Epaper – December 19 KHI 2021

Sunday, 19 December, 2021 I 14 Jamadi-al-Awwal, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 171 I 12 Pages I Karachi Edition

Pakistan rallies OiC COuntries tO helP afghanistan ISLAMABAD

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staff report

akistan is rallying Muslim countries to help afghanistan stave off an economic and humanitarian disaster while also cajoling the neighbouring country’s new taliban rulers to soften their image abroad. several foreign ministers from the 57-member Organisation of islamic Cooperation (OiC) are meeting in islamabad on sunday today to explore ways to aid afghanistan while navigating the difficult political realities of its taliban-run government.

Many of them continued to arrive until saturday afternoon. taliban Foreign Minister of afghanistan amir khan Muttaqi arrived in islamabad and was welcomed by Minister of state for Parliamentary affairs ali Mohammad khan and ambassador to afghanistan Mansoor ahmed khan.

Foreign ministers of Bosnia, Malaysia and indonesia also arrived earlier today. they were welcomed by Defence Production Minister Zubaida Jalal, according to the associated Press of Pakistan.

in addition, Foreign Minister of kazakhstan nuryshev shakhrat and special Representative of Germany for afghanistan ambassador Jasper Wieck also reached the country.

Later, Us special Representative for

afghanistan thomas West also reached islamabad. after his arrival in the capital, he tweeted, “Pleased to be in islamabad for an Extraordinary session of the OiC Council of Foreign Ministers, focused on the humanitarian situation in afghanistan. [it is] a timely and important initiative.” the new taliban administration in kabul has been sanctioned by the international community, reeling from the collapse of the afghan military and the Western-backed government in the face of the insurgents’ takeover in mid-august. the OiC meeting is an engagement that does not constitute an official recognition of the taliban regime, said Foreign Minister shah Mahmood Qureshi.

Welcoming foreign delegations, Prime Minister imran khan said that the extraordinary session is an expression of solidarity with the afghan people. “i welcome delegations from OiC member states, observers, friends, partners and international organisations to

Pakistan,” the premier wrote on his official twitter handle. “i look forward to speaking at the conference,” he added. speaking to reporters ahead of a meeting of senior officials of participant nations, Qureshi expressed confidence the meeting will be able to reach consensus on measures to improve the situation in afghanistan.

He said he was “very happy” that Pakistan was now receiving support for the stance it had held for long: a humanitarian crisis could arise in afghanistan and the nation’s subsequent economic collapse would affect the entire region.

“Prime Minister imran khan has been constantly trying to bring the world’s attention [to afghanistan] and i am confident that Pakistan, along with foreign ministers of other Muslim countries, will move a step forward in building that consensus.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

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Sunday, 19 December, 2021 | KARACHI

NEWS

At lEAst 15 killEd, sEvErAl injurEd in kArAchi blAst kARACHI

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Staff RepoRt

blast near Paracha Chowk in Karachi’s Shershah area killed at least 15 people and injured 16 others on Saturday. Police spokesman Sohail Jokhio said the blast was apparently caused when something ignited gas that had accumulated in the sewer beneath a bank building.

Jokhio said it was not yet clear what ignited the gas but a team of explosives experts had been summoned to investigate.

Jokhio said windows were shattered in nearby buildings and a parked vehicle nearby was also badly damaged.

He also said no evidence of terrorism had been found at the site of the blast yet.

Station House Officer (SHO) Zafar Ali Shah said the bank had already been given notice to vacate the premises so the drain could be cleaned.

Eyewitnesses said many people were buried underneath the debris of the building.

Dr Sabir Memon, head of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Trauma Centre at Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK), confirmed that 15 people had died in the

incident and 16 others injured in the blast were brought to the hospital.

Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho said that “doctors are providing emergency medical assistance to the injured persons”.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Communication Shahbaz Gill said Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf MNA Alamgir Khan’s father, Dilawar Khan, had also died in the blast. “We share the grief of Alamgir Khan and other bereaved families,” he tweeted.

In a message on Twitter, Prime Minister Imran Khan condoled with the families of the victims. He said he was “especially saddened to hear of the loss of our MNA Alamgir Khan’s father who also perished in the blast”.

The initial report of the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS), released later in the day, said that the blast occurred due to gas leakage and the accumulation of gases in the nullah underneath the building.

On the other hand, the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) rejected the police’s claim of a blast in the sewerage line and said that its experts have confirmed that there was “no SSGC gas pipeline” near the building.

“The gas pipelines installed in the area have not incurred any damage”.

The SSGC further said that the blast was

not linked to any of its pipelines as there was no smell of any natural gas or visible flame in the area.

HBL was one of the tenants in the building and not the only tenant. The building had a number of other tenants as well.

A statement from the bank said it was “closely monitoring the situation” under the guidance of the authorities.

“Currently, the focus of the bank is to work closely with the authorities in facilitating all rescue and relief efforts and provide support to the families of the affected.

“Our main concern is the safety of our customers and our staff. We continue to serve our customers across Karachi and the rest of the country,” it added.

Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah took notice of the blast and ordered commissioner Karachi to hold an inquiry. He directed the commissioner to hold the investigation into all aspects.

He expressed deep sorrow over the loss of precious lives in the incident.

He also directed the administration to reach the locality and hospitals to provide maximum facilities to the affected persons.

Many sewage channels in the city have been covered, mostly illegally, by constructing concrete structures over them.

Over 87 million people vaccinated against coronavirus: minister ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Eight killed, 9 injured after bus runs over marriage party ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

A bus ran over a marriage party early Saturday morning in Punjab, leaving eight people dead and nine others injured, media and police said. The uncontrolled bus crushed a group of people enjoying a marriage party in front of their house on the roadside near the Tahli Adda area of the Mandi Bahauddin district. Rescue teams and locals rushed the bodies and the injured to a nearby hospital. The death toll is feared to rise as most wounded are in critical condition, said a hospital official. The initial investigation revealed that the incident occurred amid dense fog when the driver lost control of the bus, media reported. Police confiscated the bus and registered a case against the driver, who ran away after the accident.

At least one killed, 10 injured in Quetta blast

Pakistan has given a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine to more than 87.5 million people, Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar said Saturday, adding almost 60 million people have been fully vaccinated against the pandemic.

“With arrival of omicron variant, the need for vaccination [is] even more urgent,” the minister, who also heads the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), announced.

The tweet came as the latest variant of the coronavirus gains momentum in Europe and the United States, and has successfully penetrated the nation with at least one confirmed case in Karachi.

Just weeks ago, disease experts were predicting that countries would begin to emerge from the pandemic in 2022 after enduring a series of surges driven by the Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta variants.

But the rapid spread of the highly-mutated Omicron variant, identified in late November, and its apparent ability to reinfect people at a higher rate than its predecessors, is undermining that hope.

The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) on Monday confirmed the detection of Pakistan’s first case of the Omicron variant in an unvaccinated person, just days after the government expanded travel restrictions in an attempt to slow its spread.

“The virus also spreads because people are not vaccinated, and this lady, too, was not vaccinated,” said Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechucho.

In November, Umar warned the Omicron variant will “inevitably” find its way to Pakistan, adding the nation had “only a few weeks” to contain the latest threat.

“The emergence of new variant makes it even more

urgent to vaccinate all eligible citizens 12 years and older,” he said.

“It is my appeal to people, particularly those who’ve gotten one dose to get the second dose because this is one effective thing we have to protect ourselves from the danger of this variant,” the minister added.

NEW CASES: Pakistan recorded 357 new cases of Covid-19 over the past 24 hours, the NCOC said in its daily update.

The total number of confirmed cases has risen to 1,290,848, according to the department leading the

campaign against the pandemic.

Another seven people lost their lives due to the pandemic over the past 24 hours in the Asian country, taking the overall coronavirus death toll to 28,870, according to the body.

During the period, 239 patients recovered from Covid-19, bringing the total number of recoveries to 1,252,396, said the NCOC. Sindh is the worst-affected province by the pandemic with 478,942 infections, followed by Punjab with 444,119 cases.

Inclusive government, respect for rights in Afghanistan’s own interest: Qureshi

NewS DeSk

ISLAMABAD

A blast in Quetta’s Kandhari Bazar killed at least one person and injured 10 others on Saturday.

According to a news outlet, Civil Hospital Quetta spokesperson Dr Wasim Baig confirmed the death of one person and said that 10 others were brought to the hospital in injured condition. Some nearby vehicles and shops were damaged in the blast. The Counter Terrorism Department spokesperson said that the blast was caused by explosive material fitted on a motorcycle, adding that the security forces had cordoned off the area, where the blast had occurred, and were collecting evidence from the site. According to APP, the deceased was identified as Syed Nida Muhammad while Nawab Khan, Zarb Shah, Tajla, Muhammad Sahim, Nematullah, Ubaidullah were among the injured persons. Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo expressed grief over the loss of life in the incident and directed the provincial administration to provide best possible medical treatment to the injured. He stressed the need for improving security measures in the city and assured that all required steps would be taken for the protection of people’s lives and properties.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Saturday told his Afghanistan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi that an inclusive government and respect for human rights, particularly those related to women, was in the interest of the Taliban government.

The foreign minister, in a meeting with the visiting diplomat, said since August 15, Pakistan has been striving to draw global attention towards the worsening humanitarian and economic situation of Afghanistan.

Muttaqi is in Islamabad to attend the 17th Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Afghanistan set to take place on Sunday.

Qureshi said the hosting of the moot was also part of Pakistan’s efforts to support its Afghan brethren.

He told Muttaqi that through this meeting, Pakistan would tell the world not to repeat past mistakes rather move forward.

Following up on his announcement of Rs5 billion assistance for Afghanistan during his visit to Kabul, Qureshi told Muttaqi the government had arranged food, medicines and 50,000 metric tons of wheat for

app

his country.

Moreover, a team would soon visit the hospitals being run with Pakistan’s support in Afghanistan.

He said Pakistan also looked forward to hosting the 48th meeting of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in March and hosting of the two consecutive moots manifested Pakistan’s serious approach towards

the resolution of the issues.

The foreign minister said the economic stability of Afghanistan would be in everyone’s interest, so the world should not waste the opportunity earned after four decades.

Muttaqi thanked Qureshi for inviting him to the moot and for the warm hospitality.

Sunday, 19 December, 2021 | KARACHI

Corrupt leaders push Countries into poverty trap: imran ISLAMABAD

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Staff RePoRt

RIME Minister Imran Khan singled out the corruption of leaders as the reason behind the poverty and debt traps developing countries are increasingly finding themselves in, as he played down the risks that scarcity of resources possessed to a nation’s ambitions.

“Corruption is something which destroys a country. The poor countries are poor not because they lack resources, but because their leadership is corrupt,” the prime minister told host Ola Al-Fares during an interview with Al-Jazeera.

The developing world is poor because the ruling elite siphoned off the money and laundered it into its offshore accounts, he asserted.

Khan said the rule of law and public welfare were the two guiding principles of the state of Medina. “A society is civilised only when it follows the rule of law. Without rule of law, there is no future. When ministers start stealing, you cannot make progress,” he said.

Shedding light on his 22-year-long political struggle, the prime minister said his fight was against the corrupt ruling elite which was destroying the country.

Alluding to Sharif and Bhutto dynasties, Khan said there were two entrenched family parties, so “fighting them was like fighting a mafia”. He said both the parties held monies and had access to state resources that were used against him during his opposition days.

When asked about his illustrious cricketing career, Khan said cricket was in his family with his cousins and uncles already playing the sport for the national team.

He said the sports taught him the ability to cope with tough times and defeat, and the dynamics of “picking up

yourself again”.

He said he gave some additional years to cricket to remain in limelight in order to collect funds to build the nation’s first-ever dedicated cancer hospital, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital.

Just for the very cause, he changed himself “from an introvert and shy person to the biggest fundraiser” the country had ever seen.

He said Shaukat Khanum was the first private medical facility of its kind that is treating 75 percent of its patients for free. Khan added he would never have been able to build the hospital if he had not learned struggle from cricket.

The prime minister said he wanted to build Pakistan on the model of the state of Medina. He said earlier Pakistan was being ruled by “two corrupt families” who came into power just for the sake of making dirty money.

Regarding the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, Khan said it was insanity what the West had done in the warravaged country for 20 years.

He observed no Afghan was involved in the deadly 9/11 attacks but the western countries occupied the country to achieve something which

could never be secured through the use of brute force.

Due to the very stance, the prime minister said, he was criticised and derogatorily called “Taliban Khan”.

He said he would order an immediate probe if anyone points to the corruption by any of his ministers. As far as the lower-level corruption by government officials was concerned, the government was introducing automation to do away with it, too.

To a question, the prime minister said his government had inherited the highest ever debt, fiscal liabilities and current account deficits in Pakistan’s history.

He said Pakistan was counted among the handful of nations to have effectively navigated through the Covid19 crisis by maintaining a delicate balance between lives and livelihood of the poor.

Khan said like other developing countries, Pakistan was also faced with imported inflation owing to the price hike of commodities such as edible oil and pulses which are imported.

