Epaper – March 14 KHI 2021

CMYK

14 March, 2021 I 29 Rajab, 1442 I Rs 25.00 I Vol XI No 255 I 36 Pages I Karachi Edition

PDM leaDers Discuss long March after Defeat in senate Polls g

opposition to convene emergency meeting tomorrow

ISLAMABAD Mian abrar

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he top leaders of pakistan democratic movement (pdm) on saturday held a telephonic conversation and discussed the way forward following the defeat of their candidates for the election of chairman and deputy chairman in the senate. sources in the opposition alliance told pakistan today that the pdm chief maulana fazlur rehman, former premier nawaz sharif and former president Asif Ali Zardari expressed their determination to probe the reasons that led to the defeat of their candidates in the senate elections. sources said that fazl and nawaz pressed Zardari to shift focus from the senate elections and in-house change to long march and resignations from the assemblies. the sources said that the preparations for the long march and the future strategy of the pdm were also discussed during the telephonic meeting. “fazl said that now the long march will not be beneficial without resignations. the election for the senate chairman slot and rejection of votes were also discussed. the trio also discussed that how the government’s candi-

date got all those votes in the election for the senate deputy chairman,” the sources said. they added that the three leaders

coronavirus in

Pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

602,536

LAST UPDATED AT 8:11 AM ON MARCH 13, 2021

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

NEW CASES:

46

2,338

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

569,296 13,476 SINDH:

260,959 KP:

75,357

PUNJAB:

183,815 BALOCHISTAN:

19,188

AJK/GB: ISLAMABAD: 10,892/4,960 47,365

agreed to check the opposition members, who are close to sadiq sanjarani. it was also agreed that the issue of senate elections will also be considered in the pdm summit, scheduled to be held on monday.

PDM LEADERS TO MEET ON MONDAY: the sources said that an emergency meeting of the pdm will be convened in islamabad on monday, and it will be attended by leaders of all political parties. the meeting will discuss the political situation in the country.

“All the parties will present a report on the defeat in the election for the senate chairman and deputy chairman. they would probe how the seven votes of the opposition were dubious and rejected,” the sources claimed. they said the meeting would also discuss the concerns of Jamiat ulema-eislam (Jui) about getting less votes in the deputy chairman election. the strategy for the long march, scheduled to be held on march 26, will also be finalised in the meeting, they added.

Bilawal denies claims of PML-N voting against PDM candidates in Senate polls ISLAMABAD: pakistan peoples party (ppp) chairperson bilawal bhutto-Zardari rejected rumours suggesting pakistan muslim league-nawaz (pml-n) senators did not vote for the pakistan democratic movement (pdm) candidates in friday’s election for the posts of senate chairperson and deputy chairperson. senate chairman sadiq sanjrani, who was backed by the government and its coalition partners, received 48 votes against yousaf raza gillani, joint candidate of the pdm alliance, who secured 42. in a second win for the ruling coalition, pakistan tehreek-i-insaf (pti) senator mirza muhammad Afridi was elected deputy chairman, beating maulana Abdul ghafoor haideri, another opposition candidate. seven ballots in favor of gillani and one vote for both gillani and sanjrani were invalidated because they were improperly stamped, according to senator muzaffar hussain shah who supervised the vote. during a press talk saturday, bilawal, when asked if reports of pml-n senators having abstained from voting for pdm candidates, said: “everyone showed loyalty.” “i know, we all know, that we won [senate seats] because of pdm’s unity,” he said and added the friday’s poll “washed the stain of the past senate elections”. friday’s vote was marred by opposition cries of foul after critical ballots for gillani were invalidated and the discovery earlier in the day of spycameras at the main polling booth. “it is robbery,” said pakistan muslim league-nawaz (pml-n) secretary general Ahsan iqbal, raising the possibility of a lawsuit to challenge the declared results. staff report CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Imran okays creation of body to boost local drone production g

Authority will promote, regulAte And control unmAnned AircrAft sector, pmo sAys ISLAMABAD staff report

prime minister imran Khan on saturday approved the establishment of a drone authority to introduce an institutionalised mechanism for facilitating the development and regulation of the burgeoning sector, radio pakistan reported. the civil drone Authority (cdA) will promote, regulate and control the unmanned aircraft sector and decide matters relating to licensing, import, manufacturing, examination, and issuance of drone permits, the prime minister’s office (pmo) said in a tweet. chairing a meeting of the cabinet in islamabad, the prime minister said that the cdA would help in employing drone technology for commercial use, research and development, agriculture, and other peaceful purposes. he observed the establishment of the authority will not only fill the existing legislative

NAB moves LHC to get Maryam’s bail cancelled in CSM case g

AbbAsi sAys nAb is doing politics in the country LAHORE staff report

the national Accountability bureau (nAb) has approached the lahore high court (lhc) for the cancellation of bail granted to pakistan muslim league-nawaz (pml-n) vice president maryam nawaz in a graft case. in november 2019, the high court granted post-arrest bail to maryam in the chaudhry sugar mills (csm) reference but directed her to surrender her passport as the prosecution feared she might flee the country. in the petition, the anti-corruption watchdog argued that maryam has taken “undue benefit” of her bail and is not cooperating with the agency for its probe into her assets despite being offered a reprieve. the agency informed the court maryam was summoned to submit documents in relation to the case on January 10 last year but she did not submit the required documents. it said it again directed her to appear in-person on August 11. Accompanying her were her supporters and pml-n activists who attacked the nAb offices.

vacuum that had prevented the regulation of this sector but will also be instrumental in the promotion and domestic production of drones. he said effective use of the technology in various sectors would also help optimise resources, and improve service delivery. imran directed authorities to expedite legislation for establishing the cdA, adding that a bill in this regard should be approved by the cabinet before being placed before the national Assembly. the development comes a day after the prime minister approved a draft ordinance for the establishment of the body. headed by the Aviation division secretary, the composition of authority include senior-level representation from pakistan Air force (pAf), civil Aviation Authority (cAA), ministries of defense production, interior and science and technology.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

more inside

Pakistan assists Iraq in fight against Covid-19 pandemic STORY ON BACK PAGE

faraz signals electoral, judicial reforms legislation STORY ON PAGE 02

following the violent episode, the hearing was postponed.

A separate case was registered against maryam for “attacking” the offices, it informed the court. the pml-n vice president, by not appearing for the probe, was obstructing the investigation. since securing the bail, maryam has been attacking state institutions in her speeches, it said, adding she was issuing statements against state institutions through electronic and social media platforms. “maryam nawaz is doing propaganda against state institutions,” the petition said, arguing

“through her tactics,” maryam is giving the public an impression that state institutions have failed in discharging their responsibilities. “maryam nawaz is making deliberate statements to tarnish the image of state institutions,” it claimed. nAb has nominated maryam nawaz and the ministry of interior as respondents in the petition, urging the court to cancel the bail. the petition has been fixed for hearing on march 15 and will be heard by a two-member bench presided over by Justice sarfaraz dogar.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Imran congratulates Sanjrani, Afridi on Senate election win STORY ON PAGE 02 in today’s issue

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Sunday, 14 March, 2021

KARACHI

NEWS

FArAz SIgnAlS elecTorAl, judIcIAl reFormS legISlATIon ISLAMABAD

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Staff RepoRt

DAY after Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) secured the offices of Senate chairman and deputy chairman in a contentious election, Minister for Information Shibli Faraz on Saturday said the government would introduce judicial and electoral legislation to “reform the system”, signalling changes to the voting system.

Addressing a press conference, the minister said the government was ready to sit with the opposition on matters relating to economic, electoral, and judicial reforms.

But the opposition wanted relief in corruption cases pending before the courts which is unacceptable to us, he further said.

The prime minister wanted the criteria for becoming a member of the parliament to be competence, and not wealth, so that the public welfare-related legislation and

INFO MINISTER SAYS PM WANTS COMPETENCE, NOT WEALTH, TO BE CRITERIA FOR ASSEMBLY MEMBERSHIP reformation of the system could be done, he said.

Taking a cue from Prime Minister Imran Khan’s stance on the matter, Faraz said the government would not offer any NRO-like (National Reconciliation Ordinance) concession to the opposition leaders who are facing graft cases.

The minister further observed the PTI has become the single largest party both in the National Assembly and the Senate. In the last two-and-a-half years, the opposition parties obstructed the legislation in the upper house because they do not believe in the welfare of the public, he said.

“Until now, the PTI was a minority party in the Senate and lacked the numbers

required to introduce the legislation needed to implement its electoral promises but now it would introduce laws in the public interest,” Faraz vowed.

He said the opposition alliance is conspiring to make the election controversial after their defeat, adding the elections were held in a free and fair manner and were not influenced.

To a question about the opposition raising the possibility of bringing a noconfidence motion against Senate chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, Faraz said that it was the opposition’s legal and democratic right and they could not be stopped from doing so. But the government would counter it when that time for it would come, he said.

Referring to the proposed long march to Islamabad of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), the minister said the alliance may execute it, but would not get any support from the people.

“The opposition needs to see beyond

their personal vested interests,” he said.

Faraz highlighted it is the first time in history that a candidate from the tribal districts, Mirza Muhammad Afridi, was elected as the deputy chairman of the Senate.

“Prime Minister Imran Khan integrated FATA [with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]. It was not an easy task,” he said, adding the premier had long sought to do something for neglected areas.

Observing that PTI lacked a majority in the Senate in the past, he said crucial legislation could not be introduced as there were obstacles.

“The country was mired in debt, institutions were paralysed,” Faraz said, adding that the same people have been ruling the country for 30 years.

He termed the government’s victory in the Senate election as the defeat of a system that he said has been “harming the country for the last 30 years as well as those who doubted our intentions”.

He lamented that people did not prosper and the assets of the ruling elite grew manifold. He said since the country could not afford to regress, it was necessary to support the prime minister. Those who want progress for the country have won, he said.

Referring to the claims of “spy cameras” installed inside the polling booths, he said the opposition staged a “drama” and was the “mastermind behind this wicked conspiracy”.

Imran congratulates Sanjrani, Afridi on Senate election win ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday congratulated Sadiq Sanjrani and Mirza Muhammad Afridi who were elected the previous day to the offices of Senate chairman and deputy chairman respectively. In a tweet, Imran said he was “happy Balochistan [and] former FATA [Federally Administered Tribal Areas] got these two slots” in line with his government’s “policy of mainstreaming those parts” of Pakistan “that have been marginalised or left behind in the past.” Sanjrani, who was backed by the government, received 48 votes, while Yousaf Raza Gillani, joint candidate of the 11-party Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), secured 42. “I declare that Sanjrani has won this election,” presiding officer Zafar Ali Shah said on a live television broadcast of the vote. He said seven votes cast for Gillani were rejected due to wrong stamping, thereby handing Sanjrani victory.

The opposition parties rejected the results. “It is robbery,” said Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) secretary general Ahsan Iqbal, adding the results would be challenged in the court. In the 100-seat Senate, the opposition holds 51 seats against 47 for the government and its allies. Staff RepoRt

Taliban mastermind of SSP Aslam assassination arrested KARACHI: The counter-terrorism department (CTD) of Sindh police Saturday arrested a terrorist of a proscribed militant group believed to be involved in masterminding the assassination of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Chaudhry Aslam Khan.

SSP Aslam, a top policeman renowned for his tough stance on criminals and militants, died in 2014 in a Taliban car bomb in Karachi. The militant group had described his death as a “huge victory”. “We were working for a long time to eliminate him as he killed and tortured many of our people in Karachi,” said a Taliban spokesman, Sajjad Mohmand, at the time. According to Superintendent of Police (Investigation) Naeem Ahmed, Zubair alias Ali was arrested from Orangi Town neighbourhood. He had returned to Pakistan with the goal of carrying out terrorist attacks and was arrested while he was en route delivering arms and ammunition. During the interrogation, he confessed that the plan to murder SSP Aslam was prepared in a religious seminary of Maulana Shakirullah, a Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader who was killed in a drone attack in 2012. Zubair also confessed to the killing of a number of officials from police and other law enforcement agencies on directives of Shakirullah. The police also recovered a huge cache of arms from his possession. Staff RepoRt

ISLAMABAD: Workers of Capital Development Authority are busy in planting saplings on an area in the federal capital. online

Malicious campaign launched to dent PM’s popularity ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

A well-coordinated malicious campaign has been started against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led provincial governments in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and the top bureaucrats in the federal government, who are close to Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan Today learnt on Saturday.

Well-placed sources informed that the campaign has been launched to malign the top officials, who are close to the PM, in order to build a pressure on the premier so that he could replace them with some new faces.

They said that the purpose of the malicious campaign against the PTI-led provincial governments and the top bureaucrats is not because of their

PUNJAB, KP CHIEF MINISTERS, TOP FEDERAL BUREAUCRATS BEING TARGETED TO DISCREDIT PTI performance but just to weaken the premier.

Sources further said that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) adopted multi-pronged strategies after it failed to get public out in their rallies. The opposition parties now resorted to start malicious propaganda against Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar and KP Chief Minister Mehmood Khan, calling them burden on the PTI, but the situation on ground speaks otherwise.

They said that since the Opposition and the people involved in the campaign have no interest with the public issues

and just attacking the chief ministers and the top bureaucrats, especially Secretary to the PM Azam Khan, for their vested political interests, this strategy would also fail like their public rallies.

They added that the premier could not be blackmailed through such tactics as he would take the battle against the corrupt people to its logical ends.

As the premier, in a recent PTI core committee meeting, had categorically stated that he is not among those who flee the battleground, the opposition leaders have now opted to use other tactics to discredit the PTI and premier,

Compliance with Covid-19 guidelines crucial to slow third wave: Sultan ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Minister of State for National Health Services Dr Faisal Sultan Saturday urged the people to strictly adhere to Covid-19 guidelines in view of increasing numbers of fresh infections reported across the country.

“Coronavirus is deadly but we can control it just as we arrested the previous two peaks by following the SOPs [standard operating procedures]”, he said while speaking to state-owned broadcaster Pakistan Television (PTV). His comments come days after Minister for Development and Planning Asad Umar said a third wave of the pandemic had begun in Pakistan.

THE VIRUS KILLS 46, INFECTS 2,338 MORE IN A DAY “The phenomena driving it is the spread of the United Kingdom strain,” he had said and noted that districts with the high transmission rates also had higher percentages of nationals who had returned from Britain.

Dr Sultan said the third wave could further hit the nation and daunt the relief measures, warning that it could be “deadlier than the previous two [coronavirus] waves”.

The government is seeking public cooperation in adhering to the health guidelines and save precious lives, including those of our loved ones, by taking preventive measures, he said. Metropolitan cities, he said, were under pressure with the rising infections and an increase in hospitalisations with Covid-19-related complications.

“We must wear a mask while going out as it reduces transmission of infection by 70 to 90 percent,” he said.

“Good hygiene and regular handwashing are some of the best weapons against the virus” which causes a flu-like respiratory illness.

“If we continue to practice all guidelines, I assure you we will counter the present wave of Covid-19 just as successfully as we managed the first two,” he added.

they added.

The sources expressed surprise as how some renowned figures suddenly changed their point of views pertaining to the PM and his federal and provincial teams after ranking them the best and defending their policies at all fronts.

Therefore, the sources believe that the overnight change of mind of some personalities clearly indicate that the PDM is using those people, who are close to the premier.

These selected people are seemingly given the task to run a vigorous campaign against the government’s policies by highlighting the inflation and other issues to ignite the public sentiments against the premier, the sources said.

The government had initiated a number of public welfare projects but only a few of those projects could get due attention in media as such projects further the popularity of the premier, they concluded.

He said the government was taking emergency measures to close all businesses and schools within allocated time slots.

The government keeping track of the outbreak in Pakistan on Saturday reported 2,338 new infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 42,499 tests during the past 24 hours, receiving back a positivity rate of 5.5 per cent. As per the NCOC, total 46 patients died due to the virus in the past 24 hours.

