EpaperISB_21-09-11

Saturday, 11 September, 2021 I 3 Safar, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 72 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition

Fawad accuses election commission oF acting as opposition’s headquarters g

g AzAm SwAti AllegeS thAt eCB SenAte Body rejeCtS uSe of evoting mAChineS in next eleCtionS ACCeptS BriBeS to rig pollS

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nformAtion minister fawad Chaudhry has alleged that the election Commission of pakistan has “become the headquarters for opposition parties”, further accusing the the chief election commissioner of “acting as their mouthpiece”.

Addressing a press conference in the federal capital on friday while flanked by minister for railways Azam Khan Swati and Adviser to the prime minister for parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan, fawad said that no one is satisfied with the eCp because “it comes up with strange logic.” the federal minister maintained that it was due to this so-called logic that the eCp was marred in controversy in spite of the federal governments attempts to make the election process free, fair and transparent. “the chief election commissioner — who may have had contact — naturally, he may have had close contact with nawaz Sharif, and others — and may even have sympathies for him, which we have no issue with — but whether it is the election commission, or any other institution, it must abide by the parliament,” said Chaudhry on the occasion. he stated the opposition was attempt-

ing to make amendments around the use of electronic voting machines “controversial”. fawad also reiterated that the pakistan tehreek-e-insaf has repeatedly called on the opposition to have a dialogue over electoral reforms, but have been ignored each time. “our opposition comprises intellectually-stunted parties. the only skill they have is to seek extensions for the hearings of their court cases.”

Speaking about the incorporation of technology into the electoral process, Chaudhry said that even the Supreme Court of pakistan endorsed it to ensure transparency. during the presser, Senator Babar Awan said that the bill on electoral reforms was passed in the national Assembly after eight months but the opposition did not present a single suggestion throughout this period. “the opposition has become the enemy of electoral reforms as they want to maintain the status quo,” Awan said. moreover, the bill had to be passed by the Senate in 90 days but it was rejected only a few hours before the conclusion of the stipulated 90-day period, he said. “it is for the first time in history that the

coronavirus in

pakistan

CONFIRMED CASES:

1,197,887

LAST UPDATED AT 10:28 AM ON SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

NEW CASES:

83

3,689

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

1,079,867 26,580 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

442,401

410,463

KPK:

BALOCHISTAN:

167,154 AJK/GB: 33,131/10,127

32,517 ISLAMABAD:

102,094

Senate committee bulldozed the government’s legislation,” he said. “we have now decided to take the bill to the joint session of the parliament on September 13 and will convene a national Assembly session a day after that.”

Awan said that the government will soon complete the legislation under a Supreme Court order. earlier during a senate committee meeting, Azam Swati accused the election Commission of pakistan officials of taking bribes to rig polls, saying the such institutions should be “set on fire”. the above was said during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on parliamentary Affairs, wherein the committee rejected the amendment proposed by the government to install electronic voting machines in the next elections in order to ensure they are free and fair. the committee, which met with Senator taj haider in the chair, also rejected the amendment proposed for open balloting in Senate elections and the introduction of e-voting for the overseas pakistanis. the debate on the burning issues relating to the holding of general elections was not passed without incident as participants leveled allegations against each other and later staged a walkout from the meeting. election Commission of pakistan officials walked out of the meeting after railways minister Azam Swati leveled serious allegations against the eCp officers of taking bribes. the opposition senators said that Swati cannot accuse a constitutional body of taking bribes, and asked the senator to bring forward proof to back his claim.

Swati then added that such institutions conduct all elections through rigging and should be burned down. At this, the eCp officials walked out of the meeting in protest.

After the meeting was disrupted, Senator farooq h naek lashed out at Swati, saying that the eCp should be removed from the Constitution and the government should conduct the elections itself. News Desk

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COAS stresses international support for peace in Afghanistan the world community’s constructive engagement and sustained humanitarian support for Afghanistan is imperative for enduring peace and stability in the country, Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) general Qamar javed Bajwa said friday. the army chief’s comments came during the Corps Commander Conference, which he chaired at the general headquarters in rawalpindi, the inter-Services public relations (iSpr) said in a statement. the meeting’s participants took a comprehensive review of the global, regional, and domestic security environment, the military’s media wing said in the statement. the forum was apprised of the prevalent situation in Afghanistan, especially the security along pakAfghan Border and effective safeguards in place against various threats, the statement said. during the meeting, the army chief expressed satisfaction over the efficacy of the comprehensive border management regime due to which pakistan’s borders and internal security remained intact amid a crisis situation in the region. the CoAS appreciated the army’s support and role in the evacuation of foreigners and Afghan people from Afghanistan to other countries, the military’s media

NSA says lasting peace, stability in Afghanistan top priority national Security Adviser dr moeed yusuf said pakistan wants peace in the region, particularly, lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan which should be a priority of all stakeholders and key partners. the nSA, in his interview with Cnn on thursday, said instead of waiting for a security and humanitarian crisis to arise, the global powers should work with Afghanistan to prevent it. dr moeed said that enemies of the country will not be allowed to destabilize pakistan. we will not compromise on the integrity and sovereignty of our country. the nSA said that the world should establish contacts with the taliban for lasting peace and ability of Afghanistan.

By leaving Afghanistan alone, the mistakes of the 1990s should not be repeated, he underscored. during the interview, yusuf was asked about the recent meeting between Central intelligence Agency director william Burns, Chief of Army Staff general Qamar javed Bajwa and inter-Services intelligence director general lt gen faiz hameed in islamabad. the nSA said the CiA director was here to discuss the situ-

ation in Afghanistan and such consultations would continue. he added that the threat of terrorism following recent developments in Afghanistan was also discussed during the meeting — an issue that pakistan had raised multiple times. dr moeed maintained that pakistan was facing problems due to instability in Afghanistan.

Since 9/11, pakistan has borne the brunt with more than 80,000 casualties and more than $150 billion in economic losses, while 3.5 million people have been displaced due to the terrorist insurgency, he noted. dr. moeed yusuf said, “we are committed to peace in Afghanistan and will continue to work for peace and stability, but

only under the international legal framework,” he said. he said, “for us, the integrity and sovereignty of pakistan is paramount and there will be no compromise on it.” “let’s engage the reality in Afghanistan. let’s incentivise good behaviour, and by doing that, get to a governance model that provides for the average Afghan, and there is no need for a security vacuum because the country would be stable.” replying to a question, he said that the former government of Afghanistan had been trying to lay the blame of its weaknesses and failures on pakistan. india is involved in negative propaganda against pakistan. the video of the plane which is being propagated in the indian media is the video of the flight of the American plane in the uK, he told the media person to her question.

Specifically answering allegations regarding pakistan helping the taliban with drones in panjshir, the nSA held up a paper showing screenshots of indian news channels, which he said had been spreading fake news about pakistan. News Desk

CONTINUED ON PAGE 03

wing said. the army chief appreciated the formations for their efforts for conducting muharram-related events in a peaceful manner and instructed complete readiness to counter conventional and nonconventional threats. “the designs of external and internal forces inimical to peace and stability in pakistan shall be thwarted at all costs,” the army chief concluded. meanwhile, the forum emphasised close cooperation amongst all regional stakeholders is essential for a prosperous and peaceful region, the statement said. the forum also paid homage to Syed Ali Shah geelani for his lifelong struggle and sacrifices as leader of the indigenous freedom movement in indian-occupied jammu and Kashmir.

A symbol of the Kashmiri freedom movement, and former chairman of All parties hurriyat Conference (AphC), Ali geelani had passed away last week in the indianoccupied Kashmir city of Srinagar. the forum also expressed solidarity with Kashmiri people who continue facing indian state oppression and violence, the military’s media wing added. News Desk

CONTINUED ON PAGE 03

more inside

Qureshi stresses need for recognition, dialogue of new Afghan reality STORY ON PAGE 03

media bodies reiterate rejection of ‘unconstitutional’ pmdA STORY ON PAGE 02

All public, private schools of Punjab to remain closed till Sept 15: Murad Raas STORY ON PAGE 02

t20 world Cup squad can be changed, says chief selector STORY ON BACK PAGE

02

Saturday, 11 September, 2021

ISLAMABAD

NEWS

aLL puBLiC, private sChooLs of punjaB to reMain CLosed tiLL sept 15: Murad raas LAHORE

p

INP

UNJAB Education Minister Dr Murad Raas on Friday has announced that all public and private schools of Punjab will remain closed until Wednesday

(September 15, 2021) due to increasing cases of coronavirus. The announcement was made by the provincial minister in a post on social-networking website Twitter.

Earlier, National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) had decided to extend the closure of all educational institutions till September 15 in the 24 high

Lahore CoLLege professor found guiLty in feMaLe student harassMent Case

disease districts of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and federal capital.

According to a statement shared through the NCOC’s official Twitter handle, the decision was taken in view of ongoing trends of disease. However, a review will be carried out in the NCOC’s next meeting, scheduled for September 15.

KARACHI A meeting of the Joint Action Committee of Media Organisations was held on September 10, 2021. All representative media organizations namely All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE), Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA), Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), and the Association of Electronic

Media Editors and News Directors (AEMEND) reiterated their stance of rejecting the proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) vehemently and termed the concept as unconstitutional and a move to muzzle the freedom of press and expression by imposing state control to regulate all media platforms under one central body.

The Joint Action Committee expressed full support for the PFUJ’s demonstration on September 13 in front of the Parliament House against the establishment of

the proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority.

The statement further said, in addition to all media representative organisations, the Bar Associations, political parties, Human Rights organizations, and other civil society organizations will also participate in the sit-in.

All media associations in Joint Action Committee reiterated their commitment to thwart the government’s efforts to legislate for the establishment of the proposed Media Development Authority.

CTD arrests three terrorists of banned outfit in Lahore NEWS DESK The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on Friday claimed to have arrested three terrorists of a proscribed organisation during an operation (IBO) in Lahore.

According to CTD spokesperson, the terrorists were arrested during an operation in Ideal Park area of Township in Lahore and added that the arrested terrorists belonged to banned organisation, and were planning to target law enforcement agencies and sensitive installations.

The CTD personnel also recovered hand grenades, explosive material and other arms from their possession, while case has been registered at the CTD Lahore.

Last month, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab police shot down three alleged terrorists, planning attacks on sensitive installations and departments, amid a shootout in an intelligence-based operation.

The information-based coordinated raid was conducted by the Lahore CTD branch in the Ferozewala area where the three alleged terrorists rented a house, said the department’s spokesperson.

The three deceased terrorism suspects are Ehsan Ullah, Naimat Ullah and Abdul Salam and were shot dead during an operation conducted after a coordinated information and intelligence gathering, the department had said.

CM Buzdar directs to take steps for early drainage of rain water LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Chief Minister of Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar on Friday directed to take steps for rain water drainage. In a statement, the CM has ordered Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) officials to utilize all the resources for early disposal of water. The reaction came after torrential intermittent rain inundated low-lying areas in different parts of the country. In Lahore, the rain flooded streets and main roads, causing difficulties for the locals in traveling. Sheikhupura and Kasur also received downpour.

ISLAMABAD After the popular announcement made by Prime Minister Imran Khan regarding converting PM House into a modern university before the election of 2018, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Friday has approved the project at the cost of Rs23.54 billion.

Earlier, according to sources, the cost of the project was estimated to be around Rs35bn but later it was further rationalized. As per officials, the ECNEC approved the project regarding Pak University of Engineering & Emerging Technologies (PUEET), a research university, which will house various centres of excellence in the cutting-edge fields of science and technology and state-ofthe-art Technology Park. The total cost of the project is Rs23.54bn. The project will result in a better quality of education, build industry-academia collaboration and train graduates in new technologies.

According to sources, after a delay of around three years, the PC-I of the project was submitted, and a project director was looking into the mega project.

Last year, the Federal Cabinet had approved a specific change to the master plan of Islamabad to set up a university at the Prime Minister House. Before Prime Minister Imran Khan won the 2018 elections, he had said

Karachi traders finally resume market activities on fridays after long time NEWS DESK The traders of the port city have resumed market activities on Friday after a long period of indefinite Covid-led ban allowed them only five days of trading keeping them suspended on Fridays and Sundays. Shopkeepers of Zainab Market and Gul Plaza among other markets in Saddar and of Tariq Road markets have opened their shops on Friday after the ban kept them shut since the restrictions have been in place to curb Covid. Hyder and Boltan Road markets have too been opened today, thanks to the talks of Karachi traders’ associations held yesterday with provincial minister Nasir Hussain Shah.

The notification of lifting of the ban on opening markets on Fridays have not been issued as yet, however, Shah reassured the traders to open them nevertheless. One condition to keep them open is to ensure Covid SOPs are duly adhered to and all the staff is vaccinated.

shC orders release of used imported cars from Karachi port NEWS DESK ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan chairs a meeting on the provision of Sehat Cards in Punjab. INP

ECNEC approves conversion of PM House to university GHULAM ABBAS

public transport was also banned in the cities having a high percentage of coronavirus cases.

Media bodies reiterate rejection of ‘unconstitutional’ PMDA STAFF REPORT

LAHORE: The committee set up for inquiry of sexual harassment of a female student at the hands of a male professor in MAO College on Friday said in the preliminary report that professor did indeed compel the pupil to meet him for raising grades in exams. The male lecturer at MAO College sent inappropriate text messages to his female student and coerced her into meeting outside of the college using the temptation of giving her extra marks. The college principal-led committee said in its report that the lecturer should be barred from being transferred to any female college as he poses a threat of harassment. In any society, the teacher is supposed to be the role model, and thus such incidents are disappointing, the college principal said. Yesterday, a female student of Government M.A.O. College in Lahore made a complaint about receiving offensive messages from a lecturer that led to the launching of a probe against the educator. A lecturer allegedly sent offensive messages on the cellphone of a female student in Lahore’s M.A.O. College in which he offered her to meet him alone somewhere outside the college for getting increased marks in the exams. The student complained about receiving the message from a lecturer of the college’s psychology department via SMS. Following the complaint, the college principal constituted a four-member probe committee and said that it was an immoral act to harass a female student. INP

As per NCOC, there would be a complete ban on indoor wedding ceremonies. In addition to this, intercity

to convert Prime Minister House into a university.

The university idea did not see the green signal because as per the Islamabad master plan an educational institution cannot be set up at the PM House as this sector is purely meant for government and administrative buildings only.

The university was among Prime Minister Imran Khan’s election promises and was included in the PTI’s manifesto before the general election in 2018 as well.

Initially, the incumbent government faced great difficulty in going ahead with the proposal because the PM House is located in a highly sensitive area and red zone of the capital, but the premier insisted that the university would be built there. To build the new university, the government also needed to change the master plan of the capital for carrying out new/additional construction on the land adjacent to the PM House. To deal with this, the federal cabinet had approved a specific change to the master plan of Islamabad last year. Sources said that the total area of PM House could be more than 100 acres but the university required over 50 acres on the north-western side of the building.

Meanwhile, during the meeting of ECNEC which was chaired by the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Mr Shaukat Tarin, projects worth over Rs315.5bn were also approved in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and

Special Initiatives Asad Umar, Minister for Finance for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Taimur Khan Jhagra, Federal Secretaries and other senior officers participated in the meeting. Adviser on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood also joined the meeting through a video link.

According to officials the ECNEC considered and approved a summary regarding the construction of Dir Motorway, sponsored by the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and executed by Pakhtunkhwa Highway Authority (PHA) amounting to Rs.38,991.382 million. The project envisages the construction of a 29.377 km long, 04-lane dual carriageway which starts from Chakdara and ends at Rabat, District Dir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The scope of work includes the construction of bridges, tunnels, underpasses and crossroad flyovers. The entire project is located in the Lower Dir region of KP. The above-mentioned project will enhance road connectivity and promote tourism. Similarly, the ECNEC considered and approved another summary sponsored by the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regarding Peshawar – D.I.Khan Motorway to be executed by the Pakhtunkhwa Highway Authority (PHA). The total cost of the project is Rs276,529.496 million. The project envisages construction of a 360 km long, 06-lane dual carriageway from Peshawar to Dera Ismail Khan and will pass through District Kohat, Hangu, Karak, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Tank and terminate at Dera Ismail Khan.

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday ordered the release of used imported cars, which had been stuck at the Karachi Port for some time now. The matter was referred to the high court’s special larger bench after two benches had a difference of opinion on it. The court ordered the authorities concerned to release the cars which were parked at the port after collecting duty and tax on them. The SHC, in its verdict, further said that the government had already imposed a ban on the import of used cars. It is reminded here that the first bench of the court had ordered the release of the cars under SRO 833 while the second bench had forwarded the matter to the SHC chief justice who then constituted a special larger bench to decide the case. Over two years ago, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had requested the government to approve an amnesty scheme for the clearance of over 1,000 refurbished cars stuck at the Karachi Port after change in the import policy. As per the summary, car importers for expatriate Pakistanis need a one-time permission for payment of duties and taxes through their bank accounts for clearance of 1,035 vehicles stuck at the port. On the other side, the conflict between the FBR and the Ministry of Trade and Commerce over change in import policy for refurbished vehicles had intensified as the former had opposed the move.

The Karachi Port Trust alone has 1,035 imported vehicles. In order to dispose of the vehicles, the FBR had initiated an auction process under Customs Act 1969, which was supposed to be held in April and May 2019.

Saturday, 11 September, 2021

ISLAMABAD

QUreshi sTresses need for recogniTion, diAlogUe of new AfghAn reAliTy

f

newS DeSk

OREIGN Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Friday that the world has been waiting and watching the situation in Afghanistan, but it needs to come to terms with the new reality if it wishes to open the doors to dialogue with the Taliban and pave the right way forward.

