Epaper – June 3 LHR 2021

Thursday, 3 June, 2021 I 22 Shawwal, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 333 I 12 Pages I Lahore Edition

Universities allowed to open from monday: minister g

ISLAMABAD

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staff report

EDERAL Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood on Wednesday said that universities were allowed to resume in-person classes from Monday.

The minister said this in a tweet in response to a student’s question.

Earlier, the minister announced board exams for students in the 9th and 10th standard would be held only for elective subjects and mathematics while tests for students in intermediate and A-Levels would be held for elective

SHAFQAT SAyS JuLy 10 BOARD ExAMS ONLy FOR ELECTIvES

subjects only.

“This decision is taken as students have different streams and directions so they will sit in exams related to their particular subject of interest,” Shafqat said.

The minister announced the decision at a press conference in Islamabad following a meeting of the Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference.

FOURTH BATCH OF VACCINE ARRIVES FROM CHINA: The fourth batch of Covid-19 vaccines donated by Beijing arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday, the Chinese mission said.

The batch of Sinopharm vaccines will facilitate Pakistan’s fight against the pandemic, the embassy told xinhua.

On Tuesday, while attending the launching ceremony of the locally-produced CanSino vaccine, Chinese Ambassador Nong Rong said since the outbreak in February last year, the two

Tajikistan to purchase weapons from Pakistan ISLAMABAD staff report

Prime Minister Imran Khan and Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon on Wednesday stressed the need to improve defence ties between the two countries, as the visiting delegation signed memorandums of understanding for the purchase of Pakistanmanufactured weapons.

The two governments entered into 12 accords for cooperation in various fields including trade, anti-corruption, infrastructure, education and culture, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

Imran and Rahmon witnessed the signing ceremony as the representatives from the two sides signed the agreements.

The two leaders also signed a joint declaration encompassing details of discussions taken during Rahmon’s visit.

During the visit, Rahmon also expressed his government’s interest to access the ports of Gwadar and Karachi as the “shortest trade route” to help the

landlocked Central Asian state connect with the region.

For this purpose, he supported the establishment of a trade corridor, on the lines of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, passing through Pakistan.

The two leaders — who prior to the joint press conference held wide-ranging discussions on diverse areas of cooperation — expressed willingness to further strengthen the bilateral ties.

Rahmon stressed “fullfledged cooperation” between

Dushanbe and Islamabad to manage energy and water resources and also tapping the potential of the CASA-1000 power project — a regional electricity generation project linking Central Asia and South Asia.

The president termed Pakistan a “reliable and trustworthy partner” of Tajikistan at the international stage, where the two countries had a similarity of agenda to pursue mutually beneficial cooperation.

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Govt withdraws petition against LHC order allowing Shehbaz to travel abroad ISLAMABAD staff report

The government has withdrawn its appeal against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President and National Assembly Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif after he agreed not to pursue a contempt of court case against the former.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard an appeal against the Lahore High Court decision concerning letting Shehbaz travel abroad and removing his name from the blacklist during the ruling.

Shehbaz had petitioned the high court on May 7, saying he is a cancer survivor who now needs treatment abroad. The court in the evening ruled that he may travel to London between May 8 and July 3.

The LHC registrar presented

the record in the apex court in this regard. Justice Ijazul Hassan inquired whether Shehbaz’s petition was fixed by the LHC according to the rules or it was heard in a special manner.

At this, the registrar responded that the petition was fixed for hearing objection. Then it was decided that the decision on objection would also be taken along with the case.

The registrar said that his office had put an objection on the petition on Friday at 9:30 am and the petition was heard at 11:30 am the same day.

The verdict drew criticism from the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan, which said it will explore legal options to stop Shehbaz from leaving. Angered, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry described the ruling as a “joke”

that he said could help Shehbaz “escape the law as his brother did” in 2019.

However, a day after the LHC verdict, the Federal Investigation Authority “placed” Shehbaz on “another list”, keeping him from leaving the country, party’s central spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said.

He was scheduled to leave for Doha on a Qatar Airways flight from the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore in the wee hours of May 8. After spending ten days in mandatory isolation in the Qatar capital, he had planned to jet off to London.

However, when Shehbaz arrived at the airport to board the flight, FIA officials present there told him he could not catch the flight because his name was placed on a “person-not-in-list”, Aurangzeb said.

governments, armies and peoples helped each other by all means, further strengthening the ironclad friendship between the two countries.

“We are proud that Pakistan is the first country to receive the vaccine gifted by the Chinese government and military,” he said.

China, he said, will deepen its cooperation with Pakistan in fighting against Covid-19 and provide all possible support and assistance to Pakistan until the latter fully overcomes the pandemic.

Earlier in the year, Beijing has aided three batches of vaccines to Pakistan, and its military also donated two batches of vaccines to its Pakistan counterpart.

In March, the government kicked off a nationwide vaccination campaign after receiving a first batch of China-donated vaccines. It has since been pushing forward the vaccination drive to consolidate the momentum in control-

ling the third peak in the country.

The National Command and Operation Center said on Wednesday that the country has administered a total of 7,648,481 Covid-19 vaccine doses, and the vaccination for people aged 18-29 is expected to start from Thursday.

NEW CASES: Meanwhile, the nation has been witnessing a declining trend of infections of Covid-19 as it reported 1,843 new confirmed cases on Tuesday with a positivity rate of 3.91 percent, the NCOC said.

The data showed that Tuesday is the ninth consecutive day when the country witnessed less than 5 percent of the test positivity rate.

According to the NCOC, the number of total cases reached 924,667, including 848,685 recoveries and 55,052 active cases who are under treatment across the country.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 03

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Thursday, 3 June, 2021

LAHORE

NEWS

PML-N wiLL tELL govt ‘wHAt StEPS to tAkE’ to iMPRovE EcoNoMy, SAyS MiftAH

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AKISTAN Muslim LeagueNawaz leader and former finance minister Miftah Ismail has said the the incumbent government’s current economic policy would harm the people, instead insisting that the ruling party should ask the International Monetary Fund to change its programme and that the PML-N would “help them and tell them what steps to take”.

“This anti-people budget cannot [pass].

Is there any room left to kill poor people further? Is there more room for inflation? If not, come to your senses,” he said during a presser in Islamabad.

He claimed that Prime Minister Imran Khan had already “lost credibility and people were tired”, adding that some Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf parliamentarians

had also developed differences with the premier due to his policies.

“We (opposition) do not have a majority but Imran Khan’s people will not vote for him either now because there is no strength left in his ticket.”

He lambasted the ruling party for the increase in the Sensitive Price Indicator based monthly inflation, adding that the PTI had brought Pakistan to a “dangerous turn”.

He explained that the SPI is calculated based on the price of 51 essential items used by people of the middle and lower class. He further stated that the reports from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics indicate that for even the smallest consumer who uses less than 50 units of electricity, the price has increased by 65 percent. “ For Pakistan as a whole, electricity bills for each Pakistani have risen by 21 percent on average,” he added. Ismail maintained

Hostage policemen recovered in Rajanpur RaJaNpUR Staff RePoRt

Punjab police on Wednesday conducted an operation against the notorious Chotu gang and recovered two policemen taken hostage some days ago from their possession in Rojhan tehsil of Rajanpur district. The gang had abducted the constables from the Katcha area of Rajanpur some days ago. The cops, a report said, were visiting a tea stall at night near Jeevan Morr police station some days back. According to Dera Ghazi Khan Regional Police Officer Faisal Rana, the police carried out an operation and recovered their abducted colleagues. “We have also arrested 11 suspects including the mastermind of the abduction bid, bandits, and others during a successful operation in Rojhan,” Rana said. The police have also denied reports relating to negotiations being held with the dacoits to secure the release of the policemen. “Both the cops were recovered in an operation against dacoits,” a police spokesperson said, adding a comprehensive and effective operational strategy was devised to recover those abducted. He further said that both the policemen remained unharmed during the operation. Operation against bandits in riverbed locations of both Punjab and Sindh have been launched to purge these towns of crime bosses and militant elements. Key members of the Chotu militant gang were arrested during a joint military and police operation in April 2016. During the attack, gang members, including ringleader Ghulam Rasool Chotu, had surrendered to the state. In March 2019, an anti-terrorism court sentenced Chotu and his 19 accomplices to death on 18 counts and slapped an Rs6.2m fine on them under sections of the Pakistan Penal Code, the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 and the Explosive Substance Act, 1908. Native town of Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, 52 percent territory of Dera Ghazi Khan division consists of many tribes where the policing has never been allowed by influential tribal chiefs.

Zulfi Bukhari returns from UAE ISLaMaBaD INP

Former adviser to prime minister Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari said on Wednesday that he offered himself for inquiry into the Rawalpindi Ring Road scandal.

Talking to reporters at Islamabad Airport soon after returning from the United Arab Emirates, Bukhari said he would appear before any inquiry team if summoned to prove his innocence. “Although Prime Minister Imran Khan had advised me not to resign, I decided otherwise to clear my name,” he said, expressing hope that soon truth would be separated from falsehood and his political opponents would be disappointed.

Bukhari said previously too he had proven his innocence and would succeed this time as well. He had flown abroad on May 28 to attend what he said was an urgent matter. After being named in the scam, Bukhari on May 17 had resigned to clear his name. He announced his resignation on Twitter saying: “My Prime Minister has always said that if a person has been named rightly or wrongly in any inquiry, he should cease to hold any public office till his name has been cleared of charges.” He said: “Owing to the allegations in ongoing Ring Road inquiry, I want to set this example”. He also tweeted that by resigning from his position until his name was cleared up of any allegations and the obnoxious lies. Later, it was reported that Bukhari did not resign from his post on his own but was forced by the prime minister to tender the resignation. After the inside story of the saga came to the surface, Imran had summoned Bukhari for an explanation but he failed to do so.

that the overall 40 percent increase in the price of electricity had “no basis”.

“The SPI for April increased 21 percent year-on-year (YoY). Some PTI people made excuses and said it would be better in May. Now, figures for May show that [SPI] has increased 17pc YoY. It means inflation in April increased 21 percent compared to last year and inflation in May increased 17 percent compared to last year for those items that are used by poor people and middle classes.”

The PML-N leader said there was “no example” of the difficulties that Prime Minister Imran’s government had put the middle-class and poor people through.

“SPI food inflation has not gone below 10 percent in any month during the last two years. From February 2021, SPI did not increase by less than 13 percent in any week and since March, SPI did not increase by less than 15 percent in any week. When 17

percent YoY inflation is happening, what will happen to the poor?” he questioned.

“The inflation in Pakistan today is because of Imran Khan’s power to increase inflation, raise the prices of gas, petrol and because of the minting of rupees,” he alleged, further claiming that PTI’s assertions of increased income for people did not account for inflation.

Once inflation is taken into consideration, the only people who enjoy truly increased incomes are members of the PM’s cabinet, he asserted. “Zulfi Bukari’s income has increased. He takes private jets of companies that the government has contracts with and flies to Dubai.”

“An injection of Rs1.5 trillion was done only to protect hot money so Morgan Stanley (bank) could get more money,” he said, claiming that Prime Minister Imran had “not done accountability, only oppression and

SC serves notice on Sindh in Pearl murder ISLaMaBaD Staff RePoRt

The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Sindh government regarding the lack of medical and other facilities being provided to the prime suspect in the 2002 murder of slain American reporter Daniel Pearl. The notice was issued following the complaint by three of the four accused in the case who said the provincial government had not been providing the facilities to them.

During the hearing, Mahmood A. Sheikh, the counsel for the accused said his clients penned a letter to him complaining about the lack of facilities. At this, Justice Umer Ata Bandial announced to issue a notice to the Sindh government.

“Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh is not allowed to move freely in the apartment,” the counsel said, adding that, “He is allowed to meet only his son and wife, and not his mother-in-law, uncle and aunt.”

The counsel said that his clients were locked in rooms during the night.

Responding to the complaints, Punjab Additional Advocate General Faisal Chaudhry assured the court that there will be no restriction on the movement of Sheikh in the apartment or on meeting his relatives.

Sheikh (no relation with the counsel) was shifted to Lahore from Karachi for security reasons in March after

the Supreme Court ordered his release, while also dismissing an appeal against his acquittal by Pearl’s family. Chaudhry further clarified that the accused are not locked in their rooms, rather the apartment is locked at night. The bench adjourned the hearing of the case for an indefinite period.

Pearl, 38, was abducted on January 23, 2002, in Karachi and beheaded the next month, reportedly by AlQaeda. Omar Sheikh had been convicted of helping lure Pearl to a meeting in Karachi in which he was kidnapped.

Prior to his kidnapping, the journalist had been investigating the link between reportedly Pakistan-based militants and Richard Reid, the notorious “Shoe Bomber” who attempted to blow up a flight from Paris to Miami with explosives hidden in his shoes.

In July 2002, following the hearings, an antiterrorism court in Hyderabad had sentenced to death Omar Sheikh and life term to other co-accused.

However, all four convicts had moved the Sindh High Court in October challenging their convictions.

In his autobiography, In the Line of Fire: A Memoir, former president Pervaiz Musharraf had claimed that Sheikh, a British national and a student at the London School of Economics (reports suggest he did not graduate), was hired by MI6 to engage in “jihadi operations”, adding that “at some point, he probably became a rogue or a double agent”.

Govt intends to put economic burden on low-income class: Bilawal LaHoRe INP

Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Wednesday said that the low-income class is Prime Minister Imran Khan’s target in the forthcoming budget.

“The PTI government intends to put the economic burden on the low-income segments,” he said in a statement and added that his party will defend the public against the government’s propaganda to crush them economically in the budget.

“The inflation rate has spiked by 20 percent in the country. If the salaried class is further entangled in taxes, it will be the biggest injustice against them,” he added.

