EpaperISB_20-11-19

Thursday, 19 November, 2020 I 2 Rabi al-Akhir, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 140 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition

Govt fully backs wealth creation, industrialisation: PM

Faraz urges opposition to suspend rallies amid surging Covid cases ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

FAISALABAD

P

STAFF REPORT

rIME Minister Imran Khan has said the government will fully support wealth creation and industrialisation in Pakistan to promote economic activities in the country.

Addressing businessmen and industrialists on Wednesday, the prime minister said that it is the main policy of the government to industrialise Pakistan, which is vital for job creation as well.

He said that suggestions and input from the business community will be welcomed to strengthen the economy. The premier emphasised the need for imparting training to labourers for value addition of Pakistani products.

He asked Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar to work for the establishment of textile skills institutions in this regard.

He also urged the business community to take care of labour class’ interests with the growth of their businesses.

Talking about people’s demand for

the establishment of a high court bench in Faisalabad, PM Imran said that that there should be a high court bench at every divisional headquarters. He said that his government believes in solving people’s problems at the primary level for which a new local government system is being introduced in the country. He added that under the new system every urban centre will have its own directly elected mayor.

The prime minister said that cities will be made more empowered to resolve their problems at the local level and without looking for any help from the provincial or the federal government.

He said that this is the first government after 1960 that wants to industrialise Pakistan. “You are Pakistan’s industrial hub. If you progress, Pakistan will progress,” he added. He recalled that the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) faced a serious economic crisis when it came to power in 2018.

PM Imran said that it is up to the government to help industries flourish so as to create employment opportunities. Noting

coronavirus in

Pakistan

that Pakistan faces a historic debt, he said that wealth creation in the country will help the government pay off the debt.

He lauded his economic team and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governor over policies to bring the country’s economy out of the coronavirus-induced sluggishness. As the world faced an unprecedented crisis brought on by the pandemic with countries like India imposing lockdown, he said that the PTI government saved the poor and industries.

The premier said that the second wave of the coronavirus is rearing its head, due to which a small gathering was held in Faisalabad. He urged the people to wear masks and follow standard operating procedures (SOPs) to keep the virus at bay.

“Economy will suffer and poverty will increase if pressure [of increasing patients] piles up on hospitals,” he pointed out.

The premier said that they are bringing reforms in the Federal Board of revenue (FBr) to purge it of all ills.

All-out efforts are underway to boost exports, he maintained and vowed to facilitate businessmen.

England confirm historic Pakistan tour in October 2021

CONFIRMED CASES:

363,380

LAST UPDATED AT 8:23 AM ON NOVEMBER 18, 2020

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

37

RECOVERED:

NEW CASES:

2,208 DEATHS:

325,788 7,230

ISLAMABAD/LONDON AgEnciES

SINDH:

PUNJAB:

157,432

111,626

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

AJK/GB:

ISLAMABAD:

42,815

16,529

5,640/4,467 24,871

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz has urged the opposition parties to suspend their political rallies amid a strong second wave of Covid-19 in the country.

“We have also suspended all our political rallies and urge the opposition to do so as Covid-19 cases are on the rise in the country,” Faraz said while addressing a press conference here on Wednesday.

The minister also urged the masses as well as the opposition parties to adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) laid out by the government.

In an apparent response to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz's speech in Mansehra earlier in the day, he said that the people of Pakistan rejected PML-N in the 2018 elections and now people of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) have also thrown away the party’s ‘antistate’ narrative.

“In what capacity do you not accept the results? You have looted public wealth and brought shame to institutions. You have no right to question [the elections],” he added.

Talking about the Sharif family, Faraz claimed that politics was just a business for them so that they could protect their personal interests.

“Your speeches start with your own family and end there as well.

You were just a businessman and will remain so. Your narrative has been rejected by the people of Pakistan. If you have any self-respect, which I doubt you have, then instead of delivering speeches to protect your interest,

England’s cricket team will play two T20 Internationals in Karachi next October during its first tour to Pakistan since 2005.

England and Wales Cricket Board on Wednesday said its squad will arrive in Karachi on October 12. After playing back-to-back T20 on October 14 and 15, both teams will fly to India on October 16 for the T20 World Cup. Michael Vaughan was cap-

tain when England last toured Pakistan for three test matches and five one-day internationals.

Despite international travel restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic this year, Pakistan was able to tour England and play three test matches and three T20s at Manchester.

“As was demonstrated this summer, we have a strong relationship with PCB and ECB is delighted to be able to play our part in ensuring the safe return of international cricket to this wonderful nation of passionate

cricket fans,” ECB chief executive Tom Harrison said in a statement.

Harrison said that the ECB is working closely with the Pakistan Cricket Board to ensure the safety and security of its team and “of course the situation regarding the fast-moving and ever-changing Covid-19 pandemic.”

The PCB expects England’s short tour will showcase Pakistan’s ability to host international matches and will encourage the visitors for their tour to Pakistan in the 2022-23 season.

“The October 2021 T20Is will allow the leading England cricketers to access and examine the world-class arrangements we will put together, which will give them further encouragement and confidence to not only return in 2022-23 but also express their interest in the Pakistan Super League,” PCB chief executive Wasim Khan said.

Englishman Alex Hales played for the champion Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League which ended at Karachi on Tuesday. Another Englishman, all-rounder Samit Patel, represented Lahore Qalandars, who were beaten in the final by five wickets.

you should think about the people of this country,” he said in an apparent reference to the recent fiery speech of PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif.

Faraz lamented that the opposition is holding political rallies at a time when the economy of the country is getting back on its feet despite coronavirus pandemic.

Pakistan reported another 2,208 cases and 37 fatalities on Tuesday, according to the country's official portal on coronavirus. The tally for confirmed cases has now reached 363,380 with 7,230 fatalities.

Several anti-government public rallies, under the banner of an 11party alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), whose agenda is to overthrow the “unrepresentative” government of Prime Minister Imran Khan, have been held in major cities in recent weeks.

On Monday, PM Imran announced a ban on public political rallies, fearing hospitals will be overwhelmed as they were in June if people do not act responsibly.

Earlier in the day, Faraz said that the agenda of the opposition's alliance, PDM, is to get the cases against them quashed.

In a couple of tweets on Wednesday, the information minister regretted that the opposition parties want a judiciary which gives judgements in their favour. He said that this is not a democratic but dictatorial conduct.

He said that PM Imran has made the institutions independent and autonomous. He maintained that there is no longer a monopoly of certain families on the institutions. The information minister said the decisions taken by the masses will have to be accepted by the political parties.

more inside

Pfizer ends vaccine trial with 95pc success rate, paving way for a shot this year STORY ON BACK PAGE

PM to visit Afghanistan today for enhancing mutual ties STORY ON PAGE 03

UAE temporarily suspends visit visas for 12 countries, including Pakistan STORY ON PAGE 03

Govt responsible for ensuring SOPs' enforcement: IHC STORY ON PAGE 04

02

Thursday, 19 November, 2020

NEWS

Second covid-19 wave can be more lethal, former official warnS ISLAMABAD

f

STAFF REPORT

ORMER adviser to the prime minister on health Dr Zafar Mirza on Wednesday warned that the second coronavirus wave in Pakistan may be more lethal and called opposition rallies “highly irresponsible” in the wake of the pandemic.

Pakistan has seen a surge in Covid-19 cases in the past few weeks as the second wave has gained momentum across the country. The government portal keeping track of infections reported 2,208 new cases on Wednesday after conducting 38,544 tests — a positivity ratio of 5.73 per cent.

“COVID19 is surging & can be much more dangerous than the 1st wave which means more deaths of Pakistanis,” Dr Mirza

Police stop attack on intelligence agency office in KP NEWS DESK The police stopped a terrorist attack on an intelligence agency office in Charsadda, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on Wednesday. Unknown gunmen opened fire on the district commissioner office, resulting in one officer being injured and succumbing to his wounds, District Police Officer (DPO) Charsadda Muhammad Shoaib Khan revealed. The police returned fire, which resulted in the death of one of the assailants. The police were also able to recover weapons from the terrorist. The security forces were had been alerted beforehand about a potential attack in the area, the DPO said. The area has been cordoned off by the police and a search investigation is underway.

bilawal’s 2016 petition for extra security granted by Shc NEWS DESK Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had filed a petition for extra security in 2016, which has now been granted by the Sindh High Court (SHC) A two-member bench of the SHC, comprising Justice Karim Khan Agha and Justice Amjad Ali Sahito, instructed the government to provide ‘foolproof’ security to the PPP chairman on Wednesday. Based on reports of security agencies who said that Bilawal’s life was threatened, the PPP chairman sought permission to travel in bulletproof vehicles with tinted windows and personal security guards. “My mother also lost her life to terrorists,” Bilawal said in the petition. The court has instructed that Bilawal should be provided security at all public gatherings as well.

Karachi court categorises fir against Safdar as c class KARACHI STAFF REPORT

A judicial magistrate on Wednesday quashed the first information report (FIR) against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Captain (r) Safdar Awan after categorising the case against him as “C class”. Awan faced day-long detention last month for raising slogans at the mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah before the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) second power show at Karachi. A FIR — registered against his wife Maryam Nawaz and some 200 others — said the suspects violated the sanctity of the mausoleum and Quaid’s grave and hurled murder threats at some individuals. The following day, Sindh police arrested Awan from his hotel room early morning, stirring a political uproar.

However, he was granted bail the same day. Earlier this month, the investigating officer (IO) in the case submitted an amended charge sheet before the magistrate. He and the special public prosecutor then recommended the court to declare the case as “B class”.

However, the judicial magistrate on Wednesday rejected the recommendation and categorised the case as “C class”.

said in a tweet.

After a peak of over 6,800 daily infections in June, the number fell to a low of 213 in August and remained below 700 for most of the last three months but from this month again infection is on the rise.

Dr. Mirza criticised the Pakistan Democratic Alliance (PDM) — the multi-party alliance of the opposition — for plans to defy the ban on public gatherings and continue

with its series of protests, saying that he hopes that “sanity would prevail & people’s’ lives will be considered more important than politics.” Citing virus concerns on Monday, Prime Minister Imran Khan announced a ban on political rallies, while anti-government protests are scheduled for the coming days.

However, the following day, Jamiat Ulemae-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who also heads the PDM, refused

to suspend the political activities and, instead, announced to “increase its momentum” in the coming days.

The alliance, having already staged mega rallies in Gujranwala, Karachi and Quetta, is scheduled to hold its next rally in Peshawar on November 22. It has also announced rallies in Multan and Lahore on November 30 and December 13, respectively.

Fazl’s refusal to comply with the governmental orders coincide with the authorities sounding the alarm about a second wave of the virus for several weeks now, with health officials warning it appears deadlier than the first.

Meanwhile, the country has yet to fully utilise its claimed testing capacity of 73,572 and is currently testing significantly below numbers proposed by global health experts.

Maryam says PTI got ‘crutches’ but still failed to win GB majority NEWS DESK Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) Vice President Maryam Nawaz, while continuing to purport that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had engaged in “rigging”, said that the fact PTI could not obtain a majority in the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) election in spite of “crutches”.

“You did not get a government in GB, you got crutches to stand on,” the PML-N vice president said at a rally in Mansehra on Wednesday, referring to the PML-N party members who had switched loyalties and joined the PTI. “It is not you [PM Imran] who should be congratulated for the seats you managed to win, but your ‘selectors’,” she added.

According to the unofficial results of 23 constituencies of GB, as of November 15, the PTI had bagged 10 seats, leaving other major political parties, including the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) with three seats, and PML-N with two seats.

“Even those seats are not his, those seats are courtesy of PML-N nominees that were stolen,” the PML-N VP said.

Maryam unleashed a volley of criticism against the ruling party at the address, stating, “Despite stealing PML-N nominees, despite stealing elections, despite posting officials of all agencies in Gilgit-Baltistan for months, despite manipulation, how many seats did he get?

Only eight”.

Furthermore, she said that while the

PTI was the ruling party in the Centre, it still failed to obtain a simple majority.

She observed that the people of GB often vote for the ruling party, such as when the PPP was in government, it won 14 seats in GB. Similarly, when PML-N was in power, it won 16 seats in GB. She added that the PML-N “did not need crutches to form a government” in the region. Maryam also said that even though many parts of GB did not have internet access, they were aware of Nawaz Sharif’s ‘vote ko izzat do’ narrative.

“It is because of Nawaz Sharif’s narrative that despite a fixed match, you did not get a mandate, you only got crutches,” she said, and once more asserted that the country could not progress

Obama’s book reveals details of Osama raid, Zardari’s response NEWS DESK A newly released book by former US president Barack Obama, A Promised Land, gives play-by-play details of the raid conducted in Abbottabad which resulted in the death of terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden.

“Whatever we chose to do in Abbottabad, then, would involve violating the territory of a putative ally in the most egregious way possible, short of war- raising both the diplomatic stakes and the operational complexities,” he wrote. Obama said in the book that he knew this raid would violate the sanctity of the US’s ally, but

he felt this decision was needed to make sure they did not miss their chance to take out the Al Qaeda leader.

Furthermore, it was revealed that his closest aides – Former United States Secretary of Defence Robert Gates and then Vice President Joe Biden – had opposed the raid. Obama, who called the world leaders shortly after the raid, wrote that the then president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, “showed genuine emotion, recalling how his wife, Benazir Bhutto, had been killed by extremists with reported ties to Al Qaeda.”

Obama wrote that he had expected the greatest backlash from the Pakistani premier, but instead he “ex-

while the PTI is in power.

“Why would GB people vote for you [PTI]? What have you given to the rest of Pakistan that you would have given to Gilgit-Baltistan?” she asked, adding that Nawaz had given the people the Hazara Motorway.

The PML-N VP also called on the people to support the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) in its upcoming rally in Peshawar on November 22.

Former PML-N minister Ahsan Iqbal and party’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) President Amir Muqam also spoke at the rally before Maryam.

Both PPP and PML-N have rejected the results and accused PTI of rigging the election.

pressed congratulations and support”, and called this incident “good news”.

Aside from Zardari, US officials also called the then army chief of Pakistan Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani who requested the United States to come clean about the raid so that the Pakistani public’s reaction could be managed.

“Mullen had put a call into Pakistan’s army chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, and while the conversation had been polite, Kayani had requested that we come clean on the raid and its target as quickly as possible in order to help his people manage the reaction of the Pakistani public,” he said.

Obama, explaining his decision behind the secrecy, said that it was because he believed certain elements inside the country maintained links to the Taliban and al-Qaeda. “The need for secrecy added to the challenge; if even the slightest hint of our lead on bin Laden leaked, we knew our opportunity would be lost.

As a result, only a handful of people across the entire federal government were read into the planning phase of the operation,” he said.

PML-N leaders banking on anti-state statements for vested interests: official ISLAMABAD APP

The controversial statement by Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) leader Ayaz Sadiq on the release of captured Indian pilot was an attempt to destabilise the country for vested interests and turn a victory into defeat. Terming it “an unforgivable crime”, a senior security official Wednesday said that “such misleading and factually incorrect statements were deliberately being made” by the PML-N leaders to safeguard their vested interests.

The official said that unfortunately, such irresponsible statements were fully in line with the enemy’s agenda of distorting the country’s image internationally.

He pointed out that the narrative built by Ayaz provided the Indian media with an opportunity to unleash propaganda against Pakistan.

He regretted that a political party made the matter of national pride controversial and portrayed Pakistan’s success as its defeat. However, he said that the nation

has rejected the anti-Pakistan narrative of Ayaz and others. “Issuing false statements on matters of national security was tantamount to committing treason with the country,” he said and added the law must take its course to stop such attempts to damage Pakistan’s national institutions in future.

The official said that instead of tendering an apology, Ayaz and his party had been adamant in defending their lethal statement.

Ayaz said at the floor of the House that Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was released as the country feared an attack by India. The Indian pilot was captured by the Pakistani army on Feb 27, 2019, after his MiG-21 aircraft was shot down by Pakistan Air Force after it intruded inside the country.

“It seems that the main objective of these statements is to create chaos and sabotage economic stability in the country, only to avoid the ongoing accountability process.”

