Epaper – December 28 ISB 2021

Tuesday, 28 December, 2021 I 23 Jamadi-al-Awwal, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 180 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition

Civil, military leadership gives nod to Country’s first-ever national seCurity poliCy g

Economic security to be core of NSP IsLAMABAD

i

Staff CorreSpondent

N a landmark development, Pakistan’s first-ever National Security Policy (NSP) 2022-2026 was approved by the National Security Council (NSC) on Monday, putting the economic security at the core. The policy will now be presented before the federal cabinet on December 28. PM Imran Khan, while chairing the 36th meeting of NSC, termed the NSP’s formulation and approval a historic moment, the prime minister said that the policy must guide all organs of the government to ensure that their efforts are

g

PM Khan terms NSP’s approval a historic moment

itary officers.

To ensure the citizen-centric approach to security, the NSP put economic security at the core, saying a stronger economy would create additional resources that would in turn be judiciously distributed to further bolster military and human security.

The NSA briefed the participants on the salient features of the NSP and highlighted that Pakistan is shifting to a Comprehensive National Security Framework whereby the ultimate purpose of national security is to ensure the safety, security and dignity of the citizen of Pakistan.

Participants were informed that the

synchronised with the overall direction of the NSP. He further stated that the security of Pakistan rests in the security of its citizens and reposed confidence that “Pakistan is well prepared to meet any internal and external threats”.

He also instructed National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf to present an implementation progress report to the NSC every month. The meeting was attended by federal ministers for foreign affairs, defence, information and broadcasting, interior, finance, human rights, chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, all services chiefs, National Security Adviser and senior civil and mil-

NSP had been created through a whole-of-government effort over the last seven years, and included extensive consultations among federal government institutions, with all provinces, and with the academia and private sector.

Apart from the economic and military issues, the draft sheds light on the country’s water security as well as population growth, terrorism and foreign policy, particularly concerning the Kashmir and Afghan issues and relations with other countries in the region and beyond.

Revitalisation of the Planning Committee and the expansion of NSC’s Advisory Board was also unanimously

approved by the participants during the meeting. The NSP will now be presented to the Cabinet before being officially adopted. A public version of the document will be released in due course.

NSC members, while approving the NSP, appreciated the National Security Division and all other government departments for this effort.

With the approval of the draft, it is being said that the country’s challenges and opportunities would be outlined for the first time and the government would be able to refer to the policy guidelines in the future.

It was highlighted that a detailed implementation framework had been created through which the National Security Division would review progress in collaboration with relevant ministries and departments.

PPP, PML-N, JUI vow to oust Imran Khan’s ‘puppet regime’ g

Bilawal to lead anti-govt rally from Lahore on Januar y 5 IsLAMABAD Mian abrar

Three major opposition parties Monday separately promised to oust Prime Minister Imran Khan-led PTI government with Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari announcing to launch a decisive movement against PTI government on January 5, 2022 leading a rally from Lahore.

The PML-N and JUI-F also made headlines in the media vowing to carry forward a campaign to overthrow the PTI government.

Bilawal told a rally in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, a small town of Sindh’s Larkana district that time had arrived to initiate a war against the puppet regime of Imran Khan.

Addressing a public gathering organised to mark the 14th death anniversary of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto, Bilawal said, “We need to fulfil the dream of Benzair Bhutto and revive this party across the country to restore the rule of real democratic forces”.

Bilawal said the country was facing multiple challenges including inflation and “bad governance” because elections in the country had been “rigged through different modus operandi”.

“There is no freedom of speech, and no real democracy in the country… we restored the democracy in the country and restored the 1973’s Constitution in the shape of 18th Amendment,” he remarked.

Bilawal said his party empowered the provinces of the country in line with the vision of late PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a step which he said enabled the last PML-N government to build projects like Metro Bus and Orange Line train in Lahore. “We made the provinces financially autonomous through NFC [National Fi-

fawad blames bilawal, Zardari for destroying bhutto’s ppp

COAS Bajwa calls for sincere int’l efforts to tackle Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis

IsLMABAD Web deSk

Minutes after PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari vowed to launch a movement to topple the PTI-led government at Centre, ministers belonging to PTI hit back at Sindh’s ruling party accusing it of corruption and plundering national wealth. Bilawal, while addressing a public gathering to mark the 14th death anniversary of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, had announced that his party will launch a decisive movement against PTI-led government on January 5, 2022 with a rally in Lahore – the former bastion of PPP. Reacting to Bilawal’s tirade, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry lamented that “small politicians made petty statements” on the occasion of Benazir’s death anniversary.

In a tweet from his official handle, Fawad said a major political party like PPP had been destroyed by former president Ali Zardari and his son, Bilawal. “Politics of high stature politician like Bhutto has been taken over by political dwarfs. This happens when political parties do not have any structure,” he added.

News Desk

CONTINUED ON PAGE 04 nance Commission] award,” he maintained.

The PPP chairman said people of the country were struggling to make ends meet and poverty and unemployment had reached historic high during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government.

“People’s hardships and economic woes of the country will never end as long as the country is being ruled by puppet rulers,” he remarked.

While referring to the media reports, Bilawal tried to dispel the speculations that the PPP was entering into any deal with the establishment to

come into power. “PPP does not believe in politics of deals. We only rely on people’s support.

We can never resort to non-democratic politics,” he insisted.

Bilawal while urging the party leaders to take steps to revive the party in different parts of the country said that he will soon visit Punjab to launch an anti-government movement.

“Time has come to announce a war against this puppet government… we will announce movement to overthrow this government from Lahore [on January 5] where the foundation of this party was laid down.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 04

MORE INSIDE

Pakistan deplores Hindutva leaders’ calls for Muslim genocide in India STORY ON BACK PAGE

Pakistan’s total Covid-19 vaccinations surpass 150m: Asad Umar STORY ON PAGE 02

Benazir remembered on death anniversary STORY ON PAGE 03

Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa met with the Chief of General Staff Turkish Land Forces Lieutenant General Veli Tarakci, who called on him in GHQ, Rawalpindi today, on Monday. During the meeting, matters of regional security situation, mutual and professional interest with special emphasis on defence and security collaboration between the two brotherly countries were discussed. COAS Bajwa stressed upon the need for sincere international efforts to avert a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. COAS Qamar underscored the importance of peace and reconciliation initiatives in Afghanistan. “We highly value our brotherly relations with Turkey, which are deeply rooted in history and entrenched in our cultural and religious affinities,” he said. Both sides agreed to further optimise military-to-military ties, particularly in training and counter-terrorism domains.

Lieutenant General Tarakci appreciated Pakistan’s role in the Afghan situation, special efforts for border management and the role in regional stability. The visiting dignitary also acknowledged the professionalism of the Pakistan Armed Forces and vowed to enhance cooperation in various fields.

LAST UPDATED AT 7:37 AM ON NOV 27, 2021 Coronavirus in CONFIRMED CASES: DAY'S DEATH TOLL: NEW CASES:

1,293,715 pakistan 2 301 RECOVERED:

1,254,975

SINDH:

PUNJAB:

ISLAMABAD:

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

AJK/GB:

480,710 444,610 108,450

DEATHS: 28,909 181,235 33,624

34,657/10,429

Tuesday, 28 December, 2021 | ISLAMABAD

02

NEWS

PAkistAn’s tOtAl COviD-19 vACCinAtiOns surPAss 150M: AsAD uMAr ISLAMABAD

t

Staff RepoRt

HE total number of coronavirus vaccination doses administered across Pakistan surpassed 150 million Monday, National Command and Operation Centre chief Asad Umar has revealed.

In a tweet, the federal planning minister said that Punjab is leading the way in provinces as more than 68% of its eligible population has been immunised against the deadly virus.

“Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [is] at 57%, Sindh at 51%, and Balochistan at 38%.”

Umar congratulated Balochistan for doing a great job at increasing vaccination during December.

The government has been stressing the importance of immediately getting vaccinated against the novel coronavirus as the cases of the new Omicron variant continue to rise in the country.

Last week, Islamabad reported its first case of the strain after Karachi and Balochistan. The NCOC has, on the other hand, approved booster shots for people

Pakistan receives 15mn doses of Covid19 vaccine from ADB

above and of the age of 30 years.

On Monday, Pakistan purchased a new batch of 150,000 coronavirus vaccines via $500 million aid from the Asian Development Bank. The doses have reached the country.

Vaccines worth $75 million will be administered to over 35 million people.

Along with the shots, safety boxes and syringes will be provided to the health workers as well.

Last week, the United States donated five million Pfizer doses to Pakistan on Christmas.

PM to chair National Rehmatalil Aalmeen Authority Conference tomorrow

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan received 15 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday. As per details, 15 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine dispatched by the ADB have been received in Islamabad. The doses have been sent to help Islamabad in its fight against the pandemic. It is to be noted that so far 148,265,690 people have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine in Pakistan, while 65,149,948 people have received two doses of the vaccine.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus has claimed two more lives in Pakistan over the past 24 hours, lifting the overall death toll to 28,909. According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 301 more people were infected with the coronavirus.

A total of 44,129 samples were tested in the past 24 hours, out of which 301 turned out to be positive, showing an infection rate of 0.68%. Staff RepoRt

Opp senator proposes bill to decriminalise suicide, declaring it a ‘mental illness’ An opposition senator on Monday proposed legislation to decriminalise suicide and declare it a mental illness in Senate. The bill tabled by PPP lawmaker Shahadat Awan proposed an amendment in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898. The bill was supported by the government members as well, leading to its passage. The session was chaired by Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani. In another bill, Senator Awan proposed amendments in the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898. This bill pertained to declaring suicide a mental illness. Awan said suicide was not a criminal offence but a mental illness. Jamiat Ulemae-Islam (JUI) leader Abdul Ghafoor Haideri said Islam forbids suicide. PTI Senator Shehzad Waseem said that further consultations should be held on this bill, adding that opinions should be sought from scholars as well as scientists. PTI lawmaker MNA Ali Mohammad Khan said that the people who commit suicide are not mentally well. However, he said that it must be assessed if the decriminalisation would lead towards a spike in the suicide rate. The Senate chairman said the bill will be sent to the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) for its recommendations. He said that the bill would be discussed in the committee after the opinion of the council. Azam Nazir Tarar said that 80% of countries of the world have abolished such laws. NewS DeSk

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Prime Minister Imran Khan will preside over National Rehmatalil Aalmeen Authority Conference on Wednesday to connect the most prominent Muslim scholars at global level to come up with solutions to problems that challenge our society today.

The conference is aimed at examining the causes of moral and ethical degradation of the society that could be because of structural or ideational reasons. The conference will hold a longitudinal analysis of the Muslim world in general and Pakistan in particular to see how we deteriorated to this level to the point where many segments of our society are badly damaged and in need of repair.

Major theme of the conference is that the spiritual and intellectual crisis of the Muslim world preceeds its military

Poor academic performance cost varsity HEC ranking LAHORE NewS DeSk

The Government College University (GCU) appears to be losing its prestige due to poor academic leadership who without any reservation can be held responsible for the declining academic standard of the university.

In one of the recent assessments of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), GCU managed to score only 32.20 points against various parameters set out by the body for evaluating the academic performance of public universities.

The report said the academic performance of GCU has been poor.

A Times Higher Education Ranking also suggests that GCU is losing its position due to poor performance. In 2018, the university celebrated for securing a position in the ranking. It was judged on the basis of teaching, research, knowledge

‘Govt investing in fruit research’ APP Punjab government is spending millions of rupees annually on research on citrus fruits across the province, an agriculture official has said.

Agriculture Department Assistant Director Abdus Samad said the research is being promoted because Pakistan is one of the largest citrusproducing countries and the seventh biggest exporter of fruit in the world.

The country earns nearly $180 million annually from

and economic challenges so the military and economic challenges can be overcome only if psychological colonisation of the mind is first overcome.

This conference is outcome of series of ongoing conversations between power elites and thinking elites of Muslim world. As the world becomes multipolar and with diverse views on just about everything from human nature, law and governance to environment, all civilizations must pay their due share in contributing solutions to the collective challenges that society faces.

To present their views and have a discussion with Prime Minister on these important matters, the eminent scholars who are going to participate in the conference include Dr. Sayyed Hussein Nasr, Dr. Timothy winter, Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah, Dr. Usman Bakar, Dr. Chandra Muzaffar and Dr. Recep Senturk.

export of citrus fruits. The official said there was ample scope for increasing the production of citrus fruits in the country and Punjab government was spending substantial amounts on research to promote the production of quality fruits.

Last year, 395,000 tonnes of orange were exported, which was 17.37% of the total production of the country, he remarked. During the ongoing season, production of 2.276 million tonnes is expected.

Punjab produces 95 of the oranges grown in the country.

The agriculture official urged farmers to sort the best citrus fruits. He said the fruits should be marketed in line with the grading rules in order to fetch high returns.

Abdus Samad said orchard owners marketed their produce in baskets that affected their income and also created problems during export. He said the growers could increase their income by adopting better marketing techniques. Citrus fruits should be picked at a time when they have over 33% juice, the official pointed out.

transfer and international outlook.

Against these performance indicators, GCU was positioned in the band of 351-400 compared to other South Asian universities. In 2019, the university maintained its position within the same band.

Azfar Iqbal, an old Ravian, observed that on assuming office, GCU Vice Chancellor Professor Asghar Zaidi claimed improving the ranking of the university is one of his key goals.

However, in 2020 and 2021, the poor performance of GCU led to a decline in its ranking in THE list, earning the ranking in the category of 401+, the lowest band of performance.

In April, Zaidi almost faced an inquiry for purportedly harassing and threatening the chairperson of the computer science department with dire consequences.

Punjab governor — who on April 12 issued directions to the Higher Education

Department (HED) secretary to conduct an inquiry against him for allegedly harassing Dr Syed Asad Raza Kazmi and

submit a report within 15 days — withdrew his orders on April 16 due to reasons undisclosed.

Ejaz Qureshi sworn in as Wafaqi Mohtasib of Pakistan ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

President Dr Arif Alvi Monday administered the oath of office to Ejaz Ahmed Qureshi as the Wafaqi Mohtasib of Pakistan. The oath-taking ceremony was held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr here. After the oath, the president also extended greetings to the newly sworn-in Wafaqi Mohtasib. Ejaz Ahmed Qureshi would succeed Syed Tahir Shahbaz who had assumed the office on July 21st, 2017 as 7th regular Wafaqi Mohtasib.

Tuesday, 28 December, 2021 | ISLAMABAD

NEWS

03

BEnAZir rEMEMBErED On DEAth AnnivErsAry KARACHI/ISLAMABAD:

s

Staff RepoRt

LAIN prime minister Benazir Bhutto is being remembered on her 14th death anniversary on Monday.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have finalised arrangements for a large public gathering in Bhutto’s hometown of Garhi Khuda Bakhsh in the Larkana district.

The meeting is expected to be addressed by PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, his sister Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and his advisor on works and services Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, among others.

A large number of PPP leaders, activists and supporters will arrive to pay homage to the late politician.

A documentary, recording the life and achievements of Bhutto, will also be played on the occasion.

Several camps have been set up at the site to accommodate visiting leaders and workers from across the nation, including Gilgit-Biltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K).

The party has announced to observe the day by ensuring strict adherence to coronavirus-related standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Benazir became the first female prime minister of Pakistan — and the first woman to lead a Muslim nation — in 1988. She went on to serve two terms as the prime minister of the nation.

During her career, Bhutto was celebrated in the west as a beacon of democracy and much-feted for her glamorous reputation. People magazine named her one of the world’s 50 most beautiful people.

In the region, she was equally idolised by supporters as a champion for women’s rights and attacked by opponents for corruption, incompetence and nepotism.

Born into an aristocratic Karachi family, Bhutto studied at Cambridge, Harvard and Oxford. She took over the reins of the PPP in 1987, years after its founder, her father, was executed by Gen Zia ul-Haq. After her last term ended in 1996, besieged by corruption allegations, she fled the country, only to return years later in 2007 to public celebrations.