Addressing a presser alongside Spanish FM Jose Manuel Albares after holding delegation-level talks, Qureshi stated that he had gathered from his interactions with colleagues that “people are not in a hurry and are watching and waiting”. “There is recognition of a new reality and there is the awareness that engagement is required and that dialogue can be useful,” Qureshi stressed.

“There is a new reality in Afghanistan. The world must recognise that new reality and engage with it.

Weigh your options [and decide] what is the best way forward.

“In my view, the best way forward is international engagement as opposed to international isolation,” he said, adding that the latter will have undesirable consequences.

“It will not be helpful for Afghanistan, the region and eventually not be helpful for [the world],” the foreign minister said.

He stressed that a “new approach” needed to be adopted, adding that intimidation, pressure and coercion had not worked — a fact that must be accepted. Qureshi said positive outcomes needed to be incentivized.

The foreign minister pointed to the resumption of the evacuation of foreigners on Thursday when a flight left Kabul for Doha and said that such developments were in line with the demands of the international community.

“Be positive and encourage [the Taliban] to stay on course,” he said.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi reiterated on Friday Pakistan’s commitment to extend help to the people of Afghanistan despite limited resources.

A day earlier, a C-130 aircraft of Pakistan Air Force carrying relief goods landed in Kabul.

In a statement, Qureshi said Pakistan wants peace and prosperity in the neighbouring country.

He highlighted that Pakistan sent humanitarian supplies in the form of

medicine and food to Kabul on Thursday.

“We are also trying to send them the relief goods to avert any crisis,” he maintained.

The minister further stated that a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan was not in the interest of the Afghan people, the region, or the world.

He stressed that saving Afghanistan from the crisis was the common responsibility of all. Qureshi noted that in the past, the Afghan soil was used against Pakistan. “We should encourage the Taliban not to allow their land to be used against any other country”.

Qureshi voiced appreciation for an upcoming conference in Geneva on how the international community could contribute in averting a humanitarian crisis and raising funds for Afghans.

Fawad accuses Election Commission of acting as opposition’s headquarters ContInueD froM pAge 01 “Whenever the ECP tries to become independent, the government start to have a problem with it,” added Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar.

Advisor to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan said the government will not decide which machine will be used for voting.

“This will be decided by the election commission,” he said. “The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs wrote a letter to the ECP, asking whether it needed a budget.”

“The ECP did not respond to the letter,” he lamented. The committee’s chairperson sent Senator Kamran Murtaza to convince the ECP officials to return to the meeting. However, State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan said the ECP officials were deeply upset and would not return to the meeting.

Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and Azam Swati also exchanged hot words, with the PPP senator asking the minister about the alleged bribe. “Azam Swati should tell us who paid bribes to the ECP?” he asked. “Was it the PPP or the PML-N?” A defiant Swati stuck to his guns, saying that he had said nothing wrong.

Babar Awan earlier told the committee that the government would respond to the Election Commission of Pakistan’s objections to the use of these machines. Senator Farooq H Naek, on the occasion, urged the committee members to leave the matter here and discuss other matters.

Senator Taj Haider said that the strength and continuity of democracy in a certain country depended upon effective electoral laws. “Therefore, the government should address the concerns of the ECP regarding the electoral

reforms,” he emphasised.

Babar was of the view that the media was creating a negative impression about the EVMs. “Therefore, the government should get an opportunity to clarify its stance on the subject,” he added.

Later, Senator Taj Haider presented an amendment about EVMs for approval. Azam Swati protested against Haider, accusing him of not allowing Senator Samina Mumtaz to cast her vote.

“You are not taking our lawmaker on line so that she can cast her vote,” he said.

“We are walking out in protest,” he added, and representatives of the government left the meeting.

The committee proceeded to vote on amendments to the Election Act in their absence. The committee shot down the use of electronic voting machines and also rejected an amendment relating to the I-voting of overseas Pakistanis.

The committee also rejected an

amendment to the Act that wanted NADRA, instead of the ECP, to issue election lists and also rejected an amendment for Senate elections to be held via an open ballot as opposed to a secret one. The PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif lashed out at the government, saying that while the PMLN had called over 100 meetings on electoral reforms when it was in power, the government couldn’t handle one.

“Their consultations [amount to] imprisoning the Opposition when they ask questions and silencing the media,” he tweeted.

He wondered how a government that does not demonstrate seriousness during a consultative meeting, be expected to take concrete decisions on electoral and administrative reforms.

“ECP officials walking out [in protest] over the ministers’ attitude tells us of the government’s attitude,” he said.

COAS stresses international support for peace in Afghanistan ContInueD froM pAge 01 The development came shortly after Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had urged the international community to recognise the new reality in Afghanistan and engage with it for peace and stability in the region.

Speaking to the media in Islamabad along with his Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Albares, FM Qureshi had said that isolating Afghanistan will have serious consequences. The top Pakistan diplomat said the approach of intimidation, pressure and coercion has not

worked and we got to adopt a new positive approach regarding Afghanistan.

A day earlier, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director William Joseph Burns held a meeting with COAS Bajwa and discussed the evolving situation in Afghanistan, a statement from the ISPR had said.

The ISPR had said that Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt Gen Faiz Hameed was also present during the meeting, which focused on the Afghanistan situation and regional security after the US withdrawal and the formation of the Taliban

NSA says lasting peace, stability in Afghanistan top priority ContInueD froM pAge 01 Pointing to an image on the paper, he said: “This is mainstream Indian media showing an American jet flying over Wales in the United Kingdom and presenting it as Pakistan doing something in Panjshir.”

He went on to say that India had spent millions of dollars in “creating a fake news network [against Pakistan]”.

The image Yusuf was showing was shared by some Twitter users, who claimed it to be a Pakistan Air Force jet shot down by resistance forces in Panjshir. But a fact check by Dawn.com and independent journalists showed the picture was actually from 2018 in the United States. Anderson also questioned Yusuf on Pakistan’s involvement in the formation of the new Taliban government, referring to the ISI chief’s recent visit to the country.

At that, Yusuf asked, “Why did the CIA director go to Afghanistan much before my ISI chief went there?”

Yusuf also pointed out that other countries had sought Pakistan’s help for evacuation from Afghanistan and cooperation was needed on

that front as well.

He further added that Pakistan is providing all possible assistance to the international community in the evacuation operation.

He said the Taliban had assured the world that Afghanistan’s territory would not be allowed to be used against any country.

Dubbing the reports of Islamabad’s involvement a conspiracy theory, he said there was no logic to them, as the ISI chief was interviewed by the media during that visit and that defied that he was on a “secret mission”.

“Pakistan has the right to defend its national security,” he said, adding that it would continue to do so by engaging in Afghanistan.

He further said the world needed to move beyond these conspiracy theories and cooperate to benefit the common Afghan man.

Yusuf then denied Islamabad’s involvement in the formation of the new government in Afghanistan, saying that it was a sovereign country.

Dr Moeed said Pakistan was committed to securing its borders due to instability in Afghanistan and preventing terrorists from entering its territory.

government in Kabul. “It was reiterated that Pakistan remains committed to cooperating with its international partners for peace in the region and ensuring a stable and prosperous future for [the] Afghan people,” the ISPR said. General Bajwa also met with Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani on Thursday and discussed matters of mutual interest and the regional security situation, especially the current situation in Afghanistan, a statement from the military’s media wing said.

He said that Afghans and Pakistanis are brothers and their relationship spans over centuries. To a question about the Tehreek-iTaliban Pakistan gaining some ground following the developments in Afghanistan, Yusuf acknowledged that there was a security threat from them and it was one of the reasons the ISI chief visited Afghanistan.

He said Pakistan’s stance was that Afghan soil should not be used for terrorist activities.

As Anderson steered the conversation again to Afghans protesting Pakistan’s involvement in their country, Yusuf said “minds have been poisoned there for over 20 years”. With a video of a protest playing on the screen, he reiterated that Pakistan was made a scapegoat by previous Afghan leaders, particularly referring to former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani’s claim that Islamabad had planned to send 10,000 t0 15,000 terrorists across the border. “Are we mad that 10-15,000 people are crossing from Pakistan and nobody notices?” Yusuf remarked.

The NSA also said that demonstrations were not held at as large a scale as had been reported. He said there had been a “fabrication of reality” and Afghans and Pakistanis shared relations that went back centuries.

Afghan soil should not be used for terrorism in other countries: Akram new York Staff RepoRt

Pakistan Permanent Representative to the United Nations Munir Akram on Thursday said that Afghan soil should not be used for terrorism in other countries. Addressing the UN Security Council meeting on situation in Afghanistan, Ambassador Akram said that today, Afghanistan stands at a turning point in

its history and urged the international community to provide adequate financial support for refugees in Afghanistan. He said that Pakistan was most affected by the situation in Afghanistan and added that there are still 3 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

Pakistan is willing to create a land corridor that will help the international community deliver humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.

“We will also dispatch supplies to

Afghanistan through land routes as well,” Akram said on Thursday. “We are willing to establish a land corridor to provide humanitarian help to Afghanistan.”

Pakistan in coordination with the United Nations has created a humanitarian air bridge for delivery of supplies to Afghanistan. Three flights have been scheduled to deliver food and medicine to Afghanistan, the first arrived in Kabul on Wednesday.

NEWS

03

Three children killed in lAhore roof collAPse newS DeSk Three children were killed and another injured when dilapidated roof of a house collapsed due to heavy rain in Lahore on Friday. According to details, after being lashed by heavy rain, roof of a house located in village Kahna Saraich of Lahore. As a result of roof collapse, eight-month-old Tayyeb was killed on the spot while five-year-old Irum, 7-year-old Manahil, and 17-yearold Ramazana were critically injured. The injured were rushed to hospital where Irum and Manahil succumbed to their wounds taking death toll to three.

Rescue officials said a roof-collapse incident reported at 10:16am in the Kahna area claimed the lives of the three children. One of them died on the spot, while two were critically injured who were taken to a nearby hospital but couldn’t survive. Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, in a statement, expressed sorrow over the death of the three minors and sought a report into the incident from the authorities concerned. According to Rescue 1122, five roof-collapse incidents were reported in total in which three children died and seven others injured. The incidents were reported in Wahga Village, Jhodhu Village Raiwind, Old Kahna Main Bazar and Chamra Mandi. In addition, at least 25 people were injured in 52 road accidents caused by rains across the Punjab capital. Meanwhile, the chief minister directed authorities to drain out rainwater “as soon as possible”.

He also called upon officials to take measures for ensuring smooth traffic flow across the city. Met officials said the rain started at 7:07am and continued till the afternoon. The maximum rainfall was recorded in the Lakhsmi area at 138 millimetres, followed by Tajpura 117mm, Farrukhabad 109mm and Pani Wala Tailab 99mm. Moreover, more than 220 feeders of the Lahore Electricity Supply Corporation have tripped due to the heavy rain severely affecting Lahore’s power transmission system.

Asad Umar hopeful Pakistan will surpass vaccine target ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

As many as 50 million citizens have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine while more than 20 million have been fully vaccinated against the viral disease, said NCOC head Asad Umar on Friday. “In the early days of the vaccination campaign we had set a daunting target of vaccinating 7 crore people by the end of this year,” the planning and development minister said in a post on his official Twitter handle. “Happy to report that 5 crore people have now received at least 1 dose. More than 2 crore fully vaccinated. Insha’Allah will meet & surpass the target.” Pakistan achieved the milestone of vaccinating 50 million people last month.

“Well done Pakistan!!! Landmark of 5 Crore COVID vaccine doses (50 Million doses) crossed!!!”, the NCOC, the country’s top platform that oversees Covid response, had tweeted on August 27. “If not vaccinated yet, please get yourself vaccinated! In case you are due for 2nd dose, just walk in to any vaccination center after 28 days of 1st dose!!! Lets make Pakistan Safe!!”

Saturday, 11 September, 2021

04 NeWS

iSlAmAbAD

SBP CHief laUDS SeCP Role in PRoMoTinG BUSineSSeS ISLAMABAD

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TLTP

HE State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Dr Reza Baqir has said that the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) is playing an important role in creating an enabling environment to promote business in the country.

The SBP chief said this while addressing the graduation ceremony of SECP’s first batch of ‘Hawks Training Programme’ here at the SECP head office on Friday. Earlier, he inaugurated a state-of-the-art Business Centre at the SECP. The governor SBP apprised the new officers of the recent economic reforms and policy measures taken by SBP to achieve sustainable economic growth in Pakistan. He

also commended the simplification, supervision and transparency reforms implemented by the SECP. Earlier, SECP Chairman Aamir Khan, during his welcome address, commended the achievements of the central bank governor in shifting the economy towards a path of recovery. He said, “Dr Baqir has single handedly paved the bridge that has connected millions of

Pakistanis living across the globe with our domestic financial system.” Roshan Digital Account is a success story that makes a wonderful case study of transformative intervention, he added.

Talking about the Hawks programme, the SECP chairman said that it was designed to implement a robust induction mechanism at entry-level, and was targeted at hiring and grooming highly

qualified and talented individuals who can provide future leadership for the apex regulator.

The inaugurated Business Centre has a skilled team and is equipped with state-ofthe-art technology. It is launched with the aim of improving overall user experience, and will bring SECP a step closer to standardising the process of business registration in Pakistan.

Bitcoin falls to $46,262 as cryptos turn bearish NEWS DESK

UMT holds Holy Quran recitation and Dua ceremony in varsity’s founder’s memory LAHORE PRESS RELEASE

On the occasion of the third death anniversary of renowned educationist, scholar, thinker and founder of ILM Trust/UMT, Dr Hasan Sohaib Murad (Shaheed) who was martyred in a traffic accident on September 10, 2018, a ceremony for recitation of Holy Quran and Dua was held at UMT's Nasiha Mosque where every eye was moistened in his memory. On the occasion UMT President Ibrahim Hasan Murad, DG Abid HK Sherwani, Rector Dr Muhammad Aslam, Registrar Saleem Ata along with UMT staff, faculty, students and people from other walks of life were present. ILM/UMT President Ibrahim Hasan Murad expressed his views on the occasion and paid tribute to the founder of ILM/UMT and his great father Dr Hasan Murad (Shaheed). He said that separation from a father like Dr Hasan is unbearable. He was a very visionary man who was also a teacher and preacher at one time, he added. Mr Murad advised that in order to understand the abilities and character of Dr Hassan, one must read the book (Ilm, Amal, Zindagi) written on him.

Ibrahim Murad further expressed that Dr Hasan Murad's services to humanity can never be forgotten and they will always live in our hearts and minds. He also said that the lack of leadership of Dr Hasan will always be felt but this mission of education started by him will always be continued. UMT Director General Abid HK Shirwani said that September 10, 2018 was a tragic day for UMT when he lost a dear friend, teacher and guide. He paid a heartfelt tribute to the great educationist, intellectual and Islamic scholar like Dr Hasan Sohaib Murad (Shaheed). He said that Dr Hasan was a man who appeared like a sparkling star on the horizon of Pakistan and returned to his Creator (Allah) after edifying thousands of lives through his vision, knowledge and leadership. He further said that Dr Hasan always respected humanity and spent his entire life following the Quran and Sunnah.

Gold price decreases to Rs97,100 per 10gm NEWS DESK Gold price inched up on Friday for the third straight day amid a weaker US dollar. At 1235 hours GMT, gold in the international market was available at $1,796.60 per ounce after gaining $1.40. The rebound in gold price comes on the heels of a broad retracement in the US dollar from the weekly tops. Meanwhile, the price of 10 grams of yellow metal in Pakistan decreased to Rs97,100 after shedding Rs100. The closing prices of the yellow metal in the country remained Rs97,200 on Thursday last. The reverse change in local prices of gold is due to the overnight change in gold prices in the international market. According to experts, the US dollar extended its retracement slide from one-week tops touched on Wednesday, which, in turn, was seen as a key factor that benefited gold, the dollardenominated commodity. However, a combination of factors held traders from placing aggressive bullish bets around gold and kept a lid on any meaningful upside. The risk-on impulse – as depicted by a strong rally in the equity markets – acted as a headwind for the traditional safe-haven gold. The global risk sentiment got a boost on news that US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke for the first time in seven months. Apart from this, a strong rebound in the US Treasury bond yields, along with expectations for an imminent Fed taper announcement capped gains for the non-yielding gold, they opined.

LAHORE: A view of accumulated rain water in front of Quaid-e-Azam Library at Bagh-e-Jinnah following heavy rainfall in Lahore. ZUBAIR MEHFOOZ

Weekly inflation up by whopping 1.37pc as food prices surge ISLAMABAD TLTP

The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) based weekly inflation for the week ended on September 9, 2021 for the combined consumption group witnessed an increase of 1.37 percent as compared to the previous week while it went 13.64 percent up on a year-on-year (YoY) basis.

According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday, the combined index was at 155.26 on September 9, 2021 as compared to 153.16 on September 2, 2021 while the index was recorded at 136.62 a year ago on September 10, 2020.

The SPI is computed on a weekly basis to assess the price movements of essential commodities at a shorter interval of time so as to review the price situation in the country. The SPI

comprises 51 essential items and the prices are being collected from 50 markets in 17 cities of the country.

During the week under review, out of 51 items, prices of 24 (47.06%) items increased, prices of 5 (9.80%) items decreased, while prices of 22 (43.14%) items remained constant.

