Epaper – November 7 KHI 2021

CmYK

Sunday, 7 November, 2021 I 1 Rabi-us-Sani, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 129 I 12 Pages I Karachi Edition

Cabinet approves summary to de-prosCribe tLp g

CABINET APPrOVED SuMMAry THrOugH CIrCuLATION MOVED By INTErIOr MINISTry

islamabad

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staff report

HE federal government on Saturday approved the summary to lift a ban on Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), almost a week after the religious party reached an agreement with the authorities to end protests across the country.

Sources in the government told Pakistan Today that the federal cabinet on Saturday approved the de-proscription of the TLP, after the political party and the government had struck a secretive deal earlier this week.

The federal cabinet approved the removal of the party’s proscribed status through a circulation summary sent by

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TLP HAS ASSurED THE gOVErNMENT IT wILL NOT OrgANISE VIOLENT PrOTESTS IN THE FuTurE, SAyS SuMMAry

the interior ministry, sources said, which mentioned that TLP has assured the government it will not organise violent protests in the future.

The approval comes during a meeting of the federal cabinet after the Ministry of Interior sent it a summary in this connection, saying that the group had assured the authorities that it would not resort to violence during any protest.

The Punjab government on Thursday approved revoking the proscription of the religious outfit and also allowed releasing hundreds of TLP activists as part of the agreement.

The federal government had earlier banned the TLP by declaring it a “militant organisation” for creating unrest in the country through a series of violent clashes

with the law enforcement agencies.

Earlier today, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore granted post-arrest bail to at least 10 TLP leaders.

During the proceedings, the prosecution did not oppose the bail in light of the agreement that assured the detained TLP leaders would be released.

The TLP leaders who got the bail included Maulana Farooqul Hassan, ghulam ghaus Baghdadi, Pir Zaheerul Hassan, Maulana Sharifuddin, Engineer Hafeezhllah Alvi, Muhammad Badar Munir, Qari Ashraf, Muhammad Akbar, Muzaffar Hussain, Muhammad umair, and Muzamal Hussain. The petitioner’s counsels told the court that the TLP leaders and workers had been detained on “baseless charges”.

Last week, the government had successfully reached an agreement with the TLP, putting an end to a 10-day protest. The pact came after around two weeks of clashes that left at least seven policemen dead and scores injured on both sides The announcement was made at a news conference here in Islamabad where Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Khan, prominent cleric Mufti Muneebur rehman as well as TLP members Mufti ghulam Abbas Faizi and Mufti Mohammad Ameer were present.

Prime Minister Imran Khan had defended the agreement as the only viable option left at the government’s disposal to defuse tensions amicably, saying the move warded off further bloodshed.

PM Imran had said he never subscribed to the idea of using force as a strategy to resolve such matters, adding that the intensity of the standoff between the government and the group demanded a peaceful solution to it.

PDM again decides to take out Long March against inflation islamabad staff report

Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) on Saturday decided to hold several anti-inflation protests across the country, which will culminate in the long march towards Islamabad.

The Opposition alliance held a virtual meeting in which it decided to hold protests in Karachi on November 13, in Quetta on Nov 17, and in Peshawar on Nov 20, sources informed media.

JoININg haNDS wIth PPP? PDM has decided to convene another meeting of the alliance’s top brass on November 11 — right after the joint parliament session, which will take place on November 10.

The government has summoned the session on November 10 with a view to pass 18 bills.

The bills are related to granting overseas Pakistanis the right to vote, evoting and the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs).

Earlier this year, PPP had parted ways with the Opposition alliance, but now, PDM is mulling to join hands with the party to stop the government from passing the electoral reforms bills in the parliament, sources said.

The meeting’s participants also rejected the recently promulgated Na-

tional Accountability (Third Amendment) Ordinance 2021 and vowed to ensure complete attendance in the parliament’s joint sitting to stop the government from passing its desired bills. othER MattERS: PML-N President and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif briefed the meeting on his talks with Opposition leaders.

The PDM leadership also discussed the petrol price hike and rising inflation, and how to strengthen PDM’s country-wide protests.

PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, PMLN President Shahbaz Sharif, PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadith (MJAH) president Senator Prof Sajid Mir, and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai had joined the meeting via video link.

Shehbaz, Bilawal discuss strategy against PTI On Friday, Bilawal and Shahbaz discussed the government decision to hike petrol prices across the country.

Shahbaz called the PPP chairman to discuss the inflationary situation in the country and discussed a joint strategy against the government.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 03

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Sunday, 7 November, 2021 | KARACHI

NEWS

InflatIon WIll contInue to rIse for next 6 montHs: eIu

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NEWS DESK

HE Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the research and analysis division of the Economist Group, has said that inflation in Pakistan will remain high for the next six months and the rupee is likely to continue on a depreciatory path despite a support package from Saudi Arabia.

“Strengthening inflationary headwinds are being driven largely by rapid import growth, exacerbated by a surge in global

commodity prices, as the economy recovers from the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic,” it said.

“We continue to expect that upward pressure on consumer prices will persist during the first half of 2022, as the global economic recovery is likely to keep commodity prices elevated,” the EIU said, adding that the rupee will continue on a depreciatory path despite short-term relief in the form of a financial assistance package from Saudi Arabia due to Pakistan’s persistently wide trade deficit

Karachi port relocation to cost $9.6 billion: WB report KARACHI agencieS

and strong inflationary pressures.

The pass-through effect of higher oil prices, the EIU said, is reflected in rising inflation in power and transportation. “This was reflected in the transport category, which jumped by 14.4 percent year-onyear. Similarly, prices for utilities, comprising electricity, water and gas, also experienced double-digit growth, rising by 12 percent.”

Last month, Saudi Arabia announced to provide $4.2 billion worth of assistance to Pakistan to support its economy after Prime

Car buyers paid up to Rs170bn as ‘own’ in five years ISLAMABAD agencieS

The World Bank has said that a potential relocation cost of Karachi Port to Somiani Bay, which is 85 kilometres to the north of Karachi, is about $9.6 billion. According to a recent World Bank report, “The major costs are the construction of 6,629-meter length of new quay walls ($4.0 billion), three new port terminals ($1.4 billion) and the TPX [Thule Produce Yard] area ($1.6 billion).” The report said that the port demand is expected to increase by 129 percent over the next twenty years at the rate of 4.2 percent per year. The report accessed four alternatives for a national port strategy: to develop both Karachi and Qasim Ports simultaneously; focus on one at a time; or develop a third new port sometime in the mid-2030s when Port Qasim would reach its maximum capacity. The report also explored the option of only developing Port Qasim, with an improved maritime access involving a cost of $550 million, but this action alone would not be able to address Karachi’s traffic snarls. Approximately, 95 percent of Karachi Port’s cargo is transported by road, causing severe traffic congestion in the city. The report said an immediate high-level commitment was required to start building an elevated expressway linking northern highways to Karachi Port. “This would be a major contribution to increase capacity efficiency of Karachi Port,” it added. “The cost is estimated at $300 million, which is far less than investing in a new port.” “By 2030, access to land would have been exhausted for new berths and existing berths will not be able to cater to the projected cargo volumes,” the report maintained. It also discussed the possible resistance to any potential relocation of the port, saying there were areas under the control of the armed forces, including the naval dockyard and stores and similar strategic installations. “These organisations will refuse to agree to shift,” the report said.

Karachi Port Trust Staff Union and Dockyard Workers Union are both very strong and politically well connected.

The automobile sector made undocumented transactions worth Rs150 billion to Rs170 billion during the last five years under the head of additional charges, also known as car own, paid to the car dealers to get an immediate delivery.

Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) Islamabad, in its research, revealed that annually, around 80 to 90 percent of passenger vehicles are sold at “own” which means at least Rs150-170 billion had been paid as own on cars in the last five years.

“These transactions remain undocumented. The own money is premium charged over and above the price of vehicles by dealers in exchange for immediate

PESHAWAR Half of the population of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s settled districts and 75% of the tribal districts are suffering from multidimensional poverty. To support KP’s economy, the Finance Department and the World Bank have proposed a $300 million plan to boost local economies in 15 districts of the province. These districts include Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Orakzai, Kurram, North and South Waziristan, Hangu, Tank, Upper Kohistan, Batgram, Shangla, Turgar, Upper Dir and Dera Ismail Khan. The aim of the project is to provide grants to local population for rehabilitation of infrastructure, monitoring system for service delivery, development of institutions and mobilization of local population. The project includes management, monitoring and testing. The project will work with the World Bank in sectors such as municipalities, primary and secondary education, health, social welfare, construction and communications and agriculture. KP is also hosting more than 58% Afghan refugees of the country. The number is likely to increase because to the security situation in Afghanistan. According to a joint study by the World Bank and the planing and development department, KP’s population is suffering from poverty from different angles. The province’s economy has been severely affected due to Coronavirus pandemic . In such a situation, it is necessary to involve the local people for improving the economy as in the near future the pressure on the economy and opportunities in the merged districts will increase. At present the human development situation in the tribal districts is very bad while the demand for basic necessities from the tribes is very low. At present the provision of minimum basic facilities and living opportunities is very important for the tribal districts.

delivery of cars due to shortage existing in the market,” according to the PIDE research report by Senior Research Economist Dr Usman Qadir and Staff Economist Muhammad Shaaf Najib.

It said only three major players assemble a handful of automobiles in Pakistan including Honda, Indus Motors and Pak Suzuki Motors, with new entrants such as Kia, Hyundai, MG, Changan and Proton yet to make their mark. The researchers observed that in the early 2000s, when car sales in Pakistan rose sharply, aided by the banks’ introduction of car financing services, the demand and supply gap widened. The constant gap in demand and supply of vehicles in Pakistan had given birth to a phenomenon of car own.

The number of buyers increased rapidly, while vehicle production capacities did not significantly

Pakistan with 3 billion US dollars as deposit in Pakistan central bank and also financing refined petroleum products with 1.2 billion US dollars during the year,” he said in a tweet.

increase to match this rise in demand, resulting in an increased waiting period for the delivery after booking the vehicle. Such a situation created an opportunity for the dealers to earn commission in the middle of the supply chain.

According to the PIDE research, a number of automobile companies are selling their cars in the country, with some of them still not locally produced.

The research has identified low production levels as the major cause behind own charges in the industry.

Pakistan produced less than even one million vehicles in the last five years. The research highlights some comparative trends. Morocco produced twice as many cars, Turkey manufactured over six times more vehicles, and Brazil’s production remained nearly 13 times more than Pakistan during the last five years. The research emphasises increasing the local production of vehicles as the first step in eliminating own money from the automobile industry.

It also called for regulations focusing on creating a market structure that facilitates all market players and does not tilt to one side only. The researchers also urged the government to play its role as the regulator and protect the rights of consumers as well by crippling the unchecked power at hands of automobile companies and dealers.

PLL receives expensive bids for emergency LNG cargoes NEWS DESK The Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) has received five expensive bids for emergency LNG cargoes to avert the looming gas crisis in the country, a news outlet reported on Saturday. Earlier this week, the PLL sought two LNG cargoes for delivery into Port Qasim, Karachi over November 19 to 20 and November 26 to 27 through an emergency tender after its term suppliers had cancelled delivery of cargoes.

According to the report, the PLL received bids with higher prices, ranging from $29.8966 to $31.0566 per MMBTU, from international LNG trading companies for two LNG cargoes.

It got the lowest bid for November 1920 from Vitol Bahrain at $29.8966 per

Half of KP’s population suffer from multidimensional poverty aziz BuneRi

Minister Imran Khan held talks with Saudi Prince Mohammad bin Salman in Riyadh.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry took to Twitter to announce the assistance.

“Saudi Arabia’s announcement supports

MMBTU and for November 26-27 from Qatar Petroleum Trading at $30.6500 per MMBTU. The PLL board held a meeting to decide about purchasing the LNG cargoes.

However, the board did not immediately take a decision whether or not to accept the bids.

As per the report, the PLL later decided to procure one LNG cargo from Qatar Petroleum Trading at $30.65 per MMBTU to be delivered on November 26-27. With the purchase of one LNG cargo, the basket sale price in the country would be at $15 per MMBTU. A sharp increase in gas prices has caused power shortages in many parts of the world, including China, amid a global energy crunch.

Korean firms interested in Pakistan’s lucrative market: Ambassador Suh Sangpyo ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Ambassador of Republic of Korea to Pakistan Suh Sangpyo has said that there are bright prospects for Pakistani skilled youth entering into the Korean market as workforce.

The ambassador told media currently 1,500 Pakistani students are studying in Korean institutes of higher learning in various technical and scientific fields, and many of them are on scholarships. He said due to pandemic restrictions, a further 1200 Pakistani students could not go to Korea after securing admissions but they will reach there once restrictions are lifted.

The South Korean ambassador said after completing their education, many Pakistani students easily find employment in Korean companies.

On business relations with Pakistan, the envoy said South Korean business giants like LG, Daewoo and Samsung already have a strong presence in the Pakistani market with household products. He said due to the law and order situation, many Korean companies had to move out of the country in the 2000s. But with the improvement in the security environment, the situation is going to reverse in future.

He said a number of Korean companies are interested in further investing in Pakistan’s lucrative market. He said the Korean government is trying to increase its bilateral trade volume with Pakistan which currently stands at not so optimum level.

Suh Sangpyo said the Korean government is providing assistance to set up an IT technology park in Pakistan to develop trained IT professionals in the country. He said IT Park constructions are key projects

of the Economic Development Cooperation Fund of the South Korean government.

In 2019, Korea signed the framework agreement with Pakistan to provide $500 million of EDCF loans that give financial space for the construction of infrastructure in Pakistan.

He said Samsung is establishing a mobile phone manufacturing plant in Karachi where skilled Pakistani manpower will be employed to work in various departments. Referring to historical ties between Korea and Pakistan, the ambassador said decades’ old bilateral relations between the two countries started in the 1960s and the Seoul government borrowed Islamabad’s five year plan for its economic development and successfully implemented it. The relations further blossomed in the following years and in the 1970s and 1980s the South Korean tourists started visiting Pakistan to pay pilgrimage to a number of Buddhist religious sites scattered across the country.

He said tourism is an area in which both Pakistan and Korea can increase their bilateral ties. Both countries recently signed a framework agreement to facilitate the entry of Korean tourists into Pakistan.

Regarding Korean investment in Pakistan’s infrastructure, he pointed towards the building of Lahore-Islamabad

Motorway in the 1990s which was a mega project. He said in the energy sector, we are cooperating with the Pakistani government in hydro power production. He said total investment in the hydro power sector is around 4 billion dollars in Jammu and Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which may increase in future.

Suh Sangpyo said Pakistan can learn from Korean success in many areas including corporate and economic development, IT, water, and technical education. He said recently, a Korean finance delegation visited Pakistan to explore areas of cooperation. The delegation signed various MoUs of cooperation in diverse fields with the Pakistani government.

He said a delegation of Korean experts from agricultural technology also visited Pakistan in recent months to help Pakistan increase agricultural productivity. He said Korean agricultural experts can help Pakistan with coming up with new seed varieties for insect resistant crops and better yield. He said Pakistani agricultural as well as surgical products are well received in the Korean market, along with textile goods. The South Korean ambassador said Korean car manufacturing companies like Hyundai and Kia have also brought their feature-laden cars to the Pakistani market, which are receiving good response.

