian of the Constitution, however, asking any question from them under the law was legal.

Akbar said that as he was addressing the press conference, a section of the media was giving a wrong impression that the word 'mala fide' had been used in the verdict and that the Asset Recovery Unit (ARU) had been declared illegal. He found no such thing in the short order, he said, adding the objective of holding the press conference was to clarify the government's position that it would implement the detailed order, whenever it would be issued.

He also said that it was an important case which would be a beacon of light for future.

The government had already stated that it had no objection to referring the case to FBR, but the petitioner did not agree to it, he added.

Earlier, the information minister said that the press conference was being held to give the government's stance on the court verdict.

OPP DEMANDS RESIGNATION OF PM IMRAN: Meanwhile, the opposition parties in a joint statement welcomed the SC verdict and demanded the president and the prime minister resign from their posts for filing a reference based on mala fide intentions.

“President Arif Alvi, Prime Minister [Imran Khan] should resign on filing an il-

legal and unconstitutional reference against the judge of the Supreme Court,” read a joint statement issued by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Awami National Party (ANP), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Jamaate-Islami (JI), Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) and National Party (NP).

“The truth about the ARU has come out and it should be shut down in the light of the SC order,” it added.

“The government tried to malign the judiciary by filing a reference based on mala fide intentions against the judge,” it further said, adding “this was an attempt to pressurise the judiciary.”

Separately, reacting to the verdict, PMLN leader Khawaja Asif, in a tweet, said that the superior court have added another chapter to the history of justice. “The legal fraternity upheld the supremacy of law. I pay tribute to the bench. The president and prime minister who filed the reference should resign if they have any shame,” he added.

AFTER THE VERDICT: After the verdict was announced, former attorney general Irfan Qadir, while speaking to a local news outlet, said that mala fide intentions and misunderstanding are two different things.

"Mala fide intentions are made when there is substantial evidence, but misunderstanding took place in this case because properties were not declared and some people were of the opinion that non-declaration of the wife’s assets was misconduct,” he

Legislators demand more spending for economic development iSLamaBad STAFF REPORT

While continuing discussion on the federal budget for the fiscal year 2020-21, the members from treasury and opposition benches in the National Assembly (NA) on Friday urged the government to allocate more financial resources for economic development and education and health sectors.

Speaking on the floor of the House, Pakistan People’s Party leader and former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said that special financial measures were needed to deal with coronavirus.

He said that in the present circumstances, unity and consensus were required in the ranks of all political parties to fight with the deadly virus which had been badly affecting the whole world, including Pakistan.

He was of the view that being head

of the government, it was responsibility of the prime minister to invite all the parties for devising comprehensive planning to defeat the pandemic.

Referring to the prime minister’s visit to Sindh, he expressed disappointment that Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Sindh three months after the spread of Covid-19 but did not bother to meet the chief minister.

He asked the government to bring back Pakistanis stranded in various parts of the world on its own expense and by hiring chartered aircrafts. He said that the government had abandoned the people of Pakistan who were facing the pandemic on their own. The government had surrendered before Covid-19, he remarked.

While talking to the premier’s statement regarding the need for reviewing the 18th Amendment, he warned that any such move would make it difficult to run a federation.

He urged the government to try to unite the nation and not to divide it further with divisive statements. He criticised the government for not taking timely action to stop locust attacks despite timely warnings last year. He said that the government had not taken measures to construct five million houses as announced by PM Imran during the election campaign. The PPP leader asked the government to set up university in his area of Gujar Khan as land for this purpose had been given by the locals.

He asked the government to increase the salary of the public sector employees.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA Amjad Ali Khan defended PM Imran’s handling of Covid-19 and said that best pro-people budget had been announced by the PTI government.

He said that when PTI took over charge of the government all the state institutions, including Pakistan Steel Mills

(PSM), Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Pakistan Railways (PR) were running in losses and the economy was in a bad shape. Amjad said that all the opposition parties became united against PM Imran as he was against corruption and mafias. He alleged that Nawaz Sharif, during his visit to India, had refused to meet with leadership of Kashmir. He said that PM Imran had effectively projected the Kashmir issue at all the international forums. He asked Nawaz to come back to Pakistan and face cases against him.

He also said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and PPP had signed Charter of Democracy (CoD) to hide each other’s corruption.

The PTI leader said that economic zones should be established in his constituency of Mianwali and adjoining areas under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Senate continues discussion on federal budget iSLamaBad PPI

Finance Adviser Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh laid a copy of the Money Bill, the Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020 before the Senate on Friday.

He also laid before the House a copy of the Money Bill, the COVID-19 (Prevention of Smuggling) Bill, 2020. The House continued discussion on the budget for next fiscal year.

Taking part in the discussion on fiscal budget, Senator Mohsin Aziz said the PTI government has presented a balanced budget and allocated sufficient amount for Ehsaas Programme and for Covid-19 to control the impacts of the epidemic. He said that international rating agencies have acknowledged the fis-

cal discipline.

Senator Krishna Kumari said that the government should take steps to control locust attacks across the country. Participating in the discussion, Mushahid Hussain Sayed called for collective efforts to cope with the challenge posed by Covid-19. He said Pakistan needs unity to deal with the regional challenges.

Waleed Iqbal was appreciative of the allocations enhanced by the government for the education sector. He said that the government is also giving priority to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects and allocated Rs70 billion for this purpose.

Sitara Ayaz said that special emphasis should be given to the development of backward areas. The House offered

fateha for legendary Radio and television host Tariq Aziz.

Taking the floor, Leader of the House Shahzad Wasim said that the prime focus of the government is to repatriate overseas Pakistani stranded in different countries. He said that the number of international flights is being increased to bring them back to the homeland.

He said that on the direction of Prime Minister Imran Khan, cash assistance is being given to the deserving families under the Ehsaas Programme. Abida Azeem said that the government should increase the salaries and pensions of the employees.

Naseebullah Bazai was appreciative of the government’s initiative to provide essential commodities to the people at reduced rates through Utility Stores Cor-

poration.

Faisal Javed said that PM Imran’s main focus is to provide relief to the poor segments of the society during these testing times. He said that the budget envisages several measures for the poor people. He added that their fight is against those who plundered the country over the last four decades.

Muhammad Ali Saif said that government should take effective measures to provide maximum relief to the common man. He said that the government should give due share to the provinces in the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award.

Usman Khan Kakar demanded the reopening of Chaman border to facilitate the traders. The House will now meet on Monday at 4 pm.

03

said.

"After Justice Isa’s wife clarified in court that her husband had no link with the [London] properties, the reference was rendered baseless and which lead to its dismissal," he added.

Meanwhile, speaking to Pakistan Today, tax officials said that in the initial stage, a notice will be issued by the Islamabad Regional Tax Office commissioner to Justice Isa’s family, asking for a tax return and a wealth statement.

Henceforth, if the commissioner is satisfied with the respondents reply a report will be submitted to the FBR chairperson who will subsequently submit a report to the SJC. However, if Justise Isa’s family's response fails to satisfy the commissioner, the commissioner will issue a show cause demanding money trail of properties.

Subsequently, if Justice Isa’s family still fails to give a reasonable answer then the commissioner income tax can issue a final order demanding the submission or recovery of tax.

However, according to sources, Justice Isa’s family can challenge the order of the commissioner in different forums, including Commissioner Appeals, the Inland Revenue Tribunal, high courts and lastly the SC. The officials said that that it is up to these forums to decide how long this case will actually take.

After 75 days, the FBR can update the SC about the proceedings held and that if a case is pending before the Commissioner Appeal, Inland Revenue Tribunal, High court or SC. According to FBR officials, the board cannot raise questions on agricultural income as agricultural income is a provincial matter. However, FBR has the right to raise questions in the case of a non-resident Pakistani generating income from Pakistan.

2 Rangers personnel among three killed, five injured in Ghotki blast GHOTKI: Three people, including two Rangers personnel, were killed while five others were injured in a blast in Ghotki on Friday. The police said that Rangers personnel were buying meat in the market when the blast took place. Heavy contingents of police and Rangers rushed to scene soon after the blast and cordoned off the area for collecting evidence. Those who died in the blast were identified as two Rangers personnel, Zahoor Ahmed and Fayyaz Ahmed, and a civilian Ghulam Mustafa. The dead bodies of the victims and injured were shifted to District Headquarters Hospital Ghotki for medico-legal formalities and treatment, respectively. The police said that the bomb was planted near a meat shop in the market where Rangers vehicle was parked. The police also collected evidence and started further investigation into the incident. PPI

Grenade attack near Ehsaas Programme centre kills one, wounds seven in Karachi KARACHI: A hand grenade attack near an Ehsaas Programme centre killed one and wounded seven on Friday, according to the Liaquatabad superintendent of police. According to police, the incident occurred at a school in Liaquatabad No 10, where the programme was disbursing cash among the needy. According to the police, a Rangers officer was also wounded in the attack. The attack caused damage to a Rangers’ vehicle parked nearby, said the policeman, adding that those wounded in the attack include people who had gathered to withdraw cash under the programme. Police said that unknown men threw a hand grenade at the gate and fled from the site. After the incident, a heavy contingent of Rangers and police reached the area and began investigating the incident. After the incident, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail said that those who attacked the cash programme centre “will not be forgiven”. He asked the law enforcement agencies to arrest those behind the attack. Earlier on Friday, two Rangers personnel and one civilian lost their lives when a blast took place near a security forces vehicle in Sindh’s Ghotki, according to DSP Hafiz Qadir. DSP Qadir said that Rangers personnel were buying meat in the market that a loud blast took place. He said that the bodies and wounded were shifted to District Hospital Ghotki. INP

04 ISLAMABAD

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APP

HE United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Friday said that the year 2019 saw a sharp increase in global displacement, affecting more than one per cent of humanity.

Every year, UNHCR releases the Global Trends report around World Refugee Day, which is marked on June 20 as a tribute to the courage and resilience of the millions of people uprooted as a result of ongoing conflicts, war and natural disasters globally.

According to this report, some 79.5 million people were displaced by the end of last year. Of them, 45.7 million people fled to other areas of their own country, while 29.6 million were refugees and others forcibly displaced outside their country. Some 4.2 million were also awaiting the outcome of asylum requests. Around 11 million people

were newly displaced, fleeing wars, violence and persecution.

In Islamabad, UNHCR and the Office of the Chief Commissioner for Afghan Refugees, Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), organised a virtual event to express solidarity with those forced to flee their home and the communities that so generously host them.

The event was attended by the UNHCR Representative in Pakistan, Noriko Yoshida, the Chief Commissioner for Afghan Refugees, Saleem Khan, other government officials, representatives from diplomatic missions, UN agencies, partners, civil society and refugees.

Speaking at the occasion, Yoshida said that these mounting figures are increasingly worrying. “Behind every statistic are people and their personal journeys. Now, 1 in every 97 people in this world are displaced, representing more than 1 per cent of humanity,” she added.

Pak-Afghan border Ghulam Khan to be opened again from June 22 PESHAWAR: Pakistan and Afghanistan have decided to open their joint border of Ghulam Khan border situated at North Waziristan. The border will be opened from June 22 for business purposes. The important meeting for the opening of the zero-point border attended by both sides civil, military and businessmen was held. The huddle agreed that to open Ghulam Khan border on June 22 while Tehsildar Ghulam Khan Ghaniur Rehman announced the decision. As per the tehsildar, the meeting decided that drivers of trading vehicles coming from Afghanistan will be changed at Ghulam Khan border while drivers of Pakistani vehicles going to Afghanistan will also be changed on the same border. All the vehicles will be sanitised while all the drivers and staff will undergo the corona test at the Ghulam Khan quarantine center. INP

Yoshida also said that forced displacement has doubled since 2010, as the figures stood at 41 million one decade ago.

“Another fact is that 85 per cent of refugees were in developing countries, despite their own challenges,” she added. She lauded the people and Government of Pak-

istan for hosting refugees for over four decades. “Pakistan’s hospitality and generosity are exemplary,” she said.

She indicated that UNHCR is advocating for greater support for refugee-hosting countries. The launch of the Support Platform for the Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees

PrAyer TImINgs FAJR SUNRISE

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Anti-locust operation completed over 2.75 million acres: NLCC ISLAMABAD: The anti-locust operations had carried out in 8,393.53 square kilometers approximately 2.75 million acres across 42 affected districts of the country to eradicate the pests attack and to save agriculture land from its harmful impacts. More than 972 joint teams took part in the anti-locust operation in 42 districts of the country, according to details released by the National Locust Control Centre (NLCC) on Friday. The joint teams of the Ministry of National Food Security, provincial departments of agriculture and Pakistan Army conducting a comprehensive survey and control operation against locusts in different districts of the country and so far, 80.11 million acres have been surveyed. In Punjab Province, about 274,289 acres had surveyed during last 24 hours and more than 2,220 people and 320 vehicles took part in this exercise. So far, under anti-locust drive the survey was completed over an area of 20.33 million acres and operation completed over 837,826 acres.

Meanwhile, in Sindh Province survey was conducted over 109,717 acres, whereas the locust presence was confirmed in 07 districts and anti-locust operation was carried out on 860 acres. APP

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(SSAR) is one such example where UNHCR is helping to mobilize the international community to channel investments in Afghanistan and support for refugee-hosting countries like Pakistan and Iran.

On the occasion, the Chief Commissioner for Afghan Refugees, Saleem Khan, expressed the Government’s resolve to assist Afghan refugees, pending their voluntary repatriation to Afghanistan. “We will not fail in caring for our Afghan brothers and sisters.