The SPI for the current week ended on 9th September, 2021 recorded an increase of 1.37% with most of the items increased, mainly, onions (23.35%), tomatoes (20.38%), chicken (7.67%), wheat flour (4.97%), eggs (3.83%), pulse Masoor (2.04%), garlic & potatoes (1.34%) each, vegetable ghee 1kg (1.32%), washing soap (1.29%), cooking oil 5litre (1.22%) and beef (1.11%) with joint impact of (1.34%) into the overall SPI for combined group of (1.37%).

On the other hand, decrease in the prices of of bananas (3.09%), LPG (2.59%), rice Irri (0.59%), pulse Moong

(0.44%) and sugar (0.28%) was observed. According to the PBS data, the year-on-year trend depicts increase of 13.64% with most of the items increased, mainly, electricity for Q1 (46.55%), LPG (45.76%), vegetable ghee 1kg (40.71%), chicken (38.55%), vegetable ghee 2.5kg (37.26%), mustard oil (36.74%), cooking oil 5-liter (36.56%), chilli powder (35.71%), gents sandal (33.37%) and eggs (30.81%), while a major decrease was observed in the prices potatoes (26.32%), pulse Moong (25.24%) and tomatoes (6.68%).

The weekly SPI percentage change by income groups showed that SPI across all quantiles ranged between 1.20 percent and 1.66 percent. The lowest income group witnessed a weekly increase of 1.60 percent while the highest income group recorded an increase of 1.20 percent.

World far behind to resolve challenges, achieve SDGs: UNGA chief NEWS DESK The UN General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir has said that the world is “far behind in being able to solve the greatest global challenges and achieve the SDGs.” Bozkir said this while addressing his final press conference in the top job.

Abdulla Shahid, from the Maldives, is taking over the role for the 76th session at the end of the month.

For the Turkish diplomat and politician, the pandemic laid bare many false assumptions, such as effective diplomacy not requiring face-to-face interaction, or the idea that the UN could not handle a crisis of such magnitude - or that the world would inevitably continue becoming more equal, both within and amongst nations.

“I think all these myths have broken and broken resolutely. The world is much uglier than we thought,” he said.

He remembered realising, from the very beginning, that diplomacy could not be

conducted virtually. “I think we have seen much success and although we still have a long way to go, the UN is certainly more alive than it has been in 17months,” he said.

Despite the pandemic, the General Assembly fulfilled its mandates for the session, conducting 103 formal plenary meetings and adopting over 320 resolutions. “It has been busy to say the least,” he said. The General Assembly also held 16 high-level meetings, two special sessions, and conducted elections, including the re-appointment of Secretary General, António Guterres for a second and final term.

Bozkir also pointed to an “immense focus on the need for dealing with vulnerabilities of women and vulnerable poor countries.” As a result, two advisory boards were established. He believes this “nascent initiative will continue to focus on real challenges that sometimes get lost in the UN jargon.”

The last year, said Bozkir, “only highlighted that the preventive tools and

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mechanisms available with the UN are in desperate need for review. The UN cannot be a follower of the crisis. It must be a preventive body, it must deliver earlier action to prevent, or prepare for, crises in the first place.”

During the last year, the Assembly hosted meetings about current issues, like the crisis in Gaza, human rights in Myanmar or the humanitarian situation in Syria. He said he hoped the body “continues on this path and doesn’t shy away from the urgent issues affecting our world.” He also remembered the 75th anniversary of the UN last year. For him, the occasion made clear “that Member States have enormous faith and commitment to the United Nations.”

Lastly, he left some recommendations to his colleagues and his successor. He believes there’s a need to streamline and deepen the work of the General Assembly. For him, “success is not measured by the number of meetings we have, but by their quality, their format, their impact.”

The cryptocurrency market turned bullish on Friday, a day after witnessing a bullish trend, with the market capitalisation decreasing 0.6 percent to reach $2.22 trillion as of 1220 hours GMT. The price of bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency, shed 0.20 percent to reach $46,262. With this decrease in price, the market capitalisation of the biggest cryptocurrency reached $870.2 billion. Likewise, ethereum (ETH) price went down by 2.87 percent to reach $3,401. With this decrease in price, the market capitalisation of ETH has reached $398.6 billion. Similarly, XRP edged down by 2.35 percent to reach $1.09. The market capitalisation of XRP stands at $109 billion after this decrease. Following suit, cardano (ADA) shed 4.55 percent to reach $2.48. Its market capitalisation has reached $80.1 billion after this decrease.

On the other hand, dogecoin (Doge) price went down by 2.55 percent to reach $0.249. With this decrease in price, the market capitalisation of doge has reached $32.7 billion. According to experts, bitcoin price has been through a massive sell-off that is still affecting the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem. Bitcoin price dropped a whopping 18 percent on September 7 but closed the day with only 11 percent losses. While this drop wiped off billions of dollars, recovery for the big crypto is yet to start. They said that from its current standpoint, the pioneer crypto’s situation looks grim as it is trading under the previous monthly close at $47,157. A decisive close above this barrier will improve the chances of recovery, but failing to do so might put it in a lot of trouble. Assuming BTC converts the $47,157 resistance barrier into a support level, investors can expect the bellwether crypto to rally 12 percent to reach pre-crash levels at $52,672. Since this level is inside the fair value gap created on May 13, Bitcoin price could extend this uptrend and tag $56,717. While things look optimistic for the big crypto’s short-term future from a technical and on-chain perspective, it still needs to overcome a huge cluster of underwater investors, roughly 6.12 million, who purchased BTC around the $53,275 level, they added.

Crude prices jump amid supply disruptions NEWS DESK Crude oil prices surged around two percent on Friday due to supply disruptions in the US Gulf of Mexico following hurricane Ida. At 1245 hours GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world's oil, gained $1.22 (+1.71 percent) to reach $72.67 a barrel. Similarly, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) reached $69.35 a barrel, up by $1.21 (+1.78 percent). The price for Opec Basket was recorded at $71.19 a barrel with 0.22 percent decrease, Arab Light was available at $71.34 a barrel with a 0.78 percent fall, while the price of Russian Sokol slipped to $72.51 after shedding 0.85 percent. According to experts, the impact from hurricane Ida will continue to linger on for some time, saying that total crude oil production losses as a result of the storm now amount to slightly more than 22 million barrels, and with output still struggling to recover, this would grow.

Saturday, 11 September, 2021

ISLAMABAD

FBR ReStRICtS ItS weBSIte aCCeSS to PakIStaN oNly ISLAMABAD

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sHAHZAD PArACHA

HE Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has reportedly restricted its website access to Pakistan only. Sources said that Pakistanis based in foreign countries are trying their best to access the federal board of revenue website for filing of income tax returns, but they not only found the tax department website down but not accessible.

It was accessible from outside Pakistan two to three weeks back but now

they have restricted the access to Pakistan only, sources added.

FBR has restricted the access due to security reasons as hackers from different countries are trying to breach the sensitive database, in addition, the FBR has also limited the access of its officials to the website due to the above-mentioned reasons, sources added.

Recently, FBR Chairman, Dr Muhammad Ashfaque told the media that the cyber-attack on FBR’s database succeeded in disrupting the system but failed to get access to any data or transaction details.

There was no evidence that the FBR’s data was leaked but the attackers remained successful in disrupting our system. There was a total of 850 data machines out of which 400 got disrupted.

It is pertinent to note that FBR on Thursday also announced that there will be no extension in returns filing date after 30th September, FBR. The decision of non-extension in the due date for filing of return last year saw an overwhelming response from taxpayers.

In view of this, the Iris portal for filing of returns this year was operational-

ized from the 1st of July, 2021 to facilitate the compliant taxpayers.

FBR has advised all taxpayers required to file a tax return by 30th September 2021 to fulfil their legal obligation without waiting for the last date to avoid system delays which occur when a large number of taxpayers log in for submission of returns near the deadline. FBR has reiterated that there will be no extension in the due date for filing Income-tax returns. The scribe approached high ups of FBR’ officials for their comments but no reply was received till the filing of the story.

SNGPL to suspend gas supply to industries, CNG of Punjab & KP for two days ISLAMABAD AHMAD AHMADANI

Gas supply to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), cement, general industries and captive power plants across the franchised area of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) will be suspended for the period from 13th September 2021 to 15th September 2021.

SNGPL, in a memorandum dated 10th September 2021, has announced a gas load management plan due

Malnutrition programme in 23 districts of Sindh reflects authorities' apathy

to the re-deployment of Floating Storage Gas Re-Gasification Unit (FSRU) Exquisite after dry dock.

‘It is to inform that regasification from EETPL (Terminal-1) shall be disrupted during the period from 13th September 2021 to 15th September 2021 due to re-deployment of FSRU Exquisite after dry dock. To manage the gas load during the said period, the SNGPL has advised all the regions (Punjab & Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) to ensure suspension of gas/Re-gasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) supply to CNG, cement and general industry & its power plants (non-

export) sectors across the franchised area of SNGPL (including Punjab & KPK). Furthermore, 10 per cent gas/RLNG allocation to the process industry may be allowed during this period as per past practices, said SNGPL memorandum.

According to sources, this will be the second gas crisis to emerge in the summer season in the history of the country. They said that the gas crisis was because a new terminal (FSRU) of a private LNG terminal was not utilized and gas supply will be restored once the old terminal is back after the necessary dry dock.

Yutong Master New 3rd Generation Intercity Bus

KARACHI sTAFF rePOrT

The ongoing malnutrition program in 23 districts of Sindh province, which started in 2017, still seems to have failed in achieving its desired goals. The malnutrition program includes seven sectors. However, these seven sectors are not fully operational in any of the districts. Under the multi-sectoral approach, hens, goats and fish were to be given to selected malnourished households. However, according to the information received, only a few families were given sick and dying goats and hens and several pictures of them were adorned on websites and files. Similarly, there are reports of pictures being uploaded by giving two or four fish among the selected people in the backward areas. On the one hand, there were reports of non-availability of medicines for malnutrition, on the other hand, alleged corruption in the ongoing malnutrition program in Sindh through the electronic media was also exposed. Under the same program, 5,200 villages of Sindh were to be made Open Defecation Free (ODF). What happened with it? The people could not know anything about it. Under the agriculture sector, it is being considered a ridiculous joke to make the simple villagers aware of growing vegetables and their benefits. There are also reports of rifts, contradictions and negative attitudes among the staff working in the program. The reason behind possible failure of the program is being considered to be lack of effective scrutiny, investigation, verification and check and balance measures.

Nadeem Malik (Managing Director, Master Motor), Danial Malik (CEO. Changan Auto), Faisal Meraj (Country Head, Yutong Master Buses), Khwaja Shehzad (Owner, Faisal Movers), Stone He (Country Manager, Yutong China)

Master Motor Corp. (Pvt.) Ltd have launched the 3rd Generation CKD Intercity “NOVA” Bus of Yutong-Master, the market leader in Inter-city luxury bus segment of Pakistan.

The ceremony was held on 6th September 2021 at Master Motors Bus Assembly Plant, Port Qasim, Karachi. Distinguished guests from Government, private sector, transport officials and transporters attended the event. Mr. Nadeem Malik, the Managing Director of Master Motor, stated that MMCL has a vision to serve the transport industry of Pakistan with world class products that not only meets the international safety standards but also caters for the environment. The launching of this bus is another step ahead towards achieving our goal of providing a safe transportation and better life style to passengers, and a better opportunity for transporters to enhance their busi-

ness. Our main focus is passenger safety and that is why we introduced international standard buses to meet the safe transportation needs of the society along with reliable and responsive after sales services for the transporters. Mr. Faisal Meraj, Senior General Manager Marketing & Sales of Master Motor, stated that this is the same international model that is running in different countries of Europe and it has been adopted with the improvements keeping in mind of Pakistani road infrastructure to maintain the durability and operational efficiency.

MMCL is the first company to introduce and started the assembling of Euro 3 buses in Pakistan. Currently, Yutong Master has been serving Pakistan market with 3 locally assembled CKD models and more than 6 CBU models and has been a benchmark for other Bus assemblers in Pakistan.

MMCL in technical collaboration with Yutong (the largest manufacturer of buses in the world), is assembling different models of Yutong buses, commonly known as Yutong-Master, in its assembling plant in Karachi.

Since 2018, Yutong-Master has been a market leader in inter-city bus segment in Pakistan.

Master Group is operating since 1963 contributing in various sectors including Power, Textile, and Automotive sector. Master Motor Corp.

(Pvt.) Ltd has a state of the art, commercial automobiles assembling & manufacturing unit in Karachi. It was established in the year 2002 for assembling & manufacturing of light, medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicles and Buses. MMCL is also an authorized assembler and dealer of world-renowned brands like Mitsubishi Fuso, Foton, IVECO and Changan. Pr

World First Aid Day: Help that can save someone’s life!

Today, World First Aid Day (WFAD) is being observed all over the world including Pakistan. This day is observed on second Saturday of September every year across the globe. First time in the history, this day was introduced in 2000 by the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC). This day is celebrated to raise awareness among public about the importance and how First Aid can save lives in everyday-life especially in any crisis situations. A rich tribute is also paid to the first aiders who are major instrumental in saving precious human lives by providing timely medical aid. On that day, people are informed about the importance and advantages of first aid as well as they encouraged to get the first aid training and learn its lifesaving skills to save human life. The theme of World First Aid Day 2021 is “First aid

and road safety”. Its main aim is to spread awareness of how first aid can prevent injuries and save lives every day and in a crisis situation.

First Aid is an immediate treatment or medical assistance which is given to an injured or sick person with available resources before arrival of paramedical staff or medical professionals.

Wherever you are in the world, if you have got first aid training, you can save someone's life, so first aid training is an essential for all of us to learn its training and skills. It’s not only a skill but also an act of humanity. Provision without any discrimination, which helps to empower the

people of any society that can take care of their own survival and well-being. It has been ascertained in daily life that most of the people succumbed to their injuries in fatal traffic crashes due to non-availability of first aid? On the other end, traffic crashes around the world are a major cause of death of millions people or disability. The lives many people can be saved by providing timely first aid. If someone is injured or suddenly falls ill at work place, that there is no grater act of human kindness, than providing timely medical assistance support.

If we turn the pages of history, we find that many organizations or agencies

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were doing their due role before establishment of the Punjab Emergency Service Department (Rescue 1122), but there was no organized body and trained emergency paramedics available at the time of emergency. The citizens were abnegated from their basic right to timely emergency care in case of any emergency. In result of road traffic crashes the most of the people disabled for life due to lake of proper medical care or delays on spot which increased risks their lives.

For establishing integrated pre-hospital emergency management system first time in Pakistan, all credit goes to Dr Rizwan Naseer (SI), DG Punjab Emergency Service Department, who provided professional training to the paramedic staff in accordance with international standard at the Emergency Services Academy. Pr

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corporate corner

Dr. Arshad Mahmood, Secretary for the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) visited PSO’s head office in Karachi today. Managing Director & CEO, Syed Taha welcomed the honorable guest alongside other senior management representatives and gave a comprehensive briefing about PSO’s financial and operational performance and future plans. He appreciated PSO’s role in driving the country towards a better future, taking initiatives in line with GOP’s policies and revolutionizing Pakistan’s energy landscape. Pr

UBl pays tribute to Dr amjad Saqib for his Ramon Magsaysay award

The senior management of UBL’s Islamic Banking division recently hosted a dinner in Lahore in honour of Dr Amjad Saqib, founder of Akhuwat Foundation for bringing home the Ramon Magsaysay Award.

Considered as the highest accolade in Asia, the award has been given in recognition of his contributions in introducing interest and collateralfree micro-financing for the vulnerable segments of society. The picture shows Mr Zia Ijaz, Group Executive, Branch Banking & International (2nd right) presenting a memento on behalf of UBL to Dr Muhammad Amjad Saqib (3rd right) to honour his achievement. Also seen in the picture are senior executives from both institutions. Press releAse

NBP acquires PCI DSS consultancy services for maximum protection of card data

KARACHI: The National Bank of Pakistan has recently acquired the consultancy services for PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) Assessment and its Compliance certification for Security of Digital Payments. The PCI DSS is the global Information Security standard for the organizations that handle Debit/Credit Cards from major Card Schemes. SBP initially recommended implementation of PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) through the issuance of PSD Circular No.5 ‘Regulations for Payment Card Security in 2016.

However, with an increase in cyber-attacks in various forms against payment card systems, SBP recommended all financial institutions and associated service providers through the issuance of PSD Circular No. 9 ‘Security of Digital Payments’ in 2018, for the adoption of PCI Standards for Payment Card-related IT Infrastructure and Applications. PCIDSS creates an additional level of protection for Card Issuers by ensuring maximum security for storage, processing and transmission of Cardholder Data. This includes systems, application and infrastructure for the process. The Bank has engaged M/s Risk Associates for providing the services for PCIDSS Assessment and Certification project. The National Bank of Pakistan is the country’s largest public-sector commercial bank. It has the biggest branch network (over 1500) spread across the country and handles many large loan schemes for the Government of Pakistan to facilitate the people. Press releAse

Saturday, 11 September, 2021

06 COMMENT

The dilemma of our young generation

In the eye of the storm Judiciary needs to follow uniform criteria

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HE lawyers community which fought for the independence of judiciary for two years beginning March 2007 is getting suspicious about the way decisions are being taken regarding the elevation of judges, fixation of cases, formation of Supreme Court benches and selection of issues for suo motu action. Instead of following uniform criteria, there is reliance on discretion. Senior lawyers have warned that arbitrary decisions could create suspicions about motives, point to groupings within the judiciary or pressures from the establishment.

Appointing a junior judge in the absence of a valid reason for bypassing senior judges is bound to raise doubts regarding the propriety of appointments and the motives behind them. Bypassing a senior judge in favour of a junior one is tantamount to a vote of no-confidence in the latter’s competence or character or both. And he is condemned unheard, which is also a violation of the due process of law.

