Friday, 7 May, 2021 I 24 Ramzan-ul-Mubarak, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 308 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition
All pArties, sAve ppp, boycott vote recount in nA-249
KARACHI
A
staff report
ll mainstream political parties, except Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), on Thursday boycotted recounting of votes in NA-249 (Karachi West-II) constituency — where a by-election was held last week — over the alleged non-provision of Form 45 and 46. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had ordered a recount of votes in NA-249 on the request of Pakistan Muslim league-Nawaz (PMl-N) candidate Miftah Ismail who had lost the April 29 election to PPP’s Abdul Qadir Mandokhel. The candidates of PMl-N, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), and other political parties boycotted the recounting. Talking to reporters outside the office of the commission’s Sindh chapter, Amjad Afridi of the PTI said the contest-
ants demanded of the ECP to provide Form 45 and 46 and until it is given, the recounting of the votes is unacceptable. Afridi claimed the votes bags brought for recounting were even not sealed. Ismail claimed that were denied provision of Form 45 and 46 by the officials at the election commission. “We are not provided with the record of used and unused ballot papers.” The first bag opened for recounting was unsealed and, upon asking the officials, we were told the seal might have been broken while transporting the bags, he said. He said the audit cannot be carried out without the provision of Form 46. “I don’t know why Form 46 is not given to them.” According to provisional results, Mandokhail had secured 16,156 votes to win the election while Ismail came in second with 15,473 votes, followed by now-prescribed Tehreek-e-labbaik Pakistan (TlP) which secured 11,125 votes. PSP chief Mustafa Kamal came fourth
coronAvirus in
pAkistAn
CONFIRMED CASES:
845,833
LAST UPDATED AT 10:11 AM ON MAY 6, 2021
DAY'S DEATH TOLL:
NEW CASES:
108
4,198
RECOVERED:
DEATHS:
743,124 18,537 SINDH:
PUNJAB:
288,680
312,522
KP:
BALOCHISTAN:
121,728 AJK/GB: 17,583/5,355
22,900 ISLAMABAD:
77,065
with 9,227 votes, followed by Afridi with 8,922 votes. The NA seat was created in 2018 by amalgamating neighbourhoods that previously fell in two National Assembly constituencies — NA-239 and NA-240 — during three general elections between 2002 and 2013. The constituency, with 339,591 registered voters, has emerged to be a highly contested seat with candidates belonging to almost every major political party fighting for it. It had fallen vacant after Faisal Vawda, who had won it on a PTI ticket, resigned from his seat to run for the Senate. PML-N REQUEST FOR VOTE COUNT: last week, the commission had withheld the results on Ismail’s request for a recount, fixing the hearing in the petition for May 4. “The margin of victory is less than five per cent of the total votes polled in the constituency or 10,000 votes whichever is less in accordance with the provisions of Section 95 (5) of the (Elections) Act, the Commission is satisfied that prima facie case exists for intervention, and therefore stay the consolidation process,” its order read. The PMl-N had also requested the ECP to conduct a forensic audit of the votes cast in the constituency. In his letter, Ismail had also claimed that presiding officers from 34 polling stations did not send the results through WhatsApp. He had further claimed that the party “did not receive results from more than 30 polling stations”. He had also claimed that many copies of Form 45 were not signed and that the counting of votes on these forms given to the party is different from the forms issued by the returning officer (RO), which were not provided to them.
Amazon adds Pakistan to approved sellers list IsLAmAbAd staff report
US e-commerce giant Amazon has added Pakistan to its approved Seller’ list, Adviser to Prime Minister of Pakistan for Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood announced on Thursday. The adviser said that they have been engaged with Amazon since last year and that it is a great opportunity for Pakistani youth, SMEs and women entrepreneurs. “An important milestone of ecommerce policy achieved has been through teamwork by many people across the globe,” he added. Dawood has time and again stressed the importance of e-commerce as an extremely vital sector of the economy, especially in view of the modern pandemic of Covid-19. Pakistan has reportedly received approval from Amazon to
Imran says govt working to control inequality LAHORE staff report
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that his government was focusing on equitable distribution of resources to rich and poor by ensuring basic amenities of life for all. “The notion of elite capture and the prevailing mindset that Pakistan belongs to a particular class only is regrettable,” he said in his address at the launch of the Punjab Peri-Urban Housing scheme for low-income groups. Imran said that no nation could prosper with “an island of rich and a big sea of poor” and regretted that during the last 74 years, only a certain elite group ruled the country. He said that the rich-centric policies inflicted huge damage upon the poor whose access to civic facilities including health, education, and jobs greatly suffered. The prime minister said that his vision was to make the powerful answerable to law and strengthen the weaker segments of society. He said that the socio-welfare State of Medina was a model to be emulated where rule of law and justice prevailed regardless
register itself in the verified seller list. The renewed countries list will be issued on Amazon’s official website in the next 12 to 24 hours. Earlier, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Political Affairs, Shahbaz Gill, had made the same announcement on his Twitter profile. Crediting the PTI government for the development, the premier’s aide tweeted: “What could not be achieved during the last 10 years in the history of Pakistan, has finally been done by the present government.” Gill said Pakistan has now joined the global market which will result in billions for the country in the form of investment and employment opportunities. “Thank you Imran Khan.” According to local media reports and tech industry experts, accounts can be made using Pakistani details after the country’s addition to approved selling countries.
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more inside
Karachi to tighten restrictions as positivity ratio jumps to 14pc STORY ON BACK PAGE
of the status of a person. He pointed that the opposition wanted an NRO-like concession from him to spare their corruption, however, said that such efforts would go in vain. He said that the political elite in the past patronised illegal land grabbing that led to litigation and obstructed development work. The prime minister further said that the government had launched several affordable housing schemes for low-income groups, adding that the construction industry was resulting in an economic boom in the country.
As the construction sector was connected with 30 other industries, he said, the step would help resolve the problems of accommodation and unemployment. He mentioned that the recently cleared foreclosure law of banks greatly helped in materialising the low-cost housing schemes. Earlier in the day, he launched the housing project at Raiwind neighbourhood to be built at 10 sites to facilitate low-income groups living in smaller cities and rural areas of the province.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 05
Govt forms parliamentary committee to further electoral reforms STORY ON PAGE 03
PML-N retains PP84 seat in by-election STORY ON PAGE 02
PCB considers holding remaining PSl matches in UAE STORY ON BACK PAGE
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Friday, 7 May, 2021
ISLAMABAD
NEWS
PML-N retaINs PP-84 seat IN bY-eLeCtIoN LAHORE
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STAff RePoRT
ARRISTER Moazzam Sher Kallu of the Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) won the by-election in the PP-84 constituency of Khushab by a wide margin, retaining the seat that had fallen vacant due to the death of his father Waris Kallu who won it four times consecutively.
Provisional results released by the Election Commission of Pakistan early Thursday morning suggested Moazzam secured 73,081 votes against 62,903 of Ali Hussain of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Independent candidate Amjad Raza came in third with 8,340 votes, followed by Hafiz Muhammad Asghar Ali of the nowprescribed Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) who secured 5,782 votes. Ghulam Habib Ahmed of the Pakistan People’s Party
Media reports against PM Imran are ‘false and fabricated’: Yasinzai QUETTA INP
Governor Balochistan Justice (r) Amanullah Khan Yasinzai says media reports of a statement against Prime Minister Imran Khan which is being attributed to him are “false and fabricated”. Yasinzai said he did not speak to anyone and did not give an interview to any TV channel or newspaper. He said he does not have any connection with statements attributed to him that are being made and spread deliberately. “I respect Prime Minister Imran Khan from the bottom of my heart, I can’t even think or dream of giving such a statement [about PM Khan],” Yasinzai said. His clarification comes a few days after PM Imran had asked the Balochistan governor to resign. Last week, Prime Minister Imran had asked the Governor of Balochistan, retired Justice Amanullah Khan Yasinzai, to step down from his post. Yasinzai had reportedly refused to resign.
Durrani indicted in wealth case kARACHI
(PPP) came in seventh with 235 votes. The deceased MPA had retained the seat by a margin of 6,000 in the 2018 general elections while the TLP hopeful had bagged over 12,000 votes then. The election was held across 229 polling stations and 666 polling booths — 344 for male and 322 for female voters. The number of registered voters in the constituency is 292,687, of which 155,104 are male and 137,583 female. The turnout
ISLAMABAD APP
Ministry of National Health Services Director General Rana Safdar on Thursday said that the government has expedited the process of Covid-19 vaccination procurement and a large number of vaccine doses relative to the population was available. In a press briefing at the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) along with Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) chief Asim Rauf, Safdar said that the eligible population group has been prioritised as per disease contraction risk and, at present, above 40 years of age people were benefiting from vaccination. He said that all Covid-19 vaccination
An accountability court in Karachi on Thursday indicted Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani in the assets beyond income case against him. The charges were read out to him during a hearing. He pleaded not guilty. Durrani, a senior leader of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), was detained in February 2019 during investigation into his alleged movable and immovable assets, making 352 illegal appointments, embezzlement of public money in the construction of the MPA Hostel and the new Sindh Assembly building as well as appointment of project directors for these schemes. NAB had named Durrani, his spouse, children, brother, and others for allegedly possessing assets worth around Rs1.61 billion made through illegal means. The court has summoned witnesses at the next hearing and adjourned the proceedings till May 19
INP
TLTP
The Government of Pakistan allowed the use of the country’s airspace by a Canadian aircraft carrying medical aid to Covid-19 hit India. In his Tweet, Canada’s High Commissioner to Pakistan Wendy Gilmour expressed gratitude to the Foreign Office of Pakistan for “swift assistance with overflight clearance for humanitarian supplies to relive suffering in India.” Canada sent relief support, including medicine and ventilators, to India that has been witnessing a record infections and deaths from the Covid-19 pandemic with overcrowded hospitals turning away patients after running out of supplies of medical oxygen and beds. Last month, as a gesture of solidarity with the people of India in the wake of the current Covid-19 wave, Pakistan offered to provide relief support to New Delhi to deal with the sharp increase in the Covid-19 cases. According to Foreign Office spokesperson, Pakistan offered to provide relief support to India including ventilators, Bi-PAP, digital X-ray machines, PPEs and related items. “The concerned authorities of Pakistan and #India can work out modalities for quick delivery of the relief items,” reads the statement from the Foreign Office (FO).
centres were working in two shifts until midnight. He called on people to get registered and vaccinate right after scheduling without any delay. He said that the government was also encouraging the private sector besides the public sector to manage vaccination. Safdar said that all pharmaceutical companies that want to benefit would have to follow the DRAP mechanism. He said that there would be no compromise on vaccine quality and the mechanism ensures this. He also said that the Health Ministry has already started the Covid-19 vaccination for 40 years citizens across the country as per the procedure adopted for other age groups. He further said that people in this age group should send SMS with their
Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) number to 1166 from any mobile number or visit the website of the National Immunisation Management System (NIMS). Safdar said that the vaccine centre and date would be communicated through message as per schedule while citizens could get complete information about the vaccination process on NIMS’s website with having facility of registration for vaccination also. Rauf said that the drug regulator has developed a clear mechanism for the Covid-19 vaccine for private importers, which is available on its website. He added there were three conditions for the purpose — first, the company should have an agency agreement of the company who will provide the vaccine,
President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday asked the people to get vaccinated against Covid-19 to ensure safety against virus. “As I get my second dose today, I advise all, particularly elderly, to must get vaccinated and continue observing other precautionary measures,” the president said after receiving his second dose of vaccine at a Covid19 vaccination centre in Tarlai, in the suburbs of Islamabad. President Alvi gets second dose of Covid-19 vaccine at a vaccination centre at Tarlai, Islamabad. He said that besides vaccine, adopting other precautions including wearing masks, frequent handwashing and maintaining social distance were
ISLAMABAD
important to contain the spread of virus. To avoid rush in bazaars, he stressed not to keep pending the shopping for Eid for last days of the holy month of Ramadan. “If we show discipline, follow precautions and keep seeking Allah’s mercy, we will be bestowed with His blessings in tough times,” he said. President Alvi visited the vaccine centre without any protocol and got vaccinated after fulfilling the due process including registration at the service counter. The president expressed satisfaction over the arrangements at the centre where around 600 people were being vaccinated in a day – 300 each by afternoon and after Iftar. He said that the government in collaboration of National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) was responsibly taking steps to control the situation.
Court extends detention of Asif in NAB cases LAHORE INP
An accountability court in Lahore extended on Thursday the judicial remand of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Asif until May 20 in money laundering and assets beyond means case. Police brought the former hospital from the hospital and presented him before the Accountability Judge Asad Ali Chaudhry. Former Sialkot mayor Chaudhry Tauheed Akhtar also reached the court to express solidarity with Asif. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had arrested Asif from outside the Islamabad residence of another PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal in December on charges of being in possession of assets beyond his declared sources of income. According to a detailed charge sheet, NAB was carrying out investigations against Asif under Clause 4 of
Form 5A will be filled and submitted with DRAP. He said that for commercial purposes like certain institutions who want to import vaccines for their employees, it will noncommercial use and the application forms were available on the website. He further said that vaccine must have Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) in its origin country while the certificate of analysis was also mandatory. He added -18 degrees cold storage capacity was also required while the vaccine should be freely available and was administered in its manufacturing state. He assured that DRAP would give approval within 24 hours on a priority basis.
Zaidi sues Ismail for slander
President urges people to get Covid-19 jabs for safety against virus ISLAMABAD
ISLAMABAD
National Assembly (NA) Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif said the people had rejected the “flour and sugar thieves”. “This is also an acknowledgement by the people of the service rendered by the PMLN during its tenure. And this vote is for the development of Pakistan under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif,” he declared. He added that if the PML-N got the opportunity again then it would “serve Pakistan with more zeal than before”.
Enough supplies of Covid-19 vaccine for eligible population: govt
INP
Pakistan allows use of airspace by Canadian aircraft carrying aid to India
seemed to be low due to hot weather and Ramadan. PML-N leader Attaullah Tarar had on Wednesday alleged that bogus votes were polled at a polling station in the Government Girls High School, Jamali Balochan, the native village of PTI candidate. Some local analysts said internal differences among the ranks of the ruling party might go against Hussain. In a tweet, PML-N President and
the NAB Ordinance, 1999 and Section 3 of the AntiMoney Laundering Act, 2010. “Before assuming the public office in 1991, the total worth of Khawaja Asif’s assets was Rs5.1 million which increased to Rs221m in 2018 after serving on different posts that do not match with his known sources of income,” said the statement. “Accused Khawaja Asif claimed to have received Rs130 million from a UAE firm M/s IMECO, but during the course of the investigation, he failed to present any solid evidence of receiving this amount as a salary,” it said. “This clearly shows that the accused tried to prove his income through fake sources.” Moreover, NAB alleged that Asif was also running a company, Tariq Mir and Company — registered in the name of his staffer — through his frontmen. It said that an amount of Rs400 million was deposited in the account of Tariq Mir and no sources of this huge amount were disclosed.
