EpaperISB_21-09-6

Monday, 6 September, 2021 I 28 Muharram, 1443 I Rs 40.00 I Vol XII No 67 I 48 Pages I Islamabad Edition

Imran condemns IndIa for fIlIng cases agaInst geelanI’s famIly

ISLAMABAD

P

staff report

rime minister imran Khan censured New Delhi for booking under an anti-terror law the family members of former All Parties Hurriyat Conference chief Syed Ali Shah Geelani for wrapping his body in a Pakistan flag.

An emblem of Kashmir’s defiance against indian occupation and put under house arrest for years, Geelani passed away on Wednesday at age 91. His son, Naseem, said police buried Geelani’s body in a local cemetery without any family members present after it snatched his body from the home.

Police in indian-occupied Kashmir on Saturday brought up terrorism charges against family members of a recently deceased top pro-freedom leader and others for chanting slogans and “resorting to other anti-national activities” in his dying moments.

A police official told Anadolu Agency on the condition of anonymity that a first information report, which is a prelude to subsequent police action on the specified charges, had been filed into the incident that occurred at Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s residence after his death.

He did not specify the nature of the “anti-national activities,” a blanket term for any action deemed against the indian state, but said the charges could include Geelani’s body being draped in a Pakistan flag, the shouting of pro-freedom slogans and coming to blows with police.

The official also did not reveal the number of individuals booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA. The law was amended in 2019 to allow the government to designate an individual as a terrorist. Police can detain a person for six months without producing any evidence, and the accused can subsequently be imprisoned for up to seven years. rights activists have called the law draconian.

The 91-year-old leader died late Wednesday after a prolonged illness at his residence, where he had been under house detention for the better part of the past decade.

He had willed that he be buried in the region’s largest cemetery, the martyrs Graveyard in the capital, Srinagar, but police, fearing widespread participation of people, did not let that happen.

Geelani’s son, Naseem Geelani, had told several media outlets that police had taken custody of his father’s body, beat family members and buried it in a nearby

coronavIrus In

PakIstan

CONFIRMED CASES:

1,179,305

LAST UPDATED AT 8:41 AM ON SEPTEMBER 6, 2021

DAY'S DEATH TOLL:

NEW CASES:

61

3,747

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

1,060,881 26,175 SINDH:

PUNJAB:

437,311

401,373

KPK:

BALOCHISTAN:

164,732 AJK/GB:

32,374 ISLAMABAD:

32,718/10,039

100,758

graveyard. Family members were only allowed to offer prayers the next morning, he said.

A video that went viral on social media showed family members, including shrieking and crying women, arguing with the police after the body was taken away. in a statement, however, police claimed it “facilitated” bringing the body from the house to the graveyard as there was apprehension that “miscreants might take undue advantage of the situation.”

They have not yet been detained by police, according to AFP. Deploring the measures, the prime minister Sunday said it was “just another shameful example of india’s descent into fascism under the Nazi-inspired rSS-BJP [rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-Bharatiya Janata Party]” government.

BJP is the political wing of the rSS — an extremist Hindu paramilitary group with a membership in millions and involved in heinous crimes such as mob lynching against the country’s muslim minority.

Police said unspecified family members of Geelani and some others were charged Saturday under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA. They have, however, not yet been taken into custody.

The law was amended in 2019 to allow New Delhi to designate an individual as a terrorist. Police can detain a person for six months without producing any evidence, and the accused can subsequently be imprisoned for up to seven years. rights activists have called the law draconian.

On Friday, Foreign minister Shah mahmood Qureshi expressed grief on the demise of the late Kashmiri leader, saying that Geelani would always be remembered.

Qureshi said, “every Pakistani, every Kashmiri, every freedom fighter, all those elements who have stood up for basic fundamental human rights will recognise what he (Geelani) stood for.”

He added that he was saddened by how the indian forces had encircled Geelani’s house after his death and treated his family.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

4 martyred, 20 injured in Quetta suicide attack QUETTA staff report

A suicide bomber detonated his explosives Sunday near a security checkpoint in Quetta, leaving at least four paramilitary troops dead and wounding 20 others, police said.

The incident happened at about 7:30 am when the bomber hit his explosive-laden motorbike into one of the vehicles of the Frontier Corps convoy on the outskirts of the city, an official at the rescue department of edhi Foundation said.

Deputy police chief of Quetta, Azhar Akram, said body parts of the attacker were found at a distance from the security post after the bombing.

The injured were shifted to the Sheikh Khalifah Bin Zayyad Hospital.

Akram said the number of casualties could rise.

Police said the convoy was assigned to provide security to the Hazara community in the city, and it was on its routine patrolling when it came under attack.

After the investigation, the bomb disposal squad said that about 5 to 6 kg of explosives were used in the attack.

The area was cordoned off for further investigations, and the

Policewoman allegedly kidnapped, assaulted in Muzaffargarh nEwS DESk A muzaffargarh female sub-inspector who works as a gender crime officer has allegedly been kidnapped and tortured by a man who also tried to sexually assault her, Dawn reported on Sunday.

The suspect has been apprehended by the police and arrested under charges of rape and criminal intimidation.

According to the first information report of the incident registered on the victim’s complaint, the sub-inspector, who is currently deputed as a gender crime officer at the City Circle police office, was called to the police station to deal with a gender crime-related case at around 12:45 pm on Saturday.

When she got off a rickshaw outside her office, she saw a suspect who had previously harassed her through mobile calls and messages waiting next to his car on the main road.

The suspect forced the complainant to sit in the car on gunpoint and took her to a deserted area with bushes and trees near Chaman Bypass.

Here, he repeatedly tried to rape the sub-inspector by threatening her with his pistol

bomber’s remains were sent for a forensic test.

The Afghanistan-based Tehreeki-Taliban Pakistan has claimed to have perpetrated the attack after a series of similar assaults on security forces.

Prime minister imran Khan condemned the attack, saying in a tweet: “my condolences go to the families of the martyrs & prayers for the recovery of the injured. Salute our security forces & their sacrifices to keep us safe by thwarting foreign-backed terrorists’ designs.”

Opposition leader and PmL-N President Shehbaz Sharif said he was “grieved to learn about the martyrdom of 3 FC personnel” in the attack. “i pay my homage to our armed forces for their sacrifices in defending the motherland. my heartfelt condolences go to bereaved families & prayers for early recovery of the injured,” he tweeted.

Condemning the attack and offering condolences to the families of those martyred, minister for Human rights Shireen mazari said the “brave security forces continue to thwart the designs of terrorists [especially] the rAW- (indian intelligence agency) funded TTP.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

more inside

Pakistan to observe Defence Day with great zeal today STORY ON BACK PAGE

Pm, UAe crown prince discuss developments in Afghanistan STORY ON PAGE 03

and a knife, and when she resisted, he beat her up and threatened to kill her, the Fir seen by Dawn.com said.

Around 7-8 pm, the suspect left the woman in the area and fled in his car. The complainant was subsequently rescued by her father and a cousin.

Police spokesperson Waseem Khan Gopang said the sub-inspector was shifted to muzaffargarh District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital in an injured state.

He said the suspect allegedly involved in the incident had been arrested and the car

he used had also been seized.

City DSP Bakht Nasar Khan said the report of the sub-inspector’s medical examination was awaited, while further investigation of the incident was underway. The Fir against the suspect was registered under Sections 376 (punishment for rape), 496-A (enticing or taking away a woman), 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or for shorter terms) and 506-B (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Spy chief meets Hekmatyar to discuss Afghanistan situation STORY ON PAGE 03 in today’s issue

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Qureshi, Iran FM discuss Afghanistan situation ISLAMABAD APP

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi spoke to his Iran counterpart Sunday to discuss the evolving situation in Afghanistan whose new Taliban rulers gear up to announce a new, all-inclusive government to govern the country ravaged by two decades of war.

During their conversation, Qureshi and Hossein Amirabdollahian agreed to continue mutual consultation over the security situation in Afghanistan. The two ministers also exchanged views in detail about the latest developments in Kabul and also agreed on holding a virtual conference of Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries in the upcoming days. Qureshi said Pakistan attached significant importance to its relations with Afghanistan, while Amirabdollahian lauded Pakistan’s “concerted efforts to evolve a coordinated strategy in the backdrop of the situation in Afghanistan.”

Amirabdollahian also thanked Qureshi for his recent visit to Iran.

Monday, 6 September, 2021

ISLAMABAD

PM, UAE crown PrincE diScUSS dEvEloPMEntS in AfghAniStAn

P

pRess ReLeAse

RIME Minister Imran Khan, during a telephonic conversation with His Highness Mohamed Bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, discussed issues of bilateral interest as well as regional developments, in particular the latest situation in Afghanistan.

The PM reaffirmed the importance Pakistan attaches to its strong fraternal ties with UAE and close cooperation between the two countries.

“The prime minister reaffirmed the importance Pakistan attaches to its strong fraternal ties with the UAE and close cooperation between the two countries,” a statement issued by the PM Office said on Sunday.

On the latest situation in Afghanistan, the Prime Minister underscored that a peaceful and stable

Afghanistan was in the vital interest of Pakistan and the region. He underlined that an inclusive political settlement was the best way forward to ensure safety and security as well as protection of the rights of the people of Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Imran Khan stressed that the world community must remain engaged, in order to support the Afghan people, economically and to help rebuild the country. He emphasized the need to address the dire humanitarian needs and to ensure the economic stability of Afghanistan.

The Prime Minister congratulated the Crown Prince for making excellent arrangements for the upcoming Expo 2020. He conveyed his best wishes for the resounding success of the mega event.

The PM and the crown prince agreed to work together to enhance collaboration in all areas of common interest.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Sunday expressed confidence in his party and said that PPP will form next government in the country.

The chairman said this while addressing his party workers in Dera Ghazi Khan.

"My message to Punjab's jiyalas is to rise," he said.

He said, "Those who had stood firm in the face of dictatorship will see this selected ruler removed.

Begin your preparations. Move ahead at full throttle.

The next government will be that of the Peoples Party. The next prime minister and the next chief minister will be a jiyala."

"My message to all the jiyalas is that the country needs you once more. Let us work together and topple this puppet government."

Spy chief meets Hekmatyar to discuss Afghanistan situation IsLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The chief of Inter-Services Intelligence called on former Afghanistan prime minister and the boss of Hezb-e-Islami party in Kabul late on Saturday, reports citing people familiar with the development said.

Lt Gen Faiz Hameed arrived in Kabul — his first, and surprised, visit to the war-ravaged country following the August takeover of Taliban — early Saturday morning. While it was not clear what prompted him to undertake the visit, Reuters quoted a senior official in Pakistan as saying that he could help the group reorganise the Afghanistan military.

In his meeting with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Hameed discussed issues pertaining to the formation of an inclusive government — an uphill task Islamabad is pursuing in collaboration with his international partners.

A prominent face in the politics of the country, Hekmatyar continues to be a key figure ahead of the

government formation and is hopeful of keeping some top posts once a new government comes to power.

Hameed’s tour coincided with the expected announcement of a national government by the Taliban who now shift gears from being an insurgent group to governing power.

Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, reported by some Taliban sources to be in line to lead the new government, said in remarks on Al Jazeera that the new administration “will include all factions of the Afghan people.”

“We are doing our utmost efforts to improve their living conditions. The government will provide security because it is necessary for economic development,” he said.

Following his arrival in Kabul, the spy chief was spotted at a local hotel where a correspondent for Channel 4 News, a British news channel, asked him: “What do you think will happen in Afghanistan now.” “Don’t worry, everything will be okay,” Hameed responded.

03

Shehbaz lambastes govt for $500m loss to exchequer LAHORe tLtp

PPP will form next government in Pakistan, says Bilawal News Desk

NEWS

Bilawal claimed that with the people's support to the PPP, he will make South Punjab a reality.

He said, “The people are "hurting" and "every citizen is troubled. What kind of Naya Pakistan has been imposed on us? What kind of torment has this 'selected' brought? Inflation and unemployment are at a historic level," He said that in the time of former president Asif Ali Zardari, who is co-chairman of PPP, a "revolutionary programme for women was launched" and "all employment records were broken".

"We had started the export of wheat and farmers were reaping economic benefits," the PPP chairman said and recalled that all four provinces were prospering then due to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

"After the end of PPP's tenure, the people have been left orphaned," he said, adding, "There is no one to speak for the people."

Criticising the federal government on expensive purchase of liquefied natural gas (LNG), Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif has said that a loss of $500 million to the national exchequer in just three months is a proof of the government’s crimes. In a series of tweets on Sunday, the opposition leader said that the State Bank of Pakistan’s Second Quarterly Report and National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA)’s State of Industry Report are “proof of PML-N’s truth and government’s lies”. “The government has punished the people by buying LNG that is 30 percent more expensive than the market,” he said. Shehbaz said he regrets that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) does not see what is happening today and is, instead, scrounging up five-year old deals. He said, “NEPRA’s report has proven what we said was true, word for word,” he added. He went on to say that instead of running cheap power plants, “the nation’s pockets were bled dry” with the production of expensive power. He said the people’s troubles were exacerbated by the use of plants that not only produced expensive power but had a low production capacity. Running expensive power plants has increased the financial burden on the country and losses to the people, the opposition leader added. Referring to the SBP’s second quarterly report, he said that it is a proof that LNG reduced the cost of electricity. “Thank God that even with a government exacting political revenge, a testimony for our service and honesty to the country has come to the fore,” Shehbaz said. “Savings of Rs234 billion between 2017 and 2020 is a testament to our sincere public service,” he claimed. The former Punjab chief minister said that the “hard work” that the PML-N did in its tenure, “saved the nation’s wealth, and gave the people relief, thank God.” He said that the first quarterly report of SBP for 2018 and 2019 “confirmed that the reduction in current account deficit was due to our initiatives”. Shehbaz said that the prices of petroleum products accounted for one-third of the 22.7 percent drop in imports through our hard work, adding that it is “a victory for Nawaz Sharif’s vision”. Noting China’s cooperation in assisting Pakistan in its power generation efforts, he further said that the operation of a 660 MW coal-fired power plant in Thar in 2019 increased power generation by 45 percent. “Both the case and the face are clearly visible in the SBP and NEPRA reports,” he said, adding: “I hope NAB sees them too.”

Punjab govt bans public transport on motorways News Desk In effort to curb the spread of Covid-19 during the current wave of the pandemic, the Punjab government has suspended the use of public transport on motorways.

The restrictions on public transport were announced on the recommendation of the National Command and Operation Centre. The restriction has been placed on 15 districts, including Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan, Khanewal, Mianwali, Sargodha, Khushab, Bahawalpur, Gujranwala and Rahim Yar Khan. This has led to inconveience for people.