While selection of the higher judiciary is channeled through a collegiums, the last word lies with senior members of the judiciary in the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) who enjoy exclusive jurisdiction to ‘evaluate’ the professional capability, performance skills, rectitude and competence of the appointees.

In July, by a majority of five to four, the JCP approved the elevation of a judge who was fifth on the seniority list of Sindh High Court to the Supreme Court. The decision led to strong opposition and protests by Pakistan Bar Council, the Sindh Bar Council (SBC), the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) as well as the lahore High Court Bar Association (lHCBA).

Instead of drawing the right lesson, an attempt was made to elevate Justice Ayesha A. Malik, who is fourth on the seniority list of the lahore High Court (lHC), to the Supreme Court. This led to a countrywide boycott of courts by the lawyers on Thursday. The SCBA arranged a protest demonstration followed by a lawyers’ convention which passed strongly worded resolutions. lack of consensus during an extended meeting of the JCP led to the rejection of Justice Ayesha A. Malik. However before public confidence in the neutrality of the superior judiciary is further shaken, the unfettered and unstructured exercise of discretion needs to be replaced by uniform procedures and conventions.

The pandemic boosted addiction to online gaming zAiNAb Ali Alvi

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game is a pursuit in which people engage for fun, entertainment, recreation and leisure. Both Indoor and outdoor games are widely played around the globe. But with them, online gaming has emerged significantly with the advancement of technology.

Games are very important for human beings. Excessive work without any healthy activity can lead to mental stress and anxiety. Games not only help in dealing with mental stress but also boost up the mind and body for further work.

Nowadays, with the vast availability of gaming gadgets, smartphones, computers and greater access to the internet, online gaming serves the purpose of fun and recreation for many, mostly for children.

Whatever the source may be, one thing should be kept in mind that all these leisure activities should be for a certain limit of time. While playing games, one should keep in mind its purpose should be recreation and it must not become an "addiction".

But, unfortunately, today this is one of the worst addictions. And predominantly our younger generation is addicted to online gaming like no other.

According to a study by Baylor University, gaming addiction can be as addictive as drugs and alcohol for some.

Just like any other addiction, this does not happen overnight. Online gaming addiction has evolved day by day with the advancement of technology and the emergence of new means, for example, desktops, laptops, and mobiles. The mobile is considered the main source of online gaming addiction. This is so because of its easy access.

According to Datareportal, there were 173.2 million mobile connections in Pakistan in January 2021.

This is equivalent to 77.2 % of the total population.

While feature phones mostly support inbuilt games, smartphones with internet access support different kinds of online games.

Children using smartphones are attracted by online promotional advertisements. Gaming houses fan-

Swati’s outburst The PTI’s frustration boils over

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AIlWAYS Minister Azam Swati's outburst against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) reflected more than the apparent cause, which was the ECP’s refusal to endorse the government’s desire for Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and i-voting for overseas Pakistanis. The standing committee saw the ECP officials walk out over the outburst, and the Treasury members walk out against the chair’s refusal to allow attendance by viedoconferencing. The committee then voted down EVMs, i-voting and open ballots for Senae elections. Considering that the Bill has passed the National Assembly, it does not mean the legislation is dead, merely that it will now go to the joint session of Parliament.VC Mr Swati went as far as to impute an alternative motive to the ECP for not accepting EVMs and i-voting: it favoured the grant of the contract (which will run into the tens of billions of rupees) to some particular company which had bribed it. His outburst seemed to indicate the direction of a narrative against the ECP which can be expected from the PTI in days to come.

It might be remembered that there was a similar campaign launched against the Supreme Court when it reversed the actions taken against Mr Justice Qazi Faez Isa. There too, the reason for the clash had been the PTI’s extreme disturbance at the refusal of the Supreme Court to do its bidding.

The official insistence on EVMs in the presence of ECP objections causes eyebrows to be raised at its motives. if the purpose is to reduce controversy, why are the ECP objections to them, expressed in its 35-point submission to the committee, being ignored? The ECP has been in the government’s sights since the Daska by-election, when the ECP ordered a repolling because of official interference in elections. The government should realise that the essence of an electoral democracy is the freedom and fairness of its elections, and that the guarantee of tha freedom and fairness can only come from an independent election authority, like the ECP. The ECP has moved a long distance towards independence from being a government department, and includes the ability to differ from the government.

Amer NAzir

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S it even likely that the holder of the highest office in the land might not know the difference between morality and law? The first is subjective, a personal belief system, an outlook; the second an objective process. The first transforms into self-righteousness if not contained – the second has its focus on benefit of doubt, it is willing to let a hundred guilty walk free as long as not a single innocent is wrongly accused. The first is a sentiment, the second determines the difference between chaos and order.

Otherwise, you may find a man standing on a street corner urging women to cover their heads in return for money. Others may admit their limitations, concede they are not robots. And still others, with cameras in their hands, may approach families having dinner in a restaurant to accuse them of looting a nation. And they would all have good reason.

They would all feel justified. For when mobs rule, when everyone is in charge, morality takes over from law, until finally, an unbridled morality becomes immoral itself.

What is obviously forgotten along the way somehow is that law is practiced in the courts, not in the streets and that you are innocent until proven guilty.

That, yes, a crime should be punished, but not for the sake of pleasing a crowd and not every crime carries a death sentence even if that alone is what may satisfy a mob. And that, no, a punishment is not indefinite, it has an expiry date, and it cannot be passed on from a grandfather to a grandson.

And yet, it is happening. With self-righteousness running amok, even crimes now look different. No more is a crime restricted to a criminal act alone. That is not where it ends. That is not the only tangible and chargeable offence admissible in law. The crime scene is now extended to include the dress involved, questions are asked as to why was a woman at a wrong place at a wrong time, how could she not have had it coming to her, what else was there to expect?

What kind of woman would leave her home after dark with her children in tow..?

What is never mentioned of course is that it is already hard. That you are already suffocating. That

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change the nature of man for good? And if so, then while on this path to Utopia, to a surreal existence, on this road to salvation, why does it seem that bars are raised and lowered at will, goal posts are moved frequently, so that at the same time mob lynching, a vigilante culture and personal attacks have now also started to seem legitimate? Why is that confusing? your freedom is already massively curtailed. Or that And is that a risk? For some would insist that when you live in a lawless land you already take more self-righteousness is a disease, it is not a valid arguthan your share of precautions– instead, you are now ment, it is the domain of the petty. That it does not asked to be more careful in future, to surrender a bit abide by any single universal rule or law. They argue more of your freedom, give an assailant a bit more that self-righteousness in fact has a cold calculating power over you, and allow a cloud of guilt to hang heart, which if not restrained, beats with equal feroover you, since despite ciousness and righteous inbeing a female you had bent dignation in every chest and down in the street in full on either side of the divide. view to pick up the keys you That it is a dangerous game may have accidentally US President Bill Clinton was that can back-fire as well. dropped … for this is how it You see, US President impeached not because he is not is now, since unable to put Bill Clinton was impeached himself in the victim’s a robot, but because he had lied not because he is not a robot, shoes, the holder of the to the nation. In the same vein, but because he had lied to highest office in the land can nation. In the same vein, readily identify with the bessome world leaders have been the some world leaders have tial nature of an assailant inbeen forced to resign beforced to resign because of a stead. cause of a random comment Where would this lead is random comment they may have they may have made ages anybody’s guess. True, havago. An apology or a retracmade ages ago.

An apology or a ing already accepted that tion was never enough since personal freedom is not even retraction was never enough it was not the message or a a consideration, given that single random act, but the since it was not the message or beasts of prey roam about mindset that had produced freely in a jungle, it falls on a single random act, but the it, which was under investithe prey to watch its every gation, and since you can’t mindset that had produced it, step, it does make sense to place the destiny of a nation try and avoid inciting a which was under investigation, in the hands of a person that rapist or leave home after had shown such poor judgand since you can’t place the dark since streets and higheven if it was in the ways are not safe, but what destiny of a nation in the hands ment past. For today is a different next, if the entire strategy is of a person that had shown such world, gone are the days based on starving the aswhen Rasputin was asked to sailants of available victims, poor judgment even if explain his earlier conduct in if that might be the only solife, and he had gotten away it was in the past lution, then taking this direcby saying that he had had to tion of travel forward, would experience darkness firstthere be a general lockdown hand to discover the true as well if crimes continue to value of goodness. increase?

And this, one would think, is the moral of the Or for that matter, passing moral judgements on story. That, in an environment bursting at the seams every topic under the sun from the highest pedestal with self-righteousness, it’s a free for all, everyone in the land, would that stop crime forever? Even if has an opinion, no one is safe, no one is spared, we ignore for a moment that relentlessly trying to im- everyone is fair game, including you… pose one’s personal morality on others is not considered polite in any decent society in the world, would The writer tweets @amerlondon appealing to the collective conscience of the nation

The hughes office in the land should not be misused

Arif Nizami (Late)

M. A. Niazi

The educational institutions should provide better recreation facilities and parents should give more time to their children. The media should play its role in creating awareness.

Because it is our duty to protect our future generation

Morality and Law

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

tasize about the games by different techniques. It increases interest in children to play that game.

They not only make them play games but also create a greater gender divide. For example, combat, racing and sports games are for boys while dressing, makeup and household games are for girls.

These games have never-ending levels and are so intriguing that once a child starts playing them there is no end to it. It then becomes an addiction for them to reach to next levels, unlock more characters, to compete with classfellows, friends and cousins.

But, this competition is not healthy. Is this what we want our children to compete for? There are other healthy competitions rather than this regressing competition.

But, here the question is that can we just blame the advancement of technology, mobile phones, or gaming houses?

Technological advancement is taking place rapidly and it is the need of the world. There will be way more access to games in future. By this blame game, we cannot save our generation from this addiction.

The whole society is responsible. Schools have limited their focus on studies and there are very limited co-curricular activities. There are very few playgrounds and sports essentials in schools, especially the private schools.

Returning from school, where they are mentally exhausted by the pressure of classwork, homework and assignments, they need some refreshment which they get from mobile phones. Parents have no time for children. They engage their children in games.

They have no time for the healthy activities of their children. They are so busy on life shores that they do not have time to take their children for outdoor

games. So they engage them with mobiles.

We often witness in marriage functions, parties, and social gatherings, children playing games on mobiles. In the beginning, they just play it like any other game but with time they become addicted. They do not like to return their mobile phones and like to play all day while parents get irritated and this gives rise to another conflict.

In many online games, developers demand money for further progress. As not all parents can afford this, therefore this develops an inferiority complex in children.

At a time when nobody is ready to spare time for children, what will be the future of our young generation?

During the pandemic, when schools were closed, gaming addiction intensified. And now, even after the opening of schools, the condition remains the same.

Children now blackmail parents by saying " everyone plays games these days, why we can not play games?"

Now, children do not want to play with others.

They do not want to spend time with family, go out or attend a family function. All they want is a mobile to play games.

As a student of Applied Psychology, I conducted a survey and found that children spent 12 to 14 hours on mobile playing games during the pandemic. While they spent six to eight hours after the reopening of schools. It is absolutely scary to know.

My first cousin is a student in the 6th class. He wants to play games all the time. He plays multiplayer online games with his fellows. And because of competition, he demands money to enhance his game characters from his parents, by giving examples of his fellows. And when they refuse, he misbehaves. This is how it is affecting our new generation.

Along with other side effects, it affects mental health and physical development.

The educational institutions should provide better recreation facilities and parents should give more time to their children. The media should play its role in creating awareness. Because it is our duty to protect our future generation.

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Saturday, 11 September, 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

Effect of COVID 19 on Mental Health

Sandwiched Between War and Civil War Afghanistan Today

Dr rAjkumAr SiNgh

W

ITH each passing day, Afghanistan, is moving in a dangerous direction not only for the region but for the whole world, which today sees the developments with closed eyes and fails to understand that if it is not resolved permanently and unitedly, the consequences can reach them any time without notice and cause unimaginable, unthinkable damage to life and property.

At this juncture, for Taliban the Number One enemy is the USA, which perhaps has forgotten the event of 9/11 that challenged the superpower in all ways.

Next to the USA for the Taliban is India, but it is a joint enemy of both the Taliban and Pakistan, but not of the Afghan government.

By establishing a rule of the Taliban Islamabad desires to foment terror incidents in parts of India, especially in the State of Jammu and Kashmir and take a proper revenge of !971, but they both are unmindful of its repercussions leading to the formation of Bangladesh.

In that situation, if India comes forward and sends its army to fight with the Afghan security forces, it would not be a 20-year war like with the USA, and a month of declared war would decide the fate of both the Taliban as well as Pakistan.

In today’s context India is in a position to encircle Pakistan from all sides and it can start war on the India-Pakistan border and in Afghanistan against the Taliban simultaneously, where Islamabad would not be in a position to help terror groups in Afghanistan and both will surrender unconditionally. So far as China is concerned, if it supports Pakistan and the Taliban in installing a Islamabad-backed government in Kabul, there would be an easy

access for the Taliban and the Uyghur Muslim militants to unite and make a joint front against Beijing.

Although the assumption of power in Afghanistan by the Taliban is not in the interest of Pakistan itself, anti-India feeling has become uppermost along with the strategy that by reviving the Taliban it can influence all the three, India, the USA and China apart from other small nations. Thus, in making and helping Taliban Islamabad has a long-drawn baseless assumption.

Mullah Mohammad Omar founded Taliban in September 1994 with 50 students, who were then studying in a Madrassa in northern Kandahar Province and was unhappy that Islamic law had not been installed in Afghanistan even after Soviet withdrawal.

This is why the group pledged to free the country from warlords and criminals at any cost, using appropriate means, constitutional or otherwise. Soon after the formation, the group became very popular in Pakistan and Afghanistan and, as a result, a large number of students, mostly educated in religious Madrassas of Pakistan irwho also happen to be Afghan refugees, joined the organisation within months. They all were fully devoted to the Islamic faith and bore a hatred for foreigners as the USA had prepared them to fight against the Soviets and also provided them all Islamic literature and textbooks in local languages which made all materials easily available.

Reading of these religious materials taught them not to be moralists but to have a belief in strict Islamic law. The rapid rise of the Taliban, having a religious theme and caring for independence for Afghanistan had made the movement more popular and, in a surprise, move it attacked and conquered Kandahar City on 3 November 1994 and in next three months it controlled 12 Afghan provinces by early 1995.

This time around, the Taliban moved to Kabul where they encountered resistance from the government forces. However, after a series of setbacks, they prepared for another major offensive in September 1996 and by the end of this month entered Kabul and established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and from here their rule of the country took a start.

The rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan collapsed at the close of 2001 when the USA launched a decisive war against the terror group with a view to search for Al-Qaida chief Osama bin laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 atacks. The US war in Afghanistan was fought in two phases, from 2001 to 2014 with code name Operation Enduring Freedom in which

a coalition of over 40 NATO countries formed a security mission in the country called the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), while the second war began in succession in 2015, also with the code name Operation Enduring Freedom in which certain members were involved in military combat while allied with Afghanistan’s government, In both wars the other side comprised mostly Taliban insurgents.

Along with the war against the terror group, in the post-Taliban period the USA also initiated the process for forming an interim government on the basis of the Bonn Conference decision in which Hamid Karzai was chosen to lead the country till the coming of the new elected government. From the year 2006 onwards, the Taliban began to exert its influence in southern and eastern parts of Afghanistan, to commit atrocities against the innocent civilians and the government and ISAF responded by increasing the number of security forces leading to intense fighting between groups for next several years, reaching a peace deal between the USA and Taliban on 29 February 2020, in Doha.

The peace deal signed between Taliban and US representatives paved the way for the US exit from Afghanistan after 20 long years of exhaustive war which caused thousands of casualties from all sides involved in the fight. According to a study conducted at the Brown University as of April 2021, the war has killed 171,000 to 174,000 people in Afghanistan; 47,245 Afghan civilians, 66,000 to 69,000 Afghan military and police and at least 51,000 opposition fighters; but on the other side a large number of earlier refugees have returned to Afghanistan while some have left the country to remain refugees in Pakistan, Iran, and the nation has registered improvements in health, education and women’s rights since 2001. Joe Biden, the new President of the US has announced total exit before 11 September 2021 and in the last two or three months, the Taliban had occupied a large part of territory except Kabul and Kandahar.

Peace efforts on the part of regional and global powers are on with no possible solution in sight. At this critical juncture either they should come forward jointly to crush the Pakistan-backed Taliban, the next name of world threat or let it repeat the phase of Soviet exit, which was followed by a civil war and anarchy to welcome the Taliban as their ruler for the time to come.

The writer is head of the political science department and dean of the Social Sciences faculty of the B.N.Mandal University, Madhepura, Bihar, India. He can be reached at rajkumarsinghpg@gmail.com

SINCE the outbreak of COVID 19 in late 2019, hundreds of thousands have died worldwide. In order to control the spread of the virus, countries imposed lockdown, confining people to the boundaries of their home. With the outburst of Corona dating back to over a year, many people have suffered severe mental health issues due to the confinement faced after the announcement of lockdown.

Mental health issues are a range of conditions which can have a negative effect on one's mood or behaviour. Common mental health issues include depression and anxiety.