APP
Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi on Thursday sent a legal notice under the Defamation Ordinance, 2002 to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Miftah Ismail. The minister said that he should apologise or face the legal consequences. He said Ismail’s comments aired on a television programme said: “Ali Zaidi does not pay tax and uses money distributed through the Ehsaas programme in exchange to purchase votes, which is very unfortunate.” He said that the statement and its follow up throughout the news and media segments are defamatory in nature and tantamount to slander. “I am discharging my duties as Minister of Maritime Affairs in accordance with the oath taken under the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 (Constitution) and that all actions taken in my capacity as Minister of Maritime Affairs are taken in accordance with the law,” he said. He said: “In the news segments broadcast, the material in question alleges that I am not a taxpayer and that I am manipulating the public money for my personal gains and that such defamatory comments are clearly to tarnish my reputation.” “The defamatory statements which are predicted on false information have already been viewed by thousands of viewers,” he said. “It is respectfully submitted that comments of such nature, when communicated on national television, have a negative widespread effect which clearly demonstrate that you are seeking to call into question my reputation, integrity and the duties performed by me under the Constitution.”
Only central Punjab to receive normal rain cycles this May: PMD NEwS DESk The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has said that Pakistan may receive less rainfall in May than usual but added that central Punjab will receive normal rain cycles. Two rain cycles and one or two heat waves are expected in Punjab, Sindh, and Balochistan during the ongoing month of May, the Met office added. Met Office has also forecast that on Thursday, partly cloudy weather is expected in upper/central of the country. However, rain wind-thunderstorm is expected
in North Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and northwestern Balochistan. Moreover, an isolated rain-thunderstorm is expected in Potohar region, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Kashmir during the period. The weather remained dry in other parts of the country. Hot and dry weather is likely to prevail in most plain areas of the country on Friday, while a rainwind/thunderstorm is expected in Islamabad, upper Punjab, upper KP, Kashmir and GB. A day earlier, a rain-wind/thunderstorm occurred in KP, Islamabad, Punjab, Kashmir, Balochistan and GB.
The weather remained hot and dry in other parts of the country. Rainfall (mm): KP: Dir 17, Mirkhani 09 Drosh 07, Balakot 06, Pattan 05, Cherat, Malamjabba 04, Chitral, Kalam, Takht Bai 03, Bannu 02, Buner, Kakul, Peshawar 01, Punjab: Khanpur 07, Sindh: Hyderabad 10, Jacobabad 02, Kashmir: Rawalakot 06, Muzaffarabad (A/P 02), Balochistan: Sibbi 04, Barkhan Nokkundi 01, GB: Bagrote 04. Yesterday’s highest maximum Temperatures (°C): Shaheed Benazirabad, Dadu 43, Sibbi, Mithi, Chhor and Padidan 42.
Friday, 7 May, 2021
ISLAMABAD
Govt FoRms paRlIamentaRy commIttee to FuRtheR electoRal ReFoRms ISLAMABAD
n
Mian abRaR
ATIONAL Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser on Thursday formulated a fivemember parliamentary committee to further the agenda of electoral reforms and to engage the opposition in an attempt to seek their consensus. With the formation of the electoral reforms committee, the government and opposition would interact inside the parliament, giving the main stage to the parliament. According to the NA secretariat, this parliamentary committee comprises Federal Ministers Pervaiz Khattak, Fawad Hussain Chaudary, Asad Umer, Advisor on Parliamentary Affairs Babar
Awan and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) Malik Amir Dogar. NA Speaker Asad Qaiser formulated this committee as Prime Minister Imran Khan also wrote a letter to the speaker regarding initiating the task of electoral reforms through the constitution of a parliamentary committee. It may be mentioned here that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) have already hinted at their agreement to engage in electoral reform. On this occasion, Asad Qaisar remarked that electoral reforms are imperative to gain public trust in the electoral process. He also mentioned that completing the process of electoral reforms before the next election would ensure transparency and fairness.
veteRan actRess sumbul shahId passes away oF covId-19 LAHORE: Veteran actress Sumbul Shahid died of Covid-19 on Thursday. Shahid, sister to Bushra Ansari and Asma Abbas, had contracted the contagion disease last month and was on a ventilator at a private hospital in Lahore. Bushra had appealed to her fans to pray for her sister’s recovery as her condition worsened. Last month, she had also shared a photo of her sister. “My darling sister Sumbul Shahid is fighting a battle with Covid-19 these days. Please pray for her speedy recovery. Char Chand salamat rahain ameen,” the caption had read. Sumbul was last seen in the 2020 drama Nand alongside Minal Khan and Shahroz Sabzwari. Staff RepoRt
Resolution of problems of legal fraternity govt's top priority: Fawad ISLAMABAD app
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Thursday said that the resolution of problems of the legal fraternity was the top priority of the government. While talking to delegations of Islamabad High Court Bar Association, and district bar associations of Jhelum, Sohawa and Pind Dadan Khan, which called on him, he deemed the legal bars as his second home due to his family connection. He said that the lawyers played an exemplary role in upholding the Constitution and ensuring the rule of law. They were in fact the defenders of democracy, human rights and the Constitution, and their services would be remembered, he added. Fawad said that Prime Minister Imran Khan had given him a special task to liaise with the bar associations and resolve their issues. He said that under the Kamyab Jawan Programme, the provision of up to Rs1 million loan would be ensured for the young lawyers to construct their chambers. The participation of lawyers in the Prime Minister's Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme was also under consideration, he addded. Fawad promised that he would visit Islamabad and Rawalpindi bar associations soon. The minister distributed cheques of Rs3 million for District Bar Jhelum, and Rs1 million each for Sohawa and Pind Dadan Khan associations under the Punjab Chief Minister's Programme.
NEWS
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Intermediate, board exams should be given priority, says education minister NewS DeSk
Qureshi, Indonesian counterpart discuss ways to combat Islamophobia, promote religious harmony ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi held a telephonic conversation with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi on Thursday and discussed the need for stronger cooperation amongst members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to combat rising Islamophobia. During the conversation, Qureshi stressed that Islamabad’s efforts were aimed at creating awareness and building greater understanding for the promotion of inter-faith harmony and mutual respect. He thanked Indonesia for supporting the unanimous adoption of the Pakistan-sponsored resolution at the 47th OIC Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Niamey last November, which declared March 15 as an International Day to Combat Islamophobia. Qureshi sought continued collaboration between the two sides in New York for the smooth adoption of a resolution by the UN General Assembly in that regard. He emphasised that disrespect towards revered Islamic personalities hurts the sentiments of more than 1.5 billion Muslims around the world. He noted that such actions were not covered under legitimate expressions of the right to freedom of opinion, which carries certain responsibilities under
international human rights law. Foreign Minister Qureshi further highlighted that Muslims unequivocally condemn all acts of violence or incitement to violence on the basis of religion or belief, and these notions must be respected by all. He called upon the OIC to work together for making the international community understand the deep-rooted love and devotion of all Muslims for Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) and the Holy Quran. He also underscored that a global dialogue amongst civilisations, under the ambit of the United Nations, was required to promote inter-faith harmony, tolerance, and peaceful co-existence.
Dr Alvi appoints 13 judges in LHC, others in BHC ISLAMABAD Mian abRaR
President Dr Arif Alvi, on the advice of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Thursday approved a summary of the appointment of judges in the Balochistan High Court (BHC) and Lahore High Court (LHC). President Arif Alvi has approved the appointment of two additional judges of the Balochistan High Court on the advice of the prime minister. The president also approved the appointment of 13 judges of the Lahore High Court. Dr Alivi has also empowered sessions courts to
hear rape cases under the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Ordinance. Under the ordinance, rape cases will be heard in session courts till the establishment of special courts across the country. The president, in consultation with the chief justice, delegated the power to the Sessions Judges. President Alvi approved the relaxation of prisoners’ sentences on the occasion of Eidul Fitr. The sentence of prisoners for various crimes was reduced by 90 days. The leniency will not apply to prisoners involved in serious crimes.
The board exams in Pakistan will commence after June 15, announced Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood on Thursday, adding that priority will be given to intermediate and matriculation exams. “Interprovincial Education Ministers Conference (IPEMC) took place yesterday. It was decided that Board exams would begin after June 15. Intermediate and Matric exams would be given priority so that results can come in before university admissions,” the education minister said on popular micro-blogging site, Twitter. Members of the IPEMC rejected the suggestion to promote students of grades 9 and 11. They also gave their approval to hold the exams as scheduled in July. The minister revealed that the government will give priority to exams for grades 12 and 10 followed by grades 11 and 9. Earlier this week, during a talk show on a news network, the education minister had expressed his belief that the Covid-19 situation was improving in the country due to vaccinations and other steps taken by the government. “I am very hopeful,” he had added. While A-2 examinations were being held across the country, the minister had acknowledged that several people had voiced their demands to be awarded school assessed grades. “If examinations do not take place then no one will study — and that is why the (O/A- level) exams — that have been postponed — will be conducted in October and November,” he had said. Last week, a day after the government commenced in-person assessments for Oand A-level students ignoring protests from students over health concerns, Minister for Education Shafqat had announced the postponement of all exams until June 15 in light of a surge in new coronavirus cases. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad after a National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) meeting at the time, Mahmood had said that O- and Alevel assessments had been cancelled and would now take place in the October-November cycle. Mehmood had said that from April 18, when the last meeting of the education ministry was held, until today, the number of cases — both active and daily toll — has witnessed a surge. Thereby, the government has decided to postpone all exams. “Exams of [grades] 9, 10, 11, and 12, that were scheduled to begin at the end of May, have been further delayed,” the minister had said. “No assessments will be held until mid-June.” “We will continue analysing [the situation] and in midMay or in the third week of May, we will analyse the disease and a decision will be made whether to further postpone exams or allow them to take place,” he had said. This means that if exams are started after June 15, they could go into July and some part of August as well.” The minister had further suggested the country appears to be headed towards a complete lockdown in areas witnessing particularly high positivity ratios. Mahmood had earlier in the day conceded there were problems with the level of compliance with Covid-19 rules outside examination centres. “Permission to hold exams was conditional on strict SOP observance. As more reports have come in, it is obvious that outside the exam centres the compliance is poor,” he said. “This and the latest corona spread reports will be discussed in a special NCOC meeting in the afternoon.” The government had refused to delay exams despite the closure of schools in all neighbourhoods where the transmission rate is beyond 5 per cent. The decision to hold exams comes at a time when the country is averaging 4,000 cases per day for the last two weeks. Before the beginning of the assessments, the government had assured the protesting students that “strict implementation” of health protocols would be followed during the exams. “These are tough times, and difficult decisions have been made keeping the students’ best interest in view,” Mahmood had said. “British Council is committed to strict implementation of SOPs [standard operating procedures] and we will monitor them closely,” he added, wishing all the students taking exams his very best. Last year, Cambridge International had cancelled all exams that were scheduled to be held in the country in May and June at Islamabad’s request and in view of the pandemic.
Imran to jet off to Saudi Arabia today ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt
Prime Minister Imran Khan will touch down in Riyadh on Friday on a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia to discuss bilateral cooperation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said on Thursday. At the invitation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Imran will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and other members of the cabinet, the statement announced.
“During the visit, the prime minister’s consultations with the Saudi leadership will cover all areas of bilateral cooperation including economic, trade, investment, energy, job opportunities for Pakistani workforce, and welfare of diaspora in the kingdom,” it added. It further added that the two sides will also exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest. Reports citing people familiar with the developments suggest several Pakistani inmates will be released from prisons in Saudi Arabia during the visit.
“Several inmates will be released and brought back to Pakistan,” Pakistan’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Bilal Akbar said, explaining that a meeting would be held with the inmates and their release would be expedited with the support of Saudi authorities. In 2019, during the crown prince’s maiden official visit to Pakistan, Mohammed bin Salman, at the request of Prime Minister Imran, had ordered the release of about 2,100 prisoners from the Saudi prisons. The order, however, could not be fully executed and many workers are still feared languishing in prisons.
The fate of thousands of workers locked up in jails across the Middle East is a sensitive issue with a perception the prisoners are mostly poor labourers who have no real legal recourse. Huge numbers of people travel to the Middle East every year, with many working on construction sites or as domestic helpers. The remittances they send back are vital for the country’s dollar-starved economy. During his press announcement, Akbar also revealed that Imran would be signing three MoUs for cooperation in three sectors between the countries.
He also announced that the embassy in Riyadh would be establishing a helpline for the diaspora. “The overseas community could convey their issues on the helpline,” he said adding that a community cooperation programme would be initiated which would address issues faced by them. The visit will mark a deepening of ties between allies whose relationship has in the past centered on oil-rich Saudi Arabia backing Islamabad’s economy during difficult periods, and in return Pakistan Army lending support to the Kingdom and its royal family.
