Epaper – May 11 LHR 2021

Tuesday, 11 May, 2021 I 28 Ramzan-ul-Mubarak, 1442 I Rs 40.00 I Vol XI No 311 I 48 Pages I Lahore Edition

In CovId-19 Clampdown, UaE bars travEl from pakIstan, thrEE othEr statEs

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he united Arab emirates (uAe) will bar entry for travelers from pakistan, Bangladesh, nepal, and sri Lanka starting Wednesday, as part of measures to contain the spread of the covid-19 pan-

CONFIRMED CASES:

861,473

LAST UPDATED AT 09:39 AM ON MAY 10, 2021 1,476 recoveries and 2 deaths. Last month, the uAe announced a ban on entry from india to guard against the spread of the highly contagious indian variant of the coronavirus. in doing so, the sheikhdom joined other countries — including italy, Australia, the united states and nigeria — to avert the spread of a covid-19 variant as the Asian nation struggles with a surge in infections. india, which is facing a health crisis, is battling a “double mutant” strain of covid-19. on mon-

day, the country posted 366,161 new infections and 3,754 deaths, off a little from recent peaks, taking its tally to 22.66 million with 246,116 deaths. experts have said india’s actual figures could be far higher than reported. sunday’s 1.47 million tests for covid-19 were this month’s lowest yet, data from the state-run indian council of medical research (icmr) showed. the figure compared with a daily average of 1.7 million for the first eight days of may.

153 Palestinians in hospital after violence erupts at Al-Aqsa Mosque as Israel marks Jerusalem Day AGENCIES

Gen Bajwa meets Afghan president as violence surges g

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demic. “flights between the four countries will continue to allow the transport of passengers from the uAe to Bangladesh, pakistan, nepal, and sri Lanka,” the country’s national emergency crisis and Disasters management Authority (ncemA) said on its website on monday. the only exceptions are uAe nationals, diplomatic missions, official delegations, golden Visa holders, and corporate jets. exempted passengers will need to undergo an rt-pcr test no more than 48 hours before the flight. they are also required to undergo a pcr test upon arrival in the uAe. the travellers must also undergo a 10-day quarantine in the emirates, with rt-pcr tests on days four and eight of entry. “this decision also includes extending the suspension of entry for travellers who were in these four countries in the 14-day period prior to arrival in the uAe,” the ncemA said. the ban includes transit flights coming from those countries. transit flights to those countries can continue. the uAe ministry of health and prevention on monday reported 1,507 cases of the covid-19 coronavirus, along with

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Army chief reiterAtes support for AfghAn peAce process ISLAMABAD sTAFF RePORT

chief of Army staff (coAs) general Qamar Jawed Bajwa visited Kabul, Afghanistan, for a day-long official visit on monday, where he met Afghan president Ashraf ghani and united Kingdom’s chief of the Defence staff general sir nicholas patrick carter. matters of mutual interest, current developments in the Afghan peace process, enhanced bilateral security and defence cooperation, and the need for effective border management between the two brotherly countries were discussed. the coAs reiterated that a peaceful Afghanistan means a peaceful region in general and a peaceful pakistan in particular. “We will always support “Afghan led-Afghan owned” peace process based on the mutual consensus of all stakeholders,” he said. the Afghan president thanked the coAs for a meaningful discussion and appreciated pakistan’s sincere and positive role in the Afghan peace process.

Later, the army chief also called on Dr Abdullah Abdullah, the chairman of the high council for national reconciliation of Afghanistan, and discussed matters related to the Afghan peace process. inter-services intelligence (isi) Director-general Lieutenant-general faiz hamid accompanied coAs during the visit.

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hundreds of people were wounded on monday in renewed violence at Jerusalem's AlAqsa mosque compound, the palestinian red crescent said. “there are hundreds of people injured from the attacks” and about 50 of them were hospitalised, the red crescent said in a brief statement to journalists. however, the number of hospitalised turned out to be much higher, according to local medics. more than a dozen tear gas canisters and stun grenades landed in the Al-Aqsa mosque, said an Associated press photographer at the scene.

Al-Aqsa, islam's third holiest site, has been a focal point of violence in Jerusalem at the height of the month of ramadan.

At least 215 palestinians were hurt in the violence at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, including 153 who were hospi-

US expresses ‘serious concerns’ about violent clashes in Jerusalem WASHINGTON Agencies

us national security Adviser Jake sullivan on sunday expressed “serious concerns” to his israeli counterpart about violent clashes in Jerusalem sparked by planned evictions of palestinians from east Jerusalem, the White house said in a statement. sullivan in a phone call with israeli national security Adviser meir Benshabbat “encouraged the israeli government to pursue appropriate measures to ensure calm during Jerusalem Day commemorations.” new confrontations broke out between palestinians and israeli police in parts of east Jerusalem on sunday, including in sheikh Jarrah and outside the walled old city, as well as in haifa, a mixed Arab-Jewish city in northern israel at the height of the muslim holy month of ramadan.

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DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

NEW CASES:

78

3,447

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

762,105 18,993 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

292,644

319,365

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

124,484 AJK/GB: 17,945 / 5,388

23,447 ISLAMABAD:

78,200

MORE INSIDE

talised, palestinian medics said. four of the injured were in serious condition. police said nine officers were hurt, including one who was hospitalized. tensions in the city were particularly high as israel was marking “Jerusalem Day”, its annual celebration of the capture of east Jerusalem, and the walled old city that is home to muslim, Jewish and christian holy places, in a 1967 war. in an effort to dial down tensions, israeli police said they had banned Jewish groups from paying Jerusalem Day visits to the holy plaza that houses Al-Aqsa mosque, and which Jews revere as the site of biblical Jewish temples. police were also considering whether to reroute a traditional Jerusalem Day march in which thousands of israeli flag-waving Jewish youth walk through the old city's Damascus gate and the muslim Quarter.

Live video showed palestinians hurling rocks at police in riot gear on Al-Aqsa's stonestrewn plaza and police firing stun grenades. the skirmishes appeared to be less fierce than the violence late last week. there were no immediate reports of casualties. police said they had deployed thousands of officers in Jerusalem streets and on rooftops to keep the peace.

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explainer: Jerusalem tense over evictions and holidays STORY ON PAGE 05

PM directs fresh probe into Hudabia case against Sharifs STORY ON BACK PAGE

Jammu & Kashmir not india’s internal matter: fm STORY ON BACK PAGE

Iran confirms talks with Saudi Arabia, promises best efforts STORY ON BACK PAGE

shaheen's career-best 'five-for' sees pakistan to big win over Zimbabwe STORY ON PAGE 11

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Tuesday, 11 May, 2021

LAHORE

NEWS

RHC membeRs ConCeRned oveR Fawad’s pRematuRe eid statement ISLAMABAD

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ghulAm AbbAs

S the Minister of Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry continues predicting the moonsighting despite leaving the Ministry of Science and Technology, which had reportedly launched a website based on the lunar calendar, the members of Ruet-e-Hilal Committee (RHC) have expressed their concerns about the minister’s premature statement.

Fawad on Sunday had said that Eidul Fitr will be celebrated on Friday, May 14, according to the calendar and the Ruet app.

However, the minister clarified in the same tweet that the final decision in this regard will be announced by the RHC. According to a member of the committee, several members of the Committee have registered concerns to the RHC Chairman Maulana Abdul Khabeer Azad that such statements by Fawad will encourage clerics like Mufti Popalzai of Masjid Qasim Khan Peshawar, who had earlier undermined the authority of the committee.

Responding to the query over the matter chairman of the committee Maulana Abdul Khabeer Azad said that it was essential to finish the wrong past

when up to four Eids were celebrated in the country.

According to him, one Eid is expected to be celebrated this year as the members of RHC have already started to woo the clerics who opposed the national body in the past.

“We are engaged with clerics of all schools of thoughts and various groups, involving them in the process,” he said adding that the management of Masjid Qasim Khan observed Ramadan with the nation.

“I am sure that they will respect the decision made by the Ruete-e-Hilal Committee over Shawwal moon too,” he added.

He has recently requested Mufti Popalzai to send his representative to the meeting of the Central RHC. However, the management of Masjid Qasim Khan has not only declined the offer but announced to convene the meeting of its RHC in the mosque.

Meanwhile, a senior official of the committee said that discussions have been held with the clerics of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to respect the decision of the committee and they have extended the assurance in this regard.

But the new challenge for the committee was the statements issued by Fawad.

“Apart from the Shariah principles of

People paying price for wrong govt policies: Bilawal ISLAMABAD INP

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal BhuttoZardari on Monday said that Prime Minister Imran Khan is receiving donations from the entire world.

In a statement, he said the people of Pakistan are

suffering from the horrible consequences of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) tabdeeli slogan.

“Today, foreign investors are not ready to come to Pakistan for business purposes,” he added. He blamed the ineptitude and apathy of the “puppet prime minister” for the economic ruin. “Prime Minister Imran Khan, it is time to rouse from your slumber and apathy. Every day, as

many as twenty people are committing suicide due to economic hardships this government has put them under,” he added. Bilawal asked how the federal government believed the people would be able to make both ends meet with the annual rate of inflation exceeding 14 percent.

“The cost of medicines has gone up 100 per cent, leaving people to choose between treatment and

moonsighting observed by the committee the only two other scientific sources for determining the age of the moon is with SUPARCO and the Met Office but both were under the Cabinet Division,” the member said.

For the sighting of the Shawwal moon, the meeting of the Central RHC has been called on Wednesday, May 12 in Islamabad.

The meeting will be chaired by Maulana Azad and will be attended by members of the Central RHC representatives from the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the SPARCO, and the Met Office.

sustenance. The government rolls out amnesty schemes for the elite, whitening their ill-gotten gains, while the poor are told to be content with langar khanas that serve more as backdrops for the Prime Minister’s PR machine,” he went on to say.

He said that the people are unwilling to tolerate such back-crushing inflation and that the plans to raise Rs90 billion by increasing electricity rates would be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back.

“Imran Khan keeps blaming corruption, but he himself is patronising and promoting people accused of monumental corruption.

Court extends PML-N MP’s detention LAHORE A sessions court in Lahore on Monday extended the physical remand of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MP Mian Javed Latif for two more days in connection with “maligning” state institutions during a political talk show.

In March, Latif, while talking to a news channel, said “if anything [bad] happens to Maryam Nawaz, the party will not chant ‘Pakistan khappay [Long live Pakistan]’” — a veiled reference to Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari who raised the slogan after former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination in 2007, a time when it was feared that separatists in Sindh could capture the anger at the incident.

Subsequently, a case was registered against Latif under sections 120, 120(B), 153, 153(A), 500, and 500(1)(B) at the Township police station on the complaint of a Lahore resident, Jameel Saleem.

Police produced him before the court on completion of his previous remand, seeking an extension in the period for further investigation.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the court announced to extend the remand.

In the FIR, the complainant had claimed that the politician, by making the statements, “threatened” the country’s security, government, and state institutions.

The lawmaker, Saleem further said, sowed “seeds of hate” between the PPP and PML-N workers.

The complainant said the MP hurt the public sentiment to spread chaos in the country, thereby, violated the laws.

Sindh to open vaccination for citizens aged 18 and above after Eid

Imran Yaqoob replaces Ghulam Nabi as Karachi police chief

KARACHI: The Sindh government will open coronavirus vaccination for citizens aged 18 and above after Eid. This was announced by Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho while inaugurating a mega vaccination centre on Monday. She said that those aged 18 and above would be able to get vaccinated from May 16. Separately, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah chaired a meeting of the coronavirus task force.

During the session, the CM directed to administer coronavirus vaccine to 0.1 million people across the province on daily basis. Vaccination centers will remain open during the Eidul Fitr holidays, he said.

The CM also appealed to the people to stay at home and take precautionary measures in order to avoid contracting the infection. Earlier, he said that 16 more patients of coronavirus lost their lives in the province, escalating the toll to over 4,000 whereas more than 900 new cases were confirmed against over 14,000 tests during the last 24 hours. INP

A notification from the Services, General, Administration, and Coordination Department on Monday informed that the provincial government has appointed Imran Yaqoob Minhas as the new Additional Inspector General (AIG) in the port city. Memon, after exchanging his portfolio with Yaqoob, has been posted as the Sindh special branch AIG. This was Yaqoob’s previous post. The newly appointed Karachi police chief received his primary and higher education from the port city.

After that, he joined the civil service in 1991 in the 19th Common Course. Minhas started his career in the Police Service of Pakistan from Punjab, after which he served in Sindh and Balochistan. He has served as a town police officer, Clifton, DIG West, Karachi, DIG Traffic, Karachi, inspector general jails, Karachi, and then additional inspector general of police, special branch Sindh. News Desk

INP

Water bearers quench thirst in Ramadan, but fear for their trade KARACHI AgeNcIes

Mohammad Ramzan pumps water into a large goat skin bag before carrying it down an alley and up several flights of stairs to deliver to a resident in Karachi.

For more than four decades Ramzan has been a “mashki“, or water bearer, an age-old profession now in decline as water companies and tankers increasingly supply residents.

But his services are at least in high demand during the holy month of Ramadan, during which fasting can be a challenge when the weather is hot.

