EpaperISB_20-12-27

CMYK

27 December, 2020 I 11 Jumada-al-Awwal, 1442 I Rs 25.00 I Vol XI No 178 I 36 Pages I Islamabad Edition

OppOsitiOn echOing indian prOpaganda against army: pm imran g

ISLAMABAD

p

STAFF REPORT

rime minister imran khan saturday said the language being used by the opposition leadership against the military during their anti-government drive was similar to indian propaganda employed to discredit pakistan as a nation.

The premier was speaking at an event in chakwal where he had gone to inaugurate construction work on a number of development projects, including a university, a 500-bed hospital, ring road and a school. The projects are estimated to cost around rs15 billion. This was the prime minister’s first visit to the historic city after coming to power in august 2018.

The visit is part of the pakistan Tehreek-

India detains 75 in occupied Kashmir after local election SRINAGAR AGENCIES

india’s government detained at least 75 political leaders and activists in occupied kashmir to forestall political unrest after an alliance of regional political parties won a local election, leaders and a police official said on saturday.

The district council election, concluded early this week, was the first such exercise since prime minister narendra modi’s government last year revoked the special status of the muslim-majority, indian-controlled region. new delhi then cracked down on the opposition and rounded up hundreds of people to preempt protests and violence.

The new detentions, including separatist leaders and members of the banned jamaat-i-islami group, were for preventive cus-

cOrOnavirus in

pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

469,482

tody, said a senior police official, who asked not to be identified in line with official policy.

more inside

Absconding BLA militants declared PO in Chinese consulate attack case STORY ON BACK PAGE

LAST UPDATED AT 9:29 AM ON DECEMBER 26, 2020

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

NEW CASES:

63

2,260

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

420,489

9,816

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

shehbaz rejected premiership in return for ‘disloyalty’ to nawaz: maryam STORY ON PAGE 02

SINDH:

209,429 KP:

56,875

PUNJAB:

135,141 BALOCHISTAN:

18,061

AJK/GB: ISLAMABAD: 8,148/4,847 36,981

in today’s issue

attention Some readers have complained that they are not getting the magazine with their newspaper copy. Please call or WhatsApp us at the following number to register a complaint.

Contact: 0307-7338168 irfan.farooq@pakistantoday.com.pk

The premier inauguraTes developmenT projecTs worTh rs15 billion in chakwal

e-insaf (pTi) government’s vision “to pay special attention to districts neglected in the past,” the prime minister’s office (pmo) said ahead of the visit. referring to the recent wave of the anti-government meetings held under the banner of pakistan democratic movement (pdm), an umbrella alliance of 11 opposition parties seeking to oust the pTiled government, he said: “The way the political opposition of pakistan has attacked the army […] this has never happened before in our history.” deposed prime minister and pakistan muslim league-nawaz (pml-n) supreme leader nawaz sharif, in his speeches from london where he had gone in november 2019 for medical treatment, had accused the military of toppling his government, influencing the judiciary and

installing the incumbent government in the 2018 elections.

“Former military dictator general pervez musharraf used to be criticised, but he was political […] the criticism being dealt out these days, i am sorry to say, is using the language that india’s propaganda machine uses against the pakistan army,” khan said.

The premier also referred to the recent report of a european disinformation watchdog, eu disinfolab, to make his case.

The brussels-based group had uncovered a massive disinformation network, traced back to new delhi, operating since 2005 in brussels and geneva to “discredit pakistan internationally” and influence decision-making at the un human rights council (unhrc) and european parliament through resurrected ngos and fake news outlets.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

02

Sunday, 27 December, 2020

NEWS

ShehbAz rejeCted premierShip iN returN For ‘diSloyAlty’ to NAwAz: mAryAm LAHORE

p

STAFF REPORT

AKISTAN Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz has dispelled rumours of party president Shehbaz Sharif going against his brother and deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

She was speaking to reporters at her residence in Lahore before leaving for Sindh where she is expected to address a public meeting of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) on Sunday (today) on the 13th death anniversary of slain Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Maryam, who has been the front face of the party since the departure of her father to London in November 2019 and the subsequent arrest of Shahbaz in a money laundering reference, claimed the former Punjab chief minister would have been the prime minister today had he “accepted offers” to “part ways with Nawaz”.

“But he remained steadfast and rejected all the offers,” she said. Maryam, however, did not discuss further which quarters extended those offers.

Maryam’s visit comes on the invitation of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who last week contacted the PDM leadership and invited them to Larkana on Sunday

159 OF 160 MPAS’ RESIGNATIONS RECEIVED, CLAIMS PML-N VP (today) to attend Bhutto’s annual commemoration at Garhi Khuda Bux, a small village in Larkana and the final resting place of Bhuttos.

The occasion is expected to turn into a political power show with local PPP leadership predicting huge public turnout.

During the press talk, Maryam was asked why Pakistan Muslim LeagueFunctional (PML-F) Secretary General Muhammad Ali Durrani called on Shahbaz in Kot Lakhpat jail to convey a message from party chief Sibghatullah Rashidi, better known as the Pir of Pagaro, instead of approaching her or other leaders.

Maryam responded that the party had received several messages, including from government ministers, for negotiations but after not getting a response, “people were being sent” for negotiations to meet the incarcerated leader.

She questioned how “such personalities” were allowed to visit Shehbaz in Kot Lakhpat jail without any “issues or obstacles” when even his family was not allowed to meet him.

“This clears a lot of things,” she said.

She also dispelled rumours that

Armed forces ready to deal with all nefarious designs: CNS KARACHI TLTP

Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral Amjad Khan Niazi has said that Pakistan's armed forces are not only well aware of all sorts of nefarious designs but are also fully prepared all the time to deal with them.

The CNS said this while addressing the 114th Midshipmen Passing-out Parade at Pakistan Naval Academy (PNA) on Saturday. The CNS said that Pakistan is a peaceful country and desires friendly and cordial relations with its neighbours, adding, “However, our desire for peace should not be taken as our weakness.” He said that the Pakistan Navy (PN), armed with its modern equipment, is present and alert in the regional and international waters. The commissioning parade comprised 120 Pakistani officers and 62 others from friendly countries. On the occasion, the chief guest also distributed prizes among the position holders. Last month, the CNS had said that defending the maritime boundaries is the prime responsibility of the PN and they are always ready.

According to PN spokesman, the CNS had visited Brigade Headquarters in Sujawal and the creeks area.

Commander Coast Guard Admiral Zahid Ilyas had welcomed Naval Chief Admiral Amjad Khan Niazi upon his arrival at the Brigade Headquarters.

Govt ready for talks on all issues except accountability: Fawad ISLAMABAD TLTP

Federal Minister for Science and Technology Chaudhry Fawad Hussain has said that the incumbent government is committed to eliminate corruption from the society.

Talking to a private news channel, the minister said that the government will carry out across the board accountability against corrupt elements and plunderers.

He said that the government is ready to initiate dialogue with the opposition parties on all issues except the national reconciliation ordinance (NRO) and corruption cases. Fawad further said that the opposition parties are not serious and sincere to make electoral reforms to ensure transparency in the system.

Shehbaz was considering going against his brother Nawaz, saying that it had been “proven in the past and today that Shehbaz Sharif is very loyal to his brother and his party”.

“If he was not loyal, then there would be no need to bring this inefficient prime minister to power, [Shehbaz] would have been made prime minister. He has rejected all such offers and the proof of that is him and his son being in jail,” she added.

When asked whether Durrani’s meeting was also related to upcoming by-elections for the National and provincial assemblies’ seats, Maryam said that there was a debate within the party and there were two opinions.

“The overwhelming opinion is that we should not participate in the by-elections.

We can sacrifice a few seats when we know this government is going,” she said, adding however that the final decision would be taken by PDM president Maulana Fazlur Rehman and the alliance on January 2.

In its last meeting in Lahore earlier this month, the PDM leadership announced to move ahead with the second phase of its movement to oust the government. It has

demanded the PTI-led federal government quit by January 31 or face an intensified opposition movement, including a long march to Islamabad and en masse resignations from the provincial and national assemblies.

Responding to a question regarding the possibility of a dialogue with the government, Maryam said: “I believe Mian sahib [Nawaz] has made a very determined decision. [Pakistan Democratic Movement chief] Maulana Fazlur Rehman is very clear and all leaders of the PDM are very clear that no negotiations will be held with this fake government.”

“These attempts [to negotiate] are so they [government] can get an NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance-like concession) from the PDM which they will not get.”

Maryam said she had so far received 159 out of 160 resignations from PML-N parliamentarians in Punjab and one was remaining because the MPA concerned was hospitalised and had been put on ventilator.

She said she had also received resignations from 95 MPs. Referring to the recent controversy in which the National Assembly Secretariat issued notices to two PML-N MPs — Murtaza Javed Abbasi and Sajjad Awan — for confirmation of their resignations which

they denied they had sent to Speaker Asad Qasier, Maryam said: “Nobody can expect Murtaza Javed Abbasi and Sajjad Awan to quit. They themselves are surprised how their resignations reached there.”

She said all party lawmakers had been directed to send resignations to the PML-N leadership by December 31 and then, if the PDM decided to do so, the party leadership would submit the resignations to the NA speaker.

The PML-N vice president said those who were trying to create rifts among party members would not be successful. “Even our members know the future is not PTI’s. They tried to do that with JUI-F and it backfired.

People are very aware now and if you bring forward party dissidents and bring them into the mainstream, people understand it and it will not work.”

She further said she was “very happy that I am going to Benazir Bhutto” on her 13th death anniversary. “She gave her life bravely for this country. It is an honour for me to attend her anniversary.”

She said that the Charter of Democracy, the 2006 agreement between Benazir and Nawaz to fight their common target the then President Pervez Musharraf, given to the nation by PPP and PML-N changed history and now she, Bilawal and all leaders of the PDM would take it forward.

Expulsion of critics from JUI-F ‘worse dictatorship’: Faraz ISLAMABAD APP

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz Saturday said the expelling of senior leaders from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) for their criticism of party leader Fazlur Rehman was the “worst form of dictatorship and fascism”.

In a tweet, the minister said the decision showed that dictatorship was inflicted on the JUI-F. He said Fazl, who did not tolerate the slightest criticism by his colleagues, showed people how much democratic he really is.

Faraz wondered if this was the level of freedom of expression in the party.

His tweet comes a day after the party terminated the basic membership of four senior party leaders — Maulana Mohammad Khan Sherani, Hafiz Hussain

Ahmed, Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan and Maulana Shujaul Mulk — for “deviating from party policies”.

The party also warned all of its workers against making any contact with them.

Reports citing sources in the party suggest the disciplinary committee had gone to Quetta sometime in November and met Ahmed to know his concerns.

He was asked not to come out in media over party matters and observe party discipline.

“But he did not adhere to it and did not pick the phone when the maulana wanted to go to his house to condole the death of his mother,” a report said.

“Similarly, Fazl had also gone to the house of Sherani in Bara Kahu, Islamabad to condole the demise of one of his relatives and he even went to the house of Gul Naseeb in Dir on way to Chitral during recent country public meetings [of the PDM].”

An official suggested there were continuous reports that all the persons led by Sherani were engaged in lobbying against the party leadership.

Sarwar hopes PIA to return to European skies soon TAXILA TLTP

Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan has said that concerns raised by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) over the safety standards of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) have been addressed, hoping that the ban on the PIA flights in European countries would be lifted soon.

Talking to media persons in his hometown on Saturday, the federal minister further said that the EASA’s concerns raised regarding the process of issuing licences to commercial pilots have also been addressed. He said that eight new planes are being inducted into the PIA fleet.

Criticising the opposition leaders and its antigovernment coalition Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), Sarwar said that PDM's tactics will not hinder the process of accountability. He said that PDM is increasing pressure to bargain and the Opposition wants an amendment to the NAB rules.

“Most people of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)

will not resign. A group within Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) will also not resign,” he

claimed. He went on to add that the government just wants a show of hands to avoid horse-trading in the Senate elections.

The suspension imposed by the EASA took effect on July 1, 2020, after it came to light that countless pilots possessed "fake" licences.

The ban was a big blow to the PIA, which was already under scrutiny across the world due to the recently uncovered pitfalls within Pakistan's aviation industry.

In December, however, EASA had expressed its satisfaction over certain steps taken by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to improve the situation. The EASA had said a further audit by the agency's officials was imperative to revoke the ban.

The startling revelations came as the aviation minister presented the interim report on the probe into the May 22 PIA plane crash.

Following the report, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) had expressed concern over the "serious lapse in-licensing and safety oversight by the aviation regulator".

sunday, 27 December, 2020

CoroNAviruS killS 63, iNFeCtS 2,260 iN A dAy: NCoC ISLAMABAD

C

TLTP

OVID-19 claimed 63 more lives while 2,260 new infections were reported during the last 24 hours in the country, said the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Saturday.

With these deaths and infections, the death toll has reached to 9,816 while the national tally of cases has moved up to 469,482.

A total of 1,531 patients recovered from the virus during the last 24 hours.

However, 2,357 patients were stated to be in critical condition.

According to the NCOC, the total count of active cases now stands at 39,177. A total of 36,909 tests were conducted across the country during the last 24 hours, while 6,523,842 samples were tested thus far.

Overall 420,489 people have recovered from the deadly disease in the country so far.

As per NCOC statistics, 209,429 cases have been reported in Sindh,

ANOTHER CHINESE FIRM SEEKS PERMISSION FOR VACCINE TRIAL IN PAKISTAN 135,141 in Punjab, 56,875 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 18,061 in Balochistan, 39,981 in the federal capital Islamabad, 4,847 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and 8,148 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

A total of 3,462 patients have died of coronavirus in Sindh, 3,858 in Punjab, 1,596 in KP, 404 in Islamabad, 181 in Balochistan, 101 in GB and 214 in AJK. A total of 316 patients are on ventilators in different medical facilities across the country, whereas 2,840 patients are currently admitted to 615 hospitals.

Meanwhile, another Chinese pharmaceutical company has expressed interest in clinical trials of the Covid-19 vaccine in Pakistan.

Sources privy to the development said that another Chinese company named Zafai Longcom has contacted the Drug Regulatory Authority Pakistan

Fazl excuses to attend bb’s death anniversary rally LARKANA

(DRAP) and expressed its desire for clinical trials of Covid-19 vaccine in Pakistan.

The Chinese company has requested the DRAP for cooperation in this regard. A letter sent to the DRAP said that Zafai Longcom is a local pharmaceutical company in the Chinese province of Inoue, which has developed the corona vaccine in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and now wants clinical trials of possible vaccines in Pakistan.

The letter said that the clinical trials of the vaccine would be carried out in collaboration with a local pharma company. For the trials, the company wanted to transfer vaccines and test kits to Pakistan.

The company is currently testing its vaccine on 29,000 volunteers.

It may be mentioned that before this company, another company

Sinopharma of China has also conducted its clinical trials in Pakistan.

Earlier, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar had said that Pakistan is all set to participate in the phase-three trials of a Chinese developed coronavirus vaccine.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services Dr Faisal Sultan said a day earlier that the government will prefer to import Covid19 vaccine based on transparent scientific research data.

Talking to a private news channel, he said that six major international pharmaceutical companies are at the forefront of developing the coronavirus vaccine, but the company that will present scientific research data in a transparent manner will be contacted in this regard.