“Imran Khan’s scheme to collect taxes from the poor proves his hostility towards the public,” said Bilawal.

The PPP chairman further said that the Centre replaced the finance secretary a few days before the budget in order to present its economic failures as successes.

“Imran can receive appreciation from his fans by manipulating the statistics regarding the economic progress but the public will not be fooled by these tactics,” said Bilawal, adding that the public will never forgive the government for committing economic crimes one after other by presenting the most failed budgets of the history.

victimisation”.

If the prime minister wanted to pursue accountability, there were a lot of projects from the Rawalpindi Ring Road scam to the sugar commission’s inquiry report, he said.

Regarding the PTI’s claims of increase in large scale manufacturing, he contended that the government’s claims of highest export in March were “incorrect”, adding that imports were also the highest in March.

“They say sales of cars have increased a lot from last year … 151,000 cars were sold in 10 months of this year. In 2018, when the PML-N was in power, 215,000 cars were sold in 10 months. So they’re still at 30 percent less than us but they are [doing] better than last year.” The former finance minister maintained that the ruling party would face great difficulty in reaching “where we [PML-N] left exports in 2018 or Rs100-150 million above [that level]”.

Miftah said that the debts and budget deficit in the PTI government’s tenure had “no precedent”. “They have increased debt

by Rs1.3 trillion. If after that, they have increased reserves by Rs200 billion then what [big thing] have they done?

“If for four years, every Pakistani gets electricity, gas, flour and sugar for free, it will not take as much money as the debt accrued by Imran Khan in three years.

Sindh’s matric, intermediate exams to be held in July, announces minister Staff RepoRt The matric and intermediate examinations in Sindh will be held in July, wherein the final dates for the exams will be announced within the next two days, Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani said on Wednesday. Addressing a press conference at the Bilawal House Media Cell in Karachi, Ghani said that he had already decided to conduct annual exams for matriculation and intermediate classes in Sindh while other provinces were yet to take the decision. All decisions were taken after consultation with the Sindh Education and Literacy Department’s steering committee, experts, and all stakeholders of the education sector, he informed.

The minister further said that thousands of candidates had applied for the recruitment of 37,000 vacant positions of teachers. Given the present coronavirus situation, the Institute of Business Administration Sukkur was unable to conduct the test through which aspirants would have been appointed. A day earlier, the Sukkur bench of Sindh High Court had ordered the Shah Abdul Latif University to take the law college tests in a phased manner. “The university should arrange exams twice or three times in a year to complete the degree programme within five years,” the bench ruled.

Earlier this week, parents demanded the concerned authorities to conduct pre-board examinations to prepare the students for the final board assessments.

The parents, worried about the future of their children whose admissions in medical and engineering institutes depend on their marks in intermediate and A-Levels, called on the authorities to hold pre-board tests which serve chiefly as practice for the final assessments conducted by the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education. The parents are concerned about how their college-going children will perform in the intended board exams while they have not gone through proper testing and assessment as such in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. “Who will help them understand the nature of questions and the way to respond to those questions,” the parents asked, while terming it important that the students should go through at least one week of practice exams in their colleges. All the stakeholders, especially parents, are wonderstruck over the question of examinations without any prior preparation. The students have suffered an unprecedented academic loss due to the uncertain situation amid the pandemic.

Chinese envoy, railways minister upbeat about early launch of ML-I project ISLaMaBaD MIaN abRaR

China on Wednesday hinted at an early launch of the Main Line-I project of Pakistan Railways – the biggest ever infrastructure project of the country’s history with an estimated cost of around $6.8 billion.

Chinese Ambassador Nong Rong called on Minister for Railways Azam Swati and discussed with him the progress made on the ML-I project. The ambassador said that ML-I project would take the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to new heights and would showcase the depth of the deep-rooted bond between the two countries.

The project aims at reconstruction of the Peshawar-Karachi Railway track and enabling it to carry out trains to the speed limit of around 120 kilometers per hour. The project would be completed in three phases and would reduce Peshawar-Karachi

SOURCES SAY SOME ISSUES NEED TO BE RESOLVED FOR PROJECT FINANCING traveling time significantly.

Once completed, the project would largely help the revival of freight trains which would later also help use the freight trains for communication of goods from Xinjiang to Gwadar Port.

According to the sources familiar with details of the meeting, significant progress has been made regarding ML-I as the two leaders discussed at length the issues related to the project. However, a source told Pakistan Today that while there are still some issues regarding the loan for the project, it is expected that the project will soon be formally launched after the approval of a loan from the Chinese banks.

The railway minister thanked the Chinese

ambassador for his keen interest in the ML-I project.

The minister appreciated the services rendered

by Ambassador Rong and agreed to launch the project on ML-1 at the earliest to further strengthen Pakistan-China friendship.

On the occasion, the Chinese ambassador said that ML-I would be the biggest project in the history of Pakistan and it would further strengthen PakistanChina friendship. The ML-I project is of utmost importance to Pakistan Railways and the national economy and the Chinese partnership will change the map of railways in Pakistan, he added.

Swati said that Pakistan is grateful to the Chinese government for providing all possible assistance to Pakistan for this project.

Thursday, 3 June, 2021

LAHORE

EcP SEEkS MoRE tiME to fiNALiSE EvMS witH PoLiticAL PARtiES

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HE Election Commission of Pakistan said on Wednesday that it would need more time to complete all works on the electronic voting machines as it aims to take political parties into confidence regarding the matter.

A meeting between the body and the Ministry of Science and Technology was held today, where the latter was scheduled to display a prototype of the electronic voting machine, read a statement by the electoral body.

The body added that the final works on the machine would conclude by the third week of July, and after that, it would be handed over to the ECP. The ECP told the ministry that it appreciates its help, but it would also take relevant stakeholders — the people

and political parties — on board before it transitions towards electronic voting.

In a separate meeting, the secretary and officials of the science ministry and representatives from a Spanish consultancy firm gave a briefing to ECP officials on NADRA’s internet voting system.

The meeting compared NADRA’s internet voting system to France, Estonia, and Mexico. The meeting was informed that France had stopped using the i-voting system, while Estonia and Mexico were still using it.

The consultancy firm informed ECP officials that NADRA’s system was not up to the mark and recommended technological changes to it.

Later, the chief election commissioner summoned a meeting next week to deliberate over the detailed report provided to the ECP by the Spanish consultancy firm.

It is pertinent to mention here that Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain on last Thursday had said that the government would provide EVMs to Punjab Bar Council for its upcoming elections.

Talking to a delegation of PBC along with Adviser to Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan and Senator Barrister Ali Zafar, Fawad said that the council would be briefed about electronic voting process.

The PBC delegation had requested for the biometric voting facility for its elections. Fawad said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government is well aware of the lawyers’ problems and resolving their issues is its top priority.

He said that a proposal is under consideration to provide approximately Rs1 million loan to young lawyers under

Tajikistan to purchase weapons from Pakistan CoNtINUeD fRoM page 01 He mentioned that his talks with the prime minister focused on inter-governmental cooperation in fields of economy, parliaments, energy, agriculture, healthcare and the Covid-19 situation. Prime Minister Imran mentioned the discussions held with President Rahmon in the domains of trade, defence, climate change and common challenges including the post-US withdrawal situation in Afghanistan. Imran expressed confidence that the agreements and MoUs signed would lead to a stronger relationship between the two countries.

He said in the realm of “common challenge” faced by the two countries, they agreed that peace in war-torn Afghanistan was a priority for the two governments.

“If the US troops withdrawal from Afghanistan similar to what the Soviet Union did in 1989, we both

are concerned about the security to our trade and connectivity,” the prime minister said. He said the governments in their delegation-level talks held unanimity of views that a consensual political government in Kabul was vital for durable peace of the region. Rahmon said in the rapidly changing global situation, “Tajikistan and Pakistan needed strong cooperation in anti-terrorism, drug trafficking and organised crimes”. Peace in Afghanistan, he said, was of “dire importance” for the immediate neighbours such as Tajikistan and Pakistan.

Both the leaders also expressed concern over the rising trend of Islamophobia in the world and called for joint action by Muslim countries and bodies including the Organisation of Islamic Countries. Imran also lauded Tajikistan for declaring 2025 as the “Year of Preservation of Glaciers”, saying: “Pakistan will fully

Kamyab Jawan Programme. The government is taking steps to establish housing colonies for lawyers while a proposal to provide health cards to lawyers is also under consideration.

He urged the legal community to play a leading role on national issues.

The members of Punjab Bar Council apprised the minister about their problems and Fawad assured them of cooperation.

PTI MPs last month urged opposition parties to set aside political differences and sit with the government for early installation of electronic voting machines to replace the paper ballots and increase the efficiency of the elections and ensure their transparency.

Prime Minister Imran Khan is determined and making all-out efforts to bring transparency in the electoral process, parliamentarians said while speaking to Pakistan Television.

back the initiative as it faced fast melting of its glaciers — the main resource of clean water.”

DETERMINED TO ENHANCE BILATERAL TIES WITH DUSHANBE: Earlier, during a meeting with Rahmon, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Islamabad is determined to enhance bilateral cooperation with Dushanbe in various fields, including education, housing, infrastructure development, technology and energy. He told the president that the two countries possessed the potential to expand bilateral cooperation. Qureshi said it is welcoming that the leadership of both the countries has been endeavouring to further strengthen the relationship.

He said timely completion of important projects, including CASA-1000, will help establish an energy corridor between south and central Asia.

Qureshi also apprised Rahmon about Islamabad’s reconciliatory efforts and its results in Afghanistan. He said Pakistan will continue its efforts for greater regional peace and stability.

NEWS

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iED BLASt iN SoUtH wAZiRiStAN LEAvES SoLDiER MARtyRED RawaLpINDI Staff RePoRt

One official of the Pakistan Army embraced martyrdom during an improvised explosive device blast in South Waziristan. According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations on Wednesday, an IED exploded near a military check post in Kaniguram, South Waziristan. Resultantly, Lance Naik Waqas Ahmed, resident of Karachi, embraced martyrdom. According to the ISPR, the martyr was 26-year-old. The military’s media wing said that a cordon and search operation was in progress to apprehend any terrorists found in the area. “Pakistan Army is determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” the statement said.

Universities allowed to open from Monday: minister CoNtINUeD fRoM page 01 There are 3,767 patients who are in critical condition while 80 people died from the pandemic during the last 24 hours, taking the overall death toll to 20,930, the NCOC said. Punjab is the worsthit region with 340,557 infections and 10,084 deaths followed by Sindh with 319,447 infected people and 5,051 deaths. The NCOC said that the country has administered a total of 7,648,481 Covid-19 vaccine doses with 2,076,600 people fully vaccinated.

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Thursday, 3 June, 2021

LAHORE

NEWS

IHC reStraInS govt from appoIntIng HeC CHaIrman ISLAMABAD

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HE Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday restrained the government from appointing chairperson of Higher Education Commission (HEC) and issued notices to the concerned authorities for next hearing on June 8.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard the petition, filed by some educationists and civil society leaders, challenging the Higher

Education Commission (Amended) Ordinance 2021 and requesting for the restoration of Dr Tariq Banuri as HEC chairperson.

The petition was filed by the eminent educationists and civil society members, including development sector practitioner and policy analyst Mosharraf Ali Zaidi, nuclear physicist Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy and former Peshawar University vice chancellor Dr Asif Khan, through their counsel Faisal Siddiqi.

The petitioners' counsel argued, “The government is abolishing the autonomy of

punjab reports 44 dengue cases LAHORE tLtp

the institution through ordinances. If you look at the impugned ordinance, only one person Tariq Banuri is affected from it. How it could be that an ordinance is passed only for a particular person and for the removal of HEC chairperson without following the removal procedure laid down in section 6(6) of the pervious ordinance.”

He further argued that through the impugned ordinance, the tenure of the HEC chairperson has also been reduced and the language used in the ordinance is for specific

purposes only.

“The first and second impugned ordinances were passed in violation of Article 25 of the Constitution as the two ordinances only affect the tenure of Dr Tariq Banuri while the tenures of the other members of the commission were not curtailed,” the counsel added.

He informed the court that a much more stringent test of discrimination would be applied to the ordinance because it is temporary legislation and it may or may not be made permanent by the Parliament. ”The or-

LDA VC reviews two-year performance, says important projects completed LAHORE pR

The Punjab Health Department said on Wednesday that the province has recorded 44 dengue cases, prompting the authorities to start taking emergency measures. The authorities said out of 44 dengue patients, 13 are from Lahore, three each from Gujrat and Vehari, two each from Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, and Kasur, one from Islamabad while seven have travel history from other provinces. In a bid to control the disease, the health department directed authorities to make Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in hospitals operational and hire 10,929 health workers on a contractual basis. The Sunday holiday of the health workers working in the anti-dengue campaign has also been cancelled, the health department said. The health department said 44 cases of dengue have been reported this year, compared to nine reported across the province by the end of May last year. In March, the ministry of health had confirmed that the first case of dengue was reported from Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi. Officials from the government department said they had initiated measures to control dengue in a timely manner. During the month, more than 14,000 homes had been monitored for dengue virus, the health department officials said. Dengue is transmitted by a type of mosquito, for which irregular rainfalls and tropical climates create ideal breeding ground.

Senators elect chairmen of standing committees ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The Senate on Wednesday elected various public officials to the post of chairman within different standing committees. Pakistan People’s Party senior leader Senator Sherry Rehman has been elected as the chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs.

It is relevant to mention here that Sherry Rehman has been a member of the Senate of Pakistan since 2015.

