Epaper – May 17-2022 ISB

Tuesday, 17 May, 2022 I 15 Shawwal, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 317 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition

PM Sharif adviSed by allieS to buy tiMe, renegotiate with iMf, friendly countrieS ISLAMABAD

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Mian abrar

rime minister shehbaz sharif on monday was advised by leaders of the allied parties not to take a hasty decision on the subsidies on petroleum prices and rather wait and buy time till conclusion of Us visit of foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and DG-isi Lt Gen nadeem Anjum as both the visits may help Pakistan make gains on political and economic fronts.

Pm sharif who started consultation process with the leaders of the allied parties to help develop a strategy on the compelling requirement to either withdraw subsidies on petroleum prod-

ucts and other edible items or go for snap polls. sources in the ruling coalition told this scribe that the consultation process had been launched in view of the decisions made by the ruling party’s top leadership meeting held at London and chaired by the party chief nawaz sharif.

Pm shehbaz also held talks with PPP supremo Asif Zardari and discussed the way forward keeping in view the rising inflation and the possible measures to tackle the challenges on political and economic front. the sources quoted mr Zardari as telling the premier not to worry and wait till the completion of the Us visit by foreign minister Bilawal Zardari and Director-General of the isi Lt. Gen nadeem Anjum who is on a Us visit

these days. the sources said that mr Zardari also urged Premier sharif to hold fresh talks with the friendly countries especially China and try an get a relief package which would help the new government respite in dealing with the issues at hand. the sources said that shehbaz sharif met with mQm-P convener Dr Khalid maqbool siddiqui who told the premier not to take the burden of withdrawing subsidies and rather prepare for polls after necessary electoral and other reforms. mQm leader Haider Abbas rizvi said that siddiqui told the premier that mQm was ready for polls but after census and necessary reforms as per the promises made with the allied party.

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Tuesday, 17 May, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

NEWS

Female suICIde BOmBer plannInG TO TarGeT ChInese mOTOrCade arresTed FrOm hOshaB IsLAMABAD

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Mian abrar

HE Counterterrorism Department (CTD) Monday arrested a would-be woman suicide bomber planning to target a Chinese motorcade in Balochistan.

According to the CTD, the female suicide bomber belonged to the Majeed Brigade wing of the banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).

It was the BLA whose female suicide bomber had carried out an attack at the University of Karachi’s Confucius Institute in April, killing three Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver. The security officials also recovered explosives and detonators

from the alleged suicide bomber.

The law enforcement agencies said that the arrested suicide bomber was planning to target Chinese officials on the route of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Following the arrest, the CTD is also conducting raids at different places to arrest other militants belonging to the group, according to media reports.

The reported arrest comes the same day as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif phoned his Chinese counterpart Mr Li Keqiang and assured him extraordinary security measures for the Chinese nationals in across Pakistan.

Officials blame hostile intelligence agencies for funding, training and equipping the Baloch terrorist groups and tasking them to target the Chinese nationals and

OIC expresses concern over India’s delimitation exercise in IOK News Desk The General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Monday expressed “deep concern” over India’s attempts to redraw the electoral boundaries of Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK), altering the demographic structure of the territory and violating the rights of the Kashmiri people. In a statement shared on Twitter, the OIC said the delimitation exercises were in direct contravention of the relevant UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and international law, including the 4th Geneva Convention. “Referring to the long-standing and principled position on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute and relevant decisions of the Islamic Summit and OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, the General Secretariat reiterates its solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their just quest for the right of self-determination, in accordance with relevant UNSC resolutions,” the statement said. The OIC also called on the international community, particularly the UNSC, to take immediate cognizance of the “grave implications of such ‘delimitation’ exercises”.

Govt to move anti-corruption dept against Buzdar: Tarrar News Desk PML-N leader Attaullah Tarar on Monday said that the government has decided to move the Anti-Corruption Establishment against former chief minister Punjab Usman Buzdar. In a press conference, the PML-N leader said that the ex-chief minister deprived the poor masses of their rights and “ruthlessly plundered the resources of the country”. The deputy secretary-general of the PML-N claimed former prime minister Imran Khan played the role of a facilitator in Buzdar’s “corruption”, while the ex-chief minister’s front men also remained involved in “plundering the country’s resources”. “Usman Buzdar will have to answer for his corruption,” Tarrar said. The PML-N leader said since Khan’s ouster, the PTI chairman has been acting like there is no one more “pious” than him. “Imran Khan is trying to give the impression that there is no one more honest than him.” Tarrar claimed that during the previous government, Khan took “illegal benefits”, adding that the former prime minister was also involved in helping Farah Khan — a close aide of Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi — to become an “absconder”. “Farah Gogi was involved in corrupt practices and took the help of Bushra Bibi,” the PML-N leader maintained. He said there was no trail for Farah’s income and claimed that the close aide of Bushra Bibi had taken millions in exchange for each posting of a civil servant in Punjab.

installations in and around Balochistan.

The prevention of yet another terrorist attack against China-Pakistan cooperation in less than a month is significant, experts told Global Times, which demonstrates the Pakistani government’s commitment to stopping terrorism and preserving cooperation between the two countries.

Long-term cooperation between China and Pakistan is not affected by extreme terrorist activity, they said.

The counter-terrorism manhunt is underway to arrest other members of the group involved in the terrorist attack.

The blocking of the attack came hours after the phone call between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Monday signifies the

increasing trust between the friendly neighbours.

As the security situation in Pakistan is complicated and volatile at the moment, China and Pakistan will continue to carry out cooperation in combating terrorism and further strengthen the protection of Chinese projects and personnel, and the sharing of resources and intelligence, Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told media on Monday.

“The terrorist organizations represented by the BLA chose to attack Chinese targets as they believed that China-Pakistan relations were the ‘soft underbelly’ of the Pakistani government, thus trying to force the Pakistani government to make

Shehroze Kashif summits world’s 4th-highest peak News Desk Climber Shehroze Kashif summited the world’s fourthhighest peak, Mount Lhotse (8,516m), in Nepal on Monday. Kashif was part of the Seven Summit Treks expedition team which summited directly from camp 3.

The young mountaineer and his team had started the summit push on Sunday.

He has made history by being the youngest mountaineer to summit the world’s three highest peaks — Everest (8,849m), K2 (8,611m) and Kanchenjunga (8,586m). He is also the youngest Pakistani to have climbed Broad Peak (8,047m) at the age of 17. He used supplemental oxygen on his climbs at Broad Peak, the Everest and K2.

His first climb was at the age of 11 when he climbed

Makra Peak (3,885m), followed by Musa Ka Musalla (4,080m). Continuing to train for longer and harder treks, he did the Gondogoro La K2 Base Camp trek at the age of 14, and at 15 he was able to complete the Khurdo Pin Pass (5,800m) trek. At 18, he did Khusar Gang, a 6,050m peak Alpine style.

Meanwhile, mountaineer Abdul Joshi from GilgitBaltistan successfully summited Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, on Monday morning.

Joshi was part of a 13-member expedition team led

by Nepalese mountaineer Mingma Gyalje Sherpa (Mingma G) of Imagine Nepal.

Joshi is the first Pakistani to have summited Annapurna, the tenth-highest mountain in the world (8,091m), in 2021. He also led a 12-member Pakistani team to the first-ever summit of Passu cones.

New US ambassador set for ’challenging’ diplomatic assignment News Desk The US will have a full-time ambassador to Pakistan for the first time in nearly four years as Doland Armin Blome is set to arrive in Islamabad later this month to take charge of – what many observers believe – his “challenging” diplomatic assignment.

On March 3, the US Senate finally approved Ambassador Blome, a career diplomat, as envoy to Islamabad. He is expected to arrive in Islamabad on May 23 to take charge of his new position. The US State Department, following the approval of Ambassador Blome, said in a statement that the partnership with Pakistan was a “key to progress on regional security, trade, investment, the climate crisis and human rights”.

Blome will be the first full-time ambassador to Pakistan since August 2018 when American envoy David Hale returned home after completing his term.

After that, former US president Donald Trump’s administration did not appoint a full-time envoy to Islamabad. This happened despite ties between the two countries improving thanks to the personal bonhomie between Trump and former premier Imran Khan and close cooperation between the two countries on the Afghan endgame. The appointment of Blome as US ambassador to Pakistan comes at a time when the two sides are seeking a reset in their troubled relationship.

The US exit from Afghanistan has raised serious questions about the future of ties between the two countries as one of the top American diplomats said Washington did not see itself building a broad-based relationship with Islamabad.

Despite efforts by the former PTI government seeking broad-based ties with Washington, US President Joe Biden’s administration never responded positively.

One of the reasons was that the US was unhappy with former PM Imran’s critical statements on Washington’s Afghan policy. Therefore, Biden never telephoned Imran.

What further deepened tensions was the controversy surrounding the diplomatic cable, which Imran presented as evidence of the US plot against his government.

Imran said the US punished him for pursuing an “independent foreign policy” particularly on the RussiaUkraine conflict. The US wanted Pakistan to take a clear stance against Russia and even advised Islamabad not to go ahead with the prime minister’s visit to Moscow.

Now with the PTI-led government sent packing and a new regime in place, the appointment of a new US ambassador is seen as significant.

The absence of a full-time ambassador was seen as an effort by the US to downgrade ties with Pakistan considered crucial for Afghanistan and overall regional security. The appointment of Blome as ambassador may have suggested a shift but ties between the two countries are facing multiple challenges. The latest challenge is the Russia-Ukraine crisis that puts Pakistan and the US at odds with each other. There have been dozens of statements issued by both sides since the change of government in Pakistan, expressing desires to improve their relationship.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is set to undertake a visit to the US this week to attend the food security conference. He will meet US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

ECC allows TCP to import of 200,000 MT of urea shAhzAD PArAchA The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet allowed the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) to explore the possibility of importing 200,000 MT of urea on a G2G basis and with deferred payment.

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail presided over a meeting of the ECC of the Cabinet at the Finance Division today.

As per the details, the Ministry of Industries and Production submitted a summary on import of urea and presented that the government intends to create better stock for urea fertilizer to ensure continuity of urea supply during next financial year and requested for allowing import of urea from the international market in order to stabilize the local market.

concessions and compromises on political issues,” Qian said.

In the wake of April’s terrorist attack, Pakistan’s counterterrorism department’s timely prevention of another terrorist attack against Chinese-led projects on Monday demonstrates that Pakistan has further intensified its fight against terrorism, Zhu Yongbiao, director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies in Lanzhou University, said.

The government has been more aggressive in preventing such attacks, especially in terrorist attacks against Chinese projects, he said.

Earlier, two suspects related to attack in the University of Karachi were arrested. On Sunday, the police developed sketches of another women suspected of facilitating the suicide bomber, local media reported.

Zhu also noted that the re-emergence of terrorist attacks against Chinese projects in a short period of time also suggests related risks. “It proves that plans to launch terrorist attacks against China still exist and that these organizations have the capacity to carry them out.”

The ECC after discussion allowed the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) to explore the possibility of importing 200,000 MT of urea on a G2G basis and on deferred payment.

In addition the Petroleum Division submitted a summary for reimbursement of Price Differential Claims (PDCs) of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and Refineries. The price differential is to be paid to the Oil Marketing Companies/Refineries by the government as a subsidy in the wake of the government’s decision to keep the petroleum products’ prices fixed at the level notified on March 1, 2022.

The ECC after deliberation approved a supplementary grant of Rs55.48 billion for disbursement of PDC to OMCs/Refineries for the first fortnight of May 2022. Due to the continuously rising

trend of oil prices in the international market, the quantum of subsidy has been on the higher side.

Federal Minister for Industries and Production Makhdoom Syed Murtaza

Mehmood, Minister of State for Finance & Revenue Aisha Ghous Pasha, Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Masood Malik, Federal Secretaries and senior officers attended the meeting.

Imran Khan criticizes govt for ‘stifling’ voices of opponents News Desk Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan accused the federal government on Monday of using means to “stifle the voices” of its opponents. In a meeting with women lawyers, Imran alleged that his government was ousted through an alleged conspiracy in violation of the Constitution.

He claimed that the “clear ruling of the speaker, powers of the governor and the president, and sovereign of parliament were axed” for the success of this alleged conspiracy. Imran further claimed that the government wanted to curb the “constitutional and democratic rights” of the masses. He said the government was resorting to the “worst possible ways” to stifle the voices of its critics in media and politics. He said the nation was “ready to fight” against this government and added that the federal government will have nowhere to hide when he would announce his call for the march on Islamabad. The date for the much-touted march of the PTI will be announced by Imran on May 20.

Last week, he had said that at least three million people would descend on Islamabad on his call despite all possible barriers in their way. “I will give a date for the long march after May 20… you have to join my long march to Islamabad for ‘real freedom’,” he had said during a rally.

Similarly, Imran also claimed that there was a plot to kill him. “I got to know a few days ago that a conspiracy was being hatched against me behind closed doors… conspirators are confused now as to how to get rid of me,” the PTI chairman told a charged crowd in Faisalabad. Imran had said that he had recorded a video of all those elements involved in the alleged United States-backed conspiracy against him “so that if anything happens to me people should know about them (conspirators)”. “If people see this video then they should make sure that all those I have named should be brought before the court,” he had added.

However, in light of the claims made by Imran, the government has deployed over 120 personnel for the security of the PTI chairman and his Bani Gala house.

Tuesday, 17 May, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

pemra warns TV Channels aGaInsT aIrInG malICIOus COnTenTs aGaInsT sTaTe InsTITuTIOns IsLAMABAD

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Staff report

AKISTAN Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) in a directive issued on Monday has warned all satellite TV channels (News & Current Affairs/Regional) to refrain from telecasting content against state institutions including Judiciary and Armed Forces in their talk shows, news bulletins and live coverage of public gatherings.

Moreover, licensees have been sensitized of the fact that ridiculing state institutions especially Judiciary & Armed Forces is against PEMRA laws and various judgments of the Superior Courts.

The PEMRA has been repeatedly urging its licensees to follow the Authority’s laws and court orders in letter and spirit and refrain from airing

shC upholds verdict to end encroachments in Karachi neighbourhood kArAchI Staff report

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday refused to change or suspend its verdict to end encroachments and illegal constructions in the Federal B. Area neighbourhood of Karachi and ordered immediate restoration of welfare parks by removing Essa Goth. “If you object to the verdict, [you may] approach the Supreme Court which itself had ordered to end all the encroachments and illegal constructions in the neighbourhood. The SHC does not have the power to interfere in SC verdicts,” said Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi while hearing the case. Akhtar Hussain adopted before the court that squatters also had the right to housing. “The first is the right of those who are already settled there,” replied Justice Rizvi and questioned: “Don’t the people who live in Federal B Area flats have the right to parks?”