He said that the armed forces and the people of Pakistan would never let that happen and added that there

are certain “red lines” related to Pakistan’s national interests, that must not be crossed by anyone, as it causes irreparable damage.

The official said that the armed forces of Pakistan were sacrificing their lives while defending the motherland and the whole nation recognised these supreme sacrifices of the Pakistan Army‘s valiant soldiers for their motherland.

The official also said that Pakistan came into being on an ideological basis and all those who tried to damage it have been fully exposed. The statement by Ayaz was an attempt to weaken the state and transform the defeat of the enemy into its victory, he added.

“More worrying fact is that he has shown no regret over his remarks, neither has any other leader from his party nor from other opposition parties,” he further said.

The official pointed that it was encouraging that some saner voices from within PML-N had come out to openly condemn the remarks by the former National Assembly (NA) speaker to stoke instability in the country.

Thursday, 19 November, 2020

NEWS

Pm to viSit afghaniStan today for enhancing mUtUal tieS ISLAMABAD ATAFF REPORT

Prime Minister Imran Khan will embark on his maiden trip to Kabul on Thursday (tomorrow) to meet Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, Islamabad’s Ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmed Khan confirmed on Wednesday.

“Prime Minister Imran Khan visiting Kabul tomorrow for meeting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to discuss strengthening of bilateral ties ⁦⁦@PakembKabul,” Khan said in a tweet.

PM Imran will be accompanied by

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Advisor on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood and senior officials, Radio Pakistan said.

According to Radio Pakistan, the prime minister’s schedule includes a meeting with the Afghan president, delegationlevel talks between the countries followed by a joint press statement. The focus of the visit, it said, would be on further strengthening of bilateral relations, the peace talks and regional economic development and connectivity.

This will be the premier’s first visit to Kabul after assuming office in August

2018. The visit is part of regular high-level exchanges between two countries, Radio Pakistan said, and comes a year after Ghani visited Pakistan on PM Imran’s invitation.

Afghanistan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gran Hewad had announced the visit last week, claiming it would focus on the ongoing Afghan peace process, as well as efforts to strengthen political, security, trade, and economic ties.

Hewad also confirmed that Ghani had extended an invitation to Imran during a telephonic conversation in October this year.

UAE temporarily suspends visit visas for 12 countries, including Pakistan NEWS DESK Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said on Wednesday that the issuance of visas from the UAe to 12 countries, including Pakistan, has been temporarily suspended.

In a statement, the spokesperson said that the decision is “related to the second wave of Covid-19″. He fur-

ther clarified that this suspension would not apply to previously issued visas.

While no written instructions have been issued to local airlines, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez also confirmed the news.

As of yet, there has been no clarification which category of visas would be affected by this, as UAe issues visas for business, tourist, transit, student etc.

Sargodha police arrest suspect accused of rape, murder of minor girl LAHORE STAFF REPORT

The Punjab police on Wednesday arrested a suspect for purportedly raping and murdering an eight-year-old girl in Sargodha. According to reports, in yet another incident of child sexual abuse, an influential landlord had allegedly murdered the minor girl after violating her. Police said on Tuesday that the incident took place in the suburbs of Bhalwal, a city of Sargodha district, from where the body was found.

Police sent the body to the Civil Hospital for medical examination to ascertain the treatment meted out to

roof collapse during wedding leaves 8 killed, 20 injured NEWS DESK A tragic incident occurred in Parachinar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) during a wedding ceremony when the roof of a mud house collapsed and left at least eight killed and another 20 injured, reported the police.

Dr Qaisar Hussain, of the District Headquarter Hospital, confirmed that 20 people, including women and children, are being treated for injuries, while at least eight bodies were retrieved from the site of the disaster. Those wedding guests who were outside the house neighbours worked together after the roof collapse to dig the people out of the debris. Area locals said eight people died on the spot, while the injured were shifted to the hospital by the Rescue 1122 emergency service in Kurram.

the child before she was remorselessly killed.

A case of the incident has been registered but it could not be confirmed if the suspect was nominated in the first information report (FIR).

In September, Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced to introduce three-tier legislation providing for the registration of sex offenders, exemplary punishment for rape and child abuse and effective policing.

He had said that the legislation being prepared would not only provide for exemplary punishment for rape and child abuse offences but would also contain provisions for registration of sex offenders and effective policing.

Police arrest mQm-affiliated suspected target killer KARACHI APP

The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on Wednesday arrested a suspected target killer, allegedly affiliated with the London-wing of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), from Zaman Town, Korangi. Mohiuddin Naveed alias Master was purportedly involved in terror activities, said a press release. Naveed along with his other accomplices namely Osama and Shafiq alias Kala attacked Rangers personnel near Bilal Masjid Sector 51/A, Korangi No. 6 in 2018, martyring one and injuring two others. Naveed has also been arrested several times before and has remained in jail. During initial interrogation, he has confessed his involvement in murders, extortion collection and a number of other heinous crimes, the police said.

LDA prepares proposals for construction of Mall Road tunnel LAHORE SHAHAB OMER

The Lahore Development Authority (LDA) has started preparing megaproject proposals to maintain the flow of traffic on Mall Road, which is the busiest road in the provincial capital, Pakistan Today learnt on Wednesday.

Reportedly, due to the large markets on this road – such as Hall Road Market, Neela Gumbad Bicycle Market, Anarkali Bazaar, Baden Road Market and many important government offices and courts – this

road becomes so busy on workdays.

Thus, it becomes a major challenge for the traffic police and other government departments. The LDA was tasked by Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar to work on proposals to improve traffic flow on the Mall Road. In this regard, the LDA started to work on two proposals for Mall Road.

The first proposal was to make a two-way underpass at all the ‘chowks’ on the road to improve the flow of traffic. The second proposal would suggest to the government to build an underground

tunnel, for which the two ends would be located near the Fortress Stadium Bridge and Neela Gumbad Chowk, and would include exit points near the various chowks. The depth of the tunnel would be 40 to 50 feet.

A joint study has also been started by LDA and the National engineering Services Pakistan (NeSPAK) for further planning. In the next few days, Lahore Commissioner Zulfiqar Ahmad Ghuman will be briefed on the proposal based on NeSPAK’s study and later the CM will also be briefed on it.

The visit comes at a crucial juncture as intra-Afghan talks which began in September made little headway with continued violence in the war-torn country making the process further complicated.

The visit also follows the US announcement to draw down its troop levels in Afghanistan to 2,500 by January 15, 2021, raising concerns about the potential impact on the ongoing peace talks between the insurgents and Kabul. The US currently has some 4,500 troops stationed in Afghanistan.

Imran has long maintained that there can be no military solution to the Afghan conflict, advocating dialogue.

In recent months, he has stressed that the people of Afghanistan should embrace this opportunity for a political solution, adding that peace and stability in Afghanistan would be beneficial for all of South Asia and would boost trade and economic cooperation between Kabul and Islamabad.

However, Hafeez confirmed that people holding iqama, transit and work visas were still allowed entry in the UAe. A similar development occurred in June, wherein Pakistan had reported its highest per-day cases, and the UAe airline, emirates, had suspended passenger services to the country. The airline resumed its flights in July.

Similarly, In August, Kuwait’s aviation banned commercial flights to 31 countries, including Pakistan, regarded as ‘high risk’ due to the spread of the coronavirus.

There has been a recent surge in Covid-19 cases across the country, and for the past six days, Pakistan has reported at least 2,000 cases per day. The positivity rate has been particularly high in major cities, such as Karachi, Islamabad, and Lahore.

03

US refuses to provide covid-19 vaccine to Pakistan citing local requirement ISLAMABAD TLTP

The United States has excused providing novel coronavirus vaccines in its response to the Pakistani mission in Washington as the company will meet the local requirement during the first phase before exporting it. The US stated in its response to the Pakistani Mission in Washington that Covid-19 vaccines will be exported in the second phase after meeting its local requirements. According to details, Pakistani Mission in Washington has apprised the federal government of the response of the US. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has informed the Ministry of Health about the reply from the US. In a letter, it was stated that the Pakistani Mission in Washington and the health ministry are making all-out efforts for the availability of the coronavirus vaccines and kept in contact with the companies in order to place advance booking. Pakistan is contacting companies for advance booking of Covid-19 vaccines after allocation of $100 million funds for purchasing potential coronavirus vaccines under last-stage trials. It emerged on November 4, the Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination had written a letter to PM Imran Khan to seek permission for advance booking of coronavirus vaccines.

04

Thursday, 12 November, 2020

NEWS

Govt responsible for ensurinG sops' enforcement: iHc ISLAMABAD

t

TLTP

HE Islamabad High Court on Wednesday observed that it is the government’s responsibility to ensure enforcement of the safety guidelines and standard operating procedures (SOPs) against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

A one-member bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah made the observation while hearing a petition challeng-

CJ SAYS TIME FOR ALL POLITICAL FORCES TO UNITE AGAINST VIRUS ing the government’s decision to ban indoor weddings.

CJ Minallah said that there are visible contradictions in government’s policies to stem the spread of the coronavirus in the country. He said that the current wave of infections is more serious and extreme caution is the need of the hour.

Noting that the UK police have been au-

thorised to penalise those violating Covid19 SOPs, he said that it is the government’s responsibility to ensure enforcement of the safety guidelines.

“The coronavirus claimed the lives of your father and Peshawar High Court (PHC) chief justice Waqar Seth,” he said, addressing petitioner’s counsel Sardar Taimoor Aslam. “We should voluntarily shut down

everything.”

To which, Aslam replied that Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed against closing down businesses.

The hearing was also attended by Attorney General of Pakistan Khalid Javed Khan, Additional Attorney General Tariq Khokhar, and Deputy Attorney General Tayyab Shah.

“We cannot ignore the coronavirus situation,” said Khan. “For us, it is saving lives versus saving livelihoods. A complete shutdown is easy but we are not headed that way.

The decision will be taken by the federal and

provincial governments.”

Noting the Covid-19 SOP violations during electioneering ahead of the polls in Gilgit Baltistan, he said the situation is “worrying”.

“This is why the Premier postponed his political gathering,” said Khan. The judge noted that it “is the poor people who bear the brunt. The rich have access to facilities”.

Justice Minallah expressed dismay at the Parliament not playing its due role despite one of its members dying of Covid-19.

“We have high expectations from the Parliament. We don’t know what the future holds. No one seems to think that one can be the next victim of Covid-19.” The chief judge said it is time for all political forces to unite against the virus. “Extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary leadership,” he observed. “We trust the experts’ opinion and government measures. You and I both need to follow the COVID-19 SOPs,” said Justice Minallah.

Later, the court disposed of the petition.

Failure to hold LG polls: SC warns KP of contempt proceedings ISLAMABAD TLTP

The Supreme Court (SC) has warned the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government of contempt of court proceedings against it if it fails to hold local government elections in the province.

A two-member apex bench presided over

by Justice Qazi Faiz Isa on Wednesday heard a case pertaining to the implementation of sections 39 and 41 of the KP Government Act 2013, which refer to the delay in local bodies elections in KP. The SC issued notices to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), attorney general of Pakistan (AGP), and KP advocate general. “Why have local bodies

elections not been held even after 14 months?”

Justice Isa asked. “Will not allow violation of the right of KP's people,” the judge observed.

Justice Isa asked the provincial government's counsels to explain why they are afraid and why they are trying to save the government. “Your government's expenses are paid for by the public's money, there is no need for you to be afraid of anyone. Allah is your Protector,” he said.

Further reprimanding the counsels, Justice Isa said that there are special routes marked for VIPs in all parts of the country. "Is this how the State of Medina is supposed to be?" he asked. "You see machine guns mounted everywhere. If something were to happen, are these guns going to be used on the

Pakistan wants to cement defence ties with Qatar: President Alvi ISLAMABAD TLTP

President Dr Arif Alvi has said that Pakistan and Qatar enjoy excellent relations in all areas of mutual interest and Pakistan wants to further strengthen and broaden bilateral cooperation with the brotherly country.

The president said this while talking to Qatar Air Force Commander Major General (Pilot) Salem Hamad Eqail Al-Nabet who called on him on Wednesday.

The president said that Pakistan and Qatar have great scope for cooperation in the areas of defence and military training and Qatar needs to benefit from defence expertise and training facilities of Pakistan.

He also highlighted anti-terrorism ef-

forts made by Pakistan that resulted in defeating militancy and terrorism. The president said that Pakistan’s economy is improving despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said that Pakistan offers enormous investment opportunities and Qatar can benefit from Pakistan’s investment-friendly environment in various sectors.

Major General (Pilot) Salem Hamad Eqail Al-Nabet appreciated the professionalism of the Pakistan Armed Forces and underlined the need for enhanced defence cooperation between the two countries.

The meeting was also attended by Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan and Qatar’s Ambassador to Pakistan, Saoud Abdulrehman Al-Thani.

Naval chief, commander QEAF pledge to cement defence ties ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi and Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF) Commander Major General (Pilot) Salem Hamad Eqail Al-Nabet have pledged to further strengthen and diversify the scope of existing bilateral defence relationship.

This was expressed during a meeting when the Commander QEAF called on the Chief of the Naval Staff here at Naval Headquarters on Wednesday, said a press statement issued

by Pakistan Navy.

During the meeting matters of mutual interest including bilateral collaboration and regional security were discussed. The naval chief expressed satisfaction over the quantum and extent of relations between Pakistan and Qatari Emiri

armed forces in general and navies in particular. The visiting dignitary appreciated and acknowledged Pakistan Navy’s efforts and commitments in support of collaborative maritime security in the region. Both the leaders vowed to further strengthen the existing bilateral defence relationship.

people?" the judge asked.

He said that the government speaks of holding elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir while it has not held local government's elections in KP. “Don't the people of this province have rights?” he asked.

Further irked by the absence of the KP advocate general, the court asked if the AG was a busy person. “He is paid for by peoples' money. It is his responsibility to appear before the court,” the apex court remarked.

The KP government submitted a report on sections 39 and 41, on which the SC expressed dissatisfaction and ordered for the details of local government's movable and immovable properties to be uploaded.

The case was adjourned till December 15.

coAs calls for enhanced defence cooperation with Qatar RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has said that Pakistan values its brotherly relations with Qatar and Pakistan Army also looks forward to enhanced defence and security cooperation with Qatar’s armed forces. The COAS said this during a meeting with Commander Qatar Emiri Air Force Major General (Pilot) Salem Hamad Eqail Al-Nabet here at General Headquarters (GHQ) on Wednesday, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement. Matters of mutual and professional interest and regional security situation were discussed during the meeting. The visiting dignitary appreciated Pakistan's long and continuous efforts for regional peace and security. STAFF REPORT

one terrorist gunned down as police foil terror bid in charsadda CHARSADDA: Charsadda police thwarted a terror attack near the Commissioner Office on Wednesday. According to reports, unidentified gunmen opened fire at an intelligence agency office, injuring an official who later succumbed to his injuries. Police responded to the gun fire killing one of the attackers while he was trying to enter a building. District police also recovered weapons from the terrorist. TLTP

Thursday, 19 November, 2020

HAFeez SHeIkH URgeS PRIVAte SeCtoR to SteP UP FoR INClUSIVe gRowtH KARACHI

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ARIBA SHAHID

DVISER to Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh has urged the private sector to do away with the past practices and play its due role in economic development. The adviser said this while addressing 'The Future Summit' on Wednesday through a video link where he shared his thoughts on the topic titled 'The Future of Pakistan'.

Shedding light on the importance of public-private partnerships, the adviser said the government has limited capacity and finds it hard to generate funds, so it is imperative for the private sector to join in and support the government.

"The incumbent government has been giving all sorts of benefits to exporters, including elimination of tariffs

Firdous Market underpass to be completed this week LAHORE: The Firdous Market Underpass Project (FMUP), named Lal Shahbaz Qalandar Underpass, is all set to be completed during the current week after a long wait of six months, APP reported on Wednesday. The 540-meter long two-lane dual carriageway underpass would facilitate traffic from the adjoining areas, with special arrangements for water disposal.