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Friday, 7 May, 2021
NEWS
three years on, tribal area still deprived of finance commission PESHAWAR: Tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) are still deprived of being the part of provincial finance commission even after three years of merger with the province, while there are also fears that the area will not be included in the finance commission next year. The local government department said that all details have been sent to the provincial government, after which the responsibility of including these areas in the provincial finance commission falls on the KP finance department. KP government releases funds to districts and tehsils across the province under the Provincial Finance Commission. Under the Provincial Finance Commission, the provincial government releases 60 per cent of funds on the basis of population, 20 per cent on the basis of poverty and 20 per cent on the basis of lack of infrastructure. The local government department source said that the population details were requested by the finance department three times and were provided on time, but so far, no progress has been made in bringing the area under the provincial finance commission. The LG department sources said that despite providing all details, in the financial years 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21 have not taken any steps in this regard and now it is feared that the tribal areas will not be included in the Finance Commission in the next financial year 2021-22 as so far, no timely step has been taken by the finance department. AZIZ BUNERI
balochistan to mark may 9 as youm-e-tauba QUETTA: The Ministry of Religious Affairs in Balochistan has declared that Ramadan 27 or May 9 will be commemorated as the day of seeking forgiveness. Clerics and religious scholars gave the government this advice. Prayers will be offered to be rid of the coronavirus. INP
man arrested outside lahore court for carrying weapon LAHORE: The Lahore police took a suspect with a gun into custody outside the sessions court Lahore on Thursday. As per details, the suspect was arrested by police from the judges’ gate at the sessions court Lahore. According to the security in charge of the court, the suspect was caught when he was trying to cross the judges’ gate. Pistol, 18 bullets were also recovered from the custody of the arrested. He was shifted to the Islampura police station for further interrogation. Earlier this year, a large cache of arms and ammunition was seized outside the main gate of the sessions court. Seven people were found carrying the arms and ammunition and subsequently, taken into custody. Kalashnikovs, five pistols, over 1,200 bullets, and 15 handgun magazines were seized from their possession. TLTP
lhc seeks govt response on petition against possession of lions LAHORE: While hearing a plea against permission to keep wild animal including lion as pet Thursday Lahore High Court (LHC) sought response from wildlife department secretary in the matter. A single-member bench of the Justice Jawad Hassan took up a petition of Sanita Gulzar who challenged Section 12 of the Punjab Wildlife (Protection, Preservation, Conservation And Management) Act, 1974. The petitioner’s counsel Salman Khan Niazi contended that the law which allows wild animals to be kept in homes as pets is ultra vires of the country’s Constitution. “The wildlife Act allows possession of wild animals, which is a violation of fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution,” the counsel argued, adding animals are meted out ill treatment in captivity. Providing wild animals their natural habitat is a fundamental right under the Constitution, he said, adding keeping them in homes is dangerous both for humans and animals. The court was pleaded to declare the law that permits possession of wild animals void. After a preliminary hearing, the court issued notices to official respondents to file their replies to the petition. TLTP
only 364 candidates pass css 2020 exam ISLAMABAD: The Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) on Thursday announced the results of the 2020 CSS written examination. As many as 18,533 candidates appeared in the examination out of which only 364 passed the examination. Maheen Hassan, a female candidate with roll number 22007, has topped the CSS 2020 on general merit. The passing percentage of the exam was only 1.96 per cent, which is less than the passing percentage of last year. The pass percentage of the exam in 2019 was 2.56pc According to FPSC, 226 male candidates and 138 female candidates passed the CSS written examinations. INP
ISLAMABAD
pm seeKs details on party losses in punJab by-polls from cm LAHORE
p
STAFF REPORT
RIME Minister Imran Khan has sought details regarding continuous defeats of the party candidates in Punjab by-elections from Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar. During a meeting with CM Buzdar in Lahore, the prime minister sought reasons behind the defeat of the party candidates in Punjab by-polls and tasked him to improve contacts with the general public. “The next budget should carry public interest development projects,” the prime minister directed him besides also calling for bringing an end to unnecessary political intervention in institutions and district administrations. “The state institutions should be in the easy approach of the public,” he said adding that the government should adopt policies that would enable the public to give priority to the PTI over any political party. PM Imran said that public interest should be among the foremost priority in development projects. “Better coordination and teamwork should be developed among the party cadres in constituencies where by-elections are conducted,” he said while lauding the
performance of the Punjab government in past two years. Sources privy to the matters discussed during the meeting said that the chief minister also conveyed
LEAs to be deployed at tourist spots during Eid holidays: NCOC ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
National Command Operation Centre (NCOC) on Thursday gave an additional task to the law enforcement authorities (LEAs) to manage entry and exit points at tourist spots during Eid holidays. In special directives issued to the National Highway Authority (NHA) and Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), the NCOC said that they should highlight banners at the toll plaza regarding the government’s decision to ban visits to tourist places during Eid holidays. The NCOC said that the provinces have also issued directives to restrict movement during holidays, besides also banning tourist spots and hotels in these areas. The LEAs have been given special responsibility at tourist spots. Earlier during the course of the day, the Provincial Task Force on Covid-19 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) decided to close all tourist spots in Pakistan’s northern areas during the Eid holidays to stem the third wave of the coronavirus. A meeting of the Task Force reviewed the prevailing Covid-19 situation in KP and took a number of decisions to prevent the spread of
the virus. Briefing the media after the meeting, KP Chief Minister’s Special Assistant on Information Kamran Bangash said Covid-19 cases registered a sharp decline due to the government’s “best strategy”. “The positivity ratio of infections is 8 per cent to 9 per cent,” he said, adding the hardest-hit districts of the province are also reporting a drop in cases. Bangash announced that all tourist spots will remain closed from May 8 to May 16. He said that the provincial government will approach the Centre seeking a ban on inter-provincial transport. Meanwhile, Sindh government has also announced closure of public transport from May 8-16.as provincial transport minister on Thursday announced closure of public transport from May 8 to 16 in Sindh. Transport Minister Awais Qadir Shah said that the inter-provincial transport, inter-city and tourist transport will be closed in the province during the said period. The decision, however, will not be enforced over the public transport within city, he added. The province had earlier requested the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) to impose a ban on inter-provincial transport.
NAB seeks closure of illegal recruitment probe against Pervaiz Elahi NEWS DESK An accountability court has summoned the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor for arguments on May 18 over closing an inquiry pertaining to illegal recruitment against Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi. Admin judge of the accountability court, Shaikh Sajjad Ahmed, heard the case. The NAB, in its petition in the court, argued that most of the accused of the illegal recruitment reference have passed away and some of them have retired. The accountability body has petitioned the court that
its chairman has ordered closure of the inquiry. It sought the court’s approval to close the inquiry against Pervaiz. Recently the accountability court had granted a plea of the NAB Lahore to close an inquiry pertaining to assets beyond means of income against Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Pervaiz. The NAB, while seeking the court’s decision, argued that no iota of evidence found against Chaudhry brothers in assets beyond income inquiries. The prosecutor stated that since no evidence of wrongdoing had been found against the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leaders in these cases, therefore, it was better to close the inquiry against them.
Shehbaz moves LHC for removal name from ECL LAHORE TLTP
PML-N President and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif Thursday invoked the jurisdiction of the Lahore High Court (LHC) seeking removal of his name from the Exit Control List (ECL). Making Ministry of Interior and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) as respondents in the matter Shehbaz submitted he was granted bail in the Ashiana-e-Iqbal and
Ramzan Sugar Mills references, after which he went abroad and flew back after four months. However, he said that the federal government has added his name to the blacklist. He further submitted that his name having been put on the blacklist is a violation of fundamental rights and requested the court to order the authorities concerned to strike his name off the blacklist. On April 23, Shehbaz was released from Kot Lakhpat Jail after the LHC granted him post-arrest bail in a money laundering case.
to the prime minister regarding groupings within the party. “The prime minister assured him of taking key decisions after the budget,” a source said.
Woman dies in alleged police torture during raid in Jhang JHANG: Preventing crime is one of the major responsibilities of Police a woman has been reported to die in result of alleged torture of cops during raid in district Jhang of Punjab province on Thursday. As per details, the cops of PS Mochiwala raided a house in Jhang in order to apprehend an accused. The police reportedly tortured the wife of the accused when she offered resistance. Later, the woman was rushed to DHQ hospital in critical condition, where she breathed her last, however, the police claimed the woman died of cardiac arrest. The heirs of the deceased woman staged a protest outside the hospital and demanded to register a case against the raiding police party. Meanwhile, a police official in Sahiwal district of the Punjab had inflicted torture on a citizen for making an emergency call on Madadgar 15 police helpline. TLTP
passenger escapes from isolation facility after testing positive at Karachi airport KARACHI: A passenger who tested positive for Covid-19 at Karachi airport a day before on Thursday ran away from the federal government-run quarantine facility. According to sources, the passenger arrived at Karachi airport from Dubai via a foreign airline’s flight. He was shifted to a federal government-run coronavirus isolation facility along with other passengers who tested positive for the deadly infection during rapid testing at the Karachi airport. On May 4, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of Pakistan rolled out new conditions for all the passengers traveling to Karachi that they take mandatory rapid Covid-19 test before exiting Jinnah International Airport. It is imposed that before exiting the airport they must determine their Covid status and upon testing positive they quarantine themselves at their own expense in a nearby airport hotel. The passengers will only be allowed to step into the city once they test negative of the novel coronavirus. The strict measures were introduced after the National Command Operation Centre (NCOC) on May 1 devised new protocols for the inbound passengers, imposing a condition of coronavirus testing at Pakistan airports. The NCOC in its handout issued said that in view of prevailing global and regional disease trends, Pakistan has decided to reduce inbound international travel from May 5 to May 20 by 20 per cent. The fresh protocols released on NCOC’s Twitter handle for the inbound passengers stated that people having Pakistani passports could return to the country and had to carry a negative PCR test report performed 72 hours before travel. Besides this, the passengers will undergo rapid coronavirus testing at the Pakistani airports and would stay in quarantine for 10 days at their homes. In case of testing positive, the passengers will have to shift to a quarantine facility, where they would be re-tested for Covid-19 on the eight-day. The guidelines stated that the passenger would bear the expense of the isolation facility and in case of testing positive for the second time, the passenger would be shifted to a hospital. TLTP
Friday, 7 May, 2021
ISLAMABAD
NEWS
FArAz crITIcISeS locAlly mAnuFAcTureD vehIcleS over Poor quAlITy iSLamaBad
A
GHULAM ABBAS
FTER terming the locally manufactured ventilators useless, Minister of Science and Technology, Senator Shibli Faraz, has also claimed that the vehicles being manufactured and assembled in the country are not as per international standards. During a meeting with officials of Pakistan Standard and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA), the minister opined that despite the ever jumping prices of local vehicles, their quality was not up to the global standard. As per sources, the minister while referring to substandard goods being prepared in the country, said that despite the skyrocketing prices of cars in the country, their safety standard and quality were far behind the one set in the international market. The minister remarked against the locally assembled vehicles at a time when he is being briefed by manufactures and assemblers of ventilators about the qual-
ity of the products as local ventilators hardly meet the standard set globally. He said there were 16 functions in ventilators but the ones being made locally have only four. Interestingly following the briefing, the minister started praising manufacturers of ventilators for their contribution. It may be recalled here that the former minister of science and technology had claimed that the ministry has framed the draft of first-ever national standards for locally produced vehicles, despite opposition from the automotive manufacturers. However, manufacturers of vehicles have termed the draft standard as “simply a list of international regulations, without facilities and implementing mechanism”. Earlier in a letter to the Ministry of Industries and Production, the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA) said that the ministry failed to process the standards in accordance with established legal and regulatory practices. PAMA, which represents the manufacturers of passenger cars, light and heavy commercial vehicles, two, three-
wheelers and farm tractors in the country, stated that the manufacturers, in fact, have never opposed the introduction of standards and that they have rather pleaded the government to bring international standards that were promised and prescribed under the Auto Policy for all the existing and the new investors. However, they said, PSQCA, an attached department of the Ministry of Science and Technology, authorised to dispense and administer the standards, was in a dilapidated state in terms of infrastructure and manpower. According to PAMA, the antiquated law gives immense powers to PSQCA where whims and arbitrariness dominate; therefore, it would be suicidal for the industry to acquiesce to such an unfair arrangement. “Please bring international standards and equip PSQCA with requisite testing facilities but deploy wellversed manpower for the real benefit to the industry and the public at large,” the letter stated. It said since PSQCA is incapable to certify products in a way that is acceptable to WP29 member countries, the gov-
ernment must devise a mechanism to ensure locally manufactured vehicles adherence with international regulations as per WP29 prescribed rules under 1958 agreement. Furthermore, the Engineering Development Board (EDB), an attached department of Ministry of Industries and Production, wanted to take the affairs into its control while on the other hand, PSQCA, wished to hold the power of enforcing standards despite the fact that both the organisations lack facilities like labs, testing centres etc. According to officials, PSQCA has a legislative mandate to develop standards to which manufacturers must conform and certify compliance. At present, no authority or department was monitoring implementation of locally manufactured car standards as these were not on PSQCA’s mandatory list. Last year, Pakistan, despite lacking the required facilities, had adopted the international safety standard regulations to ensure that the vehicles being manufactured and assembled in the country meet the global standard.
continued from page 01 On Tuesday, Consulate General of Pakistan, Los Angeles and Ministry of Commerce of Pakistan with senior executives of a few Pakistani companies had held a seminar to apprise participants about what sort of opportunities will be available to local businesses to sell products and how derive maximum benefit from the online retail giant.
continued from page 01
On the directions of President Dr Arif Alvi, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will clear the cheques of the business community on Friday. The request to this effect was made by President of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mian Tariq Misbahur Rehman during a meeting with President Alvi in Islamabad. On this, the President contacted the SBP governor who assured to clear cheques of the business community on Friday. The step will help ensure disbursement of salaries to the private sector ahead of Eidul Fitr. NEWS DESK
LaHore TLTP
Legal instruments become valid when having stamp duty in order to generate revenue and making the document legal in evidence for which Punjab government has decided to introduce registration process of properties on white paper in the province. A member of the Board of Revenue Babar Hayat Tarar disclosed that the registration of properties will be completed on white paper by placing three barcodes on it. The decision will be made effective across Punjab this year. For the purpose the Punjab government Thursday decided to end stamp papers which will shift the registration process of properties on white paper. Tarar added that the provincial government will save more than Rs1 billion after ending stamp papers, whereas, the officer will also mention the transfer of the assets while completing the registry. He informed that the provincial authorities issued order to shift all patwarkhanas to the government buildings, whereas, those defaulters of agriculture income tax, Abiana (water cess) and others will be arrested. The board of revenue officer also told that jails will be established in each tehsil where tax defaulters will be imprisoned for up to 15 days. He added that the tax recovery system has improved in Punjab and efforts underway to further enhance it.
President Arif Alvi on Thursday announced a special remission of 90 days in sentences of the prisoners on the occasion of Eidul Fitr. A special remission of 90 days is for all convicts except those convicted of heinous crimes including murder, espionage, robbery, dacoity, abduction, anti-state acts and terrorist activities. Earlier on May 4, a session of the federal cabinet chaired by the prime minister had approved 90-day remission to the prisoners on the occasion of Eid. Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed has said that the remission would not be applicable to inmates facing terrorism and murder charges, other heinous crimes and those who are facing corruption cases. NEWS DESK
Imran says govt working to control inequality
SBP to clear cheques of business community on Friday
Punjab government decides to end stamp papers
President Dr Alvi grants special remission in sentences for prisoners
Amazon adds Pakistan to approved sellers list
The project is being finalised in collaboration with the Punjab government and Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority. The prime minister also virtually inaugurated the work on different sites at Chiniot, Dera Ghazi Khan, Chunian, Khanewal, Khushab, Mandi Bahauddin, Mianwali, Jalalpur Pirwalla, and Sargodha. The residential colonies consisting of 100 to 500 housing units will be constructed in the suburbs of cities and rural areas of the province. The land for this purpose will be provided through the Board of Revenue Punjab at an affordable price. The Board of Revenue (BoR) has identified 133 sites in 35 districts of Punjab. The Punjab government has been provided funds under the first phase for the development of land and infrastructure on these sites. While the federal government is providing subsidies on each housing unit whereas is also making mortgage arrangements under the prime minister’s markup subsidy scheme. The Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) and National Logistic Cell (NLC) will prepare these sites and construct small housing units of 952 square feet each. These sites will have an expansion facility under which 4,000 houses could be added to these sites. As a progressive project, it will be expanded to 143 tehsils of Punjab province under different phases.
05
LAHORE: Ferozsons Laboratories salutes healthcare heroes by lighting national monuments blue. PR
PM Imran announces funeral grant for overseas Pakistanis iSLamaBad TLTP
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday approved funeral grant for overseas Pakistanis to help them “bury their loved ones with dignity”. In a tweet from his official handle on Thursday, the premier said fund of Rs25,000 will be disbursed by the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) to the needy diaspora. “Our govt is moving forward in service delivery for overseas Pakistanis. Funeral grant of PKR 25,000 has been approved to be given from @opf_pk [OPF]. Amount will be given to help the needy and destitute amongst
our diaspora to bury their loved ones with dignity. More facilities to follow,” he announced in a tweet. Announcement comes a day after PM Imran publically castigated Pakistani missions abroad for showing “indifferent attitude” toward Pakistanis living abroad particularly in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. He also urged the envoys to give preferential treatment to those who haven't seen their families for six to eight months and are working abroad. "They spend hefty amount but there is a lack of compassion from your end... serve them properly... they're the force this country is running on." Remittances from Pakistani
workers employed abroad exceeded $2 billion for the 10th consecutive month in March at $2.7 billion — up 43 per cent from a year earlier. Workers’ remittances increased 43% to $2.72 billion in March, 2021 compared to $1.90 billion in the same month of previous year. Inflows were 20% higher compared to February 2021, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported. “The love and commitment of overseas Pakistanis to Pakistan is unparalleled. You sent over $2 billion for 10 straight months despite Covid, breaking all records… We thank you,” PM Imran had said on his official Twitter handle.
