Epaper – May 29 KHI 2020

CMYK

Friday, 29 May, 2020 I 6 Shawwal-ul-Mubarak, 1441 I Rs 15.00 I Vol X No 329 I 12 Pages I Karachi Edition

treat Covid-19 as a global Problem, imran urges develoPed nations g

PM TELLS uN MOOT ‘wE HAD BIG, AMBITIOuS PLANS TO rEvIvE PAKISTAN’S TOurISM SECTOr AND ALL THIS TOOK A NOSEDIvE’

ISLAMABAD agencies

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rIME Minister Imran Khan on Thursday urged the developed world to “put their minds together” to find a solution to the Covid-19 pandemic, saying it was a “global problem”.

“It’s very important that the world now looks at this whole issue globally. If developed countries put their minds together and treat this as a global situation, I think we will all come out of it unscathed, right now things look bleak, but if we treat it as a global issue the world will come out of it,” PM Imran said while addressing a virtual united Nations event on Financing for Development in the Covid19 era and Beyond.

Imran said that when Pakistan imposed lockdown measures to curb the spread of the virus, everything came to standstill, as it did in most economies of the world. “when everything came to a standstill,

Pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

62,689

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

44

DEATHS:

20,231

1,283

SINDH:

PUNJAB:

25,309

22,037

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

AJK/GB:

ISLAMABAD:

8,842 219/651

SAyS ‘wOrLD IS NOT GOING TO rECOvEr FrOM THIS rECESSION IF THE BIGGEr PArT OF ITS POPuLATION IS wALLOwING IN POvErTy’

the biggest issue for us was how to look after the most vulnerable section of our population, and the people affected in the non-formal sector of our economy.

“Out of a population of 220 million, almost 150m are counted among the most vulnerable section […] non-formal sector, daily wagers, weekly wagers, whose families are dependent on them earning money so that they could eat.”

Talking about the Ehsaas programme, Imran said: “[Therefore] we started this cash handout programme, one of the biggest in Pakistan’s history. we doled out $8bn to stimulate our economy and to give cash to the most vulnerable section of our society.

“But the problem was and the problem is, that we have falling exports and remittances. we had big, ambitious plans to revive our tourism sector and all this took a nosedive.”

He added that while these problems have been faced by most countries, the developing world has taken a larger hit.

Coronavirus in

RECOVERED:

g

3,616 2,015

“To put things into perspective, the total amount of stimulus we could afford to give to our economy — which was the biggest stimulus ever in our history — we managed to give $8bn.”

He maintained that when compared with the stimulus packages of other developed countries, the developing world has only given $7 trillion to stimulate their economies. “when you compare that with the developing world, unfortunately we don’t have the fiscal space to revive our economy, to look after the most vulnerable section of our society.

“In Pakistan’s case, we have this huge, ambitious programme of fighting climate change by planting 10 billion trees. So all this money [was] diverted into dealing with the effects of the coronavirus lockdown.

He added that when he spoke to the leaders of Ethiopia, Nigeria and Egypt, he was informed that the countries were facing problems similar to those being faced

by Pakistan.

“Therefore, I really welcome the G20’s initiative,” Imran said, talking about the grouping’s decision to include all countries under the world Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) to be eligible for debt relief.

“But bear in mind, this has to be thought through […] I’m afraid it has to be much bigger than is so far being envisaged. “you have the developed world with 1.5 billion people, but the developing world with a population of six billion people. unless the problem is dealt with holistically as a global problem with global solutions, the world is not going to recover from this recession if the bigger part of the world’s population is wallowing in poverty.”

Concluding his address, the prime minister urged the uN secretary general and the Canadian and Jamaican prime ministers to “pursue these initiatives”.

Court asks govt to explain inclusion of Hafeez Shaikh in 10th NFC g

PETITIONEr’S COuNSEL SAyS THErE’S NO CONSTITuTIONAL PrOvISION FOr A PM’S ADvISEr, AN uNELECTED OFFICIAL, TO CALL NFC SESSION ISLAMABAD staff report

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday directed the federal government to submit its response as it took up a petition questioning the inclusion of PM’s Special Assistant on Finance and revenue Abdul Hafeez Shaikh in the 10th National Finance Commission (NFC) without consultation in accordance with Article 160(1) of the Constitution.

The petition filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Khurram Dastgir Khan has challenged the constitution of the commission, which is aimed at distributing between the Centre and the provinces the net proceeds of five major tax categories, besides looking into expenditure requirements for special areas and special needs of the country.

The one-member bench comprising Justice Miangul Hassan also sought responses from Federal Law

PM pushes for aviation reforms, assures fair probe into PIA crash ISLAMABAD staff report

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that reforms in the aviation sector should be fasttracked to make air travel safe in the future, and said that all facts of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane crash would be made public.

Chairing a high-level meeting, the premier directed the concerned authorities to carry out a thorough probe into the tragic incident and to release the investigation reports of all plane crashes that happened in the past so the people could know the truth about them.

He also directed for provision of all possible facilities and compensation to the families of victims, as well as preparation of a compensation package for all those whose homes and assets were damaged in the crash.

The prime minister was given detailed briefing about the plane crash investigations and hiring the services of local and foreign experts for the purpose.

Expressing deep grief over the loss of precious human lives in the tragic incident and sympathy with the bereaved families of the victims, he said that it was a great

Secretary Muhammad Khashihur rehman, SAPM Shaikh, Principal Secretary to the president Tariq Najmi, Cabinet Secretary Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera and other respondents.

Barristers Mohsin Shahnawaz ranjha and Omer Gilani represented the petitioner in the court.

During the hearing, citing media reports, Barrister Omer Gilani contended that Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has also objected to the decision regarding the 10th NFC. To which, Justice Miangul Hassan warned the lawyer to present “factual arguments instead of speculating” about the issue in question. “whatever you cannot resolve on the assembly floor, you bring it here [to courts],” remarked the judge.

The judge warned the barrister that in case the petition gets rejected then an “exemplary fine” will be imposed on the petitioner.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

more inside

Govt likely to raise electricity tariff by Rs2 per unit: report STORY ON PAGE 02

PPP demands action against PM Imran for approving sugar export, freight subsidy

A security personnel escorts the French Airbus investigators during their visit to the crash site on Thursday.

tragedy for the nation on the occasion of Eidul Fitr. He added that there was no substitute to human life, but the government still shared the grief of the affected families and would ensure that justice is given to them.

The meeting was attended

by Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Information Minister Shibli Faraz, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information Lieutenant General (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa, Special Assistant Dr Shahbaz Gill, Secretary Aviation Division Hassan Nasir Jami, PIA Chief Executive Officer Air Marshal Arshad Mahmood Malik and other senior officials.

INVESTIGATION REPORTS TO BE MADE PUBLIC: Later, Federal Min-

CMYK

ister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan, while addressing a press conference, said that the government has decided to release the investigation reports of plane crashes of the past on June 22 and no one would be unfairly protected or implicated in the reports which would be laid before the parliament and the public.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

PIA recovers cockpit voice recorder from debris of ill-fated plane STORY ON PAGE 02

STORY ON PAGE 03

Facebook initiates Authorised Sales Partner programme in Pakistan STORY ON PAGE 09

India sidesteps Trump offer to mediate on China, says in talks with Beijing STORY ON BACK PAGE

02

Friday, 29 May, 2020

news

PiA reCovers CoCkPit voiCe reCorder from debris of ill-fAted PlAne KARACHI

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CurrenCy worth rs30m found in PiA PlAne’s debris

STAFF REPORT

HE cockpit voice recorder (CVR) of the ill-fated PK-8303 flight, which crashed in Karachi last week, killing 97 of 99 onboard, has been recovered from the debris, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) announced on Thursday.

In a tweet, the national flag-carrier said that PIA teams, aided by Airbus experts, had been searching extensively for the recorder, which will now be handed over to PIA’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).

“This will be a key component in the Air Crash Investigation,” the tweet read, adding: “PIA teams were searching extensively for CVR aided by [the] Airbus team.”

Last week, the Airbus A-320 jet that had flown from Lahore, crashed into Model Colony, a residential neighbourhood near Karachi’s Jinnah International

In a shocking development on Thursday, a spokesperson of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has claimed that local and foreign currency amounting to Rs30 million was allegedly being smuggled in the plane that crashed in a Karachi neighbourhood on May 22. “Local and foreign currency worth millions of rupees were recovered from the crash site,” said the spokesperson, adding: “A total of Rs30 million were recovered from three separate bags.” The PIA official said that such an amount cannot be transported without informing the airline and that an extra seat ticket needs to be purchased for transporting such huge amounts of cash. “A passenger cannot carry it in their luggage or cabin baggage.” He said for such large amounts of cash, a passenger has to be seated next to the cash. “No passenger had brought an extra seat.” So far, three people have come forward to claim the money, the spokesperson said. NEWS DESK

Airport, after both its engines apparently failed. Only two people survived the devastating crash out of the 99 passengers and crew members on board.

The DNA tests of those killed are underway to identify the victims.

The plane made failed attempts to land at the Karachi airport before the crash. Authorities had recovered the flight data recorder (FDR) of the ill-fated aircraft on the day of the crash, but could not find the CVR. Both FDR and CVR are the two key

components of the black box of an aircraft.

In the present case, the CVR is of more importance because it records all sounds, including pilots’ conversations, in the cockpit.

PIA and AAIB teams along with an 11-

PPP moves fiA over ‘derogatory, slanderous remarks’ about benazir bhutto

Pakistan restored balance of power in region on May 28, 1998: military

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has requested the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Cybercrime Wing to take immediate action and initiate proceedings against a Twitter account operated under the name ‘Cynthia D. Ritchie’ for making “extremely derogatory and slanderous remarks” about former Pakistani prime minister and late party leader Benazir Bhutto. In a letter to the FIA, Shakeel Abbasi — an advocate at the Islamabad High Court and the PPP’s district president — requested the agency to take action against Ritchie.

“Through this application, it is brought to your notice that a woman, who goes by the name of Cynthia D. Ritchie on Twitter has passed extremely derogatory and slanderous remarks about Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, through her Twitter handle/account,” the letter, dated May 28, read. “Her remarks being false, untrue, defamating and slanderous as they are, have caused immense pain and agony to the millions across Pakistan who revere and hold Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in high esteem,” it added. “Your office is requested to take immediate action and initiate proceedings against this woman as prescribed by the law and under your mandate. “A photocopy of the tweet, a true portrayal of her sick and disgusting mind is attached with the application,” the letter noted further. NEWS DESK

Pakistan successfully established minimum nuclear deterrence and restored balance of power in the region on this day [May 28] in 1998, Pakistani military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said on Thursday as the country marked the 22nd anniversary of Youm-e-Takbeer – the day when Pakistan became a nuclear power. On May 28 in 1998, responding to Indian nuclear tests, Pakistan successfully carried out five nuclear tests in Chaghi, an area of Balochistan.

The nuclear explosions, which were conducted in self-defence to respond to India’s aggression of nuclear tests, made Pakistan’s defence invincible. As a result, Pakistan became the first nuclear power in the Muslim world and seventh in the world.

“AFs [armed forces] salute all

govt likely to raise electricity tariff by rs2 per unit: report The government is likely to increase the price of electricity between Rs1.5 and Rs2 per unit, which will put an additional burden of more than Rs162 billion on the people, according to a news channel. The channel’s report claimed that the federal government is considering raising the price of electricity which will put extra burden on the people already trapped in inflation and unemployment due to the coronavirus pandemic. It claimed that the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) will take a decision in this regard on June 3. NEWS DESK

sC to hear plea against shC verdict in daniel Pearl murder case A three-judge special bench of the Supreme Court (SC) led

by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmad will hear the petition of the parents of American journalist Daniel Pearl on June 1 against the Sindh High Court’s (SHC) decision of suspending the sentence of convicts in their son’s murder case. The slain journalist’s parents had approached the apex court against the high court’s April 2 verdict commuting the death sentence Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh – the man convicted of kidnapping and murdering American journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002 – to a sevenyear sentence, and acquitted three others who had been awarded life imprisonment in the case. Ruth Pearl and Judie Pearl filed a petition through renowned lawyer Faisal Siddiqi against the acquittal and release of the four accused. NEWS DESK

RAWALPINDI

shehbAz Asks PeoPle, institutions to work together to fix eConomy

STAFF REPORT

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif has urged people and national institutions to work together to save the country from an economic crisis. “We need to offer special prayers and ask Allah to give us courage,” Shehbaz said while addressing a Youm-eTakbeer event via video link in Lahore. “Together we will strengthen Pakistan’s economy.” Pakistan celebrates Youm-e-Takbeer on May 28 every year. The country became an atomic power under PML-N government on this day. The PML-N president claimed that his brother had declined offers from friends and foes in 1998 and made Pakistan a nuclear power. “We should say special prayers for his health,” Shehbaz said, referring to his brother who is getting medical treatment in London.

He blamed the PTI government for the economic crisis in the country and said thousands of people have lost their jobs because of the government’s economic policies. “We should not do politics in such a difficult time but the nation needs to be told the truth,” he added. NEWS DESK

those involved from conceptualisation to actualisation especially scientists & engineers who made this possible. Long Live Pakistan,” the military’s media wing added. Mean-

while, Information Minister Shibli Faraz in his message on Youm-e-Takbeer said Pakistan’s nuclear arsenals are guarantor of the safety and security of the country and its people.

India allows 300 nationals to return from Pakistan NEWS DESK India has allowed around 300 of its nationals, currently in Pakistan, to return after both the countries eased lockdown restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Indian nationals will return via Wagah-Attari border, which will be reopened on Saturday.

Around 80 Kashmiri students are also among those leaving for India. These students were studying at different educational institutions in Lahore.

Currently, 10 Indian nationals are residing in Islamabad, while 12 Indians are staying at their relatives’ homes in Nankana Sahib. It was reported that around 200 Indian nationals are staying in different cities in Sindh.

A day ago, another 176 Pakistani citizens who were stranded in India after the outbreak of COVID-19 arrived in Lahore on Wednesday via Wagah border, reported

Radio Pakistan. They will be kept at quarantine centers in Lahore prior to their departure to native towns.

These Pakistanis were stranded in different Indian states including Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand and Delhi, due to the extended lockdown and closure of Attari-Wagah border following the outbreak of coronavirus. More than four hundred stranded Pakistanis have already been repatriated from India via Attari-Wagah border since March 20.

Earlier this month, the Indian government has allowed 193 Pakistanis stranded in the country due to the coronavirus lockdown, to return.

The Indian External Affairs Ministry had directed state police chiefs to facilitate the travel of the stranded Pakistanis back to their country via the Attari-Wagah border crossing on May 5.

member team of Airbus experts and engineers have been scouring the site of the crash for the past three days in order to collect evidence which would help determine the cause of the crash.

Pakistan will remain a responsible nuclear state, Qureshi says ISLAMABAD APP

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that Pakistan is a peace-loving country and its conduct as a nuclear state will continue to be defined by restraint and responsibility. Addressing a webinar organised to mark Yaum-e-Takbeer here on Thursday, the foreign minister said, “We are opposed to a nuclear or conventional arms race in the region.” He said that Pakistan has demonstrated its commitment to peace and stability by putting forward the proposal for a strategic restraint regime. “Our desire for peace should not leave anyone in doubt regarding our capability and we will defend ourselves effectively against any form of aggression,” he said.

He said, “Today we are commemorating Yaume-Takbeer in the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic which threatens the international community without regard to geographic boundaries, and ethnic, political and religious divides.”

He said the recent escalation along the Line of Control (LoC), incessant ceasefire violations and the canard of cross-border infiltration are designed to divert international attention from the gross human rights violations by the Indian occupation forces in Occupied Kashmir. The foreign minister said that BJP government’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 in an attempt to change the internationally-recognized disputed status of occupied Jammu and Kashmir and alter its demographic structure in flagrant violation of the Security Council resolutions, UN Charter and bilateral agreements have engendered further volatility in South Asia. Qureshi categorically stated that any aggression by India will receive a befitting response. In a statement, he said Pakistani people and armed forces are ever ready to respond to any Indian hostility. The foreign minister said, “India’s bellicosity is aimed at provoking Pakistan, but we showed patience in the past and will exercise restraint in future too.” However, he made it clear that Pakistan reserves complete right to its defense.

Qureshi said, “We prefer the path of peace but our desire for calm should not be misconstrued as our weakness.” He gave a clear message to India to act sensibly and live with peace.

