Epaper – June 13 ISB 2021

CMYK

13 June, 2021 I 2 Dhul-Qadah, 1442 I Rs 25.00 I Vol XI No 343 I 32 Pages I Islamabad Edition

Tarin rules ouT chance of any mini-budgeT g

MiniSTER SAyS BuDgET FOCuSES On uPliFT OF POOR PEOPlE

ISLAMABAD staff report

r

uling out the chances of bringing any mini-budget, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin has said that the budget 2021-22 focuses on uplift of the poor and sustainable economic growth through incentives for various sectors, including agriculture, industry and housing.

Addressing a post-budget press conference on Saturday along with Minister for Economic Affairs Khusro Bakhtiyar and Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce and Trade Abdul Razak Dawood, Tarin said that the main emphasis of the budget is to protect the vulnerable segments of the society.

He said that four million poor households, to be accessed through the Ehsaas Survey, will be provided with interest free business and farming loans. He said these households will also be given loans to build their own houses. Besides, they will be given health cards and one member of each family will be imparted technical training.

The finance minister said that incentives have been given to uplift both the agriculture and industries, which will increase employability. He said the incentives in the industries are not only textile specific but have been extended to different sectors.

He said taxes have been abolished to facilitate the investment of Chinese friends in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) being set up under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.

The finance minister said the taxes on the information technology (iT) have been rationalised in order to exploit its full potential. He said, “We want to substantially enhance this sector’s exports in the years to come.”

Tarin said that duties have been abolished on almost all the raw materials to strengthen the local industries and reduce imports. The finance minister was confident that the prices of cars up to 850cc will come down following the tax relief given to the automobile sector. He said the incentives given to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will also help achieve higher growth in the industry.

coronavirus in

PakisTan

CONFIRMED CASES:

939,931

LAST UPDATED AT 8:49 AM ON JUNE 12, 2021

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

NEW CASES:

57

1,194

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

SINDH:

PUNJAB:

875,581 21,633

327,021

343,703

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

135,569

26,152

AJK/GB: ISLAMABAD: 19,723/5,698 82,065

The finance minister said that Prime Minister imran Khan has given special emphasis to the housing sector, which will help strengthen the industries allied with it.

He said the government has increased subsidies, especially in the power sector.

He said, “We will bring efficiency in the power sector. DiSCOs will be operated through independent boards and they will be privatised. line losses will be reduced and recoveries will be enhanced.”

The finance minister expressed the confidence that the revenue target of Rs4.7 trillion set for the current fiscal year will be achieved. He said, “We will have to enhance the tax to gDP ratio to 20 percent in a period of seven to eight years. Our focus is to bring more people into the tax net instead of imposing more taxes on the people already paying taxes.”

He maintained that a tax collection target of Rs5.8 trillion has been set for the next fiscal year, which he will achieve through innovative approaches including the use of latest technology.

He said that allocation for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) has been enhanced significantly to take the country towards sustainable growth.

He said that in order to broaden the tax net, the government will bring in a prize scheme to encourage people to demand proper receipts for purchases they make from retailers. He said the government will introduce a scheme, under which prizes amounting to Rs250 million will be distributed among receipt holders every month. He added the move would help in documentation of the economy.

Tarin said the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has started collecting data to identify potential taxpayers, who are eligible to pay tax but have not yet been brought into the tax net. About 312,000 potential tax payers can be brought into the tax net through these measures, he added.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Bilawal terms budget anti-people, anti-poor g

‘PDM iS nOT DEMOCRATiC MOvEMEnT WiTHOuT PPP, AnP’ KARACHI tltp

Terming the proposed budget for the fiscal year 2020-21 an economic attack on Pakistanis, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that Prime Minister imran Khan has made his “anti-people and anti-poor” agenda clear.

The PPP chairman, in a statement issued on Saturday, said that PTi would not be permitted to play with the nation’s future, vowing his party would not allow imran Khan to conduct an economic massacre of the people.

“People now know that imran Khan has a habit of making tall claims. The prime minister has failed in providing relief to the common man,” he maintained.

Reiterating PM is “deaf, dumb, and blind” to the plight of the average citizen, he said, “The year might have changed, but the conditions of the people remain

Imran urges world to fight online hate, extremism after Canada attack ISLAMABAD staff report

Prime Minister imran Khan has called on world leaders to crack down on online hate and extremism following the deadly truck attack in london city of Ontario — now being investigated by authorities as a possible act of terrorism.

Four members of a Pakistanorigin Muslim family were killed and a nine-year-old boy suffered serious injuries when they were run down by a pickup truck Sunday evening. Police say the family was targeted because of their faith.

The family moved to Canada from Pakistan in 2007.

“Everyone is shocked in [Pakistan] because we saw the family picture, and so a family being targeted like that has had a deep impact in Pakistan,” the prime minister told the CBC‘s chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton in a virtual interview. “i think there should be a very strict action against this,” said imran of online radicalisation.

“When there are these hate websites which create hatred amongst human beings, there should be an international action against them.”

the same. A poor man’s house is still being deprived of necessities.”

The PPP chairman said that while the government was busy presenting “false facts” through the Economic Survey 2020-21 and claiming that the nation is flourishing, the government employees protested against inflation outside the parliament. “The people are now retaliating because they are aware of the puppet prime minister’s empty promises,” he said, adding, “They know it is imran Khan’s habit to talk big and do nothing. He is incompetent and has completely failed to provide relief to the common man.”

Highlighting how the facts tell another story, Bilawal said that an anti-people budget “was expected” from the PTi government. “if the inflation rate, unemployment, and poverty figures have been historic during imran Khan’s tenure, how can the budget be public [friendly]?” he questioned.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

more inside

Islamabad, Riyadh for implementing decisions taken during PM’s Saudi visit STORY ON BACK PAGE

Covid-19 infects 1,194, kills 57 in a day: nCOC STORY ON PAGE 02 ONLINE RADICALISATION: While investigators have not yet determined if the killer, 20-year-old nathaniel veltman, participated in online activity that promoted extremism or violence, imran said the recent pattern of domestic terror in Western countries demands a heightened focus on online radicalisation.

The perpetrators of other recent mass killings — such as the 2017 gun attack at a Quebec City mosque and the 2018 yonge Street van attack in Toronto — took part in online activities that are believed by investigators to have contributed to their radicalisation.

The prime minister said he has raised the issue with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He described Trudeau as a leader who understands the importance of fighting online hate and islamophobia, though he said other leaders have not yet made the same commitment.

“The world leaders, whenever they decide upon taking action, this will be dealt with,” he said.

“The problem is at the moment, there is not enough motivation and that some international leaders, or leaders in the Western countries, actually don’t understand this phenomenon.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Saudi Arabia to allow 60,000 vaccinated residents to perform Hajj STORY ON BACK PAGE in today’s issue

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02

Sunday, 13 June, 2021

ISLAMABAD

NEWS

Covid-19 iNfeCtS 1,194, KillS 57 iN A dAy: NCoC ISLAMABAD

t

STaff RePoRT

HE nation on Friday registered 1,194 new coronavirus cases, the National Command and Operation Center said on Saturday. The NCOC said in a statement that the number of overall cases had risen to 939,931, including 875,581 recoveries.

A total of 42,717 active cases are under treatment across the country, including 2,760 those who are in critical condition.

According to the NCOC, the pandemic killed 57 people on Friday, increasing the overall death toll to 21,633.

Punjab continued to be the worst-hit province with 343,703 infections and 10,479 deaths caused by the pandemic followed by Sindh which reported 327,021 positive cases and 5,220 deaths so far.

Besides releasing the Covid statistics, the NCOC also issued a renewed travel advisory, adding more countries to Ccategory.

The travel advisory issued by the NCOC includes four more countries in the Ccategory list, bringing the total number of countries in the list to 26, including India, Iraq, and Iran. “The passengers travelling from these countries have to stay in quarantine besides having a prior test for

Covid-19,” the NCOC said.

Meanwhile, thirty-four passengers tested positive for the coronavirus upon arrival at Peshawar’s Bacha Khan International Airport on Saturday.

According to details, 156 passengers arrived at the airport from Dubai. Their swabs were taken for a coronavirus test, after which 34 of the passengers were found to be carrying the deadly virus. Trained dogs deployed at the Peshawar airport helped detect the coronavirus positive patients.

Subsequently, the Peshawar airport officials handed over the affected passengers to the district administration to shift them to quarantine centres. The airport is being completely disinfected, they said.

The government has received 14.5 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine since it began a nationwide campaign in February and plans to buy and receive over 90 million more jabs to vaccinate the entire adult population in the second half of 2021.

Announcing the budget for FY202122, Minister for Finance Shaukat Tarin announced the government has allocated $1.1 billion to procure vaccines and planned to vaccinate 100 million people by July 2022.

It has also set aside Rs100 billion to combat coronavirus spread in the next fiscal year.

Pakistan’s problem is incompetence and flawed decision making, not corruption: Mansha NEWS DESK Prominent businessman and chairman of Nishat Group, Mian Muhammad Mansha Saturday asked the government to stop calling everyone a thief, stressing that Pakistan's problem is not corruption but incompetence and flawed decision-making.

Mansha made these remarks during an interview with a local media outlet while commenting on the ongoing anti-corruption drive of the government. “We need to stop calling everyone a thief. There will always be some corruption in every country. The US, European countries are also not free of corruption,” he said.

The Nishat Group chairman expressed that a country should not stop growing only because of its accountability drive. “Let’s put this behind and move forward. We have suffered a lot, we have high unemployment and poverty that needs to be addressed,” he said. “Even the bureaucracy is dreaded. We need to get people out of fear and grow,” he added.

BUDGET 2020-21 AND GROWTH: On the recently announced budget, Mansha praised the government, affirming that the budget was going to bring growth to the country. “That is what the budget should be like. I am expecting our growth rate to be at 4 per cent but we can really go up much more and a country like us can grow at 8-10 per cent,” he added.

“There were some problems in the initial years of the government but the growth policy that the government is bringing now is on the right track. Now, we should move together and grow the economy that enables us to sell more, grow more, and bring more

revenues for the government,” he said.

Mansha also praised the government for adept handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and that the measures adopted helped Pakistan fare better than many other countries “We have done some great things in Covid. When the lockdown happened, in some ways, we reacted really well. The central bank introduced some great policies like loans for salaries that helped the industries that were working,” Mansha said.

On a question of whether growth will be sustainable as it had been superficial because the State Bank was pumping in a lot of money, Mansha replied that central banks all over the world were pumping money by changing interest rates to keep economies afloat during the pandemic.

“There was a high acceleration when the

NAB arrests Khursheed Shah’s son from court premises SUKKUR: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Saturday arrested Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Khursheed Shah’s son, MPA Farrukh Shah, from the premises of a Sukkur accountability court. The NAB arrested the PPP lawmaker following the court orders. Farrukh Shah had recently filed a request with the Supreme Court for pre-arrest bail in an ongoing probe into possession of assets beyond known sources of income. The request was later withdrawn and the Supreme Court had ordered Farrukh to surrender before the Sukkur court in three days’ time. In compliance with the apex court’s order, Farrukh surrendered before the accountability court on Saturday. Farrukh was taken to NAB’s office following the arrest. During court proceedings, Farrukh’s counsel Farooq H Naek said that his client had fully cooperated with NAB’s investigation and that the anti-graft watchdog had acknowledged in court that the probe is complete. “When the probe is complete, what is the need for an arrest?” he asked. The NAB prosecutor general, on the other hand, argued that the court had ordered that Farrukh surrender to a NAB team but that he had instead surrendered in court. In an earlier hearing, the prosecutor had also told the court that Farrukh Shah “did not cooperate in the investigation”. He had said if the investigation officer asks Farrukh a question, he replies by saying they should ask his father the same. The prosecutor had said that NAB had issued warrants for Farrukh Shah since April 2020. Justice Tariq Masood remarked that the apex court had fixed the bail parameters in Talat Ishaq case. NAB had to file a supplementary reference, he added. He asked the counsel whether the court should decide on the bail petition on merit or whether he wanted to withdraw the petition. Khursheed Shah’s son withdrew his application for pre-arrest bail, at which the court ordered Farrukh Shah to surrender before the accountability court within three days. Farrukh Shah is a member of the Sindh Assembly and he was elected from the PS-24, Sukkur-III constituency. TLTP

interest rates went up to 13%. That was a mistake but the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) corrected it. Presently, the interest rate is 7 per cent but I still think there is room to decrease it further by 1 per cent,” added Mansha.

However, the Nishat Group chairman highlighted that a lot was left to be done if long-term growth was to be achieved and the first step towards that would be decreasing public sector losses by privatisation of public entities. Mansha said that Pakistan’s privatisation programmes have earlier been a hit in the entire world, which goes on to show that more can be achieved if Pakistan privatises more entities.

“Our banking sector is a success story and we should speak about success stories.

Next door in India, the banks are not doing that well,” he said.

“We have a chronic circular debt issue which cannot be fixed because DISCOs simply don’t have good recovery rates. It is only 18 per cent in Quetta, 14 per cent in the frontier and Hyderabad only has 25-30 per cent recovery. Only in Punjab DISCOs are working well but still, the recovery is 90-93 per cent,” he said.

“Power sector needs to be deregulated and privatised,” he said.

Mansha criticised the government for its policy of bringing professionals on different boards, saying that this policy can bring revenues for the government but not a growth of 8-10 per cent.

“We need to bring regulators that would kill monopolies and prevent any excessiveness. We need to improve the situation in the country,” he said.

THE CASE OF IPPS: On a question that the power policy under which IPPs were operationalised benefitted investors at the expense of government revenue and power consumers, Mansha acknowledged that though some excessive profits were made, there was no corruption installed in the process.

“These projects were installed during the Musharraf era and there was no corruption.

Few companies including ours were requested to come and install power plants because the nation needed it,” he said.