“The land reserved for parks were encroached on and the illegal constructions were leased out,” said the judge. “Tell us, what is the plan for the victims after the elimination of illegal settlements?” The victims of antiencroachment operations along Gujjar, Orangi and Mehmoodabad drains were also mentioned in the SHC. “Tell us, did anything happen for the rehabilitation of the victims?”

Justice Rizvi enquired from the prosecutor and order him to submit a progress report to the court. “This is the slum to which the lease was issued,” Hussain told the court. “Land up to drains was leased out,” said Justice Rizvi and added: “It seems the administration will not be able to retrieve even a single welfare park.”

He lamented: “Nothing will happen here. At present, parks are being leased out. Flats have been built on the land reserved for welfare parks in the entire city. The Federal B Area is a scheme of 1960, and all of its parks have been encroached upon. Now, there is no park near the dwellers of the flats. All the land meant for parks have been occupied.” The SHC sought a policy from the Sindh government about Esa Goth victims, asking the Sindh government to tell what plan had been prepared for the victims. The court then adjourned the hearing until May 25.

slanderous campaign and content against any state institution, as airing of such content, prima facie is deemed as propaganda.

The Authority has also directed all satellite TV channels to ensure installation of an effective delay

mechanism in their transmission especially while covering public gatherings, rallies and constitute an independent editorial board in compliance of Electronic Media (Advertising and Programmes) Code of Conduct 2015 as well as orders of Superior Courts.

PEMRA further warned the satellite channels to remain vigilant and stop airing malicious, obnoxious or derogatory material through their platform against any state institution including Judiciary and the Armed Forces. The Authority has also warned the channels that in case of any intentional and unintentional violation committed, PEMRA law shall be invoked, leading to prohibition of programmes / talk shows under Section 27 without any notice, imposition of fine upto Rupees One Million under section 29, suspension, revocation or cancellation of license, closure of transmission under Section 30 of PEMRA Ordinance 2002 Amended PEMRA (Amendment) Act 2007.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari set to depart on US visit IsLAMABAD Staff report

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is set to visit New York to attend the Ministerial meeting on ‘Global Food Security Call to Action’ to be held at the United Nations on 18 May 2022.

In an official statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the visit is being conducted at the invitation of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

While in New York, the Foreign Minister will have other important engagements on the sidelines, including a bilateral meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“The meeting will bring together a regionally diverse group of countries including those most affected by food insecurity and those in a position to take action to address it. Ministers will be invited to speak on humanitarian needs and longerterm development efforts required to save lives and build resilience for the future,” said the statement.

The Foreign Minister will also participate in the Open Debate of the UN Security Council on “Maintenance of International Peace and Security – Conflict and Food Security” under the U.S. Presidency of the Council on 19 May. The Foreign Minister will highlight Pakistan’s perspective and

policy priorities in the two meetings.

“Pakistan will continue to play a proactive role in supporting the international efforts to advance the shared objectives of a peaceful and stable world free of conflict, and poverty and hunger,” a statement issued by Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

NEWS

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sharif orders security for Imran over life threat IsLAMABAD Staff report

The Ministry of Interior asked Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan to “share details” of the danger to his life after the prime minister asked its head, Rana Sanaullah Khan, to provide “foolproof security” to his predecessor. According to the Associated Press of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif was given a briefing on the security being offered to the former prime minister by the ministry. During the meeting, Sharif ordered the immediate deployment of a chief security officer for Khan. He also directed the provinces to provide security to Khan during his rallies. Providing details of the meeting and decisions taken subsequently, a spokesman for the ministry said police and law enforcement have been directed to ensure security for Khan before adding that currently, 94 security men are deployed at his Bani Gala residence. “22 police, 72 Frontier Constabulary personnel from the Centre while 36 and six police from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan, respectively, have been deployed [at Khan’s residence],” the spokesman said. He added that an additional 35 security men from two companies have also been deployed to protect Khan. Further divulging details of the security plan, the spokesperson said that 23 police and five Rangers personnel will accompany the former prime minister during his visits. “The threat assessment committee of the ministry is also reviewing the security of Khan,” he said. The development came after Khan said his life was in danger and that he has recorded a video in which he has taken the names of all those who “conspired against me” since 2021 summer. “There is a conspiracy hatched against me in closed rooms in and outside the country, and they want that Imran Khan’s life [is lost],” he told participants of the power show in Sialkot. The purported threat to Khan’s life was first spoken of by Faisal Vawda, a PTI leader, during the last few weeks of his government in late March. On Monday, the spokesman, while recalling the former prime minister has spoken about dangers to his life in rallies, asked him to share details of the threat. “It is his responsibility to do so that measures based on it could be taken [to protect him],” he added.

Power crisis worsens as shortfall reaches 4,250 megawatts LAhOre Staff report

Electricity supplies to homes, businesses and factories across Pakistan have been cut for several hours a day over the past few days as the country grapples with a 4,250 megawatts power deficit. The power supply remained at 22,250 megawatts against the nationwide demand of 26,500 megawatts.

According to the media, the country is witnessing unannounced outages of 10-15 hours.

“Major urban centres are witnessing load shedding duration of 10 hours while the rural areas are facing power outages of up to 15 hours,” reports citing sources said.

Interestingly, only a year ago, Pakistan was generating more electricity than it needed. Large-scale construction of new power plants — largely coal-fired ones funded by China — had dramatically boosted the nation’s energy

capacity. “It’s true. We are producing much more than we need,” Tabish Gauhar, former special assistant to thenprime minister Imran Khan on power, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The situation is likely to worsen as summer intensifies, when air conditioners are switched on full blast. Currently, the country gets 64 percent of its electricity from fossil fuels, with another 27 percent from hydropower, 5 percent from nuclear power and just 4 percent from renewables such as solar and wind.

BLISTERING HEATWAVE: South Asia has been in the grip of an extreme heatwave since last month, with parts of Pakistan reaching a temperature of 50 degrees Celsius as officials warned of acute water shortages and a health threat.

Swathes of Pakistan and India have been smothered by high temperatures since April in extreme weather that the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has

warned is consistent with climate change.

On Friday, the city of Jacobabad in Sindh hit 50C (122 degrees Fahrenheit), the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said, with temperatures forecast to remain high. “It’s like fire burning all around,” said labourer Shafi Mohammad, who is from a village on the outskirts of Jacobabad where residents struggle to find reliable access to drinking water. Nationwide, the PMD alerted temperatures were between 6C and 9C above normal, with Islamabad — as well as provincial hubs Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar — recording temperatures around 40C over the weekend. “This year we have jumped from winter right into summer,” said PMD chief forecaster Zaheer Ahmad Babar. Pakistan has endured heightened heat waves since 2015, he said, especially in upper Sindh and southern Punjab. “The intensity is increasing, and the duration is increasing, and the frequency is increasing,” he told AFP.

Pakistan man continues research after earning doctorate in China LANzhOU Xinhua

Aman Khan, a postdoctoral fellow at Lanzhou University in northwest China’s Gansu Province, is continuing his microbiology research in China in the hope of using his knowledge to help his nation.

Aman, 35, has spent about seven years at the university’s school of life sciences, where he earned his doctoral degree in microbiology in 2019 and began his postdoctoral research in 2021.

Aman had the opportunity to study in China thanks to a cooperation project between a team led

by his advisor Li Xiangkai and a research centre in Pakistan. He has been engaged in research related to the treatment of celiac disease over the past years.

Inspired by his advisor, he is isolating probiotic bacterial strains from Pakistani fermented food in his postdoctoral project, trying to use them in preventing the occurrences of celiac disease, an immune disorder triggered by gluten ingestion.

According to Aman, the disease is quite common in his country, as Pakistani people eat lots of food made of flour, which contains gluten. He hopes he could do something to help.

Aman said he was impressed by the advanced

science and technology of Chinese research institutes.

“My research goes off without a hitch. My advisor gave me much support, helping me set up research objectives and providing lab facilities,” said Aman. “Also, my team members really enrich my life and bring me endless power.”

Aman also said he is well adapted to Lanzhou’s eating habits since the city is home to many Muslims.

“Lanzhou University has helped me plan my career as an independent scientist and a team leader,” said Aman. “I hope to work in China in the future, as it’s full of opportunities here.”

Tuesday, 17 May, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

04 NEWS

Alvi viSitS UAE EMBASSy, CondolES dEAth of PRESidEnt Al-nAhyAn ISLAMABAd

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RESIDENT Dr Arif Alvi on Monday visited the embassy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Islamabad to offer heartfelt condolences to the royal family, the people and the government of the sheikhdom over the death of its president, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

President al-Nahyan, a pro-Western moderniser who had aligned the Gulf Arab state closer to the United States and its allies, died on Friday.

Khalifa, born in 1948, had rarely been seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2014. He was buried and funeral prayers were held on Friday, state news agency WAM said.

During the meeting, Alvi expressed his grief over al-Nahyan’s demise and said the people of Pakistan were deeply saddened over his death as he was a true and sincere friend of Islamabad.

Speaking on the occasion, he said that the event was a great loss for both the nations, adding that Pakistan shared the grief of the royal family and the people of the UAE.

Rs2,000 ticket sought for wrong bike parking, one-way rule violators LAHORE MonitoRing RepoRt

The chief of Lahore traffic police recommended increasing from Rs200 to Rs2,000 the penalty for motorists violating the one-way and parking rules in a bid to control the flow of traffic in the provincial capital. On the other hand, fines for car parking and oneway rules’ violators, those driving unlicensed vehicles, and cars with tainted screens and/or having illegal number plates may also see an increment from Rs2,000 to Rs5,000. Lahore Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Muntazir Mehdi said the trend of violation of traffic rules has seen an increase in recent weeks and his force has sought the hefty penalties in order to control the road parking culture, one of the main causes of the long queues. Mehdi believed the current mechanism of traffic tickets of meagre amounts to be unviable and suggested that in a bid to change the situation in the city, the penalties may be revised. He wrote this in a letter to the provincial police chief and recommended the increase and revised challan ticket to get the formal approval. The official said the traffic congestion mostly occurred because of the poor condition of the city roads despite reminders to the authorities. He said the roads remained in a state of disrepair, causing enormous difficulty for the vehicles plying there. Cricketer Asif Ali and a groom got tickets in Lahore for having the black tinted glasses on his car and plying vehicle without a number plate.

Measures being taken to enhance trade with C. Asian countries: minister

MONITORING REpORT Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar said Pakistan has been taking special measures to further enhance trade ties and connectivity with Central Asian countries to boost the national economy. Pakistan has been working on a policy to enhance trade and connectivity with Central Asia, and the government has already taken several measures to materialise the policy, the minister said. He said that Pakistan and Afghanistan have already finalised and implemented the main operational part of the transit trade agreement which would ensure the free movement of trucks between the two countries. Similarly, Pakistan and Uzbekistan have signed a transit trade agreement and an agreement on preferential trade, which provides preferential access of products of one country to the other by eradicating trade barriers, Qamar said.

The country also established joint working groups on trade with Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan to ensure economic cooperation by holding business forums, exhibitions, and seminars and eradicating technical barriers to trade by harmonising standards, he said. Economic cooperation in the spheres of trade, banking, and customs has been agreed upon with Iran, according to the minister. Pakistan and Iran have also signed a memorandum of understanding to establish six joint border markets that will benefit locals.

While paying rich tribute to the services rendered by the late president for Pakistan, the president said that ties between the two nations under his leadership were strengthened.

He also reiterated the resolve to further improve and cement the friendship between the two countries.

UAE’s ambassador Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al-Zaabi thanked the president for the condolence visit and said that both Pakistan and UAE enjoyed strong relations. He also appreciated the contributions of the Pakistani diaspora to the economic development of the Emirates.

FBR likely to get Rs660mn in six cases of tax evasion SHAHzAd pARAcHA The field formations of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on the intervention of the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) have created an Income tax demand of over Rs660 million in six mega cases of tax evasion.

As per the details, FTO in terms of section 9(1) of the Federal Tax Ombudsman Ordinance, 2000 (FTO Ordinance) initiated its own motion investigation by on evidence-based information that some of the most meaningful and innovative initiatives of FBR’s own individual officers and field formations stands diluted and washed away due to systemic follow-up failure, ineptitude and incompetence, frequent posting transfers of officers and massive changes of jurisdictions.

FTO Secretariat through its inhouse analysis has also identified that though FBR and its dozens of field formations maintain an organized web portal, rich data centre, exhaustive data bases, elaborate and comprehensive op-

erational soft wares and houses a fullfledged & homegrown IT support system such as Pakistan Automation (Pvt) Ltd (PRAL), yet neither FBR headquarter nor its any single field formation maintains any IT-based tracking system, archiving various valuable initiatives as well as ventures made by different FBR’s organizations, officers, teams or specially created cells from time to time. Any exhaustive, foolproof and IT-enabled handling over a module (from predecessors to successors) for such initiatives.

Any institutionalized internal followup system, or any internal evaluation mechanism to gauge whether the goals envisaged under FBR’s flagship ventures have been logically pursued & achieved.

Therefore in most cases, the good job done is prone to be wasted, diluted or compromised with the transfer of individuals, dissolution of units/ cells and take over by new managers.

While conducting the aforesaid inhouse analysis, FTO Secretariat focused on 34 potential cases of tax evasion

wherein detailed Investigation Reports with a case study were prepared and shared by Directorate General (DG), BTB FBR in December 2018, with the concerned field formations of FBR. Subsequent action against Resident companies/concerned international contractors for not declaring true particulars of their receipts/ income and not discharging their responsibilities as withholding agents in the light of this initiative could have significantly augmented the national revenue. However in 2019, FBR management suddenly shelved this whole BTB regime overnight; disbanding BTB Zones Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. The Office of DG BTB was relegated to a ceremonial entity assigned as an additional charge.

Thus in addition to losing an effective organization, the repository of the whole above data/information was suddenly rendered extinct. This kneejerk attitude of FBR reflects a massive loss to the state exchequer.

Taking OM cognizance of this clear maladministration in terms of section 2(3)

Experts from Pakistan, Turkey urge cooperation to forge new discourse ISLAMABAd anadolu agency

Pakistan and Turkey need to grab the opportunity to collaborate in varied fields to strengthen solidarity and “carve out their discourse”, a group of experts said on Friday.