Govt deploys militant-tracking tech to trace Covid-19 cases ISLAMABAD AGENCIES

The intelligence services are deploying secretive surveillance technology normally used to locate militants to instead track coronavirus patients and the people they come into contact with.

In a programme publicly touted by Prime Minister Imran Khan, the government has turned to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for help in tackling the virus, which still is spreading at an accelerating rate across Pakistan.

Details about the project have not been released, but two officials told AFP that intelligence services are using geofencing and phone-monitoring systems that ordinarily are employed to hunt high-value targets including homegrown and foreign militants.

Geo-fencing, a discreet tracking system that alerts authorities when someone leaves a specific geographic area, has helped officials monitor neighbourhoods on lockdown. Authorities are also listening in to the calls of Covid-19 patients to monitor whether their contacts are talking about having symptoms.

“The trace-and-track system basically helps us track the mobile phones of corona patients as well as anyone they get in touch with before of after their disappearance,” an intelligence official said.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a senior security official told AFP that agencies are now “quite effectively” using the technology to track coronavirus cases. “The government has been successful in tracing even those who tested positive but went into hiding,” the security official said.

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A lack of awareness, stigma and fear have contributed to some people with symptoms not seeking treatment or even fleeing hospitals, while others who’ve had contact with virus patients have flouted self-isolation rules.

The prime minister recently praised the programme, which has come up against little public debate or scrutiny over its use in the virus fight.

“It was originally used against terrorism, but now it is has come in useful against coronavirus,” he said.

More than 61,000 people in Pakistan have tested positive for the disease and more than 1,200 patients have died.

But with testing still limited, officials worry the true numbers are much higher.

RIGHTS GROUPS EXPRESS CONCERNS: Rights groups worry authorities, that are accused of holding a vast

sway over many aspects of the country’s cultural and political life, might abuse their sweeping surveillance powers to trace political dissidents.

Former Awami National Party (ANP) senator Afrasiab Khattak told AFP that involving the ISI would spread unnecessary fear among the population.

“The task of tracking and tracing the patients and suspected cases should be dealt with by provincial governments and local communities — let intelligence agencies do their actual job,” he said.

Countries across the world have employed track-and-trace methods to control the virus’s spread, raising privacy concerns. Israel’s intelligence services have been using counter-terrorism technology, including tracking mobile phones, prompting the Supreme Court to raise privacy concerns.

Friday, 29 May, 2020

news

03

PPP demAnds ACtion AgAinst Pm imrAn for APProving sugAr exPort, freight subsidy MINISTERS SAY SUGAR PRICES NOT ONLY STABILISED BUT ALSO DROPPED WHEN SINDH GOVT PROVIDED SUBSIDY TO MILLS KARACHI

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STAFF REPORT

HE Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Thursday demanded Prime Minister Imran Khan and the federal cabinet be held accountable for approving the export of sugar and freight subsidy of Rs2 billion.

Advisor to the Chief Minister on Law Syed Murtaza Wahab and Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah held a press conference on Thursday to answer corruption allegations by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar on Wednesday.

“There are various problems with the TORs of the commission,” he said. “The name of the chief minister who was to be summoned, his name has not been included.

The prime minister who approved sugar subsidies, his name has also not been mentioned,” said Shah.

Referring to PTI leaders Khusro Bakhtiar and Jahangir Tareen being the “talk of the town” these days, the information minister said that their sugar mills received the lion’s share of the subsidies.

“More than 84 per cent of the sugar subsidy was given [by Sindh government] to sugar mills of Jahangir Tareen and Khusro Bakhtiar and other people,” he underlined. “This subsidy was given because sugar mills had sugar in ample quantities hence they did not want to start the crushing season,” said Shah, adding that subsidies were given to the sugar mills to encourage them to export their excess sugar and buy the commodity from local farmers.

“This subsidy is given and other benefits

when the demand for sugar is low in the international market,” he noted. Shah lashed out at the government, wondering why the price of sugar had soared to Rs80 per kilogramme during the PTI government’s tenure.

Murtaza Wahab thanked the federal government for issuing the sugar inquiry commission report after which it was possible to ascertain that the prime minister himself gave the approval for the commodity to be exported.

“The subsidy was given to 26 sugar mills in Sindh,” he said. “The subsidy was granted in an impartial manner and the purpose behind it was to protect the interests of our sugar growers,” he said, adding that in 2018, 2019 and 2020, the Sindh government did not give any subsidy to the sugarcane sector.

He said that the prices of sugar had not only stabilised but also dropped when Sindh government provided the subsidy to mills.

“The benefit was availed by the sugar growers and the consumer who bought sugar [due to the low prices],” he said.

Wahab said that the commission formed

by the prime minister to probe the sugar price hike did not summon Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah. “The sugar prices quoted in the report are from the year 2019. As I said before, Sindh government does not have anything to do with this matter as it did not issue any sugar subsidy in 2018, 2019 and 2020,” he said.

Reading from the sugar inquiry commission report, Wahab pointed out that the commission had found out that the prime minister approved the export of 1.1 million tonnes of sugar and the Rs2bn subsidy on freight as well.

“This is not me saying this. This is not the Sindh government saying this. These are the findings of the commission formed by the federal government,” he said.

The federal government believes in bad intentions. It wanted to save the prime minister and the cabinet hence, in an attempt to divert the issue, they went into the past,” observed Wahab, adding that for a transparent inquiry to take place, the prime minister should be asked why he allowed sugar to be exported which ultimately caused its price

PM Imran will expose all mafias bleeding Pakistan dry, says Faraz ISLAMABAD APP

Federal Information Minister Shibli Faraz on Thursday said that Prime Minister Imran Khan “is the sole antidote to the corruption virus”, adding that the sugar inquiry commission’s probe into the sugar price hike in the country is just the beginning. “[Prime Minister] Imran Khan will not stop here. We will expose the rest of the mafias too and bring the entire matter to a logical conclusion,” said the information minister. He said that for business-oriented gains, the country’s very roots were weakened. “These people enter [into politics] not to serve people but to further their businesses. Their sole purpose was to bleed Pakistan dry,” Faraz said. He said that they have ensured that Pakistan regresses instead of seeing to its development.

Speaking of the government’s response to the virus, he said that the country is prepared to deal with it. “The economy will run and the people will have to play their part [and exercise cau-

tion].” Faraz said that a “lower death toll is evidence of the fact that the government’s response was right”.

He said that the people must remain steadfast and trust that the government is ready to deal with the situation.

Speaking more on the preparedness front, he said that the government is ready to fight a big swarm of locusts expected in July.

Referring to “other parties”, he said that they are all “dynastical” and no such

Three media employees pass away due to coronavirus ISLAMABAD: Three media employees, including two at Radio Pakistan, have passed away due to the deadly coronavirus, according to Radio Pakistan.

Radio Pakistan senior broadcast engineer Muhammad Ashfaq and Urdu newscaster Huma Zafar died of the virus. “Muhammad Ashfaq was a regular employee of Radio Pakistan and known for his competence and dedication to technical work. He was very humble and friendly personality,” it wrote. “Huma Zafar was a contractual newsreader and had been reading national bulletins in CNO PBC for the last two decades. She was well educated lady and did her Phd in Psychology from abroad. “She was also attached with Waqar un Nisa Girls College Rawalpindi as a senior faculty member,” it added.

Separately, 92 News journalist Fakhruddin Syed also succumbed to the deadly coronavirus earlier on Thursday in Peshawar’s Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC), the facility’s director confirmed, adding that he had been under treatment there after his health deteriorated. STAFF REPORT

characterisation of the PTI can be made.

He said whenever it comes to making decisions, the government will do what is in the best interest of the people.

Referring to Murad Ali Shah’s remarks in defense of the report’s findings regarding subsidies given to the Omni Group, Faraz said: “Murad Ali Shah has made false claims. He too was summoned because the Omni Group was involved.”

He said that Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

had wrongly bestowed favours on the sugar mafia. “The benefit of subsidies must go to the farmers.”

The information minister said that the past governments took advantage of state institutions by appointing their own people within them.

He said that in order to protect their own businesses, they let the institutions become crippled.

Speaking of Youm-e-Takbeer, observed in commemoration of Pakistan’s successful nuclear tests in 1998, he said that the feat was achieved due to the efforts made by scientists, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and General Ziaul Haq. “We know full well how to defend our nation,” said the minister.

Moving on to issues faced by the power sector, he said that as soon as the PML-N came into power in 2013, independent power plants were granted Rs486 billion.

“Why was such a grant made on the very first day, is now known.

“These people do not do anything for free. They are always in search of how to score big,” Faraz said.

hike and approved freight subsidy of Rs2bn.

Wahab and Shah were responding to a hard-hitting press conference by Shahzad Akbar from Wednesday in which, looping in the government of Sindh, he had said that the provincial government gave the most benefit to Omni Group through subsidies, which had been opposed by the provincial cabinet.

“The chief minister of Punjab appeared in front of the sugar inquiry commission but the chief minister of Sindh did not,” he had said. “The [PTI] government will take homogeneous action against our party and others named in the report.”

“Maybe some of our friends did not read the report properly. Perhaps the Opposition didn’t understand it as the report is in English and lengthy,” Akbar said.

“Audit matters have been reviewed in the report,” he noted, adding that a very important portion in it was the amount of subsidy given by PML-N and specifically by Abbasi. Subsidies were given due to “mismanagement in determining the production prices”, he said.

Umar for streamlining information on beds, ventilators availability ISLAMABAD APP

Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Thursday stressed the importance of devising a mechanism of providing latest information about the availability of beds and ventilators in hospitals to facilitate Covid-19 patients. Chairing a meeting at National Command and Control Centre (NCOC), he said that such information would facilitate the infected get admission in hospitals as per their own preference and the availability of beds and ventilators. The meeting was also attended by Minister for Interior Brigadier (r) Ijaz Shah, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza, Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Covid-19 Dr Faisal Sultan, and NCOC Chief Coordinator Lieutenant General Hamud Uz Zaman Khan. The NCOC was apprised that sufficient beds and ventilators were available in country’s hospitals for accommodating Covid-19 patients and most patients preferred home isolation. The forum also reviewed the progress on the implementation status of Covid-19 guidelines. Umar said that a special meeting of National Coordination Committee (NCC) would be held on June 1 to finalise the coronavirus strategy for the next month. The minister asked the provinces and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) to finalise their recommendations regarding Covid-19 by Saturday for consideration. High ranking officials of the four provinces, GB, AJK and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) attended the session via video-link.

Top court to resume hearing of Justice Isa case on June 2 ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

A 10-judge bench, led by Supreme Court Justice Umar Ata Bandial, will resume hearing of the Justice Qazi Faez Isa case on June 2, wherein the federal government will respond to the latter’s petition challenging the filing of a presidential reference against him.

The last hearing of the case was conducted on Feb 24, in which the federal government had sought three weeks adjournment. Later, the hearing could not be conducted due to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

The federal government on May 23, 2019, moved the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) – the forum that can hold superior court judges accountable – against Justice Isa and Sindh High Court (SHC) Justice KK Agha over non-disclosure of

their families foreign assets in their wealth statements.

The SJC, under the chairmanship of former chief justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa, started swift proceedings on basis of the reference and even issued showcause notices to the judges after declaring their preliminary written replies as unsatisfactory.

However, the legal fraternity strongly reacted to the reference and both the rival groups of lawyers – Asma Jahangir group and Hamid Khan group –united against the government’s move.

The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) – the apex regularity body of lawyers – also started arranging conventions and protests against the reference all over the country. Lawyers belonging to small provinces started to lead the campaign against the presidential reference.

Despite distributing millions of rupees

among bars, the Federal Minister for Law Dr Farogh Naseem could not get the support of the majority of lawyers for reference.

A number of senior lawyers described the reference as an attack on independent judges by the security establishment. They said the bar is the only institution which could hold the judiciary accountable. One section of lawyers even raised doubts about the role of a few judges against Justice Isa. Challenging the reference in the apex court under Article 184 (3), Justice Isa also questioned the role of the SJC led by former chief justice Khosa.

Justice Isa had not endorsed Justice Khosa’s findings regarding reopening of Hudabiya case against Sharif family while hearing the National Accountability Bureau appeal. The SC judge in his petition claimed that the SJC’s role in

his case was biased. Now two SJC members – Justice Khosa and Justice Sheikh Azmat – have retired.

Following Justice Isa, superior bars also moved against presidential reference in the apex court.

In October last year, a 10-member full court led by Justice Umar Ata Bandial resumed hearing of the case. On the request of Justice Isa, two SC judges namely Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Sardar Tariq Masood recused themselves from hearing his case.

The SC judge’s legal team led by renowned lawyer Muneer A Malik and comprising Babar Sattar and Salahuddin Ahmed successfully pleaded the case.

Since October 2019, the full court has remained visibly divided into different legal points, with a few judges questioning the maintainability of the petition in view of Article 211 of the Constitution.

04 karachi

Friday, 29 May, 2020

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In a fIrST, almoST 2,000 coronavIruS PaTIenTS In SIndh recovered In 24 hourS: cm KARACHI

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STAFF REPORT

INDH Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Thursday confirmed that for the first time, almost 2,000 patients have recovered from the coronavirus and returned to their homes over the past 24 hours since the emergence of the pandemic in the province.

With 1,924 people who recovered from the deadly infection, the total number of recoveries so far bumped up to 11,190, Shah said. The chief minister added that 1,103 individuals were diagnosed as positive out of the 4,101 tests carried out over the past 24 hours; total

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number of tests conducted rose to 167,906, of which 25,309 were positive.

"About 13,723 patients are currently under treatment and 12,146 of them are self-isolating at their homes, 661 patients at isolation centres, and 916 are admitted in various hospitals in the province," he said. Speaking of coronavirus patients with complications, Shah said 227 were in a critical condition in Sindh and 39 of them were on ventilators.

The chief minister added that with 16 new deaths during the last 24 hours, the toll across the province had risen to 396.

Karachi had most of the 1,103 new cases, at 905. District-wise, 249 were from Malir, 201 from South, 175 from East, 131 from Central, 100 from Ko-

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rangi, and 49 from West.

CM Shah said 32 new cases were from Hyderabad, 21 from Shikarpur, 20 from Larkana, 19 from Sukkur, 18 from Ghotki, 11 from Jacobabad, seven each from Jamshoro and Qambar Shahdadkot, four from Khairpur, two each from Dadu and Mirpurkhas, and one each in Naushero Feroze, Sanghar, Nawabshah, and Thatta.

Concluding the daily situational report of Sindh, Shah emphasised that cases were rising due to recklessness of the citizens.

"Until we are not vigilant in implementing the standard operating procedures (SOPs), the epidemic will not be eliminated," he said. "It is better to strictly follow the precautionary measures than to regret later."

KARACHI STAFF REPORT

The life imprisonment handed to the Lyari gang war leader Uzair Baloch was challenged in the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday.

Uzair Baloch’s mother challenged the verdict of the military court in the SHC. In the petition, she claimed that requirements of justice were not fulfilled while handing her son the punishment, adding that he should be provided with a copy of the military court’s verdict so he could file an appeal against the verdict. She insisted that the SHC order the military court to provide a copy of the verdict in this regard.

Yda threatens suspension of services if torture on doctors not stopped

Karachi hospitals treating covid-19 patients run out of beds, ventilators

KARACHI STAFF REPORT

Sindh Young Doctors Association (YDA) Chairman Dr Muhammad Umar Sultan on Wednesday warned of the suspension of services if incidents of violence on doctors are not stopped. Talking to a private news channel, the doctor who works at Jinnah Hospital said that effects of easing the lockdown have started to surface as the whole of the city has been exposed to the virus and the numbers are rising at a high speed. Highlighting the worsening situation, he said that all of Karachi’s private and government hospitals to provide beds and ventilators are now out of capacity and pleaded the government to not ease the lockdown. He said that it is not the responsibility of doctors to provide ventilators and isolation beds and urged the families of patients to avoid torturing doctors. He concluded by reiterating that healthcare workers would stop treating patients if attackers were not taken to task.