After the National Command and Operation Center advisory following which a ban on all intercity public transport has been imposed, the motorways police have deferred its recruitment drive scheduled for September 6.

The National Highway and Motorway Police said in an alert that now the recruitment drive has been rescheduled to now begin on September 20.

The tests for the recruitment drive of the sub-inspector and patrol officers were originally decided for Sep 6, however, now since the intercity public transport has been banned in the Punjab province amid Covid scare, the new date for the drive is two weeks from now.

Relevant to note today that in order to curb the Covid

spread that has seen rapid across Punjab, the provincial government has imposed a temporary restriction on intercity transport.

The restriction on all public buses travelling intra-city has been imposed till September 12 and a crackdown against those violating has begun by the motorways police.

Many private vehicle owners have reportedly been transporting people on heavy fares capitalizing on their need to go back to their hometowns from or via Lahore amid the ban on public transport.

On September 3, smart lockdowns were imposed in areas with a high positivity ratio. Other restrictions include all trade and business activities to remain suspended on Saturdays and Sundays; Essential services such as pharmacies are exempt from the restricted timings and will function 24 hours a day for the entire week; A complete ban on indoor dining; outdoor dining allowed till 10 pm; A complete ban on indoor weddings or functions, with an exception of outdoor wedding functions, with a maximum capacity of 300 guests; Public and private offices will be allowed to function normally, however, with only 50 percent attendance; The railways shall continue to operate with a maximum occupancy of 70%.

These restrictions will remain enforced until at least September 12.

India’s discomfort over ISI DG’s Kabul visit is obvious: Rasheed LANDI kOTAL INp

Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Sunday said that Pakistan has nothing to do with the politics in Afghanistan and India’s discomfort over the InterServices Intelligence director general’s Kabul visit is obvious. Sheikh Rasheed said this in an interview on Sunday and also talking to the newsmen during his visit to Landi Kotal.

The interior minister said the Indian media has been beating a dead horse as far as the ISI DG’s visit to Afghanistan was concerned. “Why India is feeling pain over this visit?” he asked.

He said the faces of Indians were grim and offcolour when they were evacuated from Afghanistan.

“Why, because India had suffered a humiliating defeat in Afghanistan,” he maintained.

“Indian media’s hue and cry over General Faiz Hameed’s visit is unnecessary as people from the US, the UK and other countries had also visited Kabul,” the minister reminded New Delhi.

Sheikh Rasheed, as usual, predicted that it is possible that a new bloc of countries may emerge in the world.

“This region is going to change. Afghanistan’s stability is out stability,” he further said.

“The evacuation of foreigners from Afghanistan is not our job. It’s up to the Taliban and Kabul,” he said, adding “Formation of government is Taliban’s job as Pakistan has nothing to do with the politics in Afghanistan.”

The minister Prime Minister Imran Khan will decide when to recognize the Taliban government. “We are with the international community and everyone is watching what’s happening in Afghanistan. We want to side with the world as well as want to help in establishing a

peaceful and stable Afghanistan,” he elaborated.

He said about 10,000 foreigners had evacuated from Afghanistan to Pakistan and then they left for their respective countries from the airports. “They did not enter Pakistan,” he added.

He further said foreigners who have complete documents can enter Pakistan from Afghanistan, and Islamabad will help in their evacuation.

The interior minister made it clear that no Afghan refugee came to Pakistan.

Sheikh Rasheed also declared Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar as the most intelligent politician of Pakistan.

Responding to a question, Sheikh Rasheed averred he neither has the thinking nor a desire to become a chief minister of Punjab. “I only can work in a ministry,” he added.

During his visit to Landi Kotal, Sheikh Rasheed also

visited the Meechni checkpoint near the Afghan border.

Earlier on Saturday, ISI DG Lt Gen Faiz Hameed had arrived in Kabul to meet the Taliban representatives and discuss matters related to the safe evacuation of foreign nationals, border management and security in the region, Geo News reported.

The intelligence chief spent a day in the Afghan capital, sources had said, adding he was meeting and working with Pakistan’s Ambassador Mansoor Ahmed Khan and his team on issues of repatriation and transit through Pakistan and the situation on the border.

Since the Taliban came into power last month, thousands of foreign nationals have been evacuated from the war-ravaged country with Pakistan’s help. The Pakistani embassy in Kabul had been working 24/7 to assist in the evacuation efforts.

Monday, 6 September, 2021

04 NEWS

ISLAMABAD

PakIstaN deterMINed tO battle ClIMate ChaNGe fOr future GeNeratIONs IsLAMABAD

M

Xinhua

UHAMMAD Naeem, a 12year old student at a government school in Gujranwala, was among over 12,500 students who had been registered for an event held recently to plant over 50,000 saplings in less than a minute aiming to set a new Guinness World Record.

“We were told by our teachers that we are going to set a record of planting maximum saplings within a minute and that the plantation campaign is going to help overcome the adverse impacts of climate change, one of the most daunting challenges the mankind has been facing in recent times,” the grade 7 student said.

“When I reached the venue, the enthusiasm among students was quite visible. They were so excited […] and after the plantation, everyone was making pledges to take care of the saplings until they are fully grown,” Naeem said.

For him, it is not about setting the record, rather a bigger dream of making the world a better place to live in by addressing climate change and global warming issues.

The mass plantation was part of the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami program initiated for expansion and restoration of the fractured forests across the country. Under the plan, Pakistan will plant 10 billion trees across the country by 2023, out of which 1 billion trees have already been planted.

Terming deforestation, glacier melting

and water scarcity biggest challenge for the country, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that massive forestation is vital to save the country for the coming generations.

“If we want to hand over a green and clean Pakistan to our next generation, the plantation is the foremost solution […] deforestation over the time is disastrous in terms of climate change,” the prime minister said while addressing the launching of the country’s first-ever smart forest recently.

Speaking with Xinhua, the federal secretary for the Ministry of Climate Change,

Naheed Shah Durrani, said that Pakistan, being among the countries which are most vulnerable to climate change, has been taking all the necessary measures to tackle the issue of climate change and make the country environment-friendly.

A number of initiatives including the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami program, Clean Green Pakistan Index, Green Economic Stimulus were introduced. Special attention was given to the establishment of national parks and the restoration of wetlands and wildlife in the country, she said.

In line with its vision to promote a green Pakistan, the government also took steps to ban polythene bags, covert conventional coal-fired brick kilns to the cleaner zig-zag technology, and introduce electric vehicles, she added.

Durrani believed that over the past few years, the country has suffered direly due to insufficient action plans and strategies to improve the quality of the environment, but with the government’s new green initiatives, the situation is to improve gradually.

Effects of climate change in the forms of

Parents’ nod sought for vaccination of grade 9-12 students kARACHI Staff RepoRt

The Sindh government on Sunday decided to begin from Monday Covid-19 vaccination of students in classes 9-12 of schools and colleges across the province but linked it with a permission certificate from their parents.

During a meeting chaired by Sindh Minister for Education Syed Sardar Ali Shah, it was decided to go ahead with the suggestion of the Health Department to launch the drive.

“The world is returning to normalcy after vaccinating its people,” the minister said during the meeting.

The associations representing the

stakeholders will be taken into confidence before the immunisation process, it was agreed.

The meeting also decided to review schools’ registration, facilities they provided to the children and

salaries to their staffers.

“The schools have to pay the minimum wage to the teachers,” Shah said, adding he would not allow any institution to expel any student over delay in the payment of fees.

Schools in Sindh reopened on August 30 with strict standard operating procedures, after they were allowed to function six days a week with 50 percent attendance on alternative days in addition to ensuring a 100 percent vaccination of their teaching and administrative staff.

All educational institutions are required to ensure 100 percent compliance with Covid-19 guidelines and random RT-PCR tests will be conducted by the Health Department “as and when required”.

UAE loosens residency requirements with ‘green visa’ DUBAI afp

The UAE announced a new visa on Sunday allowing foreigners to work in the country without being sponsored by an employer, loosening residency requirements in an attempt to boost economic growth.

Foreigners in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates are generally only given limited visas tied to their employment, and long-term residency is difficult to obtain. But those holding the new “green visa” will be able to work without company sponsorship, and can sponsor their parents and children up to 25 years old, officials said.

“It targets highly skilled individuals, investors, business people, entrepreneurs, as well exceptional students and postgraduates,” said Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani al-Zeyoudi.

Resource-rich Gulf countries such as the UAE are increasingly seeking to diversify their economies and reduce reliance on oil. The coronavirus pandemic has also impacted tourism and businesses in the UAE, whose economy was already slumping in recent years due to low oil prices.

In 2019, the UAE launched the 10-year “Golden visa” to attract wealthy individuals and highly skilled workers, the first such scheme in the Gulf.

Similar programmes have since been launched in other resource-rich Gulf countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Riyadh said in June 2019 that it will offer permanent residency for 800,000 riyals ($213,000) and a one-year renewable residency costing 100,000 riyals, allowing expats to do business and buy property without a Saudi sponsor.

Doha also flung open its property market to for-

eigners, with a scheme giving those buying homes or stores the right to longer-term or permanent residency permits. Foreigners account for 90 percent of the 10 million population in the UAE, the Arab world´s second-largest economy after neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

floods, erratic weather patterns, rise in temperature, droughts and melting glaciers have been taking a toll on the country’s socio-economic condition as well, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council chief Muhammad Azeem Khan told Xinhua.

The agriculture sector plays a central role in the economy as it contributes over 20 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) and absorbs 42.3 percent of the labour force that remained under the threat due to climate change, Khan said.

He said the production of the cash crops like wheat and cotton which helped Pakistan to earn foreign exchange has witnessed a decline owing to climate change-induced phenomena. The geographical distribution, timing and frequency of rainfall has been shifting so rapidly that our crops are unable to adopt the new changes, he said, adding that mitigating negative effects of climate change requires strategies focusing on the adaptation of climate-resistant cultivars.

Talking to Xinhua, Minister for Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam said though Pakistan has been playing an active role in combating climate change despite having a share of less than 1 percent in the global carbon emission, financial constraints remain one of the reasons to effectively fight the climate change. To better deal with the challenges, the developing countries which are facing huge losses to the GDP due to climate change impact such as Pakistan should be provided with the required funds, Aslam said. For that purpose, a compensation mechanism should be introduced at a global level, he said.

Punjab CM decides to replace chief secretary, IGP: report

News Desk Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has decided to change his political and administrative team without consulting the federal government, Geo News reported Sunday citing sources.

According to sources, the Punjab chief minister has decided to informt the federal government in writing about the changes, when previously he used to take the steps after consultations.

The chief secretary and Punjab inspector-general are likely to be replaced in a day or two, revealed sources, adding that the provincial cabinet is likely to be shuffled as well. Buzdar has sent a panel of names for the new chief secretary and IG Punjab to the federal government, sources said. In addition to the chief secretary and IG Punjab, police chiefs and senior administrative officers of Punjab, including Lahore, are likely to be replaced.

Sources told Geo News that previously appointments to higher posts in the province were made by the federal government, however, this time Buzdar has made the decision without consulting the federal government.

NCOC daily update: 3,747 new cases, 61 deaths from Covid-19 IsLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Pakistan on Saturday reported 3,747 new Covid-19 cases, the National Command and Operation Centre said on Sunday.

The NCOC, the department leading the campaign against the pandemic, said that the number of overall confirmed cases had risen to 1,179,305, including 1,060,881 patients who have recovered after treatment. The number of active cases has reached 92,249 who are under treatment across the country, including 5,506 critical patients. According to the NCOC, the pandemic killed 61 people on Saturday, increasing the overall death toll to 26,175. Sindh is the most affected province of the country in terms of the number of cases with 437,311 infections followed by Punjab which has reported 401,373 cases.

CMYK

Monday, 6 September, 2021

ISLAMABAD

NEWS

Imran condemns IndIa for fIlIng cases agaInst geelanI’s famIly continued from page 01

“t

HEy forced the family to bury him without a proper funeral,” he lamented.

“Everybody knows that there would have been a huge, huge namaz-i-janaza (funeral) for him, and the Indian forces were too scared to even allow that.”

“There will be hundreds of funerals [for Geelani]. There is one taking place right here in Islamabad today. Every parliamentarian will go there. If you [UK foreign secretary] were not here, I would

have gone myself,” added Qureshi.

He had said it was not possible to suppress freedom of expression. The Pakistani foreign minister said he discussed the issue with Raab, who said the UK’s position on Kashmir is a stated and known one.

“However, he told me that it does not stop them from raising human rights issues. If they [UK authorities] do that, thank you.”

In response, Raab had that the UK has a longstanding policy of encouraging India and Pakistan both to pursue a longstanding solution to the Kashmir crisis.

“It is not for the UK to impose its solution to the Kashmir crisis,” he said, adding that London encouraged both Islamabad and New Delhi to hold concrete dialogue over the issue.

Geelani worked throughout his life for a plebiscite to be held in Kashmir as per resolutions of the UN Security Council and supported the region’s accession to Pakistan.

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is controlled by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

Since they were partitioned in 1947, India and Pakistan have fought three wars — in 1948, 1965 and 1971 — two of them over Kashmir.

Also, in the Siachen Glacier region of northern Kashmir, India and Pakistan troops have fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire took effect in 2003.

Some pro-freedom groups in occupied Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence or for unification with Pakistan. According to several human rights organisations, thousands of civilians, mostly children. have been killed in the conflict since 1989.

Taliban order university women to wear face-covering niqab Women attending private Afghan universities must wear an abaya robe and niqab covering most of the face, the Taliban have ordered, and classes must be segregated by sex — or at least divided by a curtain.

In a lengthy document issued by the Taliban's education authority, they also ordered that female students should only be taught by other women, but if that was not possible then “old men” of good character could fill in.

The decree applies to private colleges and universities, which have mushroomed since the Taliban's first rule ended in 2001. During that period, girls and women were mostly excluded from education because of rules regarding same-sex classrooms and the insistence they had to be accompanied by a male relative whenever they left the house.

There was no order for women to wear the all-enveloping burqa in the new regulations issued late on Sat-

urday, but the niqab effectively covers most of the face anyway, leaving just the eyes exposed.

In recent years, burqas and niqabs have largely vanished from the streets of Kabul, but are seen more frequently in smaller cities and towns.

The decree comes as private universities prepare to open on Monday.

“Universities are required to recruit female teachers for female students based on their facilities,” the decree said, adding that men and women should use separate entrances and exits.

If it is not possible to hire women teachers, then colleges “should try to hire old men teachers who have a good record of behaviour”.

While women now have to study separately, they must also end their lesson five minutes earlier than men to stop them from mingling outside.

They must then stay in waiting rooms until their male counterparts have left the building, according to the decree issued by the Taliban higher education ministry.

