Issuu

Saturday, 30 January, 2021 I 16 Jamadi-ul-Sani, 1442 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 212 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition

Pakistan not bound by any obligations under treaty on Prohibition of nuclear WeaPons: fo g

Pakistan believes that this cardinal objective can only be achieved as a cooPerative and universally agreed undertaking

PM Imran hails CM Buzdar for bringing land-mafia to book g

imran announces health insurance worth rs0.7 million for every household across Punjab SAHIWAL app

ISLAMABAD

staff report

akistan on friday said it did not consider itself bound by any of the obligations enshrined in the treaty on the Prohibition of nuclear weapons (tPnw), adopted in july 2017, as it was negotiated outside the established united nations disarmament negotiating forums. “none of the nuclear-armed states, including Pakistan, took part in the negotiations of the treaty which failed to take on board the legitimate interests of all the stakeholders. many non-nuclear armed states have also refrained from becoming Parties to the treaty,” foreign office (fo) said in a statement issued in the federal capital. according to the statement, the united nations general assembly (unga), in its first special session devoted to nuclear disarmament in 1978, had agreed by consensus that in the adoption of disarmament measures,

the right of each state to security should be kept in mind. the agreement had also concurred that, at each stage of the disarmament process, the objective would be undiminished security for all states at the lowest possible level of armaments and military forces. “Pakistan believes that this cardinal objective can only be achieved as a cooperative and universally agreed undertaking, through a consensus-based process involving all the relevant stakeholders, which results in equal and undiminished security for all states. it is indispensable for any initiative on nuclear disarmament to take into account the vital security considerations of each and every state,” it added. “Pakistan stresses that this treaty neither forms a part of, nor contributes to the development of customary international law in any manner,” the statement concluded. the tPnw, also known as the nuclear weapon ban treaty, was the first legally binding international agreement to

coronavirus in

Pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

541,031

LAST UPDATED AT 7:52 AM ON JANUARY 29, 2021

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

RECOVERED:

NEW CASES:

1,644 DEATHS:

496,745 11,560 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

244,340 156,404 KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

AJK/GB:

ISLAMABAD:

66,451

18,798

8,953/4,909 41,176

comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons with the ultimate goal being their total elimination. it was adopted on 7 july 2017, opened for signature on 20 september 2017 and entered into force on 22 january 2021. the treaty prohibits the development, testing, production, stockpiling, stationing, transfer, use and threat of use of nuclear weapons, as well as assistance and encouragement to the prohibited activities. in regard to those states which join the treaty after having already become nuclearly-armed, the tPnw provides for a time-bound framework for negotiations leading to the verified and irreversible elimination of its nuclear weapons programme. there are currently 86 signatories and 52 states parties, according to the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons (ican), including ireland, austria, brazil, indonesia, mexico, nigeria, south africa and thailand.

Prime minister imran khan lauded Punjab chief minister usman buzdar and his team, including the Punjab chief secretary and inspector general of police (igP), for nabbing the powerful illegal land occupants, some of whom had been backed by the former prime minister and his family. “this is the real change when big dacoits are taken to task and brought to justice,” he said, adding that only those nations prosper that uphold the supremacy of law. addressing a ceremony on the cheque distribution under ehsaas programme and the provision of tractors under kamyab jawan programme, he said he was pleased to see how the ‘palaces of land-mafia’ were demolished, adding that qabza groups were a curse and enemy of the state. hailing the Punjab cm, Pm imran said that buzdar is not as outspoken as former chief minister shehbaz sharif, does not spend billions of rupees of public money on personal projects, and does not move in a convoy of 40 government vehicles. Prime minister imran also said that

US says prepared to prosecute acquitted Omar Sheikh in Pearl murder case g

sindh government files review Petition following sc verdict

the administration of President joe biden was “outraged” over the acquittal of prime accused in danel Pearl murder by the supreme court (sc), and united states secretary of state antony blinken said america was ready to prosecute omar saeed sheikh in us courts. “i am deeply concerned by the Pakistani supreme court’s decision to acquit those involved in daniel Pearl’s kidnapping and murder. we are committed to securing justice for the Pearl family and holding terrorists accountable,” blinken said on twitter. a day earlier, the sc had ordered the release of the Pakistan-origin british suspect convicted and later acquitted in the gruesome 2002 beheading of american journalist Pearl. the court had also dismissed an appeal against omar sheikh’s acquittal by Pearl’s family. the short order had been issued by a three-judge bench headed by justice mushir alam. one judge had opposed

the decision. “the court has come out to say that there is no offence that he has committed in this case,” mahmood a sheikh (no relation with the suspect), who represented omar sheikh, had said. “today’s decision is a complete travesty of justice and the release of these killers puts in danger journalists everywhere and the people of Pakistan,” the Pearl family had said in a statement released by their counsel on thursday. blinken, issuing his first statement on Pakistan after taking office on wednesday, termed the verdict as an “affront to terrorism victims everywhere” and said that the us expected Pakistan’s authorities to “expeditiously review its legal options to ensure justice is served”. blinken recalled that the main accused had been indicted by the united states in 2002 for hostage-taking and conspiracy to commit hostagetaking. he also noted the statement issued by the attorney

general of Pakistan (agP), wherein the top lawyer had said he intended to seek a review of the verdict. WHITE HOUSE EXPRESSES OUTRAGE: the white house is “outraged by the Pakistani supreme court’s decision,” chief spokeswoman jen Psaki told reporters, calling the ruling “an affront to terrorism victims everywhere” and demanded the Pakistani government “review its legal options.” the authorities in Pakistan have already announced that they will file the review petition in the apex court against the verdict. the white house statement came after sc upheld the acquittal of omar sheikh. Pearl’s killing — which was filmed — caused international shock and outrage. “the court has come out to say that there is no offense that he (sheikh) has committed in this case,” mahmood sheikh, who represented the accused, told afP. agencies

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

the government was taking steps to ensure sustainable growth through an industrial and agro-based economy. the premier stated that the government was collaborating with china to obtain learning techniques in the agriculture sector under the chinaPakistan economic corridor (cPec). Pm imran said that Pakistan, particularly Punjab, had immense potential in development in agriculture and livestock sectors, which could be exploited for the benefit of people. he stressed that industrial units in gujranwala, sialkot and faisalabad industries experienced boom even during the pandemic. on the launch of rs18 billion development projects in sahiwal, he said that the government was determined to uplift the under-developed areas of the country. Pm imran said that sahiwal would be provided best facilities in the fields of health, education, road infrastructure and social welfare. he announced that every household across Punjab would get health insurance worth rs0.7 million by december 2021.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

more inside

Indian, Pakistani delegates clash over Kashmir at UN STORY ON PAGE 02

coas bajwa, Qatar’s emir discuss security cooperation STORY ON PAGE 03

Qureshi calls Blinken, reiterates commitment for comprehensive partnership STORY ON PAGE 03

taliban deal under review, us state secretary tells afghan president STORY ON BACK PAGE

Saturday, 30 January, 2021

NEWS

IndIan, PakIstanI delegates clash over kashmIr at Un UNITED NATIONS

STAFF REPORT

eLeGATeS of India and Pakistan engaged in a verbal duel during the the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session on Thursday, after Pakistani Ambassador Munir Akram exposed New Delhi’s human rights abuses in the occupied Kashmir as well as the design of the Bharatiya Janata Party-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (BJP-RSS) extremists against Pakistan. Indian delegate Vidisha Maitra reacted to Ambassador Akram’s pointed words, claiming that Kashmir was an integral part of India. exercising his right of reply, Pakistan’s delegate Jawad Ali rejected India’s claim that Jammu and Kashmir was its part. “As far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, India has no other claim than that of an occupier,” the Pakistani delegate said in his hard-hitting reply. “Like all occupiers and colonizers of the past, India wants to physically, politically and psychologically crush the indigenous Kashmiri struggle. “Today’s India has become a nightmare for its minorities,” Jawad Ali said. “Its current leadership has sacrificed every trapping of secularism.” “From orchestrated pogroms against Muslims in Gujrat and Delhi to discriminatory citizenship laws, from demolishing Muslims shrines and monuments to erasing centuries of history of Muslim rule, from outlawing interfaith marriages to blaming Muslims for the spread of coronavirus, India’s human rights record is replete with gross and systematic violations of rights of minorities,” the Pakistani delegate said. “Today’s India is a quintessential majoritarian state. Subservient state institutions, compliant judiciary and a

UN CHIEF URGES PAKISTAN AND INDIA TO 'COME TOGETHER AND SERIOUSLY DISCUSS THEIR PROBLEMS' STEMMING FROM UNRESOLVED KASHMIR DISPUTE complicit media ensures that the ugly truth about India’s crimes against its own people, and those it illegally occupies, are conveniently shrouded.” He said that it was ironic that a country that continued to flaunt its so-called vaccine diplomacy abroad, had turned hospitals in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir into graveyards, choking essential medical supplies, let alone the Covid-19 vaccine. “At the same time,” he said, “it continues to plan, support and finance its proxies – like UN listed Tehrike-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) – to carry out subversive and terrorist activities against Pakistan.” “India can try as much as it wants, but it will never be able frustrate the struggle for self-determination and prevent the Kashmiri people to determine their own destiny,” Jawad Ali said. “No matter how long and difficult the struggle for freedom is, it is always crowned with success. If history is any guide, we have no doubt, that the brave people of Kashmir will prevail against the dark night of occupation.” “The process of de-colonization will be incomplete until the people of Jammu & Kashmir are enabled to exercise their right to self-determination through a UN-supervised plebiscite as called for in several resolutions of the Security Council,” Ambassador Akram told the UNGA. Speaking in a debate on the annual report of the secretary-general on the work of the organisation, the Pakistani envoy said India was suppressing that

fundamental right through its “brutal” campaign. “While India seeks to silence the Kashmiris through this colonial project, it seeks to silence Pakistan through the threat of aggression – incessantly violating the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC),” he said, adding that it perpetuates terrorism and subversion against Pakistan and was planning false flag operations. Ambassador Akram warned that BJP-RSS fanatics may engineer another conflict to retain their totalitarian grip on power– referring to their sneak attack in February 2019. In his remarks, the Pakistani envoy regretted that respect for its principles and purposes has significantly eroded, with conflicts raging around the world, great power rivalries revived, unleashing a new global arms race, and aggravating poverty and suffering. “The imperative of responding collectively and urgently to the current existential crises – diseease, poverty, climate change – is being trumped by vested interests,” the Pakistani envoy said. “Xenophobia, racism and extremist ideologies have risen like ghosts from the past; the trappings of democracy are being exploited to advance authoritarian agendas.” The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated these trends, he said. He highlighted Prime Minister Imran Khan’s fivepoint action plan for equitable vaccine distribution, debt relief, concessional finance, Special Drawing Rights (SDR) creation and reversing illicit financial flows. “Beyond recovery from the current crisis, we need

PTI govt has recovered billions of rupees, Akbar tells NA ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Adviser to Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior Barrister Mirza Shahzad Akbar on Friday told the National Assembly (NA) that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) government had recovered looted money worth billions of rupees during the last two and half years. Responding to question during “Question Hour” he said that, with the coordination of Assets Recovery Unit (ARU), National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Federal Board of Revenue

(FBR), the government had recovered the looted money from the corrupt elements. During the financial year 2018-19, an amount of Rs15.3 million was incurred out of the budget of ARU. During the financial year 2019-20, an amount of Rs26.7 million was incurred while during the financial year 2020-21, an amount of Rs5.8 million has been incurred up to September 2020, as per the reconciled figures of the Assets Recovery Unit with Accountant General Pakistan Revenues (AGPR). He stated that previous regimes had spent merely hundreds of dollars on detecting the assets of Pakistanis stashed abroad. He

told the NA that the federal cabinet, in its meeting held on September 5, 2018, had approved the establishment of the ARU under the chairmanship of special assistant to the prime minister (SAPM) on accountability, with representation from the FIA, NAB, FBR, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), as well as the private sector for implementation of recovery of unlawful assets abroad. The ARU, being a coordinating unit, provides a forum to law enforcement agencies and relevant institutions to detect new cases and fast track all existing cases, targeting eventual repatriation of unlawfully acquired offshore assets. The

aforementioned agencies and organisations eventually recovered the stated amount, either through taxation, plea bargain or direct recovery repatriation to the government exchequer, the advisor stated. To a question from Syed Naveed Qamar, he said that the agreements were signed with Broadsheet LLC and International Assets Recovery by NAB during the time of Pervez Musharraf for detection of corruption money abroad. The Broadsheet was twice paid $2.25 million and $1.25 million in 2008 after the signing of settlement agreements during the tenure of Yousaf Raza Gilani, he added. The adviser said that at present the government had no working relations with broadsheet nor it has engaged any private agency to trace assets. He said that the government was working for the enhancement of the capacity of its workers.

to build an equitable and efficient international financial architecture, a fair-trade and tax regime, investment in sustainable infrastructure and optimum utilisation of science and technology to create a world economic and social order that is fair, resilient and sustainable.” Supporting the UN chief’s diplomacy for peace, the Pakistani envoy said that it must ensure strict adherence to the UN Charter and implementation of the Security Council resolutions; halt and reverse the new global nuclear and conventional arms race; oppose the rise of fascist, totalitarian and majoritarian regimes that trample human rights; end racism, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and promote universal observance of human rights; and above all, activate multilateral, UN-led measures to resolve the old and new conflicts and disputes across the world. Pakistan, he said, will continue to contribute actively to promoting the United Nations as the central actor and guide in building international peace and security and prosperity for all. Separately, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, responding to a question from an APP correspondent at his first press conference of 2021, called on nucleararmed India and Pakistan to “come together and seriously discuss their problems” stemming from the unresolved Kashmir dispute, saying his good offices were always available for mediation. The UN chief warned that there was no “military solution” to the decades-old conflict. “It is clear when seeing Pakistan and India, any military confrontation between the two would be a disaster of unmitigated proportions for both countries and for the whole world,” he stated. “I do believe that [it] is absolutely essential to have a de-escalation of the situation, namely in the Line of Control,” Guterres said, adding, “I think it’s absolutely essential for the two countries to be able to come together and seriously discuss their problems.” He further responded to a question about the continuing human rights abuses in Indian-occupied Kashmir and said, “I think it’s essential that human rights are fully respected in all territories that you mentioned.” He said that he stood by his statement of August 8, 2019, which called for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute based on UN resolutions and the UN Charter. “Now, things have not moved in the right direction, our good offices are always available, and we will insist within them on finding peaceful solutions for problems that have no military solution.”

Weekly inflation up 0.52pc ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI)-based weekly inflation for the combined income group increased 0.52pc during the week ended on Jan 28, 2021. The weekly SPI with base year 2015-16=100 covers 17 urban centres and 51 essential items for all expenditure groups. Out of the 51 monitored items, the average price of 18 items increased, nine items decreased whereas 24 items registered no change during the week. According to the data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday, the SPI increase is mainly attributable to a rise in prices of food items i.e. chicken (14.81pc), chili powder (9.40pc), cooking oil (4.11pc), vegetable ghee (3.83pc), and mustard oil (1.38pc). Among nonfood items, washing soap (2.15pc) with joint impact of (1.07pc) into the overall SPI for combined group of (0.52pc). STAFF REPORT

Sindh govt should facilitate development process instead of creating hurdles: Faraz FARAZ SAYS ISLANDS PROJECT WILL BRING FOREIGN INVESTMENT AND CREATE JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE LOCAL PEOPLE KARACHI STAFF REPORT

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz on Friday said that instead of creating hurdles in the projects, the Sindh government should facilitate the development of the province, including Karachi. Talking to the media at the Sindh Governor House, the minister said that the provincial government was doing negative politics. Whether it was the islands project

or the Karachi package, it was, unfortunately, playing the role of a spoiler, he added. He said that the megacity of Karachi was the country’s economic hub and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government wanted to resolve the problems of its people, who had reposed confidence in the party in the last general election. He also said that first the Sindh government had issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) for the islands project and then all of a sudden it started raising

objections on account its negative impacts on environment. The minister said that the whole country knew the corruption stories of the Sindh elite class. Faraz recalled that Prime Minister Imran Khan announced the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami project and the Sindh government followed suit. It was appreciable if the provincial government took such positive steps, he added. He said that the role of Sindh government during the Covid-19 pandemic was also negative as it had created financial crisis by imposing lockdown across the province. When the federal government, he said, announced the Karachi package, it again tried to create hurdles in its way. The Sindh rulers were, in fact, politicking on every

matter pertaining to the welfare of people, he added. To a question, he said that the islands project would bring foreign investment and also create job opportunities for the local people. To another query, he said that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) had

now become a tale of the past as the people knew that its leaders were out for their personal interests. They were applying pressure tactics to escape from accountability, he added. To a question, he said that the major chunk of natural gas produced in Sindh, was being supplied to the province.