Sunday, 7 November, 2021 | KARACHI

Govt foCusInG on skILL DEvELoPMEnt to transforM youth Into assEt: PM ISLamaBad

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Staff RepoRt

RIME Minister Imran Khan has said the government is focusing on better education and skill development of youth to build their capacity and transform them into a great asset.

Talking to Special Assistant on Youth Affairs Usman Dar on Saturday, the prime minister said that young people are the real driving force behind any change in society. The prime minister said that the government is concentrating on utilising its energies in a positive direction for socio-economic development of the country.

The prime minister directed for all possible steps to ensure inclusion of youth in every aspect of life in order to help them achieve higher goals. He said that 68 percent of Pakistan’s population is below 30 years of age and that is why the government is striving for converting this huge population into a great asset to benefit from their capabilities through education and skill training. He said the government is focused on exploiting the youth’s energy for the socio-economic development of the country as they are the catalyst of a change in society.

Earlier, the special assistant on youth affairs presented a two years performance report of the Kamyab Jawan Programme. The prime minister was

informed that over 16,600 concessional loans, worth Rs23 billion, have been disbursed since inception of Youth Entrepreneurs Scheme two years ago.

He said that under Kamyab Jawan Skill For All Programme, more than one hundred thousand scholarships, worth Rs4.7 billion, have been awarded.

The prime minister was further informed that five more initiatives under Kamyab Jawan Programme are being started for the benefit of youth. These include establishment of Kamyab Jawan centres in 106 universities, Green Youth Movement, Kamyab Jawan Innovation League, Kamyab Jawan Talent Hunt Sports League and Kamyab Jawan Sports Academies and Sports Gala.

Journey of development to continue despite tough circumstances: FM Qureshi muLtan Staff RepoRt

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Hussain Qureshi has said that the government is focusing on infrastructure projects on priority basis for the convenience of the masses. The foreign minister said this while chairing a meeting of the district coordination committee on Saturday to review pace on different uplift projects in the district.

Qureshi maintained that the fruits of the South Punjab Secretariat started yielding positive results. Despite tough circumstances, the government will continue its journey of development, he reiterated. He instructed the district administration to conduct a technical survey in order to resolve traffic problems in the city. He instructed heads of different

departments to keep monitoring of the uplift schemes and complete these within the stipulated time period.

Special Assistant to PM on Political Affairs Malik Aamir Dogar stated that the government has released huge funds for welfare of masses.

Provincial Minister Dr Akhtar Malik also spoke on the occasion and stated that Chief Minister Usman Buzdar is taking special interest in the development of

Politics major reason behind sugar price increase: Finance Ministry KaRaCHI Staff RepoRt

Finance Ministry Spokesperson Muzammil Aslam has said that the reason behind sugar price increases is political as everyone knows who owns most of the sugar mills in the country.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Muzammil Aslam said that despite having a bumper sugarcane crop, some players in the sugar food chain are playing political games. He said that increase in demand for sugar and delay in crushing of sugarcane pushed the price of the commodity up. He said the government has sugar stock for 22 days but the Sindh government is not asking the Centre for cheap sugar nor is it starting crushing of sugarcane. He stated that the sugar price is a provincial matter and because of that the Punjab

government raided several warehouses which were hoarding sugar which reduced the price of the essential commodity. He said that the Sindh government on the other hand did not take any such action and is just busy blaming the federal government for the hike.

The spokesperson also said that crushing in Punjab will start from November 15 while one vessel would also be berthed in a couple of days carrying 40,000 metric tonnes of sugar. So far, during the current fiscal year, the government has imported 157,827 tonnes of sugar despite having adequate stocks.

He said that the daily requirement of sugar per day is around 15,000 tonnes while the country has a stock of 130,000 metric tonnes. He said that on one hand Punjab and federal governments are doing their utmost to control rising sugar prices, but on the other, the Sindh government has taken no concrete steps in this regard.

Daska by-poll report: PML-N dubs PTI govt ‘champions of rigging’ Staff RepoRt PML-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique dubbed the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government “champions of rigging” on Saturday, hitting out at the ruling party over the findings of an inquiry report released a day ago by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on irregularities in the Daska by-poll.

Addressing a press conference alongside former speaker of the National Assembly, Ayaz Sadiq, and other PML-N leaders in Lahore, Rafique questioned: “After the Daska report, is any other proof needed that this government stole the votes [it] needed?”

The by-poll, conducted in the NA-75 constituency, had turned controversial following incidents of violence, reports of rigging and the disappearance of 20 presiding officers (POs). Subsequently, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had withheld the results of the bypoll and ordered re-election in the entire constituency on suspicion that the results may have been falsified. A by-poll was again held in the constituency in April this year, with PML-N’s Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar winning the contest by securing 110,075 votes.

A report on irregularities during the February bypoll was released yesterday (Friday), wherein it was concluded that election officials, police and the local administration failed to play their “designated role in the

requisite manner and were found [to be] puppets in the hands of their unlawful masters”.

The report further stated that PTI leader and former special assistant to the Punjab chief minister Firdous Ashiq Awan had participated in meetings held at the Daska assistant commissioner’s house for “manipulating the election process.” The inquiry revealed that the by-poll fiasco was a result of negligence and maladministration on part of relevant officials and a “pre-planned scam”. Referring to the report, Rafique said today that the PTI had made “false and hollow claims” about transparency and free and fair elections in the past and accused others of rigging elections. “But, is there anything left for them to say after the [release of] the Daska report?” he questioned rhetorically.

‘Govt planninG dayliGht robbery of elections’: Commenting on the contentious electoral reforms proposed by the incumbent government, Rafique alleged that similar to the PTI having the helping hand of the Results Transmission System (RTS) in the 2018 general election, they were planning to have electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the next polls. He accused the PTI government of “planning a daylight robbery” of the 2023 elections, but warned that “the people of Pakistan and [the rest of the] political parties will not let them succeed.”

the backward areas. The work on different mega projects is in progress, he noted.

He also instructed officers to prepare a feasibility plan for flyovers at Timber Market, Tughlaq Road and Grass Mandi.

Punjab Parliamentary Secretary Nadeem Qureshi stated that the timber market should be shifted outside the city. He also focused on widening and repairs of different roads in the city. Deputy Commissioner Aamir Kareem briefed about different ongoing projects and stated that the work was heading forward with rapid pace as per guidance of the parliamentarians. He hinted that the work on upgradation of different tombs, under Walled City Authority would commence soon.

The meeting was also attended by Punjab Minister for Energy Dr Akhtar Malik, MNAs Ibrahim Khan and Ahmed Hassan Dehr, MPAs Qasim Abbas, Muhammad Salman Naeem, Nadeem Qureshi, Javed Ansari, Akhtar Labar, Wasif Mazhar Raan, Wasim Khan Badozai, Mian Tariq Abdullah, DC Aamir Kareem, CPO Masood Marth and other officials from different departments.

NEWS

03

PDM again decides to take out Long March against inflation ContInued fRom page 01 Bilawal criticised the prime minister, saying that he had offered a “lollipop” of relief to the masses before hiking petrol prices. With each passing day, the government is increasing the problems of people, he added. He said those who increased the ghee price by 110% in three years, gave 30% relief to the masses. Electricity prices have increased by 60% in three years and today, Imran Khan is announcing a 30% relief package. He said that the price of sugar has risen by 80% in three years, adding that Imran Khan’s relief package was not for the people but for a few families.

Pakistani handicrafts, jewellery attract warm response at CIIE Staff RepoRt Pakistani handicrafts, jewellery and agricultural products are being received favourably at the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE), the world’s largest import-themed event being held from November 5 to 10 in Shanghai. More than 3,000 enterprises and corporate giants from 127 countries and regions around the globe bring their competitive products and state-of-the-art technologies to this year’s expo. Hanging high on the wall, stunning carpets from Pakistan are drawing the crowd. “Pakistani handmade wool carpet is of extremely high and fine quality, and forty to fifty years is the minimum time that you can use it”, Pakistani exhibitor Habib ur Rehman told CEN on Saturday. Here they not only have classic carpets but also newly designed modern ones that are perfectly matched with modern home decoration and furniture, displaying Pakistani traditional products and competitiveness of innovation. Besides wool carpets, Habib also brought Himalayan salt lamps to CIIE. The natural feel and healthcare function make these lamps popular among visitors. “This is my first time attending CIIE. The environment here is excellent and it’s a very big platform. I hope we can find more business opportunities here, he said with great expectations. It’s the fourth time that the Pakistani exhibitor Bhat Muzaffar Ahmed has attended CIIE. Lately the COVID-19 pandemic returned to China again. But China is doing very well in controlling the virus spreading. I am positive about this year’s expo, he said.

04 NEWS 7th November 2021_Layout 1 11/6/2021 11:45 PM Page 1

Sunday, 7 November, 2021 | KARACHI

04 NEWS

PakIStan, turkey begIn ConStruCtIng MoDern warShIP KArACHI ANAdoLu AgENcy

A keel-laying ceremony to begin construction of the MILGEM Ada class corvette — a joint venture of Pakistan and Turkey — for the Pakistan Navy was held in Karachi.

The ceremony at the Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KSEW) — navy’s specialised shipbuilding division — was attended by Naval Chief Admiral Amjad Khan Niazi, naval officers, and representatives of Turkey’s

state-run defence firm ASFAT, said an official statement. Addressing the ceremony, Niazi said the production of indigenous modern warships with the help of Turkey is a proud moment for Pakistan. The joint venture, he said, will open new avenues of cooperation between Ankara and Islamabad in the field of defense production.

Induction of the MILGEM-class ships, the statement added, would significantly increase the operational capabilities of the Pakistan Navy. The ships are being constructed according to modern

Increase in petroleum prices challenged

naval ship class standards and will be equipped with state-of-the-art weapons and sensors, including surface-to-surface, surface-to-air missiles, and anti-submarine weapons, the statement added.

In July 2018, Pakistan Navy signed a contract for the acquisition of four MILGEM-class ships with the ASFAT. According to the plan, two corvettes will be built in Turkey and the next two will be built in Pakistan, which also involves technology transfer.

MILGEM vessels are 99 meters (325 feet) long with a displacement ca-

pacity of 24,00 tons and can move at a speed of 29 nautical miles. The anti-submarine combat frigates can be hidden from the radar.

In October 2019, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, along with thenChief of Pakistan Navy Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, had cut the metal plate of the first MILGEM Ada class corvette during a ceremony in Istanbul.

Turkey is one of the 10 countries in the world which can build, design, and maintain warships using its national capabilities.

Welfare of policemen top priority; says SP

LAHore INP

Days after the government increased petroleum prices by up to Rs8.14 per litre, a petition filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Saturday challenged the move the government insisted was aimed at ensuring the revival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. The petitioner, Azhar Siddique, argued the prices have been increased without approval from the federal cabinet. The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) and the federal government have been nominated as respondents. In a hearing on Thursday, a two-member bench of the high court, headed by Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh, asked the government to apprise the court regarding the procedure of fixing the prices of petroleum products. The court had also issued a notice to Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan. The petitioner maintained there was no procedure to fix the prices of petroleum products and claimed the government was receiving 17 percent sales tax. The petitioner further said the government’s imposition of sales tax on essential items was a violation of the Constitution.

Spanish police bust trafficking ring smuggling Pakistanis MADrID ANAdoLu AgENcy

Spanish police said they have busted an international migrant-smuggling ring that illegally transported migrants from Pakistan into the European Union. Fifteen people were arrested in Spain, Romania, Croatia, and Slovenia, including the ring’s suspected leader. Police intercepted the gang’s last operation at the border between Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Authorities discovered 77 Pakistan migrants, including four minors, travelling in an eight square-meter (86 square-foot) cargo container on a truck. The migrants were travelling in “infrahuman conditions,” according to Spanish police, and had to punch holes in the cargo box’s roof to breathe. “The police action helped avoid what could have been a tragedy,” said the police statement. The investigation into the illegal migration ring began more than nine months ago when a Spanish citizen was found in Slovenia, carrying 53 irregular migrants in a truck. Spanish officials then collaborated with authorities in seven European countries and EUROPOL to take down the ring. The organization’s modus operandi involved picking up Pakistani migrants from a refugee camp in the Bosnian town of Bihac. The smuggling rings’ “shepherds” would then guide the migrants by foot over the mountains that separate BosniaHerzegovina from Croatia. From there, the migrants were told to get into the small cargo containers, which brought them close to the Slovenian border. Then they got out of the containers and hiked across uncontrolled parts of the border to avoid getting caught. Once in Slovenia, the migrants got back in the trucks and continued to Italy. Then they went to their final destinations, mainly Spain and Germany. Police said the migrants using their services usually spent between €12,000 ($13,860) and €20,000 ($23,000) on the entire journey from Pakistan into the EU. The organisation has brought at least 400 migrants into the EU in recent months and has earned more than €2 million, according to Spanish police estimates.

SnackVideo Is Committed to Creating a Safe Digital Pakistan through collaborations with all stakeholders PreSS reLeASe Pakistan’s premier short form video platform, SnackVideo, has taken a multi-pronged approach to create a safe environment for its users. Its goal is to progress the position that is held pertaining to the paradigm of online safety in the country, through collaboration with different stakeholders to work towards a singular focus - creating a safe digital space for all users in Pakistan. User safety is a primary concern for SnackVideo. “A safe and supportive community is key for users to express themselves in a way they feel comfortable to. Our trust and safety teams work round the clock to provide that environment for our community.” said Syed Naeemuddin, Country Manager of Pakistan, SnackVideo. Keeping users safe is a complex and evolving task. SnackVideo aims to stay abreast of what users need and want, in line with local norms and culture. The approach involves several elements; community guidelines and moderation policies, a mix of people and software to moderate content, setting up processes to handle escalations and emergency situations, providing features in-app to allow users to keep safe and partnering with local NGOs, governments and other stakeholders to ensure the safety of everyone. Most recently, to demonstrate its commitment to ensure a safe and productive space for Pakistan users, SnackVideo has set up a dedicated portal, first of its kind for the brand globally, which serves as a direct channel for the government and law enforcement agencies to reach out and collaborate on crime and safety related issues. SnackVideo is working to progress its vision of inculcating a deep-rooted sense of security for the digital space as a whole.

Mazari urges ‘just global order with same yardstick’ MonItorIng rePort

ISLAMABAD PRESS RELEASE

Additional Superintendent of Police (SP), Islamabad Farhat Abbas Kazmi has said the rule of law as well as the welfare of the police personnel was top priority of Capital police.

"Effective policing measures is being taken for maximum relief to citizens, " he said while addressing `Police Darbar’ held at Rescue-15 to listen and resolve the professional and personal matters of the cops.

The Police Darbar was held following the directions of IGP Islamabad Qazi Jamil ur Rehman for Rescue-15

and Eagle Squad officials and was attended among others by Inspector Admin Rescue-15 Arshad Mehmood.

Additional SP listened the problems of officials and ordered to solve them on spot. He also directed to his staff to immediately resolve all pending cases regarding leaves of the officials and duty timings etc. He urged the officials to serve the public in professional manner and always deal the citizens in a decent way while interacting with citizens. Farhat abbas Kazmi said that his doors are always open for the policemen and utmost efforts would be made to resolve their problems. He stressed the need to improve skills for effective policing in the city and make it more secure.

Strengthening multilateralism that promotes collective security and mutual collaboration without any discrimination will lead to a “just global order,” Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari said.

