EpaperISB_20-11-23

Monday, 23 November, 2020 I 6 Rabi al-Akhir, 1442 I Rs 40.00 I Vol XI No 144 I 52 Pages I Islamabad Edition

PDM goes aheaD with Peshawar rally DesPite coviD warning g

govt to be sent packing at the start oF next year, claims bilawal

islamabad/PEsHaWaR staff report

D

espite being warned against holding a rally in peshawar due to fears of it becoming a catalyst for the spread of covid-19, the pakistan democratic movement (pdm) went ahead with the rally on sunday, with the organisers of the event saying that they made it mandatory for all attendees to wear face masks. the central leadership of the pdm, including maulana Fazlur rehman, maryam nawaz, mahmood khan achakzai, aimal wali khan, sardar akhtar mengal and aftab sherpao, were all present on stage, with a series of speeches by various political leaders delivered one after another. maryam nawaz did not address the crowd as she learned about the demise of her grandmother in london, and immediately left for lahore. pakistan people’s party (ppp) chairman bilawal bhutto-zardari said that the ruling party would be sent packing by the start of the new year. “a voice is rising from within gilgit-

Pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

374,173

LAST UPDATED AT 8:16 AM ON NOVEMBER 22, 2020

59

RECOVERED:

NEW CASES:

2,665 DEATHS:

329,828 7,662 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

162,227

114,010

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

AJK/GB:

ISLAMABAD:

44,097

Fazl lashes out at govt over deteriorating relations with allied states

baltistan, saying ‘do not rob the vote’,” bilawal added, carrying on the opposition’s narrative of election rigging in gilgitbaltistan. “the entire [khyber] pakhtunkhwa is demanding ‘go, imran, go!’,” he claimed, adding: “this is the land of the brave, the honourable.” bilawal also lamented the fact that the government has not provided enough funds to the region to properly develop it. he observed that those displaced from their homes due to terrorism and military operations had not been rehabilitated.

Further speaking on terrorism, he said that the pdm “will not allow this puppet to let it take hold again”. he also lambasted the pakistan tehreek-e-insaf (pti) for the burdens that the common man has had to face in obtaining essential goods. “First there was a flour, sugar, and oil crisis, and now a gas crisis will arise,” he said. the ppp chairman also said that the province, despite producing a sizeable share of crude oil that was distributed across the country, was not receiving royalties. he noted that the province also produced gas and hydel power that

coronavirus in

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

g

16,744

6,000/4,526 26,569

exceeded kp’s requirements, yet it was not being paid its fair share. he also questioned why the region was not enjoying its share of benefits from the success of the china-pakistan economic corridor (cpec) project. “these rulers shouted the most against corruption but turned out to be the most corrupt,” he said, then turned his sights on the national accountability bureau (nab). “nab does not see how peshawar’s brt is the country’s most expensive metro system and its buses catch fire on their own. it doesn’t see corruption in malam Jaba, or how buildings in new york were built through sewing machines,” he said on the occasion. bilawal said that the country cannot have a strong accountability system until “there is one law for all citizens and until there are same courts and laws for politicians, army generals and judges”.

Fazl, while speaking to the rally, said that due to flawed foreign policy of the incumbent government, pakistan’s relations with its allies are deteriorating. he said that no country including uae, saudi arabia and china among others is ready to trust pakistan, adding, “today, saudi arabia and uae are demanding pakistan to return their money.” he expressed sorrow over the death of nawaz sharif’s mother. “i want to offer my condolences to the sharif family for the great loss,” he said. the Jui-F chief said that the attendance of kp’s people in large numbers in this rally is a referendum against the pti government and shows that people have “refused the government which came into power through rigged election”. “we respect our armed forces as a defence institution, but if it tries to become a political institution then we have every right to criticise it… we give you a deadline to withdraw your support of the pti-led government and focus on your professional responsibilities,” he remarked.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Opp is ‘destroying people’s lives & livelihoods’, says PM islamabad staff report

prime minister imran khan, in a series of tweets on sunday, said that the careless actions of the opposition alliance, the pakistan democratic movement (pdm), can result in a second lockdown for the country, and would adversely affect people’s livelihoods. “opposition is callously destroying people’s lives & livelihoods in their desperation to get an nro. let me make it clear: they can hold a million jalsas but will not get any nro,” he tweeted. while the premier has been against going into lockdown, he felt that the actions of the pdm and their refusal to stop their rallies would result in faster spread of the novel coronavirus, and this in turn would leave the country with no choice but to go into lockdown. “if [coronavirus] cases continue to rise at the rate we are seeing, we will be compelled to go into complete lockdown and the pdm will be responsible for [the] consequences,” he tweeted. pm imran said that another lockdown would be terrible to the economy, which declared was “showing signs of a robust recovery”. however, he added that

Nawaz and Shehbaz’s mother Shamim Bibi passes away in London islamabad staff report

begum shamim akhtar, the mother of deposed prime minister and pakistan muslim league-nawaz (pml-n) supreme leader nawaz sharif and party president shahbaz sharif, passed away in london on sunday morning, party leaders confirmed. the cause of her death could not be immediately ascertained. she had travelled to london in February and had since been living there with her son, nawaz. at the time, pml-n central spokesperson marriyum aurangzeb said that she had left “to be with her son while he undergoes heart treatment”. according to pml-n mpa azma bukhari, akhtar’s condition had become critical over the last week and she breathed her last at home on sunday morning. she was around 93 to 94 years old, she further said. prime minister imran khan, chief of army staff (coas) general Qamar Javed bajwa, federal ministers and leaders of various political parties have expressed profound grief over the death of shamim bibi.

should the pdm continue with its actions, the government would have no choice but to impose another lockdown. at the moment, there are a number of smart micro-lockdowns taking place across the country, where those streets with more than eight cases reported are shut down. similarly, wedding halls, large public gatherings, and indoor events have been banned as per the official orders of the national command and operation centre (ncoc). on Friday, the khyber pakhtunkhwa (kp) government had refused to grant permission for a public meeting planned by the pdm due to the rising number of coronavirus cases in the country. in response to the notification, the pdm had refused to back down and claimed that this is a ploy by the ruling party to prevent the rallies from taking place. ikhtiar wali, the spokesperson of pakistan muslim league-nawaz (pml-n) kp chapter, had insisted that the coalition would go ahead with the rally. speaking to media persons on Friday, the spokesperson had said that the premier had held a rally in swat a week ago and that the kp chief minister had held a large public gathering two days ago.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

more inside

India's unprovoked cross-border firing wounds 11 civilians: ISPR STORY ON PAGE 02

soldier martyred, four terrorists killed in north waziristan STORY ON PAGE 03

pml-n vice-president maryam nawaz on sunday left pakistan democratic movement’s (pdm) peshawar rally abruptly after the news of the demise of her grandmother. “i came to meet you but i just found out my grandmother passed away in london,” she said in a short address and asked the people to pray for the departed soul and the health of her father. in a tweet, maryam regretted the government’s attitude following the demise of her grandmother. “no govern-

ment official was humane enough to inform me of my grandmother ’s death. i have requested mian sahib [nawaz sharif] not to come back at all. these are tyrants and vengeful blind people from whom no kind of humanity is expected,” she wrote on her official twitter handle. later, a news report, citing former foreign minister ishaq dar, said that nawaz will not be able to come to pakistan as he has been advised by his doctors to avoid travelling because of his own ailing health.

Education ministers to decide on schools’ closure today STORY ON PAGE 03 in today’s issue

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02

Monday, 23 November, 2020

NEWS

covId-19 casualtIes hIt four-month hIgh wIth 59 deaths ISLAMABAD

a

TLTP

S the second wave of coronavirus is hitting the country hard, Pakistan witnessed the highest single-day death toll in four months on Saturday last with 59 more fatalities, according to the data provided by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Sunday.

According to the NCOC, the Covid-19 claimed 59 more lives across the country during the last twenty-four hours, lifting the death toll from the disease to 7,662.

As many as 38,983 samples were tested during the past 24 hours, out of which 2,665 turned out to be positive, lifting up the Covid-19 positivity rate at 6.8 per cent. The number of active Covid-19 cases has increased to 36,683. A total of 374,173 confirmed cases have been reported while 329,828 people have recovered so far. A total of 653 patients are said to be in critical condition.

2,665 MORE CONTRACT CORONAVIRUS AMID RISING POSITIVITY RATE last 15 days. He tweeted that Peshawar witnessed a 200 per cent increase in Covid19 patients struggling for life on ventilators, while this ratio has increased by 200 per cent in Multan, 148 per cent in Karachi, 114 per cent in Lahore, and 65 per cent in Islamabad. He said that 70 per cent of ventilators earmarked for Covid-19 patients in Multan and Islamabad are occupied.

Without pointing out opposition parties’ Peshawar public gathering slated for Sunday, he said, “For political leaders to send a message that corona is not a threat is threatening lives.”

In Punjab, a total of 22 fatalities from the coronavirus were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the provincial death toll to 2,848. According to a spokesperson for the Primary and Secondary Healthcare

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus began, Sindh has reported 162,221, Punjab 114,010, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) 44,097, Balochistan 16,744, Islamabad 26,569, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) 6,000 and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) has reported 4,526 cases.

Taking to Twitter, Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar, who heads the NCOC, said, “More than 50 coronavirus deaths have been reported across the country for the first time after a gap of four months.”

He stressed the need for the nation to follow SOPs to curb the spread of the second wave so that not only people’s lives, but their livelihoods are saved as well.

He said that the number of Covid-19 patients on ventilators has gone up over the

pdm won’t get permission for lahore, multan rallies LAHORE: The Punjab government has decided that it will not allow the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) to hold public rallies in Lahore and Multan.

According to sources in Punjab, the government will issue a written notification for the purpose. The decision has been taken in view of the growing number of reported Covid-19 positive cases in both the cities because of which banning public gatherings has become necessary. "All relevant agencies and institutions have unanimously agreed to the decision," the Punjab government spokesperson was quoted as saying by sources, adding that the provincial government will take legal action against those who violate the orders and hold rallies without the explicit permission of the government. The PDM had previously issued its schedule for holding a public rally in Multan on November 30 and flexing its political muscles at Lahore’s Minar-e-Pakistan ground on December 13. The opposition alliance has also sought permission from the local authorities for public meetings in two big cities of Punjab. It is pertinent to mention that amid the rising number of coronavirus cases in Peshawar, the district administration had denied the PDM’s request to hold a public gathering on November 22. The Covid-19 positivity rate in Peshawar has crossed the 13 per cent mark and allowing public gathering in this situation will ultimately risk the lives of the people, the local administration said in a letter dispatched to the PDM leaders on Friday last. However, the opposition leaders decided against the advice by the authorities and held their political show amid fears of further spike in the coronavirus cases. TLTP

kaira recovers from covid-19; safdar again tests positive LAHORE: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Punjab President Qamar Zaman Kaira recovered from coronavirus on Sunday; however, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Captain (r) Safdar Awan again tested positive for the virus. Kaira tested positive for Covid-19 on November 9 during the election campaign in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) after then he rushed back to Lahore and quarantined himself. The doctors have advised the PPP stalwart to take more rest. He has thanked the masses and well-wishers for praying for his early recovery. On the other hand, Safdar returned to Lahore from Gilgit after testing positive for Covid-19 on November 8. He is under treatment at Sharif Medical City Lahore. After completing the quarantine process, the PML-N stalwart again went for the Covid-19 diagnosis test, but unfortunately, he tested positive again.

According to the spokesperson of the Sharif Medical City, Safdar’s condition is stable and he has been advised to take rest for two more weeks. TLTP

Department, as many as 553 new cases of Covid-19 surfaced, pushing the total number of infections thus far reported across the province to 114,010. Of the total fresh cases, 229 were detected in Lahore and 70 in Rawalpindi.

In Balochistan, 45 new infections were reported on Sunday. The number of active cases of Covid-19 has increased to 593 in the province, the health department said in a statement.

Total death count stands at 164 as three more patients succumbed to the disease in the province. The tally of overall cases of the disease in the province has reached 16,789 with 45 new cases as health officials tested 697 samples in 24 hours.

Moreover, in academic institutions 17 fresh cases were reported in the last 24 hours, soaring total cases in schools and colleges in the province to 945, according to the health department. Overall recoveries have reached 16,008 as 18 more patients of the novel coronavirus recovered in Balochistan.

Masood condemns Modi’s bid to implicate Pakistan in Nagrota attack ISLAMABAD TLTP

Terming Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as "king of liars," Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan has strongly condemned his attempt to implicate Pakistan in Nagrota attack in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK), terming it a well-planned drama.

Commenting on the attempt made by Modi to link Pakistan with the four people killed in a clash between the Indian occupation troops in Nagrota area on Jammu-Srinagar Highway, Masood said that such a false flag operation by India was expected as Pakistan has brought to light the irrefutable proof of Indian terrorism inside Pakistan.

“Indian leaders are openly hatching plots against Pakistan and AJK. There are signs that they are preparing for a false flag operation or open aggression because India’s involvement in terrorism has been made public by Pakistan with evidence,” the president said.

He said that time to maligning Pakistan and the Kashmir liberation movement by levelling concocted allegations is over, and the international community has now fully realised that India which has engaged its one million troops for ethnic cleansing of the Kashmiri people is perpetrating state terrorism in occupied Jammu Kashmir.

Khan maintained that in the past, India has committed many such ugly acts to hide its terrorism and to divert the attention of the international community from the real issue. "Whether it is the Chattisinghpura massacre or the incidents in Uri, Pathankot and Pulwama, India's history are full of false

allegations and fraud. Modi and all Indian rulers have miserably failed in their conspiracies against Pakistan and the Kashmiri people," he added.

“India’s BJP-RSS propagandists and publicists are harvesting and manipulating (false data) to negatively profile Kashmiris and Pakistan. We have to counter this campaign that first demonizes and vilifies Muslims and then weaponizes it to incite hatred and violence against them.”

The AJK president said that it is obligatory for the international community not to let India hide its black face behind falsehood and shrewdness, hold it accountable for its terrorism, enmity against mankind and the war crimes, and administer justice to the Kashmiri people.

"If India is not held accountable, no one will be able to save the world from becoming a jungle where only falsehood and injustice prevails," he added.

Strongly condemning the operation of the Indian government and the military against the Bakarwal Gujjar community in occupied Kashmir, Sardar Masood Khan said that these people living with their cattle in the forests and mountains for thousands of years are being punished for being Muslims.

Furthermore, the AJK president also strongly condemned Indian firing at a wedding ceremony in Khuiratta sector of AJK’s Kotli district on Sunday, which resulted in injuring of 11 civilians including six women and three children besides causing destruction to the property of the civilian population. Terming Indian India’s unprovoked firing as naked aggression, he said, India is deliberately targeting the civilian population on the Pakistani side of LoC to divert attention from the stiff resistance being offered by brave people in IOK.

IndIa's unprovoked cross-border fIrIng wounds 11 cIvIlIans: Ispr RAWALPINDI: India's unprovoked firing, using rockets and heavy mortars, at a Pakistani wedding taking place near the Line of Control (LoC) wounded at least 11 civilians, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Sunday. In a statement, the military’s media wing said that the injured civilians included "6 women and 4 children".

"Indian Army resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation in Khuiratta Sector along Line of Control (LOC) targeting civil population during a marriage ceremony in Jigjot village with rockets and heavy mortars," the ISPR said. "Deliberately targeting civil population particularly women and children reflects lack of morality, unprofessionalism and utter disregard of human rights by Indian army as well as violation of ceasefire understanding of 2003," it added. STAFF REPORT

#pdmspreadingcovId trends on twitter amid peshawar rally PESHAWAR: With Pakistan reporting over 2,000 cases daily as the coronavirus cases resurge, social media called out Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and its leaders for spreading coronavirus, as #PDMSpreadingCOVID became top trend on Twitter on Sunday. Twitteratis call out political leaders' apathy and ask the real question: whether the 'jalsa' is more important than their lives. Some also criticised the government for a lack of strict actions against the PDM. The Twitteratis requested the attendees to avoid going to the rally in Peshawar, as the PDM leaders ignored the government’s orders. TLTP

3 suspected ttp militants arrested in karachi KARACHI: Three suspected militants were arrested on Sunday in the Gulshan-eMaymar neighbourhood during a joint operation of Karachi Police and Sindh Rangers. According to a spokesperson for Rangers, the militants belong to a splinter group of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) headed by Qari Saad Bilal alias Humayun.