Earlier this week, the government launched the second phase of Covid-19 vaccination for the general public, starting with older people, as it grapples with a high degree of vaccination hesitancy among the people, even among health workers. The drive will begin with a focus on the oldest people in the community, generally, over the age of 80, Dr Sultan had said. “We will work our way down in coming days,” Sultan told Reuters.

Sunday, 14 March, 2021

KARACHI

NEWS

03

GOvt deviSinG meChAniSm tO PlACe AdS On diGitAl mediA: GhAzAli

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NEWS DESK

HE government’s Digital Media Wing (DMW) Head Imran Ghazali has said that the government is currently working on a new policy to distribute advertisements across different digital platforms, according to a report published in a private news website on Saturday.

Ghazali, while speaking to the media house, said that after approval from Prime Minister Imran Khan, the new policy will allow the federal government, through the information ministry, to run ads on different online platforms.

Earlier this week, Information Minister Shibli Faraz apprised the prime minister of the Digital Media Advertising Policy, which was proposed by the information ministry.

The prime minister was told that currently there were 93 million internet

users, including over 45 million social media users in Pakistan. Keeping in view the rising trend, a mechanism for releasing publicsector advertisements on digital media had been proposed.

The new policy aims to bring in place a set of procedures for the government to distribute its advertisements across different channels, similar to what already exists for print and broadcast media.

Once it is approved and implemented, news websites as well as individual content creators on social media platforms such as Instagram and YouTube will be able to register with the information ministry.

Subject to meeting yet-to-be finalised criteria, they will become eligible for the government’s advertisements.

While no specific outlay has been identified as yet, initially it will be for national campaigns such as Independence Day or Pakistan Day.

The advertisement tariffs will be based on a number of factors and an exact mechanism is currently being worked out.

“It will be in line with industry standards with variables such as monthly traffic, subscribers, placement on the page, and CPMs in the overall market,” Ghazali said.

Based on that, different tiers will be specified. Whether those rates will be higher than private sector advertisers is yet to finalised.

To verify a website’s traffic or impressions, the Digital Media Wing is proposing the use of third-party software like Google Analytics. However, for publications, that might be a step too far.

“There needs to be some sort of verification mechanism in place for the government to get a return on its money.

That could be any credible tool, like Alexa or Google Analytics."

Moving beyond just news platforms, the proposed policy also aims to tap on the growing list of Pakistani influencers on YouTube and Instagram.

“This will provide a good avenue for individual creators to monetise [their content] provided they meet certain criteria,” Ghazali said. In line with the industry conventions, these influencers will have to guarantee a mutually agreed upon number of views in a given period.

They will have to register with the information ministry as individuals while there would be another category covering platforms, which includes both fully digital news publishers as well as online arms of traditional news organisations.

Given the one platforms’ proliferation and digital advertising’s sophistication in tracking reach, it is likely that the federal government will be channelling an increasing share of its advertising spend

towards these channels even though the exact details and plans are yet to materialise.

This still leaves the provinces, which devise their own rules for running ads.

In fact, Punjab included digital media in its Advertisement Policy of 2012 while there was some talk of Sindh doing the same a few years ago.

Ghazali stated he felt the federal administration’s lead will eventually roll down to the provincial level.

With print media’s circulation constantly falling for years and broadcast quickly ceding space to online platforms, the nature of advertising is rapidly changing. The share of advertising spend in Pakistan was increased by seven percentage points to 23pc in FY20, from 16pc in FY19.

In terms of absolute values, digital advertising spending jumped by 30pc to Rs13.65 billion in FY20, from Rs10.5bn in FY19.

Inclusion of secretary’s services in CJP retirement package questioned ISLAMABAD TLTP

Justice Qazi Faez Isa, a judge of the Supreme Court (SC), has questioned the full court’s decision to provide services of assistant private secretary to a chief justice of Pakistan after retirement.

In a note written to the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) in this regard, Justice Isa mentioned that during the meeting held on February 6, 2019, he had stated that the meeting of July 7, 2018, to discuss the agenda item No 7 titled ‘Provision of Services of Assistant Private Secretary to the Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan after Retirement’ could not have been designated as a “full-court”.

Giving reasons, Justice Isa said that a full-court by its very nomenclature means all the judges of the SC and the chief justice. Secondly, the note said the meeting was convened on one day’s notice and during the summer vacations.

CAA extends travel SOPs for Pakistan bound visitors till 18th

Thirdly, Justice Isa said that he was on sanctioned leave abroad and it was impossible for him and probably for some of the colleagues too, to attend it. “No attempt was made to solicit my views, and the provision of an assistant private secretary for retiring chief justices was hardly a matter of importance let alone of such criticality that it required consideration during summer vacations and giving only one day’s notice."

He said that he had not signed the minutes of the full court meeting held on September 10, 2018, because reference therein was made to the so-called “full court” meeting held on July 7, 2018.

During the meeting on February 6, 2019, Justice Isa had stated that, for these reasons, he would abstain with regard to agenda Item No 7, however, since the minutes do not mention what transpired, he feels it necessary to pen this note. Earlier, it was reported in a newspaper that in August 2018, a few days before Imran Khan took over as prime minister (PM), the law ministry moved a

summary to the PM Office in which reference was made of the SC’s full-court meeting dated July 7, 2018.

The summary mentioned that the full court meeting had decided to facilitate the chief justice after retirement and had approved the services of an additional private secretary for him/her from the budget of the SC, the report said.

“Mentioning its concerns, the Law Ministry stated that there was no precedent of a retired federal secretary or BS22 officer having the facility of an assistant private secretary (BS-16) at the government’s expense. But the SC is persistently requesting to take action on the proposed amendment (in presidential order 2 of 1997),” the summary noted. When the case was referred to the Finance Ministry, its regulation wing also objected to the SC’s proposal. The regulation wing pointed out that the facility of support staff as additional private secretary/private secretary was possible for serving officers of the rank of joint secretary, additional secretary, and secretary but there was no such provision for retired officers.

Premium container train between Lahore and Karachi launched LAHORE TLTP

Pakistan Railways has launched an online 'Premium Container Train' that would move between Karachi and Lahore. The divisional superintendent of Railways (Lahore division) launched the train service at Mughalpura railway station on Saturday. The booking of freight for the train could be made through online

mechanism.

According to details, the train would take 32 hours to travel from Lahore to Karachi. It would leave from Lahore six days a month i.e. 3, 8, 13, 18, 23 and 26th of every month. The Lahore deputy superintendent said that the schedule of the Premium Container Train would be monitored strictly and in case of any delay, railways would be bound to refund the amount to the parties.

He further said that the train service would generate

revenue up to Rs22.5 million.

Apart from launching the freight train, the Pakistan Railways on Tuesday decided to restore another passenger train service between Karachi and Lahore after a hiatus of over ten months. "It has been decided to restore the Jinnah Express (31-Up/32-Dn) running between Karachi – Lahore – Karachi via Chord with effect from 5th Feb 2021," read a notification issued by the chief operating superintendent.

Students expelled from university after hugging on camera LAHORE TLTP

ISLAMABAD TLTP

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Saturday stated that the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to be followed by all inbound travellers to Pakistan have been extended till March 18. In a notification, a list of countries, classified under categories A, B, and C, was also shared by the aviation authority. According to the notification, travel to Pakistan from category C countries is temporarily restricted and only allowed with NOC from the CAA and corona negative test report. The number of category C countries is eight and it includes South Africa, United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil, Portugal, The Netherlands, Botswana and Zambia. The category A countries “do not require Covid-19 test before entry into Pakistan,” according to the CAA notification. These countries, 24 in all, included Australia, China, Iraq, New Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore.

All countries not listed in category A or C fall under category B. Travellers from these countries coming to Pakistan will require a negative Covid-19 PCR test, which must have been taken 72 hours before travel.

Two students were booted from the University of Lahore after a video of them went viral on social media.

The institution said in a letter that the pair was expelled after being found guilty of violating its code of conduct. The photos and videos circulating on the internet show a young woman proposing to her partner as she bends down on one knee and offers him a bouquet. The man then takes the flowers and pulls her up for a hug. The moment was met with applause and cheers from bystanders, but it appears that the university’s administrators felt differently about the affair.

According to a letter released to the media, the

university charged the students with “gross misconduct” and summoned them to appear before a disciplinary council. They were expelled on Friday after the committee concluded that the pair had engaged in a “serious violation” of the university’s code of conduct. The two students had reportedly failed to show up for the hearing.

The decision sparked a firestorm of condemnation on social media, with pundits railing against the university.

“In a country, where paedophiles are defended and protected in the name of child marriage and converting religion of little girls, we are uncomfortable with two consenting adults expressing love for each other. We reduce our so-called morals to a joke every day,” wrote prominent Pakistani lawyer and activist Jibran Nasir.

TTP threatens Aurat March organisers over profanity claims ISLAMABAD Agencies

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has threatened rights activists who organised demonstrations to mark International Women’s Day in the country, accusing them of blasphemy and promoting obscenity.

The proscribed Afghanistan-based group’s statement followed a flurry of false images and doctored video clips on social media that suggested participants in the March 8 protests had insulted Islam, which they denied.

“We want to send a message to those organisations who are actively spreading obscenity and vulgarity in our beloved Pakistan,” the statement said, addressing the

marchers. “Fix your ways, there are still many young Muslims here who know how to protect Islam and the boundaries set by Allah Almighty.”

Conservative groups held demonstrations on Friday in several cities to demand that the government prosecute the march organisers for blasphemy, and they threatened vigilante action.

Messages spread on social media, in some cases shared by journalists and politicians with millions of followers, included allegations that the French flag was waved at the Women’s Day march, while doctored video and audio showed participants chanting slogans viewed as blasphemous against sacred religious figures.

‘MALICIOUS CAMPAIGN’: “Each and every one of

Others accused the university of “moral policing” while turning a blind eye to more pressing matters. “No one should be expelled for professing love. Both are consenting adults,” wrote one upset observer.

However, there were some who expressed support for the couples’ expulsion, arguing that the university must maintain “discipline” and that the students’ parents would likely disapprove of their public display of affection. This is not the first time that the media has run stories about hug-related expulsions. In 2019, two students were dismissed from a university in Egypt for the “immoral act” of hugging after their marriage proposal was caught on camera. The administrators later allowed the pair back on campus following public outcry.

these allegations is completely false and part of a malicious campaign to silence women from speaking out about their rights,” the march organisers said in a statement. The Women’s Democratic Front, a leftist group founded in 2018 and one of the organisers of the march, said their flag — with red, white and purple stripes — had been misrepresented as the French flag, which has blue, white and red stripes. Pakistan has seen violent nationwide protests against France over issues such as the blasphemous Charlie Hebdo cartoons and restrictions on the veil there for Muslim women. Hassan Abbas, a security expert at the National Defence University (NDU) in Washington, said the Taliban statement should be a “wake-up call” for authorities. “[It is aimed at] creating fear, gaining the sympathy of religious radicals and recruiting extremists in urban centres of Pakistan,” he said.

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Sunday, 14 March, 2021

KARACHI

NEWS

Smart locKdoWn ImpoSEd In 3 punjab cItIES LAHORE

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STaff rePorT

HE Punjab government on Saturday imposed smart lockdowns in several neighbourhoods of Lahore, Rawalpindi and Gujrat — identified as coronavirus hotspots — to slow the spread of the third wave of the outbreak.

With 34 more deaths, Punjab reported 1,239 new coronavirus positive cases on Saturday, taking the total number of infections to 183,815 so far.

Despite confirmation of the third wave of the virus in Punjab, the government seems reluctant to increase the number of the Covid-19 tests. On Saturday, according to the official figures, the government conducted only 16,377 tests across the province.

According to a spokesperson for the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department (P&SHD), the restrictions are enforced in 16 areas of Lahore, 4 of Rawalpindi, and 17 of Gujrat.

In the provincial capital, street 15 in sec-

tor-X of DHA Phase-3; street 1 in sector-A of Askari-10; street 5 in Cavalry Ground, main street in Madni Colony on Mohni Road, Sohni Street in Gawalmandi, street 4 in sector-B of Askari-11, street-3 in sectorB of State Life Housing Society, street 3 in sector-E of Engineers Town, Muhammadi Street in Islamia Park, several streets in Jahanzeb, Gulshan and Raza blocks of Iqbal Town, street 32 in Nawab Colony in Misri Shah, sector-B of Bismillah Housing Scheme, and street-10 in sector-G of Wapda Officers Colony in Wahga Town have been sealed under smart lockdown.

Similarly, several neighbourhoods in Gujrat, Kharian, and Jalalpur Jattan in the Gujrat district have been put under smart quarantine.

In Rawalpindi, several streets in Sadiqabad, Allama Iqbal Colony, Azizabad and Dhok Paracha neighbourhoods have been sealed.

All shopping malls, restaurants, private and government workplaces located in these areas will remain closed during the period.

The smart lockdown is imposed to limit

the social movement in the hotspots and to protect the people living in close proximity from Covid-19.

In any urgency, only one person of the family is allowed to go out and/or use one vehicle as all kinds of gatherings and meetings will remain suspended.

Medical services such as pharmacies, laboratories, medical stores, collection centres, hospitals and clinics will remain open round the clock.

Whereas dairy shops, chicken, meat and fish shops, as well as bakeries, will operate between 7:00 am and 7:00 pm.

Grocery stores, general stores, flour mills, fruit and vegetable shops, tandoors, and fuel pumps will remain open between 9:00 am and 7:00 pm.

The danger of coronavirus has not yet subsided therefore precautionary measures to protect oneself from the pandemic need to be taken, said the spokesperson.

The measure comes a day after the Punjab government has released a new list of high-burden districts showing the infection rate of the virus increasing fast.

Gujranwala is at the top of the list with a 9 per cent infection rate, Lahore and Multan have an 8 per cent infection rate, Faisalabad and Sargodha 6 per cent, and Rawalpindi 4 per cent.

Official figures suggested that though the next-generation sequencing (NGS) system has detected the fast spread United Kingdom variant, the death rate has not been much alarming in Punjab.

Wearing masks made mandatory in Islamabad ISLAMABAD TLTP

LAHORE: Lady health workers stage a protest for their demands at the Mall Road in the provincial capital. Zubair MehfooZ

PTI leader Sheikh’s bail extended KARACHI iNP

A district and sessions court in Malir on Saturday extended the bail of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and Sindh Assembly Opposition Leader Haleem Adil Sheikh in a case pertaining to violence, attacking and hurling death threats to officials of the anti-encroachment department and police during an operation against illegal encroachments last month.

During the hearing, the court expressed displeasure at

the investigation officer (IO) for failing to produce a progress report and directed the authorities to present the report in the next hearing. Subsequently, the court extended his bail until March 24 and adjourned the hearing.

In February, the Sindh government had launched an anti-encroachment drive on the outskirts of Karachi, demolishing dozens of farmhouses claimed to be owned by Sheikh and his family and recovered around 1,700 acres of state-owned land. As officials insisted that the action was part of a government drive in line with the Supreme Court’s directives against encroachments, Sheikh and PTI

had come up with a strong reaction describing the action of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) administration as political vendetta and vowed to take up the issue at all relevant forums. “I and my family owned these lands since 2001,” the opposition leader had said at the time.

“The land was acquired after meeting all formalities.

We were awarded the land on a 99-year lease by the relevant department. We have all the required documents, but let me tell you it’s not about documents or legality […] it aims at stopping someone from struggling against their corruption but it would never happen.”

ACE recovers Rs80m in Sindh wheat scam KARACHI TLTP

The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Sindh has recovered Rs80 million in the wheat scam.

Food Supervisor in Larkana Manthar Ali Noorani, who is facing corruption charges, on Saturday voluntarily returned Rs80 million to the ACE Sindh. Manthar had stolen 34,000 wheat sacks worth more than Rs80 million and was facing an inquiry.

