Epaper – May 1 ISB 2021

Saturday, 1 May, 2021 I 18 Ramzan-ul-Mubarak, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 302 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition

PM announces Rs370bn develoPMent Package foR gb ISLAMABAD

P

g

GhulAm AbbAs

rime minister imran khan on friday finally announced the historic five-year development package worth rs370 billion for gilgit-Baltistan (gB) during his visit to gilgit. after inauguration of some projects of Special communication organization (Sco) in gilgit, the prime minister said that the government was starting with a package of rs370 billion to be spent over five years and that never before had such an amount been spent in the area. “we will keep helping you,” he added. earlier he had approved the major uplift project for gB which was prepared by the ministry of planning and development in coordination with the government of gB and other ministries. though majority of the projects included in the package are those announced by previous governments but they have previously been in papers only. according to an official source, an apex committee constituted to finalise this package, had proposed at least 57

more powerS to Be devolved to gB through provincial StatuS

development projects in the five-year development plan (2021-26), which included earlier approved projects, some ongoing projects and some new projects — to be funded by the centre as well as through public-private partner-

ship (ppp). as per documents available with this scribe, the rs370 billion development plan includes pSdp funding of rs275 billion in three years with an average rs55 billion per year. at least 18 new pSdp

fiqah-e-hanfia lahore sehr: 3:38 aM iftar: 6:45 PM

islaMabad sehr: 3:47 aM iftar: 6:55 PM

karachi sehr: 4:35 aM iftar: 7:02 PM

fiqah-e-jafaria lahore sehr: 3:38 aM iftar: 6:55 PM

projects are included in the package with the cost of rs130 billion. whereas 11 ongoing projects of pSdp of rs31.2 billion are also included in the package. Besides, at least 2,114 ongoing projects of annual development programme (adp) of gB worth rs113 billion are also included in the development package. the historic programme also includes 11 non-pSdp projects worth rs4.81 billion. apart from the government funded projects under this plan, at least 12 projects worth rs90.1 billion would be completed through private investment (ppp model).

Sharing the details asad, who also accompanied the premier, said that nine electricity projects with a capacity of 250 megawatt would be added which were all hydel and clean energy projects. “a local distribution grid is being spread so that electricity can be provided reliably,” asad said, adding that rs140 billion were just for the electricity projects. the federal minister stated that five road projects worth rs35 billion would also be carried out. for tourism, skills development and training related to

islaMabad sehr: 3:37 aM iftar: 7:05 PM

karachi sehr: 4:25 aM iftar: 7:12 PM

tourism, rs6 billion have been allocated, while rs17 billion will be spent on projects relating to health and education initiatives. asad stated that two big water projects of rs8.5 billion would also be launched: a water supply scheme for gB and a sewage and sanitation scheme for Skardu. he further pointed out various projects such as incubation centres for promoting business and entrepreneurship, flood protection structures, enhancement of biodiversity and aqua systems, network expansion of 3g and 4g services and 25 small and medium-scale industrial units to add value to agricultural output. as per documents, rs5.3 billion have been allocated for Shagarthang-gorikot road which would connect Baltistan region with diamer district. rs3.2 billion would be spent on darel-tangir expressway and rs5 billion are allocated for Shigar-paiu road. rs17 billion have been approved for astore valley road from thalichi to Shounter. another major road under the package is Shara-e-nagar at the cost of rs4.5 billion.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Covid-19: Next few weeks are critical, warns minister g

g

'aSad umar SayS oxygen Supply Situation under control deSpite increaSe in covid-19 caSeS 'Sindh health miniSter warnS againSt preSence of South african and Brazilian variantS in Sindh ISLAMABAD APP

minister for planning, development and Special initiatives asad umar on friday said that despite rapid increase in coronavirus cases, the oxygen supply situation in hospitals is under control due to the proactive decisions taken by the national command and operation centre (ncoc) to increase

coRonaviRus in

Pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

820,823

oxygen production capacity and import more oxygen cylinders. he, however, added that the next few weeks are critical. “total number of critical care covid-19 patients on oxygen had reached 5,360 on thursday. this is 57 per cent more than the peak in June last year,” he said in a series of tweets. “alhamdulillah [we] have so far managed to cope with this huge increase because of proactively building capacity of the entire system from

oxygen production to beds,” he added. the minister, who is also the ncoc chief, said, “total oxygen production operational capacity in pakistan last year was 487 tonnes per day. it has been increased to 798 tonnes. actual production had gone up from 465 tonnes per day last June to 725 tonnes currently. we also imported 19,200 oxygen cylinders last year to ensure distribution.” he said that the federal government had added 2,811 oxygen beds all over pakistan last year whereas the provinces had also added more. the minister said despite having more than 2,000 additional covid-19 patients on oxygen, compared to the peak in last June, the country is not facing shortage in oxygen supply, that was seen last year.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Pakistan disappointed with European Parliament’s resolution on blasphemy laws: FO g

'unwarranted commentary aBout pakiStan’S Judicial SyStem, domeStic lawS iS regrettaBle'

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

NEW CASES:

131

5,112

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

711,465

17,811

SINDH:

PUNJAB:

282,445

301,114

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

117,557 AJK/GB: 17,057 / 5,305

22,278 ISLAMABAD:

75,067

APP

pakistan on friday said it is disappointed with the adoption of a resolution at the european parliament on blasphemy laws in the country. “the discourse in the european parliament reflects a lack of understanding in the context of blasphemy laws and associated religious sensitivities in pakistan and in the wider muslim world,” foreign office (fo) Spokesperson zahid hafeez chaudhri said. “the unwarranted commentary about pakistan’s judicial system and domestic laws is regrettable,” he added. the spokesperson said pakistan, being a parliamentary democracy with a vibrant civil society and free media and independent judiciary, remained fully committed to the promotion and protection of human rights for all its citizens without discrimination. “we are proud of our minorities, who enjoy equal rights and complete protection of fundamental freedoms as enshrined in the constitution. Judicial and administrative mechanisms and remedies are in place to guard against any human rights violations,” he added. the spokesperson mentioned that pakistan has played an active role in promoting free-

Indian Muslims turn mosques, schools into Covid centres STORY ON BACK PAGE

imran khan reiterates resolve to complete cpec projects 'at all costs'

ISLAMABAD

LAST UPDATED AT 8:17 AM ON APRIL 30, 2021

MORE INSIDE

STORY ON PAGE 03

dom of religion or belief, tolerance and interfaith harmony. at a time of rising islamophobia and populism, the international community must exhibit a common resolve to fight xenophobia, intolerance and incitement to violence based on religion or belief, and work together to strengthen peaceful co-existence, he stressed. the spokesperson further said pakistan and the eu have multiple mechanisms in place to discuss entire spectrum of bilateral relations, including a dedicated dialogue on democracy, rule of law, governance and human rights. “we would continue to remain positively engaged with the eu on all issues of mutual interest,” he maintained.

Bilawal demands president’s resignation over Justice Isa reference STORY ON BACK PAGE

ppp wins na-249 by-election STORY ON PAGE 05

Saturday, 1 May, 2021

Introduction: Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited (FFCL) is a public listed company, founded in 1978 as a result of a joint venture between Fauji Foundation and Haldor Topsoe A/S Denmark. The company has progressively grown over the past 42 years; currently owns 3 x Fertilizer Plants with the largest fertilizer market share in Pakistan. It has further diversified owning Fauji Fresh and Freeze (FFF), FFC Energy Limited (FFCEL) & OLIVE Technical Services Pvt. Ltd. as its subsidiaries also having FFBL, Askari Bank, PakMaroc, Fauji Cement and HUBCO as its associated concerns.

FFC’s Commitment Towards Overall Well Being of Labor: FFC has been continuously investing in improvement of its labor force by providing them necessary skillset to meet the global standards of operational health and safety ensuring congenial and harmonious working environment at the workplace equivalent

to its stature and place as a market leader; running an extensive safetytraining program. Plant preventive maintenance plans corroborate process integrity and alleviate process safety incidents. The company has also made colossal efforts to improve the quality of life of the labor at the township; providing them state of the art free medical and good educational facilities for their children.

FFC rightly believes in “No Harm - No Injury” and operates an occupational Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) management system in adherence to latest international standards of health and safety of workforce i.e. ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001. Resultantly, FFC achieved an enormous safety by completing 17 & 7 million man-hours without Lost Work Injury (LWI) record at FFC plant sites Goth Machhi and Mirpur Mathelo, respectively. To promote safe culture through labors’ actions and to boost their morale, Safety Awards are

Assortment of OPA French Fries (A Product of FFFL) at Fauji Fresh n Freeze Plant, Sahiwal (Punjab)

given to employees on achieving each million-man hours without safety incident and during safe completion of plant shutdowns & turnarounds.

We ensure good labor relations in spirit of cooperation and mutual respect through Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to safeguard labor rights and settle their problems, protection of ecosystems and safety of our workforce. FFC goes an extra mile through its Loan schemes, Workers Hajj scheme, Workers children scholarship programs and Bonus schemes to keep its workers and labor motivated and to support them in achieving their personal milestones. The company also reaches out to the farmers (as associated labor segment) for resolution of their needs and hardships through its newly launched sustainable and climate smart agri program named as Food Security & Agriculture Centre of Excellence (FACE) and looks out for their welfare, families and indigenous communities through employee run funds and trusts.

Moreover, in testing times of pandemic COVID - 19, FFC gave majority of its work force fully paid leaves to stay at home.

FFC Subsidiaries FFC Energy Limited FFC Energy Limited (FFCEL) – a Pioneer Wind Power Generation project was incorporated in 2009 as a wholly owned subsidiary of FFC, which commenced its commercial operations on 16 May 2013 and has so far delivered over 975 Million Units of clean and green electricity into National Grid. FFCEL has employed 100% local manpower for carrying out the Operations and Maintenance of the Wind Farm paving the way for local industry development in sectors

A Community Welfare Initiative - FFC Sona Welfare Hospital at Mirpur Mathelo (Sindh) of O&M, Inspection, Training and Audit Services which can be extended to other Wind Farms. FFCEL, considers all its workforce including labor, a key organizational asset and is committed to their welfare and wellbeing for which well-maintained accommodation, dinning club and sports facilities are provided to them at site. FFCEL’s QHSE program

is certified under ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001, which ensures healthy and safe work environment for all its manpower. Safe man-days record of 2,152 is a testimony of it.

All labor laws including minimum wages, working hours etc. are complied with. FFCEL, under its Workers’ Profit Participation Fund has so far contributed over Rs. 175 Million out

FFC's Initiative to Nurture Future of the Nation - FFC Sona Public School at Mirpur Mathelo (Sindh)

of which Rs. 23.5 Million are provided directly to eligible workforce.

The Technical Training Center (TTC), a flagship CSR project of FFCEL, provides specific trainings related to Wind Industry, to own manpower as well as employees of other plants, to build local workforce capacity and reduce dependency on foreign experts thereby reduction in foreign exchange outflow for Wind turbine services.

Fauji Fresh n Freeze Limited (FFFL) Safety is the utmost importance at “FFFL” also; consistent efforts are made to put certain mechanism in place to create a hazard free work space for all its employees.

To honor this commitment, FFFL conducts comprehensive in-house training sessions at plant on areas like safety, quality, processing, maintenance etc. and ensures that emergency procedures are practiced in stimulated but safe environment. Necessary skillset and knowledge is imparted to the labor with regards to use of fire extinguishers, breathing apparatus, emergency response plan, hazard analysis, safe driving and ammonia safety etc. As a result of FFL’s goal of zero tolerance on safety measures, FFFL has successfully achieved 5 million safe man-hours since January 2015. FFFL appreciates its workforce, labor and employees for their long-term commitment to achieve this exceptional safety record.

FFC Tribute to its Workforce and Labor: On this Labor Day, Fauji Fertilizer Company along with its subsidiaries and associated companies pays homage to its frontline workers for their hard work, dedication and valuable contributions which make FFC

Operations & Maintenance Work at FFC Plantsite stand tall as a business leader in fertilizer manufacturing sector in Pakistan. In these challenging times, FFC applauds its frontline workers for showing commitment and discipline while adhering to safety rules and practices that are critical at this time to maintain business continuity. We the FFC and the subsidiaries recognizing our employees and labor are true assets of the organization and salute them on this Labor Day and attribute our stature of market leader directly to them. The road to success in the workplace requires persistence, passion and commitment. You have demonstrated that you have all three and more. You are the reason today we are leading this industry with dignity and pride.

Saturday, 1 May, 2021

ISLAMABAD

NEWS

03

PM reiterAteS reSolve to coMPlete cPec ProjectS ‘At All coStS’ ISLAMABAD

P

MIAN AbrAr

RIME Minister Imran Khan on Friday expressed satisfaction on the pace of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor’s (CPEC) ongoing projects and reiterated the resolve to complete the developments at all costs.

The prime minister expressed the resolve while chairing a high level meeting to review progress on the CPEC, the flagship project of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Minister for Energy

Hammad Azhar, Minister for Finance Shaukat Tareen, Minister for Industries Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiyar, Minister for Planning Asad Umar, Adviser to Prime Minister Abdul Razzaq Dawood, National Security Advisor Dr Moeed Yousuf, Board of Investment Chairman Atif Bukhari, CPEC Authority Chairman Lieutenant general (R) Asim Saleem Bajwa and other high ranking officials attended the meeting.

The premier was briefed about the progress of ongoing projects in various sectors under the umbrella of CPEC.

IMRAN SAYS CPEC IS TESTIMONY OF TIME-TESTED PAKISTAN-CHINA FRIENDLY RELATIONS The meeting was informed that the incumbent government has not only completed the ongoing projects started by the previous government, but is able to complete large number of significant projects in just two and a half years.

On the infrastructure development projects, the meeting was informed that, regardless of who started any project, most of the projects have been completed

by the incumbent government.

Special Economic Zones (SEZs), including Rashakai, Dhabeji, Allama Iqbal Industrial City and Gawadar Industrial Zone, are attracting foreign and local Investors. It was also informed in the meeting that Chinese are expanding cooperation in agriculture sector and livestock.

The PM said that the CPEC is a testimony of time-tested and deep-rooted Pak-China friendly relations and these will continue to be priority in the

government’s development strategy. He particularly emphasised that focus of industrialisation should be export oriented and import substitution and the policies should be framed accordingly.

The premier also directed to prepare the young nationals to take up new jobs being created by incoming industry and high quality agricultural farms.

Meanwhile, the CPEC Authority chairman, in a tweet, said 60 per cent work of 884 MW Suki Kinari Hydro Power project has been completed while its expected completion date is December 22.

Asian currencies resilient against higher US yields: Fitch ISLAMABAD AGENCIES

The exchange rates of Asia-Pacific's largest economies proved resilient against the US dollar throughout the coronavirus pandemic crisis and the recent rise in US bond yields and should make further gains in the coming months, says Fitch Ratings in a new report. According to the international rating agency, the region's currencies have been supported by China' strong economic recovery, particularly the Australian dollar and Korean won, while high commodity prices have provided tailwinds for the Australian dollar and Indonesian rupiah. Lower external imbalances in Indonesia and India have better supported the countries' currencies during the recent episode of market volatility relative to the sell-off in 2013.

Fitch's empirical analysis - based on estimating 'fair value' models for six major Asian currencies against the US dollar - also shows that, historically, most Asian currencies have been more sensitive to US short-term interest rates rather than longer-term US bond yields. The rupiah stands out as being the most sensitive to rising US long-term bond yields.

With the Fed likely to keep the short-end of the US yield curve firmly entrenched at its current low level, we think that most Asian currencies have scope for small gains in coming months, having already regained some ground in recent weeks, following the February-March sell off. “Downside risks to our currency forecasts include much higher US inflation pressure than we expect, prompting a faster than anticipated rise in US yields and a strong broad-based US dollar appreciation trend,” said Fitch Ratings.

