EpaperISB_21-07-5

Monday, 5 July, 2021 I 24 Dhul-Qadah, 1442 I Rs 40.00 I Vol XII No 6 I 48 Pages I Islamabad Edition

IndIa mastermInded Lahore bLast: nsa g

dr Moeed terMs ioK drone attacK a bid to divert attention froM lahore attacK

IsLAmABAD StAFF RePoRt

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ational security advisor dr Moeed Yusuf has said that initial investigations into the recent terrorist attack in lahore have provided concrete evidence of indian involvement in terrorist activities in Pakistan. dr Yusuf said this while addressing a joint press conference along with Minister for information and broadcasting fawad chaudhry and inspector general of Police Punjab, inam ghani on sunday. dr Moeed said the mastermind and handlers of the blast have been identified through forensic analysis of the electronic equipment recovered from the terrorists involved in the incident. he said, “We have absolutely no doubt that the main mastermind of the blast is an indian national, who belongs to the indian intelligence agency raW.” “i want to make sure that our message is

PakIstan

CONFIRMED CASES:

962,313

LAST UPDATED AT 12:40 AM ON JULY 4, 2021

NEW CASES:

29

1,228

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

907,284 22,408 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

339,962

346,728

KPK:

BALOCHISTAN:

138,421 AJK/GB: 20,505/6,394

PM urges Mobilisation of int'l institutions against india's 'rogue behaviour'

heard very clearly that this particular incident on 23rd of June in lahore we have concrete evidence and intelligence including financial and telephone records that point to direct indian sponsorship of these terrorists,” said dr Moeed. appreciating Pakistani agencies’ effective role in apprehending the culprits involved in the lahore blast, dr Moeed said that right after the incident, thousands of attempts of cyberattacks against Pakistan’s critical investigation structure were made to deflect attention of police and security agencies to avoid apprehension. “our cyber security is strong enough that we were able to thwart these attempts,” he added the advisor said that Prime Minister imran Khan has instructed his team to use all possible legal and political means to get to the people outside Pakistan who are part of this international terrorist network. he said, “We will share all information with international community and expose the nefarious designs and

CoronavIrus In

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

g

27,387 ISLAMABAD:

82,916

real of face of the state in our neighbourhood that is constantly sponsoring terrorism against our innocent civilians.” dr Moeed Yusuf urged the international community to stop turning a blind eye towards india’s illegal actions and play its legally binding role for the safety of innocent Pakistanis if it really believes in peace and stability in this region. the nsa also said the india “drama” of drone attack in indian occupied Kashmir (ioK) is an attempt to divert attention from the lahore attack. “i would also like to point out that there has been a whole drama about some mysterious drones flying here and there in ioK. What was the logic is now very clear and again with confidence we can put it out that was deflection tactic trying to divert the attention of the world from the fact and they knew at that time we have not only apprehended culprits but we knew exactly what it had been done behind the scene and who was behind it.” the nsa further said india has been using territory and people of “third countries” to carrot terrorist attacks in Pakistan, although he did not mention those countries by name. speaking on the occasion, igP inam ghani said that Punjab Police, counter terrorism department and other law enforcement agencies successfully investigated the case and unearthed the plan. he said that Peter Paul david was the linchpin of the lahore blast who is a Pakistani citizen and resides in Karachi. the igP said that Peter Paul david arranged the car to be used for the blast. ghani said that eid gul, an afghan refugee, installed the vehicle-borne improvised explosive device in the car and drove it from islamabad to lahore.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Taliban seize key Kandahar district after fierce fighting KABUL AFP

the taliban have captured a key district in their former bastion of Kandahar after fierce night-time fighting with afghan government forces, officials said sunday, the latest area to be seized since us troops began their final withdrawal. the insurgents have pressed on with their campaign to capture territor y across afghanistan’s rural areas since early May when the us military began the pullout. the fall of the Panjwai district in the southern province of Kandahar comes just two days after us and nato forces vacated their main bagram air base near Kabul, from where they led operations for two decades against the taliban and their alQaeda allies. over the years, the taliban and afghan forces have regularly clashed in and around Panjwai, with the insurgents aiming to seize it given its proximity to Kandahar city, the provincial capital.

Emirates extends suspension of flights from Pakistan DUBAI

StAFF RePoRt

emirates has extended the suspension of flights from Pakistan, bangladesh and sri lanka until July 15 in line with directives from the united arab emirates government, the airline said. in a message on its website, the airline said passengers who have connected through these countries in the last two weeks will not be accepted to travel from any other point to the sheikhdom. however, uae nationals, holders of its golden visas and members of diplomatic missions who comply with updated covid-19 protocols are exempted from the travel restrictions. last week, emirates had announced that flights from Pakistan to dubai would remain suspended “until further notice”. the uae had first announced the suspension of entry for travellers from Pakistan on national and foreign flights on May 12 to curtail the spread of coronavirus infections. on friday, emirates suspended all passenger flights from india effective until further notice, a travel update on its

the province of Kandahar is the birthplace of the taliban, who went on to rule afghanistan with their interpreted version of islam until being overthrown by a us-led invasion in 2001.

Panjwai district governor hasti Mohammad said afghan forces and the taliban clashed during the night, resulting in government forces retreating from the area. “the taliban have captured the district police headquarters and governor’s office building,” he told afP. Kandahar provincial council head sayed Jan Khakriwal confirmed the fall of Panjwai, but accused government forces of “intentionally withdrawing”. fighting has raged across several provinces of afghanistan in recent weeks and the taliban claim to have seized more than 100 out of nearly 400 districts in the country. afghan officials dispute the claims but acknowledge that government troops have retreated from some districts. it is difficult to independently verify the situation.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

more inside

Country going through ‘historical poverty’ due to PM’s ‘incompetence’, asserts Shehbaz STORY ON PAGE 02

covid jabs mandatory for sellers at eid cattle markets: ncoc STORY ON BACK PAGE website said. but uae nationals, golden visas holders and members of diplomatic missions were exempted and “may be” accepted to travel, it said. last week, uae prohibited its citizens from travelling to the countries it has banned entry from recently as a covid-19 precautionary measure. the Ministry of foreign affairs and international cooperation and the national emergency crisis and disasters Management authority announced that the uae citizens are prohibited from travelling to Pakistan, india, bangladesh, nepal, sri lanka, vietnam, namibia, Zambia, the democratic republic of the congo, uganda, sierra leone,

liberia, south africa, and nigeria.

REPATRIATION FLIGHTS: Meanwhile, aviation Minister ghulam sarwar Khan said that the civil aviation authority and Pakistan international airlines will operate 18 flights to gulf states — including the uae, Qatar and bahrain — to repatriate Pakistan nationals stranded there, associated Press of Pakistan reported. for the uae, ten flights will operate between July 5 and 10 to bring back 3,394 people from dubai and sharjah. six flights will operate between July 6 and 18 to bring back 2,016 people from doha and two flights will operate between July 9 and 11 to bring back 772 people from bahrain.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Exams will neither be postponed nor cancelled, says Shafqat Mahmood STORY ON PAGE 03 in today’s issue

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Monday, 5 July, 2021

ISLAMABAD

NEWS

FIA notICE to nAdEEM MALIk CondEMnEd By poLItICIAns, LAwyErs

A

NewS DeSk

summons notice issued to anchorperson Nadeem Malik by the Counter-Terrorism Wing of the Federal Investigation Agency has been condemned by politicians and lawyers, who severely criticises the subpoena issued in relation to the case regarding the video scandal of former accountability court judge Arshad Malik.

According to the notice dated July 2, the FIA has summoned the anchorperson under Section 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code, reported Dawn.

“Please refer to your ‘Nadeem Malik Live Programme’ on Samaa News dated April 28, 2021, [that] revealed that you have important information which can be relevant for the agency to further investigate the abovementioned case and to link some relevant persons with this case,” said the notice. Malik was requested to appear at the FIA’s headquarters on July 6 with “all relevant information, documents and evidence.”

In the aforementioned programme, Malik said he was informed by two individuals, part of the FIA team investigating Judge Malik, that “the other party” — declining to identify it — had found an old objectionable video of

the judge. The unidentified persons had summoned the judge and told him that the video would “come out in public view” if he didn’t give a favourable decision in the AlAzizia Steel Mills corruption reference.

“Judge Arshad Malik then went and announced the decision and Nawaz Sharif was disqualified,” the anchorperson had said, adding that he was quoting verbatim what he had been told by the sources. He had also said that he could not divulge on-air the full details that had been shared with him since they involved certain individuals from “very powerful institutions”.

Reacting to news of the notice, PML-N

Country going through ‘historical poverty’ due to PM’s ‘incompetence’, asserts Shehbaz SwAT STaff rePorT

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday heavily criticised Prime Minister Imran Khan and said that the country was going through “historical poverty” due to the mistakes of the incumbent government.

Addressing a rally of the Pakistan Democratic Movement at the Grassy Ground in Mingora, Swat, Shehbaz said that PM Imran left “no stone unturned in destroying the people of Pakistan”.

He asserted that the inflation in the country has skyrocketed, while the premier has failed to live up to the various promises he made. He alleged that no bricks had been laid for the five million houses the PM promised.

Similarly, he remarked that “Imran Khan said he would create 10 million jobs but instead left people

EdhI drIvEr kIdnAppEd In LArkAnA KARACHI: A driver of Edhi Foundation was kidnapped along with his ambulance from Larkana late Saturday night, police said Sunday. Imran Machhi had travelled to Nangreeja village in Khairpur District to transport a corpse and, while he was on his way back to Larkana, was abducted, said Haji Saleem Arain, in charge of Edhi centre in Larkana. Arain said unidentified people abducted the driver, describing him as a volunteer. “Imran reached Khairpur in the evening but when he did return after midnight, we got concerned and informed the police,” he said. Arain also said that a while ago the driver telephoned him and informed him that he had been kidnapped. “We have passed the information on to the Khairpur senior superintendent of police and Sukkur deputy inspector general,” he added. The official appealed to the police to recover the driver and the ambulance. INP

LyArI rIngLEAdEr nAsEEr BALoCh shot dEAd: poLICE KARACHI: The commander of a local gang was shot dead by unidentified assailants on Saturday night, police said. Naseer Baloch, 25, was the commander of the Dubai Chowk neighbourhood in Lyari and was associated with the Baba Ladla group, police said. The incident took place near Dubai Chowk within the limits of the Baghdadi police station. Following the incident, police and rescue officials arrived at the scene and shifted the body to Lyari General Hospital. Baloch was wanted on several charges of murder, attempt to murder, extortion and kidnapping. He was recently released on bail by an anti-terrorism court. Police suspect that Baloch was attempting to reactive the network of the proscribed Baloch Liberation Army in the town. Police further said a case has been lodged against the attackers and an investigation is underway. INP

unemployed”.

Shahbaz continued to criticise the Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf government for increasing the prices of wheat, petrol, and electricity and said that “Imran Khan has brought the country to the brink of disaster.”

“Imran Khan had said that he would end corruption from the country within 90 days of coming into power, but nothing happened,” said Shahbaz. “The seat of the premier remains empty in the Parliament, just like the pockets of the masses.” “This is certainly not the Pakistan that the Quaid-e-Azam had envisioned,” said Shehbaz.

The PML-N leader also lauded the previous, PML-Nled government and cited comparative statistics, adding that the “old Pakistan” was much better than the “Naya Pakistan.” Shehbaz also assured the crowd that the PDM is still united.

Moreover, PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman in his address said that despite the prevailing conditions, the

ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan’s state-owned airline Ariana has expressed interest in beginning service from and to Pakistan and sought permission from Civil Aviation Authority for the purpose. The airline approached the aviation regulatory body seeking permission to start two flights a week between Kabul and Islamabad. The proposal further expressed hope that after starting the flight operations, the strained relations between the two states will improve. In its response, the CAA said that the decision on the proposal will be taken by the “concerned authorities”. INP

people of Pakistan are still passionate about the rule of law in the country.

“People’s hopes and spirits have still not diminished.

While Imran Khan represents the undemocratic part of Pakistani politics, the PDM will ensure that this illegitimate government is sent packing,” he said.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry earlier in the day lashed out at the PDM leadership, saying that the opposition alliance was staging another drama in Swat today after the failure of the Abu Bachao Movement.

Chaudhry has used the above-mentioned slogan to describe, what he calls, the opposition parties’ efforts to seek relief for ex-president Asif Ali Zardari and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, from accountability.

The minister said that the “characters in this drama” have split already, adding that neither do the parties in the PDM share an ideology nor are they on a shared path or moving towards a common destination.

“Criticising Imran Khan is not sufficient alone. Show the public the programme you have for them,” he added.

Separately, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has termed the public gathering of PDM in Swat as a complete flopped show and said that deaf ear to PDM call clearly reflects their confidence in the policies of the incumbent government.

India uses Afghan soil to launch attacks in Pakistan: Qureshi ISLAMABAD TLTP

If the international community had taken timely notice of Islamabad’s concerns over New Delhi’s involvement in terrorist activities across Pakistan, Lahore’s Johar Town blast and several terrorist incidents in Balochistan would not have taken place.

This was stated by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday while condemning India’s involvement in terrorist activities. His response came after intelligence gathered proved that the mastermind behind the Lahore blast was an Indian citizen, having clear links with his country’s spy agency, RAW. Talking to a private television channel, the foreign minister said that he had earlier held a press conference alongside Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security Moeed Yusuf to express Pakistan’s concerns

Fissures in PML-N emerge as Maryam barred from attending PDMs Swat rally ISLAMABAD MIaN abrar

It seems as if the grip of Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif’s over the party affairs is getting stronger as Maryam Nawaz was barred from attending the Swat rally organised on Sunday by the opposition alliance of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

against India’s involvement in destroying the peace in Pakistan, not only through the provision of arms but also through the financing and training of terrorists.

He said that India has also used Afghan soil to launch attacks in Pakistan from time to time. “We have said it before too, and now India’s involvement in the Lahore blast has strengthened our suspicions and has proved that whatever concerns we had [about India] were true,” he said. “We still have concrete evidence that India is involved in terror financing.”

Qureshi went on to say that given the clear-cut evidence of India’s involvement in terror financing, it is the duty of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to question why India is backing terrorist activities in Pakistan. “If [FATF] doesn’t bring India to task, then it shows its double standards, and Pakistan has a right to raise an objection regarding these double standards,” said the foreign minister.

According to well-placed sources in the PML-N, former premier Nawaz Sharif barred his daughter and party Vice-President Maryam from attending the rally of the opposition alliance PDM in Swat.

It was PDMs first rally in three months after suffering internal differences. There was a strong possibility of Maryam’s participation in the meeting, but the PML-N vice president was not allowed to attend the meeting and she is not likely to attend any such rally anytime soon in the future.

According to the sources, Maryam was scheduled to attend the scheduled meeting in Swat, but she was replaced by party President Shehbaz.

Cabinet approves appointment of chief commissioner as regular CDA chief ISLAMABAD Shahzad Paracha

Afghan airline seeks CAA permission to operate flights to Islamabad

leader Ahsan Iqbal “strongly” condemned it and hailed Malik as “one of the most professional journalists of Pakistan.”

PML-N Information Secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb said the notice was “highly condemnable and is yet more proof that this fascist regime won’t rest till the little remaining space for freedom of speech is eliminated”, calling for the FIA to “immediately withdraw” it.

“FIA’s notice to Nadeem Malik, a reputable journalist, for personal appearance before the agency over his remarks on the notorious Arshad Malik case, is the latest example of unfolding fascism,” said journalist Syed Talat Hussain. He claimed that the media was facing a “total assault”.

Columnist and journalist Ansar Abbasi also praised Malik as an “honourable journalist” and said he became the “latest victim of [the] FIA’s misadventures against [the] media.”

Meanwhile, Murtaza Solangi, executive editor of Nayadaur Media, called on

The Federal Cabinet approved the appointment of Chief Commissioner Islamabad Amir Ali Ahmad as regular Chairman Capital Development Authority board for five years. Sources said that the Ministry of Interior has presented the appointment summary of Amir Ali Ahmad as regular Chairman CDA. CDA is an autonomous statutory organization under the CDA Ordinance, 1960. CDA’s general affairs and administration are run by the CDA Board which is headed by a Chairman.

The appointment of Chairman and Members of the CDA Board fall under the domain of the Federal Government

under the provisions of Section 6 of the CDA Ordinance, 1960 and Chairman of the Board is appointed amongst the Members.

CDA, besides initiating many developmental works for the capital city, has undertaken a number of reforms to improve the daily process for facilitation of the general public.

CDA, from a deficit budget of around 5.8 Billion in the year 20172018 has now presented a record surplus budget for the F.Y 2021-2022 and shall be closing the F.Y 20202021 with Rs 26 Billion already available in CDA accounts; The closing amount alone is greater than the budget outlay for the previous financial year 2019-2020.

Recently, the Federal

government has appointed the CDA Board members / Financial Advisor in terms of Section 6 (1) & (3) of CDA Ordinance, 1960 where Chief Commissioner Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) is a Board member.

The incumbent has been given additional charge of Chairman, CDA, that was recently extended by the Federal Cabinet for a period of three (3) months 15.04.2021 or till the appointment of a regular incumbent, whichever is earlier However, the smooth and timely completion of mega developmental projects being undertaken by the Authority and implementation of ongoing reforms call for continuity in the appointment of Chairman, CDA Board.

