Epaper – July 13 LHR 2021

Tuesday, 13 July, 2021 I 2 Zil-Hajj, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 14 I 12 Pages I Lahore Edition

Senate paSSeS bill to puniSh thoSe reSponSible for torture, cuStodial deathS

t

News Desk

HE Senate on Monday passed “The Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Bill, 2021” to define ‘torture, custody and custodial deaths’ inflicted by any person, police or law enforcement agency, under the Pakistan Penal Code.

The bill, moved by Senator Sherry Rehman, was also supported by Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari and states that any public servant involved in torture would face up to 10 years imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs2 million.

Leader of the House Dr Shahzad Waseem said that the government always supported the opposition in legislation in favour of the public.

According to the statement of objects and reason of the bill “Custodial torture and deaths” was a worldwide phenomenon inflicted upon individuals irrespective of gender, religion, financial status, or health conditions.

The statement said this type of violation of human rights was alarming in Pakistan where brutal atrocities were perpetrated by police and other law enforcement agencies.

It said Pakistan needed to make torture and custodial deaths criminal as an important step in stemming widespread abuse and exploitation.

The existing provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code stipulated penalties for certain acts of torture under related offences such as ”causing hurt to extort confession or to compel restoration of property”, “ Wrongful confinement to extort confession or compel restoration of property”, or provisions governing “criminal force and assault.”

However, these provisions were either vague or not comprehensive enough to be used for criminalizing torture, or custodial deaths.

This amendment in the PPC provided definitions for “torture”, “Custody”, and “custodial deaths” inflicted by any person, police, or law enforcement agency.

If a public servant, whose duty it is to prevent torture, either intentionally or negligently fails to prevent it, he/she will face up to five years imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs1m, it adds.

“Whoever commits, abets or conspires to commit the offence of custodial death or custodial sexual violence, shall be punished with imprisonment for life and with fine, which may extend to Rs3m,” it further states.

In addition, if a public servant, whose duty it is to prevent custodial death and custodial sexual violence either intentionally or negligently fails to do so, he/she will be punished with at least seven years imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs1m.

Moreover, the custodial deaths were proposed to be dealt with under the offence of Qatl-e-amd (Section 300 of PPC).

Regarding detention, the bill states that no one may be taken into custody to “extract information regarding the whereabouts of a person accused of any offence or to extract evidence”, adding that women may only be taken into custody by a female official. A statement extracted through torture would be inadmissible in court, it states.

“Every offence punishable under this Act shall be non-compoundable and non-bailable,” the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Bill, 2021 states.

Port city filled with fear as monsoon season sets in

The bill also lays out the procedure for filing a complaint in case of custodial torture. The court, which receives a complaint, would record the person’s statement and direct that a medical and psychological examination be conducted, the result of which would have to be presented to the court within 24 hours.

If evidence is found that torture may have occurred, the court concerned will then refer the matter to a sessions court for further action. The sessions court, in turn, will direct for an investigation to be conducted and the report submitted within 15 days. The sessions court will hear the complaint on a daily basis and announce a verdict within 60 days, the

Pakistan’s soil not being used against Afghanistan: Fawad IsLAMABAD

News Desk

Staff RepoRt

The disastrous rain-based floods of yesteryear have ignited fears within the citizens of the port city as it braces itself for another possible catastrophe with the onset of this year’s monsoon season.

The unexpected rainfall became the talk of the town as #Monsoon2021 and #KarachiRain started trending on Twitter.

“Thank you #KarachiRain. I think we have had enough for the season already. Please take it easy now,” said one citizen.

While there have been power outages in the city already, K-Electric has issued a statement detailing that the power supply to the city is still “in tact”. Currently supply from approximately 500 feeders remains affected whereas 1,400 feeders are operational. Supply to Dhabeji was restored on priority,” the company said in an update shared at 8:30am.

Moreover, the rain has affected the traffic in the port city, and citizens have been advised to drive carefully on the roads.

Therein, a statement by the traffic police said that officials were

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Monday said Pakistan’s soil was not being used against Afghanistan and Islamabad expected reciprocation from the war-battered country.

In a series of tweets, the minister said that “our land is not being used against Afghanistan”, expressing hope that “Afghanistan’s territory, too, won’t be used” to carry out terrorist activities against Pakistan.

He said that the Afghanistan policy of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government was in “Pakistan’s interest”. Pakistan, he said, had a keen eye on the developing environment in Afghanistan and added that if Afganistan descended into a civil war, the government would not let the fallout affect Pakistan. Fawad underscored that Pakistan wanted a consensus-based government in Kabul. “We are keenly observing the changing situation in Afghanistan,” he said.

“Efforts are afoot to move forward through a peaceful and consensus-based government in Afghanistan,” he disclosed.

The political leadership of Pakistan had reached a consensus on the principle of non-interference in any country, he said.

Fawad further recalled that Prime Minister Imran Khan had already clarified that Pakistan could be partners with the United States in peace, but not in conflict. His statements come days after Taliban officials said the insurgent group had taken

monitoring the situation in order to keep citizens informed. The statement added that citizens could call the 1915 helpline for queries and concerns.

Federal Minister for Shipping and Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi took the opportunity to criticise the Sindh government.

“The federal government has done and is doing all it can to help the useless and corrupt provincial Sindh government, who for years failed to clean the

CONFIRMED CASES: coronaviruS in

975,092

pakiStan

storm drains and pick up trash.

Hope we don’t drown in our own garbage once again,” he said.

The rain claimed the life of a young boy in Alfalah society.

SHO Rashid Din said that Hammad was riding his bicycle when he encountered rainwater that had accumulated on the street.

During this, he touched an electricity pole and was electrocuted, the official said.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05 LAST UPDATED AT 7:14 AM ON JULY 12, 2021

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

NEW CASES:

15 1,808

SINDH:

PUNJAB:

ISLAMABAD:

913,873

347,478

348,309

83,764

DEATHS: 22,597

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

AJK/GB:

139,463

27,994

21,180 / 6,904

RECOVERED:

bill states.

Reacting to the bill’s approval, Senator Rehman said Pakistan was “finally on [the] way to criminalising torture”.

She said she was “jubilant” that the bill was passed. Rehman also thanked all senators, the human rights minister and the former chairman of the Senate committee on human rights, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, for the “work they put into this bill with me in the committee”.

The house also referred the four bills to concerned committees for further deliberation.

The bills included the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 [The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2021], the Establishment of Ibadat International University, Islamabad [The Ibadat International University Islamabad Bill, 2021].

The bill to provide for the regulation of employment of domestic workers in Islamabad Capital Territory [The Islamabad Capital Territory Domestic Workers Bill, 2021] and a Bill further to amend the National Commission on the Status of Women Act, 2012 [The National Commission on the Status of Women (Amendment) Bill, 2020] were also referred to concerned committee.

The Senate of Pakistan also referred to a bill to make amendments in Rule 9 and insertion of the Fourth Schedule in the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate. The bill was moved by Mian Raza Rabbani.

control of 85 percent of the territory in Afghanistan.

Afghan government officials dismissed the assertion that the Taliban controlled most of the countr y as part of a propaganda campaign launched as foreign forces, including the United States, withdraw after almost 20 years of fighting.

But local Afghan officials said Taliban fighters, emboldened by the withdrawal, had captured an important district in Herat province, home to tens of thousands of minority Shi’ite Hazaras, last week and surrounded the city of Ghazni in central Afghanistan on Monday. Hundreds of Afghan security personnel and refugees continued to flee across the border into neighbouring Iran and Tajikistan, causing concern in Moscow and other foreign capitals that the militants could infiltrate Central Asia.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

MORE INSIDE

PM for third-party vigilance for timely completion of Punjab development projects STORY ON PAGE 03

Propaganda against Nawaz has termed him ‘anti-army’, says Maryam

STORY ON BACK PAGE

Desite PTI’s allegations, corruption couldn’t be proved against PML-N, says Shehbaz STORY ON PAGE 02

Afghan special forces moved in on Taliban only to find they had melted away

STORY ON BACK PAGE

02

Tuesday, 13 July, 2021

LAHORE

NEWS

desite Pti’s aLLegations, CorruPtion CouLdn’t be Proved against PmL-n, says sHeHbaz

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NEwS DESK

AKISTAN Muslim LeagueNawaz President Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf resorted to hurling abuses, name-calling, and levelling corruption allegations against their government but it could not prove anything, Geo News reported.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore, the opposition leader in the National Assembly said that the PTI government is doing everything it accused the PML-N government of doing before the 2018 election.

He lauded the previous PML-N government for introducing power projects in the country. “When in power, the PMLN took measures to completely eliminate the problem of electricity load-shedding.

As against that, the entire nation has been subjected to the curse of load-shedding by the PTI once again,” he said. “There can be no greater crime than this.”

“The cause of load-shedding is not only incompetence and negligence but it is a tell-tale sign of rampant corruption over the course of three years,” he continued. “[Under the PTI government’s rule], Balochistan is facing 10 hours of electricity load-shedding every day,” he

LHC serves notice on government on contempt plea LAHORE INP

The Lahore High Court on Monday issued a notice to the Punjab government on a petition seeking implementation of the Supreme Court’s judgment about the restoration of local governments in the province. A single bench of the high court comprising Justice Ayesha A. Malik took up the petition filed by former Lahore Mayor retired Colonel Mubashir Javed and others. The petitioners stated before the court that the provincial government was not restoring the local bodies system despite the court judgement. They said the government failed to implement the decision and contempt proceedings should be initiated against the Punjab government. In March, the Supreme Court ordered the restoration of local government institutions in the province after declaring their dissolution as unconstitutional. “For reasons to be recorded later, Section 3 of the Punjab Local Government Act 2019 (PLGA) whereby the local bodies were dissolved is declared ultra vires of the Constitution and the local governments as were existing in Punjab prior to the promulgation of Section 3 stand restored and it shall complete its term in accordance with the law,” declared Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed. The Punjab government had dissolved local bodies under Section 3 of the Punjab Local Government Act, 2019 though the elections were held under the PLGA 2013 in phases in 2015 and 2016.

The tenure of the elected local bodies was five years.

But the tenure of the local bodies came to an abrupt end in July last year after the provincial government amended Section 3-2 of the PLGA by inserting the words “21 months” to replace “five years”.

said, adding that the PTI government left no stone unturned in terms of “looting the people of Pakistan” and “left millions of people unemployed.”

Shehbaz alleged that the incumbent government could not finalise a gas agreement despite its tall claims because it had been providing gas to its favourites, adding that it is up to the public to decide who takes practical steps for them and who merely delivers speeches while standing atop a container.

“Despite hydel power plants being less costly, the government could not manage to build a single dam in the country,” he said. “At present, it [the government] is

benefitting from capacity payments worth billions of rupees.” The PML-N leader said that the PTI-led government failed to come up with long-term power projects, and the short-term ones it introduced turned out to be excessively costly.

“The people of Pakistan are suffering from power crisis and electricity loadshedding because of the incompetent policies of the PTI-led government,” he maintained. “Is this the Naya Pakistan that was promised to the masses?”

The opposition leader also provided comparative statistics and pointed out how the PML-N government worked to introduce LNG terminals during its tenure.

Abbasi ‘dares’ government to remove ‘corrupt’ ministers KARACHI INP

Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi Monday challenged the government to remove the “corrupt” members of the federal cabinet and asked the National Accountability Bureau chief retired Justice Javed Iqbal who was he loyal to.

The vice president of Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz was speaking to media outside an accountability court where he had gone to attend a hearing in a reference concerning purported misuse of authority against him.

Abbasi said that a case pertaining to the appointment of PSO managing director had been in the court for the last two years but the dirty money watchdog had failed to prove any wrongdoing in the process.

He asked the reporters to read judgements of high courts of Lahore and Islamabad which he insisted will reveal the truth.

He claimed that “fabricated cases” were lodged against the opposition politicians. He said the ministers who boasted of “catching” us were now hiding their faces and clearing their positions.

He said the corrupt were sitting right in the government. Abbasi, without taking any names, asked how many ministers were removed from their positions after their names appeared in the corruption scandals. He dared the government to remove them from their offices.

Abbasi declared he was not afraid of NAB. He said had the NAB chief read the court judgements, he would have been ashamed.

He said that the Islamabad High Court had given a detailed judgement on his bail application, terming the case against him unsubstantiated. He rued that now the government people were clearing their positions on the matter. He said that they had been telling the nation about his corruption for the last three years but their assertions were all lies.

The former prime minister further said the courts had given three judgements in a week and all belied the NAB cases. He cautioned that if NAB continued to act in an irresponsible manner, nobody would work here.

He stated that they could not make a single case of corruption against deposed prime minister and PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif.

He lamented that there was a shortage of electricity in the country and asked the government who was responsible for it.

On Prime Minister Imran Khan skipping the National Security Committee meeting, he was of the view that everyone should participate in matters of national interest.

On the forthcoming general election in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Abbasi stressed the need to hold transparent elections in the region.

He said if the authorities could not hold a fair election in Kashmir then everything was rubbish.

Saudi allows Pakistan travellers vaccinated with China shots: reports RIYADH/ISLAMABAD

FLood aLerts in Pakistan aFter Heavy rain in oCCuPied kasHmir ISLAMABAD Staff rePort

The Flood Forecasting Division on Monday issued flood alerts across Azad Jammu and Kashmir after rain drenched Indian-occupied Kashmir triggering flash floods in some towns and bringing down soaring temperatures. The weather office said that the Jammu district saw the highest rainfall (150mm) in the region in the past 24 hours till 8:30 am on Monday, followed by 76mm in Katra and 28mm in Khanal town, Hindustan Times reported. “Present showers may generate flash floods and landslides in hilly areas, which may lead to blockage of roads [in the held region],” a weather agency official said. The agency has forecast a flood in Chenab River at Head Marala saying an inflow of 200,000 to 300,000 cusecs of water is expected between 2:00 pm to 1:00 am. It further said that a flood-like situation is also expected at Khanki Headworks on July 13 and later on at the Qadirabad Headworks in Mandi Bahauddin District.

“The drains falling into Chenab will witness a ‘high to very high flood’ between 12 and 13 July,” the agency said, adding that all concerned departments have been directed to take appropriate measures. Floods have also been feared in upper parts of the country with glaciers beginning to melt at the start of the summer season as the government has directed the people to remain vigilant.

Qureshi reaches tajikistan to attend CFm ISLAMABAD Staff rePort

Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi reached Dushanbe capital of Tajikistan on Monday on a three-day visit to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Foreign Ministers. On arrival, the foreign minister was received by Tajikistan Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Muzaffar Huseinzoda and Pakistan’s ambassador Imran Haider at Dushanbe International Airport.

During his visit, Qureshi will lead a government delegation at the event. He was invited to the forum by his Tajikistan counterpart Sirojiddin Muhriddin who will also host and chair the event.

The foreign ministers of SCO member states will be participating in the meet which will deliberate on important regional and international issues and consider documents for approval and adoption by the Council of Heads of State — the top decision-making body in the SCO. The foreign minister will also participate in the meeting of the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group.

There, he will share Islamabad’s perspective on the situation in the war-battered Afghanistan and stress the imperative of a peaceful, negotiated political solution to the conflict.

Staff rePort

Accepting Pakistan’s request to include China-made vaccines to its list of approved Covid-19 shots for visitors, Saudi Arabia has permitted Pakistan nationals inoculated with Chinese jabs to enter the Kingdom, reports said.

However, the visitors will have to receive a booster shot of vaccines approved by the Saudi Ministry of Health on arrival in the Kingdom, health authorities said.

In addition, the travellers are also required to provide evidence of negative antigen tests on arrival.

Saudi Arabia has only approved the AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Anyone arriving without one of those shots is required to quarantine at a cost many say they cannot afford.

But Pakistan has relied extensively on the Sinopharm, CanSino, and Sinovac vaccines the government purchased from China. That became a problem for the tens of thousands of expatriates — who work in Saudi Arabia and contribute $7 billion — when the Kingdom barred direct travel from Pakistan citing pandemic concerns.

The government only started using AstraZeneca to inoculate the people after receiving 1.2 million doses of the vaccine in May under the World Health

Parliamentarians agree on climate actions to counter challenges ISLAMABAD Shahzad Paracha

Organisation’s COVAX programme for equitable distribution of Covid-19 shots among developing nations.

Last month, Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed announced that Prime Minister Imran Khan himself was handling the matter of Saudi and some other countries in the Middle East not accepting the vaccination certificate of the Sinopharm vaccine.

The government has also made an agreement to procure 13 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer, Minister of State for Health Dr Faisal Sultan announced last month.

An exact timeline was not yet available, Dr Faisal had told Reuters, but said the doses would arrive by the end of 2021, under an agreement the government has made with the manufacturer.

The government has also approved spending $1.1 billion on procuring vaccines, part of its goal to inoculate at least 70 million people.

