Epaper – June 28 LHR 2021

Monday, 28 June, 2021 I 17 Dhul-Qadah, 1442 I Rs 40.00 I Vol XI No 358 I 48 Pages I Lahore Edition

FATF decided PAkisTAn’s cAse on PoliTicAl grounds: Qureshi

F

OrEIGN Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has once again raised fingers on Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) decision against removing Pakistan from the grey list and said that if it were a technical decision then the country would have been added to the white list.

“Now FATF members and the world will have to decide if it is a technical or a politically motivated forum,” he said while addressing the media on Sunday.

He said that India tried to politicise the FATF for political gains to keep Pakistan in the grey list. Qureshi said some forces want the sword of FATF hanging on Pakistan. He hoped that soon Pakistan would be in the white list as the entire action plan of FATF has been implemented.

The foreign minister said that even FATF members have admitted that Pakistan has shown compliance with 26 out of 27 points of the action plan from the anti-money laundering watchdog.

He further rejected that the PTI government is responsible for the inclusion of Pakistan on the FATF grey list and said that it was during PML-N’s tenure when the country was added to the list. “rather during our tenure, we amended 14 laws and introduced some new ones to show compliance on FATF action plan,”

Qureshi said.

Speaking on South Punjab issues, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that a piece of land has been identified for the Bahawalpur secretariat and after the South Punjab secretariat in Multan, its foundation would also be laid by the incumbent government. “We have identified a 30-acre land in Bahawalpur for a secretariat and soon its foundation will be laid,” he said.

The foreign minister said that the establishment of a GOr and a secretariat will be established on 63-acre land that has been transferred for the purpose. He said that rs189 billion have been earmarked for South Punjab uplift projects and they would ensure that the money is spent on the projects announced.

“We have fulfilled our promise of a separate development plan for South Punjab and will ensure that every single penny of it would be spent by the end of the fiscal year,” the PTI vice chairman said, adding that being the top party leader he is responsible for ensuring enforcement of PTI’s political agenda.

Talking about Afghanistan, the foreign minister expressed fear that a civil strife could be started after the withdrawal of US forces which will lead to destabilisation in the region.

He said Pakistan wants a peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan which will bring stability in the entire region. He said Pakistan Army has

coronAvirus in

PAkisTAn

CONFIRMED CASES:

954,743

LAST UPDATED AT 7:25 AM ON JUNE 27, 2021

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

NEW CASES:

23

901

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

900,291 22,211 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

335,555

345,796

KPK:

BALOCHISTAN:

137,628 AJK/GB: 20,212/5,884

27,003 ISLAMABAD:

82,565

eliminated terrorism from the country after rendering numerous sacrifices.

Earlier on Saturday, Foreign Minister Qureshi lauded the efforts of the diplomatic corp in effectively pursuing the objectives of the country’s foreign policy, saying that every member of the service was highly committed to achieving the goals in the national interest.

“Despite financial strains, each and every man and woman officer at the Foreign Office stands firm while defending the front of foreign policy,” the foreign minister said while speaking at the floor of the National Assembly.

He spoke highly of the “committed” officials of the Foreign Office and paid rich tributes to them on behalf of Prime Minister Imran Khan and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government.

He advised the officials to keep up the good work and stay strong during difficult situations. “Never get deterred by difficult times because if Almighty wants, He can [help the defender] defeat stronger [enemies],” he said while giving reference to a Quranic account when a flock of Ababeel birds began to throw the stones on Abraha’s army so fiercely that his army was forced to step back and run away.

In May, Imran, in a video conference with ambassadors aired on television, lashed out at the Foreign Service officers for not serving the expatriate community well and harbouring a “colonial” mindset.

He was in particular critical of the missions in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which host the largest Pakistan communities overseas, but the way the comments were delivered made it look like a censure of the entire foreign service.

The remarks then followed the suspension of now-former ambassador to Saudi Arabia raja Ali Ejaz and the recall of six diplomats from the embassy in riyadh over community complaints.

The comments roiled the diplomats, who conveyed their anger to the government through different channels — both official and unofficial.

Qureshi had held a meeting with the officers in an attempt to pacify them and explain the prime minister’s statement. News Desk

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Imran urges nation to actively participate in tree plantation drive ISLAMABAD staff report

Prime Minister Imran Khan has urged the nation to take part in the tree plantation drive.

In a tweet posted Sunday, the prime minister urged the people, especially the youth, “to gear up for the biggest tree planting campaign [Billion Tree Tsunami] in our history”.

The ambitious project — which is supported by the United Nations Environment Programme — sets out to plant ten billion trees by 2023.

Launched in 2019, the project just reached a new milestone — the planting of the billionth tree — earlier this month.

In his tweet, which was accompanied by an infographic showing tree-perperson ratios across the world, Imran stressed that the nation had “a lot of catching up to do”.

The data graph suggested there were on average 422 trees for a person around the globe but in Pakistan, the ratio stood at five trees. A 2015 study revealed that the planet is home to 3.04 trillion trees,

Imran calling bin Laden ‘martyr’ was ‘slip of tongue’: Fawad ISLAMABAD staff report

Prime Minister Imran Khan had a “slip of the tongue” when he called slain al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden a “martyr”, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has said.

In June last, the prime minister, while recounting the lows of the relationship between Islamabad and Washington on the floor of the National Assembly, told MPs that bin Laden had been “martyred” by US forces.

Bin Laden, who allegedly masterminded the 9/11 attacks, was killed in a raid on his hideout in 2011 after eluding detection for nearly 10 years.

“I will never forget how we Pakistanis were embarrassed when the Americans came into Abbottabad and killed Osama bin Laden […] martyred him,” he had said.

Speaking to a news channel Sunday, Chaudhry said that the statement was “a slip of the tongue” and the prime minister “had clarified it”.

Pakistan, he said, considered bin Laden a terrorist and his al Qaeda group a militant outfit.

He recalled that Pakistan

blowing away the previous estimate of 400 billion. That meant, the researchers said, that there were 422 trees for every person on Earth.

The study also finds that there are 46 percent fewer trees on Earth than there were before humans started the lengthy, but recently accelerating, the process of deforestation.

“We can now say that there’s less trees than at any point in human civilisation,” said Thomas Crowther, a postdoctoral researcher at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies who is the lead author on the research.

“Since the spread of human influence, we’ve reduced the number almost by half, which is an astronomical thing.” The paper estimated that humans and other causes, such as wildfires and pest outbreaks, are responsible for the loss of 15.3 billion trees each year — although the authors said at a press conference that perhaps 5 billion of those may grow back each year, so the net loss is about 10 billion annually.

more inside

Ex-finance minister holds PTI responsible for looming energy crisis in Pakistan STORY ON PAGE 02

PPP to form govt in AJK, claims Bilawal STORY ON PAGE 02

had voted in favour of al Qaeda being listed on the terrorist list at the United Nations and that it followed international law on militant organisations.

While Adviser to the Prime Minister for Political Communication Shahbaz Gill had defended Imran, saying he had twice used the word “killed” for bin Laden –in addition to martyred — the controversy surfaced again last week when Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in an interview with Tolo News of Afghanistan ducked a question on bin Laden, refraining from calling him a terrorist.

Qureshi, when the inter-

viewer quoted Prime Minister Imran Khan as calling the former al Qaeda leader a “martyr”, said: “Out of context. He [prime minister] was quoted out of context.”

But when asked if he would disagree, the foreign minister paused for a while and then said: “I will let it pass.”

The following day, Fawad categorically said that those who kill innocent people are “terrorists”.

He said that there was “no confusion at any level” regarding those who carried out terrorist activities and killed innocent people.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

SAPM’s own firm involved in ‘illegal’ trade of hybrid cotton materials STORY ON PAGE 03 in today’s issue

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Monday, 28 June, 2021

LAHORE

NEWS

Ex-financE ministEr holds Pti rEsPonsiblE for looming EnErgy crisis in Pakistan

m

NewS DeSk

IFTAH Ismail, the former finance minister, has held the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government responsible for a looming energy crisis in the country. According to Dawn, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader was addressing a press conference in Karachi, where he said that delays in the dry docking of LNG terminals is one of the reasons for the emerging energy crisis.

He asked why the government had opted for expensive fuels for electricity production.

Company). This is a lie.”

The PML-N leader went on to say that since the government had been delaying the matters, it now had to carry out the maintenance of multiple gas fields all at once.

Ismail also lashed out at the government for “keeping on delaying the purchase of furnace oil” and then buying it in haste at an exorbitant price.

He added that the government had opted to use furnace oil and diesel, which were expensive fuels, to produce electricity in November and December last year, and subsequently the National

Electric Power Regulatory Authority had to increase the electricity tariff.

“There is no reason for using furnace oil for electricity production but that this government is inefficient and dishonest,” he remarked, pointing out that opting for expensive fuels was also in violation of the NEPRA’S merit order, which stipulated that cheaper fuels were to be given priority for electricity production.

He maintained that power plants set up by the PML-N government in the past years, such as the Sahiwal coal-fired power plant, were producing the cheapest electricity in the country.

PPP to form govt in AJK, claims Bilawal

Addressing PPP workers, Chairman Bilawal said that “today we are with our Kashmiri brethren with who we have shared relations from three generations”.

“Kashmiri people supported Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. They also supported Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. We have struggled against dictatorships together and history is a witness to that. You had supported President Zardari and Qamar Zaman Kaira was your minister for Kashmir affairs. You supported peoples Party in difficult times as well. The development work which was carried out in Kashmir was and is unprecedented,” he said.

Bilawal said that the behaviour and policy of federal and Kashmir governments with the people is derogating. “We feel your pain because you are the comrades of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and I cannot leave you at the mercy of these callous governments. Now I am among you all, and once again you have to support the PPP like you did with the Quaid-e-Awam and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto,” he added.

“If you want for the problems facing Kashmir to be solved, then you have to support the PPP. In occupied Kashmir people are fighting against Modi’s policies and here in Azad Kashmir people are fighting poverty, inflation and unemployment in Imran Khan’s government.

Questioned the government’s choice of opting for expensive fuels, such as furnace oil and diesel, for electricity production.

It is worth mentioning here that a day earlier, Federal Energy Minister Hammad Azhar acknowledged that the country could face a power shortage from June 29 to July 6, as the RLNG terminal would be non-functional during that period.

The minister, who was addressing a news conference, had blamed the operators of both the LNG terminals in Pakistan — Engro Elengy and Pakistan Gasport — for the looming crisis, saying that they should have given the timeline

Pia grounds 140 flight attendants for being overweight kARACHI STaff RePoRT

Pakistan International Airlines has grounded 140 flight attendants for being overweight and excluded them from promotions and the duty roster for July flights, reports citing sources said Sunday. The flight attendants, both male and female, could not adopt a strict diet plan amid the Covid-19 pandemic, reports said. On the other hand, a PIA spokesperson in a statement put the number of grounded flight attendants at 85 and said the decision was taken after continuous complaints. The spokesperson added that the airline has issued warnings multiple times to the overweight flight attendants before taking the action. In 2019, the airline had mulled over a proposal to offload its overweight flight attendants from international flights. In this regard, its administration had announced to gradually reduce the waiver of 30 pounds of excess weight to zero pounds in upcoming months. Meanwhile, the Senate was informed earlier this month by the aviation ministry that the PIA had incurred a huge loss due to the allegedly fake license scandal. The PIA incurred an estimated deficit of Rs7.9 billion.

motorway police ban entry of vehicles with tinted windows ISLAMABAD INP

National Highways and Motorways Police have suspended the entry of vehicles with tinted windows and initiated action against several motors for doing so. The police removed tinted glasses from several vehicles in the jurisdiction of Motorway M3. Police on Sunday also issued the latest road disturbance report about National Highway 5, according to which drivers have been informed that the traffic is diverted near “Chowk Mari at Milestone KM 599-NB, due to road work”. With the adoption of the new regulation, motorists using tinted windows due to health issues, including sensitive skin, would be asked to go for alternatives. Imported vehicles having 35 percent and 65 percent tinted windows may be issued permits after they approach the office of the deputy commissioner. A verification report about the applicant would be sought from the police before considering their requests, a police official said.

sindh to re-open shrines from today under soPs

for dry docking at least one year in advance so that the relevant authorities could have prepared an alternative plan accordingly.

Explaining that dry docking was necessary for meeting international safety standards and obtaining a safety certificate to keep the terminals operational, Ismail alleged that Azhar had wrongfully blamed the operators.

“Engro had asked them [the government] to initiate the dry docking a year ago, but they have been delaying it,” he claimed. “And they are now blaming Engro and SSGC (Sui Souther Gas

ACCUSES PM OF BECOMING A LAWYER FOR KULBHUSHAN JADHAV NewS DeSk Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has claimed that his party will form its government in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

Talking to a private television channel on Sunday, the PPP leader lashed out at Prime Minister Imran Khan, saying that he has always criticised his policy for Kashmir and his attitude towards the region.

Bilawal is in Kotli to muster support and galvanise PPP voters ahead of the 11th General Elections of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The polls will be held on July 25.

“There is a clear difference between the attitude of Imran Khan and the prime ministers before him,” he said.

“I have full faith in the PPP candidates (of Azad Kashmir). They will stand by us,” he added. “We believe in our party’s strength and that our candidates have what it takes to form PPP’s government in Kashmir.”

Meanwhile, addressing a rally in Rawalakot on Sunday, Bilawal said that

the people of Kashmir “will not follow a puppet regime”.

“We must get this message across to Islamabad that the people of Kashmir will decide their future on their own,” Bilawal said, adding that this was PPP’s policy. Hitting out at Prime Minister Imran Khan, Bilawal said that “he promised to the people of Kashmir he would be their ambassador but instead became a lawyer for Kulbhushan”. The PPP chairman, strongly objecting to the passing of The International Court of Justice (Review and Re-consideration) Bill, 2020 in the National Assembly, claimed that the parliament was not taken into confidence before the bill was passed. “If Imran Khan wishes to give Kulbhushan an NRO, he can go ahead.

But PPP will never be your partner in crime,” he said to the government.

The 11th General Elections of Azad Jammu and Kashmir will be held on July 25, the region’s election commission had announced earlier this month.

According to the schedule announced by Chief Election Commissioner retired Justice Abdul

Rasheed Sulehria, the nomination papers will be filed by the candidates before the returning officers on or before June 6 up till 4:00pm while the scrutiny of nomination papers will be conducted the very next day am onwards and the lists of validly nominated candidates will be published on the same day.

The last date for filing appeals before the election commission against the acceptance or rejection of nomination papers by returning officers has been fixed for June 27 before 2pm, while the hearing of appeals will be conducted from June 28 to 29, with the decisions announced on June 30 and July 1.

Earlier, Bilawal in connection with his election campaign in Azad Jammu and Kashmir visited Dhan Gali on Friday along with Qamar Zaman Kaira, where he was greeted with rousing reception.

Thousands of party workers raised slogans on his arrival and showered rose petals on his motorcade.

Thousands of workers received their chairman with traditional zeal and fervour at Dhadial raising Jeay Bhutto and other party slogans.

Over 0.9m recover from Covid-19 so far: NCOC ISLAMABAD TLTP

The number of people who have recovered from the coronavirus in the country shot past 900,000 on Sunday after more than 1,300 people recovered from Covid-19.

According to the data issued by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the country reported less than 1,000 cases of coronavirus for the second consecutive day. The NCOC said that 44,544 people were tested for the infection in the last 24 hours, out of which 901 turned out to be positive. This brings the positivity ratio across the country to 2.02 percent.

Another 23 people died of the pandemic over the past 24 hours. The total number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan, since the pandemic began, now stands at 954,743 while the number of active cases in the country has increased to 32,341.

Punjab reported at least 141 new coronavirus cases during the past 24 hours, taking the tally to 345,796.

According to health officials, eight more patients succumbed to the deadly virus as the death toll reached

10,721. As many as 326,231 patients have recovered from the disease in the province so far.

Sindh reported at least 521 new Covid-19 cases during the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 336,059.

According to Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, eight more patients succumbed to the deadly disease as the toll reached 5,418. He further said that as many as 369 more patients recovered overnight, taking the total to 311,347.

Meanwhile, Pakistan is expected to receive millions of doses of coronavirus vaccines starting next week, as per government officials.

On either Monday or Tuesday, Pakistan is expected to receive 2.5 million doses of Moderna's mRNA 1273 Covid-19 vaccine through COVAX while another 100,000 doses of Russian vaccine Sputnik V are being acquired by Islamabad through bilateral purchase and are expected to reach the country by next week, they said.

“Pakistan has also signed an agreement for the purchase of one million doses of Russian Sputnik V vaccine, whose 100,000 doses are also expected to

reach Pakistan early next week,” an official of the National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (NHS,R&C) said on Saturday.

“We will also receive three million doses of Sinovac on June 29 so there will be millions of doses available to inoculate a large number of the population in the country in July,” he added.