Section 6 (2) of the CDA Ordinance, 1960, inter alia, envisages that the Chairman CDA shall be appointed by the Federal Government from amongst the members of the Board.

Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah to take suo moto notice of the incident and summon the FIA officials for their “continued and consistent harassment of journalists”. Earlier this week, Justice Minallah, while hearing petitions filed against ongoing inquiries by the FIA’s cybercrime wing against journalists Bilal Ghauri, Asad Toor and others, had warned the investigation agency to exercise its powers judiciously or else the court would impose heavy cost on the officers for misuse of authority.

When the chief justice inquired from the FIA cybercrime wing’s director Babar Bakhat Qureshi about the number of pending complaints, Qureshi informed the court that they were in the thousands. The chief justice then asked him why the FIA was giving the impression that it was proceeding against only journalists. “You need to dispel this impression, since crushing the dissenting voices is against the Islamic injunctions and norms of civilised society,” he had remarked.

gender protection Unit arrests husband on wife’s complaint ISLAMABAD STaff rePorT

The Gender Protection Unit of Islamabad Police have arrested a person on the complaint of his wife. Police officials told this scribe that Islamabad IG Qazi Jamilur Rehman took notice of the complaint pertaining to domestic violence by a woman and directed the concerned officials to immediately provide her relief. According to the details, a woman approached the police that her husband subjected her to torture and used to force her for begging. The woman was found with injuries in the nose and other body parts. A day earlier, her husband shaved her head as well. The Gender Protection Unit immediately came into action and registered a case at the women police station. The officials said that in-charge women police station Misbah investigated the case and found evidence of torture. Her husband Saqib was arrested immediately, said the officials further. The Gender Protection Unit has been established on the directions of IG Islamabad with a tollfree helpline number 8090. Women and children victims of domestic violence and harassment can approach the unit for immediate action against the culprits.

pM expresses concerns over Afghan situation to Iranian leader NewS DeSk Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday called Iranian President-elect Seyed Ebrahim Raisi and expressed concern over the worsening security situation in Afghanistan, saying the latest developments could lead to serious repercussions for both Pakistan and Iran.

Congratulating Raisi on his victory in the presidential elections held in June, the premier said it was “a manifestation of Iranian people’s trust in his leadership”, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office. Discussing regional situation in the wake of the US troops withdrawal from Afghanistan, the prime minister strongly underscored the significance of a negotiated political solution to the conflict in the neighbouring country. He said the latest developments in Afghanistan could result in an influx of refugees towards the bordering areas of Pakistan and Iran. During the conversation, both the sides emphasised the need to continue facilitating an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned inclusive political settlement. The premier also thanked Iran for its steadfast support for the cause of Jammu and Kashmir, the PMO said. Expressing concern at the serious human rights situation in Indian-occupied Kashmir and Palestine, the two leaders stressed the need to resolve these long-standing disputes in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions.

They also expressed satisfaction at the upward trajectory of bilateral relations and agreed on further boosting existing cooperation, in particular in its economic dimension. “It was affirmed that the establishment of border sustenance markets along Pakistan-Iran border was an important step, which would yield economic and social benefits for the people of both countries,” the statement added.

Monday, 5 July, 2021

ISLAMABAD

NCoC dAIly uPdAte: 1,228 New CAses, 29 deAtHs FroM CovId-19 ISLAMABAD

P

STAff RePoRT

AKISTAN on Saturday reported 1,228 new Covid-19 cases and 29 deaths, the National Command and Operation Centre said on

Sunday.

The NCOC, the department leading the campaign against the pandemic, said that the number of overall confirmed cases had risen to 962,313, which include 907,284 recoveries.

The number of active cases has seen an increasing trend during the last week

and now the figure is 32,621 across the country, including 1,875 critical patients admitted to different hospitals.

According to the NCOC, 29 people lost their lives while struggling against the disease on Saturday, increasing the overall death toll to 22,408.

Punjab is the worst-hit province with

346,728 infections and 10,772 deaths, followed by Sindh which reported 339,962 infections and 5,512 deaths.

The NCOC said on its website that the government has administered a total of 17,000,751 Covid-19 vaccine doses across the country, with 3,264,313 people fully vaccinated so far.

Exams will neither be postponed nor cancelled, says Shafqat Mahmood LAHORE INP

The examinations of educational institutions would neither be postponed nor would be cancelled, Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood announced on Saturday.

Talking to media persons at the launching ceremony of five Urdu and English poetry books by Farzana Aqib at Al-Hamra Arts Council, he advised the students to continue with their studies because their examinations would not be postponed or canceled.

“No any student will be given grade without taking his or her respective examination this year. The 9th, 10th and intermediate examinations are about to start in a few days, therefore I advise the students to focus on their studies as no exam will be postponed or cancelled,” “Exams of A2 Level have already taken place and now exams of [classes] 9, 10, 11, 12 are about to take

PesHAwAr brotHers Arrested AFter tHrAsHING sIster wItH HelMet, HAMMer NEwS DESK Arrests have taken place after a video that showed two brothers brutally assaulting their sister with a hammer and a helmet went viral on social media. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police confirmed the suspects, Aftab and Arshad, sons of Abdul Hannan, had been arrested by the Capital City Police from Amin Colony in Peshawar late on Saturday night. “Upon interrogation, the suspects confirmed they thrashed their sister, Mismah, for demanding her share in their father’s property,” tweeted KP police. Police said the woman had been shifted to a hospital for medical examination. After the examination, a case will be registered against the brothers at Bhana Mari Police Station, confirmed police. The brothers can be seen in the video clip, pushing the woman down to the floor and repeatedly hitting her with a hammer and a helmet. At one point, one of the suspects can be seen throwing the helmet at the woman as she shrieks in pain. Another woman tries to intervene but she is grabbed by the throat and pushed to the floor violently by one of the suspects.

Farrukh Habib holds open court FAISALABAD APP

State Minister for Information & Broadcasting Farrukh Habib held an open court on Sunday and listened to the problems of people. Talking to the gathering, he said that open courts were being held regularly to identify the problems of people and their resolution. He said that Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf (PTI) had its roots in masses and the public representatives were duty bound to remain in touch with them. He said that ministers and elected representatives were regularly visiting their constituencies to adopt measures for providing maximum relief on priority basis. He said that the Punjab government had allocated billions of rupees to facilitate farmers and low income groups to enable them to start their own business and construct their houses besides providing them health cards. “We are committed to resolve the problems of people as they had voted us to power”, he added. He said that mega sewerage and water supply projects had been launched in Samanabad and D-Type Colony. Under this project, new lines would be laid in addition to construct new disposal system, he said. He hoped the project would not only facilitate the people but also raise their living standard.

place in the coming few days. I am telling students: continue your studies because exams will neither be postponed nor cancelled,” he added.

Federal Minister mentioned that conducting educational examinations was the unanimous decision of all the provinces and the examinations would be held in accordance with the schedules announced by the educational boards.

Regarding summer vacations, he said that this matter had been given to provinces to decide about.

Where the school could be opened then educational activities could continue, however, it would not be suitable to open educational institutions where there were bad weather conditions, he maintained. “We have to make up for the loss of children’s education as well,” he added. The minister said that education had been “badly affected” because of the closure of schools, adding: “Schools should be kept open as far as it is possible in view of the weather and keeping in view the coronavirus situation.

“The teaching that can be done in classrooms cannot be done anywhere else. A lot of the course has to be covered and the deficiency has to be overcome. That is why we have left it to the provinces and private schools to do what they think is appropriate,” Mehmood said.

To a question about setting up summer camps for children in private schools, he said that provinces would decide it, asserting that the education of children had already been hampered.

Earlier, Federal Education Minister attended the books launching ceremony as chief guest. He appreciated the work and efforts of the author Farzana Aqib and said that intellectual community was the great asset of a society, because they guide the people to the light of knowledge. The books included: ‘Mohabat ki bhala kab umar hoti hay’; ‘Tumharay sath phir ji lein gey’; ‘Caramel Sunset’; ‘Blue Monday of Love’; and ‘I don’t wright life right itself’. The ceremony was also attended by former cricketer Aqib Javed, and literature and poetry lovers.

Flights schedule announced to bring Pakistanis back from Gulf states KARACHI TLTP

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Sunday issued a schedule of special flights for bringing back stranded Pakistanis in Gulf countries.

According to a schedule, PIA will operate 18 special flights from July 5-18 to bring back Pakistanis stranded in Dubai, Doha and Bahrain. The national flag carrier will operate 10 special flights for Dubai, six for Doha and two flights will bring back stranded Pakistanis from Bahrain.

Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has said that PIA will bring home on special Boeing 777 flights over 6,100 citizens stranded in Gulf countries.

Thousands of Pakistanis have been unable to return to their country due to a wave of flight cancellations by Middle Eastern operators following recent travel curbs in

their countries. “PIA flights were upgraded from Airbus to 777 (as per existing schedule) to take approximately 6132 passengers from Dubai, Shariah, Doha and Bahrain on 18 PIA flights,” the CAA said in a statement.

Ten flights will depart from the UAE, bringing 3,394 passengers between July 5 and July 16, according to the statement. Another 2,016 Pakistanis will come from Qatar from July 6 to July 18, and 722 from Bahrain between July 9 and July 11. The PIA will use Boeing 777 aircraft from its fleet as the wide-body airliner can accommodate more passengers than its regular Airbus planes operated on the routes. Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister Imran Khan had ordered concerned authorities to take immediate steps for bringing back stranded Pakistanis in Gulf countries.

Following the premier’s directives, Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan had said that PIA flights are being upgraded from Airbus to Boeing 777.

Pakistani consulate in Balkh closed as Taliban capture more districts ISLAMABAD TLTP

As insecurity in Afghanistan has escalated, Afghan officials announced the closure of the Pakistani, Iranian and Turkish consulates in Balkh province.

The consulates of Pakistan, Iran and Turkey were closed following the deterioration of the security situation and the fall of several cities in Balkh province to the Taliban. According to Afghan media, the consulates of the three countries have closed their visa issuance sector and diplomats have returned to Kabul.

Earlier, Farhad Azimi, the governor of Balkh, announced the closure of several consulates, including the consulates of Iran, Turkey and Russia in Mazar-eSharif. According to Azimi, the Russian consulate has been moved to the area between the port of Hairatan and the city of Tirmidhi.

Earlier, the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS) announced that 127 cities in the country have fallen to the Taliban in the past two months and that the government has only managed to take 10 provinces out

of Taliban control.

However, the Pakistan embassy in Kabul dismissed on Sunday reports of the consulate’s closure and relocation of some diplomats, terming them as being factually incorrect.

“The Embassy has seen some media reports regarding closure of Pakistan Consulate General in Mazar-e-Sharif and relocation of its diplomats in Kabul,” said an official communique released by the consulate.

“The Embassy would like to state these reports are not factual. The Consulates General of Pakistan in Afghanistan including Mazar-e-Sharif are open and functioning normally,” it added. The consulate further stated that, “No diplomat from any of the Consulates General has been relocated.”

However, it added that “due to the deteriorating situation of Covid-19 in the country, the Embassy and all Consulates General in Afghanistan including Mazar-eSharif have temporarily closed its consular sections for issuance of manual visas.”

“Online visa services are operational and issuing visas on a daily basis,” the embassy maintained.

NEWS

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No sexual assault proved against Mufti Aziz, says medical report LAHORE INP

The medical report of a Lahore cleric’s assault on a seminary student turned out to be negative, ascertaining no sexual assault was performed on the boy. Sources said on Sunday that the medical report of a seminary student, Sabir Shah, and accused Mufti Aziz-ur-Rehman could not prove that the cleric had sexually molested the boy. But police were of the view that the report came out negative because of the delayed medical test of the victim, which might have destroyed the evidence. INP reported that police added two more sections: Section 295, Section 298 to the case against Mufti Aziz. They said that both theses sections were nonbailable and added that the Punjab Forensic Science Agency report has been handed over to the police.

Deputy Inspector General of Investigation Shariq Jamal said the police would complete the accused’s challan on the basis of video evidence. A case was registered against a seminary teacher Mufti Aziz on June 17 on the complaint of his student Sabir Shah for sexually assaulting the latter under sections 377 and 506. The student provided the video of the assault to the police in support of his claim. Police have sent accused Mufti to jail after completing his remand. On June 21, a North Cantt Court in Lahore granted a four-day physical remand of accused Mufti Aziz to CIA Police. The court also ordered a DNA test and medical checkup of accused Mufti Aziz. Police arrested Mufti Aziz from Mianwali.

They also arrested his two sons from Lahore and Lakki Marwat. The 70-year-old religious cleric and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam’s deputy Ameer in Lahore is now in police lock-up. Lahore police said that Mufti’s student Sabir lodged an FIR in North Cantt Police Station in which he claimed his teacher blackmailed him after he failed in one of his examinations and demanded sexual favours in return. The video went viral on social media and was widely condemned with people demanding immediate action. Teary-eyed Sabir in the video said that his life was in danger as Mufti Aziz’s sons threatened to kill him for exposing Mufti Aziz.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl has also suspended the membership of Mufti Aziz.

Imran to visit Gwadar today ISLAMABAD STAff RePoRT

Prime Minister Imran Khan will leave for a one-day visit to Gwadar in Balochistan on Monday.

Accompanied by members of the cabinet, he will sign important memorandums and lay the foundation stone for several development projects including a desalination plant for the port city. The prime minister will also oversee the agreement of a grant from China for a solar generator in the southern part of Balochistan. In May, Imran placed the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor on high priority and committed to complete its projects expeditiously. In a recent interview with stateowned CGTN, he said that it was the “biggest thing happening in Pakistan”. “China has stood by Pakistan in difficult times and we have a huge respect and love for the country,” he said.

Minorities played vital role in country’s development: minister LAHORE APP

Punjab Minister for Human Rights and Minorities Affairs Ejaz Alam Augustine said on Sunday that religious minorities were an integral part of any society and played a vital role in the development and progress of the country.

He expressed these views while addressing a convention of empowering minorities, organised by the rights department with the collaboration of the Centre for Social Justice to underline the issues faced by representatives of

religious minorities, with the participation of councillors and socio-political leaders from Punjab.

The minister said that in the tenure of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government, rights of minorities were being ensured like those of the majority, adding that significant measures had been taken across the province like to provide special quotas for admissions of minorities students in government institutions, preparation and implementation of ethics, effective representation of the rights department in Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board and skills development courses for minorities youth.

Augustine said the new local bodies system offered a good number of opportunities for minorities and 30 percent of the funds would go to the local government system. “We have to break the mindset of discrimination against religious minorities,” he said. He mentioned that many of the issues plagued minorities at a local level because of which they needed a stronger connection with the provincial and federal governments, and that could only be done through the local government system.

Representatives of different civil societies and religious minorities also participated in the convention.

Monday, 5 July, 2021

04 NEWS

ISLAMABAD

ExPort targEt sEt at $35Bn For tHis Fiscal yEar: DawooD ISLAMABAD

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DVISOR to the PM on Commerce and Trade, Abdul Tazak Dawood has said that target for goods and services exports has been at $35 billion in the fiscal year 2021-22 despite the challenges arising from the coronavirus pandemic.

“For the current fiscal year, which started from July 2021, we have fixed a $35 billion export target, including $28 billion for goods and $7 billion for services,” Dawood said in an interview to a foreign news agency.

“We know that the Covid situation is still around the world, and we have made a lot of strategic planning to support our exporters,” Dawood said. “It won’t be easy because everybody is opening up and they are going to get into the export market because the market has been depressed. So, it will be difficult, but will be achieved.”

To further promote export activity, Dawood said the government is looking into supporting new export sectors and diversification in the dominant ones such as textiles.“If we want our exports to go higher, we have to diversify within existing sectors like textile and leather, and diversity in

Health insurance scheme to improve accessibility: Fitch ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s fiscal year 2021-22 budget provides a boost to funding for the country’s universal health scheme, according to Fitch Solutions. The country is making several improvements in its healthcare delivery system and has established several reforms; however, opportunities for multinational drugmakers will continue to be marred by underlying issues within the healthcare system. According to Fitch, Pakistan’s health budget increased to meet the challenges of Covid-19, which shook the health sector. On June 11 2021, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin presented the Rs8.48 trillion (USD540bn) federal budget for fiscal year 2021/22 (FY22) in the National Assembly. While allocating PRK96bn (USD620mn) towards health for the fiscal year, the Punjab government has earmarked for the first time PKR80bn (USD510mn) under the universal health insurance programme for the 110 million population of the province. Under the programme, Punjab’s entire population will be provided free standard treatment at any designated private or public sector hospital in the province. The government has set a deadline of December 31 2021 to register the residents of all the 36 districts of the province to start provision of free healthcare facilities through the health insurance (Sehat Insaf Card). The Punjab government also allocated PRK10bn (USD64mn) for the procurement of the coronavirus vaccine. Efforts are being made to improve the healthcare system in Pakistan, but will take time to deliver gains. Like many of its neighbouring emerging Asian markets, Pakistan is attempting to achieve universal healthcare access to quality essential health services, with a particular focus on vulnerable groups. Pakistan Vision 2025 reflects the government’s commitment to investing in the social sector including health as a top priority and the National Health Vision (NHV) 2025 provides a single, shared vision for universal health care, especially for women and children in the country, said Fitch Solutions. One of the key actions under the NHV is the formulation of the Pakistan Human Resources for Health Vision 2018-2030 to address the country’s health workforce challenges. Despite the increasing political will in Pakistan to develop the healthcare sector, given the government’s poor track record of implementing planned healthcare sector reforms, there is a possibility that the implementation of such improvements will be delayed, said Fitch Solutions. There are numerous weaknesses which will affect the sector’s development, including poor governance, lack of access and unequal resources, poor health information management systems, corruption in the health system, a lack of monitoring in health policy and health planning, and a lack of trained staff. TLTP

new sectors. The new sectors are pharmaceutical, engineering, and food processing we are looking at,” he said.