The project, for which around seven kanals was acquired, would benefit more than 91,000 vehicles daily and save fuel worth millions of rupees annually. It may be mentioned that the completion of construction work, carried out by the Lahore Development Authority (LDA), was delayed by three months as the project was supposed to be completed in August within 90 days after its start on May 19. The project was earlier estimated to be completed in four months, however, the LDA had been directed by Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Sardar Usman Buzdar to complete its construction within 90 days. Later, on a visit to the project site, the Punjab CM had removed the project chief engineer and also issued show cause notices to the LDA director general (DG) and additional DG over the slow pace of work. The project was estimated to cost Rs1.76 billion, including land acquisition and construction. However, the Punjab government awarded the construction contract for Rs960 million, saving Rs130 million of the nation’s money. APP

and subsidies, only to encourage the private sector to step up its efforts for economic growth," the PM's aide said, adding that a market determined exchange rate is favourable for exports.

He said while the government wants the private sector to grow, it also has to save public interest, which could only be done through stringent regulation.

"The government is trying to develop the State Bank, SECP, competition commission and other regulatory authorities. Development and future of the economy depends on doing many things right. The government is committed to putting the country on a sensible growth trajectory and design incentives in the right way."

He maintained that the PTI government is different [from the previous govts], as it is not interested in amassing wealth or acting in self-interest, nor does it aim for

anything other than bringing prosperity for the country.

Shaikh also shared details regarding "unprecedented reforms" introduced by the present government. He said that the primary and current account balance are positive for the first time; the government returned Rs5,000 billion of foreign loans in two years; gave Rs250 billion in tax refunds to businesses allowing more liquidity; introduced lucrative packages for export promotion and special packages for SMEs. He said the Rs1.2 trillion package given by the government during Covid-19 pandemic is an example of the incumbent regime being sensitive to the sufferings of the people. He said that the private sector has to take the lead role in providing services and employment in the markets. "This is the only way towards sustainable development," the adviser concluded.

ADB issues first PKR-linked Karakoram bonds ISLAMABAD TLTP

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has raised Rs1.83 billion ($11.4 million) in a first issue of local currency Karakoram bonds by a multilateral development bank of which Pakistan is a member.

A Karakoram bond is an offshore bond denominated in Pakistan rupees and settled in US dollars, listed on a major stock exchange and settled through an international central securities depositary, said a press statement issued on Wednesday.

The international bond issue pays a 7.5pc semi-annual coupon and matures in August 2023. The bonds were arranged by Citigroup Global Markets and sold to European asset managers.

The net proceeds from the sale of the bond issue will be included in ADB’s ordinary capital resources. Previously, ADB had no local currency loans in Pakistan, but this option will be offered in future projects as an alternative to dollar borrowing. It is anticipated that ADB’s local currency loans will be a boost to private sector development in Pakistan.

“Engineering local currency solutions is both an art and a science,” said ADB Treasurer Pierre Van Peteghem. “Not only must we marry investor demand with

market conditions to achieve optimal currency and interest rates, but we must also dedicate time and resources to a close dialogue with the government to achieve the best possible outcome.”

“The Pakistan rupee-linked Karakoram bond floated

by ADB is an excellent initiative. I am confident it will have significant mutually beneficial outcomes for Pakistan and ADB,” said Adviser to Pakistan’s Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Abdul Hafeez Shaikh.

State Bank of Pakistan Governor Reza Baqir congratulated the ADB team and affirmed his appreciation of ADB’s support for Pakistan’s financial and economic development. “ADB’s inaugural issue of Pakistan rupee-linked karakoram bonds will help deepen the capital markets of Pakistan while channeling funding to vital economic sectors,” he said.

The ADB appreciates the support provided by the State Bank of Pakistan to facilitate coordination with the government to successfully start this program. ADB is a regular borrower in the mainstream international bond markets. It has also led issuances in developing Asian countries as part of its efforts to promote local currency bond markets as an alternative to bank lending. ADB has already issued local currency bonds in Indian rupees, Kazakhstan tenge, and Mongolian togrog in 2020.

NEwS

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Dollar gains Rs1.57 in interbank market The US Dollar gained Rs1.52 against Pakistani Rupee in the interbank market on Wednesday.

According to a State Bank of Pakistan tweet, the US Dollar opened at Rs158.31 and closed at Rs159.83. The greenback has gained Rs1.67 against the greenback during the last three days. Analysts believe that the fall in the value of the rupee is sentiment driven. They feel the rally is reaching its end and the dollar against the rupee has bottomed. As a result, investors are buying dollars to hold in anticipation of depreciation. NEWS DESK

President Alvi for enhanced trade ties with Ukraine ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has emphasised the need for enhanced cooperation with Ukraine in the areas of trade, economy and culture. The president said this while talking to Pakistan’s Ambassador-designate to Ukraine Major Gen (r) Noel Israel Khokhar on Wednesday. The president said that Pakistan highly values its relations with Ukraine and wants to further increase cooperation in fields of mutual interest, including defence. He congratulated the ambassador on his appointment and hoped that he would make concerted efforts to further expand bilateral cooperation with Ukraine. He underscored the need for frequent bilateral parliamentary and political exchanges that would greatly help bring the two countries closer. He asked the ambassador to work for promoting bilateral cooperation in education, culture and tourism sectors. TLTP

NICVD denies news report regarding Dr Pervaiz Chaudhry NICVD Administration completely denies the report published in Daily Dawn today regarding Dr. Pervaiz Chaudhry. NICVD has a record of being very sensitive regarding COVID-19 patients. We ensure that COVID-19 does not spread among patients and staff member at NICVD. Proper protocols are implemented for this purpose. We only get COVID-19 patients with active cardiac problem and our results in managing these patients are excellent. Administration does not think that any doctor or hospital administrator in the world will risk exposing his or her staff or patients to COVID-19. PRESS RELEASE

SBP releases annual report on State of Pakistan’s Economy The State Bank of Pakistan on Wednesday released its annual report on the State of Pakistan’s Economy for the fiscal year 2019-20.

According to the report, following difficult but necessary stabilization efforts during the first nine months of the fiscal year, Pakistan’s economy was well on course for a steady recovery on the eve of the Covid-19 pandemic. By February 2020, the unprecedented balance of payments crisis created by the unsustainable macroeconomic policies of previous years had been forcefully addressed through sizable reductions in the twin fiscal and current account deficits.

Following a round of monetary tightening during FY19, core inflation remained relatively stable, notwithstanding an uptick in headline inflation due to one-off and seasonal factors. In turn, this hard-won stabilization was beginning to lead to the revival of economic activity and the restoration of business and consumer confidence.

However, this momentum was temporarily disrupted around the last quarter of the fiscal year by the global and domestic spread of Covid-19 and the lockdown measures that it necessitated. While these measures were remarkably successful in containing the outbreak in Pakistan, they simultaneously strained manufacturing, retail, transport and trade-related activities. As a result, Pakistan’s real GDP is estimated to have contracted by 0.4pc in FY20 – the country’s first brush with negative economic growth since FY52.

The report highlighted that it was only due to the earlier gains on the macroeconomic stability front that policymakers in Pakistan were able to extend aggressive support to businesses and households in response to the Covid-19 outbreak. Without this support, the private sector would have found it even more challenging to cope with the fallout from the mobility restrictions and

supply-chain disruptions created by the biggest global economic crisis since the Great Depression.

In an unprecedented move, the government was able to expand the volume and outreach of its social uplift programs, enabling over 14.8 million households to receive emergency cash transfers for meeting essential needs to date. For the first-time ever, the SBP arranged multiple emergency meetings of the Monetary Policy Committee to react to the fast-evolving situation, and cut the policy rate by 625 bps over a roughly 3month time period, the second-largest cut among emerging markets in the wake of Covid-19. In addition, the SBP also rolled out targeted and time-bound liquidity support for firms and households, including the deferment of principal repayments; loan restructuring; refinancing for firms to pay salaries to their employees in exchange for job protection; relaxations in performance criteria for export-related refinance schemes; and concessionary refinance facilities for long-term investment projects and for hospitals on the front-lines of the battle against the pandemic. Together, these measures – mainly aimed at preventing liquidity problems from turning into solvency problems – represented the largest liquidity backstops ever deployed by the SBP, and their estimated impact on the cash flow of households and businesses was equivalent to 4.1pc of GDP as of end-October 2020.

Importantly, policymakers were able to provide this strong and timely macroeconomic stimulus without undermining external stability or the confidence of domestic and international investors. In particular, despite heightened global risk aversion and unprecedented capital outflows from emerging markets, movements in Pakistan’s asset prices, including the exchange rate

and the stock market, and sovereign risk perception remained in line with those across comparable economies. This reflected the fact that the stimulus was provided without compromising the improvements in underlying macroeconomic fundamentals and buffers that had been achieved in the first 9 months of the fiscal year. Without these improvements, it would not have been possible for policymakers in Pakistan to react to the Covid-19 shock as forcefully as they did, which would have significantly aggravated the human and economic costs of the crisis.

On the external front, the market-based exchange rate, introduced in May 2019, worked as a valuable shock absorber in the wake of Covid-19. For the first time in Pakistan’s history, the exchange rate depicted orderly two-way movement reflecting FX availability in the interbank market. As a result, the shock had a relatively contained impact on the SBP’s FX reserves position—in fact, SBP’s net FX reserves buffers increased by approximately $7 billion through the fiscal year despite the Covid-19 outbreak.

The current account position was bolstered by a steep drop in global oil prices and resilience in remittances. Several factors have supported the growth in remittances through the Covid-19 shock, including orderly exchange rate conditions; policy steps taken by the federal government and SBP under the Pakistan Remittance Initiative; an increased push towards the adoption of digital channels; and targeted marketing campaigns to promote formal channels for sending remittances. Lastly, inflows under the IMF’s Rapid Financing Facility and other multilateral support also proved helpful in buttressing the external position.

On the fiscal side, despite the unprecedented strain on expenditures to shore up

CMYK

public healthcare and the social safety net, the full-year primary deficit during the year was only half the level recorded last year.

Importantly, the increase in public debt was contained to 1.1pc of GDP during FY20, as the government utilized the cash buffers it had created with the SBP last year.

On the inflation front, the steep fall in global crude oil prices, easing food prices, the government’s decision to postpone further upward adjustments in the power tariff and the sharp fall in aggregate demand led to a rapid decline in both headline and core inflation between February and June 2020.

While higher than last year, average FY20 inflation of 10.7 percent remained close to the lower bound of the SBP’s projection of 11-12 percent at the start of the year.

Looking ahead, with the improvement in Pakistan’s macroeconomic fundamentals intact, the report foresees that the economy is poised to resume the trajectory of recovery on which it had embarked prior to the Covid19 outbreak. Encouragingly, with the easing in mobility restrictions there has been a visible rebound in economic activity in the country according to latest available information. While much will depend on the future global trajectory of the Covid-19 pandemic, there are reasons for optimism, including recent encouraging news on the vaccine front.

Over the medium-term, the report emphasizes that it is crucial to build on the important progress made on the reform front so far, and address the economy’s structural bottlenecks to boost competitiveness, improve the business environment and raise the economy’s growth potential. Action on four fronts is key. First, a more sustainable solution to the country’s fiscal imbalances is necessary.

Documentation and reducing informality are particularly needed to

broaden the tax base and reduce reliance on non-tax revenues. Second, pricing, infrastructure and governance problems in the power sector need to be addressed, as these not only entail a fiscal cost, but also dent the competitiveness of the economy. Third, consistent efforts are needed to consolidate the improvement in the country’s financing landscape to promote investment, competition, and productivity. Finally, sustaining the important progress made on the Financial Action Task Force front will be important from the perspective of investors’ confidence and overall economic recovery.

The Covid-19 crisis has also reinforced the need to upscale and improve accessibility of the digital connectivity infrastructure in the country. In this regard, a special section in the report traces the important developments in the digital ecosystem of the country over the past few years; illustrates how this progress is helping make the economy more resilient; and stresses the need for greater policy support for bridging the existing digital divide to build a digitally-inclusive ecosystem in the country.

Finally, the report features a special chapter that is dedicated to discussing the factors behind the low private credit penetration in Pakistan and contextualizing recent policy reforms, which have significant potential to correct this trend going forward. In particular, the creation of a secured transaction registry; issuance of licenses to private credit bureaus; and widespread adoption of digital financial services all bode well for improving credit penetration and financial inclusion in the country. In addition, the increased focus on low-cost housing and affordable mortgages will help deepen long-term finance and investment, while, at the same time, supporting construction-allied industries. NEWS DESK

Thursday, 19 November, 2020

06 COMMENT

Duty to Care

Electoral reforms The Prime Minister should be result-oriented

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The people of Pakistan are tired of the state behaving like a stepmother

rIme mInIster Imran Khan wants to bring about electoral reforms so that elections of the senate are not by secret ballot, but by show of hands, so as to obviate all allegations of mPAs, who are the voters in this case, selling their votes. He himself mentioned, in his televised address on tuesday, that this would require opposition cooperation to amend the Constitution. As the allegation is mostly aimed at the KP Assembly, where his PtI has an overwhelming preponderance of mPAs (95 of 136), he wants the opposition, hounded as it is, with the Leader under arrest, to help the PtI amend the Constitution to help it in what is essentially a matter of internal party discipline. Another major problem is that the Constitution lays down that all elections shall be by secret ballot. not only is it problematic to sacrifice this principle, but it is difficult to see the principle of the single transferable vote maintained. He has got perhaps too little time to build bridges with the opposition to achieve this. However, he has put himself in the position of having tried before the election, and blaming its lack of cooperation for any betrayal by his party’s mPAs. His proposal for electronic voting is, strictly speaking, a decision for the election Commission, which would like to introduce e-voting, but lacks the money, which goes into the billions of rupees. As Pm, he should be able to make the money available. Without electronic voting, overseas Pakistanis cannot be given the vote. there is also the issue of registering them as voters. After the electronic failure in updating results last election, electronic voting will probably not be trusted anyway. A related issue he did not touch on, is the approval that must be given to the 2017 census. though the current delimitations are on its basis, it was because of a one-election waiver granted in a constitutional amendment. rather than wait until absolutely the last moment, or for judicial intervention, mr Khan should conduct matters sagaciously. that demands not only seeing the problems that will arise, but building alliances with those whose cooperation is essential to a solution. the 2014 sit-in was very taxing, and mr Khan should not forget that its reason was supposed to be electoral reform. It is worth noting that the speech did not address the real reason for the lack of credibility of our elections, allegations that results are tailored to suit the establishment.

Dr FariD a Malik

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overnments have a duty to care for their citizens. there has to be a concept of motherhood. Unfortunately in the land of the pure this benevolence is totally missing. In the formative years, both the political leadership and the administrative machinery was caring and dutiful but it gradually faded away. A visit to any state institution is always a horrifying experience, as either the staff is missing or totally disinterested in performing their duties. Any kind of facilitation, help or hand-holding is non-existent.

From the Prime minister’s House to Chief minister’s offices all the way down to the civil secretariats even routine letters remain un-replied despite reminders.

It is a perfect example of a government by the elites and for the elites, the only exemption being upfront gratification to get the job done. over the years, the concept of institutional relief or people-friendly legislation has also finished. After the 1950s, the elected government in the 1970s tried to facilitate the masses. the 1973 Constitution as written is a progressive document which has not been implemented in letter in spirit. Article 25-A declared literacy to be a right of the citizen. By 1985 every Pakistani had to be literate. Zia removed the time limitation clause by inserting, ‘within reasonable time ‘, which meant never. till today the menace of illiteracy and uncontrolled population growth continues to threaten our very existence as a nation. Finally in 2016 the clause was restored. every five-year-old had to be in school by August at the start of the new academic year but again the deadline has been repeatedly missed. on my own initiative I approached the school education Department in Punjab to convince them to meet

Abandoning Afghanistan President Trump’s urge to tear down may ruin the region

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The hard part starts

s President Donald trump is expected to issue a formal order for the withdrawal of Us forces from Afghanistan and Iraq, to follow on the ‘warning order’ he has already issued to this effect. the order comes in the midst of the turmoil into which the Us Defense Department was thrown by his post-election sacking of the Defense secretary and his chief deputy. It is almost as if mr trump, who was defeated earlier this month in his re-election bid, wants to rattle as many cages as possible, and make the job his opponent, President-elect Joe Biden, will step into in January, as difficult as possible. this step will mean that the UsA will leave Afghanistan as the Ussr did in 1988: without a settlement with the forces resisting the Kabul government it installed. that led to the taliban filling the resulting vacuum, the refuge for Al-Qaeda, 9/11, and a Us involvement that has lasted 21 years, and counting. meanwhile, the instability in Afghanistan has meant the entire region has been in turmoil. the worst sufferer has been Pakistan, after the Afghan people themselves. mr trump has a motive to make mr Biden fail: despite his age, mr trump looks increasingly likely to run again. However, rather than look at that narrow personal interest, mr trump should see the bigger picture, which is that Us interests will be damaged, perhaps irretrievably, if Afghanistan is allowed to once again have a haven for militancy. It should not escape notice that the Islamic state has been relatively successful in its recruitment drive in Afghanistan, where it has won over to its side several taliban commanders. the Is is an obstacle in the government-taliban talks that are central to the peace effort. Is bases its appeal on opposing any deal. It is not just a matter of abandoning those Afghans who had helped Us forces, but of abandoning the entire region to the kind of chaos that ultimately broke the Ussr apart.