He revealed Pakistan will also receive over 12 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and an unspecified number of Pfizer's mRNA vaccine in July, through COVAX. However, the official admitted that the official date has not been communicated to Pakistan as to when the vaccines will be provided to it “We have conveyed the regulatory requirements to the COVAX regarding the use of Moderna’s mRNA vaccine in Pakistan. According to the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), any vaccine that has emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or European Medicine Agency (EMA) can be imported and used in Pakistan,” the official said, adding that now they were waiting for flight details of the consignment.

kARACHI INP

The Sindh government has notified to reopen the shrines, from Monday under strict SOPs, as cases of Covid-19 are going down in the province. Sindh Auqaf Department has notified reopening of the shrines in the province that were closed owing to upsurge in coronavirus cases amid the third wave of the pandemic.

Easing the restrictions in the province, the notification advised the devotees to follow the SOPs such as performing ablution at their homes before arriving at the shrines, wearing masks and social distancing along with the use of hand sanitizers. The entry of children and elderly citizens has been banned in shrines with a clarification that there would be no free-meals (Langar) distribution in premises of shrines in the province. The provincial government has also decided to reopen indoor gyms, swimming pools and amusement parks across the province from Monday. Sindh government’s spokesperson Barrister Murtaza Wahab had said last week that enforcement of SOPs had reduced the rate of coronavirus positive cases in the province.

Construction of Leh Expressway to begin this year: Rasheed RAwALPINDI STaff RePoRT

Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed has said that the Punjab government has allocated Rs55 billion for the Leh Expressway project in the 2021-22 financial year, announcing that the construction will begin this year.

“The federal government under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan has presented a historic budget by giving relief to the poor and middleclass segments of the society and is striving hard to arrest inflation,” he said Sunday.

It may be mentioned that 1,604

houses fall in the right of way of Leh Expressway and 1,279 kanals is to be acquired: 1,035.9 kanals of private land, 132.4 kanals owned by Military Engineering and Works, 54.7 kanals owned by Chaklala Cantonment Board and 56 kanals owned by Rawalpindi Cantonment Board.

He said the project will be completed under a public-private partnership and the constructions will begin after completing the tendering procedures.

Rawalpindi Development Authority has approved a proposal for Leh Nullah Expressway and sent it to the PublicPrivate Partnership Authority, Punjab.

The project will be completed in two

years, and the expressway will be constructed on both sides of Leh Nullah.

In February, the prime minister issued directions to immediately start work on the project, which will contribute towards the transformation of Rawalpindi.

Zoning of the area concerned and changes in relevant bylaws should also be completed so that commercial and multi-storey buildings can be constructed along both sides of the Leh Expressway.

Rasheed said that the project would be a game-changer for the garrison city and would help ease traffic congestion.

The project would also help control flash flooding problems during torrential

rains.

The minister informed that the government has presented a historic budget in which no new tax was levied and the poor and middle-class was provided special concessions.

Duty on several imported items, in particular, was abolished which would help reduce the inflation and the citizens would get relief, he added.

Inflation is a major challenge for the government which has presented a number of proposals in the budget to control the price hike.

Terrorism in Lahore was aimed at creating an atmosphere of unrest in Pakistan, he said.

Monday, 28 June, 2021

LAHORE

NEWS

saPm’s own firm involvEd in ‘illEgal’ tradE of hybrid cotton matErials ISLAMABAD

i

MIaN aBRaR

N a startling revelation, M/s Aurega Lahore, a company owned by Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Food Security Jamshed Iqbal Cheema, has been found involved in illegal sale of planting materials and illegally planting Bt. cotton (hybrid) for an area of almost 10,000 acres of land with the name as “White Gold” without following prescribed rules.

According to exclusive copy of Economic Survey of 2009-2010 issued by the Government of Pakistan, available with Pakistan Today, reflects that none of these planting materials had been imported legally

and have not been tested according to rules and regulations set by government agencies at federal and provincial levels.

The Economic Survey implicated Cheema’s company stating that all the Bt. cotton varieties grown are susceptible to cotton Leaf Curl Virus (CLCV) and sucking pests, i.e. Mealy bug, Jassid and White Fly, which the survey report said “are a major threat to cotton crops in Pakistan”.

Cheema, who admitted while talking to Pakistan Today of the survey report mentioning his company’s name, but defended his company’s involvement.

It is interesting to note that despite implicating Cheema’s company for the criminal involvement of damaging the

cotton business, neither Cheema’s company was punished nor any action was taken against him.

Despite a disservice to the cotton business of the country, Cheema is still working as special assistant to prime minister for food security in a conflict of interest.

According to the economic survey, Bt. cotton is developed by Genetic Engineering techniques (Biotechnology). Bt. cotton contains genes from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt.).

As a rule and principle chalked out by federal and provincial governments all the Bt. cotton varieties/hybrids, it has to pass through the procedures designed for Testing and evaluation of these materials by Pakistan

Central Cotton Committee (PCCC), Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department (FSC&RD), National Bio-Safety Committee (NBC), Department of Plant Protection (DPP) and Provincial Seed Councils.

“Private Seed Company M/s Aurega Lahore has sold Bt. hybrid seeds for an area of almost ten thousand acres wah the name as ‘White Gold’ without following prescribed rules. Another private seed company M/s Alseeme Multan has sold non-Bt. cotton hybrid for almost on area of 10 thousand acres without following prescribed rules,” says the report.

The report added that most of the Bt. cotton varieties were marketed with wrong

03

notation of resistance to all pests.

“In some instances, Bt. cotton seeds were mixed with non-Bt. cotton seeds and affected the yield,” the report added.

“Eight countries commercially grew Bt. cotton (USA, Australia, China, India etc).

Protein of this gene is deadly for the Chewing Pests i.e. American, Army, Pink and Spotted worm but not for sucking pest like Mealy bug etc. There may he 30% increase in cotton yield dive to resistance against chewing pest and hance additional income to poor farmers in Pakistan,” says the report.

The Bt. cotton varieties including Bt. hybrids currently grown in Pakistan are from exotic sources which are given to farmers for cultivation without validating its performance and without proving production technologies based on research conducted according to local environment, the report added. When contacted, Cheema admitted that he was still the chief executive officer of Aurega Lahore and that the Economic Survey had carried out a report against his company.

Cheema also requested Pakistan Today to carry his version in the name of Osama Tayyab, a spokesman of Aurega.

Balochistan decides judicial probe into Usman Kakar’s death QUeTTA TLTP

The government of Balochistan has decided to form a judicial commission to probe into the death of former senator Usman Khan Kakar who passed away on Monday last.

In a letter written to the Balochistan High Court (BHC) on Sunday, a copy of which is available with TLTP, the government of Balochistan told the high court that the family of the deceased claims that the death seems to be unnatural and merits inquiry for the cause of death.

The letter said, “Keeping in view the importance of

the case, the provincial government has decided that a judicial commission may be constituted under SubSection-1 of Section (3) of the Balochistan Tribunal of Inquiry Ordinance, 1969, comprising honourable judges including Mr. Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Mr. Justice Zaheer ud Din Kakar, to ascertain the cause, leading to the death of late Usman Khan Kakar.”

“It is, therefore, requested to please convey nominations of the above honourable judges so that the commission may be notified accordingly,” added the letter. The Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) leader and former senator Usman Khan Kakar passed away in Karachi on Monday. He was 60. He was elected to the Upper House in March 2015 and remained a

vocal senator till his tenure ended in March 2021.

Earlier on Friday last, Federal Minister Azam Swati assured the opposition in the Senate of a thorough probe into the death of former senator Usman Khan Kakar.

The assurance came as opposition senators during the proceedings of the upper house of parliament demanded an investigation into the cause of the former senator’s sudden demise.

Swati said all government resources would be used to ascertain the facts behind the senior PkMAP leader’s death. The preliminary report issued after the autopsy read there were no marks of torture or wound on his body and that the cause of his death appeared to be a brain hemorrhage.

Ulema fully support PM’s statement on women’s hijab: Ashrafi

SAYS MAULVI ABDUL AZIZ SHOULD BE HANGED AT MINAR-E-PAKISTAN LAHORE: Special Representative for Prime Minister on Religious Affairs Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi has said that ulema fully support the statement of Prime Minister Imran Khan regarding women hijab and dresses. Addressing a press conference on Sunday, he said that Islam is protector of women rights, adding that PM’s statement about hijab was legal and in accordance with Holy Quran and Sunnah. He said that PM’s statements about women clothing was targeted by some elements for political reasons. He said that the Quranic order about hijab was equally applicable to men, that they should keep their eyes down. He said that the government should set up a helpline to register a secret complaint about sexual harassment of children. Ashrafi said that open public punishment should be given by setting up special courts to prevent cases of child abuse. aPP

LAHORE: A cylinder explosion in Pak Block of Allama Iqbal Town claimed the life of a child on Sunday. zUBaIR MeHfooz

The emperor has no clothes?

CITy NoTeS M a NIazI One of the debates that Imran Khan managed to set alight in his recent interview to a foreign channel was women’s clothing. He said that too skimpy clothing played a part in the rapes that were taking place. The immediate riposte was that little boys in madrassahs didn’t wear skimpy clothes.

That’s a valid criticism, and might get us closer to what Imran was trying to say: that the woman who wears the skimpy clothes might not get assaulted. But someone would get assaulted. An indication might come from Kasur, where we had an attempt to earn foreign exchange by assaulting little boys and then selling the videos to perverts abroad, which was followed by the Zainab scandal. That was bad enough, but he had assaulted and killed at least eight other little girls.

Imran’s remarks were followed by a social-media sentimental journey through Imran’s days as a player in the UK. There were enough photos of Imran next to women in skimpy clothes to show that he knew what he was talking about. Did he rape these women? Or even one of them?

Well, he did say that there were no night-clubs or discos, but that’s the first I’ve heard of them being

proposed as a solution. Does he propose that we have nightclubs or discos?

I suspect that even Imran might not see it as a holistic solution. For example, if Hafiz Saeed had been in a nightclub instead of jail, would there have been a blast as the one there was outside his Johar Town house? Was the blast meant to spread terror or tell the world that Hafiz Saeed was not actually in prison, as he’s supposed to be.

Of course, Imran’s interview made me remember Umar Shaikh, who had blamed the victim of the Sialkot rape for travelling late. He must be kicking himself for not thinking of skimpy clothes. Skimpy clothes.

Smoking in public, listening to rock music, anything that will let off the male. And Imran actively looks for outs. Not for himself of course. We know how monastic a life he has led.

In that interview, he also made two important points.

First, that the Uighurs in China were not being treated badly. Second, Pakistan would never, ever give the US the post-withdrawal bases it wanted. Now, that would mean two issues on which to contradict the US. That would mean that there has to be a U-turn on one of them, purely in the national interest, of course. We must not forget that we do not understand the intricacies of international politics they way that Imran does. We do not understand the West as he does, and whether the Americans are going to be more anxious for bases, or support for the Uighurs,

and where our national interest lies.

I suppose the only thing that can be said in response is that New Zealand do not know the importance of losing to India. I know Imran is probably taking the credit for the defeat India suffered at the inaugural final of the World Test Championship. Does New Zealand national interest dictate that Indian mustn’t lose?

Another country which has no reason to fear India is Zambia, which might not have a reason to lose to India, but which has lost its founder, Kenneth Kaunda, who was president from 1964 to 1991. That means he was president for 27 years, and died 30 years after leaving office. He left office at the age Imran assumed it, However, Imran hopes to be in office for as long as Kaunda was, which means he will hand over the prime ministership in 2045, when he will be 92, and still getting the youth vote, young people firmly believing he brought eternal glory to Pakistan by winning the hockey World Cup. After which he built a liver-transplant centre.

However, a more intricate problem has arrived.

Outer Mongolia, the Seychelles and Bahrain all bought Chinese vaccines, like Pakistan. But people have still been catching covid-19, and dying of it. And another million doses landed on our doorstep. Obviously, a conspiracy by the vaccine mafia.

An even more intricate problem is posed by the black actress who plays Ann Boleyn, one of Henry VIII’s six wives, on TV. And there’s a Latina actress playing Snow White. What next? Nelson Mandela being played by a white woman? Modi by a Native American? Sitting Bull by a South Asian? Imran by a no-human like a donkey? He should like that for in Arab countries, donkeys are a by-word for endurance and hard work.

mnas, including ex-Pm visit nPcc PReSS ReLeASe NTDC Headquarter WAPDA House Lahore, 27 June 2021: A group of Members of National Assembly comprised of ex-Prime Minister Mr. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Ms Maryam Aurangzeb and Rana Sanaullah visited NTDC National Power Control Center (NPCC) at Islamabad. Joint Secretary Transmission, Power Division Mr. Ahmed Taimoor Nasir, Managing Director NTDC Engr. Muhammad Ayub and officers from NPCC briefed the honorable MNAs about current power situation, system operations of NPCC and responded the questions asked. Managing Director NTDC apprised the delegation that the current nameplate capacity is 37,261 MW, dependable capacity is 33,565 MW while current available capacity is lower due to outage of about 3,000 MW from Tarbela Power Station, lower inflows due to Skardu temperature, forced and scheduled outages and transmission constraints. While responding to another question MD NTDC informed that RFO plants are about 17% of system installed capacity and the plants are made operation on merit base once system demand crosses 18,000 MW mark also operated to ensure stability of system. Responding about maximum capacity of the system, Joint Secretary NTDC informed that on 12th June 2021, transmission system successfully transmitted 23,795 MW with stable system, however, current maximum capacity is about 24,500 to 25,000 MW. He also said that NPCC allocates quota of power to DISCOs in accordance with available generation. MD NTDC also informed that ± 660kV HVDC Matiari-Lahore transmission line will transmit maximum 4000 MW from South to North and mostly cheaper power generation from Coal, Nuclear and future generation from Thar. While responding to another questions, Joint Secretary Transmission said that currently no load management is being carried out.

However, during the first 10 days of current month, rise in temperature and heatwave caused excessive demand of power, thus load management had to be carried out.

ndma takes measures to save areas facing monsoon flood threat ISLAMABAD aPP

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) with the coordination of provincial disaster management authorities and other concerned departments has expedited measures to protect vulnerable communities in areas facing flood threat during the coming monsoon season. The authority has determined to take all necessary steps to tackle floods in the ongoing monsoon season that would likely start from next week. The authority was in contact at the federal and provincial level for impending monsoon season and to harmonize all related provincial and departmental plans with respect to flood fighting, rescue, relief and postrehabilitation, an NDMA official told APP. The authority has also conducted a pre-monsoon 2021 preparedness conference in order to review preparations for dealing with a possible monsoon situation. The NDMA has also launched its annual monsoon plan. The national and provincial agencies besides the provincial disaster management authorities, representatives of the Armed Forces, National Highway Authority, Federal Commission for Floods and WAPDA were apprised about the state of preparedness and measures to be taken to deal with Monsoon Challenges.

Monday, 28 June, 2021

04 NEWS

LAHORE

GB PReSeNtS RS106BN BUdGet fOR fY22 GILGIT

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GHULAM ABBAS

HE Gilgit Baltistan (GB) budget for the fiscal year 2021-22 (FY22) with a total outlay of Rs105.92 billion was presented on Saturday.

Presenting the budget proposals in GB Assembly, Finance Minister Javed Ali Manwa said that Rs51.7 billion have been allocated for non-development and more than Rs44.22 billion for developmental expenditures.

He said that the budget outlay is 54 percent higher than the budget of previous year.

He said more than Rs48.45 million have been allocated in the budget for betterment of the health sector, Rs4.62 billion for phys-

ical planning and housing while Rs3.96 billion are allocated for the works department.

The GB finance minister also announced a 10 percent increase in the salaries of government employees and minimum wage for workers was set at Rs20,000.

The finance minister announced that out of the total budget outlay Rs44.2 billion has been allocated for the development sector, out of which Rs18 billion are proposed for Annual Development Program (ADP) of the regional government whereas Rs20 billion have been set aside for projects under the federal PSDP. The remaining Rs6 billion would be spent on other PSDP projects during next fiscal year.

According to the minister, the total non-development budget of GB for next the financial year would be Rs51.7 billion.

Pakistani-origin Sajid Javid appointed new UK health secretary ISLAMABAD: Pakistani-origin MP Sajid Javid was appointed as UK health secretary on Saturday night after Matt Hancock quit his role, having breached Covid-19 social distancing rules. “The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of the Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care,” the No.10 Downing Street said in a statement on Saturday, confirming the appointment. It follows a massive public outcry over controversial photographs where Hancock is seen kissing and embracing his top aide in the office, flouting all COVID-19related protocols that he was tasked with ensuring. “Those of us who make these rules have got to stick by them, and that’s why I’ve got to resign,” Hancock said in a video message on Twitter. Javid, 51, who has previously served two terms in the UK cabinet — first as the chancellor of the exchequer and later as the home secretary — is one of five sons to his parents who moved to the UK from Pakistan in the 1960s. In a Twitter post on Sunday, Javid said he was “honoured” to be offered the position and looked forward to “contributing” to the country’s coronavirus response. TLTP

20 climbers arrive to summit K2, Broad Peak ISLAMABAD: An international mountaineering outfit, comprising 20 climbers, has arrived in Pakistan to summit K2 and Broad Peak. Alpine Club of Pakistan said the expedition organised by the US-based boutique mountain guide service, Madison Mountaineering, includes 10 Nepalese, five British, four US and one Ukrainian nationals.