“Practically, it is a difficult plan — we don't have enough female instructors or classes to segregate the girls,” said a university professor, who asked not to be named.

“But the fact that they are allowing girls to go to schools and universities is a big positive step,” he told AFP. Afghanistan's new rulers have pledged to be more accommodating than during their first stint in power, which also came after years of conflict — first the Soviet invasion of 1979, and then a bloody civil war.

They have promised a more “inclusive” government that represents Afghanistan's complex ethnic makeup — though women are unlikely to be included at the top levels. afp

05

4 martyred, 20 injured in Quetta suicide attack continued from page 01 Balochistan Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langove too strongly condemned the attack and asked authorities to submit a report in this regard. “Security forces have given countless sacrifices in the war against terrorism,” he said, adding that the war would continue until total peace was achieved. “The whole nation is indebted to the martyrs. We are fighting the terrorists with our full strength and will continue to do so. These violent attacks will not lower the morale of the forces,” he stressed. The province has seen an uptick in violence in recent months, with incidents of terrorism targeting both civilians and security forces.

Last month, three Levies troops were killed and as many injured when their vehicle hit a landmine in the Ziarat district of the province.

Policewoman allegedly kidnapped, assaulted in muzaffargarh continued from page 01 Punjab Inspector General of Police Inam Ghani took notice of the incident and directed the Dera Ghazi Khan regional police office to submit a report into it. The incident comes amid renewed focus on violence against women in Pakistan, following the murders of Noor Mukadam and Quratul Ain in July and the assault of a TikToker on Independence Day in Lahore last month.

Rats, drought and labour shortages eat into global edible oil recovery In a sprawling oil palm plantation in the Malaysian state of Perak, watermelon seedlings are sprouting from freshly ploughed earth between palm saplings while rented cows graze in overgrown areas of the estate.

A coronavirus pandemic-induced labour crunch has forced managers of the 2,000hectare estate in Slim River to find creative ways to upkeep their fields, even as prices of the world’s most consumed edible oil are near record highs.

“It is easier to pull out your own teeth than to get new workers now,” said estate manager Ravi, who gave his first name only. “I can’t find the workers to maintain the fields.”

Malaysia, the world’s second-largest producer of palm oil, is facing a perfect storm of production headwinds that will likely drag global stocks to their lowest level in five years.

The Southeast Asian country is a microcosm of the difficulties facing producers of various edible oils across several continents, from Canadian canola farmers to Ukrainian sunflower growers, as they struggle to meet strong demand.

Global food prices have scaled 10-year highs this year - the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) price index is up more than a third since last summer - due in large part to a surge in the price of vegoils that are vital for both food preparation and as fat in numerous daily staples.

The FAO’s global edible oils index is up 91% since last June, and is expected to climb further as economies reopen following COVID-19 lockdowns, boosting food and fuel consumption of edible oils.

But producers have been battling a range of impediments, including labour shortages, heatwaves and vermin infestation, that is driving collective stocks of the world’s most consumed edible oils - palm, soybean, canola (rapeseed) and sunflowerseed - to their lowest levels in a decade.

MALAYSIAN WOES: In Malaysia, which accounts for around 33% of global palm oil exports, the average yield of palm fruit bunches in Jan-June fell to 7.15 tonnes per hectare from 7.85 a year ago. Malaysian Palm Oil Board data shows a drop in average crude palm oil yields to 1.41 tonnes per hectare, from 1.56 tonnes over the same period last year.

Many plantations were harvesting with two-thirds or less of the required workforce,

after government coronavirus restrictions cut off the usual supply of migrant workers from Indonesia and South Asia.

More than half a dozen plantation owners interviewed by Reuters said the lack of workers had forced them to extend their harvesting window from 14 days to as many as 40 days, a change that compromises the quality of the fruit and risks the loss of some parts of the fruit bunches.

“It is especially bad in Sarawak. Some companies are seeing production falling by 50% because of the shortage of harvesters,” said a plantation manager, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

The Slim River estate has delayed replanting and shut its nursery for the first time in 20 years to redeploy workers for harvesting.

Another plantation manager, named Chew, said he was forced to increase wages by 10% to retain workers.

Less manpower to maintain the plantations also means more pests, including rats, moths and bagworms.

“It has resulted in an environment that

is good for rats to nest, feed and breed and natural predators cannot catch up,” said Andrew Cheng Mui Fah, a plantation official in Sarawak.

At Slim River, Ravi said around a quarter of the estate was facing a bagworm infestation that “will skeletonise the leaves and cause small (fruit) bunch formation.”

He was referring to the larvae of the bagworm moth that grow and feed on trees.

INDONESIAN MILLS: Neighbouring Indonesia, the world’s largest producer of palm oil, does not have the same labour shortage issues and output is expected to rise this year as more area has been planted to palm.

However, operations at palm oil mills, where the palm fruit is converted into crude palm oil, have been impacted by COVID-19 restrictions, said Dorab Mistry, director of Indian consumer goods company and major consumer Godrej International.

“Shutting down of palm oil mills right across the length and breadth of Malaysia (and) Indonesia has been a huge dampener on the production side,” he said at the annual U.S. Soy Export Council conference on Aug

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25. Total 2021 output from Indonesia and Malaysia, which together account for roughly 90% of world palm oil, was estimated at 66.2 million tonnes, according to Refinitiv Commodities Research published on Aug. 4. That is about flat compared with 2020, but analysts said downward revisions are likely if labour shortages and pest infestations worsen.

NORTH AMERICAN DRY SPELL: Meanwhile, farmers in western Canada planted canola into some of the driest soils in a century this spring, sending canola futures to all-time highs in early May. A July heatwave then scorched crops throughout the Canadian Prairies, leading the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to slash its estimate of canola output by 4.2 million tonnes to 16 million tonnes, the lowest since the 2012-13 season.

“We haven’t had much rain to speak of and the crop is withering,” said Jack Froese, who has farmed canola near Winkler, Manitoba, for nearly 50 years.

Froese expects a yield per acre of just a quarter of last year’s level: “It’s very disheartening.”

U.S. soybeans have also been sapped by drought, with the USDA lowering its production forecast by 1.8 million tonnes in August from the month prior.

That is expected to cut U.S. soybean oil stocks to eight year lows and U.S. soyoil exports to decade lows.

“We’re looking at an average crop because we were lucky enough to have some subsoil moisture,” said Jared Hagert from his North Dakota farm. “But you don’t have to go too far west of here to get into some really rough crops.”

In some good news for buyers, Brazil’s soybean crop is expected to hit a record 144.06 million tonnes in the 2020/21 season, driven by a 4% rise in the area planted to the crop, agribusiness consultancy Datagro estimated.

Ukraine, the top sunflower seed producer according to the USDA, is expected to lift output by 18% from a 2020 drought-hit harvest and oil exports are forecast to rise to 6.35 million tonnes from 5.38 million last season, according to its agriculture ministry.

WORSENING OUTLOOK: Still, the outlook for edible oils production overall remains poor and stocks are likely to tighten further, leaving the markets tight well into next year and adding to inflationary pres-

sures, according to some analysts.

In Malaysia, worsening COVID-19 outbreaks will leave plantations starved of workers through the rest of the peak palm production window.

Canadian farmers continue to face drought conditions, leading official agency StatsCan to peg canola output down 24.3% and yields down 30.1%.

“We have multiple issues with edible oil supplies worldwide, palm oil in Malaysia, canola in Canada and La Nina curbing soybean output in South America,” Mistry said.

“We are expecting lower oil content in Canada’s canola crop due to the drought,” he said. “The supply tightness in vegetable oil is expected to continue well into 2022.”

The pressure on stocks is already feeding through to consumer prices and the upward trend is expected to continue, especially as refiners lift prices to cover the surge in raw material costs.

Singapore-based Wilmar International (WLIL.SI) said a time lag between the surge in raw material costs and consumer price rises it imposed in the first half of the year had negatively impacted margins.

Mewah Group (MEWI.SI), one of the largest refineries in the region, said average sale prices for its bulk goods and consumer packs rose almost 54% and 24% respectively in the first half from a year ago.

“Everyone along the supply chain is absorbing some of the higher costs,” said Oscar Tjakra, a senior analyst at food and agribusiness research at Rabobank. “The cost push should continue next year.”

With global consumers already facing general economic uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic, further increases in edible oil prices will take a toll on many livelihoods due the inelastic nature of food demand.

Several countries including Nigeria, Egypt, Turkey and The Philippines have all recorded big jumps in food inflation in recent months. The price pressure may continue as higher edible oil costs are passed on by suppliers, leaving consumers with little choice but to pay up for the staple.

“Even in poorer regions, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, where consumers suffer greatly from high prices, consumption has only declined very marginally,” said Julian McGill, head of South East Asia at LMC International.

“There is simply not much flexibility in food use of vegetable oils.” ReuteRs

Monday, 6 September, 2021

06 COMMENT

Challenges and Defense of Pakistan

Quetta blast Agencies must concentrate on threat

T

he bomb blast in Quetta, in which four members of law enforcing agencies were killed and 20 others injured, indicates that while the USA has withdrawn from the War on Terror, it has left Pakistan to deal with the messy aftermath. Responsibility for the attack was claimed almost at once by the Tehrik Taliban Pakistan, which indicates that that particular group has not been inspired by the success of the siser organization in Afghanistan, in regaining power there 20 years after having been ousted, to give up its campaign of terror attacks upon the law-enforcing agencies. That the Taliban of Afghanistan have more or less washed their hands of the TTP, whose chief Maulvi Fazlullah was holed up in Afghanistan, is shown b6y their blithe declaration ot assdsld nthat the TTP was Pakistan’s problem.

That the blast took place the3 day after DG ISI Lt Gen Faiz hameed visited Kabul, cannot be entirely a coincidence. That means the blast was not just meant to spread terror, but was also meant to convey a chilling message: that just because the Taliban had taken Kabul, Pakistan should not assume that its enemies had lost the ability to strike at will.Perhapsit would be best to begin by taking note that terrorists have begun to focus on Baluchistan, not least because they want to sabotage CPeC. It would thus only be logical to work on improving the security of Quetta, which should not be that difficult a task, considering that it is not that large a town, and is relatively well-planned, besides having a large cantonment. This would require increasing the patrolling of the city by the law enforcement agencies, but would also require intelligence agencies to concentrate both attention and resources on the terrorist threat, away from the time-honoured task of keeping tabs on the regime’s political opponents. The intelligence agencies have been lavishly equipped at he taxpayer’s expense for the task of gathering intelligence so that terrorism can be stopped.

Also, while Quetta might be a good place to start, there is a need to ensure safety vans security throughout the country. That may mean that the Afghan government must use its good offices with those who claim to be inspired by them.

Today is Defence of Pakistan Day Zamir awan

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AKISTAN is the only Muslim country with nuclear power in the whole world. With a population of 220 million, it is the second largest Muslim country after Indonesia. Its geostrategic location makes it a pivotal state.

It connects Asia, Africa, europe and the Middle east.

Pakistan has been playing a crucial role in geopolitics in the past and always played decisive roles. having said all the above, it is to be noted that Pakistan is not digested by some of the adversaries who are planning to harm Pakistan. In 1999, Western powers planned to wash out Pakistan from the world map and declared that there would be no more Pakistan by 2015. They already initiated measures to harm Pakistan and fulfill their dream. But, Pakistan was created in the name of Allah and Allah has been kind to protect Pakistan. however, defense is not only to protect a country from enemy forces in case of war. Today war is in various shapes and phenomena: hybrid war, cyberwar, media war, narrative war, economic war, cultural war, and so on.

The armed forces of Pakistan are always ready to face any challenge from the enemy and have demonstrated their capabilities recently. The incident of the Balakot attack by India in 2019, was an exemplary surprise to our enemy, and the armed forces of Pakistan performed outstandingly. Response to the Salala incident in 2011, was also a memorable event. The armed forces of Pakistan are capable and will not embarrass the nation at any critical moment. however, a comprehensive defence requires the whole nation to act collectively. It is the responsibility of each individual to contribute toward national defence in a capacity where he or she can. Irrespective of one’s profession, job, capabilities, or capacities, he or she can share part of his or her duty toward national defence. As a teacher, we may positively educate our

The assault of a lady sub-inspector shows up the ugly face of society

There are lots of doubts

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he ordeal of a lady police sub-inspector, who was herself assaulted, should serve as a warning to all that crimes against women have gone from salacious to sensational to posing a threat to society. The lady ASI was on her way to work when she was allegedly kidnapped and assaulted. The wronged ASI’s colleagues and superiors are taking credit for arresting the accused and recovering the car he used, but that is the very least they could do, after such a flagrant violation of the law.

There have been previous incidents of violence against women in Muzaffargarh, where this incident took place, but there have been a rash of incidents in the country’s metropoles, such as the vicious murder of Noor Mukaddam in Islamabad and the mob assault of a Tiktokker on Independence Day in Lahore, that show there is a national crisis of violence against women.

The interventions of Prime Minister Imran Khan have not been helpful, whether it be that women wear skimpy clothing, or that perpetrators spend too much time on their mobile phones. With the country’s chief executive spouting excuses for the crminals, and indulging in the sort of victim-blaming that reflects a patriarchal mindset, one which tries to blame the victim for the crime, not the criminal. This fails to recognise that rape is not the result of frustratrion as the desire to exhibit power over a woman. Assaulting a police officer is about as nearly the acme of power as a criminal can get.

While this crime must be investigated, and the criminal brought to justice, just as much as any criminal should, it must be recognised that crimes against the police are more heinous than normal. There is a more basic task, though: making society more fit for women to function in. That involves educating men to behave better, and women to be more aware og their legal rights and protections. Of course, for that, both would have to go to school, receive an education, and become more aware persons and better citizens. But brother goes to school…

And thereby hangs yet another tale...

Dr abDus sattar abbasi

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he Opposition’s sit-in campaign after the 2013 election and emphasis to open four constituencies, three of which they lost in re-election, for thorough investigation as a litmus test to determine irregularities in general elections, opened several dimensions for future electoral reforms. extensive agitation inculcated widespread desire for transparency and verifiability of election results. We can hardly find an individual who is not disturbed with controversies surrounding our general elections. People with interest in political activities started discussing loud and clear after the 2014 sit-in campaign to find solutions to eliminate election manipulations. Adoption of technology remained the main argument of deliberations to counter such malpractices. however, the malfunctioning of RTS (Results Transmission System) in 2018 led to common suspicions and raised questions about the reliability of technology-based interventions in the general elections. A sizeable segment of the society considers the collapse of RTS as a design to alter results of the election. That failure steered ephithets by the opposition parties such as “selected” and “najaiz”, which undermines the legitimacy of the current government. Controversy between NADRA and the eCP on the RTS or RMS (Result Management System) flop coupled with alleged forcible expulsion of polling agents from polling stations of two mainstream parties during the vote count mounted doubts and strengthened common belief about election manipulation. Managing technological interventions to manipulate election results was a new learning for the common man because other forms of rigging, pre-poll and on the day

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor

Yousaf Nizami M. A. Niazi

Umar Aziz

Joint Editor

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

reforms in our educational system, to produce true Muslims and good Pakistanis. Although reforms are required in all sectors the most effective one should be prioritized in the educational sector first.

