Epaper – January 25-2022 LHR

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Tuesday, 25 January, 2022 I 21 Jamadi-al-Sani, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 208 I 12 Pages I Lahore Edition

‘Poor performance’: Accountability czar Shahzad Akbar tenders resignation g

pm khAn wAs unhAppy with AkbAr's 'poor performAnce': sources

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IsLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

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irzA shahzad Akbar, adviser to the prime minister on accountability and interior, presented his resignation to imran khan, he announced monday. in a tweet he sent out to announce his decision, Akbar said he would, however, “remain associated” with the ruling pakistan tehreek-iinsaf (pti). “i sincerely hope the process of accountability continues under the leadership of pm imran as per the pti’s manifesto. i will remain associated with the party and keep contributing as a member of the legal fraternity,” he wrote. special Assistant to the prime minister on political communication, dr shahbaz Gill has said shahzad Akbar’s decision to quit was aimed at giving full time to his profession. he claimed this in a tweet reacting to the decision of the Advisor to pm on Accountability and interior who announced to resign on monday. however, shahzad Akbar would continue to participate in the party activities and we wished him all the best for his new journey, Gill added.

PM KhAN uNhAPPy wITh AKbAR: however, sources within the ruling pakistan tehreek-einsaf (pti) assert that shahzad was directed by prime minister imran khan to submit resignation due to his failure to get the accountability cases proved against top opposition figures, especially leader of the opposition shehbaz sharif. the sources said that around a week ago, pm khan had expressed his dissatis-

faction over Akbar’s performance at a meeting at the prime minister’s office. “pm imran khan was unhappy with Akbar over what has been described as ‘slow pace’ of trials in mega corruption cases. pm expressed his annoyance to the advisor over more than one occasion,” a source said. the source said that the prime minister had said that those who had been indicted in corruption cases worth billions of dollars are portraying themselves as innocent and open-and-shut cases were being delayed due to poor prosecution. the prime minister is looking for Akbar’s replacement and has conducted interviews of some candidates including nAb’s deputy prosecutor hasnain Asghar and Advocate Azhar siddique as possible replacement for Akbar.

CoronAviruS in

PAkiStAn

CONFIRMED CASES:

1,374,800

LAST UPDATED AT 7:44 AM ON JANUARY 24, 2022

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

NEW CASES:

8

7,195

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

1,269,078 29,105 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

526,899

464,431

KPK:

BALOCHISTAN:

185,340

33,941

AJK/GB:

ISLAMABAD:

35,400/10,497

118,292

AkbAr’s replAcement on the cArds

the sources said that the pm was also unhappy over the fact that inordinate delays in signing the extradition treaty with the united kingdom to help getting nawaz sharif extradited back to pakistan. pm was irked at the lack of progress on the issue even after four years, the sources added.

‘ShAdy ROLE’ IN MALIK RIAz, NCA SETTLEMENT CASE: shahzad Akbar was also alleged for his shady role in facilitating a deal between property tycoon malik riaz and uk-based national crime Agency (ncA). the settlement included 1 hyde park place, a £50m property, owned by nawaz sharif’s son hassan nawaz. the irony of the situation is that prime minister imran khan has been fighting to prove corruption of the same sharif family.

Akbar, a lawyer and legal adviser, was appointed as the special Assistant to the prime minister on Accountability, in August 2018, two years before he was made adviser to khan with the same portfolio. he is a former deputy prosecutor for the national Accountability bureau (nAb) and played a key role in cases of money laundering related to the 2016 panama papers against members of the sharif family in which then-prime minister nawaz sharif was convicted in 2017. he is also the founder, legal director and a trustee of the foundation for fundamental rights, an organisation that works “towards the advancement, protection and enforcement of fundamental human rights”. between 2011 and 2016, he represented a hundred families of civilians killed by drone strikes carried out by us forces for more than a decade.

AGP asks Shehbaz to provide Nawaz’s medical reports within 10 days to avoid legal action News Desk the pakistan muslim leaguenawaz (pml-n) president shehbaz sharif has been asked by the Attorney General of pakistan on tuesday to provide medical reports of his elder brother former pm nawaz sharif within 10 days to avoid legal action. the AGp office, in a letter stated that as per the undertaking given by shehbaz to the lahore high court (lhc), he was supposed to provide regular “duly notarised” medical reports of his brother to the court. “pursuant to the order in terms of the undertaking, eight documents claiming to be periodical medical reports in respect of mian mohammad nawaz sharif were filed with the registrar of the court. last available report date 8.7.2021 was filed vide letter dated 3.8.2021,” the letter reads. it is a pertinent to note that a special board formed by the punjab government to examine these reports observed that the aforementioned reports didn’t provide “any information about his [nawaz] current clinical evaluation, blood reports, imaging

Ayesha Malik takes oath as fist woman Supreme Court judge IsLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

lahore high court (lhc) judge Justice Ayesha A. malik on monday took oath after her elevation to the supreme court, becoming the nation’s first female judge to sit on the apex court, radio pakistan reported. chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, who had nominated her for elevation, administered the oath to malik at a ceremony organised in islamabad for the purpose. in a brief interaction with the press following the ceremony, Ahmed said malik was competent enough to become a justice of the supreme court, adding that no person deserved any credit for her elevation. but when asked if malik was considered for the promotion for being a woman or her standing as a judge of the high court, the top judge said: “woman”. for months, the elevation of malik, 55, to the top court was intensely debated, and fiercely opposed, as many said it went against the principle of seniority since she was the fourth most senior judge of the high court. those in favour of her eleva-

results and any interventional procedures so far,” the letter added. “this is evident… that you have not fulfilled your obligation to provide periodical medical reports…per your solemn undertaking…you are, therefore, prima facie, in violation of your undertaking and order passed by the lahore high court dated 16-11-2019.” “before initiating appropriate proceedings before the lhc for breach of undertaking and the order of the court, it is deemed appropriate that this letter is addressed to you for providing the medical reports as stated in the letter of the special medical board within a period of ten days of the receipt of this letter.” it further said that the medical board could not give its advice in light of the incomplete information provided by shehbaz. it merits mention that the AGp office also warned that the office will be “constrained to initiate proceedings for breach of undertaking and violation of the order of the court in terms Article 204” read with section 3 of the contempt of court ordinance, 2003.

MORE INSIDE

Ombudsman intervenes to release Rs36mn in frozen scholarships STORY ON PAGE 02

tion pointed out that seniority was not a requirement for appointment to the apex court according to the constitution and that pakistan’s judicial history is full of instances of male judges from high courts being elevated without consideration to seniority. subsequently, on January 6, the nine-member Judicial commission of pakistan (Jcp) confirmed malik’s nomination by a majority of five to four. though historic, the move was divisive. the Jcp had turned down her elevation to the top court last year, and the repeat vote was close. but the development has been widely praised by lawyers and civil society activists as a defining moment in the struggle for gender

equality in pakistan. days later, the parliamentary committee on the Appointment of superior Judiciary affirmed her appointment.

And finally, on friday, president Arif Alvi approved the appointment and notified malik was as a judge of the supreme court. “in exercise of powers conferred by clause (1) of Article 177 of the constitution of the islamic republic of pakistan, the president is pleased to appoint mrs Ayesha A. malik, a judge of the lahore high court, […] as a judge of the supreme court of pakistan with effect from the date she takes the oath of her office,” the notification read.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

neprA reserves decision on rs0.95 per unit power tariff hike STORY ON PAGE 03

Pakistan values its relations with Morocco: COAS STORY ON BACK PAGE

pakistan to share draft of extradition treaty with uk STORY ON BACK PAGE

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Tuesday, 25 January, 2022 | LAHORE

NEWS

OmbudSman interveneS tO reLeaSe rS36mn in frOzen SchOLarShipS LAHORE

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Staff RepoRt

S a result of efforts put forth by Ombudsman Punjab retired Major Azam Suleman Khan, 498 students from different districts have been paid Talent Scholarships amounting to Rs35 million by the offices of Mines Labor Welfare Commissioner and Punjab Workers Welfare Board to help continue their studies.

While giving details in a statement issued on Monday, a spokesman of the office

of Ombudsman explained that Talent Scholarships are awarded to children of industrial and mines workers every year for studies.

However, the same was delayed due to some reasons, and complainants — Mehr Zameen, Nadia ul Nisa, and Mohammad Hamza Khan — approached the ombudsman office for the release of the scholarships, he added.

With a view to helping the students to continue their studies, Ombudsman Khan directed the line departments to expedite the process and further directed that the system

of disbursement of educational stipends be fully digitized with the technical assistance of the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) so that the process may not be entangled and students may be saved from any difficulty in timely payment of their fees.

While appreciating the prompt response and cooperation of Punjab Mines and Labor Welfare Commissioner Riaz Ahmed Chaudhry in the issuance of stipends, the spokesman said the beneficiary students have thanked the ombudsman office for resolving their issue.

Smart quarantine in Karachi South neighbourhoods after Omicron spike KARACHI Staff RepoRt

bails of nasla tower owner, Sbca official extended KARACHI

Health authorities in Sindh on Monday enforced a smart quarantine in several neighbourhoods of Karachi South amid a sharp rise in Omicron infections.

A notification issued by the district administration said multiple neighbourhoods of Garden, Saddar Town and Civil Lines will remain under lockdown.

“Unnecessary movement shall be restricted. No gathering of three or more persons shall be allowed in public spaces,” it said.

“The lockdown shall remain until active cases in these neighbourhoods come down. All businesses shall ensure Covid-19 guidelines are followed in letter and spirit.”

402 cases of Omicron variant have been reported in Karachi South so far, including the highest number of infections in the Garden neighbourhood.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus positivity rate in the provincial capital Karachi inched down to 37.3 percent after 3,150 new cases surfaced in the last 24 hours.

INp

A district and sessions court in Karachi on Monday extended until January 26 the interim pre-arrest bail of the owner of Nasla Tower and an official of the Master Plan department at the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) in a case pertaining to approving the building of the illegal structure. The tower is a 15-storey residential building which the top court in October directed to demolish for encroaching on the land reserved for a service road. Abdul Qadir, the owner, Wilayat Ali Data, an additional director in the Master Plan department, former administrator of Sindhi Muslim Cooperative Housing Society (SMCHS), and officers from the SBCA have been booked in the case. Karachi (East) District and Sessions Judge Khalid Hussain Shahani had granted interim bail to the two against surety bonds of Rs1 million each. He extended the bail period Monday as the petitions came up.

two fishermen drown, 10 missing after boats sink MOnItORIng REpORt Three fishing boats sank off Keti Bandar’s coast in stormy weather, drowning at least two fishermen and causing 10 others to go missing, as navy and maritime security vessels rescued 32 fishermen, a district official said late Sunday. The boats sank in the Arabian Sea near the coastal town in the Thatta District. A search-andrescue operation was begun with the help of navy and maritime security boats, said Thatta Deputy Commissioner Ghazanfar Qadri. He said the fishing boats were out to sea when the weather forced them to return but three boats carrying 44 crewmembers sank in high winds and rough waters. Rescue teams were sent to bring back some of the fishermen who took shelter on small islands but two of them drowned attempting to swim to the coast, Qadri said. He said the search-andrescue operation will continue until all the missing fishermen are located. Local fishing boats are typically not well equipped with modern navigation gear and safety equipment. Many fishermen ignore weather warnings and take other risks to land a good catch.

Islamabad, Moscow discuss Putin’s visit to Pakistan: report ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Pakistan and Russia are working together to finalise the maiden visit of President Vladimir Putin to Islamabad later this year, a report said, quoting diplomatic sources.

“The visit of the Russian president was being discussed by the two sides for the last two years but could not materialise because of a variety of reasons including the Covid-19 pandemic,” The Express Tribune said.

The Tribune further said Prime Minister Imran Khan is expected to meet Putin on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics in Beijing next month where he would “personally extend the invitation to President Putin”.

According to the report, Moscow wants there must be “big-ticket projects” or other initiatives that the Russian president would announce when he undertakes the trip.

Last year, Pakistan and Russia had signed an agreement for the construction of a 1,100 km natural gas pipeline from Port Qasim in Karachi to Lahore.

“With the signing of the Pakistan Steam Gas Pipeline agreement, the prospects of Putin visiting Pakistan have brightened significantly,” the report said.

“Pakistan is keen that President Putin inaugurates the groundbreaking of the multibillion-dollar gas pipeline project, which might kick off later this year.”

Pakistan’s increased diplomatic engagements with Russia are understood to be part of the government’s quest to diversify its foreign policy.

In April 2018, General Qamar Javed Bajwa became the third consecutive army chief to visit Moscow. His trip resulted in the setting up of a Joint Military Commission between the two

countries.

In return, Russia is also increasing diplomatic efforts to revive ties with Pakistan through the $2.5 billion project while offering to bolster anti-terrorism support.

Moscow has also agreed to sell helicopters to Islamabad, lifting its decades-old arms embargo against Pakistan.

Analysts see the moves as a bid to acquire a new energy market to offset declining business from the West and to increase regional heft as the US deepens ties with India after its withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Treasury, opposition lock horns in Senate over PM’s speech ISLAMABAD NewS DeSk

The treasury and the opposition benches engaged in a verbal clash in the Senate on Tuesday over prime minister’s recent statement as well as the rising incidents of terrorism in the country.

The opposition raised slogans during the session presided over by Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani. At one point they staged a walkout against the remarks of the leader of the house, Dr Shehzad Waseem.

Taking the floor, Senator Sherry Rehman

of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) criticised the government, saying that it talked about national security on the one hand, but on the other, Prime Minister Imran Khan was threatening the opposition.

She said that uncertainly prevailed in the country. “The prime minister says that I will climb on the container,” she said. “There is talk of presidential system. This would be catastrophic for the country. The Opposition should bring privilege motion against the prime minister,” she added.

Responding to her speech, Dr Shehzad Waseem said that the government had

nothing to do with the talk about presidential system. He mocked the opposition, saying that “who would threaten an inept opposition?” He added that the prime minister just held up mirror to the opposition. At this the opposition started loud protests and later staged a walkout from the proceedings. They returned to the house after Senator Shibli Faraz and Senator Fida Mohammad went to them and asked them to join the proceedings.

Senator Raza Rabbani of the PPP moved a motion to discuss the rising incidents of terrorism in the country. Rabbani said that

these incidents of terrorism would continue until the state discussed its root causes.

Kamran Murtaza said that policymaking should be done by elected people.

Nazir Tarar said that the prime minister has no authority to say what kind of opposition he liked. “We condemn the prime minister’s statement,” he added. “The scourge of terrorism is rising again but the government is using its energies to suppress the opponents.”