The alleged terrorists have been identified as Yaseen alias Qari, Ikramullah, and Muhammad Khalid alias Mansoor. All three had recently returned from Afghanistan and confessed to have been planning to launch a terror attack in the metropolis, said Sindh Rangers spokesperson. The spokesperson said Yaseen had previously carried out several subversive activities in Swat with assistance from his longtime associate Yaseen. The Rangers have handed over the alleged terrorists to the police for further legal action. STAFF REPORT

Pakistan, Saudi ties harmonious under King Salman: PM's aide ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Islamabad on Sunday asserted the relationship between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had “witnessed stability and harmony” under the leadership of incumbent King Salman bin Abdulaziz.

In an interview with Arab News on Sunday, Tahir Ashrafi, special representative to the prime minister on religious harmony and the Middle East,

said the two countries were “knotted in relations of brotherhood” and bilateral ties were “getting stronger and stronger with each passing day”.

The kingdom celebrated the sixth anniversary of King Salman’s ascension to the throne earlier this week, with Ashrafi felicitating the Saudi royal on occasion.

“People of Pakistan pray for King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman to serve the Muslim

Ummah,” he said at the time.

The otherwise brotherly ties between Islamabad and Riyadh have experienced a cold in recent times with Kingdom expressing reluctance to overtly support Pakistan on the Kashmir dispute fearing reaction from India with which it has signed multi-billion-dollar deals — in a bid aimed at diversifying the petrodollardependent economy.

Earlier in August, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, while

expressing frustration at a lack of diplomatic voice from the OIC countries on Kashmir, had warned of parting-ways with Riyadh-dominated organisation if it “fails to convene a foreign ministers meeting” on the issue.

Qureshi had also criticised the 57member group’s silence about issues, including Palestine, Kashmir and the Babri Mosque. In a statement released on Wednesday, Ashrafi had said that Pakistan was “committed to addressing challenges of the Muslim world with the unity of Islamic countries”.

“Pakistan aims [for] stable and strengthened relations with all Muslim countries and Pakistan’s relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are very exemplary,” he had said.

Monday, 23 November, 2020

educatIon mInIsters to decIde on schools’ closure today ISLAMABAD

a

TLTP

S the coronavirus cases rise and the government mulls strategies to curb the virus' spread, the virtual meeting of education ministers of the Centre, provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) will be held on Monday with Minister for Federal Education Shafqat Mahmood in the chair.

The meeting will discuss a spike in coronavirus cases in the country and time frame of extended winter vacation for schools and colleges. The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has recommended early and extended winter vacations for stu-

dents due to an increasing number of coronavirus cases at educational institutions.

Coronavirus cases have been reported in several educational institutions in Pakistan as the cases have been on the rise in the country for the last three weeks.

The district administration has sealed the relevant departments and classes after coronavirus cases were reported in three universities in Islamabad.

Earlier, Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas said on Saturday that the decision to close or keep the schools open in the province will be based on data, as he stressed that "sensible decisions" are needed to be taken.

"If I close the schools, the people are not happy. If I keep the schools open, the people are not happy. Let me just inform everyone

NEWS

03

that decision will be made on data that is being given to me," Raas said in a tweet.

"Lives matter the most. Zero pressure on me from either side. Sensible decisions have to be made," the minister added.

The Sindh Education and Literacy Department on Saturday decided not to close schools for the time being or have any winter vacations at all this year, after key stakeholders in the provincial education sector met with Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani in the chair.

Ghani, after the meeting, said that the Sindh Education Department's decision represented the province's position and that a national decision on the matter would ultimately be taken on November 23, when representatives of all provinces are to meet and debate the issue.

It was further decided in the meeting that students will not be promoted again without them sitting for examinations.

The Federal Ministry of Education, earlier, sent proposals to provinces suggesting them to close primary schools from November 24 to January 31, 2021. The ministry has proposed that primary schools should be closed from November 24, while middle schools should be closed from December 2.

Twitter row between Mazari, French embassy draws to a close ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

France on Sunday objected to a statement

by Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari equating President Emmanuel Macron’s new measures to counter “Islamist separatism” in France with the antisemitic policies of Nazi Germany, however, the issue was later resolved when both sides held dialogue after a false claim in the cited news article came to light.

Earlier this week, Macron issued a “charter of republican values”, detailing a series of steps aimed at purging France of what he declared as “radical Islam”. One of the measures made it necessary for school-going children to wear an identification number that would be used to ensure they are attending school.

Mazari, who apparently understood that the identification number would be issued exclusively to Muslim children, censured the move, saying through the new measures,

“Macron is doing to Muslims what the Nazis did to the Jews” in Nazi Germany.

“Muslim children will get ID numbers (other children won’t) just as Jews were forced to wear the yellow star on their clothing for identification,” she added linking to an online article.

Responding to the tweet, the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs on Sunday issued a statement, calling the minister’s remark “insulting […] blatant lies, loaded with an ideology of hatred and violence.”

The rather unceremonious statement asked Pakistan to “return to the path of dialogue based on respect.”

The publication later amended the article and issued a clarification stating that the law mentioned in the article applies to all children in France, not specifically Muslim children.

The embassy also sent a series of tweets to point out the mistakes in the article.

In response to the French envoy’s message, Mazari deleted her tweet and issued a clarification on Twitter and admitted her

soldIer martyred, four terrorIsts kIlled In north wazIrIstan

mistake. “The French Envoy to Pak sent me the following message and as the article I had cited has been corrected by the relevant publication, I have also deleted my tweet on the same,” she tweeted.

Responding to the minister’s tweet, the French Embassy thanked Mazari for the clarification and apology, and wrote that “freedom of expression and debates are essential in democracies, based on verified and accurate facts.”

Macron on Wednesday unveiled the bill and asked Muslim leaders in France to agree to its instructions as part of a broad clampdown on so-called “Islamic extremism”. He gave the French Council of the Muslim Faith 15 days to work with the interior ministry.

The bill includes measures which include: restrictions on home-schooling and harsher punishments for those who intimidate public officials on religious grounds; giving children an identification number under the law that would be used to ensure they are attending school and a ban on shar-

ing the personal information of a person in a way that allows them to be located by people who want to harm them.

Parents who break the law could face up to six months in jail as well as large fines, it said. The draft law — which Macron said will strengthen a 1905 law separating Church and state in France — will be discussed by the French cabinet on December 9.

The new bill comes on the heels of three separate instances of terrorism following the publication of blasphemous caricatures by Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical weekly best known for vulgar irreverence, and Macron’s insistence on defending the act in the name of freedom of expression.

Following the publication of these cartoons and Macron’s defense of it, relations between France and the Muslim world grew sour as tens of thousands of Muslims in several countries joined protests, burned effigies of Macron, chanted anti-French slogans and called for a boycott of French goods.

Subsequently, in an interview with Al-

Faraz asks PDM rally participants to quarantine themselves for others' protection ISLAMABAD TLTP

NORTH WAZIRISTAN: Four terrorists were killed during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in North Waziristan late night on Saturday, said the InterServices Public Relations (ISPR) on Sunday. During the operation, Sepoy Sadam, 27, embraced martyrdom while two other soldiers got injured, said the ISPR. According to the military’s media wing, the security forces conducted the operation on a terrorist hideout near Kaitu River, North West of Spinwam, North Waziristan. As soon as troops cordoned the area, terrorists opened fire to flee the area. However all the terrorists were killed by security forces. The ISPR added that 27-year-old soldier Sepoy Sadam, a resident of Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), was martyred while two other soldiers were injured. On October 4, it was reported that at least two hardcore terrorists were killed while another was arrested in an IBO conducted by the security forces in Mir Ali town of North Waziristan. “Security forces conducted an IBO in Mir Ali, North Waziristan. Two hardcore terrorists [were] killed, [while] one terrorist was apprehended,” the military’s media wing said. On October 2, Pakistan Army killed two hardcore terrorists, including an improvised explosive device (IED) expert, in an area of North Waziristan. STAFF REPORT

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Syed Shibli Faraz has asked the participants of Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) Peshawar rally to quarantine themselves for the sake of others' protection.

In a video message, the information minister said that the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have boycotted the opposition's Peshawar rally, which indicates that they have rejected PDM's anti-people agenda. “I appreciate people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for boycotting the opposition’s rally and protecting themselves from coronavirus on the appeal of Prime Minister Imran Khan,” he said in a short video message, released soon after the rally concluded on Sunday.

He said that people's low interest in PDM's rally shows their lack of political acumen and the mistrust in the opposition. The minister stressed that coronavirus is a reality and not a fictional tale. He said despite court's orders, opposition's insistence on organising public rallies reflects its

stubbornness and anti-people approach. He said that the opposition has always given priority to its personal interest over people's health and respect of law.

Another Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader, Senator Faisal Javed Khan, while reacting to Peshawar rally quipped, “Useless people are holding useless gatherings.” He claimed that PDM’s anti-government movement is aimed at securing relief in the corruption and money laundering cases.

“They are trying their best to get a reconciliation ordinance for which they are endangering the lives of the people and the fast-growing economy,” he wrote on his official twitter handle. Earlier in the day, PM Imran and key federal ministers had also censured PDM for holding political gatherings despite the exponential rise in the number of coronavirus cases during the second wave.

Opposition parties, on the other hand, have claimed that the government is using coronavirus as “tactic” to cripple the movement which, they claim, would send the PTI government packing by early next year.

Firdous terms PDM an alliance of rejected elements GUJRANWALA STAFF REPORT

Special Assistant to Punjab Chief Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has said that Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is an alliance of rejected elements, who are neither faithful, nor are loyal to the country.

Talking to media persons on Sunday, she said that those who are soaked in corruption cannot escape from the court of people by mudslinging on the government. While seeing tightening of noose around the corrupt elements, the opposition is making hue and cry,

she maintained.

She also said that the people of Pakistan have badly rejected the treacherous narrative of opposition.

“The opposition’s only agenda is to create chaos and unrest in the country. Those who filled their coffers by plundering and looting cannot hoodwink the innocent people of Pakistan anymore,” she added.

Firdous said that the government is making every possible effort to end the hereditary politics and the day is not far when the dignified people of Gujranwala will be free from political slavery. Further-

more, she said that a cabal of cronies is lying day and night just to please and defend the corruption of Maryam Nawaz.

Addressing Maulana Fazlur Rehman, she said that the opposition should join hands with the government to battle the second wave of coronavirus and for implementation of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to prevent corona instead of holding rallies.

“The number of coronavirus cases is increasing with each passing day therefore I suggest the opposition not to put people’s lives at stake,” she concluded.

Jazeera earlier this month, Macron sought to renew ties with the Muslim world.

“I have never said that,” Macron said, explaining that some false translations of his words in the media showed him to support the [blasphemous] cartoons. “Those are lies.”

“I understand and respect that people can be shocked by these cartoons,” he had said. “But I will never accept that someone can justify the use of physical violence because of these cartoons. And I will always defend freedom of speech in my country, of thought, of drawing.”

The interview set off a storm on social media, as many argued the Qatari station erred by giving space to the French President, whom they said failed to apologise for offending Muslims.

But for others, Macron’s appearance on Al-Jazeera was hailed as a success of the protest and boycott campaigns, which have forced the French president to address Muslims through an Arabic-speaking channel.

Monday, 23 November, 2020

04 NEWS

Micro, sMart lockdowns iMPosed in karachi KARACHI

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TLTP

OCAL authorities imposed micro and smart lockdowns in various parts of the port city on Sunday due to the rapidly multiplying cases of Covid-19.

According to the official notification, movement of people residing in areas under the smart lockdown shall be strictly restricted, and only grocery shops, convenience stores, bakeries and pharmacies shall be allowed to remain open the specified timings.

The streets of affected areas have been closed down and policemen have been deployed. Reportedly, lockdown has been imposed in areas in Delhi Mercantile So-

Pia relaxes attendance timings for employees KARACHI: Amid rising Covid-19 cases, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has introduced flexible timings for its employees to mark their attendance with biometric machines. According to a notification issued by the national flag carrier’s chief human resources officer, the PIA management introduced flexible timings to prevent the employees from crowding around biometric machines. These timings will be effective from Monday. If any employee marks his/her attendance at 8:00am in the morning, he/she can leave at 4:30pm, the notification said, adding if one marks his/her attendance at 8:30am, he/she can sign out at 5:00pm. The minimum working hours that the airline’s staffers are required to observe are eight hours and 30 minutes. TLTP

Meeting summoned for encroachments removal along kcr route KARACHI: The Karachi commissioner has summoned a meeting on Monday to review the steps taken for the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR). The meeting will also discuss the sudden change in the route of the train service. Pakistan Railways resumed the KCR train service, between City Station to Pipri on last Thursday. It is noteworthy that encroachments have yet to be removed fully from the Orangi Station to Drigh Road Station along the track of the KCR. This lack of completion will also be discussed in the meeting. Moreover, the signal system on the route of the KCR is also said to be non-existent from the Wazir Mansion Station to Orangi, Liaquatabad, Geelani and Drigh Road stations. Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed on Wednesday had said that Pakistan Railways has deferred KCR resumption from Karachi’s City Station to Orangi section due to the issue of level crossings and renovation of stations. “After 15 days the Karachi Circular Railway route will be further extended by 14 kilometres,” the minister said. Earlier an official said that 14 stations would not be able to loop the entire city because closing the old railway crossings would create traffic chaos, suggesting overhead passes for the project. TLTP

Punjab launches Insaaf Medicine Card LAHORE TLTP

Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar formally launched Insaf Medicine Card in the provincial capital on Sunday.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony at the Chief Minister Office, Buzdar said that the Insaf Medicine Card was a project for providing free of cost medicines to Hepatitis, AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) patients.

He said that in the first phase of this project, free medicines will be provided to 9,862 AIDS patients, 23,560 Hepatitis and 70,047 TB patients. He said that a simple procedure has been adopted to facilitate the patients.

Detailing the procedure, the chief minister said that the patient will be verified along with the original ID card from his/her concerned tehsil hospital or district hospital.

After completion of this procedure, as well as diagnostic process, Insaf Medicine Card will be issued to the patient.

The patient will be able to take free medicines from the concerned centre.

M A NiAzi Nobody has said that Maulana Khadim Hussain Rizvi died of Covid-19, but for a man of his age (54), past his first youth but not yet decrepit, who had a fever and suffered breathing difficulties, what else? And Dr Ayman Az-Zawahiri, Osama’s friend and successor as AlQaeda chief, considerably older at 69, also said to have died, also of breathing difficulties, what else? A brain haemorrhage? Or the bubonic plague?

Maulana Rizvi’s death takes us back to yesteryear, in a pre-antibiotic era. He had a fever. That sounds like what we used to be told about an ancestor. “He had a fever, and he died.” He was very rarely of great age. We were never told whether it was an infection, or malaria, or a cancer. It was an era when nobody was health-conscious. Not even doctors. And it seems that

The chief minister said that the government is speedily heading towards its goal of establishing the state like Medina and projects like Punjab Ehsas Programme, Sehat Insaf Card and now Insaf Medicine Card are proof of this fact. He directed to establish separate desks for Hepatitis, AIDS and TB patients.

A total of 174,882 patients in 36 districts of Punjab will receive Insaf Medicine Cards. The chief minister thanked Allah Almighty for having a chance of serving ailing humanity.

“The day is not far away when every citizen of Punjab will have access to free treatment in public sector hospitals, this is our commitment,” the CM asserted.

Later, the chief minister distributed Insaf Medicine Cards among the patients of Hepatitis, AIDS and TB. Health Minister Dr Yasmeen Rashid, SACM Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, secretary primary & secondary health, secretary information and other concerned officials were also present on this occasion.

Navy ship visits Jordan port as part of overseas deployment to Red Sea ISLAMABAD TLTP

Pakistan Navy Ship PNS Zulfiqar visited Aqaba port of Jordan as part of Pakistan Navy’s overseas deployment to the Mediterranean and Red Sea. A spokesman of Pakistan Navy said on Sunday that the ship was received by Defence Attaché of Pakistan Embassy in Amman and the Royal Jordanian Naval Force (RJNF) liaison officer.

During stay at the port, Commanding Officer PNS Zulfiqar called on senior Jordanian Navy and government officials, including Commander Royal Jordanian Naval Force, Colonel Hisham Al Jarrah. During the interactions, matters of mutual interest were discussed and contributions of Pakistan Navy to regional peace and maritime security were also underlined.