The special assistant on health said that providing low cost and quality vaccines to the people is a target, however, it is important to be completely safe. He made it clear that there will be no compromise on the quality of the vaccine.

03

Seven deer die in bahawalpur zoo BAHAWALPUR: Seven rare deer of Chital breed mysteriously died in the Bahawalpur zoo on Saturday. The zoo management said that 12 other deer are in critical condition and 22 have been treated after dozens of deer suddenly started getting sick. It is suspected that the deer died after eating poisonous fodder. However, the management of the zoo said it cannot comment on the cause of death till post-mortems are completed. Sources said that the deer die at the Bahawalpur zoo were of a rare breed. Samples of the deer have been sent to Lahore to find out the cause of death. According to local sources, rare deer died due to negligence of the administration and the cost of dead deer is said to be Rs1 million. Earlier this month, another giraffe died at the Peshawar zoo, making it the fourth giraffe to die in the past few months. According to the zoo deputy director, immediate treatment was provided to the animal, but he could not survive. He had said that the giraffe had died due to excessive saliva and diarrhea. With the death, only two out of six giraffes were available at the zoo. TLTP

Jirga constituted to resolve territorial dispute of Diamer-Bhasha Dam ISLAMABAD

TLTP

GHULAM ABBAS

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman has excused to personally attend the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto at Garhi Khuda Bukhsh despite invitation from former President and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari. On behalf of Fazl, a five-member delegation, including Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Siraj Ahmed Khan, Abdul Razzaq and Saud Afzal will attend the rally. Earlier on Thursday, Asif Ali Zardari invited Fazl to attend the rally, commemorating the death anniversary of the former prime minister at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh. In a telephonic conversation, the two discussed the overall political situation in the country and the PDM's anti-government campaign, the second phase of which was launched on Wednesday with a rally in Mardan. Fazl, who had announced a PDM long march towards Islamabad in February, hinted at an “extended sit-in” in the federal capital, saying: “We will not rest until this government is removed from power. We have to purge Pakistan of these people.” Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz is also to attend the December 27 rally. In a meeting held on Thursday to finalise the arrangements for the rally, the Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP) and Larkana’s divisional and district administration had directed to ensure foolproof security for the public event.

As the long-standing dispute of land between two tribes of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) over the site of multi-billion-dollar Diamer-Bhasha Dam project remains unresolved, a 20-member Jirga has finally been constituted to resolve the issue.

While development activities at the project have started, the dam’s land shared by the two tribes is still disputed, hampering worth on the project.

According to official sources, a meeting between elders of Harban tribe of Kohistan and Thor tribe of Diamer was held at commissioner office in Diamer, in which it was decided to constitute a high-power Jirga to resolve the land dispute.

The Jirga formed, consists of representatives of the two tribes and officials of the two governments. The district administrations of Diamer and Kohistan, WAPDA officials and others would facilitate the Jirga, which would start its meeting from Monday (tomorrow).

As per the sources, the Jirga members would decide about the territory at the bordering area of KP and GB, which fall in the dam’s limit, while keeping in view the historic documents and evidence.

The boundary dispute at Diamer-Bhasha Dam between the residents of Diamer and Kohistan has deepened with the passage of time, with both tribes refusing to budge from their positions.

The Harban tribe and Thor tribe claim ownership of a piece of land, spanning over eight kilometres in Gandlo Nala area, where the dam’s power plant has to be installed. The dispute turned violent in February 2014, when seven people died in a clash between the two sides.

Previously a commission was also constituted to find a solution to the dispute, however, the two sides

rejected findings of the commission. The findings of the one-member commission were not acceptable to the tribes. Earlier the GB government had suggested the federal government to form a ‘grand jirga’ of the two tribes to resolve the dispute amicably.

Previously the KP assembly had passed a resolution, claiming that the eight kilometres of land on the right side of Diamer-Bhasha dam was part of KP. The move infuriated GB’s political leaders, who constituted a committee of all sitting lawmakers from the Diamer Valley to probe the

Of film and cinephilia in Pakistan

t

news

SyED AfSAR SAjID

he book is purported to be an anthology of ‘recently published academic research, critical essays, translations, and interviews on Pakistani cinema’, and brings ‘cutting edge works previously trapped behind paywalls together with neglected writings by figures such as Manto, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, and Muhammad Hasan Askari’. The scope of the book encircles ‘past and present complexities of filmmaking, distribution, and cinephilia in a country whose rich cinematic heritage is just beginning to be appreciated’.

The book bears a foreword by Rachel Dwyer (b.

1961), Professor Emerita of Indian Cultures and Cinema at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies), University of London, in which she opines that the Pakistani film industry is largely undocumented. She regards this book as ‘an important part of this new history of Pakistani cinema, engaging with different language/regional cinemas (Urdu, Bangladeshi Urdu, Sindhi, and Punjabi), horror films, technologies, and

aesthetics’. The Editors’ preface is a kind of a manifesto outlining the imperatives leading to the publication of the book. Themes and topics illustrated in the work cover cinema and the nation-state; gender and sexuality; ethnicity, language, and region; aesthetics and form; media and urban ecology. Unlike its prototype ‘Cinema and Society: Film and Social Change in Pakistan’ (2016), meant for the academia and the general reader, the content of the present volume is comprised of researchbased writings tinged with social and cultural theory.

The book has three parts captioned ‘Cinematic Pasts’, ‘Archives’, and ‘Transitions’, with an ‘Afterword’ by Kamran Asdar Ali. Films discussed in the first part are ‘Zehr-e-Ishq’, ‘Aina’, and ‘Umar Marvi’ besides a critique of some Urdu-Bengali movies produced and exhibited alternately in the then two Wings of the country. Translated versions of three Urdu essays about film making in Pakistan by Sa’adat Hasan Manto (1912-55) and Muhammad Hasan Askari (1919-78), a short essay in English on the delicacy and contemporaneous relevance of the cinematic art by Faiz Ahmad Faiz (1911-84), and an interview with famed filmmaker and producer Sabiha

Sumar (b. 1961) reputed for exploring themes of gender, religion, patriarchy and fundamentalism in her films and documentaries, constitute the second part of the book. The third part features appraisals of Pakistani film poster art; masculinity, caste, and gender in Punjabi movies; film technologies and aesthetic exclusion in Pakistani cinema; temporarility, trauma, and the spectre of nostalgia in horror movie ‘Zibahkhana’ (‘Slaughterhouse’); and the circulatory dynamics of Pakistani film.

Taken as a whole, the book, as Kamran Asdar Ali, Professor of Anthropology at University of Texas, Austin (US), views it in his epilogue, tends to educate the reader on how the chequered political history of Pakistan can be seriously, and profoundly too, ‘rethought in aesthetic terms’, in films, literature, art and theatre. It would also be instructive here to echo the opinion of Ulka Anjaria, Professor of English at Brandeis University (US), on the vires of ‘Film and Cinephilia in Pakistan’--- which she terms as ‘a brilliant book of impressive depth and range … … with a superb introduction, and filled to the brim with theoretical and historical insights’, constituting ‘a fielddefining intervention into Pakistani cinema studies.

issue. The committee had traced documents signed between the representatives of Kohistan and Diamer in 1947, which had declared the land as part of Diamer.

When former Chief Justice Saqib Nisar decided to raise funds for the project, he had also taken notice of the land dispute and asked the ruling PTI government to find an out-of-court settlement of the issue. But later, due to the constitutional limitations, the issue of royalties arose, as some of the turbines of the dam would be installed in GB while others would be set up in KP.

04 NEWS Punjab CM Praises forCes for seCurity arrangeMents on ChristMas, Quaid-e-azaM day LAHORE APP

Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Sardar Usman Buzdar on Saturday lauded efforts of the Cabinet Committee for Law & Order, police, administration and other law enforcement agencies for ensuring the best security arrangements in the province on Quaid-e-Azam Day and Christmas.

The chief minister appreciated the performance of all the institutions for maintaining law and order situation besides ensuring peace.

He said that all the concerned institutions and officials performed their duties in an effective manner

for safeguarding the life and property of people.

He said the Christian community celebrated Christmas in a safe

and comfortable environment while excellent arrangements were made for Quaid-e-Azam day celebrations as well.

He commended the Christian community for following corona SOPs during celebrations.

He also lauded the hardwork of members of the Cabinet Committee for maintaining peace and law and order as well as the coordination of the concerned agencies with the departments in this regard.

He said that the concerned institutions and officials would have to perform their duties with the same zeal in future as well for the protection of life and property of people.

Islamabad police recover 50 tola gold, Rs1.2m from dacoits ISLAMABAD APP

Islamabad Kohsar police and Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) have recovered 50 tola gold, 1.28 million and weapons from an accused involved in a dacoity at jewelry shop in Super Market, a police spokesman said on Saturday.

According to the details, unidentified persons had looted Rs4 million and 400 tola gold from Honey Jewelers situated in Super Market, sector F-6 on November 23.

Following this incident, Kohsar police registered a case on the complaint of Sheikh Muhammad Fareed, owner of the shop.

Islamabad Inspector General Police (IGP) Muhammad Aamir

Zulfiqar and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) (Operations) Waqar Uddin Syed directed Superintendent of Police (SP) Omer Khan to trace the culprits.

He constituted special team under supervision of Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Ayesha Gul including Station House Officer AsjadMehmud, SubInspector Kamal Khan and others.

This team succeeded in arresting two persons identified as Sadaqat Shah and Adeel involved in the dacoity and recovered weapons as well as ammunition from them.

During the preliminary investigation, they confessed to committing the crime along with their accomplices. It was also revealed

that the father ofaccused Asadwas a security guard at Honey Jewelers whereas he himself was an employee at TabaJewelers.

After investigation, police team succeeded in recovering 50 tola gold worth around Rs6 million and Rs1.28 million cash.

Thepolice also arrested third accused identified as Zameen Gul s/o Muhammad Gul and recovered vehicle used in this crime and weapon from him.

Further investigation was underway and police was hopeful to arrest their other accomplices. IGP Islamabad and DIG (Operations) have appreciated performance of Kohsar police team and announced cash prizes and commendation certificates for them.

ET&NC makes mandatory of obtaining NOC for parties and events held for New Year LAHORE SHAHAB OMER

To curb tax evasion and increase government revenue, the Excise, Taxation and Narcotics Control (ET&NC) Department Punjab has made no objection certificate (NOC) mandatory for New Year's Eve celebrations, Pakistan Today learnt on Saturday.

However, three teams have been formed for different areas of the city in this regard and office order has also been issued. According to official orders, the first team will consist of four ETIs including MianKifayat Ali, Munawar Hussain, ZahidWattoo and Mohammad Farooq. The inspectors will inspect events at Mall Road, Davis Road, Egerton and allied areas, including Gulberg Model Town and Ferozepur Road.

Similarly, the second team will consist of only four officers including Malik Zia-ul-Haq Awan, Jahanzeb Ahmed, Amir Masood Butt and Waqas Ali. The second team will inspect parties and events at Faisal Town, Johar Town, Wapda Town, Bahria Town, Raiwind Road, Multan Road, Canal Bank Mall Road to Bahria Town.

According to Office Orders, the third team will consist of five inspectors, including Chaudhry Aurangzeb, Anees Chauhan, Asim Ali Pervez, Abdul Waheed and Irshad Baloch. All these Excise and Taxation Inspectors will inspect Canal Bank Road to Jallo Park Side, Bedian Road, Lahore Cantt, Airport Road, DHA (All Phases) and Barki Road. The orders further directed that the said teams shall remain vigilant through the whole exercise

of checking to curb any evasion of any Government Revenue and all the concerned officials are also directed to wear proper uniform and carry their service cards along with the teams during operations.

Sources in ET&NC informed this scribe that most of the events and parties are held in the provincial capital on New Year's Eve every year and the organizers also sell tickets for the events in this regard. In many places, due to the connivance of event organizers and excise staff, the department loses a lot of revenue in terms of entertainment tax. Sources further said that tickets for some New Year events in the city are sold at RS 5,000 to RS 50,000 per person and this time numerous celebrations will be held in connection with the arrival of the New Year.

Sources informed that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the rate of celebrations has definitely decreased but still many such events have been planned in the posh areas of the city like DHA, Gulberg, Bedian Road, Bahria Town and other areas of city and their tickets are being sold on various social media platforms and in secret ways.

Sources claimed that due to the lockdown situation this year, the department [ET&NC] seems to be failing to meet the tax targets but the new Director General of the department Saleha Saeed is busy formulating a strategy in which tax recovery can also be made effective and especially tax evasion can be prevented.

Speaking to this scribe, a director of ET&NC said that for every entertainment program/event organized in connection with the New Year, it would be necessary to get an NOC from the department.

Punjab govt decides to highlight decades old religious, cultural importance of Multan MULTAN: Multan Division Commissioner Javed Akhtar Mahmood on Saturday said that the Punjab government has decided to highlight the decades old religious and cultural importance of the city. He said that practical steps are being taken to promote the land of saints and added that shrines of the city are the region's identity. He expressed these views during meeting with special team which visited his office for restoration of historical places of city on Saturday. He said that the people from all over the world were visited the shrines to get spiritual peace and added that historic style unique construction of shrines are cause of special interest for tourists. He said that the provincial archaeology department is playing its role to protect historical buildings and worship places. Deputy Commissioner AamerKhattak suggested that the wall of the fort towards water works road be restored. APP

Sunday, 27 December, 2020

Bikers rally on Quaid Day LAHORE: The Pakistan Railway Scouts Association

(PRSA) on Saturday organised the Quaid-e-Azam bikers rally from Minar-e-Pakistan to Nankana Sahib to pay tribute to the nation's father, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, on his birth anniversary. APP

Sunday, 27 December, 2020

NEWS

Opposition echoing Indian propaganda against army: PM Imran continued from page 01 “The purpose of this [Indian propaganda] was to present Pakistan in a negative light in front of the world and to portray that there is chaos so that no one invests in the country,” the premier said. “The Pakistan Army was also targeted […] India wants the army to be portrayed as a rogue army and as terrorists.” Khan stated that it was also discovered that the fake websites unearthed in the investigation were also promoting the PDM. “This is the first time that Pakistan’s opposition has targeted the Pakistan Army in this way. There is no prior example of this.” Khan also rubbished the claims of receiving the support of the establishment to come into power. “If the election was rigged, did you go to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) or the Supreme Court? Did you take this up in Parliament? Did you say at any forum that the election was rigged?” The premier continued and said that democracy holds its leaders accountable.

“The people should ask [PPP Chairman] Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and [PML-N Vice President] Maryam Nawaz that what their qualifications are to head their political parties. If someone asks them what their job experience is they will say that their fathers are the most corrupt men in the country.

This is their qualification. They have not worked for an hour in their life and are here to run a country." “The previous rulers, who looted the wealth of the country, want to build pressure for securing a national reconciliation ordinance (NRO) on their cases. Giving them NRO by any government will be tantamount to sedition against the country,” the PM added. Changing gears, the premier said that the government will ensure universal health coverage in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) under the Health Card Scheme by the end of next year. “Every family in Punjab and KP will have health cards, enabling them to get free medical treatment up to one million rupees in any hospital of the country. The government plans to build a health system that will ensure basic health facilities across the country. The private sector is being encouraged and facilitated to establish hospitals.” Underlining the importance of education for overall development of the country, the premier said that the government that plans for the next generations focuses on education. “The country will grow fast, if its youth is equipped with education and technological skills.” The PM further said his government is working to reduce the debt burden of the country. “A major milestone has been achieved. The country's current account has been in surplus for the last five months for the first time in 17 years. Similarly, the fiscal deficit is also being controlled.” The visit: The visit came at a crucial time for the party and the premier who is under an increasing burden to deliver on his electoral promise of a strengthened economy independent of foreign assistance and loans even as the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on global financial markets. Earlier this week, Khan, at a ceremony held to review the performance of various ministries and divisions, said the government was left with no excuse for not delivering on its promises. “This is time for performance and delivery,” he had said. At the ceremony, the prime minister spoke candidly about the pitfalls, the challenges as well as the hardships his government had inherited and reiterated his resolve to overcome all the obstacles in the way of good governance and public service.