The team led by renowned US mountaineer Garrett Christian Madison proceeded to GilgitBaltistan on Sunday. Meanwhile, Sajid Ali Sadpara, the son of Pakistan’s iconic highaltitude mountaineer Muhammad Ali Sadpara, left Skardu on Sunday to summit the K2 mountain and find the remains of his father who went missing while attempting to scale the world’s most dangerous peak in winter.

Sadpara, Iceland’s John Snorri and Chile’s Juan Pablo Mohr were last sighted on Feb 5, at around 10:00am, at what is considered the most difficult part of the climb: the Bottleneck, a steep and narrow gully just 300 meters shy of the 8,611-meter-high K2. On February 18, Sajid announced the end of a rescue operation for them saying that his father was “no more.”

Sajid’s four-member expedition will try to find out what happened to the climbers. In a press conference, Sajid said it would take his team some 40 days to climb the world’s secondtallest mountain. TLTP

“The non-development budget for the coming fiscal year is also 47 per cent higher as compared to the allocation of the outgoing fiscal year (FY21),” he added.

It may be recalled here that the federal government in its budget FY22 had also increased the non-development budget of GB to Rs47 billion from Rs32 billion for FY21.

The regional government has also allocated Rs8 billion for wheat subsidy which is also up by 33 percent as compared to the allocation of FY21’s allocation.

The finance minister announced Rs4.5 billion for 115 new schemes in the education department apart from the regular budget allocation of Rs347 million for the department in FY22.

Similarly, the minister also announced that Rs4.1 billion have been allocated for

97 new schemes in the health department for next financial year apart from the regular budget of Rs601 million for the department. The regular budget for the department has been increased by 67 percent. Besides, Rs1.5 billion have been allocated for reforms in the health sector.

Interestingly, Rs5 billion has been set aside for the Chief Minister’s Special Interventions for Underdeveloped Areas.

Moreover, in the major special allocations from regular budget, the Works Department will get Rs1.2 billion, with a 111 percent increase, the Power Department has been given Rs 1.3billion, an increase of 138 percent, whereas the Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Department has been given Rs760 million, an increase of 104 per cent.

KP govt extends deadline for BRT completion yet again PESHAWAR AZIZ BUNERI

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has given another deadline to the contractors to complete the remaining work on the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) till December.

According to details, the contractor has to complete the construction of three corridors and three bus depots. The provincial government has increased the estimated cost of BRT by Rs510 million to Rs66.95 billion in revised PC-1. According to sources, KP’s largest project with the initial deadline of six months has not been completed despite the passage of several years, due to which the cost of the project has increased.

The government has repeatedly extended dates to complete the project.

Because of delay in project completion, the opposition political parties in KP Assembly have called for a transparent investigation into the project.

Sources said that due to bus operation on the BRT corridor, the general public believe that the project has been

completed but in reality, there is still a lot of work to complete the project.

The KP government hired another contractor to complete the construction of the BRT and then the contractor hired separate contractors for each portion of the project. The government has issued five new NOCs to date but still the contractors have not completed the parking plaza in Dabgari area of the city.

The KP Local Government Department sources said that construction work resumed from June 20 and the remaining work on Reach One and Reach Two has been given a deadline of November 17 while the Hayatabad Bus Depot, Chamkani Bus Depot and in Dabgri parking plaza has been given the deadline of December 17.

Out of the total 20 components of the project, 11 are expected to cost more than the estimated cost while five will be completed at lower costs that estimated. The project will cost a total of Rs516 million more than the allocated amount. Rs1.55 billion for consultant supervision, Rs875 million for purchase of buses, Rs633 million for construction

of Chamkani Bus Depot, Park and Ride and Trans Peshawar office, Rs410 million for construction of road from bus stop number one to eight. Rs376 million on construction of road from Bus Stop No19 to 31, Rs110 million for social settlement, Rs100 million for project implementation, Rs75 million for relocation of goods, Rs.60 million for individual consultant, Rs50 million for purchase of land for depot and Rs7 million will be spend on advertisements.

Similarly, Rs1.55 billion was provided for the construction of a road from Bus Stop No 9 to 18, Rs1.41 billion for purchase of intelligent transport system, Rs381 million for flat scrap, provision of bus stop facilities besides corridor, Rs320 million will be spent on providing facilities to BRT staff while Rs68 million will be spent on the environmental impact assessment of the project. Sources said that the estimated cost of the Peshawar BRT project was initially at Rs49.34 billion and has now increased to Rs66.43 billion whereas after the second revision, the total cost will reach Rs66.95 billion.

Abdullahs, Muftis can no more befool Kashmiris: Masood ISLAMABAD TLTP

While holding Sheikh Abdullah and Mufti Saeed families of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) responsible for Kashmiris’ unending afflictions, AJK President Sardar Masood Khan has said that they have been serving the Indian interests and playing the role of facilitators to help India consolidate its illegal occupation of Kashmir since 1947.

“Kashmiri people would no longer fall into their traps because they (Kashmiris) are now more conscious about their treacheries and they know that these families had been in power and facilitated the massacres of thousands of Kashmiri people in 1947, 1948, 2010, and 2015-16,” he recounted.

The AJK president made these remarks while addressing a ceremony held to launch a report on “Illegal Transfer of Population to Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and International Law” organised by the Centre for Law and Security at Kashmir House Islamabad.

He said that those who shook hands with Modi, a killer of Kashmiris and the Muslims of Gujrat, were traitors in the eyes of Kashmiris before, and even today the stain of betrayal is visible on their foreheads which they cannot hide.

The state president said that the Kashmiri people had rejected the drama staged by Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti, and other such politicians in Delhi. He said that the participation of the genuine Kashmiri leaders Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, Yasin Malik, Asiya Andrabi, and Shabbir Ahmed Shah would have established the credibility of these talks and the sincerity of rulers in Delhi but their absence shows that Kashmiris have nothing to do with this pointless exercise.

He alleged that the Modi regime intended to hold fresh delimitations to turn the majority of Muslim members into a minority in the state assembly of occupied Kashmir and to divide the constituencies of the Muslim majority is a plan to block the way of Muslim representatives to the state legislature.

“This time again Indian rulers have chosen the descendants of Abdullahs and Muftis to get their thumb impressions for implementation of a nefarious plan against the people of Kashmir. He went on to say that Indian authorities already had transferred more than four million Hindu citizens from different parts of India and settled in Muslim majority areas of Jammu. Noting that Indian occupation forces were engaged in committing crimes that include crimes against humanity, genocide, ethnic cleansing, and war crimes, President Khan said the report prepared by the Center for Law and Security would fill the vacuum in law-fare in relation to Kashmir. He said that it has now become crucial to consider the legal aspects of the Kashmir case because actions taken by Indian in IOJK are serious crimes under the international law, and these violate article 02 of the Genocide Convention of1948, article 37 and 59 of the fourth Geneva Convention, Additional Protocol 01 and the statutes of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Roshan digital account inflows cross $1.5bn mark: PM ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that Roshan Digital Account (RDA) has achieved more milestones as the inflows crossed $1.5 billion on Friday and investment in Naya Pakistan Certificates is surpassing $1 billion. In a tweet on Sunday, the prime minister while sharing the good news from the State Bank of Pakistan said the accounts and deposits have set new records since achieving the milestone of $1 billion two months ago.

PM Khan inaugurated the Roshan Digital Accounts (RDA) service in September as part of a joint effort by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the government, and eight commercial banks to integrate overseas Pakistanis with the country’s banking system. For the first time in Pakistan’s history, the RDA provided NonResident Pakistanis (NRPs) with an opportunity to remotely open an account in Pakistan without visiting a bank. “These accounts provide innovative banking solutions for millions of NRPs, including Non-Resident Pakistan Origin Card [POC] holders, seeking to undertake banking, payment and investment activities in Pakistan,” the SBP said on its website quoting Governor Reza Baqir. The RDA provides access to all conventional account services, including funds transfer, online bills, e-commerce and other payments in Pakistan. It also allows users to invest in fixed deposit products offered by the banks, invest in the stock market, with the added advantage of debit and virtual debit cards for domestic and overseas use. TLTP

NCOC proposes summer vacations in schools from July 18 ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has proposed summer holidays in educational institutes nationwide from July 18; however, Punjab is opposing the decision. According to details, the NCOC Sunday proposed summer vacations between July 18 and August 01.

However, the Punjab government while opposing the decision conveyed that it wants to announce a month-long holiday from July 02 to August 02. After disagreement from both sides, the matter would now be mulled over by the education conference of the NCOC where provinces will have their say over the matter. The meeting will be convened soon to finalise the decision. It is pertinent to mention here that the All Pakistan Private Schools Federation (APPSF) on Saturday announced that there would be no summer holidays across the nationwide educational institutes in 2021. APPSF President Kashif Mirza said that the schools will remain open during the summer holidays and would remain open between 7:00am and 11:00am. “The students could come to private schools in casual dress rather than in school uniforms,” he said adding that the decision was taken in view of hot weather conditions.

Mirza further announced that educational institutes could also adopt online classes if they had the facility to do so. Separately, Minister for Federal Education Shafqat Mehmood has said that the federal government has allocated Rs28 billion for education sector in the next fiscal year budget which is hundred percent higher than the previous year. He said with this allocation, the education sector would see a true transformation. The minister said that enrolment in educational institutions has increased by 45 percent during the PTI government’s tenure. Shafqat Mehmood said the budget allocation and spending of HEC have been increased to facilitate areas of access, quality, research and governance. TLTP

Uzbek official invites Pakistani businessmen LAHORE APP

Uzbekistan Namangan Region Deputy Governor Inamov Okibjon Odiljonovich has invited Pakistani businessmen to visit Uzbekistan and take advantage of the opportunities by entering joint ventures with their Uzbek counterparts.

Addressing the business community at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Saturday, he said that Uzbekistan was keen to enhance trade relations with Pakistan, as both countries had

great potential to cooperate with each other in many areas of economy. He identified pharmaceutical, tourism, agriculture, food processing, automobile, construction, chemicals, oil & gas, mining and electrical & electronics as other potential areas of mutual cooperation. He invited the LCCI to form a sector-specific delegation for Uzbekistan, adding that the role of LCCI holds importance for B2B (business to business) contacts between the two countries.

Also speaking on the occasion, LCCI President Mian Tariq Misbah expressed hope that the visit of government officials and pri-

vate sector representatives from Namangan Region, that is the eastern part of Uzbekistan, will initiate a new era of close cooperation between two countries.

He lauded the government of Uzbekistan for sending this high-profile delegation to Pakistan in continuation of a virtual summit held between Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in April this year. During this summit, multiple MoUs [memorandums of understanding] were signed and both countries agreed to reinforce ties in a number of sectors.

Sharing the bilateral trade figures, the

CMYK

LCCI president said that in 2018, the volume of two-way trade was around $20.7 million, which went up to $28 million dollars in 2019 due to rapid increase in Pakistan’s exports to Uzbekistan.

That trend continued and in 2020, the bilateral trade reached $34.3 million. He said that during the last three years, Pakistan’s imports from Uzbekistan increased from $3.3 million to $9.1 million whereas Pakistan exports to Uzbekistan went up from $17.4 million to $25.2 million.

“There is great potential for both countries to enhance trade and economic relations

through joint ventures in textiles, pharmaceuticals, construction, renewable energy, tourism and automotive parts.”

Misbah said that absence of banking channels, difficulties in land route and communication are some of the major bottlenecks behind low trade volume.

“We are hoping that Trans-Afghan Railway Line project agreed among Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan would play a key role in linking the Central Asian transport network with Pakistan’s seaports of Gwadar, Karachi and Bin Qasim,” the LCCI president added.

Monday, 28 June, 2021

LAHORE

NEWS

PaLeStINIaN aUthorIty dePLoyS ForceS dUrING ProteSt aGaINSt crItIc’S death WeSt BANK

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REUTERS

HE Palestinian Authority on Saturday deployed security forces to confront protesters who took to the streets of Ramallah in the West Bank after one of President Mahmoud Abbas’s biggest critics died in custody.

Nizar Banat had been arrested by PA forces who broke into a relative’s house where he was staying in the early hours of Thursday and hit him repeatedly with a metal rod before arresting him, according to Banat’s family.

Banat’s death has sparked three days of protests in the occupied West Bank and calls from the international community for an inquiry.

On Saturday, Palestinian security officers lined the streets and blocked protestors by hitting them with their fists and with clubs, Reuters video showed.

The officers, some wearing riot gear, others in plain clothes, also fired tear gas and attacked journalists, according to witnesses. There were no official figures on how many people were arrested or injured.

The spokesman for the PA security services, Talal Dweikat, said the committee investigating Banat’s death had begun

Zardari, Nawaz fooled people for many years: Fawad

its work and urged people to wait for the results. He did not comment on Saturday’s violence. The Palestinian journalists’ union condemned attacks by security forces against journalists covering the protest.

“The targeting of journalists by security men is a new, grave development in the onslaught on freedom of expression and the media,” the union said in a statement.

Banat, 43, was a social activist who had accused Abbas’s PA of corruption, including over a short-lived Covid-19 vaccine exchange with Israel this month and Abbas’s postponement of a long-delayed election in May. Banat had registered as a parliamen-

tary candidate for that contest.

The crowd marched through streets waving Palestinian flags and pictures of Banat and calling for an end to Abbas’s 16-year rule.

“We want a total political reform that will truly reflect the interests of the people,” said protester Esmat Mansour.

Human rights groups say Abbas regularly arrests critics. A Human Rights Watch official said Banat’s arrest was “no anomaly”.

Abbas and the PA, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank, reject accusations they are corrupt and that they arrest people for their political views.

FATF decided Pakistan’s case on political grounds: Qureshi

PIND DADAN KHAN

coNtINueD froM PAge 01

APP

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain Sunday said Prime Minister Imran Khan has introduced an anticorruption narrative and launched political struggle against corrupt elements some 21 years ago. Addressing a public rally at Pind Dadan Khan, he said former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari fooled the people for many years. Earlier, power was transferred between two political families and the competition between the two for grabbing powers. Imran Khan introduced a new culture and developed a new political narrative that he would neither do corruption nor allow anyone to do so. Right now projects worth billion of rupee were being executed without the reports of receiving any kickbacks. PTI government was determined to spend country’s resources on people. He said PPP Co Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz have no political achievement other than heredity and yet they are dreaming of ruling the country. He said Pakistan's armed forces and judiciary stand with the civilian government and country’s political atmosphere testifies that Imran Khan's would form the government again after 2023 elections also.

Pakistan Army officers and soldiers are united to defend the beloved country. He thanked the people of Khewra and Pind Dadan Khan for according rousing welcome to him. He said the people of the constituency reposed confidence over Imran Khan on merit in the general elections of 2018.

Several well-known retired officers criticised the prime minister’s remarks. Association of Former Ambassadors President Inamul Haque, in a letter to the prime minister, rejected his televised remarks, saying that the “public reprimand was ill-advised and reflected a lack of understanding of the work that our diplomatic missions are performing despite major constraints and impediments”.

He said that denouncing an entire institution, without a proper and impartial investigation, was “unconscionable”.

S PUNJAB PROVINCE PROMISE TO BE HONOURED: Seperately, Qureshi said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government will honour its electoral promise of granting provincial status to South Punjab.

“The demand to convert South Punjab into a province is beyond every discrimination,” Qureshi said in

an address to a gathering at the South Punjab Secretariat, Tribune reported.

“The government will materialise its promise made to the people of the region,” he added.

According to the minister, the formation of a separate province will be the beginning of the fastest development in the region.

“In order to turn the fate of the area around, it is imperative for all powers to be moved to the South Punjab secretariat.

“It is PTI’s agenda to ensure equal progress in every city and town of South Punjab,” Qureshi said, likening the allocation of 33 per cent of budget for the area with the first drop of rain.

He hoped that the separate budget will help the process compensate for the deprivations of the region’s people.

The minister stressed timely completion of development projects to ensure their effects trickle down

At Ohio rally, Trump knocks Biden on border, hints at 2024 plans WASHINgtoN

Gunshot wounds needing surgery in the US increase in frequency, severity

REUTERS

ISLAMABAD ONLINE

Between 2005 and 2016, there was an increase in both the number of surgical operations for gunshot wounds and the severity of injuries, according to a new study. The cost of hospitalizations also rose over the same period, but survival rates improved. The team has tracked the changing frequency and cost of surgery for gunshot wounds, as well as the severity of the injuries. “We’re now seeing a lot more on the impact of gun violence. In the past, gun violence was never really discussed in the open — it was thought to only affect a certain population.

to the people.

“In order to spend development funds on the projects, it’s essential to begin planning for the same,” he emphasised.

“Not a rupee meant for the development budget of the area will be allowed to go to waste,” he remarked.

“It remains to be seen who deprived South Punjab. In whose era were the funds diverted elsewhere unfairly? In whose era was the slogan, ‘We are prisoners of the throne in Lahore’ popular?” the foreign minister had said.

Qureshi said that the PTI government had taken two major decisions regarding South Punjab in the last two-and-a-half years.