The parliamentarians of Pakistan hailing from all leading political parties have agreed on undertaking climate actions based on long-term sustainable approach to counter emerging challenges and threats from climate change including in the areas of food, water and energy security. Speaking at a consultation gathering on ‘Impacts of Climate change across different sector of Pakistan’ organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI). They were of the view that shifting towards clean energy is the need of the hour for being the safest, reliable, and efficient means of energy production. They called for harnessing abundant indigenous resources as they are important for economic growth of the country. Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Climate Change, Rukhsana Naveed, urged both the treasury and opposition benches to work together to better respond to all the climate related challenges. She said, both sides can work under a ‘Green Parliamentarian Caucus’ in the parliament on the cause of climate change to save nation from climatic hazards. The Caucus can play a great role in mobilizing policy makers, leadership across the divide and the common citizens for efficient use of energy and water to achieve the goal of protecting the environment and ecosystem.

Tuesday, 13 July, 2021

LAHORE

Pm For tHird-Party vigiLanCe For timeLy ComPLetion oF Punjab deveLoPment ProjeCts ISLAMABAD

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03

NEWS

aPP

RIME Minister Imran Khan on Monday directed to adopt scientific means and the third-party vigilance to monitor the completion of development projects in Punjab.

Chairing a meeting through video-link on the Punjab Development Package, he said the officials of all district and relevant departments would be held responsible for

timely completion of the projects.

The prime minister stressed to put special focus on the development package at district level to ensure provision of facilities to the general public.

On implementation of the Universal Healthcare Insurance in Punjab, he emphasized on inclusion of common man in the system to help him fully avail the facility.

He said creation of playgrounds for the youth in each district was important to help them explore opportunities of healthy

activities. He directed that the Prime Minister’s Office should be kept informed of the quarterly review and progress report of the Punjab Development Package.

The virtual meeting from Lahore was attended by Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar, Provincial Finance Minister Hashim Jawan Bakht, Adviser to the CM Dr Salman Shah, Special Assistant to the CM Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, the Chief Secretary Punjab and other senior officials. Minister of State for Information Farrukh Habib joined

from Islamabad.

Chief Minister Buzdar said the budget of development projects for the fiscal year 2021-22 had been increased by 66 percent while the rate of utilization of last year’s budget was 97 percent, which was a record in the last 10 years. A total of 5,889 schemes were completed during the previous year, he added. The Punjab Planning Board secretary informed the meeting that the budget targets for the current year were set keeping in view the Punjab Growth Strategy 2023.

He mentioned that special focus was laid on economic growth, comprehensive and unified development, agricultural and human development, Sustainable Development Goals, District Development Package, environmental protection and public-private partnership. It was mentioned that the total volume of the province’s current year development budget was Rs560 billion, which included 7,116 projects, of which 90 percent were new schemes.

The meeting was informed that funds had been allocated for various sectors, including Rs54 billion for education, Rs99 billion for health, Rs100 billion for the District Development Package, Rs36.5 billion for agriculture, Rs11.3 billion for social security, Rs12.2 billion for industry, and Rs5 billion for information technology sector. The development budget was expected to create 350,000 jobs.

Govt will take help as required,‘including the army’s help’, to curb Covid: SAPM NEwS DESK

LAHORE: A view of traffic congestion at Ferozpur Road following heavy rain in the provincial capital. zUBaIr Mehfooz

Forensic report to ascertain if model was raped before murder: police LAHORE Staff rePort

Lahore police have handed over the body of a young woman who was found dead at her residence in the Defense Housing Authority neighbourhood under mysterious circumstances to her heirs after an autopsy. Nayab Nadeem, 29, a model by profession, was strangulated to death by unknown suspects at her house, the first information report of the incident said. She lived alone in the house and was not married, it added. Defence-B police station Station House Officer Nayyar Nisar said police suspected that the deceased was strangulated, but added that the post-mortem report will reveal the facts about her death. The police said evidence was being collected from Nadeem’s mobile phone. A forensic report will ascertain if she was subjected to sexual assault before her murder, it added.

PoLiCe arrests gun-toting man in Front oF ParLiament House ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Capital Territory Police on Monday arrested a gun-toting veiled person named Malik Sohail Awan, 45, in front of the Parliament House. In a dramatic scene, a person named Sohail, resident of Chakwal, appeared in front of the Parliament House in Islamabad with a pistol in one hand and a knife in the other hand. After much deliberation, police arrested the ‘mentally unstable’ person and shifted him to Secretariat Police Station.

It has been revealed there were no bullets in the pistol but Sohail managed to ‘terrorize’ people and police personnel early morning in Islamabad. Police have also confiscated the motorcycle on which the accused person came. A big question mark is how he managed to appear in front of parliament house with a gun in his hand openly. INP

no CasuaLty rePorted From grenade attaCk on sCHooL, says PoLiCe A grenade attack took place at a school in the North Waziristan area during the annual examinations of the female students of grade 12, reported Geo News.

So far, no casualties have been reported by the police and the area is under investigation to track down the unidentified assailants. Talking to Geo News, North Waziristan District Police Officer Shafiullah Gandapur said that unidentified extremists threw the grenade at the empty security post above a government school in Haider Khel to cause panic.

“This was an attempt to disturb the law and order situation of the area [….] an investigation into the attack is underway, and no one will be allowed to disturb the peace here,” he said. The DPO said he was hopeful to get “results” soon. Malik Gul Saleh Jan, a Haider Khel tribal leader, said Government Girls High School Haider Khel is the only girls’ high school in Mirali Tehsil where girls come from far and wide for education. NewS deSk

“We will take all administrative help for this as required, including the army’s help,” said Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan said on Monday regarding the incumbent government’s efforts to guarantee compliance with nonpharmaceutical interventions to limit the spread of Covid-19.

According to a report by Dawn, SAPM Sultan said while speaking to the media in Islamabad that it was necessary to ensure compliance of current NPIs and the government would make efforts for that through two ways.

The first would be through mass appeal to the nation to follow restrictions such as mask-wearing and avoiding crowds, while

nCoC daiLy uPdate: 1,808 Cases, 17 deatHs From Covid-19 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday reported 1,808 new Covid-19 cases, the National Command and Operation Centre said on Monday. The NCOC, the department leading the campaign against the pandemic, said that the total caseload of confirmed cases reached 975,092, including 913,873 recoveries. The number of active cases rose to 38,622 who are under treatment across the country, including 2,162 critical patients. According to the NCOC, 15 more patients died from the pandemic on Sunday, taking the death toll to 22,597. Punjab is the most affected province of the country with 348,309 infections and 10,822 deaths, followed by Sindh which has reported 347,478 cases and 5,607 deaths so far. Sindh has 24,204 active cases while Punjab has 8,649 active cases. The NCOC said on its website that Pakistan has administered 19,883,900 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine across the country, with 3,942,291 people fully vaccinated so far. Staff rePort

the second would be administrative actions to increase compliance, particularly

focusing on destinations.

big

cities

and

tourist

Covid positivity ratio rises, Sindh health dept proposes shutting down primary schools NEwS DESK While the country attempts to recover from the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the rising positivity ratio in Sindh has led the provincial health department to propose the shutting down of schools once more.

It bears mentioning that the Covid positivity ratio climbed to seven percent in the province, with a 14 percent ratio in Karachi. It further proposed a ban on indoor dining and keeping businesses closed for two days, instead of the one safe day a week currently being enforced. The proposals were made during a meeting on the coronavirus situation, headed by Sindh Chief Secretary Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah, where the chief secretary directed all commissioners and deputy commissioners to take strict action against violators of the violations of pandemic-

related standard operation procedures.

Chairing an important meeting on the coronavirus situation held at Sindh Secretariat on Monday, he said that marriage halls, cattle markets (Cattle Mandis), restaurants and markets would be sealed for violating SOPs of coronavirus.

Mumtaz Ali Shah directed all the divisional commissioners including the commissioner Karachi to impose smart lockdowns in the areas where cases of coronavirus are on the rise.

At the meeting, Secretary Health Kazim Hussain Jatoi proposed to close primary schools. He further proposed banning indoor dining, minimum attendance in wedding halls and complete closure of business two days a week. On this, the Sindh CS said that the proposals of the health department would be presented in the meeting of the task force headed by the Sindh chief minister.

Tuesday, 13 July, 2021

04 NEWS

LAHORE

PResiDeNT CALLs FoR RAPiD WoRK oN DigiTAL eCoNoMy KARACHI

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sTaFF rePOrT

RESIDENT Dr Arif Alvi has said that the digital economy is flourishing around the world and a rapid work on it in Pakistan will open up more avenues for the country in coming days.

The president said this on Monday while addressing an agreement signing ceremony between Universal Service Fund and Pakistan Telecommunication Limited (PTCL), to lay 700-kilometre optical fibre in Naushahro Feroze, Benazirabad and Khairpur for high-speed broadband services.

The president stressed the need for further improving the communication system and information technology for rapid development of the country. He said that IT education should be imparted to the youth who are the real strength of the country and can play a role in the development. President Alvi said that seamless internet con-

First Lady calls for registration of PWDs with NADRA

nectivity is imperative for growth of the information technology (IT) sector which had the potential to materialise the dream of exponential development in the current era.

He said the people across the globe convey their thinking and approach to the world through digital highways.

He said that Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoIT) Syed Aminul Haq has been entrusted with responsibility for the development of the IT sector since people had formal exchange of views and ideas on digital highways.

He said that the Covid-19 situation has made the world realise the fact that a lot of knowledge was available on the internet and added the younger generation was receiving quick knowledge through digital highways.

President Alvi said the IT exports of the country would eventually increase if the IT sector promptly achieved new milestones. He said, “Pakistan is second to none in the intellectual battle and we just need to teach the latest skills to our youths at par with the modern era to make them our strength.” He also stressed

the need to further improve IT education at all levels in the country.

Speaking on the occasion, Syed Aminul Haq said that internet connectivity is the first pillar of the Digital Pakistan initiative. He said that the huge amount of Rs31 billion is being spent for providing broadband internet facility to the far-flung and under-developed areas of the country. He pointed out that over 80 percent of work has already been completed on OFC installation and infrastructure development in Dadu and Jamshoro.

Haq informed the gathering that work is underway for establishing IT Park in Karachi near the Karachi Airport. He said “We want to launch the 5G internet facility in Pakistan by December 2022.” Earlier, President Dr Arif Alvi along with Syed Aminul Haq witnessed the signing of contract by Chief Executive Officer of USF, Haris Mehmood Chaudhry and Group Chief Finance Officer PTCL Mohammad Nadeem Khan.

PSX sheds 116 points on Covid-19, Afghan situation KARACHI TlTP

KARACHI Press release

First Lady Begum Samina Arif Alvi on Monday urged the family members of Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) to get them register with the National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA) so they could also get benefits from Federal Government's Ehsaas Program. She said this while speaking at a wheel chair distribution ceremony at the Sindh Governor’s House.

Begum Samina Arif Alvi also distributed cheques and wheel chairs among the PWDs on the occasion. Mrs. Alvi assured the persons with disabilities that the cheques and wheel chairs will be regularly distributed in Karachi in collaboration with Pakistan Baitul Mal (PBM) and Akhuwat Foundation (AF). Begum Samina Arif Alvi highly appreciated the efforts of PBM and AF for collecting data of PWDs and emphasized that follow-up sessions should also be held to bring maximum number of PWDs under social safety net.

Begum Samina Arif Alvi encouraged the persons with disabilities to invest money in some ventures for their sustainable growth rather than frequently depend on cash. Mrs. Alvi also stressed for providing employment to the PWDs in private sector, especially to those who are educated and skilled and sole bread earner for their families. She said that loans to facilitate the women and PWDs for launching any business, have also been provided by the Federal Government under Kamyab Jawan Program. Mrs. Reema Imran, wife of Sindh Governor Imran Ismail was also present at the occasion.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued with range-bound activity amid bearish trend, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding 116.37 points (-0.24 percent) to close at 47,447.08 points.

The market opened on a positive note but it came under selling pressure and remained in the red zone for the later part of the session. The KSE100 Index traded in a range of 307.4 points, showing an intraday high of 47,715.2 and a low of 47,407.8 points.

Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index shed 114.33 points (-0.35 percent) to close at 32,428.1 points, while All Share Islamic Index shed 86.58 points (-0.37 percent) to close at 23,215.94 points.

A total of 381 companies traded shares in the stock exchange, out of them shares of 127 closed up, shares of 235 closed down while shares of 19 companies remained unchanged. The overall market volumes decreased by 31 million to 474.99 million shares. The number of total trades decreased by 21,312 to 129,929, and value traded decreased by Rs1.05 billion to Rs14.32 billion. The market cap decreased by Rs21.09 billion.

Among scrips, WTL led the table with 70.9 million shares, followed by TREET (63.5 million) and TPL (26.5 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include WTL, TREET, TPL, GGGL and UNITY, which formed 43 per cent of total volumes.

According to behaviour of different sectors, the index was let down by cement with 38 points,

technology & communication with 23 points, power generation & distribution with 15 points, commercial banks with 11 points and oil & gas marketing companies with 10 points. The most points taken off the index were by TRG which stripped the index of 17 points followed by LUCK with 17 points, BAHL with 16 points, NESTLE with 11 points and CHCC with 11 points.

The sectors propping up the index were tobacco with 13 points, investment banks/ investment companies/ securities companies with 13 points, food & personal care products with 9 points, textile spinning with 3 points and textile composite with 2 points. The most points added to the index were

by UNITY which contributed 20 points followed

by PSX with 20 points, MCB with 14 points, PAKT with 13 points and HBL with 6 points.

According to analysts, the choppy behaviour of the market was due to a surge in Covid-19 positivity ratio as it crossed 3.9 percent and rising uncertainty in the Afghanistan region where the Taliban claim to control 85 percent of the territory.

They said that institutional investors have particularly been concerned over the developing situation in Afghanistan that can have an implication on otherwise peaceful law and order situation in Pakistan, as well as increasing current account deficit that can result in declining rupee parity with USD. Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market traded in a narrow range and is slowly adjusting downwards after performance of last week.

They said the session saw index moving between -156 points and +152 points, closing the session 116 points. Technology, steel, refinery and cement sectors were particularly under selling pressure.

Gold price slides down to Rs92,300 per 10gm NEWS DESK Gold price dipped to the $1800 per ounce mark on Monday, as the US dollar’s rebound loses steam in the European session.

As of 1155 GMT, gold was available in the international market at $1,800.10 per ounce after shedding $8.80.

Meanwhile, the price of 10 grams of yellow metal in Pakistan decreased to Rs92,300 with a loss of Rs300. The closing price of yellow metal in the country remained Rs92,600 on Friday.

According to analysts, the recent range-bound price action over the past few trading sessions points to indecision among traders. This, in turn, makes it prudent to wait for a sustained move in either direction before placing any aggressive bets.

Meanwhile, dips below the $1,800 mark might continue to find some support near the $1,795-93 horizontal support, which should act as a key pivotal point for intraday traders. A convincing break

below might prompt some technical selling and accelerate the slide further towards the $1,780-78 support zone.

Some follow-through selling below the $1,775 level will negate any near-term positive bias and turn the commodity vulnerable. The next relevant support is pegged near the $1,762-60 region, below which the XAU/USD could slide back to retest June monthly swing lows, around the $1,750 area, said the analysts.

According to them, on the flip side, the $1,815-18 region now seems to have emerged as immediate resistance. This is followed by the very important 200-day SMA, around the $1,828-29 zone. A sustained strength beyond it will be seen as a fresh trigger for bullish traders and set the stage for an extension of the recent positive momentum witnessed over the past three weeks or so.

The commodity might then aim to surpass an intermediate barrier around the $1,852-55 region and test the next major hurdle near the $1,870 level.

Centre released Rs35bn to NDMA to start work on KTP: governor NEWS DESK Sindh Governor Imran Ismail has said that the federal government has released Rs35 billion to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to start work on Karachi Transformation Plan (KTP). In a series of tweets on Monday, the governor revealed the “real story”, saying all three big nullahs of Mehmoodabad, Gujjar and Orangi are being cleaned and revamped with the funds provided by the federal government. The governor said that the federal government has provided sufficient funds to the Sindh government and Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) for removal of encroachments in the city. “Rent for affectees for one year @ rate of Rs15000/ per household per month has already been paid by the federal government/ NDMA to the government of Sindh/KMC.” He further said that the government of Sindh and KMC are responsible to make payments in time. He maintained that despite timely payments to the government of Sindh/ KMC, some families have not been paid on one pretext or the other The governor said that sufficient funds have been paid by the federal government to the provincial government/ KMC for removal of encroachments; however, removal is very slow. Resultantly, in such areas difficulty is being faced in accessing and cleaning of nullahs. He maintained that the government of Sindh and KMC should ensure removal of encroachments without any further delay. Earlier on Sunday, Governor Sindh Imran Ismail said that the government is keen to provide cooperation to complete developmental projects of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

Talking to Chairman NDMA Karachi Lt Gen Akhtar Nawaz Satti in Governor’s House, he said the completion of NDMA developmental projects will be ensured in time. During the meeting, both the leaders discussed timely completion of drainage and other developmental projects.

Bitcoin, ether down as crypto prices remain mixed NEWS DESK The prices of major digital currencies remained mixed on Monday following the FBI’s warning against upcoming attacks on cryptocurrency exchanges and holders, with the market cap decreasing to $1.44 trillion (-0.3 percent) as of 1215 GMT. The price of Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency, decreased to $33,610 after shedding 0.41 percent. With this decrease in price, the market capitalisation of the BTC has reached $630 billion. Likewise, ethereum (ETH) price shed 0.86 percent to reach $2,105. With this decrease in price, the market capitalisation of ETH has reached $245 billion.