Equally important will be development initiatives in the parts of Pakistan that are shouldering the burden as hosts,” he said.

Khan called upon the international community to fund and support Pakistan. “We expect the international community to deal with the Afghan refugee situation in the same fashion as they deal with other global emergencies,” he said. “Protracted situations shouldn’t be forgotten,” he added.

He underlined the need for investments to empower Afghan youth, noting that educated and empowered young people will play a positive role in Afghanistan upon their return.

Dr Habib Gul, an Afghan refugee who has defeated all odds by pursuing higher education, also shed light on his journey. He is a former DAFI scholar and PhD holder in Business Administration.

Pakistan was the third largest refugeehosting country in the world, after Turkey and Colombia. It hosts 1.4 million registered Afghan refugees.

Terrorism graph has witnessed a gradual decline, says interior minister

Sugar inquiry report comprises fact-finding, not verdict: IHC ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday conducted the hearing of the Sugar Mills Association case filed against the sugar inquiry commission.

Legal representative of the sugar industry Makhdoom Ali Khan appeared before the IHC and argued that it should be analysed whether the inquiry commission worked fairly or not. The counsel further said in his arguments that it must be examined whether the commission worked with an intention to draw some specific conclusion beforehand. Makhdoom Ali Khan claimed that the self-esteem of the sugar industry was damaged through media trial. IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah said in his remarks that it is not appropriate to hold press conference on every matter and affirmed that let the law take its course. “The sugar report comprises fact-finding, not verdict. The Supreme Court has already sent interrogation report to concerned departments after forming a joint investigation team (JIT),” he added. INP

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ISLAMABAD PPI

Federal Minister for Interior Brigadier (r) Ijaz Shah visited the National Defense University (NDU), Islamabad, on Friday to address participants of the Command and Leadership Programme 2020 (CLP) on the issues pertaining to internal security of the country.

The event was part of the series of talks/briefings arranged during the course. The lecture was attended by the director general ISSRA, NDU, faculty

members and the participants of the Command and Leadership Programme.

The interior minister dilated upon the prevailing internal security challenges and gave a comprehensive overview on the measures taken by the government to ensure safety and security in the country that has been achieved through a coordinated response.

While talking about country’s security situation, the minister presented a comprehensive overview of National Action Plan and National Internal Security Policy and reiterated that implementation

of National Action Plan is a priority of the government.

He highlighted that the graph of terrorist activities has witnessed a gradual decline that has allowed the government of embark upon initiatives to curb radical tendencies, extremism and intolerance in the society through people-to-people and people-to-state initiatives. He opined that unprecedented success achieved against the scourge of terrorism became a reality due to national resilience, effective state policies and sacrifices of security/law enforcement apparatus.

He, however, felt that fight against drivers of terrorism is a continuing process that requires commitment and whole of a nation approach. The interior minister said that the battle against terrorism has been won at an enormous human and financial cost and reiterated the government’s resolve to take all possible measures to prevent the country from going into same abyss.

While talking about the current regional environment, the minister said that Indian intransigence over Kashmir has pushed them into a tight corner and now their policymakers are looking for a false-flag operation to divert domestic/international attention and unify the widening cracks within the divisive society.

He emphasised that the government stands shoulder to shoulder with Kashmir brethren in this difficult time. “We support the resolution of Kashmir issue as per aspirations of Kashmiri people and United Nations resolutions and we stand prepared for all eventualities,” he said.

He talked about the significance of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and highlighted that the measures taken to ensure the security of projects associated with CPEC in the hinterland. He also dilated upon Indian designs to derail the projects by aggravating law and order situation in GilgitBaltistan (GB) and Balochistan.

In the end, he spoke about how the prevailing pandemic could be exploited by terrorist entities especially the perils of online radicalisation and stressed upon the need for proactive response measures.

World Bank to support KP Information Commission PESHAWAR APP

World Bank will lend its support to KP Information Commission to improve the accountability of the administration and ensure timely provision of information to the citizens.

The World Bank announces joint support to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Commission (KPIC) in the intensive implementation of the RTI Law in KP in the fiscal year 2020-21 by cooperating frameworks with Public Information Officers. (PIOs) Media, and the Civil Society through Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Planning and Development Department Governance and Policy Project (GPP) Operational support Unit (OSU).

This was decided in a video link meeting of the Task Team Leader, GPP World Bank, Raymond Mahula with the Commissioner Right to Information Khy-

ber Pakhtunkhwa Information Commission Riaz Khan Daudzai.

The meeting was also attended by high ranking officials of the World Bank Washington, KH Information Commission and GPP OSU. The GPP will support its Pakistan

partners in improving service delivery, ensuring transparency and proper implementation of the law in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The programme provides advisory services in areas of cooperation, including capacity building of 400 numbers of

PIOs in 15 districts, training on E Filing of requests for information, awareness raising campaigns at 7 divisional headquarters for civil servants, civil society organizations, academia and think tanks supports the provincial and local administrations, media and civil society besides issues in the post Covid-19.

World Bank will also lend its support in preparation and broadcasting of documentaries and radio spots, advertisement in print media.

In addition to this three appellate officer and benches in Swat, Abbottabad and Dera Ismail Khan will be establishment. These officers will facilitate the complaints in hearing of their grievances instead of Peshawar.

It is pertinent to mention that the oneyear project is going to be launched in July 2020 which will help in improving the accountability of the administration and strengthening the dialogue between the state and society.

Saturday, 20 June, 2020

NEWS

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Arif Nizami grieved over Chaudhry Nazir’s demise LAHORE: Pakistan Today Editor and Council of Newspaper Editors (CPNE) President Arif Nizami has expressed deep grief and sorrow over the demise of Newspaper Vendors Union Lahore President Chaudhry Nazir who passed away on Friday due to coronavirus.

In a statement, he said that the union president’s death had come as a shock to the entire newspaper industry and media workers are alienated from the separation of a longtime colleague. He said that the deceased was a man of high moral values and had strengthened the newspaper vendors’ union with his efforts. He prayed for the forgiveness of the deceased and patience to the bereaved family. STAFF REPORT

CPNE condoles demise of Newspaper Vendors Union President Chaudhry Nazir LAHORE STAFF REPORT LAHORE: People offer funeral prayer for Newspaper Vendors Union Lahore President Chaudhry Nazir who passed away on Friday. ZUBAIR MEHFOOZ

NDMA wArNs of sErioUs UrbAN flooDiNg iN UPCoMiNg MoNsooN sEAsoN ISLAMABAD

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STAFF REPORT

HE National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Friday noted that the country faced three major threats during the upcoming monsoon season which included serious urban flooding in all major cities of country, landslides and glacier outburst in hilly areas and locust attacks which could become severe in rainy days.

With the expectations of above-normal rainfall in the upcoming monsoon season, the NDMA has warned of serious urban flooding across the country and asked the relevant authorities to clean water courses in the cities.

NDMA Chairman Lt Gen Muhammad Afzal, while addressing a pre-monsoon preparatory conference on Friday, said that urban flooding prospects in upcoming season.

“While all major cities are prone to flooding, I would request the authorities in Karachi to clean all the drains while Sukkur, Hyderabad, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Jhelum and Nowshera needs immediate attention by the local authorities,” he added.

The National Contingency Plan, 2020, prepared by

NDMA was presented in the conference that was attended by all relevant federal and provincial government agencies, officials of the United Nations (UN) agencies, members of NGOs and INGOs working in the field of disaster management.

It was noted that every year there is a risk of flooding due to monsoon rains which is from the end of June to September.

The traditional phenomenon in the monsoon season includes floods in the rivers, flashfloods in hill areas, landslides and glacier outbursts but the growing population of cities and developments along the natural water outflow courses has resulted in rampant urban flooding in Pakistan.

The NDMA chairman referred to the massive city floods in Karachi in 2019 and called for preparations of hazard maps of all cities.

“We need to consider the effects of climate change along with traditional preparations,” he added.

The NDMA Contingency Plan, 2020, ensures preparedness at the local level, including early warning arrangements, and the responsibilities of relevant agencies in the wake of heavy rains, including cloud burst.

The plan has been prepared in consultations of all concerned government and non-government partners, and it was informed that the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) will be fully prepared in close coordination with the local authorities.

It was also noted in the conference that locust attack and the other challenges of monsoon season demanded an integrated strategy in coming months.

While the seasonal outlook of met office showed that monsoon rainfall is expected to be around 10 per cent above normal across the country, whereas Sindh and Kashmir are likely to receive around 20 percent above normal rainfall during the season.

As a result of it there are more chances of urban flooding in Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur.

Whereas pre-monsoon precipitation is likely to start after June 20, and there are chances of potential flood in eastern rivers of Pakistan, due to higher than normal rainfall in Kashmir area.

Similarly, there are high probabilities of flash flooding in hill torrents of Punjab ad Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including various nullah in and around Murree and Islamabad.

NPMC takes notice of essential food items price hike ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

A meeting of the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) held on Tuesday, under the chairmanship of the finance secretary took notice of increase in prices of poultry, wheat and other essential food items and directed the relevant authorities to take action against the price hikes where necessary.

The meeting was attended by the representatives from the provincial governments, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Ministry of Industries and Production, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Planning Development and Special Initiatives, Ministry

of National Food Security and Research, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) and Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

During the meeting, the finance secretary discussed the issue of price hike in the poultry sector with stakeholders and examined the demand and supply dynamics of poultry products and directed the provincial governments and the ICT administration to take strict actions against outlets where poultry products are being sold at unjustifiable high prices.

The provincial representatives and the ICT administration assured that all possible measures to curb the price hike will be taken and that poultry prices will be re-

duced in the coming days.

The finance secretary also directed the CCP to share its findings regarding the price hike in the poultry sector with the provincial government and the ICT administration.

The NPMC also directed the Ministry of National Food Security to coordinate and consult with the provincial governments regarding the prices of wheat and wheat flour in the country and take immediate measures to ensure smooth supply of the products.

The finance secretary also advised that all relevant authorities along with the provincial governments should work to ensure the provision of essential food items at affordable prices.

In May, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was recorded at 8.2 per cent. CPI for the July 2019- May 2020 period, averaged at 10.9 per cent. Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) which monitors the price movement of 51 essential items on a weekly basis recorded an increase of 0.05 per cent for the week ended on June 11.

During the meeting it was noted that inflation in the country has been on a continuous declining trend since January 2020, due to policy, administrative and relief measures of the federal and provincial governments. It was also observed that the declining price trend in the international market might further reduce domestic prices in the near future.

Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) expressed grief over the demise of Newspaper Vendors Union Lahore President Chaudhry Nazir. In a statement, CPNE President Arif Nizami, Vice President (Punjab) Irshad Ahmed Arif, Secretary General Dr Jabbar Khattak and all members of the standing committee expressed their deep sorrow and grief and prayed for the forgiveness of the deceased and patience to the bereaved family. The CPNE leaders said that Chaudhry Nazir was a man of great ingenuity and high moral values. He also strengthened the newspaper vendors' union under his leadership, including ensuring timely delivery of newspapers. His death has come as a shock to newspaper workers and news outlets alienated from the separation of a longtime colleague.

Chinese vaccine may not be ready for sale until at least 2021 BEIJING: A coronavirus vaccine candidate China is developing may not be ready for sale until at least 2021, as researchers struggle to move into largescale human trials in the country because of a lack of new infections, a senior company executive said.

More than 10 experimental vaccines are being tested in humans globally as scientists race to protect against the novel coronavirus that has killed more than 450,000 people. But none of them has yet passed late-stage phase 3 trials that require thousands of participants to determine a vaccine candidate’s effectiveness. China, where the virus first originated last year, saw less than 10 new local cases reported daily on average in May, making it less favorable for a late-stage clinical trial. “We hope we can launch more international cooperations and conduct a multiple-center phase 3 clinical study to help bring the vaccine to the market,” China National Biotec Group’s (CNBG) vice president Zhang Yutao told state media China News Service.

“The vaccine won’t be on the market until at least next year based on current plans,” he said in the interview broadcast late on Thursday. A new outbreak in the capital Beijing city last week has infected more than 180 people, but Yang said the number of new patients compared with the population was still too low to make it an ideal trial site. CNBG is an affiliate of state-backed China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm). One of the two experimental vaccines developed by its units showed some positive signs in early stage human trials. State media reported last week that China was offering its two vaccine candidates to employees at state-owned firms traveling overseas. AGENCIES

Trump renews threat to cut ties with Beijing, a day after high-level US-China talks WASHINGTON AGENCIES

United States (US) President Donald Trump on Thursday renewed his threat to cut ties with China, a day after his top diplomats held talks with Beijing and his trade representative said he did not consider decoupling the US and Chinese economies a viable option.

The top US diplomat for East Asia described US-China relations as “tense” after their first high-level face-to-face diplomatic talks in months, although he said Beijing did recommit to the first part of a trade deal reached this year and that coming weeks would show if there had been progress.

Trump has made rebalancing the massive US trade deficit with China a top priority, but relations have worsened steadily as his campaign for re-election in November heats up.

“It was not Ambassador Lighthizer’s fault (yesterday in Committee) in that perhaps I didn’t make myself clear,” Trump said

in a tweet referring to his trade representative, Robert Lighthizer.

“But the US certainly does maintain a policy option, under various conditions, of a complete decoupling from China.”

Lighthizer told a House of Representatives committee on Wednesday he did not see that as viable.