Seven countries account for two-thirds of global gas flaring: WB AGENCIES In an unprecedented year for the oil and gas industry, oil production declined by 8% in 2020, while global gas flaring reduced by 5%, according to satellite data compiled by the World Bank’s Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership (GGFR). Oil production dropped from 82 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2019 to 76 million b/d in 2020, as global gas flaring reduced from 150 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2019 to 142 bcm in 2020. Nonetheless, the world still flared enough gas to power sub-Saharan Africa. The United States accounted for 70% of the global decline, with gas flaring falling by 32% from 2019 to 2020, due to an 8% drop in oil production, combined with new infrastructure to use gas that would otherwise be flared. Gas flaring satellite data from 2020 reveals that Russia, Iraq, Iran, the United States, Algeria, Venezuela and Nigeria remain the top seven gas flaring countries for nine years running, since the first satellite was launched in 2012. These seven countries produce 40% of the world’s oil each year, but account for roughly two-thirds (65%) of global gas flaring. This trend is indicative of ongoing, though differing, challenges facing these countries. For example, the United States has thousands of individual flare sites, difficult to connect to a market, while a few high flaring oil fields in East Siberia in the Russian Federation are extremely remote, lacking the infrastructure to capture and transport the associated gas. Gas flaring, the burning of natural gas associated with oil extraction, takes place due to a range of issues, from market and economic constraints, to a lack of appropriate regulation and political will.

ISLAMABAD: Citizens offer Friday prayer in the holy month of Ramadan. INP

Bears rules PSX as KSE-100 sheds 600 points KARACHI TLTP

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued with a bearish trend on the fourth consecutive session on Friday and the benchmark KSE-100 Index shed 600.76 points (1.34 percent) to close at 44,262.35 points.

The KSE-100 Index traded in a range of 905.3 points, showing an intraday high of 45,056.90 and a low of 44,151.6. The selling pressure was primarily caused by end of roll-over week and short trading hours.

Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index shed 354.49 points (-1.17 percent) to close at 30,017.98 points, while All Share Islamic Index shed 252.39 points (-1.16 percent) to close at 21,576.76 points.

A total of 367 companies traded shares in the stock exchange, out of them shares of 84 closed up, shares of 273 closed down while shares of 10 companies remained unchanged. The overall market volumes increased by 13.07 million to 293.75 million shares, while market capitalisation decreased by Rs92.67 billion. The number of total trades decreased by 595 to 97,639, and value traded increased by

Rs0.16 billion to Rs13.77 billion.

Among scrips, GGL topped the volumes with 34.8 million shares, followed by TRG (25.9 million) and TELE (22.4 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include GGL, TRG, TELE, WTL and HASCOL, which formed 37 percent of total volumes.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs608.1 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.

Sector-wise, the index was let down by technology & communication with 133 points, cement with 60 points, oil & gas exploration companies with 50 points, oil & gas marketing companies with 46 points and commercial banks with 42 points. The most points taken off the index was by TRG which stripped the index of 105 points followed by HUBC with 30 points, SYS with 28 points, NBP with 24 points and NRL with 23 points.

The sectors propping up the index were miscellaneous with 6 points, synthetic & rayon with 3 points, modarabas with one point and automobile parts & accessories with one point. The most points added to the index was by BAHL

WB to provide $400m loan for KP’s SPEED programme NEWS DESK Pakistan and World Bank on Friday signed the $400 million loan agreement for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Spending Effectively for Enhanced Development (SPEED) programme on Friday.

Minister for Economic Affairs Omar Ayub Khan witnessed the signing ceremony of the loan agreement with the World Bank at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, according to a press statement.

Secretary Economic Affairs Noor Ahmed and World Bank Country Director NajyBenhassine signed the financing agreement on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion, Omar reiterated the parameters of valued partnership with the World Bank. He said that the signing ceremony is a reflection of continued confidence by the IFIs on the government’s policy and programme.

He reiterated the commitment of the federal government to extend all possible support to the provincial

governments in their efforts to restore human capital by addressing setbacks to health, education, jobs, and building resilience service delivery systems and promoting economic opportunities to ensure inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the country.

The minister thanked the World Bank country management for extending their continuous support to the government of Pakistan in achieving sustainable economic development in the country.

Country DirectorBenhassine ensured the World Bank’s continuous financial and technical support to the government of Pakistan in achieving the priority development objectives and to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the country.

SPEED aims to support the government of KP in improving the availability and management of public resources for delivery of primary, middle and high school education and primary health services in the province.

The programme objectives will be achieved by: (a)

which contributed 19 points followed by HBL with 14 points, SCBPL with 6 points, SHFA with 6 points and AGP with 5 points. Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the end of roll-over week had a painful impact on the market, causing the index to tumble 711 points during the session and closing -601 points.

They said that leveraged stocks, NETSOL, TRG and UNITY which had significant outstanding balance in the DFC open interest created negative sentiment, despite TRG declaring good results with a hefty payout. NETSOL, on the other hand, posted negative earnings for the quarter.

Resultantly, NETSOL hit the lower circuit.

Besides, selling pressure was observed across the board with UBL contributing to loss on points table among banking sector stocks with the exception of HBL that maintained level above LDCP. JS Global analyst Muhammad Mubashir said that bears dominated the market as the KSE-100 index lost 601 points to close the session at 44,262.

“The market opened on a positive note, but could not breach the intra-day resistance level of 45,100 as rising Covid-19 concerns shattered investors’ confidence,” he said.

“We expect the market to remain volatile due to Covid-19 concerns and recommend investors to book profits on the higher side and wait for sharp dips to accumulate value stocks in cement, refinery and steel sectors,” the analyst said.

introducing medium-term perspective to fiscal planning and budgeting to create fiscal space for education and health service delivery; (b) providing adequate and predictable funding for education and health services delivery; (c) provision of adequate staffing and facilities for health and education service delivery.

The improved management of public finances for delivery of education and health services will be ensured through: (a) delegation of greater financial management authorities to line departments and facility levels; (b) rolling out integrated financial management information systems; and (c) modernisation of procurement processes.

Meanwhile, Minister for Economic Affairs Omar chaired a meeting on foreign-funded projects of the government of KP and reviewed the progress of the ongoing portfolio.

He emphasised to remove all the bottlenecks and expedite implementation of the projects on a fast track basis. In order to ensure smooth and timely completion of the projects, he directed to review progress of the projects on a monthly basis.

The meeting was attended by all the senior officials of the Economic Affairs Division.

04

Saturday, 1 May, 2021

ISLAMABAD

NEWS

PAKistAN, HuNGAry siGN AGreemeNt to exPANd cooPerAtioN iN trAde, otHer Key AreAs ISLAMABAD

P

MIAN ABRAR

AKISTAN and Hungary Friday inked business agreements between Pakistani and Hungarian companies in the fields of dairy, pharmaceuticals and cyber security.

The ceremony was held as Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi held wide-ranging talks with the visiting Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Peter Szijjarto.

The Hungarian government has announced an exclusive credit-line of $ 84 million for Hungarian companies to do business with Pakistan.

A Loan facility of $50 million for projects in fisheries and food processing was announced by the Hungarian government. The two sides will also work towards establishing direct air links.

An MoU on Cooperation within the

Framework of the Stipendium Hungaricum Programme 2020-22 was signed between the two sides, under which the Hungarian Government will provide 200 scholarships annually to Pakistani students to study in Hungary.

The foreign ministers, during one on one meeting, reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations and explored ways to deepen existing cooperation across diverse areas such as trade, economic, agriculture research, food industry, aviation, energy, water resource management, science & technology, and higher education. It was agreed to work together to forge a strong bilateral economic partnership.

The talks covered bilateral relations and exchange of views on regional and international issues.

Foreign Minister Szijjarto is visiting Pakistan accompanied by a high-level official delegation as well as 17 businessmen.

The foreign minister fondly recalled his

earlier interaction with Foreign Minister Szijjarto during the inauguration of HungaryPakistan Trade and Economic Window (HPTEW).

The two foreign ministers held one-onone meeting, which was followed by delegation-level talks. The foreign ministers reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations and explored ways to deepen existing cooperation across diverse areas such as trade, economic, agriculture research, food industry, aviation, energy, water resource management, science & technology, and higher education. It was agreed to work together to forge a strong bilateral economic partnership.

Foreign Minister Qureshi apprised Foreign Minister Szijjarto of Pakistan’s steadfast support for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan and positive contributions to the Afghan peace process. The foreign minister underlined the importance of reduction in violence leading to ceasefire. He also un-

derlined the imperative of responsible withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and continued engagement of the international community to help Afghanistan’s reconstruction and economic development. The foreign minister stressed that the Afghan stakeholders must seize this historic opportunity and engage constructively to work out an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political solution, through an Afghanowned and Afghan-led process.

Regarding Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK), the foreign minister highlighted the serious human rights situation. Foreign Minister Qureshi added that the recent reaffirmation of ceasefire understanding on the Line of Control (LoC) was in line with Pakistan’s consistent position on maintaining regional peace and security. The foreign minister underscored the importance of peaceful resolution of Jammu and Kashmir dispute, stressing that the onus was on India to create an enabling environment for dia-

logue. He also mentioned that as a gesture of solidarity with the people of India in the wake of the current wave of Covid-19, Pakistan had offered to provide relief support to India.

Earlier, the two foreign ministers jointly addressed the Pakistan-Hungary Economic Diplomacy event and encouraged business community of both countries to enhance mutual collaboration. Foreign Minister Qureshi highlighted Pakistan’s economic security paradigm and underlined the shifting focus from geo-politics to geo-economics.

He invited Hungarian companies to take advantage of the business-friendly environment in Pakistan.

Pakistan and Hungary enjoy friendly relations and close cooperation at bilateral and multilateral fora. The visit of Foreign Minister Szijjarto will contribute to reinforcing bilateral economic partnership and enhancing mutual understanding on regional and international issues.

IHC seeks IIUI response as top academic recruitments challenged ISLAMABAD TLTP

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday sought a reply from the president of the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) and others for filling academic top slots in violation of the by-laws and the constitution of Pakistan. Advocate Umer Ijaz Gilani challenged the appointment notification of deans of faculties including engineering and technology, social sciences, Usuluddin, two director generals of Dawah Academy, and chairpersons of law and environmental science departments at IIUI. Gilani, on behalf of his client Dr Muhammad Mushtaq Ahmad, made the IIUI president, board of governors of IIUI through its chairman, secretary Federal Education and Professional Training Division and Higher Education Commission as respondents in the matter. Gilani urged the court to nullify the appointment notification on the grounds that it has been issued in violation of the International Islamabad

University Ordinance, 1985 (the “1985 Ordinance”) and delegated legislation framed thereunder. Appearing before a single-member bench of Justice Fiaz Ahmad Anjum Jandran in the matter, Gilani contended that by-laws of the IIUI stipulate tenures of important university decision-makers such as deans, director generals and departmental chairpersons.

He alleged that the respondents have systematically violated such tenure-related provisions of the university statutes. “Violation of tenures is not a mere procedural irregularity; it is eroding “academic freedom”, a legislative objective which is expressly mentioned in Sections 5, 17(7) and 27 of the 1985 Ordinance and which, in fact, lies at the very heart of university statutes”, Gilani said. Seeking the court’s directives for IIUI for rectification of notification for the posts of deans, director generals and departmental chairpersons strictly in accordance with the law, the petitioner also urged the court to declare recently issued appointment notifications as illegal.

LAHORE: Police arrest citizens for not wearing face masks. ZUBAIR MEhFOOZ

Punjab CM approves seven development projects LAHORE STAFF REPPORT

Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar on Friday approved the inception of seven development projects, costing around Rs75 billion, under public-private partnership mode.

He was chairing a meeting of public-private partnership policy and monitoring board at his office. Secretary PPP Policy and Monitoring Board Dr Farrukh Naveed briefed about the progress made on the projects.

According to details, repair and maintenance of Kharian-Dinga road and MuridkeNarowal road's restoration work will be done in public-private partnership mode.

Similarly, Gujranwala-Pasrur road will be dualised from Gujranwala Eastern Bypass to Sialkot-Lahore Motorway (Pasroor Inter-

change).

Furthermore, the Multan Ring Road project and Naya Pakistan Housing Development Plan in Faisalabad will also be executed through public-private partnership mode. The BoR land at Jail Road will also be utilised under a public-private partnership.

The meeting approved to cancel the RFP and bidding process of the Rawalpindi Ring Road project and allowed revised proposals for the Multan-Vehari dual road project. The meeting excluded Gujrat-Jalalpur Jattan Road from PPP mode for its inclusion in the public sector development programme (PSDP). Proposals regarding the FaisalabadChiniot-Sargodha dual road project were approved along with the approval of the revised proposal of the water meters' installation project in Lahore. The construction of three

NAB launches probe into KP water governance programme PESHAWAR AZIZ BUNERI The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has launched a comprehensive investigation into alleged financial irregularities in ongoing international agenciesfunded projects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The anti-corruption body has launched an inquiry into the alleged misappropriation of funds in the Swiss Development Corporation-funded water governance programme. NAB said that an inquiry has been launched against a senior female officer of water and sanitation company, Peshawar. It said that it informed the Local Government Department about the start of the inquiry and clarified that if required, other officers and employees, along with the female officer, can also be included in the inquiry. NAB sources said that former investigations into alleged financial irregularities in development projects will be initiated for which loans has been taken by the KP government from foreign financial institutions.

parking plazas in Rawalpindi was also approved in the meeting.

The CM directed to expedite work on PPP mode projects for their completion according to the timelines. The timeline of every stage of the project should be determined, he added and further directed to expedite work on roads construction projects in PPP mode. The decisions made in the sixth meeting were also endorsed.

Punjab Housing Minister Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed, C&W Minister Sardar Asif Nakai, Economic Affairs Advisor Dr Salman Shah, SACM Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Chief Secretary, SMBR, Chairman P&D, administrative secretaries, CEO Public-Private Partnership Authority Amjad Ali Awan, member PPP and planning & development and others attended the meeting.

Govt decides to change Balochistan governor QUETTA INP

The federal government has decided to replace governor Balochistan as Prime Minister Imran Khan has started mulling over different names for the slot. According to sources privy to the matter, the federal government has decided to remove Governor Balochistan Justice (r) Amanullah Khan Yasinzai. “Different names have been considered for the Balochistan governor and a final decision in this regard will be taken by Prime Minister Imran Khan,” they said adding that favourite contender for the slot is PTI leader Zahoor Agha. It is pertinent to mention here that the decision to replace the governor came two days after the prime minister visited Balochistan, where he performed the groundbreaking of various uplift projects in Quetta.

Saturday, 1 May, 2021

ISLAMABAD

NEWS

PPP wiNS NA-249 by-eLeCTioN PML-N HINTS AT CHALLENGING NA-249 BY-POLLS RESULTS

T

neWS deSK

HE Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has emerged victorious in NA-249 by-election, unofficial results show. According to provisional results, PPP’s Qadir Khan Mandokhail secured 16,156 votes to win the election while Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Miftah Ismail came in second with 15,473 votes, followed by the candidate from the recently banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), Mufti Nazeer Ahmed Kamalvi, who secured 11,125 votes. Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) chairman Syed Mustafa Kamal was at fourth place with 9,227 votes, followed by PTI’s Amjad Afridi with 8,922 votes.

PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz has hinted at challenging the byelections results of the NA-249 constituency in Karachi where PPP candidate won the polls.