Pakistan, Turkmenistan agree to enhance bilateral economic, trade cooperation iSLamaBd STAFF REPORT
Pakistan and Turkmenistan have agreed to enhance bilateral economic and trade cooperation in different potential sectors for broadening the trade connectivity between both sides. The agreement came in the second meeting of Pak-Turkmenistan Joint Working Group on Trade held virtually in Islamabad on Thursday. The meeting was co-chaired by Additional Secretary Ministry of Commerce Pakistan Humair Karim and Head of Department of Foreign Economic Relations Turkmenistan Merdan Annagulyyev. In his remarks the Additional Secretary said that Pakistan and Turkmenistan have long standing diplomatic and commercial relations and Pakistan attaches great importance to its relations with Turkmenistan. Humair shared the vision of the government, to make Pakistan a trade, transit and trans-shipment hub. He also highlighted the importance of Pakistan as a hub for investment due to its access to world markets and ease of doing business policies.
Govt committed to empower underprivileged women: Tarin iSLamaBad STAFF REPORT
Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said Thursday the government is firmly committed to pro-poor agenda and supports economic empowerment of the under-privileged women through Ehsaas safety net. He was speaking at a meeting to finalize modalities for disbursement of targeted subsidies in Islamabad on Thursday, adding primary objective of Ehsas safety net is poverty alleviation, socio-economic uplift and financial inclusion of women from marginalized sections of the society.
SAPM on Social Protection Alleviation briefed the meeting about different proposals which are under consideration for replacing the untargeted subsidies with the targeted ones in compliance with the directives of the Prime Minister to facilitate the under-privileged with more focused and extended coverage. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Tarin has said the government is taking all stakeholders on board for evolving consensus and coming up with innovative ideas to overcome economic challenges. He was talking to vice president of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of
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Pakistan, Ashfaq Tola, who called on him in Islamabad today to present proposals on “Model Federal Budget 21-22”. They discussed the proposals by the ICAP team for the economic growth and development of the country. The ICAP Vice president briefed the minister about the sector-wise budget proposals prepared by the Advisory Committee of the ICAP for the first time. He felicitated the finance minister on assuming new responsibilities and extended invite to be a chief guest at ICAP webinars and also presented the coffee table book on the occasion.
on
Friday, 7 May, 2021
06 COMMENT
The tool and the target
A costly lockdown Will only slow down the spread of the pandemic
Daffodils must be trimmed
F
INALLY, the PTI government has decided to do what had been an anathema to it for long. The NCOC is going to impose a weeklong full lockdown In Punjab and KP which are ruled by the PTI as well as in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) from May 8 to May16 . The NCOC was forced to take the decision after other methods including personal appeals by the PM, CMs and health department officials failed to persuade most of the population to follow the Covid-19 protocol. The measures could not be fully enforced through fines on individuals and forcible closure of business premises violating the code. The third Covid-19 wave emerging in the first week of March turned out to be more fast spreading and deadly than the two earlier ones leading to more than 5,000 new infections and over 100 fatalities every day for the past many weeks. Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and AJK are the worst affected. It has been decided to close most business activities and all parks and public entertainment facilities. Intercity and intracity transport too will be discouraged. Police, Rangers and army personnel will be deployed at the check posts to enforce the restrictions. The main reason why PM Imran Khan was opposed to a full lockdown was his concern for the indigent with no money to store food and therefore likely to go hungry. It’s time to mobilise the much talked about but yet to be seen in action ‘million-strong’ Corona Relief Tiger Force (CRTF) announced last year by the PM with great fanfare for providing coronavirus-related relief and to help meet other social challenges. The real challenge is to urgently inoculate all above 18 years. The vaccination drive started late because of the government’s failure to make timely purchase of the pandemic shots. What is more, the vaccination process has been slow. The preventive measures that are being adopted can only slow down the spread of Covid-19, at the loss of millions of man hours and damage to the economy. What can end the pandemic is universal vaccination leading to herd immunity.
At Penpoint M A NIAZI
T
he Pakistan Tehreek Insaf (PTI) is not really a revolutionary party, but it is in danger of carrying out one of the most consistent characteristics of revolutionary parties, destroying its own. This is shown by the cases of Jehangir Tareen and Bashir Memon. Do Tareen’s constant appeals for fair treatment indicate an insider’s knowledge of the real mindset of PTI chief Imran Khan, or are they the simple pleas of a citizen who knows how unfair the state can be when it comes down to rooting out and destroying opponents of the government. It is worth noting that Memon was not asked to target Tareen, according to what he himself said. The PTI may not really be a revolutionary party, because it does not have an external ideology which it wishes to promote. however, it does have certain characteristics of a fascist party, as it came to power through an election, not a revolution, but there again, it would be inclined to a process of consuming its own. Pakistan’s own experience was with the PPP, which saw the elimination of party ideologue J.A. Rahim, and of leftist leader Meraj Muhammad Khan, in the early years of the Bhutto government. It should be remembered that Bhutto ignored the multiple crises he faced, like the peace negotiations with India, constitution-making, the oil shock and the consequent economic crisis, and took on that, created by purging the party. Imran Khan has shown a willingness to throw followers under the bus if he develops a dislike, and this has grown to look like what has happened soon after a Revolution succeeds. The template is the French Revolution. Those who carried out the Revolution were themselves destroyed in the Great Terror. One of the most prominent victims was Georges Danton, who was a member of a ruling triumvirate with Maximilien Robespierre. Robespirre engineered that execution, but was later himself executed. It is worth noting that Robespierre prided himself on his honesty, accusing Danton of illegal accumulation of wealth. Tareen is not accused of corruption, but he is accused of economic crimes. They have begun to come unraveled, as the FIA is deciding he is not guilty. It is not easy to see Imran as Robespierre, nor Tarin as Danton, who was by all accounts an ugly man, though blessed with a loud voice. The next stage was that of military rule, through the coup of 18 Brumaire by Napoleon Boanparte, hence the word ‘Bonapartism’. Throughout the 19th century, especially under the influence of Karl Marx, the French Revolution was taken as the exemplar. The Revolutions of 1830, 1848 and 1870 were regarded as incomplete, and it is not until the Russian revolution of 1917 that there is another
Khushab by-election The economic shambles is costing the PTI
T
he PML(N) victory in the Khushab by-election for the provincial constituency could have been predicted, for not only did the party win the seat in the general election, but it had given the by-election ticket to the son of the deceased MPA. however, the PTI could also have been expected to win the seat, for not only did the provincial party in the past manage to achieve by-election victories, but by-election defeats for the PTI have been occurring with depressing regularity. All that the Khushab by-election showed was that the PTI has been unable to expand its appeal, at least not in the arid land of Nurpur Thal, where there is great poverty and great underdevelopment. More worrisome for the PTI would be the losses that have come within a month, consisting of defeats on seats it had vacated. Let alone gain seats from the opposition, the government shows that it is unable to retain those that it previously held. This does not bode well for the party’s performance in the next general election, due by 2023, especially since the PTI had won the latest general election after making wild promises of lower tax and utility-bill burdens, and a plethora of jobs and houses. Instead, there has been devaluation, inflation and higher bills. The ordinary man feels pushed from pillar to post. he is not impressed by the supposed achievements of the regime, like the improvement in the balance of payments, focusing on the price he pays for wheat and sugar. The new Finance Minister has spoken of the need, and his intention, to renegotiate the agreement with the IMF, and is making all the right noises about power tariffs and taxes. Whether there is enough time for the new Finance Minister’s measures to make a difference is moot, especially since, in merely two and a half years, so much accumulated damage has been inflicted upon the economy that it will be an uphill task to put the economy on the kind of highgrowth trajectory required The lessons of not just the Khushab by-election, but that all the recent spate, is that there might be terrible punishment by the electorate of economic mismanagement.
MuhAMMAd AZAM KhAN
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T around 0540 hours GMT on March 23 last, a Panama-flagged 200,000-tonne 400metre-long cargo container carrier MV Ever Given ran aground in the Suez Canal. It clogged one of the world’s busiest waterways. Longer than four football fields and wedged across the egyptian-administered Canal, the vessel caused a traffic jam on both ends. The Ever Given, registered in Panama and operated by the shipping company Evergreen, was bound for the port city of Rotterdam in Netherlands. It commenced its sea voyage from China and was passing northwards through the Canal on its way to the Mediterranean Sea. The Suez Canal supports over 12 per cent of global trade and provides the shortest link between Asia and europe. It is a 205 metre-wide Canal with a depth of 24 metres. On an average, 51 ships transit the 120 mile long passage every day. The Ever Given incident was nothing short of a nightmare for a world reeling from the crippling economic pain imposed by the covid-19 pandemic. By March 27 the blocking of the international waterway had caused the amassing of over 300 ships at both ends of the Suez Canal. The jam delayed vital cargo consignments to various international destinations. Of particular importance were oil and liquefied natural gas shipments from the Middle east to europe. In the process, egypt was losing between $12-14 million in revenue each day. Lloyd’s list said ‘the blockage was holding up an estimated $9.6 billion worth of cargo every day between Asia and europe’. The alternate choice for shipping sans Suez is long, expensive and tedious voyage. It involves a de-
Editor Joint Editor
Umar Aziz Executive Editor
Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965
The writer is a member of staff.
The pandemic and the Suez blockage showed how important is uninterrupted shipping
Arif Nizami
Managing Editor
Jahangir Tareen showed that he had friends within the party, that it was not simply a platform for Imran. Also, previous examples are of leaders who are not beholden to anyone. If someone who owes any institution his position, anyone with independent links will be in danger
Pandemic and the maritime commonsWages of globalization?
Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami
Yousaf Nizami Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad
example. The Bolsheviks attained power under Lenin, and after he died in 1924, the party General Secretary, Stalin, assumed more and more power, ultimately ousting Leon Trotsky, who had defended the Revolution from the reactionaries and restorationists (this was called the Thermidorian Reaction, in a tip of the hat to the French Revolution) as the Defence Commissar. Again, Tareen does not really fit into the role of Trotsky, and Imran does not really look the part of a Stalin. even fascists got into the act. hitler came to power in 1933 after winning the election. It was not until July 1934 that the ‘Night of the Long Knives’ took place, in which hitler suppressed the SA, and had its head, ernst Röhm, killed. Röhm had two problems; first, hitler suspected him of harbouring the desire to replace him, and second, the Army didn’t like him. hitler at that point had not got control of the Army, but was working very hard to get it. he had many sympathizers within the German armed forces, but he always insisted on being in charge. Tareen is not an Army man, but he has generally got on well with the military. Before going into the PTI, he was in the PML(Q), and a minister in the Jamali and Shaukat Aziz cabinets. Imran might have quoted hitler as an example of a leader who became great because of his U-turns, but he hardly resembles him. If Bashir Memon’s allegations are correct, then Imran may well have some of that hitlerian intolerance of criticism that converted him from an elected Chancellor to a dictatorial Fuehrer. Perhaps more worrying is the quality of political leadership that has gathered around him. Law Minister Farogh Nasim and PM’s Adviser Shehzad Akbar seem less like democratic leaders than like Dieter heydrich and heinrich himmler as they pumped hitler against Röhm. Memon may have resisted, but he is now retired. Imran is likely to find police officers who will be more compliant, as Masood Mehmood was for Z.A. Bhutto. A nearer example both in time and place is that of Abolhassan Banisadr, the first President of Iran, who clashed with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in yet another example of a Revolution consuming itself. Others of this kind, though, are associated with the Chinese Revolution. It should not be forgotten that the Kuomintang had originally been a member of the Comintern, the Communist International founded by the
USSR to replace the Second International. The Comintern stood for bringing world revolution, and the Kuomintang joined, not so much because it was Marxist as anti-imperialist. It had to leave after the founding of the Communist Party of China, and fought a civil war with it; that ended with the October Revolution, the CPC’s victory and the Kuomintang fleeing to Taiwan. The revolutions before the French, that in America less than two decades earlier, and that in the UK a century before that, provide some instructive examples: while till none of the makers of the American Revolution were hounded, it should be noted that not only did Oliver Cromwell remove all possible rivals, but in 1653 imposed what is known as the Rule of the Major Generals, with Great Britain divided into 11 districts, each under a major general. This experience of military put the British off it till today. The American Revolution immediately began a process of elections that continued till now. Founding Fathers were eliminated by the electorate, not one another. And certainly, while George Washington proved the adage that ‘all the world loves a soldier’, he submitted to an electoral process to win over his opponents, not takeover. It is difficult see Imran as George Washington, or Tarin as Chiang Kaishek, but it should not be forgotten that Imran probably does not have as much control over the levers over the state as is needed to carry out a thorough purge. The saving grace of this reform is its lack of ideology. There is an abiding belief that there need be an end to corruption, but that comes in conflict with the freedoms of the citizen. In all the examples mentioned above, control over the military was essential. No one used the military as an instrument, but its quiescence was first assured. Not only did Stalin get rid of Trotsky, but he also smashed the Soviet high command in the Great Purge of 1936-38. The fundamental problem is that the leader cannot be seen as beholden to anyone, let alone a charismatic leader. Being a rival is dangerous, but even being owed anything is too. A political leader also needs the assurance of being superior. Apart from everything else, Stalin disliked Trotsky because he was bright. Stalin had been at pains to prove his own pretensions. Jahangir Tarin showed that he had friends within the party, that it was not simply a platform for Imran. Also, previous examples are of leaders who are not beholden to anyone. If someone who owes any institution his position, anyone with independent links will be in danger. The problem is finding the right instruments. As Bashir Memon showed, they can refuse. But as Masood Mufti showed so many years ago, they can be found.
