EpaperISB_20-12-21

Monday, 21 December, 2020 I 5 Jumada Al-Awwal, 1442 I Rs 40.00 I Vol XI No 172 I 32 Pages I Islamabad Edition

IndIa's reckless behavIour, false flag operatIon to evoke befIttIng response: pM

ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

p

rIME Minister Imran Khan on Sunday once again reminded the international community of India's continuous and reckless behaviour, reiterating that if India conducted a false flag operation against Pakistan, it would confront a strong national resolve with a befitting response at all levels.

India's deliberate firing at Line of Control (LoC) on United Nations Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) vehicle, despite the vehicle having clear mark-

ings and flying blue UN flag, showed India's total disregard for all international norms of acceptable state behaviour and respect for international law and the UN, the PM said on popular micro-blogging site, Twitter.

"In complete violation of int law, India's delib firing at LoC on UNMOGIP vehicle, despite clear UN markings & flying blue UN flag, shows India's total disregard for all int norms of acceptable state behaviour & respect for int law & UN. Pak strongly condemns this rogue behaviour," he posted.

In series of tweets, he said: "I am making absolutely clear to the int community that if India was to be reckless enough to conduct

coronavIrus In

pakIstan

CONFIRMED CASES:

457,288

LAST UPDATED AT 9:22 AM ON DECEMBER 20, 2020

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

80

RECOVERED:

NEW CASES:

2,615 DEATHS:

407,405 9,330 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

204,103

131,428

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

AJK/GB:

ISLAMABAD:

54,948

17,909

7,961/4,822 36,117

a false flag operation against Pakistan, it would confront a strong national Pakistani resolve & be given a befitting response at all levels of the threat. Make no mistake."

He further said: "Already, in 2020 alone, there have been 3000 Indian ceasefire violations along the LoC & Working Boundary, by unprovoked firing deliberately targeting civilians - resulting in 276 casualties, of which 92 were women & 68 children."

Earlier this week, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had said that after the exposure of fake Indian NGOs by Brusselsbased DisinfoLabs, India had begun planning a surgical strike against Pakistan to divert attention away from its internal affairs.

In this regard, he had urged the international community to play their part in obtaining a peaceful solution between the two nuclear neighbours, stating that Pakistan “is fully prepared to respond and defeat their designs” and would “respond immediately and effectively”.

“An important development has cropped up […] I’ve learned through our intelligence forces […] that India is planning a surgical strike against Pakistan,” Qureshi had said, adding that India was trying to obtain “tacit approval” from “important players”.

FM Qureshi had added that India was engaging in these tactics to divert attention from “serious internal issues” – namely, the deteriorating human rights situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) and the recent farmers’ protest in India.

“India may at any time repeat a Pulwama-like drama to divert attention from the internal problems and was planning an action along the LoC and Working Boundary,” he had said while addressing a press conference in Abu Dhabi, adding that India's mishandling of the Covid pandemic was well-known.

The Pakistan Army had been put on high alert amidst a possible threat of another attempt by India to conduct a surgical strike inside Pakistani territory.

UAE says visa suspension for Pakistan 'temporary' ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

United Arab Emirates (UAE) Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed has said that the decision to stop issuing visas to Pakistani citizens was only temporary, affirming that brotherly ties between Islamabad and Abu Dhabi continued to strengthen over the past decades.

He stressed "the temporary nature of the recent restrictions imposed on the issuance of visas due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic". However, it is important to mention that while Pakistan has been facing an increasing number of daily cases recently, the UAE's monthold decision on barring visas to Pakistan and 11 other Muslim countries did not including some countries with higher positivity rates than Pakistan.

In a statement issued by the UAE foreign ministry following the conclusion of the two-day visit of Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the prince stressed the depth of bilateral relations and recalled the keenness of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder of the Emirates, on the relations during the early stages of establishment.

Appear before Senate or face arrest warrants, Mandviwalla warns NAB chief ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Senate Deputy Chairman Saleem Mandviwalla has reiterated that the head of the antigraft body must appear before the Senate to answer questions regarding the accountability of the alleged illegal actions taken by the watchdog, adding that National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice (r) Javed Iqbal will be issued summon warrants if need be.

The above was said while addressing a press conference in Lahore on Sunday, wherein the deputy chairman of the upper house said that it was the lack of actions by the political parties in leaving the NAB ordinance unamended which led to this situation.

He said that as the ordnance had not been changed to limit NAB’s powers to government and public corruption, the watchdog had started intervening in every institution of the country.

“The government held several meetings with the Opposition regarding the matter of NAB’s ordinance but they could not come to an agreement,” Mandviwalla said.

“The close relations between the UAE and Pakistan have continued to strengthen over the past decades, and translated into multi-faceted cooperation, which represents a unique case in Arab-Asian relations in the region, as political relations between the UAE and Pakistan are based on a long history of joint action, trust, and respect,” the foreign minister said.

The mutual interests and visions of the two countries converged on issues of regional and international importance through the principles of tolerance, inclusiveness and an agenda based on development to ensure peace and stability in the region, he said.

The discussion between the two foreign ministers encompassed ways to further enhance and strengthen joint cooperation in various fields, consistent with the directives of the leadership of the two countries.

Both sides discussed the challenges and repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic, economic and investment issues of mutual interest, and prospects for further joint cooperation to achieve the aspirations of the two friendly countries and people.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

more inside

Pakistan demands transparent probe of Indian attack on UN vehicle STORY ON PAGE 02

Covid-19 vaccination likely to start in first quarter of 2021: Dr Faisal

STORY ON PAGE 03 “As a result, the ordinance lapsed and NAB was given a chance to intervene in every institution of the country, including private businesses and bureaucracy.”

“The Senate has received a long list of complaints from businessmen in the United States and Canada, who said that they had to leave the country because NAB harassed them,” he added.

“We must pass a law that whenever an allegation is levelled against a parliamentarian, they will be held accountable by the parliament,” he added.

Mandviwalla said all of the

hearings of the Senate committee that will take up the issue will be transparent and will be held before the media in which all of NAB’s alleged wrongdoings will be discussed including “fake degrees, fake domiciles and assets beyond means” of the bureau’s officials.

In response to a question, Mandviwalla further alleged that all government departments including the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Anti-Corruption Establishment were “following NAB’s directions” and had lost their independence.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Don’t wait to submit resignations as govt won’t quit, Rasheed tells PDM STORY ON PAGE 03 in today’s issue

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Monday, 21 December, 2020

NEWS

PaKiStan demandS tranSParent Probe oF indian attaCK on Un vehiCLe ISLAMABAD

P

STAFF REPORT

AKISTAN urged the United Nations to initiate a transparent investigation into the December 18 attack on the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) and their vehicle along the Line of Control (LoC) by Indian forces.

In a letter to the UN Secretary-General (UNSG) and the President of the Security Council, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN stated that

deliberate targeting of the UN Observers and their vehicle – which was clearly marked with UN logo and flying a blue flag of the UN – appears to be a new coercive and reckless ploy by India to hinder UNMOGIP’s work, and facilitate another Indian military misadventure against Pakistan.

The letter states that "Deliberate targeting of the UN Observers and their vehicle – which was clearly marked with UN logo and flying a blue flag of the UN – appears to be a new coercive and reckless ploy by India to hinder UNMOGIP’s work, and facilitate another Indian military

Six injured in Peshawar cylinder explosion ISLAMABAD: A powerful gas cylinder explosion at a home burnt six people at Haji Camp area of Peshawar on Sunday morning. According to rescue official details, the cylinder exploded with a loud explosion with flames engulfing the place. Six persons present in the house received wounds. Rescue teams rushed to the spot and shifted the victims to the Hayatabad Medical Complex. APP

Centre announces fire-fighting equipment for Karachi KARACHI: Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi on Sunday unveiled a fire-fighting budget for Karachi to empower the fire department. In a tweet, the minister announced "50 State of the Art Fire Tenders of 7000 liters of water & foam capacity" and two mobile water tanks to enhance the department's capacity. Zaidi also thanked Prime Minister Imran Khan for approving the "gift for Karachi". With rapid and unplanned growth in Karachi, fire hazards present a major challenge where the protection of life and property are concerned. The civil society has time and again stressed the need for improving firefighting facilities in the metropolis which, they maintain, are inadequate keeping in view its territorial limits and population. When incidents of fire occur, civic agencies are found to be woefully unprepared and under-resourced. For example, only 14 fire tenders are said to be in working order, with 30 faulty vehicles sent for repairs. Earlier this month, Sindh High Court (SHC) was told the federal government will provide 48 fire trucks for Karachi. STAFF REPORT

Fog disrupts flight operations at Lahore airport LAHORE: Fog and cold weather conditions again disrupted air travel on Sunday, cancelling and delaying flight operations at Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore. The fog engulfing the airport disrupted the air travel with as many as 13 flights being cancelled and seven delayed.

Airblue flights PA-410 from Lahore to Dubai and PA-411 from Dubai to Lahore were cancelled while flight IF-341 of Baghdad Airline from Najaf, Iraq to Lahore has also been cancelled. IF-342 to Najaf from Lahore and OD-131 from Kuala Lumpur to Lahore and returning flight OD-132 were also cancelled. Airblue's PA-431 from Abu Dhabi to Lahore was also cancelled in addition to domestic flights PK-307 and PK-306 from Lahore to Karachi which were postponed. Serene Air ER-502 was delayed by five hours while Etihad Airline's EY-244 from Abu Dhabi to Lahore was delayed by two hours. According to Met Department's forecast, cold and dry weather is expected in most parts of the country, while harsh conditions in north Balochistan and northern areas on Sunday. INP

misadventure against Pakistan."

The letter further calls on the UN to forcefully condemn the attack and to report on ceasefire violations.

While drawing attention to the deteriorating situation along the LoC, Pakistan’s communication recalls that India had committed over 3,000 unprovoked ceasefire violations along the LoC and the Working Boundary this year alone, primarily targeting the civilian populated areas, resulting in 276 casualties to 92 women and 68 children, out of them 27 embraced martyrdom.

Similarly, the Indian Charge d’Affaires

was also summoned at the foreign ministry on Saturday to register a strong protest against the incident.

There have also been recent intelligence reports which state that India is planning on launching a false flag operation in Pakistan, according to Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

"If that were to happen, Pakistan will exercise its right to self-defence," the letter warns.

On Friday, the Indian army had opened fire on two officers belonging to the UNMOGIP, , confirmed Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri.

Indian envoy summoned after LoC ceasefire violation leaves one injured ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Foreign Office (FO) on Sunday summoned a senior Indian diplomat to register Pakistan’s “strong protest” at the recent ceasefire violation along the line of control (LoC) which left a civilian injured.

The development comes a day after a 25-year-old girl – Sagheera, a resident of the Akhori village – received injuries as a result of “indiscriminate and unprovoked firing” along the de facto border between the two neighbours.

“The Indian occupation forces along the LoC and the Working Boundary have been continuously targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-calibre mortars and automatic weapons,” an FO press release said.

The statement added that India had committed 3,003 ceasefire violations since the start of this year, which had resulted in 27 deaths and serious injuries to 250 people.

“The Indian occupation forces along the LoC and

the Working Boundary (WB) have been continuously targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-calibre mortars and automatic weapons,” the statement said.

“Such senseless acts are in clear violation of the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding, and are also against all established humanitarian norms and professional military conduct.

These egregious violations of international law reflect consistent Indian attempts to escalate the situation along the LoC and are a threat to regional peace and security.”

The statement added that India “cannot divert attention from the grave human rights situation” in occupied Kashmir by raising tensions across the LoC. The FO urged India to respect the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding and to “maintain peace along the LoC” along with investigating all such violations.

It also called upon India to allow the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its role according to UN resolutions.

FIA begins probe into repair planning for PIA aircraft ISLAMABAD INP

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has launched an investigation into "flawed planning" for maintenance and annual inspection of 11 Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) aircraft.

According to sources, these planes have been grounded for about a year (271 days) even after the lapse of the official time allocated for their repair. As a result, the national flag-carrier suffered a loss of at least Rs1 billion. The FIA has started looking into the matter under inquiry number 57.

It was found during the initial investigation that

besides other factors, the unavailability of spare parts for the planes grounded in hangers was one of the factors responsible for the delay in the repair of these planes of different companies and models.

Engines and parts of these grounded planes were installed in other jets. Even auxiliary power units (APUs) of the planes were installed in other planes. Later, the engineering wing of the PIA failed to provide the required parts for these grounded planes. The planes acquired on the lease were not repaired on time therefore these planes could not be brought into commercial use and the PIA continued to suffer financial losses as the daily and monthly lease amount continued to add up.

This lease amount is said to be around Rs1 billion.

The vehicle had been en route to interact with CFV victims in Polas Village in Chirikot Sector. The Pakistan Army had evacuated the UN personnel to UNMOGIP field station in Rawalakot.

“The UN vehicle was damaged, fortunately, the officers were not injured.

The officers were immediately evacuated by Pakistan Army and brought back to the UNMOGIP field station in Rawalakot,” the spokesperson had said.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) had stated shortly after the attack that UN vehicles are clearly recognisable, even from long distances “due to their distinct make and the type and clearly visible markings”.

Later on Friday, the UN had confirmed that a vehicle of the UNMOGIP was hit by an “unidentified object” near Rawalakot on the Pakistani side of LoC, but the occupants were not injured.

“The mission is currently investigating the incident,” Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq had said in response to a question from APP at the regular briefing in New York.

allegedly drunk couple beat up cop LAHORE: In a bizarre incident on Saturday night, an allegedly drunk couple in Lahore's Defence Housing Authority (DHA) created a ruckus, assaulting and abusing a police officer outside a restaurant. As per police, the incident occurred late Saturday night when a woman and her partner left a coffee shop in Phase 5 of the society. The scene started after the guard of the restaurant allegedly asked the woman to stop drinking an alcoholic beverage in public. They got into a heated argument after the woman refused to do so following which a nearby police vehicle approached to control the situation. In a video making rounds on social media, the couple can also be seen inflicting torture on the cop. As he tried to avoid a confrontation, they ran after him with the woman attempting to slap him.

The constable, however, kept his calm. The CCPO has sought a report from assistant superintendent police (ASP) Cantt. Sheikh also praised the constable for maintaining patience during the clash. APP

Govt fully believes in press freedom: Faraz ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz on Sunday said that the government fully believed in press freedom, thus rejecting the reports that the media was being pressurised in the country. He made these remarks on popular microblogging site Twitter while lambasting a senior journalist’s claim about barring a media house from airing a comedic television show on its channel. Faraz said that he stood by his statement, given to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Urdu, that the media was completely free and playing an active role in Pakistan. “We have absolute faith in fundamental, constitutional and legal right of freedom of expression," he said. STAFF REPORT

Masood seeks UNSC session on Indian attack on UNMOGIP vehicle ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan has called for holding a special United Nations Security Council (UNSC) session to discuss the incident of the Indian army’s attack on UN military observers' vehicle near the Line of Control (LoC) in Azad Kashmir.

In a statement issued on Sunday, he said that the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has been present in both Azad and occupied Jammu and Kashmir since 1949 under the authority and powers assigned by the Security Council to monitor the ceasefire at the LoC and submit their reports to the UN Secretary-General (SG).

He maintained that these military observers enjoy full freedom of movement in all areas along the LoC in AJK and the working boundary in Pakistan, but they do not have such freedom on the other side of the LoC in occupied Kashmir.

“India is pushing the envelope. As it would join the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member on January 29, it would stage such attacks on UNMOGIP to play up its ‘redundancy’. The attack should be discussed in Security, India should be held accountable and UNMOGIP’s security beefed up,” the president said.

He went to say that Pakistan was fully abiding by the ceasefire in Kashmir in consonance with the UN Security Council resolutions, while the Indian Army is engaged in targeting the civilian population of AJK by resorting to unprovoked firing on the LoC almost on

daily basis leaving the innocent civilians martyred, injured and damaging their property.

The AJK president pointed out that in 2020 alone, India had committed more than 2830 cease-fire violations since the beginning of the year, killing 26 people and causing "serious injuries" to more than 200 civilians.

Reproving the unacceptable targeting of unarmed civilians by the Indian occupation forces, AJK President India cannot deflect attention from the grave human rights situation in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK).

He said that another aspect of the Indian Army firing on the UN military observers' vehicle in Rawalakot Sector of AJK is that the Indian Army wants to scare them in order to prevent them from monitoring the violations of the ceasefire. The incident should be immediately probed on the highest levels.

Monday, 21 December, 2020

Covid-19 Claims 80 more lives; anotHer 2,615 infeCted ISLAMABAD

UNICEF TO PROVIDE 1.15M TESTING KITS TO PAKISTAN

TLTP

The coronavirus pandemic claimed 80 more lives across the country in the last 24 hours, bringing the national death toll from the infection to 9,330.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), out of the 80 people who lost their lives to the disease within a day, 44 were on a ventilator. A total of 2,615 more people across the country tested positive for the potentially deadly virus within a day, bringing the total number of patients infected with the virus to 454,673. A total of 37,206 countrywide Covid-19 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, showing a positivity ratio of 7.02 per cent.

At present, there are a total of 40,553 active coronavirus cases in the country.

Since the pandemic broke out, 407,405 people have recovered from the disease.

So far, Sindh has reported a total of 204,103 infections, Punjab 131,428, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) 54,948, Balochistan 17,909, Islamabad 36,117, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) 7,961, and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) 4,822.

Sindh on Sunday recorded 737 more cases of Covid-19 and 14 deaths during the last 24 hours, a statement said. It said that the province recorded 737 virus cases after 9,322 tests were performed during the past 24 hours. “Overall, 2,231,728 tests have been performed so far which resulted in 204,840 virus cases,” it said, adding that as many as

3,333 Covid-19 patients have so far died in the province.

Another 950 patients recovered in a single day, bringing the total recoveries in the province to 180,730. As many as 20,777 active Covid-19 cases are in the province currently.

Karachi reported 542 cases, more than two-thirds of the total cases. Giving a district-wise division of cases from the city, the statement said that 169 Covid19 cases were reported from both districts South and East, followed by 71 from Korangi, 54 from Central, 46 from Malir and 33 from West.

According to the Punjab healthcare department, the province recorded 722

fresh cases of coronavirus in a day, whereas 46 more people lost their lives.

The new cases have taken the provincial tally of confirmed cases to 131,428, whereas the death toll now stands at 3,604. A total of 119,897 people have also recovered from the virus in the province since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has decided to provide 1.15 million Covid-19 testing kits to Pakistan after soaring cases of the disease in the second spike of the contagious disease in the country.

Pakistan will receive the consignment of testing kits from the UN Agency in January 2021. According to sources, UNICEF will provide coronavirus testing kits to Pakistan with the funding from the World Bank.

Don’t wait to submit resignations as govt won’t quit, Rasheed tells PDM ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Rejecting the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) ultimatum for the resignation of the Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf-led government by the end of upcoming January, Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed has said that opposition members who want to resign from assemblies in February can do so now without any wait.

Addressing a ceremony at the Police Lines Headquarters in Islamabad on Sunday, the interior minister reiterated, “Prime Minister Imran Khan would complete his five-year term. We will welcome those who want to stage

a long march.” He added that PM Khan would take the country forward by taking it out from the current economic and political turmoil.

“Police are being honoured for the first time because of the Prime Minister,” Rashid said, adding that it would be for the first time in the country’s 70-year history that a prime minister would attend a ceremony at the Police Lines headquarters on March 23. He said that PM Imran has entrusted him with the Interior Ministry, and he plans to bring about changes in it within 100 days.

Talking about the National Database & Registration Authority's (NADRA) reforms, Rasheed said that currently, identity cards and passports are being

ministry to start consultations on formal education policy soon: shafqat ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Stressing the importance of a formal education policy, Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood has said that the ministry will start the consultation process soon. In a tweet on Sunday, the minister said that the consultation process is being kick-started on his directions. “While we have taken a number of initiatives including a single national curriculum, a formal education policy for the country is necessary," Shafqat wrote. Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that enforcement of a uniform educational curriculum would unify the nation and eliminate the societal divisions created by the current education system.

“The existing system is a hurdle to the unity of the nation; rather it alienates children from Pakistan. And this has happened in every society with colonial footprints,” the PM said. He had previously said that introducing a uniform education system is his government's top-most priority to provide a level-playing field to all students across the country.

Coal mine Collapses in Harnaye kills two QUETTA STAFF REPORT

A coal mine in Khost area of Harnaye collapsed in Balochistan. According to levies sources, two coal miners were dead in the accident while three have evacuated safely. The sources also said that those who died belonged to Shangla area of Swat.

issued across 10 countries. However, he added that facility to acquire Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs) and passports will be made available across the globe in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Rasheed reiterated his earlier announcement stating that the first identity card would be provided free of cost, whereas about 100,000 identity cards would be issued on a daily basis.

“Identity card offices will be opened in all administrative sub-divisions whereas one office will be opened every week in the remaining sub-divisions,” he said.

“Immigration, NADRA, Passport [offices] FIA [Federal Investigation

Agency] and all [related] agencies will be for the service of the nation.”

He said that the Islamabad Police have removed checkpoints to facilitate the movement of citizens. The interior minister further ordered the federal capital's inspector general to ensure the protection of lives and property of the citizens at any cost.

Earlier on Friday last, Rasheed announced that NADRA mobile vans would be sent to remote areas in order to ease access for people living in far off areas. “NADRA and passport offices will be opened in all embassies of Pakistan,” the minister stated, adding that "Problems of overseas Pakistanis will be solved in two months".

Opposition lacks courage to tender resignations: Buzdar

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03

dr firdous ready to get in ring with maryam nawaz NEWS DESK As tensions rise between the incumbent government and the opposition, Special Assistant to the Punjab Chief Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has accepted a challenge to box with Pakistan Mulsim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz.

While addressing a press conference with boxers Amir Khan and Muhammad Waseem on Sunday, the former challenged Firdous to box with Maryam, commenting that it would be one of the highest-rated fights in the country. The CM's aide accepted his suggestion, adding that "Prime Minister Imran Khan has knocked out Mian Nawaz Sharif using his legal punches". "Baji, you're quite aware that she is a Rajkumari," PML-N's Azma Bokhari tweeted in reply to Firdous's comments. "Also, she is protecting the masses from your punches of inflation, unemployment and corruption." Earlier in the day, Firdous has taken a swipe at the opposition and said: "showmen did not increase health facilities in view of the growing population". She said this will announcing via Twitter that Chief Minister Usman Bazdar has approved the construction of a hospital on Ferozepur Road and that the 1,000-bed hospital would be included in the annual development program. This would be the first general hospital built in Lahore in 30 years. The special assistant further said that by 2021, every citizen of Punjab will be provided with a Sehat Insaf Card.

Covid-19 vaccination likely to start in first quarter of 2021: dr faisal ISLAMABAD STAFF REORT

LAHORE TLTP

Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has said that opposition parties lack the courage to resign from assemblies and they will continue fixing new dates even after December 31.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the chief minister said that the opposition alliance knows that the government will hold by-elections if they resign from the assemblies. He vowed that as long as Prime Minister Imran Khan is in power, these rejected elements will be held accountable for the looted wealth and the government will not give them NRO. Buzdar said that the opposition should have mercy on the nation and give up negative politics. Despite repeated failures, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is still dreaming of overthrowing the incumbent government, he added. He said that this is not the time for politics of agitation but to serve the suffering humanity. PDM’s alliance is only to protect their vested interests and corruption, he added.

The opposition is working on the spread of Covid-19 agenda and is on the forefront in spreading the coronavirus pandemic. The increase in coronavirus outbreak has been witnessed in the cities where the PDM’s rallies took place, the Punjab CM maintained.

Buzdar said that the opposition is responsible for the increasing number of coronavirus cases. He said that

there is no need for enemies if one has foolish friends.

These people have no fear of Allah Almighty, he added.

The dreams of the opposition have shattered, he claimed.

The chief minister said that this self-centred group will never get into trouble by tendering resignations, so it is merely a threat by the opposition. The government will complete its tenure as it has the full support of the people, he added.

He also said that the development and progress of the country and the welfare of the people is the commitment of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership. He further said that for the first time, development work is being carried out in the neglected areas of Punjab. The former rulers made development projects in the areas of their personal likes and dislikes, he added. The present government has chalked out development schemes keeping in view the basic needs of the people, he claimed.

The chief minister said that on one hand, the provincial metropolis reflects development, whereas on the other hand there are deprivations. The incumbent government will provide facilities in the neglected areas of Lahore, he added.

He said that traffic problems at specific spots will be resolved by setting up overhead bridges and underpasses.

He said that three decades have been passed and no new general hospital has been constructed despite the increase in population. After setting up a 1000-bed hospital at Ferozepur Road in Lahore, more general hospitals will be constructed in other places as well, Buzdar announced.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister of Health Dr Faisal Sultan on Sunday said Covid-19 vaccination was expected to be available in the first quarter of 2021 in Pakistan. “We will be able to get coronavirus vaccine with more than one resource, good price and reasonable timeline,” he said while talking to a private news channel. He said they have been in touch with six of the world’s top companies, including Chinese and Russian companies, keeping in mind the available resources. The decision would be made in the next few weeks and the vaccine would be available in Pakistan soon, he added. Commenting on the current situation he said that over 2,000 cases are being reported daily and that this dangerous situation needs urgent steps. The second wave of corona could be more deadly than the first, he added.

A day earlier, while speaking to a private news channel, Dr Sultan had said that if the people were careful, the war against Covid-19 could be won quickly, adding that the government would be forced to take tough decisions if people did not follow the guidelines. “I am satisfied with the steps taken by the government but I appeal to the people to understand the gravity of the situation”, he had said. The special assistant had said that a rising daily death ratio is a matter of concern and if the implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) was not ensured, the situation could deteriorate.

PM to sign agreement for effective implementation of cabinet decisions ISLAMABAD MIAN ABRAR

In an unprecedented move, Prime Minister Imran Khan has approved a new policy measure for ensuring good governance, under which federal ministries, divisions and departments would be allowed to make 'no compromise' on the performance of ministries, Pakistan Today learned on Sunday. Ministries and divisions would have to reach an agreement to ensure the implementation of government decisions.

The agreement will be signed between the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and 42 ministries for the implementation of the given targets. The agreement ceremony between the PMO and the ministries will be held on December 22.

The decisions on completion of public relief and welfare projects would be given priority and government policies related to electricity and gas would also be implemented. The decision was taken to ensure implementation of other necessary government policies, including health, education, while action would be taken against secretaries and ministers who did not implement the policies.

He has planned to implement priority policies for the rest of the government's tenure and to tighten monitoring

of federal ministries, cabinet divisions and other departments. According to the details, a 12-point agenda of the December 22 meeting has been issued. The Interior Ministry will brief the cabinet meeting on the amendments in the CDAR Ordinance-1980 while the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives will present its report on the sixth national population census.

The meeting will give its nod to release the final results of the sixth national population census. The Economic Affairs Division will brief the meeting on use of foreign funds. The State of the Industry Report for 2020 and NPRA report 2019-20 will be presented in the meeting.

The federal cabinet will also endorse the decisions made by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on December 16 to give them legal cover.

Monday, 21 December, 2020

04 news

SACM FIRDouS LAuDS PLAyeRS’ RoLe In IMAge BuILDIng oF PAkISTAn LAHORE

S

TLTP

PECIAL Assistant to Punjab Chief Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has said that Pakistan’s sports players have rendered invaluable services for the image building of the countryas compared to its politicians.

Addressing a press conference with boxers Mohammad Waseem and Amir Khan on Sunday, Dr Fidous said: “Amir Khan and Mohammad Waseem are great sons of the soil, who played a key role for portraying a soft image of the country across the world. Every Pakistani is proud of its players.”

She said that the Pakistani youth comprises a major chunk of the country’s population and it is crucial to harness their potential in constructive ways for the development of the country. The Punjab government is providing allresources for the development of the sports facilities in the province, as these facilities are essential for the development of the youth’s mental strength and physical fitness.

“Allah Almighty has blessed our youth with utmost potential. Our sportsmen are performing well in every sports field despite lack of opportunities. It is for the first time in the history of the province that the Punjab government has formulated a comprehensive sports policy to strengthen the structure of sports

SAYS GOVERNMENT IN TALKS WITH UK TO BRING POLITICAL ABSCONDERS BACK

activities. Under the policy, young sportsmen from rural areas would get equal opportunities to excel in sports,” she said.

She further said that by organising an international boxing competition,Punjab Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar has given a clear message to the sportsmen that the doors of public places are open for the youth.

“The popularity of Waseem in international boxing is a defeat of anti-state elements, who are trying to create instability in Balochistan. Waseem represented Balochistan as a moderate and progressive

Train crushes two men near Lahore LAHORE: While crossing a track, two people were crushed by a train and died nearFerozwala, Lahore on Sunday. According to a private news channel, the Jaffar Express was coming from Quetta and going to Peshawar via Lahore, when it hit the two men, who were trying to cross the railway track.The police officials identified the two men as GoharQadeer and Mazhar Fareed.

They were both 20years old and residents of Pakpattan. INP

People rejected PDM’s ideology: Ali Muhammad ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan on Sunday said that the Pakistani citizens have badly rejected the ideology of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). Talking to a private news channel, the minister said that the people had rejected the ideology of PDM, as they were fully aware with the facts. “It was proved from the public response to the political gatherings in Gilgit-Baltistan and Lahore. The opposition parties presented the antinational and ant-military narrative for their personal interests. However, the people rejected the narrative,” he said. In response to a question, he said: “The 2018 elections were not rigged, as the petitions of opposition were rejected.” “The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has come to power after 22 years of struggle and not through any unconstitutional way. Prime Minister Imran Khan is solving crisis of each sector and the people are standing firm with his narrative,” he added. APP

Ch Fawad terms low standard of education a big issue ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Science and Technology Chaudhry Fawad Hussain on Sunday said that low standard of education at colleges and universities is a big problem in the country.

In a tweet, Fawad said: “Engineers’ jobs are not a big problem. Our problem is the low standard of education in colleges and universities”. He said that he had been asking the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to bring at least 20 universities to world class standards and upgrade syllabus and degree programmes according to the market needs. The minister added that jobs are not a problem for the capable people. APP

province of the country,” she added.

Responding to a question, Dr Firdous said that Prime Minister Imran Khan delivered a great deliveryand hit the middle stump of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) in its Lahore meeting. The PDM entered the field without practice and got hurt. After the failure of PDM’s Lahore jalsa, there is a complete silence in JatiUmra. “The PDM should warm-up before coming into the ring next time”, she advised.

“PM Imran knocked out [former prime minister] Nawaz Sharif from politics by

hitting him with a legal blow. In order to bring these political absconders back to the country, the PTI government is negotiating with the UK government,” she said.

“The government has played a half of its innings. Now we have decided to play some powerful political shots in the next half of our innings. The decision to hold Senate elections with “show of hands” is the first sixer from the PM, which has surprised the opposition. The opposition is unable to comprehend the political strategy of the PM. The PTI government will surely win the majority in Senate elections.”

Punjab teachers end protest on positive assurances ISLAMABAD TLTP

Punjab schoolteachers on Sunday ended their protest at Bani Gala due to assurances from the Islamabad administration that their demands will be considered.

Secondary School Teachers Core Committee (SSTCC) Chairman Qasim Bukhari said that the Islamabad administration has assured the protestors about the consideration of their demands during the negotiations held on Saturday.

“The Punjab government had assured to make the 14,000 contractual teachers permanent, but no practical steps were taken in this regard. However, on the assurance of the Islamabad Deputy CommissionerHamza Shafqaat, we are postponing the protest. If the demands are not accepted,we will start the protest again,” Bukhari said.

Earlier on Saturday, contractual teachers from 36 districts of the province gathered atBani Gala, near Prime Minister Imran Khan’s residence, in order to draw attention towards their demand of making them permanent employees. They were baton-charged and tear-gassed

near the prime minister’s sprawling mansion. A subsequent protest by the teachers in the federal capital also led to a massive traffic jam.

The Islamabad police, deployed in large numbers with riot gear, had barricaded the Bani Gala road. They attempted to stop the teachers, but when the teachers persisted, they started firing tear-gas and baton-charging the demonstrators.

Several teachers were seen running for cover. Some even clung on to other teachers, as they found themselves surrounded by tear gas and baton-wielding police officers.

Several teachers were arrested after clashes emerged between the police and teachers.

Those who managed to escape,then regrouped and started their protest at the Bara Kahu Road, completely blocking it for the traffic.

The Islamabad deputy commissioner reached the spot and attempted to parley with the protesters. He said that teachers are respectable people and he wants to hold peaceful dialogue with them. “Every citizen of the country has a right to protest, but it is inappropriate to harass innocent commuters by blocking a road,” the DC said.

Cop shot dead by unidentified men in Kasur KASUR TLTP

A cop was gunned down in front of his wife by unidentified men on a motorcycle near Haji Shah Sharif area of Kasur.

The deceased, identified as Mohammad Saleem, father of three, used to perform patrol duty on the Khara Road.According to police officials, Saleem and his wife were on way to their home from the DHQ hospital, when they were signalled to stop by unidentified men on a motorcycle. The assailants made his wife step onto the sidewalk and opened fire at Saleem before escaping from the scene. After getting in-

formation about the incident, the local police rushed to the crime scene and moved the police officer's body to the district hospital for post-mortem. However, things took a sour turn, when the distressed heirs of the slain policeman resorted to aerial firing inside the emergency room of the hospital.

The firing spread panic among the hospital administrators and other patients. Assistant Medical Superintendent Dr Fayyaz said the heirs of the deceased fired bullets and harassed the doctors and paramedics working in the hospital.

A case will be registered against them. In a similar incident in August, a cop was shot dead by unidentified armed men on a motorcycle near Karimabad, Karachi.

ASI gunned down in Peshawar PESHAWAR APP

Assistant Sub Inspector of Police (ASI) Ghani Subhan was gunned down by unknown terrorists near Dora Road on Sunday. According to details, Suban, deployed in Mathra Police Station, was on way to his home after offering a prayer. The incident took place within the jurisdiction of Bhana Mari Police Station. The deceased was on leave from his official duties.While coming back home from a mosque, the unknown bike riders opened indiscriminate fires on him. As a result, the deceased succumbed to injuries on the spot while attackers managed to flee from the crime scene.

After receiving information about the incident, the local police rushed to the spot, collected evidence from crime scene and shifted the body to a nearby hospital for postmortem. Meanwhile, Capital City Police Officer Abbas Ahsan, accompanied by other officers, visited the crime scene and expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of ASI. He said the anti-state elements can never damage our passion of protecting the people. The killers of the martyred ASI would soon be arrested. The funeral prayer of martyred ASI was offered in the Police Lines, where senior police officials were present.

Two more kids die of malnutrition in Tharparkar THARPARKAR TLTP

Two more children died of malnutrition and other diseases at Civil Hospital Mithi, Tharparkar on Sunday. According to local health officials, total 39 children have died of malnutrition and other diseases during this month. While total 755 children have died of malnutrition and other diseases in the current year. More than 50 children are under medical treatment at various government hospitals in the Thar region.The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) had summoned the Sindh’s chief secretary and other senior officials in a case pertaining to the deaths of children due to malnutrition in Tharparkar.Malnutrition and other health problems have taken many human lives in the area. The authorities’ callous attitude and disregard towards the problem is causing loss of innocent lives in the border district, which is rich with a huge coal reserve and other natural resources.A report released by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in April last year stated that Pakistan is among the countries with the highest infant mortality rates.

Passenger beats BRT’s security guard PESHAWAR TLTP

After being asked to wear a face mask, a young man beat up a security guard at a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) station in Peshawar. According to the BRT spokesperson, the security guard, posted at the entrance of the BRT station, asked the youngster to adhere to the Covid-19 guidelines by wearing a face mask.

But the youngster got furious and started beating up the guard.The footage showed the youth getting into a fistfight with the guard after a heated exchange. Then, an unidentified man jump in to poundthe youngster with his fists.The spokesperson further said that it has been made mandatory for all commuters travelling through BRT buses to wear a face mask as per the government’s SOPs to avoid the spread of the coronavirus.

Training of 4,000 paramilitary troops completed PESHAWAR TLTP

In collaboration with the Pakistan Army and Frontier Corps (FC) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the first phase of training of former paramilitary troops and their integration into the KP Police has been completed.

In the first phase, 4,000 personnel were integrated into the KP Police. The personnel were trained about counter-terrorism, quick reaction, policing, handling of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and modern equipment, and physical fitness.

The training phase, conducted in different areas of the tribal districts, lasted

from September to December, 2020.

The training sessions were observed

by KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and senior officials of the Pakistan Army, FC and KP Police on various occasions.

The passing out parade was held under Covid-19 protocols and attended by the families of passing out policemen and senior officers of the national forces

deployed in KP. The integration of the personnel was made following the approval of a bill in the provincial cabinet in August, 2020.

The bill was about making the paramilitary forces a part of the regular police force of KP. Moreover, all temporary paramilitary personnel were also regularised through the bill.

Monday, 21 December, 2020

NEWS

SBP to hold webinar on women’s financial inclusion today KaracHi APP

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will hold a webinar on “Consultative Launch of Banking on Equality policy: Reducing the Gender Gap in Financial Inclusion” on Monday to initiate a national dialogue on women’s financial inclusion. The webinar, scheduled to start at 17.30 hours, will be shown live on State Bank’s Facebook page. It aims to promote awareness about the significance of women’s financial inclusion and to hold discussions among distinguished international thought leaders to find practical solutions to give a boost to women’s financial inclusion in the country. SBP Governor, Dr Reza Baqir, will host the consultative launch of the Banking on Equality policy with introductory presentation on the policy by SBP Deputy Governor Sima Kamil, followed by a high-level panel discussion around women’s financial inclusion. The panel members would include Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) Director Princess Zahra Aga Khan, Ceyla Pazarbasioglu from IMF and Dr Reza Baqir, while Dr Anita Zaidi from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) will moderate the discussion.

Women’s access to financial and economic opportunities is essential for sustainable and inclusive economic growth. However, women in Pakistan are disproportionately under-served by the financial system.

Only 18pc of adult women have an active bank account against 51pc. For addressing the gender disparities, State Bank of Pakistan has adopted a medium-term national target of 20 million active women bank accounts by 2023 under National Financial Inclusion Strategy. The target will be achieved through the launch of a policy to reduce the gender gap in financial inclusion titled Banking on Equality, which aims to promote women financial inclusion in the country.

Chinese companies get legal protection in Pakistan

ADB UrgES ASiA-PACifiC CoUntriES to PrioritiSE wAtEr SECUrity islamabad

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stAff rePort

HE economies of Asia and the Pacific must put water security on top of their post-Covid-19 agenda and adapt to climate change, the Asian Develop¬ment Bank (ADB) said in its Asian Water Development Outlook 2020.

Despite achievements in the Asia Pacific region over the last few decades, 1.5 billion people living in rural areas and 600 million in urban areas still lack adequate water supply and sanitation.

The report, which was compiled by Dawn, mentions that Of the 49 ADB regional members, 27 face serious water constraints on economic development, and 18 are yet to sufficiently protect their inhabitants against water-related disas-

ters, the report said.

The report stresses the need for these countries to increase their investment in water, sanitation, and other water-related infrastructure and services by convening all public, private, and innovative financing to achieve quality growth and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Financing is also needed to enable and sustain a virtuous system of good governance, which requires efficient water-related organisations with sufficient capacity and financial resources to enable them to provide coherent policies, monitor and evaluate progress, and take action when needed, all in interaction with the stakeholders in a transparent way.

In its key recommendation, the water outlook report suggests to put water at the center of sustainable rural develop-

ment by promoting water-effective irrigation agriculture, community-based water and sanitation services, and locally resilient disaster risk reduction such as the combination of community protection and farmland flood retention.

This will enable a good economic circle of locally-affordable investment, income generation, proper management and operation, and an enhanced level of welfare for the people, the report says.

In other recommendations, the report asked the regional countries to achieve urban water security by investing in water, sanitation, and disaster risk reduction infrastructure services not only in cities but also in slums and peripheral areas, while following a genderbased approach.

Water security in Central and West Asia shows reasonable scores for coun-

Appear before Senate or face arrest warrants, Mandviwalla warns NAB chief continued from page 01

Overseas Chinese Association has hired services of ZOAO Law Firm which would now act as its legal counsel and will deal all legal matters of the Chinese nationals living and doing business in Pakistan. At a ceremony held here, the President of Chinese Overseas Association, Mr. Luo Qiang said on Sunday that being the first-ever Chinese funded law firm in Pakistan, ZOAO is trying to serve the Pakistani and Chinese business community on all legal matters in best way possible. Director ZOAO Law Firm, Mr. Cheng said that he was grateful of the Chinese Overseas Association for reposing trust in the ZOAO Law Firm and the legal team will try its best to meet the expectations of Chinese companies working in Pakistan with their experienced and professional legal team. Directors of various Private and State-owned Chinese enterprises working in Pakistan on different projects also participated in the event. Press Secretary of ZOAO law firm, Mr. Zeeshan said at the event, ‘Chinese and Pakistani legal system are different and business community of both countries was facing difficulties in trade agreements and investment projects, we are providing them basic knowledge of difference of legal system in both countries and also providing them all legal consultations for their businesses’. ZOAO Law Firm, which was established in Pakistan earlier this year, aims to reduce conflicts between the business community of both countries and help them to do business legally. Law Firm got the registration certificate from Lahore Bar Council and Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan. At the end of the event, President Chinese Overseas Association handed over the authorization certificate of legal counsel to Director Cheng. Pakistani lawyers were also present at the moment and express their gratitude to ZOAO Law firm. news desk

05

On Friday, NAB submitted a report to the accountability court of Islamabad, reaffirming allegations against Mandviwalla in connection with the fake bank accounts case.

Earlier this month, Mandviwalla, had said that they will approach the ambassadors in Pakistan and expose NAB’s corruption, adding that “the senators will hold the NAB accountable”, and had declared a battle between the senate and the anti-graft body.

“Now if the NAB sends a notice to someone, people laugh at their decisions. Their actions have no value now, neither in bureaucracy and judiciary nor in the civil society or among business community members,” he had stressed during a press conference on December 6.

He had also remarked that people have lost their lives whilst in the custody of NAB, and this matter warrants investigation.

The deputy chairman had warned that the degrees of the NAB workers would be checked and that no one would fall victim to the antigraft body’s intimidation tactics.

He had clarified that this battle is not against any specific members of NAB but against the institution as a whole. Similarly, the Supreme Court (SC) had observed that NAB had been misusing its power and harassing those accused in cases, particularly those involved in white-collar crimes.

Justice Umar Ata Bandial, head-

ing the bench at the apex court, had said: “NAB should not harass the suspects, nor misuse its powers.”

Last month, Mandiwalla had accused the National Accountability Bureau of violating human rights by blackmailing people.

“When institutions like NAB violate human rights in this country, why does no one raise voice against them?” Mandviwalla had questioned. “When I raise my voice against the bureau’s wrongdoing, I am served with a notice,” he had lamented.

“We must ask Engineer Irfan Mangi the basis of his promotion within the NAB. Earlier, I used to write letters to the prime minister but now I will reveal every information I have to the media. All members of the NAB should disclose their assets too and I will raise this matter in the Senate,” Mandviwalla had said on the occasion.

OPP IN ODDS OVER NAB MOTION: The opposition parties recently submitted a requisition notice for a Senate session to discuss several crucial matters, including a resolution against alleged human rights violations being committed by NAB, however, the Senate secretariat has raised several objections, saying “admitting a privilege motion and adoption of resolution during a requisitioned session is not covered in the Constitution, the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate, 2012 or the Standing Orders.”

The above was said in a letter

issued through Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani and addressed to the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Raja Zafarul Haq. The secretariat said that Item 1 of the notice referred to the motion of the deputy chairman, and added that “adoption of resolution during a requisitioned session is not covered in the Constitution, the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate, 2012 or the Standing Orders.”

The letter stated that the ruling “explicitly provides that the mode of taking up the issues/matters in the requisition shall be through a motion under Rule 218.”

The secretariat said that a revised agenda may be given in light of the ruling. However, while speaking to a private news station, Mandiwalla claimed that the upper house chairman was “under pressure not to accept the privilege motion,” adding that the chairman can’t stop it as “he can’t subvert the Constitution and Senate Rules.”

Mandviwalla said: “Sanjrani knows that he can’t stop the session but he is trying to delay. There is a constitutional crisis in the upper house because he [Sanjrani] is creating bureaucratic hurdles.”

Referring to the objections raised by the secretariat, Mandviwalla excplained that the procedure regarding the treatment of business during a requisitioned session said that according to Clause 1.3 of the procedure the “issue/matter shall be placed on the Orders of the Day.”

tries of the former Soviet Union but rather weak for Afghanistan and Pakistan. All regions, except South Asia, show good progress in water-related disaster security. South Asia experienced some major disasters in the last 10 years, which influenced their score negatively.

Water security in South Asia is strongly influenced by the relatively low performance on rural household water security and urban water security.

Progress in these dimensions was made during 2013-2020 but not enough to bring this region at the same level as East Asia and Southeast Asia.

The region also performs weakly on environmental water security but comparatively well on water-related disaster security. Progress of overall water security was made during 2013–2016 but did not continue during 2016–2020.

UAE says visa suspension for Pakistan 'temporary' continued from page 01 The two sides exchanged views on the latest developments in the region and discussed regional and international issues of mutual concern and ways to coordinate responses on issues of interest.

The UAE foreign minister affirmed the depth of the distinguished relations between the two countries and showed keenness to enhance and develop further aspects of joint cooperation across all fields. Appreciating the Pakistani diaspora in UAE, he said that more than 1.5 million of the Pakistani diaspora enjoyed safety and stability there and praised their great role and active contribution towards the growth and prosperity of the country. He noted that this reflected the interconnectivity of the people of the two friendly countries, stressing the temporary nature of the recent restrictions imposed on the issuance of visas due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. He recalled that Pakistan was among the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with the UAE. The two friendly people and countries share strong historical ties that enhance prospects of their broad cooperation across all fields. “The UAE and Pakistan enjoy close relations and historical ties across political, economic, cultural and social domains, established on solid foundations of mutual friendship and respect,” he remarked. Furthermore, the Foreign Office (FO) has said that FM Qureshi, in his meetings with the UAE leadership, raised the issue pertaining to visa restrictions on Pakistan nationals as well as the welfare of Pakistani diaspora in the country. In a statement on Sunday, the FO said that the UAE foreign minister while appreciating the contributions made by the Pakistani diaspora in the UAE, assured that the visa restrictions were temporary in nature and were imposed due to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic. The spokesperson also said that noting the interconnectivity of the peoples of the two friendly countries, the statement stresses the "temporary nature of the recent restrictions imposed on the issuance of visas due to the outbreak of the Covid19 pandemic.

The fall of Dhaka speech City notes

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M A niAzi

suppose it was an omission of some sorts, but it was only on this December 16 that I got the chance to listen to the speech of General Yahya Khan after the fall of Dhaka. Was it welloiled? It could have been, for while there no obvious slurs, sudden giggles, or any other of the clear signs of the speaker having just hit the bottle, those are avoided by your heavy topers, and by all accounts, Yahya was so heavy a toper that his liver should have been left to medical science.

It was a peculiarly poignant speech to listen to so many years later. There was the complete refusal to do anything but blame India for its deceit and aggression. Oh yes, there were the appeals to the UN, the

United States and China. India has almost become a permanent UN Security Council member, befriended the US, leaving Pakistan to depend on China. When that falls into China’s lap, what will it do? Yahya painted a grim picture of East Pakistanis suffering under Indian hegemony. The first problem is that ‘East Pakistanis’ have not shown the least understanding of what was done to them. The second is that ‘East Pakistanis’ may have come under Indian hegemony, but at least they were no longer under Martial Law. We seem to forget that the 1971 War was lost by the politicians. Yes, Yahya was the president of the Tehrik Istiqlal, and ‘Tiger’ Niazi was East Pakistan chief of the PTI (one of his last public appearances was at Imran Khan’s first walima, so he would have to have been a party member). It is almost as if the army did not fight the 1971 war, just a

bunch of politicians. One person should be added to the list of those responsible for the fall of Dhaka, and it would be Nawaz Sharif.

Now Trump could learn from that narrative. Just as much as the Pakistan Army did not lose in 1971, Trump did not lose the Presidency. The winner, Joe Biden, who has now won in the electoral college, 306-232, saw the first Covid-19 vaccine administered to anyone in the US – a vaccine for which Trump wants credit. Did he invent it? Well, he wants credit for intellectual prowess. After all, he attended Pennsylvania University’s Wharton Business School.

Just like Imran went to Oxford. So why the general surprise when it is shown that either can read? Y’know, Narendra Modi is not like that. Sure, no one claims he is an Einstein, but no one thinks he is subnormal either. He does not have any BJP CMs who are suspected of being kept because they

CMYK

make him look bright (like Usman Buzdar makes Imran look good).

Trump has been having a hard time.

Apart from the electoral college not voting for him, he imposed sanctions on Turkey for buying an anti-aircraft system from Russia, which it did because the US was not selling it the one it wanted. So, Trump is in the position of having imposed sanctions on a fellow NATO member.

It is a twist of the spy novelist John Lecarré, who died the other day in Cornwall, at 96. Firdaus Begam also passed on, who reigned over the Pakistani cinema in its early years, playing Heer in the seminal film Heer Ranjha. Whenever you have an old geezer gassing away about how great the cinema used to be, and how it is not worth a toss anymore, the geezer always gives Heer Ranjha as an example of why.

Well, I suppose we should thank the film-

maker for having stuck with the original story, and not opted for a happy ending. Of course, Heer Ranjha was not a spy story, except perhaps at the most symbolic of levels, so the only thing she might have had in common with Lecarré was the fact that both probably were killed by covid-19. Though neither family admitted it, beyond Lecarré’s saying he had pneumonia.

Luckily, Nawaz as not caught it either, so that he can be deported but not extradited. It seems that you do not need to wear a black dhoti for the former. It does mean that you get slung on the plane like a sack of potatoes. You get deported if your visa runs out, or if you get a job illegally, and extradited if you commit a crime, like take an extra bag of rice at the local supermarket. Nawaz’s passport is expiring in February, it seems, which would leave him liable to being piled on a plane and flown back.

Monday, 21 December, 2020

06 COMMENT

Afghan-Pak border fencing has wide-ranging ramifications

Shooting at UNMOGIP Now that its own observers come under fire, the UN must act

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he United Nations has accepted that one of the vehicles of the United Nations Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) was shot at. Fortunately, no member of what has become the oldest Unmilitary mission in the world was hurt, which would have made the current incident much more serious than it already is. The incident showcases to the world how India is bent on violating the Lone of Control.

Whenever there is an exchange of fire across the LoC, both sides claim that the other side started it, and its troop only replied in self-defence. India has squirmed at the presence of UNMOGIP because its duty was, among other things, to observe who actually initiated the exchange, and has tried all sorts of puerile tactics, such as preventing it renting offices in New Delhi. however, this is the first time that India has ever fired vat it. This is an unusual act for any country, let alone one campaigning for permanent membership of the UN Security Council. It should show to the world how the present Indian government is trying to conduct affairs with increased aggression. Not only has it been increasing the pressure in Kashmir itself, through the abolition of its special status and the conversion of the state into two union territories in 2019, but it has been unusually aggressive on the LoC, firing more than usual t unarmed civilians, engaging with China at Doklam and generally behaving irresponsibly, especially at home towards its Muslim citizens.

All of this hoggishness under the BJP government cannot escape international notice, because now it has extended to the instrument of the international community itself, and India’s own actions have made it glaringly obvious which of the two countries actually initiates exchanges of fire. Does India claim its troops were fired upon? If there was a mistake, what punishment has been administered to those guilty? It remains to be seen, at this juncture, how effectively other powers can intervene to prevent the greater disaster of a full-blown Pak-India conflict, which could speedily degenerate into nuclear war. Only outside powers such as Russia and the USA can rein in India, and it remains to e seen how far the USA’s incoming Biden Administration is willing to go.

An important by-product of the War on Terror

Sulman ali

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he 2,600-kilometer-long border between Pakistan and Afghanistan has remained one of the most porous, destabilized and instable borders in the region. The US War on Terror, and Pakistan’s decision to be a frontline ally, has further destabilized the line between these two states. It is also the main sources of the blame game between Kabul and Islamabad. On the one hand, the Afghan government has blamed Pakistan for supporting Taliban and other militants from across the border; on the other, Pakistan has alleged that major terror outfits, especially Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), have been operating from Afghan territory– specifically in the aftermath of the military operation

by Pakistan Army in 2014 in along the border region.

The area has another serious issue linked to it, which is the admitting it as a border of both countries, especially on the part of Kabul. The mutual border

Government did not act in time

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The pandemic should force the IMF to rethink its neoliberal stance

T is bad enough for motorists that CNG stations are shutting down because SNGPL and SSGC are no longer supplying them, but the sufferings of the common man are increasing because of the current cold snap which has converted homes and offices into cold stores. This has been made more worrisome by the coronavirus pandemic, because not only do people become more susceptible to infect ion because of the cold, but those who catch the infection are likelier to develop symptoms, and those too much worse.

The pity of it all is that this suffering could have been avoided had the government acted in time, and used a little forethought. The government is announcing that there is a LNG shipment arriving next month which will ease the crisis, and that it will be followed by others. That shipment will fail to redress the supply difficulty of having to rely on indigenous supplies at the coldest part of the year. The point of having an experienced industry insider as SAPM for Petroleum, is not so that he can help his friends in the industry, as Mr Nadeem Babar has been accused of doing, but so that he can foresee the ups and downs of supply, and advise the measures needed to avoid them, which in this case would have been the placing of orders for LNG on time to meet the anticipated production shortfall.

The government is faced with a human crisis. At stake is not simply the convenience of getting gas for one’s vehicle, or of remaining warm in winter, but the more basic problem of staying alive in places where the difference between life and death depends on the ability to keep warm by artificial means. This does not factor in the many industries which have had to shut down because of inadequate gas supplies. It is perhaps paradoxical that a government which claims so much concern for the economy that it refuses to impose a lockdown, can be so casual about industry closing down, not to mention those that will be killed by the cold.

Dr Omer JaveD

‘A

year like no other’ is the title of International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) annual report for 2020, which is indeed quite apt given the immense difficulties faced by humanity on account of both dealing with a health and economic crisis; perhaps the most difficult time after the Second World War. The Report highlights important lessons for the year almost about to end, and the biggest ray of hope in the shape of upcoming vaccines- though administration is quite limited and outcomes not totally known in terms of side-effects given the early stage of rollout, and the unprecedented pace at which it was carried out.

While the pandemic-stricken year was the prime focus, there was yet a greater challenge─ in fact a bigger existential threat, and one which is fast approaching, not to mention being partially responsible for the pandemic itself─ in the shape of the climate change crisis, and while the Report highlighted climate change as ‘a linchpin of sustainable development goals’, it underlined the need to make some quick yards on the performance front of meeting this challenge, and in this regard pointed out ‘Climate change remains a clear and present threat, yet actions to fight it have fallen short. Measures taken now to fight the climate crisis will create more resilient economies and help the recovery from the global pandemic be fair, smart, and green.’

One of important measures to deal with climate change, that IMF suggested in the Report, was for countries to adopt a ‘carbon tax’ by highlighting ‘Carbon emissions are a chief contributor to global warming. One viable strategy to limit global warming is for countries to introduce a carbon tax to discourage the production of emissions and help curb climate change.’ In this regard, the Report further pointed out

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

Sulman Ali is a staff member. https://twitter.com/sulman_85

‘A year like no other’

Freezing without gas

Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

was set by British in 1893, declaring it the Durand Line. After Pakistan’s independence in 1947, and end of British rule in sub-continent, the Afghan government has claimed that the British-set border is now null-and-void, and it is Afghanistan’s territory. Meanwhile, Islamabad has maintained it as the border between two states.

The issue has been in limelight since 2017, when Pakistan announced to build a fence along the border.

During his visit to the region three years ago, Pakistan COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa said: “The new border measure would be in the interest of both countries.” Right after the announcement by Pakistan, the Afghan Foreign Ministry said that it was unaware of such a project, declaring, “Building fences or any construction is not acceptable for us and we won’t allow anyone to do it.”

Under the project, the Pakistan Army has built two mesh fences going parallel, couple of feet apart, topped with coils of razor wire between them. The fence runs through rugged terrain and snow-covered, treacherous mountains, where the elevation goes up to as high as 4,000 meters. Despite the difficult terrain, the Pakistan Army has continued this $500 million mega project.

In a statement, Pakistan Army Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) told media in March 2020 that: “84% work on the fence has been completed.” As per reports, the military is planning to complete the whole project in the next few months. Along the fence, Pakistan has also built 1,000 forts to keep a constant surveillance on the border. experts say this ‘hard Card’ policy is completely opposite to Pakistan’s ‘Strategic Depth Policy’ regarding Afghanistan. The policy coined by military dictator General Zia saw Pakistan’s deep involvement in the neighbouring country. however, it seems that the Pakistan military has shunned the policy and is working to secure its border.

According to Islamabad, the fence has already showed its significant impact as terrorism has de-

creased to a large extent. Last year, there were 82 terrorist attacks in Pakistan, as compared to 352 in 2014. however, as per one military official: “You can’t do everything with a fence. People will still come through. They look like the local population, and they live among them.”

Furthermore, some analysts believe that the fence would not make much difference because the militants on both sides have their routes to cross the border.

One of the major impacts of this border fence would be social. There are thousands of tribal families who have been living on both sides and crossing the border freely for their business, trade and family relations.

According to Director of Research of South Asia Democratic Forum, Siegfrid O. Wolf, “The border fencing affects the interests of Pushtoon, who live on both sides of Durand Line. The impact of such fencing on the daily lives and livelihood of these groups with strengthen current feeling of marginalization.” he believes that this fence will lead to a fresh cycle of frustration, leading to more violence in the frontier instead of achieving the proclaimed security.

Zahid Shinwari, a former chairman of the chamber of commerce for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said that it is a huge change, because earlier people on both sides used to move freely. “We actually didn’t consider the Afghanistan side as some other country, like traveling to europe or the Arab countries.”

Meanwhile, Michael Kugelman, senior Research Associate at Stimson Centre believes that the fencing will be never completed. “Given how unforgiving much of the border terrain is, there is no way the entire border will be fenced.”

The total impact of this wall is yet to be seen, but Pakistan military believes that it has helped in reducing the rate of terrorism in the country. Meanwhile, some experts and Pushtoon leaders believe that it will hugely impact the social and trade life of people living along the border region.

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that ‘The transition to a low-carbon economy will mean countries have to manage a number of risks.

The IMF has proposed a carbon price floor arrangement among countries to effectively and equitably scale up global mitigation action. Other policy work has focused on financial regulation to internalize risks from exposure to “brown” assets such as fossil fuels, as well as on measures to ease the social impact of carbon mitigation or the need to diversify in economies that depend on fossil fuel exports.’

While a negative incentive in the shape of a carbon tax is indeed important for dealing with global warming, yet given the deep global recession in the wake of the pandemic, and its significant negative impact of poverty numbers, means therefore that in the short to medium terms lesser weight of this tax, and more positive incentivization through the use of ‘green finance’ and a greater fiscal stimulus overall to help businesses make the needed ‘green’ business choices.

Overall, there should be a faster and more intense move towards a ‘green new deal’. In this regard, Kristalina Georgieva, IMF’s MD (managing director) rightly pointed out ‘The best memorial we can build to the people who have died in the pandemic is a greener, smarter, and fairer world.’ having said that, that places a heavy responsibility on IMF to move quickly and significantly away from its neoliberal thinking as represented in its usual bread and butter programme recipe of structural adjustment programmes, which are generally quite one-size-fits-all in terms of their disproportionate austerity focus in the shape of over-emphasis on aggregate demandcentric policies. Apart from unjustifiably great economic growth sacrifice that this programme recipe has entailed from country after country under an IMF programme, such austerity promoting policies have also led to political polarization.

For instance, a recent research paper ‘Does austerity cause polarization?’, the writers conclude ‘macro-level analysis of 166 elections since 1980 finds that austerity increases both electoral abstention and votes for non-mainstream parties, thereby boosting the polarization of the party system. A detailed analysis of selected fiscal adjustments also shows that new, small and radical parties benefit most from austerity policies.’ For reaching a ‘greener, smarter, and a fairer world’ would, therefore, require moving away from such neoliberal based programmes to ones that are more balanced in terms of aggregate demand- and supply side policies, and with greater focus of policies in combating climate change. Moreover, in terms

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of wider influence of policy in terms of less radical parties taking office, and in turn opting for a balanced economic policy approach, especially in terms of being ‘inclusive’, would therefore require a move away from neoliberal policy framework, and towards a ‘green new deal’.

In particular, dealing with unemployment crisis during the pandemic, and which has led to increasing income inequality and poverty numbers, would therefore require, among other things, as the Report suggested ‘IMF research found that technology and the automation of jobs, rather than trade, are the main drivers of these disparities. Social spending on education to help workers gain new skills, or unemployment benefits to support them while they look for a new job, are necessary parts of the solution.’ Moreover, in this regard, ‘the IMF developed a strategy based on best practices for more effective engagement with countries on social spending issues. IMF surveillance and lending operations have increasingly emphasized inclusive growth and reducing inequality, including through the use of social spending “floors” as targets in IMF supported programs.’

The Report also directed towards one of the leading issues facing the low- and middle-income countries in particular, and which is with regard to a possible sovereign debt crisis. In this regard, the Report points out ‘The pandemic hit many vulnerable low-income countries hard: 50 percent of these countries are at high risk of debt distress. economic shocks like the spread of a global virus can stall their economies and reverse financing flows, which further complicates their ability to manage their debt. The IMF, along with other partner institutions, has worked with low-income countries to help strengthen their debt management and transparency practices. This includes providing technical support as countries develop and publish debt management strategies and debt reports.’

Nevertheless, IMF rightly emphasized ‘Supporting the recovery with fiscal measures while managing higher government debt levels is a delicate balancing act.’ hence, while this ‘delicate’ matter requires deep focus of policy makers of individual countries, a greater sense of multilateralism is indeed needed– and which is sadly missing till now– for reaching a more meaningful debt moratorium/relief outcome for debtor countries.

The writer holds PhD in Economics degree from the University of Barcelona, and previously worked at International Monetary Fund. He tweets @omerjaved

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Monday, 21 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

Boris Johnshon’s commendable strp UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has just got the ball rolling to establish a fierce fight with the climate change crisis. Johnson has announced a string of action plans just well ahead of the upcoming 2021 UN Climate Change Conference to be held under the supervision of the UK government.

Strict plans to ban petrol vehicles, serious measures to cut the greenhouse gas emissions, innovative ideas to make homes greener and energy-efficient and bold steps to switch to traditional yet beautiful ways of travelling like walking, cycling have all been on the list prepared to fight the climate crisis. Johnson has been the real he-man out there as many British english newspapers have been showing him as planting trees across the country - he was even captured posing in front of a tree he had planted during his London Mayor tenure. This news piece has been widely covered

by BBC, sending some positive vibes across the West and the east. Just interestingly yet coincidentally enough, I had bumped into some news bits on dinosaurs on BBC that had just rekindled the beautiful moments of a hollywood science fiction movie called Jurassic Park released in the early 1990s. That movie had held the audience across the world spellbound. I remember getting many an opportunity to improve my science knowledge during my study in Korkai, Tuticorin, Tiruchendur, Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu in the 1990s. The UK PM has indeed been talking about the natural world while having green industrial revolution plans.

Finally, the perfect execution of green plans through proper phase-out methods will definitely make a big difference to the future fight against the climate change crisis, even inspiring the international community and attaining the desired target results all to protect Mother earth.

P Senthil Saravana Durai MuMbai

Unwanted crises The political scene reflects selfish motives and no concern for the common man

akhtar aly kureShy

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LThOUGh the present bleak political situation, which the opposition desires to turn into political turmoil leading towards the failure of the Imran Khan government, has raised so many questions of constitutional and legal nature, it is not a political crisis. In other words, political history reveals that poor Pakistan remained in such like political crises from te very first day, and these insane politicians first create problems to worsen the political situation then weep at their misfortune when they find themselves facing Martial Law. history is a bold witness to thise ridiculous attitude of our politicians who never regret this distortion of the political history of Pakistan, but a student of law or political science, and critics of Pakistan, will not forgive them for such unkind and immature political activities for their personal gain.

Don’t go far away, take a birdseye view of our leaders who enjoyed about ten years of their politics and then grant ten years to military dictators, Gen Ziaul haq, 1977-88, then Gen Pervez Musharraf, 1999-2008. Although the custodian of our Constitution, the Supreme Court, blocked the way of the next martial law, now the complexion of the political game is changed to a new horizon. earlier it was presumed to be understood, the leader who enjoyed the backing of the USA, managed to form the government in Pakistan, but now it is necessary to win the favour of the Army establishment to make the government and perform related tasks.

This is the only point on which our political scene indicating the stability of the present government and that those trying to topple the government are the leaders of a lesser god.

As far as the Constitution or legal issues are concerned, there is absolutely no hindrance in the way of the government completing its term of five years, as according to the Constitution if any member or lot of members of the National Assembly or a Provincial Assembly resigned from his or their seats, the election Commission will hold by-elections to fill the seats in accordance with law as a matter of routine. Although history is full of incidents causing a bad taste, there is no such precedent found where the bulk of resignations of members of the National As-

sembly or a Provincial Assembly, have culminated in a general election. On this point of bulk resignations, the Constitution is completely silent, and the law has no room to accommodate them except to hold by-elections as enshrined in the Constitution and supported by election laws.

Almost all constitutional experts are agreed on this point of Constitution. however this point of law will invite the Supreme Court to interpret the Constitution from this new angle as this situation has never happened before.

The attitudes and approach of our political leaders are not remarkable nor appreciable and there is no end to this dirty game, as yesterday the PTI was doing this same politics against Nawaz Sharif, and now the PML(N) has joined hands with other political parties and is repeating the same, so one can easily say that as you sow so shall you reap.

Normally politicians of any country are understood to be visionary and loyal to their Constitution and country and they carry out politics for the welfare of the general public and betterment of their country but it is obvious that in Pakistan political leaders rule for making money and promotion of their families and friends, then take off to London to enjoy life or are sometimes incarcerated for assets beyond sources by the NAB as present opposition exemplifies.

They want to be saved from NAB and there is apparently no public or national issue involved as such. Needless to mention that Maulana Fazalur Rahman has no say in Parliament nor do others who lost their seats in the 2918 election, while the majority of PPP and PML(N) leaders are on the radar of NAB. So where is the public welfare or national issue of some significance?

Surprisingly US President Donald Trump tried to follow Pakistan’s leaders, in refusing to accept the election result if one lost, but strong traditions and powerful political system of the USA pushed back to confirm his real position and compel him to honor the public wish, leaving a message for all, particularly for our leaders, to do something better for the public to rule them.

Although chill season is on its peak to enjoy to make some good memories, our politicians are making it warm and full of tension, rather disturbing, for everyone. The politicians have forgotten public issues, national issues and only focus on their personal benefits, scandalizing national institutions and trying to destabilize the

political system just for personal cause.

Unfortunately there is no Think Tank or pressure group working in Pakistan, or some other political parties or NGOs which should assert and paint the real position of our leaders to cool down the one-sided version to explore the constructive side of national politics. The political evolution process in Pakistan is bitter, making the life of a common man so hard while political leaders compromise their integrity and honesty, only for Pakistan to slip down among its contemporaries. Because of this political decline our international politics is completely silent and on other way, Israel diplomacy ascending, as a number of other countries are recognizing Israel, putting more pressure on other small countries to follow them in this unwanted task.

In British Raj before independence, there was a strong tradition and practice of calling a Round Table Conference of all stake holders politicians to dialogs to resolve national issues but here is lacking such tradition to negotiate the matter of national interest with the opposition. There is complete deadlock between government and opposition as government is stuck down on the point not to give NRO whereas opposition is dying for a quid pro quo, ignoring and harming national interest. Aggressiveness of wrongdoers dominates the media, and even some channels have joined hands with either party to mobilize political turmoil and safeguard their commercial interest and promote leaders who are not real leaders, rather they are enemies of the public interest.

The season of heavy and dirty politics will continue until the Senate election to counter the political wave as both sides are claiming premature victory. One day government takes lead to announce some projects or other benefits, and the other day the opposition turns the tables to defuse the happiness of the general public and to create tension to make the citizen of Pakistan regret. every new day increases the problems of the poor public, leaving aside having to face the Coronavirus to kill innocent people and those who survive will be killed by flood of price hike apart from, ignoring the gravity of December’s chill.

The season of heavy and dirty politics will continue until the Senate election to counter the political wave as both sides are claiming premature victory. One day government takes lead to announce some projects or other benefits, and the other day the opposition turns the tables to defuse the happiness of the general public and to create tension to make the citizen of Pakistan regret.

The writer is an Advocate Supreme Court of Pakistan, Law Professor, member International Bar and former Assistant Attorney General for Pakistan.

A shameful attack INDIAN forces’ attack on the vehicle of United Nations across the Line of Control (Loc) is highly condemnable. Luckily, in this brazen attack, no casualty was reported as the occupants of the vehicle were set out on enquiring after the ceasefire violations there. As per the statistics issued

by Foreign Office of Pakistan, India has reportedly committed 3000 ceasefire violations in 2020 alone that resulted into at least 27 deaths of innocent people. In order to divert the attention of it’s people from the domestic problems, Modi-led ultra-extremist government has always tried to disturb the peaceful atmosphere at the Loc and enter into adventurism, which is a sheer sign of blatant aggression. While India has already received Pakistan’s response of such an aggression, it seems not to have learnt any lesson out of it, and causes more troubles for the whole of the region. United Nations and World Community must take notice of this flagrant Indian attack on UN group of Military Observers in India and Pakistan and rein in the Modi-led government lest it is too late to do so. riaz ahMaD SooMro ShikarPur

India’s rejection of OIC INDIA strongly rejected the criticism of its Kashmir policy by the organization of Islamic Cooperation. And the Ministry of external Affairs hinted at Pakistan and said the OIC is being used by that country for it’s compaign against India. They have refused the factually, incorrect , gratuitous and unwarranted to India resolutions by this organization. It hurts me to narrate my views regarding Kashmir issue which is on the rise in the globe. however, India has occupied their motherland illegally and against their aspiration . Seeing the worst reactions of India , the world has stopped taking a more responsible action inorder to simplify the rising problems and rights of suffering Kashmiris. Pakistan’s unwavering support to Kashmiris in their just struggle for right to self determination is really to be appreciated and deserve immense praise. For instance, if I take my own life’s main example surviving in the terrorism threats, price hike complains, unemployment rates , these neglected infrastructure made me very worried to make life fantastic. Just imagine you are being ruled by another king as compared to the example of Indian authorities how make disputed Kashmiris so miserable in every step of life ? In the modern India New Delhi is unable to break the will of the brave people of Indian Occupied Kashmir who are working for their freedom. The first motive of being ruled as the India is a secular country which mixed ideologies and belief or opinions. As Muslims have been blamed for spread of pandemic and with harsh regimes imposed on Kashmir people . I optimize our country is ready to support innocent Kashmiris in any views for the purpose of freedom. barkatullah turbat

Amir’s retirement YeSTeRDAY a sad news emerged for the world’s most famous cricketers that Pakistani player named as Muhammad Amir retired from international cricket and put international career at an end due to disappointments. however, Pakistan has announced Muhammad Amir no longer wishes to be considered for selection. Amir even told Pakistan television channel that he cannot play under this management. Listening this news ahead Pakistani cricketers will be missing him . It was also said it is the personal decision of Mr Amir and will not be involved for future international matches. I do accept Muhammad Amir is a great star taking wickets in every matches due to his fast bowling. he is therefore called as fast bowler and he deserves this title as well. Amir’s, whose international career begins in 2009 and he has taken 259 wickets across all formats. We are not yet confirmed whether this is Amir’s final decision or not. hope he is once again shifted in cricket team. barkatullah turbat

Monday, 21 December, 2020

08 WORLD VIEW The US governmenT wanTS To break Up Facebook. good – iT’S long overdUe AMERICA BROKE UP LOGGING COMPANIES IN THE 1840S, STANDARD OIL IN THE 1910S, AND AT&T IN THE 1980S. IT’S TIME TO TAKE ON BIG TECH GuArdiAn

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MAtt StollEr AND ShAoul SuSSMAN

HIS week the government filed a groundbreaking antitrust suit against Facebook, seeking to break up the corporation for monopolistic practices. The suit comes on the heels of a similar case against Google, as well as an aggressive Democrat-authored congressional report recommending taking apart not just Google and Facebook, but Apple and Amazon as well.

The evidence against Facebook seems overwhelming, with enforcers pointing to internal email conversations in which the CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, and his colleagues allegedly conspired to monopolize the social media space by buying rivals and stifling competitors. Proof of intent to violate antitrust law appears to be ample. Yet news articles covering the case describe it as “far from a slam dunk”, and competition law experts predict that enforcers will “face an uphill battle” in proving their claims.

Embedded in these muted words about the legal viability of the case is a political battle about the nature of economic power. Both antitrust suits are the result of a new movement of anti-monopoly scholars and advocates pushing to reform a heavily concentrated and misshapen American economy. Yet within the cocooned world of orthodox antitrust experts, there’s a suspicious lack of enthusiasm for breaking up Facebook, or any of the tech goliaths. Fiona Scott Morton, for instance, a former Obama enforcer and opinion leader at Yale, wrote last year that “break-ups are not a good solution to the economic harms created by large firms in this sector.” And last year the leading antitrust scholar Herb Hovenkamp argued that “breakup remedies are radical and they frequently have unintended consequences,” and warned that “Judges aren’t good at breaking up companies.”

In this formulation, break-ups are a legally difficult and flawed remedy, akin to amputating the leg of someone in need of a pedicure. Some politicians are still listening to these experts; Republican politicians have expressed skepticism at break-ups, but even the 2020 Democratic platform says that regulators should only consider breaking up corporations “as a last resort”. More than politicians, judges listen to these arguments, and rewrite antitrust law from the bench to make bringing mo-

nopolization cases and winning them – even when the evidence is overwhelming – far too expensive and difficult.

Such a situation is historically unusual. As the historian Richard John notes, America has a long history of breaking up big companies. Some of those broken-up entities include logging companies in Maine in the 1840s, Standard Oil in the 1910s, and AT&T in the 1980s. In fact, in 1961 the supreme court pronounced that breaking up companies has “been called the most important of antitrust remedies. It is simple, relatively easy to administer, and sure.” So what explains this modern reluctance?

The standard account is that a group of libertarian law and economics scholars in and around the University of Chicago recentered antitrust in the 1970s. These men, led

by Milton Friedman, Robert Bork and George Stigler, sought to attack the New Deal regulatory state, and free concentrated capital. Bork led the legal crusade against what he called the “militant ideology” of aggressive antitrust enforcers. His goal was to pull control of this area of law out of the hands of liberal legislative bodies and place it in the hands of highly technical conservative economists and lifetime-appointed judges who would listen to them. When Ronald Reagan became president, he radically narrowed antitrust, amounting to what Bork called a “revolution in a major American policy”.

But this is only part of the story. It fails to explain how, in 2004, Antonin Scalia convinced his fellow supreme court justices, including Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, to join him in a unanimous supreme court decision which undermined the ability to bring monopolization cases by holding that the “charging of monopoly prices is not only not unlawful, it is an important element of the free-market system. The liberal justices were swayed by a different set of scholars, less-well known in the revolution that has produced today’s monopoly-heavy economy. These scholars challenged Bork-influenced libertarians over certain methodological questions but accepted the ideological contention that antitrust should be a technical area without broader democratic goals.

This group is led by Hovenkamp, an academic centrist technocrat, who is the most important antitrust thinker alive today, nicknamed the “dean of the antitrust bar”. His partnership with Lyndon Johnson’s antitrust chief Don Turner and Harvard scholar Phil Areeda on a key antitrust treatise set the stage for his intellectual dom-

inance in the 1980s. Stephen Breyer, a liberal justice and an adherent of Hovenkamp, once noted that advocates would rather have “two paragraphs of [the] treatise on their side than three courts of appeals or four supreme court justices.” Breyer wasn’t understating the point; to date, Hovenkamp has been cited by our highest court in 38 different cases, far more often than Bork.

Hovenkamp is an intellectual historian by training, and his views on antitrust policy are situated in a misleading narrative. His research radically downplays the historical importance of legislative and social movements focused on the democratic need to control big business, and instead emphasizes the role economists and technocrats began to play in shaping the law during the Gilded Age. As part of this narrative, he peddles an incomplete account of the origin of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, the most important piece of anti-monopoly legislation ever enacted by Congress. Hovenkamp argues that there is no evidence that the framers of the Sherman Act sought to curtail monopolies brought about as a result of “superior skill or industry”.

According to Hovenkamp, US Congress – and by extension Americans in general – never had a problem with big corporations, or even monopolies; we just didn’t like it when those monopolies became predatory.

This elitist and technocratic framework glosses over our rich anti-monopoly tradition. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Frederick Douglass all opposed monopolies on political grounds, and state legislatures in the 19th century began breaking up companies almost as soon as they started issuing corporate charters. Senator Sherman himself explained that the purpose of the federal antitrust act was “to put an end to great aggregations of capital because of the helplessness of the individual before them.”

Judge Learned Hand, whose decisions in contract and corporate law are still read with reverence, laid out the basic federal antitrust framework which was endorsed by the supreme court in 1946 and 1968 and governed our

economy for most of the 20th century. In mandating the breakup of the aluminium monopoly of Alcoa in 1945, Hand concluded that monopoly power, in and of itself, was illegal. He explained that the Sherman Act is a law prohibiting monopolies, full stop, no matter whether they are predatory. He pointed out that Congress updated the antitrust laws four times in the 20th century to hit back at courts who attempted to narrow them.

Antitrust theory is dominated by reactionary yet often wildly inconsistent thinkers. Hovenkamp, who for decades resisted any action to rein in large technology firms, argued a year ago that breaking up these giants would send the economy back to “the Stone Age”. This week, reversing his position, Hovenkamp conceded that breaking up Facebook is now warranted – revealing his entire school of thought as largely a reactionary force torn between bending to concentrated financial power and scandalous headlines of abusive market power.

It is encouraging that the government is seeking to break up Google and Facebook, and that policymakers are rejecting flawed legal theorizing. But the resistance to restoring our anti-monopoly tradition runs much deeper than Robert Bork and his rightwing legacy. As we’ve seen, it’s just as entrenched within the centrist academic and judicial citadels of well-meaning technocrats who carry a deeply ingrained fear of too much democratic influence over the economy.

Policymakers and judges are going to have to shake off the misleading narrative spun by the current antitrust establishment. Doing so is essential not only for supporting fair markets, but for preserving democracy itself.

Matt Stoller is the research director at the American Economic Liberties Project and the author of Goliath: The Hundred Year War Between Monopoly and Democracy. Shaoul Sussman is a legal fellow at the Institute for Local Self Reliance.

it’s not a big tech crackdown, it’s an anti-monopoly revolution THE POLICY CENTRE OF AMERICA HAS NOW BEEN CONVINCED THAT THE SITUATION IN CORPORATE AMERICA HAS GROWN OUT OF CONTROL CRITICAL DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS SECTORS OF THE ECONOMY SHOW THAT THE MOVEMENT AGAINST CORPORATE POWER IS WINNING—AT LAST AmericAn ProsPect DAVID DAYEN

Ten states have filed a new antitrust lawsuit against Facebook and Google alleging illegal collusion to manipulate the online advertising market and limit competition.

In the past two months, the federal government has filed more major anti-monopolization cases against large businesses (two of them) than in the previous 20 years (one of them). On top of that, two state coalitions have filed significant anti-monopolization cases against Google, while state attorneys general have separately joined the federal cases against Google and Facebook.

One of the two state cases against Google alleges illegal monopoly coordination with Facebook, closing the circle.

These actions, focused on Big Tech, are critically important. They attack multiple aspects of the abuse of power that many companies in the sector exhibit. They include Google’s payments to Apple and other manufacturers and browser companies to entrench its search monopoly; its exploitation of customer data and manipulation of search results to benefit its own products; the duopoly rigging of the online advertising market; and Facebook’s illegal mergers to maintain its dominance.

Illegal tying, collusion through payoffs and market rigging, steering and self-preferencing allegedly “neutral” markets, and a growth-through-acquisition strategy practically run the gamut of monopoly behavior. And as one of the most powerful sectors in American life and politics, one that during the pandemic has only grown in strength and power, it’s natural to target Big Tech for antitrust enforcement.

And yet, these cases against Google and Facebook are not the most important antitrust actions taken in recent weeks. What is happening right now is not merely a crusade against a handful of tech firms that have gotten into the crosshairs of some policymakers and media types. It

reflects an entirely new way to think about corporate power and corporate dominance, buoyed by the tech-lash but occurring across a variety of sectors and contexts.

That’s important, because it shows that the thinking that propped up the giants of the Second Gilded Age is being rethought. The first big development came last week, when a federal judge granted class action status to a group of mixed martial arts fighters suing the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) over using its monopoly power in presenting and promoting events to keep pay artificially low. The Prospect has highlighted this case a couple of times, as it is a perfect example of how monopoly affects wages and labor markets, a relatively undeveloped side of the law.

What happened was that the UFC, whose parent company is a Big Three Hollywood talent agency backed by private equity cash, cornered the market on MMA, buying up rival promoters, and as a result the fighters’ share of event revenues plummeted. The UFC countered that wage levels went up, so no foul if the share declined, but the judge certified the class of litigants anyway. The company could be on the hook for close to $5 billion in damages.

This just gets us to a trial stage, where the merits will be decided. But even getting this far almost never happens in “monopsony” cases, where there’s a dominant buyer that can suppress wages. Workers suing employers because of their monopoly just doesn’t happen very much at all. Therefore, this case could set a major precedent, protecting workers when their industries consolidate. And it creates a move away from the “consumer welfare” standard that has held that the only thing that matters in merger proposals or monopolized markets is whether the consumer gets lower prices as a result.

The second consequential ruling with implications for corporate consolidation concerns the bankruptcy of shoe retailer Nine West, a private equity–owned firm. This is not an unusual scenario for private equity–owned portfolio companies, which frequently end up in bankruptcy after

the PE firm extracts all the value. It’s inherently tied to the private equity business model, which makes purchases with a mountain of debt and then dumps that debt onto the purchased company. This model has been completely toxic for workers and businesses, even as it has furthered the consolidation and financialization of the U.S. economy.

That may now change. The legendary Judge Jed Rakoff of the Southern District of New York ruled that creditors of Nine West could sue the previous board of directors for misconduct when it sold off the company to Sycamore Partners in a leveraged buyout. The board failed to assess the recklessness of Nine West’s taking on the debt and how it led to the eventual bankruptcy.

Rakoff said they could be held accountable for the same.

That could bring the entire frenzy of private equity deals to a screeching halt. No board of directors would want to risk personal liability by selling their company to a PE vulture. For a couple of decades, boards have been far more concerned with value for shareholders. Rakoff’s ruling, even though it’s just preliminary, sets a legal precedent that could be enough to make boards think twice.

Both of these cases spring from private litigation, an enumerated right under the Sherman Antitrust Act. It is not necessary to await the federal government to set an antimonopoly agenda, one that even our conservative, dilapidated courts can sanction. However, the renewed movement among politicians and law enforcers against Big Tech—which has seen Congressional hearings and thorough reports and enforcement actions—has in my view created a feedback loop that has led states and individual plaintiffs to push harder on the fundamental issues of antitrust. Strength begets strength. Courage is contagious.

Just look at what’s happening across the spectrum.

The Federal Trade Commission is seeking information about data collection from nine social media companies.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who’s about to join the Biden Cabinet, is suing to compel Amazon’s compliance with an investigation into the company’s

workplace protocols and level of coronavirus cases. Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama are voting on unionization with the Trump Labor Board’s blessing. App seller Cydia is suing Apple for creating a monopoly with its App Store. Researcher Zack Maril single-handedly implanted the notion of Google’s web-crawler monopoly in the public consciousness with one report. Northeastern University professor John Kwoka and Imperial College London’s Tommaso Valenti revised the history on firm breakups, showing them to be far superior to behavioral or conduct remedies. And across the pond, the European Union’s new rules on digital services and markets reflect a stronger and more confident challenge to tech firms, which feels like a direct consequence of the flurry of lawsuits.

This rethinking of antitrust policy and the actions it has spawned couldn’t come at a more critical time. As the pandemic consolidates markets, new mergers—from regional banks to big pharmaceutical firms to the world’s largest cannabis company—are being announced every day. The level of mergers and acquisitions is “extraordinary,” says Goldman Sachs’s top M&A banker Stephan Feldgoise, and he expects those mergers to come with job loss, as is typical with concentration.

The lawsuits against Google and Facebook will last for years. Big Tech’s defenders and lobbyists will defame them and bargain for a settlement of the anti-monopoly strife. The cases might even fail. It doesn’t matter. The policy center of America has now been convinced that the situation in corporate America has grown out of control.

Public opinion supports that perspective. The network of anti-monopoly thinkers and scholars and activists has grown. The arguments for enabling monopoly power have been revealed as weak. Nothing is going to stop this evolution away from the laissez-faire of the Chicago school and toward the preservation of liberty and democracy.

Barry Lynn, an intellectual godfather of the new antimonopoly movement, wrote this week that Joe Biden must make a choice to wield the laws at his disposal to fight corporate power, and must break with the failed consensus of his Obama-era confidants, who didn’t break corporate power when they had every opportunity to do that.

I agree that it’s important, but I don’t totally agree that it’s Biden’s choice to make. The genie is out of the bottle. The nation has already made its decision. Biden can lead, follow, or get out of the way.

David Dayen is the executive editor of The American Prospect. His work has appeared in The Intercept, The New Republic, HuffPost, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and more.

Monday, 21 December, 2020

BUSINESS 09

Mobile phone imports increase 45.26pc in 5MFY21 ISLAMABAD APP

The import of mobile phones witnessed an increase of 45.26 per cent during the first five months (July-Nov) of the current financial year (FY21) as compared to the corresponding period of last year. According to details, Pakistan imported mobile phones worth $724.085 million in July-Nov FY21 as compared to the imports of $498.463 million in July-Nov FY20, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Sunday. Similarly, mobile phone imports also increased by 50.04pc to $166.124 million on a year-on-year (YoY) basis in November 2020, as compared to imports of $110.723 million in Nov 2019.

Further, on a month-on-month (MoM) basis, the import of mobile phones also rose 155.3pc in Nov 2020, as compared to the imports of $65.069 million in October 2020.

NAB tightens noose around Dar, SBP ex-governor in bank merger case The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has sought permission to arrest former finance minister Ishaq Dar and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) former governor Ashraf Wathra along with six other officials on charges of alleged nontransparent merger of two banks. Earlier on November 3, NAB Karachi had sent arrest warrants of eight persons to the bureau’s headquarters requesting permission to take the accused into custody in case of “the non-transparent amalgamation of KASB Bank into BankIslami.” “Permission has been sought to arrest Ishaq Dar, who is currently residing in London; Ashraf Wathra; a former senior official of the Ministry of Finance and five central bank officials who is currently serving at key positions,” official documents state.

According to a report by the Express Tribune, NAB investigators stated that several provisions of information letters, reminders were sent to the SBP for procuring internal memos, minute sheets, note sheets, and other relevant records in order to establish criminality on the part of responsible officers but the said information was never made available. In April 2018, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly had requested the Supreme Court of Pakistan to take suo moto notice of KASB Bank’s merger deal while terming it the “biggest scandal in the central bank’s history”. Few weeks ago, Express Tribune had reported that the PTI government decided to look at whether the then PML-N government had any role in the alleged merger. NAB documents showed that the Karachi Office sought permission to arrest accused persons to “expedite the investigation proceedings”, as all the accused persons of the SBP are “deliberately avoiding to appear” before NAB. On the other hand, Ishaq Dar said in a written response to the media outlet said, “I have nothing to do with this case except whatever SBP decided under the law and due process and recommended by the Finance Division/Secretary for approval, was done”. MONITORING REPORT

China could restrict bank tie-ups with fintech platforms, official suggests BEIJING AGENCIES

China’s former finance minister Lou Jiwei suggested that China could restrict the number of banks a single fintech platform can partner with, to prevent any platform from gaining too much market share, state media reported on Sunday. China’s regulators last month warned the country’s tech giants that they face closer scrutiny. A planned $37 billion stock listing of Alibaba’s Ant Group, scheduled to be the world’s largest, was then abruptly suspended. Speaking at a wealth management forum on Saturday, Lou, who remains influential as the external affairs director at a top advisory body to the Chinese government, warned that a fintech platform with an oversized market share can lead to bad debts, the Securities Times said. “We can limit the number of banks that any single platform can work with, so as to let more platforms do similar businesses under the same conditions,” he said, adding that fintech platforms should not be allowed to grow to the point of “winner takes all” and “too big to fail”. China has vowed to strengthen oversight of its big tech firms, which include the likes of Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings that rank among the world’s largest and most valuable. Many of these companies have gathered large amounts of user data in the course of providing their services. A securities watchdog official said Beijing should consider imposing a digital tax on technology companies that hold copious amounts of user data, state media said last week.

GAS ShortAGe, low PreSSure rePorteD CouNtrYwIDe ISLAMABAD TLTP

C

ITIzENS all across the country have lamented gas shortage and low pressure in several areas of the country. Speaking to the media, civil society members complained of feeling cold all day and having severe difficulties in cooking food.

In Punjab, citizens complained about having to buy expensive LPG gas because of this and being forced to use compressors because of low gas pressure. "Due to lack of gas, houses, flats, hospitals, and mosques have become cold storages," they added.

In Balochistan's provincial capital, Quetta, low gas pressure was reported in Raisani Town, Arif Road, Mir Ahmad Khan Road, Najamuddin Road, Kawari Road, and adjoining areas.

In Karachi, residents of areas including Lyari, Chakiwara, Lee Market, Agra Taj, Garden, Shoe Market, Usman Abbad, Purana Golimar, City Railways Colony, Burns Road, Kharadar, Gulshan-eHadeed, Bhains Colony, Malir, and others complained about the shortage of gas and low pressure. "We are forced to buy LPG cylinders and use wood for burning," they said.

A day earlier, the government announced that it had arranged twelve liquefied natural gas (LNG) car-

Dawood vows to achieve $26bn export target in 3 years

goes for the upcoming month of January.

The spokesperson said the city loads have increased by more than nine percent in SNGPL in the last week alone on account of a severe cold wave resulting in pressure drops. He said that SSGC faces similar drops in Karachi and Quetta.

Therefore, he said, the people are requested to use gas responsibly and report any domestic consumers using compressors, which is another major reason for pressure drops.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan will be moving 30 per cent more LNG molecules this January compared to January 2018, at the cheapest ever price of $6.34 for a peak winter month.

Iraq devalues dinar as oil prices squeeze revenues BAGHDAD AGENCIES

FEDERAL, PROVINCIAL CONSUMER PROTECTION LAWS TO BE AMENDED TO ADDRESS CONSUMER DISPUTES WITH E-COMMERCE PLATFORMS ISLAMABAD APP

Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood on Sunday said the Ministry of Commerce had resolved to achieve a $26 billion export target in the next three years by exploring new trade markets across the world.

The PM’s advisor said that trade diversification, regional trade integration through Gwadar Port and exploring the new market like Africa region, North and South America, and enhancing the production of engineering good for increasing export are the main agenda of the government to boost exports.

“Another major focus is on expanding the role of the digital economy and connecting with the international market to increase exports and create new employment opportunities for youth,” he said.

Razak Dawood said that the availability of international payment gateways in Pakistan would also be ensured to facilitate exporters.

“All government procurements and transactions would be shifted to e-procurement and online payment systems within three years while provincial revenue authorities would harmonise

their GST collection system to avoid double taxation for e-commerce platforms,” he said.

He also informed that the STPF would ensure the creation of liaison of different sectors’ exports from conventional economies with online markets through e-commerce policy.

Speaking to the media, he said that the upcoming Strategic Trade Policy Framework would address the needs of the modern economy where sales on online markets make a significant contribution towards economic activities.

Razak said that the country’s e-commerce policy was aimed at providing a launching pad to Pakistan’s e-commerce market and exports while driving youth empowerment and employment generation through digital connectivity.

“It would also empower women entrepreneurs in Pakistan and encourage the micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to play their role in the economic prosperity of Pakistan, and be a tool for export enhancement through connecting with global e-commerce platforms,” he added.

He said that under this policy, a high-powered national ecommerce council will be developed at the federal and

provincial levels for proper and effective implementation of the e-commerce policy.

Further, he explained that the policy presents an opportunity to bring SMEs into the mainstream and connect them with Pakistani as well as international markets through online platforms.

The PM’s advisor also revealed that the government would soon launch the that Pak e-SME programme to identify, train, enable, and connect 50,000 e-SMEs of the remote areas of Pakistan to online market places for promoting e-commerce.

Additionally, to facilitate businesses, he said that an ecommerce business facilitation hub will be created, and a commerce aggregator will also be developed with Public-Private Partnership (PPP) to showcase e-commerce companies in Pakistan in front of the world.

In this regard, the existing federal and provincial consumer protection laws would be amended to adequately address consumer disputes arising through e-commerce platforms.

“Consumer protection will be ensured through proper implementation of a code of conduct by e-commerce platforms while e-courts will be established for quick processing of consumer cases and their disposal in an efficient and effective manner,” he added.

Moreover, efforts would be made to convert all Cash on Delivery (COD) payments into epayment preferably within 10 years to promote financial inclusion and digitisation.

Iraq’s central bank increased the sale price of U.S. dollars to banks and currency exchanges to 1,460 dinars, from 1,182 dinars, seeking to compensate for a decline in oil revenue due to low crude prices, the bank said on Saturday. The central bank of Iraq said the key reason behind the dinar’s devaluation was to close the gap of widened 2021 budget inflation after a collapse in global oil prices, a major source of Iraq’s financial resources. “The financial crisis which Iraq suffered due to the coronavirus pandemic caused a decline in oil prices that caused decreasing oil revenues, altogether have caused a large deficit in the federal budget,” the central bank said in a statement.

The devaluation decision came as a preemptive move to prevent “draining Iraq’s foreign reserves” and help government to secure public servants’ salaries, the bank said. Iraq depends on oil revenue for 95 percent of its income. The last devaluation was in December 2015 when it raised the sale price of U.S. dollars to 1,182 dinars from 1,166. But in Iraq’s largely dollardenominated economy, lowering the value of its dinar by a significant rate, which was the highest devaluation rate since 2003, would immediately raise the price of goods, hitting living standards. Combined with other pending painful economic reforms by the government of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, this could lead to further unrest in a country where protests broke out on Oct. 1 last year and continued for several months, with hundreds of thousands of Iraqis demanding jobs, services and the removal of the ruling elite, which they said was corrupt. Iraqi security forces and anti-riot police were deployed on Saturday near central bank headquarters, state banks and other financial offices in Baghdad in anticipation that protests could erupt after the central bank decision, said two security officials. The OPEC member’s economy has only a small manufacturing base and almost all goods are dollar-priced imports, so a cheaper dinar would instantly make normal Iraqis feel poorer without providing any benefit to the wider economy via cheaper exports. “Devaluation of the currency would self-inflict destructive repercussions on economy. It would be catastrophic,” said Qais Jawhar, a Baghdad-based economic professor.

Indonesian president inaugurates $3bn ‘strategic’ port JAKARTA AGENCIES

Indonesian President Joko Widodo inaugurated the Patimban sea port in West Java on Sunday, saying the new gateway would have a “strategic” role in boosting the nation’s pandemic-hit economy.

The 43.2 trillion rupiah ($3.07 billion)

port in the town of Subang, 140 km (90 miles) east of the capital Jakarta, is one of the government’s priority infrastructure projects, designed to boost Southeast Asia’s largest economy and relieve pressure on Jakarta’s congested Tanjung Priok port.

Speaking via link from the state palace, the president, widely known as Jokowi, said the first of three phases of the strategic proj-

ect in Indonesia’s most populous province had been finished.

“Amid the pandemic, one of the national strategic projects, Patimban, has been completed,” he said. “With its strategic location, I am sure that Patimban will be key in connecting different sectors, from industrial manufacturing to agriculture, and increasing exports.”

Built with funding from the Japanese

CMYK

government, the port is expected to boost Indonesia’s economic recovery, after the Southeast Asian nation entered a recession for the first time in 22 years in the third quarter.

The government has targeted the port to boost the competitiveness of Indonesia’s exports, particularly in the automotive sector.

Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said an operational trial of the port had been

carried out this month, ahead of the first official day of operation on Sunday.

“In this inaugural operation, the first exports from Patimban will be carried out, including 140 cars made by Toyota and Daihatsu that will be sent to Brunei Darussalam,” he said. Expected to be finished in entirety by 2027, the port is also expected to generate up to five million jobs in West Java.

Monday, 21 December, 2020

10 FOREIGN NEWS CDC issues guidelines on Covid-19 vaccination after allergic reactions WASHINGTON AGENCIES

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Saturday said it was monitoring reports of allergic reactions to the Covid-19 vaccination and made recommendations on how people with histories of allergies should proceed. Anyone who had a severe reaction to a Covid-19 vaccine should not get the second dose, the agency said, defining severe as needing the medication epinephrine or treatment in a hospital. People who have had a severe allergic reaction to any ingredient in a Covid-19 vaccine should avoid the vaccine formulation containing the ingredient, CDC said. Two vaccines have been approved in the United States under emergency use authorizations. Individuals with histories of severe allergic reaction to vaccines should consult their doctors about the Covid-19 shot. The CDC said people with severe allergies to food, pets, latex or environmental conditions as well as people with allergies to oral medication or a family history of severe allergic reactions could still get vaccinated. The US Food and Drug Administration is investigating around five allergic reactions that happened after people were administered Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE’s Covid-19 vaccine in the United States this week. On Friday, the FDA said that the Moderna Inc vaccine, which received emergency use authorization, should not be given to individuals with a known history of a severe allergic reaction to any components of the shot. Britain’s medical regulator has said that anyone with a history of anaphylaxis, or severe allergic reactions to a medicine or food, should not be given the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.

Netherlands, Belgium suspend UK arrivals over Covid-19 mutation AMSTERDAM

BIDeN UNveIls DIverse TeaM TasKeD wITh aMBITIoUs ClIMaTe ageNDa WILMINGTON AGENCIES

P

RESIDENT-elect Joe Biden introduced his climate and energy team on Saturday, a history-making group that will seek to advance an ambitious climate agenda that reverses many Trump administration policies.

Michael Regan would become the first Black man to run the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) if confirmed by the Senate, and US Representative Deb Haaland, as interior secretary, would be the first Native American Cabinet member.

“This moment is profound when we consider the fact that a former secretary of the Interior once proclaimed it his goal to, quote, ‘civilize or exterminate’ us,” said Haaland, referring to comments made by Alexander H.H. Stuart in 1851. “I’m a living testament to the failure of that horrific ideology.”

Biden, a Democrat who will be inaugurated on January 20, has vowed to make tackling climate change a top priority. But with a slim majority in the House of Representatives and control of the Senate

still undecided, his agenda may see little success in Congress and instead rely on rules from his regulatory agencies to enact sweeping change.

Biden, who served as vice president to President Barack Obama, tapped Obama’s EPA administrator, Gina McCarthy, to fill a new role as national climate adviser.

Former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm will be Biden’s energy secretary if confirmed.

“Today’s nominees are ready on day one, which is essential because we literally have no time to waste,” Biden said at a media briefing in his home state of Delaware.

Environmental groups have largely praised the team for its experience and diversity. But the powerful fossil fuel industry, which Biden has frequently criticized, has argued he must balance climate efforts with preserving jobs.

Biden wants the United States to achieve netzero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, which would require the world’s second-largest emitter to transform its economy including transportation, power generation and farming.

Crunch Brexit talks in stalemate due to fishing rights dispute

He diverges sharply from President Donald Trump, who withdrew Washington from the Paris climate accord and softened or dismantled climate regulations the administration deemed harmful to the economy.

The president-elect on Saturday spoke with Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador about a “new approach” to regional migration and its causes in Central America, the Biden transition team said.

Trump on Saturday continued to falsely assert on Twitter that the election had been stolen from him through voter fraud.

The Republican president on Friday evening discussed with Sidney Powell, a lawyer formerly on his election challenge team, her potential appointment as a special government counsel to probe allegations of voter fraud, according to a source familiar with the meeting. Powell has promoted unproven conspiracy theories about rigged voting machines.

It was unclear whether Trump intended to move forward with the plan. Both White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and White House counsel Pat Cipollone strenuously objected to the idea, the source said.

Magnitude 4.5 quake shakes northwest Iran near Turkish border TEHRAN

AGENCIES

AGENCIES

The Netherlands has banned flights carrying passengers from the United Kingdom (UK). The ban, from 6am (5am GMT) on Sunday until January 1, came hours after Britain announced a stay at home order for part of the country to slow the new variant. “An infectious mutation of the Covid-19 virus is circulating in the United Kingdom. It is said to spread more easily and faster and is more difficult to detect,” the Dutch health ministry said in a statement. The Dutch public health body, the RIVM, therefore “recommends that any introduction of this virus strain from the United Kingdom be limited as much as possible by limiting and/or controlling passenger movements”. Belgium also announced that it was suspending flight and train arrivals from Britain from midnight (11pm GMT) Sunday. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo told Belgian television channel VRT the ban would be in place for at least 24 hours. Following the example of the Netherlands and Belgium, France also said it was considering suspending flights and trains from Britain. Germany said it might ban flights from Britain and South Africa to prevent the spread of the new, more infectious coronavirus strain circulating in both countries, a source close to the German health ministry told the news agency on Sunday. The Dutch health ministry said on Sunday that a “case study in the Netherlands at the beginning of December revealed a virus with the variant described in the UK”. Experts were looking at how the infection happened and whether there were related cases. Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s cabinet had now taken the “precautionary decision” to ban flights from Britain, the statement said, adding that other forms of transport were still under review. He urged Dutch citizens not to travel unless strictly necessary. “Over the next few days, together with other EU member states, [the government] will explore the scope for further limiting the risk of the new strain of the virus being brought over from the UK,” the statement said. The Netherlands is under a five-week lockdown until midJanuary with schools and all non-essential shops closed to slow a surge in the virus. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said early data suggests the virus circulating in London and southeast England is up to 70 percent more transmissible. Johnson also said London and southeast England, which are currently in the highest level of a three-tier system of rules, would now be placed in a new Tier 4 level.

A magnitude-4.5 earthquake shook Iran’s northwest near the Turkish border on Sunday, the official Iranian news agency IRNA reported, saying there were no immediate reports of casualties. The quake in the region of Qotur in Iran’s West Azerbaijan struck at a shallow depth of 5 km (3 miles), IRNA said. A magnitude-5.7 earthquake in February in the same area on the Iran-Turkey border killed nine people in Turkey, injured more than a hundred in villages and towns in both countries, and caused buildings to collapse across south-eastern Turkey.

BRUSSELS AGENCIES

EU and UK negotiators pressed on with talks on Saturday with no sign of them breaking an impasse over post-Brexit fishing rights in time to save a trade deal.

Fishing is now the main obstacle to any pact that could be in place on January 1 to prevent an economic jolt on both sides of the Channel as Britain leaves the single market.

"It remains very blocked," one EU diplomat said.

Another said Brussels had made Britain its last offer on fishing access and it was down now to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to decide whether he wants a deal. "If Britain does not accept the latest EU offer it will be a 'no deal' over fish," he warned.

The EU's Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has proposed EU fishermen giving up nearly a

quarter of the value of the fish they currently catch in UK waters.

Britain is understood to be holding out for getting back much more than half. The UK has suggested this compromise should last for three years before it is renegotiated, whereas Europe is holding out for seven. "It is all down to numbers now," another European diplomat said.

Barnier has consulted member states that share fishing waters with Britain but has been told to stand his ground.

The European Parliament has highlighted a deadline to receive a deal for review if MEPs are to ratify it before the end of the year. Their UK parliamentary counterparts are in recess, but can be recalled within 48 hours to do likewise.

France's European affairs minister, Clement Beaune, warned that time left to get a deal was "a matter of hours," echoing words used by Mr

Barnier a day earlier.

The urgency of reaching a deal is being driven home by scenes of long lines of trucks at the freight rail link through the Channel tunnel as British companies frantically stockpile.

A group of UK MPs warned on Saturday that Britain has not installed the complex IT systems and port infrastructure needed to ensure trade with the EU runs smoothly. Some disruption is inevitable whether a deal happens or not.

Outside the single market, British and European traders will have to fill out import-export, health and tax forms to send and receive goods.

A deal would lighten that burden by removing tariffs, but there would still be traffic snarls as checks on truck loads and drivers' papers are carried out.

On Saturday there were miles of tailbacks due to queuing lorries at British ports.

Powerful cyclone leaves trail of destruction in parts of Fiji MELBOURNE AGENCIES

A powerful cyclone that tore through Fiji late last week has caused havoc in some areas and left people without shelter and fresh water, Fiji Red Cross said on Sunday. The death toll from Cyclone Yasa, a top category-five storm that made landfall on Thursday, rose to four, authorities said. Aerial assessment showed that Bua province on the northern island of Vanua Levu suffered 70 per cent damage and destruction, while the small island of Kia was completely destroyed, Fiji Red Cross Director General Ilisapeci Rokotunidau said. “It is like a ground zero, there is nothing left,” Rokotunidau said. While the largest island of Viti Levu–where about three-quarters of Fijians live–was spared the worst, Vanua Levu and other small islands were in dire need of fresh water and shelter. Disrupted communications and poor weather were hampering the damage assessment effort but Red Cross volunteers were assisting those in need, Rokotunidau said. There were concerns about the spread of diseases. Australia is sending air force aircraft to help with surveillance of storm-affected areas and has offered further assistance to Fiji if needed.

Moderna Covid-19 shots leave warehouses, widening US immunisation push WASHINGTON AGENCIES

Shipments of Moderna Inc’s Covid-19 vaccine began leaving warehouses early on Sunday, heading for healthcare facilities around the United States in a push to distribute the second approved coronavirus vaccine.

A statement from distributor McKesson Corp said it had begun shipping Moderna’s Covid-19 shots and ancillary supply kits to administer the vaccine approved by the Food

and Drug Administration on Friday.

The distribution of Moderna’s vaccine to more than 3,700 locations in the United States will vastly widen the rollout started last week

by Pfizer Inc. The US government plans to deliver 5.9 million Moderna shots and 2 million Pfizer shots this week. But an ambitious target to get 20 million Americans started with their first shot of the two-dose vaccine regimen before the end of the year could slip into the first week of January, US Army General Gustave Perna told reporters on Saturday.

Moderna on Saturday moved vaccines from its manufacturing plants to warehouses operated by McKesson to be packed into containers and loaded on trucks. Shipments will start reaching healthcare providers as soon as Monday (today), Perna said.

Vials of Moderna’s vaccine were filled in pharmaceutical services provider Catalent Inc’s facility in Bloomington, Indiana.

McKesson is shipping doses from facilities in places including Louisville, Kentucky, and Memphis, Tennessee–close to air hubs for

United Parcel Service Inc and FedEx Corp.

The start of delivery for the Moderna vaccine will significantly widen availability of Covid-19 vaccines as US deaths caused by the respiratory disease reached more than 310,000 last week in the 11 months since the first documented US cases.

Some states are choosing to use Moderna’s shots for harder-to-reach rural areas because they can be stored for 30 days in standard-temperature refrigerators. Pfizer’s must be shipped and stored at -70 Celsius (-

94 F) and can be held for only five days at standard refrigerator temperatures.

Initial doses were given to health professionals. Programs by pharmacies Walgreens and CVS to distribute the Pfizer vaccine to long-term care facilities are expected to start on Monday (today). The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention will decide on who it will recommend to be next in line to receive Covid-19 vaccines. The populations under closest consideration include essential workers, those over 65 and people with pre-existing conditions.

Monday, 21 December, 2020

HAfeez’s 99 In vAIn As seIfeRT leAds nz To seRIes wIn oveR PAkIsTAn

SPORTS 11

Joe Burns cleared for second Australia, India Test MELBOURNE AGENCIES

HAMILTON

T

AGENCIES

im Seifert’s 84 not out trumped an unbeaten 99 by Mohammad Hafeez as New Zealand claimed the second Twenty20 against Pakistan by nine wickets in Hamilton on Sunday to take the series with a game to spare.

The Black Caps chased down Pakistan’s 163 for six with four balls to spare, after winning the first game in Auckland by five wickets.

Kane Williamson, back in the side after paternity leave, hit the winning runs with a boundary to be not out 57 but said the game was all about the bowling of man-of-the-match Tim Southee and the batting of Seifert and Hafeez. Seifert faced 63 balls for his 84, while Hafeez was in destructive form, which he attributed to taking up golf, as he plundered 99 from 57 deliveries while Southee restricted the remaining Pakistan batsmen with four for 21.

“It was a good surface, one that had a little bit for the bowlers and obviously if you could build partnerships you could gain some momentum,” Williamson said. “It was really satisfying to get across the line. A fantastic knock by Seifert, a really good effort

with the ball and obviously a brilliant knock by Hafeez, the master.”

Opener Seifert batted through the innings and although denied a century

was out for 21, and shared in a 129-run stand with Williamson. The 40-yearold Hafeez, out first ball in Auckland, was almost on his own for PakNew ZealaNd istan with a careerbest 99 which 164 for 1 (Seifert 84 10 fours Not out, williamSoN 57 included and five sixes. It Not out) beat PakiStaN was his fourth half-century 163 for 6 (HafeeZ 99 Not from six innings out, SoutHee 4-21) by in the past year and he put the conNiNe wicketS sistency down to taking up golf.

“I started golf last year and I realised the basics of the game are similar–good balance, good base, good swing, good follow-through that really worked for my cricket in the last year,” he said. Mohammad Rizwan’s 22 was the next best score for Pakistan and captain Shadab Khan put the lack of a decent total down to his players not adapting to New Zealand conditions. “It is not a technique issue, we are not used to the pitches and that is why the conditions are a little bit difficult,” he said. because of the quality of his partners, “We have young openers and they will he did match his career-best 84 against learn quickly, hopefully.” Tim Southee India last year. He put on 35 for the was the pick of the New Zealand first wicket with Martin Guptill, who bowlers with four for 21

Newcastle held to 1-1 draw by 10-man fulham

Opener Joe Burns has been cleared to play for Australia in the second Test against India from Boxing Day. However, Will Pucovski’s Test debut will be delayed by a concussion.

Burns was struck on the elbow by Jasprit Bumrah during the first Test at Adelaide, which Australia won by eight wickets after bowling India out for 36 in their second innings. His unbeaten 51 helped Australia to their 1-0 lead in the fourmatch series. Burns was sent for scans amid fears of suffering a broken arm. But he was cleared of serious injury and will play in the second Test. David Warner is in a race against time to overcome a groin injury and open with Burns in the second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Warner was rushed from Sydney to Melbourne on Saturday, before Victoria state closed its borders with New South Wales after a Covid-19 outbreak in Sydney. Pucovski was a candidate to play, if Warner is not available. However, he suffered concussion after being struck on the helmet in a tour match against India and has been ruled out of the Melbourne Test.

It was the ninth concussion Pucovski has suffered and the Cricket Australia is taking extra care with his recovery.

Pele congratulates Messi for equalling goal record BRASILIA AGENCIES

Brazil soccer great Pele has paid tribute to Lionel Messi for equalling his goal-scoring record for a single club after the Argentine forward netted his 643rd goal for Barcelona in Saturday’s 2-2 home draw with Valencia. Messi, 33, hit the milestone goal with a diving header just before halftime immediately after his penalty was saved by Valencia keeper Jaume Domenech. Messi, who made his first appearance for Barcelona aged 17 in 2004, needed 748 matches to score 643 goals, while Pele managed the tally in 665 competitive games for Santos. “When your heart overflows with love, it is difficult to change your path. Like you, I know what it’s like to love wearing the same shirt every day,” Pele, the only player to win the World Cup three times, wrote on Instagram. “Like you, I know that there is nothing better than the place we feel at home. Congratulations on your historic record, Lionel. But above all, congratulations on your beautiful career at Barcelona. “Stories like ours, of loving the same club for so long, unfortunately will be increasingly rare in football. I admire you very much.” Pele, now 80, made his Santos debut aged 15 in 1956 and left in 1974 after winning six Brazilian league titles plus two Copa Libertadores crowns, South America’s equivalent of the Champions League.

Ronaldo scores twice as Juventus crush Parma PARMA AGENCIES

NEWCASTLE AGENCIES

Newcastle United had to settle for a 1-1 home draw with 10-man Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday after a Callum Wilson penalty cancelled out Matt Ritchie’s own goal which fired the visitors ahead in a scrappy encounter.

The result provisionally lifted Fulham out of the relegation zone as they moved one place up to 17th on 10 points from 14 games with a superior goal difference to 18th-placed Burnley who have two games in hand. Newcastle moved two places up to 12th on 18 points from 13 games but they will take few positives from a turgid performance as the Magpies were fortunate to scrape a share of the spoils.

Fulham manager Scott Parker complained about the penalty decision arguing that Wilson was fouled outside the area and praised his team for a valiant effort. “In the second half it is the penalty decision which has decided the game in that sense,” he told

Sky Sports.

“I would rather stand here saying the referee has made a mistake but we have all this technology and we are still making the same mistakes. That is criminal. For what I have just seen–and I am not standing here trying to defend it–the contact was made outside of the box and (Wilson)then goes into the box and dives. I have nothing but praise for my team. It is a difficult place to come to and for 45 minutes we dominated the game. Then we get a man sent off and it is roll your sleeves up.”

Newcastle boss Steve Bruce had a different view of the incident and was unhappy with his team’s display. “We got the penalty and when you look at it and analyse it I think the referee has made the right call,” he said. “We can perform better than we saw tonight and that is always a concern. We did not see enough and that is disappointing.”

Fulham’s Ademola Lookman was a constant threat all evening and his inviting corner led to the opening goal as defender Tosin Adarabioyo headed it

towards the far post and the ball ricocheted off Ritchie’s face into the net.

Newcastle were awarded the penalty in the 64th minute after Wilson was fouled by Joachim Andersen, who was shown a second yellow card for the challenge, and the home side’s forward sent goalkeeper Alphonse Areola the wrong way with his spot-kick.

The lively Lookman had home keeper Karl Darlow at full stretch with a stinging drive four minutes later before Areola denied Joelinton at the other end.

Earlier, Arsenal’s dreadful season continued with a 2-1 defeat to resurgent Everton at Goodison Park leaving the Gunners five points above the relegation zone. Colombian Yerry Mina grabbed the winner with a header from a corner on the stroke of halftime after a Nicolas Pepe penalty had brought the Gunners level following Everton’s opener from a Rob Holding own goal. In another contest, Raheem Sterling’s first-half goal proved enough to secure a hard-fought 1-0 victory for Manchester City over Southampton at St Mary’s.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice, taking his Serie A tally for the season to 12 in only nine games, as defending champions Juventus cruised to a 4-0 win at Parma on Saturday. Dejan Kulusevski and Alvaro Morata were also on target although it could have been very different if Juve’s 42-year-old goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon had not saved with his legs at close range from Juraj Kucka in the 15th minute. Juventus, chasing a 10th successive title, drew level on 27 points with second-placed Inter Milan and one behind leaders AC Milan.

Ronaldo’s brace made the irrepressible Portuguese the league’s topscorer, the 35-year-old moving two goals clear of AC Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Inter Milan’s Romelu Lukaku as he bounced back from his penalty miss against Atalanta on Wednesday. Parma had the first real chance when a breakaway ended with the ball being played to Kucka at the far post but his effort was stopped by Buffon. Juve, however, quickly took control and Kulusevski, who played for Parma last season, was given too much space in the penalty area and steered the ball in from Alex Sandro’s pass in the 23rd minute. Ronaldo added the second with a towering header three minutes later and Juve were on their way. Leonardo Bonucci missed a third from close range just before halftime but it did not matter as Ronaldo scored with an angled drive three minutes after the break. Morata was rewarded for an excellent performance with the fourth as he headed in from Federico Bernardeschi’s cross late in the game.

kim leads ko by one at lPGa tour season finale NAPLES AGENCIES

Defending champion Kim Sei-young of South Korea held a one-shot lead over compatriot and world number one Ko Jin-young after the third round of the LPGA’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida, on Saturday.

Kim, who carded six birdies through her first 13

holes and was blemish-free on the day until a bogey at last, shot a five-under-par 67 that brought her to 13 under on the week at Tiburon Golf Club.

If Kim, who also led last year’s season finale after 54 holes, can close out the win it would be the first time she has successfully defended a title and make her the only three-time winner of the 2020 campaign. “Really good chance to chase everything,” said Kim. “If I play well on Sunday, good chance.”

CMYK

Kim could take over as world number one in the rankings with a win this week along with Ko finishing solo 10th or worse.

England’s Georgia Hall (68) had a relatively quiet start to the day with eight pars and a lone bogey on the front nine but stormed home with five birdies over her last eight holes to sit alone in third place and three shots back of Kim. “I hit it pretty good as well. I just did not make hole

many on the front nine, so I had to stay patient,” said Hall, who won her lone major at the 2018 Women’s British Open. “Managed to get a couple early in the back nine and then just followed in from there really.”

Five players are tied for fourth at nine under, including past champions Charley Hull (2016) and Lexi Thompson (2018) and world number six Brooke Henderson, one of six players to card the day’s low round of six-under-66.

Monday, 21 December, 2020

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ConCern amonG muslims over halal status of Covid-19 vaCCine JAKARTA

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AGENCIES

N October, Indonesian diplomats and Muslim clerics stepped off a plane in China. While the diplomats were there to finalise deals to ensure millions of doses reached Indonesian citizens, the clerics had a much different concern: Whether the Covid-19 vaccine was permissible for use under Islamic law.

As companies race to develop a Covid19 vaccine and countries scramble to secure doses, questions about the use of pork products — banned by some religious groups — has raised concerns about the possibility of disrupted immunisation campaigns.

Pork-derived gelatin has been widely used as a stabiliser to ensure vaccines remain safe and effective during storage and transport. Some companies have worked for years to develop pork-free vaccines: Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis has produced a pork-free meningitis vaccine, while Saudiand Malaysia-based AJ Pharma is currently working on one of their own. But demand, existing supply chains, cost and the shorter shelf life of vaccines not containing porcine gelatin means the ingredient is likely to continue to be used in a majority of vaccines for years, said Dr. Salman Waqar, general secretary of the British Islamic Medical Association.

Spokespeople for Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca have said that pork products are not part of their Covid-19 vaccines. But limited supply and preexisting deals worth millions of dollars with other companies means that some countries with large Muslim populations, such as Indonesia, will receive vac-

cines that have not yet been certified to be gelatin-free.

This presents a dilemma for religious communities, including Orthodox Jews and Muslims, where the consumption of pork products is deemed religiously unclean, and how the ban is applied to medicine, he said.

“There’s a difference of opinion amongst Islamic scholars as to whether you take something like pork gelatin and make it undergo a rigorous chemical transformation,” Waqar said. “Is that still considered to be religiously impure for you to take?”

The majority consensus from past debates over pork gelatin use in vaccines is that it is permissible under Islamic law, as “greater harm” would occur if the vaccines weren’t used, said Dr. Harunor Rashid, an associate professor at the University of Sydney. There’s a similar assessment by a broad consensus of religious leaders in the Orthodox Jewish community as well.

“According to the Jewish law, the prohibition on eating pork or using pork is only forbidden when it’s a natural way of eating it,” said Rabbi David Stav, chairman of Tzohar, a rabbinical organisation in Israel.

If “it’s injected into the body, not [eaten] through the mouth,” then there is “no prohibition and no problem, especially when we are concerned about sicknesses,” he said.

Yet there have been dissenting opinions on the issue — some with serious health consequences for Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population, some 225 million.

In 2018, the Indonesian Ulema Council, the Muslim clerical body that issues certifications that a product is halal, or permissible

nine killed as kabul Car bombinG tarGets afGhan lawmaker A car bombing in Kabul targeting an Afghan lawmaker killed at least nine people on Sunday, officials said. Lawmaker Khan Mohammad Wardak survived the blast but is among the 20 injured including women and children, Afghan Interior Minister Massoud Andarabi said. It is unclear whether the explosive was planted in a car parked on the lawmaker’s route or if a vehicle with the bomb was being driven by a bomber, Andarabi added. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast. Afghanistan has seen a sharp rise in violence, particularly bombings, in recent weeks as the Afghan government and Taliban hold talks to find an end to the country’s almost 20-year-long war. Separate bombings were also reported on Sunday in the provinces of Logar, Nangarhar, Helmand and Badakhshan, in which a number of civilians and security forces members were killed and injured. On Friday, a suspected rickshaw bomb blast killed at least 15 civilians, including 11 children, in central Ghazni province.

The Afghan interior ministry in a statement said that the Taliban had killed 487 civilians and injured 1,049 others by carrying out 35 suicide attacks and 507 explosions across the country over the past three months. AGENCIES

Amid nationwide farmers’ protest, Modi surprises with Sikh temple visit MUMBAI AGENCIES

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an unscheduled visit to a Sikh temple in New Delhi on Sunday, kneeling down in respect and freely clicking pictures with visitors at a time when the community is leading massive protests against his farm reforms.

Sikhs in India and abroad have rallied against recent deregulation of agriculture markets that they fear would erode farm incomes by giving a greater say to profit-chasing private companies, instead of assuring a minimum price like in government-regulated wholesale markets.

Protesting farmers, mainly from Sikh-dominated Punjab and neighbouring Haryana, have blocked highways into New Delhi for the past three weeks demanding a repeal of the laws, which the government says widens the agriculture market and are crucial to boost storage and other infrastructure.

The protesters have repeatedly rebuffed Modi and his ministers’ attempts

to reach a compromise, in what has become the biggest challenge from the country’s farmers in his six-year rule.

On Wednesday, a 65-year-old Sikh priest committed suicide at one of the protest sites.

Modi, whose security detail often keeps him far away from the general public, prayed at the Gurudwara Rakab Ganj Sahib, interacted with Sikh religious leaders there and obliged visitors seeking to take pictures with him.

The temple near the Parliament House was where Sikh saint Guru Teg Bahadur was cremated. “I felt extremely blessed,” Modi said on Twitter.

While some social media users and his party colleagues welcomed Modi’s visit to the shrine like a “common mn, without any restrictions”, others urged him to try and end the protests where tens of thousands of farmers, many in their sixties or above, are sleeping in the open in the cold.

“A request to @narendramodi please visit #FarmersProtests site as well where #Farmers are peacefully protesting,” a Twitter user posted.

under Islamic law, decreed that the measles and rubella vaccines were “haram,” or unlawful, because of the gelatin. Religious and community leaders began to urge parents to not allow their children to be vaccinated.

“Measles cases subsequently spiked, giving Indonesia the third-highest rate of measles in the world,” said Rachel Howard, director of the health care market research group Research Partnership. A decree was later issued by the Muslim clerical body saying it was permissible to receive the vaccine, but cultural taboos still led to continued low vaccination rates, Howard said. “Our studies have found that some Muslims in Indonesia feel uncomfortable with accepting vaccinations containing these ingredients,” even when the Muslim authority issues guidelines saying they are permitted, she said.

Governments have taken steps to address the issue. In Malaysia, where the halal status of vaccines has been identified as the biggest issue among Muslim parents, stricter laws have been enacted so that parents must vaccinate their children or face fines and jail time.

In Pakistan, where there has been waning vaccine confidence for religious and political reasons, parents have been jailed for refusing to vaccinate their children against polio. But with rising vaccine hesitancy and misinformation spreading around the globe, including in religious communities, Rashid said community engagement is “absolutely necessary.”

“It could be disastrous,” if there is not strong community engagement from governments and health care workers, he said.

In Indonesia, the government has already said it will include the Muslim clerical body in the Covid-19 vaccine procurement

Global Covid-19 Cases surpass 75 million Global coronavirus infections surpassed the 75 million mark on Saturday, according to a Reuters tally, as several nations around the world begin vaccinating against the virus.

Britain this month became the first Western country to start immunizing with the Covid19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNtech, followed by the United States which has now also approved a vaccine from Moderna. There have been 18.65 million new cases in the past month, the highest reported for a 30-day period since the pandemic started. Europe remains the region with the most cases - 21.6 million cases followed by North America with 17.9 million, Latin America with 14.5 million and Asia with 13 million. In Europe, a million new cases were recorded over just five days, with Russia and France reporting more than 2 million cases since the coronavirus outbreak began. The United Kingdom and Italy both have approximately 1.9 million cases each.

The United States became the first country in the world to record more than 300,000 deaths on Monday. The nation is reporting more than 2,500 deaths daily, according to a Reuters analysis of data from the previous seven days. Hospitals across the United States have begun giving the first shots of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine. The United States remains the country with most cases - more than 17 million since the outbreak started - followed by India and Brazil respectively. With just 4% of the world’s population, the United States has about 23% of all global cases. Brazil registered a single-day record of 70,000 new cases on Wednesday, joining the United States and India as the only countries to have reported more than 7 million total infections. With almost 180,000 confirmed fatalities, the South American nation has the second-highest death toll in the world. AGENCIES

and certification process.

“Public communication regarding the halal status, price, quality and distribution must be well-prepared,” Indonesian President Joko Widodo said in October.

While they were in China in the fall, the Indonesian clerics inspected China’s Sinovac Biotech facilities, and clinical trials involving some 1,620 volunteers are also underway in Indonesia for the company’s vaccine. The

government has announced several Covid19 vaccine procurement deals with the company totaling millions of doses.

Sinovac Biotech, as well as Chinese companies Sinopharm and CanSino Biologics — which all have Covid-19 vaccines in late-stage clinical trials and deals selling millions of doses around the world — did not respond to Associated Press requests for ingredient information.

Trump downplays Russia in first comments on hacking campaign WASHINGTON AGENCIES

Contradicting his secretary of state and other top officials, President Donald Trump suggested without evidence that China — not Russia — may be behind the cyber espionage operation against the United States and tried to minimize its impact.

In his first comments on the breach, Trump scoffed at the focus on the Kremlin and downplayed the intrusions, which the nation’s cybersecurity agency has warned posed a “grave” risk to government and private networks.

“The Cyber Hack is far greater in the Fake News Media than in actuality. I have been fully briefed and everything is well under control,” Trump tweeted Saturday. He also claimed the media are “petrified” of “discussing the possibility that it may be China (it may!).”

There is no evidence to suggest that is the case. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said late Friday that Russia was “pretty clearly” behind the operation against the United States.

“This was a very significant effort and I think it’s the case that now we can say pretty clearly that it was the Russians that engaged in this activity,” Pompeo said in the interview with radio talk show host Mark Levin.

Officials at the White House had been prepared to put out a statement Friday afternoon that accused Russia of being “the main actor” in the hack, but were told at the last minute to stand down, according to one US official familiar with the conversations who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations. It is not clear whether Pompeo got that message before his interview, but officials are now scrambling to figure out how to square the disparate accounts. The White House did not immediately respond to questions about the statement or the basis of Trump’s claims. The State Department also did not respond to questions about Pompeo’s remarks. Throughout his presidency, Trump has refused to blame Russia for well-documented hostilities, including its interference in the 2016 election to help him get elected. He blamed his predecessor, Barack Obama, for Russia’s annexation of Crimea, has endorsed allowing Russia to return to the G-7 group of nations and has never taken the country to task for allegedly putting bounties on US soldiers in Afghanistan.

Pompeo in the interview said the govern-

ment was still “unpacking” the cyberespionage operation and some of it would likely remain classified. “But suffice it to say there was a significant effort to use a piece of third-party software to essentially embed code inside of US government systems and it now appears systems of private companies and companies and governments across the world as well,” he said.

Though Pompeo was the first Trump administration official to publicly blame Russia for the intrusion, cybersecurity experts and other US officials have been clear over the past week that the operation appears to be the work of Russia. There has been no credible suggestion that any other country — including China — is responsible.

Democrats in Congress who have received classified briefings have also affirmed publicly that Russia, which in 2014 hacked the State Department and interfered through hacking in the 2016 presidential election, was behind it.

It’s not clear exactly what the hackers were seeking, but experts say it could include nuclear secrets, blueprints for advanced weaponry, Covid-19 vaccine-related research and information for dossiers on government and industry leaders. Russia has said it had “nothing to do” with the hacking.

While Trump downplayed the impact of the hacks, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has said it compromised federal agencies as well as “critical infrastructure.” Homeland Security, the agency’s parent department, defines such infrastructure as any “vital” assets to the US or its economy, a broad category that could include power plants and financial institutions. One US official, speaking Thursday on the condition of anonymity to discuss a matter that is under investigation, described the hack as severe and extremely damaging. “This is looking like it’s the worst hacking case in the history of America,” the official said. “They got into everything.”

Trump had been silent on the hacks before Saturday. Deputy White House press secretary Brian Morgenstern on Friday declined to discuss the matter but told reporters that national security adviser Robert O’Brien had sometimes been leading multiple daily meetings with the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the intelligence agencies, looking for ways to mitigate the hack.

“Rest assured we have the best and brightest working hard on it each and every single

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day,” he said.

The Democratic leaders of four House committees given classified briefings by the administration on the hack have complained that they “were left with more questions than answers.” “Administration officials were unwilling to share the full scope of the breach and identities of the victims,” they said.

Pompeo, in the interview with Levin, said Russia was on the list of “folks that want to undermine our way of life, our republic, our basic democratic principles. [...] You see the news of the day with respect to their efforts in cyberspace. We’ve seen this for an awfully long time, using asymmetric capabilities to try and put themselves in a place where they can impose costs on the United States.”

What makes this hacking campaign so extraordinary is its scale: 18,000 organizations were infected from March to June by malicious code that piggybacked on popular networkmanagement software from an Austin, Texas, company called SolarWinds. It’s going to take months to kick elite hackers out of the US government networks they have been quietly rifling through since as far back as March.

Experts say there simply are not enough skilled threat-hunting teams to duly identify all the government and private-sector systems that may have been hacked. FireEye, the cybersecurity company that discovered the intrusion into US agencies and was among the victims, has already tallied dozens of casualties. It’s racing to identify more.

Many federal workers — and others in the private sector — must presume that unclassified networks are teeming with spies. Agencies will be more inclined to conduct sensitive government business on Signal, WhatsApp and other encrypted smartphone apps.

If the hackers are indeed from Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence agency, as experts believe, their resistance may be tenacious.

The only way to be sure a network is clean is “to burn it down to the ground and rebuild it,” said Bruce Schneier, a prominent security expert and Harvard fellow. Florida became the first state to acknowledge falling victim to a SolarWinds hack. Officials told The Associated Press that hackers apparently infiltrated the state’s health care administration agency and others. SolarWinds’ customers include most Fortune 500 companies, and its US government clients are rich with generals and spymasters.