“In the engineering sub-sectors of motorcycles, refrigerators, transformers, we are feeling that we are becoming more and more competitive. We are bringing down our cost of production by reducing duties on raw materials.”

After its high performance last year, the textile sector’s export target has been set at $20 billion. “This is an ambitious target from $15.5 billion to take it to $20 billion,” Dawood said, “but we feel that we should keep an ambitious target, and everybody should move and try to

achieve it.”

The high target comes as the South Asian nation achieved record high exports of $25.3 billion, including $15.5 billion in textile and $2 billion in IT services, during the previous fiscal year 2020-21 that ended on June 30. The previous fiscal year’s exports were nearly $4 billion higher than in the year 2019-20, when they reached $21.4 billion.

While exports have increased, the trade deficit also rose to $31 billion during 2020-21, compared with the deficit of $23.2 billion in the preceding fiscal year, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data released on Saturday.

Growth expectations may keep PSX green in result season KARACHI TLTP

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is likely to remain volatile this week due to the results season and expectations of growth in various sectors may keep the market in the green zone.

According to analysts, having witnessed a flattish last week, the stocks are expected to perform well in the fiscal year 2021-22 on account of robust earnings growth forecast for cement, steel and allied sectors, amid strong cyclical demand driven by the historic high Public Sector Development Plan (PSDP) allocations and the focus on Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme. An analyst at Arif Habib Limited said: “The stocks should perform on the expectation of an auto and refinery policies, downwards sticky oil prices supporting the exploration and production (E&P) sector, and commencement of the monetary tightening, which should once again garner interest in commercial banks.”

An analyst at JS Global Capital said that investors’ participation declined last week, as the average daily volumes dipped 10 percent to 622 million shares per day, while the value of the traded securities averaged at $107 million per day, down 4 percent from the preceding week.

The market remained range-bound last week with the volatile trading on account of June-end closing and adjustment of portfolios, he said. Moreover, as the debate on the federal budget moved towards the final stages in the parliament, some stiffness was witnessed in

the political climate, albeit the budget was passed with a majority vote. The market also gained momentum on the first day of the new fiscal year, he added An analyst at Pearl Securities said the market reacted to the developments such as the US started withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, the current account posted a deficit of 632 million in May 2021, inflation for June 2021 stood at 9.7 percent, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) surpassed FY21 tax collection target, and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) allowed the Power Division to process independent power producers (IPPs) payments.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange KSE100 shares index gained 0.17 percent, or 82.82 points, to close the week ended July 2, 2021 at 47,686.18 points. The KSE-30 shares index gained 0.07 percent, or 13.21 points, to end at 19,100.47 points. Foreign selling continued last week clocking in at $8.4 million, compared with a net selling of

$7.9 million last week. The selling was witnessed in commercial banks ($3.2 million) and other sectors ($1.4 million). On the domestic front, major buying was reported by individuals ($13.6 million) and companies ($13.4 million).

The sector-wise positive contributions came from technology (105 points), pharmaceuticals (68 points), food and personal care (51 points), tobacco (22 points), and the insurance sector contributing 14 points to the index.

The sectors that contributed negatively included commercial banks (46 points), power generation and distribution (44 points), oil and gas exploration companies (39 points), oil and gas marketing companies (36 points) and the refinery shedding 18 points off the index.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index is currently trading at a PER of 6.9x (2021) compared to Asia Pac regional average of 16.5x while offering a dividend yield of 6.9 percent versus 2.3 percent offered by the region.

Punjab starts releasing funds for ongoing uplift projects: Buzdar NEWS DESK The Punjab government has started releasing funds for the ongoing development projects of the fiscal year 2021-22. Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has said that the government is committed to the timely completion of development projects and measures are being taken for the availability of funds for ongoing schemes. The chief minister said this during a meeting with Punjab Finance Minister‎ Hashim Jawan Bakht and applauded him for presenting a people-friendly budget. Buzdar said that they have released funds for the next year’s development projects and directives have been given to expedite work on the projects. “I will regularly monitor progress on the development projects and besides pace, quality should also be ensured during the process,” he said during the meeting. ‎The chief minister said that examination of the projects would be carried out through directorate general monitoring and third-party audits. It is pertinent to mention here that Punjab Finance Minister Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakht on June 14 presented the province’s budget for the financial year 2021-22 with a Rs196 billion allocation for South Punjab and a Rs370 billion allocation for the health sector. The total outlay of the budget was Rs2,653 billion and the development budget was increased by 86 percent to Rs560 billion as compared to the budget for the fiscal year 2019-20.

Pakistan received $60bn in form of remittances, exports, says Farrukh NEWS DESK Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib has said that the country’s economy is growing and the total volume of exports has reached $31 billion.

Talking to the media persons on Sunday, Farrukh Habib said that despite Covid-19, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has collected a record net tax of Rs4,732 billion, Rs41 billion more than the revised target of Rs4,691 billion. The state minister said that Pakistan has received a total of $60 billion in the form of remittances and revenue from exports. He said that the government adopted prudent policies to control Covid-19 through sincere efforts and smart lockdown. He said that efforts are underway to build multiple dams and ten big water reservoirs in the country. The minister of state for information said that these initiatives will not only enhance water storage capacity but also ensure provision of inexpensive electricity to the masses.

SECP approves amendments for reforms in margin financing NEWS DESK The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has approved amendments to the National Clearing Company Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) Regulations 2015 to introduce reforms in Margin Financing (MF) product, which allows securities brokers to provide financing to their customers in a regulated manner.

According to a statement, these reforms will facilitate investors who wish to undertake leveraged trading and need finance for purchasing shares. As a result of these reforms, position limits and exposure limits have been liberalised to allow more liquidity. Margin financing facility

will now also be available to investors against their net purchases at expiry of deliverable futures contracts period which will facilitate investors to honour their settlement obligations in futures segment, thereby further reducing settlement risk.

Further, in consideration of meeting funding needs of investors, the MF facility will now be available on T+1 against their net purchases in the Ready Market segment.

Moreover, MF financiers can now collect MTM losses in any manner mutually agreed under the financing agreement signed with the borrower instead of the earlier stipulated mandatory collection of MTM losses in cash only in case of 5% decline in MF financed security value.

Further, the brokers that meet specified eligibility requirements shall be allowed to pledge 75% MF financed securities in favour of NCCPL to fulfil margin requirements against exposure in the Ready Market. Lastly, MF financiers will be allowed to release an MF transaction and rollover with revised MF transaction value after adjusting MTM losses and any payment received from their investors, said the statement.

According to the statement, the aforementioned reforms have been approved after due consideration to any incremental risks and implementation of appropriate risk mitigating features, and were finalised as a result of comprehensive stakeholder consultation.

Overseas Pakistanis deposit $310m in June through RDA: SBP NEWS DESK The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has said that overseas Pakistanis have deposited $1.56 billion through Roshan Digital Account (RDA) during the past 10 months, while June 2021 saw the highest monthly amount of deposits i.e. $310 million.

In a statement, the SBP said that since its launch by Prime Minister Imran Khan on September 10, 2020, Roshan Digital Account has attracted significant interest from overseas Pakistanis.

“A total of 181,556 accounts have been

opened from 171 countries across the world and $ 1.562 billion has been deposited in these accounts through end-June 2021,” said the statement.

The central bank said that in line with its commitment to transparency in its key policy measures, it has begun releasing regular data on the progress of Roshan Digital Account (RDA).

This web page will be updated on a monthly basis. This periodic update was also requested by market participants. The web page shows monthly trends in the number of accounts opened, deposits, and investments

in Naya Pakistan Certificates (NPCs) and the stock market.

The data shows an accelerating trend across all these dimensions over the last few months. June 2021 saw the highest monthly amount of deposits ($310 million) and NPC investments ($233 million) since the launch of Roshan Digital Account.

As of end-June 2021, $ 1050 million has been invested in NPCs, with $621 million in conventional NPCs and $429 million in Islamic NPCs. Roshan Digital Account is a landmark initiative of the State Bank which seamlessly

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connects the Pakistani diaspora to the Pakistani financial system and economy. For the first time, it allows overseas Pakistanis to open a bank account in Pakistan in a completely digital manner, without needing to visit any bank branch or embassy.

The account enables overseas Pakistanis to undertake all kinds of banking transactions in Pakistan, including paying school and utility bills for their families, funds transfer, e-commerce, car financing through Roshan Apni Car and making charitable donations through Roshan Samaji Khidmat.

At the same time, the account provides

exclusive investment opportunities in Naya Pakistan certificates offering attractive returns in both conventional and Shariah-compliant forms, as well as the Pakistani stock market and real estate.

The tax treatment is simple, freeing overseas Pakistanis from the need to file a tax return in Pakistan on income derived from investments through the account. Importantly, the account is fully repatriable, giving overseas Pakistanis the comfort of being able to remit the money in their accounts back to where they live without any difficulty.

monday, 5 July, 2021

islAmABAd

neWs

India masterminded Lahore blast: NSA

CeLebrATINg The ACquITTAL CITy NoTES M A NIAzI

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think we should concentrate on good news rather than bad, so if some people are celebrating the overturning of Bill Cosby’s conviction of criminal assault, we should be glad too. In Pakistan, the biggest celebration was by Ali Zafar, the singer and harrassment accused, It has been said that there was a separate celebration in Islamabad, where Imran Khan had his old buddy Umar Sheikh, the former DPO of Lahore, got together to mark this victory for truth and justice.

In the USA itself, Harvey Weinstein led the celebrations, while osby himself was out shopping for an overcoat and a van, in which he intends to hang around schools until he finds a girl interested enough in a showbiz career.

This is big. US actor James Franco just agreed to pony up $2 million to the girl who accused him of harrassment at the acting school he ran, back in 2017, which ruined his career. He still can raise the money though. I don’t know if he was

celebrating Cosbby’s acquittal, but he might use the verdict to beat the girl down.

Franco is particularly interested, because Crosby was convicted after a deposition he had made in a civil suit, potentially incriminating but on the understanding that he would not be prosecuted, was used by the prosecution.

Obviously, Franco admits to something, which is why he’s paying. But now there can be no prosecution.

Of course, it’s the fault of the girls, who obviously are wearing insufficient clothes. But can’t Crosby go to a disco or a nightclub? I’m sure if he follows Imran’s prescription, and does the robot, he’d be cured.

Zulfi Bukhari did not need the cure in Israel, which showed he was not in Tel Aviv either to visit its nightclubs, or to meet the head of Mossad. As he announced at a press conference, he was with the DC Rawalpindi at that time.

Now it was with the Commissioner he’s supposed to have been involved in the Rawalpindi Ring Road, so is this an attempt to involve the DC now?

Or were they together at some nightclub or disco (we all know how many there are in Rawalpindi)?

I wonder if those are the establishments to be included in the relaxation of covid-19 restrictions. I don’t exactly know of any discos or nightclubs in Rawalpindi, but I imagine there wouldn’t be much point in one if one had to observe social distancing there. I think restaurants are a better bet, for you can gorge yourself even if you stay away from people. Still, one has to be careful, because it seems that now there is a delta variant of the coronavirus, which is not just deadlier, but also can infect vaccinated individuals.

If you’ve been vaccinated, you might still catch the virus. It’s enough to make one imagine that vaccine manufacturers are working to make variants that won’t work with rivals’ formulations. Farfetched? WQell, anything to make a quick buck. Look, a gang has been arrested in India for injecting people with saline solution (salt water) instead of the vaccine.

And then charging for the vaccine.

The moral of the story is that someone who dies of the coronavirus despite having been vaccinated, may not have been vaccinated at all. I suppose that sort of thing doesn’t happen anywhere in Canada. Not even in Saskatoon,

where a man recently had his beard cut forcibly while he was returning from a mosque, dressed in shalwar kameez..This comes just after a family was slaughtered in Ontario. Well, it’s not all white supremacists, because seven members were killed in Calgary, Alberta, in a fire which was not started by white supremacists.

The beard-cutting thing has developed lately. There was an incident in India before. I’m a little surprised, for while the berd is hardly as popular as it was during the 19th century, it has staged something of a comeback after the scraped chins of the 20th century.

Once beards were favoured by hippies, and the squares of the 1960s and 1970s would shout at hippies, “Why don’t you shave?” Only I don’t think it got to the point of forced beard shearings.

Anyhow, there’s a sense of impending… not doom, but a great event. No, not the fall of the government, nor the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, but the arrival of the monsoon. As soon as the month turned, so did the weather.

There hasn’t been any rain yet, but it’s now muggy. A sneaky arrival, the opposite of the storms of yesteryear.

White House worried about high oil prices Foreign policy aims to stabilise economy, attract investment: FM iSLamaBad TLTP

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that the core foreign policy of the government is aimed at stabilising the economy and attracting foreign investment. Talking to the state-run radio channel on Saturday, the foreign minister said that the ministry of foreign affairs in collaboration with the ministry of commerce is making efforts to promote trade, facilitate remittances and attract foreign investments. The foreign minister said the government’s aim is transformation of the country from geopolitics to geo-economics. Referring to the situation in Afghanistan, Qureshi said the unjustified criticism on Pakistan from Afghan officials is an indication of the failure of their policies. He said a number of Afghan people understand the importance of Pakistan and are supportive to the narrative of our government. The foreign minister regretted that Afghan media is projecting a negative image of Pakistan because as per reports of EU DisinfoLab, there are a number of fake media channels in the neighbouring country to defame our country.

However, he expressed confidence that the majority of Afghans are aware that they can benefit from stronger relations with Pakistan.

WASHINGTON: The White House said it is concerned about the impact of rising oil prices on U.S. consumers but believes producers have ample ability to pump enough crude.

“Currently we believe that there is enough spare oil production capacity globally,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. “Because of the restart of (the) global economy and resumption of normal consumer activity there is some impact on oil market conditions,” she said.

Psaki did not answer a question about whether anyone in the Biden administration had spoken with al-

lies engaged in OPEC+ talks about whether to increase oil output.

OPEC+, a group of producers including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which are OPEC members, and Russia and other countries, extended talks on Friday about whether to ease production cuts that had been put in place earlier in the coronavirus pandemic. read more The UAE blocked a deal, which could delay plans to pump more oil through the end of the year. Russia recommended delaying the talks by one or two days, sources said late on Friday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate

crude futures were up 1 cent $75.34 a barrel, having jumped 2.4% on Thursday to close at their highest since October 2018.

In April, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Twitter that she had called on Saudi Arabia to keep energy affordable for consumers. After the call, OPEC+ agreed to gradually ease production cuts from May. The Department of Energy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Granholm would repeat the call this time. Psaki said President Joe Biden had opposed raising a gasoline tax in the infrastructure bill because of concern about consumers. AGENCIES

Emirates extends suspension Taliban seize key Kandahar district after of flights from Pakistan fierce fighting continued from page 01 continued from page 01 The exit of foreign troops from Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, has fuelled concerns the insurgents will ramp up their campaign to capture new territory.

Bagram Air Base has great military and symbolic significance, with foreign forces previously stationed there offering vital air support in the fight against the insurgents. Afghan authorities who have taken control of the base say they will use it to fight terrorism and have already re-activated its radar system.

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“Besides this, we have allocated 2,000 special seats for UAE and [stranded citizens] will be brought back to the country before Eidul Adha,” Khan said. “Booking has been started and flight operation will start from UAE tomorrow [Monday] and in four days, all the stranded Pakistanis in different Gulf states will be brought back safely in an honourable manner.” The minister said the airlines — including Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways and Fly Dubai — had been issued show-cause notices.

continued from page 01 He said the people involved in the incident tried to escape but due to prompt action of law enforcement agencies, they could not get enough time. The conversation between the terrorists on telephone was also released in the news conference. On June 23, a powerful blast near the residence of banned Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed in Johar Town killed three people and injured 24 others, including a police constable.

Separately, Dr Moeed said that there are no longer backdoor contacts with India to resume the long-stalled talks between the two nuclear neighbours. The contacts have been abandoned because New Delhi failed to take any confidencebuilding measures, mainly the reversal of its August 2019 move on IOK, he said while talking to a private news channel. “It’s over now,” Dr Moeed said, adding it was New Delhi that approached Islamabad for resumption of talks. “It was India that approached us. They (New Delhi) said they wanted to talk on all disputed issues, including on Kashmir,” he said without specifying the time period and location of the contact. “We clearly conveyed to them our demand i.e. reversal of Aug. 2019 move, for resumption of talks,” he went on to say. “Since they [the Indian government] haven’t done anything [favourable] in this regard, it’s over now,” he said, foreseeing “no change” in India’s stance on the August 2019 move. “India is trapped in IOK after taking this step. It’s in their own interest to reverse it,” he further argued. Commenting on last week’s meeting of pro-Indian Kashmiri politicians with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Moeed said New Delhi has failed to convince even its own allies over the controversial IOK move.