“In Ramadan, the poor mashkis have a very tough time delivering water to us inside buildings that are four or five storeys high,” said resident Mohammad Imran, as Ramzan, 60, arrived with his load.

“The tanker people often do not even answer our calls; they also charge too much. We are really grateful

to these mashkis.”

Karachi needs about 1,200 million gallons per day of water to meet the demand of its estimated population of 20 million people. But officials say its two main water sources only provide the city with about 580 million gallons per day.

Some of the water is lost due to dilapidated infrastructure and water theft, while experts say climate change and dams built upstream by India also reduce water supplies. Ramzan stops to catch his breath as he climbs the narrow stairwell, carrying his leather “mashk” which can normally hold up to 35 litres of water. “During the month of Ramadan, it becomes especially difficult for people to collect water from water points, so I bring water for them in the hope that Allah will bless me for it […] I also earn my living this way.” Water bearers have existed in South Asia for centuries, providing water to travellers and warriors during battles in ancient times.

Tuesday, 11 May, 2021

LAHORE

laylat al-QadR obseRved witH Religious FeRvouR ISLAMABAD

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APP

HE faithful on Thursday night observed Laylat al-Qadr, or the Night of Decree, across the globe with great religious zeal.

With the setting of the sun, the faithful started gathering at mosques to offer special prayers for peace, progress, and prosperity of the country, besides seeking forgiveness for their sins.

The faithful also organised several gatherings to achieve the Almighty’s blessing in the world and the life hereafter.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, most people offered prayers at their homes to seek forgiveness throughout the night until Suhoor. Night-long prayers were offered and the Holy Quran was recited both in mosques and homes.

They prayed for getting rid of the menace of the coronavirus besides

showing the right path to disgruntled people, playing in the hands of antistate elements.

Clerics and religious scholars in their sermons highlighted the teachings of Islam and various aspects of the life of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) so that the followers could lead their lives in line with the Holy Quran and Sunnah.

Houses, streets, and mosques were decorated with colorful pennants and buntings whereas at night these were well illuminated by means of electric lights, candles and oil lamps.

Besides, people visited graves of their near and dear ones, seeking Allah’s blessings for the departed souls.

Special security arrangements were made for the peaceful observance of the Laylat al-Qadr.

Sweets and other food items were distributed among the neighbours and the needy.

Federal Minister for Planning and National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) head Asad Umar on Monday has said that it was impossible that the Thai travellers contracted the Indian variant of the coronavirus from Pakistan, insisting that this variant was not found in the country.

Earlier, Health authorities in Thailand confirmed they have confirmed the country’s first cases of the Indian variant of the coronavirus, in a Thai woman and

her four-year-old son who have been in state quarantine since arriving from Pakistan.

The minister said that while the South African, Brazillian and UK variants had been found in Pakistan, no case of the Indian variant had been reported so far.

He maintained that it was possible that the woman had contracted the virus from Thailand or somewhere else.

The finding comes as Thailand battles a new wave of the coronavirus that began at the beginning of April, originating in upmarket entertainment venues in Bangkok and spawning clusters in several crowded

ISLAMABAD stAff RePoRt

slum communities. Many of the recent cases involve the British variant of the virus, which is more infectious than the original form found last year.

Thailand banned travellers from India, other than Thai citizens, starting on May 1 in response to a massive outbreak of Covid-19 cases in the South Asian nation that began in early April. India has reported more than 22.6 million infections, second only to the United States, and more than 246,000 deaths. Both figures are widely believed to be undercounted.

Thailand extended the entry ban to foreigners visiting from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal on Monday in an effort to keep the Indian variant from spreading, Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanee Sangrat said.

Apisamai Srirangsan, a deputy spokesperson for the government’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, said separately that Thai authorities are also worried about people who cross into Thailand illegally, mostly from neighbouring Cambodia and Myanmar.

Apisamai said the Indian variant was found in a pregnant 42-year-old woman who arrived on April 24 with three sons. She and her four-year-old were staying in the same room under state quarantine. The two other sons, ages six and eight, stayed in another room and tested negative.

Thailand on Monday announced 1,630 new cases, bringing its confirmed total to 85,005 since the pandemic began. There were 22 new deaths, for a total of 421. About one-third of the reported cases in the latest wave were found in Bangkok, where daily increases have declined to 565 on Monday from 980 on Sunday and a record 1,112 on Saturday.

New clusters continue to be discovered in Bangkok, not only in crowded communities but also at markets and department stores.

Other clusters have been found among migrant workers at factories in two provinces near Bangkok.

In the eastern province of Chanthaburi, a gem mining centre, nearly 100 cases were found among African gem traders, the newspaper Thai Rath reported, citing the provincial health office. The governor this past weekend ordered the closure of gem and amulets markets, it said.

Three people including two personnel of paramilitary troops and a passer-by were injured when a blast went off in Quetta on Monday, police said. The troops of Frontier Corps (FC) were patrolling across the city on their motorbikes when they were hit by a roadside improvised explosive device, police told media. The injured have been shifted to a nearby hospital where their condition is stable. Police cordoned off the area for investigating the incident.

Covid-19 inFeCts 3,447, kills 78: nCoC ISLAMABAD APP

Pakistan recorded 3,447 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, taking the total caseload to 861,473. According to the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), the death toll climbed to 18,993 after 78 more people succumbed to the contagion disease on Sunday. Most deaths occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa followed by Punjab. Meanwhile, about 4,824 patients recovered from the deadly disease in a day taking total recoveries to 762,105. According to the NCOC, the total active Covid-19 cases across the country were reported to be at 80,375. The highest number of ventilators occupied was found to be in Gujranwala at 78 per cent, Multan at 69 per cent, Lahore at 67 per cent and Peshawar at 26 per cent. The NCOC further reported that the highest number of oxygen bed occupancy in the country was in Multan at 61 per cent, Peshawar at 53 per cent, Gujranwala at 51 per cent and Swat at 75 per cent. About 37,756 Covid-19 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. Of which, 14,486 were conducted in Sindh; 10,290 in Punjab; 8,180 in KP; 2,816 in Islamabad; 1,057 in Balochistan; 295 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 632 tests were conducted in Azad Kashmir. Out of the total 18,993 deaths reported so far, about 4,742 have occurred in Sindh; 9,058 in Punjab; 3,615 in K-P; 715 in Islamabad. About 248 deaths were reported in Balochistan, 107 in GB and 508 in AJK. The NCOC also reported that a total of 12,228,427 tests have been conducted since the outbreak of the virus. There are about 639 hospitals with Covid-19 facilities with more than 5,000 patients admitted nationwide, it added.

1,100 prisoners in Saudi jails to be repatriated: minister ISLAMABAD stAff RePoRt

Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Monday announced Saudi Arabia will soon release 1,100 Pakistan nationals languishing in its prisons as an agreement was reached with the kingdom during the recent visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Speaking to a television programme, Rasheed said Riyadh also offered to free prisoners accused of “serious crimes”.

Most of these prisoners have

already served large portions of their sentence.

With Rs1 billion, the government can afford to pay penalties for hundreds of more prisoners who are serving additional time for want of money.

The cases of serious offenders will be dealt with separately, the minister announced.

The whole process of the repatriation of these prisoners has been completed, Rasheed said.

Some 30 prisoners charged with murder and manslaughter

cannot be released. They have been sentenced to death by local courts, he said.

In 2019, during his maiden official visit to Pakistan, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, at the request of Prime Minister Imran, had ordered the release of about 2,100 prisoners from the prisons.

The order, however, could not be fully executed and many workers are still languishing in prisons.

The fate of thousands of workers locked up in jails across

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tHRee injuRed in Quetta blast

Indian variant not found in Pakistan, insists minister after Thai travellers incident

AgEnCIES

NEWS

the Middle East is a sensitive issue with a perception the prisoners are mostly poor labourers who have no real legal recourse.

Huge numbers of people travel to the Middle East every year, with many working on construction sites or as domestic helpers. The remittances they send back are vital for the country’s dollar-starved economy.

During Prime Minister Imran’s latest visit to the Kingdom, Riyadh and Islamabad also signed an agreement on the transfer of convicted prisoners.

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Tuesday, 11 May, 2021

LAHORE

NEWS

Punjab cop arrested for ‘sexually assaulting, blackmailing’ woman CHINIOT: A cop blamed for sexually assaulting a woman and later blackmailing her using her videos has been arrested in Chiniot district of the Punjab province. The locals in Chiniot blamed police constable Muzaffar for his involvement in filming obscene videos of the woman and later using them to blackmail and sexually assault her. The cop was apprehended by the locals, who deleted the obscene videos of the woman and filmed him blackmailing the woman.

The victim claimed that the cop filmed a video and later used it to blackmail her for sexual favours. A spokesman for the Chiniot police said that Muzaffar was posted at Kandiwal police station and has been suspended from his post after the incident. “An inquiry has been launched into the entire episode and action will be initiated against him following all legal requirements,” the spokesman said. In another case involving a policeman in a sexual assault case, a female dancer was allegedly raped by a police constable at gunpoint in Lahore. According to police, the woman got an FIR registered against the constable, in which she alleged that she was raped by the cop at gunpoint. “I was invited for a dance performance at a function, however, the accused took me to a hotel and raped me while continuously pointing a gun towards me,” she alleged. TLTP

Boy dies as pistol accidentally goes off while filming tiktok video HAFIZABAD: A 10-year-old boy died after a pistol accidentally went off while shooting a TikTok video in Hafizabad on Monday. The incidents of deaths due to the adoption of new ways of making videos for social media through TikTok could not be reduced and the passion for making videos in a unique way took another life. As per rescue sources, the tragic incident took place in Hafizabad, where a 10-year-old boy was shot dead while making a video for TikTok. The boy allegedly fired at himself with a real pistol, killing himself on the spot. According to rescue sources, the parents termed the incident as an accident and refused to take legal action. The hospital administration handed over the body to them after due process. In a separate incident, earlier this year, a teenager was hit and killed by a train in Lahore while being filmed walking along the railway track for a TikTok stunt. Youth, Asif, was walking next to the tracks while his friend was filming his TikTok video. “The moving train hit him while he was posing for a video and walking on the railway track,” the police had said. TLTP

father, son shot dead over old enmity in faisalabad FAISALABAD: Two, including a father and his son, were killed during firing by some armed men over old enmity in Faisalabad on Monday. The armed men fled the scene after the incident. According to details, some armed men of rival group ambushed Inayat and Ansar in Jaranwala when they were returning home after meeting a death sentence prisoner in Central Jail. As a result of firing, Inayat and Ansar were killed on the spot and the attackers fled the scene. The bodies were shifted to a nearby hospital, where they were handed over to their heirs after legal formalities. A case was registered against the culprits and special teams were constituted for their arrest. INP

Pakistan railways warns kP lG department of ending cooperation PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Railways (PR) has warned the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) local government department of ending all assistance and cooperation, if the latter fails to pay all the arrears on time.

Sources said that the PR may stop cooperation with the provincial government and close down the BRT flyover, passing through the PR’s properties, if the local government department does not pay the arrears.

The PR has complained of the department’s non-cooperation in the ongoing development works in Hayatabad, giving a last chance to rectify the situation and clarifying that if the situation persists, the PR administration will be forced to stop assistance. A letter sent by the PR to the local government department said that the Urban Development Authority was allowed to operate within the limits of PR but the authority has never taken the PR into confidence during the construction work. The letter said that several telephone calls and letters were sent by the PR but the authority is yet to respond. The plan for construction of fifth flyover in Industrial Estate, Peshawar, included in BRT, was sent to PR on January 29, 2018 but the PR had returned the plan with the direction to deposit Rs120.137 million. However, according to the PR administration, no positive response was received from the KP local government department despite repeated reminders. The letter requested the LG department to send back the flyover plan and pay the required amount otherwise the PR would terminate all its assistance with the department and no such application will be accepted in future. AZIZ BUNERI

PESHAWAR: A view of a closed market amid lockdown in the provincial capital. ONLINE

Over 16,000 frOntline wOrkerS affected By cOvid-19 acrOSS cOuntry ISLAMABAD TLTP

Seven more health professionals at the forefront of Pakistan’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic have been afflicted with the virus over the past 24 hours.

Sources told that the number of

healthcare workers affected by the virus nationwide since the pandemic began last year in February has reached to 16,131. One health worker died over the previous 24 hours, they said.

As of Monday, 9,631 doctors, 2,313 nurses, and 4,187 health staff had been affected by the virus, 156 of

whom had succumbed to the disease.

Currently, a total of 521 health workers are in home isolation while 16 are under treatment at various hospitals.

Around 15,438 doctors and paramedical staff have recuperated from the disease so far.

Sindh accounts for 5,713 of the

total cases among the healthcare professionals with 54 deaths from Covid19. Whereas, Punjab reported 3,377 cases among frontliners with 28 fatalities, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 3,879 infections and 42 deaths, Islamabad 1,459 cases and 11 deaths and Balochistan 777 infections and nine deaths.

Havelian plane crash report terms pilots’ licences ‘suspicious’ Bodies of couple ISLAMABAD TLTP

A report on the 2016 Havelian plane crash has termed the licences of both pilots of the ill-fated aircraft “suspicious”, sources disclosed on Monday.