She slammed the political opponents in a Twitter message, saying that the tactics to defeat her political party will be exposed soon. The PML-N VP threatened that the lion could not be hunted down so easily, adding that they should remember it and wait for the response.

She said that PML-N will take back the right of the citizens.

Maryam said that the political party will accept defeat if it is the decision of the citizens. Maryam Nawaz added that PML-N will fight against every decision taken by stealing ballot boxes and voterigging. ‘Make no mistake about it.’

Responding to rigging allegations after a PPP candidate won from NA-249, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that those who are raising hue and cry over their loss and terming it a Daska 2 should inform as to where violent incidents like Daska have been repeated during the Baldia by-poll. “The PML-N friends should learn to admit their loss. If they have any proof of rigging in NA-249 then bring it forward or otherwise stay silent,” he said adding that instead of fighting with the federal government, they want to create a fight within the opposition parties. He said that both Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Muhammad Zubair were at the DRO office to collect election results. “I would have called Shehbaz Sharif if PML-N secured victory from the constituency,” Bilawal said.

Meanwhile, Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Friday that the PPP held the whole system

BILAWAL SAYS PML-N SHOULD LEARN TO ACCEPT DEFEAT hostage for the sake of one seat.

He urged the opposition parties to consider Prime Minister Imran Khan’s proposals for electoral reforms.

In his tweet, he said that the by-election in Karachi has further necessitated the need for reforms in the electoral system. The low voter turnout showed that the people are losing confidence in the election process, he added.

Counting started after polling ended on Thursday at 276 polling stations comprising 796 polling booths which were established in the constituency. The voting process began at 8:00 am and continued till 5:00 pm without any pause.

The NA seat was created in 2018 by amalgamating neighbourhoods that previously fell in two Upper House constituencies — NA-239 and NA-240 — during three general elections between 2002 and 2013. The constituency, with 339,591 registered voters, has emerged to be a highly contested seat with candidates belonging to almost every major political party fighting for it.

On Thursday, when Miftah was in the lead, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz claimed that the “masses know who exactly is responsible for their trou-

bles and woes”. “I have said it earlier and I will say it again, Imran Khan and PTI will not be able to campaign and if they do, this is how they will be welcomed,” she said.

Her remarks were in response to a video shared by former journalist Talat Hussain showing PTI candidate for NA249 Amjad Afridi being heckled by voters of the constituency.

Earlier, taking strict notice of PTI lawmakers’ presence in the NA-249 constituency during the by-poll, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) directed them to leave.

According to details, six PTI MPs Firdous Shamim Naqvi, Raja Azhar, Saeed Afridi, Bilal Ghaffar, Shah Nawaz Jadoon and Shahzad Awan were found to be violating the code of conduct by being present in the constituency during polling hours. The ECP has issued their expulsion orders, directing police to expel them from the constituency. Hopefuls and their supporters talking to APP acknowledged a lacklustre ambience reflecting a certain sense of detachment among the voters belonging to the constituency, however, expressed hope that they would come out of their homes by noon.

PM announces Rs370bn development package for GB Continued from page 01 Apart from these projects two mega transport projects regional connectivity, including Gilgit Shandur (Rs50 billion) and Shounter Tunnel project, have also been included in the package to be funded under the umbrella of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Similarly the projects included in the Rs140 billion allocation for clean energy include Attabad Hydro project (50 MW), Sadpara power project (17.4 MW), Ghowari Power project (30 MW), KIU Power Project (100 MW), Sharkoi Project (15 MW), Golodas Ghizer project (15 MW), HPP Juglot (10 MW, Tormik project (10 MW), HPP Hunza project (2.8 MW) and Regional Grid Phase-II. In the tourism sector Rs6 billion would be spent on construction of hotel management and hospitality management institute in Skardu, adventure sports/rock climbing and mountaineering institute in Hunza, trail and tracks in 10 districts, ecotourism facilities, tourism projects in PPP mode and greater water supply scheme for Hunza.

Under the package an integrated water supply scheme has also been approved for Gilgit city at the cost of Rs4 billion. Similarly a sanitation and sewerage project would be completed at the cost of Rs4.5 billion in Skardu city. Rs1 billion have been fixed for women development and poverty alleviation programme.

Besides Rs550 million are allocated for IT related training programs and establishment of centers.

Through the uplift package LPG air mix plants would be installed in Skardu, Chilas and Hunza at the cost of Rs500 million. To have oil storage in the area a bulk oil depot at Skardu would also be established at the cost of Rs200 million.

Rs3.56 billion have been fixed for five different

projects related to disaster management in GB. In the health sector some government hospitals would be upgraded and medical colleges, as announced earlier would also be funded through the package.

The prime minister, while addressing a gathering in Gilgit, said that he had been waiting a “long time” to bring such a package for GB “which could bring development in actual terms to the region”.

He said that at the moment, Pakistan did not have enough resources — which he hoped it would have in the future — and there was demand from people all over Pakistan for money and government help so despite all that, “bringing a package like this I think is a very big achievement for Pakistan and GB”.

The prime minister recalled that he had an early association with GB since his school days and that the beauty of the region was untapped and unknown, even among Pakistanis. “Since our government came, it was our decision to bring up the potential of this region.”

Prime Minister Imran elaborated on the projects under the development package and said that they would constitute hydel power generation and local distribution networks, improving tourism connectivity such as development of the Babusar Tunnel, skills training and scholarships for the youth and upgradation of health services.

He added that water, sewerage and sanitation systems would be improved and “there was great need” for them in Skardu and GB due to their rapid expansion.

Regarding industrialisation in the region, he said that small and medium-scale industries would be successful such as food processing for fruits like apricots.

“The expansion of your infrastructure and expanding your airports,” the prime minister said, would also be a part of the package, specifically pointing to Skardu Airport which would cater to international flights now

as well.

The prime minister also stressed the importance of developing facilities for tourism in the region. He said the “real potential” of the region lay in tourism.

Promotion of tourism would bring benefits for both GB and Pakistan, said the premier, with employment and prosperity for the former and foreign exchange for the latter. “This package we have brought, this is not just for your benefit and improvement. We have brought it for all of Pakistan because the whole country will benefit,” he said. He predicted that if tourism was handled properly in GB, it would no longer have to ask for funds from the Centre. Rather, it would be the other way around.

“You have to work for your tourism industry in a very planned way if you don’t do this correctly, then tourists won’t come,” the prime minister urged, pointing to potential pitfalls such as lack of town planning, inadequate sanitation and deficient environmental protection.

The premier said that the region had a good community system and therefore it would be very easy to ensure compliance with bylaws, maintain sanitation and protection of areas for tourism. The local government elections, he added, would help to make a system that could “protect the whole area”.

Prime Minister Imran also stated that when he used to visit the region in the past, there seemed to be an impression among the people that they were not believed to be capable of managing their own affairs and were not empowered to take decisions for themselves.

He added that his government had taken steps to provide provisional provincial status to GB so that the local people would have the authority to make decisions. “How can decisions be made [for this area] sitting in Islamabad?”

JF-17 Block 3 gets latest missiles to target stealth aircraft: reports iSLamaBad TLTP

The latest, upgraded version of the JF-17 fighter jet has recently been spotted equipped with China's most advanced air-to-air combat missile that is also used

by China's J-20 stealth aircraft, with military observers saying that the weapon will give the China-Pakistan jointly developed light fighter the upper hand against its counterparts in dogfights and make it one of the world's best in its class.

A photo recently circulating on social media shows a JF-17 Block 3 fighter jet with the serial number "3001" on a test flight, a Shanghai-based news

website, reported.

This is the first time the aircraft with this particular serial number has been seen by the general public, and a PL-10 airto-air combat missile can be seen on the tip of each of its wings, the report said, without revealing the date and location.

As the short-range combat missile also used by China's most advanced J-20 stealth fighter jet and others, the PL-10 represents the highest level of its kind, and previous JF-17s are equipped with the old PL-5.

Observers said that the PL10 equipped by the JF-17 Block 3 is likely an export variation, the PL-10E, which made its debut at the Airshow China

2018 in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong province.

The PL-10E is the fourth generation air-to-air missile, and is one of the most advanced in the world that is on par with the US'AIM-9X. Thanks to its infrared-homing, extreme aerodynamic design and other advanced technologies, no aircraft, even stealth ones, can escape from the PL-10.

With the PL-10, the JF-17 Block 3 will gain tremendous dogfight capability and have an edge even against its heavier opposing counterparts in homeland air defence, a Beijing-based military expert told the Global Times.

In addition to the PL-10, the

JF-17 Block 3 also received a more advanced radar, as China Central Television reported that the fighter jet is equipped with the KLJ-7A airborne active electronically scanned array fire control radar. The radar is of the most advanced levels in the world, Hu Mingchun, director of the No.14 Research Institute at the state-owned China Electronics Technology Group Co, told the Global Times at the 9th World Radar Expo in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province, last week.

The first JF-17 Block 3 prototype, with serial number "3000", was taken into the skies for the first time in December 2019 in Chengdu, Southwest

05

Covid-19: Next few weeks are critical, warns minister Continued from page 01 Asad said the NCOC decided to import 6,000 tonnes oxygen, 5,000 cylinders and 20 cryogenic tanks. “It is this proactive decision making, which has with Allah Almighty’s blessings helped us avoid the kind of scenes being witnessed in some other countries.” He noted that foundations of this proactive decision making have been data-based forward looking and analytical approach, nationally coordinated efforts and hard work of dedicated teams, who continued to steer the efforts through these difficult times. “However, the challenge is not over and in fact it is continuing to increase. The need for precautions and compliance with the coronavirus standard operating procedures is vital at this point in time. Next few weeks are critical.

No system can cope if we allow the disease to spread rapidly,” he added. Eariler, Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar had said the government is “exploring all options” to arrange additional supplies of oxygen for the country. Azhar had said in a tweet that the ministry of industries has started working with private oxygen manufacturers to enhance production capacity after the pandemic’s first wave last year. Meanwhile, Sindh Minister for Health Dr Azra Pechuho on Friday warned the people that they must take extra precaution in the wake of first the United Kingdom and now the South African and Brazilian coronavirus variants being detected in the province. In a video message released by the Health and Population Welfare Department of Sindh, Dr Pechuho said that in a genomic study carried out by Aga Khan University Hospital of 13 samples, 10 were found to have the UK variant, one had the South African variant and one had the Brazilian variant. “So you can understand the nature of the emergency, the pressure that it can cause on hospitals. The UK variant is one that spreads very fast. It has an infectivity rate of 60% and a fatality rate of 68 per cent,” she said, adding that the fatality rates of the South African and Brazilian variants are also “very high”. Dr Pechuho said that what adds to the concern is that the South African and Brazilian variants “are not vaccine responsive” and so someone who catches Covid-19 via one of these strains is likely to fall “very ill” despite being inoculated. She advised the masses to avoid crowds, including small social gatherings inside homes, as well as travelling unnecessarily. “If you do not do Eid shopping this year, it will not be that big of a deal,” she said. The health minister said that the “carelessness” being shown by the masses in general has sent alarm bells ringing, warning that the health infrastructure will be completely overwhelmed with ventilators, oxygen and beds proving insufficient if things continue this way. Dr Pechuho warned that if we do not take the required precautions, we could face a situation like that of India. She said that we should adopt a “pro-active approach”, because if the situation aggravates, “there is no way to stop it”. “We may have to do a lockdown but before that happens, take care of yourselves, your loved-ones and your neighbours, because humanity demands that we take care of and think of others,” the health minister stressed.

PTA helps Sri Lanka implement mobile number portability neWS deSK

China's Sichuan Province, Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine reported at that time. Other technologies, including a new and larger holographic wide-angle head-up display and integrated cockpit display similar to the one used by the J-20, in addition to an advanced infrared missile approach warning system used by the J-10C, J-16 and J-20 fighter jets, are also used on the JF-17 Block 3, Aerospace Knowledge said.

The JF-17 Block 3 will be one of the world's most powerful light fighter jets, experts said. The Block 1 and 2 versions of the JF-17 can also use new radars and missiles for upgrades, analysts said.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has extended training and technical support to Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) for the successful implementation of Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in Sri Lanka. According to a press statement issued on Friday, Sri Lankan Regulator has planned to introduce MNP for mobile users in their country and intends to follow processes adopted by PTA. MNP is a service through which a cell phone user can change his network without changing the number. Pakistan was the first country in South Asia to introduce this facility for its mobile users in 2007. The PTA has conducted workshops on MNP and held consultations with TRCSL representatives regarding best practices and related issues. TRCSL has acknowledged PTA’s support in replicating the MNP model in Sri Lanka. The PTA said that it appreciates the acknowledgement which is reflective of deep cooperation between the two regulators.

Saturday, 1 May, 2021

06 COMMENT

India’s devastating Covid-19 crisis – Where do we stand?

A historic trend When moderates fail to deliver, extreme right takes over

T

he PTI faced a debacle in bye-election held to fill the seat vacated by its MNA Faisal Vawda.

The PTI candidate managed to secure a lowly fifth position with the PPP nominee winning the election and the PML(N) ticket holder following closely as a runner-up. What should worry the mainstream parties is that the banned TLP’s candidate secured the third position. The TLP has already won three seats in the Sindh Assembly. Unless the mainstream parties improve their capacity to deliver and mend their reputation, they will continue to cede turf to parties belonging to the extreme right as has happened in India and several countries in South America.

Shahbaz Sharif has assumed the leadership of the PML(N) after getting bail. There is a likelihood of Vice President Maryam Nawaz taking the back seat for the time being and the party following a more moderate line under its President. The signs of a change in line had already started to appear with Ms Nawaz staging an about-turn by maintaining that her party would prefer the PTI government to complete its tenure so that Prime Minister Imran Khan has no excuse for his failure to perform. PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who virtually hounded the PPP and ANP out of the opposition alliance by sending them show cause notices, has now agreed to accept Mr Yousuf Raza Gilani as opposition leader in the Senate if the PPP rejoins the PDM. The Alliance chief has also dropped the idea of resignations from the assemblies. The PPP claims to be the founder of the opposition alliance and while resigning from the alliance offices, it maintained that it was still a part of the PDM. The PML(N) is bitter over the PPP first getting the Senate office and then NA-249, both promised to the PML(N), but is likely to welcome the PPP to the PDM while continuing to nurse its grievances. The old rivals are likely to continue to cooperate despite the lurking mistrust.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman has promised to launch a full-fledged mass contact campaign after eid. With the pandemic still on the rampage, the National Assembly is likely to remain the real battlefield, particularly during the forthcoming budget session.

The disaster in India has lessons for us

Fahad Siddique

T

he coronavirus’s devastation in India has escalated dramatically. A few months ago, the coronavirus had spread to dangerous levels, but the Indian government controlled it in a very positive way. It ensured billions of rupees in investment and focused on vaccine development.

As a result of these efforts, India has become one of the world’s leading producers of vaccines. It has even surpassed most of the developed western countries. But despite all the mobilization and vaccine development capacity, the coronavirus has wreaked havoc in India.

Millions of new cases are being reported on a daily basis. Deaths are taking place in droves. There is no space for patients in hospitals. There is a shortage of oxygen and other medical facilities. There is also a shortage of space in crematoriums and cemeteries. According to official figures, 300,000 new cases are being reported every day. About 2,000 deaths are reported daily.

In the light of these figures, India ranks second in the list of countries affected by the corona worldwide. however, these official figures have been widely criticized. Medical experts and journalists are concerned that the figures are inaccurate. The actual positive cases and death rates are said to be much higher than these official figures.