Saturday, 30 January, 2021

NEWS

QuReshI calls BlInken; ReITeRaTes coMMITMenT foR coMPRehensIve PaRTneRshIP wITh us ISLAMABAD APP

OREIGN Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday held a telephone conversation with newly appointed US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken and discussed bilateral ties, Afghan peace and Daniel Pearl case. The foreign minister congratulated Secretary Blinken on assuming his office and underscored Pakistan’s commitment to forge a comprehensive partnership with the United States based on convergence

of interests on a whole range of issues. Blinken was sworn in as the 71st US Secretary of State on January 26, 2021. Highlighting the transformation in Pakistan, the foreign minister stressed that the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan had a new vision that placed premium on forging economic partnership, building a peaceful neighborhood, and enhancing regional connectivity. Foreign Minister Qureshi told Secretary Blinken that peace in Afghanistan through a negotiated political settlement was one of the fundamental convergences

between the two countries. He said that it was essential to have reduction in violence leading to ceasefire and to work towards securing an inclusive political solution in Afghanistan. Pakistan had facilitated the Afghan peace process and remained committed to working with the United States as a partner for peace, he added. The foreign minister also highlighted Pakistan’s resolute measures as well as immense sacrifices in the fight against terrorism. Secretary Blinken recalled US–Pakistan cooperation over the years and noted that the two countries had a

COAS Bajwa, Qatar’s emir discuss security cooperation RAWALPINDI Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa called on Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Friday. According to the military’s media wing, COAS General Qamar Javed is in Qatar on two days official visit. During his meeting with the Qatar emir matters of mutual interest, defence, security, cooperation and regional geo-political environment were discussed. The Qatari leader reiterated that Pakistan and Qatar share brotherly

relations of strategic value. While expressing their satisfaction over level of defence relations between the two armed forces, both sides underscored the importance of further enhancing the cooperation. Earlier, the COAS witnessed passing out parade at Ahmed Bin Muhammad Military College. He appreciated high standards of the institution and its efforts towards grooming of young cadets to take on challenges of the future battlefield. Earlier on November 18, last year, Qatar Emiri Air Force Commander Major General (Pilot) Salem Hamad Eqail AlNabet, who is in Pakistan on an official visit, called on COAS Bajwa.

NEWS DESK

FBR sent wrong notice to NAB in Broadsheet payment, ex-tax chief claims TAX DEPT STATED IN ITS NOTICE THAT THE NAB HAS CAUSED A LOSS OF RS69 MILLION TO THE NATIONAL EXCHEQUER BY HASTILY PAYING THE $43 MILLION FINE TO BROADSHEET ISLAMABAD SHAHZAD PARACHA

The former Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman Syed Shabbar Zaidi has said that the tax department has sent a wrong notice to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in connection with the Broadsheet payments. “Income chargeable to tax in Pakistan. Officer and professionals to read Section 101 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 and UK/Pakistan Tax Treaty,” Zaidi said on Twitter. The former FBR chairman said that “amateurish comments” are diverting attention from “the main issue” and expressed that no “withholding” was required. “Notice is wrong,” he stated on the popular micro-

blogging site. It is pertinent to mention here that the FBR has served a notice to NAB in connection with the payment to Broadsheet. Reportedly, the department stated in its notice that NAB did not deduct 15 per cent withholding tax while paying $28.7 million as damages in Broadsheet case. The FBR has sent a notice to pay Rs60.9 million. The notice was reportedly sent to the NAB headquarters on behalf of International Tax Department of FBR under Section 152 of FBR Ordinance. Section 101 of Income Tax Ordinance 2001 pertains to the geographical source of income, wherein the business of a non-resident comprises the rendering of independent services –including professional services and the services of entertainers and sports persons – Pakistan-source business income of the person shall

Maryam lambasts PM Imran over TI report PML-N VP SAYS IMRAN WAS PREVIOUSLY RIGHT WHEN HE SAID IF A PRIME MINISTER IS CORRUPT, THEN CORRUPTION IS EVERYWHERE

QATARI LEADER SAYS PAKISTAN AND QATAR SHARE BROTHERLY RELATIONS OF STRATEGIC VALUE STAFF REPORT

range of areas to engage on. He acknowledged the sacrifices of the people of Pakistan in the fight against terrorism. In the context of recent developments in the Daniel Pearl case, the foreign minister underscored that it was important and in the mutual interest that justice was served through legal means. The foreign minister highlighted the steps being taken in this regard. Foreign Minister Qureshi and Secretary Blinken agreed to remain engaged and work together on advancing the two countries’ bilateral agenda and promoting common interests in the region and beyond.

include any remuneration derived by the person where the remuneration is paid by a resident person or borne by a permanent establishment in Pakistan of a nonresident person. Every person paying an amount of royalty or fees for technical services to a non-resident person that is chargeable to tax under section 6 shall deduct tax from the gross amount paid at the rate specified in Division IV of Part I of the First Schedule. Every person making a payment in full or part, including payment by way of advance, to a non-resident person on the execution of a contract or sub-contract under a construction, assembly or installation project in Pakistan, including a contract for the supply of supervisory activities in relation to such project. The provision (1B) states the tax deducted under sub-section (1A) shall be a final tax on the income of a non-resident person arising from a contract. Similarly, subject to sub-section (3), every person paying an amount to a non-resident person (other than an amount to which sub-section (1) or sub-section (1A) applies) shall deduct tax from the gross amount paid at the rate specified in Division II of Part III of the First Schedule.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz on Friday took shots at Prime Minister Imran Khan over the recent findings of the Transparency International’s (TI) latest report, which showed Pakistan slipped four places in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). “Transparency International has testified that Pakistan has been mired in corruption for the last two years,” the PMLN VP said on Twitter. “He was right when he said, ‘If the Prime Minister is corrupt, then corruption is everywhere’,” she added, snidely referring to “the servant” as “honest”.Maryam is not the only opposition leader to take shots at the ruling party after the release of the reports. A day earlier, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman had said that Prime Minister Imran’s claims to end corruption are based on lies. She had said that corruption is on the rise during this government’s tenure and that Pakistan losing a few places on the global corruption index is a question mark on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s performance. Pakistan has dropped down seven places on the list since this government came to power, she had stressed, adding that the world is now watching the story of the government’s wrath of corruption. “The focus is on NAB and the government’s political opponents, not corruption,” Rehman had said. Similarly, PPP MNA Shazia Atta Marri had said that in the past, PM Imran used to wave transparency reports and ask governments to go home. Until 2018, PM Imran never got tired of wailing over the Transparency International reports, she had said, adding that the premier had lost the moral legitimacy to stay in power after today’s report. “How many references did the NAB make on the corruption of the federal government that has been going on for the last two-and-a-half years?” she had asked. Meanwhile, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) of Pakistan on Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill had made an attempt to defend the government after Pakistan’s ranking was revealed on the global corruption list.

Rashida Begum passes away NEWS DESK

NHA merger into Housing and Works Ministry approved by CCIR ISLAMABAD AHMAD AHMADANI

The Cabinet Committee on Institutional Reforms (CCIR) has approved the merger of National Housing Authority (NHA) into the Policy and Planning Wing of the Ministry of Housing and Works and has directed it to resolve matters relating to the merger in consultation with Establishment Division. The approval was granted during a meeting of CCIR held on January 7, 2021, under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Federal Shafqat Mahmood, sources said. In this regard, the CCIR directed that the Ministry of Housing and Works should resolve all ancillary matters relating to the proposed merger in

THE APPROVAL WAS GRANTED DURING A MEETING OF CCIR HELD ON JANUARY 7, 2021, UNDER THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF FEDERAL MINISTER FOR EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL TRAINING FEDERAL SHAFQAT MAHMOOD consultation with the Establishment Division. As per details, CCIR was informed by the housing ministry that the federal government had earlier approved the merger of NHA into Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority (NAPHDA) under the cabinet division. As such, the Ministry of Housing and Works transferred all assets of NHA, as well as the budget, to NAPHDA. Later on, Cabinet Division, vide O.M.

dated August 13, 2020, requested the ministry for issuance of notification of merger of NHA into NAPHDA to effectively implement the cabinet’s decision. However, NAPHDA, in their letter dated September 16, 2020, had conveyed the complications involved in the merger due to civil servants status of the employees of NHA. It requested the housing ministry to retain the NHA until they were ready to surrender the budget

of NHA. Later in October, NAPHDA in a letter again raised observations regarding the employees and liabilities of NHA. According to sources, Ministry of Housing and Works has intended to merge NHA into its Policy and Planning Wing to address the issue of the status of employees of NHA being civil servants and to help strengthen the professional capacity of the ministry. The Ministry of Housing and Works forwarded the case to Institutional Reforms Cell (IRC) on December 8, 2020, for examination and to a proposal for declaring NHA as Policy and Planning Wing. In response, IRC expressed the desire to place a summary titled “Request for Declaring National Housing Authority as Planning and Policy Wing of Ministry of Housing and Works” for the consideration of the CCIR as per requirements.

Rashida Begum, wife of Chaudhry Nazar Muhammad, and mother of Shahid Hussain, passed away on Thursday. Her funeral prayers were offered on Friday at 13 E/1, Gulberg III, Lahore. The bereaved family had urged the people to offer dua for the deceased from their homes in view of the coronavirus situation and had informed the people that Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) would be followed for the funeral prayers.

04 NEWS

Vaccination drive in Sindh from Feb 3, says Nasir NEWS DESK Sindh Minister for Information and Local Government Syed Nasir Hussain Shah on Friday said that the province will start a Covid-19 vaccination drive from February 3. "In the first phase of the vaccination drive, front line healthcare workers will be inoculated. The Sindh health department has allocated Rs1.5 billion for Covid-19 vaccine," Nasir said while addressing a press conference at the Sindh Assembly. He said the federal government has received about 500,000 vaccine doses from China and out of which, Sindh has received 82,359 doses. “The Sindh chief minister has earmarked a separate budget for the purpose. He has also written a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan regarding the procurement of the vaccine. In the beginning, vaccines will be distributed in 10 districts of the province. We want to vaccinate the people of Sindh free of charge. The Centre is yet to permit the Sindh government to purchase the vaccine," the minister added. KARACHI COLLEGES REPORT SURGE IN COVID-19 CASES: A surge in coronavirus cases has been reported in government colleges across the metropolis, according to a private news channel. Reportedly, 58 staff members of Sir Syed Government Girls College, 21 staff members of Shaheed Millat Girls College and one teacher of Aga Khan Government College have been tested positive for coronavirus.

Ehsaas programme totally apolitical: Sania Nishtar LAHORE APP

Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar has said that the Ehsaas Programme’s foundation has been laid purely on non-political basis. Addressing a press conference in Sahiwal, she said that a survey for the Ehsaas Programme is underway with complete transparency, adding that deserving and destitute people are being brought under the umbrella of the initiative. She said that the survey for the programme would continue across the country, adding that messages about the programme would be sent from 8171. No fee for the survey is being charged, she added. The special assistant further said that the first six months of this year would be a milestone for the welfare of the people.

One killed, five injured in road mishap FAISALABAD

Saturday, 30 January, 2021

Bilawal ExprESSES dElight aS Bakhtawar tiES kNOt with MahMOOd

NEWS DESK

ORMER president Asif Ali Zardari’s eldest daughter and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardar’s sister Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari on Friday tied the knot with her fiance Mahmood Choudhary, the son of a US-based businessman, in a simple ceremony at Bilawal House in Karachi. The ceremony was attended by families of Bakhtawar and Mahmood along-

side prominent figures, including politicians and businessmen. The guest count was kept limited to only 300 people due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Taking to Twitter, Bilawal Bhutto posted some pictures of the ceremony with a sweet message: "Happiest moment in many years to see my sister Bakhtawar getting married. Felt like our mother was watching over us in this moment of joy. Wishing them both all the best for their new life together." The Barat function is scheduled for Saturday (today).

Sindh set Buzdar starts mega development projects in Sahiwal to solarise

200,000 houses

CM SAYS GOAL OF COMPOSITE DEVELOPMENT WILL BE ACHIEVED UNDER PM IMRAN’S LEADERSHIP SAHIWAL INP

Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has said that the fertile land of Sahiwal with strong potential of agro-based industries has rapidly emerged as the administrative and trade hub. He expressed these views while addressing an opening ceremony of mega development projects in Sahiwal on Friday. Talking about the development work, Buzdar said that the peripheral areas of Harappa and Chichawatni will also enjoy the fruits of development as a package worth Rs2 billion has been announced for each area. “The development package includes numerous projects of water supply, underpass and roads' construction, wildlife park, sports complex, grounds, sewerage and provision of health and educational facilities,” he said. “Sahiwal has become a focus of attention of the PTIled government as I have conducted more than five visits to this city to hold meetings with people from a cross-section of society. My team is working to implement feasible recommendations.” The chief minister emphasised that cities are being transformed to enjoy modern facilities, adding that provision of modern municipal services is being started in Sahiwal with a cost of Rs18 billion under the Punjab Intermediate Cities Improvement Investment Programme. The provincial government has

also saved a sum of Rs110 million through open international tendering, he added. “Sahiwal and Sialkot will emerge as engines of growth. A waste management academy and waste segregation plant have been inaugurated in Sahiwal along with the start of Ehsaas Programme, Hunarmand Nojawan Programme and Punjab Rozgar Scheme. It has also been planned to provide the best municipal services in seven other cities,” he said. Buzdar said that the foundation stone of Sahiwal Institute of Cardiology has been laid along with upgradation of a teaching hospital. “A universal healthcare programme is going to be started as well to give free treatment facilities to 120 million people of the province. The incumbent government is farmer-friendly, which started to devise agricultural policy way back in 2019. Important agricultural projects were started during the last two years with an amount of Rs90.70 billion,” he added. “Regrettably, Sahiwal is called the hub of livestock but in the past nobody devised any provincial livestock policy. The credit goes to the incumbent government to prepare and launch the first livestock policy of the province before the upcoming budget. The government will maintain liaison with the parliamentarians and other stakeholders for completion of development projects and the goal of composite development will be achieved under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan,” he concluded.

KARACHI TLTP

The Sindh government has made an agreement to illuminate 200,000 houses of the province with solar power to overcome energy crisis with clean and environment-friendly energy projects. Provincial Minister for Energy Imtiaz Ahmed Sheikh said that initially 10 districts of the province, including Sujawal, Badin, Mithi, Tharparkar, Sanghar, Khairpur, Ghotki, Kashmore, Jacobabad and Qambar Shahdad Kot, will be illuminated with solar power, adding that this eco-friendly energy project is being carried out in collaboration with the World Bank. He added the Sindh government in November last year had asked for the World Bank’s assistance in developing two solar parks in the province to generate up to 890 megawatts of clean electricity for the benefit of the people. One of the proposed solar parks, having the capacity to generate 560 megawatts, will be established in Manjhand area of Jamshoro while the other, having the capacity to generate 330 megawatts, will be established in Gharo area of Thatta. According to the energy minister, the solar parks will help utilise renewable resources of energy for the clean production of electricity to overcome the persisting power shortfall across the country. He said that Sindh possesses phenomenal potential to generate the maximum amount of clean electricity through environment-friendly means as the country’s biggest wind corridor is also in the province.