The report submitted to the Supreme Court (SC) in a case pertaining to the crash revealed that pilots Saleh Yar Janjua and Ahmed Mansoor Janjua had “suspicious licences”. Forty-seven passengers, including TV personality Junaid Jamshed, were killed when the ill-fated plane, PK-661, crashed in Havelian while travelling from Chitral to Islamabad in December, 2016. It is noteworthy that a petition filed by the parents of a pilot, who was killed in the crash, seeking directives for the authorities concerned to punish those responsible for the tragic incident is pending in the

Sindh High Court (SHC).

Earlier, a report of an inquiry into the incident had stated that a fractured turbine blade had triggered a “complicated” sequence of failures that had culminated in the fatal Havelian PIA crash in 2016.

“The dislodging / fracture of PT-1 blade of No 1 Engine occurred after omission from the EMM (NonCompliance of SB-21878) by PIA Engineering during an unscheduled maintenance performed on the engine in November 2016, in which the PT-1 blades had fulfilled the criteria for replacement, but were not replaced,” the report had said. It had said that in February 2017, PIA Engineering had reviewed the life of the old design PT-1 blades. “PIA Engineering decided to change the soft life as a hard life of 10,000 hrs irrespective of the conditions given in the maintenance manual (an action overboard towards safe side).”

recovered in Sabzazar LAHORE INP

The bodies of a couple stabbed to death by unidentified culprits were recovered in the provincial metropolis on Monday. Police said that the bodies of Syed Anees, 60, and his second wife Nasira, 45, who were killed by a weapon some two days ago, were recovered from a room of their house located in Sabzazar. The deceased had no child from his second wife. Two sons of Anees from first wife are settled in England while a daughter is married. The parents of first wife reside in an adjacent house. The police have registered a case into the incident and started investigation from different angles to find out whether the incident was outcome of any property dispute or resistance during robbery.

NTDC instals shunt reactors on Dadu-Jamshoro transmission line ISLAMABAD PR

A National Transmission Despatch Company Limited (NTDC) team installed 3×22 MVAR shunt reactors on 152 kilometres long 500 kV Dadu-Jamshoro transmission line emanating from 500 kV Dadu Grid Station.

The shunt reactors have been energised with an estimated cost of Rs340 million, said a press statement.

The spokesman said the reactors will help to control voltages of the power system more efficiently and enhance the overall power system stability of the NTDC network.

The smooth power supply will be ensured to the consumers of Sindh through the Power Distribution Company (Disco). Shunt reactors are used in high voltage energy transmission systems to

control the voltage during load variations.

A spokesman said the NTDC is vigorously pursuing its ongoing projects for early completion. Recently, the company has also completed four more 500 kV transmission line circuits for the evacuation of electricity from power plants located in southern parts of the country.

The transmission line circuits have been connected with HVDC Converter Station at Matiari. Moreover, up-gradation work of 130 km long 220 kV Jamshoro-KDA transmission line was also completed before its deadline.

The transmission line is transmitting 450MW additional power from National Grid to K-Electric, which is a big relief for the people of Karachi during the holy month of Ramazan.

Upon completion of these projects, the NTDC board of directors appreciated the efforts of management and the team.

Tuesday, 11 May, 2021

LAHORE

NEWS

05

FindinG the riGht inStrUmentS city notes M A niAzi

A

S we came closer and closer to Eid, the prospect of a prolonged holiday loomed ever larger. The government made the best of a bad job and declared holidays for 10 days. Note: this is not a lockdown. It’s a smart lockdown. Actually, it’s more like 12 days in The Village, because you can bet your boots that a lot of people took Monday the 17 off, and will travel only on Tuesday morning, and will be late to office so that work will not get started until Wednesday.

There’s another necessity being sneakily tested. Will anyone notice the absence of government for so long? As government employees go off for a prolonged Eid visit to The Village, all that urban dwellers will notice is the prolonged emptiness of the roads.

The only problem is, the city slickers will probably be taking the contagion along with them. There have been plagues in the Subcontinent before. But the villages have not been affected for a long time. Covid-19 seems to have passed the villages by, and one hopes it will do again, with the coronavirus dying out among the empty spaces and open fields. But I’m not all that happy about the tendency of rural residents to embrace long-lost relatives who have come in from the Big Bad City.

And what’s the point of the returned prodigal coming for such a prolonged holiday, with his family too, if they are all to be treated like a bad smell? This is the season to bathe in the tubewell, or the village pond alongside the buffaloes, depending on choice.

I saw SACM Dr Firdous Ahiq Awan saying on TV that such enthusiasm was out,

as well as any Eid Milan parties or other Eid gatherings. I’m sure, after seeing what she did to the AC Sialkot, no one will try to meet anyone on Eid. I wonder if there was any history behind that incident. Doctors don’t generally like CSS officers, as if they are a challenge.

Look, doctors have a high opinion of them-

selves, because they did well in their Matric and Inter exams, and got into medical college. CSS officers used to be Arts students, who only showed brilliance after a master’s, by doing the CSS. And then deciding the fate of doctors, because they dominated the Health Department.

I won’t bring up the argument about

two women, but I’m not sure how Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan looked at Ms Sonia Sadaf, who was after all ‘her’ AC in the sense of being the AC of her town of Sialkot.

All I will say is that she showed why Imran Khan made her SAPM on Information (fear) and why he sacked her (the fear came true when she burst upon him).

153 Palestinians in hospital after violence erupts at Al-Aqsa Mosque as Israel marks Jerusalem Day CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01 PLANNED EVICTIONS: Tensions have also been fuelled by the planned evictions of several Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in East Jerusalem. Israel's attorney general secured a deferment on Sunday of a Supreme Court hearing on Monday in the long-running evictions case that had threatened to stoke more violence.

A lower court had found in favour of Jewish settlers'

claim to the land on which the Palestinians' homes are located, a decision seen by Palestinians as a bid by Israel to drive them from contested Jerusalem. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan expressed “serious concerns” about the situation in Jerusalem, including the potential evictions, in a call with his Israeli counterpart on Sunday.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed on Sunday his concern over the situation.

Militants in the Gaza Strip, who have condemned Israeli actions in Jerusalem, fired at least three rockets to-

wards Israel on Monday, after launching four projectiles a day earlier, the Israeli military said. No casualties or damage were reported. Israel responded to Sunday's attack with tank fire against positions belonging to Hamas, the militant group that runs the Gaza Strip.

Israel views all of Jerusalem as its capital, including the eastern part that it annexed in a move that has not won international recognition. Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of a state they seek in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

Explainer: Jerusalem tense over evictions and holidays JERUSALEM Agencies

East Jerusalem has seen nightly clashes during the holy month of Ramadan, with Palestinians pitted against Israeli police and settlers.

The issues and the scale of the protests have varied, covering religion, land and politics, but running through them all is the core conflict between Israelis and Palestinians over the city, which has sites sacred to Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Here are some of the factors that have brought Jerusalem to near boiling point: WHEN DID THE PROTESTS START? From the beginning of Ramadan in mid-April, Palestinians and Israeli police clashed, as the latter had put up barriers to stop evening gatherings at the walled Old City’s Damascus Gate after Iftar, the breaking of the daytime fast.

Palestinians saw the barriers as a restriction on their freedom to assemble. Police said they were there to maintain order.

WHY DID THE VIOLENCE FLARE UP AGAIN? An Israeli Supreme Court hearing was due on May 10 in a long-running legal case about whether several Palestinian families would be evicted and their homes in Sheikh Jarrah, a neighbourhood near Damascus Gate that was given to Israeli settlers.

Some settlers have already moved into the street affected — living next door to the Palestinians facing possible removal.

As the court hearing neared, Palestinians and leftwing Israelis began holding larger demonstrations, saying more evictions could cause a domino effect throughout the overwhelmingly Palestinian neighbourhood.

Sheikh Jarrah also contains a site revered by religious Jews as the tomb of an ancient high priest, Simon the Just, leading to frequent tensions between Palestinian living there and religious Jews visiting it.

INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION: The case, in which a lower court ruled that the land in question belonged to Jews in East Jerusalem before the 1948 War, has gathered domestic and international attention, amid criticism of Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem.

On Sunday, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke to his Israeli counterpart to express “serious concerns about the potential evictions of Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood,” the White House said. And United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed “his deep concern over the continuing violence in occupied East Jerusalem, as well as the possible evictions of Palestinian families from their homes,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Sunday.

WHAT NEXT? On Sunday the Supreme Court hearing on the evictions was postponed, pushing at least one flashpoint past the end of Ramadan and allowing more time for a resolution.

A new session will be scheduled within 30 days.

Monday is Jerusalem Day, Israel’s annual commemoration of its occupation of East Jerusalem during the 1967 war. The event usually sees a march through the walled Old City by Jewish pilgrims, including ultra-nationalists, which could be another flashpoint.

WHY IS JERUSALEM SO SENSITIVE? Politics, history and religion.

At the heart of Jerusalem’s Old City is the hill known to Jews across the world as Temple Mount — the holiest site in Judaism — and to Muslims internationally as The Noble Sanctuary. It was home to the Jewish temples of antiquity. Two Muslim holy places now stand there, the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest place in Islam.

Christians also revere the city as the place where they believe that Jesus preached, died and was resurrected.

Israel sees all of Jerusalem as its eternal and indivisible capital, while the Palestinians want the eastern section as a capital of a future state. Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem is unrecognised internationally.

Usman Buzdar’s appointing her SACM also made sense. He wanted to avoid her tongue.

Speaking of Buzdar, he has been shown too much mercy. He should be made to do the honourable thing and left alone with a loaded pistol on his desk. CMs are not supposed to lose by-elections, not even if the seat had been won by the PML-N in the general election Right, in Khushab’s PP 39 by-election, the dead MPA’s son was given the PML-N ticket, but Buzdar should have sent the good Dr Awan to make sure he took the PTI ticket. But it was not to be, and Buzdar’s sword still awaits his falling on it.

Instead of blaming Budar, or taking the AC Sialkot to task, Imran Khan has gone after diplomats. It seems somebody going abroad was not treated with due deference, or else Imran wouldn’t have waited towards the end of his third year in office to notice that diplomats mistreat overseas Pakistanis like anything. Our diplomats view need foreign postings for themselves, not for the country. Getting treatment for spouses and education for kids to drive them, not their jobs.

But if you look at the Facebook chatter, it seems that there’s more support for Dr Awan’s going after the AC than Imran after the diplomats. But the real rage was reserved for Shahbaz Sharif’s bail. The echortling over his being stopped from going abroad was amazing.

Imran’s supporters are clearly wanting him to go after institutions. If the Supreme Court disqualifies the elder brother, that is obviously righteous, but the Lahore High Court can be defied if you don’t like a bail being granted. I blame the civil servants.

They’ve grown lazy, and don’t know how to prepare a case the courts can’t reject.

The cases they make now are so weak that the courts can’t give them what they want.

So you need courts that are committed to the Cuptaan.

US expresses ‘serious concerns’ about violent clashes in Jerusalem CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01 The clashes have been sparked by the planned evictions of several Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem, an area occupied by Israel in a 1967 war. Israel’s attorney-general secured a deferment on Sunday of an Israeli Supreme Court hearing on the evictions, a session that had threatened to stoke more violence in the holy city and heighten international concern. “Mr. Sullivan also reiterated the United States’ serious concerns about the potential evictions of Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood,” the White House statement said. Sullivan and Ben-Shabbat “agreed that the launching of rocket attacks and incendiary balloons from Gaza towards Israel is unacceptable and must be condemned,” the White House added. It said Sullivan also expressed the Biden administration’s commitment to Israel’s security and to supporting peace and stability throughout the Middle East and would remain fully engaged in the days ahead to promote calm in Jerusalem.

Gen Bajwa meets Afghan president as violence surges CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01 The army chief also discussed matters of mutual interest, regional security situation particularly current developments in the Afghan peace process and measures to further enhance bilateral and defence cooperation with General Carter. The COAS also offered condolences on the sad demise of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and said that the world has lost a highly respected friend. The dignitary appreciated Pakistan’s sincere efforts for peace and stability in the region, especially the Afghan peace process. The COAS thanked the dignitary for UK’s contribution towards the fight against Covid-19 in Pakistan and said that Pakistan Army greatly values its friendly relations with the UK. This visit comes at a time of heightened uncertainty for the region as violence rises while the United States withdraws troops.

In recent weeks, citing Taliban and diplomatic sources, Reuters reported that Pakistan has been negotiating with insurgents to try and get them to commit to a ceasefire, agree to an extension of the US-Taliban agreement which stipulated forces should withdraw by May, and to continue to take part in peace talks at a planned conference in Turkey.

Tuesday, 11 May, 2021

06 COMMENT

Shopkeepers vs ordinary mortals

Controversy on electronic voting Need for national consensus

P

M Imran Khan has a new bee in his bonnet.