Condemning terrorism in Lahore, Senator Abida Azeem said that terrorism was an old problem. Senator Mushtaq Ahmed

Seven junior judges contract coronavirus in Lahore LAHORE Staff RepoRt

The institution of the judiciary has become the latest victim of the coronavirus as seven more judges of district and sessions, and civil courts tested positive for the pandemic in Lahore on Monday. The judges have isolated themselves in their respective homes, it was learnt. The infected include Additional District and Sessions Judges Kashif Qayyum, Muhammad Rizwan, Mian Mudassar Umar, Samina Hayat; Model Town Katchehry Judicial Magistrate Haris Munir, and civil judges Muhammad Anwar and Saba Qamar. The staff of the infected judges has been directed to test themselves for coronavirus. Separately, all judges, lawyers and judicial officials have also been ordered to follow the health guidelines. The latest wave of the pandemic fueled by the Omicron variant of the disease is preying hard on the judiciary. As many as 27 judges of the lower judiciary in Islamabad and Lahore and nearly 60 members of the judicial staff have tested positive for the viral disease since late last year.

said that terror incidents were taking place in Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi and people’s lives and properties were not safe.

Sadia Abbasi said that two operations, titled Zarb-e-Azb and Raddul Fasad were launched to eradicate terrorism from the country. She also criticised the government for starting talks with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Afnanullah Khan of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said that the government should work to stop terrorism. He warned that if timely action was not taken the situation might deteriorate.

Maulana Atta-ur-Rehman criticised the statement of the prime minister. “We must analyse terrorism in the country without any discrimination. Where did this terrorism come from?” Rehman inquired.

Tuesday, 25 January, 2022 | LAHORE

nepra reServeS deciSiOn On rS0.95 per unit pOwer tariff hike

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AHMAD AHMADAnI

ATIONAL Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has reserved its judgement on the proposed hike of Rs0.95 per unit in the power tariff, and announced to issue a detailed decision on the matter after scrutiny of the submitted facts.

NEPRA conducted a hearing today regarding the power tariff hike, to be implemented at the start of February.

NEPRA Chairman Tauseef Farooqi said that the provision of subsidy was the mandate of the government and NEPRA’s role is limited only to determine the electricity tariff. He said that the power division of the Ministry of Energy had devised the subsidy reform programme which was approved by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet.

Farooqi said that the subsidy reform programme will be implemented after

getting NEPRA’s approval in three phases, while the first phase was made applicable from October 2021. He said that the government, in the first part of the second phase, was reducing the subsidy and removing one-slab benefit of cheaper rate, besides an increase in the applicable tariff of unprotected

consumers category of the power consumers.

There will be no increase in the tariff of the protected category of the consumers, he said. “Subsidy worth Rs20 billion will be reduced with effect to the proposed hike in the power tariff,” the NEPRA chairman said.

Farooqi said that the government had been providing Rs238 billion worth of subsidy to the power consumers.

Non-protected consumers category was being given Rs 197 billion worth of subsidy whereas protected consumers were receiving Rs38 billion worth of subsidy.

“The government is reducing Rs20 billion worth of subsidy for power consumers,” he added.

According to details, the government had been reducing the electricity subsidies as part of the understanding reached with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.(IMF).

The ECC, after deliberation, had already approved the summary presented by Ministry of Energy on Re-targeting of Power Sector Subsidies – Phase –II, which included removal of one slab benefit (incremental block tariff) and incorporation of revised subsidy and inter-distribution companies tariff rationalisation.

Asim Rauf likely to be next DRAP chief AHMAD AHMADAnI The federal cabinet is expected to appoint Asim Rauf as the next chief executive officer (CEO) of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) for a period of three years.

Presently, Rauf has been working with DRAP as an ad hoc CEO. His appointment as DRAP chief was allowed up to December 16, 2021.

The cabinet, scheduled to meet on Tuesday, is set to consider the appointment of the DRAP CEO for a period of three years on a contractual basis.

The position fell vacant on March 17 upon the declaration of former CEO Shaikh Akhtar Hussain as void due to submission of an invalid PhD degree from a non-chartered university, not recognised by the higher education commission (HEC). An advertisement in the press was made on March 21 this year for filling the top position on a regular basis.

The applications received were reviewed by the

scrutiny committee. In the meantime, Asim Rauf was appointed as the chief executive for a period of three months after the approval of the federal cabinet.

According to sources, Rauf is a suitable choice to

continue at the top spot at DRAP as he is an honest and dedicated professional who performed well during his career and especially during the pandemic. Sources say he has removed the loopholes in the drugs pricing mechanism.

“Organising the pharmaceutical sector, introduction of the first-ever API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) policy and reduction in reliance on India and China for the availability of lifesaving drugs are some of the important achievements of Asim Rauf,” said sources.

They added that reduction in reliance on India and China for life-saving drugs has resulted in saving of remittances worth roughly $1 billion per annum.

Sources also said that earlier, an Interview Committee of the Policy Board of DRAP headed by NHSR&C ministry secretary had interviewed three shortlisted candidates on July 16, 2021. Later, the recommendations were placed before the policy board of DRAP in the 39th meeting held on December 3 last year.

Bilawal says ‘PPP will march from Karachi to Islamabad to oust govt’ pakistani rupee expected to appreciate against dollar next week MOnItORIng REpORt The Pakistani rupee is expected to improve against the dollar mainly due to inflows from exporters and the expected approval of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan, according to a media report. In the interbank market last week, Pakistani rupee lost 32 paisas to close at 176.24 to the dollar. The rupee had ended at 175.92 on January 17. A foreign exchange trader commented that due to selling of dollars from exporters, lower import payments, and the likely approval of the $6 billion IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF), the local currency is expected to appreciate. Moreover analysts view two key events taking place that will impact the prices; the central bank’s monetary policy on Monday and IMF’s executive board meeting scheduled for January 28 to consider Pakistan’s request for the completion of the sixth review and the release of $1 billion tranche. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is expected to keep the policy rate unchanged at 9.75 per cent and financial markets see no change in the monetary policy this time. According to a Tresmark report, “If the approval is granted by IMF, markets will witness a flurry of activities, including fresh bond issuance, multilateral engagements, more fiscal space generating a growth burst, expedited privatisations, relief from Financial Action Task Force (FATF), etc.” In addition, the government is expected to issue a dollar sukuk in the international markets soon. Moody’s Investor Service assigned a B3 backed senior unsecured rating to the sukuk issuance.

nEwS DESK PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday stated that the unemployment and inflation rate in the country has surged at historic levels because of the “incompetent government,” so the PPP will march from Karachi to Islamabad to oust the PTIled government “constitutionally and legally” Criticising the PTI-led government, Bilawal stated that owing to the growing inflation in the country, “farmers go to sleep on an empty stomach and they want us to solve their issues,” adding that the PPP has always had the stance that “a prosperous farmer means a prosperous country.”

The PPP chairman, while addressing a rally in Hyderabad stated that the PPP has always stayed by the poor’s side and farmers were

provided with their rights during Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s tenure.

He went on to say that the prime minister has “distributed the water throughout the country unjustly” and that the “economic slaughter of the farmers is intolerable.”

He further said: “During every budget meeting, we draw the government’s attention towards the economic policies and stress that it will result in the economic slaughter of the farmers but the government does not pay heed”.

Bilawal urged the public to rebel against the economic system to bring land reforms. Calling Imran Khan a “puppet”, he said that the country was self-sufficient during Zardari’s stint in power but has now become “helpless”.

“The only way to save the farmers and the country’s agriculture sector is to oust the PTI-led government,” he added.

Talking about PPP’s long march that is set to take place on January 27, Bilawal said that the party will march from Karachi to Islamabad to get rid of the government “constitutionally and legally.”

Bilawal assured the masses that tax will be taken from people who live in big houses and that he wants a “mayor for Hyderabad”.

He went on to state that people will not be able to fight for their rights as long as ethnic and linguistic conflicts don’t end in the country, adding that the “PPP will ensure everyone — whether they speak Sindhi, Pushto or Urdu — will not be treated unjustly”.

He went on to add that the members of the incumbent government belonging to Sindh are trying to harm their own province.

“People are aware of the PTI’s reality and those who are not faithful to their leader will not be faithful to the country either,” he added.

NEWS

03

Senate committee to take up Sbp amendment bill on January 27 SHAHzAD pARACHA The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue will take up the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Amendment Bill, 2021, on January 27, which is likely to be passed in the same sitting. The bill was introduced in the upper house of the Parliament by Senator Mohsin Aziz. The Senate chairman referred the bill to the Senate committee on Monday. The SBP bill was earlier passed by the National Assembly on January 14. A day after the SBP bill is discussed in the upper house, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) board will hold the sixth review of Pakistan, as per the schedule uploaded on IMF website.

The IMF had postponed the review on January 12 this year on the request of Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin as the government could not meet two prior conditions for the review, which include parliament’s approval of SBP Amendment Bill, 2021, and Finance Supplementary Bill, 2021. The government had managed to pass the finance bill from both houses of the parliament in the third week of January. Sources in the Ministry of Finance told Profit that the Senate panel will discuss bill they are are optimistic that the committee will pass the bill in the same sitting. “We will also approve it on the same day,” they added. Sources further said that in case there is a delay in the Senate with regards to the bill, the IMF would still be able to complete the review because the board meeting of the international lender will continue until January 31.

Swiss-pak economic ties improved despite covid-19 pandemic: ambassador AzIz BunERI Swiss Ambassador to Pakistan Benedict De Carjat Monday said that the mutual trade, commercial and economic relations between Pakistan and Switzerland improved during the last two years despite the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking to members of Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) during his visit to the chamber in Peshawar, the ambassador emphasised that there was huge potential to further strengthen bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two countries. He said that his country had given huge importance to further enhance mutual trade and economic relations with Pakistan. SCCI Acting President Imran Khan Mohmand presided over the meeting. The sitting agreed to launch joint initiatives and ventures to further cement bilateral trade, commerce and commercial cooperation between Pakistan and Switzerland. “Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) is a lucrative destination for foreign investment wherein huge potentials are available to make investment, including natural resources, mine, mineral, honey, handicraft, especially the tourism sector,” said Imran Khan Mohmand. The SCCI acting chief said that Switzerland was an important trade and investment partner of Pakistan. He underlined the need for further enhancing the commercial relations between the two countries for mutual benefit. Furthermore, he noted that foreign direct investment from Switzerland in Pakistan was very high, which was providing more than 12,000 jobs to Pakistanis. He assured the visiting diplomat to extend every cooperation and support to further enhance mutual economic and trade ties between the two countries. The Swiss ambassador said that his country was ready to cooperate with Pakistan to bring infrastructure improvement in tourism. Benedict Carjat asked the participants of the impact of the situation in Afghanistan because their businesses were attached with the ‘warravaged’ Afghanistan.

Tuesday, 25 January, 2022 | LAHORE

04 NEWS

Pakistan records unPrecedented snowfall during winter ISLAMABAD

t

Pia steward goes missing from toronto hotel KARACHI: INp

A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) steward went missing from a hotel after his arrival in Toronto, Canada on board a passenger flight from Islamabad. Informed sources said that flight steward Waqar Jadon arrived in Toronto from Islamabad via the national airline’s flight, PK-781. He along with other crew members had been staying at a hotel in the Canadian city. It was only after he didn’t report for duty on a flight back to Pakistan on Jan 23 that his colleagues got to know of his disappearance. Subsequently, the matter was brought to the notice of the airline management and Canadian immigration authorities. An official feared that the crew member might have disappeared in Canada for citizenship. Several flight attendants of the national airline have previously slipped into Canada for citizenship. A spokesperson for PIA confirmed the disappearance of the crew member saying the airline management will launch departmental proceedings against him. He added the missing steward’s family members are also being questioned about the matter. He said the steward will be sacked with all his outstanding dues to be frozen.

acquittal plea of co-suspect in couple harassment case rejected ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

In an important development in the couple’s torture and harassment case in sector e-11 of Islamabad, a court here on Monday rejected the acquittal plea filed by Umar Bilal, a co-suspect, along with main suspect Usman Mirza. Pronouncing the reserved verdict, Additional Sessions Judge Ata Rabbani said since trial in the case was now in its final stages; therefore co-suspect’s acquittal plea was rejected. Bilal had filed the application after both the victim boy and the girl had retracted their statements earlier given to the police in connection with the incident. The incident had come to light a few months ago when its video went viral, creating lot of resentment and indignation in the people, who called for tougher penalties against Usman Mirza and others involved in the torture and harassment of a couple at an apartment in Islamabad.

Staff RepoRt

He country witnessed unprecedented snowfall during the ongoing winter season as northern areas, Balochistan, Galiyat and Murree recorded low temperatures.

The snowfall in Galiyat, Murree and other upper parts of the country has stopped and down south, the cold in Karachi has intensified with the mercury dipping to the single digits on Monday.

The second spell of snow in Murree, Galiyat and other areas has stopped but the cold intensified. On Monday, the temperature of the northern areas was below -4 degrees Celsius.

Malka-e-Kohsar has received 3 feet of snow and Galyat 4 feet. On the other hand, roads have been blocked in the six districts of Azad Kashmir because of snowfall and heavy showers.

Balochistan is also experiencing snowfall and rain. This winter Quetta has seen record-breaking snowfall, according to the Met Office.

A number of tourists headed to Hanna Lake, which has frozen over.

But roads were blocked by snow.

They have now been cleared, authorities have confirmed.

Karachi’s weather today is likely to stay under the influence of chilly winds

as the temperature dropped to the single digits.

The Met Office has forecast more cold weather in the coming days along

with some light showers. Cold and dry weather is likely to prevail till January 28. On Monday, the minimum temperature on the mercury was recorded at 9

degrees Celsius with 57% humidity.

“This cold wave is likely to continue for another week,” the Met Office said.

Police recovers Saudi-returned missing family from Sialkot SIALKOT Staff RepoRt

In a dramatic development, Police Monday recovered a woman and her four children from Sialkot, who had gone missing in Narowal four days ago, from captivity besides arresting their alleged kidnapper.

Sumera Bibi told the police that she was going to see her in-laws along with her children when a man named Hanif kidnapped them and took them to Sialkot.

Meanwhile, the medical report submitted to the police has proved the victim woman’s claim that Hanif had raped her as well.

Police told the media that a DNA test of the suspect had been conducted as well in order to substantiate the rape allegation.

Pakistan Navy inducts modern frigate developed by China STAff RepORT The Pakistan Navy on Monday inducted the PNS Tughril, the first of four Type 054A/P frigates developed by China, in the Pakistan Navy Fleet, with the president of Pakistan hailing the friendship between the two countries and announcing that the Type 054A/Ps will serve to safeguard the sea routes of the China-Pakistan economic Corridor (CPeC).