Sherry was the first woman Leader of the Opposition in the Senate from March to August 2018 and served as Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States from 2011 to 2013. Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed has been elected as chairman of the Senate Standing Committee for Defence. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Senator Abdul Qadir has been elected as chairman of the Senate Standing Committee for Petroleum. The term of Abdul Qadir, who was elected with a unanimous vote, will be for three years. Senator Faisal Javed has been elected as chairman of Standing Committee for Information and Broadcasting. Moreover, Senator Ali Zafar has been elected as chairman of Senate Standing Committee for Law and Justice. Zafar was elected to the post of the committee’s chairperson unanimously. The law and justice committee is arguably the most important one in the upper house and is responsible for all laws enacted in the Parliament. Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, Senator Sami Yazdi and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Senator Faisal Javed, Dr Wasim Shehzad and PPP Senator Palwasha Khan also attended the meeting. The elections of the chairmen and chairpersons of various standing committees of the Senate were held a day earlier at the Parliament House. When asked about barring the media from attending the election of chairmen of the standing committees, Yousaf Raza Gillani said that the government informed them about this issue. He said that they hope that the media will not be kept away from the meetings of these committees.

Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Vice Chairman SM Imran has said that revolutionary reforms have been introduced in the last two years. A punishment system has been implemented, which has improved the institution. The survey will be completed by next week to decide on Frozen Road. The institution developed a comprehensive strategy to curb illegal construction and housing schemes.

What is not approved in the society in three years, is now being approved in forty days.

The PPP of schemes was closed to prevent the people from returning. He was speaking at a keynote press conference at LDA Sports Complex Johar Town on the two-year performance of LDA. Special Assistant to Chief Minister for In-

formation Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Minister for Housing Mian Mahmood-urRasheed, Vice Chairman WASA Sheikh Imtiaz Mahmood, MPA Sadia Sohail Rana, and Chairman Development Scrutiny Committee Amir Riaz Qureshi were also present on the occasion.

Vice Chairman SM Imran said that as per the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan and the direction of Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, work is underway on rapid development projects in Lahore.

There are 586 illegal schemes in Lahore.

NAB and other agencies are taking action against the owners. A committee has been formed to facilitate the citizens who have bought plots. FIRs have been registered against various illegal housing schemes.

In a year, 24 housing schemes have been approved. The process of approving private schemes has been simplified. Special cooperation has been provided with charities and NGOs and they are being given a 50 percent discount in dues.

He said that the process of approval of maps has been simplified. The maps of

Ashrafi calls for increase in tobacco tax in upcoming budget NEWS DESK Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Interfaith Harmony and Middle East Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi on Wednesday urged the government to increase tax on all tobacco products in the upcoming budget to keep cigarettes out of the purchasing power of children and adults. Speaking at a seminar on tobacco revenue and consumption in Islamabad, he said that smoking is termed as beginning of all evils in the society and the

government should make it costly through taxes to discourage youth from becoming smokers.

He said the government should initiate measures to ensure implementation of the all relevant laws to enhance tax on cigarettes to boost its revenue and reduce the health burden. Awareness campaigning should also be made through social media means of communication to educate youth about extremism and consequences of tobacco and drugs, he suggested, adding that as 68 percent population of the country belongs to youth, it is respon-

dinance does not carry the wisdom of Parliament. An executive act is subject to more stringent judicial review in the face of a prima facie person-specific discrimination.”

The reduction of the term of the chairperson from four years to two years is a major strategic decision, which should have been taken on the basis of evidence as well as due deliberation in a responsible forum, he added.

It is pertinent to mention that the Sindh High Court has also reserved its verdict in a case against the ordinance.

the houses are being approved in 30 days.

Land use rules have been prepared in collaboration with the Association of Builders (Abad). Now the Punjab government has also directed the development authorities of other districts to implement the LDA rules. QR code has been implemented on One Window Cell which is making it easy for the citizens.

The process of transfer of plots has been facilitated with the help of FRC in collaboration with NADRA. Rooftop gardening on homes has been declared necessary to improve the environment.

Rooftop gardening and planting of trees have been declared necessary for the approval of the layers. Work on Arena Plaza was stopped due to NAB notice. It will be started soon. One Window Cell receives 250 applications daily and all applications are processed. The corona pandemic has shaken the whole world but LDA’s development projects continued despite the corona outbreak.

All other Avenue One plots will be allotted within two weeks. Problems of Mustafa Town and Jubilee Town including Avenue One victims are also being resolved. Geo-tagging is being done to identify LDA plots.

sibility of clerics, respective parents and elders to discourage tobacco and smoking among adults and youth.

Ashrafi said that religious clerics will also educate public in Friday sermons on consequences of smoking and tobacco. Speaking on the occasion, Senator Zarqa Taimur said that taxation on tobacco sector should be enhanced keeping in view rising demands of health budget of the country. She said that smoking is a gateway to drugs and narcotics and parents should play very responsible role to monitor their children against this addiction. She said taxation ratio on imported and locally manufactured cigarettes should be increased and suggested that local industry should be promoted in the country against imported brands and smuggled cigarettes.

Thursday, 3 June, 2021

LAHORE

RigoRous tRaining vital foR tackling wide-Ranging thReats: coas RAWALPINDI

c

Staff RepoRt

hief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa has said that rigorous training and continued practice of operational drills are imperative for effective response to wide-ranging threats.

The COAS said this during his visit to the field training area near Kotli on Wednesday, said a statement issued by the inter-Services Public Relations.

Appreciating the dedication and professionalism of participating troops, the army chief expressed satisfaction over

china’s Xi calls for greater global media reach

combat readiness of the formation, said the military’s media wing.

The army chief was briefed about the conduct of a corps-level exercise ‘Taskheer-e-Jabal’. The exercise is aimed at enhancing operational preparedness of formations, encompassing defensive and offensive tasks during various contingencies within an operational cycle. The troops and units participating in the exercise will rehearse various defensive and offensive maneuvers in the mountainous terrain. earlier on arrival, the COAS was received by Corps Commander Lieutenant General Azhar Abbas.

Chinese vaccine experts share production know-how in Pakistan ISLAMABAD

BEIJING agencieS

agencieS

China President Xi Jinping said the country must improve the way it tells its “stories” to a global audience as it seeks to develop an international voice that reflects its status on the world stage, official news agency Xinhua reported. Speaking at a Communist Party study meeting, Xi said it was crucial for China to improve its ability to spread its messages globally in order to present a “true, threedimensional and comprehensive China”, Xinhua said on Tuesday. China needed to develop an “international voice” to match its national strength and global status, Xinhua said, citing Xi. it also needed to strengthen propaganda efforts to help foreigners understand the Chinese Communist Party and the way it “strives for the happiness of the Chinese people”. The country needed to create a team of professionals and adopt “precise communication methods” for different regions, he said. China’s relationship with foreign media has become increasingly tense in recent years, with local news outlets such as the Global Times often singling out foreign reporters for what it says is biased and unfair coverage. Several journalists working for US news organisations were expelled last year as relations between the two sides deteriorated.

China has also banned BBC World News from mainland Chinese television networks following criticism of the British broadcaster’s coverage of the northwestern region of Xinjiang as well as the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The government’s pandemic efforts have received a “booster shot” as the first batch of locally-produced Covid-19 vaccines is rolling off the line here at a national lab.

As many as 120,000 doses have recently been produced at the National institute of health under rigorous quality control with tech support from Chinese pharmaceutical firm CanSino.

Local health authorities welcomed the vaccines as a major landmark in efforts to attaining vaccine self-sufficiency, a much-needed, yet challenging task that the government had fervently hoped to fulfil within months.

“The cooperation between the two countries also underscores the philosophy that the Covid-19 vaccine is a global good,” said Minister of State for National health Services Dr faisal Sultan at the production ceremony.

MAGIC IN AN EMPTY ROOM: CanSino Biologics Vice President Xin Chunlin admitted it initially came to him that the first batch of local production “wouldn’t be a tough assignment,” given the Nih’s rich experience in vaccine manufacturing.

The reality proved the opposite — making recombinant Covid-19 vaccines is a brand-new practice for the South Asian country, key aspects of which, including facilities and quality control standards, had to start from scratch, said Xin, who also leads a task force with members from both countries.

The task was further challenged by the global supply shortage including key equipment for a lab, chemicals necessary for the production, and subsequent reliance on some manual work. “it’s like we were asked to start our experiments in an empty room,” Xin recalled.

Despite all these challenges, the team created a facility that can conduct analyses such as western-blotting essential to the production process.

Working alongside Chinese counterparts has enabled Pakistani members to gain hands-on experience in key quality control techniques such as virus particle testing, said Rafique Ahmed Channa, a medic with more than 30 years of experience in the field.

The team also overcame ingredient shortages by finding best-suited substitutes via rounds of trial and error. “it’s like wading the river by groping for stones. We shared our own experiences so as to find the best solution,” said Xin. MAKING KNOWLEDGE MORE INCLUSIVE: in the eyes of experts, each and every attempt will add up to upgrading the fragile health infrastructure and the final fulfilment of self-sufficiency.

The localisation came as another first-time experience for the country in Covid-19 vaccine technology, after a successful phase iii clinical trial of the vaccine under the cooperation between the Nih and CanSino.

So far, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan has approved three types of Chinese vaccines developed by pharmaceutical companies Sinovac, CanSino and Sinopharm, for emergency use.

Technology transfer enabled by bilateral cooperation has helped Pakistan to stride forward in achieving vaccine production capacity, said Ghazala Parveen, chief of the Biolog-

ical Production Division at the Nih. “The technology transfer is extremely crucial for the people of Pakistan. it helps us save money rather than buying vaccines from other countries,” said Saba haq, research official at the Nih. New data from the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker shows that the least wealthy 37 places worldwide covering more than a tenth of the world population have only received one percent of all doses.

Yet countries like China have been striving to expand the global supply of the life-saving shots, closing the widening gap between rich and poor nations. from his experience, Xin said the most urgent task is to ensure the supply chain of vaccine production.

“Take syringes as an example. it may not be the focal point when you talk about vaccine patents. But it can be the thing that slows down the delivery of the vaccines,” he said.

More work needs to be done in making vaccine production technology transferable to developing countries, he added.

Seeing the upgraded infrastructure and better-trained manpower, Parveen said it gave her greater confidence that her country can now better handle infectious diseases. “if another pandemic in the future will arrive, we know how to control it,” she said.

NEWS

indian covid-19 variant threatens to spread faster in asia Pacific: unhcR ISLAMABAD app

The highly infectious Covid-19 variant first detected in india threatens to rapidly spread in the Asia Pacific region, including areas inhabited by refugees, the United Nations high Commissioner for Refugees has said, as it warns of vaccine shortages in the region. UNhCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic, at a press briefing in Geneva, said fragile health systems in many countries in the Asia Pacific region, including Pakistan, have struggled to cope with the recent surge of coronavirus cases, The hindu reported. “We are particularly worried about the situation in the Asia Pacific region, which in the past two months has experienced the largest increase in the number of cases globally,” he said.

Over this period, some 38 million cases have been recorded and more than half a million deaths have been reported, the UNhCR spokesperson said. The lack of hospital beds and oxygen, limited intensive Care Unit capacities and scarce health facilities and services have worsened outcomes for those infected with Covid-19, particularly in india and Nepal.

Pakistan confirmed its first case of the variant late last month, prompting authorities to trace those who were in contact with the patient who tested positive for the mutant. No other information was shared by the government and it was unclear how people with indian variant ended up reaching the country.

VARIANTS: The highly infectious variant of the virus, which first emerged in india, threatens to rapidly spread in the sub-region, including those inhabited by refugee populations, Mahecic said.

The B.1.617 Covid-19 variant is classified into three lineages — B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2 and B.1.617.3. The B.1.617.2 strain has been renamed Delta by the World health Organisation, which has said that only B.1.617.2 is now a variant of concern and that lower rates of transmission have been observed for the other two lineages. The B.1.617.2 is has been reported in 62 countries as of June 1.

VACCINE SHORTAGE: With Covid-19 raging in many parts of the world, the UNhCR has warned of shortages of vaccines in the Asia Pacific region. in this regard, UNhCR spokesperson Mahecic said, “We urge an immediate and stronger support for the Covax initiative, a worldwide effort aimed at achieving equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines.”

This is crucial for saving lives and curbing the impact of the virus, particularly in developing nations as these countries host the vast majority of more than 80 million forcibly displaced people in the world, he added. “Yet so far, they have benefited from only a fraction of the world’s Covid19 vaccines.” The UNhCR has stressed that no one can be left behind in the global effort against the coronavirus. The pandemic will be defeated only when vaccinations become available everywhere on an equitable basis, the agency has said, warning that current delays in vaccine shipments, brought about by limited supplies to Covax, mean that some of the world’s most vulnerable people remain susceptible to the virus. “The UNhCR is adding its voice to the calls for countries with surplus doses to donate to Covax, and for manufacturers to boost supplies to the Covax facility,” Mahecic said.

REFUGEES: The UN refugee agency has said that refugees, in particular, remain vulnerable to the spread of Covid-19 as overcrowded settings, coupled with limited water and sanitation facilities, can contribute to increased infection rates and an exponential spread of the virus.

According to the UNhCR, in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, where almost 900,000 Rohingya refugees are living in the single largest and most densely populated cluster of refugee camps in the world, the number of cases has increased considerably during the last two months. As of May 31, over 1,188 cases have been reported among the refugees, with more than half of these cases recorded in May alone.

Malala is British Vogue’s July cover star Malala Yousafzai has been unveiled as British Vogue‘s latest cover star. in an accompanying profile, the recent Oxford graduate and budding television producer, now aged 23, opened up about her faith, Twitter activism and her new partnership with AppleTV+, CNN reported.

Yousafzai, who at 17 became the youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize winner, also spoke about her friendships with other young female activists, such as Greta Thunberg and the gun control campaigner emma Gonzalez. “i know the power that a young girl carries in her heart,” she is quoted as saying.