It is heartbreaking to see scenes of helplessness of the Indian people through social media. The image of an Indian mother depicting helplessness is particularly viral. This woman is sitting in a rickshaw. The body of her young son is lying at his feet. This is the story of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

According to newspaper reports, the helpless mother was trying to get her son admitted from one hospital to another and then to a third hospital. No

Creating national consensus How the government handles the TLP will be its real test

T

he Tehrik-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) has only acted within its legal rights to appeal against its being banned, which means that it has been declared by the Interior Ministry to be a terrorist organization, and been included in the First Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act as a proscribed organisation. The TLP is thereby criminalised, and membership, fundraising and contributing can be prosecuted. It is not just fundraising that bothers the TLP, but the placing of its chief, hafiz Saad Rizvi, on the ATA Fourth Schedule as a proscribed individual, and the TLP’s registration as a political party.

The Interior Ministry is not really an appellate forum, and it is perhaps not going to find the decision on taking off the TLP that simple. The TLP convulsed the country, causing a breakdown of ordinary life and that too at a time when the country was still suffering from the covid-19 pandemic. Apart from the inconvenience to millions, policemen lost their lives and many more were injured.

The TLP was banned for some reasons. have those reasons been removed? As the movement ended with an acceptance of its demands, the TLP might be forgiven the optimism shown by this request. The possibility of the TLP trying to get its backers from exerting their own pressure cannot be ruled out.

The government should avoid setting an unfortunate example by caving in to pressure. The TLP cannot be accustomed to getting its demands accepted by threatening a shutdown. The government must bring the reasons for the ban, and whether or not to continue it, to Parliament, which must decide a comprehensive policy to decide such matters, and when to ban and when to lift the ban. Another issue the Interior Ministry needs to keep in view is that it might be creating an unfortunate precedent.

If the TLP succeeds, what is to stop other banned organisations (those which have not set up shop under a new name) from asking for similar treatment?

MohaMMad Khalid Bhatti

T

he October 2007 edition of Newsweek featured a scene from Pakistan on its cover with the title, ’The most dangerous nation in the world isn’t Iran. It’s Pakistan.’ The scene wasn’t much different from what was happening in Pakistan in the past few days. It showed a group of angry, young, scantily bearded men fiercely chanting slogans (probably against the then incumbent government). A few years later, Spain banned the building of minarets and this was followed by the infamous Burqa Ban in France....Islamophobia had begun at full throttle…

Where exactly or more importantly how exactly did this term enter the english language? Was it the work of a single entity or does it reflect the mindset of

Arif Nizami Editor Managing Editor

Joint Editor

Umar Aziz Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

We have a slow pace of vaccination. Hospitals do not have the capacity to accommodate more patients. There are no immediate reports of new hospitals being built as a matter of urgency. 90 percent of the oxygen is used. So, whatever we have to do now, we have to do it ourselves. We must now fully implement the SOPs so that we can save ourselves and our loved ones from this dangerous epidemic

Genesis of Islamophobia

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Yousaf Nizami Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

government or private hospital listened to her plea. eventually her son died in front of her. Many such incidents are happening on a daily basis. There are reports that the crematoria are burning day and night.

Despite this, people, and with them the bodies of their loved ones, have to wait for hours for their turn.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has offered assistance to India from the Government of Pakistan. The edhi Foundation has also written a letter to Modi offering ambulances and other medical facilities. In Pakistan, by the grace of the Almighty, we are not facing a situation like India.

But the effects of the third wave of the coronavirus are worrying. Thousands of new cases are being reported on a daily basis. The death toll is also rising. The news of more than 150 deaths in a single day is not a trivial matter.

The third wave has also engulfed innocent children. hospitals in major cities like Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Lahore are full of patients. Federal Minister for Information & Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has reported that 90 percent of the available oxygen is being used. he says the situation will be difficult to control even if oxygen is imported.

NCOC chief Asad Omar is also pointing out the gravity of the situation.

In such a situation, the report in which the oxygen companies have warned that the situation in Pakistan (God willing) may be similar to India is also worrying.

A search of all these disturbing news items does not reveal what steps are being taken at the government level to avoid this situation.The public has been told that oxygen is only available for a few days or hours.

But there is no news on what steps are being taken to get oxygen.

Similarly, the public has been informed that there is no room for more patients in the hospitals. But it is not known what the government has done so far to get out of this situation. For the last one year, we have been facing this calamity called Corona. The question is how many new hospitals have been built in Pakistan in this one year? how much has the medical capacity increased? If a situation like India arises, the Almighty forbid, what arrangements have

I

Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

I

we made for it?

On the one hand, spiraling inflation has made the lives of the people miserable. It has become difficult for them to get two meals a day. In such a situation, if there is no capacity in government hospitals, how can they bear the cost of treatment in private hospitals? even in government hospitals, free facilities are not available. Nowadays, the price list of treatment of Corona patients in the government hospital of Nowshera is circulating in the media. According to the rate list, the cost of one day is Rs. 35,000 to Rs 55,000.

This is the province where the PTI has been ruling for the last eight years. The situation in other provinces is also not ideal. educational institutions in Pakistan are closed to prevent the epidemic. Business and other social activities are restricted. Yet the public is still not taking the epidemic any more seriously.

The use of masks is less frequent. There is also a lack of social distance.

As a latest initiative, the Punjab government has called in the army to ensure that the people take precautionary measures. Reading the big news in the newspapers, one comes to the conclusion that it is understandable to seek the help of the Army in times of earthquakes, floods and other natural calamities. This is the custom all over the world.

But will the Army now instruct the people to wear masks and ensure social distance? This can be done with the help of the police or the district administration. A few months ago, the Tiger Force was founded with great enthusiasm. News was also published about their training and uniforms.

Imran Khan himself used to constantly mention the importance of this force in various official functions.

Don’t know where the tiger force is.

We have a slow pace of vaccination. hospitals do not have the capacity to accommodate more patients.

There are no immediate reports of new hospitals being built as a matter of urgency. 90 percent of the oxygen is used. So, whatever we have to do now, we have to do it ourselves. We must now fully implement the SOPs so that we can save ourselves and our loved ones from this dangerous epidemic.

a vast majority of the world population? Imran Khan frequently attributed the origin of this phenomenon to Salman Rushdie’s novel, The Satanic Verses. he isn’t wrong to admit that this book ignited the hatred of Muslims against the West in general and the writer in particular. Most of those aggrieved took an approach that included writing essays and trying to explain to the West what was the true face of Islam. A very small minority proceeded to take up arms and vehemently demanded capital punishment for the mischievous author. The handful of those extremist Muslims began to be seen by the world at large as the true face of Islam.

Pouncing on this apt opportunity, Samuel huntington gave his ‘Clash of Civilizations’ theory that marginalized Muslims as a group of malevolent, orthodox, and uncivilized people who were the antithesis of the very principles of democracy, liberty, and freedom of expression that the West proudly stood for. With the miscreant and nefarious activities of AlQaida and the so-called Islamic State, the catalyst for Islamophobia was without any doubt the travesty of 9/11. Thereafter, Muslims were viewed with contempt all over the world.

In the past two decades, the 99 percent moderate Muslims have borne the brunt of less than one percent reactionary and extremist ones. It must be noted that extremists are present in all faiths. Before the 1990s, more than 90 percent of all suicide attacks were done by hindu Tamil Tigers. But no one labeled hindus as a reactionary religion. In the Second World War, Japanese Kamikaze pilots were notorious for their suicide crashes into enemy military bases. Again it did not mean that the entire Japanese race was to blame for these acts. Unfortunately, a similar realization was not made in the case of Muslims.

Such an overview is necessary to build the fol-

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

I

Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

I

The writer can be reached www.instagram.com/fahadsiddique999

at

lowing arguments. The old saying goes, it takes two to tango. It is without any doubt that the first step in developing this animosity towards Muslims originated in the West. Simultaneously, it won’t be wrong to suggest that the Muslims themselves did not do well to remove these misapprehensions; instead, we just warmed the fire. however, this happens to be the optimum time to educate the world at large what the true face of Islam is and it won’t be a difficult task provided we delve to understand, comprehend, and practice the beautiful faith of Islam The crude and rudimentary understanding of Islam must be replaced with research-oriented study of the religion; one that obliges helping the poor and peacefully mitigates conflicts. This is the need of the hour. The world should know that huntington’s theory is a farce and cannot be accepted today. The Islamic system of justice is the blueprint of the British concept of ‘Rule of Law’. Contrary to popular belief, Muslim men and women do have an equal say in the governance of their state . According to one tradition, during the election of the third Caliph, the moderator, hazrat Abdur Rehman bin Auf even consulted the women of the time regarding their choice of the candidate. Compare this to the USA which did not give voting rights to women up till the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920 … The best example however, would be that of the Last Sermon by the holy Prophet (PBUh). even after a cursory glance of the United Nations Declaration of human Rights,one cannot miss the stark similarities it has with the Last Sermon.

If one keeps on complaining about the little thorns on a long-stemmed red rose, he will never be able to appreciate the floral and fresh scent of this beautiful flower. Similarly, the world at large should view Islam as the religion of 1.8 moderate Muslims and not a few traditionalists that made it to the cover of Newsweek more than a decade ago.

The writer can be contacted mohammadkhalid1099@gmail.com

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

at

Saturday, 1 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

Economic quagmire

New challenges for India in Iran

Dr rajkumar Singh

A

ll together the seven-decades-old relations of India with Iran, established on 15 March 1950, are at stake simply because the People’s Republic of China has signed a 25-year Strategic Co-operation Agreement with Tehran on 25 March 2021, cementing their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, reached recently in 2016. Although the signed agreement and commitments made with each other only testify to its strategic nature but it is far more than that and in coming days, if not the interests of the superpower USA, the economic and trade relations with India and Iran will witness a tough time in their relationship and understanding as well.

Under this Agreement it is estimated that China will invest in Iran $400 billion and, in return, Beijing will get cheap oil for the coming quarter-century. As the taming of India in Asia and elsewhere has become the first objective of Chinese foreign policy in the recent past, the Agreement will form a new axis in the Middle East, will lower New Delhi’s stature in Asian countries and the Indian Ocean where interests of India and China clash with each other directly, and allow China to foil Indian investments and efforts in Afghanistan through expansion of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project in the whole region, including Central Asia. The BRI scheme of China may not be a source of renovation and reconstruction of nations’ whole infrastructures, but surely it has potential to spread the Chinese capability and upset the power balance between friendly countries and the region. Thus, if we keep in mind the Chinese intentions and strategic designs towards India, it will harm Indian interests in all possible ways, the economy in particular.

From Beijing’s point of view, the said agreement may be small, but is definitely a part of a big game-changer plan for the region

which reflects a coming Cold War between China and the USA, of whom India is an alliance partner in Asia. Beijing also wants to make the same type of agreement with both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as indicated in the White Paper of its Arab policy published in 2016.

Perhaps this major policy change is also due to US rivalry with China because traditionally Beijing was not much interested in the politics of Middle East and maintained an equidistance between Saudi Arabia and UAE, but recently it found Iran an aggrieved party in the region, lagging behind in respect of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia because of the US sanctions imposed because of its developing nuclear programme. In world politics and anywhere else, the enemy’s enemy becomes a friend, and under that principle Iran has now became an active ally of the Chinese game plan in the area.

However, for Teheran, it was the high time to repair the losses incurred due to US sanctions and also mobilise investments from outside the region.

As part of a larger game plan, viewing a possible cold war, establishments in Beijing and Washington are preparing and positioning themselves into blocs of like-minded states, and China is trying to make an alliance of autocracies against the USA’s group of democracies. Earlier, it also proposed an alliance of five countries with China, Pakistan, Russia and Turkey for regional peace and stability and going a step further, in January 2021, it also signed an agreement with Russia centred on intelligence sharing.

Apart from geopolitical and strategic perspectives, Iran’s agreement with China is bound to hurt the ongoing economic relations and status of crude oil supply to India. Despite differences between India and Iran on some national and international issues, bilateral relations have enjoyed their understandings and in the 1990s and thereafter, no major problem erupted between the two and signing of a defence agreement in December

Under this Agreement it is estimated that China will invest in Iran $400 billion and, in return, Beijing will get cheap oil for the coming quarter-century.

2002 was a good sign of better relations. From decades till date Iran is the second largest supplier of crude oil to India and as a result, New Delhi is one of the largest foreign investors in Iran’s oil and gas industry despite strict sanctions of the USA and a very limited supply/payment chain given to Iran due to its nuclear programme.

In addition to India’s investment in the oil industry of Iran, New Delhi has helped Teheran in road construction, port development and education. A highway between Zaranj and Delaram is being built with the financial support of India, but the most important Chabahar port scheme is jointly financed by India and Iran, and New Delhi has planned to invest $20 billion alone on this port. It is largely in India’s interest which will give it access to the oil and gas resources in Iran and Central Asian States.

With this, New Delhi hopes to be parallel with Gwadar Port of China being in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province. In that context, India, Iran and Afghanistan have also signed an agreement to give Indian goods, heading for Central Asia and Afghanistan, preferential treatment. The Chabahar port project is also in Iran’s interest and it will end its US-sponsored economic isolation and benefit from the resurgence of the Indian economy. That port is aimed to form a multi-nodal transport link connecting Mumbai with St Petersburg, providing Europe and the former Soviet republics of Central Asia access to Asia and vice versa.

At this juncture, India should rethink its Iran policy and come forward to detract from the China-Iran alliance along with broadening the scope of co-operation with Tehran to make their partnership a more strategic one. Additionally, to help Iran in this crisis New Delhi should convince the USA to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action done for providing Iran some relief in the oil business in 2016 but scrapped in 2018 by the Trump Administration.

And ultimately, New Delhi should also try to carve a critical role for itself to persuade Washington and Tehran to come closer to check and stop the rise of China in the Middle East, and Iran in particular.

At this juncture, India should rethink its Iran policy and come forward to detract from the China-Iran alliance along with broadening the scope of co-operation with Tehran to make their partnership a more strategic one.

Additionally, to help Iran in this crisis New Delhi should convince the USA to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action done for providing Iran some relief in the oil business in 2016 but scrapped in 2018 by the Trump Administration.

The writer is head of the political science department of the B.N.Mandal University, Madhepura, Bihar, India. He can be reached at rajkumarsinghpg@gmail.com

PAkISTAN is drowning in debt due to royal ways of spending by our leadership. They borrowed money from IMF and other lenders and spent it on projects for self-enhancement and projection rather than the needs of the country. Although such projects also had benefits for people, they were not planned and developed to lay the foundations of a strong economy. A lot of borrowed money also went to waste due to mismanagement, delays, and most importantly corruption. Resultantly, the country was not able to pay off the debts in time and had to borrow more. The country is now caught in a vicious debt trap where we are at mercy of international lenders. When we want to borrow more to pay old loans and to further run the country, they enforce their terms that are not people-friendly. The lenders have no concern for people, they only want to protect their loans. While the economy is in shambles and we are completely at mercy of lenders, our leaders are busy blame fixing. little do they realize that it is not the doing of a single party or person, but all parties and people have contributed to bringing the country into this condition. While the rulers are corrupt, selfish, and incompetent, people tend to have the same traits as well. Nobody wants to pay taxes and corruption has become deep-rooted in the country at all levels. Our leaders must shun their differences and at least agree on some basic issues that pertain to the economy. They should adopt prudence and ensure continuity of projects that strengthen the economy, not their personal grip on power. People should pay their taxes responsibly, enhance productivity, reign their appetite for imported goods, and support the government in every possible manner to take the country out of the economic quagmire. It will be a long way, but if everyone wholeheartedly and honestly works for it, we can steer the economy toward strength and prosperity. If we don’t do this on war footings, I am afraid no amount of weaponry, missiles, and nuclear weapons would be able to save us from extinction.

Raja Shafaatullah ISlamabad

Well Done, Nepal!