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tour of some 8900 km round the Cape of Good hope on the southern tip of Africa. The entire episode was a reminder of powerful words of 19th century American naval officer and historian Alfred Mahan. he described the sea as a “great highway”, a “wide commons” with several “chokepoints”, control of which contributed to Great Britain’s command of the seas. his emphasisis was that the ‘significance of sea power lies in its ability to control sea lanes, as well as the critical geographical nodes that can facilitate or impede the flow of commercial and naval shipping.’ Indeed, for much of human history, narrow maritime passages and chokepoints (nodes) have been the most contested battlegrounds for control and dominance. Much against Mackinder’s heartland theory, for Mahan, “control of sea equalled command of the world”. Since the 1980s, globalisation has led to increasing interdependency and interconnectivity. In terms of both value and volume, over 90 percent of the intercontinental cargo is transported today via sea underpinned by well-established sea lanes (maritime highways, quickest and most economical routes between two points). The bulk of this cargo is shipped in containers which come in standard sizes of 20-foot and 40-foot called TeUs (Tonnes equivalent Units). Over the past two decades there has been an exponential increase in the number of containers that could be loaded on commercial ships (largest up to 24,000 TeUs). Ever Given had the capacity to carry nearly 20,000 20-foot containers. Globalisation has greatly enhanced diversification with supply chains running across the world. IPhone for instance, relies on Apple’s manufacturing network. It straddles 49 countries; Pfizer a vaccine champion has over 500 suppliers. All these operations are supply chain dependent. Supply chains are dependent on world shipping. Yet the world has lately witnessed some terribly un-
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predictable consequences of globalization. Global sea commerce got severely disrupted as the coronavirus pandemic struck. The majority of the sea consignments arrived late at destinations as more and more crew on board large and small commercial ships fell victim to pandemic. Port workers across the world got infected slowing down processing of inter-modal (sea to land and vice versa) transportation. Scores of ships with laden cargo, fossil fuels and other goods waited at anchorages. More recently, containerised trade has seen record high rates caused by the covid-19 pandemic and subsequent shuttering of large parts of the global economy. And of course, we lately had the incident of Ever Green. All this has been enough to send tremors in world economic capitals. Globalization had led mankind to think the world has moved beyond the savagery of war. On the contrary globalization has heightened rivalries. From Yemen and Sudan to Iraq and Afghanistan, to Ukraine, the world is fraught with perils. Will globalization survive another pandemic? Is the world inching towards reduced dependency and rolling back the vast network of supply chains? These and similar questions will continue to be debated in times ahead. But what ought to be remembered is this: the Maritime Doctrine of Pakistan issued by th Pakistan Navy in December 2018 identifies four critically important access waterways (chokepoints): the Suez Canal (egypt), Bab-el-Mandeb (Djibouti-Yemen), the Strait of hormuz (Iran-Oman), and the Strait of Malacca (Indonesia-Malaysia). The fate of the world power politics and security in this century will largely hinge on these four critical geographic nodes. The author is an independent maritime and maritime security researcher and can be reached at mazamkhan54@gmail.com
Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk
Friday, 7 May, 2021
COMMENT 07 Editor’s mail Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively
Ramzan and preparation of Eid during Covid-19
India is living through the Justinian I Era The present situation resembles Byzantium when it experienced its first plague
Shazia Cheema
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rom the start of the CoVID-19 outbreak, South Asia was a less affected area as compared to Europe and the USA. Something called herd immunity was being discussed as the core reason for the stronger immune system of the people of Pakistan and India, meaning thereby that our over-exposure to germs and unhealthy conditions made our immune system ready for any viral or bacterial attack. Health officials were considering that a blessing in disguise because the health infrastructure of India and Pakistan were not capable of dealing with any massive outbreak. Especially India, being enormously populous and not having an ideal health infrastructure, could have experienced massive death tolls if the pandemic was not contained and restricted properly. Precaution was considered the sole key to lock the havoc of the pandemic. Due to the high poverty rate, all businesses could not be shut down, which was why Pakistan introduced partial or smart lockdowns. Standard operating procedures (SoPs) were made and implemented. However having similar economic and social conditions India introduced a biased lockdown. Lockdowns for all opposition activities, and recess for all those who are in favour of the BJP government. Let me recall for you the first-ever documented epidemic of history. Justinian, I is often credited as the most influential Byzantine emperor, but his reign also coincided with one of the first well-documented outbreaks of plague. The pandemic is believed to have originated in Africa and then spread to Europe through infected rats on merchant ships. It reached the Byzantine capital of Constantinople in 541 AD and was soon claiming up to 10,000 lives a day—so many that unburied bodies were eventually stacked inside buildings or left in the open. That havoc triggered the idea of segregation of scourge from the healthy population. Areas were designated far outside of habitats
and dead as well those alive but near to death were dumped there. No humanists or the civil rights activists of the time considered that inappropriate. Health officials wearing pointed masks had full authority to drag anybody suspected of sickness, and transport him or her to the dumping site. History was repeated in 1347, when a virulent strain of plague invaded Europe from the East, most likely via Italian sailors returning home from Crimea. This “Black Death” would eventually spend half a decade tearing across the continent. The similar practice of isolating the sick from healthy by dumping was repeated, until 1377 when the idea of isolation and humanity intertwined in the form of the Quarantine. The dead were being buried in separate cemeteries, and the alive and sick were put into a livable quarantine arrangement. The point to be considered here is quarantine arrangements. For developing economies, it could be a scary challenge. Setting up entire new facilities equipped to care foor and cure the pandemic affected is a costly project, which is why all developing countries are trying to avoid that situation by the implementation of base-level SoPs such as restraining social gathering, closing all venues that could possible hamper social distancing, shutting down school and colleges, allowing the work from home option, and so on. But history has witnessed that it is useless to say that history can teach lessons. The BJP government organized massive political rallies and ran a full-fledged election campaign in the time of an epidemic, and of course that converted covid-19 intothe Black Death for the Indian population. The famous Kumbh Festival of millions was also allowed to happen without acknowledging that a poor country will only have the option prescribed by antiquity of dumping their sick helpless on roads and burring their dead at any available empty place, like parks, parking areas, or even roadsides. Indian hospitals are out of medicine, oxygen, and ventilators, they are not letting affected ones enter the hospital premises because they have nothing to offer. People are running in panic in search of oxygen but it is not available even on the black market.
If the BJP would have thought of anything else besides winning and coming into power again the situation would have been different. The makeshift quarantine arrangements must have been made, oxygen which was sold to other countries last year must have been stored for their own people, at least the pain of death could be minimized. The West Bengal chief justice remarked the situation was a pre-planned murder. But who has played this homicide of millions of innocent civilians? A heated blame game is brewing in India and no one is ready to acknowledge that this is not the time to discuss who to blame, rather it is a time to understand the modus operandi of criminals. Since when it is more important to remain in power by killing those over whom you want to exercise your power, why it was necessary to gather a huge crowd for political rallies, even transporting people from less affected small towns and villages to big cities. Poor villagers, unknowingly just for a few rupees, got ready to become part of the political shows and now they are going back and taking the ailment with them to their family and friends. How come the BJP government was unaware of the fact that there was a medicine and oxygen shortage in the country prior to the political campaign? And the most important of all who allow the BJP government to repeat the primitive brutality of leaving sick one to die painfully on the streets? Now dealing with self-created chaos, the BJP government is introducing new civil laws to handle the condition. For this very situation, one should remember a famous quotation of the roman historian, politician, and philosopher Publius who says: “When the state is most corrupt, then laws are most multiplied”.
Let me recall for you the first-ever documented epidemic of history. Justinian, I is often credited as the most influential Byzantine emperor, but his reign also coincided with one of the first welldocumented outbreaks of plague. The pandemic is believed to have originated in Africa and then spread to Europe through infected rats on merchant ships.
The writer heads the DND Thought Center. She did her MA in Cognitive Semiotics from Aarhus University Denmark and is currently registered as a Ph.D. Scholar of Semiotics and Philosophy of Communication at Charles University Prague. She tweets @ShaziaAnwerCh and can be reached at shaziaanwer@yahoo.com
THE Covid-19 pandemic has affected the lives of people around the world. The ways in which people conduct their daily routine activities have changed. moreover, even religious practices and festivals, which have traditionally been a time of celebration and meeting with people, have become muted since the past two years. Same is true of ramzan and Eid. As was the case last year, this year too governments around the world have imposed guidelines and restrictions to avoid large gatherings of people to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the population. Slowly, but surely, people have become used to these guidelines. At the same time, many prefer to ignore these rules, putting the safety of many others at risk. With restrictions on dining in first, and later even on dining out, people have very little options for food this ramzan. A few years ago, restaurants across cities would offer exciting deals, iftar buffets and even sehri meals to cater to the need for people to go out and enjoy ramzan meals with their family. All of that has changed as the restaurants initially offered dining out facilities in open spaces, such as on the rooftop or in a closed lane. However, most have now shifted to home deliveries and take-aways. People can still enjoy these meals within the safety of their homes. restaurants can also stay in business and pay the salaries of their staff. In ramzan, people become more observant of prayers, recitation of the Holy Quran, and zikr. As a result, mosques become filled with people trying to increase their blessings during the holy month. But with social distancing becoming the norm, fewer people are allowed to enter mosques, even for taraweeh prayers, which are a highlight of ramzan. As a result, people have organized smaller groups to perform taraweeh prayers while taking care of social distancing norms. The practice of organizing Quran Khawanis and dars groups in homes and mosques has also been reduced as people practice individual worship most of the time. People are spending even more time and money on ration drives and other charitable work to help those who have been affected the most by the pandemic. In anticipation of Eid, the festivities have also been curtailed as the governments have enforced strict guidelines for shopping areas and large gatherings. Instead of doing their Eid shopping from malls and busy markets, people are now preferring to shop online as many stores are offering home deliveries of not only clothes, but also jewelry, shoes, and all the things that make Eid exciting. Salons and beauty parlors have introduced home services where they send their staff to the client’s home for styling their hair, applying beautiful mehndi designs and even getting their Eid makeup done. M UMar Farooq LaHorE
Rights and responsibilities A responsibility is a duty you should do, such as doing your own work. A good citizen always does such things which make his country proud. You can also be a good citizen by respecting others opinions and rights. A good citizen always pays his taxes fully, honestly and promptly. He always follows rules obediently which are set by the government. A good and responsible citizen always knows the complexities of problems his country is going through and makes solutions for that. He also takes care of his neighbors too by sharing problems and happiness with them. Besides that you can make your friends group and make your country clean and green by putting trash in dustings and by planting more trees. You should donate to local animal shelters near you and help those people who are homeless. Some of the students think that they have only one responsibility of studying No! They have responsibilities too. Whatever you have learned in your school, college, university or wherever you go. You should convey that knowledge to those people of your country who don’t know about that or to those who are not educated. These days we have one more responsibility. I have seen and heard about some people that are CoVID positive but they don’t tell anybody about that they have met before because they get scared about thinking of isolation. Being a responsible citizen if you are CoVID positive please tell those people you have met before so that they can also get their testing done. aFIa IrSHaD TUNIo KaracHI
Get vaccinated I just want to draw the attention of the concerned authorities on the rising queries of public on the authenticity of covid-19 vaccine. It is to be mentioned that for now when we have hit by the severely third wave of virus, still a large number of people don’t believe on the existence of corona, this non serious attitude of such people is also somewhere the reason for the rapid increase in the cases. Those who don’t take it serious they should have to look at the condition of India nowadays, oxygen is rare, thousands of people are dying in a single day, hospitals are full of Covid patients. They should look at their condition and thought that if they don’t want this situation to be happened in our country and they want to be safe they should follow sop’s strictly and got themselves vaccinated as soon as possible. In our country the vaccination has been started and a number of people get vaccinated. The health authorities should have to speed up the vaccination process so that the more and more people get them vaccination and we should control the increasing cases shortly. So, it is the time for the nation to be fully serious on coronavirus and trust on the vaccine as it is for our safety from the deadly virus. MaDIHa ZUbaIr KaracHI
Impacts of smoking
I want to draw the attention of higher authorities that in our society cigarette smoking is increasing. Not only elders but youth is also involved in this bad habit. Children of age 15 to 16 years also smoke which effect their health. It can damage lungs, causes cancer, heart disease, problems of immune system and other chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. So the higher authorities are requested to take necessary action against this and make sure that tobacco is not easily available in the market to save our youth from the bad influences of smoking. Iqra SHaIKH KaracHI
Friday, 7 May, 2021
08 WORLD VIEW
IndIa’s COvId-19 pandemIC rages THE NATION’S RAGING PANDEMIC OWES MUCH TO SOCIAL AND GOVERNMENTAL FACTORS
City JourNal
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GUy SORmAn
OVID-19 is an opportunistic animal: it rushes through open doors and never forces those that are closed. When all access is denied—by social distancing and masks, isolation, or the vaccine—the virus disappears. The pandemic reflects our behaviors, and the statistics reveal less about the lethality of the virus than about our will to block its path. A world map of the pandemic is thus like a photograph of our individual and collective cultures, of our dominant discourses, and of the policies that influence and even determine our attitudes in the face of the illness.
Current attention is focused on India, traditionally a country of grand catastrophes, where the pandemic is raging. We would like to believe that the Indians are victims only of new Covid variants that are more contagious, more deadly, and resistant to the vaccines. But this would appear to be too simple an explanation. The violence of the pandemic is extraordinarily variable from one Indian state to another. Consider the state of Kerala in the south (35 million inhabitants), where the number of infections and of deaths per capita is not dramatically different from some Western european nations. The same goes for the vaccine rate: 17 percent of the population in Kerala has received at least one dose, for example, compared with 22 percent in France. But in Uttar Pradesh, in the center of the country, the vaccination rate is 1 percent. The rate for the whole country is only around 7 percent, while India is by volume the no. 1 producer of vaccines in the world. The observer is left to count cremations, the number of which has risen at a dizzying rate; the result is that the number of victims by states is far greater than the official numbers, in which
no Indian has the least confidence. How do we explain that Kerala’s situation is more comparable with europe’s than with the rest of India? Traditionally it is a well-governed state with a competent elite, composed initially of the Maharajas, then of parties that call themselves social democratic but would be the equivalent of the Democrats in the United States. The population of Kerala is entirely literate, its men and women benefit from the same rights, and it is wellserved by reputable hospitals and clinics. Three great religions—Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity—are found there in about equal numbers; Kerala avoids the escalation of sectarian strife common in the rest of India. For all these reasons, the virus confronts obstacles in Kerala that do not exist in the rest of the country, even as the same variants circulate there as around the country. If variants are not the dispositive factor, then why is the pandemic more vicious elsewhere? First, there is the civilization factor. Indians are ferocious individualists. every Indian is a dissident, said V. S. naipaul. At the other end of Asia, a Korean does not
Biden’s Afghanistan withdrawal is part of a better strategy
need to be forced to wear a mask; he will do it spontaneously, because Koreans are so inclined. In India, the opposite is the case. On a map of the world, and even within each country, mask-wearing and other precautionary measures exactly reflect the degree of individualism, of anarchy or of social conformism—and the virulence of the pandemic by locality derives from this. Of course, the government’s approach is an additional and decisive factor. All things considered, nothing delights the virus more than governmental inconsistency; recall the initial politics of denial on the part of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson. Unfortunately for India, Prime Minister narendra Modi chose denial. This is surprising, since, when he was first elected in 2014, he was considered rational and favorable to his country’s scientific, economic, and social progress. The exercise of power has turned him into an autocrat who falsifies statistics on inflation, economic growth, and now Covid. He is obsessed with the exercise of absolute power from one election to the next, and with the elimination of the historic rival party, the
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appreciate James L. Creighton’s long career in military service including his many years in Afghanistan. I can understand his concern for the fate of the local people he worked with should the Taliban make substantial gains in the wake of the planned U.S. military pullout in September. Though I did not serve in uniform, during my decades working on defense and foreign policy issues in Washington I also met with many Afghans whose futures worry me as well. In particular, I think of the members of the northern Alliance who had fought both the Soviets and the Taliban, and who had rallied to the United States when it first intervened to retaliate for the 9/11 terrorist attacks launched from Afghanistan. Yet, I favor withdrawal this year, as I have in past years, because the costly occupation of the country for twenty years was a mistake in strategy from the start. Afghanistan has had a sad and troubled recent history, as Creighton recounts. Ten years of resistance against the Soviets and their puppet regime, followed by a brutal civil war over who would take control after the Soviets withdrew. Millions have died or been displaced. But the United States did not intervene to stop this carnage or to build schools and hospitals. It intervened, and will withdraw, for its own reasons. After the Soviets left (and became defunct) there was no longer a strategic value to this poor, remote land. The Taliban were winning the civil war when they unwisely aligned with Al Qaeda. This terrorist group had larger plans than control of Afghanistan. It launched the 9/11 attack on America as part of its fear campaign to drive the United States out of the Middle east. When the Taliban rejected President George W. Bush’s ultimatum to turn over al-Qaeda members, the United States retaliated against both groups, driving them out of Afghanistan. At that point, America had accomplished its main mission of punishing the conspirators, though it would not fully claim victory until al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed by navy SeALs in Pakistan in 2011. Ironically, Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader who sought to
protect bin Laden, died of natural causes in Pakistan in 2013. Creighton argues that a U.S. withdrawal will risk Afghanistan again becoming an anti-Western terrorist haven. Afghanistan, however, is far from being the only place terrorists can use to launch attacks on the American homeland. The Fund for Peace has been compiling an annual Fragile State Index for the past fifteen years. Its 2020 report places Afghanistan ninth on its list. nigeria, plagued by Boko Haram, is fourteenth. Pakistan rates twenty-fifth, Libya is twentieth, and Syria is fourth. The number of places that could harbor jihadists is very large. The global map shows an arc of crisis, extending from Central Asia through the Middle east into Africa. The Islamic State, which inspired terrorist attacks in America and europe, did not originate in Afghanistan. The United States cannot possibly occupy every trouble spot around the globe. And, indeed, it has not fought the war on terrorism by trying to do so. Afghanistan has not been the model. It has been a case study of lessons to be avoided. It is now time for class to be dismissed since our strategists have made every mistake in the book. Given the radical nature of the Taliban and their record of harsh rule, they may well turn Afghanistan into a terrorist haven, but the focus of their violence will likely be against regional enemies rather than America. The Taliban want the United States to leave. They know from experience that attacks against its homeland will only bring it back with a vengeance. They do not want to repeat 9/11 because of what it cost them. Some years ago, I spent an afternoon in new Delhi meeting with a group of retired senior members of India’s military and intelligence communities. A central topic was Afghanistan. The Indians were adamant that the Taliban must not be allowed to take over the country. Unfortunately, after making a strong case for India’s security interests in Afghanistan, the Indians made their pitch: the United States must continue its role as the lead military power in the war-torn country. India would “support” continued intervention and nation-building by Washington but did not offer to participate in combat operations (though they did have some Afghan civil projects). This highlighted the basic problem;
America has spent twenty years of blood and treasure fighting on the far side of the planet against what is only a very low-level threat to its security. Meanwhile, local powers have taken a back seat even though they have much more at stake. The United States and India have been drawing closer. new Delhi’s alignment with Japan, Australia, and the United States in the Quad provides a powerful basis for stability in the IndoPacific. It also demonstrates what is most important in today’s world, great power competition and cooperation. The United States has wasted a trillion dollars at the low end of the conflict spectrum in the middle of nowhere while major threats were building in the world’s most important regions. The war on terrorism remains important as there are still groups wishing to do us harm, but the resources of non-state actors are minor compared to what can be mustered by nation-states in pursuit of grand ambitions. State-supported terrorism in hybrid warfare poses a much more potent threat than anything non-state actors can even dream about. The upside is that escalation in great power rivalry can be deterred. Deterrence has been given credibility by the actual way the United States has conducted the war on terror; active measures including airstrikes and special operations. Al Qaeda’s strategy proved a failure. Attacking the United States does not scare Americans, it only makes them angry. The country’s global reach can turn that anger into devastating retaliation. no adversary should ever have reason to doubt that. It was significant that five weeks into his administration, President Joe Biden ordered an attack on Iran-backed militias in Syria that had fired rockets at American troops. The American withdrawal from Afghanistan does not mean the end of power projection or support for local allies who are better positioned to suppress radical movements and who are also valuable allies in facing the larger challenges in a contentious world. U.S. strategy must evolve and not remain in the thralls of a twenty-year-old mistake. William R. Hawkins is a former economics professor who served on the professional staff of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Guy Sorman is a City Journal contributing editor and French public intellectual.