“We need to strengthen multilateralism that promotes collective security of everyone rather than pushing a zero-sum approach,” Mazari said, addressing the 7th Istanbul Security Summit in Istanbul, Anadolu Agency reported. Mazari said all those who violate international law and UN Security Council resolutions, and carry out human rights violations should be “held accountable without discrimination.” “In order to promote a just global order, same yardstick and benchmark should be promoted across organizations, and in emerging technologies and strategic areas. Carving out exemptions should be avoided,” she stated. Mazari further said that “strong Muslim states were being destabilized while UN Security Council’s role was being undermined by the notion of ‘coalitions of the willing’.

Liberal travel procedures will bolster Pakistan-Turkey ties: activist IStAnBUL ANAdoLu AgENcy

Easy travel processes, including liberal visa regimes with faster communication modes, will further push forward relations between Pakistan and Turkey, according to a Pakistan entrepreneur and social activist.

“The governments of Turkey and Pakistan should make the process of visa extremely easy,” said Rehan Allahwala, co-founder of Super Technologies Inc, well-known for his work on Facebook and other social media platforms.

“So, we can go online and just get the visa very quickly. And that’s something which needs to be worked on,” he told Anadolu Agency at the Pakistan Tech Summit held in Istanbul last week.

“I know that it’s very challenging work. But it’s definitely possible,” he said about making the visa regime easier for people of the two countries.

Allahwala, who started his first company at 13, suggested Turkish authorities should collaborate with Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) on the visa process.

“NADRA has the database of all Pakistani citizens and Turkish authorities can engage with them and make the visa process easier,” he said, adding that it currently takes at least two weeks to get a visa. More than 200 entrepreneurs, technology experts and sector leaders from Pakistan were on a five-day tour of Turkey where they met their Turkish counterparts

at Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University and visited other touristic cities.

“There is so much demand from Pakistani people to come to Turkey, but the visa and the transportation cost becomes a challenge,” he said.

The tech guru said the two governments should also facilitate ground travel between the countries.

“I would like to be allowed to go from Turkey to Pakistan by car. Right now, we don’t have that opportunity because it requires special paperwork and that costs two times the price of the car,” he said.

“I dream that we have 20 buses a day coming from Pakistan to Turkey, just like I can go from Antalya to Istanbul, I can go from Karachi to Istanbul. Why not?” asked Allahwala, who has completed 150 projects in five different countries.

Praising Turkey’s Pegasus Airlines for starting direct flights to Pakistan’s financial capital of Karachi, he said: “I would like them to increase the number of flights because the traffic is huge. And maybe such practices can help with the visa process also, and more tourists should be attracted.” To cement relations, the social activist said, the Pakistani government should “recognize the people who are acquiring citizenship in Turkey to allow them to have dual nationality.”

But he said more larger Turkish companies should come and partner or start their venture in Pakistan.

Lauding Turkey’s progress in the tourism sector, Allahwala said Pakistan has

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only 1,400 hotels. “Turkey has huge experience in tourism, so Turkish hotel companies can come to invest and start hotels or do partnerships with the local hotel companies, or booking companies as Pakistan is a phenomenal space for them,” he said.

“I know a lot of Pakistanis who want to come and live in Turkey because of Ertugrul Ghazi drama series and Osman Gazi and all the other dramas,” said Allahwala.

“Turkish people have occupied us mentally, just like Hollywood occupied us before.” The Turkish production of Ertugrul Ghazi earned heroic status in Pakistan after the country’s state television aired it in Urdu language. Within days of the first

broadcast, the fan following the series and its actors surged, especially lead actor Engin Altan Duzyatan.

Often described as a “Turkish Game of Thrones,” the series tells the story before the establishment of the Ottoman Empire in the 13th century Anatolia. It illustrates the struggle of Ertugrul Ghazi, the father of the empire’s first leader. It has millions of subscribers on its Urdu YouTube channel.

“People are going to America but now they want to come and flock to Turkey,” he said. “I asked my staff if I were to sponsor a trip, where would they like to go: Dubai or Turkey? Everyone responded, ‘Turkey.’ So, yeah, everybody wants to come here.”

Sunday, 7 November, 2021 | KARACHI

NEWS

SCBA urged to PlAy role in Bringing PolitiCAl PArtieS CloSer on eleCtorAl reforMS ISLAMABAD APP

M

InISTER for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Saturday urged the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) to play a leading role in bringing closer the political parties on the issue of electoral reforms.

“We will welcome the role of lawyers and bar associations in electoral reform, nAB ordinance and other important legislation”, the minister said during a meeting with newly-elected office-bearers of the body led by its president Mohammad Ahsan Bhoon.

The meeting came a day after Bhoon questioned the recent amendment to the national Accountability Ordinance (nAO) as well as the procedure for the appointment of superior court judges and decided to challenge

it in the court.

The first meeting of the newly elected executive committee of the lawyers’ body also unanimously adopted a strongly worded resolution asking for abolishing Article 175-A of the Constitution under which superior court judges are appointed through the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP).

Today, Chaudhry asked the body that instead of challenging the ordinance itself, they should recommend reforms to the accountability apparatus to the government.

He said that lawyers play the role of a bridge between the bar and the bench and this role should also be adopted in political affairs.

Chaudhry said the legal community should continue to play its role in the rule of law in society. “Bar associations will have to make efforts to expedite pending cases in the judiciary,” said the minister.

The establishment of a developed society was not

possible without justice, he said. “We will solve the problems facing the legal fraternity,” he said.

The minister assured the delegation the welfare of lawyers was a top priority of the government and it was taking all possible steps in this regard.

Congratulating the officials of the SCBA on their victory in the recent elections he assured them of all possible cooperation.

Bhoon said they would continue efforts for strengthening and reformation of the judicial system.

He said they would also fulfil the trust placed in them by the legal community. He also acknowledged that reforms in the justice system were need of the hour.

Bhoon further said the government and the opposition parities should move beyond political interests and cooperate for systematic reforms. The delegation included Bhoon, Vice President (Punjab) Khawar Bhatti and members of the executive committee.

05

Kashmir president, PM discuss Kashmir dispute ISLAMABAD APP

Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Barrister Sultan Mahmood called on Prime Minister Imran Khan at his office on Saturday. Mahmood apprised the prime minister of his successful visit to the United States and Europe to motivate the Pakistan diaspora for highlighting the Kashmir dispute at the international level. During the meeting, they also discussed the matters pertaining to the development in Kashmir. In office since August, Mahmood has vowed to continue his mission to expose India’s ugly face before the international community and also help the government effectively serve the AJK people in accordance with the vision and guidelines of Khan.

Czech model, sentenced in drug case, to walk free next week: lawyer

Corporate philanthropy

An Example of a Healthy Public-Private Partnership to Change Lives

By TARIq AzAM Corporate philanthropy aims to enhance social development. It can be in the form of cash, grants, employees’ time, product donation or gift in kind. In the 2020 edition of the Human Development Report, Pakistan ranked 154th out of 189 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI), which measures a nation’s health, education, standards of living, and recently, also a country’s carbon dioxide emissions. Unfortunately, our country’s ranking was lower than all other comparable economies in the region, except Afghanistan.

To improve our standing on the HDI, everyone needs to step forward and contribute to bring about the positive change that our people deserve. The corporate sector can play an important role in the development of a just society by contributing from its profits towards fighting social and economic inequalities. Many organisations acknowledge the significance of corporate philanthropy not only for altruistic reasons but also as a business strategy. The idea of giving back creates good will amongst

the customers of a company and creates loyalty. Moreover, it has a positive impact on the performance of employees by adding a sense of meaning to their work which boosts productivity and reduces turnover. Investors are also interested to assess a company’s performance beyond profit, based on Triple Bottom Line which includes profit, people and planet.

Globally, philanthropy as 1% of profit before tax (PBT) is the commonly accepted standard for corporates. According to an estimate, Asian countries perform better at percentage of PBT philanthropy than other regions. While such donations are voluntary in most countries but India has made it mandatory for all companies with certain revenue to donate a defined percentage of that revenue, demonstrating political will to harness the potential of corporate giving.

According to a Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy report published in 2019, donations from top 25 companies constitute 78% of total giving by corporates in our country. These top 25 companies have structured Corporate Social Responsibility programmes with dedicated budget, irrespective of profitability of the company. The report identifies the most generous sectors in 2018 as the oil & gas sector followed by travel & leisure industry and then the commercial banking sector. In that year, corporate philanthropy amounted to Rs. 12.77 billion which included Rs 9.07 billion by the Public Listed Companies and reflected a 20% increase from previous year. This shows the growing potential in the field of corporate philanthropy.

We can hope to optimise the impact

of corporate philanthropy if we can define clear goals and have a mechanism to assess the impact of corporate giving towards achieving these goals. The present government’s Ehsaas programme, which is an initiative to alleviate poverty and provide social safety net for those in need, has given a direction to corporate philanthropy by defining four main pillars as areas that need support from corporates. This seems to be the beginning of a promising public-private partnership.

Recently the 36th Corporate Excellence Awards were announced by the Management Association of Pakistan.

The awards are divided into industrial and financial categories and not-forprofit organisation category. In the Phase 3 of the assessment process, the appraisal of the management practices include social responsibility. The winners in the not-for-profit sector this year were from the health and education sectors namely the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust, the Layton Rahmatullah Benevolent Trust and The Citizen Foundation.

These organisations are examples of how well-directed charity can make a huge impact, positively changing thousands of lives. Over the years, corporate philanthropy has contributed towards a number of reputable charitable organisations in our country. This also allows for expansion of these projects, allowing more people to benefit from services closer to their homes.

Taking forward the example of Shaukat Khanum, where one cancer hospital once seemed like an impossible dream, now there are two tertiary care cancer hospitals offering the most mod-

101,447 scholarships, 16,617 loans disbursed among youth: official

ISLAMABAD APP

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Usman Dar Saturday told Imran Khan 101,447 scholarships worth Rs4.7 billion had so far been distributed among the youth under the Skill for All initiative of the Kamyab Jawan programme.

Dar, during a meeting with the prime minister, informed him 16,617 concessional business loans totalling Rs23 billion had also been disbursed under the Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme (YES).

The official, who presented a two-year report on the performance of the programme, told the prime minister that under the project, five more pro-youth initiatives would be launched.

The initiatives include the establishment of Kamyab Jawan Centers in 106 universities, the launch of Green Youth Movement, Kamyab Jawan Innovation League, Kamyab Jawan Talent Hunt Sports League, Kamyan Jawan Sports Academies, and Sports Gala.

Prime Minister Khan emphasised all-out measures for the inclu-

sion of youth in all sectors to make them contribute to achieving the great goals.

He said 68 percent of the population was below 30 years of age and this was the reason the government was striving for converting this huge population into a great asset to benefit from their capabilities through education and skill training.

The prime minister said the government was focused on exploiting the young energy for the socio-economic development of the country as they were the catalyst of a change in society.

CMyK

ern diagnostic and treatment facilities, on the principles of quality and equality. The SKMT aims to build a tertiary care hospital, dedicated to fighting cancer, at least in each province of Pakistan. To this end, the third Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre is being constructed in Karachi with an estimated total cost of Rs. 16 billion, spread over a period of three years, where the project completion is expected by 2023.

The average donation size for the second Shaukat Khanum Hospital in Peshawar was only Rs. 50. In the context of corporates, we can imagine the scale of the impact of corporate philanthropy by using the example of the new cancer hospital being built in Karachi. A cancer hospital is an interesting example because it involves expensive equipment, medicines and human resource, which presents a unique sustainability challenge. If the top 25 Public Limited Companies commit to support this Hospital, they alone can shoulder the burden of completing the project.

As indicated by the report on corporate philanthropy as well as data from certain credible charitable organisations, the size of giving is increasing in our country each year. Individuals and corporates are willing to give so long as the beneficiary organisation demonstrates judicious use of donations. Such organisations prove that the fruit of public-private partnership can be sweetly rewarding, if philanthropy is channelized properly towards those who are in need of hope the most.

The AuThor is The direcTor of MArkeTing And resource develoPMenT dePArTMenT AT shAukAT khAnuM MeMoriAl TrusT

LAHORE The AssociATed Press

A Czech model who was sentenced to eight years on charges of attempting to smuggle heroin from Pakistan to the United Arab Emirates will be freed next week following her acquittal on Monday by the Lahore High Court (LHC). Tereza Hluskova’s attorney, Saif ul-Malook, said the now 24-year-old will be released early next week after completion of paperwork. She was arrested in January 2018 in possession of 8.5 kilograms, or 19 pounds, of heroin at the Allama Iqbal International Airport from where she was heading to Ireland via the UAE. Her sentence also included an $800 fine. At the time of the arrest and during her trial, Hluskova, who had come to Pakistan to work as a model, pleaded she was innocent and that someone else placed the narcotics in her luggage. Authorities regularly arrest both locals and foreigners over attempts of drug smuggling.

Civil servant commits suicide PESHAWAR inP

Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) Assistant Director Syed Farman Bacha ended his life with a gunshot for undisclosed reasons, police said on Saturday. The police said that Bacha was a resident of Babra town of Charsadda in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The police said further investigation was underway and they were attempting to ascertain the reason for the killing.

06-07 Comments 07th November 2021_Layout 1 11/6/2021 10:46 PM Page 1

Sunday, 7 November, 2021

06 COMMENT

India taking the knee? really?

Secret agreements Another problematic truce

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And Pakistan chiming in?

O one apart from Prime Minister Imran Khan and perhaps a handful of his cabinet ministers and close confidants are aware of the exact details of a controversial agreement between the government and the banned Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).

What is more, no minister or leader from the ruling party and its allies is willing to comment on the matter as if there is a strict gag order ensuring silence.Similarly, according to reports, Pakistan has reached a tentative understanding with the banned Tehreek Taliban Pakistan (TTP) after the Afghan Taliban brokered “face-to-face” talks have succeeded, but apart from an agreement to release up to “two dozen” of the terrorist outfit’s “foot soldiers” not much else has been shared. In both cases there is an eerie silence over what has been agreed, which begs the legitimate question that must be answered: what are the terms of these agreements and why is the state keeping them a secret?

Over 800 TLP members have already been released by the Punjab Police, several leaders have secured bail from anti-terrorism court and Saad rizvi, the banned group’s firebrand leader,is likely to be released in a matter of a few days as the Punjab government has revoked its appeal against his bail in the LHC. With a truce deal now in place, members of the TTP detained by authorities here who are either directly or indirectly responsible for thousands of Pakistanis’ deaths will be set free. That the government has taken unilateral decisions on highly sensitive matters without taking into confidence all relevant stakeholders, most important among whom are the families who lost their loved ones at the hands of terrorists belonging to the TTP and the TLP, is an irresponsible and cruel approach to dealing with enemies of the state.

The longer the government keeps these matters secret and plays it close to the chest; the more questions will continue to be asked. Banned violent outfits that have a disdain for the rule of law and liberal progressive thought cannot be negotiated with effectively nor reasoned with.

There are no guarantees that both groups won’t renege on their promises and continue with their nefarious activities, with more soldiers and innocent civilians dying at the hands of the TTP while the TLP decides to march towards the capital yet again, torturing and killing police officers along the way.

rabia ahMed

B

EfOrE its match against Pakistan began on 24 October, the Indian cricket team ‘took the knee’ on the field, in what is by now an internationally recognised gesture against racism. The Pakistani team expressed their support of this gesture by placing their hands across their chest, à la Ertugrul Gazi.