The profile, which will appear in Vogue‘s July issue, includes tributes from some of Yousafzai’s high-profile admirers, including former first Lady Michelle Obama, who called her “truly extraordinary,” and Apple

CeO Tim Cook, who told Vogue: “i don’t think there’s anyone quite like her.”

Shot by photographer Nick Knight, the cover shows the activist dressed in a bright red Stella McCartney outfit and headscarf. inside the magazine, she is pictured in another red shirtdress and linen trousers, by Uruguayan designer Gabriela hearst, that are paired with a contrasting blue headscarf. in the interview, Yousafzai described her headscarf as a “cultural symbol for us Pashtuns,” referring to the predominantly Sunni Muslim ethnic group from which she hails.

“Muslim girls or Pashtun girls or Pakistani girls, when we follow our traditional dress, we’re considered to be oppressed, or voiceless, or living under patriarchy,” she said. “i want to tell everyone that you can have your own voice within your culture,

and you can have equality in your culture.”

On instagram, Yousafzai said she was “thrilled and humbled” to be the magazine’s newest cover star, adding: “i hope that every girl who sees this cover will know that she can change the world.”

LIFE NOW: Last year, Yousafzai graduated from Oxford University with a degree in politics, philosophy and economics, and she recently launched her own production house, extracurricular. A multi-year deal with AppleTV+ will see the company release documentaries about girls’ education and women’s rights, as well as comedies, animation and children’s series. elsewhere in the Vogue interview, Yousafzai offered her opinions on the state of activism and politics today. “Right now we have associated activism with tweets,” she is quoted as saying.

CMYK

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“That needs to change because Twitter is a completely different world.”

She also shared details about her time studying in the UK, saying that she “finally got some time to myself.” The activist added that she was “excited about literally everything,” from eating at McDonald’s to playing poker with friends, although Vogue also described her as “the essay crisis queen,” as she recalled leaving essays until the night before they were due. “i was enjoying each and every moment because i had not seen that much before,” Yousafzai said. “i had never really been in the company of people my own age because i was recovering from the incident [the Taliban’s attempt on her life], and travelling around the world, publishing a book and doing a documentary, and so many things were happening.” Monitoring Report

Thursday, 3 June, 2021

06 COMMENT

Detoxifying the bureaucracy

Imran Khan at Ziarat Life without blinkers would be unpleasant

A

DDreSSinG a gathering at Ziarat, prime Minister imran Khan said pakistan will rise faster the next time pti comes to power. Does this imply that Mr Khan has finally realized that his government’s performance since it took over in august 2018 has been subpar and that he hopes to perform better if elected next time? or does it mean his re-election is to be taken for granted along with pti forming the government in Balochistan and when this happens he would turn Balochistan into another Khyber pakhtunkhwa(Kp)? according to Mr Khan the introduction of the health card scheme in Kp encouraged the private sector to build hospitals. along with the government’s support to tourism, the two schemes created jobs and reduced poverty “at the highest rate as compared to other provinces”. the idyllic picture of Kp painted by Mr Khan is not in consonance with the Supreme Court’s observations reported the same day. rejecting a petition filed by a Kp forest guard for payment of pension, the SC observed that government departments in Kp were overstaffed and now loans were being obtained by the government for the payment of their salaries. the CJp remarked that paying salaries by taking loans was a dangerous act. another member of the bench remarked that smuggling was the major crime damaging industries and the economy of the province currently and needed to be dealt with.

With 3.94 per cent economic growth being projected for the current fiscal year the pM thinks his government has finallycome out of the woods. there is a need on his part to realize that the man in the street is least swayed by the GDp rate, the rise in exports or the balance of payments figures. What matters to him is if his son, who lost his job, has been re-employed and whether the food items he puts on the table for his family are cheaper or costlier. the unemployment rate, as projected by the iMF, is steadily on the increase from 4.1 percent and 4.5 percent in 2019 and 2020 respectively, to 5.1 percent in 2021, which is a 30-year peak. the pakistan Bureau of Statistics (pBS) reported on tuesday that the Consumer price index (Cpi) rose 10.9 percent in May over the same month a year ago. Mr Khan will do himself a disservice to ignore reality as experienced by the common man.

A dose of Antepar needed?

Dr FariD a Malik

T

He year was 2015, lists were being prepared for the promotion of the bureaucrats.

Merit was being compromised for loyalty. a Grade 20 Joint Secretary was bypassed, in protest he not only took early retirement but decided to prepare a list of the officers who had jumped the queue and in return had sold their souls to the rulers. as leader of the opposition, Syed Khursheed Shah lodged a strong protest on the floor of the national assembly. the list was also discussed in the Core Committee meeting of the pti (pakistan tehreek-e-insaf). the electables prevailed, as for them it was business as usual, but for a party that stood for change it has proven to be lethal.

Without major detoxification of the bureaucrats, change cannot be delivered as their soul is not with them. all loyalty-driven promotions since 2008 in Sindh, punjab and the Centre need to be investigated and reversed to achieve neutrality of this important pillar of governance. as a child i remember that deworming was the most traumatic experience. there was only one distasteful medication available, called " antepar ". it was a single dose of about 20 ml of the world’s most abnoxious liquid which i had to gulp to get rid of the worms in my stomach. though it was effective yet it was not easy to drink as every drop tasted like cyanide. My father insisted that all the boys should go through this exercise at least once a year. in the later years, i was told that much better tasting options were introduced in the market that were more palatable. as it was a black and white world in those days, inputs and output was clearly balanced. those who ate and lived well were required to perform at that level, slackness was not permissible. i went to a private english-medium school on the Mall not too far from where we lived. When my old man dropped me

Trilateral meeting A settlement with the Taliban before the US exit is crucial

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Here is to be a trilateral meeting by videolink on thursday (today) among the Foreign Ministers of pakistan, China and afghanistan so that measures can be concerted to restart the stalled peace process between the afghan government and the taliban, with a major factor looming ahead. that is the coming US and nato withdrawal from that war-torn country, which makes it all the more urgent that the talks which the withdrawal was supposed to facilitate. the meeting reflects two things. First, that there has not been a decrease in the level of violence after the US-taliban agreement which allowed intra-afghan talks to take place. Second, there is a regional reliance on pakistan; some might even say an over-reliance on pakistan having influence over the taliban. it is noteworthy that this meeting does not include the USa or even russia. the USa is not a world power, but is the power trying to withdraw its forces. russia is not just a world power, but is also in the region, and considers afghanistan as being in its backyard. it is a positive sign that pakistan is concerting measures with regional powers on how to tackle the aftermath of the US withdrawal from afghanistan. it is to be hoped that pakistan is ready to deal with a neighbour and the region in which both are, by dealing with them directly. it is perhaps not much of a leap to assume that all three participants of the meeting realize that China’s Belt and road initiative, and its new Silk road, needs afghanistan not just to participate, but to be at peace with itself, if they are succeed. pakistan must remember the mess that resulted from the Soviet Withdrawal from afghanistan, which was because there was no post-withdrawal political settlement. that was 1988. if there is no such settlement this time, pakistan could be left holding the baby again. it must not forget that the failure to find a settlement then means that there is still no settlement 32 years on. pakistan must not bother about whether or not india is involved in the matter or not, but that there must be a settlement, that intraafghan talks take place.

Why India fears the Sikh national movement

SajjaD Shaukat

‘O

peration Blue Star’ was an indian military operation which occurred between 3–8 June 1984, ordered by the then prime Minister indira Gandhi, to win control over the Harmandir Sahib (Golden temple) complex, the holiest shrine of the Sikhs in amritsar, punjab, and to arrest Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his armed followers from the complex buildings. Bhindranwale had earlier taken residence in the Harmandir Sahib and made it his headquarters in april 1980. Bhindranwale was the only leader who had boldly been fighting for the genuine rights of the Sikhs. the indian army led by General Kuldip Singh Brar, supported by troops and armoured vehicles, broke all records of state terrorism and extra-judicial killings through that barbaric operation.

However, at that time, there were only 251 Sikhs inside the complex to protect the Harmandir Sahib, and to resist the well-trained indian army, equipped with sophisticated weaponry. in those days, the majority of the Sikhs were coming to the temple complex to celebrate the Martyr Day of Guru arjun Dev. then the indian regime used tanks and destroyed

Arif Nizami Editor Managing Editor

Joint Editor

Umar Aziz Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

The writer is ex-Chairman, Pakistan Science Foundation. He can be contacted at: fmaliks@hotmail.com.

India’s Operation Blue Star: A Tragic Memory

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Yousaf Nizami Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

there, he made it very clear that i had to pass every class on merit, otherwise he would send me to a less exclusive government school. i am sure the same sermon must have been repeated to my other siblings as all five of us completed our degrees which included foreign education as well.

Consumption without performance is a receipe for disaster that has been ongoing in the land of the pure since July 1977 when the third usurper took control of the country after dislodging the elected government of Zulfiqar ali Bhutto (ZaB). there was an era when all civil servants showed up for work on time. the gates of the Secretariat were shut 15 minutes after the arrival time.

Senior officers holding important positions had a one-room office in their official residences for purpose of co-ordination, all offical work was carried out in the designated offices only. there was no duplication or wastage of resources. now empires have been built within the residences of the Chief Secretary, Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners which must be shut down to bring the focus back. even the prime Minister has a separate secretariat and residence, only the presidency is all inclusive. Dr arif alvi enjoys this unique privilege of staying and working in the same building, and no one else should enjoy this luxury at state expense as it is counter-productive. it is a fact that the royal Colonial Bureaucracy enjoys widespread powers with almost no accountability as such, though their neutrality is vital for the state to function. if bonds of common loyalty are established between the unscrupulous politicians and the bureaucrats who manage the paperwork, the ultimate losers are the people. there is a famous punjabi saying which warns of the danger in case the watchdog befriends the thieves (kutti ral gai choran nal). there are similar english proverbs as well; like 'fox guarding the henhouse' or 'bull in a china shop'.

While the bulls continue to stampede us, there is no one to stop them. the loyalty chain runs deep. the courts, prosecution, law enforcement, dare not come in the way. in the end there is a mass cover-up, the ruins of the china shop do not provide strong enough proof that can lead to conviction of the corrupt. it is on record that the pML(n) never lost a by-election while in power, but now it continues to prevail while it is not running the government. in the 1988 elections pakistan people's party (ppp) under the leadership of of Benazir Bhutto prevailed, yet it lost all its vacated seats to the iJi in the

by-elections. this 'magic spell' of the pML(n) in the largest province of the country has to be neutralized for normalcy to return. With his governance experience in Kp, Kaptaan brought his confidant bureaucrats from there to run his Secretariat in islamabad. the move has been counterproductive. Despite the same party being in power at the Centre and punjab, serious governance voids exist. Co-ordination remains a big challenge. While able bureacrats from Kp are now running the pM Secretariat and may be trying their best, they have not been able to streamline the working of the bureaucracy in the country. in the end they have to cut a sorry figure. recently the rawalpindi ring road and the Jahangir Khan tareen (JKt) case is in the news, evidently both have been mishandled. pakistan has a history of ring road scandals. the Lahore ring road is a prime example of manipulative realignments to serve vested interests. i am sure if all the route revisions are published, the rawalpindi route infringements would be easily understood. the 'Chakri Loop' on the M-2 Motorway is another disaster. it has not only increased the distance between Lahore and islamabad by over 100 Kilometers, its gradient is unmanageable and deadly for heavy vehicles that suffer regular brake failures. realignment of M-2 is urgently needed to get rid of this detour that has been costly for the travellers. islamabad is a strange place where all misdeeds are recorded to be used at the appropriate time, but there is never a proactive intervention to stop the disorderly act. the JKt case falls in this category, where the empire decided to attack back after the beans had already been spilt.

While my friend Dr ishrat Hussain continues to work on long-term reforms in the bureaucracy, the detoxification has to be done right away. it may not taste that good but with my childhood experience of deworming, i am sure it is worth the effort as it will significantly improve their health. only a merit-driven, neutral administrative set-up can deliver good governance.

With its long stints in government, the pML(n) continues to remain in power through its influence in the bureaucracy. For change to take place, the bureaucrats have to be open-minded and neutral, which they are not. Merit must prevail for a meritorious outcome otherwise it will be business as usual. Detoxification is the way forward.

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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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the akaal takht Sahib which is right in front of the Harmandir Sahib. on June 6, when all Sikh fighters were martyred along with Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, indian troops entered the temple complex with their shoes, deliberately ignoring the holiness of the place, showing utter indecency. When the indian army felt that only 251 men had prevented them from entering the Harmandir Sahib for so many days, they started killing innocent Sikhs who had come there to visit the temple. the only purpose was to hide their humiliation. in this regard, in their book, the Sikh Struggle, ramnarain Kumar and George Sieberer write, “the army killed every Sikh who could be found inside the temple-complex. they were hauled out of rooms, brought to corridors on the circumference of the temple and with their hands tied behind their back, were shot in cold blood. among the victims were many old men, women and children.” However, all visitors were locked up in rooms for two days without any food, water, or electricity and were starved to death. Besides, the Harmandir Sahib remained under the army control for many months.” the brutality of ‘operation Blue Star’ was not confined to the Harmandir Sahib. indian armed forces simultaneously attacked 40 other historic gurdwaras all over east punjab. When Sikhs in other states came to know about the desecration of the Harmandir Sahib and the massacre of their brethren, they quickly left for punjab. new Delhi tried to stop them before they could reach punjab. Many Sikhs were assassinated on the way and many others were arrested. according to an estimate, about 50,000 Sikhs were killed within a few days. the whole of amritsar city was sealed and was burnt. a number of tourists either were murdered or arrested. Shops belonging to Sikhs were looted and their houses were set ablaze

by Hindu mobs. in most of the cases, Sikh women were molested and some persons of their community were also burnt. another tragic dimension of the operation is that historical Sikh artifacts, including all the literature written by the gurus, was also set ablaze by the indian army. But new Delhi fabricated a false story by claiming that it was burnt, while bombing the Harmandir Sahib. in the same year of november, two dedicated

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Sikhs named Beant Singh and Satwant Singh, policemen who were posted at ptine Minister indira Gandhi’s residence in new Delhi, assassinated her. then Hindu riots erupted in the capital and other cities in which more than 15,000 Sikhs were murdered in broad daylight by the supporters of indira Gandhi, while police watched silently so as to provide the Hindus with a free hand to massacre Sikhs. nevertheless, the attack on the Harmandir Sahib and genocide of Sikhs accelerated the liberation movement for Khalistan as Bhindranwale became a folk hero.