India is battling a major health crisis. Where are its elites?
THE AMERICAN WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN DOES NOT MEAN THE END OF POWER PROJECTION OR SUPPORT FOR LOCAL ALLIES WHO ARE BETTER POSITIONED TO SUPPRESS RADICAL MOVEMENTS NatioNal iNterest
Congress Party, whose sin is to be social democratic and secular—which Modi, a Hindu nationalist, is not. The consequences for the pandemic are immediate, since the government frequently organizes vast campaign gatherings and mass pilgrimages. The virus celebrates. Around the world, people would like to help the Indians to contain the virus. But how? The pandemic is endogenous, civilizational, religious, and partisan. A former prime minister, Manmohan Singh, from the political Left, has proposed “privatizing” the fight against the pandemic because the state is incompetent. Modi rejects this proposal because it comes from the other side. For the virus, the future in India is therefore bright for the coming months and perhaps even years; India is a danse macabre. Recall Modi’s slogan, “Make in India,” referring to his signature manufacturing initiative. no one imagined then that the virus would take him at his word.
Newsweek
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REV JOSEPH D’SOUZA
ne of my friends, a lawyer, passed away recently in Hyderabad, India. He was fit and healthy, but tragically, his body was unable to fend off COVID-19. He leaves behind a grieving family who will be forced to bear an enormous financial burden imposed by the private hospital where he was employed and treated before his death. The world has seen images from cities like Delhi of crematoriums that have been overwhelmed with the bodies of COVID-19 victims. Funeral pyres have been lit in the streets. Our hospital infrastructure has collapsed and countless individuals and families are left hopeless and helpless. Amid the greatest health crisis in India’s history, a news story made international headlines: Australian cricketer Pat Cummins, who plays for a team in the Indian Premier League (IPL), donated $50,000 to the prime minister’s care fund for India’s COVID-19 relief. India’s own cricketers have remained silent in the face of our national tragedy. An anonymous official from the IPL, which is worth millions of dollars, recently claimed, “It’s probably more important now to hold IPL, when there is so much negativity around. ... The league generates considerable money for the economy. It has to be seen from that context too. How does stopping IPL help?” This official’s words are a slap in the face to the people of India. There is not a single Indian who has not been affected by the pandemic, whether through personal suffering or that of a friend, neighbor, relative or coworker. Since the release of that statement, the IPL has been suspended and the Tata Group has announced that they will provide medical supplies and necessities such as oxygen units and beds to hospitals in need. The core issue is not corporate response but the personal wealth of these billionaires, many of whom are leaving India, completely neglecting the country they call home. With the exception of Indian billionaire Azim Premji, whose immense wealth will be
left in a foundation for the betterment of those in need, many of the rich and famous in India engage in token social welfare schemes and ensure their social involvement is advertised. Cricket, Bollywood and business makes for a heady mix as far as IPL is concerned. Because of this conglomerate, India’s cricketing board is the richest board in the sport. Why is the current IPL income not designated to fight COVID-19? And why are Indian cricketers not contributing to our national emergency? In the last 25 years, the cricketing board has failed to communicate empathy in any capacity as they and their contemporaries become millionaires and billionaires. The lack of an accompanying philanthropic and social conscience in the wake of the rise of India’s elites is shameful. As Indians, we must accept the fact that our current health care system is broken and that universal health care is a dream, for now. We must acknowledge that the government alone cannot address our massive need for the development of a world class community health infrastructure—and not just specialty hospitals. While we have seen ordinary people reach out to neighbors, friends and strangers across religious and ethnic lines, those Indians who have “made it big” by becoming entertainers and athletes sadly have little to show in terms of meaningful philanthropy and advocacy. Access to simple things like rapid tests and vaccine information is still not a reality for a majority of Indians. Meanwhile, the exploitative black market for medications is thriving as patients and health care workers are compelled to purchase the vaccines however possible. We live in an interdependent world and the COVID-19 pandemic exposed our interdependence on many fronts. The Indian government is accepting foreign aid for COVID-19 relief but Indian nGOs should also be permitted to receive aid for their work, especially in the areas of health and education. We are forced to wait for a few members of India’s top 1 percent to announce that they are giving the first billion dollars to help build India’s health infrastructure. now is the time for the rich and famous to invest their wealth into responding to this crisis and then to continue by helping develop a health infrastructure that reaches every village in India. The government needs to reverse its crackdown on nGOs, including religious nGOs, who were doing social work and receiving foreign funds to help alleviate the hurting. This all leaves us with a bigger question to answer: Why is it that we are not developing a robust national social conscience that compels us to act in the face of suffering? Perhaps we have forgotten that if we are prospering it is because of the grace of God, and that when we are blessed in life, we must bless others. Rev. Joseph D’Souza is archbishop of the Anglican Good Shepherd Church of India and serves as the president of the All India Christian Council.
Friday, 7 May, 2021
BUSINESS 09
ISLAMABAD
Power DivisioN suBMiTs PLaN To TaCkLe risiNg CirCuLar DeBT, TariFF Trade deficit widens by 21.6pc in 10MFY21 Pakistan’s trade deficit posted double-digit rise as it widened by 21.6 per cent to $23.83 billion in the 10 months of 2020-21 from $19.59bn over the corresponding period last year, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data showed on Wednesday. According to a report by a local media outlet, the trade gap has been widening since December 2020. The surge in trade deficit is mainly led by exponential growth in imports with comparative slow growth in exports proceeds from the country. In FY20, the country’s trade deficit had narrowed to $23.099bn from $31.820bn. However, this target was now crossed in 10 months of FY21, indicating a serious pressure on external side due to rising imports. In April 2021, the trade deficit ballooned by 33.24pc to $2.99bn as against $2.24bn over the corresponding month of last year. On a month-onmonth basis, it dipped by 9.14pc. The import bill went up by 60.02pc to $5.18bn in April 2021 from $3.20bn over the corresponding month of last year. On a month-onmonth basis, the import bill decreased by 8.34pc. Between July and April FY21, the import bill increased by 17.67pc to $44.706bn this year as against $37.992bn over the corresponding months of last year. Exports posts a growth year-on-year 129.74pc to $2.19bn in April from $0.995bn over the last year. On a month-on-month basis, exports dipped by 7.23pc. In 10MFY21, export proceeds rose 13.49pc to $20.88bn as against $18.39bn in the corresponding period last year. MONITORING REPORT
NCCPL releases investor data
ISLAMABAD
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AHMAD AHMDANI
HE Power Division has submitted a comprehensive circular debt management plan to the federal cabinet, recommending to clear Rs435 billion worth principal loan of power plants under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in the next 13 years instead of making immediate payments. As per details, the Power Division also recommended the purchase of 11 Independent Power Producers (IPPs) with a single payment of Rs150 to Rs200 billion instead of giving Rs450 billion to IPPs under the head of capacity charges; converting 5500MW coal power plants on Thar coal from imported coal. Circular debt is expected to reach Rs 2587billion till June 2021 despite all governmental actions. Sources said that the federal cabinet, while advising the Power Division to pass on a little burden of the power tariff on the citizens, has directed finance minister and SAPM on Power and Pe-
troleum Tabish Gauhar to submit a final report in this regard within two weeks. Available documents state that 11 IPPs of 3300MW production capacity, which run on furnace oil, are not working on full capacity as they are being run with 5 per cent average capacity while fuel cost on the production of each unit is Rs13 per unit. These IPPs are currently being paid
New schemes for SMEs to accelerate credit uptake ratio up to 30pc: Baqir ISLAMABAD APP
For the first time in decades, a concerned company of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has reported that the total number of investors at the bourse stood at 252,322 by the end of April 2021, suggesting the comprehensiveness of the market. The total number of investors, including 12,356 foreign individuals, accounts for around 0.12 per cent of the population of Pakistan compared to 3.7pc in India and 12.7pc in China, it has been learnt. The number of new investors has increased by 17,684 since the National Clearing Company of Pakistan (NCCPL) launched the facility of registering investors for the PSX through online account opening in November-December 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic. NCCPL has opened around 3,778 accounts of non-resident Pakistanis through RDA, the data suggested. NCCPL data suggests there are 232,799 individual investor accounts, 1,722 corporate companies’ investment accounts, 231 corporate and individual brokers’ investment accounts, 1,436 fund/other accounts, 12,356 foreigner individual accounts and 3,778 RDA accounts at the PSX at present. MONITORING REPORT
Rs60 billion annually on account of capacity charges. The plan also recommends that oil run-IPPs be paid Rs450bn as total capacity charges for remaining seven years in line with the agreement or give an end to these IPPs through PIB or Sukkuk bonds with discount price of Rs150 to Rs200bn, while these measure in result will help reduce the power tar-
State Bank of Pakistan Governor Reza Baqir on Thursday said new schemes for the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) sector would accelerate the credit uptake ratio of smaller businesses by approximately up to 30 per cent during three years. He was briefing Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Shaukat Tarin, through video link during his meeting with Minister for Industries and Production, Makhdoom Khusroo Bakhtiyar. Special Assistant to
the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Finance and Revenue, Dr Waqar Masood also participated in the meeting. The meeting was convened to discuss the features of a new credit scheme for the SME sector, according to press statement issued by the finance ministry. The governor shared that, at present, there were around a hundred thousand small businesses availing the SME credit facilities provided by the commercial banks. He briefed the finance minister on the proposal for the provision of funds for the small businesses without collateral for a tenure up to three years through the
Brent oil may fall more to $67.14 SINGAPORE: Brent oil may fall more to $67.14 per barrel, as it has pierced below a support at $68.76. The reaction of the market to the resistance at $69.87 is so strong it suggests the completion of a wave (c) from $61.25, which briefly travelled above its maximum target of $69.65, the 161.8% projection level. Either the third leg of the correction from $71.38 has started, or a decent correction against the rally from $61.25 is developing. In either case, oil is expected to retrace further over the next few days. Only a rise above $69.87 could confirm the continuation of the uptrend towards $71.38. On the daily chart, wave pattern suggests a completion of a wave 3-1, the first wave of a five-wave cycle. This wave may be reversed deeply by the current wave 3-2. The fierce rally would only begin upon the completion of the wave 3-2. Each reader should consult his or her own professional or other advisers for business, financial or legal advice regarding the products mentioned in the analyses. AGENCIES
HYDERABAD: A tailor works at his shop amid rising demand for tailoring services ahead of Eid. INP
PayPal earnings soar on e-commerce boom SAN FRANCISCO AGENCIES
PayPal on Thursday reported record quarterly profit as the online financial transactions service benefited from an e-commerce trend boosted by the pandemic. PayPal said it made a profit of $1.1 billion in the recently ended quarter, compared with $84 million in the same period last year. “Our strong first quarter results demonstrate sustained momentum in our business
iff by 60 paisa per unit. Similarly, it has been recommended to hold an auction under a hybrid model of IPPs which run on sun light or with air as a source of fuel. Likewise, coal-fired power plant with additional capacity will not be installed and already approved 5500MW capacity of IPPs which are currently under construction including Jamshoro-1 should be converted on the coal of Thar Block 1 and 2. “The power tariff for consumers will possibly witness reduction with such measures whereas, coat will be priced at $30 per tonne after witnessing a decrease from $50 to $60 per tonne. Furthermore, three options for the administration of DISCOs were currently under consideration including continuity of present system, private management contract, and handing over of DISCOs to provinces under publicprivate partnership. Moreover, the Power Division further recommended that the government should negotiate with the Sindh government for decreasing coal price and change in pricing formula in a bid to end the dollar indexation.
as the world shifts into the digital economy,” PayPal chief executive Dan Schulman said in an earnings release. PayPal handled some 4.4 billion payment transactions in the quarter, with a total value of $285 billion, the Silicon Valleybased company said. Revenue in what the company said was its best first-quarter financial performance ever was $6.03 billion, up 31 percent from the same period last year. PayPal shares were up slightly more than 4 percent in after-market trades that fol-
lowed release of the earnings report. PayPal-owned mobile payments service Venmo last month began letting users in the United States buy, hold or sell cryptocurrency using its app. The expansion into the hot digital money trend came on the heels of PayPal allowing people in the United States to use cryptocurrency to make purchases from millions of merchants that use the financial platform for online transactions. The payments giant had already let users buy, sell or store digital money.