However, XRP gained 1.53 percent to reach $0.637.

The market capitalisation of XRP stands at $63.6 billion after this increase. On the other hand, Cardano (ADA) price reached $1.34 with a 0.13 percent increase in its price. Its market capitalisation has reached $43.1 billion with this increase. However, Dogecoin (Doge) price depreciated by 0.28 percent to reach $0.213. With this decrease in price, the market capitalisation of Doge reached $27.6 billion. The FBI issued a warning against upcoming attacks on cryptocurrency exchanges and holders last week. The FBI stated there are groups actively tracking vulnerabilities in these companies to take action. It explained that these groups are using a group of techniques to achieve these means. These techniques include SIM swapping, tech support fraud, and account stealing. The warning also detailed some recommendations for institutions to maintain their holdings safe: keeping watch on incoming mails and monitor accounts for unusual movements. The FBI advised cryptocurrency holders to always use twofactor authentication and be aware of the information they share on social media. However, it is very difficult to prevent SIM swap attacks because they are relatively easy to complete. The attacker just needs to get hold of the telephone number of the potential victim. Then these attackers proceed in two different forms: the first one involves identity theft, with the attackers fooling tech reps into believing the affected person lost or damaged the SIM card. This prompts them to issue a new SIM card to the attacker. The other vector involves insider contacts in a telephone carrier.

The attacker leverages this contact to obtain a new SIM with the number of the potential victim. This allows them to gain access from exchanges even if there is some kind of multi-factor authentication defence in place.

IRSA releases 293,300 cusecs water as inflow improves NEWS DESK The Indus River System Authority (IRSA) released 293,300 cusecs of water from various rim stations with inflow of 349,200 cusecs on Monday, as water inflow improved.

According to the data released by

IRSA, water level in the Indus River at Tarbela Dam was 1440.75 feet, which was 56.75 feet higher than its dead level 1386 feet. Water inflow and outflow in the dam was recorded as 183,300 and 155,000 cusecs respectively.

The water level in the Jhelum River at Mangla Dam was 1156.55 feet, which

CMYK

was 118.55 feet higher than its dead level of 1040 feet whereas the inflow and outflow of water was recorded as 46,300 and 19,700 cusecs respectively.

The release of water at Kalabagh, Taunsa and Sukkur was recorded as 172,000, 137,400 and 30,100 cusecs respectively. Similarly, from the Kabul

River a total of 36,300 cusecs of water was released at Nowshera and 48,400 cusecs released from the Chenab River at Marala.

The IRSA on Sunday released 291,100 cusecs of water from various rim stations with an inflow of 326,300 cusecs.

Tuesday, 13 July, 2021

lahore

UnvAccInAted school stAFF to be denIed entry From AUg 1 LAHORE

t

INP

HE Punjab government on Monday decided to ban the entry of all government and private schools’ teaching and non-teaching staff to the educational institutes from Aug 1 who are not 100% vaccinated.

The District Education Officers have been assigned the task to provide the vaccination certificates of the educational institutes’ staff to the education department.

It has been decided to take action against unvaccinated teaching and non-teaching staff.

From Aug 1, the teachers and other staff of educational institutes who are not inoculated

would be denied entry to the school buildings.

The staff both academic and non-academic have been advised to be 100% inoculated.

District Education Authority, Lahore CEO Pervaiz Akhtar issued the directives.

The DEOs would provide vaccination certificates to the DEA, Lahore. In the first phase, the

Court grants four-day physical remand of Mufti Aziz, orders DNA test LAHORE INP

A North Cantt Court in Lahore granted a four-day physical remand of accused molester Mufti Azizur Rehman to CIA Police. The court has also ordered a DNA test and medical checkup of accused Mufti Azizur Rehman. On Sunday, Police arrested Mufti Azizur Rehman, accused of sexually abusing his seminary student, from Mianwali. The police had also arrested Mufti Azizur Rehman's two sons from Lahore and Lakki Marwat. A case has been registered by the Lahore police against Mufti Azizur Rehman, his sons and two unidentified persons. A team of the Lahore Police arrested Mufti Azizur Rehman in a late-night raid in Mianwali.

The 70-year-old religious cleric and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam’s deputy ameer in Lahore is now in police lock-up after an FIR was lodged against him for sexually assaulting one of his seminary pupils.

Lahore Police said that Mufti’s student Sabir Shah lodged an FIR in North Cantt Police Station in which he claimed his teacher blackmailed him after he failed in one of his examinations and demanded sexual favours in return. The video went viral on social media and was widely condemned with people demanding immediate action.

Teary-eyed Sabir Shah in the video said that his life was in danger as Mufti Aziz’s

sons threatened to kill him for exposing Mufti Aziz. JUI-F has also suspended the membership of Mufti Aziz. The case has been registered at the North Cantt police station on the complaint of the student under Section 377 (unnatural offences) and Section 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The victim said that during the exams, Mufti Rehman had accused him and another student of cheating by getting someone else to sit for the exams. “Over this, I was also banned from giving exams at the Wafaqul Madaris for three years,” he said in the complaint. Also, the victim said he complained to the madrassah’s administration but they refused to believe him as Mufti Rehman was an “elder and a pious man”.

Mufti Rehman had denied the accusation of sexual abuse in a video statement and claimed that he was drugged by his student before he was filmed. “In fact, the boy gave me sedatives in my tea and after that I was not in my senses,” he had said. “The biggest proof is that my body was not even moving. If I were in my senses, how could I have not known that he was making a video from his phone?”

The cleric had claimed that the videos were a conspiracy to remove him from Jamia Manzoorul Islamia, Lahore. He was terminated by his madrassa and his party, the JUIF, suspended his party membership after the videos went viral.

DEOs would provide Covid-19 vaccine certificates of teaching and non-teaching staff till July 13.

Mr Pervaiz said that the vaccination certificates of private schools’ staff would also be checked and no leniency would be shown in this regard.

On the other hand, Punjab Chief Secretary Jawad Rafiq Malik demanded 100% vaccina-

tion certificate from all secretaries and commissioners. He asked the secretaries to monitor the vaccination campaign personally.

Sources revealed that the chief secretary directed to take action against those officials who were refusing to get Covid-19 vaccine jabs.

The S&G Department has issued a directive in this regard.

Indonesia–Pakistan B2B online portal inaugurated LAHORE TLTP

Punjab Minister for Industries & Trade Mian Aslam Iqbal and Ambassador of Indonesia Adam M Tugio on Monday inaugurated Indonesia-Pakistan business to business (B2B) online portal.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony, Mian Aslam Iqbal said that Pakistan and Indonesia share deep potential, cultural, religious ties and respect for democratic values. Being the largest countries in the Islamic world, the two stand together for their progress and prosperity.

He said that Indonesia-Pakistan preferential trade agreement (PTA) has been beneficial for private businesses of both countries and instrumental in focusing growth in Pakistan. He said that the level of trade and investment between the two countries has not kept pace with global trends. There is considerable untapped potential to expand trade taking advantage of the PTA. He said, “Recent understanding between PBIT and Indonesian Embassy in Pakistan to form a joint working group to facilitate bilateral trade and investments clearly indicates our resolve to strengthen the economic ties between the two countries.” The provincial minister said, “As a result of bold economic reforms of the government of Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan, we have achieved significant improvement in all major economic indi-

cators; Pakistan’s economic growth has increased despite the challenges of Covid19.” He said Punjab has taken regional lead in special economic zone development and colonisation.

“I invite the business communities of both countries to make use of the attractive incentives package available in our special economic zones (SEZs) and export processing zones (EPZs) and set up their manufacturing units.” Speaking on the occasion, Indonesian Ambassador Adam M Tugio congratulated the Punjab government and Punjab Board of Investment & Trade for holding a successful event. He said the embassy will convene a series of events to promote tourism and investment.

This series of activities will be complementary to cultural diplomacy i.e. being conducted by the embassy in collaboration with ECommerce Gateway Pakistan. He hoped that such activities would enhance people-to-people contacts and increase trade volume which amounted to $2.5 billion last year.

CEO PBIT Dr Erfa Iqbal briefed on various sectors and availability of numerous potential opportunities for investors in Punjab. She pointed out that special economic zones are being set up in all the provinces and regions of Pakistan. Vice President E-Commerce Gateway Pakistan Uzair Nizam underscored that such events play a vital role in increasing bilateral trade between the two countries as well as hosting economy and business activities.

news

05

Islamabad health workers demand early release of covid-19 risk allowance ISLAMABAD INP

The health workers of Islamabad’s government hospitals are on strike on Monday against the non-release of the Covid-19 risk allowance. The doctors and the paramedic staff of PIMS, Polyclinic, CDA, FGH and others shut down Outpatient Departments (OPDs) in protest to force the federal government for early release of Covid-19 risk allowance to them. The paramedics have also halted the Covid vaccination drive and vowed to continue their strike in the government hospitals until the release of the Covid-19 risk allowance. Earlier in the month, the health ministry had decided to disburse Covid-19 risk allowance only to front-line health workers in federal hospitals and institutions. In a letter to federal-administered hospitals and institutions, the health ministry had asked the administration to provide data of the paramedics for the provision Covid-19 risk allowance to them.

Pakistan’s soil not being used against Afghanistan: Fawad COntInuED fROM pAgE 01 HUMANITARIAN CONCERNS: As fighting continued, a World Health Organisation official said health workers were struggling to get medicines and supplies into Afghanistan, and that some staff had fled after facilities came under attack. The regional emergencies director of WHO, Rick Brennan, said at least 18.4 million people require humanitarian assistance, including 3.1 million children at risk of acute malnutrition. “We are concerned about our lack of access to be able to provide essential medicines and supplies and we are concerned about attacks on health care,” Brennan, speaking via videolink from Cairo, told a UN briefing in Geneva last week. Some aid will arrive by next week including 3.5 million Covid-19 vaccine doses and oxygen concentrators, he said.

They included doses of Johnson & Johnson’s shot donated by the United States and AstraZeneca doses through the COVAX facility. A US donation of more than 1.4 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine arrived on Friday, the UN children’s agency UNICEF said.

Port city filled with fear as monsoon season sets in COntInuED fORM pAgE 01 Data from the meteorological department showed that during the last 24 hours, Gulshan-i-Hadeed received the highest amount of rainfall (17mm), followed by PAF Faisal Base (5.0mm), University Road Met Complex (4.3mm), North Karachi (4.2mm), Landhi (4.0mm), Sadi Town (3.6mm), Jinnah Terminal (3.2mm), MOS – Old Area Airport (3.0mm), Surjani (2.8mm), PAF Masroor Base (1.0mm) and Nazimabad (1.0mm).

Moreover, even more rain wind/thundershowers are forecast in most parts of the country during the current week, said MET office Islamabad on Monday.

It said monsoon likely to remain very active during the week a strong monsoon weather system giving rains in the country was likely to persist in different parts of the country.

Rain-wind-thundershower (with few heavy to very heavy falls) was expected in Kashmir, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin, Sialkot, Narowal, Gujranwala, Hafizabad, Lahore, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Okara, Faisalabad, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, Sargodha, Mianwali, Khushab, Bhakkar and Layyah, Dir, Swat, Buner, Kohistan, Shangla, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur, Mardan, Swabi, Charsadda, Nowshera, Peshawar, Waziristan, Kurrum, Bannu, Kohat, Lakki Marwat, Tank, Karak and Dera Ismail Khan, Gilgit-Baltistan (Ghizer, Astore, Diamer, Skardu, Gilgit, Hunza Nagar, Ghanche and Kharmang) from Monday to Thursday.

Rain/wind-thundershower (with isolated heavy falls) was expected in Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, Multan, Khanewal, Sahiwal, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan, Sibbi, Naseerabad, Jaffarabad, Qila Saifullah, Qila Abdallah, Kohlu, Loralai, Barkhan, Kalat, Khuzdar, Lasbella, Awaran, Kech, Panjgur, Mastung, Quetta, Ziarat, Zhob, Harnai, Sukkar, Jaccobabad, Larkana, Khairpur, Tharparker, Sanghar, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Thatta, Badin, Hyderabad, Dadu, Shaheed Benazirabad and Karachi from Monday to Friday.

The Met office also informed that heavy rain may

generate flash flooding in Local/Barsati Nullahs of Sialkot, Narowal, hill torrents of Dera Ghazi Khan, Balochistan, Shangla, Buner, Batgram, Upper Swat, Kohistan and Kashmir from Monday to Wednesday Urban flooding is expected in Rawalpindi, Lahore, Gujranwala, Peshawar and Faisalabad, Karachi, Hyderabad, Thatta, Badin during the period.

Heavy rains may trigger landslides in the vulnerable areas of Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from Monday to Wednesday.

Possibility of damaging effects due to windstorms along the western border of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Water level rise in the major rivers and improvement in water reservoirs.

The rain claimed the life of a young boy in Alfalah society, Karachi. Station House Officer Rashid Din said that Hammad was riding his bicycle when he encountered rainwater that had accumulated on the street. During this, he touched an electricity pole and was electrocuted, the official said.

Similarly, at least two minor girls were killed while one got seriously injured when the roof of a house collapsed due to rain and wind storm in Lower Dir on Monday. Rescue teams reached the site immediately and removed bodies from the debris.

Towards the north, The KP Provincial Disaster Management Authority has developed a monsoon contingency plan 2021 to minimise disasters risks and ensure a timely coordinated response to monsoon related hazards. According to the PDMA press release issued on Monday, the plan was prepared with consultation of all stakeholders including district administration, provincial and federal line departments and development partners.

As many as nine KP districts are considered as highrisk districts during the coming monsoon including Charrsada, DI Khan, Shangla, Dir Upper, Nowshera, Swat, Chitral upper and Chitral Lower.

The plan would help give a timely coordinated response and minimise monsoon related hazards, vulnerabilities, risks and resource mapping.

The plan outcomes reinforce prevention, mitigation

and response to monsoon related disasters.

According to PDMA Director General Sharif Hussain, natural disasters caused massive losses to people’s lives, livelihoods and properties, which retarded economic growth. “Under this contingency plan, the authority make efforts to minimize the losses likely to be caused by the natural disasters,” he said.

The DG said PDMA, being cognizant of the importance of monsoon preparedness and contingency planning, has worked out contingency plan 2021 to minimize the impending disaster risk within the province through the formulation of a comprehensive plan and its effective and efficient implementation. The process of monsoon contingency planning was started from the first week of March 2021 by involving all stakeholders. Tools for data collection were developed and shared with all stakeholders including information regarding districts and sectorspecific hazards and vulnerability profile, hazard impact, damages, compensation paid, resource mapping, need assessment and coordination.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has faced various natural calamities in the past decades including earthquakes, floods, locust attacks and the ensuing pandemic which has strained the thin resources and had put enormous pressure on the economy as well as the lives and livelihood of the people of this province.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, due to the impacts of climate change patterns and global warming, has witnessed a number of other events like the recurrence of recent years glacial lake outbursts floods in the northern regions, especially in Chitral which wreaked havoc to the built system of that areas.

Similarly, the thunderstorms and heavy rain-fall in Malakand and Hazara regions resulted in widespread damages and flooding downstream.

Due to the changing weather patterns, such types of events will increase in frequency in the future aheadwhich warrants mitigative measures, preparedness and planning ahead of time and a multi-pronged approach and implementation of disaster risk reduction strategies.

The plan gives a detailed view of hazards profile of

all the districts vulnerabilities and risks and its index, available and deployed resources, mapping of public and private sector machinery, mechanism of coordination at district, provincial and national level, the type of strategy to be adopted and the formation of a control room in case of any emergency situation.

The plan chalks out the preparedness level of all stakeholders and will serve as a guiding tool for all the stakeholders.

Keeping in view the current climate change patterns, including overall global warming, rising temperatures, severe weather events, Glacial Lakes Outburst Flooding and incidents of the last monsoon, the present plan outlines different scenarios of emergency situations ranging from small scale events to large scale devastation.

PDMA has already dispatched a sufficient quantity of relief items to all the districts of KP and has provided funds to be used for coping with any emergency situation. PDMA Director (Disaster Risk Management) Zuhra Nigar said PDMA has installed flood Early Warning System in upper catchment areas on seven telemetry stations established at Swat River at Khawaza Khela, River Swat on Chakdara Bridge, at Panjkora River at Jabalot Bridge Unkor UC Bibyawar, Upper Dir, Munda Head Works, Abazai, Kalpani River, Mardan Ring Road Bridge, rivers/nallahs to monitor the water level and generate early warning intimation in order to protect the human lives. The prime intent is to establish streams and rain gauges networks in the hilly areas linked with a computer-based model.

Early warning system analyzes existing data with previous flash flood historical data and upon reaching a dangerous level the system generates alert signals which will ultimately activate Provincial Emergency Operations Center. PDMA-PEOC remains active 24/7 and fully functional with free of cost emergency helpline 1700. The helpline has been linked up with all line departments and districts administrations for quick response during any emergency situation and having easy access for the general public to guide and alert in realtime prior to any emergency.