On another question that the plants generated an ROE of up to 80% for some IPPs, Mansha responded, “All the plants were installed at the same time. According to the report on IPPs, some companies earned Rs14 billion while others did not even do Rs1 billion. It was the same tariff for all the plants that were installed, everything was the same so how would it be possible for some of them to earn Rs14 billion while others did not even do Rs1 billion.”

“Those who articulated the power policy in 2002 expected that by now, we would have 40-50,000MW electricity production. If our economy did not grow, why are IPPs to blame?” he questioned.

On the issue of capacity payments, the Nishat Group chairman stated that there is a one-buyer model that will always require capacity payments.

EXPORTS FROM PAKISTAN: Mansha expressed hope that exports in the coming days are going to see a boom but regretted that the Rs26 billion export target, set by the government in the recent budget, was very

low for a country like Pakistan. He, however, said that the exports were increasing because of the government's initiatives and that they would bring dividends soon.

“If we talk about textiles, presently, our circumstances are conducive to increase exports. Business is shifting from China where wages are increasing and we will benefit from it,” he said.

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY AND FORECLOSURE LAW: On the question of whether construction brings growth or does growth bring a boom in construction, Mansha stated that whenever there is momentum in the construction sector, 15-20 affiliated industries like cement, steel, electric wires, and furniture grow in parallel.

“The central bank has done a great job and gave concessions. There is an impetus but a lot needs to be fixed in the construction sector. Foreclosure law for one,” he said.

Mansha lamented that the foreclosure law in Pakistan has never evolved that keeps banks from recovering mortgage properties from customers in case of defaults. This eventually leads to a fall in lending to consumers.

“Problems relating to courts and foreclosures have not been solved in spite of the government's claims. Who is going to invest like this? If these problems are solved, a poor man is also going to get loans,” Mansha said.

“Banks have not lent more than 50 per cent of their deposits. It should be 80-85 per cent. If foreclosure laws are fixed, banks are going to lend to the construction industry as well as others,” he said.

Training corresponding to evolving threats imperative: COAS RAWALPINDI TLTP

Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has said that realistic and futuristic training corresponding to evolving threats is imperative for maintaining operational readiness.

The army chief said this during his visit to Sialkot and Kotli, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, where he witnessed different military drills, according to a statement issued by the InterServices Public Relations (ISPR) on Saturday.

According to the military’s media wing, the COAS attended the closing session of the corps level war game at Sialkot where he was briefed on planning parameters and conduct modalities of the exercise.

The war game was based on the defensive operations cycle

of a corps under a conventional battle field environment in line with operational and planning directives of the Pakistan Army.

The COAS appreciated

sound planning and befitting application of varying operational response options to crystallise future plans in view of evolving threat matrix.

Earlier on his arrival, the COAS was received by Corps Commander Lieutenant General Syed Asim Munir.

Later, the army chief also visited troops undergoing field training near Kotli at the conclusion of corps level field exercise “Takskheer-e-Jabal”.

The COAS was briefed about conduct of the ongoing exercise aimed at enhancing preparedness of formations for various defensive and offensive manoeuvres in mountainous and semi-mountainous areas. Troops rehearsed tactical and operational responses to various contingencies under testing conditions.

General Bajwa also interacted with the participating troops.

Appreciating the hard work, high morale and professionalism of troops, the COAS expressed satisfaction over conduct of the exercise.

sunday, 13 June, 2021

islamabad

News

03

FawaD hOPeS SINDh wILL SPeND aLLOCaTeD FuNDS ON PubLIC weLFare KARACHI

F

APP

EDERAL Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain Saturday expressed hope that the Sindh government would spend the funds, provided by the federation in the budget 2021-22, on the welfare of people.

It is not clear where the funds allocated by the federation in the past were used as no development is available on the ground, he added.

The minister was talking to the media after attending the Pakistan International Film Festival (PIFF) as chief guest here at Frere Hall.

Fawad said the Sindh government has not reformed its police department for law enforcement in the province. Instead, Rangers personnel, who were deployed in 1990 in Sindh, have been performing the duty, he added “The people of urban areas of Sindh, particularly Karachi, have been complaining of non-resolution of their grievances as the provincial government is not fulfilling its responsibility in this regard,” the minister said.

Fawad said the mayor of Karachi should be chosen through direct election with due share of funds from the Provincial

Finance Commission at his disposal for carrying out development work in the mega city.

“Had we continued to rely on Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and the company, there would have been no progress in Karachi,” he said.

Fawad added that a number of development schemes and projects are underway in other cities and towns of Sindh while the people of Karachi are totally ignored by the provincial government as far as civic, health and educational facilities are concerned.

He noted that the business community is not setting up new industrial units in the city due to corrupt practices of the provincial government The minister said the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto were against ethnic politics and they had opted for politics of federation.

However, once the federal party has been converted into a nationalist group since it was taken over by Asif Ali Zardari, he added.

The PPP is now limited to Sindh, Fawad said, asking the PPP leaders to learn from the politics of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto.

To a question, the minister said Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader

Ahsan Iqbal has rejected the electronic voting machine without understanding its importance.

He added that for transparency in

future elections, all the parties must show seriousness instead of adopting a nonserious attitude in this regard.

Fawad said for the first time, the federal

JCSC chairman receives highest Jordan military award

budget was warmly welcomed, adding that when the whole world was negatively impacted with the pandemic, Pakistan attained economic growth.

Protest erupts in Islamabad over death of suspect in CTD custody A protest erupted in Islamabad on Saturday after the death of a suspect in the custody of the Counter Terrorism Department, a news outlet reported. The relatives and acquaintances of the deceased staged a sit-in on IJP Road with the body of the suspect, demanding an inquiry into his death and "justice". The sit-in caused a disruption in the flow of traffic.

However, it was called off later in the evening after talks were held with Additional Deputy Commissioner General Islamabad Rana Waqas, who promised a judicial inquiry within three months. The suspect had been arrested a few days ago on suspicion of involvement in the deaths of two policemen in the G13 neighbourhood of the capital. NEWS DESK

PML-N’s Latif booked for violating coronavirus SOPs ISLAMABAD STAff REPoRT

Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee chief Gen Nadeem Raza called on his Jordan counterpart Major General Youssef Ahmed Al-Hnaity in Amman, Inter-Services Public Relations said on Saturday.

During the meeting, both sides

deliberated on various areas of interest including security, defence cooperation and the prevailing regional environment.

The two also dilated upon measures to enhance the level and scope of military engagements between both countries and reaffirmed to continue to forge deeper ties. Gen Raza said that Pakistan is keen to expand its existing

bilateral military-to-military cooperation with Jordan. The hosts also lauded the professionalism of the Pakistan military and acknowledged its sacrifices in its fight against terrorism.

In recognition of his efforts to further bilateral relations, Gen Raza was awarded Jordan’s highest military award — Order of Military Merit of the First

Grade — on behalf of King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein. Gen Raza also visited King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Centre and witnessed a counterterrorism exercise by the Special Forces Group of Jordan Air Force.

Earlier on arrival, Gen Raza was presented guard of honour by a contingent of the JAF.

UN elects five new members to serve on security Council NEW YORK TLTP

Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were elected by the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly to serve as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for the 2022-2023 term.

According to the final tally, Ghana received 185 votes, Gabon 183, UAE 179, Albania 175 and Brazil 181 votes. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) garnered three votes while Peru and Iran each collected one.

The Security Council is a body of 15 members, five of which are permanent and have veto power, including United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia and China. The newly elected five will join India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico and Norway, the other nonpermanent members.

Prior to its successful bid, the UAE issued a statement promising

to be “a constructive partner” in addressing some of the “critical challenges”, including promoting gender equality, countering terrorism and extremism and “harnessing the potential of innovation for peace”.

Vacating their seats were Vietnam, Saint Vincent, Grenadines, Estonia, Niger and Tunisia.

The candidates ran mostly unopposed within their regions, except for Gabon and Ghana, which were challenged by the DRC for the two available seats in the African Group. The five new members elected this year will begin their terms on 1 January, 2022 and serve until 31 December 2023.

While Albania is the only state that has never served previously, Brazil has sat on the Council ten times, Gabon and Ghana three times each and UAE once.

Before applying, each country must obtain the votes of two-thirds of the Member States present and voting at the General Assembly to secure a seat on the Council.

SHEIKHUPURA: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Javed Latif has been booked for violating coronavirus SOPs in Sheikhupura, it emerged on Saturday. A government official, Shafaqat, filed a complaint against the PML-N lawmaker in the Sadar police station. The FIR named eight individuals among 220 unidentified people. A large number of PML-N activists had gathered at the Sheikhupura interchange to greet Latif following his release from jail on Friday. He had reached his home with cavalcade. Latif was arrested in a sedition case in April. INP

Sunday, 13 June, 2021

04

ISLAMABAD

NEWS

Punjab budget LikeLy to be unveiLed on Monday LAHORE TLTP

t

HE Punjab government has planned to put together a budget of about Rs2,600 billion for the fiscal year 2021-22, with the development sector eyeing Rs560 billion this year, and is expected to lay it before the provincial assembly on Monday. For the ongoing projects, the provincial government has recommended setting aside around Rs250 billion. It is also expected that the development budget for education and health see a raise of 1.5 per cent in this budget, while for Sehat Card, a health insurance initiative, Rs60 billion have been recommended.

For Punjab’s road infrastructure, the province is to set aside Rs30 billion under PSDP and for Covidhit business sectors, a package worth Rs50 billion is being suggested.

Separately for South Punjab development programmes, it is anticipated that a budget amounting to Rs196 billion has been earmarked for which a distinct budget book will be laid out.

The allocations under different heads are likely to be: Rs20 billion for agriculture development schemes; Rs100 billion for 38 districts’ development projects; Insaf school up-gradation programme will got Rs8 billion; Rs3 billion for green infrastructure programme; and Rs300 million for subsidising various development projects.

LHC announces verdict in 1956 land dispute LAHORE inP

The Lahore High Court on Saturday announced its verdict in a 1956 land dispute case in the favour of Punjab government.

Justice Anwaar Hussain ordered Atta Rasool, the appellant, to return to the provincial government the land he had been granted in Khushab in 1956 on lease for a period of three years for the “grow more food” scheme introduced by the then government.

The seven-page decision has also been called a judicial precedent.

The decision reads that the case was related to eight kanals of stateowned land — situated in Rakh Jamali, Tehsil Nurpur of District Khushab — which had been granted to Rasool for a period of three years.

The verdict further declared that Rasool, who had been occupying the land, could not prove that the land was again allotted to him on the completion of the original three-year term.

It says that despite the fact that the Punjab government had been trying to auction the land for the last six decades, Rasool was blocking these attempts through litigation.

The court directed the Punjab gov-

ernment to not only get its land back but also order the citizen to pay tax on it, starting from 1958.

The land was confiscated by the Extra Assistant Commissioner (Colonies) in 1967. The official, how-

ever, in 1977 declared the allotment of land to Rasool as legal. But a member of the Board of Revenue in 1994 declared the declaration null and void.

After several applications filed by Rasool were rejected, he took the

provincial government to a civil court, which also rejected the claim in 2011.

When he challenged the decision of the civil court, the ruling came in his favour, following which the Punjab government moved the high court.

AgencieS

On the evening of June 2, Aliya Mir in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) received

a call to rescue a snake from the bushes around a serene Gupkar area of the Muslim-dominated capital city Srinagar. Mir and her team associated with SOSWildlife, a non-gov-

LAHORE TLTP

The price of roti in Lahore has gone up from Rs8 to Rs10 after bakers said that the hike was needed in the wake of rising prices of flour. The price of roti has been increased by Rs2 while no increase was announced in the prices of naan and kulcha. “We have been receiving a 20-kilogramme flour packet at Rs1070, contrary to its previous rate of Rs860,” the bakers said, adding that the price was only raised after an increase in flour prices. In June last year, bakers in Lahore had increased prices of roti and naan terming the hike in the price of wheat behind it.

As per details, nanbais had increased price of roti from Rs6 to 8 and naan from Rs12 to 15. Hiked prices of wheat and flour have compelled us to increase prices of naan and roti as we do not have any other way, they had said.

Kashmiri woman inspires with 20 years of service to wildlife SRINAGAR

Roti price increases by Rs2 in Lahore

ernmental association involved in rescuing and rehabilitating wild animals since 1995, rescued the reptile in no time and released it into its natural habitat.

Mir is the only Kashmiri woman wildlife rescuer who has been at the forefront of such operations since 2002, when she started as a volunteer in the organisation.

“I always had this keen curiosity since my childhood to know the animal world. They always fascinated me,” Mir told Anadolu Agency at her home in Srinagar.

Mir’s marriage several years back to a veterinarian who worked to ensure the welfare of different species of animals served as a turning point in her life, after which she followed her passion to save wildlife.

A mathematics graduate, she did not hesitate to join the organisation working for the rescue and rehabilitation of wild animals.

“For almost the first six years, I got training and field experience on how to behave with an animal.

More particularly, if it is hurt and frightened,” Mir said.

RISK AND RESCUES: In her career spanning over almost two decades, Mir has rescued and rehabilitated numerous snakes, bears, birds, turtles and leopards. She is well-remembered for rescuing poisonous snakes from the residences of the former chief ministers of the occupied region — Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti.

Not long ago, the 43year-old rescuer used a fire

service ladder to save an injured barn owl stuck on a heritage tree of Kashmir — a Chinar, with leaves resembling that of a maple tree.

“When I went to rescue the bird, I saw it entangled in the branches of the tree. Though it was risky as the bird seemed to be frightened, I somehow managed to rescue it,” Mir recounted.

She cautioned that at times, it was very risky to go for such rescue operations when the animal is injured.

“They can attack you to kill because the animal senses more danger around when it is injured,” Mir said.

HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICT ON THE RISE: Mir is not only a rescuer. She also manages two wildlife rehabilitation centres, besides also working to educate people about wildlife.

At the two rehabilitation centres in the region, she looks after six black bears and two brown bears and also runs awareness programs in schools, colleges and at local levels. Despite her efforts, however, human-wildlife conflict has been increasing in the region, she worries.