KARACHI STAFF REPORT

The public and private hospitals of Karachi, treating Covid-19 patients have run out of beds and ventilators due to the increasing number of coronavirus cases due to the relaxation in the lockdown. The number of new Covid-19 infections has seen an alarming increase in the province after Eid as wards dedicated for coronavirus patients in public and private hospitals in the port city are nearly at full capacity and cannot take in any more patients. Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Civil Hospital, Indus Hospital, Dow Hospital (Ojha campus), and other medical facilities are facing an influx of Covid-19 patients. Nineteen beds in an HDU and seventeen beds in an ICU of the JPMC are occupied while twelve ventilators earmarked for Covid-19 patients with serious condition at the Civil Hospital are occupied as well. The situation is no different situation at the Indus Hospital where neither bed nor a ventilator is free.

Similarly, all 51 beds and six ventilators earmarked for Covid-19 patients at Ziauddin hospital are occupied.

Officials at the Sindh Health Department said they saw a spike in the number of infections after Eid holidays.

all mPas to undergo coronavirus test after two more legislators infected

Security personnel stand guard as debris of the ill-fated PIA Airbus is being removed from the crash site on Thursday. PPI

KARACHI

Murad can’t evade probe into subsidy scam: Haleem Adil SINDH CM GAVE FOUR SUBSIDIES TO OMNI GROUP, SAYS PTI LEADER KARACHI STAFF REPORT

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice President Haleem Adil Sheikh has said the hands of Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah are stained with corruption and he cannot evade an inquiry into the mega subsidy scam.

Talking to media here on Thursday, Haleem said that the body language of Nasir Shah and Murtaza Wahab when they were talking about the JIT on sugar mills subsidy scam was that of losing gamblers.

He said Murtaza Wahab claims that Murad Shah has always presented before

inquiries whenever he is called, however, neither Murtaza nor Bilawal had not presented the Sindh CM before NAB when his warrants were issued. The PTI vice president said Murtaza Wahab’s job is to spread disinformation. “He gets a salary for telling lies. He was rejected by the voters of his constituency,” he added.

“When Asad Umar can record a statement before the probe commission, why are PPP leaders shying away from doing the same? The nation knows why the PPP leaders are running away from probe bodies. These people are habitual thieves and hardened criminals who should be caught at the earliest,” he said.

Haleem further said that Murad Ali Shah gave illegal subsidy of four types: subsidy to sugar mills, subsidy to 'sick' industries, subsidy to captive power project and the subsidy to tractor scheme.

“In fact, all four subsidies were given to the notorious Omni Group and its minions,” he said. “On November 22, 2017, the owners of sugar mills demanded a subsidy of Rs20 per kilogram. The federal government of that time decided to give them a subsidy of Rs10 which would be paid equally by the federal government and provinces at the rate of Rs5 each,” he said.

“Later, the agriculture department sent a summary in this regard which was opposed even by the then finance secretary,” he added. Haleem said the government of Sindh gave additional Rs4.1billion to the sugar mills of the Omni Group and intro-

duced new ways of corruption while the government of PML-N gave criminals a subsidy of Rs29billion.

He alleged that Shahid Khaqan is also involved in corruption in Rs20billion subsidy whereas Rs2.4billion subsidy was given by the Punjab government om total.

“Our captain had taken a strong notice of the issue coupled with immediate action.

During the period of the previous governments, no any commission was formed to probe into this matter and no report has been still issued in this regard so far,” he said. If the Sindh CM does not appear before the commission, he has to prove to whom these subsidies, including Rs2.25billion to the captive power sector, was given. “As if this wasn’t enough. laws were made in the Sindh assembly to complete projects of the Omni Group.

PPI

All of Sindh MPAs will have to undergo coronavirus tests before attending the Sindh Assembly session to be held on June 2 as two more legislators tested positive for the virus on Thursday. According to the details, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MPAs Sajid Jokhio and Sadia Javed have tested positive for coronavirus, raising the virusinfected MPAs toll to eight in Sindh. So far, six MPAs of PPP and one each of MQM and MMA have been infected by the virus. All MPAs of Sindh have now been directed to ensure that they take coronavirus test to be able to attend the upcoming provincial assembly session. However, three MPAs, including Mangla Sharma, Saeed Ghani and Abdul Rasheed have recovered from the virus. Earlier on May 20, PPP MPA Rana Hamir Singh had tested positive for the novel coronavirus while PPP MPA Sohrab Sarki along with five family members had tested positive for the virus on May 21.

Lockdown restrictions in Sindh to continue till May 31: Nasir Shah KARACHI APP

Sindh Minister for Information Syed Nasir Hussain Shah on Thursday said that the implementation of lockdown restrictions would continue in the province till May 31.

Addressing a press conference flanked by Barrister Murtaza Wahab, Law Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah Syed Nasir Hussain questioned how the lockdown could be relaxed at a time when the number of coronavirus cases was increasing.

Speaking about the situation in Sindh’s hospitals, the minister said that it was wrong to give the impression that there was not enough space in Sindh’s hospitals to accommodate people infected with coronavirus.

He said that apart from Jinnah and Civil Hospital, there was ample space in the Karachi Expo Center where people infected with coronavirus were being taken care of.

He said the investigations into the alleged murder of journalist Zulfiqar Mandrani were underway and the facts would be presented to the journalist community soon.

“Along with the freedom of the press, the protection of lives and property of journalists was also the provincial government’s responsibility and the Sindh government would provide full protection to journalists in this regard,” he vowed.

During the press conference, prayers were offered for the victims of the coronavirus and PIA plane crash and a minute’s silence was also observed.

The minister said that every possible help should be extended to those who lost their loved ones and homes in the plane crash.

PTI warns Sindh govt against imposition of second lockdown KARACHI STAFF REPORT

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Khurram Sher Zaman on Thursday warned the Sindh government against reimposing a lockdown in the port city to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Addressing a press conference, he said his party will oppose the Sindh government in this regard, alleging that the PPP-led government wants to cause economic damage by imposing a lockdown.

Khurram Sher Zaman said the world is coming to the realisation that lockdowns are not a solution to the pandemic and the decision to close shops and other businesses at 5pm will not help control the deadly virus.

He asked Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah to share facts about the coronavirus situation instead of frightening people and demanded of the government to allow fuel stations to stay open round the clock to facilitate motorists.

The PTI MPA further demanded that barbershops and beauty salons be also allowed to reopen.

Friday, 29 May, 2020

LandLord cLaims didn’t rent out dHa House to uzma KHan CONTRARY TO ACTOR’S LEGAL TEAM’S CLAIM, HOUSE’S OWNER SAYS HE HAD RENTED PROPERTY TO ONE FAHAD NOOR IN JAN THIS YEAR

ACTOR DEMANDS SECURITY, ARREST OF ALL PERSONS NOMINATED IN FIR; CLAIMS HAD REFUSED USMAN MALIK’S MARRIAGE PROPOSAL

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ontrary to actress Uzma Khan’s claim of being the legal occupant of the house she resides in, Pakistan today has found that the property in Defence Housing authority (DHa) was rented out to one Fahad noor in January and the landlord does not even know that she was residing there.

While addressing a presser at the Lahore Press Club on thursday, Uzma Khan’s legal team had claimed that the house the accused broke into did not belong to Usman Malik or his wife amna Usman, a claim that had been made by the latter in a video released earlier, but instead their client was the actual tenant of the property.

During the press conference, the actress, her sister Huma Khan, and her lawyers Mian ali ashfaq and Hassaan Khan niazi talked about the merits of the case. advocate ali said that there were problems with the FIr [First Information report] lodged in the case and said that the house where the incident took place did not belong to Usman Malik or his wife amna Usman.

He said that the property was owned by one Babar naseem and Uzma had signed the rental agreement with him. He promised media that the rental agreement would be shared after the press conference but no such document was provided after the event.

However, Pakistan today has learnt on good authority that the house – 45-F DHa Phase 6 – is indeed owned by Babar naseem but it was not rented out to Uzma, rather it was given to Fahad noor early in January for a monthly rent of rs180,000.

Babar’s legal representative told Pakistan today that the property was never rented out to Uzma to begin with nor did his client know her in any capacity. He said that the house was rented out to Fahad for personal occupation and they were currently checking whether the property was sublet by the tenant or not.

However, he added that according to their knowledge, the tenant and his family were residing in the house. He further said that neither the owner of the property

Court asks govt to explain inclusion of Hafeez Shaikh in 10th NFC CONtINuEd FROm pAGE 01 Justice aurangzeb was of the view that instead of questioning the establishment of the commission, the petitioner should have questioned the inclusion of SaPM Shaikh in the commission.

Since the country does not have a regular/elected finance minister, President Dr arif alvi authorised the inclusion of Shaikh in the commission to enable him to chair meetings of the nFC otherwise there was no room in the Constitution for an adviser to be even a member of the commission let alone preside over its meetings.

In his arguments, Barrister ranjha noticed that the Constitution demands the country to be governed by elected representatives. “In the absence of an elected finance minister, who will be the convener [of the nFC]. the president cannot convene a session,” he said. ranjha pointed out to the fact that the Constitution leaves no room for a PM’s adviser, an unelected official, to

call a session of the nFC. “In this case, we have to review whether the PM’s finance adviser is the only one who has been included without consultation,” remarked the judge. the court subsequently issued notices to the respondents and adjourned the hearing.

10th NFC AWARD: Last month, the Ministry of Finance had formally notified the constitution of the 10th nFC to announce a new award for sharing of federal divisible resources between the Centre and the provinces amid a fresh political debate on constitutional and financial powers of the federation and its units. the notification of the constitution of the 11-member commission was issued after approval by federal and provincial members and its terms of reference by President alvi as required under article 160 (1) of the Constitution. according to the notification, Finance Secretary naveed Kamran Baloch will serve as an expert for the commission.

nor any person associated with him has any concern with the parties involved in this dispute.

Hassaan niazi, the actress’ lawyer, did not show the rental agreement between Babar and Uzma, but said that the house’s owner was approached by the property tycoon’s family and he would share it once he presents it before the SSP (investigation). advocate ali ashfaq told the media that amna has implicated herself in the case through her confessional video. He said that the police are yet to arrest the persons nominated by them in the case. “amber Malik and Pashmina Malik, the daughters of Bahria town Chairman Malik riaz, are among the people present during the incident and have been

nominated in the case,” he added. the lawyer said that the FIr has been registered under Section 506 whereas Section 506 (b) is applicable to this case. “Under Section 506 (b), a person can be imprisoned for 10 years whereas Section 506 is bailable and lighter,” he said. “the police have not arrested anyone so far and the persons nominated in the case have not secure a bail either.”

He added that the police have said that they are under pressure. ashfaq put forward three demands on behalf of Uzma.

“We should be provided security as we are being harassed by people on telephone, the DIG investigation should be personally involved in the case so that the probe is not biased, and thirdly, we want the persons nominated by us to be arrested immediately,” he said. responding to a question about amna’s claim of having warned her multiple times, Uzma said that she had never been contacted by amna before. “the day she broke into my house was the first time I saw her,” she claimed.

Uzma also denied speculation that she would accept money from the property tycoon to settle the matter with his daughters, adding that all she needs is justice.

“Usman had proposed marriage to me, but I had refused and I have proof of this as well,” she said. When the media asked her what Usman was doing at her place on the night of the incident, she did not answer.

Company accuses PSQCA officials of harassment, misuse of power ISLAmABAd GHULAM ABBAS

In an affidavit sent to the Ministry of Science and technology (MoSt) secretary, a cosmetic company has claimed that it was being harassed by the officials of Pakistan Standard Quality Control authority (PSQCa), an attached department of the ministry. as per details, Shaheen Cosmetics (Pvt) Ltd was facing trouble over the issuance of a 'Free Sale Certificate' from PSQCa. an FSC is a certificate mandatory for exports; the company had sought an FSC to export its products to Syria. as per the documents available with this scribe, the company has accused yasin akhtar, PSQCa's Director Conformity assessment of System Certification Centre (Ca-SDC), and asghar ali, Deputy Director Ca-SDC (Lahore), of demanding 'illegal requirements' for issuance of FSC despite the fact the company had already submitted

all necessary documents in this regard. "the genuine grievance of the applicant company has not been dealt with by the concerned licencing authorities on account of non-fulfilment of their illegal requirements," the letter stated. the company revealed that it had earlier received the same certificate from former Ca-SDC director Dr Shahzad afzal after fulfiling the legal formalities. However, the incumbent director was not issuing the certificate for the last six months. It informed that the company's representatives had visited PSQCa office in Lahore to provide the officials with copies of licences and certificates received earlier. "at first, yaseen akhtar and asghar ali showed a lack of interest in the issue, but even when they agreed, it was with a condition that the company ‘must file an understanding that the previous certificate was obtained from the former director (Dr Shahzad) after receipt of heavy illegal gratification’," the affidavit stated.

NEWS

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malaysia’s ruling party dumps mahathir, dissenters KuALA LumpuR AGENCIES

Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin yassin’s ruling party on thursday terminated the membership of his predecessor Mahathir Mohamad, a move widely seen as an attempt to consolidate power as he faces a possible challenge to his nascent premiership. Mahathir, 94, had said he would seek to oust Muhyiddin from office for making a “backdoor arrangement” that brought back into power a graft-tainted party rejected by voters in an election in 2018. In a letter circulated widely on social media, the party stated that Mahathir automatically ceased to be a member after he made a show of rejecting Muhyiddin’s leadership as prime minister and party president by sitting with the opposition when parliament met last week. Similar letters were also issued to Mahathir’s son and party deputy president, Mukhriz, and three others aligned with the former prime minister. an aide to Muhyiddin confirmed the letters were authentic. Mahathir’s office declined an immediate response to a request for comment as it had not yet seen the letter itself, an aide said.

imran pushes for aviation reforms CONtINuEd FROm pAGE 01 He said that the PIa flight from Lahore to Karachi crashed during landing with 99 people on board, out of which two people survived miraculously. He added that 12 to 15 houses were also badly damaged in the tragic incident while cars parked on the street were also burnt. talking about identifying the bodies of the victims, he said that this is a very difficult stage. “We are trying to complete Dna testing as soon as possible and so far, 51 bodies have been identified and handed over to their respective families,” he added. the minister said that the entire nation is eager to know about the reasons behind the tragedy and an 11-member airbus team is currently investigating the crash. He said that the investigation board has taken possession of everything found at the crash site and everything would be revealed once the equipment is decoded in France. He added that the board will investigate everything and if there was any technical fault in the plane then it would be brought on record. responding to a question, he said the investigation would find out that if the plane had landed once who gave the orders for another take off. He urged the people to wait for the investigation board’s report. the minister said that PM Imran had expressed displeasure over the delay in investigation report and had asked why they were never released on time. He added that in light of his decision, the government would release the investigation reports of all 12 incidents. responding to the opposition’s criticism, he said that those who criticise the government now should tell the public what action they took when a plane had crashed in 2010. He added that unlike the previous governments, the incumbent government would make the investigation report public. the minister said that pilot of the ill-fated plane was “our respected brother” and assured his family that an inquiry would be conducted in a transparent manner. any interference in the report is out of the question, he added. In response to another question, he said that there are standard operating procedures (SoPs) for crash landing. If the landing gear does not open, the pilot requests crash landing, however the pilot did not mention that the failure of landing gear and he did not request an emergency landing either, he added. “We have tried to include representatives from various departments to analyse each aspect of the case closely. We have also included psychiatrists in the team to monitor the otherwise negligible details in the case, for instance, the psychological state of the pilot while he was on the flight,” he said. He further said that the investigation board would find out the answers to technical questions.

India ‘planned’ Galwan Valley standoff: Chinese media BEIJING APP

India’s provocations at the border with China would severely impact the Beijing-new Delhi ties — and may even exceed the intensity observed during the 2017 Doklam standoff — should the deliberate altercations not stop promptly, a leading Chinese newspaper reported on thursday.

In its report, Global times — a top Chinese newspaper that comments on international issues from a nationalist perspective — wrote that unlike previous standoffs between the two neighbouring nations, the latest border friction had not been caused by accident but was a planned move from India.

India has been clearly and definitely aware that the Galwan Valley region is Chinese territory. Since early May, it has been crossing the boundary line into the area and

entering China’s jurisdiction while Indian soldiers have deliberately instigated conflicts with their counterparts in Beijing.

If India failed to stop such provocations as soon as possible, it would be detrimental for bilateral ties, Global times reported.