APP

A young boy was killed and five others sustained serious injuries in a road accident here on Friday. According to police, the incident took place near Tandlianwala, when a passenger van collided with a tractor-trolley. Consequently, Allah Yar (13) died on the spot while his father Mohammad Shafi, mother Sugrah Bibi, brother Ali Hasan, and two passengers Zulfiqar Ali and Abdul Rasheed received serious injuries. The injured were shifted to THQ hospital for treatment while the body of the deceased was handed over to the family by the police after completing necessary formalities.

WCLA starts restoration work of monuments at Lahore Fort LAHORE SHAHAB OMER

The Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) is restoring and conserving

Dewan-e-Aam, Doulat Khana and Kharak Singh Haveli at Lahore Fort after allocation of Rs60 million for these monuments by the Punjab government, Pakistan Today learnt on Friday. According to details, the restoration work of the monuments, which include waterproofing of roofs, realignment of arches and lime terracing, will be completed by November this year. The WCLA officials said that the authority’s conservation team is presently conserving several sites inside Lahore Fort, including Makatib Khana and Moti mosque, adding that the work on revamping the fort’s canteen area will also be started soon. WCLA Assistant Director Historic Research Samina Fazil said, “Dewan-e-Aam, which is the most attractive and prominent feature of the grand fort, was built by Emperor Akbar. It is a hall of forty pillars and most-visited tourist site in the fort as the visitors are fascinated by its marble balcony and other features. The basement of Dewan-e-Aam is another wonder that was revealed last year and now the team

is working on its conservation as well.” “Doulat Khana is the upper chamber and its entrance is from Dewan-e-Aam. It was closed for the public long ago. Now it is being conserved and after the work is completed, it will be opened for the tourists.” She added that the Kharak Singh Haveli was part of the quadrangle of Jahangir and built as a residence of Kharak Singh, son of Ranjeet Sigh. “When the fort was taken over by Ranjeet, some Sikh structures were added in the fort and this Haveli is one of those structures,” she said. A tourist Mohsin Ali, while commenting on these locations, said, “I was wondering why some monuments were covered with green coverings but then I read the board stating work in progress. I am really glad to know that these sites are being restored by the WCLA as

these were poorly maintained. I am a frequent visitor of Lahore fort and I come here for study purposes. I have been observing good changes in Lahore Fort from the last three to four years and it is good to see that things are improving.” WCLA Director General Kamran Lashari said that it is the prime responsibility of the authority to restore these important monuments. “It is a high time for us to preserve and save the heritage sites for our coming generations and show our rich heritage to the world. Lahore Fort is very important to us and we are working day and night for its betterment in all aspects, including tourism and conservation. Actually conservation is a slow process and demands a lot of patience. We are simultaneously working on different sites at the fort so that things are improved speedily,” he added.

Saturday, 30 January, 2021

NEWS PM Imran hails CM Buzdar for bringing land-mafia to book continued from page 01 He added that the inauguration of a Rs400 million sewerage plant in Sahiwal would provide wastewater treatment, wherein the purified water would then be diverted towards irrigation of the adjoining forest area. Prime Minister Imran said that reforestation was a priority of the government, adding that the Billion Trees Tsunami project was in full swing. He said that the upcoming local government system would ensure power devolution and result in providing facilities to people at their doorsteps. He said that the sociowelfare state of Medina was based on the principles of justice and equality for all. PM Imran maintained that the government would introduce uniform educational syllabus across the country, which would mainstream all students especially those from a poor background. He said that Ehsaas programme worked as a safety net for underdeveloped people, ensuring their free health, education and employment opportunities. Furthermore, the Kamyab Jawan project has been serving poor by providing them with easy loans, he added. Speaking on the occasion, CM Buzdar said that the province’s agro-based ministries were efficiently working as per the vision of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for the uplift of the common man. He said that not only Sahiwal but also Chicha Watni and Harappa would be provided best municipal services. Under the directives of Prime Minister Imran, he said, the provincial government would hold consultations with National Highway Authority for connecting Sahiwal with a motorway. Adviser to PM on Youth Affairs Usman Dar said that as agriculture was the backbone of the country, the government was keen to uplift farmers through relief packages. On the other hand, he said, exploitation of farmers in India was on the rise as hundreds took to streets in protest. To get tractors in the government’s scheme, he said that farmers in the country could apply through a portal and assured transparency in distribution. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Social Welfare and Dr Sania Nishtar said that Rs180 billion has so far been disbursed in the country under Ehsaas programme, with 504,000 households benefiting in Sahiwal. She said that several segments under the umbrella of Ehsaas project including Emergency Cash programme, Ehsaas Kifalat and stipends for primary school students were being carried out in a transparent manner. Adviser on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam said that Sahiwal would get 30 water filtration plants and would benefit 0.5 million people and a forest area spread on 100 acres. He said that Chicha Watni would be declared as a sanctuary to preserve forestation. Governor Punjab Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar, MNAs, provincial minister, PM’s Adviser on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam, Adviser to PM on Youth Affairs Usman Dar, PM’s Special Assistant on Social Welfare, PTI leadership were present on the occasion.

US says prepared to prosecute acquitted Omar Sheikh in Pearl murder case continued from page 01 A court order said that Sheikh along with three accomplices connected to the case should “be released forthwith,” though it was not clear when that would happen. Pearl was researching a story about militants when he was abducted in Karachi in January 2002. Nearly a month later, after a string of ransom demands, a graphic video showing his decapitation was given to officials. Sheikh, a British-born extremist who once studied at the London School of Economics (LSE) and had been involved in previous kidnappings of foreigners, was arrested days after Pearl’s abduction. He was later sentenced to death by hanging after telling a Karachi court that Pearl had already been killed days before the gruesome video of the journalist’s beheading had been released. Pearl’s family on Thursday called the decision to free him “a travesty of justice” and pleaded for US intervention in the case. “The release of these killers puts in danger journalists everywhere and the people of Pakistan. We urge the US government to take all necessary actions under the law to correct this injustice,” the family said in a statement. SINDH FILES REVIEW PETETION: Lawyers filed a last-ditch attempt to overturn the acquittal of a British-born militant convicted of masterminding the murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl in Pakistan, a government prosecutor said Friday. Fiaz Shah, prosecutor general for Sindh government, told AFP that it had lodged a review of the verdict at the Supreme Court in the capital Islamabad. “The petition was filed to seek a review and request the court to recall the order of acquittal,” Shah said. An official at Central Prison Karachi, where Sheikh is being held, said they had not received a formal court order for his release. “As soon as the order is formally received, it will be followed,” said the official requesting anonymity.

ParlIaMentary BOdy OUtlayS Integrated StrUCtUral refOrMS-OrIented agrICUltUral grOwth Strategy iSLamaBad

MIAN ABRAR

ATIONAL Assembly Special Committee on Agricultural Products Friday presented an integrated structural reformsoriented agricultural growth strategy for the next seven years. The presentation was made to a Committee of the Cabinet working on the new agriculture package during a meeting of the special committee at the Parliament House. National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaisar chaired the meeting. In a bid to build national consensus on the proposed agricultural growth strategy, Qaiser called for a close scrutiny of the entire strategy. He added that after presentation to the Sub-Committee of the Cabinet on Agriculture, the strategy would be presented to the prime minister and subsequently the report would be laid in the National Assembly for debate. The chief components of the strategy included Special initiatives for Balochis-

tan, South Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Tharparkar, Cotton Revival Programme, Oilseed Development, LowCost Refinance Line of Credit & Credit Enhancement for Digital Production Finance, Digitization of Demand-Driven Extension Content, Integrated Seed System, Agriculture Climate Change Insurance Pool (Farmer Risk Transfer Mechanism) / Satellite-based Crop Reporting), Establishment of Agriculture Development Authority for Coordination of Reform Implementation, linkages with Ehsaas, Kamyab Jawan and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and incentives for promoting investment in warehousing, contract farming and farmers produce organisations. The panel was informed that the overarching objective is to achieve Agriculture growth rate of 7.5 per cent per annum. by FY 2027-28 led and sustained by producer-owned integrated marketbased value chains that incentivize producers to continue investing in modern and climate-smart production technologies, expansion of cultivated land area

and value-added activities. The convener of the sub-committee, Shandana Gulzar Khan, briefed the meeting on agricultural growth strategy. She presented a data driven snapshot of the structure of Pakistan’ agriculture sector followed by a presentation of the subcommittee’s proposed strategy. She highlighted that that the overarching goal of the proposed strategy is to boost agricultural exports, accelerate rural development-driven economic growth, reduce rural poverty, enhance financial and gender inclusion in agricultural sector. Drawing upon historical data she explained that the inconsistent growth patterns of agricultural sector reveals lack of consistency in policy and planning for the sector. She further added that the proposed model envisioned a pro-poor growth strategy focusing on transformation of the business model of the 7.4 million smallholder farmers who cultivate 48 per cent of the total cultivable land. She stated that the weak business model of the smallholder farmers comprising low bargaining power, low access

to finance, low yields, fragmented market segment, lack of access to competitive markets and high production cost hindered the modernisation of the agriculture sector. Shandana further added that the proposed strategy drawing upon eco-system based, multi-pronged three phased strategy seeks to transform Pakistan’s subsistence agricultural into modern, diversified, competitive and high-value agriculture with a particular focus productivity and profitability of the smallholders’ farmers. The convener of the sub-committee explained that the objective of the plan is to accelerate the modernization of agriculture sector so that the sector can generate resources for the sustained development of the economy with a high degree of self-reliance. She added that the proposed program would complement the prime minister’s initiatives for agriculture sector. The meeting was attended by Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Syed Fakhar Imam and other MNAs.

FBR issues draft rules for clearance of import, export consignments iSLamaBad TLTP

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Friday issued draft rules for the clearance of import and export consignments at border customs stations. The FBR issued SRO 103(I)/2021, dated January 25, 2021, to propose a new sub-chapter XVI to Customs Rules, 2001, for clearance of imports and exports at border customs stations. According to draft rules, following are the procedures for clearance of goods at border customs stations for imports: The person-in-charge of the vehicle carrying imported goods on arrival into Pakistan shall deliver the import manifest in the form, as prescribed in these rules, to the gate-in-officer. On receipt of import manifest, the gate-in-officer shall enter the data of import manifest against the relevant IGM. Copies of the import manifest shall be given to the representative of FC and the terminal operator at the zero-line, wherein a terminal operator is functioning. After recording of import manifest information, the gate-in-officer shall process the gate-in of the vehicle and goods in the system on real-time basis. Subsequently, the importer or his authorized representative shall file goods declaration against the index number already generated in the system for prescribed customs processing. After completion of customs processing of goods declaration, including payment of leviable duty and taxes and on receiving authorization from the Pakistan Customs computerized System (PCCS), the terminal officer shall electronically assign vehicle and cargo to the Gate-out-officer for electronic gate-out in the system. Upon receiving the authorization in the PCCS, the

gate-out office shall record gate-out events in the system. According to draft rules, following are the procedures for clearance of goods at border customs stations for exports: The exporter or his authorised representative shall file export goods declaration against the vehicle and goods meant for exports, before the vehicle enters the border custom station. After the filing of export goods declaration by exporter or his authorized representative, the information shall be verified by the gate-in officer. The gate-in officer shall record the gate-in event in the system. After completion of processing, the GD will be out-of-charged and a message will be sent to the terminal operator. After receiving a message from the PCCS, the terminal officer shall assign the vehicle and cargo to the cross border officer for electronic crossborder in the system. The cross-border officer shall record the confirmation of export in the system, after physically verifying export cargo at the terminal/station exit gate, and shall generate system based three copies of “Cross-border authorization” to be collected at the zero-line by the officials of Customs, FC and terminal operator respectively, to ensure cross border of the vehicle and cargo. After filing of IGM or EGM, no amendment shall be allowed. In case of any human error, the rectification shall be allowed with the approval of an officer not below the rank of Additional Collector of the concerned MCC (Appraisement & Facilitation). The procedure provided in the sub-chapter for import, export and other customs processes shall mutatis mutandis apply herein: Provided that in case any land customs station does not possess complete infrastructure, facilities or any required components for implementing all provisions

relating to Customs Computerized System, the collector may order such modification in any provision as may be deemed necessary under intimation to the Board, till such time all required facilities and components become available. Everyday in the morning, Customs, FC and terminal operators shall reconcile all the import manifests of the all incoming vehicles of the previous day with a system generated list that GDs have been filed for all incoming vehicles. In case, GD is not filed within forty eight hours of the arrival of the vehicle, the reasons may be ascertained by the Customs for late filing of GD including verification of location of the vehicle inside the custom station or terminal. At the end of the day, all cross-border authorizations collected by customs authorities as well by FC & terminal operators shall be re- reconciled to ensure that all the requisite transport units which were issued gatepasses have crossed the border. The daily imports and exports statements reconciled jointly shall be countersigned by the concerned Assistant/Deputy Collector of the Enforcement. While, the Directorate of Transit Trade shall conduct the reconciliation of transit cargo and empty containers as per mechanism given under the rules. In case of any discrepancy, the incharge of Custom station will initiate action under the relevant provision of the Customs Act, 1969. A weekly summary of reconciliation shall be forwarded to the respective Collector/Director to apprise them updated. All concerned authorities i.e., Customs, FC and terminal operators shall keep the original record of import manifests and cross-border authorizations for a period of five years and to be made available if required by Custom authorities.

Wall Street falls after J&J vaccine data; GameStop effect weighs US stock indexes fell on Friday after Covid-19 vaccine data from Johnson & Johnson hurt sentiment, while a standoff between Wall Street hedge funds and small, retail investors weighed. Johnson & Johnson fell 3.9 per cent after the drugmaker said its single-dose vaccine was 72pc effective in preventing Covid-19 in the United States, with a lower rate of 66pc observed globally. The results compare to the high bar set by two authorized vaccines from Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE and Moderna Inc, which were around 95pc effective in preventing symptomatic illness in key trials when given in two doses. “While it’s good to have another entrant, the question is the efficacy. The concern is if it’s a lot less effective, then investor and consumer confidence will be substantially lower,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research. Moderna jumped 8.1pc, helping the Nasdaq Biotechnology index add 1.4pc. Worries of a short squeeze grew after

an army of retail investors returned to trade shares in GameStop Corp and Koss Corp. The stocks sky-rocketed after brokers including Robinhood eased some of the restrictions they had placed on trading. The US Securities and Exchange Commission warned both brokerages and social media traders that it was closely

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monitoring potential wrongdoing. Investor favorites including Apple Inc were sold off recently by hedge funds to cover billions of dollars in losses. Shares in Apple, Amazon.com Inc, Microsoft Corp, Facebook Inc, Netflix Inc, Tesla Inc and Alphabet Inc fell between 0.8pc and 3.2pc.