Official data indicates that over 200 people have been killed and over 3,000 injured from 2006 to 2020 in conflict with wild animals. In the past eight

years, 124 black bears and 44 leopards have died due to human retaliation and natural causes.

In the case of leopards, the wild beasts have been attacking to kill, with the recent example of one mauling a 5-year-old girl in Occupied Kashmir’s Budgam district.

LAHORE: Newspaper Distribution Union Lahore President Chaudhry Mushtaq Ali presents bouquet to Lahore Deputy Commissioner Mudassir Riyaz.

STAFF PHOTO

Sunday, 13 June, 2021

ISLAMABAD

G7 leaders aGreed to keep the money taps open: report London

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AGENCIES

EADERS of the Group of Seven rich nations were in broad agreement about the need to continue supporting their economies with fiscal stimulus after the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic, a source familiar with the discussions said on Friday.

The backing for more stimulus was shared by all leaders including Angela Merkel of Germany which has traditionally opposed heavy borrowing to spur growth, a position it has relaxed in the face of the Covid-19 crisis.

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has been pushing its allies to keep on spending with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urging her G7 colleagues in February to “go big”.

“There was broad consensus across the table on continued support for fiscal expansion at this stage,” the source said, adding that Biden, British Prime Minister

Boris Johnson and Italy’s Mario Draghi expressed particular support.

The International Monetary Fund has repeatedly urged Group of Seven countries and others to continue fiscal support measures.

The source said the G7 leaders believed there should be long-term policies for ensuring the health of public finances in the future, echoing the position of their finance ministers who met earlier this month in London.

Draghi, president of the European Central Bank from 2011 to 2019, said the rich major Western economies needed some sort of “long-term fiscal anchor” to reassure investors and avoid a rise in market interest rates that could hurt the recovery, the source said.

The leaders believed a post-lockdown rise in inflation in many countries would prove temporary, the source said.

“There was a bit of discussion on inflation but the feeling was that it was temporary,” the source said.

G7 leaders stressed the importance of taking action to reduce unemployment such as retraining and offering support for younger workers, a proposal supported by Canada’s Justin Trudeau, the source said.

At the opening of the meeting, Johnson said the leaders needed to be careful not to “repeat the mistakes of the last great crisis, the last big economic recession of 2008 when the recovery was not uniform across all part of society.”

NEWS

05

Imran urges world to fight online hate, extremism after Canada attack continued from page 01 Trudeau pledged to crack down on online hate speech when he introduced a new digital charter in 2019, though critics say Ottawa has been slow to implement changes that could stop online radicalisation. The government is now poised to tackle Islamophobia once again. MPs voted today in favour of an NDP proposal to hold an emergency summit on Islamophobia by the end of July. New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh said Canada must address the threat of white supremacy and far-right radicalisation and make policy changes at every level of government to prevent another attack. While Imran said he “mostly agrees” with Trudeau and his position on extremism, he also expressed concern with some Canadian laws that he believes are contributing to Islamophobia. He described Quebec’s Bill 21 — which bans public servants, including teachers and police officers, from wearing religious symbols at work — as a form of “secular extremism” that leads to intolerance against Muslims. “You want humans to basically be free to express the way they want to be, as long as it doesn’t cause pain and hurt to other human beings,” he said.

Bilawal terms budget anti-people, anti-poor continued from page 01 Later speaking at a media briefing, Bilawal said that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is "no democratic movement without PPP and ANP".

He said that for the past one year, the PDM has been "crying for assembly resignations". "Why don't you resign then?" he asked the PDM members, adding that "You are not resigning but wishing to contest the upcoming elections as well."

He said that if the PDM wishes to follow PPP's stance, they "might as well join PPP". The PPP chairman also spoke about the party's future plans with regard to the alliance. He said that neither does the party wish to rejoin the alliance nor has it turned in a request for the same. "We tore up your show cause notices. Why are you saying again and again that you will not take us back?" he asked the PDM leadership. "We do not wish to come back.

Thank you very much," he added.

Inquiry powers of commissioner inland revenue withdrawn iSLamaBad LAHORE: Members of Grand Medical Students Alliance hold a protest for their demands near Lahore Press Club. ZubAIr MEhfooZ

Tarin rules out chance of any mini-budget continued from page 01 Tarin said some 10,000 points of sale (PoS) were currently under use but their number would be increased to 60,000.

He said the government expects to collect Rs100 to Rs150 billion additional revenue through the PoS system.

Speaking on the occasion, Khusro Bakhtiyar said the government is helping the small and medium enterprises sector, especially automobile industry, to increase job opportunities for the youth. He said an industrial zone is being established on 1,500 acres of land in Karachi.

He said that peak hour charges in electricity bills are

being revoked and industrial units using more electricity will get concessions in tariff.

Abdul Razak Dawood said that massive relief measures have been taken for import of raw material to strengthen local industry and encourage “Made in Pakistan” products.

Sania Nishtar said that Rs260 billion have been earmarked in the next budget for Ehsaas Programme. She said that a six-month instalment of Rs12,000 is being enhanced to Rs13,000 under the Ehsaas Kafalat Programme.

She said Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme’s next phase will commence from the upcoming week, which

will benefit over 10 million people.

Sania Nishtar said that scope of Ehsaas Waseela-eTaleem Programme has been increased from primary to secondary and higher secondary level, and now children studying in these levels can also benefit from this initiative. She said 65,000 scholarships for under-graduates will be given during the next year.

Responding to a question, the finance minister said the ederal cabinet did not approve the proposal to enhance charges of SMS, mobile phone calls and internet.

Answering another question, he hoped that inflation will remain below eight percent in the coming years.

Amazon raises minimum pay in Germany to 12 euros per hour Amazon will guarantee an entry-level wage at its German warehouses of 12 euros ($15) an hour, the company said on Friday in the face of a long-running battle with a top labour union.

Germany is Amazon's biggest market after the United States, and the Verdi union has been organising strikes at Amazon in the country since 2013 to protest low pay and poor conditions.

The pay increase is effective from July and compares with entry-level pay as low

as 11.30 euros per hour for some locations, though pay exceeded 12 euros in other locations.

Amazon's wages exceed Germany's current minimum wage of 9.50 euros per hour.

But workers have regularly gone on strike, such as last year to coincide with the $1.6 trillion company's global "Prime Day" promotion event. They were disgruntled that a coronavirus bonus had been scrapped.

A Verdi official said that the increase was the least that the company could do after

"earning a pretty penny in recent months" and that pay still fell short of its demands for many employees.

Amazon – which saw net profit rise to $8.1 billion in the first quarter, more than tripling from $2.5 billion the year earlier – has faced similar criticism over conditions and pay throughout the globe.

A spokesperson for Amazon in Germany said all employees would be getting a raise, and Amazon said in a statement that further increases were scheduled for the future. AGENCIES

cmYK

TLTP

The federal government has withdrawn the discretionary powers of conducting inquiry in certain tax matters by Commissioners Inland Revenue.

Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin while presenting the budget for the financial year 2021-22 announced curtailing the discretionary power of the tax authorities. He said that the discretionary powers of the income tax authorities are proposed to be curtailed: According to the budget document, tax authorities can conduct inquiry in certain matters regarding amendment of assessment without selection of cases for audit. The power to conduct inquiry is proposed to be withdrawn. The document further said that the time limit for disposal of show cause notices is proposed to be 120 days, and the power of the commissioner to reject advance tax estimates has also been proposed to be withdrawn.

Sunday, 13 June, 2021

06 COMMENT

Sims and salaries

Opposition makes little impact in NA

What about the authorities that failed to tell how crucial vaccination is?

Thanks PPP, PML(N) rivalries

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EADER of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif and PPP chairman Bilwal Bhutto Zardari have vowed to jointly give the government a tough time over the budget while charging the PTI administration with making false claims about the country’s economic condition. The two maintained that in the presence of an alltime high poverty rate, inflation and unemployment no sane person could claim Pakistan had a booming economy. The PPP chief said that his part and the PML(n) would jointly bring a no-confidence motion against the deputy speaker of the national Assembly. Mr Zardari also promised his party’s full support to the Leader of the Opposition’s efforts to prevent the budget from getting passed in the national Assembly, indicating that the two parties would continue to work together till a vote is taken on the budget. What happens after that is anybody’s guess.

The PPP and PML(n) are old frenemies. Their rivalry encompasses more than three decades. Even when better sense led the two parties to jointly sign the Charter of Democracy or enact the 18th Amendment, mutual antipathy continued to simmer among the leaders and followers of the two parties. In 2009 President Zardari imposed Governor’s Rule in Punjab for two months, making Governor Salman Taseer the head of the provincial setup. In 2011 nawaz Sharif took the Memogate controversy which had triggered a confrontation between the PPP government and the military leadership to the Supreme Court, regretting it later.

The PTI government is not falling anytime soon.

There are meanwhile important issues like media freedom, preservation of human rights and independence of judiciary where the opposition needs to take a joint stand. The opposition is also required to keep a check on excesses committed by the government and to expose its shortcomings. Both the PPP and PML(n) have opposed the use of EVMs but have yet to forge a consensus on electoral reforms to end rigging and bring down election expenses that bar the entry of middle class candidates in the national Assembly. The rivalries between the PPP and the PML(n) have taken toll of the PDM which once looked like a formidable opposition alliance. Unless the parties put life into the alliance, the government will succeed in turning the national Assembly into a rubber stamp.

rabia ahMeD

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DEALLy of course things should be organised in such a way that people are able to have their legitimate concerns addressed without resorting to crime. But when a crime does occur it requires punishment. The best punishment is that which is just, and acts as a deterrent for any future crime.

So, what is crime?

A crime is an intentional act that is socially harmful.

And what is justice?

In its most basic definition, justice is ‘the principle that people receive that which they deserve.’ And an aspect of justice is the relationship between a crime and its punishment. Every punishment or penalty must fit the transgression or crime for which it is prescribed, otherwise it is unjust. An extension of this is that the punishment should discourage or prevent other similar transgressions or crimes from taking place.

The current government, like previous governments in this country, can claim a handful of achievements. The vaccination drive against covid-19 is one of them. The drive has been well organised, and many people have been vaccinated, but still many more are refusing vaccinations.

Certain penalties seem to have been prescribed for non-compliance just now. Are those penalties just? Do they fit the crime? And will they discourage or prevent other similar transgressions? This is why this discussion is taking place. Those refusing vaccinations are in many cases doing so without knowing a thing about the science involved. They imagine they

Exiting Afghanistan All eyes on foreign troop withdrawal

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ITh the September 11 U.S. and nATO troop exit date from Afghanistan nearing and reports that the move could be as early as July, things are heating up. As expected, the Taliban have accelerated their campaign further against the Afghan government and apart from regular attacks on its armed forces, they have started to secure various districts of the country without facing significant resistance. Efforts made so far, to get the Taliban back to the negotiating table and agree upon a maintainable ceasefire and workable peace deal, have failed. This has both regional and international stakeholders worried, and rightly so; if the Taliban continue on this path and regain control of the country, the 13-year long deadly US intervention in Afghanistan will have been for nothing. The USA is now scrambling to secure air bases in neighbouring countries, including Pakistan and even Russia, to keep an eye on what they are leaving behind.

This information was revealed by a new york Times exposé a week ago and was confirmed by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin who told Congress that the military had already begun conducting combat operations and surveillance in Afghanistan from outside the country's borders to prevent a Taliban takeover. nATO has raised valid concerns over the safety of Kabul airport and that any diplomatic presence in Afghanistan would depend on a ‘functioning and secure airport’. Looking at the Taliban’s trajectory of violence in the past year since, Kabul can easily become a very dangerous place for foreigners in the absence of a US or nATO troop presence. Pakistan has a crucial role to play in all of this, especially the army. Although Pakistan has provided bases to the USA before, the last one being Shamsi Airfield that was vacated in 2011 after the Salala incident, things have changed since then and the once strong aid-based alliance has been sullied by various events, not least of which is the Osama Bin Laden Abbottabad raid. There is also an overreliance on Pakistan to get the Taliban to rejoin the peace process before the exit. As matters progress all eyes will be on developments in Afghanistan and each country will be framing its strategy while keeping in mind its own interests. Pakistan too should adopt such an approach and not commit to anything that it may regret later.

Afghanistan may hold the potential threat of disruptive political culture, uncertainty and insecurity.

At Bonn, the responsibility was divided among For feedback, the several countries to train the national army and pocomments, lice; disarming of private militias; reintegration into suggestions and, eradication of poppy; constructing of legal mostsociety; importantly, system. The financing for humanitarian aid and development of the country was a shared project of the in“I refuse to powers. But the international community ternational joinfailed a clubbecause that it could not assign and define the role would me partnership of regional powers in the andhave long-term as arecovery member.” of Afghanistan. While the regional states – Groucho have their permanent interests in Afghanistan, thereMarx fore they may also have the opportunity to compete constructively in providing developmental assistance.

ThE Lahore After the withdrawal of the USSR from Gymkhana Afghanistan the international community also backed doesn’t awayseem from their commitment and washed their hands to be too well during the civil war in the country. The repugnant acts behaved club brought Afghanistan back on to the inof theaTaliban these days. platform to be discussed. The event of 9/11 ternational Elections Dr MuhaMMaD akraM Zaheer pushedto the world into the War on Terror and the Taliban the regime governing in Afghanistan. In October 2001, U.S. and body are forces invaded Afghanistan to remove the TalnATO n 2021, Afghanistan has emerged as an objecttaking ibanplace regime which harbored Al-Qaeda. Foreign forces some theneighboring members are takingand it way seriously. of and concern forofher countries for tooremained for the last 20 years with the mission of counTheregional sides seem to have adopted American other and international powers.

During campaigning terterrorism in the country but the level of financial asof which have thetechniques, 20 years ofsome its intervention, theonly USAbarely has been sistance declined over time. In December 2017, the US introduced in casualties the elections the national provincial suffered 22000 andtospent approxi-and national security strategy launched a commitment to assemblies in Afghanistan.