He said in order to do away with the disparity in the education system, the government introduced the Single

National Curriculum (SNC) with consensus and consultation with all stakeholders.

Touching on Islamophobia, he said the Muslim leaders never portrayed the real face of Islam before the West, particularly after 9/11. “This made the Muslims in western countries face Islamophobia despite the fact terrorism had no relation with Islam”.

He said “Imran Khan alone could not make any change” unless the whole Muslim world must take a joint stance at the forums, like the United Nations, to make some difference.

The prime minister advised the youth to adopt Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as a role model. They should know how he transformed the characters and made them leaders.

The prophet was called Rehmatullil-Aalameen a blessing for the entire mankind, not just the Muslims. “Anyone who will follow his model will rise,” the prime minister said.

To a question about Afghanistan, he said Pakistan was faced with a very tricky situation after the exit of the US troops and the subsequent Taliban takeover.

He said the world including the US should think rationally for sake of 40 million people of that country or else the situation would lead towards chaos and terrorism.

In case of any chaos in Afghanistan, Pakistan would be immediately affected as the country had already been hosting three million refugees.

On the Kashmir dispute, he said Pakistan held the responsibility to raise the issue at every forum.

He said if India made any strike on Pakistan, it would respond in the similar manner it adopted in February 2019.

“Only mad people can think of bringing two nuclear powers face to face. Indian people are good but they are being ruled by fanatics,” he lamented.

NEWS

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atC adjourns hearing in model town case LAHORE Staff RePoRt

An anti-terrorism court in Lahore on Saturday adjourned the hearing in the 2014 Model Town carnage until January 8. The counsels argued in the court for deferring the case and argued that a case on the tragedy has already been under hearing in the Lahore High Court (LHC). Accused policemen in the case have filed a petition seeking the removal of terrorism clauses from the charge sheet. “Terrorism charge is unjustified, which should be removed from the charge sheet,” the accused pleaded. As many as 125 police officers and district administration officers were named as accused in a private complaint filed by the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) before the court. Many of them were re-shuffled by the former PML-N government between 2013-2018. The court also told the counsels to present their arguments over the acquittal petition of former Lahore DCO retired Capt. Muhammad Usman. Usman has requested the court he has nothing to do with the incident, adding his name was added in the prosecution on malicious grounds. He pleaded his acquittal. On June 17 seven years ago, at least 14 people were killed and over 100 sustained injuries when the police opened fire on PAT workers during an anti-encroachment operation outside the residence of party chief Tahir ul-Qadri in the neighbourhood of Model Town.

election postponed after di Khan mayoral hopeful gunned down PESHAWAR Staff RePoRt

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) postponed for an indefinite period the election for the office of Dera Ismail Khan mayor after an Awami National Party (ANP) contestant was shot dead outside his residence late Friday. A returning officer is expected to issue a notification announcing the same shortly. The schedule of polls in other constituencies of the city will remain unchanged, however. According to police, unidentified gunmen riding a motorbike targeted Omar Khitab Sherani, city president of the party, outside his residence in the Model Town neighbourhood, killing him on the spot. His body was shifted to a hospital for a post-mortem assessment.

“We want justice and we want it now. This cannot go on any more,” Samar Haroon Bilour, a spokesperson of the party, tweeted. Sherani was a candidate for the office of mayor in local body elections, the first phase of which is scheduled to be held on December 19 (Sunday). In the second phase, the elections will be held in 18 districts of the province on January 16.

Police rushed to the crime scene and cordoned it off while beginning the hunt for the attackers. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan expressed grief over the incident and directed police to arrest the culprits at the earliest. Khan’s adviser on information Muhammad Ali Saif said the killers would be arrested soon.

Multan: Workers of Pakistan People's Party protest against inflation and unemployment. PPI

Pakistan issues new guidelines for international passengers ISLAMABAD INP

The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority has issued new guidelines for international passengers to prevent the Islamabad International Airport from becoming crowded.

According to the new instructions, passengers will have to be present at the airport four hours before the take-off. People traveling to Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi will have to reach five hours prior to their flight.

The reports of the Rapid Covid tests conducted at the airport won’t be issued to passengers heading to UAE. For other passengers, 30 people will be allowed to enter the boarding area (after the Covid-19 test) at a time.

The manager of the Islamabad airport, Adnan Khan, has said that an announcement will be made before the airline counter is closed.

“An additional contingent of the Airport Security Force has been called in.

International passengers will go through a rapid security check before boarding,” he

added.

The development comes after the United Arab Emirates General Civil Aviation Authority made Safety Decision 2020-20 compulsory for all flights to and from UAE airports. It entails a list of instructions that need to be followed to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The PCAA had earlier established testing facilities at eight major airports across the country including Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Faisalabad, Quetta, and Sialkot for passengers traveling to UAE.

Sunday, 19 December, 2021 | KARACHI

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NEWS

KaracHi needS developMent, not politicS: aSad Karachi

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PR

EDERAL Government gives equal importance to all the federating units. Karachi requires a series of development projects under Karachi Transformation Plan to make it worthy of being the largest city of the country. Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar gave these remarks during inauguration ceremony of Mehmoodabad Drain (Nalla).

Asad Umar said that Federal Government would soon complete maintenance and revamping work on Orangi Drain and Korangi Drain under Karachi Transformation Plan to make city invulnerable to flooding during monsoon season.

Appreciating FWO and NDMA, Asad Umar said that transformation and revamping of Mehmoodabad Drain became a challenge during covid 19 pandemic. Both NDMA and FWO executed the project efficiently, he added. He also appreciated the role of Sindh Government in removing encroachment on the Mehmoodabad Drain.

Before addressing the parliamentarians and chair-

Habib University dedicates amphitheater to Saima, Shahbaz Yasin Malik Karachi men of NDMA and FWO, both Federal Minister Asad Umar and Federal Minister Syed Ali Haider Zaidi unveiled the plaque of Mehmoodabad Dain inauguration and planted a sapling.

Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Syed Ali Haider Zaidi said that delay in the maintenance of drains including Mehmoodabad had drained out garbage into sea as all the drains ultimately flow into the sea. He requested the

residents of adjacent areas of Mehmoodabad Drain to avoid throwing garbage or solid waste into the drain to avoid flooding in their areas during heavy rainfall.

Present at the occasion, Sindh Labour and Information Minister Mr. Saeed Ghani congratulated the Federal Government on completing Mehmoodabad Drain Project. He also requested the people to avoid dumping garbage into drains.

Balochistan importers call off strike Dr. Muhammad Ashfaq Ahmed, Chairman FBR/Secretary Revenue Division visited Customs House, Quetta.

He was accompanied by Dr. Muhammad Saeed Khan Jadoon, Member (Customs Policy), FBR. They were warmly welcomed by Mr. Muhammad Sadiq, Chief Collector Customs (Baluchistan), Mr. Rashid Habib, Collector Customs, Appraisement, Dr. Farid Ahmed, Collector Customs, Enforcement Quetta and Ch. Muhammad Javed, Collector MCC, Gwadar.

The Chairman FBR visited the Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Quetta. The President, Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Quetta warmly welcomed the Chairman FBR. The members of Chamber of Commerce & Industry Quetta highlighted the problems being faced by the importers and exporters of Baluchistan and urged for their speedy solutions. The major issues of traders pertained to contravention cases initiated by the Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation, Quetta against various importers. They further complained that they were being subjected to unwarranted checking of imported consignments by the Customs & different

LEAs. They also raised the valuation issues pertaining to good originating from Iran and Afghan.

The members of Chamber of Commerce, Quetta lamented that owing to the above issues they were constrained to go on strike and boycott the clearances at Custom House which resulted in stoppage of transportation of legally imported goods to the other provinces. The Chairman FBR gave them patient hearing and assured them of his fullest support in immediate resolution of their legitimate issues. On his assurance, the members of Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Quetta called off their strike and resumed normal Customs clearance activities.

Earlier, the Chief Collector Customs (Baluchistan) gave a detailed presentation on the performance of Collectorate of Customs, Appraisment / Enforcement Quetta and MCC, Gwadar during the FY 2021-22. He briefed the Chairman FBR about the overall performance of all the Collectorates under his jurisdiction in addition to current operationalization of anti-smuggling check posts. Regarding the shortage of staff at

check posts, the Chairman agreed to enhance the manpower to effectively conduct anti-smuggling operations. Chairman FBR emphasized on the pressing need to further strengthen the border check points. He also expressed his satisfaction over the performance and collection of revenue targets by the Collectorate of Customs (Balochistan) during (July-Nov) current FY 2021-22.

Mr. Muhammad Ismail, Director Intelligence & Investigation,Customs Quetta briefed the Chairman about the performance of the Directorate and detection of short revenue realization on account of valuation aspects against different importers of Balochistan. Mr. Abdul Rasheed Sheikh, Director General (DG) Intelligence & Investigation, Customs was also present on the occasion.

Likewise, Mr. Shahid Mehmood Sheikh, Commissioner, Inland Revenue, Quetta also gave a presentation with a focus on registered taxpayers, facilitations efforts, besides generation of domestic taxes. The Chairman appreciated the efforts being made by the team Inland Revenue. PRESS RELEASE

Scholar to defend dissertation on Dec 24 Ph. D. Public Defense of Ph.D. Scholar, Mr. Irfanullah, Registration No.119717, Department of Business Administration, Iqra University, Islamabad Campus, Sector H-9, titled “The Impact of Ethical Leadership on Employees' Innovative Performance with the Role of Intellectual Capital and Self-Efficacy: Evidence from Manufacturing Sector of Pakistan” is scheduled on Friday, 24th December, 2021 at 10:30am. Mr. Irfanullah has completed his Ph. D. dissertation under supervision of Dr. Bilal Mirza. PR

PR

Habib University Pakistan’s premier institute of Higher Education held a “Mehfil-e-Mohsineen” to express gratitude towards the dedication and generosity of its benefactors. Attendees included supporters of Habib University, senior leadership from the corporate sector, media, and members of civil society. The highlight of the event was the dedication of the university’s amphitheater as the “Saima and Shahbaz Malik Amphitheater,” in recognition of the generous support extended by Mr. Shahbaz Yasin Malik, CEO, Hilton Pharma and his wife, Saima Malik, which is instrumental in providing students from local examination boards the opportunity to attain a world class education.

Speaking on the occasion Mr Wasif A. Rizvi, President, Habib University commended the efforts of the benefactors and highlighting that Habib University was the only community owned university in Pakistan, said, “The secret ingredient of creating the highest quality possible university which is comparable to any in the world and then making it accessible to students, especially from underprivileged background, are the supporters of Habib University”. He thanked Shahbaz Yasin Malik and his family for standing with Habib University since the very beginning and supporting its cause.

Mr. Rafiq M. Habib, Chancellor, Habib University, thanked the supporters of the university for their continuous support,” thanking the philanthropic belief of the family , “Sardar Yasin Malik and his son, Shahbaz, were one of the very first community cofounders of this institution, and their support gave Habib family confidence, faith and courage in building this amazing University.”

Responding to this dedication Mr. Shahbaz Malik said, “Habib University provides a transformative educational experience to the youth and promotes diversity by supporting students from various socioeconomic backgrounds, which is one of the biggest inspirations for our family to become ambassadors and supporters to this cause.”

Mr. Mohomed Bashir, Chairman, Gul Ahmed Textile Mills and Chair, Resource Development Committee, Habib University was also present at the event to extend his support. He thanked the Mohsineen for their generosity and encouraged them to carry on with their investment in the future of Pakistan.

“Universities are not easy to build but once we build them, it is our responsibility to keep them going.

FATF evaluations: A lawfare or a legit trial?

By Nisar ahmed The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has caused a stir across the country; essentially, it is an independent watchdog over global money laundering and terrorist financing by devising robust recommendations, methodology and standards for anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism and proliferation. Asia Pacific Group is one of the nine FATF-Style Regional Bodies (FSRBs) with the responsibility to monitor terror financing and money laundering in the Asian region including Pakistan.

Due to the ongoing geopolitical turbulence stretching in South Asia over withdrawal of American troops from Kabul, the geoeconomics of US-Pakistan relation are in

a jittery; since Islamabad is in the midst of financial storm following refusal to allow US air bases in Pakistan for carrying out military strikes in Afghanistan and commitment of Prime Minister Imran Khan to pursue an independent foreign policy. Is Pakistan’s inclusion and subsequent retention in the category of jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies _ grey list since June 2018 an indication of a shock wave to the candid stance of Prime Minister Imran Khan? Not necessarily, the structural deficiencies around management of internal affairs and glossing over of colossal issues concerning money laundering and terror financing by policymakers in the past have also triggered opening of this Pandora’s box. Inadequate legislations and subjugation of national interest over personal interests on top of fight against terrorism and involvement of hostile foreign agencies in Pakistan mounted to the ongoing stalemate with FATF. Further, in the backdrop of this impasse lies the excessive reliance on greenback ever since its existence thus leaving a limited margin of freedom for taking autonomous decisions. On one hand Pakistan’s Unique Selling Proposition (USP) – nuclear weapon, in the entire Muslim world, makes it strategically the most pivotal economy but we pay a huge price for the nerve-racking dreams of our enemies fearing the prospects of Pakistan becoming a self-sufficient nuclear Muslim-state and it would not be wrong to

attribute our ravaged state to the ill-wishes of those ginger groups.