Tuesday, 13 July, 2021

06 COMMENT

Medical ‘science’

New Afghan realities Need to keep pace with times

W

Not much of a science really

HILE several provincial capitals in Afghanistan continue to resist the assault, the Taliban’s victory is a forgone conclusion after the withdrawal of foreign troops and the air force. The Taliban office in Qatar has meanwhile sent delegations to major regional countries to assure that foreign fighters would not be allowed to use Afghan soil against any country. This indicates a welcome break from the past and one hopes that those still using the host country as a launching pad against Pakistan and other states will be taken care of. While continuing to wage war the Taliban maintain that a negotiated settlement is still their policy.

Us envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is to visit Qatar, Uzbekistan and Pakistan to try to rejuvenate Afghan peace process.

One hopes that the Taliban will join the talks that should lead to a mutually agreed settlement.

The Taliban however are determined to turn Afghanistan into an Islamic Emirate. Taliban spokesman suhail shaheen maintains that it will not be an Islamic dictatorship. In what respect will it be different from the present Islamic republic of Afghanistan? The Afghan Taliban concede that women’s basic rights will be ensured, access to education and work will be provided while freedom of speech will be ensured. It is yet to be seen how far the country under the present Taliban would be different from Afghanistan under Mullah Umar.

The situation in Afghanistan would be high on the agenda of the ongoing sCO Foreign Ministers meeting as well as in the meeting of sCO-Afghanistan Contact Group. The Foreign Minister will share Pakistan’s perspective on the situation and stress the imperative of a peaceful, negotiated political solution Pakistan needs to take urgent decisions regarding Afghan refugees and the timing of the recognition of the new realities in Afghanistan. Equally important is to realise the sensitivity of foreign policy issues which require delicate handling. There is a need on the part of the PM to bar unrelated ministers, special assistants and spokespersons from speaking on the issue. An important federal minister has talked about the “new, civilized Afghan Taliban”. Was it necessary to imply that the first generation Taliban were not civilised?

HASAN AFTAB SAEED

I

s egg good or bad for you? Is it a good idea for the middle-aged to have aspirin every day? What about vitamin pills? Are they good, bad, or merely useless? Well, nobody knows despite the spectacular parade of medical science that has been going on for some decades now. The fact of the matter is that medical ‘science’ is not much of a science. Like home remedies and conventional wisdoms, it is for the most part anecdotal. This doctor from this institute says A; that doctor from that other institute says B. Good luck with choosing A or B, or C for that matter. The situation is akin to attempting to knock on the right door in a pitch-dark room with conflicting advice constantly coming from all sides.

Physics is science–the only true science. Even chemistry in many ways is very far from that stage.

Biology has yet to even starton the journey; therefore, medicine and health are likely to remain predominantly anecdotal for a fair while. sure, they are often referred to as sciences, but only in a very loose sense of the word.

What makes matters even worse in case of health reports is that one is often reassured, worried, surprised, or shocked (as the case may be) by one of the ‘latest’ researches before one realizes

FDI woes

P

AKIsTAN has deputed new counselors in China to promote foreign investment in industrialisation under the second phase of the latter-financed economic projects in the south Asian economy.

This is the only leg the government has to stand on in a recent claim that Pakistan is going to receive in excess of $50 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by 2023. The startling declaration was made by the Board of Investment (BoI) which has given little indication as to how it came to this figure or what reason they have to believe this is so other than wishful thinking. Announced

by Federal secretary Fareeha Mazhar, if there is $50 billion worth of FDI in the country by 2023, then the government must and should be lauded for its efforts, and the federal secretary in question that made the announcement was given a grand parade with garlands and bands. However, at the risk of sounding a little cynical, we must ask how this is possible?

According to the state Bank, the data for the first ten months has shown that the inflow of FDI in the country has been a mere $1.55 billion. Now, for this year alone, the government has claimed that the inflow of FDI will be $5 billion. If it does happen, it will obviously be a very pleasant surprise. And it is possible, but even if it happens, the figure of $50 billion sounds as ludicrous as it is astronomical. And once more, it must be reiterated that $50 billion is a good goal to have, but what have we done to ensure that we get there? What is giving the government this confidence?

Has bureaucratic red taping ended? Have we managed to improve our property laws? Has the regional trade volume increased? Have we made the sort of leaps and strides in improving ease of doing business that we desperately need to make? All that the government has up its sleeve is the appointment of honorary investment counselors in eight Chinese regions, and even they cannot be expected to work solely for the benefit of the nation.

If this government manages to get the $50 billion in FDI that they are confident they will get, it will be a major achievement to be boasted about. But first, they must answer these questions.

PAul MAcINNES AND PAMElA DuNcAN

F

IGUrEs from across the world of football have shown their support for England’s black stars after they were subjected to another night of racist abuse on social media following defeat in the European Championship final.

Provisional data analysis conducted by the Guardian, in collaboration with Hope Not Hate, found more than 120 instances of England players receiving direct racial abuse on Twitter in the hours following the game. The majority of messages contained the n-word while others compared players to monkeys or used emojis associated with racist slurs. This compares to 44 racist messages during England’s first three matches of the tournament. streams of abuse were also posted on Instagram.

The Metropolitan police say they will investigate the “offensive and racist” posts directed at players.

Greater Manchester police are also conducting an inquiry into “racially aggravated damage” after a mural in south Manchester celebrating local hero Marcus rashford was defaced.

The England manager, Gareth southgate, said the abuse players had received was “unforgivable”.

England lost against Italy on penalties and the three players who missed their kicks – rashford, Bukayo saka and Jadon sancho – were subject to much of the abuse, alongside raheem sterling who is a constant target.

“For some of [the players] to be abused is unforgivable really,” southgate said. “I know a lot has come from abroad. People who track those things have been able to explain that. But not all of it.

“It’s just not what we stand for. We have been a beacon of light in bringing people together in people being able to relate to the national team, and the national team stands for everybody and so that togetherness has to continue. We heal together as a team now, and we’re there for them, and I know that 99% of the public will be as well.

“Bukayo in particular has been an absolute star in this tournament, [he has shown] incredible maturity and the way he has played has brought a smile to so many people’s faces. He’s become such a popular

Arif Nizami Editor Joint Editor

Umar Aziz Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

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

Mural of Marcus Rashford defaced in Manchester

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Managing Editor

Coming back to our original questions, one doctor maintains that egg yolk contains this many grams of cholesterol, so it is a definite no-no. Another doctor reassures you that an egg yolk or two is absolutely fine because the body daily.

‘Unforgivable’: Gareth Southgate on racist abuse of England players

The government must be ready to back its claims

Yousaf Nizami Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

that it was sponsored by the egg farmers or the tobacco industry! This is like Butt sweets sponsoring a study on the beneficial effect of confectioneries on human health. secondly, the samples, control groups, and methodologies employed invariably leave a lot to be desired although the layman, who has no idea of statistics, rarely goes beyond the conclusions published as headlines. Furthermore, the link of these headlines to the actual findings are tenuous at best; but this too is beyond the expertise of the ordinary man to take into consideration before judging the worth of a study.

In addition to conflicting views on a given subject, there is another thing that usually goes on simultaneously.

These are broader trends on which most doctors agree in any given era. The trends themselves keep changing over time. For example, up until the eighties it used to be said that anybody who ran a mile every day was proof against the threat of heart disease. Then it ceased to be so black-and-white. Tobacco was acceptable (at worse debatable) for a long time, before suddenly becoming an out-and-out killer. (People had always suspected that making your lung tissue to chemically react with cigarette smoke could hardly be the cleverest of ideas, but ‘studies’ continually failed to validate the suspicion. Until one fine day when it became clear as daylight that cigarettes were detrimental to health. shrewd observers had predicted long ago that science was likely to start piling up the evidence the day cigarettes became associated with the lower classes.) Alcohol is still not completely bad for health, with the usual proviso of indulging it in moderation. Depending on the doctor (and the locality), even recreational drugs have their place in healthy

living.

When it comes to the various diet fads – protein, high-carb, vegetarian, vegan, keto diets – each one has its ardent supporters– doctors and health experts included. On sugar, there has been the traditional opinion that processed sugar is bad whereas fructose is good for the body, provided one is not diabetic and one does not go overboard in consuming fruits. Many doctors and nutrition professionals are now claiming that fructose is in fact worse than refined sugar because the former can only be processed by the liver, which puts a lot of stress on the organ, while the latter is much more widely processed. In all such controversies, either side has its studies to support its position. so, with whom should one throw in one’s lot is not easy to decide. since very few mortals can pore over these studies, and fewer still can make head or tail of what they read; in the end it invariably comes down to a coin-toss.

Among the medical professionals fasting was traditionally considered a bad idea, before Keto enthusiasts (among them doctors) discovered that it was very beneficial for weight management, for detoxification of the body, and in the interest of giving much needed rest to the organs.

When it comes to weight control, there are those that advocate alternating between short bursts of hearty eating and long intervals of going without food as the best way to lose extra kilos. And sure enough, there is the rival camp which recommends breaking the total amount of food one consumes into seven or eight smaller meals spread over the waking hours. And there are numerous variations in between the two extremes.

Coming back to our original questions, one doctor maintains that egg yolk contains this many grams of cholesterol, so it is a definite no-no. Another doctor reassures you that an egg yolk or two is absolutely fine because the body daily.

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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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member of the group and I know he has got everybody’s support.”

The Duke of Cambridge, who is president of the Football Association, said he was “sickened” by the abuse. “It is totally unacceptable that players have to endure this abhorrent behaviour. It must stop now and all those involved should be held accountable.” saka, who is 19, received an outpouring of public support including from his former school as well as a number of celebrities such as David Beckham and the Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful. saka’s club, Arsenal, released a statement saying: “Hold your head high, we are so very proud of you,” before calling for social media platforms to “act to ensure this disgusting abuse to which our players are subjected on a daily basis stops now”.

The call for action is now a familiar refrain, with football collectively prioritising the issue of online abuse for the past year. The decision by England players to take the knee before matches was in part informed by their experience of being abused online, and for messages to then remain uncensored and abusers free to post again.

The anti-racist organisation Kick It Out, in expressing its own condemnation of another disheartening night, turned the focus on the government to “step up and keep its promise” over tighter regulation for social platforms.

Calling the abuse received by players “appalling and unacceptable”, the chief executive of Kick it Out, Tony Burnett, said: “We call on those with the power to act now. Media companies need to do more to stamp out abuse on their platforms, and the government needs to step up and keep its promise to regulate. The online safety bill could be a game changer

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and we aim to help make that happen.”

One top priority for those within football is to end the online anonymity of users, with platforms becoming required to hold identifying information on individuals. The Guardian understands that the move is gaining support ahead of the Online safety bill coming before parliament this year.

Critics say it could have the long-term effect of harming the ability of minorities to speak freely online and that online abuse is already posted by people using their own identity.

A spokesperson for Twitter said: “The abhorrent racist abuse directed at England players last night has absolutely no place on Twitter. In the past 24 hours, through a combination of machine learning based automation and human review, we have swiftly removed over 1,000 tweets and permanently suspended a number of accounts for violating our rules.”

A Facebook spokesperson said: “We quickly removed comments and accounts directing abuse at England’s footballers last night and we’ll continue to take action against those that break our rules.”

Bukayo in particular has been an absolute star in this tournament, [he has shown] incredible maturity and the way he has played has brought a smile to so many people’s faces. He’s become such a popular member of the group and I know he has got everybody’s support.

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Tuesday, 13 July, 2021

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

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

Technological development is essential

Kashmir Martyrs’ Day Kashmiris’ continue what seems to be an endless struggle

SAjjAD SHAukAT

E

VEry year, Kashmir Martyrs’ Day (youme shudaha-e-Kashmir) is commemorated on July 13 in the memory of 21 Kashmiris who were martyred outside srinagar Central Jail by the troops of Dogra Maharaja on July 13, 1931. This very day is observed on both sides of the Line of Control and all over the world by the Kashmiris, including their Pakistani brethren to pay homage to these Kashmiris. This time, All Parties Hurriyat Conference has appealed to the people of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and the freedom-loving Kashmiris, living in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan and other parts of the world to observe Martyrs’ week from July 6 to 13, this year. Tehreek-e-Kashmir Europe has also organized Martyrs’ week.

In fact, the history of Dogra rule (1846-1947) in Kashmir is replete with tyrannous treatment, meted out to the Kashmiri Muslims by Dogra forces. Under the Dogra rule, they were leading so miserable life that it was difficult to differentiate them from beasts. slave labour, heavy taxes, capital punishment for cow slaughter, and living under constant terror was order of the day.

On April 19, 1931, the ban of Eid Khutba (sermon) ignited widespread demonstrations in the Jummu city for a number of days. It was followed by desecration of the Holy Quran at the hands of Dogra forces, which resulted into outrage among the Muslims throughout the state. In srinagar, people gathered in Jamia Masjid to denounce this blasphemy. One such get-together was held in Khankah-e-Muella srinagar, which was addressed by prominent Kashmiris. When the meeting was concluded, a youth, Abdul Qadeer, pointing his finger to the Maharaja’s palace, raised slogans “destroy its every brick.”

With the accusation of sedition, he was arrested forthwith. Abdul Qadir was to be tried in the court, but due to large public resentment, the court was shifted to Central Jail srinagar.

On July 12, 1931, in response to the shifting of court, intense public protests were held throughout the city. The next day, on July 13, 1931, thousands of people thronged the Central Jail srinagar to witness the in-camera trial of Abdul Qadeer. As the time for obligatory prayer approached, a young Kashmiri stood for Azan.

The Dogra Governor, ray Zada Tartilok Chand

ordered soldiers to open fire at him. When he got martyred, another young man took his place and started Azan. He was also shot dead. In this way, 21 Kashmiris embraced martyrdom in their efforts to complete the Azan. The people carried the dead and paraded through the streets of srinagar, chanting slogans against Dogra brutalities. Complete strike was observed in the city, which was followed by weeklong mourning.

This incident shook the whole state and the traffic from srinagar to rawalpindi and srinagar to Jammu came to halt from July 13 to 26, 1931.

The 21 martyrs are buried in Martyrs’ Graveyard at Khawaja Bazar, srinagar.

Consequent upon these brutal killings, the Kashmiri leadership realized the need to form a political party, Muslim Conference (MC) with a view to waging struggle for their freedom. Afterwards, on July 19, 1947, MC passed a resolution to merge Kashmir with Pakistan, considering the geographical proximity—majority of Muslim population (77%), language and cultural relations of Jammu and Kashmir.

During the partition of the sub-continent, the people of the state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) which comprised Muslim majority decided to join Pakistan. But, Dogra raja, sir Harisingh, a Hindu who was ruling over the J&K in collusion with the Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Governor General Lord Mountbatten joined India.

The radcliffe Boundary Award gave the Gurdaspur District—a majority Muslim area to India to provide a land route to the Indian forces to move into the J&K. Indian forces invaded srinagar on October, 27 1947 and forcibly occupied the J&K in utter violation of the partition plan.

When Pakistan responded militarily, on December 31, 1947, India made an appeal to the UN security Council to intervene and a ceasefire ultimately came into effect on January 01, 1949, following UN resolutions calling for a plebiscite in Kashmir.

On February 5, 1964, India backed out of its commitment of holding plebiscite. Instead, Indian Parliament declared Kashmir-an integral part of the Indian union. since 1989, various forms of state terrorism have been part of a deliberate campaign by the Indian army and paramilitary forces against Muslim Kashmiris. It has been manifested in brutal tactics like crackdowns, curfews, illegal detentions, massacre, targeted killings, sieges, burning the houses, torture, disappearances, rape, breaking the legs, molestation of Muslim women and killing of persons through fake encounters.

Indian brutal actions against the Muslim Kashmiris reached climax on August 5, 2019 when Indian government led by the fanatic Indian Prime Minister Narendar Modi, the leader of the extremist party BJP, revoked articles 35A and 370 of the Constitution, which gave a special status to the disputed territory of the IIOJK. Indian government bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories—Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to be ruled by the federal government.

Indian rulers have also issued over 1.8 million domicile certificates to non-Kashmiris to change the ethno-demographic structure of the IIOJK. Now, more than 23 months have been passed. But, Indian strict military lockdown in the IIOJK continues. Despite the deployment of more than 900,000 military troops in the IIOJK, who have martyred thousands of the Kashmiris through brutal tactics-fake encounters, New Delhi has failed in suppressing the Kashmiris’ prolonged war of liberation.

And Indian forces have been also availing various draconian laws such as Armed Forces special Powers Act (AFsPA), the Public safety Act (PsA) etc. in killing the Kashmiri people, and for arbitrarily arrest of any individual for an indefinite period. Besides UNO, Human rights Watch, Amnesty International and various rights groups have also pointed out grave human rights violations in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK).

Moreover, Indian forces had also accelerated shelling inside Pakistani side of Kashmir by violating the ceasefire agreement across the LoC and compelled Pakistan Army to give a matching reply. In the recent past, the Director Generals of Military Operations of Pakistan and India had agreed to strictly observe the 2003 ceasefire agreement at the LoC. But, unless resolved, Kashmir will remain a nuclear flashpoint.