Pakistan, likeInpre-recorded messages mately $143 billion in January 2021,phone support the Afghan Government and Afghan national short ad films. the USAand announced, “it had reduced its forces in Defense and Security Forces (AnDSF) in the fight also led quitelevel the canvassing, eliteterrorism and Taliban. Despite their reaffirmed Afghanistan It’s to 2500, the to lowest since 2001, with in the against of ‘biryani ki platein.’

Lavishby dinners, not all and deteriorating security situation in advance equivalent of the potential full military withdrawal commitment of them The sort that makes the forces electoral Afghanistan college May 2021”.

Thedry. expected withdrawal of US the USA desired to withdraw their forces. wish theseiselections took everyabout, year, not every from Afghanistan difficult to be place optimistic There are many concerns about the outcome of because three there years. are various actors within Afghanistan the US withdrawal from the specious and unclear enA little further away Lahore, at the far more and its neighborhood.

So it can be in said with certainty vironment of Afghanistan. Experts of security studies exclusive, andregion far less ostentatious, Punjab Club, that no country in the may remain untouched think that if the USA leaves Afghanistan, the Taliban elections areThe an extremely lowstates key affair. is aresume control over the vast area and the country by its consequences. neighbouring are re-Thismay gentlemens’ club, good sirs, weThough, don’t have sort into of the same situation as in the 1990s with the viving their older geostrategic objectives. no that return one neighbouring state wants to see an unstable characteristics of sharia rule. The Talban has also Afghanistan or any kind of threat from the diverse emerged as a legitimate political actor and has made Afghan groups and the destabilized country. But the deals with the government and the international actors. new commitment of the international community for The leadership of ethnic groups and small warlords

There must be a political settlement

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Arif Nizami Editor Managing Editor

Joint Editor

Umar Aziz Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

Rabia Ahmed is a freelance columnist. Read more by her at http://rabia-ahmed.blogspot.com

Implications of the US withdrawal

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Yousaf Nizami Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

know better than the medical experts.

For others, vaccination figures low on their list of priorities which in many cases concern where the next meal is to come from, which area to use next when nature calls, how to afford a child’s marriage, and so o Given such matters, fending off an invisible bug seems almost a laugh. Is not being vaccinated a crime? In other words, is non-compliance with the directive to be vaccinated a crime?

It is, indirectly. Covid-19 is a deadly disease. It has killed millions of persons worldwide and it has had untold economic fallout. An unvaccinated person is much more prone to infection, so is much more likely to die from the disease and is likely to pass on the virus to others. Therefore non-compliance with regards to vaccination against covid-19 is tantamount to self-harm and murder, which are both crimes.

In the case of not getting vaccinated because there was not enough information extended in a fashion appropriate to the audience, or if there are matters to do with basic survival that take precedence, the fault lies with the authorities. Do we have any penalties against them?

The government has come up with some penalties against non-compliance.

According to the news ‘an official’ says that ‘the Punjab government decided on Thursday to block the SIM cards of people refusing to get vaccinated against the coronavirus’. Since then a spokesperson for the Ministry of health Sajid Shah has refuted the report regarding SIMs saying that no such proposals are under consideration. neither news has been confirmed. It is either yet another U-turn, a hallmark of this government, or the matter is still under consideration, despite the assurance. We will find out.

Meantime in Sindh it seems it has been decided that government servants who do not get vaccinated

by July will not be given their salaries.

Should either penalty using SIM or salary be allowed? Are these penalties just or even legal?

The Oxford handbook lists punishments under the following categories: Retribution, Deterrence, Rehabilitation, Incapacitation, and Restoration.

They’re all fairly self-explanatory: Retribution is the traditional eye for an eye which tends to satisfy the anger that is produced by a crime.

It is open to judgement, to a consideration of what equates what. It is considered to be an effective deterrent – if it is used responsibly, and can be an effective deterrent.

Incapacitation is another traditional penalty which means putting the culprit in a place where no harm can come to others. That means anything from prison to execution, both of which are a huge deterrent to others but like all other punishments, and perhaps more than others, it requires justice and equity.

Deterrence is the knowledge that punishment will

occur if a certain crime is committed. It depends on being aware of the consequences of a crime, and like retribution it works if it is used responsibly.

Rehabilitation is not a deterrent. It takes place alongside the punishment and seeks to mitigate the reasons that made that person commit the crime. The reasons may be psychological or financial, or they may be linked to a lack of understanding, in which case education and information are provided. In other words the person committing the crime is helped to find ways of dealing with his or her problems, ways that are legal and not harmful.

Restoration calls for the person committing the crime to see for him or herself the results of his actions, to hear about them from the victims themselves, and then to try and make amends, which may take anything from saying sorry to doing something to resolve the matter if possible, or to at least try and lessen the fallout. It is a positive approach to punishment, and once again, it works only if it is implemented responsibly. A penalty must have a direct bearing on the crime, and have a relationship to it, and the consequences of the penalty must not worsen the situation.

To return to the matter of SIM or Salary, do either of those penalties bear any relation to the crime. If a man refuses to be vaccinated, do we have a right to starve his family (holding back the salary)? What’s more, since the salary is linked to the performance of a job, if that job has been performed it requires payment. To withhold that payment is morally and legally wrong and also not allowed from the religious point of view.

If people have not been sufficiently educated as to the importance of this vaccination does the fault lie with them? no.

Will taking away the SIM card on a person’s phone and not allowing him or her to possess another solve this particular problem? Will it force him to be vaccinated if he does not believe vaccination is required? Can he not borrow someone else’s phone?

What’s more, in a country where fake documents are the norm rather than the exception, would a fake vaccination document be a surprise?

Will either of these penalties educate people as to the importance of being vaccinated?

The answer is no to all of those.

These measures could have been classified as a deterrent for non-compliance that’s the only one, and once again, in Pakistan there is always a way around.

In a society where punishment is reserved for the certain few, where a certain set of persons escape punishment every time because they happen to have the right contacts, a healthy bank balance and position, can this and other punishments ever be a deterrent, or will it simply produce more resentment, more resistance to what is right?

There are intelligent minds in this country which disappear at crucial moments. you wonder if this is because they are not where they should be, or if they are not permitted to function.

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are willing to support a Taliban regime on sharia. The return of the Taliban regime cannot address the grievances of the Afghan population. The security situation may also erode and the country again becomes the platform of terrorist activities. This situation may also lead towards civil war and fragmentation of ethnic groups. It will be more difficult for young people, particularly women and minorities. The negative impact will be more noticeable in the country where health care and education will decline and the movement and freedom of women will also be decreased. The withdrawal of US troops will be followed by the withdrawal of finance by the international community and the country will face more difficulties for the public development sector. The flow of Afghan elite, refugees and brain drain will increase. As a reaction to this Afghanistan may become a new front of regional and international actors like China, Russia, Pakistan, India and Iran to engage the Taliban to achieve their own geopolitical interests.

This situation brings back the environment of proxy wars. The sustainable peace depends upon the support of regional actors particularly Pakistan, Iran China and Russia. neighboring states may continue their support of Afghanistan’s local beneficiary groups to maintain stability in the regional balance of power. Moreover the peace of Afghanistan and the region depends on the Afghan government’s stability and capacity of dealing with challenges of corruption, trade of opium, human rights, minority rightsand patron-client system of the population.

Whether the USA withdraws from Afghanistan, the country will remain engaged with international powers, particularly its neighbour states. Peace will not come automatically, but it will come with a welldesigned agreement by all stakeholders in Afghanistan and neighbouring countries. As portrayed, different future scenarios above will bring different level of difficulties, and Afghanistan may still be in need of comprehensive measures and plan of action by international community to safeguard its interest in futur.‫۔‬ The writer has a PhD in Political Science, and can be reached at akramzaheer86@yahoo.com

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Sunday, 13 June, 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

Covid-19 and its impacts on the world

An indictment of crime The gaping silence of the far beyond is deafening

Candid Corner Raoof Hasan “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.”

–Oscar Wilde

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e are living through strange times, unreal times. On the face of it, things appear to be normal, but a little scratching bares the venomous fangs which are hidden behind blankets of laborious makeup and conditioning. Not long ago, it was all different.

Things were more like what they appeared to be.

One did not gather the feeling of something gravely amiss in what one saw or felt. It all came across in real colours. It was real.

No more. It is seldom that one encounters the real these days. everything is put on display wearing loads of pretence and artificiality. It is like there are tonnes of grime which need to be hidden from human sight. It is a different matter that, in reality, it cannot be kept away for long as it appears in countless shades and forms, each more pungent than the other.

How did we come to this pass? When did we start wearing this artificial garb to hide the real from the world, and why did we have to do this? even more importantly, where is this leading us?

These are important questions and the reasons for a systematic and unceasing decay may be hidden in their answers. But getting these answers is not a simple matter as the ones who need to hide them find the ways to do so also.

Over time, the layers of deception continue to pile up till a time may come when the effort to dig the truth would become impossible and may even be treated as travesty. Yet, the depths of regression that we may have reached will never cease to unravel. In this journey, new pits will be discovered to fall deeper into the embrace of monstrous forces of morbidity.

It is because of the insatiable lust of the human kind to accumulate that we are so gruesomely strangled in a grip that is tightening further by the day. It is like we are overcome by demonic forces unleashed by the greed that breeds inside, which we are unwilling to contain.

It is as if these currents have begun to take us away from ourselves. We are no longer the people we used to be. We are no longer the people who would be eager to take off these covers that we are hidden behind, and breathe in fresh air.

We have become accustomed to living in a world of artificiality which is plunging us deeper into the abyss in fulfilment of our desire to hide within the walls of protection which we con-

structed with the very loot that we piled up over years of degradation. It is like we are lost in a labyrinth unable to find a way out to salvation.

It is like we are enveloped in fog which is thickening rapidly, taking away even the occasional traces of light which were filtering through. It is certain that we shall be enveloped in total and impenetrable dark which shall seep through to our soul. This is T. S. eliot in ‘east Coker’: “O dark, dark, dark. They all go into the dark.

The vacant interstellar spaces, the vacant into the vacant, The captains, merchant bankers, eminent men of letters, The generous patrons of art, the statesmen and the rulers, Distinguished civil servants, chairmen of many committees, Industrial lords and petty contractors, all go into the dark, And dark the Sun and Moon, and the Almanach de Gotha, And the Stock exchange Gazette, the Directory of Directors, And cold the sense and lost the motive of action.

And we all go with them, into the silent funeral, Nobody’s funeral, for there is no one to bury.”

This plunge is part of an unceasing tyranny which mind plays over mind and heart plays with heart. This consumption with lust is a plague that wraps us in its folds which only tighten with time to constrict our breathing and, ultimately, take our life away. We are dead, stark dead, but we may not even know this because we had come to believe that we are indestructible, our accumulations are our security and our guard against the gospel of death. We would begin to think that we are beyond these things that only happen to others, not to us. We are safe and secured behind the piles of our plunder, behind heaps of our refuse.

But what we don’t know is that we are not any of that. We are neither safe, nor secured. We are just as vulnerable before the forces of change as anyone else who may not have the protections which we believe we have, and which we gathered over time spent in the company of crime and criminals. It is the same time that has dug gaping holes into our person which we are afraid of, which we want to run away from. But we cannot. We are trapped. Here is eliot again describing ‘The Hollow Men’: “The eyes are not here There are no eyes here In this valley of dying stars

In this hollow valley This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms” The mystery of avowed greatness is laid bare in the ‘Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’: “I am no prophet – and here’s no great matter; I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker, And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker, And in short, I was afraid.”

Fear, fear, why art thou here? But fear is not disappearing. It is one’s eternal companion. It lives every breath that we breathe, it lives in every sinew that moves within our bodies and it shakes every thought that may dawn upon us. It does not engage in an open battle. It works its way around us through what may be in our mind, or unravel through our ill deeds. It is lurking about us, it resides within us. It is visible, but not so visible. It comes wearing myriad apparels.

But, in reality, it is our own creation. It is the creation of our desires and our deeds. It comes in the shape of piles of pelf that we have gathered around us which, in fact, never belonged to us.

It was someone else’s right which we usurped.

It is this injustice which assumes the shape of fear and engulfs us within the dark it weaves around us as we drop deeper and deeper into its fathomless expanse. We are a captive there. We have no way to escape.

It is a strange phenomenon. Something that we thought was our strength soon begins to strangulate our being as we feel our breath deserting us, our life drifting away from us. It is only a short while ago that we believed ourselves to be indestructible. We thought nothing could dent our invincibility. And here we are, just a while later, lying with no clue of what is happening to us and what may yet be in store. The real times were not the ones that we had so arrogantly created. The real times are now which are all around us as we gaze clueless into the holes that contained the eyes, not so long ago: “And we know that the hills and the trees, the distant panorama And the bold imposing facade are all being rolled away – Or as, when the underground train, in the tube, stops too long between stations And the conversation rises and slowly fades into silence And you see behind every face the mental emptiness deepen Leaving only the growing terror of nothing to think about.”

The gaping silence of the far beyond is deafening!