“Two administrative secretariats have been set up in Multan and Bahawalpur to devolve power to lower levels. Special funds have been allocated for South Punjab which will be spent on construction and its development,” he was reported as saying.

At his first rally since leaving the White House, former President Donald Trump on Saturday lambasted the Biden administration’s immigration policies and sought to energise Republicans to take back majorities in Congress next year.

Appearing to relish being back in front of thousands of supporters, Trump repeated his false claim that his defeat in the November 2020 election was marred by fraud.

Trump left office in the aftermath of the deadly January 6 attack on the US Capitol by his supporters, shortly after a speech in which he urged a crowd to “fight” when then President-elect Joe Biden’s victory was about to be certified by lawmakers.

Trump survived a second impeachment on a charge linked to the violence and has kept broad influence over the Republican Party, in part by leaving open the question of whether he will run for office again in 2024.

He dangled that possibility on Saturday to the crowd.

“We won the election twice and it’s possible we’ll have to win it a third time. It’s possible,” he said.

Trump won the 2016 election against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He lost in 2020.

Whether he runs again could be influenced by the outcome of various legal troubles. The Manhattan district attorney’s office has told Trump’s lawyers it is considering filing criminal charges against his family business, the New York Times reported on Friday.

The former president highlighted parts of his regular grievance list at the rally, with particular focus on the rising number of immigrants crossing over the US southern border, an issue Republicans have zeroed in on to rally their voters.

“You have millions of people coming into our country. We have no idea who they are. Joe Biden is doing the exact opposite as we did,” Trump said.

Biden’s White House has called Trump’s immigration policies inhumane.

While keeping his political plans vague, the former president spoke forcefully in favour of getting his party back in control of the US House of Representatives and Senate.

“We will take back the House, we will take back the Senate, and we will take back America, and we will do it soon,” he said.

Democrats’ razor-thin majorities in both chambers of Congress will be on the line in the 2022 midterm elections and history favours Republicans’ chances of gaining seats in those contests.

Fauji Fertilizer Company's OLIVE Cloud Platform Goes Live OLIVE Technical Services (a FFC company) launched their OLlVE Cloud Platform (OCP) services in a ceremony attended by Industry leaders in a local hotel on June 23, 2021(no need of mentioning date, conveys the sense that news is old). OLIVE has been recently launched by FFC as a services company, which offers IT services in addition to a rich portfolio of industrial services.

OLIVE joined hands with NDS, a premier IT company, to design, implement and market the cloud offering. Dell and Sangfor partnered with OLIVE and NDS to provide Hardware and software.

The Chief Guest, Mr. Saquib Ahmed – Managing Director SAP Pakistan spoke about the potential of IT services in bringing the economic revolution in the country.

He welcomed the OCP initiative and wished it success.

Chief Information Officer – FFC, Mr. Fakhar ul Hasan enlightened the participants about the value proposition that OLIVE cloud will bring to the market. He said that OCP will provide reliable, responsive and transparent cloud services to the nascent market.

Amna Hanif, CEO NDS congratulated

OLIVE and NDS teams in successfully bringing the product in the market.

Jahan Zaib Nasar of Sangfor Technologies introduced the portfolio services Sangfor offers and their contribution to the project.

Mr. Rizwan Ahmed, CEO Awan Distributors spoke of the future plans of leveraging OLIVE platform for providing services to their clients.

Mr. Naveed Khan of Dell Technologies appreciated the effort and vision behind OCP. He assured of Dell’s support in making the venture a success. PR

cMYK

05

Imran calling bin Laden ‘martyr’ was ‘slip of tongue’: Fawad coNtINueD froM PAge 01 “That is terrorism and the perpetrators are terrorists. We have suffered the pain of terrorism in our own land and can understand the pain of all who have lost their loved ones in these cowardly attacks,” he said in a tweet.

STATE-OWNED MEDIA TO BE DIGITISED: Seperately, Fawad, while speaking at the National Immature Short Film Festival organised by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and InterServices Public Relations in Islamabad, said the digitalisation of the state-owned media including Radio Pakistan, Pakistan Television and Associated Press of Pakistan would be initiated by August. He said reforms were being introduced in the ministry to help it meet contemporary challenges, Radio Pakistan reported. Fawad regretted that Pakistan offered numerous sacrifices in the war against terrorism, but failed to promote its narrative in an effective way. He said media is an important tool with the states around the globe to help to shape public opinion and promoting the narrative of the states. The minister said the journey of a “Naya Pakistan” has already begun under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan. He also lauded ISPR for giving a new dimension to short films in Pakistan.

Protein discovery could lead to new hearing loss treatments ISLAMABAD ONLINE

A new genetic study in mice has identified two proteins that help organize the development of the hair cells that pick up sound waves in the inner ear. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD, believe that their findings could hold the key to reversing hearing loss that arises from damaged hair cells. A recent paper in the journal eLife gives a full account of the investigation. "Scientists in our field," says Angelika Doetzlhofer, Ph.D., an associate professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins, "have long been looking for the molecular signals that trigger the formation of the hair cells that sense and transmit sound." "These hair cells are a major player in hearing loss, and knowing more about how they develop will help us figure out ways to replace hair cells that are damaged," she adds. In mammals, the ability to hear relies on two types of cell that detect sound: inner and outer hair cells. Both types of hair cell line the inside of the cochlea, a spiral shaped hollow in the inner ear. The hair cells form a distinct pattern comprising three rows of outer cells and one row of inner cells. The cells sense sound waves as they travel down the shell-like structure and convey the information to the brain.

Problems with hair cells and the nerves that connect them to the brain are responsible for more than 90% of hearing loss. Most mammals and birds have the ability to automatically replace lost or damaged hair cells, but this does not happen in humans. Once we lose our hair cells, it seems that hearing loss is irreversible. The production of hair cells in the cochlea during embryo development is a highly organized and intricate process involving precise timing and location. The process begins when immature cells at the outer cochlea transform into fully formed hair cells. From the outer cochlea, the orderly transformation then proceeds like a wave along the internal lining of the spiral until it reaches the innermost region. Although scientists have uncovered much about hair cell formation, the molecular signals that control the "precise cellular patterning" have remained unclear. How do the signals make the right part of the process happen at the correct time to "promote auditory sensory differentiation and instruct its graded pattern?" To try to answer the question, Doetzlhofer and her colleagues studied cochlear development in mouse embryos. They investigated signaling proteins that play a role in hair cell formation in the developing cochlea. Two of the proteins that the researchers investigated caught their attention: Activin A and follistatin. They saw how the levels of the two proteins changed during the transformation of precursor cells into mature hair cells along the inside of the cochlear spiral.

Monday, 28 June, 2021

06 COMMENT

The rise of Hindutva and Communal violence in India

Budget passage Let alone stopping passage, opposition members didn’t turn up

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HE Opposition in the national assembly had vowed not to let the budget pass. that presumed some sort of effort when the government put it to the vote. On Friday, when the long process of the passage of demands for Grants began, the Opposition leadership itself was not to be found in the House band as a result perhaps, the Mnas themselves knocked off, and didn’t attend. as it was Friday, it seems likelier than not that the members had sloped off to their constituencies for the weekend, rather than attend to their duties in the House. if there was any hope that the breakdown of the PdM might lead the individual party leaders to take more of an interest in resisting the passage of the Budget, they were dashed by the absence of PML(n) President and Leader of the Opposition, Shehbaz Sharif, and PPP Co-Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who were nowhere to be seen, presumably joining in the rush for the constituency. that was a rush the treasury members nobly resisted, with virtually full attendance, an indication that the Government’s whips had done their job properly. not only did they ensure that the numbers were there to pass the demands that came up that day, but that any opposition attempt to point out a lack of quorum was forestalled. One effect of the Opposition’s leisurely attitude was the defeat without debate of all cut motions. not all cut notions are debated, but some are, allowing the Opposition to focus on a particular department. it may be that the opposition will take up cut notions in the coming week, when the demands do come up, but it seems that the opposition has supinely given up the chance to hammer home its opposition to the government’s policy. Cut motions have a greater importance in that the policy of the government in that field is to be discussed. For example, a cut motion on the Foreign affairs budget is not restricted merely to talking about the money allocated under that head, but allows a debate of the foreign policy the government pursues.

With an opposition so much divided, coordination is not easy. the Pakistan democratic Movement came into being because it was felt that a structure was needed for this. the Opposition will have to do much better if it hopes to give the government a tough time, let alone topple it

The BJP is straining the system Qaseem-ul-hassan

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indutva is an ideology and religiousbased Hindu nationalism in india which is designed to augment Hindu influence and establish Hindus’ hegemony. it is similar to Zionism which calls for religious domination. in the 21th century, vananyak damodar Savarkar would have been happy, if he was alive, because his ambition came true as india has been driven on the path of Hindutva by the incumbent Modi regime. in 1925, the Hindu nationalist party Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar for the liberation movement against the colonial power and tried to make Hindustan ‘‘a Hindu Rashtra’’. .With such an ideology, the RSS continued its struggle against the British Raj with an aim to oust them only to establish a Hindu-dominated india. the far-extremist ideology, however, diverged from the values and cultural tenets of Hinduism with little concession for other religious groups or minorities including Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and even the lower-class Hindus. However, the ousting of Britain did not accomplish their motives but there existed other challenges to their monopoly in the indian society and independent india.

Soon after assuming office as the first Prime Minister of india, the liberal democratic Jawahar Lal nehru discouraged any such effort that could make india a ‘Hindu Rashtra’ as envisioned by the Hindutva-based extremist factions. the RSS, however, did not envoy any political legitimacy in the indian society and in order to cope with this challenge, various extremist political and religious entities combined together and in the 1980s gave birth to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which became the de facto political force of the RSS and the Hindu extremists. after independence, the nationalist forces inside india were not happy with secular india and they were continuously trying to nationalise india as a Hindu state (Hindu Rashtra). Hindu extremist rightwing parties want india as a Hindu state not as a sec-

Making mobile users pay The new tax shows a government unable to broaden the tax net

m Wasay mir Indoctrination (noun) The process of teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs uncritically. “I would never subject children to religious indoctrination.”

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OuR wars, multiple escalations, thousands of casualties, years of enmity, attempts at espionage, an array of allegations, the cause of Kashmir, revenge for Bengal, payback for 26/11 and so much more defines the indoPak relationship. the year is 2021 and we still stand at odds with our neighbour with the added effect of nuclear armament. in all the confrontation and drama, the international community and voices from the top of the food chain in both countries call for dialogue and “peaceful negotiations”. Radical elements in both nations call for “Jihad” (urdu: Fight against the enemies of islam) or “Yudh” (Hindi: War) and ideologies such as the “Hindutva takeover” (an ideology establishing the hegemony of Hindus) or the “Ghazwa-e-Hind” (Holy War against india) still find a home amongst sections of both societies.

Growing up in a privileged, well informed class of Pakistani society one becomes confused over how to think of india. do i believe my books? the media?

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor Managing Editor

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Umar Aziz Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

them. then a Hindu-Muslim conflict started. the Gujarat government announced 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed. in the Babri Masjid dispute, the BJP under vajpayee rule was freer to do anything allowed by Hindutva ideology. the political voice of the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir Movement, the vishva Hindu Parishad (vHP) ran a campaign for construction of mandir at that mosque site, which was yet to be decided by the indian Supreme Court but they decide on the demolition of the mosque. in Kashmir, under Modi, indian armed forces cut off total communication and put it under curfew after the 6 august 2019 action. the whole Kashmir valley is in blood from the innocent blood of Kashmir’s and shouting for justice. indian occupied Kashmir (iOK) is restricted in terms of access to food, business activites, subjected to high distraction, inside home isolated peoples and indian government totally controlled the Kashmir valley by full militarization and rights violations. india has always portrayed itself, from nehru to now, as secular and stable which ensures security and survival of every ethnic group there. However, extremist ideologies like Hindutva have badly hampered indian progress towards a stable and secure society. this is why Hindutva-like ideologies should not be used to manage state affairs because it could result in communal violence and go forward even to wars. india can find its destiny as a regional and global power and the world’s largest democracy only if it implements Western democracy pragmatically.

Equally, they should ensure their secular identity where religion should not interfere in state affairs. that is the only solution. this will also help in maintaining the traditional nature of peaceful co-existence in the diversity of religions, castes, tribes and classes.

However, the elevation of Modi to power and his ruthless action highlights strains of autocracy in india. the recent flux of BJP-led ‘Hindutva’ ideology as the prime political agenda is of growing concern to the religious and ethnic minorities. For instance the recent exclusion of almost 1.9 million assamese from the national Register of citizens has threatened the future of Muslim ethnicities. the sustenance of india as a secular state is imperative for a prosperous and stable regional strategic environment in South asia.

The writer is a freelance columnist

Our Neighbour, The Boogeyman

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HE tax on mobile calls longer than five minutes may well be about to run into technical difficulties. One of the main problems is expected consumer behaviour. the tax is on calls lasting more than five minutes: very well, terminate the call just before the five-minute mark, and call again. that way, the tax collector will only get to levy his tax when the phone call is so scintillating that either caller or called carry on past the taxable limit. However, the mobile companies like this even less than the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), for it might well lead to the jamming of their system, and thus trouble with the Pakistan telecommunication authority for poor service. apart from that, the new tax makes nonsense of the carefully constructed packages which have made mobile phones so popular. the FBR, with this tax, seems to be trying to elbow in on the mobile phenomenon, which has very speedily become an essential for all, rich and poor alike. By going along with this, the government seems to have given up on its twin planks of widening the tax net and FBR reform. Mobile phones became affordable because of tariff packages that are now likely to go out of the window. Because they are now an essential, people will hang on, even if their budgets become untenable. it was no rocket science to understand that this was a regressive tax, likely to impact most the consumers already badly hit by the inflation the government is unable to control (and one of whose ministers doesn’t even believe it exists). instead of falling into such a defeatist mentality, the government should realise there are still two and a years left in its tenure, which is plenty of time to raise tax revenue by the solid means of bringing more people into the tax net, which would entail reforms in the FBR. the ‘Musical Chairs’ attitude at the FBR Chairmanship (of which the present incumbent is the fifth appointed by this government) and the Finance Ministry (where the fourth recently began his tenure) must end, so that there can be some consistency in policy.

Yousaf Nizami Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

ular state. the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is an indian right-wing, paramilitary and Hindu nationalist party. RSS involvement in violence and insecurity of other minorities led to a ban by the Raj-era Punjab government which was not lifted until 28 January 1947..it also rejected the indian national flag and equally opposed the indian constitution establishing a ‘secular state’. the RSS was following their ‘Guruji’, Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar, who threatened the Mahatma Ghandhi. after his assassination by an RSS member, Guruji was jailed and the RSS also banned.

However, the organization kept on promoting its extremist ideology by committing violence against minorities including Muslims, Christian and other sections of the society, even the lower castes of Hindus were also threatened by their violent acts and practices again the Hindu nationalist became strong under vajpayee which was his contribution to Hindutva agenda. the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) originated from the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, which was established in 1951 by Syama Prasad Mukherjee. during the Emergency, the Jana Sangh merged with other parties to form the Janata Party. Later, the Jana Sangh reformed as the BJP. BJP, right-wing, Hindu extremist, enjoyed the large support from Hindu upper castes and also from northern india. it has also attracted lower caste Hindus with representation in the Party, and Muslims. the BJP wants to remake india according to the teaching of Hinduism, Hindu culture, values, traditions, norms and ethics, with a unified india. it promotse Hindu nationalism for religious india (Hindu Rashtra) and increased freedom of action for BJP-affiliated Hindu extremist groups like the Shiv Sena, Bajrang dal, RSS and other organizations. the influence of Hindu extremism in india threatens the minorities as such making Hindu-policies as Cow vigilantism (Gau Rakshak), Ghar Wapsi, Love Jihad and triple talaq.

Communal riots was not new in india that caused violence against lower caste Hindus, dalits, and the other religions minorities like Muslims, Sikhs and Christians. the starting point of the Gujarat riots, the Godhra train burning, blamed on Muslims with no evidence. this was followed by Hindu attacks on Muslims. the ruling party BJP ignored these violent actions by Hindu extremists and even facilitated

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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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use my own intuition or align my views with the government’s? in the last case, my opinions would change faster than the season.

Let’s begin with books. throughout school the history teacher adamantly insisted that india has been the aggressor since day one and changed my perception of the red, white and green nation to be nothing more than a bitter ex in constant pursuit of revenge. “Hatred of Hindus” was particularly projected through indirect means and i was taught how Hindus and Sikhs killed Muslims during the partition, burned their abodes, raped the women and slaughtered mercilessly as trains full of dead bodies travelled through Punjab. it used to boil my blood and rightly so, as it should for any proud Muslim.

However, as the history class ended, so did the indoctrination, at least until getting home and turning on the tv to hear the news of the day.

“Breaking news: 5 Soldiers Martyred near the Line of Control (LOC)”. india became public enemy number one yet again and our army ‘jawans’ (urdu: soldiers) who lost their lives were celebrated as immortal ‘shaheeds’ (urdu: martyrs).