In June 2018, FATF showed a yellow card to Pakistan by placing it in grey list on foregoing concerns and issued a 27-points action plan having to do with anti-money laundering and anti-terror financing urging it to be completed by February 2021. The efforts

by Pakistan, while commendable, were not wholly successful as it could make headway to only 24 points of the total by first cut-off date. Then in June 2021, after addressing largely 26 out of 27 points in original action plans with efforts afoot to address the remaining item, a new chapter of this spectacle began, and it found itself jumping out of the frying pan into the fire when a wishlist requiring additional 7 points action plan was added to the original demands. In last FATF plenary in October 2021, FATF President Dr. Marcus Pleyer lauding Pakistan’s efforts over addressing 30 out of 34 points in concurrent action plans reiterated the need to address the remaining 4 points on priority basis and ruled out any possibility of showing red card by placing it in blacklist, however unfortunately, Pakistan’s fate is delayed till next plenary meeting to be held in February 2022.

Why FATF plenary is an epoch-making event for Pakistan? The answer is straightforward but unpalatable; take a minute to remember the times we approached International Monetary Fund (IMF) for financial assistance during the last seven

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decades; sadly, a great many times, to wit the count goes to 23 times! As of June 2021, Pakistan’s external debt stood at USD 122 billion with foreign exchange reserves of only USD 25 billion according to the statistics by State Bank of Pakistan. Getting blacklisted with such economic indicators by FATF means an end to further financial assistance of such a dependent economy from international monetary institutions. It’s trembling to even think about the heart-rending impacts of getting blacklisted, domestic currency would nosedive uncontrollably leading to hyperinflation thus plundering poverty-stricken citizenry. If not seriously addressed, a complete meltdown of an economy already sailing at a glacial pace is not any farther away, consequently endangering our USP, nuclear weapon, with the imposition of international sanctions.

Isaac Goldberg (1887-1938), American journalist, once rightly said, “Diplomacy is to do and say the nastiest things in the nicest way”. Had the Prime Minister’s stance on adoption of an independent foreign policy with an ailing economy held a right mix of diplomatic and blunt statements? I think circumstances suggest the otherwise, although Pakistan already paid a huge price for jumping into someone else’s war but still such an abrupt and unsculptured stance of the Premier at such a critical point of time has stirred up a hornet’s nest. Plight of our neighbor, Iran, which challenged the international pro-

tocols and restrictions head-on, presents a cautionary tale of victimization by the world through international lobbying and arm twisting. Over the years, international economies imposed stringent restrictions on Iran encompassing banking, shipping, nuclear, international trade and what not, making it a spineless subject in the face of cruel aggression. Following the last meeting of FATF, Turkey also accompanied Pakistan in grey list on account of identical reasons, time will tell whether this nation knows to avert this lawfare tool or it would tender its submission like Iran. This is something that should ring alarm bells for those sitting in Islamabad and it is high time to address the issue.

As they say; crosses are ladders that lead to heaven, similarly FATF’s repeated objections against removal of Pakistan from grey list give us an excellent opportunity to enact and promulgate new laws in line with international best practices thus helping us in curbing money laundering, smuggling and terror financing, and ascension towards a more documented and controlled economy. Pakistan is a sanctity in itself; it must escape a similar fate to Iran, and it cannot afford to make similar mistakes lest FATF restrictions are used as a lawfare tool against its sovereignty.

The writer is a professional under apprenticeship in a private organisation in Islamabad. He can be reached at nisarahmed.2na@gmail.com, https://www.linkedin.com/in/nisaree.

Sunday, 19 December, 2021 | kaRachi

PaKistan rallies OiC COUntries tO helP afghanistan COntinued frOM page 01

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E said the message to the gathering on Sunday is: “Please do not abandon Afghanistan. Please engage.

We are speaking for the people of Afghanistan. We’re not speaking of a particular group. We are talking about the people of Afghanistan.”

Qureshi said major powers — including the United States, Russia, China and the European Union — will send their special representatives on Afghanistan to the one-day summit.

He held up a copy of a letter that he said had been written by 37 American congressmen and addressed to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in which they said “it is our responsibility, our moral obligation to avert a humanitarian crisis” in Afghanistan.

“I believe this new thought is the purpose of this extraordinary session of foreign ministers. It was our wish to bring the world’s attention to Afghanistan and I can see the progress.”

Afghanistan is facing a looming economic meltdown and humanitarian catastrophe in the aftermath of the Taliban

takeover. Billions of dollars’ worth of the country’s assets abroad, mostly in the US, have been frozen and international funding to the country has ceased.

The world is also waiting before extending any formal recognition to the new rulers in Kabul, wary the Taliban could impose a similarly harsh regime as when they were in power 20 years ago — despite their assurances to the contrary.

In an interview with The Associated Press last week, Muttaqi said that Afghanistan’s new rulers were committed to the education of girls and women in the workforce.

Yet four months into Taliban rule, girls are not allowed to attend high school in most provinces and though women have returned to their jobs in much of the health care sector, many female civil servants have been barred from coming to work.

However, security has improved under the Taliban, with aid organisations able to travel to most parts of Afghanistan, including areas that for years were off-limits during the war, said a senior humanitarian official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorised to speak pub-

licly on the matter.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and UN agencies have warned of the humanitarian crisis facing Afghanistan and its 38 million people.

Hospitals are desperately short of medicines, up to 95 percent of all households face food shortages, the poverty level is soaring toward 90 percent and the Afghani, the national currency, is in free fall.

Pakistan has been at the forefront in pressing for world engagement in Afghanistan. Qureshi said Friday he has warned in talks with many foreign ministers — including with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington — that a total collapse in Afghanistan will hurt efforts to fight terrorism and trigger a massive exodus from the country.

Refugees will become economic migrants, he added, meaning they would not want to stay in neighbouring countries of Pakistan and Iran but will try to reach Europe and North America.

Qureshi also warned that if Afghans are left without help, militant groups such as al-Qaida and the regional Islamic State affiliate will regroup and flourish amid the chaos.

The OIC has leverage because of its nature as an Islamic organisation and Qureshi expressed hope the summit will also be an opportunity for the world’s Muslim nations to press upon the Taliban the imperative of allowing girls to attend school at all levels and for women to return to their jobs in full.

Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Wilson centre, said OIC nations could do more, suggesting they work through their religious scholars and have them interact directly with the Taliban.

For now, it would be difficult for the West to engage with the Taliban, Kugelman said, adding that such an interaction would be tantamount to admitting defeat in the 20-year war.

For the Taliban, it would be the “final satisfaction of being able to engage […] from the standpoint of victor,” he said.

“The Taliban defeated the West … their powerful militaries and caused them to suffer through a chaotic and humiliating final withdrawal,” he said. “For the West to turn around and bury the hatchet with the Taliban, this would amount to a legitimisation of its defeat.”

newS

05

corporate corner

All Pakistan Mobile Dealers Association Chairman Malik Khaild and Infinix’s Issac and Kevin inaugurate a store in collaboration with FreeFire at the Packages Mall in Lahore. pR

Martin Dow Group Chairman Ali Akhai and MD Javed Ghulam Mohammad call on Prime Minister Imran Khan. The group appreciated the commitment to establish Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Karachi and offered its support in the construction of two bone marrow transplant rooms in the hospital. pR

Sri Lanka Navy officials welcome Pakistan Navy ship Tughril in Colombo. pR

Commanding officer of Pakistan Navy ship Tughril exchanges souvenir with Commander Western Naval Area, Sri Lankan Navy during PNS Tughril visit to Sri Lanka. pR

UK reports 10,000 jump in Omicron cases, deaths rise to 7

Commanding officer of Pakistan Navy ship Tughril reciprocates mark of respect to a Sri Lankan Navy ship during bilateral exercise Lion Star. pR

LONDON: Cases in the United Kingdom of the fastspreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus jumped sharply to almost 25,000 while the total number of reported deaths among people with it so far roseto seven, according to British health authorities.

Confirmed Omicron-variant Covid-19 cases hit 24,968 as of 1800 GMT on Dec. 17, up by just over 10,000 cases from 24 hours earlier, the UK Health Security Agency said on Saturday. Deaths of people who had the Omicron strain rose to seven as of Dec. 16, up from one in the UKHSA's previous data which ran up to Dec. 14, and hospitalisations increased to 85 from 65. ReuteRs

Russia says its proposals can fix relations with US MOSCOW ReuteRs

Russia's relations with the United States have not hit their lowest point yet and security proposals Moscow has made can help ease tensions, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted as saying on Saturday.

Russia said on Friday it wanted a legally binding guarantee that NATO would give up any military activity in Eastern Europe and Ukraine, part of a wish list of security guarantees it wants to negotiate with the West.

It laid out for the first time in detail demands that it says are essential for lowering tensions in Europe and defusing a crisis over Ukraine.

"I think we did not hit the lowest point,

thank God, and there is a progress in some aspects at the very least and not everything is hopeless," Interfax news agency quoted Ryabkov as saying on Saturday.

Moscow needs stable and predictable relations with Washington, he said.

"The situation can be stabilized and improved with the help of such agreements.

Without them the situation will remain extremely difficult and tense," Ryabkov said, according to Interfax.

The Russian proposals were set out in two documents this week - a draft agreement with NATO countries and a draft treaty with the United States, both published by the foreign ministry.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Friday that the United

States is prepared for dialogue with Russia over its security demands and will present its own concerns.

Ukraine and the United States have said that Russia has moved more than 90,000 troops near the Ukrainian border and may be poised to invade, which Moscow denies.

"We do not want a conflict and we want to agree on a reasonable basis," Ryabkov said. "Any diplomatic move, any proposal is ... a test for negotiability."

British foreign minister Liz Truss said late on Friday, after Russia made its demands on NATO, that Moscow's military build-up on the borders of Ukraine was unprovoked and unjustified.

"Russia should take concrete steps to reduce tensions," she said on Twitter.

CMYK

06-07 Comment 19th December 2021_Layout 1 12/18/2021 11:02 PM Page 1

Sunday, 19 December, 2021

06 COMMENT

Vocational Training Centres and Peace in Xinjiang

World must bail out the Afghan people Despite not recognizing the Taliban government

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HiLE reiterating that afghanistan needs the full support and solidarity of its member states, the OiC has called upon the international community to help ensure life-saving assistance and humanitarian support to the afghan people. Last month, a meeting of the troika Plus comprising the Usa, Russia, China and Pakistan had also expressed deep concern over the severe humanitarian and economic situation in afghanistan and reiterated unwavering support for the people of afghanistan. One hopes that the summit being held in islamabad today would agree on a mechanism to avert the looming food crisis which can only be averted through a joint international effort of pooling funds and evolving a delivery system to far flung areas of the country. Fortunately, afghanistan has a fairly large number of airports, though all may not be functional at present. the gravity of the prevailing humanitarian crisis could be minimized through joint international effort.

What will still remain problematic is to turn afghanistan into a stable country both economically and socially. about 75 percent of afghanistan’s budget was dependent on external assistance as the Usa was keen to keep a client administration in office. Pledges of long-term assistance of the type might be difficult to secure. By putting restrictions on the working women the taliban have locked up half of the country’s potential workforce inside their homes. they have yet to allow girls to go to high schools in disregard of basic human rights. the world is already wary of terrorism and drug-related crime, issues that the taliban administration has yet to bring under control. there is a perception that a government with a narrow support base may not command the support of all the ethnic, sectarian and political entities. the taliban need to respond to the concerns of the international community, which they have not done so far, as they seek international support. no country has so far recognized the taliban government. Despite of this most of them have shown keenness to help afghans come out of the crisis. the summit today will provide an occasion to the taliban to listen directly to their critics and explain how long it will take them to respond to their concerns.

Restoring peace against terrorism HinA HAbib

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inJiang lies in northwest China, bordering on gansu and Qinghai provinces to the southeast and the tibet autonomous Region to the south, sharing a 5,000-km borderline with eight countries. it has an area of 1,600,000 sq km.

Xinjiang is home to many ethnicities including Uyghurs, Hans kazakhs, Mongolians, kirgiz, Xibe, tajik, Uzbek, Manchu, Daur, tartar, and Russian ethnic groups. China looks like a successful country when one talks about ethnic harmony and economic progress. the multiple diversities of China support each other which leads them towards economic prosperity.

Xinjiang, according to the Chinese government figures has had 15 successive years of good harvests with total grain output for the end of the year reaching 7.06 million tons. the region's relatively well-developed industrial structure focuses on a whole range of industries, such as textiles, foodstuff processing, leather, paper, sugar, carpets, raw and refined oil, iron and steel, metallurgy, machinery, chemicals, power generation, building materials, and the light industry. the tourist industry of the region is progressing; this was not possible in the violence-afflicted years of the region.