It is a strange phenomenon. Something that we thought was our strength soon begins to strangulate our being as we feel our breath deserting us, our life drifting away from us. It is only a short while ago that we believed ourselves to be indestructible. We thought nothing could dent our invincibility. And here we are, just a while later, lying with no clue of what is happening to us and what may yet be in store

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

Twitter: @RaoofHasan

I believe that the world is the strongest place where people fight their battles everyday. And considering the current situation, right now we all are fighting a battle from Covid-19 for more than a year now. The battle which startled the entire world completely. Initially, it was perplexing to watch everything turning over to a cliff edge. The implications of lockdown were immediately enforced globally for the safety measures and it was strongly insinuated to the public to be quarantined although these defensive containments caused major economic, social and mental meltdown all over the world. We all were a part of this flare up because it wasn’t just the couple of countries who were ruffled into this pandemic, it was the whole world. This pandemic was spreading like Wi-Fi. We all have heard people using the phrase that it was a silent storm when they want to emphasize on their ordeals and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration if I say that this pandemic did come as a silent storm. The destruction went all the way to every aspect of life and world. It was the bolt from the blue. A perfect storm which swamped everything. The rate of poverty increased like the temperature in summer. Travel, trade, agriculture and globalization was muddled, people lost their jobs due to the lockdown and this unforeseen pandemic also challenged the healthcare systems. Moreover, mental health, the issue which is considered taboo in our society was and is on stake. Quarantining halted and extricated people from getting physically hurt but it gave rise to the mental meltdowns. So, after everything we went through this year because of covid-19, it wouldn’t be absurd to say that sadly it broke the whole world and system. We saw everything falling apart from out of the frying pan and into the fire. The fear and anxiety that this virus precipitated was overwhelming, brooding about the health of your family and your loved ones was stressful and the dilemma social distancing caused was beyond our understanding. It is the distressing series of untoward situations that has been hanging over our head like a sword for more than a year and God knows when it is going to end. All we can do is to hope for the best because every cloud has a silver lining and try to be that silver line in other people’s life in such situations.

DaWam-e-Zehra Karachi

A new world THe pandemic has reshaped the core faith, politics and economic structure of world societies. It is re-writing international relations, as the nations kept attention inward and saved their economies as well as people. One thing can be said with certainty that despite advances in science and technology we are not ahead of such disasters. Pandemic has accelerated the probability of shifting global dominance from west to east, indications are also being generated towards China that it has won the ground, yet it is not about government but about efficiency of governance, quality of leadership and public trust. At last, brand democracies failed and suffered a grave blow to this crisis. Moreover, the selfish attitude was inimical of self-serving political leaders towards nature, alarming threats were ignored and collected responsibility was in dire need to be taken. If we don’t change our way of life we will continue to face a similar crisis. Our future depends on decisions we make today, global politics requires responsible leadership which makes sensible decisions, something needs to change before another future outbreak occurs, but it seems as though our world health leaders are not eager to take serious actions to improve the relationship between nature and humankind.

Shafi ahmeD KhOWaja hyDerabaD

Resistance to occupation SIr, When France surrendered to Nazi Germany on 22 June 1940, the French resistance known as Maquis emerged to fight the occupation.

Charles de Gaulle on 18 June 1940 called upon French to continue the fight even though their army had surrendered.

Britain, USA and all other allies supported Maquis with arms, ammunition, intelligence and logistic support. In response, Nazi Germany vowed to rule with an iron fist, including collective punishment of innocent civilians. The UN recognizes this right to resist for countries under occupation. Those involved in French resistance were termed as terrorists by Nazis but for the rest of the world they were freedom fighters and heroes.

Today we witness the leaders of the free world, reversing their stance and justifying an occupying force to target civilians as collective punishment, killing children, women and elderly as Israel’s right of self-defense. Other than Bernie Sanders, there is no other voice of reason or sanity that dares to talk about the rights and safety of Palestinians, as vital, as the safety of Jews.

If occupying land where Palestinians lived for centuries can be justified on the basis of Zionist arguments misquoting their religious books, then this opens the doors for extremists of all shades to embark on aggression and unleashing miseries upon millions of innocent citizens living in any part of the world. The irony is that many elitists in Pakistan who are affiliated with Free Masonry and in other Muslim majority nations have assumed the role of apologists for Zionism. Jews have a right to live in peace and security, so do others, including Palestinians, Kashmiris, rohingyas etc. As long as Zionist mindset does not accept that all human beings have equal rights, including their right of private property, justice etc. the world must be careful. maliK Tariq ali lahOre

Unemployment AS we know Unemployment imposes a negative impact on individual lives and society as well. Due to no or low origin of income, people face hardships in their lives being unable to create proper living for themselves and their families. Particularly, youngsters (15-25 years old) are struggling to find jobs. Lack of necessary sources such as food, clothes and shelter gives rise to devilish heat. It may also be a reason behind increased robbery and snatching cases. Ascribed to COVID-19 pandemic unemployment rate has been increased to 5.1% this year that has triggered the economic values greatly.

Talbia SyeD Karachi

Sunday, 13 June, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

The wAr on Bollywood ITS FILMS HAVE ALWAYS CELEBRATED A PLURALISTIC INDIA, MAKING THE INDUSTRY— AND ITS MUSLIM ELITE—A PRIME TARGET FOR NARENDRA MODI

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aatisH taseer

HE bandra-worli sea link connects central Mumbai with neighborhoods to the north. If you’re driving from downtown, the bridge brings you into the orbit of Bollywood, the Hindi-language segment of India’s vast movie industry. Actors, makeup artists, special-effects people—they cluster in a handful of seaside neighborhoods. The superstars live in great bungalows, with devoted crowds stationed outside.

Bollywood has been central to the creation of India’s national myth. Its movies are full of dance and song, but their genius lies in the ability to weave serious issues—social justice, women’s rights, gay rights, interreligious marriage—into entertainment. Bollywood films are at once commercial and political. They epitomize the pluralism of India.

And in today’s political climate, that makes them a target. In ways reminiscent of the old Hollywood blacklist, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is using powerful tools to curtail the creative freedom of Bollywood—in particular the influence of Muslims, who have an outsize presence in the industry. The measures pushed by the Modi government include indiscriminate tax investigations, trumped-up accusations against actors and directors, intimidation and harassment in response to certain movies and TV shows, and the chilling rap of law enforcement at the door. Fearing worse to come, Bollywood has remained mostly silent in the face of the government’s catastrophic response to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Everybody is just shit-scared and wanting to lie low,” a woman who is closely involved with the industry told me recently.

“This is such a vindictive government.” The day before we spoke, tax authorities had raided the home and offices of one of the country’s finest directors, along with those of an actor he worked with. Both are outspoken government critics, and the raid was

widely seen as politically motivated.

As we talked, a director friend sent me a vanishing message on Signal, the encryptedcommunications platform, about a case before India’s Supreme Court. A senior Amazon executive in India was facing arrest, along with others, for a nine-part political drama called Tandav, which includes a portrayal of the Hindu god Shiva that some found objectionable. The director of the series had apologized, and removed the offending scene. And according to the message I received, the court had declined to offer protection (a decision it later revised). “The problem,” one senior executive for a major streaming service told me later, “is that the director is Muslim and the actor is Muslim.”

Soon, another show—Bombay Begums—was under fire, with India’s National Commission for Protection of Child Rights calling on Netflix to pull the series on the grounds that it would “pollute the young minds of the children” by “normalizing” drug use. The more credible motivation was that the series normalized interfaith relationships, as well as LGBTQ ones.

I got to know India’s movie industry starting in 2013, when I was dating a Bollywood director, a protégé of Karan Johar— one of the city’s biggest producers, known as KJo. Johar is the Hindu half of a storied collaboration with Shah Rukh Khan, a Muslim and one of Bollywood’s biggest stars.

Their partnership began in the 1990s—at first yielding popcorn-and-bubblegum films, and then moving on to iconic post-9/11 dramas such as My Name Is Khan (2010), which dealt with growing Islamophobia worldwide.

Bollywood, in its upper echelons, is tight-knit, and through my boyfriend I met the whole A-list in a matter of days.

It was a world of blacked-out SUVs that swept into underground garages, where men with walkie-talkies conveyed you up to palatial apartments overlooking the Arabian Sea. The Indian film industry turns out more than 2,000 movies a year. Bollywood, its largest component, produces as many as Hollywood. The intensity of Bollywood celebrity is unmatched. One night, Ranbir Kapoor—India’s Ryan Gosling, you might say, and the leading man in a movie my boyfriend was directing—picked me up at my hotel in a tinted SUV. Kapoor was with his then-girlfriend, the actor Katrina Kaif.

Soon we were speeding to a private dinner.

Word traveled along the Mumbai streets that Ranbir was on the move, and by the time we had arrived at our destination, a crowd of several dozens had gathered.

There is a heartbreaking inevitability to the confrontation between Bollywood and Modi’s BJP. Modi does not view India as a composite culture, to which Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians have all contributed, but rather as an essentially Hindu entity whose destiny lies in bringing about a Hindu cultural renaissance.

Modi’s record as chief minister of the

IPS

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Daniel Moss anD aMrita Gupta

cute hunger is expected to soar in over 20 countries in the next few months, warns a recent report on global “hunger hotspots” from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP). An estimated 34 million people are “one step away from starvation”, pushed to the brink by climate shocks, conflict, and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The food aid industry is likely to be very busy in the coming years, even as Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, points out that the “right to food is different from a system of charity. Often the donors are part of the problem.”

At the Agroecology Fund–a force of more than 30 donors, 10 advisors and hundreds of grantee partners embedded in the global agroecology movement–we believe that to be part of the solution, an agroecological and food sovereignty lens must guide food security interventions, especially in times of acute crisis.

Agroecology and traditional indigenous food systems help communities strengthen their food systems independent of external inputs or imported foods. By improving food sovereignty and access to healthy foods, agroecology increases farmer incomes, curbs out-migration from rural regions and addresses the root causes of hunger.

Importantly, agroecology addresses the root causes of conflict too. A new report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) finds that countries where land and water become scarce or degraded tend to be more conflict-prone, and that “conservation, [and]

western state of Gujarat included complicity in a pogromlike riot in 2002, in which more than 1,000 people, most of them Muslim, were killed.

Muslims have always had a disproportionate influence in Bollywood. Actors such as Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, and Aamir Khan have towered over the landscape of Indian cinema for the past 30 years: Of the 10 highest-grossing films in Bollywood history, six feature one of the Khans.

(The three are not related.) Several of Bollywood’s most influential studios have been owned by Muslim families.

If Modi has the most Twitter followers of any man in India, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan are in the top rank, with more than 40 million each. At No. 2 is a legend named Amitabh Bachchan, whose career illustrates how inextricably Muslim lives are bound up with the movie industry.

Though not Muslim himself, Bachchan grew famous on the screen in the 1970s by inhabiting an angry-man character named Vijay, a persona created by two Muslim screenwriters. The films he made told stories of an India whose very survival depended on Hindu-Muslim unity. Bachchan’s father, a Hindi poet, grew up in a world steeped in Urdu and Persian poetry. It was this shared culture, in which Sikhs, Muslims, and Hindus all participated, that fed Bollywood in its early days. It is Bollywood’s DNA. The BJP has a very different origin story.

The party began in the 1980s as the political face of an organization called the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The RSS was founded in 1925, at a time when European fascist movements were gaining ground. Its early leaders, men such as M. S. Golwalkar, whose birthday the Modi government recently celebrated with a Twitter announcement, brimmed with regard for Nazi Germany. Golwalkar wrote in 1939 that India could learn from Germany’s efforts to “keep up the purity of the race and its culture.”

The RSS in recent years has sought to move past its ugly beginnings. But fixations remain, including an insistence on racial purity and a horror of interreligious marriage.

A spate of new laws restricts marriages between Hindus and Muslims in BJP-controlled states. Interreligious marriage, meanwhile, is far more common in Bollywood than in Indian society at large. Two of the three Khans are married to Hindu women.

During Modi’s first term, which began in 2014, the BJP’s “IT Cell”—a network of online influencers and hate-mongers—made some of its most serious social-media attacks on Muslims in Bollywood. In 2015, Aamir Khan was hideously trolled when he expressed alarm at growing intolerance and mentioned that his wife had broached the idea of leaving the country. The following year, Saif Ali Khan—another leading man— came under orchestrated social-media attack when he and his Hindu wife, Kareena Kapoor, named their first son Taimur.

(Taimur was the Muslim ruler known in the West as Tamerlane.)

In 2018, Hindu nationalists offered a bounty to anyone who cut off the nose of the actor Deepika Padukone, because she was starring in a historical movie rumored to depict an intimate scene between a Muslim king and a Hindu queen.

The following year brought a now-infamous photo op between Modi and Bollywood elites—an episode of appeasement or perhaps opportunism by elements of the industry. The stunt was arranged by a man named Mahaveer Jain, whom no one had heard of until then. Somehow he managed to corral a mighty figure like KJo into taking a group of A-listers on a private plane to Delhi to meet the prime minister. The stars were encouraged to post selfies with Modi. Not a single Muslim actor or director was included. The message was clear: Modi wanted a new Bollywood, one that was Muslim-rein. Soon Jain was working with major producers and directors, including Johar, on film projects with nationalistic themes.

Modi’s reelection, in 2019, emboldened the prime minister to press his cultural agenda. The suicide by hanging last summer of an actor named Sushant Singh Rajput gave the government a new opportunity. Rajput was a talented young actor who had risen in an industry with a reputation for being clubby. He also had a history of mental illness. People spoke of his struggle with substance abuse. “I hadn’t seen him sober once in the last three years,” a mutual friend told me.

Rajput’s suicide was a tragedy, but in the hands of a pliant press, known in India as the “godi media”—godi means “lap,” as in lapdog—his death became a way to put the entire movie industry on trial. With an election looming in Bihar—Rajput’s native state— the BJP made his suicide seem like a murder at the hands of a nepotistic and druggy elite.

Rajput’s picture appeared on posters, with the words we haven’t forgotten. We won’t let them forget. His girlfriend, Rhea Chakraborty, was thrown in jail on charges of abetting his suicide. Soon, the Narcotics Control Bureau raided her home and those of other major figures in the movie industry, ostensibly in search of drugs but mainly to intimidate and sully reputations.

Modi used Rajput’s suicide to exploit Bollywood’s internal fissures and launch an outright culture war. One actor in particular led the charge.

I first met Kangana Ranaut in 2014, in New York City. I remember her as having a tremendous sense of fun. I recently came across a picture of us in Brooklyn, where she is wearing a summery white dress and silver sunglasses, and smiling broadly.

Ranaut looks very different in her WhatsApp profile picture, which presents her as a fierce figure of piety, wearing a blue sari and offering ablutions to Shiva.