How unfortunate, i thought, maybe we should wage another war, maybe we should eradicate our neighbours from the face of the Earth! (China may not appreciate such misadventures but we needed to do something right?) the enemy was apparent and hating the motherland’s enemies was a necessary part of nationalism . How a land can have emotions, i fail to understand, but as the inhabitants of the land, we did and when i heard about india, all i saw was red. a week later, the weirdest thing happened, the Foreign Minister called for dialogue and greater “cooperation between the two countries”. Well that was splendid news to my ears. Just like the great Quaid-e-azam wanted, a relationship that mimicked that of Canada and the uSa. We’re things really getting better? Would they be issuing visas soon? i always wanted to visit the taj Mahal in agra and the Laal Qila in delhi. Cooperation between neighbours, a welcome sight for the international community as well. imagine a cricket match between india and Pakistan in Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium. virat Kohli leading the mighty men in blue against Babar azam’s formidable green team. at that moment, india didn’t seem all that bad after all.

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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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a year later, i am standing outside my house with my family observing a moment of silence for our Kashmiri brothers as per the government’s instructions. i can feel the rage brewing within, the united nations has failed and india has moved legislation to cement claim over what was “occupied territory” for us. Consequently, i needed to get my luggage in order. i’m going to study abroad where i am going to meet a lot of indians. i imagine how they will be, more importantly, how can i meet eyes with them? now another year has passed and i have risen from the deep sleep i was in. things are much clearer now, at least for me. there is no perpetual indian or Pakistani threat, rather there is perpetual insecurity on both sides of the border. in the history class, i never knew that arms were taken by Muslims against Hindus and Sikhs as well, there was bloodshed across the board, it wasn’t just a onesided massacre. Reading authors who are now exiled from my motherland, i realized that both countries were at fault in times of war, india was not the aggressor in every case. now, when i heard of casualties at the border, i read on the casualties on both sides, not just mine. Kashmir remains contested, but the people there are suffering as they have been for so long. it disturbs me to think that maybe both the indian and Pakistani governments don’t wish to support the Kashmiri people but rather are in it solely for the land. i have indian friends and they are very similar to me in so many regards but they were also indoctrinated, as i was. in a joint excursion to find out why we’re manipulated to such extents, we stumbled upon the military spending and budget allocations and the countries which sell both the nations their arms. it makes much more sense now, but i hope other people see it too. it’s time to wake from our slumber, it’s time for indians and Pakistanis to see the masquerade in front of us. in the words of Ben Macintyre: “deception is a sort of seduction. in love and war, adultery and espionage, deceit can only succeed if the deceived party is willing, in some way, to be deceived.”

The writer is a Doha-based journalism student.

He tweets @wasaymir10 and can be reached at MuhammadMir2024@u.northwestern.edu

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Monday, 28 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

Kashmir conundrum

Legislation for good governance ministrative actions and decisions are generally devoid of merit and based on bias, prejudice or mala fide intent. this leads to claims for redressal rence, incapacitation, rehabilitation and restora- of grievances and consequently filing of claims tion. they are operationalized in the form of against the Government departments. no wonpunishments like the death sentence, imprison- der, the Government is a major litigant before the courts and tribunals. Quite clearly, the Executive ment of various terms and imposition of fine. in appropriate cases, prisoners are given ed- is remiss in the performance of its duties and ucation and training for skill development, to re- functions. the result is bad governance and malform and rehabilitate them as useful/productive administration, leading to immense suffering of members of society. the Pakistan Penal Code people and conflicts or tensions in society. the (1860) and other criminal laws carry such sen- higher-ups, working under political patronage, tences, whereas various other laws provide for get away with every illegal or irregular action or the treatment of convicts in prisons and their re- decision. the absence of an effective system of accountability within the Executive, results in inform/rehabilitation. notwithstanding such an elaborate and com- creasing suffering and miseries of citizens. the performance of the Judiciary too is not prehensive legal system, its enforcement leaves a lot to be desired! indeed, the bane of our nation aboveboard. Courts dockets are bulging and is the lack of implementation of laws. it is true cases linger on for years, if not decades. the in respect of all laws, both civil and criminal. great-great grandchildren get verdicts of cases this way, the objects of law, like the empower- filed by their ancestors. and convicts get ment of the weak, poor, downtrodden and vul- hanged or complete sentences before being nerable segments of society and the welfare and found innocent by the appellate courts and orwellbeing of people, are missed; and the benefits dered to be released. a litigant, having once suffered the ordeal of the law do not reach its intended targets. as a result, the laws fail to achieve their objectives of of trial, will never enter the citadel of justice restoring rights/entitlements to the rightful own- again. the costly litigation and abnormal deers and punishing the offenders and compensat- lays indeed make mockery of the Constitutional mandate, asking the ing the victims for the State to “ensure inexpain and agonies sufpensive and expedifered. the result, quite tious justice”. the obviously, is chaos in Ever since Independence, principle of the “indesociety and the absence pendence of judiciary” of peace and tranquility, governance is on a is secured at the level so crucial for the sustedownward spiral in Pakistan. of superior courts but nance and advancement its benefits have yet to of society.

The deterioration is visible reach the common litthe State and Govigant. the judges of across all organs of state ernment are to blame subordinate courts are for the absence of an efand all departments of left at the mercy of fective and efficient groups of hooligans, legal system. it is to be government. The incumbent masquerading as shared in equal proporfederal government won lawyers. Chief Justices tion by the authorities come and go without and institutions responelection on the slogan of doing the needful, to sible for the state of afwit, reforming the sys“Tabdeeli” (change), but it fairs. importantly, it is a tem. Some make tall failure of the State Orremains illusory. promises at the time of gans– Legislature, Exelevation, but their ecutive and Judiciary– words never materialin performing their due ize. the national Judirole and functions. the Legislature failed to perform its major cial Policy (2009), the first and last in judicial role of making and reforming laws to meet the ex- history, which performed well in clearing backigencies of time and emerging realities. Besides, logs across the judicial hierarchy, was soon certain laws which are a source of conflict or ten- abandoned by the successor Chief Justices. sions in society and are causing injustice to citi- Ever since, pendency is rising and courts dockzens, are not reviewed or reformed. this includes ets are bulging.

Ever since independence, governance is on the most controversial legislation like Qisas & diyat law, blasphemy law, anti-Qadiani law and a downward spiral in Pakistan. the deterioration the Qanun-e-Shahadat Order, which carry is visible across all organs of state and all departtremendous potential for abuse/misuse and are ac- ments of government. the incumbent federal tually abused. the parliamentarians ought to government won election on the slogan of “Tabgather courage and revisit them, so as to repeal or deeli” (change), but it remains illusory. the inefficient performance and successive “u-turns” reform them, in the larger interest of the nation.

Controversial laws, coupled with their abuse on policy issues, make this regime no different and non-implementation of other laws, further from its predecessors. thus, the gloomy scenario complicate the situation. thus the benefits of goes on and on. disturbingly, there is no silver law don’t reach its intended beneficiaries, the, lining either on the horizon! Perhaps, time to citizens, to avail their civil, economic, social and think of system change! political rights, contained in the legal codes and The author served as Registrar of the the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed Supreme Court of Pakistan, Secretary of the Law by the Constitution of Pakistan. the Executive Branch is tasked to enforce and Justice Commission and Director General laws and policies. Regrettably though, the ad- of the Federal Judicial Academy

The executive, legislature and judiciary all share responsibility

Dr FaQir hussain

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aWS are an essential component of good governance. Without good governance, no progressor advancement is possible. no nation can sustain itself, much less develop, without an effective and efficient legal, administrative and judicial system. the advanced civilizations of the contemporary age owe their development and progress in the economic, social, political and cultural fields, to strict adherence to their constitution and obedience to law. the importance of law is equally stressed in an islamic polity.

Law begot with the birth of man! With the creation of adam, came the command, “though shall not…”, and penalty quickly followed the act of disobedience. all religions lay stress on observance of prescribed ethical norms and principles by its followers. Such norms and principles have been incorporated in the modern legal codes for the governance of society.

Laws set high ideals to realize, and set norms and principles to practice. Enacted for the welfare and wellbeing of the people, they offer protection against oppression, abuse, exploitation and harm or injury to person or property. any violation or deviation therefrom is made actionable: Relief is granted in the form of restitution of property and assets or award of damages or compensation for civil wrong, whereas penal sanctions like incarceration and fine are imposed for criminal conduct.

Criminal laws are meant to maintain law and order in society and keep peace and amity amongst the community. a criminal act is a wrong perpetuated against the victim and also an affront to the state and society for breach of its code of conduct. Offenders are prosecuted and when proven guilty, punished. the penalty has to be proportionate to the nature and severity of the offence committed and taking into account the circumstances surrounding the incident. this way a balance is struck between crime and punishment, and the criminal is served his due dessert. it assuages the angry sentiments of the community and satisfies or compensates the victim for the harm inflicted. thus, in keeping with the prevalent state and conditions of society, various theories of punishments are practiced, such as retribution, deter-

tHE war that we are in the middle of is not a war between Pakistan and india. it is a war being fought in Kashmir which has expanded itself into another war between two states. Kashmir is the real theatre of unspeakable violence that can push us into violence and nuclear war at any moment. to prevent this from happening, atrocities in Kashmir have to be addressed and resolved. that can only be done if Kashmiris are given a chance to freely and fearlessly tell the world what they are fighting for and what they really want.

Kashmir is the most militarized zone in the world, with an estimated half a million indian soldiers posted there to counter what the army itself admits is now just a handful of jihadists for them the real enemy is Kashmiri people. thousands have been disappeared and tortured that label the valley like a network of small scale abu Ghraibs. the abrogation of Kashmir’s special status was the front burner of BJP and RSS kitchen, to reignite their flagging passions, all they need to do is to pick the villain from their gallery and unleash the dogs of war. For them there are several villains, Pakistani and Kashmiris Jihadists and 200 million indian Muslims who are always accused of being Pakistani lovers and anti-national traitors. Home Minister amit Shah demonstrated the siege only existed in people’s imagination saying that telephone lines in the valley were only used by terrorists, normal life has not been affected, people are doing their necessary works. Further said, those who feel that life has been affected are once whose survival depends on terrorism. it is hard to work out who exactly indian government sees as terrorists. Why should they want to be a part of india? For what reason? if freedom is what they want, freedom is what they should have. Kashmir may not defeat india, but it will consume it and in many ways it already has.

ShafI ahmEd Khowaja jatI Sujawal

Deforestation FOREStS cover more than a quarter of Earth’s land surface. these forests areas provide food, medicine, shelter and so on. a 2017 report by scientists at the university of Maryland showed that the tropics lost about 61.000 square miles of forests in 2017_ an area the size of Bangladesh. the Guardian reported that every second, a chunk of forest equivalent to the size of a soccer field is lost. the mentioned amounts are pretty shocking that need proper attention before it is too late. trees also absorb corbon dioxide and provide oxygen for living creatures. tropic trees alone are estimated to provide about 23% of the climate change. there are different factors that cause deforestation. Mostly forests are found in rural areas because near cities forests have already been cleared for construction works. the forest areas that exist in rural areas, their residents chop down trees to meet their daily needs because of not having access to natural gas.

Everyone can do their part to curb deforestation. Cleared areas of land must be planted again. it should be the responsibility of every state to implement strict laws on cutting down trees and the people that cut down trees for cooking and shelter must be provided alternatives. mEEr afzal hub

Land grabbing adviSOR to the Prime Minister on accountability and interior, Mirza Shahzad akbar on Sunday unveiled that the government had recovered Rs 210 billion from land grabbers, 36 of which belonged to the Pakistan Muslim League nawaz (PML-n). illegally occupied state land worth billions of rupees had been retrieved from PMLn’s stalwarts including Khuram dastagir, Senator Chaudhary taveer, Javed Hashmi, Khawaja asif, abid Sher ali, Malik Saif ul Malook Khokhar, daniyal aziz, Jave Latif and others, he said. addressing a press conference here at Press information department (Pid), he said that these people had been using political influences to occupy the government property, which caused huge financial loss to the national exchequer. PML-n’s Chief nawaz Sharif, he said, had introduced the politics of ‘changa manga’ and use of money in it to get personal benefits. through a rapid anti corruption drive, the incumbent government succeeded to make these recoveries from the thieves who had been looting and plundering the national kitty during previous regimes. Shahzad akbar said that the government would utilize this money to introduce universal health insurance in Punjab to provide free health facilities to citizens. Punjab government and its anti corruption department had made outstanding role in anti corruption drive which would continue in future efficiently, he said. Speaking about the narrative of parties included in Pakistan democratic Movement (PdM), he said that the purpose of their protests was just to defend their looted money and get nROs. talking on senate elections, he said that the government had tabled a constitutional amendment bill in national assembly for open balloting, adding, the opposition parties had the opportunity to vote in its favor if they were sincere in transparency of the electoral process otherwise they should present their logic to the people for opposing it.

SohaIl alI Khan ISlamabad

Corruption galore unBRidLEd corruption seems to have been gaining its ground in Pakistan. Corruption-free-Pakistan now appears to be a pipedream. “ Say no to Corruption” is meant to perhaps say nothing to corruption here—let it grow by leaps and bounds.

Claiming to put an end to rampant corruption in Pakistan within 90 days and bring back the looted money siphoned off in foreign bank accounts, the Pti government has failed miserably from its start to make any dent in rife curroption in the country. Mentioning in its current report of 2020, the transparency international has said that corruption has increased four times in Pakistan. and out of 180 nations, Pakistan is ranked at 124 and its score is 31, despite the extraordinary efforts of national accountability Bureau (naB) claiming to have recovered Rs363billion in the last two years and the Public account Committee which has also claimed to have recovered Rs 300bn in last two years. to end corruption in Pakistan, Pti government should shun from cosmetic or perfunctory measures and take some serious and concrete efforts in this regard. rIaz ahmad Soomro ShIKarpur

Monday, 28 June, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

Can Biden save ashraf Ghani?

GHANI IS ON A LAST-DITCH MISSION TO STAVE OFF GAINS BY TALIBAN MILITANTS, SECURE CONTINUED U.S. FINANCIAL SUPPORT AFTER THE WITHDRAWAL OF NATO TROOPS FROM THE COUNTRY, AND, ABOVE ALL, SEEK TANGIBLE ASSURANCES FROM BIDEN THAT THE UNITED STATES WILL NOT ALLOW HIS GOVERNMENT TO FALL

Foreign Policy

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elise labOtt

N Friday, afghan President ashraf Ghani will visit U.s. President Joe Biden at the white House for the first, and what is likely to be the last, face-to-face interaction ahead of the remaining U.s. and NaTo forces’ withdrawal from the war-torn country by sept. 11.

Ghani, who wrote a book on how to fix failed states, seems to be writing a test case for how to help a state fail. This week, U.s. military officials confirmed a U.s. intelligence assessment, first reported by the wall street Journal, that the afghan government could collapse as soon as six months after U.s. forces leave. Ghani is on a last-ditch mission to stave off gains by Taliban militants, secure continued U.s. financial support after the withdrawal of NaTo troops from the country, and, above all, seek tangible assurances from Biden that the United states will not allow his government to fall.

More than 80 afghan districts have fallen to the Taliban since april, when Biden announced his plan to withdraw all U.s. troops. In the last week alone, the Taliban have taken closer to 40 districts across northern afghanistan, according to a source in Kabul. Many afghan forces are fighting valiantly, but countless others are surrendering to the Taliban or simply abandoning their positions, leaving behind weapons for the Taliban to stockpile.

Earlier this year, I argued that Ghani’s leadership and treatment of the military demoralized afghan forces, which, in turn, helped fuel the Taliban insurgency. since then, Ghani has continued to micromanage the war and undermine commanders—with disastrous results. amid military setbacks, he revamped leadership in the security sector, changing interior ministers twice and replacing the minister of defense, army chief of staff, and half a dozen core commanders— some of them with more political savvy than military expertise. Hamdullah Mohib, his national security ad-

visor with no military experience of his own, set up a command center in afghanistan’s National security Council, appointing district commanders and police chiefs over the objection of local leaders—even going so far as to dictate troop deployments and call in specific targets. Coalition military officials worry he is out of his depth and is weakening the resolve of the military, which is becoming increasingly reluctant to fight for the Ghani regime.

The Taliban have taken advantage of the vacuum. so far, they have avoided provincial capitals, strategically advancing on surrounding districts where they either have a decisive advantage or can easily pick off targets, strengthening their presence near cities to put pressure on the government.

But the cast-off arsenal they’ve acquired will make them formidable if and when they do move onto bigger cities like Kabul, when foreign forces are fully withdrawn. In many cases, the Taliban don’t even bother to hold the districts and simply move on after the army surrenders. That makes it harder for the army to target them, yet the psychological impact of so many districts falling to the Taliban remains. as the military continues to suffer losses, militia leaders and warlords in afghanistan’s north, including several prominent mujahideen commanders who fought the Taliban before 9/11, have stepped in to fill the void, once again taking up arms and calling on supporters to mobilize against the Taliban. although it sounds patriotic, commanders on the ground are concerned it is contaminating the battlefield, making it harder to deconflict among the many militias and target the Taliban.