IT is interesting to know that Nepal has been able to complete the reconstruction of the historical monument of Dharahara. It may be recalled that the ancient tower was completely damaged in an earthquake on 25 April 2015. A historic site recognised by the UNESCO, this beautiful part of the Nepali architecture has been a tourist attraction for a long time now. Tourism has been thriving across the world. Any sincere step to revive the sector must be encouraged. This is all the more important in the wake of the current pandemic conundrum. Due to the coronavirus, people have been under pressure both physically and mentally. Reviving the tourism sector will infuse new energy into them.

Here, people have been visiting various tourist attractions in my native areas like Tiruchendur, korkai, Tuticorin, Tirunelveli and kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu to worship and chill out. Such beautiful architectural monuments as the Dharahara tower have been the mirrors of ancient times and history. Still, I remember visiting places like kanyakumari, Trivandrum, Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai in the years like 1995 and 1998 as a student. Next to the West, the Asian region has been home to great culture and the hub of beautiful tourist locations. Going by history and geographical structure, it is clear that Asian nations have been tucked in the lap of natural creatures like seas, mountains, rivers and natural resources. Now that Nepal has taken bold steps to open the Dharahara historical monument, it is understandable that this beautiful Himalayan region has always been ready to emerge stronger amid the pandemic and Nature’s fury. This is a positive message to all in the region. Well done and keep it up, kathmandu!

P SEnthIl SaRavana duRaI mumbaI

Mental illness MENTAl illness One of the terrible things in your life is to end your life. We can hardly Imagine precede suffering of suicide. You need strength is to end ourselves. The suicidal cases are being reported on alarming rate. Sindh remains main target of suicide cases. According to Sindh Mental Health authority (SMHA) Sindh has recorded 767 suicidal cases from 2016 to 2020. Tharparker remains top of the list where women ratio is higher than men. In Tharparkar 79 ended their lives in which 48 were women and 31 men in last five years. While Sanghar, Badin and Umarkot are not far behind than Tharparker. These cases which are reported many more cases remain unreported The factors of suicidal can be many more, the major reasons which are given by experts are poverty, unemployment, health issues, depression, stress, helplessness and family issues. Alcohol addict and drugs are also cause of suicidal. Covid 19 has too increased suicidal ratio. The story starts when mental ill person become extreme pessimist and then he gets suicidal thoughts in his mind. Depression is major culprit of suicide.

Those who are depressed must be heard grievances and they must be given confidence. They must be given conducive environment. It is said that 50 to 60 percent mentally ill person who died gave some warning to friends and parents. When they found themselves helpless, they commit suicide? If a person gives some warning he must not be left alone. It is more prevalent in women than men but men become more victim of this deadly disease because men choose more lethal option of suicide.

According to some experts Giddu hospital is only big hospital in Sindh and Pakistan for mental disorder patient. In different district of Sindh, no psychiatric facility at all. According to psychiatric doctors’ 90 percent who commit suicide who suffers from mental illness and disorder.

According to researchers depressed people and suicidal behavior people have decreased serotonin in the mind. It is also said that those who have attempted suicide who have low level of serotonin. Experts also say that serotonin receptors in the brain increased their activity with major depression and suicidality. Higher Authorities must make some legalization to deal with. Suicide is strictly forbidden in Islam. Islam always gives lesson of humanity and cooperation and brotherhood.

RaShEEd mangRIo hydERabad

Saturday, 1 May, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

Poorer counTries mighT noT geT vaccinaTed unTil 2023

VOX

h

JUlIA BellUZ

IGh-InCOMe countries have purchased more than half of the Covid-19 vaccine supply to date, and low-income countries, just 9 percent, according to Duke University’s Global health Innovation Center.

This is why a country like the US is close to vaccinating half its population with one dose while the rate in a place like Guinea is less than 1 percent and not budging.

If these glaring inequities in vaccine access continue, it will take at least two years for the world’s poorest countries, which couldn’t afford to compete for early doses of vaccines, to immunize the majority of their populations. And we’re on track for a long period where people in rich countries enjoy the benefits and safety of being fully immunized, while people in poorer countries continue to get sick and die from the coronavirus.

“That’s not just unconscionable, but it also is very much against the interests of high-income countries,” Georgetown global health law professor Lawrence Gostin told Vox in January. With the virus continuing to circulate, and variants picking up pace around the globe, outbreaks in the poorest countries will pose a threat to the world.

It’s not an accident that many of the world’s first-approved Covid-19 vaccines — from companies like Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Moderna — were developed and rolled out in high-income countries. As the pandemic took hold last year, wealthier nations — including the US, UK, and eU block — began making deals with the pharmaceutical companies that were developing Covid-19 vaccines, which also happened to be head-

THIS INEQUALITY IS BAKED INTO EVERY STEP OF THE VACCINE MANUFACTURING PROCESS quartered within their borders.

These bilateral deals involved governments essentially giving the companies billions of dollars to speed up research and development in exchange for priority access to vaccines, should they prove to be effective. But the deals also pushed poorer countries, which didn’t have the resources to pre-purchase millions of doses of vaccines that might not even get approved for market, further down the access line.

In May 2020, for example, the US government gave AstraZeneca $1.2 billion for 300 million doses — a Covid-19 vaccine that still hasn’t even been approved in the US. That was just one deal of many. By January 2021, rich countries had already prepurchased 96 percent of the doses BionTech/Pfizer was scheduled to make for the year, while 100 percent of Moderna’s supply was spoken for. And the eU now appears ready to finalize a 1.8 billion-dose deal with Pfizer.

Together, the early agreements covered the populations of rich countries many times over in the event that some of the vaccines failed. By March, Canada had secured enough vaccine for five times its population, and the US bought at least double the amount of vaccine it’d need. In terms of doses administered, while high-income countries are home to 16 percent of the world’s population, they’ve doled out 46 percent of the one billion Covid-19 vaccine doses already administered. The poorest countries, home to 10 percent of the world’s population, have given out just 0.4 percent

of doses, according to Our World In Data, and lower-middle income countries, with 40 percent of the world population, 19 percent of doses. “[Since] vaccine makers are headquartered in high-income countries, and [vaccines are] developed there for the most part, many of the ones that made it across the finish line first were from high-income countries, and because of that, they had a home-court advantage,” said Andrea Taylor, a researcher with Duke Global health Institute who has been analyzing the deals.

Through this home-court advantage, wealthier countries not only ensured first dibs — they’ve also used export restrictions to control vaccine supplies and doses leaving their borders.

On April 16, for example, the head of the Serum Institute of India — the world’s biggest producer — took to Twitter to ask President Joe Biden to lift embargoes on raw material exports that were hampering vaccine production there: The result of the pressure: The US lifted the restrictions to help speed production overseas, and President Biden vowed to share 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. India — currently battling a devastating Covid-19 outbreak — is also now using export restrictions to hang on to Covid-19 doses produced there.

American and British vaccine export bans, meanwhile, have been a source of diplomatic tensions with the eU, which put in place its own export restrictions in March to alleviate supply shortages.

The vaccine hoarding has happened in

India’s Covid wards are like scenes from Dante’s ‘Inferno’

Financial Times

T

ZARIR UDWADIA

he happiest I have been since the pandemic began was at 8am on the 20th of January this year. entering the Covid-19 ward of one of the three hospitals I work at in Mumbai, I went through the all too grimly familiar routine of donning PPe to start my rounds, only to be told by the nurse in charge that we had no new Covid admissions that day. After the relentless battering of the previous 245 days it was a moment of rare bliss. We shared the smile of co-conspirators, jubilant that fresh daily cases were under 15,000 across India, in keeping with the continuing decline we were ticking off ourselves at our hospital.

But our joy was short lived: April was truly the cruellest month. Admissions began to inch relentlessly higher, until on April 26 India set a global record of 352,991 cases a day. Ward rounds are now scenes from Dante’s “Inferno”. Row upon row of patients waging a desperate struggle to breathe, their cries for help often falling on deaf ears as overworked medical staff struggle just to keep going. essential drugs are not in stock and, most frightening of all, oxygen, that very essence of life, is in short supply.

It is rationed at all hospitals and so scarce in some that patients are dying when it runs out. Oxygen cylinders are sold at black market rates (50,000 rupees [$670] for a cylinder costing 6,000 rupees) as desperate patients, realising it is futile to even contemplate getting a hospital bed, prepare for the worst and stock up at home. how did it all go so horribly wrong in three short months? Just in January the health minister crowed that “India has flattened the Covid graph” — words exposed as mere self-assured hubris as the Sars-Cov-2 virus grips this country of 1.4bn in a stranglehold. Instead of using the space January provided to ramp up vaccine supply, ensure oxygen plants increased production and reinforce

the importance of social distancing and masking, we allowed massive election rallies to continue in five states and the Kumbh Mela saw 3.5m pilgrims pack the banks of the Ganges. Religious sentiments, political machinations and nepotism often trump public health principles and common sense in India. The virus was forgotten for we had already declared ourselves the victors. And then the second wave struck, as any thinking person knew it would, and struck with the ferocity of a tidal wave, making the events of 2020 seem like a ripple in a bathtub.

There seems little doubt that this wave is caused by a variant, probably the now dreaded Indian B.1.617 with two mutations — the e484Q and L452R. The spectre of global spread of this variant has led countries to race to close their borders to India. As a physician I can vouch that this strain seems far more infectious, is probably more lethal, and seems to affect the young more frequently than the initial wave. Younger patients between the ages of 26 and 44 now account for about 40 per cent of all cases and almost 10 per cent of deaths.

The vaccine saga has been a scandal all of its own. Instead of wooing every credible manufacturer to stockpile the 1.7bn doses India would need, we basked in our “vaccine superpower” status. The government got its basic maths hopelessly wrong: by March, India was supplying vaccines to 74 nations and exporting far more doses than it had used to inoculate its own citizens. Initial vaccine hesitancy has now given way to vaccine desperation with densely packed crowds clamouring to get a precious dose only to find that most centres in Mumbai have no stock left.

With only around 5 per cent of India’s vast population vaccinated, herd immunity (70 per cent vaccinated) is more than 700 days away.

And so, sadly, India has emerged as the epicentre of the global pandemic, a country brought to its knees by a tiny virus barely 100 nanometres in diameter. And we are paying the price of our complacency, mute spectators to this danse macabre. What the virus has also exposed is that the roots of our problem are systemic and lie even deeper — in the chronic under-investment and neglect of public health in this country. India has one of the lowest public healthcare budgets globally, with the public healthcare system receiving only 1.26 per cent of the total GDP. This pandemic has cruelly exposed our weakest links — badly equipped and understaffed public hospitals and chronic shortages of beds. That coupled with leadership that lacked vision and foresight may just change the map of India forever.

The writer is a consultant physician and researcher in Mumbai.

parallel with an unprecedented multilateral effort to support the development and equitable distribution of 2 billion doses of Covid19 vaccines to the world’s poorest countries before the end of 2021, called Covax.

The initiative has two parts: a purchasing pool for higher-income countries, and a fundraising effort for poorer countries. By promising to buy a certain number of vaccine doses from manufacturers, countries that join get access to any vaccines that are approved in Covax’s portfolio, while also creating a global market for the shots and driving prices down.

More than 190 countries signed on — including rich ones. “Covax was trying to create a reality — they appealed to the better angels of all countries,” said Saad Omer, director of the Yale Institute for Global health.

But the bilateral deals took a lot of power away from Covax. Rich countries “want to have it both ways,” Gostin said.

“They join Covax so they could proclaim to be good global citizens, and at the same time rob Covax of its lifeblood, which is vaccine doses.”

Rich countries also didn’t fund Covax’s purchasing pool to the levels the group called for. And for the majority of its supply, Covax also relies on India, which, again, is currently restricting exports. The result: Covax, according to Duke, has only delivered about one in five of the doses that were expected by the end of May. Some have suggested Covid-19 vaccine-makers should waive their patents, making it possible for more manufacturers to come online and produce vaccines. But that’s only part of the solution to vaccine inequality, Taylor said. “We know there is manufacturing capacity that isn’t being used.”

That’s because of another bottleneck that’s emerged in recent months. Vaccine makers have been reporting that they’re

struggling to access basic supplies needed to safely manufacture vaccines. For example, there have been reports that the filters used in the manufacturing process, and large plastic bags (for lining bioreactors where pharmaceutical ingredients are mixed) have run short. It’s unclear how big this problem is — we don’t have systematic data on global shortages — but many suppliers and even countries have cited these shortages as a reason for delays.

Companies can’t just turn to anybody to meet their needs — they can only use qualified suppliers that meet the global standards set by regulators like the US Food and Drug Administration. These suppliers sell products that have been vetted through studies proving their plastic bags, for example, don’t leak toxins into vaccines or cause allergic reactions.

“Those tests take time — it’s months of lab studies and animal studies,” said Matthew Johnson, associate director of the Duke human Vaccine Institute. So even companies that could pivot to producing the vaccine products in short supply would need to take time to study them and ensure safety.

There’s another problem IP waivers can’t solve: Technology transfer, from one vaccine maker to another, involves sharing trade secrets, know-how, and even trained personnel. The companies currently making Covid-19 vaccines “might not have 20 to 40 people to send to these other locations” to help new producers get up to speed, Johnson added. So while waiving patents would help — it’s only part of the solution. Still, it’s not a given that it’ll take years to vaccinate the world from Covid-19. There are ways to speed up the process.

Rich countries could donate more doses to poorer countries — a move global health groups have been calling for months and one that’s starting to happen in response to the crisis in India.

John Kerry must explain his covert dialogues with Iran

FOX news

T

MIke PoMPeo

he recent revelations surrounding John Kerry’s covert dialogues with the Iranians during the Trump administration, if true, are troubling. The Obama administration joined the disastrous Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), of which Kerry was an architect, against the wishes of the American people and without the ratification of the Senate. The Trump administration rightly left that flawed deal, ceased sending the money to Iran, which had directly helped fuel its murder and mayhem throughout the region, and introduced crippling sanctions that wiped out 96% of Iran’s foreign reserves in just two years.

Our Maximum Pressure Campaign worked – less money fueling Iran’s proxies, less violence and terror, and more problems for the Iranian regime without war.

Iran must never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon because it is a danger to Israel, the Middle east, the United States and the rest of the world. The flawed JCPOA put them on that path and our Maximum Pressure Campaign took them off it.

Kerry could have celebrated the fact that the bank accounts of Iran were being drained completely, and that historic peace accords were being signed between Israel and her neighbors. Instead, Kerry covertly worked to undermine the Trump administration’s efforts by meeting with top Iranian leaders during our tenure, encouraging them to “wait” until the next election, when presumably the same Obama administration officials they struck a deal with in 2016 would be back in power, and now we learn perhaps worse, providing valuable intelligence to the Iranians concerning our ally, Israel.

It is quite possible that while I was briefing President Trump about Iranian operations in Syria, Kerry was briefing Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and other top Iranian

officials about Israeli operations there.

The same people who presided over those failed policies are back in charge now, and they seem wholly committed to repeating their past mistakes.

John Kerry owes the American people an explanation of what exactly he discussed with the Iranians. The legacy of the Obama administration’s Middle east policies is failure. The same people who presided over those failed policies (Kerry, Wendy Sherman, Robert Malley and Jake Sullivan) are back in charge now, and they seem wholly committed to repeating their past mistakes.

Their goal is not to ensure of the safety of the American people, but to continue down the path of Iranian appeasement either because they simply want to reverse every tenet of President Trump’s foreign policy or cannot admit that the JCPOA is a fatally flawed agreement.

John Kerry also used these backdoor channels to undermine our closest ally in the region, Israel (which was perhaps the most consistent policy objective of the Obama administration) by discussing Israeli military operations in Syria with those same Iranian officials. Kerry owes the American people an explanation here as well, to explain why he would discuss the military operations of an American ally with one of our stated adversaries.