“I think a lot of investors were discounting the effects of retail to some extent, so they were taken by surprise,” said Max Gokhman, head of asset allocation at Pacific Life Fund Advisors in Newport Beach, California. “The fact that it did create dislocations for a lot of large hedge funds, definitely caused at least some degree of additional market correction.” Concerns over stretched valuations, new coronavirus variants and rising cases kept investors on edge about a pullback and an increase in volatility in the near-term. The first known US cases of the South African Covid-19 variant, found to be partly resistant to current vaccines and antibody treatments, was detected in South Carolina on Thursday. At 12:00 p.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 404.60 points, or 1.32pc, at 30,198.76, the S&P 500 was down 47.75 points, or 1.26pc, at 3,739.63, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 139.68 points, or 1.05pc, at 13,197.48. AGENCIES

Saturday, 30 January, 2021

06 COMMENT

Pakistan’s allies’ dilemma

The PTI’s corruption cover-up No more possible to massage the facts

RIMe MINISTeR Imran Khan and his media team have carried out enough media trials of the opposition leaders, who have been called thieves and dacoits without proving the charges in the superior courts. As the focus of accountability begins to turn towards the PTI government, they are trying to massage the facts Mr Khan had promised to uproot corruption from the country within 90 days. he now thinks even five years are too short a period to fulfill promises. After nearly two years and a half in power, his administration is seen to be mired in corruption. Whenever substantial evidence emerges from independent sources the PTI administration is left with no answers. The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) pointed out financial irregularities amounting to hundreds of billions of rupees by the federal ministries and divisions during the audit years 2018-19 and 2019-20. The PM accused the AGP instead of putting his own house in order. The Berlin-based Transparency International (TI) is a corruption sentinel respected worldwide. Its last report covering 2019-20 noted that corruption in Pakistan had surpassed previous records. The PTI government rejected the report as ‘being against the facts.’ Pakistan’s ranking on TI’s latest corruption perception index has turned out to be the worst in six years, proving that corruption has proliferated under the PTI government which had claimed eradication of corruption as its top priority. It was the second consecutive year that Pakistan’s ranking on the global transparency index slipped. While at the end of the PML(N) tenure, Pakistan’s global ranking on the index was 117, it has gone down now to the 124th position. This exposes the claim that the PPP and the PML(N) were the most corrupt governments. The report should have left PM Khan’s administration red faced. Instead, untenable, even ridiculous, explanations are being given to create doubts about the report. One of the PM’s spokesmen has claimed that the figures given in the TI’s latest report pertain in fact to PML(N)’s tenure. This is hogwash as at the end of the report the sources quoted clearly mention that the figures pertain to the period 2018-2020. The PTI government has spent more time on conducting the media trial of its political opponents than on eradicating corruption. It is thus responsible for tarnishing the country’s image.

usaMa sherazi

TATeS operate in an anarchic system based on suspicions and fear. The contributions of the Idealist school of thought are notwithstanding, it is a general consensus among international political scientists that states’ policies are dictated by a cost and benefit approach. In this antagonistic hobbesian international system, states require allies to balance and counterbalance their adversaries in the geopolitical, economic and strategic domains. Pakistan, being locked in a protracted enmity with its eastern neighbour, also requires allies to achieve its key national interests. Kashmir has been the bedrock of Pakistan’s strategic and political culture and directs its foreign policy choices. It has become an easy way to win Pakistan’s confidence, especially since India revoked Article 370 and altered Kashmir’s status. however, there are ample limitations attached with Pakistan’s allies when it comes to taking a moral stand on the Kashmir issue. Firstly, Saudi Arabia has always been Pakistan’s trustworthy ally when it comes to the Kashmir issue. however, over the past few years, Saudi Arabia has been retreating from its initial stance owing to its economic engagement with India, changing regional geopolitical realities and the fluctuating social and political dynamics of the Arab World. Moreover, Saudi Arabia does not have any moral standing on the right of self-determination or of human rights, as its own record on these issues is bleak.

A bad impression Pakistan gets oﬀ on the wrong foot with Biden

Biden’s dilemma in the Indo-Pacific

he Supreme Court’s acceptance of the appeal of Ahmad Omar Shaikh and the other convicts of the Daniel Pearl kidnapping-cum-murder may have been inevitable in law, but it also created a bad impression of Pakistan in the USA, and was the first impression the incoming Biden Administration got of Pakistan. There was some talk of fresh evidence, but though the Sindh government had preferred an appeal against the Sind high Court decision overturning Mr Shaikh’s conviction, it did not produce it. The Supreme Court had to decide according to the evidence before it. The USA now will have to deal with the impression, which will be given as much hype as possible by forces hostile to Pakistan, that the Pakistani state, or at best some of its actors, is doing its best to protect terrorists who committed such acts as Mr Pearl’s brutal beheading. As if that was not enough, the Pakistani attitude towards the Afghan peace process has created a disturbance in the relationship. The Biden Administration wants to put the peace agreement with the Taliban on hold, especially in view of the fact that the USA had agreed to it in a rush to get a troop withdrawal by the election, which as a matter of fact, could not happen. The key Taliban action that was supposed to happen so that the accord would move forward, was supposed to be a cessation of violence. That has not happened, which has served to highlight the fact that one of the main parts of the agreement, the intra-Afghan talks, did not have the consent of the Afghan government. The question of its post-withdrawal future is again being raised. If the Biden Administration sees the US-Taliban peace agreement as flawed, as it seems to be doing, it will not see Pakistan as being particularly helpful. The Pearl case decision is no help, for it merely reinforces impressions among people who have been out of office for at least four years, that Pakistan is a hive of terrorism, and its government is bent on supporting them. The possibility has been raised of Mr Shaikh’s extradition to the USA. even if it took place, the question of Pakistan’s judicial capacity would still arise.

The area where the challenge is the greatest

Dost MuhaMMaD Barrech

he Indo-Pacific in the current international arena has paramount importance for the USA. The USA in 2018 had $940 billion in foreign direct investment in the Indo-Pacific region. The region has distinctive characteristics, connecting a large swathe of the world and becoming an epicentre of 21st century attention. Mike Pompeo, US Secretary of State under former President Donald Trump, in 2018 maintained that “The American people and the whole world have a stake in the Indo-Pacific’s peace and prosperity,” In the USA, whoever comes into power, containment of China, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, remains the top priority of US foreign policy. Joe Biden has already assumed the charge as President after his predecessor took a belligerent stance against Beijing, unilaterally imposing tariffs on the trade and technologies of China. In order to build a strategic consensus among the regional allies in the Indo-Pacific, Trump stressed the slogan of a “shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.” Washing away the disarray created by Trump in the Indo-Pacific region appears to be an uphill task for Biden. As vice president in the Obama Administration, he played a significant role in the implementation of ‘Pivot to Asia’, and now has picked Kurt Campbell, a veteran foreign policy expert, as “Indo-

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

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imate demand is being suppressed by all the four countries they are divided among. Turkish military actions against Kurdish militias and political witch Its own population does not have any say in the hunt of the Kurdistan Workers Party have left thoustate’s matters. The plight of women, despite certain sands dead or in exile. Nevertheless, abroad, Turkey improvements brought about by Crown Prince has been a staunch supporter of human rights and inMuhammad Bin Salman, is still grim. The dis- ternational law. sentient voices are not tolerated and an environment By contrast, the world at large wants the status conducive to free speech is being suffocated. hence, quo to be preserved. It does not want to change the Saudi Arabia may be Pakistan’s strategic and eco- current map of the world because it is not only Kashnomic partner owing to the large number of the Pak- mir where the struggle for a separate homeland is istan diaspora in it and the military ties between going on, or could go on. In fact, the big powers are both countries, but when it comes to Kashmir cause apprehensive that if the map of the Subcontinent is which requires a clean human rights record, Saudi changed, there would be a cascade of such new moveArabia is hesitant. ments and the old ones could get intensified like Secondly, China, which is also a party to Kashmir Uighurs in China, Kurds in Middle east, Northern dispute, does not have a Irishmen in UK, and many clean track record on human others in North America and rights. Forty percent of cureurope. hence, the world, rent Chinese territory is not including Pakistan’s allies, Chinese. historically, it beare paying lip service to the The Pakistani establishment longs to inner Magnolia, Kashmir dispute to win Ismust stop fixing complex Turkmenistan, and the aulamabad’s confidence and tonomous Tibet region. So, thereby fulfill their economic issues through domestic how can China fight Pakand strategic interests. istan’s case on Kashmir on What is needed for Pakartificial ways and accept the the basis of history and culistan is to accept the realities ethnic and cultural diversity ture when it itself occupies and adjust its priorities acneighbours’ territory, or least cording to those realities. No of the country. territory to which neighbig power or its ally can rebours could make a claim. In solve the Kashmir dispute. It Kashmir, Indian Prime Minis Pakistan’s internal strength ister Narendra Modi, while that could compel India to changing the demographics, is not only following Is- come on table. Therefore, firstly, Pakistan should derael’s West Bank model but also the Chinese model velop a strong economy and a robust governance sysof changing demographics in Xinjiang. In Xinjiang, tem so that it will not require the others’ influence to in 1945, the Uighurs population was 82.7 percent resolve its problems. Secondly, as far as the Kashmir while today it is around 45 percent of the total popu- dispute is concerned, both India and Pakistan should lation. It does not end here. The controversial national become friends first and then try to resolve their dissecurity law in hong Kong and ethnic unity law and putes as two enemies rarely accommodate each other forced assimilation program in Tibet show the prob- on the negotiating table; it is friends who give conceslems and fragility of the Chinese track record on sions to each other. Thirdly, the Pakistani establishhuman rights. ment must stop fixing complex domestic issues Thirdly, Turkey, which is considerably gaining through artificial ways and accept the ethnic and culinfluence in Pakistan, also does not have that much tural diversity of the country. The grievances of small better a track record on human rights than China and provinces and population living in peripheries must Saudi Arabia. In Turkey, 18 percent of the population be resolved by mainstreaming them as it is the only belongs to the Kurd ethnic minority. The Kurdish eth- way towards national integration and internal stability. nicity is divided in four countries including Iraq, Iran, And without internal stability, achieving foreign polSyria and Turkey. everywhere, they live in a grim sit- icy objectives is no more than a utopian dream. uation, under constant threat of persecution. Since the disintegration of the Ottoman empire, the Kurds have The writer is a columnist based in Islamabad, been demanding a separate homeland but their legit- and can be reached at usamasherazi129@gmail.com

Their human rights record makes them vulnerable on the Kashmir issue

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Pacific coordinator” to concentrate on challenges emanating from China in the Indo-Pacific region. In the Obama Administration, Campbell worked as assistant secretary of state for east Asian and Pacific Affairs, and is believed to have guided President Obama to frame the “Pivot to Asia”. Biden and Campbell are fully cognizant of the importance of the Indo-Pacific and the challenges for the USA in the region. however, the query remains whether the Biden Administration follow the footsteps of the Trump Administration in the Indo-Pacific region. Biden is predicted to be going to implement the 2018 US National Security Strategy (NSS), which focuses on the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP), and terms China as a geostrategic competitor of the USA. If the USA moves towards implementation of NSS with a deteriorating economy amid covid-19, it would be Following a fatal trajectory to counter China in the Indo-Pacific region. According to the International Monetary Fund, the US economy in the second quarter of 2020 had shrunk more than 30 percent and was predicted to be contracting 8 percent in 2020 overall. The contracting US economy was a result of the Trump Administration’s trade war with China and its mishandling of the pandemic. Te maintaining of US military forces in the Middle east and europe, and the speedy Chinese military modernization makes it further difficult for the USA to position itself in the Indo-Pacific region. The USA under Biden, with increasingly shrinking military budgets and high debt levels, will presumably face an impasse in the Indo-Pacific region. The US foreign policy, as far as the Biden Administration is concerned, will remain unchanged for India. however, some discomfort zones could cause a divergence of interest between them. New Delhi, under the Trump Administration, confronted the US trade tariff and intellectual property protection controversies. Meanwhile, Biden has already expressed discontentment over growing violence against minorities and the worsening state of press freedom in India. Differences between Biden and Indian PM Narendra Modi on trade and human rights are serious, and could trigger a degree of friction. The USA, under the Countering American Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), might sanction the Indian purchase of major defence systems, including the S-400 air defence system, from Russia. Sanctioning of S-400 by the Biden Administration will make ties with New Delhi deteriorate, pre-

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senting an image of the USA as an unreliable partner of India in the Indo-Pacific region. Under the Biden Presidency, the USA is likely to face another dilemma, that of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASeAN) states whose important players were alienated by Trump. Vietnam, one of the main countries of ASeAN embroiled with China in the South China Sea dispute, currently considers the USA as an untrustworthy partner, and looks elsewhere for support to counter China. hanoi, instead of the USA, looks towards Japan and India. New Delhi has carried out numerous maritime defence engagements with hanoi. Vietnam also has engaged with Japan in several maritime patrols, and is expected to be signing an advanced defence equipment deal in the foreseeable future with Tokyo. For the three consecutive years, Trump in his Presidency was reluctant to participate in the annual summit of ASeAN. Surprisingly, in the same week, China jumped at the opportunity by signing a trade pact with 14 other Asian states. Trump’s reckless policies left a vacuum for China that has become a considerable player in the region. According to a survey of Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies published in 2020, ASeAN states view Beijing as having more political power compared to Washington in Southeast Asia. ASeAN states have surpassed the european Union as China’s major trading partners. Biden in 2020 reiterated that the U.S. must “get tough with China,” and his goal as being to “place the United States back at the head of the table.” Getting tougher on China seems to be irritating ASeAN states as their economic and political dependency on China is enhancing by leaps and bounds. The US withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TTP) and Regional Comprehensive economic Partnership (RCeP), which are considered the world’s largest economic blocs, paved the way for the expediting of China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region and bringing vital players of the Indo-Pacific region under the tutelage of the USA would be an acid test for the Biden Administration. In short, the economy and politics are intertwined. The stronger the economy, the better a state can accelerate its economic and political clout. China with a robust economy will influence the Indo-Pacific region economically and politically, intensifying hardships for Biden administration. The writer can dostmuhammad@issi.org.pk

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

reached

Saturday, 30 January, 2021

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

Inflation in Pakistan INFLATION is directly or indirectly caused due to the failure of the economy of the country. We can see that our currency is losing its value day by day and that is causing more inflation. Most of the population of Pakistan is already below the poverty line, now due to the inflation they are being poorer. high prices of each and every thing has been risen and it has been very difficult for poor and middle-class to survive and feed their families. The government, despite several efforts, has failed to control inflation. And this failure should be accepted by the policymakers or the government. They can get the solution only after accepting their weaknesses. Such serious matters should be handled with sincerity and honesty if the policymakers really want a progress in the economy of the country. Husna Iqbal TurbaT