For years, Ghani resisted pressure to devolve responsibility for security and governance to the district level.

Now that local forces are seemingly the only thing preventing the Taliban from taking over, they will demand more power in their regions. after Kabul spent years building up a professional army, at great expense to the United states, the proliferation of freelance fighters risks a return of old rivalries and warlordism that could plunge afghanistan back into civil war.

But the Taliban are only one of the existential threats facing Ghani. The other is largely of his own making. By resisting efforts to unite the country for a peace agreement, Ghani has wasted many opportunities for an end to decades of fighting, Biden believes. Ever since the United states announced its intention this spring to leave, a group of prominent afghans have been working to assemble a national leadership council, chaired by Ghani and made up of like-minded leaders

who support a modern vision for the country to present a united front against the Taliban. such a national consensus would not only serve as a useful vehicle for ongoing peace talks, which washington is pushing Ghani to focus on, but would also support the government. Yet Ghani, afraid the council will have too much power, has yet to endorse its creation. To save his government and his country, Ghani has been advised by afghans and americans alike to check his political hubris at the white House door and be practical and targeted when he meets with Biden. as one U.s. military official put it, Ghani has had trouble in the past grasping the important versus the interesting. This time, instead of fuzzy political discussions, Ghani needs to arrive with specific requests to shore up his military right now and reshape U.s. assistance in the very near term. That could include helping afghanistan maintain its aircraft, supplying ammunition and weaponry, offering special forces training, or figuring out if and whether the United states could provide air support in the future, perhaps from U.s. military bases in neighboring countries, without violating its agreement with the Taliban. But Congress is sure to balk at supplying weapons that will end up in Taliban hands, and there is no sense in talking about U.s. support for his government over the next two years if Ghani doesn’t have a country to run in six months.

The Taliban have already dismissed Ghani’s visit to washington as “useless” and of no benefit to afghanistan. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Ghani and another former afghan leader, abdullah abdullah, who is accompanying him after washington’s request, will “talk with the U.s. officials for preservation of their power and personal interest.” still, U.s. officials remain optimistic the Taliban are still interested in diplomacy and remain hopeful intra-afghan talks (if they ever get back on track) will be able to diminish violence and put afghanistan on a path to some kind of stability. Buoyed by their recent victories, however, the Taliban remain confident a military victory is achievable like it was a quarter century ago. Beyond demonstrating Ghani’s fecklessness, it remains far from clear how the Taliban plan to capitalize on their leverage acquired after the rampage in recent months. afghanistan is a far different place than it was when the Taliban ruled in the 1990s. The group promised to continue fighting to establish an Islamic government, where the sexes will be strictly segregated, women will be forced to wear hijabs, and freedom of speech and ex-

pression are all but gone. But U.s. officials say the Taliban have been both surprised and alarmed at the speed of their own advance and are now showing little interest in or ability to govern—let alone adapt to—a modern country where urban centers are bustling and independent media is thriving. The realities of governing may be the one incentive for the Taliban to work with other afghans who can do the job they can’t or won’t.

The Taliban may have shown Ghani is a pushover, but the afghan people are proving they are not. If local uprisings spread throughout the country and make an impressive show against the Taliban, the dynamics could change—showing that although Ghani can’t prevail, the Taliban can’t either.

Elise Labott is an adjunct professor at American University’s School of International Service and a columnist at Foreign Policy. As a correspondent for CNN for two decades, she covered seven secretaries of state and reported from more than 80 countries.

Taking over Shia websites is more than about Iran; the US has exposed its fear of revolutionary religion

Middle east Monitor

T

Omar ahmed

owards the end of the Trump administration last year, the Us department of Justice announced that two american citizens and one Pakistani national had been charged with the federal crime of moving Us dollars to Iran on behalf of the supreme Leader ayatollah ali Khamenei in 2018 and 2019. although the accused were alleged to have links to the Islamic revolutionary Guard Corps (IrGC) which had been designated as a terrorist organisation the year before, the movement of funds was said to be for the purpose of khums, a religious tax that is obligatory for shia Muslims. as a religious authority, Khamenei had the mandate to collect and distribute it to charitable causes. Hence, the charges were arguably an example of america’s criminalisation of an established religious practice.

This move was followed by the Us Treasury department imposing sanctions on the astan Quds razavi, a safavid-era religious foundation that manages the Imam reza shrine in the holy city of Mashhad, which attracts millions of visitors each year.

These desperate final acts were part of donald Trump’s failed “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran, a week before he left the white House.

Trump’s successor, President Joe Biden, attempted a more diplomatic approach following his inauguration, with the stated intention to return the Us to the 2015 nuclear agreement (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of action – JCPoa), something which Iran has insisted can only take place once sanctions are lifted. Nevertheless, Biden now faces a different set of challenges. No longer faced with a moderate Iranian president he will have to deal

THIS BLURRING OF RELIGION AND POLITICS IS, OF COURSE, LARGELY BECAUSE IRAN IS DEFINED AS AN ISLAMIC REPUBLIC, BUT IRAN AND SHIA ISLAM ARE BY NO MEANS SYNONYMOUS. THIS IS WHY THE DECISION BY WASHINGTON IS PROBLEMATIC with hardliner Ebrahim raisi who takes office in august. raisi is a president-elect who is very much the product of Us provocation and policies amid missed opportunities for dialogue with the moderate camp. The return of the Us to the nuclear deal appears as unlikely as ever, not just because of raisi, but also due to the decision earlier this week by the Us government to seize dozens of website domains affiliated to Iranian state-controlled media outlets, including PressTV. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson saeed Khatibzadeh denounced the Us for undermining freedom of expression on a global level. “The current Us administration has followed the path of the previous administration, which will only lead to a double defeat for washington,” he said. “The Islamic republic of Iran rejects the unlawful and bullying measure, and will pursue the issue through legal channels.”

That was a fair assessment. These provocative measures by the Biden administration do not make dialogue with Tehran any easier, especially coming before raisi assumes power.

However, the Us did not just target Iranian sites; it seized those belonging to allied movements in the region, such as Iraqi Hezbollah and Bahrain’s main opposition TV station, as well as al-Masirah, which belongs to Yemen’s Houthi movement. despite overtures by Biden to lift some of the Trump-era sanctions imposed on the Houthis, it is clear that the Us is trying to censor media narratives by Iran and its allies who are resisting Us interests in the region and those of washington’s allies such as Israel and the Gulf states. what was surprising, though, was the seizure of nonpartisan websites related to shia Islam in several coun-

tries, including the UK-based ahlulbayt TV and Hidayat TV. several have taken to social media to express dismay and anger, and to accuse the Us of shia-phobia by singling out shia-affiliated websites that do not necessarily have links with the Iranian government. It is a development that seems to have been picked up from the Trump administration by Biden’s team. such securitisation or criminalisation of shia Islam seems to be following the examples of Egypt and Malaysia. This suggests that the actions of the Us authorities are not limited to containing Iranian influence or agency, but represent a concern in the Middle East by Us allies about the proliferation and propagation of shia Islam.

This blurring of religion and politics is, of course, largely because Iran is defined as an Islamic republic, but Iran and shia Islam are by no means synonymous.

This is why the decision by washington is problematic, revealing more about the Us and its fear of shia Islam than anything else. why is this the case?

It could have something to do with the inherent revolutionary traits that exist in shia Islam. It also has much to do with the fact that shi’ism remains somewhat of a mystery to the western world with contemporary popular media and academic attention only given to it since the 2003 Iraq war. according to the introduction in shi’ism, resistance, and revolution by Martin Kramer, the “geographic bias” of shia Islam preserved the faith from scrutiny and therefore understanding by the west. “while many of sunni Islam’s great centres were Mediterranean and conducted a dialogue in warfare, trade and ideas with the west, shi’i Islam had become predominantly asiatic, and the lack of sustained contact

with the west left shi’ism much misunderstood.”

For Hamid dabashi in his book shi’ism: a religion of Protest, the faith “remained youth-driven, insurrectionary and destabilising of the status quo for much of its history.” This was especially the case in the formative years during the Umayyad era which witnessed several shia uprisings owing to its anti-establishment nature.

Yet there also existed a prolonged period of revolutionary deradicalisation and political quietism that came to define shia Islam in later eras. such revolutionary character would be reactivated following the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979 which utilised the potent symbolism of shia Islam that in turn allowed the clerics to make the revolution “Islamic” in spite of its secular origins. This revolutionary-spirited shia Islam is at the forefront of resisting Us interests and those of its allies in the Middle East, which is probably why the Us has growing concerns, not least about its ties to the Iranian state. From a purely political perspective, the Biden administration’s seizing of religious websites based in various countries in different languages makes little strategic sense. But when perceived in ideological terms — this is a revolutionary religion that draws heavily on what has been labelled as the “Karbala paradigm” which has the propensity to redefine shia identity and encourage Muslim political activism against injustice — then such actions appear more pragmatic than originally thought. That being said, it is important to recognise that although Iran has an important and enduring relationship with shia Islam it does not have a monopoly over it, especially when it comes to the rival clerics based in Iraq’s Najaf headed by ayatollah ali sistani who lean more towards quietism. speaking of Iraq, one of the many blunders by the Bush administration was the unintended consequence of unleashing Iranian influence in the country post-2003 Us invasion and occupation. a lot of this stemmed from ignorance of shia dynamics and centuries of cultural and religious ties between the two countries, particularly in the south. we can’t be sure how much Us policymakers have learnt about shia Islam since then, if anything at all, but we tend to fear what we don’t understand. The effective censorship of shia Islam is a case in point.

Monday, 28 June, 2021

BUSINESS 09

LAHORE corporate corner BOP inks MoU with NOWPDP for accessible, inclusive work environment

FATF TO ASSESS OF INDIA’S ANTIMONEy lAUNDERING REGIME: AzhAR ISLAMABAD

F

KARACHI: The Bank of Punjab (BOP) signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with “Network of Organizations working with Persons with Disabilities” (NOWPDP), a disability inclusion initiative working in the areas of education and economic empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs). The MoU was signed on Friday, June 25, in Karachi, at the offices of NOWPDP by BOP CEO Zafar Masud and NOWPDP Founder & President Amin Hashwani. The signing event was also attended by both organisations' teams as well as the trainees and was made fully accessible with an interpreter for communication. The discerning element of the event was that it took place within three days of the unveiling of the Policy to enhance financial inclusion of PWDs by the State Bank of Pakistan. BOP is already ahead of the pack vis a vis taking diversity and inclusion initiatives in the market, and taken a lead in implementing the recently unveiled policies of SBP on top priority. As per the agreement, BOP and NOWPDP wish to extend cooperation and services to take initiatives for creating HSE compliant, accessible and inclusive work environment by hiring and training Differently Abled Persons (DAPs). PRESS RElEASE

GHUlAM ABBAS

EDERAL Energy Minister Hammad Azhar has said the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will conduct assessment of India’s regime for Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) in the near future, which will be a test case for the task force.

Addressing a news conference here on Saturday, the minister said that the illegal sale of uranium in India was not directly related to FATF, as it was a subject of another international body; however, if the sale proceeds were used for money laundering or terror financing this was under the domain of the global watchdog.

Azhar said that “sailing through FATF smoothly” would be a success story of the Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf government. However, the opposition was worried over it.

He reiterated that Pakistan would fulfill all the requirements imposed by FATF within the next 12 months and advised the opposition to refrain from “hurting the country’s future due to their political interests”.

“The president of FATF, who used to talk about blacklisting Pakistan, is now praising the country for its compliances,” Azhar said. “Similarly the opposition is making irrational statements about energy.”

He opined that the opposition was now looking for an alternative narrative because “the economic in-

dicators are good, we have a good budget, and the industrial production is dynamic”.

However, the minister acknowledged that the country could face a power shortage from June 29 to July 6, as the RLNG terminal would be non-functional during that period. An energy crisis was looming because several factors were emerging at a time of high electricity demand.

He said while the dry-docking of an LNG terminal was necessary, some gas fields were also scheduled for annual maintenance and the water level had dropped in Tarbela dam, reducing power generation there.

“We will meet a large part of the peak demand through load management and by operating other plants,” he said.

Speaking about the dry-docking of an LNG terminal, he said it was a technical issue; an agreement was reached during the PML-N government that the two LNG terminals would go for servicing for two times in 15 years.

One of them has already gone into dry-docking for maintenance and servicing requirements. The international agencies on safety standards have given the deadline of June 30 for dry-docking.

“This is a six-day process and if the international safety standards are not met the dry-docking period could last months in case of any accident,” he said, adding that for two days out of six there would no gas supply from imported LNG.

Tesla to ‘recall’ over 285,000 cars in China due to faulty software

Investment in Roshan Digital Accounts crosses $1.5bn Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Sunday that inflows from the Roshan Digital Account had crossed the $1.5 billion mark. “Good news from SBP. #RoshanDigitalAccount achieves more milestones,” the premier wrote on Twitter. “Inflows crossed $1.5 bn on Friday, with investment in Naya Pakistan Certificates surpassing $1 bn,” he added. The premier noted that, “Accounts & deposits have set new records since the $1 bn event 2 months ago.” Under the RDA initiative, the Pakistanis living abroad are able to operate their accounts without visiting the country and could avail facilities of direct banking, bill payment and other e-commerce facilities. These accounts could also be used for investments in the stock exchange and property within Pakistan. The consumers would also have the option to either open a Pakistan currency or foreign currency account. NEWS DESK

El Salvador bitcoin move opens banks to money laundering, terrorism financing risks: Fitch SAN SALVADOR: El Salvador’s law making bitcoin legal tender means banks face higher risks, including of violating rules against money laundering and terrorism financing, rating agency Fitch said in a report on Friday. The bitcoin move, set to take effect on Sept. 7, “would increase financial institutions’ regulatory, financial and operational risks, including the potential of violating international antimoney laundering and terrorist financing standards,” said Fitch. The possibility of using bitcoin for all obligations, including bank loans, could funnel bitcoin traffic through the Central American country, which “may increase the risks that proceeds from illicit activities pass through the Salvadoran financial system,” Fitch said. On Thursday, Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele said bitcoin use will be optional, meaning anyone receiving a bitcoin payment can chose to automatically convert those into US dollars, legal tender in El Salvador for the last two decades. AGENCIES

“However, there will be enhanced supply for three days and finally on the sixth day the supply will be resumed at the full capacity of 650mmcfd,” he said.

He said that low water outflow from Tarbela dam posed a major challenge, as the electricity generated at the reservoir would decline by 50 per cent as a result. “But we will manage the situation through loadshedding.”

The energy minister, however, tried to dispel the impression that the country was headed for serious energy crises. “We have postponed the maintenance of some gas fields by a few weeks… and one gas field will be online by June 28,” he said.

Responding to the allegation levelled by former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi that the government will use furnace oil to generate the needed volumes of electricity during the dry-docking period of the LNG terminal, the minister said that the PMLN government generated up to 30 per cent of the electricity needed from furnace oil.

At the same time, he blamed the operators of both the LNG terminals in Pakistan and said they should have given the timeline for dry-docking at least one year in advance, so that the authorities could prepare an alternative plan accordingly.

He also presented a list of what he called “debacles” that occ¬urred during the tenures of previous governments, including the flawed IPPs and RLNG contracts and the grey-listing by FATF.

BEIJING AGENCIES

Electric car giant Tesla will “recall” over 285,000 cars from the Chinese market after an investigation found issues with its assisted driving software that could cause road collisions, a government regulator announced late Friday. Tesla would contact affected users to upgrade their vehicle’s software remotely for free, a State

Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR) notice said, adding that it affects some imported and domestically manufactured Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.

“The recall plan was filed with the State Administration of Market Regulation, and it was decided to recall the following vehicles from today,” SAMR said. The order is the latest blow to the American self-driving car pioneer, which has come under growing regulatory

scrutiny in China due to several deadly collisions involving Tesla vehicles in recent months. “Due to issues with the cruise control system… the driver can easily activate the cruise control function by mistake,” the Chinese government agency said in the notice.

“A sudden increase in vehicle speed will occur, which could… in extreme cases, cause a collision, posing safety hazards.”

The carmaker has also been targeted by numerous social media complaints from Chinese users regarding quality and service issues, culminating in a high-profile customer protest at the Shanghai Auto Show in April. The cruise control function, which “matches the speed of your car to that of the surrounding traffic” is a key part of Tesla’s Autopilot assisted driving function, according to the manufacturer’s website.

Tesla’s road in China appeared to be paved with gold after founder Elon Musk was granted rare permission to build a wholly owned factory in Shanghai that has allowed it to accelerate to the head of the pack in China’s huge electric car market.

Govt obtains 63pc more foreign loans in 11MFY21 Pakistan borrowed over $12 billion during the 11 months of the current fiscal year (11MFY21) – an increase of about 63 per cent compared to the same period in FY20.

According to a report by Dawn based on the monthly data for May issued by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, unlike previous year, the government borrowed heavily during FY21 to maintain its improved foreign exchange reserves.

During July-May FY21, the government borrowed $12.13bn compared to $7.44bn in the same period in previous fiscal year, recording an increase of $4.68bn or 62.8pc.