Dr UMair ashraF

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Ast week’s biggest announcement that made people rejoice all around the globe, with stock markets soaring for the first time since the covid-19 pandemic began in march, was the preliminary results of a sArs-Cov-2 vaccine co-developed by Pfizer and Biontech. the vaccine, which is completing its Phase 3 trials with over 45,000 volunteers involved showed a 90 percent efficacy in controlling the infection with minimal side effects. “the results are really quite good, I mean extraordinary,” pronounced Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the Us national Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

With the data preliminary and the vaccine still weeks away from emergency approval by FDA, it was nonetheless a glimpse of hope for people affected by the deadly coronavirus. since its declaration as a pandemic in march by WHo, covid-19 has created havoc across the globe. the global tally of currently infected people has crossed 50 million with the death rate standing at about 2.6 percent. the pandemic has brought to the knees even the most developed and economically powerful countries in the world including the UsA, the UK and much of the rest of europe and the Asia Pacific. the response to the covid-19 pandemic and the resulting economic fallout so far has created a doubt about the globalization of the World and progress towards it in the last few decades since the end of the Cold War. the World Health organization has so far been unable to occupy the position of the leading authority in the fight against the pandemic. the efforts and the resolve shown by the countries against covid19 stayed limited to their own. A collective effort and commitment globally is yet to surface. the political will of developed nations across the world to keep the dream of globalization alive has been questioned. they have not been able to pledge debt relief for smaller developing countries and thus the situation in those countries looks perilous.

Pakistan also falls in the ranks of these countries

Arif Nizami Editor Umar Aziz

Asher John

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Deputy Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021.”

If we assume that Pfizer’s vaccine gets approval, mass immunization remains a huge hurdle. the product is unlike any vaccine ever used, for any disease.

What is actually injected is messenger rnA (mrnA).

But mrnA is very unstable. to prevent breakdown, it must be stored right up until the time of injection at a temperature of at least -103 degrees Fahrenheit— with an economy under severe crisis and political sta- well below anything a standard freezer unit can manbility even more lamentable. the incumbent PtI gov- age. thus maintaining a cold chain seems as equally ernment was able to get through the first wave of challenging as developing a vaccine. It is a bad news pandemic by a swift and conspicuous national re- for the developing World, including Pakistan, where sponse. It has been praised nationally and internation- health infrastructure offer zero facilities for such mass ally for its efforts in containing the pandemic. But the immunization. moreover, the economically powerful countries with their greater economic crisis remains and resources have secured in with the ongoing political inadvance the majority of the stability; shortage of basic vaccine copies under develcommodities, high inflation, The current and future opment, including the one problems in balance of payby Pfizer. While the poorer ments and above all the imglobal mass immunization developing world stands out pending debt burden, it is programme for Covid-19 of the loop. going to keep the governthe current and future ment under immense presvaccines can best be global mass immunization sure over the next months. program for Covid-19 vacWhile the second wave of understood by imagining cines can best be understood virus is making strides hundreds of mouths hovering by imagining hundreds of across country as I write, the mouths hovering under a containment of the panunder a water tap in Sahara water tap in sahara desert demic may reverse. desert with water trickling with water trickling down Prime minister Imran and dropping in each mouth.

Khan, in the early days of down and dropping in each the powerful nations have the pandemic, sensing the their mouths at the top while severe economic plight mouth. The powerful nations the developing ones have looming over the developing have their mouths at the top theirs at the bottom. Water nations, requested the develdrops trickle down to the oped countries and Internawhile the developing ones bottom and reach the mouths tional monetary institutions, have theirs at the bottom of third world countries at including the ImF and the the last. Pakistan with its World Bank, to pledge debt current deplorable health inrelief and delayed payments frastructure, lack of national for developing countries.

But his request was little highlighted in the policy mass immunization facilities and economic and politmaking forums of the world and only a cosmetic de- ical dilemmas, has its mouth at the bottom. Will Pakcision was done in its favor by waiving off a few istanis be the last to catch Covid-19 vaccine’s drop?

Pakistanis might only get access to this vaccine by small loan repayments. the big announcement of Pfizer and Biontech’s paying its full price. It would be too much to expect vaccine has brought happiness across the World but the government to pick up the tab. this also applies to the question here is; do the third World developing various other vaccines being developed, including the one by another pharmaceutical company, moderna. nations look equally overjoyed? the moment the FDA approves the product, The writer is a doctor by profession and a public Pfizer says in its press release, “we expect to produce globally up to 50 million vaccine doses in 2020 and health advocate.

Will Pakistanis be the last to catch Covid-19 vaccine’s drop?

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

accounts which I was unable to operate because of the pandemic, and most of them had become dormant. state Bank of Pakistan is the regulator of all banks, does it operate in a Covid-Free Zone? Why was a blanket waiver not issued to keep all accounts current till the vaccine arrives and normalcy prevails? tenants have stopped paying rent, yet the property tax notices keep coming. I called the inspector, and he told me that he had gone to his village for safety while the ofthe constitutional requirement. I was told that they did fices were shut down. He did promise to look into the not have reliable data to plan and there were no funds in waiver for the lock down period but it never came, so the budget to obtain the information from nADrA. In finally I had to pay the tax with penalty. It seems the order to facilitate it, I offered my services in obtaining people of Pakistan have a stepmother who refuses to the required information from nADrA. It was agreed understand the needs of its suffering children.

In India, Laloo Prasad Yadav as minister turned that the Department would write to nADrA for specific information about five-year-olds so that they could be around the entire railway service by inserting one accommodated in schools and a copy of the letter would line in the decision making soP; ‘Public Benefit’. so every file that came to him be given to me for follow-up for promotion or fare inaction. the department took it crease it had to include justias a free ride and included in fication for public benefit, their request all kinds of addiThe people of Pakistan have otherwise it was straight tional information. on my away rejected. He was not a protest, I was promised that been motherless for several very educated person but another letter would be issued knew how to serve his votas agreed but it never came. decades which must change ers. recently India had no one seems serious or connow. These colonial adopted a Policy of Generic cerned. While the common medicine to ensure low cost curriculum is a good move, institutions need to be re supply of drugs to the primary universal coverage is engineered, they can no longer masses. such a policy was the starting point of a camimplemented in Pakistan in paign against the menace of rule and exploit, they have to the 1970s by sheikh rashid illiteracy which has been repeatedly ignored. serve to survive, the writing on alias Baba-e-socialism. the mafia got after him and the the orange train in Lathe wall is clear, only caring policy was soon withdrawn hore is being claimed as a after the fall of the elected hallmark of development. At mothers are irreplacable, government in July 1977. a cost of s2 billion together stepmothers are not. the right to travel was also with an annual subsidy of rs bestowed by the elected gov12 billion the entire country ernment in the 1970s, and could have been educated. today more than the exports With a claimed literacy rate of 54 percent now there are all kinds of uncalled for the country relies on the foreign exchange remittances activities on board the trains. recently two groups from the expatriates who benefited from this policy. this stepmotherly attitude of the government has to clashed for space on an overcrowded bogey, and to counter such incidents, police has been posted to change to avoid a divorce followed by remarriage, maintain law and order. very soon there will be a po- which may entail dismantling the entire system. nonlice post on every station, as we see these boards on performing organizations eventually meet their logical the roads indicating the jurisdiction of thanas, ‘Agaz end. the collapse of the mighty soviet empire should Hudad-e-Thana Orange Train’ (the limits of the or- be an eye-opener. In the 1980s, Us President ronald ange train Police station start here). President Farooq reagan stood on the West German side of the Berlin Leghari was very vocal about the kickback-driven Wall and shouted for the other side to hear loud and projects of the PmL(n). Brick and mortar projects clear, “tear down this wall”. Within a few years it came provide the best opportunity to make money. mainte- down, and Germany was reunited to emerge as a major nance and low-budget projects are ignored. In the en- power in the european Union. the people of Pakistan tire country no water treatment plant is functional. have been motherless for several decades which must Untreated waste water of Lahore flows unhindered change now. these colonial institutions need to be re eninto the river ravi to contaminate the entire water gineered, they can no longer rule and exploit, they have network. Water borne diseases are rampant. Bottled to serve to survive, the writing on the wall is clear, only water has become big business as a short-term fix for caring mothers are irreplacable, stepmothers are not. the affluent. Israel recycles 90 percent of its water Dr Farid A Malik is ex-Chairman, Pakistan while we use it to grow vegetables for human conScience Foundation. He can be contacted at: sumption tospread diseases. recently I had the chance to check on my bank fmaliks@hotmail.com.

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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Thursday, 19 November, 2020

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

Increasing cases of child abuse A minor girl has been allegedly raped and murdered by an influential landlord in Bhalwal, a city in the sargodha district yesterday. Prime minister Khan has recently announced that the government would introduce stringent ordinances to the existing laws for overcoming the loopholes in the laws related to rapes and sexual abuse, however, the severity of the issue, and the urgency of the worsening security conditions for children and women in the country is hardly addressed. such incidents have become a norm in the country, and the government and the relevant authorities must treat it as an emergency.

Just recently, a five-year-old boy was sexually abused in Faisalabad, where the suspect managed to flee according to the police officials. similarly, a seven-year-old boy was sexually abused in Lahore. While ensuring the safety of children must be at the top among the priority lists of every government in the world, our debate is still limited to introducing laws and forming committees, and unfortunately effective laws, and action plans are hardly devised, and rarely implemented.

While the efforts by a sindh police official for arresting the suspect in a recent rape case is commendable and came as hope when the masses have lost all hope in the system, there remains a dire need to take a holistic approach for dealing with the consistently increasing cases of child abuse and rapes in the country. From acknowledging, and addressing the severity of the issue, to devising and implementing strict laws against child abuse, the government must do whatever is needed to ensure the protection of children on an immediate basis.

Nayab Iqbal KarachI

Secularism and the Indian Constitution A look at the original debate Dr rajkUMar singh

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He word ‘secular’ is not written in the Constitution, but that does not mean that the founding fathers of the Constitution had any doubt about the nature of the Indian state being secular. the framers of India’s Constitution properly debated the issue of secularism and the relation of the individual’s religious rights with those of other members, and after due consideration they decided to make India a secular state. While our constitution has been based on secularism or Dharma nirapekshita, Indian society is stepped in religion. religious feelings govern our mode of thinking and we observe religious festivals and rituals as part of our day- to-day life.

In comparison to other countries of the world secularism has a very different meaning in India. In this context, wrote Jawaharlal in his autobiography ‘no word perhaps in any language is more likely to be interpreted in different ways by different people as the word religion. that being the case, secularism which is a concept evolved in relation to religion can also not have the same connotation for all.’ even during the course of the discussion in the Constituent Assembly on the fundamental rights relating to religion, the idea of secularism was extensively pressed into service by the members as the handiest tool to substantiate various viewpoints, often diametrically opposed. the members of the Constituent Assembly were in no doubt that the phase ‘secular state’ and the terms secular and secularism should help us in understanding that the principle which is meant is the constitutional concept of equality and freedom for all religions, and thus infused every provision of the fundamental rights with this spirit and therefore very wisely avoided institutionalising it in words interminably capable of connoting varying and conflicting meanings. several members of Constituent Assembly including K.t. shah, H.v. Kamath, tajamul Hussain, Lakshmi Kanta maitra and Loknath mishra presented their views/modifications in the fruitful discussion on secularism and religious rights of Indian citizens. In course of the discussion K.t. shah proposed a new Article 18A to be inserted under the heading ‘rights relating to religion’ which would emphasise, ‘the state in India being secular shall have no concern with any religion, creed or profession of faith; and shall observe an attitude of absolute neutrality in all matters relating to the religion of any class of its citizens or other persons in the Union.’ He also added, ‘All I wish to say is that with the actual profession of faith or belief, the state should have no concern.’ India being a sec-

ular state having nothing to do with religion, ta- view. explaining the word propagate K.m. munjamul Hussain wanted that caste names, signs shi remarked, “even if the word were not there, and dress be done away with. ‘We should not, be assured under the Freedom of speech which being a secular state, be recognised by our the Constitution guarantees it will be open to any dress’. While H.v. Kamath warned the Assem- religious community to persuade other people to bly not to adopt any religion as it would split the join their faith.” the individual right of freedom of religion country he made it clear that by this he did not mean to say that a state should be anti-religious as given in the Indian Constitution is of great imor irreligious. According to him a secular state portance, particularly for the religious minorities is neither a Godless state nor irreligious nor an and for their smooth development. Apart from anti-religious state. He even advocated impart- this, most of the constitutions of the world that ing spiritual training in educational institutions. provide freedom of religion, such as switzerIn the debate discussing the right to propagate land, the former Ussr, the Peoples republic of religion. Lakshmi Kanta maitra laid stress on the China and Japan do not explicitly guarantee fact that there should be no discrimination what- right to propagate religion as a justiciable funsoever on the ground of religion, meaning in damental right. the word ‘propagate’ does not essence that no particular religion in the state find a place in any other constitution where it deals with religious will receive any state freedom. there was vepatronage, but he achement opposition to cepted the fact that the inclusion of this even in a secular state The word ‘propagate’ does term by some members there was necessity for they thought that it religion.

However, not find a place in any other as might be perilous to there was a school of constitution where it deals guarantee it and might opinion in favour of freely be used for the India being made a with religious freedom. purpose of wholesale Hindu state. conversion. However, In the Constituent There was vehement it did not find favour Assembly Loknath opposition to the inclusion with the majority and mishra represented the one member pointed Hindu point of view of this term by some out, “After all propagaand, opposing the right members as they thought tion is merely freedom to propagate religion, of expression. I would said, ‘We have declared that it might be perilous to like to point out that the the state to be a secular state. For obvious and guarantee it and might freely word ‘convert’ is not there. those who for good reasons we be used for the purpose of drafted this constitution have also declared. have taken care to see Does it not mean that wholesale conversion. that no unlimited right we have nothing to do However, it did not find of conversion has been with any religion? Why given. People have do you make it a secufavour with the majority freedom of conscience, lar state? the reason and if any man is conmay be that religion is verted voluntarily not necessary, but as owing to freedom of India has many religions, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and conscience then well and good. no restriction sikhism, we cannot decide which one to accept. can be placed against it. Further, it is perhaps in therefore, let us have no religions. no. that consonance with the provisions of United nacannot be. If you accept religion you must accept tions Declaration of Human rights, which say, Hinduism as it is practised by an overwhelming ‘everyone has the right to freedom of thought, majority of the people of India.” He continued, conscience and religion: this right includes freesaying, “gradually it seems to me that our secu- dom to change his religion or belief, and freelar state is a slippery phrase, a device to bypass dom, either alone or in community with others the ancient culture of the land.” He said he failed and in public or private, to manifest his religion to understand the ‘exact meaning of secularism’. or belief in teaching, practice, worship and obso he wanted that the Constitution should say servance’. thus, without doubt, the scope of the nothing about the right to religion, “or at least freedom of religion in India is considerably wide drop the word ‘propagate’ from the right.” Par- and broad.” ticularly, the Hindu members in the Assembly The writer is head of the political science totally disagreed with the view that the propagation of religion should be considered a legitimate department of the B.N.Mandal University, Madaspect of religious freedom. But the overwhelm- hepura, Bihar, India and can be reached at raing majority of members did not agree with the jkumarsinghpg@gmail.com

Line of Control LIne of Control is a military control line between Pakistan and India.