India has illegally constructed defence facilities across the border into Chinese territory in the Galwan Valley region, leaving Beijing’s border troops with no other option but to make necessary moves in response, mounting the risk of escalating standoffs and conflicts between the two sides. there is no line of actual control along the China-India border that both sides recognise. Due to improvement in the infrastructure at the border, the two countries have ramped up patrols, leading to more frequent standoffs as a result.

Most of these border altercations were

directly and properly eased through communication among the front-line officers and only a few were exposed by media outlets. regardless, they have managed to catch the public’s attention.

In the summer of 2017, the Doklam standoff deteriorated bilateral ties between China and India. However, strategic trust was restored thanks to the efforts of the respective governments, particularly during informal meetings of top leaders from India and China between april 2018 and october 2019. the results have not come easily and should be cherished by both sides.

Some Indians believe that slowed economic growth in China and some Western countries’ move to engage in blame game against Beijing offered a great opportunity to ensure the border conflict fell to their advantage amid the coronavirus pandemic.

this may reflect the viewpoints of certain circles from the Indian government and the military.

However, this speculative mind game is based on an incorrect judgment of the international order and China’s national condition. It is flawed logic and ultimately detrimental to India.

China has been the first to effectively curb the coronavirus epidemic and businesses and daily life have returned to normal in the country. that demonstrates the strong leadership of the Chinese government and firm social cohesion in the country.

Meanwhile, the number of India’s confirmed coronavirus cases has surpassed that of China and the inflection point was yet to come. Currently, India’s top priority should be handling the epidemic and restoring the economy to its original position rather than instigating border disputes.

although China’s relationship with the United States has been tense, the international environment is much better for it than it was in 1962 when India started and was crushingly defeated in a border war with its northern neighbour.

In 1962, the national strength of China and India were comparable. today by stark contrast, China’s GDP is about five times that of India. the more the Chinese nation becomes exposed to external pressures, the more it would tightly unite. Hopefully, the Indian government, military, media, and scholars would improve their understanding and research on China. as an ancient civilisation, India is wise enough to avoid understanding China through a biased lens. It is in its interests to understand the real China and make correct and strategic judgments on that basis.

Friday, 29 May, 2020

06 COMMENT

Brave New World

Covid-19 treatment

How will the common man foot the bill?

V

aRiOUs kinds of Covid-19 therapies are currently at the trial stage all over the world.

Roche’s anti-inflammatory drug actemra is one which is already being tested in China and india with reports of patients having shown drastic improvement. On Wednesday, the Punjab Health Ministry arranged a meeting of vice-chancellors of medical universities, principals of medical colleges, members of the government’s Corona Expert advisory Group (CEaG), leading pulmonologists and professors of medicine to discuss the findings of the use of actemra on serious cases of covid-19 at a number of hospitals in Punjab. the meeting approved the use of the medicine. there are two problems with the new treatment. as the drug is being administered to covid-19 patients for the first time, it requires a longer period to fully examine its effects on patients. several wonder drugs of the past turned out to be only partially effective; a few had to be withdrawn and in cases they were found to be accompanied by other health hazards. again, Rs 60,000 being the current price for a single dose, it is a rich man’s cure out of the reach of the common people who constitute the bulk of the patients. the country’s first covid-19 patient recovered with plasma therapy only four weeks back. Here too a longer time span is needed to judge the efficacy of the treatment.

Plasma from karachi donors has been shared with hospitals in Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta. a small number of hospitals have been allowed to administer the treatment by the Drug Regulatory authority of Pakistan (DRaP) the Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) in Peshawar, which offers the experimental treatment, had to stop admitting new coronavirus patients after all its beds were occupied within a few days. Presently the plasma comes from volunteers but soon it will be available only on payment unless the government sets up a Plasma Bank like the Blood Banks. While the new therapies are welcome, the common man who is being forced to choose between health and his family’s livelihood, might not be able to afford the treatment. this will lead many to conclude that while we might be in the same storm, we are not in the same boat.

From the workplace to leisure, everything will change at Penpoint M a NIazI

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Hat the world will be different after the covid-19 pandemic is now something of a truism, though Prime Minister imran khan was not being defeatist when he said the disease was here to stay, but merely reflecting the latest received wisdom to come from the World Health Organization. the implications of that alone have perhaps not yet sunk in; but it means that the socalled emergency measures that are recommended, and which it was implied could be abandoned when the pandemic was over, will now have to be internalized, and made a permanent feature. this has major implications for life as it is lived. the awkwardness to be seen in almost every home this Eid, as normally sure relatives fumbled about how to greet one another, and it became a problem for someone trying to practice social distancing to fend off a relative who stuck to the hoary tradition of the triple embrace. that awkwardness, that new social uncertainty, will merely add to the difficulties thrown up by urbanization. However, there are two ways in which being less expressive socially will change things. Work will change, moving more to the home, as will schooling. the first issue that will arise will be that of connectivity. there is already sufficient connectivity for working or schooling at home to be a possibility, and for breakdowns to be a problem to be solved rather than some sort of insurmountable barrier. However, the internet has moved from being a private convenience to a public good. it is not merely used to let a teenager play his favourite online game, but to let him get an education. Parents have thus developed an interest in connectivity. if they also work from home, they have an additional interest.

Working from home means that supervision becomes a problem. there is a sudden curtailing of the sort of interaction that both the supervisor and the supervised are used to, and until substitutes are developed, it becomes difficult to maintain the degree of supervision. there will now be a greater emphasis on output, as the concept of office discipline goes out the window. the worker may be as noisy or untidy as he or she likes; the supervisor will not care so long as he (or she) gets the job done on time. if supervision becomes a problem, then electing supervisors becomes all that much more a problem. the work has changed, the supervision has changed, what will become of the traditional organization?

While it might not be possible to predict anything, it should be noted that senior managers comprise the

Resurrection or dereliction?

Turkish teledrama may do more harm than good

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HE turkish teledrama Ertugrul: Resurrection is being telecast by PtV, after being dubbed in Urdu, on the instructions of Prime Minister imran khan. this is not the first historical turkish teledrama to be aired by a Pakistani channel, nor is it the first to attract adverse comment from the local industry, but the angst in the comment shows that there is a difference. Whereas about 30 years ago Pakistani teldramas, aired by PtV, which then enjoyed a monopoly over the airwaves it now does not, were of high quality, so much so that they were viewed across the border on recordings, much as indian films were seen in Pakistan on illicit videos. if the government does want to promote Pakistani teleplays, it could do better than helping turkish dramas. Rather than historical plays about turks in anatolia, what about turks in the subcontinent? Ertugrul is very clearly a piece of turkish nation-building. are we afraid our own history does not support our nation-building project, that we need to borrow another nation’s?

While it is perhaps too much to expect this present government to be more than hit-or-miss about which nation we want to build, it is appropriate to ask about the process which led to the spending of public money. there is a disturbing lack of transparency over the whole affair, especially about Mr khan’s own role. PtV might well have hit on the need for a turkish teledrama so as to follow the trend set by other private channels. Did Mr khan push this particular play? the facts about payments for telecasting rights, Urdu rights and dubbing costs have not been shared, nor have those about revenue. a genuine commitment to accountability would make these details public property by now. Or is this information more sensitive than that in the sugar shortage enquiry commission?

One cultural aspect that deserves notice is the rabid reaction by some Pakistani viewers, who have been offended, not by the contents of the play, but by some of the posts of its lead actress, asra Bilgic, on instagram. the objection is to the way she dresses, which is perhaps not acceptable in Pakistan. However, it is accepted without hesitation in turkey, and does not deserve the sort of trolling it has been given.

La La Land: Elite capture, regulatory capture and Institutional capture The sugar crisis showed us the flaws in the system Sheraz zaka

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akistan is a country which has become an elitist state where the interests of the elite class are considered to be of paramount significance. the entire elite has fettered the country in the shackles of its vested interests. the recent sugar crisis is an example which clearly demonstrates why people with commercial corporate interests enter the field of politics, not to serve the nation but to accumulate assets and increase their wealth manifold. in this pursuit, irrespective of their party affiliation, they all are in the same boat to look after their vested interests at the expense of the public welfare. the sugar inquiry commission was constituted by the federal government to inquire into the increase in the sugar prices. Recently the inquire commission completed its task and submitted its report to the suga Minister and immediately the report has been made public. the report is an eye-opener and lifted the veil on the concerted practices of the sugar cartel. it was further disclosed that Rs 29 billion subsidy of the taxpayer’s money was given to the sugar mill owners in the past five years. Under a law giving subsidy is not an infringement of law; however the sugar mill owners manipulated their accounting records and misrepresented to the sugar advisory board as well as the economic coordination committee of the Cabinet that the sugar stock was in excess and therefore the mill owners must be permitted to export. the export led to the increase in the sugar price in the domestic market which led to the unjust enrichment of the sugar barons. the price spike was also the result of the connivance of the mill owners and the brokers, which ultimately led to dramatic increase in their profitability. another important fact which has been disclosed

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booklet certifying that the vaccine had been administered. the anti-covid-19 vaccine will be required for entry to certain countries. no prizes for guessing that this will help constitute a form of discrimination against third-World citizens.

However, it is not just the school and workplace, but whenever anyone leaves the home. For example, entertainment will change. sports events, concerts, age group that is most at risk. so you will have a lot cinemas, theatres, will all be changed forever, even of frightened old men in decision-making positions. if they do resume or re-open. One can expect more it should also be noted that a lot of positions might be of the sort of outcry at British PM’s adviser Dominic under threat, of those who are not digitally as adept as Cummings, who faced calls for resignation because they should be. there is a bottleneck here too, as the he travelled to visit his parents in Durham. an apparpeople making decisions about technical skills are ently filial gesture is being condemned for violating themselves not as well adapted. When they them- social distancing. One implication is that illicit liselves were recruited, digital skills, while no disad- aisons will be rendered that much more awkward, while courtship and marriage, already hard enough, vantage, were not a prerequisite. that has changed. another change that has to take place is in the ed- will become even more so. the Western idea of having fun, which just ucational system. not only must it shift online, but it must prepare students for the workplace in which they means some way of getting blind drunk without drinking alone, will have to must earn a living. they be abandoned. the idea of a have been designed to precrowded, smoke-filled bar pare them for offices and with people cavorting to factories, not the fields, This pandemic will leave loud music is enough to give where so many of our people go, where so few Westerners effects. One is not supposed a public health official a heart attack, even without go. the school of tomorrow to eat watermelon and drink factoring in the physical must prepare the pupil for involved in most working from home. at the water because it could cause contact dance-floor encounters. same time, he must also be there will be a reinforceready for the factory, becholera. This is not a quaint ment of the taboos about cause goods will still have to custom, but a remnant of the using needles and razors. in be produced, and not all that fact, all the taboos surroundmuch can be made at home. precautions propagated ing aiDs will be reinforced, Even here, there will be because this too is a viral some shifting, as workers during the cholera epidemics disease with parallels in both start imagining their place of transmission and treatment. residence as a place of work. around World I. Just so, a there should be a camWhile all these changes century from now, some paign against the virus to be take place, commercial expected, much as the antiproperty can be expected to ‘quaint’ survival will malaria and anti-smallpox be something of a drug on campaigns of yore, followed the market. With office remind our descendants by the anti-dengue and antiworkers staying home, and of this pandemic polio campaigns of more reusing their residential space cent times. it is possible that as work space, they will not the virus might be wiped need an office, which means out, but the reality is that this their organization will not need to own or rent space for them. not only will it virus has managed to cross over from the animal it become more difficult to rent or sell space in any new originally infected to humans.

However, it should not be presumed to be the last office buildings being built, but existing office buildings might see an exodus. Rented space may simply such pandemic, the last virus that will attempt a be abandoned, but owned buildings may make the or- crossover. One of the factors emerging has been the ganizations into the real estate business, as they try natural fear of death, and how Mankind has been and find if remodeling for some other purpose, like taught that Man does not yet control nature. this pandemic will leave effects. One is not supresidential use, works.

Business travel will go down, with consequences posed to eat watermelon and drink water because it for both the travel and accommodation industries, could cause cholera. this is not a quaint custom, but with the latter providing a knock-on negative effect a remnant of the precautions propagated during the for the real estate business. One of the checks on cholera epidemics around World i. Just so, a century travel will be the inoculation requirement for inter- from now, some ‘quaint’ survival will remind our denational travel, once a vaccine is developed. apart scendants of this pandemic. from getting the vaccine, there will be the inconvenThe writer is a member of staff. ience of keeping, in addition to one’s passport, the

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by the inquiry commission report is that the mill owners are involved in under-invoicing, overstatement of cost of production and double book-keeping. and such malpractices constituted corporate fraud. these sugar barons overstate the cost of production and understate their profits to save taxes and thus they must be held accountable for tax evasion under the income tax Ordinance 2001. Moreover the chartered accountants who audited their accounts over the past so many years must also be taken to the task for false reporting. it reminds us of the corporate scandal of Enron which was engaged in false reporting and by manipulating its accounting records and financial statements the management was overstating its profit to keep the value of stocks high. Ultimately it was all exposed and the entire top management of Enron had to face prosecution. similar action must be taken against this sugar cartel, but unfortunately our state agencies and instrumentalities lack the capacity to prosecute these people of high influence. the track record of the national accountability Bureau (naB) is not at all impressive when it comes to the conviction of such influentials and such is that of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) which lets people alleged to have been involved in tax evasion, go scot free. in Pakistan, it is the Competition Commission of Pakistan, under the Competition act 2010, which was supposed to clamp down upon the anti-competitive activities which include cartelization, hoarding practices, abuse of dominant position to eradicate competition from the relevant market. Unfortunately the Competition Commission has not been as effective hitherto. it is primarily due to the fact that whenever the Competition Commission took action against the cartels or businesses involved in any kind of anti-competitive activity, such business owners would pay hefty fees to their lawyers who on account of their face value or connections would

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obtain stay order from the honorable Lahore High Court against the proceedings/order of the Competition Commission. at present there are a number of cases in LHC filed by the undertakings belonging to different sectors, including the sugar industry, telecommunications and others, which have obtained stay orders for the past ten years against the Competition Commission and yet the cases are still pending and have not been decided. as a result the performance of the Competition Commission has been severely affected and also been compromised. Had these cases been decided on time by the LHC, the performance of the Competition Commission would have been improved manifold. it is very tragic that the snail-paced judicial system favours the culprits, who manage to get stay orders through their lawyers. as law students, in books of the Civil Procedure Code lawyers had been studying, it is taught that stay orders are granted if the balance of convenience lies in favour of the aggrieved party, but actually in practice we see in courts that stay orders are being granted and continued for many years on the basis of the face value of a lawyer. it seems that the elite class of our country knows the system very well. it knows how to grind it to a halt to protect its vested interest. this is called elite capture; whereas the regulatory authorities engaged in malpractices to serve the elite interest are under a regulatory capture; and last but not least institutions such as judiciary issuing stay orders and giving relief to lawyers on the basis of their face value or connections or the executive making policy to cater to the vested interest of elite shows that the entire country is under institutional capture. albeit, we are living in La La Land!

Sheraz Zaka can sheraz.zaka@gmail.com

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Friday, 29 May, 2020

COMMENT 07 Editor’s mail Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan.

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Power sector mess

Can India and Pakistan team up to ward off locust attack?

SultaN M halI

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OtH Pakistan and india are currently under a locust attack. Various means are being adopted to combat the swarms of locusts, which are threatening to destroy crops. the attack in 2020, the worst plague of locusts in 70 years, has already affected East africa; millions of locusts have now invaded Middle East countries like Yemen, Bahrain, kuwait, Qatar and saudi arabia from the Horn of africa. People report biblical scenes as giant swarms of locusts are so thick, they darken the sky. the swarm is currently ravaging East africa. in recent weeks, the insects spread to south sudan, Uganda and tanzania, after having devastated crops throughout Ethiopia, kenya and somalia. the biblical plague has also engulfed Pakistan, india and is approaching the border to China, raising alarm bells. Rarely since the Exodus of Hebrew slaves from Egypt has the african continent seen locusts swarming throughout Ethiopia, kenya, somalia, south sudan and Uganda. Pakistan has confirmed that archrival india is proposing a trilateral response in partnership with iran to fight a crop-killing desert locust invasion, which threatens food security for millions of people across the region. india’s rare offer of cooperation comes amid escalating military tensions with Pakistan over the disputed kashmir region, worsening historically strained relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours. Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson has reiterated that a well-coordinated response is critical to deal with the challenge posed by desert locusts. the Ministry of national Food security and Research and provincial agricultural departments have decided to strengthen the national action plan to combat locust attacks in all the four provinces. in a related development, a Chinese technical team is visiting Pakistan to assess the situation. it reviewed the situation of locustaffected districts of Punjab with the Punjab agriculture Department in Lahore. the team has presented its aerial and ground assessments to the ministry’s officials. the technical team will prepare and submit a comprehensive report to the ministry, based on which the Chinese assistance would be determined. the national action

plan will further be strengthened in line with the a greater magnitude than last year. recommendations of the report.