The gesture has been received with raised eyebrows, given India’s human rights violations, against Kashmiris, and against Muslims, and because of verbal attacks on Mohammad Shami, the only Muslim player in the Indian team, after the match. referring to this event, Andrew Bolt of Sky news recently spoke about how India should fix its own record before making grand international statements against racism. He was speaking specifically about India’s caste system, in which Brahmins have the upper hand, followed by others on a descending scale ending last of all in the untouchable class composed of the Shudras and the Dalits, whose lives are a dreadful tale of survival despite discrimination.

There must be several people on both teams, let us presume all of them, who have their hearts in the right place with regards to racism. neither team had much choice in making this gesture. It has been said that the Indian team did what they did upon instructions from the Board that manages the event at their end. And the Pakistani team understandably had to chime in.

Be that as it may, what concerns us is the Pakistani team and its support of the anti-racist sentiment.

Any country’s national team, even if it is a sports team, represents the country, which means it represents what the country stands for, so the question

Preplanned rigging Daska by-election inquiry report damning indictment of the electoral process

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n its report regarding the events necessitating a reelection in nA-75 Daska, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has revealed that there was a “preplanned scheme” to alter the result of the contest held back in february. It states that the investigation has revealed sufficient evidence to confirm that a number of polling officers, police personnel, the district commissioner and prominent political figures of the ruling party were all involved in the orchestration of stealing an election. Additional details surrounding the episode paint a picture of a diabolical scheme to gain undue advantage by the PTI whose candidate faced almost certain defeat, up against a PML(n) candidate who was contesting on her recently deceased father’s seat. Perhaps the only silver lining here is that the ECP, otherwise considered a toothless institution with the reputation of being subservient to the leadership in power, finally showed its mettle as an independent regulator and did its job. That it is clearly determined to take this case to its logical end is also commendable. The report comes at a time when the PTI and ECP are at loggerheads with each other, with the former publicly accusing the head of the latter, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of being on the take. The ECP is backing down from a fight, thoroughly questioning the government over its relentless obsession with the introduction of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the next general elections, while also pursuing the PTI’s longstanding foreign funding case It seems, the Daska episode notwithstanding, a refreshed ECP is no longer tolerant towards powerful political parties using their clout to commit election fraud with impunity. There must now be no letup in this newfound vigor on part of the ECP as general elections near, setting up an opportunity to attempt holding free and fair polls for once in the country’s history. for all its talk of election reform, the government should do some serious introspection over its own conduct during elections, evidently engaging in blatant rigging that is plain to see.

Shah Nawaz Murad

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n the Baloch history, we find people living like nomads who migrated to different areas which were suitable for their herds and themselves. In the modern age, still a large group of people live life as nomads. Basically, “nomad” refers to those people who roam about for pasture. A nomadic group is a community of people who move from one place to another. They are dependent on seasons and facilities for their herds in a given area. They do not settle permanently in one area and keep moving to other places from time to time.

In today’s industrialized countries, nomads are few as compared to the past. However, there are still 30 to 40 million nomads around the world today. Their way of living is totally different from other people’s; their food system, home, living standard are wholly disparate from those of sedentary people. Education is a far dream for nomads, who merely focus on living their life. In other words, they are totally away from the scientific era. not only de we have historical references to nomads in Balochistan, there are still settled a great number of nomads in Balochistan, some have come to nasirabad, about 40 km west of Turbat city.

Human beings basically need food to survive.

One of the main reasons of their not settling in one area is to generate income and be able to live a life of their own. They wake up early in the mornings and take tea after which they go to graze their herd.

They take their lunch along with them, which is either fish or milk or anything else they have. They prefer simple things which is a reason for their leading a healthier life. They are happy with that.

Founding Editor

Yousaf Nizami Umar Aziz

Joint Editor

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

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

They cannot benefit from education or health facilities because they move around

Arif Nizami (Late)

M. A. Niazi

What makes us think we can place our hands over our hearts and make a statement against racism? What allows us to condemn India as our people and politicians have been doing, as a matter of course as well as following the cricket match? And just what allows us to point fingers at racism when it takes place anywhere else in the world?

Myth to Reality: the Nomads in Balochistan

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

arises: does Pakistan stand for racial equality?

Certainly, given the political rhetoric against India in this country, you would imagine that Pakistan itself is free of racism. That would be a highly erroneous perception. It does not, despite its constitution, despite the religion of the majority of its people, and despite the image it likes to project.

The foundation of Pakistan and its people being free to go to their temples, mosques, or other places of worship has long since been overridden by certain amendments. That brings one to the religion.

The majority of Pakistanis claim to be Muslim, a religion that at its inception made a gift of freedom against racism and any kind of bigotry to all humanity. And yet, here in Pakistan, that gift has in effect been thrown back into the hands that gave it.

In Pakistan, other forms of racism aside, the caste system is alive and thriving. Conveniently cloaked in terms such as ‘brotherhood’ (baradari), it is difficult to see how the caste system in the Punjab, consisting of rajputs, Arains, Dogars, Butts, Bhattis and all that bull differs to the caste system among Hindus.

People who number themselves as one or other of these ‘castes’ often have the fact written across their cars, and tend to prefer to marry someone from the same caste as themselves. As for Syeds, that is another ball game, hilarious if it weren’t so dreadful, and so belittling of him from whom members of the caste proudly claim descent. The people who bestow that title upon themselves often, (there are as always many exceptions) prefer to marry only within themselves, and yet DnA tests conducted upon some of them in the sub-continent indicate that they have no connection with any Arab, let alone any particular person hailing from that region. And even if they did, if the supposed head of that family held no illusions of superiority for his family or himself based on that lineage, if indeed he condemned such things, nothing justifies the existence of that illusion among many of his so-called descendants. far from the government making the slightest move to change this mindset, the land documents issued by the government of Punjab require a person to state his

or her caste. If this isn’t racism, our Interior Minister is a level-headed man. One can name many shameful incidents, such as those against Pakistan’s minorities, the Christians, the Hazara, the Shias and the Ahmadis. Let us never forget the Christian colony that was burnt down by a rabid mob, and the Christian couple that was burnt alive in a kiln, or the fact that our nobel Laureate Abdus Salam was drummed out of the country because he belonged to a much-persecuted, discriminated against community, even by law. Just, you know, as Muslims are discriminated against in India, because they belong to the community they belong to, a discrimination our government and people protest vociferously against.

And most recently, there was the case of the Ahmadi student who was expelled from the University that had given him admission on a minority quota.

Mind you, this was not the first case. In 2008 23 students were expelled from a college in the Punjab. not for any misdeed, but because they happened to belonge to the Ahmadiyya community. And that took place less than a month after the national Assembly of Pakistan reaffirmed its commitment to uphold the interests and rights of all minorities within the country in front of the United nations Human rights Council.

The most recent incident mentioned above took place this month, when the Bahauddin Zakaria University located in Multan suspended a young man’s admission without informing him or giving a reason for the suspension. It was a relief when the Lahore High Court set aside the decision, saying that it ‘amounted to persecuting the already persecuted.’

One would like to know if any measures are planned against those responsible for these actions in the University.

These events mentioned above are only a very few of the racist acts that take place in Pakistan, acts that bring shame upon all Pakistanis, and upon all those who call themselves Muslim, human or decent.

So, what makes us think we can place our hands over our hearts and make a statement against racism?

What allows us to condemn India as our people and politicians have been doing, as a matter of course as well as following the cricket match? And just what allows us to point fingers at racism when it takes place anywhere else in the world?

I

Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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However, just as their demand of food is simple, they prefer living in small huts. One other reason for such simple residences is as they do not stay permanently in a particular area, they make such small huts as are easily made.

To make their huts, they use some sticks which are locally called ladi. These huts are favorable in summer, but the nomads go through a lot of hurdles and woes in winter. Because it gets very cold and such huts cannot save them unless they make a fire, but sometimes when it rains or when the wind blows hard, they become pitiful.

As for education, as we discussed earlier, they are far from the scientific world and keep migrating from time to time, so they cannot admit their children into a school in one particular town. And in our system, there is no such school that would accommodate or admit nomadic children. Besides this, they do not live in cities but small villages, where education is already a question mark.

They also face a lot of problems as far as their

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

Nomadic people in Balochistan are very simple and prefer the very poor living they have. Due to the government’s lack of attention towards this community, they have been going through very hard times. It is the government’s primary duty to serve its people and particularly the nomads as they are not settled and part of the State. They are to be given permanent status of citizens and must be provided with jobs and houses to live like normal citizens

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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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health goes, in some situations. They rely on their simple treatments rather than visiting a doctor or trying medicines. They solve a great part of their health-related issues, but fail to end those of them which demand modern health facilities, of which they are not aware. A second reason for not visiting a doctor is the already deteriorating health system of Balochistan, mainly outside the cities. nomadic people in Balochistan are very simple and prefer the very poor living they have.

Due to the government’s lack of attention towards this community, they have been going through very hard times. It is the government’s primary duty to serve its people and particularly the nomads as they are not settled and part of the State. They are to be given permanent status of citizens and must be provided with jobs and houses to live like normal citizens.

The writer is a columnist and member PPP and tweets @MustafaBaloch_

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

06-07 Comments 07th November 2021_Layout 1 11/6/2021 10:46 PM Page 2

Sunday, 7 November, 2021

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Child abuse in Pakistan

Western hypocrisy As Afghanistan bleeds, the world waits expectantly for it to collapse

Candid Corner raoof haSaN “As for the third Official Reason: exposing Western Hypocrisy – how much more exposed can they be? Which decent human being on earth harbours any illusions about it? These are people whose histories are spongy with the blood of others. Colonialism, apartheid, slavery, ethnic cleansing, germ warfare, chemical weapons – they virtually invented it all.”

–Arundhati Roy

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O know how deep-rooted and insufferable Western hypocrisy is, one does not have to move beyond our immediate neighbourhood: Afghanistan. Since the withdrawal of the US and nATO troops from the country in the wake of the Taliban advance and consequent takeover, it has been shunned by the whole Western world as if it were not located on this planet but existed somewhere in outer space.

By all projections and predictions, Afghanistan is virtually on the brink of an economic collapse which will inevitably lead to a massive humanitarian tragedy. The warnings have been coming from multiple sources, including the United nations, which have not dented the rabid Western intransigence encompassing three principal aspects: one, the USA and, quite often, the European countries, refuse to become part of an international consortium to provide immediate assistance to a beleaguered Afghanistan to meet its bare needs; two, the USA refuses to unfreeze it’s assets valued at billions of dollars which are deposited in the American banks; and three, the USA refuses to allow the banking channels to function, thus blocking the Un, EU and the world community’s efforts to transmit funds to Afghanistan. This is in spite of the fact that the United nations and the regional countries have urged the USA to allow the transmission of aid to help the country survive the ravages of war spread over more than four decades. What does the USA want? What do the European countries want?

At this critical juncture, there are two options for the world: either engagement with the new government in Afghanistan, or its abandonment. The former option, if exercised, will help

the beleaguered country survive the dread of a quick collapse and move on to fulfilling its commitments to the world. The latter option will lead to a worsening of the economic and humanitarian crises which may precipitate a law and order situation, thus plunging the country into strife and fratricide. Is this what the West is waiting for? And what will it do if such a dreadful eventuality actually takes shape and the country lapses into an existential crisis?

That renders the mind numb. While there may be issues with the way Taliban have progressed in meeting some of the international community’s expectations in terms of human rights, rights of women and formation of an inclusive government representing all stakeholders of the country, it does not merit that the entire population of Afghanistan be punished for what is not of their making. It also does not merit that their agony may prolong further at the hands of a conscious and cruel effort on the part of the developed world simply because they don’t like the faces of the Taliban ruling Afghanistan. In the process, they conveniently forget what they did with the country during more than 20 years of occupation and hoisting possibly the most corrupt governments ever in the name of democracy. When the time came for their anointed ones to take a position and resist the Taliban onslaught to save their ‘freedom’, they deserted Afghanistan carrying with them millions stacked in duffle bags.

The track record of their ignominious occupation and the reasons for its sudden collapse are laid out in the voluminous SIGAr papers, as also the ill-conceived agenda they harboured for transforming Afghanistan into a ‘modern’ state that would serve their strategic interests in this part of the world. Their ultimate exit from the country signified a dream busted and its aftereffects are the issues which the Western alliance is unable to deal with leaving behind caustic reserves of frustration, anger and an urge to wreak vengeance. So, is it that Afghanistan not only suffered, it should continue to suffer to cater to their bloated egos?

Today, the world is a hostage in the grip of the neo-imperialist powers which are absolutely adamant in imposing their unequal and inequitable writ on the weaker countries, most notably from the South Asian region. This is so because they are united under the leadership of the USA to use their combined power not to allow China to emerge as the next dominant power of the world. But this is a game which they have already lost unless, of course, they would scheme to plunge the world into an Armageddon from where there would be no coming out for anyone. This madness has to stop.

One of the key clauses of the agreement the USA signed with the Taliban in Doha in february 2020 was the assurance that Afghanistan will not become a launching pad for terrorism in the world. The Taliban made this promise in return for the timeline the USA gave for withdrawal of their troops from the country. I understand that the return of terrorist activity in any form would not be a desirable phenomenon. But, how is that going to be made possible? By destabilising the government in Afghanistan? An economically

weak government, be that of the Taliban or anyone else’s, will not have the wherewithal to keep the situation under control. As a matter of fact, the contrary would be true: the country will most likely plunge into chaos, thus becoming a ripe breeding ground for terrorist forces to launch their operations aimed at spreading fear and mayhem.

Already, some such activity has been owned up by terrorist groups which are still active in Afghanistan and which need to be combated and eliminated. In the event of a weak Afghan government, these terrorist outfits will not only manage to survive, but also gain further strength and relevance throughout the country. So, the very purpose of the US and nATO withdrawal would be defeated. That not being a preferred option, it is time the USA and other Western countries paid some serious attention to their current policy and take urgent steps to remodel it for the cause of peace in Afghanistan, the region and the world. If that does not happen, we are headed for chaotic times.

This stalemate cannot be allowed to drag on.

It is here that the regional countries will have to take charge and start pushing things in the right direction. Afghanistan needs help. It cannot move on without this coming through. With the USA, the European countries and the veritable arms of the West including the World Bank, United nations and a host of donor organisations unable, or unwilling, to extend help, bulk of the responsibility would fall on the shoulders of the regional countries, led by China and russia.

They will have to step forth to save the situation from deteriorating further which would, inevitably, spark off a chain reaction with one disaster leading to another that would engulf not just Afghanistan, but the whole region.

Ideally, the world should rethink its strategy regarding Afghanistan. If it does not, as is likely to happen, the regional countries should have an emergency plan ready for implementation to help Afghanistan cope with its immediate problems. The Taliban, too, have to play their role in making it possible: they will have to move quickly to ameliorate the concerns of the regional countries regarding the formation of a fully representative government and initiating all necessary steps to ensure the rights of women to education and work. Any further delay on these fronts is going to complicate matters which may precipitate a crisis that may bulge out of control.