Without realizing the peculiar social conditions in Pakistan like a weak democratic culture, absence of universal literacy, prevalence of conspiracy theories and people being used to voting through paper ballots, Mr Khan has decided to hold next elections through electronic voting system being used in the United States. On Saturday an all too pliable President issued an ordinance authorizing and directing the eCP to place orders for electronic Voting Machines (eVMs) and enable overseas Pakistanis to exercise their right to vote in the next general elections. The PM has expressed dissatisfaction over the delay in the implementation of his latest brainwave.

The eVMs can no doubt help prepare the election results in a short time. There are however solid political reasons against their abrupt introduction at the national level in next elections. The system had to be abandoned by some of the developed european countries because it failed to inspire confidence in voters and led to a return to paper ballots. This will be all the more likely to happen in a country like Pakistan where the vast majority of voters doesn’t know what happens inside the chipset and software and who have gone through the bitter experience of the failure of the Results Transmission System (RTS) in the 2018 polls. There is no way to check rigging through the electronic voting as an eVM cannot prevent ballot stuffing, capturing booths in polling stations, impersonation and other kinds of rigging. eVMs can only be introduced at a prohibitive cost that the country cannot afford. Pakistan will need at least 350,000 machines, each costing about Rs 150,000, with the total cost amounting to about Rs 52 billion for the machines alone. About 50,000 machines will be required as backup. electronic voting requires capital spending every few years to update the equipment as well as annual spending for maintenance, security and supplies. Funds would also be needed for the storage, maintenance, logistics, training and transportation.

The introduction of eVMs being a political issue, there is a need to develop consensus over them in Parliament after a thorough discussion in the concerned committees and debate. The eCP needs to be asked to provide inputs to the parliamentarians. The government must meanwhile avoid a hasty decision on the issue.

No match! Until now

HASAN AFTAB SAEED

O

ne hears that the French language offers a rich array to choose from when it comes to insulting phrases. That napoleon, who was an extremely eloquent man with all powers of the French expression at his disposal, chose to show his contempt for england by calling it a nation of shopkeepers tells its own story.

According to some accounts, it was Adam Smith or Bertrand Barère who originally coined the phrase.

Well, why split hairs when there is no controversy regarding the epithet (‘shopkeepers’)?

It is pleasant to imagine a parallel universe where shopkeepers do not exist, but in our own universe death, taxes and shopkeepers happen to be facts of life that cannot simply be wished away. no matter how minimalist one’s lifestyle may be, one still needs to occasionally buy things. encountering shopkeepers (and getting fleeced) is an everyday experience for married folks.

But let us not be overly harsh on shopkeepers.

Just as some men must become miners and some others undertakers, some men must take up shopkeeping. All these professions come with their oc-

South Asian health crisis Covid continues to ravage an entire region

SAlmAN muNir

A

LL living creatures, including human beings, have to make a choice when confronted: fight or flight. Introduced by the physiologist Walter Bradford Cannon, it means that when confronted with a situation that evokes fear, pain, anger or anxiety and a person must choose a fight-or-flight response. This thought came to my mind a few days ago during and after the hearing of the case of Justice Qazi Faez Isa before a ten-member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. This must be a rare occasion where a sitting judge of the Supreme Court argued his own case before his colleagues. This is called courage. William M. Kunstler writes in his book “The Case For Courage,” the “lawyers, despite their addiction to conflict, share in common with the rest of mankind a natural resistance to involving themselves in situations fraught with grave consequences to their pocketbooks, their reputations and their peace of mind.”

What do you do when the fight is thrust upon you?

Of course then you fight. That is what Justice Qazi Faez Isa did. Some might argue what is so great about it? If the fight is thrust upon you then it is natural to fight, even to throw the first punch. I beg to differ. Without taking into account the long history of mankind and just focusing on the events in Pakistan since 2000, we find some shining examples of courage and some foxy, even Machiavellian examples of cowardice. Our former three-time Prime Minister nawaz Sharif stands out when we look at cases of flight. After the army coup in 1999, believing in the age old saying that running away makes sure you live and fight another day, nawaz Sharif chose in 2000 to leave Pakistan upon an undertaking and following a Presidential pardon. However, nawaz Sharif claimed during all those years that he was forced to

Arif Nizami Editor Joint Editor

Umar Aziz Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

The author is a connoisseur of music, literature, and food (but not drinks). He can be reached at www.facebook.com/hasanaftabsaeed

Qazi Faez Isa stood his ground, fought till the end

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Managing Editor

with men installing your AC. The odds are stacked against you, and in favour of shopkeepers. You just cannot win.

Or so I thought for many years before I devised my fool-proof strategy. Which is as follows: The only way to beat shopkeepers is to play along with them. Accept in good faith whatever fairytale they tell you. This admittedly is a tough ask, but it becomes easier with practice. (Recall that it is not as if you have many other options under the circumstances.) It will save you much trouble, besides doing wonders for your blood pressure. Ask the shopkeeper his buying price. Often you do not even need to ask because he will volunteer the information, telling you that he is taking only so much profit on it (an unbelievably reasonable figure).

Your job is done, so proceed to purchase the item.

In case he is being truthful (a slim chance), you have the satisfaction of having made a good deal.

More probably however, you will have a nice surprise waiting for you in the next life. I like to refer to it as my special ‘shopkeeper’ account for the Hereafter, becoming fatter and fatter every year, secure with the Almighty.

Last year in a gathering at a friend’s place the conversation turned to retailers. I took the opportunity to present my abovementioned approach to shopping. I could tell from facial expressions that there were those who thought it was a brilliant solution to the shopkeeper problem (three men); and those who were amused by what they thought was an intriguing idea (five men). There was one guest however – a perfect stranger – who started showing signs of extreme perturbation. (It was not long before I found out that the gentleman belonged to the shopkeeper fraternity. no wonder he was neither impressed nor amused.) I was barely done explaining the outlines of my ‘shopkeeper’ account when he could contain himself no longer. He vehemently disputed that any such account existed. I asked him how he could be so sure when he had nothing to do with the said account. He explained that my whole approach was unfair because it left shopkeepers no option but to lie to me. It is not often that I find myself lost for words. I admit that that was one such occasion.

To fight or to flee

T

HeRe seems to be no end in sight to the ongoing lethal wave of the coronavirus that has hit South Asia. A mutation of the Covid-19 virus, upgraded to the status “variant of concern” by the UK and dubbed as the “double-mutant” has wreaked havoc in India. At the moment, the daily number of new cases and deaths are averaging 400,000 and 4000 daily. According to the WHO, last week India accounted for 46 per cent of global cases and 25 percent of deaths. These astronomical numbers have caused the country’s health system to completely collapse with a severe shortage of beds, ventilators and most worryingly, oxygen. Cremation sites have queues that force families to wait for hours to perform the last rights of their loved ones. India is now going through the worst humanitarian crisis in its history.

What is more frightening is the warning issued by some experts that this may only be the beginning and could continue for a considerable period of time. The spillover from India has now hit nepal that saw a 137 percent increase in cases over a week and is now reporting very similar numbers, forcing the country to go into a full lockdown. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have also detected cases of the Indian variant. The virality and deadliness of this new mutation has all but eradicated the progress made in terms of vaccinating the population on the road to normalcy.

Pakistan is smack in the middle of all this and thankfully the Indian strain has not made it across our borders so far. nonetheless, the ongoing third wave in the country has surpassed all statistics posted by the first one.

The government, rather reluctantly, has essentially cancelled eid by placing a weeklong lockdown in the worst hit provinces of Punjab and KP throughout the holidays. The government must make the most of its current position by solidifying it further, restricting inward travel from regional countries that could introduce the new variant in Pakistan. Additionally, it must ramp up its vaccination drive to immunize as much of the population as possible to keep pressure off hospitals and reach herd immunity. Whatever help that can be provided to regional countries should be offered while keeping in view our resource restrictions. Pakistan could also become another Covid-19 disaster zone if the government mishandles the situation. extreme caution should be taken for the next few months.

Yousaf Nizami Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

cupational hazards. The profit motive is not something that is known to bring out the best in men.

And, of course, not all shopkeepers are evil. I am convinced that it is only 95% of shopkeepers that spoil the reputation of the rest.

The line between lying and fine arts such as advertising and salesmanship is notoriously thin. We all routinely experience this. A shopkeeper quotes you prices of two air-conditioners. You ask him the reason for the price difference. Accustomed to thinking on his feet, he explains that as opposed to the cheaper variety the costlier one ensures that the air stream after moving straight for a while diverges to the left and to the right, cooling the room quicker (he demonstrates the elaborate process using his hands and arms).

If you believe the story, you prove yourself a fool to him (and to yourself). Storming off after telling him that it is a load of manure no doubt makes for a tempting dramatic exit. Practically speaking however, you will still have to buy it from some other shop with a proprietor who is likely to be as imaginative (and unscrupulous), if not more.

The theory is straightforward enough: visit several shops and buy from the one that offers the most reasonable deal. Alas, life is rarely that simple. In practice, all shops are run by shopkeepers, who – even if they do not formally belong to a cartel – have a shrewd idea about the price quoted by others. So, there is no good option, really.

Cut to three hours later. The AC has been delivered and two technicians have turned up to install it. They have instructions to use more copper tubing than is required to connect the indoor and outdoor units since it is you who pays for it per metre. But they cannot tell you that. You can swear that you read somewhere that the longer the pipes the higher the losses, but the technicians tell you an elaborate story about the need to allow at least two ‘safety’ loops to prevent leakage on account of the ‘dangerous back pressure of the refrigerant’. You decide to throw in your lot with science as you recall it and tell them to forget about the ‘safety’ loops. now they play their trump card: ‘We will do so if you insist, but do not blame us if something goes wrong.’ You clearly have no answer to this.

For you can be certain that if they say something could go wrong, they will ensure that something will go wrong. It is never the greatest idea to argue with your barber when he has a razor in his hand or

I

Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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leave the country. To prove this he approached the Supreme Court, which in it’s October 17, 2007 verdict stated “The former Prime Minister’s release from prison and his journey to Saudi Arabia after getting a Presidential pardon due to an undertaking could not be described as forced exile.” The same decision, however, allowed nawaz Sharif to return to Pakistan under Article 15 of the Constitution. This gave him an opportunity to fight another day.

The first shining example of courage is that of a judge of the Supreme Court. Former Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, showing exemplary courage and resolve to fight, refused to resign when forced by the powers that were running the country in 2007. President Pervez Musharraf along with two or three other three-star generals (all in full army uniform) and perhaps Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, also present in the room had called over the 20th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to the Army House.

The purpose of the meeting was to read a list of charges and ask Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to resign. This show of power did not impress the Chief Justice and he walked out of the meeting without resigning with his head high. President Musharraf made the Chief Justice non-functional for refusing to resign. The lawyers all over the country then rose in his support and that of the independence of judiciary. The lawyers’ movement turned into a mass movement and after some two years the Chief Justice resumed his office. Chief Justice could have easily gone in exile, chosen another high office, or come to a deal with the establishment.

Over all such options, he chose to stay and fight.

What a contrast to the former three-time prime minister whose party and election symbol is a lion. The lions of the world must have protested at this injustice to their courage and bravery.

The next case of flight, closely resembling to that of the former three-time prime minister, that must be mentioned is of the former President Pervez Musharraf. Musharraf, a self-styled Otto Skorzeny, was the first dictator facing death penalty in a treason case for imposing emergency in november 2007. This emergency led to the suspension of the Constitution, and detention of the judges of the superior courts. In 2009, he went into self-exile for a period of four years until he returned in March 2013 to contest election.

After he was disqualified to contest election, he desperately wanted to leave the country on medical grounds and to look after his ailing mother in Dubai.

However his name was on exit Control List and

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could not leave the country. In early June 2014, the Sindh High Court ordered removal of Musharraf’s name from the exit control list so he could go abroad and also gave two weeks time to the Federal government to file an appeal against its decision. The government approached the Supreme Court, which struck down the order of Sindh High Court in late June 2014. However, citing medical treatment and vowing to return to the country, in March 2016 Musharraf again went into self-exile and now lives in Dubai. nawaz Sharif, not used to living in prisons, this time after he was disqualified and jailed by the Supreme Court, he put up a great farce with the help of his party and seemingly that of the PTI’s doctors and some ministers. Fleeing, it appears comes naturally to him. Through the rigmarole of medical checkups, laboratory testing and political game-playing he again managed to flee. now he lives in London and has been declared an absconder by the courts. Like Musharraf, he does not plan to return to Pakistan anytime soon. He lives to fight another day, again.

In this backdrop of flight, it was pleasant to see a fight taken to Justice Qazi Faez Isa, earlier by the government, and now by the Supreme Court itself, being actually fought. This fight was won by Justice Isa through his review petition challenging the directions given by the full bench of the Supreme Court to FBR to probe his family. Justice Isa could have fled too like Musharraf and nawaz Sharif by compromising or becoming sick. Instead he chose to stay and fight like Iftikhar Chaudhry. During the course of the proceedings in which Justice Isa argued his case, it became clear that the other side was represented by lawyers who were either ill prepared or lacked the basic understanding of the law, sometimes even narrating the wrong judgement. This is exactly what happens when you do not have a case. You prolong your arguments in the hope that something might just come out of it. In this case that something was retirement of one of the judges on the full bench. Like always one party wanted to make haste while the other party was on a go-slow approach.