Unfortunately it is yet not recognized as part of Pakistan or India. every year thousands of people get disappeared from LoC. shamshad Begam whose husband disappeared from LoC since ten years ago, belongs to Katak village, Kashmir. Kashmir is the land in the world where more troops are appointed according to BBC neWs. According to a report from 1989 to 2010 a total of eleven thousand people reportedly disappeared from LoC. majority of those disappeared are young men and minors. Between two Army troops common Kashmiris are stuck and in a lot of pain. thus, it is an old serious issue and must be solved by human rights organizations.

IrShaD WahID KarachI

Internet for Turbat PresentLY, the internet is not a luxury but a necessity. However, people of turbat are deprived from it. For the last three years, the data services in turbat have been banned. not everyone can afford a PtCL connection as they are more expensive. During the Covid-19 closure, the struggles students from turbat have faced for having no internet to attend their online classes is just known by them. From business to studies, everything is dependent on the Internet. therefore, I humbly request the concerned authorities to restore data services in turbat as it has become a need. afroz MJ Kech

Enough with the closures tHIs refers to the current situation of our country’s education system.

Due to CovID-19 our education system has already suffered a lot. seven month closure destroyed the learning potential of students especially in the remote areas. Primary level education is totally distributed in the country. online classes helped only to the university and college level students. Almost everywhere schools are following soP more then others like marriage Halls and shopping malls. If those can run up with soPs then why not school? therefore, it is requested to the Pm and education ministers of all provinces that let school be open with soPs for the better future of students. aNthoNy Sahotra larKaNa

Think better tHe second wave of Covid-19 pandemic has hit the county so badly as for the fifth consecutive day, the country is reporting more than 2000 positive cases each day. As per the news report the experts claimed that the second wave of Covid-19 will be alarming and more dangerous which would badly affect the people if they did not follow soPs issued by the government. As per the news report a spokesperson for the Balochistan government has expressed serious concern over an increase in Covid-19 cases in Balochistan saying the second wave of the pandemic seems to be more fatal and deadly as during the past two weeks five deaths were reported in the province. I strongly agree with him and I respect his points and concern about the people of the province in this serious condition. Here, I would like to draw the attention of authorities concerned that due to the negligence of the government and ignorance of the people the situation is taking a turn in the wrong direction. I am a resident of turbat city and I have witnessed that most of the people belong to governmental sectors not wearing masks. the public is always blamed for not wearing masks or not following the soPs strictly. What about such officials and governmental employees who are not taking the soPs seriously. If we want to fight against Covid-19 pandemic, we should stand together.

MuhaMMaD baKhtIyar Kech

Thursday, 19 November, 2020

08 WORLD VIEW

Sex and pOwer BEING A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT, ANYWHERE, DOES NOT MEAN SEX AT WORK IS A PERK OF THE JOB

sydney morning Herald

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Pru Goward

ANY laughed at Malcolm Turnbull for declaring, when prime minister, that ministers who had sex with their staff would be dismissed. Some wondered why his successor, Scott Morrison, didn't ditch the offensively titled "bonk ban". It was derided as an intrusion into the private lives of ministers and staff members. The very real risks in these romances that the ban was trying to address were entirely overlooked, until Four Corners decided to take a look.

The ALP must have breathed a huge sigh of relief when its own members’ affairs, or canoodling in Canberra bars, didn’t get a mention in the program. I watched with my experience in three occupations in mind. I was a journalist in the Canberra bubble. I was a minister in the NSW government. And I was the nation's sex discrimination commissioner.

As a journalist, I knew there was a legit-

imate story to be found in Canberra. Sadly, it wasn't the one Four Corners told. It failed Sex and power establish substantive wrongdoing on the part of the two federal ministers it highlighted, Alan Tudge and Christian Porter, nor did it establish the systemic case against Canberra. It focused on Tudge's consensual relationship with a staffer, Porter’s pre-parliamentary history and eyewitness accounts of Porter kissing a woman in a bar, details of which the minister has denied.

Some might suggest it is the Liberal in me leaping to the defence of two Liberal ministers. I can only say you're wrong. I would have been no less uncomfortable with the journalism had it been about two Labor ministers, although the program would have been more defensible had it been more bipartisan. In fact, the legitimate story is the very clear failure of the nation's parliaments to do what much of corporate Australia has done: recognise the risks associated with sex at work and manage them. Worse, the Turnbull/Morrison attempt to do so was laughed at by insiders. Neither sex at work nor unacceptable conduct are unique to Parliament House, Canberra.

Unacceptable conduct occurs wherever people work together but is more prevalent in places with job insecurity, high ambitions, significant power imbalances, poor cultural management regimes and limited options for

complainants. Not hard to work out why there need to be special protections for underlings in the High Court, parliaments and the entertainment industry. When it comes to unacceptable conduct between workmates, it’s not just about them. The vicarious liability provisions of discrimination law make employers partly responsible. As a result, most employers, including parliaments, have adopted “unacceptable conduct” policies, including requisite grievance procedures and mediation arrangements – anything to demonstrate they have recognised their responsibilities since courts apportion blame accordingly. Courts also distinguish between large and small employers.

To avoid expensive settlements, large employers such as parliaments need to do more than take an off-the-shelf grievance procedure, dress it up with a few bits of industry jargon and stick it on the intranet.

They should also include unacceptable conduct policy in their induction training for new staff members, including MPs; provide regular reminders of company expectations; monitor practice; and conduct staff satisfaction and exit surveys.

I would be very surprised if there is a parliament in the country that does some, if any, of the not-so-optional extras they would need to protect themselves if ever lawyers got involved. A sweep of the websites of

Is academic freedom under threat in France?

WHY DID THE SENATE RECENTLY TRY TO MAKE ACADEMIC FREEDOM IN FRANCE CONDITIONAL ON RESPECTING THE VALUES OF THE REPUBLIC? al Jazeera EmilE Chabal and timothy PEaCE

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He month of October was a tumultuous one for France’s President emmanuel Macron. At the beginning of the month, as he unveiled his government’s strategy to combat radicalisation and religious separatism, he claimed that “Islam is a religion that is in crisis all over the world today”. These comments, coupled with his passionate defence of the publication of caricatures depicting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), have led to widespread anti-France protests in countries all over the Muslim world.

The twin tragedies of the murder of school teacher Samuel Paty, and the subsequent fatal stabbings in Nice, did nothing to dissipate the protests. In response to calls for a boycott of French-made products, Macron was forced to give an interview to Al Jazeera to explain his position.

Back home, driven by a desire to appear tough on terrorism and cast himself as the defender of the values of the French republic, Macron and his government responded to Paty’s murder with a flurry of announcements targeting Muslim organisations.

They promised to ban several Muslim NGOs deemed complicit in supporting extremism, including the Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF), an organisation that monitors anti-Muslim hate crimes and has long been the target of unsubstantiated political criticism.

It is not just Muslim organisations that are in the firing line.

On October 22, Macron’s education minister, Jean-Michel Blanquer, claimed that so-called “islamo-gauchisme” (“Islamo-leftism”) was doing immense damage inside France’s universities. The insinuation was that French academics and their students are tacitly promoting a dangerous, “separatist”, anti-republican ideology and justifying self-censorship in the name of political correctness. According to Blanquer, French universities, and in particular their social sciences departments, are “the breeding ground for a fragmentation of our society and a vision of the world that converges with interests of the Islamists”.

This unwelcome intervention in France’s intellectual life provoked a mixed response. One group of intellectuals and academics enthusiastically supported Blanquer’s comments by publishing an open letter that emphasised the pernicious spread of “Islamism” and other “anti-Western ideologies” in French universities. Many others, however, were shocked to be implicated in acts of terrorism through “ideological complicity” and in another open letter de-

nounced such claims as a “witch hunt” and an attack on academic freedom.

FRANCE’S CULTURE WARS: Blanquer’s condemnation of French universities did not come merely as a response to the recent terror attacks. His critique goes back to at least the mid-2000s when the country went through a polemical and multi-faceted debate about the legacies of French colonialism. It was in this period that some intellectuals and academics began to worry openly about the penetration of Anglo-American “postcolonial” and “multicultural” ideas into university departments, as well as expressing unease at the supposed denigration of white people and France’s colonial “achievements”.

In recent years, these criticisms have been amplified by transatlantic racial politics. Back in June, when anti-racism protests were at their peak in France in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in the US, President Macron had claimed French universities were responsible for the “ethnicisation of social issues” which would lead to “splitting the republic in two”. Such accusations were levelled in the past at multicultural and post-colonial theories, both of which were seen to challenge France’s colour-blind approach to issues of race and diversity. Today, they are levelled at ideas that are said to be “decolonial” or “Islamist”.

But the structures of power have been shifting in French academia. Younger academics are generally more outward-facing and ready to embrace ideas such as post-colonialism, intersectionality and a critical approach to race and racism in society, including Islamophobia. The shift explains why the letter condemning Blanquer’s comments has garnered many more signatures than the one supporting his stance. Among other things, the letter points to the deep contradiction between the government’s claim to defend freedom of expression – most notably in the case of Charlie Hebdo – and its attempt to censure certain intellectual trends and approaches.

A BATTLE FOR ACADEMIC FREEDOM: In the wake of Blanquer’s statement, the French Senate voted on October 28 to approve an amendment to a law on university research that would make academic freedom in France conditional on “respecting the values of the republic”.

This has raised the stakes by moving the discussion from a specific set of ideas and theories to academic freedom more generally.

Not surprisingly, this has alarmed many inside French academia, including several scholarly associations, who have since launched a “solemn appeal” to protect academic freedoms and the right to study. The outcry has now led to the amendment itself being modified, representing a victory of sorts for researchers, although the battle is far from over.

The irony of these recent debates is that the very same people who once railed against the influence of Anglo-American ideas are the same ones who look set on importing an Anglo-American culture war onto French campuses. The real lesson is that France is no longer an intellectual exception, but simply another site for an international battle of ideas that will have serious long-term consequences.

Emile Chabal is a Reader in history at the University of Edinburgh. Timothy Peace is a Research Fellow in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Glasgow.

state parliaments suggests that if MPs are given clear and comprehensive instruction it is well hidden and not featured on 'induction day'. For federal MPs, there appears to be no process they need to be aware of, while the hapless staff member must wend their way through the Department of Finance’s policies and procedures to work out what to do.

Parliamentary staff anywhere are highly vulnerable. They work at the pleasure of the member. If a staff member complains of unacceptable conduct, there are rarely other jobs to go to; meanwhile, the MP can’t be sacked until election day. The imbalance of power is so great most employees put up with it or go quietly. Whatever the policy, fear of reprisals is too much for most people; they just want it to stop.

However, office romances also need to be part of workplace conduct policies. As the Herald and The Age’s report on companies who include consensual workplace relationships between bosses and staff in their notto-do list confirms, it’s not just Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison who believe it’s important.

It is sage recognition that when there are significant power imbalances between the parties, MPs and senior executives should understand there is a risk they are imposing intimacy on a staff member who might otherwise be unwilling.

They cannot know the staffer’s thinking about their job, career or marriage prospects, let alone what they’re prepared to do to keep their job, and they should not risk a misjudgment. As commissioner, I saw cases where women allowed their boss to fondle their breasts, or performed sexual acts on them, but only took action when they could stand it no longer and left.

Then there is the risk of compromising the minister or executive and the need for

transparency, including with your boss or the prime minister. Clearly, Nine chairman Peter Costello was uncomfortable with the disclosure, in the Herald on Saturday, of his chief executive Hugh Marks’ being linked with not one but two women on his staff. The story was followed by Marks’ resignation.

No doubt the rules on fraternisation will now be a topic for further discussion at Nine, the owner of this masthead, but it is recognised good practice in the corporate sector that bosses should disclose consensual relationships with their staff, especially since these so often result in conflicts of interest.

Pay negotiations are a case in point.

As a former journalist in the Canberra bubble, I recall the incredible intoxication of being locked up in that building with the country’s elected leadership. There were plenty of naughty dalliances between MPs and the press gallery and that appears to have continued in a way I have never encountered elsewhere since. The predator here is not always clear, but dalliances with journalists aren’t a good idea either.

None of this can be guaranteed by policies and procedures alone. Mostly because victims so rarely report. Which is why a strong focus needs to be on prevention – and that takes leadership. The smart thing for all our political leaders to do now is put the safety of female and male workers who work for them first, demand their elected members do the same, announce their own fraternisation policies and loudly back them. Being a member of Parliament, anywhere, does not mean sex at work is a perk of the job.

Pru Goward is a former sex discrimination commissioner and NSW Liberal minister. She is a professor at Western Sydney University.

The purpose of TV media measurement Hindustan times

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Paritosh Joshi

ver a month after the story about mischief in television ratings broke, we are still in a lather about Television rating Points (TrPs), barometers and the Broadcast Audience research Council (BArC). Let us, instead, look beyond the measurement system and deal with what people actually do with the petabytes of data which BArC publishes.

Over 500 channels are licensed by the ministry of information and broadcasting. In addition, there are, at least, an equal number of services offered by distribution platforms.

Typically labelled value-added services, they cover everything from classic cinema, specific genres of music, health and wellness, real estate, personal finance and, increasingly, education. These services are usually advertising-free and, given that they operate within the Distribution Service Operator (DSO)’s subscription-based walled garden, they are entirely outside BArC’s measurement.

Licence rules allow broadcasters to utilise no more than 12 minutes of advertising inventory or 24 spots of 30 seconds per hour. This norm is routinely violated. About 16 hours per day, from 7 am to 11 pm, is considered saleable; overnight inventories are often given to telemarketing slots. Thus, a channel can sell 192 minutes of inventory or 384 spots per day. This is 192,000 saleable spots per day across 500 channels.

When a brand decides to buy television inventory for a campaign, it begins with two objectives: One, reach, which is a minimum proportion of the target audience which must be exposed to the campaign; two, frequency, or the number of times a member of the target audience will be exposed to it. Given that audiences are scattered across such a wide raft of choices, both these objectives require buying lots of spots. Typical plans, for even small brands with modest objectives, will run across dozens of spots, across many channels. National fast moving consumer goods brands run thousands of spots in a single campaign period.

To invoke a metaphor, a regular-sized grape weighs five gm. That’s about 200 grapes per kilo, though it is never that many, because the twigs and stems make up around 10% of the weight. So, you get about 180 grapes per kg. How do you buy them? This is what I do. Pick one off the bunch, rub it on my shirt to get the superficial dirt off and check how sweet or tart it is. Check that there are no overripe or damaged grapes. Pick a bunch and ask the vendor to weigh it. There is no practical way of checking every single grape, is there? When you get back home, you will usually find that there will be the odd offending article which missed scrutiny.

But that does no discredit to your purchase.

This, more or less, is how television inventory is also bought. When you procure hundreds, or thousands, of spots, it is impossible to tell if some of them will fail to deliver with your audience. Media plans, like grapebuying, work on averages. And the empirical fact, that those 192,000 spots are usually sold out most days, suggests that plans deliver reach and frequency as planned and procured.

So how does television inventory transaction work? Television stations sell advertising inventory in three modes. One, fixed spots where an advertisement will appear on a specific programme at a specific time on a specific day. Two, run of day part (rODP) where an ad will appear within a time band.

This could be morning, afternoon, evening or night. Three, run of schedule (rOS) when the ad will appear on the channel at a time and day of the broadcaster’s choice.

Fixed spots are expensive. rOS on the same channel is deeply discounted. Most media procurement, and this is true across all genres of content, is done on an rODP or rOS basis. In the news genre, for instance, even the leading players sell as much as threefourths of their inventory on these terms of trade. (Anyone outside the top 10 sells almost exclusively on effective rate er — a global average of all pricing on the entire inventory).

How, then, do media planners know what the buy will secure, in terms of reach or frequency? Because they use averages across the day, or even week, to pick their media choices.