However, about half of the loans were borrowed

as commercial loans which mean the interest would be much higher than the loans received from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank and Islamic Development Bank (IDB).

The data shows that inflow of loans during the month May was around $699.7m. However, the government remained close to its target set in the budget for grants and loans.

The budget shows the inflow of grants for FY21 as $275.8m while the 11MFY21 inflow reached at $231.6m. Similarly, the loans estimate in budget was $11.96bn while it reached at $11.90bn during this period. MONITORING REPORT

SECP imposes Rs4bn fine on B4U Group ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has imposed fines totaling Rs4 billion on B4U Group. According to details, SECP has concluded adjudication proceedings against B4U Group and its sponsors for raising illegal deposits from the public and operating pyramid schemes, in violation of the Companies Act, 2017. The B4U Group comprises 18 companies incorporated under the Act, as well as five unincorporated business setups. All the 18 companies were registered during the last two years. The main sponsor of B4U Group is Saifur-Rehman, along with his immediate family members. SECP, after completing the due process of law, has disqualified the sponsors of B4U Group from becoming a director of any company for a period of five years and has also imposed a penalty of Rs100 million on each of its sponsors. Further, the sponsors shall not be allowed to incorporate any new company under the Act. In addition, SECP has granted sanction for winding up of all 18 companies of B4U Group and imposed a penalty of Rs200 million on each company. SECP is fully committed to safeguarding the interest of the general public against prohibited business practices such as illegal deposit raising, Ponzi and pyramid schemes etc. In addition to initiating enforcement actions, SECP has continuously been issuing necessary press releases, time and again, cautioning the general public not to invest in any such illegal and dubious investment plans, while taking strict enforcement action against companies and sponsors that violate their mandate.

J&J to pay $263m in New York opioid settlements, avoids trial NEW YORK AGENCIES

Johnson & Johnson said on Saturday it will pay $263 million to resolve claims it fueled an opioid epidemic in New York state and two of its largest counties.

The settlements remove the drugmaker from a jury trial scheduled to begin on Tuesday on Long Island, where several big opioid makers and distributors are also defendants.

Johnson & Johnson did not admit liability or wrongdoing in settling with New York state, and with Nassau and Suffolk counties. The $229.9 million state settlement also calls for J&J to stop selling the painkillers nationwide.

“The opioid epidemic has wreaked havoc” across the nation, New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.

“Johnson & Johnson helped fuel this fire.”

She said her focus remains “getting funds into communities devastated by opi-

oids as quickly as possible.”

J&J said the settlements were consistent with its prior agreement to pay $5 billion to settle opioid claims by states, cities, counties and tribal governments nationwide.

The healthcare company and the largest U.S. drug distributors – AmerisourceBergen Corp, Cardinal Health Inc and McKesson Corp – have proposed paying a combined $26 billion to end thousands of opioid lawsuits.

J&J has also been appealing an Okla-

CMYK

homa judge’s 2019 ruling that the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based company pay that state $465 million for its deceptive marketing of opioids.

Tuesday’s opioids trial is one of several scheduled for this year, with others underway in California and West Virginia.

Drugmakers AbbVie Inc and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd and several distributors are among the defendants.

Pharmacy chain Walgreens Boots Alliance

Inc is also a defendant, though it was sued only by the counties.

Walmart Inc, Rite Aid Corp and CVS Health Corp were severed from the trial during jury selection. CVS has settled with Nassau and Suffolk counties. Settlement terms have not been disclosed.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said nearly 500,000 people died from opioid overdoses from 1999 to 2019.

Monday, 28 June, 2021

10 FOREIGN NEWS Sisi makes first Iraq visit by Egyptian leader in decades CAIRO: Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi arrived in Baghdad on Sunday, marking the first visit by an Egyptian head of state to Iraq since Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990. The conflict ruptured diplomatic relations between Iraq and Egypt but these have improved in recent years with many senior officials from both countries exchanging visits.

The United States has been urging Iraq to boost ties with Arab nations to counter Iran's influence in the country and Sisi's visit is part of a summit between Egypt, Jordan and Iraq.

This is their fourth round of talks aimed at strengthening security, economic, trade and investment cooperation. In recent years, Iraq had signed cooperation deals in the energy, health and education sectors with Jordan and Egypt. Jordan's King Abdullah arrived in Baghdad shortly after Sisi and was also received by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and Iraqi President Barham Salih. Kadhimi, Sisi and Abdullah held a summit in Amman last year and were due to hold another in Baghdad in April, but this was delayed after a train crash in Egypt that left dozens dead and wounded. REUTERS

LAHORE

5 dEad, 156 StIll mISSIng In FlorIda buIldIng collapSE aS SEarchErS racE agaInSt tImE SURFSIDE

S

REUTERS

EARCHERS worked early on Sunday to find more than 150 missing residents amid the rubble of a Florida condo building that collapsed three days ago as questions arose about the tower's structural integrity.

The death toll rose to five on Saturday after emergency workers found a victim in their methodical search of the site in Surfside, a shore town near Miami, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said during an evening news briefing.

"Our top priority continues to be search and rescue and saving any lives that we can," Levine Cava said.

Workers also found some human remains; three other victims were identified and their family members notified, she said.

Officials said they harbored hope that some of the 156 people unaccounted for might be alive. Firefighters on Saturday made progress on a smoldering fire and smoke beneath the rubble of the 40-year-old building, allowing rescuers to search with fewer limitations, officials said.

Aided by dogs, infrared scanning and heavy equipment, rescuers hope that people can survive in air pockets that may have formed in the debris. "The biggest thing now is hope," Fire Chief Alan Cominsky said.

"That's what's driving us. It's an extremely difficult situation."

A 2018 report showed that an engineer found evidence of major structural damage beneath the pool deck and "concrete deterioration" in the underground parking garage of the 12-story oceanfront condominium.

The report, released by town officials, was produced for the condominium board in preparation for a major repair project set for this year. It was not immediately clear whether the damage described in the report was connected to the collapse about 1:30 a.m.

(0530 GMT) on Thursday.

Vice mayor Tina Paul called the structural issue described in the document "very alarming" in an email on Saturday morning.

Donna DiMaggio Berger, a lawyer who works with the condo association at Champlain Towers South, said the issues outlined in the 2018 report were typical for older buildings in the area and did not alarm condo board members, all of whom lived in the tower with their families.

She added that the board had taken out a

$12 million line of credit to pay for the repairs and asked owners to pay $80,000 each. Work had started on replacing the roof ahead of hurricane season and the board was gathering bids for the concrete work, but the pandemic slowed the project, she said.

The condominium was also preparing for recertification this year, a safety requirement for buildings older than 40 years in Florida.

Officials said the county would audit all buildings more than 40 years old within the next 30 days to ensure they have been recertified.

Satellite data from the 1990s showed the building was sinking 1 to 3 millimeters per year, while surrounding buildings were stable, according to Florida International University professor Shimon Wdowinski.

Iran refuses to give nuclear site images to IAEA DUBAI REUTERS

The speaker of Iran's parliament said on Sunday Tehran will never hand over images from inside of some Iranian nuclear sites to the U.N. nuclear watchdog as a monitoring agreement with the agency had expired, Iranian state media reported.

"The agreement has expired ... any of the information recorded will never be given to the International Atomic Energy Agency and the data and images will remain in the possession of Iran," said Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf.

The announcement could further complicate talks between Iran and six major powers on reviving a 2015 nuclear deal. Three years ago then U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the pact and reimposed crippling sanctions on Tehran; Iran reacted by violating many of the deal's restrictions on its nuclear programme. A spokesman for parliament's

National Security and Foreign Affairs Committee warned that "Iran will also turn off the IAEA cameras if the United States fails to remove all sanctions", the state-run Tehran Times newspaper's website reported.

The IAEA and Tehran struck the threemonth monitoring agreement in February to cushion the blow of Iran reducing its cooperation with the agency, and it allowed monitoring of some activities that would otherwise

have been axed to continue.

Under that agreement, which on May 24 was extended by a month, data continues to be collected in a black-box-type arrangement, with the IAEA only able to access it at a later date. On Friday, the IAEA demanded an immediate reply from Iran on whether it would extend the monitoring agreement, prompting an Iranian envoy to respond that Tehran was under no obligation to provide an answer.

Iran said on Wednesday the country's Supreme National Security Council would decide whether to renew the monitoring agreement only after it expires.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that any failure by Tehran to extend the monitoring agreement would be a "serious concern" for broader negotiations.

Parties involved in the talks on reviving the deal, which began in April in Vienna, have said there are major issues still to be resolved before the nuclear deal can be reinstated.

French presidential hopefuls seek momentum in regional election run-offs PARIS REUTERS

IPL: 6256

France holds run-offs for regional elections on Sunday that could shift the balance between political heavyweights vying for pole position in next year's presidential race.

Last Sunday's first round proved dire for President Emmanuel Macron, whose party is on course to win none of France's 13 mainland regions, but was also disappointing for far-right leader Marine Le Pen. One surprise factor of these elections is the record abstention rate, which makes the contests particularly hard to predict for pollsters. On Sunday, only 12.66% of voters had turned out to vote by midday, only slightly up from last week.

"I have no intention whatsoever to go and vote today, simply because I've lost faith in our politicians," Parisian JeanJacques told Reuters TV while strolling on one of the River Seine's bridges.

But others were galvanised by news of

the low turnout so far. "I didn't vote last week, but the abstention rate was a bit of a wake-up call, and so I decided to come and vote today instead of staying at home or going for a walk, because it is important," said 38-year old lawyer Masing Coulibaly.

Amid massive abstention, Le Pen's party only came top in one region, Provence in the southeast, belying opinion polls projecting it would come first in six.

Instead, the traditional centre-right conservatives, which had been decimated

by Macron in the 2017 presidential and legislative elections, staged a surprise comeback.

A trio of its top members, all former ministers and currently at the helm of some of France's most populous regions, are running for re-election this Sunday, which they hope will give them a springboard for the 2022 presidential race.

In particular, Xavier Bertrand of the northern Hauts-de-France region around Calais has emerged as the conservatives'

favourite in opinion polls to represent the party in the presidential election.

Macron's aides see the former health minister as a threat who could eat away at the president's centre-right voter base in the first round of the presidential vote in April.

Valerie Pecresse in the greater Paris region and Laurent Wauquiez in the greater Lyon area are the other two conservatives whose fate on Sunday could decide whether they challenge Bertrand in 2022.

Meanwhile, Le Pen's National Rally still hopes to win its first ever region in Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur around Marseille and Nice. Her lieutenant, Thierry Mariani, a former conservative minister, beat the incumbent from the centre-right last Sunday, but by a lower margin than expected.

Victory would give Le Pen momentum and a platform to challenge Macron in 2022, a repeat of the 2017 duel that polls still show would be won by Macron, though with a narrower margin than four years ago.

Monday, 28 June, 2021

SPORTS 11

LAHORE

'CoupLE of positions wE nEEd to foCus on ovER thE nExt two sERiEs’, says Misbah

Ronaldo and Lukaku lock horns in battle of Euro heavyweights PARIS AFP

Cristiano Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku will resume their domestic rivalry on the international stage on Sunday as holders Portugal and in-form Belgium face off in the biggest tie of Euro 2020's last 16. Ronaldo is the Euro's leading scorer after netting five times in the group stage while Lukaku, who is in the form of his life, is lurking behind the Portugal captain with three goals. Juventus forward Ronaldo is also just one goal away from breaking Ali Daei's all-time international goalscoring record of 109, which he equalled with a brace against France in the European champions' final Group F game. The pair lock horns at the Euro after doing battle in the Serie A scoring charts last season, with 36-year-old Ronaldo being crowned 'capocannoniere' after scoring 29 times in a difficult season for Juventus. However Lukaku pipped Ronaldo to the league's player of the season award last campaign despite scoring five fewer goals as he played a key role in Inter Milan winning their first league title in over a decade. His game seems to have moved up a level since he arrived at Inter in 2019 and Jan Vertonghen was full of praise for the 28-year-old's progress on Saturday. "I've known him since he was 16 years old ... the way he has developed from being a strong, quick kid into one of the best strikers in the world is one of the best things I've seen in my career," defender Vertonghen told reporters. Both teams will have their work cut out to reach the July 11 final at Wembley with Italy, who squeezed past Austria on Saturday, and either world champions France or Spain the opponents in the next two rounds if they get beyond the last 16. However Portugal coach Fernando Santos is "firmly convinced" his side will come out on top in the clash in Seville. "We know our opponent is capable and very competent but I'm firmly convinced we're going to be better than they are," he told a video media conference. Netherlands coach Frank de Boer, meanwhile, has his sights set on winning the whole thing as his flamboyant 'Oranje' take on the Czech Republic in at the Puskas Arena in Budapest. The Dutch strolled through Group C, winning all three games in Amsterdam and scoring eight goals in the process, and De Boer was not shy in saying his aim was to make and win the Wembley final.

"Our goal is not only to reach the final but to win it, that's the objective, then the tournament will be judged a success for us," De Boer said ahead of Sunday's clash in Budapest. "You don't become a European champion easily but I think we have the quality to do so." Whoever comes out on top between the Dutch and Czechs will face in the quarters a Demark side who thrashed Wales 4-0 in another exuberant display which increased hopes of a repeat of their triumph in 29 years ago. Kasper Dolberg struck twice to set the Danes on their way before Joakim Maehle and Martin Braithwaite added more goals late on to cap a dominant display -- on the anniversary of their shock winning of Euro 92 - in front of hordes of fans who descended on Amsterdam. Kasper Hjulmand's side became the first to score four goals in successive European Championship games and are riding a wave of emotion after having to deal with the fallout of Christian Eriksen's cardiac arrest during their opening match against Finland.

"We dreamed about this and at the end of the day I think we also believed we could get here," said striker Dolberg.

p

SPORTS DESK

AKISTAN'S head coach Misbah-ul-Haq believes the team is a couple of positions away from their best T20 side, as they begin the final stage of their preparations for this year's T20 World Cup. Pakistan have as good a run-in to the tournament, to be held in the UAE from October, as could be hoped for: eight T20Is in the next couple of months against the two finalists from 2016, as well as the two favourites for the next edition - England and West indies.

Pakistan landed in England a couple of days ago and will begin training from Monday. A sixth summer trip to England since 2016 means they are in very familiar territory as they begin the tour with three ODIs. But it is the three T20Is that follow that will remain the focus of attention.

Pakistan are aflush with top-order T20 batters but it is the more difficult middleorder slots at five and six they have struggled to fill. Since Misbah took over as

HEAD COACH WILL TRIAL SOHAIB MAQSOOD AND AZAM KHAN FOR MIDDLE-ORDER SLOTS IN T20I SIDE coach in September 2019 (and was, for a while, chief selector too) Pakistan have used 14 different players across those two positions and, in Azam Khan and Sohaib Maqsood, will be trialling two more on this tour.

"The PSL made a few things clear," Misbah said. "I think it is that one slot we are trying to fill, at no.5 and no.6, that we've had issues with. We have Azam Khan now and Sohaib Maqsood with us to see if they can, and what combination we can make with them. Overall, the bowling we know we have pretty much our attack.

At the top of the order we have our four pretty much and their replacements. So, we know our side more or less but a couple of positions that we need to focus on over the next two series."

Neither Azam nor Maqsood come

issue-free, though. Azam's form in the second half of the PSL in Abu Dhabi dipped in a struggling Quetta Gladiators side.

Maqsood was central to Multan Sultan's title win and has been Pakistan's form white-ball batter domestically, but has already insisted he wants to bat in the top order. That would mean breaking into a top order that Misbah feels is well-set, with Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan opening, and Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Hafeez to follow.

Azam, however, will attract most of the attention. There have been questions around his fitness and weight almost since he emerged and now, with national selection, murmurs about the merit in picking the son of Moin Khan, coach of the Gladiators.

"We try that whatever players we have

here are fully prepared and that we show confidence in them so they go out there and perform," Misbah said. "Azam no doubt is talented although he is a little out of form recently. But everyone knows that in modern T20 cricket, the power you need at five or six, the strike rate you need, he has the potential for that. So, looking forward to seeing him, we just have to see what combination we want to go with."

Travel requirements being what they are at the moment, Pakistan's selection for this tour was hamstrung by having to be made before the resumption of the PSL. Haider Ali's withdrawal for a bio-bubble breach has allowed Pakistan to consider PSL form and pick Maqsood, but there were other performances that may well have been rewarded had the timing been right, not least Shahnawaz Dahani.

Dahani was the season's leading wicket-taker and was part of the Test team to Zimbabwe earlier, but is not part of the white-ball squad currently, though Misbah did acknowledge that may change in the West Indies.

Djokovic ready to be first among equals at Wimbledon LONDON AFP

Novak Djokovic targets a record-equalling 20th major and sixth Wimbledon title from Monday which will edge him tantalisingly closer to becoming only the third man in history to complete a calendar Grand Slam. The world number one has already won a ninth Australian Open and second French Open this season.