We cannot even imagine the burden that was on Justice Isa’s shoulders and heart. James Baldwin in Go Tell It On The Mountain says “This burden was heavier than the heaviest mountain and he carried it in his heart.”

The writer is a management consultant and innocence lawyer. He can be reached at as1236m@gmail.com

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Tuesday, 11 May, 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

COVID-19 and emotional intelligence

Biden’s Middle East strategy and its geopolitical implications The Biden administration’s new Middle East strategy is forcing regional powers to reassess their geostrategic interests and act in a manner that might end several conflicts that have plagued the region

Dr AloN BEN-mEir

W

Hen Biden was running for president, he made it clear that if elected he would chart a new course in addressing the problems sweeping the Middle east and restore some normalcy in a region that has been awash in turmoil and bloodshed. He pledged to revive and further improve the Iran deal, bring an end to the war in Yemen, support the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, and resume American backing of the Kurds in Syria while putting the brakes on Turkish president erdogan’s misadventures. every state in the Middle east understands that America’s new approach cannot be ignored because of their continuing dependency on the US in one form or another, and realizes that the regional geopolitical wind has shifted and all must now reassess their positions.

Although Biden is intensifying his focus on the Asia Pacific region, the US’ geostrategic interest and commitment to its allies in the Middle east remain the same, albeit Biden’s strategy substantially differs from his predecessor. Thus, he is creating new realities for the countries impacted, to which they must accordingly adjust.

RetuRning to the iRan Deal: Biden’s decision to return to the Iran deal, to which Israel and Saudi Arabia have vehemently objected, is now forcing both countries to reassess their positions. They know that reaching a new deal based on the original one with some improvement is imminent. They have also realized that Trump’s misguided withdrawal has only pushed Iran to build new advanced centrifuges, allowing it to enrich greater quantities and higher quality of uranium, bringing it ever closer to building a nuclear weapon.

For Israel and Saudi Arabia, the only practical option is to work with the US to ensure that the emerging new deal will be tightly monitored and an improvement of the prior deal, especially regarding the sunset clauses. normalizing bilateral relations between Washington and Tehran will ultimately provide the best option to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons in the longterm, which is of great concern to both countries. enDing the waR in Yemen: Biden’s call to end the devastating war in Yemen did not fall on deaf ears in either Riyadh or Tehran. His decision to suspend arms shipments to Saudi

Arabia sent a clear message to the kingdom that the war must end. The Mullahs in Iran also understand that there is not much left to gain from continuing the war.

In fact, both Saudi Arabia and Iran have long since concluded that their proxy war in Yemen is unwinnable and are looking for a face-saving way out. A power-sharing government between the Houthis and the legitimate authority in Sanaa enjoys the support of Biden and seems to be gaining momentum in current Saudi-Iranian discussions (an open secret), which would potentially provide a lasting solution. the isRaeliPa l e s t i n i a n conflict: Biden’s position on the IsraeliPalestinian conflict has been very consistent since the time he was a senator, believing that a two-state solution remains the only viable option. He moved to resume financial aid to the Palestinians that was suspended by Trump, and told Israel to refrain from further annexation of any Palestinian territory and limit the expansion of existing Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Given Israel’s failure to form a steady coalition government following four elections in two years, coupled with the political disarray among the Palestinians, it is unlikely that they can resume peace negotiations in earnest under the current circumstances.

Moreover, both Prime Minister netanyahu and President Abbas, who are stuck in their old positions, must first leave the political scene before any peace talks can resume.

While the Biden administration has conveyed to both sides that making significant concessions are a prerequisite to reaching an agreement, the US is rightfully focusing on confidence-building measures first. Indeed, several years of people-topeople interactions on social, civil, economic, and academic levels are central to building trust, which is sorely absent but critical to paving the way for reaching a sustainable peace accord. aRResting eRDogan’s foReign misaDventuRes: Finally, President Biden’s decision to restore America’s support to the Syrian Kurds, who fought side-by-side US forces to oust ISIS and suffered thousands of casualties but were abandoned by Trump, is strategically necessary to restore America’s influence in Syria, especially in shaping the final outcome to Syria’s civil war. Providing the Kurds with politi-

cal backing and financial support serves as a warning to erdogan to cease his continuing onslaught against them in the name of fighting terrorism.

Moreover, erdogan’s coziness with Russia’s Putin, the West’s foremost adversary, his violation of US sanctions against Iran, and his destabilizing meddling in the internal affairs throughout the Middle east, the Balkans, southern europe, and Africa have come home to roost.

Biden’s decision to recognize the Armenian genocide further reinforced his message to erdogan that enough is enough and that the US no longer considers Turkey a strategic ally.

President Biden’s initiatives on all these fronts are on the mark.

It’s time to tell Iran that the US is not seeking regime change but will do everything in its power to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and would welcome gradual normalization of relations depending on Iran’s adherence to international norms of conduct.

It’s time to tell the Saudis that the continuing war in Yemen has long since lost its relevance to its national security and that the US remains a steadfast ally on which the kingdom can rely.

It’s time to tell Israel that the continuing occupation is neither acceptable nor sustainable, and that any future Israeli government must resign itself to the establishment of a Palestinian state that will live side-by-side Israel in peace and security.

It’s time to tell the Palestinians that they must get their act together if they want to establish a state of their own and elect a new government that understands the need to make the necessary concessions to reach an enduring peace.

Finally, it’s time to tell erdogan that his days of pursuing foreign misadventures with impunity are over and he must now choose between east or West if he wants Turkey to remain a nATO member state.

Contrary to Trump, who further aggravated the various endemic Mideast conflicts, Biden’s determination to change the dynamics may well succeed in advancing solutions that have eluded several of his predecessors.

While the Biden administration has conveyed to both sides that making significant concessions are a prerequisite to reaching an agreement, the US is rightfully focusing on confidence-building measures first. Indeed, several years of people-topeople interactions on social, civil, economic, and academic levels are central to building trust, which is sorely absent but critical to paving the way for reaching a sustainable peace accord

Dr Alon Ben-Meir is a professor of international relations at the Centre for Global Affairs at NYU. He teaches courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies. alon@alonben-meir.com

One of the essentials to put an end to Swords of Damocles: COVID-19, which is hanging fear and anxiety on the heads of people, is emotional intelligence. emotional intelligence is an ability to manage and control one’s emotions and understanding the emotions of others as well.

According to prior research, to succeed in any problem only 10% IQ matters, rest is the other things including emotional intelligence. Current pandemic has shed light to this big cheese: emotional intelligence, how much it is indispensable to have control on one’s nerves in this arduous situation which is costing much of the psychological side of the victims and caregivers. People of Pakistan already lack it. Majority is driven by emotions which are disappointing to sight. One of the significant reasons behind this is the absence of it in the curriculum of Pakistan’s education system. Children are taught lessons in science, mathematics, social studies in schools, but one subject which is missing in our education system is emotional intelligence. By analyzing the education system of the state it is evident that teaching methodologies and school activities do not possess the expertise to teach children how to seek stress management skills, and skills to fight with novel problems. Such activities lack in this education system despite the fact that it is the most demanding skill nowadays. Lamenting, Indeed! not only in schools but this strategy is missing in higher education as well. especially in COVID-19 crisis when students have to tackle every issue online it becomes tougher for them to handle the anxiety all alone sans friends and peers. But this is a high time to raise voice for it as well.

Schools and universities can make it a blessing in a disguise by teaching skills for emotional intelligence. So in the future students who become adults and professionals are not driven by the emotions in their life.

Imperative is it to implement. Furthermore, emotional intelligence is a pivotal feature of human development. Pakistan slows two points lesser than prior rating in Un Human Development Index, it stands at 154th according to a report of 2020. Thus, it is a need of an hour to work on the emotional intelligence of students and professionals.

ShEhErbano Tariq MulTan

Afghanistan in turmoil AFGHAnISTAn has been a pathetic country confronting mass distraction of humans life, education development, social norms, women rights, mentality of masses & to other eco friendly organizations since Russian invasion 1979 and there after 9/11 attack 2001 impacts. The country becomes a hub for socio political interest resulted in daily bases bomb blasts & killings of innocents. Similarly another terrible explosions took place on 8 may in Afghanistan capital Kabul. Blasts were close to a secondary school have left more than 60 people died and hundreds were injured including innocent students. The environment of Kabul one again fell into mourning situation. The abandoned victim families were grumbling toward world leaders asking for peace & prosperity of their people as they are also human and has the fundamental right to live in liberty & acquire education. Hope the dominant leaders along with Pakistan will play a vital role in peace process for the elimination of this massacre & assure priority of public safety till the reveal of peace in country. naqEEb ullah Duki, balochiSTan

Genocide in Palestine ISRAeL braced for more protests on Saturday after violence at east Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound wounded more than 200 people as the international community called for calm after days of escalating tensions. Israeli police fired rubber-coated metal bullets and stun grenades towards rock-hurling Palestinians at Al-Aqsa as anger grows over the potential eviction of Palestinians from homes on land claimed by Jewish settlers in east Jerusalem.

At least 205 Palestinians and 17 officers were injured in the night-time clashes at Islam’s third-holiest site and around east Jerusalem, Palestinian medics and Israeli police said, as thousands of Palestinians faced off with several hundred Israeli police in riot gear. Violence erupted on Friday when Israeli police deployed heavily as Muslims were performing evening prayers at Al-Aqsa during the holy month of Ramadan. Video footage from the scene shows worshippers throwing chairs, shoes and rocks towards the police and officers opening fire. Israeli police also closed gates leading to Al-Aqsa inside the walled Old City. The Palestine Red Crescent ambulance service said one of the injured lost an eye, two suffered serious head wounds, and two had their jaws fractured. Most were wounded in the face and eyes by rubber-coated rounds and shrapnel from stun grenades.

An Al-Aqsa official appealed for calm on the compound through the mosque’s loudspeakers. “Police must immediately stop firing stun grenades at worshippers, and the youth must calm down and be quiet.” Tens of thousands of Palestinian worshippers earlier packed into the mosque on the final Friday of Ramadan, and many stayed on to protest in support of Palestinians facing eviction from their homes on Israeli-occupied land claimed by Jewish settlers in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of east Jerusalem. Calls for calm and restraint poured in from the United States and the United nations, with others including the european Union and Jordan voicing alarm at the possible evictions. “If we don’t stand with this group of people here, [evictions] will [come] to my house, her house, his house and to every Palestinian who lives here,” said protester Bashar Mahmoud, 23, from the nearby Palestinian neighbourhood of Issawiya. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he “held [Israel] responsible for the dangerous developments and sinful attacks taking place in the holy city”, and called on the Un Security Council to hold an urgent session on the issue. Abbas praised the “courageous stand” of the protesters. Protest groups affiliated with Hamas, rulers of the Gaza Strip, said they would resume demonstrations and the launching of incendiary balloons along the heavily guarded Gaza frontier. Hamas has largely curtailed such actions over the past two years as part of an informal ceasefire that now appears to be fraying. In an interview with a Hamas-run TV station, the group’s top leader Ismail Haniyeh addressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin netanyahu by name, warning him not to “play with fire”. “neither you nor your army and police can win this battle,” he said. “What’s happening in Jerusalem is an intifada that must not stop.” ahMaD naDEEM lahorE

Tuesday, 11 May, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

IndIa Is HIdIng Its covId crIsIs – and tHe wHole world wIll suffer for It MODI’S GOVERNMENT HAD A CHOICE BETWEEN SAVING LIVES AND SAVING FACE. IT HAS CHOSEN THE LATTER

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few years ago, as narendra Modi came into power, I worked on an investigative report about India hiding its malaria deaths. In traveling from tribal Odisha to the Indian national health ministry in new Delhi, my colleague and I watched thousands of cases disappear: some malaria deaths, first noted in handwritten local health ledgers, never appeared in central government reports; other malaria deaths were magically transformed into deaths of heart attack or fever. The discrepancy was massive: India reported 561 malaria deaths that year. Experts predicted the actual number was as high as 200,000. now, with Covid ravaging the country, desperate Indians have taken to Twitter to ask for oxygen cylinders or beg hospitals for an open bed. The crisis has been exac-

erbated by the government’s concealment of critical information. Between India’s long history of hiding and undercounting illness deaths and its much more recent history of restraining and suppressing the press, Modi’s administration has made it impossible to find accurate information about the virus’s hold in the country. Blocking that information will only hurt millions within the country. It will also stymie global efforts to stop the Covid-19 pandemic, and new variants of the virus, at India’s border.

Epidemiologists in India and abroad estimate that the country’s official reported Covid-19 death toll – around 222,000 at time of publication – accounts for only a fraction of the real number. The director of the USbased Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation has estimated that India is only detecting 3-4% of actual cases. Other experts point to total excess deaths in cities such as Mumbai as proof that there could be 60% to 70% more deaths from Covid-19 than the government is admitting to.

There are various reasons India could be cooking the books on Covid deaths. For one, the utter failure of the public health system makes it difficult to account for the millions of bodies passing through hospitals, clinics and those dying in their own home. Despite having become one of the largest economies in the world, Indian state

and federal governments spend a dismal amount on healthcare, with an investment of less than 1% of its gDP, one of the lowest rates in the world.

But systemic failure is only one part of the puzzle. The reigning party of the Indian government touted its success in curbing the virus very early in the pandemic, and has never let go of that narrative. As bodies burned in funeral pyres across Uttar Pradesh in April, Yogi Adityanath – the state’s chief minister and a key Modi lackey – claimed that everything was under control and repeatedly refused to announce new lockdown measures, even as he himself contracted Covid-19.

This denialist rhetoric is occurring at almost every level. Like India’s see-no-evil approach to malaria or tuberculosis, its Covid obfuscation suppresses “bad news” in order to buoy the country’s international image and the government party’s domestic standing. not all countries with struggling health systems do this. Some actually at times overcount deaths from other viruses in order to get more humanitarian aid. But undercounting disease is, in many ways, far more sinister. Modi’s government had a choice between saving face and saving lives, and has chosen mass death.

While undercounting disease is a longstanding problem in India, the assault on press freedom is far more recent. Since Modi came into power in 2015, the freedom of India’s expansive media culture has dramat-

ically shrunk, according to sources including Reporters Without Borders. In the last few years, the government has sued or prosecuted several news organizations and journalists, citing defamation or other even more dubious rationales. Controversial laws such as the 2000 Information Technology Act allow for what seem like increasingly frequent, and grossly arbitrary and politically motivated, crackdowns on freedom of speech and press.

Indian journalists tell me they are often asked to self-censor their reporting on the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as what they say on social media, for fear of inciting the ire of the government. Many were understandably incensed last week when the Indian central government reportedly made Twitter and Facebook remove posts critical of the government’s Covid measures. Meanwhile, India continues to be one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists to work, and more than 165 journalists have allegedly died of Covid-19 while covering the crisis itself. (Last month Kakoli Bhattacharya, an Indian journalist who worked as a news assistant for the guardian, died of Covid.) In the absence of trustworthy Covid information from their own government, Indians are mostly reliant on social media and foreign reporting for the story of what’s actually happening.

The result is a public health nightmare for India – and also, I fear, for the global

India in crisis THE CORONAVIRUS THRIVES OFF OF COMPLACENT LEADERS, SUCH AS PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI—AND HAS EXACERBATED THE CONTOURS OF GLOBAL INEQUALITY

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MOng the world’s autocratic populists, Prime Minister narendra Modi, of India, is distinguished as a storyteller. He offers beguiling accounts of Hindu identity and Indian greatness, with the aid of allied newspapers and television networks, as well as on Twitter, where he has sixty-eight million followers and a phalanx of trolls. When the pandemic struck, last year, Modi summoned his loyal media barons and editors, who, according to the Prime Minister’s Web site, promised “inspiring and positive stories” about his government’s fight against the coronavirus.

The country suffered tens of thousands of covid-19 deaths in 2020, but forecasts of even more dire outcomes did not materialize. In January, at Davos, Modi boasted that India had “saved humanity from a big disaster by containing corona effectively.” He loosened restrictions and invited worshippers to the Kumbh Mela, a weeks-long Hindu festival that attracted millions of people. As spring arrived, he staged mass rallies during an election campaign in West Bengal, a state with a population of a hundred million. At a gathering on April 17th, he extended his arms and proclaimed, “Everywhere I look, as far as I can see, there are crowds.”

The coronavirus thrives off of complacent politicians. At the time of that rally, new infections in India, by official counts, had exploded to two hundred and fifty thousand a day, a figure that last week reached four hundred thousand. Shortages of oxygen and hospital beds have driven desperate citizens—and even hospital directors—to beg for help on social media.

State police have threatened or filed preliminary criminal charges against some of those seeking aid, because the “rumours” they generate may “spoil the atmosphere,” as Yogi Adityanath, a Modi ally and the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, put it. According to the Hindu, an Englishlanguage daily, he called for prosecutions under the national Security Act. On April 30th, India’s Supreme Court held that there should be no “clampdown” on

those using social media to plead for oxygen or beds.

Crematoriums are overwhelmed; photographs of makeshift funeral pyres have become iconic images of an unspeakable tragedy. Last week, at least a hundred and fifty people in India died of covid every hour. The surge reflects many factors, including the fragility of the underfunded health system. But, as Meenakshi ganguly, the South Asia director of Human Rights Watch, wrote last week, Modi’s government “appears obsessed about managing the narrative” rather than addressing urgent needs.

The Biden Administration and other governments have dispatched planeloads of small oxygen-making plants and vaccine ingredients to new Delhi, to bolster India’s vaccine industry. The aid is needed, but it alone cannot address the scale of India’s suffering.

The pandemic has laid bare—and exacerbated—the contours of global inequality. The conditions incubating India’s outbreak also exist in other emerging countries, such as Brazil and Argentina, where thousands perish daily. In the U.S. and a few other wealthy nations, about half of all adults have now received at least one vaccine dose, and economies are reopening, whereas in much of the rest of the world it will require many months—perhaps a year or two—before vaccination rates are likely to rise enough to suppress the virus. India’s crisis will make that campaign longer, since to address its own emergency new Delhi has suspended vaccine exports to covax, a World Health Organization project established to assure equitable access to vaccines in low-income nations.

Both India and South Africa have asked the World Trade Organization to waive coronavirus-vaccine patent protections, arguing that this will jump-start manufacturing worldwide and speed global recovery.

American and European pharmaceutical companies protest that waivers won’t work, because making the vaccines is too complex to scale up quickly. Last Wednesday, the Biden Administration departed from years of precedent to announce support for a temporary waiver of some patent protections. “The extraordinary circumstances of the covid-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures,” Katherine Tai, the U.S. trade representative, said. But it isn’t clear whether Biden’s decision can overcome European opposition at the W.T.O. in order to change existing treaty arrangements. In April, in a signal of political opinion on the Continent, the European Parliament voted decisively against waivers of intellectual property.

The moral and public-health case for prioritizing rapid global vaccination over corporate profits is

inarguable. (Last week, Pfizer reported that sales of its covid-19 vaccine during the first three months of the year brought in three and a half billion dollars.)

But the patent dispute lies in the realm of “vaccine diplomacy,” a phrase that describes the use of supplies to win influence and that aptly evokes the cynical maneuverings of great-power politics. While we justly celebrate the heroic service of individuals during the pandemic—nurses, doctors, delivery workers, bus drivers—our governments have often acted with unapologetic selfishness in order to protect national interests. Like the climate emergency, the coronavirus has challenged political leaders to discover new models of collective survival that might overcome threats that even the most hardened borders cannot stop. The record to date is not encouraging.

India’s death toll from covid-19 has now officially crossed two hundred thousand, a figure that experts say is almost certainly an undercount. Yet Modi’s government continues to expend energy on censorship. The Wire, an independent news outlet, reported that on May 3rd Sun Hospital, in Lucknow, released an emergency announcement on social media that it was “not able to get enough oxygen supply,” despite repeated pleas to the government. Appearing to disregard the Supreme Court’s ruling of three days earlier protecting such appeals, the state police alleged that the hospital didn’t really need oxygen. “no rumours should be spread to create panic among the people,” a police statement read.

Last year, Amartya Sen, a nobel laureate best known for his work on the causes of famine, who is now eighty-seven, wrote in the guardian about his country’s slide toward tyranny. “The priority of freedom seems to have lost some of its lustre for many people,” he said, and yet “the growth of authoritarianism in India demands determined resistance.”

Modi, though, by rallying his followers and suppressing dissent, has weathered many previous challenges, and he is not likely to face another national election for several years. The history of independent India is one of political and humanitarian crisis followed by self-renewal, and the country’s eventual recovery from covid-19 can hardly be doubted. Whether its democracy can also regenerate seems, at this dark hour, a less certain prospect.

Steve Coll, a staff writer, is the dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University. His latest book is “Directorate S: The C.I.A. and America’s Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan.”

community, which, just as many countries are breathing a sigh of relief, could face another Covid wave that includes new variants. We can learn from other epidemics what that might look like: India was one of the last countries to eradicate polio, and is one of 15 countries that still have a significant number of people with leprosy. India also has the third largest HIV/Aids epidemic in the world.

India’s struggles with diseases that have been eradicated or largely ameliorated elsewhere leaves a backdoor for global public health threats and costs billions of dollars in disease burden. These health crises also harm international travel, trade and other economic indicators, creating new challenges not only for India but for its allies, as well.

India likes to tout itself as the world’s largest democracy – and use that moral authority to protect its standing in the global economy and the international diplomatic community. But with a dark curtain separating the reality of the country’s Covid-19 crisis from the rest of the world, India’s standing and authority are at risk. If the country continues to choose political expediency over transparency in the days to come, the people of India, scrambling to protect their families, are the first victims, but far from the last.

Ankita Rao is a news editor at the Guardian US.

How IndIa lIgHtens Its crIsIs As government fails in curbing COVID-19, a rush of volunteers and donors step in, perhaps weaving new levels of trust in India Christian sCienCe Monitor Editorial Board

For journalists in India, these are head-twisting days.

The government’s failure to deal with a surge in coronavirus cases has turned the news media’s attention to a part of society that has responded well: the millions of volunteers and small-scale donors who are assisting sick and destitute people during a COVID-19 wave.

For a country that has long ranked relatively low in charitable giving, India is coming on strong in weaving new levels of public trust.

Stories of people feeding hundreds have gone viral.

So have tales of social media “warriors” helping people find medical supplies. “There is ... an impressive supply of ordinary citizens, charities, private companies and even the odd public servant taking their own initiatives to mitigate the crisis,” reports The Economist.

On social media, too, big-name observers note the rush of giving: “We’re total strangers to each other, we’re donating, we’re trying to figure a way to end each other’s pain and suffering,” said famed Indian actor Kriti Sanon on Instagram.

One reason for journalists suddenly discovering this burst of charity is that an estimated 90% of giving in India is local and religious-based. Most of India’s 4 million nonprofits are small with only a handful of employees. Philanthropy by the wealthy has certainly grown – it hit a record high last year and is expected to go even higher because of the response to COVID-19.

But says Meenakshi Batra of Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) India, “India has a strong culture of giving, but it largely remains unorganized and informal. Assisting others or helping strangers is viewed as a family or a community/religious obligation.”

Just before the pandemic, a CAF survey found 34% of Indians had helped a stranger, 34% had donated money, and 19% had done volunteer work. The next survey will likely raise those figures as a result of the pandemic. Also, people in India may have noticed the generous giving from Indians abroad, a diaspora estimated to be more than 32 million. Worldwide, levels of trust in government and news media declined last year, according to a survey by Edelman communications. But trust in nonprofits remains high, notably for their ethical practices, such as transparency, honesty, and public purpose. “Trust restores balance and enables partnership,” the Edelman survey found.

As the world watches India cope with a virus surge, it can also be witness to a society strengthening its social bonds. People are healing in more ways than one.

Tuesday, 11 May, 2021

BUSINESS 09

LAHORE

Ether bursts past $4,000; other cryptos firm SINGAPORE

TArin vowS To TAkE AcTion AGAinST proFiTEErS ISLAMABAD

AGENCIES

Cryptocurrency ether broke past $4,000 on Monday, hitting a record high for the third consecutive session. Ether, traded using the ethereum blockchain, has soared almost 450% in 2021. It last bought $4,038 on the Binance exchange. Bitcoin rose roughly 2% to hit a three-week high. Dogecoin, launched as a parody cryptocurrency, steadied around 54 U.S. cents after dropping as low as 41.6 cents after Tesla boss and crypto enthusiast Elon Musk described it as a “hustle” during a television appearance.

SpaceX accepts dogecoin as payment to launch lunar mission next year NEW YORK AGENCIES

SpaceX will launch the “DOGE-1 Mission to the Moon” in the first quarter of next year, with Elon Musk’s commercial rocket company accepting the meme-inspired cryptocurrency dogecoin as payment. Geometric Energy Corporation announced the dogecoin-funded mission on Sunday, with the statement not disclosing the mission’s financial value. “We’re excited to launch DOGE-1 to the Moon!”, SpaceX Vice President of Commercial Sales Tom Ochinero was quoted as saying in the statement released by Geometric Energy. “This mission will demonstrate the application of cryptocurrency beyond Earth orbit and set the foundation for interplanetary commerce”. Musk said on Twitter in April that SpaceX was going to put a “literal Dogecoin on the literal moon”. Dogecoin lost more than a third of its price on Sunday, after Musk called it a ‘hustle’ during his guest-host spot on the “Saturday Night Live” comedy sketch TV show. Musk’s tweets this year turned the once-obscure digital currency, which began as a social media joke, into a speculator’s dream. Electric carmaker Tesla Inc, where Musk is CEO, said in February it bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin and would soon accept it as a form of payment for its electric cars, a large stride toward mainstream acceptance that sent bitcoin soaring to a record high of nearly $62,000.