“Pakistanis look at Turkey as a very revered country, so you (Turkey) must invest on this account and harness it,” said Nazir Hussain, an academic from Pakistan, while addressing the first Pakistan-Turkey Security Dialogue in Istanbul.

Referring to South Asia, he added that academics and scholars from the two countries can carve out a “discourse of their own.”

Researcher Elif Bali Kurtarir from Yildiz technical University said Turkey’s policy towards South Asia has included humanitarian touch where Ankara has reached out to help in times of disasters and has helped the persecuted like Rohingya.

She said under the “Asia Anew” policy, Ankara was trying to “build new ties and cooperation in the region.”

A group of 19 academicians and former soldiers from Pakistan held a four-day long dialogue with their Turkish counterparts discussing varied aspects of bilateral, regional, and global security issues at Istanbul Aydin University, Turkish policy think-tank SETA and Bahcesehir University.

Rabia Akhtar, a professor at the University of Lahore and leader of the delegation, said there were “plenty of common opportunities and challenges that Pakistan and Turkey can benefit from, and combat together.”

Hussain Shaheed Suhrwardy, professor of international relations at the University of Peshawar, said Pakistan was “living in different circumstances and those on the shores of the Atlantic don’t understand our circumstances.” Suggesting strengthening South-South (EastEast) cooperation, he said South Asians were “quite disappointed by European and Atlantic security model.”

He said the Mediterranean region was once the centre of power which later then shifted to the Atlantic.

“Amid China’s rise,” he noted, “this power centre is coming back to Asia and this superpower status will remain in Asia for centuries to come.”

Turkey pursuing a double-Track foreign policy: Esra Hatipoglu from Bahcesehir University said trust and common interest are important issues between any two nations for building relations.

Scanning through Turkey’s different eras of foreign policy, Hatipoglu said Ankara has played a role of “mediating power between East and West”, citing Istanbul Mediation Conference as an example.

Since 2012, Turkey has been hosting mediation con-

CMYK

ferences in Istanbul to harness the growing interest in the peace-making agenda in general and mediation in particular bringing together experts and practitioners to exchange knowledge and practices in mediation.

“Turkey tried to act as a mediator for conflict resolution all through the world and then Ankara tried to act as post-conflict resolution actor but tried to touch issues selectively, focusing on its power/capability,” she said.

Describing Turkey’s foreign policy as a combination of three elements “reinforce, renewal, and forward-looking”, she said Ankara was “pursuing a double-track foreign policy.”

“Ankara relatively enjoys independent foreign policy which is a regional and middle power and a gamechanger,” Hatipoglu said, Turkey has to “increase its selfsufficiency and invest in the defense industry.”

She said Turkey is conscious of interdependence, connectedness, and solidarity in international politics, while at the same time humanitarian issues and developmental aid continue to remain the number one priority.

Turkish membership advanTage To naTo: Tolga Sakman, who leads the Istanbul-based thinktank Center for Diplomatic Affairs and Political Studies (DIPAM), said Turkey’s membership in NATO was an “advantage” for the multi-national security alliance.

“It is an antidote to claims that NATO is an alliance of Christians […] presence of Turkish troops in Muslim areas is less disturbing,” he argued.

He said in the attempts where the Joe Biden administration wants to use NATO as a bulwark against Russia and China, “securing Turkey’s cooperation is important.”

Turkey is the second-largest military in the NATO, he said, “necessarily contributing to NATO’s overall capability and is participating in almost in all NATO missions.” However, he said the membership of NATO also “limits” Turkey’s new defense cooperation pacts with non-NATO members. Zafar Nawaz Jaspal, professor at Quaid-i-Azam University, said Russia’s war on Ukraine has led to “NATO gaining strength” as it “disrupted” the European security infrastructure.

However, he warned the current situation will lead to “asymmetrical warfare blend with hybrid warfare, arms race, nuclearization, multiplied insecurity as a new world order is taking shape.” Referring to the presence of many non-state actors in Afghanistan, he warned Pakistan cannot remain aloof from the Ukraine conflict.

Because of proxy wars, he argued, “Pakistan can’t disassociate from the Ukraine war.” He said the top priority of Russia, China and Pakistan are to see stability in Afghanistan and turn the war-torn country into a transit country.

(ii) of FTO Ordinance, 2000, the FTO office revived the dead proceedings by sharing diluted investigation Reports afresh.

These fresh proceedings conducted by the FTO office have thus far produced quite revealing results such as Income tax demand over Rs660 million has been created in six (06) such cases, taken up afresh by FBR’s concerned field formations.

In the majority of cases, earlier information disseminated by DG BTB in 2018 was admittedly wasted, shelved, lying dormant or even lost.

Tax demand created thus far is mainly default u/s 161/205 and normal assessment proceedings based on shared information may result in the creation of equally substantial tax demand.

All the basis triggering the instant OM stand established and due to ineptitude, incompetence of FBR’s functionaries and delay caused in these cases ever since 2018 has resulted in tax proceedings barred by time in a number of cases for a number of Tax Years; another blow to the state coffers.

US senator calls on Biden admin to revive ‘incredibly important’ Pakistan ties WASHINGTON Staff RepoRt

United States Senator Chris Murphy, while underscoring the importance of Pakistan-US relations, said the relationship has endured the test of time. Murphy, who is also the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counter-Terrorism of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said: “As with every bilateral relationship, there are ups and downs but this one (Pakistan-US relations) has endured the test of time and I look forward to continuing to grow it for next 75 years.” In his special message for 75 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations and the 75th anniversary of the independence of Pakistan, Senator Murphy said that the relations were “incredibly important”. “Obviously this is as important a relationship as exists for us in the United States Senate.” Highlighting the contributions of the US towards the socio-economic development of Pakistan, Senator Murphy said: “We have devoted significant resources through USAID projects to build up Pakistani democracy, to work together on joint security projects.” Pakistan’s envoy in Washington Masood Khan welcomed the statement

by Senator Murphy. He said Senator Murphy was a true friend of Pakistan on the Hill and an advocate of closer US-Pakistan ties. He said Senator Murphy had rightly pointed out that Pakistan-US ties have stood the test of time and have become resilient. This relationship, Ambassador Masood said, will bounce back with economic content at the centre. To celebrate 75 years of establishment of Pakistan-US relations, the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington D.C. has drawn up a series of programs including organising events to showcase the strengths of Pakistan-US relations, mutual areas of cooperation in critically important sectors, projection and promotion of people-to-people contacts and most importantly highlighting the important contributions being made by Pak-American citizens both in Pakistan as well as in the United States.

Tuesday, 17 May, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

Govt restrains aG Punjab from rePresentinG Punjab Govt in courts

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News Desk

HE provincial government restrained Advocate General Punjab Ahmad Awais from representing the government in the courts a day prior to the hearing on the appeals against Chief Minister Punjab Hamza Shehbaz Sharif’s oath-taking by a larger bench.

The Lahore High Court (LHC) bench

will take up the three intra-court appeals filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) over the oath administered to Hamza on the orders of the LHC. It may be mentioned that Awais was stopped from appearing in the court on behalf of the government but he did not pay heed to the instruction. Subsequently, the government issued a letter, telling him, “You are directed not to appear in any court on be-

half of the provincial government.”

Meanwhile, Additional Advocate General Jawad Yaqoob has been asked to take charge of the AG office and conduct the routine business till the new appointment of the new top lawyer.

It may be noted here that a summary seeking the removal of Awais from the AG office was sent to the governor by CM Hamza last week. It had asked the gover-

nor to sack Awais.

Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti has constituted a larger bench to hear an appeal against an order by the same court that had directed the National Assembly speaker to administer the oath to Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz.

The bench comprises Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan, Justice Shahid Jamil Khan, Justice

NEWS

05

Shehram Sarwar, Justice Sajid Mehmood Sethi and Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh.

The decision to form a five-member bench was taken in response to a petition by the PTI lawmakers that had requested the high court to set aside Justice Jawad Hassan’s verdict for being “illegal as well as beyond the facts of the case”.

The plea had also asked to expunge the “rude remarks” passed by Justice Jawad against the constitutional officers such as the governor of Punjab and the president of Pakistan in his judgement.

The other two appeals are against Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti’s decision wherein he had first ordered the president of Pakistan to nominate anyone to administer an oath to Hamza Shehbaz and in the second instance, he had advised the governor to ensure the administration of the oath.

Recycling plants at service stations hit a snag APP The Rawalpindi district administration has failed to ensure the installation of water recycling plants at car wash service stations. In 2018, the district administration had geared up a crackdown on some 110 car wash stations in the city which had failed to respond to the notices and install recycling plants to stop the waste of water.

The crackdown on car service stations was started in the city which had failed to respond to the notices and install recycling plants to stop the waste of water.

The authorities concerned had issued notices to the owners of the service stations and decided to seal the service stations which failed to install recycling plants to stop the wastage of water. A grand operation was also launched against car wash service stations and dozens were sealed but desired result could not be achieved.

In 2018, after former chief justice Saqib Nisar took notice of water being wasted, the authorities concerned issued 110 notices to the owners of the car wash service stations in Rawalpindi city areas.

In compliance with the notices, a car wash service station in Rawalpindi had set up the first water recycling plant which was installed at the Khan CNG service station located on the road between Liaquat Bagh and Committee Chowk.

According to the owner of the station, previously, they used around 20 to 30 small tanks of water every day to wash cars. But after installing the recycling plant, they had managed to lower this to just a single tank of

water per day.

The owner had added that because the plant recycles the water which they had used to clean a car, they were able to reuse the water again and again. The upshot of installing the plant, he explained, was that it had helped lower their water bill by as much as 80 per cent since they were using less water.

After the installation of the plant, the use of water at the service station had decreased drastically, he had added. The Rawalpindi and Chaklala cantonment boards have failed to implement the decision of the Supreme Court and could not ensure the installation of water recycling plants at the service stations.

Earlier, the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) had also proposed wastewater treatment plants be set up at vehicle service stations.

Automobile service stations use potable water for car wash which goes waste. According to experts, the wastewater at service stations could be recycled to get sparkle-clear water which could be reused for the car wash. The wastewater of service stations has only one per cent of waste, including mud, grease, oil, sand and detergents.

About 3 billion litres of freshwater is annually wasted in Pakistan which could be used by 666,000 people for drinking purposes. A person on average consumes 150 liters of water a day. With demand for freshwater increasing, such plants will help reduce the pollution and wastage of potable water.

Photo shows Ghazanfar Azzam, President and CEO MMBL, and Asim Zia Alam CEO WebDoc signing a partnership agreement to scale digital healthcare soulutions and improve healthcare services through the use ICT. Sardar Abubakr, Chief Finance & Digital Officer MMBL, Faisal Mahmood, Chief Information Officer along with senior officials from both organizations were also present at the signing ceremony.

Saudi delegation reviews Hajj arrangements by visiting IIA News Desk

Unilever, Akhuwat, NOWPDP to partner for develop sustainable recruitment process to ensure equitable employment opportunities Press releAse Unilever Pakistan has partnered with Akhuwat and NOWPDP to develop an inclusive and sustainable recruitment process to ensure equitable employment opportunities. The initiative also aims to enable specially-abled persons and transgender persons with the professional tools necessary to succeed in corporate careers. As part of this ambition, Unilever Pakistan is launching a one-year contract Trainee program, which is designed to upskill participants and prepare them for entry into their preferred career roles.

A delegation from Saudi Arabia arrived here on Sunday to review arrangements made to assist Haj pilgrims under the pilot project “Road to Makkah”.

The team will help with the immigration clearance after scrutinising the travel documents of Pakistani pilgrims at the Islamabad airport.

The Saudi delegation arrived at the Islamabad airport after a visit to Lahore to review arrangements.

Islamabad International Airport Manager Adnan Khan briefed the Saudi delegation about the Hajj arrangements. Pilgrims going to Saudi Arabia from Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore airports will be facilitated

under the “Road to Makkah project”.

Adnan told the Saudi delegation that a system will be installed at special counters for immigration and preclearance of Hajj pilgrims. Immigration of pilgrims from the Islamabad airport will be completed with the help of the Saudi staff. It may be recalled that under the Road to Makkah project, pilgrims from Islamabad had been facilitated in 2019. Hajj operations did not take place for years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Under the “Road to Makkah” project — which has been initiated by Saudi Arabia to facilitate Muslim pilgrims — all immigration requirements are fulfilled at the airport of origin.

The project also includes other Muslim countries, like Indonesia and Malaysia.

POL import bill surges 95pc to $17bn in 10 months APP

The imports of overall petroleum group witnessed an increase of 95.84 per cent during the first ten months of the current fiscal year (2021-22) as compared to the corresponding period of the last year.

During the period under review, the total imports of the petroleum group stood at $17.033 billion, as against the imports of $8.697 billion last year, according to the latest data issued by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

Among petroleum commodities, the import of petroleum products rose by 121.15 percent, from $3.865 billion last year to $8.549 billion during the period under review.

The imports of petroleum cured also increased by 75.34 percent, from $2.407 billion last year to $4.221billion during July-April (2021-22) whereas the imports of liquefied natural gas surge by 82.90 percent from $2.026 billion to $3.705 billion.

Article continues after this ad-

vertisement Similarly, the import of liquefied petroleum gas grew by 39.86 percent, from $398.216 million to $556.962 million whereas the imports of all other petroleum group commodities increased by 33.43 percent, from $0.166 million to $0.221 million, the data revealed. Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, the petroleum group imports witnessed an increase 94.38 percent during the month of April 2022 as compared to the same month of last year.

Pakistan listed among drought hit countries by UN News Desk Pakistan is listed among the 23 countries by the United Nations that are facing drought emergencies in the last two years, stated a report released by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Other than Pakistan, the list also includes Afghanistan, Angola, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Mauritania, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozam-

bique, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Pakistan, the United States and Zambia.

Emphasising the need to provide immediate funding to the developing countries, the report also stated that an additional four million square kilometres will need to be rehabilitated by 2050.

United Nations Global Land Outlook says that Desertification Control through Sustainable Land Management Productive land is scarce in Pakistan — with 80% of the country being arid or semi-arid.

The land degradation and desertification are caused by unsustainable land management practices, coupled with increased demand for natural resources, and driven by a rapidly growing and largely rural population dependent on dry lands for their livelihoods.