Virus of inequality

Feminism in Pakistan total 153 countries. A survey carried out by Thomson Reuters Foundation (TRF) ranked Pakistan as sixth most dangerous country for women. of silence about oppression, unequal relation- These reports shows that Pakistan is among those ships between men and women, and who want countries where feminism has not succeeded in to change it,” they write. “All feminist pursuits its goal. On the contrary, the term has been deare aimed at social movement acquiring rights clared “vulgar” and “obscene”. Women in Pakfor women from society.” however, the concept istan make up 48.76 percent of the population of feminism in Pakistan has hit hard on such according to the 2017 census, and this nation groups as conservatives or civil society organi- cannot climb the ladder of success with almost sations who disagree with the concept of this half the population marginalised. Phenomenal equality and feminism. In their point of view, changes have taken place around the world, but this particular concept not only goes against the status and fate of women, particularly in areas Pakistani culture, but also Islam. where tribalism or feudalism still exist, is still however, Islam is a comprehensive religion dark. A woman has the ability to play a multiplicthat gives women vital importance. Nevertheless, ity of roles, societal to organizational Nonethethe narrow-minded and biased religious conserva- less, hey have been neglected by our patriarchal tives always misinterpret it to serve their own in- societies. This has directly attributed to Pakterests, trying to neglect the real soul of Islam that istan’s social and economic backwardness. gives women equality in every sphere. They delibThe Quaid-i-Azam said, “No nation can rise erately label feminism “vulgarity and obscenity”. to the height of glory unless your women are side Islam is often confused by side with you; we are with our male-dominant victims of evil customs. culture, which not only It is a crime against hupollutes the understandmanity that our women To successfully implement ing of Islam on women are shut up within the rights, but its social four walls of the houses feminism in Pakistan, it is practices are often misas prisoners” Pakistanis interpreted leading to are expert at quoting essential to embed its hate against it. their legends’ words, importance in sensitivities of but ever since Indenever bother strivpendence, women in culture and religion, so that it ing for the society their Pakistan have been suflegends envisioned. could be broad based and fering from exploitative They also feel proud to treatment at the hands of the prophet acceptable at the grassroots. quote their male counterparts (PBUh), but hardly and social, economic practice what he The misinterpretation of and political constraints preached. he strongly feminism by conservative have made it difficult to emphasized education, fight for their rights. saying that, “It is the males has led to widespread There has almost alprime duty of men and hatred for it. It is of utmost ways been a backlash women to acquire eduagainst those women cation.” But we are too importance to understand who wish to empower reluctant when it comes themselves, whether by to girls’ education. even what feminism actually is. studying, working or the rural areas, it is Without women having equal in even choosing their own considered a social spouse. Moreover, rights, it would be the height taboo. Apart from this, NGOs and other institumany women are also of naivety to dream of a tions striving to help opdenied the opportunity pressed women are for a job. Their choices developed and liberal nation often accused of leading are limited due to social them astray.Most suc and cultural constraints women internalise their imposed by dominant suffering, either out of male and inherent genfear or lack of resources to ensure their rights, and der biases. They also lack supportive facilities if they dare speak, then the educated upper class such as childcare, transport and accommodation. simply turns a blind eye by declaring their struggle Women’s labour power is considered inferior bea “vulgarity”. cause of the employer’s notion that a woman’s The status of women in Pakistan varies by role is limited to her family and house. region and cultures. Women in urban areas have The role a women can play to put a nation been given equal rights to some extent. however, on the track of development and prosperity for the most part, Pakistan has been dominated needs stressing. examples of the nations which by patriarchies where women have hardly been have utilized the power of women are before our accepted as a part of society. Their role has eyes. To successfully implement feminism in mostly been limited to the four walls of the Pakistan, it is essential to embed its importance home. They are meant to do home chores, bring in sensitivities of culture and religion, so that it up children, feed the family endlessle. Particu- could be broad based and acceptable at the larly, it’s something inherent in most of Pak- grassroots. The misinterpretation of feminism by istan’s middle-income societies and rural areas conservative males has led to widespread hatred that people believe a woman is a second-class cit- for it. It is of utmost importance to understand izen who cannot contribute to society. Some of what feminism actually is. Without women havthe major problems faced by women in Pakistan ing equal rights, it would be the height of naivety are domestic violence, honour killing, rape and to dream of a developed and liberal nation. abduction, marital rape, forced marriages, and induced abortions. The Global Gender Gap Index The writer can be reached at: Twitter: report of 2020 ranked Pakistan at 151 out of the @IamSB_Rakhshani.

There must be no discrimination based on gender

sirtaj Baluch rakhshani

N a modernized world like today’s, every nation or society tends to strive for equality and justice to avoid imbalance, for that leads to violence. Providing equal rights to minorities, acceptance of different races or classes have movements gaining some success, such as the historic struggle of AfricanAmericans to be given the same rights as white Americans and get rid of white-supremacy. Similarly, as the world is heading towards a path of eroding disparities, feminism has also been in the limelight, which advocates equal rights for women, who are barely treated as part of maledominated societies. To ensure their basic rights, women began to argue they are being abused by patriarchal societies, in which they are considered second-class citizens. Women and men are forced into “gender roles”. Boys are brought up to be tough, domineering, competitive, and “macho”, while girls are taught to be meek, submissive, unsure, and “feminine”. Gender differences are almost entirely learned behaviour, taught by parents and schools of a patriarchal society, leading to “gender disparity”, which is now deeply rooted in our societies. To gain equality, women began to raise their voice against male dominance, joined consciousness-raising groups and railed against “male chauvinism”. This movement is known as “Feminism: Ideology of psychological, political, and economic equality for women”. The movement has started having an impact. Many employers now give women a fairer chance, sometimes preferring them over men in hiring. Women are moving up to higher management positions. husbands now equally contribute in homemaking and child upbringing. With more women going to college than men, many maledominated professions, medicine, law, business, saw an influx of women. That’s how the feminism has succeeded in most parts of the world, particularly in europe where the women are now enjoying equal rights they had before. What does feminism mean in Pakistan? What is the role of a female in the perception of an ordinary Pakistani? how far can Pakistani women contribute to society? In their 2012 study Position of Pakistani Women in the 21st Century, Dr Jaweria Shahid and Dr Khalid Manzoor Butt define feminism as equality for women and freedom from gender discrimination in different aspects of life. “Feminists are those who dare to break the conspiracy

SIR, during the time of covid-19 pandemic the virus of inequality has hit the world. The richest people in the world benefited from the covid-19 and developed themselves from taxes of covid-19. According to a report, while 1000 of the world’s richest people have already been able to recover from the losses caused by the covid-19 pandemic which swept around the world through 2020, causing millions of losses to many, it is the poor who continue to suffer in almost every country in the world. And 101 of South Asia’s richest persons have benefited from the virus and if they gave out only a part of the earnings to the 93 million who have suffered huge losses, they would be able to make out cheque of nearly $2000 to each of the poor families affected. So, one should imagine that from this lethal and infectious virus multiple masses faced numerous obstacles and we’re not capable to afford their two times meals. But it hurts me to say that the richest people tried to earn more. None of authorities payed any attention to the poor and poor became more poorer. So, it is high time to prevent violating against the poor and equip them their fundamental requirements. ImTaIz JavId awaran

Poor AQI ACCORDING to the Air Quality Index, Karachi has the second most poor air quality after New Delhi. The report futher mentions that the number of dirt particles in the city is 274 particulate meters which is lethal for public health. Karachi is the center of factories, agricultural, film and TV industry and much more stuff. The population growth there is very high. Therefore, having a poor air quality there is fair enough but the issue is that no one works to control it. however, the case of air pollution had been under massive concern for a long time but no change can be seen. Instead of eradication the air pollution is growing higher with each passing day. That’s the major reason behind the interminable risky diseases in the city. The government should react as soon as possible. FaraHnaz TurbaT

Cheating in online exams COVID-19 has made in-person exam proctoring impossible and so normal safeguards have disappeard. The student of university cheats during online exam and gets high grades without learning something because our government made this possible for the students. For example moving slightly out of the cameras field of view allows the student to copy the question and insert it into the google search bar of that laptop or a hidden smartphone. The answer pops up even before he/she fully finished typing. There is no such question which google cannot answer. The students sitting in the same room or had created whatsapp groups with members messaging each other during the exam. Almost all are perfectly comfortable with cheating. I humbly request to the government to look at the matter urgently and pakistan’s education system must change its direction if they really want a productive education system. sHaH bakHsH HayaT TurbaT

Curse of grabbing state land NeWS reports about the Punjab Government demolishing irregularly constructed houses on land illegally occupied by a politician, with links to opposition, are encouraging. There should be a nationwide drive against all such encroachments, with no exceptions. This culture of grabbing/allotment of state lands is a legacy of British Raj, who used allotment of state lands to buy loyalties of those willing to betray their motherland. Quaid referred to this as the curse of corruption and bribery which we inherited from British India. One former parliamentarian from AIML while addressing the Unionist Premier in the Punjab Legislature told him that God Forbid, if hitler were to land on the shores of Indian Ocean, people like him would prostrate on the shores to kiss the feet of hitler’s generals. Unfortunately, Quaid died soon after independence and remnants of British Raj, in nexus with paid civil and uniformed bureaucracy, trained to serve an occupation force, took over and derailed Jinnah’s vision of a modern democratic welfare state. Pakistan today suffers and no lessons seem to have been learned, even after humiliation and defeat of surrender in 1971. We continue to be hostage to this insatiable greed of few. There is hardly a State funded department or institution, whose regular employees paid for 24/7 service to the people, are instead involved in administering and operating housing societies, built on state or private land acquired for this purpose, under the garb of welfare. This endless greed for commercial profiteering has resulted in the evil nexus of few within paid bureaucracy to work in collusion with Land Mafia Dons which have occupied even forest land and amenity parks like Kidney hill in Karachi with no fear of accountability. Blinded by greed, even agriculture land within sterile zones, near the border, is up for grabs. malIk TarIq alI laHore

Saturday, 30 January, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

Red FoRt: How Punjabi PRotestoRs aRe taPPing into HistoRy to mobilise against FaRm laws “DURING MUGHAL RULE, SIKH GENERALS CAPTURED THE RED FORT. WE HAVE BEEN VICTORIOUS EARLIER TOO.” “OUR FIGHT IS NOT WITH THE COMMON MAN. IT’S WITH THE HUKUMAT – RULER. THAT COULD BE THE MUGHALS OR IT COULD BE MODI” “IF YOU GO TO ANY GURUDWARA IN PUNJAB,” PAL SINGH SAID, “YOU WILL SEE PICTURES OF PERSECUTION OF SIKHS. SO THIS HISTORY BECOMES A PART OF THE COMMON MAN’S MENTAL FURNITURE”

scroll shoaib Daniyal

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Ur ancestors have charged this fort several times in history,” said Diljender Singh, standing on the ramparts of the red Fort. “This was a message to the government that we can do it again and more than this if our demands are not met.” Unruly mass movements are not new in India. However, even by that standard, what happened on Tuesday was unique as farmers, most of them from Punjab, entered the red Fort in Delhi to protest against Narendra Modi government’s hastily and controversially passed farm laws. Some protesters even used an empty flag pole to hoist the Nishan Sahib, the flag of the Sikh Khalsa. Built by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan as his capital in 1638, the red Fort probably does more to signify the Indian state than any other structure in the country. It has been a key part of the freedom movement and, once the British left, the site of critical state functions like the prime minister’s Independence Day speech. The symbolism of the protest reaching the fort was therefore keenly felt in the Union government. “The red Fort is a symbol of the dignity of Indian democracy and agitators should have stayed away from it,”

said Prahlad Patel, Union culture minister. Since September, farmers have been protesting against the three laws, which they fear will leave them at the mercy of corporations. While Punjab farmers took the lead to bring the protests to the doorstep of Delhi in November, since then the movement has expanded to many other states: Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, rajasthan, Maharashtra, among others. on republic Day, hundreds of thousands of farmers from across North India drove their tractors to Delhi in a show of strength. While the events that led a few thousand protestors to smash through police barricades and reach the red Fort remain shrouded in controversy, the incident highlights the stark use of history by Punjabi farmers. They have deployed symbols of Sikh history in order to build up momentum to oppose the farms laws, painting them as one in a long line of injustices emanating from “Dilli” – the historical seat of central power in the subcontinent for 800 years. “There is a continuous narration of history in the Sikh tradition,” explained Harjeshwar Pal Singh, professor of History at Sri Guru Gobind Singh College, Chandigarh. “Interestingly, this history is not taught in schools. Instead people learn this in their gurdwaras, through folklore and through songs.” “If you go to any gurudwara in Punjab,” Pal Singh said, “you will see pictures of persecution of Sikhs. So this history becomes a part of the common man’s mental furniture.” Embedded in this deep historical memory is the idea that Sikhs as a community

have been persecuted by the central government – represented in the iconography of the protests as “Dilli”. “Sikhs consider themselves to be very distinctive,” said Pal Singh. “A distinctive community that has been persecuted by successive regimes. And these regimes, for all of Sikh history, have been based in Delhi. So Sikhs have a memory of persecution by Delhi both in the 18th century under the Mughals and then in the 1980s by independent India.” Pal Singh explains that protestors are using this history in order to contextualise the current protests. “Even here the narrative is that the Centre has used us,” he explained. “They first forced us to grow crops, depleted our ground water and now that they don’t need us, they are doing this [passing the new farm laws]. So this is just one episode in all those betrayals by Delhi towards Punjab.”

rative. one of the features of this movement has been the production of scores of Punjabi pop songs which use the trope of “Delhi” as a historical site of centralised, autocratic power in order to enthuse the current farmers’ movement. For example, a song released in September by singer r Nait warns that “It will not be right for Delhi to challenge Punjab”. Another song by singer Harbhajan Mann is clear: “We will not turn back without taking our rights, Delhi”. Sidhu Moose Wala, among the most popular Punjabi singers currently, has also released a song that aims to use history to imagine a glorious Punjabi identity that has always opposed tyranny. “Beware Delhi, beware – we are hotheads. Go ask Porus and Abdali,” he sings, referencing Punjabi martial history spanning two thousand years with visuals ranging from operation Blue Star, when Indian troops stormed the Sikh shrine Harminder Sahib in Amritsar, to Delhi’s red Fort.

SOAKED IN THE PAST: Pal Singh’s description goes a long way in explaining how the farmers protest is shot through with historical references. “We have come to Delhi because it is the capital and because of our Sikh history,” explained Jagdeep Singh from Gurdaspur, while participating in the republic Day farmers’ rally. “During Mughal rule, Sikh generals captured the red Fort. We have been victorious earlier too.” Jagdeep Singh explains that Delhi here represents autocratic central rule – not its people: “our fight is not with the common man. It’s with the hukumat – ruler. That could be the Mughals or it could be Modi.” Singh is not alone in building this nar-

MARTIAL RUSH: Contextualising the narratives at play in the current protest, Amandeep Sandhu, author of a book on the past and present of Punjab, explains that Delhi holds a central place in Sikh history: “Guru Tegh Bahadur [the ninth guru of the Sikhs] was executed by Aurangzeb in Delhi. As a result, when Sikh general Baba Baghel Singh captured the red Fort in 1783, he took back the slab on which the Mughal throne was placed. It is displayed even today in the Golden Temple.” “Not surprisingly then,” Sandhu continues, “the symbols of Sikh martial history are very much part of this movement.” From Sidhu Moose Wala’s music video

of “Punjab, My Motherland”: A depiction of the Battle of the Hydaspes, when Alexander invaded Punjab and faced off against King Porus. Protestors marching into Delhi on Tuesday, as a result, often pressed this history into use as a way to push up their spirits in the struggle to get the Modi government to take back its farm laws. “We have won Delhi 18 times,” said ranbir Singh, a protester from Machhiwara in Punjab on the sidelines of the farmers’ republic Day march in Delhi. “Baba Baghel Sikh, a Sikh general, had unfurled the Kesri Nishan flag on the red Fort. At that time, Hindustan was separate from Punjab. We had our own government: the Khalsa raj. We ruled till Kabul and Kandahar. Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Delhi were all a part of Punjab.” Harjeshwar Pal Singh, the professor of history, explains how this historical consciousness could have shaped events on republic Day: “What happened at the red Fort was not part of any official programme. But seeing the fort, some protestors would have imagined themselves as heroes from history and would have wanted to raise the flag.” However, rather than highlight this history, the Hindu right-wing has attempted to link the flag-hoisting to Khalistan – an alleged secessionist demand for an independent Punjab. “There is so much misinformation that the Nishan Sahib is the flag of Khalistan,” said Amandeep Sandhu. “There is simply no legitimate flag of Khalistan. The Nishan Sahib is a religious flag that you will find outside most gurdwaras.”