Peace has been a dream for the beleaguered people of Afghanistan for over 40 years. It must not be denied to them any longer. The international community and all the regional countries must wake up to the looming crisis and help avert it before it strikes with unimaginable ferocity. War not having brought peace to Afghanistan in 4o years, it is not likely to do in the next 40 either. Let’s shun the prospect of war and work collectively for the cause of peace.

This remains the only way to move forward.

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

Twitter: @RaoofHasan

ArTICLE 25 (1) of the pakistani constitution states that “all citizens are equal before Law and entitled to equal protection of Law” Children also need to be protected but unfortunately children are suffering from child abuse as Child abuse is one of worst issue by which Pakistan is suffering . child abuse is an action of abusing the children when they are at a young age .children are abused sexually and also you say the child Labour one of the abuses on children when at young age they go for work they are beaten and sexually abused that makes their physical contact bad. There are many people who involve the children in bad works like drugs, sexual participation and force them to do bad things . furthermore children are very innocent and are most vulnerable, least powerful and they are unable to protect themselves from the abusers.child abusers often know how to emotionally manipulate their intended victims , gaining their trust well in advance of the actual abuse . furthermore there were many children who were raped and killed in these following years , some of the following cases have occurred in workplace the issue is pending and children are unsafe According to the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse (ISPCAn), overall ust41.69 percent respondents were sexually abused in one form or another. Child abuse is become social problem in Pakistan this all because of the poverty , the poor families who send their children for work and are often abused In near 1,780 cases, children were abused by their acquaintances while service providers, such as teachers, shopkeepers and drivers, were involved in 91 such cases. We live in such a sick society where fear of sending the children outside when a children is abused due lack of support from family members, friends and neighbours or the community leads to the isolation of the victim, making him hesitant to share his experience about his abuser.and many of commit suicide Besides other factors responsible for child abuse are socio-economic stresses; unemployment, low selfconfidence and feelings of incompetence, loneliness .more ever ,According to data released by an nGO, eight children were abused every day in Pakistan in one form or the other while 51pc of the victims were girls and 49pc boys and. 2,960 major crimes against children were reported in the four provinces, including Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) in 2020. What is going on in our country is how our society is so sick and in the worst condition of kidnapping the children and abusing them. As the children are the future of the nation and it is a rising issue and media can also play an important role in it by creating awareness and the government needs to establish stronger laws regarding children. If once better laws are made against child abusers children can be protected.

HomeR JAn BAlocH lAHoRe

Curing corruption COrrUPTIOn is the utilization of public offices, official positions, ranks status, and powers for private benefits. The word corruption is experienced almost everywhere. The most triggering spurs, which encourage corruption, are the paucity of transparency, ineffective accountability, and institutional vulnerabilities. Here, Everything is possible by spending a penny either legal or illegal. Owing to this shortcoming, corruption is continuing despite multiple preventive paces. Its hazardous implications are immense such as it is a big barricade to social, political, and economic development. furthermore, It imposes its stringency and curse in multiple modes. These corrupt behaviors include bribery, fraud, embezzlement, nepotism, and appropriation of public assets and property for illicit use. It is verified that corruption spread is the yield of great neglect.

Lastly, The wise committee should be arranged to check the outcome of devised policies. Making policies isn’t a big act, but its complete implementation till its requisite results is a tremendous job. However, Plentiful policies are planned, but their fruits can’t be harvested. These are useless and futile in this regard. The useful conclusion can emerge that corruption is a proven fact, corruption hampers the countries from attaining development. firstly, Owing to massive corruption, many projects do not meet the deadlines timely. muHAmmAd AfzAl KHAiRpuR miRs

Menace of drugs DrUG addiction is one of the most detrimental dilemmas in Pakistan . It is alarmingly ruining the lives of hundreds of thousands people in Pakistan . It takes the youth towards a dark and egregious future and it kills and destroys their lives awfully . Afghanistan is a neighboring country of Pakistan which rapidly supplies dozens of kinds of drugs to Pakistan.

UnODC gauged that 800000 youth of Pakistan are addicted to drugs. Due to these drugs , the life of every soul is falling into destruction and misery.

Lastly, I would like to plead to the government of Pakistan to stop the drugs so that the future of Pakistan’s youth would be secured . sHoAil RAsHid lAHoRe

Tech troubles TODAy’S world is jamed with technology .The main inventions which are playing an important role to destroy our health’s such as computers, mobiles and social media etc. Which almost every family owns. Originally it was created to make our lives more easier then before but later on researches were carried on and it came up that our physical and mental health suffers because of immoderate usage of technology. Technology appears to create global network bringing people together but infact this technology ends up the importance of real life communication the enjoyment of life even because of this we forget to give time to our relatives,families and friends. In today’s world it’s a habit of almost every people to live in their own world stuking at the device screen even when surrounded with the kith and kins. This technology have ruined the peace of people specially, the most inferior impact of technology is that it reduced the quantity and quality of sleep and today’s generation have become habitual of technology. So we should not fail to think of that this technology have harmful effects too for our health so we should not accustomed to technology. We should take care of our health also. uRooJ nAdeem HydeRABAd

Sunday, 7 November, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

iT’s Time To ban fossiL fueL adverTising and sponsorship THIS IS THE KIND OF BOLD ACTION WE NEED TO TACKLE THE CLIMATE CATASTROPHE WE’RE FACING

Al JAzeeRA

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silvia Pastorelli

hen we look back at the history of fossil fuel companies, we see that slick communication strategies have always been central to their efforts to appear harmless.

Last month, I joined dozens of activists from 12 european countries to block traffic around Shell’s Pernis refinery in Rotterdam using buoys and a small flotilla of kayaks as part of a campaign seeking a ban on fossil fuel advertising.

Almost 40 “kayaktivists” were still trying to build a barrier at the entrance of the port when the first reactions from the fossil fuel industry started to come in. The fact that our campaign to ban fossil fuel ads received a wave of angry responses just a few hours after its launch reassured us that we have hit them where it hurts. And it made the issue at hand even more evident: the fossil fuel industry relies on PR to mislead

people and stay afloat.

For decades, the industry engaged in climate change denial to protect itself. As we know now, oil companies had been made aware of climate change in the 1970s – their own scientists warned them that if they did not take immediate action, their products would soon heat up the planet disastrously.

But these companies chose to listen to their financial and PR advisers over their scientists. They buried the evidence and kept quiet about the looming catastrophe to continue making money.

Would we be experiencing such a severe climate emergency if these companies acted differently? Could we have prevented the mass extinction of species that we are facing today if these companies did not hide the truth from us? We will never know.

But what we do know is that while the fossil fuel industry may have lost some of its teeth in the last few decades, it did not change its nature: it is still willing to destroy our future for a profit. Most fossil fuel companies may not be engaged in overt climate change denial today, but they are all employing the equally disastrous strategy of “delay and deceive”. They are pumping millions into “greenwashing” and trying to make their destructive practices look environmentally friendly in order to extend the lifespan of their obsolete business.

For example, BP is inviting individuals

to assess their own emissions using its “carbon footprint calculator” in an effort to put the blame for climate change on the shoulders of consumers – a smart, but nasty, strategy which discourages meaningful climate action. Similarly, researchers from harvard University have recently accused exxon of using misleading language to try and shift the blame for fossil fuel use – and climate change – from producers to consumers. Finally, last month Greenpeace published a new report which revealed that two-thirds of the advertisements put out by six leading fossil fuel companies in europe can be classified as “greenwashing”. history is repeating itself before our eyes. The fossil fuel companies who denied climate change for decades and paved the way for the current climate tragedy are now trying to once again pull the wool over our eyes with their so-called “green” advertisements, promotions and initiatives.

This is why Greenpeace, together with 20 other nGOs, decided to take a stance against this new type of climate deception and call for an end to fossil fuel advertising and sponsorship.

We are calling on the european Commission to introduce a tobacco-like ban for fossil fuels advertising and sponsorship.

On October 4, when we launched a petition and invited citizens of the european Union to support our proposal, the industry

The cLimaTe crisis is jusT anoTher form of gLobaL oppression by The rich WorLd

panicked.

The first reaction came from Shell. They were, unsurprisingly, not pleased. They tried to defend themselves by saying they invest billions into clean energies. What they didn’t say was that their own numbers show that their investment in oil and gas is still five times bigger than their investment in renewables – this is how seriously they are taking the climate emergency.

The second reply came from Total energies. “nothing we ever do is enough for Greenpeace,” they said. We were devastated to hear that Total is feeling deflated by our challenges, but it has to do much more than a multimillion-euro rebrand campaign to convince us of its good intentions. The climate does not care about the feelings of Total energies – it cares about the emissions from fossil fuels that make up 90 percent of Total’s portfolio.

One of the most outrageous reactions was from the Finnish company Fortum, who alongside their subsidiary Uniper are currently emitting more CO2 emissions than all of Finland. In reaction to our campaign, Fortum argued that “an advertising ban would decrease the visibility of climate change itself and the energy companies’.’ It seems Fortum’s PR team was hiding under a rock earlier this year when the IPCC report came out warning us of a bleak future if we don’t take strong measures quickly.

GuARdiAn

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george MonBiot

he story of the past 500 years can be crudely summarised as follows. A handful of european nations, which had mastered both the art of violence and advanced seafaring technology, used these faculties to invade other territories and seize their land, labour and resources.

Competition for control of other people’s lands led to repeated wars between the colonising nations. new doctrines – racial categorisation, ethnic superiority and a moral duty to “rescue” other people from their “barbarism” and “depravity” – were developed to justify the violence. These doctrines led, in turn, to genocide.

The stolen labour, land and goods were used by some european nations to stoke their industrial revolutions. To handle the greatly increased scope and scale of transactions, new financial systems were established that eventually came to dominate their own economies. european elites permitted just enough of the looted wealth to trickle down to their labour forces to seek to stave off revolution – successfully in Britain, unsuccessfully elsewhere.

At length, the impact of repeated wars, coupled with insurrections by colonised peoples, forced the rich nations to leave most of the lands they had seized, formally at least.

These territories sought to establish themselves as independent nations. But their independence was never more than partial. Using international debt, structural adjustment, coups, corruption (assisted by offshore tax havens and secrecy regimes), transfer pricing and other clever instruments, the rich nations continued to loot the poor, often through the proxy governments they installed and armed.

Unwittingly at first, then with the full knowledge of the perpetrators, the industrial revolutions released waste products into the earth’s systems. At first, the most extreme impacts were felt in the rich nations, whose urban air and rivers were poisoned, shortening the lives of the poor.

The wealthy removed themselves to places they had not trashed. Later, the rich countries discovered they no longer needed smokestack industries: through finance and subsidiaries, they could harvest the wealth manufactured by dirty business overseas.

Some of the pollutants were both invisible and global.

Among them was carbon dioxide, which did not disperse but accumulated in the atmosphere. Partly because most rich nations are temperate, and partly because of extreme poverty in the former colonies caused by centuries of looting, the effects of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are felt most by those who have benefited least from their production. If the talks in Glasgow are not to be experienced as yet another va-

Silvia Pastorelli is a campaigner for Greenpeace's European Unit in Brussels.

She works on EU climate and energy policy, and is the lead organiser of the European Citizens' Initiative for an EU ban on advertising by companies selling fossil fuels, vehicles run on fossil fuels or travel with such vehicles.

The fuTure of Libya

AT COP26 THE WEALTHY NATIONS CAST THEMSELVES AS SAVIOURS, YET THEIR EFFORTS ARE HOPELESSLY INADEQUATE AND WILL PROLONG THE INJUSTICE riety of oppression, climate justice should be at their heart.

The wealthy nations, always keen to position themselves as saviours, have promised to help their former colonies adjust to the chaos they have caused. Since 2009, these rich countries have pledged $100bn (£75bn) a year to poorer ones in the form of climate finance. even if this money had materialised, it would have been a miserly token. By comparison, since 2015, the G20 nations have spent $3.3tn on subsidising their fossil fuel industries. needless to say, they have failed to keep their wretched promise.

In the latest year for which we have figures, 2019, they provided $80bn. Of this, just $20bn was earmarked for “adaptation”: helping people adjust to the chaos we have imposed on them. And only about 7% of these stingy alms went to the poorest countries that need the money most.

Instead, the richest nations have poured money into keeping out the people fleeing from climate breakdown and other disasters. Between 2013 and 2018, the UK spent almost twice as much on sealing its borders as it did on climate finance.

The US spent 11 times, Australia 13 times, and Canada 15 times more. Collectively, the rich nations are surrounding themselves with a climate wall, to exclude the victims of their own waste products.

But the farce of climate finance doesn’t end there. Most of the money the rich nations claim to be providing takes the form of loans. Oxfam estimates that, as most of it will have to be repaid with interest, the true value of the money provided is around one third of the nominal sum. highly indebted nations are being encouraged to accumulate more debt to finance their adaptation to the disasters we have caused. It is staggeringly, outrageously unfair. never mind aid, never mind loans; what the rich nations owe the poor is reparations. Much of the harm inflicted by climate breakdown makes a mockery of the idea of adaptation: how can people adapt to temperatures higher than the human body can withstand; to repeated, devastating cyclones that trash homes as soon as they are rebuilt; to the drowning of entire archipelagos; to the desiccation of vast tracts of land, making farming impossible? But while the concept of irreparable “loss and damage” was recognised in the Paris agreement, the rich nations insisted that this “does not involve or provide a basis for any liability or compensation”.

By framing the pittance they offer as a gift, rather than as compensation, the states that have done most to cause this catastrophe can position themselves, in true colonial style, as the heroes who will swoop down and rescue the world: this was the thrust of Boris Johnson’s opening speech, invoking James Bond, at Glasgow: “We have the ideas. We have the technology. We have the bankers.”

But the victims of the rich world’s exploitation don’t need James Bond, nor other white saviours. They don’t need Johnson’s posturing. They don’t need his skinflint charity, or the deadly embrace of the bankers who fund his party. They need to be heard. And they need justice.

This year alone, climate disasters – floods, fires and droughts among others – claimed thousands of lives across the world.

We don’t need the companies responsible for this climate emergency to raise “awareness” about climate change any more than we need tobacco companies attempting to “educate” the public about lung cancer.

Our television screens, social media channels and our news serve as platforms for the fossil fuel industry to spread its lies.

They also creep into places where young people go to expand their minds: universities, science institutions and cultural ones.

They don’t belong there. Frankly, they belong in court.

With the Climate Summit currently under way in Glasgow, we expect a boost in the fossil fuel industry’s misleading communications, as they know they are the centre of attention in the worst possible way. But if this ban is successful, it will force these companies to become completely fossil fuelfree before they can advertise again. This is the kind of bold action we need to tackle the climate catastrophe we’re facing and we are very sorry if this hurts the fossil fuel industry’s feelings. I’m afraid it will happen again.

RCP

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FathiBashagha

he Libyan people have endured years of conflict and division and are eager for a brighter, more secure future. My people have known nothing but conflict, violence, and a lack of self-determination for over a decade – but despite the struggles we have faced, Libyans still have hope for the future. We are not resigned to foreign governments picking our leaders, and we will no longer accept those pushing for divisions. In December, when we hold our first elections for a parliament and President, we will be moving toward making Libya the next democracy on the world stage.

It is well past time that we take these important next steps.

In my lifetime, I have seen Libya go from one of the wealthiest countries in Africa to one of the poorest. We once had the highest rating on the human Development Index in Africa, but our quality of life has declined precipitously. A lack of accountability, greed, corruption, and malicious foreign actors have formed a stranglehold on Libya’s ambitions, but they are not set in stone.