“They [politicians] too openly demanded the revocation of the August 2019 step and asked Prime Minister Modi to talk to Pakistan [over the Kashmir issue],” he contended. On August 5, 2019, the Indian government revoked Article 370 and other related provisions from its constitution, scrapping the country’s only Muslim-majority state with its autonomy. It was also split into two federally administered territories. Simultaneously, it locked the region down, detained thousands of people, imposed movement restrictions and enforced a communications blackout, according to Amnesty International. Islamabad, in turn, suspended trade ties and downgraded diplomatic relations with New Delhi. The top intelligence officials of the two nuclear-armed neighbours reportedly met in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in January in an attempt to stem heightened tensions between the two sides. In April, UAE’s Ambassador to the US Yousef Al Otaiba confirmed that Abu Dhabi was mediating between New Delhi and Islamabad to help reach a “healthy and functional” relationship. In March, the two militaries agreed to honour the 2003 ceasefire along the LoC, followed by an exchange of letters between the two premiers, which was widely viewed as an outcome of the reported backdoor diplomacy. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday called upon the global community to mobilise their institutions so India’s “rogue behaviour” can be stopped. In a message on Twitter, the premier said that the “planning and financing of this heinous terror attack has links to Indian sponsorship of terrorism against Pakistan”. “Global community must mobilise international institutions against this rogue behaviour,” he urged. The prime minister appreciated the “diligence and speed of Punjab Police’s Counter Terrorism Department in unearthing the evidence and commend the excellent coordination of all our civil and military intelligence agencies”.

Bugs and bird nests: Airlines dust off planes grounded by Covid orLY AGENGIES

As travel picks up this summer, airlines are dusting off planes that were grounded during the pandemic, checking they are clear of fungus, bugs and bird nests before sending them back in the air.

In Paris this week, a tow tractor grabbed an Air France plane that had been parked outside for a year at Orly Airport and brought it to a cavernous hangar where technicians quickly removed the tarpaulins.

Like most airlines, Air France took the overwhelming majority of its planes out of service during the pandemic as travel restrictions choked traffic to a trickle.

As much as 80 percent of its fleet was parked at the peak of the crisis.

The Airbus A321 at the Orly hangar will soon have to make up to seven flights a day as the summer season kicks off in Europe and Covid-weary travellers seek respite in sunny Mediterranean destinations.

Although planes that were grounded received regular maintenance, getting the Air-

bus ready to carry more than 200 passengers per flight again is not a quick job.

“There are a whole bunch of systems that were shut down and haven’t been in operation for a long time and that we have to retest and recheck,” said Vincent Rigaudie, one of people responsible for preparing Air France aircraft for flight at Orly.

“We need to check oil levels in the hydraulics, we check all of the engine systems,” he added.

Then aircraft are given a test flight to ensure all systems are operating normally before a plane is given the green light to return to commercial service.

In the hangar the size of several football pitches, teams of technicians normally work in shifts 24/7 to ensure Air France aircraft are fit to fly.

But the long hibernation of planes has created its own sort of problems that technicians must confront, Rigaudie explained above the din of shrieking loudspeakers meant to drive away pigeons.

The birds love to make their nests on parked planes, particularly on the wings at

the level of the ailerons, and their droppings are corrosive.

“They don’t need much room to get inside,” Rigaudie said.

Bugs and fungus Two other potential problems: the contamination of fuel tanks by fungus and insects blocking air speed sensors.

Bags that absorb moisture were placed near the fan blades of the Airbus. “These are to capture moisture that can stay inside the motor for the entire time it is parked,” said technician Julien Breuzard.

Depending on where a plane is parked, such as in a hot and humid city exposed to pollution, more corrosion than normal can be expected.

At Orly, between 200 and 300 hours of work is needed to take a parked Airbus A320 family model aircraft and make it ready to fly again.

It all starts with a visual inspection, including using a micro-camera mounted on a long flexible tube to get into inaccessible areas. The Airbus has a computer system that detects malfunctions.

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A drone is used to check out areas high up.

Then equipment is tested and repaired or replaced if necessary.

Batteries are reconnected and interior and exterior surfaces cleaned before the plane is ready to take passengers again.

Monday, 5 July, 2021

06 COMMENT

Missing significant debt relief for developing countries

Winning cooperation The government must make up its mind

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n the one hand, the government expects the opposition to cooperate with it on a host of issues. These range from the need to maintain parliamentary decorum, which was so markedly absent during the recent budget session of the national assembly, to electoral reform, as well as the preparation of a security policy, for which a recent briefing on national security was held. On the other hand, the government is not going about this in a spirit of conciliation. It is not a matter of independent institutions acting without government control. Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry’s claim that the government had recovered Rs33 billion from PPP Co-chairman asif ali Zardari in the fake accounts case, does not seem to have any basis, even though Mr Zardari has been summoned to appear in another related reference. The government cannot claim the same distance from the FIa as it does from naB, and its use to ask Punjab Opposition leader Hamza Shehbaz to provide not just his own money trail but that of Ittefaq employees, will not build bridges with the opposition. The attack on PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, accusing him of going to the US to seek help to topple the government, also does not encourage government-opposition understanding.

Meanwhile, it is for the opposition to understand that its disunity will only encourage the government in its campaign against its leaders. The parties might remember that the government was concerned by its unity in the PDM. It should not forget that the problems for it arose after its unity shattered on the shoals of the Senate election, after which the government saw an opportunity to ride roughshod over it. apart from unity, which is an unavoidable precondition, the opposition must also be clear that it must keep the government engaged. For example, on electoral reform, not only does the government need opposition numbers to make requisite two-thirds majority, it also needs it to be invested in the reforms, so as to accept the results they produce, whatever they may be.

While the opposition will not lose sight of the advantage of individual parties, it must also not lose sight of the national interest. at the same time, the government must realise that it must pay greater attention to the national interest, because, after all, it is in charge.

The burden of the recession is not being met

Dr Omer JaveD

‘M

any emerging markets and developing countries face a dilemma: borrow and risk a debt crisis, or choose austerity and risk a development crisis. Resolving it will require policymakers to address two collective-action problems that markets cannot resolve on their own.’

– excerpt from July 2, 2021, Project Syndicate article ‘How to balance debt and development’ by Homi Kharas and Meagan Dooley In the recent G7 Summit in Cornwall, UK, the important issue of debt relief was not addressed in any significant way, as pointed out by nick Dearden in his article ‘The change we need will never come from the G7’ as ‘Beyond vaccines, the pandemic has triggered a debt crisis in many countries, which could heighten poverty and inequality for a generation. yet the G7 offered nothing new to change this situation, in particular taking no action against the banks and hedge funds which continue to drain billions of dollars a year from countries that should be spending on healthcare and economic protection.’

The pandemic-caused recession, and investments required to support public health sector, along with allocations needed for purchasing Covid vaccine, all took a heavy toll on the already difficult debt situation of many developing countries, as pointed out by Homi Kharas and Meagan Dooley in their same arti-

Keeping our guard up Covid-19 improvement should not mean relaxation

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HIle there has been a definite improvement in the Covid-19 pandemic, as reflected in the decline in the number of new cases and deaths, going by a worldwide trend, in which it seems that the third wave has receded, may be a cause for celebration, but not relaxation. Such statements, as the one by education Minister Shafqat Mehmood, that exams were to be held in august, exhibit a kind of premature triumphalism. While sluggardly students cannot be encouraged to hope for a postponement, it is premature to predict anything so confidently about something happening in august. In fact, the holding of exams is a reflection of the new normal: nothing can be predicted, not exams, not weddings, not even taxes (certainly not the last-minute crushes on the last date of filing returns). The certitude that Mr Mehmood showed is no longer possible.

The authorities have now got to face the possibility of a fourth wave, and have got to prepare for its hitting Pakistan too, along with the rest of the world.

This new wave may comprise cases of the delta variant of the coronavirus. It is more transmissible, and more resistant to the vaccine. Because of this, its virulence threatens much of the progress that has been made in recent months.

It is not that the government is not trying, as shown by the recent reimposition of air travel restrictions (which have been imposed by other countries as well).

However, the vaccination drive has not been going as well as planned. The number of those who have received both doses is nowhere near as high as it should. and there was a recent shortage of vaccines, which meant people had to be turned away from vaccination centres.

While that shows that an earlier worry, that people might be too suspicious to get vaccinated, is wrong, it does show that there are still problems in the supply chain.

The government also needs to ensure that its reopening is not premature, and should not insist on it out of misplaced pride.

muneeb maqsOOD

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He Constitution of Pakistan forbids making children work in factories, garages, workshops and many other workplaces to bring financial stability for themselves, if the children are below the age of 15. However, the situation is different practically. Mostly, it is their drug-addicted parent(s) who make these young children work for them, but in other cases the benefit goes to their employers who misuse the innocence of the children by paying them little and making them work more. Dishearteningly, the higher authorities pay little attention to save the young generation which simultaneously results in the backwardness of the country. according to a general estimate, Pakistan has the world’s second highest number of out-of-school children currently, with 22.8 million children out of school, which works out to 44 percent of Pakistani children being away from schools. When this number of children are far from schools, development in the state becomes a daydream. Sadly, the major affected region in Pakistan with so many of its children out of school is Balochistan.

Balochistan, the richest province of Pakistan in terms of natural resources, is said to be the home of out-of-school children with more than one million children away from schools, confirms UnICeF Pakistan; 78 percent of the girls are out of school and 68 percent of the boys.

There are multiple factors increasing the number of out-of-school children in the region, one of which is the long distances between schools and the homes. according to a report of alif ailaan, it takes 30 km on average for one child to reach a primary school in Balochistan; a long journey of 260 km to get to a middle school, and 360 km to get to a high school in the resource-rich province. How can the poor citizens of the rich Balochistan manage to journey such distances? They rarely get food two

Editor Joint Editor

Umar Aziz Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

In simple words, the government has to make long term policies to bring the oriout-of-school children into schools. as the majority of Balochistimes a day,and hence cannot afford to hire trans- tan consists of rural areas, schools are very few in portation to send their children to schools; so they number and dysfunctional in the villages. In this case, the government ought to build up as many cease their education.

On the other hand, child labour has stepped schools as possible; while separate schools for males and females, particuahead as being very critical larly in the rural belt, can in getting many other stuensure better attendance by dents to quit their educafemale children. tion. It is because most The government needs to Besides this, the governfamilies in Balochistan are ment should set up teams to suffering from severe show total willingness to conduct various awareness poverty which is why they bring educational reforms in programmes about the imprefer sending their chilportance of education. The dren to workplaces rather Balochistan, specifically teams must be trained well than educational institubefore they go out to work tions. They think governenrolling the out-of-school on the ground so that they mental jobs are only for children. The concerned are capable enough to conthose who have recommenvince the parents to send dations in higher platforms, authorities must have their children to schools. Powhich they do not. They frequent visits to schools to litical leaders should also feel it is better to make in these protheir children experts in regulate them. They ought to participate grammes which would ultiwork other than education mately enhance the interest so that they may be able to be strict in this very regard of the parents in enrolling generate income when they for the future of Balochistan. their children in school. grow up.

The government needs another reason which They should also emphasize to show total willingness to contributes to taking the the providing of the best bring educational reforms children far from schools, is in Balochistan, specifically ghost teachers; this demolservices so that students enrolling the out-of-school ishes the educational desires children. The concerned auof children, eventually leadget inspired to join schools thorities must have frequent ing them to step away from more and more. visits to schools to regulate education. The report of alif them. They ought to be ailaan unveils that 5,000 strict in this very regard for teachers in Balochistan are the future of Balochistan. reportedly absent from their duties which leaves their classes, averaging above They should also emphasize the providing of the 120 students per class, unattended. In such an envi- best services so that students get inspired to join ronment, children get tired of keeping an eye out for schools more and more. If not done now, Balochisthe arrival of their teachers; especially when their tan can lose a generation in the modern era. It wait remains a wait solely. Presence of no teachers in would be tougher to recover in the coming years. their schools makes their going to school of no use, The writer is a freelance columnist thus they leave haplessly and under pressure.

The problems are huge, but they must be overcome

Arif Nizami

Managing Editor

The writer holds PhD in Economics degree from the University of Barcelona, and previously worked at International Monetary Fund.Prior to this, he did MSc. in Economics from the University of York (United Kingdom), and worked at the Ministry of Economic Affairs & Statistics (Pakistan), among other places. He is author of Springer published book (2016) ‘The economic impact of International Monetary Fund programmes: institutional quality, macroeconomic stabilization and economic growth’.He tweets @omerjaved7

Out-of-school children in Balochistan

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Yousaf Nizami Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

cle: ‘Half of all low-income countries were in debt distress or at high risk before the pandemic, according to the International Monetary Fund, and six have defaulted in the past year. In addition, 36 developing countries have had their sovereign credit rating downgraded by one of the three major ratings agencies, and 28 others have had their outlook downgraded.’

In addition, the pandemic also caused a significant drop in foreign direct investment globally, where the same article pointed out in this regard that ‘Global foreign direct investment fell by 40% in 2020 and is expected to decline by another $100 billion in 2021.

Greenfield investment projects and cross-border mergers and acquisitions were likewise down 50% last year’, which also took a lot away from another important source for developing countries in terms of supporting both their difficult balance of payments situation in general, and also help revive their economies and jobs from the ravages of pandemiccaused-recession. at the same time, countries following years of neoliberal policy prescription of, for instance, largescale financial market liberalization, especially developing countries, and in particular among those which have been prolonged users of International Monetary Fund (IMF) resources for long periods, like Pakistan, run a serious risk of suffering from the highly fluid nature of foreign portfolio investment (FPI), which they are primarily getting under a wave of idle, yield-hungry capital during the pandemiccaused recessionary situation globally – since macroeconomic fundamentals have not changed much as such in developing countries during the pandemic to otherwise create this much attraction for this tide of FPI landing in developing countries in general, which have been pushed to pay even higher yields to build BOP cushion for their respective economies– and which may leave after the world opens up once the pandemic subsides, and there are increasing avenues for greater FDI inflows. as inoculation rates reach significant numbers in advanced, rich countries, which have also been injecting huge amounts of stimulus– unlike developing countries in general, where such cushion was neither there as such, to start with before the pandemic, and with recession, shrunk even further, and created need for walking a thin rope due to the debt versus development trade-off– there are already signs of things picking up on the economic front in developed countries, unless future waves of new dangerous variants

appear significantly and dampen this recovery.

With recovery in developed countries building pace, and economic activity reviving, this would create greater destinations for this FPI currently being invested in developing countries, including being invested as FDI as rewarding long-term equity returns, at which time, these developing countries are likely to receive a big shock from this capital flight, with significant chances of a BOP and debt crisis emerging in developing countries. yet, developing countries have not received any major debt relief from bilateral and multilateral creditors. In fact, the elusive SDR 500 billion up till now, which were to come for supporting developing countries in their difficult balance of payments (BOP) and external debt situation, is long overdue. That it has been well over a year since pandemic hit, this support should have come a lot earlier, and is eagerly being awaited. The global commodity prices– at a ten-year record high currently– are also adding difficulty to an already challenged BOP situation in many developing countries, in addition to adding to inflationary pressures there.

While debt moratorium/relief has been provided, this has been quite insignificant given the high level of debt burden being faced by developing countries, which like the rest of the world are faced with the existential threat of the fast-approaching climate change crisis– where Pakistan, for instance, is among those top ten countries globally, likely to be most affected by this crisis– have not received in any significant way, the climate financing committed by advanced countries a number of years ago. In this regard, nick Dearden in the same article pointed out with regard to the performance of the recent G7 Summit that ‘and on the major issue of our times, halting climate change, the summit merely reaffirmed a decade-old target to give developing countries $100bn a year to adapt to climate change– a promise which they have already failed to honour in practice– and made a commitment to phasing out coal, but with no real details.’

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Monday, 5 July, 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

Prevalence of mouth cancer MOUTH cancer is one of the very biggest diseases in Pakistan. Oral cancer is a pernicious disease which occures on the lips, gums, tongue and moth cancer mostly affects those people who are drugs users. excessively use of tobacco including cigarettes, cigars, pipes and snuff among others.

Mouth cancer affected many people in Pakistan and among them also can cause death sometimes. Most cases of mouth cancer occurs in able adult12,5090 cases affect people younger then 50 overal can around 60% of people with mouth cancer will live at least five years affect their diagnosis and many will live much longer without the cancer returning.

Mouth cancer is very dangerous cancer, it is affecting to inside. lip and oral cancer is the second most proralent. diagnosed and leading cases of cancer death in Pakistan with an estimated 5 year prevalence of 30,6417 cases 12761 newly diagnosed cases and 7266 deaths in 2012. The one case came in Pakistan now 2020, he was an affected and died due to mouth cancer at age of 56 year. It is my humble request to the government, she should take out the treatment of mouth cancer.