05

IndIan farMers agree tO Meet gOvernMent Over cOntentIOus farM laws neW deLhi

l

AGENCIES

EADERS of Indian farmers’ unions have agreed to meet ministers on Tuesday, possibly paving the way for a seventh round of talks with the government which has so far failed to mollify growers who say three new agricultural laws threaten their livelihoods.

Worried over farmers’ roundthe-clock sit-ins on the outskirts of New Delhi, the government of Prime Minister Narendra had on Thursday invited protest leaders to further talks.

Farmers’ unions still insist they want the laws repealed, a coalition of unions called Samyukta Kisan Morcha said on Saturday in a letter to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.

The government says the laws, which came into force in September, will unshackle farmers from having

to sell their produce only at regulated wholesale markets. It argues farmers will gain if large traders, retailers and food processors can buy directly from producers, bypassing antiquated wholesale markets.

But tens of thousands of farmers have camped out on national highways demanding the government withdraw the laws that they fear will eventually dismantle regulated markets and stop the government buying rice and wheat at guaranteed prices.

Farmers’ leaders would also in Tuesday’s meeting oppose plans to impose stiff penalties for the burning of crop stubble, a major source of air pollution, according to the farmers’ letter seen by Reuters.

Modi has dismissed the farmers’ protests as motivated by his political opponents, while the main opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi has accused the prime minister of introducing the laws to help a few business people.

UN peacekeepers killed in Central African Republic before election Bangui AGENCIES

Three United Nations peacekeepers were killed in Central African Republic, the UN mission there said on Saturday, as the government and its allies tried to fend off a rebel offensive ahead of Sunday’s (today) presidential and legislative elections.

The Burundian peacekeepers were killed on Friday by unidentified assailants in Dekoa, about 200 km (125 miles) north of the capital Bangui, according to the UN mission, known as MINUSCA. Two more were injured, it said.

Peacekeepers were also attacked

by unknown assailants in Bakouma in the southwest of the country, MINUSCA added.

Central African Republic, which is rich in diamonds, timber and gold, has experienced five coups and numerous rebellions since independence from France in 1960. It has been gripped by insecurity since former President Francois Bozize was ousted by a rebellion in 2013.

President Faustin-Archange Touadera is seeking a second term governing the country of five million on Sunday (today). On Saturday, the constitutional court denied opposition requests to delay the elections, ensuring they will go ahead as planned.

The court rejected Bozize’s presidential candidacy earlier this month, saying he did not satisfy the “good morality” requirement because of an arrest warrant and UN sanctions against him for allegedly ordering assassinations, torture and other crimes when he was president.

The United Nations also accuses him of collaborating with a coalition of militias to prevent the elections from going ahead.

Bozize has denied ordering or committing crimes when he was president while his party, the main opposition, has denied the UN allegation, saying they have no links to militia or rebels.

India detains 75 in occupied Kashmir after local election continued from page 01 India and Pakistan have claimed all of the Kashmir region since the partition of Britishruled India into Muslim Pakistan and Hindu-majority India in 1947. Two of the three wars they have fought have been over the Himalayan region The detentions undermine the verdict of the people, said Imran Nabi Dar, spokesman for the National Conference, a regional party and a key member of the alliance. The alliance’s victory shows that Kashmiris have not accepted Modi’s decision to end occupied Kashmir’s special status, said Omar Abdullah, a former chief minister and head of the National Conference. After their release from lengthy detention, Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, chief of the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party, announced the alliance in October to seek a peaceful restoration of occupied Kashmir’s autonomy.

Shaheed Benazir Bhutto: A global leader

By Bashir riaz On the eve of December 27, 2007, the sky, the ground and the hearts of the people of Pakistan bled as the country’s beloved former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was brutally assassinated. She was a part of our family and our homes, and her loss felt personal to every single citizen, regardless of their political affiliations.

Different European countries and American institutions acknowledge Shaheed BB’s contributions towards democracy, rule of law and human rights, and pay tributes to her even after her assassination.

I still remember that during a visit to

Denmark in June, 1984, two renowned newspapers wrote detailed articles on Shaheed BB and gave her titles akin to “Princess of the East” and “Iron Lady”. Such is the nature of a leader, who is respected nationally and internationally.

Shaheed BB represented the federation and was the face of unity among the provinces. Not just within Pakistan but also on international forums, she favoured dialogue and believed in conflict resolution through discussions rather than violence.

She used to say that we should build bridges and stay positive. There is no doubt that the former prime minister represented the bright side and a positive image of the country.

She highlighted the Kashmir issue on various international forums. In a conference held in Morocco by the OIC, the former prime minister spoke about Kashmir and helped the All Parties Huriyat Conference to become a member organisation. She had a clear stance on the Kashmir conflict.

She believed that the people of Kashmir should have the right to decide their future.

In line with the UN resolution on the subject, she suggested a “soft border” between Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Indian-occupied Kashmir to give relief to the Kashmiris. This was to allow the two sides to mingle together, discuss their problems, and eventu-

ally reach a consensus on the Kashmir issue.

Similarly, she raised her voice on the issue of Palestine and stopped purchases from stores owned by supporters of oppressors of the Palestinians.

Shaheed BB loved her country and never stopped propagating a positive image of the country abroad. During her exile, she continued her struggle for democracy in Pakistan. She delivered lectures in the UK and the USA, where she met their national leaders and told them about the situation of struggle for democracy in Pakistan. These meetings were not publicized because she believed success lies in discretion.

She visited Delhi in 2003, where the then Indian Prime Minister Wajpai consulted her about visiting Pakistan. When I mentioned this in an article, she advised against commenting on a private discussion as it was against diplomatic protocols. Her meetings played a significant role in building a narrative outside Pakistan that during those precarious circumstances when Pakistan was fighting terrorism, it was imperative that the people of Pakistan were onboard. The only way to achieve that was through supporting democracy in the country. As part of these efforts, Shaheed BB had to return to Pakistan, a country where her party had support across the nation.

CMYK

In 2005, the US assistant secretary visited Dubai for a conference and expressed her wish to meet Shaheed BB. She was later invited to a dinner by Shaheed BB, where they held interesting conversation. She practically told her that the then President Gen Pervez Musharraf is going to rule the country for the next ten years and you would have reached the age of sixty by then. Therefore, you should consider leaving politics and become a chairperson of human rights commission.

Benazir responded: “I have not struggled for so many years only to become some representative of the United Nations. I will return to Pakistan, which is my first and last priority.

I will stand by my people who suffered in jails and persevered through a lot of challenges. I will never abandon my people”. Upon hearing this categorical response, the subject was changed and not brought up again.

Shaheed BB was well aware of the potential threat to her life at that time. General Musharraf had refused to provide an adequate security detail to Benazir and was adamant that she should not return to Pakistan. Such measures, or lack thereof, did not deter Shaheed BB from returning to her homeland. She knew PPP had to fight and win elections to be able to bring a real democratic change in the country.

In 2002, the election results were such

that the government could not be formed by a single party and it had to be a coalition with the PPPP. In those circumstances, some representatives elected on PPPP’s tickets joined Pervez Musharraf, which was a great set-back for the party.

In 2008, Shaheed BB realized that her presence in the country amongst her people was vital to avoid a repetition of 2002. In this way, she chose to protect her party’s ideology and vision and returned to Pakistan where forces, threatened by her democratic ideals, extinguished her life. But just like they were unable to extinguish the love of former Prime Minister Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto from the hearts of the people, similarly, they only cemented further her love in her death.

All the expectations are now linked with the torchbearers of her legacy, that is currently being carried forward by Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. The Bhutto family has never chosen a path that was simply easy or that was in their personal interest. This is such a family in the history of Pakistan that has made immense personal sacrifices for the sake of the country. As a result, they continue to rule the hearts of the common people.

The writer is the former press secretary of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and advisor to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari

Sunday, 27 December, 2020

06 COMMENT

Half-way mark

The system in quandary And the establishment’s dilemma

Time for a reset

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he PDM has plans like resignations from the assemblies, a march to Islamabad and a sit-in aimed at paralyzing the federal administration.

Attempts to create dissensions in the opposition alliance have failed to achieve the purpose. The JUI has expelled four of its leaders while the PML(N) and PPP have categorically rejected the move suggesting the release of their leaders in return for an end to the ongoing protests. The JUI(F) chief would not be attending the Garhi Khuda Bux gathering today. he would however be represented by five of his party leaders. Meanwhile Maryam Nawaz would be present at the occasion. A PML(N) leader has said his party would not mind if the long march is delayed till March on account of the cold weather. Despite differences persisting among the components of the PDM, the alliance faces no immediate breakup.

The PTI government was never so desperately in need of crutches provided by the establishment as it is today. The Prime Minister’s incompetence at managing the allies has already led to a break with the BNP(M). Its tactic of promising the pie in the sky to every ally while knowing that it cannot deliver on the promises, has this time led the MQM to ponder dissociating itself from the alliance. The PM must have gone into conniptions when advised by GDA leader Pir Pagara to free opposition parliamentarians currently in custody and hold talks with them. As time passes there seems to be no end to the ruling alliance’s predicament.

We are told that Pakistan faces an imminent threat from India. There is a need under the circumstances for the establishment to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of building a house of cards that needs its continuous support. This has led the leaders of the ten-party alliance to name names in public gatherings that should be embarrassing for the offstage players. The JUI(F) has announced it will hold a dharna in Rawalpindi if NAB is not reined in by those who matter. To enjoy universal support the establishment needs not to be seen a party in the ongoing political standoff and has to consider the demand for every institution strictly confining itself to the sphere allotted to it by the constitution.

Arif NizAmi

P

RIMe minister Imran Khan’s recent lament that, “one should never come to power without homework,” can be generally perceived as an implicit admission of defeat.

As if the PTI (Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf) government is a mega corporation rather than a political party, for the umpteenth time ministers have been asked to fill a performance report.

The PTI crossing half way through its five-year tenure, the prime minister has reshuffled the cabinet four times in trying to find the right mix to click as a team. Ironically, Khan, while in the opposition had promised a lean and mean cabinet of about twenty people, but by now has expanded to fifty plus comprising a bevy of ministers apart from special assistants, advisors and ministers of state.

These include cronies who have no experience of governance whatsoever, overnight becoming experts in their respective departments.

The prime minister has also complained that some members of his cabinet are not experienced enough. Unfortunately, facts do not support this contention. There are quite a few ministers that have served many a government in the past. One such example is the minister for finance Dr. hafeez sheikh who is also heading the FBR (Federal Board of Revenue) and the Privatization Commission, and is sort of an economic czar. The ex-World Bank apparatchik held the same position under Zardari’s government. sheikh Rashid Ahmed has been a minister in different governments including the sharifs. The list of such ‘experienced hands ‘is pretty long.

But even those who were thought to be brilliant in their field and were pre-selected as new blood

PTA and social media Outlandish warnings that are a source of embarrassment for the country

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esPITe being a direct beneficiary of unregulated social media that helped propel the party into being a mainstream political contender, the PTI, since coming to power after winning the 2018 general elections has made all-out efforts to control the type and flow of content on the internet without having to outright ban major platforms and websites. To achieve this, it has to regularly request social media behemoths such as Google, Facebook and Twitter to take down selective content that is deemed offensive and sacrilegious. The latest example of this is the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) issuing a notice to Wikipedia to take down a page titled ‘Present Khalifa of Islam’ containing information about Mirza Mansoor Ahmad who is recognised by the Ahmadiyya community as their fifth ‘caliph’. Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia that is publicly accessible and can be modified by users within certain limits. The second amendment to the constitution of Pakistan in 1974 declared Ahmedis non-Muslims and in 1984 Zia-ul-haq passed an anti-Ahmadiyya ordinance that further restricted the community from practising their religion freely. These laws are exclusive to Pakistan and are therefore implementable within its borders, but beyond that, to expect a website that is viewed the world over where a vast array of information is published and updated daily, to adhere to the religious proclivities of a single nation is simply outlandish.

While the most advertised portion of the PTI’s election manifesto, both in 2013 and 2018, was to bring an end to corruption and emerge as a fresh much-needed political force that would do away with the status quo, it was also envisioned, at least by its voters, to be progressive and tolerant, projecting Pakistan on the world stage as a contender when it came to upholding the democratic principles of accountability, religious tolerance and freedom of speech.

The party’s treatment of conventional media that now works in an environment of forced self-censorship, and its fresh initiative to force social media into a similar sort of submission, displays a complete departure from the electorate’s expectations. There is a presence of both rampant hypocrisy and a severe detachment from reality when on one hand federal institutions such as the PTA are issuing warnings such as the one it has and then there is an outcry from the government when the UsA places the country on a religious freedom blacklist.

Why democracy?

Is democracy worth holding on to?

rAbiA Ahmed

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OR those who want to hold on to democracy it is important to remember that democracy─ the real democracy which rarely exists─ is the rule of the people. That does not necessarily mean, does not even often mean, the rule of what is right. so then, what is ‘right’? Doesn’t the concept of ‘right’ vary from thinking person to thinking person?

For example, some people might think it is fine to compare religions and then decide which applies to you, while others might prefer to take the faith approach and hang on unvaryingly to what they once accepted as correct. Which of them is ‘right’? What’s more, who is to decide?

It often seems as though ‘right’ as a definite circumscribed set of things exists only in the minds of the herd which accepts because they’re expected to accept without much thought. Which seems to make democracy acceptable solely because it is the will of the majority, not because it is right.

For democracy to be ‘right’ the decisions of the majority need to be right as well. That might work in an educated society (although not necessarily so) such as switzerland which is probably home to the ‘realest’ form of democracy on earth, but what of the

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Arif Nizami Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

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Executive Editor

Deputy Editor

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somehow also failed to click in their boss’s eyes. Take Movement) putsch, Khan’s government is in no imthe case of Asad Umer who joined PTI after heading mediate danger. Unlike his predecessors, the prime minister has been shrewd enough not to lose sight of a large corporation where he showed mixed results. he was pre-selected as finance minister. After the ground realties.

Unless the prime minister wholly believes in the showing reluctance on the issue of Pakistan going in an IMF (International Monetary Fund) programme he system, it will become increasingly difficult for him to run things and also to take his team along. Khan, was shown the door.

The prime minister seems to be quite impressed many a times, had shown his preference for the preswith the Us presidential system. Citing the Us pres- idential system. somehow, amongst the elite, a strong ident elect joe Biden’s example, Khan in the same centre with a directly elected president is the answer ceremony ,contended that the newly elected presi- to Pakistan’s manifest problems.

‘Man, on the horseback- Ayub Khan’, the former dent gets two and a half months to prepare himself dictator is idolized that in his tenure Pakistan made for the job and pick his team.

Admittedly the Us presidential system is unique tremendous economic progress. The fact that we lost in this respect. Nonetheless it is flawed, as the De- half the country in the process is conveniently pamocrats found out to their dismay that Trump, the de- pered over.

After trial and tribulations we have come to the feated incumbent simply refused to concede. To this conclusion that a federal parday he is struggling not to liamentary and democratic hand over power. system works best for PakThe PTI had plenty of istan. Former military strongtime to do its homework, and men general Zia ul haq and according to Khan had workThe PTI had plenty of time to Pervez Musharraf, in order to ing papers on virtually every perpetuate themselves, dedepartment. But what went do its homework, and stroyed the democratic parliawrong? While in the opposiaccording to Khan had mentary nature of the tion more time was spent on constitution. Their predecespolitical agitation and to get working papers on virtually sor Ayub simply did away maximum numbers of ‘elecevery department. But what with the parliamentary systables’ on its side in order to tem replacing it with the pressecure a workable majority in went wrong? While in the idential form of government. the parliament. Of course, this opposition more time was The eighteenth amendwas only possible with a lot of ment of the constitution conhelp from powers that be who spent on political agitation sensually adopted during the were overtly keen to get Imran and to get maximum numbers PPP’s government in 2010 in. After being elected, the PTI was an attempt to correct the government should have set of ‘electables’ on its side in anomalies introduced by past its house in order to organize order to secure a workable dictators in the constitution. an efficient working machine since Khan came to to govern. But instead time majority in the parliament. Of power, a clear disdain for the was wasted on hair-brained course, this was only eighteenth Amendment is exschemes and satisfying naive pressed by the prime minster preconceived notions. possible with a lot of help and his backers. somehow an The result is that half from powers that be who impression is being deliberway through its term the govately created that thanks to ernment finds itself in a cul were overtly keen to get this amendment all resources de sac. The economy, despite Imran in. have been shifted to the claims that a turnaround is provinces, impoverishing the here, is in a mess. Current federal government in the debt needed to pay old loans process. The perverse logic and interest has alarmingly being applied here is that the increased. Inflation is sky money transferred to the provinces is some kind of high much to the chagrin of the common man.

A lot is being made of the consistent increase in dole not their right. As the prime minister has quite current account surplus and a nominal increase in ex- candidly admitted that his government has not much ports. These are positive signs but not enough to be time left, concerted efforts should be made to maniperceived as an advent of spring after a long hot sum- festly improve governance. he neither has the majority mer. Khan has exhorted his team to show results in nor the consensus to change matters like tinkering with the second half of his government’s tenure. This will the federal parliamentary nature of the constitution. be difficult as the die is already cast. Barring a miraArif Nizami is Editor, Pakistan Today. He can be cle, it’s too late in the day to change the ethos of the contacted at arifn51@hotmail.com PTI government. http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk Despite the joint opposition (Pakistan Democratic

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less educated places, or the wildly less educated places such as Pakistan and India? Would you say it is right to persecute people because of their faith?

That certainly appears to be the majority opinion in India and in Pakistan. Is it right to generally base one’s opinion on a narrow view of the world such as happens in these two countries? If such is the view of most of the people in these countries, then can any real democracy exist in countries like these? so should democracy be sustained not because it is necessarily right, but because it makes people happy? Does democracy make people happy? sadly, that does not appear to be the case either. eric Weiner, a few years ago, studied that very question and speaks about Moldova, once part of the UssR. he found Moldova to be the epitome of the unhappiest set of people in the world. That is not because the country is not democratic, it is, or because Moldovia is poor– it is poor but not as poor as Bangladesh for instance, but because of certain cultural attitudes that ‘belittle the value of trust and friendship,’ values that ‘leave no space for the happiness of hope.’ so, an unhappy democracy. Is that an oxymoron? eric Weiner once again quotes Inglehart as saying that “to assume that democracy automatically makes people happy is to assume that the tail is wagging the dog.” Comparing China with the countries of the former UssR, the Chinese are apparently much happier than the Russians are. As for one of today’s apparently democratic countries, the UsA, as per a 2019 Pew Research result, it came up with 58 percent of its people saying they were unhappy, specifically with the way democracy was functioning in their country. so no, the tail is definitely not wagging the dog. so why is democracy such a big thing?

It is a big thing because there is no alternative. Yet democracy is in crisis, which must be addressed.

Arundhati Roy says: ‘The crisis of modern democracy is a profound one. Free elections, a free press and an independent judiciary mean little when the free market has reduced them to commodities available on sale to the highest bidder.’ Roy is, as always very right. But in this case she does not go far enough. There is that thing called the constitution that allocates power: who holds the power, and how much.

Think UsA. One must keep doing that because that country has so pushed itself under everyone’s nose as the greatest democracy in the world. It had not

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reckoned with Donald Trump who arrived, it must be admitted, because of democracy. That in itself must be enough to push the whole concept into the ground, but one must not be as arbitrary as that. Yet it was Donald Trump who ensured that the supreme Court was loaded with his personal appointees prior to the elections. Trump’s accusations of unfair elections have failed in every state, mainly because there was no proof to support the claim. he has claimed that his accusation should be heard by the Us supreme Court but himself accepts that this will be difficult to achieve. Probably, if there were a way to take matters to the supreme Court Mr Trump may succeed in overturning the elections by means of his appointees in that Court. Instead he has resorted to a pardoning and murdering spree before he is forced to leave office, executing death row inmates, and pardoning proven criminals who have claim to his friendship.

Why is this President, or any President, given the power to pardon and execute? how does that fit in with the capabilities of a man or woman who was elected to govern the country and who in Mr Trump’s case has no legal knowledge at all, who would be hard put to pronounce legal terms if it ever came to that. If a person is guilty of and has confessed to a crime, it is the law courts who must punish that person or let the person off. If a person is condemned to die, it is the law courts who must assess their behaviour and their crime, it is the law courts that must take steps to free them or carry on with a punishment. A judge, be it in any country must be a neutral, well paid individual which puts him or her beyond bribery. he or she must not be a political appointee which completely negates the idea of neutrality. Any hint of such a thing should be considered a crime worth the highest punishment.

A person who contravenes the neutrality of the judiciary must be liable to the same punishment as awarded for treason. To uphold the independence of the judiciary, to strive for justice must be the supreme factor in any democracy. And it is only a free press, and a public that is free to speak, that can ensure this.

The leadership of Pakistan appears struck by the problems faced by the newly elected President of the UsA with regards to a handover from the previous government. That is valid. But will the leadership also take note of how important it is for the judiciary to be independent? An independent judiciary with judges free from persecution is the most important factor in a democracy. Without that there is chaos and no justice.

Rabia Ahmed is a freelance columnist. Read more by her at http://rabia-ahmed.blogspot.com

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Sunday, 27 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

Remembering the Daughter of the East

The Quaid He not only dominated the world that he lived in. He reshaped it.

Candid Corner rAoof hAsAN Few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state.

Mohammad Ali Jinnah did all three.”

–Stanley Wolpert

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T is extremely difficult to write about people one admires deeply as it would be for me to write about the Quaid, Mohammad Ali Jinnah. he was not just another human being, another leader. he was a largerthan-life presence who not only dominated the world that he lived in, but also reshaped it. And looking at what we have made of the country that he left behind, it is also painful to take to the pen.

One needs to begin at the beginning, but where is it that beginning? his childhood days or his early life struggles? Or his joining the Congress only to become disenchanted with its policies and leaving it? Or being persuaded to lead the Muslim League and the ensuing struggle for Pakistan? Or the mammoth opposition that he encountered and the grit and courage with which he demolished that? Or the boundless strength of his character and the indomitable faith that he had in the success of his mission?

Or the travails that he suffered in his personal life and the indelible marks of pain that he carried through the rest of his living years? There was all that and, then some more, which one may not be able to encapsulate because limited is the power of the words, and even more limited the capacity of the mind.

In the context of my piece, I would be more concerned about the country that he left behind with his death in 1948 and what it has been reduced to after 73 years of independence. The crowning of his success was no less than a miracle, but through all the years since then, we have frittered away the glorious opportunities of turning the newly-born country into a formidable powerhouse dedicated to the welfare of its people. Instead, it has been shaped into a monolith, nibbling away at the resources and opportunities that should have been committed exclusively to bringing its marginalised communities out of poverty.

In pursuit of his passion for creating a separate homeland for the Muslims of the subcontinent, there were few around him who had any

matching resolve for meeting the challenge. As long as he lived, he shouldered it all with an incredible reservoir of devotion and dedication that he was able to generate in spite of an emaciated body. This was no less than a herculean struggle as the disease was eating him from inside and he knew that he did not have long to live. But he never paused for a moment.

The treasure that he left behind is contained in his address to the first Constituent Assembly in Karachi on 11 August 1947 when he had set forth the principles that Pakistan should espouse in its quest for a vibrant future. he wanted to see the country grow as a liberal, egalitarian, nondiscriminating, tolerant and progressive entity as was effectively conveyed in his landmark speech: “You are free. You are free to go to your temples. You are free to go to your mosques or any other place or worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed -- that has nothing to do with the business of the state”. Thus, as the first defining principle of the new-born country, he separated religion from the affairs of the state. he elaborated this further: “We are starting in the days where there is no discrimination, no distinction between one community and another, no discrimination between one caste or creed and another. We are starting with this fundamental principle: that we are all citizens, and equal citizens, of one state”.

As practical demonstration of these enshrining values, the Quaid ensured that his first cabinet had adequate representation from the minority communities: Jogendra Nath Mandal, a hindu, was sworn in as minister of law and labour and Zafrauullah Khan, a member of the Ahmedi community, as minister of foreign affairs. Pakistan’s first holiday calendar included the celebratory days of all its minority communities.

The second fundamental principal that he established was the distinction between the state and the government. he did so in his address to the civil servants in Peshawar in April 1948: “Governments are formed, governments are defeated. Prime Ministers come and go, ministers come and go, but you stay on...You should never be influenced by any political pressure, by any political party or any individual politician...You must not fall victim to any pressure, but do your duty as servants of the people and the state, fearlessly and honestly”. What we have instead are bureaucrats perpetually beholden to the benefac-

tion of their political masters in preference to upholding the interests of the state, thus plunging in into an irretrievable fall away from the lofty ideals it was to embrace and promote.

The path from a liberal and egalitarian state to a bigoted and intolerant one has been lethal.

It has destroyed the foundational ethos of the state, rendering it vulnerable and insecure. The reasons can be directly attributed to the failure of the state in provisioning for its people so that their self-esteem is not compromised and they are not forced to squander the values which the Quaid had endeavoured to instil in them. The fulfilment of the social contract which is the cardinal base giving the state its foremost legitimacy was replaced by the insatiable greed of those who ruled the country, irrespective of which party they belonged to, or which institution they represented. They were driven not by the enthusiasm to serve the people, but the lust to indulge in perpetuating their personal interests and those of their anointed successors.

Much has gone wrong and remedying it would require courage and conviction of the same measure that the Quaid demonstrated throughout his years of struggle for Pakistan and his battle in fighting a mortal disease. But, this must be preceded by cultivating a deep-set faith that we have to revert to a Pakistan that was envisioned at the time of its creation, and not the one it has regressed to becoming now.

Alongside being the unquestioned leader of millions, the Quaid was also a sensitive human being. The personal pain that he suffered through his marriage with Ruttie resonates poignantly through each word of the last letter that she wrote to him barely a few weeks before she died at the age of 29: “I have suffered much, sweetheart, because I have loved much. The measure of my agony has been in accord to the measure of my love...

Darling I love you– I love you– and had I loved you just a little less I might have remained with you– only after one has created a very beautiful blossom, one does not drag it through the mire... I have loved you, my darling, as it is given to few men to be loved”.

Few men have ever devoted themselves to a cause as single-mindedly as the Quaid did to the cause of Pakistan. As a nation, we owe it to him to turn the fate of the country around to what it was envisioned to becoming– a compassionate, caring and tolerant state devoted to serving its people without any distinction or discrimination.

Just the way the Quaid dreamt it. The tragedy is that we continue to drift away from that dream.

Few men have ever devoted themselves to a cause as single-mindedly as the Quaid did to the cause of Pakistan. As a nation, we owe it to him to turn the fate of the country around to what it was envisioned to becoming– a compassionate, caring and tolerant state devoted to serving its people without any distinction or discrimination. Just the way the Quaid dreamt it. The tragedy is that we continue to drift away from that dream

The writer is a political and security strategist, and heads the Regional Peace Institute – an Islamabad-based think tank. Email: raoofhasan@hotmail.com.

Twitter: @RaoofHasan

DAUGhTeR of a Brave Father and Leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto laid down her life like her father to let democracy prevail in a country where the curse of totalitarianism had usurped the rights of people. she emerged as the leader of poor masses when they had lost hope, after eleven long years of despotism, autocracy, and tyranny. That decade of hopelessness and iron hand rule had badly dented the administrative structure and political setup of the country.

The young Benazir accompanied his father at the ceremony of the historical simla agreement as a daughter she must have learned the tricks of maintaining diplomatic relations, from his father, who was probably one of the foremost diplomats Pakistan has ever had.

As a leader, she was brave, audacious, courageous, intuitive, and more importantly attached with her people. On the other hand, she also faced severe criticism from her opponents who were against her political existence.

They kept alleging her of being "Western" throughout her political career because of her modern and rational approach towards politics. she did not choose this path but the path chose her because she committed to carrying her father,s legacy so she followed him too. Those who were at the peak of their lives in the late 70s and early 80s would have tested the tyranny of General Zia who,s sole aim of life after the assassination of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was to put hurdles in the way of Benazir so that she can not achieve her ultimate goal that was to make Pakistan Peoples Party a political force again. A bid of her assassination was also made.

After Zia had perished everybody would have thought that it was now going to be all easy and facile for her but a less severe and more challenging period of her political Journey started. On 2 December 1988 she became the first woman to hold the office of Prime Minister in a Muslim country, but could, not last long in that office and her government was dismissed after two years by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan. The role of Nawaz sharif, her political rival was also instrumental in her dismissal from the office.

During that brief tenure, she lifted bans from trade unions and also gave independence to the media. Because her rival was Chief executive of the biggest province of the country so it became durable for her to introduce any uniform method or policy for the country In 1993 she again rose to the office of Prime minister but this time with a weak majority. During that second term, she attempted to resolve the economic crisis and tried to form a steady foreign policy. she was also optimistic about resolving the issue of unemployment in the country.

Benazir who had been facing tragedies and deceptions throughout her political journey was stuck by another perfidy when her most trusted ally who also was near to her father, Mr. Farooq Laghari the then President of Pakistan dismissed her government using the same sword of article 58( 2 b) she remained under house arrest, imprisonment and suffered acute torture and persecution, despite all these hardships and austerities she always believed that democracy is the best revenge On 27th of December in the year 2007 she embraced martyrdom in the same city Rawalpindi where her father was hanged. I would like to conclude with the words of hameed Alwani who assisted her during her days of exile; " People say that democracy in Pakistan is shambling but even that shambling democracy is just because of Mohtramma BB shaheed,s oblations" KAMRAN KHAMISO KHOWAJA SuJAWAl

Roll on Brexit!

The so-called Brexit deal between the UK and the eU has just reached the final stage at last with both the parties almost clinching the final deal.

On the other part, there have been different stories and confusing signals from certain quarters about the long- awaited deal.

As a result of the Brexit deal, business patterns, facets of export/import and farming and job scene are all up for some more breaking points. But it is all about the good rapport and business coexistence between the peers and neighbors at the end of the day.

In general, cutting a deal takes a lot of efforts and introspection. similarly, it is these two big regions like the UK and europe that have to take the final call on the matter. Maybe, they are just fresh off the boat as for Brexit. There will be initial hiccups. however, they have to bear the brunt of everything out there.

More to the point, there have been many underlying problems among so many regions in the UK and eU. One report shows that the farmers involved in scottish seed potatoes cultivation have been left out of the Brexit business pact. These seed potato farmers from scotland have been giving out excellent agriculture output through heavy farm produce worldwide. hence, no farmers should be left out in the lurch mainly because of their beautiful agriculture activities. By the way, my native places like Korkai, Tiruchendur, Tuticorin, Tirunelveli, Marthandam, Nagercoil, Kanyakumari all in Tamil Nadu have long been yielding larger agriculture produce at various levels. Therefore, cherry-picking-choosing only the benefits- won't do. so in the current context, the UK and the eU should adjust to the new patterns through mutual understanding and encouraging all the agriculture and business activities across the board.

P SENTHIl SARAvANA DuRAI MuMbAI

Procrastination ACCORDING to Merriam-Webster the procrastinate means to put off intentionally and habitually. The word itself tells us the meaning of it. high levels of human beings are willing to procrastinate. We always think for tomorrow but when tomorrow comes but we will forget and again try the same word for tomorrow. Why are we back? Is a question always asked to the Government but it is the issue of us. We are procrastinating everytime.

We wait for tomorrow. When you delay work for a good reason, you’re not procrastinating. What’s a good reason? When your work improves with the delay. The problems of us are when we say that we don't know and wait for tomorrow but reality we must learn today. May we cannot do tomorrow. There are a lot of benefits of stopping procrastination. If we stop , we will be very strong and we cannot deceive ourselves. As a request to all to beat procrastination and tell yourself to do it today , not tomorrow. May you get very stronger.

JANSHAIR AMEER KEcH

Sunday, 27 December, 2020

08 WORLD VIEW

TRUMP TO CIA: SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR WAR ON TERROR A PENTAGON REVIEW OF ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CIA WILL ALLOW BIDEN TO QUICKLY REASSESS THE FOREVER WARS FROM 9/11

inTercepT

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Matthew Cole

eArS from now, we will forgive historians who, when documenting the Donald Trump presidency — its cold indifference to hundreds of thousands of Covid-19 deaths, its pandemic denialism, its migrant family separations, its use of the Justice Department as a political cudgel and the attorney general as a Mafia lawyer, the president’s genuine attempt to subvert the 2020 election results, and his impeachment — fail to note a bureaucratic dust-up between the Central Intelligence Agency and the Pentagon in the waning days of the administration.

Last week, news broke that Trump’s acting defense secretary, Christopher Miller, sent a letter to the CIA notifying the agency that the Pentagon would review the terms of its military support to CIA operations. News reports suggested that the Pentagon was planning to strip the CIA of its support for counterterrorism missions around the world almost immediately.

Drones, elite soldiers, fuel, and medical evacuation of casualties, for example, would disappear almost overnight. CNN reported that the Pentagon was “planning to withdraw most support for CIA counter-terror missions by the beginning of next year.”

The New York Times suggested that the purpose was to “make it difficult” for the CIA to conduct its covert war in Afghanistan as Trump reduces the number of U.S. troops there. ABC News described the decision as “unprecedented.” The cuts would leave CIA paramilitary officers to die should they suffer casualties, former officers told the press.

But interviews with six current and former national security officials, including some directly involved in the Pentagon’s review, suggest it is neither immediate nor controversial. Instead, the review serves as a coda for the Trump administration’s chaos — and as an unintentional gift to the incoming Biden administration.

Miller’s letter to CIA Director Gina haspel informed her that the Pentagon would update a classified 2005 memoran-

dum of understanding outlining the terms of Defense Department support to CIA missions. The Donald rumsfeld-led Pentagon wrote the memo in the early years of what the George W. Bush administration called the global war on terror. In the immediate weeks and months after the September 11 attacks, the Pentagon discovered that it had neither the intelligence capability nor the nimbleness that the CIA showed in their quick deployment to Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda conceived of and trained for the attacks; the CIA needed special operations forces to buttress their tiny paramilitary division.

As the Pentagon and CIA footprints grew in war zones, defense officials grew concerned about how soldiers and resources slipped into CIA operations without the department’s notification.

The two sides struck a deal and the memorandum of understanding was born.

The memorandum was spearheaded by Stephen Cambone, then the undersecretary of defense for intelligence, and one of his top deputies, Lt. Gen. William “Jerry” Boykin, who coordinated their secret programs with the CIA, and then established an agreement where the Defense Department would share personnel and other military support to the agency. The purpose was to expedite and delegate the authority to pass Defense Department personnel and resources over to the agency. As part of the new framework, the Pentagon also outlined the terms of how special forces soldiers, for example, might be loaned to the CIA’s paramilitary division and deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq, where they would operate under the intelligence agency’s authorities. In the ensuing years, the CIA and the Pentagon developed a close working relationship on and off foreign battlefields as two consecutive administrations spent at least tens of billions of dollars on a secret ecosystem — tools, weapons, and people — for killing.

Fast forward to Donald Trump. he campaigned in 2016 on pulling out U.S. troops from the wars which began after 9/11 and later, as president, declared victory over the Islamic State. In 2018, the Pentagon, led by Defense Secretary James Mattis, published a new national defense strategy as a blueprint for a new era. Counterterrorism was no longer the country’s “primary concern.” The new strategy called long-term strategic competition with China, russia, North Korea, and Iran the top priorities.

But as with all things in the Trump administration, chaos reigned, and the tension between Trump’s policy-by-tweet and his

national security officials, including those he once fawned over, caused constant confusion and internal conflict. Mattis resigned after Trump announced in December 2018 that the United States would unilaterally remove its forces from Syria, leaving America’s allies, the Kurds, vulnerable to slaughter by Turkish forces. Trump withdrew some troops but not for almost another year and under a new defense secretary, Mark esper. The forces in Syria only moved to neighboring Iraq. By then, it was clear that Trump wanted to end America’s forever wars, not out of some secret humanitarianism or morality, but rather to save money and make U.S. foreign policy, especially in the Middle east, much more transactional.

Trump reportedly tried several times to pull troops out of Afghanistan but was said to have been blocked or slow-rolled by the national security establishment. After he lost the November election, Trump fired esper because he was said to have resisted the move. As a result, Miller replaced esper and quickly went about announcing that troops were indeed coming home.

As almost an afterthought, Miller and the acting undersecretary of defense for intelligence, ezra Cohen-Watnick, also pushed to update the 2005 sharing agreement to fall in line with the change in national security policy, several defense officials told The Intercept. They said that fears of resource cuts to the CIA are unfounded overall.“We could come out saying we’re going to do more [support for the CIA] because it’s more costly to go after russia and China,” a senior defense official with knowledge of the review told The Intercept. “If you look at 10 years, it will probably be increased because it is more costly to do these things, and the risk is higher against the state actor. The only group that is hyperventilating about this are a small group of people who have become [counterterrorism] focused.”

A secondary justification for rewriting the agreement is to allow the Pentagon to answer a simple question that has plagued military officials for years: how much support do we provide to the CIA, and how is it used?“We’ve been trying to get a handle on what is the totality of what we’re giving,” the Pentagon official said. “And nobody knew. We realized that we had lost track of how much was being given over the years. We have no idea, but it’s enormous, and that freaked people out because it’s like, holy shit, this has totally run away from us.”

For military officials, the support to the CIA has become just like any other part of

the Pentagon’s self-licking ice cream cone: one with no end. The agreement has persisted for 15 years, even as national security priorities have changed. Two military officials who spoke with The Intercept said the Pentagon couldn’t answer congressional committees’ questions about how the CIA used the Pentagon’s resources. As a result, the new memo will insist that the CIA provide more information to the Pentagon on where and how their support, including forces, is used.“If you want our huge amount of resources which we provide you — [and] it is a good partnership — you need to tell us what our people are being used for, on a real-time basis, so we can assess whether or not it is legal, whether or not it’s a good budgetary decision, whether it is a good use of resources,” the senior Pentagon official said.

“We don’t have any of that.”

According to the senior Pentagon official involved in the review, the Pentagon is asking the CIA to use military support in the so-called great nation competition and use fewer resources in their counterterrorism efforts. It is all part of a more considerable effort to move the military’s resources away from hunting suspected Islamic militants worldwide and toward the now two-year-old focus on other global powers. The military is letting the CIA know that they are ending its forever wars in a strategic sense. “[Director haspel] wants out of the war on terror,” the senior Pentagon official continued. “She thinks that takes the CIA away from its core mission of going after russia and China. And it’s 20 years later, and we had to do [that] at the time, it’s 20 years now, and a shift has to be made.”

A CIA spokesperson, asked whether haspel indeed believed the war on terror had taken the agency away from its core mission, referred to a speech she gave in 2018. “Another strategic priority,” haspel said at the time, “is to invest more heavily in collecting against the hardest issues.

Our efforts against these difficult intelligence gaps have been overshadowed over the years by the intelligence community’s justifiably heavy emphasis on counterterrorism in the wake of 9/11. Groups such as the so-called Islamic State and Al Qaeda remain squarely in our sights, but we are sharpening our focus on nationstate adversaries.”

CIA counterterrorism veterans believe the review stems from Trump making a last-minute effort to punish the CIA for various offenses, but mostly because the agency concluded that russia interfered in the 2016 election to help him become pres-

ident. A retired senior intelligence official told The Intercept that a senior congressional aide on an intelligence committee asked the White house last week to explain Miller’s letter to the CIA. The retired official said the aide was told, “It’s because the president’s followers believe the agency played a role” in Trump’s election loss last month. The retired official said the White house acknowledged that the claim of CIA involvement in Trump’s election loss was unfounded, but the facts didn’t matter. The message from the White house, according to the retired official, was that “it matters what Trump’s supporters think, and they think that’s the case.”

Given Trump’s pettiness and thinskinned demeanor, it may very well be that Trump ordered the Pentagon to take its toys away from the CIA, but it also doesn’t matter.

The senior Pentagon official involved in the review insisted that the review be completed and signed off by acting secretary Miller by January 5, 2021, the day before Congress will most likely certify the electoral College victory for Joe Biden. A Pentagon spokesperson disputed that the memo would be finished by then.Why do the review now, weeks before a new president takes office?“Because nobody wants to do this,” the senior Pentagon official said. “It’s like ripping off a Band-Aid.” While it is unusual to order a review so close to a new administration’s term, it is also ineffective. The senior Pentagon official refused to explain why January 5 was chosen as the date for completing the review. While it appears to be related to Congress’s certification of the electoral College, several national security officials insist that the Pentagon cannot implement any changes reflected in the new memo before or shortly after President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. So the review’s conclusions cannot be foisted on the incoming administration.

But it does provide Biden with an unintentional gift. By forcing the incoming administration to respond to the review shortly after taking power, Trump’s team provides Biden with an opportunity to quickly take stock of 20 years of lethal operations, both in direct view and secret — and make a decision to end an unwinnable war.

Somewhat predictably, the part of the national security state that sees a threat to its future missions or budget is portraying dire consequences. “It’s the head of the snake, going ‘Turn!’” a former senior military officer told The Intercept. “The tail never likes it.”

A lame-duck president agitating for a useful bureaucratic change as a parting shot at the deep state is the same delusional logic that came with much of Trump’s four years: occasionally doing the right thing for all the wrong reasons.

India joins the love police DRACONIAN INTERFAITH MARRIAGE LAWS RING THE DEATH KNELL FOR INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY

Times of india

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Robin DaviD

he so-called ‘love jihad’ laws that many Indian states hope to pass after Uttar Pradesh’s ordinance, aim to stop Muslim men from marrying hindu women after converting them. Ironically enough, the same laws may help India become a lifetime member of an exclusive club of Muslim-dominated countries, that consider it their moral responsibility to police love between interfaith couples.

Many of these countries have religion integrated into their Constitution. This makes the case for India, which is a secular republic, more stark.

In September 2015, when the hadiya case had still not made headlines and love jihad was a fringe idea in mainstream Indian politics, the US Library of Congress released the ‘Prohibition of interfaith marriage’ report. It listed 29 countries that barred or restricted marriages between consenting adults of different faiths.

Not surprisingly, 26 of these were Muslim-dominated countries, many of them infamous for tightly controlling individual liberty. The names were predictable – Saudi Arabia, Syria, egypt, Iran, Iraq, the UAe, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen …

But the list also had three countries that don’t belong to the Muslim world – India, Israel and Myanmar. effectively, the world knew of India as a country averse to interfaith marriages even before Uttar Pradesh passed its ordinance.

The only saving grace was that the Special Marriage Act allowed interfaith couples to get married after creating roadblocks, like giving a 30-day notice to the marriage registrar and putting up the notice at a public place so that society at

large comes to know that two consenting adults are taking the risk of crossing religious borders for love.

But, in the end, many still managed to marry despite pressure from their families and religious groups. Now, with state governments getting involved, the concept of love jihad is in the process of getting legitimacy. The laws will add another layer of difficulty to the entire process, that many couples will never be able to pass.

Laws are meant to protect people from persecution. But laws based on love jihad conspiracies may end up legally persecuting many interfaith couples. They will be prosecuted simply because they fell in love. In the process, India will be even more firmly ensconced in the exclusive club of love policemen.

It would perhaps be worthwhile to look at exactly where these 29 countries stand on overall freedom. The human Freedom Index, 2019, released in December last year, listed New Zealand, Switzerland, hong Kong, Canada and Australia as the top five freest jurisdictions in the world. Prepared by the Cato Institute in

the US, Fraser Institute in Canada and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom in Germany, the researchers prepare the annual index on 78 parameters. These include rule of law, security and safety, movement, religious freedom, freedom of association, freedom of assembly and civil society, freedom of expression, freedom of identity and relationships among others.

As expected, almost all the 29 countries did poorly on the index, not even making it to the top 75 ranks. Israel was the only exception, getting the 46th rank.

India finished 94th. Jordan, ranked 80th, and Lebanon at the 88th spot, finished a few notches above India.

Pakistan finished 140th, and Bangladesh 138th. Syria raised no eyebrows for finishing last in the list of 162 countries. Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Algeria, Libya, egypt, Iraq, Sudan, Yemen and Syria dominated the list between ranks 148 and 162.

One can, of course, argue that India’s poor rank is not only because of the marriage laws. Yes, but these are definitely a concern and they don’t help. It also tells us to look at a deeper issue – how free are we as Indian citizens and how free do we want to be?

We live in an age where the state not only tells us who we can fall in love with and who we can’t, it also tells us which meats we can eat and the eating of which

meats will land us in jail. There is a fear that the government will soon tell OTTs like Netflix what they can show Indian audiences and what they can’t, because it has brought the platforms under its control.

It is also passing laws that can jail you without a credible reason and is refusing a straw and a pair of spectacles to jailed activists despite them needing these basic things on medical grounds.

It is perhaps time that we tell our governments where we, as citizens, draw red lines when it comes to our personal lives.

And we will have to stand up for even those we disagree with. Individual freedom has to be the same for all, without worrying about who occupies which end of the ideological or political spectrum.

It is important to remember that if you bend a law to suit the ones you identify with, we make it vulnerable. And once you make the law vulnerable, you make it so for all, including yourself.

It is also important to remember that individual liberty and human dignity are closely linked. The government has to see its citizens as autonomous beings with agency.

Citizens can’t be treated as subservient subjects of the state and nothing more.

Robin David is resident editor of The Times of India's Hyderabad edition. His first book, City of Fear, was shortlisted for the Crossword Book Award in 2007.

Sunday, 27 December, 2020

bUSinESS 09

Air Canada Boeing 737-8 MAX suffers engine issue An Air Canada Boeing Co 737-8 Max en route between Arizona and Montreal with three crew members on board suffered an engine issue that forced the crew to divert the aircraft to Tucson, Arizona, the Canadian airline company said in an emailed statement on Friday. Shortly after the takeoff, the pilots received an “engine indication” and “decided to shut down one engine,” an Air Canada spokesman said. “The aircraft then diverted to Tucson, where it landed normally and remains.”

The incident took place on Dec. 22. The crew received a left engine hydraulic low pressure indication and declared a PAN PAN emergency before diverting the flight, Belgian aviation news website Aviation24.be here reported. “Modern aircraft are designed to operate with one engine and our crews train for such operations”, the Air Canada statement added. In a response to a Reuters request for comment, a Boeing spokeswoman referred to Air Canada for information on the incident and did not provide any additional comment. agencies

Japan Finance Minister welcomes UK-EU Brexit deal TOKYO agencies

Japan welcomed a free trade agreement between Britain and the European Union that negotiators managed to secure just days before Brexit came into force, Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Friday. “It should be highly valued that a broad agreement was clinched between the two,” Aso told reporters after a cabinet meeting. Britain clinched a narrow Brexit trade deal with the European Union on Thursday, just seven days before it exits one of the world’s biggest trading blocs.

Japan November factory output seen rising for sixth month, outlook dims TOKYO agencies

Japan’s industrial output likely grew for a sixth straight month in November in a sign of gradual recovery in factory activity, although a recent resurgence in Covid-19 infections clouds the outlook, a Reuters poll showed on Friday. The trade ministry data due at 8:50 a.m. on Monday (2350 GMT Sunday) is likely to show factory output rose 1.2% in November from the previous month, slowing from a 3.9% gain in October, a Reuters poll of 17 economists showed. Japan’s factory output has been recovering from a pandemic-related downturn earlier this year, bolstered by global demand for automobiles and IT-related goods as well as capital goods, but some analysts said the outlook was uncertain. Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute said new virus infections in Europe and America have stalled economic activity there. U.S. car sales are slowing and the Chinese economy’s recovery to its pre-pandemic growth path has run its course, which will put a lid on Japan’s factory output, he said. “As such, Japan’s factory activity will seesaw in December and January,” he added. The world’s third-largest economy has rebounded from the second quarter’s COVID-induced deep slump, lifted by rising exports and a pick-up in privatesector consumption. However, analysts worry that a recent resurgence in coronavirus infections in Japan and elsewhere may keep any recovery modest.

BrEXiT TrAdE dEAl pUBlishEd As UK CAlls For ENd To 'Ugly' divisioNs LONDON

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agencies

RITAIN on Saturday published the text of its narrow trade agreement with the European Union just five days before it exits one of the world’s biggest trading blocs in its most momentous global shift since the loss of empire.

The text includes a 1,246-page trade document, as well as accords on nuclear energy, exchanging classified information, civil nuclear energy and a series of joint declarations.

The “Draft EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement” means that from 2300 GMT on Dec. 31, when Britain finally leaves the European Union’s single market and customs union, there will be no tariffs or quotas on the movement of goods originating in either place between the United Kingdom and the EU. Prime Minister Boris Johnson cast the deal as the final implementation of

the will of the British people who voted 52-48% for Brexit in a 2016 referendum, while Europe’s leaders said it was time to leave Brexit behind.

Michael Gove, a senior British minister who campaigned alongside Johnson to leave the EU, said the deal would allow Britain to put some of the divisions of the nearly five-year Brexit crisis behind it.

“Friendships have been strained, families were divided and our politics has been rancorous and, at times, ugly,” Gove wrote in The Times. “We can develop a new pattern of friendly cooperation with the EU, a special relationship if you will, between sovereign equals,” Gove said.

The Brexit referendum exposed a United Kingdom divided about much more than the European Union, and has fueled soul-searching about everything from secession and immigration to capitalism, empire and modern Britishness.

Such musings amid the political crisis over Brexit have left allies puz-

zled by a country, the world’s No. 6 economy and a pillar of the NATO alliance, that was for decades touted as a confident pillar of Western economic and political stability.

BREXIT DEAL: The two sides finally clinched a trade deal on Christmas Eve that explicitly recognises that trade and investment require conditions for “a level playing field for open and fair competition.”

If, though, there are “significant divergences” on rules between the two sides, then they can “rebalance” the agreement.

Each side will have an independent subsidy control adjudicator, though it was not immediately clear which body would do this in Britain, which had insisted on being free of any jurisdiction by the European Court of Justice.

On services, which comprise up to 80% of Britain’s economy, the two sides simply commit “to establish a favourable climate for the development of trade and investment between them”.

On fishing rights, Johnson agreed to

China will conduct talks on EU investment pact 'at its own pace' BEIJING agencies

China will conduct talks on an investment pact with the European Union “at its own pace”, its foreign ministry said on Friday, raising doubts about whether a deal can be sealed by year-end. Negotiations for the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, which would grant European companies greater access to the Chinese market, have gone on for six years.

An EU official said last week that a deal was close following a push from Germany, which holds the

EU presidency until the end of the year and is the biggest European exporter to China. But the latest comments by the Chinese government suggest otherwise.

China will “conduct talks at its own pace on the premise of safeguarding its security and developmental interests”, foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a news briefing on Friday.

His comments echoed that of the commerce ministry, which said late on Thursday that reaching an agreement required effort from both sides to “meet each other halfway”.

Wang’s latest comments were

also a walk-back from a day earlier.

On Thursday, Wang had denied that talks were stuck due to China making more demands on nuclear energy. “As I understand, talks are goings smoothly,” he had said.

A senior Western diplomat in Beijing told Reuters that China had asked Europe for “impossible things”, such as access to sensitive sectors such as energy, water treatment and public utilities.

Another major sticking point is China’s reluctance to ratify international laws related to labour and other aspects of sustainable development, the diplomat added.

Japan aims to eliminate gasoline vehicles by mid-2030s, boost green growth TOKYO agencies

Japan aims to eliminate gasoline-powered vehicles in the next 15 years, the government said on Friday in a plan to reach net zero carbon emissions and generate nearly $2 trillion a year in green growth by 2050.

The “green growth strategy,” targeting the hydrogen and auto industries, is meant as an action plan to achieve Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s October pledge to eliminate carbon emissions on a net basis by mid-century.

Suga has made green investment a top priority to help revive the economy hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and to bring Japan into line with the European Union, China and other economies setting ambitious emissions targets.

“The government has set up ambitious targets to achieve a carbon neutral society in 2050,” said Yukari Takamura, professor at the University of Tokyo.

“Making clear goals and policy direction in the green

growth strategy will give incentives for companies to invest in future technology.”

The government will offer tax incentives and other financial support to companies, targeting 90 trillion yen ($870 billion) a year in additional economic growth through green investment and sales by 2030 and 190 trillion yen ($1.8 trillion) by 2050.

A 2 trillion yen green fund will support corporate investment in green technology.

The plan seeks to replace the sale of new gasolinepowered vehicles with electric vehicles, including hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles, by the mid-2030s. To accelerate the spread of electric vehicles, the government targets slashing the cost of vehicle batteries by more than half to 10,000 yen or less per kilowatt hour by 2030.

It aims to boost hydrogen consumption to 3 million tonnes by 2030 and to about 20 million tonnes by 2050 from 200 tonnes in 2017, in areas such as power generation and transportation.

a 5-1/2 year period to phase in new rules on what EU boats can catch in British waters, after which there will be annual consultations on the EU catch.

Britain will no longer take part in security sharing organisations and databases such as Europol, Eurojust and SIS-II, though there will be some cooperation for the exchange of passenger information and DNA, fingerprints and vehicle registration data.

The text includes many detailed annexes including on rules of origin, fish, the wine trade, medicines, chemicals and security data cooperation.

EU states are now working to implement the deal by Jan. 1 through a fasttrack procedure known as “provisional application”.

However, the European Commission said in publishing the treaty that the fasttrack approach would hold only until end-February as the European Parliament’s consent - expected in the first weeks of 2021 - is still needed to permanently apply it.

Erdogan says Turkey will break economic 'triangle of evil' with reforms ANKARA agencies

Turkey will bring in structural reforms to break the “triangle of evil” of interest rates, inflation and exchange rates, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, adding Ankara was determined to form a system based on production and employment. Erdogan promised a slate of judicial and economic reforms last month, leading to expectations of the possible release of politicians, including Kurdish ones, and human rights advocates from jail. But Erdogan’s recent comments on court rulings and criticism aimed at his government have fuelled scepticism about his pledge. Speaking via videolink at a ceremony in Ankara, Erdogan said 2021 would be “the year of democratic and economic reforms” and that efforts to present the reforms to parliament would move “as soon as possible”. “We hope to overcome troubles from economic attacks and the pandemic measures as soon as possible. By speeding up structural reforms, we are determined to form a system based on production and employment and breaking the interest rates, inflation and exchange rates triangle of evil,” Erdogan said.

“We are not carrying out democratic reforms because anyone forced us to, but because our people deserve them,” he added. Erdogan has called interest rates the “mother of all evil” and says he believes high rates stoke inflation counter to monetary theory. He has often characterised Turkey’s economic woes as the result of foreign attacks on the economy.

Turkey’s central bank hiked interest rates by 200 basis points to 17% on Thursday, seeking to cool double-digit inflation and bolster its credibility under new governor Naci Agbal.

Turkey has also faced criticism from rights groups and its Western allies for a widespread crackdown following an abortive coup in 2016, under which thousands of people from the military, public and private sector were detained, sacked or arrested.

EU trade deal brings little progress for UK's giant financial sector LONDON agencies

The European Union cannot decide yet on granting Britain access to the bloc’s financial market, even though London and Brussels have agreed a trade deal, a European Commission official said on Thursday.

While the landmark trade deal agreed on Thursday set rules for industries such as fishing and agriculture, it did not cover Britain’s much larger and influential finance sector.

There were hopes the trade deal would pave the way for more access to the EU for Britain’s finance industry, but the EU indicated it was in no rush to grant it.

Brussels has only granted financial mar-

ket access, known as “equivalence”, for two financial activities from Jan. 1, when Britain will have left the EU’s single market.

The Bank of England has said there could be disruption in markets if no further access is allowed.

Just minutes after Britain and the EU hailed their agreement on trade, the bloc’s executive said it wanted a “series of further clarifications” on how Britain will diverge from EU rules after Dec. 31.

“For these reasons, the Commission cannot finalise its assessment of the UK’s equivalence in the 28 areas (under discussion) and thus will not take decisions at this point in time. The assessments will therefore continue,” the official said.

The City of London finance hub secured no special treatment, leaving it on a par with arch rival New York 3,500 miles away as the EU seeks to reduce reliance on UK financial services.

The trade deal refers to financial services in the same way as the bloc’s other trade agreements, the official said.

Both sides will discuss how they can move forward on equivalence, stopping short of any commitment to grant access, Britain said.

The two sides will also aim to agree by March 2021 a memorandum of understanding on regulatory cooperation in financial services. Countries such as Canada and the United States already have such cooperation.

CMYK

“There’s some good language about equivalence for financial services, perhaps not as much as we would have liked, but it is nonetheless going to enable our dynamic City of London get on an prosper, as never before,” said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Britain was unable to replicate its trade deal with Japan that streamlines financial market access paperwork and avoids heavy conditions on data handling.

“We hope it (the trade deal) can lay the foundations for a collaborative future partnership as independent partners,” said City of London leader Catherine McGuinness.

Simon Morris, a financial services partner at law firm CMS, said Britain was probably still aiming for a separate agreement

covering financial services.

Luxembourg for Finance said the trade deal should make Brussels more amenable to granting equivalence beyond the 18 months for derivatives clearing, and six months for settling Irish securities agreed so far.

Without an extension to derivatives trading, New York is poised to pick up business from London next month.

Britain’s finance ministry, which had no immediate comment, has said changes to rules will not lower standards. Banks and trading platforms in Britain have opened hubs in the EU to avoid disruption to customers.

“The City now needs to take its future in its own hands,” said Daniel Pinto, founder and CEO of Stanhope Capital Group.

Sunday, 27 December, 2020

10 FOREIGN NEWS Motor home explodes in Nashville, possible human remains found near site NASHVILLE AGENCIES

A motor home parked on a street exploded in downtown Nashville at dawn on Friday, moments after a recorded message emanating from the vehicle warned of a bomb, in what police called an “intentional act” in the heart of America’s country music capital.ur content will begin in 19 seconds Three people were injured in the Christmas morning blast, though none critically. Authorities said it was uncertain whether anyone was inside the recreational vehicle when it exploded, but police reported hours later that investigators had found possible human remains nearby. Nashville Mayor John Cooper ordered a curfew imposed around the blast site through the holiday weekend as FBI investigators comb the scene, though police said they were aware of no further threats to Tennessee’s most populous city. Authorities offered no explanation as to a possible motive, and there was no claim of responsibility. The blast came just moments after officers responded to reports of gunfire in the area and discovered the recreational vehicle parked outside an AT&T building in downtown Nashville at about 6 a.m. CST (1200 GMT). Police heard a recorded voice warning that a “bomb would detonate in 15 minutes,” Nashville Police Chief John Drake told reporters. The message, as captured in a recording broadcast later by local television news stations, said: “This area must be evacuated now. This area must be evacuated now. If you can hear this message, evacuate now. If you can hear this message, evacuate now.”

Officers quickly went door-to-door in nearby buildings to hustle people to safety, and called for dispatch of the police bomb squad, which was on its way to the scene when the vehicle blew up, police spokesman Don Aaron said. The Metro Nashville Police Department posted a photo of the recreational vehicle on its Twitter feed and said that the vehicle had arrived in the area at 1:22 a.m.

MOTIVE UNCLEAR: Damage to AT&T facilities from the explosion caused widespread disruptions of telephone, internet and fiber optic TV service in central Tennessee and parts of several neighboring states, including Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama and Georgia, the company said. Drake said authorities had received no threats of an attack prior to the reports of gunfire at the outset of the incident, describing the blast as a “total surprise.” “We had no pre-warnings at all,” he said. The blast could be heard for miles and was felt at least nine blocks away, knocking one officer off his feet, Aaron said. Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were assisting in the probe, agency officials said. Nashville’s vice mayor, Jim Shulman, told CNN the incident appeared to have been a solitary act, though bomb-sniffing dogs were being led through the downtown area as a precaution.

Netanyahu speaks with Morocco's king, invites him to Israel JERUSALEM AGENCIES

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Saturday with Morocco’s King Mohammed VI and invited him to visit Israel, Netanyahu’s office said. The two leaders spoke about moving forward with a U.S.-brokered agreement announced earlier this month to normalize bilateral ties, according to the Israeli statement.

Netanyahu also thanked King Mohammed for hosting an official Israeli delegation this week. King Mohammed underscored the close ties between the Moroccan Jewish community and the monarchy, the Royal Court said in a statement. While welcoming the resumption of relations with Israel, the King said Morocco’s position regarding Palestine remains unchanged. Rabat advocates the twostate solution and the unique character of Jerusalem as a city of three religions.

JapaN oFFICIal, CallINg TaIwaN 'red lINe', urges BIdeN To 'Be sTroNg' TOKYO AGENCIES

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top Japanese defence official on Saturday urged U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to “be strong” in supporting Taiwan in the face of an aggressive China, calling the island’s safety a “red line.”

“We are concerned China will expand its aggressive stance into areas other than Hong Kong. I think one of the next targets, or what everyone is worried about, is Taiwan,” State Minister of Defense Yasuhide Nakayama told Reuters.

In an interview, Nakayama, Japan’s deputy defence minister, urged Biden to take a similar line on Taiwan as outgoing President Donald Trump, who has significantly boosted military sales to the Chinese-claimed island and increased engagement.

Japan’s engagement with Taiwan has also flourished in recent years on a largely non-governmental basis. Tokyo maintains a “one China” policy, delicately balancing its relationships with neighbouring giant China and its longtime military ally in Washington.

Japan shares strategic interests with Taiwan, which sits in sea lanes through which much of Japan’s energy supplies and trade flow.

“So far, I haven’t yet seen a clear policy or an announcement on Taiwan from Joe Biden. I would like to hear it quickly, then we can also prepare our response on Taiwan in accordance,” Nakayama said.

During the presidential campaign, Biden called for strengthening ties with Taiwan and other “likeminded democracies.”

Decades ago as senator, Biden questioned whether the United States had an “obligation” to defend Taiwan. But many in his foreign policy circles acknowledge that U.S. imperatives have changed as a rising, authoritarian China has become more assertive and sought to shape global institutions.

An official in Biden’s transition team said the president-elect believes U.S. support for Taiwan “must remain strong, principled, and bipartisan.”

“Once in office, he will continue to support a peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues consistent with the wishes and best interests of the people of Taiwan,” the official said.

Beijing has been angered by increased U.S. support for Taiwan, including arms sales and visits to Taipei by senior U.S. officials, further straining already poor Sino-U.S. ties. China considers democratically run Taiwan one of its provinces and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under Beijing’s control.

‘RED LINE’: “Taiwan is China’s internal affair,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Friday. “We firmly oppose interference in China’s internal affairs by any country or anyone by any means.”

In Taipei, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou noted the strong bipartisan U.S. support for Taiwan based on the “shared language” of freedom and

Millions of Americans lose jobless benefits as Trump refuses to sign aid bill

democracy.

“Taiwan looks forward to working closely with the Biden team, to continue to steadily improve Taiwan-U.S. relations on the basis of the existing solid friendship,” she said.

U.S. officials in Tokyo could not be reached as the embassy was closed for Christmas.

“There’s a red line in Asia - China and Taiwan,” Nakayama said, citing a red line that former President Barack Obama declared over Syria’s use of chemical weapons - a line Damascus then crossed.

Biden was Obama’s vice president.

“How will Joe Biden in the White House react in any case if China crosses this red line?” said Nakayama, who attended a memorial for the late former Taiwanese president Lee Teng-hui in August, before taking his defence position. “The United States is the leader of the democratic countries. I have a strong feeling to say: America, be strong!”

Chinese fighter jets in recent months have conducted waves of forays, including crossing the sensitive mid-line between China and Taiwan, ratcheting up pressure tactics to erode Taiwan’s will to resist, say current and former senior Taiwanese and U.S. military officers.

Taiwan deployed its navy and air force on Sunday as a Chinese aircraft carrier group led by the country’s newest carrier sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, a day after a U.S. warship transited the same waterway.

First case of new Covid-19 variant found in France as cases rise PARIS AGENCIES

PALM BEACH AGENCIES

Millions of Americans saw their jobless benefits expire on Saturday after U.S. President Donald Trump refused to sign into law a $2.3 trillion pandemic aid and spending package, protesting that it did not do enough to help everyday people.

Trump stunned Republicans and Democrats alike when he said this week he was unhappy with the massive bill, which provides $892 billion in badly needed coronavirus relief, including extending special unemployment benefits expiring on Dec. 26, and $1.4 trillion for normal government spending.

Without Trump’s signature, about 14 million people could lose those extra benefits, according to Labor Department data. A partial government shutdown will begin

on Tuesday unless Congress can agree a stop-gap government funding bill before then.

After months of wrangling, Republicans and Democrats agreed to the package last weekend, with the support of the White House. Trump, who hands over power to Democratic Presidentelect Joe Biden on Jan. 20, did not object to terms of the deal before Congress voted it through on Monday night.

But since then he has complained that the bill gives too much money to special interests, cultural projects and foreign aid, while its one-time $600 stimulus checks to millions of struggling Americans were too small. He has demanded that be raised to $2,000.

“Why would politicians not want to give people $2,000, rather than only $600?...Give our people the money!” the billionaire presi-

dent tweeted on Christmas Day, much of which he spent golfing at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

Many economists agree the bill’s aid is too low but say the immediate support is still welcome and necessary.

A source familiar with the situation said Trump’s objection to the bill caught many White House officials by surprise. While the outgoing president’s strategy for the bill remains unclear, he has not vetoed it and could still sign it in coming days.

On Saturday, he was scheduled to remain in Mar-a-Lago, where the bill has been sent and awaits his decision. Biden, whose Nov. 3 electoral victory Trump refuses to acknowledge, is spending the holiday in his home state of Delaware and had no public events scheduled for Saturday.

France recorded its first case of the new variant of coronavirus, as the number of cases and deaths from Covid-19 mounted in the country, increasing concerns of a new wave of the virus hitting the euro zone’s second-biggest economy.

The French health ministry said a Frenchman who recently arrived back in France from London had tested positive for the new variant of the coronavirus. The ministry said the case — the first in France — had been found in the city of Tours. The man in question arrived from London on Dec. 19. He was currently selfisolating and felt alright, the ministry added.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock had said on December 14 that a spike in Covid-19 cases in the United Kingdom might have been linked to the new variant of the virus in the country.

Hancock said more than 1,000 cases of the new variant had been identified, mainly in southeastern England. Countries around the world have in recent days closed their borders to both Britain and South Africa following the identification of cases of the new, fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus in those countries.

France registered 20,262 new, confirmed Covid19 cases and 159 more related deaths in hospitals in the last 24 hours. France’s number of confirmed Covid-19 cases now stands at 2,547,771 while its Covid-19 death toll stands at 62,427 – the seventh-highest in the world.

Four injured in Berlin shooting, police say BERLIN: Four people were injured in a shooting in the German capital Berlin in the early hours of Saturday, police said. A police spokeswoman said four people were taken to hospital in the altercation involving several people in the Kreuzberg district, adding there was no indication of a political motive. The Berlin fire service said earlier on Twitter that three people were seriously injured in the shooting. AGENCIES

Britain says thousands of lorries cross Channel after virus testing stepped up DOVER AGENCIES

More than 4,500 lorries, among a huge backlog of trucks stranded for days in the British port of Dover, crossed the Channel on Friday after extra troops were deployed to step up coronavirus testing, a minister said.

Ferry services between Dover and the French port of Calais resumed on Thursday, ending a blockade France had imposed for several days following the

discovery of a new coronavirus variant in England.

British transport minister Grant Shapps said on Twitter on Friday that more than 10,000 coronavirus tests had been carried out on lorry drivers and only 24 of them had tested positive.

“Over 4,500 HGVs (heavy goods vehicles) are back over the Channel,” Shapps said.

Britain deployed additional troops to help clear the queues of lorries waiting for COVID-19 tests before being allowed to

board cross-channel ferries. British media said 800 extra soldiers were sent to support 300 initially deployed.

Soldiers checked vehicles and drivers’ documents at the entrance to the port. In one case, French officials, who were in Dover to help clear the backlog, were seen administering a nasal swab to a driver.

The French and British governments agreed to end the blockade on Tuesday but the British authorities had said it would take days to clear the long lines of trucks.

Sunday, 27 December, 2020

SPORTS 11

Kane Williamson's 94* puTs neW ZealanD aheaD on aTTriTional Day WELLINGOTN

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AGENCIES

N unhurried unbeaten 94 from Kane Williamson steered New Zealand through a testing opening day at Mount Maunganui, helping them end it only three down despite a number of testing spells from Pakistan. The visitors could have found more reward for their efforts with a bit more luck and better catching, but the experience and skill of Williamson, Ross Taylor and Henry Nicholls eventually ensured New Zealand had their noses ahead at stumps.

Shaheen Afridi was Pakistan's only wicket-taker - the left-armer dismissed both openers in his first spell, then broke a 120-run third-wicket stand between Taylor and Williamson, and could have had another wicket with the second new ball late in the day, when he found Williamson's edge only for Haris Sohail to put down a low chance at first slip.

Williamson was on 86 then.

Williamson had survived another dropped catch shortly before lunch when he was on 18, when Naseem Shah had straightened one from just short of a length to find his edge. This one was even harder, with Shan Masood having to dive

to his left for a one-handed chance inches from the turf.

Both dropped chances, in a way, reflected Williamson's mastery at the crease, the softest hands in world cricket ensuring the edges didn't carry to a more comfortable height. There were plenty of other, more straightforward manifestations of Williamson's skill and technique, of course - those late defensive shots off both feet that are more about ball hitting bat than bat hitting ball, the leaves outside off stump displaying immaculate judgment of length as much as line, the precise weight transfer into checked drives.

And for much of the day, he needed to be at his best, because some of Pakistan's bowling was of the highest quality. Afridi tested both edges from his left-arm-over angle, creating constant doubt in the batsmen's minds as to whether the ball would swing against that angle or not. Mohammad Abbas was almost hypnotically accurate, his stock line more middle-and-off than off-stump, making batsmen play ball after ball while getting it to nibble both ways. There was discipline

from Faheem Ashraf too, in his early spells, and hostility and seam movement from Naseem Shah after a wayward first spell.

But there were missed chances - the simplest of them a drop at fine leg from Mohammad Abbas when Naseem induced Nicholls, who was batting on 6, to hook in the air - as well as phases where Pakistan let the game drift.

Most crucial was the period of 20 overs before Pakistan took the second new ball, during which time Williamson and Nicholls made 68 runs. There wasn't a whole lot of outright bad bowling, but neither Afridi nor Abbas bowled during this phase, and the other bowlers didn't quite match their levels of skill or intensity. The fields were perhaps overly defensive too, particularly when Yasir Shah bowled, and the legspinner never settled into a rhythm against a right-left combination that was taking frequent singles.

New Zealand also made every effort to unsettle Yasir. Taylor had shown the first glimpse of this game-plan in the last halfhour before tea, when he paddle-swept and

New ZealaNd 222 for 3 (williamsoN 94*, Nicholls 42*, Taylor 70, afridi 3-55) vs PakisTaN

shadab Khan, imam-ul-haq ruled out of new Zealand tour WELLINGTON

slog-swept him for two fours and a six in the space of two overs, and Nicholls - who used the sweep often and well - and Williamson who used his feet to get out of the crease at every opportunity - kept at it.

In all, Yasir conceded 56 runs in 16 overs to end the day as Pakistan's most expensive bowler. Naseem, who was erratic in his first three-over spell and later possibly over-used the short ball, conceded 51 in 15 overs.

There was much to admire in Pakistan's bowling otherwise, though, particularly in the first two sessions.

The most recent visitors to these shores, West Indies, had wasted the new ball in favourable conditions in their first Test in Hamilton, bowling too short and not making the top order play enough. Pakistan's opening bowlers didn't repeat that mistake, and Afridi was on target straightaway. His first ball asked Tom Latham those two most pressing questions - come forward or go back, and play or leave - and hesitant responses to both led to an outside edge running away between third slip and gully.

Latham didn't survive a similar examination two balls later, however, edging straight to third slip.

Afridi followed this up in the 11th over with the wicket of Tom Blundell, who failed to get his weight fully forward into a drive, and edged low to third slip.

Robin Jackman, former England seamer and broadcaster, dies aged 75

AGENCIES

Shadab Khan has been ruled out of the remainder of the New Zealand tour and from the upcoming home series against South Africa after being diagnosed with a high-grade injury to his left thigh. Batsman Imam-ul-Haq has also been ruled out of the ongoing New Zealand tour because of his left thumb fracture and he will fly back to Pakistan on Sunday. Khan missed the ongoing first Test in Mount Maunganui with the same injury and MRI scans have confirmed a fresh tear in his thigh for which he has been advised six weeks of rest. He will, however, continue to stay with the squad in New Zealand.

Khan had earlier missed the home white-ball series against Zimbabwe in October-November with a groin injury, but had recovered in time for the New Zealand tour. The injury became worse during a tour game in Christchurch, but he was cleared to lead Pakistan in the T20Is after Babar Azam also fractured his thumb that made him miss the first Test too.

Khan's thigh injury is different from his previous injury. He was diagnosed with "high grade full thickness tear to the Rectus Femoris muscle", an injury he had sustained during the third T20I against New Zealand. "The MRI reports have confirmed it is a fresh injury and not the one that had sidelined him from the Zimbabwe series last month," Dr Sohail Saleem, Pakistan's team doctor, said. "The latest injury will be treated conservatively and Shadab will undergo a six-week rehabilitation programme during which he will have weekly ultrasound scans. After the competition of the six-week period, the medical panel will assess and evaluate the injury before making a call on Shadab's return to competitive cricket." Imam, on the other hand, will return home and rest before the home series against South Africa that starts on January 26. He had fractured his left thumb during a training session in Queenstown.

Azam, who fractured his right thumb, is showing signs of recovery and he hit the nets for batting practice recently but the decision of his participation in the second Test, which starts on January 3, will be taken closer to the game.

LONDON AGENCIES

Robin Jackman, the former Surrey and England seamer who went on to become one of the leading broadcasters in South African cricket, has died at the age of 75.

Jackman, who made his Test debut in 1981 at the age of 35, claimed 14 wickets at 31.78 in his four England appearances, and also featured in 15 ODIs between 1974 and 1983.

In the course of a domestic career that began in 1966, Jackman took more than 1400 first-class wickets at 22.80, and scored 5681 runs at 17.69, with 17 half-centuries. His career-best of 8 for 40 came for Rhodesia against Natal in 1972-73.

Jackman was born in India in 1945 and grew up in England, but coached and played for Rhodesia and Western Province over 11 seasons, a relationship that led the Guyana government to deny him a visa on that 1980-81 England tour.

He passed away at 3.30pm South Africa time on Christmas Day, and is survived by his wife Yvonne and two daughters. His death comes just 48 hours after that of his former Surrey team-mate John Edrich, who died aged 83 on December 23.

The ICC reacted to the news in a statement: 'We are saddened to learn about the death of legendary commentator and former England bowler Robin Jackman, who has passed away aged 75.

The thoughts of the cricketing world go out to his family and friends during this difficult time.'

Afridi and Abbas were back in tandem after lunch, and Taylor and Williamson survived another searching examination. Afridi produced a rare loose drive from Williamson, away from his body, and the ball streaked away past gully. Abbas, at the stumps nearly every ball while hardly ever straying too straight, found Taylor's edge with a full ball that swung wickedly late, away from off stump, and once again the ball ran away through the cordon.

While Williamson was content to stay in his bubble and get his runs when they came, Taylor was more opportunistic, square-cutting balls that would have been too close to off stump for other batsmen, and showing a greater preparedness to drive at full balls that weren't quite half-volleys.

Taylor was on 66 to Williamson's 49 at tea, but Afridi dismissed him soon after the break, setting him up beautifully. First he bowled a series of full balls slanting away from the right-hander, fairly wide of off stump, then he sent down a bouncer that Taylor ducked under. Having pushed him back in this manner, Afridi followed up with a perfect length ball hugging a tight channel around off stump. Taylor played for the possibility of inswing, and the ball seamed away instead, and kicked up steeply to kiss the shoulder of the bat through to the keeper.

Domestic sponsors agree to extend contracts for delayed Tokyo games TOKYO AGENCIES

Tokyo 2020 organisers said on Thursday that all 68 domestic sponsors for the Summer Olympics have agreed in principle to extend their contracts for the delayed games, as growing coronavirus infections in Japan overshadow the event. The Tokyo Olympics had originally been scheduled for 2020 but were postponed by a year because of the pandemic. “Partner companies told me about the difficult situation they are in because of the pandemic,” Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori told a news conference. “But they also told me they definitely want the games to be held, and that they are willing to offer as much support as they can.” Tokyo 2020 organisers expect more than 22 billion yen ($212 million) in additional contributions from them, Mori said. The domestic sponsors include companies hit hard by a steep fall in travel demand amid the pandemic, such as Japan Airlines Co Ltd, All Nippon Airways Co Ltd and travel agency JTB Corp., which plans to cut its workforce by 6,500. “There must have been various debates within each company ... I believe they have decided to continue cooperating with us upon realising the historical significance of what may be a once-in-ahundred-year event.” Besides tourism and transportation companies, the list of sponsors also includes Canon Inc, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp and other Japanese household names. Recent Japanese newspaper polls show two-thirds of the public believe the game should be postponed again or cancelled altogether. But Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has repeatedly said e is determined to hold the Olympics as proof that humanity has defeated the virus. On Monday, national associations of medical professionals declared a state of medical emergency as the country’s medical system creaks under the strain of the pandemic.

aaron summers set to be first australian to play Pakistan domestic cricket LAHORE AGENCIES

Fast bowler Aaron Summers is set to make history by becoming the first Australian to take part in domestic cricket in Pakistan. ESPNcricinfo understands the 24-year-old will play for Southern Punjab in the 2021 OneDay Cup, which begins on January 8 and runs until the end of the month. The deal is understood to be in its final stages, with official confirmation from the PCB imminent.

While Australia's borders are currently closed to both departures and arrivals due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Summers has received a travel exemption from the Australian government, clearing the path for him

to come to Pakistan.

The PCB's playing conditions do not prevent the inclusion of overseas players, but does currently limit it to a maximum of one per side. They must, however, make sure to obtain a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from their home board and their team has to apply for their inclusion either a month before the start of the season or via special request afterwards. It is understood Southern Punjab made a special request, given the 2020-21 season is underway, which the PCB appears set to approve.

Instances of foreign cricketers playing on Pakistan's domestic circuit have generally been rare, though not completely unheard of.

Fourteen Afghanistan players featured for

Afghan Cheetahs in the 2011-12 Faysal T20 Cup. Yamin Ahmadzai, the Afghanistan fast bowler, played five first-class games in Pakistan in 2016-17. Zimbabwe allrounder Sikandar Raza played in the National T20 Cup that same season. In 2009, former England Uunder-19 player Bilal Shafayat played for Habib Bank, while Afghanistan fast bowler Hamid Hassan represented Pakistan customs. It was a side Mohammad Nabi had earlier represented, too, and a pair of Zimbabwean cricketers were believed to be considering signing first-class contracts in Pakistan, only for those deals to ultimately fall through.

PCB chairman Ehsan Mani did say on a podcast this year that he would like to see

foreign cricketers playing in Pakistan's firstclass system, but the chances of this happening were considered fairly remote. The restructuring of the first-class system, which slashed the number of teams from 16 to just six - getting rid of all departments in the process - further reduced the number of players that could potentially be on show.

And while several high-profile foreign players have now played in the Pakistan Super League, the first-class system is not considered nearly as alluring.

That the first overseas player lined up to play first-class cricket in Pakistan is Australian is not insignificant either. They are the only Full Member not to tour Pakistan this century. Australia's last visit came in

1999, with the 'A' side touring in 2007. A number of high-profile Australians have played the PSL in Pakistan, though, and a World XI that played three T20Is in Lahore in 2017 included Tim Paine, the current captain of the Test side.

Landmark deal aside, in Summers, Southern Punjab will gain an express fast bowler to complement the options they have in their ranks. Summers was selected by Karachi Kings in the 2019 PSL and played two matches without quite making an impression, and remained unpicked this year.

He rose to prominence in the Big Bash League thanks to his fierce pace, outgunning on debut an attack that also included Jofra Archer and Tymal Mills. The meteoric rise

Sunday, 27 December, 2020

PRAyER TImINGS

NEWS

AbscOndIng bLA MILITAnTs decLAred PO In chInese cOnsuLATe ATTAcK cAse KARACHI

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STAFF REPORT

N anti-terrorism court in Karachi has declared 17 absconding suspects of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a global terrorist group, as proclaimed offenders in a case pertaining to the 2018 attack on the Chinese consulate in Sindh capital and executed permanent arrest warrants for them.

Three suicide attackers stormed the consulate in the upscale Clifton neighbourhood amid a series of gunshots and an explosion on November 23, 2018, but were

killed before they could force their way in with a car packed with explosives. The attack was later claimed by the Afghanistanbased BLA. In August, the court issued the nonbailable warrants for the arrest of the suspects, which include Hyrbyair Marri; Aslam Baloch, alias Achhu; Bashir Zaib; Noor Bux Mengal; Kareem Marri; ‘captain’ Rehman Gul; ‘commanders’ Nisar; Sheikhu; Gaindi; Sharif; Hamal; Munshi and Agha Sher Dil. During the hearing on Saturday, the ATC VII directed the officials to make public the sketches of the suspected militants and also confiscate their moveable

and immovable assets.

The counter-terrorism department (CTD) booked and detained Mohammad Aslam; Ahmed Hasnain; Ali Ahmed, alias Hashim; Nadir Khan, alias Arif Buledi and Abdul Latif — all said to be associated with the BLA — for allegedly helping the militants who attacked the consulate.

According to a police report, the attack, aimed at sabotaging the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and meant to create trouble between Islamabad and Beijing, was planned in Afghanistan and carried out with the assistance of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the premier Indian spy agency.

“They transported weapons in a boat engine from Quetta to Karachi through train service,” it said, adding that the weapons and other material were dumped at a house in Baldia Town area of Karachi.

“The terrorists used fake computerised national identity cards,” Karachi police chief Dr Amir Ahmed Shaikh revealed following a probe in January 2019. “We are writing to the Federal Investigation Agency and Pakistan Railways to upgrade their security mechanism so that the facilities of the railways and the National Database and Registration Authority are not abused by terrorists.”

‘Window of hope’: Europe prepares to launch Covid-19 vaccinations PARIS AGENCIES

Hungary stole a march on its fellow EU nations as it began vaccinating its people against Covid-19 on Saturday, a day ahead of rollouts in several other countries including France, Germany and Spain as the pandemic surges across the continent.

Mass vaccination across the European Union, home to almost 450 million people, would be a crucial step towards ending a pandemic that has killed more than 1.7 million around the world, crippled economies and destroyed businesses and jobs.

Hungary administered the vaccine, developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, to frontline workers at hospitals in1the capital Budapest after receiving its first shipment of enough doses to inoculate 4,875 people.

The first worker to receive the shot was Adrienne Kertesz, a doctor at Del-Pest Central Hospital.

Hungary has reported 315,362 Covid19 cases with 8,951 deaths. More than 6,000 people are still in hospital with Covid-19, straining the central European country’s care system.

“We are very happy that the vaccine is here,” Zsuzsa and Antal Takacs, a couple aged 68 and 75, said while playing table tennis in a Budapest park.

“We will get the vaccination because our daughter had a baby in France last month and we want to go see them. We do

not dare travel before we get the vaccine,” Zsuzsa said.

The Hungarian rollout came a day before countries including France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Portugal and Spain are planning to begin mass vaccinations, starting with health workers.

The distribution of the Pfizer-BioNTech shot, which was first rolled out in Britain earlier this month, presents tough challenges. The vaccine uses new mRNA genetic technology, which means it must be stored at ultra-low temperatures of around -80 degrees Celsius (-112°F).

NEW VARIANT IN FRANCE, SPAIN: France, which received its first shipment of the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Saturday, will start administering it on Sunday in the greater Paris area and in the Burgundy-Franche-Comte region. “We have 19,500 doses in total, which amounts to 3,900 vials. These doses will be stored in our freezer at minus 80 degrees (Celsius) and will be then distributed to different nursing homes and hospitals,” said Franck Huet, head of pharmaceutical products for the Paris public hospital system.

The French government is hoping to get around one million people vaccinated in nursing homes during January and February, and then a further 14-15 million in the wider population between March and June.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was approved by the French medical regulator on Thursday. France reported more than

20,000 new Covid-19 infections on Friday for the second day running, something not seen since Nov. 20. The seven-day moving average of daily new cases, which evens out reporting irregularities, is at a onemonth high of 14,969.

France’s number of confirmed Covid19 cases now totals 2,547,771, the fifthhighest tally in the world, while its Covid-19 death toll stands at 62,427, the seventh-highest.

In a concerning development, the health ministry said on Friday that a man who recently arrived from London had tested positive for a new variant of the virus that has been spreading rapidly in southern England and is thought to be more infectious.

In Spain, Madrid health authorities said on Saturday they had confirmed four cases of the new variant of the virus, as the country received its first deliveries of the vaccine.

The boxes arrived by truck at a storage facility near Madrid as dawn broke. Employees at Spain’s medicines agency unpacked the vaccine, which is stored in dry ice, with gloved hands.

“Vaccination will start tomorrow in Spain, coordinated with the rest of Europe,” Health Minister Salvador Illa wrote on Twitter. “This is the beginning of the end of the pandemic.”

Doses will be taken by air to the Spanish islands and the North African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, and by road to other

regions of the country, where a total of about 50,000 people have died from the disease.

‘WINDOW OF HOPE HAS OPENED’ Germany, meanwhile, said trucks were on their way to deliver the vaccine to care homes for the elderly, which are first in line to receive the vaccine on Sunday.

The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country rose by 14,455 to 1,627,103, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed on Saturday. More than 29,000 people have died, in total.

The federal government is planning to distribute more than 1.3 million vaccine doses to local health authorities by the end of this year and about 700,000 per week from January.

“There may be a few hiccups at one point or another in the beginning, but that is quite normal when such a logistically complex process begins,” said Health Minister Jensen Spahn.

In Portugal, a truck escorted by police dropped off the first batch of Covid-19 jabs at a warehouse in the country’s central region. From there, the nearly 10,000 shots will be delivered to five big hospitals.

“It is a historic milestone for all of us, an important day after such a difficult year,” Health Minister Marta Temido told reporters outside the warehouse.

“A window of hope has now opened, without forgetting that there is a very difficult fight ahead.”

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LONDON China will overtake the United States to become the world’s biggest economy in 2028, five years earlier than previously estimated due to the contrasting recoveries of the two countries from the Covid-19 pandemic, a think tank said.

“For some time, an overarching theme of global economics has been the economic and soft power struggle between the United States and China,” the Centre for Economics and Business Research said in an annual report published on Saturday.

“The Covid-19 pandemic and corresponding economic fallout have certainly tipped this rivalry in China’s favour.”

The CEBR said China’s “skilful management of the pandemic”, with its strict early lockdown, and hits to long-term growth in the West meant China’s relative economic performance had improved.

China looked set for average economic growth of 5.7 per cent a year from 2021-25 before slowing to 4.5 per cent a year from 2026-30.

While the United States was likely to have a strong post-pandemic rebound in 2021, its growth would slow to 1.9 per cent a year between 2022 and 2024, and then to 1.6 per cent after that.

Japan would remain the world’s thirdbiggest economy, in dollar terms, until the early 2030s when it would be overtaken by India, pushing Germany down from fourth to fifth.

The United Kingdom, currently the fifthbiggest economy by the CEBR’s measure, would slip to sixth place from 2024.

However, despite a hit in 2021 from its exit from the European Union’s single market, British GDP in dollars was forecast to be 23 per cent higher than France’s by 2035, helped by Britain’s lead in the increasingly important digital economy.

Europe accounted for 19 per cent of output in the top 10 global economies in 2020 but that will fall to 12 per cent by 2035, or lower if there is an acrimonious split between the EU and Britain, the CEBR said.

It also said the pandemic’s impact on the global economy was likely to show up in higher inflation, not slower growth.

“We see an economic cycle with rising interest rates in the mid-2020s,” it said, posing a challenge for governments which have borrowed massively to fund their response to the Covid-19 crisis.

“But the underlying trends that have been accelerated by this point to a greener and more tech-based world as we move into the 2030s.”

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

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Two killed in series of blasts in Kabul KABUL AGENCIES

A series of explosions hit the Afghan capital on Saturday morning, killing at least two police officers and wounding another two and a civilian.

The officers died and a civilian was hurt when a magnetic bomb attached to a police vehicle detonated in western Kabul, police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz said. Two other policemen were wounded when a bomb attached to their car exploded earlier on Saturday in southern Kabul, Faramarz said. A third magnetic bomb detonated in eastern Kabul but caused no casualties, he said. There were reports of at least two other blasts elsewhere in the city, but police had no immediate details. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombings, which came as journalists, politicians and rights activists have increasingly come under attack. Afghanistan is experiencing a surge in violence despite the government and Taliban insurgents holding talks in Qatar to hammer out a peace deal that could put an end to decades of war. The talks in Doha have been suspended until early January and there is speculation they could be further delayed. The ISIS group has claimed responsibility for several attacks in the capital in recent months, including on educational institutions that killed 50 people. At the same time, Taliban militants have waged bitter battles against ISIS fighters, particularly in eastern Afghanistan, while continuing their insurgency against government forces and keeping their promise not to attack US and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) troops. ISIS claimed responsibility for last week’s rocket attacks targeting the main US base in Afghanistan. However, there were no casualties.

Pakistan rejects Modi's claims about democracy in IOK ISLAMABAD TLTP

Pakistan has rejected the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's preposterous and fallacious claims about democracy in the Indian-occupied Kashmir (IOK) following the election of district development councils. In a press release on Saturday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said the RSS-BJP brand of democracy only means the muzzling of the Kashmiri voice and will under the bayonets of Indian army guns. He said the new chapter that the RSS-BJP regime is writing in the IOK has been one marked by brutal military siege since August 5, 2019, violations of human rights in the occupied territory and untold sufferings for the Kashmiri people. The spokesperson said that false Indian narratives can neither deceive the Kashmiri people nor mislead the international community.

China to leapfrog US as world's biggest economy by 2028: report AGENCIES

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