Furthermore, Indian atrocities at Indian Occupied

SOPs for gatherings CiTy NoTes

ciety-1, Civic Centre, Essa Nagri, Civic Centre, Gulshan-e-Iqbal Blocks 1, 2, 10-A, 13-C, 19, 13-D, 4-G, 13, 14, 15, and 10, Blocks 10, 12, 3, 8 and 7-G in Gulistan-eJauhar, Gulzar-i-Hijri, Blocks 2 and Block 6 in PECHS, Jacob Lines and Baloch Para.

In the central district, several houses and streets were placed under micro-smart lockdown. The lockdown also imposed at houses located in Blocks 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19 in Federal B. Area, Blocks B, C, D, G, L and N of North Nazimabad, Firdous Colony in Nazimabad, and some sectors of North Karachi.

In the east district, over 70 houses and flats were placed under micro-smart lockdown. In south district, 5th Street, Khayabane-Momin, 6th Street, Khayaban-e-Badban, 12th Street, Bath Island and 35th Street off Khayaban-e-Ittehad in DHA were placed under micro-smart lockdown until the active cases came down to zero.

In Korangi district, three houses in subdivision Korangi, and two houses each in Shah Faisal and Model Colony were placed under micro lockdown.

In west district, Surjani Town police station and a flat in Gulshan-e-Maymar in Gadap Town were placed under microsmart lockdown.

people would get killed by diseases that are now easily curable.

Of course, his funeral showed a fine defiance of Covid-19. A vast concourse at the Minar-e-Pakistan, with a defiant refusal to observe any of the SOPs. No one tried to enforce a ban on these gatherings. That was reserved for PDM rallies.

I suppose such a risk of slow death can be taken because when there is much quicker death abroad, like the gunning down of two murder accused in the bakhshikhana of the Lahore district courts. The bakhshikhana is the lock-up where accused are kept when brought from jail, before they are taken to the court they are to be tried. I would have asked what the world was coming to where you could not feel safe in police custody, but in a world where IGs are not safe from kidnapping, what do you expect?

I wonder if there is any significance to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah catching Covid-19, after facing an irate police force which had its IG kidnapped?

Kashmir (lOK) were highlighted. The commanding officer conveyed well wishes from Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi for the people of Jordan in general and RJNF in particular. He also extended his gratitude for the whole-hearted support provided by RJNF in making the ship's stay comfortable.

During stay at Aqaba, Commander Royal Jordanian Naval Force also visited PNS Zulfiqar.

The navy ship, after sailing from the Aqaba port, conducted passage exercises with RJNF fast attack craft Al Hassan (P 102), and patrol crafts, Mohamamd-1 and Mohamamd-2, said the spokesperson.

Pakistan Navy, in line with the government’s policies, stands ready to play its role for maritime safety and security in the region. The visit of PNS Zulfiqar is a reaffirmation of PN-RNJF collaboration and will further serve to foster brotherly relations between Pakistan and Jordan, said the spokesperson.

There is hope for him, though, what with vaccines being discovered all over the place. Admittedly, with the better of those vaccines reporting a 95 per cent success rate, I would not like to be among the five resistant per cent. Imagine going to all of the trouble of getting the vaccine (not just one jab, but two), and then getting sick nonetheless.

Covid-19 is a deadly disease, but it does not strike the young. My younger son seems to see it as a reason to get out of school, and it is amazing the amount of prayers he has put into his hopes that the schools would close down. Not to forget the numerous rumours of a closure that led to premature celebration.

All the while he knows there will be no cancellation of the December tests, just a postponement.

Of course, those are all secondary issues for our PM. What really mattered was the hogging of the rest of last season’s PSL. Karachi beat Lahore. In a final in Karachi. Well, I suppose Karachi had to win. If Lahore had won, would they have kidnapped the IG? Or the board chairman?

Imran, by the way, must have felt the highlight of his Afghanistan visit was meeting the Afghanistan cricket team, who gave him a bat. He never played Afghanistan,

Minor girl’s body stuffed in sack found in faisalabad FAISALABAD TLTP

The body of an unidentified minor girl was found stuffed in a gunny sack in Faisalabad’s Jhang Road area, police said on Sunday. According to police, the body was found within the jurisdiction of Thikriwala police station and was shifted to Allied Hospital for medico-legal formalities. The identity is yet to be ascertained. Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has taken notice of the murder of the minor girl at Jhang Road in Faisalabad and sought a report from regional police officer (RPO). He has directed immediate arrest of the accused and ensured justice to the affected family. Separately, Chiniot police arrested a man who allegedly attempted to rape a seven-year-old girl. A first information report (FIR) was registered against the accused after he attempted to sexually abuse the minor. Meanwhile, police arrested a man for raping a seven-year-old girl in Lahore’s Nawab Town. The minor victim was subjected to sexual abuse on November 13 when she had left her home to buy things from a nearby shop. The suspect took her inside an empty shop and raped her there.

don’t misconceive Pakistan’s desire for peace as weakness, fM warns india ISLAMABAD TLTP

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Sunday warned India against mistaking Pakistan’s desire for peace as weakness.

Talking to a private television channel, Qureshi said, “We will give a befitting response if India casts an evil eye on Pakistan.” He said that regional peace and stability is the top priority of the country.

The foreign minister said that India had established a special cell to sabotage the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. He added that New Delhi had allocated Rs80 billion for the cell tasked with sabotaging the flagship project.

Qureshi said that Islamabad will not remain silent on Indian tactics to destroy peace in the neighbouring countries and will take the matter at the international level. He said that India is planning terrorist activities against Pakistan. Earlier on November 14, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Babar Iftikhar had said that a RAW officer Anurag Singh was the mastermind of Gwadar PC hotel attack. “[Outlawed] BLF [Baloch Liberation Front] and BLA [Balochistan Liberation Army] were involved in attacking PC Hotel in Gwadar and a RAW officer Anurag Singh planned the attack. Singh had been given $0.5 million for carrying out the attack on Gwadar’s hotel, whereas, Dr Allah Nazar acted as a communicator between terrorists and India.”

which earned Test status after his playing days. Imran never played Israel either which was and still is an associate ICC member.

He wanted to take the credit of not recognising Israel, and resisting US pressure to do so. So news items appeared. And then were fiercely denied by the Foreign Office, where someone realised that we dared ignore United States’ instructions. Remember, during the Zia era, how we gloried in the title of ‘most allied ally’?

Well, we are still pretty allied, and we would like to play a role in helping the US withdraw from Afghanistan. That is something President Donald Trump would like to do. Has anyone noticed that Pakistan has yet to congratulate Joe Biden on being elected? Trump does not think of himself as a lame duck, no matter what the results say.

Another person who does not think of himself as a lame duck is Imran, who posted the Lahore CCPO to help his brother-in-law get a plot vacated. Trump cannot post any police chief anywhere. Even if he fires his own Defence Secretary, everyone is on him like a ton of bricks. But then, Trump does not belong to a culture where brothers-in-law and sons-in-law have to have a very special place.

Monday, 23 November, 2020

NEWS

XI urges g-20 tO jOINtly fIght COvId-19, Put Off debt rePAyMeNt Of develOPINg NAtIONs BEIJIng

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SAYS CHINA FULLY STALLED DEBT SERVICING OF $1.3 BILLION, WOULD GIVE NEW LOANS TO UNDER-DEVELOPED STATES

MIAN ABrAr

HINESE President Xi Jinping has called for global partnership in fighting Covid-19 challenge, promoting digital economy, strengthening the global governance through UN-centered international system and pursue more inclusive development; and improving the governance architecture for economic globalisation.

Addressing the first session of the 15th G20 Leaders' Summit through video-link, Xi Jinping expressed heartfelt thanks to the Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz for hosting the virtual moot.

“This outgoing year, humanity has experienced the most serious global pandemic in a century. Over one million people have lost their lives. The world economy is in recession. Societies and livelihoods are taking a big hit. The impact of Covid-19 is even worse than that of the 2008 global financial crisis,” he said.

Without naming US policies, Xi said that rising unilateralism and protectionism were causing disruptions to global

industrial and supply chains.

“Let us build a global firewall against Covid-19. We must first put the disease under control at home and, on that basis, strengthen exchanges and cooperation to help countries in need. Several G20 members have made progress in vaccine R&D and production. We should speed up action and support the WHO in mobilising and consolidating resources and distributing vaccines fairly and efficiently,” he said and added that China actively supports and participates in international cooperation on Covid-19 vaccines.

Calling upon G-20 members to reduce tariffs and barriers and explore the liberalisation of trade of key medical supplies.

“We need to further harmonise policies and standards and establish ‘fast tracks’ to facilitate the orderly flow of personnel. China has proposed a global mechanism on the mutual recognition of health certificates based on nucleic acid

Netanyahu urges no return to Iran nuclear deal TEL AVIV AGENCIES

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an apparent message to U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, said on Sunday there should be no return to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal abandoned by President Donald Trump. Biden, who takes office on Jan. 20, has said he would rejoin the accord if Tehran first resumed strict compliance, and would work with allies “to strengthen and extend it, while more effectively pushing back against Iran’s other destabilising activities”. The agreement, which world powers reached with Iran, sought to limit Tehran’s nuclear programme to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons in return for the easing of economic sanctions. But the deal, abandoned

by Trump in 2018, did not restrict Iran’s ballistic missile programme nor its support for militia in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, which Washington sees as destabilising to the Middle East. “There must be no return to the previous nuclear agreement. We must stick to an uncompromising policy to ensure that Iran does not develop nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said in a speech in southern Israel. He did not mention Biden directly, but his comments were widely interpreted by Israeli media as a message to the incoming president not to bring the United States back into the agreement.

Netanyahu was a strong opponent of the 2015 accord, calling it a “very bad deal” in an address that year to the U.S. Congress that further strained his relationship with Trump’s Democratic predecessor Barack Obama.

European powers party to the agreement, along with Russia and China, have been trying to hold the deal together despite U.S. pressure for sweeping sanctions against Iran over breaches it declared in response to Washington’s pullout. Iran denies that its atomic programme is aimed at developing weapons.

test results in the form of internationally accepted QR codes. We hope more countries will join this mechanism,” he added.

Stressing upon the need for harnessing the role of the digital economy, Xi said that Covid-19 has fueled the boom of new technologies, new business forms and new platforms such as 5G, artificial intelligence (AI) and smart cities, and accelerated the development of a contactfree economy like online shopping, online education and telemedicine.

The Chinese president said that despite its own difficulties, China has fully implemented the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) and put off debt repayment totaling over $1.3 billion.

“China supports the decision on DSSI extension and will continue to work with other parties for its full implementation.

China will also encourage its financial institutions to provide new financing support on a voluntary basis and according to

market principles. We should help women walk out of the shadow of the pandemic, address their special needs, and implement the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action,” he added.

Xi also stressed upon the need to strengthen the UN-centered international system. “The UN is the core institution for addressing international affairs through cooperation. All countries should firmly support the UN's authority and standing, follow the purposes and principles of its Charter, and uphold the international order underpinned by international law. We support a bigger role of the UN in promoting world peace and development,” he observed.

He said that China will always be a builder of global peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of international order.

“On the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, China stands ready to pursue peaceful coexistence and common development with all countries.

We may bridge differences through dialogue, resolve disputes through negotiation, and make a joint effort for world peace and development,” he concluded.

Govt to investigate cases of forced religious conversions, PM’s aide says LAHorE StAff rEport

The government has taken notice of the incidents of forced conversions and marriages of underage girls belonging to the minority communities and will investigate these cases, a key aide of Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Sunday.

Addressing a press conference after a reception at the Saint Anthony’s College, PM’s Special Representative on Religious Harmony and Middle East Relations Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi said that Islam has strictly forbidden forced conversions and the government will make all efforts to address the concerns of its nonMuslim citizens in this regard.

The ceremony was attended

by National Council of Churches in Pakistan (NCCP) President Bishop Azad Marshall, Catholic Archbishop of Lahore Sebastian Shaw, Father James Chunan, Pastor Shahid Maharaj, Sardar Sikandar Singh, Dr Munawar Chand Bhagat, Laal Khokhar and Muslim clerics Syed Ziaullah Shah Bukhari, Maulana Shafi Qasmi, Maulana Asadullah Farooq,

Maulana Zubair Abid, Abdul Qayyum Farooqi and Dr Sohail Ahmed Raza.

Commenting on the recent killing of members of the Ahmadiyya faith in Peshawar and Nankana Sahib, Ashrafi said that the Constitution of Pakistan has assured rights for minorities living in Pakistan, adding that no individual, group or organization would be allowed to impose their will on other segments of society.

Ashrafi said that contrary to other parts of the world, the situation of religious harmony is much better in Pakistan. Citing example of India, he said that Hindu mobs had torched 200 churches and burnt 50 pastors alive whereas Muslims were also being subjected to violence.

Speaking on the the issue of publication of blasphemous caricatures in France, Ashrafi said that the Pakistani government is making global efforts to ensure legislation against Islamophobia and to protect the sanctity of sacred places and all religions.

He said that freedom of expression does not mean undermining the sanctity of the divine scriptures and religions.

Speaking on the occasion, NCCP President Bishop Azad Marshall appreciated Ashrafi’s support on the issue of forced conversion and marriages of underage girls belonging to the nonMuslim communities and expressed the hope that the PM’s aide would use his influence in the government and religious circles to resolve this crucial matter.

He termed Ashrafi’s appointment as PM’s special representative on religious harmony a good omen for minorities in Pakistan.

He said that the minorities hoped that Ashrafi will play the role of a bridge between Muslims and nonMuslim communities of Pakistan.

Commenting on Ashrafi’s remarks that he was also serving as the PM’s aide on Middle East relations, Bishop Marshall said that as head of the churches in the Middle East region, he had found Pakistani involvement lacking in promotion of interfaith relations there.

“Hafiz Ashrafi is a vocal supporter of interfaith harmony in Pakistan and we would like to see him play his due role in fomenting religious harmony in the Middle East as well,” he said.

05

Opp is ‘destroying people’s lives & livelihoods’, says PM conTInuEd from pAgE 01 “Who did they ask for permission? And who granted them permission? So if there is no rule for the ruling party, then why is [there one] for us?” he had asked.

Separately, referring to the government as ‘Covid-18’, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz had rejected the government’s demands to postpone jalsas and public gatherings as coronavirus cases rise across the country.

“While a mask gives you protection from COVID-19, ‘Vote ko izzat do’ narrative & struggle will protect you from ‘Covid-18’ & all such future attempts, Insha’Allah. Protect yourself, protect your vote,” she wrote on Twitter. It is pertinent to mention that on last Monday, PM Imran had urged the nation to strictly adhere to the health guidelines to curtail the transmission of the contagion disease and announced new restrictions on public events, including the suspension of his party’s political rallies. “We have cancelled our jalsas and will ask other [parties] to do the same because that is one place where the virus spreads rapidly,” he said, adding that the recent campaigns in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) seem to have resulted in a rise in the number of cases. “This is the time to take precautions. If we do [adopt restrictions], we can slow down the virus. Just like earlier we were saved due to following precautions, that time has come again,” the prime minister had said in a televised address.

Afghanistan conference to set aid cuts, conditions amid war, pandemic Afghanistan faces funding cuts and tighter restrictions on vital aid from an international donor conference this week, marking further challenges for a nation torn by two decades of war and now ravaged by Covid-19.

Ministers from about 70 countries and officials of humanitarian organisations, at the virtual conference hosted in Geneva on Monday and Tuesday, are expected to pledge billions of dollars to safeguard development projects, with talks between the Afghan government and Taliban rebels stalled and President Trump sharply reducing U.S. forces in the country.

Although the fragile economy depends heavily on foreign aid, Kabul will see cuts in donations, and donors will introduce stringent political and human rights conditions on the money, five participants told Reuters. Afghanistan’s economy is set to contract by at least 5.5% this year because of Covid-19 impacts, stated the World Bank in a recent report. The strategy aims to protect the peace talks and prod the Afghan government to improve allocation, they said. Donors at the last conference, in Brussels in 2016, pledged $15.2 billion for 2017 to 2020, or $3.8 billion a year.

That could be cut by 15% to 20%, said a senior Western diplomat participating in the conference.

“This is the best countries can offer amid the domestic challenge of managing a pandemic.” Trump will cut U.S. forces in Afghanistan to 2,500 from 4,500 by mid-January, the Pentagon said last week, seeking to wind down America’s longest war. The drawdown of foreign forces - Britain plans to follow the U.S. lead could mean greater influence for the Taliban. This makes donors uneasy over whether the hardline Islamists will try to roll back progress on human rights and girls’ education. The peace talks in the Qatari capital Doha have stalled and the Taliban refuses to call a ceasefire. Its attacks have sometimes prompted U.S. airstrikes to protect urban areas. But senior diplomats told Reuters that a breakthrough was expected in the peace talks after the donor conference.