The recent example of the Afghan debacle, where barefoot, empty-stomached, and poorly equipped Taliban forced 57 countries (US, NATO, 46 Allies and 11 supporting countries, which included Israel and India too). The heavily equipped Afghan National Army (ANA)was US-trained and equipped with most modern weapons, latest technologies, and military gadgets, yet had to surrender because there was no public support. It is a lesson for us, that as long as the armed forces and civilians are on the same page, supporting each other, and integrated with one vision and one mission, that is defense of Pakistan, no power in the world can defeat Pakistan or harm Pakistan.

In the last four decades, by evil designs, Pakistan was radicalized, and intolerance, extremism, and terrorism were promoted. Foreign intelligence agencies established bases in Pakistan and divided the nation.

They picked the disgruntled, and destitute Pakistanis, trained them, equipped them, flooded them with dollars, and used them against Pakistan. They aimed to explode Pakistan internally. We must awaken, and should not be exploited by our enemies. Open eyes, be vigilant, and fight against all evils. efforts were made by our adversaries to coerce Pakistan with military power but failed; they tried to coerce Pakistan economically, but we sustained; they imposed hybrid war on us, but we resisted and countered. They are trying to malign our armed forces and creating a gap between civilian and military. They will never succeed.

Despite our ethnic, regional and religious diversity, we are united against all enemies, either internal or external, to defend our beloved country, Pakistan.

Unitedly and collectively, we ensure the defense of Pakistan is unchallengeable.

The writer is a Sinologist (ex-Diplomat), Editor, Analyst, Non-Resident Fellow of the Center for China and Globalization at the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, and can be contacted at awanzamir@yahoo.com).

Electronic voting machines – Why and why not

The patriarchy strikes back

Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

young generation to make them true Muslims and good Pakistanis. As an economist, one can contribute to uplift the national economy and make Pakistan a self-sustainable country, without depending on any other country or institution to survive. We must get rid of IMF, World Bank, or any other International Financial Institution. We must get rid of our foreign debt.

As an industrialist, one must contribute toward rapid industrialization and creating more jobs, as well as reducing imports, relieving the pressure on our foreign exchange reserves. Similarly, enhancing Industrial outpit, we may export excessive production to the international market after meeting the domestic consumption and generating much needed foreign exchange for our country.

As an agriculturist, we must work hard to ensure food security in the nation. We must feed our nation well and have sufficient calories and nutrition. The excessive agri-produce can be exported to earn much desired and needed foreign exchange. As an engineer, we have the responsibility to revolutionize the count and positively contribute toward the socioeconomic welfare of the country. As a doctor, we may contribute to ensuring good health and longevity for the nation. Irrespective of one.s job or profession, we may contribute directly or indirectly toward the national defense.

As the media is the most modern tool of national defense, our media houses and personnel may feel a much higher responsibility to build Pakistan’s national narrative, and counter any attack from our adversaries. We should not spread fake news, or fabricated stories, or distorted narratives. We must counter them and promote our national narrative.

Leaving behind all our differences and diversities, collectively we promote unity, and harmony among all segments of the society, irrespective of our ethnicity, religious factions, or regional groupings, etc.

The youth are our assets, our future and the country has youth under the age of 40 comprising approximately 70 percent of the population . We must involve our youth in national policies and decision-making processes. We must train our youth to take responsibility and face the challenges of the coming days.

There is a dire need to introduce comprehensive

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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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of polling, were all known realities.

Now the government’s extraordinary emphasis on introducing eVMs (electronic Voting Machines) for the coming elections raises several questions. Are we prepared to adopt eVMs despite our failure in managing a simple app like the RTS? What are the outcomes of developed countries that are already using eVMs? Who will develop eVMs and what will be the role of the eCP in developing eVMs? What will be the process of accreditation of eVMs including the software? What will be the mechanism to deal with 21st century security threats to machines such as eVMs? What will be the legal framework to deal with every aspect of operations of eVMs, including security requirements?

According to The New Yorker, James Clapper, the former director of US National Intelligence “and other intelligence officials produced—and shared with Trump—a postelection report confirming an extensive cyberattack by Russia on 2016 US elections”.

Intelligence Committee chairman, Richard Burr, a Republican, has already declared, “What we cannot do, however, is calculate the impact that foreign meddling and social media had on this election.” Joel Benenson, hillary Clinton’s campaign pollster, said, “A global power spoiled our elections, every American should be outraged, whether it changed the outcome or not. But did the meddling alter the outcome? how will we ever know? We probably won’t, until some Russians involved in it are actually prosecuted— or some Republican, in a moment of conscience, talks.”

If this is the level of helplessness of the scientifically most advanced nation of our times to determine technological interference, how can we rely on our capacity to handle any meddling from across the borders? Secret agencies of two countries don’t miss any opportunity against Pakistan. Secret agencies of one of these countries are quite capable of causing significant damage as happened recently through the Pegasus spyware around the globe. We can become rolling stones in the hands of these countries; they will have a convenient tool in their hands to steer chaos in our society.

In 2006, the “We do not Trust Voting Computers” movement in the Netherlands resulted in withdrawal of all forms of e-voting. Advocates of the movement demonstrated through a recording that, “experts were able to replace a memory chip in the voting machine in less than five minutes that allowed them to manipulate the results of an election”. even if we utilize non-reprogrammable hardware, we cannot rule out the hacking of software, as reportedly happened in the 2016 US elections and in the several conspiracy theories surrounding 2020 presidential elections.

In 2004, the Irish government decided not to use voting machines in european Parliamentary elections. According to Cameron Arcand, a political commentator, “elections Canada wanted to assure Canadian voters that they should not have the same concerns Americans have regarding election in-

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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tegrity”. election Canada tweeted on November 17, 2020, “elections Canada does not use Dominion Voting Systems. We use paper ballots counted by hand in front of scrutineers and have never used voting machines or electronic tabulators to count votes in our 100-year history.” Cameron Arcand further stated, “Dominion’s election system is a voting and vote-tabulating software that is used in more than 30 states.

There have been claims that the software glitched during the election, causing votes for President Donald Trump to switch to votes for former Vice President Joe Biden. however, Dominion website categorically denies false assertions about voteswitching issues with their voting systems” According to Kim Zetter, a contributor to Politico, “On November 6, 2016, the Sunday before the presidential election that sent Donald Trump to the White house, a worker in the elections office in Durham County, North Carolina, encountered a problem. When the problem persisted into Monday, just one day before the election, the county worker contacted VR Systems, the Florida company that made the software used on the county’s computer and on the poll book laptops…. laptops were ready to use when voting started Tuesday morning. Almost immediately, though, a number of them exhibited problems. Some crashed or froze. Others indicated that voters had already voted when they hadn’t.”

Convenience, transparency, verifiability and auditability are the requirements for modern electoral systems. Countries having contemporary democracies strive to fulfil these requirements from pre-poll preparations to post-polling verifications and audits. however, it is evident that solutions available so far in different countries are developed by other than the regulators and remain highly susceptible to glitches. Therefore, if we desire to fulfil these requirements, we need to foster the capacity of eCP to develop both components of eVMs (hardware and the software) strictly under the control and supervision of the Commission. Otherwise, we will be subject to several complications that eventually may harm the entire political system due to our highly charged environment.

Our government can cultivate consensus on eVMs by engaging civil society, media and independent IT experts. It is also important to ensure transparency during all stages of developing eVMs to eliminate doubts of the masses. We also need a public testing and certification report of our eVMs for wider credibility. We also need to develop a credible legal framework to deal with every aspect of operations of eVMs including security requirements. Therefore, it is important to take informed decisions with patience to avoid any disaster due to hasty choices.

The writer is Associate Professor of Management Sciences and head, Center of Islamic Finance, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

Monday, 6 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

Vaccination best protection of SARS-COV-2 The current variants of SARS-COV-2 are relatively rampant in their transmissibility and severity, many faculty members and students are fast getting infected, Vaccination is the best protection which Science has thankfully offered to us, You may have heard that vaccinated peoples are also getting infected but keep in mind about two facts.

1. Percentage of vaccinated individuals getting the virus is far smaller than the unvaccinated individuals even if you normalized the data against the proportion 2. even if the vaccinated individual gets infected, the disease is not progressing to severity.

Therefore, Its my sincere suggestion to all of you get vaccinated at the earliest, the best vaccine is what's available to you first.

Remember in Science and Scientific problems like the COVID-19, Facts solve problem opinions creates one, God Speed, Again urging get vaccinated asap. No body is safe until every body is safe.

LAibA bAqAi KArAchi

Petrol pumps unleashed

Alleviating Pakistan’s Energy Poverty

Dr shahiD rahim

D

R. John P. holdren, Adviser on Science and Technology to US President Barack Obama for both his terms in office and a distinguished faculty at harvard and Berkeley for over two decades, believes that a society can get into trouble with “energy” either by not having adequate resources or by their costs moving beyond its reach. What Dr holdren perhaps didn’t expect was that a society can have sufficient endowment of energy resources and still can push the energy out of the reach of its people and economy. Our present energy imbroglio is a classic case in point.

As energy is lifeblood to modern society, access to a minimum quantum of affordable, secure, and sustainable energy supplies is inevitable to fuel the economy and keep the lights on. electricity is also a superior energy carrier for its versatility of use, ease of control, and cleanliness. As societies progress and their incomes grow, people switch from traditional fuels to electricity. Though not an absolute measure, electricity consumption per capita is a reasonable indicator of a country’s development.

According to the International energy Agency’s “Key world energy Statistics 2020”, Pakistan’s per capita annual energy consumption of half a ton of oil equivalent is only 29 percent of the average world consumption, 13 percent of the developed countries, and 23 percent that of China. Its per capita annual electricity consumption of 593 kWh is only 18 percent of the world average, 7 percent of the developed country average, and 12 percent that of China. Fifty to sixty million people in Pakistan still do not have access to electricity. Pakistan’s $1,250 per capita GDP is only 11 percent of the world average, 3 percent that of the developed countries, and 16 percent that of China.

We thus face abject poverty, both in economic development and energy use. energy poverty may not be the exclusive cause of our economic poverty, but it’s certainly among the key contributing factors because access to affordable and reliable energy supply, and in particular to electricity, enables a decent standard of living for people and drives the engine of economic development. energy poverty stifles both human growth and economic development. energy prices, if they exceed the citizens ability to pay, affect their quality of life, compelling them to cut corners on food, education, and health. higher energy prices

also undermine the competitiveness of agricultural producers, commercial businesses, and industries. It is, therefore, critical that we look deeper into the causes of our energy poverty and take measures to ensure that affordable, reliable, secure, sustainable energy supplies remain available for our people and economy.

Without dwelling on the past and making a passing note of the futility of continuing on the existing approach to managing the energy sector in Pakistan, we move on to offer a broad-brush sketch of an alternative approach that holds a better promise in turning our energy poverty into at least self-sufficiency, if not affluence. The power sector will be our focus for electricity’s being the choice carrier even now, and its increased importance in the future.

The primary cause of our energy (electricity) poverty has been our over-reliance on a centralized power supply system based largely on imported technologies and fuels. This approach has led to prohibitively expensive electricity supplies.

While one can seriously debate the viability of this approach, let’s forgive our past leaders as they might have just followed the established practices.

There’s, however, no excuse to continue on the same path in the future as this will lead to financial ruin, not just for the power sector, but for the whole economy.

The traditional approach to managing the power sector essentially consisted of aggregating consumers’ forecast demand and meeting it through a least-cost expansion of generation and T&D facilities. As bigger has always been better (more efficient) and cheaper too (economy of scale), it made sense to develop generation projects as large as practicable closer to sources of primary energy supplies or large water bodies for cooling. These approaches have become obsolete in the wake of disruptive market forces that have put small-scale, distributed, and renewable power generation on a head-tohead competition with their large-sized conventional competitors.

Our decision-makers’ recent love affair with utility-scale renewable power generation also may not last long, as when the reality sets in, they will have to grapple with issues of connecting these plants from resource-rich remote locations to serve distant urban centres, adding the requisite flexibility in the grid, and maintaining adequate backup by either conventional plants or storage of some kind. Obviously, not without their costs which if incorporated in the total cost equation may make them as expensive as the conventional plants are, if not more.

Fortunately, we no longer face the limita-

tions of technology, size, and fuel, and the typical ways of the past to deliver electricity to consumers. The energy market has turned favourable lately, opening up a host of opportunities. Small power plants now beat the cost and performance features of large plants. Renewables, even without government support, are proving competitive. Battery storage technologies are enabling consumers to reduce, and even eliminate, their dependence on the grid. electric vehicles (eVs) are opening up new vistas for their dual role for loads as well as supply.

Choices are, therefore, in abundance.

We need to make a fundamental transformation in the way we produce and deliver electricity, essentially turning it on its head, from our current “top-down” to a new “bottom-up” approach. Our planners must strive to serve the future demand as much as possible at its source, from a nearby location, or from the central grid, whichever proves more feasible. In addition to avoiding a substantial portion of capital and O&M costs required for keeping excessive, and now, unnecessary reserve generation and transmission facilities, it will also help avoid excessive losses in the system.

These distributed electricity supply options and their deployment will lead to a range of additional benefits also. Their use will contribute significantly in making the electricity “affordable” for consumers by eliminating a substantial portion of the costs that may otherwise be incurred in the supply systems. Distributed supplies will also enhance the “security” of supply in traditional terms and also by reducing risks of sabotage or terrorism that megaprojects will always carry. Distributed systems will also contribute to “sustainable” energy supplies by virtue of their reliance mostly on natural renewable energy flows and technologies, skills, and support that can easily be developed within the country.

As aptly noted by the French writer Marcel Proust: “The true voyage of discovery lies not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” We do not need to go elsewhere for our energy supplies. Resources are already there in our own backyards and in abundance too. The key issue, however, is “can our leaders and decision-makers, who are currently trained to look for mega and grand projects only, re-train their eyes to discover these hidden treasures in the small places scattered all over the country?”

We do not need to go elsewhere for our energy supplies. Resources are already there in our own backyards and in abundance too. The key issue, however, is “can our leaders and decision-makers, who are currently trained to look for mega and grand projects only, re-train their eyes to discover these hidden treasures in the small places scattered all over the country?”