Stress, pressure and loneliness faced by people, often due to self-isolation can be inducing factors that can ultimately lead to mental health issues. In the months since COVIDs outbreak in Pakistan, the number of people diagnosed with mental issues has dramatically risen, as well as the suicide rate across provinces. Over 25 suicide cases have been linked with COVID since its outbreak, with likely more to come if measures aren’t taken. It is estimated that about 50 million people suffer from mental health issues in Pakistan, with a severe lack of psychiatrists to treat them. This means that obtaining mental health treatment can be an issue for many people, resulting in their disorders worsening. Fear of coronavirus as well as sadness caused by isolation and the thought of confinement has only increased the number of mental health issues not only in Pakistan but worldwide.

However efforts are being made by the government in order to curb the spread of mental illnesses, through methods such as, providing relevant information about mental issues impact and methods of prevention. In addition the government has published a 26 page document providing instructions on how to avoid mental issues, especially during lockdown. NGOs across Pakistan have taken charge of raising mental health awareness as well, with talks being organized to achieve this.

WalEEd QaSim BaShir lahorE

Afghan war: Who is to blame?

SEPTEMBER 11th is the deadline for the American army to leave Afghanistan and end it’s decades long war. A lot of people are asking questions of why this war went on for so long and why America has lost this war. And a lot of people end up blaming Pakistan for America’s failures.

“Directorate S” is a book written by Steve Coll, that explains Pakistan’s position categorically from the start of the war till the end. From Ex President Musharraf till current Prime Minister Imran Khan, every Pakistani military and civilian leader have been telling the US only one thing, negotiate with the Taliban as they are local Afghani’s and cannot be expelled from their own country.

The book also categorically tells us how the USA always went against Pakistan’s advice, whether it was to help the Northern Alliance take over Kabul, or whether to give Pakistan time to deploy troops to the borders before the USA bombed Tora Bora mountains or even when Pakistan asked them to negotiate a peace with Taliban.

The book also highlights how the USA used India’s funded Ahmed Shah Masood’s Northern Alliance group whose second command was Amrullah Saleh, the current VP of Afghanistan who likes to spew hatred against Pakistan at every opportunity he gets. Incidently Ahmad Shah Masood was killed in a suicide attack, two days before September 11th World Trade Center incident, and he was pronounced dead in an Indian funded hospital in Tajikistan. Reading the book the readers would understand how Pakistan had always tried to help the USA and even how the Taliban continuously asked to negotiate Peace with the USA, but in both cases their requests were turned down. Therefore at this juncture the people of America, Afghanistan and Pakistan should be asking themselves is why the USA Government and CIA allowed the US Army and coalition forces to continue a war, when in the end the USA Government had to negotiate a peace settlement anyways?

Shahryar Khan BaSEEr P.Engr.

PEShaWar

Vaccine hesitancy THE Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc all over the country. Many countries are trying hard to get rid of the virus. The government of Pakistan is also working tirelessly to make Pakistan free from this highly transmissible virus. There is no doubt that the government is playing a laudable role in dealing with this disastrous situation. However, the people are not ready to listen to the authorities. Many people are still reluctant to get vaccinated because of the misconceptions that they are viral on social media and other platforms. A few days ago, I found myself in a queue outside a vaccination centre. While waiting for my turn, I talked to a few people who were standing behind me in the queue. They said that they are getting vaccinated because of the restrictions that the government had announced for the unvaccinated.

They added that had it been up to them, they would have remained unvaccinated because they had heard that the Covid-19 vaccines have adverse side effects. These misconceptions are the reason that many people are still unvaccinated. Religious scholars and political leaders must take steps to encourage people to get vaccinated. hammal Zahid Kolahoo

Protecting our kids AT this stage when the child abuse cases, be it in terms of sexual assault, pornography or child trafficking are taking alarming proportions and adversely affecting the individuals, families as well as the whole society, it was a beautiful piece of jurisdiction by the Senate. Dearth of laws and bodies to check such incidents had led the numbers to suffer in the past but today the imposition of this law would assist in curbing the rate of such cases which are leading to serious threats including guilt, self blames, nightmares, insomnia, suicidal ideation, self injury, depression, aggressive behavior etc among the children. Highly hoping to see a positive change.

USman mir Karachi

Saturday, 10 September, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

IndIa’s deepenIng love affaIr wITh Israel ISRAEL HAD SUPPLIED WEAPONS TO INDIA DURING THE SINO-INDIAN WAR OF 1962.

INDIA ALSO USED ISRAELI WEAPONS IN THE INDO-PAKISTAN WARS OF 1965 AND 1971

Al JAzeerA

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hE revelation that Pegasus – spyware developed by the israeli cyberarms company NsO – was used to surveil opposition politicians, activists, public officials and journalists in india, has once again confirmed that the right to privacy, freedom of speech and expression and freedom of the press are threatened under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hindu nationalist government.

Dismissing the controversy, a member of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Basavaraj somappa Bommai, declared, “it is a conspiracy involving foreign press where these kinds of misinformation campaigns have been done against india …

Using digital platforms, they try to destabilise different countries. Now, the eyes are set on india.” however, opposition politicians have accused Prime Minister Modi of “treason”.

And, the Press Club of india (PCi) described this as an unprecedented attack on the indian democracy. The PCi tweeted, “This is the first time in the history of this country that all pillars of our democracy – judiciary, parliamentarians, media, executives and ministers – have been spied upon.”

But it is not mere happenstance that technology developed by an israeli company was used by the hindu nationalist leadership in india. Over the years, the two countries have developed a robust strategic, military and technology partnership. Furthermore, there has long been an ideological alliance between the BJP and israel that helps further the ambitions of both parties.

HISTORY OF A FRAUGHT RELATIONSHIP Relations between israel and india have not always been as friendly as they are today. in 1938, Mahatma Gandhi had famously said, “Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense that England belongs to the English or France to the French.”

Jawaharlal Nehru – who eventually became the first prime minister of independent india – expressed his sympathies for the Jewish population facing persecution in Europe. however, Nehru also insisted that “fundamentally the problem of Palestine is a nationalist one. The Arabs are struggling against imperialist control and domination. it is a pity, therefore, that the Jews of Palestine instead of aligning themselves with this struggle have thought it fit to take the side of British imperialism and to seek its protection against the inhabitants of the country.” india remained invested in the idea of Arab freedom in Palestine in the lead up to its independence in August 1947 and thereafter. it was an elected member of the UN

special Committee on Palestine (UNsCOP).

And, in september 1947, it was one of only 13 countries that voted against the United Nations’ Partition Plan for Palestine. in a statement against the partition plan, the indian representative and member of UNsCOP, sir Abdur Rahman, said, “The people of Palestine have now admittedly reached a stage of development where their recognition as an independent nation can no longer be delayed. They are in no way less advanced than the people of the other free and independent Asiatic countries.” Rahman added that the failure to grant independence to Palestinians would lead to continued violence in the region.

As israel secured UN membership, signed armistice agreements with its neighbours and was recognised as a sovereign state by the leading powers, india also eventually felt compelled to recognise israel in 1950. however, india’s leanings towards the soviet Union during the Cold War and status as a key architect of the Non-Alignment Movement meant that its allegiance was with its Arab allies and it had very limited, if any, diplomatic relations with the Western bloc-allied israel at the time. in 1956, during the suez Crisis, india extended its support to Egypt and Gamal Abdel Nasser. in 1974, it became the first non-Arab country to recognise the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole, legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. in 1975, the government of india also allowed the PLO to open an office in New Delhi as confirmation of its continued support to the Palestinian “struggle for the restoration of their inalienable rights in their homeland”. india recognised the state of Palestine in 1988 and it opened the doors of its first representative office in Palestine in 1996. however, with the fall of the soviet Union, india engaged in a process of economic liberalisation and, with it, began to reposition itself in world politics. This included its relationship with israel. in 1992, under the leadership of Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, india established formal diplomatic ties with israel, but remained committed to the Palestinian cause and its economically crucial ties with other countries in the Middle East.

MATERIAL AND IDEOLOGICAL PARTNERSHIP Today, bilateral relations between india and israel is a multifaceted affair. Between April 2020 and February 2021, bilateral merchandise trade (excluding defence) stood at $4.14bn. indian software companies have a growing presence in israel. Both countries signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement for the agriculture sector in 2006. The fifth phase of this agreement is currently being implemented. india and israel also signed a science and Technology Cooperation Agreement in 1993. And, in 2017, a $40m india-israel industrial R&D and innovation Fund (i4F) was established. Eleven ongoing projects have been funded under i4F. in December 2020, the two countries signed an agreement to increase cooperation in the fields of healthcare and medicine. At the height of the ongoing COViD-19 pan-

demic, indian and israeli authorities have also worked together to develop a rapid COViD19 testing kit. in March 2021, it was announced that india’s Premas Biotech and israel’s Oramed had jointly developed a COViD-19 oral vaccine. in recent years, there has also been an uptick in cultural exchange, tourism and people-to-people contact.

During his visit to india in 2018, the then israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted an event titled “shalom Bollywood” in Mumbai that was attended by some of the most prominent figures in the hindi film industry. A year later, Netflix released Drive, the first Bollywood movie filmed in israel. security and defence cooperation, however, has always been and still is the cornerstone of bilateral relations.

Three decades before the establishment of formal diplomatic ties, israel had supplied weapons to india during the sino-indian War of 1962. india also used israeli weapons in the indo-Pakistan Wars of 1965 and 1971. And, when india’s foreign intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), was established in 1968, its first spy chief RN Kao was tasked by Prime Minister indira Gandhi to establish ties with israel’s Mossad. israel has also emerged as india’s most reliable weapons supplier that is willing to maintain supply channels without any political preconditions. This was evident during the Kargil War of 1999. At the time, india was still facing economic sanctions and an export ban on weapons and military technology imposed by the Clinton administration as retribution for its Pokhran-ii nuclear tests in 1998. Yet, israel refrained from criticising india’s nuclear programme and supplied weapons and surveillance systems and upgraded existing military hardware during the war.

As a result, today india is the largest buyer of israeli weapons. israel is india’s second-largest weapons supplier. imports increased by 175 percent between 2015 and 2019 and current annual sales amount to more than $1bn. india’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and israeli Aerospace industries (iAi) are currently collaborating on developing surface-to-air missile systems for the indian armed forces.

The indian armed forces have also inducted israeli UAVs, radar systems, surveillance technology as well as anti-aircraft missiles and air-to-air missiles. Numerous indian police officers, including many stationed in indian Occupied Kashmir, have been trained at the israel National Police Academy. security forces in the indian Occupied Kashmir Valley also use israeli surveillance technology and foliage-penetrating radar. in 2018, indian Union Minister Rajnath singh inaugurated two smart fence projects along the border with Pakistan in indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir that will use israeli surveillance technology. india and israel are also part of a Joint Working Group on Counterterrorism that serves as a platform for dialogue and knowledge exchange on regional and global terrorism threat perception, the prevention of the transfer of weapons to violent groups, and counterinsurgency strategies.

But despite the breadth of the bilateral relations between the two countries, india has walked a diplomatic tightrope for years. it has tried to present its strategic and defence partnership with israel as a low-key affair and a matter of realpolitik. At the same time, by being vocally pro-Palestine in its political stance and by maintaining a proPalestine voting record at the UN, india has sought to maintain its ties with Arab states, especially the oil-rich Gulf states that are critical to its energy security and an important source of foreign investment.

A significant shift in the public perception of israel in india was seen in 2008 after the Mumbai attacks when experts began to suggest that the country should adopt an israeli approach to fighting terrorism. however, support for israel has been the official policy of the BJP long before the Mumbai attacks. During BJP’s Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s stint as prime minister between 1998 and 2004, india strengthened its ties with israel significantly. in 2000, then Minister of home Affairs LK Advani became the first indian minister to visit israel. A year later, BJP’s Jaswant singh became the first indian foreign minister to visit israel. And, in 2003, Ariel sharon became the first israeli prime minister to visit india.

Modi and former israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu also shared a very public camaraderie until the latter was voted out of office in 2021.

And their relationship became a symbol of the marked transformation of india-israel bilateral relations from a matter of realpolitik to an ideological alliance between two countries – each led by a right-wing, nationalist leadership – that see themselves at the forefront of a supposed global, political and military struggle against “islamic fundamentalism and terrorism”.

The Bibi-Modi “bromance”, and BJP’s decades-long vocal support for israel, began paying dividends not long after the BJP won the 2014 general elections. in 2015, india was one of the only five countries that abstained from a resolution in the UN human Rights Council that endorsed a report on israeli war crimes during Operation Protective Edge. in 2017, Modi was the first indian prime minister to visit israel. As a clear indication of changing allegiances, he chose not to visit the Palestinian Authority at the time.

Welcoming Modi to israel, Netanyahu said, ““Aapka swagat hai mere dost [Welcome, my friend]. We love india. We admire your culture, history, democracy and commitment to progress. i am confident of the real mathematics of life, of success of our partnership for many reasons; talent of our people.” Celebrating the warming of diplomatic ties, Modi tweeted, “i for i. Which means india for israel and israel for india.”

Of course, Modi’s enthusiasm is a reflection of the strong support israel has historically enjoyed among hindu nationalists in india.

Vinayak Damodar savarkar (1883-1966) – often credited for having developed the hindutva ideology – wrote in the 1920s, “if the Zionists’ dreams are ever realised – if Palestine becomes a Jewish state – it will gladden us almost as much as our Jewish friends.”

it was the prominent leader of the paramilitary hindu nationalist organisation Rashtriya swayamsevak sangh (Rss) Bhaurao Deoras who convinced, Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao to establish formal diplomatic relations with israel in 1992. Current Rss chief Mohan Bhagwat has also said india should learn from israel’s ability to defend itself, despite being “surrounded by adversaries from all sides”. he added, “Unless we stand as united as israelis are, both people and the politicians, we will regret badly one day.” For its part, israel has been consistent in its support for Modi and his policies.

When the Modi leadership enacted the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in December 2019, which effectively excludes access to citizenship for Muslims, it faced global criticism. however, the israeli Consul General for south india Dana Kursh said, “india as a sovereign nation has the right to enact the CAA. it is not for the European Parliament to decide what india should or not do. india’s sovereignty is to be respected and she knows how to protect her people.” in 2017, senior israeli authorities had declared that israel would never “support Pakistan on the Kashmir issue”. On January 26, 2021 – the anniversary of the indian Republic – Netanyahu ignored the ongoing farmers’ protests against india’s controversial farm bills. instead, he tweeted: “To my great friend Prime Minister @NarendraModi.

Congratulations to you and the people of india on your 72nd #Republic Day. Our friendship grows from year to year”. On the occasion of Republic Day, a member of the Knesset and Netanyahu’s Likud party, Yariv Levin, also lauded “india’s strong commitment to the ideals of rights and values of the constitution”.

INDIA-ISRAEL TIES CAN ONLY GET STRONGER in a tweet on May 16, Netanyahu thanked 25 countries for “standing with israel” during its bombardment of the Gaza strip. india was missing from this list since it had not made an official statement expressing its support for israel during “Operation Guardian of the Walls”.

Netanyahu’s snub sent hindu nationalists on Twitter into a frenzy. One user wrote, “What the hell man, you forgot to add india???? We have always stood in solidarity as a strong ally of israel.” Another user wrote, “We indians with you sir, please mention our flag & also mention hindu nationalist of india who support israel all time, all weather.”

Despite this episode, relations between india and israel remain on secure ground. in 2020, israel signed normalisation agreements with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Morocco, Oman and Bahrain. But these agreements do not just symbolise a marked shift in regional politics. They also break the stigma of establishing diplomatic relations with israel. And, for india, the changing political landscape in the Middle East provides fertile ground for further strengthening its ties with israel without fear of jeopardising its relations with its other allies in the region.

Somdeep Sen is Associate Professor of International Development Studies at Roskilde University in Denmark. He is the author of Decolonizing Palestine: Hamas between the Anticolonial and the Postcolonial (Cornell University Press, 2020).

Money down the toilet in Afghanistan THERE SHOULD BE CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS, BUT YOU KNOW THERE WON’T BE, BECAUSE NOBODY IS EVER HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR ANYTHING IN THIS COUNTRY ANYMORE

AmericAn conservAtive

T

ROD DREHER

his sign of American decadence and stupidity in Afghanistan cannot be improved on. The spectator columnist Cockburn reports on America’s attempt to turn a nation of medieval goat

herders suitable for campus life at some of America’s more elite colleges. Excerpts: so, alongside the billions for bombs went hundreds of millions for gender studies in Afghanistan. According to Us government reports, $787 million was spent on gender programs in Afghanistan, but that substantially understates the actual total, since gender goals were folded into practically every undertaking America made in the country.

A recent report from the special inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (siGAR) broke down the difficulties of the project. For starters, in both Dari and Pastho there are no words for ‘gender’. That makes sense, since the distinction between ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ was only invented by a sexually-abusive child psychiatrist in the 1960s, but evidently

Americans were caught off-guard. Things didn’t improve from there. Under the Us’s guidance, Afghanistan’s 2004 constitution set a 27 percent quota for women in the lower house — higher than the actual figure in America! A strategy that sometimes required having women represent provinces they had never actually been to.

Remarkably, this experiment in ‘democracy’ created a government few were willing to fight for, let alone die for.

The initiatives piled up one after another.

Do-gooders established a ‘National Masculinity Alliance’, so a few hundred Afghan men could talk about their ‘gender roles’ and ‘examine male attitudes that are harmful to women’.

More: But all this wasn’t just a stupid waste of money. it routinely actively undermined the ‘nation-building’ that America was

supposed to be doing. According to an UsAiD observer, the gender ideology included in American aid routinely caused rebellions out in the provinces, directly causing the instability America was supposedly fighting. To get Afghanistan’s parliament to endorse the women’s rights measures it wanted, America resorted to bribing them. soon, bribery became the norm for getting anything done in the parliament.