In 2019, before an audience of executives, journalists, and intellectuals, Ranaut defended a previous statement in which she had called for the destruction of Pakistan. (Her earlier comment had come in the wake of a deadly suicide bombing in Indian Occupied Kashmir, for which a Pakistan-based extremist group claimed responsibility. On hearing that news, Ranaut said, she had felt like going to the border and killing Pakistanis herself.) On another occasion, she described the movie industry as “full of such anti-

nationals who boost enemies’ morale in many ways.” (Ranaut’s incitements to violence have led to her being banned from Twitter.) Last year, in response to unspecified threats, Ranaut was given a high personal-security designation by the Ministry of Home Affairs—a level that, according to news reports, is generally reserved for “someone who holds a position of consequence either in the government or in civil society.”

It’s hard to know whether Bollywood will emerge with its character intact. Johar, a child of the old Bollywood, is both a casualty of this new time and an enabler, trying frantically to remake himself in the image of Modi’s India. It’s an exercise doomed to fail.

Johar has an incriminating body of work: movies with gay themes (Johar does not discuss his own sexual orientation, even though, as he has written, it is something that “everybody knows”) and movies that resist Islamophobia. My director friend recalls telling him simply, “Dude, you’re going to get f*****. You’re a fake.”

Last fall, after months of attacks, the movie industry showed a rare bit of gumption. Jaya Bachchan—Amitabh’s wife, and a member of the upper house of Parliament—described a “conspiracy to defame the film industry.” A few weeks later, a group of producers filed a defamation suit against cable channels allied with the government. Bollywood’s only chance of survival, given the weakness of India’s institutions, lies in its ability to stick together and marshal its star power.

Bollywood’s influence stretches well beyond India. The BJP knows this, and wants to bring it into line. In 1935, the Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels went to see It Happened One Night, and later wrote enviously in his diary, “The Americans are so natural. Far superior to us.” Authoritarians always want that megaphone for themselves. One way to seize it is by making an example of a few while stirring fear and self-censorship among the rest.

AATISH TASEER’s most recent book is The Twice-Born: Life and Death on the Ganges. His documentary, In Search of India’s Soul, was released in 2020

Preventing hunger while building peace AN ESTIMATED 34 MILLION PEOPLE ARE “ONE STEP AWAY FROM STARVATION”, PUSHED TO THE BRINK BY CLIMATE SHOCKS, CONFLICT, AND THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC sustainable and equitable management of nature plays an important role in preventing conflict and in rebuilding peace.” That is why agroecological practices, which steward natural resources, protect biodiversity, and support the wellbeing of indigenous and local communities, help curb conflict. Research by Coventry University in the UK also reiterates that agroecology creates a foundation for peace-building efforts in fragile environments.

In the past year, as Covid-19 exposed the vulnerability of our globalized, industrialized food system, our grantee partners sprung into action. Even in conflict zones or “hunger hotspots”, there exists local capacity to provide solutions.

In Haiti, which imports the majority of its food, Mouvement Paysan Acul-du-Nord initiated cooperative farming in 25 communities to ensure food sovereignty.

Those who owned land invited landless farmworkers to use it to produce food, and families shared harvests of rice, sweet potato, and beans with each other. In Nigeria, where artisanal fishers are among the most marginalized communities ––threatened by climate change, displacement and water pollution–– Fishnet Alliance provided fishing gear for fishers to feed their families and earn an

income. The Alliance helped amplify fishers’ voices to policymakers: urging that traditional governance systems over the commons be respected. In Burkina Faso, Groundswell International trained women and youth to make masks and liquid soap, and encouraged the government to buy local agroecological produce for their school food and food aid programs.

Stories of their resilience and grassroots power are inspiring. In Palestine, as decades of conflict with Israel have deprived populations of land and water, the Union of Agriculture Work Committees (UAWC) saves traditional, locally adapted seeds for farmers; at refugee camps in Gaza and the West Bank, they helped families grow food on rooftops during the pandemic.

In Rwanda, communities involved in the Global Initiative for Environment and Reconciliation (GER) agroecology programs have begun peace-building talks to heal the deep rifts caused by the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.

Now compare these strategies to the conventional development paradigm, in which boatloads of foods (too often, the surplus of US-grown genetically modified commodity crops) are “donated” to conflict

areas, entrenching the unsustainable industrial agriculture model within the United States while undermining local agricultural practices and biodiversity in poorer countries.

As John Wilson, an advisor to the Agroecology Fund, says: “We have to be bolder in our nutrition approaches than we have been—more creative and innovative.” Our partners from Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Haiti and elsewhere, working at the frontlines of multiple crises, embody these bold and innovative approaches to deal with the root causes of malnutrition and conflict in the short- and longer term. Even as they fight hunger through self-help and mutual aid, they are improving livelihoods, stewarding landscapes, and mitigating climate change. And they are urging their governments to invest in small farmers and local agricultural production, so that communities can strengthen their resilience and achieve the deep and lasting food systems transformation we so urgently need.

Daniel Moss is the Executive Director of the Agroecology Fund. Amrita Gupta is the Fund’s Communications Lead.

Sunday, 13 June, 2021

BUSINESS 09

ISLAMABAD corporate corner Adamjee Life, Indus Hospital collaborate for a blood donation drive KARACHI: Adamjee Life Assurance conducted a blood donation drive at their Head Office in collaboration with The Indus Hospital as part of its CSR initiative.Speaking at the occasion, Adamjee Life CEO and DMD Jalal Meghani said, “Adamjee Life has always been on the forefront of serving its customers and the society at large. We have recognised the shortage of blood due to the current pandemic and took an initiative to contribute to the society and engage our employees in donating blood. We are hopeful that with this noble initiative, we will be able to demonstrate our commitment to the greater cause of serving the nation and those in need.”GM HR General and Corporate Affairs Ahson Nasim and Indus Hospital Blood Centre Marketing Manager Danish Ali also presided the event.Partnering with Indus Hospital is a testament of Adamjee Life’s strong resolve to work towards developing a sustainable and robust healthcare infrastructure in Pakistan. PRESS RElEASE

KE determined to serve customers

KP sEEKs AddItIonAL $145mn from AdB for 'CItIEs ImProvEmEnt ProjECt' $145 MILLION REQUESTED ON TOP OF $450 MILLION ALREADY APPROVED BY THE BANK PESHAWAR AZIZ BUNERI

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HE Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has requested an additional $145 million loan from the Asian Development Bank for sanitation, waste disposal and irrigation projects in five major cities including Peshawar.

The ADB has already approved a $450 million loan for the project.

According to the KP planning and development department, the "Cities Improvement Project" will provide local government facilities including sanitation services in Swat, Peshawar, Abbottabad, Mardan and Kohat. The provincial government has already borrowed $7 million from ADP in this regard.

The PC-1 of the Cities Improvement Project shows that the project will cost $640.50 million, of which the provincial government will contribute $50 million while $450 million will be provided by the ADB. However, an additional $145 million is needed for which KP has contacted the Asian Development Bank.

"The bank has been contacted and positive signals have been received from the ADB, after which it has

been decided to present the project at the Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) meeting next week for approval," said an official.

After the approval of the additional loan, the total amount of loan approved for the project will be $600.20 million, including $7 million of project readiness fi-

nancing. The ADB has also given a grant of $2 million for project readiness financing while the provincial government has also spent $500,000 dollars on it.

This will be the largest loan ever received by the provincial government for any project, amounting to about 95 billion in rupee terms.

FPCCI lauds federal budget FY21-22 LAHORE SHAHAB OMER KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and K-Electric officers hold a meeting to discuss electricity theft and load-shedding issues.

KARACHI: The K-Electric spokesperson has said that the power company is focused on serving the evolving needs of its customers. The spokesperson said, “We are continuing to invite feedback as we drive improvement in our services across the board. With the support of the communities we operate in, we have overcome theft and brought a steady supply of power to the city. Today, over 75 percent of Karachi is free from load-shedding while industries are exempted since 2010. This has been achieved based on a continued commitment that the KE has shown with the city and with its customers.” “Reducing price of electricity is beyond mandate of distribution companies in Pakistan, including KE. Under the Uniform Tariff Policy, category-wise rates for consumers are also the same across the country. Policy load-shedding follows the prevailing guidelines set by the relevant authorities and it is directly linked with theft of electricity. Areas with high rates of theft compromise our system's integrity and experience load-shedding. With support from our customers and by continued investments in communities, we are driving improvements and achieving the vision for a brighter Karachi." PR

The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) welcomed the budget FY21-22 and demanded from the government to take the stakeholders into confidence in meeting the revenue targets.

At a press conference held by FPCCI in Lahore on Saturday, FPCCI President Mian Nasir Hayat Magun informed that no new tax had been imposed by the government in the new budget and the FPCCI's proposal to fix the value of turnover had been accepted.

FPCCI Senior Vice President Khawaja Shahzeb Akram, regional chairman Chaudhry Muhammad Saleem Bhilar, former president Mian Anjum Nisar, vice president Athar Sultan Chawla, Adeel Siddiqui, Hanif Lakhani, Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, Muhammad Ali Mian and others gave a joint briefing.

“Businessmen had a lot of problems with the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee (ADRC) which has been addressed and the ADCR will now

be bound to decide the disputes within 60 days,” said Magun. “The government is requested to issue an immediate notification as per the announcement regarding ADRC,” he added.

He stated that the IT industry had been given a zero rated status which was a very good move and it will in-

crease IT exports. “Economic zones will boost industries. The budget will not reduce electricity prices, which will not reduce the cost of doing business,” the FPCCI president said.

The government has also announced a reduction in customs duties, regulatory duties and taxes on raw ma-

terials, said Magun, adding that the government, however, did not say how the revenue targets would be met or from where taxes would be collected.

“We demand that all stakeholders be taken into confidence and policies formulated,” the chamber president said.

Magun further stated that no action plan had been proposed to increase the tax net and no relief had been provided to the common man in the new budget.

“The government, in consultation with the FPCCI, should prepare simple tax forms before June 30,” he said.

“Until yesterday, there was no tax audit but now, it has come to light that the government has imposed section 203 according to which the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will have the power to arrest wherever they want,” the chamber president lamented. “Instead, those who are not paying taxes should be caught, while on the contrary, those who are paying taxes are being targeted,” he added.

“If the FBR can't find a new taxpayer, shut it down and tell us the tax target. We'll collect the tax from the business community and pay,” he added.

‘Too many questions’: IPR deconstructs budget targets, claims THE NON-PROFIT POLICY INSTITUTE SAYS REVENUE COLLECTION TARGET AMBITIOUS IN PRESENCE OF LARGE NUMBER OF CONCESSIONS LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Non-profit policy think tank Institute for Policy Reforms (IPR) Saturday questioned the sensibility of the targets and claims made by the government in the recently announced budget. “It appears that there is an agreement between the Government of Pakistan (GoP) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the broad parameters of the budget, without which many of the numbers will be up in the air,” the IPR said.

The total outlay of the federal budget, which was announced on Friday, was Rs8,487 billion rupees in which gross federal receipts were estimated at Rs7,909 and net at Rs4,497. The financing gap was Rs3,990 billion, with a net gap of Rs3,420 billion, after accounting for a provincial surplus of Rs570 billion.

Starting off, the IPR stated that three things will determine if the government can stay within its fiscal deficit target of 6.4 per cent of the GDP. “They are whether or not the government realises its revenue target, whether it stays within expenditure estimates, and if provinces provide the large surplus,” the IPR said in a press statement.

The policy think tank underscored that despite an expectation of better enforcement and expansion of the tax net, 20 per cent growth in revenue collection from last year’s estimates seems ambitious, especially given the large number of concessions offered. The FBR revenue must grow by an additional 25 per cent of the actual collection to reach the target of Rs5,829 billion, it said.

“Increase in tax and non-tax revenue will depend on continued economic buoyancy.

FY21’s growth rate of 4 per cent or more came from higher consumption demand, not from investment,” said the IPR. “Increased demand will continue this year if growth in remittances are as high as they were in FY21, if there is no cut in PSDP, and Ehsaas payments are as planned,” it added.

The institute, however, warned that a slip in any one of these, especially remittances, could hurt revenues, adding that the 35 per cent increase in petroleum levy offers a cushion, albeit at the cost of citizen welfare.

Regarding expenditure, the budget provides adequate estimates of 18.5 per cent increase in current expenditure and about 40 per cent in PSDP. Yet the demands being placed on the government were very high.

“They include much-needed spending

on vaccination, Ehsaas payments, meeting the circular debt hole for continuous energy supply (IPP subsidy is Rs266 billion), subsidy for other state-owned enterprises (SOEs), salary increases, subsidised loan for agriculture and the weaker population, and higher PSDP,” the non-profit noted.

“It is moot if the government of Pakistan will stay within its expenditure estimates if all these demands are met. Either it will breach the fiscal deficit target or reduce PSDP and social security and that would affect GDP growth,” it noted.

The IPR highlighted that more important are the development related targets that the government announced. FY22 GDP growth, for one, must come on top of the current fiscal’s 4 per cent growth.

“That is a challenge. The quality of growth is of equal concern,” it was noted.

CMYK

The IPR hoped that the GDP growth would result from investment and exports, but expressed doubts about it despite substantial and creditable tax and credit relief.

“Last year, such concessions did not convert into investments. If the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) actually begin operation, they will add to production and exports, but in subsequent years,” the IPR noted.

“Moreover, the economy has not made the required investment in infrastructure and human capital to put exports on a sound footing,” it added.

Though the budget attached much hope to increase in IT exports, corresponding investments in training to produce the high number of qualified experts and technicians needed to boost the IT sector were missing.

“Nor do we see investment in hardware and connectivity to increase IT access,” the pol-

icy institute said.

“Shortfall in growth would affect the government’s plans to extricate more people out of poverty and provide millions of more jobs.

It will also dampen progress to the government’s goal of 6 to 7 per cent GDP growth, for adding the two million jobs annually that the economy needs,” it was noted further.