The writer is a freelance consultant, specializing in sustainable energy and power system planning and development. He can be reached by email at: msrahim@hotmail.com

AS consumers across the country face difficulties due to petrol shortage, the government is currently contemplating completely deregulating pricing and marketing of petrol.

According to a report published in Dawn, the government is considering doing away with uniform pricing of petrol and deregulating it in line with other petroleum products like hOBC which are already deregulated. Recently OMC’s have come under severe criticism for their alleged collusive behavior that has seen the price of hi-octane blending component (hOBC), to increase to Rs148-160 per litre.

While the government slashed petrol prices to Rs74 per litre in line with the decrease in international oil prices, no such reduction was seen in the price of hOBC. According to the report, the government has also decided to deregulate the Inland Freight equalisation Margin (IFeM) that currently ensures uniform prices throughout the country. As a result, consumers that are close to ports and refineries will be able to buy petroleum products at a cheaper price that may differ anywhere from Rs1 to Rs5 depending on the transportation cost. earlier, on June 4, the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) had taken notice of public concerns and complaints about the shortage of petroleum products in the country and had initiated an inquiry to see whether such a shortage is the result of any anti-competitive activity. The CCP’s inquiry will determine the possibility of the existence of any anticompetitive practices causing the shortage of fuel in the country and the undertakings involved in it. The inquiry will further examine why the impact of the reduction in the prices of oil have not resulted in the corresponding reduction in the prices of the lubricants and other oil-based products, including the prices of hi-octane, which are primarily deregulated products.

ASfAndyAr KhAn iSLAmAbAd

Next generation IN psychology, It is said that “We are the product of what we see and imitate in our daily life.” when this quote came across my eyes, held me thinking and wondering about the younger generation of ours. Since the arrival of user-friendly technology, we all have been stuck under the piles of fictional fun which has no real value in the world. While being physically suppressed by these so-called technology, we have left one thing and unnoticed “Our children observing us.”

In the early age of development (3 to 12 years) children’s brain is more like a photocopy machine. Learning from the environment through observation and what they perceive, it will become the part of their personality. Connecting this theory of psychology with what we have today, you will see a lot of children using smartphone fluently and frequently because they learn it by continously observing their parents and relatives.

Although alot of studies have shown the negative effects of frequent mobile usage on child mind yet the parents rather than engaging them in some physical activity and intellectual exercises, they hand them over the mindnumbing device and this made me pondering if this didn’t dwindle, how will we be able to generate athletes, scientists and leaders for future. Seeing the scenario, it can be obtained that it’s not the children but the parents who must get aware of this for the sake of their next generation. miAn AizAz AhmEd ShAdAKot

Cutting through difficulties The issues like food crisis, unemployment have been greatly highlighted by the mainstream english television channels like BBC, CNN especially in the wake of the current COVID situation. The other day CNN had highlighted the issue of food insecurities in America caused by the current pandemic whereas BBC has been highlighting the larger unemployment crisis in european countries like the UK. As a matter of fact, countries from the West like the USA, UK should take these issues seriously and must tackle them all head-on given their characteristics, geological structure, socio-economic status.

The recent farmer protests in India had caught the attention of everyone out there. Any crisis in the farming sector should not be allowed to escalate into a bigger issue. By the by, I have been able to see rigorous farming activities going on in my native areas like Korkai, Tiruchendur, Tuticorin, Tirunelveli, Nagercoil, Marthandam, Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu all thanks to the good and bountiful rainfall this ongoing monsoon.

Such rigorous agro activities should be encouraged continuously and they must go on back to back with all backup options like water sources, land, finance in place. Most importantly, agricultural activities, food production and consequent trade activities should be accelerated and even strengthened simultaneously and non-stop. Besides this, the apparent port operations should be fully supported by the regime out there through proper ways like superb infrastructure, reliable tax/tariff system.

P SEnthiL SArAvAnA durAi mumbAi

Monday, 6 September, 2021

08 WORLD VIEW

ThE lEssons of dEfEAT in AfghAnisTAn AFTER TWENTY YEARS, IT HARDLY NEEDS SAYING THAT AMERICA’S WARS IN AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ WERE DISASTROUS TO US INTERESTS AND STANDING

neW Yorker STeVe cOLL

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ARLy in 2001, scurvy broke out in western Afghanistan. Typhoid and, possibly, cholera spread, along with malnutrition, a crisis exacerbated by three years of drought and five years of Taliban misrule. That May, Ruud Lubbers, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, visited the country and warned of a “humanitarian disaster.” Then osama bin Laden unleashed the September 11th attacks, and, during the counterstrike, American warplanes dropped almost eighteen thousand bombs. At year’s end, the Taliban fell, but Afghanistan lay destitute; the average life expectancy there, the U.N. estimated, was forty-three years.

It seemed intuitive that fixing Afghanistan’s broken state should be part of the response to 9/11. yet ambitious reconstruction and humanitarian aid did not figure initially in President George w. Bush’s “global war on terror.” His Administration pivoted to invading Iraq, and it was only in 2006, after the Taliban’s comeback became highly visible, that the United States ramped up aid to strengthen Afghan state institutions and to fight the opium trade. President Barack obama also made large investments, in Afghanistan’s military and civil society,

yet the escalating scale of western assistance exacerbated corruption, undermining the Kabul government’s credibility. By the time Joe Biden arrived at the white House, achieving Afghan self-sufficiency seemed likely to require many more years, if it was possible at all.

Nation-building in Afghanistan “never made any sense to me,” Biden told ABC News last month, explaining why, in April, he had announced the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from the country. His decision precipitated a Taliban takeover of Afghan cities that culminated in the return of their white banners over Kabul. Last week, as Americans prepared to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of 9/11, Biden delivered a televised address in which he sought to present his choices as a forward-looking doctrine of national security. His decision to withdraw “is not just about Afghanistan,” he said.

“It’s about ending an era of major military operations to remake other countries.”

It hardly needs saying by now that America’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were disastrous to U.S. interests and standing. They radicalized jihadists and claimed the lives of nearly seven thousand American service members, and of at least two hundred thousand Iraqi and Afghan civilians. yet Biden’s decision to withdraw the roughly twenty-five hundred remaining U.S. troops in Afghanistan seems to have been heavily influenced by, in addition to his disdain for state-building, the terms of a deal with the Taliban that he inherited from the Trump Administration, which had committed U.S. forces to depart by May of this year. As Biden assessed it, if he did not pull out the troops as Trump had promised, he would have had to escalate combat against the Taliban, a course he rejected. Even as he ordered the pullout, he promised billions of dollars in additional aid to the Kabul govern-

The Afghanistan fiasco will not herald a new world order

ment of President Ashraf Ghani.

Biden’s announcement tipped the balance of the war, however. Ghani’s security forces could foresee defeat, and many flipped to the Taliban’s side. Ghani fled into exile on August 15th. The Biden Administration was plainly unprepared for the Taliban’s entry into Kabul.

The scenes that followed—such as those of Afghans falling to their deaths after trying to cling to the wheels of a C-17 transport jet ascending out of the capital—present an iconography of American defeat even more searing than the photos of helicopters evacuating staff from the U.S. Embassy rooftop in Saigon, in 1975. on August 26th, a suicide bomber struck at a crowded airport gate and killed thirteen U.S. service members and at least ninety Afghans. The airlift carried more than a hundred thousand people to safety before it ended, on August 30th, but, by the Administration’s admission, some two hundred American citizens who wanted to leave were left behind, as were, according to refugee advocates, tens of thousands of Afghans eligible for special visas to the U.S. Many thousands of others vulnerable to Taliban reprisals—journalists, activists, judges, and translators— were also left behind.

The collapse of Ghani’s government orphaned a generation of globalized, smartphone-using, urban Afghans, who had been protected for two decades by nato security.

Some of those who squeezed onto flights out barely had time to consider their sudden transformation into refugees.

“I fought my family, my community and my society to get to where I was a month ago,” Fatima Faizi, a reporter for the Times, tweeted from exile. “Now I live out of a backpack. It feels like you fall off a cliff, all your bones are shattered. But you have no energy to say you are in pain.”

At the end of last week, all of Afghanistan’s airports

DW

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mIODrag SOrIc

NoUGH! For two decades, the west pumped billions into an underdeveloped, poor country. In vain. war weariness spread, and the west overestimated itself.

For years, it thought it could modernize Afghanistan, and sacrificed inordinate quantities of people and funds to this end.

In vain. when US President Joe Biden ordered troops to withdraw, the facade of democracy in Kabul crumbled like a sandcastle. Now, Afghanistan risks reverting to an entity (it would be too much to speak of a state) in which rival tribes, ethnic groups and religious communities are in conflict. And it’s the ordinary population that will suffer.

The world has another “failed state” — there is no way of glossing over the west’s defeat. This is certainly a turning point in history: For the time being, the west might think twice about embarking on adventures of this kind in future.

Russia and China, which both would like to garner more influence on the global stage, have been observing the failure of the US and Europe in Afghanistan with glee.

Let them. The Islamists in Afghanistan are operating not far from their borders. They present much more of a threat to stability in Central Asia than in Europe or the US. The west’s retreat from the region will force Moscow and Beijing to become more involved there,

Steve Coll, a staff writer, is the dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University. His latest book is “Directorate S: The C.I.A. and America’s Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan.”

Qatar emerges as central player in West’s relationship with Afghanistan

THE WEST’S WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN MIGHT BE DISGRACEFUL FOR NATO — AND MOSCOW AND BEIJING MIGHT BE JOYFUL — BUT WESTERN VALUES CONTINUE TO HAVE GLOBAL APPEAL and for a long while to come.

The howls of triumph coming from the west’s enemies will pass. Let Moscow and Beijing advocate for a new world order, with different centers of power and zones of influence. Russia would like to consolidate its grip on Ukraine, Belarus and former Soviet states in Central Asia. China would like to prevent US aircraft carriers from cruising in the South China Sea and washington from defending Taiwan’s freedom. But the west will not do them this favor.

The liberal, rule-based world order is by no means at an end. The ideals and values that the west upholds and rightly believes to be universal remain valid: the dignity of every human, equal rights for men and women, freedom of expression, the right to assemble, democracy, respect for human rights. Just because the west has failed in Afghanistan does not mean these values are any less significant. on the contrary. The likely tragic development over the next few months in Afghanistan will prove once again that they are right.

Moscow’s claim that the US has tried to dominate the world since the end of the Cold war in 1991 is propaganda. It is not the west’s fault if Eastern European countries have turned away from Russia, toward the free world. Is there a single genuinely democratic country in Europe with which Russia has friendly relations?

If not, why is that so?

But the west also has to ask itself questions. what can it do in order to avoid “overstretching,” as historians put it, its sphere of influence so that it can economize its forces and ensure there are enough funds to strengthen its defenses?

Authoritarian regimes in Moscow, Beijing, Tehran and elsewhere need external enemies to survive. The values the US and the EU represent still have global appeal: Affluence in the west, its economic strengths, the possibility of every citizen to thrive in freedom and security will continue to attract people, including millions of Russian and Chinese citizens.

remained closed to commercial flights. Neighboring countries had shut their borders. Long after the world’s attention turns away, the great majority of the population will “remain inside Afghanistan,” Filippo Grandi, the current U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said.

“They need us.” Drought, economic collapse, and covid have left millions of Afghans “marching towards starvation,” David Beasley, the executive director of the world Food Programme, warned. on 9/11, Americans discovered that their security was inseparable from that of Afghans suffering in a distant, shattered country ruled by the Taliban and adopted by bin Laden, the Taliban’s guest. Al Qaeda is still there, although intelligence agencies judge that it is now far less capable of striking the continental United States.

Still, the presence of a branch of the Islamic State and the Taliban’s return to power can hardly be comforting.

Fawzia Koofi, a women’s-rights activist who escaped to Qatar last week, after earlier surviving an assassination attempt by the Taliban, told the BBC, “If the world thinks that this is not their business . . . trust me, sooner or later this will actually go to their borders again.”

It would be unfortunate if the lesson America draws from its Afghan debacle is that it should forswear large investments in human dignity and health in very poor countries. The climate crisis and the pandemic make plain that we face new border-hopping threats to our collective security. For both moral and practical reasons, the United States has cause to provide substantial humanitarian aid to troubled nations and even, in a supporting role, to strengthen their security—perhaps having fashioned a foreign policy, if it is not too much to hope, informed by a measure of humility and a capacity for self-reflection.

France24

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Tamar SHILOH VIDON

wo top members of the Biden administration are headed for Qatar on Sunday to hold talks about the situation in Afghanistan and express gratitude to the Gulf state for its help in evacuating tens of thousands of people fleeing the Taliban takeover. The visits highlight Qatar’s central position as a global power broker, but also raise questions over the tiny Arab nation’s oversized diplomatic role in a region fraught with geostrategic tensions.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin head to the Qatari capital Doha on Sunday. The two high-level visits, following those last week by the foreign ministers of Britain, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, reflect the importance the west attributes to Qatar as a mediator with the Taliban after the group’s takeover of Afghanistan, especially as Pakistan, China and Russia vie for influence in Kabul.

“Qatar has carefully built both of these relations. while some of its regional Gulf Arab allies perceive it as too close to regional Islamist groups, the US and other western countries welcome Qatari mediation because of their [own] limited interactions with the Taliban,” Dina Esfandiary, senior advisor for the Middle East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group, told FRANCE 24. when the Taliban took over Kabul on August 15, and the US began airlifting out Americans, Afghans and other nationals, Qatar turned into a central transit hub, with some 57,000 of the roughly 124,000 people evacuated passing through it.

President Joe Biden phoned Qatar’s leader, Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on August 20, to thank him for the country’s role in facilitating intra-Afghan talks and in helping with the evacuation efforts. “The President noted that this is the largest airlift of people in history and that it would not have been possible without the early support from Qatar,” a white House statement said.

Qatar’s role as a mediator began a

decade ago, when the obama administration sought to end the war in Afghanistan and Doha began hosting peace talks between the US and the Taliban. The Taliban opened its permanent political office there in 2013 and negotiations continued until 2020, culminating in an agreement with the Trump administration to pull out US troops this year.

In 2014, Qatar also brokered the release of Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who had been held as a prisoner by the Taliban for five years and finally released back to the US in exchange for five Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, who were sent to Qatar.

Doha’s ambitions go beyond just helping the US, Esfandiary said. “It aims to be seen as a mediator for all those who aim to engage the Taliban, and it has certainly done so in the past few weeks.” But Qatar also needs to balance this role with its fragile relations with other countries in the region. “Qatar risks being seen as closely affiliated with the Taliban – a problem, given that it is already perceived as too close to Islamist groups in the region. It will have to manage this mediation position carefully,” Esfandiary said.