To address these problems, in 2007, the Pakistani government began implementing a Sustainable Land Management Project across nine dry land districts. Over eight years, 120 square kilometres of degraded rangeland were rehabili-

CMYk

tated through reseeding and community-based grazing management, and a further 80 square kilometres under sustainable rainfed agriculture and water conservation measures.

In 2015, the project was extended and rolled out more widely, utilising water control and storage structures, creating shelterbelts and rangeland management plans, restoring degraded dry land forests (for eg: community tree nurseries and plantations for domestic fuel), and implementing sand dune sta-

bilisation measures. As a result, some 13,000 households directly or indirectly benefited from nearly 200 square kilometres of improved land health, better access to water for livestock, and reduced wind erosion.

This success of the program inspired the Billion Trees Afforestation Project in Pakistan’s mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which saw 3,500 square kilometres of forests and degraded land restored in just two years.

In 2018, the popularity of this initiative gave impetus to the world’s largest reforestation initiative — the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme — as part of a suite of nature-based solutions to fight desertification and climate change in Pakistan.

In the province of Balochistan, Pakistan, indigenous management techniques, known as the karez system, utilise tunnels that follow a natural gradient to deliver groundwater without employing mechanical energy.

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Tuesday, 17 May, 2022

06 COMMENT

On unconventional weight loss measures

The task before PM Sharif Creating consensus within ruling alliance

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he PMl-N looks divided over how to handle the issue of subsidy on petroleum products, a booby trap left by a scheming Imran Khan to avenge the no-confidence move that threw him out of power. The PMl-N leaders understand that if the government was to transfer the burden of rs 120 billion a month to the consumers it would be an immensely unpopular measure.

The PMl-N alone is unwilling to take the responsibility for the move. As Interior Minister rana Sanaullah put it, his party has the ability to revive the economy, ruined by the PTI, but there is a cost for it that all coalition partners have to jointly share. It is maintained that public resentment can be reduced by diversion of development funds to large scale targeted subsidies and by putting the economy on track by recourse to IMF which will encourage friendly countries to extend loans to Pakistan. By restricting imports and increasing exports the country could also bring down the current account deficit. The PM is expected to discuss the issue with coalition partners before making an announcement. It appears from Bilawal Bhutto’s Karachi address that the PPP is willing to join hands.

There are suspicions however that the ruling coalition might be sent home after it has withdrawn subsidies instead of being allowed to enforce economic reforms over the next fifteen months that would earn it public acclaim. The insistence from certain quarters to hold the elections by October means the present government would be required to hand over to the interim set up after July this year which will not be acceptable to coalition partners. PM Shahbaz Sharif would be required to explain to all stakeholders including the establishment the grave situation of the economy and the need to jointly take urgent decisions before Pakistan ends up in a much deeper economic crisis.

The coalition government is left with only two options: raise fuel prices or dissolve the National Assembly and hold elections. IK has already announced that his long march will reach Islamabad on May 20 and would not return until a date for the next general elections was given. Circumstances require PM Shahbaz Sharif to move apace.

A brief survey haSaN afTaB SaEED

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he legendary George Carlin did not take kindly to any form of dopiness. To those, for instance, who react to news of somebody’s untimely demise by saying, ‘But I met him last night!’ or something equally dopey, he was wont to say, ‘Apparently, that did not help!’

Few among us possess Carlin’s candour, even when it comes to less sombre matters. A case in point is people’s peculiar notions about effective recipes for weight loss. As a rule, the more curious and outlandish the idea, the more enthusiastically and persistently it is likely to be held and shared. here is my take on some of these ideas, in my own respectful and polite way.

In the realm of weight management, as in any other field of life, common-sense ideas that work are few. Sky is the limit, however, when it comes to out-of-the-box solutions that do not work. It helps to divide weight management measures into conventional and unconventional. Controlled eating, regular exercise, and having a purpose of life (other than eating) are conventional ways of weight management. Anything other than these comes under the unconventional category. The latter are all the rage today – in the brave new world, whoever wants anything to do with the ignominy of relying on worn-out methods from a bygone era?

The commonality between these unconventional ideas – which makes them so very attractive – is that hardly any hard work or sacrifice is demanded of the individual who wants to lose weight. All he needs to do is observe the idea work its miracle. As mentioned above, the only problem with these impressive-sounding notions is that they do not work. But if the enthusiasts are disappointed when these ideas fail to translate into tangible progress, they rarely show it. For they keep cherishing and proselytizing the same ideas, charmingly indifferent to their results (or lack thereof).

The first item on this list comprises fancy diet plans formulated by expert nutritionists. The more exotic (and therefore expensive) the diet plan, the more effective it is supposed to be. That, at any rate, is the theory. In practice it is a rare diet plan that ever works

Terror rears its head Who is minding the store?

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errOrISM isn’t quite the undefeated monster that we would like to believe. Not only are entire networks waiting in the shadows to strike, there are also the actual instances of violence. Consider, for instance, the suicide blast that has claimed six lives in KP’s Mirali Tehsil. And then there was the murder of two shopkeepers from the Sikh community in Peshawar from the day before.

The real question does seem to be whether anyone is minding the store. Former federal information minister Fawad Chaudhry was quick to link the second incident to the ‘imported government’ of Shehbaz Sharif. Not realizing that his party runs the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province; law and order was always a provincial subject, even before the 18th Amendment. It would do the former minister well to also sort things out with Chief Minister Mahmood Khan before going off on social media.

Yes, the ISKP has claimed responsibility for the incident in Peshawar. And yes, Mirali is part of the former tribal North Waziristan district. Those two details of each of the two incidents mean that the federal intelligence agencies are also expected to be more proactive and that they were caught off guard. Whereas it is not becoming for a representative of the ruling PTI to try to absolve the party of responsibility, others are certainly well-placed to ask the intelligence apparatus whether they have their hands full with matters political and whether the hapless residents of the Pashtun belt have to fend for themselves.

It is the need of the hour for there to be a concerted effort not only by the federal and provincial governments but also by the military intelligence networks to ensure that terror networks are completely disrupted. There also needs to be accountability of the military and other law enforcement agencies by the political governments to ensure that there is effective, objectively verified progress in the larger war against terror. Only then could we be on the path to normalcy. Devoid of the aforementioned accountability, the occasional half-victories on the terror front that the public sees in opaque, hastily read out press releases, will only be treating the symptoms of the terror problem, at best.

Shaza arif

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OCIAl media has spearheaded the communication of information faster and easier throughout the world. Various platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snap Chat and linkedIn etc. have now become an integral part of our lives. Among its impacts, social media has also emerged as an influential tool in political affairs given its ability to amplify messages quickly through the above-stated digital platforms. The recent events in Pakistan are a glaring example of this reality. The country’s political arena has been turbulent for the past few weeks, where surprisingly new developments have taken place in a relatively short time.

The increasing use of social media platforms also extended to political deliberations and a spontaneous outpouring of emotions on various platforms. like other countries worldwide, Pakistan has also witnessed a growth in social media users over time. At the start of 2022, internet penetration in Pakistan stood at 36.5% of the total population, i.e. 82.90 million internet users with 71.70 million active social media users. In the ranking of digital apps in Pakistan, YouTube is on top with 71.70 million users, followed

by Facebook with 43.55 million users. Twitter users are comparatively less at 3.40 million users, i.e., 1.5% of the total population. however, if the level of Twitter engagement, analysed over the past few weeks, a no-

Founding Editor

Yousaf Nizami Umar Aziz

Joint Editor

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

In the realm of weight management, as in any other field of life, commonsense ideas that work are few. Sky is the limit, however, when it comes to out-of-the-box solutions that do not work. It helps to divide weight management measures into conventional and unconventional.

A major influence on peoples’ opinions

Arif Nizami (Late)

M. A. Niazi

user having to lift a finger. Sadly, that is where the beauty ends because… you guessed it… whatever else they do, they do not make anybody thinner.

An even more modern solution consists of weight loss spectacles that make food appear blue and therefore less appetizing. It is no doubt a revolutionary idea. But those who have used it report that subconscious over-reliance on their memory and other senses (mainly smell) thwarts all the expected benefits accruing from the use of these spectacles.

Acupuncture would have worked spectacularly, if only human body was a balloon and a needle was all that was needed to rid it of all its excess air. Dietary supplements sound great too. The shrewd reader would have guessed, however, that they do not work either. Their very name suggests that if anything, they would increase, not reduce, one’s weight. To lose weight, one needs to eat less, not more.

Green tea, in one or more of its numerous varieties, is a necessary item in any self-respecting weight management program. Many scientific studies have demonstrated beyond a shadow of doubt its efficacy in weight reduction.

According to various estimates, it takes from about seventy-five to eighty-five years for green tea (on its own steam) to result in a reduction of 5 kgs. Chewing gums, though effective, suffer from the same limitation. Many people stick faithfully to drinking green-tea and chewing gums but with little to show for their perseverance on account of their short lifespans. To be fair, these items have a promising utility in the near-future when life-expectancy is almost certain to improve drastically.

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

Social media and politics in Pakistan

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

because nobody has bothered to inform the bulk of these enthusiasts that unlike an amulet, a diet plan works only when it is adhered to. Most of them spend all their energies deciding which diet plan is the best.

Others are smart enough to realize that since they are not going to follow the plan anyway, they might as well select the most outrageous sounding one. In either case, the result is Nutritionist 1: ‘User’ 0.

Other unconventional recipes for losing weight include dreaming about becoming thin and beautiful for hours on end while admiring photos of marvellously formed models advertising items of one brand or another. To say that this activity is counterproductive would be misleading. Of course, brand owners find it extremely productive since it helps them sell their products. It has never helped anybody to lose weight, however. What is worse, the dress (or whatever else it is) somehow never looks nearly as good on the dreamer as it does on the lovely model.

No unconventional weight loss plan worth its salt comes without a massage regimen. The theory that this is based on could not possibly make more sense. A massage is supposed to help get rid of all that excess fat by first ‘loosening’ it (at the hands of the masseur) so that it dissolves and disappears over time. And sure enough, it does loosen the fat leading to its ultimate disappearance – albeit from the body of the masseur. If anything, the one who gets the massage feels hungrier and all set for the next hearty meal – a well-deserved one after a productive massage session.

In the technological age, massage is not any more the only way to ‘melt off’ excess fat. It can be done by all sorts of things: patches, gels, warm packs, and vests and a whole line-up of belts – some incorporating heating elements, some that vibrate. The beauty of all these products being that they do all the work without the

I

Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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table spike was observed in March amidst the unfolding of various political events. It is pertinent to mention that Twitter is more relevant in political terms as nearly every key person in domestic and international politics holds a Twitter handle, adding to its authenticity and credibility. Similarly, every political party maintains an official Twitter handle for its outreach. Consequently, the engagement figure of Twitter users rose from 7.97% in February 2022 to 20.56% in March 2022. Increased content in the form of tweets, posts, and memes took Twitter by storm. In addition, different hashtags also trended for consecutive days and ultimately transformed into social media campaigns.

The other platform whose viewership has increased in the last few weeks is YouTube. The presence of numerous channels on the platform offering political analysis can be one of the reasons for greater engagement which rose from 1.21% in February 2022 to 9.71% in March 2022. The ease of starting a YouTube channel and increased level of independence have made it a good platform for expressing one’s views. Any individual can set up their own channel and use it as a medium to communicate their thoughts to any target audience. leading journalists and talk show anchors in Pakistan have also launched their own YouTube channels to provide independent and uncensored analysis compared to television talk shows. Moreover, YouTube is relatively more engaging given that the content is video-based, making it more user-friendly.

These trends manifest that Pakistani citizens take significant interest in social media vis-à-vis ongoing politics. It is evident that social media is emerging as

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

a pervasive force and will continue to play a critical role in domestic politics in the future as well. It would not be wrong to infer that all this also has consequences. Social media platforms are a game of narratives and counter-narratives. Influencing public opinion has become more important and demanding than ever for different stakeholders, whereas social media is becoming an instrumental asset in this regard.

At the same time, these platforms can also be used to assess the pulse of the masses at any given time.

As for the public, with so much information coming in from diverse sources, it is easy to fall into the trap of misinformation. Circulation of unverified and fake political news has become a norm. It is imperative to be mindful of the fact that not all information being circulated is correct and may be motivated by dangerous objectives. The blind absorption of available narratives can lead to immense political polarisation contributing to an internal insecurity in the long run.

It is also pertinent to mention that 63.5% of the population, i.e., 144.4 million people living in Pakistan do not have internet access for the time being. In all likelihood, this number will decrease over time. Although social media is pivotal in removing information barriers regarding ongoing events, mishandling of social media platforms can have dire consequences. hence, one needs to be aware of the destabilising impact of online fake news, be more proactive in looking at the sources of information and make up one’s mind based on fact-based evidence not just hearsay and whatever is ‘trending’.

As for the public, with so much information coming in from diverse sources, it is easy to fall into the trap of misinformation. Circulation of unverified and fake political news has become a norm. It is imperative to be mindful of the fact that not all information being circulated is correct and may be motivated by dangerous objectives.

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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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Shaza Arif is a Researcher at the Centre for Aerospace & Security Studies (CASS), Islamabad, Pakistan.

She can be reached at cass.thinkers@gmail.com

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

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Tuesday, 17 May, 2022

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

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Make or break

Children in Pakistan A relentless spree of violence SaNia arif

O

Ver the last couple of months, violence against children has seen a sharp rise as social media and electronic media is brimming with stories of abduction, torture and murder of children. Three cases have especially received the attention of the public.

The first one is from Karachi where a 14year-old girl was reportedly abducted from right outside her home. According to her father, Dua Zehra went out to “throw garbage but did not come back.” The family registered an FIr as the police and rangers launched an investigation.

Activists and public expressed sheer reservations over the case.

The girl was eventually found. Journalist hamid Mir reported: “Good news. Missing girl Dua Zehra found from Sanghar.” however, she was reported to have gotten ‘married’ much to the horror of her parents, who insist that she is a minor. The local court has allowed the ‘marriage’ to stand and given Dua Zehra permission to go with her husband since the ‘marriage’ was undertaken in accordance with Islamic law.

In another horrific incident of child abuse, a 13-year-old maid was reportedly tortured to death by a homeowner in lahore. As per the police, the child was rushed to Children’s hospital but the doctors pronounced her dead. “The deceased was also carrying old and new torture marks on different parts of her body,” the medical report revealed.

And then there was a third incident, which observers noted as the most horrific among the recent ones. A six-year-old boy’s tortured dead body was found after he went missing a few days ago. “An axe was used to kill the boy and his eyes were gouged out as well,” according to reports. Observers maintain there are a number of unreported such incidents, highlighting the plight of children in the country.