Cockburn dredges up something so horrible and hilarious that it’s straight out of a Monty Python sketch. in it, the American occupiers attempt to enlighten a group of Afghan women by showing them Marcel Duchamp’s famous urinal-as-museum-piece, and telling them that it’s important art. Cockburn says watch to the 31-second point and see the moment when America failed in Afghanistan: Read it all. Last night at dinner

in Milan, i asked a friend of mine, a veteran italian foreign correspondent, what he thought of the way America had handled its departure from Afghanistan. “America is a declining power,” he said. “You can’t deny it now.” No, you can’t.

There should be Congressional hearings, but you know there won’t be, because nobody is ever held accountable for anything in this country anymore. Next time you hear one of these people in the American expert class telling you, for example, that hungary is a fascist state, remember that they are the same geniuses who read Afghanistan and thought they saw a country that was ripe for gender studies and classes on the artistic breakthrough of pissoirs.

Rod Dreher is a senior editor at The American Conservative.

saturday, 11 september, 2021

businEss 09

islamabad Price of sugar, rice goes down ISLAMABAD: The prices of food items including sugar and rice went down during the week ending on September 9, as compared to the previous week, the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) Friday revealed. According to the data, the prices of food items that witnessed a decrease included bananas, prices of which decreased by 3.09 per cent whereas the price of rice (Irri-6/9) declined by 0.59pc on a Week-onWeek (WoW) basis. Likewise, the prices of Moong pulse and sugar (refined) declined by 0.44pc and 0.28pc respectively. Among non-food items, the prices of LPG decreased by 2.59pc. On a Year-on-Year basis, the prices of potatoes decreased by 26.32pc whereas that of Moong pulse and tomatoes declined by 25.24pc and 6.68pc respectively.

On the other hand, the food items that witnessed increase in prices on WoW basis included onions (23.35pc), tomatoes (20.38pc), chicken (7.67pc), wheat flour (4.97pc), eggs (3.83pc), pulse masoor (2.04pc), garlic & potatoes (1.34pc) each, vegetable ghee 1kg (1.32pc), washing soap (1.29pc), cooking oil 5 litre (1.22pc) and beef (1.11pc). The year on year trend depicts increase of 13.64pc with most of the items increased, mainly, electricity for Q1 (46.55pc), LPG (45.76pc), vegetable ghee 1 Kg (40.71pc), chicken (38.55pc), vegetable ghee 2.5Kg (37.26pc), mustard Oil (36.74pc), cooking oil 5 litre (36.56pc), chili powder (35.71pc), gents sandal (33.37pc) and eggs (30.81pc), It is pertinent to mention here that the overall SPI based weekly inflation for the week ended on September 9 recorded an increase of 1.37pc compared to the previous week. APP

IMC signs MoU with HBL for exclusive financing and insurance of Toyota variants

Indus Motor Company (IMC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with HBL to make car affordability easier through exclusive financing and insurance of Toyota variants. The MoU was signed at a ceremony in Karachi, between Mr Abdul Rab, Senior General Manager-Marketing and Sales from IMC and Mr Muhammad Asad Khan, Head Secured Asset Consumer Rural and SME Banking from HBL. IMC will assist its clients by arranging special finance and insurance prices on all Toyota variants via HBL. Customers of IMC will benefit from a preferred fixedmarkup rate and fast-tracked delivery lead time. The combined experience of IMC and HBL will help save time, minimize hassle, and create a seamless purchase and financing process whilst also ensuring a smooth buying and financing process. Additionally, 50 approved Toyota dealerships and 35 TSURE locations will provide leasing services. Expressing his views, IMC Chief Executive, Mr Ali Asghar Jamali, said, "Providing mobility solutions with convenience, safety and affordability is what we strive for at Toyota and we are committed that vehicle ownership in Pakistan becomes a reality for our people.”

He added, "The necessity of establishing a relationship, enables IMC and HBL to prioritize their consumers, to continue their customer-centric journey, and ultimately benefit the client. PRESS RELEASE

SBP forex reserve fall $123m to $20bn The State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reserves fell 0.61 per cent on a weekly basis, data released by the central bank on Thursday showed. The total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $20,022.6 million, compared with $20,145.6m in the previous week.

Reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan decreased by $123m on account of external debt repayments, it said in a statement. Overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $27,102.6m. Net reserves held by banks amounted to $7,080m. MONITORINg REPORT

PakISTan ReCeIveS $2.66Bn ReMITTanCeS In aUg ISLAMABAD APP

W

ORKERS’ remittances continued their strong trend, reaching $2.66 billion in August 2021, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported Friday.

This is the sixth consecutive month when inflows recorded around $2.7bn on average, and the fifteen consecutive months they have been above $2bn.

In terms of growth, remittances increased by 26.8 per cent on a year-on-year basis in August, which is a decade-high growth rate for that month.

On a month-on-month basis, inflows were marginally lower than in July, reflecting the usual postEid slowdown.

Nevertheless, this seasonal decline was far less this year compared to historical trends, the statement said adding that cumulatively, at $5.36bn, remittances grew by 10.4pc during the first two months of this year over the same period last year.

Govt allotted 1,500 acres land for sEZ: Khusro KARACHI APP

Federal Minister Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtyar Thursday said "Karachi is the country’s largest industrial city where availability of industrial land has been a problem."

The Ministry of Industries and Production has allotted 1500 acres of land for the Special Economic Zone, the minister said during his visit to the National Industrial Park.

He said the Special Economic Zone would provide one window operation to domestic and foreign investors. Bakhtyar said Karachi Industrial Park will be established at a cost of Rs. 7 billion which will help boost the country’s industrial production and exports.

The Management of Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation on the occasion briefed the federal minister about Special Economic Zones.

Bakhtyar was told that 278.5 acres of land has been allotted for National Industrial Park. A total of 22 domestic and foreign companies have invested in the National Industrial Park. Later, Bakhtyar also visited the Pakistan Steel Mill.

Minister said the government is going to privatise PSM in order to make it more profitable and to meet the steel requirements of the county amid the growing construction industry.

National Foods registers 19pc growth for FY’21 ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

National Foods Limited, at the group level, delivered a healthy top-line and bottom-line growth of 20 per cent and 19pc respectively for the financial year 2021 despite the prevalent covid-19 situation.

The top line continued its momentum which was supplemented by cost and revenue transformation measures enabling steady gross and net profit margins.

The group earned net Profit after Tax (PAT) of Rs1,759 million for the year ended June 30, 2021, which is 5.1pc of net sales

and 19pc up versus last year.

The group’s Core Business’ PAT margin to net sales closed at 6.7pc which is 0.3pc higher than FY20. Similarly, A1 Bags & Supplies Inc. maintained PAT margin to net sales at 5pc.

The company has announced a cash dividend of Rs5 per share and a bonus issue of 1 share for every 4 shares held on the date of determination of entitlement to receive the dividend.

During the year, the contribution to the National Exchequer by NFL has further increased and the company paid over Rs5,281m (it was Rs4,813m in 2020) to the government and its various agen-

cies on account of different government levies, including customs duty, sales tax and income tax.

Moreover, foreign exchange of Rs2,220m (it was Rs1,361m in 2020) was also generated through the export of products.

“The local business and political landscape have been generally stable over the year, especially with significant improvement in covid situation across the country post successful strategy being deployed for its management. Tax and economic reforms targeting positive movement in the economy have improved the investor confidence,” said Abrar Hasan, CEO NFL.

NEPRA notifies Rs 1.38/unit hike in power price ISLAMABAD: National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has notified Rs1.3771 per unit hike in power tariff on account of fuel charges adjustment (FCA) for the month of July 2021. As per details, the Authority (NEPRA) has approved a positive FCA of Rs1.3771/kWh for July 2021 and it will be charged in the billing month of September 2021 to all consumer categories of power distributing companies (DISCOs), except lifeline consumers. Similarly, this FCA would remain applicable only for one month and does not apply to K-Electric consumers. It is relevant to note that already burdened power consumers will have to pay additional amounts in next month’s electricity bills, which will cause an additional burden on the power consumers. Earlier, NEPRA had fixed reference fuel charge for power generation at Rs5.27/unit while the actual cost of electricity generation was found at Rs6.74/unit in July.

And, Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA), for DISCOs, asked NEPRA to approve an increase of Rs1.4685/kWh over the reference fuel charges i.e, Rs5.2798/kWh for July 2021. NEPRA’s hearing on FCA of July was held on September 01, 2021. Based on the information provided by CPPA to NEPRA, a total of 15bn and 21 crore units of power were produced in July 2021. And, out of the total power generation, power production with the hydel source was 29.94 per cent, coal 15.29pc, furnace oil 10.28pc, gas 8.68pc, imported LNG 20.01pc, and nuclear source 10.59pc. AHMAD AHMADANI

FbR grants relaxation in filing declarations ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has decided to grant a one-time opportunity to the taxpayers who have paid their tax under the Assets Declaration Ordinance-2019 but somehow could not file their declarations.

The Assets Declaration Ordinance, 2019 was promulgated on May 14th, 2019, for payment of tax and declaration of corresponding assets by June 30th, 2019. The due date was extended till July 3rd, 2019.

Taking cognizance of the hardship caused and to facilitate the aggrieved citizen taxpayers, FBR has decided to allow the filing of declarations for all those citizen taxpayers who have deposited tax under the Ordinance within the due date

of July 3rd, 2019 but could not file their declarations due to any reason.

The system has been enabled for this purpose and all taxpayers can now file their declarations between September 10th, 2021, till September 25th, 2021.

This is a special dispensation granted under Section 7 of the FBR Act, 2007.

Meanwhile, the FBR Chairman on Friday also chaired a meeting to review the progress of the PM's Relief Package to the Construction Industry.

Federal Board of Revenue’s Policy Wing gave a detailed briefing to the Federal Board of Revenue Chairman, Dr Muhammad Ashfaq Ahmed about the progress made on the Prime Minister’s Relief Package for the Construction Industry.

IR Policy Member assisted by IR Pol-

icy Chief informed the Chairman that so far 1321 persons have registered themselves through the online system of FBR in 2125 projects. Out of these registered projects, 1775 are new projects whereas 350 are existing projects. The total declared investment made in these registered projects comes to Rs493 billion.

PM’s Construction Package was introduced through Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 on 19th April 2020.

The salient features of the package include fixed tax for builders and developers, immunity from probes and concessions from withholding of taxes.

FBR has provided all the required facilitation to the beneficiaries of the package which include the establishment of a dedicated web page, a dedicated email to ad-

dress inquiries and an online step by step guide for the builders and developers. Besides, a comprehensive set of FAQs for potential buyers and investors was developed which is available on the FBR website. Moreover, wide publicity through media campaigns was also done to maximize the gains of this relief package.

FBR Chairman directed that ease of doing business must be ensured to the registered projects under the PM’s Package for Construction Sector. He further desired that regular updates on the progress be communicated through media every week.

Earlier, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Minister for Finance Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra called on the FBR Chairman here at FBR HQ. Mr Zafar Ali Shah, Senior Member Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board.

Remittance inflows during August 2021 were mainly sourced from Saudi Arabia ($694 million), United Arab Emirates ($512m), United Kingdom ($353m) and the United States ($279m).

Proactive policy measures by the government and SBP to incentivize the use of formal channels, curtailed cross-border travel in the face of COVID19, altruistic transfers to Pakistan amid the pandemic, and orderly foreign exchange market conditions have positively contributed towards the sustained improvement in remittance inflows since last year.

Corporate Briefing Session (CBS) of Faysal Bank Limited Faysal Bank Limited recently conducted a virtual corporate briefing session. Through the session the Bank’s Chief Financial Officer, Syed Majid Ali briefed the analyst community and shareholders about the Bank’s business strategy, financial performance for the halfyear ended June 30, 2021, and its outlook. Post half year-end, FABL converted another 21 branches to Islamic as a result over 90 per cent of its branches are now exclusively offering Shariah-compliant services. The Bank plans to convert another 44 branches by the end of 2021 and open 30 new Islamic banking branches. Alongside investment in brick and mortar infrastructure, the Bank is aggressively working on enhancing its product suite and enriching customer experience through innovative digital offerings. The Bank launched the first of its kind, Islami Noor Card, which is a Shariah-compliant alternative to conventional Credit Cards. In terms of financial performance, FABL posted a profit after tax of Rs. 4.02 billion for the half-year ended June 30, 2021, as compared to Rs. 3.8 billion in the comparative period. The Bank’s net advances portfolio stood at Rs 343.7 billion as of June 30, 2021. The Bank is continuously working on improving its margin by maintaining the right kind of deposit mix. The Bank’s current deposits ratio improved from 31.3pc to 36.3pc. The deposit closed at Rs 591.9 billion registering a healthy growth of 9.5pc since December 2020. The Bank’s subsidiary Faysal Asset Management Limited (FAML), has come a long way since the acquisition of control by FABL in November 2018. FAML’s Assets Under Management have increased from Rs. 7.3 to Rs. 62 billion and its Management Quality Rating has also moved three notches up to AM2+. PRESS RELEASE

FBR to review 103 tax credit cases The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has been directed by the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) to re-examine 103 tax credit cases from 2014 to 2021 under Section 65D of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 and has been ordered to process the pending 281 tax credit claims. FTO found after an investigation that undue tax credit was provided to companies without any standard operating procedures (SOPs) for credit allowance. FTO noticed that the income tax department had not carried out any proper verification process. MONITORINg REPORT

CCoP approves privatisation of Services International Hotel Lahore ISLAMABAD: The Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCoP) on Friday approved the privatisation of Services International Hotel, Lahore. The meeting of CCOP was held under the chair of Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin. The CCoP approved the summary tabled by the Privatisation Commission Board, recommending the highest bid of about Rs1.96 billion received after auction proceedings for privatization of Services International Hotel, Lahore. Moreover, the Secretary Privatization Commission Board updated the participants about the actions being taken to privatize or restructure entities with respective timelines. STAFF REPORT

Saturday, 11 September, 2021

10 FOREIGN NEWS

ISLAMABAD

Lebanon’s cabinet formed after 13-month wait BEIRUT

a

AFP

Lebanese government has been formed, the presidency announced Friday, ending a 13-month impasse as the country grapples with one of the worst crises in its history. A new cabinet was a condition for much-needed international assistance but it remains to be seen whether it can deliver requested reforms and rescue Lebanon from bankruptcy.

The announcement, which followed a meeting between Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati and President Michel Aoun, came after months horsetrading between Lebanon's main political factions.

Mikati, Lebanon's prime minister for the third time and the country's richest man, made a statement from the presidency in which he vowed to leave no stone unturned in efforts to rescue the country.

"We will make use of every second to call international bodies and ensure the basic everyday life needs," he said, adding his government would also turn to Arab countries for help.

Mikati, who was designated as prime minister in July after his two predecessors failed to clinch an agreement on a new lineup, unveiled his list of ministers.

The newcomers include many technocrats but each minister was endorsed by one or several of the factions that have dominated Lebanese politics since the 1975-1990

Gazprom announces that its Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany is finished AFP Energy giant Gazprom announced Friday that construction of the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, set to double natural gas supplies from Russia to Germany by bypassing Ukraine, has been completed. "Chairman of the Management Committee Alexei Miller said that this morning at 8.45 Moscow time (05:45 GMT) construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline was fully completed," Gazprom wrote on messaging app Telegram on Friday. Nord Stream 2 has divided European capitals and raised tensions between the bloc and Washington.

civil war.

Protracted efforts to agree on a government have been viewed with scepticism at best by the public, with many suspecting that the same political parties that have ruled Lebanon for decades were unlikely to yield radical change.

The country's hereditary political barons

have so far appeared impervious to international pressure, which intensified after a deadly explosion at Beirut port on August 4, 2020.

One of the world's largest non-nuclear explosions killed more 200 people and was widely blamed on government incompetence and corruption.

'SAME COOKS': Sami Nader, a Lebanese political analyst, argued there was little hope for a breakthrough if the dynamics that prevailed during the cabinet line-up negotiations remained in place.

"The continuation of quota politics and bickering over every reform and decision would mean no departure from what the caretaker government was able to do," he said.

"It was the same cooks who formed this government, so can they offer a different meal," he asked.

Lebanon has been run by a caretaker government since August 10, 2020 when premier Hassan Diab and his cabinet resigned en masse following the deadly port explosion.

The state can no longer provide mains electricity to its citizens for more than a few

hours a day, nor can it afford to buy the fuel needed to power generators.

The local currency has lost more than 90 percent of its value, entire segments of Lebanon's six million inhabitants are sinking into poverty and those who can are emigrating by the thousands.

Very few of the international community's demands for a broad programme of reforms have yet been met, hampering the disbursement of foreign assistance.

Further stalling the bankrupt state's recapitalisation has been the government's failure to engage the International Monetary Fund and discuss a fully-fledged rescue plan.

"The new government will have to prepare legislative elections and ensure they are held on time," the analyst Nader said.

Parliamentary polls are due next year, with many pinning their hopes on the ballot bringing in fresh blood but others doubtful that an unchanged electoral system can change the game.

"There is practically only one door on which to knock for this government and that is the International Monetary Fund, because there is no other way out of the crisis," Nader said.

Bangkok to reopen for vaccinated tourists in October BANGKOK AFP

Thailand plans to reopen Bangkok to fully vaccinated visitors in October, officials said Friday, as the kingdom seeks to salvage a tourism industry hammered by the pandemic.

Before Covid, tourism made up a fifth of Thailand's national income but severe travel curbs imposed to fight the virus saw the usual flood of foreign visitors dwindle to almost nothing, contributing to the economy's worst performance in over 20 years.