The last time the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, from 1996 to 2001, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Pakistan were the only countries to recognise its government. Saudi Arabia had played an important role in the Islamist group’s creation, since for years it funded the madrassas in Pakistan from which the Taliban emerged.

But the relationship with the Taliban fell apart after the September 11 attacks in the United States, carried out by al Qaeda.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE, along with Egypt and Bahrain, increasingly viewed extremist Islamist groups as a threat and accused Qatar of supporting terrorism. They cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar in 2017 over its relations with the Shiite powerhouse Iran and with Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood. The crisis was resolved in January 2020 with the help of Kuwait and the US. The Taliban has not yet formed a government in Kabul and no country has so far recognised its sovereignty over Afghanistan.

But Pakistan, China and Russia have indicated in recent weeks that they would not support US efforts to put pressure on the Taliban by withholding recognition, threatening sanctions or restricting aid. “It is necessary for the international community to engage with the Taliban and actively provide them with guidance,” Geng Shuang, a senior Chinese diplomat, told the UN Security Council on August 30. Pakistan, too, has called on the west to engage with the new Taliban rulers and help them rebuild Afghanistan.

The head of Pakistan’s powerful Inter-

Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed, flew to Kabul on Saturday, as the Taliban scrambled to form a government nearly three weeks after the fall of Kabul. while there were no official details of the purpose of Hameed’s visit, it sparked reports that the ISI chief was in Afghanistan to help the Taliban form a government and provide guidance as the hardline Islamist group battles anti-Taliban resistance fighters in the Panjshir Valley, north of Kabul.

Christine Fair, a professor of Security Studies at Georgetown University said the Taliban were doing everything to get the media to report about them as a “new Taliban” so that they could have access to international assistance. “Even if the western countries don’t give them aid, what they want is [access to] their frozen banks, they want access to lines of credit and they don’t want to be sanctioned,” she said. “They’re going to be getting a lot of money from China; China’s already floating them. what they’re going to try to do is essentially terrorise Afghans, just as they did when they were governing in the 1990s... And China is doing this essentially for resource exploitation,” she added.

Energy-rich Qatar is in a position to provide economic aid to the Taliban, but it is unlikely to offer direct assistance to the Islamist group. For Doha, the 2017 diplomatic spat with Gulf giants Saudi Arabia and the UAE highlighted the importance of sticking close to the US. Unilateral aid injections to the Taliban would risk irking Qatar’s neighbours, the US and other western nations, and Doha is likely to favour channeling assistance to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan through multilateral bodies such as the UN. Qatar has said it does not consider recognition of a Taliban government a priority, but that cooperating with the group is necessary.

“If we are starting to put conditions and stopping this engagement, we are going to leave a vacuum, and the question is, who is going to fill this vacuum?” Qatar Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said at a news conference in Doha on August 31. on Friday, Blinken said the US government remained in contact with the Taliban. “we continue to maintain channels of communication with the Taliban, on issues that are important,” he said. Though Blinken had no plans to meet Taliban representatives while in Doha, he is sure to discuss with his Qatari counterparts the extraction of US citizens who still wish to leave Afghanistan. “From Qatar’s perspective, this is already a success: It has positioned itself in such a way that anyone who wants to engage the Taliban has to go through Qatar first,” Esfandiary said.

monday, 6 september, 2021

busiNEss 09

islamabad

Pakistan siGns MoU on toUrisM with ChinEsE assoCiations 'Lahore-Gujranwala motorway to improve connectivity of local, regional industries' ISLAMABAD APP

Gujranwala Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) President Umar Ashraf Mughal on Sunday said that the Lahore-Gujralwala Motorway, costing Rs6 billion, will play a vital role in connecting the local industrial zone to the rest of the industrial cities of the country with highways and other routes. He said that Gujranwala and Sialkot, the two biggest industrial cities of the country, would also be connected with the completion of this motorway, which would be mutually beneficial to the industrial units at the local level. Mughal said that Gujranwala has huge potential for light and heavy engineering goods at local level which can increase domestic exports. He said that by increasing production in the engineering goods and steel industry in Gujranwala, “we need to attain the objective Ease of Doing Business (EODB) for lowering the cost of doing business to achieve competitiveness in the international market.

“Modern machinery and high-tech labor can also increase our industrial production, which is likely to increase employment opportunities at the local level,” he said, adding that the city has huge potential to boost local industrial growth, which could also improve the country’s economy.

He said that engineering goods currently account for 51 per cent of global exports, where there are huge opportunities to grow our exports. About Gujralwala's auto industry, he said locally manufactured auto-rickshaws and motorcycles are exported to foreign markets, especially to African countries at present and hoped for its growth as well. The GCCI president said that with the support of the government by other facilities, the local industry of Gujranwala can give Pakistan a prominent position in the world in terms of exports. It is pertinent to mention that during a visit to GCCI in August, Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood had appreciated the performance of local industries and said that Gujranwala could gain a prominent position in the export of engineering goods in coming years through increasing the productive manufacturing in engineering and other automobile good.

Exports of services up 6.39pc in 1MFY22 Exports of services increased by 6.39 per cent to $483 million in the first month of the current fiscal year (FY22) as against $454m over the corresponding period last year, according to a report by Dawn that analysed Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data. On a month-on-month basis, exports of services dipped by 14.51 per cent. In the outgoing fiscal year, the exports of services increased by 9.19pc to $5.937 billion in FY21 compared to $5.437bn during the same period of FY20. The growth in services exports is mainly led by the highest-ever export of IT services. Services exports also include finance and insurance, transport and storage, wholesale and retail trade, public administration and defence sectors. The Ministry of Commerce has set a $7.5bn target of services exports for 2021-22. On the other hand, services imports fell 7.02pc to $715 million in July 2021 against $769m over the corresponding month of last year. The trade deficit in services sector has declined by 26.35pc to $232m in July against $315m over the corresponding month of last year. MONITORING REPORT

BEIJING APP

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AKISTAN has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on tourism with Chinese tourism associations and forged partnership with travel agencies to promote tourism in Pakistan.

We are to launch a Chinese-language website called Discover Batie (also known as Discover Pakistan) to popularise Pakistan’s rich repertoire of culture and tourism resources across China, Pakistan Ambassador to China, Moin ul Haque said.

Pakistan boasts a wide range of landmass including valleys and mountains and rich culture and cilivilization, and that Pakistan as Chinas is receptive to Chinese tourists and can be an attractive destination to global tourists as the country has put in place relevant tourist organisations and committees, favourable policies, visa facilitation, and tourism development and rehabilitation.

He made these remarks at the 2021 World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit and World Conference on Tourism

Cooperation and Development held in Beijing on Saturday.

Tourism contributes between 6-7 % of GDP in Pakistan and provides a little about two million jobs, according to a 2020 report by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI). However, the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a heavy blow to the tourism sector in Pakistan and the rest of the world, according to China Economic Net (CEN).

Offering advice on tourism revival, Ambassador Haque pointed out that the tourism sector should provide safe, responsible, and attractive tourism by rethinking tourism products and services as new tourism patterns occur.

He said that countries can also seek to develop smart tourism, using new technologies to develop virtual or digital tourism resources.

It is learned that Ambassador Haque has formed a task force in the Embassy of Pakistan in Beijing to rev up Pakistan’s tourism sector. To this end, the Embassy has been producing a series of Discover Batie videos to introduce every aspect of Pakistan to the Chinese people and to lure more Chinese tourists to Pakistan after the pandemic.

I want to emphasise that the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has established a close partnership with WTCF and UNWTO. I propose the possibility of preparing a programme of trilateral cooperation between our organisation for the development of tourism in the context of the pandemic, noted Vladimir Norov, Secretary-General of SCO. Sponsored by the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) and the Beijing Municipal Government and organised by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, the Summit focuses on the revival of the world tourism sector through city cooperation, smart transformation, model innovation and development trends from a global perspective.

The Summit was also attended by Pansy Ho, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF), Tojiddin Jurazoda, Chairman of the Committee for Tourism and Development of Tajikistan, David Andre, Mayor of Victoria, Eijiro Yamakita, President and CEO of JTB Corporation, and ambassadors from the Republic of Columbia, Jordan, Kenya, Mozambique, the UAE, Zimbabwe, and Spain, and renowned tourist associations.

Pakistan to showcase national image at China-asEaN Expo BEIJING APP

Pakistan, with an exhibition area of 81 square meters, will showcase its national image and organise 15 Pakistani companies to show mainly carpet, marble, wood handicrafts and other specialty products of the country with 28 booths at the upcoming 18th ChinaASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) to be held in Nanning from September 10 to 13.

The expo is hosted by the departments in charge of economy development and trade in China and ten ASEAN countries in collaboration with the ASEAN Secretariat.

Pakistan will again participate in this year’s expo as a Special Partner Country. It attended the 17th CAEXPO with the same honorary title.

Pakistan is one of the countries along the Belt and Road and a geographical neighbor to the ASEAN countries. For many years, Pakistan has actively joined the CAEXPO, through which to enhance its exchange and cooperation with China and other countries along the Belt and Road.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Pakistan. By seizing the cooperative and business opportunities of the 18th CAEXPO, Pakistan will fully showcase its national image and further promote its exchange and cooperation with China and the ASEAN countries.

The CAEXPO will adopt a mixed model of “Physical + On-line CAEXPO” to host events in celebration of

the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries and the 2021 Forum on China-Pakistan Economic and Trade Cooperation to further advance the sound development of the China-Pakistan partnership.

The expo’s purposes expand from serving the 10+1 countries i.e. China and 10 ASEAN countries to promoting RCEP and the Belt and Road Initiative and opening up to the rest of the world.

With a theme of “Sharing Opportunities Created by the New Land-Sea Corridor, Building the China-ASEAN Community with a Shared Future”, this year’s expo will be held in Nanning,

China from September 10 to 13 in a mixed model of physical + online adopted for the second time due to the pandemic.

The highlights of this year’s CAEXPO include – physical exhibitions — same exhibition area size of last CAEXPO at 102,000 square meters.

The participants include 36 delegations of domestic provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government and cities under separate state planning, and leading enterprises organised by national industry associations in sectors such as power, building mate-

rials, engineering machinery and food packaging machinery, and local industry associations of localities such as Guangdong and Xiamen.

An exhibition area of 12,000 square meters will be allocated to the exhibitors of the 10 ASEAN countries, and each ASEAN country shall have their own exhibition area as usual.

More market leaders of ASEAN will join the exhibitions and the exhibits of ASEAN will introduce product certification and traceability system as usual.

Following the practice of the previous CAEXPO, an international exhibition area for the countries along the Belt and Road will be set up to accommodate the exhibitors from over 20 countries, including Pakistan, Poland, Republic of Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, France and Spain.

Online CAEXPO – a well-functioning system running all year round, will arrange the physical exhibitors to participate in the online CAEXPO for free, improve the features such as online exhibition, online conference and online commercial negotiation, and stage more events of live-streaming marketing, product release and one-onone supply-demand matching.

The shopping event will debut during this year’s CAEXPO and Viya, a top e-commerce live-streamer of China, will be invited to visit the expo and host an influencer live-streaming event dedicated to CAEXPO to promote the top products of countries showcasing their products.

Taliban face looming financial and fuel crisis PESHAWAR AZIZ BUNERI

After the Taliban seized Kabul’s control, all trade activities in Afghanistan came to a standstill, incurring huge financial losses to ordinary Afghanis as well as the business community of the country.

Even after more than two weeks of taking control of Afghanistan, the lack of consensus on the new government is creating new challenges. According to sources 500 megawatts of electricity is being supplied to Afghanistan from Uzbekistan and if the Taliban failed to pay as per the agreement, Uzbek government can suspend power supply.

The former head of Afghanistan’s central bank has said in a Twitter post that the Afghan Taliban currently have access to less than 1% of the Afghanistan’s central bank’s $9 billion assets. Until the Taliban get access to the central bank’s assets, they will have to make alternative mechanism to run the financial affairs of the country. The sources

said that several of Kabul’s agreements with the international community are also in danger because of lack of financial resources.

The current generation of electricity in Afghanistan is 255.9 Megawatt which cannot satisfy the requirements of entire Afghanistan.

In such a situation, the Taliban could not maintain its agreement with Uzbekistan, there could massive power crises.

There are 11 small and large power generation projects in Afghanistan, the largest of which is the Naghlu Hydral Project which generates 100 MW, 66 MW from the Mahi Hydraulic Project, 33 MW from the Kajaki Hydraulic Project, and 22 MW Surobi Hydraulic Project generates, 11.5 MW from Darunta Hydraulic Project and 13.8 MW from Pul-e-Khumri Hydraulic Project.

Source said the Taliban are yet to form a new government in Afghanistan, so they yet to make any strategy to maintain the supply of 500 megawatts of electricity with Uzbekistan and agreements with other countries, which could lead to a new crisis in Afghanistan.

The Taliban have also seized all oil stocks in the country but the stock will have to be replenished. Iran will be ready to supply oil but the Taliban do not have enough revenue to continue purchase from the

neighbouring country.

According to sources, the $1126.5 million CASA project with Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in collaboration with the World Bank, will supply 1,000 megawatts of electricity to Pakistan and 300 megawatts to Afghanistan in exchange for transit. The plan may be postponed due lack of government in Afghanistan.

Just few months before the Taliban seized Afghanistan, the World Bank had presented a disturbing analysis of Afghanistan’s economy. After the Taliban control, the future of Afghanistan’s economy is now even in more uncertain situation. There are also fears that the Taliban will not be able to receive international financial support as the international community has not yet recognised the Taliban regime.

After capturing the country, it will now be a big challenge for the Taliban to form a consensus government and pull out the country from internal economic woes and external challenges.

Monday, 6 September, 2021

10 FOREIGN NEWS

ISLAMABAD

TAlibAn, opposiTion fighT for AfghAn holdouT province, Top us generAl wArns of civil wAr KABUL

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REUTERS

ALIBAN and opposition forces battled on Saturday to control the Panjshir Valley north of Kabul, the last Afghanistan province holding out against the militant group, as the top US general warned of a “civil war” if the group failed to consolidate power.

Both sides claimed to have the upper hand in Panjshir but neither could produce conclusive evidence to prove it.

The Taliban, which swept through the country ahead of the final withdrawal of USled forces this week, were unable to control the valley when they ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.

Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi said the districts of Khinj and Unabah had been taken, giving Taliban forces control of four of the province’s seven districts.

“The Mujahideen (Taliban fighters) are advancing toward the centre (of the province),” he said on Twitter.

But the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, grouping forces loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud, said it surrounded “thousands of terrorists” in Khawak pass and the Taliban had abandoned vehicles and equipment in the Dashte Rewak area.