Saba baran KarKi

We are not ATMs

Changing climate and its impact on Pakistan Disaster looms abDullah azizi

A

CCORDInG to international and national environmental scientists, Pakistan is considered in those countries which have been mostly affected by climate change. Pakistan is among those top 20 countries which will be hit hard by climate change. as we know that Pakistan is a weaker economic state, so Pakistan will be badly affected by climate change. The weak economic structure of Pakistan exposes her in all socioeconomic structures such as water, agriculture, energy, basic health, and especially in livelihoods. This weak economic structure needs to be improved because climate change is still taking place and will affect the country very badly in the near future. We have seen that from the past few years, that the earth is warming up due to global warming and with it the consequences have also started. In Pakistan, the coastlines are shrinking, deserts are spreading and storms are growing stronger, while at the Poles, centuriesold ice sheets are melting and breaking, and this all is taking place because of climate change. according to scientists, 75 percent of climate change is caused by human activities.

Human activities from pollution to overpopulation are driving up the earth’s temperature and changing the world around us. The main cause is the greenhouse effect. The more the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the more they will trap heat in the atmosphere. This will strengthen the greenhouse effect and raise the earth’s temperature all over the world.

The industrial revolution resulted in climate change. The industrial activities like burning of fossil fuels result in the release of carbon dioxide and which causes a rise in the temperature of earth. The US Department of Defense has highlighted that climate change is the great threat to the national security of sovereign states. Climate change is reshaping our world and also reshaping our atmosphere.

Climate change is a threat to other states also but a great threat for Pakistan as Pakistan has a weak economic structure. The weather of Pakistan is getting towards a more extreme level.

The temperature is rising faster than expected, which is causing floods, major storms, and also longer and frequent droughts.

In Pakistan, the change in climate will create great tensions in upcoming years. Global warming is affecting the whole world and Pakistan has no precautionary measures to overcome this problem. Due to global warming the rise in the sea level is seen in Pakistan which resulted in flooding in many areas in past years. The rise of temperature also caused drought in other parts of the country. The flood and drought is badly affecting the growth of crops, which is causing the loss of agricultural output. It is the result of climate change that unseasonal rainfall occurs which makes it difficult for crops to grow and

most of the crops get ruined before harvest. The it will become difficult for the farmers to grow farmers of Pakistan complained that it rains crops in such an environment. First people will when crops don’t require water at that time and move towards those places where food is availwhen water is required the supply of water be- able and animals will also shift to those places. comes diminished which is ruining the crops in The interstate migration will start, which will greater amounts and farmers are suffering great cause great problems for the rest of the people loss. The agriculture sector of Pakistan is badly who already live where they are moving and also affected by the climate change which also starts for the government of the hosts.

Slowly and steadily the worsening condition to make the economy flounder, as Pakistan is an agricultural country. another important thing of the weather will cause the total eradication of which needs to be highlighted is that climate food production. There will be no fresh water for change affects the growth of crops, which makes drinking. either there will be flood or complete for an imbalance in the supply and demand of drought which will make people leave their the products. The products will become more ex- homelands and move to the other part of the pensive when there is a shortage of food. When world. This is the worst condition any country the supply of food will be decreased and the de- could face. The mass migration will create problems for other counmand will be increased, tries also because automatically it will reclimate change will be sult in inflation and affecting them also, higher prices. The peoThe climate is changing and at that time every ple will suffer. Climate change is thus lowering faster than expected. This is country will try to protect their own people the quality and quantity the biggest issue which is to and safeguard their of resources. rights. The Pakistan Climate change is be the concern of all, and government should resulting in the spread take steps on this great of tropical diseases in quick actions should be issue. Otherwise the Pakistan. The rise in taken so that Pakistan and outcome will be a hortemperature will lead rifying nightmare. Demore people to dehyits people will be protected struction and chaos drate and the dehydraand have a better living. The will be everywhere. tion will lead towards The government the problem of kidney government has the needs to introduce a stones. The increased amount of smog (conresponsibility to take actions new energy source for transport so that no taining ozone particles) and make its people aware of smoke will be proin the surrounding atduced. all the indusmosphere and frequent the change in weather. The tries need to put the exposure to higher levdams should be built to save filters on their chimels of smog can cause neys so that the danasthma, heart disease water in them for the future. gerous and poisonous and lung cancer. Many gases do not pollute the more diseases like difThe policies need to be The most ferent skin allergies, implemented in all sectors of atmosphere. important thing which will increase, Diarrhea will also spread faster economic activity, to develop the government needs to focus on is plantabecause of change in the economy of Pakistan to a tion. Plantation is very climate. The shortage of important to stop food will result in starhigh level. global warming to devation and malnutrition crease the production which will make people of carbon dioxide and unhealthy and will lead other harmful gases. towards more sickness.

The bacteria e.coli, which causes diarrhea, grow Deforestation will lead to the production of more faster in warm temperatures and the temperature carbon dioxide and the rise of temperature.

The climate is changing faster than exof earth is rising which will result in more e.coli bacteria and more diseases spreading which are pected. This is the biggest issue which is to be the concern of all, and quick actions should be associated with that bacteria.

Climate change will result in a new kind of taken so that Pakistan and its people will be prorefugees in upcoming years, the “Climate tected and have a better living. The government Refugee”. If the government will not take ac- has the responsibility to take actions and make tions on time for climate change, then Pakistan its people aware of the change in weather. The will also be counted among those countries dams should be built to save water in them for which are affected by climate change and mass the future. The policies need to be implemented migration will be the possible outcome. The in- in all sectors of economic activity, to develop the crease in temperature will result in climate economy of Pakistan to a high level. change and a decrease in food production will The writer is a freelance columnist be seen. The supply of water will diminish and

aS schools have started reopening categorically, they are demanding all six months of pandemic period fees at once.at the time when inflation is on its peak from 3.8 to 7.2 in the term of ongoing government, giving as much money at one time looks a milestone for a poor.We send our children to private schools to ensure that they get better education, but educational institutions do not even take pity on us.Moreover, the school bus runs on its will.It takes the same amount for the ones who are nearby to schools and as well to the ones who are far in distance.We are being looted but the authorities are in deep slumber.We do not know how to survive in this country.I have found your newspaper a source to highlight the issues of ours.

Hammal naEEm bugH

Common evils aS we all a aware that rape cases are increasing like the population of the world. acorrding to the research millions of rape cases are happening in this world per year. Pakistan is among those countries where rape has become a big issue. For some years even the small kids are being targeted to rape. The rapists have become so cruel that they not only sexually abuse the girls or women but also kill them. In most of the cases the subjected girl or women is found dead. Recently in the motorway case the women was in search of help and the men who had to help her, sexually assaulted her and killed her.

Such cases are not taken seriously by the government. The silence of government is a proof that not only our society but the parliament and assemblies are also Male-dominant. I don’t understand why do we call ourselves muslims? Why do we call ourselves the most powerful Islamic nation? We have never done anything a muslim has to do. We should not claim to be muslims but we should prove that.

JamSHEr KHurSHid TurbaT

Child marriages CHIlD marriages have been one of the serious issues, especially in developing countries. Pakistan also facing this problem, children under eighteen are forcefully contract into marriage by their family elders in rural areas. specially girls are going through this issue. The girls of the extremely poverty-ridden families in the slums of the towns and cities of villages are found to be married before 15. according to research every year at least 12 million girls marry before the age of 18. It's due to poverty and illiteracy. The parents of their families can't afford to send their girls to high schools and can't provide them with job.

This later causes different types of health issues such as obstetric fistula, cervical cancer and many other sexually transmitted infectious diseases like HIV. There is a high chance of death during childbirth.

Human Rights and many other organizations are working against child marriages by doing awareness programs, sessions etc, But still there are no such fruitful results. Child marriage is still in practice and situation is becoming worst day by day. Government should make strong law against child marriages, and also develop educational institutes in backward areas because illiteracy and poverty is the main reason of child marriage.

JavEriya KHan KaracHi

Regression of society any country’s retrogression of the society can be assessed from the incidents transpire in their society. Many incidents of different nature are taken place in societies of civilized, uncivilized, developed and under development countries like raping, child abuse, sexual harassment, lynching, assassination, forced and child marriages etc but the worst incident which can be transpired in any country is beating and killing parents and such tragic incidents are rarely transpired.

Such barbarism is started taking place in our society which is an Islamic country. Recently, an unfortunate son has assassinated his own mother just to acquire few thousand rupees from her. It is reported that a poor mother accompanied her son to get Rs. 12,000/- from ehsas program launched by incumbent government aim to help poor and needy people so that they can manage bread and butter for their families. On the way back to home, that unfortunate son demanded money from his mother whom she refused and on refusal, he took his mother to a place where nobody could see them and he stabbed his mother with a sharp knife and she succumbed to death.

Propagation of respecting, obeying and treating parents in good manners is required to be disseminated through print, electronic and social medias as well as clerics should also let folks know about parents’ status and advantages and disadvantages of respecting and disobeying parents so that such pathetic and sad incident would not happen again in our society.

FaiSal anSar KaracHi

Monday, 5 July, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

CAn AmeriCA lose to ChinA? (PArt ii) WHEN PRESIDENT XI JINPING VISITED MEXICO AS VICE PRESIDENT IN 2009, HE SAID “CHINA DOES NOT, FIRST, EXPORT REVOLUTION; SECOND, EXPORT POVERTY AND HUNGER; THIRD, CAUSE TROUBLES FOR YOU.” MOST COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD WOULD AGREE WITH THE SPIRIT OF XI’S STATEMENT NATiONAl iNTereST

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KishorE MahBuBani

NDEED, one key reason why America won the Cold War against the Soviet Union is that the causes it championed, especially causes in the international arena, enjoyed the broad support of the peoples of the world. i myself witnessed this. After the Soviet-supported Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in December 1978 and after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, which is the only body in the world which represents all 7.8 billion people of the world, would consistently vote to condemn and reject these invasions. When i served as Singapore’s ambassador to the UN from 1984 to 1989, i worked closely with distinguished American ambassadors like Vernon Walters and Jeane J. Kirkpatrick to ensure that out of 193 member states of the UN, almost 150 member states would support American-inspired resolutions against the Soviet Union. this proved empirically that most “peoples of the world” supported America over the Soviet Union.

America can now use the same empirical test to see whether the “peoples of the world” support America over China. Unfortunately, unlike the Soviet Union, China has not invaded or occupied any neighboring state. indeed, among all the major powers, China is the only one that has not fought a major war in over forty years. Nonetheless, America has accused China of behaving “aggressively” in three territories: hong Kong, Xinjiang, and taiwan. the issues involved in each of the three are different. indeed, they are complex. however, most American commentaries make a simple black and white case that China’s actions in these three territories are wrong and, as a result, the “world” disapproves of China’s actions in these areas. house Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said that, ‘’ the United States Congress has always spoken with one voice in defense of those oppressed by Beijing and in support of freedom, justice and real autonomy for the people of hong Kong. We call on all freedom-loving people around the world to join us in denouncing this unjust sentencing and China’s widespread assault on hong Kongers.’’

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said in a statement that China’s actions pertaining to Xinjiang “only contribute to the growing international scrutiny of the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang. We stand in solidarity with Canada, the UK, the EU, and other partners and allies around the world in calling on [China] to end the human rights violations and abuses.” Both Pelosi and Blinken used the word “world” to suggest that the international community also condemned China’s actions in hong Kong and Xinjiang.

Whenever any American uses the phrase which suggests the “world disapproves of China,” they should say privately to themselves this phrase: “1.5 billion Muslims, 1 billion hindus, 1.4 billion Africans, 600 million Latin Americans, 500 million Buddhists (or the vast majority of the world’s population) disapproves of China’s actions. By using this phrase, instead of “the world,” they would see clearly that they have made an empirically false statement. Most countries in the world do not sup-

port American criticisms of China in either hong Kong or Xinjiang. As indicated above, there is an empirically verifiable way for America to determine whether the “world” supports American criticism of China’s actions in hong Kong, Xinjiang, or taiwan. America could table a resolution on any of three issues in the UN General Assembly. if it were to do so, America would find itself in the same situation as the Soviet Union in the Cold War. it would struggle to get thirty to forty countries out of 193 countries to support its point of view. indeed, America has carried out this empirical test on Xinjiang. together with a group of twenty-three mainly Western countries, it issued a statement condemning human rights violations in Xinjiang. the statement said that there were “mass detention, efforts to restrict cultural and religious practices, mass surveillance disproportionately targeting ethnic Uyghurs, and other human rights violations and abuses in the region.” in short, China was accused of suppressing its Muslims. in theory, if China was suppressing its Muslims, the most outraged community would be the fifty-seven countries that are members of the Organization of islamic Cooperation. Yet not one Muslim country supported America or the West on Xinjiang. in response to the statement by the twenty-three countries condemning China, fifty-four countries backed a counter-statement defending China’s actions in Xinjiang.

Many Americans may console themselves with the fact that this was a noble contest between “freedom-loving democracies” and “autocratic Muslim states.” Yet, the two largest democracies in the world, apart from America, are india (1.3 billion people) and indonesia (280 million people). Neither supported America on Xinjiang. the 1.6 billion people who live in india and indonesia make up twice the population of all Western countries combined. the real issue here is not the merits of the case on Xinjiang, hong Kong, or taiwan. the real issue is the stark difference between America’s standing in the world vis-à-vis its primary competitor in the Cold War, namely the Soviet Union, and its standing in the world vis-à-vis China. During the Cold War, most countries, indeed most peoples of the world, supported America against the Soviet Union. today, by contrast, most want to remain neutral in this major geopolitical contest between America and China. Most countries want to have good relations with America. Yet most countries also want to have good relations with China. hence, if any American administration, driven by domestic political pressures, steps up its geopolitical contest with China, it will find itself relatively isolated internationally. Few countries would enthusiastically support America in this contest. the European countries, especially France and Germany, are among America’s closest allies. Yet they too will be ambivalent about joining any American crusade against China, even though they share some American concerns about China’s behavior. At the end of the day, countries have to pay attention to their national interests.

China is now a bigger trading partner for Europe than America is. in 2020, total EU trade with China was $709 billion and $671 billion with America. ten years from now, this gap will widen. Equally importantly, the real long-term strategic nightmare for Europe is no longer

Russian tanks. it’s the demographic explosion in Africa, especially since Africa’s population will be ten times larger than Europe’s by 2100. if geopolitics is also about geography, China’s investment in Africa is a geopolitical gift to Europe as it reduces African migration to Europe.

An old adage says that one should not look a gift horse in the mouth.

European and American interests also diverge on iran. this is why the Europeans didn’t leave the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action when trump did. iran also demonstrates how China plays a long-term game of chess (or more accurately, the Chinese game of wei qi) while America plays checkers. Why did China sign a twentyfive-year Comprehensive Strategic Partnership agreement with iran in March 2021? One credible answer is that China is retaliating against America because it is crossing a “red line” in the Sino-American relationship; America is quietly walking away from the “One-China policy” that has underpinned the relationship for almost fifty years. indeed, exactly fifty years ago, then-Secretary of State henry Kissinger visited China. he raised many issues with Chinese premier Zhou Enlai. Zhou Enlai only raised one: taiwan. Why? Americans have forgotten the century of humiliation China suffered from 1842 to 1949. the Chinese haven’t. the separation of taiwan from the homeland represents the last living legacy of this century of humiliation. Any Chinese leader, even Xi Jinping, who appears soft on taiwan will be removed. hence, it would be foolhardy for any Chinese leader not to work out extreme options if America walks away any further from the One China policy. China will look for a suitable “Achilles’ heel” in America. As i document in my book, has China Won? the Chinese Challenge to American Primacy, the role of the U.S. dollar as the global reserve currency is one area of vulnerability. this issue is complicated. Yet there’s no doubt that America’s standing in the world will fall sharply if the U.S. dollar loses its global reserve currency status.

Many Americans will not be daunted by this prospect. Since many Americans tend to have a black and white view of the world, where they believe they represent right over wrong, or good over evil, they will console themselves by saying that America is carrying out a noble global mission of defending freedom, democracy, and human rights against an evil, authoritarian, despotic regime, which is oppressing its own people.

Even if America has to stand alone in this fight, it will not give up. Ultimately, America will triumph in its noble mission of defeating another evil communist empire. this brief representation may seem to be a caricature of American views. however, it’s not unfair in suggesting that many Americans, including thoughtful Americans, have a black and white view of the relationships between America and China. Former President Ronald Reagan captured well American sentiments when he described the Soviet Union as the “evil empire.” it will not be long before China becomes equally stigmatized as another “evil empire.” if Americans fall into this groove of developing a black and white contrast between America and China, they will find that unlike in the Cold War, it will be America that will appear isolated, not China. this does not mean that the rest of the world has an overwhelm-

ingly positive view of China. All the global surveys that show rising apprehensions about China’s rise are accurate. Whenever a new power bursts into the international community, it would be perfectly reasonable for the international community to be apprehensive. indeed, some actions taken by China, including its assertive moves in the South China Sea, have raised serious concerns.

Yet most countries in the world just see China for what it is: a normal country. it’s working hard to improve the livelihood of its people, and succeeding spectacularly in this regard. it’s cooperating normally with most countries in the world. international trade is completely voluntary. No country can be forced to export or import goods. hence, when over 130 countries in the world choose to trade more with China than America, they are sending the strongest possible signal that they believe that China is just a normal country, neither good nor evil.