What to do – and what not to do – in the Middle East SUMMARY AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS OF A REPORT

Brookings

Tamara Cofman WiTTes

or over a decade, the United States has sought to wind down the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, reduce its military footprint in the Middle East, and redirect scarce resources to Asia. Global and regional trends reinforced this American desire to reduce the priority of the Middle East in its global strategy, and the military “pivot” is well underway. The challenge for American policy is how to protect its remaining and still important interests in that region in an era of austerity and fierce power competition, both in the region and globally. The incoming Biden administration should not waste the window for a reset. Gulf Arab partners, facing fiscal constraints from lower energy prices and the CoVID-19-induced global recession, are more open to conflict resolution in the proxy wars they have been fighting across the region. But their relative penury will also impede their ability to invest in stabilizing weaker neighbors, including key states like Jordan and Egypt. Meanwhile, the Islamic republic of Iran is sanctioned to the hilt, and used to wielding regional influence on the cheap. Thus the balance of power in the region may even favor the Iranians as the pandemic begins to recede. The Biden team must set

aside the Trump administration’s fruitless “maximum pressure” in favor of the mix of intelligence cooperation, diplomacy, financial and military tools that can effectively deter or disrupt subversive Iranian activity while incentivizing Tehran’s return to the nuclear negotiating table. And the Pentagon must undertake a zero-based review of its force presence in the Persian Gulf region to ensure it is both efficient and effective in fulfilling its core missions there. The United States must rebuild what has historically been its most effective tool in the Middle East: diplomacy, especially in advancing conflict resolution. In Yemen and Libya, there might now be opportunities to pull competing regional powers out of the fighting and negotiate power-sharing governments that promote stability and reduce freedom of action for Islamist terrorist movements. Washington cannot let Israelis and Palestinians stew in their stalemated conflict — but rather than trying to reconvene talks, it should take a long-term approach to rebuilding foundations for compromise between the two societies while insisting that they both abjure destabilizing unilateral actions, and work to improve freedom, security, and prosperity for those living with the conflict every day. Finally, the Biden administration must reestablish clear boundaries in relationships that were deeply unbalanced by President Donald Trump’s careless approach. Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) all have questions about the extent and durability of American security commitments to their neighborhood, and all three prefer to keep the U.S. closely engaged. Washington can pursue necessary de-escalation and nuclear diplomacy with Iran while engaging these key partners about where American interests begin and end, and where partners’ own preferences and behaviors present real obstacles to closer cooperation. As in all healthy relationships, honest communication and clear

boundaries are essential to maintain mutual respect and good feeling. POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS: WHAT NOT TO DO: As the United States seeks to focus its more modest regional engagement on areas where it can make a meaningful difference, it must also work to avoid triggering crises that will upend regional stability and demand U.S. engagement to mitigate. Most notably, Washington must avoid a conflagration in the Israeli-Palestinian relationship. Trump’s greenlighting of Israeli annexation, alienation of the Palestinian leadership, and cutoff of aid crucial for Palestinian health, welfare, and stability were profoundly counterproductive. They set back any hope for conflict resolution, and set negative conditions for pandemic response, security cooperation, and leadership succession amidst volatility in both Israeli and Palestinian politics. As I have detailed with colleagues in a new report, the United States must stand strong in refusing to encourage or recognize any Israeli annexation of territory in the West Bank, and must work to rebuild its relations with the Palestinians and restart the painstaking work of laying a new foundation for constructive negotiations. But this urgent work does not mean that the Israeli-Palestinian issue should be a front-burner concern for the new president, whose top priority will inevitably be confronting the ongoing pandemic. No high-level envoy should be appointed in 2021. Second, and despite Iran’s heavy hand, Washington should not walk entirely away from Syria and Lebanon. While both are profoundly dysfunctional — the horrific Syrian war is entering its second decade and Lebanon’s political and economic crises are hitting a nadir — U.S. involvement can still have a limited impact. Maintaining the small presence of U.S. forces on the Syrian-Iraqi border and sustaining sanctions on both Syria and Iran may offer more leverage as Syrian President Bashar Assad

begins more earnestly to seek resources for reconstruction, as russia and Iran struggle for dominance over Assad’s weakened regime, and as both states feel increasingly constrained in the resources they are willing to put into the game. In Lebanon, the devastating Beirut blast precipitated a crisis that Washington should not waste. Working with France and others, the United States should mobilize economic support conditioned on meaningful political and economic reform, support Lebanon’s civil society, and continue investment in the military’s work against mutually agreed threats like IS. Washington should avoid looking at its role in the Middle East solely through the lens of its geopolitical competition with russia and China, and assuming that regional governments will choose sides. Washington should avoid looking at its role in the Middle East solely through the lens of its geopolitical competition with russia and China, and assuming that regional governments will choose sides. Both countries still have largely transactional relationships with regional actors, and America’s friends want to diversify while maintaining their special relationships with Washington. In the wake of the CoVID-19 crisis, harder domestic constraints may limit russian and Chinese involvement, and so Moscow and Beijing may be less actively engaged in shaping regional politics. The United States should keep a wary eye on Chinese and russian activities in the region, but avoid viewing it as a zero-sum game. Washington should actively monitor russian military bases that are increasingly enabling russian power projection and keep an eye on Chinese Belt and road Initiative projects that could ultimately do so as well. China has demonstrated a keenness for economic ties in Israel and across the Arab world, but has shown no desire to be a powerbroker or dirty its hands in the complex muddle of regional affairs. China’s technology cooperation with Israel and the Arab Gulf countries remains a real source of concern, but Beijing’s strategic focus is still largely limited to the Horn of Africa. Geopolitical competition around the region is real; however, it should be understood in the context of broader interests, not overwhelm them.

Saturday, 30 January, 2021

BUSINESS 09 corporate corner Metro Pakistan bags top employer award for 4th time KARACHI: Metro Pakistan has been certified as the ‘Top Employer – Pakistan 2021’, for the 4th time in a row. Pakistan is the only Metro market from Asia to receive it for four consecutive years, and is the pioneer of the global certification trend in the country. Celebrating the win, Metro Pakistan Managing Director Marek Minkiewicz expressed said, “Metro Pakistan is a new entity comparatively and is competing with more mature markets and organizations across the globe to offer best practices to its employees. The certification is in continuation to METRO’s tradition to value its employees first at all times.” PRESS RElEASE

NBP Funds to close Rawalpindi branch on March 10 ISLAMABAD: Fund Management Limited (NBP Funds) has announced that its Islamic Saving Center Committee Chowk Branch in Rawalpindi is being closed from March 10, 2021. Investors of the Committee Chowk branch can now get facilitation through NBP Funds Regional Office Islamabad located at 1st Floor, Ranjha Arcade, Main Double Road, Gulberg Greens. PRESS RElEASE

Ufone marks two decades of being all about U LAHORE: Ufone celebrated its 20 years of excellence and glory on Friday. A virtual event was held for employees all over the country to revel the special occasion. Children of Pakistan Sweet Homes were invited to share this memorable occasion with Ufone and a cake cutting ceremony was held for them. A heartfelt tribute was paid to all those who passed away during last year including Ufone’s former CEO and a visionary leader Rashid Khan. Employees were also lauded for their resilience during these tough times and their commitment to provide the best possible services despite all odds. On successful completion of it 20 years, customers expressed their heartfelt gratitude and felicitations to Ufone. PRESS RElEASE

Visa MENA eCommerce Summit declares businesses best positioned for growth in 2021 KARACHI: Building on the surge in digital commerce since the start of the pandemic, Visa hosted the third edition of its eCommerce Summit for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Held virtually under the theme, “Thriving in The New Normal”, the event brought together government representatives from Dubai Economy (Dubai DED) and Saudi Ministry of Finance, local banks such as Commercial Bank of Qatar, businesses including Daraz (Alibaba Group), Azadea Group, Noon and Kidzapp, and payment platform providers to explore opportunities to further drive digital commerce and help businesses thrive in the new normal. PRESS RElEASE

PARliAMENtARy Body oUtlAyS SEVENyEAR AgRiCUltURAl gRowth StRAtEgy ISLAMABAD

MIAN ABRAR

HE National Assembly's Special Committee on Agricultural Products on Friday presented an 'integrated structural reforms-oriented agricultural growth strategy' for the next seven years. The presentation was made to a cabinet committee working on new the agriculture package at the Parliament House. Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaisar chaired the meeting. In a bid to build national consensus on the proposed agricultural growth strategy, Asad Qaiser called for a close scrutiny of the entire strategy. He said after presentation to the Sub-committee of Cabinet on Agriculture, the strategy would be presented to the prime minister and subsequently to the NA for debate. The chief components of the strategy included special initiatives for Balochistan, South Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Tharparkar; cotton revival programme; oilseed de-

‘THE OVERARCHING OBJECTIVE IS TO ACHIEVE AGRICULTURE GROWTH RATE OF 7.5PC PER ANNUM BY FY2027-28 THROUGH INTEGRATED MARKETBASED VALUE CHAINS’ velopment; low-cost refinance line of credit; digitisation of demand-driven extension content; integrated seed system; agricultural climate change insurance pool (farmer risk transfer mechanism/satellite-based crop reporting); establishment of agriculture development authority for coordination of reform implementation' linkages with Ehsaas, Kamyab Jawan and CPEC frameworks; and incentives for investment in warehousing, contract farming and farmers produce organizations. The panel was informed that the overarching objective is to achieve agriculture growth rate of 7.5pc per annum by FY2027-28, led and sustained by producer-owned integrated marketbased value chains that incentivize producers to continue investing in modern

KP traders lament imposition of visa condition on Afghanistan-bound transporters PESHAWAR AZIZ BUNERI

The Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) has expressed concern over the imposition of a new visa/passport condition on drivers carrying Afghanistan-bound consignments via Torkham border. In a statement issued on Friday, the chamber opined that the new condition could prove detrimental for mutual trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and that it needs to be withdrawn immediately. It may be noted that the interior minister had made mandatory a valid passport/visa for drivers transporting goods' vehicles to Afghanistan via Torkham border

from February 20. Instructions were also issued to the border management in this regard. SCCI Senior Vice President Engineer Manzoor Elahi feared that the Pak-Afghan bilateral trade volume, which currently stood at less than $1 billion, would deteriorate further if the government did not review its trade policies. He reminded the government that Afghan Transit Trade Agreement (ATTA) 2010 would expire on February 11, 2021, while no progress/consultation on signing a new ATTA agreement has been made yet. "On top of this, the FC stationed at Torkham border has now issued instructions to customs authorities to disallow driv-

ers and cleaners of goods to cross the border without having valid passport and visa after Feb 20. This is highly worrisome and unfavorable for bilateral and transit trade between the neighbouring countries," he stated. Lamenting the lack of consultation with business community on trade issues, Elahi demanded the government to immediately withdraw the visa condition keeping in view best interests of the business communities of both countries. He also asked the government to take relevant stakeholders on board before signing the new ATTA so that it could have a long-lasting impact on Pak-Afghan bilateral and transit trade.

OGRA proposes up to Rs12 hike in fuel prices ISLAMABAD AHMAD AHMADANI

KARACHI: Tri-Angels Electronics Pvt. Ltd. has marked another milestone in bringing the most high-end television technology to the country with Hisense’s 85” 4K Smart ULED TV. PR

and climate-smart production technologies, expansion of cultivated land area and value added activities. Sub-committee convener Shandana Gulzar Khan briefed the meeting on agricultural growth strategy. She presented a data driven snapshot of the structure of Pakistan’ agriculture sector followed by a presentation of the sub-committee’s proposed strategy. She highlighted that that the overarching goal of the proposed strategy is to boost agricultural exports, accelerate rural-development driven economic growth, reduce rural poverty, enhance financial and gender inclusion in agricultural sector. Drawing upon historical data, she explained that the inconsistent growth patterns of agricultural sector reveals

The prices of petroleum products in Pakistan are likely to go up yet again from February 1, as the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has recommended an increase of Rs12 per litre for petrol and Rs10 per litre for diesel. The final decision would be taken by the Ministry of Finance headed by Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh after consultation with Prime Minister Imran Khan. According to documents available with this scribe,

OGRA prepared its summary on the basis of a levy of Rs30 per litre. Currently, the levy on petrol is Rs21.56 per litre and Rs23.9 per litre on diesel. The government can reduce the proposed increase to a very low level by not increasing the levy or it can maintain the current prices of petroleum products with a slight reduction in the levy. Last month, the government had increased the prices of POL products twice after every 15 days. On January 1, the price of petrol went up by Rs2.31 and diesel by Rs1.80, while on January 15, the government again increased petrol price by Rs3.20 and diesel by Rs2.95.

lack of consistency in policy and planning for the sector. She further stated that the proposed model envisioned a pro-poor growth strategy focusing on transformation of the business model of the 7.4 million smallholder farmers who cultivate 48pc of the total cultivable land. She added that the weak business model of the smallholder farmers comprising low bargaining power, low access to finance, low yields, fragmented market segment, lack of access to competitive markets and high production cost hindered the modernization of the agriculture sector. Khan said that the proposed strategy drawing upon ecosystem based, multipronged three phased strategy seeks to transform Pakistan’s subsistence agricultural into modern, diversified, competitive and high-value agriculture with a particular focus productivity and profitability of the smallholders’ farmers. The meeting was also attended by federal ministers Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Ghulam Sarwar Khan and Syed Fakhar Imam.

President Alvi directs FBR to recover Rs14.4m in bogus tax refunds case ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has directed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to recover Rs14.421 million in a bogus tax refunds case. The president on Friday rejected FBR's representation against the order of Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) in a case of bogus tax refunds worth over Rs14 million made to a fake registered person (RP). Dr Alvi upheld the FTO's decision against the irregularities committed by FBR field formations in registering, processing, sanctioning and issuing sales tax refunds to fake RPs during the period 2012-13. President Alvi in his decision wrote, "It is surprising and shocking that FBR failed to investigate fake claims where refunds have already been made in full connivance with FBR officials." Expressing strong displeasure over the scam, he said, "How can we afford not to recover and criminally charge the fraudsters?" It is worth stating that FBR has filed 74 similar representations with the office of the president against the orders of the FTO. Out of 74 representations, 22 cases have been decided while 52 are still awaiting adjudication. Furthermore, FBR had allowed Rs875.277 million to be paid to fake RPs, of which a payment of Rs223.312 million has already been made. The FTO, in its verdict on April 27, 2020, had directed the Chief Commissioner-Inland Revenue and Corporate Regional Tax Office (RTO)-Karachi "to investigate and identify the officials involved in registration of fake RPs and initiate disciplinary and criminal action against those found involved and report compliance within 45 days." The FTO further directed FBR to initiate appropriate action including criminal proceedings leading to recovery of amounts swindled from public exchequer through claiming inadmissible input tax and bogus refund. Instead of implementing the directives of FTO, the FBR challenged its jurisdiction and filed a representation with the president, taking plea that it could not issue such orders and rely on 'interdepartmental correspondence of FBR'. STAFF REPORT

MARKET DAILY

Bullish sentiment prevails as KSE-100 gains 219 points KARACHI STAFF REPORT

ISLAMABAD: Descon Engineering Limited (DEL) this month conducted its CEO Communication Session in all of its offices to further build on its foundation of open communication and trust. The session was opened by Maqsood Ali, President HR, who stressed on the importance of core values in shaping the organization’s culture. PR

Bulls staged a comeback at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday, with the indices accumulating decent gains amid soaring volumes. Equity markets around the world displayed a mixed trend, whereas crude oil prices inched up from the previous close; WTI crude price increasing 0.52pc to $52.62 while Brent crude price rising 0.89pc to $55.59 (as at 5:08pm PST). "The market piled up almost 500 points during the session, but profit booking in the later half limited the profits to around 220 points. Cement sector fared well today, mainly on expectations of better results in the outgoing quarter as well as growth in monthly

CMYK

despatches. Power sector saw K-Electric leading the volumes after reports regarding resolution of dispute between SSGC and KEL. Among OMCs, PSO led the pack despite deferment of ECC's decision on dealers' margins. Overall, expectation of quarterly results largely drove the sentiments on the last day of the rollover week," a report issued by Arif Habib Ltd read. SUMMARY: The benchmark KSE-100 Index remained in the green zone throughout the day, registering its intraday high at 46,656.98 after accumulating 490.93 points. It settled higher by 219.49 points at 46,385.54. The benchmark index recorded a weekly return of 1.13pc, and a monthly return of 6.01pc. Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index surged 604.85 points to end at 74,222.76, while the KSE All Share Index added 147.41 points, closing at 32,061.53.