Front spokesman Fahim Dashti added “heavy clashes” were going on.

In a Facebook post, Massoud insisted Panjshir “continues to stand strongly.” Praising “our honourable sisters”, he said demonstrations by women in the western city of

Herat calling for their rights showed Afghans had not given up demands for justice and “they fear no threats.”

US General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, underscored the tenuous situation.

“My military estimate is, is that the conditions are likely to develop of a civil war. I don’t know if the Taliban is going to be able to consolidate power and establish governance,” Milley said.

Speaking to Fox News from Ramstein Air Base in Germany, Milley said if they cannot that will “in turn lead to a reconstitution of Al Qaeda or a growth of ISIS or other

myriad of terrorist groups” over the next three years.

Emergency, an Italian medical aid organisation, said Taliban forces had pushed further into the Panjshir Valley on Friday night, reaching the village of Anabah where the group has medical facilities.

“We have received a small number of wounded people at the Anabah Surgical Centre,” Emergency said in a statement, adding that many people fled in recent days.

It was not immediately possible to get further independent confirmation of events in Panjshir, which is walled off by mountains except for a narrow entrance.

CELEBRATIONS: Celebratory gunfire resounded in Kabul on Friday as reports spread of the Taliban’s takeover of Panjshir. News agencies said at least 17 people were killed and 41 hurt.

Spy chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed flew into Kabul on Saturday. It was not clear what his agenda was, but a senior official in Pakistan said earlier in the week that Hameed, who heads the Inter-Services Intelligence, could help the Taliban reorganise the Afghan military. In Kabul, Taliban fighters broke up a demonstration by about a dozen women urging the group to respect women’s rights to education and jobs, according to private broadcaster TOLOnews.

Footage showed women confronted by armed militants covering their mouths and coughing, and one demonstrator said the fighters had used tear gas and tasers against the participants, who had been carrying banners and a bouquet of flowers.

“They also hit women on the head with a gun magazine, and the women became bloody,” said a demonstrator who gave her name as Soraya.

The Taliban imposed violent punishments and barred women and older girls from school and work when previously in power, but have sought to present a more moderate face this time.

GOVERNMENT NEXT WEEK: A Taliban source said the announcement of a new government would be pushed back to next week. Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, reported by some Taliban sources to be in line to lead the new govern-

ment, said in remarks on Al Jazeera that the new administration will include all factions of Afghans.

“We are doing our utmost efforts to improve their living conditions. The government will provide security, because it is necessary for economic development,” he said. Some signs of normality returned to Kabul. Qatar’s ambassador to Afghanistan said a technical team was able to reopen Kabul airport to receive aid, according to Al Jazeera, which also cited its correspondent as saying domestic flights had restarted.

The airport has been closed since the United States on August 30 completed U.Sled evacuations of more than 120,000 US citizens, other foreigners and Afghans deemed at risk from the Taliban, and withdrew the last of its troops.

The Taliban’s main spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, also said one of the main foreign exchange dealers in Kabul had reopened.

Afghanistan’s economy has been thrown into disarray by the Taliban’s takeover. Many banks are closed and cash is scarce.

The United Nations said it will convene an international aid conference on September 13 to help avert what UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called a looming humanitarian catastrophe.

Western powers say they are prepared to engage with the Taliban and send humanitarian aid, but that formal recognition of the government and broader economic assistance will depend on the action — not just promises — to safeguard human rights.

13 police personnel killed in suspected IS attack in northern Iraq BAGHDAD AP

Qatar to operate daily aid flights to Afghanistan DUBAI REUTERS

Qatar has flown humanitarian aid into Kabul and said it will operate daily aid flights to Afghanistan over the next few days, providing much-needed supplies following a hiatus in much Western aid due to Taliban's takeover last month. Qatar has emerged as a key interlocutor between western nations and the Taliban, after developing close ties with the group through hosting its political office since 2013. A Qatari aid flight carrying medical supplies and food products arrived in Kabul on Saturday and Qatar Ambassador to Afghanistan Saeed bin Mubarak Al Khayareen was at the airport for its arrival, the Gulf State's foreign ministry said. Qatar has helped reopen the airport, which closed for several days after the United States-led airlift of its citizens, Afghans and other nationals ended last month.

Half of Afghanistan's 40 million people, including 10 million children, required humanitarian assistance as of the start of this year, the International Organization for Migration said late last month, adding that needs were expected to rise.

Gunmen opened fire at a federal police checkpoint in rural northern Iraq, sparking clashes that killed 13 police, a security official said on Sunday. He blamed the attack on the Islamic State (IS) group.

The attack late on Saturday on the checkpoint in Satiha village in Kirkuk province also wounded five police. The security official said the clashes with the mili-

tants lasted for nearly an hour. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to reporters.

Meanwhile, police sources said the attackers clashed for two hours with police stationed at the village in the town of Rashad, 30 kilometres southwest of the northern city of Kirkuk. The militants used roadside bombs to prevent police reinforcements from reaching the post, destroying three police vehicles, police sources said.

IS did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack. But northern Iraq has been a hotspot for IS activity since its territorial defeat in 2017 by Iraqi security forces with assistance from the US-led coalition. Iraqi forces routinely carry out anti-IS operations in the rugged mountainous northern region and the deserts of western Iraq where they are known to be holed up.

IS attacks have abated in recent years but continue in these areas where security forces are often the target of ambushes, raids and roadside bombs.

Hundreds of thousands of Indian farmers rally against farm laws NEW DELHI REUTERS

Hundreds of thousands of farmers gathered in India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, the biggest rally yet in a months-long series of demonstrations to press Narendra Modi's government to repeal three new agricultural laws.

More than 500,000 farmers attended the rally in the city of Muzaffarnagar, according to local police.

The demonstration in Uttar Pradesh, a predominantly agricultural state that's home to 240 million people, will breathe fresh life into the protest movement, said Rakesh Tikait, a prominent farmers' leader.

"We'll intensify our protest by going to every single city and town of Uttar Pradesh to convey the message that

Modi's government is anti-farmer," he added. Over the past eight months, tens of thousands of farmers have camped on major highways to the capital, New Delhi to oppose the laws, in India's longest-running farmer' protest against

the government.

The measures, introduced last September, allow farmers to directly sell their produce, outside government-regulated wholesale markets, to big buyers. The government says this will unshackle

farmers and help them get better prices.

Farmers, however, say the legislation will hurt their livelihood and leave them with scant bargaining power against big private retailers and food processors.

Farming is a vast sector that sustains almost half of India's more than 1.3 billion people and accounts for about 15 per cent to the country's $2.7 trillion economy.

Balbir Singh Rajewal, another farmers' leader, said Sunday's rally was a warning for Prime Minister Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party, which next year will contest a state assembly election in Uttar Pradesh, often seen as a barometer of the popularity of the federal government.

"Our message is very clear — either repeal the laws or face defeat in the state election," he added.

Two injured in heavy gunfire near Guinea’s presidential palace CONAKRY REUTERS

Heavy gunfire broke out near the presidential palace in Guinea's capital Conakry on Sunday morning, with several sources saying an elite national army unit led by a former French legionnaire, MamadyDoumbouya, was behind the unrest.

A senior government official said 83-year-old President Alpha Conde was unharmed but gave no further details, while witnesses and videos shared on social media showed military vehicles patrolling the streets.

One military source said the only bridge connecting the mainland to the Kaloum neighbourhood, which houses the palaceand most government ministries, had been sealed off and many soldiers, some heavily armed, were posted around the palace.

Three witnesses told Reuters they saw two civilians with gunshot wounds.

"I see groups of soldiers heading towards the presidency. There has been a lot of shooting," said OusmaneCamara, a resident of Kaloum.

A Reuters reporter saw two convoys of armoured vehicles and pick-up trucks heading towards Conakry Autonomous Port, also near the palace. The convoy was

accompanied by a white vehicle that appeared to be an ambulance.

At midday the state broadcaster Radio Television Guinea was broadcasting programmes as normal. Local residents said there were no signs of fighting near the station's headquarters, and an RTG reporter said the situation was calm.

Conde won a controversial third term in October after changing the constitution to allow him to stand again despite violent protests from the opposition, raising concerns of a backslide in a region that has seen coups in Mali and Chad in recent months.

Footage shared on social media, which Reuters was

not immediately able to verify, showed heavy gunfire ringing out over Conakry, and vehicles full of soldiers approaching the central bank, close to the palace.

"President Alpha Conde is doing extremely well... the situation is under control," an ally of the president said in a video shared on Whatsapp.

Guinea has seen sustained economic growth during Conde's decade in power thanks to its bauxite, iron ore, gold and diamond wealth, but few of its citizens have seen the benefits. Critics say the government has used restrictive criminal laws to discourage dissent, while ethnic divisions and endemic graft have sharpened political rivalries.

Monday, 6 September, 2021

SPORTS 11

ISLAMABAD

DjoKoviC moves on aT Us open as Top-ranKeD BarTy oUsTeD NEW YORK

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AFP

OVAK Djokovic moved within four matches of completing the first men's singles calendar-year Grand Slam in 52 years on Saturday while top-ranked Ashleigh Barty was eliminated from the US Open by a stunning fightback from American Shelby Rogers.

World number one Djokovic defeated Kei Nishikori 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-3, 6-2, taking his 17th consecutive victory over the Japanese star and improving to 18-2 in their overall rivalry.

"I was very pleased with the focus," Djokovic said. "Maybe at some points I wasn't my best, but I was determined and focused and that made the difference."

With a fourth career US Open trophy, Djokovic would complete the first men's singles sweep of major titles in the same year since Rod Laver in 1969.

Reigning Wimbledon champion Barty won 11 of 14 games after dropping the first set, only for Rogers to capture five of the last six games for a shocking 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (7/5) triumph.

"I didn't want to leave," Rogers said. "I just said make balls, try to stay in this match, it can't get any worse, you've lost to her

every time."

Rogers had dropped all five prior meetings with Barty but would not be denied, breaking the Aussie as she served for the match in the eighth and 10th games as the crowd went wild at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"I was just trying to stay in the point longer than Ash," Rogers said. "I was happy with myself for sort of problem solving. I'm just so excited to be moving on to the next round."

Rogers will next face 150th-ranked British qualifier Emma Raducanu, an 18year-old who routed Spain's Sara SorribesTormo 6-0, 6-1 in 70 minutes.

Djokovic, meanwhile, marched toward a 21st career Grand Slam title, which would break the deadlock for the men's record he shares with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, both absent with injuries.

The 34-year-old Serbian star advanced to a fourth-round matchup on Monday against 99th-ranked US wildcard Jenson Brooksby. "He was playing pretty solid," Nishikori said. "I couldn't break the wall.

Very unfortunate I lost."

Djokovic, who had 52 unforced errors and 45 winners, dropped the last three points of the first-set tie-breaker, the last on a Nishikori service winner.

"I don't think I started off very well," Djokovic said. "I was too passive. He was

dictating the play. I was still trying to find the tempo. It took me a little bit of time to adjust to his game."

But Djokovic broke early in each set from there to seize command. In the fourth he grabbed a 3-2 lead and never dropped another game.

"Big credit to Kei, who played on a very high level," Djokovic said. "He was quick.

It was tough. Great fight from him."

Tokyo Olympic champion Alexander Zverev defeated 184th-ranked Jack Sock 36, 6-2, 6-3, 2-1 when the American retired with a right thigh injury.

"I know I'm playing OK but a lot of other guys are playing well, too," Zverev said. "I'm hoping to keep my form and give myself my best chance."

Fourth seed Zverev, the 2020 US Open runner-up, joined qualifiers Oscar Otte and

Inam Butt wins gold at Beach Wrestling World Series NEWS DESK Pakistan wrestler Inam Butt won gold in the 90kg category at the Beach Wrestling World Series Romeon Saturday, Radio Pakistan reported.

According to the report, Butt defeated Romania's Mihai NicolaePalaghia in the semi-final by 3-0 and his Ukrainian competitor in the final by the same score.

After the event, Butt, in a video shared on Twitter, credited the Pakistan Wrestling Federation for his win and thanked the Pakistan Sports Board and Minister of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Dr Fehmida

Mirza. "They helped me a lot. We were not getting visas because of Covid. It is because of their efforts that I got a visa and came here," Butt said. In another tweet, the wrestler said he had cut 16kg in weight to "make Pakistan a champion".

Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdartweeted, "Congratulations Inam for winning another gold for Pakistan."

Weightlifter TalhaTalib and cricketers Hasan Ali, WahabRiaz and Ahmad Shahzad also congratulated Butt for winning another medal and making Pakistan proud.

India stretch lead despite Woakes double strike LONDON ReuteRs

India lost three wickets, including captain ViratKohli, but stretched their lead to 230 runs in the fourth Test against England at The Oval on Sunday.

The tourists, who resumed day four on 270-3, were 329-6 at lunch with Rishabh Pant, their last recognised batsman, on 16.

Shardul Thakur, who top-scored with a blistering 57 in the first innings, was batting on 11 at the other end.

The partnership between Kohli and fellow overnight batsman RavindraJadeja had yielded 59 runs when Joe Root brought

back Chris Woakes and the all-rounder, playing his first Test in 12 months, responded with two quick wickets.

Woakes trapped Jadeja plumb in front for 17, and three balls later, AjinkyaRahane was also adjudged lbw after leaving a delivery.

The India vice-captain reviewed the decision and survived after replays confirmed the ball would have gone just over the stumps.

There was no such doubt in Woakes's next over, however, when he beat Rahane's tentative bat and hit the pad to dismiss the out-of-form batsman for a duck.

Woakes (2-47) was the pick of the

English bowlers in India's first innings, when he claimed 4-55 and he scored a breezy 50 with the bat.

With left-hander Pant at the crease, Root introduced Moeen and the off-spinner got Kohli caught at slip six runs shy of what could have been the batsman's third fifty in as many innings.

There were jitters in the touring camp after coach Ravi Shastri tested positive for Covid-19 and the team were cleared to play after the players returned two negative results.

The five-Test series is level at 1-1.

RAHUL FINED 15 PERCENT OF MATCH FEE: Meanwhile, KL Rahul

was fined 15 percent of his match fee for protesting against the umpire’s decision during his dismissal.

Rahul was on 46 on the third day in India’s second innings on Saturday when England reviewed against the umpire’s onfield decision for a caught behind appeal off the seam bowling from James Anderson.

The batsman made his displeasure clear after the review adjudged him out.

He was found guilty of breaching the ICC’s code of conduct relating to “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during an international match”, the world cricket governing body said in a statement.

The ICC said there was no need for a formal hearing as Rahul accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Chris Broad.