“Taliban and Afghan government representatives will take a break from the peace talks after the Geneva conference but not before they have joint declaration of agreement over key security issues,” said a senior Western official. AGENCIES

PDM goes ahead with Peshawar rally despite Covid warning conTInuEd from pAgE 01 “Like people in the US rejected President Trump in elections, Insha’Allah people [of this country] will also reject Pakistani Trump [Imran Khan],” he added.

Giving an example of former Soviet Union president Mikhail Gorbachev, Fazl said that PM Imran wants to disintegrate Pakistan.

The PDM chief also said that the Indian government revoked the autonomous status of Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) because PM Imran compromised on the Kashmir issue. “Imran Khan had prayed for the success of Narendra Modi in elections and he sold the Kashmir cause,” he claimed.

Fazl said that the incumbent government is taking very “sensitive decisions” without taking the people of the country into confidence. “Nowhere in the democratic countries, political leaders have the right to change the geography of the country,” he said while referring to the government’s decisions of

merging erstwhile FATA into KP and making GB a fifth province of the country.

The KP government on Friday rejected a request by the anti-government alliance for a no-objection certificate to hold the event at Dalazak Road, citing the worrying rise in fresh infections for its decision.

Peshawar Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Ali Asghar, citing a November 2 notification of the provincial government advising restricting large public gatherings, refused to grant permission for the event.

“The Covid-19 positivity rate for district Peshawar has presently exceeded 13 percent, which is alarmingly high, and any large public gathering is likely to further increase the spread of [the] life-threatening virus,” he had said through a notification.

“Keeping in view the above, and after considering all aspects, and to safeguard human lives due to potential spread of the virus, the undersigned [Peshawar deputy commissioner] regrets to inform you that

permission for the said event has not been granted,” the notification had added.

Pakistan on Sunday recorded 59 deaths from the contagious disease, the highest single-day fatality count recorded since July 15.

According to the government’s Covid19 portal, 2,665 people had tested positive for the disease in the past 24 hours, taking the national caseload to 374,173 infections and 7,662 deaths since the outbreak was first reported in March.

For the past several weeks, health authorities have been sounding the alarm over a second wave of the disease. To restrict the spread of the virus, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday imposed restrictions on public gatherings and calling on citizens to observe the government-devised health guidelines.

He had also suspended PTI’s public gatherings and asked other political parties to follow suit.

However, the PDM vowed to resist any

CMYK

efforts to prevent the rally from proceeding.

On Saturday, PDM president and JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman claimed the government was making “desperate attempts” to foil Peshawar’s rally on the “pretext of coronavirus”.

“But the people of KP could not be deterred through such tactics,” he had said.

Fazl’s statement came after PM Imran assailed the opposition for insisting on holding the public meeting and “playing reckless politics with people’s safety”.

Following the premier, Minister for Information Senator Shibli Faraz warned a First Information Report (FIR) would be lodged against the opposition leaders and organisers of the rally if virus cases rose in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Faraz also accused the opposition of “exhibiting irresponsibility”, saying its insistence on holding the rally was a “reflection of their undemocratic thinking and irresponsible attitude”.

It is pertinent to mention that along with the danger of aggravating the spread of Covid-19, the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) a day earlier had warned the party leadership of the threat posed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) against the rally. Specifically, the issued alert had said that the rally could be targeted by the TTP suicide bomber or IED blast at Kabootar Chowk near Ring Road – where the rally is going to take place – or adjoining areas.

Reportedly, the leadership had tightened the security of the event after the warning, such as the fact that the participants of the public rally had been directed to park their vehicles some 1.5km away from the jalsahgah, while the PDM leaders would be allowed to enter with their own cars.

Furthermore, ring road had been closed from Charsadda to the motorway, while shops and the CNG stations on road had been closed due to the threat alert.

Monday, 23 November, 2020

06 COMMENT

Pandemic, poverty and the current IMF programme

Broadening the tax base The IMF’s attention is again on the FBR

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he failure of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to meet the revenue collection targets set for it have caused the government to have to go cap in hand to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and has led to the IMF sending a special mission, which has made recommendations for changes in the tax structure which will become preconditions for the resumption of the stalled programme which has been agreed with the IMF. These are the large number of exemptions granted to various interest groups, with the tax exemptions being worth Rs 540.98 billion in 201819 to Rs 972.40 billion in 2019-2020. These were exemptions granted before the onset of the covid-19 pandemic, which is used as an excuse for all the flaws in the government’s own economic management.

The PTI may rightly claim that it has not been the first to give special groups special treatment, but that should not provide an excuse. The official Finance Ministry figures, used in a penetrating analysis made by a Pakistani economist, who is also an Atlantic Council fellow, show that the country’s tax base is stagnant.

There are those who engage in some concealment, and thus avoid paying taxes, even keeping out of the tax base. The tax-to-GDP ratio has never exceeded 23 percent, and was 11.4 percent in 2019-20. Again, all governments are seen responsible for this, including political governments of whatever party, as well as military governments. The present government should have been different, for its head, Prime Minister Imran Khan, campaigned on the promise to make everyone pay their fair share of taxes. however, as retailers, sugar manufacturers and construction sector giants have shown, among others, all that has to be done about any scheme to make the tax burden more equitable (like the ID card condition for sales above Rs 50,000) will be withdrawn if the affected lobby can get to the Prime Minister.

Before the election, the PTI claimed that such shenanigans were only possible because the FBR was unreformed, and the root cause of the problem was the corruption of the politicians comprising the government.

The failure of the government to reform the FBR means that it was either misguided about the power of corruption, or is itself corrupt. There is a third possibility: it is incompetent.

Relying on the markets leaves economies open to severe socks

Dr Omer JaveD

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he way the current pandemic has affected economies, especially those at the lower income brackets, indicate that a neoliberal world in general that had been relying on virtually unfettered markets to deliver economic prosperity through the ‘invisible hand’ of economic exchange, was ill-prepared for any sort of severe shock.

That ‘history repeats itself’ sadly came true once again, as the main lesson of 1930s ‘Great Depression’ was forgotten around four decades ago by the collusion of the politico-economic elites sidelining government to the background, as private corporations in an overall environment of weak regulations, continued to chase market signals that delivered quick profits, while public institutions remained too weak to safeguard a sustainable future of not just mankind as a whole, but also of the vulnerable segments of the society. hence, when the pandemic hit global economy, markets proved once again– after the same revelation in the global financial crisis of 2008/09 – that the ‘heavier hand of the state’ had been missing for many years, which would serve to create a welfare state that could withstand the effect of deep recession, particularly on the most vulnerable segments of people.

While the developed countries, even after spending significant proportions of their budgets on welfare spending, are finding it difficult to properly protect the most vulnerable, the developing countries have witnessed even greater difficulties in this regard; especially given a lukewarm response of the advanced countries in terms of aid, and insignificant debt moratorium/relief effort.

Covid-19 second wave Government must look at all measures

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he government seemed to be treating the second wave of the covid-19 pandemic as an excuse to stop rallies by its political opponents, even though their Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) rally was held in Peshawar despite the refusal. It has been noticed widely that the ban coincided with a massive gathering for the funeral of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan founder and chairman Maulana Khadim hussain Rizvi, which was not only many times larger than anything recommended by epidemiologists, but at which no SOPs were observed whatsoever. It should note that even Sweden, which avoided any lockdown in the first wave last winter, is now running into trouble, with a record number of new infections, as well as a rising death rate. That attempt at achieving herd immunity has gone nowhere, there is no reason to believe that Pakistan would do any better.

While the government may be pleased at the luck of lower infection during the first wave, it should not be complacent that lightning will strike twice and that luck will be repeated. It should also not forget that the first wave was met by a lockdown, and though it was not particularly harsh, it would be perverse to argue that it had no role in limiting the infection. Therefore, the policy of so-called smart lockdowns, of imposing a lockdown only on a specific area where the infection rate exceeds a certain number, though particularly attractive politically, what with the PDM on the march, should be abandoned.

Instead, the government should take much more stringent measures, and impose a stricter lockdown that lasts the winter. Schools, offices, markets, functions like weddings (and it be remembered that the season for them has just begun), should all be closed.

If the government could gain the public’s confidence in its handling of the pandemic, the PDM would have the wind taken out of its sails. The man in the tree wants to keep his livelihood going, and his children getting an education, but there would be no livelihood or education, unless those obtaining them were alive.

Custodians of Islam changing?

SOJla Sahar

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F we peek into the pages of history, it could be seen that the world has fought more wars over religion or for their state’s dignity and integrity, than any other reason. It is mainly because accepting another’s ideology, whether it be religious or national, is hard and this is the prevailing reason in te Middle east if someone looks deeper into the complex picture that geopolitics presents.

The United Arab emirates has taken steps that have shocked the entire Muslim world. The Arab World had also been perceived as the “custodians of Islam” and other Muslim countries have look towards it for the perfect implementation of misinterpreted “Islamic values”, ignoring the fact that mainly the values followed in the Arab world are Arab, not Islamic.

There is huge difference between the two viewpoints.

UAe has recently relaxed its social constraints.

These constraints had served as a shield from adopting the un-Islamic practices and pro-western values. UAe has allowed couples to cohabit; it has allowed drinking without fear of punishment. Lastly it has also it put off the honor crime; it has criminalized the act of honor killing. The decision of UAe to revamp its policies depicts that UAe has chosen a “new” avatar, a more prowestern avatar, leaving the Islamic values behind. The broadening of personal freedoms reflects that UAe is on its new journey to change its society at home.

After the announcement of new laws it seems as if the UAe is more focused on shifting its oil-dependent economy to other industries. This includes inviting the high flow of Israeli and Western investments into the country at the cost of anything. They are aiming to boost the UAe into the skyscraper tourist destination for Western tourists, fortune seekers and businesses regardless of its “hard-line Islamic legal System.”

Moreover, the major revamps came particularly right after the historic USA-brokered deal to normal-

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to live in. I have also heard people giving examples of “Islamic system of Saudi Arabia” and how loyal they are to the “Islamic values”. They are also perize relations between the UAe and Israel. The future ceived as the “Guardians” and “Custodians” of Iswill reveal but it can be foreseen that the days of lamic values. But now as they are inclined or totally monarchy are coming to end. It won’t happen in a moving towards Western system, would Pakistan also few years; it will take time but is surely going to hap- opt for liberalism in their country?

There has always been an environment of confupen. The decades old filthy rich monarchy will be resion in the Pakistani society. This confusion is, wither placed by “democracy” for sure. to opt for democracy or go Other than the UAe, the for an Islamic system. This Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is has created a sharp separaalso on the same journey. tion in the Pakistani society, The new monarch King Muhammad Bin Salman is The future will disclose that the one struggling to go totally Western (far-left), and also tilted towards “Western who will sit on the throne of the others trying to preserve culture” and more “LiberalIslamic system (farist thoughts and values”, “Custodian of Islam”. Till now the right), or rater develop one. under the influence of his After the new laws in the son, Muhammad Bin the changing geopolitical United Arab emirates, this Salman, whom he has made situation shows that it is question is becoming more Crown Prince. he is also complex. The transformation more inclined to bring on Turkey that is striving to go of United Arab emirates more liberal structures in through its adoption of Westtheir country, for examples for this throne.

It is perhaps ernized values shows that it recently Saudi Arabia has given more freedom to another debate about how far is only the Muslim world leaving its values behind and women for driving and they Turkey itself has moved in moving towards a borrowed are allowed to work with baggage of cultures and valmen in offices or any other Westernization in the ues. The future will disclose workplace. These drastic that who will sit on the changes were considered as Kemalist decades throne of “Custodian of an impossible task to do but Islam”. Till now the changthings are changing rapidly. ing geopolitical situation The question to ask is, shows that it is Turkey that is where would Pakistan tilt?

Whose society would Pakistan look upon as the striving to go for this throne. It is perhaps another deguardian and custodians of Islam and its Islamic val- bate about how far Turkey itself has moved in Westues? The Arab countries have also had massive influ- ernization in the Kemalist decades.

On the current politics of Arab powers I would ence upon the Pakistani society particularly in religious terms. Pakistan has to bear the cost of “Wahabbism” say, “A tree’s beauty lies in its branches, but its clashing with “Shiaism” and other Islamic sects that strength lies in its roots,” rightly said by Matshona Dhliwayo. were mainly brought by the Arabs into the country.

Many Pakistanis have considered the Arabs as Reach at: Khansojla123@gmail.com their ideal and the Arabian society as an ideal society

The UAE-Israel deal signals major shifts

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

Jonathan Wheatley in his recent article in The Fi- after the [global] financial crisis. And that is a mistake nancial Times (FT) ‘Covid-19 will push millions in that we want to avoid happening again, which is why, middle-income nations into poverty, warns World in our October World economic Outlook, we made the Bank’ highlighted in this regard ‘The economic con- point that it is important not to prematurely withdraw sequences of the coronavirus pandemic will change the policy support.’ Yet the same enthusiasm for realizing profile of global poverty by creating millions of “new much needed greater role of public investments, for poor” who are relatively well-educated in urban areas dealing with the negative fallout of recession on poverty and in creating basis of middle-income countries, for greater private sector parthe World Bank has warned. ticipation in these uncertain Overall, the pandemic will times, is yet to be seen from push between 88m and 115m Hence, it is important the IMF side in the upcompeople into extreme poverty ing formal programme rethis year, which the bank defor the effort of developing sumption talks with Pakistan. fines as living on less than countries in their fight While the IMF’s chief $1.90 a day, according to a economist is rightly pointing report it published on against rising levels of towards greater ‘fiscal stimWednesday. According to the ulation’ in the wake of the report, more than 80 per cent poverty, that while IMF recession, World Bank’s of those who will fall into extreme poverty this year are in revisits its programmes away chief economist, Carmen Reinhart, has warned of the middle-income countries, from their neoliberal basis to other side of the coin, and with south Asia the worst-hit which is mounting debt. In region, followed by sub-Saa more balanced approach last month’s John Wheatharan Africa.’

Given that South Asia between aggregate demand- ley’s FT article ‘Borrow to fight economic impact of being most affected among and supply side, at the same pandemic, says World middle-income countries in Bank’s chief economist’ the wake of the pandemic, time, a deeper global debt highlighted the comments of one wonders then as to why, for instance, the International relief response is ushered in Ms Reinhart as ‘Developing countries should take on Monetary Fund (IMF) proby global creditors– new debt to help them fight gramme with Pakistan has the economic impact of the been in abeyance since early multilateral, bilateral, and coronavirus pandemic– but this year; where while IMF they will later suffer an undid provide support to Pakprivate creditors. precedented wave of debt istan through another wincrises and restructurings... In dow, it continued to not only terms of the coverage, of withhold quarterly tranches, which countries will be enalong with offering not much change into a usual aggregate-demand squeeze pro- gulfed, we are at levels not seen even in the 1930s. gramme. This is strange to say the least, given the pan- This is why we are talking about debt write-offs.’ hence, it is important for the effort of developing demic-causing recession was harsh on both the aggregate- demand and supply sides of the economy. countries in their fight against rising levels of poverty, At the same time as it pushes for implementing the that while IMF revisits its programmes away from structural adjustment styled programme, with tariff en- their neoliberal basis to a more balanced approach behancements in the energy sector, for instance, still ad- tween aggregate demand- and supply side, at the vised by them in conditionalities, and with weak focus same time, a deeper global debt relief response is ushon implementing greater institutional reform, likely to ered in by global creditors– multilateral, bilateral, and push more people below the poverty line, chief econ- private creditors. omist of IMF, Gita Gopinath, called for greater focus The writer holds PhD in Economics degree from on fiscal policy. In her recent interview to Martin Sandbu of FT, in the newspaper’s ‘economists ex- the University of Barcelona, and previously worked change’ series, she pointed out ‘There is consensus that at International Monetary Fund. He tweets fiscal stimulation was withdrawn too quickly right @omerjaved

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Monday, 23 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

CPEC is a gamechanger

Living through the second wave Making the vote effective Dr FaiSal ali

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MOnG the imminent miseries worldwide, the mortalities and morbidities caused by the combination of covid19 and Diabetes Mellitus are considered to be the most tragic. The pandemic has created a pandemonium and is a byword for misery. Since the beginning of te 21st century, the viruses of nidovirales order have affected the humanity three memorable times: SARS-CoV in 2002, MERS-CoV in 2012 and SARS-CoV-2 in 2019-2020. Coronaviruses are large, enveloped and positive-stranded RnA viruses. The SARS-CoV-2 consists of an envelope which is made of spikes, membrane and envelope glycoproteins. Inside the envelope, there is the nucleocapsid that is formed from multiple copies of the n proteins. The nucleocapsids are perennially attached with te RnA of the virus.