The kingdom is pressing ahead with plans to reopen despite a deadly third

wave of infections, driven by the delta variant.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand said that from October 1, fully jabbed foreign travellers will be able to visit Bangkok and four other provinces without undergoing two weeks' hotel quarantine.

Instead, the five areas -- also including Chiang Mai, Chon Buri, Phetchaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan provinces -- are expected to follow a "sandbox" model of the type piloted since July in the holiday island of Phuket.

Under the sandbox scheme, tourists have to stay within a certain area for seven days after arrival and take covid tests.

Later in October, 21 more destinations

will be added to the list including Chiang Rai, Sukhothai and popular seaside getaway Rayong.

But Thailand's third and deadliest covid wave has not yet fully subsided, and the tourism agency warned the plans could change.

Thailand got through 2020 relatively unscathed by covid, recording low numbers of infections, but since April the Delta variant has taken hold and cases have soared to more than 1.3 million, with almost 14,000 deaths.

More than 29,000 fully vaccinated international visitors hit the beach at Phuket under its sandbox scheme, generating nearly $50 million in revenue according

to government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana.

Three more Thai islands also reopened -- Samui, Tao and Phangan -- with slightly more onerous restrictions.

One cloud hanging over Thailand's tourism revival plans is the travel advice of other countries discouraging would-be tourists from visiting.

Britain and the United States have warned against travel to Thailand because of rising case numbers and low vaccination rates.

About 16 percent of the Thai population have received two coronavirus vaccine doses, the government's Covid taskforce said.

Across the Brooklyn Bridge and back: Remembering 9/11, the day that changed everything AGENCIES It started out as a beautiful fall day. By the end of it, nearly 3,000 Americans were dead, and countless more traumatised by what they lived through. Three New Yorkers speak to FRANCE 24 about how September 11, 2001 changed their lives, and the world, forever.

For years, walking across the Brooklyn Bridge was part of Bob Weston’s daily routine. He lived at the foot of the bridge in downtown Brooklyn, and worked in lower Manhattan, about ten minutes north of the World Trade Center. So, “to save money and get some exercise”, he would walk back and forth over the bridge to get to work.

September 11, 2001 started like many of those days, he recalls, although it was an especially warm, sunny fall day, and he had started a little earlier than usual in order to vote in the city’s primary elections. He was about three-quarters of the way across the bridge when he noticed something was off.

“Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a plane, and it just didn’t make sense,” Weston tells FRANCE 24. “It was too low. And going too fast. And it was just too big. I watched it for several seconds, and it was just going across the skyline, and then it hit the North Tower of the Trade Center.”

8:46AM: Weston did not just see the crash.

He felt it. “When the plane hit the tower, the explosion was massive,” he says. “It felt like a wave that just went through me… I’ve never experienced anything like it.”

At that moment, traffic on the bridge stopped, and Weston turned to the few other onlookers who had seen what he had seen.

“At that point in time, we all thought what we had seen was just a horrible, horrible accident,” he says. But then, “I heard somebody scream, and we all looked up just to see the second plane hitting the South Tower. And we all realised that this was not an accident. We were under attack.”

Weston felt the impact again, this time as a “huge fireball” burst from the tower and a wave of heat rippled towards the bridge, as if someone had opened an oven in front of them. Panic began to set in. But rather than go back across the bridge — which a nearby police officer warned could be the next target — he ran towards the flames.

Weston passed pieces of plane wreckage and shocked bystanders before arriving at his office, only to find his colleagues rushing out. As he fled north, he heard a rumble, “like a train”, and felt the ground shaking as the towers collapsed.

“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

Because as a kid growing up in Brooklyn, I remember watching the Trade Center towers be built,” he said. “The thought of one of them coming down was just unimaginable to me.” He made his way across residential neighbourhoods, where he felt he would be safest, before eventually crossing back into Brooklyn over the more distant Williamsburg Bridge.

When Weston finally got home, he was met by tens of thousands of people streaming across the bridge where his day had begun.

Altogether, some 500,000 people fled Man-

hattan over the Brooklyn Bridge in a matter of just hours. Others jumped into the East River to try to swim across.

“I’ll never forget, it’s just masses and masses of people walking over the bridge into Brooklyn, and thousands of them are just covered head to foot in that greyish, whitish dust,” he says. “Some people in my building got plastic cups, and we grabbed any water jugs we could, and we’re trying to give people some water. But it was tens of thousands of people, and there was only so much you could do.”

Lila Nordstrom was even closer to the World Trade Center when the planes struck.

She was a 17-year-old student at Stuyvesant High School, just blocks from the towers.

“We watched the entire thing falling from the classroom window,” she tells FRANCE 24. It wasn’t until after that point,

more than an hour after the first tower was hit, that an announcement came over the loudspeaker ordering the school’s more than 3,000 students to evacuate immediately.

“The doors opened and we just ran,” Nordstrom tells FRANCE 24. The students weren’t escorted or told where to go, she said, except that they should get away from lower Manhattan.

“The whole area was just dust,” she says.

So they fled north and ultimately towards Queens, even though her family lived in Manhattan; they had heard rumours that the borough was to be entirely evacuated. She stayed with a friend and did not see her parents until the next day.

“It looked like a movie,” she says, of watching the towers fall. “It doesn’t look like a real thing that’s happening to you. You don’t really have any way of fully understanding how big it is.”

4PM: Like Bob Weston, the first thing Laurent Auffret recalls about September 11, 2001, is how spectacular the weather was — “without a cloud in the sky”. He was already at work, in the French Consulate building on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, when the planes hit, and like so many across the country, found out about the attacks on television.

When he first left the office, there were still joggers in Central Park, and the air was clear of smoke. As he made his way downtown, though, to get home to Brooklyn, the grim reality began to set in.

“From 42nd street down, there were no more cars,” he says. “We started to walk down the middle of the avenues, and we started to see the big, thick, black cloud coming from Ground Zero.”

“Downtown, there was dust everywhere, sirens, people running,” Auffret continues.

“Once I reached the Brooklyn Bridge, I saw the huge cloud spreading across that spectacular blue sky towards Carroll Gardens, where I lived.”

The effect was eerie. “There was a beautiful light, no more cars, it was silent,” he said. “The people I met were in shock. Some were screaming, others were crying and holding their arms up to the sky as the ashes were falling.”

‘BURNED INTO MY BRAIN’: Twenty years later, the memories of that day are as

vivid as ever for all three New Yorkers.

“The image of the first plane hitting the North Tower is just burned into my brain,” says Weston, 59. He now works part time as a tour guide, telling middle and high school students about what he lived through that day. No matter how many times he tells the story, “it’s painful”.

“Over time, it’s less, but it still hurts and it’s disturbing,” Weston says. When the anniversary comes around, he tries to block it out. “I don’t watch TV that day, and I make sure that I’ve got lots of projects to do and keep myself busy.”

Nordstrom still feels the effects of that day, too — not only psychologically, but physically. When her high school reopened a month after the attacks, she and her classmates were exposed to toxic dust from the ruins of the World Trade Center. Several of her classmates fell ill, and in 2006 she founded an organisation, StuyHealth, to seek recognition of several illnesses related to the 9/11 attacks and cleanup of the site.

“The federal government considers me a 9/11 ‘survivor’”, Nordstrom recently wrote in the Washington Post. “I’m certified as having four 9/11-related conditions, fortunately none are cancer. Many of my classmates have not been as lucky. A few have died, all before age 35.”

Nordstrom has dedicated most of her adult life to advocating for survivors like herself, who over the last twenty years have filed some 67,000 health claims, nearly half of them involving cancer. She wishes they hadn’t had to shoulder that additional burden.

“It’s well past time our federal institutions figured out how to care for their own without asking traumatized, disenfranchised Americans to do that work for them,” Nordstrom wrote.

The French-born Auffret, who has lived in New York since 1998, is saddened to have seen the unique cosmopolitanism of the “world city” recede after 9/11, as it was overtaken by a vengeful nationalism.

“New York became American that day,” says Auffret, 52. “The very next day, in my neighbourhood, there were American flags everywhere. Before, I had only seen them on July 4, for Independence Day.”

Saturday, 11 September, 2021

SPORTS 11

ISLAMABAD

RonaLdo Makes Man UTd ReTURn as aRTeTa seeks aRsenaL saLvaTion MANCHESTER

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AFP

RISTIANO Ronaldo will make an eagerly anticipated second debut for Manchester United on Saturday while Arsenal aim to get themselves off the foot of the Premier League table.

Ronaldo made his name as a global star in six trophy-filled years with United between 2003-2009 before leaving for Real Madrid in a then world record move.

The Portuguese superstar returns to Manchester as a 36-year-old with five Ballon d'Or crowns and five Champions League titles to his name, but still with an unquenchable thirst for goals.

After winning the Golden Boot at Euro 2020 and in Serie A for Juventus last season, Ronaldo set another personal record by becoming the top goalscorer in the history of international football last week.

However, United, who host Newcastle

on Saturday, are no longer the all-conquering side he left under Alex Ferguson.

Since Ferguson's retirement in 2013, the Red Devils have failed to seriously challenge for the Premier League title.

But Ronaldo's international and now club teammate Bruno Fernandes believes the whole squad will be inspired by playing alongside one of the best players of all time.

"We know the enthusiasm will be red hot," said Fernandes. "Everyone knows Cristiano is in the house.

"Everyone is very confident and happy that he is back, the players too.

"We know what he can give us, and our focus, like Cristiano's, is to win. With him, we know we are closer to winning (trophies)." After a promising start, with seven points from their opening three games, United are in a bunch of five sides, two points behind leaders Tottenham.

United are one of five Premier League clubs set to be affected by a ban for Brazilian internationals, who were not released to play

for their country due to strict coronavirus rules. Premier League clubs announced they would not release players for internationals in countries on the UK's red list for travel, which would have meant players having to spend 10 days quarantine in a governmentmandated hotel on their return.

The Brazilian football association (CBF) said it had asked global governing body FIFA to invoke regulations that bar players for five days after an international break if they are not released by their clubs.

Fred could miss United's clash with Newcastle and Tuesday's Champions League trip to Young Boys.

Liverpool and Manchester City are more badly affected, with their first-choice goalkeepers likely to be absent. Alisson Becker, Fabinho and Roberto Firmino are set to miss the Reds' trip to Leeds, who themselves will be without Raphinha. City may be forced into handing a start to 36-year-old thirdchoice 'keeper Scott Carson if Ederson is banned, with Zack Steffen also absent after

testing positive for coronavirus.

Arsenal find themselves in a bottom-ofthe-table clash against newly promoted Norwich at the Emirates after the Gunners' worst start to a league season for 67 years.

Mikel Arteta's position as manager is under increasing threat, with the Spaniard reportedly given four more Premier League games to save his job.

The visit of the Canaries should be just what Arteta's men need to get their season back on course after a difficult start.

Messi breaks Pele record as Argentina rout Bolivia, Brazil stroll BUENOS AIRES AFP

Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick to overtake Pele as the top international goalscorer in South American football history on Thursday as Argentina cruised to a 3-0 victory over Bolivia in their 2022 World Cup qualifier.

Messi pounced for his 77th, 78th and 79th international goals to keep Argentina firmly on course for a place at next year's finals in Qatar against a Bolivia team languishing near the foot of the table.

The 34-year-old Paris Saint-Germain forward, making his 153rd appearance for Argentina, drew level with Pele's longstanding mark of 77 goals in the 14th minute, nutmegging a defender and then curling a sublime shot past Bolivia goalkeeper Carlos Lampe.

The Argentina captain then moved one clear of Pele in the 64th minute with his second of the night, surging into the Bolivian box and playing a one-two with Lautaro Martinez before tucking away a finish from close range.

Messi completed the seventh international hat-trick of his career two minutes from time, burying a rebound from close range after a shot from the edge of the area was only

Bayern without Tolisso, Coman for Leipzig showdown AFP Bayern Munich will be without France midfielders Corentin Tolisso and Kingsley Coman for their crunch Bundesliga clash at fellow Champions League side RB Leipzig on Saturday. RB Leipzig were runners-up to defending champions Bayern last season and Saturday's game at the Red Bull Arena is a chance for both sides to put down an early marker in Germany's top flight.

Both teams have key Champions League away games next week as Bayern are at Barcelona on Tuesday, then Leipzig face Manchester City on Wednesday. On Friday, head coach Julian Nagelsmann confirmed Bayern will be without Tolisso, who returned from international duty early with a calf problem, against both Leipzig and Barca. Coman also misses the Leipzig game with a calf problem, he also picked up with the France squad, but could be an option against Barcelona, Nagelsmann said.

Yorkshire admit cricketer was victim of racial harassment LONDON AFP

Yorkshire County Cricket Club said Friday they accepted that former player Azeem Rafiq was the victim of racial harassment and bullying during his first spell with the side. Last year Rafiq made serious allegations about his experiences at the club and Yorkshire appointed lawyers to launch an investigation with an independent panel also put in place to oversee it. A summary of the panel's findings and recommendations was published on Friday. "There is no question that Azeem Rafiq, during his first spell as a player at YCCC, was the victim of racial harassment," chairman Roger Hutton said in a statement. "He was also subsequently the victim of bullying. On behalf of all at YCCC, I wish to extend my sincere, profound and unreserved apologies to Azeem and to his family."

parried by Lampe.

"I've waited a long time for this," an emotional Messi said afterwards.

"Now I'm going to enjoy it, it's a unique moment after waiting so long. I am very happy," he added.

The former Barcelona star's great rival Cristiano Ronaldo holds the outright record for goals scored in international football with 111 from 180 games The victory came just four days after Argentina were embroiled in controversy with regional rivals Brazil in Sao Paulo, with the two teams' qualifier on Sunday abandoned after seven minutes due to a Covid-19 controversy.

Brazilian authorities stopped the game after protesting at the involvement of England-based players Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero of Tottenham, and Aston Villa's Emiliano Martinez and Emiliano Buendia.

All four players, who were accused by Brazil of falsifying entry records to the country, played no part in Thursday's game in Buenos Aires after being released from the squad by the Argentina Football Association.

There was no sign of a hangover from the controversy amongst Argentina's players on Thursday, as Messi quickly took centre stage to surpass Brazilian great Pele's

record in style.

With Messi in typically impish form, Argentina might have had more goals.

Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez, who also had a firsthalf goal ruled out for offside should have scored after being set up by Messi with a glorious chance on 39 minutes, dragging his shot wide from close range.

Messi also might have had a second goal in the first half, linking cleverly with PSG team-mate Angel Di Maria before flashing a curling shot just wide. However the goals finally came for Messi in the second half as Argentina cruised home.

The win leaves the two-time World Cup winners second in South America's overall qualifying standings with 18 points from eight games, six points behind leaders Brazil, who maintained their 100 percent qualifying record on Thursday with a 2-0 win over Peru in Recife.

Everton Ribeiro and Neymar scored the goals for an under-strength Brazil, who were missing nine Premier League stars who had been blocked from travelling for this week's qualifiers by their clubs because of Covid-19 concerns. Brazil have now won all eight of their qualifying games and have 24 points.

Neymar says he deserves more respect from Brazil fans RECIFE REUTERS

Brazil striker Neymar complained on Thursday that he is not given the respect he deserves, after Brazil beat Peru 2-0 for their eighth consecutive 2022 World Cup qualifying win.

Neymar had a goal and an assist but was criticised by fans and commentators for getting involved in scuffles and not reproducing the scintillating form that has made him one of the top players of his generation.

"I don't know what more I need to

do in this shirt for the fans to respect Neymar," he said after the win in Recife.

He was also criticised after Brazil's 1-0 win over Chile last week, with some fans saying he looked overweight. Neymar lifted his shirt to show his abdomen and made his irritation plain in a pitch-side interview.

"This isn't normal," he said. "This has been happening for a long time, from you reporters, commentators, and others as well. Sometimes I don't even want to give interviews but I do my bit at important moments."

Neymar has enjoyed a love-hate relationship with media and fans since bursting on to the scene as a teen prodigy with Santos more than a decade ago. Many love his undeniable talent but some say they are put off by what they see as an excessively ostentatious lifestyle. Neymar goal on Thursday was his 69th for the national team, and his 12th in World Cup qualifiers, a Brazilian record.

Brazil are top of the South American qualifying group for next year's World Cup in Qatar and virtually guaranteed a spot at the finals.

Arsenal have faced defending champions City and Champions League winners Chelsea in their opening three games and have also been hit by a coronavirus outbreak and injuries to key players.

"Let's judge the team when they play together," said Arsenal's technical director Edu this week. With all of Arteta's six new signings at a cost of £150 million ($207 million) now available and the return of Thomas Partey from injury, the time for excuses in running out.

Ronaldo's Man Utd return already a winner for the Glazers MANCHESTER AFP

Cristiano Ronaldo's second coming at Manchester United has transformed the mood around Old Trafford with fans whipped into a frenzy of excitement for the return of the five-time Ballon d'Or winner against Newcastle on Saturday.

United swooped for Ronaldo late in the transfer window when it seemed he could cross the divide to join Premier League champions Manchester City from Juventus. Even at 36, the Portuguese still appears to guarantee goals. In the past year he has won the Golden Boot at Euro 2020 and in Italy's Serie A, ahead of Romelu Lukaku, who joined Chelsea last month for £97 million ($134 million). Ronaldo will only cost United a transfer fee of up to $27 million due to his advancing age, but has signed a two-year contract on reportedly the highest wage in the Premier League. Whether the expensive gamble pays off with a first Premier League or Champions League title since Alex Ferguson retired as manager in 2013 remains to be seen. But the buzz surrounding Ronaldo's return has already achieved one goal for the club's owners, the Glazer family, in taking the focus off them. "Manchester United fans are going to be rocking for the next six to 12 months because they are going to see one of their own come back," said former United captain Gary Neville. "He will score goals and give them brilliant moments." Only four months ago, United's Premier League clash with Liverpool was postponed after supporters, then still shut out from the stadium due to coronavirus restrictions, stormed the Old Trafford pitch to protest.