Nonetheless, observing the youme shuhadae-Kashmir on July 13 all over the world, Kashmiris renew their pledge to continue the ongoing war of liberation for the accomplishment of their legitimate right of self-determination as recognized by the related resolutions of the UNO, and for the independence of Kashmir from the despotic Indian rulers who continue state terrorism in the IOK like the Dogra rulers. In this respect, the Martyrs’ Day has given a new impetus to the Kashmiris’ endless struggle.

In fact, the history of Dogra rule (1846-1947) in Kashmir is replete with tyrannous treatment, meted out to the Kashmiri Muslims by Dogra forces. Under the Dogra rule, they were leading so miserable life that it was difficult to differentiate them from beasts.

Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations and can be reached at: sajjad_logic@yahoo.com

INDEED, technology has paved the way for the advancements in all spheres of life. From, doing business to the household it has made everything easy to do. Nowadays, it has become very important part of our lives. Everyone enjoys its benefits in respect of their use.

For instance, students use it as tool of collecting data, attending online lectures, learn through various online portals and prepare for various recruitment tests. Teachers utilize it for preparing lectures, conducting research, making notes for students and above all the educational institutes are arranging online classes in case if on-campus classes are suspended due to any mishap. such as, at present for avoiding large gatherings to hinder the spread of the lethal pandemic i.e. Covid-19 the governments are adopting online system to arrange online classes throughout the world.

Beside this technological advancements have made the world a global village where every person can easily connect with anyone in the world without the hindrance of distance. Video calls, messaging and social websites are the sources which enable the users to communicate and contact with their peers and beloved ones whenever they want. WhatsApp, Facebook messenger, Orkut, Instagram and Twitter are main sources of communication where the users remain updated and connected with each other. Now a person does not need to travel from UsA to China only to see his relatives as he is connected with them through these sources of communication. It further facilitates the business activities around the world.

For example, few decades ago the trade between countries was of much hectic. The business persons had to travel from one corner of the world to the other in search of markets for supply. But today the world is different.

The technological developments have facilitated the business activities.

Now, the companies can sale their products in any place of the world without the fatigue of traveling. Further, the business transactions are also easily done through the online facility of banks and financial institutes. Even, now the companies are shifting towards the virtual presence of their shops on online websites and provide all information about their commodity to its consumers and attract their interests through online adverts.

This revolution has also enabled the small entrepreneurs to establish their own startups in a nominal investment. For instance a house wife is now on a single step away from starting her own business i.e. online selling of day to day products including clothes, toys, and other male female products in their own social circle through their social website accounts. In addition to this, the traditional business of selling and purchasing of huge tangible products such as cars, houses, furniture, machines, devices and many more can easily be sold through the online websites. Ali baba express and Daraz are the cases in point. you or your family can now shop directly from Daraz whatever they want just in few clicks.

Jahangir irShad iSlamabad

Recognise the environment THIs has reference to the World Environment Conference being hosted

by Pakistan on June 5, 2021. Harnessing the unique opportunity, Prime Minister Imran Khan is expected to ask global leadership to take concrete steps for the promotion of the environment to protect the future generation. In this regard, it is urged by the Prime Minister to announce the policies pertaining to the protection of children and the future generation from the environmental disasters which are anticipated to affect the lives of future generations.

Environmental damage is a pressing human rights challenge, which has an impact on children’s lives today and in the future. Violations of their rights resulting from environmental harm can have irreversible, lifelong and even transgenerational consequences. Children everywhere suffer violations of their rights to life, development, health, food, water, education, culture, play and other rights because governments fail to protect the natural environment. The impact of pollution in one place can be felt by children living far away and climate change is unquestionably a global problem. While environmental harm affects people at any age, children are particularly vulnerable, due to their evolving physical and mental development and status within society. Certain groups of children, including children from indigenous, low-income or other marginalized communities are often at a higher risk, which raises the question of environmental injustice. According to the WHO estimates ‘Of the 5.9 million deaths of children under five each year, 26% are attributable to the environment’. Air pollution alone kills 570,000 children under five every year. But these numbers are only the ‘tip of the iceberg.’ as UN special rapporteur Baskut Tuncak. ‘There is a ‘silent pandemic’ of disabilities associated with exposure to toxics and pollution during childhood, many of which will not manifest themselves for years or decades’. This assault on children’s rights remains largely invisible while decision-makers are not held to account.

In this regard, the Prime Minister should announce in his speech that Pakistan will formulate the future policies related to urban development and rural economy in which environmental challenges and climate change impacts will not hamper the lives of children. In doing so, the prime minister should announce inclusion of environmental rights of children in the national curriculum and introduce national policy on the environment in which children should have equal representation. Because it is time for the action and children of the country to live in an environment that needs more parks, safe water, improved health and protection from the disasters which caused displacement and migration. naJam un niSa baloch Karachi

The façade of morals TOLErANCE is an integral quality that people of different groups should own, respecting and understanding one another. As much of an essential constituent it is for a united and prosperous Pakistani people are too busy with the pretext of acting morality greater from another, giving birth to intolerance. We intend not to accept the practices or behavior of people of different regions, cast or culture other than our own. It separates us, acts as a divider, creates disrespect, enmity and war.

Fozia a. ghaFoor JuSaK

Tuesday, 13 July, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

The limiTs of leadershiP

opeN MagaziNe

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TOLSTOY ARGUED THAT HISTORY SHAPES AND DETERMINES LEADERS, WHEREAS CARLYLE THOUGHT IT WAS THE OTHER WAY ROUND. IN HIS EPILOGUE TO WAR AND PEACE, TOLSTOY DESCRIBED KINGS AND GENERALS AS HISTORY’S SLAVES, RIDING THE CRESTS OF HISTORICAL WAVES BEYOND THEIR COMPREHENSION, LET ALONE CONTROL

shashi Tharoor

n Bertolt Brecht’s Life of Galileo, there is an exchange between the great astronomer and a student of his. the student, Andrea, remarks: “Unhappy the country without heroes!” the teacher is quick to respond: “no. Unhappy the country that needs them.” is india now becoming one of Galileo’s unhappy countries?

Historians have long argued about how much difference leadership in politics can make. in the 19th century there was a famous debate over opposed ideas of heroic leadership described by thomas Carlyle and Leo tolstoy. Carlyle, in his On Heroes, Hero Worship and the Heroic in History (1841), argues that it is crucially important, whereas in War and Peace (1867), tolstoy denies that heroic power is even possible. the two differed on whether the hero (the leader) can actually manage a high degree of mastery and control over the social and political circumstances in which he operates, or whether individual leaders are greatly limited by forces and constraints beyond their control. tolstoy argued that history shapes and determines leaders, whereas Carlyle thought it was the other way round. in his epilogue to War and Peace, tolstoy described kings and generals as history’s slaves, riding the crests of historical waves beyond their comprehension, let alone control. “every act of theirs, which appears to them an act of their own free will,” wrote tolstoy, “is in an historical sense involuntary and is related to the whole cause of history and predestined from eternity.” it was a far cry from Carlyle’s view that “history is the biography of great men,” the greatest of them being kings.

Carlyle’s Great Man theory of leadership fell rapidly into disfavour. in 1898, Georgi Plekhanov published the role of the individual in History, articulating a sophisticated counterview. Like tolstoy, he believed in large sweeping historical forces, but he granted individuals a role in epitomising, if not harnessing, them: “being conscious of the absolute inevitability of a given phenomenon can only increase the energy of a man who sympathises with it and who regards himself as one of the forces which called it into being,” he wrote. For Plekhanov, “every man of talent who actually appears, i.e. every man of talent who becomes a social force, is the product of social relations. since this is the case, it is clear why talented people can, as we have said, change only individual features of events, but not their general trend; they are themselves the product of this trend; were it not for that trend they would never have crossed the threshold that divides the potential from the real.”

From this premise, though, Plekhanov ended up somewhere between tolstoy and Carlyle: “the more or less slow changes in “economic conditions” periodically confront society with the necessity of more or less rapidly changing its institutions,” he wrote. “this change never takes place “by itself”; it always needs the intervention of men, who are thus confronted with great so-

I DO BELIEVE INDIVIDUALS MAKE A DIFFERENCE. AND IN SAYING THIS, I AM NOT JUST THINKING OF THE “USUAL SUSPECTS” OF 20TH CENTURY HISTORY, HITLER, STALIN, LENIN, MAO—ALL LARGER-THAN-LIFE INDIVIDUALS WHO TRANSFORMED THEIR COUNTRIES THROUGH THE FORCE OF THEIR OWN INDIVIDUAL PERSONALITIES cial problems. And it is those men who do more than others to facilitate the solution of these problems who are called great men. But solving a problem does not mean being only a “symbol” and a “sign” of the fact that it has been solved.” in other words, social forces are determinant, but individual leaders have a vital part in seizing and directing them towards specific outcomes. during the 20th century, however, leftists and Marxist theoreticians have gone further in dismissing the role of the individual in history, arguing that the hero is merely the symbol of much larger historical currents that sweep through the world and shape human destiny. some are even fond of quoting back to capitalists the classic observation of John Kenneth Galbraith half-a-century ago that changing the chief executives of important business corporations rarely affects their share prices on the market. (i am not sure if Galbraith’s theory holds up all that well today, but we’ll let that pass). still, you don’t have to be a Marxist to share a circumscribed view of the role of individual leaders. One of the Great Men of the 19th century, the “iron Chancellor” who unified Germany, Bismarck, himself told the reichstag in 1869: “we can neither ignore the history of the past nor create the future. i would like to warn you against the mistake that causes people to advance the hands of their clocks, thinking that thereby they are hastening the passage of time. My influence on the events i took advantage of is usually exaggerated; but it would never occur to anyone to demand that i should make history. i could not do that even in conjunction with you, although together, we could resist the whole world. We cannot make history: [instead] we must wait while it is being made. We will not make fruit ripen more quickly by subjecting it to the heat of a lamp; and if we pluck the fruit before it is ripe we will only prevent its growth and spoil it.”

Fast-forward to the present age. While the authors of management textbooks have no doubt that personal leadership qualities are essential to make effective and successful CeOs, historians are more divided on the indispensability of political leaders. the historian eric Hobsbawm has observed that the individual hero has little place in countries “where political leaders are embedded in institutions which limit their power as individuals”, like Western democracies. As examples he points to the fact that most Us presidents were often peo-

ple of no great distinction, but “a strong economy and great power can be politically almost foolproof”. He favours “the force of structural explanations, which ‘emphasise what was likely to happen—on the whole, in the long run, in one guise or another’, irrespective of the intentions of the actors or their ability to carry them out.”

And yet, i am not so sure. i do believe individuals make a difference. And in saying this, i am not just thinking of the “usual suspects” of 20th century history, Hitler, stalin, Lenin, Mao—all larger-than-life individuals who transformed their countries through the force of their own individual personalities, convictions and drive, rising above and shaping the social forces they embodied. they were such aberrations that they can be dismissed with the cliché that they are the exceptions that prove the rule. instead, i would argue that even in modern 20th and 21st century democracies built on liberal constitutions, hemmed in by institutional checks and balances, a vigorous political opposition and a free press, individual leaders have emerged who turned out to be larger than the systems that produced them—and that failed to confine them.

After all, Fdr (Franklin delano roosevelt) transformed the Us, turning that bastion of individualism and free-enterprise into something remarkably like a welfare state. By winning four successive presidential elections—something no one had done before him and no one can in future, thanks to a subsequent constitutional amendment—he personalised the “new deal” that remade America into a very different country from the one in which he first ascended to power. there are other leaders in modern democracies who can be seen as greater than their systems. Winston Churchill’s outsize personality immortalised him as the lionhearted British bulldog standing defiantly astride the ramparts of Western civilisation. donald trump’s impulsive and unlettered mendacity showed Americans how fragile were the pillars of the republic they had erected.

And Margaret thatcher did a reverse-Fdr in the UK, taking a welfare state down the path of supply-side economics and laissez-faire capitalism, dismantling the dominant union system that had stifled British economic growth in favour of distributive policies. such individuals can be larger than ideologies: even thatcher, who presided over what Hobsbawm witheringly described as a “conglomerate of egoism, political servility and moral blindness,” moved the entire centre

DURING THE 20TH CENTURY, HOWEVER, LEFTISTS AND MARXIST THEORETICIANS HAVE GONE FURTHER IN DISMISSING THE ROLE OF THE INDIVIDUAL IN HISTORY, ARGUING THAT THE HERO IS MERELY THE SYMBOL OF MUCH LARGER HISTORICAL CURRENTS THAT SWEEP THROUGH THE WORLD AND SHAPE HUMAN DESTINY of her polity rightward, so that her party was ultimately defeated by a Labour Party that had made itself so unrecognisably centrist that it called itself “new Labour”.

One could argue similarly that ronald reagan’s reinvention of the conventional wisdom about American capitalism produced, in Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, centrist alternatives who absorbed rather than repudiated their rivals’ policies.

Many in india hailed narendra Modi as such a transformative figure. He built upon the classic Hindutva message of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a personality cult that led to the concept of “Moditva”. Modi relished portraying himself as the hero on a white stallion, charging down with upraised sword, possessing all the answers, ready to cut through the Gordian Knot of the nation’s intractable problems. every BJP election campaign in the smallest of indian states was built around the towering personality of its leader. it was not a party or an ideology winning elections, it was an individual. there is no doubt that Moditva’s spectacular failure on all fronts—demonetisation, the botched rollout of the Goods and services tax (Gst), economic collapse, communal disharmony, the no-notice lockdown that triggered the migrant workers’ crisis, record unemployment, the mismanagement of Covid vaccination policy and many more—confirms yet again the limits to what untrammelled individual leadership can achieve. As popular revulsion mounts at Modi’s handling of the current Covid crisis, it is clear his vaunted 56-inch chest is not enough to save india.

Moditva apologists take refuge in the “tinA” theory—“there is no Alternative.” But that offers scant consolation. Military historians often cite German Field Marshal erwin rommel as an example of a great general who was vanquished by enemies far inferior to him. His opponents enjoyed advantages that mattered more than rommel’s leadership qualities—organisational strength, adequate resources and a cause that people could rally round. Modi is lucky that the first two are not yet available to his adversaries. But once they are, heroic leadership alone will not be enough to save him—or to sink india. Perhaps at that point, india will no longer be the unhappy country of Galileo’s fears.

Shashi Tharoor is a Member of Parliament and the author, most recently, of The Battle of Belonging.

The US withdrawal from Afghanistan creates uncertainty for Russia AS US FORCES WITHDRAW FROM AFGHANISTAN, REACTIONS IN MOSCOW STRADDLE THE LINE BETWEEN TEPID SATISFACTION AND OPEN ALARM NatioNal iNterest

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Mark Episkopos

resident Joe Biden’s announcement that the U.s. military mission in Afghanistan will end on August 31 prompted mixed reactions in Washington, drawing open criticism from congressional republicans and measured skepticism from some of his allies. Concerns linger that Kabul lacks the resources to stave off a taliban resurgence in the country and that the withdrawal could bring a deluge of unintended consequences ranging from widespread ethnic cleansing to the potential destruction of Afghani statehood.

As America grapples with the implications of the withdrawal, similar discussions are taking place in Moscow — albeit with somewhat different framing. russian political observers and Moscow elites did not miss their chance to underscore what they see as America’s failure in Afghanistan, with political commentator and prominent orientalist Yevgeny satanovsky calling the withdrawal a “shameful flight.” referring to the 1975 saigon embassy evacuations, satanovsky added, “it’s not even that they fled in panic, as in south Vietnam, but they scrammed quietly, leaving everything to the whims of fate.” russian media seized on the accusations of Afghani officials that U.s. forces left the country’s Bagram Airfield in the dark of night without notifying the base’s new commander, who allegedly only learned of the departure

more than two hours after the fact. Over the past week, russia’s major media outlets constantly ran footage of munitions stockpiles, armored vehicles, and other equipment reportedly left in the wake of the U.s. military’s hasty retreat and subsequently looted by the taliban. russian commentators took the opportunity to draw what they see as a stark contrast between the soviet and American experiences in Afghanistan. “When we left Afghanistan,” senator Franz Klintsevich told the russian newspaper Vzglyad, “the government that we supported in Kabul controlled most of the republic’s territory. soviet forces did not just conduct military operations, but also humanitarian projects — the rebuilding of bridges, roads, and de-mining of territories. All of this contributed to the peaceful development of Afghanistan.” still, others painted the hastiness and alleged secrecy of the withdrawal as a warning to “would-be” American allies such as Georgia and Ukraine: “We [the soviet occupying force] behaved [in Afghanistan] according to principles.

What did the Americans do in Bagram? they left and abandoned their so-called allies to deal with the consequences,” said russian columnist Maxim Yusin. “Could you imagine if we [soviet forces] did that in 1988 when leaving the Bagram airbase,” he added.