It was during one of her public rallies, leading up to the 2008 elections, that Bhutto was first attacked by terrorists who had planted two bombs in the crowd.

Bhutto survived that attack, which

killed 149 people, but in another rally two months later, on December 27 in Rawalpindi, her car came under fire, before a suicide bomber detonated nearby.

Bhutto died in her car under circumstances that were later disputed. An initial investigation claimed she died from fracturing her skull on the sunroof latch in the blast. However, her party denied those claims, insisting that she died from gunshot wounds.

The police officers are the only two people to have been convicted of Bhutto’s murder. Saud Aziz, then police chief of Rawalpindi, was found guilty of security negligence, and for damaging evidence by having the attack site hosed down soon after the attack. By failing to take adequate security measures, Aziz abetted the crime, public prosecutor Azhar Chaudhry told Guardian in 2017.

Khurram Shehzad, a former police superintendent, was also sentenced for mishandling the crime scene.

Seven Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants who were under accusation in the case were killed in military operations since 2007, including its leader, Baitullah Mehsud, who was killed in a drone attack in 2009.

Criminal case ordered against officials who okayed Nasla Tower construction KARACHI Staff RepoRt

The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the Anti-Corruption Establishment to probe officials who approved the building plan for Nasla Tower as it directed the provincial government to remove Karachi administrator Barrister Murtaza Wahab before withdrawing the order within hours after the official tendered “unconditional apology”.

Nasla Tower is a 15-storey residential building which the top court in October directed to demolish for encroaching on the land reserved for a service road.

The order was issued by a two-judge bench — comprising Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed — during a hearing pertaining to unauthorised and illegal construction, encroachments of amenity plots, conversion of residential properties into commercial ones and the issue of two private hospitals allegedly running their health facilities on amenity plots at the Karachi registry of the Supreme Court.

During the proceeding, an angry chief justice ordered Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to choose an “impartial and competent” person to replace Wahab.

The directive came after Wahab —

Eight killed, four injured in shootings ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

At least eight people were killed while four others injured in two separate shooting incidents in Pakistan, media reported on Monday. At least five people were killed and two others injured in a clash between two groups in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The two groups shot indiscriminately at each other in the Bannu district of the province, causing four deaths from one group and one from the other, police told media. In Karachi, at least three people were killed and two others seriously injured in a firing incident. Unknown men opened fire near a restaurant in the Banaras neighbourhood of the city.

The victims were taken to a local hospital where the injured are being treated, rescue workers said. The police have started investigating the shootings.

Appointment of nAB’s DG lahore challenged in ihC ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The appointment of Jamil Ahmed as director general (DG) of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore been challenged in the Islamabad High Court (IHC). A citizen, Muhammad Iqbal, has challenged the appointment of the NAB DG. The petitioner argued NAB DG was appointed in violation of the rules set by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The petitioner prayed to declare the appointment notification of NAB DG null and void and he must be stopped from further working. The petitioner made PM Principal Secretary and NAB Lahore DG as parties in the case.

Earlier, in a top-level reshuffle was carried out in the National Accountability Bureau on Thursday, including replacing the NAB director general in Lahore office. NAB Director General Jamil Ahmad has been appointed as the new chief of Bureau’s Lahore Office replacing Director General Shahzad Saleem.

finding himself on the receiving end of flak — questioned whether the PPP “should leave the government” since “major observations” were made about the province by the court.

“Silence yourself, mister, what are you saying? Do not do politics here,” Justice Ahmed reprimanded Wahab. “Get out [from here]. We will remove you right now,” he said to him. On the matter of demolition of the residential unit, the bench order the Deputy Inspector General (West) to take immediate action against the officials who approved the building plan and present a report.

The court also ordered to seize the possession of the 780-square-yards land

BilAWAl, ZArDAri PAy riCh triButEs tO BEnAZir BhuttO ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari paid rich tributes to the first elected Prime Minister of the Islamic world and party chairperson Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and said that Benazir Bhutto is a beacon of a movement. According to a statement issued by the Media Cell Bilawal House, the Chairman PPP in his message on the 14th martyrdom anniversary of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto further said that Shaheed Benazir Bhutto was an ideal world leader who showed great courage in her mission to achieve democracy in Pakistan. The nation will never forget her national spirit, long struggle and strong leadership, he added. Bilawal said her struggle to make the country a true welfare state in the light of the thoughts and vision of our founding ancestors is historical. Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the assassination of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi was not just the murder of a dream to save the people from poverty, unemployment and injustice, but a conspiracy to kill the entire nation. He pointed out that the heinous conspiracy was foiled by former President Asif Ali Zardari with the slogan “Pakistan Khappay”. The PPP Chairman said that Shaheed Benazir Bhutto was a universal figure and a people’s leader who promoted unity, harmony and progressive thinking in Pakistan and protected the political and economic rights of the people. As the Prime Minister, she introduced people-friendly policies in the country despite fierce opposition and obstacles. She took innumerable steps for the service of the public, and also highlighted the true image of Pakistan on an international level. The gift of missile technology for the defense of our motherland by the first elected Prime Minister of the Islamic world, is also unforgettable. Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that for democracy, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto lost her father, two brothers and even her mother. But she never feared the dictators. Staff RepoRt

the building stands on. It also directed the Sindh High Court (SHC) to take possession of the land in question and stop its potential sale.

The Supreme Court had initially directed for the demolition of the building for encroaching on the land meant for a service road on June 16. But the order fell victim to dilly-dallying.

Today, expressing his annoyance over the slow pace of demolition work, the chief justice asked: “Such a building is torn down within one hour in the world. What is taking you people so long?” At this, Karachi Commissioner Iqbal Memon informed the court over 400 workers have been working on the unit, and have so far demolished five floors. He added the building’s internal structure had been demolished.

The chief justice then questioned the commissioner about mentioning that the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) obstructed the demolition work in a report that he submitted to the apex court.

Turkish lira slides almost 8pc after intervention-driven surge ANKARA ReuteRS

The lira tumbled almost 8 per cent against the dollar on Monday amid persisting investor concern over Turkey’s monetary policy, having surged more than 50pc last week after billions of dollars of state-backed market interventions.

The lira was also supported last week by a government move to cover FX losses on certain deposits. It weakened to as low as 11.6 against the greenback on Monday before trimming losses to trade at 11.35 by 0800 GMT. “The main exchange rate resistance is at 11.45 and 12.0, with support levels of 10.57 and 10.25,” QNB Invest said in a daily bulletin.

Last week’s rally brought the Turkish currency back to mid-November levels.

Last Monday, it had plunged to an all-time low of 18.4 per dollar, after a months-long slide due to fears of spiralling inflation driven by a succession of interest rate cuts engineered by President Tayyip Erdogan.

At current levels, the currency is still 35pc weaker than at the end of last year.

Erdogan unveiled late last Monday a scheme under which the Treasury and central bank would reimburse losses on converted lira deposits against foreign currencies, sparking the lira’s biggest intraday rally. read more Turks did not sell dollars in large quantities on Monday and Tuesday of last week, according

to official data that suggested they had played little role in the gains. State interventions, meanwhile, cost the central bank more than $8 billion last week, according to traders’ calculations.

The central bank sold $1.35bn in direct forex interventions on Dec. 2-3 to support the lira when it stood around 13.5 per dollar, according to data.

In an interview with broadcaster AHaber, Erdogan said Turks showed confidence in the local currency and deposits increased by 23.8bn lira after the anti-dollarisation plan announcement.

But data from the BDDK banking watchdog showed that after heavy accumulation of dollars the previous week, Turkish individual depositors held $163.7bn of hard currencies last Tuesday, virtually unchanged from Monday and Friday when the total was $163.8bn.

The lira got a big boost last week from what traders and economists called backdoor dollar sales by state banks, supported by the central bank.

Under pressure from Erdogan, the central bank has slashed its policy rates by 500 basis points to 14pc since September, despite inflation that has risen to more than 21pc. Price rises are set to exceed 30pc next year in part due to the lira depreciation, economists predict.

The main BIST 100 stock index in Istanbul rose 2.6pc on Monday morning.

Alvi urges world to take notice of rights abuses in occupied kashmir ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday urged the international community to take notice of the grave rights violations committed by members of the Indian security forces in occupied Jammu and Kashmir. He said India had unleashed a reign of terror against the innocent people, subjecting them to the worst forms of state-sponsored terrorism for decades. The president was speaking to the nation’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Munir Akram, who called on him here at the presidency. He highlighted the real face of India needed to be exposed at all international fora, which had been involved in the extra-judicial killings, torture and incarceration of innocent Muslims of occupied Kashmir.

The president said it was the responsibility of the international community to stop India from committing gross rights violations and implement UN Security Council resolutions on Kashmir. He reiterated that Pakistan would continue to support the Kashmiri people in their just struggle for their right to self-determination.

Alvi deplored the fact that India was persecuting minority groups, particularly Muslims, adding that India’s inhuman treatment of minorities and its belligerent posture posed threat to regional peace and stability. He termed the recent session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM), hosted by Pakistan, as highly successful which attracted the world’s attention to the grave humanitarian and economic situation of Afghanistan.

Crude prices slip over Omicron fears, iran talks ISLAMABAD tLtp

Crude oil prices dipped for the second consecutive day on Monday over Omicron fears and resumption of Iran’s nuclear talks. As of 1255 hours GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, shed $0.07 (-0.09 percent) to reach $76.07 a barrel.

On the other hand, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price reached $72.77 a barrel, down by $1.02 (1.40 percent). The price for Opec Basket was recorded at $74.23 a barrel without any change, Arab Light was available at $77.54 with a 0.92 percent increase, and the price of Russian Sokol jumped to $77.87 with an increase of 1.01 percent. Oil prices have been retreating since Friday after rallying for three straight sessions.

Fresh blow to WTI prices came on Monday after the US airlines called off thousands of flights over the Christmas holidays amid surging Covid-19 cases, though Brent crude gained support from hopes that the Omicron variant will have limited impact on global demand. More than 1,300 flights were cancelled by US airlines on Sunday as Covid-19 reduced the number of available crews while several cruise ships had to cancel stops. On the other hand, talks between world powers and Iran resumed on Monday on reviving Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal. Iran said that oil exports are the focus of the talks, which so far appear to have made little progress on boosting Iran’s shipments.

Tuesday, 28 December, 2021 | ISLAMABAD

04 NEWS

SuPArCo develoPS PortAl for MoNItorING reAl-tIMe ProGreSS oN develoPMeNt ProjeCtS IsLAMABAD

A

Staff RepoRt

S the delay in progress on projects’ execution resulting in cost escalation, has been a major issue regarding development projects, Pakistan Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) , has developed a portal for monitoring the real-time progress of any project being funded by the government.

During a meeting held at the Ministry of Planning Development & Special Initiatives on Monday, the Planning Commission Department of Geo-Spatial Technology Cell of SUPARCO briefed about the use of technology for inspection of the development schemes on ground.

According to officials it was informed that a web portal was designed to support the ministry in order to utilize these solutions for evidence-based reporting and monitoring of PSDP projects incorporating satellite technology. Secretary Planning Abdul Aziz Uqaili, Member SUPARCO Zafar Iqbal.

Member M&E, Additional Secretaries, Chief Technology Officer, Geospatial technology cell Riffat Shamshad, and Senior Officials were present in the meeting.

The meeting with SUPARCO was conducted to revamp the P&E system having state of art technologies. The solutions developed were demonstrated in the meeting including data collection with geo-tagged real-time information and pictures offering both online and offline mechanisms for data transmission. It was informed in the meet-

5.3-magnitude earthquake jolts parts of Gilgit-Baltistan NEws DEsk Earthquake tremors were felt in Gilgit-Baltistan on Monday, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD). PMD said that the frequency of the quake was 5.3 magnitude on the Richter scale, adding that it measured a depth of 45 kilometres. Tremors were felt in the city at 7:31pm, while its epicentre was 26 north of Astore, Gilgit Baltistan. The frequency of the aftershocks was 4.5 magnitude on the Richter scale. It should be recalled that a 4.2-magnitude earthquake had struck parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the wee hours of Friday last week. Tremors were felt in Mansehra, Torghar, Battagram and other areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Geo News had reported. According to the PMD’s National Seismic Monitoring Centre, the magnitude of the earthquake was measured 4.2 on the Richter Scale. The epicentre was 15 northwest of Balakot, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

‘Corruption cases would be reopened on Nawaz’s return’

ing that SUPARCO is providing the first intact knowledge of the real-time project and every four days they are able to see the ground progress of the project through this technology.

While taking briefing Federal Minister Asad Umar said that the weak Monitoring & Evaluation(P&E) system in the Planning Commission always resulted in delay/inefficiency in PSD Projects implementation causing massive overrun, increase in cost, and wastage of taxpayer money as well.

That’s why we need to revamp the overall Monitoring and Evaluation process.

“We need to have a clear idea of how this system can be used to monitor the quantitative and qualitative condition of projects, and how well these are integrated with the system,” said Asad Umar.

The Minister also discussed the frequency of assessments and sought details at the next meeting on how the Planning Commission would coordinate monitoring and assessment information with future reports.

SUPARCO has recently developed a Web GIS Portal to monitor the infrastructure projects and successfully demon-

strated to the Planning Commission. Minister appreciated SUPARCO to be part of this endeavor through satellite and GIS data analytics, geo-tagged field data collection and real-time implementation progress of the projects. The forum suggested further improvements and integration of the system with the Planning Commission system for effective monitoring.

CM Buzdar hopes Lahore Technopolis will attract international universities NEws DEsk Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar, while speaking to a delegation led by Punjab Higher Education Minister Raja Yasir Humayun, stated that international universities will establish their campuses in the Lahore Technopolis.

He went on to state that attention would be paid to research on emerging technologies and state-of-the-art products.

He said the project would be a gamechanger for the new generation. Chief Minister Buzdar said modern education was the right of every child and the government was ensuring its implementation. Due to the educational friendly policies of the government, 21 universities of the country had been included in the world and Asian rankings, he said.

The chief minister also announced that the government was going to introduce the concept of smart universities in the province. The minister informed the chief minister about measures taken by

the government in the higher education sector.

The chief minister said the scheme would get all the benefits under the Special Technology Zone Act (STZA) and tax exemption for 10 years. Enterprises operating in the zone will get exemption

from property and Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) services taxes for 10 years.

The chief minister said the previous government didn’t take any practical steps but only announced projects. He said the Lahore Knowledge Park project was proof of the incompetence of past

rulers as it had remained merely in the files for 10 years.

He further stated that the PTI government had started work on the Lahore Technopolis project, which was being set up under the vision of ‘Excellence in knowledge and enterprise’.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Buzdar appreciated the performance of the Cabinet Committee for Law & Order, police, administration and law enforcement agencies for making excellent security arrangements for Quaid-i Azam Day and Christmas celebrations.

He said the departments concerned had performed their duties efficiently and wholeheartedly. He praised the coordination in this regard of the agencies and departments concerned.

Separately, CM Buzdar re-named the Gulberg Jail Road Flyover as Munir Niazi Flyover on the 15th death anniversary of the renowned poet. He directed the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) director general to display the new name of the flyover.

LAHORE Staff RepoRt

Chief Minister of Punjab Usman Buzdar on Monday said that there are no restrictions on return of Nawaz Sharif and investigations will be conducted into cases against the PM<L-N in accordance with the law. The chief minister was speaking during the inauguration of the Abdul Sattar Edhi underpass in Lahore. During his speech, the CM said that PTI’s “allies are with us and there is no need to worry,” adding that elections will be held once the Punjab assembly passes the local body bill. “As soon as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) completes the delimitation of polls for the local government of Punjab, elections will be conducted,” he added. Taking about the underpass, Buzdar said that thousands of people travelling from Kasur to other parts of Punjab will benefit from it.