CMYK
network of commercial banks. “Banks would design innovative products to reach out to the smaller businesses whereas the government would provide risk sharing facility to the banks,” he added. Tarin lauded the scheme and affirmed to provide the seed money for the scheme. “The provision of micro-credit would create employment opportunities at the local level and in turn, enhance gross domestic product growth and would help in achieving sustainable and robust economic growth,” the finance minister concluded.
Friday, 7 May, 2021
10 FOREIGN NEWS
ISLAMABAD
DefIaNt bUt corNereD: JaIleD KremlIN crItIc NavalNy’S movemeNt IS oN the ropeS
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AGENCIES
E has been poisoned, jailed and his close aides are either being prosecuted or have fled abroad. His anti-Kremlin opposition movement is now also likely to soon be outlawed as extremist. Yet Alexei Navalny and his supporters continue to work on ways to remain a thorn in President Vladimir Putin's side, even as one of his most important financial backers says the movement in its current form is finished and will take time to rebound. In the eyes of the Kremlin, the only halfmeaningful political weapon the Navalny camp has left is its campaign for tactical, or what it calls "smart" voting against the ruling United Russia party in a parliamentary election in September, according to three people close to the Russian authorities. Navalny's supporters are set to be barred from that election via a court case, due to unfold later this month, and planned legislation unveiled on the parliamentary website on
Tuesday that would ban "extremists" from running for office. A court, meeting in secret, is considering a request from Moscow prosecutors to have Navalny's network designated "extremist" for allegedly plotting a revolution, state media have reported. Russia's financial monitoring agency has already added the network to a list on its website of groups involved in "terrorism and extremism". In response, Navalny's movement has redoubled its call for sympathisers to vote for other opposition parties in September, however unpalatable they may consider them. Dmitry Medvedev, the chairman of United Russia, has said the party, whose rating has been languishing at multi-year lows, needs to work hard to win another parliamentary majority. It won 343 seats of the 450-seat lower house of parliament or Duma in 2016, with the Communist party, ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic party and smaller groups making up the rest. Abbas Gallyamov, a former Kremlin speech writer turned political analyst, said the
Nuclear deal possible in weeks if Iran takes political decision: US AGENCIES There could be an understanding within weeks on how Washington and Tehran might resume compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal but that depends on Iran making the political decision to do so, a senior U.S. State Department official said on Thursday. "Is it possible that we'll see a mutual return to compliance in the next few weeks, or an understanding of a mutual compliance? It's possible yes. Is it likely? Only time will tell, because as I said this is ultimately a matter of a political decision that needs to be made in Iran," the official told reporters in a telephone briefing.
20 dead in rio de Janeiro shootout AGENCIES At least 20 people, including a police officer, died on Thursday in a shootout during a police operation against drug traffickers in Rio de Janeiro's Jacarezinho shanty town, O Globo newspaper reported on its website. Two passengers on a metro train were also wounded in the shooting in the northern Rio neighborhood, the newspaper said.
Navalny camp's smart voting strategy could mean an embarrassing defeat for the Kremlin's favoured candidates in many cities. But a second source close to the authorities, who declined to be named, said it would just be an exercise in shuffling the
same pack of Kremlin-controlled cards. "The kind of parties and candidates that Navalny's people will try to help are ... in the Kremlin's pocket," the source said, pointing to the failure of other parties to threaten Putin's hold on power for more than two
decades. "Everything will be alright (for us)." The Kremlin and Putin say Russia's election system is competitive, that Navalny and his allies are part of a U.S.-backed effort to destabilise Russia, and that the Russian leader, who has been in power as president or prime minister since 1999, remains the most popular politician by far. The Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request to comment on whether it considered "smart" voting a threat and had influence over opposition parties that will run for parliament. DRIVEN UNDERGROUND: Leonid Volkov, a Navalny ally, told followers on Facebook on April 29 the expected court ruling meant it was no longer safe to operate regional campaign headquarters, which are used to stage protests which have mostly been crushed with force. Announcing their official disbanding, he said some would close but that others would try to make it on their own as independent structures by cutting ties. If Navalny's network is declared extremist, the law states that group organisers could face jail terms of up to 10 years, activists could be held criminally liable and anyone making donations could be jailed for up to eight years. Investigations by his FBK anticorruption foundation, some of which have generated tens of millions of YouTube views, are continuing to be produced outside Russia, with the latest, about state media organisation RT, issued on April 28.
Myanmar anti-coup cage fighter arrested as blasts hit main cities AGENCIES A mixed martial arts fighter who joined anti-coup protests in Myanmar was wounded by a homemade bomb and later arrested, the military said on Thursday, among blasts in at least three cities as the junta battles to assert its control of the country. Phoe Thaw, 36, was arrested in hospital while receiving treatment for leg wounds sustained while testing a home-made bomb late on Wednesday at a Yangon gym, the military's Myawaddy TV reported. He was among four people detained and accused of colluding to commit violent acts, it said. Small blasts are becoming more frequent in towns and cities in Myanmar, some at government or military buildings, which the junta says are proof of a violent rebellion by supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi's ousted government. A unity government comprised of former politicians, pro-democracy groups and ethnic minority armies says the explosions are being orchestrated by a junta seeking to cling to power by eradicating its enemies. Myanmar has been in chaos since a Feb. 1 coup, which ended a decade of economic reform and tentative steps towards democracy initiated by the military after 49 years of rule in the impoverished but resource-rich country. Months of protests and strikes have crippled the economy, disrupting banking, business and much of the
bureaucracy, prompting concern that Myanmar is edging closer to becoming a failed state. Explosions took place on Wednesday at a bus station in Mandalay as well as at a bank and a military-owned telecoms company in the capital Naypyitaw, MRTV reported, prompting a call by junta leader Min Aung Hlaing for "effective action" against the perpetrators. "They are destroying the country," MRTV quoted him saying. It also reported that arrest warrants were being sought for 40 medical workers and teachers accused of promoting a civil disobedience campaign. FIGHTING TALK: Fighter Phoe Thaw is wellknown in Myanmar and was pictured during the protests holding a sign that challenged Min Aung Hlaing to a cage fight. Images on Myawaddy TV on Thursday showed him on a stretcher, with legs covered in wounds and burns. A former colleague, who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity, said the home-made bomb had been left at the gym car park by a policeman posing as a civilian. The incident comes days after the military reported five people, including a politician in Suu Kyi's party, were killed in an explosion in the Bago region, with bomb-making materials recovered from the scene. Media outlets Irrawaddy and the Democratic Voice of Burma on Thursday said a local government admin-
istrator was knifed to death in Mandalay, the second such killing this week, after the fatal stabbing of a juntaappointed official in Yangon. At least 769 people have been killed and nearly 3,700 detained by Myanmar's military since the coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a monitoring group outlawed by the military. Reuters has not been able to independently verify casualty numbers due to restrictions on media. Many reporters have been detained and news organisations ordered closed, deemed by the junta to be instigators of unrest. The junta banned satellite television receivers on Tuesday to block outside broadcasts, adding to months of curbs on internet services. More than 200 civil society groups on Wednesday urged the U.N. Security Council to impose an arms embargo on Myanmar, the latest call for global action against the generals, who have historically been impervious to international criticism. The coup has unleashed anger across Myanmar among people unwilling to tolerate another era of military rule. More youths took to social media on Thursday to declare their intent to train to fight in the unity government's newly formed "defence force", threatening to attack the well-equipped military if more civilians are killed.
US schools turn focus to mental health of students reeling from pandemic AGENCIES As Covid-19 upended education during the past year, Pennsylvania middle school teacher Jennifer Lundberg often began her English lessons gauging the mental wellbeing of her students. Sometimes, she would turn the lights off and dedicate a few minutes of in-person class to walking the kids through exercises that asked them to identify stressors they were experiencing. With her own teenage daughter suffering from bouts of depression and anxiety brought on by the pandemic, the veteran teacher saw evidence all around her of the urgent need for mental health support for young people. "They are struggling in a way that I feel like a lot of times they don't even have words for," Lundberg said. "I've had students who have left in the middle of the day to go to the ER to get evaluated." Lundberg teaches in the Parkland School District in Allentown, where school officials said the coronavirus has been a catalyst for getting better mental health training for staff and care for its more than 9,000 students. Educators across the country agreed students' mental wellbeing became a bigger priority after the pandemic forced schools to shut down or operate with a mix of remote and in-person learning. Some students struggled to focus, and isolation, worry and depression took a toll on many. A Reuters survey earlier this year of U.S.
school districts serving more than 2.2 million students found that a majority reported multiple indicators of increased mental health stresses among students. Those concerns have led to a flood of new funding and initiatives aimed at helping schools navigate the pandemic's aftermath. The federal Covid-19 relief package included $122 billion for K-12 schools to implement "strategies to meet the social, emotional, mental health and academic needs" of the hardest-hit students. President Joe Biden's budget proposal released in April includes another $1 billion to add nurses and mental health services in public schools. In Utah, a bill signed in March makes mental health a valid excuse for a school absence. Similar legislation has been introduced in other states including Connecticut and Maryland. Next month, the National Center for School Mental Health will launch ClassroomWISE. The free online course will train U.S. teachers and school staff on how to create a safe and supporting classroom environment, and how to support students with mental health concerns. Districts nationwide have said the pandemic "has kind of given them a vitamin D shot" in terms of awareness and resources, said Sharon Hoover, co-director of the government-funded center. Sustained focus will be needed for success, she added. "We'd be kind of kidding ourselves if we think everyone's going to walk into school doors and things go back to normal,"
Hoover said. FRESH MOMENTUM: Many districts still lack sufficient resources and training, however. And experts say even where there are protocols and initiatives already in place, the severity and novelty of some circumstances amid the pandemic pose chal-
lenges. Amy Molloy, the director of school mental health resources at the non-profit Mental Health Association in New York State, said she thought the state's schools were well-positioned to attend to students' mental health thanks to legislation passed
in recent years before Covid-19 hit. But the toll of the pandemic is hard to predict. "There's a lot of concern and uncertainty about what kind of trauma experiences, what kind of grief and loss, what kind of enhanced mental health problems... are students bringing back," Molloy said. Before the coronavirus, insurance roadblocks had hampered the Parkland School District's efforts to provide students with one-on-one psychotherapy sessions for their mental health needs, said Brenda DeRenzo, the director of student services. The pressure created by Covid-19 allowed the Pennsylvania district to finally overcome the financial hurdles through a partnership last fall with a local hospital that linked its middle and high school students with licensed clinicians. This fall, when students return to fulltime in-person learning, the district will implement programs to help them readjust to school and reconnect with their peers. One initiative will link students to community outreach programs such as a food drive or a nursing home in an effort to rebuild the camaraderie lost to the pandemic, DeRenzo said. Lundberg, who teaches at Orefield Middle School, said she plans to start hosting morning meetings with parents to facilitate more communication about how their children are coping. “These kids are good kids, they’re just done; they’re burned out,” she said.
Friday, 7 May, 2021
SPORTS 11
ISLAMABAD
uPbEat Pakistan look to End tour with clEan swEEP against ZimbabwE
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AGENCIES
EST cricket is perhaps the format where Pakistan’s progress is most discernible. There is a stability about the side which is lacking in the other formats, with the results beginning to show something of an uptick of late. Performances against Zimbabwe may not appease the critics but remain vital, because an upset would undo much of the good work of recent times, something that should be front and centre across the visitors’ minds especially after the last time Pakistan played a series in Zimbabwe. Having won the first match convincingly, they succumbed to a chastening 24run loss in the second in 2013. They will need to ensure this series doesn’t follow a similar pattern, especially after a disappointing T20I leg, where they scraped to two victories sandwiched by an embarrassing defeat in which they were skittled out for 99. Zimbabwe are severely handicapped this time around by the loss of several experienced middle order hands due to various reasons, with Craig Ervine, Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza all ruled out. The batters did put up some resistance in the first Test, albeit not nearly enough. Roy Kaia and Milton Shumba had a spirited 59-run fifth-wicket stand after Zimbabwe found themselves in trouble early, and a useful opening stand between Kevin Kasuza and Tarisai Musakanda
saw off the new ball in the second innings. The bowlers took wickets at regular intervals to prevent Pakistan getting away too far. Pakistan carry a big bench and are in a position to hand out another debut after Sajid Khan played his first match in the previous Test, with Tabish Khan the likely beneficiary. That will see Faheem Ashraf sit out, depriving the side of a player who offered the best chance of a balance between batters and bowlers, especially with his runs lower down the order. But every performance here will matter for future Test series; Pakistan’s next engagement is in the West Indies in August, and individual performances here will go a long way towards selection then. Both openers - Imran Butt and Abid Ali - were on shaky ground, but runs in the opening Test look to have bought them some time. Zimbabwe, meanwhile, cannot afford the luxury of looking ahead too far, but they do have a calendar that sees activity beyond this second Test. Bangladesh will be arriving for a full series shortly, and any momentum gleaned here will be useful if carried through to that series. For that, they will have to summon the spirit and quality from the T20Is, and put the first Test behind them. Blessing Muzarabani continues to look the home side’s most potent strike bowler, backing up his credentials with a respectable performance in an otherwise disappointing show for his side. It was his wickets towards the end of the second day and on the morning of the third
squads Zimbabwe (possible): 1 Roy Kaia, 2 Kevin Kasuza, 3 Brendan Taylor (capt), 4 Tarisai Musakanda, 5Wesley Madhevere, 6 Regis Chakabva (wk), 7 Luke Jongwe, 8 Wellington Masakadza, 9 Donald Tiripano, 10 Blessing Muzarabani, 11 Victor Nyauchi Pakistan (probable): 1 Imran Butt, 2 Abid Ali, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Babar Azam (capt), 5 Fawad Alam, 6 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 7 Hasan Ali, 8 Tabish Khan, 9 Sajid Khan, 10 Nauman Ali, 11 Shaheen Shah Afridi
that guaranteed Pakistan would be bowled out instead of having the luxury of declaring, even finding himself on a hat-trick at one point. His figures of 4 for 73 represent a continuing ascent in the lanky fast bowler’s career, but what his side will need are strikes with the new ball as well as the old one. Should he be able to put two openers still struggling for form under pressure, Zimbabwe might have a chance of making a contest out of this. Babar Azam missed out against what at times appeared to be a Zimbabwe attack bereft of ideas, registering the only golden
duck of his Test career in the first game. With the Pakistan captain in the form of his life, lightning is unlikely to strike twice this series. The first Test was an aberration in that respect, and the home side may find they have one additional problem to worry about in the second game. Prince Masvaure is unlikely to feature following the hand injury he sustained in the first Test, while Sean Williams and Craig Ervine remain ruled out. Wesley Madhevere looks set to play after missing out in the first Test. No significant changes are expected for Pakistan, with Sajid likely to
When and where can IPL 2021 be rescheduled to? Late September and Late november are the primary optionS that the bCCi Can expLore AGENCIES On Thursday, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly suggested that the 2021 IPL could be completed in a window just prior to the men’s T20 World Cup. That was the first public hint of the windows the BCCI is looking at for the rescheduling. At the moment India remains the host for the global event, scheduled to run from mid-October to November 14. But in the wake of the IPL’s postponement and uncertainty over how the pandemic progresses in India, the ICC could be forced to consider the UAE as the venue for its event. There are still 31 matches left in the IPL. Three weeks with multiple double-
headers across a few venues are likely to be enough. That leaves two realistic options in 2021 in which the BCCI could complete the tournament, either side of the T20 World Cup. ESPNcricinfo examines
the pros and cons of each. LATE SEPTEMBER WINDOW: India, UAE or even England could play hosts at this time of the year. Given the course of the pandemic, the UAE remains a favorite,
England countiEs offEr to host rEmaindEr of iPl 2021 in sEPtEmbEr AGENCIES A group of English counties has offered to host the remainder of the IPL 2021 season in September this year. The MCC, Surrey and Warwickshire, who are based at Lord’s, The Kia Oval (both London) and Edgbaston (Birmingham), respectively are understood to be part of the group who wrote to the ECB inviting them to extend the opportunity to the BCCI. The plans would see the tournament completed in around two weeks in the second half of September. It is further understood that Lancashire’s home of Emirates Old Trafford (in Manchester) could be utilised for the tournament if the offer was accepted, though Lancashire have clarified that, although there were aware of the letter, they were not signatories. The subject is likely to come up at a virtual ICC meeting of the national chief executives scheduled for today. Apart from simply completing the tournament, the counties point out that it would help top players to high-quality cricket heading into the T20 World Cup and ensure that pitches in the UAE - where the T20 World Cup could be played if it is moved from India - are fresh ahead of the global tournament. It might also broaden the UK market for the IPL. However, from the ECB’s perspective, a spokesperson said: “We speak to the BCCI regularly about tours and other matters and we’ll continue doing so, but we have received no indication that they are looking for alternative hosts for the IPL at the moment.”