But the vague sense of historical satisfaction over American failures in Afghanistan is quickly being overshadowed by more pressing geopolitical worries, keenly felt in the Kremlin and by russian politicians. “today the destabilization of post-soviet regimes in Central

THE TALIBAN IS DESIGNATED BY RUSSIA AS A TERRORIST GROUP, BUT THAT HAS NOT STOPPED THE KREMLIN FROM ENGAGING WITH THE GROUP IN RECENT YEARS Asia seems quite likely. it’s unclear how things will develop from here, how we will deal with the fact that the taliban could win in Afghanistan and begin to expand and export islamic extremism to adjacent states. that is a serious challenge for us,” igor Korotchenko, a defense expert and member of the defense Ministry’s public advisory council, said. the taliban is designated by russia as a terrorist group, but that has not stopped the Kremlin from engaging with the group in recent years. the fruits of those earlier labors were on full display this week when a taliban delegation visited Moscow to discuss Afghanistan’s future. russian senator Vladimir dzhabarov expressed hope for the normalization of russian-taliban relations: “we will interact with any legitimate government of Afghanistan. if the taliban becomes the legitimate government — of course we will improve our relations, but only on the condition they are not hostile to our country.” the taliban delegation, for their part, went to great lengths to reassure the Kremlin that they harbor no hostile intentions toward russia or russia’s Central Asian allies. the negotiators reportedly assured Moscow that they will not “attack the tajik border,” adding that they will work to prevent the islamic state of iraq and the Levant (isiL) from establishing a foothold on Afghan territory. Moscow remains committed to defending the territorial integrity of tajikistan, which hosts a russian military base and acts as a key buffer against inflows of militants from the broader Middle east into Central Asia

and beyond. the Collective security treaty Organization (CstO), a six-member eurasian military alliance headed by russia, said on thursday that it will marshal all the resources needed to defend the tajik-Afghan border, following an earlier appeal for outside help by CstO member state tajikistan. despite the military steps being taken to shore up the border, the Kremlin has been clear that there are no plans to deploy russian forces in Afghanistan. “As for the continued military action in the absence of the political process, then the events on Afghanistan’s territory concern us exclusively from the point of view of a possible spillover of troubles onto the territory of our allies,” said russian Foreign Minister sergey Lavrov. “the fact that the talibs have occupied border posts on the border with iran, on the border with tajikistan… while this is happening on Afghanistan’s territory, we’re not going to undertake any measures except for our insistent calls for the political process, which all Afghans have said they support, to happen as soon as possible,” he added. the Kremlin is reluctant to unilaterally extend full diplomatic recognition to the taliban, but, as implied by dzhabarov, the political and military calculus behind russia’s current stance may change if the militant islamist group emerges as the undisputed winner from its ongoing power struggle with Afghan government forces.

Mark Episkopos is a national security reporter for The National Interest.

Tuesday, 13 July, 2021

BUSINESS 09

LAHORE

Govt to proviDE CpEC StylE SECurity CovEr to E&p aCtivitiES ISLAMABAD

i

AHMAD AHMADANI

N a bid to tap the potential of oil and gas situated in different parts of the country, the government has decided to provide China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) style security cover to Exploration and Production (E&P) activities.

According to sources, E&P activities in remote areas especially of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces have become not an easy job and the government, after consulting relevant stakeholders, has decided to give CPEC style security cover to E&P companies operating in the country mainly to tap the oil and gas reserves.

Sources said that a special force of the armed forces will be formed for the security and safety of E&P projects in the country like the pattern of security of CPEC projects under which a security division was earlier created.

As per details, the government has decided to reform the gas sector and for this purpose a strategic workstream has been devised that is further divided into three parts: short term (6-12 months), medium term (2+years) and long term (3+ years).

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Petroelum and Power in his recent tweets disclosed strategic work streams in the gas sector and informed that under the short term strategic work stream in the gas sector, upto

CORPORATE CORNER

300MMCFD (3+additional LNG cargoes per month) of excess capacity which is available at the existing terminals may be utilised on a strictly private-to-private i-e without any 'take or pay' payment obligation and on an open /third part access bases) to further bridge the demand-supply gap, especially in the coming winters for the domestic gas consumers, under a 'without prejudice' arrangement sanctioned

by Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA).

Similarly, a virtual LNG pipeline from Gwadar may be established in 6-12 months as few parties have proposed the government supplying up to 300MMCFD of LNG, again on a strictly private-to-private basis, to industrial customers via cryogenic road tankers from Gwadar.

BOI CREATING $50BN FDI OPPORTUNITIES BY 2023

APP

SME sector’s issues to be resolved on priority basis: Dawood FAISALABAD APP

Advisor to Prime Minister on Commerce, Textile, Industries, Production and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood said that small and medium enterprises (SME) sector was contributing 95 per cent share to the national economy and the government was fully cognizant of their importance and trying to resolve their issues on top priority basis. Addressing a meeting of All Pakistan Bed-sheets & Upholstery Manufacturers Association (APBUMA), he said the economy had been stabilized and now a new target for exports would be fixed after Eidul Azha during a meeting of stakeholders with Prime Minister Imran Khan. He said the government was already providing facilities to SME sector. He said that most of the raw material consume by the SME sector had been zero-rated. The remaining taxes and duties would also be withdrawn so that SME sector could fully exploit its potential and give a quantum jump to national exports, he said.

About DLTL (Duty Drawback of Local Taxes and Levies), Razak Dawood said the finance ministry had earmarked Rs 20 billion, out of which Rs 8 billion had already been disbursed among the exporters. He underlined the importance of cotton which was raw material for entire textile chain and said we have to take proactive measures to enhance cotton production. He mentioned different options to increase cotton yield but added that well-considered policies should be framed to avoid any backlash from any sector. He said that most of duties on raw material had already been withdrawn while steps were underway to withdraw any remaining duties or taxes to ensure adequate supply of polyester in the domestic market. The Advisor urged the APBUMA members to explore new markets for exports and said that they should come up with tangible proposals during their meeting with prime minister immediately after Eid. He was also appreciative of the role of APBUMA in organizing SME sector and said that no doubt it was one of the biggest elected trade bodies of SME sector which was contributing in a big way in national exports. Earlier, APBUMA Vice Chairman Engineer Bilal Jameel appreciated the government efforts in facilitating export sector and said that the role of SME sector could not be ignored. He said that major issue confronted by SME sector was high rate of GST which was eroding the liquidity. He said the government should consider “no tax no return policy” so that SME could work in a hassle free environment without any problem of liquidity crunch. Later, addressing a function of Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA), Abdul Razak Dawood stressed the need for long term policy for the substantial growth of the economy and exports.

(LPG) policy will be promulgated by end July to enhance supply of this alternative fuel to domestic consumers and correspondingly reduce the burden on natural gas provision via pipeline network.

Furthermore, for North South Gas Pipeline, the government is likely to make substantive headway with the Russian consortium in the next couple of months on this additional Karachi to Lahore gas pipeline which is of critical importance to Pakistan’s energy security. As per the PM’s directives, this infrastructure asset needs to be completed as soon as possible at a price affordable to the consumers and with maximum involvement of local companies, know-how and material.

PM approves new bilateral investment treaty template ISLAMABAD

LAHORE: Allied Bank Chief of Human Resource Saira Shahid Hussain seen handing over a donation cheque to Pink Ribbon CEO Omer Aftab for Pakistan's first dedicated breast cancer hospital at Lahore. Sonia Qiaser of Pink Ribbon and Allied Bank Public Relations and Corporate Communication manager Kamran H. Alavi are also seen in the picture. PR

Aside from meeting industrial gas demand in and around Karachi without the need to physically access the Sui’s pipeline network; this proposal may potentially make available the 150MMCFD of RLNG that Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) is currently retaining in their system and accordingly release the same to meet the deficit up north in the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) system. Likewise, to remove the price anomaly between the price of indigenous and imported gas, and the associated adverse impact on the sector’s financial sustainability, the long-awaited political consensus on WACOG is expected to be reached, ideally before the year end. Furthermore, a new Liquefied Petroleum Gas

Prime Minister Imran Khan has approved the new Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) template whereby any dispute will now be remedied through local arbitration, disclosed Board of Investment (BoI) Secretary Fareena Mazhar while talking to a group of journalists on Sunday.

She said the new BIT template has been developed in consultation with all the stakeholders and with the active assistance of law and justice division and the attorney general of Pakistan.

She explained that all the new bilateral investment treaties would be negotiated in accordance with the new template in order to minimise the risk of international arbitration and to provide a policy space to government to enforce economic policies of public interest.

The Board of Investment (BoI) is actively pursuing strategies to create opportunities for $50 billion Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country by 2023 under its new investment plan, she said, adding that the government had been facing difficulties in finalising investment treaties with some countries due to the Reko Diq case.

"The BOI's main priority is to attract investment in various sectors from big economies of the world, including United States and China and also to encourage overseas Pakistanis to invest in the country so that they can take advantage of these large investment opportunities," she added.

The secretary said that investment opportunities would be created in different sectors of the economy including textile, Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), agriculture, agro-industry, automobile sector, logistics and sports.

She said that Chinese companies have brought $ 260 million of investment in Rashakai, Special Economic Zone (SEZ) within the steel sector to enhance the productivity and growth in the local industrial sector. The Chinese and local companies are ready to go for Joint Ventures and 60 local 13 Chinese companies in different sectors are registered and ready to sign the JVs agreement.

She informed that for achieving the agenda of bringing more Chinese investment in Pakistan, BOI has appointed eight honorary investment counsellors in different potential regions of China.

"We appointed these people from business class and other related experiences and fields will play an essential role to update the Chinese business fraternity about potential Joint Ventures (JVs), other Investment opportunities and the rewarding incentives offered to foreign investors in Pakistan," Fareena said.

She said that the appointments of these people are

part of the government strategy to enhance Pakistan and Chinese investment for the economic growth of the country. She said that Rashakai, Special Economic Zone (SEZ) would set a new direction for the modern industrialisation in Pakistan and brings huge Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country.

"Through this milestone in the economic history of the country, the government wants to provide a conducive business environment for bringing FDI in the country,' she said.

Fareena said that four SEZs, including Rashakai Nowshera , Dhaba , Bostan and Allama Iqbal Industrial City, Faisalabad had also been approved and would be top priority of the government to develop these zones for creating the better business opportunity for foreign investment.

The secretary said that development of Rashakai SEZ had a huge strategic implication, because it is closer to resource rich Central Asian Republics (CARs) and also plays a role for economic integration of the region. All of these SEZs would have far-reaching socio-economic impact in the region by attracting more investment, spurring industrialization, creating employment in the industry and ensuring export ledgrowth, she said.

She said that the completion of Rashakai SEZ would promote ease of doing business in the country and would facilitate the local and foreign investors.

Fareena said that Pakistan's proximity with China would allow these SEZs to foster economic interdependence for mutual economic advantage to enhance the bilateral trade and economic connectivity in com-

ing years. She said the BOI promoted establishment of these all SEZs with the goals of capitalizing on investment inflow under CPEC, inclusive economic development in the Provinces, creation of job opportunities, industrial development, and export generation in Pakistan. Replying to another question, she said that Rashakai SEZ held a unique competitive advantage due to its proximity to the first juncture of CPEC route, and significant resource and manufacturing base in the region. She said that Pakistan acquired the $3 billion FDI in FY21 and the government was committed to bring more foreign investment in the potential sector in FY22.

The secretary said the government had set a target to complete the reforms in BOI, through Pakistan Regulatory Modernization Initiative (PRMI) in district provincial and at country level.

She said that the reform process would be completed in three tiers including mapping, analysis and guillotine to execute the regulation from gross route level to country level. Replying to a question on BoIs new Investment Promotion Strategy 2021-23, she said that FDI target of Rs3.7 billion by 2021-22 and $4 billion for 2022-23.

She said that according to the new policy strategy, the BOI also aspires to generate a number of new leads tracked in the board's newly introduced Investment Relation Management System (IRMS) for enhancing the FDI in coming years. She said the investment strategy also includes priority sectors which have been selected through a structured sector scanning process.

Oil prices slip as economic worries offset tightening supplies SINGAPORE AGENCIES

Crude futures slipped on Monday as concerns over slowing global growth outweighed the prospect of tightening supply after talks among key producers to raise output in coming months stalled.

Brent crude for September fell 35 cents, or 0.5%, to $75.20 a barrel by 0641 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for August was at $74.23 a barrel, down 33 cents, or 0.4%.

The spread of coronavirus variants and unequal access to vaccines threaten

the global economic recovery, finance chiefs of the G20 large economies warned on Saturday.

A Reuters tally of new COVID-19 infections shows them rising in 69 countries, with the daily rate pointing upwards since late-June and now hitting 478,000.

“We’ve not yet seen the impact but at this rate, it will hit demand sooner or later,” a Singapore-based oil trader said.

Oil prices slumped last Tuesday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, a group known as OPEC+, did not reach

an agreement to increase output from August. This was because the United Arab Emirates rejected a proposed eight-month extension to OPEC+ output curbs. “Prices are going to stay volatile for as long as the impasse remains,” said Howie Lee, an economist at Singapore’s OCBC bank.

“On the surface it looks like it should support prices, but the risk remains that a complete breakdown will result in a price war not dissimilar to last year,” he said, but added that the probability of the latter event was low.

The world’s top oil exporter Saudi

Arabia met full contractual demand for crude oil from five buyers in August, but turned down at least two requests for additional volumes.

Front-month WTI crude futures posted their sixth weekly gain last week after a bullish report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed U.S. crude and gasoline stocks fell while gasoline demand reached its highest since 2019.

In response to higher oil prices, U.S. energy firms added oil and natural gas rigs for a second week in a row, data from Baker Hughes showed.

Tuesday, 13 July, 2021

10 FOREIGN NEWS

LAHORE

Cuba sees biggest protests for deCades as pandemiC adds to woes HAVANA

C

REUTERs

hanting "freedom" and calling for President Miguel Diaz-Canel to step down, thousands of Cubans joined street protests from havana to Santiago on Sunday in the biggest anti-government demonstrations on the Communist-run island in decades. the protests erupted amid Cuba's worst economic crisis since the fall of the Soviet Union, its old ally, and a record surge in coronavirus infections, with people voicing anger over shortages of basic goods, curbs on civil liberties and the authorities' handling of the pandemic. thousands took to the streets in various parts of havana including the historic centre, their shouts of “DiazCanel step down” drowning out groups of government supporters waving the Cuban flag and chanting "Fidel."

Special forces jeeps, with machine guns mounted on the back were seen throughout the capital and the police presence was heavy even long after most protesters had gone home by the 9 p.m. curfew in place due to the pandemic.

"We are going through really difficult times," Miranda Lazara, 53, a dance teacher, who joined the thousands of protesters who marched through havana. "We need a change of system."

Diaz-Canel, who also heads the Communist Party, blamed the unrest on old Cold War foe the United States,

which in recent years tightened its decades-old trade embargo on the island, in a televised speech on Sunday afternoon.

Diaz-Canel said many protesters were sincere but manipulated by U.S.-orchestrated social media campaigns and “mercenaries” on the ground, and warned that further “provocations” would not be tolerated, calling on supporters to confront “provocations." the president was due to make another address to the nation at 9 a.m. on Monday, according to state-run media.

Julie Chung, acting undersecretary of the U.S. State Department's Office of Western hemisphere affairs, said it was deeply concerned by “calls to combat” in Cuba and stood by the Cuban people’s right for peaceful assembly."

Reuters witnesses in havana protests saw security forces, aided by suspected plain clothes officers, arrest about two dozen protesters. Police used pepper spray and hit some protesters as well as a photographer working for the associated Press. in one area of havana, protesters took out their anger on an empty police car, rolling it over and then throwing stones at it. Elsewhere, they chanted "repressors" at riot police.

Some protesters said they went on to the streets to join in after seeing what was happening on social media, which has become an increasingly important factor since the introduction of mobile internet two and a half years ago, although connections were patchy on Sunday.

NATIONWIDE PROTESTS: the Caribbean island nation of 11 million inhabitants where public dissident

oman’s sultan visits saudi arabia on first overseas trip RIYADH REUTERs

Oman’s Sultan visited Saudi arabia on Sunday on his first official overseas trip since assuming power last year, with talks expected to focus on the Yemen war and economic and investment cooperation as Muscat looks to shore up its finances. Sultan haitham bin tariq al-Said, whose country has joined United nations-led efforts to secure a peace agreement in Yemen, arrived in the Red Sea city of nEOM for a two-day visit. he was greeted by Saudi King Salman — in what Saudi-owned media said was the 85-year-old monarch’s first face-to-face meeting since the coronavirus pandemic began — and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. the sultan recently faced his biggest challenge with demonstrations against unemployment in the debt-burdened country, which is pursuing wide-ranging reforms and austerity measures. During the visit, Saudi arabia and Oman signed a document to establish a joint coordination council to oversee several agreements. Oman’s foreign minister, Badr al-Busaidi, had told the Saudi-owned asharq alawsat newspaper on Saturday the opening of a delayed new road linking the two gulf states would facilitate logistics and other infrastructure projects. Since the oil price crash in 2014, Oman’s debt to gDP ratio has leapt from about 15 percent in 2015 to 80 percent last year, while its plans to diversify revenue away from oil and to reduce spending on its bloated public sector have made slow progress. Oman is among the weakest financially among the gulf oil producers but has long played the role of facilitator in efforts to resolve regional conflicts because of its neutral foreign policy.

musk arrives at trial over tesla's $2.6bn deal for solarCity WILMINGTON REUTERs

Elon Musk arrived at court on Monday to defend tesla inc's (tSLa.O) 2016 acquisition of SolarCity against a lawsuit by shareholders seeking to recoup the $2.6 billion the company paid for the ailing solar panel maker. Musk is slated to take the witness stand this morning, kicking off a two-week trial in Wilmington, Delaware, before Vice Chancellor Joseph Slights, who will decide whether the SolarCity deal was fair to tesla stockholders. the lawsuit by union pension funds and asset managers alleges the celebrity CEO strong-armed tesla's board to buy SolarCity, just as it was about to run out of cash. Musk owned a 22% stake in SolarCity, which was founded by his cousins.

