Epaper – September 19 ISB 2021

CMYK

19 September, 2021 I 11 Safar, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 80 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition

PM IMran InItIates dIalogue wIth talIban for InclusIve afghan governMent ISLAMABAD

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news desk

RIME Minister Imran Khan on Saturday announced that he has initiated a dialogue with the Taliban for the formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan. The announcement was made by Imran a day after his meetings with the leaders of Afghanistan’s neighbours, including China, Russia, Iran, and Tajikistan, on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Dushanbe city of Tajikistan.

Five Eyes’ alert led to cancellation of NZ’s tour to Pakistan: report ISLAMABAD news desk

The New Zealand cricket team called off Pakistan tour at the eleventh hour after the Five Eyes, an intelligence alliance of New Zealand, Australia, Canada, United States, and United Kingdom, advised Wellington to do so, NZ Herald reported.

The New Zealand daily said that the security threat was deemed credible before the first ODI match. It led to phone calls between New Zealand Cricket and Pakistan Cricket Board, and Pakistan and New Zealand prime ministers.

“Within 12 hours of those conversations, the tour was cancelled,” the report said.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand cricket team left Pakistan for Dubai on a chartered flight.

The Kiwi players and officials underwent rapid Covid-19 tests at the Islamabad International Airport. They were allowed to board the flight after all the reports came negative amid tight security protocols.

The team reached the airport

at 8:10pm after being escorted by a presidential level security team. Special security units had taken control of the route between the hotel and the airport.

The Kiwi team stayed at the state guest lounge at the airport, where they went through rapid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for Covid-19 before the departure. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had given special permission to the chartered

plane, which landed at the airport after a two-hour delay.

On Friday, New Zealand had abruptly abandoned their tour of Pakistan citing a security alert. The Blackcaps had called off the series at the eleventh hour citing unspecified security threats despite being given security assurance

by Prime Minister Imran Khan to his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern.

“After meetings in Dushanbe with leaders of Afghanistan’s neighbours, and especially a lengthy discussion with Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon, I have initiated a dialogue with the Taliban for an inclusive Afghan govt to include Tajiks, Hazaras and Uzbeks,” Khan said in a series of tweets. “After 40 years of conflict, this inclusivity will ensure peace and a stable Afghanistan, which is in the interest not only of Afghanistan but the region as well.”

No further details of the dialogue were given. Islamabad has been stressing the need for an inclusive government in Afghanistan

since the Taliban took over the country and announced an interim government.

Imran had reiterated the same during his address at the summit on Friday. “The Taliban must fulfil the pledges made, above all for an inclusive political structure where all ethnic groups are represented. This is vital for Afghanistan’s stability,” he had said, adding that it was also important to ensure respect for the rights of all Afghans while making certain that the country will never again be made a safe haven for terrorists.

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sunday, 19 september, 2021

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news

BLAMINg PAkISTAN for TALIBAN TAkeover ILLogIcAL, SAyS IMrAN iSLAMABAD

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Staff RepoRt

RIME Minister Imran Khan has said that the blame on Pakistan for the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan is illogical. In his interview with RT, Russian state-controlled broadcaster, the prime minister said it implied that Islamabad was stronger in terms of economy and military than Washington and all the European countries combined.

How could Pakistan with a 60,000- to 70,000-strong militia carrying ageing weaponry succeed in defeating an [Afghanistan] army of 300,000 soldiers.

“Unfortunately, a propaganda campaign was started against Pakistan.”

The propaganda was started to divert attention from the incapacity, corruption and lack of governance in the Ghani government, he noted. The prime minister said the majority of people in Afghanistan considered the Ghani government a puppet of the West, and noted there was no respect in the eyes of the people for his government.

The second stakeholder in this propaganda was India which had made a massive investment in Afghanistan over the years following the US invasion of that country in 2001, he explained. India began and promoted this propaganda [against Pakistan], he said.

Khan also asked how could an army of 300,000

Shehbaz says cantonment board polls spelled 'death of PTI's politics' Monitoring report

soldiers did not fight and melted in the face of Taliban advances, wondering whether Pakistan had stopped it from fighting.

The prime minister said a comprehensive analysis should be done to assess the reasons as to why the army of the “bravest nation of the world” surrendered without putting up a fight.

Expressing his vision of the future government in Kabul under the Taliban, Imran Khan said Pakistan wanted to see all ethnic groups in Afghanistan represented in the next cabinet which he said would strengthen the war-ravaged nation and bring stability.

He said Islamabad believed “that in the interest of Afghanistan and for long term stability an inclusive government should be formed to strengthen unity there”.

He said Pakistan was working with Afghanistan’s neighbouring governments to determine what Kabul should do to secure international recognition.

The first important step would be the establishment of an inclusive government in Kabul, Khan stressed.

Observing that Afghans were a diverse nation, he said the Taliban were primarily a Pashtun group and Pashtuns, despite being a majority, still constituted only half of the entire population. “There are also Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras who are [present] in large numbers.”

He said the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was

an important meeting because it was attended by the neighbours of Afghanistan since the Kabul question was important for the entire region.

Presently, Afghanistan was standing at historic crossroads and from here, it would either move towards stability after four-decade of wars or it would go in a wrong direction giving birth to yet another humanitarian and refugee crisis.

Khan said Pakistan was a part of the international community and it will continue to follow the lead of the international community in seeing how the situation evolves in Afghanistan.

From the viewpoint of Pakistan, he said, terrorism emanating from the soil of Afghanistan is another challenge and noted during the government of President Ashraf Ghani, at least three Afghanistan-based militant groups were perpetrating terrorism inside Pakistan.

Responding to a question, Khan said Iran was a neighbour and a “civilised relationship” with Tehran would promote trade between the two nations and would be beneficial for the entire region.

Saudi Arabia was among the closest allies of Pakistan and was a friend that always helped Islamabad, he added.

“So, we are interested [if] an understanding [is reached] between the two countries [Saudi and Iran] as a military conflict between them would be destructive

for the region.”

Such a conflict would also impact the petrol prices that have already, because of global economic recovery following the pandemic, gone up, he noted with concern.

Khan was of the view the oil prices hit people indiscriminately and the increase in the prices of allied/edible items would also impact the poor.

So, not only Pakistan but every country ought to make sure that the relationship between Saudi and Iran improves, he added.

India used EI software to spy on Pakistan, China: report teXAS tLtp

witnessed a cyber espionage campaign targeting Microsoft Windows PCs at government and telecom entities in China and Pakistan. They began in June 2020 and continued through to April 2021.

The Exodus CEO maintained that India was subsequently cut off from buying new zero-day research from his company in April and it has worked with Microsoft to patch the vulnerabilities.

The Indian use of his company’s research was beyond the pale, though Exodus does not limit what customers do with its findings, Brown said, adding, “You can use it offensively if you want, but not if you are going to be . . . shotgun blasting Pakistan and China. I don’t want any part of that.”

The US company also looked at a second vulnerability Kaspersky had attributed to Moses, another flaw that allowed a hacker to get higher privileges on a Windows computer. It was not linked to any particular espionage campaign, but Brown confirmed it was one of his company’s, adding that it would “make sense” that India or one of its contractors had weaponised that vulnerability too.

Beyond the two zero days already abused, according to Kaspersky, “at least six vulnerabilities” made by Moses have made it out “into the wild” in the last two years. Also according to Kaspersky, another hacking crew known as DarkHotel—believed by some cybersecurity researchers to be

sponsored by South Korea—has used Moses’ zero days. South Korea is not a customer of Exodus.

“We are pretty sure India leaked some of our research,” Brown said. “We cut them off and haven’t heard anything since then . . . so the assumption is that we were correct.”

Exodus, when asked by Five Eyes countries, an alliance of intelligencesharing countries that includes the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand or their allies, will provide both information on a zero-day vulnerability and the software required to exploit it.

But its main product is akin to a Facebook news feed of software vulnerabilities, sans exploits, for up to $250,000 a year.

Opposition Leader and PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif on Saturday labelled the recent cantonment board elections as the “death of PTI’s politics”.

While addressing a worker’s convention in Sialkot he said, “The cantonment board is the place where PTI was born, and it lost the elections there — marking the death of its politics.” Sharif further added, “PTI is installing its plaques on the projects of PML-N [… ] they talk about establishing the ‘state of Madina’, but their actions are the opposite. In the last three years, people have been burdened with surging inflation.” The PML-N president also claimed PMLN would win the next elections. Federal Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz responded that Sharif was “not in his senses” while talking about inflation. “How can you talk about inflation when you are residing in a palace? Experience the heat that a poor man does,” he added.

Texas-based Exodus Intelligence (EI) believed India used its “zero-day”, security vulnerabilities that hackers can use to attack systems, spy on Pakistan and China, according to a report published in Forbes.

Exodus CEO Logan Brown said, after an investigation, that he believes India handpicked one of the Windows vulnerabilities from the feed—allowing deep access to Microsoft’s operating system—and Indian government personnel or a contractor adapted it for malicious means, according to the media report.

Earlier this year, researchers at Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky

Hammad Azhar mocks PML-N leadership

Founding members make hectic efforts to resolve baP crisis

Monitoring report Energy Minister Hammad Azhar took a jibe at Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders. While referring to the alleged differences between Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif, Azhar tweeted on Saturday, “Two brothers quarrel and the party falls into chaos. And the minions are left clueless and irrelevant, thinking which side will eventually win.” Rumours of the rift between the brothers began on Thursday when Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz did not attend the party divisional meetings chaired by Nawaz Sharif on a video conference. Shehbaz Sharif’s spokesperson Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan denied allegations of any discord within party ranks.

PML-N lawmaker joins PTI LAHore Staff RepoRt

Azhar Abbas, a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz lawmaker from PP-269 (Muzaffargarh-II), on Saturday announced to join the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party. He made the announcement during a meeting in his constituency. In a statement, Abbas said he was elected on the PML-N ticket in the 2018 elections but has now decided to join the ruling party. He said he enjoyed good relations with Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and his family, who also hail from Muzaffargarh district, which is why he decided to quit PML-N. In March last year, Abbas, leading a forward bloc of six PML-N lawmakers from his hometown, called on Buzdar at his office in Lahore to “express their confidence in the leadership of the chief minister and Prime Minister Imran Khan”. While he snubbed the report suggesting he had decided to join PTI, Abbas admitted his talks were going on with several PML-N members who wanted to join the PTI.

iSLAMABAD Mian abRaR

The chaos in the ruling Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) has compelled the party’s founding trio including Senator Saeed Hashmi, former chief minister Jan Muhammad Jamali and Nawabzada Tariq Magsi to hold back-to-back huddles in Quetta to help thrash a solution to the revolt against Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan but no breakthrough could be made.

The opposition parties of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) including Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F), Balochistan National Party (Mengal) and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PKMAP) had moved a noconfidence motion against the CM Balochistan.

The no-confidence motion triggered serious differences within the ruling BAP as over a dozen of its members revolted against their own CM Jam Kamal.

The disgruntled members demanded the resignation of the incumbent chief minister Jam Kamal Khan.

However, Khan has refused to do so.

Sources in the BAP have told Pakistan Today requesting not being identified that the three elders of the BAP met with the rebel party leaders Abdul Quddus Bizenjo and Saleh Mohammad Bhitani besides Kamal Khan to help find an amicable solution to the crisis but failed.

On the other hand, the Jam Kamal group has expressed their anger on the rebel group’s plan to support a no-confidence move of the opposition alliance, arguing how treasury members could support a no-confidence motion tabled by the opposition.

Speaker Balochistan Assembly Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo, finance minister Mir Zahoor Buledi, Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran, Bushra Rind, Muhammad Khan Lehri, Mir Sikandar Umrani and others have

parted ways with the chief minister, Jam Kamal Khan.

Chairman Senate, Sadiq Sanjrani, Senator Sarfaraz Bugti, Senator Manzoor Kakar and others held a series of meetings with angry members and CM Balochistan to end the deadlock.

The rebel members also threatened to tender resignations in the case Jam Kamal remains CM of Balochistan. Although, no formal announcement was made in this regard.

The defiant members all gathered at the residence of speaker Qudooz Bizenjo to evolve an effective

strategy on Saturday.

Opposition members also gathered at the residence of Malik Sikandar Advocate to ensure the success of the no-confidence motion against the CM. A session of the Balochistan Assembly has been convened for September 21st and after a couple of days, the no-confidence motion would take place in the house of 65.