The failed European Super League (ESL) project was the spark that lit a furious reaction from fans, but bad feeling towards the Glazers has lingered for many years.

Raducanu to face Fernandez in historic all-teen US Open final NEW YORK AFP

British 18-year-old qualifier Emma Raducanu and Canadian 19-year-old Leylah Fernandez completed astonishing runs to their historic first Grand Slam final on Thursday at the US Open.

Raducanu became the first qualifier to ever reach a Grand Slam final, and the youngest Slam finalist in 17 years, by ousting Greek 17th seed Maria Sakkari 61, 6-4.

"I'm in the final and I can't actually believe it," Raducanu said.

Fernandez, a 73rd-ranked left-hander, beat second seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-4, for her third Open win over a top-five rival, a feat not seen at a Slam since Serena Williams at Wimbledon in 2012. "Now I can say I've done a pretty good job of achieving my dreams," Fernandez said.

In a real-life epic as amazing as any fairy-tale, the teen prodigies will meet Saturday at Arthur Ashe Stadium, where one of them will claim her first Grand Slam title. "Is there any expectation?" Raducanu said. "I'm a qualifier so technically on

paper there's no pressure on me."

It's the first Slam final between teens since 17-year-old Williams beat 18-yearold Martina Hingis at the 1999 US Open, and just the eighth all-teen Slam final in the Open era (since 1968).

"I just want to play a final," Fernandez said. "I'm going to enjoy my victory and worry about it tomorrow."

Raducanu is the youngest Slam finalist since 17-year-old Maria Sharapova won at Wimbledon in 2004.

She became only the second woman ranked outside the top 100 to reach a US Open final after unranked Kim Clijsters came out of retirement and won the 2009 US Open.

"Today I wasn't thinking about anyone else except for myself," Raducanu said.

Raducanu is trying to become the first British woman to win a Grand Slam title since Virginia Wade at Wimbledon in 1977 and the first British woman to win the US Open since Wade in 1968.

Wade and British legend Tim Henman were watching.

"Tim is such a big inspiration," said Raducanu. "He has been helping me, telling me take one point at a time. You

have to stay in the moment and can't get ahead of yourself."

Fernandez, who turned 19 on Monday, had earlier ousted defending champion Naomi Osaka and fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina before Sabalenka, 23, become her third top-five victim.

"I had opportunities but I didn't use them in the key moments," Sabalenka said.

"I didn't play well. She deserved this win."

Raducanu could become the first US Open champion not to lose a set since Serena Williams in 2014.

Raducanu saved three break points in her opening service game then broke to lead 2-0. Sakkari double faulted to hand the teen a 4-0 edge and she took the first set in 36 minutes, aided by Sakkari's 17 unforced errors.

An errant Sakkari forehand in the third game of the second set handed Raducanu the only break she needed as she advanced after 84 minutes on an overhead smash.

"I played some of my best tennis to date," Raducanu said. "I knew I'd have to be super aggressive and execute and I'm just really happy with today's performance." Fernandez, never deeper than the third round in six prior Slam starts,

showed the mental toughness preached by her father-coach Jorge in the tie-breaker.

Sabalenka netted a forehand with a wide-open court to hand Fernandez a 3-2 edge. The teen never trailed after that, winning the last four points to claim the first set in 53 minutes.

"That's years and years of work and tears and blood and sacrifice," said Fernandez of her mental fortitude.

The Ashe stadium music director played the Eric Clapton song "Layla" as the crowd roared when she took the set.

"I have no idea (how I won)," said Fernandez. "I'd say it's thanks to the New York crowd. They helped me. They cheered for me. They never gave up."

Fernandez sent a forehand long to surrender a break in the ninth game and Sabalenka held at love to take the second set.

In the third, Fernandez held to 5-4 and Sabalenka crumbled with the match on the line, issuing back-to-back double faults to 0-40 and sending a forehand long -- her 52nd unforced error -- to fall after two hours and 21 minutes.

"I don't know how I got that last point in but I'm glad it was and I'm glad I'm in the finals," Fernandez said.

Saturday, 11 September, 2021

pRayeR timiNgs

NEWS

PAkiSTAn SAyS Will ConTinue To exTend humAniTAriAn Aid To AfghAniSTAn

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OREIGN Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi reiterated on Friday Pakistan’s commitment to extend help to the people of Afghanistan despite limited resources.

A day earlier, a C-130 aircraft of Pakistan Air Force carrying relief goods landed in Kabul.

In a statement, Qureshi said Pakistan wants peace and prosperity in the neighbouring country.

He highlighted that Pakistan sent humanitarian supplies in the form of medicine and food to Kabul on Thursday.

“We are also trying to send them the relief goods to avert any crisis,” he maintained. The minister further stated that a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan wasn’t in the interest of the Afghan people, the region or the world.

He stressed that saving Afghanistan from the crisis was the common responsibility of all.

Qureshi noted that in the past, the Afghan soil was used against Pakistan.

“We should encourage the Taliban not to allow their land to be used against any other country”.

He emphasised that if the Taliban

T20 World Cup squad can be changed, says chief selector The squad announced for the T20 World Cup can be changed, said Chief Selector Mohammad Wasim on Friday. The Pakistan Cricket Board Official, while speaking to a local news outlet, revealed that the changes could be made under "special circumstances and in exceptional cases". Wasim said that the International Cricket Council (ICC) rules allowed changes to be made to the T20 World Cup squads till Oct 10. "Of course, we did not announce the ICC World T20 Squad [just] to make changes later but under special circumstances [and in] exceptional cases, we can make changes in the announced squad," he added. Wasim admitted there were problems with the middle-order batsmen in the national side and implied that the previous management, led by former coach Misbah-ul-Haq, was to blame. "We have a solid opening stand in the form of Babar [Azam] and [Mohammad] Rizwan, we also have experienced Mohammad Hafeez in the batting order but there many factors behind why we included Asif Ali, Khushdil Shah and Azam Khan in the middle order," he shared.

Elaborating, the chief selector said, "Most of the middleorder players did not perform as per expectations and were not able to cement their place. I also have my reservations about the way chances were given to a few players by the [previous] management." Wasim defended selecting Asif, Khushdil and Azam, saying he was "hopeful" they would all perform well in the T20 World Cup. "Asif Ali performed well as a power hitter in the PSL and Khushdil Shah showed improvement in the recent domestic season. Azam Khan also maintained a good strike rate in PSL." Azam was also a reserve wicketkeeper for the team, Wasim said, adding that the PCB believed that if needed, the player could perform well in the role. When asked about former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed's exclusion from the national squad, the chief selector hinted that there was no place for him in the immediate future. "Sarfaraz was in the Pakistan squad for the last two years but after Rizwan's emergence and especially after his world-class performances, Sarfaraz did not find a slot in the playing 11 and that's why we decided to include Haris [Rauf] in the ODI Squad and Azam as 2nd wicketkeeper in the World Cup Squad."

When the show's host pointed out that Sarfaraz had been included in all three formats previously and was dropped right before the T20 World Cup, Wasim said it was because squads had to be limited amid the pandemic.

"Previously, we obviously had the luxury of extended squads in which we could keep two or three [extra] options. Sometimes, a squad of 20 [players] went, sometimes 27. But you cannot go above 15 in the ICC event. So, in the 15-member squad, you have to select the best and fit options," he added. News Desk

met the expectations of the international community, they would make things easier for themselves and their country.

On Thursday, while receiving the goods at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Pakistan ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan said the flight was “just a beginning of the humanitarian assistance for the people of the country”.

Talking to media persons, the envoy said the relief goods included around 10 tonnes of flour, 1.5 tonnes of ghee and a huge quantity of emergency medicine.

On Wednesday, it was reported that the government had decided to dispatch humanitarian assistance comprising food and medicines for the people of Afghanistan.

“Three C-130s are being dispatched to Afghanistan. After the first immediate tranche through the air, further supplies would continue through land routes,” the Foreign Office had said in a statement.

The statement said that the government will continue to do its best to help Afghan brethren during the prevalent challenging environment.

Facing stalemate in ties, Biden and Xi discuss avoiding conflict in first phone call in 7 months US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke for 90 minutes in their first talks in seven months on Thursday, discussing the need to avoid letting competition between the world’s two largest economies veer into conflict.

The US side said the “proof will be in the pudding” as to whether the stalemate can be broken with relations between the superpowers languishing at their lowest point in decades. A White House statement said Biden and Xi had “a broad, strategic discussion,” including areas where interests and values converge and diverge. The conversation focused on economic issues, climate change and Covid-19, a senior US official told reporters. “President Biden underscored the United States’ enduring interest in peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and the world and the two leaders dis-

cussed the responsibility of both nations to ensure competition does not veer into conflict,” the statement said.

Occasional high-level meetings since Xi and Biden’s first call in February have yielded scant progress on a slew of issues, from human rights to transparency over the origins of Covid-19.

During the ensuing months, the two sides have lashed out at each other almost constantly, often resorting to vitriolic public attacks, slapping sanctions on each other’s officials and criticising the other for not upholding their international obligations.

Chinese state media said Xi had told Biden that US policy on China imposes “serious difficulties” on relations but added that both sides agreed to maintain frequent contact and to ask working level teams to increase com-

munications. “China and the United States should … show strategic courage and insight, and political boldness, and push Sino-US relations back to the right track of stable development as soon as possible,” the state media report said, citing Xi. Asian currencies and share markets strengthened on Friday, as investors speculated that the call could lead to some thaw in relations between the two most important trading partners for economies in the region.

‘PROOF WILL BE IN THE PUDDING’: The Biden administration, preoccupied with a chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan, has signalled that ending America’s longest war will give US political and military leaders the space to focus on more pressing threats stemming from China’s rapid rise. ReuteRs

Brother of former Afghan VP Amrullah Saleh executed by Taliban: family The Taliban have executed the brother of Amrullah Saleh, the former Afghan vice president who became one of the leaders of anti-Taliban opposition forces in the Panjshir valley, his nephew said on Friday. The news that Saleh’s brother Rohullah Azizi was killed came days after Taliban forces took control of the provincial centre of Panjshir, the last province holding out against them. “They executed my uncle,” Ebadullah Saleh told Reuters in a text message.

“They killed him yesterday and would not let us bury him. They kept saying his body should rot.” The Urdu language account of the Taliban information service Alemarah said that “according to reports” Rohullah Saleh was killed during fighting in Panjshir. Saleh, a former head of the National Directorate of Security, the intelligence service of the Western-backed government that collapsed last month, is at large though his exact location remains unclear.

The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, which groups opposition forces loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud, has pledged to continue opposing the Taliban even after the fall of Panjshir’s provincial capital Bazarak. ReuteRs

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President hints at amnesty for TTP members who lay down arms President Arif Alvi, in an interview with a television channel on Friday, suggested that the government could consider giving an amnesty to those members of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who have not remained involved in "criminal activities" and who lay down their weapons and agree to adhere to the Pakistani Constitution.

In the context of the Afghan Taliban's assurance that they would not allow Afghan land to be used for terrorism against Pakistan, the host asked the president whether the TTP was no longer a threat for Pakistan.

"TTP [remains] a threat," President Alvi responded.

But he suggested it had been conveyed to Pakistan by the "second- or third-tier leadership" of the Afghan Taliban, which last month captured control of the country following a lightning blitz, that, "We (Afghan Taliban) will declare that they (TTP members) can live here in [Afghanistan] but they must not do any activity against Pakistan."

Moreover, he said, the Pakistani government stated that it would "consider whether an amnesty should be given or not" to the TTP members who laid down their weapons and accepted the Constitution of Pakistan.

At this, the host interjected and asked the president: "General amnesty?" to which Alvi replied: "Yes yes, Pakistan will think about it [for] the people who lay down their weapons."

"Does that mean there will be a pardon for people like Maulvi Fazlullah?" Mirza asked, referring to the ruthless former TTP chief who was killed in a drone strike in Afghanistan in 2018.

"I am not taking anyone's name," Alvi responded. "I am talking about the people who, before anything, have not remained involved in criminal activities. The government could consider making a declaration of amnesty [for the people] who forgo their TTP ideology and want to come with the intention of adhering to the Pakistani Constitution."

Such an amnesty could be one of the ways to "establish peace", the president said.

"It can't happen that we fully disown the however many thousand Pakistanis who are abroad," he added. "So one way or the other will have to be adopted." It wasn't clear whom the president was referring to at this point.

For years, the TTP unleashed deadly attacks on urban centres across Pakistan from their bases along the Afghan border, where they provided shelter to an array of global jihadist groups including Al Qaeda.

But a massive military offensive launched in 2014 largely destroyed the group's command and control structure, dramatically reducing insurgent violence throughout Pakistan.

Sporadic attacks targeting security forces, however, continue. Just last Sunday, the TTP claimed responsibility for a suicide attack near a Frontier Corps (FC) check post in Quetta in which four paramilitary personnel were martyred and 21 others injured.

During the interview, President Alvi also said it would be a "bonanza" for Pakistan if peace was established in Afghanistan because of the immense development opportunities in the war-ravaged country.

He also said the Afghan Taliban's reported desire for their country to join the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and other development projects could be "definitely considered" because it would benefit the entire region.

Regarding the new administration in Afghanistan, Alvi said the Taliban should follow the examples of 'Sulah Hudaibiya' and anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela to grant amnesty to rivals and bring all stakeholders to the negotiating table.

He noted that the Taliban had made it clear that "India would no longer be allowed to use the Afghan land", adding that this would bring an end to the ease with which New Delhi used to conduct anti-Pakistani activities through the border. News Desk

Malala asks UN to link any relationship with Taliban to rights of women, girls ISLAMABAD iNp

Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist, Nobel Prize recipient and founder of the Malala Fund, has called upon the UN Security Council to send a clear and unequivocal message to the Taliban that upholding the rights of women and girls is a precondition of any working relationship.

While the choices available in Afghanistan are “not comfortable” ones, continued international engagement and unwavering commitment to the country’s people can help steer the situation to its best possible outcome, the UN’s senior official in Kabul told the Security Council on Thursday.

In particular, Deborah Lyons, UN Special Representative and head of the UN’s assistance mission in Afghanistan, said the world will urgently need to devise a “modus vivendi” to allow billions of dollars in frozen donor funds, to flow into Afghanistan’s fragile economy.

Citing credible reports of reprisal

killings, crackdowns on women’s freedoms and other rights violations by the country’s new Taliban-led administration, she added that the UN will also need to decide how to engage with high-level members of the Taliban’s de facto government – including the newly named prime minister, two deputy prime ministers and foreign minister – who are currently on UN sanctions lists.

In the new reality that followed the fall of Kabul on 15 August, the world witnessed first scenes of chaos, and then images of protests around Afghanistan.

“These scenes, watched around the world … show that the Taliban have won power, but not yet the confidence of all the Afghan people,” said Ms. Lyons. As the Council and the global community now ask themselves how to respond, she stressed that there are no “comfortable” answers.

“Those who hoped for, and urged, inclusivity will be disappointed,” she said, noting that no women, minority representatives or non-Taliban individuals have been named as part of the de facto Government.

In addition, several high-ranking officials in the new administration – including the man named Prime Minister, Mullah Hasan Akhund, are currently on UN sanctions lists.

A mixed picture has emerged in the weeks since the Taliban took power. The UN premises has largely been respected, but there have been worrying reports of harassment and intimidation against its national staff.

Ms. Lyons also expressed concern that, despite many Taliban statements granting general amnesties to former members of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces and officials of the administration of former President Ashraf Ghani, reports are emerging of house-to-house searches and seizures by Taliban officials.

And while they have provided many assurances of assuring the rights of women, there are new reports that women are being prohibited from working or appearing in public places without male chaperones.

WOMEN AND GIRLS RIGHT: Amidst additional reports that girls’ access to educa-

tion is once again becoming limited, the Security Council also heard an urgent briefing

by Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist, Nobel Prize recipient and founder of the Malala Fund, who reminded delegates what life for women and girls was like under past iterations of Taliban rule.

“I saw my home transformed from a place of peace to a place of fear in just three years,” she said.

Describing her experience of running from gunfire and explosions on the street, she said her childhood 15 years ago was marked by public floggings, schools that closed their doors to girls and banners in shopping malls declaring that women were not allowed.

“This is a story that many Afghan girls may share if we do not act,” she warned, calling on the Council to send a clear and unequivocal message to the Taliban that upholding the rights of women and girls is a precondition of any working relationship.

SHAPING THE NEW REALITY: Emphasizing the UN’s commitment to stay and

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deliver assistance and support to the people of Afghanistan, Ms. Lyons said that means it must engage with the Taliban, including on ways to allow money to flow into Afghanistan.

A high-level international funding conference is slated for 13 September to help donors meet the country’s rising needs An additional, looming crisis is the billions of dollars in assets and donor funds that has been frozen by countries in an attempt to deny them to the Taliban.

“The inevitable effect, however, will be a severe economic downturn that could throw millions into poverty and hunger, may generate a massive wave of refugees from Afghanistan, and set Afghanistan back for generations,” the Special Representative warned.

Citing her initial engagement with certain Taliban leaders, she said they clearly stated their need for international assistance, which provides the global community leverage over their actions.

“We can still shape this new reality into a more positive direction,” she stressed.