Indeed, when the rubber hits the road, it devolves further. A range of channels within a given genre is identified, all of which meet threshold standards on audience profile and impressions delivered. After this, the buyer, usually different from the planner, and far more hard-nosed, gets down to the business of ruthless negotiation. The buyer is not put off if a specific channel is intransigent; there is always another, more pliant one, waiting.

So, here’s what is happening. BArC is actually trying to measure the weight of every individual grape. But, by the time they change hands, buyers and sellers are only interested in their average weight, sweetness, tartness and colour, across single transactions which account for quintals. Media measurement plays many useful roles in the lives of all stakeholders. However, it should be abundantly clear that the single-most important application is in pricing advertising inventory. For which, a system which did nothing more than give weekly averages of reach and frequency, by channel, would not perform much worse than the level of detail which is on offer at this time.

If you are furious with this suggestion, the next time you buy a kilo of sabudana, check each of the grains individually.

Paritosh Joshi is a media professional with a keen interest in audience measurement.

Thursday, 19 November, 2020

BusiNess 09

TRADe AgReeMeNTS wITh AfghANISTAN To Be fINAlISeD By JAN 2021: DAwooD

corporate corner

KARACHI

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KARACHI: Shaheen Afridi receives Jubilee Life Insurance Best Bowler of the Tournament Award after the HBL PSL 2020 final between Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings. Jubilee Life Insurance Marketing and Brand Management head Syed Usman Qaiser was also present on the occasion. PRESS RELEASE

STAFF REPORT

HE Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) and Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) will be finalised between the two countries by the end of January 2021. This was revealed by Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood after his participation in the APTTCA meetings held in Kabul to deal with problems hindering the smooth implementation of a revised transit treaty.

A trade delegation had left Islamabad for a twoday visit to Kabul on Monday to mull ways to boost bilateral trade ties.

Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, the adviser said,

“Hopefully, APTTA & the PTA will be finalised by the end of Jan 2021. I will hold extensive meetings with all stakeholders in the coming days. Tremendous opportunities exist and I hope that our businessmen will realise them.”

It may be mentioned that the two countries had not held any APTTA meeting with since 2016, while talks on bilateral trade were also suspended until recently when officials from Afghanistan visited Pakistan and showed a willingness to revive stalled talks.

During the meetings, extensive and fruitful deliberations were held on the whole spectrum of bilateral trade and investment relations including formalising of informal cross-border trade while the two sides also discussed a wide range of issues pertaining to trade and economic integration.

“Held an extensive round of discussions with the

Textile exports rise 6pc YoY to $1.3bn in October LAHORE: Telenor Pakistan has partnered with United Bank Limited (UBL) to provide greater ease and accessibility to its customers. Telenor Pakistan Chief Marketing Officer Umair Mohsin signed a contract with UBL Executive Vice President Muhammad Humayun Sajjad. PRESS RELEASE

Meezan Bank hosts webinar on Roshan Digital Account, Naya Pakistan Certificates KARACHI: Meezan Bank, in collaboration with The Institute of Bankers Pakistan (IBP) and CFO Club Pakistan, hosted a Live webinar on the newly launched Meezan Roshan Digital Account and Islamic Naya Pakistan Certificates for Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs).

Engaged participants from across 36 countries comprising exceptional entities, business associates as well as banking professionals; the webinar aimed to promote the initiatives and cover the main concerns of NRPs through direct access to concerned representatives. Meezan Bank has successfully conducted similar awareness webinars in the past to supplement the Government’s initiative of encouraging NRPs to invest in Pakistan through RDA and Islamic Naya Pakistan Certificates. PRESS RELEASE

NAPA elects Syed Jawaid Iqbal as chairman KARACHI: The Board of Directors of National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) unanimously elected Syed Jawaid Iqbal as its new chairman for a period of 3 years. He was elected after Tariq Kirmani completed two terms of 3 years each. Prior to Kirmani, the position of chairman was held

by Dr Ishrat Husain. The board members also reappointed Zia Mohyeddin as Chief Executive Officer of NAPA. Outgoing Chairman of the Board, Tariq Kirmani said in his farewell remarks that he was fortunate to serve the NAPA Board for two terms and contribute in some way to the cultural enrichment of society. PRESS RELEASE

Thatta extraction plant starts palm oil production THATTA: A palm oil extraction plant being run by the Sindh's Environment, Climate Change & Coastal Development Department started production on Wednesday. "The Sindh government has successfully carried out the first-ever pilot project of growing palm oil trees in the province," said Sindh's Adviser for Environment and Coastal Development Barrister Murtaza Wahab during his visit to the palm oil extraction plant and the palm tree fields in Thatta district. TLTP

BUSINESS DESK Pakistan’s textile exports, which account for about 60pc of its overall exports, clocked in at $1.3 billion in October 2020, up 6pc when compared with October 2019 and 8pc when compared with Sept 2020.

In comparison, textile exports of India were down 13pc YoY, while that of Bangladesh registered a slight decline of 1pc YoY in October.

On a cumulative basis, Pakistan’s textile exports rose 4pc YoY during the first four months (Juy-Oct) of the current fiscal year (FY21), from $4.6 billion to $4.8 billion.

“The rise in exports can be attributed to strong orders for winter season in the West, which usually tend to be shipped by mid-October,” said a report issued by IMS Research. “We understand that most of the large exporters have orders filled till March 2021.”

In terms of value, there was a relatively moderate 9pc MoM increase in the exports of knitwear, home textiles and readymade garments (vs. 13pc average in the past three months). Volumes also increased by an average 29pc MoM for knitwear and home textiles, but by a softer 8pc MoM for garments.

Textile imports, on the other hand, declined 5pc MoM to $0.27 billion, while up by a sharp 77pc YoY – potentially indicating export orders remaining healthy for the rest of 2020. Raw cotton imports fell by 7pc MoM but up 8.9pc YoY, which is due to the significant shortfall in domestic cotton production.

“Owing to the uncertainty around the second wave and fresh lockdowns in Europe, Pakistani textile exporters evidently hesitated from importing cotton during the month despite healthy orders,” the report stated.

According to IMS Research, only 50pc of the cotton requirement for the sector is available in the market (which has led to a 10-year peak in local cotton prices).

“Exports are likely to increase in the coming months, mainly due to the inlay of orders till March (ahead of summer holidays in Europe and US). In the near-term, the demand for home textiles will remain stronger than that of readymade garments, as the second wave across Europe and US will keep high-street sales at subpar levels. An appreciating PKR is also a risk factor, but it will be partly offset by lower cost of imported cotton.”

Finja gets SECP approval to launch P2P lending platform in its regulatory sandbox ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has granted approval for launch of a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Lending Platform under the first cohort of Regulatory Sandbox to support and encourage Fintech revolution in the country.

P2P lending is an innovative alternative digital platform that connects borrowers with individual lenders, who come together to meet the borrowers' loan requirements. The P2P lending helps the borrowers give out short-term loans that enable the SMEs to scale up their business, eventually qualifying them to take bigger bank loans.

Sources disclosed to Profit that the approval for the launch has been granted to fintech company Finja, that is backed by Finca Microfinance Bank Limited and owns and operates SimSim wallet.

"This approval for testing and experimentation of a P2P Lending Platform by SECP is attributed towards development of an ecosystem for SME financing to achieve higher growth prospects and to

create new employment and business opportunities," a statement issued by the commission read.

During the testing/experimentation stage, the P2P lending platform shall operate within pre-defined parameters and is subject to certain terms and conditions. Furthermore, specific eligibility criteria shall also apply on selection of each lender/borrower on the platform.

These terms and conditions have been imposed to address the inherent risks involved in the operation of such platforms in the absence of a regulatory framework. However, these terms and conditions shall be reconsidered parallel to the results of the experimentation stage of the subject P2P Lending Platform. This will help the SECP devise the much needed enabling regulatory framework.

The SECP regulatory sandbox is the framework to accommodate provision of financial services that leverage new technologies. It allows FinTech firms to test their services and facilitate adoption of new technology in a live environment within the limited, well-defined scope.

concerned officials and a 1-on-1 meeting with H.E. the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani. Many understandings reached on several issues relating to trade & transportation,” the adviser said in another tweet.

During his visit, Dawood also met High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) Chairman Abdullah Abdullah and thanked him for his support, besides calling on Da Afghan Wolesi Jirga speaker and the Da Afghanistan Bank governor.

Razak hoped that the visit would mark the beginning of a new era of trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.

“This deepening of trade and investment relations between the two countries would enhance Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan and beyond to the central Asian countries,” the adviser stated.

MARKET DAILY Stocks shed 138 points amid lack of triggers KARACHI STAFF REPORT

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) was back in the negative territory on Wednesday, with the indices failing to maintain yesterday's momentum amid lack of positive triggers.

Global equity markets showed a mixed performance, whereas crude oil prices inched up from the previous close; WTI crude price appreciating 0.96pc to $42.06 while Brent crude oil price rising 1.03pc to $44.20. "The market traded range bound on Tuesday but maintained a downtrend in contrast to yesterday. Banks, exploration & production and cement stocks dipped on concerns regarding spread of coronavirus as well as resumption of IMF package, which requires an upward adjustment in electricity tariff as well as curtailment of subsidies," a report issued by Arif Habib Ltd read. The benchmark KSE-100 Index remained in the red for the most part, registering its intraday low at 40,344.62 after losing 308.05 points. It settled lower by 138.00 points at 40,514.67. Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index dropped 372.46 points to end at 64,494.94, while the KSE All Share Index fell 99.44 points, closing at 28,390.57. The overall market volumes contracted from 150.33 million shares in the previous session to 145.88 million shares (-5pc). Average traded value also declined by 2pc, from $40 million to $39.1 million. TRG Pakistan Ltd (TRG +2.85pc), Unity Foods Ltd (UNITY +0.31pc) and Soneri Bank Ltd (SNBL 1.91pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 11.95 million, 8.79 million and 6.44 million shares, respectively. Sectors that dragged the benchmark index lower included oil & gas exploration (51.69 points), cement (-24.27 points) and oil & gas marketing (-16.85 points). Among the companies, Habib Bank Ltd (HBL -20.15 points), Pak Petroleum Ltd (PPL -19.21 points) and Engro Corporation Ltd (ENGRO -17.70 points) dented the index the most. Shedding 1.03pc from its cumulative market capitalization, the oil & gas exploration sector ended as the session's top loser, with Mari Petroleum Company Ltd (MARI -1.32pc), Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDC -0.58pc), Pak Petroleum Ltd (PPL 1.46pc) and Pakistan Oilfields Ltd (POL 1.30pc) closing in the negative. Meanwhile, Honda Atlas Cars (Pakistan) Ltd (HCAR -0.30pc) declared its financial performance for the second quarter of FY21. The company's sales surged 213.68pc to Rs20.43 billion, whereas finance cost declined from Rs199.99 million in 2QFY20 to Rs17.52 million. HCAR's earnings per share improved from Rs3.57 last year to Rs4.60 in 2QFY21.

ADB reaffirms support for Pakistan’s development agenda, Covid-19 response MANILA AGENCIES

Asian Development Bank (ADB) Vice President Shixin Chen has reaffirmed support for Pakistan’s development efforts and coronavirus pandemic response during a series of virtual meetings with senior Pakistan government officials.

In a series of meetings from October 27 to November 17, Chen met with Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and ADB Governor Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Planning, Development & Special Initiatives Minister Asad Umar, Federal Minister for Energy Omar Ayub, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)

Governor Reza Baqir, and Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) and Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Protection Sania Nishtar, among other senior officials and development partners.

“ADB and Pakistan have a long-standing development partnership having worked together to confront various challenges and emergencies,” Chen said. “Our swift and robust response to Pakistan in combating the Covid-19 pandemic has further strengthened this partnership. We will continue to work closely with the government, development partners, and the private sector to assist Pakistan, including through our forthcoming five-year country partnership strategy. This will support the post-Covid-19 economic recovery, help to

resume and strengthen reform programmes, and implement the country’s development agenda.”

During the meetings, ADB’s project portfolio performance, support for Covid-19 response, and development priorities were discussed among the ADB vice president and Pakistani ministers.

The government underscored the importance of measures being taken to improve the readiness of processing and implementation of development projects and highlighted the value of ADB’s support for policy reforms and regional cooperation.

The ADB official also discussed energy sector reforms with Omar Ayub, while Sania Nishtar highlighted the regional development bank’s swift assistance through the

CMYK

flagship Ehsaas programme.

Furthermore, the country’s central bank’s stabilisation measures, ADB’s ongoing financial sector programmes, and strategies to stimulate economic recovery were also discussed.

Chen held consultations with key development partners including World Bank (WB) Country Director for Pakistan, International Monetary Fund (IMF) resident representative, head of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in Pakistan, USAID Pakistan mission director, and representatives of the US Embassy to Pakistan.

As part of the series of meetings, Chen also participated in a micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) themed

roundtable and engaged with the regulator, bankers, and entrepreneurs to discuss strengthening business and job opportunities for rapid post-Covid recovery.

ADB has provided significant support to Pakistan’s Covid-19 response. This includes a $500 million loan approved in June to help the government deliver social protection programmes to the poor and vulnerable, expand health sector capabilities, and deliver a pro-poor fiscal stimulus to boost growth and create jobs.

Earlier in May this year, ADB had approved a $300 million emergency assistance loan to strengthen Pakistan’s public health response to the pandemic and help meet the basic needs of vulnerable and poor segments of society.

Thursday, 19 November, 2020

10 FOREIGN NEWS

EThioPiAn TrooPS PUSh for rEGionAl CAPiTAl, rEbElS ProMiSE 'hEll' ADDIS ABABA

E

agencies

THIOPIA predicted swift victory but northern rebels promised them “hell” on Wednesday in a twoweek war threatening the vast nation’s unity and further destabilising the Horn of Africa.

The war has killed hundreds, sent 30,000 refugees into Sudan, and called into question whether Africa’s youngest leader can hold together Ethiopia’s myriad fractious ethnic groups.

Rebuffing appeals for talks, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government says its forces are marching on Tigray’s capital Mekelle and will soon triumph over the local ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which he accuses of revolt.

The rebels say they have captured tanks and artillery and held off the offensive despite being massively outnumbered.

“Tigray is now a hell to its enemies,” they said in a statement.

The TPLF says Abiy, their ex-military comrade and one-time political partner, has removed Tigrayans from senior security and government posts since he took office in 2018 and now wants to dominate them completely.

Abiy’s government has put former officials - many Tigrayan - on trial for crimes like torture, murder and corruption, but denies any attempt at ethnic domination.

“The federal government... denounces, in the strongest of terms, mischaracteriza-

tion that this operation has an ethnic or other bias,” the government said.

Debretsion Gebremichael, elected Tigrayan president in polls that Ethiopia does not recognise, told Reuters by text that his forces had fallen back but denied government allegations they destroyed bridges and a road leading to the capital.

“We have shifted our defence line and as a result they get into some towns of South Tigray,” he added.

Ethiopian federal forces are trying to advance along long main roads from the south and the northwest of Mekelle and had got within around 200 km (124 miles) of the Tigrayan capital, a diplomat monitoring the conflict said.

The Tigrayan leaders accused federal forces of targeting civilians, churches and homes. The government says it is only hitting TPLF targets and has accused Tigrayan forces of using civilians as human shields.

CUT OFF: The northern state is largely cut off as media are barred, most communications are down and aid workers are pulling out, meaning Reuters could not verify assertions from either side.

Hundreds of thousands have been uprooted from homes, while internet, electricity and banking services have been blocked.

Some refugees have said militias from Amhara, the neighbouring state, attacked them because of ethnicity. There have also been reports of Tigrayans losing jobs and facing discrimination elsewhere.

Abiy’s government has repeatedly denied an ethnic undertone, saying it is pursuing criminals and guaranteeing national unity.

Aiby’s parents are from the Oromo and Amharic ethnic groups - the largest and second largest respectively.

Tigrayans represent about 5% of the 115 million people in Africa’s second most populous country.

They dominated national leadership before Abiy took the premiership and began opening up the economy and a repressive political system that had jailed tens of thousands of political prisoners.

Now 44, he won last year’s Nobel Peace Prize for a pact with Eritrea. In a rare comment on activities of a laureate, the Nobel committee in Oslo expressed deep concern this week and urged peaceful resolution of the Tigray conflict.

‘DEVASTATING HUMANITARIAN CRISIS’: The TPLF has also fired rockets into neighbouring Eritrea, escalating the war beyond national borders. It has a long-standing enmity with President Isaias Afwerki’s government, which has denied sending troops into Tigray against the rebels.

Ethiopia’s army is one of Africa’s strongest, but many officers were Tigrayan and much of its heavy weaponry was based in Tigray, on the front line of the standoff with Eritrea after a 1998-2000 war.

The Tigrayans are also a battle-hardened force with experience of fighting against Eritrea and spearheading the ouster

of a Marxist dictatorship in 1991.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said healthcare facilities in Tigray and Amhara were short of supplies and assistance for many wounded.

“We are seeing a devastating humanitarian crisis unfold,” ICRC delegation head Katia Sorin said, adding that a telecommunications blackout was distressing families.

One hospital in the city of Gondar in Amhara had treated more than 400 people injured in the conflict while also handling 14 Covid-19 patients, the ICRC said. Three Ethiopia Red Cross ambulances were attacked last week.

With ramifications of the conflict all over the region, Ethiopian peacekeepers helping curb Islamist militants in Somalia removed weapons from 200-300 of their Tigrayan soldier colleagues in the past week, four sources told Reuters.

That was due to concerns over loyalty, not their ethnicity, the government said.

Ethiopia dispatched its foreign minister on a regional tour this week to explain the need for its Tigray offensive, which Addis Ababa has termed “law enforcement”.

Two diplomats briefed on the meetings said regional leaders told him talks would be needed to stop the security and humanitarian crisis spilling over more borders if fighting persisted.

Trying to tighten its squeeze, Ethiopia issued arrest warrants for 76 senior military officers on treason charges for their links to Tigrayan leaders, state-affiliated Fana TV said.

Israel, Bahrain cement new ties with pledges of embassies and visas JERUSALEM agencies

Bahrain and Israel said on Wednesday they would open embassies, establish online visa systems and launch weekly flights between the countries soon, in a broadened cooperation promoted by Washington as an economic boon and means of isolating Iran.

On the first official visit by Bahraini officials to Israel, the Gulf kingdom’s foreign minister, Abdullatif Al-Zayani, said a Sept. 15 deal normalising relations spelled “a warm peace that will deliver clear benefits to our peoples”.

The United Arab Emirates, which has also normalised ties with Israel, sent a delegation last month that did not leave Ben Gurion Airport in what was described as a coronavirus precaution.

The Bahraini envoys went on to Jerusalem, which Israel, with U.S. backing, considers its capital. Palestinians want East Jerusalem for a hoped-for state.

Al-Zayani’s trip coincided with a visit to Israel by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who hailed the regional rapprochement brokered by the Trump administration as it presses sanctions against Iran.

The normalisation deals “tell malign

actors like the Islamic Republic of Iran that their influence in the region is waning and that they are ever more isolated and shall forever be until they change their direction,” Pompeo said alongside his Bahraini counterpart and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Al-Zayani announced that, as of Dec. 1, Bahrainis and Israelis will be able to apply online for entry visas. He also submitted a request to open a Bahraini embassy in Israel and said an Israeli embassy had been approved for Manama.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Aske-

nazi, who is due to visit Manama next month, said he hoped opening ceremonies for the embassies would be held by the end of 2020.

The Bahraini delegation travelled on Gulf Air flight GF972 - a reference to Israel’s telephone country code - in what was the airline’s first flight to Tel Aviv.

Al-Zayani predicted 14 such flights weekly starting next year, as well as flights to the smaller Israeli destinations of Haifa and Eilat.

Sudan followed Bahrain and UAE in announcing last month it would move towards ties with Israel. The engagement has outraged Palestinians, who want their statehood goal achieved first.

Further such developments appear unlikely before U.S. President-elect Joe Biden takes office. Israel was due to send a first delegation to Sudan on Sunday, officials told Reuters, but the trip was postponed over what they described as logistical issues.

Speaking on Israel’s Army Radio, Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen said a commitment towards a tough policy on Iran by Biden would determine whether other countries would opt for normalisation deals with Israel.

German police clash with protesters angry at Merkel's coronavirus law BERLIN agencies

German police unleashed water cannon and pepper spray in an effort to scatter thousands of protesters angry about a new legal framework for enforcing coronavirus restrictions passed by parliament on Wednesday. Protesters near Berlin’s landmark Brandenburg Gate threw bottles at police and set off smoke bombs, witnesses reported. Riot police detained some protesters while firing volleys of water and urging crowds by loudspeaker to disperse. Police detained 190 people and nine officers were injured.

Demonstrators, including some far-right radicals, opposed legislation to enshrine in law powers to impose steps such as curbs on social contact, rules on mask-wearing, drinking alcohol in public and shutting shops. The aim of the amendment, drawn up by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government, is to prevent legal challenges to the measures that have so far mostly been enforceable at the state or local level. Although most Germans accept the latest “lockdown light” to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus in a second wave, critics say the amendment endangers citizens’ civil rights. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has compared the amendment with the 1933 Enabling Act that paved the way to Hitler’s Nazi dictatorship.

Trump to represent U.S. at this week's virtual APEC summit, official says WASHINGTON agencies

President Donald Trump plans to represent the United States at a virtual Asia-Pacific summit this week in which his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping also plans to participate, a U.S. official told Reuters. Trump’s participation in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum hosted virtually by Malaysia on Friday will be his first in the event since 2017, the only time he has participated. The news comes after Trump’s outgoing administration faced criticism for lower-level participation at last weekend’s virtual East Asia Summit, on the sidelines of which 15 countries signed a major China-backed regional trade deal. “POTUS is doing APEC,” said a U.S. official, who did not want to be identified, using the acronym for the President of the United States. The White House declined to comment and while the current plan is for Trump to take part in APEC, the Republican president is preoccupied with an uphill battle to contest his defeat in the Nov. 3 presidential election. In the past, he has changed his mind about taking part in such meetings.

China’s Xi is scheduled to be among the participants in Friday’s APEC leaders’ meeting and will also address a chief executives’ conference starting on Thursday. Last year’s APEC summit, which Trump had been due to attend, did not take place because Chile backed out of hosting it amid violent street protests.

Vice President Mike Pence represented the United States at APEC in 2018 amid heightened U.S.-China tensions, which have deteriorated since to their worst level in decades.

'Where there's a will there's a way' as English doctors prepare Covid vaccine roll-out LONDON agencies

English doctors are grappling with the prospect of seven-day service, -75 degree Celsius freezers and vaccines known as “Talent” and “Courageous” as they prepare for an unprecedented logistical challenge: the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccinations.

Health minister Matt Hancock has set a target for England’s National Health Service that it should be ready to administer vaccines

by Dec. 1, although he has said his central expectation is for the bulk of the roll-out to happen next year.

Any distribution of vaccines would also require approval from the country’s medical watchdog, the MHRA. On Wednesday, NHS England medical director Stephen Powis confirmed that general practitioners (GPs), pharmacies and large-scale inoculation centres could all be involved in the vaccine roll-out, adding more

details would be given in the coming days.

“There’s going to be some nationally organised vaccine immunisation centres, which will be large centres, probably run with military involved, etc. But GPs are well placed,” Steve Mowle, a practising GP and honorary treasurer of the Royal College of General Practitioners, told Reuters.

“The challenge of this task is even bigger than the flu immunisation programme. But I’m sure that GPs will have a very central role in delivering the Covid-19 vaccine.”

Germany is scouting trade fair halls and airport terminals as possible mass vaccination centres, while Italy plans to lean on its existing GP network. But in many countries, details of how the population will be inoculated are scarce.

A spokesman for Britain’s health ministry said that extra logistical expertise, transport arrangements and equipment had been put in place, the workforce had been expanded and 150 million pounds had been

given to GP practices.

“An enormous amount of planning has taken place to ensure our health service stands ready to roll out a Covid-19 vaccine,” he said.

“We will publish further details on our deployment plans in due course.”

‘TALENT’ AND ‘COURAGEOUS’: Although there is still a lack of clarity over some of the details of how doctors are expected to deliver the vaccines, they have been briefed on the broad outlines.

In the absence of trade names, the NHS uses codenames to refer to the two vaccine candidates that are expected to be the first available.

Pfizer PFE.N and BioNTech's vaccine candidate, which uses an mRNA platform, is referred to as "Courageous vaccine", while the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca's AZN.L is referred to as "Talent vaccine" in slides from a webinar to health professionals given by NHS England last week that have

been reviewed by Reuters.

Britain has ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccine candidate, which had 95% efficacy in final trial results published on Wednesday, and 100 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca shot, which is expected to publish efficacy data in coming weeks.

In the webinar, doctors were told there would be 975 doses per pack of Pfizer vaccine, with two doses needed to be given 21 days apart, in line with the U.S. drugmaker’s design specifications.

Clinics could also need to be open at weekends to make sure the doses are used in time.

“Potential Covid-19 vaccines could need to be delivered within a certain time period once they arrive at a site,” the slide said.

“So, if necessary, but not otherwise, practices will need to have the ability to deliver vaccinations between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. seven days a week to avoid any going to waste.”

TWIN TRACK: The urgency of getting

vaccines delivered to people promptly after they are received stems in part from the demanding storage requirements of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which needs to be kept at around -75 degrees Celsius.

It can then be stored for five days in refrigeration but once diluted it has to be used within a matter of hours, which causes headaches for those distributing the vaccine, especially in rural areas.

“There’s some real challenges around how, how it might be used,” Richard Vautrey, a doctor and chair of the British Medical Association’s GP Committee, said.

“It’s quite different from what we would normally experience with, say, the flu vaccine,” he said, adding that details of the “twin track” strategy were under active discussion.

The onerous storage requirements of the Pfizer vaccine can be mitigated by dry ice and other temporary cooling solutions, said Anna Blakney, research fellow at Imperial College London.

Thursday, 19 November, 2020

SPORTS 11

PAkiSTAn CriCkET TEAM To Tour EngLAnd in JuLy 2021

P

NEWS DESK

AKISTAN Cricket team will tour England in July next year to play three ODIs and three T20Is, both the cricket boards announced jointly on Wednesday, a local media outlet reported.

The announcement was followed by an earlier statement that confirmed England’s first visit to Pakistan since 2005.

The July’s tour to England will be Pakistan’s sixth visit to the country in last six years.

According to schedule, the three ODIs that are part of ICC Super League will be played on 8th, 10th and 13th of July in Cardiff, London and Birmingham respectively. The T20Is will be played on 16th, 18th and 20th July in Nottingham, Leeds and Manchester.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam said that

Zverev bounces back from defeat to keep ATP Finals hopes alive

LONDON: Alexander Zverev beat Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 on Wednesday to keep alive his hopes of another ATP Finals triumph in London. The 2018 champion looked out of sorts in his straight-sets defeat against Daniil Medvedev on Monday and again struggled to find early rhythm at the empty O2 Arena. The Argentine eighth seed, who is at the elite eight-man event in place of the injured Roger Federer, was also looking to bounce back from losing his opening round-robin match, to Novak Djokovic. Big-serving Zverev, who struggled badly on second-serve points against Medvedev, was broken by Schwartzman in the third game but turned the tables with two breaks of his own to take the set. The Argentine's serve was again under pressure in the first game of the second set but he dug himself out of the hole to hold before Zverev broke in the third game. The German, who stands 28 centimetres (11 inches) taller than Schwartzman, appeared to be in control without finding his best form but then lost his own serve with a clutch of unforced errors.

Zverev raced through his next service game but then stumbled again on serve as his 28-year-old opponent took the set 6-4 to level the match. The momentum appeared to be with the Argentine but the match changed direction again in the fifth game of the decider when Zverev broke with a fine backhand volley. Schwartzman saved two break points in the seventh game but by now fifth seed was in the groove and he broke again to seal the win. "It was much better than on Monday," said Zverev. "Diego is a very difficult player, he deserves to be here. There's no easy matches but I'm happy to get the win, I'm happy to give myself a chance to go to the semi-finals. "I'm excited for Friday. Friday's going to be the most difficult match-up that you can have here, against Novak." Zverev, who has won two titles in the coronavirus-truncated 2020 season, beat Djokovic in the final in London two years ago and appeared to be on the verge of a Grand Slam breakthrough. The 23-year-old has not yet won a major but reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open this year and the final of the US Open. AGENCIES

England all-rounder Moeen Ali still yearns for test cricket CAPE TOWN: Moeen Ali still wants to play test cricket for England after conceding he had lost the hunger for the five-day game, but is desperate to feature in The Ashes against Australia next year. The spinning all-rounder lost his place in the test side after recording match figures of 3/172 against the Australians in Birmingham last year, a game the tourists won by a massive 251 runs. Ali, 33, bore the brunt of that defeat, and said test cricket lost some of its appeal as a result. “A year-and-a-half ago I lost that hunger to play test cricket, but I feel like over the last six months it is coming back,” Ali told reporters on Wednesday. “I have been thinking a lot about my game and if the call did come, I would be keen on it. I have not retired or anything, but probably have just taken a step back from the test game.” Ali took five wickets at an average of 115 in the 2017-18 Ashes series in Australia, which began to sow the seeds of doubt on his position, and admits he could have been better prepared for the contest. “I went there on the back of being in some of my best form for England,” he said. “I was confident, but I probably didn’t do as much planning as I should have and could have.” The all-rounder has 181 test wickets and 2,782 runs, including five centuries, but for now is concentrating on the shortest format with two Twenty20 World Cups in the next two years. He is currently with the England team in South Africa for a six-match limited overs tour that starts on Nov. 27. “There is an opportunity to be one of the greatest sides ever and to be part of that is something I would like to do,” he said. AGENCIES

England and Wales has become their second home as the team has been visiting it regularly since 2016. The player also focused on how the tours have improved their knowledge about the game.

“Apart from building relationships and understanding the culture, these tours have helped us to enhance and improve our cricket skills and knowledge, as we now have a good understanding of the conditions and wickets in that part of the world,” Babar

DHAKA AGENCIES

Bangladesh star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has been given an armed bodyguard after he was threatened by “extremists” for attending a Hindu ceremony in neighbouring India, the country's cricket board said Wednesday.

The cricketer is the latest target of hardliners in Bangladesh, who have also held large anti-France rallies in recent weeks following president Emmanuel Macron's defence of the right to publish caricatures depicting the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).

The 33-year-old sparked a social media storm in the Muslim-majority nation after attending a ceremony in Kolkata dedicated to a Hindu goddess on November 12.

A man who threatened Shakib on social media for "hurting religious sentiment" was arrested by police on Tuesday. "The threat is concerning," Bangladesh Cricket Board's chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury told reporters in Dhaka.

"We took immediate measures and also informed the relevant security agencies. They are also taking necessary

said in a statement released by Pakistan Cricket Board.

The 26-year-old skipper emphasized on opportunities the team will have to improve its ranking in series against South Africa, England and New Zealand as lower-ranked sides are awarded more points if they win a series against a higher-ranked team.

“England is the world champion and the number-one ranked side in ODIs, while they sit second in the T20I table. Besides trying

to collecting valuable Super League points, our overarching objective is also to improve our white-ball rankings,” he said.

“England boasts some outstanding and world-class cricketers, which is reflected in their team results in the past couple of years.

But if we have to qualify directly for the World Cup and also improve our ranking, we have to play and beat stronger oppositions, and I know we are capable of doing this,” Babar added.

Bangladesh cricket star Shakib gets bodyguard after threats

steps," Chowdhury added, without giving further details.

He did not say if Shakib would receive round-the-clock protection.

Lahore Qalandars 'missed out because we misjudged the pitch': Aaqib Javed

NEWS DESK Aaqib Javed, the Lahore Qalandars coach, has said that his side "misread the pitch" after they lost the final against rivals Karachi Kings on Tuesday.

After Lahore opted to bat, Fakhar Zaman and Tamim Iqbal added a steady 68-run opening stand off 61 balls, but the middle-order batsmen struggled to get going on a slow track, as they managed only 134 for 7.

"We misread the pitch," Javed told ESPNcricinfo. "The idea was to bat first in a high-pressure game and set a big total to take an early advantage. But the standard of the pitch wasn't great .. it was sticky, maybe it was the lack of heat in November or whatever but it didn't go well. We realised the slowness of the pitch and that is why we sent [Mohammad] Hafeez ahead of Sohail Akhtar to keep the scoreboard rolling. But it just didn't work either...everyone went for big shots. "We had our chance and did start well with the control of winning the toss but sometimes losing a toss can be a blessing in disguise and I feel Karachi went away with the advantage. In such big games, we never wanted to chase and take extra pressure but [us] batting first on a pitch that turned out to be slow gave Karachi a clear idea as a testing case."

Javed also pointed out that Babar Azam was the difference between the two teams. Azam made an unbeaten 63 - his sixth successive fifty-plus score - to secure a chase of 135 despite a late wobble. "You got to give credit to Babar the way he played and took the game away from us and he was clearly one player who made the difference," Javed said. "Had we got him earlier, Karachi Kings could have easily struggled chasing it [135]."

Javed, though, was pleased with how Lahore bounced back after having finished at the bottom

CMYK

of the table in the first four seasons. Despite the presence of high-profile players like Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, and Brendon McCullum at different points, they couldn't qualify for the playoffs in the first four seasons. However, this year, under Sohail Akhtar, who is uncapped at the international level, they made their maiden final.

Shaheen Afridi finished as the highest wickettaker in PSL 2020, with 17 strikes while Dilbar Hussain ended fourth on that list with 14 wickets.

Four of the top-five run-getters this season were also from Lahore.

"Nobody really expected us to be in the final but we played brilliantly throughout and came long way," Javed said. "We might have lost the final but our spirits are not defeated. Our philosophy is to develop players and give something back to the system. Over the years we developed our own players and other than Hafeez all our local players - Harris Rauf, Fakhar Zaman, Shaheen Afridi - grew with us over the years and established [themselves] because of Lahore Qalandars.

"Overall, this season, playing final is a massive rise and we had an excellent season. It's unfair to judge us just on the basis of the final alone but we have played some exciting cricket and challenged everyone. We have managed to change history from the last four years sitting at the bottom and finishing No.2 this season. I am proud of my team making the final and raising the bar big time...It's really great to see Fakhar Zaman, Harris Rauf, Dilbar Hussain, Shaheen Afridi growing up and their individual performances are pushing their careers ahead. I know batsmen win games and bowlers win tournaments and we had such great balance this season and had a great combination but unfortunately missed out just one mistake of misjudging the pitch."

An armed bodyguard was seen beside Shakib during a training session in Dhaka on Wednesday ahead of a domestic Twenty20 tournament next week. The player on Monday publicly apologised for being at the event in Kolkata. Islamic preachers in Bangladesh say people should not attend the ceremonies of other faiths.

Shakib is the International Cricket Council's top-ranked all-rounder in oneday internationals.

In 2015, he became the first cricketer to hold the ICC's top all-rounder ranking in the game's three formats -Tests, one-day internationals and Twenty20 internationals. Conservative Bangladesh has experienced increasing tensions between hardliners and secularists in recent years, suffering a spate of killings of atheist bloggers, religious minorities and foreigners.

PCB announces HBLPSL 2020 Team of the Tournament NEWS DESK Pakistan Cricket Board, in a press release, announced HBL Pakistan Super League 2020 Team of the Tournament selected by a 4-member independent jury.

The 12-member side, captained by Shadab Khan, comprises four foreign players and an emerging category player with representation from five franchises. “I feel honoured to have been appointed captain of Team of the HBL PSL 2020, which includes some fine performers from one of the most successful events,” Shadab Khan said in the statement released by PCB. The team consists of six players from Lahore Qalandars, three from Karachi Kings, while one each from Quetta Gladiators, Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi. No player from Multan Sultans, the table-toppers, could get a place in the team.

Commentators Bazid Khan, Ramiz Raja and Urooj Mumtaz were part of the jury along with Nadeem Khan, who is a member of the HBL PSL 2020 Technical Committee and PCB Director – High Performance.

While selecting the side, the independent jury considered a number of cricketing aspects, including consistency, impact on the side and results, fitness and best possible team combination, PCB reported.

Following is the team announced: Babar Azam (Karachi Kings), Chris Lynn (Lahore Qalandars), Alex Hales (Karachi Kings), Haider Ali (Peshawar Zalmi), Mohammad Hafeez (Lahore Qalandars), Shadab Khan (captain, Islamabad United), Ben Dunk (wicketkeeper, Lahore Qalandars), David Wiese (Lahore Qalandars), Mohammad Amir (Karachi Kings), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Lahore Qalandars), Mohammad Hasnain (Quetta Gladiators) and Fakhar Zaman (12th, Lahore Qalandars).

Liverpool's Salah tests positive for virus again CAIRO: Liverpool and Egypt forward Mohamed Salah has returned a second positive test for coronavirus while on international duty, the Egyptian Football Association said Wednesday. Salah had "a new swab to detect the Covid-19 virus, its result was positive”.

Arsenal player Mohamed Elneny was also re-tested and his result was also positive, the FA said. Without Salah, Egypt beat Togo 3-1 in their 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Tuesday and top their group. Salah wrote on Twitter on Tuesday: "I'd like to thank everyone for the supportive messages and well wishes.

I'm confident I'll be back on the field soon." The forward, who has scored eight league goals for Liverpool this season, could miss the Premier League champions' next two matches. They host Leicester in the league on Sunday before playing Italian side Atalanta in a Champions League tie at Anfield on November 25. AGENCIES

Thursday, 19 November, 2020

PrAyEr TImINGS

NEWS

FAJR SUNRISE 5:15 6:42

pfizer endS vaccine trial With 95pc SucceSS rate, paving Way for a Shot thiS year

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AGENCIES

INAL results from Pfizer Inc’s Covid-19 vaccine trial showed its shot had a 95 per cent success rate and two months of safety data, paving the way for the drugmaker to apply for an emergency US authorisation within days, it said on Wednesday.

The vaccine’s efficacy rate, the highest of any candidate in late-stage clinical trials so far, was welcomed by experts who had already said that interim results showing Pfizer’s shot was over 90pc effective were very encouraging.

Pfizer said there were 170 cases of Covid19 in its trial of more than 43,000 volunteers and only eight people with the disease had been given the shot rather than a placebo, meaning the vaccine had a 95pc efficacy rate.

Of the 10 people who developed severe Covid-19, one had received the vaccine.

“The data is very strong,” said Ian Jones,

a professor of virology at Britain’s University of Reading. “It’s looking like a real contender.” Pfizer said it expected the US Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisory committee to review and discuss the data in a public meeting that will likely be held in December.

“We continue to move at the speed of science, and we know that every day matters in our path to authorisation,” Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla said.

The final analysis comes just a week after initial results from the trial showed the vaccine, developed with German partner BioNTech SE, was more than 90pc effective. Moderna Inc on Monday released preliminary data for its vaccine, showing 94.5pc effectiveness. The better-than-expected results from the two vaccines, both developed with new messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, have raised hopes for an end to a pandemic that has killed more than 1.3 million people and wreaked havoc

upon economies and daily life. However, while some groups such as healthcare workers will be prioritised in the United States for vaccinations this year, it will be months before large-scale rollouts begin.

THE MOST VULNERABLE: Distribution of a Pfizer shot is complicated by the need to store it at ultra-cold temperatures of -70 degrees Celsius. It can, however, be kept in a normal fridge for up to five days, or up to 15 days in a thermal shipping box.

Pfizer said the efficacy of the vaccine was consistent across different age and ethnic groups, a sign that the immunisation could be employed broadly around the world. Efficacy in adults over 65 years, who are at particular risk from the virus, was over 94pc.

“The 94pc protection for older people is key. This is the evidence we needed to ensure that the most vulnerable people are protected,” said Andrew Hill, senior visiting research fellow at the University of Liverpool’s department of pharmacology.

Israeli military says it struck Syrian, Iranian forces in Syria TEL AVIV/AMMAN AGENCIES

Israel said it launched airstrikes against a number of Syrian army and Iranian Quds Force targets in Syria on Wednesday after explosive devices were planted in the Israeliheld Golan Heights.

The Syrian state news agency reported that three military personnel were killed and one was wounded in “Israeli aggression”.

Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military spokesman, said eight targets in areas stretching from the Syrian-controlled side of the Golan Heights to the Damascus periphery were attacked.

They included an Iranian headquarters at

Modi telephones Biden to advance strategic ties NEW DELHI AGENCIES

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to United States President-elect Joe Biden by telephone to congratulate him on his election victory, which he said showed the strength of US democracy, and he vowed to deepen strategic ties. Modi initially sent his congratulations to Biden in a social media message soon after US television networks projected him to be the winner of the November 3 election even though President Donald Trump has refused to concede defeat.

Modi followed that up with a phone call to congratulate Biden and reaffirm his commitment to a strategic partnership between the two big democracies, Modi said on Twitter late on Tuesday. “Prime Minister Modi warmly congratulated President-elect Biden on his election, describing it as a testament to the strength and resilience of democratic traditions in the United States,” the Indian foreign ministry said. Modi had built close ties with Trump. The two leaders held a joint rally in the US city of Houston last year and again in Modi’s home state of Gujrat this year, during a visit to India by Trump. Modi’s critics said the prime minister had come dangerously close to endorsing Trump’s candidature, which they said could hurt India’s prospects under a Democratic administration. India and the United States drew closer during Trump’s presidency as both countries aimed to counter China’s expanding military and economic influence in the region. During the telephone call, Modi also extended his best wishes to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, the daughter of an Indian immigrant whose election to the second-highest public office in the United States has been cheered in India.

The two leaders also discussed their priorities, including containing the coronavirus pandemic, promoting access to affordable vaccines and tackling climate change, the foreign ministry said.

Damascus international airport, a “secret military site” that served as a “hosting facility for senior Iranian delegations when they come to Syria to operate” and the 7th Division of the Syrian armed forces, he said.

Syrian advanced surface-to-air missile batteries were also hit “after they fired at our aircraft and at our ordnance”, Conricus said. Israel has repeatedly struck Iranian targets in Syria and those of allied militias, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah, saying it would not tolerate Iranian entrenchment in its northern neighbour.

Commenting on Wednesday’s attack, Conricus said: “It’s not one of the largest, but it is diverse.” Syrian President Bashar alAssad’s government has never publicly acknowledged that there are Iranian forces

operating on his behalf in Syria’s civil war.

Western intelligence sources say Israel’s stepped up strikes on Syria this year are part of a shadow war approved by Washington in a bid to check Iran’s military reach.

Conricus, briefing foreign reporters, said three claymore anti-personnel charges were discovered on Tuesday near an Israeli military position in the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau captured and occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.

“The actual planting of the IEDs (improvised explosive devices) was done by Syrian locals but the guidance, instruction and control was by the Iranian Quds Force — that is why we decided to retaliate against them in Syria,” Conricus said.

STOCKS STRENGTHEN: Equity markets strengthened slightly on the Pfizer news. Europe’s STOXX 600 and the U.S S&P 500 futures both rose about 0.3pc to hit highs for the day. The moves were small, however, compared with the jump when Pfizer first announced the vaccine was more than 90pc effective on Nov. 9. Pfizer shares rose 3pc in premarket trade while BioNTech’s U.S.listed shares jumped 8pc.

MILD SIDE EFFECTS: Pfizer said its two-dose vaccine, BNT162b2, was well-tolerated and that side effects were mostly mild to moderate, and cleared up quickly.

The only severe adverse event that affected more than 2pc of those vaccinated was fatigue, which affected 3.7pc of recipients after the second dose. Older adults tended to report fewer and milder adverse events. Moderna named five categories of severe side effects experienced by at least 2pc of those who received its vaccine. It listed fatigue at a frequency of 9.7pc, muscle

AGENCIES

United States President-elect Joe Biden will meet with healthcare workers on the front lines of the raging coronavirus health crisis in a virtual event on Wednesday, while President Donald Trump faces further legal hurdles to overturn his election loss.

Biden has pledged to make the pandemic, which has killed more than 247,000 people in the US and cost millions their jobs, a top priority when he takes office on Jan. 20. As Covid-19 cases surge across the country, Biden and his top advisers have warned Trump’s refusal to cooperate with a White House transition could jeopardize the battle to contain the virus and inhibit vaccine distribution planning. The General Services Administration, run by a Trump appointee, still has not recognized Biden’s victory in the Nov. 3 election, preventing the Democrat’s team from gaining access to government office space and funding normally provided to an incoming administration to ensure a smooth transition.

Trump is pursuing a flurry of lawsuits that legal experts say stand little chance of altering the election’s outcome. Election officials of both parties have said there is no evidence of major irregularities. Biden won the national popular vote by more than 5.6 million votes, or 3.6 percentage points, with some ballots still being counted. In the state-by-state Electoral College that determines the winner, Biden captured 306 votes to the Republican Trump’s 232. To remain in office, Trump would need to overturn results in at least three of the most closely contested states in an unprecedented fashion. But he

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA 3:26 5:04 6:30

pain at 8.9pc, joint pain at 5.2pc, headache at 4.5pc, pain at 4.1pc and redness around the injection site at 2pc.

Pfizer’s final results come as the virus is running rampant around the world, placing an enormous strain on healthcare systems with record numbers of new cases and hospitalisations.

The approach of winter in the northern hemisphere in tandem with the holiday season is expected to worsen case numbers as people spend more time indoors and have family gatherings.

“With hundreds of thousands of people around the globe infected every day, we urgently need to get a safe and effective vaccine to the world,” Pfizer’s Bourla said.

Pfizer and BioNTech also said they plan to submit the data to other regulatory agencies around the world and submit data from the study to a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

Pfizer reiterated that it expects to make as many as 50 million vaccine doses this year, enough to protect 25 million people, and then produce up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021.

Of the dozens of drugmakers and research groups racing to develop vaccines against Covid-19, the next data release will likely be from AstraZeneca Plc with the University of Oxford in November or December.

Johnson & Johnson says it is on track to deliver data this year.

SkyMet Weather predictS harSher Winter in SuBcontinent NEWS DESK Skymet Weather Vice President Mahesh Palawat has predicted that India and Pakistan will experience a harsher and prolonged winter this year.

He added that Punjab, Northern Sindh, and Northern Balochistan, in particular, would see colder and more severe weather conditions.

He attributed this weather to La Niña, which refers to the periodic cooling of ocean surface temperatures in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific. He further said that a similar situation was witnessed in 2011 and 2012.

“The recent Western Disturbance, which refers to an extratropical storm originating in the Mediterranean region and bringing sudden winter rain to the northwestern parts of the Indian subcontinent, was the first of this season. We are likely to experience more such winter rains in the coming days,” Palawat said.

Typically, this occurs every three to five years, but on occasion has occurred in consecutive years.

Biden to focus on coronavirus as Donald Trump pushes to overturn election WILMINGTON

ZUHR 11:53

has been met with repeated failures in court, where many of his legal challenges already have been dismissed. His supporters also are clinging to the hope that recounts could reverse the results in a few states, even though experts have said Biden’s margins appear insurmountable.

In Wisconsin, where Biden leads by more than 20,000 votes, the Trump campaign has until Wednesday afternoon to decide if it will pay the $7.9 million the state’s election commission estimated a recount would cost. Georgia, where Biden was the first Democrat to carry the state since Bill Clinton in 1992, is undertaking a manual recount ordered by the secretary of state due to the slim margin.

While Biden participates in the virtual roundtable from his home state of Delaware on Wednesday, Trump again has no public events scheduled.

TRUMP FIRES CYBER OFFICIAL: Trump on Tuesday fired top US cybersecurity official Chris Krebs, who heads the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, accusing him without evidence of making a “highly inaccurate” statement that affirmed the security of the US election. Krebs’ work in protecting the election from hackers and combating disinformation about the vote won praise from lawmakers of both parties, as well as election officials around the country. But he drew the ire of Trump and his allies, who were irked over his refusal to support allegations of election meddling.

Reuters reported last week that Krebs had told associates he expected to be fired. A Biden spokesman said: “Chris Krebs should be commended for his service in protecting our elections, not fired for telling the truth.”

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