The ruling party is making hectic efforts to help resolve the situation, which may upset the ruling coalition in Balochistan.

Sunday, 19 September, 2021

ISLAMABAD

New criSiS brewiNg iN PML-N AS JAved LAtif Not reAdy to budge ISLAMABAD

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Mian abRaR

NEW crisis is brewing within the ranks of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) after the issuance of a show-cause notice to senior leader Javed Latif who has vowed to respond to the notice with full details.

PML-N Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal has issued a show-cause notice to Javed Latif asking him why he had castigated remarks against party president Shahbaz Sharif and Khwaja Mohammad Asif.

Latif is a Sharif loyalist and is considered very close to Maryam Nawaz while Khwaja Asif is very close to Shehbaz Sharif.

The notice said that a clarification should be made within 7 days as to why disciplinary action should not be taken against Mian Javed Latif.

According to party sources, Javed Latif will give a full answer to the show cause. In his reply, Javed Latif will quote the statements of Khwaja Asif and Rana Tanveer to support his statement.

The sources said Latif would further

say that he could even tender resignation if Nawaz Sharif would ask him to do so.

It may be recalled that after the interview of Javed Latif three days ago, differences between the Sharif brothers were exposed to the public. Javed Latif in a TV interview had blamed Shahbaz Sharif for trying to work for reconciliation with the establishment. He had referred to Khwaja Asif to promote the politics of personalities in PML-N.

Due to this interview, Shahbaz Sharif and Hamza Shahbaz got angry and both did not attend an important meeting of PML-N for the reorganisation of the party.

Party president Shahbaz Sharif had requested Nawaz Sharif to issue a showcause notice to Javed Latif over the controversial interview. “Shahbaz Sharif said that Javed Latif should be questioned and action should be taken

against him. However, Nawaz Sharif has said that notices should not be issued yet.

Shahbaz Sharif has recorded a protest over it,” the sources said.

While other leaders have also requested action against Latif.

During the interview, Latif had said that some people in PML-N are working on assignments and these four or five people get assignments to distort the party’s statement.

“Whenever the movement reaches a decisive stage, one of the leaders gets up and says something new. These are the same people with assignments who talk about reconciliation,” Latif had said.

He refrained from naming these leaders and said that assignments are given to these leaders only by those who do not believe in the constitution and law.

Latif further said that when a senior politician damages its narrative, it is not possible without assignment and the assignees should learn a lesson from the fate of Chaudhry Nisar.

Latif also mentioned that when Nawaz Sharif decides, the party president will be in trouble. He claimed that Nawaz Sharif is returning to Pakistan to serve his jail term.

Pakistan, China, Russia and Iran agree to strengthen coordination on Afghanistan MONItORINg REpORt Senior officials from Pakistan, China, Russia and Iran agreed to step up communication and coordination on the Afghan issue.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, China Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Assistant to Iran Foreign Minister Seyed Rasoul Mousavi reached the consensus at an informal meeting on Afghanistan in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe. Wang said it was necessary for the four countries to strengthen communication and coordination, speak in one voice, and exert positive influence over the issue, so as to play a constructive role for a smooth transition in Afghanistan.

Wang put forward a five-point proposal on the coordination and cooperation among the four countries regarding Afghanistan in the next stage: First, urge the United States to earnestly fulfil its obligations and take its responsibility. Together with other like-minded countries, the four countries should urge the United States to shoulder the primary responsibility for Afghanistan’s reconstruction, and provide economic, livelihood and humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan.

Second, engage with and give guidance to Afghanistan. On the premise of truly respecting Afghanistan’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, the four countries should support the Afghan people in independently choosing their development path, push Afghanistan to establish a broad and inclusive political structure eventually, implement moderate and prudent domestic and foreign policies, pursue friendly relations with neighbouring countries, and respect the basic rights of minorities, women and children.

Third, guard against the spillover of security risks.

Shahzad Akbar tests positive for coronavirus NEWS DESK Shahzad Akbar announced on Saturday that he has tested positive for coronavirus. Akbar said he has isolated himself at home. The adviser to the prime minister urged everyone to follow standard operation procedures (SOPs) and stay safe in a bid to keep coronavirus at bay. The development comes after Adviser for Commerce and Investment to Prime Minister Abdul Razak Dawood tested positive for coronavirus on September 2. Dawood had said he was isolated at home and had mild symptoms. "I have tested positive for Covid-19 and have mild symptoms. I have isolated myself at home. Prayers requested," he wrote. The national tally of total active Covid19 cases reached 64,564 on Saturday as 2,512 more people tested positive for the virus, while 3,610 people made full recovery from the disease in the last 24 hours, according to the latest update issued by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).

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Sindh announces public holiday on Sept 22 NEWS DESK The Sindh government declared a public holiday in Sindh on Wednesday 22 September on account of urs of Hazrat Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai The Sindh government has also issued a notification. According to the notification, a public holiday will be observed in Sindh on the occasion of Urs of saint Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai. Schools, colleges, universities, government institutions, autonomous and semiautonomous bodies, corporations and local councils in Sindh will remain closed. Every year the three-day urs is observed from 14th Safar onwards.

Ncoc daily update: 2,512 new covid-19 cases, 63 more deaths ISLAMABAD STaff RePoRT

Pakistan reported 2,512 new Covid-19 cases and 63 more deaths over the past 24 hours, the National Command and Operation Centre said on Saturday. The national tally of total active Covid-19 cases fell to 64,564 on Saturday as 3,610 people made full recovery in the last 24 hours, said the NCOC, a department leading campaign against the pandemic.

The number of overall confirmed cases rose to 1,221,261, said the NCOC. According to the NCOC, more than 57,000 tests were conducted across the country on Friday. The coronavirus positivity rate in the last 24 hours was recorded at 4.4 percent. Among the active cases, 5,117 patients are under critical care.

Sindh has been the worst hit, with a total of 449,349 cases, followed by Punjab where the disease was detected in 420,615 people. A total of 27,135 people have died of the disease, including 63 patients who died over the last 24 hours, the NCOC said.

Hike in petrol prices challenged in LHc It is expected that the new Afghan government will honour its commitment and make a clean break with terrorist forces, especially resolutely combating those targeting neighbouring countries.

Fourth, encourage all parties to make concerted efforts to assist Afghanistan. As important neighbours of Afghanistan, the four countries should not only provide urgent assistance to meet its needs but also encourage regional countries and international organizations to help the Afghan people tide over the difficulties. Fifth, help Afghanistan join in regional cooperation. In the long run, the four countries can, based on preserving the overall stability and development of the region, help Afghanistan gradually cultivate its capacity for independent and sustainable development, and join in the regional economic cooperation and connectivity network to shake off

poverty and achieve economic development.

According to Wang, regional countries have three main expectations for the new Afghan government: inclusiveness, counter-terrorism and goodneighbourliness. Other participants at the meeting said that the four countries should speak out and send a consistent and clear signal to the Afghan people, the whole region and even the international community, create a favourable external environment for the Afghan people to hold the fate in their own hands and push Afghanistan to build an inclusive government of different ethnic groups and religions.

They also hope that the Taliban will make a clean break with all terrorist organizations and urge the international community, especially the United States and its allies, to shoulder their due responsibilities for resolving the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

22 NOCs being issued for new cement factories: Buzdar LAHORE TLTP

Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has said that restrictions on the cement industry have been lifted for the development of the construction sector and 22 noobjection certificates (NOCs) are being issued for new cement factories.

In a statement on Saturday, the chief minister said that better utilisation of mining resources will be ensured in Punjab, adding steps of the government for the welfare and betterment of the mining sector have led to collection of a record revenue of more than Rs10.19 billion during the fiscal year 2020-21.

Buzdar said that NOCs for the installation of 10 cement plants have so far been issued during the last three years while the process of issuing more NOCs for setting up of cement plants in Punjab is underway. These new cement factories will generate more job opportunities for millions of people and will result in uplifting and ensure economic development in the backward areas, he said.

Buzdar stated that the steps taken by the incumbent government for the development of salt and coal

industries are yielding positive results. Punjab Mineral Development Corporation has collected revenue of Rs1.64 billion.

He said that 21 rock salt exploration licences have been issued for the promotion of the salt industry.

Production capacity has been increased with the launch of 4 coal and 8 salt mines. The ban on coal mining has been lifted and transparency has been ensured in the public auction of 20 blocks of coal.

The Mineral Cadastral System has been introduced to provide timely information. The chief minister said that the e-filing & office automation system has been implemented with the cooperation of PITB. The Human Resource Management Information System has also been introduced in the Mines & Minerals Department.

He said that 3,000 workers have been provided professional training and in this regard a state-of-the-art in-service training academy has been established in Punjab School of Mines Katas.

He said that Mine Sample Testing Laboratory Khushab is being restored, besides providing better facilities. New offices of Deputy Director Mines and Minerals have been set up at Khushab, and Mianwali, he added.

LAHORE STaff RePoRT

Days after the government increased the price of petrol

by Rs5 a litre, a petition was filed in the Lahore High Court on Saturday against the federal government’s decision, urging the court to declare it void. The prices of high-speed diesel, kerosene and light diesel oil were enhanced by Rs5.01 per litre, Rs5.46 and Rs5.92, respectively, a notification issued by the Ministry of Finance earlier this week said. Nominating the central government and the Ministry of Energy as respondents, the petition expressed apprehension that with the increase in the cost of petroleum, the prices of allied items would also surge. The petitioner further recalled that several applications have already been filed with the high court challenging the hike. “The government has enhanced Petroleum Regulatory and Development Levy Tax,” said the petitioner, requesting the court to order the withdrawal of additional taxes so that the prices could be brought down. The petition further argued the increase was against articles 2-A, 4, 9, 14, 29 and 38 of the Constitution. “In view of the aforementioned facts, it is prayed to the court to declare hike in POL prices null and void.” The fuel price increases follow a rise in oil prices this year, as a result of confidence over the economic recovery as Covid-19 vaccinations were rolled out and tight supplies as the Opec group and its allies slowly relaxed production curbs introduced early in the pandemic.

Sunday, 19 September, 2021

04 NEWS

ISLAMABAD

PAk Army PArticiPAtes in Un PeAcekeePing exercise

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News Desk

contingent of Pakistan armed forces participated in the multinational United Nations Peacekeeping Exercise “Shared Destiny-2021” at Queshan training base of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.

The press release issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Saturday stated, “Participation of Pakistani contingent, their level of expertise and Pakistan’s continued large scale contribution to UN peacekeeping operations was greatly appreciated by all participants.”

The exercise aimed at training for opera-

tions executed by UN peacekeepers in different missions. Approximately 1000 troops from Pakistan, China, Mongolia and Thailand were part of the 10-day-exercise that ended on September 15.

The exercise was based on a 2016 incident in Mali when Chinese peacekeepers were attacked and one of them was killed.

LAHORE: Members of Bonded Labour Liberation Front hold protest in favour of their demands. Zubair MehfooZ

Mufti Aziz seeks bail in sexual assault case LAHORe Staff report

A Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl leader requested a court to grant him post-arrest bail in a case involving claims of forced sex with a male seminary student, days after a similar petition of his was dismissed by a judge.

Aziz ur-Rehman, a religious teacher at Jamia Manzoor ul-Islamia in Lahore, was arrested in June following the registration of a police case on charges of sexual assault and criminal intimidation against him.

While the cleric, 67, initially confessed to having made the 26-year-old student a target of his lust with the lure of passing him in the

exams, he later retracted his statement, claiming the police had forced him to admit to the crime. Earlier this week, a judicial magistrate dismissed his post-arrest bail request after the prosecutor in the case opposed the bail and argued that indiscriminate evidence had been collected against the cleric and his release on bail could hamper the trial proceedings.

The latest petition describes Rehman as “an innocent [and a] law-abiding citizen” who it insists has been “falsely and maliciously” implicated in the case.

Rehman further claims to be the victim of a conspiracy and “madrassah politics”, alleging that the case was hatched “in connivance with police”.

Mader-e-Meherban – A true triumph PATRIOTISM PASSED ON IsLAMABAD Staff report

After a long time, a thought provoking song has been conceived and composed with the collaboration of eminent songwriters, composers, producers and singers dedicated to the spirit of patriotism.

With Amjad Islam Amjad penning lyrics to Sahir Ali Bagga at his best in composing the music, a truly unique track has been conceived.

Three music legends, recognised as pioneers of the industry both domestically and internationally, were part of the force that made Mader-eMeherban possible.

Sindh’s gift to Pakistani music Abida Parveen, with her incomparable command on the Sufi genre, gels in perfectly with the song.

Sajjad Ali, a pop music icon of the country, lends his vocals to add to the diversity of the track. Shafqat Amant Ali misses no opportunity to brilliantly incorporate his classical training into

CMYK

other genres to create a sound that becomes his own. All three artists are the driving force behind Mader-e-Meherban. The central idea behind the song is how to pass on the spirit of patriotism from one generation to the next.

The counsel for the cleric, Safdar Shaheen Pirzada, said Rehman “could not even think of committing a crime as grave as this”. “The police have completed the investigation against him so there’s no point in keeping him behind bars.” Rehman is ready to submit surety bonds, he said, adding the court should grant him bail.

The police submitted the challan in the case at a hearing on Friday. The confessional statement proved Rehman had been subjecting the complainant to rape over a span of time. At least 22 witnesses have been named in the challan. Judicial Magistrate Rana Rashid will resume the proceedings on September 20 (Monday).

Sunday, 19 September, 2021

ISLAMABAD

NEWS

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PM IMran InItIates dIalogue Shanghai encourages wIth talIban for InclusIve ‘duty-free economy’ as part of consumer push afghan governMent cONTINuEd frOm pAGE 01

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THER leaders at the conference had shared similar views, pointing out that Afghanistan’s new interim cabinet almost exclusively comprised ethnic Pashtuns, the group’s main support base.

Chinese President Xi Jinping had said it is necessary to “encourage Afghanistan to put in place a broad-based and inclusive political framework” and to “resolutely fight all forms of terrorism” and live in peace with its neighbours.

BEIJING

He was of the opinion that Afghanistan should be guided to be more open and inclusive, and pursue moderate domestic and foreign policies.

The Taliban had assigned some important posts to nonPashtuns in their interim government announced early this month, particularly the coveted seat of army chief to Qari Fasihuddin, a Tajik.

However, the structure mainly comprises Pashtuns, who form less than half of Afghanistan’s population, and there is no participation of women yet in the interim setup.

AGENCIES

The Shanghai government will support companies applying for approval to sell duty-free goods, and encourage duty-free shops to be set up at airports, hotels, malls and other commercial venues, municipal authorities said.

The development of a “duty-free economy”, which will encourage spending on imported products, including heavily-taxed luxury goods, was outlined in a 2021-2025 consumption plan released on Saturday.

Presently, duty-free spending in China is largely concentrated in the southern island province of Hainan, where the annual limit on individual duty-free spending was hiked to 100,000 yuan ($15,467) last year from

Critics warn of Apple, Google ‘chokepoint’ repression

WASHINGTON AGENCIES

The global dominance of tech giants serves as a convenient online chokepoint for authoritarian governments to crack down on dissent or rig elections, critics of Apple and Google said Friday.

The companies were facing international outrage after pulling a Russian opposition voting app off their online marketplaces in response to authorities’ escalating pressure, including arrest threats.

Google and Apple, whose operating systems run on 99 percent of the world’s smartphones, have a stranglehold on the markets for the applications that allow users to do everything from watch movies to hail a ride.

“The app stores are the new frontier for censorship,” Natalia Krapiva, tech legal counsel at rights group Access Now told AFP. “We’re witnessing a new stage of assault on digital rights.”

The companies face a growing pile of new legislation, legal trouble and regulators scrutiny over worries their dominance is a competitionkilling monopoly.

Concerns recently had been about consumers’ choice and app developers ability to avoid paying Apple an up to 30 percent cut on purchases made via its App Store.

But after an app advising opposition supporters on how to vote out Kremlin allies in Russia’s parliamentary election was removed from the app stores of both Apple and Google, advocates warned of an-

other threat.

“As long as Apple maintains a stranglehold over what software millions of people (use)… the App Store will continue to be a convenient chokepoint for government censorship and crackdowns on dissent,” said Evan Greer, director of digital advocacy group Fight for the Future.

The digital world has been an incubator for opposition from the Arab Spring to Hong Kong’s prodemocracy protests by giving people a way to communicate and organize movements rapidly.

Yet that same technology can be turned against people, as was demonstrated by the scandal around Pegasus, a hugely invasive spyware that can essentially turn a phone into a pocket listening device.

Limits of Big Tech Allegations that the software has been used by governments worldwide to eavesdrop on human rights activists, business executives and politicians sparked a global uproar in July.

In the case of Russia, pressure has been building after Moscow accused the US tech giants of election interference and demanded they remove the app.

“This demonstrates the limits of Big Tech to resist crackdowns with regards to dissent, in Russia and elsewhere, during elections and outside them,” said David Levine, an election integrity fellow at think tank Alliance for Securing Democracy.

Sources close to the decision to pull the opposition app said both

companies faced threats of criminal charges or the jailing of staff and general “bullying” from authorities.

Levine noted this type of escalating pressure could become a “page in the playbook” for repressive governments.

The firms are for-profit, yet because of their global reach and key role in mass communication, can end up being called on to combat hate, lies and repression on their devices or platforms.

As a result, Big Tech can and will get entangled in these type of fights on delicate matters with the governments of places where they do business.

“Giant IT companies are going to have to think about how they operate in these markets, like how far they’ll go in terms of complying and cutting off the freedom of people to see things,” said Kathryn Stoner, a Stanford political science professor.

Especially for social media companies like Facebook, the role of information gatekeeper is one that the firms have played with widely varying outcomes.

The case in Russia, though, has resonated in particular because it touches on something deeply personal, which also has tremendous consequences.

“This is the government going into your house and saying you cannot talk about voting against us,” Isabel Linzer, a Research analyst at NGO Freedom House, said.

“That is as much election interference as it would be to go and stuff a ballot box,” she added.

cmYK

30,000 yuan previously.

Tariffs on imported consumer goods vary in China, with taxes on some luxury items such as perfumes and watches exceeding 30%.

Lured by the substantially lower prices, millions of domestic tourists flock to Hainan’s malls each year, and the numbers have been boosted by restrictions on overseas travel resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Otherwise, there are more than 300 duty-free shops across the country selling products from fragrances and cosmetics to clothing and shoes. China Tourism Group Duty Free Corp is the dominant player, with nearly 200 stores.

Annual duty-free spending is in the tens of billions of yuan.

Sunday, 19 September, 2021

06 COMMENT

Electric Toothbrush vs Miswak

After the SCO Pakistan’s enhanced responsibilities

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he presence of Prime Minister Imran Khan at Dushanbe and his interaction with various SCO leaders has had a salutary impact on him, at least for the time being. After listening to a lot of plain talk at the Summit, he observed that the Taliban must fulfill promises made in Afghanistan.

There was a consensus at Dushanbe to engage with the Taliban but no willingness to consider the issue of recognition till the Taliban inducted an inclusive government, allowed the girls education, jobs for women, fought the terrorists and developed friendly ties with their neighbours. The speakers wanted the USA to release the frozen Afghan assets. They also told the USA and Nato allies that it was their responsibility to help avert a humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan after ending their 20-year presence in the country. It was realized that failure to provide necessary support to Afghanistan could allow terrorism and drugs to flourish while pushing the country into a fullblown humanitarian crisis which had the potential for tens of thousands of refugees to pour over the borders. Chinese President Xi called on “certain countries” to assume their due responsibilities for Afghanistan’s future development as they had been “instigators” of the situation. There was none who wanted to incentivize the Taliban.

Four countries comprising Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan were tasked to exert positive influence on the Afghan administration to promote a smooth transition of the situation in Afghanistan. Pakistan is thus required to perform the onerous task of persuading the Taliban to address the concerns of neighouring countries. Pakistan’s stature would rise if it fulfills the task satisfactorily. It would suffer the most from the fall-out of the Afghan debacle if the Talban remained adamant.

The Taliban meanwhile continue to send negative signals to the world. On Saturday they ordered girls to be excluded from returning to secondary schools while allowing boys to attend lectures delivered by male teachers. Neighbouring countries are yet to receive any satisfactory answer regarding what the Taliban intend to do with terrorist groups which continue to operate from Afghanistan. The ball is now in the Taliban’s court. The world wants straightforward answers to simple questions.

Until we can use electric toothbrushes, maybe miswaks should serve?

rAbiA Ahmed

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LeTTeR addressed to the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) by the election Commission of Pakistan (eCP) was recently leaked to the public.

Iftikhar Khan has given the details of the matter and of the resulting furore in a National Daily.

It is known by now that NADRA wished to hire the eCP to develop an online voting system and electronic voting machines, for which it offered to pay a very large sum. The details are contained in a letter in which an outstanding factor is the language. You’d expect the commission that runs the national election system to express themselves significantly better than it does in that letter, but more importantly, you wonder why NADRA is paying the eCP to set up a voting system. Shouldn’t the eCP be worrying about that matter (as tf points out in the letter), since elections and all things related are their job? But perhaps the eCP has not managed to get its act together after all these years.

A slight digression at this point, to speak of a matter that should concern the eCP and which has to do with their ‘getting their act together’: Local Government elections in the Cantonment Boards were recently held in the country. In these elections the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf (PTI) was defeated in several major cities. The Prime Minister was not pleased, and he has asked the PTI’s chief organizer and its Secretary General to find out why this happened.

There could be several reasons for this defeat, several come to mind, but one that comes to the forefront, personally, is a canvassing letter received from a PTI candidate prior to these elections, in which voting slips containing voters’ relevant information – ID

PML(N) infighting Destructive for party, harmful to country

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hAT PML(N)President Mian Shehbaz Sharif had to boycott two divisional-level party meetings to get party Quaid Mian Nawaz Sharif to consent to the issuing of a show-cause notice to MNA Javed Latif for violating party discipline shows not just how much control Mian Nawaz has over the party that still bears his name, but also that the infighting within the party is now boiling up into the open, and will make the party disintegrate unless it is contained. At one end is the confrontational approach of Mian Nawaz and his daughter Maryam, which was marked by naming names and claiming that Prime Minister Imran Khan was selected, and the conciliatory approach of Mian Shehbaz, which seeks to win back the favour of those institutions which are supposed to back Mr Khan.

Javed Latif showed why the infighting is so bad for the party as ultimately to destroy it. he attacked Mian Shehbaz indirectly, claiming that some leaders were on ‘on an assignment’ to divide the party.

Without a via media, which may well mean one side accepting the views of the other, the party will remain unable to speak with one voice. The government and other opposition parties will be unable to deal with it as an interlocutor, not knowing how it will react to anything, and hence any agreement with it could be valueless.

While the ultimate fate of Javed Latif may be of more interest to other MNAs than anyone else, the threat of unseating does not apply to defeated party candidates the PML(N) needs at the next poll. The divergence of views must be resolved soon, because if the infighting continues, the party will find it is in no shape to contest the next general election. As there are less than two years in the holding of that election, every action by politicians is being carried out with one eye on that election. The Sharif brothers may find that if they postpone a decision on what line to take too long, they may not have a party that much longer.

Atique ur rehmAn

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he worsening humanitarian crisis linked to the security situation in Afghanistan and regional peace was the focus of the ongoing 21st Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. The SCO is a eurasian political, economic, and security alliance, which was created in June 2001 in Shanghai. The hasty withdrawal of US forces and Taliban rule, has left the world worrying about the future of the country and the security situation in the whole region.

Pakistan is the most concerned country due to its proximity with Afghanistan. Pakistan is also the country that suffered the most due to the two-decade long war against terrorism in Afghanistan. Over 70,000 Pakistani citizens and soldiers perished during this war. The long war also affected Pakistan economically. According to a safe estimate Pakistan lost $124 billion in these years. Since the last two years, Pakistan has put in all efforts to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table with the USA so as the situation could be stabilized in the war-torn country.

Since the USA attacked Afghanistan in September 2001, as retaliation for the 9/11 attacks, the situation in this part of the region and the Middle east changed greatly. The USA attacked Iraq in 2003 which stimulated initial reversals in Afghanistan.

Since then the USA has been scapegoating Pakistan for its failures. The USA tried to withdraw from Afghanistan twice, in 2003 and 2013, but could not.

There was a serious disconnect between the US political leadership at home, which wanted to continue war, and the military leadership which was not sure of any success on ground due to faulty policies. The US Administration has been lying to their nation about success in Afghanistan.

The withdrawal after two long years of negotiations with the Taliban has put the peace of Afghanistan in jeopardy. It has also raised many questions. Is it a deliberate act by the USA to put the peace of this region in jeopardy so as to create hurdles for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) by China and CPeC which is the flagship programme of the BRI. humanitarian assistance to the civil population in Afghanistan is a real issue which many turn into a refugee problem for central Asian states, Pakistan, Iran and China, thus creating a serious security con-

Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor

Yousaf Nizami M. A. Niazi

Umar Aziz

Joint Editor

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

It has been the ultimate tragedy for this country that there are so many obstacles in the way of accountability and justice.

Some might say accountability and justice do not exist. That makes it hard to achieve any progress, or to justify spending money in ways such as the above. These roadblocks need to be addressed before anything else

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

21st SCO summit and Afghanistan situation

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

card numbers, address, name etc., were clipped to the outside of the envelope, displaying all that information for anyone to read. a.

If a voter must elect someone to represent their interests, would a person capable of allowing the above be the right person? he would no doubt excuse himself by saying that he cannot be expected to keep an eye on every small detail and worker, in which case will he be able to do so when in office?

After all, the Right to Privacy of Data and Information is a major concern, and even the Constitution of Pakistan grants that right to the citizens of the country. Pakistan is also signatory to several International Covenants, on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which both uphold the right to privacy, and to the Cairo Declaration on human Rights which also upholds the right to privacy. A representative who is unable to prevent his department from committing such flagrant breaches of civil rights has a problem; maybe such ‘small’ things explain the PTI’s losses. b.

When an attempt was made to contact the eCP regarding this infringement of the right to privacy of data, it turned out that the eCP’s inbox was full. So much for that.

An online voting system and electronic machines are good ideas. But before we invest in expensive electric toothbrushes, it would be a good idea to get our heads around the concept of oral hygiene itself, to understand why it is important and how it works, and its impact on a person’s overall wellbeing. It might be a better idea to make the humble miswak work until an electric toothbrush is feasible.

For a society that has little idea about the importance of elections, and almost no idea about the rights of the electorate and the duties of the elected, an expensive voting system seems to be overkill.

In a democracy it is possible for any person who gains the majority vote to act as representative of the people, but perhaps there should be some scheme to

educate these elected representatives before they take office, a scheme that teaches them about things that count and are more important than the salary, the prestige, flagged car, guards and such gimmicks and publicity. They need to know how to get the job done, for heaven’s sake, to have some idea of the basic laws of the country. The PTI has been outstanding in this matter, with the Chief Minister of a major province, personally appointed by the Prime Minister himself, being as clueless a person as any, with his patron often not far behind. There are many other people’s representatives in the same league, persons who have abused, cursed and slapped their way through their tenure, and have lived to tell the tale without being removed from office.

It seems that politicians across the board ignore important things, and matters directly related to their job; they cross the floor when it suits them, pay attention to gimmicks alone, and spend valuable time bad-mouthing the opposition and little else.

The Minister of Railways for example, recently recommended that such institutions as the eCP should be “set ablaze,” a recommendation to arson, made at a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, no less.

In such an atmosphere, do we really need a voting system that costs Rs 2.4 billion, and voting machines that will most likely be kicked out of service, literally, when the predominantly uneducated populace of the country cannot get them to work? Or perhaps they will be set on fire, as recommended by the Minister for Railways himself?

It has been the ultimate tragedy for this country that there are so many obstacles in the way of accountability and justice. Some might say accountability and justice do not exist. That makes it hard to achieve any progress, or to justify spending money in ways such as the above. These roadblocks need to be addressed before anything else.

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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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cern for the whole region.

Leaders participating in the summit in Tajikistan stressed the need for US attention towards humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan. The UN has also raised the suspicion that if the world did not respond to urgent needs in Afghanistan, the humanitarian issue may turn into a bigger disaster. After taking over areas in Panjshir valley, the Taliban have now announced victory in the whole of Afghanistan and assured the world of inclusive government in Afghanistan. however, the dream for a peaceful Afghanistan is far from over.

India, which was part of the problem during the entire period of war in Afghanistan since 2001, has again started a cat-and-mouse game to destabilize Afghanistan. The two-decade-long war in Afghanistan owes a great deal to Indian mischievous play and promotion of terrorism in the area. India had been manipulating the situation directly and indirectly to disturb law and order in Pakistan. Though at the end India has been totally defeated in its nefarious designs in Afghanistan, it has not given up its efforts to promote terrorism and propaganda as a state policy to pursue its foreign policy objectives of hegemony in the region China and Pakistan, particularly CPeC, are the most affected due to the law and order situation in Afghanistan.

Address of Chinese President Xi Jinpind, at 21stSCOsummit at Doshambe was befitting of a world leader and head of a rising power. President Xi though did not name but was critical of US practices of intervention in domestic political affairs of smaller countries and bullying habits on the pretext of maintaining world order.

President Xi quoted from history, "Power may win for the time being, but justice will prevail for the long run." And said that acting from a so-called "position of strength" is not the way to handle international affairs, and hegemonic, domineering and bullying acts should be firmly rejected. In addressing international relations, we should observe the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. We need to practice true multilateralism and oppose actions that use the name of socalled rules to undermine the international order and cause confrontation and division, he said. he added that we need to boost mutually beneficial cooperation, remove trade, investment and technology barriers, and promote inclusive development that delivers

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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benefits to all.

President Xi said we should maintain firm confidence in our systems, reject condescending lecturing, and firmly support countries in exploring development paths and governance models that are compatible with their national conditions. he particular;y exhorted the need for not allowing any external intervention in Afghan internal affairs. Reference was visibly to US intervention for shaping internal political affairs of various member countries for their vested interest. he said we needed to pursue common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and take tough actions against terrorism, separatism and extremism, including the east Turkestan Islamic Movement (eTIM). President Xi said that SCO member states need to step up coordination, make full use of platforms such as the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group and facilitate a smooth transition in Afghanistan. he also asked member countries to encourage Afghanistan to put in place a broad-based and inclusive political framework, adopt prudent and moderate domestic and foreign policies, resolutely fight all forms of terrorism, live in amity with its neighbors and truly embark on a path of peace, stability and development.

President Xi said SCO countries should stay committed to openness and cooperation, and jointly pursue their shared goal of development and rejuvenation and continue to promote trade and investment liberalisation and facilitation as well as the secure and orderly flow of people, goods, capital and data. To facilitate post-COVID economic recovery in SCO countries, China will continue to share its market opportunities, strive to reach $2.3 trillion in its cumulative trade with other SCO countries in the next five years, and improve its trade structure and balance. China will open a China-SCO Business and Trade Institute to promote business and trade cooperation among SCO countries. As phase one of the RMB30 billion-equivalent special lending facility set up by China in 2018 within the SCO framework will soon be completed, China will launch the second phase of this special lending facility to promote Belt and Road cooperation. Such lending will mainly cover projects related to modernization, connectivity, infrastructure, and green, low-carbon and sustainable development.

The writer can be atiquesheikh2000@gmail.com

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

reached

at

Sunday, 19 September, 2021

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

E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively

Favouritism TO begin with, when I think about discrimination the one issue that sticks out in my mind is Favouritism. Favouritism is like action as if you only have one student and others does not exist. Playing favourites is a bad habit; you can harm apparently in harmless ways. In a Class there is always someone that will stand out and someone that will not but despite of that they all are equal. Moreover, one may be smarter than the other but at the end of the class they all are students. All should be treated fairly.

Nevertheless, they may not be the smartest but each student has a talent inside them. After all everyone is created uniquely. Showing Favouritism on one student may have a bad effect to another student because they may lose their respect and starting doubting about the teacher’s capability. Always choosing the smart ones is never a good deed because how can a Teacher bring out the best on those average students if they only set their eyes on the favourites. A Teacher is always labelled as the second parent and a parent’s love and attention must be equally divided among it’s children. Whether it’s pretty or ugly, smart or dumb, rich or poor they all deserve the best.

ShEhNaz zahir SiT PaNjgoor

Engagement, not abandonment Regional and international communities should come together to help Afghanistan

Candid Corner rAoof hAsAn “You cannot build a peaceful world on empty stomachs and human misery.”

–Dr. Norman Ernest Borlaug

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N an interview with the CNN, Prime Minister Imran Khan referred to the existing situation in Afghanistan as difficult, which could improve or deteriorate depending upon the way the world conducts itself in dealing with the new government in Kabul. It is as realistic a statement as one could make under the circumstances regarding the future of a country that has been ravaged by war for more than four decades.

The principal constituent that could shape things one way or the other in the foreseeable future is the level of engagement that the world establishes with the ‘new reality in Afghanistan’.

But a far more important question at this stage is whether the countries of the world would be willing to do this at all? Bets either way would carry a huge quotient of risk.

The USA’s contention is that the Taliban will have to ‘earn’ legitimacy to facilitate any form of engagement. Key conditions for this include the formation of an ‘inclusive’ government and the grant of human rights, more specifically the rights for women to study and work. In other words, the Taliban government has to make allowance for the 20 years of ‘democratic’ incursion by its battleground adversaries and induct them as partners in a new setup.

The attitude of the rest of the Western world and the financial and donor organisations is not any different from this. They seem to be locked in a mould to wait and watch the progress as a precursor to taking any initiative for pre-empting the looming economic and humanitarian crises which could plunge the country into chaos. Is that the actual intention behind this policy of putting conditions to potential engagement?

And, as a consequence, will the world bear with a bloodbath leading to Afghanistan plunging into the valley of death and destruction? A policy of non-engagement will, most likely, push things in that dreaded direction. For the proponents of this course, the Taliban government is like a morsel which is difficult to swallow, but also difficult to throw out.

On the other hand, the voices emanating from the region are for forging engagement with the Taliban government in Kabul. The neighbours of Afghanistan have called for more interaction with the newly-announced government to eliminate any prospect of further unrest. A proposal has been mooted by Pakistan that the Afghan government should be invited to the next huddle of its neighbours. That would be a big step forward in averting a feeling among the

Taliban that they are being left out.

At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Dushambe, Tajikistan, the participating countries concurred with Prime Minister Khan’s call that the war-afflicted country should not be left out after the Taliban take-over. he said that “it is in the international community’s collective interest to ensure that there is no renewed conflict in Afghanistan and the security situation is stabilised”. equally importantly, he pleaded for urgent steps to “prevent a humanitarian crisis and an economic meltdown”.

While calling upon the Afghan government for constituting a more ‘inclusive’ government, the SCO summit declaration has reminded the West, particularly the US, of its responsibility to help avert the humanitarian crisis that looms in Afghanistan.

The world is caught up in a clash of two narratives at this juncture. The one emanating from the West pleads for a policy of moving forward only when the Taliban government has fulfilled all requisites for establishing an ‘inclusive’ government. On the other hand, the regional countries are promoting a policy of engagement with the Taliban to help and encourage them along to set up such a government. This is based on a policy of incentivising the new rulers of Afghanistan, as proposed by Prime Minister Khan, as opposed to censoring them. The regional countries are also poised to pursue the idea of ‘collective security’, thus taking the concept of connectivity a major step further.

These two approaches are diametrically opposed to each other, reflecting the needs of a world that is far removed from the area of conflict and the other which neighbours Afghanistan. Both have different yardsticks to go by. The question that arises is whether, in spite of the interim government not being strictly in conformity with the promises the Taliban leadership has been making in the last few weeks, and in spite of the fact that not a single woman has been inducted into the interim cabinet, will a policy of continued disengagement mould the Taliban to think differently, or will this harden their stance further, thus generating problems for the people of Afghanistan who have, for over four decades, borne the devastation of a deadly war?

These two policies reflect two different mindsets which are tailored to fulfil the respective needs. But there is something which is far more important than either of these mindsets and the policies emanating from there: chalking out a mechanism to address the needs of the Afghan people. This should take precedence over all else before the state plunges into strife. With the economic assistance stalled and the new govern-

ment under increasing pressure, the prospect of a renewed conflict cannot be eliminated.

The outcome of this stalemate may reflect a lot more than just the fate of the Afghan people.

It’ll be a credible indicator for the world to see whether the West’s insistence on making the provision of economic aid conditional on promoting its brand of democracy-linked agenda is justified. If that be so, it would come at a huge cost to the impoverished and marginalised communities of the world who have, for generations, languished in the dark dungeons of deprivation.

They need to be freed from captivity by providing opportunities and avenues of their empowerment. Instead of initiating attempts to force change of governments, this would be better realised by incentivising them to invest in the welfare of their people.

The agenda of Changing regime has not worked. I think there is a lot of sense in promoting a policy of engagement in preference to one of abandonment. The world can retain relevance by pursuing a policy whereby they undertake reconciliatory approaches in preference to ones which are confrontational in nature.

Afghanistan is not just a regional issue. It has international ramifications. It is absolutely vital that the world converges in its resolve to help the country along a path of inclusivity. But this should not be attempted through a policy of coercion and conflict. It should be pursued by forging greater engagement and understanding with the Afghan government to ensure that it remains committed to the objectives outlined by the international community which are also inherent in the regional countries’ approach. This broad convergence should be developed further into a policy document to be taken up with the Afghan government in a consultative and advisory manner.

Afghanistan cannot be left alone at this juncture. It needs the support of the regional and international communities to move further on the road to delivering peace and justice to its long-suffering people. War was not an option yesterday. It is not an option now. Only a policy of engagement and connectivity with Afghanistan will help tide over the sprawling wreckage that it has been reduced to after over forty years of fratricide. It is time to bring this to an end. Continued conflict will not do it.

Afghanistan will heal only if the world would pursue a policy of engagement, not abandonment.

Afghanistan cannot be left alone at this juncture. It needs the support of the regional and international communities to move further on the road to delivering peace and justice to its longsuffering people. War was not an option yesterday. It is not an option now. Only a policy of engagement and connectivity with Afghanistan will help tide over the sprawling wreckage that it has been reduced to after over forty years of fratricide. It is time to bring this to an end.

Continued conflict will not do it. Afghanistan will heal only if the world would pursue a policy of engagement, not abandonment

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

Different kinds of racism ThROUGh the column of your esteemed newspaper, I would like to talk about racism in Pakistan. even in Islamic countries like Pakistan, racism has become commonplace. There are many levels of racism in Pakistan, including racial, religious, sectarian, tribal, provincial and ethnic prejudices. every year in Moharram, Shia-Sunni contradictions are seen. Christians, who make up only 2% of the Pakistani population, are mostly seen working as sweepers or maids. Facial skin whitening creams and seeing them promoted in the media also demonstrates racism. This is a very disturbing mentality in Pakistan, but many people do not consider it racism. why not? Racism is a historical issue as well as a current issue not just in Pakistan but around the world. We cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that racism exists in mild, subtle forms that play with people’s mental health and make them unacceptable through society. We can only hope that this will end in the future and that one day we will finally find peace with other people’s skins, races and religions. hafSa KhaN Karachi

Breaking The War Jinx TheRe have been Western media reports of possible nuclear war across the world. For instance, Charles Richard, the Commander of the US Strategic Command has started shedding light on the possibility of nuclear war. Abbreviated to the USSTRATCOM, this unit is part of the combatant commands in the US defense sector. Furthermore, even PROCeeDINGS, a monthly magazine from the US Naval Institute has been widely talking about such issues as nuclear war facing the world community. By the way, there are some questions now. What is the use of nuke war? What use is it of going to war? Catastrophic impacts apart, all the war tactics have been proved to be pretty much dangerous to the international community and humanity. Just look at all the COVID-19 vaccines available out there in the world now! All those vaccines have been nothing but the sums of great knowledge and hard work involved.

Where is the question of aggression in the corona fight here? Rather or instead, there have been many core issues inflicted on mankind and the globe. Poverty, economic crisis, climate change issues and agrarian problems are some of those issues to be looked into as quickly as possible. As one practical example, the people in my native areas like Korkai, Tuticorin, Tiruchendur, Kanyakumari, Nagercoil, Marthandam and Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu have been into rigorous and diverse agricultural activities, working hard and embracing new changes.

Therefore, the world should move on in the direction of overall growth.

Let Mother Nature grow up and prosper in her own natural ways. So should the human race. Let us all get immersed in the lap of Nature instead of waging war on one another. Besides, there is no denying the fact that the best way out to end war is by non-violence greatly attached to Asian region.

P SENThil SaravaNa Durai MuMBai

Smart Policing AS far as human rights violations are concerned, we suppose to encounter such a trend more in our police stations. It is no denying the fact that we desperately need CCTV cameras in police stations and the absence of it gives free hand to police officials carrying out human violation. For instance, when a person is wrongfully caught and brought to the police station letter a writ of habeas corpus is filed to the court for securing his rights. Keeping in view, installation of cameras is essential so that footages can be used as a piece of evidence.

In a globalized world, we are a developing country, upgrading of police is pivotal along with the scientific evidence. In foreign countries, we can see that body cameras are installed on police officials to record each move so that the accused must not claim of being caught illegally. Different actions are emerging day to day of police affairs in which custodial deaths, assumption of alcohol, harsh behavior on part of police officials and many more are seen, such kind of activities should be prevented by monitoring the entire operation of police stations. But when we talk about human life, the concerned authority also needs to improve the condition of police stations. Secondly, we often see that whenever a police officer commits human violation or breaks the law he is suspended temporary rather than punishing for his act, when it comes to lodging an FIR, aggrieved person is found running from pillar to the post for his basic right he is denied of his basic right, lodging of FIR is mandatory . Our resources and taxes are being wasted. Installation of cameras will work like a defense shield not only for public but also for police officials, but the bottom line is whether police will abide by law and work according to it or will it violates, tortures and abuses physically the commons if the intention of work is positive then CCTV is a blessing but if they want to run their personal practice then CCTV is a curse.

Shafi ahMED Khowaja jaTi Sujawal

Sunday, 19 September, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

Hello, cHinA? tHis is tHe pentAgon cAlling…

CounterPunCH

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toM ClIFFoRD

hIneSe hardliners just had their stance justified by the erratic, verging on unhinged, behaviour in the United States and by its military.

First the storming of the capitol on Jan 6. Seen from Beijing it looked like a failed coup, a botched but serious attempt to upend US politics. now, a book by journalists Bob Woodward and robert Costa claims US General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called General Li Zuocheng of the People’s Liberation Army not once but twice. First on October 30, 2020, just four days before the election. The second call took place on January 8, two days after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol. Milley sought to assure Li that the United States was stable and not going to attack. however, he said, if there were to be an attack, he would alert his counterpart ahead of time. Schizophrenic? This places Li in an impossible position. how does he tell his boss, Xi Jinping? he would have to inform the Chinese president that a US general had just said that they won’t attack with nuclear weapons but if they do they will be no-

HE WOULD HAVE TO INFORM THE CHINESE PRESIDENT THAT A US GENERAL HAD JUST SAID THAT THEY WON’T ATTACK WITH NUCLEAR WEAPONS BUT IF THEY DO THEY WILL BE NOTIFIED. CAN YOU TRUST HIM TO LET YOU KNOW? IS IT A VEILED THREAT? AT THE VERY LEAST YOU WOULD HAVE TO PUT YOUR FORCES ON ALERT tified. Can you trust him to let you know? Is it a veiled threat? At the very least you would have to put your forces on alert.

Imagine this in reverse. If a Chinese general had called his US counterpart. The US would say that China is out of control. The response on the Capitol would be apoplectic. Talk shows would be asking viewers if the US should have launched a pre-emptive strike.Thus ushers in the age of Aukus. This is not a version of Covid.

Australia the UK and US have announced a security pact to share advanced defense technologies.

The partnership will enable Australia to build nuclear-powered submarines for the first time.The pact will also cover artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and cyber space. At least that’s the official version. In reality it is targeting Beijing

where it is viewed as a fig leaf to cover the US withdrawing from the Asia-Pacific region. A new military alliance. Just for argument’s sake let’s suppose the PLA navy was in a stand-off with a UK or Australian naval vessel. Would the US protect its allies or ring Beijing?

US President Joe Biden has even been snubbed by Xi. There was a time, until quite recently, when a summit with a US president was seen as a huge propaganda victory for China. not any longer. Biden suggested the possibility of a meeting with Xi during a phone call on September 10, but the Chinese president rejected it. Xi hasn’t left China for more than 600 days, ostensibly because of Covid. But the reasons he didn’t want to meet Biden are political rather than health-related; quite simply, nothing to be gained domestically from it.

The nixon-Mao meetings of the early 1970s introduced a period of mutual-interest politics anchored by greater engagement. For China it was a path to modernization and growth. For the US the meetings offered the prospect of a huge market and the end of a threat of a ColdWar scenario.

This relationship was not derailed by the bloodshed on and near Tiananmen Square in 1989 or China’s entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001 nor its trade surpluses with the US. It survived the US bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1999 and occasional White house decision to sell arms to Taiwan or meet with the Dalai Lama. nor did clashes over censorship and human rights, tapering off in later years, cause too much upheaval. nixon was the first of 10 US presidents

trumpism And Bidenism HAve mucH in common wHen it comes to letting down Allies

who have managed China relations. Xi is the third Chinese leader since the reforming Deng Xiaoping.

China under Xi is less accommodating, less willing to engage, and less sure of the value of US relations. Its economic success has fuelled a nationalism that the West has never had to deal with before. After all, despite the apparent success of closer ties, a US general has nonetheless suggested that his country could attack China. This will have profound implications.

Trade ties have actually decoupled from political tensions. Official Chinese data show that bilateral trade between the two countries has seen a surge in 2021.

Ironically, this bodes ill for future ties. It used to be claimed that closer commercial ties would lead to greater political engagement. This is clearly not the case. China has immense problems, including a slowing economy, pollution and corruption. But despite this, Xi feels China’s time has come. he may even tell Li to put all calls from Washington on hold.

Tom Clifford, now in China, worked in Qatar with Gulf Times from 1989-1992 and covered the Gulf War for Irish and Canadian newspapers as well as for other media organizations.

AustrAliA’s foreign policy is getting clumsy And ArrogAnt

IT WAS PRESIDENT CHARLES DE GAULLE WHO SAID THAT, “TREATIES ARE LIKE YOUNG GIRLS AND ROSES – THEY LAST AS LONG AS THEY LAST”

indePendent PAtRICk CoCkbuRn

t

rUMPISM was never quite what it seemed to the rest of the world when it came to America’s actions as opposed to his words. The tone was always belligerent, but Trump went out of his way not to start any wars. As for the slogan “America First”, this was not so much about an isolationist US and more about the US acting unilaterally in what Trump saw as its own best interests.

Bidenism is turning out to be not so very different from Trumpism. Joe Biden carried out to the letter Donald Trump’s ruthless deal with the Taliban, agreed in February 2020, to abandon the Afghan government, which had been excluded from negotiations about its fate. european allies of the US learned little about the American pull-out plan from Kabul airport, even as it was under way. now Biden has followed up his unilateralism in Afghanistan with his surprise announcing of an agreement for the US, along with Britain, to help Australia build nuclearpowered submarines to deploy against China in the years ahead. By arbitrarily cutting out the French from their $66bn contract to supply diesel-powered submarines, Biden behaved in the true Trump tradition of causing greater outrage to an ally than dismay to a potential enemy.

The response of China to an alliance clearly directed against it was angry, but this was still mild compared to the apoplexy among senior French leaders at their public humiliation. “This brutal, unilateral and unpredictable decision reminds me a lot of what Mr Trump used to do,” said French foreign minister Jean-yves Le Drian. “I am angry and bitter.

This isn’t done between allies. It’s really a stab in the back.”

A betrayal it may have been, but the French showed a certain naivete, as well as poor intelligence, in not seeing that something like this might be on the cards. When it comes to back-stabbing an ally, there was the recent precedent in Afghanistan and, a couple of years back, another ominous pointer when Trump shocked the Saudis, with whom he was so close, when he failed to retaliate against a devastating missile attack on Saudi oil facilities in September 2019 that was clearly orchestrated by Iran.

Gulf monarchies discovered to their extreme alarm that the American protective um-

“THIS BRUTAL, UNILATERAL AND UNPREDICTABLE DECISION REMINDS ME A LOT OF WHAT MR TRUMP USED TO DO,” SAID FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER JEAN-YVES LE DRIAN. “I AM ANGRY AND BITTER. THIS ISN’T DONE BETWEEN ALLIES. IT’S REALLY A STAB IN THE BACK” brella, in which they had previously trusted, was not quite what it seemed to be. It turned out not to include going to war on their behalf, a realisation that will have been reinforced by the Afghan shock and is radically reshaping regional politics.

Complaints by those let down by the US – be they in Paris or riyadh or in wherever the dispersed Afghan government has sought refuge – are common enough in the history of diplomacy. After all, it was President Charles de Gaulle who said that, “treaties are like young girls and roses – they last as long as they last.”

True this piece of realpolitik about the impermanency of relations between nation states may be, but the Australia-UK-US (Aukus) submarine deal – coming after the Kabul rout and the non-defence of Saudi Arabia – gives a sense that tectonic changes are shaking the way the world works. Biden, who was full of “America-is-back” rhetoric at the start of his presidency, is now treating some of his allies as cavalierly as Trump ever did.

The Aukus alliance is just the sort of Anglo-Saxon line-up most likely to infuriate the French and worry the eU. It will energise european states to try to pursue a distinct and less confrontational policy towards China than before. If they fail to do so, and the omens are not good given their impotence in successive crises in the Middle east and the Balkans, then they become even more marginalised.

But rejoicing among Brexiteers that Britain was right to leave a foundering eU vessel are premature, because British reliance on the US is greater than ever. This carries unpredictable risks as well as dubious advantages, as Britain discovered during the Iraq war, which Britain joined as America’s principal foreign military ally in 2003 and spent the following six years trying to escape without offending the Americans. The calamitous method chosen was to send British military forces to helmand province in Afghanistan, which turned out to be an even deadlier place than Iraq.

Joining the US and Australia in upping the confrontation with China carries similar risks.

It is not “a profound strategic shift”, as Boris Johnson claims, since nothing much is going to happen for over a decade. Cold war threat inflation about China having the world’s largest navy is absurd, since ships that are little

more than minnows have been counted as part of the Chinese fleet.

But what Britain would do if the new cold warriors are correct in their warnings and China does indeed invade Taiwan? This is an important question for “global” Britain because it means standing tall against even taller opponents like China and russia in the hope that they show restraint or the US gives unstinting support.

The dependency is risky because American foreign policy is determined by its domestic political agenda, and never more than at present. A motive for Biden trumpeting his new alliance against China is that it projects strength and diverts attention away from the weakness displayed during the chaotic US exit from Kabul. Dominating American TV screens over the last month, the rout sent Biden’s approval rating in the opinion polls spiralling down to 42 per cent and his disapproval rating up to 50 per cent – the first time his ratings have been negative since he took office.

Britain wants to posture as a great power, but has less and less means of doing so, except as a humble spear carrier for the US. not all this can be blamed on Johnson and his jingoistic flag wavers in government, because they are only taking advantage of a public assumption that Britain possesses levers of power that no longer function.

Dominic raab may have lost his job as foreign secretary because he lolled too long beside the swimming pool at his luxury hotel in Crete as the Taliban was capturing Kabul. But had raab hastily returned to London – or drowned in the hotel pool – it would not have made the slightest difference to events in Afghanistan.

Public and media misperception of the real power of the British government gives an air of unreality to much of British political life at home and abroad. Six years ago, debate raged on whether or not Britain should launch bombing raids against Isis in Syria, with all sides ignoring the fact that Britain did not have the planes or the intelligence to do anything significant – something subsequently admitted by the rAF officer in charge.

Patrick Cockburn’s new book ‘Behind Enemy Lies: War News and Chaos in the Middle East’ will be published by Verso in October.

Sydney Morning Herald Anthony GAllowAy

“t

hey’re just having a sook.”It’s a sentence that has been heard a few times over the past 48 hours, as Coalition MPs rubbish any suggestion that Australia has seriously harmed itself in infuriating France over dumping the $90 billion submarine deal.

It’s a thuggish mentality, devoid of humility, that encapsulates everything that is wrong about Australian foreign policy at the moment. The idea that we couldn’t have done this any other way is laughable for a number of reasons.

First, the Morrison government should not have given France the impression that the submarine deal was back on track over the past six months.

As recently as June this year, French President emmanuel Macron backed Australia in its worsening tussle with China, standing alongside Prime Minister Scott Morrison in the elysee Palace courtyard in Paris.

What Macron didn’t know was that four days earlier, Morrison had used a meeting with US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to discuss the secret plan to ditch the French submarines and build a nuclear-powered fleet with the United States and Britain.

Second, Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Peter Dutton should not have agreed to significantly enhance defence cooperation with their French counterparts less than a month ago when they were about to announce the submarine deal was dead.

To be fair, some of France’s reaction can be explained by the fact that Macron has an election coming up and a French President standing up to the US always plays well domestically.But the facts remain: France has recalled its ambassadors from Australia and the US and there is more to come.

Australia hasn’t just angered the most important european power in the Indo-Pacific. It has dragged its greatest ally, the US, into a diplomatic row with europe at a time when

ANY CRITICISM OF THE GOVERNMENT’S HANDLING OF THESE ANNOUNCEMENTS IS ALWAYS MET WITH ASTONISHMENT. IT’S LIKE THE GOVERNMENT IS PLAYING CHESS AND THE REST OF US ARE PLAYING CHECKERS Biden is trying to mend relations in the continent after years of Donald Trump publicly snubbing european allies.

Australia’s actions right now have serious implications on the world stage and there are questions about whether our diplomacy has been strong enough to support our strategic intentions.

On April 19, 2020, Payne announced on the ABC’s Insiders program that Australia would push for an international inquiry into China’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak.

For more than a year, the government has refused to accept it erred by announcing the global review on live television instead of consulting other countries first and perhaps making a joint statement.

From pushing for international inquiries into the actions of China to building a nuclear-propelled fleet of submarines, Australia is making some huge decisions.

They may very well turn out to be the right calls.But we are now playing on the big stage, and the question must be asked: does the government have the right personnel and diplomatic skills to pull it off? The obvious follow-up question, which comes up time and again, is: where is Marise Payne?Australia’s Foreign Minister too often fails to get ahead of issues on the horizon and deftly prosecute the government’s case.

Any criticism of the government’s handling of these announcements is always met with astonishment. It’s like the government is playing chess and the rest of us are playing checkers; we shouldn’t have the temerity to question their brilliance.Increasingly, other countries are questioning it.

Anthony Galloway is foreign affairs and national security correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

sunday, 19 september, 2021

bUsiness 09

islamabad

KP govT To Borrow ANoTher $500M FroM ADB T PESHAWAR

AZIZ BUNERI

CAD swells to $1.5bn in August Pakistan's current account deficit (CAD) has increased by a massive 81 per cent in August to $1,476 million compared to July during this fiscal year (FY22). According to latest data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the CAD in July was $814m which was widened by $1,476m in August showing an increase of 81pc and a trend for growing deficit for the next 10 remaining months of the fiscal. The total deficit during July-Aug reached $2.29 billion against a net surplus of 838m in the same period of FY21. August FY21 was also surplus with $255m against the deficit during the current fiscal year. SBP Governor Reza Baqir had earlier said that CAD would be in the range of 2 to 3pc of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in FY22.

However, the sudden rise in the deficit reflecting the trend may lead to higher than the SBP estimate. The central bank's data shows that trade deficit has sharply increased by 93.5pc during the first two months of FY22. However, exports showed signs of improvement, posting a jump of 55pc in August at $2.881bn compared to the same month in FY21 at $1.860bn. Exports were also slightly higher in August than in July. The import bill of 2MFY22 increased by 62.2pc to $13.033bn compared to the same period in FY22 when it was at $8.036bn. MONITORING REPORT

Textile, clothing exports post 29pc increase in 2MFY22 Pakistan’s textile and clothing exports have posted a growth of 28.67 per cent to $2.93 billion in the first two months of the current fiscal year (2MFY22) as compared to $2.28bn of the corresponding period last fiscal (2MFY21), According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), ready-made garments exports jumped by 22.57pc in value and in quantity by 21.63pc during July-Aug FY22, while those of knitwear edged up 34.12pc in value and 14.22pc in quantity, bed wear posted positive growth of 24.50pc in value and it drifted in quantity by 23.06pc. Towel exports were up by 20.67pc in value and 14.59pc in quantity, whereas those of cotton cloth rose by 24.74pc in value and dipped by 76.51pc in quantity. Among primary commodities, cotton yarn exports surged by 67.97pc, while yarn other than cotton by 123pc. The export of made-up articles — excluding towels — rose by 21.26pc, and tents, canvas and tarpaulin dipped by a massive 37.19pc during the months under review. The export of raw cotton declined by 100pc during the months under review. The import of textile machinery increased by 160.5pc in July-Aug FY22 — a sign that expansion or modernisation projects were taken up by the textile industry during the months. To bridge the shortfall in the domestic sector, the industry imported 102,408 tonnes of raw cotton in July-Aug FY22 against 74,799 tonnes last year, an increase of 36.91pc. Similarly, the import of synthetic fibre posted growth of 17.27pc as industry imported 91,118 tonnes this year as against 77,701 tonnes.

The import of synthetic and artificial silk yarn stood at 78,059 tonnes this year as against 52,406 tonnes last year, a rise of 48.95pc. The import of worn clothing recorded a growth of 282pc to 186,299 tonnes this year as against 48,644 tonnes last year. The overall country’s exports posted a growth of over 27.98pc year-on-year to $4.587bn in JulyAug FY22 compared to $3.584bn in the corresponding period last year. As per a report by dawn, the easing of lockdown in North American and European countries, which are top markets for Pakistani textile goods, will help boost exports further. MONITORING REPORT

HE Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has decided to borrow $500 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the second phase of urban development projects in the province.

The KP government has formed a special committee headed by the Addi-

cided to borrow another $500 million for the second phase of the project.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Director-General, Water and Sanitation services Companies Chief Executive Officers, Urban Mobility Authority Managing Director, International Development Chief and Physical Planning and Housing Chief are the members of the committee.

The committee will also propose an annual plan and hold a quarterly

meeting to determine the timing of the project's completion.

According to sources, the KP government has borrowed more than Rs300 billion from ADB and other international financial institutions in the last seven-year.

Its repayment will start in 2024.

The project for which the loan was obtained also includes the BRT project, power projects and projects recently launched for urban development.

lCCi demands representation in OGRa board

LAHORE SHAHAB OMER

The Lahore Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has demanded a representation in the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) Board as well as the prices of petroleum products be fixed for the private sector for at least three months.

OGRA Member (Oil) Zainul Abidin Qureshi called on the LCCI President, Senior Vice President and other officials and members at the LCCI here on Saturday.

During the meeting, the LCCI President, Mian Tariq Misbah, demanded that the change in the prices of petroleum products every fortnight was adversely affecting the industry, however, the prices of petroleum products for the private sector should be fixed for at least three months.

“Whenever there is a fall in the price of oil in the international market, OGRA should pass on the benefits to the consumers. Rising prices of petroleum products lead to inflation and in view of this difficult economic situation, the government should reduce the petroleum levy to provide some relief to the people.

Doing so will reduce the current rate of inflation. Similarly, the LCCI should be represented on the OGRA Board to review the prices of petroleum products and

approve the summary to be submitted to the government for the final decision,” Misbah suggested.

He informed that some members of LCCI and fuel station owners have complained that whenever a problem was raised with the petroleum companies, they [fuel station owners] often face severe challenges due to the unprofessional behaviour of the companies.

“Since all petroleum companies operate under OGRA, they should be instructed to be professional with their customers and ensure justice,” he added.

Expressing concern, the LCCI member informed the member OGRA that it was receiving reports that expensive LNG was being procured to deal with the gas shortage in winter, however, the business community should be made aware of this.

However, the member OGRA said that the role of petroleum products in the national economy was very important and the local oil demand was being met by 60 per cent import and 40 per cent local production.

“Oil prices are set according to the Gulf market.

Fluctuations in the value of the dollar affect the price of oil, the petroleum levy is enforced by the federal government and the sales tax is levied by the provinces. Gas demand is growing by ten to fifteen per cent annually,” he said.

Tiktok launches Urdu-language safety centre in Pakistan Short video sharing platform TikTok has launched a localised Urdu version of its Safety Center in Pakistan. According to local media details, the Safety Center is a one-stop online source which provides access to TikTok’s safety policies, tools and resources to equip users with product education and protection measures while using the platform. The Safety Center offers parents and guardians a look into the safety ecosystem through new videos on how the app approaches safety, community guidelines, and resources available to them. The team of moderators promptly responds to content and comments aimed at bullying users. The subsection on suicide and self-harm contains information about TikTok’s work to prevent the dissemination of content that promotes actions aimed at calling for suicide or self-harm. MONITORING REPORT

Pia to operate flights to UK Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has decided to resume flight to the United Kingdom (UK) after Pakistan came off UK’s red list.

The national carrier decided to start chartered flights to the UK. It was learnt that PIA will operate flights to Manchester and London from Islamabad through a chartered company.

Earlier in the day, the United Kingdom (UK) removed Pakistan from its travel red list after the British authorities updated its travel advisory.

According to details, Pakistan, Turkey, Bangladesh, Maldives and Oman are among eight countries that came off the UK red list in the recent review. Pakistan and other countries are included in the rest of the world list.

UK’s Secretary of State for Transport also confirmed the move from his Twitter handle.

“Pleased to confirm Pakistan is off the red list. I know how difficult the last 5

tional Chief Secretary to identify the development projects for the second phase of the urban development project. The official sources said that the provincial government will seek a loan from ADB to cover the cost of these projects.

KP had already announced to borrow more than $600 million for urban development projects in Peshawar, Mardan, Kohat, Abbottabad, Swat, DI Khan and Bannu but now it has de-

months were for so many who rely on close links between Pakistan & UK,” he wrote on his official Twitter handle on Friday.

“From Oct 4, if you’re fully [vaccinated] you won’t need a pre-departure test before arrival into England from a non-red country and from later in Oct, will be able to replace the day 2 PCR test with a cheaper lateral flow,” he added. Pakistan had been retained on UK’s red list in the updated travel advisory for countries barred from flying into the kingdom in early April and India followed on April 19 due to surging case numbers and the emergence of the Delta variant.

British lawmakers had also criticised their government for keeping Pakistan on its ‘red list’ whilst promoting India to the ‘amber list’ for international travel despite a clear difference in the COVID-19 situation in both countries. NEWS DESK

US probes possible insider trading at Binance: Bloomberg News WASHINGTON AGENCIES

US officials are examining possible insider trading and market manipulation at Binance, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, potentially adding more heat to the cryptocurrency exchange that has become a target of regulatory scrutiny in many countries. Authorities are looking into whether Binance or its staff profited by taking advantage of its customers, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. “At Binance, we have a zero-tolerance policy for insider trading and a strict ethical code related to any type of behavior that could have a negative impact on our customers or industry,” the world’s biggest crypto platform said in a statement. The company has faced warnings and business curbs from financial watchdogs from Britain and Germany to Japan, who are concerned over the use of crypto in money laundering and risks to consumers. The exchange, whose holding company is registered in the Cayman Islands, has scaled back its product offerings and said it wants to improve relations with regulators. The review involves Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) investigators, who in recent weeks have been reaching out to potential witnesses, the Bloomberg report said, adding that Binance has not been accused of wrongdoing and the investigations may not lead to any official action. The CFTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sunday, 19 September, 2021

10 FOREIGN NEWS

ISLAMABAD

US admitS KabUl drone StriKe Killed 10 civilianS, inclUding children WASHINGTON

a

ReuteRs

drone strike in Kabul last month killed as many as 10 civilians, including seven children, the US military said on Friday, apologising for what it called a “tragic mistake”. The Pentagon had said the August 29 strike targeted an Islamic State suicide bomber who posed an imminent threat to US-led troops at the airport as they completed the last stages of their withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Even as reports of civilian casualties emerged, the top US general had described the attack as “righteous”.

The head of US Central Command, Marine Corps General Frank McKenzie, said that at the time he had been confident it averted an imminent threat to the forces at the airport.

“Our investigation now concludes that the strike was a tragic mistake,” McKenzie told reporters.

He said he now believed it unlikely that those killed were members of the local Islamic State affiliate, ISIS-Khorasan, or posed a threat to US troops. The Pentagon was considering reparations, McKenzie said.

The killing of civilians, in a strike carried out by a drone based outside Afghanistan, has raised questions about the future of US counter-terrorism strikes in the country, where intelligence gathering has been all but choked off since last month’s withdrawal.

And the confirmation of civilian deaths provides further fuel to critics of the chaotic US withdrawal and evacuation of Afghan allies, which has generated the biggest crisis

yet for the Biden administration.

In a statement, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the drone strike had killed an Ahmadi who worked for a non-profit called Nutrition and Education International.

“We now know that there was no connection between Ahmadi and ISIS-Khorasan, that his activities on that day were completely harmless and not at all related to the imminent threat we believed we faced,” Austin said in the statement.

“We apologize, and we will endeavour to learn from this horrible mistake.”

While it is rare for senior Pentagon officials, including the defense secretary, to apologize personally for civilians killed in military strikes, the US military does publish reports on civilians killed in operations around the world.

Reports had emerged almost immediately that the drone strike in a neighbourhood west of Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport had killed civilians including children. Video from the scene showed the wreckage of a car strewn around the courtyard of a building. A spokesman for Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers, Zabihullah Mujahid, said at the time that the attack killed seven people, and that the Taliban was investigating.

The strike came three days after an Islamic State suicide bomber killed 13 US troops and scores of Afghan civilians who had crowded outside the airport gates, desperate to secure seats on evacuation flights, after US-trained Afghan forces melted away and the Taliban swept to power in the capital.

Following the suicide bombing at the airport, the US military launched a drone strike in eastern Afghanistan that it said killed two Islamic State militants. That strike

is not under review.

The second, mistaken strike came as the US military was on heightened alert, with officials warning they expected more attacks on the airport, including from rockets and vehicle-borne explosive devices, as the Pentagon wrapped up its mission.

General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appeared to blame the fog of war, even as he acknowledged in a statement that the civilian deaths were “heart-wrenching”.

“In a dynamic high threat environment, the commanders on the ground had the appropriate authority and had reasonable certainty that the target was valid,” Milley said.

The authority to carry out strikes in Afghanistan — against al Qaeda or Islamic State — will not rest anymore with US commanders in the region, a US defense official told Reuters, adding Austin himself will have to authorize any future strikes.

Still, the intelligence failure exposed in America’s last military strike of its war in

Afghanistan raises hard questions about the risks going forward. These include whether the United States can keep track of al Qaeda and Islamic State threats, and act quickly on any information it gets.

McKenzie played down the impact the latest civilian casualties would have on future actions in Afghanistan.

“I don’t think you should draw any conclusions about our ability to strike in Afghanistan against ISIS-K targets in the future based on this particular strike,” he said.

In escalation over submarine deal, France recalls envoys from US and Australia PARIS/CANBERRA/WASHINGTON ReuteRs

France plunged into an unprecedented diplomatic crisis with the United States and Australia on Friday after it recalled its ambassadors from both countries over a trilateral security deal that sank a French-designed submarine contract with Canberra.

The rare decision taken by French President Emmanuel Macron was made due to the “exceptional gravity” of the matter, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a statement.

On Thursday, Australia said it would scrap a $40 billion deal signed in 2016 for France’s Naval Group to build a fleet of conventional submarines and would instead build at least eight nuclear-powered submarines with US and British technology after striking a trilateral security partnership. France called it a stab in the back.

A diplomatic source in France said it was the first time Paris had recalled its own ambassadors in this way.

Australia said on Saturday morning it regretted the recall, and that it valued the relationship with France and would keep engaging with Paris on other issues.

“Australia understands France’s deep disappointment with our decision, which was taken in accordance

with our clear and communicated national security interests,” a spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne said in a statement.

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that France was a “vital ally” and that the United States would be engaged in the coming days to resolve the differences.

The French foreign ministry statement made no mention of Britain, but the diplomatic source said France considered Britain had joined the deal in an opportunistic manner.

“We don’t need to hold consultations with our (British) ambassador to know what to make of it or to draw any conclusions,” the source added.

Le Drian said the deal was unacceptable.

“The cancellation (of the project) […] and the announcement of a new partnership with the United States meant to launch studies on a possible future cooperation on nuclear-powered submarines, constitute unacceptable behaviour between allies and partners,” he said in a statement.

He added that the consequences “directly affect the vision we have of our alliances, of our partnerships and of the importance of the Indo-Pacific for Europe.”

LOW POINT: The row marks the lowest point in relations between Australia and France since 1995 when Canberra protested France’s decision to resume nuclear testing in the South Pacific and recalled its ambassador for consultations.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday rejected French criticism that it had not been warned about the new deal, and said he had raised the possibility in talks with the French president that Australia might scrap the Naval Group deal.

Morrison insisted he had told Macron in June that Australia had revised its thinking.

“I made it very clear, we had a lengthy dinner there in Paris, about our very significant concerns about the capabilities of conventional submarines to deal with the new strategic environment we’re faced with,” he told 5aa radio. “I made it very clear that this was a matter that Australia would need to make a decision on in our national interest.”

The strain in multilateral ties come as the United States and its allies seek additional support in Asia and the Pacific given concern about the rising influence of a more assertive China. France is about to take over the presidency of the European Union, which on Thursday released its strategy for the Indo-Pacific, pledging to seek a trade deal with Taiwan and to deploy more ships to keep sea routes open.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tried on Thursday to calm the French outcry, calling France a vital partner in the region.

Pierre Morcos, a visiting fellow at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies, called France’s move “historic.”

“Reassuring words such as those heard yesterday from Secretary Blinken are not enough for Paris — especially after French authorities learned that this agreement was months in the making,” he said.

Girls excluded from returning to secondary school in Afghanistan AGENCIES Girls were excluded from returning to secondary school in Afghanistan on Saturday, after the country’s new Taliban rulers ordered only boys and male teachers back to the classroom.

The group ousted the US-backed government last month, promising a softer brand of rule than their repressive reign in the 1990s, when women were mostly banned from education and work.

But the diktat from the education ministry was the latest move from the new government to threaten women’s rights.

“All male teachers and students should attend their educational institutions,” a statement said ahead of classes resuming on Saturday.

The statement, issued late on Friday, made no mention of women teachers or girl pupils.

Secondary schools, with students typically between the ages of 13 and 18, are

often segregated by sex in Afghanistan. During the Covid-19 pandemic, they have faced repeated closures and have been shut since the Taliban seized power.

Since a US-led invasion ousted the Taliban in 2001, significant progress has been made in girls’ education, with the number of schools tripling and female literacy nearly doubling to 30 per cent — however, the change was largely limited to the cities.

The UN said it was “deeply worried” for the future of girls’ schooling in Afghanistan.

“It is critical that all girls, including older girls, are able to resume their education without any further delays. For that, we need female teachers to resume teaching,” the UN’s children’s agency, Unicef said.

Primary schools have already reopened, with boys and girls mostly attending separate classes and some women teachers returning to work.

The new regime has also permitted women to go to private universities, though with through restrictions on their clothes

and movement.

WOmeN’s mINIsTry cLOsed: In a further sign that the Taliban’s approach to women and girls had not softened, they appeared to have shut down the government’s ministry of women’s affairs and replaced it with a department notorious for enforcing strict religious doctrine during their first rule.

In Kabul on Friday, workers were seen raising a sign for the ‘Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice’ at the old Women’s Affairs building in the capital.

Videos posted to social media showed women workers from the ministry protesting outside after losing their jobs.

No official from the Taliban responded to requests for comment.

Although still marginalised, Afghan women have fought for and gained basic rights in the past 20 years, becoming lawmakers, judges, pilots and police officers.

Hundreds of thousands have entered the

workforce — a necessity in some cases as many women were widowed or now support invalid husbands as a result of decades of conflict.

The Taliban have shown little inclination to honour those rights — no women have been included in the government and many have been stopped from returning to work.

Sunday, 19 September, 2021

SPORTS 11

ISLAMABAD

Newcastle, leeds remaiN wiNless after PlayiNg out eNtertaiNiNg 1-1 draw LONDON

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RENCH forward Allan Saint-Maximin rescued a point for Newcastle as both they and Leeds were left searching for a first Premier League win of the season following an entertaining 1-1 draw at St James’ Park on Friday night.

Loud boos were heard at full-time from a crowd of more than 50,000 as Newcastle fans, unhappy at what they see as the club’s stagnation under controversial owner Mike Ashley and manager Steve Bruce, made their feelings clear.

Brazilian midfielder Raphinha gave Leeds a 13th-minute lead when his cross was cleverly dummied by Rodrigo as it curled past Newcastle goalkeeper Karl Darlow.

But an open match saw Newcastle equalise shortly before half-time when SaintMaximin scored a fine individual goal.

Darlow was given his first appearance since February by Newcastle boss Steve Bruce, having been so far unavailable this season after suffering with Covid-19.

In replacing Freddie Woodman, Darlow was the only change to the Newcastle side beaten 4-1 at Manchester City last Saturday as the Magpies went in search of a first league win of the campaign.

Meanwhile, Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa made two changes to team having to

cope with injuries to several defenders and Pascal Struijk’s suspension, with Mateusz Klich and Daniel James replacing Diego Llorente and Jack Harrison.

Leeds took the lead when Darlow, perhaps expecting Rodrigo to make contact with a ball into the box, was deceived by the deliberate lack of contact from the Spain international, as Raphinha’s cross from the right curved past him and into the back of the net.

Joelinton forced a save from Leeds keeper IllanMeslier, with Rodrigo and Kalvin Phillips shooting wide at the other end before Darlow hung on to Klich’s deflected strike.

Newcastle came close to an equaliser in the 35th minute when Matt Ritchie’s deflected shot hit a post before the home side finally drew level late in the half.

Joelinton squared for Saint-Maximin, who side-stepped two challenges before thumping a low shot back past Meslier.

Raphinha and Junior Firpo then both failed to make the most of a quick counterattack in stoppage-time as Newcastle somehow turned round all square at 1-1.

The second half was a less frantic affair, although Saint-Maximin twice tested Meslier. But his efforts were not enough to spare Bruce from the jeers of the crowd.

On the other hand, Brentford defeated Wolves 2-0 at the Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton.

Ramiz asks players to release frustration through performance

Pele in 'stable' condition after respiratory problems, hospital says

ISLAMABAD

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Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja on Saturday asked the national players to remain calm and release frustration caused by the New Zealand's irrational and one-sided decision to cancel the Pakistan tour.

“Whatever frustration and anger you have, release it through your performance. This is the best cure to show the world. When you become a top world side, others will start lining up to play series against you,” he said in a video message.

"There is no need to get disappointed. Everyone will want to play against you. So I want us to learn a lesson from it and move forward while being strong. I understand that this [situation] has put a lot of pressure on [both] Pakistan’s international cricket and cricket at home. But we will do whatever we can and you will get good news and results in the future," he added.

Ramiz said the board was fully at the back of the Pakistan team and it has to become a world-class side so that it could overcome such challenges with ease and move forward.

Addressing the fans, he asked them to support their team and not to lose hope. "I equally share your pain and I hope we will remain together to take Pakistan cricket forward.”

"Whatever happened was not good for Pakistan cricket. This is unfortunate scenario as we were not expecting it. We have experienced such situations in the past too but we have always moved forward.We challenge the world on the basis of our fight to survive. We will once again challenge the world,” he added.

Brazil soccer legend Pele, 80, is in a "stable" condition after "respiratory instability" early on Friday led to him being admitted to an intensive care unit, Sao Paulo's Albert Einstein hospital said in a statement. Concerns grew about Pele's health on Friday after local media reported that he had returned to an ICU that he had only just left earlier this week as he recovers from a colon tumor removal. The hospital said Pele "presented a brief respiratory instability" and was admitted to an ICU as a "preventive measure."

After he was stabilized, it said he had been moved to "semi-intensive care" and was now "stable from a cardiovascular and respiratory point of view." Seeking to assuage people's fears about the health of a soccer legend whom many consider to be the greatest player in history, Pele's daughter, KelyNascimento, said on Instagram that he was "recovering well ... I promise!" She added: "The normal recovery scenario for a man of his age after an operation like this is sometimes two steps forward and one step back." She also posted a photo that she said "was taken just now" of the three-time World Cup winner wearing a black vest and smiling for the camera. Pele has suffered from hip problems for years and cannot walk unaided. His public appearances were already being cut before the COVID-19 pandemic and since then he has made few unnecessary forays outside his house near Santos.

Ramiz said Pakistan would soon come out of the situation.

"If we are not coming out of it [quickly], even then we have so much resilience, confidence and courage to create a world-class side while playing at the domestic level."

The PCB chairman asked the fans to continue backing the national team, especially in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup. On Friday, the New Zealand team had pulled out of its Pakistan tour citing security concerns minutes before the start of first ODI at the Pindi Cricket Stadium.

New Zealand Cricket silent on security threat ending Pakistan tour WELLINGTON AFP

New Zealand Cricket officials on Saturday threw a veil of secrecy over the purported security threat that forced the abrupt cancellation of their Pakistan tour.

According to Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told her Pakistan counterpart, Imran Khan, the team feared an attack outside the stadium.

The cancellation is a setback for Pakistan, which has been trying to revive tours by foreign sides after home internationals were suspended in the aftermath of a terror attack on the Sri Lankan side in 2009.

The announcement on Friday that the series had been called off came just as the first One-Day International was due to start at

Rawalpindi Stadium, 10 kilometres (six miles) from the team hotel in Islamabad.

In a brief public statement, Ardern said the New Zealand government supported the cancellation as “player safety has to be paramount”.

The foreign ministry, which has been in contact with New Zealand Cricket, claimed there was an “ongoing and significant threat from terrorism throughout Pakistan” but did not comment on specific security concerns.

“New Zealand Cricket makes its own security decisions and has its own security arrangements in place for all international tours,” a ministry spokesman said.

When New Zealand Cricket first announced it was abandoning the Pakistan tour, it said the decision followed “a New Zealand government security alert” and ad-

vice from its own security advisers.

The side previously cut short a tour in 2002 after a bombing outside their team hotel in Karachi killed 14 people, including 11 French naval engineers.

A New Zealand Cricket official told AFP no further comment was planned “at this juncture” and would not say if the security threat that caused the cancellation had been passed to the Pakistan Cricket Board or any other cricket-playing nation.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has said it will decide in the next 48 hours whether to withdraw from a tour planned for next month, while the West Indies and Australia are also scheduled to tour in the next six months.

Ahmad said there was “no threat to cricket in Pakistan, there was no threat to New Zealand and there is no threat to

England”.

New Zealand were in Pakistan for the

first time since 2003 and were due to play three ODIs, followed by five T20 matches.

Sunday, 19 September, 2021

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InDIA UsED AfghAnIstAn soIl to PErPEtrAtE tErrorIsm InsIDE PAkIstAn: nsA ISLAMABAD

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HE national security advisor said India orchestrated a global propaganda drive to target Islamabad at international forums and used Afghanistan to perpetrate terrorism inside Pakistan.

In an article published in The Independent, Moeed Yusuf wrote Pakistan has always advocated dialogue and political settlement to end the war against terrorism in Afghanistan since Islamabad was most affected by the conflict next door.

He also raised the question of whether the world would repeat the

mistake of abandoning Kabul and the region as it did at the end of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1989.

“We lost over 80,000 innocent lives and bore the burden of over $150 billion [in] economic losses,” he said.

It was the collective responsibility of the international community to avoid creating a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, Yusuf said.

The Taliban have signalled agreement to work with the international community [and this is] where the international community should coordinate its efforts, he added.

The world should also move forward with consensus with the neighbours and regional players, he argued.

Abu Dhabi cancels Covid19 entry testing for UAE travellers

Pakistan not responsible for failure of Ghani’s govt: FO In response to a resolution of the European Parliament on Afghanistan’s current situation, the Foreign Office on Saturday issued a statement that Pakistan cannot be held responsible for the failure of Ashraf Ghani’s government.

EU accused Pakistan assisting the Taliban in fighting the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) in the Panjshir Valley “by supplying its special forces and providing air support”.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad responded, “Pakistan cannot be held responsible

for the failure of the Ghani government, and its causes that were internal to Afghanistan.”

He also highlighted the Doha Peace Deal by saying, “Pakistan has played and continues to play a constructive role in facilitating peace and stability in Afghanistan.”

Furthermore, he clarified, “Of all the countries of the world, Pakistan has suffered the most — with over 80,000 casualties and more than 150 billion US dollars in economic losses.

A peaceful and stable Afghanistan is therefore in the best interest of Pakistan.” MoNIToRINg RePoRT

Qureshi to visit UK to discuss Afghanistan, other issues Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is set to embark on a three-day visit to the United Kingdom from September 2629 in order to discuss the current Afghanistan situation and various other issues.

In a recent interview, Qureshi had mentioned, “The UK should accept the new reality in Afghanistan and deliver immediate aid to the Taliban-run country, warning that isolating the Taliban authorities would

lead to economic collapse, anarchy, and chaos.”

He added, “My message [to the UK] is that there is a new reality in Afghanistan. Accept the new reality and let us work to achieve our objectives” Qureshi also commented that not enough is being done to engage with the Taliban administration by the West including the UK. He also announced that Pakistan is unable to host any more

refugees from Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Qureshi welcomed the United Kingdom’s decision to remove Pakistan from the international travel red list to make travel easier for fully vaccinated people.

Qureshi said that Pakistan presented data on a scientific basis and this was great news for the many Pakistani nationals who suffered financially and mentally due to the country being on the red list. News Desk

DUBAI: ReUTeRs

Abu Dhabi will cancel Covid-19 testing requirements to enter the emirate for travellers from the UAE starting on Sunday, the United Arab Emirates' state news agency WAM said on Saturday. The UAE's capital had restricted entry into the emirate to those with a negative PCR test.

Earlier this month, Abu Dhabi removed the need to quarantine for all vaccinated travellers arriving from international destinations. Dubai, one of the UAE's seven emirates, is due to open the Expo 2020 world fair on October 1 after a year-long delay due to the pandemic. The regional business and tourism hub is relying on the fair to give its economy a boost. Organisers had previously said they expect remaining UAE flight restrictions imposed to curb coronavirus infections to be lifted in time for Expo 2020. Countries from which residents can fly into the UAE from September 12 are: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Namibia, Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Liberia, South Africa, Nigeria and Afghanistan.

PIA plane lands in Damascus after 22 years ISAMABAD TLTP

A Pakistan International Airline (PIA) plane carrying pilgrims landed in Damascus after 22 years, the airline's CEO said on Saturday. Sharing an 11-second video on his social media handle, PIA CEO Air Marshal Arshad Malik tweeted: “Alhamdolillah, after 22 years, PIA landed in #Damascus, with #pilgrims”. The CEO said that the resumption of flights “with an aim to promote religious tourism [and] restore relations with Syria [is] in line with the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan and government of Pakistan.” Malik also acknowledged the efforts of his team, saying: “Salute to Ambassador Air [Marshal] Saeed M Khan for his great support. Long live PIA.” According to Gulf News, the PIA plane touched down at Damascus International Airport on Friday from Karachi. The flight carried nearly 300 passengers including Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan. Speaking on the occasion, Syrian Transport Minister Zouheir Khzeim said: “The flight is the first after a 20-year hiatus, describing it as an important step for developing economic links between his country and Pakistan.”

At least 2 dead in explosions targeting Taliban vehicles in Jalalabad JALALABAD AgeNcIes

At least two people were killed and 19 more were wounded in separate explosions in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on Saturday, according to a health official and local media.

The attacks, which targeted Taliban vehicles, are the first deadly blasts since the American withdrawal from Afghanistan.

An official from the health department of Nangarhar Province told AFP that three people were killed and 18 were wounded, while several local media reported the at-

tacks left at least two dead and 19 injured.

Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar, the heartland of Afghanistan’s militant Islamic State group, which claimed responsibility for a bloody attack that killed more than 100 people at Kabul airport at the end of August.

The Afghan Taliban returned to power in mid-August after toppling the former government, and they have promised to restore peace and security to the country.

Pictures taken at the site of the blast showed a green pick-up truck with a white Taliban flag surrounded by debris as armed fighters looked on.

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