“Do I think that you can sit down and decouple the United States economy from the Chinese economy?” he said. “No, I think that was a policy option years ago. I don’t think it’s a ... reasonable policy option at this point.”

His office had no immediate comment on Trump’s tweet.

US-China relations have reached their lowest point in years since the coronavirus pandemic that began in China hit the United States hard, and Trump and his administration have repeatedly accused Beijing of not being transparent about the outbreak.

MULTIPLE POINTS OF FRICTION: Among multiple points of friction, the countries are also at odds over China’s moves to

impose new security legislation on Hong Kong, which have prompted Trump to initiate a process to eliminate special US treatment for the territory.

Trump made clear the deterioration in the relationship last month when he said he had no interest in speaking right now to President Xi Jinping, whom he has hailed as a friend, and suggesting he could even cut ties with China.

Lighthizer said he expected to see more supply chains moving to the United States because of tax and regulatory changes, but also noted that the US-China trade deal would result in significant positive changes and increased Chinese purchases of US goods and services.

The Phase 1 US-China trade deal calls for China to buy $200 billion in additional US goods and services over two years, but skeptics say the pandemic and resulting economic slowdowns will make it difficult for Beijing to reach its targets for this year.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

met China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, for a day of talks in Hawaii on Wednesday, but those appear to have done little to improve the mood.

As the Hawaii meeting began, Trump signed legislation calling for sanctions against those responsible for repression of Uighur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang region, prompting Beijing to threaten retaliation.

David Stilwell, the assistant secretary for East Asia, told reporters that China’s attitude in the talks could not be described as forthcoming and described relations as “tense.”

He said recent Chinese actions, over India, in the South China Sea and over Hong Kong, had not been constructive and that Washington looked forward to seeing China reconsider its plans for security legislation for Hong Kong.

At the same time, Stilwell said China did recommit to following through on the trade agreement and added that efforts to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons were another area of potential cooperation.

“The trade deal – the Chinese have recommitted to that numerous times ... and they insist that they will follow through,” Stilwell said. “This is a good acid test to see if they will be cooperative partners.”

“We’ll see in the next week or two, or however long it takes, (if) they begin to live up to their commitments,” he said.

China described the Hawaii talks as “constructive,” but its Foreign Ministry said Yang told Pompeo that Washington needed to respect Beijing’s positions on key issues and halt its interference in matters such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and Xinjiang, while working to repair relations.

Hours after the meeting ended, China said its top parliamentary body would review draft Hong Kong security legislation during a session that began on Thursday.

Earlier, foreign ministers of the G7 countries, including Pompeo, issued a statement calling on China not to follow through with the legislation, which critics call an assault on the territory’s democratic freedoms.

Saturday, 20 June, 2020

06 COMMENT

The Covid-19 call for a Naya Pakistan

Time to accept the verdict and reconcile Mr Justice Qazi Faez Isa exonerated

There must be more following of SOPs

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HE tribulations of Mr Justice Qazi Faez Isa started after the detailed verdict in the Faizabad Dharna case. Certain observations made by the honorable judge during the hearings and in the detailed judgment irked both the PTI leadership and the establishment. A probe was initiated soon after by the Assets recovery Unit (ArU) to find evidence that could be used to unseat the judge. The insubstantial material collected was subsequently handed over to the Attorney General for preparation of a reference.

As Mr Justice Isa enjoys respect among the legal community for his integrity, the first reaction against the reference came from an Additional Attorney General who tendered his resignation in reaction to the purported filing of the reference which he called a "reckless attempt to browbeat the judiciary". Soon after, Pakistan Bar Council and Supreme Court Bar Association announced protests against the reference which they maintained was aimed at inflicting irreparable damage to the independence of judiciary.

The reference filed against Mr Justice Isa was based on presumptions. There was nothing in it to prove that the properties abroad owned by his wife and children actually belonged to him. Mrs Faez Isa had requested the Supreme Court early this year to hear her. When allowed to get her statement recorded through video-link on Thursday, she presented the entire money trail from how she earned the money to the purchase of the foreign properties between 2003 and 2013.

In a short order announced on Friday, the SC quashed the presidential reference against Mr Justice Isa, calling it invalid. The court also withdrew a show cause notice issued to Justice Isa by the Supreme Judicial Council. Ms Isa is required now to satisfy the Inland revenue Commissioner about the money trail and the property. The Commissioner will then send his report to the Chief Justice. The PBC and SCBA have interpreted the judgment as a victory of the independent judiciary and rule of law. Powerful people who do not like independent judges need to learn to live with them during the pandemic, the effects of which are likely to last for a number of years. Any social upheaval caused by irrational actions will cost the country badly.

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The next phase As the CPEC enters, lessons learnt must be acted upon

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HINA-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority Chief Lt Gen (retd) Asim Bajwa has said that CPEC is now entering its second phase, and that the covid-19 pandemic will not prove a barrier in the path of its progress. This is good news for the nation, in these parlous times, better than they have normally been. This is because this news would have meant major economic development, but which now implies virtually the sole source of hope for the economy in a bleak post-covid-19 landscape, which will be dominated by a debilitating depression.

The efficacy of the first phase was obvious to the entire country in the ending of load-shedding. True, the electricity shortage has been ended because there was to be no problem in the second phase, but it has meant an end of the power shortages which had been so irksome a part of daily life. Now the second phase is to be centered on the laying of a new fully fenced 1800-km railway track from Karachi to Peshawar, a dry port at Havelian and a new transmission system.

Also central to this second phase will be bringing Chinese firms to Pakistan, to carry out direct investment.

In this connection, the Heavy Mechanical Complex (established over four decades ago with Chinese help) will play a crucial role. As Chinese firms will be bringing industry and jobs, this HMC role will be particularly crucial.

In his address at the signing ceremony between the CPEC Authority and some Chinese firms, General Bajwa was fulsome in his praise of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s support for CPEC. While this may stand him in good stead in his capacity as Mr Khan’s Special Assistant on Information, General Bajwa should not so summarily forget who was the Prime Minister when CPEC came into being, Mian Nawaz Sharif. Mr Khan should be given credit for the continuity he has given to the project because it is one of benefit to the nation, but to go much beyond that would be to a distortion of history that would benefit no one. Part of the reason for this is the need to keep the project’s historical memory, so that past mistakes are not repeated, so that the solutions to past problems are available today.

India and the illicit nuclear trade Haris akmal

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or more than a decade, India has intensified its efforts to become a de jure member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), a global nuclear cartel, which was established in response to India’s nuclear test in 1974.

The US-India nuclear deal of 2008 has already enabled India to gain access to the global nuclear market and allowed it to import uranium and other nuclear material for its civilian nuclear power plants. As a result of its persistent efforts, India has become a de-facto NSG member– the only nuclear weapon state with most of its facilities outside the IAEA safeguards and that has access to the global nuclear market without fulfilling the basic prerequisites. A number of countries including Pakistan have raised serious concerns over the US exceptionalism towards India and warned the global community that India can divert nuclear material for its military purposes. The open-source reports on India’s nuclear technology procurement network have vindicated these countries' concerns. There are several Indian companies which are engaged in illicit nuclear procurement.

As per these reports, “India relies on private contractors to procure goods for use in unsafeguarded nuclear facilities, which are not subject to IAEA verification. These contractors import primarily from a small group of countries, including Germany, China, and the United States— all NSG member states.” It also revealed that there are 86 companies that contracted with two or more unsafeguarded nuclear facilities in India. The top origin countries for these shipments are members of the NSG. It shows that India has long been using its de facto nuclearpower status to acquire nuclear technology and resources for its military as well as unsafeguarded nuclear facilities. For a long period of time, India has refused to bring those civilian unsafeguarded nuclear power plants under the IAEA safeguards. It has not provided a logical explanation to the IAEA for not safeguarding civilian unsafeguarded power plants.

The new reports give ample evidence that India’s nuclear programme is directly benefiting

Arif Nizami Editor Umar Aziz

Asher John

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

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without India’s legal integration in the nuclear nonproliferation regime. For that, Indian lobbies have long been trying to influence global norms just to provide India a safe entry into the global mainstream.

Unfortunately, a significant relaxation has been made to the global regimes only to accommodate Indian asfrom weak global monitoring and verification pro- pirations. However, such practices have drastically tocols. There is a persistent gap in theory and prac- affected the efficacy of the global non-proliferation tice of these monitoring and verification protocols regime. The India-centric accommodation has also as countries like India, which is a non-signatory to been the bone of contention among the legitimate the NPT, get the benefit of vague mechanisms. Sub- members of NSG, which have followed legal as well sequently, Indian nuclear trade for its civilian nu- as institutional procedures to become part of the clear programme ends up in its military and global nuclear regime, whereas India wants to have unsafeguarded nuclear programme. access to the global market without following the India’s nuclear prolegal procedures. gramme poses a significant These reports should threat to regional and global warn the international comsecurity, and the global numunity that India has not clear cooperation that ends been clear about its nuclear There is need of greater up in Indian military protrade and transactions. The gramme equally threatens involvement from the IAEA and supply chain of its nuclear the credibility of global nonmaterial, which should have other international bodies to proliferation regimes. Under been solely directed to its the umbrella of 123 Agreepeaceful nuclear promonitor and verify India’s ment, Indian domestic nugramme, ends up in its unclear reserves have already safeguarded nuclear nuclear cooperation with the been diverted to its weapons programme which is directly countries which are part of the contributing to its weapons development programme. It will significantly boost If not rebroader NSG cartel. This is the development.

India’s weapons capability. stricted at this point of time, It also means, international India will likely to continue only way forward to stop nuclear cooperation with its efforts to grow and modIndia’s systematic nuclear India, directly contributes to ernize its nuclear prothe Indian military programme at the cost of proliferation network gramme. Such a drastic sceregional stability. nario has full potential to It has become the need lead South Asia towards an of hour to identify, monitor unending nuclear arms race. and disrupt India’s illicit reports further offer a nuclear proliferation netbleak picture of Indian nuclear cooperation with NSG work which has been indirectly facilitated by the member states. one states, “Indian companies that NSG waiver. Indian companies remain active and exhibit risk of supplying unsafeguarded facilities tend continue to procure nuclear dual-use goods from to procure directly from NSG member states. Ninety- foreign firms for potential use in its unsafeguarded two per cent of shipments to Indian companies that nuclear facilities or nuclear weapons programme. have procured for two or more Indian unsafeguarded There is need of greater involvement from the IAEA facilities originated from companies in NSG member and other international bodies to monitor and verify states. This may reflect the impact of India’s NSG India’s nuclear cooperation with the countries which waiver and the general assessment of lower due dili- are part of the broader NSG cartel. This is the only gence risk.” way forward to stop India’s systematic nuclear proNuclear policy experts in New Delhi have liferation network. strongly been proposing the global nuclear mainstreaming of India’s nuclear programme, and that too Haris Akmal is a freelance columnist

India is using the NSG waiver to advance its weapons programme

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

maHin kHan

HE word coronavirus irks, with more than 8.6 million people infected by it and many more likely to be, like no other word these days. To some, the current statistics of this novel virus are official numbers and to some, it's their loved ones. Amidst the plethora of information that everyone is trying to consume, the new normal is something that we all are desperately searching for. Pakistan has started to face the consequences of easing the lockdown or adopting the herd immunity approach (as many say). The World Health organization has placed Pakistan in the top ten countries reporting the most cases. A surge in cases, constant warnings by the WHo, and fear of the overwhelming of the health system have proven the debacle performance of the state. This is probably a bona fide claim. A question that needs to be openly entertained is, Is it the state or us? or Both?

Blaming the state solely is an indication of living in limbo. Despite the government's advice people managed to hold gatherings pre- and post-Eid, to be classified as violations of the standard operating procedures (SoPs). An extraordinary rush of buyers with no fear of coronavirus infection, and people not following the SoPs, were observed in many local shops.

The 25 percent of our sales target achieved by shopkeepers and traders was nearly enough to overwhelm the health system. We as a nation happily traded transmission of covid-19 for our Eid shopping. PostEid, according to Capital City Police officer (CCPo) Zulfiqar Hameed, the officers conducted surprise raids in 155 markets of the city and sealed 582 shops over violations. Challan tickets were issued to 717 motorcyclists for not wearing masks and 1,469 shopkeepers were issued warnings. The existential dilemma of Pakistan being a community-driven society has made social distancing a slightly difficult yardstick to follow.

History has shown innumerable times that the behavioral factors associated with human beings can change patterns during a pandemic. research from 2003 outlines the pertinent role human behaviour played in managing the 2001-2002 Ebola outbreak in Uganda. And during the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-1919, behavioral factors, including the cancellation of large gatherings, physical distancing, and simple handwashing, helped to reduce the spread of the disease.

Comparing Pakistan to New Zealand, China, the USA or the rest of Europe is merely like comparing apples to oranges. The parameters for success in this pandemic are relative to population size, awareness,

leadership clarity, and presence of data. The un- reopening of the construction industry was led by planned, complete lockdown in India allows us to do elite and powerful industrialists of Pakistan and was a synchronal comparison versus Imran Khan's choice later labeled as a pro-poor strategy.

A non-technical question that comes to almost of smart lockdown. The results of a so-called imposed smart lockdown in Pakistan and complete lock- everyone's mind is why can't the government extend down in India remain homogenous given the current the lockdown and sort another ration scheme from the aid received? Why isn't the foreign aid being statistics of both countries.

There's a fine line between leaving the citizens to used? Why do the poor have to choose between starvation and exposure to the follow the SoPs before flatcoronavirus? tening the curve and the Pakistan's veiled sociooverwhelming of the weak economic differences and health system. Where does complacent attitude to being that fine line end? The basic The covid-19 crisis has given in the backseat for evolution control theory by Walter Khan a second chance to including technological adreckless in 1973 postulates vancement, have been exthat an individual's behavchange the innings and deliver posed during the covid-19 iour is determined by what andemic. It is for the first he or she wants or desires Naya Pakistan by time since 1951-52 that Pakthe most at any given time. institutionalizing the structure istan's economy contracted, It further calls for centralby 0.38% in the outgoing ized control, for instance, of this country with an fiscal year due to this virus bureaucratic control through and pre coronavirus ecoadministrative and hieraradditional focus on data nomic stabilization policies. chical structures. According collection, health care, and Further, there is a need to into this theory federal coervestigate the sources of hot cion, support from the education. Albeit none of this foreign money inflows in NCoC and public health that created an artiagencies were enough to can be done by Khan alone, it’s Pakistan ficial sense of economic staproduce a standardized & bility pre-coronavirus. The clear message on covid-19. time the whole nation joins year 2020 is a wakeup call If the state got it right and hands with him and his for Pakistan to seize the monudged behaviour in the ment and revolutionize not right direction at society, government to bring about a just our present systems but community and individual our extant perspectives as level, the resources availchange. As Rosemary Brown well. The radical economic able to fight the disease says "Until all of us have made impacts include lower ecowould have gone much furgrowth leading to ther. But since the very beit, none of us have made it." It is nomic negative GDP growth (proginning, there has been an jected by IMF, World Bank apparent tiff between all the indeed us and the state & SBP) & higher unemployprovinces and the federal ment, being the two major government. Prime Minister bumps of this pandemic.

Imran Khan keeps on reiterThe covid-19 crisis has ating the 18th Amendment, but only needs to realize that at this time being on the given Khan a second chance to change the innings same page is what is needed. Khan, by constantly un- and deliver Naya Pakistan by institutionalizing derestimating the impact of the coronavirus and in- the structure of this country with an additional stantly switching between lockdown, smart lockdown focus on data collection, health care, and educaand no lockdown without flattening the curve, has tion. Albeit none of this can be done by Khan further confused the masses who view the coron- alone, it’s time the whole nation joins hands with avirus as a hoax without registering its transmissible him and his government to bring about a change. nature. Hence Karachi Liaquat National Hospital in- As rosemary Brown says "Until all of us have cident seemed justified to the protesters. The Govern- made it, none of us have made it." It is indeed us ment gave in to the demands of power lobbies and and the state. the religious leaders by opening mosques and holding Mahin Khan is a freelance columnist taraweeh and Eid prayers. There's no doubt that the

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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

Complete lockdown THE World Health organization (WHo) in its letter to the Punjab government of Pakistan has suggested for complete lockdown in the state due to the worsening condition of the pandemic. WHo also stated that the reason that cases have increased drastically is due to relaxation in lockdown.

Lockdown could have only be lifted if Pakistan has followed all six conditions i.e. complete control over the pandemic, diagnosis of every single case, tests, isolation, treatment and tracing, and minimum hotspot risks. our governments and our very notable departments e.g. primary and secondary healthcare department, Punjab Food Authority, doctors, police etc. are leaving no stone unturned even in this pandemic to ensure the safety of people. But what we are doing as a nation? New Zealand’s Prime minister stated that she could not have made her country corona free without the cooperation of the common man. Same applies in Pakistan: we can not come out of this crisis without the cooperation of the common man.

Ease in lockdown was done to save Pakistan from economic collapse but people were continuously warned to follow SoP’s which they clearly didn’t and as a result we now have been listed in top countries of the world where the spread of infection is drastic and very fast. Now as suggested by WHo, Government of Pakistan specifically Government of Punjab must consider complete lockdown for the time being and must respect the efforts of our departments for the public’s welfare. As a responsible citizen, please stay home, avoid leaving home and even if you have to, follow SoP’s. It’s not only about others’ lives, it’s our life too which is at stake.

SAEEd AnwAr Islamabad

Mental Health Conundrum

Humanity is renegotiating life Predictability, pace & priorities

QUDssia akHlaQUE

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T is getting weirder by the day. Mankind is being virtually held hostage by a contagion. Life is now largely dictated by the fast-changing coronavirus pandemic statistics. It hit the world like a storm early this year, literally turning it upside down with major disruptions globally. Within a matter of weeks it rendered all major powers and people glorying in arrogance and conceit abjectly helpless. As if some divine spell cast to humble humanity!

Until the coronavirus surfaced one thought the 9/11 terror attacks in the United States had changed the world. However, almost two decades later the invisible microbe of covid-19 has shaken all economies out of their dividends, bringing down consumerism like the twin towers of New York.

A paradigm shift has already begun to come to the fore, a new world order as it were. As a friend aptly put it: we have been slapped onto the future. onto the brink of the unknown.

After initial shock, disbelief and denial, people are now fast losing patience with the unseen and ever-lurking coronavirus. Panic, despair, dismay and depression are now beginning to set in as hopes of a vaccine to terminate covid-19 begin to fade and uncertainly about the pandemic’s end looms. Constrained by the constant threat of this unpredictable beast of a disease, humanity is renegotiating life, its predictability, pace and priorities. A particularly tough time for all the youth, who had planned their future in an imagined world far removed from the reality.

We have been shifting gears with a soaring number of confirmed cases and deaths caused by this disease. At the outset it was declared an epidemic, then a pandemic and finally upgraded to an endemic. This means it is not going to go

away any time soon as most of humanity had hoped earlier. The World Health organization has already forewarned that covid-19 “may never go away.” A group of Harvard University disease researchers said earlier in the week that the world might need to practice social distancing through 2022 to prevent covid-19 from surging anew. A long haul!

So, where do we go from here?

Clearly, we cannot bank on our imagination or available information to predict what the future holds. That, it appears, is humanity’s only takeaway from Coronavirus so far. Thus: the need to make major adjustments to our personal and professional lives to our respective ends! We are all creatures of habit and with time we will make structural adjustments to our lives as there is no other option. Consider it like an unpopular IMF structural adjustment programme that has been imposed on countries worldwide─ initially resisted but eventually accepted. No challenge comes without an opportunity. It opens doors to new possibilities─ or closes some to force introspection and reform at both the individual and collective level.

For now, this demon of the coronavirus is forcing us to revisit our humble and simple beginnings. To realign and become more self-reliant. reconnect to our soul and heed the inner voice. Those with a spiritual insight see it as a divine intervention to reverse human transgression on many counts. A reminder that many generations in ancient times have been destroyed due to such transgressions. Man’s ingratitude for countless blessings is one big reason. Perhaps this is essentially to draw us back to core values of humanity: forbearance, compassion, kindness, empathy, humility, peace, mutual respect, love and social justice. To restore respect for human dignity and moral strength. Most importantly, to be conscious of God, give purifying dues, and thus be graced with God’s mercy of healing. That ultimately all protective power rests with God alone. The realization gradually sinking in is that there is more in less, and in less there is more peace. That accumulation and materialism add to the burden of existence and make our lives more complicated and tedious.

Contentment is liberating and complaining is constraining just as it is draining.

Till now life has been a race against time, and now suddenly people have plenty of time to kill! Best utilized by reading books that have been collecting dust on shelves, meditating, reflecting and discovering our inner strengths. And building on these strengths. This novel virus has altered the pace of life and the nature of the workspace drastically. A key question then is how to stay connected, and find acceptance in our new normal. As social distancing is being embraced, we are seeing cultural shifts to zoom workspaces and google classroom for online

classes. More cost-effective as it saves the time and money that we were taxed with every day by commutes and travels. For creative minds, new media and digital landscapes have opened up new ways of being productive at (or away from) the workplace. The doors of arts and culture are now open to all interested beyond borders. Earlier such participation was constrained by physical mobility. From a transnational aspect, the recent online film festival in Brooklyn could be accessed by all who had laptops and Internet facility.

In this digital age the Internet has kept connectivity alive and kicking, saving the world from being pushed into complete isolation. The shrinking public space due to the Coronavirus has been effectively substituted by the virtual platform.

And for this summer those who had planned holidays thousands of miles away from their homeland can now discover the joys of exploring the beauty and diversity of their own land. on a lighter note (if there can be one in the midst of all the gloom), Coronavirus has emerged as a ‘huge relief package’ for many of those who don’t fancy socializing and have had enough of Pr, social networking and socializing. No pressure or social anxiety anymore! For now, there is respite from the hypocrisy of indulging in fake smiles, half-hearted handshakes and embracing folks that you wish were on some other planet! Surely the coronavirus scare will keep them all at bay! While many still yearn for social interaction, others are content staying home and relish solitude.

Those who believed that the coronavirus would just disappear are now beginning to surrender to this monster although with a heavy heart. The initial resistance is now turning into resignation. Covid-19 will change many colours as it continues to spread across the globe. Let’s hope it reshapes our lives for the better and make us more sensitive and responsive to the needs of fellow human beings.

The famous ‘Seven Advice of rumi’ says it all beautifully: 1.

In generosity and helping others, be like a river 2.

In compassion and grace, be like the sun 3.

In concealing others’ faults, be like the night 4.

In anger and fury, be like the dead 5.

In modesty and humility, be like the earth 6.

In tolerance, be like the sea 7.

Either appear as you are or be as you look.

Qudssia Akhlaque is a senior journalist and has been a diplomatic correspondent for leading dailies. She can be reached at qudssia@hotmail.com / twitter@qudssiaakhlaque

THE death of the brilliant bollywood actor Sushant Singh rajput on Sunday has kick started fresh discussion about mental health issues.

The 34-year-old actor was found dead in his Mumbai home, in what police said appeared to be a case of suicide which left many of his followers and fans gloomy. The reason of the suicide is yet to be disclosed.

However, it’s not the only case that took place; researches show that around eight hundred thousand people commit suicide every year worldwide. And an individual takes one’s life every forty seconds. It is the top fifteen leading causes of death in the globe, with more death rates due to malaria, cancer, wars and genocide. In developing countries like Pakistan depression and mental health issues are considered as a big taboo. owing to illiteracy and lack of awareness, people with mental issues are considered as “possessed”. Hence, rather than taking consultation and prescription from the psychiatrists and doctors people prefer to go to quacks and orthodox religious pundits for healing.

The factors behind committing suicide include; imbalance in brain chemistry, unemployment, financial morass, social pressures, family issues, loss of love affairs, hopelessness, loneliness and depression. Commonly people commit suicide by hanging on fan, firearm usage and ingestion of acidic substance. Although before committing suicide a person sends signals to the members of family and friends by showing irritating behavior, feelings of worthlessness, absurdity and maintaining social distancing yet people rather than giving attention and presenting solutions to them, pass jokes on their condition and call them ”Majnu”(crazy) and Psychopath. The suicide rate in Pakistan is below as compare to the global rate of 6.1 per 100,000 while in Pakistan it is 1.4 per 100,000. This is not because we have low rates of such incidents but because there is no work on compilation of the cases and many such events go unreported. Irony is that Pakistan has only one doctor for thousands of patients with mental health issues.

In the modern time of the twenty-first century, though the world governments are busy working on science and technology and spending huge amounts of budget on bettering artificial intelligence yet they have ignored the development of the human mind and its day-to-day emerging issues.

Pakistan is lagging behind all in this sector. Therefore, the government needs to adopt a multi-sectoral approach to nip the ever-rising menace in the bud. Screening at primary care level, community mental health programmes to be run through lady health workers, strict restriction on access of common folk to toxic substances, awareness programmers through media and establishment of help centers for mental health on 24/7 hours service can be useful preventive measures. Moreover, we need to change our attitude towards life and people. We have to have greater acceptance of failure. We must stop blaming ourselves for the unwanted and uncontrolled circumstance that we face in our day to day life. We should have the willingness to listen to the depressed and dejected people who need nothing but our attention. As Victor Frankl, one of the great psychiatrists of the twentieth century writes in his book, “Man’s Search for Meaning” that, “People don’t always need advice. Sometimes all they really need is a hand to hold, an ear to listen, and a heart to understand them.”

MAJId HAMEEd rAJPut. Hyderabad

Oppressive legislation IT has been reported that the government is planning to get a bill passed from the national assembly to recover the circular debt of about 1.9 trillion rupees from the electricity consumers in accordance with an agreement with IMF. The public was expecting reduction in power tariffs due to considerable fall in the fossil fuels prices and on account of surplus power due to suppressed demand as a result of slowing down of economy.

However the government appears to be indecisive in encouraging the greater use of electrical power by offering incentives to the consumers by lowering power tariffs in order to offset the price impact of unsold surplus power which is a financial burden on the power sector and the government.

Instead they are going to give a big jolt to the already hapless consumers by realizing the amount of circular debt of rupees 1.9 trillion through higher power tariffs. This would be highly unjustifiable and oppressive action by the government to punish the poor consumers for no fault of theirs. Instead the real culprits behind building up of such large circular debt remain unpunished nor the pitfalls in the governance and running of the power sector are properly addressed. raising power tariffs on various pretexts now and then is not the answer to power problems such as maladministration ,incompetence,mismanagement ,power thefts, very high transmission and distribution (T&D) losses,mismatch of generation,T&D sectors,lack of accountability and unsatisfactory interdepartmental co ordination,inefficiency and corruption. It is hoped that the government will set its house in order first. Arbitrarily raising of power tariffs is counter productive without tackling and solving the inherent problems within.

Engr rIAz BHuttA Lahore

Saturday, 20 June, 2020

08 WORLD VIEW

John Bolton’s epic score-settling TRUMP’S FORMER NATIONAL-SECURITY ADVISER WRITES A SCATHING ACCOUNT OF THE PRESIDENT’S ‘STUNNING IGNORANCE,’ INCOMPETENCE, AND CORRUPTION

New Yorker

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SuSan B GlaSSer

ohn Bolton was not looking to make friends in the Trump White house when he served as the national-security adviser, nor did he do so.

Bolton’s disdain for his colleagues in the Administration announces itself early and often in his new memoir, “The Room Where It happened,” which is due out Tuesday, pending the outcome of a legal battle with Trump’s Justice Department. Bolton mocks, disparages, or clashes with Steven Mnuchin, nikki haley, Rex Tillerson, James Mattis, Mike Pompeo, and others, all within the book’s first hundred pages. By the end of the nearly five-hundred-page book, Bolton also criticizes Mick Mulvaney, Jared Kushner, the entire White house economic team, many of his foreign counterparts, and, although he shares their misgivings about Trump, the house Democrats who impeached the President.

This is Washington score-settling on an epic scale.

Mnuchin, the Treasury Secretary, “had no idea what he was talking about.” haley, who served as the Ambassador to the United nations, is a self-promoting pol who sucked up to Trump’s family. Mattis, the former Defense Secretary, is a bureaucratic obstructionist who deluded himself into thinking that an “axis of adults” could manage the unmanageable President. Pompeo, the Secretary of State, who would emerge as the great internal enemy during Bolton’s seventeen-month tenure, is an untruthful hypocrite who flatters Trump to his face while dumping on him privately. “he is so full of shit,” Pompeo writes of the President in a note to Bolton while they are in a conference room in Singapore, listening to Trump exchange frothy compliments and unrealistic denuclearization plans with the north Korean dictator, Kim Jong Un. After that summit, Pompeo told a Principals Committee meeting in the White house that Trump’s nuclear diplomacy with north Korea had “zero probability of success.” Later, after a G-20 meeting, Pompeo told Bolton that Trump was always causing problems: “You can’t leave him alone for a minute.” one of the few other senior advisers to Trump with whom Bolton did not openly clash was John Kelly, perhaps because they both shared an outsized disdain for the President. Kelly, the retired Marine general who served as the second of Trump’s four-and-counting White house chiefs of staff, sat Bolton down to brief him a couple of days before Bolton’s first day on the job, in the spring of 2018. Trump swears and speaks to his staff in “rough language,” Kelly cautioned Bolton. Trump routinely attacks the two previous Republican Presidents, George h. W. Bush and George W. Bush, and despises those who served in their Administrations, as Bolton did. Trump changes his mind “constantly,” Kelly said. Bolton was nothing if not forewarned. Two years and two months after that conversation, Bolton has come forward to say in public what Kelly told him privately that day—and much more. The ultimate score-settling in the book is not with Pompeo or Mnuchin. It is with Don-

ald Trump, a man so corrupt and profoundly unsuited for the Presidency that his own national-security adviser, a lifelong Republican with unimpeachable partisan credentials, came to believe he adopted “obstruction of justice as a way of life.” of course, many will—and already have—objected to the book on the grounds that Bolton is a greedy and opportunistic hypocrite, who took a reported two million dollars from Simon & Schuster for writing the memoir but did not testify before Congress about allegations contained within it during the house impeachment hearings and Senate trial of Trump. Bolton should have been a key witness, given that the proceedings concerned Trump’s scheme to pressure Ukraine to launch politically motivated investigations of the Biden family. Bolton’s staff testified that he called Trump’s scheme an inappropriate “drug deal,” and Bolton confirms in the book that he heard from the President himself about his quid-proquo withholding of U.S. military aid to Ukraine. With such explosive information, Bolton’s failure to speak out remains largely unexplained, or at least not convincingly explained, in the memoir. The book does, however, amply confirm Bolton’s reputation as a fierce infighter with an inflated view of himself and a willingness to blame others for just about everything. he is clearly a flawed narrator and colleague—let’s stipulate that. As for the book itself, the reviewer at the Times has already weighed in on its merits as a piece of writing. Twitter, meanwhile, seems to be taking care of Bolton’s merits as a human being. The many failings of Bolton are the one thing that Adam Schiff and Trump agree on. Schiff, who led the impeachment inquiry that Bolton refused to help, called him an author but “no patriot.” Trump, in a series of post-midnight tweets early on Thursday, called him “a disgruntled boring fool,” a “wacko,” “incompetent” “dope” who “never had a clue, was ostracized & happily dumped.”

Just as notably, the President did not offer a convincing rebuttal, or much of a denial at all, about Bolton’s allegations, which go well beyond what previous insider tell-alls have already put on the voluminous public record about Trump. Bolton’s book, in fact, is a scathing and revelatory account of Trump’s “stunning ignorance,” incompetence, and corruption, and it should be taken seriously for what it is: the harshest onthe-record indictment yet of Trump by a former subordinate. A copious notetaker in meetings, Bolton is known as a flamethrower, not a liar. The Administration is taking extraordinary legal measures to suppress his account, with the Justice Department claiming in court this week that it illegally discloses classified information. This legal argument would be impossible to make if the Administration were claiming that Bolton’s allegations are simply untrue. There is no such thing as a classified lie. The bottom line is that while Bolton offers a portrait of Trump that is politically and personally self-serving, it is also indispensable, jaw-dropping, and more specific about high-level wrongdoing than the many embittered memoirs and background gripes to journalists that preceded it.

There are many other former senior officials who could have written a version of this book but did not.

John Kelly appears to have loathed Trump as much as Bolton does, yet he has not shared what he knows with the public. When Jim Mattis, Trump’s much admired first Defense Secretary, published his own recent mem-

oir, he wrote of a “duty to silence” to the President and refused to elaborate about why he quit. Even when he did speak out recently, it was only to criticize Trump’s use of violent force, earlier this month, to remove peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square for a photo op. on the subject of what he saw inside the White house, Mattis has remained silent. Rex Tillerson, Trump’s ignominiously dumped first Secretary of State, told an interviewer that Trump often asked him to do illegal things, orders which he refused, but Tillerson has never said what those were. I’d love to hear from Paul Ryan, the former Republican Speaker of the house, who left a promising career in politics rather than continue in office through the Trump Presidency. I’d love to hear from Reince Priebus and Kirstjen nielsen and Jeff Sessions and all the other enablers, but they have not spoken up, at least with their names attached. Bolton, flawed as he is, is the Trump truth-teller we are stuck with—for now.

And what a truth he offers us.

As the national-security adviser, Bolton’s lens for viewing Trump was the President’s interactions with the rest of the world. his most startling and newsworthy allegation is that Trump not only fawned over authoritarian leaders but repeatedly sought to do inappropriate or legally dubious favors for autocrats in exchange for them boosting Trump’s reëlection chances. The Ukraine scheme that led to the President’s impeachment, Bolton argues, was hardly an outlier; other possibly impeachable offenses included Trump’s conduct in dealings with the authoritarian leaders of China and Turkey. Bolton says that he shared his concerns about the President’s actions with the Attorney General, William Barr, and that Barr was also “very worried about the appearances Trump was creating.” (Barr has put out a statement that is meant to dispute this.) other parts of Bolton’s withering download on Trump are neither criminal nor impeachable, just profoundly depressing. has there ever been a stupider, more ignorant President? Trump thought Finland was part of Russia. he did not know that Britain is a nuclear power. he told Kelly an invasion of Venezuela would be “cool.”

Trump was obsessed with following up on the empty promises of the Singapore nuclear summit by making sure that Kim received a copy of a CD with the Elton John song “Rocket Man” on it that Trump had autographed for him. Bolton portrays Trump as a President single-mindedly consumed with himself and his prospects for reëlection, rather than any policy goals. But if there is one policy takeaway from the book, it is that nato is in dire trouble if Trump wins a second term. The President’s hostility to the alliance would reappear over and over in private, no matter how many times his advisers thought that they had convinced him of its vital importance. Trump saw Europeans as adversaries, not America’s closest allies, and often, according to Bolton, told advisers different versions of the idea that “the EU is worse than China, only smaller.”

Bolton is scathing, but also frustratingly vague at times, when it comes to the central premise of the book: that Trump repeatedly sought to secretly do improper favors for authoritarian leaders in order to help himself politically. Trump’s most astonishing conduct, according to Bolton, was with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping. While telling his supporters that he was being tough on China, Trump privately asked Xi to help him win reëlection. In one sensational meeting on the sidelines of the G-20, last

year, in osaka, Japan, Trump was “pleading” with Xi for campaign help and asked Xi to buy more soybeans and wheat from U.S. farm states to aid him, Bolton says. At the opening dinner of the same summit, Bolton says, the U.S. interpreter told him that Trump spoke approvingly of Xi’s decision to imprison more than a million Chinese Uighurs in modern-day concentration camps.

As for Turkey, Bolton claims that Trump offered to try to get the Justice Department to drop a criminal case against the Turkish financial institution halkbank that might have implicated the Turkish leader, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Trump told Erdoğan that he could get the case dismissed as soon as he got rid of obama-era prosecutors and replaced them with his own appointees. Bolton writes that he interpreted the move as Trump’s effort “to show he had as much arbitrary authority as Erdogan.” This anecdote is one of the book’s most telling moments. Trump blatantly sells out American democracy and the rule of law, yet he does not have the power he brags about and cannot deliver on his promise to get the case thrown out. on the Ukraine matter that led to Trump’s impeachment, Bolton’s position is that his testimony would not have made a difference to the ultimate acquittal by the Republican-controlled Senate. his account of what he knew seems tailored to make that argument. Still, Bolton confirms his former aides’ sensational testimony about the “drug deal,” and reveals that he, Pompeo, and the Defense Secretary, Mark Esper, together tried, eight to ten times, to convince Trump to release the nearly four hundred million dollars in security assistance to Ukraine that Trump was holding hostage for personal political gain.

This is the testimony the Senate Republicans refused to compel last winter—allegations that the American public should have heard Bolton make under oath, and subject to cross-examination, during the abuse-of-power trial of the President. A book tour, alas, just isn’t the same as a sworn hearing under the penalty of perjury.

So what now? A new round of hearings in Congress?

A second impeachment? Don’t count on it. Less than five months before the Presidential election, Donald Trump isn’t going anywhere. And John Bolton is just another former White house employee with a no. 1 best-seller.

Susan B. Glasser, a staff writer, was the founding editor of Politico Magazine. In May, she will publish, with Peter Baker, “The Man Who Ran Washington.”

Theft of CIA hacking tools spotlights the spy agency’s ‘lax’ security A LAWMAKER SAYS INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES SHOULD BE SUBJECT TO THE SAME STANDARDS AS THE REST OF THE GOVERNMENT

MIT TechNologY revIew Patrick Howell o'neill

American intelligence agencies are still falling short on security, years after highprofile data leaks from Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning, and Joshua Schulte, according to a member of the US Senate Intelligence Committee. In a letter to Director of national Intelligence John Ratcliffe, Senator Ron Wyden uses a 2017 internal report from the CIA to detail the ways in which the intelligence community has continuously failed to protect itself.

“The intelligence community is still lagging behind and has failed to adopt even the most basic cybersecurity technologies in widespread use elsewhere in the federal government,” Wyden writes.

The report, which was obtained in

redacted form by the Washington Post, details how the agency's elite hacking unit favored building offensive cyber weapons while it failed to secure some of its most important systems, a pattern that led to the 2016 theft of hacking tools that were then published by WikiLeaks under the name “Vault 7.” American officials said it was the largest data loss in CIA history.

In his letter, Wyden claims that failures are ongoing, identifies three specific lapses as examples, and argues that Congress should make intelligence agencies subject to normal federal cybersecurity requirements.

“Unfortunately, it is now clear that exempting the intelligence community from baseline federal cybersecurity requirements was a mistake,” he writes.

A STORM OF SHORTCOMINGS: The 2017 CIA report documents an incident in which WikiLeaks released over 8,000 pages of “Vault 7” documents that gave an unprecedented view into the agency’s capabilities to hack various operating systems, mobile phones, and messaging apps. Former CIA em-

ployee Schulte was later charged and pleaded not guilty to stealing the trove of hacking tools and then handing them over to WikiLeaks to publish. In March, Schulte was found guilty of contempt of court and making false statements to the FBI, but the trial jury remained deadlocked on whether he had illegally gathered and transmitted national defense information. After a mistrial was declared, Schulte faces the prospect of a new trial.

The theft targeted the CIA’s elite hacking unit, known as the Center for Cyber Intelligence, and the internal report said the agency might never have learned of the theft of up to 34 terabytes of data if it had not been published. In fact, the agency admits that it still doesn’t know the precise scope of the loss because the mission systems that were hit “did not require activity monitoring or other safeguards.”

The report drew a contrast between profound security failures on the CCI hacking unit’s “mission systems” and general cybersecurity success on the CIA’s “enterprise” systems which account for the lion’s share

of CIA’s computer network.

The report says that unit's cyber weapons were widely open to anyone with access to the mission network, and the network lacked normal monitoring and audit capabilities. A storm of “shortcomings” allowed security to fall far down the list of priorities.

“While CIA was an early leader in securing our enterprise information technology system, we failed to correct acute vulnerabilities,” the report reads. “Day-to-day security practices had become woefully lax.”

SECURITY FAILURES: The comments show that even some of the world’s most well-funded and highly capable offensive hackers struggle mightily on defense.

For American spy agencies, the last decade has been punctuated by multiple high-profile data breaches followed by repeated calls for systemic cybersecurity change. Intelligence agencies like the CIA and national Security Agency had been exempted from rules Congress imposed on the rest of the federal government. The expectation was that they would easily exceed those standards, but that hasn’t happened.

In fact, a US intelligence community watchdog issued a report in 2019 urging the agencies to improve their controls on classified material—especially against the kind of insider threats that have punctuated the last decade, including Snowden’s leak of nSA documents and Manning’s leak of classified

American documents relating to the Iraq War. Among the issues highlighted by Wyden is the intelligence community’s failure to adopt DMARC, an email authentication protocol that protects against common and highly effective phishing attacks, despite a 2017 directive that requires federal agencies to do so.

Meanwhile, intelligence agencies have yet to secure .gov domains with multifactor authentication, despite a warning in January 2019 from the Department of homeland Security that the system was being targeted by Iranian hackers. A report from the Intelligence Community Inspector General released in 2019 concluded that 20 security-related recommendations remain unaddressed by the agencies but that they remain classified.

If there is good news for the CIA in the redacted report, it has to do with the “golden folder” of the agency’s most sensitive files, including all the hacking tools and source code. This material was not stolen the internal task force concluded, thanks to stronger protection and the fact that it was too large to easily export.

The Director of national Intelligence has received Wyden’s letter and is currently working on a response, but it’s ultimately up to Congress to decide if American intelligence agencies need new rules so that they can meet the same cybersecurity standards as the rest of the federal government.

Saturday, 20 June, 2020

buSineSS 09

ccoe approves additional power supply to K-electric ISLAMABAD: The Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCOE), on Friday, approved proposals relating to the supply of additional power to Karachi Electric (KE) from the national grid and directed that the technical details should be finalised between the concerned parties by August 15.

The committee met in Islamabad with the Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar in the chair. The minister was briefed on the power demand and supply situation for Karachi for the next three to four years. The CCOE also discussed the Alternative and Renewable Energy Policy 2019 and recommended the draft policy for submission to the cabinet. The policy will subsequently be presented to the Council of Common Interests (CCI) for final approval. The Alternate and Renewable Energy Policy 2019 envisages to protect the environment by increasing the share of green energy in the overall energy mix, reducing cost of grid power generation and by developing alternative and renewable energy related manufacturing, human resource and technology capabilities. The CCOE was also briefed on the current status of the 1,124 Megawatt (MW) Kohala and the 700 MW Azad Pattan Hydrogen power projects. The committee directed the Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) to submit details regarding the two projects at the earliest. APP

pakistan set to register 38 exporters with amazon BUSINESS DESK: The Ministry of Commerce has shared an initial list of 38 exporters for registration with the international e-commerce giant Amazon in a bid to boost the country’s trade and exports. As per reports published by local media houses, the initial list includes 38 exporters belonging to the sports and surgical goods and home textile sectors. According to the Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood, more exporters from other sectors are expected to be on-boarded once a successful trial is completed with the initial shortlisted companies. With the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, while several sectors have taken a hit, the ecommerce sector has been able to capitalise on new opportunities created by more people choosing to stay at home and using digital means to carry out their day to day activities. Now the government wants to test e-commerce’ effectiveness in boosting cross-border trade. As per the reports, the central bank has developed a regulatory framework for the facilitation of cross-border Business-toConsumer (B2C) e-commerce. The framework will be adopted after the completion of its integration with the Federal Board of Revenues (FBR) e-commerce module.

Additionally, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has announced the introduction of a separate sectoral classification for e-commerce and various other initiatives to promote e-commerce in the country.

11mFy20: cement exports fall 6.8pc to $242m ISLAMABAD: The export of cement from the country witnessed a decline of 6.79pc during the first 11 months of the current financial year, as compared to the corresponding period of last year. Cement exports were recorded at $242.507 million during July-May FY20, as against the exports of $260.170 million during July-May FY19, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). In terms of quantity, however, cement exports increased by 6.94pc, from 6,136,274 metric tonnes last year to 6,562,179 metric tonnes.

Meanwhile, on a year-to-year basis, the export of cement increased by 13.22pc in May 2020 as compared to the same month of last year. Cement exports in May 2020 were recorded at $19.303 million as against the exports of $17.049 million in May 2019. On a month-on-month basis, cement exports registered a growth of 47.01pc in May 2020 when compared with the exports of $13.130 million in April 2020. It is pertinent to mention that the country's trade deficit witnessed a significant reduction in the first 11 months of the current financial year, declining by 27.75pc when compared with the corresponding period of last year. APP

20-year exemption on income tax in Gwadar, FBr tellS Senate Body ISLAMABAD

a

GHULAM ABBAS

S members of the Senate's Standing Committee on Finance had expressed resentment over the lack of the information shared with them regarding tax exemptions in Gwadar during an earlier meeting, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Friday informed that the exemption of income tax in Gwadar was for 20 years.

The senators on Wednesday had expressed displeasure after Maritime Affairs Secretary Rizwan Ahmed refused to share copies of contracts pertaining to Gwadar Port, terming them "confidential". They had also outrightly rejected Gwadar Port's "40 years tax exemption on specific names of companies, their contractors and sub-contractors".

The committee had sought a list of contractors and sub-contractors working at Gwadar Port from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs in order to discuss related matters during an in-camera meeting.

Meanwhile, in Friday's meeting, chaired by Senator Farooq Hamid Naek, the standing committee took up the Finance Bill 2020, containing the annual

SENATE COMMITTEE OKAYS OMISSION OF ADVANCE TAX ON EDUCATION-RELATED EXPENSES, 100PC FED ON IMPORTED CIGARETTES AND 25PC FED ON CAFFEINATED DRINKS budget statement presented in the House last Friday.

The review of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, and Federal, Excise Provisions of Finance Bill, 2020, was completed, whereas amendments recommended by the committee in the Public Finance Management Act 2019 were also carried out. The committee approved an amendment in the Finance Bill 2020, wherein the exemption of taxes was sought for co-developers of the Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

It also deliberated upon the restriction on profit deduction on debt payable to associated enterprises.

Agreements for the avoidance of double taxation and

BOI launches portal to facilitate investments in housing sector

prevention of fiscal evasion were discussed in detail.

The committee appreciated the measures taken by the FBR to deal with the vast consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. They also lauded the omission of advance tax collection from dealers/commission agents etc. by market committees.

"This is an important measure to promote agriculture in the country," the chair remarked.

Among other important decisions during the meeting, the committee approved the omission of advance tax on education-related expenses, increase in FED from 13pc to 25pc on caffeinated drinks, and 100pc FED on imported cigarettes, cheroots, cigarillos, cigars of tobacco and tobacco substitutes.

However, the committee strongly rejected the amendments to the 'Taxpayers Profile, Appeal to Appellate Tribunal, Offences and Penalties and Power to enter and search premises. Clauses related to realtime access to information and databases were also disapproved on the occasion.

The meeting was attended by Senators Mohsin Aziz, Zeeshan Khanzada, Musadik Masood Malik, Mian Ateeq Sheikh, Talha Mehmood and Ayesha Raza Farooq.

MARKET DAILY

Stocks extend losses amid lack of triggers KARACHI ARIBA SHSHID

ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Board of Investment (BOI) has launched on its website a portal for "investment opportunities in the housing sector of Pakistan", with an objective to facilitate foreign companies interested in making investments in the low-cost housing sector by providing them with an effective one-stop-shop solution.

A simple ceremony in this regard was organised at the Board of Investment, where BOI Chairman Atif R Bokhari, Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority (NPHDA) Chairman Lt General Anwar Ali Haider, BOI secretary and other senior officers were also present, according to a statement issued by the board on Friday.

In his opening remarks, Atif Bokhari termed the portal "a landmark project" of the government and appreciated the support provided by the NPHDA team to

BOI, enabling them to work in close coordination and develop the portal in accordance with NPHDA requirements.

BOI Executive Director General (EDG) Mukarram Jah Ansari on the occasion made a brief presentation about the portal, saying that BOI envisions "making it easier for interested businessmen to collect all the required information as well as go through the registration processes without any hassle".

The EDG also demonstrated how the portal would link foreign investors with all relevant government organizations at federal and provincial levels, including BOI, for work visas and other services; Ministry of Interior for overall visa procedures; State Bank of Pakistan for relevant rules and regulations for foreign investors; Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan for company registration; Federal Board of Revenue for tax registration, and

Pakistan Engineering Council for required certifications.

He further highlighted that the incentives given to the investors in the housing and construction sector, as well as other relevant information from federal as well as provincial departments, have been made available under the portal.

It may be noted that the incumbent government had accorded the status of 'industry' to the construction/housing sector with a plan to construct 5 million low-cost housing units over the next five years. A special organization called ‘Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority’ was also established in this regard.

BOI was assigned the responsibility to act as a focal point of contact, linked through a 'portal' with various relevant ministries and organizations, for the assistance of foreign companies and businessmen.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) moved within a narrow range on Friday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing in the red despite a good start. "Expectations of a rate cut had renewed the investor confidence during the early part of the session, with the possibility of an emergent meeting at SBP taking place anytime next week," said a research report issued by Arif Habib Ltd. "However, the reimposition of lockdown dimmed the prospects of quick economic recovery/stabilization." Gaining 160.07 points in early trade, the KSE-100 Index recorded its intraday high at 33,699.92. However, failing to sustain its flight, the index then slid to its intraday low at 33,369.91 after dropping 169.94 points. It finally settled lower by 100.91 points at 33,438.94.

Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index plunged 330.93 points to close at 53,002.05, while the KSE All Share Index lost 53.01 points, ending at 24,072.22. Of the total traded scrips, 80 advanced and 185 declined. The overall market volumes fell from 216.2 million in the previous session to 105.89 million shares (-51pc DOD). Average traded value also declined by 49pc, from $38.9 million to $20 million. K-Electric Limited (KEL -2.41pc), Unity Foods Limited (UNITY -0.69pc) and Bank AlFalah Limited (BAFL +2.39pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 9.13 million, 7.25 million and 5.76 million shares, respectively. Sectors that dragged the index to the red included investment banking (-25.13 points), cement (-23.76 points) and fertilizer (-21.02 points). Among the companies, Dawood Hercules Corporation Limited (DAWH 24.59 points), United Bank Limited (UBL -17.45 points) and Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK -16.42 points) dented the index the most. Shedding 1.05pc from its cumulative market capitalization, the pharmaceutical sector turned out to be the biggest loser of the day, with The Searle Company Limited (SEARL -2.00pc), GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Limited (GSCKH -2.23pc) and AGP Limited (AGP -2.24pc) closing in the red.

Pakistan faces challenges in meeting fiscal consolidation targets: Fitch LAHORE MOHAMMAD FAROOQ

Fitch Ratings on Friday stated that Pakistan will face challenges in meeting its fiscal consolidation targets set in the next fiscal year's budget 2020-21 (FY21) unveiled on 12th June due to economic shocks and health crisis linked with the coronavirus pandemic.

In a press release on Friday, Fitch said that public finances were a key credit weakness even before the onset of the health crisis linked to the coronavirus pandemic.

It added that it had affirmed Pakistan’s rating at B- with a stable outlook in January this year, however, “continuing support from the IMF and other official creditors should help the government finance its budget and contain risks associated with the country’s fragile external position.”

“The government has estimated that Pakistan’s fiscal deficit will reach 9.1pc of

RATINGS AGENCY FORECASTS DEFICITS OF 9.5PC IN THE OUTGOING FISCAL AND 8.2PC IN FY21 GDP in the fiscal year ending June 2020 (FY20), against the original budget proposal of 7.1%. Revenues fell short of target, due both to the economic fallout from the pandemic and the fact that the budget goal was overly ambitious, in our view,” said Fitch.

It continued, “Current expenditures were also boosted by the government’s PKR1.2 trillion (2.9% of GDP) support package in March to boost health spending and provide assistance to low-income households.”

“The new budget forecasts a decline in the fiscal deficit to 7.0% of GDP in FY21.

However, this assumes tax revenue will increase by 28% from the estimate for FY20 and will prove challenging in the absence of new tax measures, especially if economic

growth remains sluggish,” it explained.

“Expenditure is forecast to decline modestly as a share of GDP, although the government aims to boost healthcare spending and support to low-income households through its Ehsas programme. Further expenditure cuts could be implemented if revenues fall short of the target,” said Fitch.

However, Fitch shared that its projections were more conservative than those of the government and it forecast deficits of 9.5% in the outgoing fiscal year 2019-20 and 8.2% in the next FY21. Consequently, this would push the public debt-to-GDP ratio up to 89% of GDP. “This would be above the median level of 66% among Pakistan’s rating peers in that

year. We expect that the ratio will begin to fall after FY21, but this remains contingent on the government’s ability to make progress in fiscal consolidation and on GDP growth rates,” it highlighted.

It warned that due to the government’s limited fiscal headroom within its rating category will constrain its ability to provide a more robust fiscal response to the coronavirus.

Fitch said Pakistan’s rating was reflective of its fragile external position considering its high external debt repayments.

It flagged the liquid foreign exchange reserves being low at around $10.1 billion, however, import compression helped in raising reserve import cover to about 3.6 months.

According to Fitch, lower oil prices are expected to offset the decline in remittances, which will keep the current account deficit stable at 2% of GDP through the next fiscal year.