At the same time, it is also true that respect for China is growing among most countries in the world. Americans may wish to dismiss these growing signals of respect for China just as opportunistic moves by countries that just want to benefit from the Chinese economy. Before falling into a smug attitude of moral superiority, Americans should consider the possibility that the rest of the world is capable of arriving at a sophisticated and nuanced understanding of China. hence, they can see that China is delivering many global public goods that have benefitted the international community. the first global public good is to restrain the strong nationalistic dragon within the Chinese body politic. this is why China in 2021 is not behaving as theodore Roosevelt did in 1899. the second global public good is to be a rational and responsible actor in response to global challenges, like climate change and COViD-19. here’s one small fact that most Americans are not aware of: COViD-19 has significantly raised China’s stature in the world and diminished America’s. the third is to behave like a “status quo” power, rather than as a “revolutionary power.” Blinken was absolutely right when he said that “China is the only country with the economic, diplomatic, military and technological power to seriously challenge the stable and open international system.” Yet, even as China has become more powerful, it continues to embrace the Western-originated, rules-based order generated by the UN Charter and the UN family of institutions. Anyone who doubts this should read the UN Charter again. its principles support China.

Equally importantly, China is creating a stable and well-ordered society that is significantly improving the lives of 1.4 billion people. the political rules that govern Chinese society are not Western. the social contract worked out between the Chinese people and the Chinese government is different from Western models. But it works for the Chinese people. A peer-reviewed, credible academic study done by the harvard Kennedy School has documented and explained how support for the Chinese government has gone up from 86 percent in 2003 to 93 percent in 2016. Support has grown even more after the Chinese government managed COViD-19 well. Most Chinese are astonished to see how badly both America and Europe have managed. hence, they react with incredulity and disbelief when Western leaders lecture Chinese on how they can create a better society for themselves.

President Xi Jinping is a man of few words. When he visited Mexico as vice president in 2009, he said “China does not, first, export revolution; second, export poverty and hunger; third, cause troubles for you.” Most countries in the world would agree with the spirit of Xi’s statement. As long as China takes care of its people and doesn’t disrupt the world order, the rest of the world will be able to get along with China. And America will find itself isolated if it tries to isolate China.

Kishore Mahbubani, a Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore, is the author of Has China Won? The Chinese Challenge to American Primacy (2020).

Concluded

America will leave Afghanistan independence in its death throes USA TODAY

W

Editorial Board

ith predictions of a taliban victory within months of an American exit from Afghanistan, White house critics are already declaring that Joe Biden will own the result. that isn’t fair, of course, since the war was never decisively waged by four successive presidents, the Kabul regime was chronically corrupt and the American public has long since lost patience with 20 years of spent blood and treasure. But it isn’t entirely wrong, either.

EXIT PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: in Biden’s race for the exit, any chance of pressuring opposing factions into a peace settlement was forfeited. the trump administration last year brought the taliban to the table to begin negotiating an end to the war. And at first it looked promising. there was a seven-day reduction of violence (not quite a cease-fire). An agreement between the United States and taliban that included an initial U.S. reduction in forces from 13,000 to 8,600, a taliban promise to renounce terror organizations operating on Afghan soil, and initiation of final peace talks with the Kabul government. that last provision was key.

But as months passed without any serious effort by taliban leaders to talk peace with the democratically

THE LATEST US INTELLIGENCE ASSESSMENT IS THAT THE GOVERNMENT IN KABUL COULD COLLAPSE IN SIX MONTHS elected government of President Ashraf Ghani, President Donald trump gave away leverage by continuing to withdraw U.S. troops and negotiating a May 1 exit deadline with the taliban. he wanted to boast in an election year that he was “bringing our soldiers back home.”

provide security for diplomats. Biden said it was “time to end the forever war.” But, of course, that war wasn’t ending. America was simply pulling up stakes, a move that only encouraged more war as the taliban stepped up offensive operations.

ENTER PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Meanwhile, taliban attacks across the country mounted. By the time Biden took office, U.S. troop levels were down to 2,500, supplemented by 7,000 NAtO soldiers, devoted not to ground combat but to training Afghan forces, providing air support for Afghan operations or conducting counterterrorism missions.

U.S. casualties were nonexistent. Biden might have slowed down the exodus of troops and made further drawdowns contingent on the taliban at least making a good faith effort to reach a peace deal with the Kabul government. instead, Biden did the opposite, announcing in April that all troops would leave. And soon. he first set a deadline of Sept. 11. then moved it way up to July 4 or shortly thereafter. Several hundred troops will remain to

TALIBAN BATTLEFIELD SUCCESSES: Militants have captured 50 district capitals since May 1, and they now control a third of the country and contest 42% more.

Even their commanders are startled by their rapid battlefield successes. Meanwhile, battered and homeless Afghan women are fleeing shelters in the north to escape the brutally restrictive taliban, and the rights of women across the country are in jeopardy. the latest U.S. intelligence assessment is that the government in Kabul could collapse in six months, according to the Wall Street Journal. And the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Austin “Scott” Miller, told reporters tuesday of his concern that the nation could devolve into civil war once NAtO troops leave.

Nor is there a guarantee that terrorist organizations such as al-Qaida won’t once again use Afghanistan as a

base of operations. the taliban and al-Qaida have never severed ties. With U.S. troops gone, America’s ability to monitor terrorism activities will diminish.

EVACUATE AFGHAN INTERPRETERS: the Biden administration is at least planning to evacuate thousands of Afghans who worked with U.S. forces and now risk retribution from the taliban. they’re to be taken to other countries while processing U.S. entry applications. the lives of 18,000 are at stake, along with about 53,000 family members. the task is daunting. Necessary. And the time to accomplish is quickly running out.

But America is certainly leaving. “Afghans are going to have to decide their future,” Biden said on June 25, as he met with Ghani and promised $266 million in humanitarian aid, $3.3 billion in security assistance and millions of COViD-19 shots. there’s some talk in the Pentagon of seeking authorization to launch airstrikes from outside Afghanistan in support of beleaguered government forces. this would be important if it’s approved by the White house, though logistically challenging. But Biden may say no. he seems hellbent to wash his hands of this forever war.

So be it. But the reality is that should there be harrowing images of a democracy in its death throes beamed back into American mobile devices and living rooms in the months to come, the stain left on the Biden presidency will never go away.

Monday, 5 July, 2021

BUSINESS 09

ISLAMABAD Govt announces 50pc hike in tax rates on saving schemes The Central Directorate for National Savings (CDNS) has notified a 50 per cent increase in the income tax rates on the profits earned by making investments in various government schemes – a move which may further discourage small investors from putting their money in these schemes. Effective from July 1, the rate for tax-forprofit on debt imposed under Section 7B (of the Income Tax Ordinance) shall be 15pc, according to a notification issued by the CDNS. However, persons not appearing in the active taxpayers list will be charged at 30pc income tax rate, it said. The CDNS, a headless department for the last three years working under the Ministry of Finance, issued the notification after the government changed the tax rates in the budget with effect from July 1. The previous tax rates were 10pc and 20pc. The 15pc and 30pc income tax rates are only for those who would earn a profit of up to Rs500,000. If their profit margins exceed the Rs500,000 threshold, they will be charged standard rates – up to 35pc. MONITORING REPORT

Gas supply to be restored in Punjab, KP on July 7 Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) has notified the schedule for the restoration of gas supply to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), ARY News reported on Saturday. The notification issued by SNGPL stated that the gas supply will be restored to the general industry in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on Wednesday, July 7, 2021. It added that the gas supply to the Combined Natural Gas (CNG) sector will also be restored besides gas restoration to textile, cement, paper, fertilisers and food industries. Moreover, the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) announced that the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations will resume their operations from July 5 across Sindh after observing two weeks long closure. It is pertinent to mention here that SSGC had announced the suspension of gas supply to CNG stations and the non-export sector till across Sindh on June 28. MONITORING REPORT

US aid agency warns of canceling Rs5bn over slow spending PESHAWAR AZIZ BUNERI

The USAID has made it clear to the federal government that if Rs5.5 billion allocated for 10 ongoing development projects across the country were not utilized by September 30, the agency will withdraw the funds. After the warning, the federal government has directed provincial governments to expedite work on the projects. The letter sent by USAID stated that there was stipulated time period to utilise the funds on the concerned development projects.

However, the fund exceeding Rs5.5 billion could not be utilised. The agency said that timely utilization of the funds was one of the legal requirements for getting the financial aid. However, if the government of Pakistan does not ensure the proper and timely use of funds, the US agency will be forced to cancel the plans and withdraw allocations.

The letter said that by September 30, 2021, 10 projects including FATA Infrastructure Program, Kurram Tangi Dam Project, Mangla Dam Rehabilitation, Municipal Services Program Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Municipal Services Program Sindh, Sindh Basic Education Program, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Reconstruction Program, Merit and Needs Scholarships, Gomal Zam Command Area Development and Tarbela Dam Rehabilitation. Among these schemes, seven projects are in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, therefore, instructions were issues by the federal government to expedite work on the projects.

Govt Set to laUnch Kamyab PaKiStan PRoGRamme thiS month LAHORE

t

STAFF REPORT

HE federal government has decided to launch the ‘Kamyab Pakistan’ programme - a multidimensional social welfare initiative - at the national level in the next few days. This was announced by Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin while chairing the third meeting of the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) on Saturday.

The meeting was attended by Minister for Industries and Production Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtyar, Minister for Privatisation Mohammadmian Soomro and Minister for National Food Security and Research Fakhar Imam. Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce Razak Dawood, finance and privatisation secretaries and SBP deputy governor also attended the meeting.

It was decided that the program would be launched in the ongoing month and housing projects, skill development and loan schemes, health cards and agricultural loans would be brought under the Kamyab Pakistan programme.

With upto Rs500,000 interest-free loans planned, the finance minister said that four million families nationwide would become a part of the initiative.

“Farmers will receive interest-free loans for improving harvest and other business opportunities,” Tarin said, adding that the population in provinces would also get universal health coverage.

“This is the biggest social welfare initiative launched by the incumbent government,” he said adding that one person from a family would receive technical education free of cost while a low-cost housing scheme would also be made part of this multi-dimensional initiative.

Tarin said that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan restored the body with an objective to draft concrete proposals for sustainable economic growth through comprehensive planning across major sectors of the economy. He added that all stakeholders would be taken on board prior to policy approvals.

“The underlying rationale is to secure the future of coming generations of Pakistan,” Tarin added.

The meeting suggested tax credit on enlistment of companies and to incentivise the induction of women in

workforce as part of medium-term plans whereas financing facility for growth of the retailers and tax adjustability were suggested as part of a long-term strategy for promoting domestic commerce sector in the country.

Further during the third meeting, four sub-groups made respective presentations. The sub-groups gave their presentations on topics namely state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and privatisation, energy, domestic commerce and price stability.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Finance and Revenue, Waqar Masood Khan, gave a detailed presentation on price stability which included short, medium and long term proposals for bringing price stability in the country. Khan drew a comparative analysis between prices prevailing in Pakistan and also in the entire region both in current and historical perspectives.

Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research, Syed Fakhar Imam, and Federal Minister for Industries for Production, Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, gave their valuable input on the topic.

Private member Farooq Rehmatullah gave a presentation on the energy sector and showcased global,

regional and local trends in the refining industry.

He also offered recommendations for introducing sustainable solutions to streamline operations from downstream oil to marketing sectors and stressed upon resolving the challenges present in liquefied petroleum gas and exploration and production sectors and called for exploring renewable energy resources of Pakistan.

Another private member Sultan Ali Allana made a presentation on SOEs. The presentation emphasised the importance of continued review of SOEs portfolio and also highlighted steps for better management of SOEs. The presentation included strategies for better management of the SOEs in phases. The presentation further included measures to speed up the privatization process in a smooth and timely manner.

Private member Zaid Bashir made a presentation on domestic commerce sector. The presentation underlined to enrich and revive the documented/integrated sectors and fully realize the true potential of e-commerce during the short term by bringing retailers into a more organised environment ultimately increasing contribution to the National exchequer.

CNG sector demands withdrawal of 17pc GST on LNG, other relief measures ISLAMABAD AHMAD AHMADANI

The Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) industry has demanded the government to withdraw the 17 per cent General Sales Tax (GST) on the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) sector besides allowing the private sector to bring LNG to the country in order to meet energy needs.

According to details, an emergency meeting of the central body of All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNG) was called on Sunday to discuss the effects of GST on LNG, especially on the CNG sector and how to get rid from the problems being faced after the increase in GST on LNG price. Sharing details of the meeting, Ghias Abdullah Paracha, a senior leader of APCNGA, said that the meeting discussed if CNG stations

should be opened or not after the imposition of the new tax on the sale of LNG. Similarly, the meeting discussed that CNG stations should pass on the whole effect of increase in GST on LNG price to the consumers or not.

Furthermore, it was also discussed that price of CNG can be increased by Rs30 per kilogramme or Rs18 per litre with effect to the GST on LNG and import of expansive LNG. It was decided to approach the government to get re-

solve the matter. Paracha, while hinting closure of CNG stations, made it clear that the filling stations cannot sell CNG on the new price after the imposition of such a heavy GST. On behalf of the sector, he demanded from the government to give the same subsidy to the sector which the government is giving to other sectors. He also said that if the government is not willing to give them a subsidy then it should allow the private sector to import LNG so that stations can sell the gas at low price than petrol. Warning the closure of all 3000 of Pakistan's CNG stations in next few days in case the government does not pay due heed to their demands, Paracha said that closures will affect 20 lakh vehicles while employment of four lakh persons affiliated with the business will be in serious danger.

Pandemic drives sea freight prices to record high LONDON AGENCIES

Container shipping prices have reached record highs some 18 months after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic which disrupted maritime logistics chains and drove demand sky-high.

“We are basically running out of vessels and of empty containers,” Alan Murphy, head of the consultancy Sea Intelligence, told AFP. “There’s been a massive shortage of empty containers, they are in the wrong place, they are stuck in ports and not in Asia ready to be loaded.”

The Freightos Baltic Index, a benchmark for major shipping routes, has more than tripled in a year to nearly $7,000 (5,900 euros) for a trip from China to the west coast of the United States.

A trip to Europe has exceeded $10,000,

compared with just $1,600 at the same time last year.

Murphy said the unprecedented situation compounded the troubles of the last 10 years, which he said had been “really bad for the shipping lines”.

Blighted by overcapacity in the sector, he said the firms “were losing money every time they were moving a container”.

‘UNPRECEDENTED DROP’ The Covid19 pandemic, which initially brought global shipping to a virtual standstill, did not bode well for the industry and led to “an unprecedented drop in demand”, said Didier Rabattu, of Lombard Odier Investment Managers.

But this did not account for the trends among US and European consumers who during lockdown stopped spending in restaurants and theatres or going on holiday and instead used their money to purchase material

goods — many of them imported from Asia.

“Imagine how many televisions you can buy if you don’t go skiing for a week with four people?” said Paul Tourret, director of France’s Higher Institute of Maritime Economics (ISEMAR).

Disruptions to loading and unloading operations, from dockers falling ill and Covid restrictions to unforseen events like the shipping backlog caused the blockage of the Suez Canal in March, have only exacerbated the trend.

As a result, ship owners have never been in better shape.

The Marseille-based CMA CGM container and shipping company for example posted a net profit of more than $2 billion for the first quarter of 2021 alone, 40 times more than the previous year.

Its Danish competitor AP Moller-Maersk announced an even higher net profit of $2.7

CMYK

billion for the first three months of the year — 13 times what it saw last year.

“It is true that ship owners are making a lot of money at the moment,” Tourret said.

“But it is also a way for them to renew their fleets and accelerate their liquefied natural gas (LNG) programmes,” he added.

CMA CGM placed an order in April for 22 container ships, more than half of which are LNG-powered.

Maritime transport is “one of the main emitters of sulphur dioxide”, the French expert said, adding that although figures were favourable for each tonne transported, the sector nevertheless emitted levels of CO2 “comparable to Germany”.

The price of container transport depends on the level of demand, but also on supplyside capacity to meet it.

“Whether or not shipowners decide to wage a trade war is a major factor,” Tour-

ret said.

“None of them has any interest in driving prices down. Their collective discipline today must be not to sell out,” he added.

The situation could last, Tourret said, driven in part by the need to transport perishable goods.

“If you are carrying perishable goods that will be worth nothing if they don’t move, how much are you prepared to pay?” he asked.

Jean-Marc Lacave, the executive officer of the body for France’s maritime service professionals, Armateurs de France, said he did not expect things to return to normal before the first quarter of 2022.

“I think we have reached a peak,” he said. “If demand continues to rise, there is a not insignificant risk that prices could rise again, but we are more or less at the top of the curve,” he added.

Monday, 5 July, 2021

10 FOREIGN NEWS

ISLAMABAD

MyanMar security Forces kill 25 people in clash with junta opponents

M

REUTERS

yANMAR security forces killed at least 25 people on Friday in a confrontation with opponents of the military junta at a town in the centre of the Southeast Asian nation, two residents and Myanmar media said on Sunday.

A spokesman for the military did not respond to calls requesting comment on the violence at Depayin in the Sagaing region, about 300 km (200 miles) north of the capital, Naypyidaw. The state-run Global New Light of Myanmar said “armed terrorists” had ambushed security forces patrolling there, killing one of them and wounding six.

It said the attackers retreated after retaliation by the security forces.

Myanmar has been plunged into chaos by the Feb. 1 coup against elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, with violence flaring in

many parts of the country of more than 53 million people.