The overall market volumes fell from 843.98 million shares in the previous session to 839.46 million shares (-0.4pc). Average traded value, however, increased by 24pc, from $ 163.8 million to $203.6 million. K-Electric Ltd (KEL +7.33pc), Silk Bank Ltd (SILK +5.84pc) and Pakistan Refinery Ltd (PRL +7.47pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 141.58 million, 80.67 million shares and 62.90 million shares, respectively. Sectors that drove the benchmark index north included technology & communication (+65.83 points), cement (+57.61 points) and power generation & distribution (+31.10 points). Among the companies, TRG Pakistan Ltd (TRG +73.57 points), DG Khan Cement Company Ltd (DGKC +25.55 points) and Dawood Hercules Corporation Ltd (DAWH +22.25 points) remained the top contributors.

Saturday, 30 January, 2021

10 FOREIGN NEWS

Iran says it will not reverse nuclear steps before US sanctions are lifted TEHRAN

AGENCIES

EHRAN will not accept US demands that it reverse an acceleration of its nuclear programme before Washington lifts sanctions, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Friday. The demand “is not practical and will not happen”, he said at a joint news conference in Istanbul with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu. The new administration of US President Joe Biden has said Tehran

must resume compliance with curbs on its nuclear activity under the world powers’ 2015 deal before it can rejoin the pact. Iran breached the terms of the accord in a step-by-step response to the decision by Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump to abandon the deal in 2018 and reimpose sanctions on Tehran. Earlier this month, Iran resumed enriching uranium to 20 per cent at its underground Fordow nuclear plant - a level it achieved before the accord. However, Iran has said it can quickly reverse those violations if US

UK bans direct flights from UAE, shutting world's busiest international route LONDON AGENCIES

Britain has banned direct passenger flights from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Friday, shutting down the world's busiest international airline route from Dubai to London. Britain said it was adding the UAE, Burundi and Rwanda to its coronavirus travel ban list because of worries over the spread of a more contagious and potentially vaccine-resistant Covid-19 variant first identified in South Africa. “This means people who have been in or transited through these countries will be denied entry, except British, Irish and third country nationals with residence rights who must self-isolate for ten days at home,” UK Transport Minister Grant Shapps said on Twitter on Thursday. In a statement, Dubai airport advised those booked on flights due to arrive in Britain after the ban not to go to the airport and instead contact their airline. Border closures caused by Covid-19 made Dubai to Londo the world's busiest international route in January, with 190,365 scheduled seats over the month, airline data provider OAG said. Emirates and Etihad normally carry large numbers of passengers connecting from Britain to destinations like Australia through their airport hubs, meaning the decision to cancel those flights will have far-reaching implications. The Australian government said it will add more charter flights from Britain if needed as a result of the Emirates and Etihad cancellations.

Boeing gets US approval to offer F-15EX to India NEW DELHI AGENCIES

Boeing has received a licence from the US government to offer its F-15EX fighter jet to the Indian air force, a senior executive said on Thursday. Boeing will compete with Sweden’s Gripen and France’s Rafale among others for the Indian air force’s plan to buy 114 multi-role aircraft to replace its Soviet-era fleet. Ankur Kanaglekar, director, India Fighters Lead, Boeing Defense, Space & Security, told reporters that discussions on the F-15EX had taken place earlier between the two governments. “Now that we have the marketing licence it allows us to talk to the Indian Air Force directly about the capability of the fighter. We have started doing that in a small way,” he said, adding conversations were expected to gather pace during the Aero India show next week. India and the United States have built close defence ties, with the Indian military buying over $20 billion worth of weapons in the last 15 years. Lockheed Martin is also pitching its F-21 fighter to the Indian air force, offering to build the plane in the country to win the deal estimated to be worth more than $18 billion. Boeing is bullish on India for both its defence and commercial aviation businesses, even as the Covid-19 pandemic has hit demand for air travel, forcing airlines to first get their finances in order before ordering new planes. Boeing expects domestic passenger traffic to return to 2019 levels by the end of this year, Salil Gupte, the company’s India head said, adding international traffic would return to pre-Covid levels only by 2023. One of the planemaker’s biggest customers is Indian low-cost carrier SpiceJet Ltd, which has a large order for its narrowbody 737 MAX planes. Boeing on Wednesday got the green light from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to return its 737 MAX planes to service after a 22-month ban and Gupte said it was working to get approvals from the Indian regulator.

sanctions are removed. “If the United States fulfils its obligations, we will fulfil our obligations in full,” he said. Iran’s parliament, dominated by hardliners, passed legislation last month that forces the government to harden its nuclear stance if US sanctions are not eased within two months. Zarif also condemned US sanctions against Turkey over Ankara’s decision to procure Russian S-400 defence systems. “The US government is addicted to sanctions … and this harms the world and the US itself,” he said.

Italy blocks sale of missiles to Saudi Arabia and UAE ROME AGENCIES

Italy has halted the sale of thousands of missiles to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Friday, citing Rome’s commitment to restoring peace in war-ravaged Yemen and protecting human rights. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are part of an Arab coalition that has been battling the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen since 2015 in a conflict seen as a proxy war between Riyadh and Tehran. The United Nations describes Yemen as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with 80 per cent of its people in need of aid. “This is an act that we considered necessary, a clear message of peace coming from our country. For us, the respect of human rights is an unbreakable commitment,” Di Maio said in a

statement. The Italian Network for Peace and Disarmament said Rome’s decision would block the sale of around 12,700 missiles to Saudi Arabia. The blocked sales were part of a total allotment of 20,000 missiles worth more than 400 million euros ($485 million) agreed in 2016 under a centre-left government led by Matteo Renzi, the disarmament group said. Renzi, who triggered a government collapse in Rome this week by pulling his Italia Viva party from the coalition, is under fire for recently visiting Saudi Arabia, where he told the crown prince he saw that nation as the site of a “New Renaissance”. The new US administration of President Joe Biden has paused some pending arms sales that could potentially affect Washington’s Middle Eastern allies.

Minor blast near Israel embassy sparks scare in Delhi's VIP zone NEW DELHI AGENCIES

A blast outside the Israeli embassy in New Delhi on Friday damaged cars but did not cause injuries, police said. The district around the embassy was sealed off after the explosion and police and bomb disposal experts took over the scene. A police statement described it as a “very low intensity improvised device” that blew out the windows on three nearby cars. “Initial impressions suggest a mischievous attempt to create a sensation,” the statement added. In February 2012, a bomb attack on an Israeli diplomatic car in Delhi injured four people. The latest incident took place close to where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other government and military leaders were attending an army parade. The Indian capital is also on a security alert because of farmers' protests against government agriculture reforms that deteriorated into serious unrest this week.

India's Haryana state blocks internet after clashes at farmers' protest NEW DELHI AGENCIES

An Indian state blocked mobile internet across most of its districts on Friday, following clashes between protesting Indian farmers and groups of men shouting anti-farmer and pro-police slogans. Mobile internet in 15 of 22 districts in Haryana state bordering the capital New Delhi will be unavailable until 1700 local time on Saturday (today), according to a circular from the state government. Authorities used tear gas and batons on Friday to break up the clashes at Singhu in Haryana, one of

several protest sites near Delhi. The protesting farmers want the government to withdraw three new farm laws that they say will hurt their livelihoods for the benefit of large private produce buyers. In a stand-off between riot police and the farmers, authorities tried on Thursday night to clear another protest site in the city’s east, but most farmers refused to move and thousands more marched overnight to join them. Their leaders said any retreat would constitute surrender. “Concerned over police high-handedness, thousands of farmers, who were not part of the protest,

have now come to bolster our movement,” Rakesh Tikait, president of one of the largest farmers unions, the Bharti Kisan Union, said on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government introduced the new agricultural laws in September, triggering protests and a two-month long sit-in on some of the major approaches to New Delhi. Farm leaders say the laws are an attempt to erode a longstanding mechanism that ensures farmers a minimum support price for their rice and wheat. The government says the reforms will open up new opportunities for farmers and that it will not bow to the protesters’ demands. Modi retains a solid majority in parliament although the protests are beginning to undermine some support for the government in the countryside. The protests turned violent on Tuesday, when India celebrated its Republic Day with a military parade, and some protesters clashed with police. One was killed and hundreds were injured.

Bangladesh sends more Rohingya refugees to remote, flood-prone island DHAKA AGENCIES

Bangladesh moved another group of Rohingya Muslims on Friday to a remote island in the Bay of Bengal, despite concerns over the risk of storms and floods lashing the site, even as some refugees despaired of finding solutions to their plight. The densely-populated south Asian country wants to transfer to the island a tenth of the 1 million refugees living in ramshackle border camps after they fled violence in neighbouring Myanmar. “What options do we have? How long can we live in the crowded camps under tarpaulins?” asked Mohammed Ibrahim, 25, as he sailed to the island of Bhasan Char, to which some of his relatives have also been moved. “This is going nowhere, the way the international community is handling our crisis,” he told by mobile telephone, re-

ferring to floundering efforts to return the refugees to their homeland. The Rohingya are a minority group, most of whom are denied citizenship by Buddhist-majority Myanmar, which considers them illegal immigrants from

Bangladesh, even though many trace their roots back for generations in the western state of Rakhine. Five ships moved 1,776 Rohingya and their belongings, with more set to be moved on Saturday (today) for a

two-day total of more than 3,000, said Commodore Abdullah Al Mamun Chowdhury, the officer in charge of the island. “We are receiving them,” he told by telephone. “So far, so good.” They will join the roughly 3,500 Rohingya sent there since early December, making a journey of several hours from the southern port of Chittagong. Rohingya living on the island, which emerged from the sea just two decades ago, are not allowed to move away unless they have government permission. Bangladesh says the relocation is voluntary, but some of the first group of refugees, moved in December, spoke of being coerced. The government also says overcrowding in camps in the Cox’s Bazar district fuels crime. It has also dismissed flood concerns over the island, citing the building of a 12-km (7.5-mile) -long stretch of embankment 2 metres (6.5 feet) high, in addition to housing for 100,000 people, hospitals and cyclone centres.

Saturday, 30 January, 2021

NaumaN, Yasir spiN pakistaN to seveN-wicket wiN over south africa

Pakistan 378 and 90 for 3 (azhar 31 not out, azam 30, nortje 2-24) beat south africa 220 and 245 (markram 74, van der dussen 64, nauman 5-35, Yasir 4-79) bY seven wickets

KARACHI

AGENCIES

EBUTANT Nauman Ali took five wickets and fellow spinner Yasir Shah grabbed four to give Pakistan a seven-wicket victory in the first Test against South Africa in Karachi on Friday. Nauman finished with 5-35 and Yasir took 4-79 as South Africa slumped to 245 all out in their second innings on the fourth day on a wearing National Stadium pitch that favoured spin bowlers.

Pakistan, needing 88 for victory, lost openers Abid Ali, Imran Butt and Babar Azam for a total of 52 runs before achieving the target in 22.5 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. Azhar Ali was 31 not out while Fawad Alam – who hit a fighting hundred in the first innings – hit the winning boundary. It was only Pakistan’s fifth victory against South Africa in 27 Tests. Anrich Nortje bowled Abid in the first over after lunch and then had Butt caught behind to finish with figures of 2/24. Azam, on his Test captaincy debut, was

dismissed leg before by Keshav Maharaj. It was a spinners’ battle on a brownish wicket, allowing Nauman to record figures of 7-73 and Yasir 7-133. In contrast, South Africa’s spinners managed just four wickets. Pakistan had taken a crucial 158-run first innings lead, thanks to a fighting century from Fawad and half centuries from Faheem Ashraf and Azhar. The writing was on the wall as South Africa lost nightwatchman Maharaj on the first ball of the day, bowled for two by pacer Hasan Ali. South African skipper Quinton de Kock had a miserable 50th Test as he followed his

15 in the first innings with just two runs as he was caught off a lazy push off Yasir. Temba Bavuma, who scored 40, added 42 for the seventh wicket with George Linde before being the last man out as Nauman took the last four wickets in a rapid 22 balls. He dismissed Linde for 11, Kagiso Rabada for a single run, and Anrich Nortje for a duck, before removing Bavuma, to become the 12th Pakistani bowler to take five wickets in an innings on his debut. South Africa are on their first tour of Pakistan for 14 years. The second Test will start from February 4 in Rawalpindi.

Liverpool end barren run with win against spurs; kane suﬀers ankle injury LIVERPOOL AGENCIES

Liverpool ended a five-game winless run in the Premier League to move back into the top four with a 3-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday as Spurs also lost Harry Kane to an ankle injury. The English champions had not even scored in their last four league games, but Jurgen Klopp said he recognised his side again as their front three sparked back into life after Roberto Firmino ended a 492-minute goalless drought in first-half stoppage time. Kane had soldiered on after twice receiving treatment on ankle knocks in the first-half and was eventually replaced at the break with Jose Mourinho predicting the England captain will be absent for at least a few weeks. “Two injuries in both ankles, the second one worse than the first one,” said Mourinho. “A few weeks, I don’t know for sure. There are some players you can’t replace. When it happens it happens, but I believe we have to fight against it, we cannot do anything else.” Liverpool’s worst run in the league since 2017 had seen them slip from the top of the table to fifth before kickoff with Klopp admitting his first priority is now to secure Champions League qualification for next season.

But the German was delighted with the response from the Reds as they clicked back into gear, particularly after going in front. “What I saw today it’s not about shape or form it’s about who we are. That was us, second half especially it was us,” said Klopp. “Tonight we knocked a wall down - that’s good. It is easier to lose (confidence) that’s how it is, but it is possible to get it back as well. It is not a light you can switch on and off. You have to show it in the right moment.” A return to the Champions League is also Spurs’ target in Mourinho’s first full season in charge, but Tottenham’s chances may now depend on how long Kane is sidelined. Kane and Son Heung-min have been the most deadly duo in the Premier League this season and thought they had combined for the opening goal inside the first five minutes. Son finished coolly from Kane’s through ball, but the South Korean had just strayed offside in the buildup and the goal was ruled out by a VAR review. There were signs of life in Liverpool’s attacking play despite a 3-2 defeat to Manchester United in the FA Cup on Sunday and they created many more clear-cut chances than in recent weeks as Hugo Lloris twice denied Mane with excellent saves. With Kane clearly hobbling, Tottenham were clinging

on for half-time when Liverpool finally struck. Sadio Mane got in behind and squared for Firmino to bundle in at the back post for his first goal in eight games. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s drop off in form has been another major part of Liverpool’s regression from the side that romped to the title last season with 99 points. However, the England right-back connected sweetly to drill in his side’s second after Lloris could only parry Mane’s initial effort into his path. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s brilliant strike from outside the box halved the deficit just two minutes later. Liverpool, though, rarely looked troubled after Kane departed and could have won far more convincingly. Mohamed Salah’s powerful strike was ruled out after a VAR review for a handball by Firmino earlier in the move. But Mane restored the two-goal cushion when he pounced on an error from Joe Rodon to fire high past Lloris. Victory takes Liverpool back above West Ham, who they face on Sunday, into fourth. Tottenham’s early season form saw them being touted as contenders for a first top-flight title in 60 years ahead of their last clash with Liverpool last month. Now a run of just two wins in eight games has plummeted Mourinho’s men down to sixth, four points adrift of the top four.