Meanwhile, after ‘operation Blue Star’ and the Sikh genocide, the Sikhs’ struggle for independence continued, but the indian government made every effort to crush it with the state machinery. to maintain its control over the Harmandir Sahib, another attack was launched on the temple in 1987, called ‘operation Black thunder’. this time only Sikh resistance, which was the natural outcome of the tragedy, was the main target. in that respect, quite a number of people of the community were killed and dead bodies lay inside the sacred place for many days. according to a report, many trucks were loaded with dead bodies and all were burned with kerosene oil. afterwards, ‘operation Woodrose’ and ‘operation Black thunder-ii’ were conducted against the Sikh community, which also assassinated them extra-judicially. after these barbaric operations, Sikhs organised themselves into an armed power in order to fight the indian state terrorism. Many Sikhs left india to escape religious persecution. Sikhs have spread out all over the world to keep the movement of Khalistan alive. in this connection, their struggle is still going on.

We may conclude in the words of, a renowned scholar, Dr. Sangat Singh who writes in his book, the Sikhs in History, “the indian government has killed over 1 million to 1.2 million Sikhs. Since 1947, the indian government has also killed 50,000 Christians and 100,000 Muslims. the only way to stop this state terrorism is to create a Khalistan state, where Sikhs and other religious people can enjoy their freedom.”

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

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Thursday, 3 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

Palestinian lives matter!

We all have been aware of the palestine-israel Conflict since it has been the top news from all over the world. israel, which is not even an independent state, has been tremendously inhumane and monstrous. there is an extreme bestial behavior and the genocide taking place. thousands of palestinians have been killed including women and children. in a recent interview of an israeli soldier, he told the sources that he would not take a minute to take the life of an eight year old child if he throws a stone at him. there are a dozen of stories running through the social media which are so sickening. protests were made in several countries of the world for peace and justice for palestinians. Genocide and wholesale slaughter must end and there should be a proper conversation between the two states to decipher the conflict just like the pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said in his recent interview with Cnn. there is no humanity and justice in slaughtering people and making them homeless. israel needs to stop this racial killing. this is not a war, it’s a wholesome slaughter.

MARIA EJAZ KARAchI

Gender discrimination

India to launch “Door Darshan International” to tarnish Pakistan’s image?

India’s record has been one of propganda against Pakistan

aMjeD jaaveD

E

eriLy, india has decided to launch DoorDarshan international when DD World is already on the air. the underlying reason for yet another channel is the incapacity of the existing channels, and media outlets, overt and covert, to withstand negative post-pandemic international opinion.

DisinfoLab has already exposed a variety of india’s fake think tanks and media channels. already the US-funded Freedom House has downgraded india from ‘free” to “partly free” because of the persecution of the Muslim community and other atrocities. through its propaganda india played up pakistan’s image as a hub of terror. that led to the Financial action task Force’s concerns, still not over. pakistan should take a cue and take countermeasures against the onslaught of indian propaganda in future.

Modi’s government of india is unhappy with the way pandemic management is being portrayed in international media (floating dead bodies, shortage of beds, vaccines, drugs and even oxygen, cow sheds as CoViD19 clinics). to shore up his image, the media-savvy narendra Modi has decided to launch a new international tV channel “DD international” akin to the BBC (UK), Voa (USa), al Jazeera (Qatar), Global times (China) and rt (russia). the declared objectives are: (1) to primarily “project india’s point of view globally on contemporary issues of both global and domestic significance” and to “tell the india Story to a global audience”. (2) to be the “authoritative global media source on india through credible, exhaustive and accurate global news service”. (3) to create a “mindshare for india’s strategic interventions within key stakeholders across the globe from a geopolitics and economy standpoint”. (4) to be a talent hub for global media professionals, involving and engaging media professionals from across the globe and engaging global talent as anchors and reporters and having a global workforce, to be a truly global channel similar to BBC World, ensuring that it is watched by a global audience.

US-funded Freedom House had downgraded india’s democracy from “free” to “partly free”. the reason why it did so is the persecution of the Muslim community and widespread human rights violations in india. india wants to carve out an indigenous freedom score and publicize

it in the international media.

Modi’s government believes that the existing DD World could not dispel the impression that india is slipping down on the freedom ladder. india's covert fake tV channels were exposed by eU-based non-governmental organisation, eU DisinfoLab, in its first tranche. it uncovered an india-sponsored fake, disinformation network of 265 fake media outlets in 65 countries, including the USa, Canada, Brussels, and Geneva. the network is run by the Srivastava Group of india. it also ran a think tank called international institute for non-aligned Studies. the institute paid for the travel and accommodation of an unofficial far-right delegation of 23 european Union parliamentarians to Srinagar on 30 october 2013. the trip was arranged by indian intelligence surrogate Madi Sharma who posed as a self-styled “international business broker”. the delegation’s shikara (boat)ride in Kashmir’s Dal Lake pictured Kashmir as a heaven in serene peace. Some members however smelt a rat and abandoned the free joyride. in its second tranche eU DisinfoLab, revealed india’s fake media outlets resurrected a dead human-rights professor Louis Sohno, who died, aged 92, in 2006, and numerous defunct organisations. they were used alongside at least 750 fake media outlets in a vast 15-year global disinformation campaign to serve indian interests. Macdonald-Laurier institute, a registered Canadian charity, also is an indian dummy.. it published a pakistan-bashing report ‘Khalistan—a project of pakistan’, which found mention in almost all leading indian newspapers. another pro-india “think-tank” is the “international terrorism observatory” chaired by roland Jacquard.

Since times immemorial “repetitive lies” have been used to hoodwink masses.

Cato, Goebbels, and napoleon and Hitler used repetition to bring home their lies. research confirmed the impact of repetition. the roman statesman Cato, in the 3rd century BC, closed each of his speeches in the Senate, no matter what the subject, with a call to destroy Carthage ("Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam"), knowing that the repetition would breed agreement. nazi propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels said, “repeat a lie often enough and people will eventually come to believe it.” research validated his belief on what psychology calls the “illusory truth effect.” First described in a 1977 study by temple University psychologist Dr. Lynn Hasher and her colleagues, the illusory truth effect occurs when repeating a statement increases the belief that it’s

true even when the statement is actually false.

Hitler is portrayed as a psychopath with an oyster-shell mind. yet, he, in his Mein Kampf, praises British propaganda techniques used in World War i. He believed, “the bigger the lie, the better the results”. napoleon said, “there is only one figure in rhetoric of serious importance, namely, repetition", whereby a repeated affirmation fixes itself in the mind "in such a way that it is accepted in the end as a demonstrated truth". others who distorted truth through repetition include Quintilian, ronald reagan, Bill Clinton, Barack obama, Donald trump and Marcus antonius in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.

Susan Sontag, in her the Benefactor points out, “the truth is always something that is told, and not something that is known. if there were no speaking or writing, there would be no truth about anything. there would only be what is.”

Fake news could influence even independentminded americans who laid down a constitution, beginning with words `We the people’. noam Chomsky says the american masses are like a “bewildered herd” that has stopped thinking (noam Chomsky, Media Control: the Spectacular achievements of propaganda, p.16). Chomsky reminds, “Woodrow Wilson was elected president in 1916 on the platform “peace without Victory”, right in the middle of World War i. the american population was extremely pacifistic and saw no reason to become involved in a european War. the Wilson administration established a government propaganda commission, called the Creel Commission [Committee], which [through fake news, films, etc.] succeeded, within six months, in turning a pacifist population into a hysterical, war mongering population which wanted to destroy everything German, tear the Germans limb from limb, go to war and save the world….after the war the same techniques were used to whip up a hysterical red Square… ’ (ibid.page 12).

Sun tzu’s and Kautliya’s principles were used not only in World War ii but also in the Cold War period to hoodwink one’s own and foreign people. Sun tzu says, “if you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” When india abrogated the special status of the disputed Kashmir state the world remained a silent spectator. Kashmir is an unnoticed prison. india’s propaganda portrayed pakistan as a hub of terror and created FatF difficulties. india wants to hone its already sharp propaganda ploys. pakistan should take cue, and adopt countermeasures.

When India abrogated the special status of the disputed Kashmir state the world remained a silent spectator. Kashmir is an unnoticed prison. India’s propaganda portrayed Pakistan as a hub of terror and created FATF difficulties. India wants to hone its already sharp propaganda ploys. Pakistan should take cue, and adopt countermeasures

The writer is a freelance journalist, has served in the Pakistan government for 39 years and holds degrees in economics, business administration, and law. He can be reached at amjedjaaved@gmail.com

tHroUGH the column of your esteemed newspaper i would like to draw the attention of our community that in this Modern era, women are still being the victims of gender discrimination that includes differences in education, honour killings, institutional discrimination, child marriage, and domestic violence etc. this is more likely to be found in poor families and those who are unable to raise their voice for their rights. Gender discrimination can lead an individual to serious physical and mental problems. it always imposes a negative impact on the society. therefore, proper rules and regulations must be followed and educating people over gender discrimination might lower its ration from our society.

TAlbIA SyEd KARAchI

Regulating inflation paKiStan is faced with ever increasing inflation with increasing price of food and vegetables. First it was wheat, flour than sugar, milk and now it is Chicken. on closer investigation it was found out that the increased cost of these items was due to illegal collusion and increased profitability of a few suppliers in the supply chain by creating “whatsapp monopoly groups” and increasing the price of the commodity together and without any competition. these incidents highlight how dangerous it is when a few rich people can increase inflation across the Country. and therefore food items used for calculating the inflation food basket should all be regulated. the Government would announce a fixed percentage as profit for shopkeepers and distributors for the regulated food items. no tax would be charged for dealing in these items but it would be mandatory to maintain records of purchase and sale of the items for 30 days. if a citizen reports any shopkeeper selling the regulated food item at high price, then the local DC would check the supply chain by checking the record, to find out where price increase above allowed limits was made and take appropriate action. Similarly due to the small number of local industrial competitors, it is easier for same industry companies to create monopolies in their field through industrial associations. therefore such associations should only be allowed with at least one Government organization and one provincial Business association member as it’s member and Chair, who would rotate annually, to help keep an eye on monopoly forming in the industry.

ShAhRyAR KhAn bASEER P EngR PEShAwAR

Child marriages CHiLD marriages have been one of the serious issues, especially in developing countries. pakistan also facing this problem, children under eighteen are forcefully contract into marriage by their family elders in rural areas. specially girls are going through this issue. the girls of the extremely poverty-ridden families in the slums of the towns and cities of villages are found to be married before 15. according to research every year at least 12 million girls marry before the age of 18. it’s due to poverty and illiteracy. the parents of their families can’t afford to send their girls to high schools and can’t provide them with job. this later causes different types of health issues such as obstetric fistula, cervical cancer and many other sexually transmitted infectious diseases like HiV. there is a high chance of death during childbirth. Human rights and many other organizations are working against child marriages by doing awareness programs, sessions etc, But still there are no such fruitful results. Child marriage is still in practice and situation is becoming worst day by day. Government should make strong law against child marriages, and also develop educational institutes in backward areas because illiteracy and poverty is the main reason of child marriage.

JAvERIyA KhAn KARAchI

Unemployment in Pakistan UneMpLoyMent is a serious issue which should be highlighted. only in pakistan, there are thousands of youths who are unemployed. though, they have will to work, but unfortunately, they are jobless. there are numerous reasons behind unemployment: including over population, lack of skills, poor quality of education, and many more. But during the covid-19 pandemic, situation became worst, when all sort of businesses were closed. there were many who were left with no job. especially, in private sector, many of the employees lost their job because the industries were closed, and they had no income to pay their employees. if we look at the results of unemployment, then we would get some severe consequences. an unemployed person faces many issues. Such a person can go into depression and in some cases, people have committed suicide due to unemployment. it is also a cause of domestic violence. in 3rd world countries, unemployment has resulted into a high ratio of street crime. But this issue can be resolved.

Government can play a vital role in this aspect. First of all, proper planning is needed. We should have a look at our education system and try to improve it. Jobs should be given at merit. technical education should be encouraged. agriculture sector should be developed. and multi-national companies should be encouraged, so that they invest in pakistan and this step can produce thousands of jobs.

FATEh KhAn ISlAMAbAd

Thursday, 3 June, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

Vogue Magazine

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SIRIN KALE

ven the youngest nobel Peace Prize winner in history is not immune to the occasional life freak out. “This is a question I have for myself every night,” Malala Yousafzai says with a groan when I ask her where she sees herself in 10 years’ time.

“Lying awake in bed for hours thinking, ‘What am I going to do next?’”

Malala – fresh from the previous day’s vogue shoot and still only 23 years old – goes on, “Where do I live next? Should I continue to live in the UK, or should I move to Pakistan, or another country? The second question is, who should I be living with?

Should I live on my own? Should I live with my parents? I’m currently with my parents, and my parents love me, and Asian parents especially, they want their kids to be with them forever.”

We sit in a quiet corner of a central London hotel. Malala’s hair is loose and uncovered. Her headscarf rests in the nape of her neck. “I wear it more when I’m outside and in public,” she says, seated at a quiet table, her discreet security detail sitting nearby. “At home, it’s fine. If I’m with friends, it’s fine.”

The headscarf, she explains, is about more than her Muslim faith. “It’s a cultural symbol for us Pashtuns, so it represents where I come from. And Muslim girls or Pashtun girls or Pakistani girls, when we follow our traditional dress, we’re considered to be oppressed, or voiceless, or living under patriarchy. I want to tell everyone that you can have your own voice within your culture, and you can have equality in your culture.”

At the age of 15, she launched Malala Fund, which has taken her around the world as an advocate for girls’ education, campaigning for such causes as the release of the schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram. Oh, and then there’s the nobel Peace Prize, received at 17, all while she was busy achieving a string of A* grades at GCSe – in her third language – at home with her family in her adopted home city of Birmingham. In 2017, she was admitted to Oxford University to study politics, philosophy and economics, and graduated with honours. All of this is to say that there are high-flyers – and then there is Malala. As she embarks on adult life after Oxford, the question is, what next for the world’s most famous university leaver?

First a little existential panic. Having moved home from university in March last year, to finish her degree and wait out the pandemic, she became a member of the Covid class of 2020: jobless, aimless, bored.

Should she look for a job? Apply for a master’s? Travel abroad? In the meantime, she slept, enjoyed her mother’s lamb curry, read – she has set herself the challenge of reading 84 books this year – and doom-scrolled. “I had a secret Twitter account for a year,” she reveals, “before I joined officially, and I had, like, 4,000 followers or something. I was doing really well.” (Post-reveal, she has 1.8 million and counting.)

Inspiration came from one of her great loves: television. Like the Sussexes and the Obamas, who have turned to broadcasting to connect with the public on issues that matter to them, Malala started thinking about making her own programmes, and enlisting talent from around the world to help her do it.

She had meetings with the major streaming platforms: of course, they were interested – but one stood out. In March, she announced a multi-year partnership with Apple Tv+ – also home to Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg – and the launch of a brand-new production company, extracurricular. “I want these shows to be entertaining and the sort of thing I would watch,” she says of overseeing the early stages of development. “If I don’t laugh at them or enjoy them, I won’t put them on-screen,” she continues, firmly. So alongside documentaries on serious issues, such as girls’ education and women’s rights, she wants to make comedies – Malala is a huge Ted Lasso fan, partly because the titular star of the Apple Tv+ hit has a moustache a bit like her dad’s.

She may be a global icon, but she’s also just a young woman who loves a Jamaican takeaway and an episode of Rick and Morty.

Specifics are still hush-hush, but we can expect to start seeing her output next year.

Animations, dramas, children’s shows, it’s all in the works – and she also hopes to give a platform to talent from around the world.

“I know the power a young gIrl carrIes In her heart”: the extraordInary lIfe of Malala MALALA YOUSAFZAI HAS FOUGHT FOR GIRLS’ EDUCATION FOR MORE THAN A DECADE. NOW AN OXFORD GRADUATE AND AT A CROSSROADS IN HER OWN LIFE, THE 23-YEAR-OLD OPENS UP ABOUT LOVE, FAMILY AND THE WORLD SHE LEFT BEHIND, AS WELL AS HER AMBITIOUS NEW PLANS FOR BROADCASTING HER MESSAGE “I come from a different background,” she says, considering the typical fare of the big streamers, “and I also wonder, if a woman from a valley in Pakistan had made South Park, what would that look like?”

“I don’t think there’s anyone quite like her,” muses Apple CeO Tim Cook over a video call from his office in California.

“She’s an original.” He first met Malala in Oxford in 2017, and was instantly impressed. “She has a lifetime of experience in 23 years,” says Cook. “She has the story of her life, all of her accomplishments, and she’s focused on making a difference in the world. She has a north Star, which always impresses me about people. And despite all of this success, she’s humble and really down to earth and just a joy to spend time with. She’s amazing.”

She is certainly winning. Worldly yet guileless, she is the first to suggest we take selfies together, and is never less than sincere. Our conversations almost always come back to the subject of girls’ education, not in a tedious way, but because it sits forever at the forefront of her mind. Sweet-natured, to her close friends she is Mal, a young woman who laughs at her own jokes, bites her nails, loves to watch cricket, and will always text you back in a crisis. She is slyly funny – at one point, she confides that she lost out on the head girl position at her school. “Who could be more qualified than you?” I exclaim. “The school didn’t think that!” she replies, rolling her eyes conspiratorially, humble enough to send herself up about it.

Sometimes, she is cynical. The inertia she regularly confronts when advocating for girls’ education is irritating. Politicians promise to build schools, then spend the money on tanks and bombs. “Initially you believe what they’re saying and think they will act on it and deliver the goals they have set,” she says. “But with time, I saw that some of them do, and some of them don’t.”

Yet her style is more about consensus than call-outs: she prefers to work with people, and she can get fatigued by the attention economy of social media-driven activism, fuelled by clicks rather than change, outrage rather than action. “Right now,” she says wryly, “we have associated activism with tweets. That needs to change, because Twitter is a completely different world.”

She is already something of an elder stateswoman for the new cohort of Generation Z activists, and is friends with 18-yearold climate change activist Greta Thunberg, who visited her at Oxford, and 21-year-old gun control campaigner emma González.

Both text her for advice. “I know the power that a young girl carries in her heart when she has a vision and a mission,” says Malala.

It is exactly this quality that the Obamas recognised in her. “Malala has generated so much glowing praise over the last few years,” Michelle Obama tells me via email, “but here’s the thing: it’s all true. She’s truly extraordinary. Barack and I first met Malala when she visited the White House in 2013, and right away, it was clear she belonged in a room with the President of the United States. Her poise, her wisdom and her earnest belief in the power of every girl – it all couldn’t have been clearer from that very first meeting.”

Yet the thing about Malala is that she never chose any of this. She didn’t choose to be born to an activist father who taught her to fight injustice wherever she sees it. “My dad,” she says, “he would always take action on things when he felt that something was not right.” nor did she choose for the Taliban to come to the Swat valley. “My activism started at such a young age,” she says, “and was influenced by things that were happening externally, that were not in our control.”

But at university, for the first time in her life, Malala had choices. She could stay up late, go shopping, order takeaway. “I was excited about literally anything,” she says.

“Going to McDonald’s or playing poker with my friends or going to a talk or an event. I was enjoying each and every moment be-

cause I had not seen that much before. I had never really been in the company of people my own age because I was recovering from the incident [the Taliban’s attempt on her life], and travelling around the world, publishing a book and doing a documentary, and so many things were happening. At university I finally got some time for myself.”

Before she started as an undergraduate in 2017, her college principal at Lady Margaret Hall, former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger, offered to email students, asking them to respect Malala’s privacy. She demurred. “I didn’t want them to see me as like, you know, what they see on Tv, and how other people would define Malala,” she says. “I just wanted them to see me as any other student.”

As a teenager newly arrived in england,

brightest minds, literally, in the world.” Instead of trying to keep up with the leaders of the pack, Malala chose to have fun. “I decided that if I got a good 2:1,” she says, “I would be very happy. You know, there’s a saying: there are three things at Oxford, sleep, socialising and study, and you can’t have them all. Socialising was my one.”

Indeed, her room at university was the hang-out spot, because Malala always had snacks – something she learnt from her parents, hospitality being a huge part of Pashtun culture. She doesn’t drink alcohol, but would go to pubs with her friends and watch, amused, as they got drunk and shouted at each other about Brexit. She was forever running to the college hall to get breakfast before it stopped serving, and was the essay crisis queen, perpetually starting assign-

she had been lonely, struggling to find her footing at edgbaston High School for Girls in Birmingham. “People would ask me things like, ‘What was it like when you met emma Watson or Angelina Jolie or Obama?’” Malala recalls. “And I wouldn’t know what to say. It’s awkward, because you want to leave the ‘Malala’ outside the school building, you want to just be a student and a friend.” She admits that she “didn’t write anything about the nobel Prize” on her personal statement for Oxford. “I felt a bit embarrassed.”

Malala told herself that things would be different at university, where “all the freshers are new, and haven’t made friends yet”. She quickly found her circle. “When she came in,” says her best friend, vee Kativhu, “she was great at being the Malala the world knows; being around adults and handling situations with diplomats and world leaders.

She was a little more reserved, and serious, because she had to carry herself in those settings. She came into university as an adult, and left it as a young adult.”

In fact, it was adjusting to academic life that was the hard part. “At school in Pakistan I was the A* student,” says Malala. “But when I joined Oxford, I remember the first few tutorials, I was really sad. All of a sudden, you become an average student in Oxford, and you’re competing with some of the

ments the night before they were due. “every week!” Malala exclaims. “I would be so annoyed with myself, like, ‘Why am I sitting here at 2am, writing this essay? Why haven’t I done any reading?’” Malala would submit a “horrible essay” at 8am, right before the deadline, and go to bed, vowing never to repeat the experience – only to find herself right back in the same situation the following week.

And what about relationships? Did she meet someone at Oxford? She looks as though she’s about to spontaneously combust from embarrassment. Pausing in horror, she finally offers, “I would say that I have come across people who have been great, and I hope that I do find someone who understands me, respects me, and loves me and takes care of me.” I feel like I’m torturing a kitten, and switch topic. Does she ever get star-struck? She tells me about meeting Brad Pitt. Was he really handsome? “Yeah!”

Malala giggles, covering her mouth with both hands.

Malala longed to return to Pakistan, but the Pakistani authorities kept fobbing her off, citing security concerns. In March 2018, she had had enough of their excuses. “I told my father,” she remembers, “in Pakistani politics, you will never find the right time. There will always be something happening.” He agreed. “As soon as the plane landed,” says

Malala, “and we were breathing in the air of Pakistan, it felt surreal. I couldn’t believe it.”

She got to see her grandmother and her aunt one last time – both women have since died.

Her biggest fear, she tells me, is of failing the voiceless girls who rely on her: the girls whose parents save their money to send their brothers to school; the girls married off to men much older than them; the girls who can’t read. Malala thinks about these girls all the time. “I care a lot about my work and I worry about how long it would take to reach the goals we have set,” she says. “People say, ‘Malala, don’t worry, it’s not your responsibility, leaders should worry!’ But if I have the capacity to do something to keep raising awareness, then I should.”

Surely, I say, you could have more impact on the inside, as a politician. She smiles enigmatically: “It is not something I have rejected completely.” Generally speaking, Malala avoids talking politics. Malala Fund operates in eight countries, and wading into politics could imperil its vital grassroots work. But in February, she made an exception, after a Taliban member connected to her shooting, ehsanullah ehsan, escaped from prison and threatened her on Twitter.

“How did he escape?” Malala tweeted, tagging Prime Minister Imran Khan. “He has claimed responsibility for killing so many people,” says Malala to me, frustration in her voice, “and he was the spokesperson of a terrorist organisation, and people are just going to let it go, and allow it?

“I do think before entering politics you should know what exactly you are there for, who you want to work with,” she continues.

“You know, all of the political parties that are there in Pakistan don’t have a clean history.

Do you defend them, do you not defend them? Do you change the political party? Do you form your own political party? Imran Khan did that, and it took him over 30 years.”

We leave the hotel and walk through nearby St James’s Park, past pelicans and picnicking families, Malala, bundled up in a puffer jacket, clicking alongside me in her heels. nobody recognises the nobel laureate in their midst. Unexpectedly, her talk turns back to love. She explains that she feels as though all her friends are finding partners, and she’s not sure if that’s what she wants.

“I’m slightly nervous,” she tells me. “especially [in terms of] thinking about relationships. You know, on social media, everyone’s sharing their relationship stories, and you get worried…” About romantic relationships? I ask. “Yeah…” she says, thinking carefully. “If you can trust someone or not, [and] how can you be sure.”

Malala’s parents had an “arranged love marriage”, as she describes it – they liked the look of each other, and their parents worked out the rest. She isn’t sure if she’ll ever marry herself. “I still don’t understand why people have to get married. If you want to have a person in your life, why do you have to sign marriage papers, why can’t it just be a partnership?” Her mother – like most mothers – disagrees. “My mum is like,” Malala laughs, “‘Don’t you dare say anything like that! You have to get married, marriage is beautiful.’” Meanwhile, Malala’s father occasionally receives emails from prospective suitors in Pakistan. “The boy says that he has many acres of land and many houses and would love to marry me,” she says, amused. “even until my second year of university,” she continues, “I just thought, ‘I’m never going to get married, never going to have kids – just going to do my work. I’m going to be happy and live with my family forever.’” She turns to me, full of revelation.

“I didn’t realise that you’re not the same person all the time. You change as well and you’re growing.”

After a life of extraordinary resilience, it seems all the options are finally on the table for her. “You have to find a future for yourself,” she says, smiling. If anyone knows how to do that, it’s Malala.

Thursday, 3 June, 2021

BUSINESS 09

LAHORE corporate corner state Bank of pakistan’s timely regulatory-support to promote real estate investment Trusts ‘reiTs’ KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan has issued a circular today, announcing favorable changes in the Basel Capital Adequacy framework for Real Estate Investment Trusts ‘REITs’. The changes will allow banks to book greater exposure in REITs, facilitate the development of Housing Finance as well as Capital Market in the country.

REIT Management companies in Pakistan submitted their recommendation to the State Bank of Pakistan earlier this year. It is a positive development that now, Banks’ investment in REITs will now require them to set aside less capital against risk emanating from this investment activity. Moreover their investment in REITs shall now be categorized in the “Banking Book” instead of “Trading Book”. REITs are a quintessential instrument for the government to achieve documentation, transparency and promoting real estate development in the country.

Effective participation by banking companies will support this structure and provide confidence to the market. The REIT Management Companies are thankful to the SBP and consider this as an important milestone towards the development of REIT industry in Pakistan. PReSS ReLeASe

engro corporation & parwaaz collaborate to upskill farmers enabling higher productivity and income!

LAHORE: Engro Corporation has signed a Memorandum of Collaboration with the Punjab Skill Development Fund (PSDF) to develop a skilling program for the role of Crop Advisors, under Parwaaz’ s Agriculture and Foods skills incubator. The two partners will work together to create a skilling program that comprises of curriculum developed with subject matter experts to teach modern farming practices to learners and integrating them with digital systems. The upskilled Crop Advisors will then be able to better guide farmers on the best farming processes and use of marketing techniques using digital technology to boost their crop yield and incomes. Engro Corporation will mobilize learners for the program, develop the program’s curriculum by engaging subject matter experts and identify the training needs of farmers, potential employers, and crop advisors. It will also support program graduates in securing employment and connect them to stakeholders in the market. Parwaaz will finance the execution of the program, support Engro in mobilizing the learners and facilitate in creating job opportunities and market linkages for successful graduates of the program.

Speaking on the event signing ceremony, Ghias Khan – President & CEO of Engro Corporation and co-chair of Agriculture & Livestock for Parwaaz, said that, “For over 50 years, Engro has played a pivotal role in ensuring the nation’s food security and changing its agricultural landscape with innovative products and solutions.

However, with a burgeoning population and the impact of climate change, our agriculture sector needs to achieve higher productivity to ensure food security for Pakistan. In this context, this new public-private partnership between Engro and PSDF is very timely to enable our hardworking farmers to be future ready and equip them with modern farming techniques and digital solutions. By upskilling the farmers, we can boost their incomes and crop output in line with the government’s agricultural transformation vision.” According to Jawad Khan, CEO of PSDF, “The agriculture sector of Pakistan is one of the most critical areas where Parwaaz can make a profound impact and close the skills gap that impedes our economic progress.

In Engro, we have found a partner that has a longstanding reputation of pioneering farmer uplift and digitization initiatives in the industry. Together, we look forward to enabling our farmers to adopt best global practices and improve their livelihoods.” Last year, Pakistan was featured in the ‘Future of Jobs’ Report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) for the first time. Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF) serves as the secretariat for Parwaaz, which is the National Accelerator on closing the skills gap in Pakistan, setup in collaboration with World Economic Forum. With the guidance of the most influential public and private sector leaders, it is developing reskilling, upskilling and newskilling plans for the current and future workforce of Pakistan. PReSS ReLeASe

GovT To coNTiNue suBsiDies for exporT, poWer secTors iN upcomiNG BuDGeT ISLAMABAD

T

SHAHZADA PARACHA

HE federal government has decided to continue subsidies for the export industries and power sector in the budget for the next fiscal year.

According to sources, the government is likely to allocate Rs660 billion as subsidies for export-oriented industries as well as for power sector, sugar and wheat industries and utility stores.

Sources said that the government is likely to allocate Rs50 billion for ex-

RS660BN LIKELY TO BE ALLOCATED AS SUBSIDIES FOR EXPORT INDUSTRIES, POWER SECTOR, SUGAR AND WHEAT INDUSTRIES, AND UTILITY STORES ports whereas Rs 425 billion will be allocated to the power sector in the next fiscal year’s budget.

For the outgoing fiscal year, the government had allocated Rs450 billion in subsidies.

The government is likely to provide electricity at 7.5 cents per unit and

RLNG (Regasified Liquid Natural Gas) at $6.5 per MMBTU to the export industry which has around Rs50 billion impact in a year.

The power sector subsidy will also target circular debt as well as payments to independent power producers (IPPs), besides protecting the vulnerable seg-

PTA allows telcos to operate in tribal areas as security situation improves ISLAMABAD GHULAM ABBAS

As the security situation begins to improve in many tribal areas of Balochistan and the former Fata districts, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has directed mobile telecommunication companies to resume the internet in several authorised districts.

After a review of the security situation by the departments concerned, the Ministry of Interior has cleared Turbat city, Kech, Awaran, Panjgur, Washuk, and Kalat along the highways including RCDH, N-30, N-85, and Awaran-Bela Road for resumption of internet services.

Similarly, the Khyber district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has been cleared by the regulator for internet services that were suspended. Earlier, even basic telephony service was suspended in certain areas including Tirah valley.

The Ministry of Informa-

tion and Technology (MoIT) had earlier written a letter to the interior ministry highlighting that it was the government’s vision to provide internet services across the country and that the “force majeure” clause may be lifted from areas that were not under serious threats of law and order and terrorist attacks.

A senior official from the MoIT said that there was serious pressure for the restoration of internet data services in these areas amid Covid-19 lockdowns mainly from students who had to pause their studies in urban areas and resorted to online learning back home.

“Moreover, internet data is becoming a basic mode of communication for health and even commerce needs,” the official added. After receiving the clearance from the interior ministry, the PTA has issued instructions to the telecom operators to restore internet services in select districts.

The Cellular Mobile Opera-

tors (CMOs) had been operating only the 2G service in most of these areas that covered basic voice transfer and SMS, and the systems were not upgraded as access to these areas was restricted.

The PTA has also advised mobile operators to upgrade their existing infrastructure from 2G sites to 3G/4G wherever feasible as per their business plan so that better voice and data services can be extended to residents of these areas.

The PTA has announced that the internet services will be restored and upgraded in other areas too in a phased manner as and when security clearances are received.

It may be recalled that the government has also approved the auction of internet spectrum to Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) where presently, the military-run organisation Special Communication Organisation (SCO) is providing internet services.

PSX sheds 64 points amid profit-taking KARACHI TLTP

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remained range-bound amid profit-taking on Wednesday and the benchmark KSE-100 Index shed 64.36 points (-0.13 percent) to close at 48,126.9 points.

The KSE-100 Index traded in a range of 326 points, showing an intraday high of 48,286.4 and a low of 47,960.4. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index shed 4.83 points (-0.01 percent) to close at 32,423.43 points, while All Share Islamic Index shed 0.61 points (-0.00 percent) to close at 23,520.43 points.

A total of 428 companies traded shares in the stock exchange, out of them shares of 216 closed up, shares of 194 closed down while shares of 18 companies remained unchanged.

The overall market volumes decreased by 345.61 million to 1046.42 million shares. The number of total trades decreased by 30,632 to 225,388, and value traded decreased by Rs2.71 billion to Rs27.78 billion. The market capitalisation decreased by Rs1.24 billion.

Among scripts, WTL led the table with 202.6 million shares, followed by BYCO (59.1 million) and PTC (36.2 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include WTL,

BYCO, PTC, UNITY and ANL, which formed 35 percent of total volumes.

Sector-wise, the index was let down by oil & gas exploration companies with 50 points, cement with 29 points, commercial banks with 25 points, technology & communication with 23 points and fertilizer with 11 points. The most points taken off the index was by HBL which stripped the index of 35 points followed by OGDC with 21 points, PPL with 17 points, LUCK with 16 points and TRG with 14 points.

The sectors propping up the index were automobile assembler with 18 points, miscellaneous with 13 points, refinery with 13 points, oil & gas marketing companies with 10 points and leather & tanneries with 9 points. The most points added to the index was by KAPCO which contributed 15 points followed by NBP with 14 points, HCAR with 14 points, SHFA with 13 points and UNITY with 13 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market traded range-bound, oscillating between +95 points and -231 points and closed the session -64 points. They said that E&P, cement, banks and fertilizer sector stocks saw profit booking with the exception of KAPCO and PSO, on the back of an expectation of release of payment related to circular debt.

SBP amends regulations to boost construction sector KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has amended its capital adequacy regulations to provide further support to the development of real estate sector by halving the applicable risk weight on investments of banks/ development finance institutions (DFIs) in the units of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).

In a statement on Wednesday, the central bank lowered the applicable risk weight from 200 percent to 100 percent on banks/ DFIs’ investments in REITs, which raise funding from the general public and institutions and deploy these funds through investment in

real estate properties.

With the aforesaid changes in capital adequacy regulations, banks/DFIs will now be able to increase their investments in REITs without the need to allocate a relatively large amount of capital. This will, in turn, help banks promote development of the real estate sector in the country.

The enhanced participation of financial institutions, backed by regulatory initiatives, would also encourage REIT Management Companies to launch new REITs, providing further boost to the government’s agenda for

development of housing and construction sectors.

It may not be out of place to mention that SBP has been taking a number of regulatory steps to enhance banks/DFIs’ participation in such sectors through their financing and investment activities, in line with the government’s various initiatives for the development of housing and construction sector.

Earlier, the SBP amended certain provisions of its existing Prudential Regulations for Corporate & Commercial Banking to encourage enhanced participation and investment of banks/DFIs in

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the REITs that enabled banks/DFIs to make higher investments in REITs to the tune of 15 percent of their equity as against the previous limit of 10 percent.

Moreover, the SBP has allowed the banks to count their investments in shares/units/bonds/TFCs/Sukuks issued

by REIT management companies towards achievement of their mandatory targets for housing and construction finance. The amendments in SBP’s capital adequacy regulations will further incentivise banks to contribute towards a well-functioning capital market for the real estate sector. TLTP

ments of the society.

“The government is also gathering the data of vulnerable segments of society through the Ehsaas programme and this exercise would be completed in the next year,” sources added.

They further said that the government will also increase the budget for Ehsas Kifalat programme from Rs200 billion to Rs250 billion.

It is pertinent to note that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its latest review of Pakistan’s economy projected Rs530 billion subsidies in the next budget.

Lahore-based B2B eCommerce marketplace Tajir raises $17mn in Series-A round LAHORE: Pakistani B2B marketplace for mom and pop stores Tajir, co-founded by brothers Babar and Ismail Khan, has raised $17 million in a Series A round led by Kleiner Perkins. Other investors in the round include YC Continuity, AAVCF, Fatima Gobi Ventures, Flexport, Golden Gate Ventures, Liberty City Ventures, VentureSouq, and angel investors including Under 30 honoree and CEO of Figma Dylan Field, and Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen. Tajir, cofounders Babar and Ismail Khan in 2018, is backed by Y-Combinator – an American seed money startup accelerator, considered to be the most prestigious in the world. Tajir earlier raised $1.8 million in a seed round in June last year. Tajir is focusing on fixing the problem of informal and fragmented retail in Pakistan.

According to the company’s website, 91 per cent of retail in the country flows through small, familyowned convenience stores. Owing to the problem of fragmentation, these stores struggle to buy inventory and spend hours every week dealing with dozens of different suppliers, besides dealing with late, incorrect and uncertain deliveries. As a result, stores overpay for inventory, fail to get stock when they need it, and suffer lower incomes, while suppliers miss out on sales from eager customers. TAIMOOR HASSAN

Wateen Telecom partners with Huawei to upgrade its nationwide Data Transmission Network to 10 TB capacity Wateen Telecom, a leading ICT company with a fiber infrastructure across 250 cities in Pakistan, has signed an agreement with Huawei Pakistan to modernize its countrywide data transmission network. Wateen will be deploying a state-of-the-art Optical Transmission Network from Huawei to revolutionize digital landscape of the country. The agreement was signed at the Wateen Telecom head office by Adil Rashid, CEO Wateen Telecom and Mark Meng, CEO Huawei Pakistan. Wateen Telecom will have enhanced capacities and higher speeds on its nationwide optical fiber network after the completion of project. As demand for superior network performance continues to grow, both domestically and internationally, Wateen’s network is designed to facilitate growth to meet the exponential increase in internet capacity demand. The new network capacity holds the potential to perform at 100G to 400G rates to future bandwidth requirements.

Wateen Telecom is fully geared for 4G growth and 5G era with its futuristic network architecture, resilient fiber footprint, high-capacity transmission infrastructure and nationwide field services organization. This network modernization will give the required impetus to offer new opportunities to benefit small, medium & large enterprises, financial institutions, cellular mobile operators, education sector, internet resellers across Pakistan and international customers. Adil Rashid, CEO Wateen Telecom, said on the occasion, “As an organization that is always innovating to stay ahead of tomorrow’s needs, we are proud to have Huawei’s technologies onboard to serve our customers best. This successful innovation is only one of the many that will follow as Pakistan advances on its path to digitalization.” While speaking at the signing ceremony, Mark Meng, CEO Huawei Pakistan, said, “The 100G technology was designed to give our partner businesses more power at their fingertips, and Wateen Telecom is pioneering the way businesses operate in Pakistan. It gives us great satisfaction to deliver a future-proof network with simplified management, high reliability, and service intelligence for businesses across industries.” Huawei's grid less ROADM design provides investment protection to Wateen by enabling instant upgrades to 200G and 400G lambda to meet surging traffic demands. Wateen’s new transport network will also provide faster and more reliable services to its customers while reducing capital and operating costs. In addition, enhanced features like online OTDR and in-built OSA enable Wateen to minimize network outages time by seamless rerouting through proactive networking monitoring. PReSS ReLeASe

Thursday, 3 June, 2021

10 FOREIGN NEWS

LAHORE

Former centre-leFt politician Herzog elected israel's president TEL AVIV

i

AGENCIES

SRAEL’S parliament on Wednesday elected former centre-left politician Isaac Herzog as the country’s president, a role that is largely ceremonial but also meant to promote unity among ethnic and religious groups.

Herzog beat rival candidate Miriam Peretz, an educator and mother of two Is-

raeli infantry officers killed in battle, by a vote of 87 lawmakers to 26.

He will assume the presidency next month, replacing Reuven Rivlin, who is ending his seven-year term.

First elected to parliament in 2003, Herzog, 60, went on to lead the Labour party and hold several portfolios in coalition governments. His most recent public post was as head of the Jewish Agency for Israel, which encourages immigration.