Unfortunately, according to the Chinese media starting around 2007, however, it became increasingly dangerous to visit Xinjiang. the region was rocked by a spate of horrific terrorist attacks, resulting in over 1,000 deaths and countless injuries. On July 5, 2009, there was a riot in the capital city of Urumqi; 197 people were hacked, beaten, or burned to death and 1,721 were injured. On 22 May 2014, two car bombings in the same city killed 43 people and wounded 94. there were dozens of other attacks. the extreme violence was not just confined to Xinjiang. in 2013, five people died and 38 were injured in a suicide attack by three Uyghurs in Beijing. in 2014, a killing spree by eight knife-wielding Uyghurs left 31 people dead and 141 injured at a kunming railway station. Most of the incidents were claimed by the East turkestan islamic Movement (EtiM). Later the successful Chinese anti-terrorism

Criminal negligence Omicron on the loose

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LtHOUgH Pakistan acted fast when the World Health Organisation (WHO) sounded the alarm over the discovery of a new Covid-19 variant, omicron, two cases have still managed to breach the travel ban, which was perhaps inevitable. it was therefore imperative to have a secure, robust and comfortable quarantine setup for those arriving from countries yet to be banned, for proper screening and testing to detect new cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus and isolate them. not only has that facility not been effectively set up but one confirmed Omicron affected person has escaped quarantine and is yet to be found, potentially infecting hundreds, if not thousands, by the time he is apprehended, that is if he is ever found. that an additional 38 people have managed to flee quarantine from the centre, a hotel in karachi, means that security is weak, possibly non-existent. What is more, these escapes have taken place over the course of some weeks, which means no preventative measures such as beefing up of security at the site were taken. this is a shameful example of gross criminal negligence and must be punished. as per usual, the buck is being passed around quite aggressively with various stakeholders of the sindh government being held responsible, from the health department to the police and deputy commissioner. it is important to remember that the sindh government’s response to the pandemic in the very first wave of the country was so quick, rapid and nuanced that the federal government, which at the time was lacking any such qualities in how it was addressing the situation, became critical of the former for doing too much too soon. that the same sindh government is unable to hold less than 50 people in a hotel for two weeks under is the perfect example of complacency setting in, maturing into incompetence and dangerous carelessness. Pakistan may have staved off the worst effects of the pandemic but there is almost no explanation supported by science as to how this came to be. Whether it is the latest variant or the next one, both provincial and federal governments must react to it as if it will wreak havoc if allowed to spread. Clearly no such present mindedness is to found in the sindh government’s response to the omicron variant.

Balance in relations with world powers

AttiyA MunAwer

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akistan does not depend on the Usa alone, the Usa also needs Pakistan in many matters, and this has been constant for the last seven decades. it is a separate matter that the Usa has never been such a reliable ally for Pakistan as China. the reason is that the Usa solely looks after its own interests and spurns the interests of others to maintain its superpower identity in the world. the Usa has repeatedly left Pakistan in the lurch after gaining 5ts interests. as a result, relations between Pakistan and the Usa have never been so strong that Pakistan can fully put its trust in them. this is also the reason for Pakistan’s inclination towards China by this inappropriate attitude of the Usa. there is no denying the fact that it takes time to strike a balance between the Usa and China, but the element of selflessness or ignorance is more prominent in our gesture. Until a few years ago, Pakistan was the utmost guardian of Us interests but suddenly increasing the propensity towards China has not reduced the risks, although the process of selecting foreign targets would have been safer from a more

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spite its atrocities in kashmir, while Pakistan, despite all its pacifism, is clearing up its defensive position.

Pakistan cannot ignore the ongoing human rights severe response from the international community if it had been gradual, but in the eyes of policymakers violations and indian fabrications in Occupied kashthere are probably more issues than targets. this mir while selecting foreign policy targets, but Pakistan seems to be unable to fulfill its responsibilities needlessness can also harm the national interest. it is true that anti-Us sentiments in Pakistan are in this regard. since then, india has dared to revoke on the rise rather than diminishing, as many quarters the special status of kashmir granted under article 370 of the indian Constituin Pakistan see the Usa as tion to Jammu and kashmir, an unreliable ally who realthough it had never dared fuses to help Pakistan in difto do so in previous military ficult times. in contrast, eras. as soon as we soured China is considered a reliWe need to make the world relations with the Usa, able ally that has not only helped Pakistan in every powers as much a supporter as india decided to consume kashmir. this decision constrenuous time but has also possible instead of opposing firms Pakistan’s diplomatic stood by it. However, severfailure and weak foreign ing ties with the Usa is not them. In this perspective, the policy. as easy as it seems because We need to make the Pakistan will have to bear Prime Minister has rightly said world powers as much a the direct benefit or loss of that we will not be part of any supporter as possible instead being a supporter or an opof opposing them. in this ponent of any world power.

Cold War between the USA and perspective, the Prime Minthe Pakistani leaderister has rightly said that we ship has always believed China, but will try to cease it. will not be part of any Cold that the most popular senThe USA needs Pakistan, and War between the Usa and timents of the people of China, but will try to cease Pakistan are in fact a rePakistan wants the USA to go it. the Usa needs Pakistan, flection of the protection and Pakistan wants the Usa of national interests. that ahead and play its role. to go ahead and play its role. is why it has succeeded in in this regard, four members making popular decisions of the Us senate intelliand has not compromised gence Committee have vison the interests of the country, while the other stance is that relations be- ited Pakistan. the purpose of this visit is to improve tween Pakistan and the Usa have not been very relations between Pakistan and the Usa and to help pleasant in recent years, so the Usa wanted to re- bring stability to afghanistan. Pakistan is satisfied establish good relations with Pakistan by inviting that Us officials have tried to understand Pakistan’s them to the Democracy summit, but after the re- grievances, but bilateral relations will depend on ecofusal to attend from Pakistan, perhaps the Usas nomic cooperation. it is up to the Us government to decide at what level bilateral relations can be renow will try to establish better relations.

Despite Pakistan’s refusal, there has been no stored. However, Pakistan will have to maintain a balstatement from the Usa, while criticism is being lev- ance in its relations with the world powers. this is eled at our political leadership. But it would have the only way for Pakistan to succeed in that balance. been better to ensure that priorities are achieved withThe writer can be reached at out vexing other powers and making them enemies.

We must move beyond sentimentality and pursue for- attiabutt121@gmail.com and tweets @Attiyaeign policy goals. india is superior in diplomacy de- Munawer

Pakistan must avoid being forced to choose between the USA and Xhina

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

failed to protect human rights and there is an increasing trend of using related instruments for political strategy brought peace back to this region. aims and intervening in states’ domestic affairs.

Vocational training Centres played a vital role the Us and China supported each other in the in the Chinese war against extremism. as we know, War on terror after the tragic events of 9/11. the employment is a key to a contented life. this is Usa and Un security Council al-Qaeda sanctions linked to the fundamental Committee has listed the interests of the overEtiM as a terrorist organwhelming majority of ization since 2002. But it people. For this purpose, took almost 20 years for Xinjiang has set up sevIt took almost 20 years for the US to the Us to recognize EtiM eral vocational education listing as a terrorist organrecognize ETIM listing as a terrorist ization as a strategic blunand training centres to provide systematic educader. therefore the Usa organization as a strategic blunder. revoked EtiM designation and training to students. these measures tion as a terrorist organiTherefore the USA revoked ETIM improved their cultural zation in november 2020. knowledge and working such a policy after so designation as a terrorist skills, had them emmany years raises multiployed, or increased their ple questions and brings organization in November 2020. income. the facility imconfusion regarding Us proved not only people’s strategy towards WOt. Such a policy after so many years livelihood and promoted the Chinese Foreign Minemployment, but also raises multiple questions and brings istry spokesperson Wang achieved social stability Wenbin said that the deciconfusion regarding US strategy and long-term stability in sion exposed the trump Xinjiang. Remarkably, double towards WOT. The Chinese Foreign administration’s the training centres meet standards towards international standards counter-terrorism.

Ministry spokesperson Wang and also are in line with Whereas Pakistan and the Counter-terrorism many other countries Wenbin said that the decision Law and the national searound the world do not curity Law of the People's exposed the Trump Administration’s agree with the Western Republic of China. narrative of the claimed But despite the sucdouble standards towards atrocities done against cessful policy of China Muslims in Xinjiang. counter-terrorisma to fight violence, the Pakistan’ national secuWestern media is illogirity adviser Moeed Yusuf cally busy in spreading recently stated that Pakfake news against vocaistan has good relations tional training centres with China, and the Pakand calling them concenistani ambassador and tration cells. other delegations have also visited the province of international relations analysts believe that with Xinjiang. the rise of China there is evidence of a westerni think overall the stability and peace in Xinjiang backed strategy to contain China. the anti–China el- itself is evidence of the vocational training center’s ements use the human rights apparatus to defame impactful role and success.

China. Human rights are crucially important but when countries around the world raise selective isThe writer is a research associate at the Eurasian sues for their own purpose this makes for abuse of Century Institute Islamabad the human rights apparatus. Overall the world has

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06-07 Comment 19th December 2021_Layout 1 12/18/2021 11:02 PM Page 2

Sunday, 19 December, 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

Teaching with technology

Pain, lingering pain Neither a responsible people, nor a caring state

Candid Corner rAoof HAsAn “strangers we remain despite countless times we met How many reunions will it take to be friends again?

When shall the eyes behold spotless greens of spring?

How many monsoons will it take to wash the blood stains away?” adapted from Faiz ahmad Faiz: ‘Dacca say Wapsi per’

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FtEntiMEs life has strange things in store for you. they come without a warning. they catch you unaware of their enormity, or their significance. some are such that they fade away after some time, but there are others which linger with you for a lifetime, constantly reminding that a tragedy had befallen which has not ceased to hurt. two tragedies befell Pakistan on the same date, though 43 years apart: the fall of Dacca leading to the separation of East Pakistan that became Bangladesh and the ghastly and barbaric tragedy that befell the army Public school (aPs) in Peshawar, cutting short the lives of over 150 children and teachers. the measure of these tragedies cannot be fathomed simply by counting the number of people lost in each case, but the unbearable pain that both caused which refuses to go away. What adds to the pain is the fact that both could have been averted: one happened because of the sinister plans contrived by people who were hungry for power and the other occurred because of dereliction of duty on the part of people who were entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring security at the educational premises. the Bangladesh crisis was the consequence of inequitable treatment meted out to the people of the eastern wing of the country. they were subjected to a host of deprivations and discriminations, ultimately reducing them to becoming ‘inferior’ citizens to those residing in the western wing. their language was shunned, their share in the superior civil and military services was limited and they worked as labourers in the industries set up by West Pakistani entrepreneurs. they were generally treated with disdain.

With time, they developed a dislike for their so-called ‘masters’ which gradually turned into hate. this feeling of deprivation was effec-

tively exploited by india which set about separating the eastern wing from the rest of the country, thus setting in motion the process to Pakistan’s dismemberment. the agartala Conspiracy Case was unearthed as early as 1958. thereafter, instead of giving it the full attention of the state and adopting remedial measures, we remained consumed with one insignificant thing leading to another, ending with East Pakistan becoming Bangladesh on that fateful day of 16 December 1971. the crisis was precipitated by the lust for power of, among others, that one person: Zulfiqar ali Bhutto. after the elections held on 7 December 1970, awami League (aL) of sheikh Mujibur Rehman secured 160 seats out of a total of 162 in the former East Pakistan while Bhutto’s People’s Party (PPP) could only get 81 seats out of a total of 138 in West Pakistan. in a house of 300, aL obtained ed a convincing majority without support from any other political party. thus they had earned a democratic right to form the next government. that is when the conspiracy started unfolding. Bhutto started threatening to break the legs of those who would go to attend the national assembly session convened in Dacca. He claimed his right to rule in West Pakistan and said that he was not Mrs Bandaranaike (the sri Lnkan ex-PM who had spent a term in the opposition before returning to office in 1970) that he would sit in the opposition. He conspired with general Yahya khan to abort the convening of the national assembly session and, instead, launch a military operation on March 26 which he greeted with the words that “Pakistan had been saved”. the military operation was a horrid mismatch. Former East Pakistan had a 1,500 kilometres long border with india. there were three Pakistani divisions facing 15 indian divisions and more than 150,000 fully trained and equipped Mukhti Bahini soldiers. there were also an estimated 50,000 indian soldiers who had infiltrated into the war zone wearing Pakistan military fatigues. On top of that was the Bengali population which was up in arms against the West Pakistani army. in spite of that, there were heart-rending stories of unmatched bravery and valour under the most daunting of circumstances by Pakistani troops. there was still a lingering hope of saving the situation. at the United nations where Bhutto went to represent Pakistan as its foreign minister, he played a highly dubious role. in an act of pre-orchestrated drama gelled with sufficient histrionics, he tore to shreds the Polish resolution that called for a ceasefire to take effect and handing over power to the elected representatives of the people. thus he nullified every remaining vestige for the survival of a united Pakistan.

He malevolently contrived an opportunity to assume the office of the President of a truncated country. the survival of a united Pakistan had absolutely no significance for him. as a matter of fact, it ran counter to his evil plans. His ascendance to the seat of power was the sole consuming passion. this is what he craved, and this is what he achieved. But it came at the heaviest possible cost and pain that any country ever had to bear to satiate the evil lust of its leaders.

What is even more dismaying is that, as a state, we seem to have learnt virtually nothing

from this humiliating tragedy that befell the country 50 years ago. We remain as divided as ever, maybe even more. We remain as lustful for power as we were then, maybe even more. We are as short-sighted in planning our policies as we were then. although the poisonous seeds of religiosity had been sown much earlier, we are far more smitten with this sickness than we were back in 1971. We remain a dangerously corrupt and polarised society where every individual, wherever he may be placed and whatever quotient of power he may be wielding, is only consumed with his personal benefit which always comes to the detriment of the state. We seem to have lost the sense to look beyond the self at the collective good of the society. that has absolutely no meaning and relevance in the way we think of things.

With time, we have developed another damning trait: we tend to forget the tragedies which befell us. instead of learning from them and ensuring that we don’t repeat the mistakes that we made in the past, we continue to indulge the luxury disdainfully. We don’t seem to care for the intense and immense pain these tragedies may have caused to mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and other relations and friends of those who lost their lives. We don’t care. We shirk from taking any responsibility as members the society. We are just individuals who act out of personal whims with unbearable stocks of hubris driving us. the East Pakistan tragedy was avoidable if we had sacrificed our lust for power. the aPs tragedy could have been averted if those responsible for the security of the innocent children were more efficient and responsive to the challenge. there were damning reports which were consigned to history with few held accountable for their ghastly derelictions. these do not constitute ingredients of a responsible state. Lost in the labyrinth of time, we have failed on many counts. We have neither learnt anything from these tragedies, nor do we care. We are in a free fall as a society, completely denuded of both the legal and the moral attributes. there were lessons to be learnt from the tragedy fifty years ago that dismembered Pakistan, and the tragedy seven years ago which caused indescribable suffering to countless families. the pain from both has lingered as, indeed, it shall continue to in the future also. the simple fact is that, as a nation, we have become resistant to learning. We are enamoured by the letter of things, but refuse to assimilate their substance and spirit.

Heartlessness has crept into our beings, rendering as immune to things which don’t impact us directly. the state and other people are not relevant. it is when some tragedy strikes us that we explode. We have forfeited our sense of responsibility. these are signs of a decaying polity.

We need to arrest it urgently as it can cause irreparable loss to whatever remains of the state.

Pain is there. Pain will remain with us in the future also, but pain is no panacea for the grievous losses that the state and its people have suffered. What we must do is to avert the possibility of such tragedies occurring in the future. that will happen by looking inward. that will happen by exercising logic in preference to religiosity and reason in supersession of emotionalism. these enduring constituents should charter the course for the future, not an immersion in the putrid pool of degradation.

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

Twitter: @RaoofHasan

tECHnOLOgY has many different tools through which many students are getting advantages to achieve their respective aims. nowadays new technologies are growing, and they are trying to use to achieve virtual and online things that were impossible in the past. Due to new technology, everyone is earning virtually, and students are learning their education at home. technology helps students and teachers in different ways to achieve their goals like online education, entrepreneurship, teaching, and online collaboration, etc. technology helps students to share their notes, documents presentation, voice pictures even they can talk with each other through new technologies that were impossible in the past. it helps students to boost their learning skills. it makes teaching more interesting through the use of the projector in class. through technology, students can now be provided with digital textbooks, lectures, notes, books- with a lot of money saved. teaching with technology also allows for distance learning and makes education accessible for those people for whom internet connectivity is a problem. nowadays distance learning is the most trendy method of education. People can utilize their time for learning knowledge in specialised areas, whatever they are interested in. teachers can deliver online lectures and take online assignments homework and can change the entire course development. By using technology teachers can improve resources of teaching and control their workload. teachers can teach from any location; that was not possible in the past. in the past, the number of seats for the setting was limited; but now students can take classes from their homes.

However there are certain disadvantages too, mostly with what to do if the technology fails or is not that advanced yet. students can’t take their classes without the internet and they can’t submit their task documents without the internet. teachers don’t allow to deliver lectures without the internet. Without the internet, teachers don’t have the opportunity to offer the same course in different designs.

ASFAND ALI MEMON, JAMShOrO.

Bespectacled youth and smartphones

as the world is changing steadily and heading towards introducing new technologies and innovations each year, Pakistani youth is destroying itself using mobile apps including, tiktok, PUBg and many others, spending excessive time making videos and playing games on them. it is disturbing to see the youth glued to these gadgets even during these hard times but their long debilitating sprees on mobiles render them sluggish and weaken their eyesight and health as well. they must use such platforms to entertain and edify people to raise the spirit of loving one’s country, its historical places and especially its heroes who had sacrificed themselves to give them this nation and liberty because a large majority belonging to this fraternity does not know about its country’s past history. the tradition of online classes has forced students to take their classes on laptops and mobile phones as the rising cases of coronavirus have forced the government to close the educational institutions. For the time being, it’s common to see adolescents wearing glasses but if we go back to the early 90s, there were no smartphones, no laptops etc and it was rare to find juveniles wearing glasses. if you look at your surroundings, you will find that every fifth person is a victim of this disease. such cases have escalated in many ways within the last few years. students’ indulgence in mobile phones, online classes and their watching movies on televisions are the main reasons for this. instead of bringing awareness and prosperity into the lives of the people with the help of these appliances, students no matter which class they belong to misuse them.

Our county’s literacy rate is extremely low in comparison with other countries especially in the case of girls it is abysmally low. Many juveniles have lost their lives by falling onto train tracks and off the roofs and killing their elders when restricted not to play such games and are still losing because they select tricky places for making videos and put their lives in danger. Parents must discourage and try hard to wean their children away from mobile phones until they complete their studies. the hazards of excessive use of mobile phones causes Dna damage, sleeplessness, eye cancer, infertility and cardiac problems. the government needs to make a policy in which time-restriction mode should be framed after 2 hours usage on daily basis to save our youth and country from more crises. hAMZA MALICK LAhOrE

Organic diet tO meet nutritional requirements there is a popular trend nowadays. People prefer dietary supplements. By definition, a dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement the diet when taken by mouth. the nutrients in supplements are either extracted from food sources or synthetically made in order to increase the quality of nutritional value of a product. they are specially formulated and scientifically studied to effectively manage symptoms and improve outcomes. But supplement consumption is not an ultimate solution, nutritional needs should be met primarily through diet. in Pakistan, flattering advertisements and campaigns urge parents to consume or in fact replace basic diet with supplements. Parents should always consult a pediatrician or any other concerned health expert before giving supplements to their children. supplements for sure provide vitamins and minerals to body, but some generally high in sugars. thus, to meet the nutritional requirement of body one must prefer whole food. natural and organic products offer three main benefits over dietary supplements: Better nutrition; Providing innumerable essential micronutrients. Essential fiber and Protective substances including anti-oxidants. all concerned stake holders prefer organic diet consumption, one can opt for dietary supplements but upon prescription of concerned consultants and immediate need. the food regulatory authority in Punjab; Punjab Food authority, its Chairman Umer tanveer Butt and Director general Rafaqat ali nissoana along with their awareness teams have instructed people to prefer healthy and organic food options. We must take such instructions and messages into consideration for our sake.

USAMA PErVEZ LAhOrE

Sunday, 19 December, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

Former CIa DIreCTors Call on BIDen To ThreaTen Iran mIlITarIly “THE MILITARY THREAT THE US POSES TO IRAN IS A KEY REASON WHY THE IRANIAN NUCLEAR PROGRAM HAS EXPANDED,” AN ANALYST SAID, CRITICIZING THE STATEMENT InterCept

a

JeRemy ScAhIll

hawkish gaggle of former U.S. national security officials, lawmakers, and diplomats has launched a public campaign to pressure the Biden administration into militarily threatening Iran. The statement, headlined by former CIA chiefs Leon Panetta and retired Gen. David Petraeus as well as former Obama-era senior Pentagon official michèle Flournoy asserts that “it is vital to restore Iran’s fear that its current nuclear path will trigger the use of force against it by the United States.”

The statement — which was also signed by former Democratic rep. Jane Harman and Democratic diplomatic heavyweight Dennis ross, and published by the Washington Institute, a militarist think tank — argues that the Biden administration must “take

steps that lead Iran to believe that persisting in its current behavior and rejecting a reasonable diplomatic resolution will put to risk its entire nuclear infrastructure, one built painstakingly over the last three decades.”

They suggest that President Joe Biden consider “orchestrating high-profile military exercises by the U.S. Central Command, potentially in concert with allies and partners, that simulate what would be involved in such a significant operation, including rehearsing air-to-ground attacks on hardened targets and the suppression of Iranian missile batteries.”

Iran analyst Hooman majd, author of “The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of modern Iran,” said the letter from the former U.S. officials “is just plain silly.” He told The Intercept, “There’s no ‘restoring’ Iran’s fear — the last time it feared a U.S. military strike or war was in the immediate aftermath of the Iraq invasion when it looked like the easy victory there and in Afghanistan would indeed perhaps lead to ‘real men going to Tehran.’” majd points out that despite repeated U.S. and Israeli threats of military action, Iran has steadily “beefed up” its military

capabilities. “So I’d say that Iran doesn’t fear U.S. military action against it now,” he added. “All of the Israeli bluster about preparing for war with Iran hasn’t changed their calculus — and they know Israel is probably more likely to attack their facilities than the U.S. is — so why would any U.S. bluster or ‘preparations’ for war do so?”

Trita Parsi, the executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for responsible Statecraft, blasted the statement, telling The Intercept: “The exaggerated faith in the miracles that U.S. military threats can deliver are not limited to any one party in the United States, but is intrinsic to the establishment religion that American security is achieved through global military hegemony.”

The former U.S. officials argued that their strategy is aimed at forcing Iran to the negotiating table and to compel it to reverse any efforts to develop nuclear weapons made in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s abandonment of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA. “While the United States has recognized Iran’s right to civilian nuclear power, Iran’s behavior continues to indicate that it not only wants to preserve a nuclear weapons op-

tion but is actively moving toward developing that capability,” they wrote. While advocating for potential military action — and openly calling on Biden to make explicit military threats — the authors of the letter claim their intent is to support diplomatic efforts. “[W]e are not urging the Biden Administration to threaten ‘regime change’ or to advocate for a ‘regime change’ strategy under cover of nonproliferation,” they wrote. “This is not about hostility toward Iran or its people.”

Parsi, an Iranian American analyst and author of “Losing an enemy: Obama, Iran, and the Triumph of Diplomacy,” added, “rather than being the solution to the crisis, the military threat the U.S. poses to Iran is a key reason why the Iranian nuclear program has expanded. The more a country is faced with military threats, the more it will demand a nuclear deterrence.”

During the 2020 presidential campaign, Biden repeatedly criticized Trump’s abandonment of the nuclear deal and his assassination of maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani in Baghdad on January 3. But nearly a year into his presidency, Biden has taken no action to return to the deal and has staked out an in-

creasingly hostile stance toward Tehran. In late August, Biden appeared to be placing military options on the table. During a press gaggle with Israeli Prime minister Naftali Bennett at the White House, Biden said, “If diplomacy fails” with Iran, “we’re ready to turn to other options.” The Biden administration has maintained and, in some cases, expanded U.S. economic sanctions against Iran, which has spurred allegations from Tehran that the U.S. is already waging a nonmilitary war against Iranian civilians. Iran is demanding a cessation of sanctions as a precondition to return to negotiations.

“Iran has every reason to want to restore the JCPOA — at least in terms of getting the most onerous sanctions against it lifted. But it hardly is going to engage because it thinks the U.S. will go to war with it if it doesn’t,” said majd.

“Donald Trump’s military threats and broad economic sanctions are precisely why we are in this mess right now. To believe that more Trumpian conduct by the United States will break the nuclear deadlock bewilders the mind,” says Parsi. “Trump’s exit from the deal and the lack of confidence that the United States will stay in the deal beyond 2024 has profoundly undermined the value of American promises of sanctions relief.

The Iranians are hesitating largely because they do not believe that the economic benefits the U.S. promises will be forthcoming.

No amount of military threats will change that fundamental weakness in the U.S. negotiating position.”

