EpaperISB_20-12-17

Thursday, 17 December, 2020 I 30 Rabi al-Akhir, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 168 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition

Pakistan records highest number of covid-19 deaths in five months g

105 Die oF coronavirus as 2,731 new cases emerge

ISLAMABAD staff report

t

He number of daily deaths from coronavirus-related complications crossed the grim milestone of 100 for the first time in five months with the contagious disease spreading fast in Karachi. the government portal keeping track of the disease in Pakistan posted 105 fatalities in the last 24 hours, the highest single-day toll since the peak of the first wave in June, taking the death toll to 9,010 since February when the country reported its first coronavirus infection. the portal reported 2,731 new cases after conducting 38,028 tests — a positivity ratio of 7.18 per cent. the new infections increased the coronavirus total to 445,977. according to the nationwide breakdown, Punjab recorded 535 new infections, taking the provincial caseload to 128,673.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan posted 466 and 25 new infections respectively while islamabad, gilgit-Baltistan (gB) and azad Jammu and Kashmir (aJK) collectively reported 185 new cases. the positivity rate was recorded at 14.8 per cent in sindh, 11.3 per cent in Khyber

Pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

443,246

LAST UPDATED AT 8:04 AM ON DECEMBER 16, 2020

105

RECOVERED:

NEW CASES:

2,265 DEATHS:

388,598 9,010 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

198,482

128,673

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

AJK/GB:

ISLAMABAD:

53,253

Dr Faisal says vaccine no excuse to DisregarD soPs

Pakhtunkhwa, 5 per cent in aJK, 4.9 per cent in Balochistan, 3.2 per cent in Punjab and 1.6 per cent in gB. Karachi has been especially hard hit with a daily positivity rate of 18.76 per cent. it stood at 16.56 per cent in Hyderabad, 15.99 per cent in Peshawar, 6.15 per cent in rawalpindi, 5.8 per cent in Quetta, 5.31 per cent in mirpur, 3.8 per cent in abbottabad, 3.46 per cent in swat, 2.94 per cent in islamabad, 2.71 per cent in multan, 2.67 per cent in Faisalabad, 1.8 per cent in muzaffarabad and 1.45 per cent in gilgit.

Despite an intense second wave, the country has yet to utilise its full testing capacity of 75,303, with daily testing significantly below numbers proposed by global health experts. according to the world Health organisation (wHo), the government’s testing policies likely only record the most symptomatic patients while ignoring the spread among asymptomatic carriers, which studies suggest comprise the majority of infections nationwide.

Despite repeated requests from the government, most citizens appear to still not adhere to social distancing rules, causing a fresh surge in the country that until recently had kept coronavirus deaths

coronavirus in

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

g

17,796

7,771/4,799 35,203

in double digits. meanwhile, Prime minister’s national task Force on science and technology chairman Dr attaur rehman has said a vaccine for the coronavirus would be available in Pakistan in the next two months.

He reiterated that the first priority would be given to healthcare workers, adding that the process to vaccinate the entire population would take some time due to a large population. separately, special assistant to Prime minister (saPm) on Health Dr Faisal sultan on wednesday said that the invention of a covid-19 vaccine is no reason to stop following the guidelines and standard operating procedures (soPs). while addressing a press conference after a meeting of health ministers and provincial representative, the saom said that the government is committed to obtaining the vaccine and that the ministers and representatives have been briefed on the vaccine strategy. “the federal government will make it possible for an effective vaccine to be available in the country,” he said, adding that several steps were already taken in this regard.

He added that the government would soon clarify which vaccines would be available, but reminded everyone to follow the soPs, including wearing face masks, avoiding crowded places, keeping one’s hands clean, make sure that rooms are well ventilated, and maintaining a social distance of six feet at least.

wHo vaccine scheme risks failure, leaving poor countries no covid shots until 2024 STORY ON BACK PAGE

On sixth anniversary of APS massacre, Pakistan stands united against terrorism ISLAMABAD staff report

Pakistan on wednesday observed the sixth anniversary of the tragic terrorist attack on the army Public school (aPs) Peshawar, wherein 147 people, including students and teachers, were martyred, making it one of the deadliest acts of terrorism in the country’s history.

President arif alvi said that the incident brought tears in the eyes of the nation. He said that the children laid their lives and brought focus of the nation to suppress terrorism with all its might.

Prime minister imran Khan said that Pakistan remains determined and is moving forward in fulfilling its commitment against the menace of terrorism. in a tweet, he said that the extreme act of terrorism against children and teachers of aPs Peshawar six years ago shocked and grieved the entire nation. He said that the nation came together with a resolve to take on those responsible. “after the aPs attack in 2014, our people had decided to fight the war against terrorism together and now you can see that the lawand-order situation of the country is completely different,” he said. ministry of Foreign affairs said

Pakistan wants durable peace in Afghanistan: Qureshi ISLAMABAD staff report

Foreign minister shah mahmood Qureshi has said that Pakistan desires durable peace in afghanistan. the foreign minister said this while talking to a delegation of the taliban Political commission led by mullah abdul ghani Baradar in islamabad on wednesday. the minister said that Pakistan played its possible reconciliatory role in the agreement reached between the afghan taliban and the united states in Doha. He said that agreement on the rules for intra-afghan talks is a welcome development. the foreign minister stated that peace in afghanistan is imperative for peace and stability in the entire region. He further underscored that Pakistan and afghanistan share similar customs and are both muslim-majority states; therefore, both the countries should work closely to bring peace to the region.

Qureshi said that Pakistan has been stating since the beginning that the only way for peace in afghanistan is meaningful and comprehensive dia-

that the massacre continues to remain a scar on the collective memory of the nation. “we cannot forget the agony of this day,” it stated on twitter. national assembly (na) speaker asad Qaiser paid tribute to the martyred children and teachers. in a statement on wednesday, he said that December 16 was the darkest day in the history of Pakistan. the speaker said that the whole nation salutes the martyrs in the war on terror and it is united against terrorism. He said that armed forces of the country have eliminated the menace of terrorism with the support of the entire nation. minister for information and Broadcasting shibli Faraz said, “we must reaffirm our commitment that we will not let the successes against terrorism go waste.” in a tweet, he said that on December 16 every year, the anniversary of the aPs tragedy renews pain in the hearts of the nation when terrorists martyred innocent kids and gave the nation an unforgettable grief. the minister said that the personnel of the armed forces and the law enforcement agencies as well as a large number of people rendered sacrifices in the war on terror.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

more inside

PM Imran confirms govt approached SC for ‘show of hand’ elections STORY ON PAGE 02

logue. He said that Pakistan wants promotion of multifaceted ties with afghanistan. the afghan taliban delegation head mullah abdul ghani Baradar lauded Pakistan’s reconciliatory efforts for peace in afghanistan. in a meeting with the head of taliban’s political office in Qatar mullah Baradar akhund and his eight-member delegation, earlier, the delegation of the taliban Political commission arrived at new islamabad international airport (iia) on wednesday morning from Doha on flight Qr-632. the delegation was received by senior Pakistani officials and escorted

under tight security.

During their visit, the afghan delegation will meet Prime minister imran Khan and hold talks with senior government officials, pertaining to Pak-afghan peace talks.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Pm imran reiterates Pakistan’s support for afghan peace process STORY ON PAGE 02

armed forces prepared to vanquish threats in all domains: coas STORY ON PAGE 02

DisinfoLab report vindicates Pakistan’s stance on India: Faraz STORY ON PAGE 02

sc rejects Bahria town’s request for delay in penalty STORY ON PAGE 03

02

Thursday, 17 December, 2020

NEWS

PM FOr IMPrOvIng MOBILe, Internet COverAge In trIBAL DIStrICtS PESHAWAR

P

STAFF REPORT

RIME Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday directed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet members to regularly visit their constituencies to ensure speedy redressal of problems being faced by the people.

Chairing a meeting of KP cabinet members in Peshawar, the PM issued directions to improve the mobile and internet coverage in the tribal districts, besides enhancing the scope of Kamyab Jawaan Programme to the tribal districts.

The PM stressed on promotion of tourism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said that this will enhance the revenue and increase job opportunities.

IMRAN STRESSES PROMOTION OF TOURISM IN KP, PROMISES LOANS FOR YOUTH Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan informed the Prime Minister that the performance of all the ministries is reviewed on a monthly basis.

Meanwhile, talking to media persons at Governor House in Peshawar, Prime Minister Imran Khan said the government is mulling over to approach the Supreme Court for conducting the Senate elections through show of hand. He said consultations are underway over the legal aspects as the government believes in transparent and fair conduct of the

elections. The premier said that horsetrading in the Senate elections remained very easy for the governments in the past, but he expelled 20 provincial assembly members from the Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf over their alleged involvement in the practice. Referring to the Pakistan Democratic Movement, Imran Khan said there is no threat to the PTI government from the opposition’s gatherings. He said the opposition has sought a 34-page NRO which would not be granted to them.

Separately, Prime Minister Imran Khan

assured to fully back the youth to promote the tourism and IT industries. He was addressing a ceremony in connection with

PM Imran confirms govt approached SC for 'show of hand' elections NEWS DESK

COAS observes air defence weapon system RAWALPINDI STAFF REPORT

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan visited a field exercise area near Gujranwala on Wednesday to witness the ongoing field exercises, particularly those related to air defence systems.

COAS and CAS witnessed ongoing field exercises, where concepts related to optimum use of Long Range Air Defence (LRAD) weapon systems and airspace management were being practised.

The exercise showcased the concept of 'Comprehensive Layered Integrated Air Defence' in which aerial weapons of all regimes were incorporated. The exercise was aimed at achieving optimum synergy amongst air defence elements, manoeuvring forces and all aerial platforms, including fighter aircraft, helicopters and drones. Its purpose is to improve the mastery of the army's response against any misadventure by the enemy.

Lieutenant General Hamood Uz Zaman Khan, Commander Army Air Defence Command received the COAS and CAS. Corps Commanders Mangla and Gujranwala were also present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion COAS lauded the professionalism of Army Air Defence and expressed complete satisfaction on operational readiness. There is a need for greater cooperation, integration and synchronisation to tackle complex and fluid battlefield challenges that lie ahead, COAS emphasised. Pakistan Armed Forces, with the support of our great nation, are fully prepared to vanquish threats in all domains, COAS concluded.

Bilawal, Maryam discuss 'frustration of selected government' on phone NEWS DESK Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday spoke on the phone to discuss the political situation arising "from the frustration of selected government" after the Pakistan Democratic Movement's (PDM) recent jalsas.

Bilawal also invited Maryam to his Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto's death anniversary during the telephonic conversation, according to Bilawal House's spokesperson. Matters of mutual interest, upcoming Senate elections, current political situation of the country and other issues were discussed during the phone call. The two PDM leaders reiterated their shared desire to oust the Prime Minister Imran Khan, and said that "no unconstitutional means" would take place during the Senate elections.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the incumbent government has approached the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan to move the apex court to allow a 'show of hands' procedure for the upcoming Senate elections. The above was said by the premier while talking to media persons in Peshawar on Wednesday. The PM added that the elections would be held earlier than usual and that he had been buried on the matter by Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan.

While speaking to the media, PM Imran also said that the opposition had asked him for a "34 page NRO" when he attempted to open dialogue. He reiterated that he would never bow down to these tactics.

Reportedly, a reference was filed in the SC under Article 186, seeking the opinion of the top court under the Constitution, in which case the government would be able to hold elections without amendment in the light of the

decision of the apex court.

A day earlier, the federal cabinet had decided to move the SC to seek permission to adopt the show of hands procedure for the Senate elections. During the meeting, chaired by PM Imran, the federal government had discussed the upcoming long march by Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and had also decided to hold Senate polls in February next year instead of following the March.

The federal government had received reports that the PDM was concerned that if Senate elections are held on time, the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its allies would secure a two-thirds majority and it subsequently would overtake lawmaking for the foreseeable future.

Purportedly, in order to prevent any destabilisation of the democratic process, the cabinet members decided to seek ECP’s approval to hold the elections in February.

Shehbaz-Bilawal meeting buried Maryam’s narrative: Firdous LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

Special Assistant to Punjab Chief Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has said that provision of best healthcare facilities to the people is a priority agenda of the Punjab government.

During a visit to Jinnah Hospital Lahore on Wednesday, Firdous said that in line with the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Universal Health Care programme has been launched across the country and under this programme health cards have been distributed among 5.2 million families so far.

She said that the government is fully committed to providing the best medical facilities to the people. She lauded the efforts and support of

Gohar Ijaz Trust in providing medical facilities to people at Jinnah Hospital and said that Gohar Ijaz Trust is a role model of publicprivate partnership which is not only providing free medical facilities to the people but also treating patients like a family.

She said that the Punjab government will further enhance such public-private partnership programmes in other hospitals for the provision of best medical facilities to the people. She also said that the government intends to hold a nursing convention soon in which a workable strategy will be worked out.

Later talking to the media, Firdous said that Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is a band of corrupt alligators which could consume everything but could

not exhale anything. Responding to the meeting between Shehbaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, she said, “The meeting has buried the narrative of Maryam Nawaz.”

Bilawal Bhutto sidelined Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif, she added.

She said that Shehbaz did not give any importance to Bilawal during the visit and disassociated himself from PDM narrative. Bilawal has now become a witness to the deep rifts in the Sharif family, she further said.

Firdous asked how could Maryam Nawaz unite 11 parties of PDM when she could not maintain the unity in her own family. She said that opposition is responsible for the increase in corona cases because opposition lured the innocent people

PM Imran reiterates Pakistan’s support for Afghan peace process ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Prime Minister Imran Khan held a telephonic conversation with Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani to discuss the progress in the ongoing Afghan peace process and strengthening of Pakistan-Afghanistan relations.

The prime minister reiterated Pakistan’s steadfast support for the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process for a political solution to the conflict in Afghanistan. He welcomed the recent progress in the

Intra-Afghan Negotiations in Doha.

PM Imran underlined that Pakistan’s outreach to all Afghan stakeholders was part of its facilitative efforts to ensure progress towards an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political settlement. The latest visit of Taliban Political Commission (TPC) to Pakistan is also in this context. The premier reiterated Pakistan’s call on all the Afghan sides for taking measures for reduction in violence leading to ceasefire.The two leaders agreed to continue their engagement for supporting the peace process and enhancing bilateral cooperation.

distribution of cheques amongst successful applicants under Kamyab Jawan program in Peshawar on Wednesday.

DisinfoLab report vindicates Pakistan’s stance on India: Faraz ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz has said that the Hindutva mindset of the Indian government has endangered peace in the region. Addressing a seminar titled "Understanding Hindutva Mindset and Indian Hegemonic Aspirations" in Islamabad on Wednesday, the information minister said that the Modi regime's agenda is based on hatred and its fascist steps have exposed the Indian claims of a secular state. Faraz further said that India has been trying to undermine and destabilise Pakistan. He said that Pakistan presents its perspective on regional issues on the basis of facts whereas India distorts facts and spreads false propaganda against Pakistan.

He also said that this has been vindicated in a recent report by EU-based DisinfoLab. The information minister regretted that the world is silent over such acts by India. He said that the DisinfoLab report has vindicated Pakistan’s stance as it has proved that India is using dirty tactics and distorting facts and spreading false propaganda against Pakistan. He regretted that the international community’s silence over fascist tactics of India is questionable as such Indian tactics have endangered the regional peace and stability. Pakistan will continue its endeavours to expose India, he added. He thanked India Study Centre (ISC) for organising a seminar on such an important topic as India is directly involved in terror activities in Pakistan.

Columnist Irfan Husain passes away ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Irfan Husain, retired civil servant-turnedcolumnist, died in Dorset, England on Wednesday morning, his son confirmed.

According to Shakir Husain, his father “slipped away gently” and that he was “grateful” for being “able to be with him”. In a column published in August, Husain had said that he had been diagnosed with a rare type of cancer nearly three years ago. Born in 1944 in Amritsar, Husain migrated to Pakistan with his family following Partition. After obtaining a master’s degree in economics, he joined the Civil Service of Pakistan in 1967 and served until 2004. According to his publisher Harper Collins, Husain “pursued a parallel and covert career as a freelance journalist for most of his working life, writing under a succession of pseudonyms”. First, as Mazdak, a nom de plume, and later by his real name, Husain became a columnist for Dawn, writing for over the last two decades. Husain also authored a book, Fatal Faultlines: Pakistan, Islam and the West, which was published in 2012.

Thursday, 17 December, 2020

NEWS

03

MAryAM FIxeS BLAMe On gOvt FOr OIL CrISIS LAHORE

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STAFF REPORT

AKISTAN Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz accused the government of Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf (PTI) of "incompetence" on Wednesday, two days after an inquiry into the recent petroleum crisis fixed the blame on the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) for the shortage of the commodity.