That has put him halfway to emulating Don Budge (1937) and Rod Laver (1962 and 1969) in sweeping all four majors in the same year. It is a feat even his closest rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have never managed. "Everything is possible," said 34-year-old Djokovic after winning the French Open earlier this month when asked if the Golden Slam of all four majors and Olympic gold was a realistic target. Djokovic memorably captured a fifth Wimbledon in 2019, saving two championship

points to defeat Federer in the longest ever final at the All England Club at four hours and 57 minutes. He was deprived of defending his title in 2020 when Wimbledon was cancelled due to the pandemic. Djokovic has won seven of the last 11 Slams as he ramps up his assault on the record of 20 majors held jointly by Federer and Nadal.

The Serb starts his defence on Monday against British world number 250 Jack Draper who was born just six miles (9.5km) from the All England Club.

Nadal, the Wimbledon champion in 2008 and 2010, has already withdrawn from this year's tournament, still scarred by the bruising loss to Djokovic in the French Open semi-finals. Eight-time winner Federer, meanwhile, will be 40 in August and won just one match on grass at Halle in the build-up to Wimbledon.

Federer, who underwent two knee surgeries in 2020, won the last of his eight Wimbledons in 2017 and the most recent of his 20 majors in Australia in 2018.

The Swiss star has lost three finals to Djokovic at the All England Club -- 2014, 2015 and the epic 2019 clash.

"Truthfully, I don't think my goal was to play till, whatever, 39 or 40 or more," said Federer on Saturday.

"It was maybe more like 35 maybe I was thinking, which was already a high number at the time."

Federer, in the opposite half of the draw to Djokovic, begins his campaign on Tuesday against France's Adrian Mannarino against whom he holds a 6-0 head-to-head advantage.

The rest of the current top 10 have endured relatively mediocre Wimbledon records. Only 33-year-old Roberto Bautista Agut, a surprise semi-finalist two years ago, has reached further than the last 16. Daniil Medvedev has made only the third round but was buoyed Saturday by a first grass court title in Mallorca. Dominic Thiem has withdrawn due to a wrist injury. Alexander Zverev had a best last-16 run in 2017 but was a first-round loser two years ago while Andrey Rublev has yet to get past the second round.

Rahul Dravid: Winning series against Sri Lanka the priority SPORTS DESK Rahul Dravid, India's head coach for their limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka, is clear that their main objective is to win the series, and not necessarily just look to help players gain experience and match time, a method he has implemented with great success at the India A and India U-19 levels.

"There are a lot of people in the squad who are pushing for places ahead of the T20 World Cup coming up, but the key goal, and we've had discussions around it, is to win the series," Dravid said on Sunday, ahead of the team's departure to Colombo for three ODIs and three T20Is. "That is the primary objective. Hopefully if people can put in some good performances during the course of us trying to win the series, they will give themselves the best chance of knocking on the doors of the selectors."

Tour objectives aside, Dravid encouraged the younger players to soak in the experience of being part of an Indian team on an overseas tour, and not treat the tour as a life-and-death situation. "Good performances will be great, but a few off days won't mean the end of the world," he said.

"There are a lot of young kids, even if they don't play, it's a great opportunity to be on a trip with the Indian team and interact with seniors like Shikhar (Dhawan, the captain), Bhuvneshwar (Kumar, the vice-captain), Hardik (Pandya)," Dravid said. "There's a lot they can learn from that experience. The young boys coming on this trip, they'll all be keen to do well and set some sort of markers for the selectors.

"Whether they get selected for the T20 World Cup or not, that's a call the selectors will take, but being on a tour like this and playing against an international quality op-

position, if you're able to put a marker and show the ability to do it at this level, the selectors will start to take note. But by no means is it a life and death kind of a situation. It doesn't mean if you don't have a good tour, you won't make it, or if you have a great tour, you'll be an automatic pick. There's a lot that goes into it."

Much of the team's plans, Dravid said, will be finalised after he has a set of chats with the Indian team management that is currently in England for a five-Test series.

As such, the upcoming three T20Is in Sri Lanka will be India's only games in the format ahead of the T20 World Cup in October-November. Prior to that, though, most of the players, will feature in the remainder of IPL 2021 in the UAE. "These are the only games before the T20 World Cup and I am sure the selectors and management have a fair idea by now on the squad they are looking for," Dravid

said. "It's a chance for a few people to push for the one or two spots the management may be looking for, just to give them a few more options over the next few T20s. I've had a little bit of contact with the team management in England, but I didn't want to disturb them during the WTC, but I will touch base over the next couple of weeks on what their plans are."

Redemption or ridicule awaits Southgate in Germany clash LONDON AFP

Twenty-five years on from the penalty miss that cast a shadow over his playing career, England manager Gareth Southgate has a shot at redemption and revenge against Germany.

Euro 2020's blockbuster last 16 clash comes much earlier in the tournament than the Euro 96 semi-final between the pair when Southgate was the only one of 12 players unable to find the net from the spot.

But with a favourable route to the final for the victors and England enjoying home advantage at Wembley on Tuesday and the semi-finals and final should they get there, the pressure is on Southgate to deliver.

"I hope we can do it for him as well so he can get his own revenge," said England midfielder Declan Rice.

Southgate himself has tried to get his

THREE LIONS ENJOYING HOME ADVANTAGE AT WEMBLEY ON TUESDAY AGAINST THE GERMANS PUTS THE PRESSURE IS ON COACH TO DELIVER England team to look forward not back, especially given the Three Lions' record against Germany in major tournaments.

Since lifting the World Cup in 1966, England have never won a knockout game against the four-time world champions, losing at the 1970, 1990 and 2010 World Cups on top of the pain of Euro 96.

"There's no point fearing the past," Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford said this week. "You can't go back and change it. What we can change is the result of the next game."

Southgate already has so much credit in the bank with his employers that Football Association chief executive Mark Bulling-

ham told reporters on Friday he wants to extend his contract, which runs until after the 2022 World Cup, regardless of Tuesday's result.

An unexpected run to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and Southgate's impressive leadership on a series of off the field matters has earned the FA's trust, but some of the public remain unconvinced.

Despite topping Group D with seven points from a possible nine, a return of just two goals from three games has not impressed the England fans on their return to Wembley.

A 0-0 draw with Scotland was met with a chorus of boos, while social media has

been littered with criticism of Southgate for being too conservative with such an array of attacking talent.

The use of two holding midfielders in Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips and the manager's faith in Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling means there has only been two places available for Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Mason Mount and Bukayo Saka to fight for.

Sancho's limited involvement of just six minutes as a late substitute against the Czech Republic has baffled German observers, who have seen him develop into a player United are set to spend £85 million ($118 million) on during his four years in the Bundesliga

with Borussia Dortmund.

"We just have so many good attacking players," Southgate said in defence of Sancho's lack of minutes.

But that has so far not been borne out at a tournament England arrived at with far higher expectations than in Russia three years ago.

Southgate has reportedly been influenced by the manner in which Portugal won Euro 2016 and France lifted the World Cup three years ago where a solid defence built the foundation for the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and KylianMbappe to win games further forward.

Rarely have England ever been so confident ahead of a meeting against Germany.

Joachim Loew's men were six minutes away from exiting at the group stage for a second straight tournament before Leon Goretzka's late strike snatched a 2-2 draw against Hungary.

Monday, 28 June, 2021

PRayeR timings

NEWS

BRI CooPeRaTIoN TeRmed CRuCIal foR PosT-CovId eCoNomIC ReCoveRy ISLAMABAD Xinhua

T

HE Belt and Road Initiative is crucial for global economic recovery in the postpandemic era and building a community with a shared future for mankind by following a path of cooperation, unity and common development, said a political economist.

“Enhanced constructive engagements based on the principle of win-win cooperation is the need of the hour to overcome the challenges posed by the still raging pandemic, and ensure sustainable global economic recovery,” Shakeel Ahmad Ramay, director of the China Study Center at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, an Islamabad-based think-tank, told Xinhua in an interview.

He said that China is strongly committed to implementing the BRI for the common good, which is evident from the recently held high-level conference on the Belt and Road cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

“It (conference) shows the strong commitment of China to global cooperation and sustainable recovery and development […] China has assured its support to BRI countries. China is willing to provide market opportunities, investment opportunities and growth opportunities for global recovery,” the expert said.

Terming the BRI a proactive constructive economic cooperation plan, Ramay said that despite the global economic disruptions and worldwide lockdowns, China did not pause the initiative and

continue to pour investments into various countries, especially the least developed countries.

China kept on investing in BRI programs when the world was going through a serious economic fallout due to Covid-19, giving the much-needed breathing space to a number of countries, including Pakistan, he said. He said the projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, an important pilot project of the BRI, progressed steadily during the Covid-19 pandemic, adding that the projects also helped generate employments and were a great relief in the hardest of times.

During the pandemic, Pakistan and China have enhanced cooperation in the field of agriculture, science and technology and energy. Also, work on special economic zones under CPEC is in full swing to promote industrialisation in Pakistan and boost the national economy, he said.

The economist said that the BRI has been helping to bridge the worldwide infrastructure investment gap. “The world is facing severe challenges to meet the investment for infrastructure development which can hinder economic growth worldwide […] in the context, the BRI investments are helping countries to bridge that gap.”

Ramay said that China has been trying to create new economic opportunities globally, adding that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement signed among its 15 participating countries including China, will provide solid economic growth to the world.

The expert believes that global economic recovery is not possible with the mentality of unilat-

eralism or the “ourselves first” approach as being adopted by some developed countries.

“Rich countries should assist poor countries in containing the pandemic by timely providing vaccine, pooling the resources and working on deeper integration, which will also be ultimately favourable for the developed world through the creation of a market for their products,” Ramay said.

He said that Covid-19 vaccines should be declared as a global public good to fight against the common enemy, and China has been working determinedly in this direction.

“China has donated vaccines to many countries, and it is supplying vaccines at the concessional rates as it is the best instrument against the deadly virus […] vaccinated people can come back to their jobs and play their part in economic prosperity,” he said.

However, Ramay said that despite all the efforts, a few so-called rich Western countries are creating hurdles for China out of their hegemonic thinking and zero-sum Cold-War mentality.

“Instead of concentrating on the most pressing challenges like Covid-19 and world economy, they are bent to baseless criticism and focusing on how to contain China. These countries even dubbed the Chinese vaccine assistance to needy countries as vaccine diplomacy,” he said.

Yet, ignoring all the negative propaganda, China is making every effort to turn the ongoing challenges into opportunities for everyone to forge a prosperous world on sustainable development principles, he added.

FAJR SUNRISE

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India probes suspected use of drones in blast at Jammu air base: officials SRINAGAR ReuteRs

India is investigating the suspected use of drones by freedom fighters after two explosions rocked an Indian Air Force Station in the northern region of occupied Jammu, two senior security officials said on Sunday. The explosions in the early hours of Sunday injured two people and caused minor damage to a building, the officials said. They added that the blasts have caused concern in security circles as they could mark the first time that drones have been used in an attack in India. New Delhi has struggled for decades to dampen pro-freedom sentiments in the occupied Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir, which has a Muslim majority population, blaming Pakistan for supporting freedom fighters there. Islamabad denies involvement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi told leaders from Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday that elections would be held there once constituencies in the region have been reconfigured following the revocation two years ago of the region’s semi-autonomous statehood. A top government official in New Delhi said Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is expected to review the security situation and that the latest blasts are being probed. “Investigations are in progress along with civil agencies,” the Indian Air Force tweeted on Sunday, adding one blast caused minor damage to the roof of a building at the station, while the other exploded in an open area. “There was no damage to any equipment,” it said. Separately, a senior security officer told Reuters that the suspected use of drones in the attack, if established, would present a major challenge for security forces in the area. Kashmir is claimed in full by both India and Pakistan, although each control only parts of it. The region has been a flashpoint since the two nations gained independence from British rule in 1947. Pakistan accuses India of rights violations in Kashmir.

India says Pakistan supports freedom movements in the part of the region that it controls and it has previously accused Pakistan of using drones to supply arms to fighters in Kashmir. Both nations deny the accusations.

New Zealand likely to tour Pakistan just before T20 World Cup

WELLINGTON news desk

ISLAMABAD: An eye-catching view of the federal capital. inP

UAE ban on entry from India unchanged, aviation body says DUBAI ReuteRs

A United Arab Emirates ban on entry from India, South Africa and Nigeria remains in place, the federal aviation authority said on Sunday, after Dubai had announced it would ease entry restrictions from those countries.

Dubai, a business and tourism hub, is the most populous of the UAE’s seven emirates. Throughout the pandemic, the UAE’s seven emirates have set some of their own Covid-19 policies.

In a notice to airmen on Sunday, the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority referenced a June 21 GCAA document stating entry from 13 countries, including Pakistan, was banned due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Dubai had said on June 19 that an entry ban on those who in the past 14 days had visited India, Nigeria and South Africa would ease from June 23.

Under the changes, the entry would be permitted to UAE residents in India who were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, anyone in South Africa who was fully vacci-

nated and those in Nigeria who had tested negative for coronavirus in the past 48 hours.

A GCAA representative on Sunday said those travelling from India were still banned from entering the UAE but deferred further comment to the Dubai government. Dubai’s media office did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Dubai’s Emirates airline said on Twitter flights from India were available from July 7 but cautioned that could change.

“We’re waiting for the exact

travel protocols and guidelines before we can resume.” Indians represent one of the UAE’s largest residential communities and are the biggest source market for tourists.

Dubai reopened its borders to foreign visitors July, while Abu Dhabi requires arrivals from most countries to quarantine.

A national ban on entry from India began in April as India faced a surge in coronavirus infections.

Certain individuals, such as UAE citizens and diplomats, have been exempted from entry bans.

New Zealand are likely to tour Pakistan after 18 years for a limitedovers series just before the T20 World Cup. The last time Blackcaps toured Pakistan was in 2003, where they were white-washed in the five-match ODI series. The NZC and the PCB are in talks regarding the bilateral series, David White, chief executive of the board confirmed. “Our intention is to tour Pakistan, and we’re working through that with [the PCB], and Government agencies. All going well, ensuring that we satisfy all the security arrangements which I’m confident we will do, we will be touring Pakistan,” White was quoted as saying in stuff.co.nz. Meanwhile, it is going to be a packed schedule for the Kiwis in the next 12 months. After the T20 World Cup, they are set to play in nine WTC matches as well. Also, some players are also set to take part in the second leg of IPL 2021 too.

“There’s a lot of moving parts right now, but ideally we would allow our guys to play in the IPL,” White said. On the other hand, after India’s loss in the WTC final, former Australia spinner Brad Hogg said, “A wonderful performance from New Zealand. India had their chances at the back end of the Test match to stay in it and win it.

(Cheteshwar) Pujara dropping (Ross) Taylor with 55 runs still needed at that stage proved extremely costly. It was the final day of a final.”

“There was pressure. You had (Henry) Nicholls, Watling was injured.

Anything could have happened with the pressure around there.

Taylor gone, (Kane) Williamson might have played a rash shot as well, not having that experience up at the other end,” he further said.

Girls from Lyari blaze trail into football KARACHI anadolu agency

Straddling the edge of the Arabian Sea, Lyari, a small shantytown south of Karachi, has long been a poster child for gang wars and drug trafficking.

However, it is also known as “mini Brazil” among soccer fans for the talented male football players that this run-down locality has produced over the decades.

Now, young girls are making their way into the world of football, representing national and local teams.

As the sun started to wane, a group of around 20 young girls, some of them with sporting headscarves, entered the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation football stadium in the heart of Lyari and surrounded by tall buildings, old and new.

Attired in loose shirts and long shorts, the girls stepped out into the field for practice as their coach blew the whistle.

“Football runs in our blood. Not only me, but all my teammates aim to represent Pakistan’s national squad in years to come,” Shah Bibi, 17, of Lyari United Football Club, one of the two major women’s soccer

clubs in Lyari, told Anadolu Agency.

Bibi, whose favourite player is Argentina’s Lionel Messi, was one of the dozens of Lyari girls who took part in the National Women Championship held at her home ground in April.

Some 20 teams with 350 players from all over the country, including two from Lyari, participated in the tournament.

Hailing from a conservative Baloch family, Bibi faced resistance, mainly from her brothers, when she started playing football two years ago after being inspired by her male cousins.

“It was intervention and encouragement from my coach and family friends that kept me going. My recent performance at the National (Women) Championship not only made me a hero in my locality but also put an end to my brothers’ opposition,” Bibi said, smiling.

Iqra Mehar Bux, a 15-year-old goalie for the same club, aspires to be the national squad goalkeeper but also wants to play in an international football league.

“Wearing Pakistan’s colours is my dream. But, to earn money and fame, you have to join an international league,” Bux, a

fan of Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah, said as she tried to stop a kick from a teammate.

“We practice for at least two hours every day. No break, except for Eids or other important holidays,” she maintained.

Aqsa Dawood, who represents Bibi and Bux’s main rivals in the Jaffa Football Club, has recently participated in the Asian Football Confederation qualifying round.

Lyari is home to 1.5 million people of different communities and ethnicities, the majority of whom are Baloch and Katchis, the city’s oldest inhabitants.

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