These activities of John Kerry are characteristic of the Obama and Biden administrations – their contempt for the views of ordinary Americans, and their disregard for the constitutional limits on their authority all combine to work against the wishes of the American people and undermine our national security, as well as the security of our allies.

Kerry said there would “never, ever” be peace between Israel and the broader Middle east until a comprehensive Israel-Palestinian deal was reached. The Trump administration proved that wrong with the Abraham Accords.

Kerry and other Obama-era officials all warned that the Trump administration’s superb strike on Qasem Soleimani would lead to war with Iran. They called us reckless and stupid. But war did not come – instead, we wiped from existence one of the most dangerous terrorists in the Middle east, saving the lives of Americans and our allies, and continued to squeeze Iran to its breaking point without war.

Perhaps if John Kerry had not been consulting with the Iranians, the Trump administration could have reached a comprehensive peace agreement with the Iranian people as well. Instead, it seems that Biden administration will be pursuing a deal on Iran’s terms. The losers will be the American people and our allies.

Michael R. Pompeo served as the United States secretary of state from 2018 to 2021.

Saturday, 1 May, 2021

BUSINESS 09

ISLAMABAD

GOvt wiLL COmPLete PRivAtiSAtiOn OF SOeS with diLiGenCe And FAiRneSS: tARin

CORPORATE CORNER BOP registers 22% growth in profit in Q1 2021

LAHORE

LAHORE PRESS RELEASE

A meeting of the Board of Directors of The Bank of Punjab was held on April 29, 2021 to consider and approve the un-audited Financial Statements for the 1 st quarter of year ended March 31, 2021. The Board reviewed the financial position for the 1st quarter of year 2021 and expressed satisfaction on overall performance of the bank.

It was noted with pleasure that all financial indicators are positive and the Bank would achieve set strategic business targets. During the 1st quarter of year 2021, Bank’s Net Interest Margin (NIM) improved to Rs6.87 billion as against Rs5.90 billion during 1st quarter 2020, registering a growth of 16%. Similarly, non-markup/ interest income increased to Rs2.53 billion as against Rs2.00 billion during 1st quarter 2020 showing an increase of 27%. During 1st quarter of the year, the Bank posted after tax profit of Rs1.83 billion as against Rs1.50 billion earned during 1st quarter of year 2020 with a growth of 22%. Earnings per Share (EPS) for the 1st quarter of year 2021 also improved to Rs0.69 per share as against Rs0.57 per share for 1st quarter 2020. Bank’s Total Assets as at March 31, 2021 stood at Rs1,059.8 billion as against Rs1,095.4 billion as of December 31, 2020. The deposits of the Bank stood at Rs826.9 billion, while Investments and Gross Advances were recorded at Rs504.0 billion and Rs467.4 billion, respectively. Equity remained at Rs48.5 billion and Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) stood at 14.30% against regulatory requirement of 11.50%. The Bank has been assigned long term entity rating of “AA” by M/s PACRA with short term rating being at the highest rank of “A1+”. The Bank currently has a network of 639 online branches, including 105 Taqwa Islamic Banking Branches and 18 sub-branches.

Furthermore, the Bank has a network of 623 ATMs providing 24/7 banking services to the customers.

Soneri Bank Limited announces first quarter results for 2021 LAHORE PRESS RELEASE

The Board of Directors of Soneri Bank Limited, in their 184th meeting held in Lahore on 28th April 2021, approved the Bank’s condensed interim financial statements for the quarter ended 31 March 2021. The Bank posted profit before tax (PBT) of Rs1,276 million and profit after tax (PAT) of Rs782 million for the quarter ended March 2021, as compared to Rs684 million and Rs407 million respectively in the same period last year.

The bank’s EPS was recorded at Rs0.7092 per share for the current reporting quarter, as compared to Rs0.3696 for the comparative prior period, indicating an impressive growth of 92 per cent. The Bank’s net interest income for the quarter was reported at Rs2,720 million, improving by 28.98 per cent against Rs2,109 million reported for the same period last year. Non-interest income for the period was reported at Rs961 million as against Rs1,168 million for the comparative prior period. Overall income of the Bank indicated an improvement of Rs404 million, or 12.32 per cent, year on year.

Growth in expenses was restricted at 11.88 per cent as compared to the prior period with non-markup expenses reported at Rs2,528 million for the current quarter. As at 31 March 2021, the Bank’s net advances portfolio stood at Rs199,787 million, which is 21.42 per cent higher than the year end 2020 level. Net investments also ended higher by 10.33 per cent and closed at Rs275,773 million at the quarter end. Deposits registered a slight decline of 2.30 per cent when compared to 31 December 2020, ending at Rs337,569 million as at 31 March 2021, mainly due to fall in high cost deposits. The bank continues to remain adequately capitalised, with CAR of 15.37 per cent as at 31 March, 2021. The board of directors recognised and appreciated the efforts of the management in delivering improved performance amidst challenging times. The board remains confident that the bank shall continue to protect and serve the interest of all stakeholders by fulfilling the growing banking needs of our society, and focusing on financial inclusion and customer satisfaction.

F

STAFF REPORT

EDERAL Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin has said that the government will complete the privatisation exercise with due diligence and fairness.

He stated this while presiding over the meeting of the sub-committee of Economic Advisory Council (EAC) on state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and privatisation.

A handout from the Finance ministry states that the sub-committee reviewed the portfolio of SOEs for privatisation on the basis of strategic importance, performance, efficiency, and profitability to suggest a way forward.

The members deliberated over the triage policy of the government and discussed the cross-cutting issues related to financial and human resource management in this regard.

Sultan Ali Allana, a private member of the committee, stated that privatisa-

FinanCe miniSteR SayS govt Ready to FaCilitate textile induStRy to enhanCe exPoRtS tion was a complex subject matter which poses significant challenges.

Federal Minister for Privatization Muhammad Mian Soomro, and Advisor to the Prime Minister on Institutional Reforms and Austerity Dr Ishrat Hussain informed the sub-committee about progress made with reference to privatization of SOEs. They also apprised the finance minister about various legal and administrative challenges in the way of the privatization process related to different entities.

In his remarks, Shaukat Tarin underlined the need to accelerate the pace of privatisation for bringing efficiency and competitiveness in operations of SOEs. He emphasized empowering and strengthening the board of directors of the respective SOEs so that they can take firm decisions to improve the management of these entities.

“This proactive approach would ensure that unnecessary delays in privatisation due to multiple stakeholders are prevented,” Tarin said.

In his concluding remarks, the finance minister stated that the government was fully cognizant of its responsibilities and will adopt a consultative and collaborative approach to complete the entire privatisation exercise with due diligence and fairness.

Privatisation secretary, as well as prominent businessman Arif Habib, participated in the meeting.

Earlier, Shaukat Tarin chaired a meeting held with the representatives of the Overseas Investment Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) and Pakistan Business Council (PBC).

In his opening remarks, the finance minister stated that the government was firmly committed to providing incen-

First-ever shipment from Pakistan under TIR leaves for Uzbekistan ISLAMABAD GHULAM ABBAS

As a major development showing increasing trade ties with Central Asian countries, the first-ever shipment from Pakistan under Transport Internationaux Routiers (TIR) left for Uzbekistan on Friday.

Advisor to Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood attended a briefing on recent developments in the trade and connectivity of Pakistan with the neighboring countries.

According to officials, at the outset, the advisor said that connectivity with trading partners was vital for viable trade relations. He said that the structure and efficiency connectivity networks enable access to markets and should be considered a facet of trade competitiveness.

Dawood said that the long-term vision of the government for trade and economic relations with Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Central Asian Republics (CARs) was that “we want to make Pakistan a hub for trade, transit and trans-shipment”.

He further said that the trade must be based on secure, open, consistent, reliable and legal movement of goods at the Afghan border along with enhanced connectivity with Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and CARs. “This will ensure that Pakistan leverages its geo-economic location in the region to enhance its international trade,” Dawood said.

He further said that the current engagement with Afghanistan and Uzbekistan were steps towards implementation of this vision.

He was informed that a milestone had been achieved in Pakistan’s transit trade history as Pakistan Customs processed the first-ever TIR consignment at Torkhum destined for Tashkent, Uzbekistan via Afghanistan yesterday.

The consignment consisted of herbal medicines, and after completion of all custom formalities at Torkhum, it crossed into Afghanistan.

Dawood said that this was a moment of great pride for Pakistan and he lauded the efforts and role of Pakistan Customs in this regard.

“This successful TIR operation will usher a new era of direct land-route trade with the CARs,” added Razzaq.

He said that the use of TIR system will streamline border procedure cutting time and money for trade and transport operators.

The Customs Convention on the International Transport of Goods under Cover of TIR Carnets (called the “TIR Convention”) came into force in March 1978 and it replaced the original Transport Internationaux Routier (TIR) of 1959.

Pakistan became a member of TIR Convention in 2017. The convention now has 68 contracting parties including China, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey and all the Central Asian Republics. The objective of the TIR Convention is to facilitate international transit through simplified customs transit procedures and an international guarantee system.

Customs procedure takes place at origin and destination rather than at each border crossing, using a single guarantee.

FBR meets 10-month revenue target, collects Rs380bn in April ISLAMABAD SHAHZAD PARACHA

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) surpassed its collection target by Rs30 billion, to reach Rs380 billion for April 2021, besides achieving its 10-month target for the ongoing fiscal year.

According to sources, the tax department had collected Rs3,780 billion during the first ten months of the current fiscal year. “FBR achieved its tenmonth revenue target, as well as that of the month of April, due to increase in imports,” they said. The tax department now has to collect Rs911 billion in the remaining two months of fiscal year 2020-21. Officials are optimistic that the tax department will meet the revised revenue target of Rs4,693 billion easily. It is pertinent to note that the government has set Rs4,963 billion as revenue target during the current fiscal year, but the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has allowed the government to revise it down to Rs4,693 billion during its review held in March.

China to boost efforts against unfair competition BeiJinG: Chinese authorities on Friday called for enhancing regulatory enforcement and improving supervision rules in a meeting on strengthening efforts against unfair competition.

The meeting, attended by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and other government bodies, vowed to take comprehensive measures to resolutely curb all kinds of unfair competition.AGENCIES

Standard Chartered Pakistan posts before tax profit of Rs5.9bn for Q1 2021 KARACHI PRESS RELEASE

Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Limited, the country’s largest and oldest international bank, announced its financial results for first quarter 2021.

The Bank delivered a resilient financial performance with a Profit before tax of PKR 5.9 billion. The profitability against the preceding quarter (Q4’20) is up by 61per cent mainly on account of strong recoveries and prudent risk approach.

Bank made revenue of PKR 8.3 billion for the period, which is reflective of sharp reduction in interest rates, subdued economic activity and market volatility. Operating expenses were well managed through efficiencies and disciplined spending

with an increase of only 2per cent compared to same period last year. Bank also continued to invest in its technology and digital infrastructure to enable future growth and provide innovative services to our clients.

Moreover, strong recoveries of bad debts, coupled with lower impairments as a result of disciplined risk performance, led to a net release of PKR 573 million in Q1’21 compared to a charge of PKR 187 million in the comparative period.

All businesses have positive momentum with strong growth in underlying drivers. This is evident from pickup in net advances, which have grown by 20per cent since the start of this year. This was a result of targeted strategy to build profitable, high quality and sustainable portfolios. With a diversified product

base, the Bank is well positioned to cater for the needs of its clients.

Following on from the unprecedented growth in deposits last year, the Bank’s total deposits grew by PKR 1.2 billion in Q1’21, whereas current and saving accounts grew by PKR 6 billion (up 1per cent) since the start of this year and comprise 93per cent of the deposit base.

Commenting on the results, Rehan Shaikh, Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Limited said, “I am pleased to announce that the Bank continues to deliver strong results as evident by our performance in first quarter 2021. The results are a depiction of our solid foundations and robust business fundamentals amid tough external environment,” he said.

Wrinkles appear in China's new Silk Road CANBERRA AGENCIES

The Australian government may have only halted a couple of small joint-infrastructure projects with China, but the response from Beijing to the decision was one of rage and threats. The Chinese embassy in Canberra called the halt "unreasonable and provocative" and vowed revenge.

Canberra stepped in last year to pass a

tives to business communities that were targeted and sustainable in the long run.

“The end goal is to achieve an allinclusive sustainable economic growth which leads to industrialization, employment generation, export-led growth, and import substitution,” he added.

Meanwhile, a delegation of the Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) also called on Shaukat Tarin on Friday. PTEA Patron-in-chief Khurram Mukhtar commended the recent measures taken by the government to facilitate businessmen and exporters amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He specifically lauded the fully automated system of FBR for disbursement of refunds in an expeditious manner.

The finance minister reiterated the commitment of the government to facilitate the textile sector for enhancing value-added exports. He stressed the need for consolidating fragmented businesses and promoting value-added exports on a competitive basis internationally.

law that allows the federal government to overrule agreements made by Australian states with foreign countries. The decision followed deals signed by the state of Victoria in 2018 and 2019 to cooperate with China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) — often dubbed the New Silk Road — a massive infrastructure plan that aims to smooth trade links with dozens of countries.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the deals were incompatible with

the country's foreign policy and were not legally binding. The cancellation could also mean an end to further Sino-Australian cooperation in the fields of industrial production, biotechnology and agriculture.

Loss of face for china: Heribert Dieter from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) thinks the cancellation is an "extremely difficult loss of face" for China. He noted that Australia's relations with Beijing have "been bad

for two or three years and are getting worse."

China has imposed tariffs on Australian exports after Canberra's criticism of Beijing's more aggressive foreign policy. The Australian government has led calls for a full investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic and was the first Western country to ban Huawei from its 5G network.

Dieter told DW that the Australian decision may prompt delays or pullouts from other countries involved in the BRI. The ini-

tiative has already lost momentum recently, partly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has left many of China's other partners facing economic ruin — mainly poor Asian and African countries.

"The pandemic is extremely inconvenient for China. Many countries are experiencing great economic troubles," Dieter said, giving the example of BRI partner Pakistan, which has already requested relief on Chinese loans made to finance new power projects. "China will either have to extend the terms of loans or generally put projects on the back burner for the time being," the SWP political scientist warned.

Saturday, 1 May, 2021

10 FOREIGN NEWS

ISLAMABAD

Stampede at ISraelI relIgIouS feStIval kIllS 44, leaveS more than 100 Injured

a

AGENCIES

T least 44 people were crushed to death overnight on Friday at an overcrowded ultra-Orthodox religious festival in Israel with attendees describing scenes of chaos in which others died in front of their eyes.

More than 100 people were injured in the chaos where tens of thousands thronged to the Galilee tomb of second century sage Rabbi Shim Bar Yochai for annual Lag B'Omer commemorations that include all night prayer, mystical songs and dance.

Witnesses said people were asphyxiated or trampled in a tightly packed passageway around three metres wide, some going unnoticed until the PA system sounded an appeal to disperse. Crowds packed the Mount Meron slope in defiance of warnings to maintain social distancing against the coronavirus.

Medics said there had been a stampede in the men's section of the gender-segregated festival. Casualties included children.

Some of the dead had yet to be identified and family members of those attending the

festival who were still missing called in to radio stations asking for assistance in finding them. “We were going to go inside for the dancing and stuff and all of a sudden we saw paramedics from (ambulance service) MDA running by, like mid-CPR on kids,” Shlomo Katz, 36, told Reuters.

He then saw ambulances come out “one after the other”. Videos posted on social media showed ultra-Orthodox men clambering desperately through gaps in sheets of torn corrugated iron to escape the crush.

Bodies lay on stretchers in a corridor, covered in foil blankets.

An injured man lying on a hospital bed described to reporters how the crush began when a line of people in the front of the surging crowd simply collapsed.

'PEOPLE DIED IN FRONT OF MY EYES': “A pyramid of one on top of another was formed. People were piling up one on top of the other. I was in the second row. The people in the first row — I saw people die in front of my eyes,” he said.

People who stayed on the scene through the night questioned how the situation so

EXPLAINER

What we know about the Indian variant as coronavirus sweeps South asia AGENCIES India has recorded the world’s sharpest spike in coronavirus infections this month, with political and financial capitals New Delhi and Mumbai running out of hospital beds, oxygen and medicines. Scientists are studying what led to an unexpected surge, and particularly whether a variant of the novel coronavirus first detected in India is to blame. The variant, named B.1.617, has been reported in some 17 countries, raising global concern. Here are the basics: WHAT IS THE INDIAN VARIANT? The B.1.617 variant contains two key mutations to the outer "spike" portion of the virus that attaches to human cells, said senior Indian virologist Shahid Jameel. The World Health Organisation (WHO) said the predominant lineage of B.1.617 was first identified in India last December, although an earlier version was spotted in October 2020. The WHO has described it as a "variant of interest", suggesting it may have mutations that would make the virus more transmissible, cause more severe disease or evade vaccine immunity. Other strains with known risks, such as those first detected in the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa, have been categorised as "variants of concern", a higher threat level.

ARE VARIANTS DRIVING THE SURGE IN CASES? It's hard to say. The WHO says more study is urgently needed. Laboratory-based studies of limited sample size suggest potential increased transmissibility, it concluded. The picture is complicated because the highly transmissible B.117 variant first detected in the UK is behind spikes in some parts of India. In New Delhi, UK variant cases almost doubled during the second half of March, according to Sujeet Kumar Singh, director of the National Centre for Disease Control. The Indian variant, though, is widely present in Maharashtra, the country's hardest-hit state, Singh said. Prominent US disease modeller Chris Murray, from the University of Washington, said the sheer magnitude of infections in India in a short period of time suggests an "escape variant" may be overpowering any prior immunity from natural infections in those populations. "That makes it most likely that it’s B.1.617," he said. But Murray cautioned that gene sequencing data on the coronavirus in India is sparse, and that many cases are also being driven by the UK and South African variants. Carlo Federico Perno, Head of Microbiology and Immunology Diagnostics at Rome's Bambino Gesù Hospital, said the Indian variant couldn't alone be the reason for India's huge surge, pointing instead to large social gatherings. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been criticised for allowing massive political rallies and religious festivals which have been super-spreader events in recent weeks. DO VACCINES STOP IT? One bright spot is that vaccines may be protective. White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci said earlier this week that preliminary evidence from lab studies suggests Covaxin, a vaccine developed in India, appears capable of neutralising the variant. Public Health England said it was working with international partners but that there is currently no evidence that the Indian variant and two related variants cause more severe disease or render the vaccines currently deployed less effective.

quickly spiralled out of control, though there had been concern for years about the safety risks at the annual event.

Religious leaders called for an investigation. The Justice Ministry said investigators would look into whether there had been any police misconduct connected to the tragedy.

A police spokesman said overall capac-

ity at Mount Meron was similar to previous years but that this time bonfire areas were partitioned off as a Covid-19 precaution.

That may have created unexpected chokepoints on foot traffic, Israeli media said.

A pilgrim who gave his name as Yitzhak told Channel 12 TV: “We thought maybe there was a (bomb) alert over a suspicious package.

No one imagined that this could happen here.

Rejoicing became mourning, a great light became a deep darkness.

“Rabbi Shimon used to say that he could absolve the world [...] If he didn't manage to cancel this edict on the very day of his exaltation, then we need to do real soul-searching.” Helicopters ferried injured people to hospitals and the military said search-andrescue troops were scrambled.

With the site cleared, rescue workers collapsed against railings, some weeping as their colleagues comforted them.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the scene and on Twitter spoke of a “heavy disaster”, adding: “We are all praying for the wellbeing of the casualties”.

The United States and European Union offered condolences.

As rescue workers tried to extricate the casualties, police shut down the site and ordered revellers out. The Transportation Ministry halted roadworks in the area to enable scores of ambulances and pilgrim buses to move unhindered.

The Mount Meron tomb is considered to be one of the holiest sites in the Jewish world and is an annual pilgrimage site.

The event was one of the largest gatherings in Israel since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic more than a year ago.

Private bonfires at Mount Meron were banned last year due to coronavirus restrictions. But lockdown measures were eased this year amid Israel's rapid Covid-19 vaccination programme that has seen more than 54 per cent of the population fully vaccinated.

Indian states run out of Covid-19 vaccines, nationwide inoculation delayed as infections surge AGENCIES Several Indian states have run out of Covid-19 vaccines a day before a planned widening of a nationwide inoculation drive, authorities said on Friday, as new infections in the crisis-hit country surged to another daily record.

India reported 386,452 news cases in the past 24 hours, while deaths from Covid-19 jumped by 3,498 over the last 24 hours, according to health ministry data. However, medical experts believe actual Covid19 numbers may be five to 10 times greater than the official tally. India has added about 7.7 million cases since the end of February, when its second wave picked up steam, according to a Reuters tally. In contrast, it took India nearly six months to add the previous 7.7 million cases.

The world's second-most populous nation is in deep crisis, with hospitals and morgues overwhelmed by the pandemic, medicines and oxygen in short supply and strict curbs on movement in its biggest cities.

India is the world's biggest producer of vaccines but does not have enough stockpiles to keep up with the second deadly Covid-19 wave, despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government planning to vaccinate all adults starting May 1.

Only about 9 per cent of India's 1.4 billion people have received a vaccine dose since January.

“I registered to get a slot 28 days before, but now they are saying there are no vaccines,” Twitter user Jasmin Oza said in a video post.

India had originally planned to vaccinate only 300 million of its highest-risk people by August, but widened the target due to the rise in cases.

However, its two vaccine producers were already

struggling to increase capacity beyond 80 million doses a month due to a shortage of raw materials and a fire at the Serum Institute, which manufactures AstraZeneca's vaccine in India.

Inoculation centres in Mumbai will be shut for three days starting Friday because of the shortage of vaccines, authorities said.

In the southern state of Karnataka, home to the tech hub of Bengaluru, the state's health minister said Karnataka's vaccination drive for adults will not begin on May 1. “The state government has not received any information from companies about when they will be able to supply these vaccines,” said Health Minister K Sudhakar.

WORLD SENDS MEDICAL AID: In Modi's home state of Gujarat, officials said vaccination for the 1845 age group is expected to start in a fortnight, as the state expects to receive vaccines by then.

“We will begin vaccinating those above 18 when we have the vaccine stocks. We are working very hard to get the vaccines, and I am confident we will be able to start the vaccination within the next 15 days," the state's Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said.

Officials in the eastern state of Odisha said they hoped to start vaccinations on Monday, if vaccine stocks arrive. Modi is scheduled to meet cabinet ministers on Friday as the wave of infections cripples the nation's health system and threatens to impact major businesses. Absenteeism in offices and industries is growing with staff falling sick or taking leave to tend to sick relatives.

World aid has started arriving in India as it struggles to combat what has been described as a humanitarian disaster. The first US flight carrying oxygen cylinders, regulators, rapid diagnostic kits, N95

masks and pulse oximeters arrived in the Indian capital Delhi on Friday. “Just as India came to our aid early in the pandemic, the US is committed to working urgently to provide assistance to India in its time of need,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Twitter. “Today we are proud to deliver our first shipment of critical oxygen equipment, therapeutics and raw materials for vaccine production.”

The United States will send more than $100 million in medical aid, including 1,000 oxygen cylinders, 15 million N95 masks and 1 million rapid diagnostic tests. It also has redirected its own order of AstraZeneca supplies to India, to allow it to make more than 20 million doses.

Shipments from other countries continued to pour in, with a third one from the United Kingdom reaching earlier in the day. Romania and Ireland also sent supplies late on Thursday.

TWO MORE WEEKS OF OXYGEN CRISIS: India's severe medical oxygen supply crisis is expected to ease by mid-May, a top industry executive told Reuters, with output rising by 25pc and transport infrastructure ready to cope with a surge in demand.

India will receive a first batch of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine on May 1. Russia's RDIF sovereign wealth fund, which markets Sputnik V globally, has signed deals with five Indian manufacturers for more than 850 million vaccine doses a year.

Prominent US disease modeller Chris Murray, from the University of Washington, said the sheer magnitude of infections in India in a short period of time suggests an “escape variant” may be overpowering any prior immunity from natural infections in those populations. “That makes it most likely that its B.1.617,” he said.

US president Joe Biden's real test begins as he seeks to pass ambitious plan WASHINGTON AGENCIES

As US President Joie Biden shared his ambitious agenda to Congress, his real test begins now of convincing Republicans, in a polarised political arena, to support his plan of remaking America.

The 78-year-old had been seeking the highest office in the land for nearly four decades.

Now that he has it, Biden has unveiled a series of massive spending programs — on jobs creation, infrastructure, and family-centered programs like child care and student aid — that would make even the most passionate progressive blush.

"Trickle down economics has never worked, and it's time to grow the economy from the bottom and the middle out," he told a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night, drawing an ovation from his fellow Democrats.

And while he presented an outstretched hand of bipartisanship to Republicans — "Let's get to work" together, he invited them — his vision of broad cooperation between the two parties seems far removed from today's reality of a sharply divided Congress.

Republicans have already openly cringed at the price tag which, they point out, amounts to a staggering $6 trillion when the recently enacted coronavirus rescue package is factored in.

And they are assailing Biden for abandoning his pledge to forge national unity in order to try to ram through what they call his radical socialist agenda. Having crossed the symbolic milestone Thursday of his 100th day in office, Biden is counting on his party's razor-thin majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate.

He may also seek to use the procedure known as budget reconciliation to get his big-ticket items through the

100-seat Senate with a simple majority, circumventing the blocking tactic which normally would require 60 votes to advance. Even then, with the Senate locked 50-50 and Vice President Kamala Harris the tie-breaking vote, he can afford zero defections.

"There's just no margin for error at all, unless Biden can somehow get Republican buy-in," said Kyle Kondik, a political science expert at the University of Virginia. "But that would take accepting a much less ambitious plan than Biden wants." A watering down may sway some key Democratic moderates and even bring a few Republicans on board, but it risks losing support from crucial liberal allies like congresswoman Alexandria OcasioCortez and Senator Bernie Sanders.

"The parties just don't see eye to eye on these proposals," Kondik said.

'SANDERNISTAS': Discontent has surged within Republican ranks against

a president who they say has abandoned his centrist origins to placate the far left. "He needs to quit listening to the 'Sandernistas,'" Republican Senator Chuck Grassley told AFP, playing on the name of Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist. Compromise is key if Biden wants Democratic priorities to reach his desk and be signed into law, stressed Grassley, a longtime Senate colleague who recalled Biden as a lawmaker eager to find common ground. "They're trying to spend, spend, spend, and do it in a partisan way. I don't think they'll get away with it," Grassley added.

The Senate's top Republican Mitch McConnell reminded Americans how they elected an evenly-split Senate and a closely-divided House, "and a president who preached moderation" and unity on the campaign trail.

"But the first 100 days have left much to be desired," he said, adding "it's not too late" for Biden to foster consensus. Jenna Bednar, a professor of political science and public policy at the University of Michigan, said Biden's approach has been "soft-shoe," letting his actions speak louder than words — a contrast with his combative predecessor Donald Trump.

Saturday, 1 May, 2021

ISLAMABAD

FAWAd PUTS PAkISTAn In CoMMAnd AgAInST ZIMBABWE HARARE

F

AGENCIES

AWAD Alam notched his fourth Test hundred as Pakistan built an imposing first innings lead over Zimbabwe on the second day of the first Test in Harare on Friday.

Alam's unbeaten 108, along with Imran Butt's painstaking 91 earlier in the day, guided Pakistan to 374-6 at the close, giving them a lead of 198 over Zimbabwe's first innings total of 176.

Hasan Ali was the other unbeaten batsman with 21 on a day that saw the Pakistan batsmen struggling in the morning -- they scored just 59 from 32 overs -- before accelerating in the next two sessions.

Alam drove Zimbabwe seamer Donald Tiripano for two consecutive boundaries to race from 93 to his century, having remarkably converted each of his Test fifties into three figures.

The 35-year-old left-hander smashed a debut hundred in Sri Lanka in 2009 but was discarded after only two more Test and then had to wait for 10 years and 259 days for his next Test, in England last year.

Fawad has so far batted for 155 balls, hitting 16 boundaries. He added 107 for the fifth wicket with Mohammad Rizwan who made 45. "I was nowhere a few years back, so whatever Allah Almighty has

given me I am grateful and this knock is a great satisfaction," said Alam, adding that the slow pitch made scoring difficult.

"The ball was not coming onto the bat but when they took the new ball scoring became much easier and when I came to bat the platform was set by the openers," he said. While Alam made the most of his opportunity, opener Butt missed out on a maiden Test century by just nine runs.

Others amongst runs were Abid Ali 60 and Azhar Ali 36. Zimbabwe's best bowler Donald Tiripano, who has figures of 3-89, had already derailed Pakistan with a double strike in the post-lunch session with the wickets of Azhar and Babar Azam.

The Pakistan captain Azam drove Tiripano firmly to Roy Kaia at an unorthodox short mid-on to record his first ever golden duck in Test cricket. Butt became fast bowler Richard Ngarava's first wicket in Tests, caught behind after hitting seven boundaries in an obdurate 236-ball stay.

Resuming on 103 without loss, the Pakistan openers struggled early on as the Zimbabwe bowlers kept tight line and length. Butt, playing his third Test, and Abid could add only 10 runs in the opening 10 overs -- eight of the first 14 overs were maidens. The first boundary only arrived in the 18th over of the morning.

With the introduction of Tendai Chisoro's left-arm spin, Abid retreated into

Taskin shines but fails to slow Sri Lanka run fest PALLEKELE AGENCIES

Bangladesh paceman Taskin Ahmed took three wickets for 119 on day two of the second Test against Sri Lanka Friday as the hosts piled up 469 runs for six at stumps. The 26-year-old had an impressive morning spell where his four overs cost just seven runs and produced two wickets. He removed centurion Lahiru Thirimanne for 140 runs and Angelo Mathews (five) in quick succession. After lunch, Taskin bowled Pathum Nissanka with a delivery that kept low and in the very next over, left-arm spinner Taijul Islam dismissed Oshada Fernando who was on 81. From 382 for six, Ramesh Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella added 87 runs for the seventh wicket. Taskin was denied a fourth wicket when Najmul Shanto put down Ramesh Mendis at second slip. Playing just his seventh Test, Taskin generated good pace and troubled the right-handed batsmen by swinging the ball away from them. After conceding 291 runs for a solitary wicket on day one, Sri Lanka found it tougher on Friday, scoring only 43 runs in 26 overs in the morning session while losing three wickets.

Dickwella played a key role in the final stand, bringing up his half-century in just 48 balls.

He was on 64 at stumps while Mendis was 22 not out. Play was suspended for 24 minutes after tea due to bad light and although the players were back on the field, only 6.5 overs were possible before the day ended. Twenty five overs were lost in all. The first Test ended in a tame draw with ICC Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle giving the pitch a below average rating and a demerit point.

PAKISTAN 374 FOR 6 (FAWAD 108*, BUTT 91, ABID 60) LEAD ZIMBABWE 176 BY 198 RUNS

SPORTS 11 EngLAnd To ToUR PAkISTAn In oCToBER: FAWAd NEWS DESK Federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry has said the British envoy has confirmed that the English cricket team will tour Pakistan in October. He said in a tweet, “Extremely delighted to know that after a gap of 16 years, [in] October this year, English cricket team will be visiting Pakistan”. Fawad said that the team will also visit Pakistan next year for a Test series. "We have come a long way from the devastating attack on [the] Sri Lanka team," Fawad added.

Pandemic-hit India says UAE is Plan B for T20 World Cup

his shell completely before an attempted drive found the edge of the bat.

Brendan Taylor juggled the chance at slip before pouching it to end Abid's in-

nings, which last 140 balls and included 10 fours, and an opening partnership of 115.

The second Test is also in Harare, from May 7.

Tokyo Olympics could be held behind closed doors: Hashimoto TOKYO AGENCIES

This summer’s virus-postponed Olympics could be held behind closed doors, Tokyo 2020 president Seiko Hashimoto told AFP on Friday, pledging to ensure the Games will be safe.

Former Olympian Hashimoto said the Games could only be a success if organisers “completely protect” athletes and people in Japan, and that she is hopeful people will “be glad” the event went ahead. Overseas spectators have already been barred from the Games, and this week a decision on domestic fans was delayed until June, with organisers citing a new wave of infections in Japan. “There might be a situation where we can’t allow any spectators to attend,” Hashimoto conceded in an interview. “The only way that we can call the Games a success is if we completely protect the lives and health of athletes and the people of Japan.”

Most people in Japan back either a further delay of the Games or an outright cancellation, and a recent surge in virus cases has prompted a state of emergency in Tokyo and other parts of the country. With the medical system already under pressure, Olympic organisers have been criticised for requesting volunteer medical staff for the Games.

Hashimoto said cutting spectators could ease pressure on the medical system. “If the event itself does change, I think it will be with regard to specta-

tors,” she said. “That is one area where we might be able to reduce the anxiety of people who are worried about the medical system.”

‘BIG RESPONSIBILITY’: The Games have never been cancelled outside of wartime and organisers have made it clear that they see no possibility of either further delay or a cancellation.

In a bid to win public confidence, they have released rulebooks mandating daily testing for athletes and limiting their movement. But there will be no quarantine required for athletes, and vaccines will not be mandatory.

Hashimoto said the rules would continue to be refined, and she felt “a big responsibility to show the Games can be held safely”. “I want to show that clearly as we work towards the Games,” she said.

When the Games were postponed last year, officials said the delayed event would be held as proof that humanity had triumphed over the virus.

But with the pandemic still raging, Hashimoto said the emphasis would be on hope and unity. “It will show that the world can come together no matter how hard times are. I think this is a time when we can show that we are united,” she said. Japan has experienced a smaller virus outbreak than many countries, with just over 10,000 deaths despite avoiding the harsh lockdowns seen elsewhere. But the recent spike in infections has played havoc with Olympic preparations, forcing changes

CMYK

to test events and qualifiers and prompting several regions to take the nationwide torch relay off public roads.

‘CLEAR THE WAY FOR WOMEN’: Hashimoto said organisers accepted that the situation would continue to change, and that they were running simulations to adapt as necessary.

“The organising committee is thinking about what needs to be done to make sure the event is not cancelled,” she said. Olympic officials have defended their determination to continue with the Games despite the pandemic and public opposition, and Hashimoto said she wants “lots of people to be glad that we held the Games”.

“My big goal is to prepare for the Games in a way that makes people feel that way.”

Hashimoto, 56, is former athlete who competed at seven consecutive winter and summer Games in speed skating and as a sprint cyclist.

She took over as Tokyo 2020 president in February, after her predecessor was forced to resign over sexist comments. She was previously Olympic minister and one of just two women in the cabinet, and has pushed for better gender equality at Tokyo 2020.

But she said Japan is still not a place where women can feel they want to get involved in politics or business.

“I want to see an environment where it’s easier for a woman to put her hand up and say she wants to do that,” she added.

NEW DELHI: This year's Twenty20 World Cup could be moved to the United Arab Emirates if the Covid-19 crisis does not subside in India, the country's cricket board said. Six months before the showpiece's scheduled start, India reported a record 386,452 new cases on Friday, though medical experts believe actual numbers may be five to 10 times greater. The governing International Cricket Council (ICC) said this month it was sticking to hosting the event in India but had back-up plans, without specifying an alternative location. "It would be the UAE," Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) general manager Dhiraj Malhotra told the BBC on Thursday. "...We'll take the tournament there, but it'll still be done by the BCCI," added Malhotra, also the tournament director. He did not respond to Reuters calls and messages to elaborate, but an ICC spokesman confirmed the plan. The governing body is monitoring the progress of the Indian Premier League, which is continuing in the midst of the epidemic. "It is too early to make a call," the spokesman told Reuters. The pandemic forced the Indian board to stage last year's IPL in the UAE. The BCCI last year signed a hosting agreement with the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB). The ECB declined to comment on its preparedness when contacted by Reuters. AGENCIES

EUROPA LEAGUE Man United crush injury-hit Roma 6-2 to close in on final LONDON: Bruno Fernandes and Edinson Cavani each scored twice as Manchester United thrashed an injury-hit Roma 6-2 at Old Trafford to close in on the Europa League final. United are aiming to get to a final under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at the fifth time of asking after four semi-final defeats in the past two seasons. But only a second leg collapse will prevent them from facing Villarreal or Arsenal in Gdansk on May 26 after a stunning second-half performance.

The home side trailed at the break as Lorenzo Pellegrini’s penalty and Edin Dzeko’s tap-in cancelled out Fernandes’s early opener. But the Italians lost three players to injury before the break and United took full advantage.

Two predatory finishes from Cavani turned the tie around before Fernandes also fired home from the spot. Paul Pogba and Mason Greenwood rounded off the scoring as United became the first team to score six goals in a European semi-final since Real Madrid in 1964. AGENCIES

Saturday, 1 May, 2021

PRAYER TIMINGS

NEWS

FAJR SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

3:50

12:06

5:15

5:21

5:50

8:22

Bilawal DEmanDs PREsiDEnt’s REsiGnatiOn OvER JustiCE isa REfEREnCE

P

NEWS DESK

AkISTAN People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal-Bhutto Zardari has demanded of President ArifAlvi to resign over sending what he termed as a fake reference against Supreme Court (SC) Judge, Justice Qazi Faez Isa. Addressing a press conference on Friday while flanked by PPP leaders, Bilawal said that other than the president, the law minister should also resign after the president sent a ‘fake’ reference against Justice Isa. “The president should have used his mind before forwarding the reference against the apex court judge,” he said adding that they would be made accountable for their crime and it would be better for them to soon realise their mistake.

He said that the PPP has termed the reference against Justice Isa as inappropriate since it was sent to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) by President Alvi.

Bitcoin nears $55,000 as cryptos show mixed trends NEWS DESK The prices of major cryptocurrencies showed mixed trends on Friday. As of 1345 hours GMT, bitcoin, the world's biggest cryptocurrency, gained 2.32 percent to reach $54,975.

With this increase in price, the market capitalisation of the BTC has reached $1.02 trillion.

However, ethereum (ETH) shed 1.19 percent to reach $2,735. With this decrease in price, the market capitalisation of ETH reached $316 billion. Similarly, Binance Coin (BNB) shed 0.08 percent to reach $604. The market capitalisation of BNB stands at $93.1 billion after this decrease. However, XRP reached $1.61 with a 16.10 percent increase in its price. Its market capitalisation has reached $73.5 billion with this increase. On the other hand, the price of tether (USDT) reached $0.99 after shedding 0.03 percent. The market capitalisation of the USTD stands at $50.9 billion after this decrease. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs has published a note outlining some problems with bitcoin as digital gold. The firm’s analysts have voiced concerns about whether the cryptocurrency could become a long-term store of value. The analysts explained: “While bitcoin benefits from greater liquidity, it suffers from lack of real use and weak environmental, social, governance ESG scoring, due to its high energy consumption.” They also cited competition from other cryptocurrencies as a factor stopping bitcoin from becoming digital gold.

“The apex court has exposed the conspiracy against Justice Qazi Faez Isa,” he said.

Responding to rigging allegations after a PPP candidate won from NA-249, Bilawal said that those who are raising hue and cry over their loss and terming it a Daska 2 should inform as to where violent incidents like Daska have been repeated during the Baldia by-poll.

“The PML-N friends should learn to admit their loss. If they have any proof of rigging in NA-249 then bring it forward or otherwise stay silent,” he said adding that instead of fighting with the federal government, they want to create a fight within the opposition parties.

He said that both Shahid khaqan Abbasi and Muhammad Zubair were at the DRO office to collect election results. “I would have called Shehbaz Sharif if PML-N secured victory from the constituency,” Bilawal said.

On Monday, the apex court quashed a

probe into foreign assets believed to be in possession of Justice Qazi Faez Isa and accepted for hearing a set of review petitions filed by the judge against the verdict in the presidential reference against him.

“For the reasons to be recorded later [… ] review petitions are allowed [for proceedings] and the directions contained in [the] short order passed in [June last year] and other connected matters, alongwith supporting detailed reasons given in the majority judgment of the same date, are recalled and set-aside,” a short order read.

The petitions were filed last year against a short order and a subsequent detailed judgement on the filing of presidential reference against the judge that accused him of being in possession of assets in the United kingdom.

On June 19, seven judges of the 10member larger bench quashed the reference but ordered the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to conduct an inquiry into the assets

and submit a report to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).

In a 6:4 majority decision today, the bench accepted the request made by Sarina Isa, the judge’s spouse. However, five judges accepted Justice Isa’s review petition while five were against it.

The bench declared that legal actions taken by the top revenue collector and all other bodies into the assets in possession of Sarina and her children as “illegal”.

The report prepared by the FBR could not be challenged in the top judicial body or any other legal forum, the judgement announced.

After completion of the hearing, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, in his remarks, said that the bench needed time for consultation.

Earlier this month, the apex court rejected 6-4 a petition filed by Justice Isa that sough a live coverage of proceedings of his review petitions.

During the proceedings, Justice Bandial

Indian Muslims turn mosques, schools into Covid centres NEW DELHI ANADOLU AGENCY

With the number of daily coronavirus cases in India hitting record highs, Muslims in several parts of the country have turned mosques and madrassas (Islamic schools) into Covid19 care facilities to aid patients.

India has been witnessing a staggering surge in infections of more than 300,000 daily since April 22, which has severely strained the country’s health system, leading to massive shortages of hospital beds, oxygen and critical drugs.

But amid the chaos, Muslim organisations are coming forward to help the people struggling with infection in the holy month of Ramazan.

In the Western state of Gujarat, administrators running a DarulUloom, or Islamic seminary, in the city of Vadodara have created a Covid care facility consisting of — oxygen fitted beds — and isolation wards within the campus. “The cases are rising rapidly and the demand for hospital beds is huge. We decided to open the facility because we want to help people,” its principal, Mufti Arif Abbas, told Anadolu Agency over the phone.

“The facility has been running since last week, and we have been able to provide treatment to a good number of people,” he added. A portion of a mosque in Vadodara has also been converted into a Covid facility.

“We have hired doctors to run the 50-bed center,” Irfan Sheikh, one of the committee members of the Jahangirpura Mosque, told Anadolu Agency. He said the centre is equipped with oxygen as well. “The situation around com-

pelled us to take the step,” he added.

In the capital New Delhi, where hospitals are facing an acute shortage of oxygen, many clerics have announced that they are setting up isolation centres for patients Other than these facilities, Muslim groups in India have also started helpline numbers to provide leads about beds and oxygen supplies. There have been desperate calls on social media about shortages of beds and oxygen across the country. “We started a relief task force a week ago. A control room in New Delhi with 30 people working is operational around the clock to help the patients,” Musab Qazi, a spokesperson of the Students Islamic Organisation of India, the students' wing of socio-religious organisation Jamaat-e-Islami, told Anadolu Agency. “Through our task force, we are helping people find beds, oxygen supply, and drugs like Remdesvir.”

FREE OXYGEN FOR PATIENTS: Many individuals and groups have started to provide free oxygen cylinders to patients in various parts of the country.

There have been a number of cases where patients are losing their lives as they fail to get oxygen and beds at hospitals that are coping with a huge influx of patients.

In the worst affected state of Maharashtra, Shahnawaz Shaikh, a resident, has been lauded on social media as his foundation has been at the forefront of providing help to Covid-positive patients. “We are providing people help by getting hospital beds, oxygen supply as well,” said Shaikh.

He said that while the number of calls was less, now it is over 500 per day. Community representatives say Muslim groups in the country should open more madrassas and other facilities for needy patients.

acknowledged the right of the people to have access to information in matters of public importance under Article 19-A but said the details and modalities of which are yet to be decided by the full court.

The dissenting note observed that the aforementioned article created an obligation on state institutions to take the necessary measures to ensure the realisation of the fundamental rights of people to have access to information in matters of public importance.

“Cases under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, including review petitions and other matters arising therein, are matters of public importance, and the public has a right to know and see how proceedings in these cases are conducted and concluded by the Court,” it read.

“We, therefore, hold that live streaming of court hearings of these cases should be made available for the information of the public through a link on the official website of this court.”

Dollar falls to Rs153.45 as rupee consolidates gains Pakistani rupee continued its winning streak against the US dollar for the third straight day in the interbank on Friday and made a recovery of 17 paisas (+0.11 percent). According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the US dollar opened at Rs153.62 and closed at Rs153.45. Within the open market, rupee was traded at 153.50/154.50 per dollar. The rupee has gained Rs0.42 against the greenback during this week, while it has gained Rs14.60 against the greenback in fiscal year 2020-21 and appreciation has been Rs6.39 in the current year. Currency experts said that the rupee made further recovery despite demand for dollars remaining high due to import and corporate payments. They said that the rupee is likely to maintain its recovery against the greenback owing to strong external position on the back of current account surplus, improved workers’ remittances and export receipts. Meanwhile, the foreign exchange reserves held by the country stand at $23.52 billion by week ended April 23, 2021, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said.

The reserves held by the central bank stand at $16.428 billion while reserves held by commercial banks stand at $7.092 billion. NEWS DESK

Prices go 2pc down as OPEC+ set to ease production cut Crude oil prices edged lower on Friday after going up for three consecutive days as the OPEC+ is set to slightly increase oil production from May 1. At 1535 hours GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world's oil, was trading at $67.31 a barrel after losing 1.85 percent. Likewise, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures shed 2.23 percent to reach $63.56 a barrel. The price for Opec Basket was recorded at $64.53 a barrel with 0.97 percent increase, Arab Light was available at $67.25 a barrel with 2.55 percent increase while price of Russian Sokol increased 2.32 percent to reach $67.01 a barrel. Meanwhile, the US Energy Information Administration reported that crude oil inventories are within the five-year average for the season—for the first time in months—and that middle distillate inventories were down by a sizeable 3.3 million barrels last week. NEWS DESK

Gold price slips to Rs87,200 per 10gm

LAHORE: As summer rolls in, a worker prepares iron within a furnace ahead of Labour Day. ZUBAIR MEHFOOZ Published by Arif Nizami at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 051-2204545. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk

Gold prices in the international market fell slightly on Friday, pulled lower by firm US treasury yields and uptick in dollar index. At 1340 hours GMT, gold in the international market was trading at $1,771.10 an ounce after shedding $1.90 an ounce in its value as compared to its closing value on Thursday last. Resultantly, the price of yellow metal in the country went down. The price of 10 grams yellow metal was recorded at Rs87,200 after losing Rs400. The price of 10 grams gold was recorded at Rs87,600 on Thursday last. NEWS DESK