One resident of Depayin, who did not want to be identified for fear of reprisals, said four military trucks dropped soldiers at the village early on Friday. youths from a local People’s Defence Force, formed to oppose the junta, took up positions to confront them. However, they only had makeshift weapons and were forced back by the security forces’ heavier firepower, the resident said.

“There were people dying at farms and by the railroad. They (soldiers) shot everything that moved,” said another resident, who said his uncle was among the dead.

A total of 25 bodies had been collected after the fighting, both residents said.

The BBC Burmese service website and Than Lwin Khet News service carried similar accounts. The Myanmar Now news service put the death toll at not fewer than

31 and said about 10,000 people had fled the area.

Reuters was not able to verify the details

independently.

The Depayin People’s Defence Force said on its Facebook page that 18 of its

members had been killed and 11 wounded.

People’s Defence Forces have been founded by opponents of the junta in many parts of Myanmar, some of them in association with a National Unity Government set up underground as a rival to the military administration.

230,000 DISPLACED: About two dozen ethnic armed groups have fought for decades in Myanmar’s borderlands, but Depayin is in the heartland of the ethnic Bamar majority, which also dominates the armed forces.

Violence since the coup has driven more than 230,000 people from their homes, the United Nations says. It also says more than 880 people have been killed by security forces since the coup and more than 5,200 are in detention.

The military authorities have said these figures are not true, but have not given their own estimates.

The army says its assumption of power was in line with the constitution. It alleged fraud in November elections swept by Suu Kyi’s party, although the accusations were dismissed by the former electoral body.

In another challenge for the authorities, Myanmar reported a daily record of 2,318 COVID-19 cases on Sunday. The state health system has foundered after it was deserted by doctors and other health workers in protest at the military takeover.

Tigray rebels accept ‘ceasefire in principle’ but set conditions ADDIS ABABA AFP

cyprus Mountain villagers in shock aFter deadly wildFire ARAKAPAS: Villagers in the Troodos mountains of Cyprus looked in shock Sunday at their blackened hillsides after a deadly fire fanned by high temperatures and strong winds. Vaso Christosol, a woman in her 50s, recounted her hasty retreat with her daughter in their car as the flames closed in Saturday on her village of Odos, in the southern foothills of the Troodos range.

"My husband told me: 'Take our daughter and go'," she said. "We told the authorities but unfortunately help was late in coming." Firefighters stumbled across the bodies of four Egyptian workers killed in the blaze just a few hundreds metres (yards) outside the village.

Their burnt-out vehicle had plunged down a ravine and the bodies found some 600 metres away. A policeman at the scene told AFP they appeared to have fled the vehicle on foot but run in the direction of the windfanned flames, in a doomed attempt to escape. With the main fire brought largely under control on Sunday, Akis Giorgiou said he had stayed to protect his home five kilometres (three miles) away in the hamlet of Arakapas. "Everything was a nightmare and pure hell here, the village was surrounded by fire," said the 45year-old. The fire damaged or destroyed around 50 homes, many of them in Arakapas, the interior ministry said. Heat and smoke from the blaze killed tens of thousands of chickens at a farm near the village of Ora, on the southern slopes of the Troodos mountains, an AFP photographer reported. AFP

Families of Beirut blast victims mark 11 months since disaster BEIRUT: Dozens of relatives of those killed in Lebanon's port blast gathered Sunday to mark 11 months since the catastrophe and urge answers from a sluggish probe towards prosecuting those responsible. Hundreds of tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertiliser exploded on the dockside on August 4 last year, killing more than 200 people, injuring thousands, and ravaging swathes of the capital. It emerged afterwards that top political and security officials, including then prime minister Hassan Diab, had known about the explosives being stored unsafely at the port for years. Among the men, women and children who rallied Sunday outside the port was 47-year-old mother of three Raghida al-Zein, dressed in black and clutching a portrait of her husband killed in the blast. "I lost the pillar of our home, a friend. We have lost everything," she said, accusing officials of being "without a conscience". Nearby a teenager and young girl held up a banner that read: "The wives and children of the Beirut port martyrs demand justice." Ibrahim Hoteit, who lost his brother Sarwat, said the families of the victims needed to know the truth. "We live in a country run by gangs," he said of the deeply divided political class, which many accuse of incompetence and corruption. Retired army officer Elias Tanios Maalouf, 61, said he had lost his son George, a soldier who had been stationed at the entrance of the port when the fertiliser blew up on the evening of August 4, 2020. "George was taken, and with it all the joy in life," he said. AFP

Rebel leaders in Ethiopia's war-torn Tigray region on Sunday accepted "a ceasefire in principle" but posed strict conditions for it to be formalised.

Notable among those conditions was the withdrawal from the region of Eritrean forces as well as fighters from the neighbouring Ethiopian region of Amhara, who have been supporting the Ethiopian army during the eight-month long conflict. They also called for the restoration of their dislodged Tigray government. Tigray has been the scene of fighting since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent the army in last November to topple the dissident regional authorities, which emerged from the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

Abiy, the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner, accused them of orchestrating attacks on Ethiopian military bases.

After early successes and a premature declaration of victory, government forces were bogged down in a vicious and months-long battle with pro-TPLF fighters -- the Tigray Defence Forces, or TDF. The Ethiopian army was backed by troops from the neighbouring Amhara region and the army of Eritrea, which borders Tigray.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recently indicated that Eritrean forces had

largely withdrawn from Tigray and returned across the border.

'IRONCLAD GUARANTEES': On Monday, the TPLF recaptured the Tigrayan capital Mekele, held by the Ethiopian army since 28 November.

The government in Addis Ababa immediately declared a unilateral ceasefire, but this was swiftly derided as a "joke" by the rebel forces, which vowed to continue fighting. Now the rebels have agreed to a ceasefire in principle but another of their conditions is the restoration of what Addis Ababa considers the rebel government in Tigray.

The rebels said they required "ironclad guarantees that the security of our people will not be compromised by a second

round of invasions, we accept a ceasefire in principle", a statement signed by the "government of Tigray" said on Sunday.

"Nevertheless, before a ceasefire agreement is formalised, the following thorny problems must be resolved," the text continues, before listing the conditions. The rebels' statement called for the resumption of the activities of "the government democratically elected in Tigray with all its powers and constitutional responsibilities".

The United Nations and numerous governments have called for a ceasefire to be respected, especially to allow humanitarian aid to reach civilian populations.

'THORNY ISSUES': The rebel authorities are also calling for "procedures to hold (Ethiopian Prime Minister) Abiy

Biden urges Americans to celebrate July Fourth and 'independence' from Covid-19 AP After nearly six months in office, grappling with a pandemic every step of that way, President Joe Biden was determined to party. “This is a holiday weekend,” Biden declared on Friday as he parried journalists’ “negative” questions about the ongoing U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, “I’m going to be celebrating it.”

Biden wants Americans to celebrate too, after enduring 16 months of disruption in the pandemic and more than 605,000 deaths. The White House encouraged gatherings and fireworks displays all around the country to mark — as though ripped from a Hollywood script — the nation’s “independence” from the virus.

And there is much to cheer: Cases and deaths from Covid-19 are at or near record lows since the outbreak began, thanks to the robust U.S. vaccination program.

Businesses and restaurants are open, hiring is picking up and travel is getting closer to pre-pandemic levels.

Still, it’s hardly a “Mission Accomplished” moment.

More than 200 Americans still die each day from Covid19, a more infectious variant of the virus is spreading rapidly at home and abroad, and tens of millions of Americans have chosen not to get the lifesaving vaccines.

'A SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER PLACE': “If you’ve had the vaccine, you’re doing great,” said Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis, an infectious disease physician at the John Cochran VA Medical Center and St. Louis Board of Health. “If you haven’t had the vaccine, you should be alarmed and that’s just the bottom line, there’s no easy way to cut it.”

“But that doesn’t take away from the fact that this country is in a significantly better place,” she said.

Biden, who is set to host the largest event yet of his

presidency on the South Lawn of the White House on Sunday, sees this as a long-awaited opportunity to highlight the success of the vaccination campaign he championed. It will be the clearest indication yet that the U.S. has moved into a new phase of virus response, shifting from a national emergency to a localized crisis of individual responsibility and from vaccinating Americans to promoting global health. “The Fourth of July this year is different than the Fourth of July of last year,” Biden said Friday. “And it’s going to be better next year.”

Top officials in the Biden administration fanned out across the country over the weekend to promote the vastly improved virus situation under the banner, “America’s Back Together.”

Never mind that the president has come up short of the vaccination goal he had set for the Fourth with great fanfare. Biden had hoped to have 70% of the adult population vaccinated by Sunday, but clocked in at about 67%, according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Officials insisted that the miss would have little practical effect on Americans’ ability to mark the Independence Day holiday.

TWO DISPARATE REALITIES: What concerns them more is the emergence of two disparate realities in the U.S.: the gap between heavily vaccinated communities where the virus is dying out and lesser-vaccinated ones where the new delta variant is already taking hold. About 1,000 counties have a vaccination rate below 30%, and the federal government is warning that they could become the next hot spots as virus restrictions ease.

The administration is sending “surge” teams to Colorado and Missouri. Additional squads of infectious disease experts, public health professionals and doctors

Ahmed and (President) Issaias Aferworki accountable in direct proportion to the severity and magnitude of the damage they have inflicted on Tigray", as well as the creation by the UN of an independent investigation body to probe the "horrific crimes" carried out during the conflict.

Other conditions are humanitarian, including the distribution of aid and the safe return to Tigray of displaced people.

Electricity and communications have been cut in Tigray, flights suspended and two bridges crucial for aid deliveries have been destroyed.

Ethiopia has rejected charges that it plans to choke off aid to Tigray after the rebels took control of the northern region this week -- a stunning turnabout in the eight-month-old conflict.

The federal government did not respond to an AFP request for a response but it has always refused to open any dialogue with TPLF leaders, classifying the group as a terrorist organisation by parliamentary decree.

In a closed-door meeting with diplomats on Friday, Ethiopian leaders said the government was prepared to hold an "inclusive dialogue to resolve the crisis in Tigray" while repeating that it will not deal with the TPLF leaders.

According to the UN, over 400,000 people have "crossed the threshold into famine" in Tigray and 1.8 million people are on the brink of famine.

and nurses are getting ready to assist in additional locations with a combination of low vaccination rates and rising cases.

Overall, the vastly improved American landscape stands in stark contrast with much of the rest of the world, where there remain vast vaccine deserts and wide community spread that could open the door to even more dangerous variants. The Biden administration is increasingly turning the federal response to the complicated logistics of sending excess U.S. vaccines abroad in an effort to assist other nations in beating back the pandemic. With U.S. demand for vaccines falling even as they have been widely available for months, and as governments and businesses dangled an array of incentives at Americans to get a shot, officials are increasingly emphasizing that the consequences of disease now largely reflect the individual choices of those who are not yet vaccinated.

“The suffering and loss we are now seeing is nearly entirely avoidable,” said the CDC’s director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

When asked about the potential risks of holding gatherings around July Fourth in areas where there are large pockets of unvaccinated individuals, White House press secretary Jen Psaki countered that “if individuals are vaccinated in those areas, then they are protected.”

At least 1,000 members of the members and first responders were expected on the South Lawn for a cookout and fireworks viewing, the White House said. The outdoor event “is being done in the right way,” White House Covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said in television interviews Sunday, and “consistent” with CDC guidelines. The White House was not requiring vaccinations but was asking guests to get a Covid-19 test and to wear a mask if they are not fully vaccinated. “For as much work there still is to do, it’s so important to celebrate the victories,” Davis said. “I’m OK with us having those pockets of joy and celebration as long as we still wake up the next day and continue to go to work and prioritize equity in vaccine distribution.”

Monday, 5 July, 2021

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England PaCEman RObinsOn FREE TO REsumE CaREER aFTER TwEET sTORm

Thrilling season convinces Hamilton LONDON REUTERS

LONDON

Lewis Hamilton says he has no plans to stick around in Formula One into his 40s but signed up for two more years because this season's close competition has been so exciting. Explaining the thinking behind a contract extension announced at the Austrian Grand Prix on Saturday, Mercedes' seven times world champion told reporters he was loving the challenge. The 36-year-old said he had considered leaving but felt both he and the sport were entering an interesting new phase. "I think we are being challenged more than ever this year, which is great," said the most successful driver of all time. "And I love racing. This is what I want to do." Hamilton said his previous contract was supposed to be for two years but he asked for one because he was unsure whether he would continue or not, with the Covid-19 pandemic also casting uncertainty. "I had the best and most enjoyable start of the year, enjoyed the roller-coaster ride that we're having," he explained. "The start of this season, when the cars were so close in performance -- pretty much equal -- then it was really one of the most exciting times I've had for some time. To be able to have this battle with Red Bull. "I was really hoping that it would continue on like that for the rest of the year but they've taken a huge leap forwards," said Hamilton.

The Briton is 18 points behind Max Verstappen after the opening eight races, with Red Bull winning four in a row up to Sunday after Hamilton triumphed in three of the first four.

Hamilton has used his platform to campaign for diversity and equal rights, an important part of his decision to stay, but he said he was also just loving his job. "I found myself just waking up thinking about racing, so I wanted to continue to race," he said.

Poel shuns Tour de France for Olympics TIGNES AFP

Mathieu van der Poel pulled out of the Tour de France on Sunday after a spectacular star turn in the overall lead came to a shuddering halt in the Alps. The Dutch Tour rookie spent six days in the yellow jersey, but now heads to Tokyo, where he will go for Olympic gold in his preferred mountain biking discipline. "My Le Tour de France has already been a success. I'd prefer to race until Paris, I like it here. But we also have to consider my other goals," van der Poel said. "We took the decision this morning, I'm not starting today's stage," said the 26-year-old.

"Thank you for an amazing week and all those unforgettable moments, Mathieu," his Alpecin Fenix team said on social media just ahead of the start of Sunday's run to a summit finish in Tignes at 2100m altitude. "Mathieu Van der Poel won't be at the start of today's stage, and leaves Le Tour de France after an amazing week!"

Grandson of French cycling legend Raymond Poulidor, Van der Poel set pulses racing with his gung-ho stage 2 win where he took the yellow jersey that his grandfather never wore despite eight podium finishes on the Tour. It took him a Herculean effort and he at first threw himself to the ground gasping for breath before weeping in relief for the settling of the family debt he'd promised his grandfather, saying "if only he were here." Roadside fans in France then cheered him all the way from western Brittany to the chic ski resorts on the Swiss border where Van der Poel dug deep to maintain his lead, but his large frame means the all-rounder is unable to keep up with the lighter climb specialists.

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LLIE Robinson is free to play for England again after receiving an eight-game ban — five of them deferred — for offensive tweets he posted several years ago, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced late on Saturday.

The 27-year-old pace bowler will be available for England’s forthcoming matches including the five-Test series with India as a disciplinary panel deemed him to have already served the three-game ban.

He was also fined £3,200 ($4,400).

The seamer was suspended from England duty pending an investigation after historic racist and sexist posts made between 2012 and 2014 re-emerged during his Test debut in the first Test against New Zealand in June.

“Following a hearing on 30 June, the Discipline Commission Panel decided that Robinson should be suspended from playing cricket for eight matches, five of which will be suspended for two years,” read the

judgement.

“As regards the three matches which are the subject of immediate suspension, the Panel has taken into account the suspension imposed by the England Team from the second Test against New Zealand, together with two of the T20 matches from which Robinson voluntarily withdrew himself from selection for Sussex due to the impact of these proceedings.

“Robinson is, therefore, free to play cricket immediately.”

The Panel said they took several factors into account in reaching their decision.

“The Panel took into account a number of factors including the nature and content of the tweets, the breadth of their discrimination, their widespread dissemination in the media and the magnitude of the audience to whom they became available,”

Bucks head to finals, Phoenix after slamming Hawks WASHINGTON REUTERS

The Milwaukee Bucks are returning to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1974 after Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday combined for 59 points in a 118-107 victory over the host Atlanta Hawks that wrapped up a 4-2 triumph in the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night.

Despite having to play a second straight game without injured Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks earned the right to duel the Western champion Phoenix Suns in a best-of-seven that will tip-off Tuesday in Arizona.

En route to a 51-21 record in the West, which was five games better than Milwaukee’s 46-26 in the East, the Suns swept a pair of thrillers from the Bucks in the regular season, winning 125-124 at home on Feb. 10 and 128-127 in overtime at Milwaukee on April 19.

By virtue of having had the better record in the regular season, the Suns will have the home-court advantage in the series. Phoenix was seeded second in the West, Milwaukee third in the East.

The teams have met once previously in the playoffs,

back when the Bucks were a Western Conference club.

Seeded sixth, Milwaukee upset third-seeded Phoenix 2-0 in that 1978 first-round, best-of-three series.

Needing a win to stay alive, the Hawks got star guard Trae Young back for Game 6 against the Bucks. But it didn’t matter. He wasn’t on his game, shooting just 4-for-17 overall and 0-for-6 on 3-pointers en route to 14 points and a game-high-tying nine assists.

Milwaukee left little doubt, riding Middleton’s 32 points and Holiday’s 27 to a second straight win after the Hawks had rallied to tie the series at 2-2.

As they had done in the first quarter, when they bolted out to a 15-4 lead, the Bucks used a spurt early in the third period to build a double-digit lead. Middleton did all the scoring. After Clint Capela got the Hawks within 47-45 in the first minute of the second half, Middleton took over, hitting consecutive 3-pointers and a pair of two-pointers that sandwiched a three-point play for a personal 13-point run and a 15-point lead. He wasn’t done. The All-Star forward then followed a Young layup with another 3-pointer, giving him 16 straight Milwaukee points and the Bucks a 63-47 advantage.

With Holiday bombing in three 3-pointers of his own, the lead was 91-72 by quarter’s end and the Bucks were packing their summer wear for a trip to Phoenix.

Down 20 with 9:31 to go, the Hawks made a desperation run behind a pair of Cam Reddish 3-pointers to get as close as 107-101 with 3:23 to play.

But Holiday stalled the rally with a layup 18 seconds later, Middleton dropped in a pair of free throws and the Hawks never got closer than seven after that.

Brook Lopez (13), Pat Connaughton (13), Bobby Portis (12) and Jeff Teague (11) also scored in double figures for the Bucks, who out-shot the Hawks 46.1 percent to 41.3 percent. Reddish had 21 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic 20 to pace the Hawks, who have never made the NBA Finals since their move to Atlanta.

John Collins had a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double for Atlanta, while Capela added 14 points and Danilo Gallinari 13.

The Bucks never trailed in the first half after scoring 15 of the game’s first 19 points. The 11-point lead was their biggest of the first 24 minutes, which ended with Milwaukee holding a 47-43 lead.

Serbian rower tests positive for Covid-19 in Japan TOKYO REUTERS

A member of Serbia's Olympic rowing team tested positive for the new coronavirus on arrival in Japan, an official said on Sunday, the third Covid-19 infection confirmed among Olympic team members visiting for the Tokyo Games starting this month.

A member of Uganda's Olympic squad tested positive for the virus on arrival in June and a second member was confirmed as having the virus a few days later. One of Serbia's five-member rowing team tested positive during a screening at Haneda airport on Saturday night, said Takashi Ikeda, an official at the sports section of the central Japan city of Nanto, which had been scheduled to host the Serbians' training camp.

The man in his 30s was sent to a medical facility, while the other four were isolated in a separate facility in Tokyo, Ikeda told Reuters by phone. "Since they are expected to be isolated for two weeks, the Serbian rowing team is unlikely to come to Nanto for training before the Games," he said.

UNNAMED ATHLETE OF FIVE-MEMBER TEAM SENT TO MEDICAL FACILITY, OTHER FOUR GO INTO ISOLATION AHEAD OF TOKYO OLYMPICS The group was to have travelled to Nanto in Toyama prefecture on Sunday to hold their training camp through July 18, ahead of the June 23 start of the Games.

Rowing teams from Greece, South Africa and Russia arrived in Nanto earlier this month for training camp, he said.

The Tokyo Games, delayed by a year because of the pandemic, are proceeding amid concern that the influx of thousands of people from around the world could unleash another wave of Covid-19 infections in the country. Foreign spectators are banned, and the government is considering what limits to place on domestic spectators.

Tomljanovic accuses Ostapenko of 'lying' in Wimbledon win LONDON AFP

Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic accused Wimbledon opponent Jelena Ostapenko of "lying" on Saturday on her way to making the fourth round for the first time.

Tomljanovic was furious that 2017 French Open champion Ostapenko called the trainer at 0-4 in the final set, claiming she was suffering from an abdominal injury. "You know she's lying, right? We all know," the 28-year-old Australian told the chair umpire. "Are you taking into any consideration that she looked fine?"

The medical timeout resulted in a 10minute delay before the match resumed and Tomljanovic clinched a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 win. The pair then had an angry exchange

they said.

“The Panel also considered there was significant mitigation, including the time that had elapsed since the tweets were posted, and a number of personal references which demonstrated that Robinson, who chose to address the Panel, is a very different person to the one who sent the tweets.

“It also took account of his remorse, admissions and cooperation as well as the huge impact which the revelation of these tweets and its consequences have had upon him and his family.”

Robinson told the panel he is willing to follow their recommendation and draw on his experience to speak at training programmes regarding social media use and anti-discrimination in the next two years.

Following the revelations about Robinson and the uncovering of another England player posting offensive tweets while under the age of 16 the ECB launched a social media review.

The furore affected Robinson to the extent he took a break from the game but has since returned to action.

at the net at the end of the third round clash. "She can say she was injured. I don't think she was," said Tomljanovic.

"There was nothing wrong with her the whole match, but then why on 4-0 she calls it? So I think that that's a clear reason that she just wanted to get me off my game.

"Then to top it all off, for her to call me disrespectful at the end of the match is laughable.

"I think it's disgraceful behaviour from someone that is a Slam champion, because kids look at her and they see that? I'm sorry, if she was injured, she could have gone about it in a way better way."

Saturday's incident brought back unhappy memories for Tomljanovic.

In the 2019 WTA final at Hua Hin in Thailand, she was 5-2 up in the decider

when Ukraine opponent Dayana Yastremska called a medical time out for a leg injury. The delay caused the Australian to lose momentum and, eventually, the match. Tomljanovic said she was getting increasingly frustrated with medical timeouts being used as a ploy.

"The fact that she did it at 4-0 today when I was about to serve, that's disrespectful. "I'm just honestly tired of it. I'm tired of it happening and seeing it happen.

We can do better than that."

Ostapenko, the world number 34 and a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2018, insisted her injury was genuine and that the pain had become increasingly worse as the match wore on.

"I think it was very disrespectful what she did. I mean, how can you say "liar" or

something if you know zero about my injury," said the Latvian.

"You cannot say that. In front of everybody, call me liar? I don't think it's respectful from her side.

"So that's what I said, you are a very bad player because of this behaviour.

That's it. You are winning, but it does not mean you can do everything you want."

Tomljanovic, the world number 75, will face British wildcard Emma Raducanu on Monday for a place in the quarter-finals.

However, Ostapenko, who was the champion in Eastbourne on the eve of Wimbledon, insisted that had she been fully fit, she would have comfortably made the last 16. "I think my level today was not good after the first set, because if I played at least 50% I would have beaten her," she said.

China name experienced gymnastics line-up for Tokyo BEIJING REUTERS

China has named an experienced gymnastics squad for the 2020 Olympics starting this month in Tokyo as they aim for a return to the top of the podium after failing to win a gold medal in Rio de Janeiro four years ago. Former world all-round champion Xiao Ruoteng, two-times parallel bars world champion Zou Jingyuan, Olympic bronze medallist Lin Chaopan and Olympic debutant Sun Wei will compete in the men's all-round event. The quartet were part of the team that won gold at the 2018 world championships and finished second, behind Russia, the following year.

Parallel bars specialist Lin, who won bronze in the all-round team event at Rio in 2016, was picked over Zhang Boheng for his superior international experience, despite the latter having higher scores in all three Olympic trial events. "We believe that Zhang is a talented young athlete who can be a perfect backup for the whole team," men's coach Wang Hongwei said. Liu Yang and You Hao, who were also part of the bronze-winning team in Rio, will head to their second Olympics and compete in the individual events. Tang Xijing, the allround silver medallist at the 2019 World Championships, will lead the women's team, with Ou Yushan, Lu Yufei and Zhang Jin completing the line-up. Two-times uneven bars world champion Fan Yilin and teenage balance beam specialist Guan Chenchen took up the two spots for individual events. China won nine artistic gymnastics gold medals at the Beijing Games in 2008 and four in London four years later, but finished with just two bronze medals in 2016. The 2020 Olympics will start on July 23 after being delayed by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Monday, 5 July, 2021

prayer timiNgS

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PhiliPPine military Plane carrying 85 PeoPle crashes COTABATO

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military plane carrying at least 85 people crashed in the southern Philippines on Sunday, the chief of the armed forces said. The C-130 aircraft of the Philippine Air Force had a mishap on landing on the island of Jolo, the air force said in a statement.

“Rescue efforts are ongoing,” it said.

Army Chief Gen Cirilito Elola Sobejana said at least 40 people on board were brought to a hospital and troops were trying to save the rest.

“Responders are at the site now, we are praying we can save more lives,” he said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the crash.

Many of the passengers had recently graduated from basic military training and were being deployed to the restive island as part of a joint task force fighting terrorism in the region.

The military has a heavy presence in the southern Philippines where militant groups, including the kidnapfor-ransom outfit Abu Sayyaf, operate.

Covid jabs mandatory for sellers at Eid cattle markets: NCOC ISLAMABAD Staff repOrt

Pakistani bikers ready to reach K2 base camp by bikes LAHORE Shahab Omer

To set a world record, Pakistani bikers have decided to reach the K-2 Mountain by bikes and therein, Gobi’s Paint will sponsor the entire event, including eco-friendly bikes for bikers. In this regard, a press conference was organized by Gobi’s Paint at Faletti’s Hotel here on Sunday in which Gobi’s Paint CEO Omar Asif Malik, biker Omar Rokhri and Zaeem Chauhan briefed the media. CEO Gobi’s Paint informed the media that his company was working in line with the vision of the Prime Minister of Pakistan to promote tourism in Pakistan and bring a bright face of Pakistan to the world. “We are going to have a unique, record-breaking, and wonderful event of its kind. In this event, our national-level biker heroes Omar Rokhri and Zaeem Chauhan will go to K2 base camp on bikes and set a world record. To this day, no vehicle has gone to the K2 base camp. The world’s best equipment will be used in this event. The K2 base camp, located at an altitude of 5,200 meters above sea level, will be reached by bike for the first time,” Malik informed. “The bikers will start their record-breaking journey from Skardu and arrive at the Askole in three days. The 110-kilometerlong, arduous trek from the Askole will end at K2-Base Camp. The 65 km journey will be completely glacier which will be completed in 7 days. For documentary evidence, the media teams and a Guinness Book of World Records representative will be accompanied. “Rescue and medical teams will also be present to protect the bikers. Earlier, our bikers reached the base camps at Ferry Meadows and Nanga Parbat and raised the flag of success,” CEO added. Malik further informed that this event would send a wonderful message of peace, love and soft image to Pakistan at the international level. “Our company has been providing sponsorship for the promotion of adventure, tourism and sports in Pakistan for the last ten years and has carried out various activities in this regard in every major city of the country. “Our sponsorship aims to bring talented people to the country so that the country can be known internationally.

The government has declared Covid-19 vaccination mandatory for all sellers at cattle markets in connection with the upcoming Eidul Adha holidays.

Through instructions issued Sunday, the National Command and Operation Centre urged the administration of the cattle markets to provide hand sanitisers, masks and rapid antigen detection test service on entry to the setups.

The markets, it said, must be set up outside cities and subject to compliance with government-devised standard operating procedures.

There was a “ban on buying and selling of animals inside the city”, the body announced.

Separately, the statement also provided an update on the vaccination campaign, saying that more than 16.7 million doses had been administered. Of which, “more than 830,000 vaccine [doses] were administered in June” alone.

Nearly 3.3 million people have been fully vaccinated, according to the NCOC data.

The government launched a nationwide vaccination drive, starting with older people and frontline healthcare workers, in March. The drive began with a focus on the oldest people in the community, generally over the age of 80, and worked its way down.

Battling a peak of the infections, the Health Department began the campaign with Chinese Sinopharm and CanSino jabs.

Private hospitals in major cities are using the Russian Sputnik-V vaccine that has been im-

ported by a local pharmaceutical company.

Pakistan has primarily used Chinese vaccines — Sinopharm, CanSino Bio and Sinovac — in its inoculation drive and, earlier this month, began allowing those under 40 to receive AstraZeneca, of which it has a limited supply meant for people travelling to countries that require it.

Last month, the government approved spending $1.1 billion on procuring vaccines, part of its goal to inoculate at least 70 million people.

A team, led by the NCOC director general, also visited Gilgit-Baltistan to review the overall coronavirus situation and drive progress in the region. The delegation inspected vaccination centres in Gilgit, Shigar and Hunza and assured the people that the body had decided to fully vaccinate the registered populations.

The statement added that a special team was also formed to

stem the disease’s spread in the mountainous region and improve the vaccination process.

ASSESSMENTS WON’T BE POSTPONED: MINISTER: Meanwhile, Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood iterated that nationwide board assessments for classes 9-12 will take place per the schedules announced by the respective boards.

Speaking to reporters in Lahore on Saturday, the minister recalled that last year, tests were cancelled and all students were promoted to the next grades.

However, this time around, provincial education ministers and other stakeholders had decided that grading will not happen without exams, he said.

“Exams of A2 Level have already taken place and now exams of [classes] 9, 10, 11, 12 are about to take place in the coming few days. I am telling students: continue your studies because exams will neither be postponed nor cancelled.”

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option forward, to increase production on the condition of an extension to the current agreement, which would prolong the UAE’s unfair reference production baseline until December 2022, from the existing agreement end date of April 2022," it said.

The Opec+, the group headed by Saudi Arabia and Russia, deferred a ministerial meeting to Monday in light of some member opposition to an extension of the cuts until the end of next year. The group is considering bringing 2 million barrels per day back to the markets by the end of the year.

The UAE, which plans to raise its production capacity to 5 million bpd by 2030 is concerned about an outdated baseline refer-

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energy poverty puts 2050 net-zero target at risk, says Un rep The planet cannot achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and reverse climate change without universal access to clean and affordable electricity by 2030, according to a United Nations representative. “The math doesn't come together,” said Damilola Ogunbiyi, who co-chairs UN-Energy and is the special representative advising the UN Secretary General on sustainable energy while talking to the media on Sunday. “People do not tend to understand the relationship between energy poverty and climate change,” she added, but it is “unacceptable” to ignore the nearly 1 billion people around the world without access to electricity. Energy generation is the largest contributor to climate change, accounting for 60 percent of global emissions. As the global population continues to grow, so will the demand for cheap energy, and an economy reliant on fossil fuels is creating drastic changes to our climate, according to the UN. Between 2000 and 2016, the number of people with electricity climbed from 78 to 87 per cent, and those without electricity dipped to just below one billion. Meanwhile, 3 billion people – 40 per cent of the global population – rely on polluting and unhealthy fuels for cooking. While the world is falling behind on its climate commitment, Ogunbiyi said her goal is to “raise the ambition” of hitting the Sustainable Development Goal 7 by 2030. Over the next decade, Africa and South Asia are going to be the only places where more power is needed instead of less, she said. “You can be clean from day one. And that's why I talk about the opportunity instead of the challenge," she said. “I'm still very optimistic [about achieving SDG 7]. I have to be, because the technology is there." The potential economic uplift would be massive. Sub-Saharan Africa would unlock a fivefold increase in economic output, and pull 1 billion people out of poverty. NeWS DeSK

‘What was the point?’ afghans rue decades of war as Us quits Bagram KABUL: As American troops left their main military base in Afghanistan on Friday, marking a symbolic end to the longest war in US history, locals living in the shadow of the base and in nearby Kabul were left ruing the past and bracing for what comes next. Violence has been raging throughout Afghanistan in the weeks since President Joe Biden announced troops would withdraw unconditionally by September 11. With peace talks in Qatar stuttering, and roughly a quarter of the country’s districts having fallen to the Taliban in recent weeks according to one study, many are concerned that chaos looms. Malek Mir, a mechanic in Bagram who saw the Soviet Army and then the Americans come and go, said he was left with a deep sense of sadness at the futility of a foreign presence. “They came with bombing the Taliban and got rid of their regime — but now they have left when the Taliban are so empowered that they will take over any time soon,” he said. “What was the point of all the destruction, killing and misery they brought us? I wish they had never come.” More than 3,500 foreign troops have been killed in a twodecade war, which has claimed over 100,000 civilians since 2009 alone, according to United Nations records.

Some, however, say the presence of foreign troops distorted Afghanistan’s economy and that it is time for the country to stand on its own. “The Americans leave a legacy of failure, they’ve failed in containing the Taliban or corruption,” said Sayed Naqibullah, a shop owner in Bagram. “A small percentage of Afghans got so rich, while the vast majority still live with extreme poverty. “In a way, we’re happy they’ve gone […]

We’re Afghans and we’ll find our way.” In the nearby capital, the news was a fresh reminder of the growing panic that has been gripping many parts of Afghan society, particularly in urban areas, since Biden announced the withdrawal in April. “All the people are worried that if foreign forces leave Afghanistan, the Taliban will take over. Then what will we do?” asked Zumarai Wafa, a Kabul shopkeeper. Wafa and others described a slump in business and signs of many urban residents trying to flee the country, with hundreds lined up outside embassies seeking visas. reuterS

UAE says committed to Opec, supports output increase in August The UAE, Opec's third-largest producer, remains committed to the oil exporters bloc and the Opec+ alliance, the UAE Ministry of Energy said on Sunday.

The UAE, which has adhered to Opec+ decision of supply cuts with 103 percent compliance throughout the last two years, believes that the market needs an increase in production and supports an increase from August, it said in a statement.

It called on members of the exporters' group to "decouple" output restrictions from a planned extension of the agreement beyond April 2022.

"The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) unfortunately only put one

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ence that is currently being used to assign its production quotas.

"The UAE and its international partners have invested significantly in growing its production capacity and believes that, if/when the agreement is extended, the baseline reference figures should reflect its actual production capacity, rather than the outdated October 2018 production reference," the country's energy ministry said.

The UAE's output for the month of May according to Opec secondary sources reached 2.64 million bpd. The ministry urged the UAE's fellow producers to review terms for an extension at a later time. NeWS DeSK

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