The Spike protein is implicated in binding to the ACe2 receptors that are located on the cell surfaces of the respiratory tract of human body. The pinioning of viral envelope and cell membrane of human cell is followed by the release of the viral genome into the target cell.

The clinical symptoms of covid-19 are fever, dry cough, malaise, diarrhea, dyspnea and pneumonia. Lab findings include lymphopenia and bilateral ground glass opacity or consolidation that is observed in Chest CT-scans. Covid-19 can be confirmed by real time RT-PCR and IgM plus IgG antibody tests.

As a doctor in te pandemic, I made some observations regarding diabetes mellitus and unintentional childhood injuries at home. Diabetes Mellitus refers to a group of common metabolic disorders sowing as hyperglycemia. The factors contributing are reduced insulin secretion, decreased glucose utilization and increased glucose production. Type 1 DM is a subtype of diabetes mellitus (DM) due to an autoimmune beta-cell destructive process mediated by T-lymphocytes.

It can transpire at any age but it frequently manifests itself before 30. It is estimated that between five and ten percent of those developing DM after the age of 30 years have Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (DM). Another subtype of Diabetes Mellitus is called Maturity–Onset Diabetes of the Young (MODY) that is characterized by autosomal dominant inheritance, early onset of hyperglycemia (usually under 25) and impairment in nsulin secretion. MODY is divided into MODY 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and so on. Other subtypes of DM are Gestational Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus is characterized by Impaired Insulin Secretion, Insulin Resistance, excessive hepatic Glucose Production and Abnormal Fat metabolism.

The acute complications of DM are Diabetic Ketoacidosis and hyperglycemic hyperosmolar State (hhS). The micro-vascular complications of DM are Retinopathy, neuropathy and nephropathy. The macrovascular complications are Coronary heart Disease, Peripheral Arterial Disease and Cerebrovascular Disease. Other complications include Diabetic Foots and Ulcers. In the light of all the aforementioned com-

plications of DM, simultaneous COVID-19 dis- niques should be explored worldwide for the best ease can lead to dreadful effects. This group of results.VeGF-A inhibition therapy in retinopathic patients needs our sympathy. cases should be provided at nearby primary health Another hallmark of interest is the uninten- care centres by a covid-19-free healthcare profestional injuries of children at home, especially sional if possible. Incretin analogues may also be under the age of five. These injuries mostly occur supplied to deserving patients. The depression due to burns, drowning, poisoning and fall and and anxiety of these patients need to be reduced are responsible for the mortality of round about and for this purpose, psychiatrists and psycholoseven percent among 875,000 deaths of children gists are advised to play their lead role. each year. According to a report of Centers for Though Duloxetine is the drug of choice for Disease Control and Prevention (2001), In the curtailment of neuropathic pain, the clinicians and USA, more children between the ages of one and policy makers should ponder over the scenario as four die annually from unintentional injuries than an organic whole that also includes factors like from all childhood diseases combined. Further- poverty, environment and trust capital. Vitamin more, For every childhood death caused by injury, B-12 (Cobalmin) should be proffered free of cost there are approximately 18 hospitalizations, 233 to diabetic patients. Antibiotics that can act emergency department visits, many more visits to against MRSA should be included in the essential medical facilities, and a much larger number of drugs list of hospitals during the pandemic. home-treated injuries. The factors associated with Policies should be shaped to bring into exunintentional injuries at istence a safe environhome are physical, bioment within abodes for logical and social envichildren during the ronments. During the pandemic and an The pharmacists and coronavirus pandemic, awareness session must there is a dire need to be arranged via media biotechnologists must track minimize such types of to educate the parents injuries for reducing with more emphasis on down a veracious antiviral hospital admissions and keeping dangerous obthat should eradicate the stays, which are highjects out of the reach of water marks for conchildren. disease once and for all. tamination of Another way of COVID-19 in third bringing new hope and Furthermore, the inhabitants world countries. blessings to humanity To beat the extremiduring the pandemic is of the globe should come ties of agoraphobia and via introducing elecforward to voice their of the purgatory-like tronic government in scenes around the world, every nook and corner apprehensions regarding the philanthropists and of this world. electronic community of scientists any possibility of biological governance comprises must come forward to electronic administrawarfare in the New Cold War tion, electronic services, ferret out a pragmatic screenplay of active and electronic democracy era that has already passive immunity and electronic business. against SARS-CoV-2.

The sowing of seeds of exhibited and manifested Research should be carbiometric voting system itself since the beginning of in elections and transried out to discover a meaningful vaccine and formation of the revthe 21st century synthetic immunoglobuenue system by lins. Though, Pfizer and replacing conventional BionTech in november means should be spear2020 released the details headed without any of a vaccine that could prevent more than 90 per- delay all over the world during the pandemic. Furcent of people from getting covid-19, still much thermore, the social security laws and system all more efforts are required from brains and brawn over world should be made more labor/employeeof humanity. Antivirals like Favipiravir and friendly so that the poor (excluding rich) victims Remdesivir are already approved for elimination of unemployment in private sector institutions of this menace in some countries but the pharma- during this pandemic can satisfy their mouth and cists and biotechnologists must track down a ve- stomach. It is also added that States all over the racious antiviral that should eradicate the disease world may initiate debt-free and interest-free curonce and for all. Furthermore, the inhabitants of rencies for a short period of time to bear the exthe globe should come forward to voice their ap- penses during this pandemic. The humanity can prehensions regarding any possibility of biological emulate the Bradbury Pound initiative or the Conwarfare in the New Cold War era that has already stitutional Monetary System of Lincoln for a peexhibited and manifested itself since the beginning riod of two or three months. Similarly, of the 21st century. single/solitary person tourism should be encourIn order to give hope to diabetic patients who aged to beat the woes of anxiety and depression. also suffer from covid-19, the whole health comThe writer is the postgraduate of Khyber munity should devise plans to find selective TGFβ inhibitors. Studies should also be carried out on Medical University in Community Child Health inhibition of Inflammatory Signalling Pathways and currently serves as medical officer at Typesuch as nuclear Factor kB (nF-kB) pathway. D hospital, Tehsil Banda Daud Shah, District Similarly, gene therapy by viral vector or by non- Karak, Pakistan, and can be reached viral transduction and stem cells curing tech- at drfaisalali88@gmail.com.

ChInA Pakistan economic Corridor ( CPeC ) as visualized and agreed upon between Pakistan & China in 2013 was supposed to be a game changer particularly for Pakistan a much under developed country compared to China which has become the second largest economy of the world and posing a threat to super power , the United States .

The progress made by China especially in the last 25 - 30 years in almost all spheres has been phenomenal.

The friendly cooperation extended by China encompasses and addresses almost all the socio-economic aspects of Pakistan from integrated transport including rail , road , port , air and data communication channels to energy production , setting up of industries & industrial parks , agricultural development , medical treatment , education , water supply , vocational training , tourism , human resource development and financial cooperation , with an ultimate aim of improving the lives of people of the two countries and Pakistan in particular . except for the period ending 2018 , the zeal and enthusiasm in the envisaged bilateral pact has slowed down primarily due to Pakistan’s lethargic attitude in seizing the golden opportunity offered by China .

The slow progress in passing timely necessary legislation from the national Assembly by the incumbent government is deplorable. And the fact that the CPeC Authority is virtually “ headless “ for the last six months is even more shocking as revealed in the national assembly the other day .

Our powers should be accountable for such a disgusting state of affairs. The government is solely responsible for having failed to inject momentum into implementation of CPeC projects and their completion on time . It is high time we put our acts to together and send a positive signal to China by positively responding to its great offer of helping us . We need to be proactive and shun apathy . We will be great losers if we don’t .

The government needs to seize this golden opportunity and make best use of the great Chinese offer that is going to be a game changer for Pakistan which is struggling hard to survive in almost all fields .

Engr riaz Bhutta LahorE

Child labour in Pakistan ChILD labour is a serious issue in Pakistan. With 152 million children (64 million girls and 88 million boys), 1 in 10, globally reported to be engaged in child labour, and half of these (73 million) in hazardous child labour – work that endangers their health, safety and moral development – this remains a persistent and unacceptable challenge. Furthermore, the majority of these children tend to work in the agricultural sector (71 per cent) and a similar percentage engage in work that is unpaid within the household (69 per cent). The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that 4.3 million children are engaged in forced labour i.e. the worst form of child labour (ILO 2017). It has also been documented that almost half of the population of child labourers is aged 5-11 years – the most formative age during which children would otherwise be receiving an education and developing their human and social capital. I request to government of Pakistan to take a serious action against. hammaL naSEEr turBat

PDM super-spreader Several huge anti government and other rallies are being conducted in major cities in the country which are enough for spreading covid19 throughout the country. Though the Prime Minister has announced to avoid conducting rallies, the opposition parties are conducting more rallies where there is no concept of following SOPs. Because of rallies covid19 cases are increasing unexpectedly. The opposition parties are not taking the virus seriously that is the sign of worrying. So, opposition parties are requested to not do more rallies.

SamEEr aSLam awaran KuLLi

Perpetual chaos The freedom movement in the Subcontinent ended on a violent note across the region. Congress first instigated its followers, which led to antiMuslim riots resulting in mass killings and migration of Muslims from hindu majority areas to newly formed Pakistan. Witnessing the plight of Muslims, riots started in Pakistan too against hindus and Sikhs. For example, a group of Muslim migrants from nawakhali reached Rawalpindi in shambles. They narrated stories of horror and terror they had gone through. People of Rawalpindi witnessing this got emotionally charged, which led to retaliatory riots and violence in this region. These riots and violence created chaos on both sides, more so in the newly formed Pakistan. however, the Indian side under the leadership of Congress managed to rise from chaos bringing the country together and forging a constitution for the country. Unfortunately, the story on our side was not the same. It seems we went into a perpetual state of chaos. We lost the father of the nation pretty soon and could not forge a constitution even in the first decade after freedom. Our politicians, after doing away with the enemy, made enemies from within and kept fighting and conspiring against each other. This state of infighting and chaos goes on as of today. Our politicians even 72 years after freedom have not learned to behave in a democratic manner and respect democratic norms. We are amidst one of the worst pandemics humankind has ever witnessed, and the second wave of COVID-19 seems to peak, but our politicians are busy bickering and quarreling over petty politics. They are holding rallies with utter contempt of human life and civilized ways. They do not seem to have any value and respect for human life and all they care about is their selfish gains and access to power. They need to realize that nothing good will come out from disrespect for the law, life, and people. They must agree on very basics where steps are taken for the protection of the life of people and forging a strong and sustainable economy. We are if the country is and its politics are if people live. The sooner they learn, the better it is or we are going to disappear in history as a nation that never learned to value freedom. raja ShafaatuLLah iSLamaBad

Monday, 23 November, 2020

08 WORLD VIEW

The lAdy And The TrUmp UNFEELING ROYALS OFFER NO RESPITE FROM UNFEELING REPUBLICANS

New York times MAuREEN DOwD

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’Ve been riveted all week by the spectacle of the most famous blond phenom on the planet, a child isolated and miserable living inside a national landmark, lashing out and spiraling into self-destructive acts.

But eventually i had to turn off the new season of “The crown,” focusing on Princess Diana, and drag my attention back to Donald Trump, who is trashing this place before checking out like he’s axl rose at a Four Seasons.

Diana and Donald shared a few things in common: their toxic tango with the press,

their psychic connection with their fan base, their willingness to blow up norms. They were both “unpredictable meteors,” as Tony Blair once described Di. They both savored sitting in their rooms glued to their own coverage on TV, dialing up their chosen reporters to control the narrative. They were both unhappy at the top, fretting about being undercut. Diana almost upended the monarchy and Donald is doing his worst to upend democracy.

That’s where the similarities end. in terms of empathy, hugging the afflicted, the radiant Diana and the radioactive Donald are opposites. and while watching her fractured fairy tale breaks your heart, watching his fractious exit makes your head hurt. The young princess feared she was going mad amid barking corgis; the 74-year-old president wallows in his barking madness.

On Friday afternoon, Trump continued embarrassing himself and the nation when he finally emerged, after sulking in his tent for days, and asserted that he had won the election. He blamed Big Pharma, Big Tech and the media for his woes.

He sent out a fund-raising message

praising the news conference with his lawyers, a dripping rudy Giuliani and a rabid Sidney Powell, laying out the absurd phantom global conspiracy that is thwarting Trump’s re-election.

Then Trump met with michigan G.O.P. officials, brazenly trying to subvert democracy and claw back a swing state, or even just to feed his ego by delegitimizing the election in the eyes of his base. But the michigan lawmakers came out of the White House and said they would “follow the normal process” that has Joe Biden ahead even as the governor of Georgia certified the results there for Biden. it would be merely pathetic to watch Trump toss nails on the road behind him if it weren’t so dangerous.Biden needs all the air in his tires and a full tank of gas when he pulls that corvette into the White House driveway in two months, because this country is shot to hell and running on empty.

Trump is sabotaging the transition as the pandemic rages, engaging in midnight maneuvers like ending several emergency lending programs that could buoy the economy and attempting to ravage alaska’s

wildlife refuge. republicans remain as mute and frightened of Trump as ever. mitch mcconnell could stop this nonsense with one sentence: “We’re moving on and recognizing Joe Biden as president-elect.” But he refuses to, letting the damage to the country unspool to protect his own standing with the base and to hold onto those two Senate seats in Georgia that make him majority leader. it’s outrageous that congress left town for the holidays this weekend without passing covid relief. But republicans, who are already all about setting themselves up for the next election, prefer to put Biden in a bind and later trash him for big spending.

Never mind that they’re leaving millions of americans in the lurch. after watching unfeeling republicans, it’s not really an escape to turn on “The crown” and watch that unfeeling bunch — margaret Thatcher and the royals.

Peter morgan, the writer of “The Queen” and creator of “The crown,” spent a large chunk of his career refurbishing the queen’s reputation after the disastrous period following Diana’s death, when Blair had to beg Queen elizabeth to show more emotion.

But in this fourth season of “The crown,” morgan presents a more brittle queen, as the bulimic Diana is crying out for help and the Boss blows her off, feeling charles and Diana are spoiled, immature and letting the side down.

Diana, perfectly played by emma corrin, describes the palace as “a cold frozen tundra, an icy dark, loveless cave with no light, no hope, anywhere, not even the faintest crack.”

A foreign policy for a world US doesn't rule TACKLING CHINA WILL REQUIRE TIME. BUT FIXING THINGS AT HOME AND DOING SOME QUICK ALLIANCE REPAIR DEMAND ATTENTION NOW. CALL IT “AMERICA FIRST” … WITH A SMILE

Politico AARON DAVID MILLER AND RICHARD SOKOLSKY

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merica is back.”and Joe Biden means it, tethered as he is to a romanticized view of america as the world’s greatest power destined to lead and to do good. The new president will have much going for him. He’s the anti-Trump. and after four years of norm-busting disruption, expectations for Biden are so low that europeans might be inclined to give him a Nobel Peace Prize for just showing up.

But the world Biden will inherit is a far cry from the one he occupied when he was the vice president, or during the 1990s when he chaired the Senate Foreign relations committee. america’s unipolar moment has long been relegated to the dustbin of history. china, in the Pentagon’s parlance, is a peer competitor. Other powers, both large and small, including russia, iran and North Korea, can easily frustrate U.S. ambitions. rarely has the environment for international cooperation seemed more challenging.

The president-elect has said repeatedly that his primary goal abroad is to put american back at “the head of the table” because “the world won’t organize itself.” But the shape of that table has changed profoundly. a global pandemic has laid bare the limits of globalization and multilateral diplomacy and accelerated the demise of the liberal international order that america created and that sustained its primacy; it has also exacerbated preexisting trends toward renewed geopolitical competition and heightened sensitivities about national sovereignty on issues from border security to the economy and health care. a powerful china and a declining yet still determined russia have conspired successfully to oppose Pax americana.

So how can Biden create a foreign policy that is both effective and designed to meet the new world realities he’ll confront? The new administration should focus on three objectives.

First, Biden will preside over an america that is physically sicker, economically weaker and more politically and culturally polarized than at any time in the past half century. if he’s to succeed abroad he’ll need to persuade a deeply skeptical world wondering about america’s stability, political coherence and capacity to lead. That means the new president’s first job will be to repair the wreckage at home. He will confront four inextricably linked crises: a raging pandemic that is far from running its course; a stillcratered economy that has revealed deep social and economic inequities; toxic political polarization that, as George Packer noted in The atlantic, has shown that america has become two countries; and a deeply divided and dysfunctional government. None of these challenges can be resolved easily or quickly.

Biden has the tools to be an effective healer-in-chief, but each of these Herculean tasks will test him like no president since Franklin D. roosevelt.

Second, as he tries to repair america’s broken house—a new stimulus package and a comprehensive anti-covid-19 campaign would go a long way in this regard—Biden can also turn to a quick harvest of low-hanging diplomatic fruit. america under Trump pursued a wholesale withdrawal from almost every organization and multilateral agreement—the Paris climate accord, the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, the nuclear agreement with iran, the World Health Organization, three major arms control agreements, and specialized agencies of the United Nations. He has undermined democratic allies, sucked up to dictators and emboldened adversaries. His fecklessness, recklessness, inconsistency and incompetence (especially on the pandemic) and his assault on democracy, dividing america, have left the country in a deep hole and with a badly tarnished international image.

Biden will be eager to repair america’s battered image abroad and much of this work can be done with the stroke of a pen.

He will get a lot of diplomatic mileage because he’s not Donald Trump and will look and sound like a commander in chief by caring about america’s alliances, standing up to its adversaries and projecting an image of leadership. Through executive orders and actions, the United States can rejoin the Paris climate accord and the World Health Organization and the White House can retract Trump’s muslim travel ban, end extreme immigration restrictions, and extend protections for Dreamers.

Biden has also pledged to host a global summit of democracies that would reinject american values back into U.S. foreign policy and galvanize closer cooperation among these countries. He has also said he would use the bully pulpit to call out authoritarian leaders like Saudi arabia’s mohammed bin Salman and russian President Vladimir Putin to whom Trump had kowtowed. reengaging positively with america’s traditional allies in europe and the asia-Pacific won’t be hard. To paraphrase Woody allen, 80 percent of successful alliance management in the post-Trump era will be just showing up at high-level meetings (even if only virtually), without a wrecking ball in one hand and an extended middle finger in the other.

But the hardest—and most important—nuts to crack will be Biden’s third objective—dealing with china and iran.

The Trump administration has failed to realize any of its objectives with china and has driven the bilateral relationship into a ditch by demonizing china and blaming Beijing for Trump’s own failures in responding to the pandemic; hyperventilating about the chinese threat; hinting at a goal of toppling the regime and recognizing Taiwan as an independent country; and embracing reckless trade and technology policies that hurt the U.S. more than china and threaten to “decouple” the world’s two largest economies. Not surprisingly, Trump imagines that

the U.S. and china are locked into a zero-sum game and that U.S. cooperation on issues of mutual concern is for suckers and losers.

Some of china’s behavior—its predatory trade and technology policies and repression at home, are two examples—warrants a more muscular american response. and Trump deserves credit for raising political consciousness of these obnoxious chinese practices. But the Biden administration, notwithstanding its hard-line rhetoric during the campaign, will need to hit the reset button with Beijing. There are several steps the new administration can take to halt the downward spiral in the U.S.-china relationship. as one prominent chinese scholar has advocated, Biden should put an end to portraying china as an ideological threat to the american way of life and an existential threat to what is left of the tattered U.S.-led liberal international order. President Xi may be a bloody-minded techno-nationalist, but china has neither the intention nor the capabilities to upend and assume leadership of this order and it is ludicrous to believe that its authoritarian model of governance threatens american democracy.

Organizing a multilateral coalition of like-minded states to oppose china’s neomercantilist trade practices makes sense. But the Biden administration should use the World Trade Organization’s trade dispute mechanisms to redress its grievances whenever possible, as experience has shown that U.S. businesses and consumers have benefited from WTO mediation and the U.S. achieves more favorable results by using this system instead of negotiating with countries directly. more importantly, it should end the feckless and counterproductive tariff war with china, which according to several studies cost U.S. businesses $46 billion and the U.S. economy 300,000 jobs and roughly 0.5 percent of GDP growth.

While the new administration should help its allies with diplomatic support to resist chinese bullying, its public messaging on china should deemphasize containment and “great power competition” and instead stress the need for revitalized U.S.-chinese cooperation in tackling global challenges such as pandemics and climate change.

Lastly, a Biden administration should stop obsessing over what the chinese are doing to fortify their military positions in the South china Sea as long as china does not interfere with freedom of navigation; nor does it need to constantly puff out its chest about preserving american military dominance in the asia Pacific. The chinese are gaining an advantage on the U.S. in this region not because of china’s military prowess, but because the U.S. is being outmaneuvered by Beijing diplomatically and economically.

The Trump administration’s policy of applying “maximum pressure” on iran has also been a complete bust. iran has not agreed to renegotiate an agreement with more stringent restrictions on its nuclear program, and it now possesses 12 times the amount of weapons grade material it had when the

morgan’s portrayal of charles is rough, as well. The Prince of Wales is too in love with camilla, too jealous of Diana, and too wounded from his upbringing to give his marriage a real chance.

When i covered the visit of charles and Diana to Washington in 1985, the couple seemed happy.

But problems were brewing. an insecure future king was sure to be jealous of a wife who sluiced all the attention away simply by tucking down her chin and flashing a look from under her eyelashes. and it was clear that Diana, who was called “Duch” as a girl because she always acted like a duchess, was learning how to channel her electric star power.

The gala at the reagan White House — Duch meets Dutch — was a showcase for Diana, shimmering in blue velvet and a pearl choker, not charles. Nancy reagan had gathered a pantheon of leading men for the princess — mikhail Baryshnikov, clint eastwood, Tom Selleck and, as a dancing partner when the marine Band played “Night Fever,” John Travolta. in “The art of the comeback” in 1997, Trump said that his only regret “in the women department” was that he didn’t date Diana after her divorce. He said “she lit up the room with her charm, her presence,” and was “a dream lady.”Dream on, Donald. Of his wooing, Diana told a friend, “He gives me the creeps.”Di, we know how you feel.

Maureen Dowd, winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary and author of three New York Times best sellers, became an Op-Ed columnist in 1995.

nuclear deal with iran was signed in 2015.

The iranian revolutionary Guard has not reduced its “malign” activities in the region nor curtailed its ballistic missile programs; sanctions have not hastened the collapse of the regime; the U.S. is more isolated diplomatically than ever from its allies; iran has been able to increase oil revenues by evading sanctions; and the administration’s unsuccessful efforts to isolate iran have handed both china and russia a golden opportunity to forge closer relations with Tehran.

The Trump administration has dug a deep hole for the Biden administration to climb out of and has vowed to keep shoveling by threatening to ratchet up sanctions every week until January 20. indeed, the president-elect’s promise to re-enter the nuclear agreement will face stiff headwinds.

Biden has said he wants to renegotiate the terms of the nuclear agreement; iran’s foreign minister has poured cold water on this idea. Biden would like to focus on iran’s regional activities and missile program, but there is slim chance the iranian government will agree to put these issues on the table. The politics on the nuclear issue are vexing: iran will have little room to maneuver before its presidential election next June and the U.S. congress is piling sanctions on iran’s non-nuclear activities which will be harder to remove.

Given these challenges, if Biden is serious about wanting to de-escalate the risks of a conflict with iran, he will have to compromise; the most realistic outcome his administration can expect is an interim “freeze for freeze” agreement in the first half of next year, followed sometime later by negotiations on a more comprehensive agreement. achieving even this more modest goal will be politically difficult, because it could require the administration to offer partial sanctions relief while permitting iran to conduct some activities that were banned under the 2015 nuclear agreement. moreover, it is by no means clear that iran is interested in a temporary freeze, that it will halt uranium enrichment or reduce its stockpile of this material.

The odds of success are stacked against success at putting the nuclear Humpty Dumpty back together again. To hedge its bets, the new administration might want to explore other ways to de-escalate tensions with Tehran, such as providing humanitarian assistance or establishing a back channel to discuss possible confidence-building and conflict prevention measures. it remains to be seen whether the iranian regime, which needs an american enemy to maintain its legitimacy and identity, will be receptive to this kind of dialogue. establishing guardrails for the U.S. relationships with china and iran will require reinvigorating american diplomacy and ending Washington’s preternatural habit of trying to browbeat and bludgeon countries into submission with military force, economic sanctions and threats. This attitude adjustment will not come easily to foreign policy mandarins in the Biden administration, many of whom cling stubbornly to american exceptionalism and primacy. But it is necessary if the U.S. hopes to avoid a dangerous confrontation with both countries that would seriously harm the security and prosperity of america and its allies, partners and friends.

Aaron David Miller served as a State Department Middle East analyst, adviser and negotiator in Republican and Democratic administrations.

Richard Sokolsky, a non-resident senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, was a member of the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Office from 2005-2015.

Monday, 23 November, 2020

BUSINESS 09

Western Union buys 15pc stake in Saudi Telecom’s digital payment unit DUBAI: Western Union, the world’s largest money transfer firm, has acquired a 15 per cent stake in the digital payment unit of Saudi Arabia’s STC Group for $200 million. The acquisition of STC pay, which values the company at 5 billion riyals ($1.3 billion), will finance its capital and support long-term expansion plans, Saudi Arabia’s largest telecoms operator said in a statement on Saturday. STC Group chairman Mohammed bin Khalid Abdullah Al Faisal said the investment reflected the company’s position as a “digital enabler”. He said the deal created the first “Saudi unicorn and the first fintech unicorn in the Middle East”.

Unicorns are generally defined as private companies valued at $1 billion or more. Sources told Reuters last month that STC had hired banks to arrange a potential initial sale of shares in its product and services development arm, Solutions by STC. Reducing dependence on cash is part of Saudi government efforts to modernise the economy of the world’s largest oil exporter. STC said its stc pay unit is the first licensed fintech company by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, the Saudi central bank, and has more than 4.5 million users. AGENCIES

European regulator to lift Boeing 737 MAX grounding in January PARIS: Europe is set to lift its flight ban on the Boeing 737 MAX passenger jetliner in January after U.S. regulators last week ended a 20-month grounding triggered by two fatal crashes. The head of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said in remarks aired on Saturday that the 737 MAX was safe to fly after changes to the design of the jet that crashed twice in five months in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people. “We wanted to carry out a totally independent analysis of the safety of this aircraft, so we performed our own checks and flight tests,” Executive Director Patrick Ky told the Paris Air Forum, an online aviation conference hosted

by La Tribune. “All these studies tell us that the 737 MAX can return to service. We have started to put in place all the measures,” he said. “It is likely that in our case we will adopt the decisions, allowing it to return to service, some time in January.” EASA’s decision is seen as the most important milestone after the FAA’s approval since, as the watchdog responsible for Airbus, it too carries significant weight in the industry. Officials confirmed a draft EASA directive proposing to end the grounding in Europe will be published next week, followed by a 30-day comment period. After finishing touches, that would lead to an ungrounding decision in January. How long it takes for flights to resume in Europe depends on pilot training and the amount of time it takes airlines to upgrade software and carry out other actions mandated by EASA. In the United States, commercial flights are scheduled to start on Dec. 29, just under six weeks after the FAA order was published on Nov 18. EASA represents the 27 European Union countries plus four other nations including Norway, which has 92 of the aircraft on order. Until Dec 31, it also represents the United Kingdom, which left the EU bloc in January.

FAA LESSONS: The crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia triggered a slew of investigations faulting Boeing for poor design and the FAA for lax oversight. They also placed tight-knit FAA relations with Boeing under scrutiny. “It is clear that there were a number of dysfunctions in (FAA) actions and their relations with Boeing,” Ky said. “I won’t go into details as it is not up to me to do that. The FAA is in the process of putting in place corrective measures.” He said EASA would change some of its own methods and take a more detailed role in analysing critical features in foreign jets.

It would also be “more intransigent” about ensuring that key safety reviews are completed before moving on to the next steps, Ky said. Until now, one primary regulator certifies a plane and others mainly follow suit after varying degrees of independent checks. “What will change is the way in which we validate and certify Boeing aircraft, that’s clear, but will it have an impact on (certification) timings? No, I don’t think so; we will do things differently,” Ky said. Boeing is developing the 777X, a larger version of its 777. EASA is widely seen as emerging strengthened from the Boeing crisis and some regulators are waiting for its decisions on the MAX rather than immediately following the FAA as in the past. AGENCIES

IMF rEcoMMEndS ThAT PAkISTAn ovErhAUl ITS TAX rEgIME

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HE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has conducted a detailed study of Pakistan’s existing tax system and made recommendations, including a string of policy proposals from the rationalisation of tax rates to withdrawal of tax exemption and removal of all distortions in the country’s tax system.

According to a report by Dawn which quotes a source in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the report is confidential but covers all most all areas of the tax system with policy recommendations that will be considered and implemented in the next budget.

The report has flagged many areas which the mission believes is not in conformity with the international best practices and made recommendations related to sales tax. The government, however, is of the opinion that it will have an adverse impact. At the moment, the focus will be to review corporate income tax exemptions and concessions.

The report also highlights distortions in the tax system from multiple tax rates to concessions to one class while burdening others with high tax rates, further recommending the elimination of all kinds of distortions.

Earlier on Saturday, the Ministry of Finance had clarified that Pakistan was closely engaged with the IMF to bring the review work to completion without delay in response to an article published in Financial Times regarding Pakistan’s IMF programme.

In a tweet, the ministry dispelled the erroneous impression conveyed by an article published in Finan-

cial Times.

The ministry said that the contention in the article appeared to derive from the personal views of some individuals, while the actual position was never solicited from the government, adding that Pakistan remained firmly committed to its agenda of fiscal

stabilisation and economic reforms.

“In this context, it is clarified that Pakistan is closely engaged with the Fund to bring the review work to completion without delay. Pakistan remains firmly committed to its agenda of fiscal stabilisation and economic reforms,” the ministry tweeted. NEWS DESK

SBP policy rate likely to remain unchanged Tractor production increases 17.17pc in Q1FY21

The benchmark interest rate for the next two months which is to be decided by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in a meeting tomorrow is likely to remain unchanged as the country navigates its way through slow economic activity and inflation against a backdrop of rising second wave coronavirus infections.

In a report by Express Tribune, Pakistan has invited the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to complete its second review of the country’s economy under the $6 billion loan programme, which has been on hold since the Covid-19 outbreak in Pakistan in February.

The Fund has asked Islamabad to meet loan conditions including a hike in power tariff, additional measures for increase in tax collection and making the central

bank autonomous.

Keeping this in view, experts have stated that the central bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) is expected to leave the policy rate unchanged at 7 per cent to let economic activities pick up pace despite high inflation and spike in Covid-19 cases.

Earlier, the central bank slashed the policy rate by a cumulative 625 basis points in five revisions between March and June 2020 to support economic activities and help businesses and individuals stave off default on bank loans.

At present, the real interest rate (the benchmark interest rate minus inflation reading) is around 1pc negative. NEWS DESK

ISLAMABAD: Domestic tractors manufacturing during the first quarter of the current financial year (Q1FY21) have witnessed about 17.17 per cent growth as compared to the production of the corresponding period of last year (Q1FY20).

During the period from July-September 202021, about 11,235 tractors were assembled locally as compared to the assembling of 9,589 tractors of the same period of last year.

According to the provisional quantum indices of Large Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) for September 2020, domestic tractor production witnessed about 13.42 per cent increase in September 2020 as compared to the same month of last year. In the month of September 2020, about 4,555 tractors assembled as compared the assembling of 4,016 tractors during the corresponding month of last year, it added. It is worth mentioning here that government under its Agricultural Fiscal Package has approved Rs1.5 billion sales tax subsidy on locally manufactured tractors in order to promote mechanisation in the agriculture sector to enhance per-acre crop output in the country. The government had announced a fiscal package of over Rs1,200 billion in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic to provide financial assistance for the development of agri-sector in the country. Out of this package, an amount of Rs50 billion was earmarked for relief to the agriculture sector whereas a one-year sales tax subsidy at the rate of 5 per cent to locally manufactured tractors was also approved as the sales tax was applied on the sale of each tractor. APP

ICCI demands resolution of auto market’s tax woes ISLAMABAD APP

The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) on Sunday urged the government to reduce property tax on plots belonging to auto markets.

The statement was made by ICCI President Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan during a visit of a delegation of the Islamabad Auto Market, I-10/3, Traders Welfare Association (TWA), led by its TWA President Musharraf Janjua and TWA Secretary General Salawar Khan Afridi who had come to highlight the

CMYK

issues of their market for redress.

The ICCI president said that property tax on auto market plots had been increased from Rs6,440 to Rs14,000 in one go.

Terming it an unjustified act, he urged the government for bringing property tax down to the previous level for providing relief to auto market traders. The auto traders further complained that water charges for auto market have also been increased from Rs1,750 to Rs4100, which was a massive increase and demanded that the charges should be rationalised to make them affordable.

Speaking at the occasion, the TWA Pres-

ident and secretary general said that the Capital Development Authority (CDA) should allow construction of flats on commercial units of the market to address residential issues of workers.

They said the auto market needed many facilities, including restoration of streetlights, public toilets, a filtration plant for drinking water, carpeting of roads, and a dispensary to meet the first aid needs of labour and urged that CDA provide these services.

They also called upon the Sui Northern Gas Petroleum Limited (SNGPL) to provide gas connections in the I-10/3 auro market.

Monday, 23 November, 2020

10 FOREIGN NEWS

ISrAel lAUNcheS AIr rAIdS ON BeSIeged gAzA STrIP; NO cASUAlTIeS GAZA

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AGENCIES

HE Israeli military has carried out air raids on the besieged Gaza Strip, causing property damage but no casualties, Palestinian media reported.

According to Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, Israeli warplanes fired a series of missiles at positions in the western, eastern, and southern part of the strip early Sunday, including open farmland.

Witnesses said the pre-dawn strikes hit targets in Gaza City and the southern Gaza cities of Rafah and Khan Younis, where flames and plumes of smoke could be seen rising from some sites.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility from any of Gaza’s military groups.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum blamed the new escalation on Israel.

“The Israeli occupation is the prime responsible for everything that happens in Gaza as it continues to block-

Sudan to skip Nile dam talks but calls for AU involvement KHARTOUM: Sudan plans to boycott further talks with Egypt and Ethiopia over Addis Ababa’s massive dam project on the Nile river and called on the African Union to play a greater role, Khartoum’s irrigation minister said on Sunday. The years-long talks over how water should be shared and the operation of Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam have failed to yield an agreement even as Addis Ababa completed the first filling of the reservoir behind the structure – considered a red line by Egypt without a lasting deal. This is the first time Sudan has said it will not attend talks with the two other Blue Nile river countries. Sudan’s Irrigation Minister Yasser Abbas said, “The African Union should do more to facilitate negotiations and bridge the gap between the three parties” given the current approach has not solved the dispute. The foreign and irrigation ministers of the three Nile Valley countries met virtually on Thursday, two weeks after the last talks failed to agree on a new framework for negotiations.

There was no immediate comment from South Africa, the current leader of the African Union, nor Egypt or Ethiopia regarding Sudan's action, and it remains unclear when the countries would resume negotiations. AGENCIES

WTO needs modernisation to cope with current challenges: Putin MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin has told G20 leaders that there is nothing to replace the World Trade Organization (WTO), but it should be able to cope with current challenges and needs modernisation. “The G20 group needs to continue efforts to find common approaches to reforming the World Trade Organization in accordance with modern challenges,” the Russian leader said as he took part in the G20 summit. “It is impossible to achieve this goal without a stable, effective and multilateral trading system based on universal rules and principles, and there is no alternative to the World Trade Organization at the moment,” he added. Many global leaders have previously said that the Geneva-based body, which acts as an international arbiter for trading disputes, needs urgent changes and the issue has been on the agenda of multiple international meetings. After their virtual meeting earlier this week, the leaders of BRICS group nations, that apart from Russian includes Brazil, India, China and South Africa, also voiced support for WTO reform. AGENCIES

ade it and carry out attacks. The resistance is only acting in self-defence,” Barhoum said.

The Israel army said on Twitter it struck targets belonging to Hamas, the group that governs Gaza, in response to an alleged rocket attack launched from the Palestinian enclave.

It said the Israeli air force struck two rocket-manufacturing sites, a military compound, and “underground infrastructures”. According to the army, a rocket was fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip on Saturday evening, shortly after warning sirens sounded in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon.

The army statement gave no further details, but Israeli media said the projectile fell on open ground.

The latest reported fire from the Hamas-ruled Palestinian enclave came after two rockets were fired from the coastal strip into Israel in the early hours of last Sunday.

There were no casualties or damage in that attack. Israel struck back with fighter planes, helicopters and tanks, hitting what the army said were Hamas targets.

There was no claim of responsibility for the November 15 rocket fire, but Israel holds Hamas responsible for all attacks emanating from Gaza, including those claimed by other fighter groups based in the enclave.

The impoverished and densely populated Gaza Strip has been under a crippling Egyptian-Israeli blockade since 2007, the year Hamas took over the strip.

Hamas and Israel reached an agreement at the end of September to cease hostilities, although attacks continued.

The ceasefire followed a deadly surge in violence and was to see Israel allow new development projects, including an industrial zone and a hospital. Hamas has accused Israel of not fully complying with the deal. Israel, which deems Hamas a “terrorist” organisation, shuns direct negotiations and has never publicly acknowledged the truce.

Israel has launched three offensives against the Gaza Strip since 2008, and there have been numerous flare-ups.

Palestinian analysts say cross-border fire from Gaza is often used as a bargaining tool to secure Israel’s green light for the entry of Qatari financial aid into the territory.

Ethiopia to encircle Mekelle with tanks & artillery: military ADDIS ABABA AGENCIES

The Ethiopian military will use tanks to encircle Mekelle, the capital of the northern Tigray region, and is warning civilians it may also use artillery on the city, state media reported on Sunday.

It comes as the Ethiopian government rebuffed an African effort to mediate, saying its troops had seized another town in their march towards the rebel-held capital.

"The next phases are the decisive part of the operation, which is to encircle Mekelle using tanks, finishing the battle on mountainous areas and advancing to the fields,” Col Dejene Tsegaye, a military spokesman, told the state-run Ethiopia Broadcasting Corporation.

The conflict erupted on November 4 after what the government described as a surprise attack on federal troops by forces from the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the political party that controls Tigray.

Information on the fighting is extremely patchy and claims by all sides are difficult to verify because phone and internet links to the region have been down since the conflict began.

Both sides say federal forces have taken Adigrat, 116 kilometres north of Mekelle. Col Dejene said civilians

in Mekelle, which has a population of half a million, should be aware of the danger.

“So far, we were only attacking targets which the junta fighters were stationed (at) but in the case of Mekelle it might be different,” he said, referring to the TPLF. “We want to send a message to the public in Mekelle to save themselves from any artillery attacks and free themselves from the junta. The junta is now shielding itself within the public and the public must isolate itself from the junta.” “After that, there will be no mercy.”

TPLF forces were not immediately available for comment. The government says Tigrayan forces are bulldozing roads and destroying bridges to hold up the advance on Mekelle. Although the TPLF denies destroying infrastructure, they have promised "hell" for their advancing enemies.

Hundreds, possibly thousands, have died and more than 30,000 refugees have fled to Sudan since the conflict erupted. The fighting has spread beyond Tigray, whose forces have fired rockets at the neighbouring Amhara region and the nation of Eritrea, spurring concern of a wider war and the splintering of multi-ethnic Ethiopia.

Eritrea denies TPLF allegations it

sent soldiers over the border to back Prime Minister Ahmed Abiy's offensive against the Tigrayan forces, who are also an old foe of Eritrea.

On Friday, the African Union bloc appointed former presidents Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and Kgalema Motlanthe of South Africa as special envoys to seek a ceasefire and mediation talks. Abiy, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for a peace pact with Eritrea, aims to capture TPLF leaders before talking.

"News circulating that the envoys will be travelling to Ethiopia to mediate between the Federal Government and TPLF’s criminal element is fake," the government tweeted on Saturday.

Abiy accuses the Tigrayan leaders of revolting against central authority and attacking federal troops in the town of Dansha. The rebels say Mr Abiy's government has marginalised and persecuted Tigrayans since taking office two years ago.

Abiy denies that, saying he is seeking only to restore law and order and preserve the unity of Ethiopia and its 115 million people.

On Saturday, the government released a video of a roomful of soldiers of Tigrayan ethnicity holding a meeting about the conflict. Soldiers listen to a speaker and take turns to speak to the camera.

Six security personnel among 9 dead in ISIS attack in Baghdad BAGHDAD AGENCIES

Six Iraqi security personnel and three civilians were killed in an ambush Saturday carried out

by ISIS north of Baghdad, police and a local official said. And in Nigeria a further five people were killed by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters. An Iraqi police source said a roadside bomb hit a car and that terrorists opened fire on a rescue team of policemen and state-aligned paramilitary forces when they arrived at the scene, about 200 kilometres (120 miles) from the capital. Four members of the Hashed al-Shaabi and two policemen died along with three civilians, said Mohammed Zidane, the mayor of Zawiya, 50 kilometres from the city of Tikrit. There was no immediate word of casualties among the assailants but Zidane said those killed among the Hashed, a coalition of mainly Shia forces, were Sunni tribesmen. Both the mayor and police said the ambush was the work of ISIS terrorists, although no immediate claim of responsibility was issued. ISIS swept across a third of Iraq in 2014, seizing major cities across the north and west and reaching the suburbs of the capital.

After a fierce three-year fight backed by a USled military coalition, Iraq declared the group defeated in late 2017. The coalition has significantly drawn down its troops this year and ISIS sleeper cells have continued to wage hitand-run attacks in desert areas where troops are stretched thin. Attacks with high tolls and close to the capital have been rare, however. The latest attacks come as the United States announced that it will withdraw another 500 troops, reducing its deployment to 2,500 soldiers.

Numbers were already depleted from an even greater reduction made just a few weeks ago in September. Iraq wasn't the only country to be assailed by ISIS on Saturday. Terrorists killed five Nigerian soldiers and an allied militiaman in an ambush on a military convoy in Nigeria's restive northeast Borno state, three security sources said.

US conducts first resupply of ballistic nuclear submarine by drone HAWAII AGENCIES

A drone was recently used to perform the first ship-to-submarine delivery via small unmanned aircraft.

During the historic flight, the long-endurance hybridelectric Skyfront Perimeter Drone took off from a moving surface vessel and delivered supplies to the crew of the ballistic missile submarine.

According to the US Navy, it was “designed to test

and evaluate the tactics, techniques, and procedures of U.S. Strategic Command's expeditionary logistics.” The small package was delivered to the deck of the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Henry M Jackson while crew members observed the flight. At the time, the submarine was underway in the waters around Hawaii.

During the flight, pilots aboard the surface vessel launched the drone and flew it near the submarine. Once there, pilots aboard the submarine took control of the drone and released the package onto the deck.

Australia defence chief vows changes after Afghanistan report SYDNEY AGENCIES

Australia’s top military official said on Sunday the country’s defence force must ‘own’ a recent report on soldiers committing crimes in Afghanistan and pledged changes to ensure that atrocities do not happen again. The report, published on Thursday after an inquiry into the conduct of special forces personnel in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016, found that senior commandos forced junior soldiers to kill defenceless captives in order to “blood” them for combat. Defence Force Chief General Angus Campbell said on Sunday he would be held to account to ensure the report was dealt with thoroughly, as well as for duty and performance as the commander in the Middle East in 2011. “I want the ADF (Australia Defence Force) to acknowledge that this is something we’ve got to own because if we don’t own it, we won’t fix it and if we don’t fix it, this horror may appear again and I just cannot accept that,” Campbell told ABC television. The report, which recommended referring 19 current and former soldiers for potential prosecution, caused shame and anger in Australia, a country that usually honours its military history with fervour. “I see layers of responsibility here,” Campbell said.

Georgia to hold 2nd recount after certifying Biden victory JUdge diSmiSSeS TrUmp'S bid To STop pennSylvania voTe cerTificaTion GEORGIA AGENCIES

Georgia will conduct a recount after the Trump campaign requested a second review of presidential ballots. Joe Biden has already been certified as the victor in the state.

In a statement, the Trump campaign said that it was “focused on ensuring that every aspect of Georgia State Law and the US

Constitution are followed so that every legal vote is counted,” and also called for signature matching for mail-in ballots and “other vital safeguards.”

After receiving the request, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger informed county election directors to prepare for the recount and to notify political parties so they could assign observers to respective polling sites.

The recount will be done using scanners that read and tabulate the votes. However, the process of recounting the ballots will not include signature matching.

The incumbent Republican president was allowed to ask for a recount after certification of the results because the margin of

victory is still less than 0.5 percent. Trump’s Democratic Party challenger was declared the winner of the state on Friday. He received 12,670 more votes than Trump did in the traditionally red state, giving him a 0.2 percent lead.

Georgia has already carried out a full recount by hand, which stemmed from a partial audit of the presidential ballots. State law requires that one race be audited by hand to double-check machine tabulations. Raffensperger chose to review the presidential results, but the audit turned into a full recount due to the close margin of the electoral contest.

The Trump campaign dismissed the first recount because it did not verify the signatures of mail-in ballots, raising questions

about why it pursued a second review which also won’t scrutinize absentee votes.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump has been dealt a new setback in his effort to overturn the United States’s November 3 election results as a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by his campaign that sought to throw out millions of mail-in votes in the state of Pennsylvania.

US District Court Judge Matthew Brann ruled on Saturday that Trump’s campaign had failed to demonstrate there had been widespread voting fraud in the vote, which the incumbent president lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

“This Court has been presented with strained legal arguments without merit and

speculative accusations,” Brann wrote.

“In the United States of America, this cannot justify the disenfranchisement of a single voter, let alone all the voters of its sixth most populated state,” the scathing opinion said. “Our people, laws, and institutions demand more.”

The lawsuit before Brann was filed on November 9 and had alleged inconsistent treatment by county election officials of mail-in ballots. Some counties notified voters that they could fix minor defects such as missing “secrecy envelopes” while others did not.

“This claim, like Frankenstein’s Monster, has been haphazardly stitched together,” wrote Brann.

Monday, 23 November, 2020

PakiStaN ready to hoSt toP CriCketiNg NatioNS iN 2021 ISLAMABAD

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AGENCIES

FTER nearly a decade of hosting no home test matches due to a militant attack on a rival team’s bus in 2009, Pakistan says it’s ready to welcome major cricketing nations like South Africa, New Zealand, England and West Indies in 2021.

“We’re working hugely in terms of building relationships, nurturing those relationships with (other) cricket boards,” Wasim Khan, chief executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), told The Associated Press.

South Africa is due to visit Pakistan in January to play a two-test series which is part of the world test championship, followed by three T20s.

New Zealand is penciled in for three ODIs and five T20s in September, followed by two T20s against England at Karachi. It will be England’s first tour to Pakistan since 2005.

The PCB has also planned a home series against West Indies in December. “We have a chock-a-block eight to 10 months coming up for us on the road playing at home,” Khan said.

“We’re also in discussions with Cricket Australia. They’re due to be touring during the 2022 season, we’re looking at them coming for an extended period of time,” he added.

When Sri Lanka’s team bus came under a militant attack in March 2009, the doors of international cricket re-

mained shut on Pakistan until Zimbabwe became the first test-playing nation to play the limited-overs series at Lahore in 2015.

A bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricketers, part of a larger convoy, was fired upon by 12 gunmen near Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The cricketers were on their way to play the third day of the second test against Pakistan.

Six Pakistan police officers and two civilians were killed and six members of the Sri Lanka team were wounded. The rest of the test match and tour was called off.

Test cricket only returned to Pakistan late last year when Sri Lanka played two five-day games at Rawalpindi and Karachi. Bangladesh also played a test match before its second test was called off due to Covid19. In between the Zimbabwe and

Bangladesh tours, the Pakistan Super League — a franchise-based domestic T20 league — played a big role in pressing Pakistan’s claims to host international games.

Players like Shane Watson of Australia and South Africa’s Dale Steyn and Faf du Plessis were among some big names that toured Pakistan and have played for various city-based franchise teams. Khan believes these players had a significant role in portraying Pakistan’s improving image among cricket-playing nations.

“A lot of these players go back to their own countries […] and say, you know what? Pakistan is one of the safest places to play,” Khan said.

“These are those cricketers who are associated with their own cricket boards, who are international cricketers, who perhaps had a [different] perception of

Pakistan before they came here.”