Defeated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a 2015 national ballot, Herzog was picked as president as his former nemesis faced possible toppling by a crosspartisan alliance of challengers.

The struggle over the premiership has set off rancour in Netanyahu’s religiousrightist base. Many left-leaning Israelis have long demanded his ouster as he is under trial on corruption charges - which he denies.

Last month’s fighting between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza also touched off rare mob violence among the Jewish majority and Arab minority within Israeli cities.

“It is essential, really essential, to tend to the open wounds that have been opened in our society recently,” Herzog said in parliament, accepting the appointment.

“We must defend Israel’s international standing and its good name in the family of nations, battle anti-semitism and hatred of Is-

Iran’s biggest navy ship sinks after fire in Gulf of Oman TEHRAN AGENCIES

Iran’s largest navy ship the Kharg sank on Wednesday after catching fire in the Gulf of Oman, but the crew were safely rescued, Iranian media reported. No further explanation was given for the latest incident in a region of sensitive waterways, where there have been accusations of attacks on ships owned by arch-enemies Iran and Israel.

State TV said the fire on Iran's highest-tonnage naval vessel started around 2:25 am on Wednesday (21:55 GMT) near the Iranian port of Jask, where it was on a training mission. The Gulf of Oman connects to the Strait of Hormuz where about a fifth of the

world's oil passes. Rescue operations for the Kharg went on for hours, the statement on state TV said, with all the crew disembarking. "All efforts to save the vessel were unsuccessful and it sank," the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

In April, Iran said one of its vessels, the Saviz, had been targeted in the Red Sea, after media reports the ship had been attacked with limpet mines.

That came after Israel and Iran had blamed each other for a series of reported attacks on cargo ships since late February. Iran has refused to recognise Israel since its Islamic Revolution in 1979 that toppled the US-backed Shah.

Israel sees Iran's nuclear programme as a threat to its existence.

Erdogan woos Egypt, Gulf states in push to repair ties ANKARA: Turkey hopes to maximise its cooperation with Egypt and Gulf nations “on a win-win basis”, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday, as Ankara works to repair its strained ties with Cairo and some Gulf Arab nations after years of tensions. Ankara’s ties with Egypt and Saudi Arabia have been strained over several issues, from opposing positions the Libyan conflict and the eastern Mediterranean to the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi by a Saudi hit squad at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul in October 2018. Turkey has in recent months been pushing to repair ties with the estranged regional powers. It sent a delegation to Cairo for talks and Foreign Minister MevlutCavusoglu held talks in Riyadh with his Saudi counterpart. AGENCIES

rael, and preserve the pillars of our democracy.”

Herzog, a lawyer, is a son of the late Israeli president Chaim Herzog, who also served as his country’s ambassador to the United Nations.

He is popularly known by his childhood nickname “Bougie”, a combination of the Hebrew word for doll “buba” and a word for toy used by French children, “joujou”.

UK reports zero daily Covid deaths for first time since July LONDON AGENCIES

Britain on Tuesday reported zero daily deaths from Covid-19 for the first time since last July, despite a recent rise in cases linked to the Delta variant. According to the latest government figures, 127,782 people in the UK have died within 28 days of a positive test since the start of the pandemic -- the worst death toll in any European country. The UK has had 4.49 million cases in total. Tuesday's zero daily deaths came after the government reported just one Covid death across the UK on Monday, a public holiday. Official death figures are typically lower at weekends and holidays because of a lag in reporting. The last time that no Covid deaths were recorded throughout the United Kingdom was July 30. Health Secretary Matt Hancock welcomed Tuesday's milestone as "undoubtedly good news", saying Britain's vaccine rollout, which began in December, was "clearly working". However, he also sounded a note of caution with coronavirus cases on the rise. "We know we haven't beaten this virus just yet," Hancock added, urging people to follow public health guidance.

Thursday, 3 June, 2021

LAHORE

HuNdrEd HEro CoNway Puts NEw ZEalaNd oN toP agaINst ENglaNd LONDON

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Pakistan team’s departure to England delayed until June 25 ISLAMABAD

AGENCIES

AGENCIES

EVON Conway became just the sixth batsman to score a hundred on Test debut at Lord's to leave New Zealand well-placed at stumps on the first day of their series opener against England.

The South Africa-born opener batted for the whole of Wednesday's play, with his 136 not out the cornerstone of New Zealand's 246-3 in a match that marks the return of spectators to international cricket in England after a 2020 season played behind closed doors because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Together with fellow left-hander Henry Nicholls (46 not out), Conway shared an unbroken stand of 132 after the tourists were in trouble at 114-3 on the first day of this two-match series.

On a day for debutants, Ollie Robinson marked his entry into Test cricket by leading England's attack with 2-50 in 16 NEW ZEALAND overs.

246 FOR 3 (CONWAY But the 27-year-old Sussex fast bowler found 136 NOT OUT, NICHOLLS Leach was omitted from himself under scrutiny their XI. 46 NOT OUT) VS when a number of racist The only real variety ENGLAND and sexist historic Twitter came when England captain messages he had posted as a Joe Root bowled his occasional teenager resurfaced. off-breaks.

The tweets, dating back to 2012, Root, however, did come close to left Robinson and the England and Wales having Conway stumped by wicketkeeper Cricket Board in an especially embarrass- James Bracey, one of two England debuing position given both teams had lined up tants along with Robinson, on 117. before play for a 'Moment of Unity' meant But replays confirmed Conway had to show their opposition to discrimination dragged his foot back in time. within cricket.

Conway was thrust into the action England, in the absence of the injured immediately after New Zealand capBen Stokes and Jofra Archer, opted for an tain Kane Williamson won the toss in attack built on four right-arm quick what was the Black Caps' first match bowlers and no specialist spinner after Jack at Lord's since an agonising 'Super

Over' loss to England in the 2019 World Cup final.

But while Williamson and fellow senior batsman Ross Taylor both fell cheaply, the 29-year-old Conway pressed on to a 163-ball century, reaching the landmark with a flamboyant whipped legside four, his 11th boundary, off Robinson.

Only five other batsmen had previously scored a Test debut hundred at Lord's, with Conway the first New Zealand international to achieve the feat.

New Zealand had the better of the morning session to be 85-1 at lunch after Robinson had Tom Latham playing on for 23. But James Anderson, equalling retired former captain Alas-

tair Cook's England record of 161 Test appearances, struck in the first over after the interval when Williamson played on for 13 as the runs dried up. Williamson's exit gave Anderson, already England's most successful bowler in Test history, his 615th wicket at this level.

Robinson then had Taylor, playing down the wrong line, lbw for 14.

The Black Caps, who face India in the inaugural World Test Championship final at Southampton later this month, were without Trent Boult after the left-arm quick was granted family time in New Zealand following his stint in the Indian Premier League.

Zverev keeps it short, advances to third round at French Open PARIS AGENCIES

Down 4-1 in the third set, Alexander Zverev decided it was time to shorten his match at the French Open.

He was determined to avoid another lengthy fight following a five-set battle in the previous round, so he applied pressure on qualifier Roman Safiullin. The sixth-seeded German won the next game at love, broke back by pushing his rival into unforced errors and was nearly flawless in the tiebreaker.

The reward was a 7-6 (4), 63, 7-6 (1) victory to advance into the third round at Roland Garros.

“I’m happy to be through in three sets. I’m happy not to have played another five-setter,"

SPORTS 11

Zverev said. "I think it’s going to be important for me during the course of this tournament."

Zverev, facing a rival he has known since their days in the boys' categories, dropped his serve three times on Court Suzanne Lenglen but managed to catch up with

Safiullin. It wasn't smooth — he hit 10 double-faults and challenged several calls — but he kept his cool when it mattered.

A 25-shot rally in the final tiebreaker epitomized Zverev's combative attitude. First on the defensive, Zverev turned it

around and won the point with a passing shot. He took the next five points to seal the match and extend his perfect record against qualifiers to four matches on the Paris clay. Zverev has been in excellent form in the buildup to the clay-court major. He is among the top contenders in Paris following his title in Madrid, where he beat Rafael Nadal. Zverev was joined in the third round by qualifier Henri Laaksonen, who hit 53 winners to upset 11th-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.

The 29-year-old Swiss had never beaten a top 20 player before.

“I was not expecting that I'd win today," Laaksonen said. “It's a great result. I want to improve my game and let's see what happens."

In the women's draw, 2019 runner-up Marketa Vondrousova

reached the third round with a 61, 6-3 win over wild-card entry Harmony Tan. Earlier, 10thseeded Belinda Bencic’s campaign at Roland Garros ended with a 6-2, 6-2 loss to Daria Kasatkina, while Katerina Siniakova saved two match points to oust 29th-seeded Veronika Kudermetova 7-6 (7), 5-7, 7-5. Ahead of the French Open, Siniakova made a deep run in Parma, where she upset top-seeded Serena Williams.

Bencic struggled with her serve throughout and was broken four times by her Russian rival.

The Swiss player has never progressed past the third round at the French Open in five appearances.

Kasatkina made it to the quarterfinals in Paris in 2018, but it’s the first time this season that she has won consecutive matches on clay.

The Pakistan cricket team’s departure to England has been pushed back by two days after the Pakistan Super League final was rescheduled for June 24 in Abu Dhabi. The PSL was earlier scheduled to end on June 20 and the national team was due to leave for England on June 23 to play three ODIs and three T20s. However, with the PSL final pushed back by four days, the national team will leave for England on June 25. The first ODI is scheduled for July 8 in Cardiff. Abu Dhabi will host the remaining 20 games of the PSL after the league was postponed in March when several players and support staff tested positive for Covid-19. The Pakistan Cricket Board hopes the PSL will resume from June 7, provided it gets permission from the United Arab Emirates government on Wednesday for its production crew members to start working at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on June 5.

Players and team officials from six franchises arrived in Abu Dhabi last week on chartered flights from Pakistan. Their seven-day isolation ends Wednesday afternoon after which the PCB said players will start training in Abu Dhabi.

Netherlands seal onerun win over Ireland UTRECHT AGENCIES

Ireland needed 12 runs in the final over with two wickets in hand and Simi Singh batting on 44 but Netherlands fast bowler Logan van Beek conceded only ten to give his side a one-run win in their first World Cup Super League match in Utrecht. With three needed off the last ball, No. 10 Josh Little failed to connect an attempted paddle, and the one bye collected meant Ireland finished on the wrong side of the result. The momentum swung both ways through the day. Netherlands were bowled out for 195 to give Ireland the upper hand at the break. Ireland were then reduced to 11 for 3 in their chase after which Paul Stirling and Singh brought the visitors back into the contest. But the run-out of Singh in the final over once again made Netherlands favourites, and van Beek held his nerve to give his team their first points of the World Cup Super League. Although van Beek took two early wickets in the chase by dismissing William Porterfield and Andy Balbirnie, it was left-arm spinner Pieter Seelaar who was Netherlands' star with the ball with his three-wicket haul. After dismissing Lorcan Tucker lbw in the middle overs, he removed Andy McBrine and Barry McCarthy in the 47th over to give Netherlands the advantage. He conceded just 27 in his nine overs, leaving Ireland eight down after his double-wicket blow. That eventually hurt Ireland further as Singh looked to retain strike in the final over and was run out trying to come back for a second off the first legal ball of the 50th over.

Adviser frets about Japan Olympics, volunteers reported quitting TOKYO AGENCIES

Japan's most senior medical adviser said on Wednesday that hosting the Olympics during a pandemic was "not normal" while media reported thousands of volunteers quitting in advance.

Most Japanese oppose holding the Olympics - due to start on July 23 after postponement from last year - while doctors fear the event would strain a healthcare system seeing record numbers in critical condition and struggling to vaccinate the nation.

In one of the strongest warnings yet, government medical adviser Shigeru Omi said organisers should explain to the public why they are going ahead.

"It's not normal to hold the Olympic Games in a situation like this," Omi told a parliamentary committee.

Potentially, thousands of athletes, offi-

cials and media would descend on Japan, where last week a state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas was extended to June 20. Only 2.7 percent of Japanese have completed inoculations, a Reuters tracker shows, though the pace of new infections has slowed.

In addition to measures like banning loud cheering and high-fives, the Yomiuri daily said this week the government was considering whether spectators - if allowed in at all - should be asked to show negative test results taken within a week of attending an Olympic event.

Olympic advertisements are sprinkled around Tokyo but many sponsors are uncertain how to proceed with advertising campaigns or marketing events because organisers are yet to decide if domestic spectators would be allowed into venues.

THOUSANDS OF VOLUNTEERS QUIT: NHK: Around 10,000 of the 80,000

volunteers who signed up to help at the $15.5 billion event have quit, public broadcaster NHK said on Wednesday, citing the organising committee.

"There’s no mistake that concerns over the coronavirus could have factored in," as well as scheduling conflicts due to the postponement, the daily Nikkei quoted Tokyo 2020 organising committee CEO Toshiro Muto as saying about the volunteers.

However, fewer volunteers would not impact operations given no foreign spectators and a downscaling of events, he added.

In rare cheer for the Games organisers, the Group of Seven leaders plan to reiterate their support for Japan's hosting at an upcoming summit, Kyodo news agency said.

Omi said that if the Games were to be held under the current circumstances, "then I think it's the Olympic organisers' responsibility to downsize the scale of the event and strengthen coronavirus control measures as

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much as possible." With overseas spectators already banned and Tokyo's state of emergency meaning restaurants are not selling alcohol and mostly close by 8 p.m., the atmosphere in the run-up has been subdued.

"It's only when there is a clear reason to host the Games that the public will get on

board...it's very important for those involved in the Olympics to clarify their vision and the reason for hosting the Games," added Omi. The soft-spoken Omi's unusually stark comments contrasted with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and organisers who have reassured the world they can

Thursday, 3 June, 2021

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