It is only through democracy that Libya can overcome these forces and thrive once again. Libya is filled with educated, motivated people in a wide range of fields. They are ready to help the government implement reforms that the Libyans have long been waiting for – but to unlock their potential, free, fair, and transparent elections are vital.

Make no mistake – democracy in Libya will not be easy or clean. After a decade of near-constant conflict, there must be both reconciliation and accountability, or grievances and conflict will persist. This can only be accomplished through engagement with all Libyan people – particularly young people and women, who have been shut out for too long. It is vital to listen to and learn from these groups, to ensure they are engaged in the building of what will be their future.

Following the election, Libya must be unified. The division that has crippled our country must end and east and west must be brought together for a common purpose – creating a better future for all Libyans. This includes unifying our banking system and all government services. The country’s resources must not be used for the elite few. And they certainly should not be used to foment con-

flict within our country. A unified Libya will be stronger and more secure, attracting investment and becoming a place where people make their futures.

Libya must provide opportunity for all.

Our country has the capacity to increase the standard of living for all its people, through increased per capita income, restoring the value of the national currency, and increasing private sector opportunities. A focus on investing in natural gas and clean energy, developing our valued ports, and improving other types of infrastructure, from roads to telecommunication networks, will be both a driver of growth and a source of jobs, but also essential for the transformation of Libya’s economy for years to come. Another key element of this opportunity will be strengthening local governments and decentralizing administrative power. It is absolutely essential that all Libyans are empowered to build their own futures.

A more prosperous Libya will yield a more secure Libya. Our country is in need of legitimate and respected security services that protect all Libyans. This includes securing our borders with modern technology. We can no longer allow outside forces to use our country to serve their own strategic purposes.

The Libyan 5+5 Joint Military Commission, which is talking about ways to make the country more peaceful, has already started important work to improve our security situation. The conflicts that have persisted between the east and West of Libya must be resolved. The work of this Commission to restore stability and unity must be supported.

For too long, our nation’s currency and banking system have been manipulated by criminals to benefit the few and fund militias that are determined to destabilize the country.

This must stop. We need a self-sufficient and free-market economy liberated from self-interested elites.

The new Libya must also be welcoming and open to outsiders. Recently, there have been attacks on immigrants to our country that shocked the world. This cannot continue. This violence must not be tolerated. Instead, we must welcome immigrants who can contribute to our new democracy and treat them with respect. This will send a powerful signal to the world that Libya is moving forward in a positive, peaceful, welcoming way.

That’s why I am running for president – to help build a unified, prosperous and secure Libya. I know there will be a tremendous amount of work to do. But I am ready. The Libyan people are too. And if democracy prevails in December, Libya will flourish as a prosperous and secure nation once again.

FathiBashagha is a former Interior Minister in the Libyan Government of National Accord and a former entrepreneur and pilot in the Libyan Air Force, Minister Bashagha has served in Libya’s House of Representatives and on the National Reconciliation Commission.

Sunday, 7 November, 2021 | KARACHI

NEWS

09

JOKHIO MURDER CASE

AutoPsy rEPort FinDs ‘sEvErE torturE mArks’ All ovEr BoDy islAmAbAd

A

Balochistan to be brought at par with other provinces: Asad Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar called at Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo at the CM Secretariat on Friday.

During a news conference after the meeting in Quetta, Asad announced certain incentives for the province, including the issuance of health cards.

“Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision is to bring Balochistan on a par with other provinces. The Issuance of health cards in Balochistan will be started soon. A subsidy of Rs120 billion has been given on flour, pulses and edible oil which will benefit 53 percent of the country’s households including those of Balochistan,” he added.

“Work on border markets should be intensified. They must be regulated. We are also focusing on employment.”

Earlier during the meeting, they agreed on the timely release of funds for speedy completion of development projects in Balochistan and the establishment of effective mechanism for monitoring projects.

A commitment was made to work with the federal and provincial governments for a lasting solution to longstanding development issues in the meeting.

Asad said that Prime Minister Imran Khan would review the progress of development projects in Balochistan and for development package of South Balochistan, a high-level meeting would be held soon.

Federal Minister Zubeida Jalal, Member Provincial Assembly Mir Zahoor Ahmed Buledi, Chief Secretary Mathar Niaz Rana, Additional Chief Secretary Development Hafiz Abdul Basit and Secretary Finance Abdul Rehman Buzdar were also present in the meeting.

Asad said that the federal government understands that Gwadar would not be developed unless the problems of the local people are resolved.

He said that the purpose of his visit was to review the progress of projects, adding that early completion of infrastructure, solar and LNG projects in Balochistan would be ensured.

Dams and road infrastructure projects would be completed in collaboration with the provincial government, he said, adding that “I will also assure the appointment of Planning Commission and NHA’s members in Balochistan”.

The chief minister said that the eyes of the whole world are now on Balochistan, adding that if the sense of deprivation in the province is not removed, then the enemy forces would have a chance to propagate negatively.

He said that the federal government wants to develop Balochistan in the true shape and in the present era, the ties between the federation and the province would be further strengthened, which would have a positive impact on the development process.

On the occasion, Member Provincial Assembly Mir Zahoor Ahmed Buledi said that we welcome inclusion of Balochistan projects in the PSDP for the next financial year. news desk

stAff report

postmortem examination of Nazim Jokhio, a man murdered at a farmhouse in Karachi’s Malir area earlier this week, found “severe torture marks” all over the body, additional police surgeon at Jinnah Post-Graduate Medical Centre (JPMC) Dr Summaiya Syed said on Saturday.

Jokhio, a father of four, was allegedly tortured to death at the farmhouse of detained PPP lawmaker, Jam Awais, in Malir for trying to prevent the legislator’s foreign guests from hunting the vulnerable houbara bustard near the deceased’s village in Thatta’s Dabeji area and filming it on November 2.

The autopsy carried out by Dr Mohammed Areeb at the JPMC mortuary revealed that there were “bruises all over the body, including the head”, Dr

Syed said.

The deceased’s head also showed internal bleeding caused due to the severity of the alleged torture, she added.

“The body bore torture marks inflicted by hard and blunt objects,” said the senior doctor, adding that there were also signs that a severe beating was delivered on the private parts.

According to the contents of the autopsy report, reviewed by Dawn.com, there were “multiple bruises seen all over the face”.

There were also “multiple abrasions, reddish in colour, seen all over the face”, the reported noted, adding that both the eyes were found “swollen with deep bruises”.

Furthermore, the post-mortem examination showed deep bruises over the lower lip and multiple bruises over “one aspect of the chest”.

Additionally, the report states that both hands

Noor Mukadam case: Court directs Zahir to mend his attitude

A sessions court in Islamabad has issued an order in the Noor Mukadam murder case, warning primary accused Zahir Jaffer that his court appearances would be disallowed if he continues to interfere in the proceedings, a news outlet reported on Saturday.

“Zahir Zakir created fuss in the court and tried to interfere in the proceedings. He is directed to mend his attitude otherwise his attendance will be exempted from the court and he will be taken on video link from jail,” the court stated in the order issued regarding a hearing of the case on Wednesday.

According to the report, during the hearing, Zahir had tried to disrupt the proceedings and hurled obscenities at Additional Sessions Judge Ata Rabbani.

“This court is nothing but dirt. This court is dragging this because they have no power. I have never seen something more fake. I’m giving you guys an opportunity to hang me but

still you guys are dragging it. This all is a puppet show […] I have never seen more incompetent people in a room in my entire life,” he had said.

Following the outburst, the judge had directed police officials to take Zahir away, terming it a “drama”. noor MukadaM CasE: 27-year-old Noor Mukadam, daughter of a former Pakistani diplomat, was found beheaded in a posh neighbourhood of Islamabad on July 20. Police had charged Zahir, a US national and scion of one of Pakistan’s wealthiest families, with murder.

After the arrest of the accused, the police had decided to add relevant clauses of the law in the case.

The case of Noor’s murder had sparked nationwide outrage with thousands of people calling on the authorities to take the case to its logical end. news desk

Pakistan, Iran to revive talks for free trade agreement TEHRAN AnAdolu Agency

Pakistan and Iran have agreed to revive talks on a free trade agreement (GTA) and reaffirmed their commitment to raise the volume of annual trade to $5 billion.

The decision was taken during the 9th joint trade committee meeting between the two sides in Tehran on Saturday, co-chaired

by Iran’s Commerce Minister Reza FatemiAmin and prime minister’s commerce and investment adviser, Abdul Razak Dawood, Anadolu Agency learnt. The two countries had finalized the draft of the FTA in Dec.

2017 after several rounds of talks but the reinstatement of sanctions on Iran by the former US administration in May 2018 saw the agreement being put on the backburner.

Fatemi-Amin said the two sides agreed to make concerted efforts in the next three months to “remove obstacles in trade”, in a suggestion that the FTA will be put into effect.

Dawood, on his part, said Pakistan is eager to see progress and promotion of trade relations with Iran, especially in “shipment of goods, bartering commodities, reduction of tariffs, and creation of border markets.”

During the meeting on Saturday, the two sides also discussed barter trade, transporta-

tion, border markets, exhibitions, and private sector investments, officials and diplomats told Anadolu Agency.

Bilateral trade between Tehran and Islamabad has come down from $1.5 billion before the pandemic to less than $1 billion.

The two sides on Saturday expressed confidence that the volume of annual trade will reach $5 billion, stressing on increased Pakistani investments in Iran.

The two countries had signed a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) in 2006, which experts say failed to push the trade balance beyond $1.5 billion, with US sanctions playing the spoilsport.

were found “swollen with deep bruising”.

According to the medico-legal officers, the victim’s back showed “diffused and linear bruising as well as abrasions of various sizes”.

Investigation team recovers three sticks from crime scene Meanwhile, a body constituted by East Zone’s Deputy Inspector General of Police Saqib Ismail Memon for a “fair and transparent investigation” of the murder has started its probe.

The investigators visited the crime scene today and recovered a trio of sticks allegedly used to torture the victim, said Malir Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Irfan Bahadur, also the head of the probing team.

The team also visited the deceased’s village to record the statement of his family. SSP Bahadur said raids were also conducted to arrest the two remaining suspects.

Firdous Ashiq Awan bins ECP’s inquiry report on Daska by-elections as ‘distorted’ Former Special Assistant to the Chief Minister of Punjab on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan on Saturday said that a report presented by an Election Commission official on the manner in which the Daska by-elections were held was “distorted”. Addressing a press conference, Awan said that PTI candidates from Daska had taken the report to the Supreme Court. “We have spoken about hundreds of petitions related to returning officer’s (RO) and District Returning Officers (DRO); our concerns about these officers were valid,” she said. An inquiry report issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan, which was reported on a day earlier, determined that the NA-75 Sialkot-IV byelection held in Daska on February 19 was not held in a fair, free, and transparent manner. Commenting on the findings of the report, Awan said that the matter regarding the abduction of the presiding officers was “not clear”. She insisted that the government has “no soft corner” for anyone regarding the Daska election. Awan’s name was included in the fact-finding report. According to the report, of the staff employed for election duty from the education department, Muhammad Iqbal Kaloya, Deputy Director (Colleges), Sialkot, was found involved in attending meetings at AC House, Daska, “which were meant for manipulating the election process”, in which Ali Abbas, Zeeshan Javed, Asif Hussain, Firdous Ashiq Awan, Muhammad Awais, and some other persons were present.

ECP’s inquiry rEPort: The report stated that the election officials and other government functionaries “did not play their designated role in a requisite manner [and] they were found puppets in the hands of their unlawful masters”.

The fact-finding team gathered details from official records obtained from Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, Islamabad; Intelligence Bureau, Islamabad; District Police, Sialkot; Elite Police Force; written statements and supplementary question and answer sessions of the presiding officers (POs), senior assistant presiding officers, naib qasids, drivers, and police personnel, etc, the report said. news desk

Sunday, 7 November, 2021 | KARACHI

10 FOREIGN NEWS

XI JInpIng, the man who leads CpC on new Journey

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XINhUA

HROUGHOUT 2021, a special year in China’s history, the schedule of Xi Jinping has been busy.

Over the past months, he addressed a ceremony marking the Party’s centenary, announced the realization of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, inspected Tibet, talked to astronauts working at China’s first space station, attended online meetings of the United Nations, and held phone or video talks with world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden.

Next week, Xi, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, will attend a high-profile Party plenum — the sixth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee. A landmark document will be tabled at this important meeting — the resolution on the major achievements and historical experience of the CPC’s 100 years of endeavors.

Few political parties worldwide could boast such a long history and uninterrupted period of state governance.

The CPC has been China’s ruling party for 72 years.

Presently, Xi is the core of the CPC leadership. Before him, generations of central collective leadership had spanned the decades with Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, and Hu Jintao as chief representatives.

Since being elected general secretary of the CPC Central Committee in November 2012, Xi has been seen as a man of determination and action, a man of profound thoughts and feelings, a man who inherited a legacy but dares to innovate, and a man who has forward-looking vision and is committed to working tirelessly.

Under his leadership, China is becoming a powerful country, and is now entering an era of strength, according to Channel News Asia.

On the new journey, Xi is undoubtedly the core fig-

India Covid hospital fire kills 11 MUMBAI AFP

Fire tore through a hospital in western India on Saturday killing at least 11 coronavirus patients, officials said. The blaze was the latest to hit pandemic wards across India. There were about two dozen patients at the intensive care unit in the hospital in Ahmadnagar district, Maharashtra state, when the fire broke out, officials said. Most of the dead were aged over 60. The hospital ward, which was left a charred wreck, had been newly built for coronavirus patients. Maharashtra state Chief Minister Udhav Thackeray ordered a formal investigation into the blaze and safety conditions at the hospital 250 kilometres (185 miles) from the regional capital Mumbai. India’s underfunded public health system was pushed to breaking point by a coronavirus surge in April-May. But a number of Covid-19 hospitals were hit by fire tragedies. At least 16 Covid-19 patients and two nurses were killed in a blaze at a hospital in Gujarat state in May. A police investigation blamed a short-circuit in the hospital’s ICU. In April, at least 13 Covid19 patients were killed at a Mumbai clinic, which came just days after another hospital blaze in the city that left 22 dead.

ure in charting the course of history. How will he lead the Party in the face of opportunities and challenges?

How will he bring China back to the world’s center stage? Today, the world is watching Xi just closely as nine years ago.

WALKING WITH THE PEOPLE: In September, during an inspection of the village of Gaoxigou in northwestern Shaanxi Province, Xi stopped by farmlands to check the crops and chat with villagers working in the fields. Xi hailed the achievements of local poverty alleviation. Gaoxigou was once an impoverished village; today it is prosperous thanks to the relentless efforts of cadres and villagers.

It was in 1974 in Shaanxi’s Liangjiahe, about 150 km from Gaoxigou, that Xi joined the Party. He was just 15 years old when he arrived in Liangjiahe in 1969 as an “educated youth.” He would spend the next seven years living in the small village on the rural Loess Plateau; at the end of a day’s labor, he would return to his primitive cave house and sleep on a simple clay bed. It would take 38 years and multiple postings across various levels of the Party’s hierarchy until he would be elevated to the top job. After joining the CPC, Xi became Party secretary of Liangjiahe. Shedding light on his caliber, one of his village colleagues said Xi “worked conscientiously, had many ideas and could unite the people and cadres.”

Recalling his time in the impoverished village, Xi said what he wanted more than anything was to make it possible for the villagers to “have meat on their plates.”

To improve the lives of those who called the community home, Xi initiated various projects, including wells, terraced fields, and methane-generating pits.

These “simple” projects would have a significant impact on the villagers’ lives, work, and attitudes.

In his spare time, the young Xi devoured as many books as he could. In particular, he read Das Kapital

three times; his reflections on the seminal work filled 18 notebooks.

His father, Xi Zhongxun, was among the first generation of CPC central leaders. Xi Jinping often evoked the wisdom imparted to him by the elder Xi. Inspired by a much-loved school book, he decided he would carry on the revolutionary torch from a young age.

In 1975, Xi was admitted to the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing. After graduating, he first worked at the general office of the Central Military Commission before moving to Zhengding, a county in northern Hebei Province, in 1982.

Recalling the move to Zhengding, Xi said he had

volunteered to work at the grassroots level among the people. He said he wanted to “love the people like he loves his parents.” After Zhengding, Xi’s political career took him to the coastal provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang and the metropolis of Shanghai. Wherever he went, his close ties with the people were notable. He wrote heartfelt essays commemorating his deceased friends and colleagues in Zhengding. He used his own money to help finance the medical treatment of a villager from Liangjiahe.

Xi’s care for the people can be seen in every aspect of his work. Zhang Hongming, one of his colleagues back in Zhejiang, still remembers Xi’s attitude and work ethic when the province was hit by typhoons.

“Even if nine of our ten evacuations are for nothing, we still need to do it to ensure the absolute safety of the people,” Zhang said recalling Xi’s instructions.

Xi’s people-centered philosophy explains why he ordered unwavering efforts to save people’s lives at all costs during the COVID-19 epidemic, said Liu Jingbei, a professor at the China Executive Leadership Academy in Pudong, Shanghai. In 2007, Xi returned to Beijing to sit on the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and later became China’s vice president. He oversaw areas including Party building, organizational work, Hong Kong and Macao affairs, and preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

STRENGTHENING THE PARTY: The year 2021 is also the ninth year of Xi’s signature anti-corruption campaign, the most extensive in Chinese history. It shows no signs of letting up.

More than 20 high-level officials and executives in the financial sector have been punished or investigated this year. And in the past 30 days or so, one former ministerial-level official in the central government’s law-enforcement apparatus was investigated while another was punished. When Xi was elected general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, China was already the world’s second-largest economy. Yet, it faced challenges from within. “Facts prove that if corruption is allowed to spread, it will eventually lead to the destruction of a party and the fall of a government,” Xi said in a stern warning.

Over the past nine years, more than 400 officials at ministerial level or above have been punished or investigated, including a former member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and two former vice chairmen of the Central Military Commission.

Taliban confirm reports of four women killed in northern Afghanistan AFP Four women have been found dead in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s Taliban government said on Saturday, following reports that activists had been killed.

Two suspects have been arrested after the four bodies were found at a house in the city’s fifth police district, interior ministry spokesman Qari Saeed Khosti said in a video statement.

“The arrested people have admitted in initial interrogation that the women were invited to the house by them. Further investigations are under way and the case has been referred to court,” he said.

Khosti did not identify the victims, but a source in Mazar-i-Sharif told AFP that at least one of the dead was a women’s rights activist, whose family does not wish to speak to the media.

A report on BBC Persian, citing civil

society sources, said the four women were friends and colleagues who had hoped to travel to Mazar-i-Sharif airport for a flight out of the country.

A rights group source told AFP on condition of anonymity that the women received a call that they thought was an invitation to join an evacuation flight and were picked up by a car, only to be found dead later.

Under the last period of Taliban rule, women were banned from public life and since the group’s return to government many rights activists have fled the country.

Some women who remained have held street protests in Kabul demanding that their rights be respected and that girls be allowed to attend public high schools.

Taliban fighters have broken up some of the protests, and the government has threatened to arrest any journalists covering unauthorised gatherings.

But the movement’s leaders have insisted that their fighters are not autho-

rised to kill activists and have promised that any who do will be punished.

Baby handed to US soldiers in chaos of Afghanistan airlift still missing NEW YORK ReuteRs

It was a split-second decision. Mirza Ali Ahmadi and his wife Suraya found themselves and their five children on August 19 in a chaotic crowd outside the gates of the Kabul airport in Afghanistan when a US soldier, from over the tall fence, asked if they needed help.

Fearing their two-month-old baby Sohail would get crushed in the melee, they handed him to the soldier, thinking they would soon get to the entrance, which was only about 16 feet (5 meters) away.

But at that moment, Mirza Ali said, the Taliban — which had swiftly taken over the country as US troops withdrew — began pushing back hundreds of hopeful evacuees.

It took the rest of the family more than a half-hour to get to the other side of the airport fence.

Once they were inside, Sohail was nowhere to be found.

Mirza Ali, who said he worked as a security guard at the US embassy for 10 years, began desperately asking every official he encountered about his baby’s whereabouts.

He said a military commander told him the

airport was too dangerous for a baby and that he might have been taken to a special area for children. But when they got there it was empty.

“He walked with me all around the airport to search everywhere,” Mirza Ali said in an interview through a translator. He said he never got the commander’s name, as he didn’t speak English and was relying on Afghan colleagues from the embassy to help communicate. Three days went by.

“I spoke to maybe more than 20 people,” he said. “Every officer — military or civilian — I came across I was asking about my baby.”

He said one of the civilian officials he spoke to told him Sohail might have been evacuated by himself. “They said ‘we don’t have resources to keep the baby here.'”

Mirza Ali, 35, Suraya, 32, and their other children, 17, 9, 6 and 3 years old, were put on an evacuation flight to Qatar and then to

Germany and eventually landed in the United States. The family is now at Fort Bliss in Texas with other Afghan refugees waiting to be resettled somewhere in the United States. They have no relatives here.

Mirza Ali said he saw other families handing their babies over the Kabul airport fence to soldiers at the same time. One video clip of a small baby in a diaper being hoisted by her arm over razor wire went viral on social media. She was later reunited with her parents.

Ever since his baby went missing dates are a blur, Mirza Ali said. Every person he comes across — aid workers, US officials — he tells them about Sohail. “Everyone promises they will do their best, but they are just promises,” he said.

Sohail Ahmadi, around two-months-old, is seen in these handout pictures shown on a poster, taken in August 2021 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Courtesy Reuters An Afghan refugee support group created a “Missing Baby” sign with Sohail’s picture on it and are circulating it among their networks in the hopes that someone will recognize him.

A US government official familiar with

the situation said the case had been flagged for all the agencies involved, including the US bases and overseas locations. The child was last seen being handed to a US soldier during the chaos at the Kabul airport but “unfortunately no one can find the child,” the official said.

A Department of Defense spokesperson and a spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security, which is overseeing resettlement efforts, referred queries on the matter to the State Department, since the separation took place overseas.

A State Department spokesperson said the government is working with international partners and the international community “to explore every avenue to locate the child, which includes an international amber alert that was issued through the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children.”

Suraya, who also spoke through a translator, said she cries most of the time and that her other children are distraught.

“All I am doing is thinking about my child,” Suraya said. “Everyone that is calling me, my mother, my father, my sister, they all comfort me and say ‘don’t worry, God is kind, your son will be found.'”

Sunday, 7 November, 2021 | KARACHI

PakisTan havE no FEar oF anyonE aT T20 World CuP: haFEEz

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AFP

ETERAN all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez says such is Pakistan’s form at the Twenty20 World Cup they are brimming with confidence and have no preferences as to who they play in the semi-finals.

Pakistan have been unstoppable since their historic 10-wicket win over bitter rivals India at the beginning of the campaign.

The 2009 champions have gone on to beat a strong New Zealand side, Afghanistan and Namibia.

Pakistan will face the runners-up of Group 1, likely to be either Australia or

South Africa who play their last group matches later on Saturday.

Hafeez — a former captain of the Twenty20 side — said Pakistan were ready for any opponent.

“To be honest, when it comes to a cricket match we don’t think about who we want to play,” said 41-year-old Hafeez on Saturday on the eve of their match with Scotland.

“Whoever comes we are ready for that as our confidence is high, we are shaping up well and we are performing well.

“But first we have a game against Scotland so we need to take them on with the same intensity and confidence. The goal is to win the Cup for the nation and we are

‘Freak’ Buttler just what England ordered at T20 World Cup LONDON AFP

Jos Buttler’s talent was evident during a youth cricket career that saw the 17-yearold hit an unbeaten 227 including 25 fours and eight sixes in a school match. But the history of the game is littered with tales of youthful prodigies who never made an impact at senior level. That cannot be said of Buttler, whose batting exploits in the United Arab Emirates have been behind 50-over world champions England’s push for the T20 World Cup title. The 31-year-old’s power and audacious shotmaking, born of natural ball sense, were on show in an unbeaten 71 off 32 balls during England’s victory over arch-rivals Australia. But he showed another side to his game, however, with a maiden T20 century against Sri Lanka as he joined a select group of cricketers to have made hundreds in all three international formats — Tests, One-Day Internationals and Twenty20s. Yet on a slow pitch where timing was difficult, Buttler scored just 24 runs from his first 30 balls against Sri Lanka. Buttler, however, upped his tempo with 77 runs from his next 37 balls to finish with an unbeaten 101 that was key to another England win.

‘Absolute freAk’: England teammate Dawid Malan, until recently top of the International Cricket Council’s T20 batting rankings, said Buttler was operating on a different level. “Jos when he gets going is an absolute freak,” said Malan ahead of England’s game against South Africa on Saturday. “You don’t know where to bowl to him. You bowl a full length and he hits it for six, you bowl short and he hits you for six.”

Buttler, however, is trying to ignore all the praise. “Probably the most pleasing thing for me is to play back-to-back knocks and they were quite different innings as well,” he told Wednesday’s edition of The Times.

“Sometimes the younger version of me would play one good innings then get a bit lazy and live off it for a bit. “I think as I have got older, I’ve realised that once you’ve played a good innings, it’s gone, it’s history. You’ve got to try to replicate it and do it again.” In Dubai, wicketkeeper-batsman Buttler smashed Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc for two huge consecutive sixes. And yet for all his obvious ability, Buttler has a mere two hundreds from 53 Tests, with a modest batting averages of 33.33. To his credit, he has not stopped trying to crack Test cricket, and after this tournament he will head to Australia in a bid to help Joe Root’s men regain the Ashes. Buttler, often asked why he does not bat in the same way in Tests as in white-ball games, said: “I don’t think it’s possible. The value of your wicket is different, isn’t it? “The ball moves, there’s slips in place, it’s generally a lot harder,” he added. “The main thing is the mindset, that fearlessness and demeanour at the crease, if I could take that into my red-ball batting that would be a real positive.”

close to that,” he said. ‘emotionAl sort of plAyer’: Pakistan have won all their three T20Is against Scotland, once in the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007 and two in Scotland in 2018.

Hafeez said there was extra satisfaction over their strong performances considering the tricky lead-up they had to the tournament.

“We played only one match out of five in the West Indies due to the weather,” he said.

“Then New Zealand and England abandoned their tours so we were short on that front but the whole team and the management have done well in this tournament.”

New Zealand abandoned their tour due

to a security alert, minutes before the start of the first ODI in Rawalpindi in September and then England withdrew from two T20Is in October, citing players’ mental and physical health problems.

Hafeez singled out the first match against India as the confidence booster — Pakistan’s first win over them in 13 World Cup matches.

SPORTS 11 “In any tournament when you win the first match, it gives you confidence so when we beat India it lifted our confidence hugely.

“I have been part of many World Cup matches against India and after all those defeats we had to bear the consequences but we always used to have strong comebacks.

“This time we won and it was great to be part of that team which beat India,” he said.

H a f e e z side-stepped talks of retirement.

“I am focusing on this World Cup so after this tournament I will decide what to do,” he said. “I am a very emotional sort of player and playing for Pakistan is a great pride for me. “

T20 World Cup: Chris Gayle departs in likely swansong for West Indies great AFP West Indies great Chris Gayle on Saturday made 15 off nine balls against Australia in the Twenty20 World Cup in what was likely his final innings in national colours.

The 42-year-old Gayle smashed two sixes before chopping a delivery from Pat Cummins on to his stumps as he walked back with his bat raised and a standing ovation from his players in Abu Dhabi.

The self-styled “universe boss” has not yet announced his retirement but is unlikely that he will play for the West Indies who have failed to defend their title this edition. Gayle, a left-hand batsman who can bowl off spin, has amassed over 12,000 runs including 27 centuries in white-ball cricket since he made his debut in a one-day international in 1999.

He has also played 103 Tests, scoring 7,214 runs at an average of over 42 and a highest of 333. Earlier, Australia skipper Aaron Finch won the toss and elected to field against West Indies in their bid to

make the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup. The Aussies come in unchanged in Abu Dhabi from the eight-wicket rout of Bangladesh that made their run-rate go past South Africa as the two teams fight for a place in the final four from Group 1.

South Africa play England, who are all

but through to the final four, in the evening match of the day and the result will decide the two semi-finalists from this group.

“It looks like a really good wicket and won’t change throughout the 40 overs, will try to do some early damage with the ball,” said Finch.

Barcelona hail return of ‘absolute legend’ Xavi as coach BARCELONA AFP

Barcelona confirmed the return of Xavi Hernandez as coach on Saturday, with the legendary midfielder facing an immense challenge to restore the fallen Spanish giants to their former glory.

The Spaniard left Camp Nou to play for Al Sadd in 2015, after making 767 appearances for the Catalan club, which included winning eight La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues.

“It’s time to come home. Welcome, Xavi,” Barca tweeted. “It wasn’t goodbye, it was see you later,” it wrote, along with a video montage of the player’s departure in 2015.

Barcelona said in a statement it had reached an agreement with Xavi to become first team coach for the rest of the current season and two more seasons, replacing the sacked Ronald Koeman.

“It is expected that Xavi Hernandez will arrive in Barcelona this weekend and that on Monday 8 November his presentation as new FC Barcelona first team coach will take place in an event open to the public at Camp Nou,” it said.

Nicknamed the “Maquina” (the Machine), Xavi is widely considered one of the club’s greatest ever players and there is huge excitement about his potential as a coach after his influence on the iconic Barca team managed by Pep Guardiola.

His passing style was seen as the embodiment of Guardiola’s “tiki-taka” team that won the treble in 2009.

“One of the greatest midfield maestros of all time, he helped redefine the art with his creative mind, pinpoint passing and sublime ability to read the game,” Barca said in their statement, heralding the return of “an absolute

legend”. Qatari club Al Sadd, which Xavi had coached since 2019, hours earlier said they had reached an agreement with Barca and posted photos on social media of the Spaniard saying goodbye to the players and staff. ‘the dreAm’: Barcelona’s attempt to appoint Xavi as the coach had been held up on Friday over his Al Sadd release clause, with Xavi and Barca considering splitting the payment to complete the deal.

Al Sadd said Barca had agreed to pay the clause in Xavi’s contract, which is reportedly set at around five million euros ($5.8 million), but Barcelona did not give any details of the deal in their statement.

Xavi had made no secret of his desire to return to Barcelona, which he joined through the club’s La Masia academy at the age of 11.

“My main objective, when I can do it, is Barca,” Xavi told the sports daily Marca last year. “It’s my home, that’s the dream.”

There are high hopes Xavi can draw on his incredible playing career to revive Barcelona, who currently sit ninth in La Liga, with concerns growing they might not finish in the top four.

The club are also in dire financial straits, having posted debts of 1.35 billion euros.

Xavi faces a formidable challenge after Barcelona let Lionel Messi join Paris Saint-Germain in the summer.

In Europe, Barca face a fight even to qualify for the knock-out stages of the Champions League while any rebuild will have to be carried out on a shoestring budget as the club struggles to deal with the debts it partly built up paying Messi’s wages.

Xavi will also be charged with improving the team’s style of play, which was a key criticism during the tenure of Koeman, another former Barca player.

“If you have to win the tournament then you have to win both ways. But on this surface, if there’s any kind of moisture then it will be first up.”

A win for Australia will boost their semi-final chances and Finch said, “We won’t think about it (net run-rate). We have come here to take two points.”

Meanwhile, West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard admitted the game could be the last for a few stalwarts of the West Indies cricket. “It is unfortunate that we couldn’t get that one last hurrah in terms of getting to the next phase of the tournament,” said Pollard. “But today is another opportunity, it will be emotional for some but the important thing is to try and win the cricket game to salvage something.”

Dwayne Bravo, 38, has already announced his international retirement and the game would be his last.

“I have no regrets but want to finish my career on a high,” said Bravo. West Indies have brought in Hayden Walsh Jr for Ravi Rampaul in the playing XI.

T20 World Cup: India follow in Pakistan’s footsteps, pay visit to Scotland’s dressing room StAFF REPORt Indian captain Virat Kohli and a few members of the cricket team followed in the footsteps of their Pakistani counterparts by paying a visit to the Scotland cricket team’s dressing room after their T20 World Cup clash Friday night. A couple of players of the Pakistan cricket team, including the team’s manager Mansoor Rana, Shaheen Afridi, Hassan Ali and Mohammad Hafeez (among others) paid a visit to Namibia’s dressing room to encourage them for playing impressive cricket in the T20 World Cup. Virat Kohli and Co. did the same Friday night, as Cricket Scotland tweeted pictures of the Indian captain speaking to a bunch of Scot cricketers in the dressing room. In one of the pictures, India’s opening batsman KL Rahul can also be spotted. Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah also accompanied the Indian captain to the Scottish dressing room to chat with the players. “Huge respect to Kohli and co. for taking the time,” tweeted Cricket Scotland. They posted a witty caption to go along with the next tweet, and picture. Scotland, who are already out of the tournament, will be facing table-toppers Pakistan in their last Super 12 game at Sharjah on Sunday. In a statement last week, Scotland captain Coetzer had said it would be great if Kohli would chat with his players in their dressing room and share their wisdom , adding that the Indian team are “excellent ambassadors of the game.”

“We want our guys to speak to them, be it Kohli or Williamson or Rashid Khan. That is the only and best way to learn. We used to be able to do it in the pubs before, but now we cannot,” he had said. “The squad will learn from every experience. To get to play against the likes of India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh is just brilliant. It is a good experience playing against the best at the top level. The guys will come away with a lot more life experiences, not just cricket experiences. We are ranked 12th in the world and while some people may talk about the gulf, but I believe it is a good achievement.”

Sunday, 7 November, 2021

pRayeR timings

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FAJR SUNRISE

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ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

5:23

12:16

3:28

6:39

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Sugar STockS avaiLabLe To meeT 22day demand: SayS Fawad chaudhry ISLAMABAD

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staff RepoRt

INISTER for Information & Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry Saturday said the country has a stock of 130,000 tonnes of sugar and the quantity is enough to meet the domestic and industrial demand for the next 22 days.

Fawad Chaudhry said this while addressing a press conference flanked by Minister for National Food Security and Research Fakhar Imam here, adding the sugar crushing season will start in Punjab within next 22 days.

Quoting data from the Ministry of Industries, he said, 15,000 tonnes of sugar is consumed per day in the country, of which domestic consumers consume 6,000 tonnes, while 9,000 tonnes are used by the industrial sector, including the beverage companies. He said the Sindh government is not releasing wheat, which resulted in price hike of the edibles in Sindh, in general, and, in Karachi, in particular.

Likewise, he said, the sugar crushing is yet to start in Sindh where the sugarcane crops’ yield arrived earlier than other parts of the country, which ultimately put the overall pressure on the commodity’s price. Another reason for the spike in sugar prices is financial speculation in the market, he added.

“As you know, most of the sugar mills in Sindh are working under Asif Ali Zardari, while in Punjab, they are owned by the Sharif family,” he said, adding that unfortunately, the private sector held their stocks, which stood at 90,000 tonnes.

About the action taken by the government against sugar hoarding, Fawad said: “We fixed the price of sugar at Rs90 per kilogram, which also included Rs16 per kg profit for the sugar mills.”

The private sugar mill-owners sought a stay order from the courts on the gov-

ernment actions for getting sugar stocks released from their godowns, he said.

“The matter is now pending in the court,” the minister said and appealed to the judiciary to decide the cases on merit at the earliest so that the government could overcome the crisis-like situation and pass on the relief to the public. “We are not asking ‘the court’ to give the decision in favour of the government….at least start proceedings,” he said, adding that the stay on the matter of national importance created major problems.

Expressing hope for starting sugar crushing in Punjab, he said, the Sindh government had to start crushing from November 1, but there is no progress made as yet.

Fawad said that the hike in the essential commodities’ prices is mainly being reported from Karachi. The price of a wheat flour sack was Rs380 higher in the metropolitan area than the actual prices in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Likewise, other edibles, including sugar, were being sold at the highest rate in Karachi, he added.

Fawad urged the Sindh government to clear its position on inflation. “Why did it not release wheat earlier and now

Fuel tanker blast in Sierra Leone capital kills at least 91 Ninety-one people were killed in the capital of Sierra Leone on Friday when a fuel tanker exploded following a collision, the central morgue and local authorities said. The government has not yet confirmed the death toll, but the manager of the central state morgue in Freetown said it had received 91 bodies following the explosion. Victims included people who had flocked to collect fuel leaking from the ruptured vehicle, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, mayor of the port city, said in a post on Facebook. “We’ve got so many casualties, burnt corpses,” said Brima Bureh Sesay, head of the National Disaster Management Agency, in a video from the scene shared online. “It’s a terrible, terrible accident.” Images shared widely online showed several badly burned victims lying on the streets as fire blazed through shops and houses nearby. Reuters was not able to immediately verify the images. Aki-Sawyerr called the videos and photos “harrowing”. The mayor said that the extent of the damage was not yet clear, adding that police and her deputy were at the scene to assist disaster management officials. ReuteRs

refrain from starting crushing of sugar…what sort of agenda you people are pursuing and what actually you want?” he questioned.

The challenges being faced by the people in the urban Sindh is the result of the provincial government’s bad governance, he said, while pointing to the lawlessness in the province apparently due to the absence of police. The people are being murdered in broad daylight and social media networking sites were flooded with such clips. It seems that there is an environment of ‘jungle’ across the province, he added.

The minister urged the media to highlight the plight of the people of Sindh and put pressure on the provincial government to conduct independent inquiry into such matters.

About the increase in oil prices in the country, Fawad said the federal government brought taxes on the commodity to the lowest level, despite the rise in the petroleum prices in the international market so that the masses could be facilitated in all possible ways.

The government has collected only Rs50 billion in lieu of the petroleum levy. If the government had not cut taxes

on the fuel and kept on charging like the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) government, the collection would have been over Rs450 billion.

According to the United Nations Food Agency, Fawad said that the world food prices hit a 10-year peak. The poverty rate in India is higher than Pakistan, while the petroleum prices in Pakistan are lower than India. “We have to accept the realities and continue to move forward by keeping in view the situation prevailing world over,” he stressed.

Keeping in view inflation, he said Prime Minister Imran Khan announced a mega relief package to provide 30 per cent subsidy on wheat flour, pulses and ghee to those, whose monthly income is less than Rs31,000.

About the PML-N senior leaders’ press conference, Fawad said, people don’t give any importance to their comments on the economy. “Those who are telling us solutions are actually responsible for the current situation in Pakistan,” he added.

Regarding increase in the exchange rate, the minister said it was due to the PML-N government’s clumsy economic policies that led to de-industrialisation in the country. Describing a time period from 2010 to 2018 as a worst decade, he said Pakistan’s loan increased to Rs27 trillion from Rs6 trillion in 10 years. Both PML-N and Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) took massive loans, amounting to Rs23 trillion, he added.

“This year alone, we had to repay loans, amounting to $10 billion and in the next year, we have to return loans, amounting to $12 billion,” he said, holding the previous governments responsible for the prevailing situation in the country.

Responding to the critics of the government, he said three years are not enough to reverse the damage caused by the bad economic policies of both the PML-N and PPP governments.

Nazim Jokhio murder case: Centre to form JIT for transparent probe, Imran Ismail says THATTA staff RepoRt

Governor Sindh Imran Ismail on Saturday said the federal government will set up its own Joint Investigation Team (JIT) for a transparent probe into Nazim Jokhio’s murder case, after a probe team was formed by the Sindh government.

Offering his condolences to the family members of Jokhio — who was allegedly tortured to death for recording a PPP MPA’s hunting expedition with Arab hunters of the rare bird species houbara bustard — he said: “I have come here to meet the family of Jokhio on the instructions of Prime Minister Imran Khan.”

Ismail assured the family members that the federal government will fully cooperate in this matter and will also provide lawyers to fight the case.

“We will not leave Jokhio’s case uncontested.”

The governor said that he will inform the premier about the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Ismail was accompanied by Opposition leader Haleem Adil Sheikh during his visit to Salar Goth, near Dhabeji.

Speaking to the media later, Ismail said: “We will not let law of the jungle prevail in the country, hence a JIT will be formed.”

“Jokhio was brutally murdered, while the influential suspect was rescued,” he said.

“There are some names in the FIR, but the names of the real culprits are missing,” he added.

The governor claimed that the heirs of the deceased do not trust the JIT formed by the Sindh government.

PPP MPA reMAnded to Police custody: On Friday, MPA Sindh Assembly Jam Owais was remanded to police custody for three days in a case pertaining to the murder of Jokhio.

MPA Jam Owais was presented before a court after he surrendered to police following protests. He was nominated in FIR no 457/21 registered at the Memon Goth Police Station.

During the hearing, the investigation officer informed the court that the suspect had surrendered to the police, after which the judge ordered a progress report in the case at the next hearing and granted a three-day remand of the suspect to the police.

Two more suspects, Haider and Mir Ali, were also remanded into police custody for three days.

The family of Nazim Jokhio have been staging protests in Thatta and Karachi against the gruesome murder.

CM Sindh Murad Ali Shah also noted with concern the protests and directed the police to get an FIR in accordance with the wishes of Nazim’s family registered.

TTP demand prisoner release as condition for talks: sources ISLAMABAD ReuteRs

The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have demanded the government release a number of prisoners as a condition for talks aimed at laying the ground for full ceasefire negotiations, multiple sources in the group said.

The group, separate from the Afghan Taliban, have had two rounds of preliminary talks, facilitated by Afghanistan’s new rulers, a commander based in the Afghan province of Kunar said.

Sources close to the matter said Sirajuddin Haqqani, the head of the Haqqani Network and the current Afghan Taliban interior minister, was helping the talks.

The TTP, which combines a number of militant groups that have been fighting the state of Pakistan since 2007, is included on the U.S. State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organisations.

Last month Prime Minister Imran Khan told Turkey’s TRT television that his government was in talks with parts of the TTP as part of a “reconciliation process”.

The release of the prisoners is meant to be a confidencebuilding measure, three TTP commanders said, adding that the outcome of the talks was still uncertain.

“We aren’t too hopeful of the immediate results of the talks but our leaders had demanded the release of prisoners if they are sincere in meaningful negotiations,” a TTP commander told Reuters from Afghanistan’s Kunar province.

No comment was available from the government. The Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) did not respond to emailed requests for comment.

According to negotiators, the two sides agreed not to issue statements either supporting or opposing the peace process or against each other till the accord is signed and made public.

TTP spokesman Muhammad Khurasani said in a text message the group had “never refused meaningful talks” but that there were no developments on the ground yet.

TTP attacks have killed and wounded thousands of civilians and service personnel over the years but the group was badly weakened by the Zarb-i-Azb operation in 2014 which drove it from its stronghold in North Waziristan.

However, it has a force estimated at around 4,000-5,000 fighters, many based across the border in Afghanistan, and there has been a spate of incidents along the border since the Taliban seized Kabul in August.

Under the previous Western-backed government in Kabul, both Afghanistan and Pakistan accused each other of harbouring militant groups that mounted cross-border attacks.

Another TTP commander said the group’s leadership had consulted all factions in the movement, some of which had serious reservations about talking to the government, but he said many ordinary fighters wanted to go home.

More prisoned TLP activists secure freedom LAHORE staff RepoRt

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore on Saturday granted bail to several activists of the proscribed Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) party in several criminal cases registered against them.

Those who secured relief include Farooq ul-Hassan, Zahir ul-Hassan, Sharif ud-Din, Hafeezullah Alvi, Ghulam Ghaus Baghdadi, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Badar Munir, Qari Ashraf, Mohammad Akbar, Muzaffar Hussain, Muhammad Umar and Muzammil Hussain.

The court directed them to submit bail bonds of Rs100,000 apiece.

Thousands of supporters of the radical party marched from Lahore on October 22 toward Islamabad. They demanded the expulsion of the French envoy over the publication of caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) in that country.

The protest march saw supporters clash with police at several points along the way.

At least eight police officers and four demonstrators were killed.

Last Sunday, the government and the party reached an agreement to end the twoweek-long — and at times deadly violent —

protest calling for the release of the group’s leader Saad Hussain Rizvi.

Following the agreement, the Punjab government has so far released more than 1,000 workers of the group.

The proceedings on the bail applications — in more than 20 cases which were clubbed together — were conducted in courtrooms 1 and 3 of the anti-terror court

by District and Sessions judges Ejaz Ahmad Buttar and Arshad Hussain Bhutta, respectively.

Special Prosecutor Abdul Rauf Watoo argued that bail should not be granted at this stage.

Cases were registered against the TLP leaders at different police stations in Lahore under sections related to terrorism.

Subsequently, the court granted them bail in all of those cases.

Protest continues: Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters remain encamped on the main highway on Sunday near the town of Muridke, about 20km (12 miles) north of Lahore, as negotiations between the party’s leadership and a government committee continue.

People, as well as businesses, are being affected by the suspension of internet services.

A girls college situated on the Wazirabad-GT Road has been closed once again.

Rangers forces are still deployed on the Wazirabad-Chenab bridge. The trenches which the city administration had dug up at the bridge to thwart the TLP march are yet to be refilled.

The security forces have allowed the pedestrians and motorbikes to use the bridge for their movement. But the Chenab bridge is closed for other traffic so far.

Due to the non-arrival of the raw material in the city, the factory owners are distressed as their businesses are being hurt.

Published by Arif Nizami at Plot No 66-C, 1st Floor, 21st Commercial Street, Phase-II (Extension), DHA Karachi and printed at Ibn-e-Hassan Printing Press, Hockey Stadium, Karachi, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 021-35381208-9. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk