Epaper – March 7 KHI 2021

CMYK

7 March, 2021 I 22 Rajab, 1442 I Rs 25.00 I Vol XI No 248 I 36 Pages I Karachi Edition

PM announces electoral reforMs after coMfortably winning confidence vote g

imran says work in proGress to let citizens livinG aBroad vote in elections

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE staff report

P

rime minister imran khan saturday announced electoral reforms as he won the crucial confidence vote in the national assembly on saturday, hanging on to power after his finance adviser abdul hafeez sheikh lost the high-stakes senate seat election earlier in the week. needing the support of 172 mps in the 342-seat house to retain its confidence, the prime minister secured 178 votes. his party has 157 members in the house. the breakdown suggested some 155 pti mps voted in favour of the prime minister. from the coalition partners, seven mps from the muttahida Qaumi movement-pakistan (mQm-p), five each from the Balochistan awami party (Bap) and the pakistan muslim league-Quaid (pml-Q), three from Grand democratic alliance (Gda) and one each

from the awami muslim league (aml) and the Jamhoori watan party (Jwp) voted to support imran. an independent mp, aslam Bhotani, also reaffirmed confidence in the prime minister.

coronavirus in

Pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

588,728

LAST UPDATED AT 7:48 AM ON MARCH 6, 2021

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

NEW CASES:

38

1,714

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

558,210 13,166 SINDH:

259,392 KP:

73,515

PUNJAB:

175,964 BALOCHISTAN:

19,106

AJK/GB: ISLAMABAD: 10,464/4,958 45,329

VOTE REFORMS: in a charged speech following the trust motion, imran said his government was “doing things” to bring about substantial improvements in the country’s electoral system. the government, he said, was engaged with pakistan nationals abroad to let them vote electronically in elections. he also announced to introduce “electronic machines […] so that the contestant who loses, accepts defeat gracefully.”

SENATE ELECTIONS: the prime minister renewed his criticism of the election commission of pakistan (ecp) for failing to curb the menace of horsetrading during the senate elections. referring to wednesday’s elections for the upper house, the premier said despite everyone knowing that money changed hands for the buying and selling of hopefuls in the runup to the poll, the commission insisted it carried out a “good election”. “if this is what a good election looks like, i wonder what is a bad election?” he said. “i ask the ecp to take a briefing from intelligence agencies to learn how much money was involved in the [senate] elections.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

PML-N LEADERS, PTI SUPPORTERS SCUFFLE OUTSIDE NA ISLAMABAD: pakistan muslim league-nawaz (pml-n) leaders, who were speaking to reporters outside the national assembly ahead of the high-staked confidence vote for prime minister imran khan on saturday, came to blows with pakistan tehreek-i-insaf (pti) activists and supporters, who had gathered outside the building as a show of support. the incident occurred as the opposition leaders–including pml-n General secretary ahsan iqbal, vice president shahid khaqan abbasi, and spokesperson marriyum aurangzeb– gathered to address the press conference. pml-n is a member of the pakistan democratic movement (pdm), the 11-party opposition alliance that boycotted the special national assembly session convened for the vote. prime minister imran won the vote of confidence, securing 178 votes, against the 172 required. at the outset of the presser, the speakers were surrounded by a charged crowd of pti supporters, who were raising slogans in favour of the prime minister and pti. staff report CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Opposition ‘rejects’ confidence vote g

maryam claims Govt's days are numBered

g

Bilawal says imran should take lessons from Gillani on how to respect party memBers ISLAMABAD staff report

the opposition parties on saturday rejected the parliamentary vote of confidence, which prime minister imran khan won with a comfortable majority, securing the trust of 178 mps from members of his pakistan tehreek-e-insaf (pti) and allies in the 342-seat national assembly. addressing a press conference in sukkur, pakistan democratic movement (pdm) president maulana fazlur rehman said the opposition alliance “rejects” the vote. he said the constitution said the president can summon a session only “if he believes that the prime minister does not enjoy a majority” in the house. terming the session “unconstitutional”, fazl, who is not part of the house, said the opposition was aware of how mps were “forced” to vote in favour of the prime minister. “the assembly session was called over a summary for-

ECP approached to stop victory notification for Gillani g

ecp to conduct hearinG of ali Gillani’s leaked video matter on thursday ISLAMABAD

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

more inside

PM directs Abdul Hafeez Shaikh to carry on duties as finance minister

staff report

the pakistan tehreek-i-insaf (pti) has filed a petition with the election commission of pakistan (ecp) requesting it not to issue the victory notification for pakistan peoples party (ppp) leader yousaf raza Gillani, who had defeated finance minister abdul hafeez sheikh on march 3 senate elections. the petition was filed by three pti leaders, including farrukh habib, maleeka Bokhari and kanwal shauzab. the petition sought to halt the issuance of the notification until a probe into the contentious video, showing Gilani’s son ali haider Gilani explaining to mps how to waste their votes, is completed. meanwhile, an ecp spokesperson said that the commission will conduct hearing of the issue of leaked video on thursday. according to the spokesperson, the commission will also be listening to the matter pointed out by ppp leader nayyar Bukhari

warded by the fake prime minister. a summary is not involved in summoning such sessions, all of this is a drama. we don’t accept today’s assembly session, nor do we accept the confidence vote.” the opposition alliance had boycotted saturday’s vote, saying the meeting between army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and imran “sent a wrong message.” “this was not a confidence vote. we know which agencies watched the mps the entire night [before the vote]. [we know] who knocked on the doors of each member to ensure they were present [during the session],” fazl claimed.

‘INSTITUTION’S BACKING’ OUT IN OPEN: in a thinly-veiled reference to the army, pakistan muslim league-nawaz (pml-n) vice president maryam nawaz claimed those who had “saved” imran in the vote of confidence had openly come out in front of the public.

STORY ON BACK PAGE

taliban says met with us envoy zalmay khalilzad in doha STORY ON BACK PAGE

PTI to investigate MNAs who voted for Gilani: Sindh governor STORY ON PAGE 02 in today’s issue

in his application submitted to the ecp regarding the alleged corrupt practices that took place during the recently-held senate polls. in a press conference, ali Gillani had accepted that he was in the leaked video, but denied he was engaging in a deal to buy votes for his father. “ali haider Gillani bribed leg-

islators to vote for his father,” said the petitioners. they also claimed that pmln vice president maryam nawaz, in her speeches, had promises party tickets in the next general elections for mps if they vote for Gillani. the petitioners also sought ali Gillani’s disqualification from the punjab assembly.

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Contact: 0307-7338168 irfan.farooq@pakistantoday.com.pk

02

sunday, 7 March, 2021

KARACHI

news

PTI To INveSTIgaTe MNaS who voTed for gIllaNI: SINdh goverNor

S

nEws dEsk

INDH Governor Imran Ismail has said that PTI would probe into the matter of 16 MNAs who voted for the Opposition candidate in the Senate polls.

While talking to the media in Islamabad on Saturday, after attending the proceedings of the National Assembly (NA) for the vote of confidence of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan.

“The party would investigate into the Senate vote. Everything would become clear who are those 16 lawmakers,” Ismail said, referring to the March 3 polls in the NA for the Islamabad seat of Senate when the Opposition’s candidate defeated PTI’s Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh.

It may be noted that Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) had bagged 169 votes against 164 of the government’s candidate

PTI LAWMAKERS VOW TO APPEAR BEFORE ECP TO EXPLAIN LEAKED VIDEO WITH GILLANI'S SON prompting calls from the Opposition of PM Imran’s resignation.

Earlier on Friday, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry had said that the party did not know the names of parliamentarians who voted against the party line. “The prime minister did not talk about not proceeding against those 16 members who were found guilty.

If Ali Zaidi has given any names to the prime minister, then I do not know,” he said.

“We have no proof who took money for vote. Our female candidate got 174 votes, while five votes were rejected, and these are our total numbers,” he added.

Separately on Saturday, a PTI MNA

spoke about why he had met former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s son, Ali Haider Gilani, and shot a video of him just a day prior to the Senate polls.

Speaking to a local news channel, lawmaker Faheem Khan said that he “did not shoot the video on anyone’s direction, and the party’s stance in this regard would soon be given.”

Replying to a question about the amount of money him and PTI MNA Jamil Ahmed had accepted, the lawmaker vowed that the MNAs’ conscience is clear, and they would appear before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) if summoned in the case.

“The people who take money do not

appear before the public. We are Prime Minister Imran Khan’s soldiers,” he added.

On March 2, a day before the Senate

PPP finalises arrangements for long march starting on 26th

Coalition partners remind PM of promises, urge fulfilment IsLAMABAd TLTP

CNS grants exemption from appearance to Sanaullah LAHORE INP

A special court for Control of Narcotics Substance (CNC) in Lahore on Saturday granted an exemption from hearing to PML-N Punjab President Rana Sanaullah Khan in a drug case. During the proceedings, Presiding Judge Shakir Hassan also served notices on the people who had given surety of the suspects. The accused’s counsel Farhad Ali Shah argued against issuing notices and said the step is of no effect. The court also summoned Khan in the next hearing of the case for indictment. In July 2019, Khan was arrested by the ANF Lahore team while he was travelling from Faisalabad to Lahore near the Ravi Toll Plaza on the motorway, claiming to have seized 15 kilograms of substance from his vehicle. A special team of the force had also arrested five others, including the driver and security guards of the PML-N leader. The FIR was lodged under Section 9(C) of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997, which carries the death penalty or life imprisonment or a jail term that may extend to 14 years, along with a fine up to Rs1 million.

The allies of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led coalition government have reminded Prime Minister Imran Khan of his promises and asked him to stand by them.

Taking the floor after Prime Minister Imran Khan with the support of his party and coalition parties received the vote of confidence in the National Assembly on Saturday, MQM leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said now it is the premier’s turn to give this trust back to the people.

“It time to consult and seek an opinion from your allies during an important decision-making process,” he stressed, adding, “If nothing else, then at least promise us a dream where a farmer can be represented by a farmer in the assembly, not a landlord. Let us pave a way for a new Pakistan and not only dream about it.”

Siddiqui added that the MQM has stood by the government and will stand by no matter what. “We promise you that we will be with you as we want that Pakistan becomes the nation that our founding fathers dreamt it would be,” he stated.

Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) leader Fahmida

elections, Haider Gilani’s video, allegedly instructing a lawmaker on how his vote can be wasted, had surfaced on social media.

Mirza asked why Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) signed the Charter of Democracy if horse-trading in the house is not to be discussed.

“The onus is on the Election Commission of Pakistan,” she said, adding that the Parliament is not the parliament any more as it is losing its prestige.

“The NA speaker and its office are not respected as it was surrounded by the MNA’s and former prime ministers. What lesson are we giving to the people? I am sure they have lost interest in politics,” she said. She further urged the NA speaker to run the lower house by rules and regulations.

Ever since this government came into power, it faced numerous challenges, be it FATF, LoC violation, economy and of course the Covid-19 pandemic, she said.

“We will stand firmly united with the government, whenever there is a matter to secure democracy,” she said, adding that “We should jointly work to strengthen the Parliament.”

Earlier, the premier successfully won the vote of confidence from the National Assembly by securing 178 votes. The PM Khan had voluntarily announced to take a vote of confidence after Hafeez Sheikh lost his Senate election.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has finalised arrangements for the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led long march towards Islamabad against the incumbent government. According to the sources, the PPP caravan for the march would leave from Karachi on March 26 and the other caravans of the party from other districts of the Sindh province would join it on way towards Islamabad. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) General Secretary Ahsan Iqbal has announced on Thursday that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) would begin its long march against the incumbent government from Karachi on March 26. While addressing the PML-N general council meeting in Islamabad, Ahsan Iqbal said that the march will begin from Karachi on March 26 and caravans from all over the country will reach the federal capital by March 30. “PDM has decided that convoys from all over Pakistan will reach Islamabad on March 30.

PDM’s movement has entered into the final stage,” said Iqbal. The PML-N leader further said that any type of division within the party will not be tolerated, adding that PML-N under the leadership of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif will win the next elections in Azad Kashmir. TLTP

IHC rules Vawda submitted a false affidavit, should be prosecuted nEws dEsk The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Saturday issued its detailed order in the disqualification case of Federal Minister Faisal Vawda.

Justice Aamer Farooq of the IHC had on March 3 disposed of the petition challenging Vawda’s election after the minister submitted his resignation from the National Assembly (NA).

The IHC, in its detailed order, stated that, prima facie, the affidavit submitted by the PTI leader regarding his dual nationality at the time of his election to the NA is “false”.

“Since the affidavits were tendered before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), it is just and proper that the ECP probes into the matter of veracity of affidavit furnished by Faisal Vawda on 11.06.2018 and if same is found to be false to stipulate the effect thereof pursuant to observations made in PLD 2020 SC 591,” the order said.

The judgement noted that since the lawmaker has resigned as member national assembly (MNA), no writ of quo-warranto can be issued with respect to holding dual nationality.

“However, the matter of furnishing false affidavit is to be probed by the Election Commission of Pakistan […] and the commission may pass appropriate orders with respect to the same,” it added.

The court also observed with “dismay that respondent No.1 lingered on the matter by not filing reply under one pretext or the other which delayed the adjudication of the matter”.

In January of last year, media reports revealing that Vawda may have committed perjury by falsely declaring in an oath to the ECP that he did not hold any foreign nationality had surfaced while he was in possession of a United States (US) passport at the time

he filed his nomination papers on June 11, 2018. The minister remained an American national even when the scrutiny of his nomination papers was completed.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Supreme Court of Pakistan had categorically ruled that candidates holding dual nationality are to submit a renunciation certificate of the foreign nationality along with their nomination papers.

Earlier in February, the ruling PTI’s parliamentary board had stuck with its decision of nominating MNA Faisal Vawda as its candidate for the Senate elections from Sindh.

Reportedly, the decision was taken during a meeting of the parliamentary board chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan, wherein the premier said that Vawda has rendered services for the party.

A few days before that, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had handed out a fine of Rs50,000 on Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda for

repeatedly seeking adjournment of disqualification proceedings against him.

The commission had also directed him to appear inperson in the next hearing.

The ECP has been since January 2020 hearing the claim against Vawda seeking his disqualification for purportedly holding dual nationality at the time of filing of nomination papers for the 2018 general elections.

Presiding over the proceedings, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja had said that the case has already been delayed, reprimanding the defence counsel for indulging in delaying practices.

As the hearing resumed Tuesday, assistant defence counsel, Hasnain Ali Chohan, had sought an adjournment due to the engagement of Vawda’s counsel, Muhammad bin Mohsin, in a Lahore court.

While the party has been facing backlash over its fielded candidates in the upcoming Senate elections, this controversy has now been underscored when the friend of First Lady Bushra Bibi submitted her nomination papers for the Senate election, it emerged.

According to a report by a local news outlet, Farhat Shahzadi alias Farah Khan submitted nomination papers for the reserved seat for women. Moreover, her papers to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) were submitted at the last minute through her lawyer instead of being submitted in person.

The ruling PTI has additionally issued its official ticket to Dr Zarqa for the ladies’ seat from Punjab.

Farhat is the wife of former district council chairman Ahsan Iqbal Jamil and daughter-in-law of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MPA Chaudhry Iqbal.

The ECP has announced the schedule for the holding of elections for the upper house of the parliament on March 3. Monday was the last day for candidates to submit their nomination papers.

Sunday, 7 March, 2021

KARACHI

NEWS

03

CoviD-19 CAses CoNTiNue To iNCreAse; 38 More Die ISLAMABAD

T

STAFF REPORT

HE coronavirus cases in the country continue to increase as 1,714 fresh infections were reported during the past 24 hours, the highest daily caseload since January 30.

According to the data shared by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Saturday, the Covid-19 claimed 38 more lives during the past 24 hours, taking the overall death toll to 13,166. The national tally of cases has reached 588,728

with the inclusion of fresh infections.

The total count of active cases is 17,352 and the positivity rate stands at 4.48 per cent.

A total of 38,200 tests were conducted across the country on Friday, while so far 9,173,593 samples have been tested. Some 1,545 patients were stated to be in critical condition.

In the past 24 hours, as many as 1,441 patients recovered from the virus and so far the number of recoveries has been 558,210. Sindh reported at least 274 new coronavirus cases during the past 24 hours, taking the tally to 259,665. According to Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, 13

more patients succumbed to the deadly virus as the death toll surged to 4,424. He further said that 188 patients recovered overnight, taking the total tally to 248,999.

At least 913 new coronavirus cases were recorded in Punjab during the past 24 hours, taking the provincial tally to 175,964. According to the Punjab Primary and Secondary Health Care Department, at least 24 more patients succumbed to the pandemic as the total numbers reached to 5,534. The department added that at least 164,487 patients have recovered from the deadly virus.

Meanwhile, the Conservative Friends

of Pakistan (CFoP) organised an exclusive virtual event led by CFoP NHS Chapter with the British minister for Covid-19 vaccine deployment, in which various initiatives to support the UK government vaccination programme were discussed.

Minister Nadhim Zahawai at the Department of Health and Social Care acknowledged the support from the CFoP and the British-Pakistani diaspora and assured the student volunteers of his full support.

He shared the journey of the vaccination programme commenced on Prime Minister Boris Johnson's initiative.

Responding to a question related to vaccine donations to Pakistan, he announced that the UK has committed £548 million to the global Covax initiative, making the UK the largest single donor.

"Pakistan will take delivery of 17 million doses of the UK-developed Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in a month or two. Challenges came up from different communities having doubts about vaccination. The UK government has overcome this challenge by reaching out to community leaders to raise awareness and remove doubts through constant consultation," he said.

KARACHI: An anti-encroachment operation is in progress near Korangi area in the provincial capital. PPi

PTM’s Mohsin Dawar claims 178 MPs were not present in NA

Shehbaz’s daughter, son-in-law declared proclaimed offenders LAHORE

ISLAMABAD

TLTP

TLTP

An accountability court has declared the daughter of Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif, Rabia Imran, and son-in-law Ali Imran proclaimed offenders in the Saaf Pani Company reference on Saturday.

The accountability court’s Judge Amjad Nazir Chaudhry conducted the hearing of the corruption reference related to the Saaf Pani Company scam.

The court summoned details of properties owned by Rabia Imran and her husband Ali Imran. The hearing was

The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) leader and member of National Assembly, Mohsin Dawar has claimed that the required number of lawmakers were not present in the lower house at the time of voting. Dawar, a staunch opponent of the government, said that he will challenge 178 votes – the number of votes Premier Imran officially secured in the session – and an investigation into the matter. “This should be investigated through video footages to ascertain as to how many MNAs were genuinely present in the house and whose vote was counted as a formality,” said Dawar. Earlier, the PTM leader condemned the attack on Marriyum Aurangzeb, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Musadik Malik, Ahsan Iqbal and other PML-N leaders outside the Parliament House. "This takes PTI thuggery to a new high from 2014. It's a dangerous precedent and is taking the situation towards direct confrontation… prime minister should show some responsibility," he wrote on his Twitter handle. However, the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) in its factsheet said that the premier received 178 votes in his favour during the session. "164 (48 per cent) lawmakers were present at the outset and 178 (52 per cent) at adjournment of the sitting," it said. Fafen said that parliamentary leaders from BAP, GDA, AML-P, PML-Q, MQM-P and JWP as well as five minority lawmakers attended the session.

later adjourned.

Earlier on January 30, the court initiated the process of declaring the accused as proclaimed offenders over their continued non-appearance before the court.

The investigation officer has been directed to paste the advertisement in the accountability court, declaring Rabia and her husband Ali Imran as proclaimed offenders. Both the accused have been named by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Saaf Pani corruption reference.

Ali, Rabia and others are accused of denting the national exchequer in the Saaf Pani scam by giving the

building of the project on rent.

According to the reference, Ali & Fatima Developers, a company of Ali and Rabia illegally received the rent of the building which was even not completed and was underconstruction The NAB on November 19 had filed a supplementary reference in Punjab Saaf Pani Company case, also involving Ali and Rabia.

PML-N’s former MPA Raja Qamarul Islam and senior bureaucrat Waseem Ajmal Chaudhry are the prime suspects in the reference for being the former chairman and chief executive officer of the Punjab Saaf Pani Company, respectively.

Haleem moved to hospital from jail over health issues KARACHI TLTP

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) stalwart and Opposition Leader in Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh was once again shifted to a hospital due to health issues on Saturday.

According to sources within Karachi Central Jail, Haleem was

moved to Jinnah Hospital by the jail administration due to kidney problems and swelling on his feet.

Sources further said that Haleem was shifted to a ward after undergoing a checkup at the emergency ward of the hospital.

It is pertinent to mention here that Haleem was first moved to

Jinnah Hospital on February 22 after he complained of pain in his chest due to alleged torture by gang-war goons in the jail.

Jinnah Hospital Director Orthopaedics AR Jamali had completely examined the Sindh Assembly opposition leader. As per sources, tortured marks were seen on the shoulder, neck, hand and other parts of his body.

3 TTP commanders among 8 terrorists killed in North Waziristan RAWALPINDI TLTP

The security forces on Saturday killed eight terrorists, including three Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) commanders, in two separate intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in North Waziristan, said the InterServices Public Relations (ISPR). The security forces conducted two separate IBOs on terrorist hideouts in Boya and Dosalli areas of North Waziristan, said the ISPR in a press release. During exchange of fire, eight terrorists, including three terrorist commanders Abdul Aneer alias Adil (TTP Toofan group), Junaid alias Jamid (TTP Tariq group) and Khaliq Shadeen alias Rehan (TTP Sadiq Noor group), were killed, it added. These terrorists remained involved in terrorist activities against the security forces, law enforcement agencies and locals of the area since 2009, including improvised explosive device (IED) attacks, firing, target killing, and kidnapping for ransom and extortion. These terrorists were also involved in recruiting terrorists in the area. The security forces also recovered a huge cache of arms from their hideouts, said the ISPR. Earlier on February 23, a militant commander involved in the killing of four women working with a non-governmental organisation (NGO) was gunned down in an intelligence-based operation in Mir Ali area of North Waziristan, the ISPR had said. According to the ISPR, the security forces had conducted an intelligencebased operation (IBO) in Mir Ali, North Waziristan, on confirmation of presence of terrorists. During the exchange of fire, terrorist commander Hassan alias Sajna of TTP’s Hafiz Gul Bahadur group was killed, it had said. “The killed terrorist remained involved in terrorist activities against security forces and peaceful civilians, including IED attacks, kidnapping for ransom, target killing and extortion,” it had added.

04

Sunday, 7 March, 2021

KARACHI

NEWS

LWMC faiLS to Maintain CLeanLineSS in the City LAHORE

D

Shahab OmeR

ESPITE the tall claims of cleanliness, the Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) has failed to lift waste from various parts of city, Pakistan Today learnt on Saturday as citizens expressed concern and disgust over the situation.

A selected spot for piling garbage near pasha ground, J block, Gulberg 3, is increasing difficulties of residents and making the surrounding area unhealthy, while the condition is going from bad to worse as the spot is between two schools.

A resident of the said area, Afnan Malik, said, “Schools are open for students but the

unhealthy surroundings are a problem. People are lodging complaints but to no avail. It is becoming difficult to move in the area for both pedestrians and riders as the street is almost blocked by the heap of garbage. A bad odour is also spreading around the area”.

Another resident, Anwar Khan, also expressed grief over the situation saying, “Educational institutions are open and hundreds of students come to this area everyday. Despite implementing strict policy of SOPs for the prevention of Covid-19, officials are ignoring this problem.”

Another resident of the area, Akmal Bhatti, informed Pakistan Today that sweepers are not performing their duties. “Many times people have asked them to perform their duty but they claim about not receiving

salaries from the LWMC,” he added.

However, a sanitation worker informed that the LWMC’s garbage collecting mechanism throughout the city was a bit complex.

“Sweepers collect waste from the street at some selected points in bins or roadside areas. From there, dumpers collect and take all the waste to the allocated waste site. But the residents are against the garbage collection site near the school as the waste is left on the road without any proper bin system,” he said. On the other hand the LWMC Director Communication, Jamil Khawar, informed this scribe that the company was aware taking care of the problem.

“We are taking full care of the cleanliness of the city. 1139 is the helpline of LWMC and any citizen can lodge a complaint and there is

a proper system that works to resolve the complaints whereas the complaint remains blinking green in the system until it gets resolved.

Nonetheless if it takes too long it turns blinking red. The staff contacts the person (who has lodged the complaint) to confirm the situation is tackled before closing the complaint”.

Moreover, Khawar informed that people have to play an important role if they really want to remove the spot.

“A proper solution can be met via campaign in the area and LWMC will be standing with the citizens in the campaign,” he maintained.

Court directs defaulters of Gulshan, Surjani areas to pay their dues before next hearing KARACHI PR

The honourable court of District Central Judge held a hearing against 43 consumers (defaulters) from Surjani Town and Gulshan e Iqbal due to non-payment of heavy electricity dues. Initially, the court rejected the bailable warrants of 14 defaulters and ordered the police to arrest them. The court also remarked that these culprits should be sent to jail. However, these defaulters were immediately released by the court after giving them a strict warning to settle their dues before the next hearing or present all the required bail bonds. Otherwise, they will be sent to jail till the next hearing of the case, which will be held on March 17.

Meanwhile, the court also ordered that bailable warrants should be issued once again on the 24th of this month against the 28 defaulters, who fail to appear in the next hearing.

Webinar held to discuss draft personal data protection bill

LAHORE: Members of Women Workers Alliance hold a protest for women rights in connection with International Women's Day near Lahore Press Club. PPI

ISLAMABAD PR

Pakistan is in the process of developing a law on personal data protection and the Ministry of Information Technology & Telecommunication has issued a consultation draft of the proposed law titled “Personal Data Protection Bill, 2020”. The proposed law brings about certain obligations on the persons processing the personal data and confers certain rights on the related persons. In order to disseminate essence of the proposed law, S. U. Khan Associates Corporate & Legal Consultants in association with the Legal 500 of United Kingdom had organised a webinar on Thursday last. The ministry’s Member IT Syed Junaid Imam was one of the speakers in the webinar, who had very elaborately discussed the government’s perspective with reference to making of the proposed law. Other speakers in the webinar were some legal and technical experts from Pakistan and United Kingdom. S. U. Khan Associates Managing Partner Saifullah Khan and Partner Saeed Hasan Khan had apprised the audience about the salient features of the proposed law, including scope, applicability, obligations of the persons processing the personal data, rights available to the related individuals, powers and functions of the proposed Personal Data Protection Authority of Pakistan and grievance settlement mechanism under the proposed law. P@SHA Senior Director Government Policy & Research Dr Rafi us Shan had highlighted his views about governance challenges and capacity building in the public sector with reference to implementation of the proposed law. He had also emphasised on the need to create awareness among the general public about the proposed law. Adedoyin Aderibigbe, a lead senior legal counsel from UK, had talked about the compliance aspects with relation to personal data privacy under the similar laws in UK and European Union. Hadi Hosn, chief executive officer and co-founder of Axon Technologies UK, had apprised the audience about using technology and technological solutions to meet the personal data privacy compliance. The webinar was attended by a large number of audience from public and private sectors within and outside Pakistan. An interactive questions and answers session during the event.

Karachi court asks police to submit report in sanctity of Mazar-e-Quaid case NEWS DESK A judicial magistrate in Karachi on Saturday directed the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Investigations to investigate Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz and her husband Capt (r) Safdar Awan for violating the sanctity of Quaid-e-Azam’s mau-

soleum last year.

The judicial magistrate south directed the SSP to submit his investigation report to the court by March 25.

The case, filed by the Quaid-e-Azam Mazar Management Board, states that Capt (r) Safdar and his accomplices physically harmed the mausoleum.

Earlier in November 2020, the court

had quashed the first information report (FIR) against Captain (r) Safdar Awan after categorising the case against him as “C class”. Awan faced day-long detention in December 2020 for raising slogans at the mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah before the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) second power show at Karachi.

A FIR — registered against his wife Maryam Nawaz and some 200 others — said the suspects violated the sanctity of the mausoleum and Quaid’s grave and hurled murder threats at some individuals.

The following day, Sindh police had arrested Awan from his hotel room early morning, stirring a political uproar. However, he was granted bail the same day.

Health workers hesitate over Sinopharm vaccine, poll says NEWS DESK Just over a half of the country’s health workers have received a Covid-19 shot since inoculations began in February, while a poll released on Friday suggested nearly half had concerns over China’s Sinopharm, the only vaccine available so far.

Pakistan had distributed 504,400 Sinopharm vaccine doses to provincial authorities by February 20, and 230,000 frontline health workers had received a shot by Friday, according to Minister of State for Health Dr Faisal Sultan.

In January, Sultan said 400,000

health workers had been registered to get the vaccine.

A poll of 555 medical workers conducted by Gallup Pakistan and a national physicians’ association between February 12 and February 20 said 59 per cent of health workers had not yet been offered a shot.

Sinopharm is one of four vaccines approved for use by Pakistan for health workers and is currently the only vaccine available in the country of 220 million.

Some 81 per cent of health workers said they were willing to be vaccinated, but 46 per cent said they would prefer

Pfizer or AstraZeneca over the Sinopharm shot. Some 58 per cent said a vaccine developed so quickly could not be guaranteed to be safe.

“Chinese is a brand not synonymous with medical innovation,” Bilal Gilani, of Gallup Pakistan, told Reuters.

“If Pfizer or AstraZeneca were offered, there would be a much higher uptake.” Pfizer is a US company while AstraZeneca is Anglo-Swedish.

Gilani said doctors did not trust government recommendations and instead looked to social media for information on the vaccine. “No doctor is refusing to

get the vaccine. Some of them are waiting for the Oxford one, AstraZeneca,” Salman Kazmi, General Secretary of the Young Doctor’s Association (YDA), told Reuters from Lahore.

“But there are some myths and delays, which is probably why the speed of vaccination is not high.”

While a preference for Western vaccines may be a stumbling block in the case of coronavirus shots, polio vaccination efforts in Pakistan have had to grapple with militant attacks and conspiracy theories that the shots are a Western ploy to sterilise Muslims.

Sunday, 7 March, 2021

KARACHI

NEWS

05

NePrA OkAys suPPLy Of ADDITIONAL 150MW TO k-eLecTrIc ISLAmAbAd sTAff rePorT

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has approved a tripartite power purchase agreement (TPPA)

PML-N leaders, PTI supporters scuffle outside NA CONtINuEd FROm pAgE 01 In their talks, the PML-N speakers condemned the government and the prime minister, declaring he [PM Imran] had lost the confidence of the public. Abbasi said Imran did not have the power to go for a trust vote according to the Constitution, adding this power rested with the president only if he believed the premier had lost the confidence of the House. Following the press conference, the PML-N leaders claimed they were harassed and manhandled by PTI supporters present at the site. Video clips of the brawl making rounds on social media showed PML-N leadership angrily charging at PTI supporters and pushing them away. Imran’s adviser on digital media claimed the PML-N leaders began the scuffle by attacking PTI supporters gathered around them, and said the media was “misreporting the facts to please PML-N”. In a tweet, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz lauded the politicians for “fighting back against vote thieves and thugs like lions”.

Opposition ‘rejects’ confidence vote CONtINuEd FROm pAgE 01 She said that for her, the decision was taken on March 3 when Yousaf Raza Gillani, a joint candidate of the PDM, defeated PTI’s Abdul Hafeez Sheikh for a seat in the Senate. The votes, she claimed, the government received today have no standing since the MPs were forced to vote for the premier. The prime minister keeps renewing his criticism of the 16 MPs who voted for Gillani but took a vote of confidence from the same parliamentarians.

Maryam also drew similarities between the PTI campaign and the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. She regretted the PTI activists resorted to violence against PML-N leaders during a press conference earlier in the day.

Maryam said she was sad about the way PML-N Spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb was “attacked”, on which, she said, the whole nation was saying “shame shame”. “[After] this shoe you threw at Ahsan Iqbal and the worst manners you demonstrated, I want to say that your days are counted,” she told the PTI. She said although the PML-N believed in morals and decent politics, it will not forget the behaviour of the PTI. “The PMLN is not a charity party, if it battled goons and thieves with ethics before then it was good, but the confrontation with hooliganism is never done with ethics and morals, so remember the PML-N won’t forget this,” she said.

Meanwhile, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto said politics is also the art of making the impossible possible. “We have made it evident how fragile the National Assembly is, how fragile the government is, how fragile the puppet is,” he said, adding that this one Senate election has proved that the premier has lost. Referring to Imran as a ‘grumpy old man’, Bilawal said that even the National Assembly has rejected Imran and the puppet government. “As the leader of the house it was his [Imran’s] duty to condemn what happened outside the Parliament but he did not,” he said, adding that despite all the hue and cry Yousaf Raza Gilani is now a member of the Senate. He further said that instead of pointing fingers at Gilani, Imran should take lessons from him on how to respect his party members. “If we unite under PDM it will not be an individual victory but victory for the nation,” he added.

among K-Electric, National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) and Central Power Purchase Agency (CPPA) for 150MW additional power supply to Karachi from the national grid.

The Economic Coordination Com-

mittee (ECC) of the cabinet had already approved the additional 150MW power supply to Karachi. The ECC had “decided that this arrangement is completely separate and would have no nexus whatsoever to the existing agreement for sup-

ply of 650MW by NTDC to KE”.

Under the TPPA, power generation of 50MW each from wind power plants of Tenaga, Zephyr and Hydro China Dawood will be supplied to KE through the national grid.

PM announces electoral reforms after comfortably winning confidence vote CONtINuEd FROm pAgE 01 Imran said it was embarrassing the way elections were held in Pakistan. Naming Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari, the premier observed he was commonly referred to in phrases such as “aik Zardari, sab pe bhari (one Zardari wins over all).”

But in the West, he is remembered as “Mr ten per cent” because of his corrupt practices. Films and documentaries have been on his corruption, the prime minister lamented.

He observed deposed prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader Nawaz Sharif had faked sickness to go to London to avoid the legal consequences of his corruption.

ECONOMIC RECOVERY: Observing the public has been suffering from rising prices of commodities, the prime minister said: “We are on a way to economic recovery.”

The current account, he observed, is improving constantly and now even the rupee is strengthening against the dollar without government intervention [to artificially inflate the value of currency].

Imran said the biggest pressure on the government was to control the growing inflation which he attributed to the overvaluation of the rupee in the previous tenures.

Between 2013 and 2018, the rupee’s official exchange rate was supported by the central bank under a de facto managed float system and many analysts considered the currency to be overvalued.

“But my team and my government are taking every possible step to arrest the inflation and we will keep working,” he assured the House.

‘OPP BLACKMAILED GOVT FOR NRO’: The prime minister also accused the opposition parties of blackmail the government for an NRO-like conces-

sion at the expense of national interest.

Naming once again Zardari and Sharif, he said the “thieves” were blackmailing his government to secure legal concessions.

“These people [opposition] even tried to sabotage FATF [Financial Action Task Force] legislation and had linked passing of the FATF-asked legislation to amendments in the NAB law [to defang the watchdog],” the prime minister said.

He regretted the opposition had put the country at stake to get rid of corruption cases registered against them.

‘MOST CORRUPT’ GILLANI: In his speech, Imran rounded on former prime minister and PPP leader Yousaf Raza Gillani, who defeated PTI candidate Sheikh in the Senate elections, and said he was one of the most corrupt politicians in the country.

“Just look at his [Gilani’s] wealth before he became the prime minister [in 2008] and compare it with his assets after he assumed the PM Office. The picture will be clear [to you],” the prime minister said.

He observed future generations can only be saved if the nation gets rid of the menace of corruption.

THE SESSION: The session began at 12:15 pm with a single-point agenda to reaffirm confidence in Imran, according to a National Assembly Secretariat statement.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi tabled the resolution in the House. The resolution reads: “That this House reposes confidence in the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Mr Imran Khan, as required under clause (7) of Article 91 of the Constitution Islamic Republic of Pakistan.”

The prime minister had decided to take the vote on Wednesday (March 3) following the Senate elections wherein his party faced the unexpected defeat of Sheikh.

“Imran Khan and the party has reached a consen-

UN bashes Iran’s deadly crackdown on Balochistan oil smugglers NEW YORK TLTP

The United Nations has criticised Iran for a crackdown on fuel smugglers and protesters, including in the country’s south-eastern Balochistan region that claimed as many as 23 lives in recent weeks.

UN human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and state security forces had fired on and killed at least a dozen people, including two children, from the minority Baloch community.

Security forces last month blocked a road to the city of Saravan and on February 22 shot and killed at least 10 smugglers. Known as 'sookhtbar' they turn profits by trading fuel bought in Iran’s Sistan and Balochistan province and sold in neighbouring Pakistan.

“The killings triggered demonstrations in several cities across the province, during which the IRGC and security forces fired lethal ammunition at protesters and bystanders, leading to the killing of at least two more people and serious injuries to several dozen others,” Mr Colville said in a statement.

Iran’s security forces may have killed as many as 23 people nationwide, Mr Colville added, but the

blanket shutdown of internet services across the region and an information blackout made it difficult to confirm the full death toll.

According to the UN, the crackdown follows a pattern of Iranian efforts to prevent poor smugglers from buying fuel at Iran’s relatively cheap prices and crossing borders to sell it.

As many as 59 Kurdish fuel couriers were killed by border guards in Iran’s north-western provinces in 2020, said Mr Colville.

“We deplore the systematic intentional use of lethal force by Iranian border officials, especially against border couriers from minorities in the Kurdish region and Balochistan, and call for immediate measures to end the impunity that perpetuates this practice,” he said.

Tehran is probing an incident in which at least two citizens were shot dead at the Pakistani border this week, and Islamabad has handed over the body of one of the victims, Iran’s foreign ministry has said.

The population of Sistan and Balochistan is mostly Sunni Muslim, while most Iranians are Shiite. Iran has some of the world’s cheapest fuel prices and the government is in an ongoing battle to end cross-border smuggling.

sus decision that the prime minister will take a vote of confidence from the Assembly,” Qureshi had told a news conference later on Wednesday.

Imran made his decision after claims emerged that some MPs from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had been bribed by the opposition alliance to vote for former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, who was fielded by Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) from Islamabad against Sheikh, in the Senate elections. He had defeated Sheikh by 169 to 164 votes.

This is the first time a prime minister has undertaken such an exercise after the passage of the 18th Amendment in the Constitution in 2010.

Prior to the 18th amendment, the law required every prime minister to take a vote of confidence from the Assembly within 30 days of being elected.

However, following the amendment, the law does not require such a practice. In fact, according to clause 7 of Article 91 of the Constitution, the president “shall not exercise his powers under this clause unless he is satisfied that the prime minister does not command the confidence of the majority” in the House.

“I’m going to seek a confidence motion a day after tomorrow,” Imran had said in a televised address to the nation on Thursday.

“This is your democratic right […] just raise your hands that you don’t have confidence and I will go into the opposition [benches],” he had said.

SPEAKER CONVEYS TO ALVI: Meanwhile, NA Speaker Asad Qaiser conveyed to President Dr Arif Alvi that the premier has successfully got the vote of confidence.

In an official communication through a letter, the speaker said, “He [PM Imran Khan] has the support of the majority of the National Assembly.”

The letter to the president further read that the vote of confidence was sought from the lawmakers under Section 7 of Article 91 of the Constitution of Pakistan.

Twitter’s Dorsey auctions first ever tweet as digital memorabilia CALIFORNIA Agencies

“just setting up my twttr” — the first-ever tweet on the platform is up for sale after Twitter boss Jack Dorsey listed his famous post as a unique digital signature on a website for selling tweets as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The post, sent from Dorsey’s account in March of 2006, received offers on Friday that went as high as $88,888.88 within minutes of the Twitter cofounder tweeting a link to the listing on ‘Valuables by Cent’ – a tweets marketplace. Old offers for the tweet suggest that it was put for sale in December, but the listing gained more attention after Dorsey’s tweet on Friday. NFTs are digital files that serve as digital signatures to certify who owns photos, videos and other online media. Dorsey’s 15-year old tweet is one of the most famous tweets ever on the platform and could attract bidders to pay a high price for digital memorabilia. The highest bid for the tweet stood at $100,000 at 01:25 GMT on Saturday. Launched three months ago, Valuables compares the buying of tweets with buying an autographed baseball card. “There is only one unique signed version of the tweet, and if the creator agrees to sell, you can own it forever.”

More than 20,000 US organisations compromised through Microsoft flaw WASHINgtON Agencies

More than 20,000 US organizations have been compromised through a back door installed via recently patched flaws in Microsoft Corp’s email software, a person familiar with the US government’s response said late Friday.

The hacking has already reached more places than all of the tainted code downloaded from SolarWinds Corp, the company at the heart of another massive hacking spree uncovered in December.

The latest hack has left channels for remote access spread among credit unions, town governments and small businesses, ac-

cording to records from the US investigation.

Tens of thousands of organizations in Asia and Europe are also affected, the records show.

The hacks are continuing despite emergency patches issued by Microsoft on Tuesday.

Microsoft, which had initially said the hacks consisted of “limited and targeted attacks,” declined to comment on the scale of the problem on Friday but said it was working with government agencies and security companies to provide help to customers.

It added, “impacted customers should contact our support teams for additional help and resources.”

One scan of connected devices showed only 10% of those vulnerable had installed

the patches by Friday, though the number was rising. Because installing the patch does not get rid of the back doors, US officials are racing to figure out how to notify all the victims and guide them in their hunt.

All of those affected appear to run Web versions of email client Outlook and host them on their own machines, instead of relying on cloud providers. That may have spared many of the biggest companies and federal government agencies, the records suggest.

The federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency did not respond to a request for comment.

Earlier on Friday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that the vulnerabilities found in Microsoft’s widely

CmYK

used Exchange servers were “significant,” and “could have far-reaching impacts.”

“We’re concerned that there are a large number of victims,” Psaki said.

Microsoft and the person working with the US response blamed the initial wave of attacks on a Chinese government-backed actor. A Chinese government spokesman said the country was not behind the intrusions.

What started as a controlled attack late last year against a few classic espionage targets grew last month to a widespread campaign. Security officials said that implied that unless China had changed tactics, a second group may have become involved.

More attacks are expected from other hackers as the code used to take control of

the mail servers spreads.

The hackers have only used the back doors to re-enter and move around the infected networks in a small percentage of cases, probably less than 1 in 10, the person working with the government said.

“A couple hundred guys are exploiting them as fast as they can,” stealing data and installing other ways to return later, he said.

The initial avenue of attack was discovered by prominent Taiwanese cyber researcher Cheng-Da Tsai, who said he reported the flaw to Microsoft in January. He said in a blog post that he was investigating whether the information leaked.

He did not respond to requests for further comment.

Sunday, 7 March, 2021

06 COMMENT

An Inevitable Future

A Pyrrhic victory

PM gets vote of confidence

p

Social media is bringing the world together

rIMe Minister Imran Khan has secured a vote of confidence from a House where the entire opposition was absent. The way the ‘victory’ was manoeuvred is indicative of the paranoia in the government leadership caused by suspicions about the loyalty of pTI’s own lawmakers as well as of those belonging to the allied parties. The entire lot of pTI lawmakers were reminded by the pM in writing that anyone failing to vote for him would be deprived of his seat under article 63. The ruling coalition’s MNas, numbering 178, were herded together a day before the vote, and taken from place to place under strict supervision for lunch and dinner to ensure that none could communicate with anyone outside the group. In the morning they were carted away to parliament House where they were to take breakfast with pM before being called for voting. all the 178 voted for Mr Khan.

Mr Khan has won the confidence vote but lost the moral high ground. among those who voted for him were the 16 lawmakers he had accused of selling themselves for money just a day earlier. The identities of some the backstabbers had already been revealed to him. He could not expel them because without the support of these corrupt lawmakers his government would fall. He preferred to remain in government with the help of the corrupt rather than pack up and go home and be known as a principled politician The pM has all along trumpeted that he enjoyed the backing of the establishment. It suited him to hold a meeting with the COas and DG IsI to assure all and sundry that despite his failure to get a majority vote from the National assembly for his nominee he still commanded the support of those who matter. This has provided an opportunity to his opponents to accuse him of dragging the establishment into politics while calling upon the establishment to restrict themselves to their constitutional role.

The treatment meted out to pML(N) leaders while they were holding a press conference, allegedly by pTI workers, is highly condemnable. Videos show pML(N) leader Marriyum aurangzeb being manhandled and kicked, a shoe thrown on ahsan Iqbal and a scuffle between the alleged pTI workers and prominent pML(N) lawmakers. This is a dangerous trend that characterized Fascism and needs to be checked before it is too late.

Rabia ahmed

T

He recent elections in the United states were followed manically by many pakistanis. Most of them hoped to see the incumbent turfed out of office as fervently as if he had been their president and not a person halfway across the world strangling his country with his narcissistic web. The reason for keeping up with what apparently did not concern people here was precisely that it does concern them. This global impact of what happens in one part of the world, on such a scale, is peculiar to this day and age.

Humanity has gone from a system of tribes to city states, then on to nations and further to organisations such as the United Nations and blocs such as the european Union. This must be seen for what it is, a tentative groping towards something beyond a national identity, a search for a viable single platform for humanity’s common goals. at present we are not far as one may expect from becoming a global nation. Mentally we may not wish for such a thing but we are more attuned to this prospect than we imagine thanks to several factors, including social media.

Those several factors include changes brought about by shorter travel times, and the fact that very many of us have a foot in several countries around

ECP versus the government All institutions have right to respond to unfair criticism

Moving beyond slogans at rallies

Raja amin afzal

N

ewspapers these days are flooded with columns, articles, news and blogs highlighting the Kashmir issue as the solidarity Day with Kashmiris was observed last February 5, but the fact that remains unspotted is the offering of a plausible solution to this long dusty and rusty issue rotting in UN files for the last seven decades. Unfortunately, we have missed many easy opportunities for its settlement in the past.

There was a time when Indian Home Minister sardar Vallabhai patel offered pakistani prime Minister Liaqat ali Khan the entire Kashmir if the latter had acceded to the accession of the princely state of Hyderabad to India. In the Owen Dixon plan, a separate referendum over four zones, namely, the Kashmir valley, Jammu, azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan, was proposed by virtue of which pakistan was likely to get a major chunk of Kashmir except Jammu and Ladakh which had Hindu majorities, but this plan was also rejected. Then during the 1962 war between India and China, another window of opportunity opened when the issue could have been tackled easily through military intervention as offered by China to pakistan to move her troops on the desolated Kashmir (as all the Indian military was engaged on the Chinese border). pakistan could not act on this plan as she was dissuaded

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor Managing Editor

Joint Editor

Umar Aziz Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

Real estate magnates, billionaires or people with jingoistic attitudes… These are all leaders of the past.

What we need now is people with vision to lead the world, people who fit in with the technology that leads us and that means considerably more than Twitter and the ability to pose for photographs. It means those who think in terms of liberalism, social welfare and education and can work to further these ends

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

A Plausible Solution to the Kashmir Issue

D

eNIGraTING any individual or institution that does not agree with its point of view has become a hallmark of the ruling party. The most recent example of this overly-defensive behaviour is the treatment meted out the election Commission of pakistan (eCp) by prime Minister Imran Khan who unjustifiably labeled the eCp’s refusal to hold senate polls under an open ballot as there was no constitutional basis to do so, an allowance for “foul play”. That the supreme Court (sC) concurred with the eCp, stating unequivocally in its decision on a reference sent by the government itself asking the apex court’s advice on the matter, that a constitutional amendment was required to make such an important procedural change to the election process did not draw the pM’s ire, displays his propensity to go after soft targets. The eCp has defended its position in a statement, rejecting the pM’s stance, terming it an open contradiction that ‘during the same election under the same roof with the same staff whatever seats they won were acceptable but the one seat they lost was not’, asking him not to ‘sling mud at us’. pTI ministers, as a reaction, came out swinging in a press conference where they challenged the eCp to prove its impartiality in the senate elections. The government has been at loggerheads with the eCp for a while. The pTI’s foreign funding case has picked up some steam after over six years of being practically shelved, with numerous hearings leading nowhere. The Na-75 Daska by election held two weeks ago, for a hotly contested National assembly seat from punjab between the pTI and pML(N), was declared null and void by the eCp as it suspected the results were falsified, citing some very obvious irregularities and incidents of rigging and fraud. It is ironic that on one hand the pTI is lambasting the eCp for apparently ‘not doing its job’, while on the other it made a mockery of its rules and procedures by having federal minister Faisal Vawda, who faces certain disqualification from the National assembly, vote in senate elections as an MNa, resign, and contest in the same election to become a senator. Governments clashing with institutions out of frustration only weaken the foundation of democracy. The pM should take responsibility for his shortcomings rather than malign independent state institutions that are simply doing their job.

Yousaf Nizami Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

the world other than our own. Businesses and corporations have an international presence; think Facebook, amazon, Coca Cola. Now too countless individuals possess dual nationalities, which means human beings increasingly have an interest in more than one country.

Our families are scattered around the world which also ensures that we care about the welfare of those countries as much as we care about our own.

Covid-19 rates in Canada, the Us, Britain and the Middle east concern us mainly for that reason, and it is important to us how all these countries deal with the crisis, much more important than it would have been 70 years ago. even if some countries mount military campaigns against other countries, there is now according to historians much more peace in the world than there was in years gone by. It is worth struggling to maintain this, and to further it and today we can in ways that was not possible before. It is for all these reasons that it makes sense now to prepare for this potential singularity, at the risk of sounding like something out of star Trek. and we can start this preparation by cultivating better relationships with others in our region, particularly our neighbours, dispensing with all incitement to the contrary. war and disagreements are never productive of anything good. They only exist to further the interests of the few. as soon as one enters Defence Housing authority in Lahore, one gets to see scores of banners lining the roads criticizing India’s treatment of its minorities. It is hard to understand how anyone has had the gall to

do this given pakistan’s own less than commendable record of dealings with its minorities. It is also hard to understand what it is hoped to achieve by posting such banners on the roads, without corresponding posters urging a better treatment for minorities at home. we may have a tragic recent history with India, but for centuries before that our people lived quite happily together as a single nation. India may have at its head these days a leadership with certain unfortunate ideas, but which country is free from that today? a powerful bloc consisting of the subcontinent, and its neighbours on either side would be a force to reckon with, and would be in a much better position to bargain on issues.

Finally, if there is anyone who imagines the world cannot and will not come together in future they reckon without that single largest force today, social media. what happens in one part of the world is conveyed in the blink of an eye to the other; not just news but sentiments, images and reactions. we know of China’s warnings against any meddling in its relations with Hong Kong, of each shutdown of a city Down Under when a case of covid-19 is discovered. we knew when the Us carried out an airstrike against installations in syria and called it a warning to Iran, and we even followed as it happened perseverance rover’s landing on the planet Mars. real estate magnates, billionaires or people with jingoistic attitudes… These are all leaders of the past. what we need now is people with vision to lead the world, people who fit in with the technology that leads us and that means considerably more than Twitter and the ability to pose for photographs. It means those who think in terms of liberalism, social welfare and education and can work to further these ends.

I

Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

I

side of held Kashmir. Limiting herself to just chanting slogans and verbal articulations over the issue will not do much. pakistan must prove to the world and the Kashmiris its principled stance over the issue. There are at least two things that will reflect an unbiased support that pakistan always boasts of extending to its brethren in Kashmir.

First, instead of annexing Gilgit Baltistan to pakistan, it should be declared a province of Kashmir by giving it a suitable representation in the existing government of azad Kashmir. second, pakistan should proclaim and carry out a fair and by her foreign godfathers.

The above inactions had raised concerns in Kash- free plebiscite in the areas of Kashmir held by her in accordance with UN resmiris’ minds over the crediolutions under the auspices bility that pakistan holds of UN and other neutral obover this issue. Further servers to give the people adding insult to the injury, a Instead of annexing Gilgit of Kashmir a right to decide senior journalist, Hamid Mir, while speaking recently at Baltistan to Pakistan, it should their future. This action will be lauded by the world and the national conference on be declared a province of will in turn put pressure on Kashmir organized by the Jamaat Islami, said that echeKashmir by giving it a suitable the Indian government to go for a similar course of lons in the pakistan representation in the existing action in its illegally occugovernment and militia were aware of the abrogation of government of Azad Kashmir. pied Kashmir and retrocede the occupied territory. article 370 in Indian OccuSecond, Pakistan should Moreover, an independent pied Kashmir (IOK), and this and a neutral government in was agreed through consenproclaim and carry out a fair azad Kashmir would be sus among the said factions. and free plebiscite in the able to expose this issue in similar allusions have been a more forceful way at given many times by the areas of Kashmir held by her world forums, and this will prime Minister of azad in accordance with UN no longer be portrayed as a Kashmir. all these indicate border issue between two the existence of some multiresolutions under the atomic powers as perceived faceted and nefarious designs auspices of UN and other currently worldwide. being designed by top facpime Minister oof tions of the government and neutral observers to give the pakistan, Imran Khan, adintelligentsia over Kashmir. people of Kashmir a right to dressing a public gathersuch mala fide intenin Kotli, azad tions are further evidenced decide their future. This action ing Kashmir, held recently by attempts to annex Gilgit will be lauded by the world said to Kashmiris: “when Baltistan (GB) as the fifth you decide on your future, province of pakistan. also, and will in turn put pressure and when the people of in the world’s view, this anon the Indian government to Kashmir, God willing, denexation will be regarded as cide in pakistan’s favor, I similar to the one done by go for a similar course of want to say that after that India, implying that the two action in its illegally occupied pakistan will give Kashparties to the bone of conmiris the right that if you tention seem to have an Kashmir and retrocede the want to be independent or agreement on devouring the occupied territory a part of pakistan. This parts of Kashmir. will be your right”. This is either deliberately or a very welcome statement unintentionally, pakistan has and should be made unmissed many golden opporconditionally to win the tunities to solve the issue as outlined in the outset. Now, at a time when Indiasn- hearts of Kashmiris and to resolve an issue in the Occupied Kashmir has already been annexed, cou- most democratic way possible. pled with the world’s silence, even contentment, over The writer is freelance columnist it, it is a high time for pakistan to take actions on her

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Sunday, 7 March, 2021

COMMENT 07 Editor’s mail Send your letters to: letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, lahore, Pakistan.

E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively

Senate polls YOuSuF Raza Gilani’s defeat of Hafeez Sheikh in the General Seat Islamabad is nothing short of an accident and at the same time it is a fact that the PTI’s own MnAs are no longer with the PTI. It has now been proven that PTI has gone from popular to unpopular. It is also clear that the PTI itself or its allies casted vote against it. So it is very easy to guess that the ruling party’s own people are not happy with it, then the question arises whether the rest of the general public will be happy? And this is also clear because no one is happy with the current high prices and the rest of the governance issues. And finally, as this supporter of Imran Khan, I urge him to improve his performance as much as possible in the remaining two and a half years, otherwise the remaining popularity will be lost.

Hunzla KaKar zHob

Digital currency

Cloak-and-dagger act When minds are held hostage and souls are sold for the din of coins

Candid Corner Raoof Hasan “Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible to feeling as to sight?

Or art thou but a dagger of the mind, a false creation, proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?”

–William Shakespeare: “Macbeth”

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n response to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s speech of March 4, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) thought it fit to issue a statement showing annoyance at the critical comments made and urged that it should be allowed to carry on its constitutional work. This reiteration was strange, alongside it being contrary to the reality on ground.

The buying and selling of votes has been a malady which has long afflicted the process of election to the Senate. In spite of virtually all political parties of the opposition having either formed governments in the post, or having been part of these, none ever gave any thought to remedying the electoral process so that the genuine will of the people could translate into election of Senators. As has been amply demonstrated by their combined effort to buy votes to get their people elected to the upper house of the Parliament during the most recent election, they never quite wanted to do so because their genesis is owed to the institution of corruption and their survival to continuation of this despicable practice.

The run-up to the election was riddled with blatant efforts on the part of the opposition parties to buy votes. These acts were caught on camera and recoded in sound bites. The faces could be seen, voices recognised and motives determined. The same were reported to the ECP as part of a petition with a request to take urgent action, but it refused to stop the malpractice. In fact, it allowed the election process to continue unhindered.

This is not an act that can be seen in seclusion from other events. Earlier, the Supreme Court (SC) had instructed the ECP not to treat the secrecy of ballot as an absolute. Instead, “it could be tempered by practical considerations necessitated by the processes of election”. Additionally, the SC had instructed the ECP to “take all available measures including utilising technologies to fulfil the solemn constitutional duty to ensure that the election is conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with law and that corrupt practices are guarded against”.

There was speculation that the ballot papers could be water-marked or numbered to trace those who would fall victim to the din of coins.

These instructions were blown away by the ECP without as much as even a thought when the institution insisted that it would proceed to hold the elections the old way. In other words, it not only refused to accept the grave malpractices of the past, it became complicit in taking the malady further and allowing the soul-sellers to continue indulging their vile penchant. That is how it provided ample space to the poachers to practice their illicit trade. The obvious happened and a convicted person with a tarnished past was elected to the Senate riding the loot of currency notes.

The narrative built around this loss bears no semblance to reality. This was just one loss owing to the criminal practice of trading votes for stacks of notes. The PTI won all other seats that it could have by virtue of its strength in the respective provincial assemblies. not only that, it also won the women’s seat from the federal capital by a comfortable margin of 174 votes to 161. The narrative that was promoted was that the Prime Minister had lost the confidence of the House and he should resign. not to be deterred in his pursuit of transparency and accountability, Prime Minister Khan announced that he would seek a vote of confidence from the House on March 6. This was in keeping with the best democratic traditions. But, lo and behold, instead of using their purported strength to oust the Prime Minister, the opposition parties decided to remain absent from the House on the crucial day. Let it also be recorded that this is the first time that a sitting prime minister has voluntarily opted for taking a vote of confidence when there was no compulsion, legal or otherwise, for doing so.

This not only speaks volumes for his deep commitment to democratic ideals, but has also elevated his stature further as he sits at the pinnacle of a high moral ground unsurpassed by anyone in the past.

Each time the opposition has played a vile trick, Prime Minister has responded by taking them head-on within the ambit of law. And, in spite of the pressure exerted by a malevolent coalition, he has shown indomitable courage and perseverance not to divorce the enshrining features of his political struggle including his fight against corruption. He has reiterated his resolve on numerous occasions that he would not deviate from his path even if he had to pay the ultimate price of sacrificing his government.

This is a watershed moment for Pakistan.

The forces are arrayed on their respective sides.

Prime Minister’s side represents transparency, accountability, rule of law, education, health, deliverance for the poor and making Pakistan stronger and prosperous while the opposition’s sole motive is to create anarchy to continue their spree of loot and plunder and invest in the furtherance of a few by depriving the majority of their right to benefit from the national resources.

This struggle is as old as the state of Pakistan. It is only now that, in the person of Imran Khan, we have someone who has devoted himself single-mindedly to the achievement of the coveted goals of our creation.

This struggle between good and evil is not stopping here. The good must triumph because with it is linked the future of the impoverished and marginalised people of Pakistan who have kept hoping for better days to dawn so that their next generations could benefit from the opportunities thus created. They have to date languished in the hinterland of life with recourse to means which were not even sufficient for providing them two measly meals a day. They are the ones who are Pakistan’s future. They are the ones who have invested their hopes in the Prime Minister that he would bring them salvation. They are the ones who believe in him and have associated the accomplishment of their dreams with his success.

They are the ones who are not willing to step back from their devotion to Imran Khan and his ideals and aspirations. notwithstanding the painstakingly self-righteous attitude of the ECP, institutional dysfunction is a malady that afflicts across all facets and divides. For things to improve by even a shade, it would be imperative to first own up to this reality and then move on to correct its causes and replace it with a more transparent and efficacious system that would be geared to deliver for the betterment of the state and the people. By the time this piece appears in the paper, Imran Khan would be past securing his vote of confidence from the House to carry forth the task of delivering Pakistan from the criminal clutches of an unholy alliance of the opposition parties. They have flung everything into an inferno which they were hoping to light around the Prime Minister. It now appears that they themselves would end up being the fodder for the flames. Time is just about up for their cloak-and-dagger act: the minds which are held hostage by corruption and souls which are sold for the din of coins.

Notwithstanding the painstakingly self-righteous attitude of the ECP, institutional dysfunction is a malady that afflicts across all facets and divides. For things to improve by even a shade, it would be imperative to first own up to this reality and then move on to correct its causes and replace it with a more transparent and efficacious system that would be geared to deliver for the betterment of the state and the people

The writer is a political and security strategist, and heads the Regional Peace Institute – an Islamabad-based think tank. Email: raoofhasan@hotmail.com.

Twitter: @RaoofHasan

THROuGH the platform of your newspaper, I want to focus on an emerging social change in the world which is cash currency is going away. It can have positive as well as negative impact on our societies. Plus point is that it can cause a noticeable decrease in street crimes like snatching money from people at gunpoint. A lot of people today are afraid of carrying cash, particularly large amounts due to the fear of being robbed. But if paper currency is replaced by digital currency or debit card system it’ll cause ease to people. Like if someone steals your debit card, it can be canceled and replaced easily. While in case of cash if it is stolen then it is gone forever. In Pakistan street crimes are increasing rapidly while digital currency use is less. Converting to digital currency will be technological as well as economic revolution. If you see the other side of the picture then, converting to digital currency must be accompanied by high cyber security as chances of hacking will increase. In America cash is the second most payment method after debit cards. In the world of the internet Bitcoin is becoming more and more popular. World is moving to digital currency, so should we, it is the need of the time. laiba FatiMa baHaWalpur

Encouraging signs THE proposed India-Pakistan joint statement on a ceasefire along the LoC is a positive sign perfectly in the right direction. According to the media inputs, the so-called backchannel diplomacy seems to have played a big role in enacting the current positive state of affairs along the de facto border areas. Encouragingly enough, most English media outlets in Pakistan and the Indian media houses have started flashing this news piece. Even the international forums like the un and the West have appreciated the whole ceasefire effort by Pakistan and India.

Yet again, it is the big responsibility of the media houses not to send out unnecessary sensational, confusing news items instead to concentrate on the possible positive things on the sides of both Pakistan and India. Right from my childhood and straight through all these years, I have been seeing many local people in my native areas like Korkai, Tiruchendur, Tuticorin, Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli in Tamil nadu, who have often been speaking well of the India-Pakistan relationship. Most of all, the people in India and Pakistan have already been living through their respective culture and Constitution post the Independence era. This fact cannot be wrong either on both sides. If Asian nations like Pakistan and India are able to resolve their disputes, then it will not only send the positive signals across the region but also attract the West and the rest of the world. Above all, other important channels like proper communication, regular train, ship and bus services across the border and transborder economic activities will strengthen the lives of Indians and Pakistanis and also create the robust economic activities across the Asian region.

P SEnTHIl SaRavana DuRaI MuMbaI

Our democratic elite Quaid e Azam won freedom for us through a long struggle using legal and constitutional means. He was a big proponent of democracy and power to the people. unfortunately, the Quaid did not live long and the affluent class comprising landlords and businessmen grabbed power in the name of democracy without an iota of intention to practice it. While other world leaders laid foundations of strong economies in their countries as per local needs, our leaders set on the path of amassing personal wealth. With lingering poverty in the country, our leaders adopted policies of self-glorification and enhancement from borrowed money. They kept borrowing to run the government in royal ways and to make money through corruption without taking measures to strengthen the economy. The country slowly kept falling into the debt trap with little or no capacity enhancement to retire the loans.

Seventy years on, we have extremely rich politicians and a country that is buried under loans with staggering poverty. We still don’t see light at the end of the tunnel. Our politicians are as self-serving as ever. They keep playing blame games accusing each other of destroying the economy while they take turns looting and plundering the country. They are always conspiring to topple the government and get to power, not interested in fixing the problems we face. I am afraid that if our leadership does not realize the gravity of the situation and mend ways to work collaboratively for the country, we will not survive too long as an independent nation. History tells us that military power alone is never enough to remain free and strong. The sooner our leaders realize it, the better it is, or they might not have a country to lead. raja SHaFaatullaH iSlaMabad

Third wave With most of the Covid-related restrictions having been relaxed despite lukewarm response of even health workers to the government-run vaccination campaign, health experts fear a resurgence in number of cases that may compel the government to declare a third wave of coronavirus in the country. As 1,176 Covid-19 cases were reported in a day, the health experts Dawn spoke to were of the opinion that the government should have given priority to public health rather than financial concerns and advised the authorities to lift the restrictions only after ensuring that 70pc population has been vaccinated against the deadly disease.

RaHIM balocH KEcH

Sunday, 7 March, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

A­ ­wolf­In­wATchdog’s­cloThIng:­on governmenT’s­move­To­regulATe­dIgITAl­medIA Hindu

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Editorial

HE new rules introduced by the Centre last week to regulate all types of digital platforms, with the idea of redressing user grievances and ensuring compliance with the law, are deeply unsettling as they will end up giving the government a good deal of leverage over online news publishers and intermediaries. This holds troubling implications for freedom of expression and right to information. Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, while launching The Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, presented it as a “soft-touch oversight mechanism”. A government press note termed it “progressive” and “liberal”. It also claimed the rules seek to “address people’s varied concerns while removing any misapprehension about curbing creativity and freedom of speech and expression”. The soft tone notwithstanding, these rules force digital news publishers and video streaming services to adhere to a cumbersome threetier structure of regulation, with a government committee at its apex. This, in itself, is unprecedented in a country where the news media have been given the space all along to self-regulate, based on the mature understanding that any government presence

INSTEAD OF SOFT-TOUCH MONITORING, THE GOVERNMENT HAS OPTED FOR PREDATORY NEW RULES could have a chilling effect on free speech and conversations. That the new rules pertain only to digital news media, and not to the whole of the news media, hardly provides comfort, as the former is increasingly becoming a prime source of news and views.

Further, it is of significant concern that the purview of the IT Act, 2000, has been expanded to bring digital news media under its regulatory ambit without legislative action, which digital liberties organisations such as the Internet Freedom Foundation have flagged.

The three-tier regulatory mechanism will seek to redress complaints with respect to the digital platforms’ adherence to a Code of Ethics, which among other things includes the ‘Norms of Journalistic Conduct’, compiled by the Press Council of India, the Programme Code of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, as also a negative list of content that shall not be published (essentially what one would encounter under law as reasonable restrictions to free speech). while there is not much that is wrong with the Code of Ethics per se, what is problem-

India’s new digital rules are bad news for democracy

indian ExprEss ChristophE JaffrElot and aditya sharma

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n 2014, ahead of the general election that would sweep him into power, Narendra Modi said he had a dream.

He envisioned, he said, “a Digital India, where access to information knows no barriers.”

In the seven years since, a number of obstacles have emerged. India’s broadband speed is now among the slowest in the world and internet penetration is below 50 per cent, with a stark digital divide becoming clearer in a world forced online by CoVID-19. The country needs to invest in this form of connectivity. As the number of internet users continues to swell, the value creation offered by the digital-services industry promises a huge economic windfall, because a more connected population is more empowered and has greater access to knowledge, skills and commerce. As such, wide internet access can be a major boost for a country’s standard of living. But technical infrastructure is not the only limitation. Problems also come from the government’s incessant wielding of internet-shutdown powers to constrict and damage internet freedom. The data compiled by the Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC), a Delhi-based digital rights group, show that the number of internet shutdowns has jumped from three in 2012 to five in 2013, six in 2014, 14 in 2015, 31 in 2016, 79 in 2017, 134 in 2018, 106 in 2019 and 132 in 2020. Between Modi’s election in 2014 and 2017, 79 internet shutdowns were due to the BJP and its allies at the national, state or district levels.

Since 2016, every year India has resorted to internet shutdowns more than any other country worldwide, for two official reasons — public safety and public order. In 2017, the government amended the Indian Telegraph Act of 1885 to specify that the law now allowed “the temporary suspension of telecom services”.

In 2019, internet shutdowns were used to complicate communication among protesters against the Citizenship Amendment Bill — even though their demonstrations were legal and peaceful. In January, access was restricted seven times on the main sites

of the ongoing farmers’ protests. Shutdowns are an effective way to control the narrative by curbing communication between protestors, and preventing them from disseminating information about their cause online. That is to say the shutdowns are an excellent tool for a government that wants to suppress dissent. India shuts down its internet far more frequently than any other democracy in the world. Top10VPN, which monitors global internet access, describes India as being the most restrictive of its citizens’ access to the internet, ahead of authoritarian regimes like Belarus, Myanmar, and Azerbaijan. It also estimated that internet shutdowns in 2020 cost India the equivalent of around Rs 2 crore per hour.

Most notoriously, in the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, the government suspended internet access in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir. while some landlines were restored and, subsequently, some mobile services too, social media and high speed internet were not, for security reasons. Limited 2G connectivity to a few “whitelisted” websites was restored on January 25, 2020, and 4G was restored as late as February 5. This lack of connectivity has had devastating effects on the economy, health and education, especially during the CoVID-19 lockdown. Even the Supreme Court’s ruling that the “freedom of internet access is a fundamental right” did not make the government think twice about its extended internet blackout — a decision that ruined livelihoods and put the lives of medical patients at risk by making the communication of critical health data impossible.

But internet is not the only collateral casualty of the government’s attempt to control information. Freedom House — the US-based non-profit that conducts research on democracy and human rights — asserts that India’s freedom of expression has declined severely and consistently for three straight years, pointing to internet shutdowns alongside the digital targeting of government critics and the promotion of disinformation by political leaders. Social media is a case in point. on February 25, the government issued a notification outlining a new set of rules intended to regulate digital firms, including social-media platforms and streaming companies. Among other actions, these rules require firms to preserve user data for six months (double the previous requirement); comply with government orders to trace the origin of social media content (including on broad grounds like “public order”); respond within 15 days to any person complaining against content hosted by the provider and allow users to “voluntarily” verify their accounts, introducing worries about compa-

atic is that it will take little to bring this regulatory mechanism to vicious life. According to the rules, “Any person having a grievance regarding content published by a publisher in relation to the Code of Ethics may furnish his grievance on the grievance mechanism established by the publisher.” So, literally anyone could force a digital platform to take up any issue. It has to be taken up first, under the new rules, by the digital platform’s grievance officer. If there is no resolution or if the complainant is dissatisfied, this can be escalated to a “self-regulating” body of publishers. This can then be escalated to the highest level, the government’s oversight Mechanism, according to which an inter-departmental committee will be set up to address the grievance. Apart from imposing a compliance burden on digital publishers — many are small entities — this also opens the floodgates for all kinds of interventions. The potential for misuse is enormous.

The new rules have increased the compliance burden for social media platforms too. The bigger of these platforms will have to appoint chief compliance officers, to en-

nies making such verification de facto mandatory. Indeed, this requires firms to offer a voluntary service for users to “verify” their accounts (like Twitter does with the blue-tick). This provision also exists in Section 28(3) of the Personal Data Protection Bill as tabled in December 2019. This may imply the collection of personal user data. As with Aadhaar, although beginning as a voluntary mechanism, social-media firms may make it increasingly necessary for viewers, opening the door to increasing control over user behaviour.

The Bill did not explain its purpose, but it can be read as violating the principle of data minimisation i.e. the principle that firms shouldn’t collect more data than necessary to fulfil their purpose, as argued by internet researchers Tanaya Rajwade and Gurshabad Grover. Last but not least, the new rules stipulate that oTT and digital-news outfits must register details of their company and accounts with the government, sparking concerns about press freedom. The rules also introduce a criminal penalty, noting that failing to comply can result in prosecution under the IT Act and the Indian Penal Code, and empower the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to immediately block content if it is deemed that “no delay is acceptable”.

The Internet Freedom Foundation, a digital-rights non-profit, has lambasted the new regulations as being “anti-democratic and unconstitutional”. They characterise the expansion of the IT Act’s scope to include news media and oTT platforms as being an executive amendment of a parliamentary act, and thus impermissible under the Constitution. They also criticise a new ethics code that firms must abide by, particularly a clause warning firms to “exercise due caution and discretion” when featuring issues related to race or religion, an overly broad rule that can encourage self-censorship. The rules also outline the creation of a threetiered “self-regulating” grievance-redressal system for firms to ensure adherence to the ethics code. But in truth, the system is overseen entirely by officials of a wide range of government ministries, effectively granting judicial powers to the executive.

The introduction of these rules expands the already considerable control the Indian government’s executive branch maintains over digital entities. with the increasing repression faced by protestors and print as well as electronic media, the digital realm has become one of the last arenas of mostly free speech in India. These rules, by ramping up the liability of digital firms for the content that they host or produce, will likely have a severe impact on free expression and privacy, contributing to the rapidly shrinking space for dissent in India today.

Jaffrelot is senior research fellow at CERI-Sciences Po/CNRS, Paris, professor of Indian Politics and Sociology at King’s India Institute, London; Sharma is a student of political science at Columbia University, New York.

sure the rules and the laws are adhered to, and a nodal officer, with whom the law enforcement agencies will be coordinating, apart from a grievance officer. Such platforms in the messaging space will have to “enable the identification of the first originator of the information on its computer resource” based on a judicial order. Thus, the rules require messaging apps such as whatsApp and Signal to trace problematic messages to the originator. while the triggers for a judicial order that require such an identification are serious offences, it raises uneasy questions about how such apps will be able to adhere to such orders, as their messages are encrypted end-to-end. There is no denying that there are problems with online content, which the government has rightly highlighted now. Its release has referred to a 2018 Supreme Court observation that the government “may frame necessary guidelines to eliminate child pornography, rape and gangrape imageries, videos and sites in content hosting platforms and other applications”, besides making a mention of discussions in Parliament about social

media misuse and fake news.

Some amount of tightening of policy is inevitable given new challenges. But it would be wrong to imagine that by implanting itself in the grievance redress process or by making platforms share more information, the government can solve these problems. It could prove counterproductive in a country where the citizens still do not have a data privacy law to guard themselves against excesses committed by any party.

Regulation has an important place in the scheme of things, and no one advocates giving a free pass to the digital platforms. But then, as this newspaper argued earlier, the laws to combat unlawful content are already in place. what is required is their uniform application. It is also far from reassuring that this government has had an uneasy, sometimes unpleasant, relationship with media in general. The appetite for criticism, so vital in a democracy, is just not there.

Some weeks ago, the government had a runin with Twitter after it defied orders to ban certain hashtags and handles. And given an environment where people are sensitive to content, the regulatory mechanism could become an operational nightmare. worse, the casualties could be creativity and freedom of expression. The government would like to see itself as a watchdog of digital content in the larger public interest, but it comes across as a predator.

Johnson grabs the crown RESTORING THE ROYAL PREROGATIVE FOR CALLING ELECTIONS TRANSFERS POWER FROM PARLIAMENT TO A PRIME MINISTER WHO CANNOT BE TRUSTED TO WIELD IT HONOURABLY

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Guardian Editorial

wo primary checks on a British prime minister are parliament and character. The country’s highest executive office is restrained by the legislature; the incumbent’s actions are, ideally, conditioned by natural decency.

Neither has much bearing on Boris Johnson. His party has an 80-seat majority in the Commons, which means he can mostly enact legislation of his choosing. Even his friends recognise that probity and self-restraint are not dominant features of his temperament.

Ethical plasticity and disregard for rules were instrumental in Mr Johnson’s career.

His contempt for constitutional propriety was encapsulated in the prorogation of parliament in September 2019 because he disliked its collective views on Brexit. That renegade action was ruled unlawful by the supreme court.

Mr Johnson’s frustration around that time is the context in which to understand his government’s plans to repeal the Fixed-term Parliaments Act (FTPA). The act, passed by David Cameron’s coalition government in 2011, deprives a prime minister of the ability to call general elections at will. Technically it was a royal prerogative power. The monarch dissolved parliament on the advice of her prime minister. Now it happens if a super-majority of MPs vote for an election, or no leader can organise a majority after a no-confidence vote in the government, or when the fixed term expires.

The government has published a short draft bill with proposals to restore the old system. It includes a clause to protect any dissolution decision from legal challenge and is accompanied by a single-page, non-statutory note on principles for responsibly wielding the power to dissolve (or refuse to dissolve) parliament. The prime minister should respect a vote of no confidence and

avoid drawing the Queen into politics.

That is a statement of what is sometimes called the “good chaps” model of government – the presumption that everyone involved is a gentleman, bound by codes of honour; an aficionado of what is and isn’t cricket when it comes to the constitution.

That was an obsolete notion even before various established protocols were shot to pieces in the Brexit crossfire and before Mr Johnson brought his populist, maverick spirit to Downing Street. Even in the process of repealing the FTPA, the government is being cavalier with convention. The government has published the bill without even waiting to hear from a cross-party committee that was tasked with making recommendations for the change.

Ministers argue that repeal was a Tory election pledge (mirrored also in Labour’s manifesto), so there is an indisputable mandate for the move and no reason to expect dissent. But agreement on the principle of change does not confer licence to do it on any terms.

There was much to regret in the drafting and operation of the FTPA, but also much to recommend the idea of fixed terms and of giving parliament the trigger for snap elections. That was a rare check on executive power, removing a significant advantage of incumbency. It stopped a prime minister arrogating the crown for partisan ends. Mr Johnson wants that weapon restored to his arsenal, with only his word as guarantee that it would not be abused. His word is a flimsy thing.

Cross-party consensus that the FTPA was flawed creates a rare opportunity for constitutional reform, which is squandered by resuscitating ancient prerogative power. Many things about the way Britain is governed need updating. It reveals something about Mr Johnson’s character that he should choose to make a priority of this one measure – the one that lets him play at monarchy and dissolve parliament on a whim.

Sunday, 7 March, 2021

BUSINESS 09

KARACHI corporate corner Spotify now open for advertisement business in Pakistan KARACHI: Spotify, the world’s most popular global audio streaming subscription service, is available to millions of people in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, offering brands a new opportunity to reach millions of engaged listeners through its innovative and creative ad-supported free tier. Httpool will serve as Spotify’s local advertising sales partner. Spotify offers the best listening experience for local and international music of over 70 million tracks across thousands of devices including mobile, smart speakers, desktop and gaming consoles. This makes it simple for people to soundtrack every moment of their lives as they workout, cook, entertain, study, and everything in between, wherever they are. This streaming behavior is the foundation of Spotify’s Streaming Intelligence, its unique first-party data and insights that are based on users’ streaming behaviour. PREss RElEAsE

MiniStry SeekS rS1.5bn grant for diSburSeMent of loanS under PM’S low-coSt HouSing ScHeMe ISLAMABAD

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AHMAD AHMADANI

HE Ministry of Housing & Works has asked the federal cabinet's Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) to approve a Rs1,500 million technical supplementary grant (TSG) for the disbursement of interest-free loans to borrowers under the Prime Minister's Low Cost Housing Scheme.

According to sources, the ECC meeting, likely to be held next week, is expected to take a decision regarding the allocation of funds for the current

financial year (FY21) to the housing & works ministry.

In FY20, the Finance Division had provided Rs5,000 million funds to for the low-cost housing scheme. The government, through its authorized representative -- the Ministry of Housing & Works -- had signed a service agreement with Akhuwat Islamic Microfinance (AIM) to lend this amount to the poor and deserving families in the country. However, due to Covid-19, only Rs3,000 million could be disbursed to borrowers while the remaining amount of Rs2,000 million could not be made available.

Sources said the Ministry of Housing & Works had requested the Finance Division to provide the surrendered amount of Rs2,000 million and immediately allocate Rs1,500 billion for FY21 so that the same could be released to AIM as per service agreement for disbursement of interest-free loans.

It is also learnt from the sources that the Finance Division has already directed the officials concerned to make necessary funds available for the Housing & Works Division.

Last year, while addressing a ceremony in Islamabad in connection with the launch of State Bank of Pakistan's

Govt books 11 LNG cargoes for March KARACHI: Shan Foods Private Limited (SFPL) has been awarded with the Community Impact Award at the ‘10th Annual Corporate Social Responsibility Summit & Awards 2021’ held at a local hotel in the previncial capital. PR

KARACHI: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between Faysal Bank Limited and National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL), wherein NCCPL employees will be able to apply for Faysal Bank’s Home Finance facility at exclusive fixed rates for the first 5 years of the financing tenor. PR

ISLAMABAD stAff REPoRt

Pakistan has booked 11 cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to be imported during March to partially bridge the deficit part of the fuel in the growing domestic economy.

The imports would, however, be made at an eight-month high price at $9.59 per metric million British thermal unit (mmbtu).

According to media reports, the government would make the expensive imports partly due to uptrend in the energy prices at global markets for the past couple of months and partly due to signing of 15-year long LNG import agreement with Qatargas at a higher rate by the previous government in the centre.

The rate is pegged with the trend in the international benchmark crude Brent’s price. The costly imports would keep it challenging for the government to control inflation and check its expenditures.

Both the import bill and amount of subsidies the government pays on LNG supplies to manufacturing and export sectors would rise whereas the public would pay the price for the imports which are a must due to deficit production of local gas.

Pakistan would import LNG at around February’s eight-month high level of $9.59 per mmbtu.

The import price – including terminal charges,

profit margins, transmission & distribution losses and other costs – stood at slightly over $6 per mmbtu in June 2020, AHL Research reported citing Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA).

It is pertinent to mention here that the import price of RLNG is pegged with Brent, which is on the rise for the last several months. Brent is trading at one-year high over $68 per barrel at world markets these days, he said. Oil may hit $70 per barrel ahead of the return of summer season in June-July when demand of energy peaks every year, according to other local and international research houses.

The increase in import price would also take amount of cross subsidies to be paid by the government to the export sectors.

PRICES REDUCED FOR MARCH: Meanwhile, OGRA has notified a reduction in the LNG prices for the month of March.

According to details, the authority has notified a price cut of $0.02 per mmbtu for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Company Limited (SNGPL) and $0.02 per mmbtu for Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC).

The price of LNG on the SNGPL system has been set up at $9.59 per mmbtu, while the same on the SSGC system has been kept at $9.31 per mmbtu.

It may be noted that the authority had last month announced a hike in LNG prices for the month of February. The prices of imported LNG were increased by $0.88 per mmbtu for SSGC and $0.89 for SNGPL.

Peshawar Northern Bypass project faces delay due to shortage of funds KARACHI: Eighteen (Elite Estates Pvt. Limited) and Habib Islamic have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), under which the potential buyers of Eighteen would be provided the best house financing facility through HBL Islamic Housing Finance. The MoU was signed by Tarek Hamdy – CEO Eighteen, and Muhammad Afaq Khan – Head Islamic Banking, HBL. PR

PESHAWAR: The Northern Bypass Project in Peshawar is facing further delay due to diversion of funds and non-utilization of allocated resources. For the past three years, the construction of the remaining portion of Northern Bypass project has been delayed owing to lack/deduction of funds, sources privy to the development informed this scribe, attributing the delay to political and administrative hurdles. Out of the Rs1.35 billion released by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for the project, Rs416 million were deducted and diverted to other projects, sources claimed. And of the Rs1.35 billion released amount, not a single penny has so far been spent on the project. The Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) has transferred Rs350 million of the said amount to its account, while the Local Government Department has deducted Rs116 million from the project. In total, Rs416 million has been withdrawn from the Peshawar Northern Bypass project while the remaining Rs584 million is also expected to be deducted in the next few days, sources said. AZIZ BUNERI

finance policy for low-cost housing, the premier had said it was important for the government to make cash available for the common man in Pakistan to be able to own low-cost houses.

He stated that ever since his government took office, their focus has been on efforts to lift the lowest segments of society and reduce poverty "as was exactly done by China".

He said the government had an ambitious plan to build five million lowcost housing units in five years, but this would not be possible unless a case regarding foreclosure laws is concluded by the Lahore High Court.

Health ministry proposes tax waivers on import, manufacturing of auto-disable syringes ISLAMABAD sHAHZAD PARACHA

The Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination has proposed waiving taxes on the import/manufacturing of auto-disable syringes. According to sources, the health ministry has recommended the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to wave taxes, including additional customs duty and sales tax, on auto-disable syringes. The ministry viewed that the waiver of taxes on autodisable syringes would not only improve manufacturing technology (shift from conventional to auto-disable syringes) in the country but would also ensure availability of auto-disable syringes at affordable prices to the end-user. The ministry has given importers time to shift to auto-disable syringes as it would impose a ban on import, as well as manufacturing, of conventional syringes from April 1, 2021. Sources said that the Task Force on Injection Safety, which consist of manufacturers, importers and private healthcare providers, had recommended NHS&RC to impose a ban on the import of conventional syringes (2, 2.5, 3 & 5ml) with effect from January 1, 2021, and manufacturing of conventional syringes (2, 2.5.3 & 5ml) from 31st Aug 2021. Sources said that the Economic Cooperation Committee of the Cabinet would take up the health ministry's summary next week, as the meeting on Friday was cancelled due to the senate election. Currently, the average price of the conventional disposable syringe of 5 ml is Rs4.72 (inclusive of all taxes) and 3ml is Rs4.59 (inclusive of all taxes), whereas the average price of 5ml autodisable syringe is Rs7.35 (inclusive all taxes) and 3ml is Rs7.09 (inclusive of all taxes). This means that an auto-disable syringe of 5ml is 55pc costlier than the conventional disposable syringe, whereas a 3ml syringe is 54pc costlier than the conventional syringe. The local production of the syringe clocked in at 674 million, while imports stood at 436 million in the year 2020, constituting total consumption of 1,100 million. The task force has estimated that the number of auto disable syringes in the country would be 754 million by the end of this year.

Experts predict further hike as crude prices rally to highest since 2019 ISLAMABAD tltP

Oil prices rallied to their highest since 2019 after Opec and its allies agreed to roll over existing production cuts until the end of April.

Brent, the marker under which two-thirds of global crude is traded, ended the week at $69.36 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate, which tracks US crude grades, closed at $66.09 per barrel. Both benchmarks are up more than 20 percent over the past month.

The price for Opec Basket was recorded at $62.15 a barrel with 0.29 percent gain, Arab Light was available at $66.64 a barrel after an increase of 4.76 percent while price of Russian Urals remained unchanged at $42.22 a barrel.

On Thursday, the 23-member Opec+ group decided to extend 7.2 million barrels

per day of oil output curbs into April, with small exemptions to Russia and Kazakhstan.

Saudi Arabia, which leads the alliance alongside Russia, also decided to extend its out-sized voluntary cut of 1m bpd until the end of April.

The development was “a big surprise as market participants had expected an increase of 1.5m bpd, with 500,000 bpd coming from Opec+ and 1m bpd from Saudi Arabia, ending its voluntary one-off cut for February and March,” Giovanni Staunovo, commodity analyst at UBS, said.

UBS expects global oil stockpiles to fall at a faster pace in April following the alliance's decision, which underpins the Swiss bank's forecast of Brent trading at $75 per barrel and WTI at $72 per barrel in the second half of the year.

Goldman Sachs forecasts Brent reaching

$75 in the second quarter and climbing to $80 in the third quarter. Citi sees oil trading at above $70 by the end of March-end. Last month, Bank of America projected Brent will rise at its fastest pace since the 1970s over the next three years, potentially hitting

CMYK

$100 per barrel.

Even before Opec+'s output cut rollover, prices had rebounded on the back of a widespread vaccination drive in western economies, a strong drawback of crude inventories and an expected uptick in higher

gasoline and jet fuel demand.

The change in outlook is markedly differently in contrast to market dynamics last April, when WTI futures contract prices plunged to negative $37 and Brent fell to $26, due to an oil oversupply and lack of storage.

Though some analysts said they expect US shale oil production to increase as oil prices surge due to output curbs, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, brushed off a swift comeback by shale producers.

"Drill, baby, drill’ is gone forever," he said at a press conference following the end of the group's meeting on Thursday.

"Opec+ is testing the resilience of the US shale industry, betting that producers ... are no longer in a position to fully capitalise on the oil price recovery," said Han Tan, market analyst at FXTM.

Sunday, 7 March, 2021

10 FOREIGN NEWS

KARACHI

MyanMar forces fire Tear gas, sTun grenades on ProTesT as un envoy caLLs for acTion

M

AGENCIES

yANMAR security forces used tear gas and stun grenades to break up a protest in yangon on Saturday, just hours after a United Nations special envoy called on the Security Council to take action against the ruling junta for the killings of protesters.

The Southeast Asian country has been plunged in turmoil since the military overthrew and detained elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, with daily protests and strikes that have choked business and paralysed administration.

Sporadic protests were staged across Myanmar on Saturday and local media reported that police fired tear gas shells and stun grenades to break up a protest in the Sanchaung district of yangon, the country’s biggest city. There were no reports of casualties. More than 50 protesters have been killed since the coup, according to the United

Nations - at least 38 on Wednesday alone. Protesters demand the release of Suu Kyi and the respect of November’s election, which her party won in landslide, but which the army rejected. “How much more can we allow the Myanmar military to get away with?” Special Envoy Christine Schraner Burgener told a closed meeting of the 15-member UN Security Council on Friday, according to a copy of her remarks reviewed by Reuters.

“It is critical that this council is resolute and coherent in putting the security forces on notice and standing with the people of Myanmar firmly, in support of the clear November election results.”

A junta spokesman did not answer calls requesting comment.

The army says it has been restrained in stopping the protests, but has said it will not allow them to threaten stability.

Several hundred people gathered in Sydney on Saturday to protest against the coup, singing and holding up three fingers, a salute that has come to symbolise solidarity and re-

Lebanon's caretaker PM threatens to stop running govt BEIRUT AGENCIES

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab threatened on Saturday to stop performing his duties to pressure politicians to form a new government. “If seclusion helps with cabinet formation then I am ready to resort to it, although it goes against my convictions for it disrupts the entire state and is detrimental to the Lebanese,” Diab said in a speech. Diab’s cabinet resigned on the back of the Aug. 4 Beirut port explosion that devastated swathes of the capital. Prime ministerdesignate Saad al-Hariri was nominated in October but has failed to form a new cabinet so far due to political deadlock between him and President Michel Aoun.

Hundreds of Thai protesters rally to demand leaders' release BANGKOK AGENCIES

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the Thai capital on Saturday evening to demand that authorities release some protest leaders from jail, defying an order on late Friday banning public gatherings in the city. A youth-led protest movement sprang up last year calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former junta leader, and reform of the powerful monarchy. Thai courts have denied recent requests for bail for some of the jailed protest leaders. “Release our friends,” shouted the protesters in unison, as they gathered in front of a criminal court, which was surrounded by barbed wire. A water cannon truck could be seen behind the gates of the court. “Abolish 112,” they also said, referring to Thailand’s lese majeste law, or Article 112 in the Thai criminal code, which prohibits anyone from insulting or defaming the king. A few protesters burned photographs of the king at the rally. Separate groups also led two other protests at other locations in Bangkok.

Earlier on Saturday, police warned protesters that they risked being arrested and that police might use harsher measures if protesters became unruly. “Protests are illegal. Anyone who joins or invites others to join is breaking the law,” Piya Tavichai, deputy commissioner of Bangkok Metropolitan Police Bureau, told a news conference. Police used rubber bullets for the first time last Sunday, as well as tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters. Ten protesters and 26 police were injured. In a podcast on Saturday morning, the prime minister urged Thais to respect the law and avoid conflict. “We have to love each other and be united, not divided, and respect the law,” said Prayuth, who first came to power after leading a military coup in 2014. The Royal Palace has declined to directly comment on the protests, but Prayuth and government officials have said that criticism of the king is unlawful and inappropriate.

sistance across Myanmar.

“We would like to urge the Australian government to work closely with the U.S., UK and EU governments and take strong action against these Myanmar military dictators,” said protest organiser Thein Moe Win. In Myanmar’s southern town of Dawei, protesters chanted “Democracy is our cause” and “The revolution must prevail”.

People have taken to Myanmar’s streets in their hundreds of thousands at times, vowing to continue action in a country that spent nearly half a century under military rule until democratic reforms in 2011 that were cut short by the coup.

“Political hope has begun to shine. We can’t lose the momentum of the revolution,” one protest leader, Ei Thinzar Maung, wrote on Facebook. “Those who dare to fight will have victory. We deserve victory.”

GRAVE DISTURBED: On Friday night, authorities disturbed the grave of a 19-year-old woman who became an icon of the protest movement after she was shot dead wearing a T-shirt that read “Everything will be OK”,

a witness and local media said.

One witness said the body of Kyal Sin, widely known as Angel, was removed on Friday, examined and returned, before the tomb was re-sealed in Myanmar’s second city of Mandalay. The independent Mizzima news service also reported the event.

A military spokesman did not answer calls seeking comment. Reuters was unable to contact police for comment.

The killing of protesters has drawn international outrage.

“Use of violence against the people of Myanmar must stop now,” South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in a tweet, calling for the release of Suu Kyi and other detainees and for the restoration of democracy.

The United States and some other Western countries have imposed limited sanctions on the junta and the independent UN human rights investigator on Myanmar, Thomas Andrews, has called for a global arms embargo and targeted economic sanctions.

The army took power over allegations of fraud in last year’s election which had been

dismissed by the electoral commission. It has promised to hold a new election at an unspecified date.

That plan is rejected by protesters and by a group representing lawmakers elected at the last election that has begun to issue statements in the name of a rival civilian administration.

On Friday, it listed four demands - the end of the junta, the release of the detainees, democracy and the abolition of the 2008 constitution which left significant political representation and control in the hands of the military. A civil disobedience campaign of strikes running parallel with the protests has been supported by many government workers including a trickle of policemen.

Authorities in Myanmar have asked India to return eight policemen who sought refuge across the border to avoid taking orders from the junta, an official in northeast India said on Saturday. India’s foreign ministry responded to a request for comment by referring to a statement given at a media briefing on Friday which said the ministry was still “ascertaining the facts.”

Fast-spreading Covid-19 variants surge through Europe AGENCIES The virus swept through a nursery school and an adjacent elementary school in the Milan suburb of Bollate with amazing speed. In a matter of just days, 45 children and 14 staff members had tested positive.

Genetic analysis confirmed what officials already suspected: The highly contagious coronavirus variant first identified in England was racing through the community, a densely packed city of nearly 40,000 with a chemical plant and Pirelli bicycle tire factory a 15-minute drive from the heart of Milan.

“This is the demonstration that the virus has a sort of intelligence. We can put up all the barriers in the world and imagine that they work, but in the end, it adapts and penetrates them,’’ lamented Bollate Mayor Francesco Vassallo.

Bollate was the first city in Lombardy, the northern region that has been the epicenter in each of Italy’s three surges, to be sealed off from neighbors because of mutant versions that the World Health Organization says are now powering another uptick in infections across Europe. The variants also include versions first identified in South Africa and Brazil.

Europe recorded 1 million new Covid-19 cases last week, an increase of 9pc from the previous week and a reversal

that ended a six-week decline, WHO said Thursday.

“The spread of the variants is driving the increase, but not only,’’ said Dr Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, citing “also the opening of society, when it is not done in a safe and a controlled manner.”

The so-called UK variant is spreading significantly in 27 European countries monitored by WHO and is dominant in at least 10 by the agency's count: Britain, Denmark, Italy, Ireland, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Israel, Spain and Portugal.

It is up to 50pc more transmissible than

the virus that surged last spring and again in the fall, making it more adept at thwarting measures that were previously effective, WHO experts warned.

“That is why health systems are struggling more now,” Kluge said. “It really is at a tipping point. We have to hold the fort and be very vigilant.”

In Lombardy, which bore the brunt of Italy’s spring surge last year, intensive care wards are again filling up as more than twothirds of new positive tests are of the UK variant, health officials said this week.

After putting two provinces and some 50 towns on a modified lockdown, Lom-

bardy's regional governor announced tightened restrictions on Friday and closed classrooms for all age groups. Cases in Milan schools alone surged 33pc in a week, the head of the provincial health system said.

The situation is dire in the Czech Republic, which registered a record-breaking total of nearly 8,500 patients in the hospital with Covid-19 this week. Poland is opening temporary hospitals and imposing a partial lockdown as the variant has grown from 10pc of all infections in February to 25pc now. Kluge cited Britain’s experience as cause for optimism, noting that well-considered restrictions and the introduction of the vaccine have helped tamp down the variants there and in Israel. The vaccine rollout in the European Union, by comparison, is lagging, mostly because of supply problems.

In Britain, the emergence of the more transmissible strain sent cases soaring in December and triggered a national lockdown in January. Cases have since plummeted, from about 60,000 a day at the peak in early January to about 7,000 a day.

Still, a study shows the rate of decline slowing, and the government says it will tread cautiously with plans to ease the lockdown. That process begins Monday with the reopening of schools. Infection rates are highest in people ages 13 to 17, and officials will watch closely to see whether the return to class brings a spike in infections.

Fire, smoke, gunshots in Paraguay capital as pandemic response ignites protests ASUNCION AGENCIES

Protesters clashed with police in Paraguay´s capital, Asuncion, late on Friday as anger over the government´s handling of the coronavirus crisis boiled onto the streets and forced the resignation of the country´s top health official.

Security forces fired rubber bullets and tear gas on hundreds of rioters who gathered around the Congress building in downtown Asuncion, while protesters broke down security barriers, burned road barricades and threw stones at police.

The riots, which turned the capital’s historic centre into a make-shift battlefield of fire, smoke and gunshots, broke out amid growing outrage as coronavirus infections hit record levels and hospitals verged on collapse throughout the South American nation.

“It is a pity that young people have taken this too far.

They are people who seek only to destroy,” Interior Minister Arnaldo Giuzzio told the Telefuturo television channel. “This violence does not make sense.”

Earlier on Friday, health minister Julio Mazzoleni resigned, a day after lawmakers called for his ouster.

Mazzoleni is the latest of several top health officials across Latin America forced from their jobs in recent weeks amid increasing anger over the handling of the pandemic and slow rollout of vaccinations.

Mazzoleni initially rebuked the Senate’s non-binding declaration asking him to leave, but hours later conceded following a meeting with President Mario Abdo.

Abdo appointed Dr. Julio Borba, a vice minister, to take Mazzoleni’s place. Borba told reporters he would begin tracking down medicine and supplies immediately.

Paraguay is posting record numbers of cases daily,

according to a Reuters tally, with 115 infections per 100,000 people reported in the last seven days.

The country has vaccinated less than 0.1 per cent of its population, the data shows.

Sunday, 7 March, 2021

KARACHI

PCB’S MeDICal PaNel IN hOT waTerS aFTer PSl 2021 SeTBaCk: rePOrT

P

NEWS DESK

AKISTAN Cricket Board’s (PCB) Medical and Sports Sciences head Dr Sohail Saleem is facing the heat after country’s premier Twenty20 tournament, Pakistan Super League (PSL), was postponed indefinitely following emergence of multiple Covid-19 cases in the bio-secure bubble.

According to a report by Cricket Pakistan, PCB officials are holding Dr Sohail responsible for the loopholes observed in event’s bio-secure bubble arrangements.

“The board has lost confidence in Sohail’s capabilities in arranging bio-secure

environment, which is why PCB is likely to hire a foreign company, from England or Australia, for all the arrangements in this regard for future PSL matches,” the report stated.

It added that PCB will give Dr Sohail an option to quit himself or he might end up getting fired by the Board. The doctor had also reportedly traveled with the national cricket team in England and New Zealand tours to have a first-hand experience of the SOPs followed in those countries.

Former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar had also criticized the PCB’s medical panel and appealed the authorities to take strict action against them adding that they

played with the lives of people.

“It was the responsibility of medical panel to complete the bio-secure bubble.

They didn’t only damage Pakistan cricket, but also put lives in danger,” he said.

“The kind of medical panel that PCB has include doctors who wouldn’t be allowed to even sit in any hospital. They were so incompetent they could not even comprehend what the bio-secure bubbles are like,” Akhtar added.

On Thursday, the PCB had announced postponement of PSL 6 "with immediate effect" after seven people participating in the tournament tested positive for Covid19.

The PCB had said the decision was

taken out of consideration for the health and wellbeing of all participants in the tournament.

"Following a meeting with the team owners and considering the health and wellbeing of all participants is paramount, the Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to postpone the HBL Pakistan Super League 6 with immediate effect. The decision was made after seven cases were reported in the competition, which had started on 20 February," the cricket body had said in a press release. “The PCB will concentrate on ‘safe and secure passage’ for the participants and is set to arrange repeat PCR tests, vaccines, and isolation facilities for the six franchises.”

India crush England inside three days to clinch Test series 3-1 AHMEDABAD AGENCIES

Spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel took five wickets each on Saturday as India crushed England inside three days of the fourth Test to seal their series 3-1.

Ashwin bowled Dan Lawrence for 50 as England were bowled out for 135 to complete an emphatic innings and 25 run victory in Ahmedabad.

Virat Kohli's India bounced back from an opening defeat to win three in a row and book their meeting with New Zealand in the World Test Championship at Lord's in June.

It was another failure for Joe Root's England, who suffered a drubbing after their two-day loss in the third Test of a series dominated by the spinning wickets.

Ashwin led the series bowling chart with 32

Djokovic confirms return to Tour at Miami Open

wickets followed by Patel, who played one game fewer, on 27. England spinner Jack Leach was third with 18 scalps.

This win was set up by wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, who made 101 on day two, and Washington Sundar, who hit an unbeaten 96 as India made a commanding 365.

Pant scored his third Test ton in a 113-run stand with Sundar to lift India from a precarious 146-6 in response to England's first innings total of 205.

Sundar kept up the attack as the final three wickets fell on Saturday morning but ran out of partners and remained four shy of his century.

England lost early and regular wickets to go down tamely in 54.5 overs.

Ashwin struck twice on successive balls to send back Zak Crawley for five and Jonny Bairstow for nought. It

was Bairstow's third duck in four innings.

Patel got opener Dom Sibley for three and then Ben Stokes for two after the left-hand batsman miscued a sweep and was caught at leg gully by Kohli.

Ashwin took the prized scalp of skipper Joe Root for 30 to virtually end England's hopes.

The visitors have scored more than 200 just once in their last six innings.

England fast bowler James Anderson made an impression with his three wickets and 14 maidens in 25 overs.

Root stood tall for England as he topped the batting chart with 368 runs including 218 the opening Test -- his 100th -- that England won convincingly.

The two teams now head into five Twenty20 internationals starting March 12 at the same Ahmedabad venue - the world's biggest cricket stadium.

Japan trounces Pakistan in Davis Cup doubles

AGENCIES World number one Novak Djokovic has said he will return to the court at this month’s Miami Open having recuperated from a muscle tear suffered during his Australian Open title defence. The 33-yearold Serbian suffered the injury during a third round match at Melbourne Park but that did not stop him from clinching a record-extending ninth Australian Open title and his 18th Grand Slam. He will surpass Roger Federer’s all-time record for most weeks as ATP world number one on Monday, holding the top spot for the 311th week. According to a partial schedule posted on his website www.novakdjokovic.com, Djokovic is entered for the ATP Masters 1000 event on the hardcourts in Miami from March 22-April 4. It is the first of three events he will play in before heading to Europe for the claycourt swing ahead of the French Open in end May. From Miami, where he has won six titles, Djokovic will head to Monaco for the Monte-Carlo Masters, running from April 11-18, before returning home to Belgrade for the ATP 250 Serbia Open.

NEWS DESK Japan's doubles pair came from a set down to defeat an experienced Pakistan duo in the Davis Cup World Group I first-round match in Islamabad on Saturday, booking a place in the 2022 qualifiers.

Shintaro Mochizuki and Sho Shimabukuro beat Aisamul Haq Qureshi and Aqeel Khan 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, in one hour and 47 minutes.

Adding to their wins in both of Friday's singles clashes, Japan took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the tie overall.

They will fight for a place in the Davis Cup via next year's qualifiers, while Pakistan head for the World Group I play-offs.

Matsuda Kuninori, ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, expressed his deep appreciation for all stakeholders involved in successfully holding the Davis Cup World Group 1 tie. “My sincere appreciations for International Tennis Federation (ITF), Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) and Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) for making their efforts and taking ef-

fective measures for successfully hosting this important sporting event between the Japanese and Pakistani tennis teams,” said Ambassador MATSUDA at the conclusion of two-day matches at the Pakistan Sports Complex in Islamabad.

Congratulating both the teams for their excellent performance in the matches, Ambassador Matsuda said he was moved by the skills of the players.

“Winning or losing does matter but the most important thing which counts at the end is your dedication, continued efforts and professionalism. This spirit takes you to the victory stand sooner or later,” said the Ambassador.

After the singles victories, Japan gave a debut to young Shimabukuro, partnering former Junior Wimbledon champion Mochizuki in place of their number-one player Yosuke Watanuki.

The gamble paid off despite Qureshi and Khan pulling off the first set 6-4 and looking threatening in the second, but the home pair lost their energy once the Japanese duo took the attack to them.

The reverse singles will be played on Sunday.

SPORTS 11

KARACHI: Phil Salt recently received the Jubilee Insurance Safe Hand of the Match Award after the HBL PSL Season 6 match between Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi. Syed Rizwan Aziez, Head of Bancassurance, Jubilee Life Insurance, was present at the award ceremony.

PGF National Club Championship enters final round LAHORE APP

The three-day Pakistan Golf Federation National Inter Club Golf Championship entered the final phase on Saturday at the Lahore Garrison Greens Golf Course. After two days of golf competition involving 16-member teams of DHA Golf Club-Karachi, Islamabad Club and Lahore Garrison Club, the team members of Garrison Club have combined remarkably well to boost the cup winning chances of their team. Playing format required that each club team comprise of two golf professionals, four amateur golfers, two junior golf professionals, two junior boys, two junior girls, two ladies and two senior amateurs. With the final round on Sunday, the Lahore Garrison Team currently stands at a gross team score of 2187, while the next best team DHA Golf Club Karachi is at a team score of 2405 and Peshawar Golf Club is at 2439. In competitive terms, this means that Garrison Team enjoys a superiority of 218 strokes over DHA, Karachi.

The two days of this championship belonged to Lahore Garrison Greens as their golf professionals, Matloob Ahmed and M.Shahzad played marvelously well and completely out golfed their opponents from rival clubs. In the quest for top position, the four amateur players of this club, Tariq Mehmood, Nouman Ilyas, Col (r) M Shafi and Damil Ataullah were equally vibrant and lent strengthening support to their fellow team members of professional category. At the conclusion of Inter Club Golf Championship tomorrow, Lt Gen (r) Mian Muhammed Hilal Hussain, President, Pakistan Golf Federation, will award prizes to the winners.

Ibrahimovic poised for Sweden comeback: reports STOCKHOLM: Zlatan Ibrahimovic will return to international football at the age of 39, Swedish media reported on Saturday. Sweden, coached by Janne Andersson, have qualified for the Euros and kick off their campaign against Spain in Bilbao on June 14. The return has been under discussion for several months, according to reports, but has not been confirmed by the Swedish football federation (SvFF). "It is certain that the Milan star is making a comeback in Janne Andersson's squad for the World Cup qualifiers," said the site Footbolldirekt, in a report that was picked up by the Swedish national press. AGENCIES

Xhaka shocker costs Arsenal, Southampton halt slump LONDON AGENCIES

Arsenal's chances of a top-four finish in the Premier League look forlorn after Granit Xhaka's error gifted Burnley a 1-1 draw on Saturday, while Southampton ended a ninegame winless run by beating Sheffield United 2-0.

The Gunners' best hope of a return to the Champions League for the first time in five years now lies in winning the Europa League after letting two more points slip away at Turf Moor.

Mikel Arteta's men remain in 10th, nine points adrift of the top four and with that gap certain to grow on Sunday when fourth plays fifth as

Chelsea take on Everton.

"It is really complicated. I have a feeling with the way that we are playing at the moment that we can win any game," Arteta said.

"But if you are giving something to the opponent anything can happen.

This is where we have the biggest margin for improvement."

Arsenal could not have asked for a better start as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang took advantage of some sluggish defending and a slow reaction from England goalkeeper Nick Pope to squeeze home his 14th goal of the season after just six minutes.

Xhaka was stupidly sent-off when the sides last met in December in the midst of a run of one win in 10 games that gave Arsenal a mountain to climb

to get back in the race for a European place.

The Swiss midfielder had another afternoon to forget as six minutes before half-time he inexplicably fired the ball into the midriff of Chris Wood and the ball ricocheted into the net off the New Zealand striker. Arsenal should still have won the game after the break as Erik Pieters escaped one strong penalty shout for handball and then saw a red card and a penalty rescinded by a VAR review for another shot that came back off the Dutchman's shoulder.

Dani Ceballos also hit the post in a frantic finale, but Burnley held on for a point to edge seven clear of the bottom three.

SAINTS SIGH OF RELIEF:

Southampton are now 10 points clear of the relegation zone after easing fears they could be dragged into a battle for survival.

Ralph Hasenhuttl's men topped the table in November, but a run of one point from a possible 27 had them looking over their shoulders. However, the Championship-bound Blades proved the perfect opponents for Southampton despite losing top scorer Danny Ings to an early injury.

James Ward-Prowse's penalty opened the scoring just after the half hour mark before Che Adams registered his first goal in 17 games with a blistering strike into the top corner on 49 minutes. Sheffield United remain 12 points adrift of safety with just 10 more games to save themselves.

Sunday, 7 March, 2021

prayer timings

NEWS

FAJR SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

5:36

12:14

3:07

7:01

5:27

6:52

PM directs Abdul HAfeez sHAikH to cArry on duties As finAnce Minister IsLAmAbAD

P

staff report

RIMe Minister Imran Khan has directed Abdul Hafeez Shaikh to carry on his duties as Minister for Finance despite his defeat to Opposition candidate Yousuf Raza Gilani for the Islamabad general seat in Senate.

According to a local media report, the prime minister, in a meeting with the finance minister, expressed full confidence in his abilities and asked that he continue his work.

PM Imran Khan said he recognises the efforts Shaikh has made to boost Pakistan’s economy, said the sources.

They added that following Shaikh’s meeting with the premier, he decided not to hand in his resignation.

As per the Constitution, Shaikh, who

has not been elected like other parliamentarians, will no longer be able to hold the position of a minister after six months in the portfolio. In April 2019, he was appointed as an adviser to the PM on finance following a cabinet reshuffle by PM Imran Khan. On 11 December 2020, Shaikh was appointed as Federal Minister of Finance and Revenue.

While most ministers have to be elected representatives – i.e. members of the National Assembly (NA) or Senate – there is a clause in the Constitution that allows shortterm appointments of non-elected ministers.

According to clause nine of Article 91 of the Constitution, a non-elected person can be appointed a federal minister for six months once during the five-year tenure of the NA. “A minister, who, for any period of six consecutive months, is not a member of the National Assembly, shall, at the expiration

of that period, cease to be a minister and shall not before the dissolution of that assembly be again appointed a minister unless he is elected a member of that assembly,” reads the clause.

This means that Sheikh will have to step down in June 2021 and resume serving as the adviser to the PM. In order to handle budgetary affairs, especially matters related to the National Finance Commission (NFC), the incumbent government had decided to make Shaikh a federal minister by having him elected as a Senator (an adviser cannot chair the NFC meetings).

Shaikh had to win a parliament seat to continue as the finance minister after June 11. It may be noted Shaikh is a key member of the government’s economic policies and reforms plan under the International Monetary Fund loan programme.

Taliban says met with US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in Doha TALIBAN SPOKESMAN SAYS BOTH SIDES EXPRESSED THEIR COMMITMENT TO THE DOHA AGREEMENT AND DISCUSSED ITS FULL IMPLEMENTATION DOHA agencies

Washington’s special envoy to Afghanistan met with the Taliban in Qatar, the latter said Saturday, as efforts intensify to revive a peace process faced with mounting violence and a US troop withdrawal deadline.

The envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, held talks earlier this week with Afghan leaders in Kabul, including President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, chair of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation which oversees the government’s talks with the Taliban in Qatar.

Taliban spokesman Mohamad Naeem tweeted that Khalilzad and the top US general in Afghanistan met with their negotiating team in Doha, including Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, late Friday.

“Both sides expressed their commitment to the Doha agreement and discussed its full implementation. Likewise, the current situation of Afghanistan and the rapidity and effectiveness of the Intra-Afghan negotiations were discussed,” he wrote.

Speculation is rife over America’s future in Afghanistan, after the White House announced plans to review a withdrawal deal brokered by Khalilzad and the Taliban in Doha last year.

Under that agreement, the US is set to withdraw from Afghanistan in May, but a surge in fighting has sparked concerns that a speedy exit may unleash greater chaos as peace talks between the Kabul government and Taliban continue to stall.

The accord states that the US will withdraw all troops from Afghanistan, with the Taliban promising not to allow territory to be used by terrorists–the original goal of the US invasion following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Khalilzad’s visit marks the first time he has publicly returned to Qatar since US President Joe Biden took office in January and asked him to stay on in his post.

Indian farmers block highway outside Delhi to mark 100th day of protest NEW DELHI agencies

Afghan officials say car bomber kills prosecutor, bodyguard KABUL: A suicide car bombing killed the Afghan intelligence directorate’s chief prosecutor Saturday, an official said, amid an increase in violence in the war-ravaged country. Sayed Mahmood Agha was on his way to his office in the southern city of Lashkargah when an attacker driving a car full of explosives targeted Agha’s convoy, killing him, said Attaullah Afghan, provincial council chief for Helmand province. One of Agha’s bodyguards was also killed and eight others, including two civilians, were wounded. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Afghanistan is experiencing a nationwide spike in bombings, targeted killings, and other violence as peace negotiations in Qatar between the Taliban and the Afghan government continue. The Islamic State group’s local affiliate has claimed responsibility for some of the attacks, but many go unclaimed, with the government putting the blame on the Taliban. The insurgents have denied responsibility for most of the attacks. In another incident at the Sheikh Abu Nasre Farahi crossing in Afghanistan’s western Farah province on the Iranian border, at least three terminals storing diesel fuel caught fire, causing a massive blaze that consumed at least two trucks carrying natural gas and fuel, according to Afghan officials and Iranian state media. It was not immediately clear what caused the fire. Taj Mohammad Jahid, Governor of Farah told The Associated Press that the Afghan first responders did not have the means to put out the huge fire and had requested firefighting support from Iran, which helped extinguish the blaze. It was the second massive fire on the Afghan-Iranian border in the past three weeks. agencies

Indian farmers began gathering on Saturday to block a six-lane expressway outside New Delhi to mark the 100th day of protests against the deregulation of agriculture markets, to add pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

Farmers young and old headed in cars, trucks and tractors to the highway for a five-hour roadblock to oppose three farm laws enacted in September 2020 they say hurt them by opening up the agriculture sector to private players.

Modi has called the laws muchneeded reforms for the country’s vast and antiquated agriculture sector, and painted the protests as politically motivated.

“The Modi government has turned this protest movement into an ego issue.

They are unable to see the pain of the farmers,” said Amarjeet Singh, a 68-yearold farmer from Punjab state. “They have left us no option but to protest.”

Tens of thousands of farmers from several north Indian states have been camped out on the outskirts of the capital in the bitter cold since December demanding that the laws be repealed.

Their movement has gained interna-

tional attention and support, including from celebrities such as climate activist Greta Thunberg and US singer Rihanna, but several rounds of negotiations between farmer leaders and the government have failed.

Modi’s government has lashed out at supporters of the protests and stands accused by rights activists of using heavyhanded tactics to curb the protests.

While the protests have been mostly peaceful, a brief spate of violence on January 26 led to the death of a protestor, and the police have filed criminal charges against eight journalists over alleged misreporting on the events of the day.

“The Indian authorities’ response to protests has focused on discrediting peaceful protesters, harassing critics of the government, and prosecuting those reporting on the events,” Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement last month.

As the capital braces for harsh summers and the harvesting season begins, farmers gathering on Saturday said they had no plans to turn back until their demands were met.

“Bitter cold didn’t affect our movement, and neither will deathly heat,” said Raja Singh, a 58-year-old farmer from Punjab state.

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