Pakistan has to handle the locust plague on a Pakistan has seen sporadic locust attacks in war footing and get as much help as possible from the past too. in the early 1960s, the locust at- neighbouring india and China. Pakistan was tack was so severe that the Plant Protection De- “working closely” with regional countries, includpartment had to deploy PaF aircraft modified ing india and global partners, particularly the to spray insecticides aerially to control the lo- United nations Food and agriculture Organizacust attack. tion (FaO), to address the looming locust threat.

Locusts are a collection of certain species of the ongoing wider regional cooperation is short-horned grasshoppers in the family acridi- happening under FaO’s Commission for Condae that have a swarming phase. Locusts have trolling the Desert Locust in southwest asia formed plagues since prehistory. the ancient (sWaC), established in 1964 with afghanistan, Egyptians carved them on their tombs and the india, iran and Pakistan as its members. insects are mentioned in Homer’s epic Iliad, the Under the proposed trilateral response, new Bible and the Quran. swarms have devastated Delhi has reportedly suggested to islamabad that crops and been a contributory cause of famines both countries “coordinate locust control operaand human migrations. More recently, changes tions along the border and that india can facilitate in agricultural practices and better surveillance supply of malathion, a pesticide, to Pakistan.” of locations where swarms tend to originate, keith Cressman, FaO’s senior locust forehave meant that control measures can be used at casting officer, has stated that india and Pakistan an early stage. the traditional means of control face an “imminent threat of several waves of are based on the use of spring-bred swarms” insecticides from the from southwest Pakground or the air, but istan and southern iran. other methods using biThe Hindu quoted inTeams of locust experts from ological control are dian officials as saying proving effective. that iran has welcomed the two countries meet six swarming behavthe offer of pesticide to times a year to discuss the iour decreased in the control desert locusts in 20th century, but dethe arid iranian evolving situation and share spite modern surveilprovince of south kholance and control and the sistaninformation about pest breeding rasan methods, the potential Balochistan province for swarms to form is patterns, control strategies and that borders Pakistan. still present, and when analysts say the danger local forecasts. Three of the suitable climatic condiposed by the locust attions occur and vigitack has apparently meetings are held in Pakistan lance lapses, plagues pushed new Delhi and can still occur. they are islamabad to set aside and three in India under a also edible insects; they mutual differences to decades-old mutual have been eaten increase cooperation to throughout history and tackle the challenge at a understanding. are considered a delitime when both councacy in many countries tries are struggling to and halal in islam. contain the spread of Locust attacks in the coronavirus. the 21st Century are being attributed to global Despite mutual tensions, locust-related cowarming. a major infestation covered much of operation between india and Pakistan has been western africa in 2003-4, after unusually heavy going on for decades to ensure food security in rain set up favourable ecological conditions for both countries. teams of locust experts from the two counswarming. the first outbreaks occurred in Mauritania, Mali, niger, and sudan in 2003. the rain tries meet six times a year to discuss the evolvallowed swarms to develop and move north to ing situation and share information about pest Morocco and algeria, threatening croplands. breeding patterns, control strategies and local swarms crossed africa, appearing in Egypt, Jor- forecasts. three of the meetings are held in Pakdan and israel, the first time in those countries istan and three in india under a decades-old mutual understanding. for 50 years.

Pakistan was “working closely” with rein a rare show of camaraderie, the erstwhile hostile neighbours Pakistan and india have held gional countries, including india and global partthree back-to-back meetings to deal with the one ners, particularly the United nations Food and common enemy─ the very intrusive desert lo- agriculture Organization (FaO), to address the cust. Back in 2019, multiple districts of Ra- looming locust threat. the ongoing wider rejasthan and Gujarat faced huge damage to gional cooperation is happening under FaO’s standing crops. as per reports, there is a forecast Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust of a bigger invasion of even greater magnitude, in southwest asia (sWaC), established in 1964 June onward, if compared to the last year. ac- with afghanistan, india, iran and Pakistan as its cording to the agriculture Ministry, it is also pre- members. dicted that, invasion could occur in scheduled Sultan M Hali is a retired Group Captain desert area (200,000 sq. km) of india in June 2020 with the advent of the monsoon by spring- and author of the book Defence & Diplomacy. bred swarms from southeast iran, southwest Currently he is a columnist, analyst and TV talk Pakistan and the Horn of africa that may be of show host.

WE have multitude of problems starting from maladministration & bad governance, inefficiencies, corruption which include thefts and high t & D losses and incompetence. the last government added appreciable generation capacity of 12000 MWs but no imvestment was made in the distribution sector. Here the fault did not lie with the politicians as much as it was with the technocrats and overall with the administrators of the power sector. they failed to advise the government to take measures to augment the distribtion sector simultaneously.

From the above, it becomes clear that there is no good coordination and synchronized development plan among generation, transmission & distribution schemes, for which only the higher authorities in the power sector are to blame. in my wiew, the power problem is out of control and it is beyond the capacity of our planners, policy makers and implementors. in the last 15 years or so, things have gone from bad to worse in the power sector , which is eating away our economy . a surgical operation is imminent. the question is who will lead it. no one seems capable in the present set - up to take the nose diving power sector of the present quagmire. a suggestion is submitted that we should follow the countries who are successfully running their power system broadly similar to ours. One good example in asia is Japan which has been operating its power network , in many ways similar to ours, quite satisfactorily over the last about 70 years. there is no harm in learning from others and copying their good engineering practices. We may also request the Japanese power sector group to send experts to see us through these difficult times and streamline our ailing power sector.

EnGR RIaZ BHuTTa Lahore

Corona menace UntiL humanity finds a vaccine, social distancing seems the only weapon against the deadly Coronavirus to stop or at least slow down the loss of precious human lives. it is understandable the economy is critical, but human life trumps everything else. for now. the nations which are disciplined and responsible can and have achieved success in curbing the spread of the virus. the government alone can’t make this happen. it only works if people show some civic sense and follow the instructions. Under immense pressure from the business community, people, and the courts, our government eased lockdown for EiD with caution to maintain social distance. However, the people broke all measures to observe and control the spread of corona and rushed to markets as if there were no tomorrow. the shopping for eid was at its peak, with total disregard for sOPs. i wonder, why would we put hundreds and thousands of people at risk just to show off on eid. Why not donate the money to poor and needy, who are really hurt by this deadly virus? the government alone will never be successful in mitigating the virus. Every person must do his or her part and show responsibility by following the distancing measures. similarly, politicians should also stop bickering and point-scoring just to gain political mileage from this situation. they should declare a ceasefire and collectively ensure that we as a country fight the Corona as one nation.

RaJa SHaFaaTuLLaH Islamabad

Tragedy waiting to happen Pakistan’s transport industry, air, road and rail, which must offer citizens safe and reliable transportation within country’s geographical boundaries and beyond serving as a vital tool to boost trade and exports is today no longer safe nor reliable. Other than motorways, with their trained police and strict surveillance, the rest are in a mess, where accidents occur with huge loss of life and other than stereotyped messages of sympathy and government taking notice, it has been accepted as fait-accompli. almost all civil airports were built far away from residential areas and located in cantonment areas, which until late 70s were free from commercial activities, housing societies, plazas, marriage halls and butcheries etc. Unfortunately, today all these civil airports have been declared as Red for frequent bird hazards that pose a threat to any aircraft especially in critical take-off or approach phases. i shudder to think of catastrophic loss of human life not just of passengers who pay to travel, but those residing in housing societies that have mushroomed on periphery of all our civil airports, if all engines fail because of bird ingestion in critical take-Off phase, without sufficient safe height margin and airspeed achieved.

Helpless and often conniving individuals, associated with powerful state institutions, watch silently as Land Mafia illegally occupies thousands of acres of state and forest land. iCaO regulations recommend that 15 kM sterile zone with height restrictions must exist around every airport, while the tragedy is that this has been flouted so often, that this irregularity has assumed status of regularity. Pk 8303 aircraft after all engine failure, while trying to glide back to airport, seems to have taken a short cut, and collided with 3 storey building and mobile tower built within less than 1kM from karachi airport. accidents occur due to combination of pilot, technical and environmental irregularities, but if regulatory oversight is also lacking, than this is a recipe for disaster. Only a credible investigation by an independent investigation Committee will hopefully fix responsibility and ensure that such a disaster can be averted. However, given dismal record of past and recent accident investigations and cover-up, this seems unlikely.

Rapid technological advances in commercial aviation demands airlines to recruit best available talent in country with an oversight by an independent regulatory body, free from any institutional or political interference. no other state or private owned enterprise is subjected to both state and international regulatory oversight like commercial aviation, which is why it is important that those at helm must be qualified and experienced in dynamics and intricacies of commercial aviation and there should be absolutely no conflicts of interest or outside interference.

Commercial airlines must operate strictly to satisfaction of revenue paying passengers, market forces and iCaO regulations and not just on command and control structure such as exists in military aviation. Commercial aviation is a very unforgiving business.

TaRIq aLI Lahore

Friday, 29 May, 2020

08 WORLD VIEW

The end of world order THIS IS AN EXTRACT OF CFR’S RECENTLY PUBLISHED SPECIAL REPORT NO 86

council on Foreign relations

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RoBeRt d BlACkwill And tHoMAS wRiGHt

WO developments over the past decade ended the post–Cold War world order. The first was a series of decisions by major powers to diverge from the shared understanding of limitations and enforcement that prevailed in the 1990s. The second is profound transformative changes in world affairs— technical, economic, and environmental— that give rise to issues not addressed by post–Cold War world order.

DIVERGENCE: For a decade and a half after the Cold War, the major non-allied powers largely acquiesced to the U.S.-led international order. China and Russia chose not to balance against the United States, partly because it was too far ahead in raw power (what was called unipolarity) and perhaps because they were not yet sufficiently dissatisfied with the status quo. China largely operated within the parameters of the order, and many Americans believed or at least hoped that China would become a responsible stakeholder in it. Russia was more dissatisfied, but there were promising signs—Russian President Dimitri Medvedev spoke the language of economic reform while Washington and Moscow talked of partnership.

Brazil and India seemed to be dynamic and multilateralist rising powers that could responsibly add to the foundation of 1990s world order. Sadly, this century has sharply departed from those U.S.-generated norms. On governance questions, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) have all regressed. Some observers believe that China has moved toward a totalitarian dictatorship, with President Xi Jinping in power for life as the regime perfects the tools of repression and control with new technologies. Others label the Chinese government as authoritarian. Russian President Vladimir Putin moved Russia in a similar direction, while India’s and Brazil’s democracies eroded through the decisions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Jair Bolsonaro. n Russia in 2014 illegally annexed Crimea, the first such act in Europe since World War II and a flagrant violation of the norm against territorial conquest. n Brazil and India abstained in the vote to condemn Moscow’s action at the UN Security Council. n China over the past decade engaged in a project of

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land reclamation in the South China Sea in violation of international law to advance its territorial claims and gain control of vital sea lanes.

China became much more activist, assertive, and strategic in multilateral organizations to dilute criticism of its human rights record and to weaken international norms of human rights, transparency, and accountability.

China used its geoeconomic leverage to coerce other countries into adopting Chinese technology (Huawei’s 5G wireless network equipment) and to remain silent about its human rights abuses (including the largest internment of an ethnic or religious minority since World War II), repressive internal affairs, and increasingly aggressive foreign policies.

China chose to operate outside the framework of the international economic order, largely ignoring World Bank and even Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank standards in its Belt and Road Initiative, which has grown to an estimated $1 trillion.

Russia cooperated with the Syrian regime to inflict mass atrocities on Syrian civilians, a dramatic departure from its general support or acquiescence in UN actions to prevent such human catastrophes in the post– Cold War period.

Russia in an unprecedented act interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election on behalf of Donald Trump and has continued massive interference in U.S. social media since. In the wake of the COVID19 pandemic, China has begun to adopt more assertive disinformation operations.

Several U.S. allies also diverged from world order.

Hungary’s democracy has withered under the rule of Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Turkey has become an authoritarian state. Saudi Arabia’s crown prince ended decades of cautious foreign policies largely deferential to U.S. preferences in favor of a violent alternative and humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen. These actions are major departures from the shared understandings of the 1990s, and the return of great power rivalry shattered hopes in that multilateral order. China and Russia in particular defend a Westphalian and nineteenth-century model of order organized around balance of power, national sovereignty, and spheres of influence. They oppose the U.S. model of humanitarian intervention, democracy promotion, strengthened alliances, and opposition to spheres of influence.

Meanwhile, the United States distances itself from its

Pandemic could cost global economy $82 trillion in depression scenario

own world order traditions. President Trump questions the value of U.S. alliances, imposes trade tariffs on friend and foe alike, abandons support for human rights and democracy overseas, and pulled out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the Iran nuclear deal), the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, and the Paris climate change accord. This approach could be reversed in the U.S. presidential election in November, but the United States currently contests its own liberal order. This did not start with Trump. The invasion of Iraq and the overly generous admission of China into the WTO were also serious mistakes that undermined the integrity of the liberal order—the first immediately and the second gradually. The shifting preferences of the great powers have not been the only factor contributing to the demise of world order.

A TRANSITIONAL MOMENT: Almost every generation since World War II believed it was living in a period of radical change: the atomic threat of the 1950s, the leftist revolutionary thrusts of the 1960s and early 1970s, the microchip and information technology advances of the 1980s, globalization and the end of the Soviet Empire of the 1990s, and the rise of China, social media, and mass terrorism of the 2000s. However, except in the case of the end of the Soviet Union and the liberation of Eastern Europe, the fundamentals of international power, behavior, and influence have remained relatively constant. This time, there are reasons to believe that the dramatic changes underway in today’s societies are ushering in a profoundly different era. New technologies in artificial intelligence and biological science as well as the internet and social media are changing how people work and consume information. These changes challenge some of the very structures of our society that have been in place since the late nineteenth century.

This upheaval was already well underway before COVID-19. The means of production, the delivery of services, the nature of education, the rules and practices of international trade, the threats to public order, the character of energy and environmental issues, and the entire meaning of balance of power were all already undergoing deep change. Traumas often catalyze, even accelerate, trends, and so it is with COVID-19. As this crisis evolves, it changes societies at micro and macro levels in ways most individuals cannot understand, much less shape.

Layer on top of this the pressing international chal-

Market Watch Steve GoldStein

How badly will the coronavirus pandemic impact the economy? Does $82 trillion sound not good?

That is the scary number put out by the Centre for Risk Studies at the University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School.

That figure, of course, needs to be put into context. That’s over five years, not one, and represents the potential hit to the global economy and not just the U.S. in what’s called the “economic depression” scenario.

The GDP for the world’s 19 leading economies was $69.2 trillion last year.

Its “optimistic” take is a loss of $3.3 trillion over five years. It says the consensus expectation calls for $26.8 trillion, or 5.3% of five-year GDP, to be lost. For the U.S., the potential five-year loss ranges from $550 billion to $19.9 trillion.

It’s safe to say financial markets are not pricing in a global depression. The S&P 500 SPX, +1.89% has climbed over 30% from the lows of March.

If the numbers sound too outlandish, consider that growth and returns on assets can be depressed up to 40 years after the pandemic has passed, according to Keith Wade, chief economist at U.K. fund manager Schroders. He looked at pandemics

Steven Goldstein is based in London and responsible for MarketWatch’s coverage of financial markets in Europe, with a particular focus on global macro and commodities. Previously, he was Washington bureau chief, directing MarketWatch’s economic, political and regulatory coverage.

Robert D. Blackwill is the Henry A. Kissinger senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is also the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation distinguished scholar at the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies.

Thomas Wright is the director of the Center on the United States and Europe and a senior fellow in the Project on International Order and Strategy at the Brookings Institution.