NHA’s revenue increased by rs99 billion in three years: Murad Saeed IsLAMABAD INp

Federal Minister for Communications Murad Saeed on Monday said revenue of the National Highway Authority (NHA) has increased by Rs99 billion in the first three years of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government. Sharing the three-year performance of his ministry from his Twitter handle, Murad Saeed said Rs24.2 billion were recovered by the ministry through accountability drive, Rs1 billion was saved through austerity drive and state-owned land worth Rs5 billion was also retrieved. The minister said Eprocurement has been introduced in the ministry to ensure transparency, while construction of 6,118 kilometers highways has been planned. Earlier on Feb 11, the overall revenue collection of the institution increased up to 70 percent as compared to the previous government, according to a report released by the Ministry of Communication.

SC rules to handover Askari Park to KMC

PIC committee recommends action against five doctors in expired stent scam LAHORE Staff RepoRt

kARACHI Staff RepoRt

The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday ordered relevant authorities to hand over charge of the Askari Amusement Park to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) within two weeks.

A two-member SC bench, comprising Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Qazi Mohammad Amin, issued the ruling while hearing a case related to the Askari Park at the top court’s Karachi Registry.

The apex court directed the KMC administrator to take control of the Askari Park and open it for people.

There should be no entry fee at the park, ruled the court. The chief justice directed the KMC to return the existing swings to the current management and install new ones. The court also directed razing all the shops on the park’s land.

Counsel of Corps V of the Pakistan Army and Karachi Administrator Murtaza Wahab appeared before the court in the case.

At the outset of today’s hearing, Murtaza Wahab told the court that Askari Park was given to the army under an agreement in 2005.

“The agreement was for a period

of 99 years,” added the defence counsel.

Justice Qazi Mohammad Amin told the defence counsel: “The park had been handed over to you [army] so that no one else could occupy it.”

“We are ordering you to return the land to its owner,” said the judge.

How 38 shops and a marriage hall were constructed on the park’s

CMYK

land, asked the judge. The bench also raised questions over the quality of swings at the park.

The defence counsel informed the court that they had nothing to do with the shops on the park’s land.

The apex court ordered to hand over the Askari Amusement Park to KMC in two weeks with a directive to demolish the shops and marriage hall established on the land.

The Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) probe committee has recommended action as per the PEDA Act against five doctors who were involved in implanting expired stents to patients at the hospital. The PIC probe committee has been investigating 40 doctors who exploited heart patients and placed expired stents in their bodies.

Now the probe committee has recommended action against Dr Amir Hussain Bandesha, Dr Amar Rasheed, Dr Atif Imran, Dr Imtiaz Ali and Dr Masood. The inquiry report said that these five doctors did not appear despite constant summoning. Sources said that The Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability Act 2006 (PEDA Act) will be applied against those doctors who avoided the inquiry committee as well. Pertinent to note that the Punjab Institute of Cardiology has constituted a six-member committee to probe into a scam of implanting ‘expired’ stents into heart patients. PIC professor of cardiology Dr Ahmad Noeman has been made convener of the committee while other members included associate professor Dr Sajjad Ahmad, Assistant Professor Dr Imran Abid, Additional Medical Superintendent Dr Rana Aftab, Deputy Medical Superintendent (stores) Dr Shoaib Aslam and Chief Pharmacist Mohammad Yousaf.

The committee was constituted on the direction of the PIC board of management chairman. The issue surfaced when the DMS (stores) in a letter addressed to the PIC medical superintendent said that expired stents had been inserted into several cardiac patients.

Tuesday, 28 December, 2021 | ISLAMABAD

NEWS

daraz wins the digital streaming rights for HBl Psl 2022-2023 KaraCHi

Pakistan dePlores Hindutva leaders’ calls For MusliM genocide in india iSLamaBad

Press release

Pakistan Cricket Board hosted the bid for 7th and 8th season of HBL PSL’s digital streaming rights in Lahore on 24th December with participation from extremely competitive contenders including Daraz, ASports, Geo TV, Trans Group and Tapmad. The winner of the bid, Daraz, leading e-commerce platform of Pakistan, had previously also proven to be a game changer with over 300 million views during the streaming of ICC T20 World Cup. The platform’s mission has been digitalization and it has been actively working towards building infrastructure to improve the growth of the country’s ecommerce industry. Daraz also believes in making sports and specifically cricket as a force that brings users from every corner of the country together with free-of-cost streaming that no other platform offers. According to Pakistan Cricket Board, Daraz submitted the highest bid in accordance to the public tender process which was 175% higher than the previous years pertaining to the increase in digital players in the market.

Ammar Hassan, Chief Marketing Officer at Daraz, shared his excitement on winning the cut-throat competition, “we are proud to once again unite Pakistanis on our platform to watch their most loved national cricket tournament. With the support of our high technology and back-end support we are confident to provide access to every individual in the country. Our goal through sports partnerships is to provide shoppertainment to our users and make entertainment accessible through digitization to all.” Daraz won hearts of the nation previously as well and is set to do so by winning digital streaming rights for the next two seasons of HBL PSL 2022-2023 as cricket lovers anxiously anticipate how this year’s tournament will pan out to be.

the Fauji Foundation preSS reLeaSe The post war reparations fund of Rs.18.4 million, left by the British government for the Pakistan veterans, was utilized to set up a foundation over a one-off distribution. Thus, it was the start of an incredible journey of a socially driven organization fully self-sustained by its commercial investments that also supplement Pakistan’s National Economic Development. The core purpose is to supplement GOPs effort to support the veterans and their families, including widows and Shuhadas for their rehabilitation. Fauji Foundation “FF” proudly spearheads this mantle entirely on self-sustaining basis. Our journey and growth from 50-bedded hospital in 1959 to nationwide 1,830 beds across 74 medical facilities, which include 11 hospitals & 63 clinics and 126 education institutes, which comprise of Foundation University, medical, dental and nursing colleges, tertiary colleges & schools and vocational training institutions demonstrate our commitment and devotion towards the core purpose. FF is now serving over 9.7 million people as beneficiaries contributing to 5% of the population.

The endowment fund is prudently invested in the sectors of agriculture, infrastructure, food chain and financial services. These investments not only generate funds for the Foundation but also contribute in the Economic Development of Pakistan by focusing on the Nations’ pressing needs, such as, food self- sufficiency, nutritional needs, energy security, infrastructure development and financial inclusivity of the population. Most commercial investments are quoted on the PSX and run with the highest levels of corporate governance and integrity. Over the years, these have generated handsome returns for their minority shareholders (general public). Our Foundation’s contribution to the National exchequer in form of duties and taxes is circa Rs.160 billion per annum and ranks as one of the largest taxpayers in Pakistan. We remain grateful to our biggest asset, home to 27,000 employees (over 75% are civilians), whose empathy, passion, hard work and dedication has made Fauji Foundation a success story for social hybrid organizations.

05

P

Web Desk

AKISTAN on Monday deplored Hindutva leaders’ calls for Muslim genocide in India and lamented New Delhi’s inaction over the matter. To express Pakistan’s serious concerns over the calls for Muslim genocide, the Indian Charge d’ Affaires was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad.

In a statement, the Foreign Office said it was highly reprehensible that Hindu Raksha Sena’s Prabodhanand Giri and other Hindutva figures who called for ethnic cleansing of Muslims have neither expressed any regret nor has the Indian government condemned or taken any action against them so far.

“The violent hate speeches were made during the “Dharma Sansad” held at Haridwar, Uttarakhand, from December 17-19, 2021,” the statement said.

The Foreign Office told the Indian envoy that the hate speeches have been viewed with grave concern by civil soci-

ety and the cross-section of the people of Pakistan and around the world.

Regrettably, the toxic narrative against minorities, particularly Muslims, and their persecution understate patronage has become a norm under the current Hindutva-driven BJP-RSS combined government in India, the Foreign Office said. The Indian side was reminded that such incitement to violence

by Hindutva figures including the ruling party’s elected members also preceded the anti-Muslim riots in New Delhi in February 2020.

“The continued grave violations of human rights of minorities, especially Muslims and their places of worship, antiMuslim legislation by the Union Government of India and several BJP-ruled states, and continued incidents of violence against Muslims on flimsy pretexts

by Hindutva groups with complete impunity and often under state patronage highlight the worsening trend of Islamophobia and present a grim picture about the fate of Muslims in India,” the statement said. Pakistan called on the interna-

tional community including the United Nations, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and relevant human rights organisations to hold India accountable for its gross and systematic human rights violations against minorities and take immediate measures to save them from impending genocide, the statement said.

“India is expected to investigate these hate speeches and incidents of widespread violence against minorities, particularly Muslims and their houses of worship, and take measures to stop such incidents from recurring in future,” the statement said.

Indian police said last week they have launched an investigation into an event where Hindu hardliners called for mass killings of minority Muslims.

A speaker at the gathering earlier this month told the crowd that people should not worry about going to jail for killing Muslims, according to a video.

“Even if just a hundred of us become soldiers and kill two million of them, we will be victorious… If you stand with this attitude only then will you be able to protect sanatana dharma (an absolute form of

Hinduism),” the woman said.

The meeting in the northern holy city of Haridwar was attended by at least one member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP. The party stands accused of encouraging the persecution of Muslims and other minorities by hardline Hindu nationalists since coming to power in 2014.

Prominent Muslim MP Asaduddin Owaisi tweeted that the comments in the video were a “clear case of incitement to genocide”. Modi’s government has not commented on the event. The woman in the video reportedly added that Indians should “pray to Nathuram Godse”, the Hindu extremist who assassinated Indian independence icon Mahatma Gandhi in 1948.

Another delegate, Prabodhanand Giri — the head of a fringe Hindu group who is often photographed with senior BJP members — called for a “cleansing” and for those present to be “ready to die or kill”. “Like Myanmar, the police, politicians, the army, and every Hindu in India must pick up weapons and do this cleansing. There is no other option left,” he is heard to say.

PPP, PML-N, JUI vow to oust Imran Khan’s ‘puppet regime’ Continued from page 01 Bilawal said only PPP can topple the PM Imran-led government with the support of the masses and resolve the issues of the masses. “We will form the next government and elect our chief ministers in all provinces,” he told the charged gathering.

Former president and PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari in his brief address said, “Being poor is not written in the fate of the people of Pakistan”.

Zardari without naming anyone said due to some “stupid individuals, rich country like Pakistan” was reeling under economic crisis. He said PPP will soon come into power and under the leadership of Bilawal resolve the issues of the masses.

PML-N lawmakers discuss strategy to oust PTI government: The PML-N parliamentary party members also held a conference here in the federal capital to discuss ways to oust the PTI-led government and devise a strategy to give prime Minister Imran Khan.

PML-N Vice-President Shahid Khaqan Abbasi presided over the conference where he discussed the mini-budget, finance bill, and talked about the autonomy of the State Bank of Pakistan. The conference included former minister of foreign affairs Khawaja Muhammad Asif, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb nd lawmakers Nisar Ahmed Cheema, Chaudhry Hamid Hameed, Zahra Wadood Fatemi, Riaz Hussain Pirzada, Maiza Hameed and former member of the National Assembly Shakeela Luqman.

Joint opposition will also hold a conference in the Parliament House to discuss the mini-budget and other affairs. Fazl vows to continue struggle along with PMLN to oust govt Following the party’s success in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa local body polls last week, JUI’s President Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who is also the chief of the Pakistan Democratic Movement, vowed to continue struggling along with the PML-N to overthrow the incumbent government. Fazl thanked PML-N supremo

Nawaz Sharif for congratulating him over JUI’s success against the ruling party.

JUI has won the most seats in the 2021 LG polls in KP, while PML-N has won two seats according to the unofficial and unverified results received so far.

The JUI leader, in a tweet, said that JUI-F and PMLN will continue to struggle for the complete restoration of democracy, provision of the right to vote to the people, and overthrowing the incumbent government.

“Our joint struggle will continue till the complete restoration of democracy, provision of the right to vote to the people, ousting of this selected government and Pakistan’s return to the way of a better and more sustainable future,” Fazl wrote. The remark came in reaction to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s tweet where he congratulated Fazl for his party’s success in the first phase of the LG polls. “I present heartily felicitations to Maulana Fazlur Rehman and his comrades on JUI-F’s great victory in the first phase of the recent local body elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” Nawaz Sharif wrote.

PTCL launches cutting-edge cyber security services for corporate customers iSLamaBad Press release

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has launched new cyber security services based on its cuttingedge Security Operations Center (SOC) to protect its corporate and financial customers against cyber-attacks. The SOC-based services will reinforce the digital security by building a safety wall against a range of cyber security threats to customers’ data, digital assets and infrastructure.

Being an industry first, PTCL’s cyber security services are the latest edition to its portfolio and is based on the industry’s highest performing ‘integrated’ cyber security platform with a rich ecosystem.

The system enables consistent and reliable security across the extended digital attack surfaces including applications, code, ports, servers and websites, as well as unauthorized system access points. To provide end-to-end protection, PTCL is offering seamless interoperability, complete visibility, and granular control for hybrid deployments

including hardware, software, and X-as-a-Service across networks, endpoints, and Clouds.

Commenting on the development, Group Chief Information Officer (GCIO), PTCL & Ufone, Saad Muzaffar Waraich, said, “Cyber security is becoming a major strategic priority for organizations in the present-day and our corporate customers depend on our secure and robust services.

PTCL Group continues to innovate and modernize its cyber security offerings to live up to their expectations. Our Security Operations Center (SOC) based cyber security services create an impregnable defensive wall around the digital infrastructure to ensure that our customers’ operations and services work seamlessly. We endeavor to stay ahead of the evolving threats and challenges in the cyber world.”

PTCL developed the Security Operations Center (SOC) to manage and monitor customer infrastructure and services in a managed services model. The platform safeguards their digital assets, data, services and products against cyber threats and also significantly helps reduce their spending on their cyber security infrastructure and its associated operational overheads.

Fawad blames Bilawal, Zardari for destroying Bhutto’s PPP Continued from page 01 Similarly, State Minister for Information Farrukh Habib said the PPP-led Sindh government has ruined the province during its 13 years in power. “Corruption, plunder, fake bank accounts have become their [PPP leaders] identity.” “Unfortunately, Bilawal has become the protector of Zardari’s corruption instead of carrying forward the mission of Bibi Shaheed [Benazir Bhutto],” he added. Farrukh said Bilawal should stop worrying about Punjab and added that PPP under Zardari’s leadership will not be able to form government in Sindh after the 2023 general elections.

Chief Secretary directs stern action against poachers without any discrimination LaHore staff rePort

Punjab Chief Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal has said that preservation of the wildlife is the collective responsibility of all and directed the authorities concerned to start taking stern action against poachers.

Chairing a meeting at the Commissioner’s Office, Bahawalpur on Monday, he said that the persons involved in the illegal activity do not deserve any leniency and asked the Commissioner Bahawalpur Division to take action against poachers without any discrimination in accordance with the law.

Kamran Ali Afzal said that delay in the uplift schemes under the annual development programme would not be tolerated, and asked the officers to ensure timely and transparent utilization of funds. He stressed that the deputy commissioners should play their role in eradicating corruption in the revenue department and proceed against the corrupt officers and officials. He said that the corona vaccination campaign is a national cause, adding that the given targets should be met in all cases.

The Chief Secretary also directed the officers to continue online monitoring of fertilizer stocks and supply, besides keep-

ing a check on market committees and auction process in agriculture markets.

Commissioner Bahawalpur Division Captain (r) Muhammad Zafar Iqbal gave a detailed briefing to the meeting. He said that 686 development projects are underway in Bahawalpur division. Seven check-posts have been set up to prevent smuggling and 900 tonnes of wheat being transported out of the province illegally has been confiscated.

He said that a comprehensive plan for the development of Cholistan is being implemented.

Regional Police Officer Sher Akbar briefed the meeting about the law and order situation in the

division. The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary (South Punjab) Saqib Zafar, deputy commissioners of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalnagar and concerned officers.

The Chief Secretary also paid a surprise visit to Bahawal Victoria Hospital Bahawalpur. He inspected the emergency, gynecology and other wards and inquired the patients about medical facilities. He asked the patients if they are facing any problem in their treatment and are the medicines being provided free of cost to the patients admitted in the hospital? Citizens ex-

pressed satisfaction over the arrangements at the hospital.

CS Kamran Ali also listened to the problems of the patients and their families and issued orders on the spot for their resolution. He directed that an information desk be set up in the hospital for the guidance of the people. He said that a good attitude and guidance of doctors instills a sense of satisfaction in the patient. He mentioned that despite limited resources, patients can be better cared for with the spirit of humanity. Additional Chief Secretary Capt (R) Saqib Zafar Commissioner Bahawalpur Zafar Iqbal was also present on this occasion.

06-07 Comments - 28th December 2021_Layout 1 12/27/2021 11:49 PM Page 1

Tuesday, 28 December, 2021

06 COMMENT

Theory vs application

Sheikh Rashid’s defence of PTI government A confession of incompetence

Where should the emphasis be in engineering education?

M

ANy among PTI rank and file still consider Imran khan a flawless and competent leader who alone can bring the country out of doldrums. When khan blamed the previous rulers for corruption, he received a full-throated applause from party supporters. When he said that the PML-N and PPP were responsible for inflation and unemployment, khan’s fans parroted the claims. Some were however unable to understand why the prices of wheat flour and sugar skyrocketed even under the PTI administration and why the government took no action against the mafia which it held responsible for inflation. Murmuring started in the wake of PTI’s big losses in by-elections, Cantt Boards polls and the disastrous LG elections in kP. Questions began now to be asked why the PTI government failed to get any opposition leader convicted on corruption cases despite being in power for the fourth year.

Interior Minister Sheikh rashid is the first to concede that people voted for Imran to hold the corrupt accountable, ‘but we failed.’ The excuse rashid gave is that the roots of the mafia are so deep that the government couldn’t get hold of them. The claim however defies reason. PM Imran khan continued to claim for full three years that he was on the same page with the army. The government got opposition leaders arrested before caring to collect evidence. The NAB chief went out of the way to please the government. NAB officials conducted media trials of the opposition leaders while accountability court judges were chosen by the Law Ministry which was empowered to transfer a judge seen not to be toeing the line instantly through Whatsapp. The accused got justice only from higher judiciary after undergoing prolonged suffering and that too because the government failed to prepare open and shut cases.

Sheikh rashid claims that people had no reason to blame the PTI government for inflation as it had that disbursed health and ration cards which according to him were major remedial measures but “we just could not make people realize the importance of such facilities”.

HASAN AFTAB SAEED

T

here has been this old debate about film songs: Is music (tune and orchestration) of a song more important than its lyrics or vice versa? In other words, is music the main item with lyrics merely a vehicle to convey it? Or is it the other way around? As one man put it, one is the corpse while the other is the coffin. When asked which was which, he suggested that the questioner should decide that for himself. Fortunately, this being an armchair exercise, one can choose the sensible option of suspending judgment and enjoying film music as a package consisting of music and lyrics.

There is a similar debate however, which, owing to its much more practical nature, cannot be dismissed as mere hair-splitting. It regards the teaching of engineering, which intimately concerns all instructors and their students. In any engineering subject, there is the theory and there is the application of the theory to practical problems. Between them the two make up any subject, so both aspects need to be taught to the student. When it comes to pedagogy however, there have traditionally been two approaches which are diametrically opposed to one another. Is theory best treated principally as a vehicle to present tools to solve a specific set of problems? Or

Taliban unwilling to help themselves New restrictions on women will not go down well internationally

C

RAjA HAmzA ANwAR

P

AkISTAN’S post-colonial experience is one of sycophantic acceptance of the western culture, language as superior to the eastern culture. The British power that once eclipsed more than half of the world has receded to the British Channel, yet our state’s pathology of servile emulation continues with full vigour even to this date; Pakistan is a state that still suffers from severe colonial amnesia. In connection to this, Prime Minister Imran khan has praised the Chinese system far too often and has emphatically suggested it to be a blueprint for the state of Pakistan.

Perhaps, he wishes to replace our Anglican masters with our neighbouring Confucian masters.

Our Prime Minister’s vision of a quintessential Islamic State of Pakistan complementing the Chinese governance structure is a great ideological paradox that deserves separate attention. Nevertheless, the only thing that has grasped his attention is the unrestrained power China’s Communist Party (CCP) enjoys to trammel opposition from within and use it to muzzle the voices of dissent. he may be envious to see that his Chinese counterpart can easily incarcerate his political opposition under the garb of an anti-corruption drive, without being inconvenienced by legal or political repercussions. however, the Prime Minister has missed that CCP’s inclusive policymaking is a central characteristic of its governance system that has allowed it to indisputably remain at the helm of the political structure. A salient feature of inclusive governance is public approval of its policies at the grass-root level, defying a common perception that

Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor

Yousaf Nizami Umar Aziz

Joint Editor

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

Go-back-to-the-basics may sound like a cliché, but there is nothing that more succinctly captures what real education is all about.

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

Courts ensuring the federal government does not violate its constitutional limits is necessary

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

M. A. Niazi

submit readily to mapping. This is where thorough understanding of theory comes in so handy. It allows the student to approach problems that do not conform to a fixed pattern, by resorting to first principles. This way, the problems need no more be of the desiccated, forced variety that submit to a set algorithm. Not only does this allow the teacher to be flexible in the choice of test problems, but (more importantly) it enables students to tackle problems the likes of which they may never have seen before. Considering that life is sure to throw their way just such problems, engineers who can handle them are at an altogether different level of competence than those who cannot.

Go-back-to-the-basics may sound like a cliché, but there is nothing that more succinctly captures what real education is all about.

One can be said to know a subject, not when all one knows is the recipe to solve a certain class of problems, but when one is equipped with its fundamentals. For it is the fundamentals which one can always fall back upon, and which enable one to get the best possible solution considering the nature of the problem. No university course can possibly hope to cover the possible range of applications in any given area. What it can do however is equip students with the fundamentals and encourage and train them to approach recalcitrant problems from first principles.

The litmus test of expertise in any engineering subject will always be one’s ability to solve concrete real-world problems, but the expertise itself is best developed by granting pride of place to theory by illustrating how its relatively few fundamentals apply in a unified manner to much wider-ranging applications; as opposed to relying on a black-box type, methodology-based approach to problem solving.

Enforcing Federalism

OuNTrIeS across the world are pleading Afghanistan’s case, that the country must not be abandoned at this critical stage in its transition from being run by a uS-Afghan civilian hybrid government into a purely Taliban led government. A food security crisis and the crippling cold hitting Afghanistan simultaneously means that there will be death and chaos unless more money is thrown at the problem. That money has to come in form of aid from the west and is conditional upon the Afghan Taliban making good on their initial promises of a progressive and liberal style of running the country. It is therefore unfortunate and akin to shooting themselves in the foot that rather than trying to introduce policies that would project the image of a reformed, less violent and extreme Taliban, the government has announced fresh restrictions on women’s freedom of movement, disallowing them to travel more than 72km without a close male relative accompanying them. Additionally, vehicle owners have been directed to refuse rides to women wearing only head scarves, with only those is ‘full hijab’ allowed to travel using public transport. These new rules are consistent with how the Taliban, since coming to power four months back, have curtailed women’s rights.

There is an obvious disconnect between what the Taliban government’s words and actions. That they want suspended aid to resume but are clearly unwilling to help themselves, shows that the more traditional extremist elements within the Taliban are not only still present but are dominating the decision making and governance process. The Taliban of the 1990s simply have no space in the region or the world anymore and until there is a realization that their survival is contingent upon practically implementing its stated intention to become a globally relevant country through reform and change, it will continue to suffer economic hardship and isolation.

Pakistan and its allies have tried to explain this reality to the Taliban government on multiple occasions, clearly to no avail. It seems unless there is an honest effort to correct course emulating from within the Taliban’s top leadership, there will be no meaningful change in the way the country will be run and women’s rights ensured.

Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

should problems be used, instead, to illustrate theory at work in various practical applications? Authors especially need to make up their minds one way or the other before they get down to the task of writing their textbooks, which is easier said than done. So, it is that most textbooks show a lack of clarity on the issue: at some places they seem to favour the former approach while at other places the latter. Only a select few are written to consistently stick to one philosophy.

Of course, theory is meaningless if it fails to help grapple with specific applications. It is tempting therefore for engineering students as well as instructors to treat theory as the handmaiden of ‘numerical’ problems (lovingly referred to as ‘numericals’ in campus jargon). There is much to say in favour of this stance: as opposed to the pure scientist who may merely be spurred on in his work by curiosity regarding how the universe works, engineers (as technologists) are required to provide solutions to practical problems. The taste of the pudding is in the eating, and all that sort of thing. But (and it is a big ‘but’) what is often overlooked is that it is very easy to overemphasize applications at the cost of theory. So, it is that there is no dearth of students who are ignorant of the fundamentals of a subject but can readily solve numerical problems so long as they conform to a set pattern. They memorize a certain algorithm or recipe for solution and have no difficulty so long as a problem submits to that recipe. This is what is called mapping of example problems to ‘new’ problems. The limitation of this approach, as a wit so aptly put it, is that life is an odd-numbered problem, in that even if there are definite answers to its problems they are rarely provided.

This recipes-based approach severely limits the instructor in the choice of problems he can use to test his students. That is because the latter are stumped the moment an unfamiliar problem turns up. Which is no fault of theirs because they are used exclusively to unrealistic, divorced-from-life, textbook type problems that

I

Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

I

China completely lacks public participation. The country’s governance structure offers public participation and decentralization at the local level, especially at the Township People’s Congress, County People’s Congress and the Municipal People’s Congress. It is at this most basic level that the public engages in a dialogue with policymakers to decide the policies that accord with them. ever since Chairman Mao Zedong founded the CCP, the party has consistently adhered to a policy of “Mass Line”, which involves inviting the public from different regions and localities to enact policies through mutual understanding.

Despite years following independence, we are fixated on emulating a country that is pre-dominantly inhabited by one homogenous ethnicity, instead of consistently following the roadmap provided by our Constitution. China’s model involves a degree of decentralization, especially concerning meeting economic and environmental targets, which our Constitution embodies as well. Though the CCP recognises the indispensability of Provincial and Local Governments, our Constitutional system is correctly not predicated on a limited decentralized model, as China. For one, the heterogeneous ethnicities native to Pakistan will find their rights trammelled if the Chinese model is replicated. Second, excessive centralisation of authority ignores the unparalleled advantages that transpire from competition amongst independent Provinces. This allows policymakers to effectively evaluate and adopt only the ideal policies that emanate from this inter-provincial competition. Despite a clear Constitutional prerogative in favour of Federalism, the Federal Government still reminisces the bureaucratic unitary state of Pakistan of the 1950s and 1960s. To our delight, Pakistan has some judges in its judicial ranks, who gallantly defend the Provincial autonomy in the face of a paternalistic Federal Government.

Our Superior Courts have acted as referees, guarding the Constitution against transgressions of the Federal Government in usurping the functions of the Provincial Government. Courts have tended to adjudge the boundary of Federal and Provincial territory on the touchstone of legislative competence according to the Federal Legislative List contained in the Constitution. This involves an exercise, whereby Courts analyse whether the subject matter of a legislation in question is covered by any of the legislative subject entries in the Federal Legislative List to the Constitution. Through the tools of Constitutional interpretation, if the Court finds a law to be covered by the Federal Legislative List, then the said law is

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

I

Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

I

validly declared a Federal law. On the other hand, if the relevant law is not covered by the Federal Legislative List and is nonetheless passed by the Parliament, it is declared a bad law, as it was supposed to be passed by the Provinces and not by the Parliament in Islamabad. however, recently the Lahore high Court in the case of Vice Chairman Punjab Bar Council v. Government of Punjab took a step further.

In this case, the Court declared that the Federal Government cannot direct the Provincial Government into following any policy; to do so would be dictating the Provincial government and curtailing its autonomy. Though the Court could have said that any such direction would be a non-binding suggestion or “directory in nature”, and by doing so it could have saved the Ordinance from being declared illegal. Nevertheless, the fact that the honourable Court did not, strongly manifests its intolerance towards the Federal Government transgressing its Constitutionally permissible domain. The Court emphasized that Federalism is not just an abstract concept of governance, rather it is inextricably linked to the Fundamental rights of the people, who have elected their chosen representatives in the Provincial Assemblies. The fact that people cast separate votes for the Provincial Assembly and the National Assembly in a given constituency evokes a degree of expectation in the constituents that their chosen representatives at both levels will operate independently; it is least expected that the Provincial Government will be a mouth-piece of the Federal Government. By giving a wider meaning to what transgressing the Constitutional boundary means, the impact of this decision is that the Federal Government and Parliament do not need to positively commit acts that are wholly within the domain of the Provinces, even a slight suggestion by the Federal Government to the Provincial Governments that the Court finds patronising or paternalistic will be struck down for being dictatorial legislation or action.

Judgements rendered by Courts are not infallible and always leave vast space open for debate; they endure in the consciousness of the people by constantly conversing with the Society at large. Though there are some undeniable shortcomings of this judgement, the trail of past post-eighteenth Amendment cases has attempted to dilute the effect of the amendment; this judgment is a small step towards emancipating Federalism in Pakistan.

The writer is a Barrister and practices law in Pakistan. He can be reached at rajahamzaanwar786@hotmail.com

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

06-07 Comments - 28th December 2021_Layout 1 12/27/2021 11:49 PM Page 2

Tuesday, 28 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

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

Since 2014, Ukraine stands between promises and realities No Foreign surety helps when nations are at War

SHAziA ANwER CHEEmA

T

uG of war between NATO and russia over ukraine is again attracting world attention. Virtual meeting of President Putin and President Biden summed up

by White house statement that russia will not get away as it was, at the time of Crimea’s annexation with russia.

The russian response in the form of the russia-NATO Security treaty on 17th December 2021 alarms that if NATO would continue to eastward expansion and weapons deployment in eastern europe, then Moscow would deploy weapons that were previously banned under the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), which expired in 2019. The new proposed security treaty by russia can be summed up under these points. n No eastward expansion of NATO. n No military cooperation with former Soviet states, including ukraine and other countries in eastern europe, the South Caucasus, and Central Asia. n Withdrawal of forces to positions NATO occupied in 1997, before the Czech republic, hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia, estonia, romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia were members n No deploying armed forces, heavy bombers, surface warships, or intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles outside of NATO territory.

INF Treaty was signed on December 8, 1987, by the uSA and the former Soviet union banning deployment of land-based ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and missile launchers with ranges of 500–1,000 kilometers (short mediumrange) and 1,000–5,500 km (intermediate-range) at their bordering areas.

Since 2014, the conflict in eastern ukraine is a flashpoint in the lap of europe where over 13,000 people had been victims of constant war, 30,000 have been wounded, 1.4 million people have been displaced, and 3.4 million people are at the mercy of humanitarian aid. Since 2014, only discussions are being held and ukraine is facing the brunt who is waiting for weapons to secure its borders. The ongoing conflict started

when the ukrainian population sat euromaidan was a wave of demonstrations started on the night of 21 November 2013 with public protests in Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) in kyiv. Supporters of euromaidan gathered to protest against the decision of the then-President Viktor yanukovych to suspend the signing of an association agreement with the european union and choose russian-led eurasian economic union. Then their demands expanded and the removal of Viktor yanukovych was included while accusing Viktor yanukovych of corruption and human rights abuses.

Within weeks, the then uS Assistant Secretary of State for europe Victoria Nuland reached kyiv and personally attended protests. She had been attending breakfasts with protestors and had been filmed while distributing sandwiches among protestors. her leaked telephone call with the then uS Ambassador to ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt was enough to accuse the uS for meddling with domestic politics of ukraine, in which she said that klitschko (one of the ukrainian politicians) should not be in the future government, and expressed her preference for Arseniy yatsenyuk, who became interim Prime Minister.