Threatening war with Indian media is a slave Iran won't save the to the ruling class nuclear deal

THE PRINT MEDIA PROVIDES NEWS BY CAREFUL STUDY AND UNDERSTANDING, WHILE THE ELECTRONIC MEDIA PROVIDES MOMENTARY NEWS

PROMINENT HAWKS ARE CALLING ON BIDEN TO PUT MILITARY STRIKES ON THE TABLE IN THE JCPOA TALKS, THE LATEST SIGN THAT WASHINGTON IS ALLERGIC TO DIPLOMACY Common Dreams

J

TRITA PARSI

eremy Scahill of The Intercept has a good piece responding to a letter published today by michèle Flournoy, Leon Panetta, General David Petraeus, Dennis ross and a few others, urging Joe Biden to break the nuclear deadlock with Iran by issuing military threats. I am quoted extensively in the piece. I am including my quotes below, while also adding a few additional thoughts. Here's what I told Jeremy: The exaggerated faith in the miracles that U.S. military threats can deliver is not limited to any one party in the United States but is intrinsic to the establishment religion that American security is achieved through global military hegemony. rather than being the solution to the crisis, the military threat the U.S. poses to Iran is a key reason why the Iranian nuclear program has expanded. The more a country is faced with military threats, the more it will demand a nuclear deterrence.

Donald Trump's military threats and broad economic sanctions are precisely why we are in this mess right now. To believe that more Trumpian conduct by the United States will break the nuclear deadlock bewilders the mind.

Trump's exit from the deal and the lack of confidence that the United States will stay in the deal beyond 2024 has profoundly undermined the value of American promises of sanctions relief. The Iranians are hesitating largely because they do not believe that the economic benefits the U.S. promises will be forthcoming. No amount of military threats will change that fundamental weakness in the U.S. negotiating position. Having said that, I do believe—as I hinted at in my recent piece for mSNBC—that the fear of war was an important factor for the parties getting serious about diplomacy in 2013. Both the United States and Iran believed that war would be the outcome if talks failed. This helped sharpen the choices of both sides and helped muster political will—again, on both sides—that enabled the compromises manifested in the JCPOA. But here's the difference from what Petraeus et al are calling for: Obama didn't issue any military threats. rather, the structure of the situation was such that it was clear to all that war was the likely alternative to a deal.

Today, as I explain for mSNBC, the structure is different. Issuing (empty) threats will not change that. It will only make diplomacy more difficult.

So, shouldn't the situation be changed so that the parties once again have no choice but to muster the necessary political will?

No, it should not for a very simple reason: We got lucky last time. It could just as easily have ended in a disastrous war. Neither side can control the situation. Deescalatory options are imprecise and unpredictable, to the extent that they even exist.

The idea that we can dial things up and down at will without the other side having a say, without factoring in the risk of the other side miscalculating, is simply irresponsible. We should not constantly lower our expectations of leaders and diplomats.

It is fundamentally reasonable to expect that leaders on both sides can and should muster the courage to strike a reasonable compromise without a disastrous war hanging over the heads of the American people and the peoples of the middle east.

Trita Parsi is founder and president of the National Iranian American Council and an expert on US-Iranian relations, Iranian foreign politics, and the geopolitics of the Middle East.

Counter Currents

T

VIkAS PARAShRAm meShRAm

He job of the electronic media should be to make people aware, but due to TrP, news channels nowadays prefer to present any news in a sensational way and this is a worrying situation. Looking at the news circulating in Indian newspapers and electronic channels, it is not difficult to understand that now the main concern for the information media in this country is political upheaval and advertisement of the glory and fame of a few politicians. except for Corona, everything is in vain and if there is an epidemic, it is necessary to report it. Or the recent suicide of Sushant Singh rajput. During the election season, the leader is applauded on the channels. And nothing but cricket. Inflation, unemployment, law and order are no longer news.

It is also true that the way in which the electronic media is facing a crisis of credibility these days has made this medium of journalism hollow. The news channels should understand this as soon as possible, otherwise their existence could be jeopardized if it is delayed. The growing power of social media, the credibility of print media and the power of web journalism has diminished the relevance and credibility of this medium. It is the responsibility of the media to bring out the truth, but who will pay the price for that truth? Print media is more powerful than electronic media. The print media provides news by careful study and understanding, while the electronic media provides momentary news.

Newspapers have played an important role in creating awareness in the society. This role is not limited to any one country or region, no one can deny the important role of newspapers in all the progressive thinking countries of the world.

The media, especially the print media, has an amazing power to create public opinion.

Newspapers work to know the public opinion

in policy making and to reach out to the policy makers. If we call ourselves a democracy, then we must also realize that no nation can be a complete democracy unless its citizens have the full opportunity to exercise their rights in life. The media becomes our representative to convey the voice of the society to the government. But nowadays the trend is reversing and there is no news left in India except modi and his party and government. All other Sensex, IPL. I.e. financial news and business. Now the question is, are newspapers really the voice of the people? After all, who do those people trust? For them, raising the voice of the oppressed is very important.

Are the questions of the common man bigger or the personal life of the celebrity?

Today’s journalism is going through such a phase and its commitment is being questioned. The nature and purpose of the media has changed a lot over time. Now there is less space in the media for serious topics.

The front page of the newspaper usually focuses on the rhetoric of politicians, their praise, cricket matches or market fluctuations. The most serious problems are taken on the inner leaves and are sometimes completely missing. many issues get a place in the news, but there is a lack of time or pages for serious discussion. Newspapers are in such a state that their worries and feelings about Delhi, mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Bangalore, Goa, Patna and Srinagar are almost dead. much of the news in the newspapers here deals with political and economic issues, and again, the two pages of the game are dominated by cricket and the rest by film entertainment. Therefore, the media is creating a hollow picture of India. And what is left is so trivial, insignificant and unfit for publication that only intellectual editors, journalists and writers in this country consider it appropriate not to publish anything. Health, education, agriculture and the environment do not get much space. Farmer suicides are no longer news. His movements are now out of the news. Newspapers in Indian languages usu-

ally do not read much about the changes taking place in North India and South India.

Newspapers do not care that the problems of Indian society, poverty, health inequality and education, which are plagued by rural problems and social evils, are beyond the reach of the common man and the army of the unemployed is quadrupling day by day. The writers who write on these issues go unnoticed, as we have seen in the last few years, the role of the media in human rights is almost neutral. With the exception of Kashmir and Shaheen Bagh, we can see examples of Irom Sharmila and Salwa Judum in the past. Both cases are examples of human rights violations, but there has been little serious discussion in the media.

There is a huge chain of atrocities against women and dalits, there have been many intoxicating incidents in UP, madhya Pradesh, Karnataka recently. Sometimes there is a commotion and then everything is as it is. The media is often silent on the issue of political freedom being violated. media neutrality is extremely dangerous for a healthy democracy.

Democracy does not and should not have the concept of treason. everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; If the arbitrariness of the state considers the freedom of expression of the individual as treason, then the very existence of democracy will be endangered.

India’s so-called mainstream news media is becoming out of context. maybe now only the factories of politics and commissions are left. The shops of politics for personal gain and making money have become the medium, the schools of corrupt politics, the mafia bases of political criminals. most of these have connections with the media and media people.

That is why the arrogance of the editor and the anchor is behaving as if they are the savior of the common man and people are fed up with this arrogance. The funny thing is that the people in the media who claim to be away from politics and openly comment on politics seem to be buried in the mire of politics. We have many examples of this.

Sunday, 19 December, 2021 | KARACHI

NEWS

09

SuSpeCted Child moleSter AttACked in lAhore

China's Alibaba pledges carbon neutrality by 2030

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SHANGHAI ReuteRs

Alibaba Group 9988.HKBABA.N will aim to achieve carbon neutrality in its own operations and slash emissions across its supply chains and transportation networks by 50% by the end of the decade, the Chinese e-commerce giant pledged on Friday.

Alibaba promised to bring its own direct carbon dioxide production - known as "scope 1" emissions as well as its indirect "scope 2" emissions - derived from the consumption of electricity or heating - to net zero by 2030.

It also said it would reduce carbon intensity from the "scope 3" emissions - produced in areas such as transportation, purchased goods and services and waste - by 50% by 2030.

The company also pledged to cut overall CO2 across all its businesses by 1.5 gigatonnes by 2035.

To achieve its goals, Alibaba plans to deploy new energy-saving, high-efficiency technologies, make further use of renewables and also explore "carbon removal initiatives" that could extract climatewarming greenhouse gas from the atmosphere.

Daniel Zhang, the company's chief executive, said the company also sought to "mobilise actions and behavioural changes among consumers, merchants and partners in China and around the world".

President Xi Jinping announced last year that China would aim to become carbon neutral by around 2060, putting the country's giant corporations under pressure to draw up their own roadmaps to reach "net zero".

But China's giant tech firms remain hugely dependent on the country's coal-dominated energy system, with only a small number so far committed to switching to renewable sources of electricity.

In a report published earlier this year, environment group Greenpeace ranked Tencent Holdings 0700.HK as the best-performing Chinese cloud service provider in terms of procuring renewable energy and cutting emissions. Huawei Technologies came second, Baidu Inc 9888.HK third and Alibaba fourth.

N enraged mob on Saturday attacked a suspected child molester in Lahore's Millat Park locality, according to Express Tribune. Zaheer, the suspect who according to police officials has a history of such crimes and had spent two years in prison six years ago, had been living in the locality after coming out of the jail. He lured an

eight-year-old girl to a room, where he attempted sexual assault on her.

The residents gathered after hearing the little girl's cries for help and attacked the suspect. Later, local police also arrived at the crime scene.

A team including SHO Millat Park Khalid Pervaiz reached the spot. They locked the suspect into a room

and held a dialogue with the residents to disperse them.

This can be seen in CCTV footage also available with The Express Tribune.

SP Iqbal Town Raza Tanveer said that the suspect has been handed over to the investigation wing after the registration of an FIR against him.

He further said that sexual crimes against women and children will not be tolerated.

In August, Police in Lahore arrested a suspect involved in the rape of a mother and daughter near LDA Avenue H1 Block.

According to the FIR filed at Chung police station, the 35-year-old woman along with her 15-year-old daughter – residents of Okara – had come to Lahore to visit her sister on Aug 23. They reached Thokar Niaz Beg at 10 pm and hired a green-coloured rickshaw for Sadar, Cantt, to get to the residence of her sister in Officers Colony.

The rickshaw driver, along with his accomplice, however, took them to a deserted spot near LDA Avenue and sexually assaulted the mother and daughter.

"The suspects would put hands on our mouth or would strangle us whenever we tried to cry for help", the mother stated in the FIR. She said the suspects ran away, leaving behind their rickshaw after a car stopped by near the site of the crime. “Seeing its light we screamed for help,” she said, adding that the suspects then fled the scene.

Police have arrested the prime suspect, Umar. According to police, Umar is a habitual offender and has cases registered against him in Okara and Haveli Lakha. NeWs DesK

Tesla faces investor lawsuit over Musk tweets on 10% stock sales SAN FRANSICO ReuteRs

In March, another shareholder sued Musk and its board in March, accusing him of violating his 2018 set-

tlement with the SEC and exposing shareholders to billions of dollars of losses.

Tesla Inc was hit by a lawsuit over CEO Elon Musk's social media posts including his Twitter poll on stock sales that pulled down its stock prices.

Tesla investor David Wagner called for access to internal documents to investigate whether Tesla and Musk violated an agreement with the US securities regulator and its board members failed to adhere to their fiduciary duties.

In 2018, Musk settled a lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission over his tweet on taking the company private, agreeing to have the company’s lawyers pre-approve tweets with material information about the company.

Tesla shares, which had hovered near record-highs, lost their value by about a quarter after Musk said on November 6 he would sell 10% of his stake if Twitter users agreed. He has since sold nearly $14 billion worth of shares so far.

The lawsuit, filed with the Delaware Court of Chancery on Thursday, seeks to obtain records and books related to his tweets, including documents to identify whether the stock sales tweets were reviewed or pre-approved in advance.

India spooks Amazon by suspending 2019 Future Group deal, cites suppression of information NEW DELHI ReuteRs

India’s Antimonopoly Agency suspended Amazon.com (AMZN.O) 2019’s deal with Future Group on Friday, which could thwart attempts by the US e-commerce giant to block the sale of Future’s retail assets in Indian market leader.

The regulator ruled that the US company was withholding information while trying to get regulatory approval for an investment in the Indian retail chain Future Group two years ago. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) decision could have far-reaching implications for Amazon’s litigation with now-alienated partner Future.

Amazon has successfully leveraged the terms of its $ 200 million investment in Future in 2019 for several months to block an Indian retailer’s attempt to sell Reliance Industries (RELI.NS) retail assets for $ 3.4 billion.

The 57-page order from the regulator says it deems it “necessary to re-examine the combination (trade),” adding that its 2019 approval “remains in effect” until then.

The CCI order said Amazon “hid the actual volume” of the deal and made “false and incorrect statements” while seeking permits.

“Approval is suspended. This is absolutely unprecedented, ”said Sveta Dubey, a partner at the Indian law firm SD Partners and formerly at CCI. “The order appears to have taken on new powers for the CCI to delay approval of the combination,” she added.

With antitrust approval on the 2019 Future deal now on hold, it could undermine Amazon’s legal standing and retail ambi-

tions, and make it easier for Reliance, the country’s largest retailer, to acquire a second player for Future, people familiar with the dispute say.

CCI also imposed a fine of about Rs 2 billion ($ 27 million) on the American company, adding that Amazon would have time to resubmit information to obtain permits, the CCI added.

However, Future Group is unlikely to

partner with Amazon if it tries to reapply for antitrust clearance following the CCI ruling, a direct source told Reuters.

The Indian company is also set to take the CCI decision on Friday in various legal forums to prove that Amazon has no legal basis to challenge the sale of its assets, the source added.

Future and Reliance did not respond to a request for comment. Amazon said it is reviewing the order “and will decide in due course on its next steps.”

RETAIL BATTLE: The dispute over Future Retail, which has more than 1,500 supermarkets and other retail outlets, is the most hostile hotbed of fierceness between Jeff Bezos’s Amazon and Reliance, run by India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, as they try to gain the upper hand in attracting retail consumers.

Struck by the COVID-19 pandemic, Future decided last year to sell its retail assets to Reliance for $ 3.4 billion, but Amazon managed to successfully block the sale through legal concerns.

Amazon cited a breach of contract by Future, claiming that the terms agreed in 2019 to pay $ 200 million for a 49% stake in Future’s gift voucher block prevented its parent company, Future Group, from selling its

business to Future Retail Ltd. (FRTL.NS) certain competitors. including Reliance.

CCI’s review of the deal began after Future, which denies any wrongdoing, complained, saying Amazon had made conflicting statements in various legal forums about the intent of the 2019 transaction.

In June, CCI told Amazon that a US firm in 2019 explained its interest in investing in Future’s gift voucher block as a means to close gaps in India’s payments industry. But later, as CCI reported, Amazon revealed in other legal forums that its investment in Future was based on obtaining special rights to Future Retail.

The CCI order said Friday that Amazon “deliberately thwarted the true scope and purpose of the deal.”

In anticipation of the CCI decision, Amazon denied withholding any information and warned the watchdog that Future’s proposal to cancel the 2019 deal to allow Reliance to strengthen its position “will further limit competition in the Indian retail market.”

Reporting by Aditya Kalra in New Delhi; Edited by Euan Rocha, Jane Merriman and Louise Havens.

Our Standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Sunday, 19 December, 2021 | KARACHI

10 foReIgn newS

DozeNs killeD as Powerful tYPhooN batters PhiliPPiNes MANIlA

a

AFP

T least 33 people have been killed in the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, officials said Saturday, with “alarming” reports of destruction on islands that bore the brunt of the storm.

More than 300,000 people fled their homes and beachfront resorts as Typhoon Rai ravaged the southern and central regions of the archipelago, knocking out communications and electricity in many areas, ripping off roofs and toppling concrete power poles.

Rai was a super typhoon when it smashed into the popular tourist island of Siargao on Thursday, packing maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometres per hour (120 miles per hour).

Its wind speeds eased to 150 kph as it

barrelled across the country, dumping torrential rain that flooded villages, uprooting trees and shattering wooden structures.

“This is indeed one of the most powerful storms that has hit the Philippines in the month of December in the last decade,” Alberto Bocanegra, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the Philippines, told AFP. “The information we are receiving and the pictures we are receiving are very alarming.” More than 18,000 military, police, coast guard and fire personnel will join search and rescue efforts in the worst-affected regions, Mark Timbal, spokesman for the national disaster agency, told AFP. “There has been severe damage” on Siargao island and the northern tip of the southern island of Mindanao, Timbal said, referring to areas that took the full force of the typhoon as it slammed into the country.

Pfizer to test third vaccine shot for under-fives

There are around 100,000 residents on Siargao, but the population swells with visiting surfers and holidaymakers. ‘everything was destroyed’: Philippine Coast Guard has shared photos on social media showing widespread destruction around Surigao City on Mindanao.

Aerial footage showed swathes of rice fields under water.

At least three people were killed and dozens injured in the storm, Surigao City Mayor Ernesto Matugas told broadcaster ABS-CBN, taking the overall death toll to 21. The vice governor of Dinagat, an island near Siargao, said at least six people had been killed there.

“Odette was so strong,” Nilo Demerey told ABS-CBN, using the local name for the typhoon. Residents on the island of around 128,000 people were “trying to repair their houses because even our evacuation centres

were torn down,” he said.

“They can’t seek refuge anywhere else… everything was destroyed,” he added.

“Siargao, Surigao and Dinagat island all suffered the same fate — we are appealing for help.” Bocanegra warned the disruption to electricity would affect the water supply, raising concerns about hygiene and disease.

After lashing Palawan island, Rai emerged over the South China Sea on Saturday and was headed towards Vietnam, the state weather forecaster said.

Rai hit the Philippines late in the ty-

Taliban govt resumes issuing Afghan passports in Kabul

WASHINGTON AFP

Pfizer announced late Friday that it wants to test a third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in the underfives, as the low dosage such small children can handle may not offer the same protection that older children enjoy from just two shots. The company does not expect the change to affect its plans to file for emergency use authorization in the United States in the first half of next year. As part of its ongoing clinical trials, the pharmaceutical giant has selected a dosage of three micrograms per injection for children aged six months to less than five years. This is 10 times less than the 30 microgram doses given to adults, and significantly less than the 10 micrograms given to five to 11 year olds. In children in the two to five year age group, a dosage of 10 micrograms caused more fever than in the older groups, pushing the company to select a lower dosage. But with two injections of three micrograms, their immune response was found to be poorer than in adolescents and young adults who were given the vaccine. Pfizer, therefore, decided to modify its clinical trials to include a third dose, injected “at least two months after the second,” the company said in a press release. The first two shots would remain three weeks apart. A booster dose has been shown in older population categories to increase protection against the virus.

“This adjustment is not anticipated to meaningfully change our expectations that we would file for emergency use authorization and conditional approvals in the second quarter of 2022,” said Kathrin Jansen, Pfizer’s head of vaccine research.

Pfizer also announced Friday that it had started trials on 600 teenagers aged 12 to 17 to test a booster dose of either 10 or 30 micrograms. Currently in the United States, in addition to adults, a booster dose is only permitted for adolescents aged 16 and 17 years.

New York sees highest single-day coronavirus cases in pandemic history NeW YOrk AnAdolu Agency

The US state of New York saw its highest singleday total of coronavirus cases Friday since the pandemic began, according to Governor Kathy Hochul.

The state reported 21,027 positive cases in 263,536 test results, with a positive ratio of 7.98%, Hochul said on Twitter. There were 3,839 hospitalizations and 60 deaths reported. "We can’t -- and we won't -go back to where we were 21 months ago," she wrote. "We have the tools to fight this virus. Wear a mask. Get vaccinated. If you’ve fully vaccinated, get your booster as soon as you can." Hochul said in a statement that the winter surge cases is "a reminder that the pandemic is not over yet" and people need to take extra care to keep themselves and each other safe. While officials are urging Americans to get vaccinated and have booster shots, the new omicron variant had a share of 13.1% of total cases in the state of New York and neighboring New Jersey last week, according to the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

phoon season — most cyclones typically develop between July and October.

Scientists have long warned that typhoons are becoming more powerful and strengthening more rapidly as the world becomes warmer because of human-driven climate change. The Philippines — ranked as one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change — is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons every year, which typically wipe out harvests, homes and infrastructure in already impoverished areas.

kABUl AFP

Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities said Saturday they will resume issuing passports in Kabul, giving hope to citizens who feel

threatened living under their rule.

Thousands of Afghans have also applied for new travel documents to escape a growing economic and humanitarian crisis described by the UN as an “avalanche of hunger”.

The authorities will start issuing the travel documents from Sunday at Kabul’s passport office, Alam Gul Haqqani, the head of the passport department in the interior ministry, told reporters.

The Taliban stopped issuing passports shortly after their August 15 return to power, as tens of thousands of people scrambled to Kabul’s only airport in a bid to catch any international flight that could evacuate them.

In October, the authorities reopened the passport office in Kabul only to suspend work days later as a flood of thousands of applications caused the biometric equipment used there to break down.

“All the technical issues have now been resolved,” Haqqani said, adding that initially travel documents will be given to those who had already applied before the office suspended work.

New applications will be accepted from January 10, he said.

Issuing passports is seen as a test of the Taliban’s commitment to the international community to allow eligible people to leave amid the growing humanitarian crisis.

The Taliban are pressing donors to restore billions of dollars in aid that was suspended when the previous Westernbacked regime imploded in the final stages of a US military withdrawal.

The abrupt withholding of aid amounts to an “unprecedented” shock for an economy already battered by drought and decades of war, according to the United Nations Development Programme.

The crisis has forced many in the capital to sell household possessions to buy food for their families.

International flights, mainly to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, have slowly resumed at Kabul airport after the facility was trashed in August when crowds of people scrambled to evacuate.

Defiant Maxwell says sex crimes charges ‘not proven’ NeW YOrk AFP

A defiant Ghislaine Maxwell said that prosecutors had failed to prove her guilty of sex crimes, as her defense wound up in a trial that heard lurid claims she groomed minors for abuse by the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Speaking for the first time since her sensational trial opened late last month, the 59-year-old British socialite took the stand only to say she would not be testifying.

“Your honour, the government has not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt so there is no need for me to testify,” Maxwell told New York judge Alison Nathan.

Prosecutor Maurene Comey said the parties had reached a consensus to rest the case later on Friday.

The daughter of ex-newspaper baron Robert Maxwell faces an effective life sentence if convicted by the jury of six counts of enticing and transporting minors for sex with her long-time companion Epstein.

The prosecution wound up on Friday last week, after taking just 10 days to question its witnesses.

They sought to portray Maxwell as Epstein’s partner-in-crime, recruiting young girls to be sexually exploited by the American money-manager, who killed himself in jail two years ago while awaiting his own trial.

Two women said they were as young as 14 when Maxwell allegedly began grooming them and arranging for them to give massages to Epstein that ended in sexual activity.

One, identified only as “Jane,” detailed how Maxwell recruited her at summer camp and made her feel “special.” She said sexual encounters with Epstein became routine, with Maxwell sometimes present.

Another, going by “Carolyn,” said she was usually paid $300 after sexual encounters with Epstein, often

by Maxwell herself.

The alleged crimes occurred between 1994 and

2004.

‘False memories’: Maxwell’s defense, which began its case on Thursday, questioned the women’s ability to remember quarter-century-old events. They also brought up past drug use by two of them.

But after indicating they planned to call 35 witnesses, the defense had called just nine to the stand in the first day and a half — with others dropped, delayed or otherwise unavailable.

An increasingly exasperated judge instructed them earlier Friday to produce the promised witnesses or rest their case.

Among the defense witnesses brought forward was the psychologist Elizabeth Loftus, an expert on “false memories,” whose testimony was intended to challenge the recollections of the case’s four accusers.

Another witness heard Friday was a former Miss

Sweden who dated Epstein between 1983 and 1991.

Eva Andersson-Dubin said she never saw any inappropriate conduct between Epstein and teenage women.

But she also admitted under cross-examination that she has memory problems.

“It’s very hard for me to remember anything far back and sometimes I can’t even remember things from last month. My family notices it. I notice it. It’s been an issue,” the 60-year-old told prosecutor Allison Moe. Nathan had earlier rejected a request that three other witnesses be allowed to testify anonymously. She also rejected the defense’s attempts to call two lawyers for accusers of Epstein to the stand.

And the case was to be rested later Friday after the defense withdrew requests to enforce the subpoena of a witness identified as “Kelly,” and put a London pub landlord on the stand.

Sunday, 19 December, 2021 | KARACHI

SPORTS 11

STaRc and Lyon wReck engLand, auSTRaLia Sniff vicToRy ADELAIDE

e

ReuteRs

NGLAND were spared the ignominy of the follow-on but Australia appeared on course for victory after dominating day three of the day-night second Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday.

Spearheading Australia’s pace attack, depleted by the absence of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc combined with spinner Nathan Lyon to bundle out England for 236.

The hosts, who had declared their first innings on 473-9, finished the day on 45-1 for an overall lead of 282 and looking

primed to go 2-0 up in the five-Test series.

Marcus Harris was batting on 21, having featured in a mix-up that resulted in opening partner David Warner’s run out for 13.

Debutant Michael Neser, replacing Cummins who missed out for being a close contact of a positive Covid-19 case, was on two in his nightwatchman’s role.

“We didn’t bowl how we wanted to in that first session, let it slip on the scoreboard and searched for wickets,” Starc said afterwards.

“The way we came out in that second session, Nath (Lyon) and I took it on ourselves a bit being the two experienced ones in the attack.”

The day had begun so brightly for Eng-

land with Joe Root and Dawid Malan sharing an unbeaten 138 during the wicketless first session but the wheels came off their innings soon after the dinner break.

Cameron Green broke the stand when he had Root, who made 62, caught by Australia stand-in skipper Steve Smith at first slip.

It was a ball Root could have left and the England captain was furious with himself as he walked off after falling short again of his first century in Australia.

It soon got worse for England as Malan, who scored 80, slashed a Starc (4-37) delivery that he should have left with Smith taking that catch too.