Shareholders asked the court to order Musk, one of world's richest people, to repay to telsa what it spent on the deal, which would represent one of the largest judgments ever against an individual. however, even if the judge finds the deal was unfair, he could award a much lower amount of damages. Musk has argued the deal was fair and that it was negotiated by the tesla board free of his influence and approved by fully informed stockholders. he touted the deal at the time as central to his "Master Plan, Part Deux," which aims to reshape transportation by using sustainable energy to power fleets of self-driving electric vehicles.

is usually restricted has seen a growing number of protests over the past year although nothing on this scale or simultaneously in so many cities. the anti-government demonstrations were the largest since the summer of 1994, said Michael Bustamante, an assistant professor of Latin american history at Florida international University.

"Only now, they weren't limited to the capital; they didn't even start there, it seems," he said.

Sunday's demonstrations broke out at around midday in San antonio de los Banos municipality in artemisa Province, bordering havana. Video on social media showed hundreds of residents chanting anti-government slogans and demanding everything from coronavirus vaccines to an end of daily blackouts. “i just walked through town looking to buy some food and there were lots of people there, some with signs, protesting,” resident Claris Ramirez said by phone. “they are protesting blackouts, that there is no medicine".

President Diaz-Canel visited the town, later saying in his broadcast remarks: "We are calling on all the revolutionaries in the country, all the Communists, to hit the streets wherever there is an effort to produce these provocations". there were protests later on Sunday hundreds of miles to the east in Palma Soriano, Santiago de Cuba, where social media video showed hundreds marching through the streets, again confirmed by a resident. “they are protesting the crisis, that there is no food

or medicine, that you have to buy everything at the foreign currency stores, and on and on the list goes,” the resident, Claudia Perez, said. the protests in havana started around 3 p.m. and fizzled out around 8 p.m., with some protesters giving up after security forces thwarted their attempt to reach Revolution Square Cuba has been experiencing a worsening economic crisis for two years, which the government blames mainly on U.S. sanctions and the pandemic, while its detractors cite incompetence and a Soviet-style one-party system. a combination of sanctions, inefficiencies and the pandemic has shut down tourism and slowed other foreign revenue flows in a country dependent on them to import the bulk of its food, fuel and inputs for agriculture and manufacturing. the economy contracted 10.9% last year, and 2% through June of 2021. the resulting cash crunch has spawned shortages that have forced Cubans to queue for hours for basic goods throughout the pandemic.

Cuba has begun a mass vaccination campaign, with 1.7 million of its 11.2 million residents vaccinated to date and twice that many have received at least one shot in the three-shot process.

Still, the arrival of the Delta variant has prompted cases to surge, with health authorities reporting a record 6,923 cases and 47 deaths on Sunday - twice as many as the previous week. hospitals in the worst affected province have been overwhelmed.

Haiti police arrest suspect in president's assassination PORT-AU-PRINCE REUTERs

haitian police said on Sunday they had arrested one of the suspected masterminds in the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, a haitian man whom authorities accused of hiring mercenaries to oust and replace Moise.

Moise was shot dead early on Wednesday at his Port-au-Prince home by what haitian authorities describe as a unit of assassins formed of 26 Colombians and two haitian americans, plunging the troubled Caribbean nation deeper into turmoil. read more national Police Chief Leon Charles told a news conference the arrested man, 63-year-old Christian Emmanuel Sanon, flew to haiti on a private jet in early June, accompanied by hired security guards, and wanted to take over as president. he did not explain Sanon's motives beyond saying they were political, but added that one of those in custody had contacted him upon being arrested.

Sanon, in turn, contacted two other "intellectual authors" of the assassination, Charles added. "the mission of these attackers was initially to ensure the safety of Emmanuel Sanon, but later the mission was changed...and they presented one of the attackers with an arrest warrant for the president of the republic," Charles said.

Public records online show a man with Sanon's name worked as a doctor in Florida, but it was not immediately clear if it was the same man. nor was it clear why Sanon would want to topple Moise, whose murder is the latest in a string of reverses for the struggling country, which has sought

international help.

Washington has rebuffed haiti's request for troops, though a senior U.S. official said on Sunday it was sending a technical team to assess the situation. haitian police have arrested 18 Colombians and 3 haitian americans, including Sanon, over the murder, Charles said. Five Colombians are still at large and three were killed, he added. the suspected assassins told investigators they were there to arrest him, not kill him, the Miami herald and a person familiar with the matter said earlier on Sunday. a source close to the investigation said two haitian americans, James Solages and Joseph Vincent, told investigators they were translators for the Colombian commando unit that had an arrest warrant.

But when they arrived, they found him dead. the news follows reports that some of the Colombians had said they had gone to work as security personnel on haiti, including for Moise himself. the Miami herald reported that the detained Colombians said they were hired to work in haiti by Miami-based company CtU Security, run by Venezuelan emigre antonio Enmanuel intriago Valera. Charles indicated that CtU had been used to hire at least some of the Colombian suspects, but gave no details. neither CtU nor intriago could immediately be reached for comment.

One phone number associated with the company in public records sent calls to an answering machine that made a reference to the fictional tV character Jack Bauer, who fought terrorism in the series "24." the recorded message ran, "thank you for call-

ing CtU Security. For tony intriago, please leave a message or send a text. For Jack Bauer, wait for the next season. thank you for calling and have a great day."

Social media profiles that appeared to belong to intriago included a Facebook photo showing a man in tactical gear pointing a high-powered rifle. instagram pictures showed ammunition, guns, and people engaged in tactical training.

VIOLENT END: Photos and X-ray images posted on social media at the weekend said to be from Moise's autopsy showed his body riddled with bullet holes, a fractured skull and other broken bones, underscoring the brutal nature of the attack.

Reuters could not independently confirm their authenticity.

Via social media, haitians in parts of the capital Port-au-Prince were planning protests this week against the interim prime minister and acting head of state Claude Joseph.

Joseph's right to lead the country has been challenged by other senior politicians, threatening to exacerbate the turmoil engulfing the poorest country in the americas. On Saturday, one of haiti's top gang leaders, Jimmy Cherizier, a former police officer known as Barbecue, said his men would take to the streets to protest the assassination.

Cherizier, boss of the so-called g9 federation of nine gangs, said police and opposition politicians had conspired with the "stinking bourgeoisie" to "sacrifice" Moise. gunfire rang out overnight in the capital, which has suffered a surge in gang violence in recent months, displacing thousands and hampering economic activity.

Pfizer/BioNTech bid for booster doses premature, more data needed: experts AnAlysis CHICAGO REUTERs

Pfizer inc's (PFE.n) push for health regulators to authorize a third dose of its Covid-19 shot is not yet backed by evidence, despite the fast-spreading Delta variant, vaccine experts said.

Pfizer and german partner Biontech SE said last week that they will ask U.S. and European regulators within weeks to authorize a booster dose due to an increased risk of infection after six months. the companies did not share the data showing that risk, but said it would soon be made public. a meeting with federal health officials to discuss the matter was scheduled for Monday, Pfizer said. in interviews with Reuters, some leading vaccine experts questioned Pfizer's rationale and said that more data was needed to justify a booster, especially as many countries struggle to administer the initial vaccine doses needed to protect their citizens. "it's disappointing that with such a complicated decision they took such a unilateral approach," said Dr. Larry Corey, a virologist at Seattle's Fred hutchinson Cancer Center who is overseeing U.S.-

government backed Covid-19 vaccine trials. the rise of the Delta variant, first detected in india and now the dominant form of new coronavirus infections in many countries, has raised concerns over whether currently available vaccines offer enough protection. Several experts say a booster shot would be warranted if there is a substantial increase in hospitalizations or deaths among vaccinated people. "that's the line for boosters," said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's hospital of Philadelphia and an advisor on vaccines to the U.S. Food and Drug administration. that has not been the case so far in the United States, where the overwhelming majority of severe illness occurs in unvaccinated people, he said. Shortly after Pfizer's announcement late on thursday, U.S. health officials sought to reassure the public that anyone who already received two doses of the drugmaker's vaccine was protected against severe disease and death, even from the Delta variant. "americans who have been fully vaccinated do not need a booster shot at this time," the FDa and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement. a Pfizer spokesperson declined to comment on the criticism.

ISRAELI FINDINGS: Pfizer Chief Executive albert Bourla and other officials have said for months that they expect a regular booster shot will be needed against Covid-19, a prospect that could help company

profits for years to come. in explaining the decision to seek emergency authorization now, Pfizer cited findings released last week by israel's health Ministry suggesting the vaccine was only 64% effective at preventing transmission and mild disease in the face of the Delta variant. the ministry said it remains 93% effective at preventing hospitalizations and death. read more Pfizer's chief scientific officer, Mikael Dolsten, told Reuters the israeli data showed that protection had waned in individuals who got the vaccine in January or February. Pfizer board member Scott gottlieb told CnBC that those vaccinated included people who are older and who had experienced asymptomatic or mild Covid.

"Frankly you do not want them to get any infection because of the uncertainty of infection in older individuals and how dangerous infection is in older individuals," he said. "that's why i believe ... boosters will likely be an option for older individuals who were vaccinated a while ago heading into the fall and winter." the israeli health Ministry, however, has not published any data showing a specific correlation between infections among vaccinated people and the date the vaccine was administered.

On Sunday, the government said it would offer a booster to adults with weak immune systems who are at higher risk for severe Covid.

Tuesday, 13 July, 2021

SPORTS 11

LAHORE England's Black players face racial abuse after Euro 2020 defeat LONDON REUTERS

Black players in the England soccer team have been subjected to a storm of online racist abuse after their defeat in the final of Euro 2020, drawing wide condemnation from the squad's manager Gareth Southgate along with royalty and politicians. Marcus Rashford, 23, Jadon Sancho, 21, and Bukayo Saka, 19, were the targets of the abuse after they missed spot-kicks in a penalty shootout with Italy which settled Sunday's final after the game finished as a 1-1 draw.

The comments have prompted a police investigation and wide condemnation, although critics accused some ministers of hypocrisy for refusing to support a high-profile anti-racist stance the players had made during the tournament.

"For some of them to be abused is unforgivable," Southgate told a news conference. "Some of it has come from abroad, we have been told this, but some of it is from this country." The England team have earned praise for their stand against racism, while a number of players have also campaigned on other social causes. The multi-racial make-up of the squad had been hailed as reflecting a more diverse modern Britain. The team had highlighted the issue of racism by taking the knee before all their matches - a protest made by American footballer Colin Kaepernick and followed by the Black Lives Matter movement last year - saying it was a simple show of solidarity against racial discrimination. However, some fans have booed the gesture, with critics viewing it as a politicization of sport and expression of sympathy with far-left politics. Some ministers have been accused of hypocrisy for refusing to criticise those who booed and using it as part of a wider "culture war", often portrayed as a rift between those wanting to protect Britain's heritage from a "woke" youth, who see their elders as blocking moves to end racial and social injustice. "This England team deserve to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media," Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Twitter. "Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves." While Johnson himself said the team should not be booed, his own spokesman had initially declined to criticise the fans over the issue when asked last month.

DISGUSTED: Interior minister Priti Patel had also said she did not support players taking the knee because it was "gesture politics" and that it was a choice for the fans whether to boo players. On Monday, she joined those who denounced the abuse. The opposition Labour Party said Johnson and Patel were guilty of hypocrisy.

"Leaders' actions and leaders' words and leaders inactions have consequences," Labour leader Keir Starmer said. "The prime minister failed to call out the booing so whatever he says today rings hollow." While the social media feeds of the players also showed huge levels of support and gratitude from fans for the tournament, the abuse overshadowed the positive messages.

Britain's Prince William, who is president of the Football Association, said he was sickened. "It is totally unacceptable that players have to endure this abhorrent behaviour," Queen Elizabeth's grandson said on Twitter. "It must stop now and all those involved should be held accountable." The Football Association said fans who exhibited such "disgusting behaviour" were not welcome and urged the authorities to hand out "the toughest punishments possible". European soccer governing body UEFA also condemned the abuse and called for the strongest possible punishments.

ItAlIAn joy, EnglIsh hEArtBrEAK AftEr PEnAlty drAmA LONDON

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TALY inflicted heartbreak on England to win the Euro 2020 final after a penalty shootout at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, with pundits and ex-players praising the efforts of both teams.

Luke Shaw gave England an early lead and Leonardo Bonucci equalised in the second half but the game finished 1-1 after extra time and Gianluigi Donnarumma saved from Bukayo Saka to secure a 3-2 shootout win and the title for Italy.

“The guys were extraordinary. I don’t have words for them, this is a magnificent group. There were no easy games and this one became very difficult, but then we dominated,” Italy coach Roberto Mancini told Sky TV. “You need a bit of luck with penalties and I’m a little sorry for England. This team has grown so much, I think it can still improve. We are so happy for all,” he added.

Long-serving Italy captain Giorgio

Chiellini capped a superb tournament with another display of both the skills and the dark arts of Italian defending.

“I’ve shed some tears. We deserved it, but at this age it we realise even more what it means to win a trophy like this. Since May we were saying that something magical was in the air, day after day it was more like that,” the 36-year-old told Sky TV. England striker Harry Kane was devastated to have come so close.

“We got off to the perfect start, maybe dropped a little bit too deep. When you score that early it’s easy to try to soak up the pressure and try to hold on to that, and that’s probably what happened,” he told the BBC. “They had a lot of the ball, they had a lot of possession, but to be fair we looked fairly in control, they didn’t create too many chances, and then obviously they got their breakthrough.”

Kane was quick to commiserate with Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Saka, all of whom missed in the shootout.

“You’ve got to hold your heads up

high. A fantastic tournament and these things can happen, a penalty shootout, you go through your process and you put it where you want to put it, but anyone can miss a penalty – we win together and we lose together,” added the England captain.

HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT: England manager Gareth Southgate praised his players, acknowledging they were upset to have come up short after taking an early lead.

“We are hugely disappointed of

'It is not the end, it is the beginning,' vows Berrettini LONDON AFP

Matteo Berrettini says his valiant effort in losing to Novak Djokovic in four sets in the Wimbledon final on Sunday is "not the end, it is the beginning" and he believes he can one day lift the trophy at the All England Club.

The 25-year-old Italian showed great pluck to come from a break down and win the first set before the Serb gathered himself and won 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 for a record-equalling 20th Grand Slam and sixth Wimbledon title. "It is not the end, it is the beginning for me," said Berrettini, appearing in his first Grand Slam final.

Berrettini said he would draw on Djokovic's example of how he improved himself as a player and hopefully become Italy's first Grand Slam male winner since Adriano Panatta at the 1976 French Open.

Berrettini -- the first Italian to reach a Wimbledon singles final -- also lost in four sets to Djokovic in last month's French Open quarter-finals. .

"In order to win against him (Djokovic), I have to improve more," said Berrettini. "Like he said, he was losing against Rafa and Roger, and thanks to them he im-

proved.

"That's what I'll try to do. Thanks to him, I'm going to try to get better."

Berrettini may have had the majority of the 15,000 capacity Centre Court crowd behind him -- some of them dressed in Italy football shirts ahead of Sunday's Euro 2020 final with England -- but he said he would need more than that if he is to beat Djokovic.

"Obviously now beating him, it means to be, like, the best player in the world right now, not just because he's No 1 but because he showed week after week that he's the best player," said Berrettini.

"He's winning the big titles. He's really the toughest player to beat. "Probably it would mean even more if you're able to win against Novak in the finals."

Berrettini may have fallen short this time but he has gained the respect of former champions like Boris Becker.

Indeed he came close to becoming the first player since Becker in 1985 to win the prestigious Queen's tournament on debut and add the Wimbledon crown a few weeks later. "The most important thing for me is that right now I'm losing -- obviously you can lose to anyone,

but I'm losing against the best players in the world," he said. "In Paris I lost against him (Djokovic), and he won the tournament. "In Queen's I won, and then I lost against him again here. It means that my level is growing.

"It means my weapons and my tennis in general is growing. That's the right path."

Berrettini said he was "pissed" at losing and he had not played up to the standards he had hoped for but he has taken enough out of the fortnight to know one thing.

"I know that I can do it," he said. "I know that I can win this title. I'm not sure if I'm going to do it, but I know I can do it. So that's what I'm going to do in the next weeks, in the next months and years: try to lift the trophy." Berrettini wore strapping round his left thigh from the outset but said it had nothing to do with his defeat.

"I have a pain in my leg. Luckily it's nothing dangerous. I didn't lose for that," he said. Berrettini's Australian girlfriend Ajla Tomljanovic -- who reached the quarter-finals in the singles -- and his family watched with his father Luca fingering his electronic cigarette anxiously. Berrettini paid tribute to them. "Without my family, friends and team all this would not have been possible so I just say Grazie Grazie."