A 15-member commission, constituted on the direction of Prime Minister Imran Khan, hurled scathing accusations at the

entire oil supply chain, from policymakers to regulators and market players down to retail outlets, found a wide range of operations in the sector were "against law and rules, operating in a vacuum and without any check and balance".

Separately, the findings estimated the worth of oil smuggled from Iran at Rs250 billion. In its conclusion, the commission found itself "compelled to recommend" the dissolution of the oil regulator in addition to a performance audit of all the regulatory bodies including the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA),

Balochistan govt on verge of collapse after AnP decides to quit QUETTA INP

Balochistan Awami Party-led (BAP) government of Balochistan is at the risk of collapse after the Awami National Party (ANP), a part of the ruling coalition, announced to resign from the legislative assembly in pursuance of the decision made by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), INP reported Wednesday citing sources. The four MPAs are expected to submit their resignations to the party leadership before the weekend, the sources added. In this regard, Balochistan Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives Zmarak Khan Achakzai, an ANP leader, said the party would implement the decisions taken by the PDM leadership and tender their resignations. The decision comes as 23 opposition members in the Balochistan assembly are said to have submitted their resignations to their respective party leaders. 11 of them belong to JUI-F, 10 to Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) and one from Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP). Meanwhile, former Balochistan chief minister Nawab Aslam Raisani – who was elected as an independent candidate – is also expected to resign. The provincial assembly has 65 members: BAP 24, JUI-F 11 (they contested the 2018 elections on the MMA platform) BNP-M 10, PTI seven, ANP four, BNP-Awami three, Hazara Democratic Party (HDP) two, PML-N one (Sanaullah Zehri who has left from the party), PkMAP one, JWP one and an independent.

FIA seeks permission to probe Shehbaz, Hamza in prison LAHORE TLTP

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has asked the Punjab inspector general (IG) prisons for permission to investigate incarcerated Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz in jail in a Rs25 billion money laundering case. The FIA wrote a letter to the IG prisons, stating that its anti-corruption wing has initiated a probe into the money laundering charges against the father-son duo and wants to investigate them in Kot Lakhpat Jail. The agency asked the prison department to make necessary arrangements in this regard. On November 11, an accountability court indicted Shehbaz, his son Hamza, daughter and other family members in a money laundering reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Shehbaz Sharif’s daughter Javeria Ali along with seven other nominated accused appeared before the court.

Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) and Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP).

Commenting on the findings of the report, Maryam claimed it confirms "what we already knew".

"The crises was a direct result of the Selected’s incompetence, poor decision making and above all corrupt practices. This is exactly why he needs to go and is on his way out Insha’Allah," she tweeted.

"As if we had [a] shortage of scams sugar, wheat, LNG, medicines, now the oil scam. All multi-billion dollars scams reflecting incompetence, poor decision making and looting & plundering the masses

to benefit SELECTED & his cronies," she declared in a subsequent tweet.

THE REPORT: The report said the petroleum division’s decision to impose a ban on petrol import in March was wrong in the first place from a strategic and policy perspective, but oil marketing companies (OMCs) violated it.

It said that when the ban was imposed, petrol prices were at the lowest ebb in the international market and Pakistan and its consumers were denied its benefit. The petroleum division and director general (oil) failed to ensure the lifting of stocks by the OMCs from February to April 2020. The OMCs simply refused to lift quotas from

Bilawal ready to sacrifice Sindh govt to overthrow premier NEWS DESK Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that the entire party is ready to tender their resignations and give up the provincial assembly in Sindh in order to overthrow Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government as part of the “atom bomb” strategy of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

“All of us, including me, have decided to resign,” Bilawal told reporters in Lahore on Wednesday.

"I have said this before and am reiterating that if sacrifice of the Sindh government and the National Assembly is needed for the sake of democracy [...] then we are ready to make this sacrifice, but the strategy and process for it will be decided by the PDM leadership," he added.

Insisting that the premier will have to leave office by January 31, 2021, Bilawal took a jab at the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government and said while there may be no amnesty for the Opposition, the ruling party allows

terrorists to go free. He was referring to the escape of Ehsanullah Ehsan, the former spokesperson for the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Bilawal claimed that the ruling party did not have the "strength and effort to take action against terrorists", and instead it focused on "political opponents, bloggers and media owners".

He also criticised the incumbent government for letting "killers of our APS children" escape while addressing the media on the sixth anniversary of the Army Public School attack in Peshawar. He also said that the incumbent government is making “no effort” to reduce the burden of the sugar, petrol, and flour crises on the common man. “Our inflation rate is the worst in the region,” he added.

Referring to the cabinet decision to hold elections through a show of hands, Bilawal said that the PTI wants to “play unfairly” as they do not have a majority in the Senate.

In regard to the PDM’s plan on holding a long march towards the

federal capital, the PPP chairman said that they “want to implement such a strategy and use it in such a way that the country is not thrust into that difficult situation”.

He admitted that when such measures were taken in the past, “third-party forces” had taken advantage of the situation.

“We want to restore democracy in the country,” he said, while in the same breath adding that “the time for a national dialogue has expired”.

Drawing attention to his political pedigree, he said: “We know the workings of resistance and negotiations both." The PPP chairman insisted that talks cannot talk place while Imran Khan is at the helm. When asked about his meeting with PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif at Kot Lakhpath Jail on Tuesday, Bilawal said that he had gone there to offer condolences over the demise of Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz’s mother, Begum Shamim Akhtar.

“But when two politicians meet, there is obviously talk of politics,” he quipped. “We spoke on strengthening the PDM.”

SC rejects Bahria Town's request for delay in penalty ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday rejected an application from Bahria Town seeking a three-year delay in the payments of a penalty if had agreed to pay for the underpriced acquisition of land in Karachi. The real estate group in March last agreed to pay Rs460 billion for the land acquired for Bahria Town Karachi in the Malir district in return for a restraint on the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) that sought to file references against the developer for grabbing prime land at throwaway prices. In a petition filed Tuesday, the developer sought to freeze the payment plan in view of Covid19-related recession, requesting that the payment of Rs2.5bn monthly instalments be deferred for three years — till September 2023.

A three-judge bench headed by Justice Ijazul Ahsan heard the application filed by senior counsel Syed Ali Zafar on behalf of the developer and its chairman Malik Riaz Hussain.

The counsel for developer argued in the court that businesses the world over had been devastated due to the pandemic and according to economic reports, hundreds of thousands of people had been rendered jobless.

He suggested that the group's operations had been badly harmed by the economic downturn as well.

However, the court through a short order rejected the application. Justice Munib Akhtar remarked the "Supreme Court is not a bank where concession can be obtained through negotiations."

The real estate group is supposed to furnish before the Supreme Court Rs2.5bn by the seventh of every month.

Shutdown after last animals removed from Islamabad zoo AGENCIES The only zoo in Islamabad — which drew international condemnation for its treatment of lonely elephant Kaavan — closed on Wednesday after its final occupants were relocated abroad.

Two Himalayan bears named Bubloo and Suzie were the last to leave the Islamabad facility, almost three weeks after the country's only Asian elephant was flown to a wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia.

“The Islamabad zoo is now completely closed for both public and officials,” Saleem Shaikh, a spokesman for Pakistan's ministry of climate change told AFP. “Both the bears will be flown to a sanctuary in Jordan.”

Shaikh said the move was arranged with the help of Four Paws International — the same group that spearheaded the relocation of Kaavan whose plight was championed by singer and Oscar-winning

American actress Cher.

She flew to Pakistan to see the elephant's departure, and then to Cambodia to watch him arrive.

The ailing health of Kaavan, an overweight, 35year-old bull, highlighted the woeful state of Islamabad's zoo, where conditions were so bad that the Islamabad High Court judge in May ordered all animals to be moved.

Two lions died during their relocation when zookeepers attempted to pry them from their pen by setting ablaze piles of hay. An ostrich also died in the move.

Islamabad Zoo was established in 1978 on 10 hectares of land as a home for indigenous species.

Authorities now plan to expand it as a wildlife conservation centre.

With little legislation to safeguard animal welfare, zoos across Pakistan are notorious for their poor conditions. In 2018, some 30 animals died within months

of a new zoo opening in the northwestern city of Peshawar, including three snow leopard cubs.

Earlier this week, the IHC observed that the "bears’ natural habitat was the high altitude plateau of Deosai National Park in the Himalayas".

"It was indeed inhumane to have deprived them of living in their natural habitat, merely for the entertainment of humans."

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah termed the zoo a ‘dungeon for animals’, and said a zoo, no matter how well equipped, is no less than a concentration camp for living beings.

They were subjected to unimaginable pain and there is no justification for it as the bears’ behaviour was unnatural while imprisoned, he added.

He said it is time to end the imprisonment of sentient animals in cages at zoos and let balance be restored so they could live with dignity in their respective natural habitats and enjoy their natural rights.

local refineries.

The commission put OGRA on top of the blaming list, saying “much of the mess that abounds in the oil industry pertains to OGRA and the related laws/rules”.

It also blamed OGRA for imposing “ritual fines” on the OMCs for drying out their retail outlets during June this year, issuance of unlawful provisional marketing licences to the OMCs, no punitive action on illegal joint ventures or hospitalities among the OMCs and no revocation or suspension of licence of even a single delinquent OMC. The commission “strongly recommends dissolution of OGRA through an act of parliament within six months”.

nawaz owns 1,679 kanals of land, shares in 4 firms, court told LAHORE TLTP

Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif owns 1,679 kanals of agricultural land in Lahore and Sheikhupura, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) informed an accountability court on Wednesday. The corruption watchdog submitted the complete record of the Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) supremo’s properties in the court as Judge Asad Ali resumed hearing an illegal plot allotment reference. The bureau said that Sharif also owns two tractors and two luxury vehicles. Sharif has shares in four companies, including 467,000 shares in Muhammad Baksh Textile Mill, 343,000 shares in Hudaibiya Paper Mills, 22,213 shares in Hudaibiya Engineering Company and 48,000 shares in Ittefaq Textile Mill. NAB Prosecutor Haris Qureshi presented the record obtained from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and Lahore Development Authority (LDA).

Omni Group sugarcane subsidy case accused to be indicted on Jan 7 ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Islamabad on Wednesday decided to indict all accused in a case against Omni Group for illegally getting sugarcane subsidy after manipulating employees’ record.

Accountability Judge Asghar Ali conducted the hearing of the sugarcane subsidy reference against Omni Group. A report was also presented before the court during the hearing regarding the seizure of properties owned by four proclaimed offenders.

Later, the court decided to indict all accused on January 7 and adjourned the hearing. In November, an accountability court in Islamabad deferred indictment of Omni Group Chairman Anwar Majeed and others over charges of embezzlement in sugarcane subsidy. TLTP

Thursday, 17 December, 2020

04 NEWS DANIEL PEARL MURDER CASE

Counsel asks sC to review evidenCe of kidnapping, murder separately ISLAMABAD

t

TLTP

he counsel for the parents of slain American journalist Daniel Pearl on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court (SC) to review the evidence of kidnapping and murder separately, saying that the mastermind behind the murder is an international terrorist. While presenting his arguments against the acquittal of four convicts by the Sindh high Court (ShC) before a threemember bench, headed by Justice Mushir Alam, counsel Faisal Siddiqui submitted that the crimes, which are the subject matter of the present petitions, have to be understood within the context of the fact that the mastermind of these crimes, Ahmed Omar Sheikh, is an international terrorist,

who has been involved in other kidnapping incidents as well.

“These facts find support both from a judgement of the Indian Supreme Court and defence's own evidence. Therefore, this context of international terrorism is crucial in adjudicating the present petitions," said Siddiqui. Siddiqui maintained that the case could be divided into three broad categories and three time periods; pre-abduction for ransom period, abduction for ransom period and murder period.

"Three substantive offences, conspiracy, abduction for ransom and murder, are independent as well as inter-dependent of each other and these have to be proved in themselves. each offence has to be proved independently. The evidence in relation to each of the offences differs both in strength and volume. Therefore, the occurrence and

proof of each of these offences is to be decided separately," the counsel added. he said that there are sets of accused persons, who are Sheikh, Fahad Naseem, Salman Saqib and Sheikh Adil. The evidence relied upon in these petitions is not simple circumstantial evidence, but is based on direct evidence. The evidence is oral, documentary, forensic and judicial confessions, he added.

Siddiqui urged that the ShC verdict be set aside, as it is based on a gross misreading of the evidence, disregarding of critical evidence and facts, and a misinterpretation of the law, resulting in findings, which are artificial and shocking. he further said that the post-mortem report of the slain journalist identify age, height and dress of the victim. The report was not made part of the verdict because it came during the final

phase of the trial, he added.

The bench questioned: “Whether the state or the complainant had requested to make the post-mortem report a part of the trial? how it was revealed that the body of Daniel Pearl was buried at that place?”

While replying to the questions, Siddiqui said: “The high court should have exercised its authority, if important evidence was left out of the record. The body was not identified till the trial court gave its verdict.”

“An application should have been submitted with subsequent necessary steps. If the post-mortem report was not a part of the challan, the challan should have been filed again,” Justice Sardar Tariq remarked.

“Now what will you plead to the Supreme Court,” Justice Yahya Afridi asked the counsel.

JCp nominates Justice Qaiser rashid as pHC Chief Justice ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Wednesday approved the nomination of Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan as the new chief justice of the Peshawar high Court (PhC). Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed presided the meeting of the JCP to consider a nomination for the post, which fell vacant after the death of Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth due to coronavirus in November. Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan was appointed as an additional judge on August 2, 2011. he took oath as the acting chief justice of PhC on November 16. he may serve as the PhC CJ until March 30, 2023. In November, Justice Waqar Seth (late) was first admitted to a hospital in Peshawar and later shifted to Kulsum International hospital in Islamabad, where he breathed his last after battling with coronavirus complications. TLTP

LAHORE: People buy warm clothes at a local market as the weather turns cold. Zubair Mehfooz

PDM plans new rallies; PPP readies itself for Senate polls ISLAMABAD MIAN ABRAR

Undeterred by the 'failed rally' at Lahore, the leadership of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an anti-government coalition of opposition parties, has drawn up a new schedule for holding protest meetings and rallies in across country ahead of the January 31 deadline.

Reportedly, the PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has decided to take up the challenge for his party to ensure strong attendance of rallies in the new phase of the PDM protest schedule. PDM has scheduled its new meetings mostly in South Punjab where the winter is not so harsh,

it emerged. According to the proposed schedule, the PDM will hold rallies as follows: Bahawalpur on December 24 Larkana on December 27 Mardan on December 29 Sargodha on January 2 Malakand on January 4 Sialkot on January 9 Thar Parkar on January 12 Bannu on January 16 Faisalabad on January 19 Khuzdar on January 23 Zhob on January 26 Furthermore, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has

started preparations for the Senate elections. The Sindh government has also finalised the issues for the by-elections on the three vacant seats in the Provincial Assembly.

According to details regarding the vacant seats of Sindh Assembly, PPP will apply to the election Commission of Pakistan (eCP) for by-elections in Sanghar, Umerkot and Malir.

Reportedly, a meeting of the commission has been convened for December 17 in Islamabad in which Sindh Legal Adviser Murtaza Wahab will represent the Sindh government. earlier, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had said that resignations are “atom bombs”, adding that all the parties of PDM are on one page.

‘Turkish-Pakistan ties are more than a relationship’ KARACHI PR

Turkey’s Ambassador Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul has said that Turkish-Pakistan ties are more than a relationship and our interactions should be considered as a bond that complement each other.

While addressing as a chief guest at a webinar on “Pakistan-Turkey Relations", held under the auspices of Karachi Council of Foreign Relations (KCFR) on Tuesday, Yurdakul said that: “Political relations between Turkey and Pakistan have always been great. While there is trade between the two, we must do more to enhance it further as per the size of the two economies. I see an increasing appetite from Turkish investors to benefit from the emerging economic indicators of Pakistan."