The induction ceremony of the PNS Tughril multi-role frigate was held at the Pakistan Navy Dockyard in Karachi on Monday, according to a press release the Pakistan Navy sent to the Global Times on the day.

President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi said at the ceremony that the Type 054A/P project is yet another manifestation of the deep friendship with China, and the collaboration shows a time-tested brotherly fraternity that is emerging between the two countries and continues to get stronger and stronger every day, which is focused on promoting security, stability and peace.

Alvi said that he is confident that defense cooperation between China and Pakistan will continue to grow ever stronger.

Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi, the Pakistani Chief of the Naval Staff, said at the ceremony that the Type 054A/P is a potent platform, fitted with state-of-the-art weapons and sensors.

The ship is designed for combat in a multi-threat environment, and it can generate the requisite firepower in multiple domains

with supersonic surface-to-surface cruise missiles, air defense missiles, anti-submarine warfare torpedoes and the latest combat management and electronic warfare systems, which will enable the Pakistan Navy to remain on par with contemporary trends in naval warfare, Niazi said.

Niazi extended his gratitude to Admiral Dong Jun, commander of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, for his support during trials and commissioning of the PNS

Tughril. The Pakistan Navy holds an induction ceremony for the PNS Tughril, the first of four Type 054A/P frigates built by China, at the Pakistan Navy Dockyard in Karachi on January 24, 2022. Photo: Courtesy of the Pakistan Navy The Pakistan Navy holds an induction ceremony for the PNS Tughril, the first of four Type 054A/P frigates built by China, at the Pakistan Navy Dockyard in Karachi on January 24, 2022. Photo: Courtesy of the

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Pakistan Navy China and Pakistan signed the contract for four Type 054A/Ps for the Pakistan Navy in June 2018. The first hull of this class was launched in Shanghai in August 2020, and it was delivered to the Pakistan Navy in November 2021.

The frigate is the largest and most advanced surface combat vessel China has ever exported, China State Shipbuilding Corp, the maker of the ship, said in a statement published when the ship was delivered.

Other major naval projects undertaken and ongoing collaborations between the two countries include the F-22P frigates with organic Z-9 helicopters, survey vessel PNS Behr Masah, Azmat-class fast attack craft (missile) and Hangor-class submarines, Niazi said.

Niazi told the Global Times in an exclusive interview in 2021 that the Pakistan Navy has contracted construction of eight Hangorclass submarines, four Type 054A/P ships and medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned combat aerial vehicles from China.

Talking about the application of the Type 054A/P frigate, President Alvi said at the induction ceremony that Pakistan’s maritime sector has gained exceptional importance in the context of the CPeC, so the induction of the Type 054A/P frigates in the Pakistan Navy will not only serve to reinforce the security architecture of Pakistan’s maritime zones across the country’s maritime border, but also help safeguard the sea routes of the CPeC.

This will open the CPeC to common vistas of prosperity, development and regional integration, Alvi said, noting that he is confident that the Pakistan Navy has the requisite operational capability and wherewithal to deal with the entire range of maritime security challenges.

Niazi said at the event that Pakistan is located in an area of immense geo-economic and geostrategic significance, and the country’s maritime security is embedded with the maritime environment of Indian Ocean, which has witnessed surges in the recent past in both traditional and non-traditional maritime threats.

The Pakistan Navy’s role of maintaining order at sea for sustenance and the protection of global maritime trade has been enhanced significantly, Niazi said.

The Pakistan Navy’s responsibilities have also grown manyfold since the inception of the CPeC and the development of its associated maritime infrastructure and Gwadar Port, Niazi said.

In fulfillment of these obligations, the Pakistan Navy has continuously undertaken Maritime Security and Counter Piracy Operations since 2004 and 2009, respectively, besides the Navy’s initiative of Regional Maritime Security Patrols, the naval chief said, noting that the Pakistan Navy Fleet and Coastal Command units maintain roundthe-clock readiness to foil any nefarious designs of sinister elements and give a befitting response in case of any misadventure by an adversary.

Tuesday, 25 January, 2022 | lAhore

FreIGHT TrAIN ServICe FrOM KArACHI TO KOT rADHA KISHAN INAuGurATeD KaraCHi

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staff rePort

REIGHT train service from Karachi to Kot Radha Kishan on Monday has been inaugurated. Addressing the inaugural ceremony, Minister for Railways Azam Khan Swati said that the freight train service will help ease the delivery of goods to other parts of the country.

PTA Clarification iSLamaBad Press release

In the wake of recent increase in taxes/duties for the registration of cellular mobile devices and handsets, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) wishes to clarify the misperception about “PTA Tax”. These taxes and duties are applied and collected by Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) directly. It is further clarified that PTA is offering its Device Identifications and Registration Database (DIRBS) system for mobile device registration, without any charges for the facilitation of general public.

PTA only provides technical support in the form of DIRBS through which applicants can register their mobile devices for use within Pakistan. The taxes/duties collected in the process are applied by FBR and directly deposited with the FBR.

PTI MNA Noor Alam seeks time for replying to show cause notice iSLamaBad staff rePort

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Member of National Assembly (MNA) Noor Alam Khan has sought 15 days for replying to show cause notice served by the party. Noor Alam Khan, in his letter to Pervez Khattak, said that he has tested positive for the coronavirus and will respond to the notice in 15 days. He also attached report of his COVID-19 test. Earlier, Noor Alam had said that he is not answerable to the PTI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President Pervez Khattak. He added that the party ticket was given by Chairman Imran Khan and he is answerable to him only. He said that he would continue to talk about gas, electricity load shedding, and inflation and asked that what is wrong with adding the names of the first 3 rows to ECL.

SHC orders demolition of KDA Officers Sports Complex in Gulistan-e-Johar KaraCHi INP

The Sindh High Court has ordered more demolition in Karachi. On Monday, it instructed the Karachi Development Authority to raze the Officers Sports Complex in Gulistan-e-Johar’s Block 14. During the proceeding, the petitioner, Advocate Anwar Ali Shah, revealed that the complex was illegally constructed by KDA on land allotted for a sports ground. “Earlier, the Supreme Court, too, had put an end to all commercial activities on the ground but authorities never took any action.” He pleaded that the high court orders resumption of sports activities for the public there once again. After hearing the petitioner, the judge wondered how a building could so easily be illegally constructed on the ground. He, subsequently, ruled that the ground be restored for the public as per the master plan and told KDA to ensure it is only used for those purposes. The court has issued notices to the DG SBCA, advocate general, and DG KDA as well. After Nasla Tower, this is the fourth major demolition in Karachi. Earlier, orders were passed for Makkah Terrace, Al-Bari Tower, and Tejori Heights.

He said that for the first time in history, the railways will be made a for-profit entity and Pakistan railways will be made a state of the art institution.

Meanwhile, Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi said that the development of Karachi will prosper the country as well as the province of Sindh.

He said that the Sindh government is not doing any devel-

opment work for the prosperity of the province including Karachi.

Speaking on the occasion, Governor Sindh Imran Ismail said that the present government has formed a better team to improve all the deficit institutions and now these institutions are on the path of development.

He said that the Blue Economy can further improve the country’s economy.

Human Rights Complaint Cell launched for swift redressal of complaints preSS reLeaSe Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr. Shireen Mazari launched the Human Rights Complaint Cell toady in a meeting held at Ministry of Human Rights, Islamabad. Joint Secretary Ministry of Human Rights, all Directors General and senior officers of ministry attended the meeting. Whereas regional Directors Human Rights from Quetta, Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi participated in the meeting via Zoom link.

Human Rights Complaint Cell has been established under the Ministry of Human Rights for receiving, sifting, segregating and forwarding of complaints both at federal and provincial levels. At regional levels, ministry will be looking after the process of registration of complaints through its Directorate of Human Rights existing in provincial capitals. With the help of this cell ministry would refer complaints after their registration to concerned department/agency at any level and would be getting a regular feedback for their timely redressal. A dedicated team of the cell will maintain proper data on all kinds of complaints received. Apart from this, human rights violations have been categorized to ensure apposite scrutiny and strong coordination among the departments. In the meeting, DG Human Rights briefed the participants that about the cell that how it has been established after multiple rounds of consultation at provincial and federal levels.

It will be operated under a well devised system generating an automated database on registration as well as tracking of complaints. He told that a special code will be allotted to every application/complaint that may be registered through any channel including written application sent through post, email or recorded on assigned telephone numbers. After registration, ministry would perpetually monitor and take follow-up

on all complaints. While speaking on this occasion, Federal Minister lauded the system and congratulated the whole team for successfully making it happen.

She said that she would personally get weekly and monthly progress report of this cell and advised all regional heads to keenly look into the cases of human rights violation in their respective area especially those reported on print, electronic and digital media. She also enquired about few cases of Quetta from Director Human Rights, Quetta region and urged him to check their current status from police department.

CONSULTATIVE SESSION ON DRAFT NEPRA LICENSING (MICROGRID) REGULATIONS: As per available statistics, approximately 26% of the population of Pakistan does not have access to Electricity. Globally, electricity is recognized as basic amenity of life. Government of Pakistan aims at providing electricity access to all citizens of the Country.

National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), being sole Regulator of Power Sector of the Country, aimed to provide facilitation for such noble cause and striving hard to promote Electricity Access to unserved areas where Power Grid Expansion is financially unviable. NEPRA has taken lead to bring investment friendly and most flexible regulatory regime to

promote development of Microgrids in the unserved areas enable private sector to play its role in providing electricity services. In this regard, NEPRA organized a Virtual Consultative Session on Draft NEPRA Licensing (Microgrid) Regulations on January 21, 2022 (Friday) at NEPRA Headquarters Islamabad.

2.

Around 100 numbers of Stakeholders having versatile experience participated online in the consultative session. The Chairman NEPRA, while opening the session, mentioned his vision regarding de-regulatory approach which encourages private sector investments in providing grid access to the unserved communities and amicably finalizing the Draft Regulations and fast track implementation of Microgrid Regime without any further delays. The Chairman NEPRA while highlighting the salient features indicated that the Proposed Regulations entails grant of a Unified Licence for such activity with NO regulatory fee.

3. During the said session, all the participants discussed major technical and tariff related provisions and issues prescribed in the Draft Regulations and also recommended solutions based on best prudent practices. The Chairman in the end appreciated the active participation of all the stakeholders.

Ayesha Malik takes oath as fist woman Supreme Court judge Continued from page 01 ‘HISTORY IN MAKING’ Prime Minister Imran Khan wished Malik “all the best”.

“I want to congratulate Justice Ayesha Malik on becoming the first woman judge of the Supreme Court. I wish her all the best,” he tweeted.

It’s “a great day for Pakistan”, wrote Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

Sharing a shot from the oath-taking ceremony, Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry said the picture was powerful and symbolised women’s empowerment in Pakistan.

“I hope she will be an asset to our judicial hierarchy […] a landmark ele-

vation,” he tweeted. “It’s a huge step forward,” Nighat Dad, a digital rights lawyer and human rights activist, told AFP. “It is history in the making for Pakistan’s judiciary.”

“She has broken all barriers in the judicial system and it will allow other women in the system to move forward,” said lawyer and women’s rights activist Khadija Siddiqi.

“I hope this will lead to more women-centric decisions by the judiciary in the future.”

WHO’S JUSTICE AYESHA A. MALIK? Malik received her B.Com from the Government College of Commerce and Economics in Karachi and studied law at the Pakistan College of Law in

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Lahore, according to her biography on the LHC website.

She earned her Master of Laws, or LLM, from Harvard where she was a Landon H. Gammon Fellow from 1999 to 1999.

The mother of three also represented NGOs involved in poverty reduction, microfinance, and skills training on a pro bono basis.

She has been credited with rolling back patriarchal legal mores in her Punjab province jurisdiction.

The historic decision prohibiting two-finger and hymen tests on female rape survivors across Punjab was also delivered by her. The tests were deemed “illegal and unconstitutional” by her court.

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NCOC curtails isolation period to five days newS deSK The National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) has officially shortened the quarantine period for COVID-19 patients, from ten days to five days. It is to note that the NCOC’s decision comes nearly a month after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shortened the recommended isolation period to five days. Limiting interaction with infected persons completely is also “impossible” as per NCOC, which is why it has issued separate guidelines for those who have tested positive, healthcare providers and caretakers of the infected persons, in order to limit the spread of COVID-19 as much is possible. It is pertinent to note that despite a large number of people getting infected with COVID-19 owing to a serious and widespread Omicron driven outbreak in the country, not everyone can be admitted to healthcare facilities or else it would weigh down the health system of the country. The guidelines focus on the convenience of people even if they have to quarantine or isolate themselves at home. According to the guidelines issued by the NCOC, people who have tested positive or are sick with any of these symptoms (cough, shortness of breath, trouble breathing, persistent pain or pressure in chest, bluish lips or face) should: Stay home when there is no urgent need to go out, even if you are sick. Take additional precautions around family members at higher risk, particularly old ones and those having severe underlying health conditions. Limit physical contact with others as much as possible; avoid visitors. Instead, stay in contact with others through phone or email.Keep a distance of two arm’s length (about 6 feet) from others if you have to go out or interact with people.

Have access to several weeks of medications and supplies at home.

Abu Dhabi crown prince phones PM Imran, strongly condemns Lahore blast iSLamaBad aPP

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Zayed on Monday telephoned Prime Minister Imran Khan and condemned the Lahore bomb blast that left three dead. The crown prince condemned the terrorist attack and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement. The crown prince expressed solidarity with the leadership, government and people of Pakistan while the prime minister thanked the crown prince for his condolences and strong expression of support, the statement added. Reaffirming Pakistan’s firm resolve to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, the prime minister said that the perpetrators of terrorist attacks will be brought to justice. The PM expressed Pakistan’s desire to work with the UAE for further strengthening of bilateral ties, enhancing cooperation in the multilateral fora and continuing close coordination on regional and global issues of mutual interest.

06-07 Comments - 25th January 2022_Layout 1 1/24/2022 10:25 PM Page 1

Tuesday, 25 January, 2022

06 COMMENT

History of religion

Whistling in the wind Imran Khan’s defiant posture

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M Imran Khan’s remarks while answering callers’ questions live on national television have sent a demoralizing signal to his party men and allies, particularly those who had gathered around him to enjoy the benefits of power. The resignation by Shahzad Akbar, Advisor on accountability, is a sign of dejection that is overtaking the PTI. The PM has threatened unspecified opponents that if he was forced out of office, he would take to the streets and they would have nowhere to hide. The opposition parties have already made it clear that they would not resort to any unconstitutional way to remove the PTI govt.