ACE Deputy Director Tariq Chandio said that the ac-

cused submitted a cheque worth Rs80 million to the district food controller. Chandio maintained that though the accused has returned the embezzled funds, yet he will face legal action.

Earlier, the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) Sindh office had recovered more than Rs10 billion in wheat scandal under the inquiries opened against the provincial food department for the theft of wheat worth more than Rs15 billion.

A report released by the NAB had showed that nine inquiries were opened against the Sindh Food Department

in Sukkur as wheat worth more than Rs15 billion had been stolen in nine districts.

The flour mill owners plea-bargained Rs2.112 billion during the NAB investigation, the report had said.

Earlier in January, an accountability court in Sukkur had indicted nine accused in the Sindh wheat scam. The case was taken up by AC Judge Farid Anwar Qazi. Deputy Director Rafique Rajpar, DFC Iqbal Pathan and other accused were indicted in the scam. However, the accused had denied the charge-sheet and pleaded themselves as innocent.

Amid worsening coronavirus situation in the country, the Islamabad administration has made the wearing of masks in public places mandatory. Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) has been put in place for the implementation of the rule, Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqat said on Saturday. The district administration has warned that legal action will be taken against those found not wearing a mask, adding that the mask-wearing rule will remain in place for the next two months. Additionally, five sectors of Islamabad have been declared coronavirus "hotspots" and will be sealed.

Sectors G-6/2, G-9/1, G-10/4, I-8/3 and I/8-4 will be sealed on Sunday (today). Pakistan's coronavirus situation has taken a turn for the worse, with total cases zooming past 600,000 to hit 602,536 in the last 24 hours.

The situation is alarming as only a month ago, the cases stood at 500,000. In the last 24 hours, 2,338 people tested positive in Pakistan and 46 people died. Oxygen bed occupancy has also spiked, with Gujrat reporting a 100 per cent occupation. Earlier this week, Minister for Planning and National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) Chief Asad Umar had said "there is no doubt that the third coronavirus wave has begun". Separately, Rawalpindi imposed new restrictions, including on markets, which will now be required to shut down by 6:00pm from Monday. Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner Anwarul Haq said that shopkeepers were consulted before bringing a change in the allowed operating hours for businesses. He said no marketplace will be shut down on Sunday.

K-Electric committed to facilitate industrial customers KARACHI PreSS reLeaSe

The K-Electric is fully engaged with the industry stakeholders to ensure fresh electricity connections and load enhancement for its industrial consumers. The power company has always prioritised its industrial customers and it is continuing to do so following the recent decision of the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) to discontinue gas supply to captive power plants of non-export related industries. It has been working round the clock to ensure that there is minimal disruption to industrial activities. As per surveys conducted by the power utility, the overall load requirement of captive power plants, which will be connected to the grid, is around 747 MW, spread across 743 customers. More than 500 customers have already been contacted by the power utility for load requirements of around 300 MW. However, permission for survey regarding load requirement is still awaited from around 100 customers.

Sunday, 14 March, 2021

KARACHI

NEWS

Bilawal denies claims of PML-N voting against PDM candidates in Senate poll continued from page 01 Although the government still lacks a majority in the Senate, it would now have a comfortable majority in any joint session of both houses of parliament, in the event that opposition alliance block legislation in the upper house. This should smooth the way for key legislation, including reforms sought by global institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

SENATE BUREAUCRACY ‘NOT FIT FOR JOB’: Separately, in a press conference, PPP leader from Sindh Saeed Ghani said he, along with Farooq Naek and Ali Qasim Gillani, had asked the Senate secretary Qasim Samad Khan about the “correct way” of stamping the ballot papers. “We asked him [Khan] that often it happens [that] voter puts stamps on the name of the candidate […] so is that vote valid or invalid?” he said. To this, Khan responded that “the vote [would be] completely valid because it is inside the box,” Ghani added. A PPP lawmaker posed the same question to PPP Senator Sherry Rehman and she too had confirmed from Khan that the vote would be counted, and not declared invalid, he said.

“When they did all this drama and [the presiding officer] was rejecting votes [with stamps on the name of the candidates], Sherry Rehman again went to the secretary […] seeking to clear up the confusion.” The secretary then says very innocently that the presiding officer has overruled me.” Ghani also accused Khan of masterminding the spy cameras “drama”.

However, authorities ordered a probe into the incident and removed the devices, Senator Shah said in televised comments.

NAB moves LHC to get Maryam’s bail cancelled in CSM case continued from page 01 REACTION OF PML-N LEADERS: Meanwhile, PML-N leaders Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Marriyum Aurangzeb reacted on the move and said the petition is an attempt by the NAB to “muzzle” Maryam. Abbasi said that the law is present and any aggrieved government or institution can initiate proceedings against Maryam, adding that the NAB is doing politics in the country. “It was the right of a citizen to talk on matters of national concern,” said Abbasi. He said that neither the government nor any institution had raised any concerns regarding Maryam while the NAB chairman was the only one seemingly aggrieved. “The real face of the NAB has come out in front of the people of the country as it is not an institution for accountability,” he further said. Abbasi added that he expects the court will not only dispose of the petition but also impose a fine to NAB for wasting the court’s time and harassing a citizen of the country.

THE CASE: NAB suspects Maryam of involvement in money laundering through investments of variable heavy amounts being the main shareholder of the CSM. It has alleged that she was involved in money laundering with the help of some foreigners during the period of 199293 when her father Nawaz Sharif was the prime minister. The agency informed the court that the PML-N vice president had not been able to give satisfactory answers to its inquiries regarding her shares in the mills. She was also unable to explain how she attained the funds to establish Shamim Sugar Mills, it said. It further said that Maryam had not filed her tax returns for many years and was suspected of being in possession of assets beyond known means.

05

NEPRA ALLowS KE to RAiSE tARiff By uP to RS1.97 PER uNit iSLamaBad

t

STAFF REPORT

HE National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has allowed K-Electric to increase power tariff up to Rs1.97 per unit for three quarters.

The NEPRA determined the quarterly tariff variation for the period April 2019 to March 2020, applicable to the period July 2019 to June 2020. The regulator allowed a tariff increase of Rs0.78 per unit for the April to June 2019 quarter, Rs1.97 per unit for July to September 2019 and Rs0.61 per unit for January to March 2020.

But it decided to reduce the electricity price for the October to December 2019 quarter by Rs0.02 per unit.

NEPRA, in the statement, said that since the federal government had a uniform tariff policy across the country, including for K-Electric consumers, the impact of aforementioned quarterly adjustments would be adjusted in the tariff differential subsidy for K-Electric. Thus, they may not have any impact on the consumers.

The authority, among other adjustments, did not allow the write-off claim of K-Electric worth Rs4.051 billion.

The determinations are in accordance with the mechanism given in K-Electric’s multi-year tariff whereby changes in fuel prices, generation and power purchase mix are passed through along with certain annual adjustments.

It is important to note that K-Electric has already incurred these costs and have paid the costs to fuel suppliers and for ex-

ternal power purchases.

Pursuant to a notification of the determined multi year tariff, K-Electric filed its quarterly adjustment request on account of power purchase price (PPP), indexation of O&M costs, adjustment of transmission and distribution losses, etc for the quarters ended June 2019 and September 2019 along with supporting documents.

In addition, K-Electric also requested write-offs amounting to Rs4, 051 million (gross) for FY 2018-19. The net amount claimed by K-Electric after accounting for the recovery made through the writeoff component built in the multi-year tariff for 2017 i.e. Rs2,994 million, was Rs1,056 million.

According to a K-Electric spokesperson, Nepra’s latest determination regard-

ing K-Electric’s fuel cost adjustment and tariff differential claims amounts to an additional subsidy of Rs80 billion. “This amount is for 12 calendar months and while it has been determined by Nepra, it has still not been notified by the government of Pakistan.”

The official added that the payment, which is due to K-Electric, is in addition to the more than Rs130 billion in the past tariff differential claims that have been notified and pending for several years.

“These pending payments have put a strain on the power utility’s cash flow, forcing it to resort to increased borrowing. This caused K-Electric’s finance cost to rise 165% from 2019 to 2020, and is the key reason for plunging the company into a loss of Rs3 billion for FY20, compared to a profit of Rs17 billion in FY19.”

IT industry deplores proposed tax credit scheme, withdrawal of exemptions LaHore TAIMOOR HASSAN

The information technology sector has deplored the FBR’s recent proposal regarding withdrawal of income tax exemption on the export of IT services, and its replacement with a Tax Credit Scheme, wherein tax credit is subject to fulfilment of many conditions such as filing of tax withholding statements and sales tax returns.

In a statement issued on Friday, P@SHA, the official representative of the IT industry, said, “The IT & IT-enabled service sector recorded a 40pc growth in exports during FY21 despite the pandemic, and is on track to exceed $2 billion by the end of the current financial year.”

He said the industry's close engagement with the PM's Office, through IT Task Force and P@SHA, had resulted in the announcement and work on initiatives like STZA as well as reforms in State Bank and Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan.

He said with the recent growth pattern, complemented by several

supporting initiatives from the PM Office, has triggered a phenomenal interest from global investors towards Pakistan, adding that the existing tax incentives have been instrumental in the competitiveness of the IT industry viz-a-viz traditional competitors like India, Bangladesh, Philippines and Vietnam.

"However, the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) approach towards tax treatment has been detrimental to the growth of the IT sector as its policies aim solely at raising revenue by all means," the statement read.

"By coming up with these conditions, FBR appears to have ignored the fact that export of IT services is exempt from sales tax, and hence there appears no justification to ask the industry to file sales tax returns."

The association contended that sales tax on services was a provincial subject and was, therefore, outside the FBR’s domain.

"FBR has further required full withholding of income tax on all payments and filing of withholding tax statements, which will open a

pandora box of tax inquiries whereby not just the so-called ‘tax credit’ be disallowed for alleged non-compliance with withholding tax regime on the whim of the tax officer, but additional tax demands will be raised for tax not withheld,” the association said.

P@sha further noted that exemption available to startups for initial three years after registration with PSEB is also proposed to be withdrawn and replaced by the same tax credit scheme. The motive appears to push the nascent startups and SMEs to incur additional costs and time for tax compliance alone and will reduce the ease of doing business for 90pc of this sector, it added.

“Such abrupt changes in tax policies will not only scare away new entrants/investors but will cause colossal damage to the growth trajectory of existing players,” the statement read.

P@SHA urged the prime minister to take action, invite industry stakeholders to discuss their concerns and discourage any such proposals that could hamper industry growth.

Imran okays creation of body to boost local drone production continued from page 01 It will also include representatives from the federating units including Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). Three aviation experts will also act as members of the body.

The composition will serve to ensure coordination among all stakeholders on matters relating to the smooth functioning of the body, the Associated Press of Pakistan said.

The green light to set up a committee to formulate a legislative and regulatory body that would expand a safer and legalised use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in diverse sectors was given by Imran in December last when he approved the country’s first drone policy in an effort to boost local drones manufacturing industry.

The drone policy was seen as the first step towards building the drone industry in a country where the import of drones is practically banned due to security concerns.

“Drone technology can greatly benefit the country’s agriculture and urban planning sectors and maintain law and order situation,” Imran had said at the time.

Minister for Science and Technology Fawad had said his ministry is in contact with police departments to create special drone units to help curb street crimes in metropolitan cities.

The regulation, Chaudhry hoped, would help the country tap into the commercial drone market, which is expected to touch US$43 billion by 2025 with an annual 20 percent growth rate.

“To develop its drone industry, Pakistan looks forward to joint ventures with China and Turkey,” he had said.

Bitcoin surpasses $60,000 level with $1.11tr market cap Bitcoin (BTC), the world's biggest cryptocurrency, on Saturday crossed a record high of $60,000; however, profit-taking brought it a bit down and the price was recorded at $59,989 at 1405 hours GMT. The Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s largest cryptocurrency, gained 6.54 percent on Saturday while it has gained 25.97 percent during the last seven days. With this increase, the market capitalisation of the BTC has reached $1,118 billion. The market capitalisation of Bitcoin first topped the $1 trillion milestone on February 19, holding at that level for a few days before retreating. On the other hand, Ethereum (ETH) gained 6.53 percent to reach $1,884. With this increase in price, the market capitalisation of ETH reached $216 billion. Likewise, Litecoin (LTC) price jumped to $224 with 8.40 percent increase. The market capitalisation of LTC stands at $14.9 billion after this increase. On the other hand, the price of Tether (USDT) gained 0.12 percent to reach $1. With this increase, the market capitalisation of the USTD has reached $38.2 billion. Meanwhile, John Waldron, the chief operating officer (COO) of Goldman Sachs, has said the financial services giant is seeing rising customer demand to own and invest in bitcoin. Nevertheless, the COO explained that his organization is still exploring ways of satisfying this demand without running afoul of regulators.

In remarks made during an interview, Waldron, who is also the banking giant’s president, added that Goldman Sachs “is in discussions with regulators and central banks about how banks should be regulated when dealing with digital money.” Meanwhile, in explaining the financial giant’s unique approach towards satisfying customer demand, Waldron said: “We are regulated on what we can do. We continue to evaluate it … and engage on it.” AGENCIES

Microsoft and Google openly feuding amid hacks, competition inquiries WaSHington AGENCIES

Google and Microsoft are at knives drawn.

Driven in part by pressure from lawmakers and regulators over the extraordinary power the two technology companies wield over American life, the California-based search engine giant and Washington-based software firm are wrestling to throw each other under the bus.

Tensions between Microsoft Corp and Alphabet-owned Google have been simmering for a while but the rivalry has become unusually public in recent days as executives from both firms have been put on the defensive over competing crises.

Google faces bipartisan complaints - and journalistic ire - over its role in gutting the

media industry’s advertisement revenue, the subject of a Congressional antitrust hearing

cmYK

on Friday.

Microsoft, meanwhile, faces scrutiny for its role in back-to-back cybersecurity breaches.

In the first, the same allegedly Russian hackers who compromised the Texas software firm SolarWinds Corp also took advantage of Microsoft’s cloud software to break into some of the company’s clients. The second, disclosed on March 2, saw allegedly Chinese hackers abuse previously unknown vulnerabilities to vacuum up emails from Microsoft customers around the world.

Addressing lawmakers on Friday at a House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee on news, Microsoft President Brad Smith was due to fire a shot at Google, telling represen-

tatives that media organizations are being forced to “use Google’s tools, operate on Google’s ad exchanges, contribute data to Google’s operations, and pay Google money,” according to excerpts of his testimony published by Axios.

Google fired back, saying that Microsoft’s “newfound interest in attacking us comes on the heels of the SolarWinds attack and at a moment when they’ve allowed tens of thousands of their customers — including government agencies in the U.S., NATO allies, banks, nonprofits, telecommunications providers, public utilities, police, fire and rescue units, hospitals and, presumably, news organizations — to be actively hacked via major Microsoft vulnerabilities.”

Sunday, 14 March, 2021

06 COMMENT

A Contest to Remember

The PDM after the setback Does opposition have the ability to sustain defeat?

The ups and downs of the Senate elections

B

OTH the PTI and the opposition stand exposed after the Senate office bearers elections on Friday. The PTI has won both the slots but has proved that it lacks the high moral standards expected from those claiming to create Riasat-e-Madina. After announcing that they would win the elections despite not possessing the required numbers, the PTI used all the dirty tricks at the disposal of a ruling party to change the loyalties of seven PDM Senators. This explains the victory of the PTI’s nominee for the office of the Deputy Chairman Senate. The placement of hidden cameras to discover who voted for whom was a violation of the SC ruling in favour of a secret ballot, besides being morally an inappropriate act. That these actions could not have been taken without the knowledge and permission of the PTI leadership demolishes the PM’s holier-than-thou façade.

The opposition has emerged weaker after the Senate vote. The government’s victory has ensured the PTI’s control over the legislative agenda. While the opposition was gloating over its numerical superiority in the Senate and the success of its strategy to get Mr Yousuf Raza Gilani elected, it has been administered a humiliating blow through the loss of the slots of the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman. It should be all the more embarrassing for Mr Gilani and Mr Bilawal Zardari Bhutto for their early claims about the neutrality of the establishment in the Senate polls. Whatever led the seven Opposition Senators to vote against Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, it would be risky for the PDM to count on the support of all its Senators in any future show of strength. The plans to table no-confidence moves against Punjab CM Sardar Usman Buzdar or in the national Assembly against PM Imran Khan will have to be shelved for the time being. Unless the PDM agrees on new tactics, it will be left with nothing other than the long march.

A major defeat invariably causes demoralisation among the losing side. In case of an alliance being trounced, it can take the shape of mutual recriminations between partners.

There are already signs of the process having begun. Unless the PDM manages to control it, its defeat could turn into a rout.

Zain abbas RiZvi

T

HE elections of the Upper House kept throwing curveballs. The Senate elections of 2021 proved to be the biggest arena to demonstrate the power on the electoral board. As if the shocker of the national Assembly upset wasn’t enough, history repeated itself rather quickly this time. Earlier this month, Mr Yousuf Raza Gillani outvoted the government candidate, Dr Hafeez Sheikh, by five votes, tallying 169 votes against 164 votes to clinch his mark as a senator. While he was subsequently nominated by the PDM alliance for the election of Senate Chairman,

anwaR ali

O

S

n 18 February 2021, the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) commenced the examination of Central Superior Services (CSS), 2021. On the first day, language proficiency in English was tested through two papers, English Essay and English Précis & Composition.

Last year, for CSS-2020, total 39,630 candidates applied for the examination but 18,553 candidates appeared and only 376 of them could clear the written examination. The FPSC has not released the figures for 2021, but it is expected that the number would be higher than or equal to that of the previous year. The sheer number touching 19,000 is a gigantic task to evaluate candidates in a subjective written examination. nevertheless, the major fiasco or failure comes through the papers of English Essay, English Précis & Composition or Islamiyat.

In 2018, while assigning the task to Dr Ishrat Hussain, the incumbent government informed the public of its resolve to introduce reforms into the CSS exam system. After three years, the reforms have not seen the light of day. One significant aspect of the reforms was to introduce a screening test before the written examination to winnow out the candidates ill-prepared for attempting the written examination. The reform, if introduced, would lessen the burden of checking thousands of papers each year cumbersome for the FPSC. Second, the reform would help the examiners mark the answer sheets, which would be fewer in number, more fairly than before. As a result, a just evaluation of each candidate appearing for the written examination would take place.

In CSS-2021, the FPSC once again promoted cram learning by offering trite topics in the paper of English essay. Out of ten given topics, the candidates had to attempt only one essay. Of given ten topics, three were substandard, to wit, “Meaning purposive education”, “Gender equality: a popular slogan”, and “Pros and cons of globalization”.

These topics were substandard because these have been the oft-repeated topics for the past ten years.

These topics fall under the class of generational essays– the essays which are prepared and used by one generation and then they are handed down to successive generations. When a choice to intellectual escape is given, candidates prefer to attempt such commonplace topics. In principle, essay topics are meant for prompting original thoughts in candidates. This was not the case.

In the market, called the CSS-market, these three essays were cardinal part of the guess papers issued

InCE 2018, women’s rights groups have held the nationwide annual Aurat March, which coincides with International Women’s Day, and each year there is significant outrage from misogynists and extremists against the sloganeering, placards and demonstrations, deeming them vulgar and ‘not in keeping with the values of Islam nor the culture of Pakistan’. Although a few attempts to disrupt last week’s processions were made by certain individuals, the march went on in major cities largely without incident. However, it is what transpired a few days later that is disconcerting and could develop into a serious security issue if the government doesn’t nip it in the bud. Viral videos from the peaceful protests were doctored to make it seem like protestors were chanting blasphemous slogans. Thankfully the genuine footage was quickly disseminated on social media to counter the fake version, perhaps eliminating the possibility of a lynching or an illegal arrest at the very least. What is more concerning is the attention the Aurat March is getting from the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), that has threatened the organisers with violence if they didn’t “fix their ways”. The TTP is responsible for some of the most brutal carnage that the country has witnessed in the past, therefore the action that they are willing to take against those associated with Aurat March will be nothing short of a serious attack during one of their protests.

While the government should not be expected to address the relatively non-lethal outbursts from patent male chauvinists, it has to take the TTP threat very seriously as there is every chance that a situation may arise where innocent lives are lost. It is essential that proper security is provided by the state to Aurat March protestors to avoid an untoward incident. At the same time, what the government can do immediately to show that it is taking the matter seriously, is to take meaningful action against the persons responsible for misusing the blasphemy law to incite violence against the protestors. Avoiding a terrible tragedy through preemptive action should be the government’s only approach to this increasingly dangerous and precarious situation.

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor Joint Editor

Executive Editor

to express their talent without financial pressure shifting onto their families, and it is doable.

In CSS-2021, the objective section (Q 1) of English Précis & Composition was photographed by some candidates and the section came out of the examination centre. This section was supposed to lie hidden. The FPSC failed to put a check on candidates, who brought their mobile phones or pen cameras to the examination hall. To find out the meaning of 20 words through given multiple choice options, seven words were odd: SOT, Bricloge [Bricolage], Demiurge, Hagiographic, Tousled, Chiaroscuro, and by almost all CSS coaching academies. In the CSS- Caitiff. Instead, preference should have been given to market, dozens of quotations are available to attempt asking the meaning of the words used in functional such essays. This is where the rub lies. When topics English.

The oddity was enough to permeate insecurity are predictable, quotations and parroting come in. Except where books and their contents are quoted, quo- amongst the candidates. nevertheless, the beauty of tation-inflicted essays do not reflect the ingenuity and this paper was that précis and other questions were perfect for exploring both inventiveness of a candidate, grammar and comprehenwho pretends to be gension abilities of the candiuinely sedulous, thereby dates. This paper evinces denting the right to score that the FPSC has underhighly of assiduous fellow In today’s competitive world, stood clearly and rightly that candidates who count on the need is not to lower the without raising the stanoriginality and creativity. By dards of English, Pakistan’s offering such hackneyed exquality of knowledge but to civil servants cannot compectable essay topics, the raise it. Certain CSS coaching pete with their counterparts FPSC has facilitated once from other countries. again disingenuous candiacademies, especially in In today’s competitive dates to pass the examinaLahore and Islamabad, have world, the need is not to tion, outsmart the lower the quality of knowlpainstaking genuine candibeen inciting CSS candidates edge but to raise it. Certain dates, and join the civil servinto standing up against the CSS coaching academies, ices. in Lahore and IsIt is now known that FPSC and malign it to make it especially lamabad, have been inciting most candidates have atcompromise English CSS candidates into standtempted any of these three ing up against the FPSC and essays. Expectedly, such standards both in written and malign it to make it comprocandidates would keep relymise English standards both viva voce. A campaign is ing on conventionality and written and viva voce. A excerpts anchored in preceunderway to compel the FPSC in campaign is underway to dents and would keep on to conduct the viva voce– the compel the FPSC to conduct avoiding novelty in their the viva voce– the stage that thoughts and actions stage that comes after a comes after a candidate throughout their service capasses the written examinacandidate passes the written reers. If the masses suffer at tion– in both Urdu and Engthe hands of such civil serexamination– in both Urdu lish. This is a step towards vants, the responsibility lies discontinuing English from and English. This is a step squarely on the recruiting viva voce initially and body, the FPSC. In fact, by towards discontinuing English the then from the written exampromoting such essay pafrom the viva voce initially and ination eventually. pers, the FPSC has done a The proponents of such disservice to the country. then from the written a malicious campaign have Advertently or inadverfailed to realize that, in this examination eventually tently, by giving such essay globalized world, English is topics, the FPSC has helped now an international lanCSS coaching academies guage being learnt by even survive. CSS coaching those nations, such as Japan, academies, which are now China, Germany, and Rusplenty across the country, convince candidates to bank on confirmed predictable essay topics on sia, which kept reeling under the unwieldy heft of nawhich these academies arrange mock tests. Cur- tionalism to militate against English. Besides, English rently, the coaching charges for one five months’ is a language of science and, without understanding course per candidate are around one lakh rupees. science, life cannot be valuable.

In short, the pending reforms affecting the CSS Candidates with modest or lowly background can neither attend these coaching academies nor can examination should be released at the earliest. Dr they sever the symbiotic relationship extant be- Ishrat owes it to the nation to unveil his reforms. tween the CSS coaching academies and the FPSC. Thw writer can be reached at The government needs to intervene to offer equal opportunities to candidates from rural background anwarali_60@yahoo.com

The latest exam showed the deeper scheme afoot

Government must wake up and take serious notice

Managing Editor

The writer can be reached at szainabbasrizvi.14122@khi.iba.edu.pk

Reform the CSS examination

TTP threatens Aurat March

Lahore – Ph:Ahmad 042-36300938, 042-36375965 Yousaf Nizami Aziz-ud-Din Umar Aziz

Prime minister Imran Khan took an unprecedented decision of requesting a vote of confidence from the national Assembly.

The vote passed comfortably, again rattling the expectations as he tallied a total of 178 votes; two more than he was speculating. Whilst the hype gained day by day with the PTI filing a petition in the Election Commission to impede the notification of the success of Mr Yousuf Raza Gillani on the account of horse-trading, the PDM alliance mocked the efforts. The notification was issued regardless which left the government alliance all but dismayed. That was until a revived hue of confidence suddenly settled in the PTI benches. On the contrary, the PDM alliance started to panic despite having a winning majority in the Senate. Clearly the wheels were turning.

With Mr. Sadiq Sanjrani running for Senate Chairman as the nominee of the government alliance, the confidence was further boosted with his active campaign to compel the opposition alliance, with the exception of the PML(n) and the PPP, to vote for him. The labyrinth of statements, accusations and counter arguments almost made it too hard to follow the twists and turns of the election, or te developing of events, so fast were they occurring. With Mr. Abdul Ghafoor Haideri nominated by the PDM alliance for Deputy Chairman and the matching nomination of Mirza Mohammad Afridi by the PTI alliance, the game was all set to dawn on the eve of 12 March. The results didn’t fail to surprise either.

Right off the bat, the opposition benches pulled the gimmick of alleged cameras in the voting booths.

While the issue was put to rest by the Presiding Officer; immediately forming a committee to investigate the concerns, this was the start of the decimation of the opposition. With the results tallied, Mr. Sadiq Sanjrani managed to eke out the victory right off the claws of the opposition; grabbing all 48 expected votes from the House. The counter position, however, was eye opening. Mr. Yousuf Raza Gillani received a total of 42 votes while 7 votes were rejected on the grounds of incorrect placement on the ballot paper of the mark in his favour. Even after a heated discussion with the representatives of Mr. Gillani, the election was announced in favour of Mr. Sanjrani, who took oath for the second consecutive time as Chairman Senate.

The following election was a turnaround that hardly anyone expected at this stage. With te vote count completed, Mirza Mohammad Afridi won the election with a total of 54 votes to his name, leaving Mr. Abdul Ghafoor Haideri trailing with only 44 votes. This shocker confirmed the preceding election as a viable procedure; the 7 rejected votes not being a mistake but a schemed attempt to nudge Mr. Sanjrani forward.

The clear upset has resonated hard in the ranks of the PDM, many of whom are turning heads to identify the backstabbers while many are infuriated whilst planning the aftermath of the debacle. As the Senate elections are safeguarded by the Constitution’s Articles 60 and 69 from having the cases reviewed by the election tribunal, the only sage option remains is to opt for a vote of no-confidence. However, in the light of the crushing defeat in the contest for the deputy chairman, it is apparent that the cancelled votes were never legitimate to begin with. Thus, the lacklustre opposition has no path but to focus on the long march, clinging to the possibility of a miracle as the government enjoys its rejuvenation after months.

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Sunday, 14 March, 2021

COMMENT 07 Editor’s mail send your letters to: Letters­to­Editor,­Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey­Fatima­Jinnah,­Lahore,­Pakistan.­ e-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters­should­be­addressed­to­Pakistan Today exclusively

Deadlier third wave THERE is no denying the fact that the third wave of Covid-19 is here as the government has decided to close some cities like Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad and many others in terms of educational institutions. Additionally, it is also a well-known fact that the ratio of the positive cases is increasing day by day on account of this the already battered health system is going from bad to worse. Moreover, we are not able to buy the medicine concerning covid-19 on an immediate basis as our economic condition is in deplorable state. But unfortunately, apart from all these fact, the people, instead of some people, are flouting the SOPs which is a tragic thought. Even, defying SOPs is a common practice and most of the people do not wear masks when they are in public places. Therefore, I urge the incumbent government to take some serious and urgent measures in order to ensure all the SOPs as well as it is the responsibility of the citizens to follow all SOPs so that we are to be able to curb and prevent the spread of the deadly virus.

Hunzla kakar zHob

Vanishing mangroves

New battle lines are drawn Denuded of the last vestiges of its moral base, the opposition loses ground

Candid Corner Raoof Hasan “Oh Sailor pick up all your defeats like pebbles beneath your feet and fling them all into the sea!

Sniff the air look how the birds fly Adjust your ship's mast and sail away in search of newer victories!”

The day of March 12 dawned with an unbearable clatter raised by the opposition parties to have discovered cameras fixed inside the polling booths. They were shrieking themselves hoarse alleging that this was proof of an attempt by the government (read establishment) to steal the election. They threatened to knock all doors in their bid for seeking remedy.

Later, when result for the election of the Senate Chairman was announced declaring Sadiq Sanjrani as the winner with a tally of 48 votes against 42 by the opposition candidate Yousaf Raza Gilani with eight declared invalid, this noise rose to a crescendo. This time, they alleged that the votes which had been rejected, and which allegedly were cast in favour of their candidate, should also be added to the tally, thus declaring him the winner. Their plea was rejected by the returning officer.

The real surprise came in the election for the Deputy Chairman of the Senate where the opposition candidate could secure only 44 against 54 by the government candidate Mirza Mohammad Afridi. That meant that some votes were knowingly wasted during the election for the Senate Chairman, but these were later openly cast in favour of the government candidate for the Deputy Chairman slot. That speaks of a rebellion by some of their own people against their respective parties.

By the end of the day, PTI and its allies had romped home with both positions in the Senate, thus making the opposition get a taste of their own medicine. But, more importantly, they had enhanced the prospect of successfully legislating for bringing in reform for the welfare of the common people and advancing the sovereign stakes of the state. This, inter alia, would knock the wind out of the opposition sails as their politics of agitation would likely grind to a halt with divisions within their ranks adversely impacting their self-seeking unity as also their plans for upstaging the government.

Since coming into power, PTI government has been handicapped because of not having the majority in the Senate. With a bellicose opposi-

tion hell bent on sabotaging the government efforts for cleaning up the system, it was at a standstill in its resolve to improve things in the country. Half-way through the 5-year tenure, PTI government now has a majority in both houses of Parliament, thus enabling it to advance its agenda for providing relief to the common people.

Having been denuded of the last vestiges of its moral base in getting the necklace thief elected to the Senate, the opposition is constrained for options. It could take the case to the Supreme Court (SC), or it could plan a fresh strategy to re-launch its ship. Both these prospects could fail: the former for SC not being the right forum for remedying their Senate election woes and the latter for already having failed in spite of taking the confrontation to a feverish pitch. In such an event, and with little combustion material left to push their agenda forward, divisions are likely to surface within their ranks whose signs have been visible for some time. The constituent parties have continued to push their respective strategies forward: while PML-N and JUIF have been advocating resignations from the assemblies followed by a long march towards Islamabad, it is PPP which has advocated for working within the system by moving a vote of no confidence against the government at an appropriate time.