Brent oil may retest resistance at $69.87 SINGAPORE AGENCIES

Brent oil may retest a resistance at $69.87 per barrel, a break above could lead to a gain at $71.38. The contract has broken a lower resistance at $68.76. The next resistance will be at $69.87. The trending signals look a bit confusing, as the uptrend from $60.27 was thought to have reversed. However, the recovery of the price from the May 7 low of $67.39 is strong enough to indicate a continuation of the uptrend. A break above $69.87 will not only open the way towards $71.38, but also confirm a wedge, which indicates a target around $80. A break below $68.76, now a support, may cause a fall to $67.14.

On the daily chart, with oil approaching a resistance at $70.75 again, it is doubtful that the contract retraces towards the March 23 low of $60.27. Each reader should consult his or her own professional or other advisers for business, financial or legal advice regarding the products mentioned in the analyses.

F

STAFF REPORT

EDERAL Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin on Monday vowed to take action against all those responsible for profiteering or hoarding.

He was chairing the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) meeting at the Finance Division. Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam, Adviser to the PM on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, SAPM on Finance and Revenue Dr. Waqar Masood, Secretary Finance Division, Secretary M/o NFS&R, Chief Secretaries of the provincial governments, Member PBS, MD Utility Stores Corporation, Chairperson CCP and other senior officers of various Ministries participated in the meeting.

The NPMC reviewed the price trend of essential commodities especially wheat flour, sugar, edible oil/ghee, pulses and chicken during the last week. While briefing the NPMC about weekly SPI, the Finance Secretary apprised that prices of seven basic commodities registered a decline whereas 26 items remained stable during the week under review.

Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam updated the NPMC about the wheat procurement drive of the

Provinces and PASSCO to ensure steady supply of wheat at fair prices during the current year. He further apprised the NPMC that Punjab is ahead of other Provinces in procurement of wheat to date.

The committee was informed that the summary to import 4 million metric tonnes wheat would be presented before the next ECC for requisite approval to build strategic reserves and to ensure smooth supply of wheat across the country.

While taking stock of the situation, the finance minister directed all provincial governments to ensure daily re-

lease of wheat at subsidised rates in compliance with the directives of the prime minister. He strictly urged the representatives of provincial governments to ensure uninterrupted daily release without fail.

While reviewing the price trend of basic commodities in international markets, the NPMC noted that major driver behind increase in prices of items of daily use is massive international price hike due to ongoing Covid-19 crisis.

The year-on-year (YoY) comparative analysis indicated that price of crude oil increased by 178pc in April 2021 as compared to April 2020. Simi-

Traders decry forced lockdowns, warn of protests MONITORING REPORT Traders have asked Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javaid Bajwa to take notice of inappropriate use of army troops for forcibly closing down the businesses of small traders by the government and warned of a protest demonstration in front of the NCOC headquarters in Islamabad after Eid. “This is for the COAS Gen Bajwa. The army was called by the government under Article 245 to ensure implementation of the Covid-19 SOPs. But it was being used by the government to get the businesses of small shopkeepers forcibly closed which is a wrong act on the part of government,” All Pakistan Anjuman Tajran General Secretary Naeem Mir said in his video message.

“The traders especially the retailers/shopkeepers have expressed concerns over use of such a prestigious institution by the government for closing down their businesses on the pretext of Covid-19 SOPs and NCOC guidelines. If the army is used for ensuring wearing of masks by the people, controlling rush of people and getting the

larly, the price of sugar in international the market increased by 57pc in a YoY comparison.

Furthermore, international prices of palm oil, soyabeen oil and wheat also registered a continued upward trend which, in turn, led to sharp increase in prices of basic items in domestic markets.

Speaking on the occasion, the finance minister stated that Covid-19 crisis has fuelled food prices in international markets especially edible oil, sugar, tea and wheat. The government is making an all-out effort to ensure smooth supply of basic items through a network of ramzan Sahaulat Bazaars and chain of USCs outlets to ease shortages and mitigate price spike in local markets.

Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) chairperson presented findings before the committee regarding completion of recent inquiry in the Poultry Industry. The CCP underlined some anti-competitive conduct that led to surge in prices of Chicken feed, which, in turn, increased prices of chicken.

Tarin stressed that cartelisation would not be acceptable at any cost.

“Stern action would be taken by the provincial administrations and departments concerned to keep the prices of basic commodities in check,” he reiterated.

Govt to announce new rules for meeting FATF demands MONITORING REPORT

traders vaccinated, the traders would have appreciated it. But using army for closing down businesses is not good for its respect and prestige,” Mir added.

“We congratulate the PTI government for snatching earnings of small traders, destructing their business, weakening them economically

and suppressing them. You deserve medal for doing so,” he said ecpressign sarcasm. The trade bodies’ head further warned the government of a major sit-in and encircling of the NCOC headquarters in Islamabad after Eid. “And we will not end our protest till resignation of NCOC chief Asad Umer,” he added.

The government is set to introduce new rules on forfeiture, management and auction of properties and assets relating to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) cases and transfer of investigations and prosecution of AML cases from police, provincial anticorruption establishments (ACEs) and other similar agencies to specialised agencies to achieve remaining benchmarks of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Accordingf to a report by Dawn, this is part of two sets of rules including the AML (Forfeited Properties Management) Rules 2021 and the AML (Referral) Rules 2021 under the National Policy Statement on Follow the Money approved by the federal cabinet meeting a few days ago. These rules and related notifications for certain changes in existing schedule of AntiMoney Laundering Act 2010 (AMLA) would come into force immediately to be followed by appointment of administrators and special public prosecutors for implementation. Based on these measures, the FATF would conclude if Pakistan has complied with three outstanding benchmarks, out of 27, that blocked its exit from the socalled grey list in February this year.

Exports to Australia surge 29pc in 10MFY21 ISLAMABAD APP

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce, Textile, Industry and Production Abdul Razak Dawood said on Sunday that the country’s exports were gradually increasing and export to Australia jumped by 29 per cent during 10 months of the current fiscal year.

In a tweet, the adviser said that the country had witnessed $52 million worth of more exports to Australia during July-April FY2021 as compared to the same period last year.

“We are glad to share that during Jul-April 2021, our exports to Australia increased by 29% to USD 229 million as compared to USD 177 million in JulApril 2020. This is the highest 10months export to Australia ever,” he tweeted.

The adviser said the Large Scale

Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) recovery is led by the textile, beverages, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and automobiles sectors.

The process of de-industrialisation has been reversed and it bodes well for our exports, he said.

Dawood said that industrial growth is closely related to export growth as industrial output is a source for availability of exports.

He said that it is heartening to note that the overall output of LSMI increased by 9 per cent for July-March FY21 as compared to July-March FY20.

“I encourage exporters to aggressively export to this relatively untapped market and also commend the efforts of Ministry of Commerce trade and Investment Counselor Muhammad Ashraf and urge him to facilitate our exporters and investors even more,” he said.

Tuesday, 11 May, 2021

10 FOREIGN NEWS

LAHORE

IndIa’S CovId-19 CaSeS dIp from peaK, CaLLS for Shutdown mount NEW DELHI

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AGENCIES

ALLS grew for India to impose a nationwide lockdown as new coronavirus cases and deaths held close to record highs on Monday, increasing pressure on the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The health ministry reported 366,161 new infections and 3,754 deaths, off a little from recent peaks. India’s tally of infections now stands at 22.66 million, with 246,116 deaths.

As many hospitals grapple with an acute shortage of oxygen and beds while morgues and crematoriums overflow, experts have said India’s actual figures could be far higher than reported.

The 1.47 million samples tested on Sunday for Covid-19 were this month’s lowest yet, data from the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research showed. The figure compared with a daily average of 1.7 million for the first eight days of May. Many states have imposed strict lockdowns over the past month while others have adopted curbs on movement and shut cinemas, restaurants, pubs, and shopping malls.

But pressure is mounting on Modi to announce a nationwide lockdown as he did during the first wave of infections last year.

He is battling criticism for allowing huge gatherings at a religious festival and holding large election rallies during the past two months even as cases surged.

“A failure of governance of epic and historic proportions,” Vipin Narang, a political science professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States, said on Twitter.

On Sunday, top White House coronavirus adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said he had advised Indian authorities they needed to shut down.

“You’ve got to shut down,” Fauci said on ABC’s “This Week” television show. “I believe several of the Indian states have already done that, but you need to break the chain of transmission. And one of the ways to do that is to shut down.”

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has also called for a “complete, wellplanned, pre-announced” lockdown.

New Delhi, the capital, entered a fourth week of lockdown, with tougher curbs such as the shutdown of the suburban rail network, while residents scrambled for scarce hospital beds and oxygen supplies.

“This is not the time to be lenient,” Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Sunday.

“This phase is so tough, this wave is so dangerous, so many people are dying […]

Sadiq Khan elected London mayor for another term

the priority at this hour is to save lives,” he said in a televised address.

Late on Sunday, the northern state of Uttarakhand said it would impose a curfew

from Tuesday (today) until May 18, just days after mass religious gatherings held in the state became virus super spreading events.

Shops selling fruits, vegetables and dairy

items will stay open for some hours in the morning, while malls, gyms, theatres, bars and liquor shops are among the enterprises that will be shut, the government said.

US government declares emergency after cyberattack on major fuel pipeline

NEWS DESK Sadiq Khan was re-elected London Mayor on Saturday as had been widely expected, providing some joy to the opposition Labour Party which has suffered a series of disappointing results in other local elections. Khan, who became the first Muslim and Pakistan-origin politician to head a major Western capital after his victory in 2016, saw off his main challenger, Shaun Bailey, the candidate from Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party. He won by 55.2 percent to Bailey’s 44.8 percent in a result which had been widely predicted, although his winning margin was smaller than his victory five years ago. “I am deeply humbled by the trust Londoners have placed in me to continue leading the greatest city on earth,” Khan said, who focused his campaign on creating jobs and boosting London’s tourism economy. “I promise to strain every sinew to help build a better and brighter future for London after the dark days of the pandemic.” Khan, a former member of parliament who replaced Johnson as leader of the British capital with a population of almost nine million people, has faced criticism over rising violent crime in the capital, particularly stabbings involving teenagers. His record on the issue and other security issues led to a series of angry Twitter spats with former US President Donald Trump. Khan’s success comes after a bruising set of results for Labour in local elections in its former heartlands in central and northern England — known as the party’s “Red Wall” — which followed a disastrous performance in the 2019 national vote. While Johnson has enjoyed wide success elsewhere in England, the opposition party has become increasingly dominant in the British capital. Analysts attribute this to the city’s younger, more ethnically-diverse and more pro-European Union population, which unlike most of England, overwhelmingly opposed Brexit.

WASHINGTON AGENCIES

The US government declared a regional emergency Sunday as the largest fuel pipeline system in the United States remained largely shut down, two days after a major ransomware attack was detected.

The Colonial Pipeline Company ships gasoline and jet fuel from the Gulf Coast of Texas to the populous East Coast through 5,500 miles (8,850 kilometres) of pipeline, serving 50 million consumers.

The company said it was the victim of a cybersecurity attack involving ransomware -- attacks that encrypt computer systems and seek to extract payments from operators. "This Declaration addresses the emergency conditions creating a need for immediate transportation of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and other refined petroleum products and provides necessary relief," the Department

of Transportation said in a statement.

The emergency declaration allows for fuel to be transported by road to the affected states: Alabama, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

The declaration also provides regulatory relief to commercial motor vehicle operations that are part of the emergency support efforts.

Colonial said earlier Sunday that it had opened some smaller delivery lines, but the main system was not yet back up and running. "While our mainlines remain offline, some smaller lateral lines between terminals and delivery points are now operational," Colonial said in a statement, adding it would "bring our full system back online only when we believe it is safe to do so."

"We have remained in contact with law enforcement

and other federal agencies, including the Department of Energy who is leading the Federal Government response," it added. "Maintaining the operational security of our pipeline, in addition to safely bringing our systems back online, remain our highest priorities."

CALLS FOR IMPROVED OVERSIGHT: Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told CBS on Sunday that authorities were working to prevent any disruption to supplies. Colonial, based in the southern state of Georgia, is the largest pipeline operator in the United States by volume, normally transporting 2.5 million barrels of gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel and other refined petroleum products per day. The attack prompted calls from cybersecurity experts for improved oversight of the industry to prepare for future threats.

"This attack is unusual for the US. But the bottom line is that attacks targeting operational technology -the industrial control systems on the production line or plant floor -- are becoming more frequent," Algirde Pipikaite, cyber strategy lead at the World Economic Forum's Centre for Cybersecurity, told AFP on Saturday.

"Unless cybersecurity measures are embedded in a technology's development phase, we are likely to see more frequent attacks on industrial systems like oil and gas pipelines or water treatment plants." Gas prices jumped in the United States on Sunday following the ransomware attack. Analysts warn that prices could climb even higher if the pipeline is not reopened soon. Oil prices rose more than one percent Monday. The United States was rocked in recent months by news of two major cybersecurity breaches -- the SolarWinds hack that compromised thousands of US government and private sector computer networks and was officially blamed on Russia; and a potentially devastating penetration of Microsoft email servers. The latter is believed to have affected at least 30,000 US organisations including local governments and was attributed to an aggressive Chinese cyberespionage campaign.

Putin reviews Russian military might as tensions with West soar MOSCOW AGENCIES

President Vladimir Putin reviewed Russia's traditional World War Two victory parade on Sunday, a patriotic display of raw military power that this year coincides with soaring tensions with the West.