The Institute for Policy Reforms also voiced its concerns over the sizable increase in PSDP that would likely lead to budget cuts. “Secondly, the quality of the PSDP portfolio should be such that it boosts growth,” said the IPR. “In the past too, the PSDP budget has touched a trillion rupees without much impetus to exports. PSDP portfolio must provide the soft and hard infrastructure that firms need to enhance investment and productivity or else growth will come from onetime spending,” it said.

“Budget making is a professional exercise that calls for a realistic estimate of income and expenditure,” it said. “As a document that is valid for just one year, its importance is enhanced if it is part of a long-term strategy.

Without this, the many claims in the budget speech lack force,” the IPR stated.

The non-profit noted that over the years, the budget had become an occasion for selfcongratulation that the general public hardly takes notice of. “For them, reality lies in the marketplace. Today’s locked gates of the secretariat and striking workers reflect the chasm between the perceptions inside the secretariat and outside,” the IPR concluded.

Sunday, 13 June, 2021

10 foreigN NewS

iSlaMabad

UK PM Johnson liKely to delAy englAnd’s finAl stAge of reoPening LONDON

B

Agencies

RITISH Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to delay lifting the remaining coronavirus restrictions in England as data shows a further rise in cases of the rapidly spreading Delta variant, British media reported.

Johnson is due to announce on Monday whether the planned lifting of restrictions, which would see an end to limits on social contact, can go ahead on June 21.

But the rapid spread of the Delta variant, first discovered in India, has thrown those plans into jeopardy, meaning there

will be a one-month delay to the lifting of the restrictions, the Daily Telegraph reported.

A four-week delay would push back the easing of restrictions to July 19.

The government has always said decisions at each stage of unlocking depend on the data, and earlier this week the prime minister warned about the recent rise in cases. Devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland make most public health decisions in their jurisdictions. The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Britain on Friday reported 8,125 new Covid-19 cases, the highest daily total since

February, adding that the reproduction “R” number and daily growth rates were also higher in the latest estimates, suggesting the pandemic was growing exponentially.

Johnson has said that an increase in cases was always expected after the most recent stage of lockdown easing in May, but the key to whether all coronavirus restrictions can be scrapped will be the extent to which Britain’s vaccine rollout has broken the link between cases and deaths.

Britain’s total Covid-19 death toll is over 127,000 but the number of daily deaths have fallen following a third national lockdown and a rapid vaccine rollout. More than three-quarters of adults have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine.

Putin says relations with US at lowest point in years MOSCOW Agencies

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an interview with NBC News ahead of his meeting with US President Joe Biden next week, said relations between Washington and Moscow are at their lowest point in years.

Putin and Biden will meet in Geneva on Wednesday. The White House has said Biden will bring up ransomware attacks emanating from Russia, Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine, the jailing of dissidents and other issues that have irritated the relationship. “We have a bilateral relationship that has deteriorated to its lowest point in recent years,” Putin said, according to an NBC translation of excerpts of an interview broadcast on Friday.

Putin praised former President Donald Trump as “an extraordinary individual, talented individual,” and said Biden, as a career politician, was “radically different” from Trump.

Asked about Biden calling him a killer in an interview in March, Putin said he had heard dozens of such accusations. “This is not something I worry about in the least,” Putin said.

At least 13 people wounded in Austin shooting

New Zealand Muslims object to mosque attack film AUCKLAND Agencies

WASHINGTON Agencies

At least 13 people were wounded in a shooting in downtown Austin, Texas early on Saturday, police said, adding the suspected shooter was still at large. Two of the injured are reported to be in a critical condition, Austin Police Department Interim Chief Joseph Chacon said in a statement. “I cannot say that there is no further public danger at this point because the suspect is not in custody. It appears at this point to be isolated to this one area,” Chacon said. The incident took place at around 01:30 am in the Sixth Street Entertainment District area and there were no deaths reported at the time of the briefing, he added. “It’s not clear at this point what sparked this off, but out of an abundance of caution, we have notified the FBI’s joint terrorism task force,” Chacon said.

Biden, at the start of an eight-day visit to Europe this week, said: “We’re not seeking conflict with Russia.”

“We want a stable and predictable relationship […] but I’ve been clear: The United States will respond in a robust and meaningful way if the Russian government engages in harmful activities.”

Putin was asked about several Russian dissidents whose deaths have been blamed on Moscow, including ex-KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko who was poisoned in 2006.

Putin dismissed the question as “verbal indigestion.“ He said some of those responsible for the deaths are in prison.

On the issue of recent ransomware attacks that the United States has traced to Russia, Putin denied any knowledge of the hackings and called on Biden to reach an agreement with him on cyberspace, NBC News said.

Putin also dismissed a report in the Washington Post this week that Russia was preparing to supply Iran with an advanced satellite that would enable it to track potential military targets across the Middle East.

“It’s just fake news. At the very least, I don’t know anything about this kind of thing,” Putin said, according to NBC News.

“It’s just nonsense garbage.”

New Zealand Muslims objected on Friday to a plan for a film about the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings in which a White supremacist killed 51 Muslim worshippers, saying the attack was still too raw for grieving families and their community.

The film, titled “They Are Us”, will focus on the response by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to the attacks on two mosques by a white supremacist on March 15, 2019, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The title is drawn from Ardern’s words on that day. The 40-year-old leader’s compassionate response to the attack united her shocked country and was praised globally.

“There are still many sensitivities around the tragic events,” Abdigani Ali, spokesman for the Muslim Association of Canterbury said in a statement.

“Although recognition of our prime minister for her response to attacks is well deserved, we question the timing and whether a movie is appropriate right now? The terrorist attack is still raw for our community.”

Ardern has distanced herself from the project with her office saying she and the government have no involvement with it. Australian actress Rose Byrne is set to play Ardern in the film, the Hollywood Reporter said, and New Zealander Andrew Niccol would write and direct it.

“They Are Us” was not so much about the attack but the response to it, Niccol was quoted as telling the Hollywood Reporter, which described the film as an “inspirational story about the young leader’s response to the tragic events”.

But some Muslims questioned that focus.

“This is not an inspiring story,” said Mohamed Hassan, a journalist and poet based in Auckland, said in a commentary broadcast on Radio New Zealand.

“It is a tragedy, one that must always be centred around

the Muslim victims and their families. No one else.” #TheyAreUsShutDown was trending on Twitter in New Zealand.

Ali said he recognised the story of the shootings needed to be told but said it should be done so in an appropriate, authentic and sensitive way.

“There needs to be a lot of work done in New Zealand in terms of hate speech laws, recognising Islamophobia does exist in our society and the institutional prejudice within our government apparatus before a blockbuster film comes out stating that we’ve done a great job here in New Zealand,” he said.

Sunday, 13 June, 2021

SPORTS 11

ISLAMABAD

DjoKovIC toPPleS NaDal IN FreNCh oPeN SemI-FINal ClaSSIC PARIS

N

aGeNCIeS

OvAK Djokovic came from a set down in a spellbinding French Open semi-final to inflict only a third ever defeat on the Parisian clay for Rafa Nadal, moving through 3-6 6-3 7-6(4) 6-2 in front of mesmerised crowd on Friday. The two warriors produced superhuman tennis as the 58th duel between them arguably rivalled anything they had conjured against each other since they first locked horns in 2006.

Nadal, bidding for a record-extending 14th French Open title, won the first five games and looked on course to repeat his drubbing of the Serb in last year’s final.

But world number one Djokovic seized the momentum, winning the second set and then edging a pulsating 97-minute third set on a tiebreak, having saved a set point.

The soccer-style atmosphere created by a crowd of around 5,000 inside Court Philippe Chatrier reached a crescendo towards the end of the third set as the Paris COvID-19 curfew loomed.

Thankfully, the Parisian authorities, reportedly after a request from French president Emmanuel Macron, granted an exemption to the 11pm cut-off, meaning a magnificent and brutal contest continued to be graced by a live audience. But there was no reprieve for the 35-year-old Nadal as his seemingly inexhaustible resolve was finally broken.

He hung on like the champion he is but Djokovic, looking fresh despite slugging it out for four hours with the world’s greatest ever claycourter, ruthlessly closed in.

After breaking a tiring Nadal’s serve for a 4-2 lead in the fourth set, the end came quickly as the Serb inflicted a first defeat on Nadal at the French Open since he beat him in the 2015 quarter-final.

Nadal’s record at Roland Garros since winning the title on his debut in 2005 now stands at 105-3.

Djokovic will play Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in Sunday’s final with the chance to not only add to his 2016 French Open title but also move to 19 Grand Slam titles, just

Krejcikova downs Pavlyuchenkova to win first singles Grand Slam title PARIS aGeNCIeS

Barbora Krejcikova won her first Grand Slam singles title at the French Open on Saturday, beating Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to become the first Czech woman in 40 years to conquer Roland Garros. Krejcikova, ranked 33 in the world and playing just her fifth main draw in a Slams singles event, triumphed 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 for a second career singles title.

The 25-year-old emulates compatriot Hana Mandlikova who claimed the trophy in Paris in 1981.

The 25-year-old Krejcikova dedicated her victory to her mentor, the former Wimbledon champion Jana Novotna who died of cancer at the age of 49 in 2017.

“It’s hard to put into words. I cannot believe I have just won a Grand Slam,” said Krejcikova who was still outside the top 100 when the 2020 French Open took place last October. “I spent a lot of time with Jana before she died. Her last words to me were ‘enjoy tennis and try and win a Grand Slam’.

“I know she’s looking after me. All this is pretty much because she is looking after me. “It was amazing that I got the chance to meet her. She was such an inspiration. I miss her and I hope she’s really happy.”

In a nervy start to the final, Krejcikova was broken in the first game, serving up two double faults. However, the 29-yearold Russian was unable to capitalise and dropped the next six games as her Czech

opponent grabbed three breaks and raced way with the opener inside half an hour.

Krejcikova was rewarded for her bold attacking, hitting 13 winners to the Russian’s seven. Pavlyuchenkova, who made her Slam debut back in 2007, was the more composed player in the second set, stretching out to 5-1. A medical timeout at 5-2, during which she was seen munching Haribo gummy bears, merely delayed the Russian levelling the final.

In the decider, the players exchanged breaks in the third and fourth games, before the Czech broke to love for 4-3 on the back

of a 10-shot rally.Pavlyuchenkova saved two championship points in the ninth game and a third in the 10th but Krejcikova became champion on the fourth when the Russian hit long. Both women capitalised on a draw in which the top seeds fell and just kept falling. World number one and 2019 champion Ashleigh Barty hobbled out in the second round.

Serena Williams was knocked out in the fourth round, world number two Naomi Osaka withdrew after one match, while 2018 champion Simona Halep never even made it to Paris.

one behind the men’s record 20 held by Nadal and Roger Federer.

Djokovic now leads his series with Nadal 30-28 but this win was perhaps the sweetest. While in 2015 his straight sets win was asterisked by the fact Nadal was strug-

gling to recover from injuries, this time both players were at their best.

LOW-KEY CELEBRATION: His celebrations were low-key, however, such is the respect he holds for Nadal.

“First I want to say it is a privilege to be

on this court with Rafael Nadal,” Djokovic said on court.

“The biggest match I have ever played here in Paris. Also the best match with the best atmosphere for both players. “To win against Rafa on this court you have to play

HBL PSL 2021

Islamabad United beat Quetta Gladiators by 10 wickets ABU DHABI aGeNCIeS

A spellbinding, soul-destroying, record-breaking opening partnership between Usman Khawaja and Colin Munro saw Islamabad United thrash Quetta Gladiators by 10 wickets, polishing off the target of 134 with an eye-watering 10 overs to spare. It included the highest Powerplay total in HBL PSL history as Islamabad ran up 97 in the first six, with Munro bringing up his half-century in 20 balls; He would go on to finish unbeaten on 90 having faced just 36 deliveries.

Indeed, only three times in top-flight franchise T20 cricket has a higher powerplay total been achieved as the Gladiators were left helpless in the face of a genuinely stunning onslaught. It leaves the Gladiators on the brink of crashing out of the tournament.

Aside from the first over of the game, where Hasan Ali sloppily conceded 15, United were on top from start to finish. Akif Javed and Mohammad Wasim kept things tight and made regular inroads, while Mohammad Musa weathered a couple of huge sixes from Andre Russell to come back and dismiss the Gladiators' star man the same over. More worryingly, though, he struck Russell on the head a couple of balls earlier, leading to a lengthy concussion test. Russell would not return to the field all match, and footage

later showed him being stretchered to hospital.

On the field, though, the Gladiators continued to lose regular wickets, never quite threatening to pull away from United's bowlers.

Jake Weatherald provided the most substantial contribution with

a steady 43, but when his side needed someone else to kick on, there was no one to be found.

Azam Khan struggled for fluency in a stuttering innings, while captain Sarfaraz Ahmed fell early.

With the side being bowled out for 133, they needed a big contribu-

tion with the ball, but Khawaja and Munro soon put any such notions to beat.

Keen viewers of the PSL may be aware United like to take full advantage of the powerplay with quality overseas batters, but this might be the finest exponent of the art in the history of this league.

Munro got things going off Naseem Shah's first over using a combination of pure timing and artistic placement, fulfilling the role his former Kiwi teammate Luke Ronchi used to execute with such perfection for this side. After Naseem - Russell's concussion substitute - was plundered for 19 in the first over, the floodgates were opened, and Khawaja got into the act soon enough.

Mystifyingly, the Gladiators continued to go with pace on the ball, and that played right into the hands of a sweet timer like Khawaja. Fellow Australian Jack Wildermuth went for three caressed fours off the inning's third over, before Mohammad Hasnain was picked up and put away over fine leg, all using the tearaway fast bowler's own pace. The 50 was up, and the game was quickly over as a contest, with the records beginning to tumble.

No 100-plus partnership in all of PSL history has ever seen a higher run rate than Khawaja and Munro's 13.70, and it wasn't even mindless slogging. Repeatedly, the two used field placement, perfect timing, and sharp footwork

CMYK

to remain one step ahead of the hapless Gladiators, and when Munro reverse-swept Mohammad Nawaz for six over third man in the tenth over, putting Sarfaraz's side out of their misery seemed like an act of mercy.