As per a report by an NGO in October 2021, 10 children are abused in Pakistan on daily bases, and this is done by the people “they know

well.” The report entitled ‘Six Month Cruel Numbers 2021’ stated that the average number of children subjected to abuse has increased by two children per day in comparison to JanuaryJune 2020. The report further said that total of 1,896 children abuse incidents took place between Jan-June 2021. “Of these, 1,084 cases were of sexual abuse against children, 523 cases were of abduction, 238 cases were of missing children, and 51 cases were of child marriages,” the report said, adding that 53% were girls, while 47% were boys.

Analysts say the recent spike in such incidents is indeed worrisome because it shows that there are low to none protection structure against children abuse in Pakistan.

Although, the former government passed Zainab Alert law to counter the incidents of child abduction and torture, however, on the ground it seems there is no concrete structure to counter the menace. “effective screening strategies for sexually abused children must be developed and implemented nationwide,” notes Durr-eShahwar Siddiqui a supervisor pharmacist at a secondary care hospital in Karachi. “healthcare professionals must be adequately trained to treat such patients with extra care and privacy because children’s claims of sexual abuse are less likely to be believed and most cases go unnoticed even by their own families.”

One of the significant aspects in these incidents is that the children from the lower class of the society are in more danger because the fam-

ilies either don’t report the incidents of sexual abuse, or they fear the police or they are pressurized by the strong. Also, the above-mentioned report stated that most of the cases happened when children “knew” the abuser, which experts say exposes the loopholes in our family fabric, especially in joint family systems.

Analysts say that along with the government, people need to take precautionary steps themselves, teach their children about the wrong touch, ask them to be careful and tell them to have trust on their parents so they can share such incidents without any hesitation.

“Social and cultural constraints also act as significant deterrents that hinder individuals from reporting the crime. recently, the Sindh Child Protection Authority chairperson Shamim Mumtaz visited a survivor of rape in Pannu Aqil and advised her and her family to take the matter to a jirga instead of ‘wasting time in going to police stations’” notes barrister and analyst rida Tahir.

“Such reprehensible remarks from a government official add fuel to fire and further discourage victims and survivors of child sexual abuse from reporting their case to the police.”

Furthermore, experts say the families shouldn’t make it a matter of “honour” for them because it is not the mistake of child. Instead, it is their duty to call out the abuser, because otherwise they will continue to commit the same crime.

Analysts say the recent spike in such incidents is indeed worrisome because it shows that there are low to none protection structure against children abuse in Pakistan.

Although, the former government passed Zainab Alert law to counter the incidents of child abduction and torture, however, on the ground it seems there is no concrete structure to counter the menace.

The writer is a freelance columnist

The contemporary scenario of Pakistan is worth alarming. After the former Prime Minister was ousted from the country, legions of people were concerned about their forthcoming situation. Masses have been divided into factions to support different political parties for handing over their beloved state for its betterment. Whereas, all the key leaders of these parties have been fighting against themselves for the rule; power politics has been played for so long in Pakistan. No doubt, everyone gives their words to make our dear resilient state to be prosperous yet the horrific circumstances in the whole country keep on amplifying owing to different social evils- poverty, inflation, unemployment, illiteracy and so forth. And amongst all, poverty is the biggest matter of concern since it is the root cause of many horrendous outcomes such as terrorism, malnutrition, crimes, child labour, and illiteracy, to name a few.

After the downfall of Mr Khan, the real question emerges whether the regime of contemporary Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ameliorates the misery of the society or it will further deteriorate it. Pakistan has fallen badly under the debt of external actors which is indeed a massive stumbling block in the country’s progress. Only time will tell that where the rule of PMl-N in the country proves to be fruitful or not. however, the key issue, which has been rooted in Pakistan must be addressed with appropriate time and measures, is the sovereignty of the country. Sovereignty is one of the key factors in the state constitution. living independent is not only the basic right of every sovereign state but it is imperative for the state’s well-being too as it can take its internal and external decisions independently. That means only the state leaders and civil society determines their destiny, not the external powers.

So, keeping in view all these situations, Pakistan must acknowledge the fact that it should maintain its relations with those which could fulfil its national interests in the international community. Pakistan must learn from its mistakes in history and try to take its decisions independently as it used to take in the era of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto when the whole country witnessed incredible progress in almost all sectors. Apart from sovereignty, Pakistan should also put its genuine efforts into improving its economic conditions by reducing unemployment by giving incentives and jobs to youth. More importantly, civil society must make itself to be able to judge and choose its political leaders rationally rather than emotionally.

ABRAIZ SHAH LAHORE

How important is Fitr The word “Fitr” is an Arabic word which has been taken from “Fitrat,” which means “the innate nature.” It’s called “zakat of the body.” All Muslims are commanded to observe the fasts of ramadan, and it is mandatory for the fasting person to pay the Fitr for the fasts. Scholars believe that a person will be rejected if he does not pay for his fasts. That is, the fasts can’t go above the sky; they are dangled in the sky.

The hadith says: “The fasts of the month of ramadan lie between the sky and the earth, and they do not go to the refuge of God without the remittance of the Fitr.” It’s mentioned in the hadith that the Prophet (PBUh) commanded that the Fitr must be given to the poor before the eid prayer. Similarly, if the Fitr were paid within the first 10 days of ramadan, it would be rather better. Apart from that, it should be recompensed at the appointed time. In Islam, there are eight heads of the Fitr, as the heads of Zakat are described in Islam. In Islam, the summons of Fitr is the best and most beautiful way of expressing affection to the poor, incapable, and inaccessible, and sharing it with eid. The Fitr is obligatory for every adult Muslim. It is compulsory for a person who has seven and a half pieces of gold, fifty-two and a half pieces of silver, or equal to their cash value to be paid.

Thus, it is not obligatory for children to pay Fitr because they don’t own the possessions. So, instead, their parents can pay for their innate nature. In addition, it is the parents’ responsibility to pay attention to their innate nature when living at home. The hadith says, “The person who pays the Fitr before his death returns for one year.”

According to scholars, the innate nature of an individual should be credited to only one deserving person. Similarly, innate nature should be given to the other person as long as the Fitr is appropriately paid. The Prophet (PBUh), who often gave “raisins” or “date palm” in Fitr, weighed 3 kg. likewise, the amount of wheat, rice, barley or their cash equivalent of 3 kg can be paid as Fitr. If Allah Almighty says, “If you thank you, I will give you more.” May Allah Almighty grant every Muslim the potential to pay ‘Charity Fitr’!

ASLAM PARVEZ SINDH

Political chaos The political parties whether they be PMl-N, PPP or PTI should understand that the whole country has horrendously fallen under an immense debt trap. every single time, the country is reduced to going to international institutions and other foreign actors to get into more debt just to pay off its previous one.

Since financial stability is imperative for a state’s progress; without being stable internally how can a state manage its eternal affairs? Nowadays politics in Pakistan has become another source of entertainment like cricket and other dramas. Social media has become the battleground where people have been divided into factions in order to support alternative parties. The public is introduced to a variety of memes and they come up with hilarious dialogues for putting down opponent political leaders. Sadly, politicians also insult and put down their opponents verbally as well as sometimes even physically, as seen in the Punjab Assembly. Desperately, in all this chaos of putting down their opposition, they tend to show negligence in state affairs instead of profoundly working for the country’s progress.

Therefore, all the state actors must acknowledge that leadership is a critical role. If any leader shows disharmony, that bad behaviour trickles down and has a negative impact on the civil society of the state.

Furthermore, all the political parties must acknowledge that consensus is crucial for the betterment of the state so they must keep aside their own selfinterests. They should swallow bitter pills and engage with their political rivals for making key decisions. They ought to comprehend that in this fragile phase of the country, where it has fallen down in the series of debt, only the agenda for pulling it out must be prioritized with collective effort.

NEHA ALI DHAREJO SINDH

08 WORLD VIEW 17th May 22_Layout 1 5/16/2022 10:30 PM Page 1

Tuesday, 17 May, 2022

08 WORLD VIEW

US IS havIng troUble fIndIng aSIan coUntrIeS WIllIng to Shoot mISSIleS at chIna WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A SATIRICAL HEADLINE IS ACTUALLY JUST AN INSTANCE OF SAYING THE QUIET PART OUT LOUD

rT BRadley BlankenShip

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satirical impression of a headline in the ‘Foreign Policy’ magazine, authored by one Raymond L. Bloodthirst Jr., began circulating around the internet recently. It read as follows: ‘We’re Having Trouble Finding Asian Countries Willing to Shoot Missiles at China.’ The subheading then lambasted China’s neighbors for not being “democratic enough” to potentially sacrifice thousands of lives in this endeavor.

It’s very clearly fake, although some people who shared it didn’t examine it too closely and believed it was real – and one journalist on the “disinformation” beat, who apparently works for Voice of America, made a Twitter thread about the post. Well, it may be hard to really blame users who circulated the satirical headline since it is, at least in part, based in reality.

As it turns out, a recent article by the decidedly non-satirical RAND Corporation, a highly influential American nonprofit global policy think tank, had the exact same take as the satirical headline. RAND wrote on Twitter about its report: “A U.S. strategy in the Indo-Pacific that relies on an ally agreeing to permanently host ground-based intermediate-range missiles risks failing because of an inability to find a willing partner.”

The section of the report outlining the key findings goes on to list US allies in the region, such as Thailand, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Australia, and discuss how each of them would be reluctant

buffalo might never have happened if online hate had been tackled after christchurch SOCIAL MEDIA GIANTS META, TWITTER AND GOOGLE HAVE DONE LITTLE TO FIGHT RADICALISATION, VIOLATING THEIR OWN RULES

GuardiaN

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imRan ahmed

MERICANS are facing another tragedy – this time in Buffalo – as 11 Black and two white victims were shot in a “racially motivated hate crime” suspected to have been perpetrated by a young man who spent much of his life online, where he appears to have been radicalised. He used the same digital playbook as the Christchurch terrorist: livestream footage of his attack and a “manifesto” that quoted the same “great replacement” and other white supremacist theories. He mentions the Christchurch terrorist by name in his manifesto.

In our most recent research report looking at anti-Muslim hate, we found that the big social media companies were collectively failing to act on 89% of posts that advocated the great replacement theory – despite pledges made in the wake of the Christchurch terrorist attack and subsequent, ideologically driven violent extremism attacks at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh; in Halle, Germany; and in El Paso. These are not “lone wolf” attacks. The individuals are connected through online communities on social media, where they share ideas, tactics and content.

In a joint statement in 2019, Meta, Twitter and Google committed to uphold the Christchurch Call to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online.

They stated that they would be “resolute in [their] commitment to ensure [they] are doing all [they] can to fight the hatred and extremism that lead to terrorist violence”.

The failure of social media companies to act sufficiently on known racist content connected with terrorism is a vi-

olation of their own terms and conditions, the pledges made to an international community when the cameras were rolling, and the dignity that the victims of Buffalo were entitled to have – the right to life.

Social media and online spaces are often where people meet, seek information and become radicalised through a rabbit-hole of lies, hate and misinformation. Those with fringe beliefs will be exposed to increasingly more radical content as a result of recommendation algorithms. The failure of social media giants to effectively tackle online hate and misinformation has real-world impacts.

Words can kill.

Perhaps the only thing that explains why – despite so many pledges, so many platitudes and commitments to voluntary frameworks – the social media platforms have failed to act is because of the memo that Andrew Bosworth, now chief technical officer of Meta, wrote to his fellow employees on their internal messaging board, called the Ugly Truth. In it he said: “So we connect more people. That can be bad if they make it negative. Maybe it costs a life by exposing someone to bullies. Maybe someone dies in a terrorist attack co-ordinated on our tools. And still we connect people.” It is, quite simply, a bald statement of personal indifference to the grief of people, families and our nations.

It is time for governments to act – much as they are doing with the online safety bill in the United Kingdom and the Digital Services Act in the European Union – to increase safety, transparency and democratic accountability, and ensure that the responsibility for harm is borne by social media companies, not just by our societies.

The holdout remains the US, where there is no real urgency to the debate beyond flaccid claims that one side or another is being “cancelled”. The grim, inevitable, reductive, partisan politicisation of yet another important debate has slowed progress, and yet it has become impossibly clear, after 6 January 2021, after pandemic misinformation claimed tens of thousands of American lives, and now, after Buffalo, that if we leave things to social media companies, people all around the world will suffer. It is time for US politicians to take action.

Imran Ahmed is chief executive of the Center for Countering Digital Hate.

to accept US GBIRMs – either because of “historical” reluctance or opposition from China. It does, however, suggest that “the most likely strategy to succeed would be helping Japan develop an arsenal of groundbased, anti-ship missile capabilities.” This would be the first step in getting Japan to accept GBIRMs, it says.

It appears that the satire was not too far off the mark. Indeed, what it succeeded in doing was critique RAND’s position by bringing the unsaid to the fore, which is the mark of good satire. It invites us to ridicule this position because of how patently absurd it is. Yes, the idea of the US placing intermediate-range missiles in China’s neighborhood is ridiculous, and when you mention the logical conclusion of this policy then it does appear just stupid.

I am reminded of one dramatic principle, Chekhov’s gun. The idea goes that a writer must make every detail of a story or play contribute to the overall narrative. Writers should not make false promises in narrative

works: details that may create misleading expectations should be omitted, whereas those that are included should ultimately be involved in the narrative’s resolution. To sum it up, you should never introduce a gun in a story that you aren’t prepared to use. Reality doesn’t always conform to art (though we can see that actual news headlines and satire are sometimes not far apart), but one has to wonder whether these GBIRMs aren’t one of Chekhov’s guns. Why else would the US want to place such weapons near China if it isn’t prepared to actually use them?

This is why it is such a provocative move – because placing these missiles in China’s neighborhood necessarily implies that they could be used against China. If anything, just the threat of that force is inherently coercive and undermines China’s sovereignty and independence. It also necessarily implies that whichever country might choose to house such weapons would be complicit in this threat, i.e., they’d have to be “Willing to Shoot Missiles at China.”

Such a policy is extraordinarily destructive and undermines global peace. China is a nuclear-armed state that, although having a very restrained nuclear policy compared to other nuclear powers, would still use them if they are introduced into a conflict. Meanwhile, the United States would probably go to any lengths to win an outright conflict against China. The US remains, after all, the only country to have ever actually used nuclear weapons in a war, having dropped two atomic bombs on Japan at the conclusion of World War II. We can see that provoking a conflict between these two countries could lead to a terminal nuclear war, which is an outcome that benefits no one and only endangers our existence as an organized form of life on this planet. That’s why people are excoriating this policy – because it is absolutely deranged. If no countries in China’s neighborhood end up wanting to house US intermediate-range missiles, that would be a positive development for humanity.

Bradley Blankenship is an American journalist, columnist and political commentator. He has a syndicated column at CGTN and is a freelance reporter for international news agencies including Xinhua News Agency.

Why does truth not seem to matter in India anymore?

News LauNdry

I

Raj ShekhaR Sen

t was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity.” (Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities) Dickens could not have imagined how accurately he would be describing the world more than a hundred and fifty years later. For today we do live in a world where it is at once the best of times and the worst of times, where vaccines work and don’t work, millions of Covid deaths happened and didn’t happen, the Taj Mahal is a mausoleum and it’s Tejo Mahalaya, and on and on.

India’s ruling regime recently came up with the outline for a new school syllabus that won’t have chapters on Mughal courts, the Non-Aligned Movement, Faiz’s poetry, democracy and diversity. It’s natural for different political and ideological interest groups to read and interpret different facets of history and even the present differently.

But India now appears to embody two different realities of completely different information sources and belief systems.

A troubling reminder was the recent spate of violence around Ramnavmi and how it was documented by social, digital, and print media. The more pro-establishment voices portrayed it as an attack by Muslim stonepelters on peaceful Hindu processions and the other side called it an attack by majority Hindu factions on local Muslim populations.

Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist at the New York University, talks about how modern nation states and democracies are bound together through just three major forces – social capital (extensive social networks with high levels of trust), strong institutions, and shared stories.

A nation, after all, is but a collection of people who believe that they have a common story that ties them into a common people.

As Benedict Anderson writes in Imagined Communities, “What binds us diverse people into common idea of a nation is an imagined fraternal comradeship. This common fraternity is founded upon the idea of a common narrative of history with common heroes and villains.”

So what happens to a nation state when there is no common story? Walter Cronkite, the great American newsman, said, “It is not the reporter’s job to be a patriot or to presume to determine where patriotism lies. His job is to relate the facts.” But in today’s media ecosystem, which relies heavily on click-based engagement, much like social media, it pays to be viral. The key to virality is being liked by the largest number of people and, therefore, aiming for the lowest common denominator of human emotions.

So most media houses have taken to what can only be termed as replicating virality for television, and it pays to go viral. Arnab

Goswami said a few years ago, “I don’t believe in this fake objectivity. I’m an Indian and I will be on the side of India.”

In a recent speech, former US president Barack Obama said, “For more and more of us, search and social media platforms aren’t just our window into the internet. They serve as our primary source of news and information. No one tells us that the window is blurred, subject to unseen distortions, and subtle manipulations.”

According to a Reuters global survey, 82% Indians rely on online and social media for all of their news. And what they see as news is determined by specific choices made

by Big Tech platforms using fine-tuned algorithms. With limited tools to parse what is true and what is not it is natural they often fall prey to information that feels right but is perhaps not founded in truth.

The information we consume determines our worldview and when that information is marinated in alternate facts that push us towards a specific way of looking at the world, a world where we can see ourselves and our kind as the just and the righteous, it isn’t difficult to buy into that worldview especially when there is no competing narrative that comes up on the feed. And that is where our worlds diverge. But why do we consume the information we consume?

OUR JUST WORLD: “Englishmen are dying for England, Americans are dying for America, Germans are dying for Germany, Russians are dying for Russia,” Joseph Heller writes in Catch 22. “There are now fifty or sixty countries fighting in this war. Surely so many countries can’t all be worth dying for.”

But the reality is that the Englishman, and the American and Russian and everyone feels that the nation is worth dying for because to them it is not just another nation and another just tribe, it is an extension of our identity.

At the root of this emotional reaction is our desire to nest our existence in a just world. A world where everything that goes into forming our identity comes from an unadulterated sense of justice and righteousness. Where we, our fathers and forefathers and the land of our people is laminated in goodness. This is known as the just world hypothesis. According to the just world hypothesis, people have a strong desire or need to believe that the world is an orderly, predictable and just place, where people get what they deserve.

Social psychologist Melvin Lerner argues that this has significant social implications.

It’s because of this idea that we blame victims for crimes committed against them, or feel that people in poverty are suffering the consequences of their choices, or oppose welfare schemes for those we consider as the “other”.

So, when we read about the Taj Mahal being a temple and not a tomb, it feels nice.

It seems to fit in just world that was ex-

plained to us, the world that makes sense, where the Hindu was the meek and always just victim and the invading Muslim a barbarian. Or when Audrey Truschke explains the life and policies of Aurangzeb in a way that does not confirm with that view, no matter how well researched, the immediate visceral reaction is to discard it.

We inherit a just world and then all through our life we try to find reasons that help us prove it right. Then on social media we find many more who have inherited the same just world as us, who agree with and confirm us further and then the algorithms do their job of cementing our worldview.

Soon enough our world contains information that is also our cheerleader.

AN EXAMINED LIFE: Adopting any ideology as de facto truth is not a voluntary act, it’s a process dictated by a million things that create our life and social circumstances. People adopt ideologies unknowingly all the time – unquestioned, mild allegiance to religion, to traditional values, to unquestioned notions of patriotism. Just world hypothesis removes from us our abilities to have healthy skepticism. That belief in the justness of our world makes us forward that one news article or share that one tweet based on one untested belief. One alt-fact, a half-truth can soon multiply into a news shared by thousands and then millions. Most of us don’t do it necessarily out of any psychopathic cruelty, but an innocent belief in the righteousness of our kind.

There is a certain joy in learning ideas that move us, pleasure in finding causes that are much bigger than ourselves and provide us better tools to understand the world around us. That is to say there’s meaning in the never-ending work of developing a coherent worldview. Adopting an ideology, inherited through secondhand sources like family or religious structures and having it reaffirmed via social media short-circuits that effort, providing pleasure and meaning with an unwarranted (and unquestioned) degree of certainty. There is a strong intellectual resemblance between unquestioned beliefs, the unexamined assumptions which allow a man to ship millions of people to extermination camps and unquestioned beliefs we all operate on an everyday basis.

No person thinks of themselves as evil.

But then no one believes that their window to the world is blurred, or distorted, or subtly manipulated either. The scariest part is that the just world idea is also the most natural way that people adopt to look at the world for it is easy to believe in and like. Our collective challenge in the age of information polyopoly, therefore, is to be mindful of the extreme power that our sense of duty, righteous indignation or thoughtlessness can have. Until then, as Dickens said, “In seasons of pestilence, some of us will have a secret attraction to the disease – a terrible passing inclination to die of it.”

Tuesday, 17 May, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

NEWS

09

Food aNd agricuLturE orgaNizatioN LEadiNg 35 ProjEcts iN agricuLturE worth $ 170 MiLLioN ISLAMABAD

F

Press release

EDERAL Minister of National Food Security and Research Tariq Bashir Cheema welcomed a delegation of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation (FAO) led by its representative Ms. Florence Rolle. The meeting was also at-

importance and FAO can play a key role in transforming the agriculture industry.

He appreciated the work being carried out by FAO in Pakistan and assured the delegation of full support and cooperation with them.

He said that Pakistan is facing a lot of challenges but with absolute resolve these challenges can be converted into opportunities for the country. Tariq

tended by the Secretary National Food Security Capt (r) Muhammad Asif, SJS Javed Humayun and Technical Adviser Dr. Akmal Siddique.

Tariq Bashir Cheema welcomed the delegation at his office. Ms. Florence congratulated the Federal Minister on taking charge of the ministry and briefed him of the working of the FAO. Federal Minister said that the agriculture is of paramount

Bashir Cheema said that climate change and agriculture are directly linked and that these challenges need to be addressed as a whole.

Ms. Florence said that FAO is working tirelessly in supporting government with respect to policy formulation and knowledge management. She told the minister that FAO is leading projects in agriculture worth $ 170 Million which

Pakistan inaugurates Trainees’ Hostel at National Highways & Motorway Police Training College ISLAMABAD Press release

The Commandant Police Training College DIG Mahboob Aslam and the Chief Executive & Managing Director of Shell Pakistan Limited, Waqar Siddiqui, inaugurated a trainees hostel at National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP) Training College Sheikhupura with the capacity of 100 drivers. Shell Pakistan constructs the hostel under the supervision of Commandant Training College, DIG Mahboob Aslam.

The Commandant Police Training College DIG Mahboob Aslam, Deputy Commandant Taimoor Khan, CPO Training Nasim Shah, Shell Pakistan officials and NHMP officers were present at the ceremony. Over the past 12 years, the training facility has trained more than 2000 Shell Pakistan drivers in 212 batches. The institute offers Defensive Driving Course that Shell accredits. The NH&MP training college has a trainee’s hostel that accommodates drivers for the duration of the training program.

While speaking with participants, DIG Mahboob Aslam said there was a pressing need for additional accommodation for trainees’ drivers. This hostel will allow more trainees to benefit from the state-ofthe-art training at NHMP training college.

DIG Mahboob Aslam said the generous contribution of Shell Pakistan marks a step forward for institutional commitment to road safety in Pakistan. We are grateful for this continuous support of NHMP by Shell Pakistan.

At the ceremony, the Chief Executive & Managing Director of Shell Pakistan Limited, Waqar Siddiqui, stated, “We are honoured and proud to play a part in this integral project with NHMP that positively impacts safety on roads in our country.

Transportation of hydrocarbons by road forms the backbone of the oil industry in Pakistan. Shell Pakistan continues to work with local authorities to improve industry standards for transportation safety. National Highways and Motorway Police is a strategic partner of Shell Pakistan Limited in the overall driver training framework.”

He also appreciated the efforts of Commandant Training College DIG Mehboob Aslam for the support, coordination, and facilitation in a befitting manner in the completion of the project. The Commandant Police Training College DIG Mahboob Aslam said the building is designed on sustainability, green building technology, and hazard risk reduction. He also pays gratitude to Shell Pakistan for these generous gestures.

K-Electric continues to facilitate consumers and take measures to reduce losses KARACHI Press release

As part of its effort to offer maximum convenience to its consumers and ensure uninterrupted power supply to the city, K-Electric continues to take various measures, including setting up facilitations camps, conducting anti-power theft drives, and disconnecting defaulters’ power supply in various parts of the city.

As per the details, K-Electric has recently organized massive facilitation camps in North Karachi and Korangi where the utility received massive support from the consumers. In both camps, over 3,000 consumers were collectively facilitated and availed of different services from KE teams, including bill payment solutions via easy monthly installments and rebates as per their eligibility. They were

also facilitated on their requests for new connections.

Furthermore, in line with its efforts to reduce losses and ensure the safety of the consumers, it was revealed that KE, on a daily basis, makes around 5,000 disconnections each day on average due to non-payment of bills. Furthermore, it runs kunda-removal drives in different areas such as Landhi, Bhens Colony, Korangi, Lyari, and various others. In the last few days, KE has also removed illegal connections weighing over 1,000 kgs from its infrastructure, which was not only contributing to the losses of the utility but was also causing safety hazards for the people at large.

While commenting on the power supply situation of the city and the measures being taken by the utility to reduce its losses, Imran Rana – Director of Communications & Spokesperson at K-Electric said, “Power supply to ma-

jority of the areas remain stable and as per schedule. It is pertinent to note that the duration of load-shedding across Pakistan, including Karachi, depends upon the availability of fuel, power theft, and timely payment of the bills. All those areas in Karachi with less than a 20% loss ratio are receiving uninterrupted power supply. We would also like to reiterate that the industrial zones of Karachi also continue to stable power supply from 400 feeders. We are taking strict measures against power theft across the city and would like to urge our valued consumers to continue to cooperate with us in our drive to reduce losses so Karachi can enjoy a safe and reliable power supply.”

Furthermore, he reiterated that KE’s call center 118, SMS Service 8119, KE Live App, social media platforms, and WhatsApp Self Service Portal remain active 24/7 to support customers with their queries.

PNS Shamsheer visits Oman during regional maritime security patrol

Board finds no justification to lower NLE-2 pass percentage from 70% ISLAMABAD Press release

The National Medical and Dental Academic Board considered the following demands submitted by the foreign medical graduates to the Authority, in its 43rd meeting held on 13th May 2022: 1.

NLE-2 be withdrawn as a pre-condition to grant of a license to the foreign graduates, OR 2.

Passing marks be lowered to 50%, and also to review mandatory station requirements. The Board while deliberating on the issue highlighted that the whole purpose of the NLE is to test the competency, knowledge, and skills of a graduate to ensure they are a ‘safe doctor’ as they would be granted a license to treat patients independently. The NLE skills exam represents the basic skills that are mandatory for patient handling and management in the absence of which patients would be at severe risk. Accordingly, it is imperative that graduates are able to show at least 70% of fundamental basic skills and competencies to ensure patient safety. Lowering the standard will be depriving patients of their fundamental right to be treated by a safe doctor. The Board was of the view that the majority of the foreign graduates are coming from countries where English is not the spoken language therefore, serious concerns exist as to the clinical training they have received in the absence of being able to communicate in the local language with doctors, medical staff at hospitals and patients or being aware of the medical terms ordinarily referred to in the local language. In addition, an absence of clinical training and mostly book education is a serious concern, and therefore, the NLE exam especially the Skills exam (NLE-2) is essential to ensure and certify that a foreign graduate has the necessary competency and skills to be a safe doctor.

Moreover, the Board further deliberated on the pass percentages of different international licensing exams being undertaken in different countries like USMLE, etc., which have a passing percentage of above 70%. Keeping in view the above fact, the Board could not find any justification to lower the NLE-2 pass percentage from 70%.

Philip Morris works to uplift women in partnership with Kashf Foundation KARACHI Press release

ISLAMABAD Press release

Pakistan Navy Ship SHAMSHEER visited Port Muscat, Oman during deployment on Regional Maritime Security Patrol (RMSP).

Upon arrival at Muscat, the ship was received

by Defence Attaché of Pakistan at Oman and officials from Royal Navy of Oman.

During the visit, Commanding Officer of PNS SHAMSHEER called on Commander Said Bin Sultan Naval Base and Deputy Commandant Naval Academy of Royal Navy of Oman. During the interactions, matters of mutual interests were discussed and enhancement of bilateral ties in all spheres was re-affirmed. On the occasion Commanding Officer of PNS SHAMSHEER conveyed good wishes of Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi for the people of Oman and the Royal Oman Navy.

During port visit, various bilateral activities were undertaken including table top discussions on professional matters, orientation visits and search & seizure training on-board.

includes 35 projects. She offered to do a detailed briefing for the minister of each project. Ms. Florence told the minister that the biggest project is worth $ 45 million. Ms. Florence briefed the minister about an on-going assessment of the organizational structure of PARC and the ministry. She said that findings of the assessment will help in improving efficiency.

Upon completion of port visit, PNS SHAMSHEER conducted Maritime Exercise with Royal Omani Navy Ship KHASSAB to enhance interoperability.

Pakistan Navy believes in promoting

peace and is committed to maritime security and order at sea. The port visit to Muscat will contribute in strengthening bilateral diplomatic and defence ties between the two navies.

Philip Morris (Pakistan) Limited (PMPKL) provided financial support to Kashf Foundation, a non-profit micro-finance institution, to support its project that aims to empower women by providing them professional training in food catering (“Project”). Under this Project, four centers were established in Karachi’s area of Korangi & Orangi that trained 88 women. The trainees were taught how to prepare, package, and market their baked good items whilst maintaining standard hygiene practices. The program specifically focused on including core skills training on how to run a successful business by addressing topics like client dealing, communication skills, and techniques of business management and budgeting. Andleeb Uroos Ahmed, Head of Communications at PMPKL, while sharing her views about the partnership, said, “For our society to grow and prosper, it is imperative that we provide equal opportunities for women in every field. PMPKL continues to make efforts to empower women and we hope that through this partnership, we will be able to positively impact and improve the life of women involved in our project.” Roshaneh Zafar, Managing Director Kashf Foundation, lauding PMPKL’s contribution to their initiative, said, “We have been working to enable the underprivileged segment of the society with a goal of eradicating poverty and creating a gender equitable society. We are grateful to Philip Morris (Pakistan) Limited for their support towards our organization and towards empowering women.” The Project also focused on assisting women to develop market linkages and join digital platforms to sell their products and help them create sustainable business ventures and reach a larger market. Trainees were awarded grants to put towards their business ventures. Some of these trainees have established profitable businesses providing them with means to support their families and become productive members of society.

Tuesday, 17 May, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

10 FOREIGN NEWS

Iran’S foreIgn mInISter makeS rare vISIt to Uae to pay reSpectS REUTERS

I

RAN’S top diplomat travelled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday to pay his respects after the death of President Khalifa bin Zayed, Iranian state media reported, while Tehran welcomed the appointment of the Gulf state’s new ruler.

The trip by Hossein Amir-Abdollahian is the highest level visit by an Iranian official to the Gulf country since Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement launched a deadly strike on the UAE in January.

While indirect talks between arch-foes Tehran and Washington to revive a 2015 nuclear deal have stalled since March, Amirabdollahian’s trip coincides with the visit of a high-ranking US delegation, headed by Vice

Sri Lanka nears default as economic crisis worsens TLTP Sri Lanka is sliding into a default as the grace period on two unpaid foreign bonds ends on Wednesday, the latest blow to a country rattled by economic pain and social unrest. The island nation could be formally declared in default if it fails to make an interest payment to bondholders before the deadline, when the 30-day grace period for missed coupons on dollar bonds ends. That would mark its first default on its foreign debt obligations, Bloomberg reported on Monday. Sri Lanka’s government announced in mid-April it would stop paying back its foreign debt to preserve cash for food and fuel imports as it struggled with a dollar crunch that led officials to implement capital controls and import curbs. A few days later, it failed to service a $78 million coupon on its dollar bonds due in 2023 and 2028, leading S&P Global Ratings to declare a selective default. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was appointed last week following violent unrest, will provide a “full explanation” of Sri Lanka’s financial crisis on Monday. He also said Sri Lanka is in the process of exploring other options of securing funds to pay for the coming week’s fuel requirements given the dollar scarcity in banks. He is expected to hold discussions with the attorney general’s department on curbing President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s sweeping executive powers and the proposals will be presented to Cabinet for approval, he said in a series of tweets. The Sri Lanka Freedom Party, once allied with President Rajapaksa’s government but now independent, has decided to join the new administration by putting forward its members of parliament for cabinet positions. A meeting between the party lawmakers and the prime minister will be held on Monday. The main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya party said it won’t join the government. India’s diplomatic mission in Sri Lanka also said that 12 shipments of diesel, or more than 400,000 metric tonnes, were delivered to Colombo on Sunday under a credit line between the two nations. For weeks Sri Lanka has been grappling with major fuel shortages that have seen drivers queuing for hours outside gasoline pumps and businesses struggling to secure diesel for power generators amid hours-long power cuts.

President Kamala Harris, to Abu Dhabi to also offer condolences on the death of President Khalifa bin Zayed last week.

In 2019, the UAE started engaging with Iran following attacks on tankers off Gulf waters and on Saudi energy infrastructure.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani visited the UAE in November, when he said the two countries had agreed to open a new chapter in bilateral relations.

UAE strongman Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed alNahyan, who was formally elected president by the country’s federal supreme council on Saturday, led a realignment of the Middle East that created a new antiIran axis with Israel and fought a rising tide of political Islam in the region.

One dead, four critically injured in California church shooting SACRAMENTO AFP

One person was dead and four others in critical condition after a shooting at a church near Los Angeles, law enforcement said Sunday, just one day after a gunman killed 10 people at a grocery store in New York state.

Shortly before 1:30 pm (2030 GMT), parishioners were attending a banquet following a morning service at Geneva Presbyterian Church when the gunman began his rampage, authorities said.

There were 30 to 40 people inside the building in Laguna Woods, about 45 miles (70 kilometres) southeast of Los Angeles.

The churchgoers detained the shooter and “hogtied his legs with an extension cord and confiscated at least two weapons” before officers arrived at the scene to apprehend and arrest him, Orange County Undersheriff Jeff Hallock told a press conference. “That group of churchgoers displayed what we believe is exceptional heroism, and bravery,” Hallock said. “They undoubtedly prevented additional injuries and fatalities.” “One person is confirmed deceased at the scene,” Hallock said. “Four others are critical and one other victim sustained minor injuries.” The victims were all of the Taiwanese descent, Taipei’s foreign

ministry said, adding that it had “asked our representative office to express our most sincere and deepest condolences to those killed or injured in the shooting and their families.” According to the sheriff’s department, the victims were aged between 66 and 92.

Investigators were still searching for a motive, Hallock said, adding that the alleged gunman, who was not injured during the incident, was believed to be an Asian male in his 60s. “The man is not believed to live in the area and investigators are working to determine his city of residence and whether he has any connections to the church or its congregants,” the sheriff’s department said in a statement.

The office of California Governor Gavin Newsom said it was working with local officials to monitor the situation.

“No one should have to fear going to their place of worship. Our thoughts are with the victims,” the office tweeted. Democratic Congresswoman Katie Porter, who represents Orange County in Washington, called the shooting “upsetting and disturbing news, especially less than a day after a mass shooting in Buffalo.”

“This should not be our new normal.”

The latest shooting comes one day after an 18-year-old white suspect shot dead 10 people and wounded three others — almost all of them Black — at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York state, in what officials are calling a “racist” rampage.

Mass shootings have become shockingly common in the United States, where past efforts at tightening the nation’s gun laws have generally fallen short in the face of the nation’s powerful firearms lobby — even after horrific massacres.

Kim decries North Korea Covid response, deploys army SEOUL AFP

Kim Jong Un slammed North Korea’s pandemic response and ordered the army to help distribute medicine, state media said Monday, as the country said 50 people had died since first reporting an outbreak of Covid-19. More than a million people have been sickened by what Pyongyang is referring to as “fever”, state media said, despite leader Kim ordering nationwide lockdowns in a bid to slow the spread of disease through the unvaccinated population.

In a sign of how serious the situation may be, Kim “strongly criticised” healthcare officials for what he called a botched response to epidemic prevention — specifically a failure to keep pharmacies open 24/7 to distribute medicine.

He ordered the army to get to work “on immediately stabilising the supply of medicines in Pyongyang”, the capital, where Omicron was detected last week in

North Korea’s first reported cases of Covid-19.

Kim has put himself front and centre of North Korea’s disease response, overseeing near-daily emergency Politburo meetings on the outbreak, which he has said is causing “great upheaval” in the country.

The failure to distribute medicine properly was “because officials of the Cabinet and public health sector in charge of the supply have not rolled up their sleeves, not properly recognizing the present crisis,” state media KCNA reported Kim said.

Kim, who visited pharmacies to inspect first-hand, “strongly criticised the Cabinet and public health sector for their irresponsible work attitude,” KCNA said.

He also criticised lapses in official legal oversight, flagging “several negative phenomena in the nationwide handling and sale of medicines.”

North Korea has one of the world’s worst healthcare systems, with poorly-equipped hospitals, few intensive care units, and no Covid treatment drugs or mass testing ability, experts say.

Saudi king Salman leaves hospital after tests, says royal court AgENCiES Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz left hospital on Sunday following a colonoscopy last week, the royal court said in a statement on state media. Saudi TV ran a video clip showing the monarch walking slowly using a cane as he left King Faisal Specialist Hospital in the city of Jeddah, where he was admitted on the evening of May 7. An entourage kept close and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, appeared in the clip. Meanwhile, the Saudi Press Agency said on Twitter that King Salman underwent “medical examinations and successfully completed the treatment plan and recovery period.” The kingdom has for years sought to quell speculation over the health of the 86-year-old monarch. A week ago, state media reported that the king’s colonoscopy results were “sound” and that doctors had “decided to keep him in the hospital for some time to rest”. In 2017, Saudi Arabia dismissed reports and mounting speculation that the king was planning to abdicate in favour of Crown Prince Mohammed, the de facto ruler. King Salman, the custodian of Islam’s two holiest sites, became ruler of the world’s top oil exporter in 2015 after spending more than two and a half years as the crown prince and deputy premier. He underwent bladder surgery in 2020 and had the battery of his heart pacemaker replaced in March. Before this latest hospitalisation, he was most recently admitted in March for what state media described as “successful medical tests” and to change the battery of his pacemaker. Under his rule, Saudi Arabia has launched ambitious economic reforms for a post-oil era and given more rights to women, while adopting a more assertive foreign policy, including entering a war in neighbouring Yemen.

US removes Jewish extremist kahane movement from terror blacklist WASHiNgTON AFP

The United States will remove a Jewish extremist group linked to late rabbi Meir Kahane as well as a Palestinian armed group from a terror blacklist after years without violence, an official said Sunday. The State Department designated Kahane Chai as a foreign terrorist organisation in 1997, three years after its supporter Baruch Goldstein massacred 29 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron. The group was founded by Kahane, a US-born rabbi and former Israeli MP who advocated the expulsion of Arabs from Israel and was assassinated in New York in 1990. The State Department informed Congress it will withdraw the designation, which was contested in court by the group, as Kahane Chai “has not been linked to a terrorist attack since 2005,” an official said. The official said the State Department was also delisting the Mujahidin Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem, a Palestinian armed group linked to purported rocket attacks a decade ago. Revoking the designations “ensures our terrorism sanctions remain current and credible and does not reflect any change in policy towards the past activities of any of these organisations,” the State Department official said on condition of anonymity. Despite the lack of attacks by Kahane Chai group, the late rabbi remains a hero for some on the extreme right of Israeli politics, including a member of parliament Itamar Ben-Gvir who has advocated annexing the West Bank and hung a portrait of Goldstein in his home. Designation as a foreign terrorist organisation severely limits activities in the United States, including criminalising financial support. The State Department said it was still keeping the two groups on the less potent Specially Designated Global Terrorist list, which helps support law enforcement activities.

China to set up permanent COVID-19 hospitals to rein in virus in long term AgENCiES China plans to build permanent facilities and more COVID-19 test sites to reinforce the country’s capability to prevent and control COVID-19 in the early stage of infection, according to Ma Xiaowei, director of China’s National Health Commission (NHC).

Ma unveiled China’s blueprint to prevent and contain the virus in the long run in an article published in the CPC Central Committee’s flagship magazine Qiushi Journal on Monday.

China will build up permanent hospitals as well as quarantine sites to enhance its capability of admitting COVID-19 infection cases, Ma wrote. It will also normalize COVID-19 monitoring mechanisms and carry out testing on a weekly basis.

Provincial capitals and cities with a population of over 10 million will set up more COVID-19 testing sites so that each person has one within a 15-minute’s walk.

In addition, the blueprint calls for more laboratories to examine samples, including public labs and third-party laboratories.

Ma said the country needs to make an

effort to contain the virus without affecting people’s basic medical demands and daily life. Hospital departments such as emergency, dialysis, surgery and ICU cannot be shut down unless essential, he noted.

He warned that when treating COVID19 infections, China should prevent asymptomatic cases from overflooding medical resources and provide proper treatment for COVID-19 cases before they get serious.

Ma also called for improving the medical triage system and beefing up the number of ICU beds and first aid efforts.

Tuesday, 17 May, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

SPORTS 11

Medvedev stIll hoPeful of PlAyIng In WIMbledon CANBeRRA

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ReuteRs

orld number two Daniil Medvedev has not given up hope of competing at Wimbledon next month even though tournament organisers have banned Russians and Belarusians from playing at the grasscourt Grand Slam due to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The decision was swiftly condemned by the men’s and women’s tours and a number of players, with Rafa Nadal calling the ruling “unfair”. Over the past week, there have also been suggestions that Wimbledon could be stripped of its ranking points by the two

tours if the ban remains in force — effectively reducing the world’s most famous tennis tournament to an exhibition event.

“I tried to follow what’s happening because I don’t have any decisions to make. It’s right now about Wimbledon itself, the ATP, maybe the British government is involved,” the Russian, who will be returning to action in Geneva after spending the last six weeks recovering from a hernia operation, told reporters on Sunday.

“It’s a tricky situation and like every situation in life, you ask 100 players, everybody’s going to give a different opinion. “(When) you show a tennis ball to 100 people, I’m sure some of them are going to say it’s green and not yellow. I think it’s

yellow. (But) if somebody tells me it’s green, I’m not going to get in conflict with this person.”

Medvedev, who lost in the Australian Open final to Rafa Nadal in January, missed the beginning of the European claycourt season as he had to skip events in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome while he recovered his fitness.

The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) barred players from the two countries from competing at this year’s Wimbledon in response to what Russia calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine. Belarus has been a key staging area for the invasion.

The AELTC said it made the decision

following discussions with the British government.

U.S. Open champion Medvedev said he remained hopeful that the AELTC might make a late u-turn on its decision.

“I don’t know if this decision is 100%

Local man tried to save Symonds after crash MeLBOURNe ReuteRs

A man tried to revive former Australia cricketer Andrew Symonds after he crashed his car in Queensland over the weekend, Australian media reported on Monday.

The all-rounder and twice World Cup winner died at 46 following the single-car accident late on Saturday near the northern city of Townsville in Queensland state.

Local resident Waylon Townson told the Nine Network that he had heard the crash and was first at the scene.

“He was stuck in there, so I tried to pull him out,” he told Nine. “(I) started doing CPR and checked his pulse but I didn’t get much response from him.”

Emergency services also tried to revive Symonds, the sole occupant of the car, but he died of his injuries, police

said in a statement on Sunday.

It was unclear why Symonds’ fourwheel drive vehicle veered off the road

Mohammad Kaif reveals what angered Wasim Akram during Pak-India clash in 2003 News Desk Former Indian middle-order batsman Mohammad Kaif has recalled an incident from Pakistan’s clash against India in the 2003 World Cup where Wasim Akram was left fuming. Coming into the match, Sachin Tendulkar was in tremendous form and he carried his good run into the Pakistan game while chasing 274. Tendulkar ended up scoring 98 runs and helped India get over the line by six wickets with 28 balls to spare. Tendulkar, along with Kaif, put on a 102-run partnership which eventually helped India secure a comfortable win. However, Pakistan had a chance to remove the Master Blaster earlier in the match but Abdul Razzaq was not in the right position to take the catch, which left Akram fuming. “The atmosphere of that India-Pakistan match was just something else. The fans had come in great numbers to watch enthralling cricket. If Razzaq had taken Tendulkar’s catch at mid-off, the match could have been very tight. I remember Wasim Akram being angry at him for standing so far up. He was literally standing next to the bowler instead of proper mid-off,” Kaif said while speaking to Shoaib Akhtar on Sportskeeda.

Kaif ended up scoring 35 runs off 60 deliveries before finally being sent back to the pavilion by Shahid Afridi. “Sachin was batting very well. My role was to support him and stay with him. I was told to build a partnership with Sachin and, if he is attacking, just stay there. I fulfilled that role,” he further said. India thrashed Pakistan only to lose to Australia in the final of the mega-event by 125 runs. Ricky Ponting was named the man of the match for his remarkable unbeaten 141-run inning.

before rolling down an embankment.

Symonds’ death occurred with Australian cricket still coming to terms with

the passing of all-time greats Rod Marsh and Shane Warne, who both died in March.

A swashbuckling batsman and brilliant fielder, Symonds played 238 internationals, including 26 tests, for Australia between 1998-2009.

His death triggered tributes from around the cricketing world, with former players remembering him as a rare talent and a maverick renowned for butting heads with team management over discipline issues.

“Roy (Symonds) was never perfect, that was for sure, and he never admitted that he was,” former Australia coach John Buchanan told ABC radio on Monday.

“But the one thing about Roy — and one of the things that I think endeared him to most people — was that even though he made a mistake, he would openly admit that and try to rectify that and take full accountability for that.”

England’s multi-format players could miss T20I series in Pakistan News Desk Pakistan will host England for seven T20Is ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia but the English side could be without their multi-format players, Daily Mail reported.

Following the cancellation of their white-ball tour of Pakistan last year, England are set to tour Pakistan in September 2022 and play two additional T20Is, apart from the planned five-match T20I series initially.

The men’s side will then return to Pakistan again for a three-match Test series following the 2022 T20 World Cup. England’s white-ball specialists will head over to Pakistan on September 15, 72 hours after the home series against South Africa concludes and then on to Australia for three further T20s to acclimatise for the World Cup. As stated in the report, ‘Multi-format cricketers

are likely to miss the Pakistan series in order to rest — as there is no let-up from the start of the T20 matches until December 22 — and will therefore travel directly to Australia on October 1.’

Shortly after the World Cup, England play Australia in an ODI series and after that series ends on November 22, England head over to Pakistan to participate in a three-Test series.

“The schedule is definitely something that needs looking at. It is ridiculous the amount of cricket people are expected to play. The fact there is a Test match and one-day series overlapping sums it up,” said the newly appointed England’s Test captain Ben Stokes.

“It really needs looking at from a workload point of view. I don’t want to miss England matches. I want to play as much as I can for England but in an ideal world you would not want to be having discussions about when you want to rest, you would have a schedule that allows you to play everything. Unfortunately, it is not possible,” he added.

and it’s over (for me),” he said.

“If I can play, I’m going to be happy to play in Wimbledon. I love this tournament.

If I cannot play — well, I’m going to try to play other tournaments and prepare well for next year if I have the chance to play.”

Mathews closes in on 150 despite nayeem’s double strike CHITTAGONG AFP

Angelo Mathews remained unbeaten on 147 as Sri Lanka reached lunch at 327-6 on day two of the second Test Monday after Bangladesh spinner Nayeem Hasan struck twice in one over. Sri Lanka began the day at 258-4 with Mathews on 114. He and Dinesh Chandimal, who made 66, extended their fifth-wicket partnership to 136 when Nayeem made the breakthrough. In the 24th over of the session, Chandimal attempted a pre-meditated reverse sweep but failed to make contact and was given out lbw, upheld on review. Nayeem celebrated his third wicket of the innings and soon had a fourth when he bowled wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella, who made only three, four balls later. Ramesh Mendis (1) was batting with Mathews at the break. Bangladesh missed a chance to dismiss Mathews on 119 in the fourth over of the day. Khaled Ahmed the Sri Lankan with an outswinger but there was no appeal for a catch behind, despite technology suggesting Mathews had edged the ball. Mathews has hit 18 fours and a six while Nayeem has bowling figures of 4-87.

Azhar Ali regains form in County Championship News Desk Former Pakistan captain Azhar Ali got off to a horrendous start in the ongoing County Championship 2022 after scoring only 34 runs in 6 innings. However, the right-handed veteran batsman has bounced back to provide stability to his Worchestershire side; against Durham, Azhar Ali got dismissed for a duck in the first inning but popped off with 92 runs to draw the game. Later on and most recently, Azhar Ali came head-to-head against Shan Masood’s Derbyshire. Although the match also ended as a draw, Azhar Ali contributed heavily in both innings with scores of 88 and 60. In three innings, Azhar Ali has now accumulated 240 runs and has boosted his chances to be included in Pakistan’s Test squad once again. It is worth adding that Azhar’s last match also featured Shan Masood for the opposing team, who remains in a phenomenal knick and also brought up another century. He is now the leading run-scorer in County Championship Div One with 826 runs with an average of 118.0. With Shan Masood claiming that he is ready to play lower down the order for Pakistan, the competition has become extremely tough and only those who are performing well have a chance to be selected.

Tuesday, 17 May, 2022

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Imran says won’t accept ‘Imported govt’, calls for snap polls stAff RepoRt Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Monday reiterated his demand for early elections, saying that his party will never accept the “imported government” which he claims came into being after an alleged foreign conspiracy.

“We will never accept these criminals who have been imposed upon us. We only want one thing and that is early elections… we will accept this imported government under no circumstances,” he said while addressing a public gathering in KhyberPakhtunkhwa’s Swabi district.

He urged the youth to get ready for the struggle against the “foreign-backed” regime. “We also have to protest against those who imposed them upon us,” he added.

Khan said Zardaris and Sharifs ruled for 10 years before PTI came into power and the country suffered 400 drone attacks during their tenures but they did not condemn even a single incident.

A 60 feet long and 30 feet wide stage was set up at Swabi Stadium for today’s rally. A large number of PTI workers and supporters flocked the venue of the public gathering. Strict security measures were put in place for the event.

PTI had announced protest rallies against the alleged foreign conspiracy of regime change and the ousting of former prime minister Imran Khan throughout the country. Drone attacks explained: “Do you know what drone attacks are? A computer game is played 4,000 miles away in the US where a button is pressed and women and children die here,” Khan said in today’s address.

He said that in a drone attack in Waziristan, 60 people were killed and in another one targeting a madressa, 64 children died.

“When people came to rescue those who were injured they drone attacked them as well, killing more people,” he added.

The PTI chief said that hundreds of thousand fought on behalf of British from India but no one thanked them because India was their colony and “slaves don’t have any re-

At least one killed, 11 injured in Karachi blast News Desk At least one woman died and 11 others sustained injuries in a blast near Iqbal Market in Karachi’s Kharadar area, police said on Monday. According to reports, an improvised explosive device (IED) was planted in a motorcycle to target a police vehicle.

The police cordoned off the area and started further investigation. The bomb disposal squad personnel also reached the blast site.

Rescue sources said police personnel were also among the injured, adding that the injured were being shifted to a nearby hospital. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah took notice of the incident and directed the provincial police chief to submit a detailed report on the incident, besides ordering the district administration to reach the spot and carry out rescue work.

The spokesperson for the chief minister said that an emergency was declared at the

Civil Hospital on the order of the CM. Karachi Administrator Murtaza Wahab said in a tweet that the number of injured increased to 11 while four are critically injured.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the blast and said that enemies of people’s lives and property will be “dealt with iron hands”.

In a statement carried by Radio Pakistan, he expressed condolences to the family of the deceased woman and 11 injured persons and directed the chief minister to provide the best medical facilities to the injured. He gave directions to arrest the elements involved in the incident immediately. He assured the Sindh government that the federal government would extend its full support. “All provinces should improve the security arrangements to ensure protection of lives and property of the people,” he said. No group has claimed the responsibility for the blast.

spect”. He said that 80,000 Pakistanis sacrificed their lives for the US war in Afghanistan and 3.5 million became Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

“Our forces gave three times more sacrifices than the US army. Instead of thanking us, they say they could not win the war in Afghanistan because of Pakistan. Now, they have imposed their slaves here so they can do whatever they want but we will never accept the US slaves under any circumstances.” The former ruling party has so far managed to pull massive crowds in many cities throughout the country including Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar.

According to the schedule, the Swabi rally will be followed by one in Kohat on May 17 while the fifth such rally would be held in Mardan on May 20.

The former prime minister is expected to announce his planned long march to Islamabad any day after May 20.

Former prime minister has claimed that three million people — a figure almost double the population of the capital city itself — would overcome all barricades put up by the

government and reach the federal capital on his call. Addressing recent public rallies, the PTI chairman has told his supporters to wait for his call, which could come any day after May 20. He emphasised that his long march was aimed at “achieving real independence and democracy”.

‘Spineless corrupt rulers’: Imran Khan, in today’s rally, said that the US chose these two families — Bhuttos and Sharifs — because they know they can never take a stand against them as they have no spine. “They only care about their money parked in London and other foreign countries,” he added.

“For the last 30 years, Bhuttos and Sharifs are ruling this country. Today [PM] Shehbaz Sharif says we’re beggars that’s why we’re slaves. Their minister says we have to worship the US because our economy is on ventilator.”

The former prime minister said that the US knew that Imran Khan will never give them any (air) bases or do anything against the interests of his people. “That is why this conspiracy was hatched,” he explained.

‘Poison that cause heart attacks’: FIA officers who arrested the corrupt are now being targeted, said Khan.

“One of them died because of a heart attack and another is in serious condition. I will tell you what is the poison used that causes a heart attack.”

He said that FIA was now being ruled by “butcher of Faisalabad” Rana Sanaullah.

“Now they will do what MQM did to Sindh police. MQM targeted each and every police officer involved in operation against them and to this day Sindh police could not stand on its feet and Rangers had to be called.”

The PTI chairman said that no nation in the world can progress if its moral standing is not high. “If the biggest criminals of the country take top position, no nation can progress,” he added. Lastly, he urged the youth of the city to come with him to protest against the current regime. “When I will give you call, I want to meet the brave youth of Swabi in Islamabad. Those who cannot come to Islamabad should protest here and say they do not want imported government and slavery,” he further said.

In first interaction, Sharif, China counterpart agree to fast-track CPEC IsLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his Chinese counterpart, Li Keqiang, shared the view that the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between Pakistan and China must continue to serve the vital interests of the two nations as well as the broader interests of peace and stability amidst the evolving regional and global milieu. To this end, the two leaders agreed to enhance the momentum of exchanges to take bilateral cooperation to even higher levels.

Sharif and Keqiang held a comprehensive telephonic conversation on Monday which was marked by traditional warmth and cordiality, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a press release.

The two prime ministers also discussed in detail bilateral matters, while agreeing that Pakistan and China would not allow anyone to harm the time-tested all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries. According to the statement issued by the Chinese Embassy, Premier Li said

China and Pakistan are friendly neighbours and iron-clad friends, noting that President Xi Jinping paid a successful visit to Pakistan in 2015, which advanced the level of bilateral strategic cooperation.

“China always regards its ties with Pakistan as a priority in its diplomacy with neighbouring countries, and will, as always, firmly support Pakistan in defending national sovereignty and security, and will support the country in developing its economy, improving people’s livelihood and maintaining financial stability,” Premier Li said.

“China stands ready to work with Pakistan to strengthen strategic communication, promote cooperation on such major projects as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and strengthen bilateral personnel exchanges on the condition of effective epidemic prevention and control,” he added.

Premier Li pointed out that the Chinese side is shocked and outraged by the recent attack on Chinese nationals in Karachi, and strongly condemns this terrorist attack.

Premier Li hoped that Pakistan will bring the perpetrators to justice as soon as possible,

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

make every effort to handle follow-up matters, comfort the bereaved families and the injured, and comprehensively strengthen security measures for Chinese institutions and citizens in Pakistan to ensure that similar tragedies will not happen again.

For his part, Sharif once again expressed deep condolences over the death of Chinese nationals in the Karachi terrorist attack and sincere sympathy to the injured. “Pakistan strongly condemns terrorism, cherishes the lives and safety of Chinese nationals in the country, and regards Chinese victims and those wounded as its own compatriots without distinction, Sharif stressed, adding that the country will do its utmost to find out the truth, arrest and punish the perpetrators in accordance with the law,” says the statement said. “The Pakistani side will strengthen security measures for all Chinese institutions and nationals in Pakistan to prevent similar incidents from happening again,” he said.

Sharif said the friendship between Pakistan and China has been deeply rooted and bilateral cooperation has reached an unprecedented level.