In parliamentary democracies the vote of no confidence is a legal way to send a PM home. If the PM has lost the trust of the majority in nA, he has no moral or legal right to stay in power. Starting a public campaign against a premature but constitutional removal carries no sense. As the PM knows this well, was he addressing some quarters other than the opposition?

The PM has chastised the judiciary as well as the media for not toeing the government’s line. It is highly objectionable on the part of the PM to try to discredit the independent judiciary of his own country. Imran Khan has similarly castigated the media for not presenting what he calls a full picture of what was happening on the economic front. he accused certain journalists of trying to advance the agenda of the opposition. What Imran Khan desires is a pliant judiciary and media which is possible only in a fascist system.

The constitution envisages consultations between the PM and Leader of the Opposition for making certain key appointments. The PM is willing to talk to the TLP and the Baloch separatists but he is unwilling to interact with Shahbaz Sharif because according to him that would be tantamount to compromising over the corruption of the Sharif family. no one can arbitrarily decide who is a criminal and who is not. It is widely understood that as long as someone is elected, has not been disqualified by a court of law, and holds a position such as the leader of the opposition, the PM is duty bound to deal with him, hold consultations and try to reach a consensus wherever possible.

How false religions sustain and thrive

HASAN AFTAB SAEED

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n stark contrast to the narrative that has been fashionable for a long time now, the view of the history of religion set forth by the Quran is this: Mankind started its journey on the true religion. Before long, however, discords and feuds started among men regarding their religion. This necessitated a long chain of prophets and revelations to periodically set the record straight, so to speak.

The Quran also reveals the principal cause of these disputes. It is the mutual rivalry and the urge to dominate others that prompts men to branch out from the original religion. These branches, over time, tend to start appearing quite distinct from the religion from which they all originated. The Muslim can however take most religions and notwithstanding their substantial differences and deviations recognize remnants of the one true religion in them. This is what makes Islam quite ecumenical in its outlook.

This view of the history of religion thus has a very gratifying consequence for the thoughtful Muslim. Because he knows that the truth has been spread around right from the very beginning, he is not perturbed when somebody cites the example of a person who held the beliefs held by the Muslims centuries before the advent of the Quran and

Dilapidated safe city infrastructure Critical anti-terrorism tech dysfunctional

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hE blast at Lahore’s Anarkali has not only revealed lapses and fault lines within the security setup of major cities; it has inadvertently uncovered a serious and worrying reality: most CCTV cameras operated under the Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) are offline. Installed across the city, the safe city project was conceived and implemented as an essential tool in preventing terrorism. According to reports, much of the system’s components, primarily the cameras are dysfunctional, which indicates that the present government has made little to no effort in maintaining them. That the suspect in the Anarkali bombing case was detected on a privately installed CCTV camera rather than a safe city one should be a source of embarrassment for the provincial government. In addition to around 30 per cent of the cameras installed being dysfunctional for over two years, cellular network coverage also remains compromised as many 4G towers are without backup.

This means that during power outages, emergency calls to ‘15’ simply don’t go through.

As per reports, only 2000 of the 8000 CCTV cameras are currently in full functional condition. For a province witnessing a resurgence of terrorism, one would hope more attention and resources would be diverted towards efforts to create and maintain a more robust, dependable and technologically sound intelligence and surveillance gathering infrastructure. The existence of such a system would not only aid in thwarting incidents of terrorism by providing crucial actionable intelligence but also help detect perpetrators of heinous crimes such as the one in Anarkali. This would lead to arrests and punishments being handed out but more importantly would make it possible to question and interrogate detained suspects for leads that would in turn contribute further towards the anti-terrorism effort. The Punjab government must not take this aspect of law enforcement lightly as it is a crucial cog in a complex machine that has to work properly, efficiently and around the clock to be effective.

It is hoped that corrective measures are taken immediately rather than being delayed as there is a very real cost attached to such procrastination: more death on the streets of Punjab’s capital.

Losing the war against drugs is not an option

LALArukH WAHiD CHEEmA

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hE end of a war does not determine who is right but only who is left. I am not going to talk about conventional war here but the one that might put an end to all other wars; i.e. the war against drugs. Without understanding the gravity of the situation, we are being deeply affected by this social evil. Drug consumption does not only have an impact on an individual but its implications work as a domino effect. Most of us are familiar with the proverb that says that “you can only lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink”.

In the same way, the Ministry of narcotics Control and the Anti-narcotics Force can continue to work tirelessly against this hazard but unless each one of us decides to play an individual role, we cannot achieve the goal of a drug free society.

From identification of the causes that lead to drug abuse to the consequences that follow; each step involved, requires collective effort to counter the issue.

Increased levels of mental health issues coinciding with the popular culture of intoxication amongst the youth are two major causes that have led to an alarming increase in drug consumption. Pakistan is one of

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Exaggerations therefore become more and more pronounced. Racial pride then ensures that very soon the personality of the prophet is distorted to make it look very much like one’s ethnic group.

This history of religion is in a way the history of mankind itself.

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

A war that might end all wars

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). In fact, atheists and missionaries occasionally do try and stump the Muslim by bringing just such examples up and then claiming that the message of the Quran is not quite original since people have held the exact same beliefs many centuries in advance.

They are very disappointed when, far from being embarrassed, the Muslim nods in approval, and says that he is happy to get a confirmation (from the non-Muslim, no less) of what the Quran tells him. It is usually news for them that the Quran never claims that it brought a new message. That instead, it makes it clear that it is the same message that was given to all the earlier prophets, and that Islam therefore is as old as mankind itself. I am afraid some Muslims too fail to appreciate this point, and one occasionally hears them using phrases such as ‘before Islam’, referring to the times before 610 AD. Coming back to religious schisms and splits, no new sect can sustain without a theoretical foundation. Therefore, it is the apparently most passionate followers of prophets, not their enemies, who are responsible for the sustainability of these sects. They do it by distorting the teachings of the prophet, sometimes ever so slightly at first. With the passage of time the distortion becomes greater and greater, so that the religion ceases to be about God and becomes about the prophet instead. With emphasis thus shifted from the message to the messenger, fancy stories about the messenger become very important. It then becomes a matter of who can tell the nicer story about the messenger. Exaggerations therefore become more and more pronounced. Racial pride then ensures that very soon the personality of the prophet is distorted to make it look very much like one’s ethnic group. This history of religion is in a way the history of

mankind itself.

Christianity offers a familiar example where Jesus, instead of the message he brought, became the focus of the religion. As one man remarked, ‘Jesus talked about the Kingdom of God; everybody after him talked about Jesus.’ The message, of course, became completely irrelevant when salvation was promised without having to follow the Law so long as one ‘believed’ in Jesus. It is not for no reason that Jesus as depicted in motion pictures and paintings looks surprisingly like a Westerner (the dominant audience) when it is extremely unlikely that that could have been the case, considering his birthplace and ancestry. From the Muslim Point of view, it was classic branching out from the one true religion caused by misplaced veneration of Jesus, which culminated in deifying him – something violating Christ’s own teachings.

This, over the centuries, was followed by countless other splits giving birth to the numerous Church denominations that exist today. The many sects and subsects of Islam demonstrate that Muslims have unfortunately not been immune from it either. In their case too, often it is a matter of attributing certain qualities to the Messenger (peace be upon him) or some of his companions – qualities that are attributable to God alone.

This is despite the fact that the Quran explicitly warns against committing such excesses in one’s religion.

In any deviant sect, there are the opportunists who stand to gain economically and/or politically.

These men need a continuous supply of foot soldiers to sustain their incomes and influence. The foot soldiers come from the masses who blindly do these professionals’ bidding. Most of these poor folks do it with the best of intentions. As for good intentions, to this day nobody has expressed where they lead to better than Shakespeare. Therefore, it pays to remember that zeal and enthusiasm are no substitutes for sincerity or commitment to a cause. In fact, mindless enthusiasm and herd mentality do infinitely more harm than good.

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the victim states that have fallen prey to this hazard; drug abuse is a global challenge but with limited human and financial resources, governments cannot eliminate this menace from society without cooperation of its citizens.

Awareness and rehabilitation are two key factors needed in countering the curse of drug abuse. We have roughly 9 million people in our country who are consuming drugs as reported by UnODC in the year 2020 which is 2 million more than the previous data provided in the year 2018. One of the primary reasons for increased illicit trafficking across the globe is economic incentive and this can only be discouraged by diminishing the demand.

For doing the latter, increased awareness and individual efforts are needed.

The ones who become drug users should be treated as patients. It is imperative to realize that abandoning them is only going to increase the magnitude of the faced problem.

If we look at the current data, we have less 150 people who were successfully treated at the Model Addiction Treatment and Rehabilitation Centers (MATRCs) and for the figure of 9 million drug consumers, total number of these centers is 4. Keeping in view the sensitivity of the situation, the Ministry of narcotics Control has purposed a state of the art rehabilitation center to be built in the Capital and later the model to be replicated in each province.

Meanwhile, with such alarming figures, we need number of hospitals to dedicate at least one ward for rehabilitation purposes and also normalize treating the drug patients.

In fighting this battle against drugs, not only the families and people associated with drug abuse victims are suffering but also there are unsung heroes of the Anti-narcotics Force who are fighting

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a frontline battle against the smugglers and suppliers of this nuisance and have laid their lives in the line of duty. In the recent past during an operation against smugglers near Taftan, Balochistan, two officials of Anti-narcotics Force Police Station Dalbadin namely Constable Driver Amir nawaz Khan and Constable Muhammad Kamran embraced martyrdom.

And there are many others who have sacrificed their lives for our future. They have left their families behind while trying to save yours from this life threatening hazard, it is high time that we realize the implications that are associated with drug consumption. From immediate families to Institutions, every segment has to pay attention to the fact that instead of letting our youth walk down this destructive road, we have to fight and counter drugs. Use three steps to save your loved ones from this trap; (1) Educate: tell them the facts, figures and impacts associated with drug abuse, (2) Awareness: make them aware of their surroundings and help them differentiate in right and wrong, it is important for our youth to understand that every popular culture is not “right” culture. Lastly (3) Care: If you see someone facing mental health issues or heading towards drugs consumption to seek refuge from the trouble that he is facing, reach out, listen, help and care. Do not isolate the people who are struggling to survive, make the battle easier for them to fight. If we all do this as a nation, we can save our future generations from this trouble and provide them with healthy and drug free society. however, if this issue is left unaddressed and the number of drug users keeps increasing, this war of drugs is going to put an end to all other wars because it is going to devour generations.

We have roughly 9 million people in our country who are consuming drugs as reported by UNODC in the year 2020 which is 2 million more than the previous data provided in the year 2018.

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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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The writer is an Architect turned Civil Servant of Pakistan. Twitter: @LalarukhCheema

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

06-07 Comments - 25th January 2022_Layout 1 1/24/2022 10:25 PM Page 2

Tuesday, 25 January, 2022

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

E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively

Educational dilemma REPEATED crammed lectures that are delivered religiously at educational institutions have become a tradition in Pakistan. It takes less than a year for a novice teacher to memorize a book and concepts and then they deliver it offhandedly. Race of getting more and more marks make students oblivion of pragmatism.

They memorize the years-long books, pass the exams and after getting 16 years of education become a teacher and deliver the same lectures so that the chain goes on. Pure sciences and most importantly mathematics which have no or very less practical application in Pakistan is being treated pathetically. I never remember any teacher at school or college telling me the application of sin cos and tan theta. They never told us what to do with (a+b)^2 formula?

Where do we have to apply the Pythagoras theorem and those theorems which are always being memorized to us just to paste on paper.

Pure mathematics taught at universities has no practical application in Pakistan except being a future teacher and passing the learned knowledge to students to become next-generation teachers. Creativity, innovation and skill-building which should be inculcated in students have known no whereabouts in this field. Concerned authorities should pay heed to the gravity of this issue.

SIDRA MAQBOOL NANKANA SAHIB

Thalassemia in Pakistan

Uniformity of education in Pakistan Implementation of reform policy is the hard part

muHAmmAD ANWAr FArooq

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OCRATES said that education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel. Education is the process to facilitate learning to acquire knowledge, skills, values, morals, beliefs, habits and personal development. Commonly the methods used to educate people are teaching, training, storytelling, discussion, demonstration and direct research. The role of education in nation-building is unquestionable and it is a valuable investment in the development of human capital. historically, education always contributes to the economic, social and moral development of any nation and it is a premier right of every person in society. no doubt, Pakistan is one of the growing nation-states. In such a scenario, creativity, integration of knowledge, research and analytical approach of thinking becomes important. So, it is the need of time to equip students with analytical & critical thinking skills and to familiarize them with the technology and modern methodologies in perspective of national development. In the modern system of education, the curriculum has core importance. It is basically a candid and planned sequence of instructions that determines the goals, methods, materials and assessment techniques.

A good curriculum creates and reflects culture & identity in a pellucid way. It helps educators to develop a compatibility with modern trends, innovative technology

and enable them to impart required skills to the students. Consistent teaching and learning are not possible without a proper curriculum. It helps teachers to set measurable goals of learning for their students.

In Pakistan, there is a wide gulf among different social classes due to the difference in Urdu and Englishmedium schooling. now, English is not just a language to learn knowledge but many people consider it a status symbol. It is necessary to bring the nation out of such complexes because no nation could rise until it relied on its original values and morals. For this purpose, the government of Pakistan has designed a national curriculum framework, under which the ‘Single national Curriculum’ would be developed and implemented in three phases. It was claimed that the national curriculum framework is multidimensional and it would address the existing issues related to ideological, academic, socio-cultural, emerging trends and evaluation paradigms. It is considered as one system of education for all, in terms of curriculum, medium of instruction and a common platform of assessment which will ensure fair and equal opportunity to receive a highquality education for all students, social cohesion and national integration, alleviation of disparities in education content across the multiple streams, equal opportunities for upward social mobility, equity in education, holistic development of children in the light of emerging international trends & local aspirations and smooth interprovincial mobility of teachers & students. In the curriculum development, the special emphasis had been laid on the teachings of the holy Prophet (PBUh) as an inspiration of ethics and morality. The minorities would also be taught about their religions. The national curriculum framework is designed with an aim to

In Pakistan, there is a wide gulf among different social classes due to the difference in Urdu and English-medium schooling. Now, English is not just a language to learn knowledge but many people consider it a status symbol.

It is necessary to bring the nation out of such complexes because no nation could rise until it relied on its original values and morals.

achieve national goals of education, to formulate a candid national education policy, to design an effective curriculum, to candidly define learning outcomes, to increase the flexibility to cope with the local or regional needs within the broader perspective of national policies & needs and to provide an instrument for accountability in education.

The national curriculum framework will also address the issues like school modals, learning environment in schools, medium of instructions and teaching languages, teacher training, assessment & examination, feedback mechanisms, Information sharing and harmonization, etc. no doubt, the national curriculum framework is an outstanding step to revolutionize the educational horizon in the country.

