Epaper – February 26-2022 KHI

Saturday, 26 February, 2022 I 24 Rajab, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 239 I 12 Pages I Karachi Edition

Qureshi justifies PM iMran's russia visit aMid ukraine crisis

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M Shah Mahmood Qureshi stated on Friday that the government’s decision to go ahead with the Russia’s trip was correct, explaining that there had been a shift in the country’s foreign policy towards geoeconomics, which warranted progress on regional connectivity.

While addressing a presser in Islamabad, Qureshi stated that “If we have to move towards geoeconomics, a natural conclusion for this [to happen] is to make progress on [developing] regional connectivity [with] Afghanistan and beyond Afghanistan into Central Asian republics. And if we have to move towards regional connectivity, then Russia has an historical role … in this region” He further added that “Russia being onboard will fortify our [shift in]

focus towards geoeconomic regional connectivity.”

“We went ahead and I am convinced after this visit that we did the right thing in going ahead,” he added.

The FM said this and several other factors were considered before it was decided to go ahead with the Moscow visit.

The timing of the visit has been questioned but top Pakistani government officials termed it one of the rarest opportunities for the energystarved country to make headway in energy and regional connectivity.

The visit coincided with escalating tensions between Russia and the West as the former launched an operation in neighbouring Ukraine.

FM Qureshi, while addressing the matter stated that before Prime Minister Imran Khan left for Moscow along

with a delegation of ministers, he had presided over a meeting to analyse the evolving conflict.

“We consulted [them], we weighed pros and cons and then decided the way forward accordingly,” the foreign minister said, dispelling the impression that the decision to visit Moscow was not well thought out.

He said the current foreign secretary and four former foreign secretaries, former ambassadors, including those who served in Moscow, and other senior officials were present at the meeting. He emphasised the importance of “collective wisdom” in this regard, saying that he had been inviting former ambassadors and foreign secretaries for consultation and advice after assuming the role of foreign minister. news desk

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Russia presses invasion to outskirts of Ukrainian capital as US imposes new sanctions Russia pressed its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital on Friday after unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending in troops and tanks from three sides in an attack that could rewrite the global post-Cold War security order.

Explosions sounded before dawn in Kyiv as Western leaders scheduled an emergency meeting and Ukraine’s president pleaded for international help.

Among the signs that the Ukrainian capital was increasingly threatened, the military said that a group of Russian spies and saboteurs was seen in a district of Kyiv about three miles north of the city centre.

Earlier, the military said that Russian forces had seized two Ukrainian military vehicles and some uniforms and were heading toward the city to try to infiltrate under the guise of being locals.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the government had information that “subversive groups” were encroaching on the city, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Kyiv “could well be under siege” in what US officials believe is a brazen attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to dismantle the government and replace it with his own regime.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers on a phone call on Thursday evening that Russian mechanised forces that entered from Belarus were about 20 miles from Kyiv, according to a person familiar with the call.

The assault, anticipated for weeks by the US and Western allies and undertaken

by Putin in the face of international condemnation and cascading sanctions, amounts to the largest ground war in Europe since World War II. Agencies

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Saturday, 26 February, 2022 | KARACHI

NEWS

Govt has full support of institutions: rasheed

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aPP

EDERAL Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed has once again stressed that the Prime Minister Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) government would complete its tenure, saying all national institutions were standing by the “elected and democratic government”.

Addressing a news conference at the Chief Minister’s Office in Lahore on Friday, he said that any attempt to derail the democratic government would fail as the country could not afford any “political adventurism”, adding that the opposition needed to realise the intensity of challenges facing the country right now.

The minister said all PTI members and the government allies fully support the decisions of Prime

Minister Imran, adding that those who would quit the alliance at this time would stand nowhere in future. The coalition partners would always stand by the government and PM Imran, he maintained.

Rasheed said the opposition should not underestimate Prime Minister Imran as he is very well aware of the situation and knows what decisions should be taken during such circumstance, adding that horsetrading should be discouraged in politics.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders, who were claiming respect for vote, are now contacting the government allies just to achieve their personal ambitions, he asserted.

The minister said that these elements are making an alliance to create unrest and achieve their personal objectives instead of peoples’ interests, adding that if the opposition’s no-confidence move fails, then the prime

2 policemen martyred in Quetta gun attack News desk Two police officials, including an assistant sub-inspector (ASI), were martyred on Friday after an unknown assailant opened fire on them near Quetta’s Eastern Bypass, officials said. Quetta Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Syed Fida Hassan Shah confirmed that an unknown assailant had opened fire on police officials. “As a result, two police officials were killed while a driver was injured,” he said. He said that one of the the deceased was an ASI while the other was a constable. Earlier reports suggested that the assailants had opened fire on a police van. However, CCTV footage later showed a gunman firing on the officials as they ate at a local hotel.

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo condemned the incident in a statement and expressed grief at the deaths in the “terrorist incident”.

“Destructive elements want to disrupt peace in the province,” he said, adding that there would be no compromise regarding the law and order situation.

Bizenjo said that the people of the province stood by the police and security forces. “Police officials and personnel will not be scared by such cowardly acts,” he said, issuing directives for ensuring security in the area.

minister would be strengthened further.

“Those who would change their loyalties would not be able to face people in the constituencies in the upcoming elections,” he warned.

To a question, he said that he had urged Prime Minister Imran to hold talks with estranged PTI leader Jehangir Tareen, but some members within the party did not approve off his suggestion, adding that the PML-N and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders had abused the national institutions to get power but they would definitely fail in their agendas.

To another query, Rasheed said that any PTI ally, thinking of leaving Prime Minister Imran at this stage would make a political blunder as the nation would never forgive them for changing loyalties. The opposition should prepare for the local bodies elections, being held within the next three months, he suggested.

The opposition, he claimed, was afraid of the accountability process due to which it was trying to derail the government by raising slogans to table vote of no confidence against the prime minister, adding that no restriction would be imposed on PPP’s long march as Rangers would provide them security if they would conduct the march.

Rasheed further said that India could not digest PM Imran’s successful visit to Russia so it was spitting venom against Pakistan.

PM directs implementation of health projects on priority basis Islamabad APP

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday directed the implementation of measures regarding the ongoing health-related projects on priority basis in order to facilitate the common man.

Chairing a meeting on improvement of health sector, the prime minister expressed satisfaction that the Naya Pakistan National Health Card is the largest health sector programme in the country’s history.

He said the poor and the middle class would be the biggest beneficiaries of the health card, as such universal health coverage system is not even available in several developed

countries.

The prime minister was informed about the progress regarding provision of health facilities and the ongoing projects at the federal government level, and in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It was highlighted that a large number of people in Punjab and KP are benefiting from free healthcare facilities.

The meeting discussed that the government is launching a programme to control stunted growth in children, particularly in the rural districts of the country.

It was emphasised that to improve maternal and child health, an across the board monitoring of the child’s health would be carried out right from birth.

It was informed that the government would ensure the capacity-building of nursing sector through training of international standards.

The prime minister was briefed that due to the effective measures taken by the government, the rate of general vaccination of citizens has increased from 66 to 76 percent.

Also in Punjab, the rate of general vaccination has touched over 91 percent, which is being recognized internationally. In addition, the targets for Covid-19 vaccination are also being set.

The meeting was attended by Special Assistant to PM on Health Dr Faisal Sultan and provincial ministers Dr Yasmeen Rashid and Taimur Saleem Jhagra.

Dr Abdul Hayee Baloch dies in road accident News desk Veteran Baloch policitian Dr Abdul Hayee Baloch passed away in a road mishap in Faisalabad on Friday.

Dr Baloch remained a political ally of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti and Sardar Attaullah Khan Mengal and played an important role in the politics of Balochistan.

He was one of the most prominent Baloch

politicians, became a member of the National Assembly in the 1970s. He had also served as the president of the National Party and later formed his own party, the National Democratic Party (NDP) in 2018.

As per the details, Dr Baloch was on his way to Bahawalpur when his vehicle met an accident, resulting in his death.

The body of the veteran politician will be taken back to Balochistan for final rites.

The veteran leader was born in 1945 in the Chlgari area of district Kachi in Bhag tehsil.

He got his basic education from Bhag Kachi and later did his MBBS from Karachi.

Former Balochistan chief minister Dr Abdul Malik expressed grief over the demise of his former colleague. He expressed grief over the death of Dr Baloch, calling it an irreparable loss to the Baloch nationalist movement.

JAC members meet Bilawal, share concerns over PECA ordinance News desk The office-bearers of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the media organisations on Friday met with Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in Karachi to share their concerns over the recent amendments to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016. According to the JAC office-bearers, the recent amendments to the PECA severely curb the fundamental right to freedom of expression of all citizens in the country. During the meeting, the PPP chairman assured that his party will stand by its manifesto and commitment to freedom of the press in all forms.

He directed his party leaders to challenge the amendments in courts as well as at all forums of political, parliamentary and social expression. He also assured the JAC of his own unwavering support as well as his party’s complete solidarity in the joint endeavour to fight for the inalienable fundamental, constitutional and democratic rights of the people of the country.

Those who attended the meeting included Sarmad Ali, Nazafreen

Saigol, Dr Jabbar Khattak, Taher A Khan, Shakeel Masud, Shahab Zuberi, Athar Qazi, Zahid Mazhar, Ijaz Ul Haque, Amir Mehmood, Hafiz Tariq, and Shahab Mahmoud. While from the PPP, Sherry Rehman, Shazia Marri and Faisal Karim Kundi attended the meeting.

U Microfinance Bank signs agreement with BOP

Islamabad PR

President & CEO of U Microfinance Bank Limited (“U Bank”) Mr. Kabeer Naqvi and President & CEO of The Bank of Punjab (“BOP”), Mr. Zafar Masud, signed an Agreement to promote affordable housing finance under Government’s Kamyab Pakistan Program - KPP. Through this partnership, BOP will provide U Bank with interest free Term Finance Facility under the KPP framework compliant LowCost Housing Program, amounting to PKR 5 Billion, to promote housing finance in the country. This new initiative not only strengthens the bond between both institutions and opens up more avenues for

collaboration, but also ties in with the Government’s agenda for providing access to housing credit to the excluded part of Pakistan.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Kabeer Naqvi, President & CEO of U Bank said that this program of the Government of Pakistan will help institutions in providing subsidized micro-loans to lowincome families for the purpose of encouraging economic growth in Pakistan, particularly those in the informal sector. He commended Government’s commitment in providing affordable housing finance for all and further support economic and social development. He also highlighted how U Bank’s strategic direction is aligned with the Government’s mission towards financial inclusion and poverty alleviation.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Zafar Masud President & CEO of BOP said, this Partnership will pave way for the microfinance industry to extend housing finance to the low-income groups, a market segment which has remained neglected for long. BOP is continuing to play its role of a catalyst in mortgage market development and for the growth of affordable housing in the country. He further added that BOP has already embarked on the journey of becoming one of the top 5 banks and will soon create its space there.

Saturday, 26 February, 2022 | KARACHI

ihC dismisses opposition’s pleas against peCa ordinance

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News desk

HE Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday turned down petitions filed by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) against the amendments in the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) to make defamation a criminal and non-bailable offence.

Chief Justice Athar Minallah in a short order on the pleas filed by both parties, stated that the high court could not accept the petition as both PML-N and PPP had a relevant forum, parliament, available to contest the changes in the law.

“As per Article 189, political parties play a crucial role,” he said, hoping that

political parties will not bring parliamentary matters to the courts as it will weaken parliament.

IHC CJ Minallah said the court’s interference in political affairs weakens parliament and the judiciary itself is adversely affected by such interventions.

The court said a plea against PECA by stakeholders is already being heard and appointed Advocate Mansoor Awan as amicus curiae in the case.

The court, during the hearing of the case, stated that it respected all political parties and they should play their role to strengthen parliament. The judge said the courts should not meddle in parliamentary affairs.

Justice Minallah said the court listened to other stakeholders — journalist bodies among them — as

there was no other forum available to them, but political parties can go to parliament.

“We took up petitions against PECA on Thursday, listened to the attorney general as well,” the court said, adding that “symbolic hearings” on the pleas filed by political parties could not be conducted.

The political parties, instead of submitting unnecessary petitions in the courts, should play their role in parliament, he said, adding that parliament can even amend the Constitution.

It is pertinent to note that a day earlier, the high court grilled the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the federal government over its “oppressive and draconian” changes in the PECA law through an ordinance.

The IHC CJ had observed that Peca was only used to target critics of the government. “It is being said with regret that the proceedings [under Peca] were initiated against those individuals who criticised the government.”

It further asked the attorney general as to why the court should not declare Section 20 of PECA null and void.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) announced that it will observe a ‘Black Day’ on Monday to protest the PECA ordinance, deeming it a draconian law intended to restrain media freedom and stifle dissent. In a statement, PFUJ president Shahzada Zulfiqar and secretary general Nasir Zaidi stated that “the journalist body had never and would never accept such ordinances and vowed to protest against it at every forum”.

Court grants bail to Mohsin Baig in illegal arms case News desk

pM imran invites russian businessmen to invest in pakistan Islamabad

A sessions court in Islamabad granted Mohsin Baig bail in the illegal arms case on Friday.

The Judicial Magistrate of Islamabad District Sessions Court Waqar Hussain Gondal granted the bail in exchange for bail bond worth Rs30,000.

The defence counsel maintained that the clause in the lawsuit was a bailable offence therefore, the bail should be granted.

According to the prosecution, a case had been registered against the accused in Margalla police station for illegal possession of arms.

However, Mohsin Baig has not yet been granted bail in the case registered against him under the AntiTerrorism Act. Earlier this month, the Cyber Crime Wing Lahore of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the Islamabad police raided Baig’s house.

There was resistance to the arrest in which two officers were taken hostage and one was injured after being hit with a pistol butt as the FIA team came

under fire.

It is pertinent to note that the FIA had registered a case against Baig at Saeed’s request, days after the former made an unethical and disparaging remark against the latter during a private TV channel programme.

The discussion was held on Murad’s ministry receiving a top performance award by Prime Minister Imran Khan recently.

PML-Q has asked the Opposition for the Punjab CM’s post, if they wish to have the party’s support in the no-trust motion against the PTI-led government.

As per the sources, the chief minister’s slot was mentioned in the charter of demands presented by the PML-Q leaders to PPP Co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari.

Sources further revealed that the PML-Q has told the Opposition that they would not “settle for anything less than the chief minister’s slot.”

The officials further shared that the PML-Q has informed the Opposition that they are against the idea of holding countrywide fresh elections.

However, they have suggested that fresh polls may be held for the National Assembly but the term for the provincial legislatures should be completed They added that the PML-Q has assured them that if the Opposition supports them in getting the CM Punjab’s post, they would make sure that the no-trust move in Punjab and National Assembly sails through.

The sources went on to add that Zardari has shared the PML-Q’s “charter of demands” with the PML-N after which the party has called a meeting of their leaders to discuss the PML-Q proposal.

It is pertinent to note that earlier this week, sources had reported that the PPP and JUI-F have already put up an option to offer Punjab’s chief ministership to PTI’s close aide PML-Q on the table before PML-N.

shura hamdard holds meeting to express solidarity with Kashmiris kaRaCHI PR

Speakers at Shura Hamdard combined online meeting expressed solidarity with the ongoing struggle for freedom in Kashmir and condemned the atrocities committed by the Indian occupied forces against unarmed civilians. A Shura Hamdard online meeting was held yesterday on the topic: “Kashmir wants peace”, presided over by Justice (r) Haziq-ul-Khairi, who attended the meeting alongside Mrs. Sadia Rashid President Hamdard Foundation Pakistan via Zoom from Hamdard Corporate Head Office. Members of all Shura chapters Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi/Islamabad, and Peshawar attended the meeting. They offered condolences and prayed for late Barrister Rashid Munir Ahmed (husband of Mrs. Sadia Rashid), Speaker Shura Hamdard Lahore – late Mrs. Bushra Rehman, and former Vice-Chancellor of Hamdard University late Prof. Dr. Ismail Saad. Members were of the view that calling Kashmir a jugular vein of Pakistan was not just a mere political statement of Quaid-e-Azam, but a historical fact. They said: “Kashmir shares a deeprooted religious, cultural, and traditional connection with the region of modern-day Pakistan for centuries. Pakistan needs to prepare itself on ideological, diplomatic, and military fronts to fight against the tyranny and human rights violations committed by India in Kashmir. India brutally subjugates Kashmiris and violates their rights on a daily basis. This has caused a backlash in the Muslim world. Pakistan needs to capitalize on this growing resentment against India in the Muslim world by launching a social media campaign to expose India in the eyes of Muslims all over the world. Kashmiris strongly support Pakistan which is why Pakistan has been able to liberate a large part of Kashmir from India.

News desk

No-trust move: PML-Q demands Punjab CM's seat from opposition News desk

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naB-niazi nexus destroyed country’s economy: shehbaz

TLTP

Prime Minister Imran Khan has said the government wants to open up Pakistan for the Russian investors, assuring they will be facilitated in every possible manner. According to state-run media, the PM, while addressing the Pakistani and Russian business community in Moscow, invited the Russian businessmen to invest in diverse sectors of Pakistan, including oil and gas, agriculture, railways, energy, IT, pharma, textiles, military technologies, steels and automotive. He also called upon Pakistani entrepreneurs to have more interaction with businesses in Russia. The prime minister said Pakistan will be hosting a gathering of investors by the end of March and the Russian investors are also invited to attend the moot. He said it will be a time for the Russian investors to explore the possibilities of investment in Pakistan.

Imran Khan said connectivity between Pakistan, Central Asian states and Russia holds immense opportunities. During his recent official visit to Russia, following the meeting with the Russian president, the PM had an interactive session with notable businessmen of Pakistan and Russia over dinner. He stated that Pakistan, as a market of more than 220 million, provided opportunity for trade and investment. He further stated that the investment conference in Pakistan next month would be an opportunity for metallurgical, energy, construction and oil and gas companies to explore the immense potential in Pakistan.

NEWS

PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Chairman Bilawal Bhutto, and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had put forward the proposal when they met PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif at his residence.

“JUI-F and PPP have proposed the name of Pervaiz Elahi for Punjab chief minister to muster PML-Q support while the leadership of both parties were persuading PML-N on this matter,” the sources had said back then.

However, PML-N sources say that the party has not agreed on the name of PML-Q leader Pervaiz Elahi for Punjab’s chief minister portfolio.

The PML-Q shared their demands with PPP Co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari who has had a couple of meetings with Ch Pervaiz Elahi and other party leaders in the last few days.

Sources had said that the proposal will be discussed with PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and then he will make the final decision in this regard.

Earlier this month, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Fazl had announced the Opposition alliance had unanimously decided to move a no-confidence motion against the incumbent PTI government.

Since the announcement, the Opposition has started contacting the allies of the PTI government and disgruntled members of the ruling party.

Three main Opposition leaders Zardari, Fazl, and Shahbaz have held multiple meetings on the issue.

As per the sources, the PML-N wants to bring the no-confidence motion directly against Prime Minister Imran Khan while the PPP wants to bring the no-trust move against the National Assembly speaker and Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar.

It merits mention that the Opposition parties have 162 members and they require 10 more votes to make the no-confidence motion a success in the National Assembly.

The Punjab Assembly, the PML-N has 165 members and PPP has seven members. On the other hand, the PML-Q has 10 members.

PML-N President and Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif, while talking to the journalists in Lahore, on Friday stated that “the NAB-Niazi nexus has deteriorated the economic situation of the country.” He further state that the government, along with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) accused him of embezzlement in the Saaf Pani Project but they failed as the court acquitted all accused in the case. While talking about the corruption case against him, the PML-N leader said that the “PTI tried finding corruption cases against me but they never succeeded,” adding that even the “National Crime Agency failed to file any case of corruption against me in Switzerland.” Shahbaz talked about the “corruption of the incumbent government” and said that the nation will hold the government accountable for the looted money. He went on to state that Pakistan will have to play its role to work on its relations with neighbouring countries. The PML-N president further said that the Opposition is bringing about the no-confidence motion in favour of the citizens, adding that he “will do whatever the party leader Nawaz Sharif says.”

Saturday, 26 February, 2022 | KARACHI

04 NEWS

Govt to contest Qandeel Baloch muRdeR case: FaRoGh ISLaMaBad

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TLTP

EDERAL Minister for Law and Justice Farogh Naseem has said that the federal government will be pursing the Qandeel Baloch murder case.

Earlier this month, the Lahore High Court’s Multan bench had acquitted Waseem, who was earlier convicted by a court in the case. Qandeel was murdered by her brothers in 2016 for “honour”.

On Friday, Naseem said consultations on the case have been completed by the law ministry and Punjab prosecutor general. “We will now file an appeal against the verdict in the Supreme Court. We will use the judg-

ments passed in the Lahore motorway rape case and Zainab rape case as references," he revealed.

The government, Naseem pointed out, will also fully follow the Usman Mirza case.

Citing the verdict in the Noor Mukadam murder case, announced on Thursday, the minister added fruits of reforms introduced in the PTI rule have started showing.

Qandeel Baloch case: Earlier this month, the Lahore High Court had acquitted Waseem after Qandeel’s parents agreed to forgive him and witnesses in the case backed out. The trial of the case was continued for more than three years.

Back in 2019, Waseem was sentenced to life imprisonment. Other suspects ar-

Gold falls to Rs107,700 per 10gm NEWS dESK Gold price slipped on Friday, after hitting the highest level in over 15 months a day earlier. As of 1350 hours GMT, gold in the international market was available at $1,989 per ounce, shedding $14.50. Out of a $14.50 per ounce decrease, +$3.55 was due to the dollar’s weakness and -$18.05 was due to predominant sellers. The price of 10 grams of 24-carat yellow metal in Pakistan, meanwhile, decreased to Rs107,700 after shedding Rs3,700. Gold in the local market was available at Rs111,400 on Thursday last.

The local prices decreased due to massive decline in gold prices internationally when the local market was closed. According to experts, focus remains on the Russia-Ukraine war as fighting intensifies and the West mulls further sanctions. In wake of the rise of geopolitical uncertainty in Europe and subsequently cautious commentary from some Federal Reserve policymakers on Thursday, markets have taken the view that a 50bps rate hike next month is very unlikely. However, influential Fed Board of Governors member Christopher Waller said on Friday that he wanted to see 100bps of tightening by the middle of the year (endorsing James Bullard’s view) and that there is a strong case for a 50bps March hike. Even if hot US inflation does re-stoke Fed tightening bets somewhat, thus perhaps exerting upside pressure on US yields and on the US dollar, gold seems likely to continue to be supported by geopolitical risk at least for now. Goldman Sachs said on Friday that the gold rally has much further to go and that if demand for gold ETFs picks up sufficiently, prices could hit fresh record highs in the $2300s. Even as the fighting between Russian and Ukrainian military forces all across Ukraine intensifies, market participants appear to be taking somewhat of a breather after an exhaustive last few days of extreme volatility. That seems to be the case in spot gold markets, with prices currently trading just around the Friday’s lowest point.

rested in the case - cleric Mufti Abdul Qavi, Qandeel's other brother Aslam Shaheen, Haq Nawaz, Abdul Basit and Mohammad Zafar Hussain - were, on the other hand, released without charges.

The detailed 2019 verdict read: "The prosecution successfully proved its case beyond shadow of reasonable doubt through cogent, convincing and inspiring evidence against the accused for committing qatl-iamd (wilful murder) of his sister Fouzia Ameen alias Qandeel Balouch in shape of proving his presence at the place of occurrence, in shape of judicial confession corroborated with positive results of his DNA. “He is held guilty of committing qatli-amd of his sister,” it added.

Qandeel’s brother Waseem confessed to having killed her “because she brought dishonour to the Baloch name” with her social media videos and statement. Her brother Shaheen was nominated in the case

as well. On August 21, 2019, Qandeel’s parents submitted an affidavit in the court, stating that they have forgiven the killers and want the case against their sons to be disposed of.

Skolkovo Foundation, STZA sign LoI for cooperation in advanced technologies Shahzad Paracha The Skolkovo Foundation of Russia and Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA) of Pakistan have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to enhance bilateral cooperation in the technology sector, foster business relations and increase exchanges between the scientific and technological institutions of two countries.

As per the information, the LOI was inked by Skolkovo Foundation Chairman Igor Drozdov and Special Technology Zones Authority Chairman Amer Ahmed Hashmi during the visit of the Prime Minister Imran Khan to the Russian Federation.

The Skolkovo Foundation, founded in Moscow, 2010 has a mandate of supporting technological entrepreneurship in Russia and to commercialize the results of scientific research activities. The number of Skolkovo residents already exceeds 3,200 and the Foundation provides them with an array of services that are necessary to roll out developments into international markets. Located at Skolkovo Innovation Center is the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech), which is listed in the Nature Index “Top-100 Young Universities” list.

The STZA’s strategic partnership with Skolkovo Foundation will pave

ways for introducing Russian technologies in Pakistan and open doors for leading Russian IT companies and organizations to invest and operate in Pakistan’s Special Technology Zones.

The Skolkovo Foundation and STZA intend to cooperate for developing innovation centers and establishing research and development institutes

across Pakistan to achieve technological advancements, especially in the areas of circular economy, low carbon development projects, clean energy, and digital transformation. The LOI will also aid in establishing linkages among academic institutions, promote online and offline technology activities and bilateral exchanges in all sectors of technology.

The STZA was enacted in 2021 with a national mandate of creating technological ecosystems across the country and offer access to wide ranging fiscal and forex incentives, regulatory support, highly trained human capital, and soft landing through its one window framework supporting the growth of enterprise in the zones.

Facilitating parties of family cases MahNoor aShraf A normal person, who has never encountered the troubles of a broken family before, may not be able to understand the problems being faced by the parties of family cases outside the family courts in Lahore. Therefore, there is a need to bring awareness about these issues.

As we enter into the streets of the court area, some people pop up out of nowhere in the parking lot or near the entrance gate and start harassing women openly, but no one stops them despite noticing their disgusting acts.

Then, as we enter into the hallway and step onto the stairs, we either come across some people with never-ending gazes, some sellers, who beg for extra cash, and some husbands or wives of broken people, trying to get their chances with us.

Finally, after patiently waiting for the other party to arrive at the court, when we reach the meeting area, we hear loud cries of little infants, screaming exes, the reaction of kids towards their parents, and the over-empowering love of fathers for their kids, which never happened when they were ordinary like other happy families.

However, in order to facilitate the parties of cases, the clerks and other staff must be trained and groomed, and

reminded of their duties.

An integrated management system is the key to keep attendance and important decisions up to date. There must be a disciplined and centralised system to cater to all of this and to track and keep checks on each individual, who enters the court.

If performances are inspected, the clerks and other staff will always show up on time and the right persons will get their rights there and then.

Furthermore, the involvement of media or any other third party must be zero. A third party, who dares to enter into a contractual relationship without

CMYK

being invited, has no right to interfere in someone’s private life and convince children to choose one side of the party.

Who gives them a right in the first place? They do not realise that their acts can destroy the future of thousands of little brains in that situation.

Fathers, who bring their lawyers or clerks to sit along during the meeting, must not be allowed to add any other party apart from them and their children as this creates bias and wins them over through emotional blackmailing.

Communication, on the other hand, should be a must for everyone from the time parties enter the court till they

leave. Communication resolves misunderstandings and keeps the chain of command go in a positive flow.

And of course, bribery lovers, if found, among sellers or staff should be dismissed immediately. There should be clean and organised seating arrangements for people.

Lastly, every day, daily checks and trails on each staff member should be mapped to make sure parties’ needs are met on time and according to the laws of the country.

These are just a few ways to better facilitate the parties of family cases in Lahore.

Saturday, 26 February, 2022 | KARACHI

NEWS

05

Qureshi justifies PM iMran's russia visit aMid ukraine crisis continued from page 01

“i

NSTITUTIONAl memory is of good use and we should benefit from experience,” he said.

“Using this collective wisdom, we concluded that the solid rationale for consolidation of our bilateral relations with Russia should not be lost sight of. In light of this, we decided to keep our plan for the visit unchanged.”

The FM further said the objective of the visit was to “maximise the diplomatic space for Pakistan”.

He described the visit as “satisfactory” and said, “I believe we made the right decision. Our diplomatic space has increased.”

Qureshi further said, the government saw the visit as an opportunity to take Russia into confidence on the issue of Afghanistan and the evolving situation in South Asia, particularly with regards to Indian-occupied Kashmir.

“We saw […] it as an important opportunity that should not be squandered.”

Apparently criticizing the rival opposition parties, he said he saw some tweets during the visit by individuals who were “panicking”. However, he refused to name anyone, and stated that their tweets expressed worry. “But my prime minister, on the other hand, did not seem perturbed and was confident.”

Qureshi said one of the reasons behind this could be that PM Imran did not have accounts or assets in any Western capital.

He further revealed that the US administration had made a “high-level” contact with Pakistan before the Moscow visit.

Using a catchword used by anchorperson Waseem Badami, Qureshi added: “They (the US) asked us a masoomana (innocent) question and we gave them a respectful reply.”

When asked to elaborate further, he said the US conveyed its perspective and Pakistan communicated its point view, as well as the objective and background of the visit.

“And as I said, [the plan for the visit] remained unchanged.”

In response to a question whether PM Imran’s visit to Moscow did not give the impression that Pakistan was backing Russia in the ongoing conflict, Qureshi said it depended on how one viewed things.

“We are not part of any camp politics and we don’t intend to be,” he added.

The foreign minster said Pakistan had paid a huge price for being part of camp politics, adding that it would “maintain ties with all”.

In this connection, he gave the example of Germany, where he said he would visit soon.

Today, Qureshi said, Pakistan was presenting its stance before the world in a selfrespecting manner.

“There is newness in our foreign policy and Pakistan is moving towards a self-respecting and independent foreign policy,” he said. “We have shifted our focus from geopolitics to geoeconomics in light of past experiences.”

Adding to that, while referring to a statement by PM Imran, wherein the premier said Pakistan did not want to be in a position that implied that it was part of a certain camp.

“In view of past experiences, we have made this big decision not to be part of any camp politics,” the foreign minister reiterated.

“We will move forward with what is in the interest of Pakistan. Period. This is our focus, this is our priority, and we are moving forward in line with this [philosophy],” he said, adding that today, Pakistan was broadly engaged and had good relations with all major powers of the world.

To a question about whether PM Imran

had made any offer to Russian President Vladimir Putin to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, the foreign minister said both leaders presented their stance on the matter in the meeting.

But, he said, the visit was not planned keeping in view the situation in Ukarine.

“It was being planned for a long time,” Qureshi said, outlining multiple occasions of bilateral engagement with Russia. “This bilateral visit was planned in that context,” he added.

However, he said, since a situation had arisen, “we presented our stance on the matter and heard theirs.”

The foreign minister said PM Imran had spoken about the issue at an “appropriate time and place”, stressing that it should be resolved through diplomacy.

“Because when a country or region engages in a military conflict, it results in a loss for all, especially developing countries,” Qureshi said, adding that the results of the Russia-Ukraine conflict were already appearing in the shape of rising oil prices.

He called for exercising restraint and said there was still a possibility of resolving the issue through diplomatic efforts.

In response to a question, he said Pakistan had diplomatic ties with Ukraine and “we give importance to them.”

Moreover, he said, “Our military ties with Russia are improving.”

FM Qureshi further assured that authorities in Pakistan were in touch with Pakistan’s embassy in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

He stated that he had a detailed phone conversation with Pakistan’s ambassador to Ukraine before the press conference.

He further said clear directives were also issued to Pakistan’s embassy in Kyiv for ensuring the safety of the country’s diaspora in Ukraine before the Moscow visit.

Moreover, he said, there were around 3,000 Pakistani students in Ukraine and the embassy had been contacted to ensure that they were moved to safe areas and eventually sent back home.

“We are in constant touch with them,” he said, adding that in order to facilitate the student’s evacuation, Pakistan’s embassy had been shifted from Kyiv to Ternopil.

He dismissed reports that a Pakistani student had been killed in Ukraine.

“I spoke to the ambassador and he told me that all our children are safe so far,” the minister said, expressing the hope that their evacuation would be completed soon. “Their anxiety is understandable and we will provide them all the help they need.”

It is pertinent to note that Qureshi began his speech with a round up of the visit, stating that the meeting between PM Imran and President Putin lasted for around three-anda-half hours.

“PM Imran took him (Putin) into confidence over occupied Kashmir and shared Pakistan’s stance on the matter,” he added.

He revealed that both leaders exchanged views on the improvement in and positive trajectory of ties between Pakistan and Russia over the past few years. Moreover, he said, regional matters, especially the situation in Afghanistan and the security and stability of South Asia, were discussed.

He further said energy cooperation was also discussed in the meeting, with particular focus on Pakistan Stream gas pipeline, as well as the rising trend of Islamophobia.

When asked about the progress on the building of Pakistan Stream gas pipeline, which is being constructed in collaboration with Russia, Qureshi said there was agreement on most matters and there would be discussion on remaining issues next month.

“We hope that it will be completed soon,” he added.

FM Qureshi further revealed that Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov called on PM Imran and discussed bilateral trade and investment opportunities.

Energy cooperation was also discussed with them, he said, adding that Pakistan had expressed interest in purchasing gas from Russia through a long-term government-togovernment arrangement.

He said it was proposed that the gas pipeline between Russia and Uzbekistan be extended to Pakistan via Afghanistan.

The minister added that Russia had also expressed interest on the establishment of a liquified natural gas terminal in Gwadar.

He said PM Imran and other ministers had also addressed a forum of Russian and Pakistani businessmen and discussed opportunities for cooperative arrangement in the future.

“We also discussed ways to remove procedural bottlenecks in trade and economic linkages,” added.

The foreign minister termed the discussion productive, adding that several businessmen had indicated interest in participating in a investment conference that would be organised in Islamabad in March.

PM Imran also visited Moscow’s central mosque and met its grand mufti during the visit, he said. The minister then shared some of the salient features from a statement issued by the Foreign Office after the visit.

When asked about opposition parties approaching Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s allies, he said they may hold as many meetings as they want. “It does not affect us.”

He concluded by announcing that he would visit Ghotki tomorrow where he would respond to the opposition.

Russia presses invasion to outskirts of Ukrainian capital as US imposes new sanctions continued from page 01 Russian missiles bombarded cities and military bases on the first day of the attack, and Ukraine officials said they had lost control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the scene of the world’s worst nuclear disaster.

Civilians piled into trains and cars to flee and patrons of a hotel were directed into a shelter as explosions sounded in Kyiv.

“Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself and won’t give up its freedom,” Zelenskyy tweeted. His grasp on power increasingly tenuous, he called Thursday for even more severe sanctions than the ones imposed by Western allies and ordered a full military mobilisation that would last 90 days.

Ukraine’s president vows to stay pUt: Zelenskyy said in a video address that 137 “heroes”, including 10 military officers, had been killed and 316 people

wounded. The dead included border guards on the Zmiinyi Island in the Odesa region, which was taken over by Russians.

Zelenskiy vowed to stay in Kyiv as his troops battled Russian invaders advancing toward the capital. “(The) enemy has marked me down as the number one target,” Zelenskiy warned in a video message as heavy fighting was reported on multiple fronts. “My family is the number two target. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state.”

“I will stay in the capital. My family is also in Ukraine.”

He concluded an emotional speech by saying that “the fate of the country depends fully on our army, security forces, all of our defenders.” He also said the country had heard from Moscow that ”they want to talk about Ukraine’s neutral status.”

Us imposes new sanctions: Biden was to meet on Friday morning with fellow leaders of Nato governments in what the White House described as an “extraordinary virtual summit” to discuss Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden announced new sanctions against Russia, saying Putin “chose this war” and had exhibited a “sinister” view of the world in which nations take what they want by force. Other nations also announced sanctions, or said they would shortly.

“It was always about naked aggression, about Putin’s desire for empire by any means necessary — by bullying Russia’s neighbours through coercion and corruption, by changing borders by force, and, ultimately, by choosing a war without a cause,” Biden said.

Blinken said in television interviews that he was convinced that Russia was intent on overthrowing the Ukrainian government, telling CBS that Putin wants to “reconstitute the Soviet empire” and that Kyiv was already “under threat, and it could well be under siege.”

The US sanctions will target Russian banks, oligarchs, state-controlled companies and high-tech sectors, Biden said, but they were designed not to disrupt global energy markets. Russian oil and natural gas exports are vital energy sources for Europe.

Zelenskyy urged the US and West to go further and cut

the Russians from the SWIFT system, a key financial network that connects thousands of banks around the world. The White House has been reluctant to immediately cut Russia from SWIFT, worried it could cause enormous economic problems in Europe and elsewhere in the West.

Fearing a Russian attack on the capital city, thousands of people went deep underground as night fell, jamming Kyiv’s subway stations.

At times it felt almost cheerful. Families ate dinner. Children played. Adults chatted.

People brought sleeping bags or dogs or crossword puzzles — anything to alleviate the waiting and the long night ahead.

But the exhaustion was clear on many faces. And the worries.

“Nobody believed that this war would start and that they would take Kyiv directly,” said Anton Mironov, waiting out the night in one of the old Soviet metro stations. “I feel mostly fatigue. None of it feels real.”

The invasion began early Thursday with a series of missile strikes, many on key government and military installations, quickly followed by a three-pronged ground assault.

Ukrainian and US officials said Russian forces were attacking from the east toward Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city; from the southern region of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014; and from Belarus to the north.

Zelenskyy, who had earlier cut diplomatic ties with Moscow and declared martial law, appealed to global leaders, saying that “if you don’t help us now, if you fail to offer a powerful assistance to Ukraine, tomorrow the war will knock on your door.”

Though Biden said he had no plans to speak with Putin, the Russian leader did have what the Kremlin described as a “serious and frank exchange” with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Both sides claimed to have destroyed some of the other’s aircraft and military hardware, though little of that could be confirmed. chernobyl takeover: Hours after the invasion began, Russian forces seized control of the now-unused Chernobyl plant and its surrounding exclusion zone after a fierce battle, presidential adviser Myhailo Podolyak told The Associated Press.

The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said it was told by Ukraine of the takeover, adding that there had been “no casualties or destruction at the industrial site.”

The 1986 disaster occurred when a nuclear reactor at the plant 80 miles north of Kyiv exploded, sending a radioactive cloud across Europe. The damaged reactor was later covered by a protective shell to prevent leaks.

Adviser to the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, Alyona Shevtsova, wrote on Facebook that staff members at the Cher-

cmYK

nobyl plant had been “taken hostage”. The White House said it was “outraged” by reports of the detentions.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence issued an update saying that though the plant was “likely captured”, the country’s forces had halted Russia’s advance toward Chernihiv and that it was unlikely that Russia had achieved its planned Day One military objectives.

While some nervous Europeans speculated about a possible new world war, the US and its Nato partners have shown no indication they would send troops into Ukraine, fearing a larger conflict.

Nato reinforced its members in Eastern Europe as a precaution, and Biden said the US was deploying additional forces to Germany to bolster Nato.

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Saturday, 26 February, 2022

06 COMMENT

The fake news era

Returning emptyhanded from Russia

Attempts to control social media are meant to influence politics

What use three hour of talks with Putin?

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HErE was no joint press conference and no joint statement after Prime Minister’s Imran Khan’s meeting with russian President Vladiimir Putin despite the hype created regarding the extension of the “important” meeting from the originally planned one hour to three hours. the government’s propaganda machinery, though specializing in making a mountain out of a molehill, remained tongue-tied. the PM returned from his first official visit to russia without a rousing welcome by his supporters or a feeling of coming home after winning the World Cup. According to a handout from the PMo on thursday, Mr Khan took up a number of important issues with President Putin. these included the Pakistan stream Gas Pipeline Project, cooperation on prospective energy related projects and need for addressing the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. He also highlighted the human rights violations in Indian occupied Kashmir and underscored the need for a peaceful resolution of the issue.” According to the PMo, Mr Khan "regretted" the latest situation between russia and Ukraine and said that Pakistan had hoped that diplomacy could avert a military conflict. the premier also expressed concern about rising extremism and Islamophobia and stressed the need for interfaith harmony and coexistence. there was apparently no response on any of these issues from President Putin. the one-liner issued by the Kremlin makes no mention of these matters by tersely stating that the two leaders discussed the main aspects of bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on current regional topics including developments in south Asia. Period. Putin was obviously unprepared for, and presumably resented, the lecture on how not to deal with American provocations in russia’s neighbourhood, had reservations on how Pakistan sees Pak-India relations and considered that more preparatory work needed to be done before making any commitment on the gas pipeline. this raises the question whether the visit was undertaken without necessary preparatory work and consultations.

While failing to reach an understanding on vital issuess with russia, the government continues to alienate the West. this is what one is forced to conclude from President Alvi’s criticism of the policies of the UsA and Europe at a public function. While political leaders are free to make such statements, coming from the head of the state these can mar relations with other countries and cause harm to Pakistan.

Dr QAisAr rAshiD

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fforts are underway to subjugate social media. the reason is simple: social media has evolved over the years to offer a platform alternative to mainstream print and electronic media– to bust myths, lay bare the truth and launch counter-narratives. further, social media is swift to spread news and express opinion on the latest happenings. on 11 August 2016, the then Parliament passed the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) of 2016, section 26 of which stated that parody or satire-based websites and social media accounts could be proceeded against for spoofing. further, it was a punishable offense (with imprisonment for up to a term of three years and with fine) to run a website or share information relying on a counterfeit source. the PECA was partly in response to a malicious campaign run on social media against the then sitting government of Nawaz sharif, who was vilified as Modi ka Yaar (a friend of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi). sharif was also accused of siphoning off billions of rupees to India for investment. further, sharif was blamed for employing hundreds of Indian labourers in his factories. Unfortunately, Pakistan’s top intelligence agency was found involved in supporting sit-ins (dharnas) and bolstering social media activists against sharif. social-media-based campaigns played a significant role in plummeting sharif’s popularity in the

Noor Mukaddam case decision A swiftness that should be shown in other cases

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Presidential ordinances are overused

AttiyA MunAwer

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t is forParliament to formulate a constitution for the country and to enact legislation as per the requirements. However, in case of emergency, when it is not possible to convene a session of Parliament, the government may legislate through a presidential decree for a period specified in the Constitution. But the presidential ordinance has to be introduced in Parliament and then it is the prerogative of the people’s representatives to approve the presidential decree.

It can be approved or rejected, and conditions are favourable at the moment, and with a democratic government and a functioning parliament, the massive use of unwarranted presidential decrees for legislation is by no means satisfactory in terms of democratic principles. similarly, a new presidential ordinance amended the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, which was originally enacted by the PML(N) government in 2016. this amendment in the law was superficially menacing the freedom of expression. since the PtI came to power, despite bringing in

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the era of fake news is tyrannical. It is known that fake news played a role in defaming Nawaz sharif and his party during the campaign for the 2018 general elections. one of the actors implicated in spreading fake news was the person involved in the notorious Mediagate (or Anchorgate) scandal (2012), revealing that certain media personalities were involved in receiving payment for staging talk shows on electronic media. similarly, it is also known that Pakistan’s supreme Court disqualified sharif on flimsy contrived grounds in the Panama case judgment and ensured his exclusion from the political arena. this was how the court tried to influence the electoral choice of the people and shape up the political milieu.

Likewise, it is also known that intelligence agencies ran social media accounts, directly or indirectly, with fake identities and dubious names, and sponsored certain v-loggers (and even electronic media channels) to sway public opinion. furthermore, it is also known that some journalists were attacked and tortured by “unknown assailants” for the crime of expressing opinion and debunking the government’s truth. the consequent judicial-military nexus earned notoriety. Now, Pakistanis are being told that the military is distancing itself from politics and the judiciary is on the course to retrieving independence. the point is simple, the institutions sensitive to news or opinionated discussions need to avoid jumping into politics, whether the institution be the judiciary or the military. the self-assumed Big Brother posture of any institution is gratuitous unless necessitated by the Constitution. respect is earned and not extracted. In this age of immense discussion, fake news is difficult to last per se. the next general elections are expected in october 2023. A political crisis is brewing, meant for tripping over. Anxiety ravages equanimity. social media in its sovereign state poses a challenge of two kinds: first, it is now potent to deconstruct any attempt at post-truth; and second, it is now powerful to deflate the bubble of any populism. social media has become an instrument of reckoning and remedying. It is obvious that hired and paid agents in both electronic and social media by any state institutions are inadequate to serve the purpose. the ordinance is one of the last-ditch efforts to construct the hope of political survival.

The writer can qaisarrashid@yahoo.com

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Dictatorial legislation in a democracy

HAt the main accused in the Noor Mukaddam murder case should have been cvonvicted and given the death sentence should not be a suprise, for not only was the muder brutal, even bestial, but there was virtually no attempt at concealment leaving the judge almost no option but to convict, and impose the maximum penalty. the case had convulsed the whole country, not just Islamabad where it happened, because of the social prominence of both victim and accused.

While the main accused was a scion of the famous Jaffer family, the victim was the daughter of a retired ambassador. the relative swiftness of the trial was a result of this, not just the attention which focused on the case. the acquittal of all other accused, including the parents of the main accused may provide grounds for appeal, but that is for the appellate forum to decide when the time comes. However, in the midst of all the emotions raised by the case, it should not be ignored that trial courts can make decisions relatively swiftly, and the delays in trials are actively sought by both the parties and the lawyers. While the case did show that criminality, indeed murder, has no class, it cannot be denied that criminal accused are usually the poor. that such people not only carry the disadvantages attaching to poverty, but also the denial of justice implied in its being delayed. the Noor Mukaddam case raises questions about the performance of the courts.

At the same time, the persistence shown by the victim’s father in seeking Justice for his daughter must also be appreciated. too often, such cases end suddenly in the acquittal of the accused because the victim’s heirs have taken blood money, or have compounded the offence. the government must not close the file on this case, or regard it as over. With the death sentence, the High Court has to consider a revision, while the persistence with which the defence was conducted makes a recourse to the supreme Court inevitable. only when the trial court issues its detailed judgement, will it be possible to speculate about possible grounds of appeal. It should be remembered thatit is not just the conviction that the defence will seek to overturn, but the capital punishment. However, until an appellate forum takes such a decision, public attention will probably move on to some other case.

Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

elections of 2018. Credulous minds foundered on post-truth politics. Populism constructed an imaginary narrative. fake news left a decisive impact on the result of the elections. on 19 November 2020, invoking PECA 2016, the current government introduced new social media rules titled the removal and Blocking of Unlawful Content (Procedure, oversight and safeguards) rules 2020. the rules handed down powers to the Pakistan telecommunication Authority to remove and block the digital content that harmed, intimidated or excited disaffection towards the government or posed a threat to the integrity, security and defence of Pakistan. on 12 october 2021, the current government made more rules such as the removal and Blocking of Unlawful online Content (Procedure, oversight and safeguards) rules 2021, which permitted the telecom regulator to block any website or platform on the directives of the court or the government or under any law.

Against the background of restrictions on electronic media, social media remained a focus of attention of both the policymakers and the hoi polloi. on 20 februar, President Arif Alvi promulgated the presidential ordinance called the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) ordinance 2022, section 20 of which made an amendment to the PECA increasing the jail term from three years to five years for defaming any person or institution. Interestingly, the ordinance evaded defining fake news. though the shelf-life of the ordinance is six months, if it is not protected by Parliament, the ordinance has made online public defamation a cognizable and non-bailable offence with up to five years imprisonment.

With the federal Investigation Agency (fIA), any person from the public at large can file a complaint on behalf of someone, who could be any company, association or body of persons, which could be an institution, organization or any other body established by the government, and acting as a public office holder or a public figure. the proclaimed objective of the recent presidential ordinance, as flaunted by federal Law Minister Barrister farogh Naseem, is to discourage social media from spreading fake news. the ordinance drew criticism for its being a ploy to suppress the voice of journalists. the Pakistan federal Union of Journalists challenged the ordinance. on 24 february 2022, the Islamabad High Court restrained the fIA from acting upon section 20 of the ordinance which had permitted the fIA to arrest a person on complaint.

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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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more than 70 presidential ordinances, the process has not stopped but continues. the federal Cabinet has approved two more important ordinances, the first ordinance to criminalize hate campaigns on social media and the second to allow MPs to participate in election campaigns. According to federal InformationMinister fawad Chaudhry, insulting people on social media has been made a punishable offence.

Under the law, courts are required to make a decision within six months.

It is a fact that social media has become a powerful medium, and any news or content that runson it reaches every home in the blink of an eye, electronic and print media outlets are bound by certain rules while on social media, everybody acts as an organization and spreads misinformation without pondering, reputations are destroyed and (in the Urdu phrase) ‘turbans are tossed’ on social media every day and honourable people seem to be saying for decades that what is being said about them is not true, negative propaganda is also being s*read about the military and judiciary but there is a need to ensure transparency with legislation, so as not to create the impression that a particular class is being targeted. there is no doubt that MPs should not be excluded from the election campaign as well there is a need to prevent false news, but the legislative process is not right for this. What is the fear of the government that it is resorting to a presidential ordinance instead of Parliament? Parliament is the centre of public representation in the country and the government’s own existence is as a result of the same Parliament and public representation. If the government wants to amend the law or enact new laws by deducting the role of Parliament and if such

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a series of laws take the form of a tradition, then the government will also lose the right to represent the people.

It is a fact that the issuance of presidential ordinances has generally been a manifestation of a dictatorial regime, but the present government has broken all the records of the dictatorial regime by pushing through the ordinance for its own benefits. While the opposition seems to be at first opposition parties, their hypocrisy and finally reconciliation, the opposition has been playing such a double role for the last four years that with the cooperation of the opposition, every law is being passed under one pretext or another. this is the result of collusion between the government and the opposition that every law is being made by the government in a double manner, if one law seems good then the other has to be accepted.

Undoubtedly, the government and the opposition seem to be playing the whole game of confrontation to fool the people. on the one hand, the opposition leadership says that by issuing the ordinance, the President is not fulfilling the requirements for an ordinance under Article 89 nor is he deciding for himself. Parliament will think about how to take action against the President, while on the other hand the government is taking all kinds of steps, while Parliament is apparently limited to thinking only.

If the opposition wants to restore its credibility, it should not just think against the government but make clear practical steps, otherwise the issue will continue as to who will go first? the government must legislate, but democracy should not have dictatorial legislation.

If the opposition wants to restore its credibility, it should not just think against the government but make clear practical steps, otherwise the issue will continue as to who will go first? The government must legislate, but democracy should not have dictatorial legislation

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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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The writer can atharnoor2019@gmail.com

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

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

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No Money, No Education

US-Ukraine Relations: Diplomacy to Strategy

Dr rAjkuMAr singh

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ftEr having become independent from the erstwhile Ussr, the UsA recognised Ukraine on 25 December 1991, and it was upgraded to embassy level on 21 January 1992 to move further in a positive direction in the larger interests of both countries, and in following years the UsA defended Ukraine on several occasions in international fora where it pleaded in favour of the country while meeting with diplomats of other nations and thus, a general environment for Ukraine was created by the UsA in the Western media and elsewhere.

By doing this the UsA earned a good name for itself in Ukraine and according to an estimate about 80 percent of the population expressed their views in favour of the UsA in 2002, although with a declining trend as 60 percent favoured it in 2011. Earlier in the recession in 1999 the Government of Ukraine began taking steps to make essential changes in its economy for maximum benefit and, as such, an era of good relations commenced in their relationship with other democratic countries of the region under the leadership of UsA. In addition, the Us welcomed Ukraine as a democratic country in the comity of nations and desired to develop it as an improving economy free from russian threat or aggression, reform and strengthen democratic institutions with minimum corruption, congenial to smooth and sustained growth and competition.

Its avowed strategic objectives in the country did not allow Washington to recognise russian annexation of Crimea and it always hoped to find a resolution for the russia-instigated conflict in eastern Ukraine. thus, in initial years and thereafter, relations between them remained more strategic than diplomatic and Washington always tried to keep Ukraine in the fraternity of the Euro-Atlantic community. relations between the two started on a firm foundation and steps taken for reforms in the economy were welcomed by the UsA and to boost the overall economic condition of Ukraine, in 1992, it passed a pro-development programme for all states who became independent from the soviet Union called, freedom for russia and Emerging Eurasian Democracies and open Markets (frEEDoM) support Act and

Ukraine became the primary recipient of this assistance scheme. Primarily the Us help centred around the political as well as economic development of the country and shared a number of organisations, such as the United Nations, the organisation for security and Cooperation in Europe, the International Monetary fund, the World Bank, the World trade organisation, and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council. since the beginning of diplomatic relations, the two have enjoyed economic relations by signing various agreements of mutual interest in 2006, 2007. In line with this, the threshold Programme signed in December 2006 aimed to reduce corruption in the public sector through civil society monitoring and implementation of ethical administrative standards.

As a principle, the UsA considered russian actions and interferences against the established international norms, rules and practices because borders and territorial integrity of a state cannot be changed by force or violence and in a democracy, it is the inherent right of a nation or its citizens to make their country’s decisions and determine the future of the country. these are the fundamental rules/principles of international relations to which all members of the international community are bound to obey to have a developed, peaceful and secured world order. thus, they considered it a challenge for the whole community, and in such a situation, diplomacy is the only purposeful way to resolve the crisis. the year 2014 proved an important year in the current trouble-torn history of Ukraine when the rule of a pro-russian federation government came to an end and a proUs/Western alliance government took over the reins of administration, signa3ling a red alert for both the UsA and russia.

While in the background of old competition and rivalry, russia apprehended a security threat for itself and began active support to protesters of eastern Ukraine, the UsA, having learnt the lessons of Crimea annexation to russia in 2014, started massive help in diverse fields to check russian influence/dominance in Ukraine and around it.

In the context, a recent report revealed that since 2014 the UsA had committed more than $5.4 billion in assistance to Ukraine which included items of security and non-security, apart from providing loan guarantees totalling $3 billion. It has been a consistent policy of the UsA to extend life-saving support to otherwise displaced persons and help especially those who

were or are victims of russian aggression. the Us aid mission 2019-2024 Country Development Coordination strategy clearly calls for a focus on a two-fold programme: promotion of economic development and energy security as well as anti-corruption efforts, to make Ukraine a self-reliant nation, keeping in view the regional stability, future of Europe and strength of the UsA. Earlier, Us President Donald trump had supported Ukraine continuously and Joe Biden, after being sworn in as President, met his Ukrainian counterpart on 15 september 2021, and reiterated his country’s commitment to counter russian aggression and fully supported Ukraine’s ways towards Euro-Atlantic integration. taking the Us commitment and efforts seriously, Vladimir Putin, the russian President, refreshed its security structures along with increasing the number of armed forces on the Ukraine border and in the surrounding areas.

With continuing tension and armed conflict since 2014 in eastern Ukraine, it aggravated further in october 2021 when russia moved lots of troops and equipment near the border as certified by the Us intelligence officials and social media reports.

After heavy war preparations, in midDecember, the foreign Ministry of russia issued a set of demands which included a ban on Ukraine’s joining the North Atlantic treaty organisation (NAto) as well as reduction of NAto troops and military equipment in the eastern part of the country.

In response to russian calls, the UsA and NAto not only rejected their demands, but threatened the Kremlin with retaliation, if Ukraine was invaded.

As a precautionary step, in early february, American President Joe Biden ordered the stationing of about 3000 troops in the bordering NAto regions of Poland and romania, although he said it clearly that Us troops would not enter Ukraine. tension and conflict are going on in eastern Ukraine in between the negotiations among parties concerned to reach a diplomatic deal and defuse the present crisis of Ukraine.

However, that did not stop russia from taking military action.

Its avowed strategic objectives in the country did not allow Washington to recognise Russian annexation of Crimea and it always hoped to find a resolution for the Russiainstigated conflict in eastern Ukraine. Thus, in initial years and thereafter, relations between them remained more strategic than diplomatic and Washington always tried to keep Ukraine in the fraternity of the Euro-Atlantic community

The writer is presently Professor and Head, Department of Political Science and Dean of Social Sciences at B.N. Mandal University, Madhepura (Bihar), India. His 19 books have been published in addition to 900 articles in national and international journals and daily newspapers from 25 foreign countries.

UNDoUBtEDLY, we all accept and admire that education leads us towards success. It shapes our behaviours and eradicates deviancy from us.

In addition to that, there are certain skills that nature has provided us but we are not enough capable to know and identify our strengths. It is education that polishes all those skills and also makes us capable to identify and use those factors effectively. Nowadays, the purpose of getting an education has been shifted from learning to earning. Pupils are forced by their families to join the department which has great benefit. families completely do not care about the interest of students in that department or not. It puts pressure on students and they leave their studies in between.

Another case which becomes the cause of students leaving their study in between is poverty. I have seen many students who were extraordinary in their studies however their poor financial background has compelled them to say goodbye to their studies and start labour working to earn some money. Unfortunately, our leaders since 1947 till now have never sincerely thought about poor people, they have just enjoyed their possession and collected wealth for their families as much as they could. In order to bring prosperity in this country, it is conditioned to uplift poor families education and increase the literacy rate of this country, otherwise, the current change goes on where peace is defined as the break between two blasts or attacks. the authorities are requested to pay heed to the gravity of such enormous issues. only those who possess good money will be able to get a good education, others will be stagnant in government schools. A good education is directly dependent on having robust money.

NISAR SHAH BALOCHISTAN

How Lahore Became World’s Most Polluted Place

tHE problem of air pollution has been steadily growing in Lahore and many other cities of Punjab. the situation in other major Pakistani cities, such as the large coastal city of Karachi, is not much better. However, the situation in Lahore is alarming, as its fair value rises to 40 times the World Health organization's air quality guidelines. the unprecedented smog in the “city of gardens” comes from a confluence of intrusive factors.

Lahore air quality has declined over the past decade, at a time when about 70% of its trees have been cut down to make way for more residents. the vehicles are still very much in the form of high levels of sulfur-containing gas that have a 40% impact on air pollution in Lahore and the province around Punjab. Even the unadulterated form of fuel available in Lahore is of low quality. the thriving industries around Lahore, including those that burn tires to power their factory units, add another 25%. farmers who burn their fields at certain times of the year to prepare for further planting, as well as thousands of brick kilns on the outskirts of the city, add to the problem. Pakistan is responsible for less than one percent of global carbon emissions but is among the top 10 most climate-vulnerable nations. smog is extremely harmful to humans,animals, plants and nature as a whole. It hampers visibility, makes breathing difficult and disturbs the environment. It is well known for causing irritation in the eyes and throat resulting in intense coughing and may also lead to inflammation in the lung tissues and may give rise to pain in the chest. Cold and pneumonia is also related to smog and people suffering from asthma and bronchial infections must avoid exposure to smog. smog accounts for a rapid sprout in fatal health problems, including exacerbation of asthma, allergies, eye infections, respiratory tract infections, and cardiac pathologies leading to premature death. sughis et Al reported a concerning finding related to this situation, observing significantly higher levels of systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the school children of Lahore, exposed to high levels of air pollution. Lahore, along with the rest of Pakistan, desperately needs to move away from its dependence on fossil fuels. Doing so can help clean up the transportation industry and generate energy at the same time to help fight Pakistan’s energy crisis.

MuHAMMAd HAAd LAHORE

Royalty for Academia and Alumni Representation in Governing Bodies sADIsM in academia is real. It is like Cancer slowly damaging the body from within. When the benefactors see their beneficiaries growing bigger and stronger, both socially and financially, they start comparing their progress & achievements with that of their beneficiaries. It’s just not the teaching faculty but also the support staff that unconsciously and very slowly drifts towards the dark side. for quality education, highly motivated teaching and support staff is critically required.

In the light of this, it is proposed that a database of teachers, staff, and students be maintained whereby the contribution of each teacher and staff in the development of a student is recorded so that a minimalistic percentage of these students' earnings be given to their teachers and staff members as monthly royalty in the future. secondly, in furtherance of the objectives of creating a knowledgebased society and a knowledge-driven economy in Pakistan, all universities must have (their own) Alumni in the Governing Bodies. Alumni can help a great deal in enriching the academic experience of the student body and become their role models. they can help in their recruitment efforts and further academic pursuits within or outside Pakistan.

It is important to mention here that it is in the personal interest of all Alumni to see their Alma Mater grow and prosper as they are judged and ranked in a society based on the reputation and perception of their university. the development of a positive perception of their respective universities in their social and professional circles will add great value to their profile and image. Hence, it is a win-win model for both universities and their Alumni to meaningfully engage with each other and work closely to improve the ranking and reputation of their universities both locally and internationally. Hence it is humbly proposed that all Universities and schools in Pakistan may be directed to have at least 50% representation from the Alumni Body in their Governing bodies. Also, the Governing Bodies of the Board of Intermediate and secondary Education (BIsE) should have at least 50% representation from universities, where these students have to be consumed so that they can keep a check on the quality of education at the grassroots level.

BuRHAN RASOOL NEw YORk

08 WORLD VIEW 26th February 22_Layout 1 2/25/2022 11:33 PM Page 1

Saturday, 26 February, 2022

08 WORLD VIEW

What does PutIn really Want?

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POLITICO MAGAZINE

t’s clear now that Putin’s endgame is nothing short of a revanchist imperialist remaking of the globe to take control of the entire former Soviet space. He has complete disregard for international law, norms and human rights and will only be stopped by maximum economic, political and military pressure. Russia is nothing less than a rogue state on par with North Korea and Iran. Now, it is our obligation to protect the Ukrainian people and government, to do better in terms of helping them secure their airspace and to launch an active insurgency. In addition, we must slap the toughest sanctions on Russia including sectoral sanctions. We can blunt the impact to allies and partners dependent on Russian oil and gas by launching a Berlin airlift of fuel and pulling out all the stops to avoid this war from spreading to NAtO territory and becoming a world war.

Evelyn Farkas served as deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia from 2012 to 2015.

If Putin does have an endgame, it is not clear to outsiders at this point. For the past several months, he has deliberately deceived people as to what his true intentions are.

Most recently, he suggested he would launch an operation to defend the separatist regions in Eastern Ukraine, and then he ordered a massive strike across the entire country. So it is not clear what his territorial ambitions are. that said, he has declared that he will “demilitarize” and “denazify” Ukraine. that would seem to mean that at a minimum he wants to destroy Ukraine’s military infrastructure and replace its government with a puppet regime.

Thomas Graham served as senior director for Russia on the National Security Council staff during the George W. Bush administration and is a distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

It is very difficult to determine what the endgame is for Putin. One could assume that it would be enough for him to be listened to by the strongest leaders in the West. Or that Donbas and Luhansk would officially become his fiefdom.

And all this against the background that he has suppressed civil society in his country, and the elites are afraid of him.

But he probably needs a) the authorities in Kyiv under his control as a part of his “empire”, and b) the world (or at least part of it) playing by his rules.

Andrei Kolesnikov is a senior fellow and chair of the Russian Domestic Politics and Political Institutions Program at the Carnegie Moscow Center in Moscow, Russia.

I suspect Putin has several endgame options. there’s the one where everyone capitulates and he is proven correct, and he goes on to enjoy a friendly Ukraine and a cowed, reeducated Europe. He and his advisers are probably not counting on that one, though, much as they’d like it. there’s also the one in which he does a good deal of damage to Ukraine, installs a friendly regime there and settles in to manage Western sanctions and dueling military buildups in Europe for the foreseeable future. that may be one he finds more likely, and thinks he can live with. there are surely a few options in between, involving Ukraine’s surrender on various terms. But he is likely underestimating Ukrainian resistance, the pain sanctions will inflict over time, and not only Western, but global horror at Russia’s cruel and unprovoked attack on its neighbor.

Olga Oliker is program director for Europe and Central Asia at the International Crisis Group.

I believe that Putin’s goal in Ukraine is to bring about the collapse of the current

AFTER HIS SHOCKING INVASION, THE WORLD WONDERS HOW FAR RUSSIA’S AUTOCRATIC LEADER IS REALLY WILLING TO PUSH. EXPERTS ON RUSSIA FROM AROUND THE GLOBE OFFER A LOOK AT WHAT WE CAN EXPECT NEXT democratic regime in that country and replace it with a puppet government sympathetic to Moscow. I think, however, that it remains unlikely that Putin will do this by occupying the whole of Ukraine in the short run. Russia right now does not have remotely enough forces in the region to subdue a country of nearly 40 million people. I think what the Russians are likely to do instead is target and destroy as much of Ukraine’s military as possible and then squeeze the country economically until it becomes a failed state. In this regard, it is important to pay attention to Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, Mariupol, Kherson and Odessa. these ports are critical to the country’s economic viability since Ukraine is a huge agricultural exporter, and if Russia can effectively impose a blockade on them, it will have a huge source of economic leverage. Putin has made a gamble here, and it is possible to imagine scenarios that lead to triumph for him or to utter disaster. What we need to pay attention to is not so much sanctions — while I am in favor of them, I don’t think they will affect Russian behavior much — but rather how the Ukrainian military does on the ground in terms of inflicting costs on Putin’s forces.

Francis Fukuyama is a senior fellow at Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and director of the Ford Dorsey Master’s in International Policy.

His next book, Liberalism and Its Discontents, will be published in May. Putin is not secretive about his twofold goal. First, he wants to subjugate Ukraine, tearing down its statehood.

Secondly, he hopes, by strangling Ukraine, to force the West to accept his ultimatum — rebuilding in Europe a Yalta-esque order with spheres of influence and securing a Western pledge to not interfere in Russia’s geopolitical backyard. the less responsive the West is, the tighter will be the noose. Putin’s success depends not only on how Ukraine responds, but also on the West’s readiness to practice what it preaches.

He cannot afford to lose!

Lilia Shevtsova is the author of Putin’s Russia. the Kremlin has employed overwhelming force because the goal is to go far beyond Putin’s pretext of protecting Russian compatriots in the rump republics of the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics (provinces in eastern Ukraine) that the Russian government officially recognized as independent states on Monday. Clearly, the goal is to absorb all of Ukraine into Russia despite the fact that Ukrainians themselves clearly want to maintain their sovereignty and their increasingly robust democracy.

Putin is counting on being able to weather the already stiff sanctions from the United States, the U.K. (where many wealthy Russians have mansions) and the European Union. the Kremlin has built up a war chest of $700 billion in foreign reserves, among the most of any country in the world, has a low debt to GDP ratio (about 30 percent last year vs. 116 percent for the U.S., for example) and is banking on its good macroeconomic policy in the last decade to stand up, at least for a time, despite what the West may yet throw at them.

If we are not willing to put U.S. boots on Ukrainian soil, then sanctions are a start in terms of trying to punish the Kremlin and increasing the cost of continuing the war. Beyond ratcheting up sanctions and adding export controls, we can likely expect cyberattacks from the U.S. on Russia, but we must be prepared

to absorb counter attacks on U.S. infrastructure in response. there will be little that we can do to stop Putin in his tracks, however. As President Biden said thursday, “America stands up for freedom,” but Putin is hell bent on standing up for authoritarianism. Make no mistake, this is a war on Ukraine’s democracy and has nothing to do with Russian fears of it one day joining NAtO. For Putin, the example of a free, independent Ukraine on Russia’s border is too inspiring a model for his own people who might eventually demand something similar at home, and that would mean his ouster. So for him, Ukrainian independence and democracy is an existential threat to his personalistic autocracy. the Kremlin’s endgame, beyond ensuring the survival of Putin’s regime, is to create a multipolar world where autocratic Russia and rising China challenge Western liberal hegemony; the goal is nothing short of the establishment of a new global order where might is right, and state sovereignty, individual rights and freedoms, and human rights are wrong.

Kathryn Stoner is the director of and senior fellow at the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law at Stanford University and the author, most recently, of Russia Resurrected: Its Power and Purpose in a New Global Order.

Putin has at least three endgames. the first and most immediate is to install a new government in Kyiv that will be subservient to Moscow. the next goal is to get the West to recognize that Russia has a right to a sphere of influence in the post-Soviet space and that NAtO and the EU should stop trying to engage these countries. the third — and most ambitious — is to relitigate the end of the Cold War, revise the current Euro-Atlantic security system and recreate a sphere of influence in the states of the former Warsaw Pact.

Angela Stent served in the Office of Policy Planning at the Department of State from 1999 to 2001 and served as national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the National Intelligence Council from 2004 to 2006.

She is a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Her latest book is Putin’s World: Russia Against the West and with the Rest.

Putin has made no secret over the years of his belief that Ukraine does not have the right to exist as an independent country, and he has launched a horrific invasion of the country to ensure Russian control over it. One goal of this invasion is to topple the current government of Ukraine and try to rule the country through a puppet regime.

With Russian troops stationed further to the West in both Belarus and Ukraine, Putin puts more pressure on NAtO’s eastern members. After all the talk of the need for European strategic autonomy, Putin has once again highlighted European dependence on the United States for their security against Russian aggression. the United States will need to put even more troops into Eastern Europe and to abandon its commitment under the 1997 NAtO-Russia Founding Act not to permanently station military forces in the countries that joined the alliance after 1999.

James Goldgeier is a visiting scholar at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University, a visiting fellow at the Center on the United States and Europe at the

Brookings Institution and a professor at the School of International Service at American University.

Putin would like to break the government in Kyiv, install a friendly regime that is demilitarized and neutral and then turn to bargaining with NAtO over new security arrangements that would be more friendly to Moscow. these arrangements might include restrictions on troops and weapons in the NAtO countries that joined after 1997 and steps to turn Ukraine into a vassal state. Putin likely believed that using overwhelming force against Ukraine would give him greater leverage in these negotiations despite the great costs that will be imposed on Moscow. It is a risky bet and will likely fail given the vigor of the Western response, the difficulty of managing a puppet state with a hostile population and lackluster support for the move within Russia.

Timothy Frye is the Marshall D. Shulman professor of post-Soviet foreign policy at Columbia University.

Putin made the aims of the war quite clear: He intends to destroy Ukraine’s military infrastructure and close the relevant supply routes. He is likely also to replace the country’s top leadership — in other words, enact regime change — and possibly carve up the country by adding chunks of territory to the self-proclaimed republics in the East, or even incorporating them into Russia. the question is, how will he cope with the aftermath? Ukraine will not be a friendly client-state; one should expect lasting, simmering resistance. Russia’s own political stability may not survive the stress test, either: this war is not popular among Russian society and has completely shocked the elites. While no revolution is in the cards for now, the [Russian] system’s longer-term viability is certain to erode. And it is unclear how Putin views Russia’s future geopolitical place in the world. By upending its whole relationship with the West, Russia will inevitably end up much more dependent on China than would otherwise have been the case. One cannot help feeling that in order to subdue Ukraine, Putin has risked both Russia’s domestic stability and its future status in the global power system.

Kadri Liik is a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Her research focuses on Russia, Eastern Europe and the Baltic region.

It’s hard to see a clear endgame for Putin, but under current conditions we can see some indicators of strategic goals specific to Ukraine, although it may be a challenge to align with a broader geopolitical framework. For the moment, based on Putin’s discourse and his military actions in Ukraine, the prime target seems to be a drastic corroding of Kyiv’s political and military capabilities. this was expressed via his disclosure of intent in setting as objectives the “demilitarization” and “denazification” of Ukraine. And it was confirmed via clear targeting of central military capacities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the beginning of the offensive and the emphasis on advancing on Ukraine’s two largest cities as it facilitates a collapse of the country’s political infrastructure, leading to an overall weakened state that poses less of a security threat and is prone to external intervention and manipulation.

Andrei Serbin Pont is director of the Latin American think tank CRIES, regional representative at the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict and a fellow at the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies.

Putin believes that he has found the

formula to achieve imperialist strategic objectives while incurring minimal costs.

His formula is simple: threaten maximal use of force to put the opponent in a mindset of seeking to avoid escalation. this is a trap. We must see it as it is.

Putin’s ambitions go far beyond Ukraine.

He invaded Ukraine to win his war against the West. If we do not fight him — economically, diplomatically, militarily — in and for Ukraine, he will move forward faster than we think possible.

Ukraine is the fulcrum. Our refusal to meet Putin’s use of hard power with hard power only swells his temptation and hunger for the imagined security of a “divine” empire. Belarus has been de facto annexed. In Ukraine, Putin wants the elected government removed, a puppet restored, the dismemberment of Ukrainian history and identity. Adding Moldova, with little territorial defense of its own, would not take long. In his pretext speech and declaration of war, Putin described Finland and maybe Sweden as part of his domain, and he discussed the Baltic states and Poland, which are NAtO members, as “results of the Second World War” that belong to Moscow. the international laws and charters that Russia helped draft have been set alight. If Putin takes Ukraine, he will continue. But if he loses, it will be the beginning of his end. We can fight now, and save Ukrainian lives; or we fight later, for more tarnished honor; or we erode bit by bit until the “anomaly” of democracy, as Putin believes it to be, is gone.

Molly McKew is a lecturer on Russian influence and the lead writer at greatpower.us. the war Putin started does not make rational sense. Putin may win the war but risks long-term entanglement — the same dynamic the United States saw in Iraq. Unlike the United States, however, Russia lacks resources for such an involvement and especially to sustain economic isolation. the damage extends well beyond Putin’s rule. Even when he is succeeded by someone else, it will be next to impossible to restore relations with the West. We are talking a very long-term isolation and hostility. to the detriment of Russia, of course, but also to the detriment of the West.

Among other things, containment of China will be weak or non-existent for a long time.

Putin has declared there would be no occupation, so it seems he plans to install a new government and leave. the problem is the government will be unstable.

It is possible that the population in Ukraine’s east and south will be hostile but relatively passive. But in the West, it will be actively hostile. How Putin deals with that is totally unpredictable. Will this result in division of Ukraine? Very unlikely but no longer outside the realm of possibility.

Nikolai Sokov is a senior fellow at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation.

He previously worked at both the Soviet and Russian foreign ministries and participated in arms control negotiations, including on START I and START II. Putin certainly has an endgame in mind: It’s recreating the Russian Empire with himself as tsar. After more than two decades of iron rule and with no competitors to worry about, he seems to think he is a genius. He also scorns the leaders in the West, notably the U.S. president.

However, even before the attack on Ukraine, the Russian public was becoming less muted about growing concern of bloodshed in both countries. that could bring Putin down.

Strobe Talbott is a distinguished fellow in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution.

From 1993 to 2001, he served in the State Department, first as ambassadorat-large and special adviser to the secretary of State for the new independent states of the former Soviet Union, then as deputy secretary of State.

Saturday, 26 February, 2022 | KARACHI

NEWS

SCCI, FIO sign MoU to resolve issues of business community A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and Federal Insurance Ombudsman (FIO) in order to promote joint collaboration, especially to take prompt action of business community complaints.

The agreement was signed by SCCI President Hasnain Khurshid Ahmad and Federal Insurance Ombudsman (FIO) Dr Khawar Jamil during a ceremony held here at the chamber’s house on Friday.

Hasnain Khurshid stressed the need for strengthening collaboration with the Federal Insurance Ombudsman office and resolving the insurance related issues faced by the business community.

He urged the FIO office to take pragmatic steps to promptly re-address grievances of the business community and provide them relief.

On the occasion, Mr Khurshid suggested the SCCI’s web portal should be directly linked with the Federal Insurance Ombudsman Office Islamabad.

Dr Khawar Jameel fully agreed with the SCCI proposals and suggested the formation of a joint committee between FIO and SCCI as well as appointment of a focal person to take up issues and complaints of the business community on a daily basis.

The chamber’s president emphasized the need for early release of outstanding dues of the business community by the insurance companies to ease their economic owes. He suggested the establishment of a central database system.

Hasnain Khurshid urged the FIO to implement the SCCI’s recommendations to provide swift relief to the traders, In addition Dr Khawar Jamil assured the business community of instant action to be taken on their complaints and provide them relief at every level.

He enlightened the participants about the significance and key functions of the FIO office and asked the business community to approach his office to take prompt action on their complaints.

Dr Khawar said that FIO had ensured release of over Rs2 billion through banks to claimants since the last two to three years, which is a major achievement.

He informed that as many as 1,800 complaints had been registered in 2019, which were gradually increased by 3,000 complaints and 3,800 in 2020 and 2021 respectively. He added the huge backlog of complaints occurred owing to the outbreak of corona virus pandemic.

The FOI said the reforms process had been initiated, which was producing positive results and ensuring quick relief to complaints.

Ghazanfar Bilour during his speech pointed out that public and private insurance companies had been looting people by using various tactics through means of commercial banks. He urged the FIO office to take actions against the mafia involved in this illegal business and provide business community prompt relief. Aziz BunERi

USC CONNeCtS 3,800 StOReS wIth eRP SYSteM t

HE Utility Store Corporation (USC) has connected its 3,800 stores and more than 120 warehouses with the automated digital central database system. USC General Manager Inayat Ullah Dola and GM IT Shakeel Ahmad informed the media that USC has successfully completed the digital transformation of the supply chain management process.

All USC Stores and Warehouses were closed for three days for physical inventory count and loading this inventory information in the ERP system, he further said that we have connected all utility stores and warehouses to the ERP system which will enable timely completion of utility store operations.

He also said that this is an important milestone in the company’s 50-year history and customers will now be issued a computerized bill after each transaction.

He also said that the cost of the digital transformation of the supply chain management process project is Rs2.3 billion.

Explaining the benefits, USC GM said that this supply chain transformation will overall provide benefits to USC operations besides organizational efficiency in terms of time, resource allocation, decision making, accessibility, data management and reports.

In addition, the complete supply chain process will become simpler, from purchasing goods from suppliers, shipping to stores and selling to the customers and everything will be recorded in an organized manner with a computerized system.

Furthermore, purchasing activity will become a structured process whereby situations arising due to over or under-stocking of inventory can be controlled.

The whole inventory will be controllable and USC would be able to forecast the number of items needed,

thus preventing both product shortages and overstocking.

Similarly, synchronization of warehouses and retail outlets data into the centralized database, will provide a consolidated view of the organization’s performance.

Meanwhile, it also helps to identify trends in topselling items and locations that will enable stock to be moved with precision and achieve higher sales volumes.

Explaining the financial and strategic aspects of this system, he said that USC can make greater business insights through more accurate and timely fi-

09

nancial information.

Moreover, USC also can control prices by recording prices of products along with discounts and subsidies centrally and centralized sales monitoring will bound store staff for timely sales deposits.

In addition USC will offer a 5 per cent to 15 per cent discount on 1,700 items during Ramadan and for this, a discount has been obtained from 65 manufacturers.

This concession will be in addition to the Ramadan package which will be approved at the next ECC meeting. ShAhzAd PARAchA

Govt to utilise Australian grant to strengthen NIH response against Covid-19 NBP, FRB, NYDFS reach agreements Karachi PRESS RELEASE

The federal government would utilize the Australian grant to strengthen the capacity for the National Institute of Health for effective response against Covid -19 pandemic in Pakistan. Recently the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) under the chair of the finance minister has approved Rs440 million Technical Supplementary Grant (TSG) for strengthening the existing capacity for the National Institute of Health.

Sources said that the Economic Affairs Division informed the Ministry of National Health

Services and Regulations (NHSR&C) to re-purpose the Australian grant towards the preparedness and response plan for Covid-19 for its efficient and effective utilization.

PC-I for the project titled “strengthening existing capacity for National Institute of Health for effective response against Covid19 pandemic prepared by National Institute of Health (NIH)”, was approved by CDWP in its meeting held on May 31, 2021 amounting to Rs504 million for a period of six months.

Mobile phone imports increase 11pc in seven months The import of mobile phones into the country has witnessed an increase of 11.86 per cent during the seven months of the fiscal year (2021-22) as compared to the corresponding period of last year.

According to the data shared by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the country imported mobile phones, worth $1,270.415 million, during July-January (2021-22) as compared to the imports of $1135.672 million during July-January (2020-21), showing growth of 11.86 percent.

Meanwhile, on a year-to-year basis, the

import of mobile phones, however, witnessed a decrease of 8.68 per cent during the month of January 2022 when compared to the same month of last year. The import of mobile phones into the country during January 2022 was recorded at $179.768 million against the exports of $196.853 million in January 2021.

On a month-on-month basis, the imports of mobile phones also dipped by 23.15 per cent during January 2022, as compared to the imports of $233.917 million during December 2021, according to the data.

It is pertinent to mention here that the country’s total merchandise exports increased by 24.48 per cent during the first seven months of the current fiscal year. The merchandise exports during July-January (2021-22) were recorded at $17.744 billion as compared to the exports of $14.255 billion during July-January (2020-21), the PBS reported.

On the other hand, the merchandise imports went up by 59.33 per cent from $29.257 billion last year to $46.616 billion during the current fiscal year. TLTP

Subsequently, the cost of the project was reduced to the tune of Rs450 million equivalent to $2.82 million by the CDWP in its meeting held on November 8, 2021.

In addition sources said that the main objectives of the project are to strengthen laboratory and diagnostic systems to ensure prompt case finding and local containment, surveillance increasing diagnostic and testing capacity, capacity building of health care providers in patient safety and relationship with objectives. ShAhzAd PARAchA

The National Bank of Pakistan has reached agreements with the Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the New York State Department of Financial Services, the US regulators of NBP’s New York branch.

The agreements include fines totaling US $55.4 million focused on historical compliance program weaknesses and delays in making compliance-related enhancements. There were no findings of improper transactions or willful misconduct.

The New York branch has been under new management since May 2020 and has substantially enhanced its Compliance Program.

U.S. regulators have recognized the many positive changes resulting from new management. The National Bank of Pakistan and the New York branch are fully committed to satisfying the regulators’ expectations.

Saturday, 26 February, 2022 | KARACHI

10 FOREIGN NEWS

Putin willing to hold talks with ukraine after Phone call with china’s Xi

r

ReuteRs

ussian President Vladimir Putin is ready to send a delegation to Minsk for negotiations with the representatives of ukraine after he held a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who conveyed China’s support to Moscow in its efforts to resolve the ukraine crisis via dialogue.

according to a statement on the Chinese foreign ministry’s website, Xi called for all sides to abandon a Cold War mentality, respect the legitimate security concerns of all countries, and form a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism through negotiation.

Xi said China respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said Xi respected Russia’s actions and was ready for close coordination and mutual support at the united nations, where both are veto-holding permanent members of the security Council. according to the Kremlin, Putin told Xi that Russia’s military operation in ukraine was necessary to protect people against “genocide”, an accusation that the West calls baseless propaganda.

Putin also communicated to Xi that the us and north atlantic Treaty Organisation had long ignored Russia’s legitimate security concerns, repeatedly reneged on their commitments, and continued to expand military deployment eastward, challenging Russia’s strategic bottom line, according to the statement on Chinese foreign ministry’s website.

Russia is willing to conduct

high-level negotiations with ukraine, the statement quoted Putin as saying.

However, Russian Foreign Minister sergei Lavrov made the talks conditional to ukraine’s military laying down its arms.

He said that Moscow did not

want “neo-nazis” to govern ukraine. Russia launched its operation on land, air and sea on Thursday following a declaration of war by President Vladimir Putin.

China has refused to call Russia’s action in ukraine an “invasion” or criticise Moscow.

US, India cracks? Biden says talks on Russia ‘unresolved’ ReuteRs

taliban assert neutrality, call for restraint in russia-ukraine conflict AnAdolu Agency The Taliban-led interim government in afghanistan on Friday called for restraint amid Russia’s intervention in ukraine, stressing that Kabul’s foreign policy is that of “neutrality.” “all sides need to desist from taking positions that could intensify violence,” said abdul Qahar Balkhi, spokesperson for the afghan Foreign Ministry.

Russia launched its long-feared military intervention in ukraine early Thursday, with President Vladimir Putin saying the operation’s aim is to protect people “subjected to genocide” by Kyiv and to “demilitarise and denazify” ukraine. He also called on the ukrainian army to lay down its arms. according to ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, more than 130 people, including civilians, were killed on the first day of the military intervention. Balkhi stressed that the interim Taliban government follows a “foreign policy of neutrality (but) calls on both sides of the conflict to resolve the crisis through dialogue and peaceful means”. He also urged Moscow and Kyiv to protect afghan students and migrants in the region. after the fall of afghanistan’s usbacked government last august, Moscow has proven to be a significant source of support for the new Taliban administration. Before taking on us-led foreign forces in afghanistan, the Taliban fought the former soviet union when it invaded the country in the late 1970s.

eight polio vaccinators killed in series of afghan attacks: un KABul AFP

Eight members of polio vaccination teams working to eradicate the crippling virus in afghanistan were killed on Thursday in four separate attacks, the united nations said. Polio teams were frequently targeted by insurgent groups in afghanistan until the Taliban’s takeover of the country last year, when the hardline group said it wanted to work with the un to stamp out the disease. in the past polio campaigns in afghanistan — and neighbouring Pakistan — were accused of being fronts for spying, while some clerics said the vaccine was a conspiracy to sterilise Muslims. “We are appalled by the brutality of these killings, across four separate locations,” the un said in a statement. “This senseless violence must stop immediately, and those responsible must be investigated and brought to justice. These attacks are a violation of international humanitarian law.” The Taliban said they had “received the news” of the incidents and were trying to get more information. “Our policy is clear, we want to vaccinate and protect all the children in afghanistan under the age of five,” Javid Hajir, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health, told aFP. The un said one person was killed in Takhar province in the far north, and seven in neighbouring Kunduz province — including four in the provincial capital Kunduz city. They were engaged in house-to-house visits or on their way to begin campaigns, the un said. afghanistan and Pakistan are the only two countries in the world where polio has not been eradicated, although Pakistan last month reported a year without a case for the first time in history.

united states President Joe Biden said on Thursday Washington is in still unresolved “consultations” with india, when asked if Washington and Delhi were fully in sync on a response to Russia’s attack on ukraine ahead of an expected united nations security Council vote.

Biden did not elaborate, but his short response to a question at a briefing at which he announced tough new sanctions on Russia over ukraine drew attention to an awkward division between his administration and india, a country central to its efforts to push back against China’s growing power. india has developed close ties with Washington in recent years but has a long-standing close relationship with Moscow, which remains a major supplier of its defence equipment.

The 15-member united nations security Council, of which india is a member, is likely to vote on Friday on a draft resolution that would condemn Russia for invading ukraine and require Moscow to immediately and unconditionally withdraw, a senior us administration official said.

Russia is expected to veto the step, but Washington sees the vote as a chance to try and isolate Moscow, seeking at

least 13 votes in favour and an abstention

by Russia’s partner — China. india has so far avoided condemning Russian actions in ukraine, although indian Prime Minister narendra Modi did urge an end to violence there in a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Biden said Putin would be a pariah on the international stage as a result of his attack on ukraine and “any nation that countenances Russia’s naked aggression against ukraine will be stained by association.” asked if india was fully in sync with the united states, he said: “We’re in consultation with india today.

We haven’t resolved that completely.” in a statement, the us state Department said us secretary of state antony Blinken spoke with indian Foreign Minister subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Thursday and “stressed the importance of a strong collective response to condemn Russia’s invasion and call for an immediate withdrawal and ceasefire”. in a tweet, Jaishankar said he discussed the implications of developments in ukraine with Blinken, without disclosing further details about the call.

Jaishankar also said he had spoken to his Russian counterpart sergey

Lavrov and “underlined that dialogue and diplomacy are the best way forward”.

Delhi has upset Washington with its purchase of Russia’s s-400 air defence system, putting it at risk of us sanctions under a 2017 us law aimed at deterring countries from buying Russian military hardware. in December, Russia and india signed more trade and arms deals during a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin, including one that will see india produce more than 600,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles.

While there have been calls in Congress to exempt india from sanctions, some analysts say Russia’s actions in ukraine could bring increased pressure for sanctions from Russia hawks in the administration. any sanctions could jeopardise us cooperation with Delhi in the Quad forum with Japan and australia aimed at pushing back against China’s expanding influence.

The White House did not immediately respond when asked to elaborate on Biden’s comment and a state Department spokesperson said: “We are continuing to consult with our indian counterparts on a collective response to Russia’s invasion of ukraine.”

Former top stock exchange executive promoted on Himalayan yogi’s advice arrested in India AFP a former top indian stock exchange executive promoted to a highly paid job on the advice of a Himalayan mystic who may not even exist has been arrested in a bizarre corporate scandal. anand subramanian was appointed chief operating officer of the national stock Exchange (nsE) in 2015 by then CEO Chitra Ramkrishna — a high-flying woman executive feted as the “queen of the bourse” — who allegedly took business advice from a “yogi” she met by the River Ganges.

The female chief quit in 2016 after allegations surfaced of market manipulation, and a 190-page report released by regulators this month revealed damning details of how she shared sensitive information with the spiritual adviser.

On Thursday night, her former protégé subramanian was detained by officials in the southern city of Chennai in connection with a probe by regulators. “a Central Bureau of investigation (CBi) team arrested anand subramanian from his Chennai home late last night,” a senior officer with the CBi, india’s equivalent of the FBi, confirmed to aFP on Friday.

Ramkrishna, 59, was grilled for 12 hours last week by investigators but has so far not been detained. in a bizarre twist to the case, CBi officials believe the yogi, whose identity remains unknown, may have been subramanian himself either manipulating Ramkrishna or acting in league with her as part of a scam. “(The yogi) would manifest at will and i did not have any locational coordinates,” Ramkrishna told the indian markets regulator. “accordingly, he gave me an (email) iD to which i could send my requests.” indians often consult astrologers and spiritual leaders and the business world is no exception in the highly religious nation of 1.4 billion people.

Ramkrishna hired subramanian in 2013 and later promoted him to chief operating officer on an astro-

nomical salary — despite him having no relevant experience — before he resigned in 2016 after the allegations of irregularities surfaced. investigators allege brokers were given preferential access to one of the world’s largest derivatives exchanges.

Emails uncovered in the probe show the yogi proposed meetings in the seychelles, one of several tax

havens including singapore and Mauritius where investigators are probing possible tax evasion. a special lift was reserved for subramanian and Ramkrishna at the nsE and a dedicated team ensured he had separate hand towels and soap dispensers in the toilet, according to press reports.

Both former executives are barred by authorities from leaving india.

Saturday, 26 February, 2022 | KARACHI

SPORTS 11

HBL PSL: LAHOre QALAnDArS DOwn ISLAmABAD UnIteD tO reAcH fInAL

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NEWS DESK

AHORE Qalandars on Friday beat Islamabad United by six runs to reach the final of the HBL Pakistan Super League 2022 in Lahore. While chasing the target, Pual Sterling, who returned to his franchise after a national duty, smacked Shaheen Shah Afridi for 14 runs in the first over. But Shaheen roared back brilliantly in the third over as he dismissed him as well as Will Jacks with Haris Rauf taking catches on both occasions.

Shadab Khan was also dismissed for 14, and Liam Dawson was also sent packing for 12 runs. At this point, Lahore was in the driver's seat having put United under the pump.

But after that, Azam Khan and Alex Hales forged a brilliant 79-run partnership which brought United back into the game. They both played sensibly as they were hitting boundaries as well as rotating the strike and it looked like the game was in United's pocket.

But an unbelievable fielding effort brought Lahore back into the game when

Hales cut the ball and tried to take a single and Rauf's brilliant direct hit sent Azam back for 40 runs off 28 balls with two sixes and three fours.

Hales was also removed just after Azam when Kamran Ghulam took a great jumping catch of Rauf's bowling who was right on the money in today's game.

The topsy-turvy match also took another turn when Asif Ali got the reprieve as Shaheen dismissed him but overstepped. Asif then hit a six to bring the game closer and was dismissed by Rauf for 25 runs when United were eight runs behind.

In the last over, eight runs were required with Wasim on strike, and David Wiese held his nerves. Wasim was run out and Waqas was caught at the boundary as Wiese picked the last wicket to take Lahore to the final as the heart-wrenching clash came to an end.

In terms of bowling for Lahore, Rauf was brilliant with figures of 2-31 in four overs, Shaheen took 2-32 in four overs, while Zaman also took two and Wiese one.

Earlier, David Wiese's three sixes and

one four in the last over have helped Lahore Qalandars post a fighting 168-run total in the do-or-die eliminator two.

Lahore after deciding to bat first, got off to the bad start as the in-form Fakhar Zaman was removed by Liam Dawson who bowled a brilliant new-ball spell.

After that, Abdullah with Kamran Ghulam forged a crucial 73-run stand for the third wicket to steer the inning against a good bowling attack of United.

Ghulam rotated the strike to keep the scoreboard ticking, while Abdullah took the attack against the opponent bowlers as he notched three sixes and four fours in a 28 ball knock.

After Abdullah's dismissal by Waqas Masqsood, United got the dominant hand over Lahore as they made it difficult for their battles to carve out quick runs.

They also displayed brilliant fielding as Harry Brook was run-out by a brilliant throw from Muhammad Wasim, and Samit Patel was caught by Muhammad Huraira who took a brilliant running catch.

It was in the last over when Wiese went rampant against Waqas as he shamed three sixes and one four to take Lahore to a fighting total against a power-packed United batting line-up In terms of bowling, Dawson was brilliant with figures of 2-24 in four overs, Wasim also picked two, while Shadab and Waqas also picked one. teaMs:

lahore qalandars: Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Kamran Ghulam Mohammad Hafeez, Phil Salt, Harry Brook, David Wiese, Samit Patel, Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan. islaMaBad united: Will Jacks, Alex Hales, Paul Stirling, Shadab Khan (captain), Azam Khan, Asif Ali, Liam Dawson, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Hasan Ali, Athar Mahmood, Waqas Maqsood.

Erwee’s maiden century puts South Africa in solid position AFP

Liton ton gives Bangladesh ODI series win over Afghanistan

A bold call by South Africa to bat first in the second Test against New Zealand paid dividends as the visitors managed to score 238-3, thanks to Sarel Erwee’s maiden century, on day one in Christchurch.

Erwee, in his second Test, headlined the scoreboard with 108, with 42 from Aiden Markram and 41 from Dean Elgar. Not out were Temba Bavuma on 22 and Rassie van der Dussen on 13.

South Africa were 163 for one at tea before New Zealand claimed two wickets in the final session.

Erwee, who at 32 is a late arrival in the Test arena, started cautiously before opening up as a fine strokemaker with 14 fours from the 221 deliveries he faced. He shared partnerships of 111 with Elgar and 88 with Markram but when Markram was dismissed Erwee too followed three balls later. The Proteas, trounced in the first Test and needing to win to save the series, surprised everyone when they won the toss and elected to bat at Hagley oval

where the customary green-tinged wicket favours seamers on the opening day.

Elgar, the first captain to win the toss and not bowl in the 11-Test history at the Oval, justified his decision by saying he wanted his batters to “front up” after they folded for innings of 95 and 111 in the first Test. He managed scores of one and nought, and Erwee 10 and nought in that Test and the pair responded positively in the second which began with Elgar sending the first ball of the day to the boundary.

The surface was not as green as in the first Test and new ball bowlers Tim Southee and Matt Henry could not get the same movement through the air and off the surface. It saw Elgar and Elwee post South Africa’s first century opening stand in 16 innings, and first away from home in a decade.

While conditions were favourable for batting there was some assistance for the bowlers with Southee getting one delivery to swing sharply into Elgar then nip away to take the off-stump. Other chances created by the bowlers tended to

find an edge and fall short of the slip cordon until a brief period after tea.

Markram looked set on 42 when he was lulled into a drive by Neil Wagner and nicked the off-cutter to Daryl Mitchell at first slip. In the following

over, Erwee’s attempt to drive Henry was edged to wicketkeeper Tom Blundell.

New Zealand had 10 overs with the new ball with several unsuccessful appeals for lbw and Rassie van der Dussen was also dropped on seven.

AFP Chittagong: Liton Das struck a hundred and shared a record 202-run stand with Mushfiqur Rahim to set up an 88-run win for Bangladesh in the second oneday international against Afghanistan in Chittagong on Friday. Liton’s 136 off 126 balls guided the hosts to 306-4 at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, before they bowled out the visitors for 218 to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Mushfiqur hit 86 off 93 balls to play his part before Taskin Ahmed (2-31) and Shakib Al Hasan (2-38) combined with other bowlers to wrap up the Afghanistan innings in 45.1 overs. Afghanistan lost their first three wickets cheaply and were facing humiliation at 34-3 before Najibullah Zadran (54) and Rahmat Shah (52) lifted them with an 89-run stand for the fourth wicket. But Taskin bowled Shah to break the partnership and then dismissed Zadran to put Bangladesh firmly in control. Bangladesh had been in early trouble, when they opted to bat only for left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi to trap Tamim Iqbal leg-before for 12 and Rashid Khan to get rid of Shakib (20) off his second ball.

But liton and Mushfiqur steadied the shiP: Liton brought up his fifth ODI century with a four off Rashid and hit 16 fours and two sixes in his innings. Fareed Ahmad dismissed Liton and Mushfiqur off successive deliveries but not before they surpassed Bangladesh’s previous highest third-wicket ODI partnership of 176 runs, set by Tamim and Mushfiqur against Pakistan in 2015.

“The partnership Liton and Mushy created was amazing,” said Bangladesh captain Tamim.

“Though we did not finish well with the bat the bowlers did the job for us.” Fareed finished with 256 for Afghanistan, playing his first match in the series. “We conceded a few too many in the early overs and then that partnership between Mushy and Liton took the game away from us,” lamented Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi. It was the second Bangladesh partnership record of the series, after a seventh-wicket stand between Afif Hossain and Mehidy Hasan took them to a four-wicket victory in the first match on Wednesday. The third and final match of the series will be held on Monday at the same ground.

Australia ‘comfortable’ with security on eve of Pakistan tour AFP Australian Test skipper Pat Cummins said on Friday his team were “comfortable” with security arrangements and excited by what lies ahead, as Australia prepare to jet into Pakistan on their first tour since 1998.

They are due to leave over the weekend ahead of the first of three Tests in Rawalpindi on March 4 — giving them less than a week to acclimatise and without any warm-up matches.

It will be followed by Tests in Karachi and Lahore before three ODIs and a single Twenty20, all in Rawalpindi.

“We’ve got to a place where everyone hopping on the plane is comfortable with where it’s all sitting. It’s been a really thorough body of work that the security and the logistics teams have worked through,” Cummins said.

“And obviously the added layer of bio-security in these times as well. So we’re feeling really good and once we get over there, we’re going to be able to just concentrate on the cricket.

“More than anything it’s a really special tour,” he added. “We’re going to fly over there and experience something for the first time. We’re really excited, everyone is in a good place.”

Cricket-mad Pakistan endured a long spell without a visit from an international team following a terror attack on a bus carrying the Sri Lankan side in Lahore in 2009. Pakistan were forced to play home international matches abroad — mostly in the United Arab Emirates — until 2015, when normal service tentatively resumed.

But concerns surfaced again last year when New Zealand quit their first tour to the country in 18 years shortly before the opening match was due to start following a security alert.

Australia head into the series on the back of a 4-0 Ashes thumping of England over the home summer, with the starting XI for Rawalpindi expected to be much the same.

Usman Khawaja — who was born in Pakistan — is set to partner David Warner at the top of the order ahead of Marcus Harris, who was dropped during the Ashes.

Cummins confirmed Steve Smith had recovered from a concussion during their recent Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka and will retain his place.

Otherwise, the side is set to mirror the one that faced England in the fifth Test last month — with Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitch Starc providing pace and Nathan Lyon spin.

Balanced side: However, interim coach Andrew McDonald — in charge after Justin Langer quit after the Ashes — admitted there had been “educated guesses” of how the pitches would play with two extra spinners in Mitchell Swepson and Ashton Agar also in the squad.

“So we’re covering all bases there, from turning wickets to potentially wickets with grass on (them),” he said.

“But we feel the squad’s balanced and there’s enough options for whatever the case may be when we land on the ground.”

The squad has spent the past few days at the Melbourne Cricket Ground preparing, with a spin net set up and the pacemen practising reverse swing, both of which will likely be a factor on the sub-continent.

“We don’t really know what to expect over there, sub-continent Test matches can be played slowly or quickly,” said Cummins.

“For a lot of this group, we haven’t played a lot of cricket overseas but if we want to be number one in the world we have got to have a really good showing on these sub-continent tours.”

Meanwhile, according to a news outlet, Pakistan finalised its security arrangements for the tour and the authorities decided to seek help from the Pakistan army to provide high-level security to the visiting team.

All shopping malls and markets in the vicinity of the stadium will remain closed while mobile services will be suspended in certain areas during the movement of the teams, besides deployment of 4,000 police personnel at various locations.

PcB Puts uP tickets on sale: Moreover, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) started the online sale of the tickets for the series. Cricket enthusiasts can log on to https://pcb.bookme.pk/ or can purchase tickets from their nearest M&P Courier outlets.

All ticket-holders will have to display their Covid immunisation certificates and CNIC at the time of entering the venues.

In the first phase, the PCB released 50 percent of the tickets with further tickets to be made available online and at the nearest M&P Courier outlets after further guidance from the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).

Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (captain), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.

Australia ODI and T20 squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa.

Saturday, 26 February, 2022

PRayeR timiNgs

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FAJR SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

5:49

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FO urges Pakistani students in ukraine tO reach ternOPil FOr evacuatiOn

t

HE Foreign Office (FO) on Friday urged all Pakistani students in Ukraine to reach the city of Ternopil as early as possible for evacuation.

FO spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said in a statement that the Pakistan embassy in Ternopil was fully functional from February 25 (today).

“A focal person of the Pakistan embassy is also available for facilitation of Pakistani students in Kyiv,” he said, also providing a cell phone number (+380681734727).

The FO also provided the contact details of the focal person in Ternopil, Dr Shahzad Najam. Pakistanis in Ukraine can contact him on the following numbers: +380632288874, +380979335992.

“Trains are functioning and tickets are available from Kharkiv to Lviv/ Ternopil. In cities where public transport is not available at the moment, all students are informed that [the] embassy has tasked concerned Honorary Education Consultant for arranging transportation and bringing students to Ternopil,” the statement said.

In this regard, the embassy in Ukraine issued a statement that all Pakistanis in the

country were safe and that it was in the process of reaching out to them to “assure their well-being and evacuation”.

“The capital city, Kyiv, is under attack and Ambassador Dr Noel I. Khokhar has advised all students to follow the guidelines so that they may be transported to Ternopil for onward evacuation,” it said, adding that a facilitation centre had been made at Ternopil and a reception point had been setup at the Lviv railway station.

“Pakistani students will be evacuated to

Poland,” the embassy said. In the handout, it also said that it was in close contact with other Pakistan embassies in Poland, Romania and Hungary.

“All these missions have been directed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad, to facilitate all Pakistani students coming from Ukraine.”

The name and the contact details for the focal person of the embassy in Poland was also provided to facilitate border crossing: Trade and Investment Counsellor Zahid,

who can be contacted at +48668059876.

“The embassy has already gathered 35 Pakistani students in Ternopil and soon they will be evacuated. Other Pakistani students are being transported to Ternopil and will be evacuated at the earliest.”

The embassy urged students in Ukraine to keep in touch with the focal persons so that they could be evacuated as soon as possible.

PIA AIrPlAne to evAcuAte PAkIstAnI students: Meanwhile, the government announced that a special national flag carrier airplane will be sent to evacuate stranded Pakistani students from Ukraine.

PIA chief Air Marshal (r) Arshad Malik talked to Khokhar and discussed different options to evacuate the Pakistani students stranded there due to the prevailing situation.

Malik, in a tweet, said currently the airspace of Ukraine is closed but various options are being worked out for safe evacuation of the Pakistani students. He expressed confidence to find ‘a way’ in that regard and the national flag carrier is just a call away to carry out the airlift operation.

Politicians in Pakistan also called for the

speedy evacuation of citizens in Ukraine as reports emerged that they were stranded without any means of leaving.

In videos circulating online, students claimed that the embassy was not responding to their concerns and urged the government to make arrangements for their evacuation.

PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz questioned whether anyone was listening to the pleas of Pakistani students stranded in Ukraine waiting to be evacuated.

PPP Senator Sherry Rehman said that students and citizens in Ukraine needed to evacuated without delay.

“Other countries have responded with speed; our missions there need to act fast to run special flights home. An embassy’s first responsibility is to nationals in distress so please prioritise,” she said.

It is pertinent to note that the statement comes as Russia unleashes airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending in troops and tanks from three sides, while moving forward with its invasion of Ukraine, In lieu of the attacks in Kyiv, Pakistan’s embassy has been moved to Ternopil in western Ukraine. News Desk

Pak Army promotes two Hindu officers to rank of Lt Colonel

Two Hindu officers belonging to the Hindu minority community to the rank of lieutenant colonel by the Pakistan Army, on Friday.

Major Dr Anil Kumar aged around 40 years is a resident of Sindh’s Badin district and got commission in the army in 2007.

Born in 1981, Major Dr Kailash Kumar hailing from Sindh’s Tharparkar district commissioned in the army in 2008.

Both the officers have been promoted to the rank of lieu-

tenant colonel.

Pakistan Hindu Council (PHC) chief Dr Ramesh Kumar, while reacting to the development, wrote on his official Twitter handle: “Heartiest congratulation to promotion of 2 Hindu Officers to Lt. Colonel Rank.”

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army chief expressed these remarks during a visit to Nagarparkar, Sindh’s Tharparker district, where he spent the day with troops and was also briefed

by the local commander on operational readiness of the formation.

While interacting with troops, the ISPR said, General Qamar appreciated their state of morale and motivation for fulfilment of the assigned mission. It is pertinent to note that earlier in February, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa had said that monitories in Pakistan are equal citizens and it is the job of the state to protect them, the military had said in a statement. News Desk

Ukraine says ready for talks with Russia on neutral status Ukraine wants peace and is ready for talks with Russia, including on neutral status regarding the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato), Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters on Friday.

"If talks are possible, they should be held. If in Moscow they say they want to hold talks, including on neutral status, we are not afraid of this," he said via a text message. "We can talk about that as well."

"Our readiness for dialogue is part of our persistent pursuit of peace."

Ukraine currently is not part of Nato or the European Union, though it wants to join both, anathema to its former overlord Moscow.

The statement from Podolyak comes after the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to send a delegation to Minsk for negotiations with the representatives of Ukraine.

The development followed a phone call between Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who conveyed China's support to Moscow in its efforts to resolve the Ukraine crisis via dialogue.

According to a statement on the Chinese foreign ministry's website, Xi called for all sides to abandon a Cold War mentality, respect the legitimate security concerns of all countries, and form a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism through negotiation.

Xi said China respects the sovereignty and territo-

rial integrity of all countries.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said Xi respected Russia's actions and was ready for close coordination and mutual support at the United Nations, where both are veto-holding permanent members of the Security Council.

According to the Kremlin, Putin told Xi that Russia's military operation in Ukraine was necessary to protect people against “genocide”, an accusation that the West calls baseless propaganda.

Putin also communicated to Xi that the US and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation had long ignored Russia's legitimate security concerns, repeatedly reneged on their commitments, and continued to expand military deployment eastward, challenging Russia's strategic bottom line, according to the statement on Chinese foreign ministry's website.

Russia is willing to conduct high-level negotiations with Ukraine, the statement quoted Putin as saying.

However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made the talks conditional to Ukraine's military laying down its arms.

He said that Moscow did not want "neo-Nazis" to govern Ukraine.

Russia launched its operation on land, air and sea on Thursday following a declaration of war by President Vladimir Putin.

China has refused to call Russia's action in Ukraine an "invasion" or criticise Moscow. ReuteRs

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