Twitter, Facebook profited a lot from India’s hate agenda

THE GDP FOR THE WORLD’S 19 LEADING ECONOMIES WAS $69.2 TRILLION LAST YEAR dating back to the Black Death in this hallof-fame table of despair: Paul Hollingsworth, head of U.K. economics at BNP Paribas, said at a presentation that the pandemic will bring about structural shifts, including higher savings by households, more protectionism, realigned supply chains and greater digitalization.

“So we might see people want to keep a bigger buffer going forward, as they might be concerned about both job prospects and their incomes,” he said, with concerns about future medical expenses and taxes also potentially impacting consumers.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order he said was aimed at cutting regulations that hamper economic recovery, as the U.S. tries to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting at the White House, Trump said the order will instruct federal agencies “to use any and all authority to waive, suspend and eliminate unnecessary regulations that impede economic recovery.” Trump told members of his cabinet that the order will give them “great authority” to slash regulations. The meeting followed Trump’s lunch with Senate Republicans on subjects including the next round of coronavirus aid.

lenges— how to integrate these new technologies and mitigate their negative effects; how to deal with transnational dangers such as pandemic disease, terrorism, and the spread of nuclear weapons; how to reduce the longterm threat of climate change; how to ensure that the global economy produces more benefits and equities than vulnerabilities to the middle classes; and how to respond to the rise of China without destabilizing confrontation.

What does all of this add up to? The world order of the 1990s and early 2000s was rooted in U.S.-led postwar preferences, objectives, and strategies, which were adjusted and further globalized by their successors. To the extent that the major powers agreed on the constraints, limits, and enforcement mechanisms, the world order protected that international system. But now supporters of the old order, including many Americans, should grapple with the implications of shifting balances of power and the transformation of societies.

It is not so much that the major powers seek to directly overturn the old order; it is that in many respects the new world and the old rules are in parallel universes. For example, the Belt and Road Initiative does not seek to overturn the World Bank; it simply operates alongside it. As political scientists Alexander Cooley and Daniel Nexon note, “Regimes from around the world are unlikely, for better or for worse, to simply accept the kind of liberal ordering that the United States promoted in the 1990s and 2000s.”

The world has moved away from a standard of world order in which nations work within the same set of constraints and aspire to meet the same set of rules toward a model in which many countries choose their own paths to order, without much reference to the views of others, both near and far. This heterogeneity is not so much a rush to excellence as the projection of the domestic characteristics of the major powers into the international arena. Thus, the corruption, lack of accountability, and absence of freedom in autocratic countries is their version of order. Unbound from alliances and institutions, the vagaries of American domestic politics manifest themselves in unilateralist approaches to order. An application of Kissinger’s model of world order is nowhere to be seen.

Print MAneeSH CHHiBBeR

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the French parliament has passed a law that makes it mandatory for social media and technology companies such as Twitter, Facebook, and Google to remove hateful content within 24 hours of being flagged by users. If the content pertains to terrorism and child pornography, it must be removed “within one hour”. Failure to comply could end in these companies facing fines of up to $1.36 million.

It is time India does something similar.

I suggest this knowing fully well that such a law is prone to misuse. Governments in India could use it to throttle free speech, censor unfavourable content, and stifle rightful dissent. At the very least, most law enforcement agencies have stopped functioning independently and now work instead like an extension of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in power at the Centre and in many states.

But while these are legitimate concerns, there is also a grudging acknowledgment that a law against hate speech and communal content is absolutely necessary in these sharply polarised times.

FIRMS WON’T ACT, NEED A LAW: In their carefully crafted agenda to divide India on communal lines, the hate-mongers, often part of a shadowy IT cell of one or the other political party, use social media to spew venom against members of the minority communities or, when it suits their agenda, against the majority community.

And expecting the social media firms to

do a clean-up on their own will probably remain a dream.

If the self-regulation was strong, a 31year-old man wouldn’t have been able to run several fake accounts on Facebook for years, posing as a woman and posting bigoted comments aimed at dividing Hindu and Muslim communities. It’s the same with Facebook-owned WhatsApp, which won’t crack down on hate videos, including those related to mob lynching, many of which are edited to disturb peace.

The reason is simple: Hate and bigotry run deep in Indian society and have a huge audience, which means more money for these companies. Also, fake news or a video clip targeting minorities generates lakhs of views and shares on Facebook and Twitter but fact-checking reports debunking them find fewer audiences.

For far too long, the internet biggies have been making billions by ignoring the unscrupulous elements using their platforms to weaken India’s social fabric. It’s time to pull the plug on this endless profiteering from hate.

HOW CAN IT BE DONE? Section 79 of the Information Technology (IT) Act exempts intermediaries like Google, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter from liability in most circumstances, including if the intermediary did not put out the content and had observed due diligence while discharging duties under the Act. This way, the tech giants are allowed to get away without even a rap on the knuckles, notwithstanding the fact that the material posted on their platform may have resulted in communal riots or deaths.

But these companies can be held liable for any unwarranted content if, despite adequate notice, it is not removed within 36 hours from their servers. At a time when everyone with a smartphone, from bureaucrats and politicians to a common person, is a self-styled ‘news broadcaster’ happily spreading (mis)information, 36 hours is like a decade. The duration would ensure the damage is already done.

Most of these tech companies claim to have put in place in-house systems to check the misuse of their platforms, but the socalled checks and balances are often found

lacking in their speed of response.

In 2018, the Narendra Modi government announced that it was planning to amend Section 79 of the IT Act and make it mandatory for internet companies to take down content deemed inappropriate by authorities and also trace and report within 72 hours of the origin of that content. But after concerns over privacy, the plan was dropped.

IDENTIFYING THE SOURCE: Anonymity, which is enjoyed by users of social media platforms, is one of the main reasons the unscrupulous elements among them are able to get away with virtually everything. But these companies should now be asked to follow the post office model, where they know the source of an offending message, just like we know about our letters and parcels.

Also, with an unchecked rise in hate mongering and abuse, mostly from shadowy supporters and workers of India’s mainstream political parties, the victim should have the right to know the identity of the person who started the vicious campaign against her/him.

One way to ensure that the central and state governments don’t misuse a law against hate speech is by having strict guidelines such as allowing only the victims to get a formal response from the intermediary about the point and source of origin of the hate message or fake video targeting them.

A former National Cyber Security Coordinator in the Prime Minister’s Office had told tech giants and senior government functionaries a few years ago that one way to check offending messages, particularly hate speech and communally sensitive material, from being uploaded on social media could be for these sites to find a way to weed out anonymous users.

His suggestion went unheeded. It is time for someone to make the tech giants either find a fair, transparent way to do this or start paying for vitiating the atmosphere. Otherwise, fake news or malicious content on social media will continue to divide India society while politicians reap the benefits of this division.

The author is a senior journalist.

Friday, 29 May, 2020

BUSINESS 09

Pakistan receives exPort orders of face masks from Us, eUroPe

MARKET DAILY

ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

a

DVISeR to Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood has said that Pakistani exporters have received large orders of face masks from United States, Canada and europe.

In a series of tweets on Thursday, he congratulated the exporters and termed their achievement a major breakthrough in the country’s export sector.

“I have received information that some exporters have obtained large orders for face masks from US, Canada and europe. This is a major breakthrough and I congratulate them for this achievement,” he tweeted.

He further emphasised the need for Pakistani ex-

Bears dominate as kse-100 sheds 141 points KARACHI STAFF REPORT

Indices of the Pakistan Stock exchange (PSX) did not welcome the resumption of trade activities after a weeklong break, and displayed a lacklustre performance on Thursday. According to market analysts, the benchmark KSe-100 Index started the day on negative note mainly on the back of international crude prices, which slipped overnight to trade near $31.5 per bbl -- approximately 4pc down from the level seen before the holidays (last Thursday). "Cement and banking sectors remained under pressure throughout the session as they remained in search of a positive trigger," said a report issued by Arif Habib Ltd. "On the other hand, off-board scrips (TRG, UNITY, PAeL, HUMNL) remained in the limelight along with the pharma sector (SeARL and GLAXO), which has been performing well for quite some time."

Losing 238.21 points, the benchmark KSe-100 Index recorded its intraday low at 33,598.40. Amid lack of a clear direction, it closed lower by 141.19 points at 33,695.42. Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index dropped 315.51 points to end at 54,785.19, while the KSe All Share Index lost 73.94 points, settling at 24,306.80. Of the total traded shares, 133 advanced and 141 declined. The overall market volumes increased from 147.2 million shares in the previous session to 194.74 million shares. Average traded value also surged by 25pc, from $36.4 million to $45.1 million. TRG Pakistan Limited (TRG +7.50pc), Hascol Petroleum Limited (HASCOL +1.59pc) and Unity Foods Limited (UNTIY +8.14pc) topped the volume chart, exchanging 24.75 million, 24.42 million and 21.17 million shares, respectively. Sectors that dragged the benchmark index lower included banking (-80.26 points), oil & gas exploration (-59.50 points) and fertilizer (-24.39 points).

Among the companies, Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC -28.61 points), United Bank Ltd (UBL -28.23 points) and Pak Petroleum Ltd (PPL 27.48 points) dented the index the most. The pharmaceutical sector added 2.31pc in its cumulative market capitalization, with GlaxoSmithKline (Pakistan) Ltd (GLAXO +7.03pc), The Searle Company Limited (SeARL +6.38pc) and IBL HealthCare Limited (IBLHL +5.16pc) accumulating decent gains. Meanwhile, Avanceon Limited (AVN +7.48pc) declared its financial performance for the first quarter of FY20. The company's profit appreciated from Rs84.41 million to Rs282.53 million despite a 6pc decline in sales. It's earnings per share increased from Rs0.44 in 1QFY19 to Rs1.47.

porters to diversify into new segments in order to meet the changing global needs.

“It is part of our strategy to diversify into new segments and this has been achieved by the exporters through their own efforts. I’m sharing this information with others to encourage them to seek more orders from different parts of the world,” he stated.

RICE EXPORTS: Meanwhile, the adviser stated that in order to achieve the target of agricultural exports, the government was striving hard to make space in the rice markets of Middle east, North America and Africa.

Talking to APP, he said the government intends to take the exports to the highest-ever level and in this regard, it was taking different measures to reclaim traditional markets besides getting access to new ones.

Talking to APP on Saturday, he informed that a rice delegation from Mexico was expected to arrive in Pakistan next month to discuss opportunities to enhance bilateral trade.

“All members of the Rice exports Association Pakistan (ReAP) should prepare themselves for this opportunity so that they could get their orders approved in the Mexican market.”

He further informed that rice export to Mexico was stagnant for the past few years but after the delegation’s visit, “we are hoping that our rice will be able to enter the Mexican market”.

Dawood said that rice was the largest agro-export commodity in the country’s export basket, having a total volume of over $2 billion, which would be increased to $5 billion in the next five years.

T-bill divestment in May reaches $182m KARACHI MEIRYUM ALI

Foreign investors sold $16 million worth of treasury bills (Tbills) on May 21, according to the latest data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP, bringing the net divestment figure of May so far to $182 million.

As per the Special Convertible Rupee Account (SCRA), which tracks inflows and outflows from foreign countries, this latest development now nudges the cumulative net investment in T-bills from July 2019 to May 21, significantly below $1 billion, at

$581 million.

This is roughly comparable to the cumulative net investment level in T-bills in October 2019, when it stood at $441 million.

The preceding eight months had seen positive inflows of varying amounts, which were attributed to the SBP maintaining a generally high policy rate, at 13.25pc. Typically, foreign inflows or ‘hot money’ is associated with higher interest rates.

Cumulative net investment in Tbills comfortably climbed from $15 million in July 2019 to $3.099 billion in February 2020.

But then in the space of one month, beginning March 17, the

SBP cut the policy rate by 425 basis points on three different occasions, to 9pc. The decisions were taken to create a more favourable business climate in light of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The total gross divestment in March 2020 stood at a whopping $1.735 billion, while April’s net divestment figure stood at $601 million.

The net divestment figure of May so far is recorded at $182 million, which is a far cry from the divestment figures of the preceding months. It remains to be seen what the final divestment figure for May will be.

SBP reserves drop $55m to $12bn KARACHI MEIRYUM ALI

Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decreased by $55 million to $12,073.9 million during the week ending May 21, 2020, according to data released by the central bank on Thursday.

The SBP stated that the decrease could be attributed to external debt repayments.

Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks increased slightly, from $6,489 million to $6,524.0 million.

The total liquid foreign reserves held by the country fell marginally from $18,618.3 million in the week ending May 15, to $18,597.9 million during the week under review.

This is the second drop in foreign exchange re-

serves recorded in May. The last time reserves actually rose was in the week ending April 30, increasing by $259 million to $12,329.4 million. At the time the SBP did not cite a reason for the increase.

From the beginning of 2020, SBP reserves steadily increased to a peak of $12.8 billion in the first week of March. However, beginning midMarch, reserves began to decline. SBP reserves fell from $12.8 billion to $10.8 billion between March 13 and April 17.

However, in the week ending April 24, SBP reserves got some significant help from the IMF, jumping from $10,889.2 million to $12,070.3 million. This can be mainly attributed to the $1.39 billion received from the IMF under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI), to address the economic impact of the Covid-19 shock.

World Bank calls for longer-term debt relief for poorest countries WASHINGTON: World Bank Group President David Malpass on Thursday called for longer-term debt relief for the world’s 77 poorest countries, and said many would need a permanent and significant debt reduction to cope with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Malpass also told a United Nations conference that commercial creditors should participate in the Group of 20 debt relief initiative on comparable terms, and “not exploit the debt relief of others.” He rejected calls for the World Bank and other multilateral development banks to freeze debt payments by the poorest countries, saying that would harm their ability to continue to provide funding to client countries. AGENCIES

tobacco farmers urge na speaker to help resolve ‘advance tax’ issue LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Tobacco farmers and industrial workers have requested National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser to play his role against the imposition of advance tax in order to safeguard the local industry. “We demand the government not to increase the existing advance tax on tobacco,” representatives of industrial workers and farmer said in a letter written to the speaker. The letter recalled the fact that it was because of the speaker’s intervention that the government had withdrawn the decision to impose Rs300 advance tax in 2019. “We request you to help the tobacco farmers and industrial workers again,” the letter said. It explained that multinational companies are trying their best that the government enhance advance tax on tobacco, which will annihilate the local industry and help establish their monopoly. The farmers fear “exploitation” at the hands of the multinational companies once their monopoly is established. “We request you to help the tobacco farmers and industrial workers once again,” the letter said. The local tobacco industry is providing more than 20,000 jobs, whereas the multinationals are known for throwing people out of jobs. Last year, the government had proposed imposition of Rs300 advance tax per kilogram on tobacco, which triggered protests and demonstrations by the farmers and industrial workers. Under the proposals, the farmers had to sell the crop for Rs130 per kilogram to the tobacco companies but they would have to pay Rs300 tax per kilogram. There are more than 22 small companies in the province that are producing 98 per cent of the tobacco crop in areas including Buner and Mansehra, Shergarh in Mardan and Charsadda and Swabi districts. Swabi is considered to be major producer where tobacco is not only a cash crop but also the lone source of livelihood for millions of households. Signatories of the letter sent to the NA speaker included Mehnat Kash Labour Federation President Abrar Ullah, Kisan Board Pakistan President Rizwanullah, Sarhad Agricultural and Rural Development Organisation President Haji Abdul Nabi Mohmand, Tahaffuz Haqooq Kashtkaran President Liaqat Yousafzai and Mazdoor Kisaan Coordinator Mohammad Iqbal.

Facebook initiates Authorized Sales Partner programme in Pakistan KARACHI BABAR KHAN JAVED

In a bid to deepen its presence in the Pakistan market, Facebook has initiated its first Authorized Sales Partner (ASP) programme in the country.

According to sources, Httpool, Viral edge, east River, and Starcrest Communications have been shortlisted for the programme, with network agencies intentionally left out to limit platform abandonment.

As an extension of the sales teams at Facebook, an ASP provides local assistance, strategic direction, and expertise across the family of Facebook products. ASPs are vetted, trained, and educated by Facebook to ensure quality service while offering large

advertisers a credit line and the possibility to pay locally. Without the ASP in place, advertisers and agencies rely on account managers based in Singapore for support and troubleshooting, with the three-hour time difference impacting speed and timings of issue resolutions.

A 2018 study by Magna valued the social and digital media expenditure in Pakistan at $150 million, with industry sources sharing the 2020 figures are nearly double that amount, due to the addition of Snapchat through InMobi and AppsFlyer.

Of the four shortlisted agencies, Httpool has the most experience in being an ASP for Facebook, with deals across five markets in the Baltic region and four APAC markets namely Laos, Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Myanmar in its remit. The agency is being

represented in Pakistan by Badar Khushnood and Yasir Riaz, formerly of Google and Publicis respectively.

Of the three locally-based and locallyowned shortlisted agencies, Starcrest Communications has been around the longest and operates across ATL and BTL mediums, unlike Viral edge and east River which are both digital-first. Launched in 2006, Starcrest Communications has strategic deals with the Pakistan Super League due to Z2C, the largest Pakistani multinational communication, advertising, and commerce holding company.

In its 15 years of operations in the Pakistan market, Starcrest has a legacy of relationships in Pakistan’s marketing landscape and has never been blacklisted by the Pakistan Broadcasters Association for failure to clear dues with broadcasters.

Viral edge was founded in 2015 by Rizwan Ahmad, a seasoned brand developer with a successful track record in designing and executing market campaigns at Unilever.

The agency recently welcomed Ishan Farooq, formerly CeO of Creative Chaos, as a partner which further strengthened the thought leadership. east River was founded in 2016 by Faizan Syed and retains digital marketing clients such as L’Oreal, National Foods, and Philip Morris amongst others. The agency bills itself as being ROAS focused, with recent successes for L’Oreal e-commerce supporting that position.

Prior to east River, Syed launched and ran Health TV, a national health and lifestyle focused TV channel for seven years. He is credited with building its digital assets which

he retains to date, while he sold the broadcast rights before exiting to form east River.

The agency that wins the ASP bid for Pakistan will be expected to grow Facebook’s share of branding and performance media budgets while being the first point of contact to sort the ad-hoc issues advertisers and agencies face when running campaigns.

Payments will also be routed through the selected ASP as will the need to provide support, knowledge, and expertise with campaigns across Facebook, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and Whatsapp.

The ASP programme allows Facebook to gain a trusted partner in delivering incountry support to advertisers while bearing none of the liabilities and risks that come with operating in a violate unfamiliar or undeveloped market.

Friday, 29 May, 2020

10 FOREIGN NEWS

TwiTTer-TrumP ClasH inTensifies PoliTiCal misinformaTion baTTle WASHINGTON

P

AGENCIES

RESIDENT Donald Trump’s threat to shut down social media companies after Twitter labeled two of his tweets misleading sets up a fresh challenge for platforms as they struggle to deal with political misinformation during a toxic election campaign.

Twitter on Tuesday targeted tweets in which the president said that mail-in voting would lead to fraud and a “rigged election” in November, the first time the platform has placed a warning label on Trump’s comments.

The president’s angry response and threat to “strongly regulate” or “close down” social media firms highlights the conundrum for Twitter and other platforms, said Steven Livingston, director of the Institute for Data, Democracy, and Politics at George Washington University.

Livingston said he expects Twitter to narrowly enforce its misinformation policies, dealing only with specific issues such as the electoral process and the coronavirus pandemic.

The attacks by Trump and his supporters

put “so much pressure (on Twitter) and they are blanching at the thought of taking the next step” on curbing political misinformation, Livingston said.

“They are caught on the horns of a dilemma and don’t know which way to go.”

Even while Twitter is pledging to foster a “healthy conversation” by filtering out hoaxes and toxic content, Livingston said the economic model for social platforms suggests the opposite.

“Platforms know very well they are accentuating extremism,” he said. “Extremism holds the attention and allows them to sell more advertising, and that’s the whole point of the game.”

When asked about Twitter’s fact-checking during an interview on Fox News, Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said his social network has a different policy.

“I just believe strongly that Facebook should not be the arbiter of truth of everything that people say online,” Zuckerberg said in a snippet of the interview posted online by Fox. “I think, in general, private companies, especially these platform companies, shouldn’t be in the position of doing that.”

University of Texas social media researcher and professor Samuel Woolley nonetheless welcomed what he called “a very bold move by Twitter” in the face of political pressure.

“Twitter will face a lot of backlash and whether they can bear up on this remains to be seen,” Woolley said.

Karen Kornbluh, head of the digital innovation and democracy initiative at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, said Twitter’s action on content after it goes viral “may be a case of closing the barn door after the horse is out — but at least it communicates standards for acceptable activity on a platform’s site and that no one is completely exempt.”

BIAS CLAIMS, REDUX: The latest clash between Trump and Twitter comes with the president and his supporters complaining of what he calls bias by internet firms against conservatives — despite his own vast social media following — and threatening to use antitrust enforcement or other regulatory efforts against the companies.

Daniel Kreiss, a professor and researcher at the University of North Carolina’s Center for Information, Technology, and Public

Life, said Twitter “made the right call” in enforcing its policy on election misinformation without getting into the broader area of political speech or other topics, such as the president’s murder conspiracy comments this week against a TV journalist.

“Twitter is drawing a line in the sand on protecting electoral integrity, saying this outweighs anyone’s right to use the platform any way they want,” Kreiss said.

“I think they’re well justified. They have laid out clear values and transparent policy.”

Kreiss said the measured approach could allow Twitter to navigate a toxic election campaign without getting bogged down in political debate, but noted that “they will be criticized whichever way they go.”

Angry US protests for second night over police killing of black man MINNEAPOLIS AGENCIES

Pandemic puts up to 86m children at risk of poverty: study NEW YORK AGENCIES

The economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic could push as many as 86 million more children into poverty by the end of 2020, a joint study by Save the Children and UNICEF showed Wednesday.

That would bring the total number of children affected by poverty worldwide to 672 million, an increase of 15 percent over last year, the two aid agencies said in a statement.

Nearly two-thirds of those children overall live in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

But the pandemic-driven increase is expected to occur mainly in Europe and Central Asia, according to the study, which is based on World Bank and International Monetary Fund projections and population data from some 100 countries.

“The scale and depth of financial hardship among families threatens to roll back years of progress in reducing child poverty and to leave children deprived of essential services,” UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore is quoted as saying in the statement.

Demonstrators clashed with police, looted stores and set fires as a man was fatally shot during a second night of protests in the US city of Minneapolis Wednesday over the killing of a black man by a police officer.

Police fired tear gas and formed a human barricade to keep protesters from climbing a fence surrounding the Third Precinct, where the officers accused of killing George Floyd worked before they were fired on Tuesday.

They pushed protesters back as the crowd grew, a day after firing rubber bullets and more tear gas on thousands of demonstrators angered by the latest death of an African-American at the hands of US law enforcement.

Minnesota state Governor Tim Walz urged people to leave the area around the precinct where several fires were burning, warning of the “extremely dangerous situation” in a tweet late Wednesday.

Outrage has grown across the country at Floyd’s death on Monday, fuelled in part by bystander cellphone video which shows him, handcuffed and in the custody of four white police officers, on the ground while one presses his knee into the victim’s neck.

President Donald Trump in a tweet called Floyd’s death “sad and tragic”, and all four officers have been fired, as prosecutors said they had called in the FBI to help investigate the case.

Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo cautioned protestors

Wednesday to remain peaceful.

But by 10:00 pm (0300 GMT Thursday) an auto parts store across from the precinct had been set alight and a nearby Target was being looted, according to US media.

Police continued to hold the crowds back from scaling a fence into the precinct’s parking lot, where their cruisers contain guns.

As the violence escalated, with more businesses looted, a man was shot near the protests and later died, police said. A person has been arrested.

Protesters remained peaceful at two other locations in the city.

At the place where Floyd was first taken into custody, people chanted and carried placards and sent out bouquets were set out as tributes to Floyd.

Calls for justice came from around the country.

“I would like those officers to be charged with murder, because that’s exactly what they did,” Bridgett Floyd, the victim’s sister, said on NBC television.

“They murdered my brother….

They should be in jail for murder.”

Protesters marched on downtown Los Angeles and briefly blocked the 101 Freeway.

Some demonstrators smashed the windows of two police highway patrol cruisers, clambering on the hood of one of the vehicles. One of the protesters was injured when they fell off the vehicle as it sped away.

Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey said he could not understand why the officer who held his knee to Floyd’s neck on a Minneapolis street until the 46-year-old restaurant worker went limp has not been arrested.

“Why is the man who killed George Floyd not in jail? If you had done it, or I had done it, we would be behind bars right now,” Frey said.

I CAN’T BREATHE: The case was seen as the latest example of police brutality against African Americans, which gave rise six years ago to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Floyd had been detained on a minor charge of allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill to make a purchase at a convenience store.

Michelle Amazeen, a Boston University professor of political communication, called Twitter’s move “a much-needed step forward” but questioned how much impact this would have on misinformation on the platform.

“Are Twitter users now going to believe that if there is no label, Trump’s tweet is accurate? Research suggests they will,” she said.

Amazeen said Twitter’s actions still fall short of establishing the same kinds of standards in force in most news outlets.

“Twitter is not a reliable source for legitimate news,” she said. “Studies indicate that people who rely on social media for their news are more likely to be misinformed than people who go to mainstream news sources.”

China's parliament approves Hong Kong national security bill BEIJING AGENCIES

China’s parliament on Thursday overwhelmingly approved directly imposing national security legislation on Hong Kong to tackle secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference in a city roiled last year by months of anti-government protests.

The National People’s Congress voted 2,878 to 1 in favour of the decision to empower its standing committee to draft the legislation, with six abstentions. The legislators gathered in the Great Hall of the People burst into sustained applause when the vote tally was projected onto screens. Only one person opposed the proposal, while six abstained. The law would be directly imposed by mainland authorities, effectively bypassing Hong Kong’s government.

According to a draft of the proposal released last week, the law would allow mainland security agencies to operate openly in Hong Kong.

The National People’s Congress Standing Committee — which is likely to meet next in June — will now be tasked with formulating the legislation, which Beijing has said must be done “at an early date”.

The Chinese government had last week tabled the law in the National People’s Congress. The parliament’s spokesman Zhang Yesui had said that the law would strengthen “enforcement mechanisms” in the financial hub.

The approval of the law comes a day after the United States revoked Hong Kong’s special status under US law, paving the way to strip trading privileges for the financial hub as Washington accused China of trampling on the territory’s autonomy.

Global stocks rise as lockdown measures ease further NEW YORK AGENCIES

Global stocks mostly rose Wednesday on optimism over steps to reopen major economies worldwide, as European Union officials unveiled their own massive virus recovery plan.

If passed, the 750 billion euro proposal would be the biggest EU stimulus package in history and could see Europe-wide taxes on plastics and big tech introduced in a major advance for European integration.

“The announcement gave European shares another lift earlier, with the number being proposed larger than what Germany and France previously agreed,” OANDA analyst Craig Erlam told AFP. London, Paris and Frankfurt all climbed more than one per cent.

However German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that the package may only come into force in January

2021, and Austria and Sweden were already pushing back on the project Wednesday.

Wall Street, meanwhile, continued to rally on continued optimism over the reopening of the US economy, even as a fresh Federal Reserve report pointed to anxiety among many businesses.

Investors are drawing hope from announcements such as Disney’s plan Wednesday to reopen its Florida theme parks and a decision by the Nevada governor late Tuesday to give the all clear for Las Vegas casinos to reopen with restrictions.

Still, markets are bracing for more bad economic data. Analysts expect Thursday’s jobless claims report to show almost two million more people being added to the unemployment rolls.

A Fed report described the outlook for businesses as “highly uncertain” with many companies “pessimistic about the potential pace of recovery.”

Businesses also cited a list of “chal-

lenges in bringing employees back to work, including workers’ health concerns, limited access to childcare and generous unemployment insurance benefits,” the report said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 2.2 per cent or more than 550 points to 25,548.27, it’s second straight gain of more than two per cent.

Investors on both sides of the Atlantic mostly brushed aside deteriorating China-US relations and the impact of Hong Kong protests, the analysts said.

Still, IG analyst Joshua Mahony warned of “potential consequences for US-China relations” from the escalating tensions over Hong Kong.

Tokyo posted gains earlier, while other Asian stocks mostly slid — Hong Kong falling the hardest as police fired pepper-ball rounds on anti-China protesters, with investors fearing the demonstrations could erupt into the worst unrest since last summer.

CMYK

Friday, 29 May 2020

PCB AnnOunCeS tOP rOleS fOr SAqlAIn MuShtAq, GrAnt BrADBurn At hPC LAHORE

t

APP

HE Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday announced the appointment of Grant Bradburn and Saqlain Mushtaq at the top positions of the newly-restructured High Performance Centre.

Bradburn has been appointed as Head of High Performance Coaching and Saqlain Mushtaq as Head of International Player Development under the prestigious High Performance Centre’s restructuring.

Bradburn is presently the fielding coach of the men’s national team, a role he took in September 2018 following a successful coaching stint with the Scotland men’s national cricket team.

In a press release by the PCB, it outlined that he will be responsible for raising the overall standard of player support personnel across all the high performance centres of the country.

“I now aim to support our best players by enabling our current and future coaches with the skills they need to create world’s best players and winning environments,” Bradburn said.

“I plan to succeed in creating an envi-

ronment which all coaches will find challenging, productive and rewarding.”

Mushtaq, known for introducing the Doosra, has previously worked as a spin bowling coach with Bangladesh, West Indies and England men’s cricket teams,

apart from serving as a consultant for PCB, Cricket Australia and New Zealand Cricket. “I am confident I will be able to translate all my knowledge and experience in the High Performance Centre and help the PCB raise the bar and set new benchmarks,” Mushtaq said.

“I think the vision, aspirations and strategy of the PCB is heading in the right direction and, as such, it is the right time to join the high performance team in Lahore and try to take Pakistan cricket back to its glory days.” PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan expressed his confidence in the pair’s ability to better the sport.

“They will create greater alignment between domestic and International cricket, make our high performance programs relevant in the modern world and will drive the standards and levels of professionalism required within our system,” Wasim said. The PCB will announce Bradburn’s replacement in the men’s national cricket team in due course.

Serie A await govt green light after three-month suspension ROME AGENCIES

Australia set dates for COVIDthreatened India cricket tour PERTH AGENCIES

Australia announced dates for India’s lucrative Test cricket tour as the centrepiece of a busy home season on Thursday, but admitted that plans remained in flux because of the coronavirus. Cricket Australia CEO Kevin Roberts said the picture was “evolving every day” as he unveiled men’s fixtures against Zimbabwe, the West Indies and Afghanistan, as well as India. Australia are also due to host the men’s Twenty20 World Cup in October and November. Australia’s women, crowned T20 world champions in Melbourne in March — as the pandemic closed in on world sport — will host New Zealand and India. “We know that circumstances or events beyond our control could mean that the final schedule potentially may look different to the one released today,” Roberts said in a statement. “But we’ll be doing everything we can to get as much international cricket in as possible this summer.” The men’s Tests against India are scheduled to start in Brisbane on December 3, followed by Adelaide from December 11, the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and Sydney from January 3. Australia this month dethroned India as the world’s top-ranked Test team, setting up the series as a blockbuster.

Crucially, it would also generate hundreds of millions of dollars for a host organisation struggling during the coronavirus shutdown.

Revenue from the series is so important to Cricket Australia that it has proposed adding a fifth Test, which would mean ditching the oneoff Test against Afghanistan in Perth from November 21. India have said they are prepared to undergo quarantine to make the series happen. Australia’s borders are currently closed to non-residents as a measure against coronavirus. “We are engaged in ongoing discussions with federal and state governments, our venues and the touring nations to continually understand and monitor the situation in front of us, which is evolving every day,” Roberts said. Final details of the men’s three-match one-day international series with Zimbabwe, scheduled to start on August 9, will be confirmed at a later date, CA said.

Australia’s men then welcome the West Indies for three T20s from October 4, before three T20s against India, followed by the Afghan Test and the India Test series.

Serie A will learn the fate of the Italian season on Thursday with a government decision awaited on whether football can resume after three months in a country hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora will hold a video conference at 6:30pm (1630GMT) with representatives of Italian football including federation (FIGC) president Gabriele Gravina and Lega Serie A chief Paolo Dal Pino.

Italian football bosses are hopeful that Italy can follow the German Bundesliga, which has already returned to the pitch, and Spain’s La Liga which prepares to kick off again on June 8.

The season has been on hold since March 9 when it was halted as coronavirus infections spread rapidly in Italy.

The pandemic has killed more than 33,000 people in the country.

Opposition has been particularly strong in Lombardy, the region most affected by the epidemic with nearly 16,000 deaths alone, and where four Serie A clubs play: Inter Milan, AC Milan, Atalanta and Brescia. But there are strong indications that Spadafora, who just a month ago said he was “very skeptical” about the possibility of a return, will finally give the green light.

Italy have started to ease their strict lockdown measures and the daily figures have been reassuring, even if the virus is still circulating, especially in

Lombardy. The prospect of seeing Juventus and Lazio compete for the title has become acceptable again.

Italian football bosses want competition to resume on June 13, with the possibility of starting with Italian Cup semi-finals, followed by a full return to competition on June 20. The worst-case scenario would be a government refusal to return to action which, like in France, would signal the end of the season. But even in the event of a government green light on Thursday, the football world will have to complete the health protocol applicable for competition.

THORNY QUARANTINE DILEMMA: Many issues remain to be resolved including match schedules, players’ contracts which end on June 30 and unpaid TV rights by broadcasters.

But the thorniest remains the twoweek quarantine period in the case of a

positive test. Bologna on Wednesday announced a “suspicious case” among one of their coaching staff. Pending final results, the team have returned to individual training.

Above all, players and staff members must, if the positive test is confirmed, submit to a two-week quarantine period. Football authorities remain hopeful that with the curb of contagions falling they can request that the quarantine period be reduced to seven days and that it no longer be collective.

“I’m ready to bet on the resumption of the championship, but with this rule of quarantine of 14 days, the possibilities of carrying it out are not immense,” said Enrico Castellacci, president of the Italian Football Doctors Association.

“I’m not going to quarantine people who are in good health. We don’t do this if there is a positive case in a factory,” argued Lazio team doctor Ivo Pulcini, with the Roman club committed to a resumption of the championship, as they sit just one point behind leaders Juventus.

But first teams need the green light from Spadafora, who has blown hot and cold on calcio throughout the crisis.

Sports daily Corriere dello Sport warned that the minister was “a formidable specialist in traps and surprises”.

“Spadafora, no jokes!” wrote daily Tuttosport. The Turin newspaper recalled that accounting for one percent of GDP and more than 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in taxes paid, football is not a trivial sector for the Italian economy.

SPORTS 11

Shashank Manohar to step down as ICC chairman DUBAI AGENCIES

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday confirmed that chairman Shashank Manohar will step down when his term ends this year. The ICC is set to discuss the process to elect its new chief at its board meeting on Thursday with media reports saying that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief Colin Graves is favourite to fill the post. “No final decision was taken regarding the election process and the subject will be discussed further at the next ICC Board meeting on Thursday,” the ICC said in a statement. “The existing Chair confirmed he was not seeking any extension to his term but would support the board to ensure a smooth transition.” The ICC president used to head the board of directors but the position largely became honorary after constitutional changes in 2014 saw the creation of the chairman’s post. But Manohar initiated further reforms in 2016 and became the first independent chairman of the governing body with no formal links to any other country’s board. The position of the ICC president was also abolished then. Prominent Indian lawyer Manohar was unanimously elected on a two-year term but resigned for personal reasons in March, 2017, only to defer his resignation a week later. He was re-elected unopposed for a second two-year term in 2018. The new chairman is set to formally take over when the ICC’s annual general meeting is held at the end of July. The name of Sourav Ganguly, the president of the powerful Indian cricket board (BCCI), has also made the rounds with Cricket South Africa director Graeme Smith backing the former India captain to take over the reins of the ICC. BCCI treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal told Reuters that the board had not discussed the matter yet but is open to Ganguly succeeding Manohar, provided there is consensus on it.

“BCCI has not taken any call on fielding anyone from India for the job,” Dhumal said.

“The election process has not started yet. Once election date is announced, we’ll discuss with all cricket boards and take a call. “Ideally there should be a consensus candidate so that there is no election as world cricket is facing a big problem because of the pandemic. To resolve it, everyone has to come together.”

LeBron among US athletes outraged at black man’s death NEW YORK AGENCIES

NBA superstar LeBron James was among the US athletes taking to social media in outrage over the death of a black man in Minnesota after a white policeman kneeled on his neck for several minutes.

Four Minneapolis police officers were fired Tuesday as a video showing one of them kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who later died, sparked protests. Los Angeles Lakers playmaker James contrasted the incident with the kneeling protests of former NFL star Colin Kaepernick in 2016.

Kaepernick was ostracised by the NFL for kneeling during the playing of the national anthem in a protest against police brutality and racial injustice.

“This... ... Is Why,” James posted on his Instagram feed with side by side photos of the white policeman kneeling on Floyd’s neck and Kaepernick kneeling on the sideline. “Do you understand NOW!!??!!??” James wrote.

“Or is it still blurred to you?? #StayWoke”.

Other figures from the sports world speaking out over the Minneapolis incident included Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr. “This is murder. Disgusting,” Kerr tweeted. “Seriously, what the hell is wrong with US????”

Warriors star Stephen Curry lamented yet another death involving an unarmed African-American man at the hands of law enforcement. “I’ve seen a lot of people speak

up and try to articulate how fed up and angry they are,” Curry wrote on Instagram.

“All good and well but it’s the same same same reality we live in. George Floyd. George Floyd. George has a family. George didn’t deserve to die.”

Retired Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson also hit out, saying Floyd had been “clearly murdered.”

“How many times do we have to see black men killed on national television? This has been going on for entirely too long,” Johnson said. “We need to start seeing black people as human beings and not animals on the street.”

NFL Cleveland Browns receiver Odell Beckham Jr. tweeted: “Worlds honestly sickening. It really is..... no explanation.” Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence wondered how any African-American could feel safe after watching the video.

“DONE BEING QUIET AND DONE BEING ANGRY,” Lawrence tweeted. “HOW CAN WE FEEL SAFE WHEN THOSE MEANT TO PROTECT US ARE KILLIN’ US?!!!! WHEN WILL MINORITIES BE FREE TO BE AMERICANS IN AMERICA!?”

Former US Soccer international forward Taylor Twellman posted the video on Twitter with the message: “When will it stop?! Honestly this is murder in plain daylight.”

Floyd’s death drew comparisons to the 2014 death of Eric Garner, an unarmed African-American who died in New York after being placed in a chokehold by police, begging to be released and saying, “I can’t breathe.”

CMYK

Friday, 29 May, 2020

NEWS

LOcusts cOntInue tO ravage crOps In parts Of paKIstan s NEWS DESK

WARMS of locusts continued to wreak havoc on food crops across Pakistan, with the attacks gaining frequency in several districts of Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan.

Locusts attacked crops in Multan, Muzaffargarh, Vehari, Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur in Punjab and Sanghar, Matiari and Ghotki in Sindh.

The attacks added to the misery of farmers, who tried to beat drums in order to scare away the attacking insects.

The swarms have been devouring mango, cotton and sugarcane crops, causing severe damage to the agricultural sec-

tor. Locusts invaded shops and bazaars as well, which led to citizens panicking and spraying in hopes of dispersing the insects leading the onslaught.

In Rajanpur, locusts caused significant damage to green trees and plants. In Sadiqabad, the insects attacked mango farms, severely damaging the production of the fruit.

The district administration in Rahim Yar Khan also resorted to sprays to get rid of locusts attacking the crops.

In a bid to facilitate complaints related to locusts, National Disaster Management Authority(NDMA) has activated a hotline 051-111-222-999 for registering and resolving issues pertaining to their attacks.

IOK doctors face harassment, detention amid pandemic NEWS DESK

“The aggrieved farmers can register their complaints about the existence of locusts in their respective areas or need of spray on the hotline for 24 hours,” the NDMA spokesperson said in a statement released on Wednesday.

Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Lieutenant General Muhammad Afzal, in a recent media briefing, shared details of the steps taken to fight the locust attacks.

The NDMA chief had said that a massive operation is underway in Multan, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, and Faisalabad divisions, along with Okara, Bhakar, and Layyah districts.

“We have enough stock of pesticides in Pakistan to keep the locust attacks in

Pakistan urges UNSC to hold India accountable for Kashmir war crimes NEW YORK APP

Doctors in Indian occupied Kashmir have decried harassment and manhandling by the regional police despite the ongoing coronavirus crisis, according a media report.

According to Brut India, senior doctor and cardiologist Syed Maqbool said that he was harassed, beaten and kept in police custody without any reason. “If this is the situation, this is the status of doctors, who are fighting Covid [sic] this time, what will be happening to our juniors? What will be happening to our paramedical staff?” he said. The doctor said that he was detained on his way to Government Medical College, one of Srinagar’s biggest hospitals. Dr Maqbool said that despite telling the policeman that he was going on duty, he was not allowed to take the route. The doctor said when he stepped out of the car to talk to the SHO, he was “hit in the belly” by the policeman with a baton. The SHO, who was standing across the road, rushed to the side and grabbed the doctor and took him to Zadibal police station, he said. The doctor said his phone was also confiscated and he wasn’t allowed to make any calls, even emergency calls to the hospital.

Upon insistence to contact the hospital, the policeman reportedly told the doctor: “You doctors are thieves, you earn commissions.

check,” Afzal had said.

A day earlier, Bilawal Bhutto said that the federal government has failed to take adequate and required steps to check the imminent attack of locust swarms in Sindh and other provinces as clouds of locusts have landed in different parts of the country and are destroying crops.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the PPP chairman said he had repeatedly warned the federal government of the threat of locust attacks to the economy but the Centre took no measures, after which the country’s agriculture had come under the severe locust onslaught, which might cause a dangerous blow to the national economy that had already been reeling due to the coronavirus emergency.

Pakistan has called on the UN Security Council (UNSC) to intervene and hold India accountable for its grave breaches of international humanitarian law and war crimes in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK), and take steps to settle the decades-old dispute.

“Inaction by the Security Council in cases of foreign aggression and occupation comes at a high human cost,” Ambassador Munir Akram warned the 15-member body, which held a virtual meeting on the ‘Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict’ on Wednesday.

The Pakistani envoy urged the UNSC to focus on the root causes of emerging and long-standing conflicts, including Kashmir and Palestine, and find inclusive political solutions.

India, he said, had “callously” exploited the coronavirus crisis to enhance its control of the occupied territory, already reeling from a nine-monthlong digital and physical lockdown, to place the valley under a “double lockdown” severely impeding Kashmiris’ access to medicines, medical help and information on ways to deal with the pandemic.

“While the world’s attention was riveted on

combating the Covid-19 virus, India has taken further steps, almost by stealth, to change the demography of occupied Jammu and Kashmir by promulgating new ‘domicile’ regulations that would enable settlers from all over India to colonize the occupied state in violation of Security Council resolutions and the Fourth Geneva Convention,” he told the high-level meeting.

Ambassador Akram said the Indian security forces had again resorted to indiscriminate use of “pellet guns”, arbitrary arrests, extra judicial killings and live ammunition against civilians to suppress the legitimate resistance of the Kashmiri people for self-determination.

In April alone, 33 Kashmiris were killed, 152 injured and 945 arbitrarily arrested, he said. In another inhumane practice, the Indian security forces refused to return the bodies of killed Kashmiris to their families.

Defying the UN Secretary General’s global call for ceasefire, the Pakistani envoy said India had intensified its violations of the ceasefire along the Line of Control in the disputed Kashmir region and the “Working Boundary,” committing 989 violations since January 1, and also targeting civilians on the Pakistan side of the Line of Control, killing 6 and injuring 82 civilians.

India sidesteps trump's offer to mediate on china, says in talks with Beijing NEW DELHI AGENCIES

India is in talks with China to deal with the most serious military standoff on their disputed border in recent years, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, sidestepping US President Donald Trump’s offer to mediate. Soldiers have been facing off in the remote Ladakh region in the Himalayas since early May, accusing each other of trespassing and in recent days they have dug in defences and brought equipment.

Trump said in a Twitter post the United States had told India and China that it was ready to arbitrate their “raging border dispute”, the first time he has tried to throw himself into India-China diplomacy.

“We are engaged with the Chinese side to peacefully resolve this issue,” Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava told reporters, responding to Trump’s offer. China has not yet made an official comment. The dispute is the most serious since India and China, who fought a brief border in 1962, were locked in a similar faceoff in the eastern Himalayas that lasted nearly three months in 2017.

Srivastava said India wanted peace and stability at the border but would defend its territory. Despite talks spread over two decades, the two countries have not been able to settle their 3,500-km border and lay claim to large tracts of remote territory in each other’s possession. “Our troops have taken a responsible approach towards border management and are following protocols,” Srivastava said.

Military observers say one likely reason for the renewed border tensions is India’s effort to build new air strips and roads near the de-facto border to try to narrow the gap with China’s superior infrastructure. Despite ongoing talks between the local military commanders and diplomats, there is no sign of de-escalation, Indian sources aware of the situation said. New Delhi says Chinese troops have intruded into Indian territory and must withdraw to defuse the crisis. The Chinese side wants India to stop all construction activity in the area, saying the whole area is disputed, one of the sources said.

US passes dire milestone of 100,000 Covid-19 deaths NEW YORK AGENCIES

Unthinkable just a few months ago, the United States (US) on Wednesday surpassed the grim milestone of 100,000 coronavirus deaths, as the pandemic tightened its grip on Latin America.

With the European Union unveiling a massive recovery plan to step up its emergence from the crisis, the US figure was a sobering reminder of the devastation being wreaked around the globe by a virus that only emerged late last year.

Confirmed US deaths stood at 100,396 late Wednesday, with nearly 1.7 million infections, according to the tally compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

The 24-hour toll shot back up after three days of sharp declines, to 1,401.

Nevertheless, most US states moved toward reopening restaurants and businesses, cheered on by President Donald Trump, who is eager to see the economic pain of the crisis mitigated as he seeks reelection.

The US capital will ease its lockdown from Friday.

Grim news came from across the Americas, as Brazil saw its death toll pass 25,000.

President Jair Bolsonaro is facing mounting criticism over his response to the health crisis. The far-right leader has downplayed the seriousness of the pandemic and railed against stay-at-home measures, arguing the economic fallout risks causing more damage than the virus itself.

“The so-called second wave is

coming: recession. It will affect everyone, without exception,” he wrote on Facebook.

Peru meanwhile registered a record 6,154 new cases in a 24-hour period.

“Difficult days, difficult weeks are coming because people are going to get sick,” said Pilar Mazzetti, who is helping to coordinate Peru’s coronavirus response.

In Europe, business have slowly started reopening as outbreaks on the continent slow, but Italy and Spain lack the firepower of richer European nations to rebuild their economies.

The EU unveiled a historic, 750-billion-euro ($825 billion) recovery plan to get the continent back on its feet.

It follows other unprecedented emergency measures introduced around the world to rescue economies shattered by the virus, which has claimed more than 354,000 lives globally as infections top 5.6 million.

“This is Europe’s moment,” EU Commission chief Ursula Von der Leyen said, urging solidarity.

“We either all go it alone, leaving countries, regions and people behind… or we walk that road together.”

The proposed package is expected to kick off tough negotiations, as backers try to win the support of some northern EU states that oppose paying out grants to nations already under mountains of debt.

The proposal comes as the continent — which has lost at least 173,000 people to COVID-19 — grapples with the human tragedy

and economic destruction.

Spain on Wednesday began 10 days of official mourning for the more than 27,000 people who died there, with all flags on public buildings at half-staff.

While desperate to kickstart their economies, most governments in Europe are also trying to move cautiously, afraid of a second wave of infections.

In Cyprus, the badly-hit tourism sector inched back to life as beaches opened again — but with sunbeds and beach umbrellas spaced apart to avoid crowding.

“We’re here, we’re having a good time… we’re taking our safety measures,” said Georgios, a young gym trainer.

Elsewhere in Europe, Poland scrapped a rule calling for face masks in public, while Switzerland said it would drop its virus restrictions by June 6.

In Moscow, shops will reopen and people will be allowed out for walks from June 1 as the Russian capital announced the easing of its lockdown.

“Today we can already talk about the next steps out of the crisis situation,” Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

The United States remains the hardest-hit nation, with President Donald Trump weathering heavy criticism for his handling of the crisis — and for not wearing a mask in public despite his administration’s recommendations.

Trump’s principal preoccupation has been for a quick turnaround of the badly battered US economy, and he has pressured local and state leaders to ease lockdowns.

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