On the other hand, it is a historical fact that in Pakistan it is easy to formulate such frameworks & policies but the most difficult step is the implementation. During the implementation phase, one has to face many ground realities that hurdle the change. For the implementation of the national Curriculum Framework, it is necessary to upgrade the infrastructure and facilities in all government schools. Such developments in schools would require huge funds which are difficult to manage in the prevailing economic situations of the country. On the other hand, private schools are also bound to follow the single national curriculum but those schools are free to teach any additional material or even additional subjects. It is also allowed that private schools can use any book that is consistent with the curriculum. It is a fact that the infrastructure and educational facilities in private schools are much better than the government schools. The ability to avail the modern educational resources is incomparable between the students of government and private schools. The question is that how the objectives of ‘national Curriculum Framework’ and ‘Single national Curriculum’ could be achieved with all these differences? how it is possible to bring uniformity in the paradigm of education with all the above-described differences? no doubt, for developing countries like Pakistan, it is the need of time to design and implement a uniform education policy for all. It would help to bridge the class differences as well as would provide the capable workforce to run the state affairs.

On the other hand, it is a historical fact that in Pakistan it is easy to formulate such frameworks & policies but the most difficult step is the implementation. During the implementation phase, one has to face many ground realities that hurdle the change.

The writer is working as a lecturer in the department of humanities and social sciences, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan.

Thalassemia is a major genetic disease spread all over the world especially in Pakistan. There are two main types of thalassemia disease which are minor and major thalassemia. It is caused by the marriage of your parents when they both are having minor thalassemia. So, by their marriage, the child will be born having a major thalassemia infection.

According to an estimate, 5000 to 9000 children are born per year in Pakistan having thalassemia disease. however, in five years almost 500 children are dying only in Balochistan. In all over Pakistan, the life expectancy of an individual having thalassemia is 45-50 years. now in the world, Maldives is the country having the highest rate of thalassemia disease which is about 18 percent of its total population. The only solution for this disease is to do tests before you are going to do marriage. Because if you are having minor thalassemia then by this, your children will be having this disease, so likewise, the process will be going on. Finally, it is not only the responsibility of the people but the government must launch awareness campaigns that people must be familiar with this disease and do tests before their marriages.

ABDUL QADIR TURBAT

Tips to invest in property WE all know the simplest way a person can invest in real estate is by buying a rental property and getting monthly payments in the form of rent, from the tenets. There are thousands of rental properties and thousands of tenets in search of homes. Or, another way is to purchase a plot, and keep it for the long-term to sell on a future date; there are about 17000 plots available for sale in Rawalpindi / Islamabad alone.

Buy files from any of the competing housing societies, and wait to see if the property is reaping results. Or invest in flats and apartments, get your hands on commercial property; shops, etc. There is an escalation in vertical living, and in cities, the trend is shifting towards apartment housing in comparison to horizontal living. There is a rise in population, land space is falling short, especially if people want to live surrounded by amenities, public facilities (schools and hospitals, etc.), and shopping places. The purchase of land in a far-flung area, wishing for it to turn into gold in this lifetime, is another way to go for it. Thanks to CPEC, Gawadar is one such opportunity. There are many intricate details involved in all of these, and with proper guidance, you can hit a jackpot. Renting out property involves a lot of factors that can be gruesome. Managing tenets while being a piece of cake for some can be a tad bit difficult for others. It requires a magnificent amount of capital, which involves buying costs, maintenance of the place, covering vacant time, and more taxes, etc. Take help from experts to dodge the bullet and do not be dealt with by the charlatans.

Buying a plot is a solid investment plan to put your bets on, but it needs a larger investment budget, and the bounty is bigger as well. It is a very safe investment with the least risks involved. Good market research is significantly required, for where you want to purchase the plot and how developed or underdeveloped the location area is. In the twin cities, the price varies between 3.5 lac per marla to 85 lac per marla depending on the location. If the development is under process, this purchase can turn peanuts into magic beans pretty soon. The file is an intangible asset when you buy it, as the existence of the plot is on paper, and the possession is also hanging in the air. The good thing is it involves lesser risk, as very low investment money is required. As the saying goes, “do not wait to buy property, buy the property and then wait”. You need to be patient as returns on the investment are high and it is an enduring commitment to your dream reward.

If you need quicker earnings, and it seems more like a dangling carrot, you may go for other options in the market. Buying an apartment in a building, and renting it out is a profitable investment. You keep the apartment, you can resale it in the future and until then you can rent it out to get monthly treats in the form of rent. Don’t be penny-wise and poundfoolish; spend a little to get hands-on quality investment through a property agent. Similarly, you can look into commercial property, which needs larger capital input and yields gigantic revenues. There are a few reliable companies, in the market, with transparent plans and investment options.

So, you can try some shoes bigger or few, which are a bit tight but get the shoes that fit perfectly. Get litigation issues clarified, title deed check, and soil testing in case of land, and security in area, amenities, facilities, and neighbourhood before leaping into the big ocean of property market. Do your research by looking into the market trends and prices, determine your budget, and then plan if you can invest for a long period, or if you need your returns preferably earlier. Also determine, if you want to get the property in a developed locality, within a city or an area that is a bit farther but will be developed soon, etc., and most importantly get help from experts.

One would be wise enough to follow the advice of Robert Kiyosaki, the author of the no. 1 bestseller of the personal-finance genre: “Build your financial IQ”, before venturing into the unknown investment vistas.

ADNAN ALI MUGHAL ISLAMABAD

08 WORLD VIEW 25th January 22_Layout 1 1/24/2022 9:53 PM Page 1

Tuesday, 25 Janauary, 2022

08 WORLD VIEW

UkrAIne crIsIs: Us ‘toolboxes’ Are empty THE TOOLBOX IS EMPTY. RUSSIA KNOWS THIS. BIDEN KNOWS THIS. BLINKEN KNOWS THIS. CNN KNOWS THIS. THE ONLY ONES WHO AREN’T AWARE OF THIS ARE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

ConsortIum nEws Scott RitteR

U

S Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in a hastily scheduled, 90-minute summit in Geneva, after which both sides lauded the meeting as worthwhile because it kept the door open for a diplomatic resolution to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. What “keeping the door open” entails, however, represents two completely different realities.

For Blinken, the important thing appears to be process, continuing a dialogue which, by its very essence, creates the impression of progress, with progress being measured in increments of time, as opposed to results.

A results-oriented outcome was not in the books for Blinken and his entourage; the U.S. was supposed to submit a written response to Russia’s demands for security guarantees as spelled out in a pair of draft treaties presented to the U.S. and nATO in December. Instead, Blinken told Lavrov the written submission would be provided next week.

In the meantime, Blinken primed the pump of expected outcomes by highlighting the possibility of future negotiations that addressed Russian concerns (on a reciprocal basis) regarding intermediate-range missiles and nATO military exercises. But under no circumstances, Blinken said, would the U.S. be responding to Russian demands against nATO expanding to Ukraine and Georgia, and for the redeployment of nATO forces inside the territory of nATO as it existed in 1997.

Blinken also spent a considerable amount of time harping on the danger of an imminent military invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces said to be massing along the Ukraine-Russian border. He pointed out that any military incursion by Russia, not matter what size, that violated the territorial integrity of Ukraine, would be viewed as a continuation of the Russian “aggression” of 2014 and, as such, trigger “massive consequences” which would be damaging to Russia.

Blinken’s restatement of a position he has pontificated on incessantly for more than a month now was not done for the benefit of Lavrov and the Russian government, but rather for an American and European audience which had been left scratching their collective heads over comments made the day before by President Joe Biden which suggested that the U.S. had a range of options it would consider depending on the size of a Russian incursion.

“My guess is he [Russian President Vladimir Putin]

will move in, he has to do something,” Biden said during a press briefing on Wednesday. While presenting a Russian invasion as inevitable, Biden went on to note that Putin “will be held accountable” and has “never have seen sanctions like the ones I promised will be imposed” if Russia were, in fact, to move against Ukraine. Biden spoke of deploying additional U.S. military forces to eastern Europe, as well as unspecified economic sanctions.

Biden then, however, hedged his remarks, noting that the scope and scale of any U.S. response would depend on what Russia did. “It’s one thing,” Biden said, “if it’s a minor incursion and we end up having to fight about what to do and not do.”

Almost immediately the Washington establishment went into overdrive to correct what everyone said was a “misstatement” by Biden, with Biden himself making a new statement the next day, declaring that he had been “absolutely clear with President Putin. He has no misunderstanding, any, any assembled Russian units move across the Ukrainian border, that is an invasion,” and that there should be “no doubt at all that if Putin makes this choice, Russia will pay a heavy price.”

And just in case the President was not clear enough, Blinken reiterated that point following his Friday meeting with Lavrov.

IMMUTABLE: The U.S. narrative about Russia and Ukraine was immutable; Russia was hell bent on invading, and there would be massive consequences if Russia acted out on its intent. This was no idle threat, Blinken said, but rather represented the unified position of the United States and its allies and partners.

Or was it? In a telling admission, Cnn’s White House correspondent, John Harwood, stated that the “minor incursions” statement by Biden was harmless, because (Harwood said) Putin already knew through sources that this was, in fact, the U.S. position. As for Europe and Ukraine, their collective confusion and outrage was merely an act, a posture they had to take for public consumption, since the optics of Biden’s statement “sounds bad.”

In short, the lack of an agreed-upon strategy on how to deal with a Russian incursion/invasion of Ukraine was an open secret for everyone except the U.S. and European publics, who being fed a line of horse manure to assuage domestic political concerns over being seen as surrendering to Russian demands.

Biden and his administration are old hands at lying to the American public when it comes to matters of national security. One only need look to Biden’s July 23, 2021, phone call with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani for a clear precedent into this inability to speak openly and honestly about reality on the ground. “I need not tell you,” Biden told Ghani, “the perception around the world and in parts of Afghanistan, I believe, is that things are not going well in terms of the fight against the Taliban. And there is a need,” Biden added, “whether it is true or not, there is a need to project a different picture.”

This, in a nutshell, is the essence of the posture taken by the Biden administration on Ukraine. Blinken has in-

dicated that the U.S. has a toolbox filled with options that will deliver “massive consequences” to Russia should Russia invade Ukraine. These “tools” include military options, such as the reinforcement of nATO’s eastern flank with additional U.S. troops, and economic options, such as shutting down the nordStream 2 pipeline and cutting Russia off from the SWIFT banking system. All these options, Blinken notes, have the undivided support of U.S. European allies and partners.

The toolbox is everywhere, it seems—Biden has referred to it, as has White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

Blinken has alluded to it on numerous occasions. There’s only one problem—the toolbox, it turns out, is empty.

While the Pentagon is reportedly working on a series of military options to reinforce the existing U.S. military presence in eastern Europe, the actual implementation of these options would neither be timely nor even possible.

One option is to move forces already in Europe; the U.S. Army maintains one heavy armored brigade in Europe on a rotational basis and has a light armored vehicle brigade and an artillery brigade stationed in Germany. Along with some helicopter and logistics support, that’s it.

Flooding these units into Poland would be for display purposes only—they represent an unsustainable combat force that would be destroyed within hours, if not days, in any large-scale ground combat against a Russian threat.

The U.S. can deploy a second heavy armored brigade to Poland which would fall in on prepositioned equipment already warehoused on Polish soil. This brigade would suffer a similar fate if matched up against the Russian army. The U.S. can also deploy an airborne brigade. They, too, would die.

There are no other options available to deploy additional U.S. heavy forces to Europe on a scale and in a timeframe that would be meaningful. The problem isn’t just the deployment of forces from their bases in the U.S. (something that would takes months to prepare for), but the sustainability of these forces once they arrived on the ground in Europe. Food, ammunition, water, fuel—the logistics of war is complicated, and not resolved overnight. In short, there is no viable military option, and Biden knows this.

EMPTY SANCTIONS TOO: The U.S. has no sanctions plan that can survive initial contact with the enemy, which in this case is the collective weakness of the postpandemic economies of both Europe and the U.S.; the over-reliance of Europe on Russian-sourced energy, and the vulnerability of democratically elected leaders to the whim of a consumer-based constituency. Russia can survive the impact of any sanctions regime the U.S. is able to scrape together—even those targeting the Russian banking system—far longer than Europe can survive without access to Russian energy.

This is a reality that Europe lives with, and while U.S. policy makers might think hard-hitting sanctions look good on paper, the reality is that whatever passes for U.S.-European unity today would collapse in rapid order when the Russian pipelines were shut down. The pain would not just be limited to Europe, either—the U.S. economy would suffer as well, with sky-high fuel prices

and a stock market collapse that would put the U.S. into an economic recession, if not outright depression.

The political cost that would be incurred by Biden and, by extension, the Democrats, would be fatal to any hope that might remain for holding onto either house of Congress in 2022, or the White House in 2024. It would be one thing if Biden and his national security team were honest and forthright about the real consequences of declaring the equivalent of economic war on Russia. It is another thing altogether to speak only of the pain sanctions would cause Russia, with little thought, if any, to the real consequences that will be paid on the home front.

Americans should never forget that Russia has been laboring under severe U.S. sanctions since 2014, with zero effect. Russia knows what could be coming and has prepared. The American people wallow in their ignorance, believing at face value what they are told by the Biden administration, and echoed by a compliant mainstream media.

PROPAGANDA ABOUT ‘PROPAGANDA’ One of the great ironies of the current crisis is that, on the eve of the Blinken-Lavrov meeting in Geneva, the U.S. State Department published a report on Russian propaganda, decrying the role played by state-funded outlets such as RT and Sputnik in shaping public opinion in the United States and the West (in the interest of full disclosure, RT is one of the outlets that I write for.)

The fact that the State Department would publish such a report on the eve of a meeting which is all about propagating the big lie—that the U.S. has a plan for deterring “irresponsible Russian aggression”—while ignoring the hard truth: this is a crisis derived solely from the irresponsible policies of the U.S. and nATO over the past 30 years.

While a compliant mainstream American media unthinkingly repeated every warning and threat issued by Biden and Blinken to Russia over the course of the past few days, the Russian position has been largely ignored.

Here’s a reminder of where Russia stands on its demands for security guarantees: “We are talking about the withdrawal of foreign forces, equipment, and weapons, as well as taking other steps to return to the set-up we had in 1997 in non-nATO countries,” the Russian Foreign Ministry declared in a bulletin published after the Lavrov-Blinken meeting. “This includes Bulgaria and Romania.”

Blinken has already said the U.S. will reject this.