SPORTS 11 canadian olympians against skipping covid-19 vaccine line OTTAWA: For some Canadian athletes heading to the Tokyo Olympics this summer, the thought of receiving a vaccine against Covid-19 before a fellow citizen in greater need would undermine the meaning of being an Olympian. Vaccines against Covid-19 will not be mandatory for athletes and team staff at the Games, but Dick Pound, a Canadian and the longest-serving member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has said athletes should be given priority for the Olympics to take place as planned. The IOC has said it is against athletes skipping lines in their countries, while the Canadian Olympic Committee has said it was preparing for the Tokyo Games under the assumption vaccines might not be widely available to its athletes before they open on July 23. “We really need the vaccine to get into the arms of the people who are most at risk, those in long-term care homes, those in the front lines,” Canadian wrestler Erica Wiebe, the reigning Olympic champion in the 75kg class, said. Wiebe, who travelled to Serbia last month for the Individual World Cup after the longest competition hiatus of her career, said her participation in the Tokyo Games did not depend on being vaccinated, even though her sport requires close contact with other competitors. Some countries have already begun vaccinating athletes or plan to inoculate their Olympic delegations before the Games. Israel’s Olympic Committee said on Wednesday it had already inoculated half its Olympic delegation and would complete the process by the end of May. In Canada, racewalker Evan Dunfee worries that if athletes were to be given priority, it “would sour public opinion and just turn the community against us.” “I think we’d come home from those Games and really be limited in our ability to use the power of sport to lift people up, to inspire and to be role models,” said Dunfee, who finished fourth in the 50km event at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Dunfee does not expect his turn to be vaccinated to come before June or July, a time when he would normally be training at altitude in St. Moritz, Switzerland, in the immediate run-up to the Games. He said that if his training went according to plan, there was a good chance he would not be vaccinated before the Olympics. AGENCIES

reed, Noren share lead at torrey pines SAN DIEGO: Patrick Reed and Sweden’s Alex Noren blitzed the North Course on Thursday to fire duelling 8-under-par 64s and share the lead after the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego. Scottie Scheffler was alone in second place after shooting a 7-under 65, also on the North Course. Fifteen players shot 4-under or better in the first round, with 13 of those rounds on the easier North Course. Peter Malnati and Ryan Palmer each shot a 66 on the highly regarded South Course to join a group of 12 tied for fourth place at 6-under. Reed, who started his round on the back nine, had four birdies on each side. He birdied his first three holes and closed with birdies on his 14th, 15th and 16th holes of the day before registering a par on No. 8 and 9. He played the four par 5s in 3-under par. Noren, who also started his round on the North Course’s back nine, was at 4-under through eight holes after an eagle 3 at the par-5 17th hole. He posted his lone bogey at 18 before going 5-under on his final nine holes. Defending champion Marc Leishman of Australia shot a 1-under 71 on the South Course and was in a tie for 69th place. Jason Day of Australia, who won the event in 2015 and 2018, struggled to a 4-over 76 on the South Course and was in a tie for 136th place. Phil Mickelson, a San Diego-area native and three-time winner of the event, was also in a tie for 69th place with Leishman after shooting a 71 on the North Course. Seven-time winner Tiger Woods, who captured four consecutive titles in 2005-08, is not participating after undergoing back surgery. The Torrey Pines South Course also is the site of the US Open in June. It is one of six PGA Tour events to be played in California this year. AGENCIES

World No 1 Djokovic plays through pain to defeat Sinner in Adelaide exhibition SYDNEY AGENCIES

World No 1 Novak Djokovic played only one of two scheduled sets in his opening game of the season Friday as he grapples with a nasty blister on his racquet hand ahead of the Australian Open. The 17-time Grand Slam winner did not

appear for the first set against young Italian Jannik Sinner at an exhibition in Adelaide, just hours after emerging from two weeks’ quarantine, with fellow Serb Filip Krajinovic taking his place. But with a near full crowd at Memorial Drive, Djokovic said he could not stay away and came on court for the second set, to huge roars. “I’m sorry that I didn’t step on the

court from the beginning. I had to do some treatment with my physio and I wasn’t feeling my best the last couple of days,” the defending Australian Open champion said after winning his set 6-3. “I didn’t know how I was going to react, but I wanted to play, I wanted to get out here. Thank you so much for making our day and making our year. We didn’t play in front of

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this big a crowd in 12 months so this is something very special,” he added. Television pictures showed a raw blister on the palm of his right hand, where he grips his racquet. Djokovic said it was painful, although it did not appear to hamper his shotmaking. “It’s not easy, but it’s part of what we do. We’re professional athletes, we learn over the years to play with the pain. It’s just

a question of whether the pain is bearable or not,” he said. “So obviously, coming off a hard training block and having the ATP Cup and Australian Open around the corner, you don’t want to risk it too much. But the emotion was so strong in me to come out on the court today, seeing almost full stands, I just had to play. That’s it, I had to play.”

saturday, 30 January, 2021

PrAyEr TIMINGS

nEws

FAJR SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

5:36

12:14

3:07

7:01

5:27

6:52

TAlIbAn deAl under revIew, uS STATe SecreTAry TellS AfghAn PreSIdenT WASHINGTON

AGENCIES

NITED States Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the Afghan peace deal in a telephone call with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, the State Department said on Thursday. Blinken talked about the US commitment to an enduring US-Afghan partnership, said spokesperson Ned Price in a statement. “The Secretary highlighted robust diplomatic support for the peace process focused on helping the parties to the conflict achieve a durable and just political settlement and permanent and comprehensive ceasefire that benefits all Afghans,” said the statement. The top diplomat “shared that the United States is reviewing the February 2020 US-Taliban agreement and whether the Taliban are living up to their commitments to cut ties with terrorist groups, to reduce violence in Afghanistan, and to engage in meaningful negotiations with the Afghan government and other stakeholders,” it said. Blinken urged Afghan leaders to support the “historic opportunity” for peace in the region. “The Secretary committed to consultations with the Government of Afghanistan, NATO allies, and international partners regarding a collective strategy to support a stable, sovereign, democratic, and secure future for Afghanistan,” said the statement. The Taliban reached an agreement with Washington last February, promising to end the war in Afghanistan in exchange for security guarantees. The agreement also guarantees the withdrawal of all foreign troops from the war-torn country by this coming May. The administration of Afghan President Ghani was quick to welcome the announcement of a review by the Biden administration while accusing the Taliban of not living up to the agreement. Separately, the Biden administration announced that they have decided to retain Zalmay Khalilzad as the US special envoy to Afghanistan. He has been asked to stay in his post under US President Joe Biden. “We’ve asked him to continue the vital work that he’s performing,” Blinken told his first news conference since taking office. Moreover, Taliban political chief Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai on Friday expressed hope that the US will remain committed to the agreement. The fact that the administration of new US President Joe Biden is reviewing the peace deal with the Taliban group does not mean that Washington will withdraw from the deal, he said at a press conference in Doha.

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO RETAIN ZALMAY KHALILZAD AS THE US SPECIAL ENVOY TO AFGHANISTAN “We hope that America should [remain committed] to this peace treaty that was signed in Doha, it is a good chance for America … It is to their benefit because we give safe passage to the American forces to go out,” the Taliban political chief stated. Asked to comment on Pakistan’s reaction to the possible review, Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Zahid Hafiz Chaudhri told reporters that Pakistan had consistently maintained that there was no military solution to the Afghan conflict. “An Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process for an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political settlement is the best way forward for achieving lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan,” he added. “Towards this end, Pakistan has been constructively engaged with all Afghan sides as well as the international stakeholders for facilitating the Afghan peace process. The international community has duly recognised Pakistan’s efforts in this regard,” the spokesperson said. The spokesperson said that Pakistan appreciated the progress made in the peace process during the last one year, particularly the developments, including

signing of the US-Taliban agreement, the start of the intra-Afghan negotiations and agreement on the rules and procedures. “We believe that the intra-Afghan negotiations have now advanced into an important phase where all the negotiating sides are required to show continued commitment and responsibility for moving forward towards reaching a comprehensive political settlement,” Chaudhri said. “It is important for Afghan to seize this historic opportunity.” The carefully-worded remarks suggested that Pakistan wants the Biden administration to stick to the ongoing peace efforts. Pakistani officials believe that any major review may further complicate the process, which is already struggling to reach the final solution. Pakistan on Thursday had said the Afghan peace process had advanced into an important phase that needed “commitment and responsibility” by all sides, in a calculated statement that suggests Islamabad is not favouring the review of the peace deal by the new US administration. The development came at a time when intraAfghan dialogue is underway in Doha where the Afghan Taliban and Afghan government have been trying to finalise the agenda. The talks have so far made slow progress due to differences between the two sides. What added to the already complicated process is the continued violence in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan's Ghani urges Biden to up pressure on Taliban WASHINGTON: Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani urged the new US administration Friday to step up pressure on the Taliban and not rush to withdraw more troops. Ghani said the Taliban have failed to live up to conditions agreed in their February 2020 deal with the United States to reduce attacks in Afghanistan and sever longstanding ties to Al-Qaeda. "The United States and NATO must take a very strong stand on the conditions-based approach," Ghani said in an online address to the Aspen Security Forum. "They signed an agreement; that agreement now needs to be implemented." Even though Taliban and Afghan government negotiators opened peace talks in Doha last year, violence in Afghanistan has soared. Ghani said the Taliban must admit to attacking government forces and conducting a string of assassinations of public figures. The Taliban exploited former president Donald Trump's rush to pull US forces from Afghanistan to continue attacking government forces, Ghani suggested. After the US-Taliban deal last year, US officials assured Kabul "there will be a ceasefire or a very substantial reduction of violence," Ghani said. "Instead, violence has peaked," he said. And rather than pursuing peace talks in good faith, "the Taliban are finding one excuse after another not to meet." Ghani said he spoke with new US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday and was assured that President Joe Biden's administration would review matters by sending a new team to Afghanistan, and would consult more closely with Kabul. "We couldn't be more pleased with the early focused, systematic attention and a dialog between two partners that have mutually sacrificed and have a mutual interest," he said. The Taliban believe they defeated the US and that NATO forces in Afghanistan are "on the run", Ghani said. "Now, robust diplomacy and a stand on conditions-based approaches will enable us all hopefully to resume meaningful discussion," he added. The United States has about 2,500 troops in Afghanistan, down from close to 13,000 a year ago. AGENCIES

Seized PIA plane returns to country THE BOEING 777, ALONG WITH ITS 173 PASSENGERS, WAS RETURNED TO THE COUNTRY AFTER A MALAYSIAN COURT HAD ORDERED ITS RELEASE EARLIER THIS WEEK The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane which had been held in Malaysia for nearly two weeks landed in Islamabad on Friday. The Boeing 777, along with its 173 passengers, was returned to the country after a Malaysian court had ordered its release earlier this week after the airline reached an out-of-court settlement with the leasing firm. The plane had been held in capital Kuala Lumpur for nearly two weeks due to a British court case over the jet’s lease. Malaysian authorities had seized the Boeing 777 aircraft on January 15 after a court allowed an application by the plane’s lessor, Peregrine Aviation Charlie Limited, to keep it grounded pending the outcome of a $14 million lease dispute with PIA in a United Kingdom court. At the time, the national flag carrier had called the decision by the Malaysian court “one-sided” and said it had caused “inconvenience to the passengers who had already boarded the plane”. The Kuala Lumpur High Court had ordered the immediate release of the plane after both sides said they had reached an amicable settlement to the dispute, involving two planes leased to PIA, according to a lawyer representing the airline. “Peregrine has agreed to withdraw its suit against PIAC (Pakistan International Airlines Corporation) and for the injunction orders to be set aside,” PIA counsel Kwan Will Sen had said. “With this, the two Boeing aircraft operated by PIAC would be released with immediate effect.” The two jets were leased to PIA by Dublin-based AerCap, the world’s largest aircraft lessor, in 2015. They are part of a portfolio that AerCap sold to Peregrine Aviation Co Ltd, an investment unit of NCB Capital, the brokerage arm of National Commercial Bank SJSC, in 2018. AerCap, which continued as part of the agreement to provide lease management services to Peregrine, has declined to make any comment on the case. NEWS DESK

Clashes break at out at key farmers’ protest site in Indian capital Clashes broke out on Friday between protesting Indian farmers and a group of men shouting anti-farmer and pro-police slogans, and authorities used tear gas and batons to break up the fight at one of several protest sites near the capital, New Delhi. Farmers’ leaders accused local police and politicians of instigating skirmishes at the northern site to turn sentiment against them after thousands of farmers marched overnight to reinforce colleagues camping out on the outskirts of New Delhi. The protesting farmers want the government to withdraw three new farm laws that they say will hurt their livelihoods for the benefit of large private produce buyers.

PEOPLE SHOUTED ANTI-FARMERS SLOGANS AND WAVED INDIA'S FLAGS AS POLICE OFFICERS TRIED TO STOP THEM In a stand-off between riot police and the farmers, authorities on Thursday night tried to clear a protest site in the city’s east but most farmers refused to move and large numbers joined them. Their leaders said any retreat would constitute surrender. “Concerned over police high-handedness, thousands of farmers, who were not part of the protest, have now

come to bolster our movement,” Rakesh Tikait, president of one of the largest farmers unions, the Bharti Kisan Union, told Reuters on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government introduced the new agricultural laws in September, triggering a wave of protests and sit-ins on some of the major approaches to New Delhi. Farm leaders say the laws are an attempt to erode a

longstanding mechanism that ensures farmers a minimum support price for their rice and wheat. The government says the reforms will open up new opportunities for farmers and it says it will not bow to the protesters’ demands. Modi retains a solid majority in parliament although the protests are beginning to undermine some support for the government in the countryside. The protest turned violent on Tuesday, when India celebrated its Republic Day with a military parade, when some protesters broke away from a procession of tractors to break through barricade and clash with police. AGENCIES

Implementation on EV Policy delayed as govt yet to finalise draft ordinance ISLAMABAD GHULAM ABBAS

As the government has delayed the implementation of the country's first Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy, importers of electric vehicles have now started releasing their vehicles after paying full duty in order to avoid demurrage charges at ports. According to sources, the Ministry of Industries (MoI) and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), which were supposed to make the draft ordinance or finance bill to introduce duty exemptions for electric vehicles, could not finalise the draft on time due to various reasons. As per an MoI official, the ministry

‘IMPORTERS HAVE NOW STARTED RELEASING THEIR EV VEHICLES AFTER PAYING FULL DUTY IN ORDER TO AVOID DEMURRAGE CHARGES AT PORTS’ wanted to make a single finance bill which could include tax exemptions under EV Policy as well new taxes imposed on first resale of new vehicles and some other amendments in the tax structure approved by the relevant forums and cabinet. Apart from these, a "lending issue" of the State Bank was also causing a delay in finalising the draft bill, he added.

"We are in process of making the finance bill but in case the government wants to implement the new tax exemptions early, a presidential ordinance may be issued to address the issue," he said. Earlier, a customs official had claimed that the draft EV ordinance was resubmitted to the MoI for a review before forwarding the same to the President House for issuance

of an ordinance. Meanwhile, foreseeing the delay in the implementation on the EV policy, importers who had imported EV cars to avail the duty exemption under the policy and were waiting for implementation on it, have now started releasing their vehicles from ports as they could not bear more demurrages. An importer told this scribe that they were being forced to pay full duty on EV cars as they could not wait anymore to avail the facility. Importers were earlier reluctant to have the cars cleared at ports as they wanted to avail tax exemptions applicable on Completely Knocked Down (CKD) and Completely Built Units (CBUs) under the EV policy, he added.

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

"Dozens of imported electric vehicles were stuck at ports, as importers wanted to avail the EV policy approved by the cabinet over a month ago." Sources said apart from tax exemptions for manufacturers/assemblers of electric vehicles, the incentives announced under the policy were encouraging the importers to import vehicles despite lack of charging stations and other facilities necessary for such vehicles. As per the EV policy for four wheelers, which was approved by the federal cabinet on December 22, 2020, there will be 25pc customs duty and zero per cent additional customs duty or regulatory duty on CBU imports. Besides, any company could import 100 CBUs with 50pc customs duty.