“Turkey is an important destination for Pakistanis, as the number of Pakistani vis-

PESHAWAR Aziz bunAri

Islamic Ideological Council (IOC) Chairman Dr Qibla Ayaz has said that the Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) will launch an awareness campaign on climate change in the light of holy Quran and Sunnah. While addressing the inaugural function of an awareness campaign organised by Pakistan Red Crescent Society Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on "preventing the effects of climate change in the light of Quranic and scientific knowledge", Qibla said that the IOC has asked President Dr Arif Alvi to help the scholars to fulfil their social responsibility and educate the general public on climate change in the light of Islamic teachings. he informed that a botanical garden is being prepared in the federal capital and an Islamic garden has also been proposed by the IOC, where all the trees and plants mentioned in the holy Quran will be planted exclusively. he added that the IOC is partnering with the PRCS in this campaign and providing information on climate change in the light of holy Quran and Sunnah to the general public. University of Peshawar Professor Asif Khan told the participants that Pakistan is currently ranked fifth in the world in the list of countries most affected by climate change. Asif said that Pakistan was seventh until two years ago. “If more steps are not taken and awareness is not created among the general public, there is a chance that 80 per cent of the country's glaciers will be extinct by 2040,” Asif said.

veteran actress firdous Begum passes away at 73

169 pakistanis deported from saudi arabia, greece ISLAMABAD: At least 30 Pakistanis deported from Greece landed at the Islamabad International Airport and 139 deported from Saudi Arabia landed at the Multan airport on Wednesday. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had allowed the chartered flights after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received a request from the embassy of Greece. The Saudi Arabia flight was reportedly carrying persons accused of criminal activities. TLTP

pakistan red Crescent to launch campaign about climate change

itors to Turkey are increasing every year. even during this Covid-19 period, we kept the airline connection open. Turkey is considered as one of the top destinations for Pakistani tourists and we are quite happy to host them."

Answering to a question about recognition of Israel by the United Arab emirates (UAe) without anything in return for the Palestinian cause, the ambassador stressed that when this was first made public, there was emphasis that Palestine would be the beneficiary after recognition. however, Israel reneged on the commitment for cessation to building of new houses for Israeli citizens.

To a question by KCFR Treasurer Kaleem Farooqui about the possibility of revival of RCD and Turkey's relation with Iran, the ambassador said: "I will stick to one point–neighbourhood is very important. even in bad times, it is our tradition to be on good terms with neighbours. Re-

gional ownership is very important because we will be open to outsiders or third countries dictating terms and intentions.

But the same does not apply to neighbouring countries, as it will not be beneficial.

There was no armed conflict between the Turkish Ottoman empire and Safavid Iran since 17th century. It has been our peaceful border for decades, which we really cherish. I believe our Iranian brothers share the same feeling."

To a question from Farhatullah Babar about the ambassador's views on military takeovers and interference in politics of Pakistan and Turkey, Yurdakul said that the journey to democracy and rule of law is a long one. Turkey's experience with democracy started with the 1946 elections. Starting from earliest election until the most recent one, the people have been quite eager to show up for ballot boxes. It was with the peoples' efforts that we could uphold the princi-

ple of civilian rule. Intervention cannot happen as long as you have a structure in civilian hands.

The ambassador agreed that the role of Turkish banks is missing in the commercial field of Pakistan.

KCFR’s Ikram Sehgal thanked the ambassador for giving time and answering the questions. he recalled an incident in Davos and said: “Shimon Peres and Turkey President Tayyip erdogan were sharing a stage in Davos before something happened and the president got up and walked off. Later, I learnt that Peres had passed a remark about Israel upon which erdogan just walked off from the stage."

Replying to the query about army's intervention in politics, Sehgal said that interventions take place when political leaders are corrupt. he thanked the participants and KCFR board members and appreciated Dr huma Baqai for her services in the webinar.

Veteran Pakistani actress Firdous Begum passed away on Wednesday at the age of 73.

Reportedly, Firdous was admitted to a hospital in Lahore. She was in critical condition after suffering a brain haemorrhage. The actress, who was considered as one of the most prominent film actors of her time, is survived by her three children, two sons and a daughter. her acting career started with the film Fanoos in 1963, where she performed the role of a supporting actor. During her career, she worked in over 150 Punjabi, Urdu and Pashtu films. her most renowned Punjabi films include heer Ranjha, Dilan De Sauday, Malangi and Aansoo.

The former actress strengthened her roots in Lollywood with her lead role in Malangi.

She also tied the knot with hero of the film Akmal Khan, who later passed away in June, 1967. NEWS DESK

pakistan expresses concern over us sanction on turkey ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Pakistan has expressed deep concern over the imposition of sanctions on Turkey by the United States. In a statement on Wednesday, Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Zahid hafeez Chaudhri said that Pakistan remains opposed to the imposition of unilateral coercive measures against any country in principle. he said that Pakistan acknowledges and appreciates Turkey's invaluable role in regional and international peace and stability. The people and the government of Pakistan reiterate their strong support for the government and the people of Turkey in their quest for national security, peace and prosperity and will continue to stand with Turkey, he added. earlier, the US government imposed sanctions on Turkey over the acquisition and testing of the S-400 Russian defence missile system, further straining relations between the two NATO members. The State Department announced the sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions Act, passed by Congress in 2017. It is designed to penalise any significant transactions with Russia.

The estimated cost of the S-400 missile system is $2.5 billion.

Thursday, 17 December, 2020

ChinA SAyS COmmitted tO timely COmPletiOn Of CPeC PrOjeCtS isLamabad

C

STAFF REPORT

HINA fully agrees to the positive assessment made by President Dr Arif Alvi on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) cooperation, said Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Wednesday during his regular briefing in response to a question about President Alvi’s recent interview to a Chinese media outlet.

Wang Wenbin said the Chinese side would continue to work with Pakistan to implement the consensus

reached by the two leaders on CPEC. “We will ensure timely completion of current projects and focus on industrial and agricultural fields,” he added.

He said the Chinese side would also ensure that high quality Belt and Road cooperation would deliver greater benefits to the two countries and people in the region.

He maintained that CPEC, as a pioneer project of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), has been developing at a consistent pace since its inception in 2013.

“As we have talked about it before, China and Pakistan have been working together to fight Covid-19 and despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, all projects have been effectively moved ahead,” he said.

Pakistan wants durable peace in Afghanistan: Qureshi continued from page 01 The delegation will discuss issues of mutual interest, in particular, problems of refugees, relaxation and facilitation of afghan’s movement to Pakistan, as well as issues faced by Afghan traders.

This is the third visit of Mullah Baradar to Pakistan and the latest trip comes as the Taliban and Afghan government took a 20-day break in their talks taking place in Doha. The visit of Taliban delegation comes two days after Zalmay Khalilzad, the US special representative for Afghanistan, visited Islamabad and met Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa. He expressed concern over the break in talks, saying the current situation warranted urgent steps to reach a peace deal. He hoped that the intra-Afghan talks would resume on January 5. It is believed that Khalilzad sought Pakistan’s help in making sure that there is no delay in the intra-Afghan talks. The push for seeking a peace deal continues despite US President Trump’s defeat in the elections.

The intra-Afghan talks follow-up on a landmark Pakistanbrokered deal signed between the US and the Taliban in February.

Under the deal, foreign troops will vacate Afghanistan by May 2021 in exchange for counter-terrorism guarantees from the group, which agreed to negotiate a permanent cease-fire and a power-sharing formula with the Afghan government. The Taliban agreeing on a cease-fire is a top priority for Afghan officials and the Western diplomats who are facilitating peace talks with the group. While the talks have been taking place in Doha, scores of Afghan soldiers and Taliban fighters have been killed in clashes.

Dozens of civilians have also died in recent weeks. Pakistan has time and again urged the Taliban to start talks soon with the Afghan government to end decades of conflict, telling visiting officials of the group that an intra-Afghan dialogue could help ensure regional stability. Analysts claim Islamabad has had a close association with armed groups in Afghanistan dating back to the Soviet Union’s invasion of the country in the late 1980s and continues to exercise influence over the Taliban. “Pakistan has a lot of leverage, short of military options, including allowing and restricting the Taliban’s mobility,” Barnett Rubin, a senior advisor on Afghanistan and Pakistan under the Obama administration told Reuters.

He remarked that cooperation between the two countries has provided an important support to Pakistan’s efforts to fight the pandemic and stabilize its economy.

On a query, the spokesperson said that the functioning of power transmission line from Mitiari to Lahore will help enhance power supply network in Pakistan.

About Lahore Metro Orange Line, he said with the launch of this mega transport project, Pakistan has entered in the era of subway.

On Gwadar port, an important component of CPEC, he said the port processed 26,000 tonnes of fertilizer for Afghanistan in two batches this month, of which 22,000 tonnes of fertilizer was unloaded.

FIA inquiry finds Meesha guilty of smear campaign against Zafar LaHore STAFF REPORT

Singer Meesha Shafi has been found guilty of running a smearing campaign against singer-turnedactor Ali Zafar who she accused of sexual harassment in April 2018.

Citing evidence, an inquiry of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) found Meesha and eight other accused in the case, including model-turned-host Iffat Omar and social media famous Ali Gul Pir, announced its ruling and asked the trial court to start its proceedings against them.

Mesha, 39, ignited in 2018 what many said was Pakistan’s MeToo movement when she forwarded her claims against Zafar, 40, through a tweet. He denied

the allegation and, in response, filed a defamation suit against her and others who amplified these claims online.

Zafar said that the “baseless” allegations tarnished his image in public while his family faced agony and pain. He asked the court to issue a decree against Meesha directing her to pay Rs1 billion as damages to him.

The accused were subsequently charged with criminal defamation. If convicted, they face a maximum sentence of up to three years in prison and an Rs1 million fine for defaming the singer-actor.

In September, the FIA booked the accused under section 20 (1) of Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 and

R/W 109-PPC. Subsequently, the Lahore chapter of the agency’s cybercrime wing Tuesday submitted an interim challan before the court of a special judge.

“During the course of investigation so far Meera Shafi alias Meesha Shafi, Iffat Omar, Maham Javaid, Leena Ghani, Haseemus Zaman, Fariha Ayub, Syed Faizan Raza, Humna Raza and Ali Gul Pir have been found guilty in this case as per available oral and documentary evidences,” the agency said in its challan.

“However, the complainant recorded his statement in favour of Hamna Raza to the extent of accepting her apology, thus she is not required in the investigation furthermore.”

SC suspends PHC decision to reinstate KP teachers ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday suspended an earlier decision of Peshawar High Court (PHC) allowing reinstatement of teachers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, admitted for hearing the appeals of the KP government against the PHC decision and issued notices to concerned parties for the next hearing scheduled after the winter vacation ending January 3. “The teachers who were recruited were not qualified and inducted on political grounds,” KP Advocate General Shamail Butt said. On this, Justice Ijazul Ahsan remarked that political priorities were a different thing. Justice Muneeb Akhtar wondered if the documents were presented before the PHC. He remarked that the provincial education department thinks that every document will be welcomed in the court.

At this, the Butt said all these inductions were made fulfilling the necessary rules. APP

NEWS

05

On sixth anniversary of APS massacre, Pakistan stands united against terrorism continued from page 01 Saluting these martyrs, he prayed that may Allah Almighty grant their souls high ranks in heaven and also give patience to the bereaved families.

Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar reflected that December 16, 2014, was a dark day for humanity. Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari noted that the bloodshed of innocent children and martyrs of the APS attack continue to shake the “conscience of the nation until the perpetrators and facilitators of this gory crime were not brought to justice”. “Being the son of a martyr Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, I, and the PPP, stand in complete solidarity with these parents,” he added.

“The terrorists snatched children and our future,” wrote Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz. She added that the martyrs were avenged by the armed forces during her father, Nawaz Sharif’s, government.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Governor Shah Farman said the nation “will never forget what they [martyrs] did for the cause of the nation”.

“Sacrifices of the students martyred in the tragic APS incident would always be remembered,” said KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, adding that the security forces and the nation are united to eliminate terrorism from the society and the government would always extend a helping hand to the bereaved families of the APS. “Words will never be enough,” wrote KP Finance and Health minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra. “On this day, the memory of those who sacrificed their lives at #APSPeshawar must spur us on to build a country where the future of millions of children is bright.”

Oil prices edge lower on tighter coronavirus lockdowns NEW YORK: Oil prices slipped on Wednesday, as more European lockdowns and slower US consumer spending tapped the brakes on a rally that has lifted futures by more than 30pc in six weeks.

Brent crude futures fell 25 cents to $50.51 a barrel by 11:02 a.m. EST (1602 GMT). US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 34 cents to $47.28 a barrel. US oil demand is down roughly 13pc year-to-date due to the coronavirus pandemic, and Wednesday’s figures on retail sales showed a second consecutive month of declining spending due to a resurgence in Covid-19 cases. Worldwide demand has been poor, with the most notable rebound coming in China. The International Energy Agency (IEA) warned on Tuesday that it will take some time to reverse the collapse in global oil demand during the pandemic. AGENCIES

Report explores issues facing creation of South Punjab province LaHore STAFF REPORT

The Centre for Governance and Policy at IT University, Lahore launched its report ‘South Punjab: Why Still a Dream’ on Wednesday. Written by a research fellow, Abdul Wasay, it is a comprehensive report on the history, present status, and future issues concerning the creation of a province or provinces in the south of Punjab.

The policy brief discusses in detail the inception of the Siraiki language movement in Pakistan, beginning with the standardisation of the language in the 1960s and 1970s.

It shows how initially Siraiki was simply a dialect of Landha (Western) Punjabi, but that following the work of several activists, the dialect was separated from Punjabi, and by 1981 was recognised as a separate language.

Many Siraiki journals and especially the Jashn-e-Farid played a major part in making Siraiki a recognisable and different language.

The brief then describes how the Siraiki province movement in fact originated as demand for the restoration of the Bahawalpur State in 1970 after the dissolution of the One Unit.

Bahawalpur state which had got the status of a province in 1952, was merged with West Pakistan in 1955 and should have been restored in 1970 with the breakup of the One Unit, but it was instead merged with Punjab.

Thereafter, a movement started for its restoration but met with severe resistance, and after the separation of East Pakistan as Bangladesh in 1971, fizzled out. Since a Siraiki literary movement was already afoot, the Bahawalpur province movement then transformed itself into the Siraiki province movement, arguing that the whole of the Siraiki waseb (homeland) should be

under one jurisdiction.

After 1970 the movement became political and successive political parties electioneered over the issue to little tangible change, the brief argues. While the major political parties paid lip service to the cause, Siraiki parties were never popular enough to win any seats.

The brief also shows how the gap in development spending from the 1980s onwards, gave further impetus to the movement, which then transformed from a literary and cultural movement to one about underdevelopment, unequal distribution of resources and jobs.

The brief then traces the political and constitutional debate over the creation of a new province(s) in southern Punjab, by discussing the Commission on the Creation of New Province(s) in Punjab in 2012 under the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) government, the subsequent constitution amendment bill in 2013, which passed the Senate with a twothirds majority, the practical abandonment of the issue during the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) tenure from 201318, and the recent resurrection of the issue during and after the 2018 elections.

A policy dialogue was also held as part of the research, with Mohsin Leghari, Punjab Irrigation Minister representing the PTI, MPA Ali Haider Gillani representing the PPP, Awais Leghari representing the PML-N, and Professor Rasul Baksh Rais from LUMS and Mazhar Arif from the civil society.

Later, input was also taken from scholar Dr Ayesha Siddiqa, former Senator Sughra Imam, and Prince Bahawal Khan of Bahawalpur.

In the dialogue, Gillani argued that if the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) can have their province named after their major ethnicity, why can’t there be a ‘Siraiki’ province. He

noted that it was only the PPP that has ever taken action for the creation of a South Punjab province and even got a constitutional amendment passed in the Senate in 2013.

"It was our friends in PML-N that didn’t support it and therefore it could not pass in the National Assembly," he pointed out.

On the issue of creating two provinces, Gillani argued that it was hard enough to create one province, and so two will almost be impossible. "The establishment is not ready to give 23 senators, so how will they agree to give 46?" he retorted. Speaking on the issue of the South Punjab Secretariat established by the PTI recently, he noted that it was "a sham" and in fact added a tier to the already complicated process.

Leghari, former federal minister, noted on the issue that unless the interests of Punjab are catered, no province in South Punjab can become a reality. He said that without support from Punjab, no constitutional amendment will ever pass the National Assembly and so their support is crucial.

He argued that language alone cannot be the marker for the new province as people from different linguistic groups live in South Punjab.

"A province based on administrative lines will be a viable solution," Leghari stated. Speaking on the support of the PMLN to the restoration of the Bahawalpur province, he noted that it is the decision of the people of the Bahawalpur region.

"We will support a referendum in Bahawalpur to ask the people if they want a separate province or want just one province in South Punjab," he exclaimed.

Speaking on when the province will become a reality, Leghari underscored the need for more dialogue and wider discussion. "A province will become a reality when the

CMYK

issue begins to affect the pillars of the state, and especially the judiciary," he pointed out.

Representing the civil society, Arif underscored the critical role of the youth, farmers and literati in the struggle for Siraiki rights. Speaking from his personal experience, he argued that the issue is now beyond the mere recognition of the language and that the sense of deprivation in the region needs to be tackled.

Professor Rais added that "one needs to understand the history to understand the politics of the region". He pointed out that the treatment meted to the region of Multan after annexation by Lahore in 1818, created a deep sense of resentment which still exists to this day.

He argued that there should be no problem with the creation of two provinces in southern Punjab, as both Multan and Bahawalpur have their own identity. He lamented the lost opportunity of the 18th Amendment where these provinces could have become a reality but noted that it is only a matter of time before the province(s) will come into existence.

Speaking at the dialogue, Mohsin Leghari renewed the commitment of his party and government to the creation of South Punjab. He stated that he had been working for the cause for a long time and that even today he was involved in the process as a minister.

He noted that the "sense of deprivation in South Punjab started when Nawaz Sharif became the Chief Minister of Punjab in the 1980s and development funds began to be diverted to in and around Lahore".

Thereafter what South Punjab got was mere peanuts: "even charity is more," he stated. Leghari argued that it is the race to get credit which is preventing the final creation

of the South Punjab province. "It should not be a matter of getting credit, it should be a goal-oriented effort," he emphasised.

Giving details of the plans of the PTI government in Punjab, he stated that a lean and efficient mechanism for the South Punjab Secretariat has been planned where the tiers of administrative machinery would be consolidated and an electronic file system introduced.

Furthermore, he noted that the new province will be surely viable since a large part of its money will come from the NFC Award, like the other provinces, giving it enough money to run its affairs.

Commenting on the delay in bringing about legislation on South Punjab, Leghari said that "at present, the government is in unchartered territory as a new province has never been created in Pakistan".

However, he underscored "the biggest test was still the introduction of the constitutional amendment with the consent of other provinces".

In conclusion, the brief noted several key outstanding issues which need to be resolved before a South Punjab province(s) can be created. The issue of one or two provinces has still not be resolved, the demarcation issue still remains, the name of the new province(s) is also unsettled, and questions regarding financial viability and especially issues around water-sharing remain to be resolved. It also pointed out that the longstanding literary movement has not been taken into confidence in the current discussions and this gap will create fissures as the issue moves forward.

Lastly, the brief emphasised that unless proper legislation is introduced and passed in the National Assembly, Senate and Punjab Assembly, the new province(s) will always remain a dream.

Thursday, 17 December, 2020

06 COMMENT

Establishment versus Establishment

Fall of Dhaka Failure to learn the lessons

t

The Colonial and Nawaz establishments manipulated the elections

He fall of Dhaka was a traumatic experience for the nation. People cried on that day publicly in the streets as never before. the state-controlled television and radio were telling a day earlier that Dhaka would hold on to its last defender and last bullet. Only days earlier Lt Gen A.A.K. Niazi had announced that the enemy would have to pass over his dead body to enter the city. While referring to east Pakistan, the hacks on government payroll talked about “mohabbat ka zam zam beh raha hai” while the cars and city buses carried stickers “Allaho Akbar ki zarb lagao”. the handful of those like Habib Jalib who opposed the military operation, were bundled into jails. When reality dawned upon the people who had been fed on propaganda, some turned hysteric.

After the creation of Pakistan, those in the eastern wing demanded Bengali language also be made a state language along with Urdu, equal jobs in civil and military departments and equal development budgets. Most of all, they wanted provincial autonomy. those with a strong centrist mindset branded these demands as the enemy’s agenda. Ayub Khan’s concentration of all powers in the central government while suppressing protests with brute force pushed the people of east Pakistan, who had been in the forefront of the struggle for Pakistan, to the wall.

Yahya Khan’s military operation turned out to be the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. When there are disputes within family, opponents try to benefit from them. this happened in east Pakistan also. those ruling the truncated Pakistan failed to learn a lesson from the breakup of the country. there is a deep sense of deprivation and injustice in Balochistan. Instead of fulfilling the promises made to Sardar Akhtar Mengal, the PtI government showed him out of the ruling alliance. there are complaints that those with a centrist thinking are keen to annul the 18th Amendment. this is corroborated by the federal cabinet’s decision to make provinces accountable for their share of NfC funds. the federal government is however free to miss its own revenue targets. there is still resistance to the demand for all institutions to work within the scope spelt out for them in the Constitution. this gives one a painful sense of déjà vu.

Dr FariD a Malik

A

fter inserting Article 6 in the 1973 constitution, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (ZAB) was confident that the era of military takeovers was over. It was not only violated in his life time, also the entire judicial system was hijacked to physically eliminate him. After failing to contain the ‘ Bhutto influence ‘ in politics, Zia the first violator of this article, decided to create an establishment within the establishment. Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was chosen for this dirty job. A midlevel but ambitious business group was chosen for this purpose. first Mian Muhammad Sharif was handed over their nationalized ‘ Ittefaq foundry ‘ totally without any financial liabilities and then his eldest son was inducted into the Punjab cabinet as finance Minister. there was no looking back, Nawaz managed to become the Chief Minister under Prime Minister Junejo a seasoned politician from Sindh. Always watching the establishment interests, Nawaz played an instrumental role in getting the PM axed under Zia’s Draconian 8th Amendment when tried to stand up for the people effected by the Ojri Camp disaster.

Being an embryo of the establishment, he was allowed to operate as one. He was given a free hand to make appointments in most government departments, doled out thousands of plots to gain loyalties, issued

Action on oil?

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He federal Cabinet has set up a three-member Committee to recommend action on the enquiry commission report into the June oil shortage, which indicates that the Oil Marketing Companies (OMC) made a killing, gouging profits of as much as rs 8 billion, as well as avoiding inventory losses caused by the price drop that took place then because international prices had collapsed. the report has named the DG Oil as bearing primary responsibility, while it mentions that there was a lack of coordination between various agencies of the Petroleum Division, which is part of the energy Ministry the report mentions neither the energy Minister, Omar Ayub Khan, nor the SAPM on Petroleum, Nadeem Babar, even though the latter was blamed at the time for playing a role. that the shortage occurred, and found to be deliberate, should be particularly painful for a government that came to power on its message of accountability, and its claims that an honest government would ensure the making of decisions helping the ordinary man. Instead, as noted in this report, the oil marketing companies were able to prevent the passing on of the benefit of the world oil price fall to the consumer. that seems a classic case of poor decision-making benefiting the OMCs at the expense of the consumer. It is not as if this was the only pricing problem faced by the government, there have been wheat and sugar shortages, as well as a hike in drug prices, all of which have led to accusations of a scam. In this particular case, it seems highly unlikely that decisions could benefit entities by billions, and no palms were greased. the spotlight then turns on the political chiefs who should prevent such shenanigans. At the same time, the role of the regulator, OGrA, should be looked at carefully. the report recommended its dissolution as well as a performance appraisal of other regulatory authorities, including NePrA, PeMrA and DrAP. the government must look at this recommendation seriously, though it remains to be seen if the Cabinet Committee will take any action against individuals responsible, or whether it will just find scapegoats.

A counter to the Indo US nexus attiya Munawer

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AKIStAN and China are bound in everlasting ties of love and friendship. the long lasting, deep and strong fraternal ties between the two countries are based on mutual trust, confidence and respect, so the changes that have taken place at the international level have never had an effect, but the relationship has improved over time. Pak-China relations are paramount in every field.

In recent years, China has turned its attention to investing in Pakistan and also several Chinese companies are operating in different sectors in Pakistan. China has always strived to make Pakistan one of the developed nations and is always ready to work side by side in all areas including, the economy, energy and defense. from cooperation in aviation from Pakistan to the exchange of delegations in trade and cultural fields, the two countries have not only grown closer, but these contacts have been very helpful in getting acquainted with each other’s culture and civilization. And now on the occasion of the Chinese Defense Minister’s visit to Pakistan, it has been agreed to increase defense cooperation. Due to India’s aggressive demeanor, Pakistan is on the path of invincibility while maintaining its defense resources, and China is fully cooperating in making Pakistan’s defense invincible.

In the current objective situation, Pak-China relations are important. India is buying state-of-the-art military weapons from all over the world; its main target is Pakistan. Where India is invading Pakistani borders, it is also challenging China. In this context, Pakistan and China have come closer. Strategic ties between Pakistan and China are important for peace, stability and development in the region, so both sides reaffirm their commitment to further strengthen the everlasting Pak-China Strategic Cooperative Partnership to build a community with a common future in the new era. In this regard, CPeC is a major transformational project in the region. Completion of CPeC projects will not only open new doors of development and prosperity for the people of Pakistan, but will also create more opportunities for expansion in China’s economy. the civil and military leadership of Pakistan

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor Umar Aziz

Asher John

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Deputy Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

Dr Farid A Malik is ex-Chairman, Pakistan Science Foundation. He can be contacted at: fmaliks@hotmail.com.

Balance of power through Pak-China defense cooperation

Will the Cabinet committee act or save colleagues?

Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

SrO’s to favour his family businesses, indulged in outof-turn promotions of government servants to expand his personal influence, launched ambitious projects that allowed huge kickbacks, usurped land, the list goes on.

After forcing one Chief of Army Staff (COAS) to retire, when he tried to remove the freshly appointed one, the Army decided to take over in violation of Article 6. finally after Musharraf’s NrO, when NS managed to become PM for the third time, he decided to invoke this Article to avenge his removal.

Perhaps NS will be remembered for initiating the first trial ever of a usurper under Article 6 of the Constitution, but then again its application was partial, typical behaviour of the powerful who consider themselves above the law of the land. the emergency ordinance of 2007 signed by Pervez Musharraf was prepared by the Law Minister and forwarded by the PM for the signatures of the President. Under the law all three should have been tried, as well as the Secretary of the Ministry. the entire effort seemed more of a personal vendetta of the two powerful men of influence who considered themselves above the Constitution and the law of the land. Despite his conviction, the General slipped away, and recently Nawaz also escaped in a similar fashion. While one lives in the comfort of his Dubai apartment the other resides in the luxury of his London home, both claiming to be sick and under treatment and waiting for an opportune time to come back to fool the masses again. there are two establishments operating in the land of the pure: establishment (Colonial) and establishment (Nawaz). While one was inherited at the time of partition, the other was created during the ‘Zia Dark Ages’. the current tussle is between the two ‘establishments’. there was a third one operating in Karachi under Altaf Hussain which has been finally been neutralized. It took me a while to understand the PML(N)’s apolitical, heavy handed behaviour. It blatantly challenges the writ of the state. When its leaders are called by the NAB (National Accountability Bureau) they go with stones instead of papers in their defence. for court appearances they pack the courtrooms with their workers to intimidate the judges. exploiting the weaknesses of common law, when they succeed in getting bails they claim exoneration.

On August 14, 1973 Islamic republic of Pakistan attained the status of a constitutional democracy. the establishment (Colonial) was in disarray and retreat after the east Pakistan debacle, while the establishment

(Nawaz) did not exist at that time. the era of constitutional democracy did not last long. ZAB surrounded himself with the ‘ freemasons of Democracy ‘ the same class of politicians his party had defeated in the 1970 elections. By 1977 the establishment (Colonial) had also recovered from the 1971 defeat. ZAB was convinced to hold national elections ahead of time in early 1977. the day the over-confident PM dissolved the assemblies, an alliance of nine opposition parties (the Pakistan National Alliance) was waiting in the wings.

A movement was launched against the first elected PM of the country which paved the way for the third Martial Law on July 05, 1977 thus plunging the country into the ‘Zia Dark Ages’. Under international pressure the dictator decided to launch a civilian version of the establishment which has now taken roots in most institutions. Unlike the establishment (Colonial) this is a family run affair. Now that Nawaz Sharif is in trouble, his daughter is leading the pack. Disrespect of the constitution and rule of law is the common thread between the two brands of the ‘establishment’. the PML(N) is right in saying that the establishment (Colonial) has been manipulating the electoral process since 1977, as they were launched into power by them. Now after over 30 years of their misrule, the establishment (Nawaz) has positioned itself to achieve the same results through the use of its own influence in the state apparatus. they were able to use this control in the 2013 elections but were not able to do so in 2018 as the Police and the District Administration was not allowed to enter the polling stations. free and fair elections is the way forward for which neutrality of the state apparatus is essential. Under the circumstances this may not be possible, unless the entire provincial administrative machinery is reshuffled or the elections are held under the auspices of the United Nations as both establishment (Colonial) and establishment (Nawaz) are tainted. this highlights the importance of the two real national political parties (PPP-Bhutto, PtI) to steer the country towards true democracy which is free from the clutches of both the establishments that have been manipulating the democratic process for the last 40 years. there should be only one establishment subservient to the 1973 constitution, reporting to the genuinely elected representatives of the people as it were in the period between 14 August 1973 to 5 July 1977 before the start of ‘ Zia Dark Ages ‘.

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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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is hopeful for the success of CPeC, which will prove world, in its meeting focused on the ongoing Indian fato be a milestone in Pak-China friendship and the naticism in occupied Kashmir, and urged India to recompletion of this project will bring immense eco- store the constitutional status of Kashmir and resolve the Kashmir issue on the basis of Security Council resnomic benefits to both the countries. there is no doubt that the CPeC project will pave olutions. the Indian leadership is on fire and is trying the way for prosperity and development in the region, to escalate the atmosphere of provocation by making but India is working hard to sabotage such an important awkward statements against Pakistan. If its expansionist project. the USA is backing India in light of the chang- ambitions are not curtailed, the peace and security of the region will be at stake. ing situation in the region, Undoubtedly, the world is while China and Pakistan not ready to stop India’s fanathave welcomed the signing of ics, even though they are a peace agreement between The growing conflict aware of their extremist ambithe USA and the taliban in tions, because their interests Afghanistan, both hoping that between China and the stand in the way. In view of the international community the emerging situation on the will now fully support USA will definitely increase world stage, Pakistan will Afghanistan’s post-conflict rethe diplomatic pressure on have to seriously consider its construction and economic development. the USA and Pakistan. Pakistan has to do options and make decisions in the context of national interIndia signed a defense agreeits best to avoid falling into est. Pakistan has long been an ment two months ago to share ally of the USA. But now in sensitive satellite data in rethe trap of competition the changing circumstances, sponse to efforts by Pakistan the United States has made and China to save the region between the two major India the focus of its hopes in from armed conflict. the powers. However, Pakistan the region. Pakistan needs the agreement was reached at a CPeC project and Chinese intime when India’s border disand China need a new vestment to secure its ecopute with China was at its balance of power in the nomic future. While the height, and with the help of CPeC project is a means of this sensitive data, India will region.

Pak-China bilateral further strengthening friendbe able to accurately and preship with China, it has also cisely target missiles, drones defense relations can distanced itself from the USA. and other targets. India has aphelp maintain the the growing conflict beparently done the deal for tween China and the USA China in the US interest, but balance of power will definitely increase the its real target is Pakistan, diplomatic pressure on Pakwhich is why the Indian Prime istan. Pakistan has to do its Minister has started openly best to avoid falling into the threatening his neighbors. It is not possible for Pakistan in such a situation to watch the trap of competition between the two major powers. deteriorating defense balance hand in hand, Pakistan However, Pakistan and China need a new balance of power in the region. Pak-China bilateral defense relawill have to meet the need for latest technology.

India is preparing to impose a regular war on Pak- tions can help maintain the balance of power. istan intoxicated with modern nuclear weapons obWriter is an Advocate Supreme Court, Law Protained from various countries including the United States, france, Germany and Britain. So, any major fessor, member of International Bar Association and tragedy could happen tomorrow at its hands, but the in- former Assistant Attorney General for Pakistan. Atia ternational community is silent in the guise of its own Munawer can be reached at Attiabutt121@gmail.com interests. OIC, the representative body of the Muslim . She tweets @AttiyaMunawer

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Thursday, 17 December, 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

Role of spokesperson

Tackling rapid coronavirus increase provide short-term loans at lower costs. the outdoors; try to avoid being face-to-face direct agenda also includes a reminder to rich nations facing when speaking to other people; go home to fulfill 0.7 percent of their official development and wash your face and clothes immediately; assistance commitments and mobilizing the re- wash as soon as you touch someone’s hand; try HaMza ali online shopping and quired $1.5 trillion anelectronic settlement; nual investment in supermarket shopping sustainable infrastrucis best for one person, S the world’s death toll has risen to ture. He also urged the It is predicted that the to choose a time there over 400,000 with almost 3000 cases world to help meet the being reported daily, there is a need to agreed target of mobicoronavirus increase will die are less people; try not to touch commodity strictly follow SOPs though WHO lizing $100 billion per down soon, but many opine samples; don’t talk on says Pakistan is among countries from year for climate action public transportation; which the international community should learn in developing counthat it would stay even go to work by bike or how to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. the tries. He called for imlonger than expected. So, on foot; it is best to use second wave is more lethal despite the nation mediate action to stop electronic business having displayed unity and civic sense, but there massive illicit financial Pakistan needs to adopt cards; try to use video is a dire need to curtail social exposure; the outflows from developshortage of ICU beds, ventilators and even oxy- ing countries to rich measures like that of Japan conference when meeting; to control the numgen may cause severe damage to the govern- countries, to offshore and the political parties ber of people in ment’s efforts. rapid increase in positive cases tax havens. He also meetings, wear masks requires urgent steps to save lives and liveli- suggested immediate must shun the path of and open windows for hoods; citizens should help in implementing return of assets stolen dragging people to risk of ventilation; work at safety guidelines in public places. the virus has by corrupt politicians home or commute at infected nearly 67 million people and killed and of the criminals life only for fulfilling their off-peak time; do not close to 1.6 million. “today marks an overdue themselves back to go to countries or and much-needed moment of reckoning. None these countries. political agendas places where the virus On the other hand, of us could have imagined, this time last year, is endemic; try not to what was to come,” said General Assembly pres- various countries have return home to visit relident volkan Bozkir. UN Secretary General An- taken strict measures to tonio Guterres said, “it is time to reset”, the live with the coronavirus. take example of atives and travel, and control business trips; global response to crises like this. “As we build tokyo; the Japanese government committee when you have symptoms, remember where you a strong recovery, we must seize the opportunity chairman has said that it takes at least one and a went and who you met; do not eat meals with half years for the vaccine to be fully developed others face to face, but preferably side by side; for change”.

Pakistan PM Imran Khan, while describing and officially put into use. Since the enemy can- do not use large bowls and large pots to share not be completely elim- food, implement a divided individual portion the Covid-19 pandemic inated, it is necessary to system; chat less at meal, eat more vegetables; as “the most serious learn to coexist with the try not to have too many people gathering at global crisis since virus. “Only by follow- meal together as possible; avoid closed spaces, WWII, presented a 10Pakistan PM Imran Khan, ing the new rules of life dense crowd flow, intimate contact; self-test point agenda for urgent can we live in peace body temperature every morning to strengthen action before the UN while describing the Covidwith the corona virus health management; cover the lid when flushing General Assembly, un19 pandemic as “the most for a long time. In fact, the toilet; don’t stay too long in a narrow space; derlying the measures most of the methods when walking and running, the number of peothe world community serious global crisis since have been implemented ple should be small, when meeting each other needs to take to defeat WWII, presented a 10-point stagger the distance. in China.” the pandemic. the first Unfortunately, amidst the second wave of the Japanese govitem on his list is a reagenda for urgent action ernment while deciding coronavirus, which is spreading at intense pace, quest for debt suspento coexist with the due to which more than 50 deaths are being sion till the end of the before the UN General demon, announced the recorded daily, the public gatherings and rallies pandemic for low-inAssembly, underlying the “new life model” call- by PDM are continuing to be held. they may not come and most afing the people to be pre- accept it because it’s against their political ego, fected countries. He measures the world pared to follow this but they must realize that the common sense disuggested cancellation community needs to take to model for an extended rectly relates to the lives of innocent people. of debt of least develperiod of time and learn their gathering in large numbers will put the oped countries that are defeat the pandemic. The to live and work with people’s lives at risk as the resurgence of corono longer in a position the virus. Looking navirus is already playing havoc. this is like to repay their loans. first item on his list is a closely at these new life going insane to fulfilling venomous objectives.

Other items on the request for debt suspension models, it can be seen Playing with people’s lives is a deliberate atagenda include: rethat the Japanese gov- tempt to obliterate masses– for the sake of no restructuring of the pubtill the end of the pandemic ernment established turn. If the PDM continues doing so, the cases lic sector debt of other for low-income and most these very practical set of coronavirus contract increase manifold. developing countries It is predicted that the coronavirus increase of SOPs using princiunder an agreed incluaffected countries. ples of rationality, sci- will die down soon, but many opine that it would sive multilateral frameence, and risk stay even longer than expected. So, Pakistan work; a general assessment. there are needs to adopt measures like that of Japan and allocation of special three basic points: keep the political parties must shun the path of dragdrawing rights of $500 billion; expanded concessional financing to a distance between people; wear a mask; and ging people to risk of life only for fulfilling their political agendas. lower income countries through multilateral de- wash hands frequently.

Specific requirements urge people to keep a velopment banks; and creation of a new ‘liquidThe writer is a freelance columnist ity and sustainability facility’, which should distance of two meters; play as much as possible

Surviving the second wave

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everY political party, state or private institution, and major business groups chooses individuals as spokesperson to interact with the media. A lot of effort and evaluation precedes before these individuals are selected because the choice of words they utter, represent the mindset of those who head the organization they represent.

We have only recently witnessed the acrimony, mistrust and seeds of division sown in the USA, by the spokesperson of President trump, and negativity generated by them. Unfortunately, despite being a superpower and their influence in world affairs, their role as a major player is today eroded. this negativity has had its impact within the USA, where bitterness and street demonstrations have erupted between the extreme right white supremacists and moderates leading to chaos. So intense is the quantum of bitterness and division which trump and his spokespersons have created himself, that even after more than a month of elections the sitting president and his supporters have refused to concede. In India the politics of division and hate propagated by Modi has resulted in widespread eruption of violence and killing of Muslims, Dalits and other minorities by Hindu Supremacist mindset of Shiv Sena. While the USA will hopefully overcome the division within its rank and file because of the strength of their institutions and commitment of establishment and judiciary to uphold the constitution, which they have sworn, the same would be very difficult in other countries like Pakistan. One can only hope that individuals and powerful state institutions and their political adversaries in Pakistan use discretion through tolerance and respect, which Islam stresses upon, by ensuring that the spokespersons they choose serve to unite people and bridge gaps that may exist, instead of widening them.

Malik Tariq ali lahore

Occupied Kashmir and the UN I am older than Pakistan by 24 years. Having witnessed the freedom movement in my prime, I love the founder of Pakistan and all those who toiled with him for freedom from the colonial power. After WWII, when the freedom movement was at its peak and the British had decided to leave India, the Congress triggered the “quit India movement” and decided to begin a non-cooperative movement with the British. However, our leader M.A Jinnah did not close the door of talks and engaged with the British to ensure a peaceful and smooth transition of power. the British finally had to agree to freedom of the sub-continent and established a boundary commission which submitted its report according to which Punjab was partitioned into east and West Punjab. However, Lord Mountbatten, the viceroy of India, in connivance with the Congress, allocated Gurdaspur to India to enable Maharaja Hari Singh to join India without getting the opinion of Kashmir residents. Kashmiris with support from Pakistan managed to liberate about 1/3rd of the state, which now comprises the Azad Kashmir, while India has unlawfully occupied the rest since 1948. the matter is sitting on the UN table for more than seventy years now while India is denying basic rights to the people of the occupied Kashmir. they are facing the worst of atrocities and the world is just watching. the UNO and world powers- proponents of democracy - sit on the sidelines silently watching how Indian occupation forces are beating the residents of Kashmir and trampling their basic freedom of movement. One wonders why the UNO, was established? Was it just to protect and legitimize the actions of the few powerful countries or to protect the rights of people in distress? I, an old citizen of Pakistan who participated in the freedom movement wonder if the miseries of the people of Kashmir will ever be over. raja ShafaaTullah iSlaMabad

Metropol issues KArACHI being the provincial capital in Sindh and largest national revenue collection center in the country should enjoy the technological and infrastructural facilities that a metropolitan of its stature deserves, however, a mere walk through the streets of the city proves otherwise. the city is riddled with not just pollution of all forms but also political unrest along with insufficient infrastructural development. the streets of this vast and ancient city are filled with garbage, polluted air and sub par hygienic conditions which pose a major health hazard for the overwhelming population. All forms of garbage can be seen deposited at every corner of every street with little to no intervention by authorities to manage the situation the sewage lines are often found to be damaged or ill maintained while large portions of the taxpayers money seems to be drained for failed attempts at creating a proper system for waste management. this further leads to sewer and manholes often overflowing in rainy seasons, wreaking havoc and creating unsanitary conditions that last for weeks on end. the huge metropolitan further suffers ill management by authorities on account of its vast size and the great political unrest that is common within the city. the masses are blindly being led to a chaotic world with no political stability of any sort.

SuMbul Zaidi karachi

Online fraud LISteNING about fraudulent of online shopping malls was curious and not unbelievable for me, as a result of trusting Daraz online shopping, I came under scammed net. I ordered a key chain of metal with customised name, number and picture at cost of 725 with dilevery charges in turbat. After a week on thursday 10 Dec, 2020, I received my product which I opened was very different from the picture was given on the site. the product was a not a metal rather a plastic and whatever customised names I have given were not printed on the keychain. this is not first time, in the same month I ordered two fair of sandals for my niece from an online shops, when the product came the sandals were very low quality product which are available in common shops with lowest rate. Being cheated for the second time, I chatted for complain at daraz online chat but unfortunately, now they even don’t read my messages. every shopping mall is set to loot on the name of fake product pictures with no fear of a law. the concerned authority must look into issue and take strict action against those online shops which are set to loot the customers. aS baloch kech

Thursday, 17 December, 2020

08 WORLD VIEW

HistoRy sHoWs PunjAb HAs AlWAys tAken on tyRAnts. Modi is no diFFeRent WHEN KASHMIRIS SPEAK UP ABOUT THEIR STRUGGLES, THE GOVERNMENT AND THEIR PROPAGANDIST MEDIA LABELS THEM “TERRORISTS.” WHEN MUSLIMS SPEAK UP, THEY’RE LABELED “TERRORISTS.” WHEN SIKHS SPEAK UP, WE’RE LABELED “TERRORISTS”

washingTon PosT

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rupI kAur

Y people laugh at tyrants. Punjabis today say, “When alexander the Great attempted to invade, Punjab sent him packing. What’s a Modi to an alexander the Great?”

For Sikhs, dissent against oppression is nothing new. We resisted the Mughals for 300 years. In the 1910s, we birthed a global resistance against British colonial rule that stretched from the fields of Northern California to the villages of Pun-

jab, called the Ghadar Movement. My parents’ generation survived the 1984 Sikh genocide and the decade of state-sponsored violence and extrajudicial killings that followed.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi now joins the long historical list of tyrants Punjab has taken on. In September, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hastily passed three farm bills, with the stated intent of liberalizing the country’s agrarian sector. Farmers see these bills as a ploy to hand over the sector to Modi’s billionaire supporters, such as Mukesh ambani and Gautam adani. On Nov.25, tens of thousands of Punjabi farmers and farmworkers began marching towards the country’s capital, New Delhi. as they peacefully crossed into neighboring haryana, they were met with tear gas, water cannons, police batons and road barriers. Now, as winter sets in, not even a bitter, bone-chewing cold has stopped a million protesters from planting their feet at Delhi’s borders.

My aunt, like most members of my

Why Facebook’s arguments against a breakup don’t make sense IF FACEBOOK SPLIT UP, REVERSING ITS ACQUISITIONS OF WHATSAPP AND INSTAGRAM, NOBODY APART FROM THE COMPANY'S MANAGERS WOULD ACTUALLY BE AFFECTED

BloomBerg

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CATHY O'NEIL

hat would happen if Facebook disappeared tomorrow? Would people suddenly be unable to communicate online?

Would the economy screech to a halt?

Would anyone be deprived of a good, service or piece of information that was somehow crucial to their existence?

Of course not. Which is why the one of the company’s main arguments against a breakup — that it’s too big and complex to dismember — makes no sense.

Some companies play such an important role in the economy or in people’s lives that their failure or disintegration could be disastrous. this allows them to drive a hard bargain with the government if they get into trouble: help us, or else. During the 2008 financial crisis, for example, the government had little choice but to rescue the largest U.S. banks, lest their demise bring down the country’s whole system of credit and payments.

In this sense, they were “too big to fail” — and they have grown even bigger since.

It’s easy to see why people might place Facebook in a similar category.

It’s big, among the largest companies in the world by market capitalization — thanks in large part to the pace at which

it has vacuumed up the competition, with the blessing of U.S. authorities.

With more than 200 million users in the U.S. alone, it definitely plays a role in a lot of people’s lives —so much so that it has aggravated the country’s divisions by enticing people to delve ever deeper into conspiracy theories about vaccines, Covid-19 and much else.

So what would happen if, as a result of the antitrust suits filed by the Federal trade Commission and state attorneys general, a court ordered Facebook to split up, reversing its acquisitions of Whatsapp and Instagram? the company’s lawyers argue that the various businesses have become so inextricably interwoven that a breakup would be extremely difficult, generating costs and chaos that would harm users worldwide. In other words, don’t mess with us, or else.

Really? No doubt, the breakup would be difficult for Facebook’s managers, who rely on data sharing among Whatsapp, Instagram, and Facebook to create the most complete possible profiles of users and then sell their attention to the highest bidder. If the companies were separated, all the investment they’d been making into surveillance and targeting wouldn’t immediately work out as well as they had hoped. For them, the product is the advertising, not the service to users.

For users, though, there would hardly be a difference. Most try to ignore the advertising anyway — or occasionally get creeped out when they see an ad for a product they’d been researching elsewhere. they’re primarily there for the content from celebrities and their friends, or to communicate through group chats and messaging systems. the apps are already separate icons on their computers and phones.

Even in the highly unlikely event that all three apps somehow failed, it’s hard to imagine consumers suffering much. they have plenty of other ways to reach each other, such as twitter, Zoom and email. Given the role Facebook has played in polarizing society, there might even be some upside.

family in Punjab, is a small-scale farmer.

More than half of India’s workforce is in farming, with 85 percent of farmers owning less than five acres. “they can try to take everything we have, they’ve tried before,” my aunt told us over the phone weeks ago. She had just returned from a protest in her village. “But our spirit will never extinguish.” Punjab’s tradition of resilient defiance is on full display, and it is a sight to behold.

Protesters have traveled hundreds of miles by bicycle and tractor, many saying they’re prepared to stay for at least six months if they have to. the resistance is intersectional; Mazdoors, landless farm laborers, and members of the Dalit community who have long faced systemic caste-based discrimination are present.

Women are leading the way, with menstrual products being passed freely to female protesters. Farmers from other states have joined. Protesters from ages 7 to 90 rise from their makeshift beds as the morning cold continues to bite; some protesters are dying of the cold. those marching are

singing spiritual kirtan. People gather to cut vegetables for langar (the Sikh practice of making and serving free meals). the community has set up blood donation clinics, gyms, book distributions and created efforts to feed the poor in surrounding areas. through music and poetic verse, protesters call out the Modi government and India’s corporate billionaires. this protest is beginning to look more and more like a revolution. It has the Indian government shaking. But many of us watching the protests know the ugly reality for minorities in Modi’s India and what happens when they speak up against mistreatment. human rights violations have followed Modi his entire political career. he is a lifelong member of the RSS, a right-wing paramilitary hindu nationalist organization that seeks to turn India into a hindutva state. In 2005, Modi was banned from entering the United States and Europe for his involvement in the mass murders of 2,000 people, mostly Muslims, during the 2002 Gujarat pogroms, during which he served as the

state’s chief minister.

When Kashmiris speak up about their struggles, the government and their propagandist media labels them “terrorists.”

When Muslims speak up, they’re labeled “terrorists.” When Sikhs speak up, we’re labeled “terrorists.” Minorities, intellectuals, student leaders and journalists are labeled “anti-nationals” and can be jailed under false allegations for not toeing the state’s line. the Punjabi diaspora has come out in full force, supporting the current protests with packed rallies throughout the world to amplify farmer’s voices. On Dec.5, I went to a car rally that spanned 18 miles in toronto.

In San Francisco, thousands of cars took over the Bay Bridge and caravanned towards the Indian Consulate. as friends and relatives of those currently protesting in Delhi, we are worried about the potential for retribution the farmers will face. Sikhs are venerated when we die for others but are demonized when we stand up for ourselves. Since the farmers started marching to New Delhi, pro-Modi segments of the Indian media have gone into overdrive, labeling peaceful protesters as terrorists and anti-nationals. thus, it becomes imperative that the international press shows the world what is happening to peaceful protesters and makes an effort to amplify their voices.

Dissent is on its last leg in India. any hope to restore it is tied to the fate of this farmers protest. their resistance acts as a last line of defense against a government-backed corporate takeover. an elderly protester recently said, “We have faced bigger tyrants than Modi. as long as there is breath in our lungs, we will keep fighting.”

Rupi Kaur is a poet and the author of “home body.” She lives in Toronto.

An epidemic of foreign agents THE PROPOSED NEW LAW ON 'FOREIGN AGENTS' GIVES CARTE BLANCHE TO LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS WHO SUBSCRIBE TO CONSPIRACY THEORIES

moscow Times

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VLAdImIr SLIVYAk

USSIaN lawmakers have prepared several bills that threaten to further suffocate Russia’s civil society. Not only would they introduce new penalties for registered NGOs listed as “foreign agents,” but they would also enable the authorities to hang that same label on individuals and unregistered organizations. a significant change in the current legislation, it would give the authorities a far broader license to apply punitive measures against whomever they find undesirable, and even against unsuspecting citizens who happen to find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. In this new epidemic of suppression, it could be just as easy to wind up listed as a “foreign agent” as it is to catch the coronavirus.

WHO IS A FOREIGN AGENT? Who is labeled a foreign agent and why? according to the law, this status is applied to those who receive money from abroad and are engaged in political activity.

But how are these two conditions interpreted? the definition of “political activity” is extremely broad and vague. at the very least, the Justice Ministry and the courts consider participation in politics to mean criticizing a decision by the authorities or forwarding other people’s critical comments to third parties, whether it concerns, say, regulating the price of alcohol or the rights of people with disabilities. the understanding of “foreign financing” is equally broad. It can include a money transfer from relatives abroad, a foreign organization paying for services performed in Russia, or even receipt of a refund from an online store in another country. If any legal entity or individual abroad

sends a Russian citizen as little as one ruble, it is enough to label that person as the recipient of foreign funds. One of the most bizarre examples of this occurred when, for some reason, the Russian Orthodox Church transferred a charitable grant for a domestic NGO through a foreign account, prompting the authorities to label the recipient a foreign agent. Interestingly, the bills make it possible to label an unregistered group as foreign agent, even if that group has no formal bank account. how do the authorities prove that such a group even exists or obtain evidence that it has received money from abroad? Do they limit themselves to checking members’ individual bank accounts? Or do they rely on the city’s surveillance cameras to monitor the group’s meetings? how wide will be such surveillance and does it require a court order?

Strictly speaking, there are no clear criteria for classifying citizens as unregistered social groups, making this the greyest of grey areas. In fact, any group of people that meets regularly could be considered an unregistered organization.

Unfortunately, this provision of the law gives carte blanche to law enforcement officials who subscribe to conspiracy theories. after all, honors and promotions are not given to officers for catching polluters of the air and water, but to those who expose unregistered organizations that spread criticisms of the government’s environmental policy.

You won’t get ahead by bringing to justice a tV anchor on a state-controlled channel who incites hatred towards a neighboring country, but you might just earn a commendation for going after those who criticize the anchor.

THE PRESSURE IS RISING We must admit that Russian legislators have shown themselves to be much more inventive than even George Orwell was, but then, practitioners always outshine theorists.

One can hope, of course, that the authorities will not make extensive use of these new tools for the suppression of ordinary citizens. the indisputable fact, however, is that new measures for intimidating the populace have already appeared and been publicly proclaimed. Worse, they can be applied against almost anyone, from political activists and journalists to businesspeople and long-haul truckers. the line between politically active members of society and ordinary, apolitical citizens has grown even thinner — that is, if it still exists at all. the process of tightening the screws on Russian society did not begin today or even back in mid-2014 when the authorities started

targeting NGOs. then, with youthful enthusiasm, the Ministry of Justice began including prominent NGOs in its registry of foreign agents — Golos for publishing inconvenient truths about elections; Ecodefense! for opposing a geopolitically important nuclear power plant; and Memorial simply because its work prevents the authorities from denying that Russians also have human rights. a law was adopted back in 2004 that significantly restricted the freedom to hold meetings such as rallies, marches, and so on. It became illegal to gather to hear speeches or protest near an environmentally hazardous enterprise or the president’s residence.

In 2005, it became almost impossible to hold a referendum without the participation of the authorities. after that, the laws governing NGOs were repeatedly stiffened.

In fact, the Russian authorities have been stepping up the pressure on civil society for the past 16 years. Over that same period, Russia’s relations with the West have alternately grown better and worse, as has its economy. a new Russian president even came to power, bringing hopes for the country’s modernization. But through it all, only two things remained unchanged: the person who really calls the shots in Russia and the Kremlin’s policy of suppressing all civic activity. thus, the current situation is not an anomaly, but the continuation of all that has come before.

CITIZENS HAVE GROWN STRONGER although Russian civil society has been under increasing pressure for the better part of two decades, the fact that the authorities are now prepared to label even informal groups, and just about anyone else as a foreign agent indicates that leaders have so far failed to achieve their goal. that iron heel might now come down not only on members of the opposition, but even on Putin’s loyal supporters whose only complaint is that their salaries are too low and prices too high. It is unlikely that such a policy will engender greater support for the government among any group except, perhaps, diehard Stalinists. tensions between the government and civil society are growing. this might be a cause for alarm, but it also indicates that those members of society who are ostensibly weaker, have refused to give up over a very long period of time. and this means that they have actually grown stronger.

It seems that the time has come to think about what course a post-authoritarian Russia will take. One thing is certain: in that society, the government will not be in conflict with the people.

Thursday, 17 December, 2020

BUSINESS 09

SECP establishes firstever ‘business centre’ for swift company registration ISLAMABAD INP

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), while rigorously pursuing its objective of providing ease of doing business, has established its first ever "business centre" for swift incorporation of companies and to ensure instant response to investors' requests for information and queries. "The centre, located in the federal capital, is well equipped with a professional team and latest technology to promptly process incorporation applications of companies having registered office/correspondence address within the jurisdiction of CRO, Islamabad," a statement issued on by the commission on Wednesday read. The establishment of business centre is a continuation of the SECP's ambitious reform agenda to improve ease of doing business in Pakistan. The commission has already rationalized and reduced the incorporation fee, simplified registration forms and significantly reduced the turnaround time for incorporation of a company.

"The SECP's business centre is a step forward to centralize the process of business registration in Pakistan, which will ensure uniformity of practices, improve turnaround time and smooth resolution of any problems," the statement read.

Pakistan, Netherlands agree to enhance trade relations Pakistan and the Netherlands have agreed to further enhance investment and trade relations. The understanding came during a telephonic conversation between Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok on Wednesday.

Qureshi expressed satisfaction that the exports ratio between the two countries has increased regardless of the Covid-19, and stressed the need to further enhance the scope of cooperation in various fields. He also briefed his Dutch counterpart about the recent EU Disinfolab report which disclosed as to how India is involved in maligning Pakistan through fake websites and NGOs. Alluding to the Indian atrocities in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the foreign minister said the European Union (EU) should take notice of it. Both ministers also discussed the situation in Afghanistan and the intra-Afghan dialogue. Qureshi said that Pakistan will continue its sincere efforts for peace and stability in the region, including Afghanistan. NEWS DESK

PTA finalises consultant for spectrum auction ISLAMABAD TLTP

In line with the directions of the Ministry of Information Technology & Telecommunication (MoIT&T), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has completed the evaluation process for the selection of an international consultant for spectrum auction of 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz bands. According to a statement issued by PTA on Wednesday, the advertisement for hiring of a consultant/consultancy firm was published in national and international newspapers, as well as PTA and PPRA websites, on September 30th, 2020. In response to the advertisement, PTA received 12 bids from consultants/consultancy firms till the deadline i.e.

November 17, 2020. "After detailed evaluation of financial bids, in the presence of five technically qualified bidders (three were physically present while two joined the meeting via video link), Frontier Economics Limited has been declared successful," the statement read. The PTA evaluated the proposals and finalized the consultant in accordance with Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules. After the completion of further formalities, the successful consultant is expected to formally sign a contract with the authority.

ECC APPRovES ElECTRiC vEhiClE, moBilE dEviCE mANuFACTuRiNg PoliCiES ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has approved the 'Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy' as well as the 'Electric Vehicles Policy' [for two-three wheelers and heavy commercial vehicles].

The ECC meeting was chaired by Finance and Revenue Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, according to press statement issued by the Finance Ministry on Wednesday.

"After due deliberation, the forum approved removal of withholding tax of 4pc on manufacturing to retailers of locally manufactured phones to incentivise the sector," the statement read.

"Moreover, removal of sales tax on locally manufactured phones was also approved in principle and modalities in this regard would be worked out in con-

sultation with the Finance Division."

Among other agenda items, the ECC approved a Rs219.300 million technical supplementary grant (TSG) for the operationalization of the newly established Isolation Hospital and Infections Treatment Centre, Islamabad; Rs305.462 million TSG to payoff Pakistan’s annual contribution to World Health Organization (WHO); Rs106.775 million to the ICT Administration for various projects; Rs706.82 million for FATA, temporary displaced persons, Emergency Recovery Project, NADRA; Rs278 million as annual contribution of Pakistan to United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Partners in Population and Development (PPD) and Family Planning Association of Pakistan (IPPF-FPAP) for FY19, FY20 & FY21; and Rs53.10 million for procurement of medical equipment, machinery and medicines

to combat Covid-19.

Meanwhile, the maritime affairs minister updated the forum about the latest position of wheat vessels and operations of Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and Port Qasim Authority (PQA). The chair directed that the ECC's logistic committee would be chaired by the maritime affairs minister to workout SOPs while ensuring all stakeholders, including private sector, are onboard with reference to priority berthing.

The ECC also accorded approval for the issuance of offshore Pakistani Rupee-linked bonds to the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Later, the Ministry of National Food Security presented a summary for the provision of additional quantities of wheat to the Government of Azad Jammu Kashmir and Utility Stores Corporation.

The finance minister directed the officials concerned to provide first load

APTMA chief Gohar Ejaz to head FBR's tax settlement body LAHORE HASSAN NAQVI

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has appointed All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Patron-in-Chief Gohar Ejaz as head of its complaint resolution committee for settlement of sales tax matters.

The FBR on Tuesday had constituted a special committee, which was tasked to review complaints related to sales tax; take prompt action for their resolution; follow up with field formations till the issue was resolved; and adopt a mechanism for early resolution of such matters.

The committee headed by Gohar Ejaz also included Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue-La-

hore; additional commissioner (RTO-Lahore); Pacific Pharmaceuticals Vice President Dr Quratul Ain Irfan, former Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) president Almas Hyder and APTMA Executive Director Mohammad Raza Baqir.

The additional commissioner

will serve as the secretary of the committee.

Meanwhile, in a statement issued on Wednesday, Gohar Ejaz has urged all taxpayers and members of the business community to forward their issues pertaining to sales tax refunds along with documentary evidence to the additional commissioner/committee secretary.

The business community has largely appreciated the government's initiative for reposing its confidence in the leadership of the private sector by appointing Gohar Ejaz as head of the tax resolution committee.

They hoped that the committee, under the leadership of Gohar Ejaz, would be able to achieve its objectives in the shortest possible time.

Chinese companies in Pakistan seek permission for workers' vaccination KARACHI TLTP

Two Chinese companies in Pakistan -- the China Zhongyuan Engineering Corporation (CZEC) and the China Ocean Engineering Construction General Bureau (COECG) -- have sought permission from the government to arrange coronavirus vaccination for their Chinese workers.

"The companies have sought permission from the government of Pakistan to import 10,000 vials of the vaccine from China," said a letter received by the health ministry. "The companies will vaccinate their 5,000 Chinese workers stationed in Karachi."

All arrangements for the administration of the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine would be made by the said companies, the letter read.

Sources said the Ministry of Health has asked the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) to submit its opinion over the request made by the two Chinese firms.

Meanwhile, the University of Health Sciences (UHS) on Wednesday held a ceremony to mark the completion of 3,000 clinical trials of a Chinese vaccine.

UHS Vice Chancellor Prof Javed Akram along with Chinese experts celebrated the milestone by cutting a cake. The vice chancellor felicitated the experts over completion of successful trials of the vaccine.

of additional quantities to both AJ&K and USC as an interim arrangement to ensure smooth supply of wheat across the country.

The meeting was attended by Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, Industries & Production Minister Hammad Azhar, Economic Affairs Minister Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, Adviser to PM on Institutional Reforms & Austerity Ishrat Hussain, SAPM on Revenue Dr Waqar Masood, SAPM on Petroleum Nadeem Babar, Maritime Affairs Minister Ali Haider Zaidi, SAPM on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Dr Sania Nishtar, SAPM on Energy Tabish Gauhar, Privatization Minister Muhammadmian Soomro and Energy Minister Omar Ayub Khan. State Bank of Pakistan Governor Dr Reza Baqir joined the meeting via video link.

FBR launches online module to facilitate greenfield investors ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has launched an online module to facilitate investors to apply online for grants of Greenfield industry status, a FBR spokesman said on Wednesday. “To promote investment in the greenfield industry and to facilitate such investors, FBR has launched an online module in Iris for facilitating filing of applications for the grant of greenfield industry status. To this end, two separate applications have been provided under the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 and Sales Tax Act, 1990,” said the FBR spokesperson in a statement. Faceless compliance and facilitation through the use of ICT tools is a priority agenda of FBR as per the Vision of the Present government. The FBR is moving fast to accomplish this vision as a leader in developing and launching such faceless compliance tools for facilitation of the taxpayers. Separately, the FBR on Wednesday issued draft amendment for notifying format for updating profile by taxpayers. The FBR issued SRO 1341(I)/2020 dated December 16, 2020 to issue draft amendment to Income Tax Rules, 2002. A new rule 34B has been proposed for the taxpayer's profile. The FBR said that this rule shall apply for the purpose of section 114A of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, which provides for the furnishing of a taxpayer’s profile. A taxpayer’s profile shall be filed electronically on the prescribed format and manner as provided on IRIS web portal. A taxpayer’s profile shall be filed electronically on the prescribed format and manner as provided on IRIS web portal. The taxpayer’s profile shall be verified in the manner specified on IRIS web portal. Through the Finance Act, 2020 a new section 114A was inserted to Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 for making it mandatory for taxpayers to update their profile.

MARKET DAILY

Stocks add 109 points in volatile trade KARACHI STAFF REPORT

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) turned volatile on Wednesday, with the benchmark index losing most of the points accumulated earlier in the day to end with minor gains.

Global equity markets also showed a positive trend (US and Indian markets hitting record highs), whereas crude oil prices continued with its northward journey; WTI crude price appreciating 0.15pc

to $47.69 while Brent crude price rising 0.14pc to $50.84.

"Exploration & production and fertilizer sectors took charge of the index after yesterday’s profit booking; E&P reacted positively to the increase in international oil prices, while fertilizers took cue from the recent uptick in urea offtake," a report issued by Arif Habib Ltd read. "However, cement, technology and refinery stocks, which have been the major contributors to the index off late, saw consistent profit booking, keeping

the movement of the bourse in check."

SUMMARY: The benchmark KSE-100 Index swayed both ways on Wednesday, touching its intraday low at 43,183.77 (67.07 points) and high at 43,556.06 (+305.22 points). It finally ended higher by 109.35 points at 43,360.19.

Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index gathered 390.67 points to close at 70,715.13, while the KSE All Share Index added 65.02 points, settling at 30,378.97.

The overall market volumes plunged

CMYK

from 702.12 million shares in the previous session to 433.00 million shares (-38pc). Average traded value also declined by 27pc, from $182.5 million to $133.3 million. TRG Pakistan Ltd (TRG +0.54pc), Pakistan Refinery Ltd (PRL -1.36pc) and Hascol Petroleum Ltd (HASCOL -3.44pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 29.14 million, 28.20 million and 22.89 million shares, respectively.

Sectors that kept the benchmark index afloat included oil & gas exploration (+90.92 points), technology & communication

(+50.19 points) and fertilizer (+49.69 points). Among the companies, Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDC +57.16 points), Systems Ltd (SYS +48.31 points) and Engro Corporation Ltd (ENGRO +39.17 points) remained the top contributors.

Adding 2.10pc to its total market capitalization, the oil & gas exploration sector ended as the session’s top performer, with OGDC (+3.56pc), Pakistan Oilfields Limited (POL +0.48pc) and Pak Petroleum Ltd (PPL +1.92pc) all closed positive.

Thursday, 17 December, 2020

10 foreign news

NZ Child abuse iNquiry fiNds quarter of a MillioN harMed iN state aNd faith-based Care WELLINGTON

u

AGENCIES

P to a quarter of a million children, young people and vulnerable adults were physically and sexually abused in New Zealand’s faith-based and state care institutions from the 1960s to early 2000s, a public inquiry revealed on Wednesday.

An interim report by the Royal Commission of Inquiry found children, some from as young as nine months old, suffered years of abuse, which included rape and electric shock treatment, by staff at psychiatric and state care facilities, clergy and foster guardians.

The report estimated that up to 256,000 people were abused, accounting for almost 40 per cent of the 655,000 people in care during the period, with most abuse occurring in the 1970s and 1980s.

“The hurt and anguish that has been caused in New Zealand’s history is inexcus-

able,” said Minister for the Public Service Chris Hipkins, who described the report as a “difficult read”. “All children in the care of the state should be safe from harm, but as the testimony sets out all too often the opposite was true.”

The report said most abuse survivors were aged between 5 and 17. Most were abused over a five to 10 year period. The abuse included physical assault and sexual abuse, with staff in some psychiatric institutions forcing male patients to rape female patients. It also included the improper use of medical procedures including electric shocks on genitals and legs, improper strip searches and vaginal examinations, and verbal abuse and racial slurs.

“Sometimes I had have shock treatment twice a day,” said Anne, who at 17 was placed in a psychiatric institution in 1979.

“The records (said) I went blind, then they gave me shock treatment again that night,” she told the inquiry. Prime Minister Jacinda

Ardern announced the Royal Commission in 2018 saying the country needed to confront “a dark chapter” in its history, and later expanded it to include churches and other faithbased institutions.

The report said the likelihood of children and young people abused in faith-based or religious homes ranges from 21 per cent to 42 per cent. It found the number of people passing through care institutions was six times higher than previously estimated. “On any assessment this is a serious and longstanding social problem that needs to be addressed,” the report said.

The Royal Commission will make recommendations to the government in its final report. It is one of longest and most complex commissions of inquiry undertaken in New Zealand. The interim report on Wednesday comes after private and public redress hearings where survivors bravely narrated harrowing accounts of physical and sexual abuse.

One indigenous Maori survivor, Peter,

told the inquiry he drove a car off a cliff in an attempt to suicide to escape the abuse. “I did not want to live anymore. I went over a cliff and smashed head-on into a bank.

Again, if anybody just stopped and looked at why, they would have figured something out, but they did not,” he said. Abuse survivors said a “culture of silence and secrecy” kept the abuse hidden to the outside world. The report said many survivors now suffer mental health issues, like post traumatic stress disorder and depression, and battle substance abuse.

The Catholic Church in Aotearoa New Zealand said it would study the report to learn how to deal with complaints and prevent abuse. “We are deeply sorry for the harm caused to so many by the abuse they suffered, and we continue to express our profound sorrow,” said the Archbishop of Wellington Cardinal John Dew. The report acknowledged that Maori children probably suffered the most, as 81 per cent of children

abused in care are Māori, while 69 per cent of the children in care are Māori. It said some faith-based institutions sought to “cleanse”, through sexual and physical abuse, the cultural identity from Maori people in care.

Thousands of Maori people protested across New Zealand last year calling for an end to the practice of taking at-risk children away from families and placing them in state care. Critics of the practice have said the process is racially skewed against the Maori, and is a legacy of colonisation.

Neighbouring Australia delivered a national apology in 2017, after a five-year inquiry into child sexual abuse revealed thousands of cases of sexual misconduct largely committed at religious and staterun institutions.

Hipkins said the New Zealand government would make a decision on an apology once the Commission hands over its final report.

US sanctions an attack on Turkey's rights: Erdogan ANKARA AGENCIES

Malaysia invokes emergency to stop by-elections as Covid-19 cases rise KUALA LUMPUR AGENCIES

Malaysia’s government on Wednesday declared a state of emergency to stop by-elections in two constituencies scheduled for next month, as the country grapples with a spike in coronavirus cases over the past few months. The Southeast Asian nation has seen a sharp jump in cases since September, with the total number of infections climbing above 86,000 and with 422 deaths as of Tuesday. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in a statement the king had assented to the request to impose an emergency in the Bugaya constituency in Sabah on Borneo, the state that health authorities believe was the epicentre of the country’s third wave of infections, and the Gerik constituency in Perak state. The government had declared a state of emergency in another constituency in Sabah last month, also to stop a scheduled by-election. In October, King Al-Sultan Abdullah rejected an attempt by Muhyiddin to impose a nationwide state of emergency in response to rising coronavirus cases, with critics accusing the premier of attempting to block a potential showdown in parliament ahead of a crucial budget vote. Muhyiddin on Tuesday succeeded in passing his 2021 budget with a two-vote majority in parliament.

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that US sanctions imposed on Turkey over its purchase of Russian defence systems were an attack on Ankara’s sovereign rights aimed at deterring its defence industry, a move which he said was bound to fail.

On Monday, Washington imposed the sanctions targeting NATO member Turkey’s Defence Industry Directorate (SSB), its chief Ismail Demir and three other employees over its acquisition of Russian S400 missile defence systems.

In his first public comments on the move, Erdogan said that problems stemming from the sanctions would be overcome and vowed to ramp up efforts towards an independent defence industry, while criticising Washington for sanctioning a NATO ally.

“What kind of alliance is this? What kind of partnership is this? This decision is an open hostile attack against our country’s sovereign rights,” he said in a televised address.

“The real goal is to block the advances our country started in the defence industry recently and to once again render us absolutely dependent on them,” he added. “Surely there will be problems, but each problem will push open a door for us for a solution.”

Washington says the S-400s pose a threat to its F-35 fighter jets and to NATO’s broader defence sys-

tems. Turkey rejects this and says S-400s will not be integrated into NATO. On Wednesday, Erdogan repeated that the US concerns had no technical basis.

He added that Ankara still produced close to 1,000 parts for the F-35 jets, despite being removed from the programme over the S-400 purchase. Turkey had also been due to buy more than 100 F-35 jets.

UK says credible evidence of forced labour in China's Xinjiang region LONDON AGENCIES

Britain said on Wednesday there was credible, growing and troubling evidence of forced labour among Uighur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang region.

“Evidence of forced Uighur labour within Xinjiang, and in other parts of China, is credible, it is growing and deeply troubling to the UK government,” foreign office minister Nigel Adams told parliament.

Adams was responding to a report which said some global clothing brands indirectly sourced cotton grown in the region.

Earlier this month, the United States banned cotton imports from a powerful Chinese quasi-military organisation that it says uses the forced labour of detained persons. Adams said firms had a duty to ensure their supply chains were free of forced labour.

Kangaroos can learn to communicate with humans: researchers SYDNEY AGENCIES

Kangaroos can learn to communicate with humans similar to how domesticated dogs do, by using their gaze to “point” and ask for help, researchers said in a study published on Wednesday. The study involved 11 kangaroos that lived in captivity but had not been domesticated. Ten of the 11 marsupials intently gazed at researchers when they were unable to open a box with food, according to the report. Nine alternately looked at the human and at the container, as a way of pointing or gesturing toward the object. “We interpreted this as a deliberate form of communication, a request for help,” Alan McElligott, the Irish researcher who led the study, told a news agency.

“Wild species are not really expected to behave as those subjects were, and that’s why it is surprising.” The findings challenge the notion that only domesticated animals such as dogs, horses or goats communicate with humans, and suggests many more animals could grasp how to convey meaning to humans, the paper asserts. “We have previously thought only domesticated animals try to ask for help with a problem. But kangaroos do it too,” concluded coresearcher Alexandra Green from the University of Sydney.

“It is more likely to be a learned behaviour when the environment is right.”

Ending his remarks, Erdogan unveiled footage of Turkey’s new domestic missile defence system, HISAR-A+, which he said had been delayed due to an embargo on a part Turkey was importing. He did not say which country Turkey was importing from.

“Turkey has long left behind the period of being stuck by such sanctions,” he said.

Australia reports first local Covid-19 case in two weeks SYDNEY AGENCIES

Australia’s most populous state on Wednesday reported its first coronavirus case in nearly two weeks after an airport worker tested positive prompting authorities to suggest international flight crews should also quarantine after arriving.

A 45-year old man who shuttles international airlines staff to the airport tested positive for Covid-19, New South Wales (NSW) Health Minister Brad Hazzard told reporters.

Hazzard said the government will talk to international airlines in the next 48 hours to suggest changes to existing quarantine rules for air crew.

“The inclination at this time is... that international aircrews coming into New South Wales will most

likely be required to quarantine in the same way as any other international visitors,” he said.

Returning travellers from overseas are required to be quarantined for 14 days but Hazzard said airline crews need not go through the mandatory isolation for the same duration. “As the virus seemed to be contained in terms of community transmission, our most exposed areas are principally around our borders... we may be an island but we are not totally isolated from the pandemic that is raging across the world,” he said. Australia has largely contained the community transmission of the virus and last reported a local case on December 3 when a hotel quarantine worker in Sydney tested positive for the virus.

Australia has reported just over 28,000 cases of Covid-19 and 908 deaths since the pandemic began but estimates there are less than 50 active cases re-

maining, mostly returned travellers from overseas in hotel quarantine.

Thursday, 17 December, 2020

SPORTS 11

MAnchester city held tO hOMe drAw by lOwly west brOMwich AlbiOn

MANCHESTER

M

AGENCIES

ANCHESTER City’s hopes of closing the gap on the Premier League pacesetters were frustrated as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to lowly West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday.

City took the lead on the half hour when Raheem Sterling did well to work his way to the byline and pull the ball back to Ilkay Gundogan who expertly side-footed home.

But West Brom, second bottom of the league, drew level two minutes before the break when a shot on the turn from Semi Ajayi hit City defender Ruben Dias and deflected past wrong-footed goalkeeper Ederson.

The hosts camped in West Brom’s half

throughout most of the second period but Slaven Bilic’s side showed tremendous determination and defensive solidity. City had late chances though–Kevin De Bruyne went close with a free kick that West Brom keeper Sam Johnstone did well to reach while Sergio Aguero blasted wide from a good position.

Johnstone did well again in stoppage time to keep out a close-range Gundogan header and denied another great opportunity for Sterling who headed straight at the keeper.

After 12 games Pep Guardiola’s City are in sixth place. “It is not about the points (off the top), you have to win games like this,” said Guardiola. “We know it, we drop points. These are the ones you have to win. It’s not far away to the top of the league but you have to beat West Brom at home,” he added.

“You don’t have to be so clever to see the

New Zealand's Ferguson out for up to six weeks with stress fracture WELLINGTON AGENCIES

New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson will be out of action for between four and six weeks with a partial stress fracture to his back but does not need surgery, the country’s cricket board said on Wednesday.

Ferguson’s injury came to light after the recent Twenty20 series against West Indies and the 29-year-old has already been ruled out of the upcoming T20 and Test series against Pakistan, which starts in Auckland on Friday (tomorrow).

"We are all really feeling for Lockie," New Zealand coach Gary Stead said in a statement. "Injuries are certainly part of our sport, but to get something like this when

you're at the very top of your game is especially disappointing.

“The pace and skill he has been able to consistently produce has made him one of the very best white ball bowlers in the world and a huge asset. Lockie has a great attitude and I know he is up for the fight so he will get stuck into the rehab and we are still hopeful he may get back on the park at the back end of summer.”

New Zealand will play three T20s and two Tests against Pakistan, after which they face Australia at home in a five-match T20 series starting in late February.

The ‘Black Caps’ then host Bangladesh in a limited-overs series comprising three one-day internationals and three T20s that ends on March 28.

Benzema double sees off Athletic Bilbao as Real Madrid win again MADRID AGENCIES

gap between this year and previous years (in our results). It is not confidence, Sergio Aguero is injured for four months, but we create chances, we are there we just can’t score.”

Bilic was proud of the way his team stuck at their task for 90 minutes. “The team was working hard, a great defensive performance.

We are playing against great players, we knew we are not going to see much of the ball. We defended brilliantly, it’s a great point, but more than that, it shows we know what we have to do in every game,” said the Croat.

“We are defending for our lives, ready to die for each other on the pitch and that’s all I can ask. Sam Johnstone made some great saves at the end, the two headers. I said before the season we will need a great goalkeeper and he is doing that for us. Every time we need him he is there. And we need him.”

Alonso, 39, fastest in Formula One's 'young driver' test ABU DHABI: Double world champion Fernando Alonso, 39, lapped fastest in a controversial appearance for Renault in Formula One’s post-season ‘young driver’ test at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina circuit on Tuesday. The Spaniard, winner of 32 events, is not a young driver by any stretch of the imagination but has not raced in F1 for two years and was given special dispensation ahead of a comeback next year. He completed 105 laps, nearly two race distances, with a best time of one minute 36.333 seconds. “It was good and very nice to be back in the car,” said Alonso, who won his titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006. “I have been testing the 2018 car in preparation but this one felt a bit more serious and it ignited a little bit the competitive spirit. It was great to feel the modern cars and experience what they can do.” AGENCIES

Real Madrid were made to toil by the 10 men of Athletic Bilbao but eventually won 3-1 on Tuesday thanks to two strikes from Karim Benzema to go level on points with La Liga leaders Real Sociedad.

Athletic forward Raul Garcia was sent off in the 13th minute for a second booking, but Real only managed to take the lead right at the end of the first half thanks to a low drive from Toni Kroos.

The Basque side continued to cope well with their numerical disadvantage into the second half and grabbed an equaliser through Ander Capa in the 52nd minute before Benzema managed to head the champions back in front in the 74th.

Athletic substitute Mikel Vesga then had a glorious chance to equalise in added time but was thwarted by an outstanding save from Thibaut Courtois and Benzema killed the game off by finishing on the counter-attack immediately after.

A third consecutive league win took third-placed Real on to 26 points after 13 games, level with secondplaced Atletico Madrid and leaders Real Sociedad but having played two games more than Atletico. Athletic are 13th on 14 points.

Real had enjoyed a remarkable last week, beating Sevilla and Borussia Moenchengladbach before a comprehensive 2-0 win over local rivals

Atletico to ease the pressure on coach Zinedine Zidane after a stuttering start to the campaign.

The Frenchman made only one change to the starting 11 that had beaten Atletico, bringing in Federico Valverde for the suspended Casemiro, and his side’s heroic recent efforts seemed to have taken their toll in the early stages of the game.

“This was a very important victory and will help us to keep growing,” said Madrid midfielder Valverde. “They defended very well and were causing us a lot of danger on the counter but the coach corrected that at halftime.”

Athletic, meanwhile, made an energetic and aggressive start and could have had a penalty when Inaki Williams was pushed over in the area

by Dani Carvajal.

Moments later, they were down to 10 men after Garcia charged into a tackle on Kroos and was deservedly shown a second yellow card. Madrid really struggled to take advantage but their quality eventually shone through. “We stood our ground until the end, and Courtois won the game with that save before the third goal went in,” said Athletic’s Oscar de Marcos.

“We deserve more credit for the way we are competing but it’s a real shame because everything is going against us lately. The red card was very early and conditioned the game a lot. It’s very difficult to compete here with 10 players.”

India keep faith with opener Shaw for first Test against Australia SYDNEY AGENCIES

India have kept faith with young opening batsman Prithvi Shaw for the opening day-night Test against Australia in Adelaide, which starts on Thursday (today), the country’s cricket board said.

The 21-year-old has scored a hundred and two fifties in his four Tests so far, but managed only 62 runs in four innings in warmup games in Australia ahead of the four-Test series.

Shaw’s place looked to be under threat after he got out to some rash shots, while Shubman Gill pushed his claim for a Test debut with scores of 43 and 65 in the final tune-up game in Sydney.

However, the board confirmed the line-up on Wednesday with Shaw keeping his place and partnering regular opener Mayank Agarwal, with Cheteshwar Pujara, captain Virat Kohli and deputy Ajinkya Rahane to follow in the batting order.

“Prithvi has performed at the Test level but he will be playing in Australia for the first time. It is very exciting to see his progress,” Kohli said

on the eve of the match.

Hanuma Vihari will be the number six batsman while Wriddhiman Saha will don the wicketkeeping gloves for the touring side. Ravichandran Ashwin has been chosen as the lone specialist spinner for India, who will go with the frontline pace trio of Jaspit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav.

Kohli will fly home after the Adelaide Test for the birth of his first child, leaving Rahane in charge for the three remaining matches.

The India captain backed Rahane to do a “tremendous job” in his absence. “He seems to be very composed and knows the strengths of our team,” he told reporters. “We already know the template we play with. We are absolutely on the same page. I feel like this is his time to really step up and perform strongly as an individual, and then as a captain as well he will do a great job.”

SqUAD: Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav.

Old container promises treasure trove of Maradona memorabilia BUENOS AIRES AGENCIES

A long-forgotten container with hundreds of items of memorabilia from the career of late Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona could provide a treasure trove for collectors–and open a new front in the contest over his estate.

Shirts signed by Sergio Aguero, Ronaldo Nazario, Harry Kane and Hristo Stoichkov are among the memorabilia in the container, which had been in storage on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, along with balls from Barcelona, Napoli and Boca Juniors and a

plaque given to him by soccer’s governing body FIFA. There are also shirts worn by Maradona himself, as well as political momentos received as gifts from the leftist leaders he so admired.

One Brazil shirt has the name Lula on the back, in reference to the former Brazilian president, and there is a letter from the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro. “You have overcome the most difficult of tests for an athlete and a young man of humble origins,” Castro wrote to the soccer player, who spent several years in Cuba recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. Maradona died last month

from a heart attack, aged 60.

The existence of the container with hundreds of items inside was brought to the attention of judicial authorities and the contents have been catalogued by officials, a source close to Maradona’s family said.

“There is only one key to the container and it is with judicial officials,” the source said.

The booty could turbocharge the legal battles under way over the spoils of an estate that Forbes magazine estimated was worth between $10 million and $40 million.

Maradona has five recognised children and six others with claims to be his off-

CMYK

spring. They, along with former partners and business associates, are among those with claims to part of his fortune.

The value of the pieces is impossible to gauge but the sports memorabilia business is a booming one and Maradona, who is widely held to be one of the greatest soccer players of all time, one of the world’s most iconic names. An American expert last month said the shirt worn by the Argentine when he scored his famous goal against England at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico could be worth up to $2 million.

Maradona is also known to have left real

estate, luxury cars and jewels accrued during time spent playing and coaching in Argentina, Spain, Italy, the UAE, Belarus and Mexico. “Inside the container there are historic boots and shirts, a letter signed by Fidel Castro, a guitar from (singer) Andres Calamaro and two safes,” Mario Baudry, the lawyer representing Maradona’s son Dieguito Fernando, said.

“Diego asked me to find the container and said that everything in it was for Dieguito,” he added. “But there is nothing written down officially, so it corresponds to all the children equally.”

Thursday, 17 December, 2020

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NEWS

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ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

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who vaccine Scheme riSkS failure, leaving poor countrieS no covid ShotS until 2024

t

AGENCIES

HE global scheme to deliver Covid-19 vaccines to poorer countries faces a “very high” risk of failure, potentially leaving nations home to billions of people with no access to vaccines until as late as 2024, internal documents say.

The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) COVAX programme is the main global scheme to vaccinate people in poor and middle-income countries around the world against the coronavirus.

It aims to deliver at least two billion vaccine doses by the end of 2021 to cover 20 per cent of the most vulnerable people in 91 poor and middle-income countries, mostly in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Pakistan has also signed up for the programme and is relying on it to vaccinate as much as 20 per cent of its population, according to the health ministry. But in internal documents reviewed

by Reuters, the scheme’s promoters say the programme is struggling from a lack of funds, supply risks and complex contractual arrangements which could make it impossible to achieve its goals.

“The risk of a failure to establish a successful COVAX Facility is very high,” says an internal report to the board of Gavi, an alliance of governments, drug companies, charities and international organisations that arranges global vaccination campaigns.

Gavi co-leads COVAX alongside the WHO. The report and other documents prepared by Gavi are being discussed at Gavi’s board meetings on December 15-17. The failure of the facility could leave people in poor nations without any access to Covid-19 vaccines until 2024, one of the documents says.

The risk of failure is higher because the scheme was set up so quickly, operating in “uncharted territory”, the report says.

“Current risk exposure is deemed outside of risk appetite until there is full clarity on the size of risks and possibilities to mitigate them,” it says. “It therefore requires in-

tensive mitigation efforts to bring the risk within risk appetite.” Gavi hired Citigroup last month to provide advice on how to mitigate financial risks.

In one November 25 memo included in the documents submitted to the Gavi board, Citi advisors said the biggest risk to the programme was from clauses in supply contracts that allow countries not to buy vaccines booked through COVAX. A potential mismatch between vaccine supply and demand “is not a commercial risk efficiently mitigated by the market or the MDBs,” the Citi advisors wrote, referring to multilateral development banks such as the World Bank. “Therefore it must either be mitigated through contract negotiation or through a Gavi risk absorption layer that is carefully managed by a management and governance structure.”

Asked about the documents, a Gavi spokesman said the body remains confident it can achieve its goals. “It would be irresponsible not to assess the risks inherent to such a massive and complex undertaking, and to build policies and instruments to mitigate those risks,” he added.

The WHO did not respond to a request for comment. In the past it has let Gavi take the lead in public comments about the COVAX programme. Citibank said in a statement: “As a financial adviser, we are responsible for helping Gavi plan for a range of scenarios related to the COVAX facility and supporting their efforts to mitigate potential risks.”

SUPPLY DEALS: COVAX’s plans rely on cheaper vaccines that have so far yet to receive approval, rather than vaccines from frontrunners Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna that use more expensive new mRNA technology. The Pfizer vaccine has already been approved for emergency use in several countries and deployed in Britain and the United States, and the Moderna vaccine is expected to be similarly approved soon.

COVAX has so far reached non-binding supply agreements with AstraZeneca, Novavax and Sanofi for a total of 400 million

SwatheS of globe may not get vaccine until 2022: Study At least a fifth of the world’s population may not have access to a Covid-19 vaccine until 2022, according to a study published on Wednesday, with wealthier nations reserving more than half of next year’s potential doses. With hopes that vaccines can bring an end to a pandemic that has killed some 1.6 million people, countries including the United States, Britain and the United Arab Emirates have already begun rolling out immunisation programmes. Eager to increase their chances of having access to at least one of the dozens of vaccines in development, many nations have snapped up allocations of several different drugs. Wealthy nations — accounting for just 14 per cent of the global population — have pre-ordered just over half of the vaccine doses expected to be produced by the 13 leading developers next year, researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found. There are fears that poorer nations will be left behind. Even if the drug makers all produce effective, safe vaccines and meet their maximum global manufacturing targets, the study said: “at least a fifth of the world’s population would not have access to vaccines until 2022”. The research, published in the BMJ medical journal, looked at publicly available data and found that as of mid-November, reservations totalled 7.48 billion doses — equivalent to 3.76 billion immunisation courses, because most vaccines require two jabs. That is out of a total maximum projected manufacturing capacity of 5.96 billion courses by the end of 2021.

POOLED PURCHASING SCHEME: The study estimated that up to 40pc of the vaccine courses from the leading manufacturers might be available for low and middle-income countries, but said this would depend on how rich countries share what they have bought. The authors, who cautioned that public information was incomplete, called for “greater transparency and accountability” over support for equitable global access.

They suggested the implications could go well beyond health. “To varying degrees, trade with and travel to countries might face continued disruption until access to effective preventive or treatment measures, such as Covid-19 vaccines, becomes more widely available,” the report said. AGENCIES

doses, with options to order several hundred million additional shots, one of the Gavi documents says. But the three companies have all faced delays in their trials that could push back some possible regulatory approvals to the second half of 2021 or later.

This could also increase COVAX’s financial needs. Its financial assumptions are based on an average cost of $5.20 per dose, one of the documents says.

Pfizer’s vaccines costs about $18.40$19.50 per dose, while Moderna’s costs $25$37. COVAX has no supply deals with either of those firms. Nor is it prioritising invest-

ment in ultra-cold distribution chains in poor countries, necessary for the Pfizer vaccine, as it still expects to use mostly shots which require more conventional cold storage, one of the Gavi documents says.

On Tuesday a WHO senior official said the agency was in talks with Pfizer and Moderna to include their Covid-19 vaccines as part of an early global rollout at a cost for poor countries possibly lower than current market prices. Other shots are being developed worldwide and COVAX wants to expand its portfolio to include vaccines from other companies. Rich countries, which have

booked most of the currently available stocks of Covid-19 vaccines, are also planning to donate some excess doses to poor countries, although is not clear whether that would be through COVAX. FINANCIAL PRESSURE: To meet its target of vaccinating at least 20pc of people in poor countries next year, COVAX says it needs $4.9 billion in addition to $2.1 billion it has already raised.

If vaccine prices are higher than forecast, supply is delayed or the additional funds are not fully collected, the facility faces the prospect of failure, the documents say.

So far Britain and European Union countries are the main donors to COVAX, while the United States and China have made no financial commitments.

The World Bank and other multilateral financial institutions are offering cheap loans to poor countries to help them buy and deploy vaccines through COVAX. The facility is issuing vaccine bonds which could raise as much as $1.5 billion next year if donors agreed to cover the costs, one of the Gavi documents says. COVAX is also receiving funds from private donors, mainly the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

But even under the best financial conditions, COVAX could still face failure, because of disproportionate financial risks caused by its complex deal-making process.

COVAX signs advance purchase contracts with companies on vaccine supplies that need to be paid for by donors or receiving countries that have the means to afford them.

But under clauses included in COVAX contracts, countries could still refuse to buy preordered volumes if they prefer other vaccines, or if they manage to acquire them through other schemes, either faster or at better prices.

The facility could also face losses if countries were not able to pay for their orders, or even if herd immunity were developed too quickly, making vaccines no longer necessary, the Citigroup report said. It proposed a strategy to mitigate these risks including through changes in supply contracts.

10 years on, anger grows in Tunisian China prepares for return of lunar probe with moon samples town where Arab Spring began BEIJING AGENCIES

Chinese ground crews are standing by for the return of a lunar probe bringing back the first fresh samples of rock and debris from the moon in more than 45 years.

The Chang’e probe is expected to land in the Siziwang district of the vast Inner Mongolia region late Wednesday or early Thursday. It fired its engines early Wednesday to put it on course before the orbiter separates from the return vehicle, with all systems functioning as expected, the China National Space Administration said.

Recovery of the return vehicle will be complicated by its small size, darkness and heavy snow, state media reported. Plans call for it to perform an initial bounce off the Earth’s atmosphere to reduce its speed before passing through and floating down on parachutes, making it difficult to precisely calculate where it will land, the official Xinhua News Agency quoted Bian Hancheng, a leader of the recovery crew, as saying.

State broadcaster CCTV showed four military helicopters standing by Wednesday morning at a base on the snow-covered grasslands. Crews in vehicles on the ground will also seek to hone in on signals.

While sprawling in size, the area is relatively familiar because of its use as a landing site for China’s Shenzhou crewed spaceships.

Chang’e 5 set down on the moon on Dec. 1 and collected about 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of samples by scooping them from the surface, and by drilling 2 meters (about 6 feet) into the moon’s crust. The samples were deposited in a sealed container that was carried back to the return module by an ascent vehicle. Flying a Chinese flag, the lander ceased functioning soon after it was used as a launching pad for the ascender, which was ejected from the orbiter after transferring the samples and came to rest on the moon’s surface. The spacecraft’s return will mark the first time scientists have obtained fresh samples of lunar rocks since the former Soviet Union’s Luna 24 robot probe in 1976.

Chang’e 5 blasted off from a launch base in China’s southern island province of Hainan on Nov.

23 on a mission expected to last 23 days.

It marks China’s third successful lunar landing but the only one to lift off again from the moon. Its predecessor, Chang’e 4, became the first probe to land on the moon’s little-explored far side and continues to send back data on conditions that could affect a future extended stay by humans on the moon.

The moon has been a particular focus of the Chinese space program, which says it plans to land humans there and possibly construct a permanent base.

No timeline or other details have been announced.

China also has joined the effort to explore Mars. In July, it launched the Tianwen 1 probe, which was carrying a lander and a robot rover to search for water. China’s space program has proceeded more cautiously than the U.S.-Soviet space race of the 1960s, which was marked by fatalities and launch failures.

In 2003, China became the third country to send an astronaut into orbit on its own after the Soviet Union and the United States.

The latest flight includes collaboration with the European Space Agency, which is helping to monitor the mission. Amid concerns over the Chinese space program’s secrecy and close military connections, the U.S. forbids cooperation between NASA and the CNSA unless Congress gives its approval. That has prevented China from taking part in the International Space Station, something it has sought to compensate for with the launching of an experimental space station and plans to complete a permanent orbiting outpost within the next two years.

The rocks and debris brought back by Chang’e 5 are thought to be billions of years younger than those obtained by the U.S. and former Soviet Union, offering new insights into the history of the moon and other bodies in the solar system.

They come from a part of the moon known as the Oceanus Procellarum, or Ocean of Storms, near a site called the Mons Rumker that was believed to have been volcanic in ancient times.

As with the 382 kilograms (842 pounds) of lunar samples brought back by U.S. astronauts from 1969 to 1972, they will be analyzed for age and composition and likely shared with other countries.

SIDI BOUZID AGENCIES

10 years ago, a fruit seller set himself ablaze in the central Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid after an altercation with a policewoman about where he had put his cart.

Word of Mohammed Bouazizi’s fatal act of defiance quickly spread, sparking nationwide protests that eventually toppled Tunisia’s long-serving leader and helped inspire similar uprisings across the region - the so-called “Arab Spring”. Huge demonstrations broke out in Egypt and Bahrain, governments fell and civil war engulfed Libya, Syria and Yemen. Tunisians are now free to choose their leaders and can publicly criticise the state.

Yet for all the chaos they have been through, many people look back on the events of 2010 and regret that their dreams remain unfulfilled.

“Something went wrong in the revolution,” said Attia Athmouni, a retired philosophy teacher who helped lead the uprising after Bouazizi’s death by standing on the fruit seller’s abandoned cart to address the crowd the night he died. Protests have flared again in recent weeks across Tunisia’s poorer southern towns against joblessness, poor state services, inequality and shortages.

The scramble to get enough cooking gas to provide for families underlines the hardships ordinary people face in a country where the economy has stagnated, leaving the public as angry as it was a decade ago.

Near Sidi Bouzid last week, a crowd placed large stones across the tarmac to block a main road. They wanted trucks taking cooking gas cylinders to the town to offload them in their village instead. Supplies have been in short supply in Tunisia since people living near the main state-run factory producing the gas closed the plant several weeks ago to demand more local jobs.

Outside the main outlet for cooking gas in Sidi Bouzid, three riot police vans guarded the gate as hundreds of people waited to get their hands on full cylinders.

A woman at the front of the crowd said she had had no gas for three days and her family had been eating only cold food. She had queued for six and a half hours.

REVOLUTION: Bigger demonstrations may take place in Tunisia on Thursday, the anniversary of Bouazizi’s selfimmolation after his fruit cart was confiscated when he refused to move off an unlicensed pitch.

Slimane Rouissi, another Sidi Bouzid activist and former teacher who knew Bouazizi’s family, said the young man had endured a string of disappointments before the final confrontation. He drenched himself in petrol and killed himself in front of the local governorate office.

When Athmouni, the retired teacher, heard about the incident, he dismissed his class and told his students to start protesting. That night, as hundreds of people gathered outside the governorate and chanted slogans, he heard the words “the people want the fall of the regime” — soon to be the catchphrase of Tunisia’s revolution — for the first time. Over the coming weeks, the protests grew. By January 2011, thousands were marching in Tunis and President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, in power for 23 years, realised the game was up. He fled to Saudi Arabia where he died in exile last year.

Tunisia’s revolution spread. In Egypt, the crowds forced Hosni Mubarak from power after 30 years as president. Uprisings shook Libya, Syria, Bahrain and Yemen.

Hope for a new democratic future soon turned to bloodshed, particularly in Syria, Yemen and Libya, where civil wars pulled in major powers fearful their regional foes would gain an advantage. Though Tunisia’s path to democracy has been far smoother, its economy has deteriorated and political leaders appear paralysed.

Last year’s election delivered a bitterly fragmented parliament unable to produce a stable government, with parties bickering over cabinet seats and putting off big decisions. More Tunisians are trying illegally to leave the country than ever, while visions of jihad lure alienated, jobless youth. Both dynamics were evident in the recent attack in Nice by a young Tunisian migrant who killed three people in a church.

“There is a rupture between the politicians and the people now because the system cannot understand the demands of the street,” Athmouni said bitterly in a Sidi Bouzid cafe full of unemployed young men.

NO INVESTMENT: In the streets near Bouazizi’s old home — a shabby single-storey building behind a dented metal gate — a group of young men stood chatting on a street corner. Sabri Amri, 26, laughed when asked if he had voted in any of Tunisia’s post-revolution elections.

All he and his group of friends want is to emigrate, he said. There is no work and young people spend their time drinking or taking drugs, he added.

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