The parade on Moscow's Red Square commemorating the 76th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two featured over 12,000 troops and more than 190 pieces of military hardware, including intercontinental ballistic missile launchers, and a fly-past by nearly 80 military aircraft under cloudy skies.

Putin, who has been in power as either president or prime minister since 1999, stood beside Soviet war veterans on a review plat-

form set up on Red Square. "Unfortunately there are once again attempts to deploy many things from the ideology of the Nazis, those who were obsessed with a delusional theory on their exclusiveness. And not only (by) all sorts of radicals and international terrorist groups," Putin said in what appeared to be a common denunciation of the West but what the Kremlin said was aimed at the rise of neoNazism in Europe. "Russia will again and again uphold international law, but at the same time we will firmly protect national interests (and) ensure the security of our people."

This year's parade precedes parliamentary elections in September and comes at a time when Moscow's relations with the West are acutely strained over issues ranging from the conflict in Ukraine to the fate of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

The United States and Russia have expelled each other's diplomats in recent months in a series of retaliatory moves and Moscow and EU member states have been involved in a similar tit-for-tat diplomatic dispute.

Sunday's parade follows a massive show of Russian military force near the borders of Ukraine and in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Kyiv in 2014, and an uptick in fighting in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian government forces.

Moscow said the build-up, which alarmed the West, was a training exercise in response to activity by the NATO military alliance and Ukraine. It has since ordered a withdrawal of some troops. Smaller military parades took place on Sunday in cities across Russia and in annexed Crimea, and at Russia's Hmeymism air base in Syria.

Tuesday, 11 May, 2021

SPORTS 11

LAHORE

shaheen's Career-Best 'fIve-for' sees PakIstan to BIg wIn over ZImBaBwe

HararE

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Agencies

eAMeR Shaheen Afridi took a career best five for 52 as Pakistan beat Zimbabwe by an innings and 147 runs early on the fourth day of the second Test at Harare Sports Club on Monday.

PAKISTAN 510 FOR 8 DEC (ABID 215 NOT OUT, AZHAR 126, NAUMAN 97, Jongwe (37) to It was the fourth MUZARABANI 3-82) BEAT wicketkeeper Mosuccessive series win ZIMBABWE 132 (CHAKABVA 33, hammad Rizwan, for Pakistan on a southern Africa tour.

HASAN 5-27) AND 231 (CHAKABVA wrapping up the contest as Zimbabwe Pakistan needed just 80, SHAHEEN 5-52, NAUMAN 5- were bowled out for one wicket at the start of 86) BY AN INNINGS AND 231 in their second inthe day and it took a little nings. Pakistan won the over 20 minutes for Shaheen 147 RUNS to induce an edge from Luke

first Test by an innings and

116 runs and have now completed a comprehensive series victory, which followed limited overs success in South Africa.

The tourists had elected to bat and posted a massive 510 for eight declared, boosted by a maiden double-ton for opener Abid Ali, who spent almost 11 hours at the crease for his 215.

Seamer Hasan Ali claimed 5-27 in Zim-

Zverev rallies to beat Berrettini and lift second Madrid Open title Madrid Agencies

BaBar named ICC men’s Player of the month for aPrIl 2021

Alexander Zverev recovered from a set down to defeat Matteo Berrettini 6-7 (8/10), 6-4, 6-3 and win the Madrid Open for a second time Sunday as he clinched a fourth Masters 1000 title.

The German fifth seed recorded his third consecutive top-10 victory this week, having eliminated five-time Madrid champion Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem to reach the final. Zverev, last year’s US Open runner-up, added to his 2018 Madrid triumph as he denied Berrettini successive titles following the Italian’s win in Belgrade last month. “It is great (to win this title), especially after

losing my last three finals I played at Masters 1000 events,” Zverev said. “This is definitely special and I just want to enjoy this one.” Zverev was full of praise for his Italian rival. “Matteo was an extremely difficult opponent, because I had not faced anyone who serves at 235 km/h, who dominates the ball like him. “Against Rafa (Nadal) and Dominic (Thiem), the matches were different, although they are obviously excellent clay players, perhaps the two best at the moment. Against Matteo, it was extremely difficult to just put the ball back in the court.” Zverev is targeting a second Rome title at the Foro Italico next week. He captured his first Masters there in 2017 before also winning in Montreal later that year.

Islamabad: Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam was named the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Men’s Player of the Month for April 2021 due to his consistent and outstanding performances across all formats in the recentlyconcluded series against South Africa. He was chosen as the April winner by fans and the ICC voting academy. Australian female player Alyssa Healy was named the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for April 2021. Azam's match-winning 82ball 94 in the third ODI against South Africa helped him gain 13 rating points to reach a careerbest 865 points. He also contributed 122 from 59 balls in Pakistan’s successful chase in the third match of a T20I series against the same opposition.

“The world bats in two ways in white-ball cricket. One way is to destroy attacks with muscle and force and then there is the Babar Azam way, like conducting a batting symphony with punch, panache and flair, and he deserves to win this award," said Ramiz Raja — representing the ICC's voting academy — as he commented on Azam's performance in April. Azam also became the first Pakistan captain to win his first four opening Tests, according to a statement from the Pakistan Cricket Board. APP

CMYK

“Rome is also an event I like and enjoy, so I hope I can perform in the same way as I did here and we will see how it goes there. I feel awesome,” said Zverev.

After Rome, the German star will target a maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros. However, he has yet to get beyond the quarter-finals in Paris. “To play well at Roland Garros, you have to play well during the season on clay. In that sense, it’s (Sunday’s win) important to me,” said Zverev.

'GREaT FIGHT': “I think we had a great fight. It’s tough, this sport is crazy.

It’s a really good moment of my career but at the same time it’s not that great because I lost,” said Berrettini.

World number 10 Berrettini landed

babwe's reply, skittling the home side for 132, before Nauman Ali (5-86) and Shaheen did the damage with the ball in the followon innings, claiming all the wickets to fall.

Only Regis Chakabva (80) and stand-in skipper Brendan Taylor (49) offered much resistance to the Pakistan victory charge, with most of the damage done on the third day when the visitors picked up 15 wickets.

the first blow as he broke Zverev to move 4-3 ahead in the opening set at the Caja Magica, only to drop his service the very next game. The Italian raced into a 5-0 lead in the tie-break but Zverev clawed it back to 5-4 before two set points slipped beyond the grasp of Berrettini.

Zverev failed to take a set point of his own at 7-6 and then saved a third, but a double fault at 8-8 handed Berrettini another opportunity that this time he did not let go to waste. It was the first set lost by Zverev, whose last clay-court title had come in Geneva in 2019. Zverev secured the only break of the second set in game nine, when Berrettini double faulted, to send the match into a decider. The German then broke to move 3-2 ahead in the final set and closed out victory after two hours and 40 minutes with another break, earning his second title of the season after taking home the Acapulco crown in March.

Tuesday, 11 May, 2021

PrAyer TiMings

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FAJR SUNRISE

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ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

3:39

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PM directs fresh Probe into hudabia case against sharifs HUDAIBIA MONEY LAUNDERING MODEL ADOPTED BY SHARIF'S IN LATER CASES, PM TOLD ISLAMABAD

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MiAn AbrAr

RIME Minister Imran Khan on Monday directed the government’s legal team to conduct a fresh investigation into the Hudaibia Paper Mills case of the Sharif family and take it to a logical conclusion.

The decision was taken after the legal team of the federal government briefed Prime Minister Imran who soon after landing from a successful visit of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, convened an important meeting at his Bani Gala residence to discuss and develop a strategy on Shehbaz Sharif’s bid to travel abroad.

According to reliable sources, the meeting convened by Prime Minister Imran decided to re-investigate the Hudaibia Paper Mills case which the legal aides of the PM believed was the most important source of corruption in the Sharif family.

The legal team told the PM that later on the same method of money laundering was adopted by the Sharif family.

The meeting was also attended by Federal Minister Fawad Chaudhry, Asad Umar, Shehzad Akbar, and others.

Sources said that during the meeting, the prime minister was briefed on the government’s decision to challenge the bail awarded to Shehbaz. The meeting also dis-

cussed a strategy to deal with the situation if Shehbaz filed a contempt of court petition in Lahore High Court.

Sources also said that Shahbaz Akbar briefed the prime minister on the court decision regarding Shehbaz’s departure abroad.

Akbar also briefed on the possible legal options left with the legal team of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president. The sources said that the prime minister held consultations regarding the recourse to the court.

The sources said that the prime minister also took important leaders into confidence about his visit to Saudi Arabia.

It may be mentioned here that Prime Minister Imran returned home after a threeday visit to Saudi Arabia early Monday. Senator Faisal Javed Khan also announced the return of the PM on social media.

Later, Fawad Chaudhry, Minister for Information and Broadcasting told the media that today, the legal team gave a detailed briefing to Prime Minister Imran regarding the cases of Shehbaz.

“Hudabia Papers case is the most important source of corruption in the Sharif family, with Shehbaz Sharif and Nawaz Sharif as the main accused in the case, the same method used to send money out of Hudabia was later adopted in each case. Therefore, it is very important to bring this case to a logical conclusion,” he concluded.

Jammu & Kashmir not India’s internal matter: FM

ISLAMABAD APP

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Monday categorically said Jammu and Kashmir was not India’s internal matter and the final settlement of the dispute lay in the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

“Let me be clear: Jammu & Kashmir is an internationally recognised dispute on the UN Security Council agenda,” he said in a tweet.

The foreign minister mentioned that the UNSC resolution called for “free and impartial plebiscite under” the UN auspices to resolve the dispute.

“Nothing about J&K can be India’s internal matter,” he said.

Last month, FM Qureshi had said that Pakistan has never avoided peace talks and wanted to live in peace with all its neighbours, including India, but New Delhi would have to restore the semi-autonomous status of occupied Kashmir. Qureshi had made the remarks while speaking at a news conference in the United

Arab Emirates (UAE) during a three-day official visit.

“Both India and Pakistan will have to think about their bilateral ties,” Qureshi had said.

“Pakistan is ready to talk with India if it takes back its steps of August 5. Pakistan cannot ignore the Kashmir issue.”

In August 2019, India stripped the held region of its special status and took direct control over it, sparking civil unrest. Islamabad has since maintained it is open to talks if New Delhi reverses its decision.

The foreign minister had added that Pakistan desired peace in the region because peace would create more economic opportunities.

His statements had come days after Reuters reported that top intelligence officers from both countries held secret talks in Dubai in January in a new effort to calm tensions.

Citing sources, the report had said that officials from India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) travelled to Dubai for a meeting facilitated

by Abu Dhabi.

Following the January meeting, Pakistan and India announced they would stop crossborder shooting along the Line of Control (LoC) which has left dozens of civilians dead and many others maimed.

Both sides have also signalled plans to hold elections on their sides of Kashmir this year as part of efforts to bring normalcy to a region riven by decades of bloodshed.

The two have also agreed to dial down their rhetoric, the people Reuters spoke to said.

But as Qureshi welcomed mediation efforts by the UAE, he told Khaleej Times that he was not planning to meet his Indian counterpart in the country. Qureshi and Subrahmanyam Jaishankar are visiting the Gulf state at the same time. “I am here for a bilateral visit. I am not here for an India-specific agenda,” Qureshi told the publication, which published a video excerpt of the interview.

“We welcome third party facilitation […]

But no matter what friends like the UAE say, the initiative has to be indigenous,” he added.

Iran confirms talks with Saudi Arabia, promises best efforts AgencIeS Iran confirmed publicly for the first time on Monday that it is in talks with its regional arch-rival Saudi Arabia, saying it would do what it could to resolve issues between them.

“De-escalation of tensions between the two Muslim countries in the Persian Gulf region is in the interest of both nations and the region,” foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a televised weekly news conference.

Iran was waiting for the outcome of the talks, he said: “We welcome resolving of the issues that have existed between the two countries […] We will use our best efforts in this regard.”

Ambassador Rayed Krimly, head of policy planning at Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry, last week told Reuters that talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran were aimed at reducing regional tensions. He said it was too early to judge the outcome and Riyadh wanted to see “verifiable deeds”.

Iran and Saudi Arabia have been locked in a rivalry that has played out in proxy conflicts across the region, from Yemen to Syria to Iraq. The two countries cut diplomatic ties in 2016.

Middle East officials and sources said last month that they had held two rounds of talks.

The arrival of President Joe Biden in the United States has altered the diplomatic calculus across the Middle East. Washington aims to restart a nuclear deal with Iran that Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump abandoned, and has called for Saudi Arabia to end a war against Yemen’s Houthi forces.

Some sources told Reuters last month that Tehran had promised to use its influence to halt Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, in return asking Riyadh to support the nuclear talks. Nuclear talks in Vienna between Tehran and world powers aim to bring Washington and Iran back into full compliance with the nuclear deal. In retaliation for sanctions reimposed since 2018 by Trump, Iran has breached nuclear restrictions under the pact.

Published by Arif Nizami at Qandeel Printing Press, 4 Queens Road, Lahore, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk