Epaper – September 3 LHR 2021

Friday, 3 September, 2021 I 25 Muharram, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 64 I 12 Pages I Lahore Edition

Pakistan condemns indian actions in iok after Geelani’s death

i

news desk

ndian authorities cracked down on public movement and imposed a near-total communications blackout Thursday in occupied Kashmir after the death of Kashmiri separatist leader Syed ali Shah Geelani – actions condemned by Pakistan.

Geelani, who died late Wednesday at age 91, was buried in a quiet funeral at a local graveyard organised by authorities under harsh restrictions, his son naseem Geelani told The associated Press. according to Geo news, Syed ali Shah Geelani’s body was wrapped in the green and white flag of Pakistan prior to his burial. The indian occupation forces, however, snatched the body from the family and forcibly buried it in a cemetery in Haiderpura. naseem said the family had planned the burial at the main martyrs’ graveyard in Srinagar, the region’s main city, as per his will but were disallowed by police.

“They snatched his body and forcibly buried him. nobody from the family was present for his burial. We tried to resist but

they overpowered us and even scuffled with women,” said naseem Geelani.

The Press Trust of india news agency reported that officials buried Geelani’s body and disallowed any mass funeral in anticipation of anti-india protests.

Pakistan “strongly” condemned the “barbaric move” and called on the global community to take note of the “egregious situation” and hold india to account for its breaches of rights and international humanitarian laws. as most people remained locked inside their homes, armed police and soldiers patrolled the tense region.

Government forces placed steel barricades and razor wire across many roads, bridges and intersections and set up additional checkpoints across towns and villages in the Kashmir Valley. authorities cut most of the cellphone networks and mobile internet services in a common tactic employed by india in anticipation of mass protests.

Geelani spearheaded occupied Kashmir’s movement for the right to selfdetermination and was an ideologue and staunch proponent of merging Kashmir

coronavirus in

Pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

1,167,791

LAST UPDATED AT 9:49 AM ON SEPTEMBER 2, 2021

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

NEW CASES:

89

4,103

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

1,048,872 25,978 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

433,931

396,326

KPK:

BALOCHISTAN:

163,010 AJK/GB: 32,380/9,952

32,282 ISLAMABAD:

99,910

with Pakistan. He strongly opposed any dialogue with new delhi, a position rejected outright by successive indian governments who often dubbed him as a hardline politician.

Geelani was also the face of Kashmir’s civilian defiance against indian rule. He led a faction of the all Parties Hurriyat Conference, a conglomerate of various Kashmiri political and religious groups that was formed in 1993 to spearhead a movement for the region’s right to self-determination.

The group used civil disobedience in the form of shutdowns and protests as a tactic to counter indian rule.

For many in Kashmir and beyond, Geelani was an enduring icon of defiance against india.

Farmer Mohammed akbar said Geelani’s death filled him with remorse but also anger after he learned Geelani’s body was buried quietly by authorities who excluded the local people and his extended family from participating in the last rites.

“They are looking at ways to humiliate us,” akbar said as he held his grandson in his arms. “They are even scared of dead Geelani.”

Pakistan was observing a day of official mourning and flags flew at half staff on orders by Prime Minister imran Khan. islamabad said the indian government was “so afraid of Syed Geelani and what he stood for that they have now resorted to this inhuman act even after his passing away. This shows the degree of callousness on part of the Occupation Forces.” according to dawn, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi expressed grief on the demise of the late Kashmiri leader, saying that Geelani would always be remembered.

Qureshi said, “Every Pakistani, every Kashmiri, every freedom fighter, all those elements who have stood up for basic fundamental human rights will recognise what he (Geelani) stood for.”

He added that he was saddened by how the indian forces had encircled Geelani’s house after his death and treated his family.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Incentivising industry, SMEs important for wealth creation: PM news desk Prime Minister imran Khan has said that it is important to incentivise the industrial sector for wealth creation which will help retire the country’s debt, adding that the government is focusing on ease of doing business and hurdles in the way of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are being removed.

Prime Minister Khan said this while addressing the ground-breaking ceremony of sixty-nine kilometres long Sialkot-Kharian Motorway project on Thursday.

The prime minister said this is an important and viable motorway project as it will promote connectivity of the industrial area with the rest of the country, adding it will facilitate the industrial triangle of GujranwalaWazirabad-Sialkot which is also a densely population region.

He was appreciative of the idea of involving the private sector in the motorway project, saying this will help the government divert resources to other areas. He was confident that more private capital will flow into the road infrastructure projects in future.

Khan said that the Swat Motor-

Hospital inflow at highest level since start of Covid: Asad news desk Head of national Command and Operation Centre (nCOC) asad Umar has said that hospital inflows and the number of Covid-19 patients in critical care are at the “highest level” since the start of the pandemic in February last year.

“Right now both hospital inflow and critical care patients at highest level since start of Covid,” Umar said in a tweet on Thursday, urging people to follow health guidelines and get vaccinated.

Pakistan launched its coronavirus vaccination drive in February this year and has so far fully vaccinated 18 million of its 220 million population. Health officials say at least 70 million Pakistanis are eligible for vaccination. On Wednesday this week, Pakistan opened its coronavirus vaccination campaign for 17 year olds as Umar said at least 35 percent of the eligible population had received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

Meanwhile, the country has reported 89 new coronavirus deaths during the last 24 hours, raising the total death tally to 25,978 nationwide on Thursday.

way has opened the whole area for tourism. He said Pakistan has immense potential for tourism but it was not developed in the past. He said that projects such as second phase of Swat motorway and dir motorway will help encourage both domestic and foreign tourism at the picturesque places.

He said the country can generate huge revenue through prudent policies like promotion of tourism, considering the country’s huge potential. He said so far the country was looking at the domestic tourism but once the road between Swat and Gilgit is constructed, it will attract foreign tourists too thus bringing foreign exchange. He added the tourism could help fill the dollar gap until country’s exports reach to the desired level.

Earlier, Minister for Communications Murad Saeed gave a detailed overview of the road infrastructure projects executed over the last three years. He said, “We have built 1,753 kilometres of roads as compared to 645 kilometres of roads constructed by the Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-n) government in three years.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

more inside

Veteran politician Sardar Attaullah Mengal passes away in Karachi STORY ON BACK PAGE

China a role model for developing countries in poverty alleviation: imran STORY ON PAGE 02

according to the latest figures provided by the nCOC, 61,651 coronavirus tests were conducted in the country, out of which 4,103 came back positive. The positivity ratio was recorded at 6.65 percent in the country. The total tally of Covid19 cases now stands at 1,167,791, with most cases reported in Punjab.

The number of recoveries nationwide has reached 1,048,872 so far, while the number of active cases in the country stands at 92,941 as of

Thursday. according to the official portal, the total number of Covid-19 patients in Sindh has reached 433,931, while 396,326 cases in Punjab, 32,282 in Balochistan, 163,010 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 99,910 in islamabad, 32,380 in azad Kashmir and 9,952 in Gilgit-Baltistan have been reported so far.

Pakistan is reporting 3,975 new infections on average each day, 68 percent of the peak — the highest daily average reported on June 17.

Rebels hold out in Afghan valley as Taliban set up government in Kabul STORY ON BACK PAGE

Economy heading in right direction: president STORY ON PAGE 03

02

Friday, 3 September, 2021

LAHORE

NEWS

China a role Model for developing Countries in poverty alleviation: iMran ISLAMABAD

p

Mian abrar

RIME Minister Imran Khan on Thursday lauded China for being a role model for developing countries in poverty alleviation as its stellar growth has brought 800 million people out of poverty over the past four decades.

In a video message at the Forum on the 20th Anniversary of Junsao Assistance and Sustainable Development Cooperation 2021, Prime Minister Imran Khan congratulated China for hosting this event and hailed the efforts of Professor Lin Zhanxi for the invention of Junsao technology.

“I also commend China for sharing this beneficial technology with over 100 countries, which has already benefited thousands of people across the continents over the past 20 years,” said the premier.

Addressing Chinese President Xi Jinping, Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres and others, PM Imran said that the world at large, and the people of the Global South in particular, are grappling with multiple challenges, including climate change, poverty, and food insecurity.

Juncao, which is famed as “magic grass,” is two Chinese characters meaning “mushroom” and “grass.” The particular breed of grass was discovered by Chinese scientists to be an economical and environment-friendly substitute for timber traditionally used as a substrate for growing mushrooms. Juncao technology has now been disseminated to 106 countries through training programs or on-site demonstrations.

“With relentless efforts towards ending

Minister calls for imposition of curbs on youth

poverty in all its manifestations, extreme poverty had been steadily declining in the past two decades. However, the Covid-19 pandemic triggered an economic meltdown which has slowed down global progress. The extreme poverty rose in 2020 for the first time in over 20 years,” he said.

He said that the achievement of food security, and improved nutrition, have become an even greater challenge for developing countries.

“Sustainable ways of achieving economic recovery, growth, and development are critical, during the pandemic. Juncao technology is one such way. It helps small-scale farmers to develop low-cost, commercial-scale mushroom cultivation. In addition, it also helps in combating desertification and can be used as food for livestock, as it is protein-rich,” he added. Imran Khan commended President Xi’s vision of a “prosperous, clean, and beautiful world” and initiative to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

“Poverty alleviation and tackling climate change are my government’s key priorities.

We launched a wide-ranging social safety program called ‘Ehsaas’, with the objective of uplifting marginalized people, eradicating poverty, and supporting vulnerable households,” he said.

Khan said as one of the most climatevulnerable countries, Pakistan fully supports international efforts to combat this scourge.

“Under a well-articulated climate change and environmental agenda, consisting of a number of flagship green initiatives, we are progressing towards a Clean and Green Pakistan. As part of one of the most ambitious efforts to expand and restore forests – we have already planted a billion

Chaman border could be closed over security threats: Rasheed

NewS DeSk

NewS DeSk

Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari has called for the imposition of curbs on the youth “to teach them a lesson” and to hold them accountable for violence against women. The above remarks were made during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights, wherein the committee had been presented with the report on the Minar-e-Pakistan incident. Mazari suggested imposing restrictions on youngsters and said that a certain time slot would be designated for women at parks. “Why are restrictions being imposed on women?” she questioned, adding that restrictions needed to be placed on men, not women. “It has been observed that most of the problems are caused by the youth.

Curbs should be imposed on them to teach the youth a lesson,” she said. The minister also took exception to Senator Abida Azeem’s remarks, who stated that women should not venture out of the house alone. “Such incidents will happen when a women ventures out alone, which should not happen,” Azeem said. Mazari responded by saying: “You can’t say that it is the woman’s fault. [By that logic] you should also tell men not to leave the house alone.” She said that the Constitution gave equal rights to all citizens. We cannot say that a woman can only leave the house when she is accompanied by a man, the minister said.

The Chaman border may be temporarily closed by the Frontier Constabulary due to existing threats, said Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Thursday.

Addressing a gathering in Islamabad today, the minister said he had spoken to the FC, following which the border management could decide to close the border, reported Dawn.

The minister’s remarks come a few days after Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa reaffirmed that Pakistan’s borders were secure despite the challenges the country faces and that the armed forces were “prepared to meet any situation”.

While Rashid, in his statement today, indicated a security threat at the Chaman border, he insisted that the situation at the Torkham border was “normal”.

The minister said the Pakistan Army was deployed at the border and that the forces were keeping a check on movement along the divide.

He was of the view that crisis and bloodshed in Afghanistan was under control, adding that “we want complete peace there.”

The minister said he had asked the Islamabad police chief to beef up its Eagle Squad.

“This region is going to be very important,” Rashid

said. “Islamabad is our capital and the whole world have their eyes on it.”

He also highlighted the government’s plan to revamp police stations at the outskirts of Islamabad.

Responding to a question, the interior minister said

the clamour for a national government was a “dream”.

He did, however, say that the government was ready for a “national reconciliation”.

He commented on the opposition’s planned long march towards the capital, saying the “time is not feasible” for such activity due to the evolving regional situation. “But if they are persistent with their plan, then the law enforcement [agencies] will perform their duties under the law to deal [with any law and order situation].”

The minister denied the presence of any American nationals in Pakistan, saying “those who had arrived [from Afghanistan] have returned via the port. We allowed 600 Japanese yesterday and also permitted the U-19 team of India, and if anyone else asks so, we will grant them a 21-day transit visa.”

In response to another question, Rashid said Indian media wanted to lay the blame of the situation in Afghanistan on the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence), adding that the Indian intelligence agency Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) and Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) were in a state of despair after all their plans “foiled”.

He further said that “all Pakistanis are proud of their national institutions in view of their services for the country.”

Fawad urges Chinese companies to invest in Pakistani youth ISLAMABAD Mian abrar

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has urged Chinese companies to invest in Pakistani youth for the development of skilled human resources, saying that Chinese companies can benefit by investing in Artificial Intelligence.

Addressing the audience of Microfilm Premiere by Huawei Pakistan here, Fawad Chaudhry said that expansion of China, Pakistan cooperation in the fields of information technology could prove to be profitable.

He said that the overseas Pakistanis constitute the backbone of the Pakistani economy, as well as the politics of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and screening of microfilms featuring overseas Pakistanis, was a unique idea for which Huawei Pakistan should be applauded.

“Since the 1960s, every government has contributed to this bond and this is now a friendship between the peoples of Pakistan and China. Chinese technology companies have made very good profits from Pakistan.

The Pakistani youth have a unique talent and Chinese investment in human resources of Pakistan can immensely benefit the Chinese companies,” he added.

trees as part of our 10 Billion Tree Project,” he added.

In his message, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Juncao technology has facilitated the efficient use of three major agricultural resources – light, heat, and water – and realized the recycling of plant, animal, and fungal materials, benefiting ecological, food, and energy security.

Xi said he has paid close attention to international cooperation on Juncao technology for a long time. “Since China built the first overseas demonstration base for Juncao technology in Papua New Guinea in 2001, the technology has been introduced to more than 100 countries, playing an important role in alleviating poverty, creating jobs, promoting the use of renewable energy, addressing climate change and improving people’s welfare,” he noted. China stands ready to work with relevant parties to make further contributions to the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, he said, expressing hope that Juncao technology will bring more benefits to people in developing countries.

The forum was co-hosted by the China International Development Cooperation Agency and the Fujian provincial government.

Chinese Ambassador Nong Rong said that by perfecting Huawei’s technical support, product supply and other services, strengthening technical exchange and local talent training, as well as seriously implementing social responsibilities, they can, together with their Pakistani partners, make endless contributions of wisdom and force to the implementation of “Digital Pakistan Initiative”, to the economic and social development of Pakistan, and to the building of a closer China-Pakistan community.”

Chinese Ambassador Nong Rong said that the lives of overseas Pakistanis have been transformed with technology. He said technology that cares plays a key role in the transformation of people’s lives.

He said Huawei is playing an important role in blistering China, Pakistan friendship.

“This year marks the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China. Our most strategic asset is CPEC cooperation which is expanding in all spheres. Our cooperation in military, security and scientific research have cemented bilateral relations. China, Pakistan Digital Corridor would help promote Pakistani IT technology. IT industry of both China and Pakistan can boost from the China, Pakistan Digital Corridor. Chinese companies like

Huawei can benefit from Digital Pakistan Initiative,” he added.

Federal Secretary for IT and Telecommunications Dr Sohail Rajput echoed the same sentiment, saying, “On the front of Digital Transformation, Huawei is

helping the Government of Pakistan in helping 1000 government officers in the field of digital technologies. We hope that in the future we can enhance this scope and engage in more partnerships in further training our youth as well.”

Huawei Pakistan Deputy CEO ABM also remarked, “We will continue to work together, we all need to treat the improvement of digital skills as a priority and tackle the challenges facing governments, enterprises, and even technology firms themselves to be able to bring the benefits of digitization to more people, homes, and organizations than ever before.”

Additionally, the winning Pakistani team that grabbed the first prize in the 2020-2021 Huawei Middle East ICT Competition was awarded a prize of $20,000.

The films were highly emotional and depicted Huawei’s quiet but strong support in showing that #TechBringsUsCloser.

Furthermore, by providing HCIA and HCIP certifications to bridge the gap between industry and academia, the company is giving Pakistan’s youth the ICT skills it needs to ensure the vision of Digital Pakistan.

The Microfilms followed the stories of three Pakistani’s who ventured out of their country, to make a better life for themselves, their loved ones, and their family. Although these might just be films, this is the truth for millions of Pakistanis worldwide who have only a few ways to stay connected to their loved ones, and Huawei Pakistan has vowed to stand behind these people.

Huawei Pakistan deputy CEO, Ahmed Bilal Masud and Wuhan, along with other distinguished guests.

Friday, 3 September, 2021

LAHORE

NEWS

eConoMy heading in right direCtion: president ISLAMABAD

p

sTaff rePorT

RESIDENT Dr Arif Alvi expressed satisfaction over the economic performance of the country, saying the economy of his country is heading in the right direction. The economic development reflected the confidence of the business community in the economic policies of the incumbent government, Alvi said at a meeting with members of the business community in Islamabad on Wednesday, adding that steps are being taken to further improve the business environment of the country by providing various incentives and facilities.

“Business community played a significant role in the economic development of the country and a number of steps have been taken to facilitate them, particularly

pakistan to get 4.15m more doses of pfizer vaccine from us

during the Covid-19 pandemic,” the president said.

sudden surge in militant attacks in pakistan coincides with taliban’s takeover of afghanistan

The government has been focusing on creating an optimum business environment and due to its efforts, Pakistan’s rank in the Ease of Doing Business Index has improved from 136th to 108th position, he said.

Alvi recalled that despite tough financial constraints, the government has provided a financial stimulus package worth Rs1.2 trillion (about $7.2 billion) to protect the business community and underprivileged strata of society from the adverse impacts of the pandemic.

Noting that the exports witnessed a significant surge, the president said the exports reached $25.3 billion during the outgoing fiscal year, and that the tax collection by the Federal Board of Revenue exceeded the set target during the first two months of the current fiscal year, showing that the economic health of the country is improving.

Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan tests positive for Covid-19

wASHINGTON TLTP

ISLAMABAD

The US will soon begin sending over four million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to Pakistan, said a spokesperson of the White House speaking to the Voice of America. The 4,149,990 doses, to be sent through COVAX, the global vaccine-sharing initiative co-led by Gavi (the Vaccine Alliance), the WHO (World Health Organisation) and CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness), are in addition to the more than 9.2 million doses of Moderna and Pfizer vaccine already donated to Pakistan since June. The White House spokesperson said that US President Biden had said earlier that the US is committed to ensuring vaccination of citizens abroad with the same energy it has overseen vaccinations at home. "We are working to get as many safe and effective vaccines to as many people around the world as fast as possible," he said. Pakistan has administered a little over 58mn doses of the vaccine so far, but millions are still hesitant on getting vaccinated against the infection.

anadoLu agency

Renowned nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan on Thursday was admitted to a military-run hospital after testing positive for Covid-19.

According to his spokesman, the 85-year-old was admitted at Khan Research Laboratories hospital on August 26, after he tested positive for Covid-19, Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

Qadeer has been placed on a ventilator in the hospital as his health condition deteriorated due to the infection.

"The news, of Fakhr-e-Pakistan (Proud of Pakistan) Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, shifted to a ventilator is very disturbing and sad," Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif tweeted.

He requested the nation to pray for Qadeer's early recovery.

Dr Qadeer was born in 1936 in Bhopal, India, and immigrated along with his family to Pakistan in 1947, after the partition of the sub-continent.

AQ Khan is considered the pioneer of Pakistan nuclear programme. He led the country's nuclear

programme for some 25 years and is considered a national hero.

Pakistan is currently reeling from a deadly fourth wave of the pandemic, logging 4,103 fresh cases and 89 deaths over the past 24 hours, the ministry said on Thursday.

The country's overall caseload and death toll stand at 1.16 million and 25,978, respectively.

Pakistan has been recording daily cases between 3,000 and 4,000 for the past several weeks, putting pressure on the already over-burdened hospitals, especially in the big cities.

Islamabad has imposed a new set of restrictions, which includes the closure of amusement parks, shrines, gyms, and cinemas, and a ban on indoor ceremonies and dining at restaurants.

All commercial activities – except for essential services – end at 8 p.m., whereas they are closed for two days a week.

Educational institutions across the country remain open for three days a week with 50% attendance.

The country has so far inoculated over 58 million people out of a total 208 million population.

PM directs for timely activation of one window services portal ISLAMABAD TLTP

Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed for timely establishment and activation of One Window Services Portal to facilitate local and foreign investment in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

Chairing a meeting on investment in Special Economic Zones on Thursday, the prime minister asked the authorities concerned to ensure consultation and coordination with all the stakeholders in this regard.

The prime minister said that full facilitation in investment is among the top priorities of the government. He said the government is removing impediments in local and foreign investment for industrial growth in the country.

The meeting was informed that a comprehensive strategy has been devised for establishing One Window Services Portal. It was apprised that the portal is being

established to remove hurdles being faced by investors.

The portal will facilitate in provision of facilities to industries, besides getting legal and administrative approvals. The meeting was further told that both federal and provincial departments are being included in the portal.

Separately, Prime Minister Khan said in a tweet on Thursday that despite unfavourable weather conditions this year, filling of Tarbela Dam to maximum level is a good omen for agriculture and hydel generation. He appreciated the teams of Water and Development Authority (WAPDA) and Indus River System Authority (IRSA) for improved water regulation.

Khan tweeted, “Alhamdulillah, Tarbela Dam filled to its maximum level yesterday (Wednesday) despite unfavourable weather conditions this year. This is a good omen for agriculture & hydel generation.

Appreciate the team at WAPDA/IRSA for improved water regulation.”

03

ISLAMABAD Mian abrar

Despite a complete takeover of Afghanistan — except Panjshir valley — by the Afghan Taliban could not deter terrorist outfits of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Baloch militants from mounting more attacks inside Pakistan. The rise of the Afghan Taliban to power in Afghanistan coincided with almost doubling of militant attacks in Pakistan. According to statistics released by an Islamabad-based independent think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, the month of August 2021 saw the highest number of militant attacks in a single month during the last five years. It was for the first time since May 2016 that more than 44 militant attacks were recorded in a single month. For the first time since March 2017, more than 40 militant attacks in the country were recorded in a single month. Another important aspect is that unlike in the past when a steady increase or decrease used to happen, it was a sudden surge in the militant attacks from 25 in July to 45 in August 2021. Per the data, 45 militant attacks were recorded in August 2021 in which 64 people were killed including 34 civilians and 22 security forces personnel while 136 others were injured including 96 civilians and 36 security forces personnel. While in July 2021, 25 militant attacks were recorded, in which 33 people were killed and 54 others were injured. According to the statistics, the highest number of militant attacks were reported in tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (from the former FATA region) where 20 militant attacks were carried out in the month which resulted in 23 deaths including nine civilians and ten security forces personnel and 17 others were injured including nine security forces personnel and four civilians. Balochistan witnessed 14 militant attacks in which 19 people were killed, including eight security forces personnel and seven civilians, while 45 others were injured, including 23 civilians and 22 security forces personnel. Seven militant attacks were carried out in KP province (other than tribal districts) where seven people were killed, including four security forces personnel and three civilians, while five other security forces personnel were injured. Punjab and Sindh witnessed two militant attacks each. Two civilians were killed in Punjab and 59 civilians were injured while militant attacks in Sindh resulted in 13 civilians killed and ten other civilians were injured. While Islamabad Capital Territory, Azad Jammu Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan witnessed no violent militant activity. As per the statistics, out of these 45 militant attacks, 13 were IED-based attacks in which 12 people were killed, including nine security forces personnel and two civilians, and 43 others were injured, including 32 security forces personnel and 11 civilians. 13 targets-killing incidents were also recorded in which 18 people were killed, including 13 civilians and five security forces personnel while three others were injured, including two civilians and one security forces personnel. Eight mortar attacks were recorded in which 15 people were killed including eight security forces personnel and one civilian. Seven grenade attacks were reported in which 15 civilians were killed and 77 were injured. Two incidents of kidnapping were recorded during the month in which one person was killed. Similarly, one suicide attack was also reported which caused three deaths including two children and four other civilians were injured. The suicide attack was claimed by Balochistan Liberation Army Majeed Brigade. This is the second suicide bombing by Majeed Brigade in recent years. In August 2021, Pakistani security forces have eliminated at least 34 militants while 15 suspected militants were arrested in 21 operations. Two security forces personnel were also killed in these operations. The highest number of security forces actions were reported from Sindh where seven notable incidents were monitored in which nine suspected militants were arrested.

Pakistan’s role, leverage over Taliban ‘vastly exaggerated’: ambassador ANkARA anadoLu agency

As the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan after taking control of the capital Kabul on August 15, Pakistan’s ambassador to Ankara stressed Islamabad’s “role and leverage” over the group “has always been vastly exaggerated.”

Speaking to a group of reporters from the Diplomatic Correspondents Association of Turkey, Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi hailed relations with Turkey.

“Turkey has been a very, very solid partner of Pakistan over the years, on issues relating to Afghanistan. It was a facilitator, in terms of helping facilitate a conversation between us and the previous Afghan set-up.

And we participated in that process with an open mind and open heart, and found the process to be useful,” he said.

On Pakistan’s position on the Taliban, Ambassador Qazi told reporters that a “very

high-level, non-Taliban delegation” from Afghanistan had visited Pakistan’s Foreign Office at the height of events on August 15.

“Our consistent message to the Taliban, and everybody else, has been and will always be to find a peaceful negotiated settlement which is inclusive. Inclusive politically, inclusive ethnically, and inclusive, to the extent possible, genderwise,” he added.

Qazi stressed that Islamabad was one of the countries that would benefit the most from a peaceful and stable Afghanistan.

“Pakistan’s objectives relating to economic security and enhanced regional connectivity require peace and stability in Afghanistan,” he said. That is why Pakistan has always been calling for a political settlement in Afghanistan and has been facilitating efforts to that end when the international consensus emerged on this position, he added.

Noting that Pakistan has been

participating in a number of regional and international mechanisms toward this end, the envoy said that the “progress in intraAfghan negotiations did not coincide with the pace of withdrawal of international troops. The Ghani government was more focused on externalising the blame for all the ills that it was facing.”

He said the “first immediate priority was the safe evacuation of foreign nationals and many Afghans,” while noting that “so far over 10,000 nationals and staff of foreign embassies, United Nations, and other international organizations, as well as media personnel, have been safely evacuated,” by Pakistan’s help.

“Thousands of more are expected to transit through Pakistan,” he added.

Underlining that Pakistan and Turkey are in contact with each other on the issue of Afghanistan, the ambassador said Turkey is “already in direct conversation” with Afghan actors. “If Turkey can

contribute in any way (to peace and stability to Afghanistan), it will only ease the burden on the rest of the international community, and it will also help the Afghans. It will make Pakistan’s job easier also,” he noted.

Qazi stated that Pakistan is aware of Turkey’s “intention and desire to assist Afghanistan by running or providing some kind of technical or security support or operational support” for the airport serving Kabul.

“We support it, to the extent that it also meets with the approval of all the Afghan parties and they are able to reach an agreement on that. I believe there are contacts between the Turkish authorities and the powers that be in Afghanistan, to see if this can work out,” he said.

He also underlined that Turkey “is an actor among so many in the world that enjoy a high degree of trust, on the part of almost all Afghans across Afghan society.”

“So if any country, is to do this (role in Kabul Airport), perhaps, Turkey is the one to do it,” he added.

On the issue of Afghan refugees, Qazi said his country has hosted at least 3-4 million since 1979.

“We want the Afghan refugees who are living in Pakistan to be able to finally return with honor and dignity. We have tried to take good care of these refugees,” he said.

Noting that “the third generation of Afghans is coming up who have not seen their homeland,” the envoy further stressed that “sometimes, the world forgets the economic impact of refugees.”

He said Pakistan’s issue with the refugees was not due to the country’s “unwillingness, but simply about means.”

“We share whatever little we have but we believe that the issue has to be dealt with comprehensively. The entire international community needs to pitch in.”

Friday, 3 September, 2021

04 nEwS

lahOrE

CPEC TO PLAy PIvOTAL rOLE IN BOOsTING DEvELOPmENT, rEvIvING ECONOmy: OffICIAL ISLAMABAD

T

Xinhua

HE China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative, is one of the most important projects for the economic revival of Pakistan, said Khalid Mansoor, adviser to the prime minister on CPEC affairs.

“CPEC’s phase two will be developing an industrial hub in the country, providing many opportunities for local and foreign investors,” Mansoor told Chinese media in Islamabad.

Underlining the importance of CPEC to uplifting the agriculture sector of his country, Mansoor said that Pakistan is an agricultural country and its economy depends on the development of the agriculture sector, which meets most of the food requirements of the country.

“There are several areas where we can benefit from the excellent research and experience of the Chinese agricultural sector, for improving the quality of the seed, and then benefiting from the research and development to improve our yield, and to improve and modernize our mechanical cultivation and harvesting.”

He said that Pakistan is also working on upgrading its livestock sector and enhancing its meat exports, which can all be expected to achieve with the cooperation of China.

Dawood contracts coronavirus ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Minister of State for Commerce, Trade and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood has tested positive for coronavirus, he confirmed on Thursday.

In a tweet, Dawood said he experienced mild symptoms and had isolated himself at home. “Prayers requested.”Quoting an official from the ministry, Geo News said the minister has completed his vaccination.

“He [Dawood] met with someone in Lahore earlier,” the official said and added he tested positive two days after that meeting. A number of highprofile politicians, including Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Dr Arif Alvi, have tested positive for the contagious disease since it was first detected in the country in February last. Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan People’s Party chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari are among the politicians who have contracted the disease so far.

Talking about the commitment of the two countries to make CPEC a green corridor, the official said that they would be growing a number of trees along the CPEC route and “we want to make sure that as the industrial hub is going to be increased, it should not be detrimental for the people’s health and also make sure that it is not polluting the environment by producing emissions.”

Coal power plants working under CPEC are making sure that they use state-of-the-art technology to meet world standards in emissions, removing the apprehensions that they are hazardous to the environment, he said.

The official said that the common people of Pakistan are the ultimate beneficiaries of the CPEC projects.

“We believe that wherever we are putting our industry, the adjoining community should fully benefit […] Projects are underway which are going to be improving their health, their education, their livelihood, so specific projects are being developed and there are several projects which are in the implementation stage with the help of China’s grant, including vocational institute, the hospital, the international airport, etc.,” he added.

Apart from job opportunities and livelihood prospects, CPEC is also solving the daily life problems of people, he said, citing the example of the country’s southwest Gwadar district where people had a shortage of clean drinking water and electricity.

“So, we are working very closely with the authorities like Gwadar Development Authority and Gwadar Port Authority, and the Chinese company to make sure of providing all sorts of facilitation to residents of Gwadar.”

Talking about CPEC’s creation of job

opportunities for the unemployed in Pakistan, the official said that in phase two, huge jobs opportunities would be created for people and special importance will be attached to their skill enhancement and for that purpose, vocational training institutes will be constructed in special

PESSI launches Cash Benefit mobile application LAHORE Shahab omeR

The Punjab Employees Social Security Institution has launched the Cash Benefit mobile application for government workers earning less than Rs25,000, while the application will enable timely payment of financial benefits to the workers, Pakistan Today learnt.

According to the details, the governing body of PESSI has approved to extend the scope of application across Punjab while in the first phase the application was started as a pilot project in 3 directorates of PESSI Lahore.

A senior official of the PESSI informed Pakistan Today that the department used to give a lot of cash benefits to the workers registered with the institution in which if a worker falls ill he is paid 75 percent of the wages for 121 days in a year.

“Similarly, on the death of a worker, up to RS 10,000 is given as expenses and burial and on the death of the relatives of the workers, RS 5000 is given as burial. However, in the case of widows of women workers, 100 percent of

the monthly wage is paid during ‘iddah’.

Under the auspices of pensioned disabled workers, the families of the deceased and the bereaved families of the deceased workers are provided full medical services free of cost for the rest of their lives. Every year, six children of the workers are given free MBBS education in the affiliated medical colleges, and special fee concessions are also given to the children of the workers in other departments of these colleges,” an official informed.

The official further informed that the institution used to receive many complaints that the registered workers had to face many difficulties in availing such financial benefits.

“The advantage of the Cash Benefit mobile application is that the PESSI registered worker will have to upload all his / her data on the application and for example, if he/she has fallen ill and has undergone treatment from the hospital then he/she will have to upload only those bills and in a certain period of time, the fixed amount of treatment will reach their account directly. The worker does not have to pay a bribe or

wait for it,” he said.

When the official was asked what kind of Punjab government workers can be registered in this application, he replied that all such government employees who earn less than RS 25,000 per month can be registered with PESSI. “For example, the health department, the education department or any department where any worker is paid less than RS 25,000 can be registered with PESSI by submitting their credentials. For this it is necessary that the concerned department of the worker deducts some amount from the salary which will enable them to avail all these cash benefits,” he added.

PESSI Commissioner Syed Bilal Haider informed that Cash Benefit mobile application would prove to be an important step in eradicating corruption and promoting transparency.

“The mobile application will enable timely payment of financial benefits to registered workers. The launch of this mobile app is a link in the Punjab government’s ‘Khidmat Aap ki Dehleez Per’ program.

Engro Fertilizers, BOP join hands for agriculture financing KARACHI pReSS ReLaeSe

Engro Fertilizers Limited and The Bank of Punjab (BOP) have collaborated to provide easily accessible financing to farmers through BOP’s branch network across Pakistan.

Under this arrangement, progressive farmers under Engro Fertilizers Limited’s Shandaar Kissan program will be able to avail financing on easy terms and concessional markup rates from the BOP. These farmers will

avail of this facility to invest in their infrastructure, mechanization and working capital for yield improvements.

This financing arrangement will help farmers to improve farm economics through better production and, thus, increase their income levels as well. The MoU signing ceremony, held at Engro Fertilizers Limited’s Head Office in Karachi, was attended by Mr Amir Iqbal – Chief Commercial Officer and Mr Imran Ahmed – Chief Financial Officer of Engro Fertilizers Limited, whilst the BOP was represented by Mr Farid Ahmed Khan - Group Chief Corporate Investment Banking and Mr Asif Riaz - Group Head Retail & Priority Sectors Lending.

In a joint statement, Mr Amir Iqbal (Chief Commercial Officer, Engro Fertilizers Limited) and Mr Asif Riaz (Group Head Retail & Priority Sector Lending, The Bank of Punjab) shared that, “Prioritizing financial inclusion and well-being of farmers is key to develop

the agricultural sector, which in turn results in the progress of Pakistan. We are excited to partner on this initiative that has the potential to transform the country’s agricultural landscape by promoting improved agri practices, thereby, enabling better crop yields and food security for the nation.”

This initiative is yet another milestone for both organizations in their journey to create a meaningful impact in the agri landscape of Pakistan. Last year, Engro Fertilizers Limited and the BOP had also partnered to deliver accessible warehouse receipt financing to farmers, traders and processors, for the winter maize and basmati rice crop. Under the Shandaar Kissan program, Engro Fertilizers Limited has registered more than 2500 selected farmers and provided them Seed to Harvest solutions to improve their farm productivity. On the other hand, the BOP continues to provide financial assistance under its vast range of agri products and SBP schemes.

CMYK

economic zones.

“The strategy is that the unskilled people are going to be trained and hired in the project activity and thereafter, they will get opportunities to earn and support their families.”

On the role of the BRI in PakistanAfghanistan cooperation, Mansoor said that BRI would unfold a lot of economic opportunities for landlocked Afghanistan, which will get the chance to enhance its exports through regional connectivity offered by the BRI. “The BRI has got a clear-cut mandate for the regional connectivity, whether it is in Afghanistan or other neighbouring countries,” he said, adding CPEC phase two will not only bring revolution to Pakistan but also benefit Afghanistan.

He said that due to CPEC’s special economic zones, his country is going to be a major manufacturing hub which will not only uplift Pakistan’s economy but will also create huge opportunities for Afghanistan to rebuild and revive its economy.

“Afghanistan is a landlocked country, so it will have to depend on Pakistan for its needs in terms of importing and exporting.

So we believe that this regional connectivity through the BRI will be really providing opportunities for us to develop further ties with our brotherly country Afghanistan and also providing the mutual opportunities for the growth of the economy in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” he added.

NBP, DGA sign LOI LAHORE pReSS ReLeaSe

A Letter of Intent (LOI) has been signed between the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and Directorate General Agriculture, Water Management (DGA (WM)) Punjab at Lahore for collaboration between the two organizations to promote High-Efficiency Irrigation Systems (HEIS) and development of technologies for efficient use of water and crop productivity. The DGA (WM) is providing financial assistance to eligible farmers at the rate of 60% of the total cost of installation of HEIS and 50% of the total cost for installation of solar systems whereas the remaining 40% of the cost for HEIS and 50% for solar systems is contributed by the farmer. Such farmers, at times, face difficulty in mobilizing their due share upfront. In this regard, NBP and DGA (WM) Punjab have agreed to collaborate on providing financing facilities to eligible and needy farmers for the promotion of HEIS and solar systems. NBP and DGA (WM) Punjab will also focus on capacity building of farmers through the adoption of agriculture best practices for increasing water use efficiency and crop productivity, improving the financial literacy of the farmers and trying to ensure that the interested farmers have financial access, enabling them to adopt modern technologies for enhancing growth and profitability.

Friday, 3 September, 2021

LAHORE

Pakistan condemns indian actions in iok after Geelani’s death ContInued fRom pAge 01

“t

HEY forced the family to bury him without a proper funeral,” he lamented. “Everybody knows that there would have been a huge, huge namaz-i-janaza

(funeral) for him, and the Indian forces were too scared to even allow that.”

Kashmir has long been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan, which claim the region in full but rule only parts.

Freedom fighters have been fighting against Indian rule since 1989. Most Muslim Kashmiris support the goal that the

territory be united either under Pakistan’s rule or become an independent country.

New Delhi accuses Pakistan of sponsoring the campaign, a charge Pakistan denies. Tens of thousands of civilians, local people and government forces have been killed in the conflict.

Tensions were renewed in the region

in 2019 after New Delhi stripped Kashmir’s semi-autonomy, scrapped its statehood and removed inherited protections on land and jobs. Authorities have since brought a slew of new laws, which many critics and locals likened to the beginning of settler colonialism.

With input from AP

NEWS

05

incentivising industry, smes important for wealth creation: Pm ContInued fRom pAge 01 He said, “We plan to start 19 more road infrastructure projects including Kharian-Rawalpindi motorway and Sukkur-Hyderabad motorway during the current fiscal year.” He said that bids have been received for the construction of the second phase of Swat motorway.

Work on Dir motorway will also be started this year, he added. The minister for communications said that National Highway Authority is also focusing on the maintenance and repair of existing road infrastructure.

As regards the revenue of the NHA, he said this has been increased by Rs87 billion rupees. He said, “We have also recovered land worth Rs5 billion.”

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, SAPM Usman Dar and Chairman of National Highway Authority Captain (R) Khurram Agha attended the event. The Rs32 billion Sialkot-Kharian Motorway would create around 4,275 jobs and cater to around 23,000 vehicles per day. The initial four-lane motorway would consist of five interchanges at Jalalpur Jattan, Pero Shah, Daulat Nagar, Galyana and Kharian.

tesla's china output halted for days in august on chip shortage Tesla Inc temporarily halted some operations at its Shanghai factory last month as the global shortage of semiconductors hit the electric car maker, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Part of a production line at the China plant was halted for about four days in August because of a lack of key chips, the report said.

Shortages with the availability of electronic control units caused output delays mainly for Tesla's Model Y sports utility vehicle crossover, according to the report. Production at the Chinese factory is now back to normal, Bloomberg said. Tesla did not immediately respond to a Reuters query on the report. Last month, the world's largest automaker Toyota Motor Corp said it would slash global production for September by 40% from its previous plan following car makers worldwide in cutting production due to the monthslong chip shortage.AgEnciES

china's alibaba to invest $15.5bn for 'common prosperity' ISLAMABAD: Members of Christian community hold protest in favour of their demands. onLinE

NEPRA conducts hearing to discuss KE’s petition on tariff adjustments KARACHI PRESS RELEASE

NEPRA conducted a public hearing on Thursday to discuss K-Electric’s petition on fuel charges adjustments for the month of July and quarterly adjustments from April to June.

In the petition, KE has requested for Fuel Charges Adjustment for the month of July 2021 with an average impact on consumer of 55 paisa per unit. KE has also requested for quarterly adjustments for the period April to June 2021 with an estimated impact of 70 paisas per unit. As per the government of Pakistan’s policy of uniform consumer tariff across the country, this quarterly tariff adjustment

may not impact the consumers.

K-Electric began with explaining the reasons of fuel cost variations which included increase in prices of RLNG and Furnace Oil as compared to the reference month by 28% and 11%, respectively.

Furthermore, the quarterly tariff adjustment petition included annual adjustment on account of T&D loss and CPI. Regarding query from consumers about high cost of generation of electricity and utilisation of BQPS-I, which has a lower efficiency, Aamir Ghaziani, Chief Financial Officer K-Electric, shed light on utilisation of BQPS-I which was done in line with Economic Merit Order and to ensure the demand is met. Moving forward to K-Electric’s flagship 900 MW power

plant, he explained that BQPS-III will come online which will reduce reliance on BQPS-I and lower associated costs substantially. While answering another question pertaining to off-taking additional power from the national grid, he mentioned that KE is working with the federal government to build a 500kV and 220kV grid and interconnections at key locations where KE’s network connects with the national grid enabling the utility to offtake up to 2,050MW power. With addition of these sources, the cost of generation/procurement of K-Electric will go down.

Upon an observation from NEPRA team about K-Electric not following Economic Merit Order, the K-Electric team justified that since the required gas pres-

sure was not available, the gas plants could not be fully utilised and, in this regard, detailed response on instances highlighted by NEPRA together with relevant supports have been shared with NEPRA team.

These hearings are part of a regular process, whereby the regulatory authority scrutinize the adjustment requests based on the facts and figures. State-owned DISCOs are usually heard in one sitting while K-Electric's hearings are conducted separately.

The regulator is yet to give a final decision on the adjustment requests and on the period during which these costs can be applied to consumer bills in a manner that does not burden them.

Apple hit with antitrust case in India mumBAI AgEnciES

Apple is facing an antitrust challenge in India for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the apps market by forcing developers to use its proprietary in-app purchase system, according to a source and documents seen by Reuters.

The allegations are similar to a case Apple faces in the European Union, where regulators last year started an investigation into Apple’s imposition of an in-app fee of 30% for distribution of paid digital content and other restrictions.

The Indian case was filed by a littleknown, non-profit group which argues Apple’s fee of up to 30% hurts competition by raising costs for app developers and cus-

tomers, while also acting as a barrier to market entry.

“The existence of the 30% commission means that some app developers will never make it to the market … This could also result in consumer harm,” said the filing, which has been seen by Reuters.

Unlike Indian court cases, filings and details of cases reviewed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) are not made public. Apple and the CCI did not respond to a request for comment.

In the coming weeks, the CCI will review the case and could order its investigations arm to conduct a wider probe, or dismiss it altogether if it finds no merit in it, said a source familiar with the matter.

“There are high chances that an investigation can be ordered, also because the EU

has been probing this,” said the person, who declined to be identified as the case details are not public.

The complainant, non-profit “Together We Fight Society” which is based in India’s western state of Rajasthan, told Reuters in a statement it filed the case in the interest of protecting Indian consumers and startups.

In India, though Apple’s iOS powered just about 2% of 520 million smartphones by end-2020 – with the rest using Android – Counterpoint Research says the US firm’s smartphone base in the country has more than doubled in the last five years.

The Apple case in India comes just as South Korea’s parliament this week approved a bill that bans major app store operators like Google and Apple from forcing software developers to use their payment systems.

CmYK

China's Alibaba Group, will invest 100 billion yuan by 2025 in support of "common prosperity", it said, becoming the latest corporate giant to pledge support for the initiative driven by President Xi Jinping. Beijing has been encouraging companies to share wealth as part of the effort to ease inequality in the world's second-largest economy. Other companies that have made similar announcements include Tencent Holdings, which also pledged 100 billion yuan, and Geely Automobile. The government-backed Zhejiang News website said Alibaba's funds will go towards areas such as subsidies for small and medium-sized enterprises and improving insurance protection for gig economy workers such as couriers and ride-hailing drivers. It will also set up a 20 billion yuan "common prosperity development fund", the newspaper said, with Alibaba confirming the report.

The e-commerce giant and its tech rivals have been the target of a wide-ranging regulatory crackdown on issues ranging from monopolistic behaviour to consumer rights. Alibaba was fined a record $2.75 billion in April over monopoly violations. The sector has also attracted criticism for the treatment of delivery workers and ridehailing drivers, most of whom are not covered by basic social and medical insurance. Food delivery platform Ele.me and supermarket operator Freshippo, both of which are owned by Alibaba, were among operators called to a meeting last month with government regulators on improving safety and labour rights for delivery workers. AgEnciES

Friday, 3 September, 2021

06 COMMENT

The same mixture as before?

Insistence on EVMs Next elections become controversial before being held

The failure to form a government is suspicious

p

rIMe MINIsTer Imran Khan maintains that he wants to introduce reforms in the electoral system so that there are no complaints of rigging as in the past.

For reforms to be non-controversial, these should have been thoroughly debated in parliament. What happened was the opposite. at a time when the opposition had boycotted the National assembly sitting, 21 bills including the one on eVMs and i-voting, were bulldozed through the National assembly in a travesty of parliamentary norms.

Claiming to have a majority in parliament, adviser to the prime Minister Babar awan has now announced that the government would get the legislation on the use of eVMs and i-voting for the overseas pakistanis passed by the end of this year even without the opposition’s support.

In case the opposition-dominated senate failed to approve the bill, it would be taken to the joint sitting of parliament for approval.

The eCp maintains that principally it is in favour of the use of technology but stresses that technology must be developed keeping in view the ground realities besides enjoying the confidence of all stakeholders, including political parties, civil society and voters. The government however maintains that once the law was passed by parliament, the eCp will have to conduct elections accordingly.

It appears that the government is not interested in enacting the electoral reforms through consensus but through diktat. While claiming to introduce measures that would make the election results acceptable to all, the government has ended up with making the elections to be held two years hence already controversial. Instead of testing the eVMs during the by elections and the LG elections to remove any possible shortcomings and creating public confidence in them, the government is bent upon holding the 2023 elections with the eVMs and i-voting.

The government’s critics maintain that after failing to fulfil promises like five million houses, 10 million jobs, reducing prices and service charges and ending corruption, the government is scared of losing the elections. The eVMs and i-voting are supposed to help the government undertake large scale rigging.

With the opposition engrossed in infighting and unable to stop the government from getting its desired legislation through, the pTI may hold elections of its choice. But instead of the results uniting the nation, these would lead to further confrontation and unrest.

At Penpoint M A NIAZI

P

erhaps nothing illustrates the Taliban’s lack of readiness to assume power, and the swiftness with which they actually did so, than their failure so far to form a government. Their own surprise at winning the war shows the most in this, and indicates that the Taliban’s own intelligence may well have been more in line with american intelligence, in predicting the survival of the Ghani regime for some months, than with the reality of the brisk collapse.

The delay in naming the head of a government has already led to the unusual phenomenon of having head appointed of some, but not all, essential ministries, such as interior, defence and finance. The appointments are supposed to be temporary, which is only right, as the incoming head of government would want to appoint his own nominees to these posts. however, the situation remains fragile, even more than if a new ruler were to try to consolidate his hold. Nature abhors a vacuum, they say, and the failure to even name the head of government could lead to future problems.

The delay itself shows not only that there was not enough time for a decision, but there is some great dispute going on. The two main contenders are haibatullah akhundzada and Mullah abdul Ghani Baradar, and they seem to summarize the conflict of forming governments in party-based systems.

It must be made clear that the Taliban’s emirate is party-based, though not democratic. as in 1996, so in 2021: the Taliban have not won an election. In 1996, they beat off warlords and militia commanders; in 2021 it was the Usa as well as the afghan National army. On neither occasion did they even bother with a fig leaf of constitutionalism. Indeed, in 1996, there was no constitution. This time, there is a constitution placed, but there have been only two gestures towards it. First, incumbent ashraf Ghani has not resigned, thus retaining experience, though some sort of lien on the office. second, one of his vice-presidents, amrullah saleh, has claimed to be the acting president, now that Ghani has left the country. saleh has not, joining the son of ahmad shah Masoud, his namesake in the panjshir Valley, where he hopes to launch a resistance.

Normally, the head of the party becomes head of

Syed Ali Geelani

W

ITh the passing of syed ali Geelani, Kashmir has lost one of its doughtiest fighters for freedom. at 92, syed Geelani passed after a prolonged illness at his home in srinagar, and it was perhaps symbolic of his life that even in death, his family was forced to conduct his burial rites in relative secrecy, with the main concern of the local administration that his funeral not become an occasion for an expression of separatist sentiment. Mr Geelani had personally witnessed all the vicissitudes of the Kashmiri people’s struggle for the right of self-determination.

Ninety-two at the time of his death, which meant that he had been 18 at partition, and thus aware of how the Dogra Maharajah acceded to India, and how pakistan waged its War over the state, and how it was partitioned too, and became subject to UN security resolutions calling for selfdetermination by the Kashmiri people in a UN-supervised plebiscite held for the purpose.

Mr Geelani had not started as a separatist. Originally a Jamaat Islami MLa for 15 years, he had initially tried to work within the framework of the Indian Union, but ultimately, in the late 1980s, when he had turned 60, he once found himself playing a leadership role of a Kashmiri freedom struggle which had entered a new, armed phase, with the Kashmiri intifada of 1989 onwards. It was in this phase where Mr Geelani, despite his advancing age, found himself facing long periods of imprisonment and house arrest despite his advancing age and fragile health, because as head of the all-parties hurriyet Conference he became committed not just to self-determination for all of Kashmir, but the accession of its Indian-Occupied portion to pakistan.

It was this partiality that led to his being conferred the Nishan-e-pakistan, pakistan’s highest civil award, in 2020.

It is a sad reality that Mr Geelani had seen his state losing its special status in august 2020, and the bifurcation of its Indian-Occupied portion into two union territories, while the floodgates were opened for hindu non-Kashmiris to buy up property in Kashmir. he did not live to see Kashmir exercise its right of self-determination, but he will ever be held up as an exemplar for all those who struggle in the cause.

Those fleeing Afghanistan face an uncertain future

ShAZIA ANwer CheeMA

H

IsTOry could never be asymmetrical and events are always understood in a particular context having their foreground or background. Whenever foreign invaders occupy a geographical location under the pretense of being saviours, the first organic outcome always is the exploitation of hunger and lack of other basic human necessities. The ambiance of chaos and civil unrest always provides a nursery for inexpensive, low-cost compromises by the local population and history has witnessed this experimentation over and over again.

There is a viewpoint that all who sell their souls to the devil for fulfilling their basic human needs can be considered traitors, but I would prefer calling this a survival phenomenon. The Us-led NaTO alliance repeated the saviour theme by entering afghanistan in October 2001 and turbulent economic conditions created a market for the local afghans to earn their bread. Locals saw the opportunity of buying the bread by labour, such as translation, spying, providing information about the fellow citizens, becoming guides and proxies for other unworthy deeds on which invaders preferred not to risk themselves. all those locals, in exchange for bread and butter plus a promise of being exported to the First World, started performing their assigned duties. The Usa also coined a

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor

Yousaf Nizami M. A. Niazi

Umar Aziz

Joint Editor

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

The writer is a member of staff.

The Contractors: A story that moves between Guantanamo to Guam

A great fighter for Kashmiri freedom

Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

government when the party takes power. That was what the Taliban did in 1996: they made the party chief, the head of the Taliban, Mullah Omar, the head of government. By that precedent, akhundzada should have been installed by now. however, that has not happened for two reasons. akhundzada was elected in 2016 after his predecessor Mullah akhtar Mansour was killed in a drone strike. he had only taken office less than a year before, in 2015. akhundzada was not expected to last long, but the only assassination attempt he faced as Taliban chief, in 2019, came from a Taliban splinter, not a Us drone strike.

Interestingly, he does not have any combat experience, which may be proving a barrier at present. The other possibility, Baradar, does have such experience, including the recently successful offensive. he was also the chief Taliban negotiator in Doha, a position he was given after spending several years in pakistani captivity. his being Mullah Omar’s brother-in-law also counts in his favour.

Of course, simple self-preservation may be at work. after all, the recent drone strikes in Kabul, apart from taking the fight to the Daesh, show that the Usa has the capacity to take out anyone in Kabul, including the amir, whoever he might be.

There is also visible the difference between the party organization and the grassroot membership. It should be noted that the Taliban may be a party, but they are not, as parties in democracies are, geared to contest elections. They do correspond to a certain realistic role of political parties, in that they are willing to do what it takes to achieve political power. In the case of afghanistan, it seems, that means engaging in guerrilla warfare or insurgency, and refusing to accept the rules set by the Constitution. ashraf Ghani’s party had contested an election, but that party was not ready to fight for him.

That job was supposed to be performed by the aNa. Though the Taliban is a political party, in the sense that its purpose is to seek political power, it is also a military organization, because that is the method of achieving power in afghanistan. however, like other political parties, the Taliban are not just in existence to obtain power, but also have an ideology to implement. That ideology is Islam, and that means that the Taliban are not able to exclude other parties, or individuals, in other countries from offering a critique of their actions. There is a definite cross-pollination between parties, but it is open to the ppp in pakistan to reject any criticism of it made by India’s Congress. however, if some Islamic scholar

in Malaysia were to criticize the Taliban, they could reject him, but because he is wrong, not because he is Malaysian.

There is some comparison across countries, but it is mostly of leaders rather than parties. If the Usa’s Donald Trump is compared to Narendra Modi of India or even Imran Khan of pakistan, the next logical step of conflating the former’s republican party with the BJp or even the pTI is not taken. however, the Taliban will come under criticism as a party, mainly because there are positions clearly taken.

The main concern expressed so far about the Taliban is their treatment of women. This has prevented attention going to other aspects of previous Taliban rule, like a vigorous anti-drug programme, and a restoration of law and order. The Taliban treatment of women was based on their interpretation of the almighty’s commands; if they deviate from those commands to win international recognition, they will lose the reason to rule. similarly, their campaigns against opium or against militia abuses are not because they want to provide good governance, but because they want to rule according to the almighty’s commands.

That the almighty’s commands are a guide to good governance is supposed to be an assumption. and the Taliban will stand or fall by it. That may lead to trouble, for the Taliban were led by this to allow other Muslim groups to seek refuge from persecution elsewhere during their last tenure, such as al-Qaeda.

That group carried out the most spectacular action, but support for the Kashmiri mujahedin and the east Turkestan Islamic Movement, among others, are what are causing concern among neighbours. Not supporting them would mean coming under fire from other Islamic groups. The issue of legitimacy is apart from these issues. The question that Mullah Omar did not resolve was whose emir he claimed to be. In short, an emirul Momineen is one appointed by a superior emir, or ultimately by a Caliph. Or else, he is claiming to be the Caliph. The idea of an emir who has obtained the allegiance of a limited group, and who does not claim to be Caliph, is moot until an emir takes office.

It may thus be seen that in the first place the Taliban’ ideology, or rather the commitments it obliges it to make, oblige it to take positions at odds with those the Usa had tried to change. The Taliban are obliged by the nature of their Islamic ideology to take a wider view than that of the Kandahari pashtuns they are widely assumed to be.

It seems they might once again be heading towards the sort of behaviour that got them the wrath of the Usa last time around, not so much because they want to, as because they are obliged to. The real question is not so much whether the Taliban will be Taliban, as whether the Usa is willing to put up the kind of military effort that clearly doesn’t work.

I

Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

I

proper noun for them: the “Contractors”. as the previous performance has finished and the stage setting has been changed, all the old performers have no role to play in a new drama. They are left with nothing but a piece of paper stating a promise which has no legal binding and hopes to be transported as soon as possible to the lands of peace, prosperity and harmony. although the Taliban announced amnesty for all those contractors who want to wait and see if mercy prevails or not, and above all the opportunity of settling abroad in “fairyland”, because apart from the breadwinning there was a promise of taking them along with their families to europe and america to live happily ever after. Now holding that promise in their hands all these contractors need a safe passage and yet again that safe passage is no other place, it is pakistan. all these contractors used to hunt Taliban and used to hand them over to Us intelligence, which used to send these Taliban to Guantanamo Bay Camp.

Then the same contractors, under the wing of ashraf Ghani and in the shadow of NaTO, primarily were busy sabotaging pakistan’s sovereignty and reputation. Don’t forget Indian funding in the guise of support for ashraf Ghani’s forces.

When we review the reality against the dreams we find that the Islamabad administration has taken control of all hotels to dump these contractors before they would be transported somewhere before their landing in the lands of opportunities. along with local afghan contractors, thousands of foreigners, including diplomats and other staff of foreign missions and journalists were among those who were being evacuated to their countries via pakistan. But the turn of afghan contractors is yet to come. It may be mentioned that there are two types of people, one group is bona fide foreigners going back to their countries and the second group is afghan contractors who have left their land and are waiting to find out what foreign land would accommodate them and when.

These contractors are those who had been working with allied forces as translators, informers, drivers, cooks, and guards, and they were promised by the Usa that they would be looked after in case the Taliban came back to power. since april 2021, these contractors had been demanding evacuation, but only some were transported out of afghanistan before

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

I

Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

I

Kabul fell. afghan contractors, who by afghans are called Traitors, would first be managed at “Naval Base Guam” and from where paperwork of their visas and other documentation would be done and then they would be transported to the Usa. This process can take months and even years. Officially they will be on Us territory in Guam Island, even though it is in the Micronesia sub-region of the western pacific Ocean. according to Us media, afghan contractors would be confined and guarded in Guam Island with strict restrictions on free movement. The possibility of many being deported back to afghanistan cannot be ruled out.

There is a concern in pakistan that Us afghan contractors had been working under an anti-pakistan former afghan government and its intelligence agency, the NDs, and during their stay in pakistan they can conduct terrorism. however, the administration holds they would not be allowed to leave their hotels and would not be allowed to mingle with people in pakistan. This concern was also expressed by a number of senior Defence Correspondents during the recent press briefing of Director General Ispr Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar who while responding to such concerns said that if afghans would be carried to pakistan they would be restricted to their accommodations. pakistan has always been a responsible country, offering support to everybody whenever it is needed. pIa, which was banned by several european countries without reason, transported diplomats and citizens of these foreign countries to their homelands as “safe passage”. Is it not ironic for europeans that they had requested pakistan to get them out of Kabul safely, though they had treated pakistan as an unpleasant country and which was their last choice when appreciating anyone?

For afghans the irony is that if you are an enemy you will be dragged to Guantanamo Bay and if a friend then you will be taken to Guam. If history has still not taught us that a few nations cannot and can never get out of an “Us Versus Them” mindset, and their animosity or their friendship leads to a similar outcome.

The writer Shazia Anwer Cheema is a Praguebased Foreign Affairs expert and a Ph.D. Scholar of semiotics and Philosophy of Communication at Charles University Prague and heads the DND Thought Center. She can be reached at her: Twitter @ShaziaAnwerCh Email: shaziaanwer@yahoo.com

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Friday, 3 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

Renewable energy is the answer

A clash with global consequences China-India Military Conflict

Dr MuhAMMAD AkrAM ZAheer

A

major military conflict has infused itself in the heart of asia. This conflict may affect neighbouring countries or the whole region. From the strategic viewpoint, the area is highly significant for both the countries. China has control of the aksai Chen and the region east of Ladakh and wants to build a road to connect its province Xinjiang with Western Tibet. India has been objecting to China building a road in the region.

The Line of actual Control (LaC) is a rough demarcation line which separates Chinese-controlled territory from Indian-controlled. The exact area, particularly Western Ladakh, has remained a disputed zone. Both the sides have established their claims to the territory by militarizing the zone. Both the countries have built airstrips, roads, outpost stations, telephone lines and other infrastructure. The troops of both sides conduct patrolling on their side regularly.

China claims more than 90,000 km2 in the eastern himalayan region and 38,000 km2 in the West himalayas, both claims being disputed by India. The area is of a high altitude and sparsely populated, borders Tibet, the home of Buddhism and destination of tourism where the situation is hostile.

India also needs a new route to the mountainous region of Kailash to reduce travelling time and improve travel facilities for hindu pilgrims.

It was also learned that, in November 2019, a new map published by India showed these areas as part of India. Meanwhile, India repealed article 370 of the Constitution in august, after which Kashmir and Ladakh lost their former status.

On May 23, media reported that the the Chinese people’s Liberation army (pLa) had relocated 5000 troops to the himalayan border running along the Ladakh area of Kashmir. This is not a new development; it is the first fatal clash since 1975 and most serious since 1967. The area has always remained tense since June 2017 when Indian troops crossed the border and effectively attacked neighbouring Bhutan where Chinese roads were being built. During the hostility an Indian officer pushed and fell into the river Gorge.

Then hundreds of troop from both the sides were called and fought with clubs and rocks.

It is very interesting that, India has now started such interference against Nepal. India unilaterally opened the road between Dharchola in the Indian state of Uttarakhand and Leplikh in Nepal. The road passes through the disputed Kalapani area and was inaugurated on May 8, 2020 by Indian Defense Minister rajnath singh.

Nepal claims Lipoluk as its territory. The land belt of northwestern Nepal is connected to India

and China. according to the Nepalese Foreign Ministry, after the end of the anglo-Nepalese War, all areas east of the Mahakali river, including Lampiadhora, Kalapani and Leplikh, are part of Nepal under the 1816 sagiuli Treaty.

Nepal has proposed India resolve the black water issue, but India did not reply. In an immediate response to the Indian action, Nepal published its new political and administrative maps of the country on 20 May 2020, showing Leplikh, Kalapani and Lampiadhora as part of Nepal. Now this controversy has also given a new dimension to cartography. On the same day, the official spokesperson of the Indian Ministry of external affairs, anurag srivastava, said: “The Government of Nepal released a revised official map of Nepal, which includes parts of the Indian mainland.”

The seriousness of China’s aims can be perceived from the satellite pictures, which show the significant changes it has made at Ningari Ginsa airport, just 200 kilometers from Lake pengong.

These changes took place over a six-week period, with the airport being expanded and new hangars being opened. J-11 and J-16 fighter jets can also be seen in pictures coming in early May. In addition, on May 25, China declared that it was beginning to repatriate its citizens from India. The announcement was made under the guise of measures to combat the coronavirus, although the situation in Ladakh is a clear political reason.

Chinese troops have entered five areas of Ladakh. Four of them are along the Galwan river and the fifth is near pengong Lake.

This is the first time since the Kargil war between India and pakistan when foreign troops have invaded disputed territory. During the Kargil war pakistan had withdrawn its troops because of Us pressure. Now the situation is more critical because Washington did not demonstrate its concern as it had done in the past. Therefore, the conflict has enormous geopolitical consequences upon the regional states and for the world as well.

China and India are the world’s two most populous states, and nuclear powers too. Both the governments are strongly nationalist and their armies are national status markers. The loss of lives during the hostility has made the situation more complicated. Both the sides are accusing each other of violation; it may be much harder to push forward to minimize escalation moves. at the same time, both countries have domestic challenges such as the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. although China has controlled the infection, hundreds of cases have been reported recently. China’s economic relations with the Usa have worsened. India also has been suffering, with almost half billion people infected, deledspite a strict lockdown. Its economy was already declining when the pandemic began. India already has bad relations with pakistan, unsettled border tension with Nepal, an uneasy situation with Bangladesh and its afghan strategy has fail. Thus, it cannot afford the recent hostility with China.

The material balance between China and India is totally different. In 2018, the Chinese

GDp of $13600 billion was five times more than India’s of $2700 billion. Beijing spent $261.1 billion on its security in 2019, more than India’s $71.1 billion. although India has grown as a major power and a large economy, but it has declined compared to China.

Furthermore, India has made a strategic partnership with Chinese rivals, particularly Japan and the Usa. On the other hand China has strengthened its northern border with russia. In addition, it is weakening Us authority in east asia through modernization of military and maritime capability. It is amazing that both are escalating tension on the sino-Indian border. a miscalculation from either may lead to war.

The rising nationalism around the world and ongoing fragmentation of global trade also will be a test of the China-India relationship. China thinks that India is a big challenge to its ambitions of supremacy over asia. China has been shaping as a regional hegemon and has also been crafting a narrative about its position in the ring of international power distribution. If the people’s republic of China appears as a superpower in the region, then Chinese and Indian rivalry may turn into a new cold war because India is also seeking dominance in asia. The Usa is forging economic and defence relations with India. and both seem natural allies against China in asia. On the other hand, China has been attempting to express that its real competition is with the Usa, not with India. It is stated by strategic experts, “The Usa no longer enjoys the same hegemonic status as it enjoyed a few decades ago”. Its position as a leader of international order is eroding gradually. Its european allies are shrinking their dependency and are revising their policy with the Usa. Therefore, India will not put all eggs in one basket and it should handle all issues with China diplomatically. however, Modi and Xi cannot afford the exceedingly complex and long-standing dispute. The clash may deteriorate their economic ties as well, as India is also a big market for Chinese products. The long-lasting clash may grow anti-Chinese sentiments in India with the call for the boycott of Chinese products. India also can restrict Chinese foreign direct investment. at the same time, China can never afford to lose its relationship with India while it is already in a trade war with the Usa during the coronavirus epidemic. To avert the conflict both the sides should pursue a multifaceted strategy including summit diplomacy and the platform of regional and international institutions such as the sCO, aIIB and aDB. These institutions can play a vital role de-escalate tension and forestall border violence but cannot address their core issues.

If the issue persists, it would be difficult for their regional neighbours to decide which to go with where both China and India are playing on their own strength. It should be handled in a purely diplomatic way through negotiations.

If the issue persists, it would be difficult for their regional neighbours to decide which to go with where both China and India are playing on their own strength. It should be handled in a purely diplomatic way through negotiations

The writer has a doctorate in political science and can be reached at akramzaheer86@yahoo.com

aT the moment , we have predominantly costly fossil fueled power generation in the energy mix , as a result of which electricity production cost and tariffs are higher , unaffordable and contribute to green house gasses at the same time .

The international prices of solar power , in particular , have dropped down dramatically and we need to seize this opportunity by expanding the power system through installation of solar powerplants ( pV operated ) as fast as possible harnessing the abundant sunshine in the country and by phasing out and retiring the costly and environment unfriendly fossils powered powerplants.

The World Bank ( WB ) has advised the government to go for solar & wind power to bring down the power prices and at the same time control the environment . It has promised to fund such projects and also to use its influence on other financial institutions to assist in this regard.

Our government needs to seize this good offer of the Bank and work on the solar & wind projects jealously for ultimate good of the public and the country by achieving at least 30 percent share of solar power by 2030 in the energy mix .

Other countries in the region like India and Bangladesh are ahead of us in this regard. Worldwide , all the countries are striving hard to maximise the production of renewable energy from solar and wind . Our future lies in going solar , in particular , so that it becomes the largest source of electrical power for the economic well being of the country .

Engr riaz Bhutta LahorE

Clarification from K-Electric ThIs is apropos to a letter published “problems faced by the Karachiites” on 25th august by Numaira Mir. Firstly, we deeply regret the inconvenience being experienced by Ms. Mir as a citizen of Karachi. however, we would like to highlight a few facts regarding the electricity situation in Karachi on behalf K-electric. regarding her concerns about ‘power breakdown of 10-12 hours’ and ‘unannounced’ breakdown in the city, we would like to mention that currently a major portion of Karachi, 78% to be exact, is officially load shed free. While in remaining areas, load-shed hours are in line with the National power policy 2013 to address the issue of pervasive power theft and load-management which is duly notified to registered customers via sMs and its complete schedule is also available on the Ke’s website. Furthermore, these load-shed hours vary with the degree of power theft but even in very high losses areas, load-shedding does not exceed 7.5 hours.

K-electric as a power distributor is an ardent advocate of community ownership and is constantly enhancing its operational flow to facilitate its valuable customers. having said that, if Ms. Mir has recently faced any long-hour power shutdown, it may be on account of necessary power maintenance but that too is always scheduled and notified to our registered customers well in advance.

If she is still facing a persistent problem of ‘unannounced’ power shutdown for any reason as per her claims, we recommend her to immediately get in touch with us via our 24/7 available customer care hotline on 118, sMs service 8119, Ke Live app, or via social media platforms so that the problem is duly resolved.

K-ELEctric SpoKESman Karachi

Grim practice “BLINDLy following the customs and traditions does not show dead are alive but living are dead “Ibn khaldun. Tribes and clans follow their customs and traditions in order to commemorate their demised elders.

They follow the footprints of their elders as last words written on pebbles and claim as being the custodians of customs. Traditional tribes have hardcore rules and practices which cites to the fabrication by their forefathers. In mere pure words ,customs and rituals reveal the truly identity of community. It preaches integration as it gathers every individual of community on special occasions at one venue but their few ruthless actions spread segregation. One of the gigantic surreal and staunch custom being followed in most of the tribes in sindh is “sawara”. It is the custom of handing over young and innocent girls in compensation of robbery, killings, or an other major fueds. It’s the rule of anarchy in rural areas of sindh where women have zero status and null rights. Men are considered as steward of their lives and the decisions by men as considered as holly descends. patriarchy society in sindh is being worshipped at length due to feudal lord’s and their flattering audience. It doesn’t matter whether a woman is highly qualified or reformist as compared to dormant and ridiculous man. The word of men in tribes is the pedagogy of the day .

The fueds are initiated by men but it’s termination falls upon women as compensation. Its merely ruthless, ridiculous and irrational to snatch the freedom of speechless women as she has been given birth to be in shackles. These practices and followings crumble the feeling of being ashraf-ul- makhlooqat . how can we force one to act willingly against his sweet wishes?.

Can we sustain such catastrophic facets in our lives?. Keeping these symmetries in minds, the civil rights activists has took up a number of scrambles to cure and curb out this malaise which has moulded the entire activity of society into smears. These hollow practices fruit nothing but miseries and segregation. I hope relevant authorities must assist human rights activists to debacle this grim tradition as human have right of self determination. “human is born free but everywhere he is in chains “. Jean-Jecques rousseau. zuBair ahmEd rind JacoBaBad

Friday, 3 September, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

Living wiTh The TaLiban?

THE KEY WILL BE TO TIE EVERY STEP THE U.S. TAKES IN DEALING WITH THE TALIBAN TO THE KIND OF CONDITIONALITY THAT SERVES THE INTERESTS OF BOTH THE U.S. AND THE AFGHAN PEOPLE – AS WELL AS THE TALIBAN

Centre for strategIC and InternatIonal studIes

L

antHony H Cordesman

IVING with the Taliban involves major risks and uncertainties, and it will be more than difficult even if it proves successful. No one can dismiss the risk that the Taliban will emerge as a hardline extremist state and/or use, or at the very least, tolerate some form of terrorism. Any form of cooperation will mean accepting a substantial amount of the Taliban’s restrictions on human rights and authoritarianism. It will also involve dealing with a movement that operates with such different – and unpredictable – political dynamics.

At the same time, it may well be the best option the United States now has for trying to moderate the Taliban’s behavior, protect the Afghan people, and limit the risk of the Taliban tolerating extremist movements and acts of terrorism. At this point, the Taliban seems to have at least some moderate ele-

ments that are focused on creating an effective and stable government. There is no clear extremist element in at least its visible political and religious leadership. The Taliban faces its own threat from ISIS-K. Al-Qaeda, while present, does not seem to be a highly active force, and it badly needs trade, diplomatic recognition, aid, and financial ties to the outside world.

The Taliban did cooperate to some degree in the evacuation and the securing of the Kabul Airport. It has reached out to some moderate Afghan political leaders, and the reported abuses of its fighters are limited and seemingly disorganized. The Taliban has said it will not actively persecute those that cooperated with the U.S. and its allies or served in the previous government, and the group has shown some limited willingness to compromise on the rights of women and some other aspects of civil liberties.

The fact also remains that there are still some Americans, many Afghans who cooperated with the U.S., and citizens of allied countries in Afghanistan that still need help in leaving the country. There are many other Afghans who cooperated with the U.S. and do not want to leave, and they need as much help as they can get. More broadly, Afghanistan has some 37 million people who were not involved directly in the war and have shown no interest in leaving, and they can benefit directly from every increasing Taliban tolerance of more modern social

practices, religion, and economic life.

Tragic as some aspects of the evacuation and the violence at Kabul airport have been, the fact remains that these events involved less than half of one percent of the total population. Nearly half of that population has been born since 2001 – the median age is only 19.5 years. Much of them have been educated to live in a more modern and liberal world, and nearly half are women. Literacy has climbed to over 40%. Some 27% of the population live in cities and depend on a far more modern economy than existed when the Taliban last ruled in 2001. Any U.S. efforts that can help Afghans live decent lives truly matter.

The same is true of the rest of the population. Long before the collapse began in July 2021, about roughly half the population lived in poverty, some 20% of children lacked adequate food, and youth unemployment was almost certainly over 20%. For all the exaggerated claims of progress that some made about what had happened as a result of the Taliban’s fall in 2001, the CIA rated Afghanistan as having the highest rate of infant mortality in the world and as having the lowest life expectancy (53 years) in 2021.

The U.S. cannot simply ignore the Taliban or punish it without compounding what already is a very real human tragedy. At the same time, the Taliban cannot ignore these realities as well. If the Taliban was to establish a stable government, real security, and

endure, it must compromise enough with the 21st century in order to live in the modern world. how many of the Taliban fully understand this problem is a guess at best, but enough may understand that they will need to deal with the U.S. and other outside states.

Moreover, Russia, China, and Pakistan may make deals with the emerging Taliban government, but aid and trade are scarcely their strengths.

The U.S. also does not have to sacrifice its values to live with the Taliban, and dealing with the “devil” is the real-world essence of diplomacy. The key will be to tie every step the U.S. takes in dealing with the Taliban to the kind of conditionality that serves the interests of both the U.S. and the Afghan people – as well as the Taliban.

Reopening the Embassy to help some Afghans, the remaining Americans, and citizens of allied countries does not ignore the Taliban’s treatment of human rights or the freedom of religion any more than it does in the many other countries around the world.

Asking for the Taliban’s security of the Embassy and for its willingness to let Afghans and others depart seems a reasonable trade for limiting sanctions and opening up legitimate trade. Allowing the Taliban to have full access to Afghanistan’s IMF reserves and the international financial system can involve the same kind of trades and conditionality.

Proving limited economic aid can be traded on the same basis.

Arms and the nation WHAT THE GLOBAL FLOW OF GUNS TELLS US ABOUT HOW STATES FAIL

IndIan express

T

PrataP BHanu meHta

hERE is an old adage that if you want to understand state building or state breakdown, follow the guns. In conflict zones like Afghanistan, it is all too easy to take recourse to debates over development and culture, while ignoring the dynamics of armed conflict, and the presence of weaponry that militarises society and embeds violence. Even a casual perusal of databases at Small Arms Survey, Geneva, that tracks violent conflict and the proliferation of arms, brings home some basic facts about state building and violence.

In their last year of comparative data base 2018, Afghanistan has a rate of 59.8 violent deaths per 1,00,000, below other conflict zones like Syria (187.9), and El Salvador (87). But this data base is also a reminder of two other large trends. First, violence tends to be sticky.

Once embedded, it is hard to dislodge. South Africa has a rate of 40.6; Brazil 36.3. Most countries with relatively lower rates are in Asia, or are European social democracies. In Asia, India has a violent death rate of 3.9 per 1,00,000; Pakistan is at 5.9 while big countries like Indonesia, China and Japan are lower than 1. This contrast between Asia and the Americas on this aspect of state building and prevalence of violent death is striking, and rarely made as central to the development literature as poverty.

Violence has complicated causes; even settled societies can have violent political convulsions. There are also forms of violence other than violent death. The relationship between the presence of firearms and violence is also complicated. But again what is striking is the lower prevalence of civilian firearms in Asia.

This data base is for both registered and estimated unregistered arms. India has 5.30 per hundred persons, China 3.2, Indonesia less

than one. The US, not surprisingly, has 120 per 100; while Brazil and South Africa are closer to 10. Of course, the raw numbers don’t tell much by themselves, but as a first cut they are revealing.

As Priya Satia argued in her brilliant book, The Empire of Guns, The Violent Making of the Industrial Revolution, the prevalence of guns has a social and political history. Colonial practices embedded guns in some societies and not in others. In the Americas, gun ownership was almost obligatory for whites, as part of a racial strategy of supremacy and dispossession of natives and oppression of slaves. In Asia, by contrast, colonial empires, for their own selfprotection, pacified and built state and society by disarming citizens. As Satia shows, the British empire in India not just dispossessed Indians of weapons, it also disarmed them of burgeoning indigenous knowledge in weaponmaking that had begun to emerge in the 17th century, including innovative forms of metallurgy. The Arms Act of 1878, which tightly controlled arms ownership in India, was an exercise in colonial and racial subordination, such that even Gandhi wanted it overturned later. But it is worth wondering about the counterfactual. Given India’s social fault lines, if India had been awash with guns, what kind of order might have been possible? It is not an accident that the Indian state in 1959 continued restrictive gun laws. Ironically, fearing lower class rebellion, Britain enacted restrictive gun laws in the 1920s as well.

Some armed groups are genuine forces for liberation. But as scholars like Nicholas Marsh and Paul Staniland have argued, the structure of how arms are procured and the social embeddedness of who procures them matters. You can have an instance where a coherent force like a Communist Party or a Maoist movement uses arms to establish hegemony and join the state, as in Nepal. The Taliban’s success in being a unifying force is prima facie more surprising, because development analysts keep telling us that Afghanistan is too decentralised and fractious for a single group to be dominant.

But there are other instances where the proliferation of arms simply leads to fragmentation, warlordism or continual insurgency. One thing, however, is clear: The supply of weapons matters, and unless controlled, acquires an autonomous dynamic. here the US has been the opposite of the British in India; it has ensured that places it in-

The Taliban may benefit from such trades, but the Afghan people will benefit far more. The same may well be true of the U.S. and its allies. Fighting terrorism with longrange air strikes is an uncertain military option at best, and isolating the Taliban may well encourage its worst hardliners to make a shift in actively supporting international terrorism and extremism. Low-level shifts in Taliban behavior are far more likely to be moderate if the U.S. recognizes the Taliban, gradually helps it enter the global economic system, and provides some carefully focused forms of aid.

This would be especially true if the U.S. works with its allies and partners in order to create some kind of international approach.

This would give such efforts more leverage, expand the level of possible conditionality, and avoid making the effort one where the U.S. and Taliban would have to constantly deal with every issue and problem that arose.

Working with America’s major European and Asian trading partners through another lead country might offer major benefits.

And, if the Taliban will not negotiate on a reasonable basis, the U.S. and its allies will gain far more credibility with the more moderate elements that survive in Afghan politics, with the Afghan people, and the outside world. It will be all too clear to the rest of the world that the U.S. has offered a valid option and opportunity, that it has kept that option open, and that any future crisis or U.S. military action to deal with terrorism is legitimate. The right forms of living with the Taliban – ties to clear limits and conditionality – will not be a form of weakness, they will be a way of building strength.

Anthony H. Cordesman holds the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. He has served as a consultant on Afghanistan to the United States Department of Defense and the United States Department of State.

We must confront the reality that children under 12 are ‘sexting’ RECEIVING AND SENDING ‘SEXTS’ AT AN EARLY AGE IS ASSOCIATED WITH A RANGE OF OTHER HARMS AND PROBLEMS

tervenes in are awash in weapons. Just to randomly pick items, it was reported in 2016 in a Pentagon audit that more than 1.5 million firearms supplied to Afghan and Iraqi forces had gone missing. Many of the arms provided to the Mujahideen ended up with successor groups; in Yemen US-supplied arms were being transferred by Gulf states to arms militias. Saturation of a place with arms is, with rare exceptions, going to backfire. Militias are also hard to decommission, unless they win decisive victories to become the state. In short, you cannot saturate places with weapons and expect development.

In this context, it might be worth looking at the debate over the Small Arms Treaty adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2013.

The Treaty aimed to establish the highest possible common standards for regulating conventional arms, and prevent their diversion and illicit trade. The US has withdrawn from the Treaty because of an ideological commitment to exporting weapons. On India’s view, the Treaty protects arms exporters more than importers. But more to the point, the Treaty is not strong enough on arms transfers to non-state actors, which is where a significant part of the problem lies. China has embraced the Treaty in a way guaranteed to make India and the US recoil. Whatever India’s motives, its central concern is not philosophically off the mark. If we are worried about the fear of violent death in armed conflict and the disruptions caused by state breakdown, then there is a case for very stringent regulation of arms transfers and diversion.

The US has a historical tradition of gun ownership to assert racial privilege; and a history of an armed militia winning a war of independence and becoming a modern state.

Perhaps that legacy, and the political economy of the military industrial complex, makes the proliferation of weapons its default option in dealing with conflict. Even Asian states are not immune to this temptation. But there is still truth to the old wisdom, the pacification of violence cannot take place with the indiscriminate spread of weapons. If you want to understand failed states, don’t get development consultants. Get people who follow the guns and political elites who are at least willing to control them.

Despite the many benefits that advances in digital communication such as smartphones have brought, there have also been some dangerous outcomes. “Sexting” is one of them. The sending of self-made sexual images via mobile phones is so widespread among young people that global estimates suggest that 14.8 per cent of 12 to 17-year-olds have sent a sext and a staggering 27.4 per cent have received one. Worrying as this is, newly published research investigating sexting among even an even younger age group, those aged 12 and under, found that 2.1 per cent admitted to sending a sext and 13.7 per cent reported receiving an unwanted sexual image. Receiving and sending sexts at an early age is associated with a range of other harms and problems. This type of exposure leads to a disproportionate number of children having sexual intercourse before the age of 13, as well as experiencing higher rates of unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, compared to those who are not exposed to or sending sexts.

Early experiences of sexting were also found to increase the risk of using alcohol, cigarettes and illegal drugs such as cannabis and cocaine, again compared to peers who had not engaged in sexting. This demonstrates a wider impact beyond the already worrying effects of sexual content on young children. This clustering of behaviour is explained in part by prior emotional and psychological problems among these children, as well as poor parental monitoring of children’s use of mobile phones. It is, however, worth mentioning that many parents will be unaware of what their children use their mobiles for and many children are adept at disguising any activity they want to keep private. Sexting is not just an activity between peers. As recent prosecutions indicate, it is something that predatory adult paedophiles employ too. As this new research suggests, many children feel pressured into sexting, but when it’s an adult rather than a peer initiating it, the adult has an advantage and will likely be skilled in grooming young children to achieve their goal. Although the harm caused by sexting at any age is clear, it is really troubling to find that such young children are involved and learn of the lasting impact that this has on their lives. This points to the need for intervention at an earlier age. At the moment, any educational intervention around sex and staying safe online is only available to secondary school-aged adolescents, if it happens at all. What we need to confront, uncomfortable as it may be, is that the issue must be addressed at a much earlier age, if we are to stand any chance of protecting young children from this type of activity. Unfortunately, I’m not very optimistic this will happen, particularly given the current political and economic environment. The National Youth Agency has recently warned about the impact that funding cuts are having on their ability to protect young children from a range of risks, including county lines drug dealing. Vulnerable young people are more likely to engage with youth workers than teachers, as these workers are able to meet them out of core hours and at weekends. Youth workers are also more tuned into and skilled in dealing with the potential risks that children face.

But like libraries and other “soft” services, youth support teams are an easy target for budget cuts. Despite the fantastic preventative interventions they are able to offer, stopping further problems from developing and saving taxpayers money in the long run, they are not deemed to be “essential’’.

The writer is contributing editor, The Indian Express.

Ian Hamilton is a senior lecturer in addiction and mental health at the University of York.

Independent Ian HamIlton

Friday, 3 September, 2021

BUSINESS 09

LAHORE corporate corner

KARACHI: Mobilink Microfinance Bank Limited (MMBL) has signed a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Fecto Belarus Tractors Private Limited (FBTL), a pioneer in introducing Russian-based technology tractors in Pakistan since 1962. Under this collaboration, customers will be able to finance FBTL Tractors through MMBL’s range of agri-products. Pr

Zhang Lei, President & CEO PMLTC handling over a certificate Managing Director NTDC Azaz Ahmad. Pr

Jazz focuses on 4G penetration, investing PKR 13.7 billion in 2021 KARACHI: Jazz, Pakistan’s number one 4G operator and the largest internet and broadband service provider have maintained its strategic focus on 4G penetration, investing PKR 13.7 billion in network expansion during the 2nd quarter of 2021. Within this, 4G network investment continued to be the principal focus, the population coverage of which reached 64% during the quarter, compared to 56% in 2Q20. Jazz’s 4G user base witnessed an 11.7 million/ 61% YoY increase and 4G penetration increased from 30% to 44% YoY. Data consumption continued to rise with users consuming an average of 4.8 GB of data; a 36.3% YoY increase.

Additional users contributed to an almost 11% expansion in Jazz’s total customer base YoY. The company’s leading digital financial service, JazzCash, finished the quarter with 13.1 million monthly active users (up 61% YoY) and 82 thousand registered agents (+60% YoY). Jazz’s self-care app, Jazz World, continued to enjoy strong levels of customer adoption, as its monthly active user base grew by 42% YoY, reaching 8.7 million in 2Q21, cementing its position as the largest telecom app in Pakistan. Other content services also enjoyed further growth, with the monthly active user base rising to a cumulative 3.7 million, representing YoY growth of 55% in 2Q21. Aamir Ibrahim, CEO of Jazz, said, “Our strategic focus remains on connecting fellow citizens to reliable, high-speed internet. We are also playing a part in creating a robust and inclusive digital ecosystem, and it is encouraging to see an increasing number of people making our digital services an integral part of their lifestyle.” Press reLease

Gold price slips to Rs97,400 per 10gm ISLAMABAD TLTP

Gold prices moved in sideways and remained confined in the weekly trading range in the international market on Thursday.

At 1345 hours GMT, gold in the international market was available at $1,812.60 per ounce after shedding $3.

Meanwhile, the price of 10 grams of yellow metal in Pakistan decreased to Rs97,400 after shedding Rs300.

The closing prices of the yellow metal in the country remained Rs97,700 on Wednesday last.

According to experts, the Technical Confluences Detector shows that gold price is testing bullish commitments at fierce support around $1810, which is the confluence of the SMA200 one-day and the previous day’s low. If the latter gives way, then the sellers will target the demand area around $1803, they said. The next support is seen at $1,800. A sustained break below that support could trigger a steep drop towards $1,793, they analysed.

They said that repricing of the Fed's tapering plan dragged the yield on the benchmark 10-year US government bond back below the 1.30% threshold. This, in turn, kept the US dollar bulls on the defensive and extended some support to the dollar-denominated commodity.

Market participants now look forward to the US economic docket, featuring the release of Initial Weekly Jobless Claims. This might provide some trading impetus. The key focus, however, remains on Friday's US monthly jobs data. The closely-watched NFP report will influence market expectations about the Fed's next policy move and help determine the next leg of a directional move for gold.

MiniMaL incRease in deBt-toGdP Ratio duRinG PandeMic, Finance MinistRy cLaRiFies ISLAMABAD

P

sTaFF rePOrT

AkISTAN witnessed one of the smallest increase in its debt to GDP ratio during the Covid-19 pandemic period as it witnessed a minimal hike of 1.7 per cent compared to 13 percent rise in global debt, Finance Ministry said here Thursday.

Responding to media reports regarding increase in public debt during last three years, the statement said that a better way to measure level of debt was through debt-to-GDP ratio instead of looking at the absolute values of debt.

“Global debt-to-GDP ratio increased by 13 percentage points, whereas, Pakistan’s debt-to-GDP ratio witnessed minimal increase of 1.7 percentage points in 2019-20 (FY20),” it said, adding that the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio in fact reduced by 4 percentage points indicating lower debt burden at end June 2021 as compared with last fiscal year.

The ministry said that the increase in debt during last three years occurred mainly during fiscal year 2018-19 (FY19) due to implementing difficult and unavoidable policy choices.

Had the market-based exchange rate, a sustainable level of current account deficit (CAD), adequate cash buffers and long-term domestic borrowing profile been maintained, the debt burden would have been reduced further on the back of fiscal consolidation efforts supported by aggressive control on ex-

penses and growth in tax and non-tax revenues, the statement said.

It added that as most of the major adjustments to fiscal and monetary policies have been made, debt burden is projected to decline firmly over the next few years.

Referring to media reports which it said ignored underlying reasons behind such an increase, the in order to fully understand the underlying economic realities, the statement said that there was a need to analyse the sources of increase in total public debt during last three years.

The underlining reasons include interest expenses wherein there was a preference towards shortterm domestic borrowing in absence of adequate cash buffers resulted in short-term profile of domestic debt at the end of FY18.

This short-term profile led to high interest cost on debt as interest rates had to be increased significantly to curb rising inflationary pressures. Government paid Rs 7.5 trillion against interest servicing which explained 50 per cent of the increase in total public debt.

Similarly, the statement said that currency devaluation impact should be taken into account as exchange value of the rupee was maintained at an artificially high level in the past which triggered the balance of payment crisis.

Transition to market-based exchange rate regime, being an unavoidable policy choice, resulted in sharp exchange rate depreciation leading to high inflation,

Trade gap widens by 133pc in 2MFY22 Pakistan’s trade deficit surged to $7.337 billion during JulyAugust period of the current fiscal year (2MFY22), rising 133 per cent as imports outpaced exports drastically, according to the provisional data released on Wednesday.

The data compiled by local media outlets showed that the reverse trend was noted in trade deficit for the second consecutive month as merchandise trade deficit reached $4.05 billion in August against $1.740bn over the corresponding month last year (2MFY21).

Trade deficit had reached an all-time high of $37.7bn in FY18. However, the government measures led to a drop to $31.8bn in FY19 and $23.183bn in FY20. The trend reversed and trade deficit was recorded at $30.796bn in FY21.

The trade gap has been widening since December last year, mainly led by exponential growth in imports and comparatively slow growth in exports.

The import bill in August

rose by 89.9pc to $6.313bn against $3.324bn over the corresponding month of last year.

On the month-on-month basis, the import bill increased by 12.7pc.

In the outgoing fiscal year (FY21), the import bill surged by 25.8pc to $56.091bn from $44.574bn the previous year.

The initial estimates show that the rising import bill might push the current account to $10bn in the FY22.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had projected CAD to hover around 2-3 percent of GDP, equivalent to $6 billion to $9 billion for the current fiscal year. However, independent economists like Dr Hafiz Pasha see the CAD going up to $12-13 billion for the current fiscal year.

The exports of the country fetched $2.257 billion during August 2021, while imports stood at $6.333 billion in the same month so the trade deficit went up by $4.055 billion just in the first one month.

Total exports in the first

two months (July and August) clocked in at $4.597 billion, while imports at $11.934 billion, leading the total trade deficit to surge to $7.337 billion just in first two months of the current fiscal year.

Abdul Razak Dawood, Advisor to Prime Minister on Commerce, on Wednesday said exports for August 2021 grew by 43 percent to $2.257 billion as compared to $1.584 billion in August 2020.

“The exports for August 2021 are short by $143 million of our monthly target of $2.4 billion,” the adviser said and urged the exporters to double their efforts to market their exports in order to achieve our target.

In the wake of rising imports, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has been using exchange rate anchors by allowing depreciation of rupee against dollar in frequent manner and so far the rupee has nosedived from Rs152 to Rs167.13 against dollar in the last four months. MONITOrING rePOrT

World food prices jump in Aug NEW YORK aGeNCIes

World food prices jumped in August after two consecutive months of decline, pushed up by strong gains for sugar, vegetable oils and some cereals, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday.

The Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) also said in a statement that worldwide cereal harvests would come in at nearly 2.788 billion tonnes in 2021, down on its previous estimate of 2.817 billion tonnes but still up on 2020 levels.

FAO’s food price index, which tracks international prices of the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 127.4 points last month compared with 123.5 in July. The July figure was previously given as 123.0.

On a year-on-year basis, prices were up

32.9% in August.

FAO’s cereal price index was 3.4% higher in August from the previous month, with lower harvest expectations in several major exporting countries shunting up world wheat prices by 8.8% month-on-month, while barely surged 9.0%.

By contrast, maize and international rice prices declined.

FAO’s sugar index rose 9.6% percent from July, pushed up by concerns over frost damage to crops in Brazil, the world’s largest sugar exporter. Good production prospects in India and the European Union helped mitigate these concerns to a degree. Vegetable oil prices rose 6.7%, with palm oil prices hitting historic highs due to continued concerns over production levels and resulting inventory drawdowns in Malaysia. Quotations for rapeseed oil and sunflower oil also rose.

high interest rates, slower GDP growth and lower import-related tax revenues.

This exchange rate depreciation added around Rs2.9 trillion (20 per cent of the increase) in public debt.

It is important to highlight here that this increase was not due to borrowing but due to re-valuation of external debt in terms of rupees after currency devaluation, the statement said.

Financing of primary deficit was also added as a factor to be taken into account before evaluating public debt.

The ministry said that the impact of economic slowdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic mainly resulted in higher than estimated primary deficits.

Rs3.5 trillion, making 23 per cent of the increase, was borrowed for financing of primary deficit.

Moreover, the ministry elaborated on cash management. It said that Rs1.0 trillion, 7 per cent of the increase, was on account of increased cash balances of the government to meet emergency requirements as well as due to difference between the face value, which is used for recording of debt, and the realised value which is recorded as budgetary receipt of government bonds issued during this period.

The government took the revolutionary and economically sound step of not borrowing from the SBP and maintaining a cash buffer, which led to a one-off increase in debt. However, this increase in debt was offset by corresponding increase in liquid cash balances, the statement concluded.

HBL Plaza, Pakistan’s most iconic building, celebrates 50 years

3rd September 2021 marks a special occasion in the history of HBL, Pakistan’s largest bank in the private sector. The Bank celebrates the 50th anniversary of the HBL Plaza building today. The HBL Plaza building commenced its operations on 4th September 1971. This commanding 335 feet skyscraper stands tall on I.I. Chundrigar Road, the heart of Pakistan’s financial district, and houses over 1,700 employees. Recognized as one of the most prominent buildings of Pakistan, the building’s structure with its distinct shape and engineering firsts in Pakistan remains a symbol of Karachi’s skyline and continues to be one of the most prominent landmarks of the country. Upon its commencement, it was the tallest bank building in Asia and for decades it remained the tallest building in the country. Few structures in the country are as embedded in the nation’s psyche as HBL Plaza is. Many would remember the building being used for the sighting of the Ramazan and Eid moons. 50 years later, HBL Plaza continues to be an important landmark of Karachi. Today, HBL Plaza serves as the nerve centre of HBL’s operations, technology and digital transformation that the Bank has embarked upon. The building is the backbone of the products, services and controls that HBL provides to its clients. These past 50 years lifespan of the HBL Plaza building has seen significant growth in the financial well-being of both the country and the millions of HBL clients. The building has witnessed HBL’s remarkable strides in the financial industry. For perspective, around that period, the Bank’s profit stood at approximately Rs 100 million; today, it has crossed Rs 30 billion. In these intervening years, the Bank’s advances have grown from Rs 4 billion to Rs 1.2 trillion, while its total deposits have risen from Rs 6.8 billion to Rs 3 trillion. Commenting on the occasion, Muhammad Aurangzeb, President & CEO – HBL said, “HBL’s financial journey wouldn’t have been possible without our clients, stakeholders and employees who have been steadfast in their loyalty to the Bank.

Their support has enabled HBL to become one of the leading brands of Pakistan. As HBL looks ahead to its future, to serve the clients through its physical and digital channels, I would like to take this opportunity to express our deep appreciation and gratitude to all our stakeholders, as the Bank continues to serve them in the decades ahead, Inshallah.” Press reLease

Friday, 3 September, 2021

10 FOREIGN NEWS

LAHORE

'Historic' New York-AreA flooDiNg iN iDA's wAke leAves At leAst 9 DeAD NEW YORK

f

ReuteRs

LOODING killed at least nine people, swept away cars, submerged subway lines and temporarily grounded flights in New York and New Jersey as the remnants of Hurricane Ida brought torrential rains to the area.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio described the flooding and weather on Wednesday night as a "historic weather event," and the National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency in New York City for the first time.

Recovery efforts were underway early on Thursday to bring back transportation systems serving millions of residents in the densely populated metropolitan area.

The governors of New York and New Jersey, who had declared emergencies in their states on Wednesday, urged residents to stay home as crews worked to clear roadways and restore service to New York City subways and commuter rail lines.

"It is not safe to drive," New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said on Twitter. "Our crews are working to clear and open roads, and we need everyone to stay off them so crews can safely do their job."

Ida's remnants brought six to eight inches (15 to 20 cm) of rain to a swath of the Northeast from Philadelphia to Connecticut and set an hourly record of 3.15 inches for Manhattan, breaking the previous one that was set less than two weeks ago, the National Weather Service said.

The 7.13 inches of rain that fell in New York City on Wednesday was the city's fifth highest daily amount, it said.

“Right now my street looks more like a lake,” said Lucinda Mercer, 64, as she peered out her apartment window in Hoboken, New Jersey, just across the Hudson River from New York.

Mercer, who works as a crisis line fundraiser, said flood waters were lapping halfway up the hub caps of parked cars, and some residents put plastic garbage bags over their shoes to cross the street.

Subway service in New York City remained "extremely limited" while there was no service at all on commuter rail lines to the city's northern suburbs on Thursday morning, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) said. JannoLieber, the MTA's acting chair and CEO, told local media it was going to take until later in the day to restore full service.

Abu Dhabi abolishes quarantine requirement for all vaccinated travellers DUBAI: Abu Dhabi has decided to remove the need to quarantine for all vaccinated travellers arriving from international destinations starting Sunday. In a tweet, the government’s media office Thursday confirmed that mandatory quarantine restriction for vaccinated travellers has been removed. A negative PCR test, however, remains a requirement to travel to the United Arab Emirates' capital, it added. Pakistan hopes UAE will review travel ban Earlier on June 28, Pakistan had expressed hope that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will review the travel ban it had imposed on Islamabad till July 21, as the coronavirus situation in the country is better than several other states. Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, speaking to Geo News, had said Pakistani officials were in talks with their UAE counterparts, as he hoped the country would revoke its travel advisory. "Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi recently discussed the issue with his UAE counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed," the spokesperson had said. ReuteRs

Images posted on social media overnight showed water gushing over subway platforms and trains.

The Long Island Railroad, which is also run by the MTA, said early on Thursday that services on most of its branches had been restored but commuters should expect system wide delays of up to 30 minutes. At least one person was killed as the flooding inundated the New Jersey city of Passaic, Mayor Hector Lora told CNN. The vehicle the man was riding in was swept away by the water, CNN reported.

NBC New York reported that another person had died in New Jersey and seven had died in New York City, including a 2-year-old boy.

Local media reported that people had been trapped in their basements as the storm sent water surging through the city.

Mark Haley of Summit, New Jersey, said getting back home after a 15-minute drive to a bowling alley to celebrate his daughter's sixth birthday on Wednesday night became a six-hour slog through flood waters that often left him trapped.

"When we got out, it was a war zone,” said Haley, 50, a fitness trainer, who got home to find almost two feet (0.6 m) of water in his basement.

All New Jersey Transit rail services apart from the Atlantic City Rail Line were suspended, the service said on its website.

Amtrak said on Thursday morning that it cancelled all passenger rail service between Philadelphia and Boston.

Tornadoes spawned by the storm ripped through parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, images on social media showed.

New Jersey's Newark Liberty Airport said on Twitter that it had resumed "limited flight operations" at around midnight after all flight activity was suspended late on Wednesday because of "severe flooding."

More than 200,000 electricity customers were without power early on Thursday in five north-eastern states that got most of the rains overnight, mostly in Pennsylvania

and New Jersey, according to PowerOutage.US, which gathers data from utility companies. There were also outages in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts, it said.

The hit to the region came three days after Ida pounded southern Louisiana as a very powerful hurricane. Reconnaissance flights revealed entire communities devastated by wind and floods.

India has most Covid-19 cases in two months, worst-hit Kerala in focus BENGALURU ReuteRs

India reported the biggest single-day rise in Covid-19 cases in two months on Thursday, as the government worries about the virus spreading from the most affected Kerala state, schools reopening, and the start of the festival season. Densely populated Kerala, on India’s southern tip, accounted for nearly 70 percent of the 47,092 new infections and a third of deaths, a week after it celebrated its biggest festival during which family and social gatherings were common.

“With cases rising in Kerala, adequate steps should be taken to contain the inter-state spread of Covid-19,” Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in a statement after speaking with his state counterparts in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, which border Kerala.

He asked them to increase vaccination in the districts close to Kerala. India has so far administered 662 million doses, with at least one dose in 54 percent of its 944 million adults and the required two doses in 16 percent.

Vaccinations have soared in recent days as supplies have improved. And as more than two-thirds of Indians already have Covid-fighting antibodies, mainly through natural infection, experts think another national surge in cases will be less deadly than the last one in April and May when tens of thousands of people died and hospitals ran out of beds and oxygen.

Also offering hope is a recent non-peer-reviewed study done in Kerala that showed that one dose of the AstraZeneca shot, the mainstay of India’s immunisation drive, generates 30 times more antibodies in previously infected people than fully inoculated ones who never contracted the virus.

“A decently managed vaccination programme, along with the hybrid immunity we’re seeing now, makes a massive third wave unlikely,” said clinical immunologist and rheumatologist Padmanabha Shenoy, who led the study and was referring to the immunity from natural infection and one vaccine dose.

The federal government, nevertheless, has warned that like in Kerala, the rest of India could also see a rise in infections around the festival season starting this month and ending in early November.

Some parents are also worried about the reopening of physical classes – voluntary and mainly for middle school and above — in the capital Delhi and states like Gujarat. India has so far reported about 32.9 million infections, the most in the world after the United States.

Deaths went up by 509 on Thursday to a total of 439,529, which experts say is a massive undercount.

Explainer: What leverage do US, allies have over Taliban in Afghanistan?

WASHINGTON ReuteRs

The United States and its allies may have left Afghanistan in the hands of the Taliban but they still have “leverage” to make the militants honor commitments to allow people out of the country, according to US President Joe Biden.

This was echoed by US officials and other Western leaders, who believe the Taliban can be pressured into abandoning their past violence and support for terrorism with carrot and stick measures given Afghanistan’s outsized dependence on imported energy, food and foreign aid — and its shaky economy.

Here are some of the most important levers the West has to press the Taliban into honouring women’s rights and cooperating with other countries: BILLIONS IN GOLD, FOREIGN EXCHANGE AND SPECIAL RESERVES: The United States has an outsized role to play in deciding what happens to Afghanistan’s $9 billion in gold and foreign currency reserves. Of that, $7 billion is held in the United States, with $1.3 billion in other international accounts and some $700,000 by the Bank for International Settlements, the Afghan central bank governor tweeted after fleeing the country.

Washington quickly blocked the Taliban from accessing any central bank assets held by the Afghan government by the New York

Federal Reserve or elsewhere in the United States, and the assets remain frozen.

The International Monetary Fund suspended Afghanistan’s access to IMF resources on August 18, including $440 million in new emergency reserves.

Washington is under pressure from some humanitarian groups, Afghan central bank officials and foreign governments, including Russia, to ease the freeze in assets and allow some dollar shipments, a move that would likely come with stiff conditions.

The Taliban is likely to turn to narcotics

or weapons trafficking instead, a Russian official said on Monday.

RELIANCE ON IMPORTS: Afghanistan relies on imports for the lion’s share of the food and fuel consumed and clothing. It imported $8.6 billion in goods in 2019, topped by peat, wheat and petroleum, according to World Bank data. Some 70% of electrical power is imported at an annual cost of $270 million.

The Taliban cannot pay for such imports without access to dollars and Afghanistan’s foreign currency reserves; it had enough re-

serves to pay for an estimated two days of imports when overseas assets were frozen.

The US and allies could condition access to dollar transactions or reserves on Taliban behaviour.

FOREIGN AID: The US plays a major role here too, given its influence at both the World Bank, which oversees the Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund, and the IMF, and because of the billions it has given the Afghan government and NGOs on the ground.

The World Bank cut off funds to Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover. The future of the Fund is unclear.

Last week, the US Treasury issued a limited new license for the government and partners to give humanitarian aid in Afghanistan, a step that could encourage other governments to do the same.

Before August 15, grants to Afghanistan totalled around $8.5 billion a year, or about 43% of its gross domestic product. They funded 75% of public expenditure, 50% of the budget and about 90% of government security spending.

Any resumption of Afghanistan’s access to these resources is likely to be made conditional on Taliban behaviour.

FINANCIAL SANCTIONS: The Taliban as a whole, and individual Taliban leaders, are already subject to US and United Nations sanctions that effectively ban their access to dollar transactions and the US financial system.

Western financial institutions are avoid-

ing doing business with the Taliban, so they don’t run afoul of US law. Unwinding these sanctions would require a lengthy and complex process by the US Treasury, administration officials say, but the department could grant licenses for more transactions based on Taliban behaviour.

WITHHOLDING PRIVATE BANKING SECTOR SUPPORT: Pressure is building on Afghanistan’s private banking sector given the freeze in dollar shipments. All of the 12 banks operating in Afghanistan require overseas banks to process dollar transactions, and three are state-owned, making them directly controlled by the Taliban.

Citibank and others have halted such support to avoid any possible sanction violations.

The Afghan-American Chamber of Commerce, which includes Afghan commercial banks and corporate investors, is urging US officials to allow a limited infusion of cash to regenerate public confidence and avoid possible panic and violence.

REMITTANCES: Afghanistan also relies heavily on remittances, with such payments from migrant workers overseas accounting for about 4% of the country’s gross domestic product.

Western Union, the world’s largest money transfer firm, and Moneygram have both suspended such services, shutting off the flow of funds that many families rely on to pay for food. Reopening these services would require an easing of US financial sanctions.

Friday, 3 September, 2021

SPORTS 11

LAHORE

IndIa fIght back wIth Root dIsmIssal In fouRth test LONDON

e

REUTERS

NGLAND bowled out India for 191 before suffering a top-order collapse of their own on a bowlerdominated opening day of the fourth Test at The Oval on Thurs-

day.

The hosts lost their talismanic captain Joe Root in the penultimate over of the day to concede some of their advantage and were 53-3 at stumps.

Dawid Malan was batting on 26 and nightwatchman Craig Overton was one not out with England 138 runs behind.

Earlier, ViratKohli made 50 but it was number eight batsman Shardul Thakur's blistering 57 off 36 balls which lent respectability to India's total after they had been put in to bat.

They were 39-3 before Kohli arrested the slide but the touring side slumped to 127-7 after the captain's departure.

Thakur launched a spectacular counterattack but they still fell short of the 200mark.

India openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul had begun briskly, forcing a bowling change that worked for England.

Root took spearhead James Anderson out of the attack after an expensive, wicketless spell and pressed Chris Woakes into service.

Playing his first Test in 12 months,

Woakes struck in his first over to trigger a mini-collapse.

The seamer surprised Rohit with extra bounce and Jonny Bairstow, replacing Jos Buttler behind the stumps, took the catch.

Ollie Robinson dismissed Rahul lbw and Anderson removed CheteshwarPujara to leave India reeling.

The onus was on Kohli to prevent a batting meltdown similar to the third Test in whichIndia were shot out for 78, allowing England to level the five-Test series 11.

Luck appeared to favour him too as Kohli got a reprieve on 22 when Root spilled him in the slips after the India captain had edged Woakes.

Kohli could not convert his fifty into a big knock, though, falling caught behind to Robinson.

India sent RavindraJadeja in ahead of AjinkyaRahane and Rishabh Pant in a surprising move but all three fell cheaply.

Thakur reached fifty off 31 balls with his third six before Woakes trapped him lbw. England were jolted early in their reply as JaspritBumrah struck twice in five balls.

Rory Burns played with an angled bat to be bowled for five and Haseeb Hameed produced a rash stroke to be caught behind.

Root, the world's top-ranked Test batsman, made a fluent 21 but was bowled through the gate by a fine Umesh Yadav delivery.

India left out spinner Ravichan-

dranAshwin again and brought in seamers Yadav and Thakur to replace the injured

Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma.

England welcomed back Woakes and

Sri Lanka beat South africa by 14 runs in first odi COLOMBO AFP

nomical return in ODI cricket and became the only South African spinner bar Imran Tahir to concede 30 runs or fewer in a ten-over spell in almost a decade.

What Maharaj lacked was what Sri Lanka had - someone to help keep things tight. Sri Lanka's spin trio - Hasaranga, Dananjaya and Praveen Jayawickrama bowled 28 overs between and conceded 134 runs at a rate of under five an over but did not cause the damage that might have been expected. By and large, South Africa handled them well, particularly Markram, who is a much-improved player from the one who made 0 and 3 on a tour to Sri Lanka three years ago.

When Markram was dismissed, South Africa had two new batters at the crease, in van der Dussen and Kyle Verreynne, and they needed time to get in. Five boundary-less overs followed, at a crucial stage in the chase, before van der Dussen swept through backward square leg. He

Sri Lanka scored 90 runs off the last 10 overs of their innings and defended 90 in the last 10 overs of South Africa's to take the series lead and 10 points into the World Cup Super League table, ESPNcricinfo reported.

History was on the hosts' side, with no team ever successfully chasing a total over 300 in a day-night game on the island. South Africa, on 210 for 3 after 40 overs, were well-placed but Sri Lanka's attack held its nerve.

WaninduHasaranga and AkilaDananjaya combined well for seven overs with Dananjaya removing the well-set Rassie van der Dussen for a run-a-ball 59. Then, DushmanthaChameera and ChamikaKarunaratne were left 37 to defend off the last three overs and, with a combination of slower balls and fulllength deliveries, the pair kept South Africa to 286.

South Africa's chase suffered its first major dent when their captain Temba Bavuma had to retire hurt after 28 overs.

Bavuma was struck on the right thumb two overs before, after pushing the ball to midwicket, and then attempting to avoid the fielder's throw. He took his glove off immediately, which revealed some blood and swelling, and received on-field attention for several minutes and continued, but not for long.

At that stage, Bavuma and Aiden Markram had shared in a 106-run secondwicket stand, Markram was on 91 and South Africa were scoring at 5.53 runs an over, below the required run-rate of 6.63 but in control. Seventeen deliveries later, Markram was out too, caught by a diving Hasaranga at deep cover as he tried to clear the rope Sri in search of a first ODI century.

Lanka 300 for 9 Markram fell four (aviShka 118, aSaLanka short and could not trump 72, Maharaj 2-30) beat Avishka FerSouth africa 286 for 6 nando, whose 118 off 115 balls (MarkraM 96, van der led Sri Lanka to duSSen 59, dananjaya 2300.

As disappointed 65) by 14 runS as South Africa will be with their batting, they lost most of the game in the field and will want to consider both the composition of their attack and their approach to these conditions. South Africa opted for only five frontline bowlers and relied on Markram's parttime offspin for six overs. Their quicks, KagisoRabada and Anrich Nortje, were too short, the allrounder, AndilePhehlukwayo lacked control, and Shamsi was inconsistent. KeshavMaharaj, though, was outstanding. He produced his most eco-

played that shot, and the reverse sweep, almost exclusively and they brought him runs but not quickly enough. Verreynne was less productive, using 20 balls to score only 12 before he was out lbw.

Van der Dussen and Heinrich Klaasen combined for a partnership of 51 but were always playing catch up and when van der Dussenyorked himself playing the reverse sweep South Africa were all but out of the chase. Phehlukwayo was in at No. 7, which appears a spot too high for him - the length of South Africa's line-up will be another talking point. Sri Lanka's, on the other hand, looked more than long enough.

Avishka and MinodBhanuka scored 41 runs off the first six overs against a pedestrian opening burst and runs only dried up with the introduction of Maharaj in the seventh over, and Markram in the tenth. The pair bowled eight overs in tandem and gave away only 25 runs. Cru-

cially, they also took two wickets.

Bhanuka was bowled by a Markram arm ball as he missed with a slog sweep and, four balls later, Bhanuka Rajapaksa became the only Sri Lankan batter to fail on the day, when he holed out to deep midwicket off Maharaj. Sri Lanka were 58 for 2 in the 13th over but South Africa were unable to keep the pressure on.

Phehlukwayo gave away the first boundary in more than 50 balls when he angled his first delivery down leg and Dhananjaya de Silva helped it to fine leg for four. de Silva lived dangerously thereafter, hitting Shamsi just over mid-off, where he evaded Phehlukwayo's outstretched hand, and was dropped on 30, when he offered a return catch to Shamsi, as the rain came down. A 25-minute delay gave de Silva, and South Africa, time to regroup, though it did not seem to do either much good. The batter was dropped again, on 33, when he got a thick edge off a late cut against Maharaj, but Klaasen could not hold on to a low chance. De Silva was eventually stumped by Klaasen after reaching out to sweep Maharaj with his back foot just outside the crease.

By that point, Avishka had brought up his half-century with a single to midwicket and the time was right for the innings to get some impetus.

CharithAsalanka provided it. He took on the spinners and collected 18 from the first 16 balls he faced, before Avishka freed his arms to hit a hard length Rabada delivery over deep backward square for the first six of the innings. When Rabada tried the legcutter, Avishka whipped it off his hips for four, and when Phehukwayo took pace off the ball, he drove him uppishly through extra cover. He reached his century with a single off Phehlukwayo, then plundered 13 off a Nortje over and seemed set to see Sri Lanka to the close, but was done by a Shamsi wrong 'un that he popped up to point.

The dismissal of his senior partner did nothing to slow Asalanka down. He reached a 51-ball half-century with two runs off Nortje and built on it as South Africa lost their way towards the end.

Nortje's final over cost 15 runs as he finished with 0 for 69 and Rabada gave away six extras in his last two overs. It was too much for the batters, and always might have been, especially as the highest total successfully chased in a day-night game in the country is 288.

In the end, Sri Lanka have gained crucial points on the World Cup Super League table and have moved up to eighth, while South Africa have slipped down to 11th. They have only successfully completed one chase of a 270-plus score since 2018, when they beat Australia in an ODI in Bloemfontein at home, after being set such a target ten times.

Originally published on ESPNcricinfo

batsman Ollie Pope in place of Sam Curran and Buttler.

Ronaldo breaks men's international scoring record

FARO REUTERS

When Manchester City loanee Gavin Bazunu saved Cristiano Ronaldo’s first-half penalty to deny the Manchester United forward a record 110th international goal for Portugal, the headlines wrote themselves. Ireland looked to be holding on for a famous World Cup qualifying victory in Portugal, but, as he so often does, the 36-year-old Ronaldo had the last word with two late goals to break Irish hearts – and the world record. “I’m so happy, not only for the record but for the special moments with two goals at the end,” Ronaldo said. “It was so tough, but we have to appreciate what the team did, they and the fans believed until the end of the game.” It had been a frustrating night for Ronaldo and his compatriots as Ireland defended resolutely after taking the lead and largely restricted the hosts to pot-shots from distance. In the 89th minute, Ronaldo lined up a free kick on the edge of the box but the 19-year-old Bazunu again repelled his effort. Ronaldo, however, simply refused to be denied. His movement was impeccable, darting this way and that to free himself from the attentions of the defence and get on the end of substitute Goncalo Guedes’s cross to power in a headed equaliser. That took him past Iranian Ali Daei’s total of 109 international goals and he repeated the feat in the 96th minute with another header to move on to 111. While Ronaldo’s night was almost perfect, there was one blot on his copybook. He was booked for taking his shirt off while celebrating the winning goal, meaning he will miss Portugal’s trip to Azerbaijan on Tuesday. That may be good news for Manchester United, however, as Ronaldo is expected to play the first match of his second spell at the Premier League club against Newcastle United next Saturday.

Friday, 3 September, 2021

PRAyER TimiNgS

NEWS

FAJR SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

4:08

12:06

3:43

5:32

6:37

8:03

VeTeran PoLiTician SarDar aTTauLLah MengaL PaSSeS away in Karachi KARACHI APP

V

ETERAN politician and Balochistan’s former chief minister, Sardar Attaullah Mengal, has died at the age of 93. According to Member of Provincial Assembly of Balochistan Akhtar Hussain Langau, he was ill and had been hospitalized at a private hospital in Karachi for the last one week.

His funeral will be held in his hometown of Wadh, in district Khuzdar, he told.

Mengal was born in 1929 in Lasbela and was the first chief minister of Balochistan.

After spending his childhood there, he moved to Karachi. In 1954, he was declared the chief of the Mengal tribe.

It was Mir Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo, a founding member of the National Awami Party, who introduced Mengal to the world of politics. In 1962, Mengal was elected to the West Pakistan provincial assembly.

Mengal was known for his outspoken nature and his fight for the rights of the Baloch people.

Ataullah Mengal was the father of Balochistan National Party chief Akhtar Mengal.

President Dr Arif Alvi expressed his grief and sorrow over the sad demise of veteran politician Sardar Attaullah Mengal. He, in a message, expressed his sympathies with the bereaved family and prayed for the departed soul.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi also expressed his grief over the demise of Sardar Attaullah Mengal.

In a condolence message, he prayed for the de-

parted soul and expressed sympathies with the bereaved family.

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib similarly expressed his condolences over the sad demise of veteran leader Sardar Attaullah Mengal, founder of Balochistan National Party.

In his condolence message, he said the services of deceased Mengal would be remembered for long.

The minister prayed to Allah Almighty to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant strength to the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss.

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Jam Kamal Khan conveyed his deep sorrow over the death of the senior politician and former Balochistan CM. In a statement, he said Sardar Attaullah Mengal was a shrewd politician as his political and social services for the province would always be remembered.

He also prayed that Allah Almighty to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant courage to the bereaved family to bear this loss with fortitude.

Moreover, Balochistan Governor Syed Zahoor Ahmed Agha on Thursday expressed deep sorrow over the demise of the founder of Balochistan National Party.

In a statement, the governor further said the services were rendered by the late Sardar Attaullah Mengal for the sake of democratic attitudes, equality and development of the nations would be remembered forever.

He also prayed that Allah Almighty to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant courage to the bereaved family to bear this loss with fortitude.

Central President of Awami National Party Asfandyar Wali Khan expressed grief and sorrow over the demise of the first former Chief Minister

Balochistan Sardar Attaullah Mengal and termed it a great loss for the people of Balochistan.

In his condolence message, he said that Attaullah Mengal was a visionary politician who had always struggled for strengthening democracy and supremacy of the constitution and parliament in the country.

He said that Mengal was detained for raising his voice against dictatorship but he stood firm and continued his struggle vigorously, adding that his death created a vacuum in national politics and his services would always be remembered.

Expressing sympathies with the bereaved family, he prayed for eternal peace for the departed soul and courage for the family to bear the loss with fortitude.

Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has expressed a deep sense of sorrow over the death of veteran politician Sardar Ataullah Mengal.

In his condolence message, the CM extended sympathies to his son Sardar Akhtar Mengal and other members of the bereaved family and prayed that may Allah Almighty rest the departed soul in eternal peace.

Late Sardar Ata Ullah Mengal was a statesman who enjoyed a unique political stature in the country, the CM added.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister, Mahmood Khan has expressed grief and sorrow over the death of Sardar Attaullah Mengal, former CM. In a condolence message issued here Thursday, KP CM expressed sympathies with bereaved family members.

He also prayed to Allah Almighty for the eternal peace of departed soul and granting courage to family members to bear the loss with patience.

Qatar working with Taliban to reopen Kabul airport ‘as soon as possible’ DOHA AFP

Qatar is working with the Taliban to reopen Kabul’s airport as soon as possible, its foreign minister said on Thursday, urging the group to allow Afghans to leave.

The airport, the scene of a frenzied evacuation which ended with the US troop withdrawal on Tuesday, is out of operation with much of its infrastructure degraded or destroyed.

“We are working very hard (and) we remain hopeful that we will be able to operate it as soon as possible,” said Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.

“Hopefully in the next few days we will hear some good news,” he told a news conference in Doha.

A Qatari technical team flew into Kabul on Wednesday to discuss reopening the airport, the first plane to land there since the evacuations.

A source with knowledge of the matter said the goal was to resume flights both for humanitarian aid and to provide freedom of movement, including the resumption of evacuation efforts.

More than 123,000 foreign nationals and Afghans fled the country in the

airlift operation, but many more are desperate to depart.

“It’s very important… that the Taliban demonstrate their commitment to provide safe passage and freedom of movement for the people of Afghanistan,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

Qatar is “engaging with (the Taliban) and also with Turkey if they can provide any technical assistance”, he added.

Sheikh Mohammed was addressing a joint press conference with his British counterpart Dominic Raab, who said “we need to adjust to the new reality” of Taliban rule.

“Our immediate priority is to secure the safe passage of those remaining British nationals, but also the Afghans who worked for the United Kingdom, and indeed others who may be at most risk,” Raab said.

Qatar hosted negotiations between the Taliban and the United States in recent years and was a transit point for about 43,000 evacuees from Afghanistan.

The US invaded Afghanistan and toppled its Taliban government in 2001 in the wake of the 9/11 attacks by al Qaeda, which had sought sanctuary in the country.

Pakistan’s communication with Taliban led to Doha agreement: Maleeha Lodhi Pakistan’s channel of communication with the Taliban led to the Doha agreement, said former permanent representative of Pakistan to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi. Speaking to CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour on Wednesday, the Pakistani diplomat discussed Pakistan’s stance on the Afghanistan issue and highlighted the importance of engaging with the new government, according to a report by Geo. Lodhi stated that she “understands the instinct to blame somebody for what has been a US-led western debacle” in Afghanistan. She added that it is disappointing to see the outcome we have after two decades of war led by the most powerful army in the world, with US President Joe Biden saying there is no military solution to Afghanistan.

Lodhi reminded that Pakistan had said the exact same at the start of the war- that there would never be a military solution to Afghanistan. Speaking on Pakistan’s role in the war, Lodhi affirmed that Pakistan did keep its channel open for communication with the Taliban and had Pakistan not done that, the Doha Agreement in February 2020 would have never happened. She added that it was due to the Doha agreement that the US military had no casualties for eighteen months. Speaking on Pakistan’s role in the current situation, Lodhi stated, “Pakistan has the most to gain from peace and stability in Afghanistan.” She added that Pakistan also has the most to lose and fear if Afghanistan descends into a civil war. Lodhi further established that it is important to “stop obsessing over the past” and “think about the future” and how the international community can contribute towards peace and stability in Afghanistan. She reiterated that there are heavy stakes for everyone and not just Pakistan. Answering a question on what Pakistan wants to see for Afghanistan, the Pakistani diplomat stated that Pakistan wants to see peace and stability. Lodhi further said that Pakistan has witnessed four decades of war and foreign military interventions in Afghanistan. She added that Pakistan has been on the receiving end of millions of refugees, security challenges, and also the problem of drugs, due to the war in Afghanistan. She stated that Pakistan has had to deal with the “witches brew” of the problems that came with the war in Afghanistan. Lodhi added that against this background, Pakistan wants to see the international community remain united and remain engaged with the new government when it’s formed to make sure that Afghanistan does not go into state collapse. She further stated that the economic situation in Afghanistan is very dire and Pakistan wants the Taliban to hold firmly to the commitments they have made to the international community. She added that the Taliban should hold their promise of not using Afghanistan’s soil for attacks within the region or in any country in the world. Lodhi also stated that the international community should ensure that the Taliban are not pushed to the wall. NEwS DESk

Rebels hold out in Afghan valley as Taliban set up government in Kabul KABUL REUTERS

Taliban forces and fighters loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud battled in Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley on Thursday, more than two weeks after the group seized power, as Taliban leaders in the capital Kabul worked to form a government.

Panjshir is the last province resisting rule by the Taliban, whose overthrow of the Western-backed government as US and other foreign troops withdrew after 20 years has left the country in chaos. Each side said it had inflicted heavy casualties.

"We started operations after negotiation with the local armed group failed," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said.

Taliban fighters had entered Panjshir and taken control of some territory, he said.

"They (the enemy) suffered heavy losses."

A spokesman for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRFA) rebel grouping said it had full control of all passes and entrances and had driven back efforts to take Shotul district.

"The enemy made multiple attempts to enter Shotul from Jabul-Saraj, and failed each time," he said, referring to a town in neighbouring Parwan province.

Since the Taliban swept into Kabul on Aug. 15, several thousand fighters from local

militias and remnants of the government's armed forces have massed in Panjshir under the leadership of Massoud, son of a former Mujahideen commander.

They have been holding out in the steep valley where attacks from outside are difficult.

Efforts to negotiate a settlement appear to have broken down, with each side blaming the other for the failure, as the Taliban prepared to announce a new government.

Mujahid said this was a matter of a few days away, while Taliban official Ahmadullah Muttaqi said a ceremony was being organised at the presidential palace.

HUMANITARIAN CATASTROPHE: The legitimacy of the government in the eyes of international donors and investors will be crucial for the economy as the country battles drought and the ravages of a 20-year conflict that killed an estimated 240,000 Afghans.

Humanitarian organisations have warned of impending catastrophe and the economy - reliant for years on many milions of dollars of foreign aid - is close to collapse.

Many Afghans were struggling to feed their families amid severe drought well before the Taliban militants seized power and millions may now face starvation with the country isolated and the economy unravelling, aid agencies say.

"Since the 15th of August, we have seen the crisis accelerate and magnify with the

imminent economic collapse that is coming this country's way," Mary-Ellen McGroarty, World Food Programme country director in Afghanistan, told Reuters from Kabul.

In a positive development, a senior executive of Western Union Co (WU.N) said it was resuming money-transfer services to Afghanistan - a decision he said was in line with a US push to allow humanitarian activity to continue there.

"Much of our business involving Afghanistan is low-value family and support remittances that support basic needs of the people there, so that's the grounding that we have and why we want to reopen our business," Jean Claude Farah, Western Union's president in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Western Union and MoneyGram International Inc (MGI.O) had suspended services in Afghanistan after the Taliban captured Kabul.

RECOGNITION: The Taliban enforced Islamic law, when it ruled from 1996-2001 but has tried to present a more moderate face to the world this time, promising to protect human rights and refrain from reprisals against old enemies.

The United States, the European Union and others have cast doubt on such assurances, saying formal recognition of the new government - and the economic aid that would flow

from that - is contingent on action.

The foreign minister of current EU president Slovenia, Anze Logar, said the bloc was "far from even tackling this question", which EU leaders might discuss at summits next month. Some EU states consider the Taliban a terrorist organisation.

If the EU - the world's biggest aid donor - decides to recognise the Taliban govern-

ment, "aid is the leverage that the European Union has" in setting conditions, Logar told Reuters A source with direct knowledge of the move said Afghan diplomats had been asked to stay in overseas posts for the time being.

The Taliban had made clear there would eventually be change but also wanted to maintain a sense of continuity, the source said.

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