With a 54-44 vote against the candidate for the slot of the vice chairman of the Senate, the opposition parties are seemingly on the verge. With their say inside the Parliament having diminished greatly, their recent performance in public has also not been noteworthy.

The rally staged in Lahore– the bastion of PML(N) support- at the pinnacle of their politics of agitation proved to be an unmitigated disaster.

That is when PPP stepped in with its proposal of trying to bruise the government inside Parliament. With the results of the Senate election, that strategy may already have backfired.

In spite of a series of setbacks, I don’t think the opposition would still be in a mood to relent.

This is rooted in my appraisal that this fight is not between two parties, two groups, or even two people. It is actually a fight between two very different thought processes. Having skinned the country naked through their over 30 years of combined misrule, the opposition remains rooted in perpetuating their spree of crime and corruption which has been the hallmark of their governance. On the other hand, Prime Minister Khan is committed to freeing the country from such kind of exploitation. His success would not only mean the elimination of some

people from mainstream politics; it would actually sound the death knell for their degenerate brand of thinking altogether.

PTI’s difficult time may actually be over.

They now have the numbers to carry forth their reform agenda. This should encompass electoral and judicial reforms together with initiatives to bring quick relief to the people. Even in the past, Prime Minister Khan tried to do this on numerous occasions by inviting the opposition to join ranks with the government to improve the system. Since that has never been part of their agenda, their stress has been on the opposite: to render the system even more dysfunctional to serve their cause of perpetuating loot.

Perched at the opposite ends of the spectrum, there is little likelihood of the opposition changing its approach. So the confrontation may intensify further, but this will be increasingly to the detriment of the opposition. If, in the meanwhile, the government is able to deliver on some of its key commitments, the next elections could be a walk-over for PTI. This is a likely scenario which will begin to unfurl in the coming weeks and months.

On the other hand, the parties of the opposition may be left with nothing to stay united.

Some of them are likely to break away from the coalition, preparing for entering the 2023 election arena to prove their respective worth. With PPP making a bid to reclaim part of Punjab, it is the PML(N) which will be seen fighting to secure its base camp.

Then there will be a resurgent PTI which, having ruled the province for a complete term of five years, will have its roots dug in deep.

The new battle lines are drawn. In Punjab, it is going to be between a withering PML(N) and a buoyant PTI which would have gained further ground by the end of the term. The other battle is going to be in Sindh which PPP would be desperately trying to save to continue their plunder. They lost considerable part of the urban base to the PTI in 2018. The battle, this time around, would be fought in the rural centres which have remained captive of the Bhutto syndrome. The PPP would be in an excessively belligerent mould fighting a battle for its survival.

The PTI’s success would depend on what it is able to achieve in the next 30 months. The battle begins in earnest now that it has the numbers to deliver.

The new battle lines are drawn. In Punjab, it is going to be between a withering PML(N) and a buoyant PTI which would have gained further ground by the end of the term. The other battle is going to be in Sindh which PPP would be desperately trying to save to continue their plunder. They lost considerable part of the urban base to the PTI in 2018. The battle, this time around, would be fought in the rural centres which have

­The­writer­is­a­political­and­security­strategist,­and­heads­the­Regional­Peace­Institute­– an­ Islamabad-based­ think­ tank.­ Email: raoofhasan@hotmail.com.­ Twitter: @RaoofHasan

THE 14th of March marks the international day of action for rivers, the day to highlight the importance of rivers that are our source of survival on this planet- Earth. Many countries around the world have realized the importance of rivers and are working to protect the rivers from all possible threats. In 2017 New Zealand granted personal rights to the Whanganui river. Under legislation passed by the parliament it was recognized as a separate living entity. Simultaneously China is also taking measures to save its rivers. Pakistan on the other hand has not taken satisfactory steps to save its rivers particularly the River Indus that is the longest river in the country and the threats to the Indus delta where the mighty river meets the Arabian Sea are pushing it to destruction. On the international day of actions for rivers, it would be worthwhile to accentuate the threats to the Indus delta which if not addressed would cause inexorable disaster to the river as well as the coastal settlements of the province. The Indus delta is the area where the fresh Indus river water meets the seawater which is spread over 250 km. In the ’50s and ’60s, the Indus delta was green and fertile but now the cessation of the river’s flows has destroyed a large area of agricultural land. The unique Indus delta with 17 creeks is facing numerous threats, the biggest among those is sea intrusion. Sea intrusion has spread fear among inhabitants of the coastal belt in Sindh. If the required amount of water is not released downstream the Kotri Barrage, the sea will invade areas as far up as Kotri and Hyderabad. The sea has already eaten up 2.6 million acres of the Indus delta in Shahbunder, Thatta district. If erosion continues, Shahbunder will disappear by 2035, and the sea will reach Thatta city by 2050. The vanishing of mangroves is also a matter of serious concern. The salt-absorbing plant grows in the estuaries along the coastline. It possesses a diverse community of organisms that include bacteria, fungi, fish, shrimp, reptiles, and mammals, besides this is a source of livelihood for the fishermen community. Following unabated use of mangroves by the local communities to meet their needs has brought a drastic decrease in the number of mangrove forests. Following the threat to the species of mangroves, WWF took initiatives to preserve mangroves but it has not been so successful in doing that as the number of mangroves forest continues to dwindle.

During the past two weeks, different events have been organized in different parts of the province to highlight the plight of the Indus river and the delta where environmentalists, social activists, and irrigation experts demanded personhood rights in the light of international law to save the Indus delta and the biggest river of the country from outright disaster. kamran kHamiso kHowaja sujawal

TikTok on the chopping block PAKISTAN has again banned TikTok in the country after reviewing a complaint that said the popular video app hosted immoral and objectionable content. A high court in the city of Peshawar on Thursday ordered the nation’s telecom authority — Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) — to ban TikTok. TikTok had about 33 million users in Pakistan last month, according to mobile insight firm App Annie (data of which an industry executive shared with TechCrunch). There are about 100 million internet users in the South Asian nation.The Peshawar High Court’s Chief Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan described some videos on TikTok as “unacceptable for Pakistaini society,” and said these videos were “peddling vulgarity,” according to local media reports. This isn’t the first time ByteDance’s app has been banned by Pakistan. PTA had briefly banned TikTok in the country last year, saying at the time that the Chinese social app hadn’t addressed concerns about the nature of some videos on its platform despite warnings spanning several months. Banning TikTok is a good initiative taken by a high court of Peshawar that may prove as a positive outcome for the youths.

Granaz attaullaH kecH

Paid leave for Covid-19 patients

THE Ghazi Elahi Bakhsh Degree College in Mirpur was sealed due to a covid-19 case. A few teachers concealed the fact that they tested positive for the corona virus and were coming to the college. This is why the infection spread to other teachers and students. Their condition wasn’t severe enough to keep them in bed; so they went to work anyway to save their paid annual leave. The 10 days of isolation recommended after covid would’ve used up most of their compensated leave. Some companies abroad are offering weekly covid tests to their employees followed by a 2 week leave, in case they test positive, with no deduction in salary. Likewise, an incentive needs to be provided to Pakistani workers in all fields to encourage them to stay home if they carry the virus.

Huma ansari mirpur

Sunday, 14 March, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

For ‘love’: charity-washiNg coloNialism, Fascism aNd geNocide FROM INDIA AND THE US TO ISRAEL AND MYANMAR, THE ‘NON-PROFIT INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX’ IS SERVING TO ENFORCE DEEPLY-ROOTED STRUCTURES OF DOMINATION

al Jazeera

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azeezah Kanji

n the name of “charity”, the Jewish national Fund of Israel is buying up Palestinian land in the West Bank for colonial settlements and calling it “environmentalism”; far-right Hindutva nationalist organisations are propagating their fascist-inspired ideology across the world and calling it “decolonisation” and “anti-racism”; and monks who justify genocide in Myanmar are running tax-exempt centres across the United States for the practice of “religion for peace” Buddhism.

While Muslim and Palestinian charities in the US have been listed and prosecuted as “terrorists”, even for donations to hospitals and other entirely non-violent initiatives, those promoting violence against Muslims and Palestinians continue to be subsidised by tax exemptions from the state.

Such absurdities expose the contradictions of the “non-profit industrial complex”: which, like the military-industrial and prison-industrial complexes, serves to enforce deeply-rooted structures of domination. The difference is that the non-profit version operates under the mantle of benevolence and love – “love” being the literal translation of the Latin term caritas, from which the word “charity” is derived.

“Philanthropy is the private allocation of stolen social wages,” as eminent American abolitionist scholar Ruth Wilson Gilmore has observed. In fact, as Gilmore points out, the wealth redistributed through philanthropy is actually “twice-stolen – (a) profit sheltered from (b) taxes”. When it comes to the US’s “empire of charity”, one might even say thrice-stolen, considering the foundation of the American state on the theft of Indigenous lands – another genocidal enterprise that self-righteously framed itself as a charitable undertaking.

For instance, the American branch of the Jewish national Fund openly advertises its role in constructing projects in the settlement

cluster of Gush Etzion. Yet it somehow simultaneously maintains that it “is not involved in any settlement building and never has been”.

Perhaps the confusion stems from the organisation’s idiosyncratic definition of the Green Line – the line demarcating Israel from the occupied Palestinian territories – which the JnF-USA once bizarrely stated refers to “the millions of trees JnF planted there”. The continuities between colonial processes unfolding on either side of the Green Line are illustrated by the JnF-USA’s flagship Blueprint negev project – a “blueprint” for the continuing dispossession of Indigenous Bedouin Palestinians from the naqab (negev) Desert within Israel’s pre-1967 borders. on both sides of the Green Line, the “millions of trees” planted by the JnF have functioned as forest cover concealing the ruins and appropriating the land of ethnically cleansed Indigenous villages.

For example, the GodTV Forest – an interfaith collaboration between the JnF and evangelical Christian media organisation GodTV, which also has non-profit status in the US – occupies land constituting part of the Bedouin village of Al-Araqib. GodTV’s channel was expelled from Israel’s airwaves last year for trying to convert Jewish Israelis to the Gospel of Jesus, but the GodTV Forest converting Indigenous land into colonial territory remains. Three weeks ago, Al-Araqib was bulldozed by Israel for the 183rd time: a continuation of the “Bedouin nakba”, in the words of academic Eyal Weizman, through which 90 percent of the Bedouin population was removed from their ancestral homes by rape, massacres, and relocation into “concentration towns”.

In JnF-USA promo materials, this violently emptied land of the negev is portrayed as a “nobody’s land” waiting to be claimed and developed by the state of Israel: the old colonial myth of “terra nullius”. It is soon to be the site of the shining new World Zionist Village, proudly sponsored by the American JnF. The Bedouins, meanwhile, are reconfigured as the beneficiaries of JnF munificence – as other settler states similarly exalted themselves for charitably providing “care” to Indigenous peoples for diseases and other problems introduced by the colonisers in the

first place. As its unholy alliance with GodTV indicates, the JnF is one part of an extensive archipelago of American nonprofits bolstering and bankrolling Israel’s colonial rule. A current search of the US Internal Revenue Service’s database turns up 30 charities whose very names explicitly declare their entire raison d’etre is funding illegal settlements – for example, the Gush Etzion Foundation, or the American Friends of Ariel.

Americans can “adopt a settlement” through the Christian Friends of Israeli Communities, or “adopt a battalion” of the occupation army through the Friends of the Israel Defence Forces (FIDF). FIDF alone raises millions of dollars through celebrity-studded galas for the Israeli army every year, despite restrictions in US law against donating money to foreign militaries.

Yet while US charities donating to humanitarian projects in Gaza have been held liable for deaths attributed to Hamas – on the theory that “money is fungible” and “giving money to Hamas [is] like giving a loaded gun to a child” – lawsuits against settlementsupporting nonprofits have consistently been thrown out by American courts.

From under this Iron Dome of impunity, hundreds of US-based charities have been funnelling billions of dollars to every stage of the settler-colonial life cycle: from expropriating Palestinians’ homes, to arming settler militias (whose “loaded guns” are all too literal), to exonerating settlers who murder or maim Palestinians.

For example, Americans are among those who donate the most to Israeli legal organisation Honenu – which specialises in securing exculpation for settlers who attack Palestinians and providing financial support to their families.

Honenu casts itself as a courageous David confronting the Goliath of anti-settler persecution. Forget that David (like many Palestinians classified as “terrorists”) was armed only with stones – while settler communities are equipped with sniper scopes, armoured vests, thermal imaging, and other advanced surveillance technology, thanks in significant part to the generosity of charitable givers in the US. A similar Goliath-as-David inversion complex is manifest by Hindutva and Bud-

The world can't fool Tehran again FACING INTERNATIONAL DOUBLE STANDARDS, IRAN WILL BE CAUTIOUS ABOUT REJOINING THE AGREEMENT AFTER THE US BROKE IT WITH IMPUNITY THE US AND EUROPEAN SILENCE ON SUCH A CONTRADICTORY AND EMBARRASSING STANCE MIGHT BE UNDERSTANDABLE; MUCH LESS SO THE DEAFENING ONE MAINTAINED BY WESTERN MEDIA Middle east eye

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Marco carnelos

on-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction has always been a benchmark for the stability of a highly volatile region such as the Middle East. The 1980-88 IranIraq War and the ongoing Syrian war have offered chilling reminders about the consequences of their use. nuclear weapons understandably get the most attention. In such a framework, the international community’s counterproliferation efforts should have prioritised those countries in the region that did not sign the landmark 1968 nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty (nPT) and skipped monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Israel, having never signed the nPT and being the only Middle Eastern nation to unofficially develop a military nuclear programme, should have been closely monitored. not a chance. For historical reasons and others somewhat related to US foreign policy, Israel’s nuclear programme has always been a taboo for the international community, and it remains so to this day.

QUESTIONABLE REALPOLITIK:

Meanwhile, this has been “compensated” for by an international mobilisation against the nuclear programme of Iran - a state that signed the nPT and voluntarily implemented its Additional Protocol, enabling unannounced and intrusive inspections to monitor compliance. While this is called realpolitik, to many, it sounds like double standards. The last six years of Iran’s nuclear saga are well known. Although the status of Iran’s nuclear programme has not always been crystal clear, by signing the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, Tehran finally accepted limits on its programme in exchange for an end to international sanctions. While Iran complied with the deal, duly certified by the IAEA, sanctions relief never fully materialised - and in May 2018, the US withdrew from the agreement and adopted new, unprecedentedly harsh sanctions against Iran.

The UK, France, Germany and the EU tried to keep the deal on track - but ultimately, to avoid US wrath and damaging secondary sanctions, they abstained from economic activity with Iran, maintaining the sanctions de facto and further damaging The world can't fool Tehran againIran’s economy and trust. Less than three years later, and while US President Joe Biden has announced his intention to re-enter the nuclear deal, a new narrative about the nature of the Iranian

threat is being advanced by the US and Israel, echoed in some European chancelleries. The nuclear deal is being deemed obsolete and in need of renegotiation, mainly because it does not address two important issues: Iran’s ballistic-missile programme and its “malign and destabilising activities” in the region. As to the first objection, ballistic missiles were never part of the nuclear deal’s core business - and incidentally, they were already deployed across the region, not just in Iran, when the deal was negotiated and signed.

MAXIMUM PRESSURE: Curiously, those highlighting Iran’s ballistic missile threat are also staunch supporters of sanctions, the so-called “maximum pressure policy”. By advocating the inclusion of Iran’s ballistic missiles in a new agreement, they fail to explain how it has been possible for Iran to significantly improve its missiles and make them so much more threatening in just a few years, while it was subjected to the most punishing sanctions regime ever conceived. Their focus on the missiles is a massive indictment of their own sanctions’ effectiveness.

The US and European silence on such a contradictory and embarrassing stance might be understandable; much less so the deafening one maintained by western media.

As to Iran’s alleged “malign and desta-

dhist nationalist organisations, which depict themselves as bravely standing up to Muslims and other minorities being crushed underfoot by the Indian and Myanmar states.

The US is the new virtual homeland of the Hindu Rashtra (“nation”). As of 2012, more websites propagating Hindutva ideology were hosted on the US servers than on the Indian ones. Many of these sites are connected to organisations registered as nonprofits in the US, such as the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA).

Take the reaction of the VHPA to the Indian Supreme Court’s Ayodhya decision – which despite characterising the destruction of the ancient Babri mosque, followed by antiMuslim pogroms, as an “egregious violation of the rule of law” effectively legalised it anyway by giving title to the destroyers. According to the VHPA, this represents a triumph against “five centuries of colonial subjugation”. on top of supposedly having invented air travel, plastic surgery, and the genetic sciences, Hindutva nationalists also seem to have discovered a new meaning of “colonial subjugation” – one in which the alleged colonisers are some of the most impoverished, politically marginalised, and abused communities in India.

Hindutva’s founders spoke of relegating Muslims “to the position of negroes in [Jim Crow-era USA]”. now, the VHPA has the audacity to analogise its supremacist struggle to the American “Civil Rights movements, or to the movements of native tribes to reclaim back their sacred grounds”. (Israeli settlers have similarly been known to liken themselves to Rosa Parks.)

In addition to campaigning within the US to censor governmental criticisms of rights-abusive Indian policies – not to mention the extracurricular participation of some members in the US Capitol siege – the VHPA is also currently in the process of “obtaining regulatory approvals” from India, to collect donations for the Hindutva cause celebre of building a Ram temple on the Babri mosque ruins. The “approvals” are to circumvent the strictures of India’s Foreign Contribution Regulation Act – the same law wielded by the Modi government to shut down Amnesty International India last year

bilising activities” in the region, the Holy Gospel may be useful: “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” Assessing the recent history of the Middle East, Iran is certainly not alone in this endeavour.

Putting temporarily aside the mother of all regional destabilising activities, the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, is it sound to assume that Iran will accept putting its conduct under negotiation, while its regional rivals remain free to continue business as usual, often aimed at damaging its own interests?

Again, it is called realpolitik, but it sounds to many like double standards.

Sometimes, to solve a problem, it is useful to assess it through the opponent’s eyes.

Iran, after having constrained its nuclear programme in 2015, did not get the full sanctions relief to which it was entitled. In spite of this, it continued to comply with the deal.

In 2018, it was subject to even harsher US sanctions, but it was not until a full year later that it began reducing its own compliance with the deal, in accordance with clauses that contemplated such an eventuality. It was immediately accused of breaching the deal, while a similar accusation was not levelled against the US. TRUST AT AN ALL-TIME LOW: now, Iran is also being blamed for alleged loopholes for having conducted activities that were never contemplated by the nuclear deal. In other words, from Tehran’s viewpoint, in addition to the damage it has incurred, there is now mockery as well.

It is not surprising that Iran’s trust towards its western partners in the nuclear deal has reached an historic low, nor should it be surprising that Tehran would lay out specific conditions before joining any new negotiations - first and foremost, sanctions relief.

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. It is a typical specular situation: Iran has been accused of cheating, while its leadership feels they have been cheated. Although the Biden administration has asserted its commitment to re-enter the

and target thousands of other social justice nGos for the “offence” of receiving foreign funding. As a 2014 study found, US nonprofits send millions of dollars to Hindutvaaffiliated projects in India. The Ekal Vidyalayas, or “one teacher schools”, for example, which “the VHP leadership [in India] has publicly stated [are for] training tribals to confront the [Hindu] nation’s internal and external enemies”.

At the latest Ekal Foundation-USA “transformation conference” attended by 110,000 in Lucknow, the headline speaker was none other than Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, of the Bharatiya Janata Party, whose own “transformation” agenda for India is evident in his reference to Muslims as a “green virus”.

Adityanath’s fellow holy man and antiMuslim agitator, “Myanmar’s most influential genocidal monk” Sitagu Sayadaw, has a network of tax-exempt religious centres across the US. While sanctioning Myanmar military leaders responsible for the Rohingya genocide with one hand, the US is subsidising one of the foremost figures stoking the genocidal fires with the other.

An ideological father of the infamous “face of Buddhist terror” Wirathu, Sitagu Sayadaw was vice chair of the MaBaTha: the organisation of monks behind Myanmar’s “race and religion protection laws” restricting Rohingya marriages and births. (Measures to prevent reproduction constitute a genocidal act under the Un Genocide Convention and Statute of the International Criminal Court.)

Hailed as a great humanitarian for his contributions to natural disaster relief, he has simultaneously fomented the human-made disaster against the Rohingya by urging stronger cooperation between monks and the genocidal military, praising Israel for “fencing in [Muslims] like pigs and bulls”, and absolving mass slaughter of Rohingya on the ground that they are not fully human.

Sitagu Sayadaw’s comments illuminate the paradox lying at the heart of the concept of charity – repeatedly used to justify oppression and domination in the name of “love for humanity” against those deemed sub-human, from the Crusades to colonialism.

Political philosopher Hannah Arendt famously analysed the “banality of evil”. Here, we have the “benevolence” of evil. Violence is rationalised not simply as mundane, but morally imperative. Against this colonial caritas, communities and movements are demonstrating their own forms of decolonial love: building up interfaith and intercommunal solidarity against the politics of genocidal nationalism and fascism, from Myanmar to India to Israel to the US. As philosopher Cornel West said, “justice is what love looks like in public” – even if it continues to be punished by the “charitable” state.

Azeezah Kanji is a legal academic and writer based in Toronto. nuclear deal, it might not have properly assessed how complex and internally costly this could be, especially with a highly polarised Congress and nervous regional allies.

This might explain why, so far, Washington has sent mixed signals to the Iranian leadership, while the country is entering an electoral campaign for its presidential vote and the window of opportunity for a breakthrough is narrowing.

This may not be the best approach with an already highly suspicious and disappointed Iranian leadership. on one hand, the White House is pretending that Iran must return to nuclear compliance first; on the other, by ending support for the Saudi war in Yemen and reviewing weapons sales to some of its Arab allies, is the US not suggesting that there are other destabilising actors in the region? Time will tell.

ACCOUNTABILITY GAP: Iranian funds frozen in Iraq, South Korea and oman have recently been released, but Tehran might not consider this enough to qualify as sanctions relief. Regardless of how many synchronisation mechanisms, pathways or road maps are conceived to get both the US and Iran back into compliance with the nuclear deal, what Tehran is really searching for is an end to its status as an international and regional pariah.

At the same time, it will not likely accept a path to this goal that is built on double standards - especially since any fair assessment of the last four decades shows that singling out Iran as the only source of regional destabilisation is inaccurate or exaggerated. other global and local players bear similar responsibilities, but have not been held accountable so far. It is from such a simple acknowledgement that any serious effort to de-escalate tensions in the area should start, possibly taking into account new visions for the future.

Marco Carnelos is a former Italian diplomat. He has been assigned to Somalia, Australia and the United Nations.

Sunday, 14 March, 2021

BUSINESS 09

KARACHI

ChinA to set up eleCtRiC vehiCle mAnuFACtuRing plAnt in pAkistAn’s FiRst pRivAte seZ

corporate corner

ISLAMABAD

KARACHI: Naheed Supermarket, one of the top names of retail shopping in Pakistan, has entered into an agreement with UnionPay International to enable multiple digital payment options for their respective customers. PR

KARACHI: The Jazz Drive-In Cinema has started screening in Karachi at the Raiha CineGold Plex, Bahria Town, Phase-1. Movies will be screened in the evenings from Friday to Sunday and will follow a week-wise theme ranging from classics to action, science fiction, fantasy, and animations. PR

C

GHULAM ABBAS

HINA's largest automobile manufacturer is all set to start the manufacturing of electric vehicles in Pakistan's first private special economic zone (SEZ) located in Raiwind.

During an SEZ Committee meeting in Islamabad, the Board of Investment admitted the MG JW Automobile Pakistan Pvt Ltd as 'zone enterprise' in the JW-SEZ, Raiwind. The company would manufacture electric vehicles with an estimated foreign direct investment of Rs663 million and local investment of Rs637 million.

According to officials, BoI had received the 'Zone Entry Application' of MG JW Automobile Pakistan Pvt Ltd through its recently launched 'SEZ MIS Module', which acts as a one-window for SEZs in Pakistan. The module is de-

MG JW AUTOMOBILE WILL MANUFACTURE ELECTRIC VEHICLES AT RAIWIND SEZ WITH AN ESTIMATED FDI OF RS663M AND LOCAL INVESTMENT OF RS637M signed to facilitate real investors, from all corners of the world, in getting admission into SEZs while ensuring complete transparency.

MG Pakistan is a joint venture between JW SEZ and SMIL -- a subsidiary of SAIC Motor Corporation Limited. SAIC is a Chinese stateowned multinational automotive design and manufacturing company headquartered in Shanghai.

It is the largest auto manufacturer in China and the seventh largest in the world. In 2006, SAIC purchased the prestigious British brand Morris Garages (MG) and is now marketing automobiles under the MG brand all

over the world.

Speaking on the occasion, BoI Chairman Atif Bokhari stated that initiation of the first private SEZ in Pakistan is a testament to the fact that the government is fully committed to facilitating private investors for speedy industrialisation in the country.

BoI Secretary Fareena Mazhar remarked that the launch of SEZ MIS Module is a leap into the digital future of SEZ-led Industrialization.

According to BoI, both local and foreign investors interested in Pakistan’s SEZs can now simply register online and submit their applications, which would automatically be shared

with concerned authorities.

It is pertinent to mention that the government had recently implemented the Electric Vehicle Policy with a set of incentives offered to manufacturers and assemblers of vehicles. The incentives are reportedly encouraging investment in the auto sector.

The government reportedly plans that 30pc of all new cars, trucks, buses, vans and jeeps, and 50pc of all two-, three- and four-wheelers will be electric vehicles by 2030. By 2040, 90pc of vehicles on the road are envisioned as electric.

While Chinese carmakers are in favour of a direct shift to an EV future, Japanese automobile companies want the government to follow a route where both electric vehicles and hybrid (including plugged-in hybrid) electric vehicles are allowed to compete as is the case in countries like India, Thailand and Malaysia.

Airlines asked to submit proposals for aviation policy till 19th KARACHI TLTP

LAHORE: Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong recently visited the Orange Line Metro Train depot at Dera Gujjran. This was the first official visit of Nong Rong to the very first operational CPEC project in Pakistan. PR

FBR forms committees to integrate tier-1 retailers QUETTA: A roadside vendor sells used shoes on his pushcart. iNP

RDA programme may attract up to $1.5bn this year ISLAMABAD TLTP

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has constituted a central committee as well as regional committees to oversee the integration of tier-I retailers with the FBR system. "In pursuance of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the FBR and the Chainstore Association of Pakistan (CAP) on October 28, 2020, a central committee and regional committees have been constituted to oversee the process of integration of tier-1 retailers,” a statament issued by the FBR read. The central committee would look into issues related to input tax issues, HS Code issues, customer incentivisation and software problems, etc. Similarly, the regional committees would be responsible for identification of tier-I and tier-II retailers in their respective areas and to liaise with the chief commissioners concerned besides resolving sectoral as well as individual issues of retailers.

Pakistan may receive up to $1.5 billion foreign currency inflows this year through the Roshan Digital Account (RDA) programme, as overseas Pakistanis have posed trust in the central bank’s initiative.

The RDA, a State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) initiative to ease remittances and offer investment opportunities in the country, is gaining momentum among overseas Pakistanis, with over 100,000 accounts signed so far since its launch in September last year.

“Roshan Digital Account has just crossed 100,000 accounts.

They have been opened from 100 countries around the world. Deposits have reached $671 million, with half of these coming in the last 8 weeks alone,” the SBP tweeted.

According to the central bank, the growing popularity of accounts among non-resident Pakistanis across the globe indicates the increasing reach of the RDA and helping the government and the SBP improve external account of the country.

“The account offers digital banking facilities, domestic funds transfer, utility bills and tuition fee payment in Pakistan, as well as investments in government bills, stock exchange and real estate with an option of full repatriation,” said Hamid Ali, a senior banker, while talking to a foreign media putlet.

He said the RDA is going to be third major source of foreign currency inflows into the country after rising remittances and

steady exports.

“Most of the RDA inflows are credited to Naya Pakistan Certificates, which offer up to seven per cent profit in dollar accounts and 11 per cent per annum in local currency, if the investment is made for five years,” Ali said.

“With the current account surplus and 24 per cent increase in remittances, over nine million overseas Pakistanis are confident about the country’s economic future and they are likely to open more RDA accounts and invest in Naya Pakistan Certificates,” he added.

Experts were of the view that the country may receive a sizeable investment through the RDA if inflows continued with the current pace. NEWS DESK

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has directed all airlines, including Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), to submit recommendations for making improvements in the National Aviation Policy 2019. Following the meeting of the Aviation Oversight Committee on March 12, the authority on Saturday summoned recommendations and proposals from all stakeholders, including the national flag carrier. Airlines have been directed to submit suggestions till March 19 to the CAA's air transport department. The CAA letter issued to the airlines stated that a review will be made to finalise the new aviation policy in light of the recommendations. It may be noted that the stakeholders had expressed reservations on the policy during the previous session of the oversight committee, which was attended by representatives of general aviation companies and airlines. CAA Air Transport Department Director Irfan Sabir had been tasked to review and amend the policy. According to officials, the CAA has decided to make amendments in the National Aviation Policy 2019 on the directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan. The amendments will bring more facilities to the airlines, besides further promoting the aviation industry. The CAA director-general will send a complete report to the aviation secretary after completing the review process. Later, the draft legislation of the National Aviation Policy 2021 will be presented before the PM for final approval. It is expected that more facilities and perks will be given to enhance airlines’ businesses under the new aviation policy, whereas the federal government is also mulling to increase the validation period of regular public transport licences. The policy will also contain guidelines for private airlines, regulations for tourism promotion, regional integration licence, airports and air navigation infrastructure, economic development and chapters of regulatory environment.

FPCCI calls for measures to enhance crop yield KARACHI STAFF REPORT

The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has urged the government to take concrete measures to bring down the cost of agriculture production, besides prioritising the agri sector in its economic plan, and ensuring food security through enhanced per acre yield.

"Due to a decline in production, the import of wheat has jumped to $909 million; sugar $126 million; and cotton $913 million during Jul-Feb FY21. The cumulative import bill of these agriculture products in the eightmonth period touched almost $2 billion, further lifting the ever-increasing trade deficit," FPCCI's ruling party chairman Mian Anjum Nisar observed.

He maintained that lack of investment in agriculture research, climate change, poor

'BELOW AVERAGE PRODUCTION OF WHEAT, SUGAR AND COTTON RAISES PAKISTAN'S IMPORT BILL BY ALMOST $2BN DURING JUL-FEB PERIOD' governance and bad planning in the past has resulted in the shortage of wheat, sugar and cotton in the country.

According to documents, cotton arrivals in Punjab were recorded at 3.5 million till Feb 2021, as compared to 5 million bales last year.

On the other hand, Sindh generated just 2.1 million bales, which was 38.52pc less when compared with the last year's production.

Nisar noted that the country was producing 26.7 million tonnes of wheat on 9.2 million hectors a few years ago. "But yield has now declined to 24 million tonnes while production area has reduced to 8.8 million hectors."

Similarly, cotton production area shrank to 2.5 million hectors in Pakistan, with yield at 618kg per hector. In comparison, India was producing 29.4 million cotton bales, and China 27.5 million bales.

Also, sugarcane production was recorded at 75.5 million tonnes on 1.2 million hectors last. Its production and area of cultivation was down to 66.8 million tonnes this year.

"Despite 11.5pc increase in cultivated land, along with 187pc surge in wheat production, 171pc in cotton production and 162pc in sugarcane production during the last 45 years, the country is struggling meet

CMYK

its demands mainly due to continuous increase in the country’s population, which has reached 222.1 million with a growth rate of 1.9pc".

"Keeping the above in mind, the government must reduce the cost of production through direct support to farmers in purchase of machinery, fertilisers, pesticides and other inputs, while infrastructure should also be developed to ensure farm-to-market access.

Besides, the government should formulate sustainable agriculture policy to ensure food security in the country," he added.

He said that due to the alarming decline in the cotton production (lowest in 30 years), seven million bales of worth $4 billion would be imported this year.

"After the 18th amendment, agriculture is a provincial subject but unfortunately it looks that both provincial governments of Sindh and Punjab are not serious in increas-

ing the production as they had not taken any positive steps in this regard so far," Nisar lamented. "Negligence in agriculture sector could lead the country towards severe food security while shortage of essential food items would increase inflation."

He further pointed out, "Seed is the basic input for agriculture sector and has an imperative role in enhancing agriculture productivity. The world has now focused on the use of certified seed for enhancing agriculture productivity owing to its better profitability coupled with the application of internationally acceptable quality parameters."

Nisar opined that technology and farm mechanization could accelerate the growth of agriculture sector. "Since all economic indicators are moving in the positive direction, the government should now divert its full attention to share the benefits of this movement with the masses," he concluded.

Sunday, 14 March, 2021

10 FOREIGN NEWS

KARACHI

Three MyanMar proTesTers killed as hundreds defy junTa curfew YANGON

T

AGENCIES

HREE anti-coup protesters were killed overnight in Myanmar's largest city Saturday, as hundreds defied a curfew to hold vigils in honour of those killed since the military seized power.

The junta has deployed increasing use of force against daily protests since the February 1 coup, with more than 70 people killed according to the UN's top rights expert on the country.

But hundreds of thousands have continued to gather across the country to call for the release of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi -- who was detained in the February 1 putsch -- and a return to democracy.

While the crackdown on demonstrations has mostly taken place in the daytime, security forces have been sighted patrolling streets at night and carrying out arrests.

Footage shared on social media late Friday showed police pulling three residents out on the streets of Thaketa township in Yangon, beating them on the head and hauling them away.

"They are beating them without reason," said the person who shot the footage, which has been verified by AFP. Angry residents went to the police station to protest, and sounds of gunshots were heard hours later in the township, including by an AFP reporter.

"Security forces arrested three young men, and as we followed to get them back, they cracked down on us," recounted a resident Saturday, requesting anonymity.

"Two were killed -- with one shot in his head and another one hit with a shot that penetrated his cheek to the neck," he said, adding that they had to wait until the police stopped shooting to retrieve the bodies.

STUN GRENADES: Verified footage and video showed the bodies of the two men --

afghan govt to attend both us and russia backed peace conferences KABUL

both supporters of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party -- lying in their homes with flower petals scattered across them as their relatives mourned.

Local media Democratic Voice of Burma and Khit Thit Media confirmed the deaths as well. "Everyone said don't go out, just stay at home... but he said he had to go out again because three kids were arrested in the police station," said the wife of 37-year-old Si Thu, one of the deceased.

"We kept waiting for him to come back home," she said, in tears.

Across town in Hlaing township, residents alarmed at the presence of police and soldiers in their neighbourhood left their homes to protest.

"Residents did not want them to come into the area at night to arrest people... We wanted to drive them out," one told AFP on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions, adding that residents deployed Molotov cocktails against security forces.

G7 expresses 'grave concerns' over electoral changes in Hong Kong LONDON

AGENCIES

AGENCIES

The Afghan government said on Saturday it would participate in two separate US- and Russian-backed peace conferences in the coming weeks. The Russian-backed conference is scheduled for March 18, while the US-sponsored one will take place in Turkey next month, officials said. Peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the insurgent Taliban in Qatar’s capital Doha have largely stalled. “The Afghan government will take part in both the Moscow and Turkey conferences,” Hamdullah Mohib, the country’s national security council advisor told reporters in Kabul. Mohammed Naeem, a spokesman for the Taliban, told Reuters it had received an invitation from Moscow, but had not yet decided whether to attend or not.

The Taliban has not made any comment about the proposed meeting in Turkey. It comes at a crunch time for the peace process as a May 1 deadline for foreign troops to withdraw from Afghanistan looms and the United States reviews its military commitments. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a letter to President Ashraf Ghani earlier this month made a new urgent push for a United Nations-led peace effort and asked Turkey to host a senior-level meeting of “both sides in the coming weeks to finalize a peace agreement.” Blinken wrote to Afghan leaders that the United States is “considering the full withdrawal of forces

by May 1st as we consider other options”. Russia plans to hold a conference on Afghanistan in Moscow on March 18 and has invited several regional players, including Afghan government and politicians to jumpstart the peace process as Washington’s diplomacy ramps up.

Foreign ministers in the G7 group of nations including the United States and Britain have expressed grave concerns at what they said was China’s decision to fundamentally erode democratic elements of the electoral system in Hong Kong.

The G7 released a statement that was tweeted by British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, saying the recent decision to change Hong Kong’s electoral system indicated that authorities in China were determined to eliminate dissenting voices and opinions in Hong Kong.

“We also call on China and the Hong Kong authorities to restore confidence in Hong Kong’s political institutions and end the unwarranted oppression of those who promote democratic values and the defence of rights and freedoms,” it said.

In a follow-up statement on Saturday, Raab said Britain now considered China “to be in a state of on-

ethiopia rejects us allegations of ethnic cleansing in Tigray NAIROBI AGENCIES

Ethiopia on Saturday rejected US allegations there has been ethnic cleansing in Tigray, pushing back against the latest criticism of its military operation in its northern region by the new administration in Washington. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday he wanted to see Eritrean forces and those from the Amhara region replaced in Tigray by security forces that will respect human rights and not “commit acts of ethnic cleansing”. “(The accusation) is a completely unfounded and spurious verdict against the Ethiopian government,” the ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement on Saturday.

“Nothing during or after the end of the main law enforcement operation in Tigray can be identified or defined by any standards as a targeted, intentional ethnic cleansing against anyone in the region,” it said. “The Ethiopian government vehemently opposes such accusations.”

Ethiopia’s federal army ousted the former regional ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), from the capital Mekelle in November, after what it said was a surprise assault on its forces in the region bordering Eritrea. The government has said that most fighting has ceased but has acknowledged there are still isolated incidents of shooting. Ethiopia and Eritrea have denied the involvement of Eritrean troops in the fighting alongside Ethiopian forces, although dozens of witnesses, diplomats and an Ethiopian general have reported their presence.

"Police and soldiers used stun grenades to disperse us... Altogether four people were injured," he said.

His account was confirmed by another resident who saw the melee, while AFP-verified footage shared on social media showed residents hiding behind cars as loud bangs could be heard before they retrieved a bleeding man shot in the head.

He was 18-year-old Aung Paing Oo, whose brother Wai Lin Kyaw confirmed he died hours later, after struggling to breathe through the night.

"The doctors could not do much for him as his head was burst," he told AFP, sobbing.

'HONOUR THE FALLEN HEROES': Before the violence, hundreds defied a nightly 8:00 pm curfew to hold candlelight vigils across the country, from the northern jade-producing city of Hpakant to the southern coastal hub of Myeik.

Near Yangon's Hledan junction -- which has for weeks been a hotspot for unrest --

protesters carrying posters of Suu Kyi sat and prayed, holding their candles in the air to mourn those killed in anti-coup demonstrations. "To break the curfew and to honour the fallen heroes," activist Thinzar Shunlei Yi told AFP. "People were so fearful to go out after 8:00 pm... so when that call comes out, it's powerful." On Saturday morning, the funeral of Chit Min Thu -- who died Thursday -- was held in Yangon, drawing a crowd who flashed the three-finger salute in a sign of resistance as his body was carried to the crematorium.

"The revolution must win," said his wife, sobbing as the crowd around her chanted "May your soul rest in peace."

A community leader connected to the ousted NLD government, Zaw Myat Linn, died Tuesday during interrogation following his arrest, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group. But state-run media on Saturday said he "jumped" from a house and fell on a steel pipe, warning of severe action against those who describe his death in other ways.

The military has denied responsibility for loss of life in the protests, and defended seizing power by alleging widespread electoral fraud in November's election, which Suu Kyi's party won in a landslide.

Washington on Friday offered "temporary protected status" to Myanmar citizens in the United States.

going non-compliance with the Joint Declaration”, referring to the 1984 agreement between Britain and China to ensure certain political freedoms in Hong Kong after its return to Chinese control in 1997.

“China must act in accordance with its legal obligations and respect fundamental rights and freedoms in Hong Kong,” Raab added.

China’s parliament approved on Thursday a draft decision to change Hong Kong’s electoral system, further reducing democratic representation in the city’s institutions and introducing a mechanism to vet politicians’ loyalty to Beijing.

The measures are part of Beijing’s efforts to consolidate its increasingly authoritarian grip over the Asian financial hub following the imposition of a national security law in June 2020, which critics see as a tool to crush dissent.

The European Commission and the High Representative noted in an annual report on Friday that there has been an “alarming political deterioration in Hong Kong”, citing the imposition of the national security law,

the arrest of dozens of pro-democracy activists in January, and Beijing’s move this week to overhaul the city’s politics.

“China is consciously dismantling the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ principle in violation of its international commitments and the Hong Kong Basic Law,” EU High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell said.

Separately, Australia and New Zealand said they are deeply concerned, urging Hong Kong and China to allow “genuine avenues” for the city’s people to participate in their governance, and to protect the role of the Legislative Council.

In Hong Kong, the government said in a statement late on Friday it strongly opposed the EU’s remarks and that the report’s questioning of China’s willingness to uphold the “one country, two systems” principle was a “groundless accusation”.

The Hong Kong government said stability had been restored to society since the implementation of the national security law.

US, India, Japan and Australia counter China with billion-dose vaccine pact WASHINGTON AGENCIES

The United States and three of its closest Indo-Pacific partners committed to supplying up to a billion coronavirus vaccine doses across Asia by the end of 2022 at a summit on Friday carefully choreographed to counter China’s growing influence.

President Joe Biden and the leaders of Australia, India and Japan - countries together known as the Quad - pledged at their first summit to work to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific and to cooperate on maritime, cyber and economic security, issues vital to the four democracies in the face of challenges from Beijing.

“We’re renewing our commitment to ensure that our region is governed by international law, committed to upholding universal values, and free from coercion,” Biden told his counterparts, without naming China.

His national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, called the virtual summit a big day for US diplomacy, as Washington sought to revitalize its alliances and approach Beijing from a position of strength ahead of a high-level US-China meeting next week.

“The four leaders did discuss the challenge posed

by China, and they made clear that none of them have any illusions about China,” Sullivan told reporters, adding that they all believed democracy could outcompete “autocracy.”

Freedom of navigation in the South and East China Seas, recent cyberattacks and semi-conductor supplychain security, were also discussed, along with the North Korean nuclear issue and the coup and “violent repression” in Myanmar, he said.

In a joint statement, Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, pledged to work closely on Covid-19 vaccine distribution, climate and security.

“We strive for a region that is free, open, inclusive, healthy, anchored by democratic values, and unconstrained by coercion,” they added.

The leaders agreed to set up an experts’ group to help distribute vaccines, as well as working groups on climate change, technology standards, and joint development of emerging technologies. An in-person summit would be held later this year, they said.

‘NEW LEVEL OF COOPERATION’: Suga told reporters he had expressed strong opposition to China’s attempts to change the status quo in the region, and Modi told the session the Quad had “come of age” and would “now remain an important pillar of stability in the region.”

Morrison called the meeting “a new dawn in the Indo-Pacific” and added: “let our partnership be the enabler of peace, stability, and prosperity.”

Confronting China has been a rare area of agreement for Democrats and Republicans in the US Congress. In a statement, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul, said he was pleased by the Quad meeting.

India’s Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said the summit had agreed US vaccines would be manufactured in India, something New Delhi has called for to counter Beijing’s widening vaccine diplomacy.

A Quad fact sheet said the United States, through its International Development Finance Corp, would work to finance Indian drugmaker Biological E Ltd to produce at least 1 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses by the end of 2022. It also said Japan was in discussions to provide concessional yen loans for India to expand manufacturing of Covid-19 vaccines for export.

Sullivan said the vaccines would go to Southeast Asian countries, elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific, and beyond. The Biden administration told Reuters on Tuesday the United States and Japan would help fund Indian firms manufacturing vaccines for U.S. drugmakers No-

vavax Inc and J&J. An Asian diplomat said countries in Southeast Asia, where China is competing strongly for influence, were “desperate” for vaccines and the end of 2022 was still far off. “The question is how quickly can they get them out,” he said. “It’s important to get them out sooner rather than later.”

‘INIMICAL TO OUR VALUES’: India, Australia and Japan have all faced security challenges from China, strengthening their interest in the Quad, whose cooperation dates back to joint responses to the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in 2004.

The group was revived under the Trump administration, which saw it as a vehicle to push back against China. The United States hosted a foreign ministers’ meeting in 2019, which was followed by another in Japan last year and a virtual session in February.

Friday’s meeting coincided with a major U.S. diplomatic drive to solidify alliances in Asia and Europe to counter China, including visits next week by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Japan and South Korea.

Blinken will stop in Alaska on his return to meet China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, and State Councillor Wang Yi - the first high-level in-person contact between the world’s two largest economies under the Biden administration.

Washington has said it will not hold back in its criticism of Beijing over issues ranging from Taiwan to Hong Kong and the genocide it says China is committing against minority Muslims.

Sullivan, who will attend the meeting with the Chinese officials, said he did not expect details on US tariffs or export controls to be major topics, but added: “We will communicate that the United States is going to take steps in terms of what we do on technology to ensure that our technology is not used in ways that are inimical to our values or adverse to our security.”

Sunday, 14 March, 2021

KARACHI

AFg vS Zim 2nd TeST: WiLLiAmS And TiRipAnO FigHT BAcK AFTeR RASHid KHAn BAgS Five-FOR

S

AGENCIES

EAN Williams and Donald Tiripano saved Zimbabwe from an innings defeat and ensured Afghanistan will bat again in Abu Dhabi. They shared an unbroken stand of 124 for the eighth wicket, with Tiripano reaching his first Test half-century and Williams completing his second hundred in as many matches, Cricinfo reported.

The pair came together when Zimbabwe were 142 for 7 and needed another 116 runs to make Afghanistan bat again. Rashid Khan had just completed his fourth five-wicket haul in only his fifth Test, and was only one wicket away

from ten in the match for the second time in the shortest format of the game, is a workload equivalent to nearly 20 in his career.

T20 games back-to-back.

Tea was still over half an Forty-three of those hour away too, and ZimbAbwe overs have come in the Afghanistan seemed on the 287 And 266 fOr 7 second innings, with Asbrink of a big, series-levghar Afghan turning to elling win. By stumps, (williAms 106*, TiriPAnO his star legspinner rehowever, they had 63*, rAshid 5-105) leAd peatedly with successes bowled a further 42.4 AfghAnisTAn 545 fOr 4 deC few and far between at overs without taking anthe other end. As the other wicket, leaving quesby eighT runs bowlers tired and the ball tions hanging over their lost its fizz off the surface, decision to enforce the followWilliams and Tiripano prospered, on. Afghanistan have now spent 197.3 overs on the field in the space of two using the slowness of the surface to their days, and Khan has bowled 79.3 of them. advantage by reading the turn off the This, for a bowler who has made his name pitch. For all that, Afghanistan remain

favourites to win this Test match, with Zimbabwe effectively 8 for 7 with a whole day left to play.

The ball turned every now and then on day four and occasionally kept low too, but the surface remained good for batting throughout. Considering that, Zimbabwe will be disappointed with the bulk of their second-innings showing. They lost wickets in clusters with openers Kevin Kasuza and Prince Masvaure falling in the space of five balls in the morning session, Tarisai Musakanda and Wesley Madhevere falling in the space of six balls post lunch, and Sikandar Raza, Ryan Burl and Regis Chakabva falling in the space of 14 balls as tea approached.

yasir shah says he is fit enough to play in Zimbabwe tour NEWS DESK Pakistan's most successful Test leg-spinner Yasir Shah says he is fit enough to play during the country's upcoming Zimbabwe tour. He has, however, been dropped from the Test squad for the tour.

Shah says he plans to restart training in the next few days. A day earlier, Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) Chief Selector Mohammad Wasim announced the Pakistan squad for the upcoming tours of South Africa and Zimbabwe in a press conference at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

The Test series will be played after almost a month’s time. One-day and T20 matches will be held first so the

Bottas turns F1 testing on head as 'not worried' Hamilton spins off

Test series against Zimbabwe will be starting after midApril. Now when I have recovered from a knee problem, I can start training in the nets in a few days and hopefully would be in the best of rhythm in a couple of weeks,” Shah was quoted as saying by The News.

The leg-spinner doesn't believe his knee problem is that serious.

“Despite of this problem I continued taking wickets.

After a brief rest from active cricket, now I am feeling much better and have recovered fully,” he said.

Wasim, however, disagrees.

He said Shah had some problem's with his fitness and action. “We want him to work on both the issues and get fully recovered. This was the only reason for which he was

sidelined from the Test series against Zimbabwe," he said.

The chief selector said Shah requires six more weeks to recover fully. "His [Yasir Shah's] absence form team has opened doors for Zahid Mahmood, who will have a stronger case in the Test squad as compared to the T20I side following the return of Shadab Khan and the presence of Usman Qadir," the chief selector said.

For a place in the Test side, Zahid will compete with Nauman Ali and Sajid Khan, who were the two outstanding bowlers in the first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy,” the chief selector added.

When questioned about Yasir’s hope to recover fully by the time Test series starts after more than a month time, Wasim said he was in a mood to take chances.

Aqeel, Abid reach final of Pakistan Open Tennis Championships 2021 LAHORE

SAKHIR

Top seed Aqeel Khan and Muhammad Abid reached the men's singles final of the SA Gardens Pakistan Open Tennis Championships 2021 after winning their respective semifinals played here at the Punjab Tennis Academy Bagh-eJinnah on Saturday.

In the men’s singles semifinals, Aqeel Khan was up against M Shoaib and utilized his experience and skills well to win the encounter with a score of 6-2, 6-4. The second semifinal saw M Abid defeating Barkart Ullah, who shocked second seed Muzammil Murtaza earlier in the quarterfinals, in straight sets 6-3, 6-2.

In the ladies singles quarterfinals, Sheeza Sajid beat Asfa Shahbaz 6-3, 6-4, Natalia Zaman beat Ashtifila Arif 6-0, 6-4 and ladies champion Ushna Suhail thrashed Shimza Durab 6-0, 6-0.

In the boys U-14 quarterfinals, Haider Ali Rizwan beat Hamza Roman 6-3, 6-2, Shehryar Anees beat Hamza Ali Rizwan 7-6, 6-3, Ahtesham Humayun beat Sameer Zaman 6-0, 6-1 and Asad Zaman beat Ameer Mazari 7-6, 6-4.

In U-12 quarterfinals, Ameer Mazari beat Hashir Alam 5-4, 5-4, Hamza Roman beat Sameer Zaman 4-0, (retired), Abubakar Talha beat Hamza Ali Rizwan 0-4, 4-1, 4-1 and

Shoaib Akhtar ‘lost for words’ after Rawalpindi’s KRL Stadium named in his honour NEWS DESK Former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar on Saturday said he was lost for words after the "historic" KRL Stadium in Rawalpindi was named in his honour. "Humbled and honoured to share that the historic KRL Stadium in Rawalpindi has been renamed as Shoaib Akhtar Stadium," shared the Rawalpindi Express on Twitter. The world's fast bowler said that he is "rarely ever lost for words" but he was today after the change in the stadium's name. "I truly have no words to thank everyone for the love and respect I have received over the years," said Akhtar. The former fast bowler said he had done his 'best' to serve Pakistan with the "utmost dedication and passionate determination". He said that he had done so to always keep the country's "flag high", adding that he had always worn the Star and Crescent on his chest with pride. Akhtar played 47 Tests, 163 ODIS and 15 T20Is for Pakistan in his career. During his time in international cricket, the pacer took 444 wickets in total.

Federer's conqueror Basilashvili beats Bautista Agut to scoop Qatar Open DOHA AGENCIES

Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili, who ended Roger Federer's comeback in the quarter-finals, beat Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 to win the Qatar Open in Doha on Saturday and secure a fourth career title. Their clash in the Gulf desert nation was characterised by hot, dusty wind that slowed down their exchanges but world number 42 Basilashvili bided his time to snatch the first set in a tiebreak. Basilashvili, who arrived at the Qatar Open with a 2-13 record since the resumption of the sport in August, penetrated 2019 champion Bautista Agut's defences in the sixth game of the second set, winning a crucial breakpoint with a backhand. He made simple work of the eighth game to win the trophy on his first championship point after 90 minutes on court.

Lewandowski equals goal milestone as Bayern power past Bremen

APP

AGENCIES

Valtteri Bottas set the fastest time on the second day of pre-season testing in Bahrain on Saturday while world champion teammate Lewis Hamilton said there "was no point being worried" despite spinning off the dusty Sakhir circuit. Bottas clocked 1min 30.289sec off 58 laps, 24 hours after finishing the opening day at the bottom of the time charts due to a gearbox problem that restricted him to just six laps. Seven-time world champion Hamilton, who was down in 10th place on Friday, was 15th on Saturday. Only four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, in his first season with Aston Martin after leaving Ferrari, was slower. Hamilton suffered a rare spin in the morning session before Bottas took over driving duties under the lights in the afternoon. "It's very gusty, as I found out into Turn 13. The rear doesn't feel particularly great but we are trying to find the sweet spot," said the Briton. "It's day two of testing so we're just focused on understanding the car so there is no point being worried just yet."

SPORTS 11

BERLIN AGENCIES

Omer Jawad stunned Haniya Minhas 4-1, 3-5, 4-1. In U10 quarterfinals, Abdur Rehman beat Eesha Rabi 4-1, 4-1, Mohammad Shayan Afridi beat Inam Bari 4-1, 4-1 and Hajra Sohail beat Salal Bugti 4-0, 4-0.

In men’s doubles quarterfinals, Abid/Waqas beat Aqib/Nofil 6-4, 6-1, Muzammil/Mudassar beat Yousaf/Heera 6-4, 6-4, Aqeel/Ahmad beat Imran/Babar 64, 7-6 and Barkat/Shoaib beat Kamil/Khurram 3-6, 6-3, 107.

In the boys U-18 doubles semifinals, Hasheesh/Mahatir beat Farman/Nalain 4-1, 5-4(8) and Faizan/Bilal beat Zalan/Hamid 4-2, 4-2. In seniors 40 plus doubles, Aqeel Khan/Talha Waheed beat M Shakeel/Israr Gull 6-1, 6-2.

Bayern Munich romped to a 3-1 win at Werder Bremen on Saturday as Robert Lewandowski claimed another goal-scoring milestone in the Bundesliga and hit the woodwork three times in a dynamic display. Bayern dominated their final fixture before hosting Lazio in the Champions League last 16, second leg on Wednesday holding a 4-1 lead. Goals by Leon Goretzka and Serge Gnabry put Bayern 2-0 up in Bremen before Lewandowski claimed his 32nd league goal this season. Bremen striker Niclas Fuellkrug came off the bench to score a late consolation goal. Despite repeatedly hitting the post and crossbar, Lewandowski finally scored with an hour gone to equal Klaus Fischer's tally of 268 Bundesliga goals.

ronaldo warns 'true champions never break' after european flop MILAN AGENCIES

Cristiano Ronaldo warned that "true champions never break" as he turned his focus to Juventus's Serie A match at Cagliari on Sunday after their early Champions League elimination.

"True champions never break! Our focus is already in Cagliari, in the Serie A struggle, in the Italian Cup final and in everything that we can still achieve this season," Ronaldo said on Instagram, the first time he has spoken since Juventus crashed out of the last 16 to Porto.

"More important than the number of falls you take in life, is how fast and how strong you get back on your feet."

Ronaldo's future at Juventus is in the spotlight after a third Champions League failure since he was signed for 100 million euros ($117 million) in the summer of 2018

from Real Madrid.

"It's true that the past belongs in museums (I should say!), but fortunately, football has memory... and so do I," the 36-year-old continued. Ronaldo is the record scorer in the competition with 134 goals, and has lifted the trophy five times with Manchester United and Real Madrid. But the Portuguese forward failed to score in either leg of a knockout round for the first time in 16 years.

He added: "History can't be deleted, it's written every single day with resilience, team spirit, persistence and lots of hard work. And those who don't understand this, will never achieve glory and success." Juventus are third in Serie A -- 10 points behind leaders Inter Milan -- but with a game in hand as they target a 10th consecutive league title. They are also through to the Italian Cup final.

"Ronaldo is fine, it's normal that he is dis-

appointed the other night like the whole team," said coach Andrea Pirlo before Sunday's game in Sardinia. "Ronaldo trained well, he recovered to play tomorrow.

"It is normal for there to be rumours after the elimination because he is the most important figure in the world of football together with (Lionel) Messi and always makes people talk about him, but let's remember that he has always done well, scoring over 90 goals in 100 games.

"It may happen that he doesn't score in a match and it happens to the others too, but with him it makes more noise."

Pirlo added: "We trained together and went back to work. We will face a Cagliari team that has recently changed its coach and has immediately achieved excellent results.

"So it will be an important match and it will take great pride and team spirit for us to play a good match."

Sunday, 14 March, 2021

Prayer Timings

NEWS

FAJR SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

5:36

12:14

3:07

7:01

5:27

6:52

SRI LAnkA tO bAn buRqA, Shut mAny ISLAmIC SChOOLS, mInISteR SAyS COLOMBO

S

agencies

RI Lanka will ban the wearing of the burqa and shut more than a thousand Islamic schools, a government minister said on Saturday, the latest actions affecting the country’s minority Muslim population.

Minister for Public Security Sarath Weerasekera told a news conference that he had signed a paper on Friday for cabinet approval to ban the full face covering worn by some Muslim women on “national security” grounds.

“In our early days, Muslim women and girls never wore the burqa,” he said.

“It is a sign of religious extremism that came about recently. We are definitely going to ban it.”

The wearing of the burqa in the majority-Buddhist nation was temporarily banned in 2019 after the bombing of churches and

hotels by some militants that killed more than 250.

Later that year, Gotabaya Rajapaksa,

best known for crushing a decades-long insurgency in the north of the country as the defence secretary, was elected presi-

dent after promising a crackdown on extremism.

Rajapaksa is accused of widespread rights abuses during the war, charges he denies.

Weerasekera said the government plans to ban more than a thousand madressahs (Islamic schools) that he said were flouting national education policy.

“Nobody can open a school and teach whatever you want to the children,” he said.

The government’s moves on burqas and schools follow an order last year mandating the cremation of Covid-19 victims — against the wishes of Muslims, who bury their dead.

This ban was lifted earlier this year after criticism from the United States and international rights groups.

Prime Minister Imran Khan had thanked the Sri Lankan government for removing the mandatory cremation requirement after a two-day visit to the island nation last month.

Operation Swift Retort manifests PAF’s operational training: CAS ISLAMABAD TLTP

Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Air Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan has said that the lessons of Operation Swift Retort are a manifestation of the Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF) operational training in realistic scenarios. Addressing the graduation ceremony of the 54 Combat Commanders’ Course, held at Airpower Centre of Excellence on Saturday, the chief of air staff noted that nowadays warfare’s successful accomplishment depends on effective vision and fusion. He asked the officers to be cognizant and aware of the adversaries. The air chief expressed his satisfaction that the Airpower Centre of Excellence in general and Combat Commanders’ School in particular are taking strides in the direction to train future combat leadership. He also awarded certificates and trophies to the graduating officers, who had completed the strenuous and professionally demanding course. The Chief of the Air Staff Trophy for overall best performance amongst combat pilots was awarded to Wing Commander Waheed Zafar while the Air Officer Commanding Air Defence Trophy for overall best performance amongst combat controllers was awarded to Squadron Leader Ali Ahmed.

ISPR releases national song in connection with Pakistan Day RAWALPINDI TLTP

ISLAMABAD: Jets in action during a rehearsal ahead of the Pakistan Day in the federal capital. OnLine

Car bomb kills at least 7, injures 53 in western Afghanistan HERAT agencies

A powerful car bomb near a police station on Friday night killed at least seven people and wounded more than 50 others in Afghanistan’s western Herat province, officials said.

Herat Governor Sayed Abdul Wahid Qatali said several women and children

were among the dead. He added that at least 53 people including civilians and security forces have been hurt in the explosion.

Dozens of homes and shops were also damaged in the blast as rescuers rushed to the scene to help several people trapped under the rubble, Qatali said. No one claimed responsibility for the bombing but local officials blamed the Taliban insurgents.

Representatives of the Taliban, which

has been fighting a foreign-backed Afghan government since they were ousted from power by US-led forces in late 2001, were not immediately available to comment.

Peace negotiations between the Afghan government and insurgent Taliban in Qatar’s capital Doha have struggled to make progress amid international calls to reduce violence.

Russia plans to hold a conference on

Afghanistan in Moscow on March 18 and has invited several regional players, including the Afghan government and politicians to jumpstart the peace process as diplomacy by foreign powers including Washington ramps up.

It comes at a crunch time for the peace process as a May 1 deadline for foreign troops to withdraw from Afghanistan looms and the United States reviews its plans.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) has released a special national song ‘Aik Qaum, Aik Manzil’ (one nation, one destination) in connection with Pakistan Day to be observed on 23rd of this month.

ISPR Director General Major General Babar Iftikhar shared the song in a tweet on Saturday. The song ‘Aik Qaum, Aik Manzil’ highlights the very same ideology of unity, resilience and an indomitable resolve of Pakistanis, which they had displayed 81 years ago on March 23, 1940. Compassion, tolerance, brotherhood and the feeling of oneness are the essences, which consolidate Pakistan into one nation despite being a multicultural, multi-ethnic and multireligious society. The song was sung by Ali Zafar and Aima Baig while it was written

by Abid Hassan.

Pakistan assists Iraq in fight against Covid-19 pandemic FO SPOKESPERSON SAYS FIRST CONSIGNMENT OF CORONAVIRUS-RELATED GOODS HAS BEEN SENT ISLAMABAD TLTP

Pakistan is dispatching three planes, loaded with Covid-related relief goods, to the Republic of Iraq on the directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan. In a statement issued on Saturday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said the first plane has been dispatched on Saturday in presence of the chairman of National Disaster Management Authority, senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the am-

bassador of Iraq to Pakistan, and the next two consignments will be sent in the coming week.

He said that Pakistan and Iraq have longstanding fraternal ties, rooted firmly in shared faith and values. He said that the two countries have multifaceted relationships, marked by regular high-level exchanges and growing cooperation in diverse fields.

The Foreign Office spokesperson said that Covid-19 pandemic is a global challenge, which can only be contained with international solidarity and cooperation. The

government and people of Pakistan stand by their Iraqi brethren in this difficult time.

Last year, Pakistan had sent medical supplies to Syria to support its fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The supplies were delivered on a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Boeing-777 aircraft. The National Disaster Management Authority in a statement had said the shipment sent to Damascus includes medical equipment, 250,000 masks, thousands of protective gears and other health items.

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