Tight security with cricket team buses heavily guarded by armed personnel is quite normal in Pakistan whenever overseas contingents travel to the stadium from hotels, often blocking already heavy traffic on major roads of big cities like Lahore and Karachi. “Yes, we’ll continue to provide state-level security for as long as possible, we’ll never become complacent,” Khan said.

Khan also wants to organise a limited-overs series against neighboring Afghanistan somewhere next year, after Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Kabul and extended an invitation to the Afghan national team this week.

“We will do everything we can to find a slot in the calendar to arrange fixtures against Afghanistan,” Wasim Khan said.

While Khan has managed to liaise with almost all the cricketing boards around the world since he joined the PCB last year, he does not expect a resumption of the Pakistan-India cricket rivalry anytime soon.

Political tensions between India and Pakistan, especially over a longstanding territorial dispute in the Kashmir region, have seen both countries playing against each other only in major international tournaments like Champions Trophy and World Cups.

“Should we be playing India? Absolutely,” Khan said. “Could we be playing them? Probably not for the foreseeable future.”

Dovizioso ‘very angry’ over final Ducati MotoGP qualifying AGENCIES Andrea Dovizioso says he is angry with his final qualifying session as a Ducati MotoGP rider after only managing 12th for the Portuguese Grand Prix.

Dovizioso will depart Ducati at the end of this weekend and take a sabbatical from MotoGP in 2021 with a view to returning in 2022.

He will start what may potentially be his final MotoGP race from 12th on the grid, leaving him disappointed because he thinks his race pace is “interesting”. “About my qualifying, I’m very angry and disappointed because my pace improved practice by practice and my pace for the race is interesting,” said Dovizioso. “For many reasons it was important to start on the first two rows because it’s very, very difficult to overtake in this track because you have to ride always with angle.

“There isn’t a really hard brake, and with the characteristics of the Michelin you can’t brake too late and aggressive. As you can see, a lot of riders did a lot of mistakes on braking, because we lock the front so easy with angle and it’s very, very difficult. I think if you start in front with a fast rider

you can follow them because it’s more about flowing at this track. “If you can follow somebody, you can be much faster in most of the track. In the race, if you are not that far from your pace you can make that [up]. So, very disappointed because what we needed was a good position on the grid.

But we will see.

“We didn’t lose everything because we are fighting for the [constructors’] championship with a lot of riders and they are around me. The start is very important because the first two corners are tight and it’s almost impossible to gain a position.

We have to stay focused because the speed is there.” Though not a fan of the layout of the circuit, because it is at odds with his riding style, Dovizioso admits Algarve is a good place for him to end his Ducati career. “I was very happy to make the last race in a new track,” he added. “It’s a wonderful place but I don’t like the layout that much, but just because of my characteristics and my style is different. “Normally I’m a hard braker, Malaysia, Japan are completely different tracks [to Algarve] and it’s what I love. But anyway, to finish here is a really nice place.”

SPORTS 11 Vettel now comfortable with Ferrari SF1000 after 'difficult season': Binotto It may have taken most of the season, but Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto believes out-going driver Sebastian Vettel is now comfortable with the car, which in turn has had a positive impact on his form. Vettel scored his first podium since last year’s Mexican Grand Prix with third in Turkey, the German’s season characterised by the fact that that points score nearly doubled his tally for the entire season. His team mate Charles Leclerc, in contrast has scored nearly three times his total with 97. Ferrari have brought a string of updates to the last few races and each time, they appeared to make the car better, with Vettel starting to get to grips with the SF1000 and getting a better feel for his driving. Circumstances were unusual in Turkey, with a new surface and cold, wet conditions, but nonetheless, it was a striking performance from Vettel, who showed there’s life in the old dog yet, ahead of his move to Aston Martin. 'Nearly had him!' - Vettel crosses the line for P3 in Turkish GP “I’m very pleased for Sebastian,” said Binotto. “I think a podium for him is very important, finishing third. It’s been a difficult season for him. I think he has started, at least now at the end of the season, to be comfortable with the car and he’s delivering better. “I think on Sunday, he made a good result, at the start, very consistent, good pace, managing the tyres, and defending the positions.

“On the last lap, he did well, he took the opportunity – it’s great for him, he finished third, very close to [Sergio] Perez.

I’m happy for him. Still three races, hopefully we do well in the next one.” With Leclerc taking fourth in Turkey, Ferrari got their best points haul of the season and have now opened the door to the possibility of fighting for P3 in the constructors’ championship, the red team slashing the gap to Racing point to 24 points with three races to go. AGENCIES

Fakhar Zaman ruled out of NZ tour after developing Covid symptoms Fakhar Zaman will miss Pakistan's tour of New Zealand, with the Pakistan batsman dropped from the touring party as a precautionary measure after developing potential Covid19 symptoms. The PCB announced in a press release that Zaman had tested negative as recently as Saturday, but after developing a fever while isolating with the rest of the team at a hotel in Lahore, he was left out as a precautionary measure. "Fakhar's Covid test report was received on Saturday which came out negative but today he picked up fever. As soon as his condition was reported, he was isolated from the rest of the squad in the team hotel. We are constantly monitoring his condition and remain hopeful of his quick recovery; however he is not fit to travel with the squad and as such has been withdrawn from the touring party," Pakistan team doctor Sohail Saleem said. The practical implication of Zaman's absence means Pakistan will need a replacement at the top of the order for the three T20Is they are scheduled to play against New Zealand; the left-handed opener is not currently a contender for a Test slot. Zaman's international form, particularly in the shortest format, has been something of a lingering concern for Pakistan; he has scored more than 25 runs in an innings only once for more than two years. In the recent T20I series against Zimbabwe, where most of Pakistan's batsmen made hay chasing low targets against bowling opposition that was, by international standards, less than intimidating, he managed 45 runs at an average of 15. His form in domestic T20 competitions has been vastly more impressive, he was the top scorer in the National T20 Cup, and the second highest scorer in this year's PSL. ESPNcricinfo understands there is no chance of the player linking up with the team at a later date due to the stringent quarantine measures the touring party will need to observe upon touching down in New Zealand. They tourist will be isolated in separate rooms, not permitted to mix with each other for the fortnight to be spent in quarantine. They will be tested on the third and twelfth days of isolation. AGENCIES

Formula 1: The only thing that can stop Lewis Hamilton from 8th world title JAKE BRIGSTOCK The dust has settled on the best race of the season in Turkey, where Lewis Hamilton clinched his seventh Formula 1 world championship with a sensational drive. Only he stands between himself and title number eight.

Last time out in the Turkish Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton once again proved his mastery of changeable conditions and ability to manipulate the tires to perform how he wants them to. In winning the race, he won his seventh Formula 1 world title, equaling Michael Schumacher’s record, one which many expected to never be beaten. It seems there is only one thing that will get in the way of him eclipsing the great Schumacher and adding an eighth to his tally, and that’s himself. An announcement made back in March made Hamilton and Mercedes the red hot favorites again for 2021. As the coronavirus pandemic brought a halt to the season opener in Australia earlier this year, days afterward, all 10 teams unanimously agreed to push back sweeping technical regulations from 2021 to 2022.

That means teams can use their chassis from this year heading into 2021, and that would prove to be music to the ears of Mercedes and Hamilton amid their turbo hybrid

era dominance, as nothing seems to be able to stop them. But that’s only if Hamilton signs with the team for next year.

Hamilton has not yet put pen to paper on a deal past this year, with team principal Toto Wolff saying the latest world title makes him even more expensive. Wolff has said that it is unlikely a deal will be done before the end of the season, but he is hopeful of tying down Hamilton to a new contract by the end of the calendar year.

It’s not just racing that matters to Hamilton. Shortly after winning his seventh world title, he said he feels he’s “just getting started” and is using his position as a platform for change in society and the sport.

He’s also said, speaking to the official Formula 1 website: “I’m very conscious of the idea that I do want to continue with Mercedes; I’d love to help them on this quest pushing for change. They’re obviously making their cars green and electrifying more, and I’d like to help them on that road.”

This year in particular, he has campaigned for equality, championed the Black Lives Matter movement throughout and said he wants to help the sport become carbon neutral on the podium after winning title number seven.

Performances on the track speak for themselves. Since the hybrid turbo era began back in 2014, Mercedes have been unstoppable, scooping up all seven constructor titles and all seven driver titles, with Hamilton winning all driver titles with the exception of 2016, when teammate Nico Rosberg clinched it in the final race in Abu Dhabi.

While Rosberg kept Hamilton fairly honest throughout all four seasons when they were teammates, Valtteri Bottas has not yet held a torch to his rival in the four campaigns they’ve been together. Bottas has won nine races compared to Hamilton’s 41 since they became teammates. Rosberg won 22 compared to Hamilton’s 32 in their four years.

To put that in perspective, Rosberg and Bottas have both won nine races since the 2016 season started, and the former retired four years ago. So it doesn’t seem that Hamilton will be tested too much from the opposing side of the garage, and with the technical rule changes being pushed back a year, Mercedes and Hamilton hold all the aces once again going into 2021. But this is all if he signs. If he does, expect history to be made.

This article was originally published on Beyond The Flag.

CMYK

Monday, 23 November, 2020

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G20 leaders seek to help poorest nations in post-Covid world BEIJING/DUBAI/WASHINGTON

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EADERS of the 20 biggest economies on Saturday vowed to ensure a fair distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, drugs and tests around the world and do what was needed to support poorer countries struggling to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

“We will spare no effort to ensure their affordable and equitable access for all people, consistent with members’ commitments to incentivize innovation,” the leaders said in a draft G20 communique seen by Reuters.

“We recognise the role of extensive immunization as a global public good.”

The twin crises of the pandemic and an uneven, uncertain global recovery dominated the first day of a two-day summit under the chairmanship of Saudi Arabia, which hands off the rotating presidency of the G20 to Italy next month.

The Covid-19 pandemic, which has

thrown the global economy into a deep recession this year, and efforts needed to underpin an economic rebound in 2021, were at the top of the agenda.

“We must work to create the conditions for affordable and equitable access to these tools for all peoples,” Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz said in his opening remarks.

G20 leaders are concerned that the pandemic might further deepen global divisions between the rich and the poor.

“We need to avoid at all costs a scenario of a two-speed world where only the richer can protect themselves against the virus and restart normal lives,” French President Emmanuel Macron told the summit.

To do that, the European Union urged G20 leaders quickly to put more money into a global project for vaccines, tests and therapeutics – called Access to Covid-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator – and its COVAX facility to distribute vaccines.

“At the G20 Summit I called for $4.5 billion to be invested in ACT Accelerator by

Pakistan acquires $800m in debt relief from G20, awaits $1bn more Pakistan has so far secured $800 million worth of debt freeze deals from 14 members of the richest G-20 countries, while awaits ratification worth $1 billion by the remaining six countries.

It may be recalled that Pakistan along with 76 other poor African countries had qualified for the G-20 debt relief initiative, announced in April this year for May-December 2020 period, to combat the downturn brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Countries with which Pakistan has not yet finalised debt rescheduling modalities include Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United Kingdom (UK).

According to a report by the Express Tribune which quotes government sources, 14 countries ratified their agreements with Pakistan during the past seven months,

which has provided fiscal space of $800 million to Islamabad for the time being.

In addition to these 14 nations, two other countries had also approached to extend debt relief to Pakistan.

The Express Tribune claims that although six countries have not yet ratified the debt relief related agreements, the G20 members are expected to conclude the deal before the end of December.

Further, Pakistan was not making repayments to these six countries too, on the understanding that these members would eventually sign-off the deals. So far, Pakistani authorities have entered into 27 debt rescheduling agreements with about 16 countries, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

It may be mentioned here that the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on Friday. NEWS DESK

the end of 2020, for procurement & delivery of Covid-19 tests, treatments and vaccines everywhere,” European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said on Twitter.

“We need to show global solidarity,” she said.

Germany was contributing more than 500 million euros ($592.65 million) to the effort, Chancellor Angela Merkel told the G20, urging other countries to do their part, according to a text of her remarks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to provide Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine to other countries and said Moscow was also preparing a second and third vaccine.

China, where the pandemic originated a year ago, also offered to cooperate on vaccines.

China has five home-grown candidates for a vaccine undergoing the last phase of trials.

“China is willing to strengthen cooperation with other countries in the research and development, production, and distribution of vaccines,” President Xi Jinping told

the G20 Summit.

“We will … offer help and support to other developing countries, and work hard to make vaccines a public good that citizens of all countries can use and can afford,” he said.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who lost the U.S. presidential election but has refused to concede to former Vice President Joe Biden, addressed G20 leaders briefly before going golfing. He discussed the need to work together to restore economic growth, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a summary released late on Saturday.

She made no mention of any U.S. pledge to support the global vaccine distribution effort. One European source said Trump’s remarks were focused on what he described as an unprecedented U.S. recovery and the U.S. drive to develop its own vaccines.

PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE: To prepare for future outbreaks, the EU is proposing a treaty on pandemics. “An international treaty would help us respond more quickly and in a more coordinated manner,” Euro-

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pean Council President Charles Michel told the G20.

While the global economy is recovering from the depths of the crisis, momentum is slowing in countries with resurgent infection rates and the pandemic is likely to leave deep scars, the International Monetary Fund said in a report for the summit.

Especially vulnerable are poor and highly indebted countries, which are “on the precipice of financial ruin and escalating poverty, hunger and untold suffering”, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday.

To address this, the G20 will endorse a plan to extend a freeze in debt service payments by the poorest countries to mid-2021 and endorse a common approach for dealing with debt problems beyond that, the draft communique said.

World Bank President David Malpass warned the G20 that failing to provide more permanent debt relief to some countries now could lead to increased poverty and a repeat of the disorderly defaults of the 1980s.

The G20 debt relief initiative has helped 46 countries defer $5.7 billion in debt service payments, but that is far short of the 73 countries that were eligible, and promised savings of around $12 billion. Private sector participation is seen as critical to ensuring broader use of the initiative.

Debt relief for Africa will be an important theme of the Italian presidency of the G20 in 2021.

Pakistan calls for increased funds for UN’s SDGs in developing countries UNITED NATIONS APP

Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) and UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) President Ambassador Munir Akram has called for scaling up financing from all sources for getting back on track for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adding that rebuilding better after the pandemic will not be an easy task.

He was speaking during a virtual joint meeting of the UN ECOSOC and the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) held on Saturday to discuss ways to forge solidarity and develop conflict-sensitive responses to the

coronavirus pandemic.

The meeting also examined the nexus between the developmental and the security aspects of the crisis.

The international community, Ambassador Akram said, must display a willingness to address structural challenges and inequalities, which are the underlying causes of many of the economic challenges and threats to peace and security which abound across the world.

“We must have the political will to, for example, reform the financial architecture to build an inclusive and equitable debt management system to have preferential banking regulations for developing countries, to

build a fair international tax regime, to end illicit financial flows, and to restructure the international trade regime to offer an equal opportunity for developing countries to grow their exports, and to grow their economies,” the ECOSOC president said.

Further, PBC Chairman Ambassador Robert Keith Rae also underscored the pandemic’s economic impact and called for an integrated and multi-sectorial global response that puts economic recovery and people’s livelihoods at the heart of peacebuilding.

“It’s not a good picture; many countries are one or two shocks away from falling into a deep crisis,” he said.

Covid-19 vaccine to cost up to $37 per dose: Moderna CEO BERLIN AGENCIES

Governments will have to pay between $25 and $37 per dose of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine, the boss of the US biotech firm has revealed in an interview with the German weekly Welt am Sonntag.

“That's a fair price, given the cost to the health system, when a person becomes seriously ill with Covid-19,” Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said.

While the final price per dose will depend on the size of the order, Bancel said the company is not interested in “maximum profit” and compared the price of the vaccine to that of the flu jab. Moderna wants to produce some 20 million doses by the end of the year, with some set to be distributed in Europe this year.

“Our vaccine therefore costs about the same as a flu shot, which is between $10 and $50,” Bancel said.

Moderna is currently negotiating the supply of the vaccine with the European Commission. One of the main issues the sides are set to agree on is the reservation fee.

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

While no contract has been signed so far, the talks are in the final stage, he said, adding it is just a “matter of days” until a deal is finalized.

The upper end of the Moderna vaccine price has not changed much from August, when the Massachusetts-based company announced a dose would cost between $32 to $37. The firm said that was below the real value of the vaccine, but that it intended to keep the cheaper “pandemic pricing” until the virus is under control.

However, a small order of the Moderna vaccine could be almost twice as expensive as the Covid-19 vaccine candidate developed by US drugmaker Pfizer and German biotech firm BioNTech.