In its meeting on Tuesday - the day the IPL was postponed after an outbreak of Covid-19 cases across four franchises the BCCI had not discussed the England option and it isn’t clear whether it has been considered since. The counties hope the games could be played in front of fullhouse crowds - though this is also a possibility if the IPL takes place in the UAE - with two (or possibly even three) games being played on each day. There would also be no gap between the group stage and knock-out games. There are, however, numerous obstacles to the plan. For one thing, it is hard to predict the course of the pandemic, and there is still some time before any decision is made on the T20 World Cup being held in India. There would also be numerous quarantine issues in bringing players from around the world into the UK, although a number of Indian players being in the UK at the time for their Test series with England could be helpful. The other more challenging obstacle is the existing schedule. The England-India Test series only ends in Manchester on September 14, with England then likely to tour both Bangladesh and Pakistan for white-ball matches within the following month - they are due to play the second T20I in Pakistan on October 14. Most other sides have international commitments around the same time, with potential quarantine time to be factored in - though those final weeks in September remain less busy than most. The counties hope, however, that with some flexibility a window can be found to accommodate the tournament in England.
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having conducted a largely incident-free IPL in 2020. And if the T20 World Cup is also played in the UAE, it eases the logistical challenges of players moving between bubbles. England could be an option given that India will already be there till mid-September for their five-Test series. Also, there could be a number of overseas players participating in England’s various domestic competitions, including The Hundred. The biggest challenge will be to squeeze the tournament in the limited time between the end of India’s England tour and the T20 World Cup. The fifth Test in Manchester is scheduled to end on September 14. Although the ICC is yet to announce the itinerary for the T20 World Cup, it is expected to start around October 16. Accounting for quarantine periods and warm-up games wherever the tournament is held, teams will be expected to start arriving around the end of September. After a long tour, the Indian players will likely want at least a week-long break. That would then leave just about under two weeks of free time before the teams head to the World Cup, although England’s players - a significant presence in the IPL - are scheduled to be part of tours to Bangladesh and Pakistan in October. Workload will also be a factor for India’s players as they face the prospect of a long Test series, then the IPL, and then the T20 World Cup one after the other. LATE NOVEMBER WINDOW: India or the UAE will be the two primary contenders at this time, and for the tournament to be played right after the T20 World Cup ends. Although if it is in the UAE, Abu Dhabi will not be available as it is scheduled to host the fifth edition of the T10 league from November 14. Franchises will be concerned about the unavailability of overseas players especially from Australia and England, who will be involved in the Ashes from late November. Virtually all the countries, including India, are scheduled to play bilateral cricket immediately following the T20 World Cup. India themselves are scheduled to host New Zealand for two Tests and three T20Is between November-December. Bangladesh, meanwhile, will host Pakistan for a series comprising two Tests and three T20s. Afghanistan will be in Zimbabwe from late November for a one-off Test, three ODIs, and three T20Is. South Africa and West Indies, though, will be free during that time. If India can defer the New Zealand series and manage to find replacements for absent Australian and England players, the November window might look a better fit
play despite an indifferent debut. Tabish appears to be in the mix, and should he play, Ashraf would be the man to sit out. PITCH AND CONDITIONS: The weather for the next seven days will be cool with plenty of sunshine. The surface in the first Test played slow, and this one is expected to be no different. STATS THAT MATTER: Fawad Alam has converted each of his first four half centuries into triple figures, one of only six players in Tests to have done so. Zimbabwe have only three players with more than ten Test matches under their belt: Brendan Taylor, Regis Chakabva and Donald Tiripano. Azam is the first Pakistan captain to lead his side to victory in his first three Tests.
abu dhabi t10 to be held from november 19 to december 4 dates might have been finalised with the t20 World Cup scheduled to conclude on november 15
The fifth edition of the Abu Dhabi T10 tournament will be held from November 19 to December 4 this year. The tournament will be stretched over 15 days - making it longer than all its previous editions keeping in mind the extended public holiday weekend to celebrate the UAE’s 50th National Day, which falls on December 2. “It is most heartening to see the world’s top cricketers in this hugely popular format and upcoming cricketers seize the advantage of the platform to rub shoulders with the best in the business,” Shaji Ul Mulk, Chairman of Ten Sports Management (TSM), owners of the T10 League, said. It is possible that the dates of the tournament were finalised keeping in mind the fact that this year’s T20 World Cup is currently scheduled to conclude on November 15, thus making the short-format international players available. Moreover, the global event could yet be allotted to the UAE given that the original host, India, is battling a severe wave of the Covid-19 virus. So there is a chance that players would be able to avoid travel and quarantine by virtue of being in the same country. Among those who could make their respective national side’s T20 World Cup squad, Mohammad Hafeez, Nicholas Pooran, Chris Jordan and Dwayne Bravo to name a few - have deals with the T10 franchises. The last edition of the Abu Dhabi T10 was conducted in January-February this year, with the Northern Warriors emerging as champions. That tournament was held in the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, with no crowds in attendance and safety measures in place for the players. AGENCIES
Friday, 7 May, 2021
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KArAChi to tightEn rEStriCtionS AS PoSitivity rAtio jUmPS to 14PC KARACHI
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ArAChI’s positivity ratio rose up to 14 per cent, and Sindh is planning on tightening the restrictions on the populace to curb the spread of Covid-19 within the port city. As many as 7 more patients of coronavirus died overnight lifting the death toll to 4,698 and 966 new cases emerged when 13,821 tests were conducted. This was stated by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in a statement issued here on Thursday. he added that 7 more patients of Covid19 lost their lives lifting the death toll to 4,698 that constituted a 1.6 per cent death rate. “After Sunday, more strict measures would be taken to keep the people of the province restricted within their homes,” read a statement issued by the Chief Min-
ister house on Thursday. In light of the increasing number of cases, Karachi’s district administration sealed 64 shops, arrested seven persons, and warned 369, the statement said. “People do not understand [gravity] of the situation,” Chief Minister Murad said. The chief minister, on the advice of the experts and members of the task force, has decided that from Friday all shops, including grocery stores, would be closed after 6 pm. Therein, the Sindh Coronavirus Task Force has decided on Thursday to impose a ban on takeaways from restaurants but allowed only home deliveries after the sunset from Friday (today) to Sunday. A meeting of the Task Force chaired by Chief Minister Murad took stock of the Covid-19 situation and decided to further tighten restrictions to contain the third wave of the virus. Pharmacies have been exempted from business timing restrictions, vaccination
PCB considers holding remaining PSL matches in UAE LAHORE
centres will operate round the clock. It was also decided that more restrictions would be imposed after the Eid holidays while taking preventive measures against the pandemic. CM Murad announced all recreational places, including Sea View, hawks Bay, would be closed to the public. The chief minister also directed the health department to start giving vaccines to private hospitals with the direction to administer them free of cost. The above decisions came during a meeting chaired by CM Shah, with the provincial minister and advisers Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, Nasir Shah, Saeed Ghani, Murtaza Wahab, Qasim Siraj Soomro, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah, IG Sindh Mushtaq Maher, and other concerned officials in attendance. Shah said that 13,821 samples were tested which detected 966 cases that constituted 7 per cent current detection rate. he added that so far 3,725,821 tests
Covid-19 spreading in rural India; record daily rises in infections, deaths NEW DELHI
Agencies
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is considering the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a venue to stage the remainder of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) tournament but the country’s Covid-19 body will take a final call, the governing body said on Thursday. The PCB’s flagship tournament was suspended after 14 games in March after seven individuals, including six players, tested positive for Covid-19. The governing body had said last month that the PSL would resume on June 1 and the remaining 20 games would take place in National Stadium Karachi, with the final on June 20. “Now, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) will announce the decision. If it decides that the league should be resumed, we will bio-secure Karachi and all matches would be played there,” a PCB spokesman said. “If the NCOC does not give the go-ahead to PCB for holding matches in Karachi, we will consult the franchises to hold the rest of the tournament in the UAE.” ESPNCricinfo reported that all six PSL franchises had asked the PCB to move the tournament to the UAE, which also hosted last year’s Indian Premier League (IPL). The IPL competition was suspended abruptly this week, triggered by a resurgence of the pandemic in India.
have been conducted against which 289,646 cases were diagnosed, of them, 92.4 per cent or 267,524 patients have recovered, including 805 overnight. The CM said that currently, 17,424 patients were under treatment, of them, 16,759 were in home isolation and 665 at different hospitals. he added that the condition of 628 patients was stated to be critical, including 54 shifted to ventilators. According to the statement, out of 966 new cases, 635 have been detected from Karachi, including 336 from East, 114 South, 84 Central, 52 Korangi, 37 Malir and 12 West. hyderabad has 155, Larkano 23, Dadu 21, Nawabshah 20, Thatto 17, Sukkur 13, Ghotki 12, Mirpurkhas 11, Tando Mohammad Khan 8, Kashmore, Naushero Feroze & Sanghar 4 each, Matiari & Umarkor 2 each and Jamshoro one. CM Murad urged people to abide by the SOPs issued by the government.
Agencies
India reported a record 412,262 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday and a record 3,980 daily death toll, as a second wave of infections swamps the health system and spreads from cities into the vast countryside. Covid-19 infections in the world’s second-most populous nation have surged past 21 million, with a death toll of 230,168, health ministry data show. With hospitals scrabbling for beds and oxygen in response to the surge in infections, the World health Organization said in a weekly report that India accounted for nearly half the
coronavirus cases reported worldwide last week and a quarter of the deaths. Medical experts say India’s actual figures could be five to 10 times the official tallies. India’s Covid-19 crisis has been most acute in the capital, New Delhi, among other cities, but in rural areas — home to nearly 70 percent of India’s 1.3 billion people — limited public healthcare is posing more challenges. “The situation has become dangerous in villages,” said Suresh Kumar, a field coordinator with Manav Sansadhan Evam Mahila Vikas Sansthan, a human rights charity. In some villages where the charity works in the northern state of
Uttar Pradesh – home to about 200 million people – “there are deaths in almost every second house”, he said. “People are scared and huddled in their homes with fever and cough. The symptoms are all of Covid-19, but with no information available many think it is seasonal flu.” The country’s top scientific adviser has warned of a possible third wave of infections. “Phase 3 is inevitable, given the high levels of circulating virus,” the government’s principal scientific adviser, K. Vijayraghavan told a news briefing on Wednesday. “But it is not clear on what time scale this phase 3 will occur […] We should prepare for new waves.”
turkish minister to visit Saudi Arabia amid push to mend ties ANKARA Agencies
Turkey’s foreign minister will visit Saudi Arabia for talks next week, officials told reuters, as Ankara ramps up efforts to overcome a rift since the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul. The minister’s planned trip will follow Turkey’s talks this week with Egypt, another US-allied regional power, also aimed at normalising ties after years of tensions and rivalry. Turkey’s ties with Saudi Arabia, already strained by Ankara’s support for Qatar in a Gulf dispute, were thrown into crisis when Khashoggi — a critic of Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Prince Mohammed bin Salman — was killed by a Saudi hit squad. The crisis prompted an unofficial Saudi boycott of Turkish goods, slashing trade value by 98 percent. Saudi Arabia is also closing eight Turkish schools in the kingdom, Turkey’s state-owned Anadolu agency reported last month. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that President Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz agreed in a call on Tuesday for Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud to hold talks on May 11. “With this visit, it is possible to open a new period together,” a senior Turkish official said, adding the talks would focus on trade, bilateral ties and regional issues like the conflict in Libya where Turkey has deployed its military. The Saudi government did not respond to a request for comment. Years of political rivalry with US-allied Arab states and military interventions in the region have shown Turkey’s clout, but frayed its alliances in the Arab world, leaving it isolated in a region marred with conflicts and crises. Published by Arif Nizami at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 051-2204545. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk
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Palestinian teen killed in clashes, israeli teen dies after shooting TEL AVIV Agencies
Israeli troops shot and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian boy during clashes in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, Palestinian officials said, and an Israeli teen wounded by an alleged Palestinian gunman earlier this week died of his injuries. The Israeli military said troops had fired towards Palestinians hurling Molotov cocktails at them late on Wednesday near the Palestinian village of Beita, south of Nablus. “The troops operated to stop the suspects by firing towards them,” an Israeli military spokeswoman said, adding that the incident would be investigated. residents of Beita and the nearby village of Odala say there have been clashes between Palestinians and Israeli troops near the villages’ entrances the past several nights. A second Palestinian was shot in the back during the clashes on Wednesday and was being treated in hospital, the Palestinian health ministry said in a statement announcing the 16-year-old’s death. The clashes have been taking place as the Israeli military has been conducting searches in the area for an alleged Palestinian gunman who opened fire on Sunday at a West Bank intersection, seriously wounding two Israelis and lightly injuring another. One of the Israelis, a 19-year-old male, died of his injuries on Wednesday night, Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz said on Twitter. The Israeli Security Agency, also known as Shin Bet, said it had arrested a Palestinian suspect over the shooting, identifying him as a 44-year-old resident of the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya. The Shin Bet said the man was not affiliated with any militant groups. Tensions have been high in the West Bank and Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of ramadan, peaking with several days of clashes near Jerusalem’s Old City between Israeli police and Palestinians over access to a popular night-time meeting spot. Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war. Palestinians seek the territories, along with the Gaza Strip, for a future state.