Ollie Pope (five) survived a review but squeezed a Lyon (3-58) delivery to Marnus

Labuschagne fielding close in and, moments later, Jos Buttler fell for a duck to Starc.

Lyon also dismissed Chris Woakes and Ollie Robinson as England, cruising at 150-2, lost their last eight wickets for 86 runs.

Failure to take more than one wicket in the late night session, considered a pace bowler’s best time in a pink-ball Test, only

compounded England’s misery after an abject batting display.

“One of Rooty and myself should have gone on to make a big hundred,” a dejected Malan said. “Big hundreds win Test matches and me and Rooty didn’t do it. Both times we have been found short as a batting unit.

“To get to 80 and get out pretty softly today was disappointing.”

Nadal loses to Murray but both are pleased ABU DHABI AFP

Rafael Nadal deemed his unofficial return to competition in Abu Dhabi as a “positive start” after he fell to Andy Murray in a highquality exhibition match on Friday.

In a battle of two former world number ones, the Scot won 6-3, 7-5 in the semifinal of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship.

Nadal, who had played just two matches in six months after a foot injury that ruled him out of Wimbledon and the US Open, was back in action for the first time since August.

“I think I did a lot of things well and other things, of course after a long period of time, I need to recover again, some things that when you’re under competition come automatically,” Nadal said after facing Murray for the first time since 2016.

“Now I have to think more, or you

don’t have this extra time to make the right decisions.”

“In general terms, it has been a positive match, I even had my chances to

win that second set.”

“It’s just a positive start. I played even better than what I thought a few weeks ago.”

The 20-time Grand Slam champion says he only started playing practice sets two days ago.

“In Mallorca for the last five months, I played zero of these matches.

I just did exercises and something more under control to try and make the normal evolution for the foot,” explained Nadal.

On Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, Nadal trained with world No.14 Denis Shapovalov, who was impressed.

“He killed me on the court yesterday so I think he’s feeling pretty good,” said the 22-year-old Canadian.

Another intense session came against world No.5 Andrey Rublev, who said their two-and-a-half-hour hit left him “destroyed”.

Meanwhile, Murray was pleased with

his two wins in the Abu Dhabi exhibition so far, having beaten fellow Briton Daniel Evans on Thursday before disposing of Nadal.

Murray put together a strong performance on Friday, serving well and moving comfortably with his metal hip.

“I saw him playing well,” said Nadal.

“I think last year he played some good tennis and it seems like he’s able to play more often now with less limitation. I see him moving well.”

Nadal plans to fly to Melbourne later this month to compete in an ATP 250 event ahead of the Australian Open.

There is a vaccine mandate on all players wishing to be part of the action at Melbourne Park in January and Nadal was asked if he was behind such a decision.

“I am not with or without, I am just following what the organisation of health says,” said Nadal.

“I don’t pretend to know more than the authorised people say.”

Sporting world battles surging Covid cases PARIS AFP

Root joins elite group with 1,600 Test runs in calendar year ADELAIDE AFP

Joe Root became just the fourth player in history to chalk up 1,600 Test runs in a calendar year Saturday — and the first since 2008 — but a maiden century in Australia again eluded him. The England captain has been in brilliant form in 2021, arriving for the Ashes with 1,455 runs from 12 Tests, including six centuries, at an average of 66.13. But the 30-yearold has never fared well on Australian soil. He came close to a maiden century in the country in the first Test at Brisbane, making 89, and looked in good nick at the day-night second Test in Adelaide before he edged Cameron Green to Steve Smith at slip to fall for 62.

Root nevertheless wrote another chapter to his incredible season, joining an elite few to make 1,600 Test runs in a calendar year. Only Pakistan’s Mohammad Yousuf (1,788 runs in 2006), West Indian legend Viv Richards (1,710 runs in 1976) and former South African captain Graeme Smith (1,656 in 2008) have made more. Root is currently on 1,606 with a second innings in Adelaide and then the third Test at Melbourne still to come this year. The Yorkshireman admitted before leaving for Australia that he had been “desperate” to succeed in a country where he had managed a mere 570 runs, without a hundred, at an average of 38, ahead of the current tour. “I think I probably wanted it too much, I was too desperate, and it had probably a negative impact on the way I played, I put too much pressure on myself,” he said.

The coronavirus is once again disrupting global sport, forcing the cancellation of English Premier League matches and the scrapping of a one-day cricket series.

AFP Sport looks at the state of play around the world as authorities scramble to cope with the surging pandemic.

Football: Five of the 10 Premier League matches scheduled for this weekend are off. The clubs are due to meet on Monday to discuss the crisis, with differences emerging over whether to temporarily halt the season as a firebreaker for infections or to carry on.

Brentford manager Thomas Frank has called for a “circuit break” as positive tests multiply during the busiest time in the English football calendar. Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said it could soon become impossible to maintain the schedule as squads become over-stretched by Covid absences and injuries.

Morocco coach Vahid Halilhodzic has expressed his fear that the already-delayed Africa Cup of Nations, due to kick off in Cameroon next month, could be called off due to the renewed threat of Covid-19 and the possibility that European clubs might not release players for the tournament.

Real Madrid have reported a number of positive tests, with Gareth Bale and Luka Modric among the players affected.

Under Liga protocols, a club must have at least 13 players, at least five of them firstteamers and one a goalkeeper, available to play a match. The club also reported cases in its basketball team.

CriCket: Covid has forced the cancellation of the one-day series between Pakistan and the West Indies. Five members of the West Indies touring party — including three players — tested positive for Covid on Thursday, in addition to previous positive cases.

Australia captain Pat Cummins was forced to sit out the second Ashes Test after being in close contact with somebody who tested positive for Covid-19.

Under South Australia state’s strict bio-se-

curity rules the fast bowler was required to isolate for seven days but has now been permitted to head home, where he must remain until the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.

The Indian cricket team arrived in Johannesburg on Thursday and headed straight for their bio-secure base at the start of a curtailed South Africa tour.

India will play three Tests and three oneday internationals despite a surge in coronavirus cases in South Africa, but four planned T20 internationals have been dropped from the original schedule. rugby union: European rugby chiefs have postponed seven matches in the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup competitions between UK and French sides due to strict coronavirus travel rules.

Three matches had already been cancelled

due to Covid outbreaks.

The English Premiership announced on Friday that 47 players and seven members of staff, from nine different clubs, had tested positive for coronavirus in its latest round of weekly testing. That was sharply up from the previous week, when just five players and staff in total tested positive. nFl: The National Football League on Friday postponed three weekend games amid a Covid-19 surge that has “seen a substantial increase in cases across the league.”

Saturday’s game between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Cleveland Browns was moved to Monday, while Sunday’s meeting between the Washington Football Team and Philadelphia Eagles, and the Seattle Seahawks v Los Angeles Rams

game have been moved to Tuesday.

The NFL had earlier announced enhanced virus safety protocols nba: The NBA has boosted its coronavirus measures after a surge in cases. The new measures will include more testing and mask wearing for players and staff, according to reports. Increased daily testing will begin December 26 and last two weeks. nHl: The National Hockey League said Friday it was postponing a game Saturday between the Boston Bruins and the Canadiens in Montreal because of Covid-19 concerns.

It is the 11th game postponed this season. That includes four Calgary games postponed as the Flames deal with a Covid outbreak that has 19 players under Covid protocols.

Sunday, 19 December, 2021

prayer tiMiNgs

NEWS

FAJR SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

5:45

12:25

3:24

7:05

5:44

7:05

GermAn, IndoneSIAn envoyS meeT CoAS To dISCuSS AfGhAnISTAn SITuATIon

S

pecial Representative of Germany for afghanistan & pakistan Jasper Wieck and indonesian Foreign Minister Retno lestari priansari Marsudi called on chief of the army Staff (cOaS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa separately on Saturday to discuss the current situation in afghanistan.

Matters of mutual interest and regional security, and the current situation in afghanistan were discussed during the meetings, the inter-Services public Relations (iSpR) said in a media release.

During his meeting with Marsudi, the cOaS said that pakistan values indonesia’s role in global and regional affairs and looks forward to enhance its bilateral relationship. “cOaS stressed upon the urgency for swiftly devising an institutional mechanism for channelling humanitarian assistance to afghanistan in order to avert a looming humanitarian catastrophe,” the media release said.

The army chief underscored the importance of peace and reconciliation initiatives in afghanistan.

He emphasised that peaceful resolution of Kashmir dispute is essential for stability in South asia. He also reiterated that pakistan wants cordial ties with all its neighbours in pursuit of regional

peace and prosperity.

During his meeting with Jasper Wieck, the cOaS said that pakistan values Germany’s role in global and regional affairs, and looks forward to enhance bilateral relationship. The cOaS added that the world cannot af-

ford to have an “unstable afghanistan” that is “prone to economic collapse”.

He stressed the need for global convergence and sincere efforts to avert a looming humanitarian catastrophe and underscored the importance of peace and reconciliation initiatives in afghanistan.

The visiting dignitaries appreciated pakistan’s role in the afghan situation, special efforts for border management, role in regional stability and pledged to play their part for further improvement in diplomatic cooperation with pakistan at all levels. News Desk

3 terrorists killed in separate operations: ISPR Three terrorists, including an acquaintance of banned Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTp) top leader Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, were killed in two separate operations in different areas of Khyber pakhtunkhwa (Kp), according to the inter-Services public Relations (iSpR).

according to the iSpR, the security forces conducted an operation in Bajaur and killed Ghafoor alias Jaleel, who was a close acquaintance of Maulvi Faqir Mohammad and involved in various terrorist attacks. a security official was also injured during exchange of fire in the operation.

Separately, the iSpR said that the security forces conducted a clearance operation in Boya area of North Waziristan district and killed two more terrorist.

The terrorists were spotted fleeing from Mohammad Khel Village towards Vezda Sar and were killed during an ex-

change of fire, it added.

The killings have been reported a day after sources in the TTp claimed that Faqir Mohammad had escaped unhurt from a suspected drone strike on a safe house in eastern afghanistan on Thursday. News Desk

PESHAWAR: A view of sunset in the provincial capital. iNp

Top TTP leader escapes Pakistan drone strike on Afghanistan hideout PESHAWAR MoNitoriNg report

a drone strike hit a house just inside afghanistan’s border, targeting a senior member of the Tehreek-iTaliban pakistan (TTp) but the missile apparently failed to explode, reports citing sources inside the militant group said.

One of the Taliban officials said the drone fired a missile late Thursday at a hujra, or guesthouse, on the compound of Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, a former deputy chief of the afghanistan-based movement. “it was around 3:30 [pm] when a drone suddenly appeared in the sky. We got worried and advised Maulvi Faqir to go to a safe place but he refused and argued it was not possible to hide in the day time,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. around half an hour later, when Mohammad left his own house to visit the guesthouse, the missile struck.

“He was about 3 metres away from the hujra room when the drone fired a missile and hit the same room. luckily the missile didn’t explode and he and other people around him remained safe,” he said.

Two TTp sources currently in afghanistan told aFp that Mohammad was the target of the drone strike on a compound in chawgam village, in the eastern province of Kunar bordering pakistan.

“Maulvi Faqir Mohammad was not present at the time […] two fighters of the TTp were wounded,” one source claimed.

The compound was being used as a base by TTp fighters from pakistan crossing the porous border with afghanistan, he said.

Mohammad is a former deputy leader of the TTp who spent eight years in afghanistan’s Bagram prison before being released by the afghan Taliban following their shock overthrow of the Western-backed government in Kabul on august 15.

The attempt to kill him in a drone strike came after talks to agree a permanent ceasefire between the TTp and the pakistani government broke down last week after the militant movement refused to extend a month-long truce.

Formed in 2007 as an umbrella body of several militant groups, the TTp is a separate movement from the afghan Taliban but its fighters and senior leaders have long been known to shelter in the lawless eastern border regions of afghanistan.

Thursday marked the seventh anniversary of the TTp massacre of nearly 150 schoolchildren in army public School (apS) of peshawar, an atrocity that remains seared on the national consciousness.

The attack succeeded Operation Zarb-i-azb, a 2014 crackdown by the military which crushed the movement and forced its hardline fighters into hiding in afghanistan.

Omicron detected in 89 countries, cases doubling fast: WHO The Omicron variant of the coronavirus has been detected in 89 countries and is spreading rapidly even in places with high levels of population immunity, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Saturday.

The number of covid-19 cases involving Omicron is doubling every 1.5 to three days in countries where there is community transmission of the variant and not just people

who were infected abroad, the WHO said.

Omicron’s “substantial growth advantage” over the Delta variant means it is likely to soon overtake Delta as the dominant variant in those countries, the UN health agency said. it remains unclear if the rapid growth of Omicron cases is because the variant evades existing immunity, is inherently more transmissible than previous variants, or a combi-

nation of both, the WHO said.

Other major questions about Omicron remain unanswered, including how effective each of the existing covid-19 vaccines are against it. conclusive data also does not exist yet on how ill Omicron makes covid-19 patients, the health agency said.

The WHO first labelled Omicron a variant of concern on November 26. ap

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