The toolbox is empty. Russia knows this. Biden knows this. Blinken knows this. Cnn knows this. The only ones who aren’t aware of this are the American people.

The consequences of a U.S. rejection of Russia’s demands will more than likely be war. If you think the American people are ready to bear the burden of a war with Russia, think again.

Scott Ritter is a former U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer who served in the former Soviet Union implementing arms control treaties, in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm, and in Iraq overseeing the disarmament of WMD.

A dirge for secularism in India IndIan ExprEss Abdul KhAliq

I

n what could pass for a handout from a spokesperson of the government or the nagpur headquarters, 32 retired IFS officers last week berated critics for “a sustained smear campaign against the present government on its presumed violations of the secular ethos of the country”. Ironically, their angry outburst comes at a time when respected international rating agencies have variously dubbed India an “electoral autocracy”, a “flawed democracy” and as a “partially free democracy” in the wake of unremitting attacks on minorities and dissidents.

The detractors are accused of “antiHindu tirades” by reason of their opposition to the Hindutva ideology and the government, implying thereby that this regime and Hindutva embody the Hindu ethos, which many would see as an insult to a great religion. The government’s apologists argue that “the attacks on majoritarianism are a way to question the mandate that the democratic process gives to the political party that wins elections legitimately and consid-

ALONG WITH THE RESURGENCE OF RELIGIOSITY HAS COME THE “OTHERING” OF MUSLIMS AND, TO A LESSER EXTENT, CHRISTIANS, WHO NOW LIVE IN A SOCIAL MILIEU BRISTLING WITH DISTRUST AND HATE ers itself obliged to the electorate to implement its declared agenda lawfully”.

In their skewed understanding, laws like the plainly discriminatory Citizen Amendment Act (CAA) are just since they have been passed by a duly-elected government.

But the nuremberg and Jim Crow laws were also ratified by elected legislatures. The refusal to acknowledge the persecution of Muslims, Christians and political dissidents is akin to the Big Lie of American republicans, denying that Donald Trump lost the presidential election or had anything to do with the insurrection on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021. Amidst such frightening social discord, secularism as the underpinning credo of our multi-religious country is clearly under threat.

Secularism has meant different things for different nations. The French have a term – laicite — to define their form of secularism that not only segregates the state from religion but also banishes religious practice and insignia from the public square.

In contrast, the US, UK, and, until a few years ago, India, adhere to multiculturalism, where one can be a good citizen and at the same time publicly identify with a culture

that is not the ascendant one. Sadly, India can no longer claim to be the secular republic proclaimed in our Constitution. There has been an abrasive intrusion of religion onto the public square. Today, the religion of the majority enjoys state patronage whereas other religions are tolerated, some more than others. The Ayodhya verdict, by privileging faith over the law, was a body blow to the foundational idea of a secular republic. Last year, the prime minister of the country laid the foundation stone of the Ayodhya temple in an elaborate religious ceremony. The cries of “Jai Shri Ram” that rent the air were nothing short of a dirge to secularism. Along with the resurgence of religiosity has come the “othering” of Muslims and, to a lesser extent, Christians, who now live in a social milieu bristling with distrust and hate. An unremitting horror story plays on, with the call for the genocide of Muslims, the hounding of Christians, the statesponsored eviction drives in minority-dominated areas, the disruption of the prayer services of minorities, etc.

In this grimmest of times for minorities, a section of the Muslim elite under the banner of Indian Muslims for Secular Democ-

racy (ISMD) provided unintended grist to the agenda of the rabid right-wing by turning on those already under siege, allegedly for the crime that a handful of them supported the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan.

The actions of a few deviants led these selfstyled secularists to hector the entire Muslim community with the rhetorical question: “Do they want a reformed modern Islam or the old barbarism of the past decades?” By drawing a contextual relationship between the fiendish worldview of the Taliban and the Indian Muslim, they have reinforced the right-wing disinformation campaign stereotyping Muslims as bigoted, deeply patriarchal and intolerant.

But the real damage to the interests of Muslims from within the community has been wreaked by the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB)’s unyielding obscurantism. Remember the Shah Bano case and the infamous intervention that fanned the fires of inter-religious conflict?

And its opposition to the law upending the iniquitous instant triple talaq? The backward-looking AIMPLB’s grotesque response to the current attacks on Muslims is to urge the government to enact legislation

against blasphemy, which is a painful reminder of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. The demand of the AIMPLB is unconscionable, does not represent the community’s concerns and must be withdrawn.

Jawaharlal nehru had presciently observed that too much religion and religiosity would destroy our nation. That seems to be happening already. How do we recover the secular essence that is the lifeblood of our country? Last year, the Delhi High Court underlined the need for a uniform civil code in order to overcome the tangles arising out of the differences in various personal laws. While the court’s prescription is unexceptionable, the rationale given was unconvincing. To believe, as the court does, that modern Indian society is “gradually becoming homogenous and the traditional barriers of religion, community and caste are slowly dissipating”, is an absolute travesty of facts. On the contrary, the crux of the problem is that our society continues to cling to archaic practices in the name of religion, caste or tradition. It’s high time that our interpersonal and social conduct is regulated by a uniform system of rules and regulations. The need of the hour is a uniform civil code that addresses issues of equality and gender justice, but the understandable fear is that under the present dispensation, such a code would be nothing more than the universalisation of the Hindu personal law.

The writer is a former civil servant and Secretary General of the Lok Janshakti Party. Views are personal.

09 Business 25 January 2022_Layout 1 24/01/2022 11:04 pm Page 1

Tuesday, 25 January, 2022 | lahOrE

NEwS

corporate corner

PSO, PakiStan RailwayS Sign MOU

t

Mondelēz Pakistan appoints new Managing Director ISLAMABAD Press release

Mondelēz Pakistan, one of Pakistan’s and global leading snacking companies, announces the appointment of Sami Wahid as the new Managing Director (MD) effective January, 2022. Wahid will be responsible for the overall business strategy and commercial offerings. As an expert in the snack and beverage industry, Wahid brings over 17 years of experience in the fields of marketing, sales and strategy. His role entails a holistic business strategic direction and commercial operations for Pakistan, while being based locally. Sami has had a long association with Mondelez International, starting back from 2015 where he became part of the organization and have overlooked various responsibilities across the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan (MENAP) markets. Armed with experience in other organizations, he has built a successful career in the food and beverage industry. Most recently, Sami served as the Strategy Lead for MENAP at Mondelez steering the company and transforming it through the challenging times of Covid-19. Prior to this he has had a phenomenal track record being responsible for driving the business strategy, base equity and innovations. “It is an honor to take on this exciting new role, especially at a time when there are growing opportunities and promising business avenues for Pakistan. We have built a strong foundation for the company in the past years which is envisioned to grow even further through tactful and strategic means. My aim is to bring the years of knowledge and experience of multi-markets & categories to further accelerate company’s growth via deepening our connect with consumers and expanding our foot-prints into evolving channels, as well as focusing on our team development” acclaimed Sami Wahid, MD, Mondelēz Pakistan. Sami has his origins in Pakistan where he earned an MBA in Marketing and Bachelors from the Institute of Business Management in Pakistan.

Keeping track of his past performance and knowing his progressive mindset, under his command Mondelez Pakistan will be seen growing multiple folds in the future

Ehsaas marks the Education Day with the launch of “Ehsaas taleemi wazaif” android app ISLAMABAD Press release

The International Day of Education is observed globally on 24th January every year. Commemorating the day, Senator Dr. Sania Nishtar, SAPM visited Islamabad Government Model College for Girls Kot Hathyal in outskirts of Islamabad to formally launch the Ehsaas Taleemi Wazaif application. “Ehsaas Taleemi Wazaif” android application has specifically been developed to enable enrolment of children from Ehsaas eligible households at their doorstep. During the event, Dr. Sania herself enrolled a girl in the school stipends programme. She sat with children, mothers and teachers and guided them about the end-to-end digital enrollment process through the newly launched android app. “Education offers poorest families a ladder out of poverty and a path to prosperity. That is why, Ehsaas is focusing on improving the education access of poorest families through its school stipend programme. Facilitating people to self-enroll their children under the programme, we have also introduced the app today. Using this app, families can enroll their children themselves at their doorstep without visiting any office”, said Dr. Sania Nishtar while speaking to media. In the next 3 years, Ehsaas Taleemi Wazaif programme intends to bring 10 million deserving children into its fold from 160 districts of Pakistan. To date, over 6.7 million children have already been enrolled. The purpose of Ehsaas Taleemi Wazaif Program is twofold - assist the vulnerable households and reduce the number of out of school children. Currently, there are 18.7 million out-of-school children in Pakistan. According to the Ehsaas policy, Ehsaas Taleemi Wazaif gives higher amount of stipend to girls as compared to boys.

09

PreSS reLeASe

HE country’s leading energy company, Pakistan State Oil (PSO) further strengthens its strategic partnership with Pakistan Railways by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the supply of POL products, transportation and other businesses.

The MoU was signed by Managing Director & CEO, PSO - Syed Taha and CEO/Senior General Manager, Pakistan Railways - Mr. Nisar Ahmed Memon at PSO’s head office in Karachi. The Honorable Federal Minister for Pakistan Railways Mr. Azam Khan Swati was the chief guest at the ceremony.

Federal Minister for Pakistan Railways - Mr. Azam Khan Swati said; “I congratulate both PSO and Pakistan Railways on this momentous occasion. This strategic alliance between the two national flag bearers will enable the growth of our country’s economy and also contribute to the national exchequer. Organizations like PSO and Pakistan Railways are playing an instrumental role in helping our nation’s economy reach its full potential and I congratulate the senior management of both entities on attaining this major milestone.”

Expressing his views at this occasion, MD & CEO, PSO, Syed Taha said: “PSO and Pakistan Railways have a long and cordial business relationship

spanning over three decades. We continue to stand strong with Pakistan Railways as its robust, innovative and technologically driven transformational plan comes to fruition. This partnership will bring synergy in our shared national agenda and accelerate the economic progress of Pakistan. We are keen to work together and explore upcoming business opportunities.”

CEO/Senior General Manager, Pakistan Railways - Mr. Nisar Ahmed Memon said: “We cherish

our long term relationship with PSO and the signing of this MoU has further cemented our partnership. By forging an association with the national energy giant - PSO, we aim to bring efficiency in our operations as we transform into a vibrant and robust entity.”

The long term collaboration between the two national entities is expected to go a long way in improving railway infrastructure and operations in Pakistan and meeting the needs of customers nationwide.

Fly Emirates to Dubai together and save 25% on fares with brand-new offer ISLAMABAD Press release

Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, has launched a new offer for passengers visiting Dubai with friends and family, when booking by February 6 2022.

Two or more passengers travelling to Dubai from January 24 2022 to April 30 2022 will have the opportunity to save 25% on fares when travelling together. This special offer is valid for two or more travellers who book a return trip via emirates.com to Dubai in Economy or Business Class between January 24 2022 and February 6 2022 on the same booking reference. The offer is also available via travel and call centre agents and Emirates Retail shops.

ExpEriEncE Dubai with EmiratEs: In addition to this exclusive new offer, there are plenty more ways to save on your Dubai getaway with Emirates and take advantage of its incredible winter sun, beaches, outdoor dining and events including: • Free Emirates Expo Pass: It’s an amazing time to travel to Dubai with the much-anticipated Expo 2020

mega event taking place until March 31 2022. Emirates customers visiting and travelling through Dubai anytime during the final two months of Expo 2020, will be eligible to receive a free Emirates Expo Pass for every flight ticket booked with the airline. For more information on this promotion, please visit the dedicated offer page.

• My Emirates Pass – Expo Edition: Customers travelling to or via Dubai anytime until March 31 2022, get to explore the city for less with My Emirates Pass Expo 2020 Dubai. Enjoy exclusive discounts and benefits at

over 500 retail, dining, and recreational attractions by simply showing their Emirates boarding pass.

• Earn a Mile a Minute in Dubai: Emirates customers can earn 1 Skywards Mile for every 1 minute spent in Dubai until March 31 2022.

Existing and new Emirates Skywards members who sign up for the program before March 31 2022, can benefit from the offer Mile A Minute, and will earn up to 5,000 Skywards Miles.

The offer is applicable on all Emirates flight tickets purchased until March 31 2022, for travel during Expo

2020 Dubai. Emirates marketed, flydubai operated flights with an Emirates (EK) flight number are also included in the offer. Whether seeking a city break, a beach getaway, a relaxing retreat or a unique desert experience, there is something for every traveller when visiting Dubai.

Dubai remains one of the world’s most popular holiday destinations, especially during the winter season, and visitors can choose from an array of hotels to stay at, to suit all budgets, as well as exciting entertainment, dining and shopping options for all ages.

From sun-soaked beaches and heritage activities to world class hospitality and leisure facilities, Dubai offers a variety of world-class experiences. travelling with Emirates: Keeping the health and wellbeing of its passengers as top priority, Emirates has introduced a comprehensive set of safety measures at every step of the customer journey. The airline has also been building on its contactless technology offering and has scaled up its digital verification capabilities to provide its customers even more opportunities to utilise the IATA Travel Pass.

VEON Group CEO Kaan Terzioglu inaugurates US$8 million Jazz Digital Park ISLAMABAD Press release

VEON Group CEO, Kaan Terzioglu today inaugurated the Jazz Digital Park (JDP) that was established with an investment of over US$ 8 million. Located in Islamabad, JDP will accelerate the country’s digital transformation ambition by significantly improving the existing level of IT services being provided to various sectors.

With a current capacity of more than 300 racks, expandable up to 450 racks, and a 3-megawatt power infrastructure, JDP is Pakistan’s largest Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) Tier-III certified data center in terms of white space and power capacity. Jazz will utilize this digital park to offer secure IT infrastructure and hardware hosting facilities to businesses as well as local startups. JDP will also be hosting the new cloud platform about to be launched by Jazz. The onshore cloud will be a significant step forward in ensuring that data created in Pakistan is hosted within the country. peaking at the inauguration, Kaan Terzioğlu said, “Utilising our leadership position in Pakistan and global expertise, we are focused on creating a flourishing digital ecosystem in Pakistan. Jazz Digital Park will serve as a key enabler of our digital operator strategy and is in line with our mission to simplify digital infrastructure challenges for local and regional enterprises.”

According to Aamir Ibrahim, CEO, Jazz, “Since the pandemic and the subsequent acceleration to digital platforms, businesses across various sectors are re-assessing their cloud adoption strategies and cloud readiness. The Jazz Digital Park represents a milestone for the country’s ICT industry as it is expected

to simplify digital infrastructure challenges local businesses face. This facility is at the heart of our business strategy and validates our commitment to our customers as they continue their digital transformation journey.”

Jazz also plans to facilitate the Pakistani startup ecosystem by offering cloud credits under its premium startup accelerator program Jazz xlr8 at the National Incubation Center. The cloud infrastructure is not only expected to reduce the entry barrier for upcoming Pakistani startups, but is also expected to enable existing startups to accelerate

their scaling up programs.

Jazz Digital Park provides one of the largest IT capacities, enabling businesses, including service providers to co-locate their critical IT infrastructure.

It is equipped with four-directional fiber connectivity, 100 per cent. redundancy for all power and cooling systems, a Bus Trunking System, a VESDA smoke detecting system, and a Performance Optimized Data Center solution to reduce its carbon footprint. These state-of-the-art features fulfill all operational requirements for a business, including 24/7 customer service, security, and system backups.

Tuesday, 25 January, 2022 | LAHORE

10 FOREIGN NEWS

Xi Jinping ChAirS CpC lEAdErShip mEEting to rEviEw rEport, rEgUlAtionS

t

MiAN AbrAr

HE Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee held a meeting Monday to review multiple reports.

The meeting was chaired by Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee.

The meeting reviewed a comprehensive report concerning the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau hearing and studying the work reports of the leading Party members groups of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the State Council, the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the Supreme People’s Court, and the Supreme

People’s Procuratorate, as well as the work report of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee.

The regulations on the handling of petition letters and visits were also reviewed.

The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee hailed the work of the leading Party members groups

and the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee in 2021, and approved their work plan for 2022.

Their efforts have led to a good start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period and created a favorable environment for celebrating the centenary of the founding of the CPC, said a statement of the meeting.

Noting that 2022 is an important year for China toward the second centenary goal of fully building a modern socialist country, the statement said that the NPC, the State Council, the National Committee of the CPPCC, the Supreme People’s Court, and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate should make efforts in preparing the 20th CPC National Congress, and promoting full and strict Party governance.

On the petition work, the statement highlighted the importance of the letters and visits from the public in understanding social conditions and stressed continuous improvement of the petition system.

UK’s Johnson orders inquiry over anti-Muslim discrimination in party LONDON ReuteRs

China urges US to stop politicising flight epidemic prevention

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ordered an inquiry into claims by a lawmaker who said she was fired from a ministerial job in the government partly because her Muslim faith was making colleagues uncomfortable.

Nusrat Ghani, 49, who lost her job as a junior transport minister in February 2020, told the Sunday Times that she had been told by a “whip” – an enforcer of parliamentary discipline – that her “Muslimness” had been raised as an issue in her sacking.

“The Prime Minister has asked the Cabinet Office to conduct an inquiry into the allegations made by Nusrat Ghani MP,” Downing Street said.

“As he said at the time, the Prime Minister takes these claims very seriously.”

The government’s chief whip, Mark Spencer, said he was the person at the centre of Ghani’s allegations.

He said they were completely false and defamatory.

“I have never used those words attributed to me,” he said.

Johnson met Ghani to discuss the “extremely serious” claims in July 2020, a spokesperson from the prime minister’s office said on Sunday.

Downing Street said that when the allegations were first made, Johnson recommended she make a formal complaint to the Conservative Campaign Headquarters.

“She did not take up this offer,” Downing Street said.

Ghani’s allegation came after one of her Conservative colleagues said he would meet police to discuss accusations that government whips had attempted to “blackmail” lawmakers suspected of trying to force Johnson from office over lockdown parties.

AgeNcieS The U.S. ‘unreasonably’ suspended 44 Chinese passenger flights by four Chinese carriers from America to China, disrupted the normal operation of Chinese airlines and disregarded the health and safety of Chinese and foreign passengers, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Monday. Since June 2021, all international flights coming into China have “been applied the same control measure to airlines, Chinese or foreign, in a fair, open and transparent way,” Zhao said. It has been proved that the measure, being cooperated by the vast majority of international carriers, has effectively blocked the spread of the epidemic and has also ensured the safety and health of global passengers, the spokesperson said. China urges the U.S. to stop politicizing flight epidemic prevention, disrupting and restricting normal personnel exchanges between the two countries, said Zhao.

Yemen rebels threaten to ‘expand operation’ after UAE attack AFP Yemen rebels threatened to ramp up their attacks on the United Arab Emirates on Monday after two ballistic missiles were shot down over Abu Dhabi, their second assault in a week. Houthi forces also fired a missile into southern Saudi Arabia, wounding two people, where another projectile was also destroyed.

The Houthi’s said they targeted Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra air base as well as “vital and important” locations in the Dubai area. The attack, which comes a week after three people died in a drone and missile assault on Abu Dhabi, “achieved its objectives with high accuracy”, rebel military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a televised statement. “We are ready to expand the operation during the next phase and confront escalation with escalation,” he added. UAE authorities said they intercepted two missiles over Abu Dhabi, scattering debris over the city. They did not report any attack on Dubai. Last week’s attack prompted a volley of deadly air strikes on Yemen, where the UAE is part of the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthi rebels.

Taliban, Western officials meet for talks in Oslo OSLO AFP

Taliban and Western diplomats meet in Oslo on Monday for talks on Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis and human rights, especially those of women whose freedoms have been curbed by the hardline group.

In their first visit to Europe since returning to power in August, the Taliban will meet representatives of the United States, France, Britain, Germany, Italy, the European Union and Norway.

The Taliban delegation is headed by Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

The closed-door discussions, facilitated by Norway, are being held at the Soria Moria Hotel, on a snowy hilltop outside Oslo.

The discussions are expected to focus on Afghanistan’s humanitarian situation, which has deteriorated drastically since last August when the fundamentalists stormed back to power 20 years after being toppled.

International aid came to a halt, worsening the plight of millions of people already suffering from hunger after several severe droughts.

Thomas West, the US special representative for Afghanistan, tweeted on Sunday: “As we seek to address humanitarian crisis together with allies, partners, and relief [organisations], we will continue clear-eyed diplomacy with the Taliban regarding our concerns and our abiding interest in a stable, rights-respecting and inclusive Afghanistan.”

No country has yet recognised the Taliban government, and Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt stressed the talks would “not represent a legitimisation or recognition of the Taliban”.

“But we must talk to the de facto authorities in the country. We cannot allow the political situation to lead to an even worse humanitarian disaster,” Huitfeldt said Friday.

Meanwhile, the Taliban hope the talks will help “transform the atmosphere of war… into a peaceful situation”, government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP on Saturday.

Since August, international aid, which financed around 80 percent of the Afghan budget, has been sus-

pended and the United States has frozen $9.5 billion in assets in the Afghan central bank.

Unemployment has skyrocketed and civil servants’ salaries have not been paid for months in the country, already ravaged by several severe droughts.

Hunger now threatens 23 million Afghans, or 55 percent of the population, according to the United Nations, which says it needs $4.4 billion from donor countries this year to address the humanitarian crisis.

‘Icebreaker’: The international community is waiting to see how the Taliban intend to govern after being accused of trampling on human rights during their first stint in power between 1996 and 2001.

While the Islamists claim to have modernised, women are still largely excluded from public-sector employment and most secondary schools for girls remain closed. Two women activists disappeared this week in Kabul.

On Sunday, during the first day of the three-day visit to Oslo, the Taliban met with Afghan civil society members, including women activists and journalists, for

talks on human rights.

One of those attending the meetings, women’s rights activist Jamila Afghani, told AFP “it was a positive ice-breaking meeting.”

The Taliban “displayed goodwill…. Let’s see what their actions will be, based on their words,” she said.

Meanwhile, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a tweet: “All Afghans need to work together for better political, economic and security outcomes”.

“The participants… recognised that understanding and joint cooperation are the only solutions.”

The 15 members of the all-male delegation arrived on Saturday aboard a plane chartered by the Norwegian government.

Among them was Anas Haqqani, a leader of the most feared and violent faction of the Taliban movement –- the Haqqani network, responsible for some of the most devastating attacks in Afghanistan.

His participation has been heavily criticised on social media.

Tuesday, 25 January, 2022 | LAHORE

SPORTS 11

AfrIDI leADS PAkIStAn’S DOmInAtIOn Of ICC AwArDS DUBAI

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reuters

AST bowler Shaheen Afridi was named men’s Cricketer of the Year on Monday, combining with team mates Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan to help his country dominate the annual awards announced by the governing International Cricket Council (ICC).

England captain Joe Root won the Test Player of the Year honours to prevent a sweep of the men’s awards by Pakistan.

Captain Babar was adjudged One-Day Cricketer of the Year while

his deputy Rizwan grabbed the T20 award.

A fourth Pakistan cricketer, Fatima Sana, won the Emerging Women’s Cricketer of the year award.

Known for his sizzling yorkers and an ability to swing the ball, Afridi claimed 78 wickets in 36 internationals in 2021 and was at his best at the Twenty20 World Cup even though Pakistan went out in the semi-finals.

“I got five-fors in Tests but my most memorable performance was during our victory against India in the World Cup,” the 21-year-old leftarm said.

Captain Azam earned his honour in recognition for his prolific run in 2021 wherein he amassed 405 runs in six innings at an impressive average of 67.50. The 27-year-old was the second-highest run-scorer with 228 runs and was the Player of the Match in both of Pakistan’s wins in the 2-1 series victory against South Africa.

The architect of the chase of 274 in the first ODI, Azam made a century and laid the foundation with an 82-ball 94 in the final ODI where the visitors posted 320 batting first.

He was the lone warrior for Pakistan when they were swept by England 3-0. Azam accumulated 177 runs in three games but found no

support as none of the other batters managed to score more than 100 in the series. His best performance this year came in a losing cause in the final ODI against England.

Walking in to bat early in the innings, Azam strung a 92-run stand with Imam ul-Haq to bail Pakistan out of trouble. He was cautious in his approach initially, bringing up his half-century in 72 balls. He made up for it by bringing up the next fifty runs in just 32 balls — his second ODI century of the year.

A day earlier wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan was named cricketer of the year in T20 format by the body. Rizwan last year

scored 1,326 runs at an average of 73.66 in 29 matches.

The aggressive batter, who was instrumental in the green shirts’ victories, especially against India in T20 World Cup last year, also scored a century and took 24 catches behind the stumps.

On Monday, Root was rewarded for his sublime form in 2021 when

he become only the third player — after Mohammad Yousuf of Pakistan and West Indies great Viv Richards — to score over 1700 runs in Test cricket in a calendar year. “If there was one hundred that really sticks out it would probably be in Chennai against India,” Root said referring to his stellar 218 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

‘You made us proud’: PM felicitates cricketers as Pakistan dominate ICC awards News Desk

Defending Champion Shabbir Iqbal wins 23rd Sindh Open Golf 2022 kARACHI pr

The final round of Sindh Open Golf Championship 2022 was played on Sunday at Airmen Golf Club. Pakistan’s Ace Golfer ShabbirIqbal who maintained lead on first two days won the tournament with 208 eight under par.

Muhammad Naeem of PGC is the runner up with 215 one under par and Muhammad Ashfaq of AGC with 216 at par holds third position. Speaking with the media, ShabbirIqbal who has completed 194 titles, said, “I am thankful to AlMighty Allah for winning the Sindh Open Golf 2022. Loosing title at last week’s Rashid D Habib was my bad luck, however now I played carefully. I am well prepared for Pakistan Open, Chief of Air Staff Tournament and DHA Open.” Muhammad Saqib of LGG with seven over par secured first position in Junior Professionals. Second position in this category is jointly shared by Abdul Wadood from MTG and Nabeel Khan of Airmen Golf Club. In the senior professional category TahirNaseem from GYM stood first with four over par.

Muhammad Akram is the runner up with eight over par.

Salman Jehangir from LG lead Amateurs category with two over par. Yashal Shah and SaimShazli of KGC secured second and third positions. Omar Khalid of DHA succeeded fourth position with Gross 240 at par. President Sindh Golf Association- Khurram Khan distributed prizes and trophies amongst the leaders of final day. Khurram said, “The strong winds during the last two days did challenged the golfers, however they accepted the challenge.

We will continue promoting Golf players in Pakistan.”

Tournament Referee and Secretary of Sindh Golf Association Col ZahidIqbal thanked the Airmen Golf Club for hosting the Sindh Open Golf 2022. He congratulated the winners and encouraged the participants.

Collins wins epic to make Australian Open quarters MeLBOURNe AFp

Fired-up American Danielle Collins stayed on track for match her 2019 Melbourne Park heroics as she battled through an epic against Elise Mertens to make the Australian Open quarter-finals on Monday. The 27th seed outlasted 19th seeded Mertens 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a 2hr 51min marathon in sweltering heat on Rod Laver Arena. It earned her the right to play either two-time Grand Slam winner Simona Halep or French veteran Alize Cornet for a place in the last four. “It was really tough for me, I played a long match as well the other day so I had to make a lot of technical adjustments to be able to get myself moving around,” said Collins.

“That was a big challenge.” She is the third American woman to make the last eight, with Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula also through. Collins was an Australian Open semi-finalist three years ago, but she has failed to match that effort since. However, she clinched her maiden WTA Tour titles in San Jose and Palermo last year to rejuvenate her career after a tough start to 2021 when she needed surgery to remove a cyst. She had a dream start, holding comfortably then breaking Mertens. But Belgium soon warmed to the task and pushed Collins hard on her next service game.

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday congratulated the Pakistan cricket stars after their domination in the International Cricket Council (ICC) awards for the year 2021.

Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi was named men’s cricketer of the year, while his teammates Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were declared the ODI and T20I cricketers of year respectively.

England captain Joe Root won the test player of the year award to prevent a clean sweep of the men’s awards by Pakistan.

Fatima Sana won the emerging women’s cricketer of the year award.

“Congratulations to our cricket stars. You have made us proud,” The premier wrote on his Twitter handle.

Planning Minister Asad Umar also congratulated

the award winners.

Senator Faisal Javed Khan also felicitated the team.

Known for his sizzling yorkers and an ability to

Brendan Taylor says ‘coerced’ into taking money

by Indian spot-fixers AgeNCIes Zimbabwe batter Brendan Taylor on Monday has made shocking revelations about Indian bookmakers while admitting he received a $15,000 “deposit” for spot-fixing, though he said he was blackmailed and never went through with the arrangement.

The cricketer is facing a ban from the International Cricket Council (ICC) for receiving the deposit from spot-fixers.

Taylor said he was coerced into accepting the money from an Indian businessman in October 2019 and that it took him four months to report the incident to the ICC anti-corruption unit because he feared for his safety. Taylor travelled to India to discuss the launch of a new T20 competition in Zimbabwe with the promise of $15,000 as payment.

“We had drinks and during the course of the evening, they openly offered me cocaine, which they themselves engaged in. I foolishly took the bait,” Taylor said in a statement released via Twitter on Monday.

“The following morning, the same men stormed into my hotel room and showed me a video taken of me

the night before doing cocaine and told me that if I did not spot-fix at international matches for them, the video would be released to the public.”

Taylor said he was handed $15,000 as a deposit, and promised he would receive another $20,000 when the job was complete.

“I would like to place on record that I have never been involved in any form of match-fixing. I may be many things, but I am not a cheat,” he said.

“That being said, the ICC are taking the decision to impose a multi-year ban on my international cricketing career. I humbly accept this decision.”

Taylor added he would check into a rehabilitation facility on Tuesday to treat his substance abuse.

The ICC and Zimbabwe Cricket have not responded to requests for comment.

The 35-year-old Taylor, who played for Zimbabwe in 34 tests, 205 one-dayers and 45 T20s, retired from international cricket in September.

Former Zimbabwe all-rounder and coach Heath Streak was banned by the ICC for eight years last April for his role in revealing inside information which could be used for betting purposes.

swing the ball, Shaheen Afridi claimed 78 wickets in 36 internationals in 2021 and was at his best at the Twenty20 World Cup even though Pakistan went out in the semi-finals.

“I got five-fors in tests but my most memorable performance was during our victory against India in the World Cup,” the 21-year-old left-arm pacer said.

Root was rewarded for his sublime form in 2021 when he become only the third player — after Mohammad Yousuf of Pakistan and West Indies great Viv Richards — to score over 1700 runs in test cricket in a calendar year.

In the women’s category, India opener Smriti Mandhana won the cricketer of the year award.

South Africa’s Lizelle Lee took the one-day honours, while England’s Tammy Beaumont bagged the T20 award.

South African Marais Erasmus was the umpire of the year.

Bismah maroof to lead Pakistan for ICC women’s world Cup News Desk Pakistan batter Bismah Maroof was appointed as the captain of the Pakistan cricket team for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup on Monday, as the selection committee announced the tournament squad. The announcement from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) noted that this would mark her return to international cricket after two years as she took a break for the birth of her first child in December 2020. Maroof had confirmed her availability last month and was already being reintegrated into cricketing activities as well as resuming fitness sessions. “It is a great honour for me to lead my country into another World Cup. I am thrilled to be back in action and do what I love and have dedicated my life to,” the PCB statement quoted her as saying. She went on to add that “the aim is to reach the World Cup semi-finals and I believe this team has the potential to pull it off.” She further stated that recent selection matches had proved “fruitful” for her and the whole side as they got some match practice under a “competitive and challenging environment”. Meanwhile, experienced Nida Dar will be Maroof’s vice-captain for the World Cup. The PCB said Ghulam Fatima and Nahida Khan were also called up while batter Iram Javed, all-rounder Tuba Hassan and wicketkeeper Najiha Alvi were named as the travellng reserves.

Kainat Imtiaz and Sadia Iqbal, who were part of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier squad, missed out on selections because of injuries, the statement added. “I want to congratulate every player who made it to the squad for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup. We considered the conditions and challenges our team will encounter in New Zealand along with the current form of players and the team’s balance while putting together this squad,” the statement quoted Asmavia Iqbal, chair of the women’s national selection committee, as saying. It is pertinent to note that the Pakistan squad will begin the final phase of their preparations with a 10-day pre-departure camp in Karachi from January 27. They will depart for New Zealand on February 8. Pakistan squad: Bismah Maroof (captain), Nida Dar (vice-captain), Aiman Anwar, Aliya Riaz, Anam Amin, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Ghulam Fatima, Javeria Khan, Muneeba Ali, Nahida Khan, Nashra Sandhu, Omaima Sohail, Sidra Amin and Sidra Nawaz.

Tuesday, 25 January, 2022

pRayeR timingS

NEWS

Pakistan vaLues its reLations with Morocco: coas ISLAMABAD

c

Staff RepoRt

HIEF of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Monday said that Pakistan valued its relations with Morocco, the military said in a statement. According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Ambassador of Morocco to Pakistan Mohamed Karmoune called on the army chief at GHQ in Rawalpindi today.

During the meeting, it said, matters of mutual interest, bilateral defence, security cooperation and regional security situation including Afghanistan were discussed.

The COAS said that Pakistan valued its relations with Morocco. “We earnestly look forward to enhance mutually beneficial multi-domain relations based on common interests,” he was quoted by the ISPR as saying.

The visiting dignitary, according to the military’s media wing, appreciated Pakistan’s role in the Afghan situation,

efforts for regional stability and pledged to play his role for further improvement in diplomatic cooperation with Pakistan at all levels.

Gen Qamar has repeatedly reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to cooperate with its international partners for

peace in the region and ensuring a stable and prosperous future for the Afghan people.

Earlier in January, the COAS said that the international community’s assistance to Afghanistan in averting humanitarian crises is imperative for regional

peace and stability.

He made these remarks in a meeting with British High Commissioner Christian Turner, who called on him at GHQ. The British envoy appreciated Pakistan’s efforts for regional peace particularly in the Afghan situation.

Pakistan to share draft of extradition treaty with UK ISLAMABAD

The ministers after reviewing the recommendations of the extradition treaty gave final approval and decided to share the same with the UK government.

Staff CoRReSpondent

ation of those citizens who have been sentenced by the courts of law.

The first round of the discussion about the extradition treaty was held in October 2019.

Currently, no formal extradition treaty exists between Pakistan and the UK through Section 194 of the UK Extradition Act 2003 contains provisions for special “ad hoc” extradition arrangements.

In March 2020, the Foreign Ministry had written a letter to the United Kingdom seeking former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s deportation as he was not admitted to any hospital despite staying in London for 105 days.

FAJR SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

5:35

12:14

3:52

7:00

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The daily coronavirus toll in Pakistan continues to rise as the country reported 7,195 new coronavirus cases along with 8 virus-related deaths were reported during the past 24 hours. Per the data released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Monday morning, after the addition of 8 new deaths, the toll has now surged to 29,105, which represents a ratio of 2.1 percent. The positivity ratio of the coronavirus cases in Pakistan reaches 12.53 percent, as 7,195 new coronavirus cases emerged in the last 24 hours after conducting 57,401 tests. It takes the total cases tally to 1,374,800. The number of active cases in the country is 76,617 with 1,113 patients in critical condition. There were 833 more recoveries recorded in the last 24 hours as the number of total recovered cases reached 1,269,078 with a 92.2% recovery rate. Punjab, the most populous province of the country, has reported 2,108 new cases in the last 24 hours, taking the provincial tally to 464,431 with 19,260 active cases. In Punjab, 3 more patients died of coronavirus as the death toll reached 13,108. With 96 new recoveries reported, 432,063 patients have recovered from the virus in Punjab so far. Sindh has recorded 3,125 new cases during the last 24 hours taking the provincial tally to 526,899 with 44,329 active cases. There were 3 new deaths reported related to the deadly disease as the death toll in Sindh reached 7,741. With 474 new recoveries, 474,829 patients have recovered from the virus in the province so far. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has recorded 885 new cases during the last 24 hours taking the tally to 185,340 with 3,600 active cases. The province reported 1 new virus-related death as the death toll reached 5,975. With 70 new recoveries, 175,765 patients have recovered from the virus in the province so far.

Balochistan recorded 31 new cases as the tally reached 33,941 with 281 active cases. The province reported no new death as the death toll reached 367. With 3 new recoveries, 33,293 patients have recovered from the virus in the province so far. Islamabad has recorded 856 new cases during the last 24 hours taking the tally to 118,292 with 8,432 active cases. With no new death reported in the Federal Capital, the death toll remained 976. With 175 recoveries, the number of recovered patients is 108,884 in the federal capital so far. Azad Jammu and Kashmir recorded 182 new cases during the last 24 hours as the tally reached 35,400 with 656 active cases. With 1 new death reported, the death toll reached 751. There were 10 new recoveries in the AJK as 33,993 patients have recovered so far from the virus. Gilgit-Baltistan recorded 8 new cases during the last 24 hours, as the tally reached 10,497 with 59 active cases.

After the consultation with the UK government, the draft will be presented before the federal cabinet for the go-ahead.

If Pakistan succeeds in signing this accord, it will join the club of over 100 countries that have such an agreement with the United Kingdom and both the countries can exchange convicted prisoners.

However, the agreement will only allow the repatri-

Journalist shot dead in Lahore

Status quo policy rate: 9.75% ArIBA ShAhID

A journalist was killed by unidentified assailants outside the Lahore Press Club (LPC) on Monday.

Hasnain Shah was sitting in his car outside the LPC when the suspects opened fire at him and killed him on the spot. Hasnain was a crime reporter in a private TV channel – Capital TV – and also a member of the LPC. Rana Amir, a close friend of the victim, informed Pakistan Today that the Capital TV office is located on Davis Road and it appeared that the victim was leaving the office and heading towards Garhi Shahu in his car. Amir, who is also a journalist, further informed that as soon as Shah left the office, the killers started following him and they fired shots at Shah’s car when it reached near the LPC. “Shah died on the spot and ten shells of bullets were found at the scene,” he said. “Journalists have relationships with people from all walks of life, but I don’t think Shah had any animosity towards anyone. The victim left behind a wife and two children.” Punjab Union of Journalists President Qamarul Zaman Bhatti told Pakistan Today that it is a blind murder, which is highly reprehensible. “Police should reach out to the accused immediately and the journalist community will also protest against the incident tomorrow [Tuesday],” Bhatti said. On the other hand, the executive and governing body of LPC announced that the club will remain closed till the funeral of the slain journalist and a protest will be staged outside the club. LPC President Azam Chaudhry, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalist (PFUJ) President Shehzada Zulfiqar, PFUJ Secretary General Nasir Zaidi and PFUJ Treasurer Zulfiqar Ali Mahto condemned the incident and demanded the authorities to arrest the suspects at the earliest.

CM BUZDAR TAKES NOTICE: Soon after the incident, Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar sought a report from the inspector general of police on the incident and ordered the arrest of the accused without delay.

He ordered that the accused be brought to book and justice be provided to the family of the slain. He also extended heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved family.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) held its benchmark interest rate at 9.75% on Monday signaling a pause in the tightening cycle. “There’s no need for further tightening at the moment because of the government’s fiscal policy,” said SBP Governor Reza Baqir during a press conference on Monday.

As per the Monetary Policy Statement (MPS), the decision to hold the policy rate constant is in accordance with the forward guidance provided in earlier statements. “At today’s meeting, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to maintain the policy rate at 9.75 per cent, in line with the forward guidance provided in the last monetary policy statement,” said the MPS. Earlier, the SBP had increased the

policy rate drastically by a whopping 275 bps, increased the cash reserve requirement, further reduced excess money supply by tightening consumer finance and the curtailment of non-essential imports.

As per the SBP, the conditions that warranted a rate hike no longer persisted in the same way. Moreover, it is important to note that the State Bank conducted two 63 day Reverse Repo Purchases to inject liquidity. The maturity date of the second 63 day OMO is February 25, 2022. 19 quotes were offered between 10-9.5%.

This OMO signified that the policy rate would remain unchanged as the OMO signified that the SBP is willing to accept a fixed return for 2 months.

In response to a question posed by Profit about the OMO injection, Baqir responded that the SBP in accordance with the SBP Act, while not being able to lend

6:54

Pakistan records another 7000 cases as positivity ratio rises

A meeting of the special ministerial committee to discuss the extradition treaty between Pakistan and the United Kingdom (UK) was held here with Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed in the chair.

Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari also attended the meeting, while Interior Secretary Yousuf Naseem Khokhar attended the meeting via video link.

ShAhAB OMEr

5:30

directly to the government, can step in and inject liquidity when needed. The decision to step in was made keeping in mind the spread between the yields being demanded by banks and the policy rate.

Analysts expect another longer OMO injection if the market does not take the forward guidance seriously.

“While year-on-year headline inflation is high and will likely remain so in the near term due to base effects and energy prices, the momentum in inflation has slowed with month-on-month inflation flat in December compared to a significant rise of 3 percent in November.

Inflation expectations of businesses have also declined considerably,” said the statement. Keeping in mind the improved inflation outlook (not current inflationary environment), the MPC holds the view that real interest rates are appropriate con-

sidering inflation expectations in the medium term lie between 5-7 percent.

“However, during FY23, inflation is expected to decline toward the mediumterm target range of 5-7 per cent more quickly than previously forecasted as demand-side pressures wane faster due to the Finance (Supplementary) Act and recent moderation in economic activity indicators,” said the statement. Many analysts and industry representatives point out that increasing the discount rate to deal with cost push inflation is futile. It is usually done to wipe up excess liquidity and control the money supply which helps bring down demand and pull inflation.

Earlier, the SBP felt the increase in the money supply was inflationary. Moreover, the MPC forecasted a 4-5% growth in GDP in FY22, which is lower than previous expectations.

PM Khan wins praise from international community for economic boom: Prof Cheng BEIJING app

Prime Minister Imran Khan has won full recognition and praise from the international community for taking people out of hardships and making great economic achievements in the country.

Despite serious Covid-19 pandemic and various natural disasters, the Pakistani government and people, under the wise leadership of PM Imran Khan, have braved hardships and difficulties and made great achievements for booming economy, which has won full recognition and praise from the international community.

These views were expressed by Cheng Xizhong, visiting Prof. at Southwest University of Political Science and Law, and former Defence Attache in South Asian countries in an article on Monday. The Chinese scholar noted that The Economist published a normalcy index and for the third consecutive time, Pakistan stood in the top three. The revised Gross Domestic Products (GDP) growth reached 5.37% in Financial Year 2021, the second best in the last 14 years.

Bloomberg recognized that Pakistan is entering the decade of sustainable growth.

He remarked that earlier, Pakistani economy was a service-based economy

with focus on imports, but now Pakistan’s economy is standing firmly on its own feet with a significant rise in exports, especially textiles and Information Technology (IT) services.

Prof. Cheng analyzed that the biggest contribution of PM Imran Khan in power for more than three and half years lies in his unremitting exploration and finally having found a development path suitable for his own national conditions.

Secondly, PM Imran Khan puts the interests of the people above all else, is committed to improving people’s livelihood, which fully embodies the new concept of governing for the people.

Published by Arif Nizami at Qandeel Printing Press, 4 Queens Road, Lahore, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk

Third, he has unswervingly cracked down on corruption and won the heartfelt support of people from all walks of life and the whole country.

He said that in international affairs, especially in upholding regional and global peace and stability and alleviating the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, Pakistan has been playing a greater role due to the incumbent government’s solid foreign policies. Therefore, Pakistan has regained respect at the international level.

From his performance in office for more than three years, PM Imran Khan is a well-deserved great leader of the Pakistani people, he concluded.