New Zealand beat Bangladesh by 52 runs in third T20I NEWS DESK Ajaz Patel picked up 4 for 16, and Cole McConchie chipped in with 3 for 15, as New Zealand registered a thumping 52-run win over Bangladesh in the third T20I in Mirpur to keep the five-match series alive, ESPNcricinfo reported.

After winning the toss, Tom Latham opted to bat on a pitch where his side was bundled out for 60 in the first T20I. On Sunday, they were struggling again, at 62 for 5 in 11 overs and 88 for 5 in 16, before Henry Nicholls and Tom Blundell took 40 from the last four to lift them to 128.

At the toss, Mahmudullah had said he expected his bowlers to restrict New Zealand to 130-140. By that estimate, Bangladesh must have fancied their chances. But their batters looked in a hurry against the New Zealand spinners and kept losing their wickets.

Ajaz's four left Bangladesh reeling on 44 for 6 at the halfway mark. While Mushfiqur Rahim tried to occupy one end, McConchie sent back Nurul Hasan and Mohammad Saifuddin from the other to all but seal the game for his side.

BANGLADESH SEAMERS SPRING IN A SURPRISE: Playing his first game of the series, Finn Allen showed New Zealand how to play spin on these pitches. Coming down

the track, he smashed the third ball of the day back past bowler Mahedi Hasan. Two balls later, he swept him over square leg. In the next over, he hit Nasum Ahmed through covers for his third four in seven balls.

Mahmudullah realised spin wasn't proving effective and turned to Mustafizur Rahman in the third over. The seamer struck with his very first ball as Allen chipped an innocuous delivery to mid-on.

After Mustafizur's wicket-maiden over, Mahmudullah turned to Shakib Al Hasan but Will Young took him for two fours in the over. It started looking like the New Zealand batters had got used to the conditions as they finished the powerplay at 40 for 1. But they were in for a surprise. In the seventh over, Saifuddin trapped Young and Colin de Grandhomme lbw with his offcutters to make it 46 for 3.

MAHMUDULLAH, MAHEDI JOIN THE PARTY: RachinRavindra seemed to have decided he would play Bangladesh spinners predominantly from the back foot.

Using that strategy, he hit two fours when the ball wasn't that short but in the process, he ended up playing too many dot balls.

When Mahmudullah castled him in the tenth over of the innings, Ravindra had consumed 20 balls for as many runs.

Latham, who after scoring an unbeaten

65 from No. 3 in the last game, demoted himself to No. 5 to keep the left-right combination going. But he managed only 5 here before he chipped a return catch to Mahedi.

NICHOLLS, BLUNDELL LIFT NEW ZEALAND: From over 11 till 16, New Zealand didn't manage a single boundary, with Nicholls and Blundell mostly dealing in ones. The important thing, though, from New Zealand's perspective was they didn't lose any wicket in this period, which allowed them to attack in the last four overs.

It started on the last ball of the 17th over when Blundell hit a low full toss straight past Saifuddin. In the next over, Nicholls belted two fours off Mustafizur to take New Zealand past 100. Two more fours, and 11 runs in all, came from the final over as the unbroken 66-run stand, off 55 balls, between the two dragged New Zealand to a respectable total.

Bangladesh started their chase positively with Mohammad Naim hitting two successive fours in the first over, bowled by Jacob

Peter Gojowczyk as the first German trio in the US Open fourth round since 1994 and any Slam last 16 since Wimbledon in 1997.

Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Barrettini, the Italian sixth seed, eliminated Ilya Ivashka of Belarus 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. Next up is 144th-ranked Otte, who beat Italy's Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5.

SAKKARI BEATS KVITOVA: Greek 17th seed Maria Sakkari, a French Open semi-finalist, ousted two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 6-4, 6-3, booking a fourth-round match against 2019 US Open winner Bianca Andreescu.

Czech 10th seed Kvitova double faulted on the final point to hand Sakkari the victory after 81 minutes.

Canadian sixth seed Andreescu improved to 10-0 at the US Open, advancing over 104th-ranked Belgian lucky loser Greet Minnen 6-1, 6-2.

Tokyo Olympic champion Belinda Bencic, a 2019 US Open semi-finalist, defeated US 23rd seed Jessica Pegula 6-2, 6-4.

The Swiss 11th seed will next face Polish seventh seed IgaSwiatek, last year's French Open champion, who beat Estonian AnettKontveit 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

Czech fourth seed Karolina Pliskova, this year's Wimbledon runner-up and a 2016 US Open finalist, beat Australian AjlaTomljanovic 6-3, 6-2.

Koepka withdraws from Tour Championship with wrist injury ATLANTA ReuteRs

Brooks Koepka withdrew from the Tour Championship late on Saturday after injuring his left wrist hitting a ball out of the rough, prompting questions about whether the American will be fit enough to compete at the upcoming Ryder Cup. Koepka injured his wrist on the 10th hole at East Lake when his club hit a tree root on his approach shot. He finished the hole and the next two before withdrawing with a score of one-under for the season-ending tournament, placing him well out of contention. “Same wrist I had issues with back in ’17, ’18, so just making sure it’s all good,” Koepka said, according to Golfweek.

Koepka, a former world number one with four major titles but who has suffered a series of knee injuries, had already qualified for the US team for the Ryder Cup, which begins on September 24 at Whistling Straits.

If Koepka is unable to compete in the team competition between the United States and Europe, US captain Steve Stricker would be given a seventh captain’s pick to fill his spot. Stricker is set to name his six picks at a news conference on Wednesday, according to Golfweek.

Duffy. An over later, Liton Das swept McConchie over backward square leg for backto-back fours. But the offspinner had the last laugh as he trapped Liton lbw in the same over when the batter attempted yet another aerial sweep.

Mahedi was promoted to No. 3 but Ajaz had him caught at short midwicket for 1 before jolting Bangladesh by dismissing Shakib for a duck. The allrounder came out with an intent to attack, went down the ground to Ajaz only to hole out to long-on.

Naim, who was watching all this from the other end, eventually played on Ravindra in the seventh over.

Bangladesh were 32 for 4 but still had Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah in the middle.

In the tenth over, Latham once again turned to his strike bowler, Ajaz and he didn't disappoint. With the second ball of the over, he had Mahmdullah caught at extra cover and on the next, yorkedAfif Hossain to give New Zealand a firm grip on the match.

Nurul survived a close run-out call when third umpire gave the decision in his favour even though it looked like his bat was on the line when Ravindra broke the stumps. He didn't last long though; trying to hit out against McConchie, he skied one towards long-on where Blundell sprinted to his left and put in the dive to take the catch inches off the ground. Bangladesh's fight finished with that, and Mahmudullah, who had earlier became the first Bangladesh cricketer to play 100 T20Is, ended on the losing side.

Originally published on ESPNcricinfo

Monday, 6 September, 2021

prayer timings

NEWS

Pakistan to observe Defence Day with great zeal toDay

LAHORE

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staff report

ETERMINED to ward off any aggression against the motherland, the nation will observe Defence Day on Monday (today) with a renewed pledge to safeguard its geographical and ideological boundaries in every situation and at all cost.

Various political figures and public institutions have issued statements on how they will observe Defence Day with zeal and fervour.

Defence Day is celebrated as a national day to commemorate the sacrifices made by Pakistani soldiers in defending its borders. The date of 6 September marks the day in 1965 when Indian troops crossed the international border to launch an attack on Pakistani Punjab, in a riposte to Pakistan’s Operation Grand Slam targeting Jammu.

In this regard, Inter-Services Public Relations on Sunday released another video ahead of Defence and Martyrs Day, involving a conversation of the wife of an army man regarding fears in her life.

The video shared by the ISPR showed a conversation between three women, with two of them praising the third one- the wife of an army man- regarding her courage during their academic tenure.

The wife during the conversation said that she now has fears in her life and on insistence from the two others said that when Hassan [her husband] is on a military operation, she even fears the unknown phone call or a news report.

The ISPR has been releasing videos to pay tribute to the families of the martyrs ahead of the Defence and Martyrs Day observed on September 06.

The ISPR on Friday released the eighth video of its series to pay tribute to the martyrs’ families ahead of the Defence and Martyrs Day, showing a bomb disposal squad official leaving her mother on a hospital bed to save school children.

Moreover, the sixth episode of the Pakistan Air Force short documentary in connection with Defence and Martyrs’ Day was released on Sunday.

The PAFs’ documentary was part of eight short episodes relating to Defence Day, said a PAF news release.

The documentary’s sixth episode narrated the bravery of the valiant warriors of PAF and chronicles on the day of September 04, 1965. It paid a tribute to the bravery and courage of the valiant air warriors of PAF who, during the air battle of 1965, displayed unparalleled professionalism and bravery to defend the homeland.

Moreover, the Pakistan Navy has released a special song “Dil Khosh Hua” in connection with Defence Day, reported Radio Pakistan.

According to the Navy’s spokesperson, the song pays homage to the devotees of the homeland.

The song reflects the spirit of martyrdom and a sense of responsibility which is associated with the uniform.

This song is the story of three friends. The message of this song is that martyrdom in the line of duty is not the end of the journey but a beginning of a new journey.

Meanwhile, Punjab Governor Mohammad Sarwar in a message on Defence Day said that this day is a landmark in the history of Pakistan.

“On this day, Pakistan’s brave forces successfully deterred the nefarious designs of a much larger enemy and, by doing so, they also told the world that we are always ready to defend our beloved country and we can sacrifice anything for it,” read a statement issued by the Governor House.

He further said September 6 not only marks a day of the sacrifices of the Pakistan Army for their motherland, but it also tells us that the courageous soldiers of our army wrote the “history of courage and valour with their blood.”

“Whether it is Lahore’s border or Sialkot’s working-boundary, it is Khem Karan or Chawinda, Pakistan Army’s fearless and brave soldiers countered the enemy so boldly that their sacrifices are written in golden words in the history,” he said.

“Today our nation is paying gratitude to the Almighty Allah by celebrating the Defence Day on one hand, and paying tribute to remarkable sacrifices of Pakistan Army on

FAJR SUNRISE

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4:09

12:11

3:50

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Background behind Defence Day Every year, Defence Day is celebrated in memory of the sacrifices the Pakistani armed forces made in the war of 1965. 6 September (Defence Day) is one of the most significant events in the history of Pakistan.

On 6 September 1965, without a formal declaration of war, the Indian army crossed Pakistan’s international frontiers. It was a time when not only Pakistan’s brave soldiers but the entire nation was thrown into the mold of a cohesive unit to defend the homeland, defeating the Indian army and pulling them back on every front.

On September 6, 1965, the enemy invaded Pakistan borders with a view to breaching the assaulted areas. It’s been a response to stopping Pakistani military advance in India Occupied Kashmir. They were mostly targeting the Lahore, Sialkot, and Sindh desert areas. The war continued until 22 September 1965, when both sides agreed ceasefire supervised by the United Nations.

WAR IN KASHMIR: Events in Kashmir came to a climax, too. Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri added more fuel to the fire by taking measures to further integrate Kashmir into India’s political body and claiming that the Kashmir question occupied a secondary position in effective India-Pakistan relations.

The application to the Kashmir State of Articles 356 and 357 of the Indian Constitution, which allowed the President of India to create and legislate the Presidential Rule in Kashmir, made an attempt to amalgamate Kashmir into the Indian Union altogether.

LAHORE OFFENSIVE: At 3:00 AM on September 6, 1965, Indians crossed the international frontier of West Pakistan without a formal declaration of war and launched a threepronged offensive against Lahore, Sialkot, and Rajasthan. On the Punjab plains, there has been a fierce tank battle. The Indo-Pak dispute at home turned into an international war and raised questions about Super Strength.

Under the auspices of the United Nations, the main diplomatic attempt to stop the fighting was carried out and a truce came into effect on 23 September 1965.

INEVITABLE DEFENCE BY MILITARY: Our military managed to protect not only the areas targeted but also the lives of thousands of civilians and their homes. As such, we owe an obligation to honour and support all of our country’s military personnel who sacrificed their lives so that we, our families, and our fellow countrymen may live in peace. It should also extend this appreciation and gratitude

the other. Every nation pays tribute to its brave and valiant sons so that the coming generations could know about their sacrifices and a passion and audacity to sacrificing for their country could be inculcated in them,” he added.

He said that we should remember this fact and pass it on to our coming generations that Pakistan is not only a piece of land situated on a particular geographical position, but it is a great blessing of the Almighty Allah and we have the obligation to protect it.

Similarly, Leader of the Opposition in Sindh Assembly, Haleem Adil Sheikh has said that the Sindh chapter of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf will observe Defence Day with national zeal and fervor to paying glaring tribute to Pakistan’s Armed forces particularly the martyrs who laid their lives to safeguard the homeland.

In a statement issued on Sunday, he said that the party’s provincial leadership, legislators, members, and workers would arrange special events to mark the day when Pakistan’s Armed Forces shattered the enemy’s nefarious designs.

PTI’s Central Vice President said that the party leaders and workers would pay visits to graves of the Martyrs, for paying homage to Martyrs of Pakistan, who set unparalleled examples of valour and gallantry in the line of duty in the 1965 war. Floral wreaths would be laid on their graves and Fatiha to be offered as well.

“Pakistan’s valiant Armed Forces have always defended territorial and ideological boundaries of the country and they are alert and all set to deter all the challenges against sovereignty and solidarity of the nation,” Haleem Adil Sheikh said.

He said that Defence Day is a day of pride for every citizen which reminds us that the defence of the country was in strong hands and every citizen who sleep peacefully at night because our brave soldiers were standing alert on our borders.

Haleem Adil Sheikh urged all the PTI office-bearers and workers to pay courtesy visits to the families of the martyrs to pay tribute to their sacrifices for the homeland. with additional input from INP

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

to all those military personnel who helped our martyrs, sacrificed their lives, and lived to tell the story.

MARTYRS OF DEFENCE DAY: Many of national martyred heroes won decorations for their gallantry and courage. Major Raja Aziz Bhatti was awarded the highest Nishan-iHaider military award for his extraordinary role in defending the Lahore Bedian region in 1965. He is among a handful of other gallant and courageous military personnel who have been martyred and in other battles and wars given the same honour.

In Pakistan’s defence they gave the greatest sacrifice of their lives.

PAKISTAN EMERGED AS A MORE POWERFUL NATION: As of the September 1965 war with India, Pakistan emerged as a powerful and self-confident country, proud of itself and its military forces. It was a nation united in the face of India’s threat. For war success, national unity and complete support for the armed forces in the field are necessary. With the help of the government, Pakistan’s Armed Forces repelled India’s naked aggression across the international border and making it pay a price by taking four times more territory than India and forcing it to accept a truce, return to the negotiating table and vacate each other’s territory.