She used abusive language in her call for eu and then German chancellor Angela Merkel took serious notice “calling her comments about eu “completely unacceptable”. heavy causalities and loss of Crimea compelled ukraine to look at the world powers and the then German Chancellor Angela Merkel played a pivotal role for peace talks. An agreement was drawn up by the Trilateral Contact Group on ukraine, which consisted of representatives from ukraine, russia, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in europe (OSCe).

The group was established in June 2014 as a way to facilitate dialogue between stakeholders.

Meetings of the group took place on 31 July, 26 August, 1 September, and 5 September 2014 but fighting in eastern ukraine continued. On February 12, 2015, leaders from France, Germany, ukraine, and russia (the ‘Normandy Four’) sat together for reaching an agreement on a new ceasefire and a package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreement. Nothing is changed since then and fighting continues and ukraine has become a burning spot for europe. unluckily, ukraine is a victim of trusting superpowers for its security because it voluntarily withdrew weapons of deterrence under the guarantees and sureties that the united States, united kingdom, and russia would help ukraine if anybody would try to harm ukrainian sovereignty. These guarantees and sureties were provided to ukraine under Budapest Memorandum.

ukraine at the time of its independence had 1,700 nuclear warheads including 130 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) with six warheads each and 33 heavy bombers having the capacity of carrying nuclear warheads and now this country is looking at others for its security and survival.

In 1994, ukraine withdrew nuclear arsenals under the Budapest Memorandum” for accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear (NPT) Weapons as a non-nuclear-weapon State. kyiv after signing this document felt secure that the world powers had assured its security by signing the Budapest Memorandum that reaffirmed respect for the independence and sovereignty of existing borders of ukraine and signatories reiterated their obligation to refrain from using force against the territorial integrity or political independence of ukraine.

Just after 20 years of the signing of the Budapest Memorandum, ukraine in 2014 faced a situation in which one of the signatories, russia occupied Crimea and got allegedly involved in patronizing separatists in eastern ukraine. In response, ukraine sought help from all the signatories to protect its borders from the alleged aggression of russia. When kyiv was in trouble then the world came to know that Budapest Memorandum was a nonbinding document.

The only specific obligation of the uS, russia, and the uk was that they “will consult in the event if a situation arises against ukraine.

The Memorandum has no clauses that set out the procedure of convening and conducting such consultations, making and implementing decisions, or explaining the nature of sanctions against the offender. Furthermore, the Memorandum uses the term “security assurances” which is far weaker than “security guarantees”. ukraine is a significant example for those who believe that nuclear capability is not a deterrence and who believe that sovereignty and independence can be achieved and secured through dialogue without being ready to respond enemy with force. It also gives a lesson that promises cannot protect any nation but military strength can.

Chinese philosopher and writer of one of the best manuals of warfare, Sun Tzu writes in “Art of War”, that be ready with your horse and sword and never think you can at peace by asking someone to protect your lands.

Just after 20 years of the signing of the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine in 2014 faced a situation in which one of the signatories, Russia occupied Crimea and got allegedly involved in patronizing separatists in Eastern Ukraine.

The writer Shazia Anwer Cheema is a Prague-based foreign affairs expert who writes for national and international media. She is a Ph.D. scholar of semiotics and philosophy of communication at Charles University in Prague.

She heads the DND Think Tank. She can be reached at her: Twitter @ShaziaAnwerCh Email: shaziaanwer@yahoo.com

The recent 20th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) held in Dushanbe marked a watershed event for pro-active collaboration to cope with the evolving situation in the neighbourhood, especially Afghanistan.

Not only does the recent Afghan Taliban takeover pose a serious threat to regional stability, development and peace, but the emergence of an alliance between India and the uS is also a big challenge that can not be easily overlooked.

As the uS has charted out a roadmap to counter the influence of China in the Indian Ocean, China and regional countries like Pakistan have to be cautious about the international gameplay. Quoting the prime minister’s address at the summit, he made it quite clear that Pakistan had already faced horrible repercussions of its frontline partnership with the uS in the War on Terror after the 9/11 attacks, and it has learnt a number of lessons from its past mistakes. In such a scenario, it is worth quoting the lines: “If a nation does not learn from its history,then it is condemned to repeat it.” exactly,we have to reset our policies and take that policy direction where lies abundant national interests. When Pakistan can benefit from emerging win-win situation, it is absolutely unnecessary to exert wholeheartedly for ends that are inconsistent and incompatible with our national interests. even the country is still grappling with the spillover of its frontline partnership with the uS. These consequences include increasing sectarianism, tarnished image at the international level and resultant economic losses, growing extremism, a mass exodus of refugee influx and above all, the supply of heavy weapons from abroad through the country that broke the spine of our country very adversely.

As the war has been raging for the past few years, specifically in economic terms, Pakistan needs to wake up to the situation and keep its doors open for opportunities to flow in. Since the focus of the Cold War is the economic empowerment of countries to compete for taking control over economic world order, it needs to explore new avenues for empowering itself through economic and political diplomacy.

For the past many decades, european countries and the uS have established a firm monopoly over the economies of developing countries with the help of international financial organisations like the WB,IMF,WTO and the like. These organisations are run by powerful international economic giants to capture free economies so as to make their economic dominance sustainable.

Given the current dynamics, it is hoped that Pakistan, along with SCO members, will play safe and find a way forward to the settlement of Afghan issues not just for larger interest of the region but for the domestic stability, peace and prosperity of Pakistan too.

ABDUL QADEER SEELRO LARKANA

Why study history?

WhAT is history? history is the story of men and women on the face of the earth at a particular period of time who played their part to make up something like a story. Individuals may influence the course of history, but history as such is the sum total of all the actions put together culminating in some shape which the historians conveniently call the period. history may be looked at as the story of the growth of a people. history may again reflect the interaction of human emotions ending up in a certain form of society. history may indicate how societies were formed and how they grew. If certain societies survive the onslaught of time while others disappear altogether, history helps understand the forces at work. In short, we may not be far from right if we say that history traces the growth of human society.

Then why study history? The above-mentioned ideas of history have the answer to this question. There have been periods in history which shows the rise and fall of societies, where great men and women play their part. each country boasts of a certain golden era when a great personality, a king or queen or an emperor had so much power that he was the centre of the picture.

To know the picture is to know the person. Just to quote an example, take the period of Queen elizabeth I in england. It was a period of expansion for england, it had its moments of glory, it saw the flourishing of art and so on. To know the period, we learn all about the life of the actors on the stage.

Individuals may influence the course of history. Quite recently we know how the writings of rousseau and Voltaire and others influenced the course of the French revolution that was to follow. In recent times we know how the works of Marx and engels brought about almost universal revolution and the course of which has not stopped. To know the growth of a people we read history. This is best illustrated by studying the history of the uSA. how a few religious people who ran away from their mother country to avoid prosecution went in waves to colonize and almost a powerful country was born. here one is easily aware of the accidents of history.

To know the growth of societies, one must look into history. Thus a study of ancient societies throws light on how such societies were formed and grew. Some forces act as destructive ones, some forces act as incentives and some others go to consolidate the society. A classical example is Munroe which helped the uninhibited growth of uSA for nearly a hundred years.

The next proposition is whether the study of history is a yearning for past glory. To some extent, this is true. In oriental countries which have been under colonial rule, they really look back for some glory. They cull it from the past art and literature and have a sense of fulfilment. The invention of printing has revolutionized the world of thought. The invention of the Mariner’s compass has helped navigation to such a great extent that all the seas have come under the control of man. The invention of gun powder, the discovery of coal and petroleum, the invention of the motor car, and the splitting of the atom, almost all have changed the course of history. Now there are two great questions staring at the world; one is the atmospheric pollution and the other is the population explosion.

Now that man has a knowledge of their presence and has the tools to tackle them, he can to some extent shape his future.

M. IRFAN HUB

08 WORLD VIEW 28th December 21_Layout 1 12/27/2021 10:38 PM Page 1

Tuesday, 28 December, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

all sUccessfUl spies need To be good acTors THE ABILITY TO ADOPT A FICTIONAL PERSONA, LEARN A SCRIPT OR IMPROVISE ARE AS IMPORTANT IN ESPIONAGE AS IN THE THEATRE

Spectator MagaziNe Simon ingS

o

N 2 October last year, when he became chief of the UK Secret Intelligence Service (MI6, if you prefer), Richard Moore tweeted (tweeted!): ‘#Bond or #Smiley need not apply. They’re (splendid) fiction but actually we’re #secretlyjustlikeyou.’ The gesture’s novelty disguised, at the time, its appalling real-world implications. Bond was, after all, competent and Smiley had integrity.

Stars and Spies, by the veteran intelligence historian Christopher Andrew and the theatre director and circus producer Julius Green, is a thoroughly entertaining read, but not at all a reassuring one.

‘The adoption of a fictional persona, the learning of scripts and the ability to improvise’ are central to career progression in both theatre and espionage, the writers explain, ‘and undercover agents often find themselves engaged in what is effectively an exercise in long-form role play’. It should then come as no surprise that this book boasts ‘no shortage of enthusiastic but inept entertainer-spies’.

There’s Aphra Behn, the first woman employed as a secret agent by the British state during the Second Anglo-Dutch War in 1665: reaping no secret intelligence from her former lover, ‘ASTRA, Agent 160’ made stuff up. As, indeed, did the ‘Man Called Intrepid’, Sir William Stephenson, the subject, in 1976, of the biggest-selling book ever on intelligence history. His recollections, spanning everything from organising wartime resistance in Europe to developing the Spitfire and the jet engine to work on the German Enigma code and nuclear weapons, turned out to be the melancholy fabulations of a man suffering catastrophic memory loss.

The authors imagine that their subject — the intersection between spying and acting — is entertaining enough that they can simply start in the England of Good Queen Bess and Christopher Marlowe (recruited to spy for Walsingham while a student at Cambridge; also wrote a play or two), and

end with the ludicrous antics (and —fair’s fair — brilliant acting) of the US spy show Homeland.

And, by and large, they’re right. Begin at the beginning; end at the end. Why paint the lily with anything so arduous as an argument when your anecdotes are this engaging? Daniel Defoe’s terrifying plans for a surveillance state were scotched because the government’s intelligence budget was being siphoned off to keep Charles II’s mistresses quiet; and why was the British establishment so resistant to the charms of Soviet ballerinas?

This approach does, however, leave the authors’ sense of proportion open to question. They’re not wrong to point out that ‘the most theatrical innovations pioneered by Stalinist intelligence were the show trials’, but in the context of so many quasi-theatrical anecdotes, this observation can’t help but feel cheap.

Once the parallels between spying and acting have been pointed out, the stories told here (many of them the fruit of quite arduous primary research) sometimes come across as fatuous. Why should the popular broadcaster Maxwell Knight not have been a powerful recruiter of spies during the interwar years? There’s nothing counter-intuitive here, if you think about the circles he must have moved in.

We are on surer ground when the authors measure the contrast between fictional spies and their real-life counterparts. In the movies, honeypots abound, still rehashing the myths attaching to the courageous first world war French spy Mistinguett and the sadly deluded Margaretha Zelle (Mata Hari).

In truth, and for the longest while, women in this business have been more middle management than cat-suited loot. Recruited largely from Oxford’s women’s colleges and Cheltenham Ladies’ College, women played a more important part in the security service than in any other wartime government department, and for years, we are told, the service has been recruiting more women at officer and executive level than any other branch of government.

As for seduction and pillow talk, even a fleeting acquaintance with men in their natural environment will tell us, as Knight put it, that “nothing is easier than for a woman to gain a man’s confidence by the showing and expression of a little sympathy... I am convinced that more information has been obtained by women agents by keeping out of the arms of a man than was ever obtained by willingly sinking into them.”

Fuelled by Erskine Childers’s peerless spy novel The Riddle of the Sands (1903), by Somerset Maughan’s Ashenden stories and by everything Fleming ever wrote, of course the audience for espionage drama hankers for real-life insight from writers in the know. And if the writer complains that the whole espionage industry is a thing of smoke and mirrors, well, we’ll find that fascinating too.

(In Ben Jonson’s spy farce Volpone Sir Pol, on being told of the death of Stone the Fool, claims that Stone actually ran a sophisticated spy ring which communicated by means of dead drops hidden in fruit and vegetables.)

Andrew and Green, who both at different times studied history at Corpus Christi, Cambridge, Marlowe’s old college, are not really giving us the inside track. I would go so far as to say that they are not really telling us anything new.

But they marshal their rare facts splendidly, and use them to spin ripping yarns.

Stars and Spies: Intelligence Operations and the Entertainment Business by Christopher Andrew and Julius Green, The Bodley Head, pp. 512, £20

The wages of inflaTion New York SuN Editorial

It can’t be a coincidence that we’re seeing so much labor strife around the country at a time when inflation is waxing. That doesn’t make it any less dramatic. On Sunday, employees of Kellogg cereal will vote whether to end a strike of more than two months and get back to work. The 1,400-strong Kellogg workforce had rejected decisively the prior contract proposal, and in consequence management almost fell into their Frosted Flakes.

The 3 percent raise offered by management wasn’t enough, the Guardian reports. The cereal giant responded with a threat to fire the striking laborers and replace them with new hires.

President Biden said that idea left him “deeply troubled,” and he called it “an existential attack on the union.” Kellogg has instead sweetened their offer, which shows “the workers really have the upper hand at this point,” Ileen DeVault, a labor history professor, tells Reuters.

The producers of Froot Loops and Apple Jacks might have had their eye on another acrimonious strike that ended in midNovember — the one at Deere & Company. That strike lasted just more than a month. After two rejected proposals, it ended with 10 percent raises for more than 10,000 employees. The trouble at Kellogg’s also follows an earlier strike at a Kansas Frito-Lay plant and a walkout in five Nabisco locations across the country.

Employees “have been emboldened to ask for more this year,” CBS News says, pointing to “worker shortages” and to the idea that “workers didn’t always feel appreciated while working long hours during the pandemic.” Then again, too, Mr. Biden has vowed “to be the most pro-union President leading the most pro-union administration in American history.” Yet we can’t help feeling that it would be a mistake to overlook the role that inflation is playing in all this acrimony over wages.

Today’s high inflation means salaries aren’t keeping pace with the growth in prices. “Real wages” — salaries minus price increases — are actually in negative territory, Federal Reserve data show. For November, real wages, far from rising, were down 2.3 percent from last year. No wonder the Deere workforce held out for big raises. They need them just to break even as household expenses keep rising. It calls to mind the old adage: Inflation is the silent thief.

“A vicious cycle of expectations,” is how economist Judy Shelton recently put it. As she explains it, employees are demanding raises to be able to afford products on store shelves.

Companies in turn have to raise prices to pay the higher salaries. Yet the wage increases are being offered by companies without any boost in productivity in return from the workforce.

That’s a recipe for the so-called stagflation that plagued the American economy in the 1970s.

Beating stagflation required political heroics by President Reagan and the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Paul Volcker. It was “a triumph of economic policy,” Robert Samuelson recently wrote. “Volcker imposed a ferocious credit squeeze, and Reagan supported this wildly unpopular policy.” Interest rates soared to 21 percent. Unemployment spiked at more than 10 percent.

Bankruptcies ensued. “The triumph over inflation was bought at a huge personal and social cost,” Mr. Samuelson writes.

It’s hard to imagine any politician today able to take the heat for such an economic course. Then again, too, few if any politicians in history have been in a league with Reagan when it comes to articulating economic principles. Mr. Biden has been but a cheerleader for striking workers. He lacks an appreciation of a warning Volcker once articulated for Mr. Samuelson: “Don’t let inflation get ingrained ... there’s too much agony in stopping the momentum.”

The completely useless and undemocratic Us senate IN THE OPENING OF HIS 1911 PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO ABOLISH THE CHAMBER, VICTOR BERGER, A SOCIALIST CONGRESSMAN FROM MILWAUKEE, COMPLAINED THAT THE SENATE “HAS BECOME AN OBSTRUCTIVE AND USELESS BODY, A MENACE TO THE LIBERTIES OF THE PEOPLE, AND AN OBSTACLE TO SOCIAL GROWTH” Mother JoNeS tim murphy

i

N the early hours of January 6, in that impossibly brief window between the Georgia special elections and the Capitol insurrection, a meme started to circulate about what this new Democratic reign in Washington would be like: It was a joke, but only sort of. With no margin for error, Manchin, the caucus’ most conservative member, would command outsized influence on the party’s agenda. Morgantown might not be getting 23rd-century skyscrapers or jetpacks—I’m not even sure the 23rd century will be all that pleasant— but when it came to spending, he could name his price.

His predecessor, Robert Byrd, was obsessed with securing funding for pet projects. (There is a Wikipedia page titled “List of places named after Robert Byrd.”) What would Joe Manchin like to buy with his blank check?

The problem with that line of thinking soon became apparent—what Manchin often seems to want is not more money for his state, but less money, broadly speaking, for everyone. In a terse interview with Fox News on the last Sunday before Christmas, Manchin, the Democratic senator from West Virginia, pulled the plug on Build Back

Better, the omnibus package of social and climate- policy programs that comprises the remaining bulk of President Joe Biden’s domestic policy agenda. The bill, which passed the House of Representatives in November, includes things like universal pre-K, monthly payments to people with children; and half a trillion dollars to save the climate. Manchin, after engaging in a not-especially-elaborate dance with Biden and the rest of his caucus for much of the summer and fall, said he had “tried everything humanly possible,” but that “this is a no.” Final answer.

Unlike some of his colleagues (such as the equally intransigent Kyrsten Sinema), Manchin has spent a lot of time explaining himself during this whole process. He claimed that the bill would move the United States toward an “entitlement society” and tried to undercut the $150 billion clean-energy program that, as the New York Times put it, “was the muscle” behind the original bill’s climate targets. Behind the scenes, HuffPost reported, Manchin also argued that paid family leave would just lead to people calling in sick to go hunting (weirdly specific) and that constituents would just use the extra money from the government to buy drugs. (This is not an argument typically used against tax cuts). Manchin could hardly think less of his constituents, even as he appoints himself as their avatar when it’s rhetorically convenient.

Manchin has blamed the bill’s apparent collapse on some unspecified slight from Democratic staffers, which is both characteristically messy and frustratingly opaque.

Throughout the negotiation process there have been

these weird back-and-forths about what Manchin may have been promised and what he really wants from his colleagues. (For all the apparent finality on Sunday, that might also be what’s happening now.) But the details are sort of superfluous. Senators have agency, and practically no one has more of it than Manchin. He’s 74 years old and rich as hell; if he blows up a once-in-a-generation opportunity to act on climate change, it’s not because, as he put it, some supporters of the measure thought “they can just beat the living crap out of people and think they’ll be submissive”; it’s because that’s what he wants to do with his power.

It’s easy to fall into a trap when complaining about these things, though, of confusing the Senate you have with the Senate you want. In last year’s edition of Heroes and Monsters, my colleague Nathalie Baptiste called the Senate a “dysfunctional mess,” for reasons that are rooted in the nature of the Senate itself. That Manchin, a political unicorn from a small and heavily Republican state, could be the ultimate arbiter of what Democrats get out of their likely fleeting governing trifecta in Washington, isn’t especially fair, but it is a pretty good representation of what the modern Senate really is—inherently undemocratic and unrepresentative of the nation as a whole, collectively obsessed with an unearned sense of its own worth and necessity, and devoted to an arbitrary and arcane set of rules and parliamentary procedures as if they arrived by special dispatch from Mt. Sinai.

Good luck explaining to the people you’ve promised

to deliver for on immigration for a decade that you would have done something this time if the parliamentarian hadn’t gotten in the way. No one’s ever heard of the Senate parliamentarian. No one cares! You can literally just ignore them. Have fun explaining to voters that you would have protected voting rights or any number of issues that Democrats like to send fundraising emails about, if it weren’t for that pesky filibuster. Democrats made the Senate rules!

Sinema is an enigma. (Just don’t tell her that.) Mitch McConnell is how we got here. Ron Johnson is a turnip.

Even the Capitol insurrectionists talked shit about Ted Cruz once they got inside the chamber—just like real senators! The Senate seems to hold itself in only slightly higher regard than the rioters did; of the 49 Republicans in the caucus, 42 of them decided that inciting an attack on their institution should not preclude someone from becoming president in the future. Trump’s attorneys sure knew their audience when they argued that senators couldn’t convict a president who has already left office: Inventing a narrow and unreasonable set of rules for their own behavior and then dogmatically abiding by them is what gets these people off their yachts in the morning.

In the opening of his 1911 proposed constitutional amendment to abolish the chamber, Victor Berger, a socialist congressman from Milwaukee, complained that the Senate “has become an obstructive and useless body, a menace to the liberties of the people, and an obstacle to social growth.” You could make more or less the same case today.

Tuesday, 28 December, 2021 | ISLAMABAD

NEWS CORPORATE CORNER

Participants of POFs-UoW 1st Joint Conference on Academia’s Collaboration with Industrial Organizations (CACIO-2021) with Chairman POF Lt.Gen Ali Amir Awan, HI(M)

uoh, PoF hold joint conference on academia’s Collaboration with industrial organizations University of Wah in collaboration with Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POFs) organized the 1st UW-POFs Joint Conference on Academia’s Collaboration with Industrial Organizations (CACIO-2021). The objective of the conference was to bridge the gap between industrial needs and academic research and to promote research training, career development and knowledge training. Lt Gen Ali Amir Awan, HI(M) Chairman POF and Chairman BOG University of Wah graced the opening ceremony as Chief Guest. He stressed on the importance of Industry-Academia Linkages and the vital role the academic institutions can play in solving the problems faced by industries in Pakistan. He emphasized on the fact that contribution of bright ideas from academic institutes can help significantly in curtailing the budget of the major industrial set-ups which can result in overall prosperity of the country. Prof Dr Jameel-Un Nabi, Vice Chancellor, University of Wah also accentuated on the significance and necessity of industry-academia bond as a pre-requisite harnessing mutual benefits.

aiou’s M.Phil, Ph d exams commence from January 6 islaMaBaD Press release

Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) is commencing examinations of its face to face programs including BS, M.Sc, M Phil and PhD from January 6 for Autumn 2021 semester. Date sheet and roll number slips for these examinations have been uploaded on the university website (www.aiou.edu.pk), student portal and are also being dispatched to the students. Roll number slips downloaded from the university website will be treated valid for appearing in the examinations. These examinations will be held at the main campus of the university.

Students are advised to contact their respective departments. It is pertinent to mention here that AIOU has digitalized university’s key academic, administrative and financial operations. All the academic activities will take place as per academic calendar.

inauguration Ceremony of shangrila City site office KARACHI: Aimal Developers CEO Mr. Afzal Hameed fulfilled his promise to his clients and laid the foundation stone of the mosque and park along with the inauguration ceremony of the site office. Afzal Hameed said that we are planning on the emerging Karachi style where every basic amenities, attention to the people, and new lifestyle items for the betterment of the environment are also part of our scheme. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Kashan Siddiqui, CEO, Al-Meeraj Marketing, said that this evening is in the name of every hard-working dealer and sub-dealer. He further said that due to unemployment in Karachi people are forced to commit suicide. Encouraging unemployed people, he opened the doors of Al-Miraj Marketing to all those who are worried about unemployment. PR

K-ElECtriC EnsurEd sustainEd PoWEr suPPly during First sPEll oF WintEr rain in KaraChi Karachi

a

Press release

S Karachi continued to receive light to moderate rain with different intervals throughout the day on Monday, K-Electric ensured sustained power supply to the city. The utility’s team continued to remain vigilant and active throughout sporadic weather conditions and ensured the stability of its power supply network.

Areas with high incidence of

theft and kunda usage were preemptively shut down temporarily in the interest of safety of the residents and the power was swiftly restored after receiving clearance from the ground team. Consumers were also kept informed about the power situation via K-Electrics broadcast of live updates via its social media platforms. During the on-going spell the maximum number of feeders switched off for safety reasons was 380 out of KE’s network of more than 1900 feeders.

KE teams also proactively investigated reports of an unfortunate death in-

cident which was reported from Frere Market Area of Saddar. Findings suggested that the death occurred because of the natural causes and was not the result of electrocution.

K-Electric’s spokesperson commented, “Our systems remained predominantly intact during the rain spell and our teams ensured that the city is provided with safe and reliable power supply. In areas where theft and kundas are prevalent, a few feeders were temporarily powered off out of caution owing to safety hazards in these areas.

However, they were restored soon

after clearance was received from the concerned area teams.” With more rain predicted by the Pak Meteorological Department, the Spokesperson further added, “Citizens are advised to continue observing precautionary measures and maintain a safe distance from electricity infrastructure in case of a downpour to avoid any untoward incident.” The utility company also remained available 24/7 for any queries or complaints via its WhatsApp number +92-348-0000118, 118 call center, SMS service 8119, KE Live App, and social media platforms.

Fauji Group – Building the Future Karachi Press release

The signing ceremony for credit facilities for path breaking expansions by Fauji Cement Company Limited and Askari Cement Limited was held on 27th December 2021. Both the companies are part of the Fauji Group and have been in the forefront of infrastructure development in Pakistan. The expansions are in line with the Fauji Group’s Vision to play a role in the economic development and infrastructure footprint of the Nation.

The Syndicated Term Loan facilities of PKR 37,400 Million from a banking consortium is led by HBL. Other members of the consortium include Faysal Bank Limited, Bank Alfalah Limited, National Bank of Pakistan, Bank of Punjab, Bank AlHabib, Askari Bank, MCB Bank Lim-

ited, Habib Metropolitan Bank Limited, Bank of Khyber and First Women Bank Limited. The credit facilities extended to both the companies have a tenure of 10 years and also include SBP concessionary finance facilities i.e.

TERF & LTFF. The facilities with a combined project cost of circa Rs.60 billion (including a Debt component of Rs.37.4 Billion) will be used by the companies to enhance their combined production capacity to 10 million tons

per annum making them the second largest cement producer in the Region. The expansion projects of FCCL & ACL are situated at DG Khan (Punjab) and Nizampur (KPK) respectively, and will play a significant part in the social uplift of the areas along with job creation. The signing ceremony was attended by Waqar Malik, MD & CEO – Fauji Foundation Group, Qamar Haris Manzoor, Group CEO FCCL & ACL, Muhammad Aurangzeb, President & CEO – HBL,

Arif Usmani, President & CEO – NBP, Atif Bajwa, Director & CEO – BAFL, Atif Riaz Bokhari, President & CEO – AKBL, Mohsin Ali Nathani, President & CEO - HMBL and representatives of BOP, MCB, FBL, BAHL, BOK & FWB on 27th December 2021 in Karachi.

The initiative is one of the largest syndicated financing project in the cement sector by a banking consortium in Pakistan achieved in a record time.

HBL is acting as Agent, Investment Agent and mandated Lead Arranger.

The expansion projects along with potential merger / amalgamation of both the companies will hoist FCCL as one of the largest cement player in Pakistan.

The current expansions in our cement vertical, emerges from Fauji Groups vision to play a key role in national development. The companies form part of the Fauji Group.

FBR to Negotiate Double Taxation Agreement with Afghanistan Press release A four-member delegation from Afghanistan Revenue Department (ARD) is on an important visit to Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for the second round of negotiations on Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) between the two countries. These high value negotiations will be held from 28th to 30th December, 2021 in FBR (HQs), Islamabad. The Afghan delegation is headed by Mr. Esmatullah Salimi, Revenue Audit Director, ARD and include Mr. Abdul Wali Noori, Technical Deputy Director-General, ARD, Mr. Nida Mohammad Seddiqi, Legal Services Director, ARD and Mr. Najeebullah Ahmadzai, Advisor to Ministry of Finance.

It is pertinent to mention that the first round of negotiations on DTA between Pakistan and Afghanistan was held successfully in March, 2016.

It is hoped that the second round of negotiations on DTA between Pakistan and Afghanistan will also be conducted in a shared spirit of friendship and mutual understanding. The proposed DTA between the two neighboring countries will further foster not only the already existing economic and trade ties but will also contribute significantly to the revenue generations for both the countries. The Pakistan delegation is led

by Mr. Qaiser Iqbal, Director General (International Taxes), FBR and include Barrister Nowsherwan Khan, Chief (International Taxes) and Ms. Hira Nazir, Secretary (Tax Treaties & Conventions).

ACCA and The Institute of Internal Auditors renew MOU Karachi Press release

Metro the leading international wholesale company, as part of its corporate social responsibility initiative participated in the Chiristmas Bazaar organized by the District Administration Faisalabad, partifularly to provide Pakistan offered discounted items at he Bazar and also provided gift hampers to the deserving community, and the District Administration thanked Metro Pakistan for the participation in the Christmas Bazaar, and for providing hampers for the occasion. The Christmas Bazaar were set-up on the social directives of the Chicf Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar, and facilitated by the District Administration Faisalabad, many essential itmes were made available at the bazaars at subsidized rates including flour, sugar, ghee, pulses, meat, poultry items vegetables and fruits.

09

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) renewal has been signed between ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and The IIA (the Institute of Internal Auditors).

The three-year agreement will further strengthen and extend the current cooperation agreement and allows both bodies to continue to work closely together to advance their respective professions.

The MOU was signed by ACCA’s chief executive Helen Brand OBE and IIA president and chief executive Anthony Pugliese, CIA, CPA, CGMA, CITP. Under the terms of the agreement, ACCA and The IIA will focus on advancing the careers of members, enhancing governance practices and serving the public interest.

Helen Brand, chief executive of ACCA, said: ‘We’re delighted to be signing this new MOU with The IIA. We believe that we can develop research together that resonates with a global audience of finance professionals across different disciplines. We already have strong links with The IIA and we look forward strengthening those in a range of areas for the benefit of our memberships.’

Anthony Pugliese, president and chief executive officer of The IIA, said: ‘This MOU builds on an already strong working relationship with ACCA. We look forward to our ongoing collaboration together. Internal audit plays a vital role in providing the independent, internal assurance that supports all types of external disclosures, so our global organisations represent complementary functions in many areas.’

The organisations will cooperate on research and thought leadership on topics such as diversity, governance, cybersecurity and ESG (environmental, social and governance). Both organisations are collaborating on a Professional Insights report to be released next year.

They will also evaluate opportunities to work together on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Both parties are also going to continue to collaborate on a range of activity to benefit their memberships in markets where they already work together, as well as other markets.

ACCA and The IIA have been collaborating for a number of years in offering a challenge exam to ACCA members so they can receive The IIA’s prestigious Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) designation.

The CIA is the only globally recognised certification for internal audit practitioners.

Wall’s Pakistan joins hands with KMC to set up sustainable public spaces Karachi Press release

Wall’s has partnered with the Parks & Horticulture Department, KMC to set up sustainable public spaces at Hill Park to ensure engaging public spots for citizens that are also environmentally friendly. Wall’s is championing its purpose of spreading joy through sustainable public spaces that allow the people of Pakistan to come together and share happiness in the outdoors. This effort also aligns with Unilever Pakistan’s target to collect, recycle and repurpose more plastic than it produces by 2025. The public space is set up as part of Wall’s continued mission to make outdoor places friendlier for citizens and tourists alike. The brand has been working across the country on campaigns aimed at creating environmental cleanliness awareness, wildlife and nature conservation.

The brand has also set up benches and outdoor furniture made from repurposed plastic to give it a second life. The Public Space that Wall’s has set up at Hill Park includes a play area and benches for the people of Karachi. The furniture has been made from close to 2,000 kilos of recycled plastic, and is one of the various initiatives that Wall’s is leading as part of this initiative. Mr Junaid Khan, Director General, Parks & Horticulture Department, KMC, said, “Our partnership with Wall’s is another step in our commitment to the wellbeing of the citizens of Karachi.

Hill Park has always held a special place in the hearts of the people of Karachi as one of the busiest outdoor public spaces and this collaboration will help us improve the experience it offers. ” Mr Munir Hasan, Director Foods and Refreshments, Unilever Pakistan said, “Wall’s as a brand is embracing its purpose of sharing happiness through our work on making public spaces more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

Tuesday, 28 December, 2021 | ISLAMABAD

10 FOREIGN NEWS

CHINa’s top body brIefs MedIa oN wHIte paper oN HoNG KoNG’s deMoCratIC proGress

t

MIAN AbRAR

HE State Council Information Office of China (SCIO) on Monday held a press conference on the white paper titled “Hong Kong: Democratic Progress Under the Framework of One Country, Two Systems.”

Released on December 20, the white

paper presents a comprehensive review of the origin and development of democracy in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), and the principles and position of the central government.

The white paper restores truth and distinguishes right from wrong, said Wang Zhenmin, head of the Institute of State Governance and director of the Center for

Hindu vigilante groups disrupt Christmas celebrations on Modi territory

Hong Kong and Macao Studies at Tsinghua University. The white paper not only helps people understand the significance of the Legislative Council election of the HKSAR, but also provides a more comprehensive, accurate understanding of the advanced nature and superiority of HKSAR’s improved electoral system from a macro perspective, Wang said.

Russia practices air strike near Western border after Putin warns against ‘red lines’ sTAff cORREspONDENT

AgENcIEs Hardline Hindu vigilante groups disrupted Christmas mass in parts of India, including in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s core territory ahead of local elections in the coming months, media reported on Monday. The disruption of Christmas celebrations at the weekend and last week included the vandalising of a life-size statue of Jesus Christ at Ambala in Haryana, a northern state governed by Modi’s nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), The Hindu newspaper said. It also reported activists burnt a model of Santa Claus and chanted slogans against Christmas celebrations and religious conversions on Saturday outside a church in Varanasi, Modi’s parliamentary constituency and Hinduism’s holiest city. Anoop Shramik, a social activist in Varanasi, told Reuters he saw about two dozen people burning the Santa Claus. Contacted by telephone, the federal and state governments declined to comment. On Saturday, Christmas celebrations were also disrupted in Silchar, eastern Assam, after men, claiming to be members of Bajrang Dal — a right-wing group with close ties to BJP, forced their way into a church, NDTV, a local news channel reported. Leader of the main opposition Congress party and prominent members of minority Christian groups urged Modi to act. “The PM should direct the BJP governments of Haryana and Assam to identify the miscreants and bring them before a Court of law,” P. Chidambaram, India’s former finance minister and a senior Congress leader, said in a tweet. Since Modi came to power in 2014, right-wing Hindu groups have consolidated their position across states and launched small-scale attacks on religious minorities, saying their action is to prevent religious conversions. Several Indian states have passed or are considering anti-conversion laws that challenge freedom of belief and related rights that the Indian constitution guarantees to minorities.

UN ‘horrified’ by reports of massacre of civilians in Myanmar NEW YORK: AFP

A UN official said Sunday he was “horrified” by credible reports that at least 35 civilians were killed and their bodies burned in Myanmar, and demanded the government launch an investigation. Two workers for non-profit group Save the Children remain missing after their vehicle was among several that were attacked and burned in the incident in eastern Kaya state. A monitoring group and local media have blamed the attack on junta troops. “I condemn this grievous incident and all attacks against civilians throughout the country, which are prohibited under international humanitarian law,” United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs Martin Griffiths said in a statement. “I call upon the authorities to immediately commence a thorough and transparent investigation into the incident so that perpetrators can be swiftly brought to justice,” said Griffiths. Myanmar has been in chaos since a February coup, with more than 1,300 people killed in a crackdown by security forces, according to a local monitoring group. “People’s Defence Forces” (PDF) have sprung up across the country to fight the junta, and have drawn the military into a bloody stalemate of clashes and reprisals. On Saturday, photos appeared on social media purporting to show two burned-out trucks and a car on a highway in Hpruso township in Kayah state, with the charred remains of bodies inside. A member of a local PDF group said its fighters had found the vehicles Saturday morning after hearing the military had stopped several vehicles in Hpruso after clashes with its fighters nearby on Friday.

Russian forces have held a military exercise to practice repelling a massive airstrike by an adversary, Interfax reported on Monday.

The exercise was held a day after President Vladimir Putin said that the U.S. and its allies have pinned Russia into a position from which it has nowhere to fall back to. Around 1,000 troops took part in the operation, Interfax reported. Some troops have started returning to permanent bases after drills near Ukraine.

In an interview with the Rossiya 1 television channel on Sunday, Putin said, “I have spoken about the ‘red lines’ which we believe should not be crossed….The issue is that we have nowhere to fall back to. They [NATO] have squeezed us against such a line, pardon the expression, that we can’t move around.”

Putin called on the Russian people, the Ukrainian people, the people of Europe and the United States to understand the essence of the security proposals sent by Moscow to Washington and NATO. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also warned against NATO’s expansion and its possible inclusion of Ukraine into the bloc.

“We must put an end to the advancement of NATO, NATO infrastructure, and NATO capabilities further east. We must exclude Ukraine from joining NATO,” he was quoted in an interview with a local magazine published on Monday.

UK police probe video after armed Indian arrested for intruding into Windsor Castle LONDON AFP

British police said on Monday they were assessing a video purportedly made by a man who tried to break into a castle where Queen Elizabeth II was spending Christmas in which he said he wanted to kill her. In the video, obtained by The Sun tabloid, a masked figure in a dark hoodie holding a crossbow claims he will “attempt to assassinate Elizabeth, Queen of the Royal Family”.

The figure addresses the camera with a distorted voice and identifies himself as an Indian Sikh intent on “revenge” for an infamous 1919 massacre of Sikhs in British-ruled India.

The video was shared on the social media platform Snapchat, around 24 minutes before a suspect was detained early on Christmas Day by armed police within the grounds of Windsor Castle, west of London. The 19-year-old arrested is being held for mental health treatment, after officers recovered a crossbow during the brief security breach, according to London’s Metropolitan Police. “Following the man’s arrest, detectives are assessing the contents of a video,” the force said Monday.

It has said security processes were triggered “within moments” of the man entering the castle

grounds at around 08:30 GMT Saturday and that he did not enter any buildings.

The incident occurred as the Queen spent a low-key Christmas Day there with her eldest son and heir to the throne Prince Charles and his wife Camilla. In the video, the masked figure said he was seeking revenge for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, as it is known in India.

In April 1919, British troops fired on thousands of unarmed men, women and children in the northern city of Amritsar. The number of casualties from the event, which galvanised support for independence, is unclear. Colonial-era records put the death toll at 379, but Indian figures put the number closer to 1,000.

“It is also revenge for those who have been killed, humiliated and discriminated on because of their race,” the figure added in the video.

He also makes several references to Star Wars during the brief address, while also predicting his own “death is near”.

The suspect in the castle incident has been sectioned under the Mental Health Act, which allows the authorities in England and Wales to detain and treat people with mental health issues without their consent.

Those held under the legislation are deemed to be a risk to themselves or others.

Israel approves plan to double settlers in occupied Golan TEL AVIV AFP

Israel’s government on Sunday approved a $317 million plan to double the Jewish settler population in the Golan Heights, 40 years after it annexed the territory captured from Syria. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s cabinet voted in favour of the plan that aims to build 7,300 settler homes in the region over a five-year period, during a meeting held at the Mevo Hama community in the Golan. It calls for 1 billion Israeli shekels to be spent on housing, infrastructure and other projects with the goal of attracting roughly 23,000 new Jewish settlers to the area, seized during the 1967 Six-Day War. “Our goal today is to double the population of the Golan Heights,” the right-wing Bennett said ahead of the meeting. He was forced to leave the meeting after his 14-year-old daughter tested positive for the coronavirus, putting him into isolation, but a vote on the programme went ahead after a delay.

‘No chaNge’ iN US policy: Around 25,000 Israeli settlers live in the Golan Heights, along with about 23,000 Druze, who remained on the land after Israel seized it. Israel annexed the territory on December 14, 1981, in a move not recognised by most of the international community. Former US president Donald Trump, widely viewed as pro-Israel, granted US recognition to Israeli sovereignty over the Golan in 2019. “The Golan Heights are Israeli. This is self-evident,” Bennett said. “The fact that the Trump administration recognised this, and the fact that the (President Joe) Biden administration has made it clear that there has been no change in this policy, are also important.” Shortly after Biden took office in January, his Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested there were legal questions surrounding Trump’s move, which Syria condemned as a “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty. But Blinken indicated there was no thought of reversing course, especially with the Syrian civil war continuing. Bennett claimed that after a decade of conflict in Syria, international calls to restore Syrian control of the Golan were muted. “Every knowledgeable person in the world understands that it is preferable to have Israeli heights that are quiet, flourishing and green as opposed to the alternative,” he said. Bennett leads an ideologically disparate eight-party coalition that counts on support from left-wingers. Some in his cabinet, notably from the dovish Meretz party, have vocally opposed plans to expand settlements in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory also occupied by Israel since 1967. Roughly 475,000 settlers now live in the West Bank in communities widely regarded as illegal under international. Bennett is a former head of a settler lobbying council who opposes Palestinian statehood. But he argued that unity on the Golan plan demonstrated that Israeli control of the area was a matter of “national consensus.”

Tuesday, 28 December, 2021 | ISLAMABAD

SPORTS 11

ChInA COnfIrmS reCeIVIng VISA APPLICATIOnS frOm U.S. OffICIALS fOr BeIjIng WInTer OLymPICS

C

MiaN abrar

HINA’S Foreign Ministry on Monday confirmed that the Chinese side has received visa applications from U.S. officials to attend the Beijing Winter Olympics. The U.S. government has recently submitted visa applications for its 18 officials, mainly from the State Department and the Pentagon, to attend the Games and provide security and medical support for American athletes, reported the South China Morn-

ing Post, citing sources.

“What I can confirm is that the Chinese side has received the visa application from the concerned U.S. officials,” Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for the Chinese ministry told a regular news briefing in Beijing.

China will handle the matter in accordance with international practice, relevant regulations and the principle of reciprocity, Zhao added.

The latest move by the U.S. comes after the White House announced earlier in the month that

the Biden administration would not send diplomatic or official representation to the Games, citing “human rights abuses” in China.

Zhao accused the U.S. of having directed the farce of not sending diplomatic or official representatives to the Beijing Winter Olympics even without being invited in the first place, only for the purpose of political manipulation. “We once again urge the U.S. side to practice the Olympic spirit, stop politicizing sports, and stop any words or deeds that would disrupt the Beijing Winter Olympics,” he said.

Pakistan continue their dominant run in U19 Asia Cup News Desk

Afridi shares special message for Karachi’s cricket lovers web Desk Former Pakistan captain and swashbuckling allrounder Shahid Afridi has a special message for the people of Karachi: do enjoy the rain but also, stay safe. Shahid Afridi is not one to let the rainy weather go to waste. The fiery batsman took to Instagram Monday to post pictures on Instagram in which he can be seen enjoying the weather. In one of the pictures, Afridi can be seen enjoying the cloudy view with a tea mug in his hand. In another picture, he can be seen driving around the city with his daughter in the car beside him.

“Karachi walon!!! Weather enjoy karo aur safe raho,” he wrote.

Australia’s Lloyd Pope eager to learn from T20 spin sensation Shadab Khan

web Desk Australia’s spin sensation Lloyd Pope is excited to pick the brain of fellow leg-spinner Shadab Khan, who has emerged as the Sydney Sixers’ ace in their pursuit of a third consecutive Big Bash League title, sources reported on Monday.

Shadab was listed as an X-factor substitute in the match against the Sydney Thunder, with the Sixers hopeful that the Pakistani star’s COVID-19 test result would come back in time for him to begin playing, local media reported. “It’s incredibly thrilling for us to add another international player to our squad,” Pope said. Pope said that he had a brief conversation with Shadab from a distance of two metres while the Pakistani spinner wore a mask. “I’m excited to pick his brain and see what he has to offer. He has extensive international experience and, particularly as a leggie, he will bring a great deal to the table. I’m keen on spending time with him,” Pope said.

Earlier, Australian Big Bash League (BBL) franchise Sydney Sixers had announced the signing of Pakistan all-rounder and vice-captain Shadab Khan for the eleventh edition of the league. Sydney Sixers took to Twitter to announce the signing of the Pakistani star spinner, who has also performed well with the bat for Pakistan recently. “We’ve signed Pakistani star spinner Shadab Khan for the remainder of #BBL11,” tweeted Sydney Sixers.

After registering victories against India and Afghanistan earlier in the competition, Pakistan continued their dominant run by securing victory against UAE U19 by 21 runs on Monday.

Pakistan opted to bat first against the host nation and managed to post a decent total of 219/8 on the board.

Opener Abdul Wahid Bangalzai scored 28 off 48 balls while last match hero Muhammad Shehzad made 29 off 57 balls.

In the middle overs, skipper Qasim Akram batted with control and hit a fifty. He fell to Nilansh Keswani soon after reaching the landmark. He stroked five fours.

Wicketkeeper Haseebullah also contributed crucial 39 off 48 balls while Ahmad Khan smacked 21-ball 34*.

For UAE, Aayan Afzal Khan took three for 44 while Keswani bagged 2/32.

In return, UAE did not get off to the best possible start as they lost the wicket of Shival Bawa in the fourth over.

The breakthrough was provided by Mohammad Zeeshan, who also removed Aayan Afzal later in the game; ending up with figures of 2-34 after 9 overs.

Although some resistance was provided by Kai Smith (38) and Soorya Sathis (22), UAE lost quick wickets in succession which hurt their chances of salvaging the game very difficult.

UAE found themselves in all sorts of trouble as Kai was removed by Maaz Sadaqat and Soorya was sent back to the pavilion by Mehran Mumtaz, both proving to be two of the most economical bowlers.

Skipper Alishan Sharafu scored a fighting 35 but Qasim Akram removed him as Abdul Bangalzai held on to his catch. Nilansh Keswani and Ali Naseer’s wickets were also taken by Qasim Akram.

Qasim Akram took three wickets whereas Maaz Sadaqat, Mehran Mumtaz, and Mohammad Zeeshan all took two wickets each.

The Ashes: Australia scent victory as England collapse again in 3rd Test aFP A dazed England lost four wickets in a hostile late spell to leave them still trailing by 51 runs and fighting to stave off defeat Monday at stumps on day two of a gripping third Ashes Test against Australia.

It came after the visitors — who must win in Melbourne — were rocked by four positive Covid cases in their camp, although no players were among them.

Australia were all out for 267, earning an 82-run lead on England’s first-innings 185 on an MCG pitch that was still offering plenty for the bowlers.

Marcus Harris top-scored with a battling 76 against a dangerous English attack led by veteran Jimmy Anderson, who was at his fearsome best with 4-33 off 23 overs.

After heavy defeats in Brisbane and Adelaide, England must win to keep the five-Test series alive, with Australia only needing a draw to retain the urn as holders.

But faced with surviving the final hour against a revved-up Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, England collapsed again, slumping to 31 for four at the close.

Struggling opener Zak Crawley never looked comfortable and after dodging 15 balls he was caught by wicketkeeper Alex Carey for five off Starc.

Dawid Malan came in but incredibly was out the first ball to Starc lbw after an unsuccessful review, then Scott Boland ruined Haseeb Hameed’s day on seven, with Carey gloving an edge.

Fired up, Boland bowled Jack Leach without scoring two balls to leave skipper Joe Root unbeaten on 12 and Ben Stokes on two — and England in deep trouble.

England's Mark Wood dives in an attempt to field from his own bowling on day two of the third Ashes cricket Test match between Australia and England in Melbourne on Monday. England earlier took their chances with the key wickets of Marnus Labuschagne (1) and Steve Smith (16), along with nightwatchman Nathan Lyon, before lunch.

Harris (76) and Travis Head (27) surrendered in the second session before England mopped up the rest.

Australia resumed on 61 for one with the maligned Harris, who started on 20, under pressure after a poor series so far.

But he hung on grimly as Australian wickets tumbled around him to repay the faith of coach Justin Langer by bringing up only his third 50 in 13 Tests, and his first in two years.

He then fell on 76 with the brilliant Anderson enticing an edge that Root took at slip.

Head, who made a swashbuckling 152 at the first Test in Brisbane, compiled a good-looking 27 before flailing at a probing Ollie Robinson ball, also caught by Root to snap a 60-run stand with Harris.

England's Mark Wood celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Australia's Steven Smith on Monday.

Covid drama: Play began half an hour late after Covid drama in the England camp, with the team forced to undergo urgent rapid antigen tests as they were about to leave for the MCG. All players came back negative, but two support staff and two family members tested positive.

Coronavirus impacted the second Test at Adelaide with Australian captain Cummins ruled out just before the start for being in close contact with a positive Covid-19 case.

When play started, Lyon didn’t last, hitting 10 before prodding at a full-length Robinson delivery to Jos Buttler behind the stumps.

Harris smacked an early boundary off Anderson, but was cautious. He survived a review decision on 36 after being given out lbw and a difficult stumping on 63 before his luck finally ran out.

Fans are seen in the stands during day 2 of the Third Test. Labuschagne, the new number one Test batsman, had a rare failure, undone by the pace of Mark Wood, edging to Root on one in a massive moment for a resurgent England.

Harris was joined by the usually reliable Smith, who made 16 before being bowled by Anderson to leave the match finely poised.

Head also succumbed to the safe hands of Root, off Robinson, then Leach trapped Cameron Green lbw for 17.

Stokes removed Carey, also for 17, before late cameos from Cummins and Starc added valuable extra runs.

Premier League had record 103 COVID-19 cases in past week News Desk A record 103 positive COVID-19 cases were found among players and staff in the Premier League over the past week, the league said on Monday following a raft of fixture postponements during the busy festive period. “The League can today confirm that between Monday 20 December and Sunday 26 December, 15,186 COVID-19 tests were administered on players and club staff. Of these, there were 103 new positive cases,” the league said in a statement. The figure has steadily increased in recent weeks with 42 cases between December 612 and 90 testing positive between Dec 13-19. The Premier League has had 15 games postponed so far due to COVID-19 outbreaks at various clubs.

Watford, who have had three games called off so far, said they had welcomed back players who were previously isolating but added more had tested positive ahead of Tuesday’s home game against West Ham United. Watford manager Claudio Ranieri said he would have to bring in some Under-23 players as they held their first “normal training session” since Dec. 10. “It’s difficult to say if we are ready (and) 100%. When you meet your players for one training session, it’s very difficult to do this,” Ranieri told reporters. “There are some players who didn’t make some training sessions… I think these players don’t have (what it takes to play) 90 minutes.” Wolverhampton Wanderers, who had Tuesday’s trip to Arsenal postponed, said they had six confirmed cases in the first team. “We hope some of those players will be well enough to return for our game against Manchester United on 3rd January,” Wolves said in a statement. “Our operations team have arranged a deep clean of the Sir Jack Hayward Training Ground to try to prevent further infection.”

Tuesday, 28 December, 2021

Prayer TimiNgS

NEWS

FAJR SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

5:42

12:09

3:29

7:11

5:07

6:36

Pakistan dePlores Hindutva leaders’ calls for MusliM genocide in india ISLAMABAD

P

web deSk

AKISTAN on Monday deplored Hindutva leaders’ calls for Muslim genocide in India and lamented New Delhi’s inaction over the matter. To express Pakistan’s serious concerns over the calls for Muslim genocide, the Indian Charge d’ Affaires was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad.

In a statement, the Foreign Office said it was highly reprehensible that Hindu Raksha Sena’s Prabodhanand Giri and other Hindutva figures who called for ethnic cleansing of Muslims have neither expressed any regret nor has the Indian government condemned or taken any action against them so far.

“The violent hate speeches were made during the “Dharma Sansad” held at Haridwar, Uttarakhand, from December 17-19, 2021,” the statement said.

The Foreign Office told the Indian envoy that the hate speeches have been viewed with grave concern by civil society and the crosssection of the people of Pakistan and around

the world.

Regrettably, the toxic narrative against minorities, particularly Muslims, and their persecution understate patronage has become a norm under the current Hindutva-driven BJP-RSS combined government in India, the Foreign Office said.

The Indian side was reminded that such incitement to violence by Hindutva figures including the ruling party’s elected members also preceded the anti-Muslim riots in New Delhi in February 2020.

“The continued grave violations of human rights of minorities, especially Muslims and their places of worship, anti-Muslim legislation by the Union Government of India and several BJP-ruled states, and continued incidents of violence against Muslims on flimsy pretexts by Hindutva groups with complete impunity and often under state patronage highlight the worsening trend of Islamophobia and present a grim picture about the fate of Muslims in India,” the statement said.

Pakistan called on the international community including the United Nations, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and relevant human rights organisations to hold

India accountable for its gross and systematic human rights violations against minorities and take immediate measures to save them from impending genocide, the statement said. “India is expected to investigate these hate speeches and incidents of widespread violence against minorities, particularly Muslims and their houses of worship, and take measures to stop such incidents from recurring in future,” the statement said.

Indian police said last week they have launched an investigation into an event where Hindu hardliners called for mass killings of minority Muslims.

A speaker at the gathering earlier this month told the crowd that people should not worry about going to jail for killing Muslims, according to a video.

“Even if just a hundred of us become soldiers and kill two million of them, we will be victorious… If you stand with this attitude only then will you be able to protect sanatana dharma (an absolute form of Hinduism),” the woman said.

The meeting in the northern holy city of Haridwar was attended by at least one member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP. The party stands accused of encouraging

the persecution of Muslims and other minorities by hardline Hindu nationalists since coming to power in 2014.

Prominent Muslim MP Asaduddin Owaisi tweeted that the comments in the video were a “clear case of incitement to genocide”.

The woman in the video reportedly added that Indians should “pray to Nathuram Godse”, the Hindu extremist who assassinated Indian independence icon Mahatma Gandhi in 1948.

Another delegate, Prabodhanand Giri — the head of a fringe Hindu group who is often photographed with senior BJP members — called for a “cleansing” and for those present to be “ready to die or kill”.

“Like Myanmar, the police, politicians, the army, and every Hindu in India must pick up weapons and do this cleansing. There is no other option left,” he is heard to say.

A military crackdown in Myanmar on the heavily persecuted Muslim Rohingya minority is thought to have killed thousands and has forced huge numbers to flee.

A third speaker is heard to say that he wished he had killed Modi’s predecessor, the main opposition Congress party’s Manmo-

Shaukat Tarin takes oath as federal minister AFP Senator Shaukat Tarin was administered oath as the Federal Minister of Finance and Revenue by President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday.

The swearing-in ceremony was held at the Aiwan-eSadr in Islamabad. After the oath, the president also extended felicitations to the newly-sworn in member of the federal cabinet.

The ceremony was attended by federal and provincial ministers, State Bank of Pakistan Governor Reza Baqir and other senior government officers.

Tarin, who was earlier serving as an adviser to the prime minister on finance and revenue, was elected as a senator last week in the by-election for a general seat of the Senate from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The seat was vacated after the resignation of PTI’s Ayub

Pakistan climbs to 99th place in gii ranking ISLAMABAD

Afridi. Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain congratulated Tarin on taking oath as a federal minister. In a statement, Chaudhry said that the business community had high hopes from Tarin as the finance minister.

He remarked that Tarin’s efforts to eradicate poverty from the country, promote the construction industry and stabilise the national economy were commendable.

Chaudhry added that Tarin as a federal minister would play an important role in the country’s economic development. The information minister expressed his best wishes for Tarin and prayed for his success as the finance minister.

Tarin was appointed as the finance minister on April 17 and his constitutional tenure ended on October 16 after which he was appointed as the finance adviser to the prime minister. According to the Constitution, in order to continue as the finance minister for longer than six months, Tarin needed to be elected to parliament.

His election as a senator and retaking the post of finance minister brought success for the government in its second attempt at such a manoeuvre.

The government had previously tried to get former finance minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, who was also not a member of parliament, elected to the Senate.

Shaikh was appointed as the finance minister in December 2020 and was the government’s candidate for the hotly contested general seat from Islamabad in March’s Senate elections.

But in a blow to the government, Shaikh lost to the joint opposition candidate Yousuf Raza Gilani — a result which led the premier to seek a vote of confidence from the National Assembly to show he still held the majority.

Shaikh was later removed as finance minister on March 29 and was replaced with PTI’s Hammad Azhar, who was shortly replaced with Tarin.

Imran turning Pakistan into welfare state envisioned by Jinnah: minister ISLAMABAD

TLTP

aPP

Pakistan has improved its ranking for the third year in a row to 99th among the 132 economies featured in the Global Innovation Index (GII). Pakistan was ranked 7th among the 10 economies in Central and Southern Asia, and 17th among the 34 lower middle-income group economies, the GII report said. The country was ranked at 107 in 2020 in the index and 105 in 2019. The report said Pakistan has performed above the lower middle-income group average in four pillars, namely: institutions, business sophistication, knowledge and technology outputs, and creative outputs. In Central and Southern Asia, Pakistan performed above the regional average in the same four pillars. The index is a ranking of the innovation capabilities and results of world economies. It measures innovation based on criteria that include institutions, human capital and research, infrastructure, credit, investment, linkages; the creation, absorption and diffusion of knowledge and creative outputs. Consisting of roughly 80 indicators, grouped into innovation inputs and outputs, the GII aims to capture the multidimensional facets of innovation. The GII is published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a specialised agency of the United Nations.

Recognising that innovation is a key driver of economic development, the GII aims to provide an innovation ranking and rich analysis referencing around 130 economies. Over the last decade, the GII has established itself as both a leading reference on innovation and a “tool for action” for economies that incorporate the GII into their innovation agendas.

Prime Minister Imran Khan was turning Pakistan into a welfare state as envisioned by founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah and national poet Muhammad Iqbal through various pro-poor initiatives, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry Monday said.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony of a photo exhibition on the life of Jinnah at the Pakistan-China Friendship Centre, he said the message of Jinnah about the future of the Muslim state was loud and clear. The minister opined that today, the biggest challenge was how to reclaim Pakistan of Jinnah. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted to transform Pakistan into the state envisioned by the founder.

He said writers from India and Bangladesh were confused about Jinnah and his vision for Pakistan. Quaid-i-Azam, he said, made it abundantly clear on three occasions: in his addresses to the first

Constituent Assembly, the military and the civil service.

He said both Jinnah and Iqbal were modern, progressive and visionary leaders who realised the future of Muslims and other minorities residing in India. Iqbal, he said, had realised long ago what difficulties Muslims could face, and Jinnah, for his part, decided to create a separate homeland for them after realising the intentions of the Congress party.

Touching on the tragic killing of a foreign national in Sialkot, the minister said the entire nation was united in condemning the incident. On the contrary, such incidents had become a new normal in India, he said.

He observed New York Times carried a front-page story exposing atrocities being committed against members of the minority Christian community in India. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had made the lives of minorities miserable. The minister said India was facing decline today under

the Modi government, and termed it an extremist and fascist regime.

The purpose of establishing Pakistan was to protect the rights of minorities, Chaudhry said, adding Pakistan was a bright hope for the region amid growing tendencies of extremism and religious fanaticism in the immediate neighbourhood.

He said while Jinnah was clear in his message, taking his message to the common man was the biggest battle.

Terming the photo exhibition on the occasion of Jinnah’s birth anniversary a welcome step, he said: “We have to start a movement to convey the message of Quaid-i-Azam to the common man”.

Chaudhry said Jinnah’s birthday was celebrated in a befitting manner, fireworks were set off in Islamabad, a party of colours and light was held for which he congratulated all the organisers.

Information Secretary Shahera Shahid and senior officers of the ministry and attached departments were also present on the occasion.

Cabinet to approve nominations for Monetary, Fiscal Policies Coordination Board ISLAMABAD Shahzad Paracha

The federal cabinet is likely to approve the nomination of eminent economists to be included the Monetary and Fiscal Policies Coordination Board. Sources said that a meeting of the federal cabinet in this regard will be held under the chair of Prime Minister Imran Khan here on Tuesday.

“The meeting will take up 18 agenda items, including the nominations for the coordination board,” they added. A few

days ago, it was reported that the government might abolish the board under pressure from the central bank and the IMF. According to details, the Ministry of Finance has proposed the names of Dr Ijaz Nabi, Dr Syed Muhammad Hassan Shah, and Dr Azam Chaudhry for the board which is to ensure effective coordination between fiscal and monetary authorities.

It is pertinent to note that Dr Ijaz Nabi is also a member of the prime minister’s Economic Advisory Council

(EAC). Federal Minister for Finance Shaukat Tarin has already announced that the Cabinet on Tuesday will approve the finance supplementary bill along with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) amendment bill which deals with the finance minister and SBP governor’s role under the Monetary and Fiscal Policies Coordination Board.

Both the officials will establish a close liaison through a mutual agreement with each other and shall keep each other fully informed on all matters under this board.

Published by Arif Nizami at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 051-2204545. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk

han Singh, who was the first Sikh Prime minister of India.

Another said he had asked hotels from his state not to allow Christmas celebrations.

The statement was met with cheers from the audience.

The BJP denies accusations that its agenda is to turn officially secular and pluralistic India into a purely Hindu nation.

Many in the Muslim community say they have been increasingly subject to attacks and threats since Modi, a lifelong member of a hardline group, came to power.

Christians have also been subject to violence and harassment, with the BJP government in the southern state of Karnataka this week becoming the latest to introduce legislation outlawing “forceful” religious conversions. Police in Uttarakhand state, where the controversial gathering took place, told AFP they are “investigating the matter and strict action will be taken against the guilty.”

Michael Kugelman from the Wilson Center hit out at the Indian government over its silence.“…not a peep, much less a condemnation, from the gov’t. Sad truth is that this deafening silence isn’t the least bit surprising,” he tweeted Thursday.

rupee continues to tumble against us dollar KARACHI NewS deSk

Pakistani rupee set another low of 178.17 against the US dollar on Monday, the 12th lowest level set in December. According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the dollar opened at Rs178.13 in the interbank market and closed at Rs178.17. Within the open market, the rupee was traded at 178.30/179.30 per dollar. Overall, the rupee has shed Rs2.45 against the US dollar during the current month. The rupee has depreciated by Rs20.75 during the ongoing fiscal year 2021-22 (FY22) and Rs18.02 in the current year 2021 (CY21). The rupee has maintained the downtrend for the past seven months. It has lost 17 per cent or Rs25.9 compared to the 22-month high of Rs152.27 recorded on May 14. Earlier during this month, the rupee set 11 lowest ever levels against the US dollar. The dollar hit then highest ever levels of Rs178.15 on December 22, Rs178.05 on December 21, Rs178.04 on December 17, Rs177.98 on December 15, Rs177.89 on December 13, Rs177.71 on December 10, Rs177.61 on December 9, Rs177.43 on December 8, Rs176.79 on December 7, Rs176.77 on December 3, and Rs176.42 on December 02.

Pakistan’s gdP growing at 5pc: report ISLAMABAD aPP

The average monthly economic indicator (MEI) for the first five months of current fiscal year (2021-22) indicates that average economic (GDP) growth of Pakistan during the period could be estimated at around 5%, said a monthly report issued by the Ministry of Finance and Revenue on Monday. So far in the current fiscal year, Pakistan remains on a higher growth trajectory, accelerating from the GDP growth rate observed in FY2021, the “Monthly Economic Update & Outlook, December 2021” said.

The report said that the inflation may ease out in the coming months due to the declining commodity prices in the global market, while relief may also come from continuous government efforts to soften food prices in the local markets by following appropriate fiscal and monetary policies.a