Faheem Ashraf's absence for three games seemed like a pivotal blow for United, but Javed and Wasim filled those boots masterfully at the top of the innings.

After a loose opening over from Hasan threatened to allow the Gladiators to get off to a flyer, Javed consolidated with a tidy six balls from his end. He tagged Wasim in then, who left veteran South African Faf du Plessis at first flustered, and then embarrassed, working him over with a nastily rearing bouncer before cleaning up the middle stump with one that kept low.

It put the Gladiators on the back foot completely, and in the five powerplay overs the pair bowled, the batters managed a mere 21 runs. They weren't done, though, Akif returning to prise out Weatherald, outthinking the Australian with a leg-stump full toss after all three stumps were exposed for a ramp shot. Wasim, meanwhile, had Nawaz walking back thanks to a near-perfect middle and leg stump yorker that knocked back his stump. Their combined figures of 8-0-30-3 went a long way towards illustrating the story of Islamabad's dominance in that first innings.

your best tennis, and tonight I played my best tennis.”

Nadal, whose only other defeat apart from the one to Djokovic came against Swede Robin Soderling in 2009 when he was suffering knee issues, was typically gracious in defeat. “Well done for him. It was a good fight out there. I tried my best, and today was not my day,” Nadal told reporters.

Any doubt that the duo’s 17th meeting in a Grand Slam would live up to pre-match hype was erased during a sensational opening game which saw Nadal save break points before holding serve after eight electrifying minutes.

The Spaniard then went 5-0 ahead and Djokovic’s fans might have been excused for covering their eyes as the memory of last year’s final in which Nadal won the first set 6-0 flooded back.

Djokovic did not flinch, clawing back three games before Nadal took an hour-long opener on his sixth set point.

Though trailing, the 34-year-old Djokovic had established a foothold in the red dirt and shifted the momentum, breaking serve twice to take the second set.

Unbelievably, the ferocity of the tennis increased in the third set as the players wrestled for control in rally after brilliant rally.

Djokovic began to turn the screws and jogged to his chair after breaking serve at 22 when Nadal netted a drop shot.

It was the first time Djokovic had been in front but Nadal hit back immediately to break back with a forehand winner only to drop serve again as Djokovic moved 5-3 ahead.

With chants of “Rafa, Rafa” and “Nole, Nole” filling the night air, the match took another twist as Nadal found another gear to hit back and lead 6-5 and create a set point which Djokovic saved with an outrageous dropshot. In the tiebreak, Nadal doublefaulted then had his head in his hands after fluffing a volley to hand Djokovic a 5-3 lead.

Djokovic banged down an ace and duly took the set.

With the crowd allowed to stay, Nadal was re-energised at the start of the fourth, taking a 2-0 lead, but Djokovic clicked into gear and reeled off the final six games.

PCB to bid for five ICC events in 2024-2031 cycle: reports LAHORE Staff RepoRt

The Pakistan Cricket Board will bid for five major events of the International Cricket Council during the 2024-2031 period, including an edition of the Champions Trophy and World T20 Cup, reports citing sources said. According to an official source, the PCB is in the process of preparing its bids for the ICC events which have to be submitted soon. “The ICC had asked for the expression of interest from its member countries. Once the Boards submit their bids, an independent committee of the ICC will assess the bids in December this year to give its report for a final decision next year,” the source said. The source said PCB has already held talks with the Emirates Cricket Board to jointly host some ICC events. International cricket returned to Pakistan in 2019 after nearly 10 years, a period when top teams refused to tour the country due to security concerns following an attack by militants on the Sri Lankan team in March 2009. Pakistan have hosted South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe on home soil since September 2019.

“Now the situation is different and teams are willing to tour Pakistan and we have revived Test matches in the country. New Zealand, England and West Indies are lined up to tour this year, so things are looking bright,” the source said. It was 24 years ago when Pakistan last hosted an ICC event — 1996 World Cup — jointly with India and Sri Lanka. In near future, England will visit Pakistan for the first time in 16 years when the two teams play two T20 Internationals in October, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced in November last.

Sunday, 13 June, 2021

PrAyer Timings

NEWS

FAJR SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

3:54

12:00

4:44

5:21

6:39

8:07

IslamaBad, RIyadh foR ImplementIng decIsIons taKen duRIng pm’s saudI vIsIt ISLAMABAD

p

news desk

AKISTAN and Saudi Arabia have agreed to work together for early and effective implementation of the decisions taken by leadership of the two countries during the recent visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to the kingdom.

The agreement came during a telephonic conversation between Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on Saturday.

The two foreign ministers reaffirmed long-standing and fraternal ties

between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

They also discussed bilateral cooperation in various fields as well as the two countries’ cooperation in multilateral organisations. They also exchanged views on global and regional issues of mutual interest.

The Saudi foreign minister apprised Qureshi of the challenges related to organising Hajj this year and the measures taken by the kingdom in the larger interest of public health.

Qureshi expressed confidence in the decisions taken in public interest by the kingdom. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for sovereignty and territorial integrity of Saudi Arabia.

Rights abuses in held Kashmir threaten world peace, Pakistan tells UN NEW YORK APP

Pakistan on Friday told the UN General Assembly that sanctioned violations of human rights in Indian-occupied Kashmir, and the tension between the two arch-rival neighbours continued to pose an ever-present threat to international peace and security.

Urging the Security Council to implement its resolutions to resolve the dispute, Pakistan ambassador at UN Munir Akram, during a debate on the annual report of the 15-member body, said: “The Kashmir dispute can be durably resolved through the implementation of these Security Council resolutions.”

“Unfortunately,” he said, “India persists in its policy of repression in occupied Jammu and Kashmir and in attempts to change its demography as the means to foreclose the exercise of the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination — a fundamental right promised to them by the resolutions of the Security Council.”

Noting that the recent understanding between the two countries to observe the 2003 ceasefire agreement along the Line

of Control in the disputed Kashmir region was welcomed by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres as a “positive step”, he expressed the hope that it would “provide an opportunity for further dialogue”.

“A constructive dialogue,” Akram said, “is possible if India takes steps to create the necessary enabling environment, including the reversal of its unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 in violation of Security Council resolutions, including resolution 91 and 122,” which prohibited any steps to alter the status of the disputed territory.

In his remarks, the ambassador pointed out that the Security Council had become more “cloistered” than ever before, with the absence of discussion, debate and interaction in open meetings on important issues of peace and security.

“The closed nature of the Security Council’s proceedings and the lack of transparency as illustrated in its Annual Report to the General Assembly, contributes to disguising the reality that global tensions have grown, conflicts proliferated and little progress made in addressing existing disputes, including the Jammu and

Kashmir dispute,” he said.

Pointing out that the body considered the situation in occupied Kashmir twice in 2020, he said it was one of the oldest items on its agenda. “Pakistan seeks a just settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions,” he said.

“The continuing oppression of the people of Kashmir and Palestine and countless other conflicts afflicting the Muslim world cannot be divorced from the rising phenomena of Islamophobia and the apparent impunity with which Muslim peoples and nations have been subjected to foreign intervention, aggression and occupation,” Akram said.

“For the past 20 years, hate and discrimination against Muslims has proliferated, even within some advanced and democratic countries.”

“The recent terrorist attack (in Canada) on a Muslim family of Pakistani-origin is yet another tragic reminder of the pernicious threat posed by violent ideologies of hate against Muslims,” he added.

In Afghanistan, Akram expressed hope that the international community, includ-

ing the UNSC, will support efforts for a negotiated settlement and restrain the role of “spoilers”, some of whom are engaged in sponsoring terrorism from Afghanistan to advance their strategic objectives against Pakistan.

For its part, Pakistan will continue to make all possible efforts to keep the “Afghan-led” and “Afghan-owned” peace process on track, promote mutual accommodation, help to end violence and realize a durable political settlement in Afghanistan, he told UN. “We must act against all fascist and totalitarian ideologies and groups who have weaponized hate as a political and ideological tool,” he said.

As a first step, Akram said, they must be “called out” and “designated” for what they are: terrorist organisations and groups.

“We reiterate our call for the UN and the Security Council to broaden the scope of the current UN Security Council sanctions regime to include not only Muslim groups but also terrorists inspired by these new ideologies of anti-Muslim hate and terror,” Akram said.

Saudi Arabia to allow 60,000 vaccinated residents to perform Hajj RIYADH AFP

Saudi Arabia announced Saturday it will allow 60,000 vaccinated residents of the kingdom to perform the annual Hajj, state media reported. The Hajj ministry said this year’s pilgrimage would be “open for nationals and residents of the kingdom, limited to 60,000 pilgrims”, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.

The pilgrimage, scheduled to be held at the end of July, would be limited to those who have been vaccinated and are below 65 years of age with no chronic illnesses, it said.

It will be the second year in a row that the kingdom hosts a downscaled Hajj amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Hajj — a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime — typically packs millions of pilgrims into congested religious sites and could be a major source of contagion.

Only up to 10,000 Muslims took part last year, a far cry from the 2.5 million who participated in the five-day annual pilgrimage in 2019.

In a relaxation of coronavirus curbs last October, Saudi Arabia opened the Grand Mosque for prayers for the first time in seven months and partially resumed the all-year-round umrah pilgrimage.

The limit on umrah pilgrims is 20,000 a day, with a total of 60,000 worshippers allowed to perform daily prayers at the mosque.

The umrah usually attracts millions of Muslims from across the globe each year. Authorities said the umrah would be allowed to return to full capacity once the threat of the pandemic has abated.

The revered Black Stone in the Kaaba — which is customary but not mandatory to touch during the pilgrimage — remains out of reach.

‘HIGHEST PRECAUTIONS’: “In light of what the whole world is witnessing with the coronavirus pandemic… and the emergence of new variants, the relevant authorities have continued to monitor the global health situation,” the Hajj ministry said Saturday.

“Considering the large crowds that perform Hajj, spending long periods of time in multiple and specific

places […] required the highest levels of health precautions,” it added in the statement carried by SPA. A scaled-down Hajj represents a major loss of revenue for the kingdom, already reeling from the twin shocks of the virus-induced slowdown and a plunge in oil prices.

The Hajj and the year-round umrah pilgrimages together rake in some $12 billion (10.3 billion euros) annually.

Last year, the foreign press were barred from the Hajj, usually a huge global media event.

Saudi Arabia has so far recorded more than 460,000 coronavirus infections, including 7,536 deaths.

The health ministry says it has administered more than 15 million coronavirus vaccine doses, in a country with a population of over 34 million.

Hosting the Hajj is a matter of prestige for Saudi rulers, for whom the custodianship of Islam’s holiest sites is their most powerful source of political legitimacy.

But a series of deadly disasters over the years, including a 2015 stampede that killed up to 2,300 worshippers, has prompted criticism of the kingdom’s management of the pilgrimage.

Thousands march in support of Muslim family killed in truck attack in Canada LONDON Agencies

Thousands of people marched on Friday in support of a Canadian Muslim family run over and killed by a man driving a pick-up truck last Sunday in an attack the police described as a hate crime.

The four victims, spanning three generations, were killed when Nathaniel Veltman, 20, ran into them while they were out for an evening walk near their home. A fifth family member, a 9-year-old boy, survived.

People in London, Ontario marched about 7 kilometres from the spot where the family was struck down to a nearby mosque,

the site close to where Veltman was arrested by police.

Some carried placards with messages reading ‘Hate has no home here’, ‘Love over hate.’ Similar events were held in other cities in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province.

After a moment of silence marking the time of the tragedy, representatives from several religions gave speeches denouncing hatred and saluting the outpouring of support for London’s 30,000-strong Muslim community.

“The best part was not just the numbers […] but the diversity of the people coming from every single community in London,

coming together for this cause,” said 19year old college student Abdullah Al Jarad at the march.

The attack sparked outrage across Canada, with politicians from all sides condemning the crime, spurring growing calls to take action to curb hate crime and Islamophobia.

Veltman made a brief court appearance on Thursday and will return to court on Monday. He faces four charges of first-degree murder and one of attempted murder.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called the killings a “terrorist attack” and vowed to clamp down on far-right groups and online hate.

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

Blasts on buses in western Kabul kill at least 7 KABUL Agencies

Blasts hit two buses in western Kabul on Saturday, killing at least seven people, according to police. The explosions took place in a neighbourhood dominated by the minority Hazara community where similar attacks on buses earlier this month killed 12 civilians. Mr Basir Mujahid, Kabul’s police spokesman, added that six people had also been wounded in Saturday’s blasts. Violence has been rising as foreign forces withdraw from the country

by September 11 and efforts to broker a peace settlement between the Afghan government and Taliban have slowed. It was not immediately clear who was behind Saturday’s attacks. The Hazara community has also been the target of a number of attacks. In May, an unclaimed attack on a school in the area left around 80, mostly schoolgirls, dead. The United States, one of the foreign countries with a significant presence in Afghanistan, believes keeping an international diplomatic presence in Kabul requires a “functioning, secure” airport. A State Department spokesman said in a statement on Friday, “We underscore that a functioning, secure airport is essential to any international diplomatic presence and will benefit Afghan travellers and the Afghan economy.” Their comment appeared to be a message to the Taliban that unless countries with embassies in Kabul feel that their diplomats can safely access a functioning airport, they could close their missions. The statement came a day after a Taliban spokesman effectively rejected Turkey’s proposal that its troops remain to guard and run the Hamid Karzai International Airport after the departure of the rest of the US-led foreign force. The Taliban’s position poses serious questions for the US, other countries and international organisations with missions in Kabul about how to evacuate personnel from landlocked Afghanistan should fighting threaten the capital. US officials have said they believe Taliban seek international legitimacy. Australia shuttered its embassy in Kabul last month because of security concerns. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week vowed to keep the American embassy open. President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from America’s longest war, stalled peace talks and unrelenting violence are fueling fears that Afghanistan is headed into an all-out civil war that could return the Taliban to power. Biden is expected to discuss the issue when he holds talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Brussels next Monday.