“External liquidity will be supported by the country’s participation in the G-20’s Debt

Service Suspension Initiative, which the government estimates will delay servicing payments in 2020 of around USD1.8 billion.

The initiative involves only bilateral creditors at present and the Pakistani government has indicated that it has no plans to seek private-sector debt service suspension,” noted Fitch.

The rating agency shared that Pakistan also received $1.4 billion of emergency support from the IMF under the Rapid Financing Instrument in April, in addition to its existing $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

“We expect the IMF to be flexible in its programme targets with Pakistan given the magnitude of the pandemic shock and expect the release of accumulated tranches from the EFF over the coming months. Additional financing has also been forthcoming from other multilateral and bilateral creditors,” it concluded.

Saturday, 20 June, 2020

10 FOREIGN NEWS

EU SanCtionS againSt RUSSia ovER UkRainE to bE ExtEndEd by Six monthS: mERkEl BERLIN

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AGENCIES

ERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the European Union (EU) had agreed to extend punishing sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine by six months.

The sanctions, which target whole sectors of the Russian economy including its valuable oil businesses, were due to expire this month but "would be extended by six months", said Merkel after a video conference summit with fellow leaders of the bloc on Friday.

The measures over Russia's role in the conflict were first imposed after Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over rebel-held eastern Ukraine in 2014 and have been renewed every six months ever since.

Germany and France have repeatedly sought to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine.

Despite successfully getting both sides to endorse the 2015 Minsk peace accords,

it has been difficult getting the two countries to fully implement the deal.

"The progress (on the Minsk accords) is not one that would allow us to recommend against extending sanctions against

Russia," said Merkel.

Thousands have been killed since proRussia militias in eastern Ukraine launched a bid for independence in 2014, kicking off a conflict that deepened Russia's estrange-

ment from the West.

The latest extension of the wide-ranging sanctions also came after a row between Germany and Russia escalated as German prosecutors accused Moscow of ordering the murder of a Georgian man in Berlin's Tiergarten park.

Merkel's government has warned of new sanctions over the case that has been likened to the poisoning of former Russian agent Sergei Skripal in Britain in 2018. She has always stressed the importance of keeping communications open with Russia, but has in recent weeks sharpened her tone.

The German leader has expressed her exasperation at several hacking attacks that Berlin believes were carried out by Moscow.

Merkel revealed in May that Russia had targeted her in hacking attacks, saying she had concrete proof of the "outrageous" spying attempts.

The German government has said it will seek in Brussels to use the EU cyber sanctions regime against those responsible for a 2015 hacking attack on the Bundestag.

Seoul minister tenders resignation over heightened tensions with North Korea

SEOUL AGENCIES

South Korea´s Unification Minister, its point man for relations with the North, stepped down on Friday over heightened tensions on the peninsula, days after Pyongyang blew up its liaison office with the South.

President Moon Jae-in "accepted Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul´s offer to resign", the presidential Blue House said in a statement, after warning it will "no longer tolerate" the North´s unreasonable behaviour in an unusually stern criticism earlier this week.

Kim had offered to leave on Wednesday, a day after the North demolished the liaison office, saying he "takes responsibility" for the worsening of inter-Korean relations.

The North´s official KCNA news agency again blamed

the South for the rising tensions on Friday, calling Seoul´s condemnation of its blowing up of the office "a guilty party filing the suit first".

"All measures taken by us are punishments" that the South "deserves for their crimes", KCNA said in the commentary.

In his resignation statement, Kim expressed hope that his departure "will be a chance to pause for a bit".

"One can never overcome hatred with hatred," he told reporters, adding: "There are many wounds to heal in interKorean relations... We have to stop here."

Since early June, North Korea has issued a series of vitriolic condemnations of the South over anti-Pyongyang leaflets, which defectors send regularly, usually attached to balloons or floated in bottles.

Analysts say the North may be seeking to manufacture a

Putin calls fuel spill unprecedented for Russia, Greenpeace sees $1.4 billion damage MOSCOW AGENCIES

President Vladimir Putin said on Friday the scale of the clear-up operation after a huge fuel spill in the Arctic was unprecedented for Russia, with Greenpeace estimating the environmental damage to waters in the region at $1.4 billion.

A vast fuel tank lost pressure on May 29 and unleashed 21,000 tonnes of diesel into rivers and subsoil near the city of Norilsk, an incident that Greenpeace has

compared to the devastating 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska.

“Russia has not yet had experience of clearing up such vast pollution from bodies of water as far as I understand,” Putin told officials on state television.

It will take at least 10 years for biodiversity in the waters to fully return where the accident happened, the state fishing agency said at the meeting.

The state environmental watchdog plans to finish its assessment of the damage by July 1, its

head told Putin.

Vladimir Chuprov, a Greenpeace activist, said the damage to the water totalled 100 billion roubles ($1.44 billion), a figure that was higher than it should be because of what he said was the slow official response, the TASS news agency reported.

The city of Norilsk is home to mining giant Norilsk Nickel. The company and emergency specialists are collecting contaminated soil and fuel from local rivers into containers.

Nornickel has already spent 5 billion roubles on the clean-up, its co-owner Vladimir Potanin said.

The mining giant also plans to spend 13.5 billion roubles on safety checks for its remaining fuel storage tanks in 2020-2021.

More than 90% of the fuel from the rivers and about 70% of the contaminated soil have been already collected, Nornickel said earlier this week.

Putin previously ordered officials to check all similar fuel storages in Russia, and they plan to complete this process by July 24, they told him.

CMYK

crisis to increase pressure on the South to extract concessions.

On Tuesday it reduced the building on its side of the border that symbolised inter-Korean rapprochement to rubble, and the following day threatened to bolster its military presence in and around the Demilitarized Zone.

Inter-Korean relations have been in deep freeze for months, following the collapse of a summit in Hanoi between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump.

That meeting foundered on what the nuclear-armed North would be willing to give up in exchange for a loosening of sanctions.

A pro-engagement academic and a longtime confidant of Moon, Kim was appointed to the post in March last year, days after the Hanoi meeting.

UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS: Reports say John Bolton, the former US national security advisor, criticised Moon in his new memoir for encouraging both Kim and Trump to have unrealistic expectations of the other.

Moon, who has also long backed engagement with the North, has been called unrealistic by his critics for his dovish approach.

On Monday the left-leaning president gave a speech calling for inter-Korean dialogue and stressing the importance of peace on the peninsula.

But Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, called the speech "disgusting" and "shameless and impudent", adding Moon "seems to be insane though he appears to be normal outwardly".

Seoul retorted with unusually stern criticism, calling her remarks "senseless" and "very rude", adding it will "no longer tolerate" Pyongyang´s "unreasonable acts and words".

The two Koreas remain technically at war after hostilities in the Korean War ended with an armistice in 1953 but not a peace treaty.

Spanish author Carlos Ruiz Zafón dies at 55 BARCELONA AGENCIES

Leading Spanish author Carlos Ruiz Zafon, who scored an international hit with his Barcelona-based mystery "The Shadow of the Wind", died on Friday, his publishing house said. He was 55. "Today Carlos Ruiz Zafon has died, one of the best contemporary novelists. We will remember you forever, Carlos!" Planeta publishing house wrote on Twitter. In a statement, Planeta said Ruis Zafon had died at his Los Angeles home after battling cancer. "He will live on among us through his books," it added. Written in 2001, "The Shadow of the Wind" was his bestknown work and one of the most successful Spanish novels of recent decades. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez hailed Ruiz Zafon's work and expressed sorrow over his passing. "We have lost one of the most wellread and admired Spanish authors in the world. Carlos Ruiz Zafon, the novelist of reference for our era, left a great mark on modern literature," he wrote on Twitter.

"Thank you for transporting us through your stories." In the statement, Planeta quoted a line from the novel when protagonist Daniel Sempere is first shown the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a labyrinthine, mystical secret library around which the story is woven. "Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens." Thus begins an atmospheric story set in Ruiz Zafon's native Barcelona in the wake of the Spanish civil war (19361939) in which Sempere tries to unravel the mystery surrounding the author of a certain book. "Shadow of the Wind" was an immediate hit and has since been translated into some 50 languages, selling millions of copies and becoming the first of a quartet of novels in his "Cemetery of Forgotten Books" series. The last book, "The Labyrinth of Spirits", was published in 2016, two years before he was diagnosed with cancer. At the time, he explained why he had never let any of his works be adapted for cinema. "For me, these books are a homage to literature, to the written word. For that reason, transforming them for the cinema or television would be a betrayal," he said. Born in Barcelona in 1964, Ruiz Zafon studied at a religious school then earned a degree in information sciences. A lover of books since childhood, he didn't publish his first novel until he was nearly 30 after leaving a career in advertising.

Facebook removes Trump campaign ads with Nazi symbol SILICON VALLEY AGENCIES

Social networking Facebook on Thursday removed ads containing a symbol used in Nazi Germany for political prisoners by President Donald Trump's that were part of his re-election campaign.

Facebook which has drawn fire over its hands-off approach to political speech in recent months, said in a statement the campaign messages violated a policy against "organised hate" and were taken down as a result.

"We don't allow symbols that represent hateful organisations or hateful ideologies unless they are put up with context or condemnation," Facebook head of security policy Nathaniel Gleicher said at a House of Representatives committee hearing.

"That's what we saw in this case with this ad, and anywhere that that symbol is used we would take the same actions."

Facebook's move against the ads targeted when they contended are dangerous far-left groups comes amid heated debate between social platforms and political leaders on what content may be allowed or banned.

In a tweet from a "Trump War Room," the campaign contended the upside-down red triangle symbol at issue was "widely used" in reference to left-wing activist group Antifa.

Watchdog group Media Matters replied with a tweet saying that is certainly not the case.

WATCHDOG GROUP SLAMS FACEBOOK: Since early this month, the Trump campaign has been running "fearmongering" ads about what it says is a far-left group called "antifa," according to Media Matters.

The upside-down red triangle was apparently a new addition to

the ad.

"Despite violating Facebook's terms of service, the ads were approved by Facebook in the first place," said Media Matters president Angelo Carusone.

Facebook has steadfastly rejected calls to fact-check politicians including a plea from Democratic White House hopeful Joe Biden to clamp down on what he called rampant disinformation from the White House.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has said the platform will steer away from moderating political speech but would enforce its rules barring content promoting harm.

Saturday, 20 June, 2020

PAkistAN's New domestic seAsoN likely to Be delAyed

LAHORE

t

AGENCIES

HERE is considerable doubt over Pakistan's upcoming domestic season starting on time in August due to Covid-19. The Pakistan Cricket Board, however, has tried to mitigate the impact of that by offering 192 players annual contracts from August 2020.

There have been more than 160,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus infections and 3000 deaths in Pakistan, with cases expected to peak by end of July and early August according to prime minister Imran Khan.

While the government has eased lockdown by throwing open businesses, industries and the tourism sector, en-

Bill criminalising ‘corruption in sports’ presented in National Assembly

couraging people to follow health protocols, all contact sport, indoor clubs, gyms and facilities continue to remain shut. Cricket in the country has been on hold since March 16, when most players were last active in the yet-to-be completed Pakistan Super League.

"There is no guarantee in this," Ehsan Mani, the PCB chairman, said on Friday during a video conference."Other than what PM said about peak in July and August, I am also reading medical advice and the cases will take another peak before things start to get better. We are monitoring and will have to plan accordingly, considering every aspect.

"It [domestic season] maybe delayed after all. If you look around, the county season in England has been cancelled and they are looking to start in August. Almost everywhere in the world cricket has stopped. So, unfortu-

nately it's not in our control. We are not going put any player and any stakeholder at risk. If we feel or even suspect that this is going to infect the health, then we are not going to take any chance (to start)."

HPC director Nadeem Khan begins domestic revamp The domestic department of the PCB has been disbanded and control has been transferred to the High Performance Centre (HPC), after a recent restructure.

Nadeem Khan, the HPC director, is currently assessing the performance of the coaching staff of all six associations from the previous season. The PCB has extended their contracts by a month and has laid down a new selection process for each team.

Last year, a three-member selection committee consisting Misbah-ul-Haq, Rashid Latif and Khan were asked to pick 32 players to make a first XI and second XI. This year, that process will be renewed as two of the committee members are with the PCB in different capacities - Misbah as head coach and chief selector and Khan as HPC director.

"As part of a comprehensive and extensive review process, we are conducting appraisals of all coaches, which is a three-phase process including self-assessment, interviews and feedback from players and fellow coaches," Khan said in a statement.

"This is the modern 360-degree way of appraising professionals as we remain committed to put in place the best available coaches who can provide best coaching and training to the players, which, in turn, will contribute to further enhance the quality of our domestic cricket. Once the appraisal of the coaches is concluded, the six Cricket Association coaches will be involved in the team selection process.

We hope to conclude the entire exercise by end July with 12-month contracts coming into effect from 1 August 2020. It is premature to predict when we will be able to start our 2020-21 domestic cricket season due to the evolving Covid-19 situation. But, internally, we need to be ready to start the season at a short notice."