Chinese athletes complain about lax virus measures TOKYO AFP

China's first athletes to arrive in Japan for the Tokyo Olympics have complained that poor prevention measures at their hotel will increase the risk of catching Covid-19.

The pandemic has cast a shadow over the Games with organizers banning all fans from venues in Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures, in a huge blow for the event.

A few outlying areas are allowed to have a limited number of domestic fans -- with overseas spectators banned months ago -- and organisers have promised that the event will be safe. However, after they arrived in Enoshima, a small island where the sailing events will take place, China's sailing team complained of insufficient precautions at their hotel.

"The Chinese team lives on one floor, but mixing with tourists in the hotel is certainly a hidden danger," Zhang Xiaodong, head of the Chinese Sailing Association, told staterun Xinhua news agency on Sunday. "We are consulting with the Organizing Committee on this issue." The Olympic Village in Tokyo is sealed off, with only authorised staff allowed to enter. But the sailing and windsurfing competitions will be held far from the Village, with those competitors staying at a designated Olympic hotel near the venue. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has released a playbook offering safety guidelines for athletes but absolves itself of any responsibility if they catch the virus. Coronavirus concerns had led to calls in Japan for the Olympics to be postponed or even cancelled. Organisers have said athletes will be tested every day once they arrive in Tokyo.

Heat risks add to challenges for Tokyo Olympics TOKYO AFP

Searing heat, dripping humidity, and face masks: it's going to be a sweaty Tokyo Olympics and while coronavirus measures are top priority, heatstroke remains a serious risk, experts warn.

Long before the pandemic forced Tokyo 2020's postponement, the Japanese capital's brutal summer heat was the main health concern for organisers.

While the Games have been held in places that are hotter or more humid than Tokyo, including Athens and Beijing, Japan's sweaty summers offer both, in an unpleasant and sometimes deadly combination. Organisers have moved the Olympic marathon and racewalks to the northern island of Hokkaido, hoping to outrun temperatures that can hit 37 degrees Celsius and humidity over 80 percent.

And with fans now banned from nearly all Games events over virus fears, the risk of large crowds sizzling in the sun is no

course, I think firstly the players have been an absolute credit, they have given everything they possibly could. Tonight exactly the same, they have run themselves into the ground,” he told the BBC. “They cant have recriminations. They have been an absolute joy to work with, and they have gone further than we’ve gone for so long. But of course tonight it is incredibly painful in that dressing room,” he added.

longer a concern.

But athletes, who will have little time to acclimatise because they are only allowed to arrive just before competition, could still suffer.

"Holding the games during July and August... was a serious issue even before the coronavirus pandemic," Haruo Ozaki, chairman of the Tokyo Medical Association, told reporters recently.

"There are still high risks of heatstroke at events such as competitive walking, triathlon, and beach volleyball," even after moving the marathon and racewalking, he warned. At test events in summer 2019, organisers rolled out a variety of anti-heat measures: 1,360 tonnes of ice to cool athletes, tents for shade, ice cream for volunteers and mist fans and artificial snow for spectators. Even so, several people were treated for suspected heatstroke at a beach volleyball event and 10 people including athletes fell ill at a rowing test event.

Ironically, Tokyo won its bid to host the Olympics, beating out rivals including

Doha, in part by boasting of its "mild" weather. But the city has been notorious for its stifling summer for years. The last time it hosted the Games, in 1964, the event was shifted to October to beat the heat. And it has only got hotter in recent years, with climate change and urbanisation exacerbating the trend, according to experts. A report published in late May by the British Association for Sustainable Sport (BASIS) warned "intense heat and high levels of humidity are a threat to athletes at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics".

British rower Melissa Wilson told the report she felt her sport was "approaching a danger zone" given rising temperatures at events around the world.

"It's a horrible moment when you see athletes cross the line, their bodies fling back in total exhaustion and then not rise up," she said.

In pre-pandemic 2019, more than 71,000 people sought emergency care for heatstroke across Japan, with 118 deaths during the June-September period.

And even in 2020, with fewer people out and about, emergency care cases stood at just below 65,000 with 112 dying.

Doctors in Tokyo have warned organisers that medical emergencies during the competition -- including heatstroke -could divert resources away from the domestic coronavirus response.

The pandemic could complicate things, with rules requiring athletes to "wear a face mask at all times, except when training, competing, eating, drinking, sleeping or during interviews".

A Tokyo 2020 official told AFP that the rules would be "flexible depending on the situation" given the risks of heatstroke -- allowing people to go mask-free when "outside and able to keep two metres apart from others".

Masks in hot weather could cause people to feel ill and have difficulty breathing, "even if this is not heatstroke in a strict sense", said Shoko Kawanami, a professor at the University of Occupational and Environmental Health in western Japan.

England cricket doesn't rely on shortcuts like Pakistan: Kamran Akmal SPORTS DESK Pakistan’s wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal, in a YouTube video on Saturday, stated that England did not rely on shortcuts like the Men in Green after their recent defeat against a depleted opposition in the second One-Day International (ODI) at Lords. The 39-year-old claimed that the England players, unlike their Pakistani counterparts, didn’t rely on just one or two performances to get into the national side.

“They are mentally very strong because they have been playing cricket. They haven't relied on shortcuts. They haven't made it to the side based on one or two matches. Everyone's number of matches and performances are there for everyone to see. The England players showed maturity. This benefited the England side who can play two teams now at one time. They have the talent and the players to do that. It was bad luck for Pakistan and that is all we can say. They should put in the effort in the last match. They should win the last match so that they have a bit of confidence going into the T20s. What is being done to Pakistan cricket is there for everyone to see,” Akmal said. The wicketkeeper praised the new England outfit for their performance against a more experienced Pakistan side. “England performed really well. The way they fielded and the way that they were led by Ben Stokes, who was outstanding. It did not seem like Pakistan would lose the way they did.

We didn’t expect this performance. Our players had over 400 matches experience and they were up against a new England team with the collective experience of 108 matches. You see the difference in these cases and when you see the numbers or the on-paper sides,” he concluded.

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ProPaganda against nawaz has termed him ‘anti-army’, says maryam

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AKISTAN Muslim LeagueNawaz Vice President Maryam Nawaz said on Monday that many people crafted propaganda against Nawaz Sharif to show him as an “anti-army” force, further alleging that Prime Minister Imran Khan could not face Nawaz “in the ring”.

“Such elements should be ashamed of themselves,” she said while addressing a a rally in Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s Leepa Valley as part of her party’s campaign for the upcoming AJK elections on July 25, “because it was also Nawaz Sharif who had raised salaries of the Pakistan Army in his tenure.”

She added that Nawaz was a true son of the soil as “even his enemies acknowledge his patriotism.” Maryam emphasised that the former premier had criticised some individuals and not institutions, claiming that later some steps taken by the same individuals resulted in damage to Pakistan.

Hitting out at the Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf government for hurling corruption allegations at her party, Maryam said, “The way they labelled PML-N and Nawaz Sharif

as thieves was ridiculous and such claims have been exposed by the courts.”

In this regard, she called upon “institutions” to follow the narrative of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif “if Pakistan has to progress”.

The PML-N leader alleged that Imran Khan couldn’t face Nawaz Sharif “in the ring, because he has no public support, hence he keeps his rival out of the ring on false charges”.

She also claimed that PM Imran colluded with the “selectors” to scandalise Nawaz Sharif but his own narrative rebounded on him. She said court verdicts attest to the truth that no corruption charges against Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif, Hamza Shehbaz, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi or Khawaja Saad Rafique were proven.

She claimed that PM Imran “used all state resources but still could not prove charges against Nawaz”.

Maryam said even after being in power for three years, Imran Khan had to “steal” elections to defeat Nawaz, referring to the recently held polls in Gilgit Baltistan.

The PML-N leader said “Imran must remember that PML-N tigers would keep a watch on votes and not allow pilfering of the

mandate.”

“I would advise Imran Khan to not waste his time by showing up in Kashmir because people here have given their verdict [in favour of the PML-N],” she added.

She also urged Kashmiris to change the perception that parties ruling in the centre always emerge victorious in the AJK elections because they provide financial aid to the region. Maryam also castigated the premier for burgeoning inflation in the country, saying prices of medicines had skyrocketed.

“I fear the same may also happen in Kashmir if Imran Khan sets his eyes on the region.” She said Imran Khan was visiting AJK to seek votes, and insisted that people “ask him whether he is coming to reverse the development of Kashmir that took place under the leadership of outgoing PM Raja Farooq Haider.” She also resented her detention in “fake cases”, saying “the NAB also told me that my stance of calling a spade a spade resulted in my captivity.”

The PML-N leader asked Imran Khan to seek forgiveness from Allah for his actions in the last three years.

Earlier, responding to chants of ‘Go Niazi Go’ from the crowd, Maryam said she would prefer to say “Go Imran Go”, remark-

ing that all Niazis were respectable to her.

It is pertinent here to mention that the rally led by the PML-N vice president at a college ground in AJK forced the cancellation of the intermediate exam.

The female students of the college were disrupted during the exam owing to the speeches from PML-N leaders, including Maryam Nawaz, on loudspeakers.

The principal of the college rather than asking PML-N leaders to stop the gathering decided to cancel the exam.

On the other hand, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Communication, Dr Shahbaz Gill on Monday said propaganda of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz would not work in Kashmir this time.

Responding to a statement of the PMLN leader, he said PML-N’s ‘forgery expert’ was selected for the election campaign in AJK. She resorted to lies instead of telling the worst performance of PML-N in Kashmir, the SAPM said.

He added that instead of going there and taking photoshop photos, it’s better to inform Kashmiris about your incompetence. Incompetent people were ruling Kashmir for the last five years, he added.

Instead of fighting the Kashmir case,

those who developed personal relations with Sajjan Jindal today disguised themselves as fake Kashmiris to seek votes, he said.

In past disqualified PML-N leader developed ties with India, instead of supporting Kashmir cause, he said adding, whereas, on the other hand, Prime Minister Imran Khan fought the Kashmir case aggressively and effectively. Earlier, during her address to a public gathering on Sunday, Maryam Nawaz warned the incumbent government of a strong reaction if elections in AJK are “rigged”. Addressing a rally in Hattian Bala, AJK, as part of her election campaign, the PML-N leader alleged that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government was spending money to “buy votes” ahead of polls in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

“If the govt attempted to rig elections in AJK, Raja Farooq Haider and PML-N would stage a sit-in Islamabad,” she added.

It is pertinent to mention here that other than the PML-N, the ruling party in Centre PTI and Pakistan People’s Party have also launched their election campaigns in the region. Prime Minister Imran Khan has decided to address several public rallies in Azad Jammu and Kashmir ahead of polls set to be held on July 25.

Afghan special forces moved in on Taliban, only to find they had melted away KANDAHAR REutERs

Soldiers from Afghanistan’s special forces paused for a short prayer late on Sunday night on a deserted stretch of highway in the southern province of Kandahar. They do so each time they prepare to face Taliban militants in battle.

The highly trained troops had been called in to flush out insurgents who attacked regular forces and local police hours earlier, only to find that the Taliban had disappeared into the darkness leaving behind a few civilians and wounded soldiers.

“We received a report that the enemy had infiltrated here and wanted to overthrow the district,” Major Mohammad din Tasir, a member of the special forces unit deployed in the Taliban’s former stronghold of Kandahar, told Reuters after the operation.

The report had suggested up to 300 Taliban fighters were present in the area, he said. “Unfortunately, what we heard in the report and what we saw on the scene did not match.” Tasir said the absence of Taliban fighters showed that claims by the group that they now controlled up to 85% of the country’s territory were exaggerated.

It also underlined the difficulty

in facing an enemy that mixes open assaults on checkpoints, villages, towns and cities with hit-and-run tactics that tend to avoid heavy casualties.

Recent territorial gains by the Taliban come as foreign troops led by the US military withdraw from Afghanistan after 20 years of war, leaving the task of pulling the country from a spiralling security crisis to local forces.

On Monday, the US general leading the war in Afghanistan, Austin Miller, will relinquish his command, in a symbolic end to America’s longest conflict.

TALIBAN ADVANCES: Kandahar is one of many provinces to see a recent surge in offensives by the Taliban, which says it wants to be involved in running the country peacefully although it has always opposed the presence of foreign forces.

In the last week, the group has been advancing in the west of the country near the border with Iran and has surrounded the central city of Ghazni.

The special forces unit had been called in after insurgents attempted to take control of Khan Baba village in the Dand district of Kandahar, unleashing RPGs and heavy machinegun fire at Afghan security forces and local police.

The soldiers travelled there under cover of darkness, using night vision equipment and moving in Humvee vehicles scarred with bullet holes from previous missions, some of them carried out with US allies.

When they arrived they found the village largely abandoned. Air strikes by the Afghan Air Force had helped push back Taliban fighters.

Special forces personnel moved swiftly and silently from house to house, entering through doors and jumping walls to locate Taliban remnants who may still be hiding in the area.

They found only a few mainly elderly locals who said that other residents had fled when the fighting began. The troops also tended to soldiers wounded in the earlier clashes before evacuating them to the nearest military base.

In the distance, sporadic gunfire rang out.

An Afghan defence official said on Twitter on Monday that 26 insurgents had been killed in operations and air strikes a day earlier in two Kandahar districts, including Dand.

Reuters could not independently verify this.

Once the operation was complete, the special forces caught a short rest, before preparing to receive orders for their next mission.

ISLAMABAD: Dark clouds hover above the Parliament House in the federal capital. ONLINE

India’s most populous state seeks to promote two-child policy NEW DELHI REutERs

India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, has proposed legislation that aims to discourage couples from having more than two children, becoming the second state ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party to make such a proposal. If Uttar Pradesh were a country, its 240 million people would make it the world’s fifthmost populous, and population density in the northern state is more than double the national average. Under the state government proposals unveiled on Saturday, couples with more than two children would not be allowed to receive government benefits or subsidies and would be barred from applying for state government jobs. The bill says that because of the state’s “limited ecological and economic resources at hand, it is necessary and urgent that the provision of the basic necessi-

ties of human life are accessible to all citizens”. Per capita income in Uttar Pradesh is less than half the national average. While the draft ostensibly seeks to raise awareness over the need to restrain India’s population of 1.34 billion, its subtext reflects a core belief of right-wing Hindu organisations that Muslims are trying to “overtake” Hindus. The campaign, underpinned

by Islamophobia, is being promoted in the real and online worlds. Facebook posts spread the conspiracy theory that the number of India’s Muslims — currently about 200 million — will at some point surpass the 966 million-strong Hindu population, as WhatsApp groups share messages stirring fear and hatred. The draft law, which is open for public comments until July, would need to be ratified by state lawmakers.

India, which is expected to overtake China as the world’s most populous country by 2027, does not have a national two-child policy.

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now LONDON REutERs

Here’s what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: Pandemic not over, Johnson warns as England set for rule easing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will urge caution on Monday as he is expected to confirm plans to remove nearly all remaining Covid-19 restrictions in England from July 19, despite a surge of cases to levels not seen since the winter. The government argues that even though cases have surged, deaths and hospitalisations remain far lower than before, proof that the vaccines are saving lives and it is safer to open

up. South Korea reports 1,100 new coronavirus cases South Korea reported 1,100 new coronavirus cases for July 11, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on Monday, as its toughest anti-Covid curbs take effect in Seoul in an attempt to end its worst-ever outbreak.

The wave of infections has brought fewer serious cases and deaths than earlier rounds, with many older and more vulnerable South Koreans now vaccinated against the virus. But health authorities have expressed concerns over the rising number of young patients who have not received vaccine shots, and the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. Aus-

tralia’s Delta outbreak worsens despite Sydney lockdown The prospect of an extended lockdown in Sydney loomed on Monday as Australian health officials reported yet another record daily rise in Covid-19 cases for the year, fuelled by the highly infectious Delta variant. New South Wales state reported 112 new locally transmitted Covid-19 cases, almost all of them in Sydney, despite the country’s biggest city entering its third week of lockdown. Case numbers have been at record levels for at least three days.

There was, however, a glimmer of light as the number of newly infected people who were out in the community while infectious

dropped to 34 from 45 on Sunday. State Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the progress of that figure in the coming days would determine whether Sydney’s lockdown, due to end on Friday, would be extended. Pfizer, US health officials to discuss boosters on Monday Covid-19 vaccine maker Pfizer Inc will meet US federal health officials as soon as Monday to discuss the need for a booster dose of the coronavirus vaccine as it prepares to seek authorisation, the company said on Sunday.

The meeting comes days after the drugmaker and its partner BioNTech announced plans to seek US and European regulatory approval for a third dose of their Covid-19

shot amid the spread of variants and data they said showed a heightened risk of infection six months after initial inoculation.

Hundreds of Thai medical workers infected despite Sinovac vaccinations Thailand’s health ministry said on Sunday more than 600 medical workers who received two doses of China’s Sinovac vaccine have been infected with Covid-19, as authorities weigh giving booster doses to raise immunity.

Of the 677,348 medical personnel who received two doses of Sinovac, 618 became infected, health ministry data from April to July showed. A nurse has died and another medical worker is in critical condition.

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