PCB chalks out plan for players' Covid-19 tests ahead of England tour

SPORTS DESK A new bill entitled "Prevention of offences in sports act 2020" has been presented in the National Assembly, in order to tackle corruption in sports by drafting laws against it. Member of the National Assembly Iqbal Mohammad Ali, who presented the bill in the Assembly, shared the details about its progress with Express News. “We were working on this bill for the past few months. Due to the budget, there was no discussion on it till now. However, in the next meeting, I will inform the members [of the National Assembly] about the benefits of this bill. We have also forwarded the copy of this bill to the PCB chairman,” said Ali. According to the bill, a special unit will be setup, which will investigate claims related to corruption according to the criminal act. Offences related to corruption in sports will carry a prison term of up to 10 years or a fine of Rs.100 million or both together. Similarly, if someone from a sports body is found to be involved in corruption, then that person will either have to serve a jail sentence of three years or pay a fine of Rs.0.2 million or do both. The bill also proposes a one-year jail sentence or Rs.0.1 million fine or both to the person, who falsely accuses someone of corruption. In case of an allegation of corruption being proved, the properties of the accused person and his family will be confiscated. The bill also proposes to punish curators, umpires and match officials who deliberately misuse their authority for financial or other gains. It must be noted that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had already drafted new laws against match-fixing and forwarded the document to Prime Minister Imran Khan.

SPORTS DESK Pakistan players and officials will undergo which coronavirus (Covid-19) tests, which will be carried out on June 22 and 24 before their departure for England tour from Lahore through a chartered flight on June 28.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced a 29-member squad for the upcoming tour of England. Apart from cricketers, 14 players' support personnel will also be travelling with the squad.

Pakistan is scheduled to take on the home side in three Tests and three

Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), which will be played in August-September.

“The first test will be taken in players’ and officials’ respective cities and areas of residence. The players will assemble in Lahore on Wednesday and the Board has arranged for a bio-secure floor for them in a five-star hotel where they will stay in isolation before taking the chartered flight,” said a source in the PCB according to the Press Trust of India.

The selectors have also named four reserves in Bilal Asif, Imran Butt, Musa Khan and Mohammad Nawaz as a cover in case any of the players

fail pre-tour Covid-19 testing.

The PCB is set to sign a MoU with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Friday, which details the terms and conditions of the aforementioned tour. The Board has already confirmed that Pakistan players will not be allowed to bring their families along on the tour to England.

During previous foreign tours, players’ families used to accompany the squad. However, due to the ‘bio-secure’ conditions in which the entire tour will be held, players will not be able to interact with their families even if they travel separately to England.

SPORTS 11

england women return to training with september triseries on the cards LONDON AGENCIES

England women's hopes of salvaging an international season in 2020 have been boosted by the confirmation that 24 players will return to training later this month across six venues. The ECB were forced to postpone the series against India, initially scheduled to start at the end of June, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, and have since been in talks with the BCCI and CSA about turning the South Africa tour in September into a tri-series. And with that objective in mind, the players are due to resume practice on June 22, initially on an individual basis and later in small groups. The training sessions will take place at Loughborough, Headingley, The Oval, Bristol, Hove and Chester Boughton Hall CC, all under the same medical guidelines and biosecure conditions as have been in place for England Men. Jonathan Finch, the ECB's director of women's cricket, said: "We remain hopeful of playing cricket this summer and it's exciting for this group of players to be able to return to training. "We've had great support from the First-Class Counties with the use of their venues, and we're grateful to them for that, and hopefully this is one step closer towards England Women returning to the field this summer." Squads for specific formats will be named in due course, subject to confirmation of the proposed series. But the 24 names include both Lauren Winfield and Amy Jones, both of whom recently arrived back in the UK after being stranded in Australia after the Covid-19 outbreak. "We will get some international cricket, all being well," Tom Harrison, the ECB's chief executive, told the BBC's Tuffers and Vaughan Show last week. "We're talking to the BCCI and to Cricket South Africa about bringing their women's teams over to play a tri-series, so we have something really to celebrate with the women's game in September."

court orders Neymar to pay Barcelona 6.7 million euros BARCELONA AGENCIES

A court has ruled in Barcelona's favour in their battle with Neymar over a loyalty bonus. The Brazilian had demanded that the Catalan club pay him 43.6 million euros as a bonus before his move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.

Instead, Neymar has to pay Barcelona back 6.7 million euros as part of the court's ruling.

Barcelona confirmed the outcome of the court's findings into the matter on Friday.

'Big Three' rivalry great promotion for sport, says Djokovic LONDON AGENCIES

Novak Djokovic still feels inspired by Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal, the men’s world number one tennis player has said, adding that the rivalry between the so-called ‘Big Three’ is a great promotion for the sport.

The “GOAT” (greatest of all time) debate in men’s tennis has divided opinions in the last decade and still remains a hot topic as the triumvirate continue to dominate the field, sharing the last 13 Grand Slam titles among them.

Federer, who will be 39 in August, leads the race with 20 Grand Slam singles

titles, with Spaniard Nadal close on his heels with 19. Djokovic is three behind the Swiss with 17 majors under his belt and is the youngest of the trio - at 33 he is a year younger than Nadal.

“What Roger and Rafa are doing is epic.

Both of these guys are legends,” the Serb told Tennis Channel. “They do inspire me and I have said this millions of times and I will say it again. They made me the player I am today. They still continue to inspire me and motivate me to be even better.

“I think these rivalries that we have are great promotion for our sport. They are really good for tennis in general and also for the upcoming generations.

“Hopefully we give a positive example and inspire younger guys to be the best they can possibly be.”

Djokovic has previously said he believes he will win the grandest Slam titles and become the longest-reigning world number one by the time he retires.

“I like to have the long-term goals and be devoted to them. But at the same time have my daily goals, daily routines, the weekly routines, the season goals and understand what is best for me and my team,” he said.

“I love this sport. I’m very passionate and devoted to it. As long as there is that flair in me I am going to keep going.”

CMYK

Saturday, 20 June, 2020

NEWS

China says one-fifth of Belt and Road projects 'seriously affected' by pandemic BEIJING AGENCIES

About 20 per cent of projects under China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to link Asia, Europe and beyond have been “seriously affected” by the coronavirus pandemic, an official from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.

According to a survey by the ministry, about 40pc of projects have seen little adverse impact, and another 30-40pc have been somewhat affected, said Wang Xiaolong, director-general of the ministry’s International Economic Affairs Department, at a news briefing in Beijing.

“About 20pc percent of the projects have been seriously affected,” he said. Wang did not give any details. The results from the survey were better than expected and although some projects had been put on hold, China had not heard of any major projects being cancelled, he added.

Over 100 countries have signed agreements with China to cooperate

KP finance minister unveils rs923bn ‘tax-free’ budget for fY21 PESHAWAR

t in BRI projects like railways, ports, highways and other infrastructure.

According to a Refinitiv database, over 2,600 projects at a cost of $3.7 trillion are linked to the initiative.

Restrictions on travel and the flow of goods across borders, as well as local measures to combat Covid-19, were the main reasons for the impacts on projects, said Wang.

“As the situation improves we have confidence that the projects will come back and the execution of

them will speed up,” he said.

The challenge of the pandemic to BRI projects follows a pushback in 2018, when officials in Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and elsewhere criticised projects there as costly and unnecessary.

China scaled back some plans after several countries sought to review, cancel or scale down commitments, citing concerns over costs, erosion of sovereignty, and corruption.

AZIZ BUERI

hE Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Friday unveiled a "tax-free" budget for the financial year 2020-21, with a total outlay of Rs923 billion. Of the total amount, Rs184 billion have been allocated for the merged areas of erstwhile FATA in order to bring the neglected area at par with developed districts of the province.

Presenting the provincial budget for FY21 in the KP Assembly, Finance Minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra said that the total outlay of the budget was pitched at Rs923 billion, including Rs739.1 billion for settled districts and Rs183.9 billion for merged districts. he informed that the provincial government has earmarked Rs317.8 billion for Annual Development Programme (ADP) 2020-21, including Rs221.9 billion for settled areas and Rs95.9 billion for merged tribal districts.

RECORD HEALTH ALLOCATIONS: "A record sum of Rs124 billion has been allocated for the provincial health sector," Jhagra stated, adding that the health budget for settled districts has increased from Rs87 billion in the outgoing fiscal to Rs105.9 billion in the upcoming fiscal year.

Of the total health budget, he said Rs24.4 billion have been allocated for development purposes, including Rs13.8 billion for settled and Rs10.6 for merged districts.

"The government will utilise all resources to ensure adequate stock of equipment, medicines and availability of doctors in public sector hospitals. Sehat Insaf Cards will be provided to every family of the province and in this regard, Rs10 billion have been reserved in budget FY21." he said Rs36 billion have been earmarked for Medical Teaching Institutions (MTI hospitals), including Rs26 billion under the current budget, Rs4 billion for completion of key projects, and Rs6 billion under 'special demand funds' for improvement in the healthcare system of major hospitals.

"Shortage of infrastructure and

govt eaRmaRKs Rs317Bn FoR Development, Rs124Bn FoR health, Rs184Bn FoR meRgeD DistRiCts Despite CoviD-19 Challenges, Kp govt expeCts its inCome to suRge By 20pC to Rs36Bn in Fy20 equipment in basic health units will be overcome [in FY21] and for this purpose, a project worth Rs13 billion would be launched in collaboration with the World Bank," he added.

Similarly, the minister said, the budget for procurement of medicines has been increased from Rs2.5 billion to Rs4 billion, while Rs1 billion have been earmarked to acquire private sector services to manage hospital waste. he also announced Rs24 billion for an anti-coronavirus emergency programme under the next fiscal year.

AGRICULTURE: Meanwhile, the KP government has earmarked Rs14 billion for the development of agriculture and livestock in the budget 2020-21. It plans to spend Rs10 billion on 40 developmental projects in the agriculture and livestock sectors. half of this amount would be generated from local resources while the remaining would be arranged from external loans.

For erstwhile FATA, the provincial government has allocated Rs1.5 billion while it would also seek foreign loans to develop the farming techniques in merged districts.

'NO NEW TAXES': The KP finance minister said that the budget was free from taxes, as the existing taxes won't be enhanced while no new taxes would be introduced in FY21.

"Despite Covid-19 challenges, the total income of the province has been estimated at Rs36 billion for the ongoing fiscal, which is 20pc more than last year. had the pandemic not surfaced, the total income would have crossed Rs45 billion." he said the private sector was being involved for solid waste management purposes, adding that the government has reduced sales taxes

on 27 proposed items. he added Rs901million would be disbursed to 3929 beneficiaries of Insaf Rozagar Scheme.

"A robust measure for the expansion of new functions and services to the merged areas, including expansion and strengthening of judiciary, policing, local government, and social services has been taken.

This includes the creation of 18,000 posts in different sectors during the current financial year 2019-20."

For the 24/7 operation at Torkham border, he informed the KP government has allocated Rs26 billion to increase exports and Rs3.5 billion to manage import duties. The budget also highlights an allocation of Rs77 billion to boost trade, economic growth, and creation of 60,000 to 100,000 jobs.

The minister said the KP government has allocated three per cent of NFC share as additional resources in line with the commitment of the federal government at the time of the merger. he said the KP Revenue Authority (KPRA) has yielded results as the income has been enhanced from Rs10 billion to Rs17 billion.

To restore the economy and generate employment opportunities, he said, a loan scheme for 10,000 SMEs would be launched to facilitate over one million people, adding interest-free loans to 30,000 to business entrepreneurs would benefit 0.5 million people. he said 25,000 additional recruitments would be made to plant 190.5 million saplings under the billion trees project and resources would be provided for the establishment of marble city in Buner district.

The government also earmarked for Rs30.2 billion for primary and secondary education.

West reluctant for 'dangerous' Taliban prisoners to be freed KABUL AGENCIES

Western powers are backing the Afghan government’s refusal to free hundreds of prisoners accused of some of Afghanistan’s most violent attacks, a release demanded by the Taliban as a condition to start peace talks, five sources told Reuters.

The issue is a final major sticking point which, if resolved, is expected to lead quickly to intra-Afghan peace negotiations in Qatar aimed at ending more than 18 years of war in a US-brokered peace process.

“The contentious part right now is the prisoners issue,” a senior government source told Reuters. Two European diplomats, an Asian diplomat and another Afghan official confirmed his account.

“There are some dangerous Taliban fighters named in the list, and releasing them is literally crossing a red line,” said a senior European diplomat.

“Some NATO members find it extremely uncomfortable to support the release of Taliban prisoners who were behind large-scale suicide at-

tacks on minority groups and on expats.”

The Taliban struck a troop withdrawal agreement with the United States in February to pave the way for talks with the Afghan government. But the insurgent group insisted a list of 5,000 prisoners be released, leading to months of delay as the Afghan government initially refused to set free that many prisoners before talks.

One Afghan security source and one diplomatic source told Reuters the United States had also expressed reservations about releasing some of the group that NATO and the Afghan government were objecting to setting free.

A US State Department spokesperson said it wanted peace talks to be launched as soon as possible.

“The United States continues to be encouraged by the great progress on prisoners release by both sides. We support additional releases by both sides to get the issue off the table,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The sources said that if all prisoners walked free, including those

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

accused of killing many civilians in some of Afghanistan’s bloodiest attacks, it would give the impression the insurgent group had the upper hand over the government while negotiations got under way.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said on Thursday the group still insisted that all 5,000 be released so talks could begin.

The Afghan government in recent weeks released around 3,000 of the prisoners and is prepared to set free all but a few hundred, government sources said. The Taliban has also released hundreds of prisoners.

Included in the contentious group were prisoners involved in large-scale attacks, such as the 2017 truck bombing near Germany’s embassy in Kabul, which killed more than 150, according to two sources.

The Taliban denied high-profile attackers were on their list.

“There are no such people … these are just excuses to create barriers against the peace process,” Mujahid said.